Dogs Rule

For the past two mornings, I have been been brought to tears over the latest Pedigree advertisment. It's only 30 seconds, but has gotten me both times.



I am an avid dog lover...I like them all: big, small, plump, thin, loud, quiet, playful, lazy...whatever. I'm particularly fond of beagles, but I'd take just about any pup I could. As soon as I move into a space large enough, going to the animal shelter to give some special guy a good home is one of the first things on my list.

In the meantime, I will help out in any way I can. The dogs rule website is not only cute, it's informative and offers great ways to help by either volunteering or donating to shelters, helping dogs in need.

**And if you've looked at the video, and are wondering about Echo from the commercial, my co-worker and I did some research and found out that she was adopted in November from an LA animal shelter. I hope she's in a loving home.

Missing SoFla

I'm sure my friends and family are tired of hearing it, so I will "let it out" in my blog. I am missing Florida in the worst way. I miss everything about it. The fact that it's brrr, brrr, brrr, cold right now doesn't help. Don't get me wrong, I love the Northeast. This is where I was born and raised...and it will always be home, but I feel like I was born and raised in Florida in another life. I'm a Jersey girl...but with Florida blood - thin.

That's all.

Breathing is wonderful.

Just a quick update:

My z-pack and my decongestant are working. I still sound like a nasally, congested man, but hey, at least I feel better. ..:smile:.. In other news, tomorrow is back to the grind. ..:frown:..

Sinus infections stink.

They sure do. I've done nothing wrong but try and bundle, stay warm, dress appropriately depending upon the weather, wash my hands a gazillion times a day, drink lots of water...just about everything I can to keep from getting "sick". I guess everyone has their day. My day is today (and yesterday, probably tomorrow and the next day as well). That's right -- Thursday evening I noticed that annoying clogged, can't breathe sensation in my right nostril. That annoying pain in my right cheekbone. I called it. A sinus infection. The pain became unbearable throughout the night and yesterday morning I was begging Fran at Dr. G-H's office to see me because I knew I could not last a long holiday weekend without something to help me 1) breathe (some people take it for granted and think it's so overrated until you can't, then it's the most wonderful thing ever) and 2) function without wanting to stick my head under the tire of a moving truck to take me out of my misery of having a sinus headache.

So here I am, at home, in bed, with a sinus infection, fever and whatnot, drinking tons of fluids with a 5-day Zpack, a decongestant, nasal saline spray and a large box of tissues on hand instead of enjoying the long weekend with my friends as planned.

Oh well. Obviously, after running around for what feels like 8 weeks already, I think this is God's way of forcing my behind into some much needed R&R.

Feel free to leave some love.

It's Wednesday morning...

...and once again I have no motivation to start my day off with any "real" work. I'm burnt people. Burnt to a crisp and in desperate need of a day, even better a week, of R&R. So to delay the inevitable, I'll share with you my latest mission/adventure: FIND A NEW APARTMENT.

Don't get me wrong. I love where I live, and who I live with, but I just can't take the space (or lack thereof) any longer. This issue is the whole reason WHY my blog is named what it is named. Why Closets Fall Apart? is not just come quirky little question, it's my life people. To better understand my situation, you need to understand the set-up of my current living conditions. In April of 07, I moved into my current home (a two bedroom condo, owned by my roommate - I basically rent my bedroom and bathroom and we share common areas). I should have known that I would have had problems with the space (or lack thereof) because over my 26 years and 9 and half months of living, your girl has accumulated shit. I mean, massive amounts of shit. I try not to be a pack rat because I hate clutter and sometimes I can even lose sleep over it, but between my necessities (clothes, shoes, etc.) and my keepsakes (photos, yearbooks, books, and ok, ok, I admit, some old college papers that I just can't seem to get rid of), I'm basically maxed out. I don't remember the exact dimensions of my room, but damn, it's tight in there. I had to get rid of one of my dressers just to have enough room to walk. Not to mention the fact that I had to store a gazillion boxes and huge bins filled with more stuff at my mom's bf's house (free of charge, thank goodness) just to get in. I accidentally had to dump a bunch of stuff I had (some with sentimental value) due to the flooding basement of my last apartment but I won't even get started on that because it makes my blood boil!

Back to my spacial issues - My closet on the other hand, as organized as I tried to make it, is 5' x 2' of pure small hell. My closet has fallen apart on me TWICE since I've been there...and when I mean fall apart, I mean, the whole top shelf has come unattached from the wall ripping the wall into a nice giant hole that in turn had to be spackled and repainted. I was frantic. Aside from the actual wall and the hollowness behind it being totally exposed, my clothes and storage bins on top of the shelves were scattered and thrown all through the closet and I have yet to get it back to a functional order.

In addition to the small amount of space in my room, my bathroom is even tighter! Literally, I can not turn around without bumping into something (whether it be my towel rack, stand up shower door, toilet itself or sink). My scale has to stand up straight against the wall because lying it flat is just not an option. No vanity. My robe which hangs on the back of the door, is so fluffy, it prevents the door from opening in its entirety, so I have to move the robe and hang it on a dining room chair when I'm doing my hair, or applying make-up, just so that I don't hyperventilate from claustrophobia when I'm in there.

With my malfunctioning closet and lack of space (both closet and room), I am basically sitting on top of myself in my room, which is where I spend most of my time being that "it's not my condo" and I don't even feel 100% comfy lounging in the common areas like I have in my past living situations.

All that said, I still love the place and my roomie who owns the place and hate the fact that I'm even considering leaving, but I just can't take it anymore. I like to live clutter-free with big open, airy spaces. Is that too much to ask? My goal is to find a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with a storage area (or large closets) and a washer and dryer in the unit; which in my neck of the woods is like finding a friggin' needle in a haystack; but I am determined. Determined to find a space all my own...large closets and all.

In the meantime, I need to re-organize and try to merge/purge even more. Any suggestions? I need bed lifts to fit more underneath my bed, although, I don't know just yet how I feel about having to take a running jump start just to get on my bed (or if I even have the space to take a running jump start), but I'll do what I have to do. Any other suggestions? (I already have sweater and shoe holders for the closet and stackable bins upon bins).

Anyway, I guess I should get back to work, being that it's what they pay me for.

Happy Hump Day and thanks for listening!

The Kone: my official, unofficial review

I got The Dirt Devil Kone (in pink) for Christmas from my Mom and per a request from Katie over at Le Petit Chic, figured I would provide my own personal little review on the my new sleek looking hand vac.

I was thrilled to get The Kone, as it's nice, sleek, cone-like design not only looks great, but doesn't take up much space. It just kind of sits there quietly, minding its business, waiting for you, it's owner to pick it up and take it for a pick-up. I took it out of the box and followed the instructions, charging it for a full 24 hours before use. 24 hours and 1 second later, I picked up my new handsome guy (which does have a little weight to it), and ran to the bathroom, which was a black sea of hair (I purposely left it that way from the last 24 hours from the many times I brushed my hair, which KILLED me, might I add) and quickly pressed the button and "sssssszzzzzzzzzz" off it went. It was a LOT noisier than I expected it to be. I guess since it was small, I expected it to use an "inside voice" when in fact, it sounds pretty darn close to a regular vacuum. Although, since it's meant as a handheld for smaller surface areas and it's suction works wonders, I didn't have it on for too long. In addition, I tried it on carpet too, not just my bathroom floor, and it worked there too!

Overall, I am in love. Welcome home Kone! You'll fit quiet nicely into my psychotic cleaning and organized ways. :)

Pros: The little fucker works like a charm!, Lasts long after a nice charge, works on hardwood floors and carpets alike, comes in a multitude of colors, reasonably priced (@$39.99, but with a LNT or BBB coupon, it will be like $32 bucks)!
Cons: A little heavier then I anticipated, noisier than expected
Rating: 9.0

Lazy Day...

Sitting here watching the Biggest Loser, minding my business. I've been trying to catch up on blogs, as January has been one of the craziest months in a long while. I've been slacking and I know it. Furthermore, I don't like it. I don't know why things are so busy and when they will die down, but I would always prefer to be busy rather than bored. It only makes me appreciate my lazy days that much more. In the next week or so, I truly hope to be able to get back on track with more than just my blog. The gym, my social life, my sanity.

In other news, I'm damn excited! I'm going to HAWAII! Yes, that's right HAWAII. My best friend Anna's dad lives there and we're going to visit and chillax and drink and gossip and lay out and be the wonderful single girls that we are. The trip will be taken in July and I am more than thrilled. Anna herself is a crack-up. We met in college and our love of the same type of guys, TV shows -- drama and reality -- and music made us fall in love; with each other. (Meaning: we have a really special bond). She and I are so alike it's almost scary, so thank goodness we have embraced our "twin-nisms" (as we like to call it). I mean, we complete each other's sentences, think exactly the same thoughts and despite me living on the east coast and her living in the Midwest, we know without even speaking when the other is sad or hurt. Recently, Anna called me up because she was thinking of a song she really wanted to add to her I-pod and couldn't remember who sang it. (This is quite a frequent occurrence for us and sometimes we can call each other 5 times a day going back and forth about who sings what song). Anyway, on this particular call, all she said is, "Mec, I'm trying to figure out who sang this song so I can add it to my I-pod. I don't know the tune or even remember the song or artist but she's along the lines of this Yolanda Adams and had a song back in 2001, 2002 or 2003 I used to love. Do you know who I'm talking about? If I heard her name, I would know it instantly..."

Now, I am not a mind reader or a magician and quickly reminded her of that. I mean, how the HECK was I supposed to know? She didn't know the tune, any one word of the song, nothing. But after talking to her for 15 minutes about the past 48 hours of our lives, out of nowhere, I blurted out "Heather Headley" having a brief thought of us sitting out on a balcony at our perfect apartment, palm tree blazing in the wind, with a glass of wine in hand blurting out her song like it was nobody's business. And wouldn't you know it, Anna starts cracking up and then screamed, "That's it GIRL! You got it!" We've always said we're like best friend soul mates. So as she finishes a 5 year doctorate program (June 30 -- yep, she's amazing) and I finish my hectic planning season at work, we will embark upon a wonderful relaxing vacay together (and even better -- everything but airfare is taken care of)!!

Anna and I in my most recent trip to the Chi...May '07

More news - Sin's (one of my other best biddies) wedding planning is well under way. Wooo hooo! (She got engaged on Christmas Day in case you missed it in previous posts). She asked me to be her MOH and being the psycho, anal, type A personality that I know I can be, I'm already thinking and plotting when to do/how to do/theme for a shower and bachelorette party. Why is this psycho, you ask? Because my homegirl has not even picked a date yet. Tentative date? Absolutely. I know I am looking at March/April of next year, which means I have 14 or 15 months until I hold her dress/train while she pees (aka the big day) and even less for the shower/bach party. Geez. Being MOH is kind of a big deal. ;-)

Well, my random post is just about done...back to veggin' and getting ready for Law & Order: SVU. (One of my all time favorite shows).

G'night folks.

Never Going Back

Meet Mecca from two years ago. Mecca from two years ago was ill. She was diagnosed with Chronic urticaria also known as chronic hives and it made her very sick. Aside from being itchy, hivey and swollen almost every day (including throat and tongue swellings and even a hospitalization stint), she being overweight due to the medicine she was forced to take to make her symptoms bearable.

Meet Mecca now (you can see it in her slimmer face). After stopping the medicine and starting an aggressive plan to get her weight in order, Mecca now is doing MUCH better and has learned to live an overall healthier, happier lifestyle. About twenty-seven pounds down, she is a work-out fanatic, more active in general, less stressed and enjoys working hard to become stronger and leaner.

With eight more pounds to go until Mecca reaches her goal weight, this post serves to continue to inspire her to keep at it. Hard work eventually pays off. NEVER GOING BACK.

absolutely appalled!

I was watching the Today Show this morning and was disgusted by story I heard. I've found an article explaining the story. Let me know your thoughts. I mean, honestly, wtf is wrong with people today? I hope this nice couple gets their precious lil pup back.

North Dallas Puppy Stolen Before Christmas
DALLAS — On Christmas Eve our little pug Scooter disappeared from our back yard (North Dallas - Midway and Royal). He was a year and a half old and we had raised him since he was a little puppy. We were devastated and felt that we had lost our little baby.
With the help of our neighbors we searched everywhere in the neighborhood, but he was nowhere to be found. We spent Christmas Eve crying and woke up early Christmas morning searching again, hoping beyond hope that we would find him. We posted signs around the neighborhood, but nobody knew anything about what happened to Scooter.
On New Years' Day, we received a strange letter from Tulsa. It was from the person who had taken Scooter. It was a sad story about a mother who seemed very down, having lost her home, job, and custody of her daughter due to her own personal decisions. She had taken our beautiful dog to give to her daughter on Christmas.
While she knew she had done the wrong thing by giving her daughter our dog, she did not want to tell her daughter and her ex-husband the truth about the dog that they now thought was theirs. The letter was not clear where the daughter lives, but they spent Christmas in Dallas with family.
We cannot understand how this mother could destroy another family just to make up for her past and pray that someone out there knows about a girl that got a pug for Christmas and helps us get our little baby back. We don't want anything bad to come to this family and are more than happy to buy the little girl a new dog and anything else that would reward her for taking such good care of our dog the past week. We just want Scooter to come home.
If you know anything about this situation, please email me at bringscooterhome@gmail.com. Thanks.

Where you been?

Happy New Year! I know it’s been awhile and while I apologize for “dropping off the face of the earth”, I have sincerely enjoyed every minute of it. I was tired (still getting over that), cranky, irritable and barely crawling to get by. Am I better now? Absolutely. So where have I been? Well…

The holidays were fantastic. I shuffled a bit between family members, but it was well worth it. As I mentioned before, my friend Amy had her baby (Isabella), and Sinthya got engaged. (Update: She’s still working on settling a date for the shindig, but she has officially asked me to be her Maid of Honor, which I gladly accepted and yes, I am honored). My Mom celebrated another birthday and I took her to the spa so she could enjoy a 75 minute hot stone body massage. I got a manicure for myself and that was so nice. (In my crazy few weeks before the holidays, I hadn’t had a chance to get my hair or nails done, which is punishment for me). For New Years, I went to visit some of my favorite biddies in Maryland and had a blast. I absolutely the love Maryland/DC area and try to get there as often as possible. If I could find a job down there in that region (Columbia, MD right on throughout Fairfax, VA), I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ve been saying this for years…but one of these days I just might relocate. It’s close enough to home, but the cost of living is significantly cheaper than my current home state and I have a ton of great gals down there who I would love to be closer too and see more often. Of course, I would miss my family and friends here, but I do believe they know I am an adventurous soul. I enjoy traveling and new adventures and wouldn’t have a problem relocating. Anyway, back to the holidays…

Work is back to being crazy. Despite the fact that I froze my f-cking ass off because our heat was broken (in the midst of the coldest temperatures to date this winter), I’m enjoying it. I’m in the throws of now executing all of my 2008 plans, which we drove ourselves crazy to strategize in 2007. I’ve been saying last year all I kept asking God was too keep me busy so I could take my mind off of some of the things in my life that were in disarray, and He definitely gave me what I was asking for. Now I’m busier than can be imagined.

January is filled with New Years, 2 family birthdays, 4 friends’ birthdays, work and preparation for the 1st half of the year National Sales meeting. But despite all that’s going on, I am thrilled it’s 2008. My motto is “2008 is great”. I have nothing but wonderful things to look forward to. 2007 was a trying year for me…my hardest year so far, but what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. I have to give you give some shout-outs to the people, places and things that pulled me through. Kind of like my own academy awards speech in a sense.

1. First and foremost, G-O-D. I can do all things through Him.
2. Mom, Dad, Jules and Stan: for some many obvious reasons. Thanks for continuous love and support.
3. My biddies: You know who you are and why I love you. Along with my family, you were able to pick me up off the ground and love me at a time when I needed you most…and not because as my friends it’s your job, but because you wouldn’t have it any other way.
4. Work: Although you drive me insane, you help me pay the bills, use my creativity, demand nothing but the best and challenge me; and I love you for that.
5. My local gym: For kicking my tail. Working out is my outlet. My time. Love it.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying the new year thus far. I can’t wait to catch up on your holiday-tales, as I catch up on some of my favorite reads.