Help keep a Mommy Blogger off the Street

Hello! It is I, Rachel from I'm A Mom In Real Life!

I have been fortunate enough to be paired up with the lovely Ashley for the 20SB Blog swap! So I guess that means I have to write something......
..........
..........
crap
..........
You know what, I am going to use this opportunity to beg;
Someone please hire me!!!!

I'm not asking for much, I just need some part time work. I have filled out a million applications, including their stupid psych questions ("Politicians are dishonest; 70% of the time, 50% of the time, 25% of the time? What the %$#@ does that have to do with me working a cash register at Target???).

To be honest, if I was looking at my application I wouldn't hire me either. The problem is the fact that many applications ask how long I worked at a job but not why I left. Example;

From 6/2003-8/2003 I was a mural artist for Great Harvest. When I was done with the painting I was done with the job. But if you don't realize that then you see that I "Left Voluntarily" after working a few months.

From 10/2003-1/2004 I was a bartender, but had to "Leave Voluntarily" when I got pregnant and haven't had a job since. So looking at my applications I tried this whole "working" thing and didn't like it.

Yeah, not looking good for me.

I talked about this with my fellow Chicago blogger bud Free and Flawed. She recommended that I post a "Hire Me!" ad in the Printed Blog. But what would I say?

I will be sitting by my phone, eagerly awaiting the inevitable barrage of phone calls I am sure to be getting.

MMMM Southern Comfort

Hey Everyone! Lovely Ashley is away and she's doing me a favor by
letting me play over here for a minute. (I've always wanted to
commandeer someone else's blog!) Anyhow, if you don't know me I'm
Rachel from Viva...a blog that's been falling more into political
commentary than I'd like to admit. But today is not about politics
(because I'm f-ing tired of politics at the moment), but something a
bit closer to my heart.

SOUTHERN COOKING!!!!

Ok that might have been a little bit too much but all of you who live
in the south know where this excitement stems from. The one thing I
miss the most living in Colorado is I'm away from a few staple items
of cooking you can't get anywhere else, or people can't make worth a
damn in regards to the real deal. One of those things is a true f-ing
BBQ. I mean yeah yeah we have BBQ festivals and it's good and all but
it does not compare to a bunch of drunk rednecks camped out and
drinking Miller High Life, roasting the biggest pig you've ever seen
on a spit. (YUM). And cornbread, cheesy grits, and double sweet tea???
Come on. How do you say no to double. sweet. tea. Yeah I didn't think
you could, although you might have a hell of a sugar rush later. But
seriously, sometimes I miss (REALLY miss) the greasy, the double
fried, and the Fry Daddy's (yes more then one of my friends owned this
product).

Look, I know what you're thinking (um, ew gross), and yes, a lot of
southern cooked food has no redeeming nutritional value. However it's
just damn good and sometimes it's nice to indulge. So if you ever get
a chance to visit the south this year....or ever...please take one
day. Just one day to go to an authentic Mom and Pop good ole southern
cooking restaurant and experience a slice of heaven (in pumpkin pie
form). I promise you won't regret it (until the next day).

**Oh and if anyone wants to send southern food to Colorado I'd be more
than appreciative, thanks!

Never tell a girl she's a 6

This is a guest post by one of my favorites from back in my college days. You can find Jennie here. She's amazing, and I love her.

Tailgate… it’s a favorite pastime for some, a way to pump up before a big game for others, and most importantly a time for random run-ins with people you may or may not know. This past weekend’s tailgate at Michigan State University certainly did not disappoint in the chance encounters arena.

In a matter of a few hours, tailgaters participate in a few rounds of white trash golf, a.k.a cornhole, or bags, eat their body weight in brats and chip dip, and of drink alcohol as if prohibition will reemerge at any second. It is this last action that helps create the random interactions that makes tailgate famous.

The MSU v. OSU tailgate started off quietly enough… but soon hit ultimate awkwardness with a series of socially inappropriate situations…

1. Awkward scenario #1- name recollection. There are a few options here, blame alcohol for your forgetfulness, blurt out a name you hope is correct, act like you don’t actually know the other party… or blindly smile. This took place twice… once I was the guilty party and the tried to use the first excuse… which in my state seemed quite successful as it was followed by awkward scenario #2. The second time a former co-worker blurted the name of someone that graduated a year before me… convinced I was this person and when the truth came finally came out awkward scenario #3 happened.
2. Awkward scenario #2- inappropriate proposals. Once again, our friend alcohol is to blame here, but nonetheless I was asked by a visa-holding student to marry him… you know just to help with the green card process. Though tempting… I was always hoping my first proposal might come from someone’s name I could actually recall.
3. Awkward scenario #3- unfortunate personal ratings. No substance explanation needed… we all know who is mostly responsible for these. Usually beer goggles improve ratings; however, in my case, not so much. The participant from the second awkward scenario #1, upon realizing his name recollection blunder… decided to go so far as to say there is no way I was this particular other person as they were a “2” and I was a “6”… A 6, how thoughtful. Well my dear, more sober friend quickly corrected him and said “You never tell a girl she’s a 6… you’re at least an 8”. Then numbers went flying and I think I even heard a 12 which clearly makes perfect sense on scale on 1 to 10.

Needless to say, I had my fair share of supremely tailgate-tastic moments this weekend… Now its your turn to share… any good awkward run-ins lately?

Who is ang?

while miss ashley is off playing in the big apple, i'm here to say hello in her behalf.

who am i? well, i'm a 26 year old, midwestern, self-proclaimed foodie with an infectious giggle and talent for staying up far past my bedtime. i am the friend that takes a ridiculous amount of pictures and writes waaay too long of emails. i've recently developed a chocolate addiction and i have an affinity towards traveling and spending all kinds of money i don't have. i'm a designer by day and vampire-addicted reader by night. but best of all, i'm left-handed. and face it - you know someone is automatically cool when they are left-handed.

i'm a cleveland native, but chicago local. i absolutely love this windy city, especially in the summertime. (if you want to visit, i totally have a couch or a massive back porch for you to camp out on.) i love puppies more than your average person should and tend to get overzealous and squeal in their presence. i have a habit of over using abbrevations (abbrevs) and have recently brought back "duh" into my vocab.

sometimes when i'm out at a bar, i'll try to talk in only abbrevs to strangers. most of the time they laugh, other times they look at me like i have eight heads. wev. totes their loss ;) i am completely random, which you might be getting already. i laugh really hard in inappropriate situations. i'm terrible at guitar hero. i once won a gold medal in the junior olympics for tennis, but i haven't picked up a racquet in almost 3 years. i would be amazed if i could still keep the ball in the court. also, if you haven't seen this upside down dog site - go there immediately.

i'm ang and my randomness continues over here. wanna be friends?

Traveling guest blogger

Even while I'm traveling on one of the most eventful business trips I've had yet, this blogger is still managing to guest post. Today, you can find me over at Alice's, spreading the best advice I've ever received.

Cheers!

Shout outs

Hey all, I'm CC from Fork in the Road and I'll be your hostess for the day. The lovely Ashley was lucky enough to score a business trip and is living it up working hard in NYC as we speak. In lieu of a week with no postings, she asked a few bloggers to fill in for her in her absence so here I am. :)

As much as I really want to discuss my usual favorite topics, (my obsession with fall and how Texas sucks for not having one, and my annoyance with my job), I'm not going to. And I'm not going to discuss politics, or quarter-life crises. Or how much I miss college, my (non-existent) dating life and lack of funds. All of course, are favorite topics of us 20-something bloggers – trust me, I'm completely guilty of them all. Nothing wrong with that because that's what we know right now. Those are our life stories to be told. And those stories can be so heart-breakingly familiar, relatable and oh-so-hilarious. I love to tell them, and I love to read them.

But honestly right now, I'm bored of all of my typical 20-something experiences that I usually roll out with pleasure. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm still tired from working two jobs, and bored with my "career" if you could call it that, and I'm still poor. And single. And I really (really!) do miss college. And I just might be going through a quarter-life crises. Which is why I'm going to start off this week with a little list. I'm sick of being all moan-y and complain-y, so this morning, I'm going to give a shout out to all of the things that are AWESOME in my life. I got this fun idea from Rachel over at Viva and I thought it was such a great way to start my day and get me thinking about all of the fabulous things in my life that make me smile.

Shout outs to life:

1. Having air in my lungs, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my stomach and a job to pay the bills.
2. My AMAZINGLY supportive and loving friends that make me laugh
3. My loving family
4. Have a ridiculously comfy and cozy bed to snuggle in
5. Being 100% healthy.
6. Having a faithful and spiritual life. It keeps me grounded.
7. Having a family that allowed me to think for myself as I developed a spiritual mind and for not forcing me into any sort of religious mold.
8. Living in a city that has almost everything. Good culture, good food, good shopping.
9. Having the desire to learn. Having had the privilege to go to college.
10. Living a life full of hope.
11. Having dear friends all over the country that allow me to visit whenever I need a change of pace. Extra shout out to my pals in Denver and Providence. Thanks for living in awesome and gorgeous places!
12. My wanderlust soul. It makes life interesting. One can only imagine where I'll end up next. And in 20 years.
13. Having a loving heart. I LOVE to love!
14. Living in a country where I'm free. And where I'm allowed to express myself as a woman.
15. Books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and all outlets of the written word. I love to read and I love to (attempt) to write.
16. Fall and Spring, the two BEST seasons that make me so happy
17. Diet Coke.
18. The ability to hike and bike and experience/enjoy nature at its finest
19. Having a dreamer's mind. I dream and I dream big. Pair that up with all of my hope and I've always got something to look forward to.
20. The will and ability to live, laugh, and love. These are the true joys of life and I'm blessed to share these abilities with my amazing friends and family.

What are the shout outs in your life? What makes you smile? Just something to think about when things seem rough or not as they should be.