My New Hobby: Gambling

Juuuuust kidding. But seriously, last week I bet on a few things and won, so I have the itch to go to Vegas.  That itch also might be because it's cold and rainy here in Portland right now. I need warmth and sunny, blue skies please!

So my friend at work is a HUUUUGE NASCAR fan. I never pay any attention to that sport. But when I was working my internship in St. Louis a few years ago I would get a phone call in the Sports department from a guy named Randy.  Randy was mostly calling to chat ( I think he called every sports station in the area every day just for his social fix) But every Friday he would have the same question for me: What position in Matt Kenseth starting in on Sunday? The first time I asked, "WHO?!?!?" I had no idea who Kenseth was. But after several months of Randy's weekly question, I now officially know one person that races in NASCAR.  So back to my friend. The Daytona 500 was last week. Apparently it's the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Whatever. Jake (my work friend) has been a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. his whole life. So I figured it would be fun to place a friendly wager on this race. I'm picking Kenseth to win, and he's got Jr. Loser buys tickets to the Blazers/Heat game.

Jake is a boy, but looks like a girl with LONG locks. For months everyone at work has been asking him when he'll cut his hair. We are all excited to see the locks go. So Jake places another wager on the race. If Jr. wins, he'll cut his hair. Then, just to spite me, he added if Kenseth wins he will cut his hair because, "there's NO WAY Kenseth will actually win the race." So now I've got two reasons to be excited about this race!

Race day comes and Kenseth and Jr. are neck and neck the whole time. It's almost as if they know we've got a bet on the line. No matter where they are in the race, they are side by side. But the last part of the race, Kenseth pulls out in front and maintains his lead the whole race and I win. Jr. made a last second attempt to win, but Kenseth wouldn't have it. So not only did my driver beat Jake's, but mine actually won the whole race!  I should have put real money on this one. Right?!?

Our next day off together I proudly drove Jake to the barbershop.

 Major improvement if you ask me. Then, that night we enjoyed great seats (courtesy of Jake, of course) at the Blazers game. Too bad we lost. Still, it was really fun to see Lebron and Wade up close. As much as I hate the dude, Lebron is legit.

Moral of the story: Gambling isn't that bad, right? I think I'll quit right now while I'm ahead though.

101 Things I Love

In honor of this special holiday I am posting a list of the things that I cherish. Thanks to my good friend, Charles, for the inspiration. These are in no particular order- except the first one, of course!

Money

Cardigans

Whistle necklaces

Pearls

Glitter

The color purple and seafoam green

Stripes

Boys who wear Sperrys

Pedicures

Martha Stewarts Cupcake book

Apple iPhones

Holding hands

Baseball

St. Louis Cardinals

Concealer

Juju hearts

Peanut butter

Nibs

Meatloaf

Mac and Cheese

Travel

Endorphins

Country music

Going to the movies alone

Gossip Girl

Netflix/Hulu

Seat warmers

Diet Dr. Pepper

Bad boys

Church snacks

New haircuts

J Crew

Target

Costco

Tillamook Wild Mt. Blackberry ice cream

Tetherball

Pillows

Purses with long shoulder straps

Public transportation

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Super sonic car wash in Orem

Cowboys

Zipped hoodies

Nike Frees

Chick flicks

Burt's Bees Chapstick

Brunch

Scategories

Cuddling

Coats/jackets

Instagram

2 Nephi 2:25

Truffle fries

Patriotic music

Real World/Road Rules Challenges

A Poor Wafarying Man

Fireplaces

Scolding hot showers

TiVo

The smell after it rains

Summer nights

Snail mail

Cream cheese frosting

Blogs

Taco Tuesday

Crossword puzzles

Crockpots

Writing on whiteboards

Whitney Houston pre crack is whack

Making lists

Karaoke

Happy hour

When people call me Carly Katherine

Cookie dough

Surprises

Dairy Queen Blizzards

Saying "whatever"

Wearing socks to bed

Declining Facebook invites

Living alone

Golfing

Texting

Chuck Bass

Little Big Burger

Going to the Symphony

Lazy mornings

The Blazers

Spontaneity

Packages at my door

Pay day

Twang

Ted Drewes

The SWKT

Dove soap

Guys who wear glasses

Holding babies

My KitchenAid Pro

Coupons

Law and Order: SVU

The Fremont Bridge

Powell's Books

RIP CITY

I really shouldn't be doing this right now. The Blazers are currently on a 6 game road trip. They have only won one out the four games they have played so far. They lost to Atlanta in the final minutes last night 89-92. They had a chance but couldn't connect. Most people predicted only 2 wins out of this road trip anyway. But I still had high hopes for better. They let me down. We just can't win on the road. They need me. Of the 7 homes games this season, I have been to 5. Of those 5, they have only lost once. I blame it on the seats I was in. I was able to trade out a buddy pass for the Lexus Club seats. All-you-can-eat. I was selective in the friend I wanted to come with me. I hate to pass up free dinner, candy and drinks. So I had to choose someone that would be as excited about that stuff as me. I chose correctly. Dagny and I were loving the pulled pork, cheesy grits, unlimited candy and chips and salsa too much that we realized we weren't giving our heart to the game. It wasn't until the 4th quarter when we were really into the game. The Blazers made a good comeback and even in the last few seconds it looked like they might win, but... they didn't. Story. Of. Our. Lives. Even though my heart is starting to break over this team, I wanted to update blog world of my fun times at the games so far.

Opening Night: Blazers vs. Philly

Game 2: Blazers vs. Sacramento (Jimmer Night)

Game 3: Blazers vs. Lakers (Beat LA)

Game 4: Blazers vs. Clippers (Beat LA)

Game 5: Blazers vs. Orlando

Can't wait for more games to come!

The Verdict Is In...

KitchenAid fail. It's going to cost $140 to repair that sucker. I told myself if it was over $100 for the repair I was just going to buy a new one. This one is a couple years old already and may last a lot longer after the repair, but I am kinda nervous to put that much into something that could fail again sooner rather than later. So it is better for me to put that money towards a new one with a new warranty. So... now it's time to choose a color.

Need. Some. Help.

Which One??

Blue Steel

Dark Pewter

Nickel Pearl

Pearl Metallic

Death...

My KitchenAid Pro mixer just broke down. It's been sounding a little weird lately. I think there's something wrong with the motor. Sounds like something is off a little. It runs smooth when not mixing the air. But when it has to cream my butter and sugar, it isn't happy and stalls on me. I am so depressed. This is the best thing that every happened to me. Plus I was in the middle of making cupcakes. Now I just want to give up and go to bed and cry. I am going to see about getting it fixed tomorrow after work, but if it's unfixable, I don't know what I'm going to do! Christmas just happened. My birthday is 4 months away. Who's gonna buy me a KitchenAid?? I cannot. I repeat. I cannot make cupcakes without it. So those of you who enjoy my baking, get together and donate money to buy me a new mixer (sea foam green please) or else say goodbye to delicious baked goods.

Here's some inspiration guys:

Happy New Year

2011 was great!  Lot's of excitement for me and everyone around me!

From moving into my downtown apartment in January...

to Adrianne's wedding and my bff from the beginnings of elementary school getting engaged in February...

Netty and Mike's wedding, Cardinals Opening Day and paying off my car in March...

 to Emma and Bball's wedding and Jessica Beaumont having her baby boy on my bday (like I asked her to) in April...

to crossing off another stadium from my list with a weekend trip with my mom to Phoenix in May...

to my one year anniversary at SWA and Utah friends trips in June...

to baby showers, trips to see friends and family, and a big interview in July and August...

This is where Laura is telling me my kicks will be Drewki's favorite gift by far...

to Duck football games in Dallas, my first time to Autzen, one epic end of the season rally run for the Cardinals and one very special Christmas Miracle born in September...

to the World Series in October...

to a fun Hawaiian trip in November...

 

This year has been pretty good to me. I hope it continues on through 2012.  Here's a little video of me popping champagne (for others to drink)

T is for Ten, Tuesday and Tidbits

1. Today I was in line at the bank to deposit a check. Lately I have been depositing them from my phone, but I was out and about all day so I stopped at a branch. There were a few people in front of me and the two people being helped by tellers seemed to have complicated transactions. So I pulled out my phone. Logged into my Chase account. Took a picture of the front and back of the check. Pressed deposit. And proceeded to walk out of the bank. It was as simple as that. Who needs branches anymore these days?!?!

2. Speaking of phones, I got a new one yesterday! I went back to the iPhone. This time with a carrier that is made for the iPhone. No more shady jailbreaking. So far I love it. Siri does everything for me. She's so kind. I had to get a new phone number. If you did not receive the mass text of the new number and you consider us to be friends, then I must not have had your number or screwed up. Message me on my old number and I will give you the deets.

3. Yes I still have my old phone. So apparently on TMobile the cancellation fee is $200 no matter where you are in your contract. In Jan, it will have been a year since my last upgrade. But I am on my parents family plan, so my service is only $10 a month. It's more economical to pay that $10 a month for another year than to pay the $200 cancellation fee. Figure that one out. So I'll keep this phone. Right now I carry it with me just in case some people didn't get the memo. But soon I will only use it to run with. Since it's raining a lot more these days and I don't care about getting it wet anymore.

4. Running is on hold right now. A. it's -20 degrees outside. Ok, not nearly that cold, but pretty dang cold. and B. I rolled my ankle last night in my soccer game. Walking around today running 5 million errands was not good for my ankle. Will need to ice again tonight.

5. At least I scored a goal.

6. I was reminded of my hate for hatchbacks last week. When I was looking for a new car back when, I remember how turned off I was by the hatchback. Especially on the civic. Yuck.

7. I learned that my body won't tan anymore. All my years of beautiful sun kissed skin are gone. I used to be so dark after my trips to St. Louis to visit my dad. I would tan so easily. Five days in Hawaii and all I have to show for it is a heat rash on my hand and a tan chest. haha. Wait, my upper legs were a beautiful brown. But who sees that in the middle of winter?!?! My face probably would have been more tan, but I protected that money maker like crazy with sun screen. I'd rather not have the wrinkles when I'm older.

8.  No offense to one of my grandmas and her sister, but I went to an "Office Christmas Party" and chose to go by the name Barb. Is that an officey name? I thought so. Brooke's roommates put together a fun little party on Saturday night full of laughter, dancing and voodoo donuts.

9. Speaking of VooDoo. I was walking through the Fresno airport on Sunday morning and I saw this:

The funny thing was that I had just taken a redeye from Honolulu the night before and my body felt like I was home, but I was really in Fresno to extend my vaca and visit my cousins. So at first I didn't think anything of the VooDoo siting. But then I realized where I was and had to take a double take, and a picture. While flying out on Tuesday I noticed that there as a Denver tree too. So they must be highlighting different cities that they fly to.

10. I successfully left the Nike Employees store today with only buying 3 things for myself. Most of the things I bought were for other people!  That never happens. I usually spend way over my budget I give myself. This time I was serious. Being Christmas and all I don't have much money to spend on myself. I bought cold weather stuff for running. So no excuses anymore.