wine & love 13

so... uh... it's been awhile. this month already seems to be getting away from me, and it hasn't even been a full week. perfect time to recap the crazy, no? [nora created this concept; suki is currently hosting :)] 

reasons my glass is actually full of jack:

- one of the requirements for my counseling class is counseling two first year students. scheduling the first was easy, but our first session was horrible. plus the recording got fucked up so i couldn't review. scheduling the second has been much harder

- worrying about getting enough practicum hours. i fucked up, and it could majorly bite me in the ass come time to graduate (as in, i may not get to graduate) :(

- random pangs of jealousy and sadness. new engagements, tons of weddings, new babies... i'm really really not patient enough for this level of uncertainty in my life, despite what i try to project to the universe and those around me

reasons my heart is full of love:

- long weekend spent dog sitting. we had our moments, but he's a sweetheart. hanging out with him really makes me want a dog of my own. plus his owners are so awesome; B cracks me up when she checks in

- short week in the office thanks to the holiday, working from home and my internship. sucks that i'm spending my time filling shred bins as part of the annual file management process. BUT at least i'm not twiddling my thumbs at my desk all day for a change

- had a great business meeting yesterday. we're shifting some stuff around and getting refocused in different areas. good days ahead :)

- despite the worry over hours, i have my first real client. i can't wait to do counseling with an actual person with actual problems (not that our students didn't/don't have real problems; we just never go terribly deep since it's only practice)

#adorable [source]

- new baby sloth at one of my favorite places: national aquarium in baltimore! katey said its head looks like a cartoon kiwi, and now i can't stop seeing it lol

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love12

another week has gone by? what the WHAT?! let's get down to business friends :) [go visit nora; she started this shiz and is pretty fabulous all around :)] 

reasons my glass is double:

- woke up with my two day doom headache. if by doom, i mean pms. and if by headache, i mean complete body meltdown of PAIN

- still spinning my wheels on internships. i don't want to have to drop practicum this semester, but i'm down to my last real hope. if she doesn't respond, it's not going to be pretty :(

- already behind on my class readings. i'm not quite back in an academic mindset it seems

reasons i'm loving this week:

- body shop issue was resolved, and i didn't have to pay anything extra

- got my w2 and filed my taxes. i usually mail my returns in, but i opted to file my state return electronically. deposit should clear my account by monday :D that'll cover my vegas travel expenses. fed return should cover the rest

- my mom is mega jealous because i'm going to see alvin ailey next week. sorry, i'm not sorry. it's going to be SO amazing

- neal sends me something every day so we can both remember not everything in the world sucks all the time. today's happy is one of my favorite sytycd group performances



- we got bonus notifications this week. another big payout is a month away! that should take care of wedding travel + bridesmaiding and crush a couple debts. this is why it's hard to just walk out on  my job; it covers my fancy ass when i get a little crazy with visa

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love11

let's pretend that i'm not a horribly inconsistent blogger these days. hooray for nora's weekly meme!

reasons my glass is double:

- my ravens lost to the damn patriots, and now our defensive coordinator is leaving to be indy's new head coach. both of these events are crushing my soul

- this woman i'm assisting is working all my damn nerves. she keeps compromising a file we're both working on so i have to fix it every time i open it. HUGE waste of time. three rants in the last 24 hours, and i'm still stabby

- my internship fell through for the semester. i either need to convince someone to bring me on at the last possible minute (class starts tonight) or drop practicum. under plan b, i'll be a semester behind for my graduation requirements

- got a call today that i might owe another $250 to the body shop for brutus' repairs. they're willing to work something out with me, but that's still aggravating. hoping my agent can get that shit sorted right quick

- i'm getting nervous that bossman won't approve my expenses from my work travel. company owes me money on top of my overtime pay, which i didn't calculate entirely until after my travel request was approved. i'm pretty sure cost would've been about the same if i'd flown and rented a car. still worried that the vp will throw a hissy about his budget so my boss will have to reject the report

reasons i'm loving this week:

- finally getting a software issue resolved so i could finish my online trainings. 100% complete way ahead of corporate's schedule. so i can put this potential work situation out of my head until april

- classes start today. i didn't feel much towards this semester until today when i packed my backpack. now i'm kinda excited to get rolling (despite the internship anxiety)

- finished my 4th book this week and got further into the marriage plot. i'm still back and forth in my opinion, but i'm looking to our book discussion sunday already. i've missed reading for fun so very very much

- last of my parts were installed this week. yay running boards! this weekend i'm getting everything cleaned out of the bitch so i can drop her off at my parents'. i also need to make a list of all the fixing up she needs. i'd like to give her to my brother as close to perfect as possible

- it's tax season! i'm still waiting on my W2, but i started popping in some stuff anyway. i love doing my taxes; yea, i'm a nerd. this may be the first year i do itemized deductions so there will be lots of playing with numbers :)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love10

how about a late day wine and love? good? good :) thanks, nora!

reasons my glass is double:

- the obvious

- a fight stemming from a miscommunication that lasted way longer than necessary because of miscommunications

- a constantly changing syllabus means i have no real idea when shit is due or even if certain things are still required

- my work project might get pulled because it may be pointless. i'm annoyed by so many things involving this even though i despise the project

- business partners who don't show up for regularly scheduled meetings with no explanation

reasons i'm loving this week:

- resolving the never ending fight and more reinforcement that my girls will always be there for me

- having a 98% in my other class. the class i was more concerned about screwing up when this semester began :)

- creating wedding inspiration boards to help JP.. and to feed my addiction for weddingy things

- two successful weeks of working out and cooking at home. neal and i skipped last friday morning's workout because we were both exhausted, but the plan is working out quite nicely

- dinner date with neal tomorrow since he has gift cards to use. i see some martini flights and creme brulee in my face

- motown station on pandora. it's keeping me calm as i deal with work aggravations, and it's helping me make my wedding playlist ;)

- one week until turkey day and my favorite people watching event. i'm having dinner with neal's family. we're all cooking things so it's gonna be crazy. plus the ravens plan the niners (harbaugh v harbaugh!) for TNF. plus i'm "shopping" with two of my favorites. there will be obnoxious amounts of food, many discussions, hard hits, venti starbucks, mcdonald's hashbrowns and much cursing over the course of two days. it's gonna be AWESOME

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love9

hosted by the ever fabulous nora!

reasons my glass is double:

- grad school papers and beating myself up for being the queen of procrastination

- canceled classes when i busted my ass for 21 hours trying to finish said paper

- still not having caught up from my lack of sleep from the last two weeks. resulting in my current fight to keep my eyes open

- changing plans because of other people

- worrying that everything i do will not be enough, and i'll lose everything i want in the end

reasons i'm loving this week:

- celebrating too many births in two few days. as busy as last week/weekend were, i LOVED celebrating. birthdays are super important to me

- sitting down and mapping out my class assignments for the rest of the semester. i am slightly relieved because i have a manageable plan for the coming weeks

- also having a new plan to keep my ass healthy with neal as my accountabilibuddy. there will be cooking and working out (and whining and naps and booze as muscle relaxant...). day one of snapping back was this morning. 20 minutes with chalene. doesn't help with the afternoon sleepies i am currently battling, but keeps me in my skinny bitch jeans. i just hope neal's alive when i get home; it was his first turbo experience

- gimme bar because i need another internet obsession. it's like pinterest, but more :) users can't invite people yet, but it only takes about 20 min to get a code if you request one

- upcoming baby shower! gift and card have been purchased; i just need to wrap everything. i can't wait to see SJ :D

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love8

hosted by the ever fabulous nora! oh, what a week...

reasons my glass is double:

- several days of rain starting the same week i'm pmsing. i have so little energy; i'm staying awake by sheer force of (waning) will

- not accomplishing as much as i needed to over the weekend so i had to cram everything into two days. that resulted in only two hours of sleep one night, which doesn't help my already exhausted self

- got my contingency planning assignment*, which doesn't require extra training yet. in the job aid, it lists my restrictions as colorblind, unable to stand for long periods or bend and exceeding ladder weight restrictions (325 lbs!!!). not one of these things is true, and i don't know where the information came from. none of that is in my employee profile *scowl*

- this work project is driving me insane. i seriously hate managing people and fielding questions i can't answer. it doesn't help that this woman keeps asking me the same fucking question. i've told her what i know, and i'm dealing with people on the other side of the world. i can't get you an immediate different answer so STOP ASKING

- general impatience and annoyance with everything. mixed in with some bullshit causing justified annoyance

reasons i'm loving this week:

- i had a lot of fun while i wasn't getting any work done. dinner at brewers art was amazing. chuck's rugby match was fun even though i didn't have a clue what was going on. and the wii party was full of ridiculous awesome (post coming soon)

- i attended a few psych webinars. two were boring, but the eating disorder session was great. the presenter was fantastic, and i'm pulling her studies for my research paper :)

- 1st midterm and 2nd paper done. i think i did pretty well on the midterm, but i'm concerned about the paper after tuesday's discussion. it's mostly opinion based. however, my opinion was based on a misunderstood concept. we'll see in two weeks. gotta refocus on the next midterm, another paper and prepping for my group...

- midweek massages and margaritas (and tacos and queso and girl chats). much needed on all counts

- JP GOT ENGAGED! she's one of my best girls, and i'm so incredibly happy for her (and a wee jealous). so excited that i ordered her little pink box gift while we were on the phone. can i just say that i've had her and HB's gifts picked out for ages?! i knew these boys were right :)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

*basically, the union role i would fill should they go on strike next spring. we go through this every two years since half the company is unionized. i have my qualms with unions, but i don't believe in scabbing

wine & love7

another week to recap. thanks, nora!

reasons my glass is full:

- this whole week! ...ok, not the whole week, but a good chunk of it. i broke my favorite mug and have been struggling to glue it back together. pretty sure i broke my good karma at the same time

- general office annoyances because of fools who work in my building. small things, but still aggravating. throat punch #1

- 20SB email spam from members. yes, there is such a thing as too much promotion. throat punch #2

- too many distractions at the office means i'm behind on my homework for the week. need to get shit done, especially considering...

- dr. p canceled class tuesday night and assigned a group assessment in its place. we have to develop a treatment plan on two cases by monday, which is the day before our midterm. awesome, dude. just awesome

reasons i'm loving this week:

- went out to dinner with rae and claire (plus their british hubbies). i haven't seen rae and rich since claire and dom's wedding (THREE years ago!). it was really nice catching up. we ended up staying for trivia afterwards. totally awesome because we were tied for second to last, but ended up winning second place :)

- the super awesome 20SB team taking care of the spammer

- packages. got my ray lewis probowl jersey(!) and first part of a baby shower gift(!!)

- i had to request a couple articles and books from other universities for a paper i'm working on. everything has been coming in super fast, which i didn't expect

- this weekend is packed full of fun things. vacation day tomorrow and dinner with neal. hallmark ornament debut weekend starts saturday, but i have all my ornaments on hold already. going to my first rugby match (i hope) and hosting a wii game night on saturday :)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love6

i really should do this weekly. there are some really rough weeks, but there have also been some spectacular ones. thanks to nora for starting this so i can learn to appreciate the good things a bit more :)

reasons my glass is full:

- bartenders in training who don't know how to make mojitos. only the second time in my life i've sent something back. [i thought it was the first. i forgot about the order my server got completely wrong and tried to tell me was what i had said when it totally wasn't. some assholes DO need to write down orders, especially in large groups]

-being late to child & adolescent again. we start 15 minutes early because no one wants to be there til 1045pm, but i have a class that is supposed to end at 8pm. i would be late regardless, and i told dr. p that on the first day. yea well group therapy has gone over every week because none of us wants to shut it (i'm one of the worst offenders). this week, i missed 10 minutes and the entire discussion of ODD. i might email dr. p cause i really think this isn't fair to me

- my headphones are starting to die. they're just a little over a year old *sigh* i have my eyes on a new pair, but won't be getting them quite yet because of other purchases...

reasons i'm loving this week:

- happy hours with leslie and julia, despite the liquor problems. also getting frozen yogurt after delicious guacamole and cuban sandwiches

- wednesday nights in general. jesse and i skype every week (yes, it's on the schedule. schedules keep me sane :)). we don't always have a ton to say, but seeing his face always makes me happy

- getting homework done ahead of my schedule. i have whole days i can spend reading blogs and tweeting sans guilt. i feel way more on top of my game than i have since undergrad

- no more limits on pandora. i've been listening to SO much good music this week

- my ravens beating the titans, keeping us on top of the steelers. love my boys! i finally bought a ray lewis jersey (2011 probowl), which should be here next week. the other one i really really want has to wait a little bit longer. it'll make a nice christmas gift to self i think :D (even though they don't make women's authentic ray lewis jerseys)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love5

it's been a while, but how about some wine & love today? :) and don't forget to visit the lovely nora, who started this all

reasons my glass is full:

- i'm pmsing, which means general irritability at everything, a constant state of exhaustion and about four times the proper amount of salt added to everything

- i need an oil change, but i'm still pissed about my last trip. i might just go to the location round the corner from home instead of the one by work

- continued access issues are making me increasingly stabby. i'm about two emails away from giving up on this three (nearly four) month ordeal

reasons i'm loving this week:

- had a meeting with dr. j about my suspension, and it's been waived! i didn't have to bawl and beg for another chance; she and the dean agreed that i should get another one. i'm just waiting on the dean to approve my course selection :)

- the business is starting off ok. business cards have arrived, website has been put together and we're starting to build our client list. we had a couple setbacks, but i think we're still in a good place right now

- making lots of fun plans :) might have lunch with mom friday. seeing HP7 (again) with julia and leslie in a couple weeks. hosting our first game night. brunch with stace and crabs with the parents when jesse comes down. on top of plans to go up to jesse's this weekend and seeing two shows next week

- opened a credit union account because i'm over wells fargo (i'm gonna miss wachovia immensely). everyone's been super nice and helpful even though i've had a few issues. one phone call, a trip to a branch and lots of patient explanations seem to have sorted everything out. i didn't even have to yell at anyone

- #summerofharry. we're on goblet of fire, which is still my least favorite, for the next two weeks. i'm really excited for the last three though. can't lie; i love dark and twisty. the growing threat of voldemort's return is so exciting, and i love his eventual defeat. all it needed was a little more neville fucking longbottom ;)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love4

wine & love, hosted by nora :)

reasons my glass is full:

- got my grades back. i. am. not. pleased

- moving (not me) cause it sucks balls. at least the place isn't mega faraway from the current place

- continued assholery at a company i can't name endured by people i choose not to name in case one of those corporate bitches actually figures out how to use google and the internet machine :p

reasons i'm loving this week:

-  my guy's hauled ass last week so work project is on schedule. we could be on to the next stage on tuesday

- our side business got its 2nd client and might be hiring its first employee! now i've got to figure out employment taxes :p

- gonna get the business registered with the state tomorrow, which makes this all really real. SO excited

- the moving? that'd be j. finally found and was approved for an apartment :) no, he's not moving here or any closer (lol that's everyone's favorite question), but we will be packing up and relocating his shiz this weekend

- burgers + pool (new place has an inground!) + boy for the long weekend. that right there is a win :D

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love3

welcome back to nora's wine & love series :) last week was just too atrocious for one post

reasons my glass is full:

- the entirety of last week's suckage. we're moving past it

- firefox4 not wanting to play nice with gmail. if i have gmail open too long, the whole browser has a seizure

- grades not being posted yet. i'm trying not to freak out, but i'm FREAKING OUT

- losing some of my healthy eating mojo. now that i need to eat to maintain, not lose, i don't know what to eat. i'm still meal planning, but i haven't found the right balance between too much and too little quite yet

- twiddling my thumbs and getting concerned about delays on this project because the guys are in training this week. the deadline involves clients and security audits so we can't move the end date

reasons i'm loving this week:

-  the easy, breezy (beautiful cover girl?) calmness of this week. such a relief to my nerves

- getting approved to work from home once a week during the summer, starting tomorrow :D

- i got the max extra credit in research methods, which will, i hope, make up for any dumbassery on the final

- exciting events this weekend! juli's graduating (finally!) from her graduate program, and i'm going to witness the magical moment. then wine in the woods with neal and his parents plus juli's graduation party on saturday

- having the time to get some business things sorted during work downtime. lol all we need to do is make a final decision on the firm's name so i can pull the trigger on all these forms. right now, that's our biggest issue so i think we're doing pretty darn well :)

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

wine & love2

another installment of nora's wine & love series. thursday is the perfect day for this, too :)

reasons my glass is full:

- DC parking garages that have out of order credit card machines and force me to valet park for double what i wanted to pay

- drama from jesse's family. as he put it, they're "vindictive, stupid and cut throat". after next week, i hope we never have to deal with any of those assholes again

- still freaking out over my grades and bringing up my gpa out of necessity, not vanity. i think i'm poised to make it happen, but i could fuck it up with these finals. plus we have seven assignments, including extra credit and participation, between two classes that haven't been graded yet

- waking up at 6am, but falling back asleep at 730. waking up again an hour later, which is 15 minutes after when i wanted to be leaving the house, still needing to shower and eat breakfast. fun morning

- feeling broke the first week of every month because my biggest bills get paid that week (and the week prior). i budget everything so tightly to not create a tempting excess of funds in my favor. so there are a few days that i freak out about potential overdrafts. having my back up credit card denied doesn't help (misread the budget, and thought i had more available than i did. my bad)

reasons i'm loving this week:

-  my counseling prof letting me take the final early so i can support jesse. i'm not as worried about this final so moving it isn't causing extra stress

- getting to see jesse next week, even though the circumstances are totally fucked up. twice in one month makes my heart happy

-packages! my bathing suit, wellies, cardigans and planner pages all came in this week. it was almost like christmas!

-it's cinco de mayo. i have no plans other than studying and watching arrested development. i haven't ruled out having drinks at home though :)

- it's a beautiful day, and i'm leaving work a little early. i have to pick up stuff from campus (blech), but i'll get to drive with the windows down. my favorite

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?

ps - may have led everyone to believe i'm almost done with grad school on my previous wine & love. oops! i meant i'll be done with this semester; i still have another couple years before i'm totally done with school :)

wine & love1

nora started this wonderful meme, and i felt compelled to join in today :)

reasons my glass is full:

- there are only two weeks left of class, which includes three major assignments, one exam and two finals. starting to freak out

- work meetings scheduled at the precise time i wanted to have open for last minute cramming. should've blocked it out on the calendar...

- alabama and other parts of the south. will the earth ever get a reprieve?

- the insane rains the east coast have been getting. luckily, my part of maryland isn't flooded

- this whole obama birther nonsense. put on your hoods and find a cross to burn; we all know you're just racist assholes

reasons i'm loving this week:

-  there are only two weeks left of class; i can smell freedom!

- twitter and blog friends, in general, all day everyday

- this post touched my heart, and made me cry at work. you don't have to spend 24 grand like some of us (giant arrow over this girl) to help someone. you just have to be there

- attempts to make neal snort his water with my nonsense. not sure if mission was accomplished cause i was tweeting him from bed

- leaving weight watchers 67.8 pounds lighter than i started. i'm still digesting that accomplishment...

so what has you reaching for that second glass (in frustration or celebration)?