I Am Who I Am...

Im alive :)

runsofast — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:08:54 GMT

So, I didnt die, I just havent been posting. Mainly bc I feel like no one reads my journal anyway, so it sort of like what the point, but whatever, I'll make a short post.

Wedding planning is going well. I think the last time I posted was probably when i got engaged and that was all the way back in May. Sheesh, time flies :) We have mostly everything done. We still need to decide on the limos, but that's about it. We have the place, the DJ, the photographer, the flowers, my dress and the bridesmaids dresses. We even have 1/2 of our honeymoon booked (Hawaii for 10-12 days...Kauai is booked, we still have to do Maui and buy our airline tix). Wedding planning is much more exciting now that its coming together. The girls dresses are eggplant, so my color scheme is shades of purple and dark red (the red only appears in the centerpieces).

We started registering...scratch that...I started registering, but I can't find everyday plates that I like which sucks. Everything is either plain white or flowery. Im going with my mom this week to a few stores to see what I can find.

In non related wedding news...I got a jury summons and have been sitting on pins and needles waiting to see if they call my number to report to court..ugh! I wouldn't even mind going except that it is in the ghetto, there is no parking, and I'll need to find a ride to and from unless I take public transportation which would take me 2 hours to get to the court. Sucks!

That is really everything that is going on in my life now. We are going to start looking for houses in the spring, which will probably be annoying and test our strength as a couple. Hopefully we wont kill each other.

An update of my life

runsofast — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:21:37 GMT

First of all, thanks for the congrats guys! I know i dont update nearly as often as I used to, but i still read your journal entries when i get the chance and I appreciate the well wishes.

Wedding planning is going swimmingly, thought thats probably bc we havent done much of it yet LOL We are interviewing DJ's and I am calling one of them this afternoon to tell them that we will be picking them and to see if they can give us a better price. I hate calling vendors, so naturally, I am dreading this. When thats all said and done, we will be speaking with photographers. I have a list of about 7 photogs that have been referred, but I am obviously not going to all 7, so I need to narrow it down. I would say of all the recommendations I have gotten from people, photogs have been the most popular...everyone keeps giving me names telling me how much they love them.

I sent out all the engagement party invites (Auguts 9th), so Im just waiting for responses. So far, I have 6 people as no's, which is actually okay bc we invited way more poeple that I wanted to invite, but they are all people we want there, so there was no cutting the list. I know August is a big time for vacations, so Im expecting poeple to have other plans. We tried to pick a date that was more accomodating, but it just got to the point where this was the only week we could do it (Johns bro is getting married in Oct and we didnt want it too close..not to mention theres about 5 weekends blocked off where we cant do anything bc of them...bridal shower, bachelorette, bachelor, rehearsal dinner and wedding).

We just got back from Toronto. We went for a long weekend to watch 2 Yankee games. It was John, Joe and Anthony and of course me, the only girl. We had a good time, but I wasnt impressed with the town at all. We all kind of felt the same way...we went there, experienced it, and will likely not go back again. Plus, the Dollar is so weak, that everything was expensive. Its still more than Canadian money, but only by 8 cents per dollar.

My birthday is this monday (Ill be 26...woohoo...its just another year, whatever). B/c John and I are on a tight budget (not so much, but we're trying), I told him we can get a nice dinner and I odnt want any gifts. I odnt need anything, and I'd rather put the $$$ towards a house. Friday we have the Billy Joel concert and Saturday is the Austin block party, so I wont be going out this week for my birthday..maybe next weekend...probably friday since I have Stacie's "Meet and Greet" for her bridal party on saturday.

So back to the whole "tight budget" situation, I have opened up a joint savings account and checking account with John. We have about 15 months left to save, so i am having us put in a minimum of $1000 each into the savings acct a month. Sounds like a great idea right? Hmmm except that its the summer and we have 2 vacas. One was Toronto, so thats over, but we are going to the Cayman islands in August. I'm hoping, we wont be spending toooo much money there and that we are able to get some cheap food some days. Hopefully there's a supermarket around so we can buy alcohol cheap and keep it in the room. Anyway, I digress...

I am trying to save up by not shopping, but I cant think of any other way to save money than i already do. I dont pay rent, I bring my lunch to work everyday (I used to buy lunch once a week, but now i dont even do that). Im trying not to go out to eat, or if I do go out its a cheap place. I also need to find out what my parents will be contributing, but everytime something is mentioned, by mom says "I still have to talk to your father about what we're paying for". I wish she would just tell me already. Either way, we are paying for the bulk of it, so I just want to make sure we have enough for the wedding and have enough for a down payment on a house. A lot of stuff to think about in a small amount of time. i know once work picks up, I'll be able to get more overtime hours which will help out, bc right now its slow and Im making hardly more than my base salary.

So thats that in a nutshell. I start an Ad class at work tonight from 5:30 til 7. Im not looking forward to it and wish it would be over already. Then tomorrow I have our "white hot party" at work, which I will probably be at for a few hours and then go home.

Spring shopping as usual

runsofast — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:29:36 GMT

So Ive been slightly shopaholic lately, but I need to stock up on my loot. In my defense, I have only been shopping when Ive had a coupon or when things are on sale :)

I got a bunch of stuff at Old Navy (I'd post pics but that takes too long). I got a bikini, a black 3/4 sleeve cardigan, a grey cardigan, a silky "going out" blouse, (which Im actually debating on keeping bc the straps are too big and originally I was thinking that I would bring it to the tailors and have them adjusted, but am I really gonna do that?), 2 pairs of flip flops, a pair of jeans (also debating on that bc I have a million pairs of jeans, and i dont know if I reeeally need another one), and i htink Im gonna go back and get a silky dress :)

Last night i went to Delia's with my mom and I got 4 pairs of pants...thats right FOUR pairs of pants. BUT they were buy one get one half off, so how could i not get 4??? Im actually really happy bc I got drak blue pants and khaki pants that I can wear to work, or when im just hanging out. The only work pants I have are black or gray dress pants and jeans, so now at least I can wear pants without looking like a slob. We have a pretty lenient dress code here...basically anything but sweat pants...and in the summer, its just too hot to "try" to look nice, so I resort to jeans a lot (but they can be hot). i also have a bunch of skirts, but if its raining or I dont feel like shaving, then i wear jeans. I also got a grey dress and a cute black top. AND I had a $20 off coupon and a 15% off coupon, so I split the purchase.

Now I just need a few pairs of shoes and Im good to go :)

This weekend Im going to the Mets Yankees game with John Chris and Les on sunday, so that should be fun. Though the game starts at 8, which means Ill probably get home around 1 ish, depending on how we get there, which sucks, but the game will be good. Hopefully the Yankees kick butt :)

I cant wait for this weekend. I just wanna sleep late one day and Ill be happy..Im still recovering from not sleeping well sat and sun, so Im pretty exhausted. Workign saturday really messed me up. I have to return books to the library (I wised up and got a library card so I dont spend so much $$ on books every month), and return things to Express and Mandee's. I dont want to get the bill with all that stuff on it.

Next friday is Mohegan Sun and Im super excited :) Im just so happy to be doing something different instead of the same old all the time. And we have off on Monday which is always a good thing. I could really use a day off.

Yeehaw, Im Updating

runsofast — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:52:32 GMT

Nobody ever comments on my entries anyway, so it doesnt really matter that Im posting, but here I am nonetheless.

I got my wisdom teeth removed 2 weeks ago and got the stitches taken out last week. It wasnt even remotely close to as bad as I thought it would be. I got all 4 taken out...2 were impacted and it just made sense to have the other 2 removed. I didnt deal well with the anesthesia (I had them put me to sleep), and I almost fainted after (I have vesovagal syndrome, so I know when Im going to faint and can try to prevent it, bc it happens a lot), but surprisingly my mouth was okay. The doctor gave me this whole shpeel before about how I waited long, and its gonna take longer to recover and blah blah, and honestly, I never experienced pain. It was sore for awhile and I ate mushy foods for the first 3 days, but that was the extent of my discomfort. If anything, it felt more sore and like sumthing was stuck (bc my mouth was swollen) than pain. Im so glad I got all 4 taken out though bc now I never have to think of them again :) I was also really nervous that my dental insurance wasnt going to cover the procedure which was a whole drama in itself, but I just receieved a letter saying they covered most of it :)

I got my taxes done and found out that my current employer wasnt taking NYC taxes out of my paycheck bc they thought I didnt live in NYC. So now, instead of getting back a good amount of $$$, I owe $800 :( Not so happy about that. But, in the end, Im still getting a refund from Federal, so thats not so bad. The only thing that sucks is that I didnt get paid from them yet, so I need to shell out $800 of my own money. UGH! Y is it that I have to pay for their mistake...hmmm...not so fair.

Work has been crazy busy bc they are launching a new drug. Last Thursday I worked a 17 hour day 9am-2am. Thank God I get paid overtime or I would not be happy. I actually volunteered to stay and help out though, so I am really to blame. What can i say? I like making money and time and a half is nice extra cash. Thank God I have this job!

I have to go to 2 wakes this week which sucks..one tonight and one tomorrow. Im waiting on the details of each. I hate wakes. But then again, nobody likes them.

I went to Johns cousins wedding this Saturday and it wasnt all that fun. The food wasnt good, the DJ sucked, and we were like the only young people there besides his brothers and their dates. I did have about 6 Vodka-Seltzer_Cranberry drinks and they were deelish :) And I got to wear my fancy black sequined dress. But I didnt take any pictures...Ive been really slacking on the pics lately...it kinda sucks.

This weekend appears to be a slow one. I dont have much going on. What is upsetting is that I dont have a day off until Memorial Day, May 26th :( Im gonna have to take a sick day somewhere between now and then :)

runsofast — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:36:57 GMT

They started this whole new fruit thing at work where we get a fresh shipment of apples every week for us to snack on. I would normally be excited by this except for the fact that apples are sooo not my favorite fruit. The ones they get are super tart, and they hurt my teeth. BUT I was happy to see that today they got in a shipment of bananas :) Hopefully this will keep me from snacking unnecessarily on junk food.

Speaking of junk food, I need to pick up some more lean cuisines. I started bringing the panini and pizza lean cuisines for lunch and I love them! The best part is that they only cost $2.99 at Target as compared to $4.25 at Waldbaums. WooHoo :) My favs are the chicken, spinach and mushroom panini and the spinach and mushroom deep dish pizza. I tried the pita and I wasnt impressed...it didnt have that grill tray that makes it crispy.

John is leaving for Vegas on Wed :( He will be partying it up in the sun and I will be stuck in the cold weather...though its actually supposed to be pretty warm this week...but still, that doesnt compare to Vegas sunshine. We still have to figure out a good time to take our vacation this summer. I htink the whole Houston trip is gonna fall through bc nobody seems to be researching it, and I dont think anyone is enthusiastic about it. We might still try for Toronto

John got an invitation to his cousin's wedding on April 5th. Im excited bc we havent been to one since Fish's in September. Its actually at the same place his other cousin got married at except its the opposite side of the family, so its a bit ironic. Its also only a few towns away from Johns house so we can take a cab if we have to :) It should be fun...I have a black sequined dress I bought at Express that I can wear. I have 5 other dresses I can wear, but this one was on sale and I couldnt pass up such a cute at such a good deal. The only problem I might have is that its a taaad short. Hey..its not my fault I have long legs. I just hope I dont look skanky. Its actually not that short but appears to be shorter bc the bottom of the dress has a lace hem which is obviously see through...if it wasnt for the lace it would be a perfect length. Eh...what are ya gonna do.

Another boring day at work

runsofast — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:17:10 GMT

I am always starving. I dont know if its because I eat breakfast at 7:30am and my body uses up the energy from my english muffin 3.5 hours later at 11, or if Im just a person that needs to eat constantly. It's horrible. AND since I gave up bagels, i feel like my breakfast routine is really not helping me out :(

I hate being bored at work bc my computer basically faces everyone that walks past and I hate feeling like I'm on display. Not even the fact that I should be working and not on LJ, but the fact that I don't want people to look at my screen and say "oooo shes buying shoes". I wish I just had something to do. I hate waiting around for something to come in and having nothing to do in the meantime.

Friday is pay day so thats good :) It would have been Thursday but its a freakin leap year, so I have to wait another day. I haven't been spending too much $$$ on shopping...mostly food and booze, so its not like I'm desperate for it. I think at first I wasn't used to getting paid only twice a month, so it was hard to manage my money, but now I know how much to put into savings and how much to keep in my checking acct to be safe :)

I think I'm craving Mexican food. We ate at such a delicious restaurant in Huntington about a month ago and the food was sooooo good. John and I shared this steak with melted cheese fajita thing and it was sooooo good. We need to go there again..it was pretty expensive though, so maybe on a special night we can go there :)

I went to sleep last night at 11pm and took the later train this morning so I got a good 8 hours of sleep. Ahhhh! I feel so refreshed. BUT it's crappy weather outside, so I htink thats bringing me down.

I am sooooore

runsofast — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:46:04 GMT

This weekend my parents went away to atch my brother in a swimming tournament and i was in charge of watching my puppy Chloe. I love my wittle doggie and she is super cute, but its still a pain to feel like a slave to her. I couldnt really go out all weekend bc i didnt wanna leave her by herself for too long. She was alone friday when I was at work for over 8 hours, so I didnt want to come home friday for an hour and leave her all alone again. Saturday i spent the whole day with her and then left at night to go out to dinner with John and his friends, but then came home at 11:30. John and I gave her a bath last night bc she smelled and her feet were dirty from playing in the snow. I think I strained all my muscles holding ehr in the bath bc my butt is killing me. I must have been squatting a lot. Ughh...my lower back hurts too.

I never realized how much work a little doggie is. I guess this is why my parents never wanted us to get a dog when we were little. Oy! She wakes up at 7am every morning and wants to play. Then she pee's (80% of the time on the wee wee pad) and she poops, but never at the same time, so after I finish cleaning one, I have to clean the other. Then we have to play more, then she naps, then I have to feed her, and she poops and pees again. Its a vicious cycle. Now I know what having kids is like...though having kids is 95% harder...you can leave a dog alone, whereas, if you dont want child services visiting, you cant leave a kid. AND I get to do this all over again next weekend bc my parents are away again. Yay!

John is going to Vegas in a week and a half. Im not upset that hes going just a little jealous. I would really like to go to Vegas, but now that he's going, he won't want to go again for awhile. I owuld just like to go out and see shows and eat lots of food..Im not a gambler, so I just wanna vacation there...not gamble. We're trying to figure out a place to go to this summer. I think we are going to use his parents time share unit again. We can trade it in to go to the caribbean or Mexico, so we were thinking of doing that.

We also got tickets to Billy Joel at Mohegan Sun Memorial Day weekend :) So that will be a little trip bc we are only going one night. Mohegan Sun is expensive...$550 for one night...yikes!! i think we will stay at a hotel near there. Theres a hotel less than a mile away for half that price. I wanna stay at a hotel that's less than $200, but John would rather stay closer and pay more. I guess we'll see what happens. I htink that weekend is the start of my Summer Fridays which means half days :) So hopefully we'll be able to get there early, though it IS Memorial Day weekend, so we'll see.

Such exciting things coming up...I cant wait. Feb is always a lull where not much happens and then the second Spring comes, everything gets busy again :)

Yadda

runsofast — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:03:40 GMT

This weekend was pretty good. It was a 3 day weekend, so how can it be bad right? Friday was Caroline's birthday, so we went out to Tequila Sunrise for drinks. It was pretty crowded, which is kind of weird because its not the type of place one would consider going to for Happy Hour, but it turned out to be a good time. We bought pitchers of Sangria and had a few drinks and chatted about stuff and ate chips and salsa :)

Saturday was John's brothers engagement party. My boots didnt come in time to wear with my dress, but I bought a really cute pair of platform pumps, so I wore those instead. The catering hall was very nice and the food was deelish. It was a pretty fancy engagement party..sort of like a pre-wedding. They had a DJ and a sit down dinner and a slideshow. Maria is Greek, so the DJ played a lot of Greek music, which was not so fun for us non-Greeks, but it was interesting to watch the different rituals and customs they have. For example, people throw dollar bills on the floor when the DJ is playing good music and that money goes to the DJ at the end of the night. They also had a lot of different dances with circles and clapping and snapping. LOL

For dinner we had Penne a la Vodka, Caesar Salad and John and I got the filet mignon, which was deelish. (I usually get fish, but I had Sea Bass on V-day and didnt feel like salmon). I definitely made the right choice though bc the steak was really good and the piece was huge! After the party, we all went to a bar in Farmingdale called Changing Times. I heard it was a dumpy bar, but it was actually nice. I would go there to watch a game (its kinda far from John though), and they had Blue Moon, which is always good ;)

Sunday John and I went out to dinner with his friend Mike and his girlfriend. We went to Bourbon Street on Bell Blvd. I never ate there before, but we were tryig to think of a pub to go to so we tried it. I thought the food was pretty good. John didnt like his pasta, but my quesadilla's were deelish.

Yesterday John stayed over the whole day, then we went to Chris and Lesley's for dinner and I got Chipotle for the first time which made me very happy. The food there is actually pretty good, and I htink its my fav fast food Mexican place. Afetr dinner we played waaaaay too much Wii.

I dont have much planned now. I think the engagement party was the last thing I had to look forward to for awhile. I know Johns cousin is getting married in April, but we havent gotten the invitation yet, so i dont know when that is. And then I guess I'll have Maria's bridal shower in the Spring. John's going to Vegas in 2 weeks with his friends, so I will be alone :( At least he's coming back on a saturday so I can see him that night :)

I really have to start planning a trip somewhere. We're trying to do Houston in June to watch the Yankee game and maybe a trip to an island in the summer. Johns parents might give us their timeshare again, but we need to look through the book an decide where to go and whats available. Im not really picky, I just wanna go to a fun place :) I htink we've decided that we're definitely not doing NC this summer. I always had fun in NC, but this past trip was a little too much for me, so Im kinda happy we're not going.

runsofast — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:50:22 GMT

Tonight I went out to dinner with my cousin Candy. She met me after work and we went to Rio Grande on 38th bw Lex and 3rd. It was really good and not expensive at all. We wound up spending $35 each and we shared a pitcher of Sangria, so not all that bad. Its a tiny place but it looks pretty big from the outside. Its a good thing we got there eraly bc it started to fill up quickly.

Im so tired, but I cant seem to wind down which is why I'm on the computer now instead of trying to fall asleep. Ahhh....I love Fridays! It's so nice to do whatever you want and be able to wake up as late as you want.

I bought a pair of black boots online today while I was bored at work. I hope i get them before the party, but if not, its no biggie bc I also bought a super cute pair of platform pumps that I could wear if need be :) The boots were originally $250, but I got em on sale for $85. Pretty sweet huh?

I went to the gym yesterday which helped me feel less like a lump of shit, though I ate like a pig today, which made me feel more like a lump of shit.

Im not sure what we're gonna do on V-day bc its a Thursday and I dont know how buys I'll be at work. Last Thurs I worked til 10:30. I think this week is gonna be pretty busy, but hopefully, I wont have to work reeeeally late nights. I got my bonus (not sure if I mentioned this before), but I got about $200 taken out for taxes...bluch! Taxes really suck.

Not sure what this weekend will bring, but I need to get my bangs cut and I wanan try to get a manicure..my nails are hideous!

Chloe

runsofast — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:05:28 GMT

So, most of you know that I have a new puppy named Chloe. She's a little Bichon Frise and I absolutely love her to death. I am NOT a dog person and have always been a little hesitant with my reacting to a dog's presence, and I cannot believe how much I love her.

At my old company, we had about 5 different dogs on any given day and I hated just about all of them. One would bark like a lunatic everytime a man walked past. One was smelly and always plopped himself in the middle of the doorway so you had to step over him. Two would smell food from a mile away and sit at your feet waiting for something to fall out of your mouth. Then there were random ones that would be there randomly. It also didnt help that they would pee and poop everywhere. I really hated them. Besause of that, i could just never picture myself with a dog, but now I understand how people love their dogs so much.

Chloe is soo cute and she's such a good little doggie. I bring her up to bed with me every night and she waddles into her bed and when i wake up in the morning, she waits for me to shower and dress bc she gets restless and has to be let downstairs. She is really well behaved (though she's going through puppy-teething stage, and nibbles on everything). She's so friendly and loves little kids. She's just such a loving dog and I find myself really, truly missing her when Im not with her. Im so happy she has opened me up to a whole new world where I find myself so much more accepting and loving of dogs. Now I feel like I can really understand y people get so upset when something happens to their pets. They are really a part of your family :)

Woohoo..almost Friday

runsofast — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:02:58 GMT

Im going to Happy Hour tomorrow which is super awesome, especially since I worked til 10 last night :( Im happy the weekend is coming up but this weekend is totally gonna suk. i have a Christening Sat afternoon and then an Anniversary party Sunday afternoon. Basically my weekend is shot with stupid family functions. At least if they were at night, I could get things done during the day, but apparently that won't happen.

I got my bonus check on Tuesday :) DAMN they take a lot of taxes out!! Half of it was gone! But it was nice to get one since I've only been here for 6 months.

My friend Stacie picked a date and place for her wedding. July 25, 2009 at the Crest Hollow Country Club. I'm so excited, but it feels so far away. Though I know this time next year we'll all be saying "Omigod, time went by so fast, I cant believe its almost here". Im excited to look for dresses. I havent been a bridesmaid since I was 19, so 6 years is a pretty good time to regroup, save up and take on the task again. Also, the 2 weddings I have been in have been "black and white" weddings, so both my dresses were black and white. BLUCH! Gimme some color damn it :)

I started looking online for the prices of houses on Long Island. Just to browse, nothing serious, so that I could get an idea of the cost. I was actually surprised bc I thought they would be a lot more expensive than they are. I mean, I wasn't looking at homes I would want to spend my whole life in, but at 2 and 3 bedroom starter homes. That way, you start out there, have a kid, wait a few years, then sell it and move into a bigger house. It's either that, or rent for 2 years and buy a home that I'd wanna stay in forever. The second option would lose $$$ bc I wouldnt be making a profit and Id be paying rent. All hypothetical bc Im not moving anywhere anytime soon, but its good to look I guess.

Im starving and I need food, so Im gonna go downstairs and get some :) Im thinking half a wrap and froyo or a smoothie.

I thought I liked soup...

runsofast — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:19:10 GMT

then realized I only like it if its smothered in cheese or cream.

In my "trying to eat healthy this week" mode, I decided to take Healthy Choice Garden Veggie soup with me to work. Its only 1g of fat for the can and like 200 calories, or sumthing like that. I wound up eating all the pasta in it (which isnt a lot) and throwing away 3/4 of it...including most of the vegetables. All I have to say is, Thank God I also packed a ham and cheese sandwich :)

You know what commercial really gets under my skin? The commercial for Birds Eye (I think its Birds Eye), new single steamed vegetables. Bluch! First of all the only veggies they have are peas, corn, and brussel sprouts. Then they show that stupid lady at work eating a bowl of peas for lunch!! Ummm...I hate peas, so maybe Im biased, BUT who eats a bowl of plain peas for lunch. AND she eats it with a fork! They are peas for goodness sakes!! Ugh...hate that commercial.

I havent been shopping for anything lately and I must say, I am having withdrawal. I wanted to go yesterday, but I had to take back my sister to college so that was a waste of like 6 hours. Then I dont get home from work til late, and after traveling for an hour, the last thing I wanna do is get in a car and go to a store. I do need knee high black boots, so I gotta get on that. I need them specifically for February 16th, so I have plenty of time :)

The Giants are in the Super Bowl, so thats awesome :) John was happy and so I was happy. i went to watch the game with Caroline and Deena and Stefanie and we had a ton of fun. We wanna start a Sunday football club, but its kinda late for that, so we'll see what happens next year. Maybe we can do it a couple times.

Im bored. Im waiting for changes to come in, so ill prolly get super busy at around 4pm. Greeeeat.

Soooo...Im bored

runsofast — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:33:50 GMT

Right now Im charging my ipod at work which is pretty effective considering I suck at charging things at home. Charging things at work is great bc Im being productive while Im wokring. Go me.

I am super bored bc we rushed last week to ocmplete all of our jobs and now I have nothing to do. The other teams are pretty quiet as well, so there isnt much work on the table. Im basically just archiving on jobs (burning them to DVD's), so hopefully Ill be able to finish that today or tomorrow.

Friday, me and John are going to see Young Fankenstein! How fun! I cant wait! Its been awhile since we've seen a play...I think Spamalot might have been the last one, and that was over 2 years ago. We just have to figure out a place to get dinner and we're all set.

Its so warm here. Crazy warm. 60 degrees warm. I like nice weather but I could deal with more like 50 degrees. It is winter after all. I wanna wear my uggs and cozy sweaters. Also, I keep forgetting its January and keep thinking its May. My brain is a bit retarded lately.

I think I wanna join Weight Watchers. I wanna go on a diet bc I wanna lose 10 pounds, but Im having a hard time sticking to anything. The holidays really threw me off..not that I was watching what I ate before then...but I wanna get back on track. I figured maybe if I do WW, I'll watch more carefully what I eat and I'll bring snacks like carrots to work instead of eating cookies in the lounge. I have also been neglecting my "no carbs after 6" rule that was wokring so well *sigh* I also need to cut down on the wine...sheesh.

Right now my tummy is rumbling and gurgling so loudly, it sounds like there is a demon in there. I need to eat lunch soon before I scare the poeple I work with.

I wish if work was really slow, that we could leave early...that would be awesome...unfortunately, thats not the case...or at least i dont think it is.

Xmas Bluuuess

runsofast — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:37:50 GMT

So Xmas is over..boohoo. My favorite time of the year came and went as always, too quickly. All the adorable festive decorations are gone..no more trees or shiny wreaths, no more Xmas Carols in the stores, no more merriment. *sigh* Im actually doing okay this year...I htink bc my life seems to have picked up a bit and there is so much to look forward to in 2008 :) Last year, I was semi-depressed after Xmas time bc I had been looking forward to it since forever, but this year wasnt so bad.

I had a week off from work which was o soo awesome :) I got to rest and not do anything, which is always great. Friday before Xmas we were supposed to get a half day but my team was stuck here working, so we got out at 6:30pm. Not so bad, but considering everyone left here at 2pm, it felt like we had been working til 10:30. After work, I went to a Xmas party at Rick's (Johns friend) house. Saturday, I did some Xmas shopping, and at night went with John to see the tree and out to a deelish Italian restuarant. After that, we went to Lesley's old house for a Cheesy Sweater Party, but didnt have on our sweaters and left after a couple hours.

Sunday, John came over and my parents treated my whole family to a pre-Xmas dinner to celebrate my moms bonus and my dad getting a raise. After dinner me and John headed over to the Austin's bc Brian (Chris' brother) got engaged, so they had a little engagement party. Monday was just a totally perfect day. I slept over Johns the night before, so we went to the store to buy my parents a gift, then got breakfast. I left, finished shopping and John came with me to my aunts house at night. We did the whole italian Xmas Eve and exchanged gifts with my family. I got a big black leather bag, cashmere gloves, a sewater tank, a zip up, $$$, gift cards to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, and a bunch of little stuff.

Tuesday was Xmas (yay!), I got a brown sweater cardigan, a green sweater, Harry potter DVD, 2 sweater dresses and a pink amethyst ring from my parents, that i totally L-O-V-E. Its gorgeous!! After presents, I headed over to Johns where we exchanged gifts. he got me the sewater ugg boots in Raison, a stereo for my ipod, and tickets to see "Young Frankenstein" on Bdwy :) Awesome gifts. I got him a bunch of clothes and Wii. I think Wii was a big hit :) After Johns house, I went to my cousins for dessert with my family, then went home ands cleaned up the Xmas mess.

Wednesday, I did nothing all day long, but watch Harry Potter and then went to see Enchanted with Johns sister and his nephews. It was a really cute movie :) I actually thought I would hate it while watching the first 10 minutes, but it turned out to be really cute.

Thursday, I spent some time with my Nana and Aunt Vicki. Then stayed home at night and laid around playing with the dog.. Oh!! I totally forgot that I havent updated in forever! My sisters bf bought her a puppy for Xmas! Shes a little Bichon Frise and we named her Chloe. She's so cute..I absolutely love her. We're trying to get her trained, which is proving to be a little difficult, but she is just so cuddly and so friendly.

Friday, Me and John went with my cousin Candy to a holiday party for my aunts sister (who is the one that helped get me this job). It was really nice, but we only stayed for about an hour bc we went to see Dave Attell at Carolines and had to meet a bunch of his friends beforehand. The show was very funny and we had a good time besides a little scuffle on the train ride home :)

Saturday I went to Chris and Les apartment at night and we played a few Wii games and drank pomtinis and sangria. Sunday, John came over and we went to Outback for dinner and shopped at Barnes and Nobles while we waited to be seated. Monday was New Years Eve where we spent the whole day trying to decide what to do and ended up splitting up the group that was going out and I went to Croxleys in Rockville Centre with Johns friends. Next year we definitely have to plan somehting ahead of time. I htink maybe even going out for dinner and just hanging out in the restaurant or maybe going to a catering hall where they'll have an open bar and music.

Phew..that was a lot of typing about my week in review :) Happy New Year :)

Almost Xmas time :D

runsofast — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:11:30 GMT

I dont even remember the last time I wrote an entry. I just feel like I never do anything interesting and I havent taken pics in forever, so I never have anything to post. I finished most of my Xmas shopping, which is super fantastic, and just have a couple of little things left to buy (a DVD for my brother, colorful stockings for Kristina, a $10 Secret Santa gift for work, etc...).

We decorated the tree yesterday, which of course was full of drama. I swear, we can never just decorate for the holidays in my house...there always has to be a fight of some sort or my mom complainging that shes not appreciated. Is everyones family like this? Or is my family just insane?

I had my holiday party for work last week. I was dreading it the entire week, but actually enjoyed myself. I brought my dress to work, met John at his office and changed there. Then we walked to Battery Park for the party (it was only like 10 blocks). I was really happy that John was able to come with me and it was fun to introduce him to everyone I work with so now he can put a face with the name when I talk about them :) He couldnt drink anything bc he was on antibiotics, so I dont think it was much fun for him. Hopefully next year it will be better.

Oh! Good news I forgot to announce...one of my best friends, Stacie got engaged last weekend :) Her bf brought her to the tree (the first time they saw it together) and proposed. We all knew it was coming, so we went over her house to meet her there. She was so shocked to see us. It was such a fun night and she is still glowing from it :) Im going to be a bridesmaid, so I am super excited bc the last titme I was in a wedding was 6 years ago and it was for my cousin, but I wasnt really close to his fiance and didnt partake in any pre-wedding events. They got divorced a year after the wedding, so that didnt work out so well.

This week I have 2 work parties during work, and this weekend I am baking Xmas cookies!!! Caaaant wait. I am soo excited!!! Yaaaay! Xmas is almost here!!

Gloriousness

runsofast — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:01:38 GMT

This weekend was pretty glorious. It was a really great mini break and Im pretty relaxed although Im still kinda dragging today. But Im blaming that on the crappy weather...its rainy here and gloomy and icky.

Wed, we went out in the city, which was "eh" ok. Im done going into the city for Thanx Eve. I didnt want to go to begin with, but went bc everyone else was going and John decided to go out with his friends. The bar was ok, but the train ride home was a disaster. There were a million people on the train, standing in the aisle and just being really annoying. Next year, I vote to stay local.

Thanksgiving was fun. Everyone came over my house for dinner, but my cousin Claire just had a baby on Monday, so she was still in the hospital. We ate like pigs and John came over for dessert. Then after everyone left, my mom and I watched Grey's Anatomy that we DVR'ed. I went to bed around 1:30 am.

Friday I went to the gym for the first time in forever, and then stopped by Compucolor (my old company) to say hello to everyone. It was weird being there bc theres a lot of things I miss about that place...Number one being the people. Although I hated my bosses, and a lot of the guys in the back, I really liked everyone else...especially Hayley and Sharon. When i went they had their Xmas lists hanging up on the wall (basically a spoof of a Xmas list)...a tradition that I started last year, so that was sad that Im not a part of that anymore :(

I wound up eating pizza with them and hanging out for about 2 hours. After that, I went home, lounged around watching the Food Network and then went to a diner with my parents. I was supposed to go to Jens apartment, but she had to study, so I hung out with John instead.

Saturday we hung the Xmas lights outside and I hung the lights in the windows. I am soooo excited that Xmas season is starting. It is my favorite time of the year!! I actually think I like it more now than I did when I was younger. I just love the songs and how everything is decorated and everyone is cheerful (ok maybe thats not true, but its fun to believe). I started my Xmas shopping and got a few things for John and my brother. I am ordering stuff for my dad and mom and am going to Bed Bath and Beyond to get something for my Godparents. I think Im doing well this year with the shopping, so that pleases me.

Yesterday, I went to watch the Giants game with John and his friends at a bar. They lost and I got blamed, of course, so we went back to his house and lounged around and watched tv. We watched King Pin (Which is one of Johsn favorite movies) and then got Cold Stone ice cream, which was super yummy, and then watched A Christmas Story, which I never saw. It was really cute!! Yay for Xmas!!!!

Ugh..can I go home yet???

runsofast — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:04:51 GMT

I am stuck at work waiting for changes to come in. I dont know where my team is or how far along they are with checking everything. I stayed here til 8:30 last night, but at leats I was wokrig on things at that time and not sitting around waiting.

Last night I went to Johns house after work. It sucks bc I didnt get there til almost 10pm. So I stayed for an hour and a half before falling asleep and having to drive the 20 minutes back to my house where I could sleep in my bed :( Its just annoying bc I just wish that I could spend a decent amount of time with him during the week. I used to get to his house by 7pm or 8 the latest if he was at the gym. Now, Im lucky if I get there by 8:30. Its not terrible...just annoying. It would just be a lot easier if we lived together. Then we could see each other everyday even if its for a little while. Anywho...

This weekend is the Austins Green Party and then Sunday Im going to a comedy show. It'll be a good weekend :) I took Monday off as a floating holiday..my first floating holiday ever!! I think I still have 2 personal days left and 10 sick days, but I probably wont take the sick days...maybe just one ;)

I am freaking starving right now and am going to eat my hand in about 2 seconds. They ordered chinese food, and Im just waiting for it to be delivered, but I am serisouly famished. Hopefully when I eat I'll have more energy.

Note to self: STOP shopping!

runsofast — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:43:01 GMT

The problem with this job is that I have basically started from scratch as far as my wardrobe is concerned. For those who dont know me personally, I am basically a jeans and t-shirt girl. Yea, sure I'll get semi-dressed if Im going out to a "nicer" bar, but even then, I wear jeans, a nice shirt and high shoes. Now that I have to get kinda dressed up for work, this opens my closet to a world its never seen. Yea, I have a few pairs of nice pants and skirts that I would wear for Thanksgiving, Xmas, Wakes, Funerals, Communions, etc... BUT now, I am required to wear these clothes more often causing me to shop more than ever before. But how can I help myself!? Its just so much fun! All those years of window shopping for "business-like" attire, and now I actually have a valid reason to purchase them! Oh sooo fun!! Tweed pants and houndstooth jackets and blazers and shoes with buckles and polka dots and all these glamorous items I coveted but never bought.

Not only am I purchasing business clothes, but because my jobs allows me to wear jeans, I need appropriate casual attire. So, since I started I have bought, 1 pair of wide leg jeans, 1 pair of black skinny jeans, 1 pair of dark jean skinny jeans, 1 pair of brown corduroy skinny jeans and another of navy corduroy skinny jeans. I have also purchased 4 ballet flats! As you can imagine, my credit cards are getting a workout. Oh but its so much fun!! I am addicted!

I carry all my coupons in my pocketbook in case I feel the urge to unexpectedly go shopping. And let me say...thank God for coupons! Though i am charging more than i ever have, I am also saving more money on the items themselves. I mean, how can I not buy those $88 pants when I get $30 off?

I think i am officially set for Autumn/winter clothes..though I do have some Limited coupons I need to use (wink wink) and I really wanna get knee high flat boots to wear over my skinny jeans. But again, this poses another problem, bc I need black and brown. Sheesh! I think I need another job to support this one.

Happy Labor Day :)

runsofast — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 04:55:48 GMT

This weekend has been fantastic so far. Friday I went out for Stacies birthday to Turtle Bay which was super fun. I wasnt sure how fun it would be, but we had a great time. After Turtle Bay, me, Jen and Deena walked around the city and went to a karoake bar where we sang "I htink we're alone now". LOL it was a lot of fun. Tonight I went shoping with my mom and bought 2 pairs of skinny corduroys for $11!!! How exciting. They were actually $60, but I had a $20 coupon and and Amex gift card, so I only had to pay $11. I am seriously obsessed with skinny jeans. I have a pair of black, dark jean colored ones, brown cords and navy blue cords...soo cute!!

North Carolina was fun. A bit of drama, but a good time either way. I ate like a PIG and it was soooo much fun. I didnt care what I was eating or how bad it was for me. I had fish and chips and crabcakes and buffalo wings, and coconut shrimp...mmmm. Im salivating just thinking about it. Im downloading pics as we speak, but the computer is taking foooooorever, so i cant update with them now.

I am sooo pissed off bc I signed up for direct deposit at work, which worked well the 15th, but then didnt work yesterday. So instead i got an actual check which means it doesnt clear until Friday...a whole week after Im supposed to get paid. How ridiculous is that! Im so mad now bc I really have like no $$$ in my checking account and was really relying on that paycheck. The lady at the bank said that it was my jobs fault, so Im going to speak with them Tuesday. This sucks!

My sister is away at college, shes a freshman, and she calls my mom like 10 times a day. It seems to be all my mom talks about. Im excited to visit her though and think itll be a good time. I miss the little pain in my ass. Its weird not seeing ehr everyday, but it is nice to have my own room. When i wake up in the morning, I can put the light on and not worry about waking her up. Its nice to not get dressed in the dark :) I would like to move out, but when, im unsure of. i like saving $$$, and I cant justify leaving my house and living on my own. would only move in with John, but I odnt think either of us wnats to do that now, so Im gonna stay sharing a room with my sis.

Anyway, I am soooo tired, i am going to pASS out. Good night my LJ'ers.

NC

runsofast — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:50:23 GMT

So Im mentally preparing myself for north carolina. i say "mentally" bc I am not doing anything physically. I havent packed anything yet, though that should really take me like 20 minutes bc its all bathing suits, skirts, and dresses. Easy. I need to pick up travel stuff and suntan lotion and I need to get a good book to read. i have read every book in my house worth reading and am clinging to this one last book so I have something to read on the train. It kiiillls me to go to Barnes and Noble and pay like $20 for a book when i can get it on Amazon for like $6. Im thinking of buying it on amazon and barnes and noble and returning the amazon one to B&N when i get it.

Work is going well. i am gettin more used to the subway, eventhough it sucks. Im taking my aunts sister (the one who sent my resume) to dinner tomorrow night. That is gonna be a pricey dinner. i told ehr to pick bc she works for Zagats but I really hope she doesnt pick a place that costs a fortune.

Work has been really busy lately bc 3 poeple are out. i worked 15 hours last Thursday, but Im happy bc I made more money. I am suuuper tired. Im definitely not used to waking up at 6:45am evefry morning. Every time I wake up I think Im being cheated sleeping time. Thats a pretty big downfall for this job. But thats it...evrything else seems pretty cool :D

Yo Yo Yo

runsofast — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 16:31:46 GMT

Hello :) Quick update. Work is going great!! Its a ton of stuff to learn, but I really like it. Im meeting more and more poeple everyday and most of the people I meet are very nice. I cant even explain how awesome it is to work in Manhattan...for me anyway. Yea, its a hassle and I hate taking the train in the morning, but the second I get out that door and am on my way home, I look around and Im like "Omigod, I have a real job in the city!!!". I have learned soooo much in these past 2 weeks, Im excited to learn what will happen in the next year or so. Im sure all this excitement will wear off, but now, Im happy Im excited :)

What else is new..hmmm. I cant wait for vaca on the 18th. We are going to north carolina again, and that should be a lot of fun. Very relaxing. Theres a bit of drama that I will have to get into in another entry, but thats for another day. Im still trying to plan a weekend getaway for me and John. I was thinking Cape May at first, but then I was thinking, maybe Rhode Island?? Providence is supposed to be really pretty. Myabe we could go in October or the end os September or sumthing. We'll have to see.

So thats about it. My bday weekend was fun. I got a million and one gift cards which is just what I had asked for bc I needed work clothes, and thank God its the end of the season and I had the gift cards :) I was able to go to NY&Co and get skirts for like $18!! How awesome is that! I still have money for Ann Taylor (I had actually wanted Ann Taylor Loft, but my aunt got me plain ann taylor), Express, and and American Express GC. I told John not to get me anything bc I didnt really get him anything and this summer was expensive for the both of us. he said he'd buy me a new pocketbook for work, so I've been looking for one thats not like $400.

Well thats it. Hopeful;ly I'll be on this week to read and catch up :)

I am here and i am aliiive :)

runsofast — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 03:58:24 GMT

Hey guys..I havent posted in what feels like forever bc I have been sooo busy. I started my new job on Monday and I wont be able to gonline too much there and it seems like its too busy to get a fews seconds to myself anyway. BUT I totally L-O-V-E it and I LOVE working in Manhattan. Everyday I walk out of the subway and Im like "Holy Crap..I work in Manhattan"!! The location is awesome..Lexington and 46th and the company just seems really great. Everyone is sooo friendly and go out of their way to say hello to me bc they know Im the new girl. I had a party the first day I started wokring. They had a "white hot party" at the boat house in central park and I was hesitant about going but it was soo much fun. Im sure the excitment of the job will wear down once Im there awhile, but right now, I love it!!!

Hmm what else. I am knee deep in freelance jobs which suuuucks, but Im trying to arrange my time and so far its wokring out okay. Everyone seems to be away this weekend, so I spent the weekend, cleaning my room, doing freelance jobs and reading Potter..which by the way, I finished..dont worry, no spoilers here :)

I am sooo sorry that Im not able to read your journals :( I tried going through them,, but you guys are writing a lot!! I should post pics of Les and Chris wedding, but Im so tired, so i will leave you with a few.

Lesley was GORGEOUS. Her dress was the prettiest dress I have seen. So simple and elegant, just gorgeous! Everytime I look at the pics and see how happy they are, it just makes me so excited for them. I love them sooo much :)

Well here ya go...

K so I suck and cant turn the pics...sorry guys. I promise when i have time, Ill do a proper update.

John and Jeannine

runsofast — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:59:29 GMT

So, is it pathetic that the part that excites me most about my new job is the new wardrobe?? Here, we wear jeans, sweatpants, flip flops, etc to work everyday. At the new place, I think its more business casual. So now Im looking for skrits, dresses, tops, shoes...all the good stuff. Im actually really excited about shopping bc all summer stuff is on sale :) I went to Express yesterday to see if they had anything and I got a cream pleated skirt on sale for $10 reduced from $65. Awesome.

Tonight is Johns friends wedding. I am excited about wearing my cute dress (I will take pics and post em next week), but I dont know how fun the wedding will be. I odnt know any of the girls that are going, and these friends are sort of his secondary group of friends. I've met al these guys a bunch of times in the past 6 years, but he isnt as close to them as he is his other friends. Either way, its a nice dinner and an open bar, so that sounds good to me :) Oh, and I just reminded myself that I have to get a wedding card. Ugh guys suck. They cant do anything I swear!

Chrissy's wedding part 2

runsofast — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:06:27 GMT

Ahhhh Yes...the drunken pics :) My family is Italian (this side of the family...the FUN side of the family), therefore we drink a lot when we are together. We are loud, we take over the dance floor, and nobody sits down until we are told to do so....

It starts with a few cocktails...

Candy and her dad

Then we add a few bottles of Tequila

Cheers!

Me and my Bro during Shout, I think.

Candy and my mom

Mary and her dad Tootie (his real name is Gerard..long story)

Melissa and her dad, Uncle Tony

My brother and my Uncle Tony, doing the signature Amitrano "chicken Dance"

Louie and Jonathan doing "Cent, 5 Cent, 10 Cent, Dollar"...he was really drunk one night, like 10 years ago and was doing this dance, so it has now become tradition that he HAS to do it during every party.

Sammy and Stef

And the bouquet toss...notice me staring from afar LOL My cousins girlfriend caught it...he wasnt too happy lol

The end.

While we had soooo much fun, it was upsetting bc we dont know when the next party will be :( Out of all my cousins, I would be the next in line to get married, bc I'm the only one with a long term relationship in marrying age. Candy, Gina and TJ are single. Melissa is only 22, Joey is 24, but soooo not ready to get married (his gf is the one who caught the bouquet..they've been together for almost a year), and everyone else is younger or married already. *sigh* Looks like there wont be a weding for awhile.

Chrissys Wedding

runsofast — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:17:43 GMT

Saturday June 30th was my cousin Chrissy's Wedding. Thats the wedding where she had asked me to do the reading and I was having a heart attack bc I hate speaking in public. Well, the reading went well. I practiced the morning of the wedding and had the first few lines memorized. I printed up a sheet with the reading in size 20 pt so it would be easy to read. I didnt realize that I'd have to read about 15 seconds after the mass started, but I was very happy to get it out of the way :) Everyone said I spoke clearly, and I was happy that I didnt stumble on the words once.

After the church we went to my house to hang out for a bit, then i went upstairs to curl my hair and get ready and John stayed downstairs with my Dad watching TV. We had a van come pick us up at about 7 to take us to the reception hall. There was about 30 of us in the van, bc everyone wanted to drink, so we figured it was the safest and easiest way for us to get to the party. The night was a TON of fun. My family took over the dance floor, and I was going beserk when they played 80's songs. The band was really great, and we didnt want the party to end. We were all hurting the next day LOL

Candy walking down the aisle...she was the maid of Honor, so she walked alone. I totally loved their dresses! They were a silvery blue, that looked a little purple in some pics. But I just thought they were original for bridesmaid dresses and they really looked nice on all the girls.

Mike and Chrissy walking down the aisle at the end of the mass

The bridal party at the steps of the church. I tried to get a good picture, but obviously it didnt wokr out bc the photographer was in my way, so i did the best I could.

Me and John at the cocktail hour

Stacie, Me and Stefanie

The first Dance

Table shots...1/2 of my table, and the whole of my parents table

You can see the centerpieces really well in these pics. They were tall Calla Lilies with some kind of white flower in the vase. They were pretty. Im not such a fan of Calla Lilies, but they were very nice.

Amy and Marty walking in (these are Chrissy's parents)

The Cake...Chrissy was getting a lot of crap for this because the caterer included cake in the price per person, but she found a baker that she really liked and wanted to get the cake through him, so she spent extra money to get that cake. Her sisters were bitching that it was a waste of money, but hey gave her a chocolate fountain for free, so I was happy about that :) And the cake WAS really pretty