Naturally Optimistic

If you want to do something good, easy and totally worth it - visit California Hammonds sometime after midnight PST and before the end of the day. This website is amazing, it breaks my heart, it inspires, it is a true testament to love, life, family and the everlasting. Please stop by, browse, read the story of Greg & Cheryl and their family, look at the pictures and COMMENT - they are raising money and you can help!

Glow 

I just saw an ad for Weebles....ha! I didn't even know they still made those.

While I'm at it...can anyone tell me WHY it is that when we get a new haircut that we love and then the next day it's still all styled perfectly like the day before and then the next day DISASTER? I have no idea how to 'do' my hair. No clue. I think it's getting easier/better but it doesn't look like it DID and that makes me soo so so so sad. Cute trendy girl only lasted for today...but now I'm back to my dorky self. I'm getting frustrated!!

I deleted ALL FIVE VERSIONS of that previous stupid post. If you missed it, so be it. If not, thanks, I already know I'm a huge dorkus loser. :P

Okay - the post before the post I just posted...well I didn't think it posted because Blogger got all weird on me last night and froze up and made me quit out of the post before I actually posted it...so now I sound like an ASS and have re-posted stuff I already posted about. In honor of my being a total loser, I will leave that up instead of just discreetly deleting it like I should. *sigh *

Okay - It's not really MY secret but it's a 'secret' I'm keeping. Actually come to think of it, I don't know if it's an ACTUAL secret or if I'm just assuming it is...anyway - I think it is...at least for a while. My best friend is pregnant! Now, knowing that noone that reads this knows who she is (except for her ) I can say that...right? So, now I'm trying to come up with a suitable alias - because I am a big dork naturally....But for now I will call her Anne (with an 'e'). After Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. That is fitting. Anyway - after a long haul, Anne is PG and I'm very excited!! So, more later - I'm hoping she starts a blog because already her emails are cracking me up, amusing me, making me think and making me want to bonk idiot co-workers (hers not mine) on the noggin. For now CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I feel like I've lost 20 lbs. I went out and celebrated actually getting a tax refund this year by paying off some debt and getting a hairstyle with COLOR! Yipeee! You can see for yourself that this was absolutely necessary.

Before - scary scary nasty scraggmuffin Carrie.... 

Voila! Cute trendy hair - yipee! You can't quite tell in this picture but my hair was darkened to more of a brown and blonde & red highlights were added all over. Yay!! 

I forgot Shrek 2 from last week. Loved it. Simple as that. I loved the animation. I loved the story. I love Shrek. I love Donkey and MOSTLY I love PUSS IN BOOTS. *sigh* Love him. The hairball scene was worth the price of admission in itself.

I suck at writing reviews but here goes…these are less reviews and more my open honest out there non-professional opinions. Saved! – I found this movie to be perfectly funny and irreverent and enjoyable. I was skeptical going in. I’m not a big Mandy Moore fan or Mulcalhy Calkin for that matter but I do like Jenna Malone & Mary-Louise Parker so I gave it a shot! MM surprised me by being so perfect at playing the holier-than-thou type and I didn’t mind MC either. It was a nice glimpse at the hypocrisy surrounding anyone that’s so into something (in this case Christianity) and what happens when that raises you to the level of I-am-so-much-better-than-you-are. A great rental. Open Water – I had to wait til I returned from vacationing in Mexico to watch this water. I’m glad I did! Shot on a PD-150 (my camera, btw) and a VX2000 this low-budget digital indie hit all the marks. It was intriguing, it was scary, it was a great character piece between two people stu...

Busy weekend - reshoots, hanging out with friends that have moved away, etc.... But last night we saw a great show. Michael Gulezian has been a favorite of the Boy's for a long time - over 10 years. I've gotten to know his music a little bit through CD's that the Boy has. Last night he and Justin Roth played at the Historic NorShor in Duluth. Both acoustic guitarists - both amazing. I am so happy that after a crappy, hectic day, The Boy said he wanted to see this show and we went. Not only was the music and talent that we witnessed phenomenal but the people were so genuine and wonderful to talk with. We had Michael sign both of the new CD's that the Boy bought and talked with him afterwards for quite a while. Next step is to try to get them booked in Austin at the Paramount Theatre (a perfect fit) and also to have him do some music possibly for NEWTON'S if not something else. What a wonderful evening. Go check out his music (he's on iTunes) and buy it! You w...

I know, everyone's Irish today so so am I. (technially a smidge Scotch-Irish but I'm not sure if that counts)... So later we will go eat cabbage & corned beef and drink green beer and wear silly hats and beads and things....maybe I'll get some more dorky pictures to post. We'll see .

Well, my vacation to Mexico has been over for nearly a month. I still think about it daily and look at the pictures and remember what I was doing the Wednesday of that week at exactly this time (8:41) (I was in a van driving through the jungle heading towards Chichen Itza in case you’re wondering). Here are some differences I’ve noticed between the two: Vacation : Didn’t watch TV News Reality : Watch far too much news: local, national, read internet news sites (Yahoo, NYTimes, BBC, etc) Vacation : Floated from activity to activity however I felt Reality : Have to get up at a certain time to go to work; have to clean the house, scoop the cat poop, wash dishes, make dinner, etc. Vacation : I laid on the beach. Reality : I lay on the couch. Vacation : I think of nothing but romance, fun, my sweetie, adventure, seeing new things, cervezas, tropical everything and where should we indulge our pallets tonight? Reality : I think of paying bills, why people keep blowing themselves and other peo...

Where the hell did my blogroll go??!?!?!?

Okay - to wrap up this incredibly long vacation wrap up - here goes.... Our last day was spent on the island of Cozumel, a 45 minute ferry ride from Playa del Carmen. The ferry was okay but I was a bit...naseaus and 'swimmy' from the previous night's tequila drinking so it wasn't all that fun. Once on Cozumel we headed for the Hard Rock Cafe. The smallest Hard Rock Cafe in the world...and yes, it was small. It was okay. I didn't really care about going there I just wanted food.... fast and it was right there. Well, as soon as we got there it seemed to get more and more crowded and SUPER loud. They cranked the music (well, it is a rock-n-roll cafe after all) and it was generally annoying. My burger was pretty good though. After that we decided it'd be fun to rent a scooter! Oh folly. It was terrifying...both for the Boy (driver) and me (passenger). Oh my god. Mexican traffic...no thanks! I won't be doing that again...ever. It was kinda fun once we got out ...

Chankanaab National Park on the island of Cozumel. 

Steve boards the scooter of death for the ride back into town (Cozumel). 

Fantastic Fire Dancers at the Blue Parrot 

Our last night on the beach. 

Conversation overheard at work yesterday: A: I have to annotate my paper…do you know what that means? B: I have no idea. A: You? C: Huh? Nope, I’ve never heard of that? B. You’ll just have to ask your teacher. A: But I have to do it tonight. B: Sorry Can’t help you. A: D, do you know what annotate means? D: * shrugs* Nope. A: Where’s M--- B: Why don’t you just write a notation? C: Yeah, that sounds like a good idea…just write the details in there. A: Good idea. * sigh * That is so depressing...

Not much in the mood to write right now but wanted to upload this pic from our trip to Cozumel on our last day of the Mexican vacation. This was at Chankanaab National Park (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong) in the botanical gardens and I thought it was really cool. More later... 

The view from our lovely new room/balcony at the Hotel Alejari. 

Looking down a side street from 5th Avenue to the beautiful Carribbean. 

Felipe! Our awesome margarita-shaking-n-making waiter. He was so cool. 

Can you tell the tequila's flowing? Hmmmm? 

So Thursday on our vacation was one of those days…bittersweet in a way. On Tuesday it seemed like we had all the time in the world. We had figured out our activity level for the day; what time was perfect to be sitting on a beach under a palapa reading our books and sipping cervezas; what time was good for going to bed, making love, eating….we’d got it down. Wednesday went so fast due to our day trip and then WHAM it was Thursday . Only 2 days left! Thursday we spent in our routine – sleep in but not too late, walk up 5 th Avenue, eat something delicious, sit on the beach, read our books, eat a fabulous dinner and then go out for the evening. We switched hotels on Thursday…which was a welcome relief in some ways. We didn’t quite know what to expect but we knew it would be quieter regardless. We moved from the Costa del Mar to The Alejari. The Alejari was also on the beach, just down from the Costa. And this was key – it was QUIET. Our room was so charming. We had an upstairs room...

Okay – so dinner after Chichen Itza . We were worn out from the long day. We wanted something yummy and easy and quick. We also didn’t want to waste an hour trying to figure out where we should eat. So, we had scoped out a place the night before which looked cool, was close to our hotel and had decently priced pizza. We went there. I believe it was called Da Gabi or something like that. Anyway – we’re sitting in this lovely open air restaurant, sipping coke light and deciding on our pizza. We went with ham, artichoke hearts & mushrooms (this was a kind already, we didn’t come up with it). It was delicious . The crust was excellent, the toppings great (well, The Boy didn’t care for the artichoke hearts…I thought they were okay but probably wouldn’t get them again…). We were waiting for some more ice and another coke light to share when all of a sudden….something was falling on me. At first I thought there was some crazy spices flying around. I looked down and I was being ...

Here I am at 7 months....I just thought I'd share.  

Our Yucatek meal after our visit to Chichen Itza. 

I'm not getting any closer to the edge!! Temple of the warrier and plaza of a thousand columns behind/below me... 

Looking up the pyramid before the climb. 

Free Samples! 

The Boy and the Maguey Plant (tequila!) 

So where was I? Ah yes, Wednesday… After a night of hotel-walls-vibrating-non-sleep we got up bright and early for our tour of Chichen Itza . First order of business – find a coffee shop. The Boy needs his morning coffee. Especially at ten to seven. Ugh. Right out of the entrance to our hotel we saw a lady walking with coffee. The Boy immediately pounced and asked where she got it. She told us and we were on our way to Java Joe’s. At Java Joe’s coffee & croissants were in hand. Then it was over to OXXO (which I like to call Mexican hugs-n-kisses but it’s really more like a 7-Eleven) for a few more breakfast-y items and a Coca-Cola Light (my addiction). A couple of fruit-n-cereal bars, water & banana later we were off to the Gran Porto Real. That’s where our tour was leaving from. Promptly at 7;15 our tour guide (whom we later learned was Juan Carlos) arrived and checked our tickets. We climbed in the van with 8 other eager (and sleepy) passengers to start ou...

I am SO motivated right now. I want to: Clean out the closets and organize them. Work on my scrapbook. Complete my movie ‘to-do’ list – get this thing DONE! Work on the slideshow for my Grandma’s 80 th Birthday. Do my taxes. Clean the house and get rid of more crap. Sand & paint the white patches in the living room. Caption the vacation pics and send out to family. Hem up my black pants & The Boy’s pajama bottoms. Finish my knitting project. Get my crafts organized. Make greeting cards. Scrub EVERYTHING. Unfortunately I am here at work. It is spilling over…I’m doing all the crap projects that I put off til last. The REALLY mind-numbing stuff…but my desk is getting cleared off and that’s a good thing. Hopefully this will last until I get home and can get a few things done or gone through or something. I mean, I also want to finish the puzzle I’ve been working on for 2 months, read my book, make dinner, exercise (sit-ups, arms, ...