If you’re from Pittsburgh, then you may recognize that this blog title was in fact the front page headline of the Post Gazette this morning. I realize that we got a lot of snow, but I assure you, the end of the world isn’t coming.
Even though your local grocery store may have run out of bread, milk and toilet paper, I think we’re all going to be OK. What do people do with all that bread and milk anyway? Those certainly aren’t the items I would be stocking up on if I was going to be trapped in my house for days on end.
We’ve been holed up at home since Friday night. I was very happy that I made it home from State College, before the weather got too bad. I stocked up on water and granola bars, just in case I was going to get stranded on the side of the road, or in a hotel in the middle of nowhere.
We did lose power for about 7 or 8 hours over Friday night, but it came back very early Saturday morning and it’s been on ever since. There are still quite a few people without power, and subsequently heat, so hopefully the electric company will get that sorted out very soon.
The Hubby immediately started researching generators- which he does EVERY time we lose power- but maybe this time we’ll actually get one.
My neighbor came over with his snowblower and dug out our driveway, which was AWESOME! As soon as I can get out to get them a gift and buy ingredients for cookie making, I will be all over that. I took a walk Saturday morning around the neighborhood and everyone that I passed was incredibly nice and didn’t seem too bothered by the snow.
It should come as no surprise to those of you that have known me for a while, that I most of the time sometimes don’t filter my words as they travel from my brain to my mouth. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself to be very politically correct, but I try not to blatantly offend people. Unless I don’t like you, then you’re screwed.
As much as I complain about not liking people in general, I do tend to get along with all types of people rather well. That’s a rather convenient tool for someone in sales, so I guess I’m lucky.
I only bring this up, because a few weeks ago I was at a happy hour downtown where small talk and niceties are the norm. I met someone from Buffalo the ghetto and I’m pretty sure I spent the next 5 minutes describing how much I hated that city and what an awful, dirty place it was. It had been my least favorite place in all of the world, until I recently discovered that Detroit was far worse. I didn’t think it was possible for a place to be worse than Buffalo, but congrats to Detroit- you definitely take the cake on that one.
Surprisingly, the person in question continued to talk to me after I had verbally bashed his city. It’s nice to know that some people can appreciate a woman for speaking her mind without immediately calling her bitchy. Although, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been quite so friendly with someone bashing Pittsburgh, but who’s going to do that? I live in a fantastic place. Oh, and I am also able to appreciate other cities. I’m quite fond of Washington, New York and Chicago, and I’m sure there are many more great places that I haven’t been able to visit yet.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying what you think. Within reason, of course. I certainly wouldn’t directly insult a person, but when it comes to Buffalo and wine in a box, bring on the insults.
But this leads me to ask, would you prefer a person speak their mind, even if the truth might sting a little, or would you prefer to be lied to, because it might make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I got pulled over a couple weeks ago on the Ohio turnpike. At first I was just annoyed, I was running late for my Girls Night, and the mean little man was taking forever and a day to do whatever it is they do back in the car.
I had to call a number on the ticket to find out how much my fine was going to be. I wasn’t really concerned about the fine, but I was most definitely not happy when I found out there would be points associated with the ticket, and that Ohio would inform PA of the infraction. I’ve never had points before, and I didn’t really want to start.
I decided to fight the ticket. The consensus among traffic violators was that it is usually beneficial to fight such things.
I haven’t spent much time in a court room in my life, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a rather depressing place. Several people were called before me and all the charges were far more serious than allegedly speeding. That also proved to be a small problem, because I wasn’t sure what to say to the judge. You know, other than ‘that stupid prick only pulled me over because I have out of state plates.’ I figured that probably would not have gone over very well. Thankfully, some dude with a speeding ticket went up right before me.
Turns out, in the township that I was in, the DA will reduce the charge to a non-moving violation if it’s your first offense. So, instead of speeding, I plead no-contest to a taillight infraction, paid a smaller fine, and now there are no points or moving violations on my driving record.
You know what the best part is? The Hubby can’t tease me about speeding. In the eyes of the law, I wasn’t speeding.
Perhaps I should figure out that whole cruise-control thing, though.
Most of you probably don’t remember (or aren’t aware of) my previous blog, “This is Me”. The site still exists, but I have made all the posts private and I opted not to import them when I started this blog.
I occassionally look through my old posts, and in between my ranting, mindless dribble and soap opera-ish moments, I had some good posts. Periodically I’ll bring a few over here for you to read, so that you can get to know me a little bit better.
The post below was written several years ago, so I’ll update it accordingly. It’s funny to see how things have changed in just a few short years.
In honor of my 100th post (on my previous blog), I’m going to share 100 things about myself. Some of them might be interesting, others- not so much.
1. I’m 30. I’m not typing my age. I refuse.
2. I’m not really happy about that.
3. I was born on a Wednesday.
4. By emergency C-section.
5. 2 weeks late.
6. I have 1 younger brother.
7. He’s a lot bigger than me now, so I don’t pick on him anymore.
8. I’ve been married almost 4 years. In order to avoid divulging my real age, let’s say 4+ yrs, LOL.
9. I like college football.
10. I never expected to admit to that in my entire life.
11. It’s all the Hubby’s fault.
12. I’m stubborn.
13. I always find a way to get what I want.
14. I don’t like to compromise.
15. I’m a Duranie.
16. Nick is my favorite.
17. Followed closely by John and Roger. I’d have to say Roger is now my 2nd fave, followed by John. 18. I’ve been dying my hair for over 10 years.
19. Most of that time was spent as a redhead.
20. I’m now back to my natural brunette.
21. I’m a Daddy’s girl.
22. I’m not a girly-girl. Well, maybe when it comes to shoes and shopping. 23. I’ve never broken any bones.
24. I have had several stress-fractures related to running injuries.
25. I modeled nude for art classes.
26. I sometimes wish I was more focused in college.
27. I sometimes wonder if I should have gone to a different school.
28. I had a blast at Pitt, though.
29. I can row both Port and Starboard.
30. I can’t sing.
31. I wish I could.
32. I was miserable at my wedding.
33. The marriage is great, however.
34. I never knew what it was like to grow up with both parents in the same house.
35. Thankfully, I also never knew what it was like to have both parents screaming and fighting with each other all the time.
36. I don’t like family get-togethers.
37. I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
38. I wanted to be in the Army since I was about 15.
39. The Army didn’t want me.
40. I have bad eyesight.
41. I have my future children’s names picked out.
42. I still have no desire to have those children. I might have a little desire now. 43. I hope someday to change my mind. I think I’ve changed my mind.
44. I’m a procrastinator. I wish I could fix this! 45. I’m also slightly obsessive compulsive.
46. I’m deathly allergic to milk.
47. Broccoli is my favorite vegetable.
48. I’m a very picky eater.
49. I have known some of my best friends since the first and second grade.
50. I went to Catholic school for 12 years.
51. My high school was all-girls.
52. I never missed not going to public school.
53. I will never send my children to public school.
54. I don’t like flowers in general.
55. but, I love sunflowers.
56. I eat a lot of chicken.
57. But only the white meat.
58. When I was 14 (I think) I rode my bike 100 miles for St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital.
59. I did a triathlon at 16 and won my age group.
60. I like to travel by myself.
61. Alone time is very important to me.
62. I had a puppy named Gunner.
63. Turns out I was allergic to him and had to find him a new home.
64. I was very traumatized and still think about him alot.
65. I’ve never told anyone what my dad’s nickname for me is.
66. When I was younger, I always wanted a sister.
67. Now, I just wish I could see my brother more often.
68. I worry about him, but he does a pretty good job of taking care of himself.
69. My trip to Ireland with my Grandma will always be one of my best memories.
70. I have a crush on Dale Jr. I don’t really have a crush on him anymore, but at any given moment I am usually crushing on about 10 different people. I’d have a beer with Dale Jr. though. Just not a Budweiser. That shit is worse than boxed wine, and we all know how I feel about that.
71. I hate Nascar.
72. I would love to drive a racecar though.
73. I’ve been sky-diving.
74. I’m going to go again.
75. I like to get drunk at weddings.
76. I have a tendency to call people when I’m drunk. I don’t really do this anymore. Drunk-tweeting on the other hand… 77. I’ve been getting a lot better about that as I get older. I actually don’t even remember the last time I was drunk. Probably at the Whiskey Festival. 78. It doesn’t take much to get me drunk, I’m a lightweight.
79. Purple is my favorite color.
80. Forrest Gump is the only movie I’ve seen numerous times in a theater.
81. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to my high school sweetheart. I know now, it’s all good.
82. I don’t have cable.
83. I don’t really miss it.
84. I don’t have air-conditioning in my house.
85. That, I miss!
86. I rarely get stressed about anything. This couldn’t be further from the truth! I obviously had a different job when I first composed this list. 87. I sometimes wish I were more care-free about my life.
88. People lacking common sense really bother me.
89. I’m not a patient person.
90. Indecisiveness also bothers me.
91. I tend to keep feelings and emotions bottled up.
92. I have secrets I’ve never told anyone.
93. I think it’s OK for married people to have secrets.
94. I have more guy friends than girl friends. I’d have to say that the balance of power has shifted back to the women now. Due to “The Incident”, I’ve had to cut some people out of my life.
95. I am a very independant person.
96. I was worried about losing my independance when I got married.
97. I didn’t change my last name and I have no plans to.
98. I’m not so good with keeping plants alive. I am a champ at keeping Harvey happy, though!
99. I have learned from my mistakes.
100. I’m OK with being 30. Actually, I’m not very fond of this “getting older” thing.
I loved Sex and the City. I thought the TV series was better than the movie, but I will probably see the sequel just for the fashion and shoes. I always thought it would be great to have a group of friends that you saw all the time for a standing date like the ladies in the show. This was never possible in the past, because 1. Most of my friends are guys and they aren’t into that kind of thing, and 2. the female friends that I do have live all over the place, so it would take a lot of plane trips to make a weekly brunch happen.
Thanks to the power of Twitter and the awesome people of Pittsburgh, I am now able to have a monthly ladies night and it has been fabulous. We are also extremely efficient, so within a week of our last ladies night, the next one is already being planned.
We go out to dinner, drink wine and play board games. One time, we even had our Tarot cards read and that was pretty cool. I think it’s amazing that there are a group of Ladies that I probably wouldn’t run across in my daily life, but through Twitter and social media, we met, fell in love and the rest is history. well, not quite…
It is pretty amazing that completely different people can get along and have a good time and share life experiences. We are all at different stages in our lives, but when we get together we’re all just a bunch of women who support and listen to each other rant, rave, and everything in between.
In the past I have never been an open person. Especially when my feelings or emotions are involved. These ladies make it easier to open up, which is probably healthier in the long run. They aren’t judgemental, they just are. I love my fabulous new friends and I look forward to many more Ladie’s Nights in the future!
Also, they provide some pretty funny blog topics, much like my crazy trainer. If I made an effort to blog more regularly, you can read all about them.
I got a Brazilian last week. No, not that kind. The kind for my hair. On my head.
The Brazilian Blowout is a relatively new hair treatment here in the US that is designed to leave your hair super straight, shiny and strong for up to 4 months. It doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals and in about 2 hours, you can leave the salon with amazing hair.
My hair isn’t incredibly unmanageable, but it is incredibly thick and has a slight wave to it. It also has a tendency to get a little frizzy if I let it air dry. I would often air dry my hair, because it just takes too damn long to blow dry and I don’t like to waste a lot of time on my hair. Especially if it means I have to get up any early than I already do. Oh, and I don’t get up early, so that should tell you something.
Without this treatment, I would need to blowdry my hair with a round brush, hit it with a flat iron and then add a silicone serum on top of it all to finish it off. That would take at least an hour, not to mention all the thermal damage to my hair. I don’t have that kind of time to waste, so I opted to invest in this treatment.
It hasn’t even been a week yet, but I love the results so far. I’ll be sure to keep you updated throughout the process, but it’s very easy to take care of.
There are a few things to keep in mind:
1. It’s a little pricey, but it is an investment, so you have to consider what your time is worth and if the Blowout will really benefit you. The website has a list of salons that do the treatment in Pittsburgh, but my regular salon is MCN Salon and I see Jay there. Call your salon for prices, as they vary by salon and hair length, but expect to pay at least $300.
2. After you get the treatment, you do need to use special shampoo. My salon gave me a bottle of shampoo and conditioner that should last for a while, since I don’t wash my hair every day. You can’t use a shampoo with SDS. (That’s the part that makes the suds). I had been using another natural brand anyway, the Jason brand, so I will continue to use that brand for my travels and use the Brazilian Blowout shampoo/conditioner at home.
3. My hair is color-treated, and you can continue to color-treat hair with the blowout, but you need to wait 2 weeks between sessions. Heat can damage color, so it’s important to let the blowout set it before you color your hair. In my case, I scheduled the blowout first, and next weekend I will be getting a much needed color touch-up. Be sure that you remind the salon about your blowout, so that they will use the proper shampoo.
The process itself is pretty simple, and takes about 2 hours.
First, your hair is cleansed at the salon – shampoo only, no conditioner. It’s then towel-dried and combed out. (Which is actually quite uncomfortable without conditioner).
Then, the Brazilian Blowout solution is applied. It’s a proprietery blend, but it does contain keratin, which is a protein that your hair is composed of. The hair is then blown dry and flat ironed. It’s the ironing that really sets the treatment in your hair.
After that, you are washed again, but not with a shampoo, they use a sealing treatment and then it’s back in the chair to be blown dry again.
The second blow dry was much quicker and a flat iron wasn’t needed, as my hair was stick straight and shiny. It felt very soft and thinner, which in my case was fantastic, because I have quite a bit of hair.
If needed, there is a smoothing serum and deep masque treatment available, but my stylist didn’t use those products on my hair, and I don’t think I need them. I did the treatment on a Thursday, and I washed my hair for the first time on Saturday. I didn’t blow it dry, I let it air dry after combing it out to see what would happen. I am pleased to report that it was just as straight as the day I left the salon.
This will be a huge time saver for me and I’m excited to see if it really does last the 3-4 months that they are claiming. I only ever thought that my hair could look this good and polished on the days that I left the salon, but hopefully I will have salon ready hair for the next few months.
Disclaimer: I don’t think I have enough readers for this to matter, but I’ll add some small print anyway. The Brazilian Blowout company didn’t give me anything for free (although, that would be AWESOME!) My salon, MCN, didn’t ask me to promote this product, nor did they give me anything for free. My shampoo and conditioner were included in the price of my blowout. All opinions are 100% mine.
My friend Rafael has a blog that is focused on online marketing. He recently asked if he could interview me about my job. I agreed, and even though I think my voice sounds terrible, you can listen to it here.
Ever since I switched my blog format around (which is still under construction, btw), I haven’t really mentioned my job much. I really enjoy it, and I happen to think that I’m pretty darn good at it. A statement, which can in fact be backed up by my numbers.
Now, I certainly don’t possess a “magic sales formula”, and I think a lot of what I am able to do just comes naturally to me, but that could be due to the field that I’m in. I really don’t think that I could be nearly as successful if I sold cars, or some other entity that I couldn’t honestly stand behind and support.
So, take a listen- ignore my horrible voice, and if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them.
If you would like to be interviewed by Raf and featured on his blog, hit him up on twitter or send him an email.
You can follow me on twitter as well, but it’s a protected account and not all requests will be granted. Sorry, but that’s just how I roll.
Unbeknownst to me, the Hubby has been secretly giving extra treats to Mr. Harvey Rabbit. Lately when I’ve been putting him downstairs for “bunny sleepy time”, I couldn’t figure out why he was acting all strange and not going to bed like he normally does.
Turns out, the Hubby gives Harvey some yummy treats when he takes him downstairs for bedtime. He also gives him treats anytime he has to lock him in his house when we’re not home, or when he gets up in the morning, or when he just looks cute- which is basically ALL. THE. TIME.
Because, just look at him!
Harvey is one spoiled bunny, and now that the hubby has him trained for treats, we often see behavior like this:
Be careful, you might not be able to handle the cuteness.
There is a small group of Pittsburghers that can be classified as crazy. Crazy with a capital ‘C’, or a capital ‘K’, depending on how you want to spell it. In any case, anybody who willingly jumps into the Mon when it’s snowing and below freezing, is certifiable.
They all said they were excited, they all said it would be fun. Does this look like the face of “fun” to you?
Nope, me either. This is what the rational people looked like that morning:
See that? Coats, hats, gloves, warm beverage in hand. That was the way to watch the crazy people jump in the river. They even look a little chilly. It was C-O-L-D down there, on the riverbank.
How cold was it, you ask? I think his nipples can tell the story:
I had always heard about the Polar Bear Plunge on the news, but this was the first year that I witnessed the mayhem in person. River Rescue was standing by, in case of any emergencies, but from what I could tell, they weren’t needed at all. There were several hundred people down by the river the morning of the 1st, but only a fraction of them were jumpers.
I didn’t jump, and I have no desire to ever willingly jump into a freezing cold river, but I did pick up some pointers if you decide you want to take the plunge next year:
1. Wear a swim cap. Frozen hair is no fun, and if your hair stays dry, you’ll warm up faster.
2. Bring lots of extra, warm clothes. Wrap them in hand warmers beforehand.
3. Jump in items that don’t hold water and are easily removeable. (ie nylon, polyester) Also, wear water shoes.
4. Don’t dawdle. Get in, and then get out. The cold water literally takes your breath away.
5. Get drunk. Or already still be drunk from New Year’s Eve. It’s the only way that jumping in the river will seem like a good idea.
A few weeks ago we took a road trip to Philadelphia, which shall now be referred to as “Philthadelphia” or the dirtiest, crappiest city on the Eastern Seaboard. It’s a good thing we weren’t going to see the sights, because there really wasn’t much to see past the garbage and general gloom and doom of the place.
Philly is host to the annual Army/Navy game. I went to the game for the first time 2 years ago in Baltimore, but for the next few years or so, the game will be back in Philly at the Lincoln Financial Field. The exceptions will be in 2011, where the game will be in DC and in both 2014 and 2016, the game will be back in Baltimore.
This is by far the best college football game that I have ever attended. The students, fans, organizers and players are organized, polite and put on a fabulous show. There aren’t any drunk, beligerent people to worry about, and whether you’re rooting for Army or Navy, you will find that outside of some playful ribbing, the opposing team’s fans will treat you with respect.
USAA puts on a tailgate party before the game, but we haven’t attended it yet. Maybe next year. It looks like a fantastic time.
We are lucky enough to score tickets to the game, since my step-brother is a cadet at West Point, but I hope that even after he graduates, we are able to continue our annual tradition of travelling to the game to cheer on the Army Black Knights.
Sadly, the Navy team has won the game for the past 9 years, but I hold out hope that one day the Black Knights will come back with a vengeance and reign supreme once again.
I did find out that the Navy has relaxed some of their service requirements for the football players, so it seems slightly unfair that they are able to recruit better players than the Army might be able to, but in the end it’s not really about football. These Academies are training and educating the best and the brightest students in the country and hopefully turning them into future leaders of the Armed Services.
Having met and interacted with several cadets, I can tell you that they are not your typical college students. They are respectful, polite and the kind of upstanding citizens that you hope your children will turn out to be. Although I do have to say that I don’t really appreciate being called “ma’am” by 20-somethings. It makes me feel old.
This years game was better than I expected it to be. The weather cooperated for the most part and the Army put up a fight. With a final score of 17-3, Navy won again, but not in their blowout fashion of 34-0 from the previous year. Army needs to stay strong in the red zone, and their kicker needs some work, but overall it was a great game.
I tested out my new digital camera at the game. Here are some pics on Flickr. I played around with some settings trying to take some night-time pics of the city lights, but they didn’t turn out well at all. If anyone has some tips on capturing city lights at night, that would be great.
