My Version of Twitter...

*Running on a treadmill next to a guy that smokes is one of the worst things possible. Besides actually falling OFF of the treadmill...but really, who does THAT?! (Tee-hee)

*My New Moon obsession is getting out of control. Next thing you know, I'll be asked to go into a room where all of my friends & family are gathered (with an Intervention Specialist) and they'll read me letters that start out, "Ever since you started reading the Twilight Saga, you haven't been the same person..." and end with, "We love you so much, and just want you to get help. If you don't, we will be forced to cut all ties from you and your self-destructive behavior."

*I miss my old boss. She used to tell me things like "You're doing a SLAMMA-JAMMA job today, Val Pal!" My new boss just invades my Personal Bubble, which makes my hyperventilate.
*Every year when it starts to get reeeallly cold, I ask myself the same question: WHY THE HELL AM I STILL IN NEBRASKA?! I'm soooo not ready for this!

*I hope everyone has a great weekend!

2nd Annual List of Things that Save Lives

To see the back story, go here.

Yes, folks, once again, it’s time for the list. Five things that, over the past year, I have grown to know & love and couldn’t imagine my life without. Yes, they are material things and yes, I know the best things in life are free. But, we live in a material world, and I am-ma material girl! (that sounds awfully familiar……but not quite accurate).

Anyway, here we go:

The Blackberry Curve. OMGrrrr…. How did I ever live without this thing?? Text, IM, Facebook, Music, Internet….you name it, it’s got it! We’ve had some problems in the past, but overall - Oh, how I love thee…

Quesailla Maker. (and yes, I pronounce it KAY-SA-DIL-LA MAY-KER)….Probably one of the greatest Xmas gifts I’ve ever received. (Besides the GF, of course!) I make more than your average Mexican Quesadilla on this thing, people! I’ve perfected all sorts of quesadilla-shaped wraps. …Totally worth my Mom elbowing that chick in the face those many Black Fridays ago. What?!? It was a Door Buster and that chick was totally out of line!

Headphones. I have annoying & disgusting co-workers that talk very loudly on their phones, that CLIP THEIR NAILS at their desks, and cannot for the life of them CLEAR THE G.D. PLEGHM out of their throats. (Okay, so it’s just one co-worker.) Thank goodness for the headphones. Thank goodness for the headphones. Thank goodness for the headphones. (I saw this picture & it was just too funny. I had to add it to the post.)

My “Chuck Taylors” aka Converse. I love these things. I wear them EVERYWHERE. I think every girl needs a pair of these because they’re comfy, cute, and they give off an “I don’t give a sh*t” attitude that’s nice to pull off every once in a while!

Facebook. I know it sounds nuts, but sometimes, visiting this website keeps me sane. Or, at least entertained! It’s nice to reconnect with old friends, keep in touch with current ones, and find out who in this world is REALLY crazy. It’s kind of nice! Plus, it gives me a chance to let a random thought or two escape my brain! It’s tough work keeping it all up in my noggin all the time!

There you have it folks. The 2nd Annual List of Things that Save Lives. (Or, at least make my life a lot easier!)

Is there something in YOUR life that you can't live without??

Let me hear it!

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time...

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's no surprise, this is my favorite Holiday (besides my birthday, of course)!

I love it because of the three F's:

FOOD

Pecan Pie is my Favorite!

FOOTBALL

(This is from ESPN)

(This is the Local Radio Station covering the game)

And most importantly,
FAMILY!

This is the only recent picture I have of all of us together, and of course I look like SH*T. In my defense, I had just run 13.1 miles and almost passed out at the Finish Line.
If you look close, you'll notice...my ENTIRE family wore shirts that said RUN, Val, RUN.
Aren't they the best?!? And HOW CUTE are my nephews? LOVE THEM!

So, if you're wondering where I'll be or what will be occupying my time over the next few days, this is it!

Happy Turkey Day, Everyone!!

To Friend, or Not to Friend…

…That is the question!

At the beginning of October, I randomly went into a bar with a friend to have some drinks after a long day at work. It must’ve been my lucky day, because the bartender working was extremely good-looking.

The friend I was with (who is Engaged) noticed him noticing me, etc. etc. etc. and decided to take matters into her own hands. (Gotta love attached people = No Shame!) She started asking him questions, getting the info from him about his life, and then started asking me questions in front of him to sort of “help” us get to know each other. Apparently, bartending is a part-time gig for him, and he usually only works Wednesdays. (Did I mention he’s really cute?! Okay, wanted to make that clear.)

Anyway, when we were leaving (sans any digits or a plan to see him again), I hugged my friend and said “I’ll see you next weekend,” to which Bartender said “Next Wednesday?” I just smiled, laughed a little bit, then left. (I wonder why I’m still single?! SERIOUSLY.)

A couple of weeks went by, and in the meantime, I had told another friend (I’ll call her “Irish”) about this dude, just in a passing conversation, like “he was really cute, he works ‘here,’ blah blah GIRL TALK…” and she replied with “I know somebody that works with him! I’ll get the skinny.” (She didn’t use the word skinny. I like that word. I’m improvising here. Go with it.)

Anyway, a couple of weeks went by, and I didn’t hear anything, and I honestly didn’t think anything of it. Irish then calls me out of the blue and says that Bartender had asked her friend about me. (I cringe when I think of the series of events & conversations that went into them realizing that they knew some of the same people. It’s part of the minor control-freak in me.)

Not taking NO for an answer and despite my crimson-colored face, Irish takes me to the bar the following Wednesday. (Note to everyone reading? I LOATHE situations like this. I feel like I’m produce in the supermarket: “Hey you, look at me, pick me! Pick Me! No, don’t walk past me! Hello?!”)

And so I do what I am known to do in situations like this: I CLAM UP. I don’t speak. Not a single peep can be heard from me for most of the night. (Note to all who think I talk too much? Put me in a room with someone I think is good-looking and a potential mate, and you won’t believe your eyes. It’s truly flabbergasting.)

He must’ve thought I was the biggest freak in the bar. I mean, COME ON, Valerie! Get it together! You can have a conversation with an inanimate object, yet you can’t talk to a cute Bartender? What the hell is wrong with you?!

*SIGH*

Feeling really upset with myself, and a little deflated, I pay my tab, and head to the car with my buddies. IRISH, God love her (99.9% of the time), says she has to go back into the bar to go to the bathroom, and wanted to go alone. I don’t know why I didn’t think to question this further, but I didn’t. She went back in to talk to him for me! WHAT. THE. HELL?!? I love this girl, but, WHAT?! Did she pass him a note that said:

Do you like Valerie?
(circle one)

Yes
No
Maybe

Mortified. That’s what I was after I realized what she was doing.

She came out and said, “Well, Val, he ‘Friended’ you on Facebook, but you never accepted him.” (Her tone was ‘Well, duh! That’s why the two of you aren’t together and happily in love by now! Didn’t you know?!)

In my defense, I didn’t realize it was HIM sending me a Friend Request at the time. His profile pic had a few people in it, and was blurry, and I didn’t know his last name. I feel like those are all valid reasons to not accept a random friend request. (Right?!)

Which leads me to the reason for the long story.

It’s been a source of debate between my friends & I, whether or not to accept his Friend Request on Facebook.

My side has many reasons why I DON’T think it’s a good idea.
1) I’m a goofy, goofy person on Facebook. I use it as nothing more than entertainment (for myself, mainly), and think that letting him into that this early would be a MISTAKE. He doesn’t need to see the whole CRAZY TRAIN before even getting to the STATION!!
2) I don’t want him looking through my pictures. I don’t want that to deter him, yet I don’t want to have to alter my page because I’m trying to impress him. For crying out loud, THIS is one of my profile pictures!!

3) I ultimately think that getting to know someone through Facebook (or anything like it) is a cop out. I think it takes away from the face-to-face time that people used to use in order to get to know each other. Why should he be able to peruse my Facebook Info page and photos to find out valuable information about me, when he could just take an hour or two to talk to me and find out the same stuff?

I realize I’m probably over-thinking this, and most people’s response will be like “It’s FACEBOOK, dummy! Not that big of a deal!” but I just don’t see it like that. On the flip side, I’m not sure how soon I’ll be venturing into that bar again or when I’ll see him again to rectify the situation. I’m still a little embarrassed from what happened last week.

I'm at a crossroads. Do I accept the Friend Request and take the chance he’ll think I’m a freak just from looking at my page? Or do I rely on the old adage: “If it’s meant to happen, it will”??

Welcome Aboard the Crazy Train, people!

Dear GIANT ZIT that decided to show up 3 days before family pictures,

WHAT

THE

HELL?!

Go Away.

Sincerely,

Someone who shouldn't be getting zits because she's TWENTY-NINE.

Midnight Mooning

No, I didn't go around mooning people at Midnight last night.


It's way too cold for that.


I DID, however, see the Midnight Premiere of the HIGHLY ANTICIPATED 2nd installment of the Twilight Saga: New Moon.


I know, I'm a nerd.


Don't care.


Totally WORTH. IT.


Here's how it went down:


We had purchased our tickets online, but I was worried about getting a good seat, so we got to the theater at about 10:45. Thankfully, they were letting people get seated as soon as they walked through the door, so there was no dealing with crazy 13-year olds. (Sorry, I just used to be one of those, and I even annoyed myself back then.) So, because of some SNAFU, we got assigned to Theater 11 which wasn't going to end up playing the movie. WTF, right?! Right.


So, we got moved to Theater 9, only to get really crappy seats. You know, the ones on the side where your neck is strained to see the screen and just makes for a bad movie experience? So, I decided to take matters in my own hands. (Weird, huh?!) I found one of the "suits" (aka. managers) and politely asked him what the deal with switching theaters was all about, etc. (see Mom?! I do know how to use my nice words!) ...he then said in a hushed voice "If you go into Theater 8, we're playing it in there...but no one knows about it." I swear, I almost turned into one of those 13 year olds and screamed "OH - EM - GEE...SER-EEE-OUSLY?!" but I kept my 29-year old 'cool,' and hauled major ass to get my buds & I seats in the glorious Theater 8.


Turns out...there were only EIGHT people in that particular room the entire time we were watching the movie = P.E.R.F.E.C.T. viewing experience.


Now, onto the movie. *I will try not to spoil it for anyone, I'll just give you my "Business" rundown, and my "Non-Business" rundown. *



Business First:

--The story line was true to the book, and stayed on track - which I appreciated since the books were amazing. Of course, there were a few things that were added to make a successful transition from book-to-screen, but they weren't out of the ordinary and seemed to fit well into the storyline.


--A few times in the movie, I thought they could've done without the all of the ANGST-y, dramatic pauses, but looking back, I think the director probably thought it was necessary to portray how each character really felt.


--The CGI and special effects were AWESOME. The scenes where the AB-tastic boys turned into wolves were a little unrealistic, but then again...so is a boy turning into a wolf...so who am I to complain? Plus, they had their shirts off...so I was in a forgiving mood.


--The fight scenes were fantastic, and my heart beat out of my chest when the Volturi tried to kill Edward. (That's not ruining anything...it's in the previews, people!) I love that they showed how powerful & strong vampires could be. It rocked.


--Overall, the acting was good. Kristen Stewart was convincing. Less lip-biting, annoying first movie antics, and more ACTING. Taylor Lautner, for only being SEVENTEEN, did a fantastic job of portraying Jacob. Oh, and Robert - ya, the kid did not disappoint. *sigh*


Okay, the best part...NON-Business: (Warning-this contains a lot of swooning.)

I think I was the only one who AUDIBLY GASPED when Taylor Lautner took off his shirt for the first, second, and eightieth time. Don't get me wrong...no complaints here. Just sayin'--there were lots of shirtless moments. Me Likey. (Oh ya, all 7 people in the theater with me laughed when I did that. Or maybe they were giggling because they liked it. I didn't ask. I was a little distracted.)

"You said what? Your 18th Birthday isn't until February? Hmmm..."



Edward Cullen (or commonly known as RPattz), did his own share of DAZZLING the screen. Has anyone else ever had to look away from the screen because someone is just THAT HOT, it makes you blush??? Yep, that was what Robert Pattinson did to me during this movie. There's something about that HAIR. And that JAWLINE. And that SMILE. OY VEY...now I'm really starting to sound like a 13 year old!

"That Lucky Bitch."

HOLY Wolf Pack, BATMAN! Have you SEEN these guys?

"The best things in life come in TWENTY-FOUR packs."

As I was walking out, I heard one of the Twihards say: "I WAS on Team Edward, but now...I just don't know!?" that'swhatI'mtalkingabout...

To sum it all up?

I LOVED IT.

I will go see it again. Tonight. Soon.

This movie was twiLIGHT YEARS better than the first one.

Sorry, had to do it.

A Few Recent Obsessions...

--> My new knee-high boots. Luuuuuv them! Wear them everywhere! They make me & my size 9 feet feel extremely 'trendy.' (Yep, you heard a Niner in there.)

--> ANYTHING related to New Moon. Let's just say You Tube has been getting alotta hits from yours truly. Between RPattz, 'Jail-bait' (Taylor Lautner) & the new hotness that is the WOLF PACK, OH-MY-GUUUUHHH!! Midnight Premiere, anyone?! (SEVEN DAYS!!)

--> DiLusso Smoked Turkey (from Hy-Vee) Try it, live it, love it. Deee-lish!

--> Figuring out a new hair 'do. Now that I've grown it out for almost 5 months, and Sar's Wedding has come & gone, IT NEEDS TO GO. PERIOD. Peace out, ponytail!

--> Taylor Swift. Yes, she's 19. Yes, she's beautiful & tall & skinny with legs that go up to her chin. But, you know what?! She writes or co-writes all of her own songs, and you gotta respect that. Plus, she's not out showing her "Britney" to everyone with a camera. I can't forsee many Miley-isms in her near future. thankgawd.

--> Did I mention NEW MOON!?!? Team Edward or Team Jacob?

--> Running the Lincoln Half Marathon in May (again). I need to start training soon, but my old running partner is too busy to run with me...something about MED SCHOOL or whatever... SO, who's with me!?!?

--> Joshua Radin. He & his music are truly 'the biz-ness.' (TWR code for "DA BOMB") I guess I just have a soft spot for men who play soft guitar music. What? What?!

That's all for now...