Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm gonna jump right in:

• Tomorrow Sara and Marcel are coming over for dinner. I've been missing her, so I'm really excited! She's going to pick up the Oxalis Folded Card Set for her GIVEAWAY! If you'd like to enter for a chance to win, head over to her blog and follow the simple instructions!
  
  
• I cannot stand the new Boost Mobile commercials. Why? Well first of all, they're all disgusting. The whole "you think this is wrong?" nonsense is idiotic. Second of all, why must the say Boost Mobile? Does anybody really think they mean Boost UNmobile? Nobody in America is advertising house phones anymore*, so adding in the mobile is sorta redundant. Isn't it? Thirdly, I swear they say "Booce Mobile" instead of Boost Mobile. In fact, when I think back on the commercials this is what I remember: You think this is wrong? Booce Mobile. I don't think that was their goal. And I do think it's wrong. Now when Eric and I think something is wrong we say it's Booce, in honor of these stupid commercials.
  
  
• I'm glad I'm not the octo-mom's attorney (right after I posted last week they announced that she'd fired her free help). And I know they call her octo-mom because she had 8 kids at once, but that's booce. That totally overshadows the fact that she has 14 kids. 14! Are you kidding me? That's insane. Furthermore, I don't think this story should be such big news. There are so many important things going on in the world, and instead we're getting 5 minute segments about a woman who has way too many kids. What gives?
  
  
• I can't stop looking at my new red shoes! I just bought them yesterday (I'm smiling just thinking about what a lovely birthday I had).

*I stand corrected. I just saw a Verizon Hub Home Phone commercial. Looks like a giant blackberry or iPhone or something. They specify home phone, so I still don't think Booce has to say "mobile" in their commercial.

Check out The Un Mom and Baby Boogers for more totally random thoughts.

Twenty-Six

My wonderful day revolved around food. I woke up to a surpise breakfast of challah French toast, bacon, grapefruit, and orange juice. Then I got my big gift: Eric took the day off work! 

Despite the rain, we decided to go on an adventure. We headed downtown and wandered in and  out of stores. We went to a camera store (and found out it will cost a lot to fix our camera), Anthropologie, and a few stores in the Pru before heading over to Newbury Street to find somplace to eat. 

We decided to go to Stephanie's on Newbury for lunch. They gave us bread while we waited, and the butter was soft and had a beautiful layer of salt on top. I'm gonna have to try that trick at home, because it was amazing. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Tartare, and Eric odered Fish & Chips. We ended up switching, because I didn't like the texture of the tartare. Oops.

After lunch we walked across town in the rain to visit Rugg Road Paper Company (doing some research) on Charles Street. Since Black Ink was next door, we had to stop there too! Then we walked back through the common and over to the Bromfield Pen Shop, so Eric could look at fountain pens and ink. Our last stop was DSW, because I was looking for some new shoes. Success! Red sneaks. Sweeeeet. They remind me of the 80s a bit, but in a totally good way. 

After our whirlwind adventure we were both pretty tired. We got back to the apartment around 4, and Eric took a nap. For dinner we had sushi from Whole Foods. Now we're eating Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream. 

I also had a number of delightful phone calls, birthday cards, texts, and facebook messages interspersed throughout the day! Thank you, everybody, for the birthday wishes; it's been a great one!  :)

FYI: Sara's giving away an Everything Little Miss folded card set. Visit her blog to enter the contest! 

A Portrait Of A Horse

Eric and I went to Harvard yesterday to do luandry, return the crosss country skis to his parents, and change his tires back to summer tires. When we got there his parents were out, so we decided to take advantage of the unbelievably perfect weather and go for a walk. We saw a few horses, but this one was a real ham. He was practically posing for me - it was great!

When we visit Eric's parents we always eat them out of house and home, and yesterday was no exception. We stayed for dinner (family friends also joined us), and it was delicious. Salmon, salad with all sorts of goodies (avacado, cherry tomatoes, orange and yellow peppers, feta cheese, and some more stuff), rice pilaf, and garlic bread. What a treat! I had mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert (I have a killer sweet tooth).  

Today I don't really know what Eric's been up to, but we're both still in PJs (yeah, I know it's 4:30 pm) and we've been sooo busy. I started the morning by hand-lining envelopes for Everything Little Miss. Then I figured out pricing for the new sets. After that I had to write desciptions for each of the new products and edit and upload photos. So after many hours of work (and some help from my roommate), the new sets are available for sale and featured in the blog!

We were going to work on a top-secret photography project today, but it's been too dark out. It'll just have to wait. We're off to the grocery store and Barnes & Nobel. Catch ya on the flip side. :)

Peppy Orangutan & Origami Sticky Notes

What a wonderful surprise! 

My friendly UPS man showed up with 2 packages this afternoon. I was starled to find this peppy orangutan & origami sticky note pad inside the first box. My frist thought was that somebody has screwed up an order I placed the other day. My second was that I'd accidentally opened somebody else's package. After checking I was relieved to find that it was addressed to me, but confused since I didn't order anything from Think Geek. I fished around inside the box and found a packing slip, and then it all made sense. It's a birthday gift from Drew (Eric's brother)! Thank you, Drew. You're the best! :) The orangutan is solar powered and required was assembly (which I obviously enjoyed). Now that he's all put together, he "climbs" a little rope. Fun! 

As I said, I recieved two packages today. Aren't you curious what was in the other one? Okay, okay. Since you're begging, I'll tell you. My new card sets! Check out Everything Little Miss for more information.

Moist Towelette

Okay. When I was little I loved Friendly's for two reasons. 

1. Ice cream*
2. Moist Towelettes (aka wet naps)

A meal at Friendly's was a rare treat.** The waitress would bring it out with the little wet nap on the side of the plate. I'd eat my meal, savoring the deliciously fried and forbidden food, and eye that little towel the entire time, practically bursting with anticipation. I wouldn't use any napkins, because I wanted my moist towelette to be as useful as possible. Once I'd cleared my plate, I would tear the little packet open with joy and carefully unfold the towel. Then I'd clean each finger separately. If I was quick, it would stay moist long enough to also wipe my mouth. If I wasn't fast enough I would try to fake it by pouring water on the towel, but it wasn't the same. 

I loved the smell of the wet naps. I loved that they'd get cold. And most of all, I loved that using them felt like a race against time, because they dry up so quickly. 

I was surprised (and way too excited) to find this little guy sitting on Eric's half of the desk. Where did it come from? Why do we have it? Why am I so thrilled? It's funny that something so small can bring up such a clear memory. What are your opinions about wet naps? 

*I could really go for some watermelon sherbert right about now. 

**As a kid, meals from McDonald's and Friendly's were treats. LOL. Now I'd rather avoid them. 

Little Devils

Look! Little devils! They remind me of the Barrel of Monkeys game. 

Recently, I've been thinking about right and wrong (devils!). As in, am I making the right decisions or the wrong ones? In an effort to find some answers, I went to a career counselor at The Work Place this morning. I'm so glad I did. She was helpful and reassuring. We talked about life during a career transition and steps I can take to make the best of my situation. I left feeling optimistic. I have some short-term goals (cheaper health insurance, part-time job) that will help me meet my long-term goals, which I'm still defining. 

So it was good. Too bad I don't have little angels to photograph! 

*Want to help me with my goals? Tell everybody you know about Everything Little Miss! Don't forget that I do custom work. I also expect to have new cards sets in by the end of the week.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

• A paradox: Some people think I'm much younger than I am (I was mistaken for a 15 year old in September), and other people call me ma'am. Ma'am seems like a title for a more mature woman. I doubt the people calling me ma'am actually think I'm mature, but I suppose they don't know that they could say "miss" instead. If you see a lady who looks younger than, say, 55, call her miss. It'll probably make her feel good. 
  
  
• I saw a cool license plate Sunday: SCRFCE (scar face, right?). I didn't get a photo. 
  
  
• I have an idea simmering. It's about pizza. I'm not yet ready to reveal more.
  
  
•  I won't be gong to business school. What will I do instead? Now would be a really great time for somebody to offer me the best job on Earth. I'm still trying to figure out what I love. What's your dream job? 
  
  
• Thinking of spring. And flowers. 

Check out The Un Mom for more totally random thoughts.

Skiing In Maine

View from Sunday River

Eric, Brendon, & Leif

 We drove up to Sunday River on Friday night with Brendon, Leif, and Alyssa. Saturday was a great day. The sun was out, the air was warm, and we were in Maine to ski, ski, ski! The boys and I hit the mountain around 11:15 and we skied for about 4 hours. I only went once last year, and twice the year before. It's sad, because I used to ski on an almost daily basis in high school and during my winter breaks in college. The half day of skiing was wonderul, but my legs burned like crazy. It was so worth it because skiing feels like flying if you do it right. 

After downhill skiing, we met up with Alyssa. We all went to a late lunch and then headed over to a country club so cross country ski. Yes, that's right - skiing twice in one day! It was like heaven. The course was icy in the shade and slushy everywhere else, so we didn't stay too long. I enjoyed myself though. 

The day was wonderful. We ended it with a late dinner at the Jolly Drayman. It's an Irish-style pub, and everything about it was delightful. The day was practically perfect. We were totally exhausted by the time we went to bed around midnight. Unfortunately, the people we shared a room with (strangers to us) snored really, really loudly all night. Geez Louise!

*Sorry the photos are a bit blurry. The Minolta's on its last legs; it's 6 years old!

Candle Pin Bowling In Maine

Eric on the left, Brendon on right

Eric won 2 of the 3 games

Eric and I went to Sunday River in Bethel, Maine with some friends this weekend. We drove up Friday evening after work. On our way, we stopped to go bowling. It was my first time using a small ball, and I got a big fat zero on my first turn. But I got better as the game progressed. It was great fun. 

The next post will be about our action-packed Saturday in Maine. 

A Quick Game Of Foosball

On Saturday, we stopped at a friend's house before meeting Eric's family for dinner. We didn't stay long, but Eric did have time to play a quick foosball game. I always think it looks fun, but I rarely play because I'm really bad.