I've been bedridden the last couple of days due to a stomach flu/food poisoning (don't know which). It's given me an opportunity to catch up on a lot of reading, online browsing and movie watching. I've come to the realization that I really want to get extensions. I miss having long hair so much. I'm tired of feeling like crap about how I look. And the whole stomach thing has kick-started my weight loss - I was going to wait until the new year but spending all day puking yesterday has humbled my appetite.
2009 - new year, renewed me. I've got a great job interview lined up for the 7th and I am really hopeful about it. This can be the start of a beautiful thing!

I had a merry Christmas, did you?

When you have cancer you learn a lot about who your real friends are.

*begin rant*

It turned out I had a few. Ones that truly cared and didn't freak out and disappear on me. Some mere acquaintances surprised me and turned out to be something more. And some of my nearest and dearest turned to dust.

Aside from my wonderful husband and family, I had one friend that really went above and beyond. She put me in the tub and gave me baths when I didn't feel like bathing (and yet really needed to). She went to chemos and sat there while I slept. She listened to me bitch and moan and be a bitch. She asked the doctors questions and listened. She was there when I shaved my head. Hell, she took the first cuts (and we discovered she does NOT have a future in hairdressing). She made me want to be a better friend.

I know it can be weird and scary to deal with - you start to think about your own mortality et al, but seriously, would it have been that hard to drop someone a few emails? Many did... but again, now that I'm all better, I can't help but think of those who didn't. And I don't think it can ever be the same. Cancer changes the way you look at things, it makes you more sensitive and yet stronger simultaneously. You become an empathizer.

I never wanted people to look at me with pity (unless I was trying to guilt them with the cancer card). I just wanted to feel cared about, thought of. And when I tell people my story, I don't want to see that grimace. A nod, a smile, and a geniune "good for you" will suffice.

*end rant*

Sorry, that's been needing to come out for a while now.

Wii fit is amazingness. I've already lost 2.6 pounds since last night. Mr. Lexi gained 6 (how is this possible?!?!). I'm so pleased that we have a new fitness regime that involves video games.

baby baby

My best friend just had her baby boy on Wednesday evening. She had a planned C-section for January 28th, but she just went into labor early. So little Colton or Caden (they haven't decided yet) came into the world early, at 4 lbs., 6 ounces. He's going to be in the nicu a while, so please, if you're one of my 3 readers send positive thoughts their way.

While she and her hubby were in delivery, we took care of her utterly adorable 2 year old daughter, Riley. We took her to Target to buy her a doll and a few other miscellaneous for mommy, and she was so well behaved! Adam is going to be an amazing father one day. And maybe I won't be so shabby as mum either. Singing nursery rhymes in the car isn't as lame as I thought it'd be.

In other news, I can't believe it snowed in Vegas. I'm a little jealous. I hate this in between weather. It's so miserably cold here yet the sun is shining. What gives?! I want to at least see some powder and flurries if I have to bundle up.

Getting to know the neighbors...

On Friday night we headed over to our next door neighbors' house for a holiday get together. It was lovely and we got to finally get to know all of our neighbors. They're all young like us and pretty awesome, and we're going to make hanging out a regular thing.

And I've taken to red wine! For a while I've been aspiring to take up wine drinking and I am starting to enjoy it. I'm so cultured.

It's hard to find a good dog groomer. One that will be nice to a puppy that tends to bite if futzed with. And when we moved, I found a nice little place. But it charges $55. Obscene, I think. So I gave Benny a trim all on my own. And I think he liked it. And then we gave him a bath. That, I don't think he liked so much. But he's fresh and clean and fuzzy, just how I like him.

...chicken dinner...

Saffron is quite an intriguing spice to me. I'd never had it, at least knowingly. And when I came across a Giada recipe that called for it, I decided to give it a shot. It's the most expensive of the spices - at Ralph's I saw it for $19.99 (a little jar!) but I found it for $5.49 at Trader Joe's (a littler jar!). I made Chicken Scallopini with Saffron Cream Sauce, potatoes au gratin and, to appease Mr. Lexi, my Red Velvet cake for dessert.
Yum! I tend to overcook chicken, I must learn to just throw caution to the wind and risk salmonella. I plan on cooking for Mr. Lexi more often, I think he enjoys it. :-)

I adore free things!

Who doesn't?! And when said free thing is a bona fide useful/luxurious item, I am even more thrilled. Kids, rush over to Williams-Sonoma.com and get yourselves this lovely Wusthof cutting board.


I mean their knives are like hundreds of dollars, so one of their cutting boards should be the most excellent of excellent cutting boards. All you have to do is add $450 worth of their knives and other paraphernalia to your registry and mail them off a copy. So easy a caveman could do it.

Bookish

I enjoy reading. Thoroughly. I credit my thirst for the written word as a young child for making me the savvy intellectual I am today :-P

I just finished reading "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" by Sloane Crosley, and I found it to be quite the enjoyable read. Her style and wit seem similar to mine, so I took a quick liking to her. I tend to enjoy people who are like me. So I will recommend this book to you all. A great one to keep on the nightstand and read a chapter or two before bed every night.

Or, if you're like me, all in one sitting. :-)

My adoring husband took me to a romantic dinner and a movie last night. We began with a delectable selection of hot wings at Hooters, followed by a rousing showing of Four Christmases. I think I enjoyed Hooters more. It's not that the movie was bad, but it was just a simply cute film. Fluff. And I love me some wings.

For fun I decided to go through my house photographing my favorite things. It started with the ornaments on the Christmas tree...






Then I went to my almostnotquitefinished photo wall...
Then I slid up to the flowers my lovey got me...
They lasted forever, which surprised me. I have this uncanny ability to kill flowers in like a day.
Some of my favorite wedding pictures... and of course my darling doing what he loves best...
Note the wonderful photographer's tripod lamp in the corner. So pleased that we got this bad boy. Which reminds me of the great kitchen towels we got at Crate and Barrel this weekend.


And then of course my amazing mixer, which any cook worth his salt should go out and get.


Speaking of cooking, I am reminded of the lovely housewarming I hosted a few days ago, and of the little hors d'oeurves I served.


I ate way too much, which makes me think of my wardrobe, which needs some attention. At least I love all my matching hangers...


AND the jewelry box my daddy bought me before we moved...


I love being ____.
And I love watching time pass me by...

To Hell with Lowe's

So remember how I got a great tree for 25% off at Lowe's? Now they're 50% off. And when I discovered this last night, I became very sad and depressed. Then an associate said they would price match. Hoorah!

So I went today with my receipt (with which by the grace of God I had kept) to get my money back and received the most horrendous treatment ever. They made me cry. I don't even want to go into detail, but "of course they would never price match on a holiday item, even if I got it a few days ago. I could return it and buy another..." "give us the name of whoever told you that and we'll fire them."
!!!
But they wouldn't answer if I could return it and rebuy it at the lower price. And they just ignored me and talked amongst themselves, as if I wasn't standing there asking a question. I felt humiliated. The guy Jim who at first said he wasn't a manager, then said he was when I asked to speak to one snapped at me.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to pull out the cancer card and say hello, is this how you treat someone who's gone through hell?!?! But I just walked out of there with my shoulders drooped. And on the drive home I lost it and started crying. I don't know what it was. Rude treatment, fine, I've gotten it before from many different stores. I probably was rude a few times when I worked retail. But it really hurt. Being ignored hurt. Being looked at like I'm gross hurt. I felt like they judged me by the way I looked. I felt insecure and embarrassed all of a sudden for my short hair. Did they think I was some kind of punk, because I donned what I thought was a clever faux hawk? I'm surely reading into it too much.

But I think I deserve to get the credit back for the price difference. NOWHERE on the receipt says final sale or anything like that. This is just bad customer service. I am now a Home Depot convert for sure. Fuck Lowe's.

To make matters worse I get a call to schedule my Pet Scan for next week. Just another jolly reminder that I'm still a somewhat prisoner of my health. Whatever happened to this being a GREAT day??

LAST CALL HURRY HURRY

Today was one of those days that I could just kick myself for not waking up earlier, checking my email sooner... Neiman Marcus Last Call Clearance for an extra 50% off. I bought $2000 worth of goodies for only $350! Mr. Lexi will be happy to know he's made a huge dent in his Xmas gifts for me :-P. I got dresses and tops and pants and jackets... and everything was disappearing so fast right in front of me. I think I broke into a sweat at my computer! I put a Diane von Furstenberg dress in my cart only to find out that it was no longer available when I went to check out. I am still sad over this. What an experience - I could feel the madness over the internet... I felt virtual elbow jabs and dirty looks. I had that panicky urge to pee and nervousness. All to accomplish shopping victory and greatness.

I can feel it - today is a GOOD day!