4 Things

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I was given this tag by the very sweet Sarah Elizabeth. Sarah Elizabeth is a Scottish girl living in Italy with her Italian husband working on renovating a 16th century house. How cool! She's also a budding photographer. Check out her beautiful blog, her beautiful photography and her tips on green, simple living. 

Apparently, I now need to list 4 things on various topics.

So, here are my 4 things:

4 Shows I watch

• Glee (I'm a total GlEEK)!
• Gossip Girl (Love the fashion although the writing this season is just terrible)
• Jersey Shore (I love me a little GTL)
• True Blood (have yet to watch season 3 - so excited) 

4 Things I'm passionate about

• Exercise
• Traveling
• My friends and family
• Work - I know... that sad but kinda true

4 Phrases I say a lot

• Awesome! (This is a new one that has come up since I moved back to the US and I'm totally overusing it)
• Totally (That's another one that has recently come up)
• Wow
• Are you serious?

4 Things I've learned from the past

• Don't do what everyone expects of you - dare to be different
• Sometimes when you are really tired and only have an hour, going for a run is better than taking a nap.
• Take the road less traveled - it WILL make all the difference
• Don't be afraid to be Glamorous! Embrace your inner glamour as much as possible and always try to look and be your best. 

Want to read more words of wisdom from the International Woman of Mystery? Click here

4 Places I'd like to go

• Africa (I was there this summer and can't wait to go back)
• Sweden (I know. I lived there but I still can't wait until I can go back and visit my friends. I miss Sweden LOTS)
• Bali (Again, I lived there but I really want to go back)
• Argentina 

4 Things I did yesterday

• Worked
• Spent too much money online shopping
• Had dinner with friends
• Fretted over my New Year's Eve plans 

4 Things I'm looking forward to

• A trip to London/Sweden to see my friends(I hope this will happen soon)
• Traveling more
• Summer
• I can't think of a 4th one... I'm struggling right now to find things to look forward to. I can tell you one thing I'm NOT looking forward to: New Year's! This is a terrible holiday. I wish it didn't exist. 

4 Things I love about winter

• Christmas
• Iceskating
• Candles and cozy time
• Snow Days

4 Things on my wish list:

• A Boyfriend (big surprise here)
• Louboutins
• Mac Book 
• Flat Screen internet enabled TV

And finally pass the tag onto 4 other bloggers:

• Jewels at Turning 30: A Journey of Self Exploration 
• Hanna at Den Absoluta Singeln
• Katie at Domestiphobia 
• Jules at Night Notes on Napkins 

Thank you Sarah for tagging me.

An International Woman of Mystery's Awesome Guide to the Do and Do NOTS of moving

Guess what?

I'm baaaack!!!! Yay! I never meant to be away for so long. Moving is very very hard. Let me tell you. But I'm happy to say that I now have an apartment. And it even has a few pieced of furniture in it. Tomorrow I have 40 boxes (and no idea where I am going to put them) being delivered from London so I will finally have all my stuff! I will also get a couch delivered tomorrow.

I just have to say that these last couple weeks have been REALLY REALLY hard. I can't wait to put this all behind me and start living and enjoying life again and blogging on a regular basis. I have missed you all so much!

I have so much to update you all on. But let's start with a list that will give you some major insight as to what has been going on in my life.

The International Woman of Mystery's Guide to the DO's and DO NOTS of moving

Do NOT think that moving will be easy. Do not even think that it will not be that hard. Tell yourself it's going to suck and make sure you set your expectations right from the beginning.

DO try to keep a positive attitude even when it seems that life is working against you in every single way possible

If possible, DO NOT start a new job that is hard and difficult at the SAME time as you are moving. This will make your life very difficult.

DO NOT think that you will get a good deal (aka cheap apartment) in Beacon Hill.

DO NOT think that your Beacon Hill apartment will be big. It will not be. In fact you do not even want to calculate the rent per square foot. It might make you cry.

DO NOT constantly compare the small small one bedroom Beacon Hill apartment to your huge two bedroom London flat.

DO realize that your Beacon Hill apartment is actually nicer than your London one... just a LOT smaller.

DO be thankful for your walk in closets - remind yourself how rare this is in Beacon Hill (and try not to dwell on how much it all costs).

When looking at apartments, DO take note of important things like the fact that there is a loud generator outside of the bedroom window that creates a loud buzzing sound that is enough to drive you absolutely insane and will ensure that you will never ever be able to open the window. DO NOT sign a lease without checking up on that shit more than once!

DO NOT stress too much about it when you realize that the living room windows in your apartment look DIRECTLY into the windows of one of your married male colleagues (yes, awesome things like this happen to me).

DO take a strong note that you had better keep those shades locked down!

DO NOT expect that moving into an apartment that has NO furniture at all will be anything like moving into a completely furnished apartment. Believe me, it's a whole new ball game.


DO NOT sign up for a 6 am boot camp class (every single morning) when you are in the middle of a move.

DO NOT think that you will be able to have any form of a personal life or social life while you are in the middle of a move.

DO try to blog but do NOT beat yourself up if you cannot manage it because you are so tired that it's all you can do to keep your eyes open when you realize that it's midnight and you are nowhere near done with your to-do list and you think about opening up your computer but realize that nothing good is going to flow from your fingers to your blog. Seriously. Don't feel guilty. (I'm still working on this one).

DO ask your friends for help.

DO make sure you have a LOT of money. Moving is freaking crazy expensive.

DO have a really awesome friend like I'm Attractive Single Friend C who let's you stay at her place for a very long time and takes trips with you to Ikea and offer you lots moral support

DO have awesome parents who will help you in your time of need.

DO set a time limit for your Ikea trip. That store is MASSIVE. You could live there. Or at least stay there for forever.

DO have a list when going to Ikea - focus, focus, focus.

DO NOT go to Ikea 1 hour before it closes and expect to get a lot done (although I might have set a world record for being in and out in an hour with a full bedroom set

DO expect and plan to go back to Ikea more than once... It happens.

When the man delivering the mattress tells you that there is just no way he is going to get it up the stairs and is generally just being mean to you, DO start to cry. Believe me if there are enough tears, he will get that mattress up the stairs just to shut you up.

Do NOT expect any delivery or assembly men to come anywhere NEAR the time they tell you they are going to be there. Be prepared to wait around the house the ENTIRE weekend.

DO right mean yelp reviews of companies like Urban Express who really messed up your life by making a prisoner in your furniture-less apartment all weekend while you stood (because there is no furniture to sit on) around waiting for them to arrive for hours and hours just to finally find out (after you called them 5 times) that they will not make it until tomorrow - and then repeat the whole process.

DO NOT use the company Urban Express which is the company the Ikea in Stoughton, Ma uses for deliveries and assemblies (the delivery was ok, the assembly was a nightmare - I waited for the guys for about 10 hours in total and waited on the phone for 45 minutes talking to incompetent staff each of the 12 times I had to call them to check where the assembly guys were).

DO grin and bear it when the delivery men and assembly men call you "cute" nicknames like "beautiful" and "honey" - decide that if it makes them get shit done faster, it's worse a little degradation

DO try to see the humor in everything even when all you really want to do is cry and cry and cry

DO let yourself have a major breakdown on a Friday night when it all seems impossible and your are so miserable in your furniture-less apartment in a new city and are so homesick for Europe and your friends there.

DO try to wake up with a more positive attitude on Saturday morning

DO NOT think that you will not need a winter jacket in Boston in November. DO pack this in your things you are bringing with you.

DO NOT think that you will not need summer running clothes in Boston in October. Do remember that sometimes it is 70 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next day.

DO NOT think too much about Europe and all your friends there who you miss so much.

DO NOT freak out when you pull the Ikea furniture out of a box and you end up with 300 small pieces. This is normal. Take a deep breath. And then begin the long assembly process.

DO know that building Ikea furniture has a big learning curve. It does get easier. Although not that much easier.

DO NOT make fun of your father when he wears dorky knee pads to put together your furniture. DO remember that he is there to help.

DO covet your fathers kneepads (although still wonder why he needed to put them on in the street OUTSIDE your apartment where he then has to walk two blocks with them on) when you have been kneeling for 4 hours putting together furniture on the hardwood floor and have massive bruises on your knee

DO consider asking your father if you can borrow the kneepads... Although DO NOT even for a moment consider wearing them OUTSIDE the apartment.

DO NOT think twice about buying a wine opener even though one is eventually coming in your boxes from London. You are going to need a LOT of wine to get through this.

DO NOT think that it is a good idea to drink while putting together Ikea furniture. This will inevitably lead to big messes. Although DO consider drinking if it is the only way that you can convince yourself to stay at home on BOTH Friday and Saturday night and put together said furniture.

If you DO drink while putting together Ikea furniture (hey, sometimes it just has to be done) DO make sure you put aside some time the next day to fix all the stuff you put together wrong.

DO set a hard date on when you are determined to be finished with the move by having a housewarming party (mine is November 20th).

DO try not to stress about 40 boxes coming to your tiny apartment tomorrow! I will for sure update you and let you know how that goes.

And the number one piece of advice that this International Woman of Mystery has for all those other hot messes who are considering a move:

DO NOT MOVE ANYWHERE UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND!

DO MAKE SURE THAT A BOYFRIEND IS ON HAND TO HELP YOU WITH THE EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL HEAVY LIFTING ASPECTS OF YOUR MOVE!

I promise to write again soon! I think I'm just about ready to be back to normal blogging (although this damn Boot Camp is sure not helping things) Miss you all!

Kisses and hugs and glasses of vino.

Words of Wisdom

So, common sense should dictate that the day after the full out raging work summer party, IS NOT the best time to test the fire alarms in the building! Seriously. This morning, while everyone was looking a bit worse for the wear and the office was eerily quiet as everyone tried to nurse their hangover and keep a low profile. When suddenly, weeee ooooo weeee ooooo weeee ooooo - various alarms begin to ring throughout the building. This goes on FOR ONE HOUR! I’m pretty sure that me and everyone else either wanted to die or wanted to kill someone. Whose great idea was that? I mean COME ON!

Speaking of words of wisdom...

There is nothing that qualifies me to give advice to anyone else. But I just felt like writing down some inner wisdom's that I hold to be true. What words of wisdomn do you have? Comments appreciated!

Family and friends are the most important things in life. Happiness comes from your relationships. Family and friends are your connections with to the world.

Sometimes when you are really tired and only have an hour, going for a run is better than taking a nap.

Everyone looks better tan.

When you are feeling sad, pat a cat or a dog - pet therapy really works.

Everything is better when the sun is shining.

Singing in the shower will put you in a better mood instantly.

You should always have fresh flowers in your house.

If you want people to celebrate your birthday, throw a party for yourself - don’t wait around hoping to be surprised.

Time does heal everything but unfortunately knowing that doesn’t help when you are stuck in the moment of pain.

Everything happens for a reason, but sometimes it takes us awhile to figure out what that reason is.

Take the road less traveled - as Robert Frost says: it will make all the difference.

You should always make your bed before you leave the house if for no other reason than the fact that it’s so much nicer to get into a nicely made bed at night rather than a messy one. Actually my host mother in Costa Rica gave me the best reason for making your bed: Bugs get into unmade beds she said. I have made my bed every day since!

Buy expensive sheets with a high thread count. It makes a huge the difference. Your bed should be a wonderful haven for beauty sleep and fabulous dreams!

Follow the rules but know when to break them. Rules are made to be broken.

Try to be a good person. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most.

Don't be afraid to be Glamorous! Embrace your inner glamour as much as possible and always try to look and be your best.

It's always better to be overdressed than under dressed.

Try to live in the present and enjoy each moment. And don't get too focused on the destination - in the end it's the journey that counts.
Money is important but not that important. Money is made to be spent. Live, spend, have fun. But do make sure that you have some money put away for a rainy day (aka - savings).

Someone once said something I believe to be very true: Life is defined by the places you visit, the people you meet and the books you read. Everyone should try to read a lot, travel as much as possible and make new friends but be sure to keep the old.

Spend time on your relationships with friends and family and those who matter to you. They are important. Email and call old friends. Keep in touch with people you care about. It will make you happier and in our social media world, there is no excuse not to. It’ so easy!

Reality TV can give you a nice break from “reality.” Watch it. But do watch television sparingly. At the end of the day, it’s better to live life than to watch it on TV.

Work hard but be sure to play harder.

Don’t be afraid to try new things. In the end, you will only regret the things you DIDN’T do.

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you all are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am!

Internet Dating Don'ts

So, all this free time has inevitably sent me flying back to Match.com. This is rather unfortunate since I’m still not really impressed with the men there. But what else is a girl to do. Does anyone have any recommendations for a better dating site?

In fact after just a two days of aimless browsing on the site, I’ve been inspired to write a dating profile DO NOT DO list. Boys please take note:

1. Do not choose a stupid username. Examples of stupid usernames are: artyfartymarty, joeybigmac, chunky_a, eating_p, bum_licker (I admit I made the last one up, but the rest are real)!

2. Do not post 10 pictures of you without your shirt on posing in front of the mirror. I DO NOT CARE if you’ve got abs like The Situation! It still feels like you are trying way too hard. I would rather be pleasantly surprised later on if it gets to that...

3. Please please do not write that Dan Brown is your favorite author. WTF! I swear that 2 out of every 10 guys swears that Dan Brown is their hero. Ugh. This tells me that they haven’t read any other books in their life. Might I also suggest that you do not list The Game as your favorite book?

4. Do not give excuses as to why you are on this site. We all know why you are here. Making excuses or offering any kind of explanation at all just makes you seem lame. Get some confidence and get on with it!

5. Do not post pictures of you with lots of other people so that you can’t tell which one you are.

6. Do not post more than one picture of your pet. It’s just weird.

7. Do not post only one picture. Especially if that one picture is of a well-known celebrity and OBVIOUSLY not a picture of you!

8. If you are ugly old and fat do not email girls like me. Seriously. I’m totally out of your league! I also specifically state in my profile that ugly old and fat men need not apply!

9. Do not post pictures of yourself holding a gun (and no I do not care if it’s a toy). It’s not macho -it’s just scary. You would be surprised at how many men do this!

10. Ok. I get it, you are a fun guy. You like to dress us and go to “fancy dress” parties as they call them here in London. That’s great. One picture, MAX two of you wearing some kind of costume show that you are down to earth, like to have fun and aren’t afraid to let loose and be silly. Any more than that start to hint at the fact that you might have some serious issues. And let me add - there is never ever any reason for you to put up a picture of yourself in an animal suit. Sorry boys. Just don’t do it.

11. Do not write me emails that say that even though you do not meet a single one of my requirements (i.e. you are fat old and ugly) you still can’t help but feel that we are actually soul mates and I should give you a chance anyway. Let me tell you: Not. Going. To. Happen. In the real world of old fashioned dating, I guess it would be possible for me to overwhelm me with your wit and charm and dazzle me so that I do not care if you are old and fat and ugly. But let’s face it, this is the online dating world and pictures and pre-set criteria do matter!

12. Do not continue to spam me with emails when I have not replied to a single one (usually because you are fat and ugly and old). Get the HINT! Do not make me break up with you before I have even exchanged a single virtual word with you!

13. Do not try so hard to be different! Emails like this:

im pleased to annouce that you have won an all expenses meal of your choice at either Mcdonalds or Burger King. So whats it to be a Big Mac or a Whopper?.

...are just obnoxious and move my finger to the delete button faster than you can say “french fries” (especially if you are old and fat and ugly).

14. C’mon boys - you all say that you are looking for the full package - that ever elusive combination of looks and brains but those girl are going to be hard to get if your grammar and spelling is like this:

Hey girl, on your profile you sound like an all round pain in the ass, lol, would'nt be suprised iff you're alright really, would be greatfull iff you gave me your honest opinion of my profile, X.

Use spell check! And don’t say such stupid things. And YES, I am an all around pain in the ass! But it’s probably not your best pickup line. Use your noggin boy!

15. If you make less than 50,000 GBP do NOT post your income - keep that to yourself. Match gives you the handy option of not replying to questions that might not make you look that good. So, don’t reply. In fact, I think posting your income is cheesy! Why do it at all?

16. Do not ask me to email you at your personal email address because you are either too cheap to pay for a Match subscription beyond the free trial, or too cool to renew your subscription. Sorry boys - you get the DELETE!

17. Please please do not write me emails that consist only of “How you doin” Ugh. I will absolutely not respond to that. In fact,do not include those words anywhere on you profile - especially not as your tagline!

18. Do not try to make excuses for your profile picture. In fact, do no put up pictures that you have to make excuses for in the first place. And if you need to make excuses because you are that fat old and ugly, pleas revert to rule number 8. To prove my point... One guy just wrote me this little note:

My profile pic may seem mean and moody BUT im really, really NOT like that. When im taking the pic i cant do fake smiles. If we ever meet then you willsee how much i smile and laugh :0) So please dont judge from the profile pic!

Why oh why would I want to write him back?

19. I just had to come back and edit this post and add a number 19 to the list because I was surfing on Match and I found a guy who lists Twilight as his favorite movie and Lady Gaga as his favorite music and yes, his profile did specify that he was searching for women and there was not a hint of sarcasm elsewhere in his profile, so I think he was pretty serious. Boys, we like your feminine and soft side - but only once we get to know you. Do not reveal these things on your profile. It's not cool!

And just to prove that I’m not totally mean and cold-hearted (I’m just picky), I will end this with a positive comment This message that someone sent me yesterday was kinda sweet in an ego-boosting kind of way:

Ok - and now I just have to say that this was kind of sweet although this guy falls into the old fat and ugly category (by the way, old is 35 and over - check out my dating strategy for more info on my “type”).

Hey 3 guys here surfing our mates match for the best looking girl for him and weve all agreed on you ;) If you think you can handle us drop as an email back ;)

I think I can handle him... but I’m sure he is fat old and ugly obviously can’t handle me so I will not be responding to him. Sorry. But sweet email. Nothing like a little ego boost!

This one was kind of cute too:

You look absolutely gorgeous. I know it sounds terribly cheesy, but I'd kick myself if I didn't tell you.

I know I'm 1 inch too short and I just don't look good in heels. So I'm screwed.

But at least I can now I can now go to sleep with a clear conscience.

Ok. Enough complaining. I'm back to the online dating world now to write back that sexy PE teacher and see if he wants to be my London tour guide.

Adios!

Internet Dating Strategy

Well, I'm back from my China adventure and realize that there are actually no boys on the horizon. I guess it's back to good old Match.com for me. The problem is that March is a REALLY busy month for me and I actually am not sure I have time to date. Between a launching a new product at work, a good friend leaving (and insisting we party every night this coming week), a trip to Paris next weekend (to party for the night with friends) and a trip to Stockholm the week after (a mix of work and fun), it seems that I have very few free nights! Well, maybe I will meet men the old fashioned way when I'm out and about in my adventures. We will see.

But this morning I took a journey into the virtual dating world via Match.com who byt the way have annoying changed their UI and I HATE it. But that's beside the point. I still managed to email and wink at some cute boys and that's what's important right? Which brings me to my Internet Dating Strategy which I would like to share with you all.

All in all, I think that my strategy for Internet dating has been pretty good. I have only been on one truly bad date and that was a second date. Boy managed to hide his true colors during the first date... Sneaky. All of the men I have met have been reasonably attractive, able to carry on a good conversation, and more or less what I expected from their profile. I have had no awkward silences and no dates where I have run screaming from the bar because they were old, overweight and balding and nothing at all like their attractive profile picture.

And now, because I'm a nice person, I will share with you my secret Internet dating strategy in case you want to try it out yourself!

My strategy consists of only responding to men with the following criteria:

• Tall - over 6'3 preferably (although I will consider anyone over 6 feet - all others are instantly deleted - I like tall men)


• Handsome (I've already told you I'm superficial)


• Must live in London


• Must have a picture - more then one, preferably lots


• Must be between 24 and 35 years old - Apologies to all the Grandpas who insist on writing to me even though I clearly state I don't like OLD men


• Must not have kids or be divorced - who wants unnecessary baggage when it can so easily be avoided by a careful criteria screen


• Must not post pictures of themselves posing in front of a mirror without a shirt on - Unless they are of course incredibly gorgeous and have a smart and serious profile to match


• Must not have the headline of "How YOU Doin'?" - seriously do you know how many men out there have this as their headline? Can you be any less creative or cheesy?


• Must have put some time and effort into writing there profile, not just write: "Don't know why I'm doing this. Friends told me it was a good idea. Hit me up with an email if you're a hot chick." -Ok, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but if if their pictures are really really great, I do sometimes write them back
  
• Must have reasonable spelling and Grammar - If they can't properly write sentences, chances are an intellectual or stimulating conversation is not in the cards either


• Must not list Dan Brown (or John Grisham) as his favorite author - seriously, do you know how many men do this? I have nothing against Dan Brown and I enjoy reading his books although I think they lack substance and have terrible character development - so if he's your all time favorite author... Nope. It's not going to work.


• Must be willing to write back and forth with me several times before I actually meet them - I think people do tend to reveal their true selves in emails
  
• Must be patient with me if I get cold feet and have to cancel the date and reschedule (yes, this sometimes happens to me)


• Must not solicit sex, make inappropriate sexual comments, or get too desperate in emails


• Must not be a stalker

But the most important rules are as follows:

• Never take Internet dating too seriously


• Use Internet dating, but don't forget the old fashioned way as well


• If one boy doesn't work out, another one is just a click away

Time to tear myself from the computer and my virtual dating world and go back to the real world for now. Hosting a party tonight then going out clubbing in Lodon. Maybe I will manage to meet a real life man! I'll be sure to keep you posted! Enoy the weekend!