I am (finally) out of my slump!

So, I'm pretty sure it's official.

I think I've completely ended my winter-long slump.

It was a joint effort between the beautiful SPRING weather we had this weekend and the willingness to wake up this morning and say to myself "I AM going to have a good day...even though it's Monday."

Plus, I had a really good weekend. It's funny. The second it reaches a decent temperature, it's like this state comes to life. The sun is shining. People are out. Dogs are playing in yards. Rhode Islanders are actually...smiling. Ok, maybe I wouldn't go that far. But there is a definite change in the atmosphere...that's for sure.

We went to dinner with a big group of friends on Friday night and then headed to another friend's house to watch the KU game. Sadly, they lost (and for those of you fellow K-Staters who are reading this...ignore that part that I was cheering on the Jayhawks).

Then Saturday, it was B-E-A-utiful outside. So, of course we took full advantage. Clean the cars? Check. Walk the dogs? Check. Grab two iced coffees, place patio chairs in the middle of the yard and enjoy the amazing sun? Definite check!

Later that night, we enjoyed Newport's Restaurant Week. We went to this ADORABLE 1930's Paris-inspired restaurant called Tucker's Bistro. It was amazing. AND, Mr. Ruby and I had an incredibly romantic dinner for two with the best seats in the house. I love me a good date night.

An amazing weekend...

Now, I'm ready to tackle an amazing spring & summer!!!

The most irritating nuisance

It strikes at the most inopportune times:

Smack dab in the middle of a conference call. 

Just before the thrilling climax of a number-one-at-the-box-office movie. 

Right when the waiter brings out my steaming hot fajitas...and I'm starving.

About 15 minutes into a 27 hour road trip from Dallas to Providence. 

And worst of all...in the middle of the night. Interrupting my precious beauty sleep.

The culprit? 

My bladder. 

I can't explain to you how many times I've been beyond irritated with my hyperactive bladder. It seriously must be the size of a grain of sand. Oh, and the fact that I drink two 32 ounce cups of water (that's just before lunch) probably doesn't make the situation any better. 

I can't help it. I like a lot of fluids. 

I'm known to be the absolute last person you want in your car when heading out on any kind of long distance road trip. When Mr. Ruby and I started our road trip from Dallas to Providence, he learned to accept the fact that we would need to stop... a lot. 

What brings on my annoyance? Because last night, I was woken up by my bladder...Twice! I was so annoyed. 

This nuisance comes and goes. Sometimes, I only go two or three times in a day. Other times, I literally may go every 20 minutes. 

It's just something that I (and poor Mr. Ruby...and every other person that has been around me for any amount of time) just have to live with. 

Lord help us all when I'm pregnant someday.

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P.S. Tonight is EARTH HOUR! Make sure to turn off all power for one hour at some point this evening. Let's do everything we can to help mother earth and God's precious creation!!! 

Weiner Wednesday

Happy Weiner Wednesday!!! 

I seriously just love Wednesdays because it means we're only TWO WHOLE DAYS from the weekend. (If you haven't picked up on it...I LIVE for the weekends!!)

Yesterday, we had a birthday celebration at the office and I decided to try a new SUPER easy recipe. Well, it paid off. It was seriously gone in 3 minutes...flat. I made this a-ma-zing Buffalo Chicken Dip. 

I'm not kidding when I say it may be the best thing you've ever had. And I don't like buffalo flavored anything. See the recipe below...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 (8 oz.) Pkgs cream cheese softened

3/4 cup pepper sauce (i.e. Franks Red Hot)

1 cup Ranch dressing

2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together cream cheese and hot pepper sauce until well blended.

Mix in ranch dressing, chicken and cheddar cheese. 

Spread into a 9x13 baking dish. 

Bake for 30 minutes. 

Serve with tortilla chips.

***You can substitute the Ranch and cheddar cheese for Blue Cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles***

Be prepared to eat the.entire.thing. 

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

I've always been a target for all things unlucky, odd, and just plain random. 

You know those people where something happens to them and you say "That would only happen to (insert name here)". 

Well, I'm (insert name here). 

Although not extraordinary, I did experience 3 random happenings this past weekend:

1). I walked into our house after a night out to dinner with friends and found one of my winter gloves soaking in the middle of our dogs' water bowl. This may not seem that odd...however, my gloves were zipped away in my purse...which was on the kitchen table. Quite freaky if you ask me.

2). I was at the mall walking around aimlessly and completely in a daze (nothing new there). However, my daze was suddenly interrupted as something began to rapidly fall from above. I looked closely and realized...no it couldn't be...I focused my eyes. Yep. It was money. I'm not lying! I looked up and sure enough, dollar bills kept falling from above. I just kind of stood there shocked as two little kids greedily started filling their pockets. 

Another girl who witnessed this whole thing looked over at me, shrugged, and went into Victoria's Secret. 

3). I was on a major highway (again minding my own business) when I saw something in the distance. At first it wasn't that odd. It was just a random car on the side of the highway. I mean, I see those every day. Well, as I got closer I realized it was a HEARSE. There was no driver, no passenger and no one else in sight. Just an abandoned hearse on the side of the highway. 

At least things are always interesting around here. 

Fun Little Surprise...

I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have amazing in-laws.

I hear so many horror stories of overly forward, annoying, intrusive and don't-know-how-to-mind-their-own-business in-laws. I'm very lucky to have quite the opposite.

Seriously, I couldn't ask for better in-laws. And a major bonus is that I have a very close relationship with my mother-in-law. We always have the greatest talks and we helped each other through quite difficult times while Mr. Ruby served two deployments in Iraq.

While on the topic, let me paint a picture for you so that you can fully envision my mother-in-law. Not only is she quite the pretty lady, she dresses super cute and fun, and everything about her screams "girly" and "feminine". She's the wife of a retired pastor and was a stay-at-home-mom/homemaker her entire life. She is soft-spoken when you first meet her, but she gives the best advice and is full of wisdom. I would also consider her poised and proper. (All of this information is necessary for what I'm about to share with you).

 

Oh, and she gives the greatest gifts. Like I said, she's quite girly (as am I) so she has great taste! I've gotten fabulous stationary, cookware, jewelry etc.

Well, she and my father-in-law were recently in the Dominican Republic and of course they picked up a couple of souvenirs for us.  Mr. Ruby's dad told him "Make sure to search for the special surprise for Mrs. Ruby..."

Yeah! Something just for me!

I just knew my MIL would get me something great. So, Mr. Ruby opened our gift and was THRILLED to get some cigars. He searched, and didn't see anything else in the box. He searched some more.

Finally, at the very bottom of the box was this:

wrapped in a pink note that read:

Enjoy!

Mrs. Ruby, the small one is for you to try. It's my new-found pleasure. Who knew?!?! It's vanilla...very yummy!

Needless to say, not exactly what I was expecting but simply picturing my MIL actually smoking a cigar is quite a good enough gift for me.

I can't wait to try it!

My new toy is finally here!

My new MACBOOK arrived a couple days ago:

Isn't she a beauty?

So now, Mr. Ruby and I have matching 13' aluminum Macbooks.

I don't know who is more excited...me or him. (I mean, I don't think you understand how much technology and computers really rile him up). 

However, I must admit. Receiving my new toy was a bit anti-climatic.

How could a new Macbook be anti-climatic?

Well because for months I had been saving ALL this money  to give Mr. Ruby the surprise of his life by presenting him with the new Macbook for Christmas last year. I mean those things sure do cost a lot. Well, I realized that spending such a ridiculous amount saving all that money was totally WORTH the look on his face. It was so priceless and I think he was as happy as he was on our wedding day.

Well now, after using his so frequently, I decided I needed one.

Needless to say - I love it!

Now the real question: For those of you Mac-users out there, is there a special Mac blogger program you use to type your posts? I MUST know!

CHEERS! Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Top O' the mornin'...or, evening rather. I hope you all are having a fantastic St. Patty's Day! I'm sitting at home like any other Tuesday night. However, we definitely had our fun Irish celebrations on Sunday. Man. Those Irish sure know how to jig. We headed to Boston for the parade and of course the beer!

We had to finish off the day with an authentic Irish Car Bomb. :)

Thus, I end my story with MY version of a real Irish jig. All Leprechauns are totally green with envy right now. Seriously.

Edited to add: So, did anyone else grow up with the tradition that if you didn't wear green on St. Patrick's Day, you would get pinched? Everyone at work today thought I was nuts and said I was making it up. Help me out people! Is that just a Kansas thing?

Three reasons I'm smiling

1). Mama got a promotion today. And by mama, I mean me.

2). One of my very best friends (whom I think about all the time and miss SO SO much) sent me this fun St. Patty's Day card:

(Thanks Whit...and don't worry. I passed out alright. Let's just say I had a VERY good time at the St. Patty's Day parade in Boston. Pics soon to come).

3). The ADORABLE Aliya over at The View from my Shoes gave me the Cutest Blogger Award. Thanks, Aliya! I'm not kidding...she has one of the most entertaining blogs ever. The rules to the award? I have to list 10 things about me that are un-cute. Easy.

1. While I'm working out: so un-cute. Unlike the majority of girls who go to the gym in little tanks and shorts, I look like a man in my baggy shorts and tee-shirts. Oh, not to mention I get as red as a strawberry.

2). After working out: VERY un-cute. Not only am I bright red, I am pretty darn sweaty. Eww.

3). When I'm hungry: haha, so not cute. I begin to act like a child when I haven't eaten in awhile. Poor Mr. Ruby has to put up with my cranky tantrums.

4). When I sleep in awkward positions: not cute. Yes, sometimes I sleep in weird positions. When I was younger, my mom would come in and I would be twisted up like a pretzel.

5). When I leave hair in the shower: that's just sick. Seriously though, the only way to get the stragglers off my hands is to place them on the shower wall. And I may or may not accidentally forget to clean them off from time to time. Sorry babe!

6). When I throw pity parties: stupidly uncute. I'm a girl...what do you expect? Every once in awhile (I hate to admit it) I just need a really good pity party. Sometimes I just need everyone to feel sorry for me!

7). When I'm venting about work/Rhode Island drivers/homesickness/fill-in-the-blank: uncute, but so necessary.

8). When I'm just lounging around the house: simply not cute. The moment I get home from work, I get out of my work clothes and into my sweats.

9). When I'm in one of my infamous "dazes": not cute. I get complaints about this...a lot. I can't help it. Sometimes I enter daze-land and don't hear what anyone around me is saying.

10). My clumsiness - the uncutest thing about me. If there is something near me, I will run into it. If there are stairs, I will fall down/up them. I've broken my arm, foot, toes, fingers and nose. I've had a rock in my chin and an antennae in my eye. I've been in an ambulance twice and admitted to the hospital multiple times. As we speak, I can count 4 large purple bruises.

I'm in SUCH a good mood!

Why you ask?

Well, it all started with a great end to the week. I attended a professional women's seminar on Thursday. And man, was it inspiring! Thousands of professionals and multiple speakers and workshops. My fave of the day was most definitely Jean Chatzky, most famous for being the financial correspondent for the Today show and also the host of Oprah's "Debt Diet" show. I love her. She is so brilliant...and frickin adorable at that. I most definitely bought her new book "The Difference" and had her sign it. Oh, and I got a picture with her and she told me we could be friends on Facebook. I can't wait. Haha.

Next reason for my good mood you ask? Well, my "main" boss was out for a few days...and I felt SO relaxed. I didn't feel like there was so much pressure my heart may explode at any moment. So, our second-in-line-boss let us all go EARLY yesterday. Way to start my weekend!

THEN, I even got to eat my FAVORITE for dinner last night: On the Border! My family makes so much fun of me because we are in an area with the most elegant fine dining with the best Italian and Seafood in the U.S. and I always choose On the Border. I don't care. I HAVE to have my burrito.

Now this next item may not sound that exciting to the normal person, but for a nerd like me...I'm quite happy. Mr. Ruby and I have a LOT to do today (i.e. study, work on taxes, computer work). So, we're heading to the coffee shop to spend the day together.

Finally. I am PUMPED for tomorrow. We're taking the train to Boston for the Southie St. Patrick's Day Parade. I can't wait. It may get a teeny bit crazy. I mean, these are REAL Irish folk. There will be bagpipers everywhere...and of course green beer. Pictures soon to follow...

Weiner Wednesday

I am SO happy this week is half-way over.

Although I love my job, it can get quite exhausting. I've had recruiting/networking events every night...which basically means I have to be "on" 100% of the time. I'm normally a perky, bubbly character, but sometimes I really have to drag it out and force it. Especially when I've gotten little sleep and a good ole "critique" from my boss. (And by critique, I mean a "point out everything Mrs. Ruby has done wrong...ever in her entire life" session).

Tonight, I was going to make a tuna noodle casserole but settled for a hot dog and some carrots due to lack of energy. Speaking of hot dogs, I leave you with quite possibly the cutest little weiners ever. I could smile every second of the day if I just take one quick peek at these little guys. :)

I can't take it.

I really, really don't want to see one more performance from this guy:

So what if all four American Idol judges and even most of America disagrees with me? Adam Lambert tries way too hard. Although his vocals are quite good, his theatrical, overly dramatic performances make me want to gag. Oh, and could the judges inflate his ego any more?

No more. Or I may boycott the show.

Thanks for the love

Thank you so much to the adorable Newlywed Next Door for passing along the Kreativ Blogger Award!!! Go check out her blog...she is just so charming and always has such great travel tips. Not to mention she's pretty darn gorgeous.

The rules of the award are to list 7 things that you love and pass the award along to 7 bloggers you love. I know this is annoying...but I pass the award to all my readers. I think ALL of you are so wonderful and I truly love reading your blogs!!!

7 Things that I LOVE:

1. KANSAS. There really is NO place like home.
2. Weiners. Dogs that is.
3. Slumber parties. No, I will never ever be too old for this.
4. Staying in bed on a Saturday morning talking, laughing and (ahem) playing with Mr. Ruby.
5. Nothing excites me more than a really good book. Dweeb.
6. Burritos. Oh my gosh. Love em.
7. Outdoors: kayaking, biking, camping, skiing, beaching.

I hope everyone is having a fab Monday!

Way to go Samson!

You know those really awkward moments when a perfectly random stranger approaches you and tries to either 1). Sell you something or 2). Get you to work from home "for double the pay" ? etc. etc.

I swear I have a bulls eye or an "I'm begging you to sell me something" tattooed on my forehead. These kind of people approach me all the time. I've been stopped on multiple occasions in movie theatres/grocery stores/malls with gimmicks like "Has anyone ever told you could be a model? You should host a Mary Kay party and model the makeup" (Yeah, not falling for that one). Or "However much you're making with your current job, I can guarantee that if you work for me you will earn triple!" (Also not falling for that one.) Let's just say I've become a professional at spotting these people before they approach me. And, I run in the opposite direction.

However, I missed one this weekend. She blind-sided me...AND Mr. Ruby. In a place you wouldn't expect: PetSmart. We never saw it coming.

We took the pups to get their toe nails clipped. Oh, and Sienna received a "birthday treat coupon" in the mail. We were walking to register when this disheveled woman approached us. She said "Oh my goodness! How cute! What kind of dog is that?"  Not wanting to be rude, we stopped (even though our hands were overflowing with doggie shampoo, toothpaste, treats and toys) Oh, and not to mention we were trying to control both of our dogs from not running off into the wild to play with the other dogs. I said, "She's actually a Beagle-Chihuahua  mix..." and before I could even finish, this stranger cut me off. She leaned down to pet the dogs and said, "Do you know anyone looking for part-time income?"

Confused, Mr. Ruby and I looked at each other. "No.." Cut off again. She said "You don't know anyone that's looking to work while keeping their current job? They'd be making around $2,000 a month".

Before we could even answer, Samson knew we were in trouble. He looked right at the woman. He began spinning in a couple of circles. Then he pooped. Right in front of her.

She looked a bit bewildered and mumbled "Oh...Umm..alright. Well, have a nice day."

Thank you Samson! Good Boy!

We got home and immediately gave him a treat. :)

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On a side note: I've been needing a workout bag for awhile now. I have the same gym bag that I used in college. It is disgusting. I'm super excited because I just bid on this Herve Chapelier weekender tote on ebay. I REALLY hope I win it!

Get ready to LAUGH

Are you ready? I mean really ready to laugh?

Hysterical kind of laugh.

Tears uncontrollably streaming down your face kind of laugh.

Trying to catch your breath...oh wait, still can't breathe for about 45 seconds kind of laugh.

May accidentally pee your pants a little kind of laugh.

Turn so bright red you look like a maraschino cherry kind of laugh.

Thinking about it it 24 hour hours later and it still makes you laugh kind of laugh.

I'm serious here. The following is quite possibly the most hilarious 23 seconds I've EVER experienced.

Mr. Ruby showed me this video last night and I literally had tears streaming down my face. A couple of hours later, I was still laughing.  Today, it creeped into my mind during a meeting and I laughed just as hard! On my drive home from work this evening, I laughed out loud to myself! And yes, I got some funny looks.

Hopefully you find the following as entertaining as I.

Weiner Wednesday

Yeah for Weiner Wednesday!

I am in such a great mood because it is almost the end of HUMP DAY! I love love the middle of the week because it means that we're so close to the weekend...thus over the hump. Does anyone else LIVE for the weekends?

Well, in honor of Weiner Wednesday AND Hump Day I will leave you with a very fitting video. Warning: It is sort of inappropriate...yet oh-so appropriate at the same time! I seriously died laughing. Gotta love me some weiner humor! :)

Nervous Breakdown

Yep.

I might have one.

I don't know how much more WINTER I can take.

When we first moved to New England, I didn't understand why everyone complained so much about the winters. I love me a white Christmas. I love snow. I love skiing. Heck, I don't even mind cold weather.

But enough is ENOUGH already! I am so done with winter. Just as every ounce of our horrible winter's snow completely melted a couple of weeks ago...it had to go snow another FOOT last night. Oh, and it's still snowing. And I mean hard. The roads are horrible and Mr. Ruby spent THREE hours shoveling our cars out of the driveway this morning.

So.

Dear Winter,

Unless you want me to have a nervous breakdown, quite literally, I would highly recommend that you leave...quickly. Don't worry though, you may return right around Christmas time next year. However, I really need you to do me a favor and take a vacation. Oh, and be sure to take all this snow with you. And hey, if you run into Spring, tell him we're all waiting.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ruby

True Life: A Ski Story

One thing's for sure. We definitely weren't in Kansas anymore.

It was Friday after work and we were off to Sunday River, Maine. We had about a 4 and a half hour drive ahead of us. I love me a good road trip. A few bathroom stops (for my overactive bladder) and all the Jason Mraz I could take...we finally arrived in Bethel Maine. We were so pumped! And so STARVING! It was about 9:30 p.m. and the weather had gotten really bad. We decided to make a stop at our cabin, unload our things and head out to find a restaurant.

We arrived at the cabin only to find out that we didn't have the code to get in. It was about 2 below zero and profusely spitting ice. We were in the middle of nowhere. We tried calling the owner of the cabin. No answer. We called again. No answer. The boys tried about 70 different codes...only to find that none of them worked.

 

We decided to go find a restaurant so that we could at least eat and then worry later how we were going to get inside. The back roads from the cabin were so bad we couldn't even get out. Our car slid backwards about 4 times. Did I mention we were starving?

We all got very very cranky.

We took matters into our own hands. We salted the roads. With our own bag of salt and a cup.

It actually worked. After an hour, we made it up the hills and were off to the main roads. We found the CUTEST ski lodge restaurant. And I think I devoured my meal in about 4 seconds.

We finally received a call from the owner and made it into our adorable cabin!

The next morning, we were up and at em' early. Ready to hit the slopes! Sunday River was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you Lord for your beautiful creation!!!

 

Oh, and I even ran into this really hot snow boarder.

I was so excited to find that there was an entire peak named "Oz" with runs titled "Kansas" (One of my favorites...shout out to KS Woop Woop!), "The Cowardly Lion" and "Ruby Palace". So appropriately fitting. :)

We played some Cranium back at the cabin.

And of course The Rubies dominated.

I was very very sad to leave this amazing place.

Good times with good friends.

Good bye wonderful Ski Trip. Please don't make me go to work tomorrow. No seriously, I'm begging.