Weekly Smiles & Frowns

I got this idea from my sister's blog and I'm stealing it for my blog as well. It reminds me of the "roses and thorns" we would do at scout camp growing up.

Smiles:
- Today is Friday! 
- This weekend is moving weekend
- Got all my books packed yesterday
- Getting enough volunteers to help move
- Cuddles with my beau
- Getting my renters insurance back
- A new Very Mary Kate video (watch it here)
- Two funny cat posters my coworkers left at my desk
- Cookies

 

Frowns:
- Anxiety about moving
- Not getting enough sleep
- Neck being sore

 

All in all, a good week! I've just been working each day, then going home to pack in the evenings, then falling asleep with Robert. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to sleep in/catch up on my sleep since the Monday before last.  Moving two apartments while dealing with the kitties and working full time is definitely keeping me busy. I told Robert either Sunday or Monday is my sleep in day. I seriously need to catch up. Lol.

Comic Conventions

Looks like I won't be going to the Portland Comic Con. I had just heard of it a few days ago when a coworker told me about it. She mentioned it because I was telling her about wanting to attend the Seattle convention in March. 

I got all a-flutter with the notion of going to see Star Wars royalty Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams up in Seattle, so of course was going to jump on the chance of a convention here in my own town. Plus it's been on my bucket list to attend a convention.

Unfortunately that convention falls on a weekend when the beau and I are going to the coast for my birthday. The convention is the 22nd-24th, and we are at the coast the 23rd and 24th. On Friday the 22nd, my birthday, I'll be working until 4:30PM. Ideally I could have swung over to the convention after, but I found out that they are charging an extra fee for a picture with celebrities.

James Marsters and Juliet Landau (Spike and Drusilla off 'Buffy', respectively) were both going to be there. I definitely wanted a photo, but it's $90 for a picture with the two of them! I can not justify spending $30 to get in the door and then $90 for the photo, especially considering they aren't A-list celebrities.  I wouldn't pay that no matter who it was. For just a photo? That's ridiculous.

I think that I am just going to stick with the Seattle Comic Con. I've heard that Fisher and Williams don't do photos with people, but it would be awesome to get a personalized autograph. I do want to go and see a comic convention anyway, so even if I didn't get to meet anyone famous, it would be something to check off my list. Plus I'd be there with R, so we'd have a fun time no matter what. And a trip to Seattle would be fun. I have friends we can stay with, and we can go to Pikes Place and do all the touristy stuff.

Kate Hudson

Although I didn't get to watch the Golden Globes last night, I got to see all the fashion choices today on my breaks at work. My favorite? The flawless Kate Hudson, who looks amazing. If I was a celebrity lady on the red carpet, this is what I would want to look like.

She'll be my thinspo for February!

Preach. 

Oh, Sarah.

SJP, I love you in so many ways. <3 I hear they might be making a 'Sex and the City' number 3. Although the second one was wretched, I am SO there for the 3rd if they end up making it. You can't go wrong with some SATC (If you choose to ignore the #2 fiasco).

My female celeb crushes

Kelly Hu

Rebecca Romijn

Kate Bosworth

Hm... This list is decidedly shorter than my male crush one! hahah.

My male celeb crushes:

David Beckham

Alexander Skarsgard

Jake Abel

Eddie Redmayne

Henry Cavill

Johnathan Rhys Meyers

Hugh Jackman

Hunter Parrish

Ryan Gosling

Alex Pettyfer

Michael Vartan

Cam Gigandet

House Hunting + Vaca

So the parentals have one more day of house hunting in front of them before they make their decision. Tomorrow is that final day that they are looking at the homes that are on the top of their list and making the final decision. I went house hunting with my mom and sister all today with my Aunt Angelina as our realtor. [Her website is here.] We looked at 8 different houses I think, but I really fell in love with one of them. It had Brazilian hardwood floors, 3 living rooms and 5 bedrooms. It's even bigger than the house that we have in Salem! Which is funny considering only Erika will be living with them. It was such a nice home and it was in a good neighborhood. I know that my Dad really has his heart set on another one that I've only seen the outside of. They are going to look at it again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to go along and check out the inside of it. Everyone describes it as "really 70s", so I don't know how I feel about that. The one I saw today was very classy and spacious. The only thing that I would change is updating the kitchen. But that can be done after a bit. It just looks a smidge old. So I guess we shall see what's going to happen house wise.

In other news, I'm glad that I came down here to Utah. I always want to make the most of my vacations when I take them. I don't like to have tons of down time. So far I've seen Diana Ross in concert, playing Phase 10 with the cousins + Erika, gone to coffee and the mall with Gay @ BYU, had the MoHo Thai lunch and shopping that I wrote about earlier [here], visited with family, saw Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's finished basement, got a new pair of pants and a ring, learned some about the geography of the valley here and house hunted. And I have plans tomorrow and on Friday as well. So I havent been lounging around.

Insomnia

I really should be putting my insomnia to better use by working on something constructive. So far this night i've watched a documentary, jumped from topic to topic on Wikipedia, texted with my friends until they all slowly fell asleep and then have laid here. I don't want to "work" on something per se because then sleep definitely wont come. I feel like if I'm just laying here with a general sense of apathy sleep might somehow overtake me.

I think the insomnia is a combination of my GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), metacognition and guilt. Sometimes I can't seem to remove myself from thinking about sleeping. It's the classic catch-22 in that I know I should be sleeping, so I start to think about what would get me to sleep and start thinking about how long it's taking me to actually fall asleep. I think "Am I sleeping yet? Am I closer to sleep? What physical sensations am I experiencing?" All while the clock ticks by on the wall and I'm thinking "If I fall asleep now I can get 5 hours sleep. But if I don't fall asleep for a half hour I only get 4.5. Thats not enough!" . By thinking about the problem it exacerbates it. In all actuality, thinking about sleeping to begin with and labeling it as a "problem" could be a self fulfilling prophecy. How I envy my mother who thinks there is a problem if she is not asleep within 30 seconds of laying down. She describes falling asleep literally within seconds of her head touching her pillow.

The guilt is from not treating my body well with sleeping patterns. Although I don't sleep during the day and I don't sleep late, I always feel guilty when I am not able to fall asleep til 4 or 5AM. And on tonight it's only worse. What I am mainly worried about is staying up late and pulling all nighters affecting my metabolism. Studies have shown that people who do not get enough sleep or are sleep deprived have slower metabolisms, higher body mass indexes, get sick more often and can have impaired cognitive functioning. (Um. Duh.) I don't want anything to get in the way of me losing weight. Or getting the rest I need for that matter.

Irregardless, tonight is a wash rest wise. Although I havent expended any real energy I'm going to be exhausted today since I havent slept since Saturday night. And that sleep was troubled and I woke up groggy and wanting more. I am excited, though, because I have the Diana Ross concert tonight. That should be a lot of fun!

Diana Ross

Mi padre texted me today while I was at the gym telling me that he got me Diana Ross tickets for when I am on holiday in UT next week. The rest of the family is going as well. I am super excited! She is such an icon and legend in the music and entertainment industry. I am really looking forward to seeing her perform. It's on the 19th, so that's coming up here pretty soon.

Now I will have seen Britney Spears and Diana. What divas!

Library

I'm totally addicted to the library. I have been here three days in a row now. They have dvds, books, magazines, newspapers and internet, and it's all free! How can you go wrong with that? I'm totally in love. And in the last two weeks I've read 3 books.

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

...and...

3. Triumph by Carolyn Jessop

I'm keeping a record of all the books that I read in my 'book jourrnal'. I know thats super nerdy but I love looking back over the list of books that I have read, along with their corresponding reviews. I've only kept it since January so there's only about 14 books in there. I've started 'Geisha, A Life', which is the memoir of a Geisha that actually had a lot to do with the development of Memoirs of a Geisha. She was the geiko (as the author calls herself) that Arthur Golden interviewed at length for his novel. I thought that it would be a lot more interesting but I am half way through it right now and I'm finding it pretty tedious and not that interesting. Either way, I will be on to another book by the end of the week. I want to read at least two a month, and at this rate I'll be doing much more than that. But school starts in about a month and that will defintely put a damper on leisure reading.

Any good recommendations for books that are your favorites?

Parks & Rec

So I've pretty much fallen in love with this show. I've been watching it nonstop for the past few days. Thanks to my new roomie I have Netflix again and I've been watching it on my phone. I think Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is absolutely hilarious. This kind of humor always gets me.

Kate Bosworth

Gah, she's gorgeous. I havent seen her in anything in ages but gotta love her. I first saw her in Blue Crush and have had a little man crush ever since. Heaven would be running into her at an event.

Thinsportion for my next 5 lbs will be.. drumroll please...

Taylor Smith's arms. Don't they look awesome? I think she is just too darn cute with her cat-like eyes, svelte figure and blonde hair. I'm all about those things! haha

Partying with Vanilla

I'm happy to say that I am way more tan than him! haha.

Hot ol' Christine

Ok, Christine Brinkley looks uuuhmazing. She's 57 years old and honestly looks like she's in her 20s. I saw her tonight on the Tony Awards and was blown away by how good she looked. This is definitely some thinspo(ration) for the summer! I just can't get over her here.

Scream 4

I went and saw 'Scream 4' early this morning for the midnight showing. I have been looking forward to this movie ever since I heard they were making a new one.


It was so good. Even though I was really looking forward to it, I didnt have much of an expectation for how it was going to be. Plus it had been 10 years since the last one so who knows how they would put it back on track - it could have been completely wretched.

I went with Whitney and Caitlin and we grabbed Starbucks beforehand to sip through the movie. I jumped and laughed a bunch and give it two thumbs up. I am for sure going to be buying it when it comes out on DVD/Blu Ray. If any of you are on the fence about going to see it, I would say go! Plus there is just a smidge bit of eye candy in the film. He is only in there for a little bit, but Nico Tortorella is pretty much gorgeous. Mmm. Tell me I'm wrong:


Plus Courtney Cox and Hayden Panettiere are in the movie as well, both of whom I love.

How hot is this picture of Courtney?: