Wizard of Oz @ Work

In true Halloween fashion, our staff at work is dressed in the theme of the musical, "Wicked," because it's coming to town in 2010.  It's pretty funny.  My roommate/co-worker is Glenda the Good Witch.  We have the Wicked Witch, Dorothy, the field of poppies, a Munchkin, the lion, and scarecrow. 

I didn't dress up but I have black outfit on and orange headband.  I didn't really have anything to contribute today.  Plus, I'm totally not feeling like a team player at work because our budget has been slashed and I'm sure there are going to be layoffs, and it's just a blah kind of mood at work right now.  Our management team is sucking it up with their ability to communicate with the staff and it's just bad. 

Last night the BF and I actually bumped into "That's Sassy!" at UNO's during dinner.  It was nice to see her and be able to say goodbye to her lover before he leaves for Texas.  (After they get married in June, she will also be going to Texas with him.  He's in the Airforce.)

We basically drank our dinner because they have this awesome raspberry lemonade alcoholic beverage that is delicious.  The BF is kind of annoyed about his current job situation, as am I.  So we drank and chatted.  Our food wasn't that good. I think you should just go with pizza when eating there.  Not steak or chicken.  Duh! I should have known that.  But the job stuff is difficult because neither of us really love where we live, however, our family is here.  Moving is not out of the question. 

Thank God it's Friday!

I want to go horseback riding this weekend! This was last year.

-Dining Diva

Date Night

Tonight is our date night that was supposed to happen two Thursdays ago, but thanks to the nice little airplane sickness I was greeted with upon my return home from Florida, that never happened.


We are going to go grab some dinner somewhere and then go to the movies. What movie you ask? I don’t know. I actually never go to the movies and don’t really have the attention span or interest to sit through an entire movie for that matter. But that’s what the BF wants to do. I’ll let you know what movie we see and how it is.

This week has draggggged by. Thank God it’s Friday tomorrow. Then I can rock out in my sexy Bat Girl costume. The BF is going to be Batman. I actually am not a huge fan of Halloween (hence my decision not to dress up at work tomorrow while everyone else does) but it’s just not my thing. But I will be going out Saturday night to have some much needed fun.

I’m really trying to step it up on my Blog. I’ve been doing it since March and only have nine friends! :( That’s pretty pathetic. Hopefully I’ll get some more soon! But I do appreciate all nine of my friends. Thanks for reading and your comments!

Have a good night!


-Dining Diva

My New Ride!

Today is day two of driving around in my sassed out new SUV!!!  I traded in my Jeep that I bought two years ago when I was living in Orlando, FL.  It was a rear-wheel drive Jeep.  People up north where I now live didn't even know a rear-wheel drive SUV existed.  Oh how it does.  And I had to drive it here in the snowbelt of New York State for the past two winters.  It was really fun getting stuck in my apartment parking lot and work parking lot and needing to be push out of the snow.  So I'm thrilled to report that those days should be gone because I am now the proud owner of a black 2010 Sport Toyota Rav4!  It is so nice and it even came with XM radio for three months!  It drives like a car instead of a bulky truck.

I think it looks better in person.  But I am so excited. so bring on the snow, I'm ready to take it on.

Also, I don't think I've really touched on the drama that my family has been going through since around Mother's Day.  Basically my older sister is a crazy biotch and hasn't talked to my family since then because of her 50 year old boyfriend (she's 27) and the fact that he's "God's chosen leader" and because we don't enjoy their relationship together, she has disowned us.  There is much more to the story, such as: 1. The 50 year old bf graduated with my MOM, he built our house, he was married with two kids, a family friend. . .etc... You get the picture.  So in any case, my mom has been so heartbroken.  (side note: my parents are the greatest parents possible.) So last night my mom calls me and asks me if I want to meet her and my SISTER and aunt for coffee at a local Panera.  I was shocked.  I went.  I didn't really acknowledge my sister.  She pretended everything was fine.  She needs to say she is sorry before I will just move forward.  But that's what I did last night.  My mom was happy and said this is a small baby step towards a positive recovery of our relationship with my sister.  I don't know about her.  But I'm happy if that made my mom happy.

-Dining Diva

I'm Alive!

The Dining Diva is back to life and feeling healthy! Thank goodness!  So this weekend was pretty fun.  Friday night, my best friend from high school (who also lives in the apartment complex that my BF lives in), invited me over for dinner with her BF.  She made chicken parm. and I brought some Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies (the kind that you take out of package and bake in oven).  We haven't hung out in so long, so two bottles of wine and many cookies later, we have a great night.  And then the BF came over too.  He didn't stay for dinner because he was doing something with his guy friend.  It was nice to just hang with Jess (the best friend) and her BF.  They have been dating for over five years and living together for over two years and I think everyone is wondering where the diamond is.  :)  I know I am.  I think they'll be getting engaged soon because her birthday is in November and then all of the holidays.  So that just leads to believe it may be on its way.  All of my friends are getting engaged! It's crazy.  Actually, my mom just informed me that she is taking some of the money from a recent house sale and starting a wedding fund for me.  Isn't that exciting?!  I think she is just excited to think that one of her daughters might actually get married one day.  (My older sister is a different story.)  Really, I think my mom wants grandkids.  She is going to be waiting awhile for that, that's for sure.  For now, they have my sister's teacup Chihuahua, Bella.  She is the best dog, ever! My mom and I took about a three-mile walk yesterday and I wore this baby strap thing for dogs (snaps in the back and there is a pouch on the front of you) and Bella sat right inside of it in her winter vest and I snuggled her up in blankies and she just relaxed as we walked.  I love her.  So do my parents and grandparents.

So then Saturday the BF and I went to a SU football game at the Carrier Dome.  It was pretty fun.  Our seats were awesome, right on the 50-yard line, three rows up from the bottom.  Besides the guy behind me spilling beer down my back, it was a great time!  Then we went to the Outback for some food.  I try not to eat at chain restaurants, just because there are so many great local choices to choose from, but I do love the Outback.  For just $9.95 you can have a 6 oz steak and two sides!  I had a a sweet potato and a house salad.  Mmm! It was good. Also, margaritas are just $3.50!  Hello!  I had a frozen pomegranite one and it was delicious.

Sunday I went to my parents to do laundry and say hello.  (I still bring my laundry to my parent's house, even though I have a laundry facility at my apartment.  It's pathetic, I know.)  That's when I went for the walk with Bella and mom.  Afterwards, I drove back to the city and met the BF at his parents house for dinner.  I hadn't seen his family in over a month, so it was nice to catch up.  His mom is like Susie Homemaker and made a Thanksgiving meal, pretty much, and a delicous apple pie.  I have no chance in the kitchen.  I would like to bring something to dinner some time, but I am so handicapped in the kitchen and don't know what to bring.  And his mom and sister are both talented cooks/bakers and then there's me.

So that was my weekend and tonight I am going to pick up my new Toyota Rav4! I am so excited.  I have been waiting for it to come in, as I wanted a black one and they had to locate it for me.  So I will be saying, "goodbye!" to my Florida Jeep and hello to my AWD SUV.  I'm sick of getting stuck in the snow.  It's hard to believe I lived in Florida and was so unhappy in my apartment with my crazy x-bf.  I'm so much happier now, but I never knew that I could be.  It's funny how life works out.  And it's just getting started, I'm sure.

Happy Monday!
-Dining Diva

Well, Hello, Weekend!

I'm so thankful that today is Friday and that it wasn't that busy of a week, making it a great one to be sick during. Tomorrow a bunch of the girls from work are doing a wine tour through the Finger Lakes Region and I am supposed to go. I just don't think that's a good idea. . . which stinks. But I probably shouldn't be boozing it up on my antibiotics and I could use a restful weekend to get my healthy face back on. Plus, for some reason I am still tired. All I have been doing is sleeping. I need to do some exercise eventually!

Last night the BF came over and brought me some homemade soup from his parent's house and also brought me a surprise. I love surprises. It was the giant Jelly Belly gummy alligator! I was eyeing that thing in the Tampa Airport and he found it in our local Wegmans! Very exciting. I know you are probably thinking that it is not that exciting, but oh-it-is!

Not sure what I'll be doing this weekend. Probably some lame laundry and disinfecting of my apartment and watching movies. I still haven't gone horseback riding or on a haunted hayride. . . time is running out. Next weekend is Halloween and I don't even have my costume put together yet.

Anyone doing any fun Halloween parties this year? Or fun costumes? Last year I was a lovely french maid and my sister had a really fun party.

Here is a flashback from the par-tay! My cousin Natalie; my sister (although we haven't spoken in four months and she is a bad sister, Tara; and me. That was out-of-control. I wish it was happening again this year.

Scrapbooking

Any advice or good blogs to check out that talk about scrapbooking. I want to get one started and don't know where to start.

Seasonal Sickness

. . .go away! I haven't even had a chance to tell you all what a fabulous long weekend I had with the BF and my parents in Clearwater Beach, FL. It was so hot and the ocean was just as warm and it was like playing in a giant hot tub for four days straight. I need to post pictures but they are all on my mom's camera. Once I get them up, I'll post. So I must have caught some serious airplane sickness because I got home, went to work and the next day...BAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks! So that was a week ago and I am still feeling exhausted. I hope I am not having a flashback to my freshman year of college sickness: MONO! But that's how I feel right about now. So I hope I feel better soon because I have missed two date nights now. Last Thursday and today. The BF has been helpful though. He's visited me daily to bring me things to drink and eat. Right now I wish I was typing from my bed. Actually, I wish I was sleeping in my bed. And my back is throbbing. I need a serious back massage. Hopefully I can talk the BF into doing that for me tonight. . . if he's touch me. He obviously doesn't want to get sick and I am probably contagious. Or at least I was before the medicine kicked in. But he doesn't even get sick days at his job and he's a dentist! You would think someone working in the health field would get sick days. Doesn't make any sense to me...but that is just another reason why he needs to look for a different job. Hopefully he'll find a spot he would like to work at.
It stinks not to like your job because it is a place where you spend A LOT OF TIME. Which brings me to my next point. I don't really want to work at 8-5 job for the rest of my life. I'll miss out on so much if I'm always at work. Too bad I need the money. But one day I would like to have a family and then I really don't want to work 8-5. My mom always worked part-time and I thought that was normal. I'm so sad to find out it's not. I see many more work days in my future. :o( If only I could be an independent entrepreneur!

Hello Heat, Sand, Ocean, Palm Trees, Bike Riding. . .

mmm...Yes, I am going to Clearwater Beach, Florida tomorrow for a long weekend. I'm glad my parent's talked me into buy a plane ticket. And I'm happy the BF is coming with me, too. We really only see each other on the weekend, and I am getting sick of that. That's another blog.

But the season of fall in CNY is typically a wonderful time of the year - however, it has been so rainy the past few weeks that I can't wait to escape to the beach! {oops! I just ate a doughnut, compliments of a staff meeting. the dining diva needs to go on the biggest loser!} I want to make a scrapbook of my traveling adventures this year. I need to get working on that.

Work has been crazy busy and I can't wait to take a few days off! I don't have much more to report. But I do want to welcome my dear friend, Kara, to the world of blogging!

-Dining Diva

Bad Blogger

That's what I am. I haven't written anything in so long. I'm happy to be back. First off, I was just reading some blogs and I FELL IN LOVE with the entire wedding theme and photography of Vineyard Vogue. The pictures are so beautiful and I love it all. Speaking of weddings, my friend That's Sassy! picked out her bridesmaid dresses and they look very pretty. I'm so excited for her wedding - even though it's still a ways away. In other wedding news, my other lovely friend Kara send me the Web site link to her wedding venue for next fall, and that looks breathtaking, as well. Check it out: http://www.hiddenvalleyresort.com/Wedding.aspx

Here's a snapshot into my current life:

1. I'm car shopping. What a pain! I am totally car-stupid and don't like feeling that way. I believe that I have narrowed down my search to a Nissan Rogue, Toyota Rav4 or a Honda CRV. I have not decided upon new/used, buy/lease. So many decisions to be made. And I'm poor. Well, I will be once I make this purchase. I do have someone looking at my rear-wheel drive (NOT GOOD IN CNY WINTERS) Jeep this weekend. So I hope he wants it!

2. I'm going home to my hometown for homecoming this weekend. My parents and I are running in a 5K road race in the morning. Mind you, I haven't been running at all lately. It should be fun.

3. My pants seem to be fitting a little loosely lately, which is actually quite exciting! I am not sure what the reasoning is behind this, but I hope it keeps happening. All I can think of is that it has something to do with this new medicine I have to take because now I have been diagnosed with ULCERATIVE COLITIS. How fortunate, I know.

4. I bought this gorgeous bracelet and necklace in California on my recent vacation and it broke. I had to send it back and I just got a new one and I am even more in love with it than I was before. Actually, a lady at work fell in love with it today and I gave her the stores name and she called and just bought one for herself. I think I should get some free jewelery for that.

5. I'm going to my parent's house in Clearwater Beach, Florida next Friday - Monday with my BF and parents. I'm looking forward to that because the weather right now is already kicking in my annual seasonal depression.

Have a great weekend!
-Dining Diva