(The Blog Formerly Known as "Countdown to 30" and "30 is the New Twenty")

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Hunt for New Shoes




The other day I had some time to kill before work, so I decided to go look for some new shoes at DSW. I really, really, really need new shoes. Most of my flats have seen better days. Especially my black patent leather flats. I don't know why I ended up at DSW, of all places. I really hate that store. It's not so much the merch that they sell, it's the horrible warehouse arrangement of the store. I really have to be in the right mood to wander aimlessly down the aisles. I also think it's better to not have a specific shoe that you're looking for. Well, Sunday was not the day for the DSW wander. After going down three aisles, I'd had it. I was crabby at the selection of shoes. The white trash customers were really getting on my nerves and the sales people were equally annoying. I went to look at the sales shoes. I found the Steve Madden flats that I'd been wanting: cute grey ballet flats with purple polka dots. And they were only $23.00. I talked myself out of them. Seriously, I don't need another crazy pair of shoes. I have plenty of those. I really wanted something unique and I knew I wouldn't find it in DSW. I left in a really crabby mood.
I went into Urban Outfitters to do a little comp shopping. I wandered back to the shoes section. I started digging through the pile of the Urban Renewal Shoes (these are vintage one of a kind shoes sold at not quite vintage prices). I tried on a pair of brown boots that were just ok. As I was putting the boots back, I found just what I had wanted for two years: cowboy boots! And they fit me perfectly. So meant to be. They were exactly what I wanted. I didn't want too country cowboy boots, because that's not me. I didn't want them to be too flashy or cheesy, either. I think that's why it took me two years to find them. And they are one of a kind. Yay! So excited to wear them. They'll be perfect with jeans or skirts or dresses. Hooray for Urban Outfitters!







Sunday, October 28, 2007

Celebrating Life and Not Death

(A tigerlily from my dad's garden. One of my mom's favorite flowers).


Today is the 10th Anniversary of my mom's death. It is amazing how it sort of just snuck up on me this year. Previous years, it's been this feeling of heaviness and depression that hits me in September and doesn't leave me until November. It honestly feels good to be past that. It's not like I don't get sad or have days where I just feel out of it, but those days seem to be fewer and far between. I have comes to terms with my mom dying. I am not bitter nor do I feel robbed of my mom. I do miss my mom everyday, but I am more at peace with what happened. It's one of those things that have made me a much stronger person. I am a lot tougher than I used to be. I try very hard not to sweat the small stuff.



I am sort of sad that my mom never got a chance to know me as a real adult. I was 19 when she died and just a quasi-adult- still sort of a teenager, but kind of an adult. I know she would've been very proud at the person that I've become. She was always proud of me no matter what I did.

She was encouraging of my crazy ideas, like the time my best friend Jenny and I wanted to turn our neighborhood into a Disney theme park. That was ok, but she drew the line when we tried to sell tickets to the neighbors. She never made fun of these schemes and she always supported my creativity. She loved to have fun and was always let me be silly. I always feel very fortunate that I was able to have 19 years with my mom. I rarely took her for granted and we always got along well. There were a couple of the typical totally teen moments. My favorite was when I didn't want to wear my boots to school. I was 12 and it was so totally uncool to be seen wearing boots in the snow! Ohmygod! If someone saw me, I would've died. I thought I was being sneaky and smart by taking my boots off at the bus stop, but my mom caught me. The bus stop was in front of our house. Duh. After that time, I learned to just take the boots off on the bus, where my mom couldn't see me. But, every kid has those moments with their mom.

Ten years later, I am glad that I can reflect back on silly things like the boots not with sadness but more of nostalgia and humor. I can celebrate my mom's life and not focus on her death.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Quote of the Day

"Not everyone is blessed with common sense."
My wise friend Jen said this today. It is so true. The older I get, more I agree with this. I used to think that common sense was well, automatic, a skill that everyone had. Now, I tend to think that those with common sense (myself included) are blessed with a special skill. In our society having common sense isn't all that common. It's a rarity.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Used Underpants= Gross


nataliedee.com


Ewwww.... I just don't understand what would possess people to purchase underwear from a thrift. store. Underwear, bras, socks, tights, and swimsuits are the items that I would NEVER, ever purchase from a thrift store. Even if I went home and sterilized them, I still would be weirded out. It might be all the years of retail and all the awful things I've seen people do to clothes that creeps me out. Yuck. Not to mention that used underwear is just nasty.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

My Favorite Part of Living in MN

You know what I enjoy the most about living in MN? The passive aggressive MN Nice. It really makes communications so much better . Can't everyone just speak their mind? Seriously.


NOTE: Just in case my sarcasm isn't coming through loud and clear, I am being sarcastic.

Friday, October 19, 2007

BURPLE!


nataliedee.com


I heart Burple! That was such a cool thing back in the 80's. I loved the sound that the plastic accordion bottle made. The juice inside? I have no idea what that tasted like...it was all about making the Burple. If I recall right, Burple didn't last too long. People must've caught on that Burple tasted just like Kool-Aid.

Grrr...

I need a vacation. A super long one.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Rip Van Winkle

I am not quite sure how this happened, but I've been getting way more sleep than I normally get. I've been averaging 11+ hours a night. It annoys me because I have stuff I need to get done before I go to work, but that doesn't seem to make me get up early. Maybe I really need it or maybe it's the weather. Whatever it is, I am tired of being Rip Van Winkle. I don't need 11 hours of sleep everyday. Once in a while, yes, not everyday. Grrr...

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Move Over, Martha

I am not Martha Stewart. I'm often seen as the anti Martha. because I am not very domestic. The first time I brought a cake I made to work, I shocked everyone. It's not that I don't like to cook, I just rarely have the time. Today I took the time to make some chili using my mom's recipe. It is seriously the best chili I have ever had. And it's so simple to make. Did I mention that there's lots of leftovers, too? That's best part.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup green pepper
2 15 oz. cans drained Kidney Beans
1 Tablespoon chili powder
dash of salt and pepper
3 cups tomato juice
Add a couple of drops of lemon juice
Dash of cinnamon

Directions
1. Brown meat and onion.
2. Add everything else. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve hot-- I like to top mine with a bit of shredded cheese and oyster crackers. It is the perfect meal for fall.

Yet Another Reason to Hate Disney

I was so sad when I found out that the Satellite Sisters are parting ways with ABC Radio. I know this might make me seem dorky, but I really enjoy listening to them. For those of you not familiar with the show, it's five sisters that talk about pretty much everything-music to movies to current events to literature to everything in between. I really like how smart and savvy they are. It's not the typical stupid chick talk. But of course, anything smart and funny doesn't last. Unfortunately, stupid chick talk prevails in our society. I know that after November 9th, I can still download the podcasts, but it won't be the same.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

So Over Summer

Where the heck is fall? I am sooooo sick of this humid weather! Seriously, I've had enough of the heat and the humidity. Ugh. I was so looking forward to a nice, crisp, fall. Not to mention, we're back to the lovely weather where you can't cook anything. This annoys me because I stocked up on soup the other day at Rainbow--they had Progresso soup 10 for 10 dollars. I think the sale is still going on today, too. Oh well, soup keeps well and I can save it for winter, I guess.