There are far worse things than having a less than stellar birthday.

Still, today was less than stellar.

To be sure, the identity theft actually happened over the weekend, I just didn't check my bank account until today...

Tags: birthdays
The Bottomline: there's always tomorrow

I melted Josh and Laura's toaster. When I say melted I don't mean it heated up a bit and the sleek form got droopy, I mean rivers of plastic ran down while flames licked it's body. I mean the apartment was filled with black smoke and all the fire alarms were blaring (on a side note, I really don't think we need one every 5 feet). Fortunately I have a humongous stock pot, which I employed to damn near flood the kitchen with fire-extinguishing water (and make everything else soggy).
We have a cool new toaster oven now.

I got season 3 of House on DVD last week. <3<3<3

Tyler goes to Daylight Donuts most Sunday mornings and I join him around 75% of the time. Good times, good donuts, really bad toupee.
On my way back to my apartment around 10:30am I got a flat tire. Tyler and Zack came to the rescue like the heroes of old. Needless to say, it was hot and sweaty and extremely unpleasant to be doing manual labor.
When I got to my spare (no small task considering how full my trunk was), we found that the tread was completely shredded and scary looking. Awesome.
When they got the tire off, the tear in the side of the tire was a bit too large to risk fix-a-flat to get to Wal-Mart. Sweet.
Neither Tyler's nor Zack's spare would fit my car, although I kind of think it was way above and beyond of them to offer. We ended up just taking the dingity dangity tire to Wal-Mart and went to Popeye's Chicken with some fine folks while we waited (while un-showered, sweaty and slightly covered in car grease - yikes!).
Around 2:30 the (amazingly, incredibly awesome) guys finally got my car squared away. I drove the rest of the way down the street to my lovely shower while listening to Petty's Free Falling. It took the edge off.

I missed sannask's birthday lunch in the midst of this drama. I haven't gotten to see her since her wedding and was really looking forward to it!. Boo.

Tags: awesomeness, birthdays, car stuff, friends, movies/plays/television, roommate/apartment, tyler
The Bottomline: yes.
Background Noise ♫: Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

Daddy bought me worms for my upcoming birthday. A full pound of red worms. I am the happiest little princess ever!
He also got me a worm bin to put them (outside on our front deck). In a few days, I'll be a-compostin'. Until I get around to getting a proper kitchen compost pail , I'm collecting food scraps in an old ice bucket I picked up at the Peace At Home Thrift Shop.

I recently started a mini herb garden on our front deck.

It's all planted in organic potting soil (Miracle-Gro and Expert Gardener brands) and recycled plastic containers (that help regulate the watering for novice gardeners like myself).

( blah blah blah )

Next on my hit list is some durable containers to start collecting recyclables, because the apartment building ain't doing it for us.

I made mostly raw "ice cream" for a treat after my last final. Two frozen bananas (note to self: peel the bananas before freezing...doh), 2 tablespoons vanilla (calls for teaspoons...), fresh mint to taste (optional), and a blender. It was pretty good, I may experiment with it (and other fruits) more. I can't wait until my lavender blooms.
I have 4 peeled bananas in my freezer right now.

To commemorate Paris's upcoming jail sentence, I downloaded her CD. HOTT. Favorite line: "Everytime I turn around the boys fighting over me...Maybe cuz I'm hot to death and I'm so so so sexy." Classic.

Tags: awesomeness, birthdays, consumerism, earthy, music, recipes, roommate/apartment
Current Location: garden
The Bottomline: verde
Background Noise ♫: Paris Hilton - Fighting Over Me

( walmart soliciter )

Despite crazy-walmart-dude, the bread pudding came out DELICIOUS. I made if for Tyler this summer and he specially requested it again for his birthday. I fiddled with the recipe this time (made it mostly organic and added rum!) around and I think it came out even better than before. I also made a vanilla rum sauce to go with it, in honor of the big 2-1. This time around, I used like 80% organic ingredients. So even if this dessert can give you diabetes just by looking at it (6.5 all butter croissants, 5 cups half and half, entire carton of eggs...) and can be in no way justified as healthy for your body, it's still slightly more healthy for the environment than your average treat (shut up, let me rationalize).
I want to cook more now. Ha, like I'll find the time.

Tyler's birthday went really well and he didn't even get sick. He did, however, get a really attractive hair cut. For serious, the boy looked GOOD.
Also, booze.

They're having a $10 "Spring Broke" sale at Threadless...so I finally got around to ordering some of the shirts I've been resisting (99 Luftballons and I Know An Old Lady Who Swalled a Fly). I ordered three shirts (A Caged Bird Dreams, Cookie Loves Milk, and Facial Hair Club For Men) and a hoodie (Yeah Attitude...best. hoodie. ever.) during their winter sale. Eventually I'll get around to taking pictures (because for every picture you post wearing a threadless shirt, you get $1.50 off your next purchase...it's pretty awesome). Threadless is such a cool site...I wish I wasn't totally tapped of artisitc ambition right now, or I'd totally submit stuff.

Work and class, man...what a life, eh?

Tags: awesomeness, birthdays, booze, consumerism, interesting links, strange, tyler
The Bottomline: toasty in my hoodie
Background Noise ♫: Muse - Starlight

A lot has happened since I last posted. I'll probably get to most of it later.

Currently my dad is in Oklahoma having his big heart surgery. He's been in it since 7am and has around 3.5 more hours to go. He's having an ablation procedure to fix the arrhythmia he's had for the past year. It's a fairly new operation (or new version of an old operation), so he had to travel out of state to get to the team of doctors who could do it. When they were doing his pre-surgery surgery on Friday, they discovered some blockage and signed him up for a triple bypass as well (which might make the ablation easier, because before it they had to use slits in his armpits and pull his lungs out a bit to do it, now they're cracking his chest). After the pre-op procedures on Tuesday, they upped it to a quadrupedal bypass and added valve surgery/replacement (one of our cardio nurse friends supposes they added that because being in atrial fibrillation for the past 14 months might have "warped" the valves and lead to clotting if they are not attended to, so that might be more a maintenance thing than something worse). Usually they wouldn't have found out about his blockage until he had a heart attack, so...there's something optimistic.
I last got an update at 2pm, when one team of doctors came out and another went in. Apparently he got through the hardest part (opening the chest and cracking the ribs) with flying colors and they've completed the ablation and is doing "reasonably well."

Dad's birthday was on Monday and we went out to Shogun (and had terrible enough service that dad's almost decade long streak of going there for his birthday may be over) and then back to his place for cake, ice cream and hot tubbing (did I mention that Dad moved recently? Same week I moved. He totally has a hot tub now).

Tags: birthdays, family, health/medical

Well, my birthday was this Monday. Memorial Day. I had to work and that kind of sucked, especially since it was ridiculously mind-numbingly slow and I earned significantly less than any other day I've worked there. After work 8 of us went ou to Shoguns, Shakey's, and Xmen 3 and it was a fantastic time. Everyone who was there or wished me happy birthday, made my day...so huggles!
I'll spare ya'll the mushy details, but Tyler really made the day special for me and I really appreciate him and I'm very happy. He got me THE BEST BIRTHDAY CARD EVER complete with a monkey in a tutu and one of his famous poems (it seriously rocked my socks off). He makes me feel like a very lucky girl. The end.
In the days to follow I also got two fantastic birthday dinners with my immediate family peoples. On Tuesday I went to Ella's with Mom and Steve and gorged myself on delicious foods (including the best escargot I've ever had and a lick-the-plate-good dessert with rich chocolate cake and white chocolate mouse). On Thursday Dad and Natalia took me to Mermaid's with Mom and Steve and I had tasty creme brulle and seafood delights. I don't usually get two dinners with my family, but Steve thought he was going out of town and would miss the one on Thursday, so we went out early on Tuesday. Anyways, I love my family.

Today I got two "pretty girl"s, three "you look very nice today"s, one "you're hot" and one apiece of "you look like Jennifer Love Hewitt" and "you look like Alyson Hannigan" (that's the second time I've gotten that last one in a week...), and at least one foolish (and failed) attempt to sow seeds of doubt in my boyfriend. There's a difference between silly harmless flirting and flirting with a purpose. I could go into my feelings on that, but long story short: sometimes I enjoy those kinds of compliments and sometimes I really don't so much.
Tonight I went shopping with my mommy all night. It was good times and I brought home some fine loot (and spent some of my fine tip $). Yah!

There's a blood drive next Wednesday! I'm totally donating!

Tags: awesomeness, birthdays, consumerism, family, friends, strange, tyler, work
Current Location: 23 year old fogeys
The Bottomline: chipper
Background Noise ♫: 6th floor old Washington Regional during a lightening storm

As well as not having a proper meal yesterday (I had a bowl of miso and a few bowls of rice - the waitresses are allowed to eat as much of those as they want if they're not busy - a single piece of tempura sushi - freaking yum!!!! - and a leetle ball of mochi ice cream), I also didn't get a chance to sit down more than four times for only brief intervals and all time between shifts was spent walking (including a bonus walk from the restaurant to Common Grounds and back on a caffeine run for everyone).

My legs want to fall off. I'm not sure how effectively I can walk.

In short, OH MY GOD MY LEGS ARE SORE!!! And my feet, shoulders and lower back aren't so keen either. (this is the part when you coo over me and take pity)

I haven't been home at a reasonable hour all week, so I haven't actually had a chance to inform friends that I would indeed be having birthday celebrations...so maybe I'll have to do some special friends type meal later (although everyone is still encouraged to come tonight!!). Like at Jim's pizza or something...with a Ricks (whipped icing!!) cake. I don't care who likes buttercream icing better, I can't eat more than a bite of it on cake and, damn it, it's my birthday and I deserve to eat cake without having to scrape icing off it at least once a year.

Tags: birthdays, work
The Bottomline: sore
Background Noise ♫: hummmmmm

Last night I worked the lunch shift at the Rice Village from 10am-2:15pm, the flower place from 4pm-6pm, and the dinner shift at the restaurant from 6:20pm-1:15am.
This morning I worked the lunch shift from 11am-2:24pm, helped with inventory at the flower place from 2:45pm-4:00pm, and went back for dinner shift from 4:10pm-12:02am (note the distinct lack of meal times in there).
Fortunately, I have Sunday and Monday off both jobs. I'm fairly certain I'm putting in my notice at the flower place...it's too stressful trying to squeeze it all in without a break and I'm already practically full-time at the restaurant (~37 hours).

My feet and legs are killing me. Ow ow ow ow.

At 5:13am today I will officially be 22 years of age. Feel free to congratulate me and buy me mochi ice cream!!
(oh and I'm going to eat at Red Lobster around 6pm today, Sunday May 29th, with my parents and William. My friends are more than welcome to come too!)

William got a wild hair and drove up to see me today...so I've got to get back to giving him attention and snuggling. Yay!

Tags: birthdays, william, work
The Bottomline: birthday-licious
Background Noise ♫: beelz!

Oh oh oh, there's a Valentine treat basket making party tonight at my place!! *dancedancedance*
We're making them for some underprivileged school kids in the area. Just a special treat for kids that don't get much. I actually forgot I had class at the same time, so I have to skip it...hopeful I can get notes (even if basic econ is a boring, useless class).
I'm super excited and it's peggy_the_angel's 20th birthday so there will be cake!!!
Yah for being useful!

I got my shot today. I think calling the most tender place on my derriere "my hip" before jabbing a big pointy needle into it is just plain mean. I know where they're going, they know where they're going, and the sore spot on my bum knows where they're going...why the games?

*whew* After making the last post and replying to comments, I feel kind of emotionally drained. But that's a good thing, sometimes.

I need more icons to describe me. Yes yes yes.

Tags: apo/service, birthdays, health/medical
The Bottomline: cold
Background Noise ♫: Damian Rice - The Blower's Daughter

Haven't made a post in a while, and I feel the squirrel must be pushed down from the top of my journal page (I actually didn't even mean to post it...). So, about 3 weekends ago I turned 21. It was pretty fun. I went on a pub crawl...minus the drunken stupor and hangover part.
Drinks consumed, in chronological order:
Chunky Monkey (non-virgin chocolate banana milkshake), Kamakaze, Mother Fucker, horrible fruity coconut thing I didn't finish, 2 Fuzzy Navels, Kamakaze (a bigger one), and a Leaping Lizard (it was green).
Yep, it was a good time.

I've also gotten a second job since my last post. I now work (extremely) part-time in the floral department of a grocery store. It's pretty fun...and it smells great. Right now I'm learning how to make corsages and boutonnieres (she says I'm doing really well *beams*). Wheeeee!
Today when I got into work, there was a single pink carnation waiting for me. My boss wouldn't tell me who it was from, but I'm pretty sure it's the grocery manager guy who always comes to talk to me. Today he came by like 3-4 times, most of the time he just leaned on the counter and kinda grinned and looked at me and didn't say anything. I've slipped the fact that I've got a boyfriend into the conversation at least once. *le sigh*

Tags: birthdays, strange, work
The Bottomline: legal
Background Noise ♫: Live - Overcome