I bought this from Target yesterday. It's been on my "to-read" list for a long time now, and I'm glad I have some free time to sit down and read!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New Things
I found this new flavor of MiO at Target yesterday, and I am loving it!
I also picked up this flavor, which is interesting, kinda tastes like a Monster.
As I was unpacking stuff yesterday I came across a free face care package I had picked up from Whole Foods. It came with a volcano ash face mask, so I put it on!
I picked up these waffles at the grocery store yesterday after reading about them on Itty Bits of Balance. They were pretty good and not too bad in the nutritional department!
The last new thing, my super tall ceilings. I'm sitting at the dining room table typing this with lots of gorgeous natural light pouring in from those windows. I'm really liking the openness of the apartment.
And now I need to get back to breaking down boxes and making sure everything is clean and put away. Have I mentioned I really dislike moving? I'm also thinking about doing some yoga today. Might be good to enter the New Year feeling relaxed!
Merry Christmas!
Let me get this post up before it's no longer 2011! I spent Christmas at my parents house along with my brother. It was just the four of us, which was nice because we probably won't have many more Christmases just us, as my Dad kept reminding us. I did miss S and I'm sure Rik missed T. We woke up around 8ish and got to opening gifts! Dad put on the same old Christmas CD that we have been listening to for years and we all sat down, ready to open!
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| Gifts, and Dad's foot. |
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| Rik and his new home brewing kit |
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| My new Texas Hoodie. Hope I don't stain it! |
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| Love this show - thanks lil bro! |
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| Dad got new poker chips |
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| Mom's new jacket |
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| Stockings waiting to be emptied |
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| Mom singing Feliz Navidad with her new OSU Santa Hat on. |
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| Rik knows how much I love these, so he bought me three boxes! |
We played games, had some drinks, helped mom prepare food and ate more candy.
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| Mmmm, turkey. |
I helped set the table - doesn't it look pretty?
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| Tri-onimoes |
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| Red wine in a cactus glass. |
I got up pretty early the next day and hit Target for Christmas supplies 50% off. I'm prepared for next year with two more rolls of wrapping paper, three boxes of cards, tags and ribbon! Can't wait ;-)
Friday, December 30, 2011
St. Moritz Apartments Review
Here is the review I wrote about our last apartment. I was just so angry at the way everything went down that I reviewed the complex on every site I could find. Enjoy.
Don't Lease Building 3, Unless You're a Roach Lover
We have lived at St Moritz for over two years now. The first year we lived in building 31 and had very little to complain about. We gave notice to move out, but couldn t find another place we liked as much (so we thought), so we asked to stay. We were unable to stay in the unit in building 31 and had to move into building 3. Whatever you do, DO NOT lease in building 3, unless you love bugs, lots of maintenance issues and an old apartment that could use a complete overhaul.
I noticed roaches before even moving into the unit, so I asked that the issue be taken care of before I moved our belongings in. This was not the case. It has now been one year to the month since we moved in, and we are still having roach issues. We have found them in the kitchen, the living room, under the couches, behind the bookcase, crawling up our legs while eating dinner. Yes, that really happened. Twice. The apartment office said they would send pest control around to spray, but it didn t help. One girl in the office had the nerve to say, and I quote from my email, it might have come in when a door was opened . Like we wouldn t notice a two-inch roach crawling along white, cream and beige surfaces as we enter the apartment. The excuse we were given for the roach problem was that the building is near the creek. We ve lived near bodies of water before and have never had this problem before. And if that is the case, even more reason to treat and repair the building!
Other issues in this unit in building 3 include the AC unit not working three times over the hottest summer Dallas has had in years for which I had to make five requests to be fixed, a lizard showing up in the living room which I had to capture myself, bad 70 s carpeting in the garage (but that s my opinion). The thermostat was replaced, but it was put in sideways, so we have to turn our heads to read it. No one ever came back to turn it around, both upstairs and down, despite multiple requests. We ve lived on both sides of the pool, but the noise seems to travel to building 3 more than 31. One party went on past midnight on a Sunday. There were twelve wasp nests on the balcony when we moved in, and several more popped up which took weeks to take care of. There has been a constant stream of silverfish in all the bathrooms. Also, property maintenance has declined in the past year, with trash frequently appearing on property and dog poop being left in the grass. This obviously isn t 100% the responsibility of the office, but they should enforce the rules with the residents that live here.
I feel like the office is apathetic toward these problems. The maintenance staff are pretty good, but relying on the office to send them out. . . well hope for the best! If it was their own home, I bet they d react quicker. If you choose to live here, just hope and pray that you don t have any issues with the unit, because you shouldn t expect a quick response. The rent isn t exactly cheap, and I m highly disappointed in the treatment we received over the past year. I expect better. I expect a roach free environment, one where I don t have to sleep on the couch night after night because the upstairs AC is broken, and a responsive office because I m paying them to live in a nice apartment and they should be responsible enough to fix any and all problems that I report with the unit.
The End
Don't Lease Building 3, Unless You're a Roach Lover
We have lived at St Moritz for over two years now. The first year we lived in building 31 and had very little to complain about. We gave notice to move out, but couldn t find another place we liked as much (so we thought), so we asked to stay. We were unable to stay in the unit in building 31 and had to move into building 3. Whatever you do, DO NOT lease in building 3, unless you love bugs, lots of maintenance issues and an old apartment that could use a complete overhaul.
I noticed roaches before even moving into the unit, so I asked that the issue be taken care of before I moved our belongings in. This was not the case. It has now been one year to the month since we moved in, and we are still having roach issues. We have found them in the kitchen, the living room, under the couches, behind the bookcase, crawling up our legs while eating dinner. Yes, that really happened. Twice. The apartment office said they would send pest control around to spray, but it didn t help. One girl in the office had the nerve to say, and I quote from my email, it might have come in when a door was opened . Like we wouldn t notice a two-inch roach crawling along white, cream and beige surfaces as we enter the apartment. The excuse we were given for the roach problem was that the building is near the creek. We ve lived near bodies of water before and have never had this problem before. And if that is the case, even more reason to treat and repair the building!
Other issues in this unit in building 3 include the AC unit not working three times over the hottest summer Dallas has had in years for which I had to make five requests to be fixed, a lizard showing up in the living room which I had to capture myself, bad 70 s carpeting in the garage (but that s my opinion). The thermostat was replaced, but it was put in sideways, so we have to turn our heads to read it. No one ever came back to turn it around, both upstairs and down, despite multiple requests. We ve lived on both sides of the pool, but the noise seems to travel to building 3 more than 31. One party went on past midnight on a Sunday. There were twelve wasp nests on the balcony when we moved in, and several more popped up which took weeks to take care of. There has been a constant stream of silverfish in all the bathrooms. Also, property maintenance has declined in the past year, with trash frequently appearing on property and dog poop being left in the grass. This obviously isn t 100% the responsibility of the office, but they should enforce the rules with the residents that live here.
I feel like the office is apathetic toward these problems. The maintenance staff are pretty good, but relying on the office to send them out. . . well hope for the best! If it was their own home, I bet they d react quicker. If you choose to live here, just hope and pray that you don t have any issues with the unit, because you shouldn t expect a quick response. The rent isn t exactly cheap, and I m highly disappointed in the treatment we received over the past year. I expect better. I expect a roach free environment, one where I don t have to sleep on the couch night after night because the upstairs AC is broken, and a responsive office because I m paying them to live in a nice apartment and they should be responsible enough to fix any and all problems that I report with the unit.
The End
Friday Fun Facts
I feel like it's been awhile since I did a "FFF" post, but I guess with moving, family visiting and the holidays I've lost sense of the days. Anyway, here we go!
- I've spent most of today unpacking, and I've made some really good progress. I actually think I might finish it by the end of the year ;-)
- I had a minor altercation with some lady in a two door Lexus that tailgated me all the way through my complex to my driveway and then started throwing a fit because she had to wait while I backed into my driveway (I had groceries to unload and it took all of 20 seconds for me to do so). I got her license plate and reported her to the office.
- I've been watching Season 4 of Mad Men while unpacking. I forgot how great this show is. I can't wait for it to come back!
- Also Mad Men related, I hate the character Betty Draper. I think I just don't like January Jones in general, but that might be because I do not like Betty Draper.
- I went grocery shopping this morning to restock the fridge. I bought a slew of veggies that hopefully I can successfully roast!
- S and I are staying home this NYE - possible movie marathon, yummy food and a few drinks. We spent a lot on moving, Christmas and of course the new washer and dryer, so it makes sense to keep it small. Relaxing at home sounds just wonderful after this crazy month!
- I bought The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo at Target today with my gift card form Santa, and I'm very much looking forward to just sitting and reading.
- Speaking of books, I'm actually thinking about getting an e-reader. I don't like the screens that look like computers, but I believe there is one that looks kinda like ink on a paper? Anyway, I'm looking into it.
Hope everyone has a super New Year and be safe!!
Romano's Grilled Chicken Spiedini
I picked up lunch (and dinner since there was so much of it!) from Romano's Macaroni Grill today, mainly because I have been wanting to try this dish for awhile, and also because they are participating in the American Airlines Dining program and I need one more eligable dine for the year to keep my VIP status.
This also came with some delicious bread and olive oil - it's not a real Italian meal without the bread and oil! Anyway, it was really yummy. I ate one skewer of chicken and half the roasted veggies and potatoes with about half the bread loaf for lunch and saved the rest for dinner tonight. This is the kind of dish I want to be making at home. I absolutely love roasted potatoes and veggies, and I can actually cook chicken to perfection on a skewer (or in the crock pot). Any other method, well let's just say I'm still "experimenting".
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Unfortunate Events
Let me preface this by saying I do not mind dogs at all. In fact, I even like some dogs, especially when they are cute and sweet and belong to my friends! I am afraid of big dogs and what they can do. They can be scary and appear threatening, but one of my best friends has two large dogs, yet I am not afraid of them, I will pet them, they seem to remember me, and I feel safe knowing that my friends have control of their animals and would not let them hurt me. What I am not a fan of is dogs who are not under control of their owners, dogs that are unpredictable and threatening and owners who don't care about any of those things.
I heard a story recently about this couple walking around their neighborhood, which they do almost every evening, and this Beagle charged at them, circling them and growling at them, refusing to let them past. The couple wasn't doing any harm, just walking on the sidewalk, and this dog would not stop. Finally, the owner came out and took control of the dog, but the couple felt threatened by the dog and if the owner had not come out when he had, the dog might have literally attacked.
In a completely unrelated incident, the man of the same couple was walking around the neighborhood again when a dog charged at him and started pulling at his pant leg. The man was listening to his headphones and was caught off guard. The owner of this dog was in her yard watering her plants, called to the dog which then stopped and shouted "Sorry about that" to which the man replied "You should be!" The owner of the dog that was attacking the man then turned a garden hose toward him. The man was out of reach of the hose, but what if he had not been? If you have lost control of your pet and it is invading someone else's space, you are at fault, not the citizen minding their own business and they have every right to be ticked that they now have a hole in their pants. Since when is it ok to turn garden hoses on people?
I realize sometimes dogs can be difficult to manage, especially puppies who need training and occasionally things happen, but there are so many people out there who let their pets run wild, and people get hurt! I've considered getting a dog myself, and the main reason I have not is that I do not have the time to train a dog to behave, or the time to give it the attention it needs, or a yard for it to play in. Dogs are a big responsibility and I don't think everyone gets that.
I heard a story recently about this couple walking around their neighborhood, which they do almost every evening, and this Beagle charged at them, circling them and growling at them, refusing to let them past. The couple wasn't doing any harm, just walking on the sidewalk, and this dog would not stop. Finally, the owner came out and took control of the dog, but the couple felt threatened by the dog and if the owner had not come out when he had, the dog might have literally attacked.
In a completely unrelated incident, the man of the same couple was walking around the neighborhood again when a dog charged at him and started pulling at his pant leg. The man was listening to his headphones and was caught off guard. The owner of this dog was in her yard watering her plants, called to the dog which then stopped and shouted "Sorry about that" to which the man replied "You should be!" The owner of the dog that was attacking the man then turned a garden hose toward him. The man was out of reach of the hose, but what if he had not been? If you have lost control of your pet and it is invading someone else's space, you are at fault, not the citizen minding their own business and they have every right to be ticked that they now have a hole in their pants. Since when is it ok to turn garden hoses on people?
I realize sometimes dogs can be difficult to manage, especially puppies who need training and occasionally things happen, but there are so many people out there who let their pets run wild, and people get hurt! I've considered getting a dog myself, and the main reason I have not is that I do not have the time to train a dog to behave, or the time to give it the attention it needs, or a yard for it to play in. Dogs are a big responsibility and I don't think everyone gets that.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Lunch
I needed some veggies to flush all this fat and sugar out of my body so I made a trip to Whole Foods for lunch! Here's what I got: 
Yesterday I was craving Chinese food, so I stopped at Yumi To Go, and it was good. Mongolian chicken and brown rice. It really hit the spot!
We have some verde chicken, some ratatoulle veggies, some kale, some zucchini and tomatoes, some steamed broccoli and cauliflower and some smoked mozzerella pasta salad (just a bit!)
Yesterday I was craving Chinese food, so I stopped at Yumi To Go, and it was good. Mongolian chicken and brown rice. It really hit the spot!
Om, nom nom nom. Man, I really like food. At least it was semi healthy and small-ish portions!
Dojo Chores
I totally bought S and I matching t-shirts from Shirtwoot! before Christmas. I arrived back to work ysterday to find them at my desk! Now we can be dorky about our love of ninjas together.
You gotta clean those shurikens off the ceiling every now and then.
Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
I left my keys for the Old Apartment aka The Roach Motel on the counter for S to turn into the office today. I can't believe we made it. All those stupid roaches making life miserable for over one year. It's done! I love the new place. So far it's great. Maintenance is there the same day you request them. It's new, it's pretty, everything works so far. I like parking in the garage. It's been so easy to unload the car and not have to climb an extra set of stairs. Here's a picture of me vegging on the couch, watching a Blu-Ray I got for Christmas. Can you guess what it is?
Thanks, Rik, for my awesome present =) Oooo, look! Sparkly lights!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
A Not So Perfect Christmas
I had a great Christmas with my family, and will be posting pictures of that at a later date but something happened on Christmas that has affected my family. A senseless act that has destroyed many lives, and affected countless others.
This was national news on Sunday, Christmas Day, when seven people were shot and killed in their home after opening gifts in the town where my parents live. It turns out a man went to the apartment where his wife and kids were celebrating with family, killed them all and then himself. News like this is upsetting and saddening even if you don't know the people. I found out last night (day after Christmas) that my mom knew the wife.
I'm not going to say much more - I just want to say that this is a tragedy and to please keep all people affected by this senseless act in your thoughts and prayers, as I am and would for anyone else in a similar situation.
This was national news on Sunday, Christmas Day, when seven people were shot and killed in their home after opening gifts in the town where my parents live. It turns out a man went to the apartment where his wife and kids were celebrating with family, killed them all and then himself. News like this is upsetting and saddening even if you don't know the people. I found out last night (day after Christmas) that my mom knew the wife.
I'm not going to say much more - I just want to say that this is a tragedy and to please keep all people affected by this senseless act in your thoughts and prayers, as I am and would for anyone else in a similar situation.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Ice! Pics
I went to ICE! at the Gaylord with S and some of his family members last weekend. Here are some pics from the Shrek themed ice sculpture display.
Beware of Ogres! This is Shrek's swamp!!!
Shrek and his bff, Donkey.
Ms. Fiona
Donkey and his hybrid donkey-dragon offspring!
Our annual cone-head picture.
Dragon!
Someone stuck a coin on Puss in Boots booty!
I met Shrek at the end!
I love ICE! I love going every year with Suleman - it's become an annual Christmas tradition. We got the fast pass to skip the lines and we got to meet Shrek and hot chocolate included. Mmmm, chocolate! It is pretty pricey, but it's a unique experience.
Christmas Cupcakes
I stopped at Gigi's to pick up some cupcakes for S and mini S's last day in Dallas with me. They were almost too cute to eat! Almost. . .
The snowman and Santa are wedding cake with vanilla buttercream icing. The reindeer was devil's food cake with buttercream icing and a chocolate buttercream reindeer.
Up close pics!
Cute and yummy =)
Up close pics!
It's Christmas Eve!
I love Christmas. I love giving gifts and it doesn't hurt that I get them in return =D My family and I went out last night for drinks and dinner, and it was ALOT of fun. I will post up some pics later after I upload them. I'm debating braving the stores to pick up a few last minute stocking stuffers. . . maybe I'll get dressed quickly and go before all the crazies get out there!
We will be having our traditional tamale/Mexican dinner and play some games like Scrabble, Scattergories, Buzzword and Mad Gab. We always have a great time playing games. I love games! Also, my parents just had their new kitchen table delivered, which converts into a poker table with green felt and all!! Maybe we can throw down a couple card games too!
I'm super excited for the morning, mainly because I like seeing my family's reaction when they open my gifts. I have opened a couple - S gave me an awesome tempurpedic neck pillow which should be really good in helping my neck and shoulder problems, and a new bluetooth headset because he knows how much I hate talking on the phone, especially when I have to hold it! I also opened my gift from Stacy (I was feeling a little sad for some reason and KNEW that would cheer me up, and I was right!). She sent me a yoga mat towel and a bag for my mat! I had been wanting both those things so I was very excited to open them!
My mom has bought all our favorite sweets - Jelly Babies (English candy) and yummy chocolates for the "candy tree". We have been sent fudge, nuts and caramel corn. It's a plethora of sugar everywhere I look! I can 100% guarantee all I'll want to eat come Monday will be vegetables. I will be kicking off my healthy eating one week early! But for now, bring me some chocolate!!
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!
We will be having our traditional tamale/Mexican dinner and play some games like Scrabble, Scattergories, Buzzword and Mad Gab. We always have a great time playing games. I love games! Also, my parents just had their new kitchen table delivered, which converts into a poker table with green felt and all!! Maybe we can throw down a couple card games too!
I'm super excited for the morning, mainly because I like seeing my family's reaction when they open my gifts. I have opened a couple - S gave me an awesome tempurpedic neck pillow which should be really good in helping my neck and shoulder problems, and a new bluetooth headset because he knows how much I hate talking on the phone, especially when I have to hold it! I also opened my gift from Stacy (I was feeling a little sad for some reason and KNEW that would cheer me up, and I was right!). She sent me a yoga mat towel and a bag for my mat! I had been wanting both those things so I was very excited to open them!
My mom has bought all our favorite sweets - Jelly Babies (English candy) and yummy chocolates for the "candy tree". We have been sent fudge, nuts and caramel corn. It's a plethora of sugar everywhere I look! I can 100% guarantee all I'll want to eat come Monday will be vegetables. I will be kicking off my healthy eating one week early! But for now, bring me some chocolate!!
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Down Time
This is the first night all week I've sat on the couch. I think today is the first day I've been on my personal laptop. We moved on Sunday and I've been frantically unpacking things so we don't live in a box castle, although now that sounds AWESOME!
I invited my parents over for dinner tonight to be sure I would at least get the downstairs unpacked. I had everything done as of yesterday, so today I just focused on cooking - fiesta crockpot chicken with rice for myself and my parents, taco pie for S and mini S (who we kidnapped on Sunday when his parents went back to Houston).
They really like the place, and the fancy new washer and dryer. And of course, my cooking. It was nice for S to see that I do make edible food, even if it contains veggies (veggies?! noooooo!!!).
I've been crazy busy at work, but finally got the majority of my stuff finished today and I felt such relief. I just want to sleep, probably for about a week. Cue singing - aaaalll I want for Christmaaaaas is sleeeeeeeep!!! And I think I'll get it Friday through Monday =)
I have a few pictures I want to post from this past week, nothing super exciting, just my usual day to day findings - will try to remember to post those, assuming I'm not in an exhaustion-induced coma.
I invited my parents over for dinner tonight to be sure I would at least get the downstairs unpacked. I had everything done as of yesterday, so today I just focused on cooking - fiesta crockpot chicken with rice for myself and my parents, taco pie for S and mini S (who we kidnapped on Sunday when his parents went back to Houston).
They really like the place, and the fancy new washer and dryer. And of course, my cooking. It was nice for S to see that I do make edible food, even if it contains veggies (veggies?! noooooo!!!).
I've been crazy busy at work, but finally got the majority of my stuff finished today and I felt such relief. I just want to sleep, probably for about a week. Cue singing - aaaalll I want for Christmaaaaas is sleeeeeeeep!!! And I think I'll get it Friday through Monday =)
I have a few pictures I want to post from this past week, nothing super exciting, just my usual day to day findings - will try to remember to post those, assuming I'm not in an exhaustion-induced coma.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Satisfying the Veggie Craving
I been talking about how much I've been craving vegetables and really wanting something with nutritional value to eat, so last Friday I headed over to Whole Foods and they had exactly what I wanted!
I got some brown fried rice, some roasted potatoes, roasted squash and brussel sprouts, tried kale for the first time, some peppers and green beans and some chicken. It was all really good and I definitely felt better after eating it instead of junk food. I also picked up some zero calorie iced tea, which was really yummy and I plan on going back for more!
Working in advertising, I get the occasional gift (read:food) from reps. This lovely box arrived on Friday. . .
So pretty. I will definitely be re-gifting the box! So I opened it up to find. . .
Can you tell yet?
Hell yes that is one giant cookie. And it was delicious. I shared a few, but made the box last until today which I thought was impressive for me! This cookie was a delightful almond flavor chocolate chip with sliced almonds on top. The box also came with a turtle like flavor, an absolute monster of chocolate white chocolate chip, some sugar which I gave to S and regular old delicious choc chip.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday Fun Facts
I feel like it was JUST Friday. . . this week flew by!
- I can't believe it's only 9 days till Christmas. I've never felt so on top of my shopping before!
- S's mom, aunt and sister arrived last night so we had a full house! They'll be moving to a hotel today when his dad, brother and two other aunts arrive.
- Going to ICE! on Saturday! I love this tradition. It might be pricey, but it's fun.
- I have not packed a single thing to move on Sunday. It's going to be a long weekend. . .
- I'm still craving roasted vegetables so I went to Whole Foods at lunch time and they had some great choices!
- I tried kale for the first time - not bad, not bad!
- Some reps I work with sent me cookies. I need to pawn them off onto someone else so I don't eat them all!
- It's 630pm on a Friday and I'm still at work. This is awesome. . .
Thursday, December 15, 2011
What I Ate Today
Again, started off well with some oatmeal. Cinnamon and spice flavor.
Day went downhill early with some peppermint bark and some Lifesavers.
Picked back up again with some sushi, although in hindsight, both a roll and ahi tower may have been too much food, but I was pretty dang hungry by 1pm (after a 2 hour meeting and considering I usually eat at Noon).
Pizza for dinner. We have no food in the house and we're moving this weekend. You can see my dilemma.
See the cinna-stick missing? I ate that one.
I really feel like I'm craving vegetables. Specifically, roasted vegetables. Yeah, that sounds yummy. I'm also wondering if this is even going to help me, because I apparently don't mind posting my bad eating habits. Am I guilting myself into eating healthier yet? Maybe. . . It also seems like I don't eat too often, or a lot, it's just what I eat is not THAT good for me. I need to plan tomorrow out better, so I don't end up eating junk.
Tried to drink some more water today. Ended up drinking about three of these.
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