Shake it Off

After the key situation was all sorted out, I had the freedom (and the wheels) to do whatever I wanted with my Christmas break. This was my first year with MaxPoint, so it was the first time I got to experience an actual “winter break” since college! Our offices were closed from Christmas Eve through New Years Day, and with some extra days, I had a 2-week vacay.

I couldn’t wait! There were so many great things I planned to do – lots of shopping, take the Nuggies to see Santa, attend Christmas Eve service with my family, cook up some apps, and bring in the new year with great friends.

However, that weekend, I came down with some sort of nasty virus. You guys know which one I am talking about, because every person I have talked to has apparently had this too. Everyday was a new terrible sensation – running nose, chest pain, fever and congestion. I was out of commission for the next 2 weeks, missing precious family time, but spending plenty of QT with the couch.

This was only some of our wrapping…we went a tad overboard

The one benefit of the couch time (besides being on my amazing couch) was staring at my Christmas tree. I just love the twinkle lights, and nothing beats a real tree. In between binge watching shows (this season of Homeland was AMAZE) and taking lots of naps, I started to wrap Christmas presents and place them under the tree.

I take my Christmas wrapping pretty seriously. I am definitely not a Pinterest wrapper (ugh) but I love bows, ribbons, and I’m sorry, but our nieces are not getting StarWars wrapping paper (enter gender stereotype convo with Chad). With all of the bows were tied and the sparkly name tags attached, the presents were placed under the tree where I could admire my work. 

As I added and rearranged the gifts (to get ready for Insta pics), I noticed the gifts were a little wet. Then there were others that were very wet. I pulled the presents out and realized that the tree skirt and towel we set down were VERY wet. So soaked, actually.

Almost as fun as a real tree

We are still unsure the exact cause, but we definitely know the effect. Our beautiful wood floors were warped, the gifts needed to be re-wrapped, but equally as devastating – the tree needed to come down. So a few days BEFORE Christmas, feeling miserably ill, I took down all the ornaments and lights, and Chad took the tree to the dumpster. 

For a happy ending – we used a fan on the floors for a few days, and they slowly went back to normal. We lit up a cute little fake tree that we have so I could still enjoy my twinkle lights, and I slowly started to feel normal again after a few weeks. It was definitely not the way I planned to spend 2 weeks away from work, but I can say that I was VERY relaxed upon returning to the office.

The good news is that we had plenty of Frozen wrapping paper that all the girls, including me, had Anna and Elsa wrapped around their presents. And when your present is a Taylor Swift record…well that’s just the best thing in the world. #thanksChad

You can tell me when it's over if the high was worth the pain

Get out of my dreams, Get into my car.

Y’all, I am a mess.

First of all, I just started a sentence with y’all. Not sure what happened there. But really, I feel like the last month of my life I has been a bit of a disaster.

The next few posts will help to illustrate this point, starting with my key fiasco.

My last day “in the office” was the annual MaxPoint holiday party on 12/18, although we were barely in the office. The party starts with Bloody’s in the office at 9am, followed by bowling, bar hopping, and ultimately a fancy dinner until 10pm. We went to Gibson’s, where I naturally ordered Steak Tartare and Lobster Salad, because what else would you order after a 12-hour booze binge? Nothing says “drunk food” like raw meat.

Text convo between Chad and Jersey
from when I lost my keys

Stumbling home that night, I realized that my keys had not made it home with me. Not only was I locked out of the house, but I lost the only set of keys that I owned to the Rogue. Chad was out of town that night, but feeling panicked (and drunk), I called him and begged him to come back and let me in. Luckily, I have whored my condo out to enough friends that my keys are scattered around Chicago. After waking up my old roommate, Jersey, I flagged down a cab to her house and grabbed the spare keys. 

The next day, the keys were still nowhere to be found, so I had to figure out how to get a new set of car keys.

“You don’t have a spare set of keys?” asked Chad.

“No, I lost those in a drunken night in Atlanta, shortly after getting my new car.”

I called up the car dealership to find out how to get a new set of keys, where they asked me, “You don’t have a spare set of keys?” If I did, would we be having this conversation?

For those of you that don’t know, for a car with a key-less start pre-fab, you actually need to reprogram the entire car to get new keys. So somehow, I had to get the car to the dealership, which is kind of tough to do without keys. I called my insurance company for some roadside assistance to get the car towed. “You don’t have a spare set of keys?” Um, no. I don't. 

When the tow company showed up, they first asked me to get into my car, put it in neutral, and help guide it up the ramp. “You don’t have a spare set of keys?”

YOU GUYS – I know I am a blonde, but trust me, if I had another set of keys, I would not be dealing with this right now.

So the Rogue gets towed to the dealer, and $500 later, I had a shiny new set of keys. AND a set of spare keys, good God.

This was definitely one of my more expensive drunken mistakes, but I don’t think losing 2 sets of keys in 5 years is that bad. The Rogue deserved something new this Christmas, plus they gave me 10% off for singing a Christmas carol to the cashier.

In typing in this, I am waiting for my flight to leave and enjoying an Argo Tea (caffeine-free, obvs, because it is afternoon and otherwise I will get the shakes). When I bought the tea, I almost grabbed some napkins, and then I thought “it’s tea – I don’t need napkins.” Well, I just spilled the tea all over the seat next to me. My left hand and leggings are now serving as a napkin. Whoops.  

The Blog is Back, Alright!

In 2012, I wrote 14 blog posts. 

In 2013, I wrote 11 blog posts. 

In 2014, I wrote 6 blog posts. 

And I haven't blogged since July. 

Guys – this makes me sad. It certainly isn't that I haven't had anything to write about. 2014 was an amazing year of engagements, weddings, vacations, friends, family, a big move, and a new job! It was fun – and you'll have to trust me, because 6 blogs hardly did the year justice. 

This year, I am going to try and document all of the things that happen to me in 2015: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (because sometimes selfies are not my best angle). I can feel the excitement from you readers growing as I type this. "OMG she is back!!" Look out blogger community! 

So what will my first blog be about? Such suspense! Well, no need to anticipate the content – you are reading it right now. This is my first blog back. Get with it. 

But soon there will be new, wonderful, witty blogs for you to enjoy. In the meantime, I will leave you with a few pics from 2014…enjoy!