Fall?

Time seems to be flying faster than I can remember. This lady of leisure business is harder than it looks. Not that I am really complaining life is overall good. I've been keeping socially active between Junior League and my Meetup group activities and I hired a personal trainer. I don't have much downtime especially since I am still working for LJ too. I am afraid of becoming "that girl."

You know the bosses wife/girlfriend/fiance/significant other/bitch. This week I told his employees that we were going to have a catered lunch on Friday because it was the end of the month. I didn't realize that it was only on days that guys did inventory. Oops. Some of them think I am the boss, some give me respect. I don't know exactly how to treat them all or how they are supposed to treat me but I am working on it. I also told if something didn't shipped out that same day I was going to chop him up feed him to the sharks open up the shark dig him out and feed him to another shark. Aggression much?

I am so looking forward to the Fall actually starting so I can wear all the warm clothes I bought that its been too freakin hot. On Tuesday it was 100+ and Saturday it was drizzling. I need to go through my closet and get rid of some of my shoes too. I finally got to wear my tall Cole Haan boots and my purple leather jacket. These items sold out at Nordstroms so no pictures available.

This is also the first weekend in at least 3 months that I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PLANNED. I think I might finally tackle that scary room that I call the closet. I've made tenative plans for Saturday with LJ but Sunday.... nothing.


Oh yeah and the worlds greatest meat lover... going 80% vegetarian... WTF!

I'm Still Alive...

So I haven't completely fallen off the internet but I am normally only commenting and not really writing on my own although I have 5 bajillion things I could be writing about. Here are a couple of updates just to show I haven't been holed up on my bed (although sometimes I wish I was):

1. I accepted a leadership position with Junior League that I am super excited about. Normally as a regular active you kind of get to take a break for the summer as someone in leadership, not so much.
2. I think I told everyone way back when that I am not commuting anymore. Well at least not the crazy commute I was doing before. So far that has made a super drastic change in my attitude and energy levels. I actually want to go out and do stuff! Although I still have to drive up to LA to do my Junior League stuff.
3. I have been getting more into crafting and turning my closet room to also be a craft room. Hopefully I will have that done sooner than later. Although for right now everytime I see the show "Hoarders" it freaks me out and makes me go clean up that room a little bit more. Anyone want to help me build a proper craft room? I will pay you in knitting and yummy food. And wine, of course!
4. LJ and I hit our 3 year anniversary last month which I am super happy about. Not to sound like an ungrateful wench but seriously? "Put a ring on it!" I think now I am starting to get a little antsy.
5. Having one of LJ's closest chick friends at our house this weekend made me feel a little better about #4 , but you know... still sucks.
6. I am loving babies currently. Not in the make my ovaries ache kind of way but in the yeah maybe I will babysit for my friends for a full day.
7. I am starting my little side business which I hope will take over our garage. Currently working on the computer part of it before I start searching for other things.
8. I will be starting a new blog. Already have the URL some of the software stuff done but not ready to go live yet but am getting pretty dang close. My new personal calling cards already have the url on it so now I have to make it happen. I think thats why I have been holding back on blogging for a while now since I knew I was going to be doing a switchover.

Anyone have any good news to tell me? What is going on with the 2 folks that maybe read my blog still?

I didn't fall into the well...

Ya’ll I have an addiction. A Sorority Life addiction. I can’t say that that’s where I have been hiding for the last couple of weeks/months. To be honest just real life has gotten in the way.

A lot of things have changed mostly for the good. I am no longer commuting 100 miles a days – 6 hours round trip in the hell we call LA Freeways. I am actually closer to home and on a good day I can get to work in 25 minutes and a bad day I can get there in 45. I didn’t think I was that affected by it but those around me have noticed a change in my personality since the commute has stopped. I have noticed it myself too. I am grateful for those who helped make the change happen for me and I am upset at those who give me crap for making a “selfish” decision to get my life back. I don’t know what it means for my career with this change b/c I am basically taking a break but I don’t know if I really want to go back either. I like my regular job better but with my work life balance being shot to hell for half the money I was making a year ago I don’t think that it’s worth it. Who knows maybe in a year it won’t matter anyway.

Aside from the big work change I have just been involved in so many other projects socially that I sometimes get a chance to read everyone else’s blogs but I rarely have a chance to write my own. I am enjoying knitting, card-making, Junior League, re-organizing and decorating the house. I need to take pictures. I am going to get better at it I promise.

As Good as Martha Stewart in Prison

This is what my bf thinks of crafts as a whole. Or this is what he thinks of my crafting as a whole. The last couple of weeks have been full of all things domesticated and to tell you the truth I am a bit exhausted. Not in a bad way just trying to put a house together and still have a life is a lot of work. Trying to come to work without looking like I just rolled out of bed is a lot of work.

I would say about 80% of the house is unpacked. The rest of it is still sitting in boxes in the garage. At least they are neatly stacked. I am waiting for a weekend that I am not working and not having company over to plow through it some more. Still have some painting to do and other little projects but not the end of the world.

I am also waiting for our semi-permanent house guest to find his own home. Nice guy but seriously? 2 going on 3 weeks? He's been doing this all summer at everyone else's house just because we have an actual spare bedroom doesn't mean we want you in it through the Fall. Plus, I am tired of Febreezing the bed. I miss having my closet and having to pick out my outfits the night before and having to get ready in our tiny master bath.

When I was in Idaho I relearned how to crochet and about to finish my first blanket which i pretty excited about. its a couch blanket. Long enough to cover all under my toes and wide enough to cover me side to side. Oh speaking of vacationing... Magda please e-mail me your pictures again because the link that you sent me didn't work. It's cool if you send them in separate e-mails. I will have a decision for the contest by the end of the week if anyone is still here listening. Thanks!

When I was up North i went on a crazy yarn binge and got some pretty nice stuff. A lot of people will be getting scarfs this year. I also met up with LJ's sister who is still in her Jerry Springer life. I think the reason her and I get along is because I am not negative towards her decisions. Do I agree with everything she does? Um, no. At the same time she is an adult and she is choosing her path and all you can do is be supportive as long as she is not hurting anyone (including herself). Along with that I think I am helping her make some positive choices in what she is doing with her life. I will get into more detail as our little project progresses.

Since I was on this yarn kick I started looking up local places when I got back and went to a place on my way home from work. I think it was a sign when I got there it was the first day of a knitting class. I signed up for the class and learned something the first day. Unfortunately, I had something conflicting on my schedule for the second meeting so I will be there for the 3rd meeting. Also when I was up North I met a girl who had a really cool necklace that I am attempting to reconstruct and those will also be Christmas gifts. I have a few projects between now and Christmas.

If crafting isn't enough to take up some time in the next few months Junior League is in full swing. I have been to at least 4 JL related things in the last month and I think I have another 7 more between now and the end of the year. So far it has been a lot of fun and the social aspect of it is one of the main reasons I joined. I have met a bunch of girls who are on the same boat as me in the respect of career and relationship status. I mean there are million girls who are married but a lot with long-term bfs as well. I still haven't made a real good friend but there are lot of prospects. The only thing that sucks is that I am out of the area on the weekends because I live so far out. Oh well. Willing to travel.

So I will be going back to my jail cell crafts. I will post some pictures once I have some finished projects done and more of the house as they come. I am still here even if I am not writing. I may actually be starting a new blog. I will have more details once I get things a little more together. For right now I a still reading even if I am not the best commenter.

A Contest!

Edit: Extended Contest to get some more entries, please tell your friends.

With my move from a small house to a really big house there has been a lot of decorating to do. Out of my garage came out a huge picture frame that holds 30 5x7 pics that has never been used. Originally I was thinking of doing a bunch of pics of my friends and family but I wanted something more interesting. This is where you come in.

For the contest I would like you and anyone else you know to send me pictures of random pretty/cute/funny things. Pics from a place you have visited or where you live. Your adorable dog. A picture of your awesome shoes! The only thing I don't think would work is people. It would be hard to explain to my friends and family why I have pictures of people I don't know on my wall. Unless I know you then that's cool too. These will all be printed and put in the frame in the living room. Please submit your own pictures and not something you found off the Internet.

To enter:

Send me a picture to starchase83(at)me.com. Multiple entries are accepted.

The prize for picture I like best: $50 Target Gift card.

To rally up some support:

1. Tell your friends about the contest via twitter and include my @starchase83 so I know. (1 entry).
2. Become a follower of my blog (1 entry).
3. Write a post about my contest on your blog and send me a link back via the comments or e-mail. (2 entries).

This winner will be picked at random. Prize for this is: $20 Starbucks gift card.

This contest ends August 31st at 10pm PST.

B/c I am horrible girlfriend and blogger

I finally got all the pictures back from my friends to do a legit birthday/anniversary/confirmation post.... but I don't have them with me. So real pictureless we go. Overall the whole 2 weeks have been awesome. Even with being sick. So sick that I had to go to the ER and get quarentined b/c I might have swine flu. Obvs I didn't. So where to begin....

Thursday the 30th was my actual birthday and LJ made me my favorite meal steak, asparagus and red potatoes followed by a tiny coconut cake.

My birthday and our anniversary is only 7 days apart so I only get 1 gift for both. I think this year I didn't make out too bad.

Friday I got sick all of a sudden made it to urgent care and was told I had a stomach flu. Which wasn't the case but I kept getting progressively worse. Saturday was my confirmation date. For those out of the loop its a Catholic thing where you are seen as an adult in the eyes of the church. Also if I ever want to get married in a catholic church I needed to do this.This is the real church where this all went down.

LJ and I have an ongoing joke about how white-washed I am even though I am actually still pretty close to my Mexican roots. Hell, my parents don't even speak English. I am fluent in Spanish although I do have a thick American accent. I was born in the States. So The weekend consisted of my birthday, my confirmation, a boxing match and Mexican Food. I told him we basically squeezed in all the Mexican for the year into one weekend. All we were missing was a baptism, a communion and a pinata.







Since I was still sick I didn't get to enjoy the festivities as much as I would have liked. I know the tequila flowing around helped get everyone loosened up and some even hooked up. I was dying by about 11 but I know people stayed up till 2AM.







To round up the weekend I ended up in the ER with a 101.6 fever and no real clue what was wrong with me. It ended up being some sort of virus that eventually ran its course.

This post has been sitting in my drafts too long. I will have real posts later this week.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So far my birthday has been pretty awesome. I will have a full update at the end of the weekend. So far its included a fancy lunch and diamonds. Can it get any better? I guess we will have to see. Hope ya'll have a great weekend.

Happy Birthday, Sort of.

My birthday is this week, on Thursday I will be 26 to be exact. I bought myself a little gift for my birthday and couldnt wait till Thursday to play with it. See below.


I couldn't suck it up to buy a real lens but I bought these filters that let me get pretty close up. I am so excited to shoot again. Yay!

Friends in Low Places

Last week Molly posted about making friends and it got me thinking. I love the friends I have don't get me wrong but I hardly ever see them. I am 25, living with a roommate and I have a bf the rest of my friends (all girls I grew up with) are now married, married with babies or doing the single-mom thing. Nothing against how they are living their lives it just doesn't mesh well for a Wednesday Night Wine Tasting or other adult spontaneous activities.

My roommate is super cool so we hang out at the house a lot which is almost like having a built in friend. We were friends before we moved in together but not all BFF (oh and we work for the same company). My old roommate and I actually hang out more with socially now b/c I know where to go when I need a drink.

Anyway, I still feel like I am missing in the friend front. I haven't made any new friends outside of work or living situations for many many years. Although my old friends I can call out of nowhere and pick up the conversation like we just spoke yesterday its still not the same as having a real close friend that I actually did have a conversation with yesterday.

After Molly did her post went back and read the comments for suggestions on what to do. The funny thing is that she mentioned her Physical Therapist to be friends with. I want to be friends with my Chiropractor but I have no idea on how to say hey lets hang out without it being weird. She told me she does spin at the same gym but I've tried spin and its too hard-core for me. One day I will get some neve and not sound weird.

One of the suggestions that kept coming up was Junior League. I actually had never heard of the organization before. I guess out on the east coast its a big to-do. I looked up the website for my local chapter and lo' and behold there was actually orientation for new members. Fortunately, my nervousness did not get the better of me and I went ahead and registered. The timing actually worked out b/c the organization I was previously doing my volunteer work has been on a downhill slide with organization and I was no longer being useful there. I was looking for a new challenge.

The new memeber orientation was on Saturday and I actually decided to join. The group of women is very diverse. I was expecting at home moms with a lot of time on their hands. I would say the group was 24-32 professional with lives outside of the home. The meeting was held at the home of one of the recruitment chairs which was beautiful and she had a full spread of food set out early in the morning. She is one of those super-organized not of this world energy person to get it all ready. There was also a lot of bling going on. Newly engaged, planning a wedding or just married was the story for most of these girls. One day I will be there.

I am pretty excited about joining Junior League even though orientation is now the actual group doesnt start until the Fall. Best part? There is a formal event in the Spring! Hey who doesn't like a reason to get really dressed up?

Brought to you by the letter V

I was given a letter by the lovely Brookem. The point is to write about 10 things you love about the letter... in my case V.

If you want to participate, leave a comment on this post and I will assign you a letter. You then write about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter and post them on your blog. When people comment on your posted list, you give them a letter and the chain continues on and on.

Alright... on with the show....

1. Valentines Day: Seriously who doesn't love a day full of pink and hearts and love? That and you normally get to have a yummy meal with someone you love. Don't get me wrong I've had a couple of doozies on V-day... but over all its still a day of love (even if it just your mom getting you bubble bath when you are single).





2. Vanilla: Anything. I love the smell of vanilla, the taste of vanilla. I could roll around in vanilla if it wasnt you know... beans.




3. Victoria Secret: I love there cotton underpants. They are cute. Oh and yeah they have all that other lingerie stuff... for everyone else. oh and their Vanilla Lace spray.



4. Valentino: He makes such pretty things.






5. V-Card: Mine hasn't been around for a while but I am glad when I lost it that it wasn't just wasted with some random.




6. Vacation: as in I need one. I honestly don't think I will be getting a vacation anytime soon, probably say not till the honeymoon. my last vacation was a working vacation. I would like to say our honeymoon would be in Australia if I had a choice (or the money!!!).



7. V: my work BFF. Older, wiser, skinnier. She is where I want to be in 10 years. Homeowner (on her own!) porshe driver (paid off!) living the good life. She is smart, funny and if she was a little taller and a dude I would so date her.




8. Vampires: On tv in the HBO Show True Blood. I love it! Mind you I am not into the genre as a whole but I totally love this show.






9. Velvet Cake: Seriously, 'nough said.




10. Vodka!: The creator of many great memories and many horrible mornings. I can drink this stuff like a fish as long as I dont mix. Cheers!

That's it folks! Don't forget to respond if you want a letter of your own.

Let Debbie-Downer Die!

I was just reading my last posts and wow I sound depressed. So things may not be super awesome right now but lets share some of the good things right now shall we?

1. I am finally done moving. I still have stuff to unpack but it's nice to have gotten rid of so much stuff that I was just carrying around with me.
2. I found my new crack: McDonalds Iced Coffee. Turns out McD's is competing with Starbucks now and they have a better quality bean.
3. Reading: Eat Pray Love.
4. Will get out of work early on St. Patty's. Even though you can't really do much on a Monday night.
5. Got paid today!
6. My desk at work will be clean by the end of the day so I will have an easy Monday!
7. LJ and I are having our first "Lazy Saturday" in months b/c we both work so much.
8. When I come home tonight my house will be clean and my laundry will be done.
9. My new roommate will be gone next weekend for Easter so I will have the house to myelf.
10. Last but not least.... I am going to kick myself to start going to the gym more. Seriously... I have an NBA team that plays in the courts right in front of ellipticals. *Drool*

Childhood Favorite - Day 4

I haven't seen these since I was a kid!