Presumed to be awesome.

I'm focusing on the positive, so let's talk about awesome, happy-making things! :D

First awesome, happy-making thing: DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! I got tickets to see him play a show in L.A. on March 26th to benefit the AIDS Project L.A. Awesome music for an awesome cause!!! (There are, by the way, a few tickets still available at that link.)

It's going to be a small show, only 150 tickets being sold. Even better? We ninja-ed tickets a day before they were announced publicly and managed to score MEET AND GREETS WITH DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! Ahhhhh!!!! Even 24 hours later, I can barely contain my flail!

And betterer still? I get to enjoy all this awesome, happy-makingness with mah girls, _lisalisa_, coolwhipdiva and azewewish!!! So. Much. Happy. Making!!!!

This also means that Darren has given me the perfect excuse for a much needed weekend in L.A. So, heads up to my other L.A. chicas, brunch on Sunday, March 27??? Y/Y? *beams*

Second awesome, happy-making thing: ( Adam Freakin' Lambert! )

( My t.v. shows have also been awesome and happy making lately. )

More awesome, happy making: my friend Sara is in town from Nashville and I'll be seeing her tonight. Sara is one of my oldest friends ever and I love that, no matter how much time passes, we can always pick up as if we had just seen each other the day before.

( And, finally, awesome, happy-making for my peeps in the Houston and Austin areas: )

I am currently living in a House of Plague. Everyone in this house is various degrees of sick and miserable. Except, of course, for the rambunctious 2 year old. Gods help us. :/

Between the plague and the cold meds, I can't seem to make words, so instead I'm going to post pictures. Pictures of happy!

★ ( Allison Iraheta poses for NOH8. )

★ ( Adam Holding Baby Riff = CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!! )

★ ( Adam being all *happyface* with his new boyfriend makes me all *happyface*! )

★ ( Darren on Ellen!!! *gleeface* )

ETA: ★ ( New pictures of Darren!!! So. Much. Happy-making!!! )

I really need to start every week with a happy list.

★ Greek yogurt with honey. It's so delicious! This morning I added bananas and it was extra delicious! Seriously, Greek yogurt and honey is my new favorite thing in the world!!!

★ Getting job search stuff accomplished. I got a reference to a new head hunter. Between those contacts and things picking up now that we're getting into the new year, I'm hoping to see progress soon. *fingers crossed*

★ Setting up a meeting for tomorrow in order to move forward on plans to get more involved with 1n10. (If you haven't yet, check out the information about the organization and their upcoming Fresh Brunch.)

★ ( Darren!!! )

★ You know how I mentioned that I just finished watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand, right? ( Well, I think I found a new girl crush. )

In the interest of starting the week off on a good note, here are some things that are making me happy today. But, be warned, about 90% of this post will be Darren Criss. *g*

:: LOGO has green lighted Be Good Johnny Weir! I was never able to watch when it aired on Sundance, but now I will! This is very exciting to me!!!


:: Today I received my 2011 Adam Lambert calendar featuring Cherry Lee's photography. And let me just say that I am now officially looking forward to EVERY month in 2011! ( Especially October! )

Speaking of Adam related happiness, his Acoustic Live! EP dropped today and it's AMAZING. His vocals are just stunning. And even though I've heard these songs over and over again this past year, hearing them stripped down is making me fall in love with them all over again! <333


:: ( So, now we've come to Darren Criss portion of this Happy List! )

:: ( Awesome Holiday Song of the Day: Baby It's Cold Outside (Redux) [GLEE SPOILERS] )

*sighs* I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now. :)

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday selling all the extraneous stuff in my life to strangers, otherwise known as a garage sale. And, the lesson learned, from that experience? It's a hell of a lot of work to sell your crap to strangers, so next time I'm donating it all and saving myself the complete exhaustion and regaining those 2 days of my life! But, on the bright side, I did get rid of a whole hell of a lot stuff. So there's that.

This weekend I also managed to get caught up with some of my shows. Hawaii Five-O is still ridiculously happy-making. Talk about eye-candy, man. Everything and everyone on that show is just so damn pretty! I'm still loving Steve and Danny's chemistry and I love that the show is giving us more layers to Kono's and Chin Ho's characters. And I mentioned the pretty, right? Yeah, just a lot of pretty happening there.

The A-List New York continues to be my guilty pleasure, only, you know, really without the guilt. These boys are ridiculous and fabulous and such bitchy drama queens! They are HIGHLY entertaining! And I recently heard that LOGO was going to start casting for an A-List L.A.!!! How fabulous would that be? And how much would I love to see Cheeks in something like that?!!! Please, Universe, make that happen! *prays*

And, seriously, I have no words for how much Sons of Anarchy continues to just blow me away! That show!!! *loves and loves*

Other than selling my stuff to strangers and catching up on my DVR'd shows, I also spent a good part of yesterday watching football, and cringing at the complete mess that is the Cardinals football team, and just shaking my head at that crazy finish in the Jags/Texans game, and staring at Mike Tomlin being all intense and hot on the Steelers' sideline, and thoroughly enjoying Tom Brady's ridiculously long hair and scruffy look, and thinking that he should really get pissed and yell more often because goddamn his already high quotient of hotness increases exponentially when that happens.

So, now that the weekend is over and we're doing this whole Monday thing again, how 'bout a happy list to start this week off right? Yeah, that sounds like the thing.

♥ wendy has put together a thoroughly awesome mix of self-empowerment songs, songs of the "I am amazing just the way I am variety." Good music, great message!

♥ In about an hour and a half, I get to have lunch with the lovely llandaffaz before she flies off to far away corners of the world again. Tacos! And tequila! And awesome friends! \o/

♥ There is some fantastic live music and time with awesome friends to look forward to this week with Bruno Mars on Saturday with zoniduck and Jerrod Niemann on Sunday with ladymairwen! Both are sure to be good times!

Ok, now it's your turn! What's happy-making in your world today? *chin hands*

ETA: OMG!!! How did I forget to mention this! Sutan Amrul, Adam's insanely talented make-up artist, has been cast as a contestant in season 3 of RuPual's Drag Race!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAJA IS FABULOSITY PERSONIFIED!!!!! January 24th! *marks calendar*

Man, it's gorgeous outside. I wish I could drag my stacks of files outside to enjoy the sunshine. I should take advantage of the beautiful weather while it lasts, because it won't be long now before I'm complaining about Arizona's hellish summer heat. Sadly I'm stuck in my office looking at the lovely day happening outside my window.

But even though I can't play in it, the sunshiney awesomeness happening outside has me in a great mood! Or maybe that's the coffee I had this morning in an otherwise coffee-less couple of weeks? In any event, I AM HAPPY! And, because I'm awesome like that, I'm gonna share my happy mood with y'all. *beams*

Happy Thing The First: Strawberries! Yummy ripe strawberries! I've got a whole little basket full of them to munch on throughout the day and they taste like the sunshine outside my window. Delish!


Happy Thing The Second: Shoes! Shiny new shoes! I just got these and I love them! I also got two other pairs for work that are quite lovely. But, OMG, I love that first pair so much!


Happy Thing The Third: Baseball! Well, specifically, Chris Snyder!!! I'm not talking to my D'backs until they crawl their way back over .500, but my bb Chris is another story. He's smokin' hot with his bat right now (3-run HR yesterday!) and I'm so incredibly proud of him. And, seriously, if they start talking about trading him again, I will NOT be responsible for my actions. But we're talking happy, so, CHRIS!!! *loves*


Happy Thing The Fourth: Awesome music happenings! While I'm still more than a little frustrated that they haven't announced Adam's full tour schedule, tickets for his second OC show go on pre-sale tomorrow. And more Adam is always a good thing! Also, in case anyone missed the memo, Adam is cute. Just ask Rhyan who crawled next to me last night and demanded to watch Adam videos and then informed me that "A-lam is cute!" *g* Even though she's just two, she certainly knows her cute.

( A-lam IS cute! )

Yup, definitely cute. Or, you know, FUCKING GORGEOUS! But if the two year old comes out with "A-lam is fucking gorgeous!" her parents may not be happy with me. So, we'll just stick with "A-lam is cute." *g*

Speaking of the pretty, dear gods, Adam's bassist ( Tommy is ridiculously pretty! )

The happy-making musical happenings continue: I also scored tickets to see Kris Allen when he opens for Barenaked Ladies here in July! Pocket Idol!!! I'm kind of ridiculously excited about finally getting to see him perform live!

And since they added a second Glee Live show, I was able to get tickets for me and my mom as her Mothers' Day present. GLEE!!! So very happy-making!

And more! without_me was able to score tickets for us to see The Wall in November! Yay!

*breathes* OMG so much awesome music in my future!!!

And if all that wasn't enough musical awesomeness, today Trent Reznor announced the release of a new song with his new band How To Destroy Angels and it's hauntingly beautiful! I didn't even realize he was making new music, but apparently he is, and it's amazing!

ETA: ( More How To Destroy Angels! )

Happy Thing The Fifth: ME!!! *beams* I'm gonna brag on myself for a moment. Because I can. *g* And also because these are definitely part of the happy. First, my online food journal informed me today that I've logged on for 65 days in a row. That means that for the past 65 days I've been eating mindfully. For the past 65 days I've made conscious, deliberate decisions about what to feed my body; for the most part those have been healthy choices, but even when they haven't been, I've been aware of them and accountable for them. That right there is success! Second, I don't think I've mentioned this here, but last Friday I had my one year review. Holy cow, it's been a year! But, more importantly, it's been a damn good year! My review was positively glowing and came with a very nice raise and plans for long-term success and reward here. Job satisfaction is definitely happy-making!

So, yeah, the week has been fairly craptastic. And now it seems as if I managed to catch the latest round of crud, so I'm feeling all sniffly and feverish. But, regardless, I'm determined to be in a better mood, dammit! So, this is me, doing my best to sparkle harder. *g*

Of course, that means a Happy List! \o/

- I've got some truly fabulous, sparkly, purple nail polish on today and just looking at it makes me happier. *stares at sparkly nails*

- My client this morning was so happy and grateful for the work I did on his case. It's pretty freakin' awesome when the work you do really does make a difference in people's lives! Plus he and his partner were simply adorable and I just wanted to keep them in my pocket! ♥

- Apparently Chad Ochocinco will be competing on Dancing with the Stars this season! This just cracks my shit up! *laughs and laughs* Also, Chad is no Jason Taylor. I'm just sayin'.

- In a glee-inducing confluence of fannish obsessions: Adam Lambert is in Australia this week and scheduled to perform at Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras sometime today (tomorrow? -- not sure exactly). And, word on the street is that George Michael will also be there and that the two will meet!!!!!! Eeeee!!! This makes my little fannish heart go all pitter-patter! There had better be pictures of this awesomeness!

- AND!!! And this is the sparkliest of all! Adam's bonus track, "Voodoo," which is available on the international release of For Your Entertainment, hit the web last night and it's FABULOUS!!! Check it out:



Oh, man, I cannot wait to hear that live! (Also, if anyone hasn't found a download link and you want it, hit me up with your email and I'll send it to you.)

ETA: ( Voodoo lyrics )

Have I mentioned how delicious the new Starbucks Caramel Brulee Lattes are??? It's been a crazy busy Monday with no time for a lunch break, but this super yummy venti caramel brulee goodness is going a long way toward making up for all that. Delish!

Also of the good today, Muse has announced a Phoenix stop for their spring US tour!!!!!!! *bounces* Y'all know what I'll be doing April 9th! *g* Anyone wanna join me? *beams*

Since this is turning in to a Monday happy list, I'll add a good t.v. night to the list o' happeh makin' things. The Cardinals had better be playing some playoff-worthy football tonight. I'm just sayin'. And then Adam is performing on The Tonight Show! More Adam is never a bad thing!

Also, it totally counts as happeh-makin' that I finally dug out my winter clothes yesterday (ah, the joys of living in Arizona!) and I'm wearing one of my favorite sweaters and scarves today and a cute outfit is always of the good! *preens*

I'm off to wrap up a few more things, before I jet outa here to go home and watch the game! Hope everyone had themselves a damn fine Monday!

I was in a legal seminar for most of Saturday, so I feel a little cheated out of a full weekend. Yesterday, though, I did manage to watch lots of football, get some reading done, and avoid all my household chores, so I probably made up for it. *g* I also made a huge crock of the BEST chili ever! Mmmm. So delish!

I have about a million things to do, but I'm determined that this week WILL be better than last week! Truth is it would be hard pressed to be any worse. Bottom of the barrel means it's just upward and onward from there! Silver lining, dammit, I will find it!

So, to start this week off in the right direction, we're talking about HAPPY-MAKIN' THINGS today!

First, I love the sweater I'm wearing today and my hair looks fabulous! What? These are totally important and happy making things! *g*

Also, I'm really loving Kris Allen's entire album. If you haven't heard it, it's streaming, in its entirety, [HERE]. It has far exceeded my expectations and I'll definitely be plunking down money for this thing next Tuesday!

Also of the happy-making variety, apparently Jensen has put a ring on it! Jensen and Danneel are reportedly engaged. They are adorable together and hope they are very happy! Also, Jensen, well done on the ring! It's gorgeous!

Now it's your turn! Tell me what's happy-making in your world!

Man, I'm wiped. I went in to the office today around mid-morning and managed to make it to 4:30 before I completely ran out of steam. I'll probably do the same tomorrow -- go in, but for only whatever part of the day I can manage. I've really got too much work not to, and, as long as I don't push it, I think it's actually good for me to get up and do something. For now, though, I'm not moving from this couch unless the damn house is on fire!

All in all, though, today was definitely a step forward in the getting-better plan! Yay! And I think all this progress call for a HAPPY LIST! \o/

:: I think we are finally done with the million degree weather! Today was supposed to be the last triple digit day of the year. Nighties and eighties, here we come! I'm breaking out the sweaters now!

:: I won the auction for Cassidy Haley's "Nostalgia" CD, an exclusive one off CD of his unreleased material!!! I'm ridiculously excited about this! I cannot even tell you. I can't wait to hear what's on this thing! (Although we shall not speak about what I was willing to bid for this thing. I'm going to blame it on the residual effects of all the narcotics I've been on.)

:: I had THE best peach for lunch today. It was huge, and juicy, and DELICIOUS! Yum!

:: coolwhipdiva rocks my world! First there was the lovely vase of cheerful flowers and get-well wishes that arrived on Saturday. So pretty! And then today I came home from work to find yummy smelly stuffs from her for my birthday! J, baby, that was perfect! I love that scent so much! THANK YOU!!! *mwah*

:: The day got about a million times better this evening when I was able to have a lovely and long over due phone chat with editorzon! Love you, baby, and I can't wait to see you soon!

:: Speaking of seeing awesome peoples soon, I think I'll be heading to L.A. for a weekend in October! Hookers, I understand there are some Halloween plans at Cicada Club in the works? Count me in! *beams*

*sighs happily* That's a good deal of happy-makin' for one day.

And, for some added miscellany, y'all remember those pictures of Adam Lambert in New Orleans, right? Well, a few more have cropped up. And Adam and his adorable boyfriend are still adorable. And amusing. Despite the unfortunate facial hair and questionable fashion choices. But the lesson I think we all should learn from these pictures has nothing to do with shaving practices, Just For Men hair dye, or shirts with sleeves. No, I think what we've all learned is that 98% of ontd_ai members need to step away from the computer and TAKE A DAMN VACATION TO NEW ORLEANS!!! I was appalled at how many people had no idea what Adam meant when he twittered about the Big Easy! Or who couldn't recognize Pat O'Brien's by the drinks on the table or who had no idea what a hand grenade was!!! Seriously, people, y'all need to get out more! *laughs*

Ok, I'm going back to slothful recovery now. Hope y'all are having a good week!