She works hard for her money

So I kind of can't believe that I am at work at 9:20 in the morning on a Saturday. Unreal.

At least it is pouring rain outside so I don't feel like I'm missing much.

Last night we threw an awesome birthday party for my cool roommate. One of the traditions at our house is that during your birthday we play and awesome game called "birthday girl trivia." The room is divided into two teams and they get points for knowing trivia about the birthday girl. It's always a ton of fun and hilarious. It was particularly hilarious last night.

About 3 weeks ago the birthday girl was on a camp out with our friend...we'll call him...Joe. Roommate was the only girl there who wasn't a member of Joe's family. Well, they all stayed in this big cabin-like room that had only one, huge bathroom. Sounds nice right? well, the problem was that said spacious bathroom had no door. There was a policy instituted that if a cowboy hat was on the floor in front of the bathroom someone was in there and you couldn't come in. Well, roommate woke up very early to go to the bathroom. In her sleepy stupor, she forgot to put the hat down, but figured it would be alright for a quick pee.

She thought wrong.

Just as she was finishing up her business, Joe sleepily walks into the bathroom and catches her peeing. In a flurry of embarrassment he rushed out of the bathroom.

Since that time Roommate has felt a little distance between them. She didn't know how to bring it up to break the ice.

Now we come back to her birthday party and the trivia game. I was the question asker, and was really getting the room on a roll. Everyone was really into it. I then asked the following question:

"Who in this room has seen birthday girl peeing?"

The look on Joe's face was priceless. He started laughing so hard that he almost passed out. The whole room went wild with laughter and the ice was successfully broken. Roommate thought it was hilarious!

Something strange

For some reason someone moved a brown metal 4 shelf bookcase into the women's bathroom at work.

Every time I go in there it really confuses me...it's empty. Why is it there? Why is it empty? How did they move it there because we (employees) aren't allowed to move any furniture on our own at all. In an effort to prevent workers comp claims we hire contract movers to move anything over 10 lbs, which this bookcase most certainly is. It's really weird.

These are the kind of things I wonder about.

A word to the wise

Last night I started making this cake for my roommate's birthday party we're throwing tomorrow night.

She loves all things Hawaiian/tropical so I thought this coconut cake with lemon curd filling would be perfect. While I probably won't be making this cake again any time soon (it took about 2 hours to get the cakes and filling made...and about 6 bowls!), it did teach me one invaluable tip of cake baking that I will use from now on. The recipe told me to butter and flour each pan and then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

Why has no one ever told me this before!?!?! The cakes came out easily and PERFECTLY! No longer will I get that scary/sinking feeling when I invert my cake and wait feverishly for that satisfying thump of the whole cake falling together out of the pan.

Try it next time you bake...you'll thank me.

Congrats!

My good friends Ryan and Vanessa just got engaged on Saturday! I'm so happy for them and excited to help them pull together some of the details for their wedding. They've already decided that they're going to get married in the bride's grandmother's back yard...in Alabama...in August. Which means that, if I am lucky enough to be invited, I am going to be a melted grease spot sitting, roasting in the sun.

That means I'm going to have to find a great, very light dress to wear to the wedding. So far these are the best candidates:

From Anthropologie (of course): Silk and flowy would keep me quite cool. Longer sleeves will prevent sun burn

A classic from Ann Taylor Loft: A more conservative dress ensures that the bride is always in the spotlight, plus I love wearing brown

Via Banana Republic: Holy Stunning! How pretty is this?

From J. Crew: I love wearing this color, and the details on the back of this dress are adorable!

My rad weekend

Friday night the ear doctor and I went, with my two awesome roommates, down to Denver to watch the DU/BYU/Cal Berkley gymnastic meet. First of all, I have to complain a little about the parking situation down at DU. So annoying! How can you have a university in the middle of town and not plan ahead and have enough parking. I was so annoyed as I had to drive all over town just to find a parking spot. Ugh.....

Anyway, the meet was great. BYU got slaughtered, but it was still pretty awesome.

Saturday I worked all day....sick.

Then, Saturday night we packed up into the car and all went to the most awesome event of me life...yes...the demolition derby. There is just something so satisfying about seeing people ram each other repeatedly in old junker cars. Plus, it's a way to reuse car parts that would otherwise just be sitting in junk yards...see...earth-friendly.

Plus there were guys on motorcycles doing back flips 40 feet in the air. Amazing!

If you've never been to this kind of thing because you think it is kind of low-brow tacky you should re-evaluate, give it a chance and go because it RULED!

My midmorning snack

Read it and weep! Jealous?



You should be

New Shoes

It's a long standing joke in my family that all I ever buy is black shoes. And, when I was younger, I had a hard time buying shoes other than black. I wanted to be able to wear my shoes with as many different outfits as possible. I was practical. I was nervous about clashing.

Now I understand that a cute shoe can turn a mediocre outfit into something sensational.

This season's Blueprint inspired me. Buy their magazine, because it is AWESOME!



Starting at 12 o'clock and working clockwise:

Camper "Twins" $134
Dolce Vita "Noritz-3" $95
Michelle K "Emery - Galvanize" $65
Me Too "Nevada" $70
Poetic Licence "Check Mate" $65
Type Z "Kit" $70
Bettye Muller "Bliss" $348 (ouch)
Franco Sarto "Tequila" $83
Seychelles "Little White Lie" $60
BC Footwear "Baby Cakes" $50
Linea Paolo "Leonardo" $80
Cole Haan "Naya" $185
Laundry "Beckin" $155
Biviel "518" $125
Joie "Rapture" $195
Seychelles "Social Climber" $65

What would you do?

You are the CEO of a consulting firm that does a fair amount of business with Fortune 50 and 500 companies. You have about 35 employees working under you who all earn upwards of $200K a year. Unlike most consulting firms, they do not have yearly contracts, but instead are permanent employees of your firm...they have security in their jobs.

One of your most valuable employees, Marilyn, comes to your office. She tells you that even though you've offered her a promotion she is going to decline and move to Texas to be with her husband and his new job he's just been offered. You are sad to see her go, but understand.

Then, 6 months after she's left your firm you get a call from a lawyer. Turns out that Marilyn is going to sue your company for sexual discrimination.

You go to a meeting with Marilyn's lawyer and he lays his cards on the table. You ask him if he is aware that 52% of your employees or currently female and that right now the average salary of a female employee with your firm is actually higher than that earned by the males. The lawyer says he is aware of this.

You ask the lawyer if he really thinks they can win the case.

He says no, he doesn't think they'll win the case.

Frustrated, you then ask him why he is threatening this suit.

He tells you this: Going to court, and winning the suit will set the company back $300K at least. Plus, all of the firm's employees will need to be depositioned, most of the firm's clients will be called in as references. The firm's otherwise spotless reputation would be damaged. They will not only look like a firm that has discriminatory hiring practices, but they will also gain reputation for wasting client time and resources. Marilyn's proposition is that if she is paid $50k she will settle out of court and never tell anyone about the situation.

Do you write the check or not?

Face Update

Good news! Last week my face looked like this:
Today my face looks like this:


Not all the way normal, but I am starting to be able to move my right cheek. Hooray!

New Trick

Want to know what I love right now?

Cute, cotton button-down shirts like this one I just bought at American Eagle:


What to know what I hate about this type of shirt? The fabric is so light that, even though the shirt fits perfectly in the shoulders, length and bust, it still ends up pulling and gaping across the front. So annoying when you want to pull off that casual/put together look.

My trick?

I whip out my sewing machine and a cute, contrasting color of thread and sew the shirt together between the three middle buttons! It looks great, is really easy and prevents any kind of gaping whatsoever.

I love it and you should try it sometime!

My movie review: Wild Hogs

From the trailers, this movie had the looks of another retarded "comedy" with no plot and no real laughs. It looked like the kind of movie my dad would beg the family to go to. The kind we'd all go because everyone gets to have a pick once in a while. The kind where he'd fall asleep 10 minutes in and then we would all be stuck, bearing the agony of 2 hours of lame, dirty jokes and no funny moments at all.

However, the trailers didn't do it justice. It was surprisingly funny and I found myself laughing really hard through most of the show.

Sure, some of the characters were unbelievable.

Sure, the whole thing was contrived for a laugh.

Sure, most of the jokes were obvious and could be seen coming from a mile away.

But, boy did I laugh! Hard, and through almost the entire thing.

Maybe it was that I went it with really low expectations, but this movie was a great Friday night date with my man.

Taking a sick day

Yesterday I had to stay home and take a sick day.

Instead of reading my newest book Taxonomy of Barnacles (which BTW I'm really liking at only 4 chapters in), I decided to doze off in the cuddlebag and watch movies.

It really seemed like the best option.

As I popped The Notebook into the DVD player I started to kind of chuckle at myself. The last time I watched this movie was about 2 years ago when I was just starting the date the ear doctor. As we spooned on the couch I tried really hard to avoid letting him know what I big baby I am at movies. I did all I could to just let quite, beautiful tears roll down my cheeks, but this movie was too much. Soon enough I was letting out huge, hacking, body wracking sobs. For the last two years I've not heard an end about this.

Well, as I popped the movie in yesterday I thought, there is NO way I'm going to be that effected by this movie again. I know the story. I know the end. I am prepared.

I should have known better....I'm the girl who still cries at Beaches, Steel Magnolias and Where the Red Fern Grows!

As the opening notes of the music started and James Garner's cool, calm voice started my tear ducts perked up. I watched that stupid movie all the way to the end at which point I found myself sick, in pain, and now sobbing and the beauty of the story. The ear doctor would have had a hay day teasing me!

Please, someone

Make this dress mine! So pretty!

Thanks so much!

After 3 different floral arrangements dropped at my door, a box of chocolates and a hundred loving phone calls over the past 5 days I sure have felt like one loved girl! I'm feeling much better today, despite my slightly droopy right side face and leaking eye!

This weekend was great. I dialed the pace of my usually frantic life back a few notches and just tried to recoup from the emotional roller coaster brought on by nerves, deadlines and medication. I still managed to pull off a delicious dinner for 15 last night as a going away celebration for my roommate. It was a lot of fun to have people over and not let this silly face thing mess things up.

This morning I got a really important email from a friend that summed up my take-home lesson from this whole "event". She wrote:

I guess the moral of the story is, even though your physical disability is temporary, you will forever have a greater understanding and compassion for those who struggle with a physical deformity or disability which will benefit you for the rest of your life.

I'm so lucky to have such grounded and supportive people in my life.

My movie review: Amazing Grace

This movie was good.

Maybe it was just that I was really in the mood to watch a period movie, or just sit in the dark with my sweet heart, but I totally enjoyed this one. It was smart, entertaining, engrossing and made me proud of having my ancestors in England. I found myself leaving thinking, "see, there were SOME people who didn't support the slave trade, and those are the ancestors I'm claiming."

It also was empowering. One person can make a difference.

Plus, on the girly side the costumes, hair, make-up and design were really pretty. Loved seeing a beautiful red head in a leading lady role. (wink)

Made me want to go back to Westminster Abbey (where he is buried) and thank great men like William Wilberforce.

Being a girl

When we're little we don't care. We have one outfit we love and want to wear every day. We don't judge ourselves on how tight our french braids are, or who has the coolest outfit from gap kids. We just don't see other people as metrics to compare ourselves to.

We spend our middle school and high school years constantly comparing ourselves to other girls. We think we are never pretty, popular or liked. We worry about small imperfections on our faces and bodies: zits, nicks, bumps. We never see our own beauty. We are overly harsh on ourselves.

We spend our college years learning to like ourselves and the way we look. We begin to see beauty in differences, instead of in same-ness. We see unique features as desirable. We start to see ourselves how our mothers saw us...pretty, loved and special. We start to let passing imperfections go. We start to see that beauty truly is only skin deep.

After college we really start to love the way we look. We pride ourselves on the "style" we've created for ourselves. We start let the importance of looks go.

Which is why what has happened to me in the past few days seem like such a cruel joke. In the past couple of years I've really felt that the way I look is for me, and not others. I've come to appreciate how I look and even like the things that I used to hate. Thanks, in no small part to the ear doctor, I've begun to really feel pretty.

And even though it isn't serious, or permanent, or life threatening, getting Bell's Palsy at 25 is kind of rough. I do not feel pretty. In fact, I feel very very unpretty bordering on monster-like. Most of the time I just want to stay at home and avoid the eyes of everyone but those who really love me for what is on the inside.

The doctor said it will go away in 3 weeks. I'm confident that after 3 weeks of a lop-sided smile and constantly leaking right eye (because I can't close it) it won't seem like a big deal. I'm sure if I could just get some perspective that this wouldn't seem so bad.

But right now it is.

It sucks.