So I'm reading pretty much the best book ever. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. For people who believe in true love, people who don't believe in true love, and people who just like stories about time travel. My new favorite book of all time. Ever. Buy it and read it today.

Last night hubb and I braved the thick cloud of smoke that is the Bottom Lounge for some good old nostalgia in the form of The Slackers. It was nice, brought back a lot of memories, and gave me the opportunity to dance with a skinhead, but my lungs hurt real bad by the end of the set. I'll never understand the lure of the cancer stick. Ever. Come on, Chicago, ban smoking so I can actually breath and see and not have all of my clothes (including my underwear) smell like death after a night on the town! Do it!

I'm a couple of days behind, and I just realized that Saturday was my one year anniversary of this blog. Happy anniversary, blog! One whole year, wow. It seems like such a long time, one year. So much has changed in the past twelve months, it's mind bending. My job, my attitude, my wardrobe, my living quarters, my emotional stability, my pant size...it's unreal. At the same time one year seems like such a short stint...ONLY one year, 365 short days, one one-hundredth of a century, one twenty-fifth of my life.

This blog's start date and my birthday are one week apart, and I think this is a little more than a coincidence. Every year as I grow older I tend to reflect on time, maturity, growth and change...as I'm sure most people do. I always yearn for something new around my birthday, sort of a new year's resolution or life changing decision to make me a better person. I don't know what place this blog has in all of that, (self-therapy, I guess) but I've made it one year, so I might as well keep it going.

I feel so young, so naive and immature sometimes, and at the same time I feel like my life is running a little faster than I am able to catch up to it. As I reflected on last year, I always thought I'd be having babies by 25. Well, 25 is four days away and although my heart melts for every baby I lay eyes on and I cry during adorable commercials with toddlers, I'm so not ready to be responsible for another human being. I'm still a child myself in some ways, still really young, and I have quite a bit to learn. But I feel like 25 is a big turning point in life. My car insurance goes down, I don't have to pay the pesky $20/day extra under-age fee for a rental car, I'm officially out of my early twenties. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I sure hope this self-reflection on age doesn't get worse as I get older or else I'll be in the psych ward by 50.

Young or old, bragging or bitching, crazy or not, I'm happy. At nearly 25 I absolutely love my life, and a year ago I don't think I could have said that. In all honesty I am happy and content with the direction my life is leading, the path on which I am slowly making progress. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Today is the Best. Monday. Ever. I mean that with all seriousness. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. #1: Having a fabulous morning at home. (Thanks, Hub.) #2: Good hair day, (I got a good haircut on Saturday! Yippee!). And finally...(drum roll, please) #3: I GOT SPAMALOT TICKETS!!!!! Ohmigod I'm so excited, can you tell?! I will look at these tickets every day until January 22nd when I will surrender them for a seat at the Best. Play. Ever. Ohmigod I can't wait! I don't know how I will be able to contain myself for the next 3 months.

Hubb and I went to see I (heart) Huckabees this weekend, and I loved it. In fact, I loved it so much and became totally engrossed in the philosophical battle that I totally zoned out while eating my kettle korn, left the theater, used the rest room, went into a store, shopped, checked out, and started walking down the sidewalk before I finally noticed a huge kernel of caramel covered popcorn stuck to my shirt right in between my boobs. I wonder what that means, or if it means anything at all...

Yay, the weekend is 6 hours away! Hurrah for the weekend! Celebrate the weekend! I'm much more optimistic today than I have been every other day this week, I'm feeling much better, more excited, more awake, and less ick. And that's good. I want to go on a date tonight (hint hint Hubb) to celebrate my release from grump jail.

This morning I hit the snooze twice, sang outloud, "One more time" (French Kicks style) and hit it a third time. It made me giggle slightly as I passed out for another 9 minutes. Now I've had the song stuck in my head all morning.

Yesterday I had a caffeine withdrawal headache, so I overcompensated today with 2 (TWO!) cups of coffee. Sleepiness be damned, I will NOT fall asleep on the bus today.

Hubb got home super late last night, so I half heartedly made lasagna by myself with a mismatched assortment of leftover crap in the fridge and a .99 cent jar of pasta sauce from the ethnic grocer. It turned into lasagna soup, but I shook my fist in triumph because it tasted damned good, despite being eaten with a spoon.

I always make a point to leave my last name, place of employment, and other painfully identifiable information out of this blog, but it has occurred to me that most of the people reading this thing know who I am anyway, so I'm being pretty silly. I'm still going to pretend to be vague and mysterious, but at least we'll all secretly know that it's pointless.

Monty Python's Spamalot has been extended in Chicago, adding a week of dates, tickets for which go on sale Monday morning! Yay!! I already have permission from my boss to leave our Monday morning meeting early to stand in line at the Ticketmaster counter.

I've been incredibly unenthused by social obligations lately. I'm feeling icky from no exercise and poor eating habits, and am too exhausted to entertain. I just want to stay home curled up in bed in my pyjamas and sleep sleep sleep. As my bedtime creeps closer and closer to 9am, I am in no mood to leave the apartment after dinner, and it's making me depressed. I think it's just a combination of the limited daylight setting in and my job getting nutzoid that is making my body rebel and pass out on the way home from work on the bus every night, and as much as I'd like to, I'm having trouble breaking out of this rut. Although still my favorite season by far, this Fall is proving an annoying tendency of knocking me on my ass when I'm not paying close enough attention.

Speaking of ass, winter chub is also setting in, and if I'm to woo and wow family and friends during our Thanksgiving Adventure, I need to get my body in check. Time to break out the lightly used sneaks and hit the pavement again. But don't fret, sweet tooth, we're still on for pumpkin creme brulee.

Last weekend I went to four different stores looking for canned pumpkin for my experimental lowfat pumpkin cheesecake. I finally found it, bought 5 cans, and now have 4 cans to do something with. Next experiment: Pumpkin creme brulee.

My god I love this season. Chunky sweaters and puffy coats hide all of the goodies and comfort food that are taking a permanent residence in my midsection. By the way: that pumpkin cheesecake? Yum. I think I've finally lost the baking curse.

I'm on a new diet. It's called the Super Saver Diet. I am eliminating all items bad for my wallet. No more shoes. No more cute sweaters. No more unnecessary pairs of underwear (I must own at least 150 pair already). No more vintage cast iron bird decorations for the house. No more rhinestone flare on e-bay. No more vintage pottery on e-bay. No more anything on e-bay. The Thanksgiving Adventure is becoming quite pricey with a now extended two night stay planned in New York City (gee golly hotels are expensive in the big apple!), the rental car prices that continue to rise before I make a reservation, and the plans to wine and dine everyone we meet. And shop. If there's any cash left. And because I'd rather buy crap I don't need in New York City and Boston than here at home, I save.

So until Turkey Day I am on a shopping hiatus. For five and a half weeks I may have to leave my credit cards at home. We'll see how long this lasts. I may need to start drinking...I mean start drinking more.

I'm very sad it's Monday. So sad, in fact, that I'm making myself physically sick while sitting here at work. I'm nauseous, my head hurts, my eyes hurt, and I feel hot. All because I'd rather be in bed. I don't know why I make my body do this, but I keep sitting here thinking how I can get home, and being "sick" seems like the only possible solution right now. So I think about it and I think about it until I finally think myself ill. And it makes me want to go home that much more.

I don't know what it is about my weekly schedule, but Friday and Saturday night I sleep like a baby, but come Sunday I wake up 50 times a night through the week. I was practically awake from about 4:30 this morning until my alarm went off, and it is really working on my attention span at work today. So I'm taking a break since it's too freaking cold to go outside and shop.

Hubb and I had our first fire this weekend, complete with cuddling on the hearth with our kitties, reading good books, drinking coffee and making smores. It was a fabulous way to start the Winter, because apparently fall is on its way out the door pretty rapidly. There's so much comfort to me in the heat, the sound, the smell of a fire in my very own fireplace. It reminded me of my youth, and made me reflect on how lucky I am to be so happy with my life. Odd that such a primal and traditionally necessary action as making a fire created such comfort and contentment for me. Don't hate me, Chicago, but I kind of hope we get snowed in soon. I have everything I'll ever need right at home.

I hate when the internet is broken and I can't check my e-mail, can't use paypal and can't read other people's blogs. Darn that busted internet. Darn it straight to hell.

1. I'm wearing a tucked in shirt today, which feels really weird and is keeping my from concentrating on my tasks at hand. I can't stop tugging and pulling and adjusting, and my coworkers probably think I have a rash or something.

2. I'm such a planner (/nerd) that I have mapped out the next year of my vacation time complete with half days off to utilize full driving/flying times to get to my planned destinations. It looks like Hawaii will have to be pushed back from February to April now, but that's ok because The Anniversary is in April, which we were sort of going to Hawaii to celebrate anyway. And to see my bestest friend in the whole entire world. I love that girl. And I love that she lives in Hawaii with a spare bedroom for me to sleep in.

3. And I love underwear. I can't help it. I've recently discovered a super comfy cami/boyshort set on sale at a local store (I like how I try to make Filene's Basement sound like a posh boutique), and have purchased the set in two colors, pale blue and white. They are the Best. Underwear. Ever. Today's mission: black. I swear I'm so addicted.

4. I don't know why I'm numbering these paragraphs, but I kind of like the way it looks so I'm going to keep going with it. I've recently been kind of blah about this silly thing lately, but I think it's just an equation of being busy, stressed, depressed and malnourished = blah. I'm slowly getting over it.

5. Hubb got a raise and I helped him buy new shoes online. I like when I can share my love for spending money and buying things online on an impulse with the love of my life. It's fun for the whole family!

6. I sort of had a quick pang of guilt when I cleaned out my "My Photos" document folder at work, and when trashing a blurry pic of the hub was asked "Are you sure you want to send 'Craig' to the recycle bin?" God I'm cheesy.

7. I just washed and ironed my pants, and I already got peanut butter on them. Maybe I should stop eating at my desk. But if my husband and my bed weren't so damned warm, I might actually get up when my alarm went off and have time to eat before rushing to the overpacked bus.

8. There is an incredibly large woman I pass while walking to the bus stop in the mornings. She sits on the bench, waits for the bus, gets on, and gets off at THE NEXT STOP. Ok, I know it can be difficult to walk when you're quite large, but come on. It's like 1/4 of a block. I feel all self righteous and sad and awful at the same time.

9. It's going to snow on Saturday and I have a wood burning fireplace in my apartment. Hello smores and cuddling! I can't wait. I love this time of year. Boots and scarves and turtleneck sweaters and knee high socks and freezing offices and high gas bills and the flu...wait...

10. I'm really just dragging this post on so I can get to number 10. Mission accomplished. Good day.

I am getting a haircut. This is momentous because the last time I had a real haircut was over a year ago and I cried and cried and cried for days because the stupid ass junior stylist chit chatted about going out to bars the whole time she was cutting my hair and I left the salon with a terrible bowl cut despite the detailed description, photos, drawings, comments to her cute hair, and requests to "keep the length." But I'm now biting the bullet, taking the plunge (and every other metaphor), and I've made an appointment with a senior stylist...in three weeks. Election day to be exact. It will be a day full of giant steps, making my political voice heard at my polling place, taking a huge sigh of relief after my November 01 deadline at work, and trimming my locks. My fingers will be crossed (for more reasons than one) until that day.

Just in case, I might take a note of all of the wig shops in my neighborhood. Luckily there are plenty.

I get teased at work all the time because nearly all of my new clothes shopping takes place roughly between 11am and 2pm Monday through Friday. Quite a few lunch hours have been spent perusing local stores, and I have been quite lucky on the shopping front lately. I have often returned from "lunch" with a shopping bag or two, to the inquisitive comments and pryings of my co-workers, and an occasional "Christ, Emily, what did you buy TODAY?" (First of all, it's none of your business that shopping is my therapy. Second of all, I work on freaking Michigan Avenue and you expect me not to shop?! Third of all, shut up.) Today I came back with MY LUNCH and was drilled with "Did you buy some shoes?" "Did you buy a sweater?" "Did you buy some fishnet stockings?" (don't ask) "Did you buy a blouse?" The first thought I had was "Shut up". The second thought I had was "Blouse? Who says blouse?" So here I eat my soup and glance down at my shirt wondering if it qualifies as a member of the blouse family, like it doesn't and I should go out and buy one so I can be a member of the upper crust. But when I think of a "blouse" I think of a dark paisley silk poofy sleeved high necked pearl buttoned number with high waisted pleated pants a-la Murphy Brown. Ahh...more things to distract me from the pressing files stacking up on my desk.

So anyway, two weeks and a half to The Deadline, and oh, I'd say about 5% of the work is finished. 5% of the work that needs to be completed before I can begin my part. This is super. But at least my 250 hours of overtime at the end of the month will pay my credit card bill.

Yesterday was a milestone, celebrating my three month anniversary at work (yay, I'm keeping my job!) and my one and a half year wedding anniversary (yay, I'm staying married!). The first year and half of our married life together has just flown by, filled with so much exciting growth and change, and I can't wait to see what the next year and a half will bring. Married life is amazing, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have found my true love so early in life. I won't verbally swoon too much here, because in 6 months we'll be celebrating our two year anniversary and I'm sure I'll be gushing all sorts of pink heart and candy and flowery mush. After 18 months, I can say one thing for certain: I totally *heart* my husband.

I'm thinking of eliminating the book lists to the right here. I think I just have them up there to make myself look smart. Not that reading Stephen King thrillers makes one smart...but I love to do me some book-readin'. I'm sure the list is quite boring and uninteresting to my three loyal readers, so off it will come in the near future. After I figure out something more exciting to add. Photos, I'm thinking. Photos.

To be honest, 6 of the 8 books I am currently reading right now put me to sleep within minutes. Although reading first thing in the morning on the warm cozy bus with less than half a cup of coffee may also be the sleep-inducing culprit, but I prefer to blame it on Dostoevsky (who coincidentally has the same birthday as me) and world history.

I'm also thinking of eliminating the quickly dying Footwear Friday postings. It was a fun idea, but I've run out of creativity. And shoes. Well, not really, I'm just not excited about it anymore. I keep forgetting to take photos of my feet, and I'm bored with it. So off it goes.

I'm tired and low-blood-sugared and grumpy at work today. I'm also feeling very very lazy. I don't even have the energy to shop. Or eat candy. Or search ebay. Well, maybe a little energy for shopping... I think it's the rain that is making me so blah. I'm REALLY looking forward to going home, putting on my pyjamas and curling up in front of the TV with a glass of wine, the cats and the hubb. That's my idea of a fabulous rainy Friday night.

(deleted)

But I really do love my job. Honest. I wouldn't leave right now for anything...(except maybe a job where I can shop all day and get pedicures and go to cooking school and have people clean my house and still get paid at least 50k) We'll just see if I still love it on November 02.

Of note:

- My little brother has a blog and for some reason it freaks me out. I can't let go to the fact that he's not a saintly naive innocent little 8 year old anymore. He's 19. He's away at college. He kisses girls. I need to get over this.

- I took yesterday off work to go to doctor's appointments, run errands and rest. I think I worked harder yesterday doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, going to the dentist, doctor, vet, and shopping than I ever do at my painfully busy job.

- *Thank you Discover Cashback Bonus!* I had a $100 shopping spree compliments of my Discover card at Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday. I am still in shock at how quickly I can spend a hundred bucks. My new favorite toys: oven thermometer (I found that my oven is about 10 degrees off), meat probe thermometer and timer (I can't wait to roast my next chicken!), a silicone muffin pan (I can bake, Ma!), and a microplane zester (fresh nutmeg. Yumm.)

- Speaking of my new amazing silicone muffin pan, I have occasional mentioned that I am baking challenged, but have recently discovered (as of yesterday) that it is the hardware as much as the ingredients that make delicious baked goods. I now have a large silicone bakeware (red, please) wishlist, in case anyone is planning on buying me something for my birthday later this month...

- Speaking of my birthday, it has been confirmed that I will be working my entire birthday/Halloween weekend because the people I work with can't get their acts together. This will leave me with less than a week to do a month's worth of work, with a deadline of November 01. Perfect timing.

- In the past few weeks I've become an ebay junkie. I need something less costly to distract me from working. On the upside, I've recently acquired new flare, both for myself and my house. Yay for vintage brooches and chatchkas.

The Top 10 Reasons I'm a HUGE DORK

1. I didn't post a "Footwear Friday" post last week, and it preoccupied me all weekend.
2. I do a "horizontal dance" in bed with my husband, and it's totally literal. I honestly dance to the music on the radio while lying down in bed next to my husband, fully clothed.
3. I get super excited about herbs and spices.
4. I make different excel spreadsheets for holiday vacation options. (Holiday version A, B or C?)
5. I like to make up Weird Al Yankovic-style lyrics to techno-funk songs.
6. While dining out, I enjoy categorizing food by what I can make at home, what I don't want to make at home, what I am afraid to make at home, and what I don't know how to make at home.
7. I prefer online shopping to phsyical shopping.
8. I have running prioritized lists of things I would like to own, categorized by both price and desire.
9. I am in the process of reading at least 5 books at a time.
10. I made a list of how dorky I am.