Open up and say "ah"

I don't think this pic needs much explanation. It's the tiny arm of an adorable child I babysit feeing her dog some of her milk because apparently he was thirsty. She also intermittently gives him her pacifier. So stinking cute!

Escape

You might assume from the picture that this post has something to do with music. You, sir (or ma'am), are incorrect. It has everything to do with stories. See, I don't have a lot of music on my mp3 player. But I do have quite a few audiobooks. In fact, I just downloaded the first two books in a fantasy series last night. Normally I'd just read. I vastly prefer a book in my hands than one on a computer, and I usually hate being read to. But as long as the narrator is a guy (I find them easier to listen to that way), audiobooks are great. For example, tonight I cleaned my room & bathroom. I certainly couldn't read a book while doing that, but I was able to listen to one.

I mentioned before (in my library post) that books are my happy place. A good story can take you out of things and let you be somewhere else - albeit vicariously - for a few hours. My life has had a lot of ups and downs recently (I honestly can't even put a date range on that), and it's mostly been downs. There are three things that help with that: Mike, my family, and my stories. Today the stories win by a nose, but only because my mp3 player fits in my pocket.

Sticks to your ribs

It's a little early to be thinking about certain parts of my wedding. I have more than a year, and we won't even have a reception hall nailed down until probably sometime in March. However, today I encountered something rather perfect - an obnoxiously marked-down dress that would be perfect for the rehearsal dinner of a woman who is having a wedding full of peacock-feather colors. That, of course, would be me. And this, of course, is the dress:

It was in clearance, so there were only 2 left. One was a 6 - my size! Hooray! Well, the score on this one came away Lauren Conrad (the designer - and oh my did I hate liking one of her dresses. I couldn't stand Laguna Beach or The Hills) 1, Stephane 0. Why, you ask? Am I one of those women who constantly claims to be a size 6 despite all evidence to the contrary? Alas, dear gentle readers, no. When I'm skinnier, I'm a 4. At this weight, I'm a 6. However, I have a problem - I have an exceedingly large rib cage. It gets in the way of many, many things, and even makes measuring for bras nearly impossible to get right. And today it caused the zipper on this dress to stop 3" from the bottom and not budge another millimeter.

It was then that I found the second one, but, alas, it was a size 16. I'd be willing to take in something 1-2 sizes bigger, but not 5. So I found a size 10 in the dress my sister had just picked out (also Lauren Conrad) to wear post-pregnancy. I wasn't sure about it because I generally hate myself in strapless, but I was outvoted 2-1, thanks to my mother. At $18, I suppose I can't really complain. It's a size 10, so it's going to need some altering, but it's doable. However, if I find the dress above in a size I can wear for half or less of the usual $60-70 price tag, I'm buying it. No matter how cute the black one will look with purple heels and chunky teal accessories.

Triple Play

I've been remiss here - for the last few days things have been rather hectic, and I haven't been posting my pictures, so here you have the last few days.

Friday:

On Friday, I had the adorable twins again. Fortunately, they're both feeling better - their parents just want to keep them out longer so they don't get sick again. They were babbling all over the place, and one of them was "hiding" her stuffed dog with her dad's baseball cap and then playing peek-a-boo with it. Too stinking cute. As for the picture, the dad is a huge tea drinker, so I always have a cup in the morning.

Saturday:

Saturday I went to my first bridal show with my mom & my mom-in-law to be. I'll admit, I was vaguely terrified. Wedding list issues aside, I'm a fairly laid back bride-to-be. I wasn't sure what I'd be up against. I don't want to get tackled because some bridezilla wants something more than I do. Fortunately, it was at the mall. Low key, low stress, less pressure. I got tons of swag, and I'm entered to win about a billion things. I'm also going to something on Friday where you get a chance to try to dig a diamond necklace out of a cake with other women. You find it, you keep it. I'll probably come away with scratches, bruises, and no diamonds. But anyway, should be fun.

Sunday:

Today is the Superbowl. Lots of good food, lots of good commercials, and me leaving the room for the actual football parts. And that's my weekend in a nutshell.

Bravo Lima Oscar Golf

I won't lie to you, my dear fictitious readers - I'm getting kind of sick of this. Not the picture taking. It's fun, and kind of challenging. But actually having to load the pictures and put them up. I'm going to keep doing it anyway, as I'm very bad at not finishing what I start. However, today I give you, without much ado, the military alphabet that hangs in my cubicle.

Let it snow - but I'm not going to watch

This is one of my curtains:

Well, part of it anyway. Today was so gross and cold and icy and snowy and windy that this red beauty pretty much stayed shut all day. I didn't even want to look at it!

Got a photograph, picture of

(Note - this is the pic for 2/1/11. I took it yesterday and forgot to post when I got home)

Kind of my motto going on there. I found it fitting, given that yesterday was my first day at my new job after nearly a year of unemployment. I like everyone so far. I can't say much about whether I like the job though. I was training, and without being able to access the computers (that comes Thursday) I can't do much. But I'm really excited. In the meantime, hopefully my avalanche of applications elsewhere will yield something. I'd take full time, I'd take part time that I can work around the current part time schedule. Anything, really, just so it pays the bills.

And for anyone wondering, the text underneath the headline is "Go over, go under, go around, or go through. But never give up."