Coach (no, not the show starring Craig T. Nelson)

Thanks to my friend Roxanne K., I got an awesome deal on this Coach purse (...well, my mom did). Roxanne passed on a coupon for 20% at the Coach factory store when she saw that I was going to Frankenmuth. We were going to stop at Birch Run outlets and go to a few stores so this was very nice of her. Last year I got a super-fantastic deal on a Coach purse but doubted I could top it.
Well, I saw this bag at the back of the store and all of these people were around the table with these on them - best of all, it's all leather and PINK. They are $329 retail. They were marked down to $199. From there, they were on clearance for the weekend 50% off ($99). SO...I got another 20% off of $99 and the purse was literally like $80. You can't even get a "not" Coach purse for that! Yipee! Thank you momma and yes I know it's part of my Christmas present.

Teeny-Tiny Ein(stein)y

About a week and a half ago, I tracked down my prize and my mom was kind enough to stop and get myself and my boss one:

The hunt is over!

Gut-Rot

My newest blog post was going to be about my fun weekend and things I accomplished but with the recent happenings at work, I don't have the heart to talk about such things.
Yesterday, the company I work for laid off a couple of dozen people and reduced the hours of another couple dozen. I've been here for 8 years and I've never seen it like this.
It was so sad, I can't imagine being in the position those people were put in. I feel empty, like a survivor of some kind of weird tragedy. I know it's happening all across the country and especially here in Michigan but no one here ever thought it would come to this.
So please keep my friends in your thoughts. We are/were a close-knit company and hopefully they can return in a few months.

My Mission (Should I Choose to Accept It aka If I Have Time).....

1. I must, must, must find my prom photo albums. I have fantabulous pictures of a bunch of friends in there that I must scan and put on facebook so that people can laugh (good natured laughing of course).


2. Still need to complete my homework from Kerry by watching The Da Vinci Code. I have actually inserted the disc into the DVD player. Baby steps people...

3. Have to find the Einstein Bobblehead Happy Meal toy from McDonald's. I think I may have this one pegged but I will know tonight. Must get 2: One for myself and one for my boss (he loves toys too). I would take the Easter Island Head too..



4. Start a crochet project that I hope Stink (aka Danielle) can help me with to be done by July 4th for my dad's birthday. I'm not holding my breath but we'll see.

5. Mail pictures of Emily to Kurin's relatives in AZ and IL. Grrr....I got the envelopes addressed but need to organize my pictures to give to them.

On the Spot

Thanks to my dear old friend Jobi, I have been tagged to list 10 honest things about me. Let's begin....

1.) I am the most paranoid, worrisome person that you could probalby imagine. I'm fairly good at not showing it all the time but my mind is constantly on overdrive worrying about this or that. I cannot relax. It's impossible.



2.) One of the hardest things for me to do is have my blood drawn (or IVs put in). I get sick, throw up and or pass out; it's not pretty. Imagine my horror when I realized this would happen multiple times while pregnant! It's totally psychosomatic - for example, there was a woman at work who would draw blood on occasion and I would see her walking by with her little basket of materials and immediately start to be sick. I'm just not right! :)

3.) I was a "refugee" in 2002 after a fire destroyed our condo. It was uninhabitable for 6 months while being rebuilt and our items were in storage for that long as well. This incident probably changed me the most. As a refugee, I lived in my in-laws' finished basement. For 6 months. That's a long time.

4.) I am lucky to have the awesomest best friend. She and I were besties from at least 6th grade through high school. We both went to the same University but lost touch as we were busy with school etc. Four years ago, we reconnected and it is like we had never been apart. It's not like we were mad or anything...just busy with school and other things. It's sad kind of but I am lucky enough to work with her every day now! Well, I did. We're in separate labs now but it's still more than awesome...I mean, who else can I call up on her extension at work and just randomly babble about stuff that only I think is funny and she will listen and laugh even if she could care less? That's Danielle!

5.) I hate chocolate.



6.) I was always scared to join sports in school for fear of being made fun of because I was no good but once I started working at my employer, I joined the softball team, soccer team and bowling league. I only lasted 2 games with soccer but played for 5 years on the softball team and 6 years on the bowling league. Who knew? I really liked softball.

7.) I drink entirely too much Coca-Cola. I recently cut down to approximately 16 oz per day. Don't ask how much I was drinking, I don't even know.


8.) I have played the piano since I was 3 years old. I now have my piano in my house and would love to play but get anxiety over it. I don't think I remember how to do it and that makes me incredibly sad.


9.) I would love to have a second home in New Orleans


10.) I have listened to the Legally Blonde: The Musical original broadway recording every day since April 21, 2008. Yes, I know...lame. :P


So, there you have it. That's as honest as I'm going to get right now.

Roots Followup

--Finished Roots yesterday (as audiobook). Took so long because it is hard to read such atrocities and I am fortunate enough to have been able to "take a break" from listening about it when I couldn't handle it. They (Kunta's family) couldn't take a break and I'm so glad I finally read this and really now seem to understand the plight of slaves. Sure, I've read books before with slave characters or freed men of color but there was something so personal about this story that it just seemed to finally sink in to me how it really was.

--One of the awesomest books I've ever read. Read it. Really.

Homework Pt. 1

Homework assigned to me by Kerry M. - and she thought I wouldn't do it. I thought it best that I do a report as well.

Stepbrothers
A comedy starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly

Date Watched: Sunday, May 17, 2009
Grade: A-

I initially began watching this film several months ago, only to turn it off because I was very tired and didn’t want to miss any of it.
Kerry seems to think that I only watch Best in Show and would like me to broaden my horizons by watching this film. It wasn’t exactly a question of whether I would like it or not but when would I have time? I also did not want to disturb my “disturbing” habit of watching the same things over and over and over like I so often do. The fact is, I own this movie. I’ve owned it since December 25th, 2008.
Before leaving on her 1 year wedding anniversary trip, Kerry assigned me to watch two movies. I actually had time on Sunday afternoon where all I was doing was writing out some note cards. Kurin was outside doing yard work and Emily was napping. Yes!
I popped the DVD in and enjoyed it a lot. Some of my favorite parts include:
1. “Did we just become best friends? “ – Brennan (W.F.) “Yup!”- Dale (J.C.R.)
2. The fact that they both sleep walk and Brennan’s character puts his mother’s purse in the freezer.
3. Brennan’s younger brother and his singing family singing Sweet Child of Mine. Awesome.
4. The end where Horatio Sanz plays the lead singer for the Billy Joel tribute band “Uptown Girl” – they only play Joel’s 80s songs though.
5. The finale: When Brennan sings and Dale plays drums.

I loved it. I can see this easily becoming one of my new favorites. Totally better than Semi-Pro which I forgot to tell Kerry I watched one night on cable and hated it.
**Special coolness rating goes to Mary Steenburgen (one of my faves) for being Will Ferrell’s mom in this and his stepmother in Elf. She also starred in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (one of my FAVES) with John C. Reilly.