I love the fishes

If I had the knack for keeping fish alive, I'd name this one Frederick.

So...tired...

I know that there are people out there (and you may be one of them)
who work longer, crazier hours than I do, but I am exhausted today.

Going into work at 6:30 a.m. and not being able to leave until after 6:30 p.m. is a bit much for me.  It's moments like these that I wish I had a desk job.  Being on my feet for that long, running back and forth is not my idea of a good time.

Apparently that realization hasn't become widely known though, since I am scheduled to do it on Thursday too.

Twilight for Mormons

I stole this from my cousin's blog.

I think it is hilarious, and ironically it stars a friend of mine from my ward. :)

http://www.vimeo.com/8009598

Firm Resolve

Some people make New Years Resolutions. I do not.
That is to say, I don't start making resolutions at the beginning of the year.

I feel that we should be constantly making resolutions all the time, whatever time of year it is. I'm not going to save up all these "I should do this/work on that/try this" things so I can start them January 1st. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing now (or at least thinking about and working toward).

I have a lot of things I am working on in my life right now. They aren't new. With the exception of one, which is to get my passport in order for my trip to Germany.

I feel New Years Resolutions (if you make them) are private unless you don't want them to be. I don't really like it when people ask what mine are (or what they are for others for that matter) because I think it is incredibly personal. If I should happen to not follow through with one of them, I don't necessarily want you and your dog thinking "Didn't she say she was going to work on that this year?" Maybe that's just me and my paranoia of being judged all the time, but that's how I feel.

Maybe I should resolve not to be so paranoid...

O Tannenbaum

Being the festive females that we are, Kelly and I purchased our Christmas tree the first weekend in December, looking forward to a long month of enjoying the beauty and splendor of the season through its twinkling lights and fresh pine smell that we both love so much.

We eagerly decorated it, placed gifts beneath it and reveled in the beauty that was ours to behold.

That is until time came slowly knocking on our door. Or, not necessarily our door, but on the tree trunk. Our lovely tree, though technically already dead, kicked the bucket. The branches sagged, the needles drooped and the whole thing became a crisp fire hazard. The bottom branches were now grazing the floor and the whole scene looked pretty sad and depressing.

So what does one do to remedy this tragedy?

Well I don't know about you, but I move the ornaments, garland and lights from the bottom branches up a few inches and lop those pesky twigs off!

The results were immediate. Although still very, crispy, droopy and slightly sad, taking off that bottom weight drastically improved the look of our tree. Which is good being that we hadn't quite made it to Christmas yet. :)

Moral of the story: Wait to buy your Christmas tree, even if you're excited.

Taters

I like to try new things.
Restaurants, movies, books, recipes, dance moves, fashion choices, etc...

So to help me with one of these areas, I use a website called allrecipes.com for my various recipe needs, and it hasn't let me down, not for the cookie recipes I've tried, the chicken and pork, the cakes turned out great, it just hasn't let me down.

Until yesterday that is. My garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes that I made for our Christmas Eve dinner, while earning decent points in overall taste, had its ratings plummet in the texture department. They were something akin to paste. And not just any paste, the really, really sticky kind that even the weird kid in your kindergarten class wouldn't even eat.

I think I'll revert back to my original mashed potato prowess.

Post Christmas Blues?

How is it that I have never heard of those before?
Honestly, this is the first year I have heard that term, and now I'm hearing it everywhere.

I personally have been having a difficult time getting into the "Christmas Spirit" this year. Not to say that I don't love the season and all it means, it just doesn't really feel like Christmas is 3 days away (which it is).

I am no Scrooge, nor a Grinch (though I have been called both within the last month for various reasons). I will not say "Bah humbug", steal your tree or your last can of "Who Hash", I'll even leave your roast beast alone. I just want to have it hit me that this thing is really happening.

Forget "Post" Christmas Blues...I have always tried to be ahead of the game. Let's get those blues out of the way early.

another one bites the dust

One of my very good friends is getting married on Saturday.
I am so happy for him and his intended bride (whom I still have yet to meet I might add). I am also very glad that I will be able to be there to see them on their day and wish them well.

Yay Justin and Natalie!

Give me a word, any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word, is Greek

Have you ever been watching a movie and you stop and think, "Wait...this seems eerily similar to my life."?

I am sitting here watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and the very beginning of the movie made me laugh to myself as I did a mental checklist:

Hostess in a Greek-family run restaurant: Check
Goes to work insanely early in inclement weather: Check
Frump-girl: Check
Surrounded by slightly odd characters during the work day: Check
Attending the local Community College: Check
Slightly self-conscious: Check

Now, the rest of the movie doesn't quite add up with my life, but that's okay. I don't exactly live in a Romantic Comedy, more like a hilarious satire that doesn't always make sense.

Yay for life...and the movies

8.2

I remember the very first time I went ice skating, I was almost 16 years old. It was for Becca Vikari's 16th birthday party, and a bunch of us drove out to either Bellevue or Issaquah, I'm not entirely sure which city, and went to an ice rink they had there.
The next time I went ice skating was after my family had moved to North Logan, and as luck would have it, the Eccles Ice Center is housed mere minutes from my parents house. I think I went once when I was about 17, and then one other time in college.
The great thing about indoor ice rinks is that it's not completely freezing while you are skating, a big plus in my opinion. I consider myself a novice ice skater, I can go around in a circle, maybe skate backward a little if there is no chance of running into any small children (that's just sad). I take my moments skating for what they are worth, laughing time! I laugh at myself and the things I do all the time as it is, so that is merely amplified when I am on the ice since I am generally known as a klutz.

That being said, I did some ice skating recently. No skates were required however, just my church shoes and the ever willing pavement covered in slush. I was able to do skating tricks I had heretofore never attempted, my facial expressions may have given away my shock and surprise at my landing a few of them, but overall, the judges were fair.

Your hair, is everywhere

Lots of hair + vacuums = Gross!

Yeah, nasty.
Ever given your vacuum a hair cut?
I have.
Sick.

Check it twice...or once...or not at all

Is it hard for anyone else to come up with a Christmas List? I try to put it off until the last possible moment, sometimes I don't even make one. But this year, I'll at least throw a few things out into the cosmic void, and here they are:

Ear plugs (I use the Pink Lady brand-they work great)
Black socks (as long as they're black, I'm happy)
Thermal bottoms (last year I inadvertantly bought 2 tops, not very helpful)
Some sort of organization for my design equipment (it's taking over my drafting table)
A power drill
A scanner (if it's attached to a copier/printer, I wouldn't complain)
Books
Movies
Architectural Digest Subscription
Wall Flower refills from Bath & Body Works (bear in mind that I am the one who will have to smell it)
New gym shoes
Massages

That was a whole lot harder to come up with than it used to be. 15 years ago, that would have been a piece of cake!

You remind me of a man...

You remind me of a man.

What man?

The man with the power.

What power?

The power of hoodoo.

Hoodoo?

You do!

Do what?

Remind me of a man...

Sound vaguely familiar to you Labyrinth fans? This banter actually originated from a 1947 Cary Grant film entitled "The Bachelor and the Bobby-soxer". It features a teenage Shirley Temple and Myrna Loy in addition to Mr. Grant. I watched it today and was pleasingly diverted. Kinda slow moving, and Shirley Temple doesn't have the greatest acting skills, but what can you expect? I thought it was fun.

money woes

Why is it that my landlord doesn't deposit our rent checks until the month is half over (sometimes more)?
Does he not realize how annoying it is for us?
Just cash the blasted check already man!

My fuzzy brain

I'm sorry if it seems like I've been in a bad mood for the last week or so.
I'm really not in a bad mood.
I just have a lot on my mind.
And no, I don't want to talk about it.
Why?
Because it's not that important, I can't put it into words, and it's no big deal.
Just a case of the winter blues.

Casualties of War

It's that time of year again!
The colors, the paper, the sounds!

And no, I'm not talking about Christmas.

It's finals time in the Bubanks house. Which means, my inner Designer has to put together notebooks. Why we designers love making notebooks so much is beyond me, I clearly haven't reached that pivotal point yet.

I sit here amid the destruction: Fabric swatches have been cut, glued and mounted, scraps lie by the wayside. Paint chips spill over their container, floor samples are scattered about the coffee table, scissors, tape, rubber cement, computer paper, labels, card stock, scales, and drafting pencils lay like wounded soldiers strewn over a gruesome battlefield.

And I'm not done yet. Saints preserve us!