please stop it italicizing at me.

I really hate when bloggers and writers think that what they are saying is so profound and prolific that it must be highlighted, put in bold, underlined or put in a bigger font. I get that you want the reader to really understand what and how you're saying it but come on. If your writing isn't good enough to do that so you need gimmicks and visual effects to get your point across, try writing better. This does not apply to being cute or fun or just adding some color or pizazz to a page but to writers who are being serious and really trying to make a point. One of my favorite bloggers to read is Brandy from It's like I'm... mmmagic. She writes profound and heartfelt posts and that girl needs no gimmicks. Her writing speaks for itself and people feel her words without any bold necessary. That's writing to me. Can you imagine reading a book where its all bolds and highlights? I can and its called a comic book. There are pictures and very few words involved. I think I just hate that everyone calls themselves a writer these days because they can put words together on the internet. The 6 year old kid I babysit can do that and I assure you he would call himself a kid, student and hockey player and not a writer.

Also? I hate people who think I want to read their views on entertainment and fashion and awards shows. That's what Perez Hilton and Joan Rivers are for.

I do love when people talk about recipes though because who doesn't want to know how to cook better and see what real people think. I love you Rachel Ray but those meals are not 30 minutes and we all don't have a fully stocked kitchen with every food and utensil ever made. Also I like seeing how real people substitute weird ingredients.

I hate how red wine can stain lips.

I hate when jeans lose their shape after a wear and I consistently have to rewash my fav pairs.

I hate losing pens, when I run out of contact solution right before bed, dropping my toothbrush and having to get a new one in a less pretty color, overcooked steak, when it's to hot to sleep, when I really miss someone, hypochondriacs, and when drive thru's get my order wrong.

Also I hate when I'm so cold my nose/hands/feet gets cold and how long laundry takes in fancy washers and dryers even though it's well worth it.

Love,
Veronica



ohh....I don't hate my new tattoos.

What Up With...Pressure to Have Babies?

This past weekend I went to a party thrown by my in-laws. A lot of their family friends were in attendance, many of whom I haven't seen since my wedding. Several times that night we had this conversation:

Family Friend: "How are the newlyweds doing?"
Us: "We're great, thanks. How are you?"
Friend: "Good. So, when are you two going to start having children?"
Us: *silence*

When I was 13 or so, I thought I had my life planned out. I was going to graduate from college when I was 22, get married when I was 23 and have my first child when I was 25. It's funny how I was so sure I had my life planned out back then. The reality of my situation is that I graduated from college when I was 22, graduated from grad school at 26 and got married several months later. And we don't see babies anywhere in our near future.

When we tell people that we're not having children anytime soon, 9 times out of 10 we get "why not?!" I always respond with the truth: right now I think I'm too selfish to have a child. It sounds silly, but we really enjoy our independence. I like getting a phone call from a friend to go out on a Saturday night with 5 minutes notice and being able to leave without thinking about a babysitter. I like going to the movies at 10 p.m. I like throwing house parties with my college friends that last until sunrise. My career is really important to me and I want a few years to build it up before I have a baby. I'd like to pay down my student loans a bit. I want to take a month long trip through Europe. The list could go on and on. I know that motherhood doesn't mean the end of my life, but I just don't think that I'm ready. It doesn't mean that there won't be babies eventually - I'm actually very excited to have children (hopefully a girl that I'll name Cecilia Bloom, even though my husband thinks I'm crazy). Just not now.

After explaining this to someone the other day, I got the response "well, you have to think about people other than yourself when you think about having a child, like the child's grandparents. I'm sure they're ready for a grandchild." Um...ok? This doesn't just apply to family friends. No less then a week after my honeymoon my mom asked me when I'm going to have a baby and she asks me at least once a month. I guess I expect this from my mom. It's another thing when people who don't know me very well start weighing in.

I suppose after marriage it's normal to get the baby question and as annoying as it can be, I get it. What I hate is that we're sometimes told that we're selfish for wanting to wait.

Is it selfish?

I won't cave into pressure, but I'm running out of ways to answer the question without rolling my eyes (which is TOUGH. The fact that I can control my eye rolling in this situation is a big deal). Maybe I should make a little handout to give people when the question comes up so I don't actually have to say anything. Or just come up with a witty comeback that lets them know to stop asking. I'm now taking suggestions.

Love,

Betty

Comcast, I hate you.

So I'm at the Hilton Garden Inn for a wedding this weekend and I have to say I am loving it. I love that I can use the business center since I don't have a laptop. I can finally blog and check up on celebrity gossip and gchat. Clearly I have priorities.

Betty and I are thinking about blogging about our working out and fitness goals. Its about the tone-age not the poundage. Having a best friend makes things much easier for motivation.

I am currently hating like crazy on Comcast because they extremely messed my bill up causing me to have to cancel just to get a final and correct bill. Which went from $463 to $152 because of all their mistakes. The problem is I don't get AT&T U-verse in my neighborhood and Comcast sucks. Sure some reps are amazing but often others screw things up and make mistakes that Comcast refuses to correct.

Comcast screwed up my bills so mad, then didn't send them for months, then admitted they made a mistake and tried to screw me over with credits that didn't add up to their mistakes and only gave me them when I did the math with them over the 4 hour phone call.

Sidenote: Hey Hilton Garden Employees? Clearly your behind the counter room is RIGHT next to the business center so I hear every.single.word. of your conversations. Like "Mike! Hey, where did you come from? From my mother but thats a long story". While funny, it's also rather annoying.

So, back to Comcast. They let my ex use my SS# for his account and then when I found out and sent in a transfer, which they have record of, they refuse to change it. They keep saying they will call me back but never do.

After 4 years of defending you, I officially and forever hate you. Your 6 month deals suck and so does your service.

Hello RCN or direct tv.

Love,
Veronica

I Don't Hate My Boobs - I Hate You for Staring

Yesterday I decided I wanted a sandwich for lunch and was extremely stoked for the cookie I always treat myself to when I go there. I stood in line and walked up to the counter when it was my turn. Here's how that went down:

Sandwich Guy: Hi, how can I help you?
Betty: Hi, can I have a veggie sandwich on wheat with no mushrooms?

...silence...

Sandwich Guy: um, sorry what was that?
Betty: Veggie on wheat, no mushrooms

...silence...

Sandwich Guy: um...sorry I'm distracted. What didn't you want on it?

As I looked up at the guy, I realized why he couldn't remember what I ordered and why he was distracted- he was staring at my chest.

Why do some guys think this is acceptable?

I've talked about this before, but I have big boobs. And I love them. When I was young, I stuffed my 32AA bra thinking I was cursed. Then out of nowhere, they showed up in full force. At 17, I was stoked that I had this body. Then the staring started. Young guys, old guys, guys in suits, guys in baggy jeans, guys in cars, guys on bikes, it didn't matter. My first real job was that summer as a receptionist. Every few days a guy would walk in and gasp and I knew what was coming - something along the lines of "wow, you look great...I'd love to take you out sometime..." When I informed them that I was 17 they would say "well, I'm ok with that if you're ok with that." Actually creepo, I'm not ok with that. And god help them if they tried that line on one of the days my dad was in the office. All hell broke loose a couple times that summer.

Before long, I became known to my then good friend's friends as "oh yea, your friend with the massive chest." I was devastated. I wasn't "the smart girl with a college scholarship" or "the girl who makes awesome mix tapes" or even "your friend Betty". My breasts were the thing that defined me and I hated it. I even had a guy tell me "well, if you don't like people staring, you shouldn't show them." I tried to hide them. I even attempted to tape them down like Christina Ricci did in "Now and Then", but it just made me look ridiculous. The truth is that when you have big boobs, you can try to distract from them, but really you can't hide them. I could wear a turtle neck covered in a potato sack topped off with one of those puffy winter coats and I would still have breasts. I'm a woman - it's ok to look like one.

Do I realize that guys may quickly glance? Yes. And that doesn't bother me. But the full on staring like I'm a walking art exhibit or something is completely different. I've learned to come up with witty comebacks and how to call guys out, but I shouldn't have to. I'm not going to hide or be ashamed. I'm not one for wearing low cut clothes or showing lots of cleavage, but I will rock a plain black v-neck tshirt and not feel bad about it.

So guys who think that it's acceptable to stare at me because of my breasts - I really hate you.

Love,

Betty

No taksies No keepsies

I hate when people have something of mine and refuse to give it back. If you know you have my Tiffany's bracelet which I got when I graduated highschool, give it back. I don't care if you borrowed it and we lost touch, you're my facebook friend and I see you update so don't act like you didn't see my message in your inbox. FB leaves a little red notifier until you check it out. Rude.

I hate when someone has my xbox because I was nice enough to let them borrow it for a week while they get their cable set up and then when I ask for it back because my awesome best friend Betty got me an xbox live subscription and a netflix subscription and I want to start using it and never leave me house, they start acting shady. I hate that a month later they are still trying to be funny on the phone but are somehow never home or can't just drop it off to me. It's not yours. Plain and simple. Not. Yours.

Kindergartners learn about no taksies no keepsies, so why can't you?

I finally had to go over, tell them I was there, and was like, I'm taking it. They were like fine because what could they do? They knew that it was mine and they don't lock their door and the landlord has no problem letting me in. I hate having to act that way but enough is enough. So in addition to being a jerk, they make me hate them for putting me in a situation where I had to act against my more laid back nature.

I hate when people borrow my books and don't return them. Except for Betty and my Mom, I pretty much refuse to borrow books. Last time I borrowed my copy of Enders Game to someone, I had to track them down to a Walgreen's to get it back. My books hold sentimental memories for me, especially that copy and I wasn't about to let months go by without asking for it. I clearly learned my lesson from the Tiffany's bracelet.

Seriously though, Netflix? Amazing. I got to know 30 Rock pretty well last night and even took it to bed with me (thanks iphone Netflix app!) I watched some Up and you know that since Center Stage is on, I will be rewatching my fav scenes over and over.

Last week I definitely did not hate the amount of good looking boys I was in the company of. I saw "The Other Guys" with my hot hot friend/crush who is an amazing person and I can be 100% myself with. We had dinner and then saw the movie and I really don't know a nicer guy.

Then the next night I saw a friend I hadn't seen in about 5 years. We met, went out a few times and whatnot and have stayed friends all this time. He has been all over the place for school but we always have ghcat and whatnot so we've stayed pretty close. Tall and handsome, extremely intelligent (dude went to Harvard, what?), and funny, he's awesome. We hung out, had some food, and ended the night with a conversation on boy bands and lady gaga. I hate that more guys like that seem to live everywhere but my city. As Betty and the girls from B*Witched would say, C'est La Vie.

Also this week I saw my hot hook up. Well we always hook up when we see each other but we don't hang out otherwise although we have many mutual friends. Which leads me to why I hate people with big mouths who love to cause trouble and proclaim innocence. Seriously, don't you get tired of being so phony? Betty always says that whatever else people want to say about me, they always know where I stand. When you get caught being an asshole, don't blame it on the weatherman, blame it on yourself (what? 2 b*witched references? yeah that's how I roll). Anywho I saw the guy and it's nice to share a kind of darker, intimate, almost animalistic (is that even a word?) relationship that's very separate from my normal life.

I guess it's like Golidlocks searching for the right bed. I'll know it when it feels right but it can be fun trying to get there.

Oh! I hate when I let my hair air dry for too long before I blow dry!

Also, my new job (nothing exciting but something new and fun. Ever see the movie waiting? It's like that) Anway it has kept me super busy, I worked a double yesterday and my feet were dying! Thank God Liz Lemmon and Tracy Jordan were there to distract me.

Also Also....I already call JWoww for my Halloween Costume. LiLu, I expect something Jersey from you! I'll come visit if you do :)

Gators needs his gat. Don't go chasin waterfalls.

Seriously, go see "the other guys" before it leaves theaters.

Love,

Veronica

the one where LC and Marilyn give great advice.

All you wonderful people who wished me Happy Bday? I love you. Your comments made my day and when you hear about my birthday, you'll know I needed it. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

edit. so i took this post down because, while it did me good to get it off my chest and vent, im done and dont want to even remember it.

Love,

Veronica

No, I Did Not See What He/She Did/Said/Broke Up With on Facebook...

Facebook and I are in a fight.

I got facebook not too long after it started (I was "oh so lucky" to go to a college that got access to it early on). Needless to say, my friends and I were totally into it but it was really pretty silly back then. All my "friends" were people that I went to school with and the few friends from high school who also had access to it. I would read status updates from my roommate saying "boo, working on my psychology paper" and laugh because I could hear her typing away through the thin walls of our apartment. It was mostly useful as a place to share pictures from sorority formals and random nights of Karaoke Thursday.

As time went on more and more people were on facebook and it was actually kinda exciting to reconnect with people I went to high school with. And by reconnect, I mean either add them or have them add me as a friend and read their profile and say "oh, so that's what they're doing..." It got to the point where every day I would have 3 friend requests, all of which I said yes to because what was the point of being selective - it was just a silly website. And how I loved facebook, especially through my years of graduate school where I would spend countless hours during class or while studying for finals looking at people's status updates, pictures, etc. It even became a fun game of "facebook stalking" with friends and we'd all giggle at some of the ridiculous things we saw. Not something to be proud of, but we needed easy entertainment and this fit the bill.

I've noticed recently that what used to be a place to post info has now turned into a way of life. At least once a week I get a call or email saying "omg, did you see that he/she broke up with _____ because he/she hooked up with ____ when he/she drove down to _____. It's crazy, the whole thing is on facebook." I'm not going to lie, it's easy to get drawn into the gossip and gasp when you hear these stories. But the problem is that where I used to hearing about big life changes about people that I was "friends" with on facebook, I'm now hearing about engagements/pregnancies/cross country moves of my real, close friends. The conversation that results often goes as follows:

Betty: Holy crap, you're engaged/pregnant/moving to France?!
Friend: Yes! How exciting is that?!
Betty: Totally exciting...um, how come you didn't call me?
Friend: Oh you know, I didn't want to make someone feel bad by calling them first, so I figured I'd just tell all of you at the same time.
Betty: Right, I guess that works...
Friend: It's crazy, I actually changed my status update before I called my mom!
Betty: Wow...

It's more than just life changes. When people used to call and catch up, it turned into emails to say hi and now it's facebook messages or wall posts. I even had my father, who I no longer talk to, send me a Happy Birthday facebook message because he was "sure I'd see it". Now you actually have to look at the series of excessive status updates from people that you haven't talked to/have no desire to hear from and postings of people planting trees, buying cows, or whatever they do when they play farmville to read a message from your friend. And no matter how many time I change my privacy settings, people who I don't like or talk to find me and then question when I don't accept their friend request. I'm not a fan.

Several months ago I decided to take a facebook vacation. I'm a firm believer in "if you don't like it, don't read it". While it has been nice to avoid the stuff that annoys me, I have missed some important stuff from friends. Fortunately, Veronica keeps me in the loop of all our mutual friends, but I just can't stop thinking how ridiculous it is that refusing to sign on to a website can cause me to miss so much. And that deep down, I do miss the facebook stalking.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

It makes me miss my pen pals from 3rd grade.

Love,

Betty

Wedding Frustration

As you read this title, you may think "What?! Who hates weddings?" It would seem a little weird to hate them seeing that I had one. I should make it clear that I don't actually hate weddings. In fact, I'd say that I've enjoyed almost every wedding that I've gone to. As Veronica would say, "I love love" and I absolutely adore watching friends and families who are in amazing relationships get married. However, one thing that I get frustrated with are people who care more about "their wedding" than "getting married”.

When I got married, I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to wear a pretty white dress and dance the night away or that I didn’t squeal when someone bought us our ice cream maker, but what really mattered to me was having my family and friends celebrate with us. Knowing how expensive weddings can be, we tried really hard to make it affordable for our guests. We held the wedding at the time when it would be cheapest to travel where we live. We blocked hotel rooms at several different priced hotels. We had a registry with gifts in all price ranges. Every RSVP that said "yes" was exciting and a surprise. I am really grateful when other friends and families do the same.

Now, I’d never tell someone how to throw their wedding. If you want to get married in Paris, that’s awesome and I’m sure it will be gorgeous. If you want to register for a $500 slow cooker, fantastic! I bet you’ll make some delicious lemon chicken in it and I’ll likely ask you for the recipe. However, I have trouble when people expect me to “find a way” to attend these weddings. And I really hate that I feel guilty when I don’t go.

I've noticed that this has become a trend among a lot of people that I know. In fact, one girl said "I want MY WEDDING to be what I WANT and I don't care, people HAVE to come. They will find the money and deal with it." Um...why should I have to "deal"? By "deal" with it, do you mean that I can skip your wedding and not buy a gift? Because I really don’t feel like getting a new credit card so I can go. Going to weddings can be expensive, I totally get it. However, I think that people sometimes forget that their wedding may not be the #1 priority to all of their guests.

Recently I was invited to a friend’s wedding. When I got the Save the Date card, I was all prepped to go. However, as I started looking into the details of the day, I was a bit...shocked. It's a destination wedding. There are no blocked hotel rooms and the cheapest room in the area is $250/night. Nothing on the registry is under $100. At the end of the day this wedding will cost me $1000. I hate admitting it, but as dollar signs were running through my head, I thought "I'm not going." And I’m scared to send back the RSVP card because I know she’s going to be pissed.

Maybe I should blame WEtv and Bridezillas...except that Bridezillas can be extremely entertaining.

Love,

Betty