My birthday weekend.

I know its been a while since ive posted, theres just always something that is more important.
It happens.

Yesterday was Easter, and once every 7 or 9 years this also happens to be my birthday. I always think its awesome when my birthday falls on a National Holiday; though, it is much harder to find something fun to do.
As per my usual routine, i took an extended weekend away from work, giving me both Friday and Saturday as well as the holiday where we are closed.
Friday i got up early, took my bicycle out and ended up riding 3 miles. Now thats not alot really, but since im just now getting back into the exercise thing im stoked i was able to do that much. Then my friend Chris came over and we went to a few malls and shopped a bit. I was looking for an outfit to wear out Saturday night, but didnt find any. That evening went went to see How to Train Your Dragon in IMAX 3D, i must say it was pretty cool, but only bc it was in 3d. There were tons of kids there, but they were very well behaved so im ok with that. There was one scene where the boy disappeared from the page, the room is silent except for one little girl who asks "whered he go?" it was very cute.
Saturday was eventful again. I got my nails done, and despite my generous tip i was not thrilled with the service. The lady made me bleed (which this salon is usually fantastic) and then she didnt cover the nail completely with the polish, which makes me sad. Again me and my friend Chris went out shopping to another mall, i didnt find an outfit to wear that night but i found a dress to wear to vegas so that made me happy. I ended up dropping him off and going back to the first mall as there was a store i knew i didnt check on Friday. And of course i forgot that its prom shopping time, so it took me FOREVER just to try on my clothes.
I did finally find an outfit so that made me happy, plus found some comfy jeans.
So me and my friends headed out to dinner. Our cabby got to the apartment and that became our first adventure, long story short me and Amanda were in fear of a wreck happening on the way to dinner.
Dinner was a blast, we ate at a Japanese steak house. The show wasnt as flashy as i remember, but everyone does it differently. The food was good, and my friends and i socialized so that made me happy. I was sad that alot of people bailed on me, but whatever it happens i suppose.
After that we headed to Ernie Biggs chicago style dueling piano bar. We had a blast, spent too much money on alcohol and my friend ended up getting sick on the patio. But still ALOT of fun.

Sunday became Part 2 of the BDAY adventure. A couple of work friends decided we should take a road trip. So 5 of us piled into my SUV  at the but crack of dawn and drove 3 hours down to Branson to spend the day. We had a BLAST. Again spent too much money.... But we did the Ripleys Believe it or not, Hollywood Wax Museum, Old Time photo shoot and then go-carts. Stopped and had some ice cream and some fantastic dinner before getting back home just before midnight.

I felt very blessed this weekend, and im still feeling very blessed despite being woken up to a thunderstorm and hail on my window. I must get ready for work now, i hope everyone has a great day like i hope i will have.

Vacation time

Well not really, but i did take the vacation pay.

I had my last two remaining wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Surprisingly i expected much more pain, ive been able to get by with just aleve for the dull ache.

I opted for IV sedatives, knock me out baby! This apparently had very exciting side effects for me, and i say exciting with a sarcastic tone.

According to my lovely friend amanda, i have a extreme attachment to the Fbomb. I announced both mine and her personal issues to the waiting room and apparently offered to be her surrogate mother (not that im completely against the idea of she needed me). Its a good thing i dont have any deep dark secrets, otherwise im sure i would have spilled those beans.

All in all, i feel half empty in my mouth. I cant wait for some real food, ive been craving chipotle for a few days. Not that its considered real food but i am tired of soup and applesauce (which apparently a girl can live on just fine mind you, as im not starving)

Its wednesday, this 5 days of vacation went fast. I must actually do something with my life... but first a game on xbox.

For the love of a Dog

When a person is lonely, they look for something to fill the gap. This often leads to a companion of sorts. Typically if there is a bf/gf, they spend more time with them. Some women tend to go into what i call "baby mode" and cant stop thinking about babies, think about having babies, or spending more time with friends/families babies. Typically i tend to do the later of the 3 in order to fend off the baby vibes i have as i know i am not ready to raise a baby, much less raise one on my own.
Some women do not care about being ready for having a baby or not, they just want something to love and something to love them.

Since im slightly smarter than that, i have decided i am going to get a dog instead. Something to love, something to love me, and i dont have to put it through college.

But living in an apartment makes the task of finding the right type of dog hard. It needs to be small enough for apartment life, but typically i am a big dog person. So, compromising will be hard, especially since i hate the whole teacup, miniature type dogs. I am so not a Paris Hilton wanna-be.

My hope is to figure out what type of dog will work best in an apartment, or at least get a few breed types, and then head down to a few of my local no kill shelters in the area and see who i can bring home.

I was bored one day and went into Petland. God i hate the whole puppy mill scenario but GOD these babies were adorable. I was also introduced to a breed that i fell in love with. Just look at him, hes adorable. Hes a BOGGLE, which is a cross between boston terrier and beagle. But being ok with $400-500 for the dog is NOT something i can do at this time. Doesnt mean i cant oo and ahh over him all day!!!!

The decision to get a dog is something i have been thinking about for a while. As this has to be something i want to do for a long period of time, especially since im in an apartment. #1 i have to put a $300 deposit down to have the dog, plus increases my rent by $15. And then if i change apartments, i have to start all over again. This could get difficult. Which is another reason i refuse to shell out alot of cash for a dog.

As always, any suggestions are appreciated.

Money doesnt buy happiness...

We all know how true this statement is. Yet, we continuously try to achieve this.

Are we ever truly happy with our lives?

I often wonder, i mean, theres always something we could change.
Do i hate my job, of course. But i am satisfied at this point because this time last year i was without a job. I will continue to look for a job, but i dont think anyone just stands still in life. When we find a job we do not hate, we will still look towards a better career.
Do i hate myself as a person? Only on some days when i do something that requires me to suddenly go to confessional, but for the most part no i do not hate myself. When things are going good in my life, all the stars align.. Life really is good.

Part of my New Years Resolution was to work on me.......... In my head, for some reason, this meant getting my home life in order as well as my physical me. Meeting the goals for my household you could say. To me, this meant buying the things that i had wished for a while back. My first big screen lcd, organizational items for the kitchen to improve my cabinet space, extra blankets/sheets/towels so i am not using the same ones over and over. However, i realized today as im watching my awesome new tv, i was buying items to make myself feel like i was important in the world. To have a purpose when i come home to an empty house, to have something i had to do outside of the house.
But buying these things has not filled the void. And while i knew that, i tried anyway. When the world calms down, and im relaxing... i still feel alone.

But spending all the money i can spare on material things only makes me feel complete for a short amount of time. And i am seriously craving companionship... i even had the "i want a baby thoughts" which really really is not cool as i can not afford a baby nor do i want to raise one on my own.

Random Catchups

As its been almost a week since my last blog, i decided to again mash a couple subjects into one blog.

Its tax time, and like most people i have been mulling over how to spend my tax dollars.
After much research, and going back and forth over what i really wanted new in my life i have decided to get out of my old tv and into a new flat screen tv. I didnt want to spend a whole lot so i called some friends to see what kind of deals i could get through their channels. In the end i got a Sony Bravia 46" LCD from my friend Joe through his connection. Its slightly used, but still in perfect condition.
For some reason i am overly excited. My friend Chris went with me to pick it up and he hooked up my xbox and dvd player to the tv. He was nice enough to also tweek the settings. He then proceeded to make fun of me to some of his friends when they called. Apparently i said, more than once, YAYYYY i got a big screen tv!!!!!!!!!!!!
What can i say, im easily excitable.

This morning, i watched some of my dvr shows and realized that there really IS a difference between regular and HD channels. I have been missing out for SO long.

What can you do....

The rest of my money will be put into the credit union account i opened, other than expenses for the Las Vegas trip of course. I was told that having a reputation with a credit union is better than with a regular bank, while i cant say i believe it 100%, in theory it sounds logical so i am more than happy to go that route.

Tomorrow is Super Bowl, and some friends of mine are going Rock Climbing in the morning before the game. I dont know if i will participate, but i will at least come out and take some photos.

I will be working for 8 days straight after this weekend. Im slightly disappointed in that, but i guess i cant complain too much. The ASM at work took over making the schedule, so hopefully i will notice a difference and it will be for the better.

The job hunt is still on, though not as aggressively as i would like. I went to a testing last thursday as i mentioned. I can type 82 wpm. *applause applause* I sent a follow up email on Wed night, but have yet to hear anything back. It makes me nervous, as i really want this job, however i am trying to stay positive.
The job market is tough, there are so many people looking for a change, and so few jobs; employers can afford to be picky. I actually saw a secretarial position which required a 4 year degree. Personally i think thats ridiculous.

Any job hunting advice?

Mid-Week Mash Up

Its Wednesday (incase you have yet to realize this).

As typical for anyone who works, we cant wait for friday. So instead of getting ready for work as i should be, i decided to catch up on my blogs and write a new one.

Whats new in my life?

I still hate my job, ive been applying for pretty much everything i find online. I dont know what i want to do til i get my degree. I want a job where i can turn it into a career and work my way up the corporate ladder once i do finish my degree. So does everyone else.....

I did have a job testing thing last Thursday at this insurance company. Tested how well i follow directions, that i apparently type 82 wpm (woot!) and if i can navigate around the internet (surprise surprise i can).

I have yet to hear back from them for my phone interview, but patience is important right?

The problem with job hunting, in my opinion, is that i truly believe the best jobs that a person gets are when they have a friend who helps the process along. I think that you have to know someone to get a decent job, ive proven it a few times but nothing to make a statistic of.

Two Saturdays ago i went to a dinner party to meet a friend of a friend who had just moved back to the KC area. Cool dude, i offered to take him to some new sights in the area that have appeared since he last lived here, so this past Sunday i took him to the Sprint Center to the College Basketball Experience. It was pretty cool. To me, who is not a huge basketball fan, it seemed like $12 to play basketball. I suppose it was cool having the goal lowered so that i could dunk and learning different facts.

Monday, i was a good girl, and cleaned the WHOLE apartment. Well, i did skip the bathroom. However, i even stripped the bed and did the sheets! I did some more searching online for deals in vegas. In May my girlfriend Tricia is getting married in vegas. This will be my first EVER trip. I wasnt sure i was going to be able to go. But after getting my W-2s and filing taxes turns out i will have more than enough money to pay off some bills and be able to make it to vegas. So far, with hotel and flight, im looking at around $500 (which includes all taxes, fees, and junk). 

If anyone has any good deals please please please comment. I am looking to fly southwest due to their no baggage fee. I would like to stay some where on the strip; decent, yet get the full vegas experience. I want to see a showgirls show and possibly stop by a strip club (just to say ive done it).

After being robbed in November, ive slowly been replacing my stuff. My friend Joe gave me one of his laptops and also sold me an xbox for WAY cheap. i bought a DVD player and thanks to me exempting my commission check i was able to buy a new point n shoot camera. Its BEAUTIFUL and will be here sometime this week.  Its a Sony Cybershot W-230 which i got brand new for $145. Its a great deal in my opinion, but thats probably bc i paied $200 for a 8 MP a few years ago and this one is a 12 mp. I also bid on a used off camera flash for my Canon Xti. Typically they run about $200, but i decided that id just go with a used one and maybe ill get lucky and get it for less than $50. The auction runs for 6 days, well 5 days now. Cross your fingers.

Ahh, so i need to get ready for work. Oops.

Have a great day Blogger world.

Conclusion of Hobbies

So, while trying to think of what blog to write next i was scrolling through my past few blogs and it hit me..... All of my hobbies are solitary hobbies, things i do alone. My friend at work argued that he reads together with his family; i do not think passing around a book so that everyone reads it classifies as a social activity. What do i know.

I have a lot of interests. I used to play softball, tennis, i want to learn to ski...join a bowling league or a pool league just for shits and grins. Im sure there are many more thoughts of things i wish i did more often, or even knew how to do. But the problem with group activities is getting a group or a partner that you can depend on, that will follow through. Im sure a psychologist would tell me that i have trust issues, no big news there.
How do you meet people who want to try new things? My current friends are all coupled up, and never do anything outside of their norm; hell, just trying to get one of them to join me for 50 cent well drinks last night was a pain in my ass.

So im asking for suggestions on group hobbies i can pick up, and suggestions on how to meet people who are doing those hobbies so i have someone to do them with.

Hobbies Part 3

So, another activity that i like to do in my spare time is read. I dont know if its technically classified as a hobby but whatever; this is my blog and ill do what i want!

What kind of books do i like? Honestly, anything that gets me out of reality. I have a very bad habit of getting so entranced into a book that i literally dont see the world go by. Lately, due to school, i leave my book that im reading at work so that i only read it during lunch and will actually get my school work done. I am one of the terrible "judge a book by the cover" type of people; i walk around the walmart/target book isle and find a book cover that looks appealing. Thats how i found my latest series. Sometimes ill ask the sales person at borders for some direction but typically thats how i find them.

Mostly, my favorite type of books are the scifi/fantasy. Of course the stereotypical Harry Potter series, and Twilight series have been good reads.  currently i am reading the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Another favorite is Dresden files by Jim Butcher. Its about a 30 something wizard living in Chicago. Hes a smart ass who cant stand authority. Its a great read.

The books that first got me started into the science fiction/fantasy world of literature was the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. While they were a series, they did not have to be read in order, though i felt it helped a little bit. Piers Anthony was the first sarcastic, smart ass writer i ever encountered. If you ever get a chance to read even just one of these books i do suggest The Color Of Her Panties. I know it sounds dirty but its really not.
The most hilarious thing about this series is it takes place in Xanth which is shaped like Florida.

Im constantly looking for new series' to read so feel free to offer up suggestions. Just none of the boring political shit :)

Hobbies Part 2

So, on to the second part of this series. How many entries classify a series anyway?

This next hobby i have been dabbling, and i do mean dabbling, in for the past 3-4 years. I love taking photos.  I want to be better at photography, but the problem is that i learn better with a one on one teacher, and also finding the time. Turns out Photography is an expensive hobby, especially if you want to do the things i want to do. I have so much equipment that i need to buy but no money to do so.
I do belong to a couple forum/groups that help beginners out,and i pick up some different tip and tricks here and there, but i still dont learn things well just by reading (which is why i dont do well with my online classes).

Part of my problem, i think, is that i am too scatter brained when it comes to creativity. I do not have a focused area of expertise. I love taking photos of children, and i love nature shots, and i love pinup/budoir photos and and and..... i could go on and on about my favorite photos ideas.

My friends think that im better than i give myself credit for, who knows. But i will share some of my favorite photos with you anyway.

This photos is of the Seattle Skyline from the Ferry (i cant remember which ferry at the moment there were alot). I like this mostly bc of the clouds. I had some much better photos, but when my laptop was stolen a few months ago so i lost most of the photos.

This photo is a one of a few i did at an event that a friend of mine sponsored. It was at a night club and called "nightie night" party. It was alot of fun, but i feel i could have done better with more equipment like an off camera flash and some reflectors.
But overall i know the girls had alot of fun and we did get some awesome shots, which was the whole point of this.

I take ALOT of pictures of my 6 nieces and nephews, but as they arent really posed photos i dont classify them as part of my portfolio.
Anyway, if you would like to see more of my photos feel free to check out my Flickr website, if you have a yahoo account you can sign in and see more i think than what originally shows.

Hobbies Part 1

So, in the spirit of sharing more of myself with you i thought what better place to start than my current hobbies. I have at least two hobbies if not more but i am only going to share one with you today as i am supposed to be reading 3 chapters for my Intro to Human Resource Management class right now.... yes i am a procrastinator dont judge me!!!!

The first one that i have just recently taken back up is Crocheting. Now, im not all that fantastic at it, but i have made a few things as of late that i am quite proud of.
I started my reentry into crocheting by making a scarf, i figured it would be easy to get back into the swing and routine of the stitch. However, it ended up being alot harder than i thought. About 10-15 rows into this pattern i would find myself upset with the results and unravel everything i had done... to start all over. I did this about 5 times before i just said screw it and decided to finish no matter what. I started this maybe a week or less before Christmas and finished it on New years day. Not to bad for as many times as i restarted it.
Below is a picture, and you can see the pattern. I loved the scarf, it didnt turn out at all like the pattern but it was nice in its own right.

Then when i got down to Springfield Mo, i decided to start a hat for my niece. I didnt use a pattern, just kinda went with my gut, and surprisingly it went ok. My cousin did pull out one of her pattern books for the flowers but the hat itself i think looks fabulous!!!!!

Thoughts and comments are most appreciated.
Also some ideas for something other than the standard.. gloves, hat, scarf, doilies would be awesome.
A girlfriend of mine has been doing animated characters such as supermario and bender from futurama... i dont think im that good yet.

Hello world, have you missed me?

Alas, im sure the answer is no but i will tell you where i have been regardless.

This weekend I went down home to Springfield, Mo to visit my family. Saturday was my oldest nieces birthday, she turned 6!!!  She is the oldest of my six nieces and nephews. The thing with family is that if you arent around them on a consistent basis when you are thrown into the mix and get a heavy dose of them all at once, you will become burned out on "family time" really fast.

I left Kansas City around 9 am on Thursday morning and despite the snow that dropped the night before and the threat of terrible roads i made record time down there with no mishaps. My mother rode down with me, and we managed to keep it peaceful on the way down also. Once we got to Springfield, we headed to my sisters to pick up one of my nieces. It was her birthday in December and since i could not make it down for her birthday i told her she could come spend some one on one time with me. While she is no longer the middle child, the second of four, she still has the typical middle child syndrome and was THRILLED that it was just her going and not the other kids. We then took her to my cousins house where we painted nails and had typical girly fun. Then.... my baby sister came over with her two kids. This ended up having 4 kids in a small two bedroom house; it was at that time i remembered how quiet and peaceful my apartment was sounding

The next day i went to my baby sisters house to hang out with her and her kids, and much to my surprise my middle sister had brought her four over while she went to work. I was so not prepared for 6 kids all at once but i stuck it out for a few hours till i tucked my tail and ran back to my cousins house for some nice quiet time.

Saturday was of course my nieces birthday and her party. I picked her up before the party, of course her mother didnt have her ready so we were 20 mins late for her party. Things like this stress me out, i hate being late but i got her ready and took her to the bowling alley. She had a great time, and got some awesome presents. As typical with my family, there was a little drama which i will not go into. So many kids at the bowling alley, not just with my group but apparently it was the day for bowling birthday parties.
As soon as the party was over, i ran out of there to safety!!! I went over to a girlfriends house, read a book and gossiped. I couldnt wait to get back to my life.

This weekend taught me a few things: 1-if i saw my family in smaller doses, more frequently i probably would not be as overwhelmed; 2-i miss having some of my old friends close by to visit with; 3-where i used to want two-three kids i think 1 is going to be enough; 4-i need to do something more with my life or i will never have the family life i want so bad.

What I want

With everyone posting their new goals for the new year, i decided to share more of mine.
What i want for the new year, is a closer friend; someone i can call my best friend.
My gf Sharon came over tonight; i love her to death. We have so much fun when we are together and i just enjoy gossiping and typical girl stuff that goes on. But she isnt my best friend, and she has her own best friend.
We dont see each other much, in face the last time i saw her was when she helped me move. Though she is definitely an awesome friend for helping me move!!!!! I want more friends like her, single girls that i can hang out with, go scope hot guys at the bar with, or just girls that are willing to try new things with me.

Theres this new show on mtv called the buried life which is guys doing this list of things they want to do before they die, and they arent doing them alone.... they have friends.

Dont get me wrong, i have friends, im not this social outcast. I just dont have a best friend that does everything with me, that calls me first when something interesting happens... and vice versa. And it makes me sad, it also makes me think that this is why i am looking so hard for a relationship, bc i dont have a close personal relationship with anyone in particular. Definitely a bad reason to want a boyfriend.

I started really noticing my lack of someone the other day when i had some awesome news, and i called 5 people to share this news... none of them answered.

So the question is; what am i going to do about it?
The simple answer is make new friends and develop some closer relationships.
Life isnt simple.
How am i going to meet new females..................................


Can i get back to you on this?

My Adventure creating my first blog

As i stated in my first blog post, i decided to start this blog as part of my new years resolution. I will have to admit, the creation process was not as simple as i thought it would be. 


First, you have to decide where to start your blog. There are tons of websites!!!! So of course i googled "most popular blogging websites" and i got a few lists which included LiveJournal and our beloved Blogger. I chose Blogger bc i didnt have to fill out a new user application (thank you gmail!). 


Second, creating a blog name. Sounds soooo much easier than it was. I spent 3 hours going through every url name i could think of that might relate to me or my hobbies. The problem was i originally wanted this blog to be slightly anonymous as i used to google myself and i was the first 10 entries on there. Since then i have been demoted and im ok with that.
But alas, none of the cute, anonymous url names were available so i settled for something that encompassed more of my name. I chose USofMikki mostly as a random choice, i just happened to be catching up on one of my semi-favorite shows The US of Tara. Its a cute and funny show based out of my current town so i get a kick out of it.


As for actually writing a blog, that part is easy so far. I have so many ideas running around in my head about things i am interested in and things i wish to be interested in. From artys crafty stuff to sports and even adventures in the snow. Now finding the time to put everything down on the computer will be more tricky. My plan is to write at least one a day so im trying to remember to do that, even as it makes me late for work as i type this morning.


Many of the webpages i looked up about creating a blog said that the key to getting readers is to follow other blogs, so i have been trying to do that also. I do wish searching for blogs on Blogger was easier, but maybe i am doing it wrong. This whole "next blog" button is too random. I want to find people who blog in my area, single people who are interested in things im interested in. Perhaps have the ability to meet them and make new friends. 
Perhaps weird, but im ok with that thought right now. None the less i have followed about 8 or 9 blogs so far but i noticed this morning that some of those bloggers arent really updating so i might have to weed them out.


Time for work, one must not be late to sell those phones. The world will go crazy if their cell phone doesnt work properly....but thats a whole new blog.

Hello Father Winter, did i piss you off?

So i woke up at 3 am to find myself with nasty sinus/sneezing issues. YAY me..... But what do i expect for a bitter January morning when its 3 degrees outside. 3!!! i feel like i should be in Michigan, not kansas. It makes me long for the days of high school, especially as i watch the news and the school closings flash across the bottom of the screen.
I usually love the snow, but this year is different than the past years. It has snowed almost every day since Christmas Eve. Had 15 inches total for the entire month of December. This is too much!!!!! Take it back, im done.

Oh well, complain as much as id like it is not as if they will close work and i mistakenly bought an AWD vehicle two years ago so i do not have an excuse for not making it in.

New Year, New Resolution

So ill start by introducing myself. My name is Mikki, i am a 27 year old single girl living alone in the Kansas City Metro area. I decided to start a blog as part of my new years resolution in order to routinely put thoughts down somewhere rather than keeping them bottled up.

Its taken me a few days to start this blog, mostly as i wasnt sure what website i wanted to use to host said blog. But here i am at Blogger, for no reason in particular other than the convenience of it being with Google as so much of my life seems to revolve around Google.

This entire blog will be very random and possibly make no sense, but ive always wished that i had kept a journal as a young girl and i feel what better time to start than now. I will also shamelessly admit that part of my desire to have a decent blog came from watching Julia & Julie, while the movie wasnt that fantastic the thought of having a blog interested me.

Other than starting a blog, i did come up with a few non-traditional resolutions for 2010.

-I want to be more thoughtful and remember my loved ones birthdays. In order to do this i created a calendar on google with my friends' and families' birthdays. My plan is to at least send a birthday card to tell them i am thinking of them. I have a few girlfriends who always seem to remember birthdays and always send cards for christmas. I want to be that kind of person, so it starts this year. Ive already bought a birthday card for my oldest niece, she turns 6 next week.

-become more organized with my school work. At this point in my life i work full time and also attend undergrad classes taking both online classes and classes at campus. With my work schedule being so sparatic, it often makes it hard for me to remember what class work must be done at which times. So far, i have downloaded an App for my android phone that i can manage tasks which need to be done and i am going to utilize the calendar on my phone more often.

while i would like to make the traditional "lose weight" resolution, i have a very hard time knowing that i will fail at this goal if done alone. So my final resolution is to find someone to work out with on a regular basis.

Not bad goals for 2010 in my opinion.

Tomorrow is Monday and i already have a case of the Monday's...