sophisticated pallet

you: emily, where have you been?! i check your blog all the time, i even have it on googlereader (thanks sd), but you haven't posted anything in such a loooong time. are you done? i know you sometimes have a hard time finishing what you start, but where am i supposed to get my weekly dose of wit and insight?!

me: ugh i know, i know. i've been working a lot, putting in some overtime and sleeping when i can. i just celebrated day off number 3 of 4 that i have this month. woo hoo! in the little spare time i have i've been indulging in holiday sales, gearing up for new christmas guests, and taking advantage of my mother's pampered chef gadgets. but more importantly... making blue prints for my new head board! the inspiration:

via

free shipping pallets from scc already included!

also check out...

pallet project

SO awesome!

p.s. a very happy birthday

to a good friend who has one of the

greatest progressions of nicknames

i have ever known.

but my favorite - rockstar

...and he is :)

and the world spins madly on

this past sunday i celebrated day off number two (of four) that i have this month. i did nothing... and it was lovely. not even laundry. i slept in till 1130 and woke up in time to see the packer game (see them lose). laid on the couch all day. read npr online, wrote some emails, made some mix tapes to send to friends for finals, and thought about showering. i now take full advantage of the days i get to sleep in and the breaks between double shifts where i can lay down for 20-30 minutes. remember this? when i told you how much of a night owl i am? when i was sanding end tables at 3 in the morning. well things have changed. somewhat. ignore the fact that i'm writing this at midnight. it's a vicious caffeine cycle. i chug coffee to have the energy to sweep, mop and wipe tables only to realize i over did it and now can't fall asleep and get a decent night's rest to be awake and alert for when i have to leave the house at 530AM for my next shift. luckily i saw a pretty trendy friend use this one day when she came to visit. it doesn't make up for a full 8hrs, but i think she's on to something! i've also used it mid-day for a bright pick-me-up. plus... origins is a great brand, "powered by nature - proven by science" love it!

perky peepers

reality starz

while other teenagers were watching the real word i was watching the price is right. growing up without cable was a good thing and i have no regrets. less reality tv drama, more time drawing chalk murals on the drive way and riding bikes. sometimes i miss out on nickelodeon references, but that's about it... nothing i can't look up on hulu or youtube. there were times in college, and many times as of lately, when i feel like i'm in my own reality tv show. often throwing my hands in the air and asking fictitious producers and cameramen, "is anybody getting this?" episodes that are just too ironic that this couldn't possibly be my life. constantly searching for ashton kutcher, so he can jump out and yell "you've been punked!"

in 2002 i watched the first season of american idol and cheered while the nation voted in the vocal war between justin & kelly. with the exception of extreme makeover - home edition, i never set my clock for another reality show after that. it wasn't in protest of anything, it was out bordom. i never jumped on the reality show bandwagon. i do not consider jeopardy and wheel of fortune reality shows. they are game shows. i will admit i have been caught watching a few episodes of america's next top model and even fear factor back in the day. but today's shows like rock of love and dancing with the stars just do not grab my attention. but this does...

i will be setting my clock for the sing off, a reality tv version of glee. these 6 fine men have committed my attention for the rest of the season. ahhh.... brings me back to my boyz II men and all-4-one dayz

swoon.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

we got out first substantial snow fall in milwaukee yesterday! snow-ball fights and sledding down lafayette hill commenced shortly after inch #4 stayed on the ground. soon enough we'll enjoy the whole gamut of flurry activities including ice fishing and the kick-you-in-the-face / hard-to-breathe bitter cold wind chill. as soon as that day comes, i'm busting this out...

trying to find one with faux fur is harder than i thought

not sure if i can even pull it off

but how leather-and-lace-like fun are these?!

totally makes me want to be a wwii bomber pilot

(...or marry one)

perfect timing - pearl harbor is on tv!

limited commercials!

drink your gin-and-tonic-ah, it's time to celebrate hanukkah

yesterday was the first day we were allowed to play holiday music at the store. decorations were kept to a minimum, as to make the ambiance "seasonal neutral". it turned out mostly winter-themed - lots of snow flakes, stockings, silver and gold, icicle lights. these suggestions to minimize more religious-based decorations were particularly taken seriously at the scc in glendale (port washington rd & good hope rd). i'm picking up a few hours there this month and just got a text from the manager "...reminding you that you can wear solid blue tops to glendale for the next 7 days for hanukkah!" the glendale store got special permission from the factory to wear blue and go easy on the christmas music because of their "diverse" customer base. aka a large jewish population.

i think that is so awesome. this time of year we often forget not everyone celebrates christmas... as in the birth of christ. some use it as a time to remember the birth of a prophet, to others it's a time to reflect on the past year and make false promises not to mess up in the next, some people take the holiday season to meditate on how fortunate they are and give back to the community while others purge their bank accounts in the name of american consumerism. however, to many communities on the north shore of milwaukee, december is a time to celebrate the festival of lights.

for some distracted reason i'm reminded of the sex & the city episode when charlotte (an episcopalian) converted to judaism for the love of her life. is it that easy? that easy to denounce your religion? after reading many books, watching countless documentaries, and asking controversial questions, i'm not sure what i'll be celebrating/reflecting/purging this holiday season...

but

if being jewish means i get to be friends with these fine boys...

i might give it a go.

...a special thanks to b.notes for finding this gem!