Monday, August 26, 2013

The One and Only Time I Will Ever Post About an Award Show

I'm just saying that the VMAs should have just stayed the JT and *NSYNC show because everything after Lady Gaga and before JT was just not good.  Like train wreck - things you can't make yourself unsee - terrible.

Save for this moment:
MTV VMAs: *NSYNC

I adored the 60 second reunion.  Please come back!
and BTW - can we just talk about how incredibly entertaining Timberlake is?! I mean seriously - he has been performing for, what, two decades? I can't wait for Part II of the 20/20 Experience to come out at the end of September.

I LOVED Macklemore's performance of Same Love with Ryan Lewis.  LOVED.

I thought Rihanna's lack of emotion of just about any kind was absurd. if you are going to be so bored, DON'T GO! Seriously, could she have looked ANY less interested.

I didn't make it to the end of the show, I just couldn't. It made me sad to see the fashion disasters, and the ridiculous winning of the lesser talented over the hugely gifted.

I will leave you with this little gem though - remember VMA 2000?  Britney Spears People.  Remember how risque THAT performance was thought to be?  I watched it again and have a MUCH different perspective on that performance after the train wreck between Robin Thicke as Beetlejuice and whatever was going on with little miss Cyrus.

And with that - thankfully Monday work day is coming to a close.


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Monday, August 19, 2013

Out In the Sticks

The Husband and I went on a mini vacation this past weekend.  Nothing uber thrilling to most but we were somewhere that our phones BARELY worked and we didn't have an agenda.  Not one thing was set or scheduled.  It was absolutely glorious! 

We arrived Friday night and played at the bar...the home owners built a separate bar building on their property.  It was so neat and beautiful! and can we just say RELAXING?!
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We stayed in a small, adorable little house.  I didn't snap any photos but it was so quiet out there.  I mean there wasn't any noise save for the a/c unit kicking on.  And when the lights were off, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face!  Now, I'm a city girl - born and raised.  I'm used to the noise of traffic and having street lights.  The Husband on the other hand is a country boy so he was in his element.  

We woke up fairly early on Saturday morning and went back to the main house for breakfast.  This woman can COOK some mean meals y'all! I am pretty sure I just ate all weekend. Shortly after breakfast, The Husband took me 4-wheeling.  MY FIRST TIME EVER!! 
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I told him I was excited that we are still going to have SO many firsts together =)  I am pretty sure he thinks I'm ridiculously mushy and sentimental!!

When we got back to the house, we went shooting.  It was a blast...no pun intended.  Oh and we weren't dressed in our camo JUST to shotgun shoot, we went 4-wheeling that morning and then we were going hunting that afternoon.
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I told The Husband I want to go shooting more.  Hopefully we can find a place to do that.  We do have a friend who offered to take us out to his orange groves so maybe we will take him up on that. 

That night we all had EVERY intention of going back to the bar and playing games.  Well between the ridiculous summer heat and not getting much sleep the night before combined with the amazing dinner that was cooked, we were all pretty much passed out before 10! 

Sunday was a gorgeous sunny day, so we went out in the bay for a few hours and some drinks.
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There were a total of 10 of us doing stuff together at almost any given moment.  The Husband and I had such a wonderful time together, hanging out, having some drinks, and telling lies ;)  We are trying to plan another trip up there but the when is a huge factor.  The next three weekends look to be booked pretty solid.  After that, I may need a weekend of downtime! 

So now we are back to reality, I'm a little lobster-esq from our little stint on the water yesterday and I am trying really hard not to day dream too much about our wonderful weekend.  Happy Monday everyone!

How was your weekend?
do you love uninterrupted weekends with your significant other?
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Parlor Night

This weekend was loaded with family time. I spent most of Saturday shopping with my mom and sister.  My sister was looking for wall/classroom decor.  At the beginning of the summer, she was offered a position at a different high school that she decided to take.  She will be teaching AP 11th graders instead of 9th grade English.  We literally spent 8 hours - EIGHT HOURS - shopping.  I picked up some workout gear, nail polish (like I needed more), and a couple other things.

Saturday night, my parents hosted dinner and Parlor Night.
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BTW - everything about that first photo is typical - typical Husband acting like a Bad A and typical sister sticking her finger in the frame at the last second! =)  photo IMG_9981_zps7fb2b1e9.jpg 
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Yes - I really am as uncoordinated playing pool as it seems in the above photo! I was also laughing pretty hysterically when I FINALLY hit the cue ball!!
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 Dad gets FIERCE when he plays - he is very competitive...think I should be the pot or the kettle today???  oh well - at least I get it honestly!
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BTW - see the dart flying through the air up there?! yeah I was excited about that ha - and it only took ONE photo attempt =)
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I made everyone get together for a family shot.  The men on the ends complained but this is honestly one of the more believable shots of the two of them lol!  
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I am so glad that we live so close to one another.  The night wasn't wild or crazy; the cops weren't called and we didn't go streaking; it was a lot of fun though and I'm very fortunate to have such a fun group of people to call my family.

What do you like to do when you get together with your family?
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Friday, August 9, 2013

Ruger Day 2.0

Happy Friday!!! Since I don't post on the weekends, I thought I would celebrate Ruger Day just one day early.  Ruger Day is August 10th.  We rescued our sweet little pup on August 10, 2008.  Since then we have a little mini celebration and give the pup an extra something - toy, treat - just an extra little something.  I know he doesn't really know what is going on but I like celebrating =) 

You can read all about our rescue here I will definitely have to share what we do and/or treat him with next week =) I'm hoping we take him on the lake for a few hours - that is definitely his favorite!
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Awwww - his little muzzle is getting so white/gray!! I could have sworn he had ALWAYS had that but after looking through tons of pictures, I see that isn't the case. He's such a sweetie =)

Did you rescue your pet?
Do you celebrate the day you brought your pet home? 

Happy weekend, Everyone!

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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Naked

Before you go and get too excited, this isn't that kind of post.  I know I know - I could at LEAST grace you with a little eye candy of that kind of teasing right?!

sooo if any of you follow me on twitter you would know that, sadly, I had all but run out of my beloved lipstick by Urban Decay.  I went to the store to pick up more when I discovered that UD was no longer even PRODUCING lipstick! just gloss...umm sometimes gloss is just too sticky and leaves a funny feeling on my mouth. Plus every time I use gloss I think of what my friend Tim told me:

"Lipgloss is like condoms for lips"

It's kiiiiinda true.  I still laugh about it and unfortunately, I use to love lip gloss but don't wear it too often any more.  PLUS my lips are pretty pale so I like having a little pop of color.

Enter: Urban Decay Lipstick in Naked.
I bought it about 2 months before our wedding. I instantly fell in love with the creamy formula and the color.  it was neutral, subtle without being non-existent.  I LOVED it.  Well it finally got down to the very bottom of the tube and I couldn't buy more.  So I spent a LOT of time trying to find a dupe for it...after weeks (maybe even months) of searching, I found NYX Thalia
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As you can see - the match is PRETTY close.  The reality is it is actually very different - NYX is a touch darker and not nearly as creamy as the UD.

Fast forward a few weeks to last night.   LAST NIGHT people.  I was sitting at the table while The Husband was making dinner and I was getting ready to flip through the new Ulta ad and there it was ON THE FRONT PAGE!!!

I honestly could NOT believe it so I went to UD's website:
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There it is!!!  I am so excited! I know the price is a little high for lipstick but that sucker lasted me three years! ok it probably wasn't THAT long because for the first year I didn't use it EVERY DAY but after that I was pretty faithful in putting it on at least once a day.  So this girl will definitely be picking that sucker up in the next couple days.  To say I'm excited is, sadly, an understatement! I told The Husband that I will buy one now and hope for one in a stocking at Christmas haha! That should last me a while!
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Puppy Love & Excellent Customer Service

The other night, I took out our DSLR.  I am so tired of looking at phone pictures. I KNOW that they are a lot better than they use to be but I love pictures from an actual camera.  The Husband wanted nothing to do with having his picture taken, so I played with the pup. 
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At first he was being all GQ and pensive.... but I got him excited about pictures by playing with his squeaky crown.
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Almost a year ago (to the day!) I told you about my new favorite kitchen thing.
We used that thing several times a week.  I went to use it one day and it slipped out of the cupboard where it was balancing precariously - I blame The Husband but he said he would have never put it away like that.  Anyhow - this was the result. 
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It happened AT LEAST a month ago - probably longer. I was really sad.  I just kept it on the counter pushed together as if the magic dish fairies would come and make it all better.  Finally I decided to contact our rep from whom I bought it.  She said that this stoneware has a THREE YEAR WARRANTY!! All I had to do was send a PIECE back and they would send me a brand new one.

About ten days ago, I sent the piece to the address my rep gave me and waved good-bye, thinking there was no possible way they would send me another, at zero cost, in any decent amount of time.  That was a Friday.  On THURSDAY of the next week I came home to this:
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This is brand spankin' new people!!! I was really really stunned.  The turnaround was SO fast and I didn't pay anything except shipping for a tiny piece of ceramic.   If nothing else, I fully expected some sort of inquiry because let's be honest, the thing didn't break because of a defect, I literally dropped it (albeit not far) on our kitchen floors which are tile.  OF COURSE it was going to probably chip, if not break. 

I just love when a company backs it's product.  I'm sure if it happens again, there will probably be more of an inquiry.  BUT my fingers are crossed that it doesn't, I was very sad the day it broke!  I will say that I am thrilled that there are still companies who care about their customer satisfaction for real and not just on paper!

Have you had an excellent customer service experience?
Do you share it as often as possible?
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