PR people are such easy targets

Honestly, I just laughed when I saw the latest Mac vs. PC commercial. Very clever...

Now I'm worried about being worried

My mom always said, "You come from a long line of worriers." Over the past couple of years I've found myself increasingly uptight and stressed (often for no real reason) to the point that I worry myself almost sick.

The good (?) news is that I'm not alone. A recent article published in Self reassures me that many women feel the same way. However, now I'm worried about why I worry. Apparently it's called defensive pessimism, and it doesn't sound good.

Tips?

P.S. I just re-read this and now I' m worried that you're going to be worried about me once you read it. Uh-oh, I have a long way to go...

Let the games begin!

About 20 years ago, Poppy taught me to play Scrabble. He was a great teacher. So great, in fact, that I don't think he's beaten me at Scrabble since 1990 or so. Granny K. snuck in a win somewhere in the mid-90's but I still maintain that it was a fluke. Mom never stood a chance. Dad readily admits having trouble spelling his own name (R.W.).

When we moved to Sacramento, I met my true competitive match in Jen Weiss Watts. As I recall (and you know how modest I am), she is the only person who has beaten me at Scrabble in the last ten years.

When Jen and Mike moved to NY earlier this fall, I thought our game nights and Scrabble days might be over. So imagine my surprise and sheer joy (yay!) when she invited me to play virtual Scrabble with her on Scrabulous!

It's so awesome. Perfect for friends in different time zones. You just play off your board and your competitor gets an email notification that it's her turn. And it goes on. I have no idea how long it takes to finish a game (I suppose it has to do with how much you're checking your email). Anyway, I'm sure you'll read about the results on one of our blogs in the near future!

By the way these photos are from our last game night this summer (before they moved to NY). We played wives vs. husbands that night. Mike was supposed to be the Eiffel Tower, but Brian's never been as good at games as his wife...

Comment challenge

If your picture appears in this post, you may be interested to know that I've played around with my blog settings so that you no longer have to sign in or register to leave comments for me.

I know how at least one of you doesn't like registering for extra things (you know who you are), and I have a feeling the others probably feel the same way.

Now let's see who leaves a comment first. My money's on Granny K. (Please don't let me down).

Sunday Night Blues

About 20 years ago, Susanna Hoffs (lead singer for the Bangles) sang that she wished it were a Sunday, 'cause that's her fun day. Though I can relate to the premise of the catchy Manic Monday, I disagree about Sunday. Sunday tends to be my mopey day, and today is no exception.

After more than a week off (if you include the weekends), I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I really like my job and I'm grateful for all the opportunities I have. It's just the principle; it's work (hence the name).

So rather than dwelling (I've been doing that all day, so I'll spare you the details), here's a little run-down of all the great things I did this week during my time of leisure.

Things I did (this is not an all-inclusive list, nor is it in any particular order)
1. Worked out almost every day (skipped yesterday out of laziness, but justified it as relaxing)

2. Started my Christmas shopping (got all the easy people done - my mom, Granny K., Brian, etc.)

3. Got my hair cut and highlighted (it's not really orange - see?) in the middle of the day and still had time for dinner with a friend

4. Slept in when I wanted and went to bed when I wanted without any regards to how much sleep I would really need to have a productive day the next day

5. Ran little errands I normally don't find time for during the week (got my engagement ring cleaned and checked, took old clothes to Goodwill, went to the library)

6. DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS (photo coming soon - a friend is sending it to me)

7. Watched Regis & Kelly and The View at least twice each

8. Had breakfast and/or lunch with Brian almost everyday

9. Saw Brian when we were both awake, for that matter

10. Watched several feel-good movies, including Love Actually (twice), Because I Said So (twice) and Mystic Pizza (once and a half - it was on Lifetime all weekend)

Things I wish I had done more (or at all)
1. Re-loaded our iTunes (still haven't done this since the Motherboard incident)

2. Read (though I'm half-way through the mind-stimulating final installment of the Shopaholic series, I still have a backlog of periodicals I suppose I'll peruse on the Muni)

3. Relaxed (still trying to figure out how)

Overall, it was a really great week and I suppose I should be refreshed and I'm sure to some degree I am. I'll try to remember that as I'm plowing through the 115 emails I missed from work...

Go Cats, go Cats, go Cats!

I don't really care about football, but for some reason we always get the best SEC football games out here. (Remember UK beating LSU earlier this season in three overtimes?)

UK and Tennessee are just beginning the fourth overtime right now.

Oh shoot! As I was writing, the Vols just scored and got their two-point conversion. Nooooooooo...

(Commercial break)

UPDATE (posted at 3:15 p.m. PT) - At least Wake Forest won...

OMG is my hair orange?

Brian and I like the color orange. As many of you know, Paris High School colors are orange and black. Not only are the Syracuse colors orange and blue, but now its mascot is simply the Syracuse Orange. The hallway in our apartment is orange, which is cool even if we didn't paint it. And don't forget edible orange foods than rank high on my list: oranges (hence the namesake), pumpkin, cheddar and of course, carrots!

Hair, however, should not be orange.

I almost freaked out last night when I got home and checked out my new hair color. In my aforementioned week of leisure, I've gotten to catch up on a lot of things that needed doing - including my roots! As we move into the winter season, I decided that I would go a little darker and leave the blonde for summer. Some of you have probably heard me talk about my stylist, Hector, who has a very strong and flamboyant personality. He's great.

Which is why I was absolutely shocked when I got home and thought my hair was orange...

I know what you're thinking, don't they have mirrors in this salon? Yes, in fact they do. I suppose they also have different lighting than what is in my very bright bathroom. I thought the color and cut looked awesome in the salon and was so excited to have chic fall hair! But when I got home, it looked a little more like pumpkin pie than I would have liked.

Ok, I'm exaggerating. I'll stop the rant now. My friend, Ashley, came over and inspected closely (under other bright lights) and convinced me I'm just having trouble getting used to the color. The blonde parts have slight red undertones, but primarily it's a light brown/honey blonde. Plus, Brian really likes it so I felt better. He definitely would have told me if I had Cheez-it hair.

If we had our camera back, here's where I would insert a photo and let you decide for yourself. Oh right, our camera is in NY.

Bottom line: I don't like cantaloupe to eat, and I don't want it for a hair color either.

Coming soon: Thanksgiving musings and Christmas photos (I'm going to ask a friend to bring her camera over. LAME-O).