Day Trip

So tomorrow Hubs and I are taking a day trip to Globe, AZ with his mentor and the mentor's wife. Which is super nice. This man has been wonderful to Hubs - given great advice and opened many doors. I really am grateful. This does not, however, negate the Issues At Hand:

• Waking up at 5am to get to the mentor's house in time to be on the road by 7am. Why would anyone want to be up at that ungodly hour on a SATURDAY?
• We're going to Globe, AZ. For those who are unfamiliar, Globe is NOT a destination.
• Hubs is riding with the mentor in the mentor's Lotus. I'm riding with the mentor's wife in an Audi TT. I'm petrified of making small talk for 2 hours with someone I don't know. Hell, I'm petrified of making small talk PERIOD.
• Sleep apnea. I cannot for the life of me stay awake for more than 20 minutes when I'm a passenger in a car. Unless my phone becomes a microphone and I'm sing karaoke the whole way. {Which Hubs has strictly forbidden.}

So, dear friends, do I apologize upfront to mentor's wife for possible narcoleptic spell or do I wait until I awake from the haze with drool down my right cheek? FML xoxo Miss E

Operation: Surprise Party...Success!

We had a wonderful weekend in Payson. It was everything I had hoped for: 6-mile walks through the mountains, movie marathon (I will forever be scarred by the movie Taken), reading (finished Stori Telling and It Sucked and Then I Cried...yes! I got my reading groove back!), culinary delights (homemade Indian meal that took 4 hours to cook! and was delish) and sleeping. Monday was Hubs' birthday which we celebrated with an awesome trip to the best people-watching location in town: Super Walmart, natch. And a pizookie. We traveled home Tuesday morning just in time for Hubs to get to work (ewww!) and for me to clean the house (double ewww!). I had planned a surprise get-together for Hubs' bday at a local sports bar/restaurant, under the guise of Hubs and I having dinner and watching the basketball game (remember, I'm obsessed!). All of our friends were there already seated and yelled "Happy Birthday!" when we walked up. I was worried since Hubs is a super-sleuth at figuring this kind of stuff out, but he was genuinely surprised and so touched to see everyone there to celebrate his big day. Success! So now I'm back at work, dreaming of the mountains, and counting down to my next vacation (yes, already!). The beach? Las Vegas? Hmmm, so many possibilites! Hope you all had a *fabulous* long weekend. xoxo Miss E

Musings On My "Friday", or How I Have Managed Not To Work While At Work

So I'm sitting at my desk eating Reese's Pieces and completely not focusing while I should be working. {Shhh, don't tell on me...!} I can't focus for a few reasons. First off, my job has been crazy lately. We've had an overload of work and not enough people/hours in the day to clear it up. *I'm absolutely not complaining at all* but it gets discouraging when you just can't catch up! There will be some changes coming up that should help, but for now my mind is wandering off because... ...tonight after work Hubs and I are packing up and heading to lovely Payson, Az for the weekend. Never heard of it? It's a small mountain town about 75 miles NE of Scottsdale and my parents have a home there. It's got that slow-pace feeling of a small town and due to the higher elevation it's cooler than the creeping temps in the Valley. It's amazing that within an hour drive, you can go from cactus and desert to mountains and pine trees. When we go to Payson, we cook elaborate meals, watch movies, play cards, drink wine and sleep. So needed! And this is just perfect for a long weekend getaway since... ...Monday is Hubs' 28th birthday. This past year has been a whirlwind with his final year of law school and the dreaded Bar exam. Everything has turned out well - with his graduation last weekend and the news of the Bar results just before that. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in our lives. Jobs, routine, maybe a trip or two? And, no, we are not talking about k-i-d-s yet (since I know everyone is staring my way now that he's done). I'd like to enjoy having my husband back for a bit before we introduce more change! Ok, enough of my ranting. So in addition to avoiding the piles of work and daydreaming of this weekend, I've been completely sucked into the dear Mojito Maven's book that she's penning. You must check it out on her blog, Make Mine a Mojito. Somewhere In Between Us is a story that came to her in a recurring dream (which obvs inspires the best books, duh - Twilight) and she has developed into a complex and emotionally-charged plot. The main character, Attison, is based on MM's college experience, and at the start we follow her through her first day of college in which she meets the über-cool and attractive Reid. She had me at the Prologue, but has me absolutely hooked throughout the 5 chapters she already has posted. Please check it out and give her some love. I know it takes guts to put yourself out there as she has - and boy am I glad she did. Hats off to the ever-talented MM! Can't wait to see what happens next with Attison and Reid! So I'm off, friends! Do you have big plans for the long weekend? I hope it is lovely for you! xoxo Miss E

Lusting After....

Lucite!

Courtesy of Alexis Bittar

Gold Coral Branch Ring

Large Moon Dust Abalone Ring Do we see a trend here? I think so!

Sophia Cocktail Ring Belle Star Cocktail Ring

And check out these beauties....

Large Elaborate Retro Hinge Bracelet With Retro Crystal Studs

Large Celestial Ocean Hinge Bracelet

Hmm, my birthday is coming up... *Hint, hint* {Hubs, are you out there?}

xoxo Miss E

A Misadventure For You

I realized that for having a title like Miss E's Misadventures, I haven't really shared many of my mis-adventures with you. In honor of rectifying this situation, I have a story for you. Allow me to preface: I'd consider myself a "book smart" chica. I was in honors and advanced classes growing up. I earned two bachelor degrees in my 4 years of college. I always have my nose in a book (or possibly three, depending on my mood). I am not saying this to be boastful; rather, I want you to know I'm not a complete bimbo :) With that being said, am I the most "street smart" chica? No with a capital N. So now for a real life example... Yesterday, Hubs and I went to lunch with my family and then stopped by the local library so I could pick up some books. Sidenote: this is the first time I've stepped foot in the library in 5+ years. I know, I know, it's ridiculous that I haven't been. But in my defense, I get a lot of books from friends (thanks to Sage, D and Lonnie!) that we swap back and forth and I'm never at a loss for books to read. Well since I'm in my little funk - and just haven't found the perfect book to capture my attention - I decided a trip to the library was in order. So, I picked up A Charmed Life and put holds on Dooce's new book and possibly Tori Spelling's Mommywood. Anyway...so behind the library is a bike path that leads to a duck pond maybe 2 miles away. Since we're totally crazy and obviously trying to die of heatstroke we're trying to get our fitness on, we decide to make the trek. Genius that I am, I roll the car key into the foldover waistband of my yoga pants and off we go. I checked for the key up until 5 minutes in and I was dying of thirst throughout the walk. About the time we decided to turn around, I realized that the key was no longer on my person. Me: Uh, honey, I don't have the car key anymore. Hubs: Wait, what? Where did you put it? Me: Well, see I had it rolled in my waistband like this (showing him)... Hubs: Eh, you mean to tell me that you rolled it up in your pants when I have pockets in my shorts? You had to have known it wasn't going to stay there. Me: Um, can we not debate the details here and just focus on the task at hand? (Eyes to the ground, not making eye contact) So we turned around and scoured every inch of pavement that we had just covered. Hubs took it surprisingly well considering this is pretty typical behavior for me I giggled about it the entire way back. Because, really, what was I thinking? Unfortunately for me, the key was never found. (Seriously, where did it go?!?) But with all the entertainment, we forgot how hot and thirsty we were. I had to call my brother to come pick us up from the library. And then borrow my parents car to get us back home for the other set of keys. I don't think I'll ever live that one down. But, oh the misadventure! And, on the upside, I have a new love for my local library and am sure I will revert back to my typical bookworm habits in no time at all. Eh, here's hoping!

***And last but certainly not least, a big thank you for all of your well wishes on Hubs' graduation. Saturday was his commencement ceremony followed by dinner with our families. It was a great celebration to the end of this chapter of our lives. We are very excited for what's to come!***

xoxo Miss E

Confessions of a Schizophrenic Bookworm

I have a confession.... I still haven't finished The Shack. I know, I know. So many of you have emailed me and asked how I liked it that I simply had to come clean. It's not that I don't like it. Really. It's just a little hard to digest in the 30 minutes a night that I get to read before falling asleep. I need to devote some time to it....and I'm thinking that time needs to be when I'm sunning by the pool. So I have put it down in the meantime. For those of you who have read it, did you ever feel the same way? While on the plane/in CA last week, I picked up The Poisonwood Bible and couldn't put it down. That is, until I came back to my hellish week and haven't had 5 minutes to myself. {Ok, I might have chosen Grey's over reading last night. So sue me!}

I may or may not also be three chapters into in the middle of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me?. Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me?!

I love to read, I really do. I used to find time during lunch at work, at night before bed, while Hubs was studying for school. I just find that life has gotten so busy {read: working lunches, falling asleep in front of the tv at night, Hubs finally being on my same schedule}. I think I need some time by the pool, stat!

Have you ever gotten into a reading funk? Please tell me it's not just me! xoxo Miss E

It's A Celebration

Hello lovelies! I know I have been remiss in posting {don't I start every post out like this!} but I have been quite the busy bee. I was able to steal away for a few days last week to San Diego with my mom for a little girl bonding time. So needed! But, as all working professionals know, I am very much paying for it this week as I have been absolutely swamped with work. Add in a VP visit, and there you have my week. I am so very excited to let you all know that Hubs has passed the Bar exam and is now a full-fledged Arizona attorney! He found out last Friday via internet. Arizona posts the names of all passing attorneys on their website. You can imagine our hearts fluttering whilst looking for his name! But never fear, his name was there and we couldn't be happier. The last step in this long amazing journey. {For those dear Interweb friends who may not know, Hubs and I got married, moved into our house and he started law school all within mere months of one another. Phew!} His graduation ceremony is this Saturday, so we are looking forward to a weekend of fun and celebration. Well I'm off to enjoy a glass of wine and the two-hour Grey's Anatomy finale. From the tweets I saw flying about, I'm quite excited to watch it. It's Poker Night tonight, although not at my house, so I better hurry while I have some peace and quiet Hubs is out playing. xoxo Miss E

A Whole Lotta Love

So the other night Hubs, his frend and I were sitting on the couch watching the NBA playoffs {because I'm more obsessed than Hubs with these games! Oh my gosh, did you see the Bulls vs. Celtics last night??}. Hubs mentioned something about my blog, and his friend, intrigued, asked for the web address. He pulled it up on his phone and read a little. His response?

This is great. She can write out everything about her day/life that she needs to vent about. Then she doesn't have to talk your ear off when you get home at night.

{Disclaimer: I may be paraphrasing what I heard said, as opposed to what was actually said, as Hubs' friend is the nicest guy in the world. Allow me some literary embellishing, will ya?} I actually found it quite funny - and true. How do you explain to a man someone why there is a need to tell "strangers" (and I say that in the most loving way, dear Interweb friends, for to a man you will always be "strangers" unless met IRL) about your every thought, action, rant, etc? To be quite honest, I didn't know anything about blogs before 6 months ago. I knew they existed, but not quite in this capacity. Not where you would read personal blogs and get to know others and share stories and feelings with them. I love that this is an outlet for me. I love that I can write for me - to remember, to look back on, to share with my friends/family. I love that I have carved out my own corner of the Interwebs. I love that I do this for me. What I didn't expect:

• To find awesome new friends who make me laugh and cry.
• To find other women in different stages of their lives who are going through/have gone through similar struggles and joys.
• To be inspired by others faith, determination, creativity.
• To start thinking of my own wants, likes, dislikes, opinions (aside from my husband or close friends...yes, I am a bit of a peacekeeper).
• To have a sounding board for which to bounce my ideas and feelings.

And aside from what I get from it, I never thought my husband would benefit from my blogging. He may not admit it, but I'm sure he is happy for me to have this outlet. So he may have to put up with me telling stories about 'Legallyblondemel' or 'Nina' or 'Krystyn' as if you are people I see on a daily basis, but it's worth it. Because you all have become a new group of friends that make life a little easier for me. And as we all know, a happy girl makes a happy world. {Ok, maybe that's not how it goes, but you know what I mean.} So a big Thank You from my home to yours! xoxo Miss E