Okay, first things first. I got a wild hair up my ass yesterday and joined Facebook. It seems kind of cool but also like it could be kind of time-consuming. So we'll see how long that lasts. It's another thing I can waste time with ;)

Second. I am almost finished Christmas shopping. I ran all over town today buying, buying, buying. At Target I purchased a very nice snow globe my along with a couple books and some other miscellaneous gifts. Well, the line at Target stretched all the way back to cosmetics and by the time I got to the register I was hot and ready to get out of there. When the cashier rang up the snow globe she just threw it in a plastic bag by itself. I thought about asking her to put another bag around it, but because it was so busy, I didn't. (You know where this is going, right?) I threw the snow globe bag inside of the bag that had a bunch of other stuff, including the books. Then I met up with "the mother" to pick up the kids from the weekend. And I didn't want them to see the bags in the trunk so I carried all the bags into the house myself.

And wouldn't you guess, the one bag I dropped was the bag with the snow globe in it. It shattered and immediately soaked everything else in the bag, including the two books.

So what do you think, should Target replace these things for me or is it my fault? I'm torn. And it was a terrible way to cap off a day of shopping.

Patience is a Virtue I Don't Possess

I've been trying to update my frickin frackin blog for 4 days now and I'm having some serious issues with blogger.

So, for the time being, you are all stuck with the Thanksgiving background and my stinky attitude.

My apologies - here's the short update.

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving and the time off ended way too soon. I hate my job more than ever this week and I'm actually a little jealous that Val got to quit hers while I still have to suffer through mine. As stated above, I am not a patient person and am ready to move into the next phase of my life (that is a discussion for another post). We put our Christmas tree up, or should I say, I put our Christmas tree up on Sunday so I'm feeling all Christmasy and I want to sit in my living room and just stare at it all the time.

Okay, so that's all for now. I'm going to try and get this silly blog updated tonight and get a proper post up.....

Standby.

I Bet You Think This Song is About You

I had to go renew my drivers license last week. They said I could renew it by mail, but I because of our vacation, I didn't get it in the mail soon enough so I had to drag myself to the Secretary of State and do it the old fashioned way.

I was expecting them to give me the renewal sticker to put on the back, so when I had paid the fee and signed the form, I was surprised when she told me to step down to the end and get my photo taken.

What!? I would rather take another driving test. The picture on my existing license isn't that great, but this was at 6:30 on a Wednesday when I had up since 5am and working since 7am. Plus I'm pretty sure I didn't wash my hair that morning.

So I'm telling myself, "How bad can it be? No one's drivers license picture is that great and I'm not one of those crazy women who goes to get her hair and makeup done for a stupid drivers license picture."

I got it in the mail this week and it is by far one of the worst pictures ever taken of me. The only color is from my dark hair. I was wearing a winter white coat and most of my make-up was worn off. It's really bad and while I usually don't care what my license photo looks like, I am seriously considering going to have it re-done. I look like a puffy albino in a dark wig.

So tell me this, will you think less of me if I actually go have it re-taken?

Customer Service Overload

Okay, so I know in the past I have complained about the lack of customer service in restaurants and stores, but today I had the worst shopping experience of my life because of a sales person who was trying too hard to be helpful.

I stopped by the Black and White store on my way home from work tonight in the hopes that I might find something nice to wear to a show we are going to at the DSO on Saturday night. All I was looking for was maybe a dressy pair of black pants and a nice top. Or one or the other.

The minute I walked in the door, the sales associate (one of four in the store) was on me in a flash and the minute I picked up a pair of pants to try on and she knew what size I was, went crazy. Y'all, by the time I got to the fitting room, there were, I'm not kidding, 7 pairs of pants, 6 sweaters, two camisoles, four blouses, two jackets and a skirt in that tiny room. Not to mention I told her that I don't wear skirts or pants that zip up the side (there were three pairs of those.)

Okay, I wasn't really up for a Pretty Woman'esqe try on session, but I figured I'd give it a go. But let me mention that I am feeling a little "puffy" right now being that I haven't seemed to be able to get my appetite back to normal human proportions since our vacation. So I expected things might be a little snug, but as soon as I started trying on the pants I remembered why I don't own any pants from the Black and White store. They just don't fit me right. So the more I tried on, the hotter I get, my cell phone has wrung 3 times and every 2 minutes a sales associate was knocking on the door asking me if I need anything.

On top of that, a couple of the tops required me to remove my bra. So I'm standing there in a pair of pants with a muffin top hanging over, bare chested and the sales associate barges into the room to give me a pair of heels so I can see how they look with the pants.

I was getting really irritable. Coupled with the fact that I'm getting psycho about not having anything to wear Saturday night, I had a minor meltdown in the dressing room, put my clothes back on and ran for the hills.

It was just too much. Do you think I'm just being a cranky old lady?

I'll get back to the stuff I'm thankful for tomorrow!

Time to Give Thanks

It's that time of year again. The widely forgotten holiday of Thanksgiving. If you go to the store all you will see is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. But let's not forget Turkey Day and what it represents.

What are you thankful for this season. I'm going to try to focus on all my blessings this month. Here are a few things I am thankful for:

A job that pays the bills
A loving family who thinks I'm wonderful (I think!)
The right to VOTE
Music
Fall Colors
Sweet Potato Casserole
My Pets
The Internet
Banana Republic
Stuffed Animals
Smoke Detectors
Zoup
Coffee

Okay, we're back. But I'm not feeling totally back. We got home late last Wednesday night and right back to work Thursday morning. Friday was Halloween. We also kept the kids for the weekend so I'm still trying to climb out from beneath the pile of laundry. BUT, we had a wonderful time on our trip. I felt the most relaxed that I have probably since our honeymoon. It was a much needed time for us. As soon as I get the pictures off the camera I will post some.

Now when is my next vacation?! :)

Finally

See that palm tree to the left of this post? That is where I'm going to be for 8, yes 8, luxurious and relaxing days with my husband.

We leave Tuesday.

Red Lettuce Onions

Last week I brought home Subway for dinner. Trying to save money and encourage Rebecca to healthier than her usual turkey with lettuce and mayo, I got a sub for us to share. That means it had pretty much all the veggies that Subway offers. She picked the banana peppers off hers, but left the rest.

Well, at one point she pulled a red onion off the sub and asked me if it was, in fact, an onion. Knowing if I confirmed the presence of said onion on her sandwich, all eating would stop while she tried to locate every onion and remove it. So I did what anyone would do.

I lied and told her the onion was a piece of lettuce. And she ate the rest of her portion without incident.

Fast forward to earlier this afternoon when I took her to Subway for a quick lunch before I dropped her off at a cake and ice cream birthday party. This time I knew there was no way I would be getting the onions because she was standing there while I told the sandwich artist what to put on the sub. So I skipped the onions and forgot about it.

A few minutes later after she is a couple of bites into her sub, she looks at me and says, "You forgot to ask for the red lettuce."

Pulling a "Mandy"

It's a good thing I don't take myself too seriously because yesterday I was scurrying across the office in a big fat hurry to get to a meeting and I came around the corner, caught the heel of my shoe in the cuff of my pants and fell right on my a$$. Knocked myself right out of shoes right in front of our District Manager and a couple of colleagues (all men). They just laughed at me and I laughed at myself. There's a reason my name isn't Grace. It's been a long time since I had such an embarrassing incident, but hey, it's good to be humbled once in a while, right?

Mandy(you have to call her Miranda) knows why I called this "Pulling a Mandy" But I'll leave it up to her if she wants to share that ;)

There Can be Miracles

I can't watch tv or listen the news anymore. It's depressing. We're on the verge of some sort of financial crisis that is going to throw the country into a recession, a depression or my taxes and my children's taxes are going to skyrocket for the next 40 years, I'll never be able to sell my house, if Obama becomes president, life as I know it is over, if John McCain becomes president, life as I know it is over too. Gees, I can't take anymore.

So, I'm going John Stossell on you.

A woman called into the radio station I was listening to the other day to tell the following story. I won't do it justice I'm sure, but I'll give you the gist.

Her baby girl was diagnosed with 100% hearing loss in both ears at just a day or two old. They did not know why as there had been no history of this in their family. So they spent months putting the poor baby through all sorts of test, mri's etc.... to no avail. They said she would never hear. The insurance company would not pay for the hearing aids which are apparently very expensive, so in order for the family to qualify for Medicaid, the mother had to quit her job. They got the hearing aids and then the baby got an ear infection and couldn't wear them for a while.

One day she (the baby) was sitting on the floor in the kitchen playing, the father dropped a pot and the baby started crying. Of course they thought she must have felt the vibration or something, but they started testing in other ways and for some totally unexplained reason they found the little girl had regained full hearing in one ear. Perfect hearing.

I listened to this story and blubbered like the girl I am. I was so touched. Folks, I bet if you try, you can find someone in your circle who can tell you a touching and inspiring story like this. And I bet if you try, you can find another person after that. Why aren't these the things were talking about? I'm going to try and find as many of these kinds of stories and post them here. I don't know about you, but these are the things I need to be dwelling on, not the financial crisis we are facing that I have no control over or all of the other negative things that are being reported on the news every minute of every day.

When the mother had finished her story, the DJ played a song just for her. A song that I have always loved, from the movie, "The Prince of Thieves" which makes me tear up every time. Take a listen.

The Best Country Ever

I'm going crazy listening to all the election coverage, and like everyone I am ready for it to be over. Like I've said before, I try to listen to both sides, left and right because I want to be informed and well rounded. Although I'm learning that you have to take what they (by they I mean the media) all say with a grain of salt. It is ridiculous how the they spins things to make their candidate seem like the better choice (and in some cases to make their candidate seem like God). Yesterday I heard some rumblings about bringing back The Fairness Doctrine and about choked on my own tongue.

One of the many things I love about this country is that we can talk about whatever we want. There's a voice for the left, there a voice for the right, there's a voice for the conspiracy theorists, there's a voice for the Mickey Mouse for President people . I love it. So while you may not have the same political views as me (you know who you are), we should all be thankful for the fact that we can express our views without having our tongue cut out.

Have you ever known a person who you knew for a fact was not very nice, or you work with a person who is an expert at tooting their own horn but in fact does no actual work? But you are the only one who seems to notice this? Everyone else thinks this person is wonderful? So you start questioning your sanity? Maybe you are just a negative person who only sees the bad in people?

Is this just me or has anyone else experienced this?

Traitor

I let my husband pick the movie this weekend and he picked Traitor. Hmmm, I think his movie choosing rights are hereby revoked. The movie stars, Don Cheadle as an Islamic Jihad terrorist with a twist (don't want to spoil it). So that right there should tell you that this is not the feel good movie of the year. I mean, I know there are people who hate the USA and want to kill kill kill us, but do I really need to go watch a movie about it when I am supposed to be escaping from reality? Thanks, but I'll pass.

Now Dave likes to complain about my poor movie choices and true, I did once bring home Secretary and I did drag him to the movie theatre on a Saturday night to see The Wedding Date, but he is responsible for Never Die Alone, Next, Gods & Generals (which he maintains is good but is in fact, a major snooze fest) and 10,000 BC.

If you have seen any of those movies, then I think you would agree that I win.

random thoughts.

I bought a PedEgg. I love it. It has changed the life of my feet. Seriously, you would not know they are my feet. Callouses are a thing of the past. Buy a PedEgg. They 10 bucks at Bed, Bath and Beyond and you can get them in pink with a portion of the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

Politics are ridiculous. But I'm completely fascinated with this whole Sarah Palin thing. I've listened to more talk radio in the last few weeks than I have in the last two years. I'm not kidding. I can tell you all about just about every talk show host on XM America Left, America Right and Fox News, who they are and what they think about Sarah Palin.

Sidenote - there is also a show on XM 165 in the morning that is called "Coast to Coast" where people call in and talk about alien lore and other alien theories. (Yes Alison, this is like vampire lore!) They don't talk about Sarah Palin, but sometimes I need a break from the mudslinging. And it is so entertaining. It's like the talk show version of "Weekly World News" Never know, maybe Sarah Palin is an ALIEN.

Things are going really well for my husband right now and I think he might be moving his office out of my flex room. Yeah! I might celebrate by buying a treadmill to put in there. Or I might bake a chocolate cake and eat it all myself.

We're leaving for Florida in 39 days. No kids. 8 days. Cannot wait. I'll be sippin' Mai Tai's by the pool baby. Don't care if I get dressed in anything but a bathing suit the entire week.

It's our fiscal year end this month at work and every day feels like a month-end close. I'm exhausted.

The kids are back into school full swing. I've been getting to work early again. It feels like fall. I want to go pick out my pumpkin for Halloween and some apple cider.

Becca has enrolled in an Irish Step Dancing Class. It's expensive.

Today is September 11. I didn't even realize it until I got in the car and turned on the radio this morning. I felt bad. Remember what things were like in this country before that day?

Bye Bye Babies

It's been a bad month for kitties in my family.

First, my brother and his wife went on vacation a couple weeks ago and my dad was stopping in to check their cat, Alex, for them while they were gone. Well, Alex got really sick during that week and my poor dad and to take him to the vet and he had to be put to sleep. It was pretty awful for my sensitive pop. He felt so bad about having to do that while my brother was out of town. And the whole situation really got to me as well. The idea of going on vacation and coming home to an empty house that was once occupied by your furry friend without getting to say goodbye, just breaks my heart. I love my animals so much. Ugh.

Then my mom's cat, Ally, got really sick and quit eating. She spent last weekend in the kitty hospital having an IV drip to try and flush her system. It turns out she had kidney disease possibly due to an underdeveloped kidney that caused undue stress on her other healthy kidney. She came home on Sunday, but she just couldn't seem to recover, still would not eat and this afternoon she had to be put to sleep as well. She was only 8. My mom is obviously pretty upset. I can't believe she's gone. It happened really fast.

I got her for my brother as a birthday gift. She came from my friend Katie's family farm in Alma. I drove all the way up there to get her and she was the size of a guinea pig, I swear. She rode home sleeping on my lap. And when my brother moved to Phoenix, my mom adopted her. She really was a sweet baby and had the most bizarre habit of licking plastic shopping bags. She loved them and when you came home from grocery shopping, she would stalk you until she could get her paws on a bag. It was weird, but endearing. If can find those first pictures, I will scan them in and post them. For now, the pictures below will have to do. (I don't have any pics of Alex).

Bye bye sweet babies. Say hi to my Chiquita for me.

School Days, School Days

It's here. Tomorrow is the first day of school. Today is the end of the lazy days of summer.

I have mixed feelings about it this year. It's always nice to get back on a schedule, but I kind of dread the homework. You know, the assignments where my 8 year old is supposed to invent an entirely unique and new toy? Or my 13 year old has to make a full size dummy of a famous person and then interview him/her? Yeah, try doing that kind of project with a kid and tell me where the line is between helping him and doing it for him.

I also am pretty sad to see summer go this year. After the winter we had last year, I feel like we deserve two summers. And this summer did not last long enough. Oh well, time marches on I suppose.

So I will mourn the passing of summer for a few days and then I'll start getting excited about going to the cider mill, and picking apples, and hunting for a pumpkin, and getting our Halloween costumes ready, and the colors.

It's what comes after fall that I don't want to think about!

Is There a Lemon Law for Washing Machines?

Because mine is on the blink again. Just two short weeks later, it has gone kaput. Again. This is the fifth time I have had to have service on it and it is only 2 years old. Thank God we purchased an extended warranty on it (something we really don't believe in).

I think my mom is enjoying it though because I keep having to go over to her house to do laundry.

So, they are supposed to be ordering all new guts for it. I don't think it's going to be fixed until at least Friday. If I have to go a weekend with no washer, I am going to have a fit!

Hurl

Living with a 13 year old boy is enlightening. Have you yet had the satisfaction to witness the most disgusting show on television? It's called Hurl and it's on G4. My friends, this is the world of teenage boys.

It's a reality show (of sorts) that involves people (mostly young men) eating as much food as they can stuff into their bellies in a very short amount of time and then embarking on all sorts of obstacle courses, most of which involve spinning of some kind and the first one to barf loses.

Yeah. He's in there watching it right now. I had to leave.

"But they cover up the barf!" he insists.

Like that is any less disgusting? You can still see the barf, trust me. It's vile. It's a 13 year old boy's idea of hilarious.

I'm a Girl. I Cry.

Is this something to be ashamed of? My husband thinks that crying makes women weaker than men. I contend it makes us stronger. And it's a lot better than kicking something or punching something.

The problem is that I work in a very male dominated industry. In fact, every single one of my colleagues is male. There are women in our office also, but none in my department and none in my same job. So I try very hard to be tough like a man. You know, swear and yell and throw things when I'm mad instead of curling up in a ball and cry like I really want to. I'll tell you, I'm a pretty tough girl at work, but some days, I just want to cry!

Today was one of those days. The days I live in fear of. The day I am horrified as my throat starts to tighten and my eyes start to well up with tears and I make a mad dash to the bathroom or my car. I'm just having a stressful week. Things are always extremely busy in August and I just got maxed out. I was closer to the bathroom then my car when it happened (the same bathroom where the breast pumping goes on) and so I ducked in there. And then I was trapped. Because this was a particularly violent and long cry (probably because I was trying to keep it in for two days) and even after I calmed down, my eyes were bright red. They were so red it made me start crying again when I saw them a realized I was trapped in the bathroom.

But I cannot let my boss or my peers seem me with a bright red Christmas bulb nose and puffy, wet eyes. What would they think of me? They would know I am a girl and they might start treating me different. And they might think I'm using my sex to gain sympathy. And they might think I'm weak.

So I hid out in the bathroom for a half hour and then slunk back to my desk as fast as I could, hoping upon hope that I would not pass anyone on the way back. It was ridiculous.

Sigh. Sometimes I miss just being a girl. So I came home and found a spider and made Dave kill it for me!

Golf is a Stupid Game

And I remember now why I quit playing it.

Gremlins

Okay, what is going on? First Val's fridge, then Mandy's computer and now my washing machine just went on the blink. Of course it died with a full load of soaking wet clothes in it. So now I'm on my way to my mom's house to finish the soaking wet load of clothes so it doesn't rot while I wait for a repairman. Because of course today is Sunday and I can't even call for service until tomorrow. Did I mention this is the second time the thing has died in the last 6 months? And it's only two years old?

Ugh. I was planning on staying home all day, finishing the laundry and relaxing before going back to work tomorrow. Bah!

Bathroom Rant

Bathroom etiquette. It seems to be an ever changing animal.

Does it bother anyone else/has anyone else ever encountered any of the following scenarios in a public bathroom?

#1 You walk in a there is a woman pumping her breasts right out in the open (both breasts completely exposed)

#2 You walk in and there is a woman standing there talking on her cell phone. And I don't mean a quick, "Hi, I'm in the bathroom let me call you back". I mean a full fledged conversation like she is sitting in her living room.

#3 You walk into the bathroom and there is a woman in one of the stalls talking on her cell phone. It takes you a minute to realize she is not talking to you because you can only hear one side of the conversation and the first thing you hear her say is, "You're kidding, why did he think that!?" And you are thinking, "Is she talking to me?"

#4 You walk into the bathroom and there is a woman standing there pumping her breasts (both breasts completely exposed) and she is talking on her cell phone!?

I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to pee when someone is having a conversation on their cell phone right next to where I am trying to pee. The above scenarios have all happened to me in the past 6 months. Now granted, the breast pumping has only occurred in the bathroom where I work, but still we're talking about a building of 200 people. And, we have a stall with a nice chair in it where you can pump your breasts in private. I don't understand these things. I don't want everyone (even other women who I might know casually from work) seeing my breasts - I don't think that is only because I've never had a baby. But those of you who have had babies, what do you think? I also try not to answer my cell phone while in the bathroom and if there is a call I must take, I high tail it out of the bathroom or I tell the person I will call them right back.

Am I just uptight?

Blog Hiatus

After a month, I'm sure the four people that read this blog are wondering what the heck happened to me. I wish I could say it has been a relaxing and refreshing month, but that wouldn't be true.

In the true tradition of life, things do not seem to become simpler as time goes by and this most certainly applies to my life. Good things are happening, don't get me wrong. Dave's business is taking off. He's doing so well and I'm so proud of him. But he's been working. A lot. And I'm working. A lot. And I've been thrown into a level of parenting for which I was somewhat unprepared. With a now teenager in the house and an 8 year old who thinks she is a teenager, I've started experiencing some feelings that confused me. Let's say they center around frustration and then guilt. And I lost myself for a few days there. Shut down. Took to my room. Not sure what to do. I had to find my center again. And I did not have the energy or the wherewith all to write about it.

But I am happy to report that I found my center again. I bought a couple books on step-parenting that made me feel so much better. They helped me to realize that a lot of what I have been feeling is normal. Thank God, I'm always quick to think I'm a circus freak and not like anyone else in the world. I talked about it instead of trying to sort it all out myself in my own head. What a journey.

So, I'm back. The kids are at their mom's for the next week giving me a much needed break (it's okay to say that I need a break). I remembered that I'm not going to be perfect, as much as I want to be. I'm meeting up with Val on Friday for our annual trip to Milford Memories. Some new opportunities have revealed themselves in my career. It is beautiful outside today. And I'm back.

Did you miss me?

Senioritis

Long ago when I was a college student and an English major (neither of which I was really all that good at), I found that, in the last semester of my senior year I developed something they call "Senioritis." I had a lot of papers to write that semester and I found myself sitting at my computer the night before said papers were due just starting blankly at the monitor thinking, "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this." And the next thing I knew, it would be 2 a.m. and I had written one paragraph of a 15 page paper. Oh, it is a terrible thing to be stricken with senioritis.

If you look Google this word, most websites will tell you that it usually applies to high school students. I seriously disagree and postulate that senioritis can affect anyone at anytime period in her life. When I say her, I mean me. I'm supposed to be revising my revenue forecast for my boss right now and I find myself sitting here thinking, "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this." Since I've never been much of a planner, always more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, is it any wonder I don't enjoy forecasting? Especially when it involves numbers and I was an ENGLISH MAJOR!?? (with a WRITING minor) (and when I say WRITING, I mean poems and stories)

Sometimes I feel like I am just a big faker and that one day everyone I work with is going to realize that I don't know what the heck I am doing and that I am not in the least bit qualified for my job and then they are going to take it away from me. See? This is what happens when you get Senioritis and you aren't in school anymore. It's an ugly thing people. And ugly thing.

Sleeping

I love sleeping. I love sleeping in. I live for Saturday and Sunday and avoid early weekend plans if I can at all help it. (mind you, sleeping in for me is 9:00am)

I also love sleeping in an ice cold room. And this week it has been the most amazing weather-hot during the day and nice and cool at night. So I usually crank up the window fan to high and let the room get frigid. I love snuggling into the covers while the fresh air blows over the bed.

The only problem with this is that my husband hates it. In his mind it is summer and we should let the room be a little warm and enjoy the season. He wants me to leave the window fan off at night. And he decided to bring this up yesterday morning before I had any coffee.

I was seriously considering sleeping the spare bedroom last night(but I didn't). That's how much I hate sleeping in a hot room. What can I say? I'm a princess.

Rebecca ****** Age 8

Something wonderful has happened at our house.

My 8 year old step-daughter has finally embraced my love of reading. And I have Beverly Cleary to thank.

Just to give you a little background, when I "got" Rebecca, she didn't even know her ABC's. She knew the song, but when I mixed up the letter flashcards so they were out of order, she had no clue what the letters were. It was worrisome and she has seemed to be trying to catch up ever since. First grade it was a fight to get her to read. And despite Dave and I often working 12 hours day, we came home every night and worked with her. It was very frustrating because it was always a fight. She just didn't like to read, it was very difficult for her and it was just very trying. We felt like our efforts were not paying off. We talked about getting her a reading tutor or sending her to Sylvan, but it is so expensive. And we held off.

Then she got into second grade and got a wonderful teacher who was so encouraging to her. It was still somewhat of a fight to get her to read but she was definitely making progress. By the end of the school year she was reading on her own. It was glorious.

So last night I took both kids to Borders and told them they could each pick out a book. While Sam wandered off to pick out a "boy" book, I wandered into the children's book section with Rebecca. There I found all the wonderful books I read as a little girl and young adult. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, SuperFudge, The Phantom Tollbooth, Anne of Green Gables, The Boxcar Children, and the Ramona Quimby series. And with my encouragement, Rebecca picked out "Ramona Quimby, Age 8".

And she started reading it in the car. It was bliss. She didn't even want to stop to eat. She just wanted to read. We got home and she took that book to bed with her and when I went upstairs to tuck her in, she was asleep with the book on her chest (the first time that has ever happened). And when I took the book off her chest she stirred and murmured, "I'm so tired, but I wanted to finish the chapter." and then rolled over and went back to sleep.

And I stood there in awe of what we have finally accomplished. This is my little girl. She may not have come from me, but she's mine and I'm so proud of how far we both have come.

Adventures of Guinness and Jerry

Yesterday I came home from a meeting to work at home for the afternoon and Guinness's water dish was bone dry. I was a little ticked about that because it seems that I am the only one who ever makes sure he has water.

Then I heard a crinkling noise behind the couch and found Jerry back there licking a bag. Guess what the bag was? It was empty, inside out and licked clean bag of hot and spicy pork rinds that Dave had left sitting on the sofa table.

So that explains why his water dish was bone dry.

Little monster dog.

Movies Not to See Unless You Enjoy Feeling Suicidal

I Am Legend (My alternate title - I Love Dogs (that is why I hated this movie))

PS I Love You (My alternate title - Why, why, why, would you put yourself through this? And PS - I hate this movie)

There Will be Blood (My title - There will be boredom)

Beaches (My title - Beach-bawling)

Steel Magnolias (My title - Where can I find a beauty shop like this? )

Terms of Endearment (My title - Seriously, people think watching this is enjoyment?)

Hmmmm.....

I stopped to rent a couple of movies Friday night and I was on the phone with Dave while I was picking them out so he could give his opinion. Since I was a combination of tired/distracted, I grabbed the movie boxes instead of the movies and took them to the register and also into the Twilight Zone.

I was short on cash so I asked the cashier if I could charge it (normally I wouldn't charge 6 bucks, but I hadn't been to the bank). She said that was fine and rang it up without scanning my membership card. Then she asked me for $16. I was totally confused as to what was going on and then realized she was charging me for the movies, although in retrospect, $16 for two blu-ray disc's would be a steal. Except the movies weren't in the cases. I looked at her blankly and said, "I'm renting them." and she said, "These are blu-ray disc's" "Yes" I replied and she said, "Do you have a blu-ray player?" "Yes" So I pointed out to her what I had and done and she headed back to the rack to get the movies. I was really embarrassed and could feel my face getting red. So I said, "I'm sorry. It has been a really long week." To which she replied, "Yeah, I've been having stomach problems all week."

Huh?

Are you kidding me?

I saw in the headlines today, the entertainment headlines that is, that Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong are now an item.

Seriously. Didn't she just break up with Owen Wilson. Again?

Am I alone when I say that I am exasperated with Hollywood stars jumping around from bed to bed to bed like the popular crowd in high school? And I am supposed to accept this as mainstream? Do I want my children to think it is normal and okay to meet, marry, make babies (not always in that order) with someone only to call it quits two years into it and move on to the next person, make some babies with them and so on?

It makes me so crazy. So I'm inventing a new variation on an old game. Ever heard of "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" which is based on "Six Degrees of Separation"? It is the idea that people are separated from everyone else by only six people. Well, my game is called "Six Degrees of Sex-peration." Can you link the Hollywood stars to other Hollywood stars in six stars or less? I'll start:

Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts (an easy one-I'll admit)

Jennifer Aniston slept with Tate Donovan
Tate Donovan slept with Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock slept with Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt slept with Julia Roberts
Bam! They've all slept with each other one way or another.

Return to the Land of the Living?

I'm back - I think. No plans this weekend, which is in and of itself, actually, a plan. I want to sleep in, and clean my house, and plant some flowers, and did I mention I want to sleep in?


The past month has been insane - beginning with the trip to Indy. Then Dave and I took off for a four day weekend over Mother's Day. As I mentioned, we took our bikes to Mackinac Island. He made me ride until I thought I was going to die. The very first hill we encountered was the hill leading up to the Grand Hotel which I thought was the biggest hill I had ever been up on my bike (little did I know). Dave sailed right up it no problem and I had to get off and walk my bike. It was humiliating. I mean I know he is in better shape than me, but this was unexpected.

Then we realized.

I'm a doofus and know nothing about the gears on my bike. It turns out I was in the most difficult gear. After a crash course on up-shifting and down-shifting, I was back in business and able to stay on my bike for most of the hills. That is when the real fun started.


Dave had procured a map of the island which revealed to us treasures we had never been aware of before. Skull Cave was the first one. So we trekked up what felt like 17 miles of hills to find it.

Folks, it's a bunch of rocks on the side of a hill. No skulls, no bones, no pirates, blood, gore or anything of the sort. It's sort of close to a cemetery, but that's it.


So we moved on to the next gem, the Battlefield of 1814. My hubby is a military history enthusiast so of course when he found out there was a battlefield on the island, we had to ride our bikes up 17 more miles of hills to find it. If you recall, we visited Gettysburg last fall, which is a vast battlefield. The Battlefield of 1814 is the size of my living room and is situated right across the street from the 9th fairway of a golf course. It's lame. I'm sorry, but it's true. And it took a lot of hill to get to it.


So onward to the Crack in the Island. Before we set out on this trek, we actually sat down on a bench to discuss whether we had the energy to go to the crack. Considering that everything else which sounded so cool ended up being so lame, we were hesitant. Plus this was going to require trail riding. Of course this is why we purchased mountain bikes, but hey, let's not split hairs. I wanted to see the crack. I was picturing the San Andreas fault and I decided that I wasn't missing it.


It's a ditch. If it had a little water at the bottom of it, I would call it a creek. 0 for 3.

Did I mention the second fort? There's a reason I left it out.


The only thing we saw that I actually thought was really nifty was the Arch Rock. Beautiful, gorgeous, wish you were here. Jro asked is we went to it and yes, we rode our bikes up that hill too. I wanted to stay up there but it was our last day and we had to go back to town and catch our ferry. But it was so pretty. I'm sad to hear that it will be gone after Mother Nature and Father Time get done marching across it.

I'm poking a little fun at the island, but the truth it, Mackinac Island (and most of N. MI) is beautiful and we had a very relaxing time with each other. The worst thing that happened was I kept forgetting to bring the camera with us on our bike tours and missed out on some beautiful pics. Below is some of the few I got when I actually did remember to bring the camera.


We asked for and received a room upgrade to a lakeview. We were on the third floor and this was our view.

Gorgeous water on our leisurely bike ride on the bike path around the island. We stopped a couple times just to sit by the water. It was chilly, but still gorgeous.

Did I mention it was chilly? I was wishing I would have brought a warmer (and more fashionable hat). But when you are freezing, it is very easy to not care if you look lame. Or like a fly, in my case.

Okay, so that is my little recap on Mother's Day weekend. I have another riveting story regarding a gas station bathroom I encountered during my road trip last weekend with Mandy(you have to call her Miranda). But I have been up since 4:45 this morning and I am going to bed. You are all just going to have to wait for that juicy story. And I do mean juicy.

Insanitytown

Okay, okay. So I'm not dead. But I will be if I don't get a post up and up here soon.

I'm sorry- time eludes me.

We've been out of town and then returned to catch up on work work, house work and home work (the kids) and I am leaving again Saturday to drive Mandy(you have to call her Miranda)home to New Jersey and then get on a plane and fly back to Detroit, BY MYSELF. This act requires Valium.

I promise to post some nice pretty pictures from Mackinac Island and to tell you all about the excitement of Skull Cave (If you have never experienced it), and the Battlefield that is on Mackinac Island from the War of 1812, and last but not least, the crack in the island. It's all very interesting, but you have to be patient with me.

I keep telling myself this is a phase and things will slow down soon, but I'm starting not to believe that. This is my life and my Sousa quote is breathing down my neck. Do I need to post it here again? I am woman, hear me roar.

note to self - don't blog late at night when you are well into you "little blue friend"

Business

First order of business: Val, we just watched Dirty Jobs and Mike had to deliver a calf. It was disgusting!

Second order of business: I got a complaint that my blog doesn't have enough pictures on it, or enough posts in general. So I went for a girls weekend this weekend (details to follow) and not a camera was seen the entire time. And to make matters even worse, I was with my photographer friend. We were all too preoccupied with our own respective issues which as soon as I get permission, I will post all kinds of crazy details about.

Third order of business: I need a long weekend with my husband and we're taking one. Thank God the weekend of Mothers Day. A glorious four days at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island (just pray it doesn't snow on us!) with nothing to do but be married to each other and ride our bikes and eat and drink.

The fourth order of business is for me to go to bed since I have already ingested the little blue pill that makes me sleep like a baby for the first time since I was a baby. And it is starting to kick in. I'll spell check this tomorrow.

Laundry

Does anyone else hate washing their jeans? For me, it goes like this. I buy the jeans and they are little snug, but after I wear them a couple times they form to my body and fit so well. But then after I wear them 8 or 10 times, I start feeling like it is gross not to wash them. But if I wash them they go back to being snug again and I have to start the process all over again. They also fade a little more with each washing and the more faded they get, the more casual they look and the less like I feel that I can get away with wearing them on casual Fridays.

Oh the plight of being a woman.

PS I don't really wait 10 wearings to wash them. Usually ;)

Did anyone else read Pioneer Woman's post about her obsession with collecting dishes?

I found that post so interesting because I myself have an obsession with all things dishes. But up until I read her post and the subsequent reader comments, I just thought I had an abnormal shopping addiction. (Okay so I probably do have a shopping addiction - but this is something entirely different) I really need to spend more time with girls so that I know these things are NOT abnormal.

Since I moved into my first place, I have been near obsessed with dishes. Particularily stoneware like Fiesta Dinnerware by Homer Laughlin. In fact, I obtained an entire set of Fiesta dishes when I moved into my condo and then registered for a new set when I got married a couple years later. Everytime I go into a store that sells it, I find myself standing there drooling over all the things I don't have, and there are a lot of things I don't have. Yet.

I also buy bowls, all different kinds of bowls. I love looking at them in stores like Marshall's and TJ Maxx because they have all sorts of different styles to choose from.

Alas, I haven't been buying much lately because I am just out of room in my kitchen. So much so that the gorgeous red nesting bowls I bought some time ago are just sitting on my counter because I don't know where to put them.

I didn't really know much about the jadite that PW blogged about, but it appears that this is a very pricey item to collect so I'm not even going to look into it. However, I did Google "vintage dishes" and found that there is a whole online world of dish collectors. And I'm pretty sure some of that vintage Pyrex I saw can be found in my mom's kitchen. I hope she still has it; I never even thought to tell her not to throw it away.

Brain Reset

How can a woman tell if her rage is induced by PMS or by her annoying corporate counterparts who insist on implementing Dilbert-like policies at least 6 times a month?

Guess Who's Doing a Reunion Tour!!!

We'll talk more about this later.....

It Finally Happened to Me

I never thought it would, but it did.

I wore two different shoes to work today.

The worst part is that one heel is higher than the other. I'm all discombobulated.

Crazy Animal Lady

Not to be one of those crazy people who treats their pets like their children or anything, but the following exchange was so funny (and so out of character) that I just had to post it.

Today I came home from work and collapsed on the couch for a few minutes and the following occured right over my head. I was lucky enough to make it across the room and back with the camera before it ended!

Then Jerry decided he had enough and bitch slapped Guinness. And then he left and Guinness took his spot.

End of My Rope

The car won't start-it's falling apart
I was late for work and the boss got smart
My pantyline shows-got a run in my hose
My hair went flat-man, I hate that

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse
I realized I forgot my purse
With all this stress-I must confess
This could be worse than PMS

This job ain't worth the pay
Can't wait 'til the end of the day
Honey, I'm on my way
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Honey, I'm home and I had a hard day
Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way
Rub my feet, gimme something to eat
Fix me up my favorite treat

Honey, I'm back, my head's killing me
I need to relax and watch TV
Get off the phone-give the dog a bone
Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home!

I broke a nail opening the mail
I cursed out loud 'cause it hurt like hell
This job's a pain-it's so mundane
It sure don't stimulate my brain
This job ain't worth the pay
Can't wait 'til the end of the day
Honey, I'm on my way

I couldn't have said it better myself, Shania.

One of the best movies. Ever.

Last weekend my mom, Becca and I had a girls night and we introduced Becca to Anne of Green Gables. That movie was an absolute favorite of mine as a little girl and if you have never seen it, I would suggest checking out with your favorite young adult. At 8, I think Becca was still a little young to sit through the entire movie and indeed, she got a little restless the last 45 minutes. We're going to wait a year or two before we show her the sequel. But she did enjoy the beginning where Anne was younger. I also think she loved the idea of a girls night. What the heck, might as well start her young, right?

But, for those of you who know me, I gleaned many useful phrases and terms from Anne, including, "I'm in the depths of despair!", "bosom friend", and "kindred spirit". I might still name one of my children after one of the characters. As you might be gathering, I was a little geeky as a child and never felt comfortable in my own skin or around people my own age. So I thought of characters like Anne and Diana as my friends. Before you shed a tear for me, that's not to say I didn't have any friends, but just a choice few.

So, it was nice to share something I loved so much as a child, with my child. For a little girl who has lacked the motherly attention she has deserved and craved for much of her life, I think it was really good for her too.

The Power of Positive (or Negative) Thinking

I'm trying really hard to be positive. Oftentimes I find myself focusing on the negative aspect of everything and even worse, verbalizing it. I truly believe in the power of suggestion and that if you say something enough, you can make it happen. So, the negative talk and thought has to stop. Easy to say, hard to do. But I'm workin' on it!

So this morning I got the following quote from Nightingale Conant, the wonderful company who brings you Tony Robbins (gag - he's cheesy but I can't help but be motivated by him, for a couple days at least!). Usually their "motivational quote of the day" is lame and inapplicable to my life, but today's quote seems like it was just for me.

We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation."

— Florence Scovel Shinn: American artist, metaphysics teacher, author

What more do I need to say?

Me

I was going through my music library as I was loading it onto my new 80 gig IPod. Is that too much? Maybe first I should say that we had our taxes done on Saturday night and we were both beyond relieved that we aren't going to have to pay any federal and just a small amount to the State. We had prepared ourselves for about 10 grand. With Dave starting the business this year, we were pretty sure we would have enough deductions to cover it, but you can never be sure until the numbers have been run. So we celebrated by buying a new IPod that would fit our entire music library (with plenty of space to spare - instead of having it spread all around on two nano's and our computer), and nice dock for it and eating sushi. Well Dave ate sushi - I'm still trying to get on board with it but I'm having a hard time.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this Paula Cole song that I love but had not though about or listened to in a few years. But it's a great song and I love the lyrics. I just realized I bought this CD when I was in college. It's old. Really old.

Me
I am not the person who is singing
I am the silent one inside
I am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
I just pacify their egos
I am not my house, my car, my songs
They are only just stops along my way
I am like the winter
I'm a dark cold female
With a golden ring of wisdom in my cave

And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
I am carrying my voice
I am carrying my heart
I am carrying my rhythm
I am carrying my prayers
But you can't kill my spirit
It's soaring and it's strong
Like a mountain I'll go on and on
But when my wings are folded
The brightly colored moth
Blends into the dirt into the ground

And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing i love
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing i love That I love
I am walking on the bridge
I am over the water
And I'm scared as hell
But I know there's something better
Yes I know there's something
Yes I know, i know, yes i know
That I love
But it's me
And it's me
But it's me

Uh

Does this weather make anyone else want to sit on the couch and stuff their face?

Or is it just me?

Third

Yes, it is the third post of the day. I have a lot of catching up to do. Obviously.

February has been too busy but it seems we haven't really done much.

The last week was a whirlwind. I drove to Indianapolis Monday to be with Alison. Well, actually I drove to Kalamazoo first to pick up Jen. Then we drove to Indianapolis to be with Alison. We got there about 5:00 and were gone again by 2:00 the following day. Then right back to work on Wednesday to close out our fiscal month. By Friday I was exhausted, but I wouldn't have missed out on being there for Alison for anything. It seems we are too young to be travelling for funerals for our friends, but totally right to be there. It was a sad way to meet up with them again, but I was glad to be able to be there for her.

Friday I was sure I was getting the flu. I came home from work and parked my butt on the couch and could barely flex my pinky finger the rest of the night. But by Saturday I felt somewhat refreshed and was able to do some laundry and clean the bathrooms which was something that needed to be done.

Today I finished up around the house and feel better. Just in time to start it all over again. If you read my "Cavalier Sales Pitch" and you are a Jerry lover, don't worry, his pictorial is coming soon! Have a wonderful week! I'll try to get a few posts up this week.

Cavalier Sales Pitch

If you are looking for a pet, why not consider a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?

They are absolute lovers. I was sick when I came home from work Friday evening and my baby wanted to be right next to me, loving and comforting me. (Please excuse my expression - I was feeling really rotten)

They're fabulous with kids.

They love to play.

And they are just plain adorable. What't not to love?

So Happy Together.....

It only took 1 year and 8 months for peace to reign in this household. That is as long as Dave and I have been married. I'm not talking about me and the Dave. Or me and the kids.

I'm talking about the dog and the cat. Or more importantly, the cat. He has finally made peace with the dog. A picture never lies!!

Blue

I don't have sisters - at least not blood sisters - my girlfriends are my sisters. My very dear friend and sister, Alison, who has has been a loyal and caring friend to me since I met her in college 12 or so years ago, lost her life partner this week. No amount of words can express my sorrow for her. Please keep her in your prayers.

Valentine Anniversary

I never cared much for Valentines Day. I always thought it was ridiculous and more of a day to make single people feel, well, single. And alone.

Ironically, today is the four year anniversary of Dave's and my first date. He asked me out on a Tuesday at work. He was in town for a training class and he told me to think about it before giving him an answer. My first thought and many thoughts after that were, "no", "no way", "absolutley not" and "when hell freezes over". It wasn't that I didn't like him. We were buddies and I was fond of him, but he was a co-worker which was a huge red flag, he had two kids which was an even bigger red flag, and he wasn't officially divorced yet which was a flag of some sort of color that I can't even describe but it was brighter than red.

So I spent the day trying to figure out how to tell him to hit the road but not ruin our working relationship. So after work we're sitting there talking about it and he is telling me that he thinks we click, and we have a lot in common, and he thinks I'm so pretty, all sorts of nice sweet things and all the time I'm thinking, "NO, no, no." and I turn to him and out of my mouth comes the words, "What time do you want to pick me up on Saturday?" Which also happened to be Valentine's Day. I never dreamed I would end up marrying him, but I will tell you that our first date was like electricity and we've been together since.

On our first date we didn't really make any plans - we just figured we would get dinner and catch a movie. Ha! We tried to go to Outback and the wait was 3 hours. So we scrapped that - I can't think of any restaurants that are worth waiting 3 hours for. So I suggested we try Mexican Jones which is a little, kind of dumpy, Mexican restaurant in Brighton that never has a wait but has good food and amazing margaritas. I didn't know it, but Dave's dad (who passed away 8 years ago tomorrow) always refused to eat at chain restaurants. He would only go to greasy spoons and small mom and pop kind of places, so when I suggested a greasy little Mexican place, Dave was pretty excited. We had a wonderful meal and the conversation never lulled.

We go to Mexican Jones on Valentine's Day every year. So while I'm a not a big Valentine's Day person; I do enjoy recreating this special evening every year.

Feelings

I feel like I used to be a lot more intersting.

I feel middle aged.

I feel ashamed of some of the thoughts that run through my head.

I feel lost.

I feel found.

I feel anguished.

I feel loved.

I feel bored.

I feel overwhelmed.

I feel like running.

I feel like staying.

I feel like I don't know who I am right now.

I feel like I need to live more in the moment.

I feel comfortable in routine.

I feel judged.

I feel judgemental.

I feel accepted.

I feel accepting.

I feel like a woman.

I feel sexless.

I feel uninspired.

I feel like I don't know what I feel like.

I feel random.

Vacations

I have spent the week trying to catch up from being gone. It was a long long week as you might have guessed with my lack of posting. I just got the pictures on the computer this afternoon.

I love traveling. For me, it is truly the spice I need in my life. If I don't have a trip to look forward to, I feel sad and lost. So, I'm always planning one.

But man oh man, catching up after the trip is a lot harder post kids. When I was single I used to flit all over the place whenever I felt like it. I guess I still pretty much do that, but there is a lot more laundry at the the end!

My next trip is hopefully going to be Vegas in June. This will be a little business and hopefully a little pleasure. I try to combine those anytime I can because then I can fly on the company which is a huge help.

But I digress. We had another wonderful time in Disney World. The weather was gorgeous. The parks weren't too crowded and we got to see most everything we loved at least twice. Some of them, like "The Haunted Mansion" and "Star Wars", we saw multiple times. Those two rides are Becca's and Sam's favorites, respectively. I also got to see my favorite, "The Carousel of Progress" twice. We got to spend an afternoon at the pool, I with a Pina Colada and Dave with a Mai Tai. It was nice, but I will tell you this, our next real vacation is going to be kidless.

Okay, so a few photos:

Sam comandeered Dave's sunglasses while we were gone and just about refused to take them off. He thinks he is really cool right now. The cusp of teenagerness. I don't envy him the next few years.

I told the kids about "Hidden Mickeys" and we spent the whole week trying to spot them. Dave found this one. It looks obvious, but I bet most people don't notice it. Dave and I, because of our trade, often notice electrical/fire alarm things in buildings that most people would walk right by.

Cinderella Castle. And us. I take a photo like this everywhere we go. It's fun to look back and see how much taller the kids are getting. Maybe someday I'll put them all together.
We ate in Canada at Epcot this year and this was Sam's dessert. It was Chocolate "Moose" :)

A Good Time Was Had By All

We're home. Phewww. What a whirlwind. We got home at 10pm last night. This morning I had to turn around and drive back to the airport to pick up my mom who was flying in from Tampa. I dropped her off at home and went on the grocery store to get goodies for the Super Bowl and for the week because I had no food, and I mean no food, in the house.

Then I had to take Dave to pick up his truck because he lent it to his friend while we were gone. Got home from that and sat down to pay bills. The computer freaked out so I quit and went to make the Super Bowl goodies. Mmmmm. Wings, Queso dip, Olive bread and fresh fruit. Yummm. Dave's in the computer room beating his head on the desk right now, but at least he had a nice meal. I'm using his laptop to type this post.

So, needless to say, I have not been able to get the pictures off my camera yet. And tomorrow we are all back to the grind, so I think it is going to take me all week to get caught up. I still have a couple loads of laundry to do.

But I will say this. We had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful all but one day and even that wasn't so bad. We got to see everything we wanted to - most of our favorite rides we went on at least two or three times. The crowds weren't too bad. The kids enjoyed themselves and so did Dave and I.

Does Anyone Else Hate Packing?

I packed my daughter, and I have almost totally packed my husband. But I still have to pack myself and I've been putting it off all day. I love traveling, but I detest packing. I'm a famous over-packer mainly due to the fact that I following reasons:

#1 I love to have wardrobe choices. I mean how can I be expected to decide what I want to wear a week from Tuesday?

#2 Am I going to wear shorts everyday or pants every day. Or shorts a couple days and pants a couple days. I'm crazy this way and when I checked the weather forecast for Orlando, it was all over the place. And it looks like it will be a little cool at night.

And yes, I pack for my husband. And don't worry, I gave him lots of wardrobe choices.

Yum

Have you tried the hot chocolate flavored hershey's kisses? Yummy!

TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL DISNEY!!!!

Blogger's Block

So I've had several opportunities to blog over the past week. I even started a couple entries, but I just wasn't "feeling it" It's the big B. Blogger's Block. And I've caught it.

And I still have it. I'm not feeling clever, or funny, or even particularly deep.

So I will talk briefly about the breaking news that came across the AP wire today.

Heath Ledger is dead!

I received an urgent e-mail with that exact subject line from Donna, and about 30 seconds later, a text message from Alison, with a similar message.

Shocking. He's our age. Another River Phoenix? Ugh. I hate when these things happen.

And I will never be able to enjoy "10 Things I Hate About You" quite the same way again.

But since I brought the movie up, I would like to share my favorite line from it.

The father in the movie is a obstetrician and he is always trying to scare his daughters out of having any babies. So one day he is telling them about a baby he delivered to a young mom and he asks the daughters if they know what she said to him, and the younger daughter pipes up,

"I'm a crack-whore and I should have asked my skeezy boyfriend to wear a condom?"

and the father says, "No, she said 'I should have gone to college'."

R.I.P. Heath.

Party Politics

11 days until we leave for Disney World!

Now that I have that out of the way, I'll get to the real topic of this post.

Did you vote yesterday? I did. For the first time in my life, I voted in a primary. And all I can say is that I wish it was that easy to vote all the time. I was there literally 5 minutes. No line. Got my ballot, one thing to vote for on it, done. I was a little weirded out by the fact that I had to tell them if I wanted a Republican or Democrat ballot. Does this mean I'm a registered ****** now? Because I really don't want that to be the case. Do they think people are too stupid to get one ballot and only vote for one party? Are people too stupid to get one ballot and only vote for one party? What is the reason for this?

I'm not outraged about it. I still voted. I just thought it was a little curious. Am I am wondering if I am now going to start getting all sorts of political propaganda in my mailbox now. Will Lifelock block that mail too? I guess I'll find out.

The other thing about voting I wanted to mention is that I had to show my photo id this year. Did everyone have to do that or was that a Livingston County thing? I asked the election official if she had been getting grief over that and she said surprisingly "no." Hmmmmm. Interesting.

Happy Birthday Dave!

32 years ago today (and exactly two months after my blessed arrival), my mother-in-law had her belly cut open and my future husband was plucked from the warm quiet cocoon of her womb. And he never got over it ;)

Unbenownst to both of us at the time, it would take 28 years for us to meet. Several times through the years, I seriously considered the possibility that he did not exist and nearly gave up to join a convent. I know for a fact that he did give up for a few years. But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason - even if it does not seem obvious or we cannot for the life of us figure it out. And obviously there were things both of us needed to do before we came together. And there were two children that needed to be born. I'm almost certain that Rebecca is going to be the one to come up with the cure for cancer! Now I know it sounds cheesy, but he was totally worth the wait.

Happy Birthday Dave! I love you more than words!

I Eat Lunch by Myself

Monday I ate a package of Nutter Butters at my desk by myself.

Yesterday I had a training class (finance woo hoo) so I ate my company provided Mr Pita lunch in front of my laptop trying to catch up on my e-mail.

Today I ate a bagel that I foraged from sales meeting leftovers. Then the vending machine guy (who loves me for some reason and always gives me free treats when he comes in to fill the machine) gave me a bag of peanut M&M's. I'm feeling a little bloated after all the holiday treats so I showed remarkable restraint and gave most of the bag to one of my garbage disposal type male-employee. Who ate it with a V8. Yuk!

I am quickly coming to the following conclusions:

#1 I am not loving this new office. At least when we were in Novi, I could go to the mall and spend money if I didn't have anything to do for lunch.

#2 I miss working with my husband and our friend Rob who both left the company leaving me bereft of lunchtime company.

#3 I'm kind of a loner nerd.

Jerry is E-normous!

Okay. So Jerry is a big cat. Katrina commented that he should be name Tom as in "tomcat." That is funny because I always wondered if his previous owners named him after Tom and Jerry but got confused and thought Jerry was the cat. Or they were Seinfeld fans and named him after "little Jerry Seinfeld" of course that was a rooster, but you never know.

I wish I could have seen what he looked like as a kitten. I can't imagine him small. I got him at the Livingston County Humane Society about 5 years ago. I went there looking for a dog, but I had never had a dog before and I chickened out because of the fact that I was living in an upstairs condo with no real yard to speak of.

While I was looking at the dogs, my mom wandered over to the cat room where she happened upon Jerry. He was just sacked out in his little cage, but when she walked by he put his pretty little white paw out and touched her. She was sold. Unfortunately, she already had two cats at home and my dad told her if she brought another one home, he would leave. I'm sure he would not have left if she had brought the cat home, but instead would have stuck out around to make her sorry for it. Anyway, she played on my sympathies and I signed the contract for Jerry who came home with me the next day. And had it really good for the next three years.

He's a very sweet and loving cat, but he's pretty neurotic. I think that a man must have been mean to him at some point because he is terribly afraid of men. Dave rarely ever saw Jerry for the first couple of months we dated. And when we got Guinness, it rocked his world. He took up residence in his little room at the end of the hall in the condo. And just when he started to ease out a little, we moved. And then he took up residence in the basement.

Now he goes in spurts. Sometimes we see a lot of him, sometimes we don't.

So I apologize to all the cat lovers who have felt his existence has been overshadowed by Guinness. I promise to start covering more Jerry.

For Those of You Who Were Concerned

Jerry is alive and well. (Not at rehab) As you can see, he does need to get moving on his after Christmas diet.

Revelations

Sunday Dave and I took my parents and the kids to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I haven't been there in a long long time. I'm embarrassed to admit this next part but I'm saying it even if makes me sound like a sheltered ignoramus. When did "they" stop using B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini)? They now use, B.C.E. and C.E. For anyone else who is a sheltered ignoramus like me, B.C.E. stands for Before Common Era and C.E. stands for Common Era. My husband, who did not lead the sheltered life I did and attended Detroit Public Schools for many of his schooling years, already knew all about this. But I was surprised. And surprisingly outraged.

I'm was raised in a very Christian household. We went to church every Sunday and then some. As those who know me will attest, I have had some struggles with my faith and with Christianity over the years and continue to struggle with exactly what I believe. I'm not sure what I would call myself now. Christian? I'm not sure.

Without going into the specifics of my beliefs too much, I will say that I vehemently believe in separation of Church and State. But I don't think that all religious references need to be eradicated. Give me a break. It is so offensive to even hear the word Christ? I think it's taking political correctness a little too far. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the calendar sort of created using the birth of Christ as a benchmark?

Maybe I'm just being sentimental, after all, I have rejected much of what I was taught growing up. So why should I be so upset at "Common Era" or the recent attacks on Christmas? But I am. It really bothered me and I want B.C. back. Just like I want to get Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas" instead of Happy Holidays. Does this bug anyone else? Am I overreacting? What are your thoughts on this?