GPOYW

new years eve: 2007 style


this was the year we finally got a clue and skipped the $70+ bar package. awesome house/dance party with my best of friends only to be followed by 2008's repeat affair at me casa.

this year will be much of the same, but with practically a whole new cast of characters. friends i've become closer to through the years and new ones who i'm so excited to spend more and more time with - and of course, its a puppy-friendly affair. there is also bound to be a heavy focus on the food, which you'll never hear me complain about.

i'll miss my standards whom i typically ring in the new year but 2009 has been all about change - so why not shake things up?

2009, what a ride.

the older we get, the faster the years go. however, most of the time i think back and say "what did i even do with myself this year?" travel is my typical answer - oh and we have some traditions that always exist- and summer is always filled with fun beer-soaked events. but what did i DO? what did i LEARN? am i a better person 365 days later? did i keep any "resolutions"? am i healthier? did i take care of myself? make that change...



i know, how reflective.

but this year, i feel like i have finally made some progressive strides toward adulthood. most of it unplanned, some of it forced and all of it welcomed – once digested. responsibility has increased, confidence was jolted and there were days that i couldn't quite manage (read: buying a condo is more stress than i could have EVER imagined). but coming up on the new year, i'm feeling stronger, wiser and happier than i have in months, maybe years.

just to highlight the milestones: i have a new puppy, a new job and a new home. big BIG year.

i'm in a good place. i feel centered, calm and ready for the clean slate of 2010.
now we just need to work on this year's slogan...

coexistence

there was certainly an adjustment period, but now they won't stop chasing each other around the house. aaaaand we can't stop laughing. the highlight has definitely been when coco was on her back and picked up little lu and held her over her tummy. i didn't get a pic of that, but i absolutely got some other ones...







this is highly entertaining, trust me.

we could only be so lucky

me: well, nick lachey was the host

Carrie: nick lachey. hahah

me: i mean, this is the best thing he's done in years

Carrie: did he show off his sweet tribal arm tatts?

me: ha

Carrie: or sing UNA NOCHE???

--

what would we do with our lives without gchat?

"a little help from my friends..."

sadly, i haven't seen an episode of the wonder years in well, years. but for whatever reason, i woke up with the theme song stuck in my head and the opening credits flickering by in their movie-like fashion. what was i dreaming about? winnie cooper's perfect hair? the young, studly fred savage? never know...

so i thought i'd get a little help from my friends this afternoon and share with you some timely and funny posts. maybe you've read them, maybe you haven't.

• the first one comes from on of my favorites - miss lisa. her and her hubby babysat my pup when i was in vegas and well, now they get it ;)

• next is a comedian from cleveland named narm. he often cracks me up, but today it was especially funny. this is the line that got me:
"Last night I couldn't get out of the couch to get the remote so I watched "What Not To Wear" for an hour. If I could have gotten the remote I wouldn't have changed the channel, I would have turned that shit UP. Give it to me straight, Clinton!"

• then there's the new chicagoan: maris. her and i had quite the adventure with spiced wine that tastes more like warm vomit than much else. but she's giving you lots of other cocktail suggestions for the holiday season. cheers!

• last but certainly not least, dear chris. you may remember his antics from when his "surviving myself" days, but he's back from his hiatus and taking tumblr by storm. and today's post involving the duggar kids tweeting - awesome.

thanks friends :)

impromptu stir fry

weeknights can be tough. you sat at your desk all day, using your brain or maybe just clearing your reader for 8ish hours. if you're me, you've been snacking at things in your desk drawer all day and have just about burned through the battery on your ipod. most nights you try to go to the gym, but happy hour and/or other social outings often seem more appealing.

it's hard to stay motivated and be productive after five, let alone come home and cook a balanced/healthy/tasty/decent dinner. i think that's why many of us stock our fridges with lean cuisines or other frozen delights for those off days.

however, sometimes you want something fast, easy and hot (twss) - but not *totally* processed.

in that light - 'impromptu stir fry' was born.

what you need:
• a frying pan
• a cup of brown rice (i like these cups that you toss in the micro for 60 seconds)
• 1 egg
• 1 package of frozen green giant veggies (i love these immunity blends. cooked broccoli, carrots, yellow and red peppers in a light buttery sauce)
• soy sauce (low sodium is what i always have in my fridge)
• fresh carrot straws and green beans (optional)

method:
heat pan to medium, add cooked rice, stir and let crackle a bit - add just enough soy sauce to coat the rice. whisk egg in dish as if you were going to scramble and dump in with rice. allow egg to get scrambly texture, add fresh veggies, stir. add cooked veggies and a little more soy sauce till everything is seeming to blend together.

total cook time: 7 minutes. easy peasy.

it could easily feed two, but i tend to stuff myself or save half for lunch if i'm good. after two blue moons and an 8:15 time dinner - you can go ahead and guess what i did tonight...

smiles, giggles and full belly laughs

here are a few things responsible:

• boy trying to handle both a big jumpy puppy and heaping bag of takeout food. priceless.

• million dollar quartet - the guys were really talented and it was highly entertaining - and best of all, my boss hooting and hollering at "the cute one" cracked me up.

• running up and down the block with lulu. homegirl does not like walks. yes, she IS a dog. but often, princess prefers insists on being held. i tricked her by heading towards home, which she always gets excited about and wants to lead the way. i was running at full speed and my little thing was still ahead of me.

• half off several things. thanks groupon!

• recounting the vegas stories and the hilarity and irony of this video.

• checking all my xmas gifts off my list. now comes the wrapping...

• me falling on my ass in the restuarant saturday night. additionally, me grabbing a waitresses ass and dude's shoulder to break my fall.

• homemade, delicious red pepper risotto.

• zumba (duh)

• my espresso machine that i have become uncharacteristically addicted to. frothy beverages are now at my fingertips! this is a wonderful thing.

• only having 6 working days till i go home for the holidays. woot.


what's making you smile?

kids, they grow up so fast

my little lulu is just a few days over 5 months old. seems like yesterday i just brought my little ball of energy home. she was maybe two pounds and couldn't be more snugly and adorable. then she was a royal pain my ass for a while.

since, she's learned to pee and poo outside - sleep longer hours - find her ball (by name!) - graduate from puppy school with her winning spin move - and as of yesterday, run up the stairs! wait, stairs? she generally just stands at the bottom of them and looks up at me with longing eyes of helplessness...

i get home from work yesterday and skim the note left from my dog walker. typically it says the same things. "lu refused to walk - hated being outside in the cold - wanted to be bffs with all the other dogs and then ran towards home and played with her toys with loads of energy till it was time to go back in her crate."

but yesterday, the note casually mentioned she ran up ALL the stairs!

seriously, this must be what a mom feels like when she misses her kid take his first step. my baby ran up the stairs unprovoked and without hesitation and she did it all by herself. my itty bitty puppy is getting to be SUCH A BIG GIRL.

i'm looking forward to taking her home for the holidays to meet miss coco - the ruler of my parent's house. this big girl thinks she's a person, especially one that should be on your lap. AT ALL TIMES. despite her massiveness.

related: she hates all other dogs. lu, on the other hand, looooooves everyone and anyone, especially big dogs. soooo yeah. this dynamic will surely prove to be an interesting 5 days.

oh puppies...

wish list

no idea what santa has in store for me this year.
but he could start here :)

1) a new watch. i've been rocking the same brighton one since '02. i think its time to have something to switch it up with. i fell in love with it at art effect last week and then last night, it was featured on entertainment hollywood or one of those terrible shows - so clearly, its cool.

2) fun envelope labels - yes, really.

3) The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful Guide to the World's Most Consequential Trivia -- pretty info graphics book. yay!

4) echo touch gloves - its mighty cold out there and sometimes you just need to be on your phone. maybe its cause you're addicted to checking twitter at the bus stop or email while you are walking home from the gym, or maybe you just don't want to take your gloves off to make a call. whatever the case, i want.

pretty pretty

in spite of the bitter cold (and my winter-hating self) - montrose beach was looking quite beautiful this afternoon. as my crappy point and shoot doesn't quite do the scenery justice, you'll just have to take my word for it. but as an added bonus, we caught the pink and very quick sunset.

badass biking

cyclists, rough terrain and utter mockery - that's what my sunday afternoon was full of.

today i experienced my first cyclocross race and let me tell you, it was so much fun. sure it was freezing, but when you wear ten layers, wrap yourself in a blanket and cheer on those falling fools - it almost makes 30 degrees seem bearable.

until a few weeks ago i didn't even know what dave was saying when he said he was starting to do these new kinds of races. even today i had to have lisa spell it for me. granted, with my spelling history, i'm not sure that is saying much. but when i heard it was this basass biking/racing/running thing and dave was doing well in it, i knew it had to see it for myself.

so today was the day and damn was i impressed and thrilled to be there. nothing quite like heckling the riders on seemingly one of the toughest turns/hills of the race. we saw some great falls, great costumes and great riders more than willing to accept whiskey shots and/or PBRs before and after those wicked turns.

it was the last race of the season, but you better believe i'll be going back for more cheers of mockery next year.

well done dave!

GPOYW

what i'm thankful for edition: