POPCORN!!

I have finally done it! I adopted a doggie! His name is Popcorn and he is a Pomeranian. But, before you start picturing a small little pup, STOP! He is bigger than a standard pom (enough that he won't fit in the Pomeranian-sized crate I bought for him) and he probably weighs about 12 lbs (instead of about 5-7 lbs). He is a blond color with an adorable face and he his top five favorite things are: snuggling, car rides, peeing, playing by swatting back and forth, and peeing some more. He has horrible breath, but how could you not love his sweet face? Poppycorny is about 8 years old the shelter believes, so he is able to make it through the night without any accidents and he is content being locked in his crate while I'm at work - accident-free as well. He is just such a sweet boy!

Pictures to follow once I am in town!

His birthday will be June 9th (my half birthday) so I will plan him a big to-do. By that time I'll be living in my new apartment and I can have all of my friends stay over :)

Speaking of friends, I feel like now more than ever I value my good friends. I know that sounds bad, but I guess I mean that I have always appreciated my friends, but only recently I have started to realize how MUCH I really rely on them and how much better my life is because of them. I started reconnecting with the friends from high school with whom I've lost touch, and started spending more time with my closer friends here in town. I've really gotten close to Steph again, and I'm grateful to have such a great friend! Lisa is another good friend of mine, and it's crazy to think that we met only a year ago! Lisa and her daughter, Lauren, will be accompanying my mom and I to Costa Rica - we leave tomorrow!!!!

Costa Rica will be its own post, I'm sure :)

First Riders List

For those who have had the privilege of riding in my *new* car (and by new, of course, I mean new to me), I write this list for posterity. If you've been reading this, you know by now that I love lists and you're probably laughing at my lame excuse for creating yet another.

Enjoy!

First people to ride in my car (as of 3/6/11) - you'll see that a lot of the Mirabel staff were among the lucky list-makers:

1. Lisa (my great friend and the Mirabel operations manager)
2. Tim Anderson (our lawn guy)
3. Steph
4. Bob (the maintenance guy)
5. Katie E.
6. Stephen H. (maintenance guy)
7. Lauren
8. Mom
9. Ronnie
10. Dad
11-14. Erica, Erika, Dianah, and Sarah

Prior to gas prices rising to $3.50/gallon this past week, I was all about driving people around in my new car. However, chances are, if you're not on this list yet you'll have to hold out for a ride since I'm becoming less inclined to burn up gas driving around without purpose! :)

New Car & Goin' Home

I'd like to pretend like I'm not being lazy, however, it is Sunday night and as all of my friends know, that is one of my two TV nights. I'm relaxing after being at home in Oak Creek, so the portion about my new car is from an email I wrote to some of my girlfriends:

As some of you may already know, I just bought a new car!! About two weeks ago my car, as the Oregon Trail might say, "took a turn for the worse." I sat there analyzing the pros and cons of my Malibu and in the end, there were only two pros: daytime running lights and power mirrors. Nothing else really worked anymore and the breaks sounded awful - even when I wasn't breaking; so I decided it was time to trade 'er in. I did some research and found that a dealer in Janesville had a great selection of used Toyotas at really good prices so I drove down a week ago last Friday and bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla LE! It is a beautiful blue and I got a sweet deal on it! I am a little shark and got them to bring it down from $16,999 to $12,900, and of course, they did give me a whopping $500 for that piece of junk Malibu, so I guess it was actually $12400 (after taxes, fees, etc.). I've been trying to get a nice picture of her, but it's been really yucky out. I finally took a picture for you to enjoy!

As I mentioned earlier, I just got back from a weekend home in Oak Creek. It was one of the best I've had yet since I got to see Ronnie, get together with family, and meet up with friends who I haven't seen in a (long) while. Friday was a quiet day after work, but I did drive to Chick-Fil-A with my mom and we enjoyed some waffle fries. I should mention that the only Chick-Fil-A I know of in the state of Wisconsin is in Racine, so you could say that I drove two hours for their food. It was worth it and I'd do it again! :)

Left to Right: Maryellen, Emma, Auntie Virginia, Holly, and Me

Now, on Saturday I drove my parents in my new whip (that's the gangsta term for a nice car, I've heard) to my cousin's house. It was her husband's birthday and we were there from 1pm until about 5pm! I got to see relatives who I have not had a chance to see for a while and it was great catching up. Afterward, I met up with Dianah, Erica, Erika, and Sarah at Erica's place. It was wonderful! I showed up to a delicious meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salad, and cupcakes - it was like they knew my list of top ten favorite foods!! We ate and went to City Lounge in Cudahy, where my aforementioned cousin Holly and her husband, Brian, met us. I had a blast even though I was exhausted from enjoying all of the good food, family, and friends all day. This was the first time I'd seen these girls since last year, so it was soooo nice seeing them. I'm hoping that we stay close and do a better job of keeping in touch. Dianah mentioned potentially moving to Madison once her beau returns from serving overseas - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited!!


Lil Jon on The Apprentice is hilarious, by the way. Sunday night television has gotten really good and tonight I had to forgo watching The Amazing Race so I could watch some new show about the next fast food restaurant. It is a difficult life I lead.... :)