Finished, finally!

I have been almost done with Breaking Dawn for weeks. I have been wanting to read the last 50 or so pages I had left, but things just kept coming up. I finally cleared out enough time to finish it. Now that I have finished the series, I can look forward to the movie coming out.

I was feeling a little curious about the movie, so I started poking around the internet to see what the chatter was all about. I ended up watching about a dozen different previews for the movie on YouTube. Check out a few here. Only a month and half until it's in theatres...I am looking forward to seeing it. I, being the total dork that I am even put it on my calendar. :)

Who knew Portland was so funny?!

I have just hit on to the funniest blog Overheard in PDX. I subscribed to it in Google Reader and have been reading them for the past half hour...it's hilarious. Check it out!

***DISCLAIMER***

After some further reading I realized that some of the comments are of the PG-13, borderline R nature.

Tagged: I am...

I have been tagged on this one a couple of times, and have finally gotten around to doing it...

I am: kind of a goober most of the time.

I think: that if I could just get Rob to visit NYC he would fall in love (ok, 'in like') with it too.

I know: that Rob and I make an excellent team...at Scene It and life in general.

I want: to move somewhere new and exciting. I am just waiting for Rob to agree with me.

I have: five fabulous brothers and I miss them all of the time.

I like: my beat down low and my top laid back. Just kidding, I don't like convertibles, but you gotta admit, those are some catchy lyrics! :)

I dislike: rose scented perfumes and lotions. Oh, and nosy coworkers...they're the WORST!

I hope: that my friends and family know how much I love them, especially since I don't say it very often.

I miss: having my family around.

I fear: that I will never get back to my natural hair color.

I feel: really bummed that we won't be going to Arizona for Thanksgiving anymore!!

I am embarrassed: to admit that I didn't catch much of the Olympics this year. I still heart USA.

I hear: the rain coming down outside...good ol' Seattle weather!

I smell: my Cashmere Mist perfume and pomegranate lip gloss.

I crave: a whole day where I can stay in bed in my pajamas and watch an entire season of 24 straight through. I just got addicted to it and have ordered all of the seasons on Netflix.

I cry: when I get stressed out.

I search: constantly online for the perfect cross-trainer. I think that hope died with the original Adidas Galaxy, RIP.

I wonder: if my fish likes living in my office, or if I should take him home. Maybe I will get him a wife; I bet he'd like that.

I regret: not taking care of my high school friendships. And cutting my hair...bad move!

I love: everything about Rob and then some.

I care: about other people's feelings.

I always: wear flip-flops in the summer (and sometimes year round) if I can get away it.

I am not: a photogenic person.

I laugh: at those funny montages on America's Funniest Videos where people fall down. Now, that's good TV.

I remember: what I wore on my first date with Rob.

I believe: in saying please, thank you and smiling at strangers.

I sing: terribly...really, it's bad!

I dance: swing in the kitchen with Rob on occasion. Yeah, we're super cool!

I don’t always: clean as I go. Really, who does and how is that fun?

I argue: with Rob about getting a puppy...I don't think we can handle one.

I write: thank you notes - always!

I adore: the children's clothing store Janie and Jack.

I win: the puppy argument...so far.

I lose: to the computer most of the time when I play Wii tennis...it makes no sense!! :)

I listen: to movies and Friends on my iPod while at work.

I don’t understand: how I can love babies so much, but be hesitant about having one myself. Someday?!

I can usually be found: at home, work or school...what a bore!

I need: a mani/pedi in a bad way.

I forget: names more often than faces.

I am happy: when I wake up and realize that I still have hours left until my alarm goes off. What can I say? Sleep is important to me...

I Tag: everyone! I look forward to reading everyone elses answers.

Melanie

My very amazing sister-in-law Melanie is celebrating a birthday today (the 25th. I started the post last night so that date reads the 24...oops!). Melanie is such a riot! I always have so much fun with her. It is such a bummer that we live so far away from each other. As I was searching for a picture of Mel to use, I had so many fun ones to choose from - she isn't one of those people who is shy in front of the camera...it's great! The pictures I chose have great memories associated with them. The first one is a picture of Melanie on her first trip to visit us up in Seattle. We were messing around in the Seattle Aquarium gift shop and she modeled a few 'hats' for us (me and Mom). Gosh, I am giggling just looking at this picture...she always makes me laugh!! :)

This one is my favorite! You know those colored malt Easter egg candies? We were licking them and then using them as lipsticks...I think that this is a pretty common practice, right? I always did it growing up. Well, Melanie picked one that matched her outfit, applied it and then cheesed it up for a picture. Now, tell me that doesn't sound like someone who is a fun Mom!

These pictures really capture the Melanie that I love. She is so sweet, fun, caring and up for anything...even bowling the day before she has a baby (with no complaints at all...in fact, it was probably her idea to go in the first place).

Mel, I am so glad that you are a part of our family; I couldn't have asked for a better sister. I could talk and laugh with you for hours about nothing...I really miss you!! Cannot wait for you to come visit us next month! Happy Birthday!!!

Back to school, kind of

Yesterday was my first day back at school. I decided to take Summer quarter off because I had a lot of stuff going on and couldn't fit school in on top of it. Plus, they didn't offer the classes I really need during the summer. So yesterday I arrived up early to pick up my books, which after waiting in line forever I am told that they don't have and to try back tomorrow...great! I still had a little bit before class started so I went back to my car to listen to the book on CD Confessions of a Shopoholic (it's an OK read/listen). A few minutes before class starts I take off to find my lab room. I only have one class on Monday evenings...Chemistry. When I locate the correct room, there is a guy hanging a sign on the door that says there is no lab tonight, regular schedule resumes tomorrow. What?!? It's great that there is no class, but I'm irked that I had been waiting around for it forever...blah! So I headed home to watch the end of the Will and Grace DVDs that I got from Netflix. I will try the school thing again tonight...

We got a Wii

Friday night Rob not only came home with dinner, but also a Wii and Wii Fit. What a great surprise!! We have talked about how fun it would be to have one, but never really got around to looking at them. Something must have gotten into him on Friday night, and boy am I glad it did!!

We played it all night long...Rob actually played it into the morning. I'm an old lady, I can't stay up that late anymore. The Wii fit is pretty fun too. They have a hula hoop exercise that is so funny to watch. I was laughing as Rob was doing it, but then I pictured what I would look like doing it...even funnier. I decided it best that I wait until I was alone to try it. Yep, I was right, I felt silly and definitely looked it. It is still a really fun exercise though.

Ugh, Leslie

Funny thing happened at work this morning. As usual, I was working so hard (funny, I know) when my phone rang. I usually don't answer my own line. For some crazy reason my company thinks that I am so busy that I need someone to answer my phones and do my admin stuff for me. She calls herself my secretary, even though that term is a tad outdated. I will refer to her as Leslie. Anyways, back to the story. So my phone rings, I don't answer it, Leslie does and then bursts into the loudest strings of laughter ever. 'Oh my goodness!! What the crap is she up to now?' is my thought, then Leslie buzzes me to tell me (still very giggly and giddy) that I have a call, without telling me who it is...one of my biggest workplace/'secretary' peeves. So with a trace of annoyance in my voice I thank her and pick up the line. To my delight, it was my brother Chase! Apparently when he called he assumed that I would be the one answer the phone. His response to '___(my company name), this is Leslie.' was 'Well, Good morning Beautiful!' This is what sent Leslie into a giggling mess. Chase just heard a female voice and expected it to be me. When he realized his error he asked Leslie not tell me what he had done, which she of course did as soon as I hung up with him! She then asked to tell me to inform my brother that she is single and looking. Okay, she is 47 and my brother is 20...she is so weird!

Molly

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my good friend Molly who happens to be turning twenty-something today. I know, this isn't an excellent shot of the two of us, but it brings back good memories of when we lived together for a few months in Seattle. I am so glad that she was up to the move, and I will always be grateful to her for that. Happy BD Molly...you're a great friend! :)

Being Wee

I found this site where you can make little versions of yourself. Here are the versions of Rob and I that I came up with.

Cute, huh? Check out Wee World for yourself.

Midnight Sun

I would first like to apologize to all of those that I judged (only slightly) when they told me they were addicted to the Twilight Sage. Vampires, come on!?! :) Thanks to all of the peer pressure, and Molly for lending me all of the books, I now am too a follower. I am almost finished with Breaking Dawn. I have about a fifth left, but I am not finding it very interesting. Maybe it's just the deep denial I am feeling about the series ending...I just don't want to admit it's over?? Yesterday I stumbled onto the greatest thing ever...Midnight Sun. It's supposed to be Twilight told by Edward's point of view instead of Bella's. Stephanie Meyers has 12 chapters of it published on her website. Apparently it is a partial draft that was leaked and posted all over the internet. Due to the breach she is unsure of if she will finish the book or not...I hope she does! I have spent more time than I care to admit reading it at work. It is great to see Twilight through Edward's eyes. Any Twilight fan has got to read this. You can legally read it here for FREE. Enjoy!!

Ooh baby, baby!

I am so excited to have another Pickup boy in the family!! My little brother Tyler and his lovely wife Lindsay have contributed the cutest little tyke to the ever growing extended Pickup clan. I am slightly jealous that my Mom got to be there for the birth, but am also so glad that she was there to support Ty & Linds and welcome little Lyndon. I thought it might be viewed as slightly weird to post pictures of someone else's newborn, so check out their blog here to read about the exciting event. Lindsay, you are one tough Mommy!!

My new office companion

Lately work has been a drag. Part of this has to do with the lack of exciting people in my office. The only co-worker that I really like, as in I would associate with them outside of the office, has been gone for awhile. With so few prospects of a work buddy, I just decided to buy one. Does that make me sound pathetic? Anyways, here is my new buddy...

As I was searching for my new buddy at Petco during my lunch hour, I was looking for a gilled gal with a little flair. When I saw this dear, I thought that 'she' was destined to be named Roxie and live in my office. When I got back to my office and set up camp (a vase with marbles in the bottom) I was told (but not quite convinced) that my sweet Roxie was in fact a he. Now, who has ever heard of a he named Roxie? Not I. Do I change he/she's name, or simply stick with the name Roxie? Remember the movie Bug's Life where there is that ladybug that is a male and gets upset that everyone assumes he is a female just because he is a ladybug? Well I don't want my dear betta fish to go through life feeling that way. I don't know if I should find a new unisex name (sidenote: remember Pat from SNL? Ha, ha!) or change to a more masculine name all together. Oh, the stress! Maybe Petco should not put their male bettas in pink lidded containers and this whole misunderstanding would have never happened to begin with!!

What a lucky day!

My search for the perfect sunglasses seemed to be never ending...that is until yesterday. I have finally found them!! I wasn't even looking for them...I was actually doing a little birthday gift shopping for a few friends. I only tried them on because they were green on the inside (my favorite color), I didn't expect them to look perfect, but they did! Too bad the entire summer had to pass before I discovered them.

My sunglasses high was so intense that I just had to lounge around the house for the rest of the day to recover. I watched a little bit of football with Rob, did a little bit of laundry and thought about dusting...didn't actually get motivated enough to do it though. Rob's little sister hung out with us for a little in the evening and we watched Mean Girls...so funny. It's one of our favorites; it's one of those movies that we could watch over and over again and still laugh. Does that make us sound like losers?

**Rob thinks that I am making too big of a deal over these sunglasses...he just doesn't understand. I bet he's just jealous :)**

The origin of Win

Many people have questioned the meaning of Win. I got another inquiry recently in the message box on our sidebar, so I figure now is as good as time as any to explain. It is a shortened down nickname that I have had since I was little. It started out with my parents' (primarily my Mom, I think) baby talk...calling me Janawinnie. It then grew to Janawinniewoo, which then grew to Janawinniewoobabydoll. Obviously, that is a little too long. It was then shortened to just Winnie, which I still respond to but more often it's shortened down to Win. And that's that. :)

Minor detail

Next month my Mom, Aunt and Sister-in-law are flying up to visit us. Very exciting!! Yesterday evening I booked their flights and sent them copies of their itinerary. This afternoon I got a call from my sister in law informing me that I had booked the flights from Seattle to Salt Lake City rather than Salt Lake City to Seattle. Yeah, I am a winner! Luckily I was able to switch the flights without too much problem...just a little embarrassment. Good thing Mel has an eagle eye, because I probably wouldn't have picked up on it until much, much later. :)

For all of you online shoppers...I would like to introduce you to MyPoints.com

This is the best website for those of you who shop online! Your purchases earn points and then you can cash in your points for gift cards. I then use these gift cards to shop online and earn more points. It is great!! I signed up for their FREE service in October of 2005 and have earned nearly 320,000 points. A $50 gift card is redeemable for anywhere from 6,000-7,500 points, depending on the retailer you choose. So if my math is right (which I am pretty sure of??), over the period of almost 3 years I have received nearly $2,500 in gift cards.

They also have a refer a friend bonus that gets everyone more points. If anyone wants me to send them an invite, shoot me an email robnwin@gmail.com.

Shop away! :)

The hammer

I just had the oddest phone conversation with Rob. Take from it what you wish...I am still deciphering it.

Me: Hi. Do you know where the hammer is?

Him: The hammer, why?

Me: I am going to hang up all of the pictures that are leaning against our walls. You know, the ones you have been bugging me about. (Yes, we moved in months ago and I still haven't decorated...another story all together. Maybe tomorrow?)
Him: Oh, good!

Me: So, do you know where the hammer is?

Him: Um, yeah I think so.

Me: Where?

Him: It's under our bed.
Me: Under our bed?

Him: Yeah, under our bed. It's on my side of the bed up towards the headboard. Right under where my head would be.

Me: That's a weird place for it. Why is it there?

Him: Because that is where I put it.

Me: Um, okay...thanks, bye.

Him: Bye

Keep in mind that he hasn't hung anything up in our bedroom. Why the need for the hammer? Yeah, that's what I want to know. Just incase he needs to bop me in the middle of the night if my snoring gets out of control? Yeah, yeah so lame. You have to admit, that is a weird place to store a hammer, especially on purpose. Like that is where it should go or something? I don't get it...all of the rest of the tools are in the garage.

I bet it is his back-up to ward off any middle of the night intruders. Yeah, that sounds a lot better! He is just trying to protect us. :) I still think it's funny though...love you Rob!!!

Didn't quite turn out as I had expected

For the past few months I have been trying a high protein, low carb diet. Not diet, I mean 'way of life'. I realized that this would be challenging since my typical day is made up of oatmeal for breakfast, and either pasta or rice for lunch and dinner. But hey, no problem...it can certainly be done...I just have to eat a lot more meat. As it turns out, I don't really like meat that much. It is hard to eat enough meat to fit into the high protein category. The simple solution: protein shakes. Rob drinks them all of the time, so I am sure that I can handle them, right? Um, no! Rob's protein shakes taste horrible! I don't know how he can drink that crap. I had to spend half of an hour just psyching myself up to drink it (the smell would really get to me) and then once I did it took all of my willpower to keep from gagging it back up. Gross, I know...sorry, it's the truth. So I shopped around for the best smelling and tasting protein powder. I did find a decent brand (Designer Whey), but their shake still left something to be desired. That something just happened to be bananas. On a whim I chopped up and froze a banana one night with the intention of throwing a couple frozen chunks in my regular shake in the morning. I got the idea from Jamba Juice. Seriously, how did I not think of it sooner!?! The next morning my protein shake with banana was fantastic! Ever since then I have been adding a few slices of banana to my shakes. Well a few days ago I bought about a dozen bananas and chopped them all up and threw them in a big freezer bag. Up until this point I have only been using a banana or two at a time since I only use about a quarter of a banana per shake. Well when I pulled out my bag of frozen bananas this morning to make my shake, this is what I found...

...a big, frozen lump of banana slices. They were frozen into a huge rock!! I couldn't even manage to break a few chunks off...it was SO hard! I started prying into it with a knife, and the knife broke. Granted it was a plastic knife, but still this thing was hard enough to break a knife. So now I have a hunk of banana in my freezer. I don't want to let it thaw out and get all mushy. I think that I will have to remove it and monitor it's frozen-ness this evening and break the bulge up and then package in smaller, more manageable baggies. Really I thought that it was such a great idea to do it all at once. Well, I learned my lesson! Maybe I should just give up with the bananas all together??

Relaxing Sunday

This afternoon we thought it would be nice to head to Bellevue Square for a movie and try out Red Mango (a Pinkberry rival). We got to our movie early and decided that we would rather have our yogurt first and possibly miss the previews. This just proves how much I like these yogurts because the previews are my favorite part of going to the movies. I NEVER miss the previews! I have to tell Rob that the movie starts earlier than it actually does because he runs behind so often. He uses the previews as a buffer...not okay with me. :) Red Mango was great...I think that I have got Rob hooked on them too. Thanks for the suggestion Jen!

We ended up seeing Traitor...good movie! I like Don Cheadle. He has been in so many different types of roles and he always does so well in them all...Hotel Rwanda, Oceans 11, 12 & 13, Talk to Me (funny!), and now this. I never really realized how great he is.

After the movie we wandered over to Alki Beach in West Seattle for a nice long walk. The weather was fantastic! I doubt that we will have many more beach walk weekends this year...fall is coming! I didn't have my camera, but I did have my handy camera phone. I tried to capture the great view, but this picture doesn't do it justice.

Here is my handsome hunk of a man half-grinning for the camera. It was a wonderful afternoon; too bad it didn't last long enough. We had to head home early in the evening so that Rob could spend some time working on his statistics homework...bummer for Rob!

This time of year already? Bummer!

The fall is my absolute favorite time of year! Once it is over I am already counting down the days until it comes again. It just so happens that Rob does the same exact thing, but for a completely different reason than I do. I love the crispness of the air, the changing of the leaves...all the good stuff. Rob's countdown is solely for the start of the College Football season. This is actually one thing that I do not like about the fall. During the season all day long, every Saturday our house revolves around the football games that start at 9:00 and go into the night. In the first year in our relationship I would watch the games with Rob. Not because I was really into them but because our relationship was still fairly new and I just wanted to be with him. I was definitely singing a different song the following year. The second year I spent a majority of the time complaining about how much time he spent watching it. This didn't do any good...he watched them anyways. Well, he watched them most of the time. There were a handful of occasions where he would give into my whining. By year three I understood that this was something I could give in on. Rob really doesn't ask for much and is always so wonderful to me, so why not just give him his College Football. We have been through eight seasons and I have found other things to do on my solo Saturdays. It has even gotten to be kind of nice for us to have the day to our self. Apparently the season started last week while I was out of town, so I hadn't realized it was upon us. Boy was I in for a rude awakening this morning! I was up and wanting to do something. I had a plans that would last us all day long and I was looking forward to it. But alas, I walk downstairs to the familiar sound of football commentary and I knew my fate. None of my exciting things would happen today, College Football has arrived. Bummer for me! I sulked around all day (in my pajamas by the way!) and moved my oh-so-exciting plans to tomorrow...hopefully. I am going to have to take up a new hobby to entertain myself on Saturdays.

Go Florida State!

A silent cry for help

Rob thinks that he is so funny! He is always saying that he wants to contribute to our blog too, so this afternoon I passed him the laptop and asked him to type up his contribution. This is what he passed back to me, smirking the whole time. Oh, and the title is his idea too. I told him that I was going to post it and I don't think he believes me. Well, here you go...straight from the mouth of Rob. For those of you that don't know him, it might not be so funny. :)

.

Today, I am so scared. I have not cleaned up the house like Janalyn asked me to. She told me if it was not clean when she got home she would not be happy, which means she will go to her not happy place. If I do not post anything tomorrow please, please pray for me. Thanks, I got to go now.

-Rob

LA

This past weekend I was able to spend some quality time with a good friend in LA. We spent a few days shopping, talking and just driving around taking in the nice weather. It just so happened that our hotel was situated right between two great malls. Needless to say, we put in a lot of time and money there! It was also in LA that I discovered my new all-time favorite food, or I guess I should say snack...Pinkberry. This yogurt is amazing! Oh, and did I mention that it was fat free!?! I think that it is common knowledge that I am not a huge fan of California, but I am seriously considering relocating to The Golden State just to be close to my new love: original yogurt with strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. I know this sounds a little extreme, but believe me...it would be SO worth it! I think that I might be able to get Rob on board. :)

I couldn't resist diving right in before snapping a picture of it. This is perfection!

Since I am already on the subject of great food, actually this again is a snack...Sprinkles cupcakes was another discovery. While I am not normally a big cupcake person, I did develop pretty intense feelings for the red velvet cupcake. I was hoping they would have their infamous peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes baking the day of our visit, but sadly they weren't. No worries though...there were still plenty of flavors to choose from. Rob is a HUGE lover of cake, so I knew that this place would have been heaven for him. On the way to the airport we stopped to pick up a few more for the folks back home...they were quite well received at my house.

YUM!

We also went to see Wicked...it was so great! The theatre it was in was really beautiful. It was much funnier than I had expected. We were actually quite lucky to get seats at the last minute.

I finally got to see the movie Mama Mia too. I was singing the songs in my head all night! It was really cute! One morning we visited Westwood Cemetery, which is a little cemetery in the middle of the city. There are a number of famous people that are buried there. It was kind of a neat, and slightly odd experience. Overall, the trip was pretty great. I had a wonderful time catching up and just goofing off. Thanks for the good time M! :)