k-9 less new years?

I came home late last night from work to find out that my 14 year old dog that we adopted at 4 months old is really really sick. She's been throwing up the whole evening and on into today and refuses to eat anything. I know she's old and has epilepsy that she takes medication for (which she won't take right now either) but I don't want my new year to start out with her gone!
I'm kind of flustered. Do I stay home with her and my family? Or go out with my new guy?
In a way I don't really want to be here in case anything happens, but I'll probably end up regretting that.

All i want for my 21 st birthday is

a jar of anti-wrinkle cream!
ok not exactly.
today while waiting in line at starbucks for my overpriced americano i ran into this woman and her daughter that i used to babysit. WOW she was all grown up like a teenager and i remember when she still had to go to bed at 7! i felt so old in that moment. 20 going on 50.

ASPCA vs. starving african children

i think those new ASPCA commercials make me feel more guilty for something i didnt do than those starving african kids commercials.

But that's why they are called Buckle jeans

i remeber why i hate working in retail during the holidays. The day before christmas i had a customer come down and i asked if she was finding everything alright when she exclaimed she was looking for buckle brand jeans. I said oh sorry they only carry those at the buckle. and then gave her easy to follow directions to the buckle. she then looked at me dead in the eyes and goes, no. the girls upstairs said they were down here and i said well maybe they meant the buckle was down here on this floor. and she looks at me with all the worlds hate in her eyes and lividly says no! i bought them down here last year! and i said well i dont know what to tell you but they only carry them at the buckle. so i take her to another employee and ask her if we carried buckle jeans and she gave her the same response as i had. the customer then hands on hip and eyes glowing red goes well i bought them down here last year you guys carry them i will bring them in and show you the reciept! as she finishes saying this in a manner to demean me as if im stupid i quickly come back I REALLY DONT APPRECIATE BEING SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT! and she just walks off. i love the christmas spirit working in retail brings.

The Handkerchief

whatever happened to the Handkerchief? Isnt that being green in one of its truest forms? take a lesson from your elders! is the world ready for a handkerchief comback? how many trees are used each year to make tissues?

Boots of Spanish Leather

"Oh, but if I had the stars from the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean,
I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss,
For that's all I'm wishin' to be ownin'."

- Bob Dylan

Gorgeous eyes

I am a huge fan of Nude eyeshadow, but it has to be special! When i ran across this Bobbi Brown "Shimmering Nudes" palette I immediately fell in love. It contains such a great range of colors, beautiful for the holidays. I love love love the dark charcoal color on the far right, easy way to take this palette from day to evening.

Wes Anderson

"My project was to... find beauty in the flaws and vice versa"
While I was watching T.V. the other day
I spotted Wes Anderson in a T.V. Commercial.(and anyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE Wes Anderson fan)
Whoever came up with the ad did a beautiful job of assembling it.
American Express right now is running a promotion called The Members Project.
The ad features all American Express cardholders that have all made a difference in the world. Their project is letting us vote towards charitable organizations, help vote your favorite organization into the top 5 and they will have a share of the 2.5 million that American Express is donating amongst them. I voted for the Alzheimer's Early Detection Matters since it's something my family is facing now.
Go check out The Members Project now and vote!

Emotion

No one sings with this much emotion anymore! You can see the veins in his forehead!

Quote

"If you live to be 100 years I hope I live to be 100 minus one day
that way I never have to live without you"
-Winnie the Pooh

Blog roll

I've been discovering a lot of fun new blogs lately just wanted to share them with you.


Holy Cuteness - A blog full of photos of adorable animals.

Club Narwhal- A blog stacked with wit and charm

Annie Spandex- Great indie fashion and all around glamour fun.

The Peanut Butter Blog- A whole blog dedicated to peanut butter!

Weird eBay Listings- A compilation of all the craziest listings from E-bay.

Young, Professional and Bored- Great celebrity news and internet finds.

An Ordinary Life- Hippest blog around for moms

Hatnim Lee- A wonderful photographer

The perfect low heeled boot

I have searched all august for the perfect boot to wear this fall with dresses and jeans.
Finally after a grueling search I found them!
These Suede boots are perfect for all with a 12 inch calf circumference they are a bit roomier. The tan color (although they come in black and chocolate as well) is a great alternative to the darker brown boots out right now this way you can wear it with other brown hues or with all the popular greys that are coming out for fall 2008.
These boots are comfy and have the perfect slouch to them and cute belted embellishments! I can't wait to wear mine with fun tights. I believe they are 79.95

Phantom of the Opera

Today I went to go see The Phantom of the Opera at Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon.
It was fantastic. The last opera I went to was Aida and that was quite a while ago. I loved the special effects they used.

Comcast

Today I called to disconnect my old Comcast service at the house with the roommate I don't get a long with. When I called to have it disconnected I was told that an order for the disconnect had already been set in motion. So of course I got really upset they said that in order to verify account information she had to have my name and social and pretend to be me. So I talked to a comcast supervisor who went through the phone conversation and apparently they didn't even verify any information so her answer to me was "they didn't let go of any pertinent information" WELL THEY STILL ACCESSED MY ACCOUNT and her only thing she said was "sorry it was a mistake" it wasn't a mistake it was someone not doing their job. That could have been a huge lawsuit for them if they let go of my information at all. So Comcast thinks it's okay to let other people access your account turn your service off or on maybe even give out your personal information like your social security and billing information and it's just a mistake?

Reminder to self:

You work for a paycheck
not a Playcheck
so stop spending all your money!

Awards

So while I was away I guess I won two blog awards!
Yay!
Who knew you could be on vacation and get rewarded!


The first Award I received was from Wendi at The Freebie Blogger
and the other from
Deb at Dine-o-meter

Thank you lovely ladies!

On my way.

Things are good
things are fine.
I feel some sort of weird peace with myself
and yet extremely nervous at the same time.
I know my living situation right now is just temporary
I'm starting to make plans for myself again.
I'm motivated I want to go out and do stuff.
I'm buying a plane ticket to France for 800 dollars
to visit Camille.
I'm going to Portland Saturday market tomorrow to meet some girl i've been
talking to on AIm since i was a 14 ( we met because we were planning on
going to the same art college and neither of us ended up there!)
I'm riding the train there. I'm being independent
I'm picking black berries at my farm today.
I lost 2 pant sizes and I've no clue what I've done.
I guess just feeling too helps.
I'm not going to school this fall
I keep failing my classes, not that I don't have a passion for learning
but not what they want to teach me. I cant vow to log on every day at different times to turn in worthless
papers.
I want to own a pie shop
I want to spend my days baking
I want to educate myself
I want to spend hours reading in the sun for the rest of the summer
and near the fireplace in the fall.

Good to be back

Thank you to everyone who left me comments and bothered to mosey on over to my blog while I was away. It's been a doozy of a week. I am now done with school and will not be taking any courses this fall seeing as i still owe 800 dollars for this term! Plus I think I really want to open a pie shop... random I know but it's something I would love to do.

BE BACK SOON

Sorry I've been delinquent!

Sorry to all you entrecarders I haven't dropped back on in the last couple days

I am living in an internet/tv less house it's incredibly dull!

Blame it on Comcast who told me that it would take them 11 days to come out and plug some wires in! Geeze seriously!?!

I do miss updating but I guess i'm out living my life

I will try to enjoy my "vacation"

talk to you all soon!


P.s. I just spent 200 dollars on jeans someone
I feel a bit sick!

Sleeeeep please

I don't know where I got the brilliant idea to drink a Large americano at 8 pm but now my body is exhausted and yet I can't sleep and my tummy feels sick from all the coffee.

Just remembered it is Sunday and called the Jury duty line... and learned I have jury duty on Thursday. Yuck.

I'm moving tomorrow morning and my left arm is completely gimpy from the tetanus shot!

Okay i guess with all those bum things I need to find one good thing going on right now....I guess Tuesday is payday and all my stress and hard work from the big sale with be kind of rewarding.

The future of your health

Now that my grandma is going through Alzheimer's, I wish I would have previously known about C'elle and all the wonderful things that they are achieving through their stem cell research. Take a look at this recent article about C'elle and be sure to visit the site to see how you can save yourself and close relatives from life altering diseases. C'elle is a break through in the science world, which saves valuable stem cells from your month period and they will take care of them properly in case you or someone related to you by blood should get sick in the future. These are uncertain times, so why not take control now. C'elle makes collection simple. C'elle even has a way to track your monthly visitor so visit the calender page and order the kit that works best for you so you can be prepared for your next period. If you're still uncertain be sure to check out the Celle Client Testimonial. Be sure to read the article below for more life saving information!

Taking Control: Future Therapies for a Host of Serious Diseases May Be Found in Women's Menstrual Blood

July 07, 2008: 01:28 PM EST


OLDSMAR, Fla., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With today’s hectic lifestyle, where most women are juggling careers, family, relationships, and a host of activities, the idea of possibly facing a serious illness in the future is not something that readily comes to mind -- especially when a woman is in the prime of her life. But what most women don’t know, is that the key to treating a number of possibly life-threatening diseases that she, a parent, a sibling or even her children may face in later years, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, may be found within her own body -- in vital stem cells, which can now be harvested from her own menstrual blood.

Now, thanks to the revolutionary research and technology of C’elle, a service dedicated to providing women with a safe and easy method of collecting and preserving stem cells found in her menstrual fluid each month, even the busiest woman can take control of her future, right in the privacy of her own home. With C’elle’s non-invasive collection process, menstrual cells are processed and cryo-preserved (stored at a very low temperature) for potential cellular therapies that may be used in the future. These self-renewing cells one day may even be used for sports medicine or cosmeceutical treatments, such as anti-aging therapies.

"C’elle enables and empowers a woman to take control of her future health, and possibly of those genetically closest to her, in a fast, painless and stress free way," said Michelle Kay, Marketing and Sales Manager for C’elle. "We live in exciting times, as science and technology are discovering how extremely valuable menstrual blood stem cells really are, and the enormous treatment potential they represent for future therapies. C’elle’s ongoing research is supporting these promising findings."

For more information about C’elle, please call 1-877-892-3553 or visit www.celle.com.

Not for the easily queesy.

This morning I had to run to the doctor and try to get in so I could get a tetanus shot. Turns out I haven't had one since 1993. Right now my arm is like throbbing. It hurts so bad and it's already starting to swell.

Yesterday at work I decided it would be a smart idea i suppose to ram my hand into the gun we use to reticket clothes. Its just an inch long needle sticking out of a plastic piece. It doesn't do much but when I was attempting to recap it the cap fell down and instead of pushing the cap over the needle i pushed my hand down the entire thing..... at first I started cracking up then crying lol. It took me a minute to realise it hurt. Then I had to fill out a million workmans comp forms.


Now I cant move my left arm and i have to move all my stuff tomorrow into my new house haha. This will be a lot of fun.

The Oddest thing that's ever happened to me

Today I went through my mail and got a letter from Nordstrom.
I figured it was someone being funny writing me a thank you note for shopping with them because we are supposed to write thank you notes to our customers.
Anyway, I open the card and ..

Miss Arika!
Thanks so much for buying those adorable mary-janes!
I know you will love them!
Let's hang out very soon!
Always,
------


Anyway, its a letter from my friend that is in the ICU. What a random time to get this letter.. not to mention I bought the mary-janes from her in... November or 07. I wonder if it just never got mailed until now or it got lost in the mail or she just wrote it but it sounds like she wrote them when I bought them. I just think it's crazy that when I'm worried and all stressed out about her I get this letter right now of all times.

keep thinking happy thoughts for her :)

Wordless Wednesday x2

Growing up is hard to do.

But, I"m sure you all know that.

I guess my friends accident was a lot worse than I knew.
As far as I know she's still in the ICU
Both of us not being people that pray
please just think happy thoughts for her.
Hopefully she will be moved out of ICU soon and I can go visit her.


I"m struggling with this new girl at work, it's become a big problem and I think
most people are frustrated with her. I can honestly say I've never met anyone like her.
I guess you have to just find the good in every person and focus on that to get you through.

Every year in october my dads side of the family rents a beach house and we all stay in it for about 4 days this has happened every year i can remember since i was like 2. It's always Me, my mom my dad my sister my uncle and my aunt her husband and when matthew was born, matthew. Well this will be the first beach trip that we go on since matthews passed away and my dad is going to be gone rafting the grand canyon and my mother can't get time off work and my sister will be away at college in Tacoma. So, I still really want to go but it's going to be awkward and it has been bringing up really painful memories to plan it. The rest of my family still really wants to go even my aunt I hope it's not just going to be a cry fest.. it will be really different not having Matthew there.

Tonight I am attending a support group meeting with my mom for the first time for people with loved ones who have Alzheimer's. My mom asking me to go with her was her way of letting me know that my grandma has officially been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This was a huge thing to dump on me. So we'll see how the meeting goes tonight. I knew she was struggling with memory stuff but I guess now it's like set in stone? It makes it official which is really scary and sad.


My sister will be leaving for college soon and since she's going so far away my parents have been spending every waking moment with her which i totally understand but I'm still right here.. i guess i just feel neglected which is really pathetic since I'm like 20 years old. But it's not that she's just leaving for college they are spending a ton of money on her for everything. She just went to Greece and came back so that was a huge deal and my mom spent a ton of time with her after her small trip and she just graduated high school and had a birthday all in these last two months. I guess my mom is my closest friend that I have around here since everyone i was close to has moved away and it sucks because i haven't been able to find people that are just like the people that moved away. I don't think anyone else is like them and I'm flirting with the idea of moving to Eugene which i would really like to do. I guess part of it I don't want to replace them.

I don't know if I want to finish school right now. I feel like I have a lot of things on my plate and I can hardly afford it let alone i bet cost will only go up, i don't know what I want to do for sure and the economy is horrible and I only make a tiny bit above minimum wage if I don't make commission.

I do however feel stable in one area, my job. It's going better right now that I could have imagined. When I first started in TBD and Individualist I was really uncomfortable and very uncomfortable with my manager. Now I feel like I can actually talk to her and work with her. I really like my department I'm understanding the fashions in TBD a lot more than when I first started, it's a lot to get used to! I have a love for very classical clothes and TBD is alll about mixing prints and not being matching at all.

My cousin moved this week from really close to me to california too. It sucks but thank god for the internet and now I have someone to visit in san fransisco.


I know things will get better but for right now I just need to find my balance and find what makes me happy.

update

I haven't been around much. Work has been really busy which is kind of good for a change but also really stressful and then 3 of the girls from my department left, one was fired and 2 quit. So, now we are down to 3 of us that have been there for a while and then one new girl.. who by the way I am going to have to try really hard to find some way to get a long with her. She's really really sweet it's just let me start by saying she's in a sorority and has mostly worked at abercrombie and fitch. the other day she stopped what she was doing came over to me and asked " If the line is busy do I just hang up and try again later or what?" ......... My co worker had to just walk away or else I'm pretty sure she would have laughed so hard she cried. Anyway, It should get back to normal soon and I just found out that one of my good friends got in a really bad car accident last night and was life flighted to Portland so keep happy thoughts for her.

sickening

Hog dog fights - often referred to as "hog catch trials" and "hog dog rodeos" - are public events where dogs are released to attack pigs in a penned arena. The crowd cheers as the dogs, mostly pit bulls, tear at the animals' ears, snouts, groins and tails. For anyone who has witnessed a hog dog fight, it is the agonizing screams of the trapped and terrified pigs that truly encapsulates the whole ugly business. Hog dog fighting is even more inexcusable because it is staged animal fighting billed as family entertainment. Attend almost any hog dog event and you'll see mothers and children in the audience, cheering on the attacking dogs and their trainers.


Learn how to combat animal cruelty and be rewarded

Cool Freebie

I am always on the look out for great desktop wallpapers but don't trust all those download sites, plus come on, they are mostly of naked women. Anyway, I was doing research for my geography project and visited the national geographic website and became utterly sidetracked from my project. They have some of the neatest backgrounds available for free on there. You don't have to worry about the size like you do on Google images. I don't know I just stumbled upon it and thought they were really neat. CLICK here to get your own.
this totally made my day.

Sleeping

Yesterday at work was so stressful that I've spent my entire day off today sleeping even though I should be catching up on homework.. but honestly who isn't right now doing something leisurely when they should be doing something else... come on. My manager asked me on Saturday if I could possibly come in on Sunday (My day off) to help close and such and I stupidly said okay. I come in at 1:30 and 20 minutes later one of the girls tells me she's leaving because it has been really slow. Then human resources calls another girl off the floor to talk to her for an undisclosed amount of time. All Then the third and final girl that was there in this 20 minutes gets a walk up appointment for pre-selecting for Anniversary sale. Instead of just preselecting in our departments only she takes them around the whole store. and keeps saying when she's done she's leaving early because it's slow ...? When she finally finishes with them around 4:30 or 5 she clocks out and doesn't help me with any of the closing duties meanwhile the girl that went to human resources didn't come back and when I called up to see if she was still closing with me they said that she and human resources had gone home a couple hours ago.. i guess she was fired and no one bothered to say I wouldn't have any help! All of this would have been fine if we actually were slow then i would have just been at moderate pace but i litteraly was running from one end of the department to the other all day.... I ended up selling 2,200 dollars worth of merchandise from my department.



Anyway, so while I was napping today I was right in that in between sleep and awake. I'm pretty sure I was conscious but sleeping so weird anyways all of a sudden i was trying to turn over to disable the alarm on my cell phone before it went off and I felt like I was paralyzed I couldn't move and all. It was the weirdest feeling because it felt like it was real. Then I tried again and still couldn't move my arms out of sleeping position and finally i was like freaking out in my head and went to scream for help but i couldn't get my body to open my mouth at all. So creepy when it feels like it's real. Then I just started hearing static and i decided to like try to move my entire body in one big push and i "woke up" or moved. I don't even want to feel that again.


Now I have two weeks worth of homework to catch up on plus all of next weeks homework because anniversary sale starts on the 18th and I know I work like 10 hour days for a whole straight week.

Zenni Optical

I've been looking for new glasses for awhile-- especially sunglasses since it's summer time but prescription sunglasses are so expensive! I was so excited when I saw Zenni on Fox . They offer prescription glasses online for as little as 8 dollars wow. Last time I bought glasses they were around 200 just for the frames! Visit ZenniOptical.com to view their huge variety stylish frames and almost any kind of lens you could need.

Halva

My sister just got back last night from a 10 day trip in Greece and brought back halva which I had never had before. It's so delicious if you've never had it here are some directions on how to make it at home.

The fourth of the Seventh Month

I honestly hate fourth of July. I think it is the most stupid un-American over rated holiday ever. I always get bored way to fast and since I'm not as criminally brain dead as other Americans watching things explode and bright lights doesn't get me excited past like the first one. Are the fireworks supposed to represent like "the bombs bursting in air" if so.. what a stupid thing to celebrate and re-enact? Why would we want to make it look like we are in war again.. which we are. Not that I'm "un American" or anything i just think that fourth of july doesn't even have to do anything with celebrating the united states anymore it's like one day where rednecks come out and wear their red white and blue bandannas and soccer moms in their flag old navy shirts. Shouldn't you be celebrating your country more so on EVERY other day but fourth of july which kind of cancels out patriotism and why do we buy all these things on fourth of july for picnics and apparel that all have made in china stamps on them... seriously.
Anyway guess I'm kind of cranky.

Protect your health with C'elle

Did you know that you are carrying around with you a tiny miracle that in the future could possibly save you from life altering diseases such as diabetes; stroke and heart disease as well as possible anti-aging, burn and wound healing therapies? Well, you do! Look no farther than your monthly visitor. You’re menstrual cycle carries vital stem cells that could be used to potentially save you from the above inflictions, not only you but your immediate family as well (siblings, parents, and child) C’elle makes it easy to collect these life saving stem cells to save for a brighter future for you and your love ones. Think of it as an investment into your health. C’elle has three easy plans to help you with your collection, monthly, annually, and a quarterly plan. Remember, this is your future health; C’elle is a guaranteed 100 percent match to its donor. C’elle is leading the way and already in 3 pre-clinical stem cell research studies (all non-human). Learn more about what you could be doing to ensure a healthy future for you and your family visit C’elle today at http://www.celle.com and pick the plan that’s right for you. Learn more about C’elles three great plans and even chat live with a representative if you need to. When you find the plan that’s right for you upon ordering you will receive a free glamorous rhinestone Satchel from C’elle.

Jury Duty

This morning I have jury duty.
Except last night I slept for an hour and a half
because my tonsils are so swollen I was having trouble breathing.
Now i have to drive a half hour to the courthouse.. this should be interesting.

Your Fashionable wordpress powered blog

I hate trying to figure out all the html I need to design my blog. Even when I do get all the pictures and layout together there’s always some small thing wrong with it I keep having to go back and tweak. I’ve tried searching the internet for places that offer free blog templates but most of them are really poorly put together. Finally I came across one that seemed promising at first and then I browsed around a bit more and they TONS of awesomewordpress themes for wordpress powered blogs that are actually trendy. I’m so glad that

Top Wordpress Themes makes it so easy. You can preview the look and then simply download the layout to apply to your blog. I am loving this design! Go check out there free designs you can get a nice clean and simple or a complex trendy design for any subject blog.

Loss of Brain matter

I saw this trailer when I went to go see Wall-E tonight.
I started crying in the middle of the trailer because I was laughing so hard.
This has to be a joke! What happened Disney! Seriously WHAT would posses
you to put this movie out?!
I can't even speak.
Their slogan is "50 Percent Warrior 50 % lover .. 100 % chihuahuas

Things I fell in love with over the weekend

1. In Bruges
2. The Freebie Blogger
3. Wall-E
4. Sunshine
5. Olay Quench Body Lotion
6. Man Babies
7. Phantom Planet -Our house

Janet Taylor

I found the following post on The Nodding Tree Remedies Myspace. They are a local band from Salem and pretty good. Anyway I just thought I would repost it here because it made me laugh out loud ..
currently in Salem we have a mayor named Janet Taylor who I happen to be incredibly against and somehow she just won our current election again. What a shame.

So enjoy this propaganda brought to you by The Nodding Tree Remedies minds.

"Salem's mayor, Mrs. Taylor, is a heartless hoebag.
Her reign of power has been going on for too long.
Our children are not safe in Oregon's capital, Janet Taylor feeds on thier blood.
She's been spotted swimming the Willamette river with a dead puppy in her teeth.
She is immune to Salem's rising pollution problems due to the deadly acid that coarses through her veins, therefor she has no concern for a cleaner Oregon.
Janet Taylor does not support the local music scene, she approved the destruction of the kiosks( round billboards) off downtown Liberty street, and has openly attacked independent business(the heart of the Salem music scene) in Salem by supporting the surge of multimillion dollar, non local business.
Janet Taylor is hurting our community and threatens Salem's future with intentions of personal benifit. Mrs. Taylor's wealth and power cannot stop us, but if we all wake up dead one morning we will have a prime suspect, Janet Taylor.
She supports war and President Bush.
Her agenda is obsurd. She caters to the rich with the construction of overpriced plazas and convention centers, while many of the low income residents get the short end of the stick.
Her veiws and ideals are Reaganistic and immoral.....
....and she kills minorities, supports the meth trade, police brutality, and is a sex addict( not the good kind). Her soul is a swamp of ignorance and filth, etc,etc.....
Mrs. Taylor is too strong to defeat, we can only hide our children for so long.
Run for the hills, Janet Taylor is an evil witch and is not fit for her position of power.
Nodding Tree Remedies say "no" to Janet Taylor.
Pray for her wretched soul.
In Salem, the Man is keeping us down and has a name,
Janet Taylor.

God help us"
Click Here for original post

Freebie!

New Shoes make everything better.

I haven't left my house in 3 days and some twisted way I ended up with Strep Throat. This makes it the 5th time this year so far and that means
TONSILLECTOMY
that word is so warm isn't it.
a 15 min procedure for a week and a half's worth of recovery time.
Has anyone had this done as an adult? What was the recovery like for you.
I've been having trouble breathing cause my tonsils are touching.
The only thing that brightened my day today was the shoes I finally ordered from
Nordstrom came and I ripped open the package and was extremely excited
then realized that the shoes in the box that I had received would have been able to fit
the jolly green giant. They were 2 sizes to big. Before I checked the size on the shoe i seriously
questioned the size of my feet. Now this normally would have only made my day a little sad but
these shoes have been sent to The Rack and now I can't even exchange them!
I have been waiting for these shoes since decemberish when we got them!

scheming

There's a big giveaway coming up! So stay tuned!

I'm giving away something juicy
Something Coture

Who Killed the muesli eaters?

I will admit I'm a Muesli junkie! But, the last few times I've gone to the grocery store I have not been able to find it anywhere. I look up and down the aisle and yet they have a huge granola section and even a giant array of kashi cereals you think they'd have one tiny spot for muesli. I'm I the only person left on earth that eats it? I swear I have never had trouble finding it before.

it's a very weird moment indeed when you realize
that the people are you closest to in your life have started
to drift away not only from you but from everyone else as well
when your small close knit group of friends has somehow turned into a ripple where
everyone spreads farther and farther out.
Is there a way to reverse it?
Do you move on?
Do you follow them so you can stay close.
What if it's like the only people you've ever met that make you
feel truly like yourself when you are around them.

6/18/2008

I'm still secretly kind of crying about the short hair.
I hate it. Its not so much that I mind having the short hair,
although I admit I miss my lazy pony tail, it's just the cut that I hate.
I don't know what possessed the stylist to cut two pieces in the front like an inch and a half
shorter than the rest of my hair and make it all piecey when I told her I wanted
it all the same length? And when I walked in with hair to my shoulders
I specifically said I don't want it much shorter than it is now
maybe like.. half an inch shorter. Now I have it to my chin...
I must have the worlds shortest neck indeed.
I was hoping the weather would be nice today but in traditional Oregon fashion
it's a gloomy day.. IN JUNE.
Yesterday I went up to the rack and I was so excited I found the pants that
I was looking for and i got to buy a size smaller than usual! Woo.
That's always exciting but now I'm kind of freaking out because most of my clothes are too big and I don't have the money to afford a new wardrobe. Frustrating.

Down Under

Today is my first day of my two week vacation from work.
I'm already "dying" of boredom.
I slept in late got up ate some food looked out the window then
watched a terrible movie called Catacombs.
What a waste of time.. plus who puts the singer PINK as a lead
role in a movie??!
Atleast the main girl (shannyn Sossamon) had super cute hair.

quote of the day

Take it to heart.



"death is not the greatest loss in life. the greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live."
-norman cousins

Hello Summer

Goodbye hair!


The first bits of summer showed themselves today, finally a nice day on my day off.
I signed up for summer classes today
what a way to spend vacation.
So, I thought I would chop of my hair
i lost 5 inches!

have a good summer!

Bvlgari!

I've always loved Bvlgari perfumes! I will admit though that some of them are a little TOO old lady for me though. I decided that i would check out Bvlgari watches and couldn't believe the prices at my work! I browsed on the internet and came across Concord watches . The site is filled with tons of luxury time pieces at affordable discount prices! They even have a clearance section for all you frugal shoppers. Not that you'll really need it because the watches that the Watchery offers are made to last. They offer a great variety of classic pieces and very trendy pieces from all of your favorite designer brands like Michele, Gucci, Chanel and Bvlgari ! What girl doesn't dream of having a Chanel watch on her lovely wrist? The Bvlgari piece that I've pictures above is one of many Bvlgari jewelry watches the Watchery carries and just happens to be my favorite from the site! It's so clean with a little bit of attitude with such a fantastic shade of green. I love how well the green strap (which is like the hottest shade of green for this summer!) offsets the green mother of pearl in the center. It's discounted down almost 40 percent! What a steal for something you're going to love. As if it couldn't get better The Watchery also offers you a free watch with most purchases and if you don't want one of the free watches they offer you can select from a set of 80 percent specially discounted pieces!

The end

The last bit of the funeral stuff wrapped up today. It was really heart breaking saying good bye. How do you say goodbye to a 12 year old .. as a permenent goodbye? My aunt is being so strong I'm so very proud of her. At the burial today just for family my aunt tried to get matthews favorite hannah montana cd to play but it wouldn't work and all seven of us tried to get it to work! I guess he just really didn't want to hear any hannah montana. It's going to be so weird having no cousins all of a sudden. My grandparents only grandchildren now are my sister and I. My heart is broken for them and my aunt and my entire family. Every fall we all get together and go rent a beach house. I've gotten so acustomed to having Matthew there it's going to be so weird! I remember some of the first years he came when he was born even which houses we stayed in. Anyway, I just wanted to post some of my memories with him:

The last memory I have of Matthew is playing sponge bob monopoly! He beat me at it too! I thought it was awesome he got all of the jokes in the game with the naming of the properties and he loved getting "snail po headquarters".

He was the smartest kid that I have probably ever met. He had a real passion for learning all these crazy facts which must run in the family because i'm the same way. The only difference is that he would remember ever single word, Every fact and he was just amazed by everything and wanted to understand it.

This past fall at the beach house Matthew and my dad had a giant jawbreaker eating competition. He was restless to give up even though only about a quarter of the jawbreaker actually fit into his mouth haha. We played a game of poker and he was beating all of us!

I remember when he was born my sister and I used to FIGHT over who would get to spend time with him because we were young and we don't have any cousins younger than us really and this was our first cousin on the dads side of the family!

My heart goes out to the rest of my family and all the classmates of Matthew Chester.
Thank you so much for making what little time he had here the best that it could be
and i know you did because it showed in his smile.


We always knew that he was sick and that someday this time would come but I always pictured it as a slow decline and that we would know. But I guess that is foolish to think because life doesn't work like that. Spend every minute possible with the people you love because in the end that's all you have and it's all that matters. He died in his sleep very suddenly from complications due to Pulmonary Hypertension. A disorder that effects the heart and lungs.

I'm going to miss you so much, i only wish I would have spent more time with you and not thought that i would always have a long time to get to know you. I love you more than I ever got a chance to express.

Great gift idea

The other day I was looking for good fathers day gifts and trying to figure out something to get my hiking/rafting enthusiast father for the occasion. I came across La police gears 511 Shorts and thought they would be perfect! They have 7 pockets that are extremely durable for all those rocks and knick knacks he likes to collect on his trips! Now these shorts are made for military/government workers like the army or police force but they are such a great steal and you can wear them too, they also have them in kids sizes. What a great idea for all those summer trips! A few select pairs are going for as low as 12.99 right now so better snatch up the great deal for any of your favorite service men or that special father of yours!

They say when it rains it pours

So my week

* Found out I am getting laid off for half of summer and fall.
*Cousin died funeral is tomorrow getting emotionally prepared for that.
*Best friend moved away

I'm so upset about being laid off I just found out.
I guess I should treat it like a mini vacation but i cannot financially afford to just be thrown around
because the retail business is sucking now.. PEOPLE BUY THINGS! I need a job.

So much for the polar bear

Night terrors

If you are dreaming when you die in your sleep what do you dream of?

Miss you

I'm going to miss you so much!
P.s. Happy birthday!

A mess

I promise to start writing regularly again.
Life has just been a mess right now
Today I had a horrible day at work we just kept getting slammed with returns,
I lost ten bucks and spilt coffee on my white shirt.
Got home sat on the couch and my mom and dad walked up and proceeded to tell me
that My 12 year old cousin had just died.
I'm so distraught right now. I thought I was done with deaths and I dont
even know how to handle it.
I feel so just lost.
or numb I'm not sure
We all knew it was coming but it was so sudden..
I always figured that he would just get sick and then it would be a few months.
but my mom saw him about 4 days ago and said he didn't look too well
and then i guess he was just gone.
So when things are better
and more organized i'll have a fuller update.

I feel guilty that I haven't been keeping up with school lately. I already know I failed one of my classes because I missed the final which was really frustrating. I hate online classes. I wish I had a way to actually go to school. I'm getting really sick of walking to work every day too to a job that doesn't make me happy to be there. I think i'm just cranky cause it's nordstrom's half yearly sale and I'm so sick of having bruises on my hands from putting so much clothing away! I've still been seeing evan. It's going okay I guess I actually had a really good date with him the previous night except i got hurt.. of course how embarassing. But he was so cute about it he was so worried. Wednesday was his birthday so I baked him cupcakes today and got him a bunch of 35 mm film for his camera so i get to drop that off tomorrow morning :)

Tour of New York City

While I briefly lived in New Jersey I got to visit New York City a bit!

It was so much fun! My cousin and I met on the train in New Jersey and rode over to

the city. When we got there we immediately got on the subway which was so fun because we have nothing like that over here. First off we went to the Museum of Natural History to explore, I had been to the one in Vancouver Canada before but I loved the one in NYC. After that we took a stroll through central park and saw about 3 different events going on in the middle of the park, it was gorgeous there. By then we were starving and went to eat pastrami sandwiches and pickles at carnigee deli! I have never had a pastrami sandwich that delicious before. After dinner we went to shop in China town where I found fabulous channel knock off earrings and then we headed to little Italy for some gelato! To finish off the night we took another subway ride to Times Square. Wow. It was incredible it was like being in the daytime in the middle of the night because of all the lights. I couldn’t believe all the people that were there. It was insane! I wish I had gone back and done a bit more of the touristy stuff though. I really wanted to go on the sex and the city tour I had heard about where you get to visit locations that they used during the filming of the TV series! At the time I didn’t really know where to find reliable information about the different tours that were offered. But, I just found this site Trusted Tours & Attractions.

It has all the hottest Things to do in New York City with easy maps and information about the tours along with photos! If you aren’t planning on visiting New York any time soon they also have exciting tours in 22 other cities across the United States. Check out things to do in San Fransisco if you're headed to the West Coast. They have the best options for sightseeing tours. Right now if you sign up for Trusted Tours & Attractions newsletter you will be entered for a chance to win a free $150 dollar itunes gift card!

Happiness

“the word 'happiness' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.”
-jung

Just thought I would share this quote I found today.
Been having a tough time lately
and it made me smile :)

Beep Beep!

Advantage makes renting a car feel like a breeze! That breeze you'll feel when cruising around this summer with the windows down with Advantages fair prices, some as low as $19.99 a day! Head to the beach or up to the mountains for a day of hiking with the friends. Advantage makes it affordable for you to have a car when you want without worrying about all those tune-ups and tire rotations! Their website makes it convenient, you just choose when you need a car what type of vehicle and then pick your drop off date and you're ready to head out for a summer of fun! They even have it set up so you can cancel/view/or change a reservation right from their homepage! Right now if you rent a car and leave feedback you'll earn a free day. How cool is that? What would you spend your free day with a rental car doing? Head on over to take advantage of advantage's great discounts they are offering right now.

My body is a cage

I have to admit that I feel guilty for having been slightly neglectful of my blog. Sometimes the real world just.. gets in the way ha. Work has been picking up which is a very nice change. We moved up our half yearly sale to May 21st which I'm hoping will help but I don't know how we'll do going up against stores like Macy's. Everyone usually expects it in the summer.
Evan and I have seen each other a couple more times but I feel that he's too handsy and just would prefer a modern day "fuck buddy" pardon my language. It's kind of disappointing but oh well. I was talking to my friend Carly about everything and she told me about this guy Christian Carter who's like a dating guru. I started listening and reading his stuff and it actually makes sense. Carly and I were discussing it and it's helped her relationship a lot and just with guys in general. You should check it out.
Here's how to catch and keep great men, all in plain, "real", easy to understand language.
that's the website you can learn about it at.
I've actually been enjoying reading it piece by piece so we'll see how it actually works. I've been trying a couple of the things.
Other than that things are okay.
I'm back home. My roommate turned out to be a crazy alcoholic. It was just a very bad situation.
I'm moving next month though. Kind of looking forward to that but I hate that there's so much time in between.. just enough time I'll have to un pack some stuff to use it but not enough time to actually put everything away just to get it out again so soon.
My throat has been feeling better today. I"m kind of upset with myself that I've been neglecting school so much. I can't afford not to pass a class or else I lose financial aid.. which is the only thing keeping me in school right now! Must go write some papers!
On another note. I've been feeling a lot more like myself recently. It's really relieving. I've started painting again which was drastically over due. I forgot how much I miss it though and actually started listening to acceptable music... for a while there i just stopped caring! Kind of scary to think about the stuff I subjected myself to!
Ahhh so go check out the Arcade Fire.

That's them in an elevator. Pretty creative i like the ripping paper.
Oh well It feels good to be myself again even though it's not complete. I'm missing my friends since they've all spread out to Eugene and Portland. One of my good friends Jeff's lease is up this month and He's moving to Portland too which I mean I kind of feel stranded here. It's so hard to make new friends when you don't really go to school at the school. I miss last summer a lot, lots of random road trips and it was just the most fun.. i'm kind of weary about this summer.

Transform Your Home

Renuzit Tri-Scents uses a combination of three fresh scents in an easy to use plug in oil warmer to fill your house with a clean scent all day! Renuzit offers two deliciously springy scents Morning Meadow and Seaside Breezes. The three scents create a nice blend of a very welcoming atmosphere in your home for you and guests. Right now at Renuzit they are finishing up a contest for one lucky winner to win a 20,000 dollar home make over with Tanya Memme! Yeah that's right! The host of A&E's Sell This House!


















You have to go to the website to check out the semi-finalist gallery and vote for your favorite, who do you think deserves a 20,000 dollar home makeover with Tanya Memme? The website also offers some of Tanya's fantastic home transforming tips for your own place!
I am totally voting for the video with the little girls’ poem! I believe it's the second to last. So cute. Heaven knows with three triplets in a house that needs repair is dangerous enough but think of all the smells! Help this fantastic family out in getting the home makeover of their dreams by voting for them! Whichever family gets the most votes until June 8th 2008 will win! Voters can place their vote once a day until the deadline! Pick your favorite family then click on their little bubble to vote for them; the videos are hilarious and very creative! Renuzit is even offering a printable coupon no the site so you can try your own Renuzit Tri-scent and transform your own home! Go and vote and pick up some tips for yourself as well as a coupon!

Strep throat

Ugh So i have strep throat. I get it way too often along with tonsillitis. It's so sad that it feels normal for me to have it. I really should have my tonsils taken out but they want waaay too much money for about a 15 minute procedure. The sad part is that I probably spend more on anual doctors visits for the problem than the actual surgery. It's given me some home time again tho and i've started painting again. I can't believe how much I missed it.

Bright Feet Slippers Giveaway!

Do you ever stumble around your house in the middle of the night bumping into objects trying to reach the light switch? Well Save some bumps and bruises with Bright Feet Slippers! These ingenious slippers have an LED flashlight built into each toe! A sensor in the slipper alerts the light to turn on only when it's dark and there is pressure in the slipper so you can save battery power. Now you can get up and make it to the fridge for that midnight snack without turning on the lights and waking everyone else up! Not only are these slippers convenient but they are so cozy and come in different colors for boys and girls. They are great for locating emergency items like candles and first aid kits in a blackout or wear them for those late night errands! For me I would wear them all the time to take the trash out at night! How great would these be as a Mothers day gift, It's only a couple weeks away! It's a great gift for that new high school graduate to light their way down the dorm hall. Right now if you order two or more pairs of Bright Feet Slippers you get free shipping to anywhere in the US. These not so ordinary slippers have even been featured on QVC, NBC's Today show, The View and in Better Homes and Gardens as well as Real Simple magazine (my absolute favorite magazine!) They were most recently featured in a brand new book called "Gadget Nation" which just came out in bookstores last week!

Boston Ideas LLC. has given me the chance to let 2 lucky readers win their own pair of Bright Feet Slippers

How to Enter:
Visit Bright Feet Slippers website and and answer these simple questions!
1. Who is the Inventor of Bright Feet Slippers?
2. What is something you frequently bump into at night?
3. What color is your favorite pair?
Please leave your E-mail so that I can contact the winner! Blog about this giveaway for an extra entry, just leave me a comment letting me know you blogged about it!

Winners will be picked Sunday May 4th at 11:59 pm and contacted by Email. If A winner hasn't responded in 3 days a new winner will be picked.
Good luck!


Don't forget to pick up a pair for mothers day and a pair for you and receive free shipping!

Bed and Chocolate

Ugh I have the worst cramps. This only happens like a couple times a year. I feel icky. I'm in a chocolate coma and preparing mentally and physically for rewards night at Nordstrom on Friday. I work a split shift and have to shop with people till 11 pm.

retraction

I wronged. I upset. And I'm genuinely sorry my biggest foe is speaking and for me typing before I think.

Police Gear

Ever wonder where to get the best Military and police gear for the best price?
Look no further than LApolicegear.com they have the best uniforms, great prices and pictures so you can fully view the product. You have to check out the BDU pants they are my favorite! They look so comfortable but not only that they are the backbone basic pant of our military service men and women. They're great for all you outdoor enthusiasts too, with lots of colors to choose from like basic khaki or blue all the way to camo!

100th post giveaway!

Yeah! 100TH post! Thanks everyone for reading! So as a thank you to all your readers I'm having 3 solid weeks of giveaways! This weeks giveaway is for a brand spankin' new copy of SIMs 2 family fun stuff! Requires the Sims 2 though. I am a huge Sims 2 addict! Create your kids dreams bedrooms and jump on the beds with them as well as dress your families in all matching outfits for kids and adults a like!

Prize: EA games PC version The sims 2 family fun stuff. Rated T for teen. (windows)
To enter:
Write a post about my giveaway! That's it! Comment with a link to your post. Please please Leave your email so that I am able to contact the winner.
Winner will be chosen Wednesday April 23 and contacted.

Earth Day

Today is earth day and what do I find when I get up??! A giant catalog that nordstrom has so kindly printed and sent to eery employee that we get about ever other month that's full of fashion trends (as if we don't see them in the store) and about outstanding employees and stores and our benefits.... yes every other month and it happened to come on earth day.

Update

Things have been really busy around here between moving and school and work, not to mention that work has been painfully awful recently. All the employees have been brainwashed to not use the words "it's slow" but we are no supposed to use the phrase "we have less than desirable traffic!" They expect everyone to still be making their sales goals etc but they can't provide us with traffic. With the state of the economy people are afraid to shop. I used to be able to sell around 170 dollars and hour on average but now I am around 60 dollars an hour on average. It really hurts financially to me too. I'm thinking I may need to be looking at new jobs but i don't want to abandoned this job! But financially it's not the best decision. I found out this summer I am going to Huston. That should be fun, not that I ever really wanted to go to Huston but at least it's something to go do. We are going in August. I'll either come back tan or VERY VERY red considering I'm so fair; I don't' think I've had a tan since I was about 6! Tanning beds scare me too, plus I always feel like the girls and occasional men that work at the tanning places are really really RUDE it's like walking on to the set of The Hills too! Lots of drama and just about ever inch of them is fake. Yesterday I went to Alf's with a co-worker it's this hole in the wall 50's diner in the middle of nowhere McMiniville. It was a lot of fun. At the restaurant they have a separate area where it's a huge playroom and the owner brings her pet monkey there for the day, his name is Elvis. It's just a very comfortable place because most people that eat there have been going there since they were little. Whenever you try to recruit new people to go they freak out when you tell them there is a monkey there and think it's so unsanitary etc. ha! Yumm and they make their own ice cream there!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Name a color you find soothing.
Anything colored any shade of green!

Soup

Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.
Very young, out in the country sitting on parents laps!
Salad

What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?
Cotton and Spandex

Main Course

Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?
Kings of Convenience.. they never ever come here.

Dessert

What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?
That would be.. The letter R there are 4 in my whole name

Money for blogging!

Doesn’t everyone want to earn money while utilizing their passion for blogging? Now you can with PayPerPost! My friend Kristin told me about this great site where you can get paid to blog ! At first I thought it was too good to be true but then I went ahead and signed up for myself and I’m already earning money in only a couple days. You just submit your blog and when it’s approved you add a tiny one line code to your blog then it’s all up to you! You choose the opportunities that you want to do! Then you make your post, all while learning about awesome new products and services! You could easily make 20 dollars for your very first post! Kristin and I have since bonded over our passion for blogging and using PayPerPost! They have so many opportunities for you it really keeps in interesting every time! I can’t wait to make my fist 100 to go towards my new bed! Or maybe I should splurge on something! I’ve had my eye on a Wii! I’m so glad I decided to try PayPerPost for myself. I can’t believe how many opportunities I’ve already missed out on. If you love blogging too and want some extra income for the summer I really recommend PayPerPost. You’ll never find an easier way. You can even donate the money you earn to charities! What's not to love about that?

Meet My New Roommate!

This is Jessica and I! My new roommate. We have been friends for 20 years. Our parents met in Lamaze class, so we were born 2 weeks apart and have been friends since. Our apartment is in downtown salem, it's so cute and we can paint! It's in a little 4 plex so it's quite and i have a huge window.. which to me is really exciting coming from living in a basement with a window the size of a cereal box with views of dirt and peoples feet! Oh yeah, And it's 2 bed room 2 bathroom! TIs' funny that we've been friends for so long because we are complete opposites! Our friends would most likely not get a long and we have complete different interests, tastes in movies, and music but somehow it works for us.

Can't sleep

I've watched fatal attraction, Gotten into bed, read a little, drank some water and I still can't sleep. I'm not feeling to well either; I think I'm getting a cold. I"m freezing cold as well and my computer is right next to the heater so I decided to get on since I had to get up to defrost my body anyway. I'm just browsing away through stuff that I can use for work and I'm going to post my 5 favorite trends for spring and summer. But please don't be super trendy.. make them your own.

1. Art Class wear
2. High Waisted trousers
3. Double wrap belt
4. The Perfect Summer Dress
5. White