I'm Melting

You guys. It's hot. So hot. So hot that I'm melting like the Wicked Witch of the West. The heat index here has been hovering around 110°-116° the past few days, and it's not looking like it's going to let up for awhile. So if you need me, I'll be laying in front of the vent on the ceramic tile in the kitchen, face down. Thank goodness for iced skinny caramel macchiattos from my Italian old man boyfriend Giovanni at Starbucks.

I'm sure you've heard Grouplove's summer hit Tongue Tied by now. But have you heard their cover of Andrew W.K.'s Party Hard? I'm obsessed. I remember listening to the Andrew W.K. original on repeat while riding up a mountain in a ten person van to run 15 miles back down it. Yeah. That happened.

Infomercials. You are the only thing I miss about cable. Here's a list of some of the most giggle inducing ones.

So I freakin' love Chobani Greek yogurt. It's so good for you and so delicious. Here's a conversion chart to use it in more of your recipes.

If I had a pool to go to, this would definitely be coming with me.

Have you visited my new book blog Bungalow Books? You should. You really should.

My plans for the weekend include NOTHING. Nothing but attempting to stay cool. And to not let my hair turn into an afro of frizz. I should buy stock in Frizz Ease with the way I've been going through it. What are your plans? Have you entered my giveaway yet?

GIVEAWAY! - Closed

AND THE WINNER IS..... (drumroll).... NATALIE JANNEY OF ADVENTURES AS MRS. JANNEY!

Hi friends! I'm really close to 150 followers on GFC and I just started a new blog over at Bungalow Books. What better way to celebrate than a GIVEAWAY!

Insert Oprah giveaway face here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It starts NOW and ends Tuesday, July 26th at midnight. You know, if it were me, I would be more excited for the box of random stuff than for the gift card. Because, knowing me, who KNOWS what will be in there?!

Good luck, homies.

Dreamland

Belly Fat... dreaming of eating food she's not supposed to eat.

I've been having some really weird dreams lately. Like, really weird. Way more weird than normal. I wake up confused on a daily basis now.

The first in this string was a dream about Jestina getting in trouble with the mob. She owed them $25,000. We had no idea how we were going to come up with that money (when one LT (life twin) gets in trouble, both LTs are in trouble, it's how it works). But that's when the Shandashian and Jesdashian minds combined to come up with the greatest idea ever. We would hold a star studded gala to raise money to pay off her debt! We invited all the who's who of Hollywood. Gisele Bündchen and I became fast friends over our mutual hate of Lindsay Lohan. Apparently, Lindsay was the one who outed her on her latest pregnancy. I couldn't tell that she was pregnant, she was so skinny. Jestina and I were successful in our endeavor, and we were able to pay off the mob before we were supposed to get hit by a train. I have no idea what that was all about. Probably the fact that I miss Jestina because she's off galavanting around Asia. 

Next up. Andy and I were at a hotel. We had to solve a mystery. This apparently involved kicking down doors and walls. And something to do with the number seventy. And I jumped over a railing and down 7 flights of stairs without hurting myself. It was like some sort of weird action spy movie. Then we figured it out. The culprit was the grandma working at the front desk. I still don't know what she did.

Then, I had a dream that Andy and I were sitting in our kitchen with his family. Which is weird right off the bat because you can't sit in our kitchen. It's too small. Then I looked in the backyard (also weird, our kitchen faces the neighbors, not the backyard) and saw a guinea fowl. If you don't know what one of those are, click here, it's like a chicken. I had no pants on. Why? I don't know. I went in the backyard to chase it away but it wouldn't move. Me, being terrified of birds like I am, went inside and told Andy to take care of it. He was too busy chatting. I went back outside and saw that the bird was gathering things to make a nest behind a piece of wood that was leaning up against the rental house (which was full of junk, which it is not in real life). No way nuh huh uh. Not making a nest in MY yard! I went back inside and demanded that he take care of it and to tell the renters to clean up their #$%^ while he was out there. He went outside. I woke up. I don't know if the bird stayed or went, if the yard got cleaned up, or if I ever put pants on.

I have come to the conclusion that I am a very weird person.

The end.

Bungalow Books

I am super excited to introduce you to my latest venture, Bungalow Books.

As many of you know, I am an avid reader. I wanted a place to share my thoughts on the many books I read.

So without further ado, click here to venture on over to Bungalow Books!

Faith

I'm sure by now you've looked at the pictures here about restoring faith in humanity. Sometimes it's hard to believe there is any good in the world with all of the terrible and shallow things we see on the tv everyday (cough KARDASHIANS cough). I thought I would share with you a time where my faith in humanity was restored.

How many times have you seen someone on the side of the road, broken down, and you drive right past? Or someone with their car in a ditch after a snow storm and you think "that sucks" and keep on driving?

A few years ago, we had an enormous amount of snow over the winter. Layers upon layers of snow turned to piles of ice on the sides of the road after melting and refreezing. I was on my way to work during rush hour traffic on a busy street. I saw the light ahead of me turn red, and I started stopping about 100 yards back, as the road was icy that early in the morning. But I didn't stop. My car kept sliding. Right towards the busy intersection near the interstate on-ramp. Where cars were zipping by at an alarming speed. I kept on sliding, closer and closer, and then I realized, I wasn't going to be able to stop in time. As I entered the intersection, still sliding, I had two choices. Be hit by four lanes of oncoming traffic, or floor it. I chose to floor it.

That decision left me in a pile of ice and snow on the opposite side of the street. After I had finished screaming, I tried to move my car. It didn't budge an inch, the tires slipping on the ice beneath them. I tried to open my door. It wouldn't open. I was stuck. The tears started flowing down my cheeks as the panic set in. What was I going to do?

Then, in my rearview mirror, I saw a man jogging across the street towards me with a shovel. When he got to my car he yelled, "Don't you cry, miss. I will get you out!" My heart caught in my throat. He began to dig, and dig, and dig. He barely made a dent in 15 minutes. He couldn't do it alone. He was sweating profusely despite the frigid temperatures. He pulled out his cell phone and I heard the muffled sounds of him speaking into it. He finished his call, and resumed digging.

Five minutes later a giant truck with a snow plow on the front showed up. Two men scrambled out with shovels while another stayed inside. Between the three men shoveling and the man with the snow plow, it took them another half hour to get me out. I was finally free, with my car a little worse for wear. The ice had punctured holes in my front bumper, the men told me. I was too terrified to get out of the car. I yelled my thanks out of my open window. They nodded and climbed into the truck, and were gone as suddenly as they had appeared.

I never even knew their names.

Have you ever had an experience that restored your faith in humanity? I want to hear it!

Case of the Mondays

This morning started off rather interestingly. While getting ready for work, I got something in my eye and while attempting to get it out, I cut my eyeball. Lovely right? This resulted in an emergency trip to the eye doctor and I am supposed to be pouring eyedrops in it every hour and resting with it closed right now. That is one serious case of the Mondays.. but you know me... had to get my weekend post up!

Friday night I met up with Sara and Gini and we had a BLAST. Somehow the only picture I got was with one of my besties, Karlee.

Partners in crime for the past 10 years.

I wore my beloved green maxi dress and tried to get Andy to cooperate for 5 minutes to take a picture. This is what happened:

"Can you at least TRY to take a picture when the wind isn't blowing!?"

Much better.

In true Shan form, I tried to take a self portrait while out on Saturday night while Andy was talking to me. It ended up like this:

Cute, I know.

We then made our way over to NoDo to catch some of the College World Series action in the Baseball Village. There is literally a city down there right now full of tents, musics, vendors, and bars.

TD Ameritrade Park at sunset.

Taking the long walk back downtown. Parking was a beast.

And it wouldn't be Sunday without a trip to Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob.

So that was our weekend. How was yours? 

I'm going to get some rest today and hopefully my dang eyeball heals. 

Frizzy

A sunshine-y new planner for work.

Fresh cut flowers on the table at Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob.

Flowers for my grandpa. Can't believe he's been gone a whole year.

This week FLEW by. I was so busy at work that I pretty much crashed every night when I got home. It has been HOT this week, and my hair has been in a constant state of frizz from the humidity. I finally broke down and bought some Frizz Ease after I got a good look at myself in the mirror. Here's to hoping for a frizz free weekend.

Am I the only one who thinks sloths are so cute? Especially these guys.

Betty Draper definitely wins this contest.

You guys. I am obsessed with this hair. Utterly obsessed.

I am really loving The Mynabirds right now. They are a local band who is really making it big this summer. This video was directed by one of Andy's friends and the camera work was done by his cousin.

This happened in Omaha yesterday. Seriously? Only in Nebraska.

Sara is in town for a wedding so she and I are meeting up with fellow blogger Gini tonight at Beercade. It should be a blast. I found a Groupon for our favorite restaurant in my wallet the other day that expires soon, so I'm sure we will hit up Pitch on Saturday. What are your weekend plans?

House Hunters

The Bung.

A year ago this week, we began our search for a house.

We started on Tuesday, the day after my grandpa died, so I was counting on that day to lift my spirits. From my education on HGTV, looking at houses should be an adventure. And oh boy was it an adventure.

The only requirements we had were: three bedrooms, two baths, it had to be in a specific neighborhood that we picked out (also the one Andy grew up in), and it had to have wood floors.

The first day we saw five houses, including the one that I LOVED online. I was so obsessed with it that I would look at pictures of it all day long at work. I was convinced that was OUR house. It was third on our list for the day.

The first house was a joke. To get to the "third bedroom" you had to go through the second bedroom. And this "third bedroom" was really just a room over the garage. The house had all the original wiring from the 20's, including all the outlets (which are a different shape than outlets we use now), rendering them pretty much useless. Not the house for us.

The next one was Andy's favorite. It had really good bones. A large kitchen, beautiful original woodwork, and a fireplace. The two downstairs bedrooms were a nice size, but the master in the attic was a disaster. Wall to wall carpet (I don't like carpet), no bathroom, and the ceilings were sloped so that we barely fit. We would have to walk down the stairs and across the house every time we had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I get up at least once a night, usually twice. Not our house.

Then we looked at the one I thought was "ours". As Andy so nicely put it, it "was like spit shining a turd". The pictures were so deceiving. I hated it. I was so depressed.

The next house greeted us with a horrible smell as we walked in the house. UMMM NOPE. I did a running tour of the house, which actually wasn't all that bad. But a smelly house? No way. Our realtor stood by the door the whole time to try to escape the smell. I got even more depressed after this house. We were NEVER going to find a house. (I'm dramatic, surprise!)

The last one was potentially a winner. It had everything we were looking for (even a finished basement!), but it didn't have a bathroom on the main floor. There was one upstairs and a nasty laundry room bathroom in the basement. It wasn't ideal, but it could do. It became our only contender.

The next day we upped our budget a bit (sorry Andy!) and looked at three more houses.

The first was one that had a gorgeous first floor, but the upstairs and basement must have been built for little people. We were hitting our heads on ceilings and door frames everywhere. I am 5'11½" and Andy's is 6'3". We are not small people. No go.

Next up. The Bungalow. The moment I walked in, I knew. Game over. This is the house. People joke about having emotional connections to things, but it's no joke. I was already making moving plans in my mind and strategizing on what what we would offer on the house. They practically had to drag me out of there to go to the next house.

We had one more house to look at, but I knew there was no way I was going to like it. And guess what? I didn't. The basement smelled like cat pee, and there was no backyard. Nope.

We had Andy's parents come look at the Bungalow over the weekend. His dad is a master of all homeowner knowledge and could point out if something was wrong. It passed their inspection and we made an offer on Monday. We found out that the girl who owned the house was getting married, and not only did she own the Bungalow, her fiance owned another house that they were trying to sell, and then they owned ANOTHER house together. She was eager to get it off her hands. Our offer was accepted by noon. The Bungalow was ours.

So, happy one year of knowing you Bung. I have never doubted my decision to make you ours. 

Being a "True" Nebraskan

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The other night at Whole Foods, Andy and I were picking out some vegetables for the week. I was weeding through the sweet corn, trying to find a couple good ears. I kept peeking in the tops and throwing them back. Andy asked me what I was doing and I replied, "finding the good ones". He said that if they didn't have worms then he buys them. I was appalled. How can you be a true Nebraskan without knowing how to pick the perfect ear of corn?! We are the Cornhusker state after all. The perfect ear of corn has both white and light yellow kernels and the full kernels extend to the tip of the corn. None of those empty kernel spaces for this girl. There's also size and shape to take into account. Sweet corn is a big deal in the summer here. The stands of local farmers are starting to pop up and I can't wait to get my hands on some real Nebraska corn.

This got me thinking. What does it mean to be a "true" Nebraskan? I'm not a fan of Cornhusker football, that's for sure. I know that is blasphemy to most Nebraskans, but I just don't. Never have, never will.

A true Nebraskan loves Runza. I could eat Runza every single day of my life. Just thinking about it right now makes me hungry.

Being a vegetarian in Nebraska? Good luck. We have some of the finest beef around. Ever heard of Omaha Steaks? That's my jam right there.

A true Nebraskan knows that the ski lift was invented here. Yes. The ski lift. In flat Nebraska.

I live right outside of an area called Aksarben. Yes, that is Nebraska backwards. We are creative folks.

If you're from Nebraska, driving through 2 feet of snow at 65 miles per hour is not a big deal.

Do you know what detasseling is? If you were from Nebraska, you would have to know that.

In Nebraska, it can easily be 70 degrees one day, and then snow the next. It happened this year. Twice. Related, a Halloween costume must be able to fit over a snow suit or be worn on it's own. You never know what the weather will be like.

Whenever you tell someone you're from Nebraska, they ask you if you live on a farm/have livestock/ride a tractor to work. I live in OMAHA. No I don't live on a farm, I've only been to a farm once. If you count cats as livestock, then yes I have livestock. And I've never ridden a tractor. Ever.

Nebraskans are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. For example, I was looking at iPad cases a few months back. The lady in the aisle with me at Target offered me her opinions of the one that she just bought. It's not uncommon for someone who is not an employee to give you advice on a project while you're in the plumbing aisle at Lowe's either.

So that's Nebraska for you.

Things I Can't Do

I can't do a cartwheel. By the time I wanted to learn, I was a 5'10" 8th grader and increasingly clumsy. It didn't work out.

I can't drive a stick shift. Andy's been trying to get me to learn on his car, but I'm afraid I will make the car blow up.

I can't own a short hair dog. They give me horrible itchy hives. But this does not stop me from petting them. I just couldn't own one. Long haired dogs don't give me the same reaction for some reason.

Actually, I can't own any more pets. Andy said he will get me a shopping cart with my name on it because I will be homeless if I bring any more animals into the house.

I can't do math. Well, I can do simple math, but anything beyond that makes me want to cry. How I passed calculus in college is a miracle.

I can't lie to those close to me. I know I shouldn't anyways, but when I try to, I cave within 5 minutes and the truth comes spilling out of me.

I can't stand birds. They scare the living #$% out of me. The geese that hang out behind my work taunt me on a daily basis.

I can't go in the scary "door room" in our basement. It is the old coal room for the house where they used to store coal for heating. It's now full of old doors and windows from the house. I've been in there twice since we moved in. It gives me the creeps big time.

I can't sleep without the noise of a fan. I started sleeping with one in college to drown out the noise in the dorms, and now I can't sleep without it.

I can't drink whiskey. I get the instant throw up feeling in my mouth when I do.

I can't play golf. Andy says he doesn't have the patience to teach me and that it would be easier to spend $400 to have a pro teach me. That's not happening anytime soon.

I can't go more than a few hours without checking some sort of social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.). It's a sickness.

I can't be out in the heat for long. I get heat stroke so quickly it's ridiculous. Heat is also a migraine trigger for me. Summer is super fun for me in Omaha. Not.

What can't you do?

Moscow Mules

We had a pretty uneventful weekend at the Bungalow. Last week left me drained, so I spent most of the weekend catching up on some much needed sleep.

Friday night we headed to Dundee for some Moscow Mules. I've had a lot of people ask what's in a Moscow Mule, so I figured I would give you guys the recipe.

Moscow Mule

A Moscow Mule at the Dundee Cork and Bottle. The best in town.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 lime

- 2 oz. vodka

- 4 oz. ginger beer (not the same as ginger ale, but in a pinch ginger ale will do)

- Copper mug (not absolutely necessary, but it is much better with one)

Directions:

Add ice to mug. Squeeze lime into mug and leave the spent lime rind. Add the vodka and ginger beer. Drink to your heart's content. 

My view Friday while drinking my Mules. I love my neighborhood.

Saturday we enjoyed some pizza while watching some golf and College World Series games. I was surprised how much I got into the golf game. It was ridiculous. Who am I and what have I done with Shannon?

Sunday we helped my parents chop down a tree in their backyard that fell during a particularly bad storm last Thursday night. It was hot and I was sweaty and I dropped a log on my freshly pedicured toe. I was not a happy camper.

And now it's Monday again, and I'm counting down the days until my bunhead gets back from her Asian adventure. Life without being able to talk to your best friend is not very fun at all.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun/amazing/spectacular?

All Birthday Everything!

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your well wishes on my birthday yesterday. I had a fantastic day!

Birthday cake | Birthday Starbucks

Birthday smoothie that my momma brought me at work | Birthday fancy shoes

Birthday cookies from my coworkers | More birthday presents from my bestie

Who doesn't love The Spice Girls Movie? (Or as Jestina would say, Slice Hurls)

Have you ever broken your favorite compact and the pressed powder shatters into a million peices and then you cry a million tears? Find out how to fix it!

How true is this? So true. That's the answer.

How can I get Andy to let me have a baby tiger?

Chances are, you're reading this on a Mac right now if you're a blogger. Did you see all of Apple's announcements this week? I love me some Apple products.

What are your plans this weekend? After a super busy weekend last week, I think we're down for some relaxing at the Bungalow. I need to catch up on sleep!

24

So far, in the hour and half that I've been awake, 24 doesn't feel much different than 23. I just shoveled a Starbucks breakfast sandwich in my mouth in under a minute, so we know that 24 doesn't come with self control.

I'm spending my birthday working (yay...) and spending some quality time with Andy Bill. It should be a good one.

Also: I'm over here today.

I will leave you with this lovely picture I received from my bunhead this morning at 12:15 AM.

It's About That Time

In Omaha, we're known for a few things and one of the biggest is being home to the College World Series, which starts Friday.

From 1950 to 2010, the CWS was held in our beloved Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.

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Pretty, isn't it?

The Omaha Zoo bought Rosenblatt after plans were announced for a new stadium to house the CWS. Today it looks a little like this:

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Seats and other memorabilia were auctioned off last year, and this weekend you can take one final tour of the legendary stadium before the zoo begins construction on a number of new exhibits in July.

In 2011, TD Ameritrade Park opened as the new home of the College World Series

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TD Ameritrade Park is located in the NODO neighborhood of Omaha (NOrth Downtown Omaha). The area around the park has really flourished in the past few years. You'll find a number of local businesses, restaurants, and shops in the area, which is only minutes from the popular Old Market District and Creighton University (the home team of TD Ameritrade Park). The city becomes overrun with tourists (in Nebraska, crazy right?) and we take the opportunity to really let Omaha shine.

This year, Omaha has the honor of holding the Olympic swim trials at the CenturyLink Center (just to the east of TD Ameritrade Park) as the CWS is wrapping up. If you drive down Dodge Street towards downtown, you will pass this dude outside of the trials' sponsor, Mutual of Omaha.

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That's some pretty awesome marketing, right?

Omaha is really stepping up to the plate to become a sports destination. In 2013, we are hosting the US Figure Skating Championships in January and the US Senior Golf Open in July.

So, is Omaha as boring as you thought it was? Didn't think so :)

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What I Really Want

Now, this is going to sound silly. But all I can think about lately is Nutella. I remember having it once as a kid, and really liking it. But that was before it was popular, and it was only sold at World Market. But now it's everywhere. On Pinterest, on Twitter, all up on my Instagram feed. But I have a problem, guys.

I can't eat it.

I forgot to share one of my many defections last week. I am horribly allergic to tree nuts. Which means, everything but peanuts because they are technically a legume (and they grow on a bush, not a tree). Hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, pecans, you name it, I blow up like a balloon. But, I haven't always been allergic.

It came about when I was 19 years old around Christmas. I ate some fudge with walnuts in it and my face swelled up huge. I went to the ER because it was after my doctor's office hours and they gave me a steroid shot and suggested that I see an allergist, but it was most likely an isolated incident.

The next day I was eating a chicken salad sandwich at work. It had slivered almonds in it. Once again, I swelled up like Violet Beauregard. I hightailed it to my doctor's office where I got another steroid shot and strict orders to see an allergist.

I went to see the allergist and he confirmed that I am allergic to all tree nuts. So now I carry an epi-pen with me at all times, and have taught those close to me how to use it in case I am unable to. I've never had to use it (knock on wood), but I have had a few times where I was pretty darn close. I have to read labels carefully and be that annoying person at potlucks that asks who made what and what's in it.

So the Nutella.

I want it. I can't have it. I'm so terribly sad.

Pre-Birthday Weekend

I feel like this weekend flew by so fast that it didn't even happen. But that means it was a good one, right?

Friday night we had the McHale birthday celebration. In June (like I said last Friday), my sister's birthday is the 4th, my dad's is the 13th, mine is the 14th, and my mom's is the 19th. It's a lot of birthdays. So we all went to Pitch, my favorite restaurant, where my dad ordered us some after dinner drinks called Chartreuse. It burned like fire. You could feel it go all the way down to your stomach. It was strangely good.

Fire drink.

Then we headed to the Dundee Cork and Bottle for some birthday Moscow Mules.

My momma and I with our copper mugs full of Moscow Mules.

Then, since we were celebrating birthdays, I decided to open some of my presents. I know, I'm terrible. But  my bunhead told me to do it. 

From Andy, a set of four beautiful copper mugs to make my own Moscow Mules at home.

Then I unwrapped my present(s) from my bestie.

Greer Noonday the chicken (formerly known as Beyonce) and the card that made me cry. 

Candy. Because that's how we roll.

Sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Summertime staples.

Magic towels and an inflatable parrot hat. Because everyone needs those things.

Yesterday ended with us getting caught in a crazy rainstorm on the way to Whole Foods. You couldn't see a thing!

In the car during the storm.

Needless to say, we got soaked on our way inside. That makes for a not so fun shopping trip when you are soaking wet in the refrigerated aisle.

How was your weekend? Do anything spectacular? 

P.S. Abby is always watching you.

100% of you that read this are awesome.

I'm going to pull this one out sometime when someone throws a statistic at me.

Hello lovelies! Here we are, at the last Friday of my 23rd year of life. 24 years ago, my mother was wondering "when the eff will this baby come out of me?!". I was 2 weeks late. Oops. Just wanted to hang out with you a little longer mom!

I know this looks totally overboard, but I cannot tell you how many times I wish I had a nail kit in my car. 

Andy showed me this amazing article. I now feel self conscious about my work logo in my email signature.

I bought this from Sephora this week with my gift card that I won from the amazing Jamie. I can't wait to use it to achieve the perfect summer hair.

Andy and I are all about the iced tea this week. This tea is the best for making large batches of it in this pitcher we got from Target.

Let's just talk a little about my obsession with Bejeweled. I play nonstop on my iPad. Jestina and I are hellbent on beating that damn horse on level 7. Andy asked me how many games I could possibly play in one night. My answer? "A lot".

What are your weekend plans? Tonight we are going out with my family for June birthdays. My sister's birthday was the 4th, my dad's is the 13th, mine is the 14th, and my mom's is the 19th. Poor Dylan is in September. Then we have a 30th birthday party to attend Saturday, and before you know it, the weekend's gone!