WEEKLY ROUND UP // 29.

- This is pretty depressing, but for some reason, I enjoyed it. Morbid sense of humor.

- I could never be with a nap-shamer. Naps are the highlights of my days. Deal with it.

- Breanna at My Beautiful, Crazy Life posted this awesome DIY Bottle Cap table. Mike - if you're reading this, get to it, bud.

- Hogwarts inspired clothing from Black Milk. Does anyone want to buy me ... well, everything?

- If for some crazy reason you want to become an early riser, here's how.

- Want to add some new books to your reading list? Here are books coming out this fall that you should check out.

CURRENTLY

READING / Where You'd Go, Bernadette? It's an easy read. Which is a nice change of pace because the last book I started was about Jesus and it was dense with facts from the Bible and a little overwhelming. 

EXCITED FOR / Getting my Peanut all weekend! Unfortunately, this is my last time with him before he moves to Hawaii. Yes - you read that correctly. My beautiful nephew is moving across the ocean from me. Everyone keeps telling me that I have a great excuse to visit Hawaii, but they're not the ones footing the bill. 

LISTENING TO / N'SYNC. Yeah, I'm really hoping there will some sort of reunion (48 reasons why there should be a reunion). I threw the CD in my car and while I was impatiently waiting for my iOS 7 update, I listened to it. Nothing beats singing along to "Bye Bye Bye." Nothing. 

WATCHING / Voyager. I even write songs about it while I'm watching it because I really am a huge nerd. 

DRINKING / Ace's Pumpkin Cider. It's that time of year so this is all you'll find me drinking. Sorry.

DEAR DAIRY...

Dear Dairy, 

I've never felt this way about a food group before. You make everything better. Cheesy pizza. Milk and cookies. You're an enhancer of already delicious things. 

And alone, you are magical too. Muenster cheese. Havarti. My favorite yogurt. Ice cream. 

I'm salivating at the thought. 

But you've hurt me. You wreck my stomach and leave me bloated and gassy and constipated. You give me blisters in my mouth. You're no good for me. 

So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to give you up. No more dairy. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I have to do it cold turkey. 

We had a great week last week -- or at least my taste buds did because I had a perm-stomachache all week. It was worth it to give you the farewell you deserved. 

Good bye, Dairy.

I won't let you hurt me anymore. 

THE NEWEST ADDITION

Meet Buster.

It finally happened. We got another puppy. After Simba's death earlier this summer, my entire family was pretty miserable. Even Mac, our other dog. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. We're a two-dog family. My brother was on the look-out, but my mom's philosophy is that she doesn't pay for dogs -- she will only take in animals that need a home.

For example, my mom found her second turtle, Lucky, in the dumpster behind her work and rescued him. His eye was super messed up and she nursed him back to health. Now, he is a happy turtle, with functioning eyes that likes to try and mate with me (Seriously).

With my mom's history of finding animals, I knew it wouldn't be a long wait, but I cannot describe the relief I felt when we got Buster. A neighbor heard about how we lost Simba and knew of some Chihuahua puppies that needed good homes. She told the owner and that's how we got Buster. He has some medical issues right now, but he's in good hands now.

This little guy is a total heartbreaker and I am so happy to have him in my life. So, if you were wondering where I've been -- I've been chasing after this dude and just melting into a puddle of puppy heaven. 

WEEKLY ROUND UP // 28.

- I cannot wait to try this Avocado Caprese Salad from Iowa Girl Eats.

- Girls, looking for some awesome nerdy sweatshirts for this winter? Do yourself a favor and check these out.

- Let me preface this link by saying: This is kind of disturbing and I really hate snakes, but at the same time, it's kind of cool. Yeah, it's a decapitated snake head attacking it's own body.

- People were attributing Hitler quotes to Taylor Swift on Pinterest. Hilarity ensues.

- I love their blooper reels.

- If I had an extra $30 right now, I'd definitely grab this for my bro-sef.

                                      source: geekalerts.com

-  I think I've made everyone watch this video at least 5 times because I cannot get enough of it:

10 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME...

Things have been crazy lately and not in the good way. Remember how I said July was a terrible month? Well, August wasn't spectacular and September hasn't started in the best ways. I'm trying to make the best of it and make sure I spend time focusing on myself -- how can I take care of all my loved ones if I'm not taking care of myself? But that means that this little blog of mine has been neglected. I know, excuses.

I want to make some time for my blog and hopefully get some more posts ready, but that'll have to happen this weekend (Hopefully, I can find some time because my handsome and amazing nephew is going to be visiting all weekend!).

In the meantime, here are some things you didn't know about me...

1) I hate strawberries. Apparently, this is appalling to some people, but guys -- more strawberries for the rest of you. I'm not a huge fan of strawberry-flavored things either, but I will drink a few Strawberry Lime-A-Ritas.

2) I am suuuuuuper near-sighted. Without my glasses/contacts, I can barely see right in front of me. It's terrible. I've actually been wearing glasses since I was 7 years old.

3) I won't watch scary movies and I certainly do not go through haunted houses. Halloween is my least favorite holiday because I'm constantly scared that I'm going to see something frightening. After watching The Ring in 5th grade, I slept on the floor of my mom's room for 2 weeks afterwards. I slept with my lights on after watching Saw 2. I don't do well with scary stuff. Yeah, it's fake and I know that, but do I really know that?

4) My family confuses people. I grew up with a really small family -- primarily my mom, grandpa, and brother. Over the years, my mom has accumulated a lot of friends that have become family. My Aunt? Totally not my mom's sister. My other siblings? Totally not actual siblings. It confuses a lot of people, but saying, "My aunt" or "my cousin" or "my brother" is a lot easier than explaining the actual relationship.

5) I have only had one job. I started at my job at 16 years old and I am still there. Crazy, I know.

6) My first concert was N'SYNC. I was in the 5th grade and it was the best experience ever. We sat in a box. Pink and Sisqo (of the Thong Song fame) were the opening acts. But seriously, just being in the same arena as Justin Timberlake is still a highlight for me.

7) I am terrible with movie quotes. How the hell do all men remember every line of every movie they've ever seen? And I can barely remember the jokes from Futurama that I've seen 100 times. Don't try to talk to me in movie quotes because I just won't get it.

8) I am surprisingly punctual. I have to really try to be fashionably late for things. The worst is that all of my friends are always late for everything so I spend a lot of time just playing Sudoku on my phone waiting for them.

9) I drink my coffee black. This one freaks people out. The other day, someone asked me what was in my coffee and I blankly stared at her and responded, "....Coffee?" Everyday, I brew my own coffee and then when I get to work, I throw in an ice cube and drink it. That's about it.

10) My boyfriend and I met ... in college. Or that's the easier way of explaining it. I guess maybe we met because I would go get drunk at his house with his roommate and watch tv there and he would show up after work and join. And then we went to New York together. And then, two years later we finally got together.

Alright. 10 things that you probably didn't want to know about me.

REVISITING PUMPKIN BEER

According to Starbucks, it's fall.

But more important than the Pumpkin Spice Latte, my favorite Pumpkin Cider is back on the shelf. Since these awesome pumpkin beers are coming back, I figured it would be worthwhile to take a trip back to one of my favorite posts from last year -- my pumpkin beer review.

Go ahead, check it out, and enjoy some pumpkin beer!

September Goals and August Recap.

AUGUST GOALS RECAP:

1) Go to the gym at least three times a week -- FAIL. 

I tried, but I've had more bad days than good this month and it makes it hard to motivate myself to go to the gym. I have been running a lot more in the evenings though.

2) Run 15 miles -- PASS.
15.5 miles to be exact! 

3) Stick to my new budget -- FAIL.
This was a huge fail. I created a more comprehensive budget for next month and I'm going to work really hard on this goal again.

4) Bike 50 miles -- FAIL.
38 miles. Since most of my bike riding happens on the weekends, going out of town last weekend didn't help. 

5) Work towards paying off my credit card debt -- FAIL.
That whole not following my budget thing really screwed me over on this one. 

6) Apply for 20 jobs -- FAIL.
Definitely didn't hit 20. 

7) Sign up for a 5K -- FAIL.
Not enough money to pay for it.

SEPTEMBER GOALS:

1) Stick to My New Budget.
For real. I want that ending number to be in the black at the end of September.

2) Run 20 miles.

3) Bike 50 miles.

4) Apply for 20 jobs and Get an Interview???

5) Sign Up for the Hot Chocolate 5K! 

What are your goals for September? How'd ya do in August?