workity work work

Sooooooooooooooo I started a new job last Friday after being jobless for over a year. Woohoo! Can't say that I wanted to be in a call center atmosphere again, but its very small & the people in the office (well, most of them, haha) are freaking AWESOME. Interviewed with a temp agency then 4 days later I had a job! Its assigned for about 2 months w/ the possibility to extend AND its M-F so that TOTALLY rocks my world. (LOL, work inside joke, for realz. See! Its fun already!)

I pass the IRS building that the guy crashed into w/ his plane every day to and from work. Its really a miracle that only one person besides the pilot died & only a few were injured. The cops have the road blocked every day & the church next door looks like its been closed for the last week. Such a shame that people think they need to take such extreme measures to "prove" a point. Sad.

On another note, IT SNOWED ON TUESDAY! At home, it was just sprinkling little ice crystals. I went into work a little later on Tues so its all I heard hitting my window for a couple hours as I lay in my warm bed. When I left for work, my car was covered in ice! Its was pretty crazy! Thennn, as I was driving to work, the farther North I went, the ice turned into snowflakes! At 1pm! It was crazy! I've never driven in snow, or lived anywhere that it actually snowed as my fellow Floridians know. At 1st I hated it, I HATE the cold, & I didn't want to drive in it. But it was actually pretty cool. It was ALL over the place at work! So pretty!

On top of all the pics in this post, all I have to end this little life update with is.... I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SUMMER! I want warmth & pools & bikinis & a tan!!

<3 & lots of sunny sun sun,
Steff

Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day. Sure, I wore a themed shirt, pink converse, & awesome red, heart-shaped sunglasses. I picked up a little box of candy for the guys. I went to see the movie by the same name (which I loved btw!). I love the colors: reds & pinks & whites. I love the candy: all different colors & in heart shapes & the idea of love all over the place.

But, why do we have to be reminded to love one day a year? Sure, its an excuse for us ladies to dress up & get all pretty for the men (if we have one), & go to a nice restaurant & get nice gifts & chocolate that we don't need & flowers that will die in a few days anyways. The corporate holiday. The stores miss Christmas already so they have to do SOMETHING to make tons of money again, don't they? As much as we might say we hate Valentine's day, we always get roped into it don't we? Even if its just buying a little box of chocolates for your friends.

You know, all I did for Valentines Day this year was hang out with four dudes. We went & played a couple games of laser tag, then went to see Percy Jackson, then went to a bookstore & browsed around. Completely lowkey & fun! AND we stayed away from the absolutely chaotic restaurants that I'm sure were bombarded with couples & flowers & engagements. Which also reminds me. I hope whoever my future husband is that he does NOT ask me to marry him on Valentine's Day. I think I will say NO! So cliche!!! Blah!

On another note, this year I thought I'd be smart with a little something I'd send to my family since I wasn't there this year. From 1-800-Flowers I sent them a little rosebush that came with a cute little teddy bear. Of course, it backfired when my mom got the poor plant that was supposed to SURVIVE more than 7 days on Friday, & the two little buds on it were broken. =( She called the company & they were supposed to redeliver on Sat, which of course hadn't even happened by yesterday. So I called them & got a refund. At least my family got to keep the little bear!

So the moral of this story, love everyday, not just on the "Love holiday" or else love will not survive past the initial delivery. lol.

<3 to all everyday,
Steff

P.S. Dear Necco Sweethearts company. Please bring the old flavors back! They aren't the same without the white pepperminty ones! kthxbye!

Reminiscing

There really is NOTHING like listening to a record. Just the sound & smell (yes, they have a certain smell) of a record instantly brings me back to my childhood.
I had a record player like the posted picture when I was a kid & I remembered the exact look of it & finally found the same exact one on eBay that I've been looking for since I found out about eBay & since my mom sold mine at a garage sale years ago (yes, I forgive you Mommy! lol). I was sooo excited when I received it in the mail & as soon as I turned it on I remembered the exact feel of the power arrow/volume & the feel of the placement of the needle. I use to listen to old Disney 45s on it. I especially remember The Jungle Book record. =)

I also remember my dad getting my mom a HUGE record player/radio/double cassette stereo for Christmas in the 80s. That thing was probably bigger than I was at the time! I remember listening to the Sound of Music soundtrack record along w/ moms old Partridge Family, Johnny Cash, Heart, Elvis & whatever other records she had on it. I think having record players in the house along w/ my dad always listening to oldies when we would ride in his truck fueled my love for oldies music. Probably along w/ my chorus teachers in school always picking one or multiple oldies songs to sing for our school concerts. lol.

I bet you're wondering now that I have a record player again after probably 15 years, what kind of records I've bought for it... Well, reading the above paragragh, I'm sure you've probably figured that out. We have AWESOME used bookstores here in Austin, that also sell movies, CDs and, you got it, records. Right now, I'm listening to a live Elvis record that came out in '77 probably right after he died. Sooooo good. Reallllly makes me wish that I could have attended one of his concerts. On top of that, I have a Neil Diamond live, Pat Benetar, Jan & Dean live, & a Dick Clark compilation record of great 60s hits. I got them all for super cheap & can't wait to extend my collection.

So piece of advice to whatever readers I have. Buy a record player! They sell them w/ CD slots, a radio, & sometimes even a cassette slot & they look old fashioned but sound great! If I hadn't found my awesome Rainbow Brite player, I would have eventually invested in one of those. I know they sell them at Target & Bed, Bath, & Beyond for sure! & if you've never really liked (which isn't really possible!) or never really listened to oldies music (I consider late 40s, 50s, 60s, & SOME 70s, oldies, thats the GOOOD stuff) I HIGHLY recommend getting some old records. It really lets you experience the era and, for a moment, makes you feel like you're there. Even if it all came out before you were even born. (I'm an 80s baby!) =)
OR at least buy some oldies CDs! Theres TONS of compilations out there!

Love & shared milkshakes,
Steff