/sigh
April 14, 2014 – actively snowing with accumulation. FML
Saying Goodbye
Turned in the Audi today for lease end. I will miss that car – it was absolutely fantastic. I have never enjoyed a car as much as I did the Audi. I’ve had other luxury cars but none that were as fun to drive or got as many compliments. It may look understated but there was a lot of power – smooth power – in that car. You know they don’t just throw the 4-rings on anything…
But its time to turn a new page! There are a lot of other cars in the world and exciting advancements coming out ever day. I love cars and can’t wait to see what the next adventure brings. I am sure I will get another Audi in the future, but I don’t know if I will love it as much as this one!
Gallery of when I got the car:
A stuning episode of Cosmos
I am a bit behind on the new episodes of Cosmos and took some time to catch up this weekend. Episode 2 is one of the best presentations of evolution, mass extinction, and life that I have seen. It is clear, concise, and factual and (I think) a much watch. This is the type of things we should be use to educate children.
Check Out Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey: Some of the Things That Molecules Do on Hulu
Can’t wait for summer!
Birthday Week 2014
Last week I turned 35 – whoo-hoo! It was an awesome week. I ate junk food, I got presents, I did what I wanted! I have been celebrating Birthday Week for as long as I can remember but this by far was the best one yet.
On my birthday-birthday, The Other got me a Starbucks chai for breakfast. We then went out to Bulldog’s (A local burger joint) for lunch. It was good – my new second favorite local burger joint :). We then went to Cacao Sweets and Treats for a smores bar – which is literally what I think heaven tastes like! (check them out!: www.cacaosweetsandtreats.com) The Other and I made our way down to the local game shop where he bought me a Unicorn figure. This was an ultimate gesture of love since The Other is team pegasus. Love knows no bounds…
My family and birthday-buddy were all variously out of town on my actual birthday so we celebrated on Saturday by going to Medieval Times. I dressed up like the princess I am and had a wonderful time! Our knight didn’t win, but I was asked to pose with a little girl for a picture – so yay ego boost!
We were generally rowdy and misbehaved but we had fun and that’s all that counts. Can’t wait for next year!
)
Celebration Day!
“The Other” and I love an excuse to celebrate. We celebrate good days, bad days, and days where nothing happened. We are always buying each other little gifts and treats so although we don’t celebrate “Valentine’s Day” in the traditional sense, we do use it as an excuse for a celebration! This year I think we did pretty good for each other:
Backpack Tote from Love41. This is absolutly amazing and will last for a million years. I will probably do a separate post on this awesome company.
A chocolate box with chocolate pretzels inside! The Other wants all future storage containers in our house to be made of chocolate.
Dinosaur planters – they are real plants!
Deep fried peanuts – surprisingly delicious! (but what deep fried thing isn’t delicious…)
Some gifts for the kitties!
Brutus asks “Won’t you be my Valentine?”
Remember the Patriot Act
With the recent Sandy Hook shooting, there has been an increased call for gun control laws. Items such as the assault weapon ban, closing the gun show loophole, and magazine capacity limits are all back on the table. I will not try to argue that what happened at Sandy Hook wasn’t horrible – it was. It is made worse for many people by the fact that so many children were killed.
However we should not allow our outrage, shock and anger to have us make rash decisions.
In the wake of the 9/11 attack, many people – myself included – wanted a solution in terms of legislation. Something that would prevent such an attack from ever happening again regardless of how it affected my life. I admit that I was willing to give up some of my freedoms so that we could catch and punish the terrorists. After all – I wasn’t a terrorist so what did I have to fear?
Sadly, the effects of the Patriot Act do affect me and now there is no going back. I must provide proof of innocence when applying for a mortgage, I must go through x-rays machines at the airport, I must have my email/phone communications monitored. The government uses the Patriot Act as an excuse to harass good Americans but how much has it actually helped to stop terrorism?
Violence is a problem – but before we pass sweeping gun control legislation that turns honest Americans into suspects and criminals we need to step back, take a breath and think rationally. Any decision we make in anger will be the wrong one.
Fashion Forward
Last night I attended Fashion Forward at Northbrook Court. It consisted of a silent auction, live auction and fashion show – plus lots of edible goodies and drinks. All the proceeds went to various charities.
It was a lot of fun. The fashion show wasn’t crazy like Fashion Week but showed actual outfits you could wear from stores in the mall. For the live auction volunteers from the charities would walk the runway wearing outfits from a specific store in the mall and you would bid on a gift certificate to that store. The gift certificates were all in the $350 – $400 range. I bid on Tommy Bahama and White House/Black Market but lost both to higher bidders.
I also bid on a silent auction from Burberry which was a scarf and a $200 gift certificate. I lost that as well but my cousin bid on a Sephora silent auction with a bunch of products from their store and won!
There was also small bites from Whole Foods. I tried some of the Hors d’vours and they were ok but for dessert they had an assortment of mini-tarlets which were totally delicious. I liked the Key Lime Pie one the best. Whole Foods does such a good job with their tartlets I recommend you try them if you haven’t already. There was also coffee and tea from Corner Bakery as well as an open bar.
By far the best thing at the bar was the signature drink called “Glittering in Gold” It was a mix of Goldschlager and Apple Cider mixed together than topped off with Champagne. It tasted like cinnamon apple sauce and was absolutely amazing! I intend on serving these during Thanksgiving – they were that good.
All in all it was a fun night and if they have a similar event next year I will definitely go back.
Trick or Treat!
It’s that time of year again….
Thank you….
The holiday season for 2010 is done and I am left reflecting on something I never gave much thought before – Thank You Cards. That’s not to say I don’t thank people for my gifts but I don’t know if I ever wrote formal notes. I still don’t now. More importantly, when I was younger, if someone wasn’t in the vicinity when I opened my gift, I wouldn’t say thank you at all.
I remember once when I was younger being scolded for not sending a thank you note to one of my relatives. I was told that if I didn’t start sending thank yous I would stop receiving gifts. After that, fear of being cut off made me to be sure to thank the giver in some manner, although I still saw it as a bit of a unnecessary endeavor.
However, the older I get the more I identify with the tyrannical rule of my elders.
These last few years I have become more and more disgruntled at people who do not acknowledge the gifts I send them. I am not expecting a handwritten note or anything so formal. A text, facebook IM, phone call, email, or any of the other many means of communication would be fine.
I find it interesting that I am now annoyed by the very thing I used to do. Is it because I am older now and see the error of my ways? Is it a biological clock thing? Is it just turning into a crotchety old lady?
After sending a gift and hearing nothing back, my first concern is that you didn’t get the gift at all. The second thought is more selfish – did you like it? Wasn’t it great?
If you didn’t like it that’s ok, but I am still hurt when I don’t hear back. I feel like you don’t like me personally. That your dislike of the gift is a mirror of what you feel toward me. I wonder if my relative felt the same way?
This isn’t just from individuals either, I have donated to many nonprofit organizations both big and small. Some will send a thank you note or email while others just ignore me. I’d like to think the money I give your cause is going to something special – even if I know logically its going into a big fund. I like to receive thank you notes detailing all the items my money will be used for or just thanking me in general for supporting the cause.
This may be selfish, and reading it back it definitely comes off that way. I’m not looking for a gift back, all I’m really looking for is a “Got the gift, thanks!” I think we all want to be recognized for the things we do and as much as I try to fight against it I too need that recognition. I find it interesting that I need something so primal, and I do try to work against it. I mean, in reality I do not know the other side of the story about why thanks wasn’t sent – I am too busy focus on myself and the irrational perception that I have somehow been wronged.
In the end I realize that what I feel is irrational emotion so I don’t act on it. I will not stop sending gifts nor will I require a thank you. I think it’s important to examine our knee-jerk reactions to see how we can better ourselves. Sometimes just looking at something under the microscope highlights just how silly it is.
But what do you guys think? Do you feel bad when you don’t get a thank you note? Does it change how you interact with those people/organization?
Recent Comments