Coffee Talk Thursday: Music Madness

1. What is in your playlist?
Well, I don't really have a playlist per say... but here's what I've been listening to a lot lately: She & Him, Fitz & the Tantrums, Nick Waterhouse, Allah Las, Fun., Mumford & Sons, Ben Howard and The Givers. If you haven't heard of some of these great people who make great music, then you should probably fix that. :)
2. What is the funniest YouTube video you always go to when you need a laugh (or if you just wanna watch it)? Marcel the Shell!! Watch. Love.

 
3. Favorite song in the whole wide world that you never get sick of and it's on repeat. One song!? I could give you one song from every band I like, but that would probably take forever. For right now though, I'm going to say "I Can Only Give You Everything" by Nick Waterhouse. It's the song that introduced me to this wonderful musician, and it just never gets old.

  

4. Do you have any embarrassing songs/singers/bands that you like? Ok, I'm not embarrassed anymore. But... Nsync! Loved them since I was 12, then was ashamed to like them, now I don't even care! Last year, I had a Boy Band birthday theme! It doesn't get much more carefree than that! :)

5. What's that ONE song that ALWAYS makes you cry? In Christ Alone - Stuart Townend I just think this song is a beautiful testament of what Jesus did for us. 

6. What song have you recently heard, that you can't seem to get out of your head? "Call me Maybe" ... but not that Carly Rae version!  Ben Howard's version. I love love love love love this! I hope you do too! Plus, he's just adorable! Seriously, watch this! You won't be disappointed. He's amazing! It's like a completely different song. "And all the other boys try to chase me..." HILARIOUS.

I love my tunes! Music will change the world.

Kickin' it Grandma Style

In exactly one month, I turn 25.
Half way to 50!

My quarter-life crisis? I want that iPhone 5! I am so ready to toss this Blackberry away. Give me the cool phone! Ok, so I only really want it so I can have Instagram. Whatever.

Anyway, I've been feeling so completely lame lately. Friday night, I went out with some friends for Angelica's birthday shindig. We went out to dinner, karaoked it up, then somehow ended up at Denny's. I got home sometime after 1 a.m. On Saturday, slept in a bit until about 9 a.m. or so. Sam and I planned to make our way to Porterville since he was leading worship at a church there. I was so exhausted the entire day!

Apparently, I can't stay up past midnight anymore.
Before we left on Saturday, I actually said to Sam, "can't I just stay in my pajamas and watch Gossip Girl all day?" ie: just let me be lazy and watch my Soaps!

Grandma.
Then I was reminded of this episode of Friends:

Could that BE any more accurate? I don't think so!
This weekend we're heading up to Yosemite for the day, then the next couple weekends... NO PLANS! I'm so excited to just stay in town and take care of things at home. Of course, then the Holidays roll around (including my birthday) and it's back to being busy.

Ready for some rejuvenation!

Fridays Letters

Well, I've never done this before, but today I just kept thinking how thankful I am for so many things in my life right now, I wanted to write about them... even if it was just briefly. So, I thought, why not do a link up! 
Dear Pomegranates, I love you so much. You are small, but so wonderfully tasty. I pretty much ate an entire one of you today. I just couldn't stop! Dear Eye Drops, thank you for saving my scratchy, dry, allergy-filled eyes today. Dear Free Time, Sam and I have been so busy that I haven't had much of you lately. I never truly appreciated you until now and I apologize for that. Please come back into my life. Dear Blog, I have been neglecting you lately because I haven't had the time to take care of you. I promise that'll change. I'm hoping next week I can get back on track. I have two stories (the fair and Jessie's wedding) to fill you with and I can't wait. Dear Autumn, as you inch your way closer to Fresno, I'm getting more and more excited. Dear Crunchy Leaves, I've been seeing you more and more lately as you may have noticed since I go out of my way to step on you. Dear Fun., you make my Fridays go by so much more smoothly while I groove to your tunes at my desk. Dear Karaoke friends, I look forward to singing my heart out with you tonight. I hope we have some more epic music encounters with strangers again. Dear Pay Day, you hold a very special spot in my heart. Dear iPhone 5, you shall soon be mine because of Pay Day. And last, but not least, Sam, I looooooove you. Really, I do. Thank you for making your yummy chicken and jalapeno quesadillas for my lunch today. I appreciate it so much. I hope you know that. 

I hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend. We'll be in Porterville since Sam is leading worship again at Hillside Community Church. If you don't have anywhere to be in Porterville, at 11 a.m., come on by! We'll be happy to see you!

Coffee Talk Thursday!

I have somehow went through Starbucks every Thursday on my way work, without realizing it was Coffee Talk day! Today, it was an iced non-fat Caramel Macchiato. I had a gift card given to me from my oh-so-wonderful mom. Figured it was time to put it to good use! Well, the coffee is long gone, but now it's time to blog!

1. Let's talk about ink: Do you have tattoos? How many?? 

I am tattoo-less. I'm a huge wimp.  Seriously. You need my blood? Better bring out a vampire because no needle will come near me. Now, I heard somewhere that their tattoos were licked on by kittens? Now that might be something I can get on board with! :)

2. Let's talk about hair styles: Bangs, do you have them, want them, or trying to grow them out? What about side bangs? 

I had bangs when I was kid up until the middle of high school. You know, when bangs weren't cool. Then I grew them out and would like some again, but my hair gets so greasy that it's probably not an option. I had some side, swoopy bangs at one point, but they just got annoying.

3. Let's talk about work: Without getting specific with a company name, what do you do? What did you want to be when you grew up when you were young? 

Just a small town journalism girl, living in an insurance world. I went to school for journalism, then found nothing after I graduated in town. Shocker, right? Not really. A couple I went to church with own an insurance business, and hired me on! HUGE thanks to Facebook! They would have never known I needed a job if it weren't for that social media outlet.

Anyway, I do mostly administrative duties. They throw in some marketing stuff for me to do too so I can do something that's semi-related to my BA. I was also recently moved up to the front desk. I kinda love it! I have all these windows -- so much sunlight! I'm known as "Director of First Impression." Pretty awesome name if I do say so myself. 

4. Let's talk about friends: Do you find it easier or more difficult to meet new friends as an adult? Do you have what you'd consider 'blog friends'? What about IRL (in real life) friends?

Definitely harder! Especially moving from one town to another where you don't know anyone! I'm not even outgoing to begin with. I made about two good friends at my State college; one I see on a regular basis and talk to every day while the other I see on occasion. It's actually both their birthdays today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELICA AND KRISTIN! And of course, I have met some friends from my church... but that's it. And I'm perfectly fine with that! Love the few people I have met and am blessed to have them in my life.

5. Let's talk about Social media: Android or iPhone? Twitter or Facebook?

I've never had an Android or an iPhone. I'm hoping to get an iPhone 5 soon here though. My husband has an Android and I've played on it a bunch of times. No complaints there!

Twitter or Facebook... well, I love both of them! I use them for different things though. Facebook I use for more personal use. It's great to keep updated on friends that live out of town. As for Twitter, I use to it keep updated on news and pop culture. I follow friends on it, but that's not my main use. I love Twitter because there are so many different active profiles that I love. I also love that you can follow actual celebrities who update their own page. It's really neat! Favorites? I love Ben Savage and Zach Braff.

Feel free to follow my social media pages ... they're buttons are the left!

Have a great week!

Tunesday: Autumn/Winter Playlist

While people are packing away their Summer clothes to make room for their winter jackets and scarves, I'm bringing out my end-of-the-year tunes! I tend to listen to music depending on the season. I can't even describe why I listen to music according to the season, but I do.

I don't know what makes a song an Autumn song instead of a Summer song.
Maybe it's just the mood of the song.
Or maybe it's an album that I discovered during that season.
I think it might also be related to what I listening to when something important was going on in my life.

For instance, I remember getting the first She & Him album the first semester I was at Fresno State and away from home. I don't think it left my cd player at all that Fall. It just made me feel better when I was feeling homesick for some reason.

And for some reason, I love listening to Joshua Radin in the car when it's raining. He's my rainy day guy.

Here are my Autumn/winter favorites:

1. Simon & Garfunkal
2. Jack's Mannequin
3. Joshua Radin
4. She & Him
5. Michael Buble (even though I listen to him all year long)
6. The Gospel Whiskey Runners
7. Jamie Cullum
8. The Weepies
9. Death Cab For Cutie
10. The Postal Service

And of course, after Thanksgiving, I'll bring out my Christmas music. Thanks to Spotify, I can make a pretty great playlist to listen to at work. I'm super excited about that. Speaking of Spotify, I definitely think you should check out the bands I listed above on Spotify. I know you won't regret it.

Do you have any favorites?

As always, happy listening!

Coffee Talk Time!

YAY! I actually went to Starbucks this morning for coffee too! It's rainy weather right now, the husband mentioned Starbucks and I realized that I needed to grab myself a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yes, this time of year I put pumpkin in everything I can. 

1. Pancakes or waffles?

Waffles! I don't like pancakes. I'll eat them if I'm at someone's house and they make them, but I would prefer not to eat them. They just get soggy way to fast! I will admit that I enjoy putting peanut butter on them though. But it's waffles I prefer. Actually, my favorite breakfast food is French Toast...

2. What is your go-to meal?
We've been doing quesadillas around our house lately. It's the easiest. I also like cereal. I've recently discovered Honey of Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends... PEACH AND RASPBERRY! My two favorites. It's sooo good.

3. What is your "must have" snack while watching a movie/TV show?
Well, I don't really snack while watching television, but when we go to the movies I like to have popcorn, icee and redvines. 

4. What is your guilt food(the kind where you are sad, lonely, etc. )?

I know it's cliche, but whatever... CHOCOLATE! It has to be dark chocolate though. You know... the hard stuff.

5. What kind of food do you eat that is so disgusting to others and you are embarrassed to tell? Come on! Fess up!

I eat my sausage and eggs with ketchup. I don't even normally like ketchup, but I eat it with those breakfast foods.  Sam thinks it's incredibly weird that I dip my sausage in ketchup. I love it though! I also eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Like Elvis! .... sans the pickles though. Sorry King of Rock & Roll, that's just no good. Speaking of pickles, Sam and I went to the fair last night and they had chocolate dipped pickles! Yowza. No thanks!

Throwback Thursday (on Friday): High school dances

... Or Friday.
A day late, but no one cares right? I started it yesterday! Oh well. It's my blog, I can do what I want!
I tried so hard to find my very first high school dance picture, but I don't have any idea where it is! I remember that I decided to like two days before. The Thursday or Friday before, I went with my mom, Valarie and her mom to Visalia (30 min away from Porterville) to look for a dress. I was lucky to find one. I had fun with my friends... I just wish I could find pictures to have proof!


Luau 2001 (or 2002) --
Since this picture doesn't have a date on it, I'm guessing. I'm thinking this was my first Luau at school. I didn't care much for the Luaus because it was hot, outside, people dressed in swimwear (bikinis) and there was a lot of rap. Here we are at Pizza Factory!... or maybe Round Table. I don't remember if Pizza Factory was there that long ago.

Me, Melissa and Valarie

Hearts & Flowers 2002 --
My first dance with a boy! Well, just Michael. Haha A very good friend of mine! Hearts and Flowers was basically Sadie Hawkins... you know, girls ask guys. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure he knew I was going to ask him before I actually did.

Mike and me

Hearts & Flowers 2003 --
Just a date with some good gal friends! We're all married now!

Me, Loretta & Emily

Luau 2003 --

Valarie and me

Christmas Ball 2003 --

Mine and Sam's first dance together! (We're married now in case you don't know) ... We weren't dating or anything here. We were just really great friends. He was homeschooled, so he didn't go to my school. I remember how much work it is to get someone into a dance who doesn't go to the same school. I think I had to get his ID card, prove that he wasn't 21 yet and get everything approved before I could even buy tickets. It was like a two-week process.

Sam and me

Hearts & Flowers 2004

Valarie and I decided to go matching! Well, opposite matching. I actually came across that Dickies dress not too long ago. I ended up selling it in a yard sale. We met up with a huge group of people.

Valarie and me

From the "second row" on the left to back and wrapped around to the front:
Sharon, Kristi, Paige, Tiffany, Melissa,  me, Valarie and Mark

                                           

Josh and me

Leah and me

Prom 2004 --

First dance Sam and I attended where we actually "liked" each other. Not dating, per say. We waited a year to date. All in God's timing. But... that's another story for another time. This was the year that we went to In&Out for dinner! Fancy, no?!

Sam and Me

 Group Picture: Leah & Josh, Valarie & Mark, Sam & Me

At Josh's house. 

Christmas Ball 2004 (My senior year) --

Sam and I still weren't dating here! I just loved the color and simplicity of that dress. I remember after the dance, we went back to Valarie's house and watched Shrek. Oh yeah, and Sam had dreadlocks. Oi vey. 

SENIOR PROM! --

Fourth dance together, first of being an actual couple. And Sam still has his dreadlocks. They're not as pretty as they were the dance before. And the professional photographer was not that great. Even though I scanned in the copy of the picture so that kind of  messes it up, it really doesn't change the quality much. I was super disappointed.

Valarie & Matt, Sam & me

I believe I was already in college in the pictures below. That year, instead of going to the actual dance, some of the older high schoolers decided it would be fun to have dinner, go to the movies and then bowling dressed up all fancy. 

We started the evening off with like a four-course meal. Then we went and saw Deck the Halls... horrible movie by the way! And we ended the evening with some bowling. That was so much fun!

I had so much fun looking through all these pictures. I can't believe how many school dances I attended. Many of us are married, going to school, graduated from college, living in another state, working and just living life. As much as disliked actually going to the dance, it was so fun to get all dressed up, hang out with friends and make some great memories. I can't believe how far we have all come! 

Coffee Talk // Happy Thursday!

I'm actually enjoying myself a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks right now, so this is perfect! Plus, I'm on my break at work and what better way to spend it than to answer some fun questions!

1. You're at Target or Walmart, what's the first department you hit?

I don't visit Walmart enough to have a normal first stop, but Target on the other hand... My first stop is the dollar section! How can I pass up a section with cheap items that I probably don't need? It's right there when I walk in, so I tend to peruse there first. My desk is currently decorated in $1 section items.. mostly of the Peanuts variety.

2. What are 3 items you always have stocked in your home, fridge or pantry?

Peanut Butter. Coffee. Kleenex.

3. Do you prefer shopping alone or with others? Why?

Well, that depends. If I'm shopping for clothes, I'd rather shop alone. If I'm with people, then I feel rushed or that I have to get what they like versus what I like. Ridiculous, I know. For absolutely anything else, I hate going to the store alone. Where's the fun in that?

4. What's the biggest splurge you've ever made?

My wedding! That thing was so expensive. I should have just eloped. Actually, my most recent favorite splurge has to be my Fossil purse. I've always loved Fossil, so I was super excited to be able to buy one!  Isn't it beautiful? :)

5. What's the best deal you've ever snagged?

Any time I go to Kohl's I feel like I score the best deal ever! Last time Sam and I went, we got him a shirt for him, some shoes, earrings, some workout pants and a shirt for me for like $35!

Pinsday: Halloweenie Desserts

My goodness, I have been so busy. And this month isn't looking to calm down either.

October has started and that means Halloween parties are in the work. Lucky for me, that means we'll be doing something fun at work. A potluck and costume contest are planned. That's when working in an office can be fun.... lots of great food!

Well, I always like bringing a dessert. Someone beat me to the list and wrote down cake. I normally bring cupcakes, so I'm a little torn on if I should bring cupcakes or bring something else. Would it be completely lame of me to bring cupcakes?

I was searching Pinterest looking for dessert ideas. Here are some of the ones that I found:

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 These are my favorite of the bunch! They're like polka dot cupcakes! Not much better than that!

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What are you favorite Halloween treats?
I welcome ideas!

Time to Color the Town: 5K Style

Saturday was a day of firsts for me!

1. Doing a 5K.
2. Doing a colorful 5K.
3. Doing a colorful 5K while still being slightly sick from my horrible sick day on Friday.

I paid my money, picked up our packets, was having a friend spend the weekend and nothing was going to stop me from taking part in Color Me Rad. Plus, this was something I had been been looking forward to a couple months.

Well, we rolled our tired bums out of bed and made our way over to  Woodward Park. It was so crazy over there. Those who organize the event, need a better way of doing things. Our wave time was 9:15 and we didn't cross the start line until almost 10 a.m.

While I'm not normally one who likes to be last, this time it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The best part was being able to spend extra time at each color station.

Before:

Christina, me, Angelica

We were lucky enough to have Sam be mister Ninja Photographer for the day. He had waaaay too much doing that. 

Annnnd here's our Baywatch photo. 

Christina and I rolled in the pink powder while Angelica had half a box dumped on her. The perks of being last!

I pretty much look like a zombie coming out of the blue fog. Creeeeepy.

Here's our after photo:

 We even got a picture with Parker! He the Fresno Grizzlies' mascot.

We finally made it back to the car where we were exhausted and starving.

We decided to go to Chipotle to fuel up. They didn't say anything about us eating inside, so we were happy! 

And I couldn't let Sam get away with getting at least a little color on him. HUGS!

Even with the complications and aggravations we experienced in the beginning, it was still a super fun morning. It was so fun to get out and do something different. I mean, especially since I spend most of my day in an office, at a desk, it was great to get outside.

And you know the best part? A portion of the money went toward The Ronald McDonald house. What a great thing for those families in need!

Apparently, 10,000 people were there! That's crazy! I'm hoping they come through out town again next year because when else would I get the opportunity to run throw colored corn starch, roll on the ground and act like a kid again.