Weekend Wrap-up

Yep that's me... in the bay... KAYAKING!
;-)
On Saturday KJ and I were judges for an event where local high school kids participate in several categories to earn scholarship money and finesse their presentation/performance skills. It's an NAACP thing. KJ's category was Physics, mine was Classical Vocal. This is my 2nd year judging, but his 5th and I looooovvveee it. Nope, don't really know a thing about Classical Vocal, but I've got ears and I always give positive support (watch your breathing, very your pitch, great range, etc) b/c I'm proud of the kids for just trying. Anywho, I'm always glad that I get a Performing Arts category b/c the Science stuff is so not up my alley.

Oh yeah, kayaking... So, a friend from work called and asked if I wanted to go kayaking. Kj was watching the draft at a friend's and I'm all for something new. So I put down my donut (hehehe), dug out a bathing suit, grabbed some sunscreen and headed over to the bay. I had such a good time! I don't know how "far" we went, but we were out there from 2 til almost 7. I was pretty sure my arms were going to fall off Sunday morn, but they're fine. Guess my upper body isn't as out of shape as I was expecting (the lower bod is a whole different story...). So while we were out paddling, I saw a ton of jelly fish, some dolphins, and a water moccasin. Yep, the last one wasn't really a surprise b/c it had been a week full of snakes. No pics of the snake, but I did get one of the jelly fish near the shore (pretty sure most if not all of these were dead, but it's still gross non the less).



When I was driving home, it occurred to me that this is when living in FL is really kind of fun. The weather was perfect and I think I'm a growing fan of water activities. I'll keep you posted...

Happy Monday

This week I've learned:

1) Having a snake in your company parking lot does not justify grounds to go home. (Monday)

2) I've adopted KJ's "no food must go to waste" policy, only I believe I'm a bit more efficient b/c expiration dates mean NOTHING to me. (I just finished off the tetrazzini I made him when he had his wisdom teeth out on the 30th... and yes, I'm fine...) :-)

3) A weekend spent with old friends reminds you how you became the person you are.

4) Liz and I are Taboo Queens. It's amazing to men when you can say 2 or three random words and the other person gets the clue with no problem... ( Clue: bad with birth control Answer: Antibiotics!!!) Yep, we killed em.

5) My weight may vary within the same "range" it's been in for the past few years, but my body SHAPE had definitely changed. Yep, less muscle, more fat = same weight range.

6) Colleen and John are going to be excellent parents. I always knew it, but when I saw her for her birthday, it smacked me in the face that they're going to be the COOL parents that you see in movies, or read about in other peoples blogs...

7) Having a snake in the company office (Wednesday), that's stepped on by an employee, only to be carted out and flung into the woods, also does not qualify as a means to go home. (No one was hurt, but as I was leaving last night and a huge toad blocked my exit for 7 min, I decided that I might really be in the amazon, not FL...)

8) My b-day's next Thurs, and somehow I've "thought" all around it. Knew it was coming up, hadn't realized that it's next week. YAYYYY for 27!!!!

9) Whataburger does NOT drop extra fries in the bottom of the bag for you like McDonald's. If you order a small, that's exactly what you get. (Which resulted in me having, fries, 2 donuts, a bag of gummies, a snack size of Pringles select chips {haven't found a flavor I don't like}, and tea for dinner. Yes, I realize that this contributes to the problem in #5, but it was a boy's nite for KJ and I had a horrible case of the munchies...)

10) Big Lots now has a section of Pier 1 items. I went in for gummies and lipstick (no lipstick resulted in 2 extra bags of gummies...) and came out with a mirror for the entrance way and 2 decorative pillows (for around $115, the mirror alone was originally $150 and my final price includes the gummies). LOVE a bargain!!!

Happy Friday! (did ya miss me?)

10 on Tuesday

1) The gala was good. Got to see a lot of old friends and meet their new spouses. A few are even about to become family units of three.
Here we all are striking our "prom" poses. ;-)



2) Auburn has changed a lot. My first home there The Village (on campus apartments) have been completely bulldozed. All that's left is a grassy knoll (whatever a knoll is...)

3) Jim does really weird/rude things when it comes to others lunches or lunch times. Remember when he called my snack mix cat food?? Well yesterday as he was interrupting lunch for the up-tenth million time he pointed (very closely) and waved his hand over my jello asking "What's this, ketchup (or something equally retarded)" and out of sheer shock and repulsion, I whipped my head around and said, "Please tell me that YOU did NOT almost just touch my food!" Yes, neck roll included. Besides that, we're doing fine. ;-)

4) Going to see my Liz this weekend. So therapeutic and if you couldn't tell from the above, I need it.

5) Very excited that I just learned of the Public Library in our area. Can't wait to go check it out hehehe excuse the pun. (Yes, I am that dorky)

6) Birthdays are on the horizon (Colein's, my cousin Tasha, my aunt Bettie's, mine, my mom's). I'll be 27 soon and I've got a running list of things I've started in my 26th year that I don't want to carry over to the 27th. Things like freelance projects and some long overdue organization.

7) I've been doing really good work here lately, but only my sales guy is telling me so... hehehe I'm not going to lie, I want to throw my head back and say "I TOLD YOU that I CAN DESIGN"

8) Painted fingernails the other day and decided I don't do that near enough. I used to have quite the nail polish fetish, that Liz so happily supplied and indulged in too.

9) Just FYI the fake apple juice that's like crystal light is no where near as good as regular apple juice, but if you're cutting back on sugar... I guess it will have to do. On the other hand I think I enjoy watered-down juice (like you'd do for children half water half juice) more... may revert back to that.

10) Last night I came home to dinner cooked (Mexican Spicy Pork Burritos), a clean kitchen and a candle-lit house. Funny that the clean kitchen gets just as big of a smile as the candle-light. hehehe ;-)

Happy Tuesday!

One Gala- Two Dresses

This weekend we're headed to AU for the Minority Engineering Program Anniversary. Yep, Kj's thing not mine. I don't think we even had a Minority Arts anything! hehehe I think us art students were pretty accepting of all b/c after all we're the odd balls of the campus (I can still remember going to my logic class COVERED in charcoal from drawing that morning... pep probably thought I was the nastiest girl {and mind you I wore coveralls and took baby wipes to help undo some of the damage} ...).
So there's going to be food (yea!!), a live band (whoo-hooo), dancing (yesss!) and a lot of old friends to catch up with! I'm pretty excited. Black folks at AU bonded and became family because there were only 3% of us there anyhow, so I'm anxious to see how and what everyone's been up to.
We're grown. It's been 5 years since I was a student. I can definitely feel life's changes.

So anyway, last night I hit the town looking for a semi-formal dress for the dinner and happened upon these TWO!
Love BCBG and they were having a sale so where as one dress alone was originally $350, I got both of these for around $100. I figure I'll find something to wear the other one to... shoot, Tericka emailed me an awesome restaurant nearby (that KJ is all game for trying... THX GIRL!), so I think I'll wear one to dinner one night. I don't need much of a reason to put on some sparkle.

Anywho, guess which one I'm wearing this weekend by popular vote (Mine's and Kj's)....
Happy Friday!

I'm Addicted...

to recipes! Seriously! I love cookbooks, cook magazines, random recipes. Just love um. Don't really use them enough, I'm more of a staple meal cooker. The things that make me look like I can cook because I don't have to have paper in front of me to create the masterpiece. But still...if you have some good ones, throw them my way! Anywho. Here's one I found perusing a children's magazine that I'm really considering moving to Iowa to join it's graphic team. The layout and graphics are just so hip and inspiring and such a nice spin on what we see so often in the juvenile market, but I digress. The magazine is Child and the website does NOT do it justice.

Anywho here's a recipe they had for carrot cake muffins (which I think I'm going to really try since I LOVE carrot cake). Don't they look scrumptious??

*Courtesy of Child Magaizine page 50 of the May 2007 issue

And because Tricey tagged me (love blog tags, lets me know that you all know I'm out there lurking, hehehe)

10 Things I love about Spring (kind of tough b/c you know I love my winter, cold rainy days...)
1) RAIN ohhh, the earth smells sooo good when water drops from the sky
2) Bright colors (KJ used to call me Skittles to be funny b/c he said every outfit I wore in school was like my interpretation of the rainbow)
3) Shoes (now if I could just get my summer feet to do right...)
4) Spring breezes. Just stand still and feel um.
5) Lemonade, no ice, more tart than sweet
6) Babies being born (all that fall cuddling comes full circle in spring...doesn't it Colein? ;-) )
7) Sprinklers (it's too cool for swimming sometimes, but in the afternoon it's perfect "run thru the sprinker with a shower cap on your head so not to mess your hair up" weather)***This is of course for children, I as an adult woman do not do this...at least I haven't yet...***
8) Donuts. Random, I know but I loved a good glazed donut in the spring (summer, fall and winter too, to be honest)
9) Curiousity of summer. Is it me, but don't some really awesome "life events" take place in the summer?
10) Perfect bike riding weather (which I tried to do on Sat and succeeded in 30 min of huffing and puffing realizing that there are more inclines in my neighborhood than I thought and my bootie doesn't near fit on that seat like it used to...)

Happy Thursday! Think we'll get a new Grey's episode tonight??? Fingers crossed!

Mosquitoes and Insults via Stamp

Okay, so a few mornings ago I noticed this horribly itchy spot on my neck. Now it's an itchy bump. I just know it's a spider bite. Just know it! Kj on the other hand has diagnosed it as a mosquito bite and has prescribed the old folks remedy of green alcohol. Didn't know I'd married a doctor did ya? hehehe

And this year we had to pay the govt after having our taxes done (dog-gone my freelance "small business"!!!) so I decided to not send my check with a smile. I stuck a Wilbur the Pig stamp on the env to in essence "call the Man out" on the Pig that he/it is. heheheh Vindication! And yes, I'm fully aware that my actions are probably the equivalent of sticking out my tongue, but it does feel soooo good.



Happy Wednesday!

Ten on Tuesday

1) We've rented some really good movies lately. The Illusionist, Prestige, Stranger than Fiction, Holiday (okay this one I loved, KJ decided it was completely a Roz movie... he didn't enjoy it near as much hehehe)
2) Did you know that Movie Gallery has a policy that if you don't like a movie then just bring it back and tell them and they'll give you a free rental. It's called Play On Promise You can do that 6 times in the year. We don't use Movie Gallery (we're Blockbuster pep) so we're taking full advantage of the rental I got from there on Sat. ;-)
3) Jim (my dept head) has a bad habit of interrupting lunch if you stay in the office. I don't jump up. I simply let him know that at the end of my lunch I will tend to his little needs. He hardly interrupts my lunch anymore. I think it's a power thing in his mind. It's a power thing in my mind too. hehehe
4)We're going to visit my alma mater (Auburn) this weekend. Haven't been back in a long time. I'm anxious to see how The Plains have changed.
5) Jim commented that my snack mix looked like cat food, to which I replied (in all seriousness), "It's not."
6) The little boy next door was using the water hose to fill the drainage holes his dad dug when I got home yesterday. All I could do was watch him and giggle, b/c I'm pretty sure he wasn't suppose to be doing that.
7) Made Pizza Soup last night and it was good. It should be awesome today as Italian food is ALWAYS better the next day. (I think that's because all the seasonings have time to merge)
8)Today Jim said, "Roz you seem so happy and chipper lately, what's going on." And I told him, "This is my normal personality...funny you didn't know that."
9) Yes I know 3 of my 10 things have been about Jim, but I just write as things come to mind and I guess I'm appreciating how his ignorance doesn't effect me the same way it used to. I'm no longer as annoyed, it's more-so comical. Thanks for your prayers... God's listening. ;-)
10) I've been talking to my sister more lately. It's good. I miss her.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Easter Weekend Recap

Thank goodness for 3 day weekends!

On Friday I was able to get completely caught up with house work (I even mopped, which I HATE to do and therefore avoid by all costs) and then meet a coworker for lunch. She had friends come into town so I ate with them and I must say that although I enjoyed hanging out with "girls", I miss my friends on days like that. I'm older than the girls I ate with and I couldn't help but feel "maternal" in a weird way. I guess our lives are in completely different stages. They were nice, don't get me wrong, just didn't feel like myself... I think I'm way too old to be establishing a new friend base. ;-) I then proceeded to shop/return things around town. It was too cold to go to the beach, but no worries, maybe another weekend. I did get these shoes (as I've decided to revamp my entire shoe collection), and I think they are very "Florida Roz". No heel in sight (as heels are completely "Bham Roz")!


Sat and Sun were pretty casual. Laying around the house or out running errands. Church on Sunday. With no kids to do Easter stuff with, all the festivities around town were lost on us. ;-) They do something here called the Easter Egg Dash that my coworker was telling me about. He said basically they just lay (don't even hide) hundreds of eggs down in a baseball or football field, line the kids up on one end and scream go. He said the whole field is clear in 3 mins flat and that's just the 5 and 6 year olds. ;-)

Have lost my "Must Complete Projects" mojo so I'm lagging behind in several things. Still have a closet to clean, photos to organize, logos/freelance things to follow up on, etc... I guess I'm in a spring time slump. I need a good rainy day to get me going...

Anywho, hope you all had a wonderful weekend. And FYI Payless is really stepping it up in the shoe dept. Go see for yourself. Payless

Workspace

What I'm opting to leave behind in lieu of a three day weekend...
Yes peps, this is my office and I know it looks like I'm building a fortress out of our products...
Sadly, it's seen WORSE days... ;-) In my defense, I'm in a creative field and we tend to be less organized. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Happy Thursday/Workday Friday!!!!!

Maybe we'll get a new Grey's episode tonight...

This morning

It was hard to capture the sun coming thru those clouds hitting the water (as I was driving), but my goodness... talk about peaceful! Makes me remember that I live in FL. ;-)
Think I'll hit the beach this weekend to get my summer brown... Anyone want to join me? Any takers? hehehehe

Happy Wednesday!

Ten on Tuesday minus Nine

1) My department head (I've decided to never refer to him as my boss) is back from China. He brought in donuts and little trinkets for the ladies. Hummm, way out of character. Is it bad that I woke up this morn and put on a red shirt and black pants and thought "Red and Black Venom Lack" (from the rhyme about how to tell if snakes are poisonous, red and black venom lack, red and yellow kill a fellow) and I'm using that as my personal mantra for the day? I'm trying to play nice peoples! ;-)

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Wrap-up

On Thurs nite, KJ and I went to see 300. I don't know if it's my interest in beautiful cinematography or Roman history and Greek Mythology, but I LOVED this movie. I know, I know, it's gory and the plot was fundamental (said the critics), but I absolutely loved every bit of it. From the sepia tones, to the brutal beheadings, to the one liners I'm sure KJ got tired of me repeating on Friday ("This is going to hurt, this will not be quick, you will not enjoy this" repeated by the queen as she stabbed the man who raped her and then tried to blackmail her in front of the council - it was wonderful because these were his very words the night before). Anywho, I think this has been deemed a "man movie" but again, the gore is artistically done so if you're artsy fartsy with a tough stomach, go see it!

KJ had his wisdom teeth removed on Friday so I only worked a half day and proceeded to be Nurse Roz for the rest of the weekend. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as I hope that his recovery is speedy. I've managed to conjure up a fridge full of soft delicious morsels for him to eat (pudding, ice cream, jello, salmon pie, potato soup, minestrone soup...). One that I made up was Buffalo Chicken Salad. Kj's a huge hot wing fan and I know some of the agony of having your teeth removed so brutally from your mouth (you all know I hate the thought of losing teeth right???) is not eating some of your favorite foods. Those cravings are no joke when the food is on the "Can Not Eat" list. So I basically baked chicken breast in hot wing sauce, put the breast in my handy food chopper and added some ranch. It looked gross, I admit, but Kj ate it and said that it did indeed remind him of his beloved hot wings. ;-)

On Friday, I also started this. Whole Body Cleanse

Yep, I'm cleansing. I'd read about the Master Cleanse on line where you drink the cayenne pepper and lemonade stuff but I know I wouldn't have made it 20 mins on that , so I saw this in Wal-mart and thought it might be worth a shot. We'll see. So far I'm 4 days in and all is well. I feel cleaner I guess, hehehe.

Anywho, hope you had a great weekend!
Happy Monday!