Thursday Thoughts IV

ONE

   First week of school has been just what I expected it to be: stressful, overwhelming, hot, busy, and tiring. I guess a touch of excitement and a smidgen of happiness because I got to see some familiar faces and being a senior in college is pretty sweet. Nonetheless I am still counting down the days until this crazy semester is over. Why do I always stretch myself so thin? You’d think I’d learn.

TWO

   Had a minor flooding incident yesterday morning.

THREE

   Today marked Day 2 of attending our campus gym’s 6:15am spinning class with my friend Ashley. On Tuesday we got there just in time and managed to snag the last two bikes. Today we planned to get there earlier so we didn’t get stuck with the crappy ones but OF COURSE the class was full. Ok MSU, let’s examine the situation here. Either purchase more bikes for the class or offer more classes. So frustrating. Ashley and I still did a mini-workout, not nearly as awesome as spinning, but not horrible. We got to chat about wedding plans (she’s engaged, too!) which is hard to do during spinning because, well, you’re dying. Right as we left the gym I also managed to drop my phone and shatter the screen!!! So basically today has just been a treat thus far!

FOUR

   I was registered for this one credit yoga class (I’ve since dropped it because it was more inconvenient than interesting) and went on Monday. The teacher/professor/instructor? had us do this strange thing where you create your own “sankalpa” which is some weird word for “personal motto”. We had to answer a bunch of questions then form a motto-thing from how we answered them. It had a lot to do with what you want out of life, why you haven’t been able to achieve it, what you want people to remember you as, etc. This is what I came up with: “don’t sweat the small stuff – smile, laugh, relax and appreciate”. I hope I follow it because it definitely sums up what I need to change!

FIVE

   Got to hang out with a litter of five of these cute lil’ guys for about an hour last night:

   Since they’re part of some prestigious European bird hunting club, all the puppies born in 2012 have to be given names that start with “H”. I named this little dude Harrison; probably won’t be his name but if it is, I demand credit!

SIX

   Today is technically my Friday because I don’t have classes tomorrow, just work. Lots and lots of work. I hope I can get a lot done this weekend so I can approach next week with a more prepared demeanor!

SEVEN

   Was part of an awesome engagement proposal on Sunday! Ah, love.

Happy Thursday, friends! Get out and enjoy these last long weekends of summer!

first world problem

   Today was starting out 100% normal (save for the fact that I randomly woke up literally two seconds before my alarm went off. Not normal.) So I guess it was 99.2% normal.

   Grabbed my “usual” of yogurt and granola, meandered into my room to watch the update on Hurricane Isaac, and then this sound emanated from my bathroom:

Glllluuuuuuuggluggluggluggluuuuuuguuuuglgluglglug.

   Um?

   So I peeked in there out of sheer curiosity to discover that water was filling up my sinks at an extremely rapid pace via the drains.

   I frantically ran into my roommate’s room and said something along the lines of “help-something-is-flooding-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-come-help-sinks-ah!” with a mouthful of yogurt/granola mixture nonetheless.

   So we raced to my bathroom and realized both my sinks were going to overflow soon if we didn’t do something to stop it.

   I grabbed the nearest item that could hold liquid and began scooping water out of my left sink with a plastic cup into a blue day cooler. She grabbed a cup and a giant mixing bowl and got to work on the right sink.

   Pretty quickly we also realized that the water was warm. And bubbly. And smelled like Tresemme products. And that our upstairs neighbor was in the midst of a shower.

   So there we were at about 8:00am, simultaneously scooping our neighbor’s shower water out of my two sinks with plastic cups for twelve to fifteen minutes and taking turns sprinting to the backyard to dump it on the lawn because what they hey do you do with used shower water?!

   Now I sit here as a RotoRooter man uses some crazy pipe-cleaning machine on my sinks to pull out massive amounts of hair and…such. I don’t even let my hair go down the drain! Why is this happening?!

   Oh and did I mention that it also flooded the cupboards underneath?

   It also flooded the cupboards underneath. Yay for wet feminine products!

   But, as with most things, I have tried to find the silver lining. Thank goodness I was home and could stop it from becoming a very wet, soapy, nasty disaster.

   Also, I’m very glad she didn’t need to, ahem, use the toilet.

sayonara

   Congratulations, summer! You officially win the Shortest Season Ever award! Leaves are falling, it fell to 42 degrees last night and I ordered my first hot spiced chai. Hello autumn!

   I actually really love fall. I especially love the colors – I even have a leaf collection from around this time last year!

See?

   I love the crisp, clear air and the earthy smells of…well…decomposing leaves. I love pulling out my warm jackets and bringing a thermos of coffee to school. I love cuddling up in a blanket in front of my fireplace. So much seasonly love! But I’m still sad to see summer go. Come back soon…?

   Today was a super awesome way to end Summer 2012 however. Woke up almost too late to make it to the 9:00am church service but made it out the door with just enough time to grab the usual “iced coffees with a little bit of cream” from City Brew with my crew (see what I did there?).

   After church, we three amigos went to breakfast at our favorite joint “The Western”. Brief descriptive picture to follow:

For those of you that are thinking "what in the world are those lumpy, brown flying things?" or "what's with the letter U...?" it's simply my attempt at drawing mounted antlers and horse shoes. Be jealous of my skillz.

   I ate my meal in approximately eight minutes. Nothin’ but class.

   Garrett and I convinced our fellow Sunday comrade to join us in a casual hike to celebrate the last day of summer vacay. She agreed so we headed up the canyon to trek up an easy but beautiful path to Palisade Falls. Little did she know it was all just part of her boyfriend’s EXTREMELY elaborate proposal plan! It worked flawlessly and I felt so honored to be a part of it. I’d give all the details but it’s not my story to tell ;)

   The day ended with some relaxing, room cleaning and first day of school prep. These next sixteen/seventeen/eighteen…? weeks are going to be a major test for me. I plan to keep at least 73% of my sanity at all time for the sake of my roommate and fiancé. But if I don’t then, well, I guess you’ll know because my posts probably won’t make any sense.

   That being said, bring it on senior year!

Thursday Thoughts III

Linking up with Sar again for another weekly dose of:
Thursday Thoughts!

   Last Thursday before school starts up again – I can’t believe it. I was just skimming through my day planner from last semester and the last thing I wrote was “let the 113 days of summer begin!” It blows. my. mind. that those 113 days have already come and gone. Why doesn’t time fly this fast when it’s cold out?!

ONE

   Spent a lovely almost-week at home! Talk about going by fast. It felt like I was there for maybe two days. But I got to spend time with my college bound sibling, good high school friends, parents and my favorite pup in the whole world so it was well worth the trip.

Ah, friends...

Ah, sibling...

TWO

   Got my air conditioning unit fixed in the ol’ Santa Fe! Thanks Dad! The drive home was horrifyingly hot and I drove part of the way with my shirt tucked up (like when you were little and pretended you were some sexy islander in a bikini) and my hair pulled up off my face. The way back to Bozeman was much less of a trial – I simply pushed the AC button and voila! It’s the little things.

THREE

   Spent a good two hours on Tuesday trying on weeeeddddiiiinnnnggg gggooowwwnnnssss! I couldn’t believe I was actually getting to model those beautiful dresses for my friends and family. Even when I saw myself in the giant cluster of mirrors as I walked into the room, I had a hard time accepting the fact! My mom brought champagne with blueberries for a toast and 2/3 of my bridal line were there to help weigh in. It was a ton of fun! I didn’t find anything that majorly tickled my fancy but luckily there is plenty of time...kind of.

FOUR

   A NEW BUNNY FRIEND!!! Saw this lil’ guy/girl yesterday right after I got back from my trip home. I opened up the drapes in the living room and could NOT believe my eyes! I think this is the deceased's sibling - I guess I’m just meant to have a furry companion. 

FIVE

   Kind of had a sad spell last night because once I leave home I never know when I’ll get to go back again. This year is so different from my last three years in college because nothing is predictable. Garrett graduates in December, my sister is starting her first year of college in a different town, I don’t know what I’m doing with my nearly completed degree…blah! My biggest fear is that from this point on, everything I’ve ever known will be completely different.

SIX

   I have a couple busy days ahead of me but am hoping I can keep Sunday completely free to savor and celebrate my last day of summer vacation before I dive face first into another crazy and hectic fall semester. Luckily this semester tends to go by quicker than the spring!

SEVEN

   Oh, and before I forget! A couple pics from the engagement photo session with my sister last Saturday! She is awesome.

Wishing you all a great rest of your week and an adventurous weekend!

picture this.

   Say Yes to the Dress has ruined society.

   

   Picture this: It’s the day you have set an appointment (or had your mom do it) to try on wedding dresses for the first time in your life, excluding that one time you awkwardly modeled wedding gowns in 8^th grade for a bridal fair because you live in a small town and happened to be the height of the average woman of marrying age.

   Now picture this: You walk into said bridal shop and the first thing you see is a girl/woman paying for her wedding dress with a too-small tank top on that provides a lovely view of her dual tramp stamps reading “Brian” on the right and “Damien” on the left.  My sister’s an optimist and said “well maybe they’re her kid’s names…?”

   Moving on to this: You gleefully make your way into the gown section and begin perusing the lacey and shimmery numbers only to discover they all cost about 30x what you set your internal price limit at and the more “perfect” they are, the more they cost and the more they cost, the more you consider going to JoAnn’s Fabric in the mall and buying a few yards of off-white synthetic cotton and a Do It Yourself bridal pattern.

   So now: Here I am in the back dressing room facing twelve of the most beautiful wedding gowns I’ve ever seen, dressed for the first time in a corset and nude-colored slip, while being questioned about my wedding colors and what style of shoe I’m wearing.

HALT!

   All I can think of is Is this really happening? Am I really about to try on wedding gowns that cost more than what my car Blue Books at? Why didn’t I wear seamless underwear? Am I seriously trying on wedding dresses?!

   Tried on wedding dresses I did. All twelve of those puppies were at one point slipped over my head, laced/buttoned/zipped up, twirled in, and admired. I loved all of them.

   Wait a second. Aren’t I supposed to be tearing up at The Perfect Dress? Shouldn’t I get butterflies and feel like everything that could possibly go right in the world has just occurred and life is grand? That’s what Randy on Say Yes to the Dress said! WHY ISN’T THIS HAPPENING TO ME?

   Could it be because little-old-naïve-me thought I could find my Dream Dress with a $300 price tag from a bridal boutique? Could it be that I’ve ruined myself and all my reaction expectations due to excessive TLC watching? Could Kleinfeld be lying?

   These thoughts running and running through my head during the 42 minute drive back to our small town after Wedding Dress Shopping Day. No butterflies, no fireworks, no tears. A little bit of nervousness and a smidgen of self-pity for not being born into money but that was about it for emotion.

   Until we got home and my dad asked to see my memory card from my camera I remembered to bring along today. As we started clicking through the pictures my sister snapped of me, I noticed something.

   I was only smiling in one dress.

   Not the “hey look at me! I’m taking a picture of you!” smile. Not even the I’m relatively conscious of the fact that a camera is pointed in my direction so I am going to smile-smile. It was the I feel extremely beautiful and confident in this wedding gown and I never want to take it off smile.

   No, I didn’t buy it. It was out of my price range for one and not 100% what I picture for myself, but the process helped more than I could have hoped.

   Next time someone asks me what I imagine for my special day, I’m going to remember that look of thrill and glee on my face in that badly lit, slightly out-of-focus picture taken today and say “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll find it”.

Thursday Thoughts II

Linking up with Sar from [life of love] again for my new weekly feature:  

Thursday Thoughts!

ONE

   So much has happened within the last week! Most importantly, I have a new job. Well actually I have two new jobs. I took an opportunity to jump departments at my current workplace and am now part of the accounting team! I’ll probably just be the accounts payable clerk but at least it’s something. I also started my part time job at After 5 and Weddings as their bookkeeper! Super excited. It’s going to be hard juggling two jobs, school, homework, wedding planning, friends, club activities, exercise, and God knows what else but I can do it.

TWO

   It’s that time of year where I realize I didn’t make nearly as much money this summer as I had anticipated. Therefore dishing out almost $400 for three textbooks this week was quite the blow to my (already moth-inhabited) wallet. At least I only have to do this three more times…ugh. I see the light kind of.

THREE

   I had to say goodbye to a dear friend this week.

FOUR

   I get to go home today and I can hardly contain my excitement. I get to see all my lady friends tomorrow night, attend a wedding on Saturday, have a Sister Day, get my engagement pictures done (!!!) and try on wedding dresses (!!!)! So much to be excited about!

FIVE

   Got my toes all shellac-ed up because I am lucky enough to have friends who keep up on all the latest nail trends. It’s such a weird process! If you haven’t had the chance to get that type of manicure/pedicure you should totally do it. So worth it because it lasts so much longer!

SIX

   I’m officially a senior in college now…so crazy. I searched myself on the student directory yesterday and literally squealed when I saw my new “title”. Yay for almost being out of school!

SEVEN

   Just a quick thought for my best friend who continues to surprise me every day. I love you.

goodbye little friend

   Today marks a sad, sad day in my little apartment.

   The moment occurred a few months back when I was neck deep in finals week stress and was thisclose to drowning my sorrows in too many chocolate chip banana bread muffins and iced coffees. One sunny morning, I whipped open my drapes to find this peaceful scene:

   A baby bunny! Outside my window! Nibbling on pieces of new grass and hopping hither and thither. I literally watched it for fifteen minutes, a ridiculous yet ecstatic smile plastered on my weary face. I took probably 29 pictures of it from various angles trying to capture the moment forever in case my little visitor was just stopping by for a quick hello.

   But alas! I soon found that he set up house underneath this big pine tree right outside my window. Thus I got the pleasure of seeing my new bestie every single day!

   Not only that, but I also discovered he had a sibling! Another baby bunny! TWO BABY BUNNIES.

   I was on Cloud Nine. I literally looked forward to the next morning so I could open up my drapes and greet my cute little pals. They slowly got bigger and my lawn slowly got…dead-er…so the visits became less frequent, but they still appeared every now and then I’m sure just to improve my day.

   Well, it was awesome while it lasted. 

   As I left my driveway on my bike to head to work this morning, I saw my little friend lying motionless on the side of the road.

   No more bunny visits for me. I hope he finds a nice, green yard to nibble in bunny heaven. Thank you for improving my mood, calming me down, and keeping me company during the past few months. 

Presenting: Reasons I Choose Country Music

   Before I moved to Montana, I did not listen to country music. Sometimes my grandpa would play some Merle Haggard or Johnny Cash but that was the extent of my exposure. I stuck to the traditional 4^th grade girl genres such as Aaron Carter and Spice Girls. Yes, I do still have all the songs memorized.

   After the big move, my lifestyle made a 180 degree change. My house got smaller, my yard got bigger, my dad bought a cowboy hat, we got a cat, and my parents preset the radios in our cars to country music stations.

   It was hard for me to get used to. I wasn’t keen on slow songs that made you tear up for no reason, or fast-paced songs that made you feel like you were in the middle of some rowdy bluegrass festival. Over time I got used to the tempo and subject matter, even memorizing a few lines and choruses here and there.

   Looking back, I wholly appreciate my parents’ decision to move us up to Big Sky Country. Thanks to them I have been able to stay away from the following “popular songs”:

1.     “Scream” by Usher

Lines from the song:

“Getting’ drunk off the thought of you naked”
“Now relax and get on your back”
“Hope you’re ready to go all night”

   Kids sing this song. Little eleven year old girls are jamming out to this song, singing about some guy watching a girl in a club and fantasizing about “making her scream” “all night” “on her back”. Whaa??

2.     “Starships” by Nicki Minaj

Lyrics:

“So give me more, more, ‘til I can’t stand”
“I’ma blow all my money and don’t give two sh*ts”
“We’re higher than a motherf***er”
“But f*** who you want, and f*** who you like”

   So basically Nicki is telling us it’s socially acceptable to get so drunk that you can’t stand up, spend all your money and not care about it, get high, and sleep with anyone and everyone you want. Oh, and she throws in some attractive “sentence enhancers” in basically every line. Go ahead, kids! Listen to this song! It is #11 on this week’s Top 40 chart so obviously it’s awesome. Hopefully our youngins take some life tips from this great piece of artistry.

3.     “Whistle” by Flo Rida

Some lines:

“And I’m betting you like girls that give love to girls”
“Cause I love it how you drop it, drop it, drop it, on me”
And the most important and repeated line: “Can you blow my whistle baby…put your lips together and you come real close”

   Um. I highly doubt there are people listening to this song who really think he’s talking about a whistle. He is not talking about a whistle. He sang an entire song about a woman doing a particular deed AND it’s on American Top 40! What is wrong with this world?! It’s not a whistle, people! Ugh this song just gives me the creeps.

Moving on to my preferred genre...

4.     “Kissed You Good Night” by Gloriana

Lyrics:

“And I kissed you goodnight”
“Praying that you wouldn’t go”
“Half scared to death can’t catch my breath, aren’t these the moments we live for”

   Awww! Such a cute song. This is romantic movie material, almost The Notebook-esque. Notice there are no vulgar words OR insinuated nasty deeds – how strange! This song is #2 on Bob Kinglsey’s Country Countdown by the way.

5.     “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” by the Eli Young Band

Some lines:

“Keep on dreamin’, even if it breaks your heart”
“Gotta keep believin’ if you wanna know for sure”
“I can hear the ringin’ of a beat up ol’ guitar”

   A song that actually offers valid advice?! Who woulda thunk.

   So this is why I listen to country music. And why my children and their children and even their children will listen to country music. Usher, Nicki Minaj, and Flo Rida can all run in traffic.

Thursday Thoughts I

   Linking up with Sar from (my daily read) [life of love] for my FIRST EDITION of Thursday Thoughts! That was a complicated sentence.

ONE

   I am addicted to House Hunters. I watch it pretty regularly but have been caught up in the Olympics lately so I’ve been having withdrawals. Luckily I caught an episode last night and to my extreme amazement it was based in my town! That never happens! I took the liberty of notifying the other five people that were currently in proximity (all male) and for some reason they didn’t quite grasp why I was so excited.

TWO

   All week long I was looking forward to attending the annual Rockin’ the Rivers weekend-long concert but just last night learned you have to purchase a day pass to go. I was so sad! I can barely afford groceries let alone a $40 fun-day. L I guess I’ll just go to a river nearby and bring some crappy rock CDs and create the moment for myself…for free.

THREE

   I have been spoiled this week because my roommate is currently housesitting for a guy who raises French Brittany bird dogs and one of them had a litter of puppies about a month ago! So this is what I’ve gotten to cuddle with twice this week:

FOUR

   My job has been killing me this week. Over seven hours in front of a computer in a basement can really bring you down. Luckily I’m of age and this is now appropriate after a long, hard day at work:

FIVE

   I’m really looking forward to my 3-day weekend! Here’s to hoping it’s filled with sunshine, Arnold Palmers, friends, love, and more puppy cuddle sessions!

AND it's edible.

   I actually cooked myself a meal last night. The best part about it was that I enjoyed eating it which never happens.

   Inspired by Paigeity's post Living on the Cheap: Food, I high tailed it to the grocery store over the weekend to get some supplies. I was feeling bad about the fact that I can’t even feed myself an adequate meal on accounta’ my diagnosis of ESL (Extreme Summer Laziness). Once there, I suffered from “can’t decide what to make”itis and ended up buying an assortment of random foodstuffs. You can never go wrong with chicken breasts though! Unless you’re a vegetarian. Or the word “breast” freaks you out.

   So yesterday I was determined to make myself dinner with the following ingredients: raw quinoa, chicken breasts, assorted raw veggies, and cheese. Believe me when I tell you it turned out AMAZING. And it’s so easy! And relatively affordable! And makes multiple meals worth of deliciousness. So basically, you just have to give this one a try.

   For starters, I recommend buying thinly sliced pieces of chicken breast from the meat department. Frozen chicken is a) nasty and b) easily freezer burnt which makes it even nastier. Take the raw chicken and portion it out into little baggies, write the date on the bags, and stick them in the freezer for easy meal-sized amounts.

   So yesterday morning, I pulled one of my baggies of chicken out of the freezer (three strips about the size of a small banana) and dumped some Newman’s Own Light Balsamic vinaigrette into it to marinade during the day. The baggy went back into the fridge and sat for about 9 hours until I got off work.

   The first thing I did to start cooking was chop up my veggies. I used about 2/3 of a green bell pepper, ½ a yellow onion, one garlic clove, and about fifteen mini carrots. Pour in about 2 tbsp olive or canola oil into a fry pan and toss in your onions and minced garlic on medium heat.

   Meanwhile, rinse 1 cup of quinoa. I learned that quinoa is really fatty and can easily spoil so grocery stores buy the kind that has been coated with some special preservative to keep it from going bad. It’s not necessarily bad for you to consume but alters how it cooks and tastes. To rinse it, just put the quinoa in a bowl and cover with water, allowing to sit for about five minutes. The quinoa will absorb most of the water but that’s ok.

   Drain the remaining water from the quinoa and put into a medium saucepan along with 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil then back down to a simmer, letting sit for about 12 minutes. You should be using a tightly fitting lid.

   Your onions should be clear by now (signaling they’re done). Time for the chicken! Place the strips (you can make them whatever size you want now that they’re thawed – I cut mine all in half hotdog-wise) evenly in the pan with the garlic and onions. Since mine were fairly thin they didn’t take too long to cook through, probably about 8 minutes.

   Remember to keep stirring your quinoa! Make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

   Take the chicken out of the fry pan and throw in your carrot and pepper morsels. Salt, pepper, and BAM! it for flavor and let sit for a bit until the veggies are to your desired softness. Throw the chicken back in to absorb the flavor and to guarantee there’s no pink in the middle.

   The quinoa should be done now so take it off the heat and give it a good stir. You’ll want it hot for your meal, though, so keep the lid on.

   Once your veggies and meat are done, scoop some quinoa into a bowl and top it with your delicious chicken mixture. Sprinkle some cheese (I used Mexican blend because it’s all I had, but I’m sure any cheese would work just fine) on top, give it a stir, and voila! A delicious and healthy meal!

Proof:

Ingredients:

3 medium sized strips of chicken breast

Some sort of balsamic vinaigrette for the marinade

2/3 green bell pepper

½ onion

1 garlic clove

15 mini carrots

Olive or canola oil

1 cup raw quinoa (can find at most grocery stores in the bulk bins)

2 cups chicken broth

Some sort of shredded cheese

Sources:

 Chicken with Quinoa and Veggies

that's not my name.

   I remembered this really humorous story the other day that characterizes my childhood. I went back and forth deciding whether or not it would be Blog Worthy (aka: funny to anyone other than myself) and I have deemed it appropriate.

   When my family lived in Utah, my parents owned their own business. They had all sorts of products for biking, camping, and just outdoor hobbies in general. Because they were a smaller company, my parents turned to local job-seekers to sew the products from home instead of staffing. There was a little Asian woman that worked for them for quite a while (forgive me for not remembering her name) so my mom would haul my sister and I as well as the product to be sewed out to this woman’s house once in a while. I can vaguely remember what the house looks like, but I do remember she had two kids that were around my age.

   They all spoke in very broken English so, as a kid, I didn’t communicate with her kids that much. I’d smile and say “hi” and then they would say something in return but I couldn’t understand it so I’d just keep smiling. In retrospect, those were probably my first experiences with other ethnicities. Well it was Salt Lake City in the 90’s, give me a break.

   One day, the son handed my mom an invitation to his birthday party. He was a bit older than me so it was probably his 10^th or something. My mom asked my sister and I if we wanted to go and we whined the whole way home in the car about how we couldn’t understand them and their food smelled weird. My mom felt bad so she decided to at least get him a gift.

   The next time we took a delivery to their house, my mom presented the birthday boy with a big box. On top of the gift was a card.

   Quick break here. I don’t know about you all, but if you don’t know someone’s name or how to spell it, you probably refrain from writing anything on the envelope other than “Happy Birthday!”, right? I mean, I’d kind of rather just not have someone attempt to guess my name and how it’s spelled than butcher it. Is that weird? Well anyway…

   So my mom hands the kid his present and he has this weird look on his face. He looks up at my mom, almost pitifully, and simply says “my name is not knee”.

   …………………?

   Apparently my mom asked someone, or maybe just overheard, what the son’s name was. Even though the family is very obviously Asian and even though it’s pretty unusual to name your child after a part of the human anatomy, my mom still decided it was a good idea to write “To: Knee” on this kid’s birthday card.

   Turns out his name was “Ng”, which in my mom’s defense was indeed pronounced “Knee”. Ng? Really? It’s like their just asking for non-Asian people to be tormented.

   I will never forget that look on “Knee” ‘s face or the way my mom just kind of laughed and joked it off as if it wasn’t extremely embarrassing. For all of us.

   Basically I’ve learned to just stick with the ol’ “Happy Birthday!”. Better safe than sorry.

 

Explains a lot about me, don’t it.