Hello loves and welcome to March! Today my wants are very simple: I would like a Bobbi Brown Peony and Python Palette, some Moroccan Oil, and a McDonald's Shamrock Shake.
Look how cute and pretty it is!
Are those not gorgeous colors that would go very nicely from day to night (and/or a stunning smoky eye)?? It even comes with a separate smudge brush!
I have heard soooo many great reviews for these rpoducts. Apparently it makes your hair healthy, shiny, and frizz free without the stiff, icky build up. Because it's all natural and stuff. And apparently it also cuts blow out time by 40%. The time it takes me to blowdry my hair straight is the number one reason I don't do it! A product that will save me time while giving me gorgeous hair? I must try it.
Ooooooh...the green, minty delights of the Shamrock Shake are back for a limited time! Yuuuuuummmm.
I have found a new party/dance/club anthem. I don't really understand the unicorns (or why she makes out with one at a point...weird!), but I would have some fun shooting guns of rainbows and glitter. I love it. I especially love James Van Der Douche Beek and the spoken part [at 2:41] "ke dollar sign ha" LOL.
Enjoy!
Now, what? We're taking control
We get what we want
We do what you don't
Dirt and glitter cover the floor
We're pretty and sick
We're young and we're bored
It's time to lose your mind and let the crazy out
This place's about to
Tonight we're taking names 'cause we don't mess around
This place's about to blow - oh-oh-oh!
Blow-oh-oh-oh
If you missed the other parts, this is Part One and this is Part Two.
Where we left off, I had sent a text to S2, the girl/bride-to-be. It was very simple. It said, "Hi! It's me. Please give me a call when you get a chance. Thanks." 5 days later, at 7:20AM, she texts me back.
I'm sorry, but WTH are you texting me back, at a time when I am pretty much non-functional and don't want to speak to anyone, when I very specifically said CALL me?!? Like, asked her to call me 5 times!!!
And her excuses for being "MIA" was a total and complete lie. She said she was helping with a mutual friend's bachelorette party, but I had already talked to the planner (because she knows how to receive/make calls/has basic communication skills) and S2 wasn't helping, which was part of the problem. And the only reason she got back to me at all was to find out if I was going to the bachelorette party. Lame.
So I didn't respond right away. I'm not a morning person.
When I got home from work, I gave her a call. Expecting to conntinue my now-intimate relatiosnhip with her voicemail, I didn't bring out the script I had written. She picked up. For once!!! I was so surprised I was momentarily speechless. But I quickly recovered. After gettingt hrough the pleasantries, I was just kinda like "Sooo....I received your invitation. It has a one written in. But I'm in a serious, committed relationship. So can I bring him as my guest?" It was not as fluid as I wanted it to be. But oh well.
She said yeah. That they were trying to keep the wedding small, ya know, for an Indian wedding, but it was fine and I could bring him. I still let her know that I was hoping it was a mistake and didn't want to decline over a mistake, or cancel out the one and put in a two without speaking to her.
I figured she should know.
So we're going. But I wonder if it's bad that I'm happy I can't make it to her bridal shower because I have another wedding that day?!??
Kanye is so flippin dumb. Apparently he thinks an abortion cost $50k- $100k?! Umm unless celebs and other rich people have "luxury" abortions, I'm gonna say no... here
Joan & Melissa/ Joan Knows Best? Is this seriously a show?
If you don't have time for the whole preview, just go straight to 1:33. This is what is wrong with Hollywood.
The Beibs gets political here. Of course he can't say he believes in abstinence until marriage- he's probably not a virgin. And his views on abortion just made me like him even less than I did before. But whatever, he's a 16 year old kid. And he's a rock star, so if he believes what Kanye's saying, at least he'll be able to afford it if it happens to him.
So I was watching a really old episode of Conan that was on my DVR, and saw Rashida Jones. She's funny on her shows, but not so much on Conan. Maybe she was having an off day. Anyway, she mentioned how thrilled she was to be working with "the original McDreamy" Rob Lowe. And I also saw a fellow blogger who hosts "Shirtless Fridays" with him as the feature. Who IS this guy???
Oh wait...is that #2 from Austin Powers?!??
Also on an old episode of Conan was Keyshia Cole. I always liked her music. I haven't seen this girl in awhile, but I thought she was bigger (not in a bad way, just in general). Anyway, she looks bangin. And I'm kinda liking her new song. Check it out:
One, get out of debt. And two, go to India this fall.
"Getting out of debt" is a somewhat lofty goal. And it's hard to make any visible progress (especially when you're in as deep as I am). So far, I've been doing ok. Not anything major, but ok. Funding a trip to India is much easier to measure. And finding ways to cut back and save money has definitely become a new hobby of mine. And once you see how much I can save, it encourages me to do more. Recently, I have made some (although minor) cutbacks:
I called my cell phone company and switched to their lowest plan, because I don't talk a whole lot on the phone. For me, as long as I have a large text plan, I'm good.
I cut our Netflix to a smaller plan and changed my commute a little which I wrote about here.
I also called our cable company and got rid of one of our (3) premium movie channels and the sports channel. I would have liked to cut back even more in this department, but C is home more than I am, and he likes his TV. Baby steps.
And I follow money saving blogs and email lists. One blog I found today was Howisavemoney.net. She posted her 25 ways she saves money. So, I colored the ones I do, just as an exercise to see how well I'm doing vs. how well I think I'm doing!
Here we go:
Do not buy things from vending machines
Buy in bulk (I tried this, but found it was not worth it for a 2-person household with absolutely no storage space!)
Use Compact Fluorescent bulbs
Use natural light
Open the windows (when it's not freezing out, yes)
Order free samples online
Use candles (we use candles for the nice smell. I thinks he was talking about using candles as an inexpensive light source)
Turn off unused appliances
Make my lunch (to be fair, C makes my lunch! Thanks hunnie!)
Pick up pennies
Automatic savings plan
Pay bills online (apparently this saves in stamp and envelope prices. i was just doing it to be more green, and because it's done faster than mailing!)
Reduce interest rates (on what?)
Take the bus, walk, or carpool
Cook for multiple days (We're lucky if we cook 3x a week!)
Use coupons (I don't go anywhere without using coupons. I even search for coupons before buying anything online, and use cashback sites! See the side panel if you want to as well!)
Buy generic
Keep extra money in high yield savings instead of checking (I am going to open one March 1. For rel this time!)
Use the library (I don't use the library because I have a Nook. But I was using it before.)
Wash dishes by hand
Re-use plastic shopping bags as trash bags
Use a water filter (like Brita? We have one of those pitchers...)
No cable (HA. No.)
Use paypal for purchases (Why?)
Make lists…and stick to them (I'm assuming grocery and shopping lists; we do that)
It also had a few tips that I do (and should do) in the comments section: Wash and reuse zip top baggies
Make it a concrete rule to put 20% of each paycheck into a savings account (I will start doing this with my next paycheck)
ALWAYS search for online coupon/discount codes when shopping online Use an online budgeting tool, such as mint.com (I started this, but I need to update it because right now it's not being very useful) Use group discount websites, such as livingsocial, groupon, yippit, buywithme (I can't even begin to explain how much I LOVE these sites!) Cut back on eating out (we are working on this...)In what ways do you save? Or what tips and tricks have you learned along the way? I would love your feedback!
Now that you have some background info, let's move on to the actual problem with all of this (as if the last post wasn't enough- ha!).
Last Thursday, I received the wedding invite. It was beautiful. As I was admiring the artistry and "prettiness", C was, as usual, looking at the details.
"Well, have a nice time at the wedding!" he said, handing the RSVP card back to me.
"What???" I said, thinking that he was kidding about not coming to the wedding with me.
"The RSVP says 'Number of persons attending: 1' "
I took the card back and examined it. He was right.
"Well it must be a mistake. I mean, they know I'm with you, you even came with me to their engagement party!"
I called my bff and asked her what her RSVP card said... it said 2. I told her why I was asking, and her response was "Oooh...that's weird. That sucks." It sure did. I told a few other friends, wondering how I should respond. I didn't want to send the card back declining- maybe it was an honest mistake (though I don't know why anyone would send an invite and not have +1 or and guest ...usually people try to bring a date to these sort of functions if they can, and I'm in a long-term, committed relationship! WTF!); I didn't want to write over the 1 with a 2, because that seems rude. If they were low on funds or something, I could almost understand better, like maybe they were trying to keep costs down, but that's definitely not the case. S is AVP of a major consulting firm in NYC. And (he recently put on FB) they are going to Bora Bora, Tahiti, and 2 other places I can't even pronounce/haven't even heard of for their 2+week honeymoon!!! (Plus, I asked one of my friends, who also happens to be a bridesmaid, who also said that it must be a mistake and they are doing a very elaborate, expensive wedding, so cutting one person out for cost purposes seemed more than unlikely). But then WHYYYYYY????
My friends' responses were all the same. Shock. Followed by a "you just need to talk to them."
That turned out to be easier said than done. Like I said, I got the invite on Thursday a week and a half ago. I called both S's on Sunday, and left voicemail. I waited. No response. On the following Thursday I called them both again, and left 2 more voicemails. "Hey, I just have a quick question, please call me back when you get this." Nothing.
The lack of response is adding to my uneasiness and awkwardness. The longer time in between receiving the invite and not being able to get in touch with them is also just making me more pissed off. Today I got a tip off that they are not very good at listening to voicemails. One friend said text S1, another friend said to text S2...since I am better friends with S2, I sent a text.
It's the last edition of Flashback February for Tunery Tuesdays! It's been fun! Here are the top songs from the year I was 15. Unlike last time where I bolded the ones I knew and underlined the ones I knew and liked, I knew (and liked) just about all of these. So I just put a few comments in parentheses. Enjoy!
1. Too Close, Next
2. The Boy Is Mine, Brandy and Monica
3. You're Still the One, Shania Twain
4. Truly Madly Deeply, Savage Garden
5. How Do I Live, LeAnn Rimes
6. Together Again, Janet
7. All My Life, K-Ci and JoJo
8. Candle in the Wind, Elton John (Princess Diana -sad face-)
9. Nice & Slow, Usher
10. I Don't Want to Wait, Paula Cole (oooh, Dawson's Creek!)
11. How's It Going to Be, Third Eye Blind
12. No, No, No, Destiny's Child (this was my fave "Destiny's Child" group)
13. My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion
14. Gettin' Jiggy Wit It, Will Smith
15. You Make Me Wanna..., Usher
16. My Way, Usher
17. My All, Mariah Carey (still one of my absolute fave songs)
18. The First Night, Monica
19. Been Around the World, Puff Daddy and The Family
20. Adia, Sarah McLachlan
21. Crush, Jennifer Paige
22. Everybody (Backstreet's Back), Backstreet Boys
23. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Aerosmith
24. Body Bumpin Yippie-Yi-Yo, Public Announcement
25. This Kiss, Faith Hill
26. I Don't Ever Want to See You Again, Uncle Sam
27. Let's Ride, Montell Jordan
28. Sex and Candy, Marcy Playground
29. Show Me Love, Robyn
30. A Song for Mama, Boyz II Men
31. What You Want , Mase
32. Frozen, Madonna
33. Gone Till November, Wyclef Jean
34. My Body, Lsg
35. Tubthumping, Chumbawamba
36. Deja Vu (Uptown Baby), Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz
37. I Want You Back, 'N Sync
38. When the Lights Go Out, 5ive
39. They Don't Know, Jon B.
40. Make Em Say Uhh, Master P
41. Make It Hot, Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Mocha
42. Never Ever, All Saints
43. I Get Lonely, Janet
44. Feel So Good, Mase
45. Say It, Voices Of Theory
46. Kiss the Rain, Billie Myers
47. Come With Me, Puff Daddy
48. Romeo And Juliet, Sylk-E Fyne
49. It's All About Me, Mya and Sisqo
50. I Will Come to You, Hanson
51. One Week, Barenaked Ladies
Annnnd a few others worth mentioning:
55. Daydreamin', Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks!)
57. Semi-Charmed Life, Third Eye Blind
62. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), Backstreet Boys
64. Time After Time, Inoj
66. Cruel Summer, Ace Of Base
69. Too Much, Spice Girls
70. Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are), Pras Feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mya
74. I'll Be, Edwin McCain
77. Touch It, Monifah (I did a dance for a dance troupe for this in high school)
79. Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Verve (Cruel Intentions!)
81. Spice Up Your Life, Spice Girls
84. All Cried Out, Allure Featuring 112
85. Still Not a Player, Big Punisher Featuring Joe (I'm not a playa...I just crush a lot...)
86. The One I Gave My Heart To, Aaliyah
87. Foolish Games/You Were Meant for Me, Jewel
99. Nobody's Supposed to Be Here, Deborah Cox (love the techno remix)
Scary (before she was Eddie Murphy's baby daddy), Sporty, Baby (my fave), Ginger (before she went solo), and Posh (before she was just known as David Beckham's wifey...and fashion designer. In all their platform and crazy costume glamour!
