Another year passes (she says in a whisper). My oh my old muse, you and I have had a lot of living in this here life! It's funny when you start to get older and realize your only a few years shy of forty (8 years to be precise!), where has the time gone!?  I feel so fortunate and blessed, 2011 was a year of contentedness. After a whirlwind past few years, 2011 is just what I needed. Uneventful. Routine. Prosaic. I longed for those words for so long.  Don't get me wrong, being a wild party girl was quite enjoyable... but this new lifestyle suits me just fine.
Married life is wonderful. I never pictured myself to be the marrying type, but this gig is working out lovely for me :o)
The hubs and I have been so fortunate to be employed, have two businesses, be happy and in LOVE...with each other, with our cats, with our lives. Sure, we were thinking we would have kids by now, but we are kind of glad we don't have any yet because we are able to really build our marriage foundation and make it solid before the "craziness" that ensues with children. Maybe 2012 will bless us with little ones... if not that's okay too, we'll just get another cat (just kidding, 4 is definitely enough!).  
The only thing this year that I can "complain" about is the fact that I haven't been able to see my family and friends as much as I'd like (yeah, I'm talking to you Nix, Suz, Bry, Kel, Cali peeps) 2012, let's take a trip somewhere so we can all hang out!!!
Okie-doke, I'm signing off for 2011, we are having New Year's Eve festivities at our house tonight and I have tons more appetizers to make (ATG=homemaker). I love making everything from scratch, twice baked potatoes, mini-donuts, mini-meatballs... yum (yes, there is a reason this girl gained so much fucking weight!).  Below you can see our youngest kitty helping out (don't worry, I re-washed the bowl after he was done playing, heehehe)

So a goodbye to 2011 and a big hug to 2012... I hereby bestow to everyone a fantastic 2012 with tons of livelovelaugh and everything in between.

-aTg

Here's McFreckles after the ball removal:

heehee, just kidding, that's our other cat Frankenstein!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS, woot woot!

I have not forsaken thee fare blog, just been busy decorating and baking sweets and being an amazing house wife!!!!

Oh, on another note, my poor little McFrecklestein is getting his balls nipped today. Poor little guy.. here he is WITH balls (hehee):

Random picture of us in front of Obscura in New York, we LOVE that show and went and met the folks who are on it... good stuff!

Lastly, here's some homemade ornaments!  Clay = MY FRIEND!

Feeling totally blessed and can't wait for X-mas.  Life = AMAZING

and just in case you needed a dose of cute today...

Went to a restaurant that is supposed to be one of the top in NC... inside was nice, drinks were stiff, wine was good... I ordered:
Coastal Hog-Nosed Snapper over Brinkley Farm Field Peas and Local Squash finished in a Sweet Butter Poached Rock Shrimp & Dill Sauce

It was really delicious, one of the best fish I've had in a long time.

The hubs got:
Grilled Black Angus Strip Steak with NANA’S Mashed Potatoes, Local Mustard Greens and Truffled Cauliflower finished in a Bone-Marrow Sauce. 

Unfortunately, it was disgusting. I felt so bad, since mine was so good, and the hubs doesn't like seafood, and there wasn't really anything else on the menu he wanted so he ate it. I tried a taste, it was by far the worst steak I have had at a restaurant... fatty, chewy, really weird flavor, so weird because the restaurant is supposed to be the best!  So we said we would definetely return to this restaurant on future anniversaries (the risotto appetizer we had was great and other people's food looked delish, and I gotta say I'm daydreaming about the fish I had!), but we did in fact stop at Wendy's on the way home so hubs could grab a cheeseburger! ha!

ANNNNNND... I was right on point with my gift (see below post), as the hubs got me something I asked him for a few months ago, the old school game "Guess Who". That was my favorite game when I was younger.  A. Perfect. Anniversary. 

One Year Of Bliss Down... A Life Time Of Memories To Go!
So, it's our one year wedding anniversary, I can't believe the time has flown by so quickly.  Tonight we are going to start a time capsule that we'll bury in the back yard and add to every year (I gotta say I'm pretty impressed, the hubs came up with that idea because I told him the one-year anniversary was supposed to have something to do with paper), so we are going to put in a few things, a lottery ticket, the receipt from the dinner we go to tonight, etc. 

We've been so busy running the two businesses (SEE ALSO: made $800 bucks in 3 hours this weekend slinging hot dogs!) that we are looking forward to going on a date tonight.  I wasn't sure what you were supposed to get someone for a first year anniversary, so I opted for something the hubs mentioned a few months ago... that he wanted the Afro Samurai movie and series. Not sure if that's lame... maybe I was supposed to do something more romantic or thoughtful, but I guess we'll see what he gets me and then we can compare notes! 

Looking back on the last year, I just feel so unbelievably blessed and incredible!  Marriage life is pretty fucking awesome and I'm so lucky to have found someone who treats me amazing and that I can't get enough of!
Happy 10-10-11 to US!

 

So... me and the hubs have a problem. Problem is, he's a softie and I'm a pushover.  He LOVES animals, I'm talking a regular little PETA activist. This weekend we worked an event for an animal hospital.  Well just so happens they had a kitten there that needed a home. Despite my protest of "No seriously, are we going to be THAT couple with no kids and 4 CATS", he was all gung-ho and was in love and the kitten rolled over on his back and was loving on him, so the hubs of course HAD to have this kitten.

So now... we are THAT couple. But I love this little guy, he's a cutie-patootie and has such a personality! He likes laying like a human with his head on a pillow and a blanket on, and he's a definite lap-cat that loves to be held and cuddled. We named him Oliver McFreckle-stein. Well actually we just call him Freckles... but we love adding on additional names because we are fucking weird.

So welcome to the world kitten-head!

Our other little kitten-head Teenie-Tiny is a bit jealous, but I think they'll end up getting along just fine.

because that is who we are

the people of

the generation of

the wisdom of

remembering where we were on 9/11.

i mean really remembering

and wondering who we were on 9/11

i mean really wondering

you got your techNOlogy

she said with a smile

tho she realizes it’s just blather

she realizes it’s just smiles.

The generation of hit or miss

sealed with a kiss

and never to be amiss

rhyme?  no need for such feats

cause the world is ailing

and i’m just spewing this.

Not sure why this joke makes me laugh so much, but it does...




I saw a lady on T.V. She was born without arms. Literally, she was born with her hands attached to her shoulders... and that was sad, but then they said, "Lola does not know the meaning of the word 'can't.'" And that to me was kinda worse... in a way... ya know? Not only does she not have arms, but she doesn't understand simple contractions. 
-Mitch Hedberg

Had a Fondue Partay this weekend for my b-day, and let's just say SOMEBODY had a little too much fun

And as  a result...

heehee

Prediction: withing 5 years, DVD players, blue-ray players and any other players will be obsolete.


by far.


Holograms = existence.


Life = who the fuck knows.


amy winehouse... miss you girlie, like I miss the King.


-she said with a gloat, a whoa't and something of a knowt.

that's just the way she's feeling....

You say it's my Birthday!!! Um, Happy Birthday BITCHES!!!!


Can't believe my old ass is 32... it's been so busy with the two businesses, I didn't even realize it was my b-day.  Then my mom calls me this morning and I thought I was actually 33, but I'm only 32. Seriously, life has been busy.


We just went out for dinner the other day, so we're making it a Blockbuster night tonight (more like a Redbox night)... and the hubs cooked me my favorites:
Shrimp and crab legs for an appetizer
delicious garlic bread
and chicken fettuccine alfredo (okay, okay, I helped with the homemade alfredo sauce, but the hubs really did make everything else!).


dig it.

Yesterday was our first day in the Hot Dog business!!! Woot Woot... The hubs found an awesome location to sell Hot Dogs and he went for the lunch hour and stayed about 3 hours total (setup took a bit so probably 2.5 hours he was actually open).  I went during my lunch break to help out and he had a line of 6 people waiting!!!  We made $65 bucks which we thought was great for our first run and the number of hours it took.  We learned a hell of a lot too... and we were out late last night purchasing stuff to make everything easier. 

I gotta say, owning and operating a Hot Dog cart is as fun as it looks!  You get to schmooze with people and everybody wants to talk to you about the cart (Ryan was giving grand tours, ha!)

Got a suggestion for something we should sell on the cart?  We have hotdogs, all sorts of toppings, cheese, chili, etc. candy, gum, drinks... leave a comment with something else cool we could offer!  Pics to come..

My heart goes out to Nixie and her family as they struggle with the loss of Nixie's dad from a tragic accident. He was killed by a drunk driver. Just a side-note, if you decide to drink and drive you are a fucking moron. Call a cab. Call a friend. Sleep in your car. Because when you don't, people die and lives are ruined. Mr. Michaelson was an awesome guy with so much life and love, and I'm beside myself with grief over the loss.

I'll never understand why good people with amazing hearts and love go first, and the nasty spiteful disgusting hate-filled vermin get to grace this earth so long. Case in point, my grandfather died the other day as well. Racist piece of trash who disowned his own daughter (my mom) and made it so she couldn't be a part of her own family. I read the obituary (mind you I learned more about my grandfather from the obituary than I had ever known before) and see he lead a full life with grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. died at the ripe old age of 84. I only met him 2 times in my life, and lets just say those were not pleasant visits. All because my mother married a black dude. Seriously, what kind of sicko parents kick their child out of the house at the age of 18 over who they fall in love with. Boggles the mind on how hate-filled and crazy people are.

I wish no harm on anyone, but I sincerely hope if there is something after this existence we live, that he is re-incarnated as a black dude during slave times (with really bad acne).

Other than the grief and depression from seeing loved ones hurt... this girl is just plugging along. Married life is great. No kid's yet. Starting a business is stressful. Weight loss = nonexistent.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop...

Dedicated to Bryna: Bridesmaids was good! I went during matinee so it was cheaper, and thought it was well worth the $6.25 dished out.  I'll definitely rent it again when it comes out at Redbox... was more of a romantic comedy than a raunch-fest but was tolerable for any guy in this girl's opinoin.  Diet plan = ATG loves FOOOOOOOD, not sippin on slurpeeeeees!

Dedicated to Everyone Else (including puppies and children): So I gotta vent about this: the hubs and I are leasing a space to open up a commissary (commercial kitchen) for our hotdog cart.  We are in the process of getting all the approvals with the Health Department and buying all the equipment and such. The realtor/leasing manager of the place we are renting has been attentive, and helpful in allowing us to bring in the various people we need to evaluate the property before we can open.  All was professional and going fine until...until... the woman e-mails me to tell me she doesn't have our cell phone numbers. So I e-mail her both of our cells... I'm working as usual, Ryan is off today and suddenly comes into my lair and says, the realtor lady just called him crying on the phone. I'm like WTF???  She calls my hubs to tell him that her ex- is a douche-bag and that she doesn't have the money to pay for her child's ADHD meds and is blabbing on and on about her failed marriage, etc. WTDOUBLEFUCK.  The hubs has literally talked to her 2 times in his life: once to view the place initially and the second time to bring the Health Department back, total meet time: less than 10 minutes.  I've been the one collaborating with this woman. 
So anyway, she's all crying on the phone to him and the hubs is just like "um, ok".  She then apologizes for calling him and saying all of this and hangs up.

The people here are the most unprofessional and weird folks I have ever encountered.  WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT??  Seriously!?

Oh, did I also mention, the woman cashed 2 checks we gave her to pay the lease/rent when she was NOT supposed to do so as our agreement is contingent on whether the Health Department okays the space.

Long story short: the hubs thinks she made off with our money. 

Venting session done. The saga continues, updates to abound...

Opening a business = priceless..

Just in case you were wondering how it is I gained so much fucking weight the past year:
For breakfast I had spinach artichoke dip
For lunch I had an ice cream sundae.

ATG = Living It Up!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, NOTE TO SELF: Nutrisystem works when you stick to it!

This girl is heading back to the dieting drawing board.

Here's me impersonating Sinead O'connor

 

So yesterday I went to see Hair... LOVED IT! um, so the hubs originally had to work, so of course I made plans to take myself on a lovely date, then it turns out he didn't have to work, and this girl only bought one ticket (SEE ALSO: The hubs HATES musicals, so it's not like I was going to drag him with me anyway!).  I bought my ticket off Craigslist for WAY cheaper than they are listed, so I was quite skeptical as to whether the ticket was legit... it was (insert a Woot Woot here!).   I had no expectations, and even-though I had heard of Hair, I really had no idea what it was about. I have the record but never listened to it.

Fast forward to the musical number right before intermission... 25 cast members at a protest, strip naked and are dancing around... I'm talking dicks slinging, tits jiggling all over the stage. Was NOT expecting that.  There was a young couple next to me who brought (I'm guessing) their son... needless to say they didn't return after the first act.

Good times.

The hubs has been working like crazy lately. It's funny, he was having such a hard time finding gainful employment for the past year, and now he finally finds a steady job and I'd rather have him home!  On another note... we are still waiting for the Health Department to stop dragging their heals and inspect our hotdog cart so we can start slinging dogs (not to be confused with the slinging dicks reference made earlier), but they say they are backed up and we just have to wait our turn.  DAMN THE MAN

Hm, what else, what else....today I'm off to take myself on more dates... first stop: church (there is one right across the street that I've been wanting to check out). second stop: see Bridesmaids. third stop: clean my damn house like a good housewife.


lastly... see above pic of random dude wearing the shirt I bought last night. Seriously, I'm thinking major royalties should be given for using my likeness and image on a t-shirt.

So I'm addicted. 

It's not like I'm going to stop so stop forming your little intervention session already!  Um, what I mean is... this Sunday I had a delightful day completely immersed in my compulsion. Yes, me... all day, hours and hours spent on my craving.  What is it you ask?  Books. Yeah, that simple. I went to a bag-book sale, $7 to fill up a bag with books. There were THOUSANDS of books and HUNDREDS of people clamoring for them. I spent three hours in them there small aisles, with weird smells and crazy people sifting through the piles to find my precious gems. 

Three bags of books and $21 dollars lighter, I left. The hubs was working, so I had the WHOLE evening to bask in the glory between the pages of those glorious, wonderful pages of fact, fiction and folklore. 

My first bag in, I headed straight for the cookbook section. I got over 30 cookbooks, how to cook vegetables, how to barbecue, fondue-ing for the non-fondue-er, old cookbooks from the 50's with worn pages and out-dated methods.  OH THE JOY!  Then I perused the rest of the shelves, first looking for old books that I could potentially sell (like this one) that is on e-bay for $79.95 and that I now have in my possession.  


Total count of books, probably over 50, read about four of them last night (on ancient cultures of past, strange phenomenons, and easy-reads).  More to come, as I further absorb myself in the world of books that I've procured. Husband = Thinks I'm Strange.

On another note, I also garbage picked the random mustard-yellow chair in the picture, poor thing was just sitting on the side of the road begging me to pick it up before the rains came!  We have no room for said chair, but the cats love it and I can't get enough of the color, so for now, the hubs is letting me keep it (ATG = one step away from being a hoarder).

Phew, it's been a while... lots going on, oh yeah, did I forget to mention we are starting our own Hot Dog Cart Business??  WOOT WOOT, just ordered a cart online, doing all the legal set-up and inspection stuff shortly, will share all webpage links and info once we're all set!  It's going to be so much fun!!!

I'm amazed at how dim-witted, stupid, duncical the folks are here in the good 'ole south. Don't get me wrong, people are dumb everywhere... but it seems that there is an inordinate amount located in the vicinity of my community.  Seriously, I'm afraid to venture outside of my home as every time I do just that, I encounter incredible lacks of intellectual acuity. 
Case in point: simple task... get some ice cream.  I've been eye-ing this place called GoodBerrys that I've never heard of. They advertised as having "frozen custard", so I was stoked to see what that taste like.  SPOILER ALERT:  like cheap crappy imitation supermarket brand ice cream.
2 ice-creams and $14dollars and some change later, the hubs and I are on our way home to eat said delight.  I got a small that cost a whopping $5 bucks and the hubs got a quart... (yeah seriously, could have gotten like 3 Ben & Jerrys for that amount).  
REWIND: There were two very young (I'm talking no older than 15) working there. My husband hands the girl a $20, she rings it up on the cash register, then Ryan sees that he has $15, so he says,"actually let me give you $15" since it came to $14 and some change.  The girl froze (literally) in her spot and said "oh, I can't since you already gave me the 20", the freaking chick didn't know how to make change. HolyfreakingMoses!  Oh, it gets better...
Fast Forward:  We're riding home, and I start eating my ice cream in the car. It's completely melty and soft, with no flavor. Very disappointed. But the kicker is: I ordered Butter Pecan with brownie in it (the place is kind of like one of those one's where you choose a flavor and add mix-ins). Well, the guy making it (also a very young teenager) forgot to add the brownie (but charged us for it) and instead of PECANS, the kid puts in WALNUTS. Huge chunks of walnuts in butter pecan flavored shit. Disappointment = evident.


Dear South,
Instead of trying to SECEDE from the UNION, try to SUCCEED from the UNION.


Love,
ATG

Hohum.  Tis another week gone by... and methinks I will reflect on "family". The hubs and I just had a very crappy visit to The Jerse packing up his grandparents house. So many memories in that house, in fact we found a 50 year anniversary card that I had signed in 1998 to his grandparents! So crazy to think that 13 years ago Ryan and I were together, and now we are together again! LOVE IT!  
Packing up the belongings of over 80 years of memories was heart-wrenching. The pictures, the memories, the laughter and the tears... really makes you focus on what's important.  That coupled with the horrible disasters in Japan, and the general state of the world, it's hard not to pull out the "whoa is us" card.  I've been trying to be the happy-cheery person throughout this whole thing, as the hubs is devastated and I don't want to add to his misery, but it's hard to keep a smile on your face when there is just so much damn crap going on!
So here's my recipe for fighting the "grrrrrrrrrrrrr this sucks blues":
RandomThingThatMakesMeSmile 1:  bake something! try to have a frown on your face when you are eating a cupcake, no seriously TRY IT.
RandomThingThatMakesMeSmile 2: sing something! nothing like an extremely loud version of the star spangle banner in my car, just like the good-ole days.
RandomThingThatMakesMeSmile 3: play with my Teenie! My little kitten-head makes me laugh with her silly antics, that coupled with the fact that she is missing a tooth (an important one, the large fang that cats usually have), so it makes me laugh to call her "meth mouth" and see her little lip get caught on her gums (ATG=terrible mamma!).
RandomThingThatMakesMeSmile 4: hang out with family! I happen to have the greatest in-laws in the world, so hanging with them is always a good time, I'm so lucky to have them!


and lastly: make my husband play board games no matter how much he protests!!! The best game ever to fight the blues is "Vanilla Ice Electronic Rap"... try NOT to laugh when you have to sing rap lines like: "King of the candle flame, his rap was claim, like a lyrical poet name, yo mama said lame..." 




Phew, I feel better already!

So... we are at the in-laws yesterday enjoying the Super Bowl festivities when the following random sequence of events unfolds:


I have to pee.  I've been drinking gallons of water lately along with my Nutrisystem  plan, so this is a frequent occurrence.  My nose is also randomly runny (don't have a cold, feeling great, and yet my nose is not cooperating). So...  WARNING: The following blip contains graphic information:
I pee. Nothing unusual.
I get up and flush the toilet.
Immediately I go to grab some toilet paper to blow my nose.
I go to grab a piece and... and...


for some strange reason the toilet paper middle-holder thing FLIES in the air like the Super Bowl kickoff!  It lands (of course) directly in the hole of the toilet right as it is flushing... I'm talking like 3 seconds for this entire transaction to occur, and the tube get SUCKED down the hole of the toilet.


WTF man... only me!


So now, I'm beet red laughing hysterically in the bathroom like a fucking idiot at the absolute weirdness of what just occurred. Not to mention MORTIFIED that I have to go out and tell the house full of party-goers that I just totally fucked up their toilet (of which has been functioning fine for the past 20 years). 
Ok, so I come out of the bathroom and frantically search for my husband.. he's out smoking a cig and nowhere in site... so I put my tail between my legs, go up to the in-laws and try to tell them what happened, but I'm laughing so fucking hard at the hilarity of it... and I feel terrible, because I know it's going to be some major bucks to get a plumber in there to fix it...and my face is so red it might explode... but I finally get out the full story.


They laugh (because they are awesome) and they see how utterly embarrassed I am and totally make it no big deal like it happens all the time or something.  Made me feel much better.


So, that's it. To Be Continued: I offered to pay for whatever needs to happen to fix it.... they of course said "don't worry about it" and follow up with a story about how my hubs younger brother once dropped a toy submarine down the toilet (oh yeah, that makes me feel better, tell me a story about a 3-year old dropping something down the toilet in comparison to my 31-year old trauma!)
Here's the fun part about marriage:
So we are lying in bed (get your minds out of the gutter, we both had to work early) ready to go to sleep, and I bust out laughing thinking about the whole situation... and then proceed to tell Ryan how sorry I am and how stupid I feel and that his parents must think I'm a fucking tool.. he then follow-ups by saying that his parents are probably at home right now trying to figure out why this crazy mixed girl would throw the toilet tissue holder down the toilet.


We both laugh hysterically.


AAaaaaahhhhh, the fun-ness of marriage. LOVE IT!

TTSGIF!!! (thank-the-sun-gods-its-friday)
random rants:

• weight loss tracker: lost 8 lbs.. only 55 more to go (oy vei) new pic to be posted at 20 lb loss... 
• bought a metal detector, didn't find any pirate treasure yet, but it sure is fun searching
• me and the hubs are going have a blockbuster weekend, movie reviews to follow

No news is good news.

Know: news is good news.

Know knews is good knews 

Muse is muse is muse is muse.

dig it.

Dearest Blog I have not forsaken thee!!!!  Updates you ask?  Well here are a few:


2011 started off kind of crappy, Ryan's grandfather died so he was away attending the funeral and I stayed back at the ranch to be on pet-sit duties.  Ryan was really close with his grandparents, so I'm doing everything I can to be the supportive wife. Death fucking sucks.


Life for the newly married couple has been wonderful... we live, we laugh, we love.  The job market out here is not-so-great so the hubby has had a tough time finding gainful employment. We feel totally blessed though as at least I still have my job and he just started a new job today!  Woot Woot, thanks-be to the powersthatbe i.e. livelovelaughraingods


I recently finished reading Johnathan Franzen's Freedom... I don't get the hype. The book fucking sucked. What a waste of time. I swear, sometimes I feel like the masses and I just don't see things eye-to-eye. 


We went to an MMA fight this weekend (SEE ALSO: 1st round = dislocated shoulder and knee socket, 2nd bout 26 second knock-out). Ryan's good friend is a fighter, and he won! I gotta say, out of all the sporting events I have attended (more like dragged to) by significant-others of past, MMA fighting is by far the most interesting. 

What else, what else...
Um, I dyed my hair black. Dark black. Looks crazy... I'd post pics, but I made a pact with myself not to post any pics until I lose some fucking weight (no seriously ATG, put down that damn cookie!!!!).  


Lastly... can we TAWLK about all the crap going on in the world. Mass animal deaths, crazy politics.  Shit be hittin' the fan, yo (in my best sassy black-girl voice).  I'm in the habit of treating every day like the amazing thing it is and living like there is no tomorrow... so whatever shall be shall be, but sheesh, can't a girl get some good news out there please???


hrphm.