I cannot even make this up if I tried...

So this morning around 8:15 (yeah, I was running a little late) I was just standing in line in the Mark Center Starbucks.  If you aren't from around here, the area is a suburban Washington hotspot for Government agencies.  The Starbucks in question has been known to host some riff raff from time to time, but at this hour of the day it is mainly frequented by business people who NEED their morning mocha.

As I said, I was in line behind two ladies, both dressed for work.  There were a few snippy words exchanged when one tried to order (Lady #1) and I guess the other one (Lady #2) snapped that she was there first and proceeded to order.  Lady #2 had finished ordering but she hadn’t moved out of the way yet and I guess Lady #1 felt slighted so she stepped up right into the personal space of Lady #2 and started ordering loudly.  Well, Lady #2 was not happy about that and pushed right by the Lady #1 between her and the cash register, and (if you are lost just keep reading for the good part) suddenly their purses were on the ground and they were yelling and punching each other!!!!!!!!!!! I'm talking a knock down, drag out, hair pulling, fight.

The manager (who remained remarkably calm) came over and yelled at them with the phone in his hand, saying the police were being called and told them both to leave immediately.

Not something I'd expect on a Thursday morning in the burbs.... Woodbridge, maybe ;)

Laura's Island Oasis

As you may know, my sister is in her senior year at PSU.  A couple weeks ago, it was time for spring break, but she had nowhere to go :( 

I decided to save the day by inviting her to our place for a couple of days.  I then went completely overboard in my planning, however I'm still really proud of myself for being such an awesome big sis.

As you may or may not know, I often refer to our house as "The Gish Hotel" because we have a lot of bedrooms and enjoy hosting parties and guests.  I decided to set Laura up with a reservation from The Gish Hotel and then went slightly overboard and created an entire website for our hotel...

After making sure she recieved her reservation confirmation, I went to work creating a little bit of an Island Paradise right here in Woodbridge. 

I left a huge bag of goodies in her room to include a beach towel, flip flops, a visor, a couple fruity drinks, and a gift certificate to the local tanning salon.

I also put another goody bag in the bathroom with some coconut and other island-y shower gel, lotion, and candles.

We weren't expecting her until Wednesday night, but I was so excited when everything arrived on Tuesday that I set everything up right away.  It was a good thing I did all of this early because then Snowpocalypse II happened.  Wednesday morning we had a bunch of snow on the ground, work and schools were all canceled, and I told Laura that if she didn't come to our house ASAP, that she'd be stuck at her friend Katie's in Fairfax until Friday.  Unfortunately I happened to be wrong (I'm blaming the meteorologists), but she got her butt over to our house and we got to play in the snow together all day.

We also played Disney Cranium

The dogs tried to help

After a long day of sledding down our ivy patch, it was time for early bedtime because we had to go back to work in the morning.

Thursday, Laura stayed at home with the Pins while we went to work. 

Friday, I took the day off and surprised her with a massage and took her to use her tanning gift certificate.

Then we baked cupcakes for Joey's birthday party at the bowling alley before heading out to a local brew house where we all tried a bunch of really alcoholic beers.

Saturday we checked out a local winery with Lydia before heading home to get ready for the big birthday party.

It was GREAT to have my sister here and we will be seeing her again at The Gish Hotel very soon!

~SG

PS: For reservations, contact me!

Happy Birthday Joey!

Another year, another birthday.  This year I organized a little field trip down I-95 to Splitsville- it's not what it sounds like! It's a huge popular awesome bowling alley/movie theater complete with a full bar inside.  There is actually one in Disney World too, but we've never been because why would you go see a movie or go bowling while you are at WDW??  We heard it was really cool, so we decided it was worth the trip!

Well, suffice it to say that the Fredericksburg Splitsville is nothing like the one in Disney or probably any other one in the company and is honestly a huge rip off.  They wanted us to pay a minimum of $90 to reserve 1 lane (8 people) for an hour and a half.  Well, we had closer to 20 people and I was not about to pay over $200 to reserve a lane, expecially when they were very clear on the phone that all you get for your money is the luxury of not having to wait.  You still have to pay for bowling, etc.

Strangely, their website states that reserving lanes gets you unlimited bowling and bottle service.  I was told by Splitsville in Fredericksburg that unlimited bowling and bottle service is for kids parties only.  Ummmmmmmmmmmmm.... I sure hope they are referring to bottles of milk.

So, after gathering at the bar and waiting over 2 hours for our lanes to be "ready", it was finally our turn.  Here are a few pictures from Joey's 28th birthday party.  We had a great time, but we'll be sticking to the local lanes from now on!

Duck Dynasty "themed" cupcakes (those are ducks)

We had a great time and now Joey is another year older.

I forgot to charge my camera so that's why these pictures all kind of suck. They came from my phone.

Happy Wednesday!

~SG

Sarah’s Top Ten for Looking Put Together When You’re Really Not

The book I’m currently reading concludes each chapter with a “Top Ten”, so I’ve been inspired by recent events to put one of my own together.

Daylight Saving Time has been really rough.  Losing that 1 hour of sleep has made me really groggy in the morning and it has become increasingly difficult to get out of bed.  This has left me scrambling to look awake and professional at work.  Since I’ve become pretty professional at faking it til I make it over the years, I thought I’d share some of my tips and tricks.  If anyone from work is reading this, I guess my secret is out. But hey, we are all tired and none of this is illegal. So without further ado…………………..

Sarah’s Top Ten for looking put together when you’re really not….

1.       Keep a few pairs of heels and a jacket in your office (or in your car if you don’t have an office).  It’s easy to grab the closest shoe to the front door, which in my case is usually uggs or flip flops.  Also?  That jacket is good when you are unexpectedly called down to meet with the CEO when you are wearing a Target shirt from 10 years ago.

2.       Jewelry.  Running late? Grab earrings, a necklace and a bracelet and put it on in the car.  Jewelry makes it appear that you took the time to care about your outfit and accessories, even if you didn’t.

3.       Wrinkled pants?  Solution: wear a dress, or better, a skirt suit.  I wear dresses approximately once per month, when my laundry bin is full.  Wearing a skirt suit on a Friday will make you look like an overachiever, even when the truth is your laundry pile is 10 feet high.

4.       Make Up.  I don’t wear make up to work. Ever. I don’t even wear concealer.  I sport those bags under my eyes with PRIDE.  If I were to pick ONE thing to wear, I’d always go with MASCARA.  Glob that baby on! The more mascara, the more it looks like you took “time” to put make up on, and also it draws attention away from those bags under your eyes…

5.       Hair. Greasy? Unruly? Frizzy?  Throwing it back into a ponytail or messy bun is always an option, but if I have an important meeting, I always go for the FRENCH BRAID.  Takes 5 minutes to do in the bathroom, and looks like you spent time putting together an elegant hairstyle that will almost always get compliments.

6.       Nails. Buy some Maybelline Express Finish and leave it in your desk drawer.  Brush it on while your boss is in a meeting, wait 60 seconds and voila! You look like you care.

7.       Hungover?  Here’s a tip: Don’t pour that third glass of wine on a weeknight.  But just in case you did, drink lots of water during the night and take a couple advil first thing in the morning.  Also? Make sure you clean that purple residue off your lips or else everyone in the office will know what’s up.

8.       Somewhere to be?  Walk quickly.  Studies show that people who walk quickly look busier.  Also, carry a notebook with you.

9.       Tired in a meeting?  Take notes.  Taking extensive notes will help keep you awake, as well as involved in the meeting.  Even if you are writing things that are completely unnecessary, it’s better than accidentally falling asleep, right??

10.   Be confident.  Rock whatever look you’ve decided to (or accidentally) wear that day.  Confidence is an accessory that is just as important as that necklace you grabbed that doesn’t match.  So when you are exhausted, wearing two different shoes and freaking out cause you forgot to let the dogs out, just put your chin in the air and own it!

Harlem Shake

I shamelessly admit that while Joey was gone this weekend I spent my Friday night drinking merlot and trying to understand the Harlem Shake by watching 100 youtube videos.

I'm still confused as hell but here are the links to some of my favorites:

1. Funnier every time i see it. Confederate flag? omg. (I apologize in advance if this is offensive. Take it at face value.)

2. Major points for being under water.

3. Puppies.

4. Well played, WVU.

5. In honor of St. Patrick's day....

6. Because the FAA is investigating

8. hahahha this one is pretty fabulous

9. The difference when you become pro...

10. I don't care who you are. this is impressive:

and... for your finale, go to www.youtube.com and type "do the harlem shake" in the search bar. hit 'search' and wait.............. :)

Turkey Leg

When we visit Disney World we always buy stupid souvenirs that we normally would never pay money for... let alone Disney prices.............

This brings me to one of Joey's prized souvenirs- a "turkey leg" scented car air freshener.  (No I'm not making this up.)

via

It took us a while to unpack from our trip, but when we finally opened the suitcase the dogs found the air freshener right away.  We had to pull it out and put it on the dresser.

One day a couple weeks ago, Joey decided to take the thing out of its' wrapper.  Why, I don't know.  Because it was potent. The dogs were all over it.  Joey had it hanging on a kitchen cabinet for a hot second before I freaked out and told him to "get it out of my house this instant". 

Luckily for all of us, he obliged and went outside to put it in his car where it belonged.

The following Saturday I got in my car to run errands and it smelled faintly of vitamins.  I thought it was items from the care package I was getting ready to send to Afghanistan but when I went to put the keys in the ignition I felt the turkey leg that was hanging from the steering wheel.

 Joey wasn't home so instead of just putting it inside, I placed it carefully inside his work shoe.  I had to pile other shoes on top of it so the dogs wouldn't spoil the surprise.

Monday I got a nasty email about how he'd found it first thing in the morning and his shoe smelled more and more like turkey as the day went on.

I laughed.

Two weeks later and the turkey leg hasn't made another appearance.  This would  be fine if it wasn't missing.    I know my husband and I know its' somewhere waiting for me to discover it.  I've laid in bed wondering where the H it could be, and I honestly don't know.

The other night I asked again where it was and he said I'd likely "seen it already but not realized it". Um... how do you miss that!?!?

I'm freaking out wondering where it is and why I haven't noticed it yet.  Any suggestions are welcome.....

Things that go bump in the night Part....III?

Our house is kind of drafty.  At least the area where our stairwell/bedroom doors is.  We have double doors to our bedroom that don’t close firmly, so if the heat kicks on or someone opens a door downstairs, the change in air pressure causes the doors to rattle.  How softly or loudly they rattle depends on whether the heat kicked on or someone opened a door.

So, like many people who have learned to tell who is coming up the stairs depending on how they sound while doing so, I have learned to know the difference in the noise the doors make.  I can now tell when the heat kicks on in the middle of the night vs. when Joey opens the back door.

Wednesday morning, around 3am, someone opened the back door.  The doors rattled very loudly together which woke both me and Joey up.  I, startled, gasped just like my Mother used to when suddenly awoken (and we used to make fun of her too) and, I am proud to say, perfectly executed my escape plan WHICH I had never once tried out except for in my head while imagining what I would do if someone broke in.  I sleep on the left side of the bed, so I simply threw off the covers, rolled off the edge and hid in the area between the bed and the wall. 

Doc was standing up under the covers with his bleary eyes peeking out wondering why we’d woken him up.  Joey calmly reached over and turned on the light.  

“Bang! Chloe? You’re dead.”

It was in that moment that I realized Chloe had been missing from the picture.  Here she came, trotting back over to the bed, happy that she had successfully jumped on the doors to rattle them in order to wake us up so we could go downstairs and get her treats.

Have you ever heard of a dog that trained its’ humans??

Now you have.

 

Culprit

I guess I have to add another noise to that list: “Hungry Min Pin”.

(Side note: Lately Chloe has taken to getting up in the middle of the night and standing next to my side of the bed, barking.  Well, “boofing”.  You know, that slight bark/half woof noise they make? Well, It’s been getting her in trouble a lot lately and I guess she decided to kick it up a notch…)