I only have about five minutes to update this, so the witty remarks will probably be kept to a minimum. Today is day 6 of this awesome 15-day stretch of work I'm trying to accomplish. It was originally 14 days, but I snooped and looked at the following schedule and he's definitely got me on for that Sunday as well. Bring. It. On. Herb and I are going to have some words today, however, about cutting back on hours (which, even though I'm complaining about 15 days straight, I need) and this business where Sam and I are always closing on the weekends. There could stand to be a little more variety, Herb. And I would love to have a Saturday night off to go out and be, I don't know, 23? I'm not angry, just annoyed, but he's a really good boss, and I know he'll hear me out and do the best he can to accommodate.

All I really want to do today is sit around and shop online. Maybe read my book, and enjoy some good coffee. It's a beautiful day outside, and I'd love to be around to enjoy that as well, but today is busy. I'm at work until four, then I've got a nail and tanning appointment at 5, and then Jess and I (hopefully) will be doing the insane Fitness Fusion/kickboxing tandem business to see if we can make it through. We'll see, though; I feel like there was something said last week about today being Gav's first t-ball practice. Maybe they'll be done early enough to go. Anyway. After all that, I'm either heading to Potsdam to hang out with Sarah and Co. or will be passing out until tomorrow at 10. These next two days are both 12-hour days, which will probably suck the life, and any remaining humor, out of me. When I do have time, I'm going to make a post about all of the lovely things I'm going to buy with the money that's rolling in, a la M.

Okay. Must run. I will now be impossibly late, and Herb will laugh at me, because I fully intend to placate him with his favorite coffee at Dunkin'.

Thank God it's payday.

Here I go again on my own.

So. I'm tuckered. I'm digging down somewhere deep to find the energy to write something great right now. We went to FF this morning, only to find a note on the door that says there will no longer be Sunday classes offered. Of course not. Because we signed up a week ago, and part of the selling point for us was that the Sunday morning classes was doable for all three of us. Bah. Oh well. Just going to have to rearrange and really think things through. I've been seriously considering signing up for the gym in Potsdam again for several reasons: 1) I'm making enough money now that the cost of gas/membership really wouldn't put too much of a dent in my monthly budget, 2) It gives me an excuse to go visit Jules and another someone I know who are, quite annoyingly, always half an hour away and 3) The Bagelry. I know that this third reason sort of defeats the purpose of going, and truly, I would try to limit my intake to once every couple of weeks. But they're just so damn good. Being in Potsdam for any length of time is always nostalgic for me, so I love going anyway. Hmm. Maybe I can talk Sam into accompanying me. ;)

This is day four of my fourteen day stretch at work, which of course, I'm super excited about. Julia reminded me last night that the paychecks will be nice but I only grudgingly agreed. Paychecks are only exciting if you can have a bit of fun with them. And I really want to go camping around Memorial Day weekend here at Coles, but finding people to go with has proved difficult. Who am I kidding? I won't be able to take time off that weekend anyway. Wishful thinking. Our family reunion, an eight-day hodge-podge of shenanigans, drunken arguments, and LOTS of great food, is sometime in July so I guess I can wait until then. I'm looking forward to it.

I've cut back my smoking to three times a day which is awesome in a two-fold kind of way: more money and less coughing. I haven't had a really stressful day since this whole thing started, though, so ask me again in a week. I think Sarah is coming home on Thursday, I'm not sure how long for, but I'm hoping that she and I can see each other. There's always a million other people pulling at us when we're together, which we love, it's just hard to catch up in that atmosphere. I miss her incredibly when she's not here, so much so that often, it does make me want to uproot and move to Saratoga. Think of the restaurants, the shopping, the jobs, the opportunities. *Sigh* If only.

Anyway, I don't work until five tonight so I'm not sure what I'll be doing with my time today. I've started this awesome new book by the former Press Secretary for Bush, Scott McClellan, and I'm really enjoying it, so I do see me spending some time with him today. Now I'm just rambling. Trust me, I'm going.

There it is. The big kahuna of margaritas. Delicious and tasty and not at all more than we could handle. Thus began my messy 23rd birthday celebration in Potsdam. I had a lovely time, more fun than I can remember having in a long time. Thank God for both Sarah and Roy for having the courage and patience to be my friend for the long-haul. Seriously though, this birthday has been everything I needed; the pick-me-up I've been searching for over the past couple of months. I'm a little sad that another one is gone, but that's mostly overshadowed by how awesome I feel. My 22nd birthday is one that is best left in the past, for many reasons that I just don't feel like talking about anymore. But this one, this one topped them all. Everyone really came through for me, I got a chance to spend it with every single person I love, all while having a little bit of fun. I'm too tired to write about ALL of the shenanigans Potsdam had to offer that night, and really, if you're my friend, you've already heard the majority of things that happened that night. So I'm going to leave this just the way it is, and say thanks to all who were there that night for making it great.

This morning I realized that I both need to schedule sleep and exercise into my life or nothing will ever be accomplished. I also realized that even though I can be a HUGE bitch to the people I don't know/don't like, for the people I love, I'm a bit of a pushover. I somehow got talked into picking up a shift tonight at 5, when today was my only day off out of nine. Friday and Saturday of this week blow because they're two 11-hour days right in a row, and they're on the only two days of the week that I get to see Jules. Plus I heard a rumor that I'm scheduled for Sunday, which means I really won't get to see her. Anger abounds, but I do need the money. I guess she'll just have to come entertain me at work.

So today was supposed to be relaxed, yet productive, and now I see it being more productive and rushed than anything. Bah. I'm so annoyed. But it IS a nice day, my only two really long days this week ARE Friday and Saturday, and payday is a mere three days away. I have two new books I bought over the weekend that I'm very excited to start reading, and a delicious cup of coffee preparing itself in the coffee pot right now. No complaints, right? Right. Except that I could really use a dose of Gerard Butler right now. Ha. I guess if that's all I have to complain about then life must be pretty good.

It is. :)

Fitness Challenge, Day 1

We signed up for eight weeks of hell today, so I thought I'd post and tell you how it went. Class today was hard; we thought it was because we'd taken two weeks off while Sam went on vacation, but Jess went during that time, and even she was sweating and panting more than usual today. At the same time that it feels bad, it feels great, though. I'm wide awake now, the sun is shining, and because I'm up four hours before I normally would be, I can get so much more accomplished during the day. She weighed and measured Sam and I, and will have our "personal packets" ready for us in class on Tuesday. I think they'll give us tips on eating right, and she'll measure and weigh us again in four weeks, I believe, to show what our progress is. The good news of the day is that I weigh less than I thought I did. Our scale has been broken here for months, so the only time I get weighed is when I go to PP every three months for my shot. I hover right around the same weight though, usually plus or minus five pounds, and today was no different; except that I was minus and not plus. Very exciting news considering I've thought that my eating habits could certainly be improved lately. Sam and I did talk about starting to do protein shakes; if I have time today I'm going to head to BJ's and check out the bulk price. If it's reasonable, we'll just split it right down the middle, since GNC is so expensive. I've also started taking fish oil twice a day, which is supposed to be very good for your skin, hair, heart, etc. It sounds gross, and it even seemed gross to me, but there really is no smell or taste, it's just like taking Tylenol. Our next class will either be tomorrow morning (depending on the amount of shenanigans that take place tonight) or Sunday morning. Sunday's are Pilates, Tuesday's/Friday's are Fitness Fusion (circuit weight training) and Thursday's are kickboxing. I'm really looking forward to this little system we've worked out, and I think it will give us the results we're looking for. I think a little competition between us would be a good thing, and I definitely enjoy that our progress is being tracked so that we can see how we're doing. All in all, I'm very excited to start the program and see what we'll feel like in two months. I'm also looking into buying a new pair of sneakers with some of my tax return money, so that I can start running. We'll see how that goes. Running hates me almost as much as Spanish does.

I've got a very busy day today, with lots of errands, watching the boys, appointments galore, then dinner dates with both Mom and Jules and then Sarah. I like to stay busy though, so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, I haven't seen Sarah in a couple of months and I miss her incredibly. I'm not sure how tonight will go; sometimes I go into a night out with Sarah thinking it will be low-key and it ends up anything but. But sometimes we go into it rarin' to go, and end up crashing at 11. It really just depends on our moods when we see each other. I'm up for either one; I don't work until 5 tomorrow night. :) Anyway, much to do and not a lot of time to do it in. My coffee is ice cold due to Sam's awesome home-made coozie, and my sweet new self-tanning system I ordered on Tuesday morning is being delivered today. It kind of feels like a second birthday. I'm going to consider it one.

Birthday Extravaganza

I woke up this morning exhausted for some reason. I like to try and be up at least two hours before work, that way I can enjoy the morning without feeling rushed. I can check up on all of my emails, sip my coffee, watch the news. But today is just one of those days where I really don't care about any of that stuff; I'm sure that if I went back to bed now I wouldn't wake up for another three hours. I think yesterday whooped me, but it was wonderful and lovely and I wouldn't change any of it. I want to post later about all of the cool/awesome things I got, and about how my day just continued to get better so I'll do that when I get home from work. Today is a "12 hour" : 10-2 at Hallmark and then 4-9 at Hacketts. I might clock in early at Hacketts since I left three hours early on Sunday, could certainly afford to make up the hours, and it's Herb's day off. Just Sam and Ashlee hanging out all day; the truth is I was probably going to stay there during my two hour break between jobs, so I might as well get paid for them right? Perhaps I'll go get us coffee in the meantime. I did hear a rumor that iced coffee is 99 cents all week long. Anyway, just wanted to write a quick note to tell you all how much you mean to me and to thank you for making my birthday the best one I've had in a long time. I love you all so much. Talk later, kids. Have a Queen kind of day.

Cheers to me and being 23.

So I'm sitting here, enjoying a glass of wine as the clock strikes 11 and I'm just now realizing how close I am to being one year older. And isn't it funny; because really, I've been moving ever-closer to 23 for a long-time now. But this is the first moment, when I've said it out loud and thought it inside, where I feel my age. I spoke to my Aunt Kathy a bit earlier, and, as a woman I idolize, was elated to here that she thought I sounded happy. Content. Successful and smart and all of those things we all aspire to be. She truly believes that I've got a good head on my shoulders and because I really don't speak to her that often, it inspires confidence. Because she DOES only speak to me every couple of months, I think she has a better gauge of how I'm ever-changing. I love that. I love speaking to her, and hearing about all the exciting things she did when she was younger. She lived the life I want; moved to California, fell in love with a Filipino man and made all her dreams come true. She's independent and awesome and I just love her. It was a treat to hear her voice.

I'm feeling reflective, given my impending age, and I've been thinking about all of the things I've learned over the years. So I'm going to compile a list of my most favored, most true and uncompromising advice for how to be fabulous at 23:

1) Take care of your body and skin. I've only recently become more attuned to the former part of that equation, but I've always done everything I can to take care of my skin. Always wash your face at night, moisturize, and start a good anti-aging regimen BEFORE the signs of aging begin. You'll be happy you did.
2) Drink lots of water. I'm talking at least half your body weight in ounces every day. Chug that shit if you've got to, or find sneaky ways to make your goal. Either way, just do it.
3) Don't start smoking if you can avoid it. I feel as though I'm allowed to say this because I'm a smoker. And because I've both loved and hated it along the way. But it's so much easier to give it up, if you don't have to give it up at all. Don't start. But if you do- love it all the way up 'til the end. :)
4)Don't worry too much about money. In this economy, I know that it's hard. I work two jobs just so that I can buy the things I want; the things that make me happy.
5) Buy the things that make you happy. Don't over-extend yourself, but if getting that $30 manicure is going to make you happy every time you look at it for two weeks, it's well worth the money. The same goes for good coffee, good purses, good shoes, and good tequila.
6) Cherish your family and friends. I'm going to exclude "significant other" here because I truly believe that they can't give you the same kind of love and devotion that comes from your family. And your friends are your life-preserver in this game we all play. They keep you afloat. Never forget that. Try to do something kind for them everyday.
7) Take lots of pictures. I used to avoid the camera because I always felt awkward. But as the boys get older, I realize how much I cherish the pictures I have of them, and the moments captured forever in time. You can't ever get them back, but they allow you to relive the best times in your life over and over again. They're like free lifetime tickets to the best movie you've ever seen.
8) Love with everything you've got. And I mean that with all relationships. Forgive quickly, but never forget. And never regret a moment of anything you did; you don't want to be the person on their death bed who says, "I wish I had..."
9) Get your heart broken. I truly believe this is important to everyone. You need a little bit of hurt in your life to appreciate the things you have. On the same token, don't let anyone treat you like less than you deserve. No excuses; if they loved you, truly, they wouldn't treat you that way. So go out and find someone who appreciates you for the Queen you are... it's well worth it.
10) Be single for a time. You'll figure out who you are, what you like, what the sky looks like without someone telling you differently. You'll be much better prepared for someone to treat you like royalty.
11) Drink too much, laugh too loud, dance ridiculously, and dress how you want. There will come a time when all of that is inappropriate behavior. That will also be the time to do those things with even more zest and balls. Have fun. Fuck everyone else. You're better anyway.
12) NEVER DRINK MORE THAN 14 SHOTS OF TEQUILA IN ONE NIGHT UNLESS YOU ARE THE HULK. Trust me on this one.
12) Dress how you feel. Show off your best body part, even if you ain't perfect. Truth be told, we're all perfect, anyway.
13) Be original. Rock it.
14) Say how you feel. I don't care if you come off as a bitch/wench/or a See You Next Tuesday, you might never have another chance.
15) Do all the things you enjoy. Ignore the rest. Why do it if it doesn't make you happy? Eventually everyone will find out anyway, and you'll look more fake than if you had just admitted to the fact that you hate reading and would rather spend your time watching reality tv. Embrace it.
16) Tell the people you love exactly how you feel. Every day. More than once, if time allows. You might never see them again and you'll never want them to wonder EXACTLY how you felt about them.
17) I highly recommend spending time in our bar, playing pool and flip-cup with my family. Because we rock. And because getting silly never felt so good. You're all invited.
18) Face the world with no fear. Consider the worst. Hope for the best. Do good and good will come back to you. But never pretend to like someone if you don't. It's exhausting and so not worth it. Plus, chances are, they don't like you either.
19) Be honest. I can't tell you how important this is to me, and I think, everyone. It really is the best policy.
19A) For those of you this applies to, I also highly recommend making friends with your ex's girlfriend. It's liberating. And you might just meet a life-long friend.
20) Appreciate your parents and all that they have given you. They worked hard to be where they are and give you the things you have. Someday, God forbid, you might have to live a day without them. It will be scary. But you've got every good piece of them with you. So really, there's no need to fear.
21) For God's sake, eat what you want. Who cares if you gain a few extra pounds. No one cares about a few extra pounds when they're 80. They DO care about the 10oz steak that melts in their mouth. ENJOY IT.
22) Be proud. Never compromise. Know what you have to offer. Flaunt it.
23) Most importantly, be happy with who you are. It makes the rest soooo much easier.


So that's my little bit of wisdom for turning 23. Because I'm so content with who I am at this exact moment, sitting here in my living room, drinking a delicious glass of wine, and thinking about how lucky I am. May you all live the life I have and be as fabulous as me. Psh. Who am I kidding? You are or you wouldn't be a part of my life. So cheers to you for making me who I am. And cheers to me because I'm twenty-fucking-three and I'm god-damn fantastic.

50 cent iced coffee at Dunkin' is definitely my birthday present from God.

I actually do believe that. How else do you explain the utter perfection in timing that is the day before my birthday. AND... because they're not free, and they can't limit how many you buy, I'm probably going to go get an armful. What else have I been working these muscles for?

And here I go. It's a lot like drinking; you've got to pace yourself, drink lots of water in between, and really try and meet your goal. Mine is 14 in one day. I think I can do. I'll check back later with an update.

Fitness Challenge, here we come!

So Sam, Jess and I finally made the executive decision to enroll in the 8-week Fitness Challenge that began yesterday. This first week will be a bit harder to schedule between the three of us, because I took some time off from work for my birthday; which, in a nutshell, means I'll be eating and drinking whatever I want and certainly NOT prioritizing exercise. This is also the week that I quit smoking; my last allowed cigarette will be at 11:59 P.M. on Saturday night. Except for when I drink. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'm going to give up social smoking. Jess seems to do it and it doesn't bother her. My biggest hurtle will be not smoking in the car since that's where I do 90% of it. I guess we'll just wait and see.

I spent the majority of my day surfing the net, shopping, playing with makeup and cleaning. I read a little bit more of "Breaking Dawn" and added things to my Amazon.com wishlist. I showered, and went to work with eyeliner that was somehow beautifully smudged and made my eyes seem more green than normal. Bettina and I finished our work in about fifteen minutes, and then talked and shopped for the remainder of the night. I'm just so damn... relaxed. I think it will be good to head to class in the morning again. My muscles have had a week-long hiatus from any major activity and they're ready to get back into the swing of things. I'm excited to see what progress his 8-week program will bring. They weigh and measure you at the beginning, middle, and end so that you can really see your progress, and during the program, you get half off of most spa treatments, including tanning and massages.

I see a hot, latin masseur in my future.

So, I decided today that I need a fresh start. What better place to start then with el-blogo? Truth be told, I was bored out of my mind, playing around with some of my makeup and wanted to upload a picture on LiveJournal. Turns out, there is no way to upload a photo on LifeJournal; at least not one that is Danielle-friendly. So I'm moving here and following in the steps of greatness (Sam and M, here's your shout-out). I don't really have time to write much right now, as I'm off to work. I did just briefly talk to Sam and Jess about this Fitness Challenge stuff and we're going to do the best we can to make it work. So I'm heading in early to talk to Sam about her schedule, and to grab mine from work, so that we can start the finangling process. So I'll write later. I already like this format better. Countdown to the new me beings... now!