Blogtember: Who's in?!

Way back in May, I participated (half way) in Story of My Life's Blog Every Day in May challenge. Well this September, she's back with another. This time it seems to be a little more manageable because you only have to blog on weekdays. I think I might try it again even though I've got a pretty crazy September with work as busy as ever and a few different trips approaching. We'll see how I do. Anyone want to participate with me? You probably should. It'll get your creative juices flowing, and it's fun. I promise. :)

Here are the topics:

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Monday, September 9: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

Thursday, September 12: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

Wednesday, September 18: Only photos

Thursday, September 19: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century." The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

Friday, September 20: React to this term: comfort. 

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

Wednesday, September 25: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made. 

Thursday, September 26: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. (I recommend downloading Ommwriter and bringing headphones along!) *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

Friday, September 27: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

Monday, September 30: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 10

Woooo hoo! It's Thursday which means tomorrow is Friday, and we have a three day weekend ahead of us. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, here are your Thursday Thoughts for the week.

1. Confession - every time I go to the dentist they ask me if I've been flossing, and I lie. Every. Single. Time. This morning was no different. Clearly they can tell I'm not an avid flosser seeing as my gums bleed like a stuck pig. Please don't tell my dentist I'm a liar. Also, please don't tell Babe and PETA I made reference to a pig bleeding out. I promise I'll start flossing every day from here on out, and will only eat turkey bacon. Maybe... Probably... Most likely not.
2. After reading that Kansas City made Yahoo Travel's 5 Cities for Ultimate Snow Cones I was super excited to try out Little Freshie this weekend. Although the name and shop themselves are cute, I can't say it was my most favorite snow cone ever. In my opinion, it didn't hold a candle to Miami Ice. 
   
3. 99.9% of the time I would absolutely call myself a morning person. I'm up at 4:30 on most weekdays, and if I stay in bed until 8:00 on the weekend it's an accomplishment (I blame my mother for this unfortunate habit), but I don't know what got into me this weekend. I didn't get out of bed before noon on Saturday or Sunday, and it was glorious. Sure I felt like a lazy bum, but there was something exhilarating about eating pancakes and drinking mimosas at 2:00 p.m. after lounging in bed all morning.
4. Speaking of being lazy, I lose all motivation to work out when I have to spend 37 minutes untangling my headphones before I can hop on the treadmill. Why on earth is this such an impossible task? Get with it Apple. I waste way too much of my precious time dealing with this issue. 
5. You know what isn't a waste of time at all? This ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS Tumblr. It's basically the greatest thing ever. Be sure to scroll all the way down to the one with the cat in the bed. Obsessed is an understatement. I must have this book for my coffee table.
   
6. Life's hard as a blonde. Not only do people make all sorts of incorrect assumptions about us, but we have to spend a fortune maintaining our gorgeous locks. Sure, back in my youth my golden mane was au naturel, but these days it requires a lot of upkeep. Trips to the salon every 4-6 weeks for those baby fine highlights nearly break the bank. Sheesh it's a tough life I live, but I guess someone's gotta do it.
7. Any Hilary Duff fans out there? I can't believe I'm even about to admit this, but I remember rushing home from high school on the days I didn't have cheerleading practice to watch Lizzie McGuire. I even made my uber-popular, much older, high school bf watch it with me. So embarrassing. If you're a total dork like me, you'll think this list of the 18 Greatest Hilary Duff Songs is pretty freakin' fantastic. Why not take a star from the sky? Why not spread your wings and fly? It might take a little and it might take a lot, but why not? Why not? These songs are pure gold. 
8. This time of year makes me realize I really, really miss school supply shopping. Yes I had an eraser collection when I was younger. Gosh I was am still such a dork.
9. I just spent $25 on glow sticks for my Labor Day trip to the lake. That's not a waste of money at all, right? I might have gone just a wee bit overboard. Oops!

So I'm obsessed with glow sticks and Instagram? There are worse things  to be infatuated
with. Also, in case you were wondering, yes my hair is in fact crimped in this picture. 

Hope you all have a great three day weekend. Be safe, and let's send off summer in style!

Bye bye hot mess. Hello gorgeous.

As you may have heard, college football starts this week. Even if you could care less about which teams are playing or you couldn't tell the difference between a line backer and a wide receiver (are those real positions? If so, I'm giving myself a big pat on the back) if your life depended on it, you should care about football season for one reason and one reason alone. Game day outfit shopping.

Wayyyyyy back when I was in college, in the good ol' days if you will (I kid. I kid. It wasn't that long ago...at least that's what I like to tell myself), game day fashion didn't exist. Many times I rolled out of bed (probably still hungover from the night before), greasy hair and all, threw on a hoodie and some tennis shoes, and out the door I went. Here in middle America it took a few years for game day fashion to migrate northward. I'm pretty sure if I had showed up to a tailgate in Lawrence, KS circa 2006 wearing a dress, hell would have frozen over. That, or every girl there would have looked at me like this:

Not to be outdone by lesser SEC schools, Kansas sorority girls finally got their act together. Sure it might require setting that alarm a bit earlier and putting forth a little more effort, but girls, if it can prevent pictures like the ones that will haunt me on Facebook for eternity it is so, so worth it. Gone are the days when the Jayhawk faithful look a hot mess. Those Southern Belles don't have anything on us! Here's a peek into what I've got in my shopping cart for this season:

August

René Derhy batwing sleeve top, $67 / Long skirt / Payless  Brash Flat shoes / Statement necklace

September

Merona long denim dress / Tory Burch olive green boots, $715 / Michael Kors stainless steel jewellery, $360 / 
Sabine red jewelry / Banana Republic red jewelry / FOSSIL polka dot scarve

October

Wallis loose top / J Brand blue skinny jeans / Payless Cap toe flat / Tory Burch brown shoulder bag / Michael Kors stainless steel watch, $360 / Dsquared2 bracelet / 

Humble Chic red drop earrings

November

Wallis sleeve blouse / Therapy faux leather jacket, $86 / J Brand blue jeans / Tory Burch boots / 
Kate Spade stud earrings / C. Wonder antique gold jewellery

One thing's for sure, this year I'll be all dolled up. Now whether or not I actually make it into a game is still up in the air. At least I'll look cute at the tailgates. Please Jayhawks, let's make this season a little bit more bearable than the past few years. I'm tired of having my heart broken! :) 

Friday Funnies

Back in my glory days at good ol' KU, one of my most favorite things in the University Daily Kansan (our newspaper) was this fantastic little section called the Free for All...that and Sudoku. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through 98% of my classes without that little game, but I've digressed. If you weren't priviliged enough to attend KU (I pity you), let me fill you in. Readers could call in or text submissions, and the editor would sift through what I can only imagine to be a drunken mess, finding those rare, hidden gems which they in turn, published in the Free for All. Pure literary genius (or something like that).

I happen to have some pretty funny friends who say some pretty hilarious things on the reg so I want to bring back the Free for All here on my little blog. Instead of receiving submissions, I'm going to keep my eyes and ears peeled. Beware friends. No text or tweet is safe! I'm always listening. :)

*~*~*~*~*~*

I'm already ready for my children to be out of the house, and I haven't even birthed them yet.

I think my favorite thing in the world is laying in bed during 

a thunderstorm...that and rainbow sprinkles.

He's a bearded lumber-lectual. I could climb him like a tree.

I would like to raise a baby great white shark so that when it 

grew up it loved me and would let me hug and ride it.

I don't get it. I'm not blogging, tumbling, meme'ing or twatting.

My parents have never seen me drunk until tonight. TFTC. (Editor's note - or confession rather - I had to look up what TFTC means. Too frat to care for those of you who are also clearly NOT frat)

Can we make Tamagotchi's a thing again?

I'm delayed in LA. Hopefully I'll become skinny by proxy since I'm just near all the kale.

I think it would be fun to make out with someone with basil in your mouth...

like pilgrim style. It's true though. It tastes SO good. Is it normal to eat basil?

Our intern just told me he's never been to Salty Iguana. I told him he hasn't been living.

Why am I even going to college? It's clear that my true passion is looking for seashells.

Cold tea. What a concept. What is this called? Me: Iced tea...

There isn't such thing as leftover queso with us. It's just like leftover wine. It doesn't exist.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 9

Let me just start by saying I am so glad it's Thursday. You know when you're really, really excited for something, and it seems like time is basically standing still? That has been this week. I thought we would never make it to Thursday. Yet here we are, thank goodness. Now if I could just be done with work for the day!

1. Everyone should watch these SYTYCD Routines Guaranteed To Give You Chills. I love all of them, but I think this was my favorite of all time. Speaking of So You Think You Can Dance, if you happen to find yourself in front of your TV next Tuesday night be sure to tune in and watch fellow Topeka native, Hayley, and then vote as many times as humanly possible (for her of course because she's awesome. Duh).

   

   Killers love bathrooms. Also, I'm really good at drawing.
2. On Tuesday night after SYTYCD I was home alone briefly, and I'm pretty sure I checked behind the shower curtain for murderers on 3 different occasions throughout the course of the evening. Obviously the tub is the most logical place for murderers to hide. Makes perfect sense. Does anyone else do this? Please say yes.
3. While I'm on the topic of irrational fears and bathrooms, at night I wash my face at turbo speed with one eye partly open because I'm terrified of opening my eyes and seeing someone in the mirror behind me. This isn't normal is it? I blame the countless games of Bloody Mary I played at elementary school slumber parties. I swear I saw her. I'm scarred for life.
4. I'm all for losing weight, but this is taking it too far. Ingesting a tapeworm on purpose is certifiably insane. I'll stick with healthy eating and physical exercise thank you very much (as I'm blogging and stuffing my face with a chocolate chip cookie in lieu of running). On second thought, where does one acquire a tapeworm? Kidding.
5. You know how last week I was all, "TCBY is fantastic. I'm so obsessed. It's the greatest thing ever. Blah blah blah." Turns out I'm over it. I completely forgot how much better Paciugo Gelato is. OMG. You guys. Seriously. Like I realize it is 9:00 p.m. right now (and I just ate a cookie), but I'm really contemplating driving 20 minutes to go get some. THAT"S how good it is. Don't even get me started on how many flavors they have.

   

   Amaretto chocolate chip and wedding cake. No words.

6. This Hot-Dog Legs Tumblr is fantastic. I'm definitely guilty of posting more than my fair share of these pics to Instagram this summer. I am so unoriginal. Sorry I'm not sorry.

   

   Legs or hot dogs? You be the judge.

7. You all know I love social media (clearly), but there's something pretty fantastic about getting real mail. I'm not talking about the 1,000,379 credit card applications I get every day or the Hen House circulars or Bed Bath and Beyond coupons. I'm talking about letters or cards from people you actually know. A few months ago I received a thank you card in the mail after hosting a house guest for a few days, and I was floored. How thoughtful! This week I got a postcard from a friend who is on vacation, and I was so giddy. Sure text messages and emails are nice, but men take note - if you want to really woo a girl, it's all about the snail mail.
8. My spending habits have been out of control lately. The past few months I've been buying things like I'm the fourth Kardashian sister. I think in another life I could have been a Kailee or maybe a Kaycee. Both those names suit me, don't you think? I'd fit right in. I used to be so disciplined with my money, but these days I'm like, do I need these $200 sunglasses? Absolutely. Loft has 40% off this weekend so I should probably go buy some new work clothes right? Right. Should I buy a $400 plane ticket for a quick weekend trip to Georgia? Not even a question. Makin' it rain! Dolla dolla bill yo! Yea I really shouldn't pretend to be gangsta. Nor should I keep this up. Someone needs to put this girl on a budget. Stat.
9. Lastly, because it was the greatest show of ALL time, I leave you with this - 31 Things Friends Taught Us About Life. Now if only I could find my lobster :)

Time to Get Runnin'

Several months ago there was a deal for half price registration for the Kansas City Half Marathon so my roommates and I jumped at the deal. Now that it's actually time to start training I'm sort of regretting our spur of the moment decision.

Even when I'm not training for a race I try to get in at least a couple four to five mile runs a week, but the last several months I've been slacking. I'm not sure what the deal is, but it seems like I've had one achy joint after another. At first it was my right knee. Now it's my left. I know I should probably go to the doctor to have it checked out, but I'm pretty sure they will just tell me to stay off of it for awhile which isn't going to happen. Aleve it is!

It really doesn't hurt too bad while I'm actually running, but you should see me walk down the stairs after I'm done. I seriously look like a 90 year old woman. I'm sure wearing 4 inch heels every day doesn't help my situation, but what's a short girl to do?!

Needless to say training has been questionable these last few weeks. I'm hoping to step up my game this week and actually complete all my training runs. The past few weeks I've been skipping out on the shorter runs during the week.I did squeeze in a 7 mile run with Ashley bright and early Saturday morning. We had perfect weather - 60 degrees in August! Ah-mazing! It was the first time I'd felt good about a run in awhile so that was good news. The not-so-good news was I came back to a super flat tire. I guess that's what I get for trying to be productive before 8 a.m. on a Saturday.

My roommates and I are using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training program. I've used this same program for every half I've run so I'm curious what other people use. Do you have any others that you enjoy? I feel like after this half in October I should try something different....if I'm still walking :)

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 8

Hey peeps! Happy Thursday! I've been a slacker yet again this week, and didn't start on Thursday Thoughts until Thursday morning so forgive me if these are a hodge podge of randomness. I promise I'll try harder and actually put some thought into them next week...maybe...probably not...

1. Oh my gosh. When I saw this list of 22 Reasons Why Gym Class is the Most Horrifying Part of Childhood, I about died. First of all, let me just say I am not athletic. Sure I danced, and cheered, and did gymnastics back in the day, but any sport requiring a ball and/or hand-eye coordination is not my strong suit. I'm probably in the minority here, but I actually enjoyed #22. Square dancing?! Heck yes I could do that! It's #8 and #10 that still give me nightmares. Dodge ball? Ugh horrible. My strategy was to cower in the back behind all the taller kids. This was an extremely effective strategy until everyone else was finally hit, and I was the only person left. Being the sole target for hundreds of speeding dodge balls is no fun. Okay, maybe it wasn't hundreds, but it was still terrifying none-the-less. When boys threw those things they hurt! #10 is by far even worse than dodge ball. In elementary school our gym teacher used to make one person sit on that stupid little scooter while another person pushed them around the gym like we were in some sort of chariot race. Of course I always had to sit on the scooter since I was small. I can't even begin to recall the countless number of floor burns I endured over the years. I've tried to suppress those memories. So traumatic. 
   
2. I reeeeeeeeally wish I would have heard it was $1 sandwich day at Jimmy John's before 12:47 p.m. Consider yourself informed. If you haven't had lunch yet or do not have dinner plans, may I suggest a beach club unwich? Hold the mayo and tomato, but add onions and spicy mustard. Seriously delicious. 
3. While we are on the topic of food, have you guys tried TCBY's almond milk fro-yo?! After you pick up your $1 sandwich from JJ, you should probably drive on over to your nearest TCBY for dessert. The chocolate almond milk fro-yo is absolutely amazing. You need experience it for yourself.

   

   Heaven is a cup.

4. My cat is such a diva. I have an hour long commute to/from work so from time to time I end up staying at my parent's house (aka at least once a week when I undoubtedly have to work late). Well yesterday night when I got home from work (after staying at my parent's house Tuesday night), I walked into my room to set some bags down and say hello to Evie (my cat).

   

   Having a cat poop on your bed elicits a reaction similar to this.

   Clearly she was giving me the cold shoulder and wanted nothing to do with me. Heartbreaking, but it gets worse. As I was unpacking some of my things, she was sitting on the bed watching me, when all of the sudden she popped a squat and took a big ol' #2 right on the center of my bed, without breaking eye contact the entire time mind you. What a little snot. If she wasn't so cute, I think I would have murdered her.
5. Which brings me to my next topic. I have a love/hate relationship with washing my sheets and duvet cover. There is nothing better than crawling into bed at night with clean sheets, but actually making a bed or getting a duvet cover back on a duvet is probably one of the hardest things ever. I dread having to do it.You basically have to be a ninja to get a duvet cover back on correctly with the perfect proportion of duvet to duvet cover on all four sides. I can't sleep knowing there is too much extra fabric on the top, bottom, left, or right. It has to be perfect.Why am I so OCD?
6. You know what else I can't stand? When people use weird fonts/colors on their emails at work. There is a girl (who will remain unnamed) who sends out a report every Monday morning to the entire company, and her emails are written using pink Comic Sans font. Okay maybe it isn't Comic Sans, but it is pink, and it is awful. Let's stick to the basics here people. Don't you agree 10 pt Arial is just so pretty and classic? I you don't agree I can't talk to you anymore.
7. My friend Allie sent me a really, really great article everyone should read about how to cure a quarter-life crisis. We all need to slow down and remember times of transition can be difficult, we should not be comparing our lives to anyone's but our own, and "we are right where we are supposed to be, it just looks nothing like the picture on the front of the brochure." This author is pure genius I'm telling you. Bookmark this article and read it when you get a chance, will ya?

And that's all I've got for you today because my lunch hour is over, and I have an exorbitant amount of work I need to complete before 6:00 p.m. because I refuse to miss happy hour with my old co-workers :)

Adventures with the Tindahs

I'm sure some of you may have noticed that I refer to my roommates as the Chicken Tindahs, but what you haven't heard up until this point is how we became the Tindahs. This is that story, written by one of my oh-so-lovely roomies herself. Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By now, most of you have heard of, if not used, the dating app Tinder. When my roommates and I first moved into our beloved house, we were determined, single, sophisticates who wanted to put this app to the test. All of our married and engaged friends thought we were crazy, but hey, this whole dating thing is hard. You do what you have to do. Installing an app that allows you to peruse potential soulmates at your fingertips just seemed too easy.  

For those of you who haven’t played (I mean it's basically a game, probably my second favorite since Mario Kart), the app links to your Facebook profile showing your five most recent profile pictures. You can even include a tagline if you choose. Makes sense to base someone’s dateability on five pictures, right? After viewing five pictures and reading his Facebook profile, you obviously know a guy well enough to determine if he’s husband material. I decided on the catchy tagline “come at me bro,” a fave of Jenny and I’s after reading a fantastic post on a blog called Kitchen Closet Heart. I got one impressive comeback - “don’t bro me if you don’t know me.” Alright bro. You lured me in.  Now chat me up. 

If you’ve been matched for awhile but haven’t yet made a move, Tinder gets a little sassy. It starts taunting you in hopes of shoving you down the path to true love. My personal faves - Being courted? Forget that! Message the boy already! Google some good one liners! Conversations don’t write themselves! How many languages can you type in? What are you waiting for? Say something! What it should say is, "are you not ballsy enough to message the 24-year-old you 'hearted' and GASP, matched with?" Whoops. I am 27-years-old. I  have no business dating a 24-year-old. Nor a 25-year-old. Not even a 26-year-old for that matter. No, Tinder, I will NOT make a move. I have a sinking suspicion a lot of these "men" are really high school age boys posing as 30-year-olds. Buddy, you can’t grow facial hair, and your bod is way too Justin Bieberesque for you to be 27. Give me some older men! Can these youngin's even grow facial hair? One of the best tinder taunts was “You’re not getting any younger.” Thanks for the reminder Tinder, but the male options you’re giving me to choose from sure are! You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me! Now hold on while I settle back on the couch and open this bottle of red in my sweats, and change the mile radius setting so I have a wider range of hotties to choose from.

Quickly, my roommates and I became obsessed. Night after night we’d sit on the couch, eating ice cream out of the carton, watching chick flicks with our cat, Tindering our little hearts out. Truth: This may be a bit of an exaggeration. We really do get out of the house on occasion, and we weren't watching chick flicks. We were watching the Bachelorette. HUGE difference. We’d ponder, should I heart him or kick this baby to the curb? He’s cute in his first picture, but looks like Gollom from Lord of the Rings in the others... but even Gollom is kinda cute after a couple vodka sodas...and he’s adventurous! Look, he’s at a bullfight in Spain in this pic! Maybe his adventurous personality and obvious zest for life will trump his gollomness? Oh, look, this guy likes climbing mountains. He’s outdoorsy! True story - I hearted one guy solely because he had a tornado in his picture. There weren’t even any pictures of HIM. Great way to find a life partner, I know. Don’t judge me. I once moved to a city solely because it had twinkle lights on all of the trees. Great life choice I know. What can I say, clearly I like things that sparkle, but I've digressed. The worst were the guys that had either (a) a female in their picture or (b) a small child. I'm sorry, but if you are pictured with another girl or toddler I don't care what the situation is. Maybe she is your sister, maybe that is your nephew. Regardless, he gone! #TINDERFAIL

#ridiculous

I was ever impressed by the brains of these (cough) gentleman. One asked me, “what is your sexiest qualities?” Um I'm sorry, but do you speak English? My response? My brain. HA. It quickly became a game to see what funny and outrageous things we could say to these gullible boys. One Tinder suitor asked my roommate questions about a box. He said he could ask her three questions and tell her exact personality based on her response. Drum roll please, these will knock your pants right off of you....You’re in the middle of nowhere and there is a box. How big is it? What color is the box? There is a ladder. Is it on the front, back, or side? First off, what in God’s name am I doing in the middle of nowhere? Am I backpacking in the Saharan desert, or did you bring me here to murder me? Ok, here we go. I want a clear box with a glittery ladder and that thing better be big enough to put my bike in. (if you get this reference, props to you.) Also, my ladder is obviously on the side, and goes up to the roof of the box that has a patio perfect for drinking Boulevards on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Now what does THAT tell you about my personality? Everything you need to know? I thought so.;)

Like all great love affairs, our infatuation with Tinder fizzled rather quickly, lasting only a few weeks days. I will say, Tinder is mildly successful if you are looking for free drinks, and if things go well, maybe even dinner. My roommate went on three dates in one week, but after showing up to a restaurant only to be greeted by a man that looked nearly identical to her ex-boyfriend she decided she'd had enough. We also may or may not have ran out of fellas as well. The fun was over after we had hearted or X-ed every man within 100 miles of where we live. Even when Tinder FINALLY caught on to the age problem and upped the ante - now you can choose your age range - it was too little too late. Nothing could ignite the fire we once had in our hearts for Tinder, but alas, Tinder's legacy lives on as we lovingly coined ourselves "The Chicken Tindahs."

Although we've now all removed the creepy, albeit extremely entertaining app from our phones, because needless to say meeting someone in person is actually way more fun (wait, people still do that?), the name lives on, and my two absolutely amazing roomies will forever be known to me as my beloved Chicken Tindahs.

Wait, people don't meet IRL anymore?!?

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 7

First of all, how on earth is it already Thursday?! I feel like my life has been on fast forward lately. Must. Slow. Down. Sorry for the kind of pathetic and wimpy Thursday Thoughts, but this week has just been too much.

1. I know I just said I wanted time to slow down, but is anyone else ready for Fall? Summer just isn't as much fun now that I'm not a student and actually have to act like a grown up. Gone are the days when I could lounge by the pool for hours on end with my nose in a book, drink in hand. These days I'm less bronzed beauty and more pasty librarian. Spending 9+ hours indoors every day (without a window view I might add) in the peak of summer is just plain depressing. I want to be 22 again.
2. On Saturday night I sure danced like I was 22. The amount of confetti released at the end of the Taylor Swift concert was simply amazing. AND it was in the shape of little hearts. How cute is that?? That VIP ticket was worth every penny. 
3. I had 33 of the 55 toys and games that will make 90s girls super nostalgic. I may or may not have been a bit spoiled. These people weren't kidding when they said this list would take me down memory lane. Puppy Surprise? Surprise! Surprise! Puppy surprise. How many puppies are there inside? There could be three, four, or FIVE. It's only slightly pathetic I still have this song memorized right? Polly Pockets? Mall Madness? Tamagotchi's? The 90's really were great. Speaking of Tamagotchi's, did you all know there is now a Tamagotchi iPhone app?! Heck yes I downloaded it this past weekend. I'm not ashamed.

   

   Not being able to see around anyone in a crowd -
   why do you think I always wear heels?

4. This sums up my life to a tee - 16 Problems Every Petite Girl Deals With. It even has cats for the photo illustrations. Could it be any more perfect? I think not. Obsessed. Also, if you got that Friends reference you should probably become my best friend...like immediately.
5. On Tuesday 100% of the calories I consumed were carbs. And you know what? They weren't even healthy carbs. Forget the whole grains. I had a donut, tortilla chips, and cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Apparently when I'm locked in a conference room for an entire day I lose all logical reasoning and self control. Although I must admit, it was kind of awesome. Peanut butter cookies are healthy-ish right? I mean, at least they have some protein. #smartfoodchoices
6. It is impossible to make cookies without consuming at least 4 cookies worth of dough while baking them. If you can successfully bake cookies without making yourself physically ill please teach me your ways, and give me a smidgen of your self control. 

   

   Cookie dough is just too tasty.

7. Let's talk Bachelorette. I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and say Chris and Des have a 0.05% chance of actually making it down the aisle, and that's being extremely optimistic. It cannot bode well that she brought up the guy who just broke her heart during her proposal to another man, and don't even get me started on Chris. Is he really stupid enough to believe Des actually loves him?! Poor guy. He's in for a world of hurt I'm afraid.

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 6

Two more days until the weekend. We got this! Does anyone have anything fun planned? I have a pretty full weekend - First Fridays, antiquing, and a concert. I. Can't. Wait. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are my thoughts this Thursday!

1. Bad grammar makes me cringe. I know I've mentioned it before, but I was previously referring to bad grammar in writing. What I'm talking about now is hearing people actually speak with bad grammar. Yes, I'm probably guilty of using the word good instead of well from time to time (as my ex liked to point out every chance he got), but what I've been hearing is much, much worse. Saturday morning I was out running errands, and the store associate doing my return was having some difficulties with the computer. When her manager came over to ask her a question she replied, "I ain't sure. That's how I always done it." It made my skin crawl. I almost asked her to repeat after me, "I'm not sure. That is how I've always done it." Sounds much classier right? 
2. Classy or not, ironing a with a hair straightener is way more efficient than using a regular iron. You all do this too right? Right?? No?!? I'm the only one?! Well, you should really try it. I can't be bothered with going all the way down to the dark, creepy basement to get out the actual iron and ironing board when I have a much more compact, readily available tool that does essentially the same thing. That's my logic at least. Sure I might give myself third degree burns from time to time that look eerily similar to hickeys, but none have been serious enough to deter me. Note: Yes I usually "iron" my collars while I'm actually wearing the shirt. I'm real smart like that. If I'm going to pay upwards of $100 for a Chi I should be able to use it on more than just hair.
3. Speaking of hair, you know how last week I told you no one (unless you are 12) should be wearing pigtails at the gym? Well apparently the writers at Glamour didn't hear me. Was I not speaking clearly enough? People should not be trying these 3 Ways to Wear Pigtails to the Gym. They are not cute. No hairstyle is sweat-proof, and I don't care if everyone in Hollywood and their mom is doing it, you shouldn't.

   

   See? Not cute. Not cute at all.

4. In other news, have you all heard of The Skimm? My roommate, Mal introduced me to it last week, and it is pretty fantastic. Since I commute an hour to work (and usually go to the gym) I never have time to flip on the TV in the morning, and you all know I'm a grandma so I'm in bed before the 10 p.m. news. This daily email summarizes all the top headlines for you so you can sound super intelligent and informed in any conversation. It's like waking up to Cliff Notes of the world every single day. Ah-mazing. If you are interested in signing up (it's free!), here is a link.
5. How often do you all change your toothbrushes? I was recently informed my toothbrush was the worst this particular individual had ever seen. First of all,

   

   I'm a clean individual I swear.

   I would like clarification on how many toothbrushes he has actually seen in his lifetime. Is he a toothbrush expert? Has he made it his life work to study the tooth brushing habits and brushes of different girls? Now let me defend myself and my dental hygiene.Ever since childhood I've applied a lot of pressure both when I'm writing and brushing my teeth. My dentists have constantly told me to cool it, but I've continued ravaging my brushes and gums. I just don't feel my teeth get as clean with soft, gentle strokes. Therefore my toothbrushes looks like so...not because they haven't been replaced in 27 months and are growing bacteria, but because I'm too dedicated to oral health. 
6. While I'm on the topic of grooming, I feel the need to vent about how utterly impossible it is to shave my knees. It doesn't matter if I shave my knees in 37 different directions using a razor with 18 blades, I always miss a spot. I strut out of the house thinking I have silky, smooth legs, only to hop in my car and notice at least three prickly, little hairs glistening in the sunlight just taunting me. It never fails. 
7. I've been on a huge iced coffee kick lately. I also Instagram way too many pictures of said iced coffee. Sorry I'm not sorry...about the pictures. I am sorry about my declining checking account balance. All those SkVL's and SkCM's are really breaking the bank!

   

   What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

8. I came across this article from Baskin Robbins about what your favorite ice cream flavor reveals about you, but my question is this: what if you don't have one specific flavor? Some days I go for the vanilla, but other days I'm a mint chocolate chip kinda gal. None of the characteristics associated with either of these flavors are very favorable. Apparently I'm either impulsive, easily-suggestible, and an idealist or argumentative, frugal, and cautious. And what if I'm dating someone who likes rainbow sherbet?!? Are we doomed if he is analytic, decisive, and pessimistic?!? Although, maybe it would actually be a good thing since I can't even decide what my favorite flavor is...
9. Call me pathetic, but I am ridiculously excited for the Taylor Swift concert on Saturday night. My BFF from high school, her older sister, and I all bought VIP tickets. Yes we are all 27+ but you better believe we will be screaming like tweens Saturday night. In honor of my girl, I'll leave you with a few of my favorites this morning. She better play all of these!