my first weekend off in awhile

Today after our morning work meeting, I will officially be off for the rest of the weekend. I mean, I will not have to work Saturday OR Sunday.

My first in a very long time. I honestly cannot remember having a weekend off this year.

Coincidentally, I went out with a few of the girls from work last night, so unofficially it started last night, but I woke up way early (due to the alcohol I suspect) and am trying not to hyperventilate.

I am presenting two different things in our store meeting this morning. TWO PRESENTATIONS!

Did you know that people are LESS SCARED of dying than speaking in public?

I have a bit of experience with this type of thing, but I am also not as experienced in what I am speaking about so I am worried that it will come out sounded gumbled or wrong. I am trying to learn to not take myself so seriously so it is okay to mess up and laugh at myself, but at the same time I am also trying not to look like I have no idea what the hell I am talking about. Conundrum, no?

The first is a numbers presentation. I have to present where we are year to date, month to date and compared to last year followed by where our sales are in each department with their best sellers. I am prepared. I think, bu I struggled all week to make it fun or interesting, but I decided to just let it be heard because my other presentation is on the more elaborate, entertaining side.

I, along with one of the other asses (code: assistant managers), are presenting our new shorts for the season in a nice little skit. I am the fashion runway coordinator and speaker and he is the nutty model. I plan to be using a very droll voice and he is going to be wearing all of the shorts at once. I will very briefly explain the features and benefits of each style and he will the pull them down showing the next pair of shorts. Yes, he is wearing/modeling all of them at the same time. If our people get half a kick out of it as we did planning it, then it will be a hit.

After the entire meeting, I am free. Free for the weekend.

I plan to go to the movies to see, The A-Team with Saint as soon as he gets off work today. I was a HUGE fan of this tv show growing up and have really high hopes. Which means I will probably be disappointed, but that's life.



I also plan to play and skip out to the pool for some sun and relaxation. Thanks to my mother, I also have a fabulous book, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flynn, to read as well though I am reading two others succinctly. This particular book, The Sharper Your Knife, is about a woman who is let go from her job and pursues her life long career to attend the Cordon Bleu in Paris.

I am reading Kitty Kelly's book Oprah, but the more I read it (I am halfway through) the less I am enamored with Oprah and I have been a fan of hers, but I feel it is easy to make the connections that Kelly has done. Too easy. I don't like not liking people, so it has slowed my progression. The other is James Patterson, Sail. I enjoy his books, but they are rarely ones I cannot put down. But this one, The Sharper Your Knife, has sucked me in and I find it hard to put down. Since, Jodi Piccoult's latest book, House Rules, I haven't read during my lunch hour, but with this one. I am.

the yogurt shop

Saint and I visited this very cool, very posh yogurt shop. I had yet to ever go in a yogurt shop because it costs less than $1 for yogurt at the store, so how could I ever pull a Starbucks with yogurt.

Saint was meeting someone and he was hungry, so we thought we'd give it a try.

It's odd. There is the yogurt bar -


where I grabbed a cup to fill up which every and how much yogurt I liked. Then there is a yogurt toppings bar. Lots and lots of different toppings. We went simple, i think because it was still early in the day. I chose Strawberry yogurt (yes, I tasted them all) with bananas and pineapples.


The cups look ginormous!

But after they had mixed up our drink, we ordered a yogurt shake, it wasn't so big. It was really for Saint, but I think I sucked most of it down myself. Then again, I picked out the flavor yogurt. I am not sure he was as keen to strawberry as I was, but he wouldn't change his mind once decided that I got to pick.

They have this fabulous posh sitting area. It has these almost old-fashioned leather bucket seats with tvs showing cartoons.

They have a few chairs that spin. I video taped the spin simply because I was having way too much fun! (can anyone tell me WHY my videos will NOT turn up vertical?)



Have you tried a yogurt shop yet?

Grace in small things - edition four

1. Saint making dinner, even if it turned out to be hamburger helper. Doesn't matter, he though about making dinner - good enough for me. Very sweet.

2. Kittie cuddles. Both Izabel and Tuesday, are the sweetest when it comes to cat cuddles. They can't wait for me to get the door open and bend down for hellos.

3. Clean sheets. Ugh, how I love that snug, cool feeling when crawling into sheets smelling of drying sheets and pulled taut.

4. Sandra Bullock. Seriously one of my fav actresses simply because she seems to be down to earth and I just love her movies. Big fan. Good for her winning an MTV award.

5. Natalee Holloway's family may find some closure after all. Very sad story.

Grace in small things & previous editions

Wordless Wednesday - kitty tracks

I love this photo because I had just finished making the bed. Okay, so I hadn't finished which you can see beacuse the pillows are askew, but I had pulled the bed spread taut and walked out of the room for two seconds. When I came back, Tuesday had already run across it, denting and imprinting it with her foot prints.


Wordless Wednesday

the visitor

Saint's house mate's mother is in town. For the next two days. Because of this, he has asked to spend those days with me that way Montana can sleep in his room and Montana's mom can sleep in Montana's room. Following?

Ok so this was four days ago.

On the third day, Saint asked if he could stay longer. He sounded very nervous like I was gonna say no. Honestly, how could I?

He stayed for eight days.

I loved every minute of it.

I loved that he fed my cats for me. Without asking. I love that I came home and he was there. I love going to bed together. I love waking up together. I love having a strong, man in my home. I love that he thought of dinner a few nights and I didn't have to even say anything. I love that his flip flops were on the floor by the door. I love that he walks in and gives me a kiss. I love that he wakes me up before he leaves for work and tells me goodbye. I love being comfortable AND having the one I love there.

It was bliss.

Seriously, I think we probably make other people sick because even when we fight it's lovingly. Shit, I'm gagging just a bit, writing this.

One day we were walking in and I kicked off my shoes under the dining room table. Which I do every time I walk in the door. I looked down and was shocked to see two other pairs of shoes there. "Hmm," I said, "I should take these in the bedroom and put them away." Saint says, "Why not wait til their are eight pairs?" What an ass. And I told him so. Even though I laughed.

My god, how did I ever live without this.

And just between you and me, I had a dream that he proposed. Ugh. Now what?

This is getting serious.

Manifest Monday - the shower curtain

small change - decided to change it from Martha Monday to Manifest Monday
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My mom and I were walking through anthropologie and came across a bedspread that I really liked. It was white with green vines drawn on and big flowers sewn on top with a 3D effect. I took a picture because I loved the look. Not knowing what I would do with it, I just knew something would come to me.

Later, walking through Michaels craft store, I had an idea. Take a plain shower curtain and add sunflowers (my fav flower). My mom suggested adding the green ribbon to help make it come together and give it more of a girly look.



We simply hot glued the flowers on to the shower curtain, then I pressed them down while they dried.

I placed them in a diagonal pattern.



Here is a close-up of the flowers.



I love the outcome. It is original and one of a kind. All mine. But so incredibly easy and pretty I couldn't not share it.