...
About nine months ago, I set up automatic credit card payments for my Visa because I was like "Hey, this is a great idea. Now I won't ever forget to make a payment. I'm so smart. Look at me being proactive and smart and managing my money. BAM. Adulthood." Well... then I realized they weren't happening on schedule and so I did the next best adult-y thing and set reminders on my calendar to make a payment on X and Y days of the month and that worked nicely. I was following that schedule quite well. I have also really REALLY tried to make and stick to a budget in the last year or so, and this means that basically every dollar I make is budgeted in some fashion so by the time payday rolls around, I do not have much money in my checking account to play around with because it's all been spent or saved in other places.
So then let's switch topics and go to a side story... A couple weeks ago, Amanda was all "HEY LET'S DO THE COLOR RUN IN TEMECULA ON THE 8TH" (because sometimes she talks in all caps) and I was like "Yeah, let's!" So I trot over to LivingSocial.com and purchase a voucher for the race. Woohoo $24! Deal! Score! Sweet! And then I am reading the fine print to see what I should be wearing/bringing to this event and they say "Register your voucher over here yadda yadda something something check in day of." So I click on the link to register my voucher and it's all very confusing, I think because there was a limit as to WHEN you could register your voucher and if you didn't do it before that day you were supposed to just bring it the day of the race. LONG STORY SHORT, I ended up somehow making a $60 purchase (through PayPal which is apparently just a ONE CLICK situation... dangerous...) for the event for which I already paid through Living Social. Cue the growling and swear words and fists balling up and angry tears and worry that I am turning into one of those people who cannot navigate websites anymore because they're too confusing and WHY CAN'T WE JUST WRITE LETTERS LIKE THE OLD DAYS and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THOSE CREDIT CARD IMPRINT MACHINES and WHERE IS MY COFFEE.
So I log into my bank account to see what this means for my account status (because payday is tomorrow which means funds are minimal) and LO AND BEHOLD... I not only have NO money left in my account, I also have a lovely overdraft fee because my automatic payments decided to kick the eff in yesterday with no warning. Oh yeah. I vaguely remember setting that up THREE QUARTERS OF A YEAR AGO. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, WELLS FARGO. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. More growling. Much more growling. Many more swear words. Much anger. Such growl. Wow. (Doge, anyone?) So anyway. I emailed the race people to see about getting my money back. If it happens in less than 10 business days I'll be floored. And now I know to expect my credit card payments to come out of my account on the 5th. Good to freaking know.
Annnnnnd deep, cleansing breath.
On to better, WAY more fun news, which is the fact that Monique's birthday was yesterday and we partied like rockstars (read: like the nerdy humans we are). I baked her an apple pie, which included cheese baked into the crust because that's apparently how ya eat it on the east coast.
The beginning... crust, cheese, apple mix, butter
Mmmmm butter
Egg wash thingy to brush over the top to make it all fancy
Ready for the oven (I hate the lighting in my kitchen... GOD... it makes everything look wan and gross)
FINISHED. Except I have notes on how to improve it (namely: bake it longer and cut the apples into smaller pieces) so I may have to make another one. But the cheese in the crust... delicious)
Monique loves burgers so we went to Slater's 50/50, which if you're not familiar is like burger mecca. They're famous for their 50/50 patty which is half ground beef half bacon. I know. My aorta just constricted, too. I didn't get a 50/50 patty because while I like bacon, it's not the be-all, end-all for me. But anyway... food (including many a fried treat) was delicious and if you created your own burger you got to name yours. Monique named hers "Mo-MotherF**ckin-Nique's Birthday Burger" (always a classic) and Julia named her "Pon Loves Shmonique" and I named mine "Could I BE anymore excited for this?" Except no one got the Chandler reference even though I put Miss Chanandaler Bong after it... Amateurs. But it was still and all a delicious meal. I'm so glad Monique is not only my friend, but also my roommate and my co-worker because lemme tell ya. Some days, I don't know how I would get through work without knowing she's on the other side of the wall ready to regale me with who was on Jimmy Fallon last night and tell me to listen to Pharrell's new album because it's the bee's knees and remind me that kale is friend not foe.
Whole gang!!
Me and the birthday girl! (Thanks, Kim, for standing on the bench for us)
Dollar Store Decorations wuzzup! Shoutout to: random box of fire wood, someone's old shoes, and my workout equipment in the corner
Pon & Shmo
The Hallers and me. True story: for about the first 6 months I knew John Haller, I was too scared to talk to him because he looked a little too much like Adam Levine and I thought it was going to be super intimidating. He is not.
So, even though there were no balloon animal pets involved in this year's birthday festivities, it was still a fabulous time. Happy birthday, Monique. You don't look a day over 30. :-) (JOKES. Please let me still eat more of your pie kthxbye.)
