Freak Me Out Friday

This week on Freak Me Out Friday, the thing that freaks me out me out is...



Parallel parking! 

I have barely done this since my driving test...usually I get very anxious and flustered when attempted to parallel park.  Sometime I cry...actually, I always cry a little bit on the inside.

The mere act of having to parallel park my car completely freaks me out.  Valet was invented for a reason...Seriously...and it was so I do not have Parallel Park and experience this:
  
<Here>

In fact, most of the time if anyone is in the car with me, I need them to park for me. I will legitimately get out of the car and switch seats with a passenger so I do not have to do it myself.

If I am by myself, then I ask someone on the street to yell out what to do as I attempt to horribly park. If I have to do it myself, I am often crooked or too far from the curb.  Utter disaster...

However, today, I had to park my car downtown...magically, I was able to parallel park on my own! No one was with me and no one was in the street for me to ask for help.  I had to grit my teeth and go for it...and that I did. I was so happy I even took a photo of it.

Check it out!

Photo From My Camera

I actually parallel parked somewhat decently on my own!  I am very excited and proud of myself...Those of you who know me...you know that this is a huge accomplishment!

It still freaks me out though; I fear the next time I will have to actually attempt this again. 

Anyone have fun plans for the weekend?  Anyone else have issues parallel parking or a good story about parallel parking?

Jew Can Do It! At the Strip Club

On Sunday of this past weekend I went on a new adventure that I never really thought I would do, but absolutely always wanted to check out....I went to a strip club. I have always dreamed of checking a place like this out and at last my time had come!

It was a friends birthday, so I decided to give him the gift of boobs in his face and a lap dance. 

It was my very first time in one of these clubs.  S and K, met us at the club to share this experience with us and we had a grand time.  I must say, when we first got there, I was scared to go in...this was uncharted territory.  But when i did get inside, we grabbed drinks sat down and I calmed myself.  I was FINALLY at a strip club!  After watching from a distance, we moved to the stage to see a prettier girl dance.  S and K and the birthday boy said we needed to get closer.  Of course, S blew up my spot by exclaiming "It's her first time and it's his birthday!" When they told the girl it was my first time there, she grabbed my chair, pulled me closer to the stage and danced for me, leaning over and singing and getting all up in my face...too close for comfort but all in good spirit.  Then she moved on to the birthday boy and as we threw down our dollars, she kept coming back.  She even had some conversation with us while she danced!

 

Find the comic here!

 

I admit, I was pretty awkward because I had no idea as to how to react. Another girl smashed my face into her boobs.  It was hilarious because I was embarrassed and couldn't stop laughing. The group I was with was helpful though, they laughed at me, egged each other on, stopped me when I tried to put 3 dollars down at once (apparently I do not want to know what happens when you do that..) and we had some great conversations with the dancers.  We only went and sat by the stage when it was the A team of females on the pole and had drinks while enjoying the experience.

 

One amusing thing that happened was i had to pee, and when I entered one of the cleanest public bathrooms i have ever been in, the dancer that shoved her Ta-Ta's in my face was in there...I was scared to pee so I waited until she left and finally S came in, laughing at me and my dilemma.

After a few drinks and the birthday boys lap dance, we went home.  It was a great night that I need to relive sometime soon.  Next time, everyone says we need to go into the "other half" of the club....I wonder what awaits us there?  This adventure was certainly an eye opener.  A great place to go if you want to observe and people watch too, it can be quite entertaining. I cannot wait to go again!  Now that I have gone once, I will be more comfortable and at ease when I get stripper boobs in my face because I will expect it this time..maybe I'll even get a lap dance as my friends suggest.

Tuesday Tips: Cooking Edition

This is a recipe I like to make in my slow cooker. I adapted it from a recipe I found (sited below) and it always turns out really well. You do not have to follow the recipe exactly as it is easy to alter to taste...I do that sometimes, depending on who I am cooking for and for how many people.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

*Note, I have a nice sized crock pot, so you might want to change amounts depending on how big your slow cooker is.*

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast (you can also do this with wings  <even though they have skin on them its fine> to make BBQ wings....I've done it a few times. Delicious!)

2 (12 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce (Make sure it has a molasses base! I like to use a mix of two sauces like Sweet Baby http://www.sweetbabyrays.com/ Rays and Jack Daniels http://www.jackdanielssauces.com/ Feel free to change up the sauces though.  I change them depending on what I can get my hands on at the grocery store that day or what flavors I am going for.  Use the flavors you like best!)

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Put all of the liquid items into your slow cooker and mix together.  Add extra brown sugar, extra BBQ sauce or extra anything to taste.

Once you have the sauce right, add the chicken and let the slow cooker do the work!  Keep it on medium for about 4 hours and them low for another hour.  Sometimes I will let it cook longer.

You can also take a fork and pull the chicken after about 4 hours.  This gives you a great pulled chicken dinner!

I have never heard a complaint from my adapted recipe and it is extremely easy to make. 

Add some nice coleslaw and put it on a slider roll for a delicious pulled chicken slider!

I got the base for this recipe from one of my favorite sites http://allrecipes.com/

and I adapted it to my own style after reading the comments, adapting to the size of my slow cooker and getting feedback from friends.

Try making it and let me know what you think!

If you would like to see the original recipe, you can find it here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zesty-slow-cooker-chicken-barbecue/detail.aspx

Tuesday's Tips

From now on, I will be posting a "tip" every Tuesday.

These tips can be for cooking (such as a recipes that turned out really well or useful items to use in the kitchen), life in general, hair/fashion...anything really! It doesn't even have to be a "tip" per-se, just maybe a little lesson or idea.  If you have any suggestions on what you would like to hear tips on, please let me know!
I hope you enjoy....


Today's Tip:

Try to stay positive and proactive....

When you have a ton of crap going on and things seem to be heading downhill, especially when you are overwhelmed and everything seems to be going wrong at once...try not to focus on all of the things going wrong.  Instead, focus on what is positive and what you can learn from the situation or what you can do to turn the situation around.  Remember you have a network of friends and family that love and support you, so if you are feeling blue, turn to someone for some cheering up!

I know it is  a lot easier said than done...I do not look at the positives all the time and get frustrated.  However, if I realize I am being a bitch or if I am in a really bad mood, I do try to turn things around a but...usually. Sometimes I just do not deal, and we all do that....but here are some ideas for what you can do when you do want to turn your frown upside down...or just get your mind off things:

Everyone has stuff going on and everyone has a shitty day or week here and there and it is totally okay to have these rough patches!  who doesn't have them?  But sometimes, when it becomes overwhelming, just try and stay positive and do what you can proactively to better the situation/yourself/etc. No matter how big or small your problem might be, this all applies. There is always someone to talk to about it, not mater what someone is there to listen and encourage you.  Go to the gym to take your mind of things, go for a jog or run, go look at puppies at the pet store, take an adventure, get away for the weekend or take a day trip just to get away for a little bit.  TRY TO HAVE FUN!  Take up a new hobby, go shopping, talk things out with a friend....all ways to make you feel better and see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Chances are, you will end up enjoying yourself and things won't seems as bad anymore.


Also, this made laugh today...

http://www.someecards.com/friendship-cards/as-someone-perpetually-flailing-in-my-own-relationships-allow-me-to-offer-some-advice-on-your-relationship

On another note, here are some blogs and sites I have been checking out/keeping up with lately:

http://www.thesagaofatwentysomething.com/
http://cfredrickdesignstudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.sporcle.com/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/
http://theoatmeal.com/
http://yourather.com/

There are a whole bunch of others.  Those are just a few examples...I will post more material that I enjoy in the future.  In the meantime, I hope you check out what I have posted so far and enjoy them as much as I do!

Where Did the Weekend Go?

I have to say, this weekend was fun filled and went by way too fast.

Friends I have not seen in forever were in town visiting for the weekend and other friends I wanted to see were hanging out because we finally all had a weekend where we could all get together.

Originally, I was hesitant to go out.  I was tired from a long week at work I kind of wanted to relax and stay in, but people were visiting and staying at the apartment for the weekend so I knew I would be doing something....

You know you have an awesome group when a ton of people flock in from multiple states to see each other.  Our good friends CP and M basically sent out the "bat signal" in the form of text message, summoning everyone to the bar.  Even though my group headed out later than anticipated due to slow cabs and a long dinner, we arrived to the designated location and got to see some amazing people for the night.

People literally came into CT from Mass and New York and some other far away places....it felt so good to have so many from our old crew in the same place for the evening.


Plus having lunch with the amazing S and K on Sunday was a treat.

Did anyone else do anything they really enjoyed this weekend?  If you are reading this and you came out with us on Friday....I was so happy to see you!  I hope it isn't too long until we reunite again!

http://www.someecards.com/weekend-cards/i-will-be-attending-your-party

Freak Me Out Friday

This week's Freak Me Out Friday is....



Corn Fields!

 

 http://m-altruism.tumblr.com/post/152050097/mystic-corn-field

Yes, those long stretches when driving around farmland terrify me due to the fact that there is usually a corn field lurking about.  Ever since I saw the movie Children of the Corn when I was little, I developed a fear of corn fields.
 

http://childrenofthenineties.blogspot.com/2010/03/some-of-our-favorite-stars-unlikely-80s.html



Put it this way, if I am driving in a creepy small town and there are tons of fields for the purpose of growing the corn crop, I am getting the hell out of there as soon as I can.  Why? because chances are there is some sort of demon child possessing all the kids and I just cannot take the risk of getting attacked by them.  Plus, when the crop is tall, it just looks evil and scary.  You never know what can be hidden within those stalks of corn!

Do any of you have something odd that freaks you out?

Confessions of an Online Dater: The One Who Texted Too Much

Sometimes, you meet someone and they seem pretty cool, until the over enthusiastic texting begins......


**Side Note: DO NOT think that I am not a texter by any means from this post.  I am practically attached to my cell phone and am often texting with friends back and forth...this post is about texts that are not "back and forth" and about how sometimes, you can overwhelm a girl by sending way too much, way too soon.**

I went out with The Texter earlier this summer.  Don't get me wrong, I love to get a text from someone, have conversations etc. 2, 3, maybe even 4 or a few more (depending on the importance or how close I am to you) missed text messages is more than acceptable!.

What I do not appreciate, is a bombardment of more than 15 texts within an hour an a half on a topic I have no interest in. I especially do not appreciate this when I am not having a conversation with you, have no interest in you, you are not my friend or boyfriend, and I have made it clear it isn't going to work.

I went out with The Texter to a local winery, which was awesome.  The guy was a chef and had recently graduated from a prestigious culinary school.  The date went smoothly until we sat down in the vineyard with a glass of vino and some cheese.  He proceeded to tell me how much he hated school and his job, why every teacher and chef was "out to get him" and then talk endlessly about fishing. 

Fishing is cool, not really my thing to do every weekend, but I would try it.  This kid could not shut up about fishing.

After the date, I returned home and within two hours of leaving this guy I had 27 text messages.

First 3: about how much fun he had and thank you texts for the date
Next 6: about a TV show I do not watch that has to do with fishing, he was literally discussing this with himself "out loud" through texts to my phone.
Next 3: Would I go fishing with him sometime and how much I would love camping for a week and fishing...(For those of you who know me...take bets on how long I would actually last doing this, maybe a day? Two days max? It just isn't my thing!)
Next 3: How awesome it was that he could talk about fishing with me the whole time. (I am pretty sure i just smiled and nodded my head at appropriate times while he pretty much talked to himself...)
 
It just kept going from there and I could not keep up.  I didn't even want to respond. I barely knew this person, we went on ONE date!  You are not my friend so leave me alone!

Of course, after this situation, I had to let him down easy and after a few days of non stop text messaging to my phone as to why I should still go fishing with him even though I made it clear that wouldn't happen, it was done.

Words to the wise:

Sometimes, over texting can be a bad thing.  When I look at my phone and I see 15 unread text messages from one person I went on ONE date with, it is a turn off.  There are always exceptions...I am not saying this is ultimately a NO, if you're my friend, text me all you want...boyfriend...go ahead! Family member or someone I have been seeing for a while, great! If it is a very important conversation or has to do with important plans we made, text away! If I am responding, keep texting! Or call me!  I am happy to talk to you and listen, converse, text, anything you need, I am there for you and I would NEVER be annoyed with you...in fact, I want you to text and call me all the time!  That's what friends do and I am always happy to hear from you!  But if I barely know you and have made it clear I am not interested, just stop.