Sorry it's been so long!

wow. It's been a while since I posted. I guess I haven't had too much to say.

Well, I can fill you in on what's going on. Currently, I'm back home visiting my dog and my family. I didn't have to work for a couple of days so I figured that Danny and I could come home for a little while. I miss it a lot. The country. The familiarity of everything. The beauty. My bed. Traditions. The arguments. Haha.

It's tough not going home as much. I would like to be home way more often than I am but it's difficult trying to get Danny's work schedule to coincide with mine. Not to mention, I keep getting hastled at work.

Anyway, enough whining. Danny and I just got back from Florida. We took a weeks vacation down there and stayed with his aunt and uncle. It was a bumpy week. Everyone was sort of cranky in the beginning because of driving for 12 hours straight, money problems, work problems, and everything. No one was getting along. But we trugged right on through it and ended up having a good vacation on the whole. We went to blue springs and did some swimming, paddle boating, canoeing (sp?) - which I hated, and air boating in the swamp. There were alligators in the water and I was scared out of my mind. I love and respect animals but I am not messing with alligators. Oh well. Everyone else got a kick out of it.

The best part of the trip was when we went to the Marlins game in Miami. I got a chance to visit Dolphin Stadium, my favorite NFL team, and watch the game. Not to mention, Danny and I picked up a 4 star hotel for 85 dollars on hotwire.com. We stayed at the Hyatt and it was amazing. We splurged a little there and got some drinks out of the mini fridge and ordered a 3 egg omelette from room service.

On the last day, we went down to the one of the outlet malls in Florida. I visited Saks Fifth Avenue, Nike Factory, Calvin Klein, Coach, Neiman Marcus... You name it. Everything was about half the price of anything in a regular store. Sometimes more. I saw a dress in the J.Crew factor that I almost bought for $150 for $29.95. That just made me so mad. I ended up not buying the dress for the either price, but still. $150 is a little outrageous. Oh well. I'm not paying full price for anything anymore.

Umm. That's all I can think of for now. I haven't bought anything worth discussing lately. I'm in debt up to my ears and I'm basically just working on paying it all back and buying a house. I really want a house. I want to take my puppy Jake and live in a house of my own. My rules.

Sorry, this was more of a vent than anything.

Let me know how you're doing. I miss everyone.

<3 Knikki

The Fresh Talbots

I'm happy to say that Talbots is changing its reputation from being the "old lady" store to a chic and classy look for women ages 35-55. The reason being because the person that Talbots used to make their clothes for does not shop anymore. But the new target market still does. And quite frankly, I'm happy about the change.

The new catalog that hasn't been released yet (June 6th) is completely different from catalogs in the past. It has gorgeous photos that are good enough to be put in Vogue or InStyle. Very Audrey Hepburn. It's not just the photos, though. The clothes are more about showing more skin and being sexy.

That's obviously going to affect the older women who still shop at Talbots, but there are still a few Talbots trademarks that will be available like the mother's day twin sets...

Go in there some time this month and see what you think.

<3 Knikki

Who's the Animal?

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE.

Limbaugh Nailed This One - Well, Doesn't He Always?

Love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head..........

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers. (Actually, soldiers are put in harms way by politicians and commanding officers.)

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see wher e this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of the m ilitary people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

' When do we finally do something about this?'

<3 Knikki

Top Chef Has Left a Bad Taste in My Mouth

Top Chef Top 5-

1.) Richard
2.) Dale
3.) Jennifer (despite being knocked off way too early if at all)
4.) Antonia
5.) Stephanie

The only chefs that need to be there are the ones listed above + Jennifer and Manuel.

The others suck.

If voting off Dale isn't proof that the show just tries to get ratings then I don't know what is. Remember last week when the survery was "Who Annoys You More?" and Dale was voted highest with 61% of the votes?

He's gone now.

Think about it.

<3 Knikki

Dale is This Season's Trey

I'm so effing over Top Chef. This is two seasons in a row where the dumbass judges have knocked off the one, if not THE, best chef in the bunch in restaurant wars.

I think it's freaking ridiculous that Dale went home tonight and Spike is still there. He is the worst chef I have ever scene. UGHHHHH! I don't think you can understand how pissed I am that they knocked off Dale. It's just like Danny said, "Dale will be this season's Trey." And sure enough, it was like an instant replay of last season.

I absolutely refuse to watch Top Chef from now on. I said this from the beginning: "If Dale gets knocked off, no more."

I mean Spike is still there. He's a wiesel. He's a jerk. He's a poor chef. He can't win on his own merit. He has to use his mouth to push the blame on everyone else. He doesn't want to do any work and give all the responsibility to the other chefs and get away with not cooking anything.

I can't believe it. I'm so over Top Chef. Padma, Tom - YA'LL ARE MORONS. FOR REAL.

<3 Knikki

Tagged

Here's another blog tag where you have a good laugh at other people's answers and then post your own embarassing ones. LOL jk.


5 things found in my purse:
1) Clinique free makeup bag (1/3 of purse)
2) Wallet
3) Planner
4) DG sunglesses
5) Mischellaneous papers/receipts

Did anyone else have to look at their bag to see what was in there??? LOL

5 things in my room:
1) Fiance
2) Computer
3) Spanish books
4) Bench (weight lift thing he uses)
5) TV

5 things I've always wanted to do
1) Travel the world
2) have (and keep) a best friend** Same as Miss Whoever You Are
3) Be an interpreter for the UN
4) Get straight a's.
5) Memorize the Bible

5 things I'm currently into now:
1) Getting a job at a vet clinic
2) Spanish class over the summer
3) Eating healthier
4) Running more
5) My dog Jake

5 impressions of Miss Whoever You Are (girl who tagged me)
1) Love the layout
2) Really funny
3) Incredibly smart
4) Makeup girl (in a good way)
5) Will probably have the blog for a long time

<3 Knikki