Tuesday

It's Shannon, bitch: The comeback

SURPRISE! I'm back. Maybe just for the day, maybe forever. We shall see.

And surprises are the theme for today's post. Life really is full of 'em. Some pleasant. Some unwanted.

The old me hated surprises.

When I was 13, I came home from to a weekend church retreat only to find that one, my grandma had had a pretty severe stroke, was completely paralyzed on one side of her body, and was in ICU, and two, my parents were splitting up. Surprise.

One night a few months later, my mom surprised me by telling me she was picking up and moving 4 or so hours away. The next morning. And I had to go with because there was no way in Hell she was letting me stay with my dad. This was during the rough patch of their split up. I guess technically the whole split up and divorce was a rough patch, but when we moved, there was definitely a lot of ugly fighting going on. So the next morning, we packed our things, loaded up the car, and off we went. New town, new life. Didn't tell anyone, especially my dad. Surprise.

My mom pulled another fast one on me my freshman year in college. She was picking up and moving again. From Texas to Florida. In a months time. She had met this guy through a mutual friend 4 years earlier, and they had been talking eversince. She was ready to take their relationship to the next step, and that meant she had to abandon her life in Texas. And her daughter. My mom's quite impulsive, huh? I guess I get that from her. Anyway... Surprise.

This one isn't quite as unpleasant or scarring, but... The day before I turned 21, my co-workers surprised me with a birthday cake clad with 21 blazing, pink candles. Sweet, yes. But the pictures from that night were far from cute. For one thing, I had been at work all day and it showed. Someone should have warned me. I would have freshened up a bit in the bathroom first. Secondly, the ginormous grin I had plastered on my face was completely ridiculous. It's those types of surprises that I don't know how to respond to, and I hate that. Do I just stand there with a dumbfounded smile on my face? Should I cry because I'm so moved? Oh dear God, please give me some guidance. Well, guidance didn't come so I chose to grin like a bafoon. Surprise.

It wasn't until love came knocking on my door that I began to accept and long for surprises. Flowers for no reason at all. Unexpected phone calls in the middle of the night just so he could hear my voice before he fell asleep. Dates at mystery locations. And the biggest surprise of all, something I didn't see coming, falling in love.

February 14th, Adrian greeted me at my door in his best dressed with 12 of the most beautiful roses I had ever seen. We went to our favorite restaurant, Uncle Julio's, which was not a surprise. I knew we'd end up there. We ate our usual- fajitas. Not surprising. The waitress dropped the check and wished us a Happy Valentine's Day. What did surprise me was Adrian pushing the check to the end of the table, grabbing my hand, and saying a lot of sweet things that to this day, still blow me away. He then pulled out a little black box, said more sweet things, started to ramble because he was nervous, which made the moment even sweeter, and PROPOSED! It was during this surprise that I should have cried, but instead I chose to smile dumbfoundedly aaagain. I hate me sometimes. Regardless... Surprise!

About a month later, after a few weeks of feeling just downright strange all over, I took a pregnancy test. Yep, you read that right. Things are about to get personal. Aunt Flow didn't come to town in March. My mosquito bites were quite tender. There were some other tell-tale signs as well. So, feeling quite anxious, I bought me a package of two pregnancy tests at the grocery store, went to Adrian's, and peed on the stick. Those 90 seconds were the longest 90 seconds of my life! The result of the test that I definitely wasn't prepared for (ha ha ha?): "Pregnant." Adrian stood at one side of the bed. I sat on the other. Neither of us spoke. This truly was a surprise. I just couldn't decide if it was the pleasant kind or the unwanted kind. In Kourtney Kardashian-like disbelief, I grabbed the other test from the box and headed for the bathroom. I didn't have to pee, but I could care less. This was an emergency! Another 90 seconds later, we had our result. "Not Pregnant." What? I was sure it was going to come out positive. I was just starting to accept the fact that there was a little bitty baby in my stomach. Negative? Really? Well hmm. That was that. I had taken both tests. I guess all that was left to do was go to bed. Yeah right! How could I sleep?! There was a 50% chance that I was pregnant! I knew that I needed another test. Third time's a charm, right? But it was late, and nothing was open. We don't have Super Wal-Marts in Maryland, unfortunately. So the next day, it was back to the grocery store, back to the feminine products aisle, and back to test-taking. I was sooo nervous. I'll make this long story short for your sake. Both tests were positive. In April, the OB confirmed that I was 8 weeks pregnant. Surprise!

Quite a few things have been pleasantly surpising me lately too. Just recently, I discovered that Simply Orange orange juice with pineapple is simply delicious! Surprisingly, Tums don't taste as bad as a I remember, and thank God for that. My heartburn has been out of control lately. Yesterday, I noticed that my hair is probably the longest that it's ever been in my whole life. But with this newfound length comes untameableness (I think I made that word up.) so I guess that makes this surprise a little less pleasant than I thought. Instead of long, lustrous locks, I have a lion's mane. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with this little surpise and, in the words of Tim Gunn, make it work. Best of all, Fall snuck up on us all here in Maryland. All of a sudden the weather is perfect. 50 degrees. No more of that sticky, hot 80s crap. This is the most beautiful time of the year, folks!

Aren't you so glad I surprised you with this super long comeback post?!

♥,
Shannon

PS: "Surprise" looks misspelled. Or is that just me?

Monday

food for thought

the fatty in me is shining through right now real bad. i've been googling discontinued foods and drinks all day thanks to a thread i read on another site.

foods that should be brought back:
01. doritos 3Ds. those were delish, and you can't deny it. eventhough they kind of tasted like air..

02. cinnamon mini buns cereal. when i was a kid, i was head over heels for this stuff. memory lane: my sister had an 90s cassette tape that she sent proofs of purchases in for.. and probably like $5 too. roxette. remember the song from pretty woman? it must have been love, but it's over now. that's roxette. i can remember that tape sooo vividly. it had like two songs on it, and we listened to it all the time.


03. sprite remix, vanilla coke, and SURGE. sprite remix and vanilla coke were my sodas of choice in high school. and surge.. oh my gosh. i can remember buying a 60-cent can out of the coke machine at school every day in junior high.


04. planters cheese balls. i had know idea that these were discontinued, and honestly, i am shocked. and disappointed. i had my mom buy these for me for all of my basketball road trips in high school. sooo good.


05. bugles. just like every kid in america, i found joy in placing a bugle on the tip of each finger on my left hand, then one by one, removing a delicious bugle from each finger with my mouth. you know you did it too.


and those that should just stay gone forever:
01. orbitz. the fruit flavored beverage with those mysterious gummy floaties. the drink looked like a lava lamp, but i guess that's why we all had to have it, right?


02. crispy m&ms. nowhere nearly as good as peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate, almond, or plain. i mean really.


03. butterfinger bbs. but that could just be me being biased against all butterfinger products. they just aren't my favorite.


04. oreo-os. worst cereal ever.


and now i need your help! i'm trying to remember the name of these suckers my mom used to buy when i was in junior high. they came in this cute tin can. i remember a cow. i think it was on the front of the tin can? they were half one flavor and half another, like chocolate-banana, vanilla-strawberry, and other flavors. one color was on top, and the other on the bottom. i just can't remember the dang name! please tell me someone knows what i'm talking about.

and after all of that, it's a wonder i'm not 300 pounds.


that's all i've got,
shannon

Friday

uppidy update

this is going to be super quick. i'm doing this on my phone, and i'm quickly finding that it ain't easy.

my mom, brother, sister in law, and neice.. make that ADORRRABLE neice zoey are coming to town sunday! this makes me very happy. i haven't seen them in far too long, and the timing couldn't be any more perfect. i need them in my life right now.

plus..

they're meeting adrian for the first time. hello.. big deal. i'm nervous. he's nervous. but we're both really excited. i just know my family is going to love him because honestly, what's not to love? he's wonderfullll! the best thing to ever happy to me.

cue the aww's.

i get the entire week off from work. thank heavens. this is much needed. it also gives me time to do all the things i've been putting off and blaming on my full-time schedule such as.. going to the doctor, shopping for spring clothes, getting a haircut, making some necessary phone calls, and so on.

by the way, i'm so happy for a qwerty keyboard on my phone right now. but my fingers are cramping and i really don't have much more to say.. yet.

just wait. the big news is coming soon.

buenos dias,
shannon

Sunday

mrs clean

you know those days when you want to lock yourself in your room, put your ipod on blast, and drown out the world? collect your thoughts. do a little soul-searching. get lost in the music. get inspired. forget your troubles. relax. maybe take a bubble bath. no phone calls. no texts. no interruptions. today is one of those days. just me and the music.

and the world's messiest bedroom.

lucky lucky me.

that's all for now. i've got work to do. i promise more later.

wish me luck,
shannon

Tuesday

i give up

i'm not catholic. there will be no ash on my forehead tomorrow. but... tomorrow marks the first day of lent, and i will do my part in becoming a better me.

or something.

40 days and 40 nights without something? this is a toughy.

what i might quite possibly give up:

the eff bomb. who knew a four letter word could be so tacky? on one hand, this means that i'm on my road to being a real lady sooner than i thought. but on the other hand, this means i must remove if you seek amy and all lil wayne songs from my ipod for the next 40 days to avoid any tempation to sing along.

diet coke. i drink way too much of the stuff. however if i do give it up, i think i'd just turn to real coca cola, and the thought of wasting calories kills me.

kissing. ...yeah right!

ruthless spending. but that's no fun.

texting. ehhh no. i really like texting, and it's harmless. my sister thinks it's stupid and calls it sexting, but she's wrong so wrong. oh plus i get unlimited so that would just be a waste.

perez hilton, tanning, and gossiping. okay now i'm just being ridiculous!

being such a bad friend. i need to pick up the phone more.

being such a bad sister. i need to come home more often.

i'll let you know what i decide!

happy fat tuesday bitches,
shannon

Sunday

♥ ♥

sorry about the hiatus.

short but super sweet update.

current obsessions: poker face by lady gaga. my boyfriend ade. seafood. ade. the "can i have your number?" mad tv skit. (youtube it.) ade. SAVING money. ade. tanning and whitening my teeth at the same time. ade. brady's behaviorial issues at school. ade. dole orange strawberry banana juice. ade. keeping my fingers crossed that becca and doug have another child soon. ade. talking about the future. ade. special k blueberry cereal. ade. down comforters. ade. the single ladies dance STILL. ade. my brother, future sister in law, and neice's future visit. ade. everything that happened yesterday (02/14/09). ade. living in the moment. and ade.

i have some mind blowing news to share, but i'll save that for another day. timing is everything afterall.

from the heart,
shannon

Friday

like music to your ears

just thought i'd share with you all what's currently on repeat. boats and birds by gregory and the hawk. it's the most perfect song i've ever heard.

if you'll be my star
i'll be your sky
you can hide underneath me and come out at night
when i turn jet black and you show off your light
i live to let you shine
i live to let you shine

but you can skyrocket away from me
and never come back if you find another galaxy
far from here with more room to fly
just leave me your stardust to remember you by

if you'll be my boat
i'll be your sea
a depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity
ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze
i live to make you free
i live to make you free

but you can set sail to the west if you want to
and past the horizon 'til i can't even see you
far from here where the beaches are wide
just leave me your wake to remember you by

if you'll be my star
i'll be your sky
you can hide underneath me and come out at night
when i turn jet black and you show off your light
i live to let you shine
i live to let you shine

but you can skyrocket away from me
and never come back if you find another galaxy
far from here with more room to fly
just leave me your stardust to remember you by


amazing, yes or no? oh and you need to love t.i.'s cd too.

music makes the people come together,
shannon