My journey to New Hampshire Part 2.

First and Foremost.
Proof of my epic game of Scrabble from Part 1.

I couldn't contain myself, it was too funny


Now onto the next bit of my trip.

I arrived in Boston practically peeing myself everywhere I went because I was finally in a place I had dreamed to go for so (ohmygod you don't even know) long.

I was picked up from the airport by my brohem (brother-in-law) and my sister and taken to lunch to a tasty little place called 'Water on the Tavern'. There, I had lobster from the East Coast for the first time ever. It was absolutely gorgeous and I fell 100% in love with the city. I'm waiting for brohem to email me the pictures with Boston as my backdrop. :]

From there, we left to make our trek to New Hampshire.

We got through the city listening to some fantastic songs from the 80's, 90's & early 00's. It was too fun. Once we were out of the city, we hooked up my ipod (the one C let me borrow) and listened to Glee.

We stopped at a rest stop that had a liquor store attached.. Umm.. this kind of thing does NOT happen in Michigan, so obviously they went inside & bought some booze for when we got to the house.

Hopped back on the road and eventually found the road the house was on and went on a hunt for address 194 LakeShore (or maybe it was NorthShore) and thought we were done! Well, we drove around for 45 minutes... there was no 194 anywhere.

There was 190, 192 and 200, but no 194. Of course, we had zero service up there so getting ahold of anyone in the family was impossible AND my phone and my sisters phone were dead. What do we do? We stop at the village shop and ask.

After they met the town cop, Travis, and the fire chief, not too sure what his name was, they called the 911 disbatcher for the village and she said there was no address 194 in the surrounding 3 towns on any of the roads.

We were stumped.
We were frustrated.
Tension was really high.

I just sat in my corner in the back seat praying WWIII wouldn't break out in the front seat.

We drove around attempting to find my cousin's house to no avail, EVEN pulled into address 192 and drove all the way back hoping that 194 was at the end of the driveway... Nope, just a gorgeous beach and lake. So we drove around some more.. until...

We drove by 192 again and ALAS... there were cars in the driveway and people that looked to be our family members milling about. We pulled in and all was well..

Minus us bitching about 194 not existing and the retort being

"ITS IN THE RENTAL AGREEMENT!"

194 was in the rental agreement, but know this.. The address to the house we stayed at in New Hampshire was 192 NorthShore.

We then settled in with each other and despite living hundreds (if not thousands) of miles away, it was like we had never left. Conversation flowed and laughter ALWAYS followed. We joked about befriending Travis the village cop, walked to the beach, had Chinese for dinner, played games, it was glorious.

I did have to share a room with Grandma, which I thought was going to be a pain in the hind end, but it turned out to be not so bad. :] She is a neat lady and I absolutely adore her.

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So thats part 2. Just 3 days worth of the craziness. I'm hoping to consolidate and only have 4 written parts and 1 photo entry. Then, it will be back to my regular shenanigans. :)

Stay tuned for: Crazy Ella/Grandma conversations, that time we got lost in Maine, our joint birthday party, and FIMMY. :)

My journey to New Hampshire Part 1.

As you recall from this awesome(?)..no... insane post from last Thursday, I was having one helluva day.

Now you know that I never just go through anything without a glitch here and there. It just isn't in my lifeline.

So, after work I rushed out of here to go and clean out my car. I made that Alfie (the car) look frackin' BEAUTIFUL. I mean seriously, he was spotless. I even told the bf that no one was ever allowed to bring anything into my car EVER again because it was just so purdy.

Well, things are going well, Alfie is shining, I'm making plans to finish vacation stuff with my mom, there is like zero traffic, when I sense my car is slowing down a bit..

"I probably just need gas" I think to myself and keep chugging along.

clickclickclickclclicclickcckioclccilickc

WTF is that noise?

I took my foot off the accelerator and it stopped.. I then put my foot back down and..
clickclickclickclcickckckciclckcickcicl...

I thought there was a bomb in my car.. But then I rationalized with my brain that people are not out there trying to bomb me.. (seriously, I am terrified that will happen to me.)

At this point I am pleading with Alfie to get me home so that I can deal with it there..

Alfie had no plans to get me home.

When I got off the expressway things seemed to be fine, I breathed a sigh of relief that maybe JUST MAYBE I'd get home okay.

Then I went to turn the car and my power steering went KAPUT. Then I smell something...

HOLYCRAPMYCARISSMOKING

I freaked right out and jumped outta my car thinking there really was a bomb.
By this point, not one bone in my body was rational.
I was shaking furiously, called my father, dropped an eff bomb (you should know that I have NEVER said the eff word in front of my dad or even within hearing range) and had him come to get me and try to fix Alfie.

People are stopping left and right, I'm trying not to panic being on the side of the road.
Also, people were nice enough to stop and try to help me because I'm not the creepy serial killer dude!!!!

So we poked and prodded at my car and finally got the hood open (what? my latch is broken.. it is an old car okayyyy?) I kept telling them to hit the hood it would pop open and after like 25 minutes of my dad and some lady trying to pry it open my dad punched the hood and BOOM. Open hood. :)

So, apparently, a hose is broken (don't I wish that was all) and it must be towed.

Dad took me home, and took off to get the car towed (THANK YOU DADDY :])
Mom and I went and finished our vacay shopping and then came home where I scrambled to get packed and finish making birthday cards for my uhh-mazing family. At about 1am, knowing I had to be up in 5 hours (less really) to be to the event on time, I finally went to bed just feeling like I was forgetting something.. Which was a very REAL possibility.

I woke up, got ready for the event and ventured out into the world in my dad's mini-van. Yup, I was a total soccer mom minus the whole kid thing. Thank goodness I could justify driving it with our Clays tournament.

So, the Clays tournament went really well without any issues, except for the fact that there was no relief anywhere from the heat. I swear I burned up ALL DAY LONG and smelled awful by the time I hit the road to head for my sister's in laws house.

I arrived there after about an hour and not too much traffic. Sat and talked with my brohem's dad and went to bed.

Woke up at 4 and laid there for 45 minutes until I had to get up. Got ready in record time and headed for the airport.

Once at the airport, I checked in and made my way to the gate.

"Atlanta? That isn't where I'm going.." I was so confused. I walked up and down Metro trying to figure out where it was I was going.. I looked at every screen and they all said Gate A29. Umm, EARTH TO ELLA, next time, check and see if your flight is ON TIME.

Needless to say, it wasn't and I was stuck in the airport for 5 hours.

I met two people from Ghana that invited me to play a rip roaring game of Scrabble with.
I won on two words.
Queer for 43 points
&
HAHA for 12 points.

WHAT?! Oh YEAHH..

Then I waited around for another 4 hours, hopped on a plane and landed in Boston 2 hours later.

------

So, stay tuned for tomorrow for Part 2 and evidence of my epic game of Scrabble.

Missed you all.

quick update.

Just an update.

I'm still alive and (kind of) well.

Things haven't slowed down at all at work.

I do have some fabulous stories and pictures for you from New Hampshire.

Just not today..

I have this cold that is completely fogging my brain and I can hardly form sentences. Yes, that refers to on here and when I speak, its frustrating. Also, it makes my brain hurt.

Alright, so I'm going to get back to laying around and mindlessly watching TV.

I really missed you all.

Holly!

Alright, I'm still relaxing (if you can call it that) and have no real motivation now to write a little message to you. But luckily, this lovely lady has got a voice and she is here to share it with you!!!

Give a Warm Welcome to Holly!!!

-----

Hello Ella's Readers!  

     My name is Holly, and I regularly blog over here at yourstrulyh.blogspot.com.  Ella presented members of 20sb with an opportunity to guest blog while she's away.  I sent her an email and we were instant buddies.  I asked her what kind of content she wanted, and she was pretty lenient. At first, I thought that was awesome.  Then...

I somewhat sort of panicked.  I was hoping she would say, "Give me 600 words or less about your favorite childhood memory" or "I need a 10 step tutorial on how to decoupage an old vase using only duct tape and dental floss." Done. and Done.  

But she didn't.  She said, "You have free reign."  

Holy cow.  

My friend Carmen says that the most important part of writing and journalism is having the ability to look at everything around you and ask yourself, "Is there a story in that?"  

fNo. wait.  

"WHERE is the story in that? "

And then (to make a long story short), I started thinking about toothpaste.  Actually, I started thinking more about the actual ACT of  brushing my teeth.  

    My husband and I didn't live together before we got married (I know, crazy, right!?!?!).  We bought a house and eventually moved all our "stuff" under one roof.  It took us a long time to transition.  We had duplicates of almost everything for a very long time (toasters, coffee makers, etc.).  I remember having two separate tubes of toothpaste and looking forward to the day we would finally be down to ONE tube.  For some reason, that was the the proverbial bottle to the ship, cutting of the ribbon, etc.  That would be the sign that we had officially started a life together.  

So, with that being said, here is a list of ways that love (romantic or otherwise) is like brushing your teeth.  

Sometimes I forget.  I forget that love and good hygiene are pursuits that have to be maintained.  That is the hardest of hardest work- the maintaining.  

Sometimes I don't want to brush my teeth.  When I am totally in a hurry and you smell kind of funny and I am feeling extra-grumpy- no. I don't want to love you and no, I don't want to brush my teeth.  

Love and teeth-brushing?  Well, you are always better off because of  it in the end.  

If you don't maintain a healthy set of chompers, sometimes it takes a long time for the consequences to come back and bite you (pun intended).  By the time you realize you have let things go South, its often too late to salvage very much.  

The more you do it, the more likely people are going to want to be around you.  

So, there you have it.  The story within the story of dental hygiene.  Next time you are doing something utterly mundane and everyday-ish, look for the story.  Chin up, there's a good journalist in you, yet.  

Love and minty freshness, 

H. 

Moriah!

Heyo, it's me again, I just wanted to pop in and let you know that by now I should be on my way from Boston to New Hampshire with my Sister and Brother-In-Law. It's likely I've finished a book and am crying a little on the inside because I didn't get to check out Boston.

Now, Moriah is one of my favorite bloggers because she seriously has one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. I love her pictures and video's of Josiah. I love that I can see him grow and change from a million miles away. Not to mention she is one of the sweetest women I know without ever having met her.

Without further ado...

Moriah from Josiah's Nest!

----

Hey, everyone. My name is Moriah. I write for Josiah's Nest {josiahsnest.com}, a personal blog about my life as a wife and new mom. Most of my posts are about my baby.  Since that's what people seem to want to read. Nobody really cares about me. So, that's why I took up the offer to guest post for Ella today. To talk about me. Not the baby {although, I think you really would love to hear about the baby}. 

Anyway. Today's post is about Pet Peeves. We've all got 'em. Some more annoying that others. But, we've all got 'em.  I was going to come up with a Top 10 list to share, but I couldn't figure out which one to cut out. So, instead, here's my Top 11 list, in no particular order:

- Girls who don't wear bras

- Food Network chefs who talk with their mouths full

- Pretentiousness

- Couples who sit on the same side of the booth when there's nobody on the other side

- People who get easily offended

- Conspiracy Theorists

- Picky Eaters

- People who give their kids weird names {don't look at me}

- An unorganized utensil drawer

- People who will write something borderline mean, but then follow it up with a smiley face :) 

- Brenden Fraser

What are your pet peeves? 

- Moriah Sunde

http://josiahsnest.com
http://moriahann04.etsy.com
{moriahann04@comcast.net}

Stay At Home Babe!

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Till we meet again.

Let me just start off by saying this weekend has already gotten off to a fantastic start.

That is seriously laughable right now.

I'll explain more when I get home, unless there is internet out in New Hampshire at the house we are staying in, then I'll explain it while I'm away.

I'm setting you up with some fantastic ladies this weekend.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Miss you all already.

The episode where Ella examines her own flaws, caffeine addiction, serial killers & asks for help. You best believe its random.

I am wired.

I have had 3 cups of coffee, a coke, and am working my way through an iced caramel machiato (spelling?).

Yeah. I'm bouncing off the walls hyper and I don't think I've ever typed so fast in my entire life.

Caffeine is my crack today and when I crash, it is going to be bad.

But I think I'll stay loaded up until I can crash because being the little procrastinator that I am I have left all of my vacation stuff last minute as well as preparing our event till the VERY last minute. I need to get out of here by 5 today,  but I'm not sure that is going to happen. I'm just screwed. SCREWED PEOPLE.

I wish I could teleport somebody up in here to help me because I could sure use it.

I have to:

-Finish prepping for sporting clays

-Do whatever side work needs to be done since EVERYONE is riding my ass about it today (i'm so immature I'm giggling at me typing riding my ass, ohp! there I go again tehe)

-Clean out my car so that we can pack it full of Event stuff tomorrow

-Eyebrows waxed (they are in desperate need and frankly, i won't have time to pluck tonight)

-Pick up canvas's for NH so I can paint my little heart out when we have down time, or family time.. whichever bores me first (just kidding about the family time, so EXCITED to see everyone!!!)

-PACK MY FRACKIN' SUITCASE so that I don't have to scramble to do it tomorrow night before I head to my sisters in laws to take me to the airport at 5 freakin 30 in the morning.

-Pick up the stupid $10 gift my grandma has been reminding me to get for 2 MONTHS.

Did I mention I procrastinate A LOT?

Shoot... I wish I didn't.. I should probably work on that.
Eventually..

OHHH and I have to prep some blog posts for you for while I'm gone and let me tell you I have some great stuff coming your way.. Hopefully you don't ditch me to go be friends with them cause i really like you guys. A whole bunch.

Now, uhh, I've put off doing work for what little time I could and now have to get back to the task at hand.. I can't stay late remember?

Oh geez.. I feel another tangent coming on..

Stay with me people.


The little city I live in has (possibly now had) a serial Killer.

Yeah, a SERIAL KILLER.

This guy was asking people to help him out with his car between the hours of 2 and 3 in the morning when he would stab them randomly. 16 people have been stabbed in F*town, 5 are dead. There was an attack in Toledo, OH and Leesburg (I think)VA. Supposedly they've caught the bastard and he will be put down.. OH WAIT.. Michigan doesn't have the Death Penalty.. Not that I support it but the mricker fricker scared me half to death stabbing people 3 MILES FROM MY HOUSE.

This is so typical of my life..
[someone upstairs gets a real kick out of messing with me thats for sure]

I would have a SERIAL KILLER attacking people 3 miles from my effin' house.

This is my life, where shit gets REAL real quick. or something like that.. I never really got into the Real World on MTV..

oooo, maybe someone could help me make that my tag line since I'm basically perpetually sharing with you the randomness that is my life. :)

I love you all and should REALLY get back to work.

Talk to you soon..
ish.

[insert sad face here]

I apologize in advance for this post. I'm probably going to be a bit dramatic and sobby, but please.. bear with me.

I feel like I'm falling apart.

I can only stand here and watch as a tornado rips through my life and inch by inch, destroys every piece of solid ground I've ever been able to stand on. It is tearing away the beauty and peace that I have found in myself and I just want it to stop. I want to chase it away and start to rebuild what it has destroyed.

I don't know what to do with myself anymore. Every move seems to be the wrong move for somebody somewhere. I hate letting people down. It is a serious flaw of mine.

I work my butt of to make sure people don't get the wrong impression of me. I wear what fits my body so I don't have people behind my back saying "That girls pants are just a size too small, look at those love handles!" I put my make up on in the morning to cover any blemishes that have appeared over night so people don't think I don't wash my face or take care of my skin. I plaster a smile on my face and am polite everywhere I go, just so that I can make someone's day somewhere. I open doors, I pay my bills on time, I help people when I can etc.. etc..

I can't stand the thought of somebody not liking me or not approving of me in some way shape or form.

I am a good person, at least thats what my mom tells me.

I probably try too hard.

I probably care too much.

It's my curse.

ughh...

It hit me today that I am a real mess, when a man walked back into our office after nearly 4 months of being sick.

2 Days ago I was speaking with someone about this man.
"It was real touch & go for a while there.. none of us thought he would make it.."

We are so grateful he did.

Today, this man walked in and came up to me to say Good Morning.
He is probably one of the sweetest elderly men I have ever come across and truly reminds me of my Grandfather[s]. He smiled and waltzed into the conference room across from my office. I cleaned off my mess of supplies, off the table, for the event I'm preparing for and he sat down. I walked out of the room back to my office when i heard more voices than usual coming from our production room..

6 women and 1 gentleman are sitting in this room chatting, drinking coffee and generally having lovely conversation while this Man sits in the conference room, all alone.

I don't know why but my eyes started watering and I shuffled back to my office for a few minutes to gather my thoughts and compose myself.

Why was he forced to sit alone in the conference room?
Was there some kind of sick and twisted punishment going on that no one thought to tell me.

It took everything I had in me not to cry as I watched him work.

He didn't move much and had this look on his face. One that would shatter every grandpa's girls heart. The one where Grandpa is sad to see you go, and just wants one more hug.

I hated seeing him alone. It was breaking my heart into a million little pieces.

Then, I was alone, in my office. Nothing but work to take my mind off of everything.
I wasn't very productive.

The situation somehow turned into a metaphor for my life.


I don't ever want to end up alone in the conference room doing work.


Um.. irrational much?
I think yes.

So, to the Man that sat 5 feet from me all morning, I'm sorry I didn't come in and have a conversation with you. I guess I don't know what I would say but if I had known what to say, I would have.

I told you. My life is falling apart. And I'm doing everything in my power to hold together the pieces. I'm holding it together because I know all will be well sooner than later and in a few months I'll look back and laugh over my momentary freak out.

Right?

Well, I certainly hope so.

I should have been a trucker or a sailor.

From the time I realized I could drive, I wanted to.

To be out on the open road, wind in my hair, experiencing freedom like I had never had..

Yeah, like every other American teenager, I wanted my license more than anything else.. other than, perhaps, a car.

Of course, I wasn't very good about driving when I had my permit. I didn't want to. It was snowy and a girl from my high school had just died in a car accident. I was freaked the eff out.  BUT... My parents still made me drive. I had to get some experience.. right?

Then.. it happened.  I turned 16 I got my license.

I was ready to drive..

I was on the road, experiencing the ultimate freedom (in my mind okay?) I was at peace with anything and everything around me. No fights were going to go unforgiven, I had found a cure for cancer, the war was over, I was in a state of Nirvana like no (hu)man had ever experienced.

and then some jack ass cut me off and it was game over.

You know in the movie Mean Girls how Cady has those weird little animal fantasies? Well, I was in that zone.. Apparently honing my inner gorilla and just absolutely lost it.

I was shouting profanities left and right, flippin' the bird, trying to decide whether following him was a good idea or not and of course what I would say to the mthfckr if I did..

It was over. This guy ruined my peace of mind. My sanity (apparently).

Now when I'm on the road and someone cuts me off I shout at the top of my lungs (as if they can hear me) every nasty word I can think of as well as some pointers on how to ACTUALLY FLIPPIN' DRIVE. C has been apart of these phone calls, he can atest to the crazy I am out on the road.

I have yelled at many a car and have made it impossible for many more cars to pass me.. but I will say, I have never actually acted on my road rage. I've seen the accidents they cause and the lives that are lost just because someone got angry. I keep that in the back of my mind as I remind myself that ramming my car into his bumper will do no one any good.

Ye be warned, stay away from my craziness on the road!

Well, I know I'm not the only one out there with this issue...

What are your stories? Are you actually a peaceful driver?

so what do you say?

Holy mother of [insertnamehereatyourdiscretion].

In exactly 5 days, I will be on a plane heading for New Hampshire (well, Boston then driving to New Hampshire with sissy and brosef). I can't even express to you how much I am looking forward to getting out of this orange barrel state and having 5 days with family, reading and painting. I am beyond thrilled that I will be able to just stand somewhere and just paint for a few hours and hopefully come up with something decent. :)

I really need a change of scenery.

After working my tushy off all last week (including bringing work home) and having another extremely full week ahead of me, I'm just praying I survive to get on my plane Saturday morning.

In the mean time I will be trying to get my life together in a suitcase, planning/organizing/keeping my bosses head together, writing, and pulling together the guest posts for you all.

I will try my darndest to get back to posting regularly but if it doesn't happen in the next 2 weeks I apologize from the bottom of my superexcited heart. :)

However...

I do have a post in mind thats about my road rage. I'll be sharing that with you later today (hopefully).

Please check these out as they are absolutely incredible.

Seriously, those are some cool Melons. :)

Hold the phone

HOLY CRAP I ALMOST FORGOT...


This amazing diddy made my whole freakin' day.


check em out.


and since you are probably seeing this, make sure to read the post below first!

Edit:I also found this. Funny & cute.

A terrible situation made funny by texting.

I was going to write this great thing about how much I love food and the weird habits I have when it comes to eating.. but, without fail, my life has handed my another sick and devious hand in the card game of life.

My car was broken into last night.
In my own driveway.

I feel so violated.

I feel threatened.

Of course, the police can't do anything until after 12noon today. So I was late to work for nothing. It is unlikely I'll even really need the police report and am just out $300 worth of equipment.

And work isn't working (hah) out the way it ought to, printers are jamming, My list is just growing by the minute with things to do, I need a break. But really people, knowing me you know that this is how my life goes every day. It's just one slap in the face after the other with a few funny things happening in between.

A few months back C also had his car broken into.
He had quite a bit of stuff stolen out of his car too. I don't remember the exact amount, but around the same amount as mine.

Our conversation this morning went a little like this...

C: do you ever have one of those nights where you remember your dreams being really awesome, yet in the morning you cant remember a single one?

E: Yup. My car got broken into. (Notice how I just jump into this, probably should ask about the dream thing at some point.)

C: EFFFFFF at your house?

E: Yes.

C: did they take anything?

E: All of my music stuff and my $5 in change (for emergencies, duh)

C: Wow what dicks. I'm sorry.

E: Yup. I'm frackin' furious.

C: so they got your ipod and radio?

E: Ipod, tape deck charger. They would have had to rip my radio [out of the dash]

C: I'll kill the mricker frickers.

E: Right?

C: I'm serious.

E: So am I. we can be each others alibi

C: I'll get this one and flee to Mexico

E: Okay

E: I vote we go in it together. Mexico would be boring without me there. Duh.

C: but seriously. I hate [place we are from] sometimes. instead of stealing those buttcracks should just get jobs.

E: 100% agreed.

C: you would have to change your name. but yeah, i would love to flee to mexico with you.

E: why would I change my name?

C: think Spanish. your name can't be "ella". well, i guess it could. i guess its up to you. but if we are fleeing, we might wanna change our names.

E: You change your name, I'll stick with mine, people will be so confused by ella that they'll never find me!!

C: Oh man, what would my name be?

E: hmmm.. something clever that sounds like a name but would confuse everyone.

C: Chris sanchez

E: No like vaca or bato or something. duh.

C: how about Gato Enfuego

E; Cat what?

C: on fire

E: L.O.L

C: please don't laugh at my stupid jokes. it just encourages me.

E: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (for 160 characters)

C: bajajajajajajajajaja

E: Oh good! You are practicing (laughing) for Mexico!

C: nope, practicing the laugh im gonna use when i murder who stole your ipod.

E: niiiice.

Okay so the naughty words were changed for cleaner versions. Seriously was dropping some bad language today, but I'm alotted that on an occasion such as this.. My mother is currently thinking to herself, 'what is your excuse every other time?'

Well, I'm off to see what I can do about getting a police report filed and possibly getting my money back from all that was stolen. Unlikely to happen, but worth a shot.

I hope everyone's day is a thousand times better than mine has been!