Let's Go

No really, let's go.

My bag is packed.

I have my ticket.

I just need to get through this work day and to the airport on time.

I have been so blessed to see almost all of my favorite people these past two weeks.

Now to end what was probably the worst year to date on a (hopefully) high note!

Grocery Shopping

Pretty sure Mom had a blast taking Marshall and me to Walmart and United with her.

We started the trip by me giving Marshall a piggy back ride to the car. He's about 6 inches taller than me, so it looked pretty ridiculous.

At Walmart we basically danced our way through the aisles. Mom just acted like she didn't notice.

While Marshall returned the cart I started to move the car to a closer spot for Mom (she was still in the store), so I had Marshall hop in while I was slow rolling at about 5mph.

When leaving United I went around to get in the front seat but Marshall decided to call shotgun and shove me out of the way. I tried to hold my ground and our scuffle ended up setting off the car alarm. Mom couldn't stop laughing long enough to let us in. Thanks mom.

When we weren't dancing and acting a fool I was constantly looping arms with him and hugging him. I think I'm driving him crazy, but there's nothing he can do about it. :)

A Love Like Allie & Noah

Is what I have with Donut Stop.

Extreme? Maybe. A little OTT? Ummm, have you met me? Then you shouldn't be surprised.

No, I don't literally write DS love letters, because that would be crazy. But I do miss it. Shipley's just doesn't compare. Part of that whole situation is the fact that no matter how early I go I can never get a fresh cherry donut. WTF Shipley's? Plus the flavor is a little off.

Whatever. The last three times I came home this year I wasn't able to schedule a donut date. But with the Christmas break, the time has finally come!
I had a wonderful reunion dinner with a few of my bests: Ashley, Kayla, & Kara. Followed by a sleepover at Kara's. Then a late morning donut date. Late because she sleeps forever. FOREVER!


Oh how I've missed you.

I told Kara that my trip to DS was like two lovers reuniting after being apart for a year, so it was likely to get NC17 up in there, so she should probably avert her eyes. Luckily Kara's been a BFF since HS so she doesn't judge when I say crazy things.

Also, how can she judge when having me take pictures like this:

And Can someone please explain to me why I look almost identical to my 16yr old dl picture?


**side note: went to the Sunray grocery store with Mom and she introduced me to someone she knew. The lady asked me if I was 17. Flattered, but no, I'm 25. Hopefully I'll look young forever!

She also recorded me singing my cherry donut a love song. Can you blame me? Look at those beauties.
It was A Thousand Years by Christina Perri with just a few alterations to the lyrics. The video is on fb, but I can't get it to save so I can post it here. But you are seriously missing out.

We also had some delicious donut holes. This are like little circles of heaven.

I can't wait for my next Donut Stop date with the girls later this week!

I Love Blizzards!

This kind:

Not that kind:

I only got one kind of blizzard this week, and unfortunately it wasn't from DQ.

Obviously it doesn't look too crazy And I really don't think it was. But it was crazy enough for my Dad to be called out to work (no, not to fix roofs), the highways to close, and us to be stuck in Sunray.

Stuck in Sunray isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just that I've been in town since Friday and I haven't gotten to see my grandparents or Dad yet.

Dad said it was still too icy for me to hit the highways today, but Marsh and I plan to head to Dalhart around lunch tomorrow. If it's still too icy, then I'll throw him on my back Edward style and make a dash for it.

Yeah, I might be able to get about a block like that so I guess we'll have to take turns.

"I've Got Skills"

Not me. Please, that would be a lie.

That's what Dad would always say when Andrew and I would play basketball with him when we were little.
Pretty sure Dad always won. Always.

One of my fave memories that Andrew and I used to tease Dad about is when Dad was doing some fancy dribbling saying "I've got skills" and then he tripped.

For the last few years (probably more than a few, but I can't remember) Dad hosts a basketball night every wednesday and anyone can come play as long as they pay a dollar. He had invited me before, but I always passed because I don't have basketball coordination.

This holiday break I decided would be a good time to finally go, and I thought Marshall would have fun.

We were there for three hours and I only got to play one game. You have to shoot to make the team, and I couldn't make the 3 pointer my first 3 rounds of trying.

Being Larry's daughter did get me offers to join the team, but I didn't feel right about not earning it. Well, I finally earned my spot after the fourth game was over. During my game I managed to get the ball 3 times, panick all three times, get an elbow to the face, and have a 7th grade steal the ball from me. Yeah, still not cut out for the game.

After everyone left I played 21 with Dad and beat him. Probably for the first time ever.

Then Marsh wanted to play 1-on-1. It got a little rough. He basically connected his elbow with every part of my body: nose, chest, ribs, etc. Yeah, he beat me...literally. Maybe he was taking out his agression since I pointed out our matching outfits of black shorts and white v-neck tee's. We were so adorbs. :)

Waking Up A Teenager

is impossible!

It would probably be easier to raise someone from the dead than to wake up Marshall.

Last time I was here and was given the responsibility of waking him up he reassured me that it's not that difficult and that he'll get up at the set time. Yeah, that totes didn't happen!

I gave it another go this Sunday so we could go to church.

I tried the usual, shaking him, talking non stop, shoving his body into the bed so it kinda bounced him. I even ran and jumped on the side of the bed because Marsh moved closer to the wall because he thought I couldn't reach him then???

I then asked him if he wanted me to put ice on him. He wasn't too keen on that idea. What? I was just trying to be nice in case he liked that.

My final attempt was to plug in my ipod and sing to him until Earthquake came on. At that point I decided to have a 1 person flash mob. Wait, that's not really a flash mom due to the lack of mob right? But it was kinda flash since it wasn't planned and I dispersed when it was over.

Anyway, I was dancing in his room for a good 2min before he rolled over and looked at me like I was crazy. My response? "What, I'm just flash mobbing."

That did the trick. He ended up taking over the ipod and showed me which song he uses to wake up.

And with that, I cracked the code and will hopefully be more successful next time.

The Night Was Lit

11/11/11 - Energizer Light the Night 11k.

Kari, R, and I ran this together. Well, not together together since they are a tad faster than I am...but we rode together.

The race was pretty cool since it was at night and we all had these goofy head lights we are to wear. I accidentally had mine on upside down, whatever.

This was one of the first cold nights in Houston, so we decided to switch into our race shirts since they had long sleeves. We went to line up so we could do the warm up lead by the Energizer Bunny, but he didn't come out, so R started warming up even though we had about 45min until the start. He wanted his heart rate to already be at workout level when he started. I'm not sure if that was a good idea, but he was all about it.

When it was about 10min to race time Kari and I started warming up. Everyone was pretty spread out, so I started warming up my hips with some leg swings. When I took my leg back for the 5th one, i kicked a kid. Yeah, I'm the worst person in the world. I wasn't looking behind me because there had been space and I was doing then one after another, so I don't know why her mom walked her into my foot. I apologized and she looked scared to death.

Kari and Me before the race.

The Start time came and went without us starting. I was starting to get a little irritated because I was ready to get this over with! My legs had been giving me trouble, so the faster I got going, the faster I got going home! 15min after it was supposed to start they brought out the Energizer Bunny to lead a warm up. I yelled "Are you serious right now?" really loud and everyone around me turned and stared. That was kinda awkward, but seriously? It's not my fault that people didn't show up to the 4 other packet pickup times so they are holding us down now!

Anyway, once we got started I was able to get my endorphins flowing and I relaxed. It was cool to see all of the lights on peoples heads, and the bunny ears too. I didn't like that the course was two loops, and the same course we had ran our Monster Mash 15k on (three loops. kill me.). But I would def do it again.

It ended up being a pretty good run with my time being 1:01:04.

Toast Masters: The Jes Way

As previously mentioned, I joined because my manager thought it would be good for all of us.

I'm not really into making up fake speeches to practice for fun. I already did that, it's called college.

Anyway...My plan is to basically be a member forever with giving minimal speeches. I will do this by always volunteering for tasks each week and participating in table topics (when they don't ask lame questions about politics) so they feel like I'm giving speeches since they always see me in the front.

Good plan, right?

Oh, you don't think so. Well, it's working pretty good so far!

The first time I volunteered to be an evaluator we had a lot of no shows, so I was the only one. I won "Best Evaluator" by default. When they announced the awards, I did my best Taylor Swift shock face, then  accepted by saying something cheesy that I already forgot.

Source

This week I was the evaluator again, and had some competition. This time we voted and I won "Best" again. When it was announced, I promptly raised the roof, accepted with a handshake and a thank you to the group, then when I got back to my seat I dropped it on the table with a "boom." When Stacy and I left Toast Masters I told her that I probably looked like a sore winner. Oops. I'm really not, I just do that stuff for mine and Stacy's amusement. I probably won't win again.

I'll Be Seeing You

I dreamt about Andrew for the first time since he died.

I knew this would happen eventually and was scared because my dreams are vivid and usually feel real.

I was in the living room and I just knew he was there. He had some kid with him that he was trying to help with something. I kept hugging him and touching him every time he passed by and he kept looking at me like I was weird. In the dream I knew that he was going to die and that I couldn't change it or tell anyone, so I kept trying to figure out the date so I would know how much time I had left with him. I couldn't find it on my phone, I couldn't find a paper, and no one would tell me. So I just tried to stay calm and kept hugging him every chance I got.

This was my last dream of the night and it was still happening when my alarm went off, so I kept snoozing it for about an hour so I would have more time with Andrew. It really sucked when I finally woke up to realize that it had already happened and that I won't see him on earth again.

Andrew, Dad, Me. The last time I saw Andrew. March 2011.

Sometimes I forget it happened and I catch myself thinking about what to get him for his birthday next week and for Christmas and how fun it will be to have the whole family together at Christmas just like last year...only to realize the truth. He's gone, and he's not coming back. He has left this emptiness, this hole, inside of me that I think will always be there. When it gets too hard, I just try to think about how I don't have to worry about him anymore. I don't have to dread getting the call, because I already got it.

Cuteness of Christmas Past

OMG! Best present ever!

Because I effing love sheets!

Toast Masters - So You Can Be A Successful Wedding Crasher

Or according to Stacy that's why she wanted to join.

Source

Our boss suggested that we all join toastmasters as part of our career development. Errr....great! So Stacy, Marg, and I got ourselves to a meeting stat.

I'm going to be honest, as always, I was very skeptical when we showed up the first time. There were a handful of members: mostly men, and Dad age (by that I mean that were as old, or older, than my dad). It was kind of like nerd club. Whatevs. If you know me, you know I'll make the best of it. Everyone takes it so seriously that I can barely stand it! At the end each of the visitors had to share their thoughts and feelings on the meeting and club so far. Naturally, when it came to be my turn I was serious with a side of cheese ball. I said something about how I enjoyed the structure and the varied speech topics and even managed to work in the word of the day. I can't remember what it was, but it was a word that is already part of my vocabulary. P.S. What's up with that? When you have a word of the day that you are encouraged to use when you speak at the meeting, shouldn't it be challenging? I thought that maybe it was an off week and didn't hold it against them too much.

At our second meeting the Governor of Texas Toastmasters was there. (Seriously, they have a Governor? I know, I thought the same thing. He acted so official as if was literally the Governor of something more important.) When we were doing introductions a visitor announced that he would be joining that day. Totally stole my thunder because I was going to make my announcement at the end. So instead I worked it into my introduction that if things go well, then I might be interested in joining as well. I can't have them thinking they already have me on lock!

At the end when we have to go around and let the visitors give feedback I announced that "I would love to see this group exclusively* (clap, clap - yes, that was the word of the day) and am ready to join today." The members seemed pleased, not only is membership growing, but I had totally got on board with WOD. Yay! Right? WRONG! The governor pretty much slapped me in the face when he interjected that (in official governor voice) "Actually, we must vote in order for new members to join." Seriously? Yes, seriously. Do I really mind a vote? No. What I did mind is that when the guy in the beginning said he was joining the governor remained silent. Is this because he is a guy in his mid to late 30's? Is this because he could tell he too took this club wayyyy too seriously? Is this age discrimination because I'm in my mid 20s, super cute, cracked a few jokes, and was cheesy with my WOD usage? I think so. Whatevs. I got "yay-ed" in anyway. Suck on that, goves!

*Seriously? Exclusively is the WOD? Can you give me a freaking challenge here? Teach me how to duggie, don't teach me how to two step! (You already know that I took over WOD just like Hitler took over Russia)

Stacy & Margie decided to copy me join that day too. The chapter president told us that the treasurer would contact us that week about signing paperwork and paying dues.....except then he didn't! I seriously was beginning to think that they took another vote after we left and "nay-ed" us out! Paranoia def set in. Maybe it was my cheese ballness, maybe it was Stacy giving a 5 second response during table topics (you are supposed to talk for at least 1.5 min, but she apparently didn't listen to the instructions, oh my dear, sweet, Stacy.)

I will end the suspense now: they brought forms for us to fill out at the next meeting. Honestly, I think they might regret letting us join now...after watching me cheese ball it up a smidge, Stacy's hilarious answers, and both of us bringing the humor. They had no idea what they were in for! I understand it's serious and shiz, but they really need to lighten up, and we are helping them do just that!

Andrew

Every time you think "things couldn't get worse," they do. I usually say that when I'm being dramatic but usually follow it up with, "Well, I guess this or that could happen to make it worse, but this still sucks."

Andrew, Dad, Me

Well this sucks. Death. Losing a loved one unexpectedly. Sucks. Yes, it could be worse, I could be without  all of my siblings, parents, and grandparents. But still, this sucks.

Andrew & Marshall

I sit here listening to mom crying in the other room as she goes through your things we picked up today. She has been so strong through all of this, as I expected she would be. I have only seen her come to the verge of tears a few times today, but I guess she decides to let it all loose when she can be in private away from my baby brother (he's not really a baby anymore since he's 16, but still).

Andrew & Mom

I find situations like these awkward. How do you tell someone that your brother died without making them feel awkward too. And then it gets really awkward when they start crying and you are just standing there not because you just feel numb.

Marshall & Andrew

After years of watching you struggle, watching the family struggle because of it, I'm glad that you are finally at peace. I do wish the outcome would have been different, but it's nothing we can change now. I feel like I missed out on so much since I was away at college and then moved to Houston. But I do still have many found memories that I cling to...in a healthy way.

Andrew

It had been months since we emailed, but in the last one you sent you had told me how good you were doing and how you finally had your head on straight. You told me how much you liked spending time with the family again and how you would never go back to the way things were. I was so excited for you. Excited that the "lost years" were over. Excited that I would get to see you when I went home to visit and that I would be able to get to know you again. I wish that you would have clung to those words and feelings so you would still be with us now.

Andrew's 1st skateboard

I remember when you broke your back and had to wear the back brace that made it impossible for you to straighten your hair (I still can't believe you used to do that). I was home for the weekend and jumped at the opportunity to help you because I had always wondered what it would be like to have a sister, and doing hair is something that sisters would totally do. As I straightened to your level of perfection the Lipgloss song came on. You cracked me up when you knew all the words and were trying to dance with your head.

When we were kids we used to share a bed at grandma's house. Since I'm 4.5 years older I was on the up and up with the Santa Clause business, but I didn't want to spoil it for you so I would play along. You would come up with these plans to stay up late and catch him. I think you even tried to use your talkboy to record him. It never worked, but we would end up waking up wayyyy before everyone else and sneak down to peek into the stockings. One time you accidentally knocked yours over and a toy inside went off really loud so we ran back up stairs to act like we were sleeping so we wouldn't get in trouble. You would also write long letters to Santa asking all kinds of questions and expecting a response, which he always left. I remember the year you made reindeer food at school and you were so excited to put it in grandma's yard to make sure they would want to stop.

Playing basketball with Dad on the weekends when we were little. We would always make fun of him for the time that he was showing off by dribbling in a circle really fast saying "can you do this? can you do this?" and then he tripped.

Playing at Grandma's house. The ten-Lizzie's, 3 wheeled bike with the basket, dressing up, the money wars with Justin and Joanna (Joanna found the stash the day of your funeral, so I think we won).

Marshall & Andrew

I remember your birthday when you were 4 or 5 and almost everything you got was about Barney, and you got that Tracker (I think that's what it was called). We would spend hours ridding up and down the block with that thing.

Marshall, Jessica, Andrew, Mom

At Mom's wedding when you were getting emotional you decided to make Marsh laugh so you would laugh and y'all were busting up during the whole ceremony. I was giving you the stink eye, but luckily mom didn't mind because she was so happy to see her boys happy.

Mom, Me, Andrew, Marshall - Mom's Wedding

I loved watching you play soccer. Mom always forced me to go because as a teenager I would much rather be with my friends all the time, but once we got there it was so much fun to watch you play on your indoor team. You were so talented. I was always a little jealous about how easy athletics came to you since I'm anything but coordinated.

One time we were playing I accidentally hurt you. You wouldn't stop crying and I didn't want to get in trouble, so I stuffed a sock in your mouth and started doing things to make you laugh. Yeah, that was a little messed up, but it worked. We laughed about it a lot later.

Andrew, Timmy, Me - In March

The last time I saw you, in March, you drove us to Dad's house. You were so excited to show me your new car. I was excited to see it, but very nervous to have to drive me. We had such a good time talking about music, life in Houston, and visiting with Dad.

Your funeral was beautiful. It was insane to see how many people came, how many friends you had, how many lives you touched. I wonder if you even realize how much you meant to everyone. I'm jealous that I didn't get to know you the way they did when they say how much of an impact you made on them.

I miss you so much. I'm sad that I didn't get to see the person you would become once you beat it, because I was so sure that you would. I'm sad for the memories that we no longer get to make, such as the Houston trip we had discussed after your 21st birthday this December. I'm sad that the people that were with you didn't call for help before abandoning you, as if we wouldn't find out that you weren't alone after all. I hope that this tragedy will have a positive impact on the choices that Marshall will make growing up because I can't lose him too. I thank God for the time that we did have together, that you are no longer in pain, that I still have Marshall and the rest of the family. You will always be in my heart and thoughts, and I look forward to being with you again someday.

Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies, whatever you want to call it

This stuff is addictive!

I literally made it three weeks in a row.

And it's so easy! It took about 5 min. This probably contributed to me making it three weeks in a row...

Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies


9 cups any Chex cereal (except wheat)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 Peanut Butter
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)
1 large brown paper bag

1. Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a bowl and microwave in 1 minute intervals (stirring in between) until melted.
2. Put cereal into brown paper bag and pour melted mix over. Close bag (fold a few times, obvs), and shake until cereal is coated.
3. Pour powdered sugar into the bag, close the bag, and shake until coated. Add extra powdered sugar if needed.
4. Let cool, and enjoy!

ugh

Last weekend I helped Daniel move out of his apartment. The place that was also my home until I had to moved out about 6 months ago.

It felt weird. I cried a bit.

Even though we've been broken up for a while and we are friendsish, sometimes I'm still caught off guard by it.

It was sad to see the apt practically empty. I can still remember when we first looked at it, signed the lease, and moved in. Everything was so different then. Hopeful. Optimistic.

I don't recall crying when I moved out. Maybe it's because I had 3 months of living with Cole and Brittany to adjust to the idea. I don't know.

It's sad saying goodbye to the only place in Houston that has ever felt like home.

Dear Houston Taxi Drivers,

I kinda hate you.

Tonight we had a good driver...or so we thought. He took us straight home, didn't get lost, such a good time. Until I whipped out my check card to pay. He kinda freaked out and gave B and me attitude about how we were wasting his time paying with a card because this is the time when the clubs are closing and people are wanting a ride. Uh, it's effing 1:20. The bars don't close until 2. I think you'll be fine taking a few min. to run my card. Unless you want this to be a free ride, shut the eff up and process my card.

He then proceeded to tell us that if we got mugged we would get the crap beat out of us since we didn't have cash. Seriously? At this point I looked at B and asked if she thought he was going to attempt to rob us next. WTF?

When B got out she slammed the door while I waited for the receipt. He looked at me and asked why she would do that. I told him it's because she's really strong and forgets. What I wanted to say was you are being a DB so you are really lucky she didn't just yell at you for the way you are treating us. It's not like we are trying to pay with monopoly money or anything! geez!

Then he went on about how he could call the cops on us...blah, blah, blah. Really? Because she slammed your door? I don't feel that they are going to do anything, especially since you are kind of harassing us.

It's times like this when I really appreciate NY cab drivers. They never gave B and me any trouble. Houston needs to get it together!

nuts & bolts

During girls night out with Laffy Taffy and B something strange happened.

We were taking shots and I felt something in mine. I figured it was a piece of ice that slipped through the shaker. It wasn't. It was a screw. Not one, but two. Two screws in my shot. At first I tried to rationalize it and think that maybe it was a new weird thing they started doing, but that obviously didn't make any sense. Why do they even have screws at the bar? B & LT's shots had what looked like a green bean in it. WTF Wonderbar?

B took it to the bartender and he looked at us as if I had slipped screws into the shot myself. Why would I do that? Maybe he watched the movie Heart Breakers where the con-duo broke glass and put it in their meals to get it free. I don't know. But that's just crazy.

He gave us a free round of shots to remedy the situation and to double as a tetanus shot.

I guess you could say I got screwed at the bar. I hate when that happens.

Rule #1: Clothing Optional

B and I have officially reached the point of being half dressed around the apartment without it being weird...as long as Sean isn't here. That would just be awkward.

Today I was too lazy to get dressed so I was chilling in the living room in a t-shirt sans pants.

When B went into her bedroom to change so did I because I needed to get my grocery shopping done.

She came out sans pants to look at the full length mirror I just bought and said, "Oh, you put your pants on?"

I told her I didn't realize we were having a no pants party. And we both just laughed (which is the usual around BJ House) at the lack of pants that was happening around the apartment.

I just love how she asked that question as if it was crazy for me to get dressed. I love you B!

We need to talk...

I hate hearing that phrase. I always expect something terrible to come after.

"I have to tell you something."

That's another one.

Yes, the way these phrases are said does make a difference, but when someone comes at you with those words and a serious tone RUN! Nothing good ever follows. Ever.

Unless you live with B because she likes to use those phrases for shits and giggles.

But if you get the "Oh my gawd girl, you'll never believe..." then you know it's most likely not something that's going to make you cry. Yay!

Recession Proof

From B: (412): I don't think of it as I'm taking a pole dancing class...it's more like I'm making myself recession proof.

We'll said. I always called it my backup plan, but I like the way recession proof sounds.

The road to stripperville is a long and bloody one. Sacrifices have been made. I have lost skin off my feet, gained some new interesting bruises, and got pole burn on my hand. I haven't even started the actual pole classes yet. I can only imagine the injuries to come!

Jes, Mandy, and I have taken the introductory sampler, tie me up, jiggle it, cardio pole, and floor play.

Tie me up, tie me down. owww! This class was prob my second favorite. Who doesn't like handcuffs? We learned a really cool chair trick that I would demonstrate on the blog, but I would like to keep this PG-13ish. I don't really remember much else that happened because this was wayyyy back in June. But I remember that we had fun. My skills have gone to waste, but I will still add it to my TW Resume. Jes, however, is the bomb. She might have to teach me some of her tricks! Maybe we could have PLT class in my living room sometime. Ladies, bring yo chair over because ours are too tall and we will probably fall off and die. And there is nothing seductive about that!

Jiggle it. Probably my fave. It is impossible to not have fun when you are jiggling it for an hour. We had no idea we would sweat as much as we did. We were disgusting by the time we left. We tried to show the RKlub girls some of the skills we learned, but they weren't really digging it. Whatever. Their loss. I'm starting to have withdraws because I noticed I was singing Booty Wurk all last weekend and well, doing booty wurk. This would be wayyyy less awkward if it wasn't grocery shopping day. To the guys that saw me in the butter aisle, you're welcome.

Cardio pole. 75% of the class was an actual workout. This would have been fine had Jes and I not attended bootcamp that morning. I was a little beat down. Ok, I was totally sore and wanted to die. As usual I manned up and got to it. Jes and I were pole partners. Things were going along painfully enough until she made us do pole climbs. I was an utter failure. I felt like I was back in elementary school all over again being forced to climb the rope (which I could never do). ugh. I tried so hard, but it was def working against me that my whole body was slick with sweat. I had interesting bruises on my arms from that little excursion. When doing pole body rolls Jes said it was like we were having sex...together. Haha. What made it even better is that the music cut off right as she was saying the "sex together" part. I.Die. from laughter! We ended this session with pole spotlighting. I may have opened up with the robot. Next time Jes and I decided we'd bring some $$ to take turns making it rain. haha.

Floor play. You are dead to me. I am not a fan. Every bone that protrudes out of the front of my body was injured at some point during class. I haven't mastered body rolls while laying at a 45 degree angle. It was frustrating. About halfway through Mandy asked if we could leave, but we decided to stick it out. I kind of wish we would have left. ha. Despite wearing tights, my body still wouldn't slide on the floor. If there is a next time, I will def wear socks because the slides took the skin off of my feet. Yay!

Despite the failures, we have had many success (see booty wurk and tie me up)! Hopefully soon I can convince the girls to commit to Pole 1! (Jes, Mandy - hint, hint!)

Naked Baking

Just kidding. I could get burned.

Safety first, so I wore my apron!

Pioneer Woman makes the most delicious looking things. I have been following her food blog for a while, and have bookmarked mannnnyyyyy recipes. I decided it was finally time to give them a try. And what more of a delicious place to start than with Knock You Naked Brownies?

These bad boys are easy and quick to make and are delicious beyond delicious!

Knock You Naked Brownies
by the Pioneer Woman

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix (Duncan Hines)
1 c Pecans (optional...I left them out)
1/3 c Evaporated Milk
1/2 c Evaporated Milk (additional)
1/2 c Melted Butter
60 Whole Unwrapped Caramels (appx. 1 large bag)
1/3 c Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 c Powdered Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, chopped pecans (optional), 1/3 c evaporated milk, and melted butter.
3. Divide dough in half and press half into a greased brownie pan (appx 9X9). Bake 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
4. Melt caramels  and 1/2 c evaporated milk in the microwave. Stir in 1 minute intervals until melted. Pour over cooked brownie base and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5. Roll out remaining dough onto flowered wax paper to be about the shape of the pan. Flip wax paper over to place dough as the top layer in the brownie pan. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool and refrigerate (this will help the caramel to set). 
7. Serve with a nice layer of powdered sugar on top.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 5 and 6

Step 7

I took these to dinner with Kari. I think her taste buds were overwhelmed with the flavors and sweetness of it all! She loved them so much that she kept some for later!

So...I turned 25 last month.

What, people live to be that old?


Yes, yes they do.


I'm not going to lie, it hurt a little bit. I hate to sound crazy (I guess that's a lie if you have been reading my posts), but I did cry a couple of times in the two weeks leading up to it. Don't worry, I'm fine now.


The girls at work decorated my cube and taped a lot of the stuff on my desk down. It was actually pretty funny. Edward was even excited about it!

What? You don't have a picture of Edward on your computer too? Weird.

We had team lunch at Cheesecake Factory to celebrate with a Zack Morris look a like waiter. I wanted to ask him where his huge phone was, but I don't think anyone besides Stacy would have found that amusing. Stacy said she almost called me at midnight to say “your life is over” and hang up. That would have been hilarious, but I might have agreed and cried. (yes, I’m aware that 25 isn’t the end of the world, geez. I’m just a little dramatic sometimes).

Happy Birthday to me, bitches!

That evening Jes and I went to our first BodyJam class to celebrate the big 25 and we met BodyPump Brian. And fell in love. Haha.


The big celebration went down that Friday, and B sent me this that morning: (678): ever have one of those nights where you feel like you should leave the house with your insurance card? that is tonight, my friend.


I love her. She totes gets me! And yes, we did have our insurance cards with us, just in case it got outta control!

I was so happy to have all of the girls come out! I’m sure it was torturous for some of them since they don’t like the kind of bars that B and I do, but they didn’t complain since it was my bday. Thanks for taking one for the team girls! 

Jesi, Mandy, Mandy, Me, B, Kat, Sonya

Steven was the only husband that showed up. I’m sure he had an awesome time chaperoning us! hahaha. Paul and Rick even stopped by for a bit! We even ran into Daniel. That was a little awkward but not terrible. But I don’t do well with unexpected things. 

Thanks for coming Steven!

We had dinner at Ruby’s (duh, where else), went to Wonder bar, and ended our night at Red Door (thanks for not giving us any probs, Edward Scissor Hands). The whole night was basically a dance party with lots of shots. The theme may or may not have been "Let's get naked wasted."

H-town H-yeah girls!

"George Washington, you dirty Bitch" - B

 "George Washington you m efffer." - Me

Tonight B and I had roommate dinner date night at Molina's.

We were talking about scheduling time off for the biggest holidays of the year when I asked B what day did Thanksgiving actually happen on.

She told me she doesn't know, but she does know the rhyme: Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.

So then we proceeded to google the actual date he discovered America.

When I pulled it up it hit me that Christopher Columbus and Thanksgiving are NOT the same thing. BTW Thanksgiving is not a day dedicated to giving thanks for Columbus discovered America.

WTF is wrong with us? I guess I should have paid more attention in history...and in life. Sometimes I swear we are drunk without actually drinking. Did she spike our water with Grey Goose? She's always doing that...

P.S. Why wasn't every 4th Friday declared Thanksgiving instead of Thursday?

TGIMFingF

Last week was great.

• I Body Pumped with Jess.
• Had dinner with Kari, R, and Abbers.

Abbers

• Ran with Kari (if you could call it that since my legs are basically failing me at this point).
• Kari stretched and iced me after. I'm so glad she's a personal trainer. I wish she was always there to do that for me!
• I made the most delicious m&m cookies for my Sunday bake.
• and then on Friday, this happened:

Friday I had plans to attend Body Flow to get my last dose of Trainer Brian in for the week, but my work day ran long (OMG, working until 5? who does that?) and I had a massive headache, so I went home for a nap instead. My plans were to hit the gym then catch up on some Jersey Shore (super excite, I.Know.). Before I knew it Rick and Kat were here, we were all getting tatted up (I got a tit tat with kit Kat), and we decided to hit up Washington.

We started at Kung Fu (despite mine and Kat's protest), played some ski ball (I may have broke Rick's hand), but ended up at Ei8ht shortly after. Luckily 8 has cycled through and wasn't ghetto this time. It was back to it's former glory! We even met a Paul Rudd look alike, well, if P.Rudd was Italian. It was nice to have Rick with us so he could keep the creepers at bay. But then he left us to find some ladies and the creepers almost kidnapped us. Ok, not that bad this time, but still.

If you try to dance with me and I give you the head shake, please move along. If you then feel the need to ask me if I'll dance with you and I say no, please move along. Do not ask me again. I'm not dtf so you are just wasting your time. Also? I don't want to get molested by your hands. Thanks, but I'm dancing with Kat, so I'm good. One more thing, don't try to talk to me. It's too loud and I don't care what your name is.

I know. I know. WTF is with this girl? It's just that I'm out to have fun with my friends, not some random guy that thinks I'm cute.

Houston cab drivers did us dirty.

Houston cab drivers? WTF is with you? Why don't you know where anything is in Houston. And don't look at me like I'm crazy when I turn on my phone GPS and she tells you where to go.

Overall, we had a great night. I even made pancakes when we got home, and they were delish!

I went to Body Pump Saturday morning and it.was.rough. But surprise, TB was teaching the class! Yay! My whole body was so beat from our 3 hour dance party the night before that I thought I was going to die during squats. Ahhhh!

Monday Jes and I body pumped and she had had her tattoo in the same place I did. And that's why were Noah's ark buddies.

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How do you keep the creepers away?