Let the rain fall down & wake my dreams, let it wash away my sanity ’cause I wanna feel the thunder, I wanna scream! Let the rain fall down… I’m coming clean

Since I started blogging, almost a whole year ago, there as not been one day that I have missed.  Every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, like clockwork, I have showed up and put something out there for someone, anyone, to read.

Yesterday, for the first time in almost a year, I went AWOL.

I just didn’t show up.

So, for you who were waiting with bated breath, I apologize. Similarly, if you were worried I had died or had been sucked up by my chest (please reference Dane Cook) by aliens, I’m glad to inform you I am just fine.

What happened is that I actually just got swept up in the long, holiday weekend and forgot it was Sunday.

In fact, this weekend is a whirlwind of activity.

I showed up to my dad’s house ready for a weekend of drunken debauchery with friends and family by the pool in his backyard. But what actually happened was that I arrived at the restaurant for dinner like an hour later than I had originally told everyone I would be in town. Only, after I arrived, I promptly informed my dad that I felt like I was going to throw up and then I peace’d out.  I went back to the house where I found a bathroom just in time to puke my guts out. After throwing up nothing but water and bile (and oh yeah, those two or three Advil I took on an empty stomach- I’m an idiot), I ate exactly two and a half saltine crackers and fell asleep for an hour. When I woke up, everyone was arriving back home, with the food I had ordered in hand.

After that, Seneca and I went to bed early and watched some Forensic Files.

Saturday was even more of a blur.  The day lasted for-fucking-ever.

In a nutshell, the rest of the weekend happened as follows: I probably caught cancer from this shady-as-fuck restaurant called Hibachi Sushi Buffet (it was not my choice), hit my face against the bottom of the pool,  actually won a couple rounds of flip-cup, my computer died/broke, we ate our weight in pulled pork sandwiches, Megan accidentally dumped her almost-entirely-full drink in my lap at the bar we went to, Drew and I got into a physical altercation, Megan walked out at 2am with no word to Seneca or myself, both Seneca and I ended up in tears at some point, made weird references to Hilary Duff for no reason, saw Hangover II, and when we were alerted of bad weather we played a rousing game of Life where I pretended I found out I’m barren and will never bear children(LOL), we also watched a fuck-ton of Lifetime (yeah, including William & Kate, the movie), I quoted William Shakespeare to Seneca in a normal conversation, and I fell in the lake again tonight while trying to get in the kayak.

WINS ALL AROUND.

I promise things will go back to normal.

Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test! Tie your napkin ’round your neck, cherie, and we provide the rest!

I made something in the kitchen today other than a small fire.

I know, you’re proud. I can hear your applause right now.

Now, this is something we usually only make in the fall, but, dude, I got home from work tonight and was like I NEED PUMKIN CAKE RIGHT NOW ASAP so I just fuckin’ did it. And let me tell you, it’s as good as I remember from November.

I didn’t think to take pictures while I was in the process of actually making it, but when I went to eat it, I decided it was too good to just hoard and not share with you.  So, here, my friends, is a delicious recipe for a lovely fall dessert.

(It just isn’t seasonally appropriate anymore, but whatevs, I still dig it.)

Ingredients:

• 1 can Evaporated Milk
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1 ¼ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg*
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 can Pumpkin (13 oz)
• 1 pkg Yellow Cake Mix
• ½ cup butter (softened/melted)
• 1 carton Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix evaporated milk, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugar, and pumpkin in a bowl.  Pour mixture into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.
3. Mix cake mix with ½ cup melted butter.
4. Crumble cake/butter mixture on top of pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. Let cool.
7. Serve with Cool Whip (or other whipped topping).
8. ZOMG Yum!

Oh, heavens to Betsy, No! You MUST add the Cool Whip! It’s just not the same without it!!

Oh, yes, yes, yes!! That’s the ticket!!

Excuse me while I go enjoy my pumpkin cake!!

*”Oh, Meg, my little flower, my little bird, my little Nut Meg!”

Name that movie!!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!

Tryin’ to get my Usher on but I can’t let it burn

There are just some songs that stick with you sometimes, you know? The ones that replay in your head over and over again. The ones that you can listen to endlessly and never get sick of.

Dude. I totally have one of those right now.

This love affair has lasted longer than I can even remember. I don’t know the first time I heard the song but I’m fairly certain that I was like oh em gee, more please! the first time I heard it.

I saw the video for it and decided I would still love the song despite the fact that the video elicits the following reaction: uhm, what the fuck?

Any guesses?

Whatever, I’ll tell you. Just a Dream by Nelly.

What I love about it is that new Nelly sounds like old Nelly, which I think is great.  If only Christina Aguilera would go back to the days of What a Girl Wants or the entire Stripped album. Ugh.

Anyway, the best part about Just a Dream is this cover I found by these youtubers I am slightly obsessed with. Kurt Schneider and Sam Tsui do covers and make videos of all kinds of stuff and every single one is good. Even though Sam reminds me of a Disney Prince of some sort. He smiles all the damn time! Love love love!!

I especially love when Christina sings. Her voice is so so so so good. Oh, and the Usher part about not being able to let it burn, obviously. And the part where you have to put your hands up if you’ve ever loved somebody. I do it even though I haven’t been in love. Not for real.

And that time I did tell someone I loved him, I totally lied. Because, hello, it’s rude to not say it when someone expects you to say it. And apparently I’m a people-pleaser?! Dick move, self. Whatever.

It’s just that love is pretty much just fucked. And, while it’s a precious concept and I do wish that two people really could be together forever and stuff, let’s get real, it just doesn’t really exist.

Except for in the case of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Love exists for them.

Ugh. I suppose I can save my bitter cynicism for another day.

Hope your President’s Day-weekend is/was excellent. I have tomorrow off from work for the holiday. Win. I plan on sleeping in. In my own bed.

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run. You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess, it’s a love story, baby, just say yes!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at my house.

And by “all of us” I mean Me, Grandma and Mom. And Stella, my satanic, life-ruiner of  a cat.

I did, however, learn something about Stella this week.

Lately, Tam has been been talking an awful lot about a neighbor’s cat who comes to visit Stella. It’s not that I didn’t believe her; I mean, sure, the cat probably does exist. I did, however, question the validity of her statements regarding Stella’s behavior towards this cat. I highly doubted that Stella even entertained the idea of having a little kitty friend, what, with her being a little bitch about everything.

Stella is not social. She is not going to just walk up to the window and become friends with this rando neighbor cat who sits on our front steps by the window and stares into the house, waiting for her.

That was exactly what Tam was saying was happening. She said our little brat of a cat had a boyfriend.

So right before I left to go celebrate the biggest bar night of the year with my girlfriends, Tam called for me to come quietly and watch as Stella spent time with her boyfriend. I crept up the steps and observed Stella sitting by the window, facing a big-ass white cat with the cutest little gray face.

It seemed I was incorrect in my assumption that Stella was incapable of having a friend.

It was precious. And Tam is convinced that this precious kitty cat friend of Stella’s is a boy but I don’t know how she could possibly know.

What I like best is that Stella is pretty much one of those princesses trapped in a tower. She can’t be an indoor/outdoor cat anymore because we are afraid she will get lost since she is unfamiliar with her new surroundings since we moved.  So, she just sits inside and has suitors come to her.

I forget the purpose of telling you this story about Stella. It was not at all related to Thanksgiving.

Interesting.

Well, happy thanksgiving to you and yours all the same. 🙂

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

OH em gee. I TOTALLY almost forgot to post today.

I’ve been like zonked out and totally not aware of anything happening today. It may have everything to do with the fact that I had a little too much fun last night. (Oh wait, you’re pretty used to that at this point….)

1) Vacation is over. I went by so fast!! I am torn between wanting to go back to work and never wanting to work ever again. Mostly, I wish I could just have someone pay me lots of money to do nothing.

2.) I have been pretty irritated that Blackboard hasn’t loaded any of the info on my new class. I was hoping to get my school stuff set up and print my syllabus and everything. I was also hoping to have had time during my vacation to read for the first day of class and do whatever pre-assignment is required. But nooooo. Blackboard had other plans. Apparently, all of the info for my class won’t load on Blackboard until Monday at 5pm. Rude. My class is Tuesday. Nothing like waiting to the last minute! AND TO THINK, THE ONE TIME I WANTED TO PLAN AHEAD AND GET STUFF DONE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!!! 😦

3.) I really love the Kardashians. I just do. Go ahead and hate.

4.) I had a tonnnnn of fun at my Dad’s house this weekend with my step brother 🙂

5.) HALLOWEEN IS THIS COMING WEEKEND. I CAN’T EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM!!!

6.) Another thing I am insanely excited about: TAYLOR SWIFT’S NEW ALBUM COMES OUT TOMORROW!!!! YAAAAAAY!!!

this is it for today, guys. see you here on Tuesday.

You make me feel like I’m livin’ a teenage dream the way you turn me on I can’t sleep let’s run away and don’t ever look back!

Here are a few new-founded obsessions:

1.) 30 Rock— I requested season one from the library after I watched the Emmys. They didn’t win a bunch of shit this year like they’ve won in years past but I decided I needed to hop on the bandwagon anyway. With my requesting of 30 Rock, I requested season one of United States of Tara, Mad Men and something else. I can’t remember. I really, really love 30 Rock.  I sit by myself and watch it and just giggle. I love all of the guest stars. And how outrageous all of it is. Not to mention my girl crush on Tina Fey. And I really just love Alec Baldwin. I never thought I’d say that, but I just really do.

2.) Katy Perry— I finally bought Teenage Dream. I requested it from the library and was like 7,542 of 7,856,4895,156. I was going to have to wait forever to get it. So, I finally broke down and bought the album.  I couldn’t stand not owning it. I love it so much. I love every song.  It’s amazing. She’s gorgeous, and I love the video of Teenage Dream. Her giant eyes are amazing.  I love all of it.

3.) College Football Season— I just love it for tailgate season. Make your own judgments about me.

4.) Llamas— Yes, this is an ongoing obsession but I didn’t want the list to only be three things.  My mom and I went to Llama Fest at  MSU today. Every Labor Day Weekend, Llama Fest visits the MSU Pavilion. It’s awesome. It reeks like farm animals and I dry heave the second we walk inside, but the creepy giant eyes on those majestic, twitchy creatures are magnificent.  Llamas (and alpacas) make this little humming noise. I don’t know what it means but my mom and I went up to every llama pen and started humming at them. Some looked scary so we walked away quickly but other times the llamas came close and hummed back. I want a llama.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, everyone!!!

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors. It’s the mornin’ of your very first day…

For the first seven weeks of this semester, I’ll be taking the first class in my concentration. In seven weeks, I will learn an entire semester’s worth of material. This is not a new concept, as all of my classes in grad school thus far have been in the seven-week accelerated format. This is just fine by me but it does mean that things go pretty quickly and doesn’t really leave much time to slack off and miss classes. Not that I ever would, of course,since I’m such a perfect student and never skipped classes in college- ever. If life was like Pinocchio and everyone suffered from the nose-growing disorder he suffered from, I surely would look ridiculous right now.

Side Note:  Speaking of Pinocchio, I haven’t seen that movie in forevs because the live-action version with JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas, aka the love of my life when I was ten years old) really, really freaked me out. And I’m fairly certain the animated version by Disney was creeps as fuck too. Maybe now that I’m old and a grown-ass woman I should re-watch the movies that scared the hell out of me when I was younger. What would that list include, I wonder? E.T. would definitely be on that list. I haven’t seen that shit since before I can even remember!!

Anyway, now that this post has completely gotten away from me and gone to a way more exciting topic, I’ll go back to the boring shit I was telling you about at the beginning. My point was, it’s the eve of my first class of this school year. It’s the first class of my concentration, and just between you and me, because I’m a huge nerd and really, really like school, I’m SUPER excited to be getting into the core classes of the reason I’m going to school. I read my textbook for my pre-assignment and got really excited to be a part of class discussions. I’m excited for my brain to act as an eager sponge and just soak up all the information coming at me!

People with rolly backpacks disgust me.

The best part is, I really, really love the first day of school. As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved it. Well, except for that one year in elementary school when I was afraid of my teacher on the first day of school and was too much of a pansy to ask to go to the bathroom so I wet my pants and tried to hide the puddle of pee on the tiny chair I was seated in.  But, really, besides that, the first day of school and I are, like, besties.

I love brand new school supplies. I love shopping for school supplies. I love seeing everyone walking around campus and filing into classrooms. Everyone just seems so much happier on the first day of classes than all of the other times they walk into class. The first day of school just gives people a pep in their step! And frankly, I love that kind of shit.

I also really, really love getting the class syllabus. Sure, that gets sent out beforehand sometimes, but I like all the time the professor spends going over it, like we don’t have eyes and can’t possibly read or understand what they mean just by reading it. I love going through the class calendar and color coding my planner. I enjoy seeing how much I’m going to hate my life because seven weeks goes by in a flash and that means a large assignment is due every single week.

Anyway, I hope everyone has an enjoyable first day of school, whether it already happened for Fall 2010 or if it’s still to come after Labor Day.  I guess if you’re reading this and don’t have a first day of school anymore, then I feel sad for you. Because it’s one of the many joys in my life. And I look forward to the day I’m a parent someday (bahahaha I should never have kids) and can scar those children with how much I love the first day of school.