Sunday, October 31, 2010

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu Childhood...

In the spirit of the Halloween Holiday, I'd like to take a moment to mourn the loss of my youth.  I never really had to worry about filling my pillowcase full of candy. I always knew that the Candy Queen would pull through with the annual eight pounds of sugar. Oh yes. Eight pounds of halloween candy. Not for my family, not for my friends, not for my distant relatives, but all for ME. Well, maybe I can't eat eight pounds of chocolate goodness by myself, but as of October 29,2010, I received my final bag of candy.
     I have always looked forward to the day I would receive my candy especially post the glory days of Trick Or Treating. Receiving this candy, was a highlight of my year. If I wanted candy, I had to be on my best behavior. This event only came once a year, and every time I got it, I knew it was one year closer to not receiving the sugary goodness. As the years went on the candy queen always knew what kind of candy I liked and what I didn't like, including my favorites of Twix, Kit-Kats, and Reese Cups.  After receiving my candy, I was to follow tradition and dump it all out and sort it into three groups. The don't even think about touching it pile included, Reese Cups, Twixs, Kit Kats, and Milky Ways. The you can touch it pile but you have to ask, three musketeers, hershey bars, skittles, and starburst. And the go ahead you don't even have to ask pile/I stuck those in for your mother and father almond joys, whoppers, and some years, those nasty mary jane's sticky peanut butter chews.
     I usually get my candy some where in the middle of October. If I remember correctly, I would usually get it somewhere around the 15th of October. It was perfect timing, just enough to hold me until the actual holiday, when I was fortunate and young enough to trick or treat, I would have more to add to my collection. While celebrating the candy queens's birthday, I started to wonder? Where was my candy? I hope she hadn't forgotten. The last year I get candy she forgets? This can not be happening. "Did you forget about candy this year?" "Is it already Halloween? Whoops." Hahahahaha. Real funny.  "No I did not forget." Crisis Adverted.
     "But what if I go to grad school next year?" "Sara you're not going to grad school next year." Thank you captain obvious. I am/was determined to make this candy tradition go farther than just my undergraduate career. "No Sara. We've gone over this before. You only get candy through your four years of college." The breezy cool fall October days went by and still no sign of candy. It hadn't been mentioned since the birthday celebrations, and there were no traces of empty wrappers in trash cans to be found. The weekend of Halloween had rolled around. This was starting to worry me. Being the problem solver I am, I took it upon myself to solve this trick (I'm so clever) and invite myself over for Taco Night. We all knew there was an elephant in the room that needed to be discussed. WHERE'S. MY. CANDY?!  I could taste the Reese's in my mouth. What a perfect dessert after a delicious dinner. "If you stick around for dessert...." My dream had come true. I had solved this mystery. Case closed. "You can have a piece of Coconut Cake." Who wants Coconut Cake for dessert when you have a whole bag of sugary goodness waiting for you? I began the lonesome walk to my car in hopes of having a front seat filled with unhealthy candy bars. 
     "I forgot last night. What time do you get off work?" Can you come by the house after work?!" It's about time I be reunited with my candy. And for the last time, I slowly dumped my candy out into the piles. In the words of the great philosopher Taylor Swift, "Growing up happens without you knowing it. Growing up is such a crazy concept because a lot of times when you were younger you wish you were older."
-Sara-

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Brumotactillophobia....

There's about a gajillion perks to living in the South. Sweet tea, SEC football, home cooked southern food, girls always have an excuse to wear cute dresses for something, and my personal favorite Peppermint Ice Cream. You think it'd be something easy to find somewhere up North, but it takes twice as long to find this treat (if you're lucky). I promise you I'm getting somewhere with this. Peppermint ice cream is only available starting November 1st and goes out of production December 24th. This is a staple in my family. If you don't like it, then something must be wrong with your taste buds, because it's kinda sorta ridiculously delicious. I can remember as a young chillen eating this at birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinners for dessert. Has your mouth watered yet?
     With the birthday a week away, :) the question has entered my mind? What kind of ice cream is to accompany the it's too good to describe and I don't want my mouth to water while I think about it, and I don't like the Cheap cake and it's my day of birth, so  yes I would like a home made chocolate cake with home made hot fudge in between the two layers of chocolate and mini chocolate chips in the mix cake batter birthday cake? Having grown up eating peppermint ice cream for virtually every holiday, I decided to go with tradition and have peppermint stick ice cream with my cake.  I served my piece of cake, and was served my ice cream. Slight problem. The cold ice cream is touching my warm cake, which is making my ice cream melt. And that's no bueno. When you eat your cake and ice cream, you should be able to enjoy it. Savor it. Not have to rush eating it, because it's melting into ice cream soup. Your birthday only comes once a year. Here's where my phobia comes in. I don't like cold things touching hot things, or hot things touching cold things. Well there is only one thing that is not included in this phobia. I don't mind dipping fries in room temperature ketchup. I know this is beyond weird, but it's a challenge that I am forced to face daily. Yea, that's right, when people get hot fudge sundaes, I don't have hot fudge on my ice cream unless it's cold, and usually it's not, because it melts my ice cream faster. Here's a perfect example, one morning last week, I was indulging in delicious Pumpkin pancakes. I was asked if I wanted whipped cream. Uh, no thank you. See there it is. Cold touching hot. I like to look at this phobia this way, why would you want something as cold as 32 degrees touching something that you could probably cook in the dead of summer's heat?
     Just this week, I came across another problem. The in house chef :) fixed stir fry for dinner, and added pineapple. Then cooked it. HOT PINEAPPLE?! How do I say gross? Hot pineapple. Pineapple is supposed to be a refreshing fruit that you can turn to during those hot summer days, not throw it in a pan with peppers and snap peas and duck sauce and then eat it are you? Didn't think so.
     I'm sure this is something that not a lot of you think about, but this phobia is slowly crushing birthday celebrations one birthday at a time.

-Sara- 

Sunday, October 24, 2010

We're Playing Basketball...

Dear Arena Authority,
My sincere apologies for not exactly saying the nicest things about your latest project. I mean you did finish under budget and a month early and all. Along with 21,999 other people I got to visit the shrine dedicated to the greatest basketball team in the city, I had mixed emotions about your plans. I was speechless in your plans and the way you executed. Seriously though, with all the money you took from my paycheck, you made a KFC Chicken Sandwich $11.25 (And no I'm not exaggerating either) ? And you RAN OUT OF POPCORN? You knew WEEKS ago that 22,000 people were coming and you ran out of POPCORN? Aside from those two minor kinks, give yourself a pat on the back, and I can not wait to go back and see Mama Monster. Once again, please accept my apologies with these fabulous pictures only one true fan can take.
The Shrine. 
Only The Best City In The Country. 
Born And Raised
Man Of The Hour.
I Told Them To Do Work. So They Did. 
No Cell Phones? I'll Send A Smoke Signal Instead. 
L. Yes. 

-Sara-



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Best Day...Part 2...

Previously on the Best Day Part One: we left off with yours truly coming off of cloud nine and head home for a power nap. Well, I attempted, but failed. How could someone like me nap on one of the most gorgeous day's of someones life? Between the five hours after the ceremony and reception, we headed back to wedding headquarters, (su casa, es mi casa) where my new brother-in-law, and fellow bridesmaids sans one without shoes headed to the liquor store to pick up some bubbly. How can you not have a wedding and not have champagne? After a toast to the brand spankin new newlyweds, it was off to the hotel to mingle with the out of towner's. The afternoon was going perfectly; a gorgeous ceremony, family in town and the reception in a couple hours. What more could you ask for? Insert thank god we hired a wedding planner. "Hello?" "Uh, yes we were the wedding after yours and wanted to let you know that your wedding license is on the altar." "Okay thanks, we'll take care of it." Hello people?!? This was the document that sealed the deal and it was just hanging at the altar? No biggie. Low and behold, Mom and Dad saved the day and while bringing one crisis to a close, one was just beginning. After a somewhat relaxing afternoon at wedding headquarters, it was off to the party of the year! I had heard about these extravagant details during the planning, but kinda kept them in the back of my head. Walking into the reception may have been one of the most breathtaking moments that I have ever experienced. (Well besides a few hours earlier in the day). After the massive hunt to find the most important document one may ever sign, I thought this would be the only problem of the day. There are five people that need to sign this document. Bride, Groom, witness one, witness two and an officiant. Queue MIA officiant. The search party had been formed and was ready to be activated. "What? Am I late?" "Well not exactly, but we've been needing to sign the wedding license, and the only person we are missing is you." Everyone had been accounted for and the moment had come to sign the license. "Sara, you'll sign right here." "Where?" "Where it says witness. A.K.A Maid of Honor" Signing something like this made me super nervous. I guess all those years practicing my signature in class had finally paid off. After the license had been conducted it was time to get my groove on. Or so I thought. It was time to formally introduce my family to family and friends for FOURTY FIVE MINUTES. Okay, now let us get our dancin shoes on.
     We are a family of modern. No not the emmy award ABC hit show Modern Family, but a family who likes to do things a little different than the boring traditionalists. Time for the first dance as husband and wife. Aw, how cute, but so awkward. Even the lovebirds agree. Instead of dancing to Bob Carlisle's wedding hit "Butterfly Kisses" my sister and dad decided to dance to "Shout!" The dance made for some killer wedding pictures. After the just one more opportunity for that perfect picture dances were over, dinner was served. I needed this night to slow down. I was having way too much fun for this night to end. "What have you eaten today?" Well lets see here. Breakfast around 7:30 this morning and a turkey sandwich around noon. "Sara you need to eat" "No. I'm good though, thanks for asking" I had officially been caught by the dinner police. "I'm gonna bug you till I see you eat something." Having less than 30 minutes to eat lunch in high school, I had perfected the art of scarfing down food. That night, I ate like the Titanic was sinking. I couldn't eat fast enough. With over five different food stations to choose from, including quite the clever mashed potato bar, I remember eating mashed potatoes topped with bacon and grabbing a bite of someones cheese and crackers. After dinner, the night called for more dancing, followed by the cutting of the wedding cake, and me toasting the happy couple in front of 225 people. Of which half of them were their friends that I had never met.
      I had happily volunteered to give a toast earlier in the summer, but as the hours passed by, my nerves began to get the best of me. I had written the speech well before the actual reception and had it memorized as well. The speech was perfect. Not too short, not too long, and the words expressed my true feelings on the couple of the night. It wasn't that I would forget the speech it was the idea of tearing up in front of those 225 people. I got through the first 20 words, followed by waterworks galore. And if you know me, I hardly cry. It wasn't sad tears, it was happy tears, and the thought of making new memories with the family. After recovering from the toast/waterworks, I received several complements from people saying that my speech was so heartfelt and so wonderful. Yea, yea, I know. Being jipped out of wedding cake testing, I made sure I got a piece of cake. As I've mentioned before, there's something about wedding cake that makes it so delicious.
     Eating my delicious piece of vanilla with butter-cream icing, and yes there was chocolate, but I grabbed the first piece I saw wedding cake, I took a moment to sit down and reflect on what had happened in this whirlwind of a day. I had woken up as a family of four and would be going to bed as family of five. And for once, this was a change that I was perfectly content with. Next thing you know it was 11:30 and it was time to send the love birds off to their honeymoon in style.
     Did you know that rice is harmful to birds? Well if you didn't know it, now you do. Instead of throwing the traditional million grains of rice and making the honeymoon exit one that they'll never forget, we decided to celebrate the day with an exit that was lined with family and friends who sported ginormus burning sparklers. The exit made for wonderful pictures and memories. (Tip: If any of you future brides are reading this and want to do this super cool idea, I suggest you do a better time with timing as some sparklers burnt out quickly.) Instead of the oh so boring get-away car, and wanting the two to get away in style, they would drive off into the sunset in a golf cart complete with flowers, tulle, and no get away car can be complete without aluminum cans, and a "Just Married" sign blowing in the wind.
     Two weeks and several late nights later, I couldn't help myself but to look at the 933 pictures of the day. Every picture would (and still does) brings back such wonderful memories of that August day. After everyone had turned in for the night, I would look at the pictures and squeal like a fifth grade girl at a Justin Bieber concert. And for those of you who are wondering, picture 133 is the offical family wedding picture.
     In all honesty, this was one of the best nights of my entire life. From seeing my sister walk down the aisle and marry her best friend, to seeing them go off on their first vacation as a married couple, there was never a dry eye in the church or reception. In the words of Bessie Anderson Stanley, live well, laugh often, love much.


-Sara-

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Best Day...

Isn't there a rule that you don't get presents till Christmas morning? And not two days before? Christmas 2007 was an exception. I remember the sound of the sliding door sliding across the track that led into the connecting bathroom. "Sara... are you awake?" Of course I'm not awake at 2:00 A.M. I did walk four miles in flip flops. "Look at my ring." I must have been in a really good dream. Was my sister really engaged, or was I still in a dream? "Wait. What ring?" "My engagement ring." "Sorry to wake you, but I had to come and show you." And you expect me to go back to bed after hearing my sister was engaged? Psssh. Yeah right. I awoke the next morning to "Good morning Sara. Did you sleep well?"  "Well for the four hours I slept, yeah, I slept pretty well." Oh yes. My dream was not a dream. The sister who was not exactly fond of me at birth, but we learned to truly love each other, was indeed engaged.
     Fast forward 18 months and a summer that I will never forget. Wedding Season "formally" kicked off on May 17 with a Stock The Bar/Kickoff To Summer Party at one of the bridesmaids house. If this party was just a preview of what was to come, yea I'd categorize this as FUN. Stock The Bar was a party filled with fun, laughter, and friends and a night of me meeting the wedding party. Between parties, the days were filled with last minute planning and finding outfit for events. I mean the first rule of fashion is to never show up wearing the same outfit twice. And let me say, I took that rule seriously. I had some pretty cute outfits. June had arrived, but you can't not have a wedding and not have a party. Parties usually have a theme, as this one did; Room By Room. Being the clever sister I am, and happened to get the backyard as a room, I went in with a family friend and got them a fire-pit for those cold brisk summer/early fall nights. The WEDDING MONTH HAD ARRIVED! But not before one last party. The previous two parties had been for the seriously these two lovebirds belong in a J-Crew Catalog. That's how cute they are. Deciding to kick things up a little bit, and focus solely on the bride to be, we would attend a mother daughter personal wedding shower. Adorable cute yellow clutch for the win? I think so. The wedding showers/parties had come to an end, but we did have one last party to look forward to. The bachelorette party.We'll put it this way; We all had fun. NOW, after 18 months of planning, it was time to focus on the final 120 hours before the nuptials of the year.
     Having most of the out of town family already in town for pre wedding festivities, but still waiting on some others, I thought the week would drag. And it did. Monday night was the night before things got crazy busy. Okay maybe things didn't get crazy busy, but with relatives, cousins, aunts and uncles in town and doing last minute details, yea you could say there was never a dull moment. Thank god for work. Tuesday of wedding week started with a dinner at Macaroni Grill with family who had arrived Tuesday. Wednesday had crept upon us and my excitement had hit an all time high. Wednesday would be my last day of work for the next five days. Holla. To celebrate everyone being in town, and the lovebirds being on wedding vacation/honeymoon/Sara being off work for five days/Mom was cooking the next day, so we all met up for a super casual dinner. At dinner it had really hit me. My family would no longer be a family of four. But Sara, you don't like change. This was a change that could not come fast enough. Thursday had arrived which had to be by far one of my favorite days of the weekend, (well besides Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Mom was so gracious and had an open house kind of deal and made a huge pan of Barbecue, coleslaw and a bunch of oh I really shouldn't be eating this because I have to fit into a very important dress in less than two days, but oh well who cares goodies. A summer backyard open house can not be complete with Corn hole. Thursday was fun, but seriously, lets get to the weekend that took 18 months of planning.
     T-24 hours until probably one of the best weekends of my 21 years of life. After Thursday nights fun, I awoke to my stomach in knots. And no it was not food poisoning. It was nerves. I was more nervous than the bride to be. Freeze. Backup. The Maid Of Honor was more nervous than the BRIDE? I promise I wasn't trying to steal her thunder.  Downing a coke, some crackers, and a pep talk from her, I was good to go. Before the rehearsal and dinner, and donning an adorable pink strapless dress, it was off to the traditional Bridesmaid Luncheon. The luncheon was a great way to spend one last time celebrating the upcoming weekend. Let the festivities begin. After a quick power nap, it was time for the always needed wedding rehearsal. Queue another cute dress and heels. Highlights of the run through included: the ministers car breaking down, people getting lost, and finding the closest place to cool off. After the coolest summer in the states history, my sister decides to get married on the hottest day in the summer. Being so well behaved, and following directions, the wedding party and family were rewarded with a wonderful rehearsal dinner hosted by the groom to be's family not too far away from the chapel. O.M.G. Less than 24 hours from the big day. Who had time for nerves when you had excitement to take over? The lovebirds said their goodbyes for the night and it was off to get our beauty sleep. Longest being forced to sleep night of my life. Maybe next time I wake up, I'll have to get up and get the day going. And that was only 3:00. I still had a long four hours to go.
     FINALLY!!!! August 15, 2009 will be one day that I will never forget. Setting my alarm for 7:30 that morning, it was time to get this day started. Mom had set up hair and makeup appointments for us that morning. I loved getting glamed up and all, but I was ready for the main event. But I told myself that this day will only happen once, so I needed to soak it all in. And I did. With the ceremony being held at 2:00 that afternoon, we did last minute make up and hair adjustments before heading off to the church. Blogging about this glorious day makes me want to giggle. After 18 long months of planning and parties, and being the last one to walk down the adorable and short aisle as Maid of Honor, I would witness my sister participating in a sweet, heartfelt, touching, and sometimes comical marriage ceremony. Until August 15, 2009, I was pretty sure I knew what love was all about. Oh no. That day redefined the true meaning of love. Surrounded by 80 of their closest family and friends, the support and love from everyone in attendance filled the chapel from the slate floors to the pointed gothic rafters. It seemed as if everyone who was there were truly offering their support for a long, healthy wonderful marriage. Smiles and gasps greeted the gorgeous bride as the doors opened for the walk down the aisle. With Henry Mancini's Moon River being played by a quartet, and being the proud dad he was, Dad handed her off to the radiant groom. It took me everything I had to not bawl my eyes out during the ceremony. After the gorgeous, I didn't pass out because before I walked down the aisle, I was told to breathe and whatever you do, do not lock your knees ceremony, it was time for me to some how come off of cloud nine and rest before the reception a few hours later.
     Clearly aware that I'm not discussing the reception. Want those stories? Stay tuned.

-Sara- 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Bumpy Brownie Lips...

Having a nephew does have its perks: Having a bad day? A smiling face at home waiting for me. Why waste money on a security system when you have him there to keep an eye on the house? Free babysitting services. A new way to wake me up, instead of that god awful cell phone alarm. He's willing to wrestle anytime you want. And my personal favorite? He gives the best kisses.
     It was a dark cold dreary January night in 2008. Being on mid winter break his mom decided that she couldn't go another day without seeing me, so decided to come home and hang out for the weekend. Why not celebrate her being home than going out for a quiet, it maybe some of the best mexican food you can get in town for dinner? Our dinner had arrived and it was time to dig in. It wasn't time to eat before his mom took the phone call that changed my life. "Hello?" "Hey we're at dinner can I call you back?" "Well... I found a boxer in the newspaper and I'm on my way to look at it." "Are you sure about this?" "Yes I'm sure, I've thought it out and I have enough time to be with him, so I'm ready." Still confused? Thought so. His mom got off the phone with a puzzled look. "Your soon to be brother (I dropped the in law a long time ago) is on his way to get a new boxer." Gotcha! I'm not talking about a human. I'm talking about the love of my life/makes everyday so much better/ the best four legged three year old boxer dog anyone could ask for, Joker. 
     Jokers mom spent most of her life cheering for UL, until she met Jokers Dad. Now Jokers Dad is the complete opposite. Yea, he likes that other university team, UK. It was his mission to convert my sister who had spent her life cheering for UL, into successfully cheering for UK. He's slowly trying to convert me. After the 2007 season, being the organized, winning football team they were, and doing all the post season business, it was in January 2008 that UK decided when Coach Brooks retired, there would be no need for the school to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to find a new head coach, as the heir to the UK Football Thrown was coaching next to Coach Brooks. I present to you Joker's name sake, Head Coach of The UK Wildcats Football Team, Joker Phillips. Lets just clear this up now, and save the love of my life some confusion and embarrassment. Joker is not named after the Academy Award Winner Heath Ledger playing the role of The Joker during the 2008 movie The Dark Knight.
     We've all seen the Oprah episodes about people having multiple personalities. Okay Joker just has one personality, and is always happy, but Joker has multiple nicknames. Exactly how many nicknames can you make out of Joker? Jo, Jo-Jo, Joseph, Josephfits, Joseph Magillicutty, The Joke, and last but not least, Bumpy Brownie Lips. Hence the title.  Where do you get Bumpy Brownie Lips from Joker? Let me explain. One day this summer, my little bear walked up to Joker's mom and said, "Joker's lips look like brownies but with bumps on them."
     Being the nice aunt I am, I went ahead and attached a picture of Joker. I'll go ahead and stop writing because I know you want to look at this stud muffin. And sorry Tucker, he's my favorite.

Stud. Muffin. 

-Sara-






Monday, October 11, 2010

What's Free Time?...

I enjoy Thursdays. Before classes even started, I told myself that Thursdays will involve no homework and nothing school related starting at 12:15 Thursday afternoon and ending at 12:01 Friday morning. Thursdays give me a chance to relax, and give my mind somewhat of a break before I'm forced to start on homework. It's like a mental health day. Good for the brain. This past weekend was an exception.
    Needing to get some homework completed for Thursday's class, and working from 7-3 Wednesday, I decided that I would take a power nap Wednesday night. We're talking 15-20 minutes. Just to give me that little extra push to do homework, I would feel like a brand new person. Eh. I had better ideas. Two hours later, I awoke with a sore throat. (Strep Throat had reached the family the weekend before) I wasn't sure where I had gotten it, I'd had stayed away from the originator of the disease, and honestly I didn't have time for being sick. Excellent. Mom's off frolicking along the shore of Lake Michigan, I'm coming down with black lung, and Dad's doing the best he can to help me cure this horrible disease.  I tried to suck it up and just deal with it but failed miserably. Good thing I've got Dr. Mom on speed dial.  "What are your symptoms?" "My throat hurts, my nose is starting to run and I just don't feel well." As the call came to an end, I was given strict instructions to push fluids. "I want you to drink a crystal light now, eat a popsicle, drink another crystal light, be in bed before 11, and take one of your 18 Gatorades to school tomorrow." My kidney's have never hurt more than Wednesday night. It was touch and go there for a while but Thursday I just should have stayed in bed. 
    After taking almost 40 minutes to get to school, I arrived at my first class to hear that my teacher was sick, but still came to school anyway, and the rest of my class was coughing up their lungs. On the schedule for class? Discuss last nights reading and talk about the upcoming midterm on Tuesday. Okay, we'll talk for 15-20 minutes on the reading and spend the rest of the time on the midterm. Class started at 9:30 and got out at 10:45. Why don't you ask me how long we spent talking about the midterm? 120 seconds. Thats right. The LAST TWO MINUTES OF CLASS. Oh and while you're at it, why don't you go ahead and tell us that we have two paper's due by midnight Sunday and a midterm. No biggie. It's not like I have another class to tend to. Along with a pounding head, I was off to somehow concentrate and take notes on a guest speaker speaking about the medical aspect of journalism in my next class. Class ended and thought I was home free. "Don't forget the first draft of your paper is due Tuesday." Three papers in which two are due by midnight Sunday, finding time to interview a fellow classmate for another paper currently in progress, figuring out how to tackle a midterm in which you have no idea what is going to be covered, and a weekend full of work? I should be able to fit time to stop and breathe. If I was lucky, maybe I'd even be able to catch some shut eye. 
     I do some of my best thinking in the car. I had devised a plan while driving home from school that I would knock out one paper Thursday afternoon. Three hours and two pages later, one paper down, two to go. Completing a paper felt wonderful. I was on a roll, and decided to knock out my second paper. Correction: Write two or three sentences and then take a break to watch Grey's and then go back to writing. But oh wait, after Grey's, Snooks is on. And then after Snooks, it's already 11:00 and by then, my mind is shot in the homework department. I'll do it when I get home from work tomorrow night. Famous last words. After crossing the Michigan/Indiana border four extra times and driving an extra five hours, Dr. Mom had arrived home.  If I was going to be worthless Friday night, I had to make a deal with myself. "Okay Sara. You can have one extra non homework night, but you have to get up early tomorrow and work on it before work." I was so proud of myself. I had woken up at 9:00 on a Saturday morning when I didn't have to be at work till noon. That gave me almost two and half hours to get another paper knocked out. I'm starting to see a trend here. "Oh I have to show you the funniest YouTube video..." Just one Sara. Just one. "Oh but this one is funny too." Next thing you knew 11:30 had arrived and off to work I went.
     Saturday night had been determined that no matter how long it took me, I would finish this paper. Working 12-7 and being super busy, I gave myself 20 minutes to nap. That nap seemed to do the trick because at 3:00 Sunday morning, I had: completed the paper, watched all of Saturday Night Live, watched a re-run of an old Grey's, re-watched the Britney episode of gLee, checked PostSecret, and wrote "Shenanigans" (see below) Two papers down. One to go. The nap was extra helpful. At 7:00 Sunday morning, I saw the sunrise. Yes. You read that right. I was going on 22 hours of no sleep.  Needing to work on that one final paper, I set my alarm for 10:00. But first I have to go catch up on the gossip I missed while I was catching up on my shut eye.  Procrastinators Unite.... Tomorrow.

-Sara- 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Shenanigans...

Exactly how many ways can you get creative with a pair of khaki pants and three t-shirts? Let me count thy ways. Khaki pants and green shirt. Khaki pants and red shirt. Khaki pants and navy shirt. In the summer, this challenge becomes a lot easier with shorts. 
    Flashback to June 2007. I had just graduated high school and was looking forward to a summer of doing nothing and laying out and getting that Snooki glow. Or not. "Well, two other girls have left for new jobs and there is an opening up front working the registers. When can you start?" And there I stood. Hired on the spot for what I thought would be a summer job to pay for car insurance, gas money, and all the buzz-kill bills that come with being an adult but has instead turned into some of the best three years of my life. "Can you start tomorrow? Actually never mind, start Monday." Sweet. More time for me to watch ESPN All Day Coverage of The Scripps National Spelling Bee (Seriously. There are two sporting events I love with one being the spelling bee.)  That was Thursday, I was to report for duty promptly at 9 AM Monday morning. 
     You could say that I am a very punctual person. On a good traffic day it takes me seven minutes to get from home to work. Being I'm way too early for everything person I am, I left my house at 8:30 which got me to work at 8:37. And look who sat in her car with the air OFF (I didn't want to waste gas. Aren't we in the middle of a "go green" movement?) in the scorching June sun for almost half an hour because she didn't want to go in early? 9:00 had arrived and it was off to start my shift. I was given the ever so popular green polo and the instructions "why don't you go help with strawberries." Exactly how bad could this be? Putting strawberries into a container shouldn't be that hard. Wrong. Oh no. I had to sort through hundreds and I mean hundreds of those things and throw "bad" ones into a box, and put good ones, but the good ones had to go in a certain way to fit. 60 minutes and my hands covered in strawberry juice later, my task was complete. It was off to tackle bagging and somehow know the difference between a seedless and regular cucumber. Exactly how quickly could 3:00 come? Not fast enough. 
     Being paired with one of the girls who knew what they were doing, I was taught the in and outs of bagging. "Even though apples are hard, you have to set them in the bag gently, because they will bruise. And don't put pears on the bottom either. And you know bread goes on top right?" As long as I could get through the day and not squish the bread, I knew I had learned something. And that was only noon. 
      "You wanna ring people up?"Oh shoot. Not three hours into my first day and you're asking me to identify fruits and vegetables? I knew I had to learn one day, so why not start day one? I nervously took over and began the daunting task.  Asking the obligatory"Hi, how are you?" question, I got the "Oh I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" response from the customer. Well considering it's taken me twice as long to ring up your order, I have no idea what anything is, and just learned the most basic grocers code you can learn, yea, I'd say I'm new. 


-Sara- 

Sunday, October 3, 2010

2011 Champions?...

I'm clearly aware that we are a little less than a month into football season, but I could hardly wait to get home from class to order what could be the start of UL's road to the 2011 NCAA National Championship season. I know I know. I'm probably speaking too soon. Yes there have been some pre-season reports that this will not be our year, but hey, it's only October. I'm not going to worry... Yet.
     Sometime late last week, I heard on the news that on October 24th our beloved UL men's basketball team will ceremoniously take to the floor on the freshly painted, don't even think about stomping on it other teams, coughcoughuUKcoughcough beloved cardinal bird floor at the "we politely ask the public not to call it the bucket" but it looks like one, so we're gonna call it that anyway, KFC YUM! Center Downtown Arena.  For those who are unaware of what I'm exactly talking about, let me take a moment to tell you about this seriously? you're taking money out of MY paycheck to build the fifth largest in the country when the one we still have is perfectly fine, (R.I.P. Freedom Hall) but we have hopes that maybe one day we can host the NCAA Final Four arena. The arena was started around March of 2006 (give or take) and will officially open on 10-10-10.
     Although there have been some pre, pre season reports about UL and the team, this season will be quite an interesting one as Rick Pitino coaches this season post the Karen Sypher fiasco. It's time to move past that and time to coach this team back to the glory days of 2005. As we will soon call the KFC YUM! Center our new home, there is just one little thing that is missing. And die hard UL fans know exactly what it is. Our two banners need updating. BADLY. So Rick, as an early Birthday present can you promise me a National Championship?
     I've been avoiding this next subject at all costs. And what I'm about to announce will probably cause massive amounts of hopelessness during this season. If you don't want to read on, I suggest you stop reading now.The. Pants. Have. Been. Retired. In case you were wondering, my UL sweatpants were worn every game, sometimes having to incorporate them into my work uniform during the basketball season and would be washed after the season ending game. After three long and smelly seasons, it was time for them to be signed by the 1986 Championship team. I thought it was only appropriate that they be retired the same day Freedom Hall closed. They are currently residing in a shadow box in the basement where they will continue to bring lots of joy and luck for many seasons to come.
     Once a believer, always a believer. Do work boys. Do work.

-Sara-