Hello, World... Again!!!

Well, I'm not dead. Thanks for asking! I know it's been a bajillion years since I last posted (sorry!) but I've been crazy busy in the best possible ways. Don't be mad, please. I promise this blog will be a good one.

Fine, fine. Here's some food porn. Does that help? Thought so.

Bronzed tuna with a lemon-shallot-butter relish, wild rice, and grilled eggplant.

Those are all natural. Look at the size of those grains.

Eh hem. Sorry to interrupt, but it's time to get back to the real thing. I've been at Splash now for 6 weeks, and I can tell you I am loving it. I'm not bored (first time ever), I love all the (99% of) the people I work with, and no one yells at me, or tries to get me fired every day. Other than a terrible head shot of me on the Splash web site -- DO NOT GO LOOK IT UP. Don't. This is a circle of trust, and if you go look that picture up, you aren't invited back. You're telling yourself, "Oh, she'll never know. I'll just pop open a new tab and check it out. I WILL KNOW. Mark my words. -- and a move to a new desk across the reef that I was pretty melodramatic about (moi? Non!), I've had a really great time. More details to come in a blog that isn't a month recap. I know you have a short attention span. It's ok.

In other news, we've done a lot of upgrading to the apartment. Sean is 1. adorable and 2. awesome at fixing things, so he bought new drawer pulls for our slightly tragic looking bedroom set - and presto! New life. For some reason, the original pulls were custom drilled, but Sean (used this as an excuse to buy a power tool) drilled new holes all by himself! That's what she said. We had to buy a pull that would cover up the other holes, so we choose brushed nickel cup pulls. Sean wasn't convinced that he liked them, but I sold them pretty hard. Once we got them on the drawers, no more selling needed. The new pulls look modern, match the original furniture, and handy-man did a great job so they are level and everything!

Nia really enjoyed this project. It was like having 2 extra migrant workers to help with all the heavy lifting. Don't let the pearls fool you.

Just kidding. Nia checked it out and decided to nap instead.

The finished product. The room looks so much brighter when compared to before!

We switched TVs so Sean could video game in the guest room, and I could watch documentaries in the living room. Compromise is what gets it done and keeps it alive, y'all.

Pretty!

We got a great deal on the pulls at Seconds and Surplus, which is -- in my opinion -- the only place to go get renovation-ish things in Dallas. What would have cost $75 at Lowes cost $32 at Seconds and Surplus. They have 2 locations: Dallas off 114 (where we went) and Richardson. They even have decent service, which totally shocked me considering it was a surplus store. 

Life is good, y'all. I'll do new posts on our upgraded party-time patio and some awesome things that have been cooking out there. Well, growing out there, but cooking inside. I think I gave the post away. I should just leave.

Drama! Conflict! Chickens!

Recently, it's come to my attention that this blog would be SO MUCH BETTER if I had some sort of crazy drama going on in my life.

Stunted adolescence?

Crazy relationship trouble?

Weird family?

Horrible job?

OK, we will reserve judgement on the last point but I have to say... after a few traumatic experiences in the working world... my early verdict on Splash Media is positive. Really positive. Without seeming like a crazy person, I'd say awesome. But that would be overly-aggressive way too soon. So right now, things are positive.

Anyone who knows me knows that my family is freakishly normal (perhaps that's the weird part?), so we'll cross that off the drama list.

Crazy relationship problems? Negative. The biggest problem in my relationship is that we eat wayyyy too much chicken. CHICKENS!!! (Imagine me shaking my fist at the sky so that I'm maximizing the drama, people. CHICKENS!!!) Oh yeah, and the cat keeps playing with her poop, which means one of us (read: me) has to pick it up. Since Nia once pooped directly on Sean's lap (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA) -- a story that I am under no conditions supposed to tell -- I'm on poop duty for a while.

Stunted adolescence? I WISH. Damn you, bills, for making me so responsible.

That's all the drama I can come up with. Sorry I'm not sorry I'm generally happy. Please, keep reading my blog anyway.

I've been doing some thinking

..and if you know me, that's a little scary.

Anyway, quick list of things I want to do with my life. No big deal.

• Learn French. Two (three?) Christmases ago, my parents got me the Rosetta Stone for French. I was quite religious about it until my computer crapped out, which was about 1/3 of the way through the program. Basically, I know a bunch of random phrases and would really love to learn, you know, the whole language. I need to download this on my new computer and get at it immediately.
• (Re)read the classics. Truth: I downloaded 63 books on my Kindle for free!! the night Sean gave it to me. I am approximately one book down. All of the books are classics that I may or may not have read in elementary/middle/high school, but should re-read anyway. Truth #2: I read a lot of these books in elementary school. Somewhere, stashed in my parents house, is a trove of books with child's handwriting all over the margins as I made notes to myself about words and phrases I didn't understand. <- This explains a lot about me. It also means that I probably didn't understand a lot of the nuance. I need to get on this immediately, too. 
• Actually start working out. I love yoga, dancing, and riding bikes. I hate running and lifting weights. Why do I keep trying to cram myself into the latter box? I'm signing up for yoga immediately after this blog.
• Shameless plug: Meghann and I decided we are writing a book. Stay posted, friends. It's coming. Immediately. :) I promise it will be full of sass and sarcasm. It's what I do best. 
• I put myself on a spending freeze. I'm not buying any clothes/shoes until I pay my credit card off. I'm already dying. I want these so bad it hurts. Snake skin ballet flats with a bow! ON SALE. Anthro kills me. 
• I put myself on a drinking freeze. I'm only drinking on weekends, now folks. That's right: NO HAPPY HOURS. I don't need the calories. Maybe one day, margarita Monday will be back for me. But until margaritas cease to be 1000 calories a pop, and I cease to be dieting, we can never be together. 

Weekend Update

Well, this is my final week at TaCito. I am working really hard to make sure all my loose ends are tied up! And also trying not to feel like this:

2010 throwback, what!

Sean and I had an Oscar party this weekend. He was unconvinced that this would be fun for anyone but me, so I am happy to report that I am practically wearing "I told you so" like a Ms. America banner. To be fair, it was questionable whether or not the boys coming would appreciate the gown gorge, but Sean set up his Playstation in the guest room FTW.

We kept having to pause the Oscars because they were yelling about extra lives or something. None of us knew what could be so exciting about video games, but were generally happy they were having fun. I was also pretty excited we were left with minimal leftovers. I love my Winter's Bone-in Wings (see what I did right there, with the pun?), but a girl can only take so much. It's all broccoli for a while in my diet (ballerina food... see what I did right there, with the pun? Can you tell there was a theme to my party?) Other foods that made an appearance: Buzz LightBeer, Fighter Sliders, Little Dogs on the Prairie, The King's Peach Tea, The Salsa Network, The Queso is Alright, 3 Level Dream Dip, 127 Chocolate Chip Cookies. They had name tags. Don't judge.

To sum it up: this weekend = success.

This is not a photo essay

So, I'm actually writing a blog today. There has been a lot going on in my life, and I'm pretty excited to share it with you.

This week, I accepted a job at Splash Media in Addison as a Social Media Manager. I've put in my two weeks at TaCito, and while I am thankful for the opportunity TaCito gave me, I am so excited about my new job. It was a tough decision for everyone involved, but I can happily say I made the right one -- Splash Media, here I come!

The only thing that would make this better is if I could bring business kitty with me.

Other important news: My boyfriend and my family are pretty awesome. If they had a celebrity name, which they totally should, it would be boyframily. 

Super Bowl/ Valentine's Day... A photo essay of food porn and kitty cats

Turkey Sliders stuffed with cheese and red onions. See youllmarryamusicman.blogspot.com for recipe!  

Mini Crescent Dogs, Wings, Relish Plate. Nomnomnom.

Cookies + Brownies = choco-awesome

Queso, French Onion Dip, Spinach Dip, Salsa and Chex Mix... Gangs all here!

This is Nia's favorite spot in the house, which she climbs to entirely on her own. Who ever said fat cats can't jump?

Super Bowl nomaliciousness

My pretty damn cute boyfriend in some smoking Martha Stewart mittens, cooking me dinner!

Did I say cooking? What I really meant was heating up the gourmet food he got to go! 

Pate and Baguette -- don't judge, but I love it.

Mixed veggies, filet mignon, lobster with a garlic cream sauce, mashed potatoes with celery root. EPIC DECISIONS.

We resorted to eating caveman style.

"I want my steak to be cooked like this always." - Sean McCarver. Side note: Why do lobsters always look so PERVY when you photograph them?

What shall forever be known as "rich people squash".

Raspberry cream brulee - in a heart tin because we're in love, yo!

This was dinner VDay #2. Sean and I split duties cause it's way more fun to spread the love! That's a cowboy ribeye on a bed of creamed spinach with a rosemary cream sauce and Hasselbeck potatoes. 

Nia wanted to join.

The aftermath. Next year, I'm ordering to-go, too.

Saved the best for last. Chocolate dipped strawberries with brownies and oreos!

This is the mea culpa blog

So in case anyone didn't know, being an adult is HARD.

That's what she said.


Obviously, I still haven't mastered maturity (see comment above) so here is a list of things I'm currently sorry for screwing up:

1. Still no Christmas pictures. I will redress this situation at the end of this blog.

2. Not calling Suzy back. I FELL ASLEEP. I'm one nap away from applying for AARP.

3. Bailing on approximately a bajillion people Saturday night. I FELL ASLEEP. For the record, so did Sean. At 8:30, or one-glass-of-wine-o'clock. AARP: I am expecting a formal invite any minute.

4. Just now reading Andrea's comment about my blog. She's 10000x better at blogging than me, so you should follow her Steady Stream of Chatter.

So, here are Christmas pictures.

Daddy got a standing ovation for the universal remote.

This is the best picture I've ever taken. 

Nia loves Christmas, and I love Nia. Win-Win.

Shiloh loves me. This is a love/hate relationship on my end. See the licking?! See?!

New Years in my MJ jacket.

Cotton Bowl Tail Gate. Whoop!

It was really good to see TJ. 

Sean thinks I'm pretty without make-up. I think he's cute when he makes dumb faces. This is proof we are both crazy.

Trevor and I at the Cotton Bowl.

We lost, and I kept annoying Trevor. This is pretty much how the whole second half went for him.