things i like 2

• Chocolate pudding with marshmellows. It makes me feel like I'm 8.
• Being accepted to grad school.
• Knowing that I am loved.
• Long talks with old friends.
• Remembering that said friends are just a phone call away and that a call can cure loneliness.
• Knowing that people are proud of me.
• Cooking dinner (tonight chicken and green beans).
• Eating Chinese food from Hyvee with my boyfriend. The crab rangoon was pretty good.
• Watching Gilmore Girls. I can't help it. I love it so much.
• Pineapple rum.
• Pink nail polish.
• Good bargains.
• Being accepted to grad school.
• And did I mention pineapple rum?
  

the lottery or grad school

Well apparently my message sounded a little excited. I found out today I got accepted to the grad school program of my choice. I filled out my FAFSA and tomorrow after I mail my first $100 to them it will all be official. I can't believe it! Five years ago if you had asked me about grad school I would have said no way. And now I'm so excited about it. A little terrified, but I know I can do it.

I went shopping yesterday. Ug. Sometimes shopping makes me absolutely crazy. Yesterday was one of those days. I should never go to Bass Pro by myself, it makes me super grumpy. But I redeemed the day with a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond. I loooove Bed Bath and Beyond. I bought 2 fantastic things I am so excited about. I bought this:
It's now hanging inside the cabinet under my sink and holds a few plastic bags. I try not to get plastic bags at Wal-Mart and what not but sometimes you can't help it. And I always use them as a bag for the trash can in the bathroom. I feel less bad about getting them if I reuse them. I took a ton back to Wal-Mart to recycle the other day. I usually use these charming green Walgreens shopping bags my sister gave me. I always feel like a goober carrying them into the store but at least I'm doing my part I guess.

I also bought 2 of these. Yeah, I know, I'm like a 70 year old woman.
Only my are filled with Busch Light and Sam's Choice Cola. Neither beverage is mine, they just live in my fridge and I figured they might as well be organized. So now I'm very happy when I open my fridge and see nice rows of cans instead of a half empty Busch Light box and cans of soda in the case in the dining room.

Even though it replaced Life on Mars (and I'm kind of pissed it went off air) I've been watching The Unusuals. And it's been driving me crazy. The chief, or whatever his official title is, was so familiar. I knew he was from something else I'd seen. Um, he's the dad from Save the Last Dance. Oh yes, if you are in your mid 20s you know exactly what I am talking about. I was so glad to solve that mystery. Ridiculous, yes. And that's why I'm going back to school, so I can think about education instead of pop culture trivia.

laundry: how to

I learned a laundry lesson long ago from my high school speech coach. Sometimes us busty gals have problems finding t-shirts that fit right. If you wash a shirt and while it is wet, turn it upside down and stand in the shirt, you can stretch it with your legs and it will stretch evenly. Then air dry and perfection!

So I bought a little boys Royals shirt to wear to the game tonight and well, it didn't quite fit right and I grew disgusted in the quest for a good Royals shirt so I did the trick above. And now I'm drying it hillbilly style. I have to leave for work soon and obviously did not want to put it in the drier because it would shrink back up. So my shirt is laying on the bench on my porch with a fan pointed at it. It's working but it's a little.... well, you know. I wouldn't want anyone to catch me doing it.

things I like

• Spring that actually feels like spring
• Wearing flip flops
• Good hair days
• Driving with my windows down and the radio blasting
• Naps
• Healthy food that tastes good
• Diet Cherry 7Up
• Going to the lake
• Pens that write in pretty colors
• Being organized
• My new dining room painting (I made it myself!)
• The new bench I bought for the porch (hopefully)
• Standing barefoot outside
• Drinks that come with little umbrellas
• Talking about going on vacation with friends (even though we most likely won't go)
• Planning real trips
• Going to Target
• Getting home from work when it's still light out
• Pretty nail polish
• Bubble baths

being domestic

So you may have already figured out I seriously love being domestic. I love making a delicious dinner. I love having things put away, all neat and organized. I love making my place look pretty. I don't even mind terribly doing laundry or dishes. I love the end result.

Over the weekend I learned how to make my mom's potato salad. It was a big hit. And now I have a new appreciation. Everytime I thought I was done she would remind me of something else that needed to go in. It was frustrating but delicious. All of the leftovers at my house have been eaten (I think I got 2 forkfuls....)
Potato Salad:
6 potatoes (or so, depends on how many you're feeding)
4 boiled eggs
Onion
Relish
Cheese (we use Velveeta)
Mayo
Mustard
Salt
Add ingredients until it looks right.

Oh yes, these were the instructions I really got. And that is really how you make it. It's totally by how it looks and not exact measurements. Because well, potatoes are not specific sizes. It's very frustrating to me because I really like exact recipes. I like things to be black and white. Very organized, very precise. I'm working on it.

it tastes like being 6

Remember those weird little marshmallow eggs that were always in your easter basket. The individually wrapped ones with the colorful shell type thing. I ate one today. And it tasted just like being 6 years old. I felt like I should be wearing my new Easter dress and swinging my feet in white patent shoes with lacy socks. That egg was still the combination of delicious and disgusting. I wanted to eat the whole bag.

So I've been organizing my closet. If you're keeping record, I moved into my apartment approximately 2 months ago and yes, I'm already reorganizing things. It seems when I was trying to dress for my aunt's funeral, my closet exploded while I was trying to find clothes that didn't suck. So now I'm working on putting it back to rights and making it more accessible. I know, it's gigantic, this should be easy. Closets have always been a struggle for me. My closet has always been secretly kind of messy. Usually my shoes specifically. I've gotten the shoes conquered, now I'm working on everything else. The main problem now seems to be not piling things on the drawers at the back of the closet.

Last night I did massive amounts of laundry. But guess what, I forgot an entire basket of clothes that were just chilling in my closet. Arg. Who does that? Me apparently.

Right now I want to kick hotmail in the throat. For some ridiculous reason, I cannot log into my email. It says I don't have an inbox. Seriously?! I have had this same email for years. Why does it now all of a sudden decide not to work. Stupid Microsoft.

I better finish up the closet and go to bed.

mushrooms

So I hate mushrooms. I always just thought I kind of didn't like them, but last night I realized how much I do not like them. If I can, I always order something without mushrooms, if it comes with mushrooms, I ask for them to be left out. I thought maybe they taste okay but the texture is so absolutely disgusting that I could not do it.

Well last night I was making Todd pizza for dinner. Pepperoni and mushroom because I am fabulous like that. I always fry up the pepperoni and drain the grease so the pizza isn't all ooky. Then I got the brilliant idea to saute the mushrooms in the pepperoni grease. Great idea, not so healthy, but I heard it turned out tasty. So as I was cooking mushrooms, the smell hit me. Absolutely disgusting. I mean, yuck!

I think the pizza turned out well though. And the mushroom stench did not ruin my skillet. My fried egg sandwich today didn't taste the least bit mushroomy.

Where is spring this year? About a month ago it felt truly like spring and then it did a disappearing act. Is it like this everywhere? Or just in stupid Kansas? I think this week is supposed to be warm-ish and I am so excited. I want to pull out the flip flops. I want to go lay in the tanning bed so I'll look like I've had real sun (of course I won't because I have no money and I don't want skin cancer). I'm ready for the lake and fishing and flip flops and the smell of sun screen. I'm ready to have my big sunglasses laughed at and to fight my unmanageable hair in the humidity. C'mon spring, get here all ready. You are so late for the party. Past fashionably late, now you're just being an a-hole, it's mid-April for gosh sake.

april fools

Did I ever mention I hate April Fools day? I think it's about the dumbest most made up day ever. If I were industrious I would research its history. But I just don't care that much. I just don't like it.

Instead I should be loading the dishwasher, washing jeans, straightening my hair, doing sit-ups, putting lotion on my skin (which may be the driest in the world) and doing a little victory dance for getting my taxes done (damn turbo tax charged me like $60, I'm fairly confident I could've paid a real person that much to do them for me).

I am doing none of those things. I'm sitting around in fuzzy slippers listening to Hank Williams on my Pandora. Yes, I am slightly addicted to Pandora. If I am home by myself and not watching embarassingly lame tv shows, I am listening to Pandora.

making..... pancakes

I made pancakes for.... we'll call it lunch. I refuse to use the term brunch. I just don't like it. I'm not really very good at making pancakes so I always pull out Betty Crocker. So as I flipped to the pancake recipe, I noticed ham pancakes. Oh yes, you read right, ham pancakes. Apparently you dice up ham and throw it right in the pancake batter. Weird! My boyfriend thought that seemed like a brilliant idea.

The pancakes were good. Even without ham. Just a minute ago Jack Johnson's banana pancakes was on my Pandora. I honestly hate that song. For the most part, I like Jack Johnson. That song however, always makes me think of a girl I used to work with. Couldn't stand her. She once accused me of being lazy. I almost punched her in her silly little face. And that is what I always think of.

I love diet Cherry 7Up.