Thankful

• A man who loves and understands me
• A family who loves me and each other
• Friends who are always there for me in good times and bad
• A good job that keeps food on the table and the house warm
• A good home where I am happy to be and happy to call my own
• Freedom to do all the things I love
• The promise that the future holds
• that this dinner seems to be actually turning out OK
• YOU

Shoe Shopping...

Gentlemen, I apologize. Instead of reading the post, I suggest you watch this clip.

Ladies, less dramatically it is not making out with a patient's father that I need to discuss, but actual shoes. 

I need 'em. I just bought a super-cute pair of casual sneakers to replace my last pair of super-cute casual sneakers which I have worn holes into. But alas, as I have discovered, super-cute as they are, my new sneakers are failing on one very important front: keeping my feet warm. Not only are they made of very lightweight material, but the top is low cut, leaving my ankle and part of the top of my foot exposed. In weather that can only get colder, this will never do.

So I need new shoes. Something warm. Something cute. Something durable as they will be worn frequently whilst commuting to NYC in shitty winter weather. Something as versatile as the super-cute sneakers which can be worn with most casual wear, which is the bulk of my wardrobe. Something comfortable as I don't have the budget for cute-but-not-comfortable. Something with no or a very low heel, my feet don't handle heels well (I feel that they could if I could afford decent high-heeled shoes, but, see above). 

I don't know what this shoe is. It might be a sneaker, though I fear sneakers aren't warm enough. It can't be a clog because they give me smelly feet. It could be a flat but all the flats I see are either mostly open on top or ugly as sin. It might be a boot, as long as it doesn't have too much of a heel, but most do, aside from which many are tall boots which are generally out of the price range (and I don't have skinny jeans) and I don't know how I feel about ankle boots. 

I did have one great pair of black boots with a low heel that were comfy and came just a few inches above my ankle and I wore the hell out of them. I miss them and wish I could find just that so I guess that's what I'm looking for. Suggestions? I know I'm just going to end up scouring Zappos but I thought I'd throw it out there in case someone knows of a place like perfectandaffordableshoes.com or something.

Gentlemen, lace bra. As you were.

MIni-Happiness

It's been a trying day, or at least, it was a trying morning at work, spending my hours being bombarded by stupid questions from someone who works for me who clearly hadn't read the instructions I sent him. It made it seem as though I was not very good at my job. But then I remembered the majority of the people working for me were handling things just FINE and that most of the questions and definitely his attitude were unwarranted.

So a mini-blog of things that kept the day happy and kept me from crashing into self-defeat:

• A compliment from Sarah who had a look at the guidelines I designed for the project I'm managing and proclaimed "you do big stuff, lady." It's easy to forget that because I don't LOVE what I do and that it's kind of a fallback job more than a dream career, that I do rock at it and am quite competent and impressive.
• A surprise visit from Marissa who got rehired for more freelance work at my job, thanks to her connection to me. It was really nice to see her, but it was even nicer to hear her say "Now I can buy my family Christmas presents!" That made me really happy.
• I'm walking down the stairs to the subway and this REALLY CUTE guy looks up and totally checks me out. I am stunned by his cuteness and can't believe he was really looking at ME. At the bottom of the stairs I look back to see if I can see if he was really as cute as I thought he was and HE WAS LOOKING BACK AT ME! I know this is stupid and high school, and it in no way means anything about my relationship with Kris. It just made me feel good about myself.

And now back to the grind and hopefully recapping these happy moments will get me through a long night at the bookstore.

Proposed Turkey Day Menu

Two posts in two days. I know, wow, right?

I just sent my project launch emails and need something to take my mind off the fear that there is some minor mistake therein that will cause me to look stupid to my writers or some major mistake that will create a lot more work for me. So I've been thinking about my Thanksgiving Day menu and I thought I'd bounce it off the internet to see what it thinks. Let me know. This is just a 1st draft.

Lite Lunch 

fresh salad of mesclun mix, goat cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts

seafood soup of some sort (a bisque of crab perhaps? Something lite)

Appetizers

Sarah's Famous Pumpkin Pie Dip

Sweet Potato Puffs (if there is such a thing) (this will help account for the switch from yams to regular potatoes during the meal)

Dinner

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Jellied Cranberries

Corn Pudding

Buttermilk biscuits

Dessert

Apple Pie (some fancier version than the kind I usually make)

I'm hoping this menu incorporates everything my family members are used to, some familiar things for those who are newer to our Thanksgiving table, and some new things I'd like to see added to the day. Let me know what you think.

Getting Better

Hmm, I thought it had been a while since my last post, but it's only been a week. Probably just feels longer because I've been so busy. 

Since my last post, I've been sick for a week. Better now, after an almost comical saga with the healthcare industry, wherein I accidentally made an appointment at a Spanish-speaking doctor's office with incompetent employees that made it feel like going to the doctor in Guatemala. But I got my meds and am feeling better.

And, as I am feeling better, so too is our country. My family and I and my friends and just about everybody I know is thrilled about the results of the election. I refrained from talking politics before the election because I dislike arguing over politics, it's just one of those things where in most cases, no one's mind will be changed. But I was for Obama the whole time and I couldn't be happier or prouder of our country. Of course, as Sars says "This is not over." but the country cast a vote for hope and hope it shall have.

It's been hectic with the second job and the play opening this weekend. (By the way, the play opens this weekend. You should go see it.) We're having Thanksgiving at our house this year and even though it's over two weeks away, it feels very close because there's so much to do. But it's OK because most of the stuff is cool and I'm looking forward to it. In general, and especially since recovering from being sick and savoring feeling healthy again, I'm a happy girl.

Please. Vote.

Tomorrow is Election Day. Please. Vote. It's so important. It's probably one of the most important things you can do, every year, but especially this year. I don't care who you vote for. Far be it from me to tell you who to vote for. I'm voting for Barack Obama, so if you were waiting to base your decision on what I would do, there you have it.

The youth vote (18-29) is said to count more than any other demographic. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are in that demographic. Your vote counts. It actually couldn't count more. If you don't like either of the two leading candidates, vote for someone else. There are others on the ballot. You can even write in someone's name. Even if you know those people won't win, at least you have made your voice heard that you don't think either guy is the right choice. It doesn't matter what you vote for or against, just that you vote.

Not everyone in this country has always had the right to vote. Women and african americans had to fight and endure discrimination and hardship to be rewarded with this right. And now a representative from each of those groups has a chance to be in the White House. To not vote is to disrespect history and the people who earned that right for you.

Everything in your life, everyone of your problems, your concerns, every issue you deal with in your life, goes back to the government. Voting gives you a say in who decides the things that will affect your life. Whether or not you can go back to school. Whether you can afford to buy a house. Whether you and your loved ones can get affordable and quality healthcare. Whether the country will remain embroiled in a war started under false pretenses. Whether or not you're going to be able to retire when you want to. Whether or not your parents will. Whether the taxes you pay as you get older and your taxes get more complicated will be higher or lower. Whether you will be able to do the things you want with your life. Or not. It is all determined by who controls the government. And that is determined by the people who vote.

Go to the polls. Vote. If you don't...there's no nice way to say it. You're a jerk.

If you won't listen to me, listen to these celebrities.





VOTE.