Walking With Nora

Today’s Guest Post is brought to you by the lovely, sweet, insightful, creative Kyla.

One of the things about being a loyal reader of your fellow bloggers is that your vision of their cities is largely framed through cursory comments and pictures of nights out with friends. Place is something that tends to bubble up in unexpected moments and side glances, which can leave you with an interesting impression of a place. I’ve been reading Nora’s blog since Fall 2008, and I have to say, I think I’m pretty much an expert on St. Louis now- albeit I’m an expert on Nora’s version of St. Louis. So in case any of my fellow readers were thinking about visiting her I would like to provide you with a Bloggers Guide to St. Louis.

Not that, you know, I’ve ever been.

Local Landmarks
When you visit St. Louis any local will first ask you where you are from and where you have been in the city yet. If you have not been to a site where Dave Mathews Band has played, you wil be immediately redirected as for people from St. Louis these are designated historical sites where vigils are ofent held in the hopes that DMB returns safely and often. Grad School is a popular hot spot for Italian women in their early twenties, as is the Old Rock House where the food is deliscious, visiting penguins at the Zoo (where the food is deliscious if you’re a penguin), and of course, the arch.

Weather
From what I can tell? Always sunny! More reason to visit!

Pastimes
Locals in St. Louis love to take it easy, so bring a taste for girly drinks! Spending time with the family ranks high on the priority list, and one on one time on the town with the man in your life is a must. Concerts are a big local attraction (please see above) as are St. Louis Cardinals games and attending weddings and, more popular still, being featured as a bridesmaid by friends. If you visit St. Louis you should bring at least one bridesmaid’s dress, just in case. They have girls nights every Wednesday night, and frequent bookclubs (at least in the spring they did). Sadly, attempting to navigate allergies is also a pastime, as St. Louis is the most allergin filled city in the midwestern US, but a common folk remedy is staying up late to watch Audrey Hepburn movies, which at least seems to offset allergy response if not remedy it.

What People from St. Louis Dream About
People from St. Louis dream of kicking off their work shoes, walking to the airport and boarding the first plane to Italy….only to return home to buy homes with their significant others and fill them with adopted dogs. They dream about cooking and baking more, of finishing grad school, and of a little more of a path into the future- but not so much that it takes away the adventure. People from St. Louis are brave romantics, fiercly smart, incredibly warm, and above all they’re kind.

St. Louis is exactly the kind of city I would like to live in. Provided everyone who lives there is just like Nora.

What is your impression of Nora’s city?

I’m a tad busy this week with moving, midterms and research papers, dealing with crazy government clients, trying to get my jumpy co-workers to settle down and did I mention moving? Rather than let my blog go dark this week I’ve been fortunate to have some lovely ladies and possibly a gentleman post for me this week. Show them the love you show me as these posts are all spectacular! I’ll be back later this week assuming I’m not buried under moving boxes.

Today’s Guest Post is from the wonderful, ever-hilarious, sincere Tabitha. No idea how we found each other’s blogs but I’m thrilled that we did. She makes me laugh, makes think and currently I love reading every detail about her upcoming wedding because as you all know I’m a wedding junkie.  This post is delightful so enjoy!

When the ever-fabulous Nora tweeted that she was looking for a few guest posts this weekend, I jumped at the chance. Why?  I have two reasons:

1. Nora is, as previously mentioned, ever-fabulous. Therefore, an opportunity to share a little corner of her blog for a day just might allow some of that fabulousness to rub off on me. Plus, it might be the closest I’ll ever get to “hanging out” with her in real life.
2. My ulterior motive? I plan on holding this over her head asking Nora to return the favor when I go on my honeymoon in August. *teehee*

Anyway, let’s get to this guest post, shall we?

Today, I thought you all might enjoy a little game I like to call “Excuses.”

The rules of the game are as follows:

1. I will list some things I do (or don’t do) which are any combination of the following characteristics:
   a) embarrassing/awkward
   b) lazy/slackerish
   c) rude/offensive
   d) just plain strange
2. After each offense, I will list the excuse(s) I make for said offense.
3. Your mission is to rate my excuses on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being completely illegitimate or bogus, and 10 being acceptable/justifiable reasons for the offense).
4. After that, you can feel free to do any or all of the following:
   a) offer some better (read: more believable) excuses
   b) offer alternatives to the offenses, which might help me stop making excuses
   c) tell me what sorts of things YOU make excuses for!

Ready? Ooooo-kay!*

Top Five Things I Make Excuses for on a Fairly Regular Basis (in no particular order):

1. Offense: Leaving my clean laundry draped over my chair/couch/bed for more than two weeks after laundry day (basically long enough that they’ve all been worn before they ever made it to the closet or dresser)…and moving them from place to place when they get in my way.

   Excuse: My closet is really dark, so it’s hard to see the clothes when I put them away in there, yanno? Or, if that one doesn’t work: I just never have tiiiiiiimmeee to do such a meaningless task as putting away my clean clothes. I’ve got too much else to do in life. Besides, I’m inevitably going to wear them and throw them in the hamper again, anyway…

2. Offense: Letting out a gnarly SBD in Joe’s (my fiance’s) car on a long drive, and failing to alert him before the stench reaches his nostrils or crack the window to allow the abomination to escape.

   Excuse: Sometimes I don’t even realize it’s coming until it’s already happened. No, seriously. I have very little control over my gas emissions. Also? Joe totally loves it when I do that.

3. Offense: Licking Joe’s face/hand/shoulder/whatever’s most accessible, then laughing maniacally. *Obviously this falls under the category: d) just plain strange.*

   Excuse: He just looks so…edible? Er…sometimes I mistake him for a Tootsie Pop? …Oh! I’ve got it: He just needs to be reminded sometimes that he’s about to marry a freak of nature. Yep. That’s the one.

4. Offense: Standing in the middle of the street/sidewalk/room and breaking into song and dance. (Note: this often occurs at inopportune or inappropriate times, or sometimes just completely at random.) Oh, and occasionally ending with a flourish, a high-pitched (totally out-of-tune) note, or a “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid” wink/point — mind you, at no one in particular — and an enthusiastic, “Booyah!”
   
   Excuse: I…well, I just like to cut loose sometimes. So what if it’s during a business meeting or in the middle of a prayer time at church? A girl’s gotta express herself. And anyway, I know that everyone who has ever witnessed this sort of performance will never, ever forget it. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing…I’ll let you decide.
5. Offense: Forgetting to put on deodorant…and, inevitably, if I forget my deodorant, I also forget my perfume/body spray…and chances are I didn’t have time to shower that morning, either. In my defense, if I realize that I forgot to put on deodorant or body spray or take a shower, I make a conscious effort to keep my arms down AT ALL COSTS…even if it makes for some super awkward contortions to try to reach something up high or shake someone’s hand.

   Excuse: I have to ration my deodorant usage because I’m a poor college student. Oh…wait. That excuse ran out of fuel in 2007. Crap. Okay, how about this? The dog ate my deodorant! …AND my body spray! …AND the freaking shower head. I swear.

Well, that about does it for now. I hope you haven’t gotten the wrong impression of me from this post. Like, if you think I’m deranged or inconsiderate or a big lazy-arse…I TOTALLY am not. I’m awesome. Just ask anyone…except the guy who had to stand next to me in line after I did #5 followed immediately by #4. He might not think I’m so awesome.

Thanks again, Nora, for letting me invade your space today! I may have mentioned this already, but you are FANNNNTABULOUS.

*Please excuse my cheerspeak. I don’t know where that came from, since I’ve never been a cheerleader before… Must’ve been all those times sitting in the bleachers with the pep band and mocking the chicks freezing their butts off while standing on wooden crates and waving around stupid little poofy things. (See? Another excuse. AND I’m a jerk.)

When there is a lot of sadness in the world I make sure I take note of all the Great Things going on around me. Today was a tough day for Hollywood and fans alike, so here are things that made me smile in the last few days…

1. Vanilla yogurt on sale, 2 for $1 at the grocery store. I love, love, love Vanilla Yogurt. Bonus: it’s the Weight Watchers brand so it’s double good for me, right?

2. Being able to call Darling during my lunch hour to act like a four-year old and tell her I needed a great big hug to deal with my great, big, sucky work day. She called me my childhood nicknames, told me she loved me and then we laughed over something silly and had a moment of silence for Farrah.

3. Having the cojones to deal with a tough work situation today, ensuring it worked out the way it needed to, and avoiding cursing like a sailor in the process.

4. My muscles are sore from a 2.5 mile run I did that involved a TON of hills. I love that feeling.

5. Wearing the new earrings Irish gave me for the 365 day mark; made out of bamboo and lightweight make them perfect for a day in the office.

6. Playing with Jack for 30 minutes and ignoring my homework and studies.

7. Setting up a coffee date with Nilsa for this weekend when she visits my town! She was one of the very first blogs I idolized and looked up to so it’s kind of like meeting a superstar.

8. A yummy dinner of buffalo chicken wraps, waffle fries and salad while watching Rescue Me on Hulu, with Irish next to me and Jack’s head on my knee.

9. Starting my midterm paper to discover it will be much easier than I anticipated. Bonus: It’s on Italy so I find it doubly interesting.

10. Text messages from Kyla and Mandy.

11. There is talk of our insane heatwave ending which is enough to make me do a happy dance. I love summer but 110-115 heat index with crazy humidity each day is just uncool.

12. Tomorrow is Friday.

13. Buying rainbow chocolate chip cookies to squash a craving I’ve been having for a few days.

14. I bought Scratchers tickets and one of them was a winnner! It’s a free ticket but hey, at least it’s a small return on my investment.

15. Watching New In Town, playing a mindless online game, and just relaxing. Who doesn’t like movies that are 90 minute romantic comedies which include Harry Connick Jr?

16. Hugs from Irish, a man who keeps giving even after he’s had an equally, if not more, stressful day than me.

* License Plate Renewals. So, not sure what it’s like in other states but Missouri doesn’t make it easy. Not only do we need to have the State Inspection completed, we also need to have our emissions tested (which I’m online with for cars that are older and not up to par), two years of personal property tax receipts (yeah, we pay taxes on our freakin car), insurance proof and then the State of MO paperwork they send you. The silver lining to the stupid stormcloud that is license plate renewal, which fortunately only comes around every two years is that they ran out of June license plates so they gave me July plates. Woohoo for an extra month of license plate validity! (It’s all in the small things!)

* 365 days. Irish and I made it to the one-year mark. In celebration we each took the day off. Despite the fact that we spent some time running personal errands (like licenese plate renewal, purchasing a new refrigerator and dropping off clothes at Goodwill) we had a leisurely brunch at our favorite breakfast place, watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie, not TV show), read, took a nap, and indulged in some delicious Mexican food, ice cream sundaes and saw The Proposal. Irish surprsied me with a a sweet card that brought me to tears and some really great earrings and the very same kind of flowers he brought to me on our first date. All in all, a very good day.

* Moving on up. So next week is the big move back into the parents house. I still have a lot of boxes to pack and I know it will be a pain but it’s definitely going to be easier for me. Currently I have stuff strewn about in three different places, I don’t have a sense of “home,” and I’m kind of tired of living out of suitcases. While I’ll still fauxhabitate with Irish being at my parents will allow me to feel grounded in one spot, get my “nest egg,” into good shape and oddly enough, allow me to relax at the same time. I’m a little nervous about giving up MY space and MY freedom but I think it will all work out.

* The Studies. After the move and after next week’s midterm, I’ll be making an appointment with my advisor to discuss my options. At this point I’ll either forge on and finish my MBA (I only have four classes to go) or switch tracks and get started on an MA in International Affairs. This is of course pending the financial aspect of it all which has yet to be determined. I feel good about my decisions and my changes so far; everyone (including my fabulous blogger friends, thank you all very much) have been incredibly supportive and positive. I’m excited to see what’s next!

* New Orleans. Two weeks from Friday I’ll be on my way south for a week, mainly for work but additional I plan to check out the Ghost Tour, the Book Tour, historical sites, cafes, bookstores, delicious food and I’ll probably wander around Bourbon Street again just for the experience. There’s a good chance EP and her boy will meet up with me and Irish for a day or so which means I don’t have to wait another year for a blogger meet-up!

So I’ve shared what I think you guys want to hear about but is there something I’m missing? Any questions you want to ask? Anything is fair game, so ask away. Leave a comment and I’ll post the answers!

Looking for a new post by me?

Check out my Guest Post for Little Fish on my trip to London with Darling and my Gram.

I’ll be around later this week with some new material for you!

I’ve never been a quitter.

I don’t give up easily.

I’m Sicilian for goodness sake!

So it’s no suprirse that the decision I made over the weekend, the one to withdraw from my Graduate Level Finance course was extremely difficult for me. Since the class started three weeks ago I’ve been spending 20-25 hours a week just on the reading and homework plus another hour or two on the weekly quiz, discussion boards and other random assignments. 

Math isn’t my strong suit and so I worked my butt off to pull off the A- I had earned up to this point which my professor told me via email (as this is an online course) that I wasn’t trying hard enough and that I needed to work harder.

I was having nightmares about not completing my Finance homework on time and correctly.

I was stressed all day, every day, felt like a giant weight was pushing my chest, and dreaded leaving the office for a ” date,” with my Finance book and notes.
I hardly had time to talk to Irish, let alone my other friends.

On Saturday, after a lovely day of (much-needed) shopping with Darling, I came to a few conclusions:
* Life is short. I shouldn’t be so stressed out over school.
* No one is telling me I need to graduate by December of this year; I brought that on myself.
* If I had my way, I’d switch gears and work torwards my MA in International Affairs, which is what I’m truly passionate about.
* There was no way I could take two courses, work and be “me,” this summer without going certifiably insane.

After a Cherry Slush at Sonic, a hefty purchase at Ann Taylor Loft (oh, the sales and cute, cute clothes I bought!) and some heart-to-heart time with Darling (who is my mom, for those of you don’t know), we went home to talk to my dad.

I didn’t want to drop my class and seem like a quitter or a weak person but I knew that if I continued on this path of little sleep, intense stress and supreme grouchiness that it would only get worse.

After talking to my dad calmly, and okay, with a few tears here and there as is he my go-to (besides Irish) for big life decisions, he said to me that my happiness is more important than a graduate degree. That most kids don’t finish a masters in two years like I had planned on doing. And he left me with a quote from his grandfather that certainly resonates: ”Don’t pick up a box unless you want to carry the load. And if you do pick it up? You can put it back down.”

I went online and emailed my professor my “thanks for assistance but that due to my professional workload and other course commitments that I am withdrawing from his course as I can’t complete it to my personal standards at this time.”

Then I officially  withdrew from the course and suddenly I could breathe again. 
(I am still taking one course this summer and while it’s demanding it’s not 20-hours-a-week demanding.)

I have a few other things to figure out with respect to my graduate studies but I learned a few things over the weekend: * That I have choices.
* That my family & Irish will always be there for me as counselors and for emotional support. (Okay, I already knew that but it’s nice to have it reinforced on occasion).
* That it’s okay to admit that you’ve taken on too much and to tone it down and that if the people you surround yourself with are your friends, they will understand.
* That sometimes it’s necessary to re-evaluate our choices and the path we have chosen and in doing so, we can make ourselves happier/less stressed/better off than we thought possible. 
 * You know you made the right decision when you are instantly happy.
* I already feel more like “me,” and that is really all that matters.

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile it’s probably not a surprise to you that I am in love with the sounds of Dave Matthews Band.

I know there are a lot of haters out there and before I go any further, let me just say this: I was one of you.

Yes, I too, at one point, didn’t get what the big deal was about Dave Matthews Band and his music. Until my sophomore year in high school when my friend K asked me to go with her since her sister had extra tickets. And so I did.

And I fell in love. I fell in love with the sounds of the band and how they can just play for ten minutes with no particular end-point in mind. I fell in love with the witty banter Dave throws around on stage. I fell in love with the sounds, the words, the music.

I went out and bought three of his CDs the next day. And I’ve bought every one since.

I know a lot of his original followers don’t care for his new music saying it is too different from the “old Dave.” My question is this:  How is a musician supposed to sound the same all the time? That would be a bore not to mention unfair to the singer/songwriter/band. Music is about evolution, about expressing yourself at a particular place in time. It only makes sense that sound of DMB would change over the years. I’ve noticed with each CD a change, always slightly related to his personal life. His marriage to his wife, Grace. The birth of their twins. The death of LeRoi.

Perhaps it is because I grew up around music of all kinds and a musician family but I respect the music process, the musician, the freedom to change over time.

And as a result of my profound respect and understanding for the music, I have been to a whopping nine concerts. All of them except for one in StL. I have only been diasppointed once and that was because I didn’t know any of the songs but right as rain I bought the new CD the following day.

Last night’s concert was amazing on for many reasons:

* Irish was with me. I’ve never been to a DMB concert with a boyfriend before

* We carpooled, tailgated and “sat” with Liz and her husband. (I say “sit,” because anyone who has been to a concert at our venue knows that very little sitting takes place on the lawn.)

* Irish spoiled me by buying me two shirts and a very cool bio-friendly DMB bag. (They are my anniversary presents.)

* Irish admitted to “appreciating,”Dave’s music. It should be noted that prior to this concert, Irish was a DMB “hater.”

* Liz’s husband is now a self-proclaimed DMB Fan! (Side note: Our missions have been accomplished. Our men now like DMB!)

* There was a slight drizzle during the second half of the show which took the edge off the insane heat and humidity that settled upon us

* People watching was spectacular, as always

* DMB played for nearly three hours straight! No opening band, just pure DMB.

* I managed to thoroughly ignore all my stresses, worries and problems during the show which is a huge accomplishment for me

(Photos courtesy of Liz’s iPhone and please note the lovely floofy hair I’m sporting courtesy of the humidity. Sigh.)

After seeing the many concert-goers last night, most of whom were likely under the age of 20, I wonder if I’ll still go see him when I’m 30? I have a feeling the answer is yes, though maybe by then I’ll splurge and spend $80 on a seat instead.

I’m just as guilty as anyone else I’ve whining, bitching and moaning on a Monday.

Call it a Case of the Mondays.

Call it a quarterlife crisis.

Whatever it is, I realize I need to overcome the Monday Blues, especially on a rainy day which makes it 100 times harder to get out of bed so while the world is all doom and gloom, I’ll try to sparkle and smile today.

Things that will help me stay positive:

1. Wearing my new black patent leather peep-toe shoes I found at Marshalls which is the first time I’ve ever found anything at that store, which I suppose is a “win,” in itself.

2. A cup of green tea brewing next to me. I’m trying to caffeinate without soda this week.

3. The insane amount of spring cleaning Irish and I accomplished over the weekend at his place, complete with a donation pile, new shelves to house books, and repurposing a coffee table to open his living room.

4. Chorizo dip. We made our own yesterday in the mini crockpot (a gift from Irish) using ingredients from a local Mexican Market. It tasted almost like the queso fundido from our favorite Mexican restaurant.

5. Two days until the Dave Matthews Band concert.

6. Having a personal day approved for June 23 so that Irish and I can be together on our one-year anniversary.

7. “The Hangover.” Seriously, go see it. I laughed the whole time.

8. Making plans with Darling to see “My Life in Ruins,” this Saturday.

9. Heading out on a walk with Jack and Irish to Starbucks to purchase my newest addition: Non-Coffee Double Chocolately Chip Cream drink.

10. Duds n’ Suds = the name of the new laundromat that Irish and I found. They serve beer, have a big screen TV and a large sitting area. Double bonus: next to the Mexican Market, a Mexican restaurant as well as Subway. It’s a tad pricier than the other places but the dryers really work, it’s clean and offers more than any other place we’ve been to.

11. Impromptu trips for ice cream. Great way to end a weekend.

12. Falling alseep to the sound of Jack snoring and “Sister Act,” on TV. I can be such a child sometimes.

13. Coming up with a workable plan for moving out of my apartment in the next few weeks.

I’m sure many of you are 100% sick of reading about Vegas but I’m not 100% done talking about it, so here’s Round Two.

Highlights of Nora’s Trip to Vegas

* The lovely KylaRoma greeted me in the lobby of the Luxor upon my arrival.

* She introduced me to three fabulous Chicago Bloggers that I didn’t even know existed (shameful, really)

* Lots of time spent poolside with most of the 26 ladies

* Friday night buffet with all the lovely ladies (and men!) who dared to brave the trip

* Laughing with Lys as two guys who were walking behind us tried to get us to turn around by shouting obscene and random things at us.

* Having my bra spontaneously pop on the strip. Kyla came to the resuce. EP has pictures to prove it.

* Piano Bar. Need I say more?

* $5 wine at Lefferino, home of great happy hour specials and award-winning bathrooms with the entire gang

* Cheering Mr.5280 on when he received random high-fives from totally confused strangers.

* Walking from the Luxor all the way to the Venetian and living to tell about (while still nursing a swollen, painful left foot)

* Taking Diabolo’s Cantina by storm and turning it into Drunken Diablo’s. A margarita that tasted like tequila & ice, a double lemon drop shot, and a “Strong,” mojito not to mention ah-maz-ing Mexican food.

* Dancing around Drunken Diablo’s thanks to a DJ who played the perfect mix of songs. Also: when you’re drunk, every song is your favorite song.

* Getting really excited when my roomie (E.P.) and a handful of lovely Chicago bloggers joined us at Drunken Diablo’s.

* Laughing with E.P. about our “butt cuddles.”

* Hanging out with Renee on our return trip to the airport where we encountered a really drunk guy who cut in line, told us he liked Renee’s glasses and proceeded to stare at us the whole time

* Being able to wander off with just a handful of girls at a time to get to know them better.

* The power of the internet. Seriously, Al Gore, you rock.

* Favorite quote of the weekend: “How can seatbelts be the law when prostitutes are legal?”

(In the interest of many blogger’s requested anonymity I will not be posting many pictures of this trip.)