Don Pablos of Doom, Part 2

This officially begins my boycott of the Christiana Don Pablos.

We went for lunch today. I know its 3 days before Christmas, so I figured it would be busy, but they were SEVERELY under staffed. It took about 10 minutes to get us seated even thought the restaurant was half empty. Waitress took forever getting our drinks and then when we ordered she had to ask me like 3 times what I wanted. I can get over that. The biggest thing that annoyed me about her was the fact that she kept touching me. Like every time she said something to me she would put her hand on my arm or shoulder. Note to all servers: Do NOT touch your patrons. She also got annoyed because Justin drank his soda fast (its was filled to the top with ice, so he really only had about 2 sips in each glass). At one point she told him he was cut off. She was only sort of joking.

So, the actual reason for my boycott: the guy who brought our food out dumped an entire cup of ranch dressing on me. I started to wipe it off with the one napkin I had and he kind of tried to help but more or less just stared at me. Yes it was a brand new coat and yes, it is dry clean only. He finally came back with some more napkins and help to clean some of it up but then started to walk away with out taking the pile of ranch coated napkins and the plate that was splatted. I kind of figured at some point the manager (or our server) would come over and say something, but we didn't see the manager or our server for about 20 minutes. By that time, I just wanted to leave. It took her another 15 minutes on top of that to get us our check.

So when all was said and done, it was a two hour lunch that consisted of soup & salad and a few tacos. Seriously?!?!?!

So frustrating!!!

Don Pablos of Doom

I know I haven't written anything in months but I finally had something happen to actually write about. Its a long story but it was pretty funny and stupid...

I got home from a baby shower in NJ around 7pm last night and wanted a quick and easy dinner, so we went to Don Pablos. There was about a 5 minute wait. When our little buzzer went off the nice hostess lady took us to our table but then decided that the table she brought us to wouldn't seat all of us because she apparently decided there were 3 of us. So we followed her and she took us to another table and said ok, here's a table for 3. I told her there were still only 2 of us so she took us back to the original table she took us to. She told us our server would be stacey. So then a guy shows up and says his name is james. So i guess we no longer have stacey. I think it would have been better if we had stacey.

James takes our order. I asked for Tortilla soup and a pick 2 with a cheese enchilada and a crispy chicken taco, Justin ordered a fajita salad. He had me repeat my order to him and then read it back to me correctly. So I get my soup and its super yummy and it has bottomless refills, so when he asked if I would like another and I said SURE! So he went to go get that. In the meantime, our entrees arrived. The guy who brought our food (not our waiter) says, ok, who got the matador? We both looked at him funny. And he was like, "so who's is this? the matador thing was a joke." Neither of us got it. So it turned out to be my entree but it had a soft chicken taco - not a crispy one. So I said, ok, its mine but its wrong. I told him it was supposed to be crispy and he told me he would get me another one...ok.

So then our waiter shows up with my soup. Except it was Chicken chili soup. So i stopped him and was like, hey, wrong soup. So he took it back and went to go get the tortilla soup. The other guy who was getting my crispy taco comes back with a new taco and walks away. I look at it and its beef. So then our waiter comes back with my correct soup and we tell him that its a beef taco and i ordered chicken. He seems flustered now. So he takes the taco back and tells me he will get the right one. so I sit there happily eating my soup and the other guy who brought us the other food comes by and says he has a Chicken Chili soup refill for us. We tell him its not ours, I already got my soup and thats the wrong soup anyway. He looks confused. So then the manager walks by and asks us how things are. We tell him what is going on and as we're talking to him my correct taco shows up. He is satisfied that we now have the correct order and looks super happy and walks away. We finish our food and get the check. Nothing was taken off of it and our waiter didn't really appologize for the MAJOR problems and the delays in actually getting me food. The food was good - when I finally got what I ordered. Silly Don Pablos. If only they ever trained their staff.

The Other Blog!

Don't get jealous...I haven't left this blog for another blog (even though I do neglect this one). Justin and I have started a dual blog. You can find it at http://www.justin-kristen.com/. Its also in my sidebar - Our After Wedding Blog. We'll be posting updates to our lives and such. Yippee!

NOOOOOO!

So we came back from dinner like 3 hours after I made Petunia and...

Poor Petunia! So sad. Maybe it will snow again and I can make a new one.

Look! Look! Its SNOWING!!!!

Hi.

Here is our Christmas tree from this year (which I am actually taking down tonight):

We thought it was pretty.

So I have wanted it to snow for like over a month now and today, it has finally happened. So much so that I was able to build a nice little snow girl on the back porch. She is about 4 feet tall. So here is Petunia:

She gets her name because she has dried flowers on her. I'm so crafty.

So anyway, not much new. Justin is working 80 hour weeks again. He's on call now. Sad. My father is in Florida for 2 weeks, so my mother came down to visit for 2 days, so I'm not alone when Justin is on call. We went to Don Pablo's for lunch and it was super. Tomorrow I have to take her home and then go see some clients and do paperwork and stuff. I am super excited to MLK day off. YAY another short week next week!!!!!!!

Ok. I think that's it. Time for dinner and tree disassembling.

Halloween!!!

So here is a picture of our adorable pumpkin family.

I like that white one that looks like a pac man ghost and also the siamese twin pumpkins to the left of the big pumpkin. But of course, no one saw them but us because we didn't have ANY trick or treaters. Lame. So now we have a whole big basket of candy. Since I will probably eat the whole thing, I will bring it to the office instead.

Also, we got 2 new cars yesterday. Yes, I got rid of the Mini. Yes, it is sad. Everyone say a prayer for Daisy and hope she gets a nice new owner. I got a RAV4. Its shiny and has lots of nifty features (that even the Mini didn't have - like built in bluetooth). Justin got another Highlander. His is also shiny. We are both happy. Now I can fit things in my trunk, so that's pretty great. AND I can drive me and 3 whole other people (and a small child) around with me, though that is unlikely to happen.

Scott and Gina bought a house in West Philly, they move in this weekend. Justin and I are going to be moving things in my parents storage space with them. YAY stuff. And there is so much stuff in that storage space.

Ok, back to work...

This is the funniest thing I have seen in a while

Hi.

So, I've been bored at work today and I stumbled across this wonderful clip on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBT4-EXqddo&NR=1

The actual video is funny (and I actually feel bad for the model), but its the commentary that makes me giggle.

YOU MUST WATCH IT!

Now honestly...who put her in those shoes? and a watering can? Dumb.

Hey there!

So here's what's happened since I last posted.

Justin graduated from Med School. YAY!!! He's a real doctor now!

We got married the weekend after that. The wedding was lovely. Everything went exactly as we planned. It was pretty awesome...though it is a complete blur. And I had the bestest bridesmaids in the whole world!

We went to NYC for our honeymoon for 3 days. We hung out, saw Spamalot and Avenue Q, had some good dinners. It was great but WAY too short. Maybe we'll take another one in a few years.

The day we got back from our honeymoon we finished packing up our lives (and presents) and moved to Delaware. We have a nice townhouse and a bunch of room which is a nice step up from the apartment. Though I do miss Conshohocken a lot.

I went to the Bahamas for a business conference. I also managed to get a tan. We went to Atlantis - good family resort but it wasn't for me. If I had kids aged 6-12, it would have been pretty awesome. It was beyond expensive. Mind you, I have been a lot of places and I have never felt so ripped off for what I got ( Example: Buffet Breakfast that cost $27 per person. Yeah, I spent $27 for an english muffin and a bowl of grits. They were pretty good grits though). I went shopping there, too. Got 3 pairs of shoes. Mmmmm Versace and Ferragamo.

Justin is now in his internship year - working for Christiana Care. Think early seasons of Scrubs. He works a lot of hours.

I still have my same old job. Woo. I work in Exton, PA; Cherry Hill, NJ and home. Its a pretty lengthy commute for the few days a week I do go to the office. I personally prefer to work in comfy clothes - at home.

So Delaware has me bored out of my skull. There isn't a whole lot to do - nor do I seem to have a lot of time to do a whole lot. It would be nicer if Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond were closer. Oh well. I have started to cook a lot more, so thats good. This is primarily because Justin doesn't really like chains and the non-chains have been less than stellar. Though we did find a really good sushi place down the street.

So Tim is coming over tonight for a few days. Justin's (and Tim and Lauren's) parents (and Aunt Mel) went to Alaska for a cruise. We figured Tim should come hang out with us.

Funny story...I was on the phone with Danielle yesterday and she was telling me how her boyfriend Mike was going to Alaska for a week or so. I though it was a weird coincidence that they were going near the same time (the parents left 2 days before Danielle's boyfriend). Turns out they're all on the same cruise boat. How random is that? What are the odds?

I go to Colorado for a conference and a due diligence meeting. I go to Colorado Springs and Denver. Wooo Boring!!! It would be nice to see the lovliness of Colorado Springs but I doubt that is going to happen. At least not during daylight hours...

Oh! We got our wedding pictures back. This is one of my favorites...





Well thats all for now...I'm sure I'll be back in a few months!

A lot going on but not much to say

Hi.

Its been pretty busy for me lately. Work, wedding, moving, other crap...takes up a lot of time.

Justin got his internship in Delaware, so we're (more than likely) going to move to Delaware the week after the wedding. We're going to start packing shortly.

I had one of my bridal showers a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome, though I am not used to having that many people looking at me at once. We got lots of super gifts and it was really fun to see everyone outside of work.

We're sort of almost done with wedding stuff. I guess it never really ends until the day of the wedding, but we're getting there. Limos/tuxedos/flowers/programs/blah blah blah. Who would have thought it was so time consuming!

Anyway, work has been crazy. I have a lot of new responsibilities, which is good...and bad. I'm here a lot more then I used to be, which has been making the wedding planning/moving hard to figure out.

Well that's my update...nothing earth shattering to report and I doubt there will be any time soon.

Shoes are AWESOME!

Its been awhile.

Surgery went well. Obviously I am still alive. I can breathe again, especially when I sleep. Now I sneeze and its like an earthquake. Not something I had taken into consideration when getting the tonsils out... Now I have to relearn how to sneeze.

Anyway. Halloween was boring. We didn't do anything. We didn't even have any trick or treaters.

Thanksgiving was nummy. Justin and I were at my parents this year. Lots of food. Lots of YAY.

Work has been really really busy lately. We just finished up some major year end stuff this week, so today is kind of slow. But we had a really great year. Lots of work.

So that brings me to today.

Sandy and I went to the QVC FFANY shoe sale today. This is a shoe sale where all the designers donate shoes to QVC and they sell them on air and all proceeds go to breast cancer research. The on air sale is in september, I think. Anyway, today is the day they have it in the studio store. Its all the shoes that didn't sell on air or were returned or didn't make it on air. All the shoes range in price between $5 and $50. I got 7 pairs of shoes. Not only that...but 3 of those pairs from REALLY big designers. Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin and Salvatore Ferragamo. MMMMMMMM. I am currently wearing my Christian Louboutins. They retail for $830. I almost fell over and died when I found that out. I got them for $50. Best day EVER.

So I just wanted to share that with everyone.

Oh something else I want to share.

Office quote of the day:

Co-worker 1: "There's a computer box over there for you."

Female Co-worker 2: Walks over to reception to retrieve new computer. Says very loudly, "YAY, my pooter is here!"

Me: hysterical laughter.

Everyone else: Looking at me strangely.

Well at least I thought it was funny.

Everyone have a lovely weekend and a Merry Christmas and stuff if I don't happen to write again...

I feel like I am losing part of me....

So I'm getting my tonsils out next week. I feel like I'm way too old to be getting them out now. Anyway, so thats going to be fun and exciting.

Um, tomorrow's my birthday. Woo. Feel free to send gifts.

Not much is going on...same stuff pretty much every day. I don't really like commuting. I like Conshohocken. Its fun there.

Sarah got me Snickerdoodle coffee for my birthday. It is delicious. Some might even call it my favorite. YAY.

Wedding planning is going well. I got my dress and my shoes. We picked out the super cute bridesmaid dresses. We have a band and a photographer. Working on flowers now. Its crazy. Apparently we're still going to marlton for our honeymoon...according to the popular vote.

If you want not updated information, go to www.kristen-justin.com

I didn't have lunch today. Thats kind of sad. I'm a little hungry.

My desk is covered in post-its. Literally covered. Of course they're all the same color, so finding what I clearly needed to write down is going to be difficult. Maybe I'll organize that now.

I'm done rambling now.

Changtacular

Its been raining a lot.

I am now anti-rain.

Last night, Justin came in from the land of the amish and came out to dinner with me. We went down to PF Changs and Joe was working. We talked to him for a bit and had some yummy dinner at the bar and had a lovely time. It was good to see Joe again.

Not much else going on. Went to florida last weekend for some business stuff. It was warm there but not as grossly humid as up here. We flew back on the really early flight on standby. and we also got upgraded to first class. That was pretty super.

So the parking at the apartment is getting a little stupid. There just aren't enough spots for everyone. If you get home after like 6:30, you have to park like way far away. I'm considering buying a spot under the building, but I don't feel like paying for it.

Anyway...um...i don't have much else to say. So bye...

and in a land not far from Christiansburg...

What Do You Have to Do Around Here to Get Some Freaking Champagne?!

Employee: Can I help you find something?
Customer: I'm looking for a red wine.
Employee: Cabernet, pinot noir, shiraz?
Customer: No, I want a red wine.

1017 East Main Street
Radford, Virginia

via Overheard in the Office, Aug 4, 2006

Blog Blog Blog

So we're all moved in. Everything is pretty much set up. We have to install a shelf in the laundry room and then put stuff on that shelf and that should be it. And we need to hang up pictures and the like. And we finally got the HD set up. Football is going to be sweet. YAY football.

Vince (the roomba) can't get out of the kitchen once he goes in. And he has a problem with the bath mats in the ducky bathroom. He gets stuck. So we set up a "virtual wall" and now he doesn't go in the kitchen or the ducky bathroom anymore. Its wonderful.

Work is going well. Its work. Its cold in the office. Always. Which is nice cause its 192 degrees outside, but its a shock walking out of the building.

So I've been having an awesome time running tolls on the PA turnpike. PA does not like my EZPass. I guess we'll see how many thingys I get in the mail telling me I owe them $5K. YAY!

Not much new on the wedding planning front. Actually nothing new. I haven't had any time to plan anything else.

So I hurt my thumb...playing video games. More specifically, SSX3. I'm not really good at it. But its fun. and now i have a red thumb with a blister on it.

I need a new iPod. Someone buy me a 60GB black one. Thanks!

Its so quiet in here today. I want to take a nappie. I didn't get to sleep very much last night. And after work we're going to the gym. Yes...I'm going to workout. Yet another sign of the apocolypse.

And now we are going to the Melting Pot on Friday and it will be delicious.

I'm gonna go work now.

Less than 2 weeks!!!!!!!

And to answer these questions...

(I didn't feel like actually answering them in another comment...)

Rob Harford said...
I knew you couldn't stay away for long... you just can't leave the Delaware valley. So does this mean that Justin is doing some kind of internship thingy up here? Or did he drop out of doctor school? That would be a shame since he only has a Comp Sci degree to fall back on...

No, I couldn't stay away for too long. There is no Wawa here. There isn't much here. Justin is doing his 4th year rotations at a variety of hospitals in and around Philly. After the 4th year he will head into Intership/Residency thingy, at which time you can call him Doctor.

Joe Brescia said...
THAT"S SOOO AWESOME!!! Exton is right down the street from me. Score. You guys better be close so we can play. Ciao!

We're moving to Conshohocken. Hooray! And my MINI dealer is like right down the street from Chang's (still working there Joe?). So yes, we will be around. I think that puts us about 1 hour away from medford (no traffic), and a little less than 2 hours from Baltimore or North Jersey (not to mention, 5 minutes from IKEA and 10 minutes from KoP Mall....mmmmmmmmmmmmm). Hooray for Centrally Located.


So, we're moving in like 10ish days. I have like, oh, 4 boxes packed. Which is the equivalent to 1/4 of a room. Clearly its going really well. (note: Can you see why...? I'm sitting here blogging instead of packing).

So we bought a plasma. Its awesome. And somehow we even get a high def feed over the air from Roanoke. I didn't even think Roanoke stations knew what high def was. Thats besides the point. Its a pretty TV that will look especially pretty in the new apartment. Football is going to be awesome in a few months.

We went to one of Justin's fraternity brother's wedding over the weekend. It was in Blowing Rock, NC. It was gorgeous. The ceremony and the reception we both so pretty. We all had a great time. After the cocktail reception the night before the ceremony, we went swimming in a lake. Late at night. Pretty drunk. It was super. The bottom of that lake was one of the grossest things I have ever felt. It didn't feel like normal lake bottom. It felt like gross. I somehow am bruised from head to toe. I'm assuming it came from getting out of the lake. How I bruised the back of my knee is still a mystery. I'm still pretty tired from the weekend. I'm getting so old. So sad.

Lacey got a blog. It's called

I'll Blog You

Thats pretty exciting. I'm liking the name. Soon me and her will be able to go head to head on DDR on XBox Live (I would now, but I packed that), I'm pretty sure I suck at it now since I haven't played in like 2 months. Booooooooo!!! Anyone else as obsessed with it as we are?

So I'm gonna go now and spackle and paint and pack and do all the things I have been putting off since the end of April.

If anyone is around (in PA) on July 1 and wants to move boxes (cause, ya know, who doesn't?), give me a call.

Adios.

Update-a-maphone

Hi again.

So its been about 4 months. Thought I might send out an update. Lots o' crazy fun stuff has happened in that time...

We got engaged. YAYAYAYAYAY! We're getting married next june. Its exciting. Justin surprised me with the engagement. It was pretty awesome. So many details to plan though, so I will be busy in the upcoming months. We have a place and a photographer all set though. That makes me happy. We are taking suggestions for honeymoon locations.

We're moving back to normal-land, aka Philly area, in July. Also pretty exciting. I get to work out of the Exton office. Its gonna be weird going back to an office though. And, like, having people around (mind you, new office, haven't worked with these people for any extended period before). I'm sure it will be lovely.

Me, Lacey and Chris went to Austria, Germany and Switzerland. That was crazy. We had a great time. The kids weren't total demon spawn (so much better then I expected). We saw a lot of really amazing places and things. Oh we also went to Liechtenstein for about a half hour. It was super.

One thing I have affirmed...I am never, ever going on a ferris wheel again. Dear god. So freaking scary. Bleh! Anyway...Luzern was GORGEOUS!!! Everyone should go there. Between me and Chris, I would estimate we had well over 1,000 pictures. Funny thing...I left my camera on the nightstand in the hotel in Luzern. I'm the smartest person ever. Its ok, I called the hotel and they mailed it to me. I got it back about a week ago (1 month after we left Europe). Also the day we left, i drop kicked my cell phone across a street in Luzern...oops! And the British Airways lost my luggage. All in all, it was not a good day for me and my belongings. I got my luggage back shortly after that. Unfortunately, I didn't have any pants to wear for over a day (i wore jammies on the plane). If anyone ever wants to see pictures, let me know, I have 800 of them. YAY!




So that's about all. I'm back in the 'burg for the next month and then I'm outtie forever! I'll be busy packing the house and finishing my photo album (which has turned into a much larger project then I had ever expected).

Wooo Snow

Its a freaking winter wonerland here...

They actually had church closing listed on NBC last night. Apparently all churchs in like a 100 miles radius were closed so they had a broadcast of a service on this morning when I woke up. I have never seen that before.

Anyway, I'm bored. Someone give me something to do.

Norton is Worse.

Yes. Much, much worse. Seriously, there is nothing here. Nothing to do, nothing to see...nothing to eat.

We drove around yesterday before the game to see if there was anything around. Nope. UVA-Wise is here. Its like 2 big high schools stuck next to each other.

There's a train. Not for people to take. It carries like liquid asphalt and sulphuric acid.

We went out to some restaurants over the past few days. There are only a few here, so we figured at least one of them had to have something that wouldn't kill us. So far we are 0-2. Luckily, we made our own food for the Super Bowl. I don't think there are any pizza places here. Sure as hell aren't any places that sell wings (i miss you Pic's!!!).

There's a mexican place. Its called 'Mi Finca', which i thought sounded kind of dirty. Turns out it means 'My Property'. I haven't been there yet. Maybe that'll be tonight.

So yeah, I'm in Norton until at least tomorrow. We actually have cell signal here. Thank god.

I don't have much to say...

Hi there.

Yeah, sorry i haven't posted in like forever.

After we hung up christmas lights, we went home for christmas and then new years in philly (on a boat) and then Kristin and Tim's wedding the following weekend (very fun time!!!).
But, it was an unbelievably busy 2 and a half weeks.

I got home and Justin went to Marion, VA for his psych rotation. The weekend after i got home, we went to Charlotte, NC for a long weekend. Fun Place. We went to the discovery place and saw sciencey things and an IMAX. Had some yummy dinners. We got woken up one morning with what sounded like a jet taking off, like 15 times. A few hours later when we actually went outside, there was a nascar car racing down the one of the busiest streets in charlotte, which was blocked off, which was also the street our hotel was on. So we went the other way and got some lunch and when we came back to our hotel, we noticed a team getting off a bus and going into the hotel. I wasn't so much paying attention, and we got in the elevator and I noticed that i was, by far, the shortest person in the elevator. Yeah, we were in there with the New Orleans Hornets, ya know, the NBA team. That was weird.

I then took a detour leaving charlotte and went to florida. I met with clients and relatives and mickey (well actually, I didn't see mickey, but I said Hi to Stitch).

Now, I am finally back in VA. But I'm in Marion and I have been since Monday. We're going back to Christiansburg tonight and then this weekend we are actually going to take the christmas tree down. HOORAY!

For those of you who are familiar with Chritiansburg and think its boring...um, there's nothing here. Literally (unless you count 15 fast food places as "something"). And I can't understand anything anyone here says. We have warped into an alternate universe.

I can't wait to see what Norton is like.

Mmmm Lights

I thought everyone might like a look at our Christmas lights this year!