The Lazy Chef. And The Lazy EVERYTHINGELSE.

I don't what my deal was last week, but I came home every single night and totally passed out at like 7 pm and slept for 2 or 3 hours, which made for some difficult nights of sleep.  Not to mention that I essentially got NOTHING done all week.  This, coming off of a weekend where I was legitimately sick made for 9 days of not getting shit done.  And I had some shit that needed to get done.

So this weekend, the pressure WAS ON to ya know, BE A HUMAN.

Saturday wasn't particularly productive, except that I did begin the Blog Clothes Sale selection process.  Because yes, I'm jumping on that bandwagon and starting a clothing sale site Selections have been made and pictures taken.  Coming soon!  Get excited size 10 feet!  JIMMY CHOO!

I finally spoke to my long lost husband, who has been working non-stop.  We ate at Tillman's, and if you live in Dallas- head directly there and get the Big Sexy with the Goat Cheese Tater Tots.  People!  It is a hamburger with ground foie gras and tater tots stuffed with goat cheese.  YES!  ALL OF THAT IN ONE DISH.

Today I finally managed to knock some items off the to do list.  Finally made plans with my long lost friend Matt- catch up lunch at Chili's, checking out of his new grown up house, and a yogurt date at Menchie's.  

Which, do you live near a Menchie's?  

THEN STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AND GO!  It's one of those "top your own yogurt" places and IT IS SO VERY GOOD.

Aside:  I now proudly live in the Dallas Yogurt District.  Within walking distance, which THIS IS TEXAS YO- walking distance is not the same here as it is anywhere else- it is WAY SHORTER, there is a Yogilicious, a Red Mango, an Orange Cup, a Paciugo, and coming soon a Pinkberry.  There is also Menchie's and a Natsumi within a 5 minute drive.  It is all sort of TOTALLY AWESOME.

Moving on.

I forced Matt to go with me to Tory Burch to make a return, which was sort of fascinating.  He said it was very "Austin Powers" and refused to analzye any of my purse selections.  While I was there, one of the employees complimented my Most Awesome Earrings, and when I revealed they were from Forever 21, she revealed her PANTS were from there.  Which was much improved from my last Tory Burch in store experience, in which I was treated like I was too poor to shop there.  Hence, I wore my Sophie wedges there this time.  

What awesome earrings are they?  LET ME SHOW THEM TO YOU:

Flashy Pineapple Earrings, $5.80 

I would also like to share with you my CRAZY GIRAFFE EARRINGS, which I bought as something of a joke and now am in love with:

Also, let this serve as a Latisse update- still working!

After that, I bought the Kiehl's hair conditioner I had been putting off buying.  Yes, people, it got so bad, the laziness, that I failed to buy hair conditioner.  WHAT IS MY PROBLEM?

I also made an Anthro return of a dress I was able to get half off past the period of price adjustment.  Great customer service they have- if you want to check out my Anthro fitting room reviews, they are on the Fashion Find site. 

Then I actually went to the gym for the first time in an embarrassing amount of time.

And lastly, I cooked.  And let me now share with you the Laziest Recipe Ever:

1 jar salsa

Chicken Breasts (as many as you please)

Sour Cream

Cook on high in slow cooker for 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts.  Add 1 1/2 cups sour cream to what remains in the cooker to create a sauce.  Top with fresh pico de gallo and guacamole.  

This is so delicious, even if it looks a little nasty:

And how was YOUR weekend?

Helping Someone Help Themselves.

For the past two Christmases, Mr. A's grandmother (whom I might have mentioned in the past is VERY AWESOME and also FREAKIN' 90 YEARS OLD), has made a little tradition of presenting us with a piece of a glass menagerie of sorts.

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This year, we got the goat seen above.  Last year?  We each got our own cows:

These little glass creatures are pretty awesome in and of themselves, but what comes along with them is even more important. 

A donation to Heifer International.  What's that? 

Well, basically what Heifer does is teach self-reliance.  And how does it do that?  By giving families a way to make their own money and a way to keep their family profitable and successful so they can support themselves.  Heifer pays for livestock for these families- so that they can raise their own livestock in the form of offspring.  From their website:

With gifts of livestock and training, we help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. We refer to the animals as “living loans” because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal’s offspring to another family in need. It’s called Passing on the Gift – a cornerstone of our mission that creates an ever-expanding network of hope and peace.

Heifer provides the animal, and the teaching, to allow these families to not just take gifts of money and food, but so that they can make it themselves and end the cycle that caused them to end up unable to support themselves in the first place.  Each family is given livestock (whatever animal makes sense for their current situation) and they are trained on how to raise that animal.  The family makes a commitment to then pass on a portion of the offspring of the animals they receive to another family in need.  Everyone is HELPING THEMSELVES.  And others in the process.

The gifts range from a flock of chicks, or ducks or geese, at $20, all the way up to a Heifer, which is a $500 donation.  Last year, each member of my husband's family had a Heifer donated in their name, and this year Grandma A donated a goat ($120) in each of our names.  There are several different price points for individual animals or even $1500 menageries, but you can also donate to help pay for a portion of the animal in increments as low as $10 for a share (Check out the adorable trio of rabbits!), which is what  I plan on doing.

Why do I bring this up now?  Because one of their current projects is in Haiti.  Giving there is obviously of the utmost importance for emergency aid and supplies, but Haiti also needs our help in the long run, and this is an amazing way to give to the recovery efforts there.  In Haiti, there are plans to help at least 380 families (though I suppose post earthquake it is possible Heifer plans to increase their assistance).  You can check out the map here to find out about Heifer projects all over the world. 

I hate to get all preachy, but when I looked up at our bookshelves today and saw those animals, and realized that the only reason I knew of the project was because of the Amazing Grandma A, I wanted to share this with you all!

I Yam What I Yam.

I?  Am not what you would call a "positive person."

I enjoy griping almost as much as I enjoy talking about good stuff.

(Which isn't to say I enjoy experiencing stuff that gives me something to gripe about as much as experiencing stuff that I enjoy.)

When stuff is going down, I am just as likely to envision the Ending of Doom as I am envisioning a positive turn of events.

You aren't likely to see me walking around with a big old smile on my face.

When something annoys me,  I like to talk about it.

I love having a good nemesis.

I enjoy listening to the gripes of others generally speaking.

I find it generally humorous to imagine often unlikely consequences that may result of things Going All to Shit.

But here's the other thing(s)....

I'm not a negative person.

You won't see me walking around with a grimace all the time either.

I'd much rather have good stuff going on than bad stuff.

When something annoys me, I rather enjoy being annoyed about it.

I'm not a martyr.

When something annoys me, even if I momentarily get good and worked up about it, that state is generally fleeting.

I get over stuff pretty quickly.  Unless Mr. A did it.

(I JEST!)

I'll be there for you if you want to gripe and complain about someone who done you wrong.

I think this outlook tends to set me up with pretty realistic expectations, or at least I don't end up being let down all of the time when things don't turn out as well as I may have hoped.

And above all, I have a sense of humor about everything I've talked about here.  I ALWAYS see the humor in the situation (and not just because I'm thinking "this is so becoming a blog post"), and I can find almost any situation, no matter how bad, funny. 

I'm not sure where all of this comes from.  I think it kind of starts with my father.  The man, he has some bad fucking luck.  If shit can happen, it will probably happen to my dad.  But my dad's luck?  Always inevitably turns.  So I think I've just sort of decided that I'm like him.  Shit's gonna go down, but in the end, I'll be okay.  And I'm pretty much okay with the whole time- bad to good.  If I want something, I'm generally confident that I'm gonna get it.  If something bad happens, I'll make a joke about it and move on, waiting until something good happens.

I've spent a long time trying to kind of half assedly deny this about myself.  But over the years as I've become more okay with who I am, I've become more okay with these facts about myself.  Writing this site has helped- when you spend as much time as I do writing about yourself, you start to wonder what the hell kind of impression you are leaving with people, which also makes you wonder what kind of impression you should be leaving with people about yourself. 

The bottom line is, I have NO CLUE if what I'm saying here is what all the people who read this site think of me.  Maybe it is all of the things I've said here, and maybe it is none of them.  I tend to think that people perceive me as more negative than I actually am because I'm probably more willing than most people to confess to being bothered by something.

So why am I even bothering to write this down?

Well, because my "attitude," such as it is, does have some negative effects.  I tend to find myself having issues with really positive people.  I sometimes find myself incredulous at their positive outlook.

"Has X really even bothered to think about that situation?" I will say to myself.

"X cannot be serious if they think this is going to turn out okay."

"Is X SERIOUSLY that happy all the time?" I wonder.

But ya know, I certainly don't want to be judged for my "realism."  Which is pretty hypocritical really.

And the whole matter also probably leads me to not doing as much to promote my own happiness as I should, being so okay with my occasionally grumpypants outlook on life.  Never being all that adversely affected by bad situations also means you sometimes miss out on good stuff too, or that you fail to actively pursue happy things as much as you probably should.  I don't think my general way of thinking prevents me from being happy, as I feel I have a damn good life and am pretty happy and amused most of the time.  But it does prevent me from being happier.  And I need to work on that.

So what about you?  Do you feel like your general attitude is properly perceived by others?  Will any of you admit to being sort of an amused not-optimist (which isn't to say pessimist) like me?  Do you feel like what you are putting out there is actual how you are in terms of outlook?

Brucey Say What?

Okay.  So.  Wow.  88 comments on that last post.  And none of them negative?  That has to be an internet record or something!

Anyhoo, thank you all for your super nice, supportive comments.  I'll keep you all posted on when I will be bringing that site back up.

Since I'm rather brain dead today, as a result of an exhausting day at work and the fact that I'm working my way towards a nasty cold, I don't have much energy to think of anything funny.  So instead, I'll let Bruce Jenner do the talking.

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noted that I recently changed my profile picture to this:

Why?  Because Bruce Jenner is awesome, that's why!  And he has a way of making ANYTHING I say oh, a thousand times funnier.  So here are my Top Tweets Made Better By Bruce:

(I think the above is something Bruce might actually do)

Bruce on virgins on the Bachelor and Jillian from the Bachelorette:

That would be Bruce on the Rozlyn situation on the Bachelor.

Bruce is just FULL of deep thoughts.

Bruce does not take marriage (on the Bachelor) lightly.

BRUCE HAS NO PATIENCE FOR TARDINESS!

Despite being related to Khloe, Kim and Kourtney, Bruce is a bit of a prude.

Slynnro's Clothes DEBACLE!

Okay, so, here's the deal! I am NOT presently posting over there, for reasons that have NOTHING to do with anyone reading (or not reading that blog).  While this is not the primary reason I have temporarily made that blog private, here is one of the deals:  I am having a bit of a crisis of conscience about the whole thing.  I'm not a fan of pretension, even if I DO have a taste for certain fancy things, I don't like to be percieved as bragging about what I may or may not have.  And er, posting photos of my clothes on the internet?  Kind of violates my own Personal Pretension Policy.  It all felt VERY "braggy," which was never my intention.

What WAS my intention?  I personally LOVE reading Outfit of the Day blogs (Kate's being my FAVORITE) because the ones I choose to read (those sans modely shots with witsful looks into the sunset) have been inspirational to me in my everyday life.  While not everyone I know, or work with, or read, or who reads my blog, may care about having some sort of distinct personal style, I DO.  I personally find EVERYTHING about EVERYONE interesting, which is how I got started reading blogs in the first place.  And that everything includes what you are wearing!  And while certain blogs may be pretty, or well photographed, or whatever, I don't always find their style relatable.  As someone who has to adhere to a somewhat strict work dress code, it was my hope to help MYSELF and YOURSELF find ways to keep some sense of personal style while looking like a business professional.  And having Slynnro's Clothes achieved my goals for me.  It makes me think more about what I'm wearing and how I put things together, which is one little way of maintaining who I am outside of work inside of work.  And yes, I get that not everyone may understand that, and may find the whole thing very offputting.  I get it, because sometimes I feel that way.

Geez, this is longwinded.

Anyway.  My intention was to be one of those relatable style blogs.  Which I do believe I was.  But I don't know.  I started to feel silly and hypocritical putting all of that out there (and despite what was on Twitter today, this had nothing to do with comments- but I do think you can see- putting photos of yourself up on the internet with no response does feel PRETTY DARN STUPID).  (Which hey!  That's probably a relatable feeling too!  Bloggers!  They're just like you!)

Anyway.  Oddly enough, that isn't even the reason I made the site private.  None of the stuff in this post is.  But I thought I'd just put that out there, and I'm kind of interested in what you all think!

New Year Card

So, I made a big fuss on Twitter about how HILARIOUS my New Year's cards were, and since they seem to have been received by everyone already, I can now share them here.  Mr. A and I were too lazy and slow to send out a holiday card, so this was what we sent instead.

The exterior:

And the inside:

 

 (Special Note to Mr. A's friend Brian, avid reader- I asked him to get your address and he never did!  I'm sure you are crushed after seeing this.)

Don't forget to subscribe to my newest pet project- Fashion Find Redux!

Winner.....and Something For You...

First up, the winner of my giveaway is Mimi:

Thanks for getting me hooked on Gilt Groupe, Rue La La and that Fresh soda shampoo. I love your recs!
Mimi | Homepage | 01.15.10 - 10:15 am | # 

Congrats Mimi!  Email me ASAP!

And now for something new.....As some of you may have noticed, Fashion Find, my old fashion picks blog, has come to an end.  However, I decided to keep it going, a bit differently, on my own.  Now instead of just picking one item a day and writing about it (250 words to be exact- that was rough sometimes), I'll just be posting random stuff I spot that I think is fabulous.  I might post 50 times a day, I might not post for a week.  WHO KNOWS!  But I have a lot of things I see that I know someone should buy, even if it isn't me!

Subscribe to Fashion Find with this link!

DELURK! WIN A PRIZE!

So today's Delurking Day and um a bit late...

So comment!  And win!

I'll be giving away a fantastic Forever 21 piece of jewelry of my choosing to the winner, to be chosen from the commentors on this post.  (I'd just pick one, but since their stuff sells out so quickly that whatever I pick will be sold out prior to the end of the giveway).

Giveaway ends on Saturday at 5:00 pm CST.  Happy delurking!

Hotlanta?

As I said earlier, I spent the weekend in Atlanta visiting friends.  Other than Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, I had never been to Atlanta before.  But Mr. A occasionally spends large amounts of time waxing poetically about the virtues of the City with a Thousand Peachtree Streets.  As Mr. A is a graduate of Emory University, I always sort of assumed that while Atlanta is indeed likely an awesome city, some of that was colored with the "I Love Where I Went to College" rose colored glasses.   For example, I love Waco, where I went to college.  It's a city most widely known for it's connection to Branch Dividians and a ya know, a massacre and all.  In it's defense, Waco is also home of George's Bar, the greatest place on earth and watering hole made famous by Pat Green.  So I think it's an understatement to say that we don't always see the place went went to college in the same way a rational person might.

Moving on.

So I was in Atlanta and I started to think. . . I like this place.  I could live in this place.  Admittedly, I didn't see a whole lot, but what I did see indicated very strongly that Atlanta is a lot like what Mr. A says- a combination of all of the good things about my second favorite city in the world- Austin - and Dallas.  Meaning essentially, lots of good shopping, actual TREES!!! (!!!!), old established neighborhoods and people who are not assholes.  Most of the time when I travel to another city, I find myself thinking "Thank the Lord I'm from Texas."

You see, we Texans are an intense bunch.  People have told me before that unlike most US citizens, when Texans travel abroad and are asked where they are from, they say "Texas."  Everyone else?  Says the US.  I don't know if this is true or not, but I do know that if I were asked that question anywhere in the world, Texas would be my first response.  I don't have an accent, I can't ride a horse, no one in my family is an oil millionaire and my car doesn't have longhorns attached to the front.  But I will go to town on a chicken fried steak (if you have to click that link to know what that is, I WEEP for you), I say y'all and fixin' to, and my dad drives a Big Giant Dodge Truck.  I'm a Texan, through and through.

All this to say, me having positive thoughts about moving to another state?  Kind of a big deal.

I don't generally spend much time thinking about moving to other places, largely because it's just not feasible for our careers.  First, as a lawyer, most states don't have bar admission reciprocity for at least five years, and at the point Mr. A is in his career, it's becomingly increasingly difficult for him to switch firms because of partnership track issues (should he decide to pursue that) and at least for now, the economy.  And while I'd LOVE to move to Austin, and my job chances there are actually very good, that is just not true for Mr. A.  He works at a large national law firm, and such firms are becoming increasingly non-existent in Austin.  That could change in the future, but it ain't happenin' any time soon, and by the time it does happen, Mr. A would have presumably gone the partnership way at his current firm if that is what he chooses to do.  So other than the off chance at him finding an in house counsel position, it's probably not happening.  I have NO INTEREST in moving to San Antonio or Houston, and well, as much as I love Waco, I'm not crazy enough to want to move there as a non-frat party attending adult.

The idea of moving to another state is not something that occurred to me as a real, feasible option for some of the reasons listed above.  I have spent wistful moments wondering what might have been if I had, at some point, had a wild hair and ventured off to New York City all on my own (obviously, prior to meeting Mr. A).  The bottom line is, I am not, nor was I ever, cut out for that.  I'm not meant to live in a big tall city.  To quote the Dixie Chicks, I like more wide open spaces (even if they are the Dallas treeless kind), I don't do public transportation, and I hope to live in an apartment larger than the 500 square feet a Manhattan lifestyle would allow me.  I had the same thoughts when a couple we know decided to do the whole "spend our life savings on a trip around the world" thing.  Enviable to be sure, but ultimately?  Not me.

But something about Atlanta struck me.  And I got a little excited about the idea of just starting up somewhere else.  Which isn't to say I dont' like, and even occasionally love, living in Dallas.  I have great friends here, a fantastic job, and a life all made out for myself.  But still, something remains appealing about trying something different.  And the thing is, Atlanta?  Not exactly unfeasible.  Mr. A's large national law firm?  Based in Atlanta.  That fact alone pretty much makes Atlanta the city we would be most likely to move to if we did move.

This is all really nothing more than navel gazing, and would say there is still oh, an 80% chance we will spend forevermore in Dallas.  And I can merrily live with that.  But even if this feeling only lasts for a few weeks, it's nice to know that there is someplace out there, some place feasible and some place appealing.

Help Me!

Mr. A and I will be attending a wedding this May in San Jose, California.  The wedding is on a Sunday, and we are planning on leaving for California on Thursday or Friday to make time to explore the area.   We will be renting a car.  I would love ANY advice you have on hotels or itineraries or must do activities or must eat restaurants!

Suggest away!

In which I spend time with children. And live to tell about it.

I'm not much of a child person.  I don't think I want kids, I never babysat when I was younger, I only have one sibling, and my father was the oldest child in his family so my sister and I were the youngest cousins.  So I was a little bit afraid when I planned my visit to see Ali, even though I've known her for YEARS because her children would be there!  CHILDREN!  SMALL PEOPLE!

Those turned out to be pointless worries.  I mean sure, Emily did ask me to photograph her "smeyesing" (smiling with her eyes):

I call this one "Oh, Ali, you are SO SCREWED."

but she also spontaneously did this:

so ya know, she is still JUST EIGHT.  Although she did declare she was 26 at lunch, during which she griped profusely about ordering off of the children's menu.  She later amended her "true age" to 21.  Based on my interactions with her, that seems about right.

Then there was Isabella.  Oh Isabella.  I would like to carry you around and just let you react to things in the world, because uh, IT'S FUNNY:




She also walked around like this:

Adorable, but this came to an unfortunate end when Bella Bunny ran into a giant column head first.  It was all okay in the end.  Lil' Paula Deen quickly recovered to gobble up a cookie.  And yes, I do call her Lil' Paula Deen because DAMN, THIS KID LOVES BUTTER.

And Josh.  Josh doesn't talk much, so you'd think he was shy or quiet.  But then you find him in the Gap busting out the Michael Jackson moves while wearing a Fedora and you realize you were wrong:

So children.  Not so intimidating as it turns out.

They wear hats!

They'll do Hook 'Em on command!  (I still cannot talk about the game.  Or Colt.  OH COLT!)

And they will gladly yell "Good Night Old Waxy!" into the phone if you ask them.

And now I want one so badly.






JUST KIDDING OLD WAXY.

Slynnro Recommends: No One Paid Me To Say This Ed.

I'm in a crappy mood and very annoyed by various goings on at work today, so in lieu of actual content, I now present to you something that makes me happy- Products I am Currently Loving.  I haven't done a good old product recommendation post in a while, so enjoy!

Bliss Body Butter Lite-  I've always really liked regular Body Butter, especially the vanilla and bergamot, but that shit is HEAVY.  You can't really put on clothes for a while after you apply, which is fine on Lazy Saturday, but isn't so useful after your morning shower.  This stuff is just as moisturizing, but it absorbs very quickly and is much, much lighter!  It's pricey, at $29, and I was lucky enough to get some during their recent 40% off sale.  Subscribe to the Bliss emails to get that info!

La Mer The Treatment Fluid Foundation- This stuff is CRAZY expensive, I will confess.  I have only bought it because I had a gift certificate.  It is amazing!  It really does feel like a "treatment" going on your face.  It lasts all day, it doesn't get greasy, it doesn't melt into the corners of your nose.  If you have the money, try it!  It is worth noting that my bottle lasted nearly 6 months, and I wear makeup every day to work and usually on the weekends too.  I'm also a terrible product waster (I pump it onto my hand to apply and end up wasting a bunch when I pump out too much product).  Ask for a sample at Neiman's!  Or wait on a gift card like I did.

Kiehl's Ultra Moisturizing Eye Stick-  My face is incredibly oily, but because of my ridiculous skin allergies, it has been all dry and crusty by my nose and eyes.  I put this stuff on in the mornings before my moisturizer and it really smoothes things out. 

Kiehl's Acai Damage Correcting Moisturizer-  The annoying thing about spending money on anti-aging treatments is that until your're, ya know, OLD you have no idea if they are even doing anything.  But this moisturizer immediately improved the texture of my skin, so I'm hoping that is a positive sign as to what it's doing as far as preventing the signs of aging.  At $44, its not cheap (but, uh, cheaper than my old moisturizer).  I've had my bottle for a few months now and it is less than half way used.  I would say this would last 7 months or more, which I think makes it ultimately affordable.  That's only $6.25/month!  HI!  I WORK FOR QVC!

Lollia Wish Fragrance- This stuff smells DELICIOUS.  It's available at Anthropologie (another purchase made with the proceeds of a gift return!).  And the bottle is SO PRETTY sitting on my counter. The hand cream is great too.

Forever 21 Tights-  These tights are shockingly well made, and this is coming from a total tights snob.  For work, I bought my fancy pants Wolford black tights, but for the weekends?  If you want to buy a pair of crazy colored/patterned tights, these are great.  Price range between $5.80-7.80!

In Case iPhone Case for iPhone 3GS- I've gone through 3 damn iPhone cases since I got mine this summer.  First was this one, which cracked.  There there was this one, a gift from Mr. A because he did not approve of the previous case, which got all stretched out.  I ordered the In Case case off of Gilt, (go here for an invite!) for a mere $14.50 and I love it.  It fits on the phone really tight, it's easy to clean, and the pink color is really easy to spot in my purse.

Forever 21 Hair Elastic Ball-  I keep this in my desk for the afternoons, by which my hair is usually driving me nuts.  It is a lot easier than keeping a bunch of hair elastics loose in your desk.  And it's only $3.50!

Thai Kitchen Noodle Cart Pad Thai-  I'm always looking for good gluten free lunch options that don't require me to cook.  One of my co-workers had one of these a few weeks ago and pointed out that it was gluten free.  Unlike a lot of people in my life, my co-workers are actually very nice about the gluten free thing.  Yes, they call me "Glutey" but they are also willing to go somewhere to accomodate my dietary needs, and are constantly pointing out gluten free things they see in stores.  These are super cheap and are non-perishable, so they are great to keep in your desk for emergencies!

Year End Meme.

Copied from all over the damn internet, especially Sundry.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I got the job that I really wanted.  I picked juries and tried cases before them. 

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Er.  Seeing as I don't remember if I had any New Year's resolutions, if I did make any I probably failed.  I don't see a post about them in the archives, so I'm pretty certain I did not make any.

I have already resolved to eat slower.  I think I'm just gonna stick with that.  I also need to cut back on the work gossiping.  I'd say quit, but that's a recipe for damn failure if I've ever seen one.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Crap, I'm sure I'm insultingly forgetting someone's baby.  Lots of internet friends did, one childhood friend.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


Nope.

5. What countries did you visit?



Started out the new year in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and went to the Turks and Caicos in September.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Um.  I would like to move into a bigger place.  I would like to have more time to visit friends near and far.  

I'd also like to get more involved in my city.  When I first moved to Dallas, I hated it.  HATED IT.  But over the past 4 years, it has very much grown on me.  Which is good, because chances are that due to Mr. A's career, we're here for the long haul.  The longer I'm here, the more pleasantly surprised by things I become.  This year I also joined the Junior League, which was the ultimate pleasant surprise.  I joined essentially as a joke, and ended up really enjoying everything I've done so far (save for general meetings, OHGODKILLMENOW).  And I've also been shocked at how kind and well-intentioned the membership is.  It truly isn't just a collection of stepford wives and wannabe stepford wives.  I am excited to pick a placement for the year, and hope to utilize it to meet more people in my neighborhood and my age group.

These shoes.  




7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Um.  Nothing particularly momentous happened, and I never remember dates anyway.  March 2 was my first day of work.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Well, I already said this, but I got new job.  Finally reconnected with an old friend whom I missed.  Made great new ones.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Buying WAY too much stuff.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope.  Well, I did have a HORRIFIC case of food poisoning in February that landed me in the ER after 8 hours of continuous vomiting.  That sucked.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPhone by far.  I got a new laptop!  I bought a fancy pants purse as a gift to myself for starting my new job, which I still love and use all the time.  Mr. A bought the fabulous new Volvo Movler.  La Mer foundation.  Plane tickets to the Turks and Caicos.  Massages. Moisturizer (omg!  people telling me I haven't aged at all in that last post?    I do take it as a compliment.  I mean, I guess I haven't, but it disturbs me that I guess I'm like of the age that that is a like, thing!  I AM SO OLD!)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
That Mr. A was (mostly) awesome.  

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?


Um.  The answer to this covers a non-bloggable subject. 


Also, Jon Gosselin and Tiger Woods.


14. Where did most of your money go?
Shopping.  Which is bad.  I plan on putting my money to better use this year (see visiting friends above!).

15. What did you get really excited about?
Our third trip to Turks and Caicos.  Starting my new job. Getting trial experience.  Visiting my friend Angela in Seattle.  Going to BlogHer with some of my favorite ladies. 

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Um.  Er.  Hmmmm.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

(a) happier or sadder?
(b) thinner or fatter?
(c) richer or poorer?

(a) Happier.  Life is pretty good.

(b) Probably a little thinner.

(c) Richer.  New job included NEW RAISE, which brought me up from minimum wage to just above minimum wage (this is only barely an exaggeration)!  And Mr. A is getting one too.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?


Travel more.  Cook more.  Taken my dry cleaning more frequently so the bills weren't $200.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

 

Worrying about a rumored layoff that never happened (for me, and the layoffs at Mr. A's firm).  Shopping.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
We spend Christmas Eve at my parents house and Christmas Day with Mr. A's family.  And we slept at the Sheraton Four Points to preserve my sanity.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I refuse to write some cheeseball answer about Mr. A and our growing love.



22. What was your favorite TV program?
Jersey Shore!  Big Love.  The Dish.  True Blood.  30 Rock.  Biggest Loser.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
 

I don't think so.  As I get older, I'm getting better at picking my friends!

24. What was the best book you read?


American Wife.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I'm pretty lame about music.

26. What did you want and get?


My new job (tired of that answer yet?)  I rekindled a friendship with a long lost best friend. 

27. What did you want and not get?

A new camera.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I can't ever remember movies I've seen.  Lame, but I LOVED This Is It.  The Hangover.  Up In The Air.  The Hurt Locker.  The September Issue.  Up.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was at a work conference.  LAME.  29.  What a waste of the last birthday of my 20s. 

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?


I don't think I have an answer for that.   I would have loved to have fit one more trip in this year.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?


Oh dear.  This is far too well documented elsewhere. 

I think a big part of the reason I spent too much on clothing this year is because I've finally really, truly figured out my style and what works on me and what doesn't.  I've also gotten better at putting together whole looks and accessorizing.  I need to remember I don't need to buy everything I see that fits with my new found style profile.  

32. What kept you sane?


My co-workers.  The Champagne Thursday Crowd.  Ali, Metalia and Kristin.  The OAF.  My Snuggie.  My iPhone.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I love those damn Kardashians.  WHATEVA.  Also, Bradley Cooper.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Heathcare reform.

35. Who did you miss?


All of my friends who live in a state that is not Texas.  My friend Matty, who I haven't seen as much of lately.

36. Who was the best new person you met?


The CT girls listed above.  Finally met Metalia in person.  Several of my co-workers, who have become close friends.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.


Getting older is actually kind of awesome.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Not big into this kind of thing.

New Year's, Through the Years.

New Year's Eve 2004:  In law school and too drunk to remember to take a photo.

New Year's Eve 2005:  Engaged, and in Philadelphia with Mr. A's college friends.

New Year's Eve 2006:  Too hectic to take a photo.

New Year's Eve 2007:  At the gay bar!

New Year's Eve 2008:  Isla Mujeres, Mexico:

New Year's Eve 2009: With Friends in Ft. Worth, also known as The One Where My Hair Looked Fabulous.

Happy New Year!