Cheap Date Night Friday

I'm aware that it is indeed Monday, but I've been busy. Cheap date night-Friday went pretty well. Colby and I hit up some more book stores in Springfield. I bought: House on Pooh Corner, Huckleberry Finn, Stellaluna, and Trump. We went to the 5.50 bin at walmart and bought the movie Basic, which is pretty good. We also took a walk around a park that we have considered getting married at next summer. Its a very pretty park with a rose garden attached. All in all a pretty perfect end to a pretty perfect cheap date night.

Oh yeah and we went to this one book store named: Book Jungle. It was SCARY. It had no windows, we walked in and there was a man sitting to our left and he spoke very very softly. Creepy. So we go into the "book jungle" Actually it was named rather well, because it was a freaking maze. It was very hard to get through on the itsy bitsy path. I felt like the farther I walked in- the farther I got away from freedom- and the closer I was to having some sort of bars slide down behind me locking me in. I was scared, but I managed to find the children's books, and Colby came around the corner and I started laughing....A nervous, I'm scared of the creepy soft spoken guy in the corner, can we go now - laugh.

Me: "heheheee?"
Colby: "Shhhh...he might kill us."
Me: " I know I'm getting that vibe too!"
Colby: "Let's go."
Me: "BUT look how freaking cheap these books are!!!"
Colby: "Sir, do you take debit cards?"

Creepy Side Show Guy: "No cash only please, or I'll be forced to grind your bones."
Colby: "Char-Marie he only takes caaassssh."
Me: "Are you Effing kidding? Look at all these books I have!" *they were stacked to my knees.*
Colby: "Aww well, some other time, let's go."
ME: "Ok.....But..."
Colby: "Let's go!"

I have a feeling that we'll never go back.

The Art of Pill Popping

I've always been a pansy when it comes to taking any sort of pill. Big pills, small pills, in between pills. Once when I was highly medicated, due to surgery, my mom came into my room with some ibuprofen. She handed me a smoothie and told me to take these pills. I proceeded to put the pills in my mouth and begin to chew. Now mind you that I was so drunk on meds to begin with that I didn't listen when she said "DON'T CHEW EM'!" Needless to say it was a horrible experience and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

Now I can't even take very very tiny pills. Here is what I recommend to help ease the pain. I walk into the kitchen grab the big bottle of apple sauce that Colby and I keep on hand and stand at the sink with it like it's a bottle of rum. I tip up the apple sauce jar and throw in the pill-one at a time is always the best route- Then normally I can't even tell I've swallowed a pill.

But...

Occasionally it back fires and I'm left in the kitchen with the apple sauce jar coughing and pounding my chest because the tiny pill, the itty bitty little thing has gotten lodged in my throat... Sometimes you never win.

Mag Pie

Another thing- Baby Maggie is scheduled to be born on next Wednesday, August 2nd.!!!! HOLY CRAP! I'm going to be an auntie very very soon!

Here's her sweet little photo. She looks just like ME! Look at those cheeks, don't you just wanna bite em'?

Thursday

Today is usually cheap date night, and I'm sorry to inform you that today will be look for a job day instead. Cheap date night has been set back until tomorrow, and it's my turn to pick what we're doing....So A little help would be awesome, cause all I can think about is finding another job!

The very hard part about finding another job is the fact that my school schedule was already made out for me with no way to change it because this semester is my last semester for classes and its block scheduling so basically the middle of the week is impossible to deal with!

Well Everything's Starting Off Ok.

Well this morning started off me stumbling out of bed, walking to the kitchen for my frosted flakes that I have EVERY morning before work. I took a big bite of frosted flakes with sour milk. Ehh. The milk said July 29th....someone lied, I'm going to find them.

Se Habla Espaniol.

Well, after careful consideration Colby and I have took a turn for places to consider for Peace Corps. We are really hoping for Latin America now. First of all you have the rain forest....That would be amazing. *I'll need lots of care packages of bug spray. The kind for really really big bugs.* Another thing to consider is Spanish. I've had 3 years of Spanish in high school, but if you don't use it you lose it. All I can really remember are all the "bad words". I'm sure some day those will come in handy. There is a guy that I work with named, Jorge, and every day I tell him to speak Spanish with me. I need to brush up.

I was in a used book store on Thursday and saw a program to learn Spanish in three months....I took Spanish for three years, and they're going to teach me to be fluent in three months? Coincidentally that's all the time you have to train for the Peace Corps as well.

A list of all the possibilities:

• Belize
  
• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
  
• Equador
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
  
• 
  

LOVE IT

I found this surfing this blog:

Irish girls are unique in their character.
They're a combination of a girl, a mother, a hooker and a nun.
They go from Bambi to Banshee in 3.7 seconds.
They can bat their eyes or blacken yours.
They can love you with a passion and make you feel like a king.
Depending on their mood, they'll chastise you for drinking, or match you pint for pint.
They keep men from killin' themselves and each other.
Incomprehensible but indispensible, those Irish girls.

Friday Installment of Cheap Date Night Thursdays

Colby and I had about our 7th cheap date night since we decided to start having it. This time it was Colby's turn to take me on cheap date night. We went to Captain D's, which is great! I haven't been to a Captain D's in a long while. For some reason it is packed with older people all the time--but we had a great time. I had chicken and fish, Colby decided on shrimp and crab cakes...Mmm. I spilt ketchup all over me because I thought I could carry 7 of those cups filled with different condiments. I love getting those cups, but I think we went a little overboard.

After our fantastic cuisine we traveled to the $2.50 movies. This particular movie theater plays the movies after they've had the 15 minutes of fame. We picked out our movie and had time to go to a used book store across town, I bought: Charlotte's Web, and Bridge to Terabithia- Both fantastic children's books. Colby bought Life's Greatest faces or something to that nature- It was only 1.00. Then after shopping the bookstore for about 40 minutes we traveled back across town to our movie: Mission Impossible 3...Good in my opinion. After the movie we came back to the apartment where I enjoyed some Tin Roof Sundae.....I love that ice cream.

Dinner: $14.00
Movie: $ 5.00
Books: $ 1.00
________
$ 20.00

Seeing the look on Colby's face when I said I was hungry again: Priceless

Four Things

Four Jobs I've had:

1. Video Dynamics. It was my first real job. Basically I worked with 5 guys renting out videos all day. I also got in my first and last tanning bed there. I fried.
2. Mazzio's Pizza. I was the best damned pizza girl ever! I had a lot of fun working at Mazzio's. It was a dirty job--huh Mark!
3. Gadzooks- Yes I worked at the mall. Ehh! Christmas in the mall is enough to make me stick my hand in a blender.
4. Wal-mart. Enough said.

Four Movies I can Watch Over and Over:

1. Wizard of Oz. I loved this movie growing up. I still love it! I'm reading the book Wicked right now about the Wicked Witch of the West and how she became so Wicked!
2. Rat Race- This is a fantastic movie, and i'm not sure why I like it so much, it just makes me laugh!
3. Boondock Saints- LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! One of my favorite movies of all time, it NEVER gets old. Plus I'm Irish, what can I say?
4. What Dreams May Come- This is a great movie, I love thinking about what it will be like up there, I hope thats how it turns out.

Four TV Shows I Love:

1. Sex and the City. My absolute all time favorite! I have every season, and Colby and I watch them religiously...Oops sorry Colb!
2. Lost. Colby and I just went out on a limb and bought the first season without knowing anything about it and its awesome!
3. A&E City Confidential.
   
4. Survivor- I would love to be on that show!

Four Dishes I Love:

1. My Mom's Lasagna- SO good. Mim you're awesome!
2. My Mom's enchiladas--Again genius Mims!
3. Mary Beth's Chicken and Baked Potatoes!- Not a Dish exactly, but sooooo gooood.
4. Colby's Spaghetti! Mmmm.
   

Four Sites I Visit Daily:

1. Google Mail
   
2. Dooce.com
3. Sweetkindoflife.com
4. Facebook.com
5. smalltowngirl44.blogspot.com

Ok so there's more than four...

Four Places I Would Love to Go:

1. New York in the fall.
2. Ireland.
3. Japan.
4. Tuscany

Four Places I Would Rather be Right Now:

1. I'm absolutely content right where I am, but if I have to choose....
2. Eating dinner in a fantastic new restaurant in NYC
3. A Broadway Show....Any show...Anywhere.
4. Traveling Europe.
   

This Post is for Jill.

The other night at work I was having to work on the cash register....Go figure. It was very busy, it was very hot. I noticed that my very first customer was a lady in her late 60's wearing: Starting from the top this lady had rollers in her hair! IN PUBLIC! Her makeup was so incredibly dark...Think Mimi from Drew Carey. She had on a tube top, cut off jean shorts--basically the shorts were just TOO short (they were right up around her wahoo), and to top off her outfit she matched gray tube socks. *Tube top/Tube socks.....ONLY IN THE 70's!* The socks were pulled all the way up and matched rather nicely with a pair of pink canvas shoes. Where's Steven Cojocaru when you need him?

The customer directly after her was an Amish woman in her 50's with HICKIES on her neck! My first thought was Wal-Mart caters to everyone. My second thought: What else would they do with no T.V, Phone, Computer?

"Oh, I'm getting DIZZY!"

This weekend Colby and I decided to be more outdoor-sy... We found out that we had a Saturday together and I told him that we could go to roaring river and go for a hike. So on a day where the news was telling everyone to stay indoors if you can, because it's going to be freaking hot, we journeyed to Roaring river to hike. When we got there we pretty much started right away. It was noon and already 90. We each grabbed a bottle of water and started our hike STRAIGHT UP- to the fire tower trail 3 1/2 miles long. Everything just gets blurry after this. The trail was literally straight up for the first half mile. then it evened out a bit, but not much. After the first big climb I had already drank half my bottle of water. So we're going along and after a while the woods really start to take its toll on me. First the bugs...THE MASSIVE BUGS! They kept dive bombing us and I'd scream and flail my arms, I knocked off my sunglasses many many times. Then the other creatures---Snakes. Colby and I saw a snake and he PICKED IT UP! I thought I was about to lose it. "Colby-Colby-Colby don't touch it! COLBY I SAID DON't TOUCH IT! Alright FINE if you get bit I'm running, and I'm not looking back!" The snake was about as big around as my little finger, and about 2 feet long. Then shortly after that we decided to walk back towards the beginning, we hadn't seen the fire tower yet, and we knew the beginning of the trail was way the hell out there. I was beginning to get claustrophobic. So we're heading back and at every rustling of the leaves my heart jumps into my throat and I have to stop and listen. It was hard to listen though because all I could really hear was my heart beating so fast. To make a long story short, we got lost. Our 3 1/2 mile hike ended up being a 7 mile hike with no water.

Colby had to put up with me: "I think I hear a bear...COLBY I think I hear a bear...." "It's a squirrel Char-Marie." "Oh." "Ewwww I just walked into a spider web."
"Ohh I feel like I'm going to hurl."
"I'm seeing spots."
" It's So HOT!"
" DAMN BUGS!"
"I don't care where we go I NEED OUT OF THE WOODS RIGHT NOW!"
"I can't breathe!"

We ended up on the highway and had to walk it for a ways. I think next time we'll just rent deliverance and call it a day.

Cheap Date Night: Part 2

So Colby and I had a delightful cheap date night. First we went to Imo's Pizza, I love the pizza there because they're cut into square pizzas..Bite Size. We sat there enjoying the atmosphere. Espn was on TV and Colb had his beer. After we were finished we decided that we would go watch a movie, and went to see Pirates of the Caribbean, because Colby hadn't seen it yet.

I have to tell you some of the random events that unfolded throughout the night. First off the ticket stub person, she was acting all cool and ripped our tickets with ONE hand! Oh yeah she just snapped the ticket stubs right in half. Colby said that if he had her job, he'd look for a way to jazz it up as well, I agreed. Then I had to use the restroom and upon exiting the restroom I ran into a real life PIRATE! She was looking in the mirror fixing her buckles and hankies and what-not. I ran....I mean ran out of the bathroom *because all night colby and I acted like complete dipshits* and I told Colby,

Me:"I just met a pirate!"
Colb: "What, are you sure?"
Me: "Yes I'm sure she was saying YARRrr into the mirror and, I don't know she may have really killed someone!"
Colby: "Well lets wait, because I didn't see a pirate go into the bathroom."
Me: "Just wait, you'll see. I don't joke about these situations."

Sure enough here comes the pirate out of the bathroom....

Colby: "Oh my gosh you're right, it is a pirate!"
Me: "Hurry lets go, she might stab us!"

So we mosey into the theater and it's pretty packed so we finally find a seat towards the top in the middle, and guess who we sat by! The freaking pirate...And not just her like 12 more pirates. She brought her whole pirate family with her to see the movie. I was very very scared for Colby's safety, sitting next to a pirate and all, So I told him not to let go of my hand because I was afraid he might get asked to join the pirate clan.....And I can't date a pirate- always pillaging and stuff.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen.... For a night I felt like a celebrity because I got to sit next to pirates, and although I was scared and unsure whether I'd make it out alive, here I am able to tell the whole world that I'm cool by association.

Cheap Date Night

Colby and I have come up with a solution to monotony. We call it Cheap Date Night. Every Thursday we go out on a very inexpensive date. Tonight I think it's my turn to decide. Last time we had cheap date night we went to Fazoli's and had dinner, then we went to the movies and watched....?? something *I can't remember. Anyways, I think tonight I'd rather make it not so cheap date night and take Colby to eat SUSHI!


I love sushi. If I could eat something 24-7 it would be a jurassic park roll, or spicy tuna, or hmm the possibilities are endless.

Blah.

Colby and I sat down last night to figure out how much my books will cost me for my next semester in school. *cue the crickets in the background*




$500.00

Yes ladies and gentlemen.....$500

I wanna puke.........

Oy!

Tonight at work I "effed" up my wrist! I felt a pop and the rest is history. All in all a very successful night.

Colby and I have been working out the details of moving in together...Again. Hopefully by mid August we'll get everything settled into a three bedroom 1.5 bathroom...full basement apartment. Corey, Colby, and I. Jacob will be living in the dorms, but he'll be in Springfield so he'll pretty much live there too! I'm super stoked. Oh yeah and did I mention there are washer/dryer hookups...And *drumroll please... A DISHWASHER! WOOOhooooo.

I'm going to be doing dishes like there's no tomorrow! I love dishwashers...And I really love washers/dryers!

To some this may not be a big deal, but to someone who lugs laundry all around God's green earth it's MAJOR!

Nobody in particular.

Here's a question...

Why is it that when you have so much, you always want more? Why is it that nothing is ever good enough? How is it that when you have so many people backing you, you'll always end up biting the hand that feeds you?

In my opinion.. I believe that family is your greatest support group. That no matter what you do or say family will always be the ones who are behind you 100%. So why is it that they're the one's who suffer? Think about this.... Very hard, you're losing this.

A Message to a Good Friend of Mine:

Betty Crocker,

Hi it's me, you're good friend Char-Marie. Listen, I just thought I'd write to tell you that you're fabulous! I mean what would I do without you? However, tonight I was making cookies for my boyfriend, and I have a complaint.... I noticed that the cookie packets were supposed to have 24 cookies, but the package only had 17 little cookie balls. I will admit that there was a short period of time where I blacked out, but only for about 2 minutes. If you could, please send me another package of your fantastic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough....My boyfriend would greatly appreciate it... And if you want throw in some peanut butter cookies because, although I love your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter is my all time favorite!

Thanks!

Love Always,

Char-Marie

My Boyfriends Back...

Yesssssssss! My wicked cool boyfriend, Colby, has returned from Hawaii. I'm sure he was ready to come home and see me....Why wouldn't he be? I haven't seen him yet, but I'm waiting with great anticipation! I'm so stoked. I really thought 2 weeks would be a lot easier than it was. I missed him like crazy! I hate being apart and I hope we don't have to do that again for a long while.

Hurry home Colb!

A List

I have compiled a list of all the things that I miss... in no particular order.

1. I really miss waking up on Saturdays for cartoon marathons.
2. I miss not having to figure out how much gas will get me from point A to point B..It's so expensive!
3. I miss performing in front of large crowds of people. I know this labels me as a nerd, but I loved colorguard when I was in high school.
   
4. I miss having big family get togethers.
5. I MISS MY BOYFRIEND SO MUCH! THIS IS DEFINITELY TOP OF THE LIST!
6. I miss not having new episodes of sex and the city.
7. I miss those shoes I cannot find.
8. I miss Lindsay and Katie. Call me girls!
9. I miss talking on the phone for hours with Colby.
10. Last, but not least I miss my cinnamon dolce latte from starbucks! BRING THEM BACK! Lindsay pull some strings!
    

Happy Birthday from the Comfort of my Own Vehicle.

Once again I was forced to watch the fireworks from my car on my way home from work. I just got to thinking tonight how sad it is that for the past 3 or 4 years I haven't set off any fireworks and I have to work late on every fourth of July.

I can remember a handfuls of 4th's that I loved. One summer we were in Arkansas at my Granny Maggie's and we had this 5 foot sparkler, my cousin Joan set her bra on fire with it. I'll always remember that year...A year just being happy. The entire family was together and there was lots of food, singing, and fireworks.

I can also remember going to my grandpa's for the 4th. He had a really big pond and we would always have a barbecue and set off fireworks by the pond. When it got really dark there were bats that would swoop down at us as we were lighting them. Good times.

I always used to love picking out the fireworks.. There were chickens that screamed while they layed an egg, Chinese lanterns that i'd always end up hanging in my room, snakes that left black marks for weeks, parachute jumpers that I always ended up running after and tripping over some other fireworks in the process, Every year I managed to sit on a lit punk. The process of picking these things out was definately part of the fun.

Now it seems that I'm always admiring fireworks and other peoples get togethers from the comfort of my own vehicle. I realize as you get older people have responsibilities and things never stay the same, but sometimes I wish I could go back to those moments.

Katie

Yesterday, I spoke with my friend Katie who now lives in San Francisco. She graduated in December and is now an intern...She wants to come home. I miss ya Katie. Anyways it was really nice talking to her. We were discussing how everyone around us is either pregnant or married....Neither of us are drinking the water.

Chili for breakfast

Today we celebrate America's Birthday....DAAaaa HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

As we speak I'm eating chili for breakfast. I've never been one for the breakfast foods. I can hear my dad asking my mom where I am....My mom replies probably cleaning her room or something.... hahaha....if they only knew.

I'm waiting right now for my friend Kody to pick up my car because it needs the brake pads changed. I sound like nails running down a chalkboard when I try start to slow down....eww