Damn it.

I've been thinking about those damn purple shoes all night. And how I want them. And how I also want a pair of black shoes extremely similar to them. And I've spent hours looking for another pair of black shoes that will do, and I can't find any. And so, after Scotty and I catch Stepbrothers tomorrow afternoon (because we always see Will Ferrell movies together), I will be returning to Nordstroms to try on the purple shoes. And if they fit, I'm buying them. And if they're comfortable, I'm also buying the black ones. Fuck it. I always say, when you find something you really really love, buy it in multiple colors. And so I will.


Also, at the mall today I passed a store opening sign for Michael Kors. Awesome. Another store (along with Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Burberry, Ralph Loren, Hermes, Tiffany's, and several others) that I'm going to have to try to avoid. However, there was a picture of a purse on the ad, and I fell in love with it. And I was thinking the other day that I really need a new fall bag. Check her out:

I think she'll be meeting my other bags real soon.

Shopping Excersion: Fail

So I just got back from the mall, and despite my best efforts, I came home with almost nothing. First of all, Sephora was sold out of the mascara that I wanted to try. Probably because of how much it's being pimped in every magazine ever. So that was lame. And after going to several stores, and even when Belk was having a clearance on Coach bags, I came home with only my foundation, a dress, and a convertible bra that I've been needing.

I couldn't even find the flat Ugg slides to try on, which was lame. However, I did stumble across these at Nordstrom's.

I LOVE them. The only problem is that they're purple. Which I actually think is really cute, but I would have nothing to wear them with. I already own at least 6 pairs of shoes that are weird colors that I bought "to wear with all black." I cannot make it 7. I'd never get to wear them. Plus they are the kind of cute shoes that would look fabulous with black tights and a shift dress, If they were black. They did not have them in black at Nordstrom's, but when I got home, I found them:

Here's the lame part though: they're patent leather. Part of the awesomeness of the purple ones is the suede detailing. Why can't the black ones be suede at least? So I don't know if I'm gong to get them. I want them, but I just don't know about the patent leather situation.

Here's the dress I got at Banana. It's cute. And it would benefit greatly from the above mentioned black tights and pretty shoes. And a black cardigan. And some kind of long black necklace.

That's about it really. I did a good job of not spending a buttload of cash, but I wish I had found more. At least I didn't buy stuff that I didn't really want. And there's always the kick ass boots that are on their way to my house even as we speak. :)

Long awaited update

Since I've been feeling shitty all week, I haven't updated. I really had nothing to say other than that I was sick and lazy. I thought I had gotten better, because on Wednesday and Thursday I didn't even need drugs during the day, but then I got on the plane last night...and good lord. Even my first class upgrade did nothing to help my situation. When I got off the plane, all of the congestion had moved from my nose into my ears. I keep trying to pop them and it's not working. It's a bit better this morning than it was last night, but it's uncomfortable and there's nothing that can be done about it, so it sucks.

However, I am taking the day off today, so that makes things more tolerable than if I was at work right now. I've been chillin and reading and giving myself a pedicure all morning, and I'm getting ready to hit the mall this afternoon. I get into serious shopping moods always around the end of the summer and Christmastime. And it's not helping that I've been receiving all sorts of coupons in the mail. I'm heading out today with 25% off Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft, 30% off at Banana Republic, 20% off at The Gap, and 10% off at Dick's Sporting Goods. It's going to take considerable energy to restrain myself. Shopping always makes me feel better when I have to move to strange cities for months at a time.

Of course, what I really want to buy I don't have coupons for: shoes. I think I want a pair of those black bootie looking things to be worn with skirts and stockings. I also think it's high time I got myself a pair of comfortable flats...the Coach ones that I currently have are more uncomfortable that most of the stilettoes I own. Yesterday I may have ordered a crazy expensive pair of Ugg high boots because I've been looking at them for almost a year and they're discontinuing them in black, which is what I've been wanting. So I got myself a gift. Look how pretty:

I also saw these adorable black flats. At $120 they're a bit steep, but you KNOW they're comfortable as crap because they have sheepskin all up in them. I won't buy them without trying them on though, because I have no idea what size I would need. I'm going to stop by Nordstrom's today and see if they have them.

IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I love Uggs. They're just so damn comfortable. There are two important things to know if you want to buy Uggs.

1. If you are buying the Classic Short Uggs, which are my standby for walking to work in the winter, and you wear a women's size 7.5 or smaller, get the kids size. A kids size 3 = a womens 5-5.5, kids 4 = womens 6-6.5, and kids 5 = womens 7-7.5. They run big, so if you have narrow feet, go down a size. The kids model is $35 cheaper than the womens, it's only 1/4 of an inch shorter, AND the toe region is less wide, so they don't make your feet look huge. I've never tried this theory with the Classic Tall model, because I'm afraid of how much shorter the kids version would be.


2. If you know what you want, I'd encourage you to shop at http://www.cozyboots.com/. The prices are the same as the Ugg website, but they pay the sales tax for you AND they have free shipping. If you order something that is in stock, it ships the same day. I've made many purchases from them and they are fabulous.

I also need to make a stop at Sephora because I'm low on foundation. And I've been reading a lot of magazines lately due to all of the flying, and I keep reading that this new Givenchy mascara is the best thing to ever happen to eye makeup, so I may try it out. I am very loyal to most of my makeup, but I've never found a mascara worthy of it's pricetag, so I use Maybelline Great Lash like everyone else in the world. It is $4 at Target. Depending on how much money I spend elsewhere, I may give this new stuff a try. It costs about 7 times what my normal mascara does, but I'll try anything once.

Well I'm off to finish watching The Price is Right, shower, return some library books, and then hit the mall hardcore style. I love not working. It is fantastic. Look forward to some kick ass shopping posts in the very near future.

Hostile Takeover

Friday when I woke up, my throat was a bit sore. I didn't think much of it; we had been out on Bourbon street the night before, so I inhaled a lot of secondhand smoke and had to yell in order to be heard over the sound of drunks and transvestites. However, it got progressively worse throughout the day and when I got off of the plane in Charlotte, for my weekend at home, I was in substantial pain.

Although my throat was sore, I didn't feel bad in any other way. I wasn't stuffy or anything. So I didn't think much of it. But when I tried to go to bed Friday night, I was in so much pain that I couldn't sleep. I can ALWAYS sleep. I love sleep. I slept maybe an hour, and then at 5 I gave up and got on the computer to find out what time the Urgent Care office opens on Saturdays. I assumed I had strep throat.

I attempted to go back to sleep but couldn't, and at 7:30 I headed to the doctor. And of course, it's not strep throat, because that has a simple cure. It's an upper respiratory infection, which is a virus, and thus has no available antibiotic to make it disappear. Great. They gave me a prescription for a cough syrup (spoiler alert: it didn't work at all), and I left. It was almost like being sent home from Student Health with a bottle of Magic Mouthwash.

I drank a lot of tea and gargled with salt water, and my throat started to feel better Saturday night. But of course, at this point, the congestion started. I made a brief appearance at the Rock Band party that AJ and Tim and I had been planning all week (quick note: Tim made cookies for the party. True story). I didn't do much rocking or talking, but I enjoyed the spectacle. And then I went home and couldn't sleep AGAIN, this time because of the coughing. After attempting to sleep for 3 hours using my prescription "cough syrup," I popped an Aleve Cold & Sinus (read: OTC crack) and was able to sleep for a few 20 minute bouts between coughing fits.

If you know me at all, you know how I am generally unable to function when I've had less than 7 hours of sleep for more than two nights in a row. Also, you probably know how pissed off I am that this illness is putting a damper on my workout routine. And bonus: I "got" to fly back to New Orleans Sunday night.

I cannot explain to you how unpleasant a flight is when you have extreme chest and head congestion. Oh my god. First of all, I packed cough drops and tissues of course, but I feel really bad for the lady sitting next to me, because she probably thought "this crazy nose-blowing girl is giving me the plague." And I probably was. The decent into New Orleans was the worst. I could NOT stop coughing. Bonus: my right ear has still not popped, so I only currently have partial hearing abilities. I had coughing fits for the first two hours I tried to sleep last night, but then I was able to sleep almost uninterrupted for 6 whole hours, so I was actually thrilled.

Today I was fine at work (despite a few coughing fits) until 5 and then all of the lack of sleep from the weekend kicked in and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. My original plan to go to the gym after work and do a slow simple walk just to get some kind of exercise in was foiled. And unless I fall asleep at 9 tonight, I can't see myself getting up at 6 to lift tomorrow. My week has officially gone to shit. And it's only Monday.

Also, the Dirty Old Man client decided today that he's going to take us to lunch tomorrow. I don't think so. You'd have to physically knock me unconscious to get me into a car with that guy. I don't want to be assaulted. We're either going to sneak out without his knowledge and pretend we forgot (but then he'd probably try again Wednesday) or Susan's going to have to man up and let him down easy. Because if this is left to me, there's no telling what I'll say to this pervert.

Hope you all are doing better than me right now. When i feel less like death, I promise to make a happier post.

"I can't even believe this place exists."

Quote courtesy of Jon, one of the audit associates in New Orleans with me, and it was said while we were walking down Bourbon Street last night after a number of completely ridiculous occurrences. Also, it was said as we were pointing out the picture advertisements outside of one of the "live sex acts" shows. And there was a family with a 12 year old kid walking next to us. True story.

Every time we come to this hell hole, the client person that we have to deal with forces us to go to his house for dinner one night. It is always awkward and terrible. And for some reason, he always only makes jerk chicken, like it's all he knows how to make. Last night was unfortunately that night.

A little background on this douchebag: he is a 60 year old originally from Trinidad, and apparently, in Trinidad there are no ethical guidelines for appropriate behavior, because he constantly says offensive and dirty things to us. He is like a perfect example of just a dirty old man. And he LOVES him some Carrie. She's never been so happy that this is her last day working at Reznick, I can guarantee you that.

Usually for this dinner, the whole team is here. However, Allan, the partner, had to go back to Charlotte Wednesday night, so he wasn't in attendance. Big mistake. We should always be supervised when in the client's presence. I'm not gong to bore you all with all of the awkwardness of this party, but I will highlight the two most ridiculous events. First of all, Amanda caught three client employees smoking a bowl in the side yard right after we got there. Yes, a bowl. Of marijuana. And as if that isn't ridiculous enough, at one point in the night, the Dirty Old Man (DOM) goes to get an old photo album and sits on a couch next to Susan and Carrie. And first he shows them a mildly inappropriate picture of him with his infant son laying on his chest while he is wearing only super short 80's shorts. That was gross enough. He then turns the page, leaves it wide open, and launches into a long story. And Susan and Carrie look down at the page, and there is a picture of him totally nude (from the back, as Susan immediately points out) laying seductively on a bed. And this guy is so offensive, we're pretty sure this was done on purpose.

Susan and Carrie were terrified to say anything, knowing that if they acknowledged it in any way, his response would be something like "oh, you like that one? Look at this one!" As soon as they were able to evacuate that situation, we got the hell out of there and called Allan on the phone. Needless to say, he was speechless and couldn't formulate a coherent thought about this incident until this morning. If you're asking yourself right now, "who does that?" the answer is "a sexual predator."

Certain that the only way to erase this memory was to get stinking drunk, we headed immediately to Bourbon Street. We got a table outside at Pat O'Brians (the dueling piano bar had a line) and ordered liquor. On Allan's dime. We were sitting next to a tree, and all of a sudden, AJ screams, and we find a GIANT rat running down the tree, inches from our table. According to Jon, it was a "roof rat" which are gigantic and live in trees because that's how they get from the roof to the ground. AJ and I were practically spooning, as far from the tree as possible, ad Carrie was basically on Susan's lap, until we finished our drinks and recognized that there was just no way we were going to have fun that night. So we got some road beers (the only awesome thing about New Orleans: being able to walk on the streets with open containers), went back to the hotel, and watched the Olympics in Carrie's room.

I mean there's really nothing that can follow that in terms of horribleness, so I'll end here on a happy note. We did have some fun this week, which included some Casino time (we all lost) and a trip to WINO. And it's Friday, so I get to go back to Charlotte soon, and I was upgraded to first class for the flight. Yay. Unfortunately I have to come back here Sunday. Boo.

Hope you all had a better week than me...and have a good weekend!

New Orleans and such

I haven't been great at my salad rule this week. Yesterday I had a half salad/half sandwich combo at lunch. It was a veggie sandwich, but the (delicious) bread was probably a bad idea. Then I had a burrito for dinner. Today I had a calzone for lunch. But I'm considering just going to WINO and eating cheese for dinner, or (even better) just eating a bowl of cereal from the concierge lounge at the hotel and then just going to WINO to drink, so I'm ok with that. If the lounge has skim milk, I'll do cereal...this morning they were out of skim milk and I was unhappy.

I hit the gym yesterday after work and then this morning to lift. I'm going again for cardio when we get home tonight. This week there are definitely more people staying at the hotel and it's lame because the gym is crowded. It's making me angry that I can't get an elliptical whenever I want anymore.

I was still a bit sore this morning from my kettlebell fun on Sunday, but I lifted anyway, and it's true what I've read: if you lift when you're still a bit sore, it does help the soreness go away. I felt better almost immediately afterwards. I was up early enough to do 30 minutes of cardio with my lifting, so tonight I only have to do 45 minutes. Yay!

My travel here has been confirmed: I have to be here both of the next two weeks. Four straight weeks. Let the crankiness ensue. I can't wait to go home. I hope I get to spend some time in Charlotte before I have to leave for another extended period of time. I'm getting really tired of this travel situation.

Random rant and then I'm back to work: I understand how cool it is to watch the Olympics live, but can I say how much I HATE that all of the good stuff is on too late for me to watch? I'm not even going to get to see the gymnastics because I go to sleep at 10. It stinks. I was considering making Blake DVR it, but it's no fun when you already know what happens.

That is all. Sorry I'm so boring when I'm in New Orleans. I'll try to come up with something good to say at some point this week.

short weekend

Hello from my short weekend! I'm getting ready to make dinner now and then head back to the airport (boooo), but I thought I'd check in first. The weekend started off wonderfully. When we got to the airport Friday, they were just boarding the flight before ours, so we decided to ask if there were any extra seats and there were! So we got home at 5:30 instead of 7:00. Which is fabulous. I came home, ate some cereal real quick, and then baked two kinds of cookies for Carrie's party. It was fabulous to be home and be able to cook.

Saturday we did our regular errands and then headed to Carrie's. There were some outdoor games and Rock Band was all set up and everything. It was good times. Lots of Rock Band was played, fried chicken was eaten, and fun was had. Blake got retarded drunk, of course. When we got home, I went to put Rock Band away and I opened the coat closet and Norman ran out. Blake had locked him in there before we left accidentally. He was in there for like 8 hours, the poor thing. It looked like all he did was sleep though. He wasn't even crying to escape when we got back. If I hadn't have gone to put Rock Band away, he would have been in there all night!

Blake gave him a bunch of treats and then passed out on the floor in the den. I tried a little bit to get him to come to bed, but when he's that drunk he's horrible to sleep with because he sprawls across the middle of the bed and snores all night. So I covered him up with a blanket and went to bed alone. He came in around 7am, when the worst of the snoring was behind him. Not too bad.

We were super lazy today. We watched a lot of Olympics because I enjoy them. I also did my mandatory cleaning and laundry and packed up to leave again. I'm about to make some pizza for dinner, so that should be tasty. I wish the weekend was a bit longer, but all in all it wasn't too bad.

At the party, one of Carrie's roommates had her two 8 month old pocket beagles there. And they were just the cutest dogs ever. I grew up with beagles, so I was especially obsessed with them. They were ridiculously well behaved, considering how miserable the beagle that my sister has right now is. One of them slept on my lap for an hour. They were awesome. I normally do not condone paying lots of money for dogs because there are so many homeless ones at the Humane Society, but I may have to go against my morals and get one of these (if I had $1000 to spend on a dog and I didn't think the cats would eat him at least). If any of you are interested, she got them at from a breeder in Ohio (metropocketbeagles.com).

I don't know for sure whether we'll be going back to New Orleans the week after next yet; hopefully we'll get a week back in Charlotte so that I can have a real weekend next week and get to have a normal week at home. But I'm not getting my hopes up on that one. All of this traveling is making me cranky.