Shopping Adventures with Liz

Mom drove down from Maryland and I met her in Raleigh for the weekend. Needless to say, the shopping trip was full of highlights (per usual). Here are just a few random picture memories from the trip:

I hope his armpits are warm.


Typical Raleigh attire for men.


Has anyone ever been in this store? I'm curious as to what's inside... As many of you know, I love to nap! So yes, I would love to "sleep to live."


I feel like I need one of these, as is usually the sentiment with nearly everything at Bed Bath & Beyond.


My favorite purchase of the day! 30$ booties from Nine West

PPOTW: Uneducated Athletes

(Yes, I realize that I am posting two consecutive PPOTW's. However, I just realized that we are already 3 weeks through this month and I have yet to post any PPOTW's. So, my dear lucky readers, you get them all at once!)

Allow me to provide some [but most certainly not all] background information about my athletic career...

I have been playing competitive indoor volleyball for about 20 years now. (Where I'm from, they start us young!) I have been coaching all levels of competitive indoor volleyball for close to 6 years. When I moved back down to NC, I started playing outdoor beach volleyball - so that's about 4 years I've been playing of competitive beach.

Now, when I meet someone who has only played outdoor volleyball and it has only been for 2 years, I tend not to take them too seriously. Yes, you can learn a lot by playing outdoor. But the outdoor game is not easily translated to the indoor game, which is where I met said person.

So, when I play indoor with this nameless person mentioned in the above paragraph and he tries to tell me how to play volleyball or whispers smartass remarks under his breath, I pretty much want to massacre him on the court with my bare hands.

1. I do not appreciate it when people of a lesser caliber attempt to coach me.
2. If you're going to say something to me, it damn well better be without an attitude.
3. No one on the team likes you because it's always all about you. Get over yourself.

Someone please explain to me how a guy who is much younger than I and who has only played outdoor for a couple of years, can possibly know more about indoor volleyball than a nationally certified coach who has been playing for over 20.

When you figure out that answer, please pass it along to me. Thanks.

PPOTW: System Maintenance

I understand that all systems require maintenance, especially these days given that everything is technologically related. What I don't understand, however, is why some system administrators insist on performing this system maintenance during normal operating hours.

I understand that these people probably work the same hours that I do. But you think that they could come in an hour early or stay an hour later or HEY! maybe even have an automatic maintenance update installed so that everything takes place in the middle of the night when no one is working.

The Big Bang Theory

Last year, I gained a new tv show addiction: The Big Bang Theory.


I was at my parents for a visit for an extended period of time and one of the local stations happened to be showing a marathon of TBBT, which also happens to be one of my mother's favorite shows. Since it was a weekend and there was nothing better to do in that po-dunk town, mom and I took to conquering the marathon on the tube.

This show makes me audibly laugh almost the entire time! Just when I think I've recovered from laughing at one line, someone says something else that's even funnier. I'd like to meet the writers for this show.

I can't decide who my favorite character is though. Sheldon probably has the best one-liners but I also like Penny because she is the only girl in a sea of dorky men.

C'mon

Need a new workout song? Try this one by Busta Rhymes & Co. It's got a great beat and could really keep your blood pumping!

On a side note, who knew that Busta was still busting out rhymes?!

Happy Heart Day!

Not only is today Monday, but it is also Valentine's Day! I hope that makes your Monday slightly more bearable. And if not, then just eat your feelings in the form of those individually packaged candies inside of the giant red heart shaped boxes that seem to be growing out of the ground such as these:

The Social Network

I realized over the weekend that I was probably the last 20-something I know who had not yet seen The Social Network. So I watched it.



I must say that I was quite impressed with the whole movie. (I'm not sure how accurately the story was told, although it must have some truth to it if it was endorsed by Mark Zuckerberg.) I had done zero research into the historical facts behind Facebook and its founders so this was an educational piece in my eyes.

I would also like to know if MZ is really worth billions of dollars. Is that in tangible assets or intangible assets? I'm thinking the latter.

Anyways, I thought the acting was phenomenal. And Andrew Garfield accurately resembles my best friend Cassie's boyfriend, Mark. I think Mark needs to collect royalties for Andrew stealing his looks!

Wait... you mean it's not 5 o'clock yet?!

I know that it's 5 o'clock somewhere, but I would really like for it to be 5 o'clock where I am. Right now.

On that note, I would like one of these straws for my bottle of wine:



Or perhaps some sort of wine bottle sippy top so that I can easily drink out of the bottle without requiring the use of a glass. Who drinks just one glass of wine anyways?!

Snowboarding Adventures

This past weekend, Kristi and I went snowboarding at Sugar Mountain Resort near Boone, NC. Kristi's birthday was on Friday so this was our attempt at celebrating it. She had been sick all week and I was starting to feel bad towards the end of the week, but we muscled through it!

We both left work early on Friday and made the trek over to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The weather was disgusting the entire time - cold and rainy - which meant that people were driving even more erratically than normal. I saved us from getting in one accident on the way there. Kristi was impressed while I was just seething with anger.

Anyways, we got there around 9 pm and were starving so decided to eat at Woodlands BBQ. That restaurant served THE best pulled chicken BBQ that I have ever tasted in my entire life! We both got a "tray" that came with slaw and hush puppies - and it only cost 5$. I mean really... I could eat there 3 meals a day! They sold bottles of their sauce and I'm really kicking myself for not purchasing one.

The next day, the weather was still iffy so we decided to go shopping in the downtown area of Blowing Rock. We also had to search for ski pants because... ding ding! I left mine at home. (They were anxiously awaiting my return on my bed.) There was a Tanger Outlet Mall conveniently located about a mile from our hotel so you know I had to stop in and say hello. We got a couple of good deals but didn't go too crazy.

Once the weather cleared, we headed up the mountain to ice skate and to go tubing. It was cold but so much fun! Kristi and I would hook our two tubes together and one of the workers would fling us down the hill. We spun 39448 times and laughed until we cried. I think Kristi's tears actually froze to her face. We are far too old to have that much fun :)

On Sunday, we were finally able to hit the slopes! By the time we packed the truck and checked out of the hotel, it was around 11. I think we got to the slopes around 11:30. We decided to wait another 30 minutes and purchase a half day lift ticket. That gave me time to find a pair of sunglasses in the gift shop and check out the cafe. Once we purchased our tickets and got all of our gear, we were off! To the bunny slopes.

First off, we were wearing far too much clothing for this adventure. The high that day was 45 and I felt like my body was on fire. I ended up stripping down to just a t-shirt and ski pants before the day was over.

Secondly, whoever told me that snowboarding was hard has lost their mind. I don't know if it's because I'm athletic and pick things up easily, or if it's because I'm awesome at pretty much everything I do, but this challenge proved easy. That's not to say I'm a master - I could definitely use more practice. But I picked it up far faster than anyone else I know. Aside from Kristi.

Kristi tried skiing once and hated it. I, however, grew up skiing and love it. It was a bit of an adjustment for me to get used to moving my legs as one unit; Kristi knew no different so she had no obstacles to overcome.

We started off by keeping one foot loose and the other strapped into the board. This was fine for about 10 minutes. It's much easier to learn with both feet strapped in. We had watched one YouTube video about how to stop and that was all we needed! We figured out how to turn and all that jazz on our own.

By the time our ticket expired and we got back to the truck, my knees were swollen and I was super tired. We decided we needed to eat before the drive so we stopped at a sushi restaurant we had seen advertised on some billboards. Everything was going fine until we realized that it was 6 pm and we hadn't received our bill yet. Apparently the computer system was down so they had to manually add our tabs. By the time I finished arguing with the waitress about how and why I didn't feel comfortable leaving them with my credit card number on a piece of paper for all the world to see, it was 7 pm. The manager finally gave me the ok to write a check. So I did and we were on our way. (I can't tell you how close I was to walking out without paying. We were so irritated!) Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home around 11.

But, all in all, it was a successful trip! We plan to go again soon. And when I say soon, I mean in like 3 weeks.

The Month of Tiffany

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the famed event that takes place during the entire month of February, allow me to fill you in.

And no, I am not speaking of Black History Month.

I, of course, am speaking about The Month of Tiffany. aka February. aka my birthday month. That's right, I've devoted an entire month to celebrating ME! (I would choose an entire year but then others would not get to share in the spotlight and if I'm anything, it's a sharer.)

I feel that celebrating myself for an entire month is completely acceptable. Not only is February the shortest month of the year, but it is also usually the coldest. So I've really helped in jazzing up the month. We all need a reason to celebrate for 28 days and I for one am growing tired of celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks (although they have both made significant contributions to our country). I just needed a change of pace, dammit!

I can't remember when I instituted The Month of Tiffany. All I can remember is that it was one of the best ideas that I've ever had.

What would make it even better though is if someone were to give me a little gift every day of the month! A painting, candy, flowers, movie tickets, dinner... anything, really. I'm easily entertained. I'll even accept a hand made card. You all have 27 more days to come up with fabulous gifts. I will also accept jewels, vacations, houses, and automobiles. There is no price cap on these gifts. So go crazy!

Let me know if you need my mailing address.