It's a good day.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right? Of course you have - everyone has. The weeks leaves you drained and feeling unable to do anything...everything seems unsurmountable. Looking back, how dramatic! Well that was my week last week. And my day yesterday (although I may just blame that on bad Monday juju).

That being said, I hate it when people complain about their days. Some of these complaints are just ridiculous. I think people seriously just need to step back and put their problems in perspective. It really is 100% about attitude. I don't want this to come off as preachy. Preachy sucks. I'm a firm believer in the whole "life is what you make of it" thing. Seeing the glass half-full isn't always easy and sometimes, yes, it seems completely impossible. Sometimes, bad things happen and there's no way to have a positive attitude about it. That being said, I also believe that everything happens for a reason.

Disclaimer: I haven't had a bad life at all. Things haven't always been great and there are a lot of things that I wish could be different, but for the most part, I don't feel like I have much to complain about. I know that some people have gone through some seriously tragic experiences and I don't want to undermine the seriousness of those situations with my whole "be happy, look at the glass half-full" attitude. I just really feel like having that kind of perspective goes a long way.

"You can have it all. You just can't have it all at one time." - Oprah said that. The only reason I know this is because my 2014 planner has quotes for every week and that was last week's quote. I'm sorry Oprah, but I'm calling BS on that. I believe that as long as you're willing to work for it, you can have anything and everything you want, when you want it. I'm not saying it's easy (depending on what you want) and it takes a lot of hard work...but you can have whatever you want. Just go get it.

Okay, I think I'm done with my whole inspirational "you can do it!" spiel...I just felt like I had to get that out there.

Anyone who was watching the Superbowl saw the commercial - #JackisBack. This probably doesn't mean anything to a lot of people, but those who are lucky enough to have watched "24" are seriously pumped...including me. Mark had never seen it so we binge-watched the first season this weekend. Even though it's still as awesome as I remember it, it's crazy to think that the first season aired 13 years ago (and they have the cell phones and Palm Pilots to prove it!). Granted, Mark called all of the big moments, which was irritating...but it's still amazing and we're on to season 2. Love it! "House of Cards" is next on our list...a very long list.

Have a happy Tuesday, because why not?!

Love. Inspire. Motivate.

Shame on me for abandoning this blog. A very good friend of mine recently showed me this video. It hit a little close to home in terms of having too many ideas and not doing enough to make any of them become realities. People say this all of the time, but life is short. What am I waiting for? I am the queen of impatience...the queen of "I want it and I have to have it NOW"...so I'm finally applying that mentality to these dreams of mine.

Now for a little shameless self-promotion. I recently discovered Origami Owl. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, check it out! For everyone else, you already know that this jewelry is amazing and addicting. You can't just have one charm, or one locket, or one plate! At least I can't...
I like to believe in the concept of fate and I think it played a part in me beginning this whole Origami Owl thing. Mark and I went to Virginia to visit family for Christmas and I took the opportunity to visit an old friend while I was there. I couldn't help but notice her necklace, which was unlike anything I had ever seen before and I instantly loved it. She mentioned that it had been given to her as a gift, but she didn't seem quite sure of what it was or how to get it. Fast forward a few weeks - I'm at work and receive a delivery from the FedEx guy. On his way out of the office, he just stops and stares at me and finally says "I have something for you". He comes back in with an Origami Owl catalog (or take-out menu) and tells me that his wife just started selling it - so I start flipping through it and realize that this is the locket that my friend has. I immediately found something for every woman in my life and so I figured that maybe I should get involved. Anyway, that's the story behind it and if you don't know about the company, they're big on stories. I don't know if you know me, but I am too. Soooo....go check it out and buy from me! =)

 Anyway, back to my self-shaming for the abandonment of this blog. After having the video brought to my attention, this same friend told me her plan of action for making her dream a reality and it included increasing her social media presence, which I have decided is necessary for me as well. Not just for Origami Owl, but also for my photography business which I've been working on for a little bit. Hence, back to the blog and maybe Twitter, although before yesterday, I hadn't tweeted once. Honestly, I find the whole thing a little absurd, but maybe that's just because I haven't really used it. You should totally follow me though - @stephanie0416.

In the interest of promoting a friend and fellow go-getter, check out this blog too.
www.cristinskjegstad.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @CrisSkjeg.

Happy Thursday!

Winter is here.

The perks of working at a golf course? Awesome views, no matter the season. The downside of working at a golf course? I am currently the only person on the entire property, unless you count the Grounds crew, which I don't because I never see them. So, while I'm waiting for my new desk to arrive (which probably won't be today, unfortunately) and for the server to come back up (meaning I literally have nothing I can do until it does), I suppose I'll write a quick Thanksgiving post.

I was listening to the radio on my way to work this morning, as I do every morning (I love Elvis Duran!) and they went through their entire staff, with each person saying what they are thankful for. I think a lot of people forget to do this on Thanksgiving - I know I certainly do. Instead, Thanksgiving has become about eating way too much and shopping. So, here is what I am thankful for this year:

1. My family (generic and overplayed, I know) - I have one of the craziest and most disjointed families ever, but every one of them is perfect and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way. I have the world's brattiest and most beautiful sisters and 2 little brothers that are too cute for words and will become serious heartbreakers one day. I have a bevvy of parents and grandparents, and too many aunts, uncles, and cousins to count. I'm thankful for all of them and I can genuinely say that my life is better because of them. I've recently been able to reconnect with some family from years passed that I haven't talked to in a very long time and it feels so good, so here's hoping for a rekindled relationship!

2. My friends (obviously!) - I also have the best friends a girl can have. Even though they're all over and visiting them means driving 4-6 hours, it's worth it every time. These people are my family as well and I truly would do anything for them. Do you realize how crazy that is? To have so many good people in your life that you would do absolutely anything for because you love them that much?! That is absolutely something to be thankful for.

3. Mark - my fiancé. He is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and he is absolutely perfect for me, in every possible way. My life would not be the same without him and I never want to find out what that would be like...ever.

4. My life, in general. I truly believe that no matter how horrible you think your life might be and no matter how many crappy hands you've been dealt, there is always a silver lining and there is always something that you can be thankful for. I am thankful for my life every day. I have a roof over my head and a fridge full of food that I can cook. I'm surrounded by people whom I love and who love me and I get to sleep in a warm bed every night...so yes, I consider myself to be supremely lucky and I am incredibly thankful to be able to have these things.

Take a minute this year to remember the good things in your life and give thanks for them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the life.

For those who haven't heard of this movie, watch the trailer here. Then do yourself a favor and go see it. We saw it this past weekend and it was simply amazing. It has the perfect combination of humor, drama, and romance and I'm pretty positive that mostly anyone will be able to appreciate this movie. I think this overall review from Rotten Tomatoes does a great job of portraying it...

"Beautifully filmed and unabashedly sincere, About Time finds director Richard Curtis at his most sentimental."

 It really is just so genuine and sincere - new favorite movie!


On an entirely different note, we tried a new place for dinner on Tuesday night, which was amazing. It's called Jasmine's Asian Fusion and it's on Ridge Road in Webster. Anyone who lives or has lived in this area knows that Webster is strange. It's completely out of the way and parts of it are weird and trashy, while others are super rich and gorgeous. The only reason we even know this restaurant even exists is because Mark works in Webster and has driven past it a few times.

 

 

A new thing that I've noticed I'm doing lately is ordering drinks almost every time we go out for dinner. I never used to do that and now, for some reason, I don't think twice about it. Con - Among several cons, our dinner bills are much higher, which sucks. Pro - I'm discovering a lot of really awesome drinks with flavor combinations that I would have never thought of.



Anyway, Tuesday night was no different and I got a Lychee-tini. I don't remember everything that was in it, other than lychee and they don't have cocktails listed on their website, so fail. You'll just have to take my word that it was good - not amazing, but good.
Dinner, on the other hand, was quite amazing. I ordered the Thai Style Coconut Red Curry with Chicken and pretty much died and went to gastronomic heaven.

As an aside, (I mentioned this in the first post I did) I've never been one of those people who loves to take pictures of their food and that probably shows in the pictures I have taken for this blog. I also forget that I should take a picture until after we've already started eating, so yeah...sorry about that. Anyway, the quality of the picture not withstanding, this dish was awesome for dinner and even better re-heated for lunch the following day.

Mark got the Stir Fried Spaghetti with Chili Paste Sauce and Chicken, which was equally as delicious as mine.

Again, he had already started eating before I remembered to take a picture, which resulted in this slightly gross looking picture. It really was delicious though, I promise!


As for fantasy football, I refuse to give an update unless I'm doing well, which I'm not. Weeks 9 and 10 were a bust for me. Let's hope I'm able to gain some ground on Week 11! The Mr. McGibblets will make it to the playoffs!

The Revelry

 

“We are the champions of joy;
we are the fosterers of revelry.
Here, we uphold the sanctity of sustenance;
here, we delight in the art of serving our fellow human beings. “

 

 

Time for a restaurant review! This past Saturday, a new restaurant that I had never heard of was recommended to me, so when we came up short with dinner plans that night, we decided to try it out. The place is sort of awesome. You first walk in and the floor by the hostess station is clear, so you can see right down and into the wine cellar. It turns out there's also seating down there so on the way out, we saw people eating, which I guess is a little weird. Still cool though. The drinks are awesome - I ordered The Vega, which is vodka, fresh strawberry & blackberry puree, St. Germain and fresh-squeezed lemon juice...and it was amazing. It is easily one of the best drinks that I have ever had.

 

That's a mint leaf on top. So good!

 

The food, however, is a different story. Their menu is mainly comprised of upscale Southern food, which I think is a great idea in theory. In practice, it didn't turn out quite as I had expected. Granted, I got a burger which was probably a rookie mistake because who gets burgers when you're at a place like this...but in the same sense, if they can't pull off a burger, then what does that say? It wasn't horrible by any means, but it just wasn't really up to par. Mark's meal was a different story though and he quite enjoyed his quail and collard greens.

 

 

I did try a bite and wasn't crazy about his meal either. We did get dessert -  maple brown sugar bread pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream for me and two scoops of their homemade toasted marshmallow ice cream for him. The ice cream was good, but the bread pudding? Not so much. It was cold...who eats bread pudding cold? So maybe I'm being picky, but if you pay a certain amount for dinner, you have expectations and those expectations just were not met at The Revelry. I would gladly try it again simply because the place itself is so cool and the drinks were awesome, and who knows, maybe the chef just had an off day? Who knows!

 

 

Fantasy football update: Week 9 didn't work out so well for me (as many had predicted) and Mark did win. That's okay though - The Mr. McGibblets will come out of week 10 with a victory (hopefully). And yes, that is another team name change, inspired by The League, as always.

 





Boston didn't end up happening this weekend, unfortunately. We missed a lot of great costumes at that Halloween party, not to mention all of the work that we put into ours and then didn't even end up wearing. Next year! I'm ashamed to say that we did dress up the cat and dog on Halloween night. The trick-or-treaters definitely enjoyed it, even if the animals didn't. And really, isn't this for the kids? Small sacrifice to pay for the happiness of children!

Princess Sophia was a cowboy (Mark insisted) and Kadee was a dinosaur. Halloween success!





Massachusetts....

 

Ylvis is at it again!

I was in dismay when I realized that Ylvis' first hit "The Fox" didn't reach as many people as I thought it had, or should, so I figured I would personally bring you their latest. Granted, it's not as genius as "what does the fox say?!", but you'll still find yourself singing parts of it. They also have this gem, just in case you really have nothing to do right now.

Speaking of music, I discovered an artist over the summer that I absolutely love and I've been sharing this information with random people over the past few months. One of the things that I love about them is that they are a husband and wife, writing their own lyrics and music, and just generally having fun. It doesn't hurt that she has an awesome voice. It's fun, feel-good type music and I just can't seem to get enough of it. Their name? Brandon and Leah. Fun fact - I dislike the whole Kardashian thing, a lot. As far as I can tell, they are a family of attention whores. That being said, I would be lying if I said that I haven't watched the occasional episode. How is this relevant to Brandon and Leah? Well, for those of you not well versed in the Kardashian family tree, Bruce Jenner has a few sons who aren't typically talked about on the show - Brandon and Brody Jenner are two of those sons. Is your mind blown? Mine was. Anyway, that is the Brandon of Brandon and Leah. The reason I even found out about these guys is because of one of those random times when I decided nothing better was on and watched the show. Brandon and Leah were on the show that time and I got curious, so I Googled them in typical stalker fashion and then discovered that they write music. Bam! The rest is history.

 

 

If you liked this song, then look them up. They have 5 or 6 more songs on iTunes and they're all pretty fantastic.

 

 

 

Now, I'm really trying to not be ridiculous with this whole fantasy football thing, but I just can't help it! Quick update: I had fallen to 4th place due to a loss in week 7, but as of last night, I'm back to 2nd! However, week 9 means that my top 3 are all on bye week...it also means that I'm matched up with Mark, who will take great pleasure in my loss, so I have to win. We're going to Boston this weekend to celebrate Halloween with Daniel and Cristin, meaning that on Sunday, Mark and I will be stuck in a car together for 6 hours...while I'm checking the games and our scores. This should be interesting!

 

Also, I'm proud to say that I have not eaten at Chipotle once in the past 8 days. I am not proud to say that it has been a lot harder than it probably should be - it feels like it has been forever. You know what I'll be doing November 1st...

Another addiction...

I just went through my bank account and it turns out that I have another addiction...to Chipotle. Just since October 1st, I have eaten there a total of 8 times. EIGHT! I blame the crack-infused guacamole. Looking back, I realize that there have been signs:
a) On several different occasions, several different Chipotle employees have commented on how I'm always there - one guy has said to me "You're here again?! You're always here!" and another girl has said "I think I might just always be here when you come in" to which another guy responded "No, she's just always here". There have been several incidences of this type of remark...not even kidding.
b) I have running jokes with one of the managers. As in, he makes a reference to it every time I'm in, which is like, every other day at this point.
c) I think this is the real indicator - they have stopped notifying me that guacamole is $1.95 extra. They know that I know. They warn EVERYONE about this surcharge...except me.

So, the first step is realizing that I have a problem. Check. The next step is maybe not eating as much Chipotle? So for the rest of the month of October, I will not eat Chipotle once. I will be tempted and I may stop in for just guacamole (Mark recently dubbed it "crackamole"), but I will not have any Chipotle before November 1st. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking that it won't be a problem seeing as November 1st is only 10 days away...but considering the rate at which I frequent the place, it might be harder than it sounds.

 

 

On a completely different note, I would just like to briefly mention my brush with death this morning. As I was driving to work, I was attacked by a big, spindly, gross, white spider. It came out of nowhere, scampered down my door and hid under the "put the window down" button. So naturally, I almost crash and decide to pull over in order to find and evacuate this spider...so I pull over, cautiously look under the button thingie, and NOTHING! I have no idea where it went and I know that it didn't crawl out because I was watching the button the entire time, so then I thought maybe there's a hole underneath it and it went into the door. So I get back in the car and get to work, still watching the door. Once I get to work, I ask a colleague to go check things out and he confirms that the spider is not there...but also observes that there is no hole underneath that stupid button...so I have no idea where this freaking thing is. Maybe I imagined it? I feel like that would be the preferable option at this point because the only other option is that it's silently awaiting my return, so I guess there's that.

 

I wish I had something better for today, but Chipotle and spiders pretty much sum everything up. Today is definitely Monday!