Would you like to try some Glogg?

This was the weekend of random awesomeness, and therefore can only be described through pictures. When someone asks you to go to IKEA, what should you say? HELL YES. Hell yes when you haven't been in over a year, the closest one is 2 hours away, someone you like to spend time with is driving, you crave meatballs, and you need napkins.

Did you know you can upgrade your meatball platter of goodness? Yes boys and girls, for only $1.00 you can get 5 more meatballs. The country is super fat for a reason.


A game of Size and Manners? Oh my. Date night?

Our IKEA trip culminated with a pass through the Marketplace to buy frozen meatballs and cookies. As we were reaching the checkout, we heard a very excited voice ask us, "Would you like to try some Glogg?". Did that man in a fake accent say Glogg? Oh what fine Swedish delicacy could Glogg be? Well for $2.99 you get a bottle of some fine tasting mulling spice-like beverage. And according to our happy and somewhat spastic man, it tastes mighty great with vodka, or rum, or wine. This key piece of information probably accounts for his giddy nature. We all left with Glogg.

Only one thing can compete with IKEA, and that would be the NC STATE FAIR! This trip was destined to be great because it came with a personal tour guide. Thank you Brad for attending the fair for 29 of your 30 young years. Thank you for not making Carl and I wander aimlessly without a path or a purpose. Otherwise I may have missed the vicious cottonball of death....

...or The Fried Dough Shop...

...or the drunken sheep made by high school students. What really are they teaching these kids out in the country?

...and I might have missed Wisconsin! It is good to know that there is a little bit of Wisconsin in every State Fair. A little bit of Hot Wisconsin Cheese to go with the Chocolate Covered Bacon aka Pig Lickers. I am speechless. And no longer hungry. No longer hungry for food ever, ever, again.


Most importantly though, I may have missed Carl's inner-Pirate. And oh what a shame that would be. Arrggh. This man looks like he knows his Glogg.

Pick a Pumpkin

Saturday was one of those silly days that reminds me of why I love this time of year. The fairs, the festivals, and the friends who come over and carve pumpkins.

Earlier in the day I was hanging out in the backseat while my friends drove all over the city looking for the best places to stop on the Parade of Homes tour. We wandered in and out of a few neighborhoods with million dollar + listings that showed potential. But before long, we realized that we had better taste than most of the home stagers, and that we'd probably all have to live together in order to make the mortgage "really work". The corgi would just not like all the stairs, so we had to decline this option.

So instead we started talking about all the upcoming Halloween activities and began ticking off the ones we'd be participating in over the next couple weeks. That made me realize that I had NO PUMPKINS. At this point I believe I was jumping around in the backseat demanding that we find a pumpkin patch. As good men do, they quickly indulged my needs.

Off to the Farmer's Market we went and within no time we were stocked with a car full of pumpkins and mums. Let the carving begin!


A little wine, some beer, a happy dog, and a yard full of men carving pumpkins. Seriously? Did someone get into my head and know that this was the day I was dreaming of? You have your fantasy...and it is fine for me to have mine.

I expect that I will get out all the decorations later this week and really make the house ready for trick-or-treaters. Where to find me on the great Hallowed Day? Of course...on the porch with the corgi, wine, and friends. Just where I should be.

Observations of Others

Most of the time, I am pretty ambivalent about the unsolicited opinions of others. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate good criticism as a platform for improvement, and I like feedback. But some recent comments just made me pause...and laugh.

Friday was a fun day for my department. We were all in the office early so that that we could end at noon and go on a group scavenger hunt around Durham. I am a morning person, so the earlier in the day, the better. Well, some of my employees are not used to seeing me first thing in the morning and were a little unprepared for my energy level. I was talking to a couple people, when one of my managers just looks at me in shock and says, "You are a Tigger, and you so need to take it down to at least an Eeyore level". This is one I want to use again and again.

Later that day the scavenger hunt facilitator made a silly comment about me, and a coworker near me looks at him and says, "Oh no you didn't! You don't mess with the Sarah! No you don't". Apparently my Zohan alter ego has quite the reputation in the office.

A couple weeks back someone called me "fat". I acknowledge that during several points in my life this would have been a justifiable perception. I have never stressed about my weight, but I have certainly been heavier than I prefer. But now? Since August I have lost about 20 pounds and have been working out at least four times a week. I no longer have clothes that fit and I have coworkers demanding me to STOP LOSING WEIGHT. So for someone to call me fat NOW? I really, really need to just laugh this one off.

It was raining last Tuesday so Michael and I ran inside around the track, rather than along our typical outdoor route. The track sits above the basketball courts, which is also where I play volleyball. As we were rounding a turn, I could see some of our players setting up the nets so I waved down to them. After about 2.5 miles, Michael left and I went down to the courts to play. During one of our breaks, a fellow player came up to me and said, "I knew it. I knew you were a runner. I noticed last week that you have the legs of a runner". That is definitely something that no one has ever said to me before. This is an observation I want to hold onto. This one made me laugh, and more importantly, it made me smile.