Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday Mishmash

Boy have I been off-schedule since I got back from Maui - and for someone who barely HAS any schedule, that's saying something! But factor in the time difference, time change (why do I suddenly think I need to be in bed at 6:30 pm???), a red-eye flight home, the instant need to buy a new refrigerator AND take Paco to the vet, not to mention having no fresh food in the house until Wednesday evening - oh, and starting my new part-time job - and well, you have discombobulated Shelley. I'm slowly getting caught up with reading my favorite blogs, and I promise, I'll have a real Maui update soon!

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So yeah, there is nothing more fun than having your dumb stupid refrigerator die while you are on vacation. Luckily for us, the neighbor girl, Hayley, who was taking care of our pets, noticed it and her dad came over and cleaned it out - otherwise we would have walked into a smelly nightmare. He did call us to let us know what had happened, but we didn't let it ruin our good time in Maui. However, as soon as we got home, Jeff tried to get someone out to repair it. Do you know, the first time we could get a repair guy out, not to actually fix it, mind you, but to run a diagnostic test on it to see what was the problem, would be Monday, November 22? Yep. The week of Thanksgiving. Since we could end up waiting nearly a month to get the dumb thing fixed, and it had gone out in July, and we had no idea of how much money we were looking at in repair costs, we decided to junk it. Too bad, as it was only six years old. But it was a piece of crap - LG, I am so NOT impressed with your product, your service, your parts availability - I would not only never buy an LG product again, I would not recommend them (obviously). Anyway, we went to Lowes, and bam, bought a new fridge. It's smaller than our old one, but with just two of us, there was a lot of empty space in the old one. We chose a Frigidaire that was 20% off, with free delivery! And the next afternoon, when the fridge showed up, there was a dent in the side (toward the back; you can't see it since we have this slot for the fridge) so I got another 10% off - woot!
A working fridge - what a concept! And yes Mom, there is already stuff on top of it (she hates that)...
After the first grocery shop - it looks so pristine, I had to take a picture! Oh, and the grapefruit? Free with a bag of salad. I don't really like grapefruit - any suggestions as to how to eat it?
Very empty freezer. My neighbor tossed a bag of coffee beans, several bags of nuts, and I lost some Gladware in the purging process. I can't really complain, but it hurts a bit.

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On Wednesday, I ate a Clif Bar for breakfast and headed off to my new job (more on that later). Four and a half hours later I left work and hit the grocery store, where I finally got some real food. Came home, unloaded everything and realized that I was starving - it was 4:30 pm and the only thing I'd eaten was the dang Clif Bar that morning! Too hungry to pull something together, I had another Clif Bar (and NO, this post is not sponsored by them, lol). While I do not recommend having a day of not eating like this very often, it didn't kill me, and quite honestly, I ate really terrible Sunday evening and Monday (good thing I don't travel very often, because I get "travel food" mindset, which means my normally decent eating quickly goes down the drain) and it didn't hurt me to miss a few calories, if you know what I mean.

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Paco is fine, btw. He has dime-sized lump on his chest that was red, raised and kinda bloody, so to be safe, we had our vet check him out. She said it's most likely a histiocytoma, which is a benign tumor. Good to know. Oh, and not only did he do great while we were gone - he had lots of play time with his best friend Ginger - but he also went on a walk with Hayley's dog, Gidget. Y'all, this is huge - Paco does not like other dogs (exception being Ginger) and has charged at Gidget in the past. I couldn't believe it when Hayley said they did great - apparently they barked at each other once and then set off on the walk. I may have to bribe her to do it again, just so Jeff and I can see this with our own eyes!

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I know I'm supposed to be tapering my running in anticipation of the half marathon coming up *gulp* in one week, but I don't think I was supposed to taper quite this much...the only day I ran this week was yesterday. And that was for all of 15 minutes. Really, I blame Matt - he had some weak excuse about his kids having the day off of school and didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn, blah blah blah, whatever...so I headed out on my own. And I was fooled by the grey, overcast skies and dressed too warmly (i.e. a technical t-shirt instead of a sleeveless top - really, Texas? Does it STILL have to be this hot in mid-November???), and although my legs felt great, I was practically hyperventilating during the entire run. Makes me wonder if my cardio needs improving. Anyway, I called it a day rather quickly. I'm hoping that meeting up with my running club on Saturday for a 6 mile run will kick me back into gear. **Disclaimer** You know I really don't blame Matt (much) - it's just lazy Shelley making an appearance. I'd hoped she was gone for good, but alas and alack, no.

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I started my new job on Wednesday at James Avery. I had a great day - I really liked the people who work there, the atmosphere, and the whole attitude toward customer service. Plus the jewelry is really, really pretty! As part of my training, I had a little scavenger hunt-type of quiz, where I had a sheet of paper with jewelry codes listed and I had to find them in the store. It was a little hard at first, especially when I was looking for something that I thought should have been a gold ring - but I read the code wrong...it was a GARNET ring. Oops. It's just a new way of thinking for me. One funny thing - when the manager was going over the employee handbook to me, she said that we were not to be on the internet for personal reasons (we sometimes have to check the company website), and I have to tell you, I was relieved to know that I wouldn't be sitting in front of a computer monitor all day long! Yes, I'm sure my feet will get tired from standing for several hours at a stretch, but I really welcome the customer interaction and all of the different things I will be doing.
My first ever James Avery charm was a dachshund, naturally, in honor of our sweet Jackie. On the right, the LOVE charm is from my childhood.

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I have a mini Fashion Friday for you - my mom and I went shopping while in Maui, and I tried on the cutest dress...and it fit, perfectly! I can't tell you how astounding this still is to me - I'm so used to shopping with my mom and having most of what I try on not work, that this was like Christmas!
I really liked the dress - it was the right length, it covered my bra straps, the colors were so *me* and I even found a bracelet in the store that went with it - but check out the price:
Sigh. I hemmed and hawed, but just couldn't bring myself to spend $78 dollars on a sundress. Especially knowing that we had a broken fridge waiting for us at home. But check out the size - small! That alone almost sold me, lol!

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Lastly, here's a picture of a bumper sticker that made me do a double take - this was on the road back to Kahului, where the airport is:
Dude, I think it's a little late to be asking that question when you're already ON THE ROAD! Too funny!!!

Alright, have a great weekend and I hope to be a little more coherent on Monday!

28 comments:

  1. Hey Shelley!

    Yours was the first on my early-morning (quick) blog visits today. :-) Glad to hear Paco is doing well AND did so great w/ Gidget. When pets are 'our kids,' it's important to know they're okay (and socializing properly...LOL).

    As for the fridge: you had me at 'pristine.' Seriously! I sat in awe, just looking at the organization...! :-) Distracted. Try cutting the grapefruit in half, sprinkle a little raw sugar (or sweetener) on it, and eat the sections. Not a big grapefruit fan myself, but lots of it here in FL.

    The dress is darling, the pricetag, not so much. The size: EXCELLENT!!! You go, girl!

    Now, let's get you out there and ready for your upcoming HM! Whoot!!

    *hugs* from Orlando, friend!

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  2. Add the grapefruit sections to salad? Most of the time, grapefruit isn't sweet enough for me, but there are times when a really good one is fine, as is.

    That just stinks! ha about your fridge. But don't you just love Lowe's? Pick it out and it's in the house in no time!

    Enjoy your new job - strangest thing - for the first time ever, I received one of their catalogs in the mail!

    Getting back into the groove after vacation can be a challenge. Good luck!

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  3. dang LOOK AT THAT :)
    Im late to my post.
    wearing my James Avery wedding band.
    Coveting the fact you can run.
    and will never ever ever ask anyone what they think of my driving lackofskillz.

    ever :)

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  4. Size Small! Wow!

    Maybe you could add grapefruit sections to a smoothie...if it can make spinach taste okay to drink, maybe grapefruit would be okay too!

    Let's hope your new fridge lasts longer...6 years is not long in my books. "LG" is off my list for future appliances!

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  5. Holy WOW, girl! Lots 'o writing and catching up. Have you had ANY down time since getting home?

    Your fridge is geeeorgeous and I'm pretty sure the tops of refrigerators were made for stuff to be put on top of them.

    Welcome back! Can't wait for the Maui edition of the Catch-Up!

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  6. I see those stickers all the time. I get a laugh every time. Loved the cute dress. Wouldn't have spent that much either, even if I had it to spend. I just had a fridge go too. I should have got a pic of my new, clean, pristine fridge. It won't look like that for long!

    Have a great weekend!

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  7. Getting back in the swing of things after any vacation is tough, never mind a time change to deal with too!

    $78 is too damn much for a sundress. Probably priced for the tourists - suckers some of them!

    Your new fridge is really nice. And now that you've posted photos I'm feeling the need to go home and clean mine out. *slinks away*

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  8. WOW! It's nice to know you are actually human sometimes! You have a good start with getting back to normal and that can be really hard.

    My suggestion for the grapefruit is to juice it. You can even make margaritas with it though that will not help with getting back on track :)

    Have a great weekend my friend and I'm glad to hear Paco had a great time and he's okay!

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  9. So sorry about your fridge! Glad you had great neighbors to take care of it. I love reading about Maui and can't wait to hear more. Good luck next week in your half, I've got one too! One week! Yikes!

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  10. Welcome home! Adjusting to non-vacation mindset is always hard for me!

    And I'd just like to say, that I think that sundress is a little too big.

    How's THAT for a good Friday?!

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  11. I hear ya about trying to recover from vacation. I was gone for 4 days and still haven't recovered!

    You look so pretty in that sundress. Size small?! Color me green. :P

    Glad Paco is ok. And that was so sweet of your neighbor to clean out your fridge.

    Hope you have a great run Saturday. I can't believe the big day is right around the corner. Don't let me too close to that medal you get. I might have trouble prying my fingers off of it.

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  12. I love grapefruit! I actually think it needs a tiny bit of sugar (like 1/4 tsp) or a drizzle of honey to cut the tartness but then it is delish! One of my old fave breakfasts was a grapefruit with whole wheat peanut butter toast. It is a really tasty combination.

    Those bumper stickers are for people like me to slap on our cars when our teens start driving. Then we get random reports about their driving from strangers. LOL :)

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  13. Glad you are back home. Sucks about the fridge, but I really like the one you got - the stainless looks nice!

    I love, love, love grapefruit! While I can eat it plain, one way to help you like it is cut it in half, drizzle either 1/2 tsp. of sugar or a tsp. of honey on the cut side, then broil it.

    I know it sounds weird, but the sugar carmalizes and the grapefruit gets warm - so good!

    My MIL sends me a box of grapefruit and oranges from Florida every Christmas - can't wait!

    And I don't care if a dress says XS, I don't think I could spend $78 on a sundress - my wedding dress only cost $19! :D

    Have a great weekend Shelley!

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  14. Welcome back Miss Shelley! What a whirlwind of stuff to deal with after your trip to Maui. Glad it all worked out okay.

    Had to LOL about the stuff on top of your fridge. I have stuff on top of mine too.

    Looking forward to seeing pics of your adventures! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  15. SUCH a good mish mash! More to comment on! First thing that comes to mind is your little neighbor--tell her she is the Dog Whisperer of the neighborhood! That is exactly what Cesar would do--'the power of the walk!'

    Second--jealous of your new fridge--especially the inside! Oh to be that clean, and to light up when you open it! Yes, my light went out about 2 years ago and I haven't 'gotten around' to replacing it...

    The dachshund charm--oh, love. I have never heard of that jewelry store, but I notice someone said they had a catalog. MIght have to check them out. I do have a keychain with a dachshund and a heart and a doggie bone on it.

    Dress was gorgeous, but you can find a dress in YOUR SIZE anywhere now! Isn't that a great feeling?

    Looking forward to the half report. *I* am not worried at all about your ability to run that far!

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  16. I was wondering if you were actually back yet LOL!

    Bummer about the fridge, but dang the new one looks so amazing and *healthy* inside.

    I like my grapefruit straight up with a sprinkle of sugar on it. Yummers. Or you could grill it.

    Was that coffee I saw in the freezer? Tip from the roaster, you don't have to store coffee in the freezer, just keep it air tight. That way it won't pick up any freezer funk or condensation.

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  17. Okay, first, I **LOVE** the license plate! Had to read it a second time before I got it. Yeah, I'm a little slow today (have flu).

    Second, I usually just peel the grapefruit and eat it like an orange. Usually half at a time. Or, when I was a kid, we cut it in half, sprinkled a little sugar over it, and ate the sections that way. Or you could donate it to a food bank.

    Love the dress. Can't help with the running thing. But glad to have you back!

    Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

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  18. Lovely long post Shelley!

    Don't worry too much about the running, just see how it goes tomorrow, I'm sure you are ready for it.

    I hardly eat grapefruits but when I do I peel them as an orange and eat them that way with a little sugar on it because otherwise it's way to bitter for me.

    Your new job sounds great, good to hear you like it so much.

    And love the new fridge. My vacuum cleaner died Monday and we still have to buy a new one, can't wait to long with that :)

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  19. I love the new fridge and how clean it is. I know if I had to move my stuff to another one, I'd not just lose the Gladware but all the crud hidden underneath of the Gladware.

    I have to get some more charms for my beautiful, nearly charmless bracelet. All I have is a small Bible with the Lord's prayer in tiny, tiny writing (that I can no longer see). Hannah was hot for that bracelet too. I had to keep taking it out of her bag of goodies she was trying to collect from me. Will have to check out James Avery. Glad they are putting you to work. Someone needs to make a dime.

    Love the dress too.

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  20. Not a fan of LG either. Woot woot to the nice new fridge =) I like that everything is all organized. =)

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  21. yeahh for your first 1/2 that is so exciting!! try to believe that your taper went just as it should :)

    on running with friends I think as long as you have a conversation at the beginning that says hey I'm just going to run how I feel today and hope we both do well, that sets the stage for her to not expect you to just stick with her if you are rockin it out!

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  22. We are going to Hawaii, first time for me!!! In the spring, I am getting sooo excited. If my hubby backs out again (yes I said again) I may be on the news, LOL


    glad you had soooo much fun, love the dress, and we missed you

    :)

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  23. Gorgeous, pristine fridge! I need to clean mine today...see, you're still inspiring!
    Good luck on your half marathon, I can't wait to hear about it!

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  24. Thanks for the tip on LG fridge - we will need to buy one *someday*, and I like the layout of the LGs, but am nervous about buying an "unknown" brand.
    I *love* grapefruit! You should send me some - I bet you get great grapefruits there in Texas! Anyway, since you don't like it, try it for a frozen treat. Peel, section and pop in the freezer, then you could have a couple right after your run, that would be refreshing - plus, they would keep for a while and you wouldn't let them spoil since you don't like them.
    I don't like stuff on top of the fridge either - mostly because I can't ever reach it or see it. I am sure you know what I mean.

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  25. Something about the fridge story was so funny. You had such a discount I think they should have paid you to take it. Love the dress, the size, not the price.
    Love the bracelet. Not happy about no internet at work, that means no contact from you.
    Your countdown to the 1/2 is my countdown to the Bar Mitzvah: we both have HUGE days on the 20th. I'll be thinking about you.

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  26. Hey, so nice to hear from you! I really enjoyed reading this catch up post.

    That vacation sounds tiring; well, at least the END of it. The 'welcome home'. Yikes. Quite the back to reality!! Sheesh. It probably did help a little to have been forewarned. And good for you for not letting that get to you in Maui.

    I think you are inpiring readers worldwide to clean out the fridge! haha. Yeah, mine will never look like yours, but I can improve it.

    Ha ha, Paco reminds me of a child, behaving better for someone other than MOM! haha. Maybe he thought all along he was 'protecting' Mommy from Gidget.

    I hope you can be a 'good' girl, and actually bring some paycheck home from your new job. We don't have that chain(?) in our area. I'm glad day 1 went well.

    Cute dress. I hope it isn't one of those things where you kick yourself later for NOT buying it. I think you'll be fine..as another reader said, now you can fit into anything you want, so that will help with the bargain shopping. It may be your hands on hips pose, but it does seem to me that you could have worn an XS!

    I have not seen that bumper sticker; thought it was pretty funny. Sorry, you should have asked that question BEFORE getting behind the wheel.

    Welcome back!
    Chrissy

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  27. Hi Shelley,

    Thanks so much for the kind comment on my last post.

    Boy, you've been so busy! Maui, dead/new refrig, new job, Paco at vet, etc., etc.

    Very cute dress, but that's a lot of money for a sundress. Now that you see how good you look (and feel) in it, finding a similar one for a more reasonable price can be a goal!

    It drive my mom crazy when I put pots, pan, and casserole dishes in my oven to dry after washing them. It's after a big meal and the oven is still warm.... why not? Just making the most of the warm air. Sheesh, Mom.

    Why do we care what our moms think?

    Have a great week!

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  28. I mean "It drives...."

    Hate when I make a typo....

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