Endorphins Needed ASAP!

So, what do you do when you are at the end of your rope and realize that you need to stop looking at every last detail of certain individuals' lives via the Internet (specifically facebook) - details that constantly haunt you - because it is depressing the hell out of you?

That's right. You join a gym.

More advantages?

So, in addition to being able to eat peanut butter M&Ms for lunch, another "advantage" of being an adult is staying out until 1 am on a weekday, right?

Yeah, tell that to my mushy brain this morning. Oi!

Road Trip 2008

A month ago, my sisters and I traveled to Florida to visit with our cousins, our aunt and our grandparents. We decided it was then or never, because with both Steph and Barb pregnant we imagine traveling five+ hours in a car is soon going to be an impossibility. And we had the best time.

And since this blog hasn't had a ridiculous photo post, the time was right. And you'll notice that it features the newest addition to our family, Taylor. She is my cousin Alisia's little girl. And I do mean little.


Before Steak 'n Shake.


After Steak 'n Shake.

Introducing Taylor:








With Steph's pregnant belly in view.










Ahhhhhhh!










This was an extremely rare sight. She is a very happy baby.












My nana with Taylor.


Proving that I am not the only person who takes photos in the family.




My Aunt Gail.


Barb, Arin (my cousin and Alisia's sister) and Steph.


The cousins. And we didn't plan the outfits.


Who's the dumbass on the left?




My dad practicing for the arrival of his granddaughter and his grand(soon-to-be-known gender).








The old married ladies.


The hip, young single ones. Notice us flashing our non-ringed left hands.


A family tradition that can also be seen here and here. Notice that Alisia (on the far left) had a baby four months ago (when the photo was taken) and weighs less than she did pre-pregnancy.








My sisters, my best friends. *sniffle*

¿Que es un swinger?

I love teaching at English School. I am so proud of my students, all of them adults who are trying their hardest to learn English and assimilate into our culture.

And they are getting so many helpful word suggestions from the real world. Especially from their American co-workers. And many times my students will ask me what a word means because they just can't find it in their dictionary. Like last night. When one of my students came up to me and asked, ¿Que es un swinger?

Yeah, that means exactly what you think it means.

And you can guess how fun that was to explain. In Spanish.

96 may now be my favorite number

So, when I made my The 108 in 2008 list, the most important thing for me - for my own peace of mind - was to get rid of all my school debt, number 96 on the list. I never had debt in my life until I went for my Master's degree, and well, I have debt no more!


Yep, that is $17,663.04 that I will never have to worry about again!

I paid it off last week and received confirmation on Friday that the payment went through. You can't see it but I am doing a little dance in my seat right now.

And while this was a load off my mind, it was also a load off my bank account. Anyone want to buy me lunch to celebrate?

Stuff White People Like

I hope most of you get the humor of this website: Stuff White People Like, because it has made me laugh oh-so-much. (Thanks to Kristy for linking up on her blog.)



I know I have definitely coveted most of these things! So, how white are you?

It's official

I have stressed myself crazy.

The following is from my loving sister, Steph.

I am not sure exactly how this works but it is amazingly accurate. The picture below has two identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at the Mayo Clinic and later at Fletcher Medical Center in Burlington.

Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress will find many differences between the two dolphins.

The more differences a person finds, the more stress that person is likely experiencing.

Look at the photograph and if you find more than one or two differences; you just may need to take a vacation.



Happy Hump Day.

Advantage?

So, one of the advantages - or one could say disadvantages - of being an adult is having sole discretion of one's meals. Yeah. I had peanut butter M&Ms for lunch. Happy Monday!

Fail Dogs

Photo ripped from Fail Dogs site.

So, Kole shared this great new website with me - Fail Dogs (www.faildogs.com) - and I wanted to spread the love. Also, a little end of the week humor is always nice.


Photo ripped from Fail Dogs site.

Please visit Fail Dogs site for more. And the link can also be found on my Favorite Sites list in the left-hand column of this blog.

Tea-for-one

I have this absolute love of tea sets. And while I have a full tea set that I bought at the Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory a few years ago (back when we were allowed two full, carry-on pieces of luggage) I have also always wanted a tea-for-one set.

When I moved back from England, I brought my sister, Steph, back this beautiful tea-for-one for her birthday. It is beautiful. And I am so mad at myself for not squeezing another set into my carry-on luggage, though at the time the thought of placing one more item in my luggage, and a breakable piece at that, was laughable.

So, how was this situation remedied? From one very thoughtful friend, Kole, remembering how much I wanted a set and surprising me with it on my birthday.

Behold, my new tea-for-one.


Photo ripped from Costplus World Market website.

Isn't it lovely?