Moving On Up..

Hello everyone!

I'm glad you all got to catch up with Miranda the other day. I apologize for my disappearing act, but I am moving on Tuesday and I'm pretty sure we all know how crazy that can be.

I'm heading down to the Boston area for the weekend and am looking forward to the relaxation time. Like M said though, hopefully we will take the city by storm at some point, it's been far too long.

I especially feel sorry that I've been away from the computer due to the fact that we had a reader that sent us some email and unfortunately I never got around to posting it for him to get YOUR feedback.

He writes:

About a week ago I met this girl at a bar. I think we clicked very quickly. We exchanged numbers and I called her the next day (I don't ilke to follow that whole "don't call right away" rule if the vibe is right). So we made plans to hang out on Sunday night after she got out of work. We had a great time joking around, making fun of each other, and eating food.

Here's the request for advice part.

I like this girl quite a bunch (with the personalities clicking so well). When that happens, I think about a girl constantly. Not in the stalker-ish way. I just do. I want to talk to them. My "fear" in these situations is two-fold. On one hand I don't want to seem like a stalker and overbearing. On the other hand, I don't want to remain distant and come off as uninterested. What I'd like to know is how you suggest going about keeping my foot in door without overstepping the boundaries. I know each girl is different as far as what she considers to be bothersome, so any ideas as to how I could determine the limits would be great too.

We discussed this and wrote back personally to our reader, telling him to really think about her on a personal level, to go out a few more times and then judge from there how to go about it. Every girl really is different and there is no right or wrong answer, but we would love to hear what you guys have to add to this.

And just to keep things simple...

Tip #21: Don't forget your friends. Even when you're dating someone, take the time to spend with them (even if you're not, you should do this). I had such a lovely time with some of my friends recently and I hope those times never change. Also, if the person you're dating breaks your heart, they will still be there for you to lighten the blow. If the person you're dating ends up being "the one", you've got your maid of honor/best man all ready to go!

Hey there folks. Sorry for the lack of posting from me, but I've been a bit crazy lately. Work has been hectic and I am moving at the end of the week. Hence, I havent had a lot of free time to spend in front of the c0mputer.

So what else have I been up to lately you might ask. Well, actually, quite a lot. I have been going on dates with just one man lately, we'll call him "Bill" and have been enjoying myself quite a lot. Bill and I met back on Memorial Day weekend and went on almost weekly dates all summer. I always had a good time, but Bill was very shy. In fact, I was starting to think that he wasnt interested me. Then when he finally kissed me good night, it was absoultely amazing.

So Bill and I have been dating more regularly lately. He invited me to a party last weekend and I got to meet a bunch of his friends. Although, it was definately a bit unnerving since I didnt know anyone else there. But I sucked up the nerves, put my best foot forward, and it was a smashing success. This past Saturday we went out to dinner and a movie and had a really nice time. We're supposed to get together tomorrow too. Its nice to be able to take things slowly and enjoy the stops along the way.

Anyway, time for me to grab some dinner. Hopefully my posts will be more frequent. Sophie and I might get together this weekend, so if we do, you can be sure we'll have fun pictures to share.

XOXO.

-Miranda

What Would We Do Without You?

So, we have another post sent in by a reader. This is basically a tip and a story all in one.

He writes:

"When I ask a girl what she is up to later that night, she should respond "nothing". This is usually my casual way of asking if she wants to hang out. Even if she says folding clothes or something boring, I will not ask her if she wants to hang out. This is the case because I am of the opinion that a girl should be aware of the possibility that she is being asked to hang out and should give no possible reason why she couldn't. Folding clothes is an out. The only correct answer is "nothing" or something that makes it clear that there are no plans and boredom is involved and she is waiting for me to save her from it."


We agree with you, but sometimes we're oblivious. On behalf of girls everywhere, we apologize. Hopefully you can find a girl out there that will see this and that way when you ask her, she'll know that she has nothing going on.

His tip?

"If you want to be asked out, but aren't going to do it yourself, it is your responsibility to make it easy and to remove even the slightest of impediments. The clothes can fold themselves. Well, not literally. The clothes need to be folded, I think. Easily changed plans shouldn't be mentioned at all. They should be taken care of outside of the asker's knowledge. I can't tell you how many girls I never ended up hanging out with that liked me. (Easily 3, maybe 4. I made it sound like a lot, didn't I?)"

As an added tip, if you ARE interested in a guy and have something scheduled that cannot be changed, make sure to give a back up. You know, "I'm busy then, but I'm free ____". It seems easy, but just think, if you take this advice, you could end up with a nice guy (like the one who sent in the material for today's entry).

xoxo
Sophie

Because You Love Us

I've set up an AIM screen name for Miranda and I to use, so be one of our buddies!

You can now IM us @ TakeItFromUs

(Original, no?)

So if you have any urgent questions or comments, or if you're just bored and want to talk, you can now reach us there.

Hope to hear from you guys soon!
xoxo
Sophie

On The Radio..

So, because I can and I've been couped up all weekend with nothing better to do (knee=throbbing), I'm just going to tell you people what to do with your Sunday night. It's what all the cool kids will be doing. Don't you want to be a cool kid? That's what I thought.

Our super awesome friends Harris (who think Ruben Studdard of American Idol was part of Nightmare Before Christmas--I'll can't let that one slide, guys) will be interviewed tonight on WAAF (107.3 in the Boston area) at 10pm on the Bay State Rock program they have there. Sounds pretty cool, right?

But wait...THERE'S MORE!!

If you stay tuned in until 11:30pm, Okay Thursday (who, if I could combine into a dude, I would marry) will be performing an acoustic set for your little ears to get all the sugary goodness that you'll need to fall asleep and wake up ready to go on Monday.


How can you turn something like that down?! Seriously, if you're not religious and don't go to church, but you feel guilty about it (I was raised Catholic. We're all about guilt.), consider this a gospel from the church of awesome local music.

What's that? You don't get WAAF on your AM/FM walkman out there in the boondocks? Well people aren't going to put you down just because that's the side of town you were born in! The fine people on the internet have you covered: You can listen online here

So don't give me that crap about not having anything to do on Sundays.

Tip#19: Listen to WAAF tonight. Done and done.

xoxo
Sophie

You Not So Cute, Even When You're Slurring Your Speech

Hello everyone.

It's early for a Saturday morning. I did something to my knee yesterday and was in bed with ice/heat/elevation and all that jazz all night. This sounds like an awful way to spend a Friday night, but it wasn't so bad.

I ended up staying up with a friend discussing the ridiculousness that was the 2nd game of the Sox/Yanks double header (aka the game that never was going to end). I don't even want to talk about it now, but there has never been a time when I wanted them to keep Tavarez in. Seriously, HANSEN?! I hate Hansen. Why do I hate Craig Hansen, you ask? Well here's a little story for ya.

I do some work with a charity in Boston and a few times a year, I get to rub elbows with some Red Sox players. Everytime this happens, I get giddy. I look forward to who I'm going to meet this time around, and in January, the "next big thing" Craig Hansen was there. He had done nothing to impress me in his few appearances during the end of the 2005 season, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he could be a good guy and just a crappy pitcher.

There is generally a good amount of booze floating around these events and Hansen was certainly taking advantage. I was talking to another pitcher for our team and he came stumbling over to include himself in conversation. Soon after, it was just me and Hansen.

First off, he was dopey and stupid. Then he started asking me who I was here with and trying to use some cheesy pick up lines on me. The kicker was after I was obviously blowing him off by flat out ignoring him and turning my back, he started holding on to my waist and touching my arms and just pawing all over me. It was gross. I wanted nothing more than to go home and take a shower.

Everytime I see his face/hear his name, especially when he's warming up in the bullpen, I cringe. He's just a kid, sure, but this event leads me to...

Tip #18: We all get drunk sometimes. That's fine. Just be smart enough to know when and where it's appropriate to get sloppy drunk and when "fun buzzy drunk" is sufficient for the night. At a party or something like that, drinking until you pass out is usually fine, but think twice about it when you're out in public. If you're getting to the point where you're incoherent and stumbling around, maybe it's time to cut yourself off and go home. As an added tip, make sure if you're going out and plan on drinking a lot, bring a friend or two to help judge when it's time to do this. (This may seem like something we all learned a long time ago, but I've seen it more and more recently when out.)

And just for clarification: I'm not saying that you shouldn't drink or get drunk when out in public, I'm just saying know your limits. Don't get so drunk that you get to the point where you act like a total bastard.

Have a good weekend everyone!
xoxo
Sophie

That's What Friends Are For

So, we went almost a week with nothing for you. It's been nice out and both of us have been CRAZY busy. We apologize, but sometimes we feel a little down and like no one cares when posts and posts go up with questions for you and no one responds. There is a link to post a comment for a reason, people!

Due to this awesome weather, let's make this short.

I received a phone call from Miranda last night. She was going out with this guy and was just getting a bad vibe about the whole thing. They have been out a few times, but for whatever reason, tonight was just off to her. She almost was going to bail, and then had the brilliant idea that all people have from time to time. She decided to have me on call. We agreed that if she pulled up my number and hit send and then quickly hung up (very easy to do without being noticed), I would call back immediately with an excuse for her to leave and bail her out. (For the record, everything ended up being fine for Miss Miranda. She called to tell me I was off the clock and supposedly had a nice time)

Tip #17 is why we have friends, I tell you:

*If going out with someone, have a friend on call. It's a good escape plan and if you have a signal (like one ring or something), your friend can call you back and you can get out of a date that maybe should've ended as soon as it began.

xoxo
Sophie

Hey all-

Sorry for my abscence this weekend, but I had a family reunion to attend to. Oh the stories I could tell...but I will spare you. ;)

So I was talking to Sophie today and asking for her advice, and we decided that we'd pose this to you all of you.

So I met this guy a few weeks ago, while skydiving. We've emailed back and forth a few times, but he lives up in NH (I live in Boston) We had talked about getting together but this was the email I got (an excerpt from it..)

"I start my vacation on wed the 16th. I rented a beach house in maine with some friends for the 16th through the 20th. You should totally come chill at the beach house if you get any of those days off. There's an extra bed so you could crash if you want. "

Now.. consequently.. I cannot go cuz I am working and have plans...but how would all of you react? Would you go? I'm curious to hear your thoughts...

XOXOXO.

-Miranda

Oh.. and so as not to completely miss the point of this blog.. heres the tip for today:

When you kiss a girl..take the time to hold her face in your hands (Does that make sense?)Touching a girls face (more namely.. cheek etc..) is completely cute and totally underrated.

This One's On You

So we've received a lot of reader mail and today it's being put to good use. Please feel free to give you advice and opinions on the following entry and if you have anything to add, don't hesitate to email us or send us a myspace message. (takeitfromus@gmail.com or www.myspace.com/takeitfromus)

Okay, so let's get to it. I think instead of full on storytelling (because I think that would talk a year or so to read), I think I'm going to just throw these out as questions so that people will actually read it and the readers who submitted their stories can get feedback. Right? Right.

1.) This was sent in as more of a story, but a lot of people deal with this, so I'm giving a bit of story, and asking a question. Basically, a female reader was being somewhat "set up" with this guy that was in a course of hers and she wasn't really feeling him. After countless attempts to politely let him down and push him away, he just wasn't getting it. He drunkenly tried to kiss her a few times and even tried sober. She pushed him away every time. Finally, when caught off guard, he went in for the kill and didn't fail. Forcefully pushing him away, our reader then went into her apartment, where he continued to call for her outside. When she asked him what was going on, he said he didn't think it would be a good idea for him to come up. She never invited him, she pushed him away in mild disgust. After she cut off contact and ignored text messages, she sent her a message asking why she had been so unfriendly. That was pretty much it. So my question is, what are we supposed to do to truly get you to go away? When is it not obvious that someone is not interested? What are the tell tale signs and how do you get them across clearly?

2.) When on vacation, one of our female readers met a guy. He doesn't actually live all that far from where she lives and he is a friend of a friend. She was leaving in the morning and he convinced her to stay up talking all night. He then offered to carry her luggage to the airport, and did so in the morning. Never did he try to pull any sleezy moves or anything, but after discussing the evening with friends, they informed her that he's a bit of a player. I informed her to keep a guard up and take your friends' warning, but to form your own opinion on him. The question though, how much consideration should you give to outsiders in situations like this? Is it worth it to let someone go by who you shared some sort of connection with because of others? There is always the possibility of getting hurt, and in a way, they're giving you the heads up that you may just be getting yourself into a situation where this is more obvious of happening.

3.) Moving onto one of our male readers, he asked what girls see in guys with uniforms (specifically he asked about sailors, but i'm generalizing it). I don't know what it is. For me, it turns me off entirely. The only thing I could come up with was that maybe the fact that the possibility of a short term fling without any sort of commitment could be appealing to some. Anyone know what this is all about?

And a tip from a male reader, that could really work both ways

Tip #15: When entering a bar/club, the reader suggested to discuss with your friends which people you are immediately physically attracted to. Have no more than five people a piece to make it fair. If one of your friend's picks comes up to you, be friendly and be sure to introduce your friend and at least attempt to get that spark between them. Sometimes it just isn't there, and it may be there for you (with your friend's pick), so in those situations, just tell you friend what's going on. They should be okay with it. If not, buy them a shot or something and help them forget all about the fact that it was their pick to begin with.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend.

xoxo
Sophie

A Little Greener..

Hey there fine folks.

I'm utterly exhausted so I am going to make this a quick post. Sophie has been talking about a lot of cool bands lately so I thought I would throw one out for you. They are called Tally Hall. 5 guys who went to U Michigan. Http://www.tallyhall.com. They played at the Paradise Lounge tonight, and will eventually be back in Boston, although I'm not entirely sure when. They made their national TV debut last week on Craig Ferguson. In their words, they are a "wonky rock band."

Let me know what you think.

XOXO.

-Miranda

"Well, You Can Say What You Want..."

Well hello world.
(Regarding the title of this entry: I love the band Texas. Why weren't they super huge?)

I need to explain a bit about my involvement with Flavor of Love 2. I applied, was emailed by the producers, given a list of questions to answer, was approached with a second list of questions that were to be answered on video tape and at that point was talked out of it. After watching the season premiere Sunday night on VH1, though some would say it was a good decision to back down, I thought about how it could've been ME pooping on the floor. I can only imagine...

Also, before getting to today's babbling, I would just like to state again how much we appreciate your feedback. Honestly, it is what forces us (well, me at least) to keep coming up with things to post. Yes, that means it's all because of you.

Today and tomorrow I ended up having off from work and today was spent largely cleaning up my room and packing for my impending move in a few weeks. As excited as I am about moving, I hate packing. I've had to move a lot in my life and it is by far the worst thing about the experience. Well, unpacking isn't so fun either, but it's dealable.

While deciding what things are worthy of being saved and what can be chucked in the trash, I found myself reading a lot of little notes I had written to myself. Why I do this, I don't know, but I find myself being brought back to a time and place and especially an emotion. I then began to ponder the following:

Why is it so difficult for people to express true feelings? I'm sure we are all hypocrites by ever thinking/asking this question, but think about how good it makes you feel when someone compliments/thanks/appreciates you. It's nice, isn't it? There is the whole fear of rejection and sometimes on the other side there is the fear of hurting someone else's feelings by rejecting, but in the end it's something special to really be able to tell someone what they are to you.

Think of the ease it would bring to the dating scene if people could freely say things like "hey, i really like you"/"yeah, me too!" or "you know, you're really just not for me"/"oh well, at least we tried!"? I'm not talking about immediately announcing that you're in love or harshly hurting someone with words, but just the simplicity of saying something and meaning it. People are too sensitive though, and it's only getting worse. It would be nice though if we could all handle it and just suck it up and deal.

Along the same lines, how difficult is it to say you're going to do something and just do it?

I bring you, Tip #14:

If you say you're going to call, just call! If you don't plan on calling, say so! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sit here and tell people to be jerks about it. Basically, just follow through with what you say you're going to do. It's really not that difficult. If you're not going to be able to do something, just tell the person. Maybe you're busy, maybe you're not interested, maybe you forgot. If you can't complete the task at hand right away, follow up with us at some point. It's just common courtesy and not doing so makes you a bit of a coward.

xoxo
-Sophie

Hey all. Sorry I have been MIA this weekend. I was in Connecticut yesterday and had to work all day today. But here I am.

First, I have a question for all of you girls. When you refer to your friends who are girls, platonically, do you say.. "I'm hanging out with my friends?" or "I'm hanging out with my girlfriends?"


So I learn new things about our friend Sophie everyday. Today we were talking about the new season of Flavor of Love and this is what I found:

Sophie:. I was obsessed with last year's. i actually applied to this season, and the producers emailed me with instructions on the next round of applications and such, but i didn't go through with it. haha. this is the only reason i wanted on the show. was for a nickname. i ended up getting the nickname 'snaps' from my buddy andy

Flavor of Love would be so much better with Sophie on it. Hands down. Dont' you agree?

So I had a date tonight. Tonights date is with a boy I shall call "Chad." Chad and I have been on 3 or 4 dates so far and I always seem to have a good time. He's a writer and really shy, but cute and really sweet. So he picked me up tonight and we went down to Newbury St for dinner. We were walking and I ran into this girl I went to school with who I hadnt seen in a while. We we're friendly, but havent really hung out much. So I introduced them and she turns to him and goes.. "Are you on a date?" Haha. Talk about an awkward moment. Then shes like, "Where are you taking her?" So he tells her and shes like.. "Oh. That place is all right." I felt so bad for Chad! Poor guy. Friends can be so obnoxious sometimes! So I apologized of course and he was a good sport. The rest of dinner went off without a hitch. Really good conversation. We're going to go out again later this week I think. I can't find much wrong with this one so far. There are only 2 things that bother me, and I think I can get past them. #1) Hes a terrible driver. This one I am unsure of...especially cuz he always drives. But I'm trying to work on it. #2) He is SUPER shy. I'm a pretty straight forward kind of girl. The shy thing is very cute and intriguing, but also sort of trying to wear my patience a little. I'm trying really hard though. I guess we'll see how the next date goes.

Anyway... thats all from me for now.

XOXO.

-M

867-5386....No, 867-5309!

Hey Kids! It's the weekend and that means...well, nothing.

I'm going to take a break from promoting Okay Thursday today to switch gears and boost a bit of love for Harris ( www.myspace.com/harris or www.harriscore.com ). These guys put on a great show yesterday and quite frankly I/we love them. I think that's all I really have to say about that.

Moving on, I've been doing a lot of work on the Take It From Us MySpace page. I've been sending out messages and adding lots of people, so to you (if any of you actually end up reading this) welcome and thanks and please don't leave us.

I wish I had something to share. Miranda's been in CT this weekend, so HOPEFULLY she'll have something to report on this week. I'm obviously running out of steam (which means that you guys should really start sending us myspace messages or emails to takeitfromus@gmail.com with stories/questions/knock knock jokes to save yourself from having to read stuff like this all the time).

Oh, I actually do have a story AND a tip.

So a week or so ago, I was out and a guy asked for my number. I gave it to him, but both of us had been drinking so I just punched it in his phone to make life easier. After having him say twice to me "you know, I've tried to call you and it just rings and rings", and me brushing it off saying "oh just try again, my phone must be acting up", we came to the realization recently that I actually hit two wrong buttons when entering my number into his phone. Shucks kids, was I a bit red in the face. All is set straight now, so don't you worry.

So, Tip #13:
If you actually want to give someone your actual number, make sure you do it right. Obviously if you're just giving out any old number so you can get someone off your back, by all means, do so. If you want someone to actually call you, double check or something because you may not get a second chance.

xoxo
Sophie

Connect Four!

So, we suck at posting. We've been busy. Forgive us, please.

I'm assuming you have all bought your copy of Okay Thursday's Fun in Flats. I will keep bothering you until you do. www.okaythursday.com

Moving on, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a few friends who I had not seen in over a year yesterday. It was lovely. I had a nice little BBQ in Nashua, NH and then continued down to Bill's Bar in Boston. Sometimes connecting with friends can remind you of little pieces of who you are and make you remember things that you want to change about yourself. All in all, it was a lovely day and I hope that everyone has enjoyed the not so hot weather and had the chance to reconnect with people (old and new).

The point of this blog: Don't forget your friends. No matter what goes on, don't forget the people that are there for you. They're around for a reason and you should give them a bit of credit. No one's easy to put up with, so never forget to take the time to be with them (whether you're in a relationship or not).

Moving on,
Tip #12 comes from an experience my friend and I had last night at Bill's Bar:

When you see two girls sitting by themselves at a bar, don't stare and point. It doesn't make us notice you. It creeps us out. Just because we're alone doesn't mean we want to talk to you.

PS: Please email us with stories/questions/all that jazz. takeitfromus@gmail.com

xoxo
Sophie

Roll On? Or Stick?

So....after having this conversation... I decided it was just too good to keep to ourselves....

Sophie:you know what i hate? roll on deodorant.
Miranda:why?
its wayyy better then a stick
and it doesnt leave that gross white powder
Sophie: it doesn't dry
Miranda: not if you're already sweaty
Sophie: and when it does it leaves a weird mark
Miranda:but then a stick wouldnt either if you were sweaty


So then we stopped talking about it for a while... and then somehow started again like 10 minutes later:

Miranda: ok.. wait.. you know what i REALLY dont get though
Sophie:what's that?
Miranda:fruit scented deoderants
my armpits should not smell like raspberry
Sophie: i like mine when they smell like mystic rain. i never knew what it smelled like, but it makes me wish the rain that fell around here was mystic
Miranda:i like just plain old ban
Sophie:: i don't think i've ever really used fruity deo for the b.o.
Miranda: i'm so unoriginal
Sophie: does it really ban everything?
Miranda: It sure bans b.o.!
Sophie: not sweat?
i don't think any deodorant stops sweating
i think it's all a hoax


XOXOXO.

-M

"We're Only Starcrossed Cause They Say We Are..."

So, I know this isn't exactly what this space is for, but I don't really care.

I would like to fully endorse the new (and debut!) album out by Okay Thursday called Fun In Flats. Seriously, go to the Abbey Lounge in Somerville, MA any Tuesday in the month of August and pick it up. Stay to see them live as well. If you're not near that location, go to www.okaythursday.com for all the details on how to order/song clips.
(or www.myspace.com/okaythursday )


Also, super kudos to the boys in the band Harris, who headlined the first OKTh night at the Abbey. They have a killer new video for their song "Carousel" and I'm pretty sure everyone should check it out and listen/watch. You'll love it. www.harriscore.com or www.myspace.com/harris

Wow. Shameless plugging. That's a bit low, huh?

I am so smitten with OKTh (and Harris) that I actually drove 2hrs in the nasty heat to see this show, only to drive 2hrs back home after it was over. That's love and dedication right there. There had been a bit of crap going on today and the jangle pop/awesome indie combo made it all go away. I will say though, that I am pretty terrified of lightning and there was a lot of it from the heat on the ride home. I think I almost cried at one point. I guess it's a good thing it was 1:30am and no one else was really on the road. Also, the temp change as I entered Maine was insane. It clearly dropped a good chunk of degrees. This was lovely.

I have to say, tomorrow's going to be a tough day. I do not deal with heat well and will more than likely grow horns or something evil. I'm hoping Miranda will have a fun post about movie choices for dates simply so that I don't have to do anything but lounge in a pool or in an air conditioned room doing diddly squat after work. If not, we'll whip something special up for Thursday.

We also have a slight "shout out/edit" to give. Miranda and I decided on the phone today that Tip #1 does not apply to people with the screen name "diggity" or "Tony". We're just throwing it out there, and quite frankly are sick of hearing "can't touch the midsection!". If it's hot and we don't want you to, you are people we will inform of this fact. Don't you worry.

Now for Tip #11: Wow. I actually just fell asleep with my laptop on my, um, lap. Okay, this one may seem a little far fetched, but I'm just going to put this one out there and you can take it if you want (basically because this just happened). After 7mos of not speaking to someone, for whatever reasons or none at all, don't follow up "so what have you been up to?" with "so how about you just take a full on boob picture and send it over?" It's not going to work. As I told this person, "If I've been denying you these photos for over a year, what makes you think it's going to happen now?" Magic powers would help, but what a waste of magic powers.

Have a good night, porkchops. On a serious note, stay cool and drink plenty of water.

xoxo
Sophie