this is the part where I start to feel depressed and mopey.

I'm sitting on the couch with our Christmas tree right across from me. It makes me sad to think that tomorrow the tree that has been lighting up our living room since November will just be in a box down in our building's storage room and it'll be January. 

I bet you she is thinking about January in this picture...

Because that's what I look like when I think about how December and the holidays are officially over and January is tomorrow.

I have a date tomorrow morning with some new shampoo that I am very excited to try. The girl in me still gets excited for new shampoos and make ups even when I'm feeling down.

R.I.P 2010

photo of the day #78

Kangaroo Joe says NO to photography.

HAPPY NEW YEAR READER!!

a new year, a new list.

+this year I will try a tomato on my hamburger instead of requesting, "no tomato."

+this year I will make the wall above our TV into a wall of clocks. Looks like it's TIME to start collecting some clocks. (hahahaha whew, anyways..)

+this year I won't let people take advantage of me. (not sexually, pervert) I am way too nice and some people take advantage of that. not this year! Muwahaha!

+this year I will make a grocery list each time before I go to the store.

+this year I will save money. For reals this time.

+this year I will FINALLY try some sushi. This is the 4th time this goal is appearing on my to-do list for the new year.

+this year I will designate a certain day of the week for laundry... not just when I run out of things to wear. Even though this has been a fantastic method for the last four years.

+this year I won't eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast AND dinner.

+this year I will get rid of at least one FULL garbage sack of old clothes instead of making a pile to get rid of and end up wearing the next week.

+this year I will only have two sodas a week. I wish this goal could be no soda all together. I've tried that many times. And it was funny when I tried.

+this year I will improve my handwriting. Because it's proven that the older I get, the more illegible my handwriting becomes.

+this year I will eat more veggies.

+this year I will read Catch 22 and the Great Gatsby.

+this year I will make an effort to hang up my clothes... instead of tossing them on the floor.

+this year I won't let the alarm clock go off more than once... or twice...

+this year I will improve on working towards goals.

+this year I will try and be brave enough for a new hairstyle.

These are little goals that (will be very hard) but I will try and accomplish them.

the best of 2010.

2010 tried, but it didn't beat 2009 in being my favorite year. It was very close though. Actually, they might actually be tied.

In 2010:

+Just Add Kaleena was born. Viva Just Add Kaleena!
+We moved from our house on J street to our apartment building on R street.
+I slowly and awkwardly went from brunette to blond. NEVER. AGAIN. (going back to brunette)
+I didn't get ONE, that's right, not ONE traffic ticket... or any ticket for that matter. This is big deal... and step.
+We celebrated our 2 year anniversary.
+We traveled to: San Diego, Indiana, Chicago, and Las Vegas.
+Renewed my drivers license.
+Bowled my highest score in bowling. Whaaat?
+I made a TV appearance.
+I was a bridesmaid in both of my best friend's weddings.
+My niece, Lola was born. (you can go awwww, it's only necessary).
+My mom got her right eye removed and replaced with a glass eye due to a possible cancerous tumor.
+Went camping at Pineview, Honeymoon Hollow and spent a weekend at Bear Lake.
+Beat Steve at mini golf. I'm mentioning this because in all his 22 years of playing all summer at Bear Lake, I'm the first to beat him. Holler.
+Rode a wave runner for the first time.
+ Discovered this and this.
+Turned 21.
+My car was towed. Boo hoo.
+My wallet stolen. (ugh, I'm STILL mad at you robber guy dude).
+Saw concerts: She & Him, Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups, Cake and Smashing Pumpkins.

this is a cry for help.

For Christmas, I was gifted my worst enemy... a kitchen pots and pan set.
I will post pictures of the darling things later, even though we don't get along, I still like that they are red.

It's my new years resolution to be more domesticated and now that I have everything I need, I have no excuse to not learn to be a better cook... besides the excuse that COPS is on TV.

"I know.. I was GOING to make dinner but then the 90 lb sweaty dude with hair longer than mine and less teeth than a toddler with coke hidden in his deodorant started a high speed chase!"

So Reader, here is my cry for help. Well, cries, I have two cries.

Cry for help number 1: Does anybody have any dinners that are easy to make but still have some challenge?
Cry for help number 2: Does anybody have any tips on how to get me to FORCE myself to be a better cook and more domesticated?

Help!

photo of the day #77

Ta-da! Now, that you saw me cut myself in half, watch as I put my body back together... but wait, it looks like something good is on TV over there.

what do you when you get to leave work at eleven in the morning?

Why, you go home and eat some left over cake out of the fridge, go to Valley Bowling (not Bonwood? Whaaa?) and bowl terrible, then go to the movies to watch True Grit. Don't forget the blue icee's and dinner after too. Yes, please.

a teeny list of things you probably didn't know about me...

+I cry, CRY, tears down my cheeks, if I see a three legged dog or a dog alone without a collar on the street when it's raining.

+Two foods I could eat for breakfast lunch and dinner is crab (seafood) and buffalo wings. nom-nom-noommm.

+When I snack it's usually not on chips or candy... it's usually dill pickles or swiss cheese. I'm declaring myself the biggest fan of dill pickles.

+I have a salt tooth rather than a sweet tooth. But I'm still obsessed with sugar.

+I was anorexic my senior year of high school.

+I am the most indecisive person you will meet. Actually, maybe not. Well yeah, probably. (hee hee)

+I didn't lose my first tooth til the beginning of the 3rd grade. Which means... I never got a tooth sticker(s) to put on the poster the teacher had to keep track of the teeth I lost in my 1st and 2nd grade classes. This bothered me. I wanted a tooth sticker! Just one! So I would bite down extra hard when we would have corn dogs for lunch in hopes I would bite the stick and make a tooth loose. :)

+I would take a day in the mountains instead of a day at the beach.

+I accidentally tuned in to the E! True Hollywood story of Elvis Presley and I've been a lunatic fan ever since.

+I pepper the majority of the food I eat.

+I slept in my Sister's room up til I was about 17. It started out cause I was scared to sleep in my bedroom alone.... then I started to find the floor (I would layout a little bed area) more comfy and it was fun having a sleep over every night.

+I turn the faucet on whenever I am in the bathroom. This cannot be explained.

+I can never remember what I was going to say.

+I get very very cranky when I'm hungry. Beware. You have been warned.

photo of the day # 76

Christmas sucks when you come out of the bathroom and Hitler has stolen your seat.

our christmas card.

Here is the runner up......

See that white circle in the middle? That is a snowball that snowman is throwing at you.

the cons to making ramen at 4am.

I know Reader, I didn't think there were any cons to making Ramen at 4am either. But there is...

Last night after Steve and I finished watching Elf (what's a Christmasgram? I want one!), I got an outrageous craving for Ramen. It sounded so good. I was going to wait til the morning, Ramen for breakfast? Why not. But the longer I went without satisfying my craving, the more afraid I was of things getting dangerous in our living room. So off to the kitchen I darted.

Minutes later, I was balled up on the kitchen floor cradling my middle finger with a single solitary tear glistening on my cheek. Reader, I burned my middle finger on the stove burner. OUCH. Once Steve steve stopped judging me, he advised me to run it under cold water... which hurt so good.

Long story short, this is the most painful blog post I've ever typed because there is a blister on the middle finger and typing is different task with a blister involved. Despite the near death experience, it was a delicious bowl of Ramen indeed. Truly a Christmas Eve miracle.


Whoa... just glanced down to bottom left corner of my lap top... 12:14am which means....

CHRISTMAS.

Happy holidays!

photo of the day #75

Um...this picture seems like it's missing something. I think it might be her (is that a her?) pants.

and then i started blogging again.

In my absence, I lost two followers. Bless you, two little followers. I still wish you a happy holiday.

Honestly, it felt nice being away from my laptop... mostly Facebook, for as long as I was. The more I think about it, the more I want to light my Facebook account on fire.

Reader, guess where I was? drdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrddr (that's a drum roll) Las Vegas! I've never been before. It was.... excessive. Two and half days was all I needed to be there. I had a lot of favorite parts of the trip, like...

•  Our Star Trek themed hotel room at Planet Hollywood.
• Walking down the strip for the first time at 3AM. PEOPLE WATCHING!!!!
• The Michael Jackson dancer... however he wasn't really dancing.
• Finding my favorite color on a polka dotted scarf--for ten bucks.
• Eating.
• Eating. I know I just put eating, but I liked the food there so much, it deserved to be on here twice.
• The view from our hotel. 
• The giant piece of cheesecake that was almost the size of my foot, that me and Steve shared.

My most favorite part was when I ordered a forty dollar Crab Feast and Landry's Seafood House. It was a feast indeed. And worth the forty bucks. It was my Christmas present to myself.

My not favorite part was when we were stuck in traffic for 80+ hours... which converts to like 2 hours in reality. Gah.

Now, I play the waiting game with Christmas. I need to get in the Christmas spirit. Maybe I'll go drink some egg nog in a santa hat under a massive Christmas light display singing 12 days of Christmas or something... ANYTHING.

22 today!

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Stever! Happyyyy biiiiiiirthday tooooo yooooooou.

Happy birthday to...

my best friend,

the love of my life,

& my boyfriend.

A few facts about Steve that you should know since it's his birthday!

+When he makes to-do lists, he includes "driving home" or "drive to" and it makes me laugh.

+ He is blind in his right eye.

+When I've had a hard day and I'm laying in our bed he'll come lay on top of me and make me laugh til I feel better.

+In 2008 he lived in New York for three weeks just cause.

+His two best impressions are: Chewbacca and Miss Piggy. Yes, you read Miss Piggy correctly.
+He's a referee!

+When he was little he would say 'orange shoes' like 'warange doos' 

+He would rather spend a day in the mountains rather than a day at the beach. 

+His favorite movie is Remember the Titans.

+He refuses to try ice-skating... lame.

+He is a great birthday gift picker outer.... well I guess.. just a great gift picker outer in gereral.

+He likes shoes. I even think he has more shoes than me...

Happy birthday!
xoxoxoxox

and i quote.

"It is easier to stay out than get out."

Mark Twain

"I never resist temptation because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me."

George Bernard Shaw

 

once emotional, always emotional.

Me and my sisters. Guess who that fussy/emotional baby in the middle is?

my eyes are really dry, they look kind of red.

I don't know what happened... but according to WebMD.com I may have Glaucoma. EVERYBODY PANIC!!!

It was this morning when I noticed my eyes that were resembling these candies...

 (nom nom nom)

 I thought it was just cause I was really tired, you know, sleep deprivation. Then I got to work and I noticed everyone kept doing major double takes... when they would approach the question of my red looking eyes they treated me as if I was a puppy who was just drop kicked. I've been squinting all day to prevent my eyes from feeling dry. Surely I look like I'm attempting to plot some sort of kidnapping in my mind.

While we are discussing kidnapping.. if you could possess any super power, what would it be? BESIDES flying? Because duh, who wouldn't want to fly?

I would choose time manipulation.... That or the ability to turn invisible... but that just might be my Harry Potter fanatic side of me talking. The invisibilty cloak will exist someday... someday.

photo of the day #74

More like Scary Christmas.

good times never seemed so good...

SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!

I've had Neil Diamond's, Sweet Caroline, playing in my head all today. This is me boasting, not complaining.

I went out to my car this morning to find it being broken in to... making it the 4th time it's been broken in to since we've moved into the Avenues. 

Reader, I laughed when I saw my car was "broken" in to. I have absolutely nothing of value in that thing... Unless you think some old clothes and some recyclables I keep forgetting to drop off at the dumpster is valuable. I wish I could see the robber's face when he gets in and is like, ".... uh.... " and then awkwardly closes the door and walks down the street scratching his head.

Kaleena: 1 Car Robber(s): 0

Also, another reason why I really didn't care that my car was violated (don't you hate that feeling of knowing someone you have no idea is, was in your car? ewww) because the night before I experienced Norwegian pancakes for the first time and I was day dreaming about them. I'm still day dreaming about them...

I agree Reader, they do look like crepes. I wish I didn't eat those so fast last night so I could have snapped a picture... (that one up there is from Google).  I'm blaming my lack of self control and stomach.

photo of the day #73

It was an emotional day at the Steamtown Mall.

The babies are afraid of Santa.

Santa is recalling the first time he watched Homeward Bound when Shadow got stuck down in the mud hole.

i like turquoise and yellow together.

This is what I wore today.

And this is as close to a 'fashion blog' as I'll ever get.

and just a few more christmas decorations.

We put the last up of our Christmas decorations. Which includes:

+Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

+A Santa snow globe.

+A Christmas bell that plays 8 different carols.

Steve hanging his favorite bell... His Grandma had it ever since he was a baby (even longer!) and he gave it to him as a gift for Christmas last year.  Go Steve! You hang that bell!

christmas is almost over.

Do you see that? The mouse is in the 14th pouch! This is the little, handy Christmas calendar we have hanging in the kitchen. My Mom gave it to me. Me and my Sister's used to loooooove when it was our turn to move the mouse. I still do. I think one year my Mom put chocolates in there... I might be making this up though, it's a little vague.

I don't want Christmas/December to end. Do you know what that means? The ugliest and lamest month of the year is next, JANUARY. Boooo! What a truly awful month.

Leave it to me to miss Christmas already when it's only December 14th.

IN OTHER NEWS: I think I was insulted today. A guy at my work was trying to bribe my into doing him a favor (work related, get your head out of the gutter, pervert!) before I left for the day.
 

He - "If you do blah blah blah I'll get you a soda!" the blah blah blah's are for the sake of not boring you to death my work

Me - "I love free stuff."

He - "What kind do you want? Something diet?"

Me - "....do you think I need diet??" *I honestly didn't care, I get a major kick at making people think they offended me/hurt my feelings when I really don't give a crap.

He - "OH! No, I just thought.. well.. you just look.. in shape.. I..."

Me - "I changed my mind, I don't want a soda...."

Long story short I got TWO free sodas. Oh yeah.

photo of the day #72

Snowmen have emergencies too!

"We need to make this quick, I don't have much time. He was chasing me with a hair dryer!"

something great is happening and i am proud!

So here I am, after a productive weekend and a surprisingly productive Monday at work, I'm laying on the couch with the Christmas tree lights on.... IN A SPOTLESS living room!! Well, I'm not that professional at cleaning, so I'm sure there are a few spots around here but I just want you to know Reader, I did clean this weekend. Oh yeah.

However, there will be no 'bits of my weekend' due to my unusual cleaning ways. But besides cleaning, I basically ate this for every meal this weekend, including breakfast.

Right now I am home alone. Not only am I home alone but I am also very irrationally afraid. I think the man I hear at the bottom of our building is plotting how to scale up our building to break in through our bathroom window and hide behind the shower curtain. Then, when I go in there to go to bathroom he will strike when I am most vulnerable. I thought about peeking behind the shower curtain when I go in there, but I mean, what would I do if he's there? Fight him? Yeah, right.

My imagination is my worst enemy.

IN OTHER NEWS: Today my most favorite thing happened to me. I texted Steve and as soon as I set my phone down, it already buzzed. But It wasn't a response from Steve... it was the exact same text that I texted Steve! We texted each other the same thing at the same time. I think that's cool. And I think I'm lame for getting that excited over it.

photo of the day #71

When Santa Claus and America's Most Wanted, meet.

does people watching count as a hobby?

I hope it does.

Tonight we went bowling at Bonwood, where their motto is, Cheap and Clean Enough, and Reader, that's all the qualities I look for in a bowling alley... and life for that matter. (jk) When I was waiting for my turn to bowl, it's a choice time to people watch. Tonight, I observed a 30ish year old man wearing a shirt that said,

Yo Soy Jesus Freak

Well, he got the freak part right at least...

After we bowled, we went to diminish a plate of cheese fries [insert angelic choir music here] at Dee's. Now Reader, Dee's is the outstanding capital to people watch... DMV is the first runner up.

I wanted to document every person that came through the door but I guess some people don't like to be photographed by people they don't know that are hiding behind the booth holding the camera out far enough to get a snap. I even wondered if everyone in the restaurant would be willing to assemble for a group shot...

Here is a list of things I saw:

+A girl with a completely shaved head... except for some bangs.

+A 40ish year old lady wearing a halter top shirt that looked like Dorothy's ruby slippers and Jnco Jeans.

+A group of girls dressed in Santa-like lingerie.... er.... yeah.

+A pretty girl dressed quite cute.... without shoes. Eek.

+A man kiss another man while laughing... then run out the door quickly.

However, I did snap a few shots, but these won't nearly do as much justice as I would like.

You see those bare feet?? EEP!

expectations of my weekend in list form.

My IDEAL list for this weekend:

+Do a bajillion loads of laundry.

+Fold those bajillion loads of laundry.

+Clean the entire living room. 

+Clean out the fridge and pantry.

+Clean the bathroom. Including the tub/shower

  +Find some sort of tree topper for our Christmas tree.

+Start Christmas cards.

+Go to my family's Christmas party.

+Grocery shop.

+Paint my nails. so so so long over due.

+Not procrastinate.

My REALISTIC list for this weekend:

+Eat all and possibly the rest of that glorious cheesecake we bought last night.

  +Forget about cleaning and watch Christmas movies. Home Alone, yesssss.

+Add to my laundry piles instead of minimize them.

+People watch from our kitchen window.

+Sit down to blog but catch myself staring off into space over my laptop screen.

+Continue to start at my nails and think, yeah, I should get these done.

+Procrastinate.

+Go to the grocery store... but for junk food. 

+Draw doodles of dogs that I wish I had.

+Go to my family's Christmas party.

+Find a pet store to play with cage full of puppies and possibly kittens.

I'm cheering for the first list, but deep down I know the second list will happen. Maybe someday I'll know what it's like to cross something off a to-do list, someday...

IN OTHER NEWS: Have you ever gotten an e-mail or a link sent to you to check out some optical illusions? Have you ever clicked the link and  read their instructions like, move your head around in circle while staring at the image or draw a Z with one finger and make a scissor motion with the other hand while sticking your tongue out. You get the picture. Well Reader, I'm pretty sure these optical illusions don't work and someone out there who created them is laughing to themselves at the thought of millions of people doing RIDICULOUS stuff in front of their computer screens, just to see a trippy image. Today, I became on of those million people.

amen.

I agree Reader, this is very cheesy... But you know what, I like cheese.

photo of the day #69

Happy birthday, Jim Morrison. I'd light your fire any day.

a seafood lovers dream!

I am obsessed with sea food. It's my favorite food besides salty and spicy stuff. We've never been to Marketstreet Grill before, which is supposedly the best place in town to get stuffed full of sea food. It's only 3 minutes away from our building so we splurged! I say splurged cause even though it was very delightful to our bellies, it was not-so-pleasant to our wallets.

I struggled deciding with just ONE thing off the menu. It would've been easier to point out the things I didn't want to gorge off the menu. If you ever go, I recommend getting the fresh Idaho Trout (grilled and seasoned) with clam chowder. Besides the heavenly food which made me want to lick the plate, what else was awesome was me and our waiter made the same comment about a Neil Diamond Christmas song AT THE SAME TIME!

Awesome thing number two was the inside of the restaurant looks like you are on a real ship!

the cons of being a hypochondriac

WebMD.com and a hypochondriac is not a good mix. I go there to look up something minor and I leave the website diagnosing myself with a long word most people can't even pronounce or spell. Perhaps it's time to remove that from my -favorites-.

I cried today. Reader, I cried over an e-mail forward! It's as embarrassing as it sounds. I'm just happy this time it was a REAL reason to cry and not some 'what if' scenario my brain thought of. (that happens a lot)

The forward was about a blind girl who told her boyfriend if she could see the world she would want to marry him blah blah blah someone donates her some eyes. Then, once she is able to see she sees her boyfriend is blind too and doesn't want to be with him any more cause the sight of his eyes scare her. Well Reader, guess who donated those eyes? HER BOYFRIEND! That's when and why I started crying. There is a tissue box over there if you need one... grab me one while you are over there.

Now that I have everyone crying, I'm reminded of Christmas of 2005. The Christmas my sister (there are three sisters total)  moved out of our house, leaving me the only kid left at home with Mom and Dad (booorriiing!). Well we have a favorite Christmas song together, it's Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. After a full Saturday of helping her move, I came home to an empty floor where me and my sisters all used to live together. I walk into my room and Christmas Canon comes on the radio. Reader, I dropped down on my knees with my head fallen back with clenched fists in the air and started crying. It wasn't THAT dramatic, but I did cry. I love my Sisters. Even though they put pennies in my diaper when I was a baby.

you know you have a problem managing cravings when...

... You have a mouth full of nachos, holding a full cup of Dippin' Dots in your hand and you see a picture of frozen yogurt and you debate if you should stand in line for it or not. This happened to me last Friday. That's a great idea Reader, I should put a diet on my new years resolution list! How cliche. And that's very cliche of me to say that's cliche.

All this talk about new years resolutions has made me hungry for my Peppy. I love this ice cream so much, I named it.

Also, you should listen to this. I like this song a lot today.

the goliath beetle.

Here is a question: Why do we need a beetle like this on the planet?

I think I'll just stick to these Beatles instead...

bits of my weekend.

Two things I learned this weekend:

1. Dippin' Dots can cure a broken heart that was caused by a lost earring.

2. Working for a few hours on Saturday isn't THAT bad.

(above) just so you know, I was talking when Steve snapped this.
Also note, this would be the last time that blue hoop earring would be
photographed.

sometimes i can be neat.

Hey, look! I can see myself in the ornament! 

Sorry, this 'limited edition Kaleena ornament' isn't for sale on Amazon... yet.