Just One of Dem Days...

Sooooo, i was totally supposed to post this last Friday - and instead ended up working late and totally forgetting... so since i already wrote this AND since i probably won't be able to write anything today, i'll leave you with this.

Dear BlogWorld, its been quite some time since i've confessed - so here goes!

I confess....

... I'm in major withdrawal from everyone being banned from using the internet for "personal use" at work... This means I can't sit on Google Reader, email, Facebook and Pinterest all day long. Don't get me wrong, I do my work too, I am a GREAT multi-tasker, but I need those like a fish needs water. Thank god for my iPhone so I can still maintain some connection to the outside world. My sources in IT tell me this isn't going to be permanent, thank God so bear with me...

... I have mixed emotions about hubby starting a new job... I'm so happy he's happy and excited about furthering his career... And very happy about the pretty decent salary jump. But sooo sad about the days/hours he'll be working because that means a LOT less time together. Gotta find a new hobby I guess!

...I would love for any guy to walk in a woman's shoes for just one day. That day being the worst day of the month... Aunt Flo arrived with a vengeance this morning and I was doubled over in pain from that b*tch. Guys are the biggest babies when they have the sniffles. If they bled from their privates for 5 days, could you imagine how they'd be? Someone just kick me right in the babymaker and put me out of this misery. Please.

... That my nails, hair, house and office are pretty disasterous looking lately. I keep meaning to fix up all of these things, but I'm just too lazy. Once hubby starts the new job, I won't have any excuses I guess!

... I haven't exercised in 2 weeks. At all. And I keep telling myself its ok because I haven't gained weight since, and because my "fat" jeans still fit. But, really, its not ok. And neither is the Sonic I stuffed my fat face with yesterday for lunch. Tho, it was delish... #truthhurts

....I bought a new winter jacket last week after I had just put myself on a "spending on unneeded things" hiatus. Oh and a pair of yoga pants too. Oops. I can justify only by saying the coat was on sale for $20. Even though I have 3 other black coats at home. #guiltyconscience

...I'm so super psyched for One for the Money to come out this weekend. I plan on dragging Ma Dukes to see it with me! And this is horrible to say, but I really hope Dad doesn't want to go too. Because he's the guy that talks through the whole movie and has people telling him to shut it (oh wait, that was me the last time!) LOL

Side Note: One for the Money was EXCELLENT! will be doing a movie review shortly! and dad went to see a different movie... hehehehe...

What are your confessions for the week? Inquiring minds want to know!

Blonde Moment

Last night I got home to cook dinner, only to find the meat I had in the fridge still wasn't defrosted enough to cook... so I decided it would be pizza night... and just do a little side salad along with it.

I decided to make this deliciously yummy pre-made frozen pizza.

get a coupon here!

So the best way I know to cook the pizza is just straight on the rack, with a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom rack, in case anything drips. OK, easy enough... things are going well, the kitchen is starting to smell good, and finally, the pizza is ready...

Now the challenge becomes, how to get said pizza out of the oven without creating a mess... brilliant me, grabs TWO metal spatulas... to lift the edges... G is watching me do all this and says, "honey, grab the oven mitts and pull out the rack"


Me, totally not following where he's going with this, pulls the rack out slightly, and then i pick up the spatulas again... G is like, "um, no - i meant pull it out ALL the way and put it on the stove top."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh... ok. so i do that... now i can use the spaulas to make sure the pizza isn't sticking anywhere, so i can transfer it onto the cutting board... RIGHT? Wrong.

G watching this whole train wreck in the making then says, "um, you are making this WAY harder for yourself... use the oven mitts to put the pizza on the board"

i'm standing there still not understanding.... and i go to literally try to pick up the thin crust pizza WITH the oven mitts (REALLY SHAY?!) which i then get cut off again.... "shay, what the hell are you doing???"

me, "picking up the pizza with the oven mitts"

G: "are you serious?! OR you can pick up the whole rack with the oven mitts and just slide the pizza onto the cutting board"

me: "oh, you didnt say to do that." #fail

him: "i really didn't think it was necessary... i really didn't expect you to try to pick up the pizza with the mitts."

OOPS.
 and you thought asians were supposed to be like, super smart or something huh? it was definitely an Asian F moment (Glee reference)... it was an honest mistake people... an honest mistake.

anyway, after that, we had a delicious dinner where i proceeded to eat WAY more than G and then he rolled my lard ass to bed.

happy hump day loves! please share your not so bright moments of the week with me so i don't feel so silly anymore!

Going Paperless

So, i know this year i haven't taken the time to blog about any of my new year's resolutions. maybe i'll TRY to get to that before the end of the month, it will still kind of be the new year, right?

BUT, one of my new year's resolutions (and resolutions since getting married) is to cut down on the amount of paper in our household. as my husband recently found out i was in the save the earth club in high school... we cleaned up trash on the jersey shore (the situation and snooki weren't there yet, so we unfortunately couldn't clean them up yet. hehehe...) and now i'm going to clean up our home finances in an eco-friendly way. if it were up to him, we would either keep OR trash every piece of paper that came our way. i know that sounds like a contradiction in itself but for example, he has EVERY pay stub from every job he's had in the last 20 years... yet he'll trash anything healthcare related, doctors bills, mortgage payment stubs, etc so his methods are kind of wacky. i didn't even know when we were supposed to turn in his car from the lease because every month he was throwing out the statement before i could see it and then i couldn't call because he had nothing with the account # on it!

ANYWAY. back to my original point. besides having switched over to paperless statements for most of our bills, i've decided to try to scan everything i get in the mail that needs saving and file it electronically. so far, this has been more of a challenge than anticipated...

how do you organize all the categories of stuff you're filing? by year, by name? i decided to start out doing it on a monthly basis... i took all the bills i had for the month of january and made a folder titled january and dumped everything in. this was 2011's method and while i was just starting to go paperless, it was still hard to keep track of if i was saving everything monthly. looking back, apparently, i was not.

so i decided to categorize by bill type (i.e. JCPL [power company], AT&T, Cablevision, etc.) which so far, this is working out OK. I download the statement off the internet. then once it gets paid, i download the payment confirmation, so i will have 2 pdfs per month... all good? sureeee... so far this is working out ok, for the TWO weeks i've been at it. LOL

then i decided the rubbermaids i saved full of old bills should be scanned and categorized too... so i started going to thru them, and MAN, i have bills back to like 2002! way way longer than you need to save them for. but hey, IN CASE i ever get audited, i'm covering my arse. hehe... i decided some of the old ones could be shredded/stamped (see below). i mean, the IRS doesn't REALLY care who i was calling back in 2002, do they? nor would my hubby like to see the plethora of boys on speed dial back then, right? i kid, i kid...

don't forget to guard your identity!

then i saw this commercial on tv and almost bought this:

NeatReceipts is a mobile scanner and digital filing system that helps you manage all of your paperwork on the computer. NeatReceipts includes NeatWorks software that identifies and extracts the important information from receipts, business cards and documents and automatically organizes it for you. All scanned documents can be searched by keyword so you can find exactly what you need.

i held off because not only does my printer have a scanner in it, but my printer at work is one that can do a multipage scan by just feeding it through the top, so i figured i'd save my $80. but it looked pretty neat.... no pun intended. i liked the probable scam of "automatically organizes" but why do i have a feeling its not as seamless as it sounds?

so this undertaking is pretty large. and i haven't gotten too far... so i figured i'd take ideas/suggestions from any of you who have them? how do you keep track of your monthly bills? do you think its important to save receipts/old bills/the kitchen sink like i do? so far the only thing i'm worried about is having enough room on my hard drive to store all the information i'm scanning.

Monday Ramblings

Morning ladies!

Guess what?! {chicken butt}

It's only 10am and the morning has already started out with some ups and downs...

fist pump!

First off... last night big blue made it to the superbowl! now i'm a Jets fan by proxy (aka married to a the biggest die hard Jets fan) but the rest of my family roots for the G-men... especially my brother. So i'm glad he has a smile on his face today! Along with almost all of my other FB friends that have been posting incessantly about football. I know... GASP, i'm kind of ready for football to end. then again when the ONLY channel we watch in our house is the NFL network 24/7, come on, you feel my pain, a little right?

Second, SIGH. I have the world's most high maintenance expensive dogs. Dropped Mr. Scoo-face off at the vet today for his teeth cleaning... only to find out their estimate to do it is.... $383!!! {Insert minor heart attack here}. Coupled with the groomer who's scheduled for later this week - another $90 and the fact that they told me that the allergy meds Scooter's on shouldn't be the generic one, it has to be name brand (apparently the name brand is 30% more effective?) so that's going to be at least ANOTHER $100 (and then will be that monthly... i swear, these dogs cost me more than human kids.

But when I walked into work (late) today, i got an e-mail that put a SMILE on my face! i've been nominated for an award! YAY! How exciting right? I mean, listen, i write this blog for me, as a creative outlet, a place to vent, and a place to share my experiences with others. But still, its nice to get some love and know that people like what you have to say.

Liebster in German means dearest, beloved, or favorite,
and it is for bloggers with under 200 followers.

The gorgeous Shannon over at Page Twenty-Two nominated me for this award... if you aren't following her blog, go check it out! She's a celtics fan (holla!), a soon-to-be beautiful bride, and she has a great link up that i like to participate in, Fun Photo Fridays...

The rules to the award are: 

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.

3. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog.

4. Reveal your 5 blog picks.

5. Let them know you chose them by leaving a comment on their blog.

SO without further ado, here are my 5 blog picks! Go check them out, you won't be sorry!

The Land of Sunshine

Seoul Fresh

The Life of David, Elizabeth, & Peyton

Eat, Shop & Be Married

Going the Distance

These are all great blogs from great ladies so add them to your reading list!

Fun Photo Fridays... Pup Edition

Linking up again this week with my girl Shannon over at Page Twenty-Two for Fun Photo Fridays. And THANK God Its FRIIIIIIIDAY!!! Even though this week was "short" it seemed way long. Agree?

Anyway, today i'm going back in time to the day i got my first precious little pup scooter. why, yes, i have an unhealthy obsession with my fur children. i may or may not cuddle them like babies, talk to them constantly and treat them like humans. But what can i say... how could you not be in love with this little face?

please ignore the "stoned" look in my eyes... i had just gotten home from a business trip and was exhausted... isn't he such a cute little pip squeaker!!!

we had just given him a bath since he arrived stinking to high hell...

yes we got him from a breeder in missouri, so he had arrived safe and sound at newark airport and we picked him up there... poor little guy was practically comatose from being hypoglycemic.

i immediately gave him some special sugar aka "yum yums" and he perked right up!

he's big enough now that i don't have to do that, but still gets excited when he hears the words yum yums. LOL

love my little boy!

link up and show me your favorite photo memories!

tonight we have dinner in staten italy island for my mother in laws 80th!

tomorrow we're off to visit G's friends and their kids and then to hang with my college bestie and her fam for HER bday... cross your fingers that the snow holds out for us!

also, need lots of prayers that G lands the dream job he applied for last week!

have a great weekend!

I've hit 100K...

Noooo sillies, not followers! Though, i wish! 

Mileage...

my car, Salti (aka Shay's Altima)... to be more exact.

this is not her, just a wanna be...

4 years and 1 month later...

(yup, you heard right, i drive A LOT.)

i took this at a stop light... i swear!

She has been pretty good to me.

No major accidents...

just one teeny tiny little skid on some ice and bounced off a curb.

and possibly a few small bumps while trying to paralell park.

oopsy.

i still have 12 more payments on that bish.

sad i know... i iz poor.

but by the end of the year she will officially be mine

and then it'll be time for a new car!

nissans are known to be pretty good cars, 

so here's to another 100K Salti!

Fun Photo Friday

Linking up today with Page Twenty-two (love her blog by the way) for

Here's my pick for the week!

this was taken in August of 2003. 

on a cruise with my cousins and family...

Yes almost TEN years ago... 

i was TWENTY-TWO (how appropriate for this link up!)...

and no im not wasted, i just look severely asian.

oh wait, i AM asian. duh.

Look at me... tan, skinny, YOUNG!

i look like such a hot slore... (thats slut/whore in kardashian speak)

and i mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

ha!

ready to go out dancing, drinking,

and having the time of my life!

I would definitely go back in time to this age forever.

• the age where i didn't have to worry about my eggs rotting because according to my mother, my "clock is ticking"
• the age where my bank account existed solely to fund my trips to the mall - why oh why did they not have f21 back then!
• the age where i had all this time to figure out who what i wanted to do in life...
• the age where i had few responsibilities other than figuring out what bar i was dancing on hitting that night...

yup. bring me back there...

well only for a night or two. 

{sadly, i probably couldn't handle much more}

but, we'll always have the memories...

ahhhhhh...

happy friday!

You put your arms around me and I'm HOME.

Every once in a while a song comes along that the lyrics and the tune just capture me... when this happens, the song goes on repeat about a bazillion times... Not only do I love Christina Perri's entire album LOVESTRONG, but this song in particular. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

"Arms" as written by David Hodges, Christina Perri
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

I never thought that
You would be the one to hold my heart
But you came around
And you knocked me off the ground from the start

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
You put your arms around me and I'm home

How many times will let you me change my mind and turn around
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

The world is coming down on me
And I can't find a reason to be loved
I never wanna leave you
But I can't make you bleed if I'm alone

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth
And I've never opened up
I've never truly loved 'till you put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

You put your arms around me and I'm home.

What songs capture you? Any all-time favorites?

Please share!

Pintervention

Guys, i need a pintervention. i'm out of control... pin after pin after pin. its addicting. i feel like a crack addict. i cant get enough!!!!

ok... anyway, might as well link up if im going to be so obsessed... so what better way to show ma love for pinterest than pinning about pinterest! hahaha.

link up here y'all. you won't regret it.

and off we go!

i'm telling G this the next time he asks me "what is that website you're always on"

you know you do too!

wouldn't that be HEAVEN?!

i would be so freaking rich... that would be my dream job.

i really think i need one... like seriously. pinterest = crack.

not that i ever did crack. but you get what i'm trying to say RIGHT?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

ok ONE more. i leave you with this.

sophia from the golden girls...

bahahahahahaha... how funny is that. i die.

happy wednesday!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Some of you may have seen me share this on my facebook page this morning... but, if not... i figured i'd share it here... just an interesting experiment done by the Washington Post on the things we miss as we rush through life... and taking time to "stop and smell the roses" so to speak might not be such a bad thing! :)

"In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After one hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?"

Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc

Click "like" at : http://www.facebook.com/WeddingLiveBandTheRawNote

What's your take on this? Would you have stopped to listen or recognized this extraordinary talent?

Happy Tuesday loves! 

Book Review: Spying in High Heels

Hey Gals!
Over the Christmas break, i had some free time (G spent Christmas Eve at the Jets game with my brother) so i decided to break out the old kindle and buy a new book! As I browsed through the Kindle Store's $3.99 and under list, I found this:

get it here!

Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears - along with $20 million in embezzled funds - and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her...

 My take on this book? Two very enthusiastic THUMBS UP! I loved every minute of this book. Some parts even had me laughing out loud! Maddie Springer was a totally likable, hilarious girl... one I would totally be BFF with in real life, if she were real. This book sort of reminded me of my other favorite author Ms. Janet Evanovich and her infamous bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum...  and like Stephanie's hot cop men, Spying in Heels has a sizzling hot (i picture Dwayne Johnson aka the Rock) latin cop who Maddie is seeeriously crushin on. All I can say is love, love, love. And what i love even more? It's a series! So of course, this is currently on my kindle...

you're gonna wanna read it!

So, if you're looking to add to your book reading list, definitely try these out! (i think there's 3 or 4 more after these two)... and let me know if you like them as much as i did!

Oh and PS. Who else is as excited as this girl about seeing Stephanie Plum (played by Katherine Heigl) on the big screen in about 3 weeks! Woot woot! If you're not familiar, check out the trailer below!

Happy Thursday! Tonight is a little "hot" yoga with my cuzzo... pray for me. seriously. i'm gonna need it.

Happy Blogiversary to ME!

Wow.... its been a year since i started this here lil' ol' blog of mine...

137 posts, 33 followers, and a partridge in a pear tree!

thank YOU for reading, commenting & following!

i may not be the best blogger out there...

but i am thankful i have a place to vent, complain, celebrate, share...

and i have all of you following along with me 

in this thing called life!

and i'm happy i get to do the same for so many of you!

Here are some blog highlights from the past year...

January - my very first post...

March - my first weekend recap here

April - i shook my hair feathers 

May - i apparently did a lot of shopping!

and we got some sweet bikes (that we've ridden exactly TWO times since buying them)

June - Birthday VACATION to Myrtle Beach, SC

July - ENGAGEMENT!

September - Our Wedding

October - Honeymoon

December - our first real Christmas tree

Here's too looking forward to another great year with lots of new & exciting adventures!