My life is a whirlwind!

Never in my mind could I have imagined how overwhelmed and busy I would be this semester. I've now become apathetic about anything related to the wedding, because I don't have time to figure it all out. And then trying to coordinate my schedule to do wedding stuff the week of Thanksgiving? Forget it...I don't care, I'm ready to elope!

Halloween weekend Steve came in to town...I picked him up Thurs night in DSM, and then we met up w/Gabe, Joelle, Wild Shea, Branden, and Elise @ Stomping Grounds. I was feeling happy after one glass of some type of ale - definitely more alcoholic than your average can of Coors Light!

We went to the Big O Friday...and no one except Steve's dad knew Steve was coming into town. His lil sisters were relatively unphased by his sudden appearance...but we got his mom good! Karissa runs out when she gets home from work with his birthday cards that should have been mailed (but Jeff took out of the mailbox)...so Liz gets really upset, walks in the house, and finds her baby boy sitting on the couch. She flipped out!

Saturday was spent playing Donkey Konga and getting wedding invites wax sealed...Steve gave himself 2 blisters after he dripped firey wax on his hand (they still look nasty over a week later BTW).

Saturday night Tinkerbelle & Peter Pan made an appearance @ Abbie & Sarah's (friends of mine from CC) Halloween kegger. We definitely got points for creativity, though if I had more time, the costumes would have been much more spectacular.

Sunday was church, then I ran away for my final wedding dress fitting. Everything is kosher, and they showed my mom how to bustle up my train. Very pretty! ;)

Monday I had to work and go to class, but the rest of the afternoon was spent cuddled up on the futon w/Steve. Apparently my car died in the morning as he was making his way to the post office to mail invites... Thus, not trusting the car, Gabe & Joelle gave Steve a ride down to the airport...Wilson is more reliable, since he's a baby.

We ate @ IHOP in Ankeny on our way back and the waiter kept calling me sweetie...very disturbing.

Tuesday & Wednesday were busy w/school stuff...

Then I got to leave Thursday to fly out to LA for an interview w/Deloitte & Touche. The office visit was fun, and I should know soon if I have a job. Crossing my fingers, wishin' and hopin' and prayin'...for a job!

I was able to stay in LA w/Steve for the weekend...we went out on Friday night w/one of his co-workers Will and Will's soon-to-be-fiancee Karla. Both are very fun and sweet, with the element of nerdiness that I love! We went to see the Incredibles, didn't get there soon enough and were forced to sit in the third row. Very uncomfortable through the movie, straining to look up at the screen...while trying to not fall asleep after such a long day and CPK-induced food coma.

Saturday...we spent all morning playing Donkey Konga (yes, I love this video game!), and finally got motivated enough to head to the mall. We grabbed some ColdStone before heading to Steve's soccer game...the little punks are funny, and are actually pretty good @ soccer. Now if Coach Steve could keep them motivated enough to play the whole game, he would be successful! ;) There's one kid on his team who I think Karissa should date...yep, honey, go ahead & dump Josh for this golden blonde California soccer player! He's super cute, and seems really sweet...

My flight back was fairly boring, except for the annoying fashionistas from New York or somewhere that kept freaking out about only have 45 minutes to connect to their next flight. I kept thinking that maybe if they had worn comfortable and practical clothes, it would make the brisk walk through the terminal more efficient...maybe even allow for a stop in the bathroom before boarding their new plane. But what do I know? I'm just a classic, conservative dresser from the Midwest who was appalled by the gold sequin purse and army pants of the one female.

So far today, I've sent out several thank you emails to the people @ Deloitte, and went to my first class of the day. I've researched a little bit for my diversity mgmt class, so that I have something prepared for our group meeting tomorrow. And now I need to run to the MU for some food...I'm super hungry from yesterday still (the turkey sandwich on the plane wasn't impressive - I ate my brownie instead).

Wow, welcome back to reality/craziness!

Happy Monday!

Wow...

Wow...I haven't posted in a while, because I've been that busy! (Ugh, grrr, all that stuff) But I shall post more this weekend (maybe?) if I get a chance @ Steve's parents house. And speaking of the boy, I have an interview with Deloitte & Touche on November 5...in LA! So I'm trying to swing it so that I can stay out there on Saturday to have a fun day, then fly back to Ioway on Sunday.

To conclude, I've also learned that:

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And you're dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear. What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

And I really can't handle when people use "your" instead of "you're"...so I had to edit the above HTML code for proper grammar :-p

The Kind of Girl I am...

I am a hybrid of: Girl Next Door Progressive Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Other fun news...I got an email from an ISU alum who is a partner w/Deloitte's LA office...he indicated they want to interview me! :-D So happy! And I might get a free trip to see Steve out of the deal!

Lucy in the Sky

You are Lucy!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I guess I always have wanted to know what Peanuts character I would be...I was thinking Marcie, but I do get crabby, so Lucy does fit better!

Last weekend update: stuffed about 110 wedding invites, still working on a few more (ran out of maps/guest info inserts). It's going to cost $0.60 to mail each invite...but they do have pretty $0.60 stamps to put on them. Steve's comment about that: "That means that most wedding invitations cost $0.60 to mail - why else would they have pretty stamps in that amount??" They will be done for sure the weekend of the 29th...signed, sealed, delivered...

Random Tidbits

Obviously, I'm bored at work, so I'm blogging. I did flip out of my chair today @ work though...I was pushed away from the desk in this big heavy office wheelie chair, and went to grab a phone call. I was sitting on the edge, and the sudden movement caused the chair to tip forward, and dumped myself out of it. All I could do was laugh, even though the heavy chair did hit my arm and that kinda hurt. I'm a klutz, but never enough to warrant doctors/hospitalization. So go ahead & laugh, I can take it! ;)

You know what I really hate?? The people at Subway who don't listen to you when you say you only want a leeetttle bit of mayo on your sandwich and instead smother it like normal.

I bought new makeup and a flat iron this weekend. The makeup is awesome, and Clinique has a pretty good bonus @ Younkers right now...go check it out! And straight hair looks good on me too! ;) I love my hair, it behaves so well when I put forth the effort!

We watched a video about international monetary policy in one of my classes today. They showed a clip of Herbert Stein...yes, Ben Stein's dad. All I have to say is "like father, like son." Ben was definitely molded in his father's image! ;)

Alrighty, time to work...

Happy Tuesday!

D.C. Interview

I spent Sunday night in DSM, going to bed around 9:30 so I could have some sleep before getting up @ 3:50 A.M.! Never have I been up that early before!

One of my favorite things to do is people watch, and the airport is one of the best places to people watch. I was appalled by the woman wearing the black shirt, gray pants, taupe socks, and brown loafers...I can't say I've seen anyone wear the dark end of the neutral color spectrum all at once!

So I get onto the Fairbanks jet to Milwaukee (once again, small plane = walking directly out to the plane, no jetways) and my seat is not only the window seat, its the aisle seat as well! Each row had 1 seat, aisle, two seats...very strange. Also on the flight, I was excited to see the breaking of gender barriers - a female pilot and a male flight attendant. Now the male flight attendant is not a new phenom for me, but I can't honestly say I've seen a female at the helm...and I've flown a fair amount in the past few years...

Then switching planes in Milwaukee to a 717...Midwest has more room on those planes than I've ever seen...it was as if business class had turned into coach! So much leg room, big comfy seats!! Then flying into DC was wonderful...I was amazed by the amount of trees in Maryland, Virginia, etc. We flew in for the landing right by the Washington Monument...I could see the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial..all of that fun historical stuff! I couldn't see the White House from the air, but I attribute that to the massive amounts of tree foliage everywhere!

I changed into my suit @ the airport, and hopped in a cab to where my interview was going to take place. We drove right by the Pentagon, and the aerial shots of that building don't adequately portray its true size! It's huge!!

I get to the building (after $20 cab fare) and am so early I end up doing HW while I'm waiting for my skills assessments/interviews to begin. If you really want to know how that whole thing worked, let me know...just too much other stuff I'd rather type right now.

I had called a cab to take me back to the airport; one of the other interviewees had also called a cab, so we agree that we'll just share one instead of both of us paying more to go separately. My cab got there first, but his cab pulled up right after mind, and that cabbie started yelling @ ours for stealing his customer...we cringed while our cab drove away. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the guy got a call on his cell from the cab company...he didn't answer! ;) The cab ride back only cost me $10 since I shared. Speaking of cab rides...DC traffic is nuts!! I would definitely say its worse than LA because its crazier. LA traffic is usually just slow, but DC was wild!

I hop on my flight back to Milwaukee and have a woman next to me - she really took the whole pink thing too far (ie, everything was pink). I get up later to use the restroom, and notice more than half the plane is empty. Why didn't this woman get up & move?? She could move easier because she was in the aisle seat. I really wanted my bubble, but I would have had to crawl all over her again to get moved! Grrr! On a nice note, Midwest served warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies on my flight - in addition to the normal bag of pretzels! Yummy yummy in my tummy!

In Milwaukee, I had to buy hand lotion because I had forgotten mine, and my hands were super dry...so I paid $2.50 for 3/4 oz of lotion - wowsa, expensive. After a too-long layer in MKE, I get back on the Fairbanks puddle jumper. The flight is obviously not going to be full, even though the plane has just 30 seats. Who should come in and sit down next to me?? Yes, the pink lady! How crazy is that?? I've had issues trying to be seated next to the group I'm flying with, yet get placed right next to the random stranger twice in a row! Strange... Fortunately, the flight attendant pointed out that the flight wasn't full, and the pink lady moved to a seat across the aisle, thus giving me my needed bubble. I made sure to fill myself up on putrid airplane coffee on the flight to give me a needed jolt of caffeine for my late-night drive back to Ames. I did pass on the "chocolate cake cups" though - but why couldn't they be called chocolate cup cakes?? Because that's why they were...

So after a construction-filled drive back to Ames, I unpacked and passed out in my bed...what a long day! :)

Gold

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hair!

So Hair tonight was excellent...a job well done by the Divine Miss M (Ali) as Sheila. ;) Several amusing things occurred in the 3 1/2 hours we were in DSM. First, the vast majority of the audience fell into the same age demographic as my dad...which I'm not saying my dad is old, but these people were definitely reliving their younger years. AND some of them were wearing hippie-type clothing!! So very scary! Very disgruntled people too...they were not happy when they thought we were going to budge in front of them in line...I think they were more angry over the fact that we all were younger, more energetic, and better looking than they... Becca & I giggled like middle-school girls the entire way through the musical...we greatly enjoyed the sexually-explicit references. And we were glad to not be directly confronted by the full-frontal nudity, as some of group experienced. Jöelle was petted by one of the cast members... I wish I remembered who said "I didn't know Ali could sing!" tonight, but I can't... All in all, good times!

Completely random new tangent...Steve sent me a package today...he air-packed a cookie he decorated in frosting for me...he also found my Aristocats DVD at a store, I must have left it there! ;) He's so sweet! Now I'm waiting for him to break away from his camping group and give me a call goodnight.

Goodnight to y'all!

Shark Tale

Shark Tale = Good Times! Super cute & fun...I wish I had a better memory so I could remember some of the one-liners in it! Well worth the $6.50 to go see...even probably worth the $10 in LA! :-D

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

It's most definitely butt-ass cold right now! And a funny thing happened this afternoon...a storm blew in (literally) right about the same time Mt. Saint Helen started venting...strange coincidence?!?!? But yeah, the windows are definitely closed, and I do need to find something warmer to wear tonight. Speaking of tonight, I'm going w/a random group of people to see Shark Tale: Jöelle, Gabe O, the Wild Shea, and LT! Should be fun times...if the movie is worthwhile, I'll make sure to note it! ;)