Why do cars hate me?
So my first day back from vacation.. I expected to be a little bit rocky but holy tamole!! I woke up (after ~3 hours of sleep), got ready, and hopped in my car to go to work. I put my key in the ignition and... NOTHING. Being the amazing boyfriend that Ryan is, he offered to take me to work and take care of my car. He said I had ONE JOB, and that was to call a place that does mobile battery service and send them to his house. As you can probably imagine the first day back from a 8 day vacation is pure and utter insanity. I had meetings lined up from 8-4. Every free second I had, I ran to my computer to try and google a battery place... after 10 phone calls, and 10 outrageously over priced estimates.. I called Ryan. I don't know what it is about repair shops, If you are a woman, you are getting raped on the price. I found a website that is amazing ladies!! You can enter your car make and model, and the service you want and it gives you an actual estimate of what it should cost and gives you locations near you!!The website is http://repairpal.com/
Next time that stupid, daunting check engine light comes on... It will be as easy as: http://repairpal.com/check-engine-light BOOM! :)
Check it our for yourselves... Chicago auto repair http://repairpal.com/chicago-auto-repair
Toyota Camry http://repairpal.com/toyota-camry-2002
Let me know what you guys think!! :) XO

Christmas Shopping Already!!

I am curious how many people braved the mall this morning. I know many places opened up at 3AM (Insanity). I love the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping but I get out of bed at 3AM for NO ONE and NOTHING! I have been doing some virtual shopping while the rest of the world is trampling over each other for a shirt that's $4.00 at Kohls.

Found a fun new site for Xmas Shopping with great deals:

Messenger bags: http://clothing-and-accessories.become.com/accessories/messengerbags

sunglasses: http://clothing-and-accessories.become.com/accessories/sunglasses

By the way... I just made my list of people that I want to shop for an *sigh... I need to win the lottery!!!!

www.become.com is a great site to get a ton of holiday shopping done quickly!! Let me know if you find it useful!! Shop Away my friends :)

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

I have one particular trait that is found- depending on who you ask, aggravating, egotistical, and/or hilarious.
I always find myself staring at... well.. myself. I think a majority of the population looks at themselves predominantly in a mirror. I assume the thing that takes this "habit" of mine to the next level is that a mirror is just ONE very small tool used for gazing into my own eyes. Dirty car windows, shiny buildings, someone Else's glasses, margarita glasses, reflection in a picture frame, black computer screen.. ooh the possibilities are truly endless. No matter where I am .. I will find myself.
In Junior High, there was a particular moment that I will never ever live down. I have always been "too social", on almost every report card I was marked down for "excessive talking". I  came out of the womb talking to anyone who would listen.. Or anyone who wasn't listening but didn't seem too annoyed. I am not sure if it was the same for anyone else but at my Jr. high you got your seat moved for talking. Originally I was sitting by my friend - bad idea - I got moved. Then I made friends with my new neighbor - I got moved. I was put in the back my someone I had nothing on common with - I made friends - I got moved.  By now, my teacher had called my parents and told them that If I had to be moved one more time, It would result in detention. Now I am sitting in the far back corner, next to a wall and next to really no one. Did I talk to anyone? No.. Did I get moved? Yes.
Teacher: "Hello Shelly (my mom).. Unfortunately Misty had to have her seat moved again.
Mom: "What?! Why?? Was she still talking to her neighbor? We had a long talk with her about this?
Teacher: "No, She was staring at herself through out the entire class in the shiny metal pencil sharpener, and I had to move her away from it."
Mom: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA"
Yeah.. Some things never change!
Happy Turkey Day Everyone

Dear Santa.. You are a money grubbing W*oRe

So here we are... 2 paychecks away from the most expensive time of the year.. Christmas. Normally Christmas alone stresses me out; However, this year... I am also in a wedding in Puerto Rico that is going to cost a pretty penny shortly after. I now clearly understand why my parents were always so stressed around the holidays. I miss being a kid and just being excited for Xmas. My parents were split up and remarried when I was young so I had about 5 houses to hit in one day. To fit everything in, Christmas started at my Moms at 5am. We woke up, hopped in the car and drove over the Ortega mountain to my Grandma's house. We would always stop at the look-out point and watch the sunrise, then make our way down the mountain.  When we got to my Grandmas she would cook a huge breakfast for the whole family. I knew that we couldn't open presents until EVERY one had eaten so I took on the job of dishes/serving/cooking/cleaning.. anything to help the process along. As soon as someone would slow down on their eating I would interject "Are you done? Want me to take your plate?" All I could think about was the mounds of presents on the floor with my name on it. I was a spoiled little girl to say the least and just wanted Breakfast to be over so presents could commence. Cut to today - I would give anything just to have that big breakfast with my family and would cherish every second.
"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." ~Calvin Coolidge

The Bees Knees!!

This trip was filled with moments of pain, perfection, lots of laughs and pure relaxation. We flew in the middle of the night so obviously slept the whole way there. Has anyone ever been flying and been unable to pop their ears? - WOW, hello worst pain in the world. This happened to me and I had an echo in my head, and an indescribable pain in my ear for 2 days after we landed. We arrived in Punta Cana, being serenaded by a mariachi band, and swarmed by people trying to carry our bags, or give us a ride for money. It was a bit overwhelming clutching our belongings making our way through the crowd until we found our driver. The ride to the hotel was crazy. The poverty in DR was unreal. When we checked into our hotel, our room was a tad bit disappointing. I was deaf in one ear, exhausted, and trying to be chipper but secretly wanting to cry from the pain. I hopped into the shower which flooded the entire bathroom, and noticed that one of the lights in the ceiling was leaking.  -Light, leaking,.. can't be good. Fortunately for me, that was what prompted Ryan to upgrade us to the honeymoon suite. This room was amazing. We had a Jacuzzi, 2 balcony's, living room, dining room, 2 bathrooms, and we were ON the beach. Once we put our bags down in our new room... we had arrived! Pure Bliss!

We woke up each morning and had breakfast on the beach, then found a spot to lay out for the afternoon. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort so we basically drank and ate the ENTIRE day. Here are some fun beach pics:

I thought I was pretty amazing at Sand Art until Ryan put me to shame with this...

 

The nights where Ryan coaxed me into tequila shots with dinner.. we ended up at the Disco Tech all night. One night we were pretty much the only people there begging the DJ to play Lil Wayne, dancing like fools.

I am like a fat kid trapped in a skinny girls body so food is important to me. The first couple days the food was making me sick, and I was starting to think the only way to feel better was to not eat. Then we found Portafino! This is the Italian restaurant, and it was so yummy. We ate here almost every single night.

And finally, our trip back home was long but we were both kind of anxious to get back to friends/work/reality. I would definitely recommend Punta Cana as a travel destination. I can't believe that Ryan and I spent 8 days together... and I mean completely together- No phones, just "US" time- and didn't get sick of each other. I even stayed at my own place last night and missed him!! I am a lucky girl, and feel so refreshed after this vacation.

 

 

Stephanie was also in Punta Cana.. and you gotta read about her near death experience!! Happy Thursday Everyone!! XO :-)

Farewell Readers....
I fly to the Dominican Republic tonight for a week so I will be taking a blog break. I promise to have all kinds of juicy details and amazing pictures when I return though!
Stephanie from the Single Slant is actually going to be in DR the same time as me! CRAZY!!! I hope you have so much fun too Steph!!
Have an amazing week! XOXOX

Halloween Pictures!

Here are some pictures from the GREATEST Halloween in Misty History!!!

Yes that is Ryan as Little Wayne!! Classic!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!!

Misty