VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP

Saying "I spent the weekend at the Cape" makes me feel like a VIP (in my fam-i-ly). I certainly had a VIP of a weekend with eight of my girlfriends in a house we rented.

There are loads of photos to come, but it's late Sunday night and I'm both a little crispy and ready for bed. Knowing that tomorrow will be a crazy day at work (simultaneous clients having panic-attacky meltdowns of epic proportions), I wanted to give you a little somethin' somethin' to view until I can give you the full run down.

My twice-baked look happened on this very floating dock about five feet from shore.

Believe it. I willingly swam.

And this was just the pond behind the house. The beach, town, and inside the house life are yet to unfold before your eyes.

Did anyone else have a VIP weekend? What was your favorite part? Can you lyric drop from the song referenced in this post? Immediate VIP status to anyone who can.

Dance with me, Write without me.

I never, in a hundred-million years thought I'd say it, but who needs to read EW Dance recaps when you've got a personalized version delivered to your inbox before you even wake up? No. Seriously. Pretty great life, huh?

At work by 7:50 today; full day of client meetings again. No time to write my own blog--I tried to front load Monday and Tuesday with three blogs each, but it doesn't work that way. The genius that's about to follow is loads better than I could have written myself--and I agree 100% with everything in it. Lastly, if you aren't watching So You Think You Can Dance--there aren't enough exclamation points or adjectives in the world how much I (we) all love it. Join us.

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Another post from my unsuspecting guest blogger Mal Pal:

Because I know you are coming in early and I wanted you to have something to look foward to and because I am frrrreeeeaaaking out about this show I am writing this email right now. Oh and I have play group tomorrow.

First and for most anything that Tabatha and Napoleon touch turns to gold! I love love LOVED Twitch and Kherrington but that was the beginning. Chelsie and Mark. Oh my goodness. I cried like actual tears came out of my eyes I loved it so much. AHH! I can't stop thinking about it. I really enjoy that song and I love monkey Mark a little bit and Chelsie is so cute.....I think it may be one of my most favorite dances ever!

Gev stepped it up once again. He is so funny. I love that he is crushing on Cortney, it's so cute. Their dance was lovely.

Chelsey and Thayn were boring and I wasn't a fan of it. It will take a miracle to keep them out of the bottom three. I thought it was funny when Chelsey kept saying that Thayn would make a great designer. Funny little gay boy. Let me also say that Chelsey has the biggest lips I have ever seen.

Comfort is really beautiful like actually I am jealous of just how georgeous she is. Tree boy on the other hand is not my favorite. Their dance was meh. I did however find their dance to be very animalistic contrary to the judges belief.

I loved the Kourtni/Matt lyrical dance. The new choreographer is crazy but the dance was awesome. The comic book idea was so cool. And I think that I kind of like the ninja mask.

Katee got bangs and I must say I like her a bit more now than I did without them. Oh Joshua is SO cute! I was laughing so hard when stupid Nigel was embarrassing him about those pants. I died when he made his Dad stand up. Ohhhhh gosh. I loved their dance a lot too.

To sum it up:

• Favorites- 1.Chelsie & Mark 2.Kourtni & Matt 3.Kherrington & Twitch
• Bottom Three- Comfort & Tree boy, Chelsey & Thayn, Maybe Jessica & Will I'm not sure.

Judges:

• Whoever picks out Mary's clothes needs to be shot
• I really hate Nigel's feathery hair
• The third judge (Adam?) I loved! He was so positive all the time. I believe he actually wanted them all to know what good dancers they are. And he is really funny.

Okay that is all I have. I would love to hear what you have to say and I cannot wait to read the commentaries tomorrow E-dub. This was the best night yet. AHhh! I cannot stop thinking about Chelsie and Mark. I will probably watch it 10 times tomorrow on youtube. Miss you and thanks for getting me addicted to such quality TV.

Love,

Mallory

PS-I hope it is sunny for you at the Cape this weekend.

Color Obsessed

I am literally obsessed with color. There isn't a color I dislike. I've learned that any color can match together; today I found a site that has rocked my world. I've been playing with color combinations for the last few hours. I imagine this could be a designer's, interior decorator's, or stylist's dream...

As always, Blogger was giving me fits with formatting, so I'm only posting two of my color palettes. Go make your own -- you might get hooked...

Thousands and thousands of words

I'm even boring myself.

• Glasses and a braid today. I feel like the dork I left behind in Arizona.
• Bored as I've never been bored before.
• Waiting for a co-worker to send me some pieces that need to be cut out for paper-prototype user-testing training we're doing tomorrow. (Say that a few times fast.) Arts and crafts will be keeping me late tonight.
• Got a new duvet for my bed. Those Target clearance racks will get you every time.
• Without any Celtics articles to read, the Internet just isn't the same. When is opening game?
• The tracker ball in my B-berry fell out this weekend prompting a new phone purchase to have a workable phone. Why does dropping money on necessities always feel like a chore, but buying other gadgets (see new flat screen TV) so much fun?
• I promised myself last night (for the 19th time) that I'd actually be productive in my room. The 19th time was a charm--laundry and the majority of clothing piles put away. Can the streak continue two nights in a row? What do you care, you're just reading my blog.
• I both dread and love the end of the month at work. It's billing, which is nuts for the project managers, but I also get paid. That's right, I only get paid once a month. I can't tell you how rich I feel at the beginning of every month. If you need money, that's the time to hit me up.
• I don't mind the rain (and let me tell you; it's rained about every other day this month); but when it threatens to rain the weekend I'm going to the Cape? No thanks.
• I'm trying to keep the blogging streak alive, but I'm realizing that no blog may be better than this kind of blog.
• The last four of my bullets started with "I." The chain has officially now been broken.
• On my shelf in the fridge exist the following items: 12 cubes butter, 3 cubes margarine, one strawberry freezer jam, a brick of cream cheese, and a package of tortillas with pre-shredded cheese zipped up inside. Can you tell I'm a baker and not much else?
  
• Keeping the tortillas and cheese in one nifty quesadilla-templated package is the smartest kitchen tip I can pass along.
  
• Friends, I think that's all I've got.
  

Textual Orientation

Me: Your boyfriend is sending me pervy pictures of Zac Efron*. Head's up.
K: If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that...

Paying a tithe

Thanks to those who responded to the call to ask me questions. As promised, I shall answer; I'm not sure how well, but here we go. A glimpse into my inner psyche...

Question No. 1 - from my youngest sister Mallory, aka onlychild09...

If you had to lose one of your fingers which one would you lose and why?

Dear Mallory,

What a strange question; probably one I would have asked given the same opportunity. I’ve thought a lot about your question since you heeded the call on Friday. I wondered how on earth I was going to respond. A miracle happened though. Like bloody footprints in snow, allowing not-very-good trackers to hunt their prey, my fingers have left a true story on my keyboard. A handful of the keys are decidedly more used than the others (Dear “z”; do you feel neglected?) and I set out to recreate my steps.

A simple type test was conducted. I narrowed down the field of less-used fingers. The answer is most decidedly NOT my middle or pointer fingers. (Besides, anyone who’s seen how long and crooked my birds are would never agree to letting me give those babies up!) My left thumb is much more dominant on the space bar than my right. In fact, I’m testing now to see if the right thumb ever spaces—it does not. The right pointer does all the work. But considering it is our thumbs that set us apart from the animals, it shall not be one of my thumbs that gets voted off the hand. Ring fingers also have their typing ability—and they’re very useful while braiding.

This leaves the pinkies. Oh poor pinkies. I shall test you now:

[As I’m recreating what’s happening, I want to make sure I’m never using my right pinky. Do I use my right pinky? My left?]

A-ha! Neither are majorly useful; but each has its duty. Left pinky [shifts] and right pinky [enters]. Shifting is more important than entering, so a decision is made.

Right pinky is out. Sorry lil buddy. We had a good run.

Thanks for the question Mal!

Your now nine-fingered sister,
NatA!

**Most used keys? T, R, E, Space, Y, O, A. Maybe Wheel of Fortune should do an update to RSTLNE. I'm just sayin'.

PG-13

I just posted a blog that may have inadvertently scandalized the neighborhood. Apologies if you were one of the lucky few (5) readers who partook. (Please don't judge me; I hadn't visited the external URL. Let that be a lesson.)

For the other three of you readers who didn't see it; more family-friendly material coming your way soon including answers to your burning questions, a Celtic celebration, and everything in between.

Buckle up; it's about to get not very wild.

First Position of Dance

Sisters are typically in tune. As I was writing my post asking for questions (please! still answer!), I received the following email from my sister Mallory:

Okay since you are the only person that I know that really watches the show I want to utilize this free resource we have (called the internet) to discuss this week's show [So You Think You Can Dance]. You already know how I feel about Mary's sick outfit but lets get on to more important things.

• Mia was kind of a meanie. I feel like she didn't like any of the girls at all but LOVED the boys. I think her frosty new hair matches her frosty heart.
• First lets say the two that got voted off were totally right. Man Suzy sucked. Lets get this out right now but I love Kharington and Twitch! They are by far my favorite. Twitch can dance! He does everything so well and K is just so energetic I just want to be her friend. Their waltz was beautiful and I will admit I did cry just a little bit.
• I have a baby crush on Gev. I think he is so goofy. Their lyrical dance was lovely but then again I always love a good lyrical. I loved Gev's partner's hair (I think her name is Cortney?) She looked so natural and it was beautiful.
• I am not a big fan of Katee (the asian girl). Ever since tryouts she bothers me a little bit but I will admit their broadway dance was awesome.

That's all I can remember right now. I would love to read what you thought.

Love,

Mallory

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I. LOVE. THIS. QUESTION.

IT made me SO SO SO happy to get! Woot! You're one of the only ones I know who love it as much as I do. I'm so happy you want to discuss it! What I'd suggest you do on Thursday mornings (after watching on Weds nights) is to read the recap on the Entertainment Weekly page. It's always super funny and pretty spot on. I always like to hear what other viewers thought about it too.

Here are the commentaries from this week:

Weds (dance) night : "Highs and Lows"
Thurs (results) night : "A Judging Mis-Step"

There are a few couples I like quite a bit. I really like Joshua and Katie but know exactly what you're saying about being on the fence with her (after auditions). She's just so happy when she dances though and it shows in her face. It'll be interesting to see them do a ballroom/latin based number when Joshua has to be a real partner.

I like Twitch (a lot!) and Kherrington. I just don't love that the judges seem to be obsessed with them and are trying to push that on the viewers. They dance lovely, but I think the producers are trying to keep them in as long as possible. Something about her grates me a little bit; I need to get over it though because she's a beautiful dancer.

I really like the tall Matt kid (with the tall blonde dance partner). I think he's hot, and he really came alive in that foxtrot--he had fun personality! I think his partner is heavy on her feet. No chance he'll win it, but I still think he's cute. I feel bad for that boy who danced krump; Nigel was an idiot to him. PS - I don't EVER want to see Nigel grab his crotch on TV. Ever. Is it me or does he get creepier and creepier every season?

The lyrical with your bf Gev was a good one; I like those two together. I think it's so cute he has that crush on Kortni. (And WHY do dancers have to have the worst spelled names? Blach!) I didn't agree with the judges that they had little chemistry; I thought it was smokin! Everyone else was meh -- you're right about Suzy getting the boot; I'm still not sure why she was in the top 20. Your assesment of the judges was all spot on as well.

I guess that's it for now. I LOVE this show.

Ask me a question

I am at a current loss for what to write. Seriously, I got nothin'. Honestly, nothing worth reading at this particular moment in time.

I got lucky however, and stumbled upon a list of 101 Great Posting Ideas That Will Make Your Blog Sizzle. I'm not sure my blog needs sizzle as much as content, but a girl has got to start somewhere.

Today, I'm going to tackle #12 on the list. Do a post that answers your readers’ questions.

So dear readers, this is where you enter the picture. In the comments section of this blog, ask me some questions. They can be creative, they can be getting to know me (ha!), or they can be general life queries. I can't guarantee the answers will be contractually factual, but I'm hoping you can begin to supply me with a much needed content boost. This should be an entertaining experiment nonetheless.

Deal? Fire away!

Adding to the lexicon

Sunday I wore a tie to church. I'm calling it the "Femi-knot."

How you know you work with true geeks...

There's an interactive agency Battle of the Bands in Portland tonight. A rival agency of ours is trash talking on Twitter. Our agency is running their corporate site through a markup validation service to check the compliance of their code (21 errors) and comparing it to ours (no errors).

If nothing above this line makes sense to you, your job isn't nearly as geeky as mine.

Let's hope in the clash of the 80's cover bands tonight our group's "We Are the World" (complete with costumes and group sing along) can bring home the prize.

Still not funny

I couldn't hear you over my loud chewing.

Work hard, play hard.

Last night, relaxing on my bed, air conditioner set to Arctic temperature, I fell in love with a show on the ABC Family Channel. My DVR caught a marathon of the show Greek, and I spent a fabulous evening doing what I do best.

On my first bowl of Fruity Pebbles I realized this is one of the things I love the most about being me.

On my second bowl of Fruity Pebbles I realized that the perple who love me best also love this part about me. I love that.

On my third bowl of Fruity Pebbles, my stomach felt, looked, and smelt like a carnival. I vowed not to eat them anytime again soon.

Highly professional successful project manager by day, thirteen-year-old girl by night.

Losing my cool...

This was started as another "100 Things about Nat" but split duties with getting-to-know you facts and a brain dump. And I didn't quite make it to a hundred.

1. If people don't know or forget my name, 99 out of a 100 times, they'll call me Lindsey.
2. I order off a kids menu any time I can.
3. I own a queen bed but always sleep on the outside edge straight up and down. I do just fine on a cot.
4. Last year I went without an AC unit in my room. I owned one, just never got around to putting it up. I considered myself a warrior.
5. Now that Dad (on his trip out here last week) installed my unit, I realize I was just an idiot.
6. I don't care what the extra electricity charges will be this summer, I'll gladly pay them to ward off the humidity.
7. I'm always surprised by humidity--it must be my growing up in Phoenix, but the first few humid days of the summer I'll find myself having an "a-ha!" moment.
8. I thought The Dark Knight opened this month. How sad to just realize it doesn't open until July 18
9. I spent five hours yesterday cleaning up and gutting out the non-clothes-related areas of my room. I was beyond overwhelmed to start but am pleased with the end results.
10. If I ever get married, I have some pretty sweet gadgets to bring to the table.
11. My office kitchen is so fully stocked at work that I eat both breakfast and lunch there. My grocery money is in surplus.
12. Too bad it's going to pay for gas.
13. I might drive a Ford Focus sedan, but man do I love that car. Especially since my dad went to work on the interior; you should see that thing shine!
14. I have a nasty habit of going through the motions of laundry, only to leave it sitting in the dryer as I've moved on to other things.
15. When I curl-curl my hair, I always start from the bottom and work to the top, using a claw to hold back the still straight hair.
16. I have always done make-up before hair. (Alaina does it the other way around; I think its how we survived sharing a hair dryer growing up.)
17. Oh how I wish I had carpet in my bedroom; hard-wood is shiny (sometimes) and looks nice (sometimes), but nothing screams bedroom! to me like a nice plush carpet.
18. There are a few things ingrained in my being that are borne from being a Westerner--carpet in bedrooms being one, owning a car the other key must.
19. I'm PMing (project managing) two really exciting site redesigns at work; I can't really discuss what they are in the blogosphere due to non-disclosure acts, but trust me when I say they're big and exciting.
20. I worked a lot last week; and I didn't really mind it. My social life is on a bit of a hold for awhile while I get my career life under control.
21. If you aren't using brushes for your eye makeup, start. Target makes some really nice generic brushes ($2) that will change the look and feel of your shadows. If you can't afford pricier makeup, start here; you'll be impressed.
22. My hair might be the longest it's ever been. If you met me after 2005, I bet you didn't know that I had short hair my entire life.
23. I have a long face and an even longer neck; when my hair hits shoulder length, it's already a foot long. I imagine a strand of my lower-back-length hair is approximately 8 ft. long.
24. I've been spending so much time at work (and actually working while I'm at work) that I have no desire to fire up my laptop when I get home. This is why I've been a bad blog commenter. I'm sorry.
25. Today is my half birthday. Now I'm on the downhill to 26. This makes me a teensy bit nervous; only because 26 sounds so old and I still feel like I should be 19.
26. At 19, if I could have seen where my life would be at 25, I think I'd be proud. And excited.
27. Both my parents are left-handed. All four of us girls are righties. For some reason, this is a statistic I mark in my head as beyond explanation.
28. Each week, a Rolling Stone or ESPN Magazine comes in the mail. It's always one or the other, but never both.
29. I think you'd be quite surprised how much I know about the NBA and other sports in general. I can definitely out-geek anyone I know.
30. Case in point? Last night I watched the half-time show and the entire second half of a game I already attended. I like hearing the commentary.
31. I own four curling irons (2", 1", 1/2", 1" without a clamp), and three sets of curlers (velvet, spiked, sponge). These are not the cool gadgets included in my dowry.
32. Lately, when I get dressed in the morning for my VIP job, I try to piece an outfit together that looks like it could be in a magazine. Shoe selection keeps me from a 100% success rate.
33. Did you know I'm not allowed to buy cotton? This is a rule I self-imposed six months ago, and I've stuck to it.
34. I own four board games. Connect Four, In a Pickle, Cranium Pop Culture, and a PG13 game given as a birthday present (living under the bed) that I can't quite get rid of.
35. So You Think You Can Dance is back on, and I couldn't be happier. I'm also happy with the number of people I know who watch (including the other gal at my office).
36. I like watching TV alone.
37. But I love recapping with other viewers (or reading commentaries) after the show.
38. I don't think I'm as interesting as I used to be; this list is taking me a long time to write.
39. I found the notes/outline I used to give a talk in February 07 yesterday while I was cleaning out my room. One of the quotes set the stage for a great Sunday service today; huzzah. (Someone I met at a party last month referenced this talk I gave oh so long ago. Holy memory!)
40. I've worn some super tall shoes to social and church events lately. If I'm going to be tall, I might as well go big or go home, right?
41. I hate feather pillows. My mom knows this and makes sure to put out different pillows when I come home. I love that.
42. I'm the worst Brick Breaker player in the world. I was obsessed for about a week and then realized how terrible I was and moved on with my life.
43. Friday was National Donut Day. I didn't have a donut.
44. Does spending your economic stimulus package make you more patriotic?
45. One of my favorite summer fashions is tank tops with a scarf. Too bad I don't wear tanktops.
46. I have a friend who is trying to invest capital in my opening a bakery. Doesn't he know I'm a two-trick pony? And that I hate butter? I don't think bakery-owners are allowed to hate butter.
47. A gal in RS today told about how her family all have their cell phones set to alarm at 9PM; that alarm lets know you that someone loves you and is thinking about you. I think that's a really cute idea.
48. Fresh pineapple is one of my weaknesses.
49. Along the fruit vein, I passed another rite of adult woman passage a few weeks ago--I picked a good watermelon.
50. I've taken hundreds of photos since I've lived in Boston; I have yet to print a single one. The photos hanging on my walls are from a different era; it's both nostalgic and timely to start rotating them out.
51. Since our trip to Ireland, I am obsessed with Coke Zero. The only place I've found it on tap is a movie theater in Oregon.
52. I packed my winter coats away away for the first time in my life.
53. Remember how I had red hair once? Sigh. Sometimes I miss it; but I almost have my old hair back! It's been a process...
54. I hate the zoo. Reasons abound.
55. There are a few certain songs I hear that always, and I repeat always, make me think of a particular person. "I Want to Live" - Alicia. "Listen to Your Heart" - Kendall. "Have a Little Faith" - Melissa.
56. Today, for the first time in conscious thought, I have truly conflicted outlook for the immediate future. This isn't to say that one pole is good and the other is bad; I'm just conflicted.
57. I have officially given up. I will be a nail-peeler for life. I'm dealing with it.
58. I don't get "lost for words" frustrated very often; I hate when I do. It doesn't happen often enough for me to have a formulated game plan.
59. I love people with follow-through. Someone who says "we should go to dinner" or "are you in town this week?" at church on Sunday and means what they say? Holy awesome. I like to think I'm that kind of person with follow-through; this is why I try to mean what I say.
60. It will never be easy for me to meet people--I have to force myself to be chatty. I practice with clerks at stores or check-out stands. Somehow it's easier to small talk with these people.
61. I love being alone.
62. I love talking shop with people in my line of work. Lucky for me, this covers both the technology and marketing/media world.
63. On a particularly grueling day last week, our Art Director told me via IM that he didn't envy my job. He also told me I was doing a good job; which was well timed. Starting a new job always has a learning curve; I was nervous I was behind it.
64. Is sixty-four enough bullet points? Can I end it here? Surely I've got a few more in me. But I've been thinking this since thirty-seven.
65. I'm officially closing the poll at 65. Mostly because I got an offer for a social event (after some persistent pushing to get me off the fence, thanks Lauren!) and need to bake.
66. I bake for social events so I have something to do with my hands.

How quickly it can all go south

3:00pm - With nothing to do this evening, considered going to the gym after work.

7:30pm - Made questionable meat selections at a local fast food chain after late client meetings.

Never an okay sound

I'm at work rather early this morning--with month-end comes the delight of billing, hours approval, and invoice proofing. No one from my team is in yet, but there's someone in the next bay over slurping some kind of beverage this morning. The sound is awful. (Isn't slurping always?) They way he's been going at it, you'd think it was a 44 ounce coffee.

 

I just checked. It's not. And the man is kind of a creeper. He's also really mean on the phone.