"It tasted like cloves & ass"

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog project in which 4...er FIVE! people contribute their individual spin on the same topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara

Sara

Wendy

Nicole

This week's topic comes from Shara: "Pumpkins. Now, go!"

With all this commotion about the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte, I found myself compelled to try it.

Usually, I am a white chocolate mocha (non-fat/ no-whip) with an extra shot gal. After hearing Shara go on about it, and my boss shouting "Jamba Juice has the Pumpkin Smash again!" I thought to myself, "I like pumpkin pie, why not give it a shot?' and gave in last Friday.

My latte was one of EPIC FAIL.

I ordered it through the drive through and due to lactose intolerance issues, it was a non-fat, no-whip. The drink tasted SLIGHTLY of pumpkin spices for the first half of the drink, then (without warning) changed to "OMG! PUMPKINSPICEEXPLOSION!" for the last half.

It wasn't stirred and the coffee part floated to the top and whatever makes it a "Pumpkin Spice Latte" fell to the bottom.

I drank it all because I am cheap, and wasn't going to waste $5 to throw it away.

It turned my tongue orange and made me feel sick.

In the future, if I want something that tastes like pumpkin pie...I will just eat a slice of pumpkin pie.

And to turn this blog from being all "debbie downer", here is a picture of my skilled hubby's pumpkin carving prowess:

We're naming the baby Dutch Ascot!

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog project in which 4...er FIVE! people contribute their individual spin on the same topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara

Sara

Wendy

Nicole

This week's topic comes from Sara: Which celebrity are you sick of and why?

I can only pick ONE??

I am not a fan of celebrities, in general. My intense dislike mainly stems from celebrities who name their kids STUPID names.

So, being the child of a famous person isn't enough, they have to have ridiculous names as well?

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon, I am looking DIRECTLY AT YOU.

Monroe I can stand, but Moroccan? You named your baby a nationality! Morocco is cool, you could've called him Rocco for short, but no. You took it one letter too far.

I could rant about this all day, seriously, but I won't.

It's one thing to be creative, and give your child a name that you've thought about and spoken out loud. A name that is just adorable on an infant, and stays that way as they grow up.

Is Moroccan Cannon (OMG, just say that out loud right now. Moroccan Cannon.) going to be a lawyer? A doctor? He could be. All I can say is at least he'll be rich.

It's like a car wreck, horrifying...yet I can't look away

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog project in which 4...er FIVE! people contribute their individual spin on the same topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara

Sara

Wendy

Nicole

This week's topic comes from me!

"What is your guilty pleasure?"

My guilty pleasure? DVR'ing crappy TV shows.

The biggest offender has to be my addiction to "Teen Mom" because Amber Portwood is a HOT MESS. I can't stop watching, either and I am always astounded at her shenanigans.

I know it's reality TV, and scandal sells - but damn.

I am not a devout watcher of reality TV, because I get too drawn in and have to remind myself that the bulk of the content is all for the cameras, but give me A & E marathons of "Obsessed", "Intervention", "My Strange Addiction" you name it, I will watch it.

I really don't know what draws me in to this, watching Hoarders makes me want to clean. Watching Intervention makes me glad I am not on meth. Sadly, I just find "My Strange Addiction" to be funny. Who eats dryer lint? Who snacks on couch stuffing? Really?

Maybe it's a classic case of Schadenfreude (the German word for pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.)

"Your daughter's 2nd birthday party? This weekend?" PASS.

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog project in which 4 people contribute their individual spin on the same topic.

My Fellow Bloggers are:
Shara
Sara
Wendy
and a big, bloggy welcome to Nicole!

This week's topic comes from Wendy!

"People either love em, or hate em; have them, or avoid them. How do you feel about birthday parties? (bonus points for sharing a birthday party story...)

I have 2 stances on this:

I LOVE my birthday (of course!) Historically, my birthday has great memories and to avoid completely ripping off a blog post I've already written on the topic, you can click HERE to read it.

Now, I will tell you Mean Jenn's stance on birthdays:

I cannot stand being invited to children's birthday parties for children I do not know. This has come up in the past with work friends or friends that I only know because we would see each other out socially, when said children are being tended to elsewhere.

This was especially awkward when I was single.

Why you ask? Let me list the reasons:

1) While I enjoy children, I have none of my own. Sometimes, I am at a loss as to what a 5 year old might like - I am guessing it's not the $10 bill I just put in a card, that I bought at Walgreens on my way to the party.

2) How awkward is it to be the only single person, without kids at an acquaintance's child's party? Not only do I not know the kid, I also don't know anyone else. I'll be over there...by the veggie platter...by myself, counting the minutes before I can say "I am SO SORRY I can't stay longer! I really must go."

3) I am not really a fan of cake. I know this is a birthday thing, and not a kid's birthday thing. I spent YEARS attending birthday parties for a friend's children where the mother would be PERSONALLY OFFENDED if I did not ingest her homemade cake. Don't get me wrong, it was very good. I just don't care for cake. I need to be in the mood for it. And it has to be chocolate.

3a) Why don't kids ever have chocolate birthday cake at their parties?? Is it for clean-up purposes? I swear, my kids will ONLY have chocolate birthday cakes. Damn the mess!

4) Small talk with people I don't know. "How do you know So & So?" - We work together. Then the awkward glance around the room "Which one of these little darlings are yours?" - None. "Oh. Do you have children?" - No, I do not. Then they are as confused as I am - who invites childless people to kid's birthday parties?

The exception to this rule, is family kid birthday parties. I am especially looking forward to my littlest niece, Gianna's 1st birthday this November.

My Earworm

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog project in which 4 people contribute their individual spin on the same topic.

My Fellow Bloggers are:
Shara
Sara
Wendy
and a big, bloggy welcome to Nicole!

(My apologies for my formatting on the links for the last blog entry, apparently all links went to Wendy!)

This week, it's Shara's turn to give us a topic and here is what she has to say: "It's my turn for the next topic, which is: We all love music, right?! Music makes the world go 'round!! BUT - there's that one song that you wake up in the middle of the night, and it's in your head, and it just won't leave. What is that song?"

I would love to say it's a song that I love and that when I hear it, I swoon. However, it is not. 'That One Song' for me is any song that I am currently sick to death of. Right now, it is "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. Past offenders have been "How Far Is Heaven" by the Los Lonely Boys, and "Handlebars" by the Flobots.

On occasion, there will be a song that comes out and I will just hate it immediately, but due to constant airplay, I end up knowing all the words and singing along and eventually liking it.

Currently, that song is "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. The first time I heard this song, it was played 6 times during my workday and I was seriously perturbed. Now, I love it. It gives me goosebumps when I hear it.

When I first caught myself singing along to it, I immediately thought of Emma Stone's character in Easy A singing "Pocketful of Sunshine"

I rarely listen to the radio to avoid being bombarded by songs being overplayed, but then I miss out on new music.

I am trying to expose myself to new & different genres of music by entering random artist names in last.fm and using the Genius feature on my iTunes. Mostly, I just find what Kosta is listening to, and pick through that :)

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog in which 4 people contribute their view on a single topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara
Sara
Wendy

This week, Sara asks: "I want to know if given the chance would you want to go back and relive your high school glory days???.."

I have been composing this blog in my head all week, and have put so many spins on it.

My high school days were most certainly not my "glory days" (that title goes to my early 20's - but has been aptly renamed "my would-be college years" since I never went to college.)
Looking back on high school, I don't even have the fuzzy selective memories of having so much fun & having awesome friends that some folks do - subconsciously blocking out the time you farted during study hall and that guy you had a crush on laughed at you - for the record, that never happened to me...I had plenty of embarrassing things happen to me but was fortunate that they were not of the body-function variety.

If I get to relive high school, do I have to relive it and hope it's better the second time around or do I get to have the knowledge I've gained in the 14 years since graduating?
If I had to go back and do it again as the stupid teenager I was, I can guarantee that I would get the same result as the first time around. And going back as a stupid teenager with a 32 year old's wisdom? I don't think I could tolerate it.

You know how they say that every choice you've made in your life brings you to where you are now? I LOVE my life now. I spent so many years being sad and miserable, what if I relived high school and made a different decision and as a result, I never met my husband?

Yeah, it's possible that different choices could have led me somewhere better, someone I loved just as much as I love Kosta, a job that I love that pays more? It's a gamble, and rather than risk losing what I love so much for something better than may not even be better - I will pass on reliving high school and choose to live the here & now instead.

Anti-social Networking

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog in which 4 people contribute their view on a single topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara
Sara
Wendy

This week's topic was my own, and is presented to you late...please forgive me!
"What is your preferred method of social networking?"

Is it possible to both loathe and love Facebook?
I keep a tight ship and only have people as friends on FB whom I am interested in hearing about. I regularly "cull the herd" and remove people I am no longer in contact with, or people who don't post anything to keep my interest. I have also deleted people who's statuses are a barrage of negativity or crazy conspiracy theories - I have no time for this.
In a perfect world, I wish I wasn't so attached to FB and had the guts to just quit it altogether. However, I find myself compelled to post my random pics and statuses for mine and other's enjoyment. I aspire to migrate to Google+ eventually, as I would like to sort who does and doesn't see certain things.
I sometimes feel that FB is too much of a commitment to maintain, I think that I am probably just thinking too much into it...

"Baby, baby, let me sleep on it, I'll give you an answer in the morning!"

Happy Topical Tuesday!

Topical Tuesday is a weekly blog in which 4 people contribute their view on a single topic.

My fellow bloggers are:

Shara

Sara

Wendy

This week's topic is courtesy of Wendy!

"What do you do to personally RE-BOOT?" When you're over-stressed, underpaid, overwhelmed and just depleted all all energy and enthusiasm, what do you do to get yourself internally re-charged and powered back up?"

Those who know me personally can confirm that I believe SLEEP is the cure for EVERYTHING. (Think Gus with the Windex from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding")

Having a bad day? Take a nap!

Feel like you're coming down with something? Take a nap!

The world and all it's inhabitants clearly have it out for you? You guessed it, take a nap!

When I am down and out, and feel like I am at the end of my rope - it is generally as a result of some sort of sleep deprivation. I am sure this applies to most humans, when I am tired - I can't focus, things get forgotten. Obligations are not met - this leads to me feeling completely overwhelmed and out of control, weepy and utterly without the ability to reason (Think 3 year old that missed their nap)

When I am well-rested, all faculties are restored. Mountains resume their existence as molehills, and I can think clearly again.

As I get older (wiser, better?) and anticipate what my life will be like when I have children, I imagine I will need to find a new way to reboot when sleep-deprived. In my experience, children are not generally keen to "Be good while mommy takes a nap".

Hello Again!

I have come out of hibernation to blog!

Shara proposed that we bring the blog project back! It's a little different this time around, we have some new bloggers added to the mix! Welcome Sara & Wendy to Topical Tuesdays!

This week's topic is courtesy of Shara, who asks:

"What do you like to do to keep cool on a hot day?"

Oh boy, Shara! I don't think this topic could be much more topical!

Well, the past few weeks in northern IL have been pretty darn hot! Today was no exception!

I wish I could say that I take advantage of the warmth, truth is - I HATE to be sweaty.

On a sweltering summer day, you can find me poolside or in my makeshift "meat locker" of a bedroom.

I am fortunate to have family in the vicinity with pools & my husband, Kosta, got so tired of me complaining about how hot it was in our bedroom and even though we have central air, he bought us a window air conditioner.

Yesterday, I got up a little earlier than usual for a Sunday because I knew it was going to be a hot one. I mowed the lawn, then Kosta and I went for a run - and I can't tell you how awesome it was to pop in the shower, then lounge on the bed for the afternoon in the delicious, crisp AC.

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