Happy Halloween!

I'll be dressing up for my jazzercise class tonight, but here's a picture of what we were for last Halloween...

much cuter than girl's next door... wouldn't you say?!?!? ;)

Yea SOX!

Way to go SOX! This is a great time for Red Sox Nation (and a great time for me to catch up on some SLEEP!)

Do you ever have those mornings when you just do NOT want to get out of bed? I am usually a morning person (I teach 3 days/week at 6am) but today it was like pulling teeth. I got up at the usual time, showered and then got BACK in bed in my bathrobe and towel to shut my eyes for a little longer while I listened to the news. I don't know if it's the late baseball nights, the really great episode of Brothers and Sisters last night (tell me you saw it. Senator McCallister, I'm in love...), the fact that it finally feels like fall or the flannel sheets and winter-weight comforter I put on my bed but it is NOT. FUN. I want to zip up in a snuggle-sack (you need one too if you live in New England) and go back to bed. IMMEDIATELY. Unfortunately I have a busy day at work today and that is most definitely NOT an option.

I hadn't been to Marshall's is a really long time so I took a trip over there on Saturday and got some GREAT stuff! It's usually not my favorite place, but everything was an additional 25% off and I got four items for less than $40 including a Lilly P button-down shirt that is absolutely PERFECT. I have to stop shopping now because I'm going to run out of money and reminder, SELF? That trip you're taking in December? To SPAIN? Well, you're supposed to be SAVING money for that. And the trip a mere six weeks later to Hilton Head? That too. Oh, and THIS YEAR? You're going BACK to Hilton Head four weeks after the first trip and, hi, getting from Vermont to Hilton Head is not exactly a cheap endeavor. You need to save for that TOO. And CHRISTMAS. AH!

Okay, I've completely stressed myself out. I must go and calculate my vacation time. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

What a Day

First, this is my 200th post! Fun!

What a great birthday! I stopped at my aunt's on the way home from work and she bought me an entire new outfit (skirt, belt, shirt) that I LOVE, went straight to Jazz where my boyfriend had had flowers delivered... (sigh, long distance relationships are NOT fun). At home we had a nice dinner with my family and a few friends and had cake and presents!

I'm not sure if I've told you all or not, but I *love* all things pumpkin. Even as a kid, for my birthday, I would bring in pumpkin cupcakes to school. (Yea, I was TOTALLY not everyone's favorite!) So we made pumpkin cupcakes yesterday and for my cake- - get this- - my mom got a pumpkin cake recipe. It was unbelievable. and SUPER easy to make! I didn't get any pictures of dinner or a great one of the cake, I should have, but I do have a few other pics to share!

My sister got me this great shirt:My parents got me a heart rate monitor (for jazz) and a GORGEOUS jewelry armoire.

Some other presents include pink peep-toe heels, a navy blue cable-knit polo sweater, and a tennis coat. Love, love, love.

It's My Party

I can cry if I want to! :) Kidding. I'm sure there will be no tears today as it's my BIRTHDAY and I *love* birthdays. They are just so fun. Even when nothing really exciting happens, you feel like you know about this secret no one else does and spend the whole day just waiting for someone to let you know that, yes, they know too. Tell me you do this too. No? Okay... I'm officially crazy. :)

Tonight's celebration will be slightly shortened as I am teaching Jazz until 6:45 and the Red Sox start at 8:30. Once that game starts, everyone will be glued to the tv!

I don't usually share pictures, but... here's a pic from my birthday last year!

(that's my dad holding his phone out on speakerphone so my boyfriend could sing too)

Birthdays...

I think I thought of the PERFECT birthday present for my boyfriend. I'm still working out the details and I don't want to say anything too specifc on here just IN CASE (I know he doesn't, but) JUST IN CASE he reads this. His birthday is Nov. 13, if everything works out, I'll let you know then what I got him! :)

WooHoo!

I love being a Red Sox fan. These late-night games are cutting into my sleeping time, but it is well worth it. There's something so fun about putting on all of your favorite Red Sox gear and hanging out in the family room watching the game. Rockies, watch out- - we're on a roll.

I hosted a tupperware party yesterday- - yes it's still around and no I don't remember turning 40- - kidding. It was really fun, any excuse to throw a party really can't be passed up even it's it's for plasticware.

I spent the evening last night helping my sisters with their college applications. I didn't have anyone to help me when I applied (actually, the week my application was due my parents were on a vacation and left me home watching my sisters) so they better appreciate all of this help! Applying to school is not exactly a task I was REALLY looking forward to completing again! All I can say now is that they BETTER get in, I have a personal stake in their applications after all. :)

I also did some serious shopping this weekend but got TONS of GREAT sale items. I couldn't find all of the pictures to post but I did get two new pair of shoes to show you. One for fun, and one for Jazzercise... check 'em out.

for fun...For Jazz... (I got the black, pink is next!)

Shout Out

First, to a new daily read:
MOLLY, I’ve read through all of your archives and I’m seriously addicted. I love that you’re in LOVE (!) and that you write about it.
If you guys haven’t read anything of Molly’s, check it out. You won’t be disappointed. (and she has a billion pair of SHOES!)
p.s. Molly? I’ve tried to comment and it never works, so I hope this doesn’t seem completely stalker-esque!

Second, to a long-time favorite:
Paige Jennifer, I’ve talked about you before because, well, you’re awesome. I’m talking about you today because your last comment cracked me up. Let it be known that YES I have a sense of humor (except when that person anonymously commented that having a Mexican boyfriend was NOT very preppy- - that’s just rude and without having any more information about him, quite presumptuous. Not to mention, that, um, SORRY! I don’t choose my boyfriend the same way I choose my accessories) and YES when I think about Jazzercise sometimes I too giggle. It must be the visions of scrunchy socks, spandex, thong-leotards, and big bangs. While that uniform is no longer required and Jazzercise is actually quite modern- - hey, we dance to Timbaland, Michael Buble, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake- - it is hard to shake the memory of the Call on Me video…

To everyone else: Leave comments. I love them. I actually REALLY LOVE them and it’s REALLY fun to read them. Unless they’re not nice, then just don’t comment because I take them very seriously and I feel like the last kid picked for the kick-ball team at recess. To clarify: Nice comments = VERY GOOD. Mean comments = what mean comments? (I’ll ignore and delete them- -hey, it’s a blogger’s prerogative.)

Some People

What a busy weekend! Lots of working (I won’t bore you with the details) and Sunday I had my first Jazzercise District Meeting in Connecticut. Having never been to one before, I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was really fun and informative (and gave me lots of fun ideas for the upcoming year!) Being in a car for 10 hours in one day with 5 other Jazzercise instructors though, is not something I want to do again any time soon.

I like my jazz co-workers, I really do, but it made for a LONG day! The owner of the center where I teach is very nice and we get along great but something happened this weekend that I really just can’t get over. She realized that she had forgotten her purse at home so I offered to buy her coffee on the way down- - not a problem. We get to CT and Jazzercise had many jazz clothes for sale and she wanted a new shirt. Not having her purse, she asked if I would pick it up for her- -not a problem. It was $24 and I was picking something up for myself as well. The meeting starts, we do a mock Junior Jazz class and a mock PT class (which I’m teaching for the first time next month!) then we sit down for the informational part. Our District Manager asked who had traveled more than 4 hours to get there. Well, everyone from VT had so we all got $20 gift cards to Jazzertogs (the Jazzercise clothing store). My Center Owner gets her gift card, hands it directly to me and says, “there! Now I only owe you $4! That works, right?” Ummmmm, NO. It doesn’t seem “right” to me that she would repay me with a gift certificate that she got FOR FREE to a store that I don’t even really shop at when I spent CASH for her shirt. Am I wrong here? I wanted to tell her no, but it was such an uncomfortable situation and there were 10 other people sitting at our table that she said it in front of. Now, I’m just not sure how to handle the whole thing, I feel taken advantage of and annoyed. It’s not that the $24 is a HUGE deal (but, hello? I don’t have a LARGE CASH FLOW) but it’s the principle- - do you guys think that’s wrong?

Starting in November I’ll be teaching a PT (Personal Touch) class at 6am on Wednesdays. I wasn’t sure how many people would be interested, because it costs money in addition to what customers pay for regular jazzercise, but the whole class is FULL after today!

Friday

I feel like I'm in middle school and it's the Friday before Thanksgiving vacation. You know that feeling? You don't really have anything HUGE to look forward to, but it's a whole week off, the weather isn't TOO cold and but it's cool... it's perfect. But, hello? This is NOT the Friday before the week of Thanksgiving it's not even the WEDESDAY (hello, job) before Thanksgiving and I'm not looking forward to anything particular in the next 48 hours. I have not been able to concentrate at all lately. Ugh.

My sister is home from school for mid-semester break (remember those?) so last night the four of us went out to dinner and shopping. Fun, yes but I didn't even BUY anything. I did find a couple of things to add to my ever-expanding birthday/Christmas list though. My boyfriend has mid-semester break this weekend too, with Monday/Tuesday off, and I thought that he was going to finagle SOME way to come see me but that did. not. work. out. I'm more than disapointed. How I loathe thee, long distance relationship.

Speaking of him... his birthday is in mid-November and I have NO clue as to what to get him. Last year I got him a luggage set because what he used to travel with, well, was embarrassing. He always gets me the BEST presents (ipod? check. Tiffany necklace? check. nike+shoes/ accessories? CHECK.) He's a tough act to follow. I could buy him a plane ticket to come see me, or one for me to see him but that seems a little selfish... :) I just want to find something PERFECT. Suggestions?

Cone, Sweet Cone

Saturday evening was not nice in northwestern VT. It was cold, dark and pouring rain. I had spent the entire day painting but one of the guys who owns the scoop shoppe wanted the night off so I said I work the last shift for him. It was my first time working alone but with the weather being so terrible it wasn’t really a busy night so I was fine. Most of our customers came through the drive-thru so they wouldn’t have to dodge raindrops anyway which enabled me to crank the music and practice my new jazzercise songs. (Yes, I really do that.) It was getting towards the end of the night when a man (probably… 40?) and his wife pulled up to the drive through window. He wanted a medium chocolate creemee (you probably call it SOFT SERVE and those waxy things you can put on top are called SPRINKLES not JIMMIES but hey, I’m no ice cream Nazi…toMAYto, toMAHto) nothing for his wife.

Let me just say that our medium sized creemees are 6 twirls and a top. I grabbed a plain cone walked over to the creemee machine assumed creemee-twirling position (you know what I mean, legs about hip-width apart, one slightly in front of the other, one hand clutching a cone ready to twirl the other hand controlling the lever) the chocolate ice cream came down and I twirled, and twirled, and twirled and twirled and twirled and twirled and twir (the top). Grabbing and napkin, wrapping it around the cone and reaching the ice cream out the window I gave him his total.

He just looked at the cone.

Then back at me.

Then back at the cone.

(his wife laughs)

(I’m still waiting for him to reach out and take it)

He looks at me, “You couldn’t get it ANY straighter than THAT?”

I look at him.

I look at the cone.

(it is SLIGHTLY leaning but hardly at ALL)

I look at him, “Would you like another?”

He looks at me, “Well, YEA.”

I look at him plaster a HUGE (totally fake, totally, annoyed totally about to PSYCHO) grin on and say, “of course, that’s no problem.”

He REFUSED my CONE!
I go back, grab another cone, assume position- - SHOOT. THE. PRESSURE. IS. ON. What if this one is MORE crooked than the other? I twirl… and twirl… and bring it back to him. He takes it, pays and drives away. Did not even say thank you.
I slammed the window shut (a lot of good it did me, no one was there) and replayed the scene.

I really cannot believe that he refused to take the cone! As soon as he took one lick it would have pushed the ice cream perfectly center! I could totally understand if it was REALLY crooked but if a cone is too crooked I always re-do it before I even bring it out. If you think that is REALLY MIGHT fall off the cone, just ask for a dish and a spoon. And, I could even understand if the cone was for a child, it might be too much but for an ADULT? Like, HELLO?!?!?! JUST LICK IT DARN IT. If I were really cheeky (I am in my mind, never in real life) I would have taken it back, taken a lick so it was centered, and handed it back to him. UGH. Reason number 243 why I will become the Ice Cream Nazi.

Feels Like Fall

It finally feels like October! I love the warm weather, but this is a great change of pace- - I'm ready for sweaters! It was a beautiful weekend here but I have been so busy I've barely had time to enjoy it! Friday night I had tennis practice (I'm on a mixed-doubles team) which was fun, I don't play seriously all that often so it felt good to be hitting again.

I taught my first Junior Jazzercise class on Saturday morning- - the kids were so cute. They are mostly 8 years old and so excited to be running around and dancing. The parents however, are so annoying to deal with. We have a policy that parents don't stay during class because there isn't any seperation from the studio and the waiting area and the kids sometimes get distracted and look to their parents during the class. When I reminded the parents of this when they dropped their kids off one mom goes, "Well the instructor last week let us stay." So I explained again our reasoning and she goes down to the dance floor, grabs her daughter in a bear hug and goes to her (while giving me a dirty look and kissing her multiple times on the head), "Bunny, I'm not allowed to stay for class is that okay with you? Are you going to be fine? I'll come check on you, don't worry. Mommy will be right outside." Um, lady? Get. A. LIFE. Your daughter is EIGHT YEARS OLD and sorry, she DID JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU. It's AN HOUR. Some mom's would be rejoicing that their kids would be occupied (by a sane, responsible adult) for an hour so they could get a coffee or read a book or run an errand.

I spent the remainder of Saturday morning/afternoon (and MOST of Sunday)at the Jazzercise center helping the owner paint the studio ceiling. We're trying to spruce it up a bit and it's a LOT of work! Saturday night I worked at the Scoop Shoppe (I still haven't shared all that I've learned working there- - it's coming) but for the first time in the history of the scoop shoppe a customer refused a cone. That's right. Someone I waited on refused to take the cone that I made for them. Can you believe it? It's a longer story so I'll share the whole thing later but, come on? REFUSED an ICE CREAM?!?

I had my first mixed doubles match yesterday. I'm on an 8.0 team and my partner is really nice. I haven't played competitive tennis since college so it was fun to get back into it a little (even though I really perfer singles...). Our opponents were *very* good and we got MUSHED, but it was FUN and there's really only room for improvement from here!

My boyfriend has mid-semester break at his college next Monday and Tuesday so I'm HOPING that he's coming to visit for the weekend. Flights are so expensive though and it's a loong drive so I'm not sure that it's going to work out, but... my fingers are crossed! His parents are visiting him in MI now- - I've alluded to their craziness (they're SO nice, but crazy) and he is going insane. I think I'll have to devote a whole post on their stories... you would die.

I got my new Jazzercise dvd last week with new routines so I'm trying to learn 11 of them for class tonight, we'll see how that goes!

Searching for Jazzercise?

To the person who found my blog searching for "Jazzercise Audition" if you have any questions about the certifcation, let me know. It's an overwhelming process!

MamaWHAT?

First, I ran out of diet coke (the horror) and have been drinking the only other soda I had at home- - coke zero. I know I'm preaching to the choir but Coke Zero is NOT COOL and it is NOT DIET COKE and I am NOT IMPRESSED. Going to the store immediately to re-stock.

Secondly, I caught the end of The Biggest Loser the other night while I was folding my laundry- - right at the time the person who got voted off gives their farewell speech. Well this lady (she's hispanic- - this is important) is talking about what a great experience it was, blah blah, she met so many friends, blah blah, then closes with something to the effect of, "even though I'll no longer be on the show I'm going to work hard towards my goal and I'll be ONE HOT MAMACITA!" Except it sounded like, "ONE HOT MAMA____!" (imagine lips saying CITA with no sound). THEY BLOCKED OUT THE CITA part. Am I missing something? Is "Mamacita" durogatory? It's possible that with the lack of hispanic influence here in VT I just don't know about this, but um, my boyfriend, well, he's Mexican (and NOT from VT) and he didn't think that it was inappropriate... anyway, food for thought.

Newbie

I know you're expecting a funny (okay, so I'm not really THAT funny...) story but I have to interrupt the regularly scheduled programming to let you all know that we have a NEWCOMER to the BLOG world.

Preppy Beginnings

I don't know that much about her (yet...) but she has a blog (like me) she's 22 (like me) has a boyfriend (like me) and owns a house (notlikemeDAMNIT. NOT. LIKE. ME. insert insane jealousy HERE.)

Anyway, WELCOME PB, I know the other girls will be excited to have someone new to read about while they should be doing other things like working, or sleeping, or grocery shopping or making the world a better place one pink and green accessory at a time.

I'm Back!

It was a wonderful weekend! (And I got the CUTEST shoes!) I'm still catching up at work- - don't you hate that? I hope to be back later today with a very funny story from the weekend...

Hope all is well!