What's in a name?

I got to thinking about nicknames today.
I think nicknames are an awesome thing.
Sometimes nicknames even replace our real names.
Like I have this friend, who is actually more of a friend of a friend.
And she goes by Cricket.
That's it. Just Cricket.
And I love that. Too cute.
In my family, we have tons of nicknames.
Erika is Babish. Dad gave her that one.
Mauricio is either Mo, Mauroy, Mauroy2k,
Or more recently baptized Cagon2k.
Mauricio will call my mom Rockefeller.
(Who knows where he got that from)
And Erika and I nicknamed the cat Fatty.
And Louie is nicknamed Goobie.
My cousin Marcelo goes by Chubi.
And as for me, most people just call me Nat.
Sometimes Natty. Or Nattielyte.
Sohale used to call me Zero.
Because back then I was a size 0.
And when I used to play highschool basketball
they called me Noodles.
Which was totally lame.
So, speaking of nicknames...

What are your nicknames?

P.S. Guess who didn't file their taxes last night because they were too drunk to type?
Yep, that would be me. Oops.

Sickness & Sweetness

So, I was sick last week.

I called out sick Thursday & Friday.

And to be honest I rather have been as sick as I was then have to go to work.

THAT is how much I'm hating my job right now.

But, I did manage to get out Friday night.

Yep, all dressed up & drugged up on Advil Cold & Sinus.

Good times on this 4-day weekend.

Did some power scrapping too.

Here's one of the four layouts.

Hits the Nail on the Head

Found this Design Test and of course I did it.
Dude, this is totally 110% accurate.
Do the test and be scared. Seriously.
This is what it said about me:

"Carefree. Playful. Cheerful. You love a free and spontaneous life. And you attempt to enjoy it to the fullest, in accordance with the motto: "You only live once." You are very curious and open about everything new; you thrive on change. Nothing is worse than when you feel tied down. You experience your environment as being versatile and always good for a surprise."

Seriously, this is even more accurate than the Chinese assessment of my animal, the Dog. Which after doing this quiz, I only give the Chinese thing a 92% accuracy rating. Although, according to Erika, I am a total fualt finder and would make an excellent secret agent. Alright, two posts in one day?? This is total craziness, even for me! Off to Italian class I go. =)

Family Fun

Friday 8:30 - A group dinner at Peking Gourmet Inn, where we had the most fabulous Duck ever. Seriously, if you are from the DC area and have not eaten here, then must eat there today. At the latest, tomorrow. It is just THAT good. I am drooling just thinking about it.

Saturday 4:00 - Lunner (late lunch/early dinner) at my parents house. We had chicharon, mote, and papas cocidas. Very Bolivian. Very tasty.

Saturday 8:00 - Mass for little cousin Mayra's confirmation. We were told it started at 8:00. We get there at 7:45. It didn't start until 8:30. By 10:30, I was about to kill someone. At least I found some amusement around me. A fat 8 year old girl who was singing Alleluia in the funniest of ways. A 2 year girl who bitch slapped her mom right in the face (and her mom let her get away with it). And lady who was wearing a high waist belt with the belt buckle on her back. Can we just say fashion victim? Just because the back of the belt has a semi-cute design, doesn't mean you put the buckle on your ass and show up the tacky pattern on the front. Lady...Jesus will forgive you. Luckily I left at the two hour mark because the mass lasted until 11:40. Those who stayed until the end probably have a guaranteed seat in heaven.

Saturday 10:30 - Cosmic Bowling. Oh so much fun! First round, I sucked. Second round, I bowled a 220. Sick, right?

Sunday 11:00 - We weren't forced to go to church like most years. My mom said that the 4 hour mass from Saturday would suffice.

Sunday 12:30 - Brunch at my Aunts. Deliciousness. And then sad goodbyes.

Pictures to follow....Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Belated April Fools

So here is how it went. Well first let me preface by telling my fellow readers, who don't know my family life, that my older brother (Mauricio) is in a wheelchair. And my parents were in Vegas this past weekend and so I was in charge of the house. And so my dad calls me up on Sunday (April 1) and the conversation goes something like this:

Dad: Hey, Nat, how are things at home?
Me: Oh, dad, not good!
Dad: (super concerned voice) What? Why? What happened?
Me: Well, dad, Mauricio fell out of his wheelchair and really hurt himself.
Dad: WHHHHAAAAAAAATTTT!?!?!?!?!? (begins freaking out)
Me: Hahaha. April Fools!!!
Dad: Bwahahahahahah. (Starts laughing hysterically. Calls over to my mom, tells her the story, and then I can hear her chuckling in the background).
Me: (of course I'm laughing because I think I'm soooo funny.)
Dad: Good one, Nat!

And then, of course, kharma kicks in. And Matt plays a pretty nasty April Fools joke on me later on that night. It was hilarious. You had to be there. Ok, that is all for now. Back to this shitty job of mine. Oh, did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? The Pajama lady. The former Microsoft guy with the hundreds of libraries in Nepal. Inspiring. Totally changed my life. Seriously. Ok, back to worthless corporate world.

Post # 50

Lesson of the Day: Don't let the man get you down.

When you feel like you've been kicked down, abused, taken for granted, mistreated, and someone has stolen your super cute green wedges...

Stop. Pose for a picture. Think. Reflect. Find your shoe. Come up with a plan. And pick yourself off the ground. Gracefully, of course.

The End.

LOST spoilers. Its Thursday, which means Michelle and I will be chatting via email all day long about our fave show...LOST. So the truth is, I was totally losing interest in the show about 2 months ago. Michelle and I almost bid farewell to our beloved show. But then, things starting happening. Desmond starting having premonitions and predicted Charlie would die. We found out that Claire was Jack's sister. Locke became the asshole who killed an Other and killed off everyone's chances of leaving the island. Jerk. He totally has been urking me lately. Him and his wierd ideas. And even stranger faces, like he's a constipated man on a mission type face. You know what I'm talking about? Anyways, I digress. And last night! WOW. What a great hour of television. The diamonds. The spider who paralyzed them. The burial of Nikki and Paolo. And how fucking cute is Paolo? And his adorable little accent. I think I have a thing for foreign men. With dark hair and who can barely speak English. Speaking of foreign men. It is my bestest friends birthday today! Happy Birthday to my one and only Reubenator!

Yo Yo Yo!

What up! So, I know i promised a Blog-Makeover for Friday, but today will just have to do. It's been SOOOO good to be home. I've been spending lots of QT with my Matty. Louie seems happy to have me back considering he hasn't left my side all weekend. And I've even had time to use some of my new scrappy supplies. I got so much stuff at Scrap Etc. Pretty sick deals and lots of giveaways. Gots lots of Hambly goodies. And F-werks. New Scenic Route. And of course some AC thickers and paper. It was so nice to be in a scrap store again. God knows the ones around here have all closed down. Oh wait, there is that one. I'm not naming names, but the store is still stuck on 2001 styles and Creative Memories. YUCK. Not hating. Just stating. OH, and I was at Urban Outfitters and picked up some sweet-ass sticky notes. And two cuter-than-cute shirts. And I got Erika this little mirror thing. Its got her 3 most favorite things all together in one package. The color pink, argyle, and skulls. I think she'll like it...

Here is a picture from the Event. With Christina Padilla, who is totally rad and super duper cute. She really is amazing and it was total inspiration to meet her.

And so when I was down in Birmingham, I thought it would be funny to buy Matt a BAMA shirt. He loved it. So he wore it yesterday. And this is him cooking us dinner. Seafood Alfredo. So YUMMY. He is such an amazing cook. I'm so lucky. LOVE his hair in this pic. If its the weekend, he doesn't wear any products in his hair. It's classic. And last, but not least. My scrappies from yesterday and today. I hope everyone had a good weekend! I'm going to play outside now. Byeeeee!

The Good Ol' South

Gotta give a shout out to Webshots.
I used to upload there ALL the time.
And I don't anymore.
I do miss writing the captions.
But they still send me alerts.
And I got one yesterday that cracked me up!
Molls, Rach, Mo....
You know what I'm talking about.
Greg Sturz....he found the pic!
And felt up Rachel a few years back.
Bwhahahahahahah!

SO, I'm still in Birmingham, Alabama.
Yep, the good old south!
Everyones got that cute southern accent.
But, I am so ready to come home!!
And hear normal accents. Ha.
And upload my pictures from the Event.
(Carol and Irasema please send me pics!)
And see my wonderful boyfriend.
And eat home cooked meals.
And sleep in my own bed, well *our* bed!
Ahhh, I can't wait. One more day!

Ok, so LOST last night!
WOW. Seriously. WOW.
What has Locke gone and done this time?
What is going to happen to the Losties now?
Will they remain prisoners?
Will Danielle be reuinited with Alex?
And who will die next week?
I *doubt* it will be Charlie.
That would be too predictable.
Soooo excited for next week!
And Grey's tonight...whoop whoop!
I need to stop watching so much TV.

*Side Note* I know my blog has totally sucked lately and for that I'm sorry. I have had no time. I need to add some color. And pictures galore. And more links to all my favorite things. I promise, PROMISE, promise it will be better. Starting tomorrow. PROMISE. And if you read my lovely little blog, then please leave a comment. I'd love to know who's out there lurking. =)

Two Days & Happy Places

In two day's...I'll be in Birmingham, AL. Yep, the good old south. And I can't wait. Because I'm HATING work right now. The deadlines. The angry bosses. Cubicle life. Hating it all. Need to get away. Warmer weather. Friendly people. Mini-vacation. Well, the first half is mini-vaca because I'll be at the Scrap, Etc. Event. So freaking excited! I can totally see all my non-scrappy friends reading this, thinking to themselves, that their friend Natalie is such a loser. But, think what you want! I am too excited to care. I think I'm cool. And that is all that matters. Ha!

In other news. Matt and I are still waiting on our 50" Plasma. Which should be delivered any day now. We got it from Costco, which just happens to be the best place on earth. Seriously...LOVE Costco. I think Costco and Target are my happy places. Where I don't even need a reason to go, but when I get there, I find what I need. Like for example, on Sunday, we took our weekly trip to Costco and I found Season 9 of Friends (the one season that was missing from my collection) for guess how much?!?! $15.99. Man, gots to love it! Also, went to Rock and Roll Hotel for a birthday party on Friday. Really cool place. Very different, but thats probably what I liked most about it. Will post pictures at a later date. That's all, my friends. Back to it.

Ice = Not my Friend

So, yesterday, I fell. Yep, I bit it. As I was walking in front of my car, trying to de-ice the damn windshield, I slipped on some ice, and DOWN I went. It hurt SO bad. I landed on mostly my knee and hip. I was in so much pain (and shock) that I just sat there, on the cold dirty ice, and cried. I couldn't move. My knee throbbed. My pretty new Italian Cashmere coat sat soaking up the ice and filth from the ground. I finally got up, limped up 4 flights of stairs to my appt, and cried some more on my couch. My knee was bloody. My thigh was instantly bruised. I thought about being a bigger baby and calling out sick. But, I sucked it up and went to work. Bad idea. My knee bled through my pretty work pants and sitting on my bruised hip all day did not feel good. Just wanted to share my petite tragedy with everyone. Happy Friday!