we'll help you - with bells on!!

Man I have good friends! After an extra long day of work, I still had to go home and polish 180 little tiny jingle bells. With two coats of paint. But what is that I hear? You guys want to help me? What? Why? Well, heck yes! So Kate and Amy (and shortly after, Heath) all gathered at my house with glasses of wine and paint in hand. We got those bells done in a third of the time it would have taken me - and a nice little buzz to boot.

Thank you ladies, for being such great friends!

if the footy fits

Wear it!

flex and point

Tonight was our last pilates class. On my drive home from work I was drained. And although I didn't want to give up our hour and a half long date, all I could think of was having a beer and a greasy burger. Now some of you might be wondering why that's such a big deal. Well, because it's rare that I think to myself "I need a burger and a beer - stat". So by the time I hit home, I had come to terms with the fact that instead of indulging in fat and foam, I would be flexing and pointing. And dammit, I would have fun doing so!

Running into the room to get cleaned up and ready to go, I find Mikey laying on the bed - looking the same way I had in the car just moments before. "I don't wanna go to pilates" he said. "I want a beer. And I wanna go out to eat."

Well, that's all I needed to hear. The only question left was whether we would wear our workout gear to do so...

Thank you, Mikey, for always being right there with me - in everything we do. *smooch*

mowhawk?

Yes. That's right. I said mowhawk. "Why?" you may ask. Well, because my daughter came home with one. And as much as I want to be able to say "what the heck were you thinking - now see what you have to wear around all the time?!?", I can't. Because she has that gorgeous talent of being able to pull off anything AND making it look good. So really all I can do is commend her on her bravery. At that age, I would not have been able to shave my head! My giant bangs, big perm, and concern for what other people thought meant way too much to me... Therefore, I have to say I'm proud.

You go girl.

in the spotlight

I've always said that one of my big dreams is to make a no name cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live. It just seems like such a fun experience. Picture it:

They're all there - Chris Farley in a tutu. Chevy Chase in a baby blue tuxedo with ruffles down the front. Joan Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall are hand in hand wearing matching head gear. Sarah Silverman is holding hands with the Church Lady along with all of the other greats such as Adam Sandler, Bill Murray, Amy Poehler, David Spade, and Eddy Murphy. I could go on for pages naming all the big names on that stage, but that's not important. What's important is that they are all there. And they are singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. And then the crowd parts and it's my big solo *every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by* and they all sing *turn around bright eyes* and it goes on like this until something totally off the wall happens - allowing us to pause and me to say those beautiful words "ladies and gentleman - it's SATURDAY NIGHT!"

So today was my big chance. I was actually on TV! And it was nothing like that. But it was my time to be in the spotlight. I did a 4 minute clip with Jane on holiday tips and gift ideas. And oh how it felt like 30 minutes and 30 seconds all at the same time. A rush surged through me and although it was only our local network, something inside of me wanted to sing out "every now and then I fall apart".

vegas, baby

Oh my goodness!! I knew if I was patient, my time would come. And the last two days it certainly did! I GOT TO GO TO VEGAS!!! Granted, I was only there for about two minutes. But it was a spectacular well-lit two minutes!!

I got in early Tuesday and went straight to my room to meet up with my friends/co-workers that I would be traveling with. We were all sharing a room at the Pallazzo, which is an absolutely stunning and luxurious resort. They had gotten there on Monday but I opted to come on Tuesday due to a school function I needed to attend for the high schoolers. We worked hard all day and then went out to the dinner at the famous celebrity-draw, Tao. The food was spectacular and the wine was flowing. We finished up there and deliriously walked our way down to the Bellagio. Stopping to ooooh and aaaah at all the marvels we saw. Once we arrived at the Bellagio, we had dessert in the restaurant right behind the fountains. What a view! We shared three uber fattening fabulous things (I only say "things" because I don't know what any of them were) and a bottle of bubbly. It was enough sugar to get us motivated again to walk back the way we came. A little faster than before. We made it back to the hotel and poured ourselves into bed, knowing we had a lot of work ahead of us the next day. We talked until we fell asleep - about Vegas, boys and the strippers that had danced on our table. KIDDING!! It was actually about work, strategy, exciting new products and dreams for the future.

The next morning we jetted back down to the expo and decided to split up. We had a lot of ground to cover and only five more hours to do so. I think it was successful though. We all met up afterward with so much loot and so many samples that I had to carry on all of my clothes in order to check a bag busting full of moisturizers and treatments. We made it to the airport in time to grab a bite and hop on our plane, where I bought one last drink to commemorate my big adventure.

Although it's not like most people's crazy Vegas experience, it was the perfect one for me. I got some sun, laughed alot and learned a ton. What more could a hard working girl ask for?

Now all that's left to do is say "Thanks".

Kate and I at the Venetian






My view while having dinner at Tao







I thought the guy with the accordian was hot





The Pallazzo (our hotel)






The Bellagio (where we had dessert - right behind those fountains)

not much to say

Due to the craziness that tends to be everyone's life these days, it's easy to go 12 days without blogging and not even realizing it! But it's okay, since not much really happened in those days anyways. Unless you consider this news:

- I've started a weekly pilates class with my best friend on Thursday nights. I've found in this that A: I'm out of shape. B: I like to have my mat behind Mike so I can see his... behind. C: I am really bad at it. Just when you think you've mastered a move, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror to see that you look like that kid in gym class trying to do a cartwheel that ended up doing a faceplant instead. D: I love having dates with Mike. Even if they are only an hour long. And that we need to do more of these.

- It was Halloween and we now have a TON of chocolate that I'm constantly driving by and having "just one".

- We got a new dog named Charlie! He's a Chihuahua mix and he's super weird. There is now a constant pissing match with Polly on who actually rules this house. Pissing included. Nooot happy about that part but loving the new addition to the family!

- I voted for and was witness to one of the most amazing moments in recent American history. Thank you America and thank you Obama! You have renewed my faith.
(I have read too many great articles to begin to try to describe my feelings on this. If you want to read a good one though, check out my honey's blog at Mud, Sweat and Beers (listed to the right). He's a much better writer than I!)

- I got an obsene text message picture of my brother wearing the Borat swimming suit we got him for Christmas last year. Followed by a text message from my mom asking if I was responsible for this. Ummm... yes, kinda. I am half tempted to post it on here for all the world to see. Believe me, it definitely gives you a good chuckle.

- My daddy had knee surgery and is doing well, which makes me happy! Wish I was there to take care of him! As I told him, much to his confusion, I still need to send him a box of sausage. Then all will be right with the world.

- The boys of the house took the train to Portland and are having man time this weekend. (insert a manly grunt and growl here) I'm super excited to hear how it went! I get to pick them up in T minus 4 hours at the station.

- And I found out that I get to go to Vegas on Tuesday for work!! (the crowd goes wild) I've never been and truly feel like the last person in the world to go - so this is very exciting! (again, the crowd goes wild)

And that's it! Told you nothing much happened!