As Promised.....

I must share with everyone: this weekend Matt cooked for me.

Okay, okay, I use that term loosely. So, I arrive at the Fort Friday night with my Subway value meal in hand, knowing good and well not too expect more than a jar of peanut butter and possibly a can of tuna sitting in Matt's fridge. Much to my suprise, Matt whisks my dinner away and says he is going to make me the most amazing sandwhich in the world. I wont lie: The first image that flashed through my mind was the time I left Matt in charge of a box of Tuna Helper. In short, that meal was a natural disaster on so many levels; the main level being that it contained no tuna. Eventually, Matt emerged from the kitchen (as I was not allowed to peek) with a sandwish that looked much like the one you see before you: the bread was toasted, the deli sliced turkey breast was delicatly folded, the lettuce was crisp, the tomato was thinly sliced, the cheddar cheese was Cracker Barrel, and there was a secret sauce so close to McAllister's honey mustard that I could have cried! AND he even cut it down the middle and served it with a pickle spear on the side; a pickle spear, people! I was impressed. I never doubted him...not even for a second.

So it's time to say 'good-bye'....

Ya'll! I think this is it. The computer is on it's last leg. Go ahead and pay your last respects. I turned the computer on today, and it said something along the lines of "...Operating System could not be found...dumping internal memory...BIOs...fatal error..." I don't know if this means anything to you, but to me that has "MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" written all over it.

Have I intorduced you to my baby cat, Lucy? She is the love of my life! Today she had to go to the vet for her one year booster shots (my baby is growing up.....*tear*) I will admit though, the animal clinic was nothing short of INSANITY today. There were dogs running off their leashes all over the waiting room. And this one pooch was HUGE and slobery, and when he got a whiff of my sweet little Lucy, he lunged on his leash and knocked over two folding chairs trying to get at her. We were both a little scared. Luckily, Lucy was called next, so we didn't have to sit next to Cujo too much longer. There was some moaning and groaning and hissing on Lucy's part, but other than that the vet said she did very well.

Another Lazy Thursday Night

Whew! It has been a long week and my feet need a beer!

1. It has been a long week of standardized testing at school. No fun at all. Remember the days of bubbling in all your student information? Well, apparently nowadays students are not competent enough to bubble in that information themselves. Which means this is my new job: looking up and bubbling in student information on over 300 test documents.

2. Sad story: So today at school, the police came and arrested one of our students. It was so sad seeing him handcuffed and led out to a police car. And the thing is--he is SUCH a nice guy. So polite and respectful. Totally did not expect that from him. I think sometimes I am too naive for my own good.

3. So I got my phone bill this month and WOW!!! Fiona, remember how I called you that one night because I was so bored and all alone? Well, you cost 90 cents a minute. Hahaha! Don't feel bad. I don't mind at all because you are soooo worth it! Now for all of you others out there... I want you to sit and think: are YOU worth 90 cents a minute?? Well, I know one thing is for sure: if you dont start returning my calls (mom....dad....matthew) none of you will be worth free night and weekend minutes! Think about it, people, think about it....

4. And another thing: Who knew LOST was going to be a re-run last night?! I don't recall being asked if that was okay!!! There it was 8 o'clock on a Wednesday night, and I had nothing to live for, so I went to bed early.

It's Official!

T-MINUS 49 DAYS UNTIL FIONA AND I GRACE THE GREAT STATE OF CALIFORNIA! How exciting! The plans are final. I am very excited about wine country. Just look how gorgeous it is! I promise to send you a post card if you promise to send me your address...

Writing the Short Story

So today was the first day of my creative writing class at the community college. I love it. It is monday nights and there are only like 8 people in the class, which makes it very comfortable when it comes to workshopping your writing. The goal of this class is to begin to develop a strong short story through a series of writing exercises and techniques. Each week we learn a new elemt to the short story. This week: brainstorming; next week: character development. I'm excited. And since all great fiction is inspired by real life events, it is very likely that all of you, my friends, will have some roll in my story. There are the sorority sisters, there are the St. Joe kids with whom I spent the better part of my formative years, and a rare few that I have known since third grade at St. Therese, and then there is Matt and the wily gang of boys I met though him and who are an entirely different breed in and of themselves. So all of you should think of what you want your character's name to be. Once this becomes a New York Times Bestseller, my publicist will probably insist that I change your names to protect the innocent...or in some cases, the not-so-innocent.


So please think long and hard and then post a comment. Now I must go to bed. Tomorrow begins AIMS testing and the second day of what promises to be one of the most grueling weeks of my life. I made a grown man cry today--but that is another story all together....

Road Trip...

Fiona and I have decided to go to San Francisco! The second week in December we are going to meet in the middle and spend a few days exploring the city: Chinatown, cable cars, Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Warf, and defaintly a day trip to Wine County is in order. I spent the better part of my day in the Barnes and Noble travel section reading up on the San Fran attractions. I am so excited! Its only about 6 weeks away, so there is alot of planning to do. If anyone has been to San Francisco, I would love any inside tips on where to go or what to see.

Dinner For One...

Guy at the Deli counter: Hi! would you like to try our five piece special? You can get two all white meat chicken breasts, a thigh, two drumsticks, and a biscut for $5.99.

Single White Female: No thanks. I'll just take one chicken breast and a biscut.

Guy at the deli counter: Yes, but for just $1.79 more you can get two all white meat chicken breasts, a thigh, two drumsticks, and a biscut for the low-low price of just $5.99.

Single White Female: I DON'T NEED THE FIVE PIECE MEAL!! I LIVE BY MYSELF! I EAT MY DINNER STANDING OVER THE KITCHEN SINK! I DON'T WANT ALL THIS EXTRA MEAT JUST HANING AROUND!!!

That comes from the movie Must Love Dogs, and I feel it sums up my life. So I am tired of making meals out of TV dinners, boxed pastas, and sandwhiches. Today I go to the grocery store thinking "mmmm...pork tenderloin and vegtables sounds really yummy." And much to my dismay, apparently the meat department finds it necessary to package all their meats in packages of like 4 -6 pieces. What happened to dinner for two? or even just one? Is it too much to ask? This is why, when i do cook, I end up eating the same damn thing for weeks on end. I mean, a girl can only eat the same thing for so long before she never wants to eat it again....ever!

This makes me look and my mom and go "WOOOOOOW! How did that woman manage to put a distinctly differnt meal on the table every night of the week?" Which brings me to my NEXT topic:

I cannot WAIT to go home and have someone else cook for me. I want 1) beef stew and cornbread 2) lasanga and french bread 3) BBQ and cole slaw and baked beans.

MISSING...

I am not quite sure how to say this, so I'm just going to come right out with it: I have officially lost my favorite lip gloss. It is the Tutti Dolci brand from Bath and Body Works. It was the best color ever! And it smelled and tasted like chocolate. I repeat: CHOCOLATE, people! I mean, you might think you can find a better lip gloss out there, but I asure you, you will die trying. And I know you all are thinking the same thing: "Suck it up and buy another one, Marie. Hello! You are living the high life with a teacher's salary." But really folks, it has been discontinued. They have all new flavors this year.

The Results Are In!

Hey there fans!

Sorry I havent been updating regularly, but work has really been keeping me busy. I wish I could say that I have some exciting stories to share, but nothing much. Teacher evaluations went out last week (this is where the students evaluate the teacher's preformance) Over all, the charts and graphs said I did very well. A few of the "constructive comments": 1.Ms. Harkins is very pretty. 2.Ms. Harkins is f-ing awesome and deserves a raise. (This student will get A's forever) 3. Mr. Lee, Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Bonati are pimps! Ms. Harkins is a pimpet! 4. Ms. Harkins is rude and has a stick up her butt.

Well, three out of four isnt bad.....

Trading Spaces

So maybe Matt and I have been watching too much TLC: Trading Spaces. This past weekend, Matt had the itch to rearrange my apartment. It was fun, and now my place is very cozy. I finally have curtains in my bedroom--something I have wanted since I moved in. And there is some new art and fake flowers in the living room--lovely!

Here are the before and afters:

Living room before....(I don't ever remember seeing it so CLEAN!)



After...



And the most dramatic makeover: the bedroom.

Before....



And after....




*pause for a round of applause*

The last thing I think I will do is get a new bedspead--maybe a red to match the curtains. However, now that I look at those old pictures of my apartment when I first moved in, I am baffled at how much stuff I have accumulated in the year I have been here. Like seriously, where did it all come from? I moved out here with just a Camry full of the esentials, and now.....it will take a U-Haul and a garage sale to get me back home. Craziness.