Peek-A-Boo!

Loyal blog followers, how I've missed you!  It's been a few months and I'm sure a lot has been going on with you.  It sure has for me!  If you've been reading my little corner of the interwebs for any length of time (or you happen to know me in person), then you know things, they have been a-changin'.

I lost my job at a law firm I thought was great.  Turns out, everything happens for a reason.  I now have a job at a nationwide law firm with 1000 times better benefits (including free parking in downtown, a block from the Amway Center, 24/7/365) and MUCH nicer coworkers.  Suck on that, old law firm.

My fiance and I have been scouting for a place to live.  Nothing set in stone yet, but we've got an application in at a place I'm in love with... So cross your fingers and toes for us!  Fiance also just started a new job that's extremely exciting and has a very promising future. Our days of both being unemployed are OVER!  Can you hear the choir singing Glory Glory?  I certainly can.  Oh, speaking of choirs and church and such, in November I had my first rite on my way to baptism on Easter Vigil this year.  It was joyous, exciting, scary (I was in front of the entire congregation!) and fun all at the same time.  Fiance's mom took pictures, but her camera skills are a little weak, so the pictures didn't come out great, otherwise I'd post a couple.  My next rite, the rite of election, is next month at the biggest Catholic church in the Orlando diocese: Mary, Queen of the Universe.  It's going to be a big, big deal.  Lots of celebration to follow.

We finally set a wedding date!  While I'm not at liberty to tell you the exact date at this point, it will be in the fourth quarter of this year.  More blog posts to come on wedding planning and general hysteria.

I changed my Twitter name to @J_Rad2012, so if you're a follower, tuck that under your hat.

I had a very strange encounter right before Christmas with an ex from ages ago.  That definitely deserves its own post, so consider this a teaser. 

Anyway, I'm on my lunch break at this very moment.  I can't get into anything super long-winded since I only have a few minutes left.  I just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm back, baby!  One of my resolutions this year was to keep up with my blog, so you can expect to see more in the near future. Until then... :)

Noelle Lately

I've talked a little about this subject in previous posts, but I want to spend a little more time on it today.  If you don't know anything about websites, then bear with me for a minute while I break this down.  In fact, I'll just say it so you get the point.  I know when you look at my blog.  I have a web tracker that logs your IP address, along with other info like your city, state, web browser, OS, linked page, time spent on my site, etc.  As a certified internet lurker (a/k/a web stalker), this information comes in verrrry handy to me.  Basically, I know what you're up to.  I can tell who's been looking at what, when and for how long.  It's interesting because I get hits from extremely random places:  Fargo, ND; Jakarta, Indonesia; Mountain Valley, CA; Moscow City, Russia and Rio de Janiero, Brazil to name a few.  I don't know anyone in any of the aforementioned places, but I think it's great that I have a diverse readership.  I write this blog mostly for my friends and myself, but I also write it for anyone to read, and I hope that people will link back and visit again and again.

If I know you, then I know when you're looking at my page.  Granted, I have more than one friend in most places, so it's not as easy to narrow down:  If you're in Palm Bay, FL, then you'll remain somewhat anonymous, as I have many friends there.  However if you live in, say, Canton, GA (Hello there!!), then I know who you are!  Believe me, you can glean a lot of information about me from my posts, but I always keep them somewhat cryptic to protect the guilty parties.  I never name names, unless they've been changed.  In fact, you don't even know my name unless you know me personally.  If I'm interested in finding out something about someone, you can damn sure bet that I will FB stalk, Google and use any other electronic means necessary to gain information about them.  This interweb business is, after all, a two way street.

Those of you who look at my blog every single day... Know that I'm never going to post every day.  You won't miss much by missing a day or two.  My life, sadly, just isn't that exciting.  But in the interest of those who do, I've created a list of random facts to bring you up to speed on Noelle Lately.  Here we go:

• I listen to Lady Antebellum, Alkaline Trio, Matt Nathanson and Miley fuckin' Cyrus cranked up in the car with the windows rolled down, singing along at the top of my lungs.  It's good stress relief.
• I'm working out religiously, and definitely starting to see results.
• I still have no idea what the hell I'm doing, but that's just how I roll.
• I have a crush on Craig Ferguson from The Late Late Show.
• Never in my life have I cared less what people think of me, unless they're my family and friends.
• I do NOT miss the life I had in Tampa.
• I'm more confident now than I've ever been, and I have no one but myself to thank for it.
• I'm cooking less, but better, than I have in the past.
• I'm proud of the fact that I'm quirky.
• I spend enough time on Facebook that I should work for them.
• My best friend is still the same person as when I was 16.
• I've raised my standards in the dating game quite a bit.  Those who may have passed muster in the past no longer would make the cut.
• I still don't understand Conservative Republicans, and probably never will... Although I count a couple of my closest friends in the world among them.
• Semisonic said it best when they said, "I'm feeling strangely fine."

So that's it for now.  I suggest to those of you who look everyday at this thing, get a life.  I know I have.

Deja Vu Again...

It's been quite a while since I've blogged. The old blog on myspace is still available for viewing, but who really even uses myspace anymore? I know I don't. It's all about Facebook and Twitter now. I have to say I just can't get into Twittering... Or is it Tweeting... Twatting? That can't be right. Anyway, I have a Twitter account that I use solely for celeb-stalking. I think I've posted maybe 5 Tweets (Twatts? Egads, that's almost pornographic!) in 6 months. I just can't get into it. I guess that's because I'm just too damn long winded to be satisfied with a 160 character limit. Something I find a little bit disturbing about the whole Twitter phenomenon is the sheer volume of posts some people have. You would think that someone like Demi Moore would have better things to do than post a Tweeter (whatever, seriously) about what she ate for lunch, or how amazingly handsome her husband is. We get it, Demi. You bagged a dude that could date your daughter and not be looked at funny. You won't see this girl giving you kudos. When you're older and the plastic surgery just can't save you from looking your age anymore, you might end up getting Punk'd by your sweet little man-muffin. Don't say I didn't warn you.

As usual I'll most likely be ranting on here about something or another that no one but me cares about. Hey, it's your precious time you're wasting reading what I write. I thought, to get things started on the right foot, I'd leave you with a list of things that I've learned since rounding the corner toward the big 3-0.

• Nothing is worth holding a grudge over. Grudges are a huge waste of energy.
• No matter how much they pinch or give you blisters, if the shoes are cute enough, it's worth the pain.
• The love of an animal can soothe your soul in the way no human ever could.
• Sex appeal is highly overrated.
• Generosity and kindness are extremely scarce in this world.
• Having your own opinion doesn't necessarily mean you must voice it.

There are many, many more but I'll leave those for another day and another post. Until then...