High School High

High School graduation, 2003

This was our senior prank, the entire school smelled like Sharpie markers that day!

My friend Tracy and I in downtown Chicago. We were so excited to take a picture with those sailors, too bad none of them were cute!

Prom 2003. I didn't go, but my girl friends and I dressed up and went out to dinner at Stir Crazy. I absloutely loved that dress I'm wearing (still do!)

Getting ready for a friend's birthday party, I look so skinny here! If you look close enough you can see faint purple streaks in my hair

This had to have been our junior year, a girls night at TGIFriday's

My 17th birthday at Uno's Pizzaria

On Facebook I posted some old pictures from high school. What a fun trip down memory lane!

(This computer isn't very good for formatting these posts, so I'm not even going to try to get them in order)

Let it Snow

Today I braved the elements in the name of hair dye! Like I mentioned in my previous post, my hair was in desperate need of some professional attention. The salon I go to now is real close to my house, so I was able to just take the side streets. My new car does well in the snow, but I still slipped around a little bit.
But, now I have freshly bleached hair and bangs again. Well, the sweepy bangs like I used to have. My forehead is just too big not to cover!
When I got home I watched Music & Lyrics and Surviving Christmas, both were on TBS. I hadn't watched either before. M&L was ok, but Surviving Christmas was just awful. I don't reccomend that one at all.
No real plans for tomorrow, and Monday I'm still hoping to bring Pearl to the vet.

Jingle Bell Rock

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Yesterday, for Christmas Eve, Antonio and I went to his aunt's house in Inverness to celebrate with his family. There was a trivia game for all the cousins to win gift cards, which was amusing. I think Ant ended up with JC Penny and Barnes & Noble. 2 of his aunts got me a gift card to Nordstrom and Starbucks, which was very nice. Ant's parents got me a gift set from Bath & Body Works.

For Christmas I got Ant a tungsten ring, cashmere sweater, tie, 3 button down shirts, socks (he was in desperate need of new ones!), a mini fondue set and a molten chocolate cake mix. He got me a bracelet, necklace/earring set, tickets to Tony N' Tina's Wedding and our hotel for New Years Eve. Oh, and he got me the Glee DVD, which doesn't come out until Tuesday.

Today my brother and his girlfriend arrived from Colorado and we had Christmas dinner at our house. My dad's girlfriend and her family came over along with Ant and my grandma. We had dinner, watched some football (woo...) and opened presents. I got Julie&Julia on DVD, a scrapbook, scrapbooking organizer, Bath & Body Works gift card, some cash and... a GPS!

My grandparents in South Carolina sent me a scarf and a gift card to Old Navy. Also, my mom sent me some books and gift cards to Ulta and AMC. She sends me stuff every year, which is nice enough, but she literally lives 10 minutes from my house, and spends $30 to send stuff to my house. I don't get why she continues to send me stuff, yet refuses to answer letters I send her or pick up the phone herself to talk to me. Last year she friended me on Facebook, but 4 months later she deleted me from her friends list... who freaking does that?

Anyways, it was a pretty good Christmas all in all! I'm hoping tomorrow or Sunday I can get in to the hair salon to get my hair fixed. I need to start going more regularly, I've got over an inch of out growth right now, ewww! I also need to make an appointment at the vet to get Pearl's yearly shots and check up. I'll try to do that for Monday.

Happy holidays everyone!

Busy Bee

Well, seems like I haven't updated this in a long time! I'll try and do better, I promise! I have been super busy with my new job. This past weekend I had to go to Champaign/Urbana again to work a special event at one of the stores down there. There were only 2 of us at the store, there were 8 events to do that day! I ended up doing 5 of them myself. Whew, what a long and busy day that was! Definitely a good experience to keep under my belt though. I think I did pretty well under that kind of pressure.
I got to stay the night at a hotel in Urbana the night before the event. I was put up in the Comfort Suites, which doesn't sound like anything fancy. But, to my surprise it was a super nice hotel! It looked like it was just renovated and all the furniture was new and clean. And I must say, that bed was one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in!
Hmmm, lets see what else I can update my faithful readers on. The new car is great. I love driving it! I won't be taking classes at Stephens next semester unfortunately. It has been a big struggle for me balancing work and school this semester, and all my money is going the new car. I want to go back at some point, for the most part I've enjoyed the classes and have learned a lot in the program.
For New Years Antonio and I got a hotel in downtown Chicago. We're got a suite at the Hilton across from the Handcock. We really wanted to stay at the Palmer House Hilton but they didn't have any suites available when we tried to make the reservation, so we picked the other Hilton. It's gotten mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but should be fun regardless.
Alright, well back to the grind!

Vue from the Top

Here's a picture of the new car!

I'm really liking it so far! It's a very smooth ride and the engine is really quite. I even have a free trial of Sirius XM radio! That's been fun to have. I also have power windows and mirrors again, something I didn't have on my Grand Am. Having 4 doors again is nice too, the doors on my other car were just so long it was a pain having to get in and out of tight spots.

A New Vue on Life

After spending the better part of 7 hours at the car dealership today, I am now the proud owner of a 2009 Saturn Vue! I test drove 3 cars: 2 Vues and an Equinox. I liked the Equinox the best, but it was a bit more expensive than the Vue and I wouldn't have been able to get it until Monday at the earliest. They had a black one and a blue one to choose from that were exactly the same price. Since I just had a black car, I went with the blue one. It's a really pretty dark sparkly blue. Here's a stock picture of what the car looks like:

I don't think mine has the roof racks. I will try posting an actual picture of my "beast" in the next few days. At the dealer I was calling it the "mini beast" because I thought it was smaller than my dad's Blazer. But, when I got home and compared the two, its obvious that my SUV is bigger! Although it drives like a car instead of a truck, which is nice.

Bye Bye Miss Pontiac Grand Am

My car died. Not like it died while I was driving and I needed a jump start, like literally DIED.
I went to turn my car on Monday morning and it wouldn't start. Fortunately my dad was home working so he let me drive his car. Best case scenario my battery was bad. On Tuesday Antonio and I took the battery to Autozone to have it tested. It came back bad. The battery was still under warranty, so I only had to pay $30 for a new one. It didn't do anything.
So, the next thing we thought was wrong was the starter. My dad replaced it for me, and much to our dismay it didn't start.
Yesterday I had it towed to the mechanic shop that my family has used for years. They called me up today and told me that my engine is ruined. Not because of anything I did (he actually said that my car obviously had been taken care of very well), the particular engine I have has been known to do exactly what mine did. I don't know exactly what was wrong with it, but something with one of the belts and the compression and spark plugs... maybe?!? Basically, I would have to purchase a $6000 engine for my car that is only worth $3000. The mechanic pretty much told me to go out and buy a new car!
And you know, as horrible as it is, everything happens for a reason. I've been wanting a new car for a while, and this just kicked me in to gear! We're gonna go shopping tomorrow, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have a new car in 24 hours!

Here is what I'm thinking of getting:

Chevrolet Equinox

P.S. Wish me lots of luck!

The Cat's Meow

Today I did my first actual demo! One of my stores is short staffed so I went in today and did a strawberry yogurt demo. I think it went really well, everyone who tried it liked it and it seemed that a lot of people bought the product as well, which is always the goal!
Getting to work this morning was a different story. I got in my car and it started making a really loud noise and then stopped. I tried turning it on again and it still wouldn't start. Luckily I was able to use my dad's car to get to work. When I got home we tried jumping my car, to no success. I'm going to take the battery in to AutoZone tomorrow to see if that is the problem. Everyone please pray that it is rather than something more costly! I really can't afford to spend any money on my car right now. Not to mention I'll have to pay for a tow truck to take it to the body shop if the battery thing doesn't work out.
Have you guys heard of the website www.catsinbags.com? A girlfriend of mine told me about it a while ago, the site is pretty self explanatory, lots of cute cats in bags (and boxes)! I submitted a picture of Pearl of course and I've been anxiously awaiting her debut. Today for the first time since I started looking at the site they updated. Pearl's not on it... sigh. But, there is a very similar picture to the one I submitted, #235. Definitely not as cute as this little gem:

Hopefully this picture will make it on to the website soon, I'll update when it does!

Wishin' & Hopin'

Here are some of the crazier wishes I've had (both old and new):
1. I always wanted a baby to be dropped off on my doorstep. As a child I would occasionally open the front door just to see if there was a bundle of joy waiting for its new big sister.
2. I always wanted to live in the 1800s or early 1900s. This was such an obsession of mine that when my friends and I played house we would normally pretend that our "house" was a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail. Naturally I was also obsessed with American Girl Dolls. (I also would have accepted being Amish.)
3. When I was 3 or 4 years old I wished for a building for Christmas. We lived in Saudi Arabia at the time and my dad worked in a big skyscraper; I liked it so much that I felt I needed one of my own! Christmas morning rolled around and much to my dismay there was no 10 story building in the middle of our living room, but rather a small toy house for me to play in that my parents tried to pass off as "my building." Needless to say, I was dissapointed.
4. In 1st grade I loved reading the Babysitter's Little Sister books. In one of the books the main character, Karen, got glasses. I loved those books and wanted to be like Karen, so I wished that my eye sight was so bad that I too would need glasses. So, I told my mom that I couldn't see things and she took me to the eye doctor. Apparently I didn't fool him, so no glasses were ordered. In 3rd grade I really did start having trouble seeing the chalkboard in class, and told my mom. Of course, she didn't believe me despite my constant nagging (I seemed to have forgotten the Boy Who Cried Wolf tale...). My teacher noticed the trouble I was having so she wrote a note to my parents about it. That finally got my mom to make me an appointment, and on the first day of 4th grade I strutted in to class with the most amazing pair of pink and green rims.
5. On a more recent note, I have always wished I was on a reality show. Not like Survivor or anything, more along the likes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 or Little People Big World. This is probably one of my more feasible wishes, as I've actually known a few people who have been a part of reality TV, but I don't really have anything special about me to facilitate a whole show dedicated to Lindsey. I was thinking that while I was unemployed it would be cool to document the life of an unemployed college graduate, but that was the best I could come up with. Maybe if I get pregnant with 2 sets of conjoined twins I could star in a reality show...

Fall Back

Happy Halloween!
Yesterday was my first official day in my stores! It was interesting, but it was nice to finally get started. I think I'm going to have to change a lot to make the systems work for me, and hopefully I'll have time to get all that done this week or next at the latest. One thing I have not enjoyed is staying on my feet for so long! That will definitely take some getting used to again.
Oh, and I mentioned a few posts back, I started using the new Matte BareMinerals makeup. I love it! I've used the original formulation since high school, and this is definitely an improvement on the product, I'm hooked!
Alright, after a short posting I'm off to bed to celebrate "falling back" with an extra hour of sleep!

Shut Up and Drive

Well, I've been quite busy this week, which I suppose will be the norm from now on.
Yesterday I had to go to Champaign, IL for work. I met another one of the Area Event Coordinator's down there and we interviewed a potential candidate (fortunately for everyone involved, he followed my simple rules from a previous post :P), did inventory at both stores and did some recruiting around the UofI campus. Antonio's brother goes to school there, so he tagged along and hung out with him while I was working. After I got done we all met up with Rob's girlfriend and went to dinner at this excellent local pizzeria. Antonio also made a detour to a liquor store to pick up some Boulevard Wheat beer, since they don't sell it in Chicago.
Today all of the Chicago area managers met up with our district manager to do some more recruiting. It was very helpful to do recruiting with some seasoned professionals, I'm now much more confident about how to go about doing it without acting like I'm trying to steal other people's employees, which is important.
We also had a meeting with all of the Store Directors in Illinois introducing our new program (and us!) to them. Everyone seemed really interested in the new program, so hopefully the transition will go smoothly.
After work I met up with a couple of my girlfriends for some Kona Grill. I haven't been there since Robbins Bros. closed, so we were definitely due for a visit! They now serve margaritas, which were decent for the $4 happy hour price. And the pot stickers were fabulous, per usual.
Once I got home I got some stuff prepared for work tomorrow and watched all 4 of my Thursday night shows: Parks and Rec, Project Runway, Grey's Anatomy and of course The Office. I really liked this week's The Office, the scenes with Pam and Andy were great! And you much watch the newest webisode, Subtle Sexuality, so funny! As far as this week's Grey's, it paled in comparison to last week's superb episode.

Good Golly Miss Molly!

Yesterday I was formally introduced to the company as an Area Event Coordinator! Because of all the changes going on we weren't announced to the stores just yet. But now it's all official, which is great!
After the meeting yesterday I met up with Antonio who got us MOLLY'S CUPCAKES! Molly's is a bakery in the city that I've heard a lot about. I've been wanting to try their cupcakes for a while and after finishing his shift at the radio station Antonio went and picked up a dozen. Wow, they're incredible!

Top from L: Peanut Butter Nutella, Chocolate with buttercream frosting, red velvet
Bottom from L: The Ron Bennington, Vanilla with chocolate frosting, red velvet

Top from L: Mixed Berry, Chocolate with vanilla frosting, Cookies-n-Cream
Bottom from L: Red Velvet, Chocolate with vanilla frosting, Chocolate Moose

Today I worked at event at the Brookfield Zoo! We gave out gummy vitamins and coupons. It was really cold, but there was a good turn out. Most of the kids there were dressed in costumes, so cute! My favorite was a family who was dressed as the United States Postal Service. There was a mailman, mailbox, giant letter, and giant package. They won 1st prize in the group category of the costume contest. And we get to go back tomorrow and do it all over again.
I took my Project Management final on Thursday. Much to my surprise, I didn't do half bad! I was thinking I would get a C on the test, but I got a B-! So, for now my grade stands at an 85%. I still have one thing to turn in, but I should retain the B, thank goodness! I was worried that I was going to get a C in the class, meaning I would have to work even harder on all my upcoming classes to retain a 3.0 cumulative GPA (you can't graduate if your GPA is under a 3.0).
*UPDATE*
With the final portion of my final project turned in, I managed to get 100% and pulled my grade up to an 87%, B+! Pretty impressive considering I had a C in the class a few weeks ago. PHEW!

Advice:

I offer you all a few interviewing tips:

1. Don't call the interviewer less than an hour before the scheduled start time and ask to change the location of the interview
2. Do some research on the company... visit their website perhaps?
3. Remember where you found out about the position and what enticed you to apply for the job in the first place
4. Be available to work on days that coincide with the company's needs

5. Memorize your work history so that you don't need to reach in to your purse and refer to a folded up copy of your resume

Oh the Places You'll Go

Just an update of sorts, I guess. Tonight I was watching TV in my room and Pearl , who was being her cute self of course, found a new sleeping position.

She always likes to prop her head up on a pillow, and being that she couldn't find a pillow, she improvised and used the bar at the bottom of my headboard as her pillow. How funny! I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it.
Earlier today I went to Ulta, and got 3 OPI polishes for the price of 2 (Parlez-vous OPI?, You Don't Know Jacques! and Designer Series Extravagance), what a deal! I also got the new Matte bareMinerals foundation. I've used regular bareMinerals for 7 years so I'm interested to see how the new formulation stacks up. After I've used it for a while, I'll let you know.
Tomorrow I'm conducting my first interview with my new company. I'm excited! We need to hire quite a few candidates, so I'm really hoping that the interview goes well tomorrow.
And, I've discovered my new favorite drink... Coke Zero! As far as no-calorie pop goes, I've always preferred Pepsi products to Coca-Cola. For the past few months I've been drinking a lot of Pepsi Max. Antonio has been drinking Coke Zero for a long time, and I remember trying it a while ago and not liking it much. He had one the other day and I decided to give it another try. OMG, it's freaking awesome! I actually think I like it better than regular Coke, which is saying something, since I absolutely love regular Coke. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.
Ohhh, and speaking of Coca-Cola, I got an A on my Coca-Cola paper for my Strategic Management class! I was kind of shocked with my grade, as I was expecting a B or B+, but definitely did better than I thought. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing for Project Management. That class has not gone as well as I'd hope, but I still need to do the final project and take the final test... wish me luck.

I Simply Remember My Favorite Things

Welcome to the second edition of My Favorite Things!

My necklaces! I have a few more, but they all share chains, so I wasn't able to showcase all of them.

My shoes! These are 2 of my favorite pairs, besides my 25 pairs of Crocs :).

Sugar Sugar

Sweetest Day was yesterday, and as I posted previously, Antonio already got me my gift, seasons 1-5 of The Office. But yesterday he gave me a card and a pretty bouquet of flowers, and took me out to dinner at Applebee's (Fiesta Lime Chicken, anyone?). Afterward we went back to my house and watched one of the greatest kids movies of all time, Camp Nowhere! You can't tell me you didn't swoon over Andrew Keegan when that first came out!

For Sweetest Day I made Antonio a Mizzou fleece blanket and scarf. For our 6 month anniversary back in college I had made him a White Sox fleece blanket, which he has completely worn out, so it was time for a new one. Needless to say, he was really surprised to get it, and totally loves it :).

Working Girl

I'm almost done with my paper, I've got until midnight tonight to send it in, so I should be fine as far as that is concerned thank goodness!
Yesterday I traveled down to Normal, IL for work. All of the new Event Coordinators got trained on how to do new hire orientation. I had been through the paperwork just the other week when I was hired but I hadn't watched any of the videos or anything else so it was nice to see how everything will work. There were 4 new employees who went through yesterday so that's why we traveled all the way down there.
Today we all met at the Stratford Square Mall and went over some of the administrative stuff, which was helpful. I had heard about a lot of the forms and reports but it was nice to actually find out what they all meant! Afterward I attempted to do some recruiting. It was my first time ever doing anything like that, and it went alright. I didn't do it alone, so hopefully we'll get some responses from the people we spoke with.
Back to the paper for one more round before I turn it in!

Under Pressure

Like they say, when it rains, it pours!! This week has been crazy, and it's only Wednesday. First session classes end next week, and logically, I thought that my big paper for my Strategic Management class was due then (I'm not the only one who thought that), but luckily I checked the syllabus on Monday only to discover the paper is due by this Friday at midnight. At that point I had only about 5 pages written, so yesterday I buckled down and got up to 10 pages. I still have at least 8 or 9 more pages to write, but I think I'll be able to pull it off in time.
On Monday I met Antonio downtown after work and we went to this great tapas place called the 1492 Tapas Bar. It's located in an old Victorian mansion in the River North neighborhood. Very cute and quaint, and delicious! We got there before 6pm so we were able to enjoy their happy hour special of $3 tapas plates! We ended up ordering 6 items! We tried: marinated artichokes (my favorite dish!), garlic potato salad, garlic mushrooms, meatballs, crispy potato cakes and chicken flautitas. I enjoyed dinner with a glass of sauvignon blanc, and Antonio of course had a Jack and Coke. If you're ever in the city and looking for a nice but inexpensive restaurant, I highly recommend the 1492 Tapas Bar! I love discovering great little restaurants like that :).

After dinner we hopped in a cab to the House of Blues. Hanson was playing! They're on tour with Hello Good Bye and 2 other bands. We got to the venue in time to catch Hello Good Bye play the last few songs of their set. This was my 5th Hanson concert, the last time I saw them was at the House of Blues back in 2004. Antonio likes their music, so he was happy to go with me. As usual, they put on a great show! They're coming out with a new album early next year so they played a few songs from that CD, but other than that, they played all songs that I knew. And for their encore, they played a most amazing cover of "Don't Stop Believin'." OMG.OMG.OMG. I, along with everyone else in the place, was freaking out! Needless to say, it was a great night.

Antonio with all our Tapas!

During the acoustic part of the set


Trying to get a picture with the band

Yesterday I worked an event at the store in Rolling Meadows. Normally events are only scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but this was a special occasion! We hosted Chicago Blackhawks player Duncan Keith for a cooking demonstration and autograph signing. Honestly, I had never heard of him before, but apparently he is one of their star players. I was surprised at how large of a turn out we got. I was expecting like 50 people, but there had to be at least 250 people in attendance. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the event and Duncan happily signed autographs for every person in line.
Tomorrow myself along with the 3 other new Event Coordinator's are training on how to train our staff. And then on Friday we are going over office/administrative stuff.
Alright, enough procrastinating for now, time to work on my paper so I can get it turned in on time!

Sugar Pie Honey Bunch

The other day I bought a red velvet cupcake at a local bakery that I love. I wasn't too impressed with it, so I've been craving red velvet ever since. As I'm sure you are aware, red velvet is the most heavenly cake flavor. So, I went to the store and bought a cake mix.
When I got home and started making the batter I couldn't find the standard 8 inch cake pans I had intended to use. So, I compromised and made my own red velvet cupcakes!
I don't bake all that often, but when I do I always substitute the oil for applesauce. I don't think there is any noticeable taste difference and it saves a bunch of calories and makes the confections less greasy, always a plus in my book. I think they turned out great, alleviating me of my craving... for now.

Taking Care of Business

Yesterday I returned from my business trip in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had a nice time learning more about the company and what we do. We even got to visit headquarters, which were very nice. The last day of training we got to visit 2 stores to see how their programs work. The program will be starting here in Chicago in November.
I was surprised at how big Grand Rapids was. They actually had a handful of mini skyscrapers! Our second night we went to a really great Italian restaurant called Bistro Bella Vita that had an amazing flourless chocolate cake. Later that evening we went to a local brewery, Founders Brewery. I thought the place was going to be similar to Columbia's Flat Branch Brewery, but the place had peanuts on the floor, need I say more? It wasn't the classiest place, but the honey wheat beer was delicious! After the brewery we went to some club where things got a little crazy. I think 4 shots were purchased for me?!? We didn't get back to the hotel until 3am, and I was awake by 6am, albeit hungover. By 9am I was fine, so no harm, no foul.
I should be getting a netbook for work soon as well. I'm super excited about that. I'll also be getting a printer/fax/copier to go along with it. So, today I went to Target (I know, I did go to Meijer first but they didn't have the best furniture selection!) and bought a Shabby Chic desk, chair and lamp to create a little office space for myself. Once I get it all set up I'll post a picture.
Ok, hopefully this post made sense, I'm exhausted and not thinking clearly right now, but I wanted to give a little update on my trip.

Observe and Report

I just want to point out how backwards the Cook County Circuit Court is. Last Sunday I got pulled over (for tailgating after I speed up trying to get through a yellow light... totally unwarranted if you ask me, but that's another story for another day), and was issued a ticket. The ticket states that you must pay your ticket within 7 days, and you can chose to pay it through the mail or online. Naturally I choose to pay it online, as it is much more convenient than having to walk to the end of my driveway and stick an envelope in the mailbox.
Tonight I went to the website and the site indicates that tickets will be posted on the site 7 to 21 days after being issued. I'm not kidding, it really does say that. Why even have a website if it completely defeats the purpose of the "within 7 days" clause on the ticket?
Uggh, off to the mailbox.

Get a Job

This morning I went and met with the area manager and filled out all my new-hire paperwork. So, I am now officially employed! And on Tuesday I will be starting work with my first business trip!
Unfortunately I didn't find out much more information today. I was hoping to find out my assigned stores and how everything is going to work, but no such luck. We will all find out everything once we get to Michigan.
On a different note, how amazing is The Office this season? I am SOOO excited for next week's wedding episode! This season I'm also really liking Parks & Recreation, Grey's Anatomy and GLEE. And then in January American Idol and LOST will start up. I've got a lot of TV on my plate this year!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Yesterday after I discovered I had more money in my account that I originally thought so I went to Ulta and bought a few key items.

OPI Pinking-Of You nail polish

L'Oreal Infallible Lip Gloss in Raisin

Seche Base Coat

Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat (one of the best beauty finds ever!)

Dermalogica Total Eye Care

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (yes, I bought it!!)

Last week I also ordered some new shampoo and conditioner from Sephora. I got the package this morning and upon opening the box I discovered that they had screwed up and sent me some woman's order from North Dakota. Normally I would have been super upset, buuuut, the woman happened to order the exact same makeup in the exact same color that I use! How crazy is that?!? I called the company this morning and they are sending me my correct order, so no harm no foul :).

Change is Gonna Come

Well... I GOT A JOB! I will be an Event Coordinator with a company that is outsourced by Meijer (a store similar to Target or Wal-Mart). I'll be coordinating the sample programs and managing all of the "samplers." Originally the company was going to hire 11 Coordinators, 1 for each store in the area (this is a new program being rolled out), but they've decided to hire only 4! So, from what it sounds like I'll be in charge of 2 or 3 stores, which I am very excited about. When I got the call yesterday it sounded like they were still trying to work out all the details, but I'm going to fill out my new-hire paperwork tomorrow so hopefully I'll find out more about where I'll be working. I'm really hoping that I get the Elgin, Bloomingdale and Rolling Meadows stores, so keep your fingers crossed!
And next week I'm going on my first business trip! It's just for a couple days to train in a Meijer store that has the program already. I think I'll get to hire my own staff as well! It's just a part time gig, like 32 hours a week, but I'm thinking they might increase our hours because we'll be managing multiple locations.
Also, yesterday I went and got my hair done, finally. My hair is finally all blonde again and I got a cute and funky new haircut. I was going to this place up in Roselle for about a year, called Rockstar Salon, which was great, but expensive. As you all know, my funds are tight right now and a new salon called Colorific just opened by my house and after checking out their website I saw that they were significantly cheaper than Rockstar, so I decided to give them a shot. I really liked how my hair turned out! The girl I had really listened to what I wanted, which I can't say for every cosmetologist I've worked with. Here's a picture of my new do!

Emmy Fashions

Because I am so qualified to give opinions on Red Carpet fashions, here is a rundown of my best and worst dressed at last week's Emmy Awards.

Best Dressed

Mariska Hargitay looked great in this metallic dress, I just wish her necklace would have been more colorful, I think a big chunky emerald or pink sapphire necklace would have been great

Sandra Oh has never been one of my favorites on the Red Carpet, but I think she really nailed it this time, she definitely pulled off this very glamorous look

Kourtney Kardashian definitely did maternity wear right, she looked radiant and appropriate in this flowing gown


Kara Dio Guardi knows how to pull off a white dress, I think the sillouette is new and fresh, a real show stopper

Vanessa Williams is another star who's Red Carpet looks I don't usually understand, but this understated gown really works for her, the color and fit are a nice contrast to the chandelier earrings

Drew Barrymore nails it once again, this was my favorite look of the evening, very soft and girlie and I enjoyed her bold lipstick color for a bit of contrast

Worst Dressed

Victoria Rowell needs to hire a stylist because whoever told her wearing the President's face on a handkerchief as a dress deserves to go to jail


Christina Applegate always seems to get it wrong on the Red Carpet, this year was no exception as there is just too much going on with this dress to even be considered remotely flattering

Mila Kunis' dress feels either too long or too short, the top is also ill fitting, creating an overall hot mess

Mary-Louise Parker should know better than to wear an ugly tri-shade cocktail dress to an awards show, she should have saved this look for a movie premier if she had to wear it

Leighton Meester is all kinds of wrong for wearing a dress that resembles maxi pads, I'm embarrassed for her

Sarah Silverman is a funny girl, and as my worst dressed pick, I have to believe she chose this unflattering frock as a joke, there is no way she actually thought this was going to flatter her figure

Wish List

I could think of 100 things I want right now but can't afford, but here are the top 5 of the moment.

Dell Studio 17 laptop computer in pink

Swan Creek Lemon Icebox Cookies soy candle; I had one and used the entire thing, it smells divine!

New tires! This is an absolute must before winter

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant; see previous posting

Stephens College lapel pin