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.

PPOTW: Facebook Grammar

It Drives Me Crazy When People Capitalize The First Letter Of Every Word, just like I have done at the beginning of this sentence. (Get it?!)

I mean really... do you write a business letter like that? No. Ok, so then why must you update your FB statuses that way?

I really should be an English teacher. If these parents are teaching their children to write like this in their everyday lives, I will absolutely flip out when they submit their resumes to me.

But right now, I am praying my hardest that people only think that the aforementioned grammar is acceptable since it's Facebook and nothing official. (It's only public record, no big deal.)

*Fingers crossed*

movie update

Kristi and I went to see Black Swan a couple of weeks ago. I completely forgot to write about it!



This movie was as amazing as all of the reviews had said. I honestly left the movie theater thinking, "WHAT THE HECK?!" After the movie, I found out that this movie was based on a book. Had I known that prior, you know I would have had to wait to see the movie until I read the book. I'm so glad I saw this in the theater! If you're wondering what all the hype is about, I beg you to see this movie. You will soon understand.

During that same movie trip, we also saw The Dilemma.



There were some funny parts but I couldn't help thinking about how long the movie was.... This sort of movie needs to be cut off around an hour and 45 minutes. I think it lasted well over two hours. But I love Vince Vaughn and Kevin James so I really did this for them.

And thennnn, this past weekend, we went to see No Strings Attached.



There were parts of this movie that had me laughing so hard that I was crying. At least I wasn't alone - Kristi was right next to me turning on the laughter. I absolutely love Natalie Portman and I honestly feel that she can portray any character. She is one of the few versatile actresses in Hollywood. And one of her best friends in this movie had me in stitches almost the entire movie - even when she was attempting to be serious. I have no idea why! Anyways, this movie is hilarious and highly recommended!

I have also swiped my Regal Crown Club card so many times that I have earned myself a free soda :) You'd think they'd at least give me a free movie ticket!

PPOTW: Girl Stares

I hate it when girls stare at me. Usually it's one of those jealous glares. And I don't get it!

I will admit that I am mildly attractive, but I don't think that I'm any more attractive than the average woman. And I sure as shit am not out to steal your boyfriend. If I wanted to have a boyfriend, trust me when I say that I could have whichever one I wanted. Mmmmmk? Thanks.

I also hate when I'm out with a guy who is my friend, and he sees/brings/meets up with another friend who is a girl. He introduces us and we get along great! But every now and then I catch her glaring at me. Like she's jealous that I'm there with him. Hello, we are not together. If you have a crush on him and want to be more than friends, then tell him! It's not my problem that you're too shy to tell him of your feelings.

I'm just out to live life and have fun while doing it. Haters gon hate.

The Queen City Escape!

Well, I am sad (and glad) to report that classes have started for the spring semester - hence my blogging absence. I am enrolled in 15 credit hours worth of classes so needless to say my free time has been sparse thus far. Most of my free time is spent figuring out the little nuances of my Mac. I haven't been able to spend as much time as I'd like with this jammer, but such is life. Other bouts of free time have been consumed with attempting to formulate some sort of normal schedule for myself. For some reason this semester is giving me a lot of trouble. And I'm really upset because I have yet to fit in a workout! But I hope to resolve that issue this weekend :) I'm also playing indoor volleyball one night a week and coaching a U6 basketball team on another night. So I guess those activities take up some time.

I did manage to find some time to scoot out of town and up to Charlotte to visit my good friend Adam. We hit up some great eat spots, socializing venues (aka bars), and even managed to catch a concert (Steel Magnolia). We also went to a great winery in the Yadkin Valley, Raffaldini Vineyards. We had such a great time and it made me realize how much I miss that kid! must...go...back...soon...

I have loved Charlotte from day 1 - when all I saw was the inside of the airport. I always said that if I moved anywhere else in North Carolina, that it would be to Charlotte. The only thing I do not like about Charlotte is that there are definitive seasons there. But if I have things to do, I don't mind being [somewhat] cold while still outside. Small sacrifice.

Why do I love Charlotte? Allow me to list just a few of the reasons:
- professional athletic teams
- multiple concert venues
- different districts around town
- a "big city" feel in a small town
- proximity to Boone, Lake Norman, etc.
- major international hub

Growing up near D.C., I'm used to the hustle and bustle of the city life. While Charlotte is no where near the size of D.C., it does offer more options and opportunities than Wilmington. It is taking all of the willpower I have to not start job hunting in Charlotte right now. Alas, I must finish schooling before I can move on and do what I want with my professional career.

At least I think that's how it's supposed to go...

PPOTW: Post-Christmas Lights

May I ask why people still have not taken their Christmas lights/decorations down from their houses? May I also remind you that it is mid-January.

I don't get it.

"The Girl..." Trilogy

I am happy to report that I have finished the Stieg Larsson trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next.

All in all I believe it took me about 3 weeks to read all 3 books. (That brings the total book count during this break from classes to 6 novels, for those of you who were wondering.)

While each nove was nearly 600 pages, it certainly didn't seem that way. Each novel flowed very well and had excellent character development. Even though these were translated from Swedish, the reader did not get lost in translation.

I'm anxious to see the Swedish film version of this book! I'm hoping that the gore and complexity of the first book really shine through in the movie. A U.S. version is also in the works. I believe they have cast all of the characters but I haven't really looked into it. I fear that the U.S. version of the movie will leave a lot of the "violent" scenes out of the final version so as to appeal to a wider audience.

I can only hope that the movie(s) are as great as the books. If tradition continues, however, the books will be 100x better than the movie(s).

Sigh.

Old Man Winter

Apparently we're supposed to get hit with some winter weather on Monday. Most roads in town were pre-treated on Saturday morning; schools in the tri-county area were cancelled for Monday on Sunday around 2 p.m.; my campus announced office closings for Monday on Sunday around 8 p.m. A state agency closed!? What is the world coming to?!

Now, what are the chances that Wilmington will actually see this "weather"? I say 50/50. I don't think that I'll see anything since I live at the beach, but in town there may be some sleet/ice that shows face. Regardless, I don't plan on leaving the house on Monday. Since a Monday off is essentially an extension of the weekend, I plan to continue my weekend tradition of not leaving the house.

But if y'all do hit the roads on Monday and Tuesday, please be careful!

The Fuzzy Peach

For those of you with a sweet tooth, I recommend visiting The Fuzzy Peach in Wilmington, NC. They usually have 6 flavors of frozen yogurt and dozens of toppings to choose from. Toppings range from cereal to brownies and cake to skittles and M&M's. They also provide an excellent selection of fresh cut fruit as toppings.

The original location opened near campus a little over a year ago. The Porter's Neck location opens in February of this year. According to the website, 2 additional stores will open downtown and in Monkey Junction.

I can have FroYo no matter where I am in town!

2011 - What up!?

Happy 2011, y'all!

I hope that you all had a merry NYE celebration and were able to spend time with your loved ones. If you don't enjoy spending time with your loved ones, then I hope you did something else that you do enjoy!

My obsession with trilogy by Stieg Larsson has continued into 2011. I just started the third and final book on Monday; it only took me a week to read through the other two. Please note that all books are around 600 pages long.

As was the case in 2010, my suitcase still has this habit of throwing up all over my room. But I did ring in the new year with a complete house cleaning - literally ceiling to floor. I feel much better about life!

Now if only I could snap my fingers like Mary Poppins to make my clothes jump into my closet, I'd be set!

It's a techy Christmas!

Apparently my family thinks that I'm technologically savvy. It's not that I'm not TS, but I'm definitely not in the top percentile for TS performance if you know what I mean.

Most of my Christmas gifts involved technology - a MacBook Pro, Kindle, and Sony Blu-Ray/DVD player. Of course, I immediately became obsessed with all 3 devices.

The monstrous snowstorm that was supposed to hit the NE narrowly escaped my parents house. We only got about 2 inches, compared to the foot they were predicting the night before. THANK GOD!

Since my parents live in the middle of nowhere, I had little time to play with my technologic instruments. I did, however, have time to read 2-600 page books. I am ob-sessed with the trilogy by Stieg Larsson. (He is the author who wrote Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, etc.)

I hope you all had a great holiday with your families!