T is for...Tea!

Because tea fixes everything, in my opinion.

Upset stomach?



I highly recommend mint tea. Not only is it yummy, but the peppermint soothes the icky feeling.

Bad day at work?



Pretty much any kind of tea helps with that, but I prefer black tea.

Super hot day outside and need immediate refreshment?



Iced tea. Nuff said.

Can't sleep?



Sleepytime tea. Mmmm yum.

Heading south?



You better specify if you DON'T want sweet tea. Because that's what you're going to get! And it's goooood when made by a true southerner. :) (Shoutout to my special GA friends!)

So the next time you need a beverage of any kind, give it a try! There's something for everyone.

S is for....Shopping!

I'm not your stereotypical girl. I hate Lifetime, despise dresses, and really just can't stand shopping.

UNLESS...








I've recently developed an obsession with all things Guess. Shoes and handbags, to be exact. Perhaps this is a problem considering I am also unemployed.

Also? I'm pretty sure Guess is a gateway drug to....




Donations, anyone?

R is for....

Robert Loggia.

O is for 'Oh my God, it's Robert Loggia'.

I adore Family Guy. It's one of my weird 'things'. I can't sleep if I haven't watched the show from the comfort of my couch(or any couch, really). Yes, strange.
I have a few favorite moments and when I first read about the A to Z challenge, the VERY FIRST THING I thought of was 'R is for Robert Loggia'.
I even wrote it on a post it note so I would not forget to make that my R day post.

So without further adieu...here's some Robert Loggia for ya.




My favorite part of this clip? 'Space'.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Funny.

Q is for...Quiet

I hate the silence. If it's too quiet, my ears start to ring and I go a little stir crazy. This is especially troublesome given the fact that I live alone.

So usually you will find me with headphones in or the TV on, or sometimes both!
The music in my car will be loud, partly because I love to sing loudly and partly because I can't stand it any other way.

I don't like awkward silences. I need to be having a conversation with whomever I'm sitting with or I just get annoyed. So those friends who call just to call and listen to you breathe over the phone?? Please text me, thanks.

Although I can't concentrate if music is playing while I'm writing, I need to have some kind of background noise which usually means the TV is on low so that there is a constant hum around me. Weird? Perhaps.

This goes hand in hand with white walls. Painted walls, no quiet. I guess it has to do with my personality which is definitely loud.

Anyone else love the noises of the world more than the quiet??

P is for....PROCRASTINATION AND ALL THINGS EVIL

Because really, procrastination IS evil.




It is my second day off work, I have made my writing station, I have hot tea, sweet tea, chocolate, a notebook and a pen....and I'm ready to write.

But then I realized I had a story that could fit into 2 two genres....one of which is fantasy which I want to write. But I don't want to always write it so...perhaps I'll keep it realistic. But I JUST DON'T KNOW!!!! (whiny tone here)




But then I realized I wasn't wearing the clothes I wanted to wear. So I changed.

But then I realized the show on TV was annoying. So I channel surfed until I found something pleasant, if not distracting.

But then I realized I hadn't uploaded the pictures off my camera in WEEKS! so of course I had to do so. And I just realized I haven't put them on facebook yet. Hmm.

But then I realized I hadn't made a blog entry for P today. So I had to sit here and think of words starting with P.

I came up with procrastination.

Irony.

Ooooooooo

I have absolutely no idea what to write about for the letter 'O'.

So I googled 'funny words that start with o' and as I scanned a rather large list, I decided these were most 'me':

oenology-study of wines
oenomancy-divination by studying appearance of wine
oenomania-obsession or craze for wine (er...this is me??)
oenometer-instrument for measuring alcoholic strength of wine
oenophile-one who is fond of or loves wine (me!! This is me!)
oenophobia-fear or hatred of wine
oenopoetic-of, like or pertaining to wine-making

Therefore, I am an oenophiliac?? Rad.

Also, this one is hysterical:

onomancy-divination using a donkey or ass

WTF.

oose-furry dust that gathers under beds

Who knew there was a word for this besides 'just dust'??

And I love to do this:

osculate-to kiss

Thank goodness o day is over. This was too much for my brain to handle at the moment. Perhaps I'll be better at q.

N is for...

New Beginnings.

It's been a helluva year for me. 11 is my lucky number so I figured 2011 was going to be my year.

Turns out my strength is being tested pretty much on a daily basis. The bad news? I'm kinda stressed. The good news? I'm much stronger than I originally gave myself credit for.

I've spent this entire year so far trying my hardest to rectify a pretty big problem at work. (Not caused by me, by the way, but that didn't seem to matter in the end)
Friday was the worst of it and I barely had time to breathe between running between buildings and working with the president of the company to figure things out.

And at the end of the day, I heard these words: 'Thanks for all of your hard work this year, but we're going to have to terminate you'.

REALLY!??

The worst part of the news was the word 'terminate'. Like I was a bug meant to be squashed beneath one of her alligator stiletto pumps. 'You must die'.
That sort of thing.

I'm broken hearted because after almost 12 years of working there, my coworkers were no longer coworkers. They ARE my family.
I can't imagine going more than a weekend without seeing each and every one of them.

HOWEVER.

After considering all of the crazy, bad, ridiculous things I've faced this year, I realized something: everything happens for a reason. I've always thought so. But for the first time in my life, I can finally see it for what it really means.

Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you that the ridiculous things I will be facing in the upcoming weeks are happening all at the same time for a REASON.
And I KNOW I will come out on the other side a stronger person.

I'm taking some time for myself for a little while...get my head clear and maybe take advantage of all this writing time I've suddenly received!
It's a blessing in disguise. A new beginning.
And as scary as the situation is, I'm so looking forward to it.


Have any of you dealt with anything you were afraid you'd never make it through and come out stronger on the other side? Tell me about it!

M is for....

Middle Sister wine!!!

Sorry I'm a little behind. My excuse will be under 'N'. :)

For now....it's a wine kind of night and I'm partaking in my newest favorite Chardonnay, Middle Sister!
It's just yummy in all kinds of ways.



What's your favorite wine? Any suggestions? P.S. Keep it cheap! ;)

L is for....

In case you haven't guessed, L is for London!
I've always wanted to visit. If I ever had a dream vacation in mind, that would be it.
Of course there are plenty of other places I want to see in my lifetime, but London brings to mind so many magical images. Characters, writers, the ultimate in fantasy.
Someday, I vow to go. Maybe soon. Maybe I'll snag myself a British hottie. ;)
Such as...



*Drool*

He wants me. I can tell.

How about you? Is there anywhere you dream of visiting?

K is for...

KICK ASS!!!!

Because that's how I feel right now. I spent the past year worrying about my taxes because I had a feeling I would get royally F****d by my ex-husband.
Let's just say he's not the greatest person in the world and he owes me a lot of money among other things....all things I'm expecting to never see again.




So when I FINALLY finished my taxes tonight(yes, I'm a procrastinator, what of it??), I received the best kick ass news ever!!!! Turns out, HE is getting royally F****d this time!!!
Justice, yo.

Also, this post should stand for kissing. Because I like it. And because I'm looking forward to a THIRD date with someone tomorrow night. :) Where I will be kissed.

J is for....JULIE!!

That's me.

And I'm awesome.

I'm sure I've introduced plenty of quirks about myself around here but today I'm going to list completely obscure things...kind of a character sketch of myself, things you wouldn't necessarily need to know about but make me me.

1. I don't bite my nails, but I gnaw my cuticles. Not cute.

2. I can't even look at a picture of a spider without gagging.

3. Everytime I buy a book, I have to buy a bookmark to go along with it but then I promptly lose them.

4. I probably have about 30 journals, most of which have one or two entries and then nothing. My life is scattered.

5. I can't go underwater without holding my nose.

6. I hate post-it notes that are boring original yellow. Give me hot pink.

7. I'm only comfortable taking pictures in a group setting after I've had a few drinks.

8. I cannot read library books.

9. I've been at the same job for 11 1/2 years but I've probably only done about 9 years worth of work. Shh!

10. One of my biggest pet peeves is being reminded to do things I always do or already know I have to get done. Leave. Me. Alone.


And now, for the fun part, ask me anything! I'm pretty open so I'll answer anything.
Happy J Day!

I is for...

Ice cream!



I love ice cream. But I'm kind of picky. Or boring. You choose. My favorites? Chocolate. Haagen Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter. Dean's Moose Tracks. Anything chocolate and peanut butter. Anything with fudge.
My least favorites? Anything with fruit. Blech.



Ice!! I can't drink anything cold without ice. I mean, what's the point, really? And I always order beverages with extra ice so I have something left to chew when I'm done drinking. I hate ice that's too hard to chew. I prefer bagged ice or crushed/crunch ice. Does anyone else know what crunch ice is???



Imagination. Mine might be wild, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I think y'all know what I'm saying. ;)

H is for....

Hi!

That is all.

G is for GROBAN Love

I have an obsession. This obsession was brought on by complete chance.

While walking through Best Buy one afternoon years and years ago, I noticed an endcap display of some new singer, Josh Groban.

I'd never heard of him, didn't know what kind of music he sang, and didn't find him particularly attractive(because, let's face it, sometimes a sexified man is a total selling point!).
But I shrugged my shoulders and picked up this CD:



And I fell in love(and offically think he's the sexiest man ever. It's the curls. And the voice. ;)

Since then, I have been to see him in concert(best. show. ever.), I'm going again this summer, and I have all of his CDs.
Also, I'm pretty confident that should I have the chance to ever meet him, he would fall instantly in love with me too and know that we should be together forever. And if I'm married when this happens, too bad for my hubby. ;)

I'm not a crazy person. Really! Haha.

There's just something about him that soothes me, no matter how upset I am about anything. In the car, in a bubblebath, while I'm writing(p.s. it's the only music I can listen to that helps me write without distraction)...he's my music soulmate.

Everyone should check him out. You won't be disappointed!



SO.



SEXY.

Does anyone else have a strange obsession like this??

F is for....Fabulous Friends!

Because they are the best anyone could ask for. :)

E is for...Empty

I have absolutely no brain power today. :(

For some reason, finding something to talk about that starts with the letter E is completely throwing me off.

I do have a couple things to spout off about:

I am EXCITED for the gym tonight!

Work is EVIL.

It makes me lose all of my ENERGY.

And sometimes I would like to close my office door and make EVERYONE leave me alone.

Sigh...

Keep your fingers crossed that F provides me with an excellent topic!

D is for Disturbing

This was in the dumpster outside my apartment this weekend. I'm pretty sure it escaped and is now hiding underneath my bed holding a bloodied knife it stole from its previous owners who clearly hated it seeing as how it is missing an arm and its leg is cracked off.

WTF.

Anyone else have a creepy scenario for this demonic doll??

C is for Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon

I chose Courage for today because it's something I believe strongly in, something I've been well rehearsed in for the past year or so.
It's the one thing each and every one of us who are pursuing our dreams of publication must have.

I never would have dreamed of this as a career if I didn't find the courage in myself to do something about it. And I'll keep trudging up that mountain until it happens.

Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared. ~Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

Without courage, I would be in a horrible place right now. It took every ounce of courage I had to leave a terrible situation, fear being the one thing that held me back.

On the same note, I don't believe that courage could exist without support from amazing friends and family. Without certain people in my life, I don't know where I would be right now, and some of my blog friends are to thank as well.

Fear and courage are brothers. ~Proverb

I don't think that any of us know who we really are until we are forced to dig deep and find out exactly what we are made of.
So to anyone who is having a hard time right now, dig a little deeper! Your courage is there. :)

B is for...BOOYAH!!!!!!

Because it's a fabulous word and almost as good as shouting the 'f' word when you're pissed. Very satisfying. One definition, taken from Urban Dictionary, says:
Often Said when 'schooling'/beating your competition... almost as is you were sayin 'in Yo' face Mo'Fo' (Hilarious)

Today I have a couple of booyahs for y'all:



I bought these awesome shoes I'm going to attempt to walk in. BOOYAH!



I was given this award by Sylvia van Bruggen which is all kinds of awesome. Thanks, Sylvia! BOOYAH!!




I had an awesome first date last Saturday and then a surprise party thrown for me in which HE ATTENDED. That's good, right???(No pictures, sorry!) BOOYAH!!

P.S. The date is my favorite BOOYAH!! :)

And that is all for today. Happy Saturday everyone!

A is for Award!!

Today starts the A to Z blogging challenge, something that crept up quickly and all stealthlike and now I have to come up with 26 things to talk about this month.

We all know how on top of my $#/+ I am, but I'm going to have a go at it anyway!

So today, happy Friday, April Fool's Day, here's my go:

Yesterday was my 30th birthday and amongst all of the texts, phone calls, emails, and Facebook wall posts, I received an email with a comment from the lovely Deirdra Eden-Coppel complimenting my blog and awarding me this:



What a fantastic birthday gift!! I felt all warm and gooey inside. It's always an honor to have someone tell you they like what you do. So thank you so much, Deirdra! You gave me something to smile about on a day that just made me feel old. ;)

This really is a lackluster first attempt, I know, but I promise that at least one out of the twenty-six posts I'm going to do will be stellar. Phenomenal. Rad. And in honor of the letter A: AWESOME.

Fo shiz.