Staying classy

Thanks for all the input, everyone! I really appreciate it. And of course, the winner is definitely the black dress. I was hoping you all would choose that one! I'll try to sneak a prom pic of me and J to show you the final ensemble. I hope we can get one in front of an awesome balloon arch or something. 

I'm getting kind of excited for prom. But honestly, it's going to be really weird to be at a nice event and not be able to drink. For the last 5+ years, I've been able to have a glass of wine, beer, etc (though not always legally) to loosen up and kick up my heels and dance. I kind of associate dressing up with drinking. Not heavily, of course, but still. I like to feel classy with high heels and a glass of wine. I guess they just go together in my head—which became apparent to me when I asked J if there would be an open bar. Whoops. 

Ok, this is going to be a short post. I had my fiction writing class tonight and then had to race home through the crazy thunderstorms to watch the finale of America's Next Top Model. Tomorrow night is going to be nuts. I'm going to see Legally Blonde the Musical (SO EXCITED!) and then I have to come home and watch the season finales of The Office and Grey's Anatomy. Normally I wouldn't stay up so late to watch TV, but I  just know someone will totally spoil the endings for me on Friday if I don't watch them. And that would be heartbreaking.

I better make sure I have a fresh box of Kleenex handy for Grey's. If it's anything like last week, I'll probably be crying myself to sleep. 

Help me pick my "prom dress"!

As many of you already know, this coming weekend I'm chaperoning prom. Well technically, I'm not the chaperon, I'm just the date. My boyfriend's the one in charge—I just get to watch the high school kids dance (in a non-creepy way) and wonder if I was ever that awkward/skanky/funny/trendy/dorky/young. 

Now I know the kids really won't care what the heck I'm wearing, but J keeps telling me how all the kids judge him and his clothes on a daily basis. And I know when I was in high school, my friends and I used to rate our hot chemistry teacher's clothes (he was so dreamy). So I don't want to look like some could-pass-for-middle-age, frumpily-dressed chaperon—I want to look cute. 

I didn't know what the heck to wear. J asked fellow teachers and was told I could wear anything from black pants and a sweater to wedding attire. My choice? A dress...because I love them.

Now normally I would try on a bunch of dresses and ask my roommate for an opinion, but my current roommate—a teeny tiny zinia plant—doesn't have a lot to say on the matter. So being the approval-oriented girl that I am, I thought I'd ask you all for fashion advice. Do you mind? I hope not!

Here are my two dress options:

Dress #1

You can't tell, but it has a satin ribbon around the waist and it covered in large black polka dots. This is what I originally planned on, but I didn't know if the strapless was a bit too "scandalous". Also, when I tried this on in the store, a girl asked me if I was going to the turnabout dance at the local high school....how embarrassing. But I loved the dress anyway and had to have it.

Dress #2

This one is a little summery and a bit more casual. It's a lightweight cotton (definitely a sun dress) and could probably be dressed up with the right accessories. I'm worried it might be a bit too short with heels, but I love the print. 

So what do you think? Any suggestions would be a huge help!

Once I tally up the votes, I'll move on to accessories. Now those will be a challenge. Shoes? Jewery? Cardigan? (I'm always cold). YIKES. I freeze up when it comes to the extra things. It's hard enough to pick out the dress.

Thanks for your help!

Real life movie moments

Last Monday, my friend WG2 and I were recapping our weekends on Gchat, as we do every Monday morning. She asked what my boyfriend and I did in Milwaukee and I gave her a rundown, including our Saturday morning trip to the airport.

You see, ever since we started dating, J and I have loved to go to the Milwaukee airport to watch planes. It's our time to relax together. And I love it because he knows a ton about planes, so he can always tell me what type each one is, when they were made, etc. Usually we get breakfast and sit there watching the runway and trying to guess where the planes are headed. It's our little Saturday morning routine.

So I was describing this to WG2 and she said it sounded like something straight out of a romantic comedy. I suppose I could see it, it's something quirky that we bond over and enjoy together. 

It got me thinking about other times in my life when I've had a "movie moment." A time, a place, an event—anything—which struck me as a scene straight out of a movie. So dramatic or emotional or sweet that it seemed as if someone thoughtfully wrote it down on paper, and I was simply acting it out.

I'm lucky enough to have a few, mostly jumping straight out of the chick flick genre. The one that sticks out in my mind most took place almost 3 years ago, during my annual family vacation at a resort in Rhinelander, WI. 

The same people went back to the same resort year after year, so we all became close. And as luck would have it, I was the only girl my age amid a sea of cute guys. There was one in particular I had a huge crush on and as we had met up a few times during that summer prior to vacation, I knew that was the year we'd have our fling. I couldn't have been more excited.

So vacation rolled around and we spent most of the week together. We square danced, we kissed, we snuck into the kitchen, we had a bonfire—we had a blast. One night, as always, there was a talent show at our resort (sort of like Dirty Dancing, only on a smaller scale). He was all excited to perform in it and had been practicing a song on his guitar for the big show. He told me he was going to play "The Scientist" and as a huge Coldplay fan, I was excited to hear it.

On the night of the talent show, I took my seat in the audience, next to my cousins and my sister. After a few rather lame acts, my guy was called up to perform. He sat down in his chair, looked right at me and smiled, and then began to play.

My jaw dropped in shock as I heard the first few notes. He wasn't playing "The Scientist." He was playing "Green Eyes", one of my very favorite songs. I had mentioned it to him ages before, during a whole conversation about there not being enough songs for girls with green eyes (like me). 

As he started to sing, chills ran up my spine and all time seemed to freeze. There were tons of other people in the room, but it was as if he was only singing to me. My sister squeezed my arm and my cousins poked me, knowing that the performance was for me. I was literally swooning in my seat. My heart was fluttering, my cheeks were blazing red and I hung on ever word he sang. At the time, it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

So that was one of my movie moments. How about you guys? Ever had a heart-stopping, earth-shattering, OMG moment that seemed like it was straight out of a movie? 

Animated characters get me all hot and bothered

It's time I spiced this blog up a bit. 

Recently, a friend and I discussed which Disney character we found most attractive, AKA who we would say yes to if they propositioned us (ooooh so spicy). 

My answer? I'm all about Prince Eric. I'd go under the sea with him any day of the week. 

Oh God, I just blushed.

Who would you pick? Do you want to make a man out of the guy from Mulan? Have a thing for passed out princesses like Sleeping Beauty? Ready to explore a whole new world with Aladdin? You know you've thought of this before, so 'fess up.

I'm a musical head case

I almost always have a song stuck in my head. I can't help it—it's like my mind can't deal with silence or something. Or else it just likes to keep me entertained all the time, which I definitely appreciate. 

But the strangest part is that I never get current songs in my head...they're always songs from my childhood. Really, really random songs I haven't actually heard in years. 

A few weeks ago, I couldn't get "Rhythym is a Dancer" out of my head. Two days later, "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base kept popping up. Every time I went to concentrate on my work, I started humming it. I haven't heard that song since about 1993, but apparently it made quite an an impression on me. Another favorite seems to be "Another Night" by Real McCoy. What a great song. It makes me want to tease my bangs, throw on shredded jeans and grungy flannel and dance...or not.

But oddly enough, the songs that really stick out in my head are cartoon themes from when I was little. I'll randomly start singing the Tale Spin them (Friends for life through thick and thing with another tale to spin!)  and then suddenly launch in to Duck Tales (Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg...) and Rescue Rangers (Sometimes, some crimes go slippin' through the cracks...). Those three shows must have been in an afternoon lineup together because they are permanently linked together in my mind. I also think Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles were there somewhere, too, but I didn't watch those. They were boys' shows.

And often times, my mind reverts back to the days when I was obsessed with pink and purple (guess not much has changed) and refused to wear anything but "pretty dresses". Those are the days I'm all about My Little Pony (Something is starting right now, something is starting, oh wow!) Boy, did I love those cute, colorful little ponies...

But there is one theme that gets stuck in my head more than any other. The one I still know every word to, even after all these years:

Yep, Gummi Bears. I don't know why it has such staying power since it wasn't really one of my favorite shows, but it's always there. One moment of silence and BAM! Gummi Bears are bouncing here and there and everywhere right through my head. I really do wonder what is in Gummi Berry juice. Lots of sugar? Flubber? Alcohol? Red Bull? I guess we'll never know. And I love how the song mentions, "They take pride in knowing they'll fight for what's right in whatever they do." What a nice little not-so-secret message to teach kids. I know I sure took it to heart.

Shoot. Now it's stuck in my head again. Oh well. I can't say I mind it...I could think of worse songs, like "Rhythm is a Dancer".

And dear readers, please always remember, when you need help just call Ch-Ch-Ch-Chip and Dale—Rescue Rangers!

I hate poopin' pigeons

A bird pooped on me today. 

Ew.

But it wasn't just any bird...it was a big, fat bacteria-infested city pigeon. 

Double ew.

In an attempt to describe my hatred for surprise spills/messes made on or around me, I wanted to reference back to a post I wrote earlier about a pregnant woman throwing up on me on a plane a few years ago. I could have sworn such a post existed, but I can't find it anywhere. It's a good/disgusting/overly-dramatic story, so I hope I can find it. Otherwise, I'll just have to retell it one of these days.

So after spending a wonderful derby-filled, mini-golftastic weekend visiting my boyfriend in Milwaukee and a lovely day with him and my parents at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, I hopped on the Metra and headed to the city. 

Once I got downtown, I opted to take the L (or is it El? I should know this...) back to my apartment. Unfortunately, that involved walking down a street that doubles as a pigeon hotspot. They are always hanging out in the gutters, curbs, sidewalks, overhangs, steps, etc taking up space and pooping up a storm. I practically tip-toed through it because my biggest fear is having those damn birds get spooked and fly up in my face. (shudder)

So I made it safely to the covered stairs that took me to the train. But as I approached the stairs, I noticed an extremely fat pigeon sitting backward on the ledge over the entrance of the stairs. His dirty, feathery little bum stuck out, just waiting for someone to walk by. 

I knew he would poop on me, but I heard the train coming and decided to risk it. I held my breath (not sure why) and ran to the stairs.

Immediately, I felt something hot and wet plop onto my right cheek. Sick.

I swore loudly and as I kept walking up the stairs, I wiped it off my face. It smelled AWFUL. When I got on the train, I finally assessed the damage. It had landed on my face, on my jacket, on my springy scarf and all over my new purse. Ew, ew, ew.

I thought I wiped it all off, but when I got home, I realized that I had a huge brown splotch streaked across my cheek. GROSS. I gagged a little bit.

So I heard getting pooped on is a sign of good luck. Any truth to that? I've never had it happen before, but it's a nice thought to have. It kind of takes away the grossness of the actual poop. And I can definitely say that when I came home, I was able to run downstairs and throw 3 loads of laundry in at one time, which NEVER happens. It was pretty amazing because laundry usually causes me hours of stress. Was it good luck? Sure, I'll call it that.

I also just found a long lost memory card from when I first got my digital camera. It has hilarious pictures from my first week in Ireland that I forgot I had. Aww, such good memories.

Ok, off to unpack and put away laundry. Hope you all had wonderful bird poop-free weekends!

The Toasty Posty

That's the ingenious title I came up with while WG2 and I chatted it up over a couple beers at the Cubs game last night. Our conversation had nothing to do with blogging, but I suddenly blurted out my urge to write a post. About what? I don't know. But I sure liked the title.

So I got home after the game, ran up to my apartment and flipped open my computer to write. About what? I still didn't know.

But alas, my internet was not working. Again. And no matter how many times I plugged and unplugged the ethernet cord, it just wasn't mean to be. (sigh)

So I gave up and packed for my trip to Milwaukee this weekend instead. I'm headed up after work to see my boyfriend. And this trip should be very interesting because as of 11am today, his school closed due to swine flu. Apparently 3 of the students might have it, so they closed the school for a week. A week! Can you believe it? All over the flu? Ridiculous.

Apparently he's not allowed to be in public now in case he's been exposed. Please. I'm still going up and we're still going to carry on our weekend like we normally would. I think this swine flu is out of control. It's just the flu, right? Yes, a mutated form of it, but still. All this hype is making people nutty.

And if I do end up getting the swine flu, then so be it. At least me and the people in my office will get a few days off, right?

Have a great weekend everyone!