POC 19: A photo you took

Well in honor of Halloween - how about a bunch of photos I took over one helluva haunted weekend?! And yes, there are quite a few that others took as well but what is a Halloween post without everyone's costumes?!

Trick-or-Treat!!

A couple of notes: Victor as Russell Brand definitely won me over for best costume. Although his wife (Arlene as Katy Perry) was a damn close second. Yes, Kid Sister had multiple costumes for the weekend. Yes, Lauren was a vagina. Which made for great entertainment on her behalf all weekend long.

Hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.

Lots of treats to you-

Love,
HSCOOC

POC 18: Say something to your 15-year-old self

An M&M McFlurry with extra M&M's and a McDonald's biscuit is not breakfast. You should be concerned about something called diabetes. Be nicer to your mother, she is just looking out for you. See the people you're surrounded by? These girls will be your friends for life and that makes you a very, very lucky girl. Stop sleeping in class, it's disrespectful. Mixers will close and it will break your heart but you cannot make smoothies forever. Stevie B. will eventually fall in love with you and you will eventually find out that he is not what you wanted in the long run - but he will be your first love. There are tee-shirts other than men's white v-necks, although you will hit another phase of that in your mid-20s. Quit smoking. You will look back on that note Lauren just gave you 15 years from now and it will still be just as funny. Be sure to buckle up on the evening of March 2, 2000. When you go to UNR 3 years from now, try to stick it out longer than one semester. You will be 27 and still not know how to drive stick shift correctly. Keep taking photographs - it is your passion. Hug Flap. Life gets harder - appreciate what you have now.

POC 17: A recipe

My Grandma's Ginger Snaps -
aka: The Best Little Cookies in the World

¾ c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

4 T. molasses

2 ¼ c. flour

½ t. salt

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cloves

2 t. baking soda

Cream butter and sugar on medium speed. Add egg and molasses, mixing well. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into creamed mixture. Chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on silpat or lightly greased baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a small glass into water and then into granulated sugar. Flatten dough balls this way into disks so each is sugared. Bake 8-10 minutes. Yields about 6-8 dozen.

So I suggest making two batches and sharing with me.

POC 16: The last book you read

HSCOOC: Recommended Reading

I could not put this book down. I read it every chance I got and breezed through it in under a week.

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.

Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

POC: Post a bit of your last AIM conversation

Me (3:36pm): honey wants to know how many tickets we want. i am thinking 300 between media, radio and social media giveaways. what are your thoughts?
Stacy: yeah, I think that's fair!

have you had a lot of RSVPs?

Me: yeah!

well like 15? plus guests?
Stacy: Nice!

Me (4:11 pm): i wish we could use clip art on aim

Stacy: I know!!!!Freakin IM

Stacy (4:48 pm): in doing research for Facebook polls, I'll have you know that the BROWN BREAD at CHEESECAKE FACTORY has its own page.

Seriously?

Me: WHAT?

HA personally, i think it deserves it. that shit is ridic.
Stacy:"that shit is ridic"

can you please post that on their page?

that's awesome

Me: LOL

THE BROWN BREAD AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY: SO SORRY HOLLAND, SO VERY SORRY.

what happened to holland?
Stacy: Products:brown bread yo.
Me: THE BROWN BREAD AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY : is it whole wheat? is it multigrain? or is it just white bread dyed brown with weird oatmeal flakes on top? we don't know. but we don't care.

HA HA HA
Stacy: HA!!!!!!!

This is HYSTERICAL!

Me:THE BROWN BREAD AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY suck it white bread.

Stacy: Um brown bread has almost as many followers as we do.

Me (5:01 pm): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jru0ytkyPSU&feature=youtu.be

bastard
doesn't he know there is no sunshine when hes gone?
Stacy: Oh my hotness

that would have been worth the ticket price alone

Me: *sigh*

POC 14: Your last night out in detail

5:43pm: Leave work
6:09pm: Arrive home, scratch Gordon's butt
6:12-7:25pm: BS with Pep, dance around the house, blog
7:26-7:57pm: Get make-up on, do hair, change outfits 3 or 4 times
8:06pm: Leave the house to go meet Kid Sis
8:32pm: Meet Kid Sis at 6th and Ogden to drive to Firefly for dinner (easier for valet)
8:33-8:37pm: Play Kanye West feat. Wu-Tang and Justin Bieber. Car dance.
8:43pm: Arrive to Firefly at the Plaza
8:43-10:06pm: Consume tapas and sangria while chatting about everything from feather hair extensions to the Today Show.
10:07pm: Drive down to Fremont East
10:11pm: Arrive to Don't Tell Mama
10:12-12:36am: Sing our hearts out at Mama's with Dre and Robbie on the keys. Take Gaga photos with Dre. Order Vodka/Red Bulls. Dance to Little Mermaid's Part of that World. Drink Vodka/Red Bulls. Try to figure out if the boy is gay or straight. Apply lip gloss. Sing to Journey at the top of our lungs. The mic is in my face! Dre, you know I hate that.

12:37am: Leave Mama's and head for next destination
12:38am: Arrive to the Griffin
12:39-1:11am: Drink Vodka/Red Bull. Make conversation with Air Force Nellis guys about living in Vegas (over this conversation).
1:12am: Depart Griffin
1:13-1:21am: BS on Fremont before walking each other to the cars.
1:42am: Arrive home, quietly as not to wake any of the pups.
1:51am: Sleep. And all before 2am - pat self on back.

POC 13: A photo of you taken two years ago

Ah, the dark phase....

POC 12: Something you could never get tired of doing

You.

You, HSCOOC, I could never get tired of doing you. I know sometimes I don't give you the attention I think you truly deserve but know that you are always top of mind.

I could never tire of sharing stories with you, posting photos and basically, sealing my life memories with you.

I promise to keep it fresh, keep it true & keep it full of love. Because that is what you deserve.

In fact, just for you today, a heart shaped cut-out of latte for your enjoyment.

POC 11: Your Favorite Movie

All time, hands down...

If you've never seen it, I suggest immediately going to your nearest Red Box and picking it up - or you are more than welcome to borrow it from my personal collection. I'd come over to watch it with you but I am totally obnoxious and can't help but to recite every scene.

POC 10: What's in your purse?

I could tell you about how there are 19 lip glosses, my notebook, SK+G PR business cards, my beloved Marc Jacobs wallet (thx, Panda!), this book, 3 Kleenex, a camera, 7 pieces of candy, eyedrops, keys and an iPhone in my purse but come on, all of that is so expected.

What is not expected is what ended up in my purse last night.

I was over at Diana's for some pumpkin carving action. After some intense drinking, I mean carving, we walked outside to take a look at her Pomegranate tree and the next thing I knew:

POC 9: The Reason Behind Your Blog Name

I can't tell you the year (but if I had to guess, I'd guess 2000) but I can tell you the location: Olive Garden and I can tell you the person: Audrey Chin.

For some reason, over salad and breadsticks, we we discussing ways to win our hearts. There were several of us there, the usual suspects. It got brought up that, of course, cheese would be the way to my heart.

Audrey then took it to the next level when she said "Heart Shaped Cut-Outs of Cheese"

And so a blog name (and way to win my heart) was born.

POC 8: Something you never leave home without

As I was brainstorming for this post, I turned to my friend (and conveniently, cube-mate), Erin, and said "today I have to blog about something I never leave home without." "Your iPhone." "Yeah, I know but that just seems so obvious." I thought briefly about my contacts since GOD FORBID I leave the house without those but then Erin piped up with "CANDY!"

YES! Candy! One of my true loves!

"Good call! But I don't know if I have any in my purse right now...."

Erin gave me the "Please, you always have candy in your purse" look as I picked it up to do a search.

Here is what I found.

So yes, friends, that is my idea of not having any candy in my purse. So next time we're out together and you've got a sweet tooth, I've got you covered.

POC 7: Your Celebrity Crush

Oh, Joseph Gordon Levitt, between your incredible acting skills, eyes that look like Linzi G's and hitRECord....let me count the (500) ways.

POC 6: A Song to Match Your Mood

Life has soundtracks. I remember Jay-Z's The Black Album - early 20's. Anything N*Sync and/or Britney - senior year. The Get Up Kids - early adolescence. Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus was just last Christmas. Kings of Leon - Denver. Always. Justin Timberlake - 23. Passion Pit's Manners sounds like Spring. And now? Florence and the Machine's Lungs. Her voice is the soundtrack of my life right now. And what a voice, and time, it is.

POC 5: A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet

POC 4: Something you regret

If you know me, you know my feelings on the above photo. If we've ever been at the beach together, I tell you to avoid putting sunscreen on that spot as I am still hoping it will magically fade away one of these days.

For those of you who do not, this is the tattoo I got on my 18th birthday. I had put a lot of thought into what I wanted - a train of elephants linked trunk to tail walking across my lower back.

But wait, that's not what that is. No, unfortunately, it is not because about a week before my appointment (aka: June 7, 2001), I decided that I just I wanted a fairy on my lower back.

So, that's what I got. 2 1/2 hrs of pain and me squeezing Linzi's hand so tight she had to take breaks to wipe the sweat off her hand.

I'm not one to live with regrets but this.... I cried the very night I got it because yes, HSCOOC, I have a f*cking fairy tattooed on my lower back. FOR LIFE.

POC 3: Your idea of the perfect first date

You know I had a pretty ideal first date the other night. Joey picked me up (which automatically gets you a +15 on the board) and he had prepared a special mix for our date...of Kanye West. All of his G.O.O.D Friday mixes along with some classics. As you can imagine, this was +147.

We started off the evening with a fantastic meal at one of my favorite places, Brio at Town Square. Shrimp and Crab Cakes, with Roasted Asparagus and a glass of Pinot Noir with a very handsome, kind man sitting across from me....+123.

The evening then took us for a walk across Town Square to go see a movie - and being the crazy movie buff that I am - this was my third outing to a theatre in 24 hrs. Joey purchased us some concessions and we got the row where you get to put your feet up on the bar in front of you. He held my hand through the whole movie. +289.

A perfect first date kiss topped off the evening. He was a perfect gentleman. +303.

The perfect first date to me doesn't have to do with whether or not you take me to Joe's Stone Crab (although that doesn't hurt), it has to do with you being a gentleman and treating me like a lady. Some good conversation, a little wine and a lot of laughs and you've got yourself a perfect first date right there.

Personalized mixes are a bonus though :)

POC 2: A photo of something you ate today

C'mon....were you really expecting anything else? :)

POC 1: A photo of yourself and a description your day

Today started off like any other day - me not wanting to get out of bed. I rolled over (and on to Gordon) and slowly started to wake up. Every since I took residence back at Pep's house, it's just a little bit easier knowing that there is a fresh pot of coffee already brewing downstairs.

I got ready while watching The Today Show, enjoyed a drive to work with the windows down (wearing Joey's Marc Jacobs sunglasses - thx, love!), listening to Passion Pit - singing way too loud and sipping my coffee between breaks.

Work brought a mix of social media posts for clients and work on the 17th Annual Cactus Lighting Event for Ethel M (November 16 - save the date!).

I am now dragging my feet on packing up the remainder of my belongings at my condo. Hoping that these few last random items will just find a home for themselves since they obv do not have one in my mind if they haven't already made it into a box.

Kickball is in an hour - Kicks and Giggles is off to a 0-2 start but we at least got on the board last week. Losing is humbling. The good news is I pretty much consider myself a key player for this team instead of feeling like I'm in the way as I did with KIOS. We play the #1 ranked team tonight - but I think we're going to take them.

After kickball, I am heading to Town Square with Joey to meet up with Arlene and Victor for dinner and a movie. I think we are going to catch Catfish - the documentary of a romance on Facebook. BTW, have you seen The Social Network yet? If not, stop reading right here and go.

No, seriously, go. Now.

30 Pieces of Cheese

I was blog surfing today and came across an idea on a few Tumblr accounts. I am going to combine a few of the different "30 Posts in 30 Days" I found to create my own list.

Then you can check-in every day over the next 30 (starting tomorrow so mark your calendars!) to get a new piece of cheese from yours truly.

Here's what we'll be working with:

1. A photo of yourself and a description your day
2. A photo of something you ate today
3. Your idea of the perfect first date
4. Something you regret
5. A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet
6. A song to match your mood
7. Your celebrity crush (I'll try to narrow it down to 2)
8. Something you don't leave the house without
9. The meaning behind your blog name
10. What's in your purse
11. Your favorite movie
12. Something you could never get tired of doing
13. A photo of you taken 2 years ago
14. Your last night out in detail
15. Post a bit of your last AIM conversation
16. The last book you read
17. A recipe
18. Say something to your 15-year-old self
19. A photo you took
20. Something you crave
21. 15 facts about yourself
22. Your favorite musician
23. Post a photo of yourself without makeup
24. How you would spend $10,000
25. Something that makes you sad when you think about it
26. A photo of the last item you purchased
27. Press shuffle on your iPod and list the first 10 songs that come up
28. Your favorite thing right now
29. A photo from your childhood
30. A photo of yourself today and 3 good things that have happened in the past 30 days

Little Treasures: Lily Toliet Paper Photo

This has to be one of my favorite photos of all time.

It was taken when I had my place with Ann and she had a kitty named Lily who was just the most hilarious cat. She was super active and my boyfriend at the time was unemployed so he would just take a ton of photos of Lily throughout the day (Sienna was too busy cleaning herself inside the closest or hiding underneath the rug to come out and play).

I was separating photos the other day and this one just had to be shared.

It has to be one of the best photos he has ever captured. Talk about being caught red-handed/clawed.

Ann, if you're reading this, I miss you. You too, Lily.

Little Treasures: CR, Jr. Baseball

One of the (many) things I've come across during THE MOVE is my signed baseball from Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray that my father caught for me at a Baltimore Orioles game when I was just a few months old.

I had been worried that I had "misplaced" the baseball because I hadn't seen it in a number of years so you can imagine my relief when I did find it. Just last Sunday, I was over at Pep's and she looked up to see how much the signed baseball is worth. "About $300." "It's worth way more than that to me, Ma. Dad got it for me when I was just a baby."

The next day, I was on the phone with Mr. Carl Knoch himself and I told him "Dad, guess what! I found my Cal Ripken baseball! I was so relieved!" Expecting him to say "OH GOOD!" and immediately launch into his memory of catching that ball and getting it signed for his brand new baby girl. Instead, my father says to me, "You have a signed Cal Ripken ball?"

...............

The man has no recollection of that day. When I told him, "Here I was, all stressed out because I hadn't come across it in a few years and its one of my most sentimental items and you don't even remember getting it for me?!?"

He explained to me that he doesn't even remember what he ate for dinner the night before. I suppose as long as he doesn't forget that Tiny Dancer is our song, we'll be AOK.

Love you, Dad.

Feels like Fall

As I was driving home last night, in my H&M poncho I've been dying to be able to wear - I had the windows down and the combo of being in a comfy sweater, the cool air blowing through my car and this song playing - it became official...

Fall has arrived.