Shopaholics Anonymous

Me: Hi, my name is Ebony Jewel, I'm 27 and I'm addicted to shopping. 

My Shopaholic Anonymous Group: Hi Ebony Jewel!

Seriously, I am addicted to shopping!  I'm always out looking for the latest and greatest trends; this time it just happens to be fall trends!  I decided that I was past due for some new fall looks.

Here's my list of "go to" stores for the fall:

• Cole Haan - I love their shoes, seriously they are THE MOST COMFORTABLE pumps I have ever owned in my whole entire 27 year life!  Majority of their shoes are enfused with Nike Air technology, making them feel like a gym shoe, yet they look like a classic chic pump! Check them out, you won't be disappointed.
• Banana Republic - Yeah yeah, typical of me right? I don't care what you say! Banana Republic is one place where I can find really cute outfits for work & play.  The same little black dress that I doll out for work, I can glam up for a night out on a date! Their clothes are so versatile, they just keep me hanging on!
• Ann Taylor and Loft - Let me start with Ann Taylor! I love their dresses, dress pants, and most of all their jewlery.  On first glance, Ann Taylor seems a little stuffy, slightly pretentious but classy nonetheless.  When I'm looking for lined dress pants (of course in Tall) Ann Taylor is my first stop.  Now the Loft - thankfully the Loft is a younger, hipper version of Ann Taylor.  The Loft is perfect for a 20 something like myself! Their clothes are a little less pricey than the sister store Ann Taylor, but they're cute, fun and flirty - totally fits my personality & personal style.  I can take a shirt from the Loft and throw it under a suit from Ann Taylor; keeps me feeling young, cute and refreshed!
• Charming Charlie - I think Charming Charlie is a southern thing, so for all of you Southern Belles who love jewelry, Charming Charlie is the place for you.  The store is filled with coloful trinkets of absolute fabulousness! I'm addicted, every time I walk in there I'm overwhelmed!  I can never remember what color clothes I purchased, so I have to bring them with me when I go to Charming Charlie! 
• Coach Factory Outlet - Purses, purses, purses.  A girl can never have enough purses; hit up the Coach Factory Outlet for some awesome deals! I did over the Labor Day weekend and I totally lucked out.  You'll see shortly!
• Louis Vuitton - Oh Louis - you and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love you Louis, I think you're too freakin expensive though.  When I landed my first consulting gig I told myself with my first pay check I'd buy my first LV purse.  (Lots of firsts there huh?) I don't remember the date, but it was some time in August of 2007, I purchased my first LV Speedy 40 bag at the Louis Vuitton store in Boston.  Then in the summer of 2009, almost 2 years later, I purchased my 2nd LV bag at the "flagship" store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris <- that was HEAVEN! After purse #2 & almost $2K in Louis Vuitton purses, my fascination with the brand had faded away.  Don't get me wrong, I still love LV, but it's just a purse & just a brand.  Yes, I want another one and I'll get another one, but not quite yet!  Anyways - my two LV purses have lasted and will continue to last throughout the seasons: Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall - they're timeless pieces that I love!
• DSW - Shoes, shoes, shoes! Yep - I like DSW; my only complaint is that I find better sizes online than I do in the stores.  To complicate that, ordering shoes online sucks...seriously!
• New York & Company - I can remember when NY&CO was the ONLY store I ever needed in my life.  Actually back then, it was Lerner New York & Company.  Over time, New York & Company has transformed into a company that sometimes I love and other times I question.  I question where the ideas for their outfits come from & what happened to the young, but sexy office wear look went.  In any event, I still frequent New York & Company, I'm a little saddened to hear that you now to have be a credit card owner to get coupons from them because I am not a card holder, but I don't think that will stop me from shopping there!

So! Visit some of the stores above, you know you wanna!  They should be paying me dangit - I'm advertising for THEM for FREE!!!

Without further adieu, here are some outfits I'll be sporting this fall! I've purchased a lot of timeless classics that I can mix and match, you'll see!

Ann Taylor dress, NY & Co cardi, Coach Purse & Cole Haan shoes

Ann Taylor dress, Banana Republic cardi, Cole Haan shoes & Coach purse

New York & Co suit, Coach purse & Cole Haan Shoes

New York & Co jacket, Loft shirt

Banana Republic skirt, Loft shirt & Loft necklace

Banana Republic cardi & silk shirt

Banana Republic sweater & sleeveles ruffle shirt

Black Cole Haan pumps

Brown Cole Haan pumps

Brown Coach purse

Coach makeup bag

Now you've had a chance to peek into some of my fall fashions - what are YOU buying for the fall?

My Life: A Moving Target? Naaaah!

For so long I have lived in a town close to the friends that I've known for years, close to my family, somewhere safe when I could just run home if there was a problem.  A few weeks ago, I decided for sure (this time) that I'm going to change that.  At 27 years old, it's way beyond time... I've been taking care of myself since I was 18.  Yes, I admit that my parents helped me along the way, but for the most part I've done this alone.  Here I am 27 years old and totally unhappy about the city that I live in.  It's an awesome place to raise a family, but not such an awesome place for a single 20 something like myself. 
Needless to say, I put together a plan - by August 31st, 2011 I plan to be in my new place in life and in a new state.  I debated long & hard about where I wanted to go & I've settled on the big city of....drumroll please...CHICAGO! I've been to Chicago plenty of times, I know that parts of Chicago are dangerous, scary, super nice and super expensive, but I'm ready to take that plunge. I don't care that it's expensive, I can afford it - I may have to do without shopping every weekend, but that's okay - I'll survive.  Who the hell needs 3 closets full of clothes and shoes anyways?! I definitely don't! 

Anyways - here's the plan....

I'm going to stay in my condo until December 2011.  At the end of December, I'm putting my stuff in storage and moving in with my parents (don't want to, but I need to save some major $$).  I'll rent my condo starting January 1, 2011 that way I'm not only making $$, but I'm also saving money - no bills other than car note, car ins and student loans. 

I'll take a few trips to Chicago in the June/July time frame to solidify my condo or apartment there; I plan to sublet a fully furnished place for 6-8 months so that way I can see if I like the area then either rent or buy something in that same area.  By mid August I'm going to take a week or two vacay from work & make the move to Chicago!

So operation pay off credit cards starts now! That way, the only bills left are my car note, car ins and student loans.  I've already paid off 1 card - 4 more to go which I plan to do in the next 2 months!

Wish me luck - hopefully there are no hickups in the next few months - I need my plan to stay on track 100%!

Memo to my neighbors

I cannot sleep all night because I have to listen to your fuckin yapping ass dog all night long.

Am I a bit hostile about this? Yes, can you tell?

Seriously you inconsiderate assholes, the entire neighborhood complains because you leave your dog out all night. How rude of you to disturb your neighbors when we're trying to do something as important as sleep. How dare you think this is acceptable behavior.

If I could figure out which house the barking was coming from, I'd open your gate and let your dog run free, free as the wind blows! In the mean time, I have to listen to this bullshit all weekend.

I won't be home again until Thursday night and I swear if your dog is outside all night yapping away the two options will be animal control or antifreeze. YOU pick your poison.

Happy Monday!

P.S. I love animals and your probably can't tell it, but I'm tired of this dog barking all night.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Last Few Months

Hopefully this will give a little insight into where I've been for the last few months.....

In my post here I mentioned that I was going to do some renovations to my condo.  I had a contractor ready to go, estimates were in and I knew exactly what it was going to cost me.  Just before I called the contractor to start, there was a little hiccup in my life and my finances.  I never really talked about this hiccup because I didn't want anyone to "feel sorry for me" and quite frankly it depressed me to even think about it.  

I, a woman who was totally independent, a woman who "lived the life" a lot of 20 somethings dream of, a woman who was financially stable....was let go from my job.  It happened at the end of January.  I kind of, only kind of, knew that it was coming - the company was failing miserably financially, there had been other cut backs & I was happy to not be one of them, but I knew my time was coming. The good thing for me is that I had been on a mad hunt for a job.  When I was let go, I'd previously had 2 interviews with a company (that I was dying to work for) and was waiting on my third and final interview at which time I was advised if they liked me, they would make an offer.  My third interview was a week after I was let go & I landed the job that day!  I was ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic!  Not only did I land a job with a company that I've been wanting to work for for the longest, I got a pretty steep signing bonus for accepting the offer.  My skill set is one they've been looking for since the economy picked up; so the signing bonus was pretty freakin sweet as was my salary offer. 

I started at the new company at the beginning of March, so in all actuality I was without a job from the end of January until the beginning of March, but the break was good.  I got to spend some much needed quality time with my niece, see my friends who I hadn't seen much and get everything straightened out for the renovation.  Since I started the new job, I'm back to traveling every week.  I've been to Chicago, NYC, and a couple of other pretty cool places.  All and all it's been a good, but life changing experience.  

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, I believe that when one door closes another door opens & not only did God know it was time for me to move on, he made sure I had a place to move to.  He works in mysterious ways doesn't He?

Off to bed now - I have an early morning flight to Charlotte - hope everyone had an awesome weekend!  

Monday Morning Madness

Rain?! The weather man [or woman] has been predicting rain all weekend and I have yet to see one iota of rain. I would like them to stop lying ASAP! I could have used a good rainy weekend at home, instead it was a hot overly humid weekend. Guess there were some good points of the weekend tho. Office social on Saturday night was outside & didn't get rained out!

Moving on! Today marks my first day on a new project at work. I'm excited and nervous. You never know how clients are going to react to you, or how well you'll mesh [or not mesh] with your new team, so wish me luck. I've met some of the team members before and they all seem really cool, but seeming cool & being cool are two different things right?

Can I just express to yall the new found excitement I have about blogging? I am always at a computer, but I rarely ever have time to blog while I'm working. Plus new job heavily monitors laptop usage - so I try to keep my personal usage to a minimum. I downloaded BlogPress to get around that obstacle. So expect more posts and potentially more craziness from me!

Alright off to the airport! Holla! Happy Monday peeps!

~Ebony Jewel~


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let's Hear It For New York!!

Yeah! Yeah! I've been a slacking crappy blogger lately!!  What you should know is that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I'm just busy as all get out with work!  Plus I'm not sure how much this new company monitors my laptop usage, so I try not to read blogs/blog while I'm traveling.  I think know I'm going to start carrying my personal laptop! 

New job is going pretty well...some days I really like it, other days I can't stand the immaturity of some of the people - but that's everywhere you go!  However, the one grand, really super awesome thing I LOVE about the job is FLEEEEEEEX TRIPS!!!!!! 

I've been working in NJ for the past couple of weeks, actually in the middle of "suburbia" where there isn't much to do.  At least I haven't found much to do since I've been there!  I've decided that next week, I'm going to exercise this flex trip option & stay in NYC over the weekend instead of flying home to GA!

If anyone is going to be in the NY, NYC, or NJ area 04/23 - 04/25/10 please let me know! I'd love to meet up with some of my blogger friends!  I fly into EWR on Monday the 19th & will be flying back to GA on the 29th!

Temporary Hiatus

Please excuse me while I take a temporary hiatus from blogging.  I've had a lot going on....a lot is a bit of an understatement actually.  So here's a short update....

My house is a total damn wreck right now, I'm in the middle of living through a home renovation.  While I honestly believe that the end result will be worth it, I'm getting pretty freakin frustrated that progress has been slow & there have been a few bumps in the road....from having to replace my entire back door (frame & all) to water spewing throughout my bathroom from a broken copper line.  Grrrr!!!  I love you house, but you're draining my bank account....REALLY!

Three weeks into the new job & I've had tons of "time to shine," but I'm getting an even bigger moment next week.  I worked last week with a senior manager who recognized my industry knowledge, my talent, my drive & my ambition.  After she sang my praises to several other executives, they jointly decided to bring me out to a new business opportunity next week.  I expressed my interest in sales, something I loved even at my prior job so next week I get my chance to work with the sales team to help us "win" a great opportunity.  Keep your fingers crossed folks, we're up against some tough competition. 

Life outside of work & this crazy ass home reno project...well life is insane.  My niece is growing like a weed, she was 5 months old on the 24th & she FINALLY has her first tooth.  She's such a cutie, love her!  I saw her today & she's all about chewing on my fingers & making sure she gets all kind of drool down my arm.  I went & saw Hot Tub Time Machine tonight with BFF, totally stupid movie.  The previews make it look so good & yes there were good parts, but it was crap for the most part!

We're supposed to have crappy weather tomorrow, so I hope to spend some time catching up on blog reading!! Hope all of yall are well!! I'll try to post more often....I promise!

Old Navy Super Modelquin - CALLING ALL VOTERS

YES! I totally entered the Old Navy Super Modelquin sweepstakes.  I don't expect to win, but I thought it would be great if I could at least get some votes! LOL

So...go here & vote for me...

I know this is totally silly, but hey I had fun doing it!! :)  Now off to a surprise party!!

Child Directs Plane At JFK...INSANE

I'm sure everyone has heard about this on the news, read about it in the local paper or even on the internet.  BUT if not, here's a little glimpse of the kid who was taken to work by his father calling the shots for many plans that departed and landed at JFK.



Now here's my point of view - it's 2010.  Too much shit has happened in the world, please recall 9/11/2001 (we will never forget), the Air France flight that suddenly disappeared (not sure it was terrorist related, but still very tragic) how about the Christmas/Delta attempted bombing (thank goodness this fool wasn't successful).  A lot of people are saying it's really not that big of a deal.  I wholeheartedly disagree!!  JFK is one of the nations busiest airports, the behavior of the father AND the supervisor should be closely scrutinized - honestly both should be fired.  We all know that kids rarely listen to the directions of their parents, kids don't understand the consequences of their actions either.  What would have happened if this child told a pilot to take off from the WRONG runway or to even land on the wrong runway?  Mass casualties - that could have been the result. 

Take this comment from someone who is on a plane 2-3 times a week - the actions and behaviors of those who work in ATC should NOT be taken lightly.  Here's a picture from US AIR TRAFFIC FOR TODAY AT 10:59 AM.  DO YOU SEE HOW MANY PLANES ARE IN THE AIR IN THE US AT ONE TIME?!

So for all you people who think oh - it's no big deal - you're WRONG!  Imagine the number of people on each flight & multiply it by each dot you see in that picture & the number of casualties (cause by a slip up by some idiot dumb fuck who decided to let their child direct air traffic) would be so large and devastating!  I'm just sayin - this is not something that should be taken lightly.  One misstep and lives could unnecessarily have been lost.  I fly a lot...I don't want my life in the hands of some careless child.

Ten On Tuesday

I totally took this idea from Angela over at Craving Cupcakes.  Visit her blog when you get a chance, she's fantabulous!


1. If you were given an hour to use a $200 Amazon gift card, what would you buy? I would totally buy a pair of Cole Haan pumps!!

2. Are there any fairly common foods that you’ve never had? Here we go with comments of my Un-Americanness ;).  Cheese - the smell of cheese makes me want to vomit!

3. What was your favorite way to use your imagination as a kid?
I played house a lot, I had a play kitchen in my basement & was forever "cooking" for my dolls. 



4. What’s your favorite state? Why? Florida because of all of the fabulous sunshine!

5. If it was our culture to have our parents choose our spouses, do you think yours would make a good choice? Oh man...I don't know about that. Thank goodness that's not our culture!

6. What’s your favorite herb? Lavender - makes me sleeeeeeeeepy!!


7. If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would you choose? Robert Pattinson & not because of Twilight, but just cause he's hot!

8. What’s your favorite Disney movie? The Little Mermaid!!!!

9. If you had to listen to the same song over and over for 24 hours, what song would you choose? Right now I'd have to say Taio Cruz Featuring Ludacris - Break Your Heart **Note: I am not condoning his male whoreism, but I love this song!! LOL  It's song #3 on my running playlist!**



10. How do you order your steak? Medium well

Unrealistic Expectations?

Have you ever had a friend who doesn't want to hear the truth so they avoid certain subjects?  Well I have a friend who never wants to hear the truth....I'll speak it, I don't care if I hurt your feelings, because if you were truly my friend, I would expect you to do the same for me.  So............

I had dinner with a friend over the weekend when she started talking about marriage & what she would do if someone proposed to her right now, would she cry, would she throw up, would she scream?  Further to that she talked about her ongoing relationship with her boyfriend.  Let me just say that it's not that I don't like her boyfriend and it's not that I do like her boyfriend, I don't know him.  I only know of him what she tells me and what she tells mutual friends.  From what she's told me, he's a bit of an immature jackass.  She's flown all over the world (using her $$) to see this dude countless number of times even though he's told her he doesn't want to be in a relationship and isn't ready for commitment.  (Hello red flag) He's always telling her that she needs to find things to occupy her time, like hanging out with her friends because she's too clingy.  (Another red flag)

Anyways, she told him that they've been together (off and on) for 2 years & she demanded to know where the relationship was going.  I just kinda looked at her because I thought that #1 that was the dumbest thing ever & #2 if dude has told you once before that he didn't want a relationship or commitment why continue to pursue it?  She's dying to get married & I am of the opinion that if it's meant to be, it will be.  Neither party should rush it, neither party should nag the other about getting married, and BOTH parties should have mutual feelings about marriage.  So....being the honest person that I am - I say why do you want to get married so badly?  And she looks at me and says it's not that I want to get married, but I want to know if our relationship is going to lead to that.  My response was well I don't think that's a very fair question to ask him - he's not a fortune teller and he can't see the future so why not just take it one day at a time?  She then goes on to say that she's been talking to another guy (that she met on the internet) who she think is better than her current boyfriend, not that he's a bad guy, but she's sure there are other guys out there that will treat her better. 

At that point I was just tuning her out because in 1 breath she's talking about wanting to know where the relationship with her boyfriend is going to talking about a guy she met on the internet & how he may treat her better than her current boyfriend.  I don't get it & I'm hoping that maybe one of my blog friends can explain this idea that I've heard a lot of 20 somethings talk about....

What is the deal with being so desperate to get married & have kids? What happened to wanting to find out who you are before jumping into a marriage?  What happened to actually bringing something to the table in a marriage? 

Relaxing Before My First 5K

No crazy drinking binges, no partying with friends - that's right...tonight I'm staying in & relaxing.  Totally un 20 somethingesque huh?

Well there's a good reason for my laziness!  Tomorrow morning I am participating in my first ever 5K sponsored by a local orthopedic doctor's office. This run is not for a charity, but it's being held to increase awareness of becoming a more physically active community.  I have convinced 2 of my besties to run with me and although we don't think we will be able to run the entire way, we're going to give it our best shot! 

Today after picking my up registration packet, I drove the route that we will be walking/running.  It didn't look too bad minus the three hills that I saw. 

Wish me luck, pray that I don't puke everywhere or get some insane leg cramps.  This isn't my first time running nor my first time running 3.1 miles - I run quite a bit on my own, but this is my first organized race.  I hope this is the start of something great, I hope that tomorrow I meet more amazing people who are interested in participating in other charity races!

So here's to a night of relaxing & mentally preparing for tomorrow's insanity!

X's & O's!

Home Renovations

Some of yall follow me on Twitter & know that I've been talking a lot lately about doing some work on my house. 

I'm planning on putting down engineered hardwood flooring in my living room and tile in my kitchen and bathroom.  A lot of people ask why I'm going with engineered hardwood floors & not real hardwood and here's the uncomplicated short answer.  My condo is built on a concrete slab, in order to put down real hardwood floors on a concrete slab my contractor would have to build a wood sub floor which would inevitably increase the height of the flooring and cause problems with opening my front door.  So the next best choice is engineered hardwood flooring. 

I went to Lumber Liquidators yesterday & found exactly what I wanted!! Here's a picture of the flooring that I plan to buy!  Sadly it out of stock until mid March, but that's alright!! I can get my kitchen & bath done in the mean time!

Warm Cognac Curupay:

As I mentioned above, I will be putting tile kitchen & bath.  Here are the two tiles that I've been debating about from my favorite (sarcasm) home improvement store Lowe's.  **If I've never said this before, I hate Lowe's - long story.**




Which do you like better???



A.

B.

So far my friends & family like option A, but let me know what yall think!!  Alright gotta run now - going shopping with my mom in a bit to buy some new outfits for work! It's official - 11 more days till I start the new job!  Stay tuned for pictures of my new outfits!

Getting Back On Track

I joined a gym at the beginning of February....now ask me how many times I've gone to the gym.  Maybe like 5...which is not very many.  I feel like I'm wasting my money, but I need some motivation to get up & go.  As if my increasing pants size isn't motivation enough LOL.

I used to run nearly every day, 3-4 miles a day on the treadmill - that was back when I was traveling.  I've been home since mid-Jan, but will be back on the road starting March 8th & that means back to running!  In the mean time though, I need to take full advantage of my freakin gym membership!  I had planned to run in a 5K next weekend & I think I might still do it!  I want one of my friends to do it with me, but I can tell she's iffy about signing up!  5K is only 3 miles - I can do that in about 35 minutes, so can she, she just needs a little push lol!


So here's to getting back on track....I'm going to hit the gym every morning next week, count my calories & continue my journey to being a healthier me.

Here are my "stats" at the moment:
Age: 26 (soon to be 27 sniff sniff)
Height: 5 feet 11 inches
Current weight: 159.5
Goal  weight: 150


I realize I only need to lose about 10 pounds, but 10 pounds is hard to lose - I swear!!

Snowpocalypse in GA & My Lovely Blog Award

First I'll tell you about all the wonderful weather that hit GA today - we got SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! LOL Now - as many of you know, I travel a lot, I see snow all the time, BUT it's rare that I see snow in my hometown.  It's rare that we see snow in South GA at all, but we got loads of snow today!! So here are some of the snowpocalypse pictures!

 

Here I am driving to get some gas so I can take my BFF a ice scraper for her car! She had to work & doesn't get off till 9 something, so I thought it would be nice to deliver an ice scraper to her!

 

Driving to Papa John's to pick up our dinner for the night - who woulda thunk that Papa John's would stop delivering due to snow?!  

 

This is what our house looked like after about an hour or so of snow!  Isn't it lovely?  I wish I could have taken a picture of the people in the field across the street that were pulling kids on sleds with their 4 wheelers!

Alright - enough with the snowpocalypse pictures & on to my blog award!!

I have received the Sunshine Award from love Ms. Michelle over at Desultory Diversions!  I love her! YOU should follow her blog & follow her on Twitter!! Michelle I hope you don't mind my pimping you out! ;)

  

I have to play along with the award game so here are the rules & my fellow nominees you better follow the rules too!!

1. Put the award on your blog (on the sidebar or in one of your posts)

2. Pass it on to 6 fellow bloggers and let them konw they have received it

3. Share the love & provide a link back to the person from whom you've received it

4. Bask in the warm sunshine of your new found fame (I usually bask in my own sunshine cause I'm just hot like that, but I like blog awards too lol)

Now!! On to my 6 fellow bloggers!!

1. Craving Cupcakes 

2. Dreams Do Come True 

3. Just The Ashes 

4. Life After College 

5. Tidbits From My Mind 

6. 1,2,3...Eleven Petals 

Now - I'm off to let everyone know about their award!!

I GOT THE JOB!!!!

Yeah!! That's right! I got the job with my "dream" company!  I finally scored it, it's been a long time coming guys!

If there was one thing that made me want to leave my last employer it was because as much faith as I had in the people that I worked with, financially the company is going south...quick, fast & in a hurry.  I really did love my last job, I loved traveling, I loved the people.  I didn't love the reduction in pay, the fact that promises were made all the time, but then there were excuses as to why those promises couldn't be fulfilled.  (Yes I know that happens at EVERY employer, but on a daily basis it shouldn't)  I also knew that part of what I was participating in wasn't totally ethical & that was wearing away at me. 

So now here it is 2010 a new year, a new me, a new job, new people, new motivation, new travel!  Because this is a much larger company than the company I previously worked for, I think it will be hard for me to gain global recognition like I had at my last job.  Across the globe everyone knew me, knew my work & had 100% faith in my abilities.  I traveled to many of our offices and worked with a lot of cross functional/global teams, so my name was out there.  I know that won't be the case with this new organization, BUT I feel that I will make a great contribution and name for myself in my assigned industry within the firm! 

I'm excited!! I find out this week about my potential first assignment - how freakin awesome! :)

Who Doesn't Love Me...Um, I Mean Blog Awards! ;)

So I know I've been a bit MIA lately, but I have a good reason for that!! No spoilers yet - will tell you once I receive what hopefully will be good great news!!

In the mean time, I must accept three awesome blog awards from the lovely Jill over at Life After College.  She's fantastic & so is her blog, so make sure you stop by and show her some love or I'll be very disappointed in you!

Here are the three awards & below are the rules!

 

  

Rules: 

Accept the award (duh!) LOL

Post the award on your blog & link back to the person who nominated you

Pass to award to up to 15 bloggers

Don't forget to tell your blogger friends that you've nominated them

I will give the award to 5 bloggers - gotta make this short today - loads of cleaning to do! So here are my nominations:

1. Pinkie Larue 
2. So Scared Of Getting Older I'm Only Good At Being Young 
3. Desultory Diversions 
4. Kizzy Online 
5. MK In Wonderland 

Alright! Off to read some blogs then do some laundry & clean my carpets!

I Need Your Help!!

Yep! That's right!! I need the help of the blogger community because I may have a "situation" and I'm not quite sure how to solve it.  So here it goes...

There's a chance that I may have a job offer which requires me to relocate & I'm not sure where to start looking...for apartments, condos, lofts, whatever.  I don't know where I want to live - directly in these cities or on the outskirts, so blogger friends if you live anywhere in the areas, please please please help me out!

My choice cities:

• Boston, MA
• Chicago, IL
• Hartford, CT
• Florham Park, NJ
• San Francisco, CA
• NYC
  

I've crossed San Fran off the list, I do not want to live on the west coast.  Not that there's anything wrong with the west coast, I just don't want to live there.  I would love to live in NYC, but I don't think I could afford it & lastly Hartford - well that's just off the list cause it is.  I hate Hartford lol.

All of the cities above are pretty expensive & I'm not sure if I can really afford to live in the city right now; I'm thinking outskirts would be much more affordable.  Here's my problem though: I own a home (which I would have to sell or rent out), I have a lease on a pretty new Acura TL so I think I've crossed NYC out totally because it doesn't even make sense to take a car with you to NYC. 

The company is only offering $10K in relocation, which isn't bad, but for someone like me with a mortgage payment and a new car payment, $10K isn't much.  In essence, this means I will be making a mortgage payment, car payment, rent in a new city, and all of my other bills that I have to pay.  I think it's probably best to sell the house & I will definitely look into that!

So folks - right now my top choices are Boston, Florham Park, & then Chicago.  Does anyone live close to or know anyone that lives close to these cities?  If so, are there any suburbs around them that are fairly safe AND inexpensive?  And by inexpensive I mean $800 - $1000 a month in rent.  Because this job, like my current job entails quite a bit of travel, I probably won't be driving my car much; however, I need to live somewhere that is accessible to public transportation - (train/subway) so I can get back & forth to the office and the airport.

My next task is finding a moving company that can come to GA, pack my stuff up & move it to one of these cities.  I know of a couple of moving companies such as UPack, Allied Van Lines, & Mayflower & need to contact them for a quote.  

Nothing is finalized yet; I had my 3rd interview on Friday, January 15th, but the guy that I interviewed with said I did an excellent job & he was quite impressed.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the best!  My recruiter has already advised me that she wants me to fly into Charlotte on 1/29/10 for my final interview if the 3rd interview went well.  I'll know more on Monday hopefully & when I find out, I'll be sure to give yall the low down! :)

Thanks in advance for all of your help, I definitely need any help/advice I can get right now!

Back To Life...Back To Reality

HA! I'm so old school - do yall remember that song?  If not, let me refresh your memory! Soul II Soul - Back To Life video! LOL



Tomorrow marks my first travel & work day of the new year.  Am I excited? Hell no, no...I'm not!  I'm just not ready to get back in the groove of work, but I don't have much of a choice at the moment.  I mean I haven't won the lotto or anything, so I must continue to work in order to maintain my semi-crazy lifestyle!  I really think 2010 is going to be a great year though; I'm hoping that my career will reach new heights, that I'll make new friends, maybe luck up on a good boyfriend, and possibly meet some of my bloggie friends in real life.

Who really knows what 2010 has in store for us...well God knows, but I can only wait in anticipation to see exactly how 2010 plays out.  Hopefully lots of good things are in store!

I must call it a night pretty early!  I have to get up at 1 AM to drive 2 hours to the airport...sucks huh!?  Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Beautiful Blogger Award

I got another award! YAY! And now keep reading.....

I've been awarded the Beautiful Blogger award by bloggie friend Ashley over at Just The Ashes. Be sure to check out her blog cause she's full of awesomeness!  Here are the rules...and yes you must follow them!

1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.

2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.

3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.

4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.

5) Nominate 7 bloggers.

6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

Here are my 7 interesting things! *drum roll please*

1. I have spent 2 years in the software consulting industry and absolutely love it.  I believe that I have found my career niche & I'm so proud of that!

2. I spent 8 months of my life exploring Europe in 2007 and had the best time ever.  I would give anything to go back & I honestly believe that there's an opportunity for me to do so in 2010 - keep your fingers crossed!

3. I would love to move up north.  I love the warm weather of the south, but it often times get too freakin hot to enjoy & it's rare that we see the true changing of the seasons.  I'd love to live in a city where there are actually 4 seasons!

4. I am currently considering changing employers.  I love my consulting career, but I am hoping that 2010 will boast loads of opportunities for me to learn, grow, and advance in my career.  I'm not sure if my current employer is totally open to offering me that opportunity.  The next few weeks will tell, but ultimately I need to pursue what makes me happy & I think one of the "big 4" consulting firms may swallow me up! :)

5. My world has been completely changed with the birth of my niece.  She is the sweetest little thing & is growing like a weed.  It's been such a joy to watch her learn and grow over the last 8 weeks.  Although the circumstances around her conception weren't the best, I want her to have the best & I'll do anything to make sure she does!

6. As I write this post, I am starving! LOL

7. I was supposed to get my hair done at 9 AM so I thought, but I forgot to make an appointment, so I'm going at 11:00 AM instead.  Annnnnd in true black folks fashion, I will be in the shop alllllllllllllll freakin day because of this! I've charged up my phone, gathered my magazines, and made a few playlists to hopefully counteract my bordem!

Now I've got to nominate 7 lovely bloggers - so here goes...in no particular order!

1. So Scared Of Getting Older, I'm Only Good At Being Young 
2. Australian Daisy 
3. Life After College
4. Cheap Therapy 
5. Desultory Diversions 
6. Dreams Do Come True 
7. Tidbits From My Mind 

 Alright - I need to clean up my kitchen before I leave for the day! Later taters!

New Year's Day Superstitions

Today is the first day of a new year & I'm feeling good!!  For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I've changed my name to CallMeMs_TL! I felt like I needed a new name that had some meaning! :)  Don't be skerd to follow me for all you new folks! I'm fun! LOL

How was your New Year's Eve?  Mine was just scrumptious!  Went to 2 parties - kinda last minute plans...one wine tasting party at a friend's house who I haven't had the opportunity to hang out with much because she's been busy moving her life back to the US & GA! I'm so happy she's home!!!  The second was at a long time family friend's house.  Good time, good food, lots of fun, & that was my New Year's Eve!!

NOW! On to what this post is really about - are you superstitious? Are there things you don't do on the 1st day of the year, or the last Friday before the new year?

I'm not totally superstitious, but here are some superstitions that I kinda believe in!

• Kissing at midnight: Kissing someone at midnight ensures that the affections & ties you have to one another will continue throughout the next 12 months.  (Maybe that's why none of my boyfriends stick around - cause I don't kiss them on NYE; we're always out doing our own thing) LOL
• Lots of food in the house: Your new year must not start with bare cabinets or else, that's how the rest of your year will be.
• Nothing goes out: That's right - absolutely nothing, not even garbage is to leave your house today! I mean YOU can leave your house, but don't start throwing away stuff you don't need in your "new years" cleaning - wait until Jan 2nd to do that!
• Food, good ol southern food: It's common tradition, especially in the southern States of the US to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck & a green leafy veggie such as collard greens or cabbage for financial good fortune.  For meat, don't eat poultry cause poultry scratches backwards, don't eat beef cause cows stand still, but eat pork because pig roots forward!  So have a pork chop or 2 to go along with your black eyed peas and collards or cabbage!
• Work: Do some kind of work today & make sure that it's successful even if you don't go near your job.  Only do a small amount of work because engaging in a serious work project on New Years Day is considered unlucky! I've resorted to checking my email & responding to at least 1.
• Laundry: I've heard so many different variations of this, so I'm not sure which one is true.  I've heard that you never wash clothes on the last Friday of the year, I've also heard that you never wash clothes on New Years Eve, & that you never wash clothes on New Year's Day and the reason is because you will "wash away" a family member from your life. Either way - I didn't wash clothes the last Friday of the year, on New Year's Eve, nor am I washing clothes today. 

So that's all I can think of at the moment.  I'm sure my blogger peeps can probably add more to this list!!

Happy 2010 yall!!!