Queue and Ayyy

I've been tagged by two of my favorite bloggy friends, Sarah at To Be Mrs. Collier, and Savannah at Arizona Sunshine for the Liebster Award nomination!

Thanks ladies for the blog love! 

It couldn't have come at a more perfect time considering I have a few new followers around here after sponsoring Bonnie's blog over at The Life of Bon. Which by the way, if you're looking to sponsor anyone, sponsor her...she is fantastic!

So if you're new around here, welcome!

Sarah's Questions:

1.) What's your order at Starbucks?

Usually it's a venti soy chai latte.

Iced in the summer, hot in the winter.

Mmmmm.

2.) What is the best gift you have ever received?

I should probably say something meaningful and deep, and thoughtful, but really, the first thing that comes to my mind here is the trampoline I got for Christmas as a kid.

I put a trampoline on my Christmas list for years and it just never happened. And then one year, per the usual, we finished opening up our Christmas gifts, and then my mom asked me to go let the dogs in from the backyard. I opened the curtains and there on the patio was the box for a new trampoline.

And the heavens opened up and the angels sang and it was glorious.

3.) When you brush your teeth, where do you start in your mouth?

Bottom, back, left

4.) Where is your favorite place to eat in your city?

I'd probably have to go with Elmers Tacos, a little bit of a hole-in-the-wall right across the street from my high school. We used to eat there just about everyday during high school, and we still make the trip over there every now and then.

5.) What did you want to be when you grew up?

Kate Hudson. I wanted to be Kate Hudson.

But then I got over that.

6.) What is your favorite part of your day?

When I get home from work and take off my shoes, my pants, and my bra.

TMI?

7.) What is the first thing you do when you get home from work?

See above.

8.) Do you have any road trip rituals?

Pee at every single rest stop.

I really can't avoid it even if I tried.

9.) What is something you always wanted to learn but never got around to it?

Tuvan throat singing.

10.) What type of chapstick or lipgloss do you wear?
Eos errrry day.

Savanna's Questions:

1.) What's been your most favorite vacation?

My honeymoon in Riviera Maya Mexico

It was the shiz.

2.) If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Easy, mac n' cheese.

3.) What's the most inspirational book or movie you've ever read or seen?
Harry Potter.
Duh.

4.) If you couldn't live where you live right now, where would you live and why?
I'd be a snowbird to Alaska in the summer, a vacation home in Hawaii, a cabin up in northern AZ, and another cabin in Lake Tahoe.
It's not asking too much right?

5.) What one thing would you tell your 16 year old self?
Don't freak out, you guys get married anyway.

6.) If you could live in any other time period what would it be?
Does the wizarding world count as a time period?

7.) If you were an animal what would you be and why?
A monkey! They have so much fun swinging all around and climbing all over things.
So jealous.

8.) If you had to pick a movie to be your life, what would you pick?
Hmm...Pitch Perfect? Cause I would love to be friends with Fat Amy, and Skylar Astin is waaaay cute.
Way cute.

9.) What stereotypical "man" job would you like to try out?

President of the United States.

10.) What's your favorite pizza topping?

Pepperoni.

11.) What's your favorite form of social media?

Instagram for the win!!!

Follow me @MissRiss0409

10 Things I Want to Know but Was Too Afraid to Ask

You know that feeling when you really want to know the answer to something, but it may seem like common knowledge to most, so you hold back your questions for fear of looking stupid?

For example, I'm sure there's a crap ton of you out there that have no idea what's happening in Syria, but you won't ask because you don't want to look uninformed. Am I right?  Just me?   Anyway, I've compiled a list of things (almost as important as Syria) that I really want to know, but until now, have never asked.   1.) Is it "ratchet" or "ratched?" Either way, the definition is Miley Cyrus, right?   2.) What does "turnt up" mean?   3.) Who is Glen Coco?   4.) Iz dis spelling a reflekshun of your intelligenzz, or iz dis how da kool kids do it now?   5.) When someone asks you, "what it do?" how do you answer that?   6.) What is this emoji doing?

  7.) What does ZOMG stand for?   8.) Why is there a tip jar at the self-serve frozen yogurt joint? It's self-serve, no?    9.) Are gourmet cupcakes still a thing?
10.) And most importantly, where and how do I search for gifs?! I can't be a real blogger if I don't use gifs. And if you tell me Tumblr...I can't figure out how to use that either.

Now that you've officially judged me, and I don't blame you for doing so, help a girl out Mmmmk?

For the record, I can sing you all the words to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song, which totally makes up for all the above.

...I should find a gif for that. 

 

A Less Than Thrilling Weekend

Do you want to know how fantastic my weekend was?

I never put any make-up on. Not even once.

I took a nap on both Saturday and Sunday.

I ate Chinese food.

I drank wine.

I paid bills.

I watched football.

I watched baseball.

Aaaaaand that about sums it up.

Naturally, based on all the above-mentioned, I have no fancy pictures to show for it.

You're probably like, why is this girl even posting about her weekend if it was boring and doesn't even include pictures?

I really don't have a good answer for that.

Oh, actually, I got to hang out with my niece this weekend too. And I do have a picture of that.

No matter how the rest of this post goes down, it's all OK now cause we have a picture of Miley.

She's just the cutest.

I also really wanted to tell you all about the cuh-ray-zee ASU vs. Wisconsin football game that went down on Saturday, but truth be told, I really have no idea what happened. It doesn't seem like the media does either, with headlines containing words like, "bizarre final play," "controversial ending," "strange finish," etc. etc. ASU won and that's all that matters. Everything else is something like, 18 seconds left, QB did nor did not take a knee, whistle may or may not have been blown, all while the clock ran out and we won by 2.

Google the rest, it's fine.

And that's all I got for today.

Go easy on me Monday, would ya?

H54F

Linking up with Lauren today for my fav weekly blog partaaaay and my five favs from this week!

1.) Out of town guests 

My sister's wedding shower was last weekend (read about the scandal here), so a few of my family from out of town flew in for the weekend. We all had so much fun and I can't wait to see everyone again in October!

2.) Halloween DIY

Had a little DIY sesh for new holiday decorations.

Diggin' my tulle wreath.

You can try and tell me it's too early to put up Halloween decorations, but I've figured out a way to justify it to myself, so I'm totally OK with it.

3.) Harry Potter spin-off(ish)

Word on the street is JK Rowling is writing a movie script that's sorta kinda a spin-off of the Harry Potter series (aka the best book series ever written in the history of man and wizarding kind). I don't even care that Harry and company won't be in it - I just heard the words "JK Rowling" and "wizarding world" in the same sentence and I've been fan-girling out ever since.

4.) The pumpkin train

I jumped on it this week.

And I'm loooooving it.

5.) ASU vs. Wisconsin this weekend

Ooooh boy I'm excited for Saturday night.

It's gonna be a blackout at Sun Devil Stadium, and the game has been all over everything this week here in AZ...and it pumps me up.

Go Devils!

Happy Friday folks!

A Wedding Shower Scandal

I have a friend at work who's from China, and when I told her I had a wedding shower to go to last weekend she said, "there's not an actual shower involved is there?"

Fortunately, no. I'm not down for group showers.

My sister, however, was down for a shower before her October wedding.

A shower of gifts, duh?!!

So that's what we did. We showered her with gifts.

And ate.

And drank (sangria, and champs over sherbet to be exact. Dee-freakin-lish).

And played games.
Bridal Scattegories

The Newlywed game, where every question you answer incorrectly you have to put a piece of bubble gum in your mouth.

The memory apron game

Hopefully mom doesn't get mad at me for that one...

And then the shower ended, fun was had by all, and all was well.

At least that's what we thought.

And THEN Audrey dropped the bomb that for the Newlywed game we played, where Adam, her fiance, was interviewed beforehand, and then Audrey was required to guess his answers...they freakin' cheated.
Adam told her the answers ahead of time.

Cheaters.

So what do you do when the soon-to-be bride and groom collaboratively ruin your bridal shower games by cheating?

You publicly shame them.

And that's what I intend to do.

They're lucky I don't get Nate on here.
As I sat down to write this post Nate goes, "They're f***ing cheaters!! Am I allowed to put that on your blog? Do I need a blog for that? To tell people they're f***ing cheaters?"

I'm gonna go with yes, get your own blog for that, cause we don't use that language 'round these parts.

Anyway...I can't decide if the cone of shame should go to Audrey for asking for the answers, or Adam for giving them to her.
I think it should be equal parts cone of shame.
Cause they're equal parts cheaters.
So they can be equally publicly shamed.

I realize an actual cone of shame is not on their registry, but they should know what to expect as their wedding gift from me.
That and maybe a card full of expletives.
Maybe.

She's lucky we took this picture, because every time I look at it, I'm over the cheating scandal.

And this one.

Adam on the other hand, I don't have any pictures with him, sooooo...he's still on the hook.

For shame Adam, for shame.

Backstreet's Back

Last week I enjoyed a blast from the past, and saw the Backstreet Boys in concert for their 

In a World Like This tour. 

My friend and coworker Yaping and I, sang along to all the words and screamed like teenagers whenever Brian opened his mouth to sing...or maybe that was just me.

I'm Team Brian all the way. ...and you should be too

 

They're touring for their new CD, but if we're being honest, I'm pretty sure everyone went to see
them perform the oldies.

The goodies.

The oldies but goodies.

In case you were wondering, Kevin's eyebrows are as thick as ever, Nick still thinks he's the sexy one, Brian still is the sexy one, Howie got rid of his ponytail, and AJ is still weird.

And I love all of it.

When I posted about the concert on Insta I used the hashtag #90sgirlsolutions...cause, well the Backstreet Boys were, and still are full of solutions to your 90s girl problems.

I dub them: Backstreet Solutions

Problem: You're afraid to get into a relationship cause you don't wanna get hurt

Backstreet solution: They'll never break your heart

Problem: There's nothing going on this Friday night
Backstreet solution: They've got it goin' on
...for years mind you.

Problem: You can't find good dating advice in high school
Backstreet solution: If you want it to be good girl, get yourself a bad boy

Problem: It's impossible to find a good, open-minded guy
Backstreet soultion: They don't care who you are, where you're from...heck they don't even care what you did, as long as you love them

Problem: You can't decide if your denim skirt is too short
Backstreet solution: They want it that way

See, and you thought BSB was just a bunch of boy-banders.
I would even go so far as to say, not only do they have a plethora of solutions to offer for your most pressing issues, they also pose deep, though-provoking questions on the issues of the day.
Things like,
Am I original?
Am I the only one?
Am I sexual?...yes, Nick Carter. Yes you are.

On that note, I'm gonna go find my favorite flavor Lip Smacker in my hot pink Caboodle, sit down in my blow-up chair and listen to some more BSB on my Walkman.

6 Things You Should Know, Plus a Few More

Some of you may have noticed this "6 Things You Should Know" post going around blogland. Thanks to my new bloggy friend Savannah over at Arizona Sunshine, I'm happy to report I've been tagged. 

I'm not gonna lie, it makes me feel like a cool kid when I get tagged for the latest blog trends.

Also, my good bloggy friend Lauren from Letters and Lipstick also tagged me in a series of get-to-know-you Q and A's. And since she said, and I quote, "...you girls better answer them. Please." I figured I better oblige. 

I'd hate to see Lauren get all cray up in hurr.

6 Things You Should Know...

1.) What is the story behind your blog name?

Easy - my last name starts with a T. Ergo de facto...T is for Townsend.

2.) What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Pick your battles.

I've heard this piece of advice, in particular, go out to parents...I'm no parent but I'm finding it especially helpful with husbands too.

3.) Why do you blog?

Easy - for the text I get from my mom that says, "LOVE your blog!" after a good post.

Just kidding.

Kind of.

But really, umm, it's a creative outlet? It gives me an excuse for the obscene amount of pictures I take on a regular basis? "It's for the blog, you can't be mad at me..."

It's an awesome tool for memory-keeping? It's cheaper than scrapbooking?

4.) What is one thing you love about yourself?

My height. Sort of. I'm 5 ft. nothing.

I hate it when I can't reach the dishware in my own kitchen cabinets without climbing on the counters, BUT I can get pretty comfy in most any situation. My specialties are road trips and planes. I can fold up and go to sleep a lot easier than the 6 ft. tall dude sitting next to me.

Also, backseat passengers love me as I don't require a lot of leg room in the front seat. 

5.) What is the naughtiest thing you've ever done?

Scandalous! 

Probably nothing. I pretty much walk the straight and narrow on a regular basis. 

And I'm totally cool with that, by the way...even if you're judging me right now.

I got so drunk I threw up at my bachelorette party. Does that count? 

...It was the first and the last time I ever did that.

A couple girlfriends and I stole the portable heater in the girls bathroom and put it in our cabin at church camp one year. How about that?

Oooh, my mom and I drove around the round-about twice today. WITH a car waiting on us.

Provocative. I know.

6.) What is your favorite song and why?

Who can really pick a favorite song. A SONG. One. Singular. It's impossible. So I'm gonna list a few...cause I'm rebellious like that. Maybe that should've gone in my #5?

Ooh Child - The Five Stairsteps 

Don't ask me why. All I know is that my mom used to listen to the oldies radio station when I was a kid and I just loved this song. Still do. 

Jesus Paid it All - Kristian Stanfill 

Cause I love Jesus and I love to worship him. 

"Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead."

Tim McGraw - All We Ever Find

Cause Nate told me he listened to it every night before he went to bed while he was in Iraq. Cause the words were really real for those 15 months.

And then it was the last song we danced to at our wedding.

Justin Moore - Bait a Hook

Cause I have a bit of a superiority complex and I really feel like my husband is better than your husband. He can bait a hook, and skin a buck, and a bunch of other manly things.

Lauren's Q and A

1.) If you could be paid to do your hobby what would you do?

Write.

2.) Favorite Disney Princess?

That's tricky, cause I like Ariel cause she gets to swim around all day unda da sea, but I also like Belle's really pretty yellow ball gown, and Sleeping Beauty gets some killer naps I'm pretty jealous of.

3.) If you could have any superpower what would it be?

That's a loaded question if I ever heard one.

Maybe to be able to wish for any superpower at any point in time and have it be granted to me?

4.) What kind of car do you drive?

Hyundai Tucson. Just got it this summer!

5.) City or country?

Country...probably. I think. As long as there's a Target.

6.) What do you drink at Sonic?

A Route 44 Diet Coke with regular cherry flavor and easy ice please.

7.) What is your favorite clothing item?

Umm..?? Undies? You kind of have to have them right? Actually, I guess that can be open to interpretation for some people. Whoa TMI.

Can I change my answer?

8.) What is your favorite sport to watch?

Baseball. Basketball. Football. And Gymnastics.

And curling.

Just kidding. Curling's not a sport. Nobody watches curling.

I'm tagging Tyah, Kayla, and Ashley. 

All real-life friends and blog-life friends.

I always love a good two-fer.

Your questions are:

1.) How much do you love Carissa Townsend?

Just kidding. That's totally not your question. But I'm funny right?!

For reals: 

1.) What made you want to start blogging?

2.) If you had to go back and re-name your dog based on their personality, what would it be?

3.) Favorite TV show?

4.) If you were stuck on a deserted island for a bunch of years, a la Castaway, and you could bring three items, what would you bring? (I know, it's a oldie but a goodie)

5.) Most embarrassing moment?

6.) If Expedia offered you a trip, but you had to leave tomorrow (as advertised), would you do it? And where would you pick to go?