So Long 2010

It's that time of year when everyone is looking back and reflecting on all the things that have happened. Not to be too pompous or anything, but I definitely feel that I've had some pretty good moments here in blogville, and thought it would be fun to jump on the band wagon and think about my best posts of the last year.

I began this blog in February, and it's been a fabulous trip so far. From leaving The Writer to moving to moving to a new city, it's all been a trip and I'm glad I have this blog to remember it by.

That said, here are my favorite blog posts of this past year. I hope you'll enjoy reminiscing with me!

5. With A Twist- the second half of this post, involving Straight No Chaser!

4. ER Visit

3. Lock Down

2. Mouscapades

1. T Crush

These are my favorites because they remind me of great moments this past year, crazy moments this past year, and also remind me of all the changes that have taken place since I started writing this past March. I can't even imagine what 2011 will bring!

The End of the Affair

I've recently become disillusioned by a store, who name I will mention. Kohls.

To be fair, recently actually means about 3 minutes ago, so I'm writing this through the embittered haze of one who has just had the glitter of a fabulous online order ripped from her eye (does that even make sense? Forgive me, I'm a little irritated whilst writing 

this. . .)

I can remember when it all first started. About 3.5 months ago, I headed into a Kohls having been there, of course, a million times before. Countless sales and great buys for some reason hadn't really made it clear to me. That fateful day, however, something changed. My eyes were opened (so to speak) and I realized what an amazing deal everything was. So many sales, so many fun clothes. I was in love. Totally in love. I even signed up for their credit card (eek!). From that day on it's been fabulous. Kohls peppers me with incredibly exciting e-mails and sales, and I happily head to kohls.com and spend way more money that I should. It's all a win-win really (well, now that I'm writing it out it doesn't seem too win-ny for me). 

Then about 2.5 weeks ago, I headed onto their website to find the most adorable little night set and all the proceeds went to charity. It was half off for $5 but then of course if i ordered $50 I'd get free shipping andihadacouponfor15%offsoIhadtoreallyordermorethan$50. . .OK, so you get the point. Sixty dollars later, I was happily tapping in my Kohls charge number and getting excited for my purchases to be shipped three day express for free and arrive before Christmas. Not because they were presents, but because I really wanted to wear the new outfit for Christmas. 

December 23rd rolls around and I come home from work to find my package sitting pretty in the lobby for me. I rushed inside and began to tug open the packaging. Suddenly, a black wad pops out of the bag. "What?" I think, "I didn't order tights in my frenzy, did I?" Oh no, I didn't. Kohls.com had screwed up my order and sent me three pairs of large, men's, black gloves. Seriously? Where were my Vera Wang jeans? My LC cardigan with purple flowers? Nowhere to be found!

The next day, I called to remedy the sitch. The lady was very accommodating but confused me with talk of someone coming to pick up the order and switching and setting up times, etc. It all seemed a little complicated and ridiculous to me, but I went with it. How foolish. When I'd still received no word from "them" -the people who were to switch the order- I started to get a little impatient so I called again tonight to get more answers.

Oh, I got some alright. Super helpful guy tells me a. girl from before did something that was wrong and (he didn't say exactly) wasn't even protocol; b. I can remedy the situation in about 3 weeks; c. I have to go return the wrong order they shipped me in store if I want to speed up the process; d. I can't get part of my order because it's no longer available (the sleeper set that started this whole mess) and; e. I still won't get the rest of my order for another 2 weeks.

Dear Kohls,

We're through. 

At least until you send me another coupon for 40% and I totally forget that you suck at keeping orders straight and I really don't like you. But until then, I'm so over you. 

What's 4 More?

It's come to my attention that I maybe have made a bit of an error on a previous post. 

If you go here and take a gander at the last couple of paragraphs you'll notice that I may or may not have made reference to santa's lovely reindeer. The problem is, I alluded to the fact that there were 12 reindeer (or, flat out said it).

I mean I'm sure there are 12 reindeer, really. Of course Santa probably runs things such that he has some backups. What happens if Dancer gets a snowball in the face, or Prancer steps wrong and sprains a hoof?

Still, the fact remains that traditionally, Santa only has 8 reindeer, nine if you count Rudolph. I mean, I know the song: Now there's Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen, Comet, and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen. And obviously, I recall the most famous reindeer of all. Nevertheless, I still somehow just assumed that all those names made 12. . . whoops!

Just wanted to clear that up on this Eve before Christmas. And now, back to some festivities, including watching Love Actually, one of my fav Christmas movies, with the mom and sister.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

More Tales from the T

First and foremost. Let me update you on my life with this piece of shocking news: I saw my T crush on Tuesday and he had cut his hair! Gone were those beautiful, luscious, blond, curly locks (OK, now you're wondering if I have a crush on the man or the hair. . .I wonder that too sometimes). I'm pretty sure I gave an audible gasp when he entered and I recognized who he was. Still, after recovering, I decided he looked just as good, maybe even a little more mature (I like mature) and he still had cute little licks in front, like, just hints of curls. I could handle that.

However, I couldn't be too focused on T crush because the most (this remains to be seen, as stuff like this happens often) ridiculous scenario was playing out right next to me on the train.

Actually, I've gotten ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning. 5:05 PM, a coworker and I hop on our train to head home. I grab a nearby seat, while J stands across from me (she was getting off at the next stop to transfer). A short, rather stout man gets on the train and charges over to where I'm sitting, squeezing his way between me and another passenger. J and I are chatting when, just after we pull out of the station, Man sticks his arm right in front of my face, so that I actually have to lean back, and presses the bell strip on the wall  (Mind you, you don't have to do that underground). His hand lingers for a moment then, he slooowly lowers it away from my face. J and I are working hard not to laugh at this point.

We arrive at the stop for which he's rung the bell. He sits calmly, not even attempting to get off or looking the least bit confused, concerned. nothing.

J leaves, i plunk in my headphones and slip into the dream like state the T always induces in me. Man falls asleep or is dying or something, as he's making weird, hacking, blowing noises periodically. I squeeze as far against the wall as possible.

When we hit the above ground portion of our trip, Man becomes excited, but for some reason is moving at the pace of a sloth. He leans over, this time in the other direction, and basically straddles the male passenger beside him to ring the bell strip again. Other Guy looks alarmed and tries to get out of his way, to no avail. Man half stands, sits after that. We stop.

Again, doesn't get off.

This goes on for 3 or so more stops, until, at one point Man is literally on top of Other Guy. With a wild look in his eye, Other Guy manages to scrunch up and scoot his way out from under Man and slide next to me. He looks at me with a look of panic, confusion, and just general WTH?? I smile understandingly, secretly really glad Man decided to use the other bell strip.

Finally, Man makes his way to the exit, but doesn't get off. When a woman gets on blocking his way the door, he becomes incredibly agitated, "Excuse me, excuse me" he exclaims in a nasaly voice, "I'm getting of at the next stop. Excuse me!" 

She smiles calmy and assures him she'll move when they stop. Man is clearly not happy but has no choice. At last, the train stops and he exits, blocking several other people trying to get on/off in the process. I spent the rest of my ride home trying to work out exactly what had just happened.  All I can say is, there's never a dull moment around these parts.

For the record, T crush seemed to find these goings on equally strange. Not that I was watching him or anything. I mean, not at all. I just assumed. . .

A Cup of Good Cheer

Oh, my dear blog friends, can you believe it's already the week before Christmas. I've been having so much trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year, for some reason. Slowly, though it's welling up.

This Saturday some girlfriends and I headed over to another city, New York,  for some fun shopping, festive lights, and just general fun! I always love going to NYC during the holiday season. There's nothing like a 50 foot tree to make you feel a little like Christmas. Not to mention, whilst floating around Saks balking over the fact that a pair of socks can cost upwards of $100, I also thoroughly enjoyed some truly beautiful Christmas decorations. As much as I love my baby of a tree, can you imagine coming home to this stunner every night? Hello!

And if that wasn't enough to get me in the Holiday mood, today it FINALLY snowed in Boston. I was beginning to wonder what a girl's gotta do around here to get some Christmas cheer?!?  Everything looked so much softer and prettier as I walked from work to the train station, glorying in all the fluffy, white stuff! 

(on a side note, I was wearing a pair of cute wedge boots that I quickly learned are not meant for trekking around in the snow. At one point I almost face planted into the brick walkway while dozens of other unconcerned commuters huffed past, irritated at me for slowing them down!)

Despite the dangers of wading through snow in slippery boots, my spirits are no less dampened. In fact, I'm happy to be home. As snow falls outside my windows, I'm getting ready to bake some cookies for a Christmas party here tomorrow. 

Oh, hey Christmas. I think I'm almost ready for you!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Tiny, fake fir trees and snow flakes that glisten

     Christmas shaped cookies , and warm woolen mittens

          Wrapping my presents while Old Blue Eyes sings,

               These are a few of my favorite things. 

This evening has driven me to writing songs! Sorry, Maria, I mean no disrespect to your version. Frankly, though, I don't really like cats all that much and I like my package wrapping to be just a tad more flashy. . .

Seriously, though, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is evenings like this. I get to snuggle up at home, wrap gifts, and belt out some of my favorite Christmas tunes. Seriously, how amazing is it, that Christmas is basically the only holiday that has an entire repertoire of songs that only come out once a year, and never get old no matter how many times you've hear them? So classic. 

Not to mention, I actually love wrapping presents. I love getting square corners just so, and fussing with slippery bows until they are perfect. I love arranging tissue paper and choosing what paper fits each persons personality. Basically, what I'm saying is, if you ever get too overwhelmed with all the holiday hubbub, I'd be happy to wrap your gifts for you. . .for a fee. Come on, a girls gotta make some Christmas cash somehow!

In honor of this most glorious time of year, and my recent "caroling" I've compiled a list of my top 5 Christmas carols for you all. In case your jonesing for some Christmas cheer and need some help!

1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. (Definitely, the best song of the season from the arrangement to the lyrics.)

2. Carol of the Bells (Celtic Women, espesh)

3. Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt's version is far superior to anything else out there!)

4. Christmas Waltz

5. Do You Hear What I Hear?

This is such a short list. More realistically I'd have to give you like my top 20. I mean what about Mariah Carey, because all I want for Christmas really is you. . .

Alas, I'll stop here because I could just go on gushing forever. I exhort you to action, however. Go listen to some classic Christmas tunes. Brush up on your 12 reindeer, show Frosty some love, or just settle in for a Silent Night. Whatever it is, get to Pandora now and get you some Christmas!

Chapstick, and Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry

I'm a chapstick addict.

 As you read that statement, I'm sure you chuckle to yourself.

"Oh, Katy" you thinking, "you're so dramatic is laughable." 

Well, first off, you'd be right. Even I won't pretend that I'm not an incredibly dramatic person. Second, however, it's become pretty clear to me over the last few years that me minus chapstick is a bad scene.

Rare is the week that goes by without someone making a comment on my extensive chapstick application, by near panic attacks upon realizing I've forgotten my chapstick, and or my whining when I head somewhere for a few minutes and forget to throw a chapstick in my pocket.   

If you don't suffer from this addiction. Let me try to explain. I don't just use chapstick in the dry winter, or on cold, windy days. Oh no, I'm a die hard, year round chapstick user, and a mere stick transferred around just won't do. I have a chapstick for each of my purses, chapstick for my car, spare chapstick at work, and of course, several chapsticks in my bedside table.

If by some horrific oversight, I go somewhere and find that I don't have chapstick on hand, panic sets in. My hand get clammy, i get irrationally angry at myself, and my lips begin to burn, tingle, and in some extreme cases swell. Constantly, I find my mind wandering toward applying some chapstick. While everyone sits, enthralled with Harry Potter, or a future bride opening her wedding gifts, or a cute baby cooing on his mother's lap. . .I'm somewhere else. Squirmy, distracted, and feeling a little faint, I'm wondering where I can sneak off to to get some chapstick. Sometimes, I'll compromise and use some lotion to moisten my lips, but it's never enough. 

And if you're wondering. NO. I NEVER use another person's chapstick. That's disgusting. Unless we've kissed, in which case, I can make an exception. Otherwise, I don't want my lips on something your lips have touched. bleck.  

 What prompted this particular post? Well, I'll tell you! This weekend, I left for a day and a half of traveling and forgot my chapstick. Then, somehow, terribly, my car chapstick was missing. The horror! After an agonizing 18 hours or so, I eventually found a chapstick in my coat pocket. My lips are still recovering. . .

This prompted me to do some research in chapstick addiction, as I've read that it's a legitimate problem before. I learned tonight that while it's not an addiction like alcohol, say, our lips are easily psychologically affected.  As soon as we think about our lips the saliva on then dries, and we have the urge to moisturize them.

If we don't moisturize them, they can easily dry, crack or peel, because we continue to think about it and they continue to dry out. Jeez! It's clearly a lose-lose situation. This isn't a problem that affects everyone, but it apparently plagues many people all over the world.

I just happen to be one of the many. 

Really, I'm writing to advocate for addicts like me who are constantly being made fun of by our friends and coworkers for our ridiculous addiction. We are not crazy, we have a real problem. Be nice to us.

. . .And if you're wondering, yes my lips are incredibly dry and starting to burn as I write this. I think I'll go put on some chapstick. . .

Godiva Dive

Sometimes, I take really ridiculous pictures throughout the day because I think to myself. I'm going to blog about this tonight! But then, I get home, and something ridiculous has happened that I want to share. Or, as is the case more recently, I don't end up blogging because  I'm busy, tired, blah blah blah (I could give you a hundred lame excuses but I'll refrain. I know you don't care!) 

What ends up happening, though, is I'll be looking through pictures on my phone for something and I'm like, "what is this?"

"Why do I have a picture of a man's shoe with gum on it?"

"more importantly, do I even know that man?"

 You know, usual stuff like that. So today, I thought I'd share a few of these candids and explain a little about them, despite their initial failure to make the cut for my blog.

1. This is an escalator at one of the Cambridge T stops in Boston. Basically, it is a vertical escalator, and you ride on it for probably about 3 minutes if you chose to not walk down and just stand still holding on for dear life, hoping you don't plummet to your death (like, say,ahemmeahem). Additionally, if you are going further outbound, you actually have to go on another escalator after this. Do you realize this is an indication of just exactly how far underground you are when riding this T line. Eek!

ps: just so you have the full picture: I wasn't even all the way down the escalator at this point, I still had about another 20 feet.

2. This is the common area in my office. Filled with Godiva chocolate. The Christmas season is definitely upon us. As such, various big wigs from other companies send expensive gift baskets to various big wigs in our company. After the latter big wigs select what they want, we get to feast on the rest. Have you ever had Godiva chocolate covered pretzels, or their coconut truffles. Well, I have and let me tell you. . .they are divine (although, don't over indulge or you'll be feeling sick for hours. Not that this happened to me or anything. I mean, I'm just saying. . .).

Isn't my life simply thrilling? After eating my weight in chocolate, I then hop on a completely vertical escalator, hoping that in my fear, I don't puke up that fancy chocolate all over innocent (and just as frightened) fellow escalator riders. Believe me, everyday is not this glamorous.

It's Tradition!

Yesterday, at work, I was having a conversation with a coworker about traditions that different families create surrounding Christmas. I love that everyone has their own special moments and activities that mean Christmas for them.

Do you have special events or things that you and/or your family do as part of this wonderful season?

One of the traditions I've loved that my mother started was this: each year she would buy each of us kids a new ornament that fit our personalities or hobbies or whatever was special to us at the time.  Now when we decorate our trees we already have a box full of meaningful ornaments that bring back so many fun memories.

I hope if I'm blessed with little ones that I'll remember this wonderful tradition and make it happen for my kids. 

Another of my favorite things that we've always done at Christmas is stockings! Even now that I'm 23 years old, I still get so excited for my stocking on Christmas morning. Presents are great, but my mother always made a point of buying complete surprise gifts for our stockings. Fun cosmetic products, candy, and any number of fun little items. And of course their was the CD or DVD we inevitably were coveting that season or year. 

I still love that stocking tradition and it's another I want to carry on for my children. 

What is it that is so satisfying about traditions that we create? I'm sure I don't know but I want to keep them coming, that's certain!

solitude

This weekend, in preparation for a crazy, hectic month of holiday I took a day entirely for myself. It was glorious. I never wanted it to end. 

Saturday morning after seeing my sister and her boyfriend off (they spend the night Friday) I headed back into the house took a shower. . .and then decided I was going to spend the day completely alone. 

What did my day of solitude look like, you ask? Well, it was mostly spent snuggled up in front of the TV watching Christmas movies, playing spider solitaire on the computer (I'm addicted), reading, listening to music, and baking (I may have pretended to be on my own cooking show whilst partaking of this last activity).

I budgeted and belted out Christmas tunes, and even broke out my guitar for half a second. I also  forwent any real food in favor of subsisting on mint chocolate M&M's, Arnold Palmer Half Lemonade Half Ice Tea, and batter from my baking.

It was supremely refreshing and I now feel ready to face this crazy December with renewed strength and vigor! 

Then, my  weekend was topped off by getting a free orchestra seat to see the Rockettes perform at the Wang Theater in Boston!  Bring in on Christmas. I'm totally ready for you now!


If spending an entire day alone and not speaking to anyone (but yourself. . .) sounds like a great idea to you. do it. You won't regret it one bit.

Hump Day

I've come to notice a correlation between the oh-so-famous hump day (Wednesday, in case your a tad out of the loop) and my general appearance. 

I never really made the connection before.. I mean, sure hump day is accompanied by a 2 o'clock slump in which I try to simultaneously nap and type at the same time and a general sense of despair that sleeping in Saturday morning seems for far away. Today, though I also noticed that Wednesday also usually means that no matter what outfit I wear is completely bedraggled and ill fitting. My hair is a mess, even if I do the exact same thing as I do every day, my normally comfortable shoes give me blisters and I feel ill.

It's as if every fiber of my being is struggling to get over this hill of a day. Thankfully, I sail into Thursday somehow every week and manage to get my hair back under control (ha ha) and find something productive to do in the office.

Seriously, what is it about Wednesday? It's like ingrained in our genetics that it be a sluggish, near insurmountable day.

Although, blessedly today is December 1st. December, the month of Christmas. How glorious!