Hello from Louisville... I'm answering some Q's!

I'm in Louisville, Kentucky for the weekend, doing the conference thang with my husband.  Today, I'm taking a little time out to answer some questions that Miranda asked some of her fave bloggers this week.  When you're finished here, head over to check out her blog, Hangin' w/the Tucci's - I've known for Miranda for a few years, as both of us graduated from Marshall in '06 (so that automatically makes her awesome!)  She's also into blog designing, so if your home on the web needs a little facelift, be sure to check out her work!  And now... the questions:

1. What is your daily routine like? What time to you get up, go to bed, dinner routine, etc.
On a work day, I get up around 5:30 a.m. and hit the treadmill before I'm too awake to realize how horribly not fun it is.  I get ready for work, and spend quite a bit of time staring into my closet, trying to figure out how I can make my favorite ratty Gap jeans look "business casual".  I do this at least once per week, but never succeed and end up settling for some type of dress pants. Yuck. I arrive at work around 7:30 a.m., tune in to 93.3 WLZT Soft Rock Columbus online, or play my iPod on shuffle.  I perform my work duties all day - sometimes I'll head out for a bite around lunchtime (HELLO Quiznos Turkey Ranch & Swiss on whole wheat!), but most of the time I stay in and eat at the office.  When 3:30 rolls around, I run errands then head home, where I neaten things up a little, and cook a lil' something for my husband and I. He usually strolls through the door around the same time I do, so it works out.  We enjoy dinner while listening to ESPN's Jim Rome, PTI, and SportsCenter.  The remainder of my evening is spent reading, writing, doing laundry, watching some TV, chit-chatting, and cuddling with the cat. I always end the day by curling up in bed and reading myself to sleep with the TV on the lowest volume - usually i'll turn it on QVC or an old black and white movie. By 11:30 p.m., I'm snoozing peacefully!

2. What are things you do with your family for fun?
For fun, my husband and I love going out to eat and grabbing a good coffee afterward at least once per week.  We love going to the movies, going to college football games, catching an Ohio U Bobcat basketball or baseball game (depending on the season), and taking walks on campus.  Sometimes, we like a calm evening in - we totally still love going to the movie rental store, and we buy super sized-movie-boxed candy like we're little kids!  We love mini-3 day trips to new cities more than anything!

3. What are your FAVORITE holiday traditions?
Decorating! I celebrate my birthday (which is November 5th) by putting up my Christmas tree the first full weekend of November.  A little early, I know, but I'm always excited to get out my new Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments and methodically hang them on the tree!
I LOVE the day after Thanksgiving at my mom's house in West Virginia - dinner is at her house on Black Friday b/c I do dinner at my in-law's on bird day.  We usually get up bright and early and go Christmas shopping, have dinner at home later in the evening, then put up the Christmas tree while my step dad lazes around and watches college football - I love it!  Also, Christmas Eve at my in-laws' is great fun... too much food and too many people, but it's never boring and it's always one big crack-up of a good time.  I also love when my husband and I return to our home in Athens and have a little Christmas of our own on the 26th.

4. What do you do when you want to relax and have some "me time" ?
Chocolate, chick-flicks, reading, online shopping, and quiet time - that pretty much does it for me!

5. What is one of your favorite books you've read so far?
I absolutely loved Olive Kitteridge!  It was a pleasant surprise. "Hello Kitty Must Die" was a fun beach read, as well.  Also, Richard Russo's "That Old Cape Magic" was a super enjoyable book; I laughed non-stop while reading the last 50 pages.  Russo is a great fiction writer who can create seriously interesting yet normal characters. He's one of my favorites! 

6. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Hands down, Bath and Body Works.  It's a sick, sick thing I have going with that place and all of its' wonderful products...  I can't go in without spending way too much, and I always have B&BW stock-piled for holidays, birthdays, and "me" days. If i quit going, I would save a heck of a lot of money - probably enough to make a new car payment each month!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I'll be back on Monday with a recap of my mini-trip to Louisville!

A Slice of Happiness Pie

What is "happiness"? With the help of my Facebook friends, I think I've found the answer:  happiness is a whole lot of different things which vary from person to person (vague answer, right? Happiness simply cannot be pegged down to one "key".)

I asked the question "What is happiness?", in my status update.  Nearly 40 friends responded, some listing multiple keys to their own personal happiness.  The following pie chart is a breakdown of their responses - enjoy a slice!

The majority of my Facebook friends are parents, so children were the frontrunner in creating happiness. Mentions of love, including spouses and significant others, were pretty much equal to responses involving family in general.  From this, I concluded that children make women a lot happier than men do (haha!) I also learned that people really enjoy a good meal, and when all else fails, most seek comfort in knowing their Lord and Savior. The responses I appreciated most were those that mentioned "the little things" or "the simple things" - like being grateful for what you have, enjoying simple moments, and one of my favorites, maintaining a balance in life.

So what makes me happy?  LOTS of things.  Enjoying a rich cup of hot chocolate,  the smell of a nice home fragrance, my mom's clean laundry, meeting a goal, setting new goals, making someone else smile on a day when I can barely smile at all, conquering a fear, feeling healthy and energetic, my kitty's purring, holiday decorations and Jingle Bell Rock, simple things and complicated things, big buildings, taking photos, sharing a pizza with my husband, reading quotes on Dove chocolate wrappers, my husband's success and happiness, the unknown, victories, lessons learned, using the neti pot when my head is congested, a slice of cheesecake, good music, the movie "Definitely Maybe", pretty socks, seeing my family members succeed at anything and everything, learning, adventure, challenges, the past, the present, and the future.  My Happiness. 

If that isn't enough happiness for you, then here's the happiness my Facebook friends shared with me this week:

Belgian Waffle - Stephanie Style (Wordless Wednesday)

One half blueberries & whipped cream, one half maple syrup - breakfast @ Bob's

Tom & Jerry on a Saturday Morning

It's 8:20 a.m. on a Saturday morning.  I woke up ten minutes earlier, trudged down to the laundry room and dumped some hoodies into the washer, and now I'm standing in the kitchenette, in a little bit of a sleepy daze, holding my bowl full of Cheerios and getting ready to shove the first spoonful into my mouth. 

CAT. CHASING. SOMETHING. FAST!

All I see is Diego - furiously darting through the dining chairs, my husband's stacks of books and briefcase, my antique stool, over to the couch... I catch a glimpse of a baby mouse, diving under my mid-sized Peterboro magazine basket for safety. I didn't scream - I made that suck-in scared noise, remembered (thankfully) to set my cereal bowl down, ran over, and KICKED the basket.  Scared mouse runs out, Diego chases it all over the apartment. For a second, I forget that my husband, who is deathly afraid of all little vermin, is still sound asleep in our bedroom... and that the door is wide open. I find Diego in our crowded/junk/treadmill room, where he is looking very annoyed and confused. "Where is he?" I asked.  "Meee... meeeep" Diego answers. I'm assuming, at this point, that the mouse is hiding under some junk in the corner, or maybe underneath a bookshelf - because the cat is staring. and watching. in that direction.  But then...

Diego lumbers over to the doorway... then across the hall.. and into our bedroom, where I watch in disbelief as he hops onto the foot of the bed and curls up by the lump of my husband's feet.  WHAT THE _____?!? "I thought you were a MOUSER!" I quietly exclaim to him, careful not to wake up sleeping scared-of-vermin husband.  I start shutting doors... trying to trap the critter into the room I think he's in. And then i run down the street to buy mousetraps. I've never set a mouse trap before... because Diego has always been a mouser!  In the nearly five years that we've had him, he's killed two mice, the last one being about a year ago.  And now... he's quitting on me? ON ME? I feed him, I clean his box, I buy him toys, I nap with him... and he's quitting on me.

My cat and my husband eventually woke up - and my husband and I suffered through a long morning of the most frustrating game of cat and mouse I've ever witnessed.  After watching the mouse peek out, sneak around, and hide several times, I concluded that it must have been very young and very dumb - and verrry lost.  I also concluded that my house cat is too fat, too slow, and too... stupid?  Seriously - at one point, the mouse snuck right up to Diego's face - Diego, who was crouched down quietly and silently, threw a lazy punch and missed. I couldn't believe it.  My cat no longer has a killer instinct - to him, it was all just a game.

We left the cat and mouse, and went to a football game.  Four hours later we returned, hoping to find a dead mouse in the floor... but nothing.  Just a sleepy cat, who hopped off the couch and streeeetched his legs, as if to say, "what's up, guys? How was the game?"

It's been three days and we've seen nothing of the mouse - so apparently, Diego at least scared it away.  My husband and I were so disappointed in him at first, almost like we would be in a human child who brought home an F his report card.  Or, a teenage son who just told us he accidentally knocked a girl up.  It was disappointing, and Diego knew it, too.  He pouted the remainder of the night, curling up and sleeping with a sad expression on his little face.  I got to thinking...

It's a cat.  What does he owe us? Nothing.  We keep him inside, where he's safe from outside danger but has no fresh grass to walk in or open air to breathe .  We spoil him rotten, but if anything, we owe him - because his company is the best company. He doesn't complain, I feel like he loves his human mom and dad, and he's always there with us. Rubbing up against our legs when we get home from work... curling up beside us when things are stressful... talking to us when we're excitedly talking about something, and he wants in on the conversation.  If Diego had fun playing with his little mouse friend, then I hope his little mouse friend returns. 

I doubt my husband feels the same!

And so, with that little "tale" coming to an end, I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons that I watched at least a hundred billion times when I was a kid: "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse". Take a 7-minute break and enjoy being a kid again - you deserve it!

Quotes from a Dove Chocolate

Just thought I would throw that out there! You're drooling, aren't you? 

I'm on a little bit of a blogging drought this week, too much work and not nearly enough playtime! I'll be back tomorrow with a wonderful, thought-provoking piece. 

Until then, let me share with you my latest chocolate find:

I spotted the new Cold Stone Creamery Smooth Cravings hot cocoa mix at the grocery store yesterday, and scooped it up {in Dark Chocolate flavor}! Unfortunately, Southeastern Ohio is in the middle of a random October heatwave, so my fat Marshall University mug full of Cold Stone Hot Cocoa will have to wait.  I'm tapping my foot and counting down the days!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend - mine was filled with a delicious late Friday lunch at Red Lobster, an Old Navy shopping stop, the unsuccessful search for Minnesota Vikings gear (going to have to hit up NFLShop.com), an Ohio Bobcats win (and the debut of an amazing Ohio wild [bob]cat offense that scored 49 total points), and an evening of stand-up comedy featuring David Koechner (you know him as Todd Packer from The Office!)

It's Monday (insert sarcastic "YAY" here.) So tonight, when you're finished with work, dinner, and the dishes, take a load off and enjoy a little bit of chocolate!

Good Writing: My Five Best Posts

They inspired me to write the following five blog posts - my very best since I began blogging last April! Beth @ Just Me and My Life asked readers to choose their five favorite blog posts of all time - whether their own, someone else's, or a mixture of both.  I decided to choose my own in an effort to give my newest readers a glimpse into what they've missed, and also to spotlight a couple of my pieces that have been featured as guest posts on other blogs, but haven't been posted here yet. 

Check 'em out!

My Favorite Lou Holtz Quote
I participated in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, where writers were asked to elaborate on their favorite quote of all time.  Lou Holtz is a major inspiration to me, and I believe in just about every single little thing the legendary college football coach says.  Join me as I apply my favorite Lou Holtz quote to my own life, and share a little background on what it's like to be a grad student's wife.

The Academic Job Market: It ain't Like a Trip to the Super Market!
Using Dr. Suess' "Oh, the Places You Will Go!", I document the early stages of my husband's adventure on the academic job market.  A lot of laughs, a lot of confusion, a lot of excitement, and a lot of headaches have already been experienced - and it's all explained right here. I'm just giving it to you straight - it's not easy being the wife of a soon-to-be college professor!

The Popular Girls
Popularity - it can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing, it can be a fun thing and it can be a stressful thing - but one thing is for sure: we've all had our own experiences with popular girls, whether we were one or tried to avoid them like the plague. Read my personal take on popularity growth and change, then whip out "Mean Girls" and watch it (because you know damn well it was a good movie!)

To Baby or Not to Baby (Guest Post)
I'm a married woman.  I should be reproducing... right?  Step into my shoes and read what it's like to want children and not want children at the same time, question the meaning of my own womanhood, and struggle with my friends' babies while at the same time hating to hear the number one question all of my friends and family are dying to know the answer to: "When are you going to have a baby?"

My Dad is a Used Car Salesman: Five things my father taught me about the value of life (Guest Post)
I had a father who taught me life lessons without even knowing it. In this post, I share with you five things that have molded me into the young woman that I am today and continue to shape the way I live my life in the future.

A Player's Fan: I just got Mossed - AGAIN.

WARNING:

This is a long football-related post

(written by a girl that has zero background in sports-journalism.)

My husband and I were born and raised deep in the mountains of West Virginia.  We are Marshall Alumni.  Therefore, we are Randy Moss fans (please hear me out.)

I learned early on that my husband was a player fan - he follows Mr. Moss wherever Mr. Moss goes. I also learned early on that I had to love Mr. Moss and follow him wherever he went, too - it was either that, or be miserable!

Nearly a decade ago, when my husband and I were young college love-birds, he religiously watched Minnesota Vikings Football and sported the purple Moss jersey on the weekends. Oh, he had the alternate color jersey in Golden yellow, too - and the white one.  Purple, White, and Gold #84 Vikings Jerseys. Vikings hats. Vikings sweatshirts, even a Vikings inflatable chair. All things Randy Moss, all the time.  I then started paying attention to the NFL - only to witness Randy's mooning incident at Green Bay, and the "straight cash homey" interview that followed.  I learned about his run-in with the traffic cop, squirting the ref in the face with a water bottle, walking off the field and away from his fellow Vikings early in a game, the ever so popular quote, "I play when I wanna play",and the HBO sports interview where Randy proclaimed that he smoked pot "once in a blue moon".  "What is up with this guy?," I often wondered.  Over the course of my four years at Marshall, I learned what was up with Randy Moss.  I learned that he was from a small town in West Virginia, an amazing athlete with rare athletic ability and God-given talent, a poor kid with a big dream that became a reality. I learned about all of his successes on the field, then started hearing about his successes off the field. His work with charities.  The countless number of visits back to his home state, to help kids and families in need. Eventually, I fell in love with the man, the myth, the legend... and following him and all of his sort of disturbing yet some how charismatic antics became easy. 

Soon after my husband asked for my hand in marriage, things went sour in Viking Land and Randy became an Oakland Raider.  OUT with the Minnesota gear, in with the Raiders.  Our whole apartment changed colors and themes. Todd bought new home, away, and alternate color Raiders Moss jerseys. "This is kinda fun", I thought... change is good, after all. 

Fast forward through two years of unfortunate events and an unhappy Randy in Oakland, and all of a sudden, my husband and I, finally married, are... Patriot fans?

 Randy became a Patriot.  My husband cried tears of joy when the trade was made in 2007. On that day, we raced to the nearest mall and bought all the Patriot gear we could manage to find, which in Bengal/Brown country is a little hard to do. I purged the raiders junk, and I ordered Patriot stuff. More stuff. More and more stuff. Because now, not only could I cheer on Randy, I could also cheer on that beautiful quarterback I had been hearing so much about... Tom Brady! 

I fell for the Patriots - HARD.  Loved them.  I loved everything they did, everything they said, everything about the coach, everything about the organization - ran like an army, the Patriots were an intimidating group of classy, talented men who liked to win.  Tedi Bruschi became a huge inspiration to me, and I bought his jersey.  Todd bought the home, away, and alternate color Moss jerseys (and Troy Brown's, too - because he used to play for the Marshall Thundering Herd, as well.)  Both of us had the "Coach Belichick" NFL Equipment hoodies, throws, pennants, even Christmas Ornaments and an effing toolbox.  All Randy, all the time became All Patriots, all the time.  I learned the game of football by watching the Patriots, and for some reason wished I lived in New England (which is exactly where a West Virginia girl belongs, right?)

Flash forward to this past Tuesday night.  My husband had been on "Moss Watch", because he knew his favorite athlete of all time was feeling grumpy in New England based on numerous quote-worthy interviews with the press.  At 11:37pm, I check my twitter feed one last time before closing my eyes. THERE IT IS.  MOSS TRADE.

Out with the Patriots... in with the Vikings - AGAIN?!?  And I do WHAT with all of this Patriots stuff? My husband's jersey collection has once again become obsolete, and I'm nearly in tears because just two months ago, I bought half of the Victoria's Secret NFL loves PINK line.  Patriot panties. Who would want those besides me and thousands of women in New England?  Within a half a second, my husband is already transformed over. "_ _ck the Patriots!", my soon-to-be-college-English-professor husband proudly proclaimed, because he follows Randy where Randy goes.  I, on the other hand, stood in a daze.
Because I still love Tom. and I still love Tedy Bruschi - retired, but still.  Watching the Patriots for three years was like attending "football college" for me - I learned how to love the game, look forward to the game, appreciate the talent... I felt like someone stole my football degree off the wall!

Today, I'm still a little confused.  I am slowly coming to terms with my role as a wife, and my role as a Randy Moss fan, and here's what I've decided.  I will secretly check Patriots scores and continue to google Tom Brady images behind my husband's back, I will keep my newest Victoria's Secret Patriots pajamas out to wear on the days when NFL isn't on, and I will purchase a Vikings Moss jersey as soon as the women's sizes are available for pre-order, in addition to learning all about Brett Favre.  As for my husband? He already has his Christmas list made.  Moss Vikings Jersey - one in purple, one in white, one in Golden yellow. He's kicking himself (and I am pretend-kicking him in the genital area, too) for not keeping any of his Moss jerseys from previous Viking days.  But seriously, who knew?

All I hope is that Moss finally gets a Superbowl Ring. And THEN, if it's possible, we'll buy a replica of one of those!