When I joined 20SB on ning, I think it was in October or November of last year. It was quite small compared to what it is now! I was new to blogging and was welcome by this great little community of bloggers, I still remember the first blogs I read from there.

Now it’s close to 3,000 members!

3,000 bloggers just like me.

People who’ve been there, done that and took the time to share their story with me. People who send a ‘hello friend!’ email when it seems like I’ve had a rough day or just to see what’s new. People who’ve made me feel like I’m not so alone. People who have made me laugh day in and day out with their posts and comments. People who I felt sad along with when something bad happened. People who I otherwise wouldn’t have met and be best friends with. People who I traveled to San Francisco to go meet. People who want to hang out when they come to Chicago. People who are some of the best writers I’ve ever read.

People that are now friends.

Yesterday I found out I was featured blogger. I couldn’t hold back my excitement. I’m really happy I found the 20SB community and that’s it’s become what it is today.

Thank you. It means a lot that you take the time out to read my blog. I may just be another blog on your reader or you might stop by occasionally…whatever it maybe, I appreciate it.

You guys rock.

A few weeks ago, Jessica Maria asked her readers if she should pick up the hyped up, bloodsucking teenage novel, Twilight. I was like – you jump, I jump and so our super awesome internetz book club was born. We both finished it and last night we talked Edward Twilight.

It’s kind of long and my formatting got screwed up but if you are a fan of Twilight or thinking about reading them or just plain interested in how a convo with either of us would go, check it out. Oooh, and there is pictures – pretty vampire pictures! Those alone are worth it!

Jessica: you’ve effin’ finished the SECOND book?!

Jessica: you’re on the third or have you finished the third??

Jamie: it’s ridiculous. i went to target saturday night and picked up the second and third

Jamie: and now have finished both

Jamie: i’m kind of ridiculous

Jamie: but i was totally sucked in and NEEDED to know what happened.

Jessica: right right

Jessica: i finished the first and definitely want to know what happened

Jessica: well, let’s talk about the FIRST one hahaha

Jamie: hahah i know right, jumping ahead of myself here!

Jessica: okay, so a of all, if i was fifteen this would be a tome for me

Jessica: as a military kid who went to three high schools and was always the new kid

Jessica: but i would have turned into a sulky kid, without an edward… so it’s good i didn’t read it in highschool

Jamie: seriously, high school girls are dying right now because there is no edward in their lives

Jamie: no one to dazzle them!

Jessica: oh gawd

Jessica: some her words though – like “dazzle”

Jessica: made me scrunch up my face

Jamie: really! i was like who says that!?

Jessica: there were a lot of really funny lines that made me laugh

Jessica: oh man! there was one that was SO hilarious, but i forgot to mark it

Jessica: it was like, “if he left i would only be left with a perilous anguish and depression” – cheese

Jamie: i know! it was so dramatic at times

Jessica: okay, also, nobody in the entire story ever smiled

Jessica: is the word “smile” in the book?

Jessica: all i picture are intense stares

Jamie: agreed. everyone was so serious

Jessica: she’s always disgruntled and edward is always just intense and silentish

Jessica: even the end when she’s supposed to be yay! happy! i’m alive!

Jessica: she’s all complaininz about makeup and a dress

Jamie: it was prom! that’s what people do! how did she not know about it

Jamie: obviously lost in edward’s dazzle-ing

Jessica: hahaha

Jamie: it made me laugh about the kid who showed up at her house thinking they were going to prom together though

Jessica: haha, that is true

Jessica: he was a little comic relief in all the “i’m gonna hunt you down and killz you” stuff

Jessica: and ps you can’t be with me because you’re gonna die and i will live forever

Jamie: and then OMGZ I’m old!

Jamie: you’re like a year older, chill!

Jessica: that freak out was so stupid

Jessica: she’s all sad on her birthday and angry on prom

Jessica: dude, your boyfs is hot and loves you eternally and you’re all disappointed with life?

Jessica: ps you’re alive, you almost died.

Jamie: okay this is kind of stupid but in the beginning when they were talking about how they dont hunt humans

Jamie: i was thinking well wtf how do they survive?!

and i was well Carlisle is a doctor at a hospital and they have blood there! they totes steal blood for like infusions and stuff

Jessica: hahaha great guesswork! too bad they like ‘em grizzlies and mountain lions

Jessica: okay okay okay important part: edward is fucking hot

Jamie: um YEAH he is!

Jessica: so after finishing the book i totally looked up the movie trailer and how they cast the movie…

Jamie: hahah i was going to bring this up !

Jessica: and that dude is kind of how i imagined him

Jessica: as in, that dude is fucking hot. oh hey! you fit!

(more…)

Things that make me cranky:

- waking up for the day when it is still dark out
- waking up
- not enough sleep
- the weather getting cold (fall is fine but beyond brisk SUCKS)
- little dachshunds that bark incessantly at 4AM
- 3 year olds that don’t listen
- slacking on my blogs (which I am currently doing)
- trying to find another part time job

Blah.

What makes you cranky?

[polldaddy poll="999873"]

Who will win?

Over at the most adorable dog blog you ever did see, we are looking for some guest posters. Have a pet? Cat, fish, dog, pet rock? Whatever it is,  write up a post, take a picture or two and send it to whosyourdachshund@gmail.com

I’m having a giveaway for a sling at Oh How Lovely Shops. Don’t have any kids? It would make a great gift for someone who does or has one on the way! Go check it out.

I won a contest and got my prize last week. It’s officially my new favorite etsy shop. Take a look at my adorable package and what was inside here!

Over at Rone Break, I’m talking about gun shoes. Tacky? Offensive? Fierce? I want to hear what you think!

There is something super amazing awesome in the works! Once it’s all finalized, I’ll probably share or maybe keep it a surprise until it happens. It’s going to be fun though.

I’ll end this at watch the Project Runway finale tonight. I’m still pulling for Leanne!

P.S. I totally use exclamation points way to much.

P.P.S. !!!

P.P.P.S. Whatever. You love it.

P.P.P.P.S (!)

Man, I’ve really been slacking on these award things. Numerous people have given me some in the last few months and I suck at remembering to pass them on. I apologize, I get easily distracted by pretty, shiny things! It’s true, you should have seen me in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s last weekend.

Time to stop slackin’ and pass some of these lovely awards on!

My west coast BFF gave me this Kick Ass Blogger award because duh, she is kick ass as am I. I’m hopping on a plane to LA one of these days, Katelin. We can watch our shows and be on celeb lookout!

I’m giving this to:

Meghan @ Blog Voyeur Turned Blog Whore because I hope she starts blogging again soon!

Hope @ Hope Dies Last

Jessica Maria @ Tried to Live Forever Every Day of the Year

Stealthnerd @ Strict Shenaniganist

Alexa @ Cleveland is a Plum

My favorite Boston gal, Julie Q, gave me the I Heart Your Blog award. As did the ever so lovely Girl Jordyn, my soon to be cupcake date, Erin (seriously, let’s set a date!) and the fabulous Just Lizabelle.

I’m only picking ten because linking 20 blogs would just be crazy!

Jess @ Jess Writes

Bobbie @ Blonde Ambitious

Kyla @ Kyla Bea

Danni @ Oh Hello Friend

Michelle @ Michelle Woo

Ashley D @ Turquoise Ribbons

Matt @ Mr 5280

Ashley Marie @ Our Little Apartment

Meg Kathleen @ Golightly

Marie @ Marie’s Blog Cafe

But seriously, all the bloggers on my blogroll and links page are super great and you should check them out. One of these days, I will update the links page and add my new found friends to it so don’t be upset and complain if you aren’t on it at the moment. I know that’s been happening a bit lately around the blogosphere and well, no one likes a bratty blogger!

So thank you ladies for the awards and pass them on!

In Las Vegas, there is a lot of skin almost everywhere you go. Go go dancers in corsets, dealers in lingerie, girls in bathtubs with  only rose petals on their nipples (yes, at Tao), scantily clad club goers and I’ll go on to say that most are very attractive.

Really, if four days of that wasn’t enough to make me feel like a ginormous cow, I don’t know what was.

Now I’m not saying if I had a body like that I would walk around next to naked but I do wish I had that kind of confidence.

I want to be comfortable in my own skin.

Funny that being around a bunch of barely dressed women with my boyfriend was what I needed to stop this cycle, isn’t it?

I’m tired of being like this.

I want to be one of those girls that turns heads.

I want my boyfriend to feel like his has the prettiest girl in the room.

And for once, I want to feel like I can agree with him.

It’s time for serious change.

I’ve been majorly slacking. Normally, I have posts written for all, well most, of my blogs and scheduled to go. I believe this is what we call Vegas brain. I have a serious case of it.

Returning to the real world is just not as fun as slot machines, walking the strip, plotting ways to break into shops in the Forums, planning out exactly how you are going to worm your way through Mariah Carey’s entourage and hang out with that crazy bitch.

Seriously, Chicago has nothing on Las Vegas!

After a ridiculous flight in sitting in front of three freshly 21 year olds, I wanted to kill myself. No, really, I wanted to bust out the window next to me and squeeze my big ass out of it in flight because they were so amazingly annoying that I didn’t even this this kind of annoying existed. First, I had to listen to them plot out how they were going to bring down the casino a la 21 and practice counting cards. Then I had to listen to this kid sing the same part of Paper Planes over and over very loudly. After which, dealt with him kicking my seat repeatedly. The lone girl in the group would moan because they were being annoying but she was just as annoying with her moaning. Throw in a chorus of GO, DJ! THAT’S MY DJ! and some fake vomiting sounds, I was about ready to jump over the back of my seat and murder them.

We stayed at Planet Hollywood this time which was a great choice. Our room was Macaulay Culking themed. Of course, one would expect Home Alone but it was Getting Even With Dad, complete with a tshirt little he wore during filming. There is nothing like waking up to Macaulay as soon as you open your eyes. Okay, it was kind of creepy. I loved our hotel, Planet Dailies has great food and a ginormous ice cream sundae that we unfortunately didn’t have a chance to get this time, the mall was right next to us which was quite convenient. Our first walk through the casino and William spots Vanilla Ice playing craps. I was very tempted to go up and ask him for a photo but he was surrounded by tons of dudes and I wasn’t about to be the one female all up in that.

making our way to the Fashion Show mall near the Wynn and Treasure Island

That night we decide to hit up Tao in the Venetian. This place was kind of ridiculous. If you do clubs and happen to be in Las Vegas, make this your first stop. I will recommend not buying a new pair of heels hours before you go because they will murder your feet and you will spend the whole night withering in pain but still trying to enjoy yourself. That place is definitely on my list of places to go back to with proper footwear. This totally wouldn’t had happened if I had my adorable peep toe shoes that mysteriously disappeared

If you are a buffet person, check out the Wynn. They had everything you could possibly imagine. The chicken noodle soup was so so soooo good. The had a make your own pasta bar. Seafood, sushi, Italian, Mexican, fried chicken, bacon cut from the slab, everything. The dessert bar was crazy! Definitely go there.

Next time I go to Las Vegas, I want to stay in the Palms. We went their one night to check out Moon, Ghostbar and the Playboy club. Moon was shut down for an event which sucked but we made our way into Playboy. The dj played good music, the vibe was cool. I really liked it. We ended up practically shutting the place down so we didn’t get a chance to go to Ghostbar.

My favorite casino hands down was Paris. I loved the inside of it! Mon Ami Gabi is on my list of places to go to next time.

I took this photo sitting on the steps outside of our hotel

We went to Caesar’s Palace because I wanted to go look at the Forum shops. I’m pretty sure I could live in there. I may or may not have been pressed up against the glass of Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Fendi looking longingly at beautiful things. I also found out that night that Mariah Carey would be hosting the Bank at the Bellagio. I was this close to trying to talk boyfriend into going because I LOVE Mariah. Daydream was the first cd I ever owned and it’s been a love affair since even when she was passing out popsicles in a big tshirt on TRL.

In the Venetian, we went on a gondola and were serenaded by our gondolier. We were also stared at and had our photos taken by many a tourist which was kind of creepy.  We caught the fountains at the Bellagio many times since it was right across the street from our hotel. My favorite time was when it went along with Sinatra.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures because I was just enjoying myself and forgot about the camera but there are a couple more over at my flickr.

All I know is, I’m ready to go back.

Now.

The video for Britney’s new single, Womanizer, debuted last night. The video makes me like the song more. I wasn’t that sold on the song before. Britney looks AMAZING!

No, I didn’t get knocked up, have a kid in the short time I was in Vegas. And no, I’m not talking about my own mother, even though we all know how awesome she is. Hah.

I’m talking about me: the bad puppy mom.

Last week, I treated Edie for fleas (ew, I know, blahblahblah). I Frontlined her, bathed her, washed bedding, clothes, ordered natural flea powder – I did everything.

I came home from Vegas and noticed she was a little scratchy still but I figured it was nothing a bath wouldn’t cure. Yesterday she was still scratching so I tried to look at her belly and she had red, painful looking bumps all over her lower belly, legs and thighs and refused to let me look at it. Normally, this dog would let me do anything to her, roll her around, grab her paws, whatever so I knew something was really up. I promptly freaked out, because that is what I do, and called up my vet.

The vet managed to squeeze her in a few hours later and in the waiting room, of course, my pup charmed the pants off of everyone who so much looked at her. It was our turn and she smoozled the vet a little before her examination and gave plenty of kisses. Then I had to help the vet look at her belly because she would try to wiggle away if you did.

Turns out Edie has had a reaction to all the itching from the flea bites and has a slight infection.

I felt horrible and wanted to sink into the ground. I leave for a few days, come back and my puppers has an infection, is hurting and uncomfortable. So she had a shot of steroids yesterday and we were sent home with two sets of pills. She has some antibiotics and more steroid pills to help with the itching.

Worst puppy mom ever.

I can assure you, pup, lots of puppy cuddles, new toys, treats and peanut butter will be given in order to make up for my slacker parenting!