Buy Cooper Things!!

I may be a dog, but I have mastered blogging, and I have a Christmas list I would like to share.

Daddy, please take note.

A basket for my toys. Mom asked me to put this on my list. I don't think she likes that I always have my toys spread throughout the house. I just like toys - especially the ones that don't have eyes.

Mom says this will help my joints not hurt so much when I wake up! She's the best.

Maybe Auntie SCO will come over and play with me if I have hedgehogs.

A baby brother and sister to play with! Only if they're the same age... Dad, aren't you a twin!?

I want this for the obvious reason. It's true ANNNND it's my name. Duh.

Dark sheets for my new bed!

Someone to make me this for my food!!

I REALLY LIKE THESE! But remember, I have a sensitive tummy, so you might want to check with mom before you buy and special treats.

Maybe you could go to Petco and grab my dinner so mom doesn't have to. Just an idea.

Dad, if you have any questions, you know where to find me.

Ruff. *whine* *pounces around the living room* *more whining* I just want to lay down on your yoga mat. Thanks for loving me.

Cooper

Giovanni’s Italian Deli & Pasta – Restaurant Review

After Kristin and I purchased carpet this evening, we decided to celebrate by going out to eat.  We weren’t looking for a luxurious restaurant, but something quick and different.  We chose a restaurant just up the street from us called Giovanni’s Italian Deli & Pasta.

Neither of us have tried it before because we aren’t really fans of deli’s.  I mean, if I wanted a sandwich, I have bread and sandwich meat at home that I could whip up into a quick sandwich.  But, I figured they’d have something we both would like.

As I’m attempting to pull into the parking lot, I’m in the turning lane while there is another car facing me waiting to turn the other way.  While I’m waiting, the car in front of me flashes his lights at me.  I mutter, “I don’t have my brights on idiot.”  Right before it’s clear for me to turn, I give the guy a nice flash (my way of saying, fuck off) and turn into Giovanni’s parking lot. 

Giovanni’s is an “order your food, pay at the counter, get your beverage,  sit and wait for your number to be called” type of restaurant.  Fine by me.  This actually saves you 15%-25% of the bill since you don’t have to tip a waitress.  The entrees ranged from around $5-$10, so it’s very reasonably priced.  We weren’t sure what to order, so as we typically do at new restaurant, we asked the lady taking our order for recommendations.  They had various cold and warm sandwiches, daily specials, and all kinds of homemade pastas. They recommended the homemade pastas so of course this is what we went with.

 

Huge portion of lasagna and that garlic bread, delicious!

Kristin had the spaghetti and meatballs which she really enjoyed.  I however, LOVED the lasagna.  It was smothered with this sweet homemade pasta sauce.  And the toasted garlic bread it came with was fantastic!  I am a huge fan of bread.  For instance, if we go to some place like Outback Steakhouse (which is rare since Kristin doesn’t like the chain steakhouse restaurants) I murder at least 3 loafs of their bread.  So the fact that they gave us 3 pieces of garlic bread each, I was thrilled!  The lasagna was fresh and moist and wasn’t overcooked like you get at some Italian restaurants.

We love supporting our local mom and pop restaurants.  Unfortunately, our favorite local Chinese restaurant that we eat at weekly (awesome special that consist of an entire meal for only $5) got shut down by the health department.  Sad day.  We loved that place!  So, Giovanni’s is definitely a place we will continue to go to and support.

I’m not exactly sure how a rating system should go, but here is my ratings:

92% of people gave Giovanni’s restaurant a thumbs up.

My rating:

Cost: 9

                Very cheap and generous portions for the price.

Taste: 9

                I loved the homemade lasagna and the slightly sweet sauce was fantastic.

Speed: 9

                We had our food in 5 minutes or less.  Definitely a place you can get a quick meal in and not have to worry about a long wait or being too crowded.

Plating: 5

                They served with paper plates and plastic ware, but it’s not a fine dining restaurant.  It’s a place to get good your Italian fix for an inexpensive price.

OVERALL: 8

                I took the average of the 4 ratings to get the overall score.  Tummies full, wallet happy, and out in less than 30 minutes for a quick and easy dinner.

I know I haven’t blogged much lately, but I figured it was time to get back to it.  So I thought I’d start with tonight’s dinner. 

I have lots of blogs I can catch up on so we’ll see if I get to those soon or if I decide to just let those go and start others. 

My twin brother will be coming to stay with us next week from California, so I’m sure I’ll be blogging about that.  I will also be attending the Chiefs / Broncos game at Arrowhead on December 1^st.  We also will be having the carpet installed very soon, so look for before and after pictures.  I know I've put up pictures of the before and after of the dining room wall on Facebook, but I need to add a blog to it as well. So keep an eye out for some of these in the near future.

Buy me things.

Kyle has been bugging me about a Christmas list. I'm all "just surprise me" and he's all "No."

Okay then. List it is. I gave him a million options for my birthday presents (I'm really not that hard to make happy) and he picked the perfect one! Got to give him credit there.

But really, Ky - I would be happy with ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (mostly a puppy) but don't buy me a vacuum cleaner or a mop, although these are things that we need. A dishwasher/and or paint is totally acceptable though. I'm just saying.

First things first,

Mostly kidding.

Moving on.

Not sure where to find these at, but Google is a thing.

Boomer Sooner!!

You know, if you win the lottery

This is probably a bit more realistic. Whatevs.

LANYARD!! 

Just kidding. I want this. 

So my glasses won't get scratched! 

UMM, YES!

This has everything I love. Stripes and sparkle. 

A big bag like this. Or something similar. You know what I like. Aka stripes and sparkles ;) 

Again, YES!!

Necessary.

Aquage Uplifting Foam - Google is a thing.

You're already the master of finding my conditioner - but maybe I can have the shampoo too?

Tote. Font 3 or 14

Oh life.

Sometimes you have rough weeks. Really rough weeks.

This week was my very first week of training by myself. My amazing mentor has left our department to move on to bigger and better things (while I begged and pleaded with her to stay - you think I'm kidding. I'm not.) and my supervisor was going to sit in with me to make sure I didn't ruin every ones lives. Cool. I can live with that.

Something came up and she wasn't able to make it.

Okay. Time to prove myself. BRING IT!

Right.

So I'm getting everything ready, running through the training programs and what I'm going to cover. Our system is down. Awesome. Guess I'll have to try again tomorrow.

It's tomorrow. The day training starts.

Guess what's still down? The computer system I need.

Alright. I don't really need it for another day. I'll survive. But I should go ahead and call the Help Desk. The Help Desk. These people hate me. I'm sure of it. I always have to call for the most annoying things.

"Um, yeah, hi, my printer is jammed and I um, don't know how to fix it."
"Uh, hi. Me again. I can't figure out how to play a DVD on my computer."
"Yeah, hello. Kristin here again. So, what were you saying that one time about my printer?"

Those conversations happened. They dread my calls I'm sure.

So I dial.

"Uh, hi. I'm trying to get into my training program and it's not working." 
- 'What do you mean it's not working?'
"Like, it's not loading. It keeps telling me there's an error."
- Did you restart your computer?
"Mhmm. I did. And I tried on another computer."
- So it's not working on that other computer?
"No. That's why I called you."
- Oh right. Okay. Try again.
"Um. Okay. No. Didn't work."
- I see. Let me remote in and see what you're looking at.
"Sure."
::he fiddles around with my computer and has me log into the live mode of my program::
- 'Look, it's working.'
"Right. I know. The live mode works. I need the Cert mode. You know, for training. So they can't mess everything up."
-'Oh. Well. Let's see what that looks like.'
"K."
::shows him::
- 'Hm. Well. I don't know what that is. I'll look into it.'
"Right. Okay. Thanks."

If that's the worst thing that happens in training I can deal with that. So I run over to the hospital, greet my new employees, then start getting my presentation ready.

wait for it...

The main computer won't turn on.

Okay.

You know, the one attached to the projector that allows everyone to see what I'm doing.

Right. So... Okay. I'll check to make sure it's plugged in. Um. Where is that again? Oh right. Behind me. There's not a plug in - it's like, on it's own power supply. Magic. Cursed. I don't know and I don't care. I just need my computer on.

So I dial. From another room. Because my training room doesn't have a phone in it.

Okay.

"Um, hi. Could you send someone out to fix this training computer? It won't turn on."
'- 'Uhhhh, did you make sure it was plugged in?'
"Yes. I did."
-  'Did you push the on button..?'\

Clearly they think highly of me ;) Technology is not my friend. Obviously.

Not only am I have computer issues at work, someone decides to break into our cars. Let me clarify - someone decided to break into my car and our Jeep.

Let me back up.

It's FREEZING cold (so like, below 70) so I remote start my car every morning while I get my breakfast ready (spoiled, I know) so it's nice and toasty when I get in. I walk outside, open my door - weird, my emergency window breaker was sitting in the front seat. How did that get there? I must have moved it and forgotten about it. Wait, my glove box is open. Is it really cold enough to pop open that? I know now, my brain wasn't really comprehending the reality. Then I go to sit my purse down in my passenger seat. Why is there stuff everywhere? I don't remember going through that.

Then it hit me. Someone was in my car.

It was probably Kyle. I'll double check. I text him and he immediately calls me - Nope. Wasn't him. Someone else was in my car. Scary. It doesn't look like they took anything, but still. What. The. Eff.

Later that afternoon, when Ky got home from work, he checked the Jeep - sure enough - they had gotten into there too.

Frustrating and terrifying, but nothing we could do. I filed the police reports and my neighbor and I went door to door in the neighborhood to spread awareness. Now I'm convinced someone is going to murder me. I'm pretty sure Kyle is convinced I'm crazy, but still.

So technology problems. Cars getting broken into. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT!?

Well, a good thing.

I am walking out of the elevators at work after my ROUGH day, and I see a pallet. A beautiful pallet that I've been searching endlessly for! It takes my breath away. I remember saying with my eyes wide "Can I have this? Is this trash!?"

The doctor I was walking with looked at me like I was crazy and then said "Yes, of course. Just take it."  I kid you not, I was like a kid in a candy store!! THEN, (you'll never guess what happened so I'll just tell you) a man walks out wheeling TWO MORE pallets!! WHAT!? Have I died and gone to heaven? I'm still shell shocked. I cannot wait! We as a group decide which is the best quality pallet and which one I should take home. I think I can just carry it out.

Nope. I think we've already established how weak I am.

So this gentleman offers to wheel it out for me and help me get it into my car. I believe the words that came out of my mouth were something like "ohmygoshthankyousomuchthatissoniceofyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" and he was like, "Yeah, K, where are you parked" ::side glance, where did this crazy person come from and how quickly can I get away:: I'm confident he will never offer to do a good deed again.

So we're walking into the parking garage. Whoops. Wrong level. I insist he can just leave it there and I'll drive around and come pick it up.

No. He says "itsfinejusttellmewhereyoureparkedsoicangotheeffhome"

Again "ohmygoshthankyousomuchthatissoniceofyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

He hates me.

We walk alllll the way back to the elevators, into the elevator to go down another level. Oh. I'm parked at the other end. So we walk.

He tells me to get a blanket and put it over my seats so the wood won't tear the leather.

Good thinking. Too bad all I have is Kyles sweaty towel from his basketball game. We'll make it work. I lay it out and he lifts this into my car. It doesn't fit. I'm amazed at how heavy it is and I'm extremely thankful that he offered to carry it for me. It would have taken me forever. At this point I'm pretty sure he was cursing me and I'm all "omgiamsosorry!ihadnoidea."

Alright.

I tell me he can just leave it there and I'll run home and grab the Jeep. He leaves happily. Too bad Kyle has the Jeep.

I call him and tell him to RUN to my work (he hasn't been to my new office) and his phone is dead so he's on his own. But he's an amazing superstar and made it in record time and lifted my million ton pallet into the Jeep and drove away into the sunset.

He's so dreamy.

I digress.

This is the direction I'm leaning towards. It certainly won't be as pretty, and it has several spaces between boards, but I love it.

 My heart is full. Even on a rough day there is always good. I'm thankful I got off on the wrong parking garage level because it resulted in happiness.

Fall Back

Let's talk about this falling back and springing forward business. I LOVE getting more sleep. Sleep works for me. Kyle likes when I get enough sleep. Actually, rephrase. EVERYONE likes when I get enough sleep. I'm just one of "those" people. You know the type, but we won't get into that. It's not one of my finer points.

Next week we officially fall back. Let me tell you what time I normally go to bed...

Not kidding.

Clearly, I'm boring and not fun. I have the weirdest sleep rhythm. If I accidentally stay up until 10, I can pretty much kiss sleep goodbye. I mean, seriously, I want to kiss sleep so it will come back to me so I can catch those precious ZzZs. YEP. Those words were just formulated.

So daylight savings. Yes. SIGN ME UP. Please and thank you.

THIS IS SO EXCITING FOR SO MANY REASONS!! Actually, one reason. Because now I get to go to sleep at...

Um, yes. Thank you. Goodnight.

We won't go into what is going to take place in the spring. It's depressing me already. I wish that only falling back was a thing, but I suppose it doesn't quite work like that. Shenanigans. Thankfully, I'm not a scientist who makes these decisions. Thanks Obama.

Jumping on the bandwagon - which I'm not sure is a thing anymore. CLEARLY, I'm not hip. Do the kids still say hip?

"relaxin' all cool, shootin' some bball outside of school"

...or in Kyles case - 'relaxin' all cool, shootin' some bball inside of the church." Doesn't have quite the ring to it.

Here's a little known fact: Kyle enjoys sports.

WHAAAT!?

I'm sure you're all blown away by this.

Here's a well known fact: I could go without.

WHAT!? Just kidding. We all knew that. I'm like a fish out of water when Kyle is schooling me on the lifestyle (of the rich and famous) that is sports. Because you literally eat, breathe, and sleep sports when you're a true fan. Okay, maybe not literally. But you catch my drift (see what I did there?)

Not only do I watch sports on tv, but I also watch highlights on youtube (I really enjoy this!), go to professional games, go to Kyle's games, and watch Ky play NBA2K14. Repeat. Then repeat again.

what.

He warned me. He really did. I knew how into this stuff he was when we started dating. I was like "oh yeah, totally cool. I love my dog. I get it. We each have things we love."

No.

I didn't get it.

I get it now.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea of this. I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy watching him play. He is immensely talented and athletic. So clearly, he's great eye candy. ;)

Here are the dreaded phone pics from his most recent basketball practice I attended - yep. Practice. I was there AANNND I enjoyed it. Progress.

Blurry, but still a stud.

The first cut is the deepest...

..baby I know!

Oh jeeze. I recently made an appointment (FINALLY) with my stylist to get a hair cut. This is normally not on my list of favorite thigns to get done, which explains why it had been 15 months since my last cut. Almost a record for myself. BUT I finally bit the bullet - my hair was getting gross.

So in I walked.

Courtney asked how short I was thinking, and I told her right around my collarbone. I even surprised myself with my statement, but I know that she is a hair goddess and could work her magic! And magic she did! She kept saying that she was more nervous than I was when you're cutting that much hair off. I ended up with 10 inches chopped!!

I love it because it takes me all of 8 minutes to straighten it, and Kyle loves it because I'm not constantly nagging him for laying on it. In his defense, it was never his fault - my hair just kind of does what it wants. Wonder where that comes from. ;)

The before and after pictures...

Sister picture with long hair!

TADA!

Sister picture with short hair. She's kind of amazing :)

ANNNNND one more just because Mercedes Snow is an amazing photographer!!