Ok…Who’s the idiot that can’t cook?

I’d like to think that I am good at many things: planning, talking, organizing, socializing, writing (you can be the judge on that one), arguing debating, swimming, etc.  One thing that I have yet to master however is cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely learning, and getting better. I’m really awesome at making pasta (especially when the sauce comes from a jar), I’m stellar at making casseroles (thanks to the fabulous recipes of my momma) and I’ve begun to master the art of some other fan favorites (like my meatloaf muffins – thanks Heather! – and my stuffed peppers). But event with those winners, Top Chef won’t be calling me any time soon to join the ranks of some of the best! Ya know, maybe I’m selling myself a little short. Usually, the finished product tastes great – but sometimes it’s getting to that finished product that can be, shall I say, a journey…

One of my goals for the new year is to cook more often, and to cook healthier. Let’s take last night for instance. I decided to cook thin chicken breasts dipped lightly in bread crumbs, topped with diced tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  I had all of my chicken dipped and ready to go, and the olive oil heating up in the pan. I put the first two pieces in, and everything was going fine…until…the entire apartment filled with smoke.  In typical fashion, I first opened up the sliding glass door and began waving a dish towel at the smoke detector to divert the smoke. At first it worked. But then it quickly acted up again. Now both my roommate and I are trying to stop the smoke. Still no luck. So, I decided that the smartest thing to do was to disconnect the smoke detector. That also didn’t work! Our apartment is too smart for me and it’s connected to the other detectors in the apt that are now ALSO going of. So…in defeat, I prayed that the two pieces that had ignited my house with screeching noises were cooked enough and called it a night.

As I was lying in bed last night thinking about my night and my newest adventure in the kitchen,  I remembered a similar incident in college and I just started laughing out loud…to myself. I had a very similar thing happen to me while cooking almost exactly the same dish.  In college I was a one dish girl...penne with vodka sauce – from a jar. I rarely cooked anything else besides possibly Velveeta shells and cheese….which happens to still be a specialty of mine, however now I sometimes add tomatoes and meat…yummm-o! Any who…I decided to be daring one night and make me and my best friend Heather dinner. I was making my moms famous lemon chicken with a side of Velveeta shells (shocker). All was going well until I went to squeeze the lemon on the chicken that was still in the pan and the entire apartment filled up with smoke. Problem was – we lived in an on campus apartment with an EXTREMELY sensitive fire detector system. Soooo instead of just being able to fan the smoke away, the cops/firefighters need to come and make sure there isn’t a REAL emergency. So, while we waited for the inevitable embarrassment we continued cooking our dinner, sat down at our table and waited for the cops to come. As they barged into our apartment they asked one simple question:

“Who’s the idiot who can’t cook??”

I looked directly at him, raised my hand and smiled proudly.

While recalling this story last night I couldn’t help but laugh and remember all the crazy things that Heather and I have gotten ourselves into over the years, and how long we’ve been friends! We met the first week of college – and let’s just say it wasn’t love at first sight! Thankfully, it only took us about another week to get over ourselves and we have been best friends now for almost 9 years!  No matter how far apart our friendship has taken us, the ups and downs or the very different lives we now lead, she’s always the one I can count on for someone to listen to me bitch, laugh with, make fun of ourselves with and talk about nonsense with. But maybe most importantly she’s always there to push me…after all; she is the one who get’s the credit for this very blog!

After waking myself up from laughing and reminiscing I decided to get out of my bed and pull out photo albums that I haven’t looked at in years. Yes – photo albums, not Facebook albums, but actual photo albums with real pictures in them. The best part is the pictures are all from disposable cameras and in order to show them to you now, I had to scan them! I decided to save us both the embarrassment and only selected a couple oldies…the others were not suited for public viewing.

Funny how an almost cooking disaster can bring you down an unexpected memory lane!

Scan picture 1 - Freshman year at our first (of many) Kappa Sig Semi-Formal

Scan picture 2 - Sophomore year at one of many Formals

Ya know, just a little beer pong action

Celebrating her wedding!

And now getting ready for baby... man we're getting old!

Challenge: 11 FACTS

Two of my besties Heather and Christina tagged me in their 11 Things post.  I'm clearly terrible at coming up with my own post ideas so when inspiration is thrown my way I'm happy to accept!

Rules:

1. Post these rules

2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.- Everyone I know that blogs has already been tagged!

5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.

6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people. - see number 4 :)

11 Random Samantha Facts 

1. I’ve been a klutz my entire life. When I was little, my mom was so concerned about me being paranoid about getting hurt that she clapped every time I fell. At pre-school my teachers told her I was the cutest thing ever, but tough to watch. I’d run straight into a wall, fall down and start clapping.
2. I find it therapeutic to re-organize my closet and drawers. Sometimes when I’ve had a long day I’ll come home, take everything out and start from scratch. A calming feeling comes over me once I see everything organized, tidy and it color/length order. OCD much??
3.  When I was 4 years old I saved my brother from drowning. My mom was getting ready for a party at our house when my brother jumped into the deep end without his life jacket on and jumped in after him. I kept him up for a few seconds before we both started going down together. Thankfully my friend who I was playing with ran in and got my mom. Let’s just say we gave her quite the scare!
4. I hate the movie Titanic. I think watching 3 hours of a terrible love story and a sinking ship is a colossal waste of time. I also hate Leonardo DiCaprio. My favorite part was when Rose finally let go.
5. In high school I was a member of the National Art Honor Society and took every art class my high school had to offer, with the exception of photography.  My favorite median was painting with acrylics and my parents have 4 of my pieces hanging in their house. I haven’t picked up a paintbrush since. 
6.  I have always wanted to have twins: one boy and one girl.  Twins apparently run in families and tend to skip generations so I feel like I have good odds; my dad is a twin (fraternal) and my mom has twin brothers (identical). I’m not to keen on the idea of childbirth so I figure my best bet is to bang out a boy and a girl in one shot!
7. I HATE running. I was a competitive swimmer from the age of 5 – 18 and coached from 18 – 22. I could swim for 3 hours a night, 5 nights a week but the idea of running once around the track makes me want to vomit. I respect those who love it but I honestly think they are crazy.
8.  I love the show Witches of Waverly Place. Yes, I’m referring to the kids show on Disney Channel staring Selena Gomez.  I used to watch it with the little girls I babysat in VA and now watch it on my own. I even DVR’d the series finale…
9.  The movie Armageddon makes me cry every time I watch it – even if I only see 5 minutes of it. That Bruce Willis gets me every time!
10.  I’ve never smoked marijuana…if you grew up in my town you’d know what an accomplishment this is!
11. I’ve always wanted to write a novel. I’ve started a couple times but never got past the first few pages. It’s one of the reasons I started this blog to get those writing juices flowing!

Heather's Question for me:

1. You're singing karaoke. What's your song of choice? I don't sing karaoke. No matter how many drinks are involved :)
2. What is your most prized possession? As embarrassing as it is to admit, my teddy bear and blanket. I've had the blanket since the day I was born and bear since I was 5. I'm 26 years old and still sleep with them every night. No laughing please!
3. What was the worst job you've ever had? Working for Satan's Mistress at my last job. It was planning pharmaceutical meetings and my boss was a nightmare!
4. Do you have any phobias? Being in the pitch black. I sleep with an industrial sized flash light next to my bed.
5. You are wearing your favorite outfit. Do you put on heels or flats? Flats for sure. I have the most sensitive feet in the world and although I LOVE heels, they don't always love me!
6. Have you ever met anyone famous? I've seen famous people but have only met one, Emily Mortimer at a work event this fall.
7. Do you have any pet peeves? All irritating noises in general (ie. tapping, whistling, gum snapping, loudly clearing throats, loud chewing) but the MOST irritating is when people are eating while talking to you on the phone. Like nails on a chalk board...
8. Name the best concert you've ever been to and why. N'SYNC concert in 2001 at what was then The Meadowlands Arena. A friend in promotions was supposed to leave us tickets at Will Call but left them at the wrong venue. The ticket guy felt bad for my mom for driving me and my two friends all the way there so he sold us 3rd row FLOOR seats for $50.00. I caught a glow stick thrown by Lance Bass... yes the gay one, but I was in love with him!
9. Do you collect anything? I used to collect key chains and harlequin dolls, but stopped in high school.
10. Favorite breakfast food to eat? Everything bagel (not toasted) with Taylor Ham and Cheese...Jersey's finest!
11. Let's play "Do, date, dismiss" (hahaha): Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Tom Brady :) Do= Bradley Cooper, Date = Ryan Reynolds, Dismiss = Tom Brady (sorry dad!!!!)

Christina's Questions for me:

1. What is your favorite season? Late Fall. Perfect weather and I love the colors of the foliage.
2. Do you have a celebrity crush? Who is it? Ben Affleck... have loved him for years!
3. iPhone or BlackBerry?  Or no smartphone gasp! iPhone, I'm a recent convert!
4. You're on an island and only have three of your most personal items - what would they be? My blanket, bear (duhh!), and my kindle (loaded with tons of books!)
5. What is your favorite way to exercise? Swimming, although I have not been great about this over the past few years. Finding a pool in the city is not easy!
6. Where is your happy place? In the water anywhere. It's where I feel the most relaxed.
7. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  A Marine Biologist because I loved dolphins...are we noticing a water theme here???
8. If someone gave you a thousand dollars today, what would you do with it? Buy a plane ticket to visit my best friend Heather in Georgia and then put the rest in savings. I know, I'm boring.
9. What is the longest flight you've ever been on? 6.5 hours to Ireland.
10. Where did you go on your honeymoon / where would you want to go on your honeymoon? I'd love to go back to go touring around Italy staying in quaint B&B's and visiting wineries!
11. Right or left handed? Right!

With aforementioned blanket!

Thankful

***WARNING***

This is my blog so I’m having a soap box moment. Take it or leave it!

Sometimes I have days when I wonder how AND why I ever got involved in the nonprofit world. I wasn’t one of those do-gooders who grew up wanting to save the world or who thought that working for a cause was more important than making a dollar. Instead I had big dreams of being J.Lo from the Wedding Planner and planning the most lavish weddings known to man.

I ended up working for a nonprofit by pure accident, and I suppose by pure convenience. One of the requirements for my degree was a nonprofit class that included 100 hours of volunteering at a local nonprofit organization. Through the recommendation of my professor I ended up volunteering for the Special Events Manager at a Volunteer Center. At the completion of the semester I took a Special Events Internship position with them and upon graduation was hired on as the Special Events Coordinator. Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay and start my career in a nonprofit, it was a job that was created for me, I loved the people, and it allowed me to go backpacking for three weeks after graduation before starting. I could either go away for three weeks with a job, or without. I choose with! Almost four years later I had moved up to the Special Events Manger, had created 3 new events/programs and was DONE with the nonprofit sector.  I decided that I would be much better suited for the corporate world and that the nonprofits were too lovey dovey for me. So, I moved to New Jersey, stopped working for a nonprofit and started working for Satan’s mistress instead. Hmmm that didn’t go as well as planned.

I loved being back up North and was much happier personally and socially but MISERABLE at my job. As I began looking for a new one, I still had no intentions of working for a nonprofit again – until however – I found a job that had my name written alllllll over it. And it of course was for a nonprofit. I decided to take my chances and apply. The bottom line was I needed a job and would figure out the rest later. The minute I came up the elevator for my interview, I knew this nonprofit was different. Don’t get me wrong, I worked for a great organization in Virginia, but it was a VERY different type of nonprofit. The funding was different, the operating budget was less and the office environment was much smaller. I had great co-workers but we were all always on top of each other and I always felt like everyone was more worried about hurting peoples feelings than about doing what was right for the organization.  When I walked into my new office, I knew it was different. Not only is it located in the middle of the greatest city in the world, but it’s an actual office – no more tiny house with deadly mold issues and rats – it had a staff of almost 60 people, has a real management structure and a HUGE operating budget. I’m planning Gala’s at The Plaza and fashion shows at CHANEL. I finally feel like I have arrived!

But here’s the thing. Behind the fancy events and sparkly names we’re doing something truly amazing. The organization I work for works to with teachers and principals to transform high-poverty, low-performing schools into self sustaining successful environments for students and teachers. Our schools are located in the most poverty stricken areas of NYC and D.C. – and expanding into other cities soon. Our kids’ struggle getting to school every morning because they may have not had enough to eat the night before, are running from gun shots to and from the subway, were taking care of their siblings, or up all night listening to the sometimes deadly sounds of their surroundings. They’re not learning because they are shouldering things that most adults will probably never have to go through. And their teachers – who were given no training on how to deal with this – are fighting every day to help these kids learn. It’s a constant struggle and sometimes they all end up on the loosing side.

As part of our Gala each spring we produce a film to show what our program does and to tell the real stories of the education system. Last week I spent time in a few of our schools. Two located in the Bronx and one in East Harlem. Every day I come to work and see how our organization works from the behind the scenes, but I’ve never had the opportunity to be on the front lines. To see what our field staff faces every day and to see the lives they are changing and the transformation they are making. I listened to the stories of students, teachers and principals for hours on end. A 15 year old girl taking care of her mother who is dying of stage 4 lung cancer all by herself; a young boy who saw his father shot and killed by a police officer and has no respect for authority figures; a girl who made her teacher promise she’d stay at school with her until she graduated because she couldn’t watch another teacher leave because it was just too hard to stay; teachers who would cry in their classrooms because no matter what they did they couldn’t control the chaos around them. And then I heard about the strength they found when our field staff showed them how to stop the chaos; how to get their children to learn and the students noticing a difference in themselves and their school. While sitting there, wiping tears from my eyes, I suddenly became very thankful. Thankful for the schools I went to. Thankful for the community that I grew up in. Thankful for the opportunities that have been offered me. Thankful for the chance to work for an organization that gives back in such a monumental way.

The girl who never thought she’d work for a nonprofit and landed their by accident, no longer thinks it’s an accident. I work long, hard hours. I get frustrated and annoyed at some of the petty things that are requested of me for our Gala. But then I remember why I’m here. I remember that the money I help raise at our Gala will be used to help these kids, to strengthen these schools and to inevitably provide these students with a better future – with an exceptional future and school that these kids deserve. I may not work in nonprofits for ever but I WILL always find a way to give back. A way to say thank you for the life I’ve been given. Good or bad, ups or downs, happy or sad I’m lucky. Sometimes it’s important to just sit back and remember that. Sometimes it’s important to remember that there really are no accidents.

Back on the Horse

So, I’ve clearly been a really terrible blogger. I could sit here and give you a list of excuses, but I won’t. The only thing I can say is that I’ve been busy BUT the reality of the situation is that I’m always going to be busy so the only solution is to try and be better about finding time to stay on top of this. Because yes, I know, there is no point in having a blog if I don’t intend to keep it up to date. So this is my attempt of getting back on the horse as they say, and starting fresh!

I figure the best way to start of is to give a quick holiday recap. I know it’s late, but January isn’t quite over yet so I figure it’s not completely appalling to still be talking about the holidays! This holiday season was spent as it should be, with family and friends. My brother was in town from Austin for a week for the first time since LAST Christmas! It is insane and should be illegal to go that long without coming home so he has vowed to some how find a way to make more trips back East. Thankfully with cell phones and Facebook we are able to stay updated on each others lives and remember what one another looks like, but there is nothing better than spending quality face to face time. With Christmas on a weekend, I worked the entire week, so since Zach got in on Thursday night he came into Hoboken on Friday to FINALLY see where I live and to spend some QT time with his only favorite big sister. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening! We go to spend time together just us, which doesn’t happen often enough and then met up with some of my friends, his friends and mutual friends. He loved my apartment, of course, and I feel better now that he finally has a real picture in his head of where I live. As most siblings do our age we bonded while drinking, dancing and of course, laughing.

Christmas was spent as always at our house with our aunt and uncle and our neighbors across the street that are as close to family to us as you can get. They have 6 year old twin girls who helped to make Christmas magical again as we went over their house the night before to help “Santa” get ready for the next morning. I’ll always remember how wonderful it was to come downstairs Christmas morning to see all the goodies that Santa had spoiled us with. It was a real trip seeing it produced from the other side! Christmas day was spent opening presents, eating tons of yummy food and with lots and lots of music! As I’ve bragged before my brother is a very talented musician and of course goes NOWHERE without his guitar. Our neighbor David plays the guitar a little as well so we all gathered in the living room around the tree and listened as Zach and David jammed together, and Caleigh, one of the twins had an impromptu dance party behind them.

I’m pretty sure she had a tiny crush on Zach so she made sure he couldn’t see her! The minute he turned around she started giggling, blushing and running away. But I caught her giving him some cute hugs through out the night so I guess she didn’t let her crush get the best of her! At one point I couldn’t help but look around the room at everyone laughing, singing and smiling and thinking to myself….Who the hell are we?!?!?!?! As corny as it may seem it was absolutely P.E.R.F.E.C.T.  After Christmas I was lucky enough to take a few days off work and spend some extra time at home with my family and brother. Here's a little sibling photo shoot for ya!

As quickly as Christmas came and went, so did New Years Eve. I spent New Years Eve at a party at Carries house with tons of great friends. On Monday morning I woke up with my own New Years Miracle! After partying at Carrie’s house a bunch of us went to a bar. Somehow between her house and the bar I managed to drop my wallet! I hadn’t noticed until I got home because I didn’t spend any money at the bar (it’s pretty great being a girl sometimes!). So at 3:30 in the morning I’m panicking but finally decided there was nothing I could do about it now. I’d call the bar in the morning and go back to Carries house to be sure it wasn’t there. Well, at 8:30am my apartment buzzer went off. Usually, we don’t answer it unless we know someone is coming since people press our apartment on accident allll the time. But for some reason I decided to answer it. GOOD THING I DID! Some guy found my wallet while walking home at 2:30am in the morning and since there was no number in it (it was my “going” out wallet so it just had my I.D. and debit card), his lovely wife decided to walk to my apartment to return it! She was so lovely and started my year off on the right foot! I hope Karma is good to her!

The holidays were filled with lots of family, friends and love as they should be! To top it all off, one of my oldest and best friends Sally got engaged and two of my closest college friends, Kendayl and Mike got engaged as well! All in all, it looks like 2012 is off to a promising start. I hope the holidays treated you all wonderfully as well. Cheers to the New Year, (and being a better blogger)!

Does Anyone Watch the Weather?

I get it. It’s December and customarily, December is mighty cold, especially in the great city of New York. If I remember correctly, this time last year we had already had a few massive snow storms and were necessarily bundled up. HOWEVER – this is not last year people – and there is no blizzard outside! This past week has been in the upper 50’s as have many of the previous weeks. We have even seen some 60+ degree weather this month. Now, I know that I tend to be shall we say…slightly hotter than the average Jane, BUT that still does not excuse the excessive outwear I have witnessed recently.

Let’s take today for example. When I left my house this morning the Today Show had already told me that at 8:00am it was already 54 degrees with a high 56. So, when making my selection of appropriate outerwear I chose my stylish, yet practical, red H&M trench coat. It is warm enough to protect me from a slight chill but is not designed to protect me from a freak snow storm. No gloves, earmuffs or even scarf were necessary on this fall like brisk morning. Apparently, I was one of the only people in the city to look at the weather before leaving my house because everyone was dressed as the abominable snow man, ESPECIALLY those that are clearly not from the area.

People were bundled up with their massive down coats with lined fur hoods zipped up to their noises. Their scarves are wrapped tightly around their neck and their hands are protected by gloves. I also saw quite a few ski jackets, snow boots, ear warmers and those stupid animal hats that have “gloves” attached.

Seriously people, get a grip! I know, I know, I, like you, would LOVE to get more use out of the beautiful Michael Kors down jacket that I purchased this fall (which I bought for $100 less that it was marked for!) but it is just not appropriate.

Yes, it is similar to the coat I mocked earlier but I'm not wearing it in 55 degree weather!

I know you people own TV’s or have the internet, AND, if you don’t – or don’t speak English as many tourists don’t – I’m SURE that when you step out side and realize that it feels like FALL that you could take off a layer or two and stop living in a false reality. THANK YOU.

On a side note: I have a HUGE bone to pick with Mother Nature, or Global Warming, whoever is currently processing complaints. Winter is MY time of year. It is the one time that I can look forward to NOT sweating on my way to work (besides for when I entered a heated building or bus) and can wear all the cute winter clothes I own. But NOOOOOO you think you’re cute and have completely messed with my favorite time of year. Now, I have to find ways to “dress” for the season without sweating my ass off and sit with my fan constantly on at my desk because the heat is pumping at the office because it’s supposed to be cold. Enough is enough. Please accept this as my formal complaint. January better not fail me, or you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.

P.S. – Yes, I am blatantly ignoring the fact that it has been 21 days since my last post. This has been my month from hell and I have been busy. Deal with it. THANKS! J Love you, mean it!

Cha Cha Changes

They say that copying is the best form of flattery so I am going to flatter my bff Heather and take inspiration from one of her most recent blog posts. Let’s talk about hair.

For those that know me well, they know that I LOVE to change my hair. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad but always for something different. For awhile I used the changing of my hair to get back some control in my life. You may not know this about me, but I’m a bit a lot of a control freak. So, sometimes when other things in my life are out of my own hands, I find another way to take it back -and usually that means taking it out on my poor head. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane shall we???

We all remember this oldie but goodie!

No more perm, but eventually a little shorter with some blonde highlights

Brown and a short...short bob

My mom's personal favorite, NOT...blonde!

We have Heather to thank for this one! No more blonde for her wedding!

Finally a little darker and back to my natural hue

Let it grow let it grow let it grow!

Add a little dash of red(ish)

Well recently I decided to make another change, to say the least. However this time it wasn’t because I was feeling out of control, or was testing an experiment to see if blondes have more fun, but it was more practical. Recently my hair had become VERY long, quite possibly the longest it had ever been. Although I loved my long locks, they were starting to weigh me down and look a little less flattering. I have VERY thick hair and sometimes when it gets to long it starts to just hang…and not in an attractive way. On top of that, as you all know, I am constantly hot and found that my hair was not helping my case. For a few work events I’d spend hours getting my hair just perfect and after being at the event for 5 minutes it was glued to the back of my neck, curling – not in a good way – and eventually ending up in a ponytail. I just couldn’t manage to keep it long and professional at the same time so I decided to take the plunge. Ten inches later this is where we are…

The evidence left behind

Tada!!! The final product! Short and professional! (and much cooler!)

I’m very happy with the change and have even been able to do a couple different cute things with it. I’ve cut my hair drying time in half and have been left with healthy hair that is PERFECT for twirling, my favorite thing to do!

I know this is the point where I’m supposed to ask if you love it or hate it but to be honest, if you hate it I don’t want to hear it…10 inches is going to take a looooooong time to grow back!

Jersey Strong

I had a very interesting conversation with my boss the other day. We were on our way to a meeting and were having a conversation regarding the Friday dress code. First I need to give you a little background on my boss. She is quite the pit bull and is EXTREMELY blunt, she makes me look timid. Sometimes I think she would really benefit from having a filter – I’m not even going to say a better filter because literally one does NOT exist – but I am currently in no position to tell her that. She LOVES judging which is why we probably get along so well because lets be honest, I can judge with the best of them. What makes her sharp tongue even better is that she’s a very short/petite Italian woman in her early 50’s with a pixie haircut (she sorta reminds me of Peter Pan, like the Cathy Rigby version but only because of her hair.. and come to think of it her hair is red so that’s a terrible example, but I digress…) and one would expect her to probably be much more tactful than she is. But lucky for me, I think she’s hilarious and we get along famously – thank god – she loves my sarcasm and allows me to be myself (within professional reason). Anyways I’ve almost moved completely off topic…back to my story.

Like I said, we were discussing our Friday dress code. Most people in the office on Friday’s wear jeans; however my boss is not the hugest fan of them. She is really fashionable and is one of those women that I can’t picture wearing a pair of jeans, let alone owning a pair. Because of her distain for jeans in the workplace, my colleague and I (who started a week after me) have both refrained from casual Friday that is unless, our boss is out of the office. One afternoon, on a Friday, the topic of jeans came up and I decided to take the plunge and ask her if we could wear them. She kinda just stared at me, begrudgingly said yes and I thought it was over. Success.   

Now we are at Monday, on our walk. She brings up the jeans topic and thus our convo unfolds:

G: So, I’m ok with you guys wearing jeans, but they have to be good jeans.

Me: Ok, how do you qualify what “good” jeans are, other than I’m assuming no holes.

G: Well, they have to be dark, cannot be skinny, can be boot cut if you want, and I’d prefer trouser style.

Me: Hmm ok, those are a lot of parameters but I think I can handle it.

G: Also, they can’t have “stuff” on them.

Me: “Stuff” what do you mean “stuff”?

G: Ya know, they can’t have like gems, or like embellishments on them.

Me: You mean like they can’t be bedazzled?

G: Yea, none of that crap.

Me: G, do I look like someone who would wear bedazzled jeans, I would never do that!

G: Well…. You are from Jersey….

Me: WHAT! ( and then I pushed her…)

G: Yea well I don’t know what you wear in your own time….you people from Jersey can be a little questionable.

Me: (I stared at her with my mouth wide open for a while) I don’t know what to say.

G: Yea well, I’m just saying…

As I sat there slightly offended, I thought for awhile. Thankfully, she confirmed that I do dress very well for work so she’s not 100% surprised that I don’t have bedazzled jeans. But I did begin to think back to my pre- Virginia days and admit to myself that yes, I, Samantha Watson, was at one point a little bit of a Jersey girl…well at least as far as my hair was concerned. As many of you know during high school I had the brilliant idea to perm my hair. Why none of my family or so-called friends stopped me, I will never know, but at the end of the day I was pretty sure that I looked damn good! To make matters worse I insisted on holding on to my Jersey bangs as well – made for a really awesome combination.  I’ve joked before that one of the best things about going to school in VA is that by Christmas break of my Freshman year I realized how terrible I looked and finally made a change. But now, many years later, I have come to terms with my “past” and can look back at myself and laugh. So, I invite you all to laugh with me and have a few gems to share with you.

 

At least Zach and I both look awkward here...

My mom says I look like a Springer Spaniel here...and yet she didn't stop me...thanks Mom.

Yea Carrie and I are real hott! Can you feel that sizzle?!

Poster from my Graduation Party...lots of Gems here.

Close-up of my Senior Picture. If you look close you can see the acrylic nails that were color coordinated to match the shirt. At least i straightned the hair here, but the bangs are there to stay!

I was even brave enough to show my boss these pictures. And, with that, in true G form, I leave you with this:

“ Wow, those are awesome! Are you wearing bedazzled jeans in any of those?????????”