The Twelve Days of Christmas & A Few of My Favorite Things!!

Twelve more days 'til Santa Clause comes to town!!

Of course, the holidays are supposed to be all about being thankful for the many, many blessing we have in our lives. I absolutely do NOT want to disregard how incredibly lucky I am to be able eat amazing food, sleep in the most comfortable bed in the world (no lie) and breathe mostly clean oxygen everyday to keep me moving along.  I have an amazing job that's affording me the opportunity to go graduate school without accruing any more student loan debt.  I have an incredible extended family, a loving brother and fantastic parents who let me call them at atrocious hours of the day everyday just to talk since I can't be near them.  My friends can't be beat and I love them/you all so much, even when I forget to tell you. I have a puppy that is almost completely potty trained (eighteen months later) and will be coming back with me to Oklahoma after 6 months because my mom was nice enough to take him off my plate while I moved to a new city, started a new job, and had the most difficult semester of my graduate school career all at once. And, I'm healthy. I'm not 100% all the time, but I feel better now than I have my entire life mentally and physically.

There.  Now that that's out of the way, I can get onto one of the fun parts of Christmas...the loving of material goods. My mom asked for my official Christmas list a month ago, which I would not be so bold as to put up here because there were a lot of pretty pricey things on there to give her ideas and options, but I wanted to share twelve of "my favorite things."

In the spirit of The Sound of Music favorite things, these are life's little pleasures that one can enjoy any day of year and no matter how much of it you get, it's always delightful!! I did this one on-the-cheap with nothing costing more than $40!

I HOPE YOU'LL DO THE SAME AND POST YOUR FAVORITES!!!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

1. MAC Lustre Lipstick in Politely Pink

I am super picky about my lipsticks, but this one does the trick!! I like very natural-looking shades with a hint of pink.  Usually I top it off with a lipstick sealant (I use Sealed With a Kiss...MAC doesn't make this shade in a long-lasting formula) then a pink gloss, like Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush in Strawberry Fizz!

2. Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream

If it were summer, this would probably be left off of the list because I don't need it. However, it is a necessity in the winter-time to prevent my horrible eczema and cracked skin from creeping in and making life miserable.  This is the only lotion I've ever found that gets instantly soaked up and is somehow not even the slightest bit greasy.  I keep this stuff at my desk at work and on my nightstand at home.

3. Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot

I would almost say this is a little embarrassing, but who am I kidding? I love me some wine. This is one of my all-time favorite wines, even though it's only about $5 and 6% alcohol by volume.  Blackberry is my favorite fruit, so that makes this chilly merlot even more delectable.  Bonus? One  Cougar Town sized glass doesn't make me loopy like the full-power stuff (I'm still a lightweight, ya know!).

4. N.Y.C. New York Color Cheek Glow Single Pan Blush in Park Avenue Plum

Even though this blush comes in a crappy case and the compact breaks easily, I love this color!!! I can't seem to find a match in a better quality, so for now I'll stick with this! It's a great multi-purpose blush that I also use to add some sun-kiss to my face.  When I'm not tan, bronzer is too much and I have to go with something more natural, so this does it without making it look fake or cakey.

5. Caldrea Essentials for Target in Citron Ginger

This is like kitchen perfume!!! It smells so good that it makes it worth it to pay a little extra! The Target essentials are a cheaper version of the Williams-Sonoma Caldrea line, and the concentrated refill bottles make it super affordable. So, on those rare days when I don't feel like cleaning the kitchen, I just remember I get to smell the good stuff!!

6. Lily of France Gel Touch Strapless Bra

I know what you're thinking, but this bra changed my life. Because my ribcage and breast are both small, I used to have a really hard time wearing strapless bras. They wouldn't fit where they should and would fall to my belly button if I took a deep breath. Knowing that going braless isn't okay all the time (sad story), I was thrilled to find a strapless bra that fit WITH pushup...and it's cute!! I love the frilly edge.  I have two of these (one beige, one black) and I wear one or the other at least 3/4 of the times I bother to put a bra on.

7. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Yeah, it's just baking soda...but it has so many uses!!! It's chemical properties are simple (neutralize way-ward Ph balances), but I keep this stuff all over the place at work/in car/at home! I use it to polish/whiten my teeth once a week (miracle-worker), as a gentle face scrub, to make my shoes smell better, to clean surfaces like tile/countertops, to make the fridge (and trash) fresh, remove scratches from cds and even remove battery acid. Plus it's suuuuuper cheap.

8. Eggs Benedict

The best breakfast on the planet. I love mine with bacon, a little bit of cream cheese and spinach (to keep me full!!), but everything else is the same.  English muffin, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce....mmmm perfection!! Good thing I learned how to make it on my own!

9. Starbucks Coffee Vanilla Bean Frappucino Ice Cream

YYYYuuuummmmmmmmm.  I love ice cream, I love vanilla bean (at least twice as much as french vanilla).  This is expensive for just a pint, but it tastes better than any other ice cream out there. So, I make it last! Their coffee ice cream comes in second to Haagen-Daaz, though.

10. Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Oil Treatment

By far the most expensive item on the list, costs about $35 at the salon :o/...but one bottle lasts me 4-5 months, so it's not so bad! This will smooth your hair, add shine, take away any fly-aways, make it softer on the second (or third or fourth or fifth) day after a wash and, most importantly, protect against thermal damage.  For those of you who color, it's supposed to resist fading, too. I use this stuff on damp hair before drying (if I dry) and on each section when straightening. Sometimes, I use it for touch-up during the day if things are looking a little dull. Talk about multi-purpose!

11. Papa John's Pizza

Pizza is my absolute favorite food in the whole wide world.  My favorite belongs to this guy. I love NY style, too, but I've never had a bad pizza from PPJ's (as I tend to call it). It must be the garlic butter sauce.

12. Diet Dr. Pepper

I'm still a Diet Coke fan, but I think Diet Dr. has stolen my heart.  If I have a choice, I almost always side with the Dr. It tastes like candy!!!

I just like it, okay!

This was a PhotoCabine shoot Kirsten and I did the night of the OU/Tech game. This thing is so much fun (especially after we got the timing right :o)

Almost as fun as the photobooth at Kelly and Micah's wedding, except I didn't have to get dressed up.

Look At Me.

Posting every day for the last 39 days...(this is day 40). I wanted to have a Project 365 update ready for you, but it just ain't gonna happen.  I am too...dang....tired.


I don't care if you think I'm just a little bit lame for being so, uhh, lame on a Friday night, but I had a long week.  Friday nights are just too exhausting to physically go out (or even to stay in).


I wanted to quickly share a few of my favorite websites since I don't have the energy to finish the 365 update (those take so long...)


Stereomood- the site says, "behind every song there's always an emotion. we don't know why but maybe that's why we love music." My favorite channel is "Vintage."


Adore Home Magazine - this is an online Australian home/design magazine. Every page is simply delicious.


PhotoFunia - you know you want to!! This things are funnnn.


Noble Pig - food and wine website with some of the most delicious-looking dishes!!


Brads Deals - every day, Brad posts more deals and steals for online shopping


Some e-cards - every one have you have seen one or more of these before. I love sending these to coworkers :o)


Ideeli - save lots of money on popular and quality clothing brands


Kaboodle - find a gift for anyone you may need to buy for (including gifts to self...)


Mint - safe and secure, this puppy manages all of my money for free!!!!


Makeup Alley - I sometimes tend to have a problem with purchasing cosmetics without thought...now I try to look up every product before I buy it at Makeup Alley just to make sure it's quality and worth all the hype.


Polyvore - You'll feel like Cher off of Clueless!!!

Project 365: Days 226 - 235

Looks like I have some catch up blogging to do!! I've been so consumed by NoBloPoMo that I haven't kept up with my crafts or Project 365, so I'll be catching up with all of that for the next several days!!!

So, without further ado, here's some 365 Updates from OCTOBER (I realize that it's December. Tough cookies.)

10/05/2010

Day 226: I wrote a midterm and it was awesome. (If you actually read it though, you can tell I was rushed.  There several incoherent sentences that miss important parts...like verbs).

10/06/2010

Day 227: I made the mistake of feeding one of the stray cats in my apartment complex.  This cat continued to harass me for weeks! He would mew at the door late at night and bring me dead birds.  It was awesome...

10/07/2010

Day 228: Sugarland concert!

10/08/2010

Day 229: Wild and crazy night at Speakeasy...

10/09/2010

Day 230: Out at about on CC!! Love this dress, Love these shoes.  Can I have more (faux) snakeskin in my life?

10/10/2010

Day 231: We went to Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch in Arcadia! This place was so much fun!!!

10/11/2010

Day 232: I bought & hung these new frames for a wall collage in my hallway...a much needed addition!!

10/12/2010

Day 233: This was horrible.  My camera broke!!! Therefore, almost all of pictures are bootlegged from friends or taken on my phone until Christmas when I get my new camera...making this Project a MUCH bigger undertaking than I'd like :o(. 

10/13/2010

Day 234: My new vase that I found at Ross for $9!!

10/14/2010

Day 235: Putting my baby pumpkin to good use in the bedroom...my door doesn't stay open without a door stop!!

SO WHAT HAPPENED?!?!

So here's an update on my dating life since the end of my 33 Days...


Grant: I never heard back from him


David: After the last message wanting to check in on me, which I ignored, I haven't heard from him.


Pete: I finally got a message back from him about two weeks ago.  He asked me why I never responded to his last text (which I did...twice), then he got frustrated that neither one of us bothered to see why the other hadn't responded. He ended up making me pretty angry by continuing to argue with me about who sent the last text, so I told him it was ridiculous and useless to be fighting about a text message from over a month before. I told him he was a great guy, but I didn't have that "something extra" to make me want to continue with him. I didn't mention Chris or The Hottie because I had pretty much made up my mind about him before any of that happened. He didn't respond.


The Ex: Luckily, still no contact since the end of June.  Way to go, me.


The Hottie: I'm trying to let go of the idea of him. He ended up coming back from LA after about 5 weeks since they finished their project early.  Then he went to Dallas, now he's in Chicago. I ran into him at a bar two weeks ago, but I could hardly look him in the eyes. I didn't want to think about how I felt about him and I sure as hell didn't want to feel anything else. I had ignored two texts throughout October, which I was proud of myself for doing. He is still with his girlfriend, and I still think about him.  


Chris: We dated for about two months or so, but things didn't work out. We only stopped seeing each other about a week ago or so. When I can give a little better of an explanation as to what happened, I will :o)

There's the end, guys!!

Day 33 (October 9, 2010)

Here's the last day, folks!! Day 33 of my match.com adventures is here...Hope you enjoyed it! Stayed tuned tomorrow to know what (if anything) has changed!!!


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I can hardly believe it’s the last day! I’ve really considered renewing, but I’m going to go with my gut on this and just cancel. I think.

Just in the nick of time, I feel like I’ve met someone who I can actually see myself with. Maybe nothing too serious, maybe something more. I realize that Chris meets…well…none of my “ridiculous criteria,” but I, too, can surprise myself. I knew I’d like him before I met him, but he’s better than I imagined. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be a big thing, I’m enjoying my time with him.

The thing with The Hottie in LA was that, while I instantly felt extremely comfortable with him, it always felt a little bit like a game with us. I don’t know another way to describe it. Maybe he was just a little inconsiderate. Chris seems different than that. Yes, it did take a little while to warm up to him the other night, but now I feel like we can just enjoy each other’s company. I’m trying to not put any emotional pressure on the situation, because I get attached easily.

As for my match.com account, I cancelled it with little peace of mind, but knew it was probably the right move. I didn’t exactly want any new men added to equation for a while, ya know?…


I honestly didn't initiate very much at all, in case you can't tell.  I also ignored quiet a bit of "digital moves" from people who just didn't meet my criteria.  Would I recommend online dating to friends? Absolutely, but only if you're willing to be an active participant (or in my case, an active responder).  It took a lot of time and ended up being kind of stressful given how crazy my schedule is, but I think it's definitely worth trying if you want to date some new people!

Day 32 (October 8, 2010)

All day, I couldn’t stop thinking about Chris. I think I’m most impressed by two things: he’s not cocky/forward and he couldn’t be sweeter. Well, he could be sweeter, but any sweeter would probably turn me off a little. He is the perfect amount of sweetness without that blindingly painful sugar rush. I don’t think I’m into bad boys per se, but I can’t stand a kiss-ass or an asshole. I like that Chris is not over-confident and that he cares that I’m feeling comfortable and that he’s not a douche bag.

 I made my way to the office much later than I should have and BAM! The hangover hit me like a ton of bricks. Either way, it was worth it.

At work, I couldn’t focus (and only partly due to the hangover). I must have looked through the pictures of the night before at least two dozen times. It felt kind of surreal having feelings for yet another guy. 

I ended up telling my mom about him. I wasn’t sure if I would, because I knew there would be concern about the deal-breakers. I told her it would just have to be something I would get over if I were really interested after some time, but that I could. She was more concerned over age than anything else, I think.  My parents just know how badly I don’t want to get hurt in my next relatioship, so I can appreciate their concern.

I have a problem with over analyzing my next “move” in a relationship, especially when it’s first starting out. I don’t ever want to seem too eager, I don’t want to make the guy feel too confident about how I’m feeling, and I absolutely don’t want to leave room to let myself get hurt. I was concerned all day that this would have just ended up being a one-night thing, which I desperately didn’t want.. So I waited for him to make contact…which he did.

We didn’t make plans for the night, but he knew what I was doing and I knew what he was doing. I told him I would be at 51^st Street Speakeasy all night. When he got done with dinner, he could meet me there if he wanted. No pressure.

Lucky for me, he showed up about 11:30. We stay at Speakeasy for a little while, went across the street to Edna’s a little later. Even though we were in the city, Chris brought his roommate and would have to go back to Norman with him. So, I did the only thing logical...I followed them back to Norman (at 1:45 in the morning from the north side of OKC…awesome).

When I got to Chris’ house, I met Princess (his dobie), waited for him to eat a snack and curled up on the couch. A little tipsy and very tired, I was more interested in sleep than anything else. Within minutes, he said the best thing I could hear at that moment in time: “I’m exhausted…let’s just go to bed.” Happily, we curled up and were both asleep within two minutes.

Day 31 (October 7, 2010)

The day of my date with Chris, I worked until about 4:15 p.m. with appointments all day, then started getting ready for the concert. I decided to wear a white tank top, jeans and cowboy boots (seeing as it was a country concert). Chris was supposed to show up around 4:30 to meet at his friend’s apartment before heading to the OKC Zoo.

Around 4:45, he called to let me know that he was stuck in traffic and would be there in ten minutes. The car ride over there was quiet, which was a little awkward. But, it was better than obviously forced conversation. If there was nothing to talk about, we kept quiet. Though the conversation wasn’t exactly natural, the environment was.

We met at his friend’s house, had a drink or two, then carpooled to the zoo. We picked up our free VIP passes, and headed inside.

There was a lot of drinking, a little music, and somewhere in there he kissed me. Once the ice was broken, we were very comfortable together and had a great time.

It was a little weird having our first date be a group-thing with nobody else on a date, we went with it.  Chris only knew the friend with the tickets (not anyone else), and I obviously knew none of them. Most of them assumed we were a couple since they didn't know any better. I think it worked out so we could more or less just focus on each other.

After the concert, we went over to Western and went to one bar I can’t remember the name of and then to Café Nova. I was exhausted and we were both drunk, so we didn’t stay long. We said good-bye to his friends then left in a cab to go back to my apartment…

Day 30 (October 6, 2010)

Chris and I agreed to go out Thursday night after I got out of class at 8:00. We decided to grab a quick bite to eat, then possibly go out after depending on how things were going.  I planned to spend most of the evening cleaning my apartment and relaxing after my ridiculous study binge from the 2 days prior.

That night, though, he called me to ask about a change of plans. His friend was able to get unlimited free VIP passes to Zoo Amp, and the Little Big Town/Sugarland concert was tomorrow night. I wanted to go, but I would have to skip class and leave work a little early the next day in order to go. I decided to make an exception on my perfect attendance for the semester because I was really excited about meeting Chris and the concert sounded like a lot of fun.

Knowing that I wouldn’t have class, I had to finish a paper that would have been finished in class and get in turned in the next afternoon when a “family emergency” would unexpectedly happen (oops). Therefore, I ended up staying up until about midnight and set an alarm for 4:00 am.

I guess I was really excited about the date because I wasn’t able to fall asleep easily or stay asleep all night (well, for four hours). After pulling an all-nighter on Monday and drinking late on Tuesday, I knew I would be exhausted after the concert the next night.

Day 29 (October 5, 2010)

The hardest part about online dating is that it keeps you a lot busier than you’d expect (not unlike NoBloPoMo). There have definitely been days where I haven’t been able to fully take advantage of this month, and this was one of them!

I had a midterm at 6:00, so I was up very late the night before and I wasn’t focused at work. This was a straight essay memorization midterm over about 200 pages of reading over the past 7 weeks of class. I was so worried about it that I was still studying on my car ride down to Norman.

I thought I did pretty well (guessed a low-A, made a 99), but I ended up writing 14 typed pages in 3 hours. Then, I practiced my weekly ritual of post-class drinks with Alex. We definitely partook after that test!

Day 28 (October 4, 2010)

What do you do when you your ex who you may or may be falling in love with and who you may or may not be talking to again moves to LA for three months?

Simple, really.

First, you should have a panic attack right before the flight takes off while driving down 2^nd Street in Edmond. Then you should agree to go on a date with a much older and much more divorced man in order to get your mind off of things.

I really have no idea what is going on with The Hottie. Yes, we had the big serious talk last week. Yes, we’ve talked every day but one since then, but I’m dealing with a really sticky situation. I’m putting my heart on the line in hopes that he will take action, decide to end things and break up with his girlfriend. No matter what feelings we’ve talked about having for one another, if that puzzle piece is still missing there are no guarantees. I feel like I’m being absolutely as realistic as possible, given that I’m an emotional disaster.

So I decided to go out with Chris. I mean, he was interested, I was interested and (frankly) I was running out of days. Why else would I join a dating site if I weren’t interested in dating? No, I didn’t think I’d find the love of my life there, but at least I would have made things a bit more interesting. As an added benefit, I reckoned I would get my mind off of The Ex and The Hottie…I was at least successful at one of the two. Maybe I’d meet someone cool, or great, or even amazing. I’m a skeptic, but who knows.

The thing is…I am absolutely more nervous about this date than the others. If the others sucked (as that one did), I just had to get through a couple of hours of niceties/torture and it would be over. If I fell for them, then that would be great. With the others I was worried that things would go badly. With this one, I’m nervous that it will go very, very well. There are some big issues here that I’m not used to dealing with. The age is a factor, but I’m terrified about the divorced part. I will have to know more without being pushy about it. I’m scared that if I develop feelings for this guy and later find out some of the reasons they were divorced, I would be in a situation where I may want to be with someone but know that I never really could.

At least I can stress about something else other than The Hottie In LA. I’m changing his name so that I can remember the truth.

Day 27 (October 3, 2010)

Here's my first day continuing the series AFTER November is over...but alas! How does the story end? You'll find out soon :o)...

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Back in Oklahoma, I was sad. I didn’t want The Hottie to leave…and I didn’t want to lose something I never really had. I called him to say goodbye, we small-talked for a few minutes, then moped around most of the night wishing I could either get over him or be with him.

I’d hope that I could maybe start to feel nothing for him. Honestly, that would be easier. I figure I could either spend the next three months being single and hoping that things would work out between The Hottie and I, but that depended on so many things going the right way for me. First, he would have to come back and not stay there. He’d also have to dump his girlfriend, follow through on he and I, not manage to piss me off in the process, and I couldn’t be talking to or dating anyone when he got back. Odds aren’t in my favor, but maybe it’s worth the gamble.

Or, I could do whatever and try to forget about him. I could date (or not) and focus on how to ensure my happiness with or without him.

At the end of the night, I was emotionally exhausted and completely confused. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do given what I had (read that again…kind of confusing).

Wuhwuhwuhwuhwuhwait...November's Over?!?!

Don't despair.  The story continues :o).

Want some other really great news?! It's Christmas Time!!!

If you know anything about me, you know I loveeeee the Chipmunks Christmas Song.  Without further ado...