My life as I know it

I know I'm all about putting myself out there with my embarrassing stories for you to laugh at and I swear, most of the time I'm okay with it. But the hypothetical situation I'm about to explain, is not something I'm 100% okay with yet and therefore, I can neither confirm nor deny that the following is true. A few months ago, I may or may not have created a playlist on my iPod titled, "Songs I like to sing along to" filled with tracks I feel best fit in my very limited vocal range and that I enjoy singing along with. I may or may not have burnt this playlist on to a CD and I may or may not be found belting out the songs during my long commutes to and from work. I may or may not pretend that I'm karaoking the songs while I'm practicing them in my car and perhaps I even rewind certain parts of the song over and over again until I feel I've hit a difficult note the best of my ability. I may or may not have listened to said CD so many times that I fe...

We have had back-to-back weekends of tailgating fun and watching our teams bring home victories! Last weekend we tailgated in the Muni lot in downtown Cleveland for the Browns vs. Patriots game. We had awesome (and rare) Cleveland November weather and couldn't have asked for a better group of people to tailgate with! In addition to the great weather and great company, we absolutely could not have asked for better seats at the game! I have never had such awesome seats at a Browns game before! Granted, it was only my second game ever, but still, I don't think I will ever get to enjoy better seats! But most importantly of all, we got to see the Browns bring home their third victory of the season against the best team in the NFL! Excited Robinsons after the big win! So far, Pat has proven to be a good luck charm for Cleveland! He got to see (in these same awesome seats) the win against Cincinnati. So far, he's 2-0 with his tickets. He's going to the game today agains...

I wrote the blog below on October 19, 2010. Why it stayed in "draft" form, I'm not quite sure but it's time to set it free. Enjoy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ingredients 1 (50 ounce) can whole cooked chicken, drained, bones and skin removed 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1 1/8 cups water 1 (8 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix 6 hamburger buns, split Directions Shred chicken, and place in a large pot or slow cooker. Stir in soup and water. Stir in the seasoning mix from the stuffing, and then stir in the dry stuffing mix. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Spoon onto buns, and serve. I realize I am long overdue for a new recipe of the week. I'...

I'm always joking about the fact that my life is like a comedy routine, a Michael Scott in the Office or Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents kind of comedy where the uncomfortable jokes are usually on me. Most of the times these "jokes" take place when I'm all by myself. This morning was a perfect example. I was just finishing up getting ready for work and realized I hadn't put any lotion on yet. I wear lotion every single day and I like to rotate the scents (weird, I know). As I was looking through my rather large collection of Bath and Bodyworks lotions and feeling like I wear the same ones all of the time, I realized there was a strawberry champagne Victoria Secret lotion that I hadn't worn in a while. Without reading the label, I picked it up and put a strip of lotion on both arms. I rubbed it in quickly and put the extra lotion on my chest, as I always do. I gave myself one last look in the mirror, not looking for perfection by any means since my hair was s...

Last night in Dale Carnegie, the students were learning and practicing how to accept compliments by simply smiling and saying thank you. The purpose of the exercise was both to help people understand the power of giving sincere compliments but also to recognize how difficult it is for many people to accept compliments. The first reaction of many people when receiving compliments is to respond with a joke or a statement that somehow takes away from the praise they just received. Even if you don't say anything out loud, many times your facial expressions and nonverbals say it all for you. I am very much guilty of this myself. I usually make a joke or say something sarcastic when receiving compliments. Today, I received a compliment from a man the same age as my dad (or older) that went something like this..."Well, don't you look cute today!" Practicing my DC techniques, I simply smiled and very politely said thank you, even though there were so many contrasting, not p...

On Wednesday, it took me an hour to get to work. Three weeks ago, it took me an hour and ten minutes. That's right. I could have driven home to my parents house in Bellville or Butler in the time that it took me to get 28 miles. As soon as I realize traffic is backed up, I always turn on the radio and start scanning stations until I hear a traffic update.When traffic isn't moving at all, I always expect to hear about some horrible, three car pile up. And sometimes, I do. On other days, when there are no accidents to report, I end up hearing the traffic reporter on the radio say, "traffic due to sun glare delays." Yes, you read that right. okroads.com Sun. Glare. Delays. I know. It makes absolutely no sense to me either! I understand when traffic is delayed because there's an accident or because it's raining or snowing. None of these situations make me happy, but at least they make sense. However, the sun shining, which is such a rare and beautiful thing...

I have always loved passing out candy to the trick or treaters. Growing up, I was usually in charge of this task at my dad's house in Shelby, which was in a perfect location to get TONS of trick or treaters since he lived at the end of a large Boulevard. When we bought our house two years ago, I was very excited to pass out candy for the first time. I was working late on the Friday of Trick or Treat. I didn't get out of work until 5:30 or so and Trick or Treat started at 6! I rushed home, threw on Pat's pirate hat that he wore for his costume that year and we sat on our porch together waiting for the slew of trick or treaters to arrive. We waited... and waited... and waited... but they never came. The only kids who came were our neighbors, which included three families and a total of six kids. We only got six kids! I was so disappointed! Pat, who probably dominated all of the candy we had left over, was not nearly as disappointed. I didn't have high hopes the follow...

My October edition of Women's Day Magazine (yes, again, the mysterious magazine that I started receiving about a year ago and have no idea from whom) had several DIY tips for decorating at Halloween. Almost every one of them involved some sort of use of Candy Corn. I loved them all and wanted to try them! What a simple idea! I've only tried two so far but if I keep working at my hot glue gun skills (i.e. not burning myself several times while using it), I do foresee a candy corn wreath in my future (most likely at next year's Halloween). This idea I thought was so cute and so easy! I had Pat cut down a branch from our tree out front and I bought a cheap vase at Pat Catan's and some styrofoam. Pat trimmed down the styrofoam to fit in the vase (isn't it funny how "my projects" always become "our projects?" Funny for me, anyway). I then stuck the branch into the styrofoam and filled the vase with candy corn. I glued some pieces of candy corn ...

I did a lot of cooking last Sunday. I woke up in the mood to cook and that's what I spent my day doing! First, I made spinach artichoke dip for the husband and brother-in-law while they watched the Brown's game (maybe my dip is what got the team the big win?). Next I made beef stew in the crock pot and made my Grandma's Italian meatballs and spaghetti sauce on the stove. The beautiful thing about beef stew (and maybe most soups and sauces) is that they are just as good, if not better, when heated up so they are great things to make on Sunday and eat all week.  Last night, I made my very first batch of homemade mashed potatoes, which were surprisingly very quick and easy! I used a very basic recipe only calling for potatoes, butter, milk and salt. I used less butter and a little more 1% milk and added some garlic powder. I don't have a masher and wasn't sure if I would need a blender or my mixer to mash the potatoes, but they were so moist after boiling that...

Listen, I understand it's a Friday morning, the weather is getting colder and getting out of bed is getting harder and harder. Believe me, we are suffering through the same thing in the Robinson household. I understand that you were running late to work today. I was too (today and most every day, I might add). But what I can't quite understand is why the fact that you were running late to work this morning became everyone else's problem. Just because you are driving the same type of car that was used in the Italian Job , does not mean that you are actually in the movie or that you should be driving like you are. You may have gotten the car to feel like a race car driver, but you aren't and I-90 is not a racetrack. Just because your car is small, does not mean that you have the right to weave in and out of traffic like we are Go Kart racing. Last time I checked, turn signals are not optional and weaving from lane to lane too fast is not a good enough excuse not to use ...

Have I mentioned lately how much I love fall? Even my 50 minute commute feels better in the fall when I can watch the orange, brown and red leaves falling from the trees while I'm sipping my warm apple cider, keeping the other hand on the wheel, of course!  One of the reasons I love fall so much is because of Halloween. It's ironic that I love Halloween as much as I do because I hate horror movies and don't like to be scared, yet I end up going to Halloweekends almost every single year and walk through the haunted houses (which are suitable for children and yet still make me feel as though I could faint). We are going tonight and I absolutely cannot wait! It's currently pouring down rain where I'm sitting and the trees look like they're about to blow over. Not ideal weather for an amusement park but I'm hoping the Cleveland weather isn't indicative of the weather in Sandusky. In addition to Halloweekends tonight, this weekend is also the 6th Annual T...

Today, 10-10-10 marks the official close of the wedding season (and is also my dear friend Aubrey's 27th birthday). Wedding season officially started for me on Saturday, March 6 with Kari's wedding shower and ended on Saturday, October 9, 2010, with Jen and Sean's wedding. We were invited to 11 weddings this year and attended 9 of those 11. I attended 5 bridal showers and 4 bachelorette parties. Pat attended 3 bachelor parties and together we attended 3 rehearsal dinners. What is even more crazy than our stats is that many of my friends can top it with even higher numbers! It was a crazy year of weddings for almost everyone I know! Weddings are fun and it's great to be there to celebrate with people on one of the happiest days of their lives! As much fun as we had attending them and being a part of them, we are very much looking forward to having some relaxing weekends at home and saving some money! It was a personal goal of mine to not repeat any dresses this weddi...

I have become obsessed with the show Glee. As with most trends, I was very late to jump on the bandwagon so I watched all the reruns this summer and got HOOKED! I'm now officially a "Gleek," if you will. Every time I would watch an episode this summer, Pat would stick around until the first singing number started and then he'd get up and leave the room saying the show was too ridiculous for him. Last night, I begged him to stay and watch the full episode with me and give it a chance. I was hoping if he watched a full episode, he would catch on to some of the storyline and realize there actually was a plot and then might start to like the show. While he did stay downstairs with me for the entire show, he definitely wouldn't agree that the show has a plot and he definitely will never watch the show with me again. He can't get over the fact that the cast randomly goes into musical numbers, flash mob style, to express their feelings. But what he thinks is even w...

Don't get too excited. I'm not being helicoptered into the desert to prove what we all already know: I hate bugs and probably have very few survival skills. But I do sometimes feel as though I live with a bunch of wild animals. Whether it's Sadie who seems to be throwing up every other day or Grady who has been having accidents in his crate once a week, it seems that we are constantly cleaning up after these animals. And then there's Pat. I know that part of it isn't his fault and that by just being a guy, he will naturally do some things that I find disgusting. On Sunday, I watched him take off his socks, the same socks he had been wearing all day long, and roll them up into a ball. I assumed he was rolling them up and taking them right to the laundry basket so Grady wouldn't try to eat them. I watched him walk out of the office and turn left to walk into our bedroom rather than walking straight into the bathroom where the dirty clothes basket is located. He ...

Epic fail. That's all there is to say. Okay, fine. I'll explain. The nacho dogs ( recipe here ) were a disaster from start to finish. Actually, I was doomed before I even started because as soon as I read the line, "a great recipe for kids to cook," all I could think about was screwing up a recipe that was so easy a "kid could do it." I didn't find it to be all that easy. Whether or not it should have been is another story. The first step was as simple as opening the croissants and getting them out of the packaging. I'm not going to lie. I always get nervous when I'm opening the biscuits and croissants packaging because I know it's going to "pop open" when you least expect it. Tonight I was like Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf when he's turning the jack-in-the-box and nervously waiting for it to pop open. And just like the movie goes, when it didn't immediately pop open, I was convinced that it wasn't going to. I thought...

No, not that kind of sign (I'm a Leo, by the way). I am talking about street signs and I have seen some pretty random ones in the three years I've been commuting around the city of Cleveland. The sign that I have seen throughout the last week, placed on the busy highway I take home from work, takes the cake as the most random sign ever. It's a big orange sign located right before you drive under and overpass with the message,  "Clean Water Falling." Ideally this is the kind of sign you would like to see in an art gallery where you can stand there, stare at it, back up, tilt your head to the side and stare at it again trying to analyze what the heck it could possibly mean. Unfortunately, when you see this sign right as you're coming around a sharp curve (known as Dead Man's Curve) and trying to slow down from 60 MPH to 35, you don't really have time for this sort of analysis. Instead, I found myself frantically trying to close the sunroof on my car so...

We're all guilty of it at some point or another - not always being the best listeners. One of the areas we focused on in communication studies is the art of listening. Some people might assume that listening and hearing are the same thing, but this is incorrect. Hearing refers to the physical act of sound entering your ears and doesn't require any action on your part whatsoever. Listening, however, refers to the act of taking the sounds that you hear and breaking them down so that you process and understand what you are hearing. Listening is something you must consciously do when you hear sounds. Why do I bring this up, you ask? There are certain times of year when Pat and I really struggle with our communication. It usually starts in late August/early September and lasts until the end of February. No, Pat doesn't develop ear infections during the winter months, hindering his ability to "hear." I'm referring to his inability to "listen" to me dur...

I have always given Pat a really hard time about how long he spends in the bathroom. Whenever he disappears for a half an hour (or more) I always know exactly where he is. I've asked him a lot of questions about why he (and most other men I've ever met) is in there so long. It's so foreign to me because I (and most women I know) am very quick in the bathroom. Get in and get out and get on with your day. That's the way I've always looked at it. Pat explained to me once that just because he's in the bathroom for a half an our (or more), doesn't mean that he's actually "taking care of business" the entire time. Once his business is done, he continues to read whatever magazine or newspaper he picked up. Seemed so foreign to me at the time. Why would you actually stay in there longer than you have to? It seemed foreign to me until today, when I had a porcelain revelation. When I went to the bathroom, I decided to pick up a magazine that came a mon...

I always feel bad in the morning when it's time for us to go to work and put Grady in his crate. From the time we got Grady last July until the first heavy snow in late December, I walked him every morning before work, rain or shine. It made it so much easier leaving him for the day knowing he had a chance to release some of his energy. By the time spring came, I had a new job, an earlier start time and a longer commute. Excuses, excuses, I know. Needless to say, the morning walks haven't continued since then. I know it would do Grady and I both some good if I started that morning routine again. And if I got up at 6 instead of 6:30, I could make it happen pretty easily. I guess I'm putting this out there as a way to motivate me to actually do it. I'm trying to hold myself accountable and thought maybe putting it in writing, for all to see, would help.  In the meantime, this is what I deal with each and every morning when it's time for Grady to go in his crate....

Whip up an easy skillet dinner with a hearty combo of chicken, potatoes and veggies. Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 30 min Total Time: 45 min Makes: 4 servings 1 box (4.5 oz) Betty Crocker® loaded baked potatoes 1 1/4 cups boiling water 1 3/4 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter or margarine ...