HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!!!!!

Happy happy birthday to the most wonderful woman I know......The most loving, caring, sweetest lady there is. She is the best mom, the best wife, the best friend, and the best puppy glamma (Soon to be a real, live baby glamma. Oh Lord, watch out.) that this diva and doggie could ask for.  We hope you have a fabulous day and celebrate in style!

(Don't judge.  Taken after my brother's wedding. A very LONG, but wonderful night.)

Cheers to you, Mom!

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA AND DOGGIE

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

Bummer news....."Pinky" passed away late last night/early this morning.  My trusty sidekick.....my pink iPod.  I loved that thing. Bonnie gave her to me three Christmases ago in a desperate attempt to get me to ditch my disc-man. Apparently I was an embarassement in hotel workout rooms.  She was a great iPod. I literally used her EVERY DAY of the last three years. She had been sick for a while though so I'm happy she has found some peace. First, her screen was blank....but she still played.  Second, her sound couldn't be adjusted.....but she still played (Although really loudly.  I wished she would have gotten stuck at a lower volume). Third, she wouldn't allow me to skip songs and I had to listen to whatever song she chose next.....but she still played.  This morning I woke up and Pinky was quiet........never to play again. I want to thank Pinky for being there for me through everything these past few years.  She was there for me every morning at 5:30 am workouts. She was there for me every bus ride and plane trip for work. And she was there for me whenever I needed to just zone out and listen to my favorite tunes. She had seen and experienced a lot with me.  Probably her biggest accomplishment was getting me through the plane ride from Cali to KS when I had heard "HE" had been spotted with another girl out and about on the town while I was gone. I think she played Michelle Branch's, "Goodbye To You"  for me no less than 1,000 times that trip.  She was a great friend, constant companion and my best therapy.

THANKS PINKY.......YOU WERE THE BEST!

Side note: Since there can probably never be another Pinky, I was looking at the Apple website for other colors. What do you all think? Blue? Orange? Lime Green?

Obviously......Who am I kidding? Of course it has to be another pink one.


Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA

WORDLESS (WELL, ALMOST) WEDNESDAY

AHHHHHHH!!! All back to normal, except no more nasty carpet! LOVE.

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA

BUH-BYE NASTY CARPET!

Yesterday my new floors were installed in my living room and I couldn't be more thrilled with them.  They just make my house feel so much cleaner.  My old carpet was the original carpet in the house and with a fur baby, snowy Kansas winters, and an ex-boyfriend who worked in construction, it looked like it had been through a war. I was calling Stanely Steamer once a month and the exact same stains would just come back time after time and it was making me bonkers. UGH.  Anyhoo, all those problems are behind me now and I will NEVER have to see one of those stains again.

Now I have never claimed to be a domestic diva, but I do consider myself a clean person in general. That was until I started moving my furniture out to rip up my carpet. Let's discuss: How often do you all clean under your couches? I only ask cause when I lifted my couch up to move it I found a whole junk drawer full of things under there. Total grossness. Pens, bobby pins, straws, a phone book (for reals), wrappers, and three old gossip magazines.... with Jessie and Sandra on it for gosh sakes! I was hoping to find my heart shaped Tiffany's necklace but I know that's a lost cause. I have a feeling lulu had it for lunch one day (I'll explain later).

Lulu posing with all the grossness from under the couch.

The new floor is going to take some adjusting for Lulu. She slips and slides around a bunch more but, in the end, the new flooring is a better deal for her too. Now I won't be as hesitant to leave her out of her kennel for short stretches when I'm running errands or something.

I would post pics of the finished room but I'm busy today and frankly don't the have time to field the 1.1 million phone calls from my Mom (Lora, you know what I'm talkin' about)... Move the picture frame 3 inches to the left..... Turn the lampshade a half centimeter clockwise....Did you mop the floor?!?!?! But I promise I'll post one tomorrow. For now, here is a sneak peak I took before the I put the furniture back in.........Please excuse the horrible iPhone pic................

Isn't it soooo much better? It makes the room feel humungous too.  I'm not sure what kind of maintenence it will need yet, but I'm sure I can figure it out.....or I'm sure my Mom will be calling me.

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Ryan's actual birthday so we went out to our local five-star restaurant Pachamamas (only the BEST for Ry-Ry) to celebrate with a little din-din and adult beverages. I didn't partake in the drinking because of my diet and the need for SOMEONE in the group to be the responsible.  Over half of the guys and gals in the party were attorneys so I have no idea how that responsibility fell on me but, anyhoo, I was Sober Sally.  We had a great time and since I'm typically a chicken wing and Jack Daniels girl it was nice to do something different. But can we discuss the fact that I ordered the rib appetizer plate for $11.00 and THREE ribs came on the plate? I had to stop at McDonalds on the way home for a hamburger patty! 

Eventhough I stayed away from the alcohol I did try some of my friend Holly's drink because it looked so scrumptious.  It is called a Pims Cup which is basically ginger beer, Pims liqour, and a bunch of sliced up fruit. It was DELICIOUS!!! It had a great, fresh, cucumber taste to it and it is my new favorite summer drink.  I only had a couple of sips but DANG, I wanted more!  HA!

This weekend should be fun and chill. I am going to have to work a little bit but other than that, I will probably be on the boat.  I have to pull the carpet in my living room and hallway because, guess what...........................................................

MY NEW FLOORS ARE BEING INSTALLED ON MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!

No more icky carpet. I can't wait!!!

Have a safe weekend and stay fabulous! I always do!

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA

THINGS I'M LUVIN' AND THINGS THAT ARE BUGGIN'......

GOOD MORNING DOLLS!!!!! I had a good night sleep and a great workout this morning......both put this chica in a fabu mood!!!!!  Don't have anything really exciting to report so here were the things that I was thinking about when I was in the shower this morning. I do my best thinking...and singing....in the shower. Don't ya'll?!?!?! 

Here is what I'm luvin' today.......


1. MY NEW PINK SPARKLY TOMS!  I bagged the whole iPad case from Nordy's idea when I saw these kicks....I wanted them for Italy and they were less then my gift certificate so I kinda feel like I got them for free! I have just worn them once and am LOVING them.  They are the perfect statement piece in my otherwise kinda drab work attire.  It's hard dressing cute when you work in athletics.  People look at you weird. 

2. MY HAIR STYLIST, PENNY!  Homegirl read my blog yesterday and called me to say....#1- Nobody is to TOUCH my hair but her and #2- She had made room for me today at 10:00 am because my roots are, in fact, skanky.  LOVE HER.  She is just going to do a few foils around my crown and an eyebrow wax but that should be enough to take me to August.


3. STRAWBERRY POWERADE ZERO! Ryan introduced it to me on the boat this weekend. Love.  Mix it with some grape vodka and stay hydrated at the lake OR drink it plain after a workout or while at work to stay fresh during the day.  Really the complete drink for Amanda.

Things that are bugin' me today......

1.  Our kitchen at work.....Who can diet when there are snacks like these laying around?  We usually don't have anything like this but it is left over from our camp store. I feel like camp will continue to haunt me all summer................

Anyways, not much to complain about today.  But, I never really complain on a "hair-did day".........

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!!

(My American flag cake I made for a BBQ last night. I am so patriotic! HA!)

HEY DOLLS!!!!!! I had a really great weekend and I hope you guys did too!!! Mine was jam packed with lots of friends, sun, boating, and just enough productivity so I didn't feel like a totaly slug! The weather was beautiful everyday except Sunday. But that was okay because it was actually nice to have a little break after boating ALL DAY Friday and Saturday. I used my down time to clean my house from top to bottom and go to Home Depot and pick up the pergo for the new floors in my living room. Apparently they need to be in my house for 72 hours before I can even SCHEDULE the instillation. GHEESH. This is the longest process ever. Sunday was also great because I got to go over and spend a lot of time with Hudson and I even got to go to popcorn night. 

Lets discuss my hair in this pic for a sec......Obvi I know my roots are skanky.  UGH. I had an appointment on Saturday to eliminate them, but canceled because I didn't want to miss out on lake fun. After seeing this pic I realize that was a TERRIBLE decision.  I am going to have to find someone who can do a little touch up job because my next appointment isn't until right before Italy.....like a month away. Side note: Yeah, ITALY is only a month away!!!!!!!!!

Last night we all went over to Hudy's and celebrated the 4th and Ryan's birthday. It was all fun and games until one of the fireworks Ry-Ry was shooting off fell over after he lit it and it came shooting right for the house. I was sitting on the porch and it actually HIT me. I don't really remember anything but Ryan running towards the house and then next thing I knew, everyone was screaming and I was brushing little specs of fire off me. We can laugh about it now, but it was actually pretty scary at the time.  Fireworks are NO JOKE but unfortunetly KO and Ry-Ry are tiny pyros.  Below is a pic of Ryan with his birthday cake and fireworks. Check out his doggy, Zoe. Doesn't she sit just perfect for pics? She is so presh. I wish Lulu would do that!

Speaking of Lulu, homegirl was NOT loving the 4th of July. She didn't handle the fireworks really well and I couldn't get her to go outside for ANYTHING if there were fireworks going off.  She spent most of her nights (since people celebrated every night of the weekend) hiding in my bed, glaring at me. As if I were the ones setting them off! She wouldn't even go outside to potty so last night she held it from 7:00 PM until 5:30 this morning. Such a diva.

I was responsible with the sunscreen pretty much the whole time and only got a little burned yesterday. Pretty good for a girl who used to slap baby oil on and PRAY to fry! HA! Of course I looked adorbs in my new suit and after the first day, nobody seemed to notice the bites all over my body.  I did, however, get a huge bruise on my arm from something! I have no clue how I got it, but bruising is just a part of boating.  Kind of like a badge of honor. The bigger the bruise- the more fun you probably had!   

 Anyways, my weekend was great but I am soooooo tired. I didn't even get up early and run this morning. I think I need a vacay from my vacation! HA!  I tried to stay steady with my diet, but had a few slip ups. But that's ok....It's only America's birthday once a year! HA!  I am starting today on in the "induction" period of the diet again, to shock my body.  We won't even talk about the diet soda thing.  I started my "time of the month" and really didn't really want to deal with the caffine withdrawls during the holiday weekend,  mkay?  I promise to try again soon.  

The only good thing about being back at work is that I can finally talk to my Mom again. My cell has been not able to recieve calls all weekend. BOO!  Sometimes technology is sooo frustrating.

I'm off to a staff meeting and back to reality!!!!

GOD BLESS THE U.S. of A.!

Smooches,

THE DARLING DIVA