A day in the life of...

How time flies....when you're not having fun...

2011-05-13T14:43:00.008-05:00

Apparently I feel the need to write what, every 6 months or so? So yeah, it's May, coming up upon the 2nd Anniversary of marriage bliss to Loverboy, and still with a house that looks like it was hit by a tornado (though I shouldn't joke, we've actually got tornado watches going on right about now), and the bathroom is actually pretty usable, though not yet finished...I think that was the middle name of Loverboy: Lover "won't quite finish anything I come into contact with my Bob Villa type fix its" Boy. Yup, nothing is finished, yet everything has been stared. However MAJOR changes have been in the works...though nothing so recent (been working tons, so haven't been home much to actually spew what's been going out here on this blog oh mine).
So the bathroom is almost done....just need to finish the walls, finish the sink counter, and put the closet in once we get the floor done. If you may have seen in previous pics, we had a big hole in the floor for putting in concrete footers to support the roof. Well, we've lost just a little bit more of the floor... yup, we have a partial floor...that you need to walk across with planks (I feel like I should be on a pirate ship leaping to my death to a swarm of hungry sharks)...Yup, those are boards going across nothingness...and all I wanted for Christmas and my birthday was to get the friggin' couch back in the house...alas my prayers were NOT answered.Yeah, how great is this? We even have planks that go to the bathroom!

Though I must admit the bathroom is looking sassy...and I swear is now worth more than the house itself. So we'll see what happens this summer.

Other than that, had issues were Loverboy and I almost parted ways...well, I almost parted ways, Loverboy is one of those men type who don't get that their woman is unhappy, and life is like is a bowl of cherries, or some shit like that. I was indeed on the verge of leaving loverboy, this hell house, and the southern suburbs of Chicagoland to find something actually sane and just had a floor. I was so tired of living in the bedroom while tard boy spent his days doing anything BUT work on our "home" (just because it's a house does NOT mean it is automatically a home). After much discussions and loads of crying (which I kick myself for...I've becoming a freakin emotional mess since meeting the man I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with), we came to an understanding that we need more communication and help from each other...him with the zillions of things needed to be done with the house, and me with some attention and housework when I'm not working my 60-80 hour weeks (yeah, got second job, so now I'm gone from the house even more now!).

What else is going on...that's about it. Job is good, aside from having dirty old men telling me they want to help my husband do unmentionable things to me (seriously?), old ladies screaming at me because the think I have no idea what I'm talking about (a heat pack is NOT a pain medication patch and you do NOT pick it up from behind the counter...that's not what over the counter means...), and clients sitting on the floor and shitting on the carpet...I commend all those who join me in doing CNA work, nursing, and home healthcare...

What else...I'll be getting my garden in soon, hopefully, but not today...tornado warnings put a damper on that. Though I am excited to add a second 4x8 foot raised bed to the mix and have more homegrown deliciousness (I'm talking veggies here...though that could be taken out of context SO easily...) and less cash on grocery stores and farmers markets (they're just starting this month at a lot of locations by me, and I go a little overboard with helping the local markets, but need to seriously tone down the cash spending), plus eating healthier and losing my so called pouch of a gut (also known as my "joey"...I'm waiting for a kangaroo to come out and prove that it's not my fault that it's there).

So that's that for now...6 months, geez, I was shocked when it was 2011, let alone almost halfway through the year!!! So lets see what happens with the house. The new rule is that if I don't have the couch back here by Christmas of 2011, then I will leave this house, leave Loverboy, and start the New Year out on my own...so let's see what happens.

2010-09-14T19:53:00.008-05:00

Holy crap, it's September 14th...and where the hell is this year going!!?!?!?!

OK, time to vent...it's been what, 7 months since I last spewed a bunch of crap? OK...well, here goes...

At least I haven't gained any weight...though I haven't lost any either. Still a lazy behemoth (yeah, it's spelled right, I googled it) and not taking initiative to loose the tubbyness that has been my middle region for how long now?

What else...oh yeah, still living in the crappy money pit house! Can you believe it's been over a year and we are still dealing without a decent bathroom? Holy fuck, batman, will the insanity ever be over? However, there has been improvement (however, it's been just mostly recently): see exhibit A...

At least the shower drain is in (the pitch and concrete steps of this must have been written by Satan himself, they sucked so majorly), the walls are mudded, the ceiling is just about dried so we can finish sanding and painting, the shelves are in the shower wall (handy for those shampoo and conditioner bottles and extra showery goodies)

So yes, that is a faucet coming out of the wall. Another of the boys bright ideas on how we can spend more money and make this bathroom cost more than the house is actually worth (at the moment at least, we're still waiting to transfer said bathroom and finish ripping up the floor). So yeah, this is the hell I've been dealing with for a year...I gave the boy actual ultimatum that either the house is livable by October (and as in livable, that we have couches and a TV in the living room area and no more piles of sawdust or nails or any power tools that are necessary for someone to not fall through the floor) or I am moving out. You think I'm joking? You try living in filth and dust and dealing with the cats using under the house as their own giant personal toilet...yeah, I'm not joking. However, the rest of the house still looks like this:

What else...oh, I'm still waitressing and barely getting paid to bust my ASS off! I also took on a part time weekend gig (if you can call a 48 hour shift as a live in as part time) doing home health care...12hour, 24 hour, and 48 hour positions where I watch elderly clients who are either recovering from some type of surgery, are in danger of injuring themselves if left alone, or have Alzheimer's or some form of dementia (or all three if that's the case). So yeah, working 7 days a week for the past month or so...and why you ask? Oh, get this bit of brilliance.

So the boy decides in the summertime that he's rather build a shed in the backyard to put all his tools in and get rid of the cheapy aluminum shed that was rusting out and was dented due to a big branch and an even bigger wind (wind one, shed el zippo). So I let him have his fun, do what you gotta do, just finish this fucking house. So apparently one day he's working on the shed roof and he falls flat on his back. I didn't know this happened, we're both accident prone individuals, so the fact that we're still walking on 2 legs is a mystery to me, so I didn't think much of it. During the next few weeks he starts getting major pain in the right side of his back, he's losing feeling in his right arm, and he's losing feeling in 3 of the fingers of his right hand! He thinks it's just kinks and arthritis, so he takes off a few days from work just to recoup. So this is going on for longer and longer...then I finally persuade him to go to the doc that did my shoulder surgery. Saw this doc, did an MRI, and finally a month after he's been off work already we find out...bulging disk in his 7th cervical vertebrae. Doc says let's start off with cortisone shots, and if 3 don't work, then surgery. So that was 2 weeks ago, and we're still waiting to find out when the boy can start the cortisone shot. Mind you he's been off work for almost 2 months, I'm working 60-90 hours weeks (yeah, one week was actually 90 hours with not only my waitressing 30 hours, but I worked 3- 12 hour overnight health care shifts as well as a 24 hour health care shift...I don't think I could do one of those anymore). Yeah, my heal spurs are nothing compared to that bulging disk, here's hoping that he can get an injection within the next week or so and that his disability papers from work start sending his disability checks this week (yeah, 2 months and he hasn't gotten paid...yeah the financial arguments are constant).

However, though my life is not what I wish it to be, it could be a LOT worse...though it makes me feel better to gripe about it than saying how good we actually have it....I can say that after we find out the deal with the boys back and getting this house done! So that's it...I'm done...I need a drink....latas!

A New Year, a new me...better late than never...

2010-02-28T08:37:00.002-06:00

246.8…good bejesus! Yup, I’m newly 34 years old and weigh over 240 pounds…pathetic, isn’t it? I can’t use the “I just had shoulder surgery” excuse, or the “I’m stressed out with this wedding”, excuse, or the “I just don’t have time to exercise” excuse…I’m done, and I’m ready to actually make a difference. What I think I’m so pissed about is a)I’m NOT going a bra size up, I’m already squeezing into a 42DD (okay, down boys, it’s not that fun to actually have to carry these funbags around), and I’m sure it’s one of the causes for my shoulder pain.

B) I always said I was not going to look like my Mother when I got older…well, I have her features, but now I have her waistline…why? Growing up with too much cooking and fattening foods? No, I have no excuse, I’ve been eating crap, KNOWING I’ve been eating crap, and not doing a damn thing about it. Yes I’m married now, I don’t need to look good for the boys out there anymore, but the fact that I’m probably at least 70 pounds overweight (which would make my ideal weight 176, which is still above what my actual weight SHOULD be, but I wasn’t even 176 in high school!!!) And now with working at a pizza place and taking WAY too much advantage of bringing food home from the buffet (they just throw it out…it’s such a waste of food when the buffet is over), I need to step away from the free food and deal with the problem this is becoming…no one to blame here but me.

C) I’ve had these friggin heel spurs for over a year now, and gaining weight is NOT helping!!! Lose weight, or lose the foot I say…if I don’t get my weight down, then I’ll need surgery, and I cannot afford to be off work for 6 weeks right now, let alone take off a week of no pay (sucks to work where you get no sick time or vacation time).

D) This is one of the many reasons that I absolutely HATE shopping for clothes!!! I have to spend a heck of a lot more money just to cover my rolls, and I don’t care how cute the stuff is at Torrid, it’s still pricey!!! We big gals aren’t made of money, we spend it all on crap to stuff in our faces!

E) I miss doing things I used to do before I majorly ballooned up…like walking, or canoeing, or rollerskating (ok, well, not REALLY rollerskating, since for some reason I could only skate at night without cars on the road, otherwise I was a weeble wobble) I miss wearing cute clothes and going out dancing…now I look like a hot mess jiggling to the beat…yeah, not pretty. And it’s not the fact that I’m already off the market and taken, I don’t like the “Oh, she’s cute in the face” whisper…I have the equivalent of a sixth grader (estimated 70 pounds of blubber) stuck on me, and I’m not going to deal with it anymore.

So no, it’s not a “New Years resolution”, but it’s a start, and stepping on that scale for the first time this year was DEFINITELY not just a wake up call, but a “GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR” military scream from…yup, my ass. Maybe this will help the back pain, maybe this will help the chest pain that comes sporadically, but I know this will help the cholesterol level go down, as well as my chances of dropping dead due to a heart attack…or at least postpone it a little bit. So I’m back to blogging, and back to a day in the life! Not that this will turn more into a weight loss sob story, but it’ll be an outlet for me, and if not for just me, for anyone who gives a crap and cares to chime in “You know, I’m a little peeved at myself too right now, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Yeah, happy birthday to me...and lets skip the cake this year.

It's been a while

2009-08-06T09:34:00.003-05:00

So it's already August...seriously? Already? This year is seriously going by way too fast!!! So what's happened since July...

I start school on the 24th for the nursing program. Due to my hours at school would now be outweighing my hours at work, work has decided that my services are no longer needed 20 hours a week (I'd only be able to work Thurs and Friday) and I'm being "let go" on August 14th, next Friday. This is a good thing, however I wished I'd had another job set up in lieu of unemployment...never been unemployed, so this should be interesting.

My resume must be sitting in over 150 different websites and HR emails...going to have it reviewed to see if there's a reason no one is calling me back.

The name change game has finally begun!!! Man, is anyone told me how fun this would be, I think I'd keep my maiden name!!! Drivers license...check, bank...check, still need to do all the credit cards and my social security card...fun fun! Why don't you stick a spoon in my eye while you're at it? But hey, with my nonworking keister, at least I'll have the time, right?

What else...almost done with ripping down the siding and the asphalt shit on the outside of the house...whomever came up with that abomination should seriously be shot! Carpet is ripped up, drywall is ripped down...we should be able to start working indoors soon...hardwood floor here I come!!!

Hugs, till later...I need a drink.

Boredom and uterus cakes...

2009-07-01T10:53:00.005-05:00

So it's Wednesday, I've got no patients, and I'm aimlessly surfing for jobs and messing around on facebook. What a great way to get paid. However, I would enjoy it a little more if I wasn't deal ing with a friggin 3 hour commute...come on call back from J-mart.

So I come to a blog about cake wrecks (I think I've found a new favorite blog)...and this one takes the cake...pun intended! Apparently there's a run on uterus cakes for those having their innards removed (aka: hysterectomy). I just about lost it when I saw the cakes that were made about this, and this one seriously takes the cake...

Yeah, makes me wanna add some red velvet ice cream and have a go at it...

Random crap patients feel the need to tell me...

2009-06-25T13:21:00.002-05:00

So I've decided to sporadically add wonderful tidbits of TMI (Too Much Information) that patients feel the need to tell me while I'm at work. Here's the most recent that almost had me rolling on the floor. Scenario...patient is a diabetic who needs to bring in his first morning void (pee) so we can do a urinalysis, so the patient gets a cup with a lid at his previous visit to bring in with him at his next visit, this one is a month after his orientation visit:

Me: Mr. X, did you remember to bring in your first morning void this morning?
Mr. X: You betcha I did...do you want it?
Me: Um...no, when you go to the lab, you can give it to them since they will check the specimen?
Mr. X: How much was I supposed to fill it up? Because you never told me how much to fill up the cup...
Me: If you filled up the cup about half way, then that's perfect. They just need enough to run a dipstick test to check for blood and protein in your urine.
Mr. X: Well, I filled it up to the top. And lemme tell ya, I tried to stop, and god darn it my kidneys just wouldn't quit! I could've fill up another couple of cups for ya, at least a good 3 ta 4 more...
Me: No, one cup is sufficient, Mr. X. But thanks for the offer...

Maybe it's just me, but crap like this cracks me up...yeah, don't need 5 urine cups from you, sorry...lol. Oh well...welcome to a day in the life...

No longer MIA...

2009-06-24T08:47:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've been MIA for what, over a month and a half now. What's been going on? Well let me give you the readers digest version...

Got married (whoo hoo, I'm Mrs. Loverboy now!). Wedding was loverly...bridesmaids were smokin, and Sarah did a gaw-geous job on my hair (I seriously don't know what I would have done without her...I'd have probably just put it up in my usual bun and said to hell with it). I just wish I would've been able to see you gals more...

What else...OH, got accepted into the nursing program the week before the wedding, and classes start at the end of August...I'm applying for all financial assistance that I can...maybe I'll win big on the Super Ball and not have to worry about working anymore and just go to school for fun since I'll be filthy rich!!!

Which brings me to finding a new job...not too picky since I'll be going down to part time in the fall, but still wanna find something that's going to help pay the bills...and applying at the local hussy joint or poll dancing ain't quite my theme..."But it helps pay for college"...yeah right, like those fake breastessess are going to help you get a PhD. I've applied to multiple nursing assistant positions locally, and even applied at a place that rhymes with J-Mart...thus my career option would literally be about 5 minutes away (how's that for saving gas, and I don't mean the kind that requires Bean-o). Wish me luck, kiddies...Momma wants to stop wasting 3 hours a day traveling to and from work!

What else...back to the tying of the knot (or the wearing of the shackles as confirmed per Loverboy's cousin Richie)...so no honeymoon as of yet, and the way bills and time is lookin', there ain't gonna BE a honeymoon anytime soon (what was previously stipulated for a Dec/Jan cruise will probably not happen due to us being poor).

First week in July Loverboy and I will be going to Eagle Lake in Michigan to spend the week drinking to our liver's content, and boating like it's nobody's business! We've gone the past 2 years for a week up to this quaint little cottage area off a lake with some of Loverboy's friends...no drama, no work, no hustle and bustle of everyday life...sounds like THAT'S gonna be the closest we have to a honeymoon for the next 2 years, and though it's low key and not fancy (the cottages are kinda old, smelly, and have matresses that we dare not sleep upon for fear of catching something...thank god for the air mattress), it's just relaxing with no problems. This year we gals all planned our menu's accordingly...helps save everyone from having to bring too much food, and someone else takes the dibs for dinner at least one night for the week. We're all on our own for breakfast, lunch is sandwiches and group efforts (like chips and fruit and salads), and then dinner is stuff like steaks for the guys, kabobs for the gals, spaghetti and meatball night with grilled garlic bread, hot dog/brat night, pizza night (which will be a night when the weather absolutely sucks and we actually go into town for pizza and a movie...and the movies are seriously $2 a person for NEW movies), mexican night, and god knows what else. I'm psyched.

So that's that in a nutshell...though I don't know how Reader's Digest I got there at the end...hey, I need a LITTLE excitement since all we've done since the wedding is work, work on the house, and try to keep cool with this nasty humid weather (OMG, I don't see how people are supposed to function in this weather, and there's supposed to be a weather advisory of 106 degrees today...bleah!). I'm hoping the heat breaks before my nerves do!

Sporadic spew...

2009-05-04T22:54:00.002-05:00

So things have been interesting lately...I saved a baby goose from getting run over on a major street in Naperville. The lady 2 cars in front of me wasn't going to move until the gosling was off of the street...sad to say he was too little to jump up the curb and to clueless to run until he found the sidewalk, so I threw my truck in park, put on the hazards, and ran over to usher the little guy to get off the road. Got a thanks from the lady in front and a thumbs up from the lady behind her as I ran back to my car.

What else...I saw a pair of dirty plaid drawers in the middle of the road (looks like someone either had an accident while driving, or was doing the nasty and ditched the evidence)...what else.

OH, one of the doctors at our facility thinks we may have had a patient last week that had the swine flu...how comfortable does that make you feel when you see one of the doctors and 2 nursing assistants wearing gowns, gloves, and masks while you're walking around without said protection asking what's going on? Yeah, STILL don't know if this patient tested positive, but oh, they building said they're going to start sanitizing better in the building, such as doorknobs and elevator buttons..hmm...thought they should've done that already. Turns out there's a couple of cases of the swine f...correction, a couple of cases of H1N1 (apparently the pork industry having issues due to the "swine" reference) in Illinois, one so close as to my hometown of Batavia (the middle school was closed down, as well as a case possibly found in Rogers Park). Hmm...now Loverboy is ill...it better be allergies after he was outside all weekend mowing, chain sawing trees (yes, I said chain sawing), and working with the yard...and here I keep telling him to take his vitamins and honey (which is supposed to help build up immunity to seasonal allergies...wives tale, maybe so, but who hasn't gotten hit with allergies yet this year...hint hint).

So what else...wedding's in full swing, and so is my brain. I've been having negative thoughts of being the ugly fat bride, and I've had some special ladies tell me I'm mental....thanks gals, I love ya!

This is my final week of work before the wedding!!! Then I'm off for 2 whole weeks...que something by Aerosmith that would fit here...I'm on an Aerosmith kick lately. Whoot-whoot!!!

So all is well, things are happening, and I'm trying not to be mental (if you see me scoot to the edge, just give me a boot to the head).

Whoo-hoo...

2009-04-24T08:52:00.001-05:00

Loverboy's Mom has a hotel room! Praise the lord!

Are you frackin kidding me?

2009-04-18T19:34:00.003-05:00

Okay, yeah, the shitith has hitith the fan...at least in my book. So Loverboy's Mom calls to see how things are going , asks what the dress looks like, and wants to know if we've found her a hotel/motel close by so she can visit with us during the wedding. Okay, fine, we said we'd find something close and cheap, and we're trying, but when someone has a budget of $50 or less a night for a room, it's pretty damn hard...even Priceline declined my offer. So that's not the reason for this little rant.

Loverboy's Mom has never been much of one saving money (and don't get me started of her saying how she was "in debt" after she lived with us free of charge for 3 months while looking for a local job about 2 years ago) and is horrible with her impulse buys...and alcohol...and cigarette addictions. So she's trying to find a hotel online for around $50 a night, and can't find any. So she asks us to help, and apparently someone I'm the one trying to find a place for her to stay. She's coming in 2 days before the wedding and leaving the Monday after. Ok, 5 day stay, then she's flying back home.

So I was letting her know what was going on, then how I didn't know how much we would see her on that Thurs night because we were doing the "jack and jill"(bachelor/bachelorette party)...and then staying the night out at a hotel and not coming home till the next morning. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, and then we'd see her at the wedding. Well she asked if she was invited to the jack and jill, and I started laughing and said no, but she could come to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. Then I asked her if she wanted to go to the jack and jill, just to see what she'd say (lord knows parents are NOT allowed to the bachelor/bachelorette party...unless you have that type of relationship with your folks...we do not), and she was all for it if there were strippers there. Um...I think I just threw up a little in my mouth...Loverboy's Mom, drinking, and strippers is NOT my idea of a good time. So I explained that we weren't having strippers, and that we were going to a bar that we went to for my birthday to play volleyball...it was something I wanted to do, and after my b-day, Loverboy said he wanted to go there too for his bachelor party...hence now the jack and jill.

So then Loverboy's Mom started saying why should she come out if we're not even going to get to see her (while I'm STILL trying to find her a hotel/motel room online) and that now she may have to change her flight information...we're still going to have to pick her up from the airport, so what the hell? I was getting to a breaking point, so I passed the phone off to Loverboy, I couldn't talk to that woman. So he's talking to her, and then he said something like "You can come to the party, I don't know why Dawn would say that." He said he'd call her back, then came to find me and find out why the heck I passed off the phone and took off. He was also trying to find out why I didn't want him Mom coming to the jack and jill. I apologized for pawning off the phone, but I was frustrated with trying to help her, then she wanting to invite herself to everything, and I'm sorry that she's coming early, but I've got a lot of stuff and I didn't feel that I wanted to babysit her when she was in town...it's not like I don't have enough stuff on my plate! Also, she's still expecting ME (not him, not the Internet, not God himself) to find her a cheap hotel room...who knows what's going to happen then...then she had said that with the money for the flight, and if she's got to put down $300-400 for a hotel stay, either she won't be able to stay as long as she wanted, or she won't be able to get us a wedding gift. I told you, she's not one for saving, and I told her we didn't need a gift as long as she was coming, that was good enough. Loverboy didn't know she'd said those things, I should've told her I'd call her back after talking to Loverboy. But what really upset me was that she wanted to come to the jack and jill (and this is what I explained to Loverboy) and if she did, she would be spending money and be drinking, she's LOUD when she drinks and wants to be everyones friend (then she'll stab you in the back when you least expect it, speaking from experience), she was already complaining about money so why spend money out and about for drinking rather than saving it for the hotel room...and she doesn't know the area. If she follows us, she wouldn't be able to find her way back. If she came WITH us, we are NOT sharing a hotel room with that woman...and don't even THINK about paying for her for the night in her own room, let alone see if anyone else staying would take her in, not for free at least. Loverboy then understood why I had told her that she wasn't invited. Now she's upset and is going to try to come in on that Friday instead of Thursday...and even when she comes into town, she's borrowing one of our cars!!! Seriously, this woman is getting everything handed to her on a silver platter, I swear! I'm not looking at hotels anymore, I'm gonna go tomorrow after the bridal shower to see what's in the area...at long as it's not a roach motel, I think she'll be fine....otherwise she's on her own...I can't perform miracles! Yeah, this is just want I needed...drama...and here I was doing so well?

Meh...

2009-04-17T10:46:00.002-05:00

Yup, I said it. Meh. It's a crappy day. I'm stuck listening to an online webconference about a study that I'm apparently doing well on (and all these questions people are asking are just reworded from what the patient previously just asked!!!). I'm going on 47 minutes of wanting to rip out my hair!!!

48 minutes....

So today is a list of things I get to do today:
-get off work at 1pm (whoo-hoo)
-start jumping rope (see video: http://soonereyo.blip.tv/#1762059 )
-take pups for a walk/run
-finish up on wedding bouquet (bridesmaids bouquets are done...I'll send pics tonight)
-work on wall hangings with Loverboy (he did such a wonderful job with the other one!!!)
-start working on wedding music files (yeah, haven't started them yet, but need to sit down with Loverboy so we're not playing Slayer or Incubus)
-clean out fridge and put together healthy meals for the next couple of days
-clean out Blazer to go help friend move tomorrow
-do Biggest Loser workout and have Jillian kick my arse
-stop buying crappy "diet" foods, and learn how to eat normal, healthy, and organic foods (stop buying 100 calorie packs or fat free foods...majority tastes like crap, and it's pricey!!!)
-finish laundry and put away loaded dishwasher from last night
-start working on seating chart and writing out table placecards (at least names until seating chart completed)
-pay bills
-rebudget wedding stuff (and why didn't we do this at the start of the wedding...no idea, we're just winging it here, maybe not the best thing to do, but we're getting by okay)
-post more stuff on etsy (I need some spending cash)

Okay...it's 11:02am...now they've said with all the questions, this meeting is going on until 12:30pm. Yeah, that's not gonna happen!

11:06am...can I not strangle people for asking so many questions? Thank you operator lady for coming on and saying all other questions will be addressed in writing due to being WAY late on the continuation of the study review.

Oh well, things will get done eventually...surprisingly I'm not so stressed about the wedding lately, which is a good thing, and I'm becoming more laid back with what's going...not as laid back as Loverboy, who comes home and plays his video games again without worrying about wedding plans, but less than I was before. Maybe my brain is just saying to go with the flow, freaking out never helped anyone....though procrastination is a strong point of mine. In the infamous words of George Bush..."Not gu-nna duh it."

ACK, more questions...I need to rip out my hair now.

Verdict...

2009-04-08T11:19:00.004-05:00

...Venti Mocha...that's it. This'll hold me over till dinner...not that there isn't enough calories in this already for the rest of my day, but better this than a Mocha Frappucino...however it's only 9 weight watcher points, so it looks like I've got enough points for a nice salad for dinner.

That is as long as I don't start my heinous snacking habits again!!! Zoinks!

And the countdown continues...

2009-04-08T10:17:00.002-05:00

So it's April 8th, 39 days pre-wedding, so the countdown is commencing!!! Am I freaking out? You can bet your tweaked keister I am!!! Why do weddings need to be so stressful when it's supposed to be a wonderful and momentous occasion? I thank the lord for Loverboy, he's getting the grunt of it, though I've been trying to go work out when my blood pressure starts to rise when something goes wrong...breathe...just frackin breathe!!!

Okay, so centerpieces are FINALLY completed, finished those up the other day. Last night I completed the bridesmaid bouquets (nothing fancy, girls, but their really cute, and I think they'll look lovely against your dresses, which I can't wait to see!!!), pics will go up tonight or tomorrow...let me know what you think. The favors need to be worked on tonight, even though I've only received 54 responses so far (I haven't even gotten back 1/2 the response cards, and the deadline is April 16th)...oi vay!!! I still need to plan the menu, and figure out what I can throw together. I broke down and asked my Mom if she would be interested in making a sheet cake...yeah, just a sheet cake. We're not doing anything elaborate in the dessert department, no 3 tier gorgeous waterfall cake with the bride and groom on top and layers of fondant and sugared roses with lattice and ribbons...nope. I'd be happy with a giant cupcake cake with the bride and groom sitting on top indian style...lol. But the cupcake would have to be lemon...that's the only thing. Make it like a giant zinger with raspberry filling...hmmm...now THAT sounds tasty!!!

So enough about food, I'm starving and haven't eating anything other than a small banana and a 100 calorie pack of Lorne Doone cookies.

What else...oh, they messed up Loverboy's suit...actually, they gave him ANOTHER person's suit. Apparently there were 2 people at the same time with similar suits (both black, but the striping and buttons were different) that were getting fitted. The other individual was apparently a large man, but they altered his suit for Loverboy's dimensions...are you kidding me? So either the suit is still at the shop, or they OTHER guy has his suit. So Loverboy had to return the suit, and is waiting to get his back...when that'll be, I have no idea. Thank you Loverboy for doing this weeks BEFORE the wedding!!! The groomsmen have their suits, no problem there.

My girls have their dresses in the works, I can't wait to see you guys!!! My wedding skirt is supposed to be shipped this week, and the flowergirl skirt should follow. I have my top, it's just a matter of whether it flows with the skirt or not (I'm going to need to take some pics without Loverboy around) and if not, find a top that fits pronto!!! I need shoes, I'm making a garter, and I'm making flower clips for our hair (if you gals want) of the blue hibiscuis that's incorporated into the centerpieces and the bouquets...I'll make one or two to see what you gals think. I need a flowergirl top...and thank you to my sis in law who just got her white shoes for easter (score!!!).

What else...my wonderful friend Kat is whoring off her husband Andy to be my bitch for the day...lol...her words, not mine. Andy is an AWESOME photographer starting up his own business, and I am blessed that he is going to be our wedding photographer...now it's a matter of where do I need him, when do I need him...yada yada yada. My friend Brother S also asked if he could take pics too for his portfolio as well, hey, heck yeah!!! So I've got 2 photographers there, we're borrowing Loverboy's Dad's speakers to hook up to a laptop with tons of music (Linds, I ADORE those CD's you sent me on my b-day, you rock!), I got a bunch of decorations from Big Lots thanks to Lindsey (they had the netting with shells already on them, that's almost exactly what we were going to make, now I just need to add flowers and they are ready to hang...super easy!!!), and we've decided no archway for the dancefloor for the ceremony...just something extra that would be in the way. My friend Angie is loaning us her envelope box (super cute) for the gift table, as well as a cake serving set...both will go back to Ang after so she can save them for her daughters wedding (which hopefully isn't for years since she's only 12!!!). Yeah for recycling wedding stuff!!!

Big upset was the rings...I sent a convo to the indivitual at etsy to see what the status was on the rings last week...apparently he hadn't put up a listing for me to purchase the order, so that meant that he hadn't started MAKING the rings. It was over a month after I talked to him, so needless to say I was little peeved that he didn't even remember talking on the phone for almost an hour about the rings and about what he does, what tools he uses, and how he got started. I know I don't need them NOW, but I'd like to have them in adequate time to make sure they fit and are what we want BEFORE the wedding, and not have to wait last minute in case we do need to look elsewhere...GRRRRRR!!!! He appologized and said he remembered the conversation, and that he's a little busy right now because of spring and summer weddings...I told him that's why I contacted him in FEBRUARY!!! Lets see if he comes through, these rings better be worth it!!!

So other than that, bridal shower is going on on the 19th, week after Easter. No idea what's going on with that, how am I going to be able to sit while everyone watches me open gifts? I feel like it's going to be like birthdays at my parents house, everyone sits and watches you open presents, then oh's and ah's, or laughs, or in the back of their mind is thinking "Why the heck did she want that?!?!?" Oh well, lol...that's all I've gotta say for that. Plus it's not like we even have the room right now for anything, so looks like stuff is gonna get packed away back in Loverboy's Dad's garage until we redo the kitchen...sigh. Oh lord, please grant me the patience until we redo the kitchen and I have space to actually work with a stove that doesn't smell like gas sometimes, and space that I can actually put everything in the cabinets instead of on the counter, or on the washer and dryer.

So that's that. I'm drained just writing, and I have no idea what I just wrote!!! I've spewed anything that's come out of my fingers at the moment...now I think I'm going to go to Starbucks for some caffiene...and maybe a cookie. I'd like a cookie. Not that I NEED a cookie. Perhaps a scone then...but I don't like scones really, but I've never had a scone from Starbucks...maybe I should just get some coffee and lunch...but then what am I going to have for lunch? Shall I eat healthy...I have to since I had a Cinabon yesterday...man, I still feel sick from that Cinabon yesterday. Note to self....no more Cinabon's...why am I aimlessly ranting...I dunno, my brain is on overdrive and my fingers are taking over to remove it from what's left upon my noggin atop my shoulders...maybe I should do water day, I feel like crap right now...but my stomach is talking to me, like in that episode of Seinfeld "Helllll-oooooo...la la la"...welcome to my world, this is how my brain is 24/7...I'm out...need substance.

Help, I'm stress eating!!!

2009-03-30T12:19:00.002-05:00

Okay, so we're getting down to the wire with the wedding. I've got a month and a half till we walk down the aisle (or across the dance floor since we're doing the ceremony and reception at a Viking lodge, maybe then we'll sashay instead). So with that, I'm stressed at what needs to be done, favors and centerpieces need to be completed, I need to find out a menu of food to bring in (and make a menu of stuff we're going to make like salad and desserts)...I haven't even gotten 1/2 the response cards back, but looks like it's going to be under 150 people (phew!) and that means one of the tables can be converted into a kids table (whoo hoo for the munchkins in the family who'd rather color than dance)...my Mom keeps telling me to invite so in so, and invite my sister in law's parents...what!??!?! Yeah, no. I only see them when I'm at my bro and sis in laws, I don't get Christmas cards from them, I don't talk to them on the phone, not gonna happen. I think this is because she may have invited them to the bridal shower...and they were NOT on my address list of who I wanted to come. I don't know if she's trying to show up the bridal shower against the one that sis in law's Mom threw when she got married, but I don't care, not my problem. Now I just need to explain this to my Mom when she gets back from Texas with my sis, nephew, and Dad...yeah, THEY get a Spring Break, I get an ulcer. Oh, speaking of my Dad, remind me to tell you the story of the devil beagle of my Dad's that we're watching while they're checking out the Alamo...give me a day or so, it'll get posted soon enough.

So with all that going on, and the economy being megasucky, work hours got cut...I'm working 32 instead of 40 hours a week now. Better that than lay offs, even though that seems great, a 3 day weekend to get more stuff done, that's one less day that we can use to PAY for the wedding. Zoinks!!! So this is contributing to some bad choices in eating habits!!! ARG!!! Loverboy used to have Monday's off, so I was thinking that'd be great that we'd have 2 days off together. Not anymore. His hours got changed from Tues-Sat, to Mon-Friday...and usually Sat is me running around doing errands, laundry and dishes and I wouldn't be able to see him during the day anyway. Now I'll be seeing him even less since I'll be running around while he's at home playing his video games (or gets kicked into helping with the centerpieces again...hee hee), while I try not to pull out my hair, pray that my skirt comes in the next 2 weeks, and wonder why the guy making the rings hasn't gotten back to me yet...SERENITY NOW!!! I need a T-shirt that says that, I'd wear it everyday.

So that's my schpeal...stress eating. I try to keep cut up veggies in the fridge, or keep fruit on hand, but I go for the salty and chocolatey stuff. Those new 60 calorie Sugar Free dark chocolate Jello pudding cups are my new downfall...I get stressed, I grab 2 or even 3 of those things!!! Though its only 180 calories, it's 180 unneeded calories. Better that than a pint of chocolate peanut butter ice cream from Baskin Robbins, though that DOES sound tempting now. What are some things you guys do to help prevent stress eating? I'd love to go walking, but the weather is so iffy right now, we even got an inch of snow yesterday...on a sidenote, I didn't end up doing the 5K Shamrock Shuffle yesterday due to a sore throat AND the inch of snow on the ground, I heard there were runners and walkers slipping on the ice, and thank god I didn't do it cause I'd be the one to break my leg from falling. NOT something I want to do less than 2 months prior to the wedding (even though the skirt is long enough to cover a cast...yikes, bit my tongue wench!!!).

So that's that, please help or I won't be able to fit into my skirt and will look like the staypuff marshmallow man on my wedding day!!!

So I survived another birthday...

2009-03-02T10:31:00.002-06:00

First of all, sorry to everyone that I've been MIA, there has been SO much going on in the past couple of weeks from almost quitting my job, to working overtime, to relatives in the hospital, to relatives passing away, to getting out wedding invitations, to errands and then some, and wedding dress shopping (which is still nill right now, I need to crack down NOW on this).

So Loverboy's Grandpa passed away after a grueling couple of months of alzheimers, head contusions from falling out of his wheelchair, to strokes, to seizures, then blood problems due to the seizure medication...they let him go last Thursday night after giving him morphine, removing the feeding tubes, medication tubes, and saline. He went quickly and quietly, just like he'd been asking them to do the past couple of weeks. Loverboy is a little upset since he really didn't have a relationship with his Grandpa, apparently the Grandparents didn't have much of a relationship with any of the Grandkids...that just urks me.

My Grandma ended up in the hospital over a week ago (found out via email from my Mom), but is home now. She's a little shaky, but doing well. Loverboy's Grandma also ended up back in the hospital 2 weeks after having kidney stenting due to a hiatal hernia. Doc told her to wear a girdle and come back when she could due to her husbands passing (Loverboy's Mom has been calling us with all the details).

What else...we were having septic problems (no, we're not lucky enough to have the city put sewers by us) due to all the snow, and melting, and rain...it was nutso!

Survived another birthday, we're gonna celebrate next Friday with drunken volleyball at North Beach. Drinking starts at 7pm, volleyball starts from 9-10pm...Loverboy is my DD (finally I can go out and drink and have an escort!!!) It was a low key weekend, got the majority of the invitations done (they're in the mail ladies), relaxed on Saturday night with junk food and watching Battlestar on Sci-Fi, and went to bed early. Sunday went to my folks to celebrate the Feb birthdays...Loverboy, sis in law, brother, and me. My little bro was in there too since we weren't able to celebrate his b-day in Jan (that was the night that our parents met his fiance's parents...they're getting married in September). Came home after playing Pictionary for an hour, relaxed, and went to bed early so I could get in today early to get files cleaned up for a monitor who's coming to review them tomorrow morning. Plus I have to leave at 3pm to catch a train to go for a 5pm dentist appt...never a dull moment!

Man, I can't wait till I work closer to home, the search will start within the next month and a half, goal is still to leave this job before the wedding so I can save all the vacation time when I quit, nice little amount of time saved up. Right now I've got 101 hours saved up (that's about a week and a half right now). I'm taking off 2 days next week, but that'll still leave me with 2 weeks, plus whatever I accumulate between now and then...so yeah, a nice little cushion to hold on to. Plus with the days worth of sick time I've got saved up, I'd need to use that since they don't pay out on sick time. So that's a freebie off day between now and then too...just hope I don't need to take the day off for actually being sick (but then again, I rarely do that anyways...I'll take my DayQuil and tough it out).

So that's that...another year here, another year gone, not too exciting. This week I need to either find a dress, or purchase a gorgeous skirt I found on etsy, then find a top to go with it.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19333621

If I get that skirt, I'm going to get this skirt for my niece (who's my flowergirl):

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7153824

And then find her either a leotard with beading and sparkles on top, or I'll make her something with sparkles and jewels on it.

Other than that, still working on the favors (almost done), need to find out about food, need to push Loverboy to get the suit, as well as his groomsmen...the hotel rooms are booked, the hall is booked, decorations are in the process once I get measurements from the hall (need to do that this week hopefully), I'm gonna meet up with Loverboy's cousin's wife to go over centerpieces (she used to be a florist and will charge for supplies only, and I've got a good idea for that too)...so it's all a work in progress. Unfortunately, I still have a bridezilla contacting me if I need help with planning or finding a dress...how do you politely tell her to back off and that you don't care what she wants, it's not her wedding and you don't value ANY of her input...and that she's a major B and you want nothing to do with her, and you're only inviting her because of her husband, who's a friend of yours? Hm....that'd be an interesting Hallmark card, I can tell ya that!

Oh well, take care, and I hope to write back sooner than later!

2009-02-10T22:26:00.002-06:00

Leave it to my Mom to make me feel like crap...once again.

So I got a call from my brother to see what date we were going to pick for the group birthdays: my sis in law, brother, Loverboy, me, and my little brother who's birthday was in Jan. I had talked to my sis in law about 2 weeks ago and we decided it'd be nice to do it on a Sunday since Loverboy worked on Saturdays and we wanted to include him. I told sis in law to double check with brother to see if it worked, then let me know and I could talk with little bro to see if it jived. Well, got an email from my Mom yesterday (apparently she had talked to sis in law on Friday and said they were going to do it on Saturday the 28th), and I said to talk to sis in law since it was up to them.

So the call was brother saying they didn't want to be in charge of choosing the birthdate since Mom had said that they wanted to do it on the 28th (my actual b-day), and that Sunday didn't "work" for them. In other words, my father, the martini man, would not be in good spirits or would be intoxicated by the time we'd get there. They asked me to choose the date, I said March 1st, Sunday, and if they were going to do it on Saturday, I wasn't going to make it because Loverboy should be there too...sis in law said it's only one day and that martini man and Mom should just suck it up, I wholeheartedly agree.

So I call Mom to confirm the date, she says she's not thrilled with Sunday due to the drinking, and that Saturday would work for them. I tried to explain that Loverboy, who's been working Saturday afternoons for the past year, wouldn't be able to make it and we want to be able to celebrate his birthday too. She said she was tired of the "cat and mouse game" that was going on trying to figure out the date, no one's had a problem with a Sunday except for her, and then I tried to explain that there's 5 of us this year deciding what day it's going to be...everyone else has their own birthday/birthday month...it's just Feb is now packed with birthdays (also including my niece, but she gets her own princess party day). She asked what we're having for lunch (someone usually chooses), I said little bro is in charge and would let her know...he got screwed on his Jan birthday, so he gets to pick. Cake? Sis in law and brother are in charge of that...I'm easing up on the sweets as it is anyways...she'll get an email from them. So THEN she gives this massive sigh, says she's gotta go, love ya, then hangs up. She hung up on me...me, the messenger trying to figure out what was going on for the birthdays. I'd rather not even go over there anymore, this seems to be a big hassle to her, and I'm sorry that we can't accomodate a Sunday alcoholic (not that everyday isn't alcohol day, but Sunday is martini day), and that there's 5 of us who aren't getting our own day to celebrate our own birthday (I've always celebrated my birthday with my older brother, it was one cake, one dinner...we usually swapped turns on what we wanted to eat per what kind of cake or dessert we wanted every year...now there's 2 more in the mix, and little bro due to an Jan birthday scheduling technicality).

I'm stressed out. I really don't need this from her, but I shouldn't expect anything less. She's always on her tiptoes with that man, he's never going to change, and I'm seriously waiting for his liver or kidneys to go out due to the excessive drinking. And this coming when I'm trying to order invitations for the wedding and skim a source doc draft for work (yeah, I'll finish that on the train)...I know I need to breathe, but I had a mini break down when I was trying to find out how many Thank You cards I had gotten from Michaels when they closed the store in the next town over...I'm going to need to get some more. It actually started after Loverboy asked me if I was okay, then I brokedown and started to cry on the couch. Loverboy sat with me as I sat, blubbering, holding my hand..he's seriously the best and I'm lucky to be marrying him (though there have been times I almost previously left him...multiple times...he seems to redeem himself accordingly).

Why does my life have to suck so much right now, I wanna crawl under a rock and hide for the next month or so...but AFTER I do my taxes and pay off bills/wedding dress (which I still have no idea about and need to find) /doc bills/wedding stuff in general...someone please clone me or send me some cheap help...I'll pay in meatballs.

2009-02-09T10:26:00.003-06:00

So it's Feb 9th, 2009. Things have been nutso lately, hence why I've been MIA for a bit, sorry guys.

First I was in Miami for less than 48 hours for a work meeting, then I had a dentist appt where I'm getting a whitening tray and getting my partial fake tooth fixed before the wedding (accident in the 4th grade when I was pushed into a metal bar on the playground...chipped my front tooth, but hey, it's still there but discolored for 20 something years, not too shabby that it's still there)...had a lady doc appt, where as I have to go back on Feb 23rd (not thrilled, need an ultrasound, not for being prego, but for other concerns, pray with me that it's nothing and my ovaries are fine), finally got new books from Loverboy's Dad for invitations for the wedding which should be coming in either over the weekend or next Monday, started working on my taxes and balancing my checkbook (this is a mother of a month with the car insurance and doc bills coming in), 2 of Loverboy's autos (the Olds and the truck) are both having transmission issues, mine was last year so I'm glad it's not all 3 cars this year, found out Loverboy's Mom's Dad is in the hospital after having a stroke (trying to find out how he's doing), work is kicking my keister, I'm so friggin busy...my Mother is bothering me with dates for when we're going to do the "group" birthdays...Feb is a hellion for birthdays: me, Loverboy, about 6 friends, my brother, sis in law, and niece. Yeah, it's the party month...just need to make sure I don't chow down everything.

Speaking of chow down, I lost 3.2 pounds this past week!!! Whoot! I've been watching the Biggest Loser and Bulging Brides on the FLN (I think it's Fine Living Network)...hey, if a 350+ person can run a 6.0 on a treadmill, why can't I? Yeah, I need to up my ante...and actually took the pups on a 20 minute walk/run yesterday. Yeah, we're all out of shape. Try joggin with 2 80+ dogs both trying to run in front of you (making you kick them in the hienie) or after random squirrels running in neighbors yards...not fun, but it did kick my butt! By the time we got back, they both passed out on the floor, and I was still raring to do chores around the house. I'm going to try to do that 3 times a week if I can, extending the time and distance everyother time. I haven't been able to do much with training for the Shamrock Shuffle, and I'm hoping I don't cop out and do the 5k walk...I'm kinda excited to do my first 8k. Plus, the more I run, the more I lose. I've lost 12.2 pounds since Jan 1st, which according to Weight Watchers is a 5% goal loss...my BMI is now 34.9, as opposed to 36.8 right after surgery. I'm still considered morbidly obese, and I'm hoping to get it down to at least 30 or under before the wedding. I've got 13 weeks to go, I think I can pull it off as long as I step up my workouts.

So busy life, losing weight, no time to relax (though I did take off last Thurs and Fri for doc appts and wedding stuff, I don't call that a day off)...

Speaking of wedding stuff, I FINALLY got Loverboy to go out and look for tuxes/suits. Turns out that since there's only 3 of them (Loverboy and 2 groomsmen) that it'll still cost anywhere from $120-$160 for a rental, no deals unless there's 5 other guys renting. Suck it, MW Tux, we're not using you. We were driving around and found a place called Dress It Up, in the more cultural section of town, and found an awesome suit for $200 with coat, vest and pants! $10 for alterations, and they can give us a deal if the other 2 groomsmen buy from them too. That's up to Loverboy, he's getting them, so he's gotta make the appointments, I have nothing to do with what he wears the day of the wedding, though getting that suit is quite a deal as opposed to renting a tux. Also got Loverboy to go with me to register for stuff at the infamous Bed Bath and Beyond (where everyone getting married has a registry). I was surprised at some of the items that he picked out...what guy tried to multi-match sheets with comforter sets? Where did this man come from!?!?

So takin it one day at a time, getting healthier, planning the wedding, and hopefully looking for a job closer to home within the next 2 months...I want to leave my job BEFORE the wedding...then I'll have all that vacation time to relax...hey, 90 hours is nothing to laugh at right now, and I'll even accumulate more by then...adios till I have another breather moment!

The Shamrock Shuffle...and beer

2009-01-20T09:39:00.003-06:00

Yup, I did it. I signed up for my first race...not so much a race, but I'm going to be running. Yup, March 29th, 2009...which gives me over 9 weeks to start training. The Shamrock Shuffle can either be an 8K run, or a 5K walk...and the cool thing is that if I don't think I can handle a 5 mile run, then I can always bump myself down to do the walk...whoo-hoo! Incentive? Apparently beer drink tickets after the race, just what I want to do, run then drink, then hurl...sounds like a grand time, dontcha think?

So doing weight watchers, didn't lose any weight this past week, but didn't gain any either. It keeps snowing, so I'm peeved that I can't go out and start running outside yet. Found out that the Village has a Community Center, it's $25 for a 2 year membership....yup, that sounds good to me. Only deal is that it's only open past 4 pm 3 days a week, and it's not open on the weekends...oh well, at least I can get 3 days in of working out...and for $25, I'm not going to complain. Plus that gives me incentive to use some of my vacation days to take a day here or there off and sneak in some extra training...then again, I have no idea what this place looks like, on the website there's a couple of treadmills that have elderly people on them...maybe I should look into this place more before I join...

So that's the latest and the greatest. Looking to clean out the storage facility this weekend so we can save an extra $159 a month (and here I thought we were going to be almost done with the floor in the living room/dining room...we haven't even started!!!) that can go towards bills, and I'm praying for my W-2 to come in the mail so I can either knock out bills, or put it towards the wedding (which I'm sure it'll go partial for both). I'm also heading to Miami for a day and a half next week, I'm not a big fan where I fly in the day of the meeting, then the next day when the meetings end I'm back on a flight to come home...at least I don't have anything planned that weekend, and I'm not going to. Loverboy will either have to do the laundry, or learn how to make underwear out of hand towels...and if he wants a dish he'll have to wash it cause I'm hiding the paper plates (TOTAL cop out if ya ask me).

It's snowing upwards, but then again, I see all kinds of crazy weather patterns on the 27th floor of a Chicago high rise...the only time I'm not a fan is when there's 30+ mile wind gusts that literally sway the building (and the faster the gusts, the more the building shakes)...freaks me out.

Hopefully within the next 3 months that'll change. Goal? To find a job right before the wedding, give my 2 weeks notice so I'm done the week before the wedding, get married, then start the new job and new life about a week or 2 after. Hey, I'm saving up all this vacation time for a reason, nice going away paycheck...I get paid for unused vacation time, just not personal or sick time..so those are all used up. Right now I've got about 103 hours right now, that's over 2 1/2 weeks right now...even if I use up a day here and there, I'm still guaranteed, by the time I leave, almost 3 weeks in pay. Yeah, nice little nest egg which can either be used for time off or for the wedding again...I'm thinkin ahead.

I need a nap, I'm thinkin' too much these days...

Baby it's cold outside....

2009-01-15T20:11:00.002-06:00

You better believe it!!! OH, and I unfortunately feel like I freaked others out, so my Meme has been revised...didn't mean to be too personal, I had lots a brewin' last night. Imagine what else I could've written if I had had anything to drink!!!! Bleah, no thanks...

So yeah, coming home from work, the thermometer in my car shows -12 as the temp outside. Negative 12 degrees, yup, my car has never shown me a negative temperature before, I had to take a second glance while hitting the breaks and not giving a gentle nudge to the person in front of me. Yowza!!!

So it's a happy day. Happy why? It was fullfilling. I got a bunch done at work, getting a dentist appt for Loverboy somewhere in our area code (I don't know why we would drive 45 minutes to see some guy the guys he works with go to), I'm way under points (11 so far actually) but I'm super full and was only hungry enough for half of my new turkey veggie concocxion burger with tater tots and a 8oz Sierra Mist. Think I'm going to start changing out tortillas for huge romaine lettuce leaves, work just as well, no points, better for ya, and gettin the greens in for the day. Woot!

Tomorrow I get to leave early from work, and Saturday I get to meet up with a friend and check out some bridal dresses to get ideas I can touch rather than just look at something online (and I love my girls for helping me out and sending me all those wonderful links). Yeah, it's been a good day. Here's to many more good days in 2009.

A Meme from my favorite Hairwrecker...

2009-01-14T23:18:00.004-06:00

I got this Meme from Lindsey, and this is going to be hard since a lot of this stuff I haven't talked about with anyone, don't freak out, I'm okay, but some of this might be disturbing...so here goes.

1. I'm tubby, unhappy, in debt, and getting married in 5 months...lol. Actually, not to sad about that, just living life day to day.

2. I've lived a long and unusual life, and I'm only 32. I've had more things happen and done more things that I'm not happy about than most people will experience in their lifetimes. However, each of these is a lesson learned and a lesson to improve thy self upon. Get over it, take it one day at a time.

3. I have a better relationship with my friends parents than I do with my own. I can't get my Mother to come and visit, she's been to the house once in the past 4 years that I've lived here and feels the need to send me 3 line emails to see how I'm doing. It's rare if I get a phone call, and that usually means she's asking if I'm going to so and so's for a family gathering, or if I can send her some pictures by email. I've since stopped replying to her emails with anything more than "Things are fine, Matt says hi, talk more later". My father, God forbid he picks up the phone to call, and he only calls if I call, the machine picks up, and I'm screaming "Someone has to be home, pick up the phone." I miss Lindsey's Dad, he always made me feel good about myself.

4. I cannot STAND my sister. We've never been close, I don't agree how she's pawning my nephew on my Mother 24-7, or someother unlucky soul, and has the gall to tell me she can't afford something (I can't think of anything at the moment of what started the conversation) because she has to pay for her son (ex-bf is in the pic, but they're psycho to each other)...yet she had 2 dogs that she couldn't take care of, had to get rid of one since they were both alpha males, has a cat that looks like a stray, goes to Chicago and to the museums as much as she can get, goes out to dinner with her BF (whom I love by the way, he's the best guy she's ever been with, and have there been plenty), can afford to get a second car, but gets mad at me when I don't pay her $25 that went towards a birthday gift for my Mom even though she owes me $111 from paying for supplies for remodeling our parents bathroom as a Christmas present last year? She's blood, but I know who my true sisters are.

5. I can have a nasty temper that I've learned to control, and by nasty, I mean full out Hulk, get in your face, don't F with me, who do you think you are...yeah, like that. Sometimes it starts to come out, but I've learned to spew it all into blog postings, otherwise I watch Loverboy play World of Warcraft and kill the bad guys. I think that's not only spewed from my Dad, but from bad relationships I've had in the past...this is the only one that made sense. I appologize for all the stupid things I've done in the past based off stupid guys, my girls and friends are the only true ones that matter, and I lost a chunk of my life because of it that I'll never get back...someone should have given me shock therapy, I was an idiot.

6. Sometimes I want to kick Loverboy in the head because he plays that WOW game so friggin much. Last week, he played everynight, on the 54 inch TV that he got, which has surround sound. I couldn't watch anything on the DVR, so I sat, crocheting scarves to donate to a local shelter in the next town over (if I can get anyone on the phone). If he put as much effort in cleaning the garage that he has into that game, we'd be able to get the storage unit I got, thinking we were going to load it up while we had the living room floor ripped up, which isn't happening with these subarctic temperatures. So stuffs in storage, I'm paying $159 a month (only 2 months so far) so he can sit on his a$$ and play his video game. I actually went off on him about this, he can start paying for it if he can't clean up the garage, and I'LL play the video games. We'll be cleaning out the storage this weekend.

7. I like liversausage. I said it, I don't care! That's the one thing I'll eat before donating blood cause I know my iron levels will be up. Sue me!

8. I would one day like to be able to travel to Cairo. Why, you ask? I have no friggin clue, but there's a calling for some reason...since I was a kid, I'm destined to go there someday. Maybe it started after watching an Indiana Jones movie, who knows...I'm gonna go someday.

9. I want to buy a ton of land and have multiple houses on it for all my friends to come and live...of course I'll have to win the lottery to do this, but hey, mortgage free? Who'd say no to that?

10. I'm tired, betcha didn't know that? It's almost midnight, I'm mentally drained and have to get up at 5am...hopefully. I wanna work extra hours so I can leave early on Friday, and I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's high of -1 degrees. Nope, I'm really not.

So that's that, my 10 Memes...I'm not tagging anyone unless you want to do this too. 10 things that no one knows about you that you feel comfortable sharing.

Doing a happy dance...

2009-01-12T11:02:00.005-06:00

So I'm not the best person when it comes to staying on diets or stay on track for what diets are SUPPOSED to be like (yeah, I cheat, I'll say it, wanna make somethin' of it?)...but I was really impressed with the past week with Weight Watchers. I was strick to the program, I'd make myself something, Loverboy was up to fend on his own (which I'm sure meant he lost this week too), unless I felt giving. Drum roll please...........

I've lost 5.4 pounds in one week!!! Yup, ...how did I accomplish this? Well, see my New Years Accomodations post. I'm thrilled! I kept up with the points system, was either spot on or just under my points for the day, and the only day I used part of the "35 extra weekly points" was on Friday when I had fried goodness while watching TV in the bedroom while Loverboy once again took over the 54" screen playing what else...World of Warcraft. Meh, let him do this until the weather gets warmer and he can rip up the floor and poor the post for the house, it's too cold to do it right now. OH, and I'm not drinking Mountain Dew like it's going out of style! I've gotten myself to have an 8oz (baby cans) of either Sierra Mist or Ginger Ale...so I can still get a little canned goodness, but not too much. I think I only used 3 of those cans in the past 2 weeks, I don't feel the need to waste 2 points on empty calories. I can't do diet, sorry guys, the taste gets to me, and I'm sensitive to Asparatame...gives me nasty migraines, which makes me HAVE to choose something healthy and not just low fat/fat free.

So yeah, I'm a happy camper. And that was without even exercising, giving me hope that I can be a healthier me in 2009...whoo-hoo (had to say it again...I'm almost at the weight I was when I first met Loverboy, hoping I can get under that within the next month, and even more by the wedding). I only major thing I did that would be considered "exercise" was the 45 minutes I took to shovel the driveway...without the snowblower (that thing is Satan on wheels, I'll tell ya that). Maybe I'll start walking if the snow doesn't stop me like it did over the weekend...and here I was going to start the "couch to 5K"...I've got an 8K Shamrock Shuffle with my name on it coming up, and if I don't do the 8K run, I've always fot the 5K walk.

Funky Friday!!!

2009-01-09T11:55:00.002-06:00

Well, not really, but it sounded like a good title at the time. So it's Friday, I've got about an hour of work left, and I'm on airport run for a friend of mine out to O'Hare tonight. Send pleasant thoughts that the snow doesn't send all the idiots my way that don't know how to handle it...you've lived in this state for how many years and you still don't know how to drive in the snow? If you can't drive your Beemer, Hummer, or whatever the heck the popular car is these days, then stay home...you'll save a bunch of people from getting a migraine from yelling at your stupid keister, and save yourself the cost of a tow truck taking you out of that ditch cause you thought it was okay to continue to drive 70 even though even the truckers were going 50.

Okay, enough vent.

I saw one of the most disgusting, yet most intriguing things on the way to work the other day. This could seriously be a separate blog all together of the crap I see...from peeing homeless guys, to fecal matter in the street, to dirty diapers being flung out of car windows....to my latest encounter. On the bridge, under Michigan Avenue, were the ripped wings of a pigeon just laying there like nobody's business. That wasn't the disturbing part, the thing that really caught my attention, and an iron stomach to not hurl at the moment, was that the wings had been placed in a perfect pattern. They were positioned and placed together about 4 inches apart as if the bird was previously in flight, almost like angel wings when they're completely outstretched. Now if you've got a queasy stomach, stop right here, because I'm going to say something that's kinda gross...you could tell that someone knew what they were doing by the way the bones in the wings were intact. They were ripped perfectly from the ball and socket joint, you could see the bone and then the feathers of the wing...again, I try to stop the heaves that are a commin...

This was as disturbing to me as watching the floating grocery bag in American Beauty...why is it there, how did it get there, and why am I strangely staring at it and wondering what happened? I almost took a picture, but thought it morbid...seriously, that's not normal, right? Don't worry, I'm not going all artsy fartsy on ya's...just one of my many eff-d up daily Chicago encounters.

So that's that, who tears off the wings of a pigeon? Did he eat the rest for lunch? Bleah...not tasty, and I'll never know since I'm not keen on eating pigeon unless I have to hunt for it (and we know THAT ain't gonna happen)...what kick puppy does that, then leaves the wings outstretched where people like myself walk by it? May I never witness that again.

New Years accomplishments

2009-01-04T13:26:00.005-06:00

So I never start New Years resolutions on New Years Day...it's too depressing that if you screw up on day one that you blow it for the rest of the year. Plus it gives me time to reflect on what I really want to accomplish this year and why, not just a list of "oh, I have to lose weight, I need to do this, I need to do that"....again, just verbal spew. This year I am taking the initiative to have resolutions and state WHY I want to achieve these goals...not sure how many there'll be, and basically all of last years resolutions went the way of the crapper...except stopping smoking. Yes, the major resolution of last year did take...As of last Jan I had I think something like 9 cigarettes between January and April, and have not touched one since. There were a few iffy times where I thought to myself "Self, it won't hurt you to have just one, or sneak a few smokes from Loverboy's stash"...but it would have hurt me not only in the physical, but in the aspect that I'm not cheating others with this action, but I'm cheating on myself and letting myself know that I do not have the willpower that it takes to be a better person. I think the car accident was a major factor there, and the fact that I want to get into nursing and it's hypocritical to tell others that it's bad for them when I'm doing it myself. So kudos to me, the only resolution that I've stuck with since I began making resolutions.

So here are what I'd like to call not necessarily resolutions, but accomplishments I'd like to achieve in 2009. Resolutions sound too demanding, that if you don't comply that you'll be ridiculed for the rest of your life. So here goes...

1. To eat healthier and make smarter choices in the food department. I'm not saying weight loss since that's a major downer due to family gatherings, company lunches or parties, or getting together with the girls for a movie night or wine tasting gathering. If I start to make smarter choices and watch what I eat, then the weight should just come off naturally. I'm not even saying that I want to lose 40 pounds by May (non realistic, but non the less, it'd be nice to do), but by portion and food control, I could reach that goal. Every little bit helps. Also by doing this and putting more healthy choices in my corner will help me not only battle obesity, but multiple medical problems, disease, blood pressure problems, clogged arteries, and strain on my being as a whole. This means cooking better, more food from scratch, less food that is premade or quickly deep fried for a tasty treat...and bringing my lunch to work throughout the week rather than relying on frozen dinners or microwaveable delights(unless it's to heat up homemade food).

2. I will exercise more. I'm not saying I'm going to go out and join a gym (though I'm thinking about it), but going out for walks after dinner, or on the weekends with the dogs (weather permitting). Not staying inside in the summer when it's hot outside when I could be burning fat pulling weeds, working on the garden, making the yard pretty (with what I can do with it right now till be can actually start to do landscape)...I had a lazy year this year and I'm kicking myself for it. Again, this goes in hand with number 1 as well, it will help me be healthier, strengthen joints, and increase my overall health to fight medical issues, diabetes, cardiac health, etc. Hopefully this will also help my constant battle with injuring myself as I did this past year. Here's to no injuries other than papercuts and splinters in 2009!

3. I will stop buying every piece of crappy thing that calls my name. I've actually done quite well the past couple of months, but I need to keep up with that. I do NOT need bamboo placemats that I say I'm going to use for craft inspiration...it's all still in a bag under my computer desk begging to be used. I do NOT need to buy colored pipe cleaners and boa's to make pencil pals in Christmas colors (something I was going to do prior to the holidays, but will stay hidding until next Christmas if I feel perky enough to make them). I WILL not buy anymore cake pans just because they're on sale, I neither have the room, nor the time, nor the waistline to make the goodness shown on the sleeve of the pan. I will NOT purchase clothing just because it's on clearance, that glittery shirt looked cute on the hanger, and for $5 was a steal, but I am not at the age to go clubbing with the twenty-somethings anymore...I'm old.

4. In hand with #3, I will learn to manage my money better. I will also pay myself first and learn to consolidate credit cards as to lower finance charges, monthly payments, and eventually be able to get rid of some of my credit cards. I do not need 10 different methods of credit cards, if I need more credit, I'll ask for an increase on an already used card. This also includes store credit cards, I do not need a credit card to Torrid or Kohl's if I only grace that store once a year...it's not worth it to keep it on my credit report or my conscience.

5. I will plan on spending more time with myself. Not that I'm not with myself 24/7, but I do more for others than I do for myself. I do not feel that I need to stretch myself paper thin to be socially active, then feel stressed that I can't make it to every party/gathering/birthday that I am invited to. It is okay to say "No", and I will begin to say it more often if I feel that I am not treating myself accordingly. I can go to the movies by myself, I can see a play if I want to, and I can go to a concert without the need to have someone with me...if I want to do this by myself, then I will. Hence causing less stress, and increasing my own mental and physical health (going hand in hand with #1). This also includes trying to get more than 4 hours of sleep a night, sleeping is a much needed act that I need to start taking more seriously.

6. I'd like to be more organized and clean in the process. However, this is difficult while living in a construction zone, but I feel that I have been leaching off this fact in turn creating MORE problems. I will start off with small things and do daily affirmations of what I will try to accomplish for that day/week (depending on the project, Sarah talked about flylady, but I deleted the daily emails since there were all repeating themselves and ended up turning into more junk email), writing things in a calendar, and letting Loverboy know in advance when there will be a family gathering, where it is, and if he's available. In turn, when the house does come into order (someday, maybe when I'm 50?), then it will be easier to incorporate that into the rest of the living space and in turn my sanity. Keeping in with the being more organized, I will also not feel the need to constantly sign up for anything under the sun online, and in turn get daily spam-mail that gets my blood boiling.

7. I will increase my knowledge through books, museums, and culture. I love going to the museums, zoo's, aquariums...heck, Chicago is a major cultural icon of the United States!!! And here I take it for granted, saying that I enjoyed it during grade school holding a sack lunch while on a field trip taking the bus from the suburbs. I did go to the Shedd Aquarium by myself back in 2004, but have not ventured anywhere since then (it was my birthday present to myself, and the first time I'd ventured out without my boot on from breaking my foot playing Turkey Bowl 2003 with the boys...ah the priorites). I would love to see the new exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry, or see the new African frogs they just got at the Brookfield Zoo, or experience the light show at the Adler Planetarium...and I will, this year I will. Plus I am going to begin reading a book a month again. I am not going to push myself for more, but if I read more, then bonus to me.

8. I would like to travel more this year, go to places I've never been before. Scenarios like this do not necessarily require great deals of money either, but just nice road trips, going to the surrounding towns around where I live, check out the history of where I'm at...I'd like to start a map with all the places that I've been (Lindsey had a map like that when we were kids, I was amazed at all the places that she'd been to). Plus I'd like to check out the rafting up in Wisconsin, or even out towards Virginia...I've heard good things about both.

9. Patience is a virtue and one that I have increasing been losing throughout the years. Whether it be a patient who doesn't read what they're supposed to, or a rampant child that I feel the need to correct (and an not their Mother, so what am I doing), or someone in the 10 items or less lane with a full cart, or even with Loverboy and the state of our living conditions...I can have a nasty temper that lurks and strikes when I least expect it too. I will learn to step back, assess the situation, and either deal with it in a calm manner, or remove myself completely from the scenario if I have no other choice. I think this will also help out with #1 in the health/stress situation.

10. I will more involved when it comes to the environment. I try to recycle about 75% off everything that comes in the house, I even have sacks from stores so when I go there, I don't need plastic bags...and guess what I forget to bring everytime I go to that store? I'm good about junk mail (and need to bring this to Loverboy's attention when I take junkmail out of his garbage can by his desk) and recycling paper, I breakdown cardboard and try to recycle by the numbers that our Lions Club location recycles for plastics...I need to be better with food wastes since we do have a compost corner in the back yard. I am a HUGE fan of farmers markets and shopping local (there's a grocery store down the way that sells fresh chicken/eggs/beef from a local farmer down the road), but I also need to learn that I do not have to go to the farmers markets every weekend. I have a garden, but I need to utilize it better, and I am thankful for my Aerogarden (yes, I got one) where I can grow fresh herbs in my kitchen...the only thing with that is the amount of electricity it uses, but it makes a great nightlite! I'm looking into solar panels and wind turbines for the house with Loverboy, we're waiting for pricing to go down and see what we can do about getting our own power cells for the house. Not that we expect to be off the grid, but we want to see what we can do to help out with the money aspect (as long as it doesn't become an impulse or crappy buy).

11. I will write more in my blog! I can write in more whimsical, interesting info rather than the latest nasty vomitious spew going on in my life, though it may not be as interesting as my monthly dilemmas. I will try to be more upbeat and not so depressing (though sometimes that's half the entertainment right there). SO here's to a better blogginess for 2009.

So there are the accomplishments I'd like to achieve for 2009. Ask me in 2 months if I've even started any of these, most likely I'll have already dropped half of them. But I will at least start off with these today, I have no inkling to blow these off right now, but with a little sweat and persevearance, I think these can be quite achievable.

I'm off to clean off my computer desk and clean out the fridge...hopefully I'll complete both tasks before getting bored and crashing in front of the TV with Loverboy...who's taken today as a task to clean the garage to the point where we can sort of have a living room back before the floor gets ripped out...serenity now I tell ya, and putting the loveseat in storage is no easy feat, but can hopefully get done by the end of the day.

Bless all who've kept up with me this past year, and hope you're accomplishments are within your grasp!

Goodbye 2008...

2009-01-01T18:24:00.002-06:00

I say goodbye to 2008 with bells on, this has been one hell of a year! Plus, just out of spite, good ol' 2008 had one more kick in the pants to give me before the year was up...

The day after Christmas (Dec 26th) I'd gone to Sam's Club to stock up on Mountain Dew for Loverboy (who basically drinks it like it's going out of style...but hey, he gets stuff done around the house, so who cares, right?) and ended up getting a flat tire in the parking lot. May all you older men watching a woman in sweats, kneeling in an inch of thawed iceberg water, be pummeled for not assisting a damsel in distress changing a tire...though one guy did stop by, but only after he had finished his cigarette at the time where I was just taking the tire off to put the new one on...hey, at least there was effort. So I dropped by to see Loverboy to see if the tire was shot, or if he could plug it up and then swap it back with the spare to put it back under the car (yes, with the Blazer, the tire is under the car...and difficult to access when needed...speaking from experience). So as the tire is being put back under the car, I decided to put the manual back in the glovebox. Mind you, the truck is by the lift, the machine that lifts the car/truck so you can either put back on a tire comfortably, or work under the automobile comfortably. So I put the book in the glovebox, take a step back to close the door...next thing you know I'm on the floor. I jump back up, look around to see who witnessed my once again graceful rendition of non-swan lake, and then looked to see what had aided me in my newest klutz act. The lift arms...they were pushed outwards out of the way so the car could be driven away from the lift. My right wrist was throbbing, my left foot felt like a nail was thrust through it...more on that later...I seriously don't know who's side of the family I get this from, when I find out, I'm going to punch them in the kidney.

So weekend comes and goes, I'm lethargic and do nothing but watch TV, read emails, and keep my foot up. Monday I'm in pain, so I call to see a doc and get x-rays. "We want you to see an orthopaedic surgeon, apparently you have a detatched 4th digit in your left foot". Detatched? As in dislocation? The wrist was fine, just sprained (thank goodness, but still sucky for workin on the computer and lifting a gallon of milk). So it's end of the month, end of the year, I can't take a day off to save my life, but if I don't, then I won't get seen for 2 weeks. Fine, I'll take off NYE...ah, a 5 day weekend!!! Office is closed New Years day, and we all decided to use vacation time and close down on Friday for an extended holiday. So go to the docs yesterday...yeah, I've got a break in the 4th digit towards the middle of my left foot, but there's nothing they can do not only because of the location, but it's apparently already healing...either I'm Wonder Woman in the healing department, or it's a stress fracture that happened prior to my fall on Friday...who knows. All I know is I took a day off for a 15 minute visit with the doc who gave me a brace for my still sore wrist, said there's nothing they can do with my foot, and told me to come back if it's still hurting in about a month. Wow, really? The doc the day before couldn't tell that the bone was healing up in the x-ray? Gotta love the medical system.

So yeah, 2008 got one more "stick it to the klutz" before the end of the year...I've decided to find someone who can exorcise Loverboy and I and our house so as to help prevent injuries in 2009. Here's what we've dealt with this past year...

March: Loverboy has knee surgery and is off work for 6 weeks.
April: Stupid girl hit me in Loverboy's truck, totalling the truck and sending me to the ER for x-rays. Loverboy almost knocks himself unconscious working on pipes in the attic...has a goose egg on his head for a couple of weeks.
May: Fell through friends 2nd floor bedroom to 1st floor bathroom (I've still got scar tissue healing in my right elbow).
June: Finally find out with doc #3 that there are tears in my left shoulder, surgery is scheduled for the end of July.
July: Surgery is scheduled for middle of August due to doc going on vacation. Find out it's not good to try to go swimming with a messed up shoulder. Loverboy screws up knee overdoing it on a friends jetski while on vacation. I have to drop from the nursing program due to the surgery in August, and have to reapply to be eligible for August of 2009.
August: Shoulder surgery on Wednesday the 13th, but end up with a sore throat the morning going into surgery. I'm a pain with a cold and dealing with lack of shoulder function, though I do do laundry the 2nd day after therapy. I'm sure Loverboy was rethinking the marriage proposal after that time. Off work 6 weeks.
September: We were actually lucky here, knock on wood.
October: The motherload! Loverboy thinks his foot is broken, x-rays say sprain, but he's hobbling for 3 weeks. Loverboy's Aunt has quadruple bypass surgery. Loverboy's Dad ends up in the hospital with multiple stomach ulcers and extreme blood loss. I feed Dad for 3 weeks so he can regain his strength and see what he can eat without pain. Inspires Dad to start cooking healthy for himself.
November: I think we were okay here too...
December: Loverboy fractures his 4th toe (the toe part) on his computer chair due to the dog kicking it towards him. I get sick for 2 weeks (badly) after coming back from an investigator meeting in California. I then proceed to injure my right wrist and left foot the day after Christmas, leading to finding out that I've got a broken 4th digit by the joint in the middle of my foot which they can do nothing about. And I've finally gotten back down to my presurgery weight.

2008 also brought gas prices up the nose, company payouts due to the ecomomy sucking, Blagojevich getting arrested (go Illinois), Obama being elected for President, thousands of people losing their jobs, stores going out of business, stores closing (my Michaels craft store is closing, I'm pissed),

So 2008, you can suck it for all I care. I'm done with you and all your problems. I'm welcoming 2009 with open arms. What do you have to offer? Here's a few things I hope:

A new job closer to home.
Reapplying for the nursing program for August of 2009.
Getting married in May.
Getting the sink back in the bathroom (it's been out since Feb I think).
Putting down hardwood floors in the living room.
Putting in a fireplace and new headers in the living room.
Not getting hurt. At all. Period. I'm not joking...

So that's that. I hope you all had a wonderful New Years Eve, Loverboy and I just relaxed at home, making fun of the drunkards on TV in New York, and watching Bon Jovi in concert on one of the HD channels...it was a nice relaxing night. But hugs out to ya, and may 2009 bring you happiness, hope, and prosperity. God bless.

2008-12-14T12:44:00.004-06:00

Okay, so the chest pains have gone away naturally (probably due to the daily stress in my life), so I'm THRILLED about not going to see the doc...the less I need to go the better, though I probably should schedule a full physical after the beginning of the year since it's been what, since high school that I've done that? Yeah, I'm not much the doctor fan, though I've had my stretches of visits over the past couple of years...broken foot, nail through the foot, shoulder surgery, pneumonia, etc...but here's to a healthier 2009 I tell ya!

So now my job is to survive the holidays...and not eat myself a size bigger (thank goodness that hasn't been the case yet). But, there are stressful things that I will have to overcome. Per my Dad, who likes a little too much of the drinky drinky on family holidays, if we don't come on Christmas when he wants us there, there will no longer be a Christmas at their house. Yeah, that was the martini's talking, but Christmas will still be going on at their house for ever and ever...amen. There was a discussion with the kids and we're all going to go over later around 1pm-ish so that WE can have our own little personal gatherings prior to going over there for the gift exchange and festivities. Yeah, for me it's an hour plus drive, and while talking about this with my Mom on the phone, saying how I understand how things are changing and how people have their own lives, she said to me "I understand it, but I don't have to like it. And I'm not the one who moved so far away." This is the crap I have to deal with for family gatherings. Yes, I moved away to move in with a man I love into HIS house, not a house we bought together. Yes, you may not like the fact that we don't want to come over on Christmas, but I don't like the fact that you've only been over to my house one time since I moved in 4 years ago. And don't give me this "I don't have to like it" speech when you and Dad did the same thing with Grandma when we used to all go out to her place on Christmas, then you decided it was too hard and then started going over there the Saturday before Christmas or Christmas Eve for YOUR gift exchange...hypocritical and frustrating...this was what Thanksgiving brought us this year.

Holidays at my family gatherings are rarely fun, except when we siblings get together and start playing board games, or start bantering or reminising about something funny. That's something I miss since everyone is always running over to someone else's place prior to getting home that night. And yes, I am one of those running out to get home, but with darkness coming by 4:30pm these days, yeah, I'm not a fan of driving home on a holiday with the other crazies trying to get home and relax before the next day comes...and again, my drive is at least an hour one way.

This year is another crazy holiday time, Loverboy's Gram started to do Christmas on actual Christmas rather than on Christmas Eve since her nephew and psycho wife started holding their kids hostage if Gram and Loverboy's Aunt didn't go over there ON Christmas Eve...seriously, really? Can you be anymore psycho, crazy wife lady? There's some disturbing stories about that lady, but that's for another time.

So Christmas is not only at Gram's, but at my folks house as well. Last year I went to my folks and Loverboy went to his cousin's in Indiana...and I got flak for him not being with me. With our schedules, he doesn't get to see his family either, so I'm not going to NOT let him see his family around the holidays while I go over to my parent's house. This year it will be that way again, and I know that there will be discussion about him not being there again. I already told them most likely he wouldn't be coming since he has to work the next day, a luxury that our office ended up giving us another personal holiday for since we had a wonderful year budget-wise. Last Thanksgiving we had ended up staying home since we had a huge dumpster to get rid of all the roofing materials we had torn off the house, and since they were coming to pick it up on that Saturday, it was nice to not have to go anywhere for a family headache. I'd rather just stay home this year myself, but that's not going to happen...I'm a "can't say no" kinda gal, always have been, but hopefully always will not be. 2009 is the year to take my life back. I have a wedding to plan (now that we finally have a date...May 16th...and now I just need a contract), I have school I have to reapply for, a job to find closer to home which I hope to do prior to the wedding, a house to get in order, downsize all my junk...and hopefully have a garage sale this spring...new year, better life...and better me.

Hugs to you all, and have a save and happy holiday season!

2008-12-02T14:10:00.002-06:00

So forgive me if I'm a blubbering idiot and write novel posts...I always want to get EVERY detail added or else the info loses it's luster...and I like things shiney!

So here's the schpeal...I'm 32, getting over shoulder surgery, I'm a major klutz so you may see pics of my self damage up here sometime soon (it seems to be a weekly occurence), working full time, trying to get back into the nursing program (had to drop due to surgery), have a Money pit house that's bleeding me dry, I'm addicted to sweets (hmm...sugary goodness...), I'm engaged to a man who can live off hot dogs for the rest of his life and no gain weight, and I'm getting married sometime in the 5 months. Oh, and I weigh 240 right now...ack, I said it!!!

Yup, premium tubbo to be exact (I know, the comedic comments are horrendous, but it's how I deal, smile and nod with me)...buxom, pleasantly plump, love handles to spare, spare tire, chubby...or just plain fat. Yup, that's me, now lets hold hands, sing kumbia and then hit the sweets table.

So here's the deal, chest pains are not a fun deal, and I've been having them quite often. I'm not sure if it's my body saying "Listen here, you chubby wench, take it easy, there's only one of me to go around, " or if I'm going to become one of those early 30 y/o's who have to have heart surgery due to the syrup clogged in their arteries...or if it's just a change in the weather and the holidays always make me stressed, or if my ticker is teasing me and giving me the chance to drop a quick 20-60 pounds before dropping me. I'll make an appointment soon, I promise.

Or it could be because with my weight gain, the "twins" (the glorious ta-tas upon my busom) are huge and causing my chest to lean forward and cause chest and back issues...I need to do something quick.

So from now on the most of my biot (Linds will remember that) fest will be changing a bit to my struggle and succession of losing the "joey" like pouch where a flat stomach should be, and I will not whine...well, whine with a little cheese never hurt anybody....NO! No whine, or wine (well, maybe a glass of merlot for the ol' ticker, it's supposed to be GOOD for me, but no longer a bottle!) I will throw in useless tidbits of things that I find amusing, or make me laugh, or piss me off...so basically not much is changing except me putting in some weight loss stuff.

So be ready for more posts, if you don't hear from me for a while, I did have a coronary, but I'll be back on soon...a coronary means time off from work, which means time on the devil screen (which is what I call the computer these days since it's sucking the life out of me lately)...laters taters...hmmmm....taters....

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-22T08:58:00.002-05:00

Yup, that about sums it up, I want to scream. My newest rant about recent crap going on...does this fun never end? This is what's been going on the past 2 weeks....

Last Monday I got a call from Loverboy as I'm in the drive thru at Taco Hell trying to get some nourishment...cough cough...prior to attending physical therapy (people, pray that Halloween will be my last day of physical therapy EVER). I don't really hear him correctly cause the drive thru guy is asking me if I want Dragon sauce with my order...I'm thinking Loverboy said that Diesel, one of our ginormous lap dogs, is throwing up blood...crap, what did he eat now. No...it was Loverboy's Dad, in the ER, because apparently he had passed a lot of blood in the bathroom. HOLY CRAP! I told him I was on my way home, called therapy telling them I was going to have to cancel that days therapy session, and zipped on home! No one knew what was going on, except the fact that Father Loverboy (that's what I'll call him) had gone to the bathroom, passed blood, then hit the floor as soon as he got out of the bathroom. It took this man 2 hours to get to a phone because he couldn't get up, and he literally lives 5 minutes away from the nearest hospital! No shit! The paramedics arrive, take him to the ER, and start him on morphine and units of blood...4 units to be exact (yeah, he was more than a quart low).

Loverboy and I got out there slicker n' snot, and got to visit Father Loverboy one at a time (Gram was there when he had been admitted, but she had already gone home). We each got to talk to him while he was in and out of consciousness, and I got to asking him some questions...what have you been eating, drinking, medications...blah blah. The research coordinator in me was out in rare form. Apparently he was taking Excedrin for his arthritis...major arthritis...and a couple of pills just about every hour. His whole upper body is lacking muscle mass due to the arthritis, and it's traveling downwards through his body. No wonder the man looks like he's lost quite a bit of weight in the past 3 months. So okay, he's overdoing the aspirin. Now because of this overzealous abundance of aspirin, he gets heartburn...so what does he do? He downs flavored Tums/antacids like candy. Not good. I told Loverboy when we were doing a changing of the guard that I thought it sounded like a massive ulcer based off what Father Loverboy had told me. Turns out I was almost right. Found out the next day after they'd had a tube down his throat that it wasn't a massive ulcer, it was MULTIPLE ulcers! Yup, he's just about blown out his stomach. So we're relieved that it could have been majorly worse, those kinds of ulcers can be easily treated. However, he has been having other problems, and hasn't been to the doc's in years. He'll find out what else is going on sometime next week when he has his follow up visit and sees a gastroenterologist.

So the day after that I get a call from Gram with news on what's going on. Apparently Father Loverboy (who has insurance) was called by someone from the hospital that he had to put down $500 while he was in the hospital for his stay. The woman said if he didn't have the money, that he should call family to get it. Excuse me? Um, first, you do NOT call a patient while they are in the ER and say that you need to pay $500 for your stay...that's what bills in the mail are for. Next, I wouldn't do anything without documentation...besides, I'm not a fan of the hospital he was staying at, I'd have taken him elsewhere had I knows anything was going on. Then he's being working on by a doc who says he can leave the day after he was admitted. Now mind you he's still on morphine, dizzy, still bleeding, and not being monitored with his bathroom usage. He asks a nurse if its normal to still be bleeding (nurse had no idea), and that he wanted to talk to another doctor. Then he finds out that he shouldn't still be on the morphine, and they switch him to Tylenol. So he talks to the doctor on call and finds out the previous doctor was a STUDENT. Yeah, that would've been medical malpractice for sure. So she says that he needs to stay another night, gives him information about how he's going to need to change his diet (which the other doc hadn't given him), she gives him a script for ulcer medication, and he's released the next day.

So Father Loverboy (FL) owns 2 apartment buildings, 3 units per building, and a tennant had previously moved out. Loverboy went over to get whatever he could done so that a new tennant could come in and the place wouldn't be sitting. Okay, fair enough. So we're back on the schedule where I don't see him until late anymore due to him going over there after work. I ended up going out there that Friday with some info from the internet on dietary and recovery needs for FL, and made him a bunch of food that he could eat throughout the weekend that wouldn't cause him any pain: french vanilla pudding, stuff to make hot oatmeal, portioned baked chicken with stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, and steamed carrots, and tuna noodle casserole. Just about all of that was gone by the time I went back on Sunday. Good, he's eating. I told Loverboy that I'd have his Dad a good 20 pounds heavier by Christmas if I kept feeding him like that.

So Sunday I started making a bunch of stuff at home not only for Loverboy, but to bring over to his Dad's for the week. Here's where stuff gets weird. About 2 weeks prior I'd met a girl on the train, she was 19 and 6'5". Yeah, tall girl. We started talking, she was funny, a little crude, but nice enough. We hung out the Saturday before at a flea market in Indiana, and rode the train during the week last Monday and Wednesday. She also wanted to know if I had any single friends...okay, we'll see what's going on with this. I tell her about my friend Danny Boy, nice guy, funny, and fun to be around...she wants him to text her because she doesn't talk much on the phone...um, huh? So she calls me on Sunday when I'm making all this stuff and asks to come over an use our computer for homework since the libraries are closed. Um, no, because a)I don't really know you, b)Loverboy and I are both going to be in and out throughout the day, and I'm not leaving you alone in my house, and c)don't you have someone that you know that has one you can use? Then she wants to know what I'm doing, if she can go with me over to FL's house when I bring him food, and asks me about Danny Boy (this being off the market, I have few single male friends who aren't gay these days)...is he cute, where does he live, does he wear ugly shoes...huh? Okay, he's got your number, he'll call you. But she's adamant about doing something, whether I tell her I'm busy or not. She wants me to go with her to meet up with Danny Boy, um...I've got stuff I need to do, if you meet with him sometime after today, I'm more than happy to go, but I've got stuff that needs to be done right now...I'm sorry you're bored, it's not my problem...but he's my friend, she doesn't want to meet him alone...then don't meet up with him, but I've got stuff to do. She tells me to breath...asks what's with the attitude, asks to breath with me and to stop being a crab ass...EXCUSE ME!??!?!

Yeah, that's when the ball dropped. I lost it. I've been doing laundry the past 4 hours since we had to put in a sump pump because the PVC pipe from the washer was broken and the water was going underneath the house instead of the dry well and that was the first day we were able to hook it back up, I'm cooking like Julia Child on crack so people have something to eat, I'm trying to get the living room cleaned to a state where Loverboy can rip up the floor to pour the slab, and I'm trying to figure out how to plan the wedding/cruise/reception and where we're going to have it...I asked her if she was really going to play that card with me when I had a ton of stuff on my plate. If you know me, you know that my days are pretty crazy, and that I'm not going to drop everything because you're a spoiled teenager who's bored. Not gonna happen unless it's an emergency, which this definately was not. Family and friends come first, laundry is a close second, and people met on the train are down the line around 125, or something. I hung up, and didn't answer the phone the rest of the night. She'd called twice when I was on the way to FL's with all the food I'd made, no messages. Monday I saw her when I was walking to the train. She asked me if I was still being a crab ass... "Don't talk to me." That was all it took, and she hasn't tried to call me back. I'm not her mother, her babysitter, her buddy...I don't need people like that in my life.

Which brings me to today. Last night Loverbody was over at FL's finishing up work on the one apartment. Apparently his right foot had gone in a hole at the bottom of the stairs outside the apartment, and he went down on his knee (yes, it was the one he just had surgery on in March), and his foot twisted. He had come home hobbeling, I sent him to the shower for a soak, told him to take 2 Tylenol, and to elevate his foot when he went to bed to help with the swelling. Just called him this morning, he's home, and was waiting to go see a doctor. CRAP! He thinks he cracked something in the top of his foot. The ankle is fine, there's no real swelling, but he's having a hard time walking. I pray that it's a sprain and not a break...if its a break, then he'll be in a cast for 6+ weeks, and I'll be crying as I cancel our Honeymoon cruise in Jan...I've got till November to cancel it for a full refund. I'm not doing a cruise if Loverboy won't be able to enjoy it, let alone be able to walk and scuba dive.

So that's what's going on. I'm going to see about getting a part time job this weekend to help pick up some of the slack of the bills, but we still need to get the concrete footing under the house before the end of the year, and it was a chilly 37 degrees this morning when I woke up. It's only going to get colder, I can tell you that. Anyone know of someone who clones humans? I need a few dozen to help out with my schedule...

New countdown till dum...dum...da...dummmmm....

2008-10-10T09:41:00.005-05:00

Whelp, it's booked. Loverboy and I have FINALLY figured out what were doing to get hitched, not quite what we expected, but we both are absolutely lacking in the fundage department and have decided to elope rather than having a wedding extravaganza of tulle and pearls. We're going to go to the Western Carribean in mid-Jan...just us, though my Mom was trying to persuade me to give her the details in case she "accidentally" showed up with my Dad. Yeah right, in my 30+ years of existence, my folks have NEVER gone on a cruise, let alone any vacation that didn't involve fishing, an outhouse, or Wisconsin...that's another story. Hey, we're not getting any help with this wedding, so we're doing it OUR way...you'll get to see pics at the reception.

Details...I got a 7 day cruise for under $2100 (thanks to Linds-Hairwrecker for suggesting www.vacationstogo.com) with a $50 cabin credit and a free bottle of wine. Now I'm working on airfare and hotel for a day and a half pre-boarding. As for the marriage via ships captain, well, that is kaputz...the packages that the cruise line offered with getting married in the port pre-shoving off was $1550...almost as much as the cruise. The rates go up even higher if you want to get married at sea, or let alone get married on an island where you have to do a blood test and become a citizen if you're doing the actual wedding itself.

Okay, yeah, we'll pass on that. So we're going to do it the easy way...we're going to get married in a courthouse, which is around $35 for a marriage license, and THEN go on the cruise. So yeah, the actual wedding date is not yet finalized, but it'll be around when we actually leave (maybe the morning before we fly out?). I figure we can bring our fancy clothes (um...me in a sundress, him in khakis and a white shirt?) and get pics taken on the beach and the cruise. Turn that into a slideshow, and you've got something to watch at the reception, which will be in turn planned for May. Date yet unknown, I can only do so much since we just started working on this hardcore about 5 days ago (and my we, I mean I...I just made him stare at the screen and say yes or no to where we wanted to go).

Now in the process of looking for first class seating. Not a necessity, but I'd like not to get squished on my honeymoon...plus since we're skimping on the actual ceremony itself, and I got a good deal on the actual cruise, we can splurge for comfort rather than take a flight where we're sardined together. Now Loverboy and I sardined together is one thing, being squished next to a linebacker while I've got linebacker shoulders myself is a whole other ballgame. I'm a chick, I bite, remove your appendage from the arm rest...

Well, I've been slacking off enough for now, gotta get back to work. Anyone with tips on finding good/cheap flights, please send some info my way, my brain is wracked with where we're doing the reception...

Thanks!

I've been memed....huh?

2008-10-08T08:53:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've been memed from Lindsey over at the True Tales of a Hairwrecker (and trust me, I've been there with the hair scenarios too...ask her about my "Crow" moment, and don't get me started when I looked like a firecracker). Not quite sure what a meme is, I'm new to doing anything other than spewing stuff that pisses me off or makes me laugh so hard I pee. So here goes:

Five things about yourself that are great. Maybe this is a good thing to give me some actual light to my life...
So here's my list:

1. I have a twisted/adaptive sense of humor. I can be raunchy, conservative, dry, or whatever the moment needs. I don't know how I can seem to make so many people laugh...my parents aren't funny, now when we siblings get together it's insane, so that must be where I got it from. Plus get me some drinky's and I even surprise myself. If you can't laugh at yourself, who will? I'm GREAT at laughing at myself, plus being a major klutz helps the cause even more.

2. I love trying to sound intelligent, whether I'm right is another story. I do it really well, plus I have all this useless information in my head from a)watching the Discovery Channel...the animal and medical shows, b)I surf the net WAY too much, c)I actually like reading, not only fiction, but nonfiction too...comes in handy with dead or dying conversation. Who else can stop the silence from talking about gardens, honeybees losing their stinger when they sting you, don't wear shiny jewelry when you're swiming in the ocean since they can be mistaken for fish scales by predatory fish, or how Dubai is making their own islands to look like the globe? Or just start telling dirty jokes, that ALWAYS gets people going, no matter what age.

3. I LOVE being in the kitchen! And I think I'm a pretty darned good cook! Mind you I like baking and making sweets more, but still, when I cook, no one in my house will go hungry...and they get to bring home leftovers! I miss working at Al's Cafe (Linds, I can't find that honey mustard chicken at Sam's Club anymore, sob). I'd love to work again in a little diner or get my own catering gig going.

4. I'm thrilled that I chose to go back to school, finally, to pursue nursing! I'm already a certified CNA, now I just need to get a job doing that in one of the local hospitals (still dealing with insurance with the therapy, so nothing's going on till that and the doc visits are done so I can leave this Godforsaken job in the city). I was thinking about branching off and taking some classes to become a physical therapist (especially since I've had so much first hand experience in my life) and it'd be nice to have to do on the side to make extra money. I actually want to work in a medical facility rather than the spa setting, I really enjoy seeing some of the other patients around me getting better with the therapy, plus there's going to be SO many physical therapy jobs coming in the near future due to the nursing shortage. The more you learn, the better off you are to be that much more diversified (oh...I used a $5 word!!!).

5. Linds said she's creative, I can't touch that with a 10 foot pole, but I like to be creative in my own way. From making lavendar eye pillows (others seem to like them too, I've got a 16 pillow order coming in from a woman who ordered some other ones last year), to crocheting scarves and afghans, to making jewelry, to seeing something and making something else out of it (turning plates and bowls into bird feeders and water dishes), making paper, drying flowers and herbs, etc. I'm also very good at gift giving, and finding fart or poop cards for my family (a tradition I started about 7 years ago...EVERYONE now gives fart cards at the holidays, doesn't matter who it is, they try to find that extra special card that lets you know how they feel). I'd like to get back into ceramics (Linds, I still have that small green jar you made, I use it everyday), and I'd love to learn how to make stained glass or work with metal and solder (actually, Loverboy taught me to solder copper piping for the plumbing on the house last year...it's a start).

Wow, I actually feel a bit better after reading what I wrote. It's about time I'm not verbally barfing on this page. Maybe it'll be a change from now on? As for tagging others, I don't think I know enough of you on here to actually pick others to do this. If you do, I'd love to see what you put down, so feel free to put a comment to check out your meme.

All about stuff...

2008-09-29T11:30:00.005-05:00

So it's Sept 29th...first day back at work! Whoo-hoo!

I feel like frackin shooting myself!

Ah, the joys of not only being off work for 6 weeks, but not being able to lift my arms over my head. Sure the shoulder is better, but tell me how much is sucks to have to prop up your arm with your OTHER arm in order to dispense deodorant? Yeah, welcome to my life...

Other than that, things are surprisingly well. We've shoved as much crap as humanly possible into Loverboy's father's garage and STILL need to get a storage space down the street for the couches and stuff. Stuff, what the hell is stuff. We have to much of it, we don't need it, it takes up space, when we clean stuff out, what do we do? Fill it with more stuff!!!

This brings me to one of my idols, George Carlin. He knew stuff best, and here's his thoughts on the almighty "stuff"...

Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That's all, a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!

Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else's house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else's stuff is all over the goddamn place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven't used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven't moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there's usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there's NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else's shit is on the dresser.

Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff? God! And you say, "Get that shit offa there and let me put my stuff down!"

Sometimes you leave your house to go on vacation. And you gotta take some of your stuff with you. Gotta take about two big suitcases full of stuff, when you go on vacation. You gotta take a smaller version of your house. It's the second version of your stuff. And you're gonna fly all the way to Honolulu. Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean to Honolulu. You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu and you open up your suitcase and you put away all your stuff. "Here's a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff--you put your stuff there, I'll put some stuff--here's another place for stuff, look at this, I'll put some stuff here..." And even though you're far away from home, you start to get used to it, you start to feel okay, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you. That's when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, "Hey, why don'tchya come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here."

Oh, no! Now what do I pack? Right, you've gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The third version of your house. Just enough stuff to take to Maui for a coupla days. You get over to Maui--I mean you're really getting extended now, when you think about it. You got stuff ALL the way back on the mainland, you got stuff on another island, you got stuff on this island. I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain. You get over to your friend's house on Maui and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to his windowsill or something. You put some of your stuff up there. You put your stuff up there. You got your Visine, you got your nail clippers, and you put everything up. It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, "All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay." That's when your friend says, "Aaaaay, I think tonight we'll go over the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine and maybe stay over."

Aww, no. NOW what do you pack? Right--you gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The fourth version of your house. Only the stuff you know you're gonna need. Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, smokes, rubber and change. Well, only the stuff you HOPE you're gonna need.

Oh George, how we miss you. That's f-in classic right there...sob.

Nightclub . . . Church?

2008-08-22T15:02:00.001-05:00

I dunno if it's because my brain is not as functional or stressed as normal, but I found this extremely hilarious...enough to pass it on to others!

See how Platex shows women how to put on a bra...

Back from the dread...

2008-08-18T13:22:00.002-05:00

So forgive any random misspellings, I'm typing this one handed. Why? Cause I'm a tard and feel like I'm missing from civilization.

First, the wedding went well. Since I had stopped therapy and using the stretch bands after doc #3 told me I shouldn't have been doing them, I had gained a little weight. Just enough to SQUEEZE into the bridesmaid dress and feel like a stuffed sausage, pictures will come as soon as I get some, but trust me, they won't be pretty. I pray that none of the elder folk had a heart attack with the eyefull they got THAT night!!!

Moving on....

So I'm back after surgery, which was last Wednesday the 13th of August (what is up with me and 13), and turns out I started off with a scratchy throat the morning of surgery which turned into a full blown cold within 2 days afterwards. I'm sure I've been such a joy to Loverboy, and he's been so sweet...even though he has caught the hellion cold that I had. The night of surgery I sent him for original Listerine (the nasty brown medicine tasting stuff since that's the only stuff that helps with a sore throat), orange juice, and chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream...what a sweetheart!!! So now I can't hear anything, taste anything (that chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream is wasting away in the freezer!!!), my head is stuffed, but at least I can breathe today!!! I'm sure the neighbors think I'm deaf or having a fight with Loverboy since the TV volume is up so high...

But back to the surgery. I'm partially typing this one handed, part with my hand in a giant black sling that I hope to be out of within the next week or so (if I can get the docs assistant to actually call me back). I was supposed to have the surgery this week, but since the doc was going to be on vacation, we scheduled it for the week prior. No problem there, except a follow up visit is supposed to be 7-10 days post surgery to get the stitches removed and see how everything is healing up. I may have to postpone some of this message due to therapy coming up at 6pm tonight...yup, this doc is aggressive and I started therapy the day after surgery. The one thing that really bothers me, aside from the fact that I can't do anything including dressing myself decently, is that I can't put my hair back! I try to have Loverboy help, but lets say he never had a doll to practice on, and has no idea how I put my hair in a bun. It's nervewracking, even more than the tightened muscles in the upper outer bicept part of my arm. Oh well, at least it was my left instead of my dominant right arm...thanks for that!!!

Again, back to surgery...I went in at 8:30am expecting to go to surgery by 10:30ish or so. I remember nothing after I was wheeled into the surgery room and was given the anesthesia through the IV (which took them 4 times to find since I was fasting and my veins were hiding, so I told them just to use the vein in my arm that I use to donate blood...there's some nice purple going on all over my arm because of that). Loverboy kept me company as we watched ER on the room TV(I know, appropriate). After surgery, I woke up in tears as I felt like the left side of my body was being ripped off...the nurses were great and gave me lots of pain meds (which I had previously denied the block since I didn't know how much the doc would be giving me). I was out for another hour or so, then woke up back in the room. Loverboy told me that it wasn't 2 torn labrums, the doc had shown him picks that I had ripped the whole top half of my shoulder, hence I wasn't gaining any strength when I was doing therapy with the other docs. When I hurt myself, I go all out, I tell ya! 3 stitches and some cleaning on the inside, 4 holes on the outside with 2-3 stitches per incision area...exquisit job considering what they were working with.

I was in and out for another 2 hours before I asked if we could go home. Slept the entire way home, don't remember coming in the house, then woke up 2 hours later totally dehydrated. I couldn't eat or drink anything at the hospital due to nausea (again, more meds for that). Didn't try to eat anything else until 8pm with the meds: hydrocodone. I took 2, then my system did not approve of then, nor my sandwich, 2 hours later...I was in hell for the next 3 hours until I passed out (after freaking out Loverboy with my digestive pyrotechnics), until 5:30am when I was able to have some Special K with strawberries and 1, just 1, hydrocodone. Helped me pass out again until after noon. I realized later on the next night that hydrocodone does nothing to dull the pain, it just gives you a loopy feeling that makes you want to pass out rather than DEAL with the pain. I came to that conclusion after Loverboy was installing a ceiling fan (the previous one had been destroyed when we had a waterfall coming in the living room one night while in the process of fixing the roof last summer) and I had taken another one since I could not get comfortable again to relax. My head felt fuzzy, nothing had dulled the pain, but I felt detatched from the world. Loverboy said he didn't like them either, he was on them when he had his knee surgery earlier in the year.

So now it's 5 days post surgery, I'm finally getting over the cold, though I still can't hear, but I can do laundry one handed, clean out the dishwasher, and make my own sandwich. I've got therapy in a little less than 2 hours, and at least this time I'll be in decent clothing. Pre-surgery, I was told to bring a huge, stretch t-shirt to wear after surgery since I wouldn't be able to put on a shirt, much less undershirt wear. So that meant that when I went to therapy the next day, I was still in that fashion since I was told NOT to remove the arm sling/brace. The therapist was great, helped me put on a gown for therapy, and helped put the shirt on underneath the sling for going home. She's my new hero! And she helped put my hair in a ponytail!!! Definately my new hero!!!

But that's that, for now. I was able to type this mostly with both hands, but not without my fair share of spelling corrections. That's it for now, I'm glad to be able to read everyone's blogs again, how I missed being in touch with the world. Thank you to everyone who gave warm wishes and prayers to a speedy recovery, you have no idea how much those are helping me in this process. If you know me, you know I'm not the kind who likes to sit around, whether I have to or not. Movies and books are waiting, but I just can't get into it with this wonderful weather outside. Maybe I'll sit on the front porch tomorrow and read in the warm sun...doesn't seem like there will be too many more of those left according to the weather man.

Hugs, and have a wonderful day!

Countdown till I go nuts...

2008-08-06T08:44:00.003-05:00

So today is exactly a week from when I get to go under the knife (so to speak, it's endoscopic, so I'll just have some little holes rather than getting chopped up like something on the table at a BeniHana). Things are crazy as always, and I'm learning that you HAVE to specify situations and scenarios to your insurance company and the doctors office even though you never thought you did before...and try not to schedule everything at the same time cause you'll go insane, which is where I'm headed...

Hence hell #1: Even though I only went to the emergency room once when I had a car accident on 4/19/08, everything after that event NEEDS to be stated that they are not associated with the car accident. Every doc appt, every physical therapy appointment, anything doctor related...has been billed to State Farm assuming that it has relation to the car accident. Why is this being billed this way when I never told the other locations about the car accident? Because Blue Cross of Washington is retarded, and they assummed everything was related and has now billed everything under the sun to the company of the biotch who hit me in APRIL!!! I'm just learning this now, just got off the phone with a lady the other day, and I still don't understand how this can happen. One does not assume that appointments are based on one incident. Sure, it's also the left side of the body, shoulder/collarbone region, but it was never stated that anything other than the trip to the ER on the night of the accident should all be billed together. You know who get's screwed? ME!!! I get to call ALL the places who sent bills to State Farm and send them a written letter stating that my appointment on such and such date, such and such time, was NOT attributed to the car accident from 4/19/08, and that until you submit that document to the appropriate parties, you will not get paid from insurance because they are life sucking assholes and don't know how to bill things correctly. I've got 8 places to call, and I can't even begin to state how much this sucks.

Hellish moment #2: I'm standing up in a wedding for a friend, and Loverboy is the best man. The dress is gorgeous, I'm not. I have to SQUEEZE to get into this dress since my shoulder has progressively been getting worse and I can no longer work out to the status that I was previously when I purchased the dress. Can I get a larger dress? Nope, wedding is Friday evening. I've discussed this with the Maid of Honor (she calls herself the Bitch of Honor) that I will need help with gauze and duct tape...which I believe she was going to use as well since bra's don't seem to go with this dress...and neither do I for the moment, but that'll change. I've got what seems like extra boobs of skin beneath my armpits that are preventing the dress from closing...oh well, a million and one uses, ya know? Oh, and I have to fix the clasp above the zipper because when Loverboy was helping me put it on, he decided to clasp it first before having an all out brawl trying to close it...needless to say when he got tired, the zipper won, and then the clasp flew across the room...I think it hit Goofy cause he took off running into the other room.

Hell #3: I've only got 3 more full days of work after today, and when I say full, it's a 10+ hour day full. The past 2 days I've worked 10+ hours to play catch up since I was on vacation at the beginning of July for a week (ah, I miss that...), and no one felt the need to, oh, work on things needed to be done rather than pawn them off on my desk? Plus, being in research, you have monitors come in to check on things with the studies and make sure everything is going as planned. Well, I've got one monitor here today, and one coming on Tuesday of next week...and I'm swamped as it is!!! Plus tomorrow I can't stay late since I've got the rehearsal dinner for Friday's wedding tomorrow night at 6pm!!!

Hell #4: I've still got to get my short term disability forms filled out so I can get paid when I'm off...otherwise 6 weeks of no pay is 6 months of me eating Ramen noodles to keep up with the bills. I'd use vacation, but I've only got a week and a half worth of vacation, a couple days of sick time, and a personal day. Do I really wanna use all that time and then come back with nothing? I've been here 7 years, they can put me on short term disability with no problem.

Hell #5: I need to start looking for a lawyer to see if I've actually got a case of medical malpractice, since it seems that my shoulder has gotten worse, and it's probably due to the physical therapy and/or the cortisone shots that I wasn't supposed to have, and due to the lack of getting me to surgery before things did get progressively worse.

Hell #6: This is my hell of the day, so far. I have a patient who came in late and I'm only scheduled to see her for an hour and a half until I have another patient coming in. Said patient called telling me her life story of dealing with crabby bus drivers, how she ended up by Navy Pier, and that she'd be a "little" late...yeah lady, I've only got another 1/2 hour scheduled for you since you can't seem to make it on time even when you had to reschedule from the day before because you couldn't seem to get downtown...I should just tell her to go home. I'm going to go grab her from the lobby because some patients KNOW how to come in when they're supposed to. The lady ended up shifting my whole day, and now I'm going to have to stay late again...ARG!!! And DON'T tell me about your sexual disfunctions, that's NOT in the paperwork.

Hell #7: It's already 2:15pm, I haven't had anything to eat due to running around like a Banshee in heat. This is the first time I've been stable for more than 5 minutes without having someone page me on the overhead, or an email that I need to promptly respond to. My belly is scorning me for forgetting the banana that is sitting on the counter...but then again maybe it'll be good enough to fit into that dress on Friday...one can only hope.

Hell #8: Apparently it wasn't until late last night after I took a shower that the toilet took a shit...literally. The toilet is busted...again...but this time instead of having to jimmy it to work, it will have to be replaced completely. Just what Loverboy wanted to do the day he has to get his Tux fitted...yes, I said Tux. Nice change from just doing suits as previously decided by the groom...

Hell #9: This weather is nasty hot, and if you know Chicago, the weather can be thick enough to swim in. So while we don't have air conditioning in the house, when I have the surgery, I'll have to be propped up so I don't roll over on my shoulder...which means I'll have to sleep in the living room on the couch. This means I'll be subjected to the cats, sounds of hairballs and other upchucking on the carpet, scampering to find the house mice (which I'm ready to go on a rampage since I saw turds on the stove again last night), and the stickyness that has come to be in the house while Loverboy sleeps in the bed where he finally built a bedframe and added a window so he could put in an air conditioner. Yup, I will not have the luxury of comforted slumber.

So there's the latest. At least I was able to thwart another doc bill by telling them that it wasn't submitted to the insurance, so I wait until they clarify that...but at least I don't have to clarify that for them, unlike the insurance company (I'm going to call and talk to a Manager...it should never have been submitted that way, and it's not my fault so they should have to fix it).

ARG, I need a drink...this wedding just can't get here soon enough!!! Why do things always go to crap all at the same time? I need a sammich...my stomach is going to start eating itself. I can just hear my stomach saying "Helllloooooo" like from that Seinfeld episode of the girlfriend with the talking stomach.

2008-07-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

Take'>http://www.magatsu.net/maritaltest/">Take the test!

I am so not a 1930's wife, then again, I don't think I know anyone that would be...

2008-07-19T10:55:00.003-05:00

If you haven't hear or seen the internet sensation from the Whedon brothers (makers of Buffy and Serenity), then you're in for a treat with Dr. Horrible!!! I read about this in the Chicago RedEye and HAD to check it out last night. I was laughing my butt off!!!

Here's some info:
During the WGA strike Joss Whedon started writing a three part musical series for the internet. Each of the three episodes will be approximately ten minutes each.
Co-writers for the internet feature are Joss’ brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s Fiancé Maurissa Tancharoen . The writing and shooting have been completed and the series is now in post-production.
“It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.” says Whedon.
“Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will star Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny and a cast of dozens.”
——————

So check this out ASAP. Superheroes? Villans? Singing blog? It's great! This won't be around long, and I was laughing my butt off...you'll see why if you check this out...

http://www.drhorrible.com/

2008-07-17T21:39:00.002-05:00

I was looking around at Redneck humor, and came across this fine example of our nations "special" people!

Enjoy!

You are a Redneck if: You take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree.
You can entertain yourself for more than an hour with a flyswatter.
Your property has been mistaken for a recycling center.
Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years.
You burn your yard rather than mow it.
You think the Nutcracker is something you did off the high dive.
The Salvation Army declines your mattress.
Your entire family sat around waiting for a call from the governor to spare a loved one.
You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don't want it.
You have the local taxidermist on speed dial.
You come back from the dump with more than you took.
The trunk of your car is tied down and you're not hauling anything.
You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table.
Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat.
Your grandmother has "Ammo" on her Christmas list.
You've been kicked out of the zoo for heckling the monkeys.
You think a subdivision is part of a math problem.
You've bathed with flea and tick soap.
You've been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog.
Your kids take a siphon hose to show and tell.
You think a hot tub is a stolen indoor plumbing fixture.
You took a fishing pole to Sea World.
You go to the stock car races and don't need a program.
You know how many bales of hay your car will hold.
You have a rag for a gas cap.
You've hit on somebody in a VD clinic.
Your father executes the "Pull my finger" trick during Christmas dinner.
You had romantic thoughts when you heard sheep bleat.
Your house doesn't have curtains but your truck does.
You wonder how service stations keep their restrooms so clean.
You can spit without opening your mouth.
You consider your license plate personalized because your father made it.
You think Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.
Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand.
You sit on your roof at Christmas time hoping to fill your deer quota.
And finally.... your richest relative buys a new house and calls you up to help him take the wheels off.

Hope you feel a little smarter after that...but hope it didn't give you some ideas for future use.

Lushy drunk and text messages...

2008-07-16T13:06:00.005-05:00

Oh how I miss being on vacation with the group Loverboy and I were with last week, they are just a BUNDLE of laughs!!! One thing that sticks in my mind, and makes me giggle uncontrollably, was the way we'd talk in "text" code when the kids were around (not mine, I am without, but everyone else brought their whelps on vacation too). If it's one thing that chaps my hyde, it's how people feel the need to text rather than actually calling someone on the phone!!! Some were the standard WTF, and OMG...we'd literally spell it out, like Oh...Emm...Gee, when the kids were around, just to be retarded since most of them had brought their phones and were texting their friends while sitting around the campfire, or around a table full of jello shots like we lushes. Here are some of the NEW and IMPROVED text abbrevs that we came up with while heavily liquored up...

GBG...Go Blow Goats (I have no idea where that one came from, but it was the most popular one of the week)

FK...Fudge Knuckle (another one I'm oblivious about)

GAMF...Gay Ass Mother F@cker (yeah, at least we were saying the letters more than the phrases)

KMA...Kiss My Ass (not original, but it was funny saying it around the kids)

GFAG...Go F@ck a Goat (I dunno what was up with goats that week)

IDK...I Don't Know

BOB...was used as Bring Own Beer (rather than BYOB...we were too lazy to use the extra Y), Battery Operated Boyfriend, or Back Off B!tch...no matter how it was used, no one knew which one you were talking about...

There were others, but I was too sauced to remember the rest. Next year we're bringing up a recorder and taping our twisted conversations so we'll actually know what we were talking about...some of the 2am conversations were classic.

Speaking of lushes, we were at a lake called Eagle Lake in Michigan and they're known for something called the Gwangee monster. Don't ask me, but they had t-shirts with an image of the monster and that saying. Sometime during the week, someone talked about making up a t-shirt, but with a different theme than a lake monster. And so the "Eagle Lake Liquor Pig's" were born. Once we get a design, I'll be sure to post a pic, but that's what we ended up calling each other all week, the Liquor Pigs. We'll also have that person's nickname on the front of the shirt once we get a design...for example, I'm Queen Pyro due to my obsession with fire, Gina is the Jello Goddess, Steve is GBG (hence he's the one that started that "text" that took over for the week), Loverboy is The Brain (since he knows how to fix everything)...etc. Not that we didn't live up to our names, jello shots (multiple) almost every night by our friend Gina, bottles of Hurricaine mix(yummy!!!) and Grand Marnier (I have Loverboy trained), Rum, Vodka and orange juice, you name it!!! Man, I need 2 weeks up there next time!!!

So remember those text abbreviations next time you feel the urge to text someone, maybe it'll start a new trend?

Back to the grind...

2008-07-16T08:10:00.003-05:00

So last week I was off...yup, first vacation in 2 years!!! Man, how I miss not doing ANYTHING productive. Loverboy and I had gone up to Eagle Lake in Michigan, about 3 hours away, with some friends. All we did all week was jet-ski, boat, tube, fish, relax...and eat! OMG, I came home and realized that a week of eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, smores around the campfire, and anything someone put something in front of the table, I had gained 7 pounds. 7 pounds in one week of hot dogs, brats and burgers!!! Wow, no wonder the bridesmaid dress I tried on was a little hard to close in the back!!! But that gives me 3 weeks to loose that, and then some (not that I plan on loosing more than 7 pounds, it would be nice, but as long as I can get rid of the stuff I gained last week, I'll be thrilled!!!) Even since Saturday when we came home, I've lost 2 pounds...that's 2 pounds in 3 days of not eating constant crap!!! That means no more Mountain Dew, more water, more working out on the XL Glider (I was on that for an hour last night, and I feel sore but wonderful today), and taking the dogs out for pre-surgery walks to actually get a little more fit prior to being stuck on my keister for about 6 weeks.

Speaking of health, found out that Loverboy's Aunt was having chest pains and shortness of breath about a week ago, while we were in Michigan. Turns out she had some blockage and they ended up performing quadruple bypass surgery last night. She's doing great, and we're going to go see her tonight. Loverboy and I were talking and I was asking about his family medical history. He also had an Uncle who's had 4 open heart surgeries, and he doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, eats right, exercises everyday, and still has health issues!!! His Dad? Doesn't go to the hospital. So now this has us both spooked, and that we both need to start eating better and laying off, if not completely getting rid of, the mountains of Mountain Dew we drink a week. I told him to go for a physical, he's in his 30's now and should at least see if there's anything we need to be aware of at the moment (like we need anything else to worry about). I already know if I go to the docs they're going to say I'm overweight (no shit Sherlock), I've got high blood pressure (do you SEE what my life is like?), high cholesterol (which I'm going to try to change that real quick, but then again ALSO found out it runs in my Dad's side of the family), and my stress level is extremely high (again, no shit). Actually, I'll get to find out all that info within the next couple of weeks, I've got to get a physical before the surgery...

Which brings me to the surgery. Apparently August 20th was a bad date for the doc, he was going to be out of town. Then either schedule it earlier, or later...I chose earlier. So now the surgery is going to be August 13th (lucky 13 baby!!!) and August 8th at 8:30am I'm going to have the schpeal on what is going to take place and when I need to start fasting, etc. Thing is, August 8th is also the date of my friends wedding...but thank goodness we're not meeting till after noon (it's a 7:30pm wedding). You can't get any closer than that!!! So I'm not watching any movies or reading any books till after the surgery, I already know that I'm going to be going crazy, I can't sit still more than a couple hours at a time, and if I'm in front of the computer, I'll be hen pecking all day!

But as always, there's been a lot more stuff going on, and I'm still waiting for the silver lining to show her face. The Friday before we went on vacation, I received a letter that I had received a scholarship for the 2008-2009 nursing program semesters. Yup, it would've all been paid for, except I think for books and uniform (which the uniform and supplies themselves cost over $180, hadn't gotten the books yet). I dropped from my classes last night and decided that I was going to take the next 2 semesters off so I could just work, pay off bills, plan the wedding, and get my health back. I have to resubmit a letter of intent to try to get back in the program for the 2009 fall season (the program only starts in the fall so all the students start together for that year). They don't hold seats, and apparently I knew a lot of others that DIDN'T make the program...so I was extremely lucky to actually make it. Also, got a call yesterday from a girl who was in my Microbiology class during the spring semester. She's a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) over at the hospital 15 minutes from my house that I was looking to get a job at while in school during the nursing program. Apparently her boss is hiring, so she called me to see if I was interested. Double ARG!!! I told her what was going on, and that if they were hiring again in the spring, I'd be all set. 6 weeks in a sling and 4 months of physical therapy is basically putting a lot of things on hold for the next 6 months.

So in the last 3 months I've: a)made it into the nursing program, b)found out I needed shoulder surgery, so I needed to drop out of the nursing program, c)I need to reapply for the nursing program for the fall of 2009, d)I lost a job opportunity because I'm going to have surgery in a couple of weeks, e)I need to get a full physical before the surgery on August 13th, f)I'm standing up in a wedding on August 8th, g)I have a wedding to plan (and it may be sooner than later the way that Loverboy keeps picking dates), h)I'm having surgery on August 13th and I'll be immobile for 6 weeks...and I'm ending at h because if I write anymore, I'm going to freak myself out. Notice that I haven't said anything about the garden or the house? That's because that's going to come at a later date. Hopefully the tomatoes won't go bad by the beginning of September, I've already got a lot of Basil and Oregano, and the Hungarian hot wax peppers are going nuts! I've already got my first full grown cucumber (yum!), I've got beans that are flowering, and I've already had enough raspberries to put on top on some cereal! The lettuce is doing well, never thought I could get that going in a hanging container, and the marigolds are going crazy!!! As for the house, Loverboy has the beams for the wall and the ceiling, but isn't starting another project until the Oldsmobile is driveable once again.

So once again, me complaining again. It was so nice last week doing nothing but relaxing...except for the gaining 7 pounds deal. But again, I've got 6 weeks of rest and relaxation, but it won't seem like that because I won't be able to do anything but sit there (I'll be tearing my hair out within a couple of days!!!)

Well, that's my deal for the day. It's almost 9am, and I've got patients coming in, phone calls to make, and a desk full of papers that I need to get organized. Till next time...

Can't I get a break?

2008-06-27T09:43:00.007-05:00

I want to cry. I mean REALLY cry. More than I was last night...

So yesterday was my insane day of doing everything under the sun and then some. The only thing I didn't get to was going to the recycling center to drop off the mountain of recyclable stuff that's been infesting the front closet. I went for lunch with my friend Bobo, then went to my doc appt., stopped off at my folks house to drop off some Disney pictures for the kids, went to the wake (and yes, Linds, it was S's Dad), and actually made a pit stop off at a friends house because she couldn't give her cat an injection. Miss K has a kitty who's 16 years old and is suffering from kidney failure, so they give her an injection with fluid so she doesn't dehydrate. Well, Miss K and her future sis in law, Miss A, tried giving kitty the injection. Kitty meowed really loud, instinct made Miss K take out needle. They tried again, couldn't do it. Miss A called me asking if I could come over and help, not sure why since I'd never dealt giving others needles before, but maybe it's because I'm going into the nursing field? So went over, helped out, all was okay. Now normally Miss K doesn't do this, but her parents (owners of kitty) are in some fabulous island adventure going to a niece's wedding, and Miss K was in charge of kitty duty. I don't know what I'd have done if I wasn't able to go over there and help and kitty apparently had some problems before Miss K's parents came home on Sunday. I'm going over again on Sat morning for another liquid injection for kitty.

So speaking of medical field, here's what this doctor did without an MRI, but LOOKING at the previous MRI from doctor #2, and doing stretches on both shoulders to compare and see what was going on. Verdict? I've got 2 torn labrums in my left shoulder. Yup! I'm not nuts like the other 2 docs though. This one told me that a) I shouldn't have been sent to therapy since it wasn't shoulder impingement (weakness) like both previous doctors had diagnosed and it could be aggravating the shoulder, b) I should never have been given cortisone shots, and yes, I had 2 in a 6 month time period, c) an open MRI is basic crap, you can't tell anything since there's light that can interfere in the actual interpretation of the data, and d) I'm going to need surgery to repair the 2 tears, be in a sling for 6 weeks, and have physical therapy up to 4 months, and no driving during the 6 weeks (yeah, well, I wasn't supposed to be driving with a cast on my foot when I broke it during the Turkey Bowl of 2003, but that didn't stop me either).

So that means that I need surgery. Yup, fun fun, but at least I'll be out of work for 6 weeks (and bring on the short term disability!!!). Sucky thing is...no nursing program this year. ARGGGGG!!!! OMG, I cried so much last night, I thought Loverboy would have to build a dam in the kitchen to keep me from flooding out the house. This means that I won't be eligible until next August for the nursing program, and I'm not necesarily guaranteed to be in the program. Plus I've paid for all the classes, the nursing fees, got my uniform, paid for my background check, fought tooth and nail to be accepted, and now I can't do it. What gets me even more was if doc #1 had caught this, I'd be done with physical therapy by now and ready to go (the spring semester was just Microbiology, I wasn't doing clinicals, and didn't need to lift stuff!). How do these doctors get paid so much when they treat patients like a fast food drive through?
"I'll take a double labrum tear with a side of fries and cortisone shot, no ketchup please."
How is one supposed to react to that? I kick myself that I didn't go to the 3rd doctor first! And they're ALL orthopaedic doctors, they were all found based off referrals, and I'm paying them for what, to shoo me out of their office saying that I'm fine, just do some exercises, get an injection, and we'll see you in a couple of months? So I've got 2 docs that I paid for crap. Aren't you supposed to get a reimbursement if they do a shoddy job? Like if you go to McD's and get a chicken wing that's got feathers in it, you can either get your money back, or another back that doesn't have feathers (this actually happened to me...and the second set had pinfeathers too...I never ordered the wings again). That just gets me started even more...must...calm...rage...

Other things I can't do...quit my job. Bring on the Pain (in the words of my girl Linds). I wanted to be done with this place prior to my friends wedding...now looks like I'll be here through Thanksgiving. At least I'll be gaining vacation time, 401K, and holiday pay. Hopefully I can get the surgery done right after the wedding, and still make it by taking another class to gain more points for school for the program. Sometime within the next year I do have to get a job as a CNA or else I'll loose my place on the state registry, which I'm not taking the CNA class again if I don't have too (more money, more punching myself in the head for not keeping up with things).

So here's what's going on within the next couple of days, whether this all goes through or not.
1. drop off all stuff at recycle place
2. burn all the rest of the wood from the back deck (whoo-hoo, my passion)
3. tend to said garden (and take updated pics)
4. clean out the fridge...somethings smelling gamey and I plan to find out what it is
5. clean the kitchen counters/stove/table/etc...
6. cry
7. dishes
8. clean off computer desk so it's actually functional (I bought some containers to hold some things, but they became overstocked with crap)
9. I've called Prairie State about having to drop from the program, now I need to see if I can find a class to replace it with this coming semester, and see how much I'm going to be out by not being able to be in it ($100 deposit for program, and background $40 check)
10. cry some more
11. try to make some stuff to sell on etsy for my operation (whoo hoo, that's going to be pricey)
12. laundry
13. exercise on the XL glider until I pass out
14. see how the bridesmaid dress fits (if I need a bigger size, I'm doing 2 water days a week until the wedding, about 5 weeks away)
15. have to plan a bachelorette party for the bride with the bitch of honor (her words, not mine)
16. take more stuff to the thrift store/post on Freecycle
17. cry again, check to see if dam has ruptured
18. call nursing program friends and say that I won't be in class with them this fall
19. mow and weedwack the yard
20. put up more birdfeeders and shepherd hooks (watch for dive bombing hummingbirds)
21. get stuff out of living room (couches, TV, etc) so Loverboy and grunt buddies can start ripping out the living room ceiling
22. bills
23. de-cobwebbing the house (this usually just needs to be done on a monthly basis...usually)
24. clean out the Blazer...it's smelling like mold, I don't know why
25. ask Loverboy why Blazer smells like mold
26. cry a little bit more
27. make lists of everything needed for vacation in less than 2 weeks (first vacation in 2 years)
28. I have no idea where sleep is going to fit in all this
29. brush the diva because the house is starting to look like a barber shop gone wild
30. I have no idea what to put in here...I just wanted everything to come out on an even number

So that's on the agenda at the moment. I think grocery shopping is ok, so that's one less thing I have to worry about. This is what I get to get done within the next 4 days (Friday through Monday), then next week will be a whole other ballgame. I'm going to hide in my office and hope no one needs help today...I've got enough to worry about.

What a day...

2008-06-25T10:44:00.003-05:00

Well, it's only 10:30am, and it's already become "One of those days".

I woke up at 5am to the "brown eye" once again (it's becoming a habit this week) since his food bowl was empty and he felt the need to wake me up to let me know.

I stepped on one of the retards digestive pyrotechnical hairballs on my way to get my clothes from the front closet. No socks. Ewwww!!!!

Got into work and found out that an important meeting is being postponned till Friday at 1:30pm...eh, that's not so much a bad thing, that gives me extra time to review all the paperwork a little more (or should I say at all...I've been slacking since it hasn't been finalized).

Just found out that a friend's (actually my ex) father died and I never received the email! There were actually 2 emails sent from him to a group of us, one saying he found out his Dad had throat cancer about 6 weeks ago and would be starting chemo last Friday, and the second to say that he had passed away on Monday night. The wake is tomorrow night, so at least I was able to find out about it before then. Just got off the phone with him and talked, it's been a while since we've talked (I think my birthday when everyone was buying me Long Islands and wine coolers, not a good mix). It was nice, and I hadn't realized some things that I hadn't known before. It sad to say, but this is a serious wake up call for him to quit smoking, and he's going to get his fiance to quit too which is even better. Now if I can just get Loverboy to quit...

Speaking of...here's the update on the no smoking, minus the 5 times I cheated due to stress:

My Stats: Your Quit Date is: 1/9/2008
Time Smoke-Free: 168 days, 12 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 4213
Lifetime Saved: 1 month, 2 days, 4 hours
Money Saved: $1,176.00
thanks to http://www.quitnet.net/

Whoo-hoo!!! No WONDER I can pay my bills again!!! Last time I cheated was back in April when I was in the car accident. I definately feel better, I can smell better, my clothes doesn't smell (unless Loverboy is around me when I'm folding laundry), and I've gained an extra month of life from this! I'm sending that link to the ex. Maybe it'll give him some extra perspective. I also told him about Chantix, and about this quit smoking book Bobo had me read...well, partially read. I only got into about 4 chapters before I couldn't do it anymore.

Tomorrow I've got a doc appt with a NEW doc to look at my shoulder. If this guy doesn't know what's wrong, then I'm going to wait until my shoulder falls off until I go to another doc. At least I got to take the day off of work since the doc is all the way out by my folks (about an hour away). Bonus is that I get to have lunch with my Bobo (oh how I miss being so far from him and the boys)!!!

So it turned out to be an ice cream for breakfast morning. On the way to work, I KNEW there was somthing about today, I picked up some orange juice, a chocolate muffin for a snack later on, and a Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream bar...cherry ice cream with sweet, dark cherries AND a dark chocolate coating...yup, definately an ice cream for breakfast day. I'm glad I'm an adult and can do this, my Mom would NEVER have allowed us to just eat ice cream for breakfast (now waffles with ice cream is a totally different scenario). So here's what actually took place AFTER getting my tasty treat...

So now it's off to finish up the mound of paperwork on my desk, wait for the 30 page fax of stuff that needs to be answered, phone calls (or rather leaving messages...), faxing over documentation and try to get this one guy to give me his doctor's name and number so I can get surgery details. When I get out of here, I get to go home to drop off a funnel cake kit to a lady from Freecycle (this woman seems weird...she can't come by to pick it up because I think they have one car, and when I ask for directions to her house, her husband needs to give me directions cause she doesn't know how to get to her own house from the K-Mart down the street) before taking the pups back to the vet for their booster shots...and THEN I get to go over the paperwork that I was supposed to review last night, but I've got tomorrow to do that too...tee hee. MAN, I'm such a slacker....

What else...OH, I wanna work on some stuff for ETSY (http://www.etsy.com/, you can check out my barren shop at http://www.abyiss13.etsy.com/ ) , weed the garden, get all the recycle stuff ready to dump off tomorrow morning so I don't have to wake up early on Saturday (oh, sweetness of sleep), get some stuff packed to take to my Mom's tomorrow after the doc's appt and before the wake...haha...but tonight I get to BURN stuff!!!

Yes, I'm a mighty pyro that may do more harm than good. I've almost (well, multiple times almost) lit a gas can on fire by pouring gas into a "not starting so good" fire...imagine someone running and shaking the tip of a gas can that's got a train of fire from the fire barrel to the gas can...priceless I can tell ya. Since we're tearing up the back deck, rather than buying a dumpster and putting TONS of wood (okay, maybe not TONS, but a lot) of wood into a landfill, we burn it, then just throw out the ashes and nails. Easy peasy, not even a 10th of what would have gone in the local landfill. And I get my kicks for burnin stuff...except for the fact that I smell like a bonfire the next morning when I go to work, no matter how much I scrub in the shower.

Hairballs, morning "brown eye", ice cream, paperwork galore, death, doc appts...I think I've covered more than enough bases for one day. Time for a nap!!!

Newest addition!!!

2008-06-24T20:26:00.016-05:00

So, you've met the moose, the diva, the freaky cat we call Goofy, now here's the newest addition to our family!!! Meet Mr. Max (not my choice of names, but we just call him Max).

The fluffiest, fire tipped Siamese I've ever met (and the only fire tipped Siamese I've ever met). He looks big, but he's all fur. He weighs something like 7 pounds, as opposed to fat ass who's 16 (and fat ass being the other cat in the house). Actually we don't really call him Max, we call him retard. He's a great cat, laid back, head butts you for attention, begs with the dogs...but he'll be sleeping on the couch, then fall off backwards. He rubs up against the dogs then runs away. He licks the carpet, then wonders why he throws up hair balls all the time (and they're not pretty). He and Goofy get in an all out brawl, Goofy will pin him on his back, lick him in the head, and run as if to say "You've been beaten, yon retard, now feel the wrath of my kitty lick". Cracks me up every time. He pretty much sleeps most of the time, and you can't hear him purring, but you can feel it. He's got a meow that sounds like he's got emphysema...it's a light partial meow, another of the many things that cracks me up about this cat.

Now Max was actually my Loverboy's Mom's cat, but she couldn't bring him with her when she moved, so I suggested that he stay with us since he got along well with the demon cat (Goofy) last time she stayed with us. Loverboy added that if we were going to claim him, get him declawed and get his shots, he was going to become ours and that she could visit, but he was staying put. I thought it was a great idea, now the pups are teamed up against the cats...and I think the felines have the upper hand.

If you forgot who Goofy was, he got out today when Loverboy, aka Bob Villa, was trying to figure out what was going to happen with the deck that we're ripping apart from the back of the house.

And here's freak boy himself, trying to make a run for it after eating grass like it was going out of style. This is where I get the brown eye in the morning...disgusting little cretin.

So I had some fun with these two after stopping off at the local supermarket club (Sam's Club) and picked up some giant cans of tuna to make a tuna casserole. It's just so much easier to open one big can and find out what you're going to do with the rest rather than opening 5 or 6 cans just for one meal. That's just plain wasteful, and a pain in the keister to drain all that tuna (yup, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm a bit lazy). I put the can on the floor to see if Max and Goofy would go for it, and got the most hilarious pics!

Goofy looks like his head is getting swallow up by this huge can!!! If you look at Goofy's face in the third pic, it looks like he's yelling at Max to hurry up, it's HIS turn. Ah....brotherly love, and it's all for a can of tuna greater than the size of their heads.

And finally, Goofy letting us know that this was delish with his little pink tongue working it's magic. I'd love to find a can of tuna the size of my head.

Better yet, a bottle of sangria twice the size of my head...I'd dig that!

Laugh of the day

2008-06-19T13:19:00.001-05:00

The pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers.

A lady stood and walked to the podium.

She said, 'I have praise. Two months ago, my husband, Jim, had a terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if they could help him' you could hear an audible gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagined the pain that poor Jim experienced.

She continued, 'Jim was unable to hold me or the children and every move caused him terrible pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation. They were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Jim's scrotum and wrap wire around it to hold it in.' Again, the men in the congregation squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Jim.

She continued, 'Now, Jim is out of the hospital and the doctors say, with time, his scrotum should recover completely.' All the men sighed with relief.

The pastor rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had anything to say.

A man rose and walked to the podium. He said, 'I'm Jim and I just want to tell my wife, the word is "sternum."

2008-06-19T12:08:00.004-05:00

I am such a fan of ThermaCare heat wraps, and NOT a fan of deviled eggs made by our local grocery store chain, Jewel. I don't think vinegar belongs in eggs!!! EWWW, I seriously almost upchucked after one bite!!!

But enough about the devilish eggs, ThermaCare heat wraps, how you are the only thing keeping me at work today! How you warm my shoulders to the point where I don't feel like my back has become another entity, the hardness or consistency of The Thing from the Fantastic Four (though my feet feel that way right now...where's my PedEgg..sorry, TMI) Another thing to be thankful for, the PedEgg...now back to the ThermaCare...why must my thoughts ramble just as much if not more than my mouth?

I have had this problem for as long as humanly possible. I'll start off talking about something, for example, then change the conversation on a dime to something, such as jockey shorts, and end up discussing muffin tops. No actual direction of conversation, it's almost like I feel the need to spew everything that's on my mind in the matter of conversation for fear that I won't be able to speak tomorrow. Well, my writing is just as bad!

But again, back to ThermaCare (I'm trying to be better here, bare with me). The best product ever created! What do you suppose is in this product to help keep it warm for up to 8 hours? I dunno, but it's money baby! My back has been mucho messed up the past couple of days, to the point where it hurts to move, hurts to lie down, hurts to do dishes and laundry (I'm serious!)...and a massage from my lovely friend Ang did the trick...for that day. I'm guessing it has to do with the nerves in my neck again being pressed on my neck bones...yup, looks like I'll be going back to the chiropractor real soon (and I've gone almost a year without going to him except to pick up a new jar of China Gel...Ben-Gay is crap compared to that stuff). So I sit here, content at the moment, writing to you of this lovely item. I should buy stock, looks like I'll be using this stuff for a while, or at least until I can get to the chiro...a girl can only hope...

Now moving on to the PedEgg. Again, a wonderful product! Bought it on a whim (and a Bed Bath and Beyond giftcard while out doing bridal gift shopping) and used it that night while watching "The Last of the Mohicans". Mind you, NOTHING can tear my eyes away from how saucy Hawkeye (Daniel Day Lewis), or yummy Uncas...but I was using this, and seriously was amazed at how well it worked! Now my feet are like leather, I hate shoes and will walk barefoot anywhere I can, but after using this, and rewinding the movie, I loved how my feet felt after that! Thank you PedEgg for an awesome product! If you've got feet, then this is the product for you (if you don't, I appologize for my insensitivity and just scroll down).

So two items that are plus in my book. Just thought I'd share, and it became another rambling post of total crap. Oh well, whatcha gonna do...

why women are single

2008-06-14T22:43:00.001-05:00

So I've been running around like a mad woman all day and come home to 45 emails. Most of them of crap, but still, I felt email love today. I got this from my future Mother in law, who has a sense of humor almost as twisted as mine.

So this is a video on why women are single, and after seeing this, who would blame us? Make sure you have your volume on to get the full effect.

Finally, pics...

2008-06-08T17:21:00.006-05:00

Sorry I hadn't posted these pics sooner, things have been insane the last couple of weeks with work, trying to socialize, working on my Mom's bathroom, finally putting in my garden (that's another post), and dealing with all the rain and storms we've been getting the past couple of days. We were lucky and didn't get hit by the tornados, but Richton Park wasn't. There was a lot of damage done by where I actually get on the train to go to work, a transformer was torn out of the ground, there was a car wash that had it's doors pushed open, houses had their roofs ripped off, power was out over a substantial area...and this happened RIGHT around the time I'd left my friend Melinda's for her daughters 8th grade graduation. Everyone wall calling me to tell me that a tornado had been on and off the ground for over an hour and was headed east bound towards my home. Matt was home, I was not. I called him, told him what everyone was calling me about, and then I left the party to go home.

On my way home, the clouds were swirling everywhere!!! I had actually seen a twister start to form when I was going eastbound on Lincoln Highway in Olympia Fields. It was really cool, but where it was forming wasn't too far from my house. I guess it didn't have enough energy to fully form because I never saw it reach towards the ground again. Got home, it started pouring for about an hour on and off. Then nothing. It sprinkled on and off again, but again, we'd gotten missed by the major parts of the storm. Today again there were flood and tornado warnings. The backyard is a giant slop fest, it would have been the perfect conditions for a mud mosh pit for those at Woodstock. But yet we still kept ourselves busy. Matt's putting up a post in the edge of the yard for the satelite dish since the trees are growing too much, and I'm finally putting in my garden (a month late).

It's a muddy day, but no rest for the weary. But again, this was supposed to be an email about the bruises. Both bruises ended up turning dark purple, almost black in color. I have tissue damage by my right elbow, you can feel the lumps under the skin (it feels weird, but doesn't hurt). So the bruise under my left armpit is completely gone, and the one on my right elbow is just about gone, there's only a little discoloration still on the inside. So now I can say I fell through a floor, and all I got were these stinkin bruises, but I will always be thankful that I didn't do anything more than get some wonderful skin coloring.

Gravity and the Great Badunkidunk

2008-05-27T08:18:00.004-05:00

My life is never a dull one. I am the Queen of Klutz, I should be given a padded crown as to not poke my eyes out, and a dress made of bubble wrap as to not break or damage anything internally or externally. I've had my fair share of injuries that, of course, would only happen to yours truly. Freakish accidents and incidents that doctors say "Hmmm...I've never seen it this way before" or "If you'd have broken this just a centimeter more this way, you would need to have surgery". This is not a story of aimlessly stubbing a toe of a stair that jumped out of nowhere, or a 100 pound dog who feels the need to run between your legs from behind, causing you to tumble backwards hitting yourself with the frying pan you were just about to put away, and not even finding out you've broken your collarbone due to being a "macho" woman and lifting a roll of rubber membrane on the roof as to seal it and FINALLY stop those leaks in the kitchen (actually, it wasn't so much as being macho, but I was not going to try to hoist the roll from the oak branch as my Bob Villa other half has wanted to). If you know me, when you read this, you'll say "This would only happen to Dawn"...which is usually said due to a lot of my scenarios. This, however, is the story of me and Gravity....

Now Gravity and I have been battling things out for YEARS...from my acrobatics on Lindsey's trampoline into the bushes, to my wonderful seizure type balancing acts while on Rollerblades (which for some reason I can skate at night, but I always fall when I see cars during the day), to my countless times falling out of trees for no reason (the branch appeared to just let go of the tree), to falling off blocks at Oliver's due to not paying attention to my dancing moves, to just walking normally and tripping on absolutely nothing...I can hear Gravity cackle and mock me, only to plan the next time I will be caught off guard so as I can be pummeled and bashed and bruised...it's a love hate relationship, but I always seem to hear the phrase "You were lucky how you landed", or "At least you didn't break anything" or "That break could have been a lot worse, and at least you don't need surgery". I've been an array of rainbow colored bruises throughout the years, enough broken bones to have my own "Operation" game named after me, and after this last stunt, I really want my life back.

Saturday night, I meet my sweetie over at his friends house to help put up drywall in the upstairs since he's got twins on the way in, oh, anytime in the next 2 months!!! I'm upstairs, helping to sweep so the boys could put up the rest of the drywall on the wall over the boards to get the wall closed up, and I find a piece of scrap metal that I'm going to put in the pile that Jon had started. I see the boys in the hall, so I figure I could cut through the closet, which still hadn't had the "walls" put up yet. I take a step through the studs, I hear a snap, next thing you know, I'm sitting on my big ol' badunkidunk, covered in drywall dust, my arms are hurting, and I'm staring at a toilet. Yes, I had just fallen one floor below down into the bathroom.

I hear "Dawn?"

"Yeah..." I weakly reply.

"Holy crap (censored to what was actually said), she just went through the floor!"

Yes, I had just fallen through a piece of drywall that was put on the floor to where the duct work and piping were being replaced. Drywall was put there instead of plywood due to it being worked on, that the ladies of the house wanted some privacy while using the downstairs bathroom, and I was not aware that that was drywall so I though nothing of it when I had taken my first step towards to my to date biggest battle with Gravity. I heard the guys running down the steps to where I was sitting in the dark corner of the bathroom. The force that I had brought down with me had broken some kind of plastic container, to which I profusely apologized for as Jon and Andrea (the owners of the house) apologized themselves for a)using drywall as a floor cover, and b)Jon not telling me not to walk there (mind you, it'd been almost 2 years since I'd been upstairs there helping to work on the upstairs, so I didn't realize that part of the ceiling was still missing).

I looked around me and tried to see what I had fallen into the middle of. In front of me was an 8 foot piece of 6 inch cast iron piping leaning up against the wall in front of me. Behind me was razor sharp duct work that was going to be placed where I had just come through. To my right, about 12 inches away, was the toilet. Not even 12 inches to my right was the bathroom wall, which I could have bounced off of had I fallen weirdly. I had fallen perfectly straight down, I didn't hit anything else except for a plastic container, which the homeowners had said had been previously broken, so I did them a favor to make them finally throw it out.

Matt asked if I needed to be brought to the hospital...I believe that if I go to the ER one more time, they'll give me a coupon for a free bottle of vicodin. I was shaky, my legs felt fine, the way I had fallen was still a mystery as that I didn't hurt myself more. My legs were completely fine, and had bent when I landed on my ginormous cushion of a keister. My left armpit had a bit of a rug burn type rash, my right arm was swollen from the elbow to halfway up the arm, I had some pain in my upper left ribs, and there was some pain on my left thigh, which had also assisted me in my fall. Above my right elbow, it looked like I had shaved off some skin, but the swelling made me nervous for a bit. It was kind of hard and squishy, not like a typical injury that I was used to. I stood up, walked outside, and breathed in the cool evening air. I felt nauseous, and just needed some water to relax a bit. I iced my elbow and my armpit, and awaited the wonderful color display that I would await in the days to come.

Sunday I woke up, sore and stiff. I look in the mirror. My left armpit now had what looked to be dark purple and red streaks climbing from behind the actual pit itself, about 8 inches towards my elbow. It looks like demonic ivy trying to grow down my inner arm. My right elbow has a scab and a bruise that is starting to circle the underside of my elbow, and it's still sensitive to the touch and feels kinda squishy. I've got a small bruise high on my left ribcage, I've got a huge black and blue goose egg on my left thigh, and I've got scratches down my spine from dragging down across the drywall. As of today, Tuesday, the bruising is still increasing, I'll post some pictures later on. The neighbors will think I'm a beaten woman.

I talked to one of the phlebotomists here at work about how much damage one has to do to themselves to be concerned about a blood clot (yes, this topic was brought up from my wonderful better half last night after seeing how the colors were increasing upon my arms...freaking me out to the point where I could barely sleep and seeing if my pulse or breathing was changing or getting more difficult)...I showed her my arms, and she cringed saying go talk to the doctors!!! I went to talk to two of our doctors, showed them the arm bruising and they said "Pretty colors". Ha ha...gotta love their expertise. I told them my story, they looked at my colorful appendages, and said they didn't think I'd have to worry about any kind of blood clotting, especially since I was active and didn't have any restriction or joint pain(and the day after the incident, I not only mowed our big yard, but I also used the weed whacker...I don't have time to slow down).

So that is my most recent, and possibly most deadly, run in with Gravity. Oh, never a dull moment with me around, you'll always be on your toes. I pray to have some recoup time before Gravity and I meet up again, I don't think I could stomach anything else seeing how as I ALSO need a physical assessment for the nursing program sometime in the next couple of weeks...and I want to make sure my vibrant colors have dissipated as to not having anyone thing I am being abused (though Gravity does SUCH a good job on it's own).

I'll post recent pics of the increasing colors tonight when I get home. I'm at work, so I might as well start earning my paycheck!

Songs you have to sing in the car...

2008-05-23T11:25:00.005-05:00

Well, you don't HAVE to, but if you have any human inkling in your body, you'll at least tap your foot (you're nondriving foot) while shifting around the radio dial...

I Like Big Butts- Sir Mixalot "I like big butts and I cannot lie..." you know you're going to be singing this for the rest of the day now.

Ice Ice Baby- Vanilla Ice...the white version of M.C.Hammer, my youth brings back entertaining images of doing his dancing from this video. Sad I tell ya.

Bitch-Meredith Brooks. Need I say more? You gotta love the looks when you're belting this one out next to a Studebaker with a family of 8.

Barbie Girl- Aqua This one was on the other day, how I miss doing the Barbie Dance on a box at Olivers...sigh...shout out to the best dang club around, and the club where Lindsey's hubby was originally seen! Barbie Girl and knee hi go-go boots...what could make the night any better?

Which brings me to Tubthumpin-Chumbawumba I try to do the drinky dance while in the car with this one. Doesn't work as well as it did while at a club or Lind's wedding.

U and Ur Hand-Pink Maybe this one is just me, but somehow it makes me feel better when I scream "I'm not here for you ready to tame me..." makes me feel more myself than the Martha Stewart homebody that I've become. I miss my inner wild child.

I'm Just a Girl- No Doubt This was pre-Gwen getting all "Wind it Up", "Holla Girl", and yodeling, prior to her having her own clothing and purse line, and when No Doubt was the hottest thing in alternative music. I relish for Gwen to reunite with the band, which I hear is soon.

Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond How can you NOT sing Neil while on the road with the windows down? "Sweet Caroline...a bum bum bum...good times never felt so good...SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO GOOD!!!" Ah, a classic. Also one of those songs everyone sings along with while out doing karaoke...other thing I've lost through my domestication...I don't go sing anymore.

Wannabe (If You Wanna Be My Lover)- Spice Girls British pop in the form of women looking like prostitutes, the birth of Girl Power. They still play this on my 80's and today radio station, I bounce in my seat everytime it's on.

Take On Me- A-Ha LOVED this video, the only song that I know these guys actually had. I don't know how that guy can get his voice so high, must not have any kahoneys.

Ironic- Alanis Morrisette Isn't it ironic, don'tcha think? "It's like raaaaa-eee--aaaiiiin...."

Volcano Girls- Veruca Salt Thank you Linds for doing this with me in karaoke...I still do the squeal in my car, I've gotten quite good at it.

I Saw The Sign- Ace of Base

Believe- Cher Powerful song, always hurts my throat cause I sing so loud, maybe I should turn down the volume so I'm not trying to outdo the radio?

King of Wishful Thinking- Go West Ah, my high school days are coming back to me now...

This Kiss- Faith Hill Sweet song from a gorgeous voice, until I chime in.

Foolish Games- Jewel Another avid karaoke song that is requested whenever I go out with friends.

Now this isn't just one song, this is ANYTHING by Sarah McLachlan...love her voice, and love all her songs.

I'm Too Sexy- Right Said Fred Show me someone who does sing along this song when it's playing, and I'll show you someone getting b-slapped for lying.

Mambo No. 5- Lou Bega The guy's a man-whore talking about his lady friends...but the song's got a saucy beat.

Aerosmith...another band where I'll sing anything they have on the radio, especially "Ragdoll", "Pink", and "Angel". Unfortunately, I rarely hear them on the radio anymore.

Barenaked Ladies...yet another band I will listen to just about any of their songs, whether I understand the words or not...I'll just make them up, like my friend Bobo who though that the song "Natural Woman" where he thought the words were "You make me feel like a man, I'm a woman..." instead of the actual words of "You make me feel like a natural woman...". Gotta love that kid.

I'm Only Happy When it Rains- Garbage Hey, I dig the darker stuff sometimes.

Two Princes- Spin Doctors

Dirrty- Christina Aguilera One of the songs that makes me feel like a bad girl, even when it's just driving to the grocery store.

La Vida Loca- Ricky Martin I'd do the sexy shoulder shake, but I'd knock myself out driving from the "twins"...there not used to that much movement.

Bring me to Life- Evanescence Gotta love the voice on that gal.

Hazel Eyes- Kelly Clarkson Powerful voice from the first American Idol...look how that shows gone to pot since then...at least we got Daughtry too.

Switch AND Men In Black- Will Smith Gotta do it Big Willie Style...fun lyrics that get ya bouncing in the car as well.

Just by looking at that list, I should seriously put together a CD to put in the car for long rides, plus lots of water and throat drops so I'm not hoarse before I get to my destination.

What are songs that YOU like to sing in the car at the top of your lungs?

Things that make me go hmmm...

2008-05-23T09:59:00.002-05:00

I ponder...I ponder a lot. My brain is constantly on overdrive which why I am a horrible insomniac. I'll be ready for slumber, under the covers and praying to start thinking of the typical sheep jumping over the fence...then I'll start thinking of things like "Where the heck did horseradish get its name?" or "What can I do to consolidate my bills without having to go to a consolidator and sign away my first born child?" or "Why do bees lose their stingers after stinging you once, but wasps can pummel you endlessly?" or better yet, "What is so great about sushi? I don't know anyone who eats raw beef or chicken, but fish?" That's just plain sick!

These are a few of the reasons I have constant dark circles under my eyes...that and maybe because I have a cat who feels the need to stick his butt in my face at 3am because he's out of water, yet the dog water bowl is 2 feet away from HIS bowl and he can't muster up the audacity to drink out of their tainted vessel...then again Diesel does lick his unmentionables, I wouldn't want to drink out of there either...

Here are a few recent things that have continuously popped into my noggin prior to slumber time:

1. Why doesn't someone shoot Paris Hilton yet?

2. Why do all of our neighbors talk to Matt, but yet I've only talked to 2 of our neighbors? I've been here for 4 years now, I see them out and about and say hey, but then Mr. whatshisface on the corner has to come running over the other night because his wife made Matt (not us, but Matt) a pie...cheesecake with cherries, I get no second glance. I come out to say hello to Mr. whatshisface, he gives me one look, says hi, then continues his ramblings about pistons, and carburators, and what not "car talk" with the man. Forgive me for not knowing about cars and having a penis, I will enjoy this tasty treat inside while you two discuss your macho ways.

3. Why do people take medications when they don't know what they're taking them for? I've had multiple patients I talk to say that they're taking so and so medication, but they don't know whether or not it's for high blood pressure, or the fungus growing between their toes (which they then feel the need to go into vast detail about).

4. How am I'm going to lose 15 pounds to fit into a bridesmaid dress that I already have and is just a LITTLE tight around the armpits...if the "twins" can't squeeze in enough, I may have to use a roll of duct tape...a million and one uses I tell ya.

5. What is going to happen when the recession starts during the summer? Bills are already a pain in the keister, school will be coming up, and though that's been put on a credit card (thank you plastic from the gods), what about the "extras" needed, such as books, uniform, lab, shoes, etc. (and as for the recession, I heard that info from a lady who's friend works for the Board of Trade here in downtown Chicago, so I'm stocking up on whatever I can...I think I can pull off frozen pizza's for the next 2 months no problem).

6. Why do Canadians say aboot instead of about? They speak english, what's the deal with the pronunciations?

7. Where am I going to go for farmers markets this year? There's so many, but they're scattered throughout the week, usually when I'm at work. How much sick time do I have left?

8. School starts in August. Classes are Mon, Tues and Wed morning which MEANS no more commuting 3 hours a day for work. I need to find a job closer to home that not only pays a decent amount, but will not having me want to rip my hair out in the process. So not only finding a job, but finding one close to home and hopefully making enough where I'm not killing myself for minimum wage.

9. I'm waiting insanely for a box of smelly goodness from my good friend Sarah (No title necessary) of butters and lotions and stuff. I can't wait to get it in the mail, and if it's already been sent, did someone steal it off my porch (happened previously with some massage therapy disks for a friend of mine).

10. Why are all the good tasting foods REALLY bad for you, and why do people make foods with stuff you can't pronounce in it! Hey, if chocolate had the same nutritional value as, say, carrots, you could call me Bugs Bunny!

11. What can I do to get the man to eat more veggies? I'm seriously contemplating getting Seinfeld's wife's book about getting your kids to eat their vegetables...it could work.

12. What can I do to get the boy to quit smoking? I've made it clear he is NOT to smoke before going to bed in the bedroom. I may have to get violent or bribe with some "withholdings"...

13. Why do I buy vegetables and fruit that I KNOW I want to eat, but then again I watch as they start to get mushy and unrecognizable before I throw them into the compost pile.

14. Should I get the rain barrel from ebay, or get it from a local guy down in Joliet? Plus side is I don't have to wait with the Joliet guy, plus any barrel I buy after the first one is $5 off the previous price. I want 2 at least, one for the front of the yard, one by the back garden where I can hook a drip hose up to it when the weather is dry.

15. Speaking of garden, when is this frackin weather going to stay above 50 so I can actually start planting stuff outside in the garden! It's almost June, for smurfs sake (and yes, I did say smurf. I'm trying to swear less like a sailor).

16. We've just inherited Matt's Mom's cat, Max. Super furry fire tipped siamese, head butts like nobody's business. Will the dogs stop trying to nip at him?

17. Will I finally be able to see my computer desk once I clean off all the crap that's been accumulating since January?

18. A person on etsy ordered some earrings I can't find...are they in my drawer unit, or were they stuck with the rest of the beads over in the bins stashed over at Matt's Dad's garage? That's what I get to do this weekend.

19. What's going on this weekend...graduation party in Carpentersville, stop off with recyclables, possible driving to Joliet to pick up a rain barrel, baby shower shopping, and going to Matt's friend Jon to help finish the upstairs for the twins he's got on the way (I'm so happy for them)!

20. Next weekend is b-day for Matt's Gram, gift idea is needed, and any other gatherings my brain cannot fathom at the moment.

21. I've got 2 1/2 more weeks of therapy for my weak shoulder. The grinding is still there, but I do have more strength. Will I still need surgery, and if so is that going to interfere with classes in August?

22. If I need surgery, will that interfere with our vacation during the 4th of July?

23. Once I find a new job closer to home, will I give my 2 weeks right away, or wait till after the July vacation, or have the 2nd week prior to going on vacation as my last week, then taking the week after vacation off just as a relaxing buffer prior to the new job? (I've got over 2 weeks vacation time right now, even more by the time I leave, which will be a hefty check coming back if I don't use it).

24. I just found out my little brother proposed to his girlfriend while they were on a cruise last week. He's thinking next May or September...I told him I'd fight him for May, since that's when I was thinking about doing ours....which reminds me...

25. Started talking to Matt last night about a date...he has no idea, as long as its something he can remember...and THIS is what I get to work with for the wedding... Once I get an idea about date, I'm going to talk to the future mother in law of the bride of the wedding I'm standing up for in August...she's a travel agent (whoo-hoo). Hopefully I can get her some business by sending anyone interested her way.

26. It's almost 11am and I've been slacking off SO much today...what is my major malfunction?

27. I'm starving, what's for lunch?

28. Am I not going to care and try to jet out early from work? You betcha!!! Finally, one thing I can actually answer.

So that's just what's spewing off the brain at the moment, hence the insomnia and the constant frantic "running like a chicken" scenario. Hopefully this list will lessen by the end of the holiday weekend, I already told Matt that we need to pick a date by the end of next week so I can start planning with Jan (the brides future mother in law) about packages and options, AND I can start to look for a place to do the reception when we come home. Which means if I'm making my own invitations, those will need to be done asap...which brings up more brain fuzziness, which I won't worry about at the moment.

It's kinda blah outside right now, so I'm feeling kinda blah. I might as well to do something to earn my paycheck...

2008-05-18T23:18:00.002-05:00

OMG, I just went to the Goodwill over in Orland Park, IL and spent $48 on 12 shirts, a pair of mens dark blue cordoroy pants (for me), a bud vase, a small glass vase, 2 green glass bowls, an 8 pack of those wicker plate holders (we used those all the time when we were kids, and getting the cheaper paper plates and using those holders is a LOT cheaper than buying the chinet heavy duty plates all the time), a cute wire basket with heart handles, a round asian looking basket that I can put stuff in...seriously, why am I spending money on new stuff when I could be buying new to me stuff? Geez, people are like that with cars, why aren't more people like that with discount shops and thrift store? I know some people are, but I'm kicking myself in the keister on why last weekend I went out with a friend shopping and I got 2 shirts and some earrings for $75...$75!!! I wanna smack myself! But then again, everytime I've gone to a thrift store, I've found crap. THIS time I went to the Goodwill over in Orland Park...ritzy-ier area...they had some really nice stuff, and anything with a green tag was 50% off!!!

Did you know Goodwill has a store card now? Club Goodwill...5% off any purchase of $20 or more every day, you get a 25% off birthday coupon, 10% off for students on Saturdays (I'll have to update my student ID card), discount coupons by mail, AND advanced notification of sales and promotions!!! I still couldn't believe it!!! Then again it was a madhouse, and all I did was go there to pick up some big t-shirts in the guys department to wear when I was working outside or hanging out around the house, and I found some nice stuff I could wear to work! I should have just thrown that money away from last weekend...but then again the 2 shirts I got were nice, and those were definately work shirts...sigh.

But looks like I'll be looking for a new job in the next month or so...I won't be able to work downtown with a schedule that consists of 3 days of classes in the morning till noon...and that's not counting a 6 hour clinical. So yeah, an afternoon job/night job where I'm closer to home and looks like I may be working weekends unless I can find something during the week that I can do fulltime.

So the man ended up finding a cap for his truck from an ebay auction for $400, they're regularly $1200 new!!! So turns out it was over in Ohio, not too far from his Mom, so he drove out last night to pick up the cap today and help his Mom out with some stuff that she needs to have moved or taken apart...she's moving next weekend so the fact that he was going out there this weekend anyways was perfect! Plus we're going to be watching one of her 2 cats, but Max is great with Goofy...I even offered that we'd take Max when she said she was looking to find a place for them to stay until she found a place closer to the place she got a job transfer to. Sweet cheeks'll be coming back tomorrow night with Max and the new cap on his truck.

Man, I'm exhausted! I can't believe all the stuff I got done this weekend! Matt finally showed me how to use the riding mower, and aside from getting it stuck on the side of one of the trees and getting it stuck in the back compost area, it wasn't too shabby! I also filled in the hole in the front by the driveway where the truck put a hole when it went into the grass when spring started and the yard was still really wet and moveable, I filled in patches in the yard with a seed patch filler (plus it's made with recycled paper, so that was a plus in my book), cut down some of the branches that got in my way when mowing from the willow tree, yanked down dead branches from the willow, planted the rest of the wave petunias, got some tomato, cucumber, banana pepper, and basil plants from Ron's Market to plant once I have the time, I went to a cool farmers market in St. John Indiana where I got local honeycomb, and wildflower honey and some really cool smelling wax melts (french vanilla, chili vanilla, and a sweet orange with chili pepper), picked up some miracle grow dirt for the planters and the garden, and some topsoil for the patches and holes in the yard, picked up some seeds to plant this week so I can put them in the garden by the end of the month (Bush Blue lake beans, oregano, lemon basil, lettuce, and burpees stringless green beans)...what else...I dragged a bunch of the brush from the back to a pile in the front for the city collection...burned a bunch of wood from the house, and picked up a lot of the drywall that was thrown in the dog yard last fall that's falling apart and crumbling due to being outside all winter...I can only fill a garbage can 1/4 full with the drywall since it's so heavy from holding water...what else...went to Goodwill where I was thrilled at my finds, while in the area called my friend Ang because I still had a silver deviled egg tray in my truck from her bridal shower a little over a week ago, and she gave me back the eyepillows that she had at the spa she was working at...apparently they went out of business and Friday was the last day...and she found out on Friday that that was going to be the last day...fun fun I tell ya.

But it's 11:18 and I seriously need to take a shower before I hit the hay and get up at 5am for work...maybe Matt should leave more often, I don't remember a time when I've gotten so much stuff done in one weekend!!! Hope you all had a great weekend, and talk more soon!!!

Random blubberings...

2008-05-15T21:57:00.003-05:00

So a lot has been going on these days, and I'm stoked that I finally finished my final last night!!! Microbiology...goodness me. I swear, half the stuff I learned was stuff I'd already seen on the Discovery channel!!! LOVE the Discovery channel, avid watcher, always have, always will. If I could watch that one channel 24-7, would I even need to go to school?

So school is done for the semester, I find out grades next week hopefully. Found out after the lab exam I was getting a B...SWEET!!! If I can hold that, peachy, if not, as long as I hold a C and don't have to retake the class, let it be so number 1(in the infamous words of Jean Luc Picard from Star Trek).

Next topic that gets me giddy...I made the nursing program!!! Oi-oi!!! You have no idea how much I've been freaking out about this! There were I think over 400 students that applied, and they only take something like 100...and I made it. I get to start the nursing program in the fall, and based off classes they offer in the fall, I will no longer be able to work downtown at my current job....which isn't so much a bad thing. Currently I work as a Clinical Research Coordinator...fancy talk for "I try to make sure people that participate in clinical trials are actually following instructions so we can collect data that will make an intelligent outcome of what the study is supposed to be submitting". If they have side effects from using a new drug or procedure, I collect the information. The stories I could tell!!! For example...those commercials about Cheerios and Quaker Oatmeal lowering cholesterol? We've done studies like that (I know we've done the oatmeal one because I helped work on it). Grape juice, though was previous marketed as full of antioxidants, ALSO was found to help with male erectile dysfunction (ladies, time to go shopping!). The birth control patch, though previously thought to be a wonderful alternative to taking the morning pill, turns out after time it increased blot clots in women, and was more dangerous than previously thought (look it up online, there's lawsuits galore). Let's see...Pomegranate juice is full of antioxidants, but the effects were only captured up to a 6 month time period, then the effects seemed to dwindle off. So if you're doing the pomegranate juice deal, be sporadic, or be on it for a bit, then take yourself off. What else...man, there's a lot to talk about...South Beach Diet is a good weight loss regimen, you just need to follow it to a T and incorporate exercise, as long as you check with your licensed physician first. We don't want anyone passing out from eating healthy and working out too much. I tell ya, the stuff I'm learning is classic!!!

Lets see...things that have made me smile in the past week besides finishing finals and finding out I was accepted into the nursing program: I saw a rainbow...it arched over my house...or at least it looked like it did while I was driving home from the train station. You know how everyone says they have a twin? Well, for me, everyone seems to know someone who looks like me, so it's no biggie. However, I saw a girl that looked like my twin in the drive thru at Baskin Robbins!!! I was getting a celebratory 2 scoop hot fudge peanut butter chocolate sundae with the works, when I swear that the face I saw in the side mirror in front of me looked like I was looking in the mirror. Seriously! Same blank stare, same facial structure, I almost jumped out of my car just to go up and see her straight on! Her image in the mirror was seriously uncanny at how even I thought she looked like me!!! Let's see, what else. I saw a Range Rover with a license plate that said "Big Legs". I literally laughed so hard, I almost hit the curb while driving this morning. Why? It was 5:30am and I was still not quite up yet (I know, and driving no doubt to get to work...the things I do for a paycheck).

Speaking of paycheck, found out I got a raise even though I transferred to my position in December...it was prorated, but hey, who's complaining? 7 years at the same company...3 weeks vacation a year!!! Too bad I'll be leaving in the next couple of months, but then again I think of the 15 hours I'll be saving from commuting downtown...man, that's a part time job just in travel! Thank goodness for public transportation, but no thanks to bad hygiene on the train...that's just nasty! What else, I'm learning new exercise through physical therapy to help strengthen my shoulder (please no surgery, if I get surgery, I'm screwed for the nursing program). I received Wave Petunias in the mail...free from a website on gardening that I signed up for last week! http://www.wave-rave.com/signupfanclub.aspx I got a BOX of these petunias, in Cherry Wave, Silver, and Hot Pink! If you look on the bottom of the page to this link, you'll see three flowers. Those are the colors: http://www.wave-rave.com/plant_info.aspx?phid=048601894004341 There's about 6 plants for each color, and these are the petunias that are the rave right now! They're the ones that are supposed to spread like ground cover, or drape out of hanging baskets...like the ones that the nursery's sell for $60+ a basket! I can't wait to get some dirt so I can plant them!!!

So tomorrow is Friday, and I'm even happier about that! I'm thinking about going out and hitting some of the early Farmer's Markets to not only find some goodies, but I'm going to be looking for some herbs to start up my herb garden on the back deck...oregano and basil are a must again this year, and I'm thinking about trying lavendar again, and maybe some chamomille for homemade tea...eh, we'll see. All I know is I need to get the garden completely cleaned out this weekend and prepped for plants in the next week or so...we actually had frost this morning, so I'll need to keep an eye on the weather and make sure I've got a tarp that can cover the garden if needed. Plus the raspberry plants have a mind of their own and are taking over the everbearing strawberry plants from last year...which are coming back thanks to putting dog hair around the plants so not only does it keep the rabbits and squirrels away, but the deer too!!!

But that's all I've got for now, I'm off to make the man some grub...only thing that's peeved me off today is when I ask him what he wants to eat, he says food. So I decide to make a stir fry, an he doesn't tell me previously that he's not too fond of the stir fry...then don't tell me you want "food", tell me you want something specific or I am no longer inclined to make sure you've been fed. If he had his way, he'd eat burgers everynight...oh well, I'm again thawing him a burger, and the stir fry will have to be for my lunch and dinner for the next how many days...unless I make some rice pudding and steam the veggies...and use the chicken for salads...at least I haven't thrown everything together yet, so I've still got MacGuyver type options I can work with...

Underware dust

2008-05-08T12:20:00.003-05:00

One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife'Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in Slim Fast. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!'

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such acomment go unrewarded.The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer.'What the Hell is this??' he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloudappeared when he shook them out.

'April,' he hollered into the bathroom, 'why did you put talcum powderin my underwear?'

She replied .'It's not talcum powder......It's "Miracle Grow".

The things my friends send me. This one seriously made me laugh out loud in my cubicle. Seriously, I think I would've done a little more than just put Miracle Grow in his man panties...or is that manties? That looks too much like manatee, which what I'm feeling like right now after downing a bag of cheetos...ugh, I feel nasty. I think you should be able to ban certain foods from being made, such as anything that causes anal leakage!!! What is up with that?!?!?

Okay, off topic, I'm feeling a little ADD right now. I just tried one of those "5-hour energy" drinks, the ones that come in the 2oz little bottle that they have at Walgreens. After I first drank it, I felt good! I had a little flushing (warmth in the cheeks and some redness), but that's just from the Niacin in the drink. I did get a little wired then and actually started to work! Now it's 2 hours later, I can't concentrate, I'm writing down something mental which I will totally forget about as soon as I close this webpage, and trying to imagine what it would feel like to crawl down a wall like those wacky wall crawlers that you used to be able to get from a box of Rice Krispies when we were kids, or from the quarter machines that you would bug your Mom until you got that quarter for the most worthless crap (though I do remember getting that red "fortune teller" fish that would curl in your hand depending on your mood, those rocked!). I can no longer focus on what I need to do which is horrible because I have about 20 phone calls I have to make, and I don't want to sound like I'm dyslexic (or dicks-lek-sic as I used to say...after all, I speak Dawnish).

Ah Dawnish, another change in topic. Linds came up with that fabulous description of my constant battle to speak the english language. From "You can smark in my car", to "Did you see Rose's flick sty?", to whatever was going to come out of my mouth next, there were just too many to count. The unknown language that has come to be known from my mouth moving faster than my brain, which mind you happens quite often. You can tell I'm edjumukated by my eloquential verbalizations...I never cease to amaze even myself.

So I'm feeling a little shaky, my heartrate is beating quite a bit right now, if I didn't know I was having a weirdo effect from the 5 hour satan's drink, I'd think I was having a heart attack. Is speed listed on the bottles label? No, but it has phenylalanine:

A non food source of phenylalanine is the artificial sweetener aspartame. (from wikipedia...love that website, they know everything). Supposedly the "safer" sugar, this compound, sold under the trade names "Equal" and "NutraSweet", is metabolized by the body into several chemical byproducts including phenylalanine.

D'oh!!! Should've done my homework. I'm aspartame sensitive, it gives me stomach aches, rapid heart rate, and yes, brain splitting headaches. I do not buy diet foods with any type of immitation sweetners in it for that reason, give the good stuff!!! Though I have been more into different forms of sugar, such as brown sugar or crystal sugar, or other flavorings not including so much sugar as required for recipes unless I'm baking something where I have to follow the recipe to a T. Aspartame is not made from sugar but from two amino acids that are isolated from bacteria. Saccharin is produced from a combination of the flavor chemical methyl anthranilate and ammonia. (http://www.splendaexposed.com/articles/2005/02/ny_times_today.html) Not sure if that's true, but I'll do more research. All I know is that I react with Splenda, Aspartame, and anything with Nutrisweet. Down with the sugar wanna-be products!!! Yeah, no diet foods for me, but then is something that's supposedly sugar free really good for you anyways? What are they putting in the products, something that has a sweetness, but is made of chemically altered substances that I could'nt pronounce if I tried to? Forget about it!!!

ARG, this is not fun. Plus it's only been about an hour that these feelings have been going on! It's just after 1pm, and I don't get to leave until 3pm...so just about 2 hours to see how nuts I can get and see if this stuff wears off before I leave. Maybe I'll be able to focus if I can chug a gallon of water and flush my system...otherwise maybe I'll have enough energy to run to the trainstation and try to detox before I get home.

But off to work and whatever I can accomplish for the next 2 hours...

Just daily bantering...

2008-04-30T13:23:00.003-05:00

So I just went back on http://www.quitnet.net/ to see what my statistics are at the moment for not smoking, and check this out!!!

My Stats: Your Quit Date is: 1/9/2008
Time Smoke-Free: 112 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 2815
Lifetime Saved: 21 days, 12 hours
Money Saved: $784.00

Holy crow! Though it may not seem like I've gained much time left, it's still better than if I was still puffing on the "cancer sticks", or so my friend Dean used to call em. The money I've saved? No WONDER I've been able to pay bills off easier these days!!! However, I have cheated 3 days, and I'll tell you what happened...not that it's an excuse, but here goes:

Day 1. It's towards the end of March. My better half has been off work for a month before finding out he needs knee surgery. I'm freaking out trying to find out how I'm going to be able to pick up slack on the bills AND work overtime AND still worry about school and mid-terms...I had 3 smokes that day while catching up on laundry and dishes, since he couldn't move around and help with the chores. I felt like crap the whole next day.

Day 2. The beginning of April, I believe it was April 3rd, I'm studying for the HESI test for the nursing program for school with a friend of mine, and avid smoker, and I'm stressing out to the point where I'm going to throw up. I bummed 2 smokes prior to the test that I shouldn't have, I had a nicotine buzz for the next hour while taking the exam.

Day 3. We come to April 19th, the day of the car accident, and I'm getting a ride from Matt's cousin back home...since I no longer had a mode of transportation. Bummed a smoke from him in the car to try to relax since I was on the phone for almost 45 minutes talking to my insurance company about what had happened in the past 2 hours. Ended up having another one after Matt had come home while I was waiting for the Advil and ice to kick in, they didn'tfrom work prior going to the ER for shoulder x-rays. Bad idea, I felt sick while sitting in the waiting area.

Now I'm not thrilled that I cheated a bit, but you better believe that that is a whole lot better than smoking a pack+ a day. I am a bit proud that I have not bought cigaretted since Jan, and Matt knows I won't. Now it's just a matter to get him to stop smoking in the bedroom (something that was law, but has slowly been tested these past couple of weeks). It's getting warmer, you can start smoking more outside...please! So yeah, I'm going to have to be a little more abrupt in my choice, though he's been strictly told to no longer let me sneak cigarettes...he is to keep the packs in his truck, and to not let them leave his side when we are home together.

Other than that, went to the docs, I've got torn ligaments in my left shoulder, most likely an after effect of the accident, and need to have an MRI done on Friday. What a splendid way to spend a day off of work! At least I can sleep in...I was going to try to catch to the train station down the street from the hospital and I'd have been in transit more than actually being at work. Plus, I'd have to wake up almost at 4am just to make it to the other train station. Besides, I've got plenty of vacation time, and I will be reimbursed for my time off!!!

So that's what's going on here. Just workin, slacking with reading blogs (Sarah and Linds, you 2 kill me with your blogs, and I'll probably get fired for slacking off...lol), and waiting till I can get out of here. Peace, and I'll check back with ya's later!

Funk food urge...

2008-04-28T23:19:00.004-05:00

Yes, I said funk food. I don't have much of a junk food urge, I usually have weird urges for stuff that others may think is totally off the wall, such as hardboiled eggs with feta cheese, or crackers and spicy mustard...though I do have an occasional chocolate urge, I am starting to lose the need for sweets at the moment. However, that will most likely change with the warmer weather coming and my obsession of ice cream putting me in my place (unless I get myself a frozen yogurt maker, then I'd be a happy camper!!!).

Now I have been EXTREMELY good in the shopping department, there is absolutely no chocolate in the house minus some chocolate chips that I keep around for emergency cookies or brownies that I need to make to bring to a gathering or to work. I've decided to buy better food and snacks to keep around such as nuts, granola, fig newtons, crackers, fruit...but I had such a craving for something when I was out picking up Glade plug in refills I didn't know what I was going to end up with....

So I'm looking around to see what would satisfy my funk food urge...when I saw it!!! Mind you, this is one food that may seem totally disgusting, but I find it godly! Cheese in a can, oh how I adore thee! Oh Easy Cheese, how can something so out of the ordinary be so addicting? Mind you, at over $4 a can for only those most special of occasions while sitting in front of the TV...it was you or a gallon of ice cream, and yes, you were clearly the winner!!! Even better that I got you on sale!!! Oh precious find! Mind you, this pasteurized cheese snack is good on all kinds of goodies: crackers, celery, on slices of summer sausage...hmmm....

Now you may think it's gross, but hey, 2 Tbsp of this oozing goodness give me 20% of my daily calcium, and I'm horrible when it comes to following the ever changing Food pyramid. And with a daily allowance of 8% of Vitamin A, I'm all over it! The shelf life of this stuff is incredible, and no refrigeration is needed!!! I can enjoy this cheesy goodness just about anywhere, anytime!

Thank you, Kraft foods, for creating this odd combination of cheese like delicacy, you have made my stomach and my cravings thank you in every possible way.

Cat versus mouse

2008-04-26T10:54:00.004-05:00

Now our cat Goofy is what you'd call a "Garfield" cat: fat, lazy, gets grumpy when he doesn't get his way, and if you don't get up early enough to feed him, you will get a surprise when you wake up with him on your chest and his butt in your face...but an overall good cat none the less. Though he is quite portly, he has been doing an amazing job ridding our house of rodent infestation, as well as being the "guard cat". He has been known to scream (yes, I've never EVER heard a cat make these sounds before) and throw himself against the front door if someone comes and neither me, or my sweetie Matt are around. With the weather changing, and the spring being full of twidderpated breeding, the creatures of the fields have decided to use our house as their love nest. We can hear them running around in the ceiling as we try to sleep, traps rarely do any good, seriously these are mice with heightened intelligence. They are the Albert Einstein's of the rodent world....until they try to mess with Goofy.

Now mind you, put Goofy in a box with a beetle (yes, we did this last year and it was hilarious), and he will bat at it once or twice, then turn and cower...looking at us to remove him from the box that has become a Thunderdome. Put him in the bathtub with a mouse, the mouse attacks the cat, and I go laughing my butt off almost soiling myself in the kitchen. But mess with Goofy's food? Not gonna happen! Hang out under the oven? He'll sit there for hours trying to psych the little pest from it's hiding. Which is where this story begins.

It's a normal day of cleaning the kitchen, sweeping up as much of the dog hair as best I can from our 2 garbage disposals pictured in the column to your right...I swear it's enough that I could crochet my own blanket if I knew how to spin the hair (someone teach me how...please!!!). The stove is notorious for being a collection dredge, so I try to sweep out as much as I can under there before getting the vacuum to finish the job. Unfortunately, the vacuum is out of order at the moment, so I just swept what I could, then went around my business. That's when Goofy showed up under my feet and was haunched down so he could monitor what had just taken place under the stove. Now mind you, I'm sure there was some more hair under there, but it was going to take some time before I could get it all. But he was persistent, looking this way and that, moving towards the stove, then moving away. I though he was just looking at the leftover hair thinking it was a fuzzy beast that he could pounce upon proudly to get his kitty treats (oh yes, he gets treats every time he catches one of these vermin).

10 minutes go by, 15 minutes...there had to be something under there, unless he was seriously losing it. I dismissed it as his own little kitty obsession, so I had turned on the oven to heat up some lunch. That's when the excitement started!!!

Next thing you know, a minute after the stove had started to heat up, I hear squeaking and turn around. Goofy is triumphantly sitting in the middle of the kitchen with a field mouse the size of my thumb, hanging out of his mouth. I kneel down and ask him to bring it to me, he runs away. I call Matt to help me, Goofy shuns him as well and start parading around the living room with his kill, all the while the mouse is still squeaking. Now mind you, Goofy does not want to kill it, he wants to play, and has been known to become overzealous with his trophy and then dropping it and watching it scurry away. I didn't want this to be one of those times.

He finally is coaxed back into the kitchen with the shaking of his kitty treat bag (oh yes, he is spoiled when he does his job) and suspiciously looks at me as I kneel before him. I do a trade: I put a few of the treats on the ground just as I grab the mouses tail as he begins to drop it for his tasty prize. Got it!!!

So the rodent is dealt with to be removed from the house, and I believe everything is okay. The mouse hunter is once again triumphant in his duties, and I go back to working on cleaning the dishes...until Matt tells me not to move. Apparently that wasn't the only rodent who had been under the stove. As I aimlessly had been working on the dishes, another mouse had finally come out of hiding under the now blazing stove, and Goofy again had been there in waiting. Unfortunately, I was going to now take part in this caper whether I liked it or not.

Goofy had spied the intruder in retreat, but had batted it rather than trying to catch it (looked like he was done with working for the day). When he had swatted the beast, unbenounced to me, it had landed on my shoe and had taken refuge beneath my sweatpants hem. Now my sweats are like yoga pants, they're bigger on the bottom, kinda flowy, and I love them! But, now I know they can be hiding places for mice as well. Matt tells me not to move, and that a mouse has just gone under my pants. I freeze, not feeling anything down there, and mind you I'm still facing the sink so I'm oblivious to what is going on behind me. I slowly raise my leg like a ballerina behind me towards where I believe Matt to be, and he grabs my leg, retrieves the freeloader, and again, we rid the house of unwanted house guests. Again, Goofy is spoiled with treats, I change my clothes instantly and throw them into the washing machine...hey, I was going to do laundry anyway...and scrubbed from my ankle to my knee until it was raw. Never a dull moment around here, I can tell you that!

Things that irritate me

2008-04-24T19:27:00.005-05:00

Okay, I've been seeing a lot of this going around lately, so I'm going to throw my 2 cents in on things that irritate me...and this will have many things relating to the bathroom...

-Being left "stranded" in the bathroom without toilet paper...you stand to pee, leave me some comfort.

-People that talk on their cellphones while in public bathrooms. I'm sorry, I don't want to know what you ate for lunch cause I'm smelling it down the other end of the stalls!!! I flush for good measure just to make them shut up and cover the phone.

-People who PEE on the seat...now what is this? If you have to hover, at least you could cover the rest of the seat with toilet paper...or better yet, hover with the seat up! You'll have more space to aim.

-Stereos in cars that you can hear a mile down the road. I'm sorry, I don't want to hear "Smack that" while I'm in my house doing laundry, and if I did, I'd put on the radio myself. This isn't a dance party, and it is NOT your job to be the DJ for the neighborhood.

-When you bring back the car with the gas gauge on E with the light on. How hard is it to at least put in $5 or $10 of gas in the car...wait, gas is already $3.79 a gallon. I take that back...I'm peeved about the price of gas! There's no reason you have to choose between filling up your car or filling up your fridge.

-Now I'm all for eating healthy, but do NOT get on me for eating meat! Yes, I eat meat, I'm a carnivore, I'm not a bad person for doing it. Do not criticize me for eating meat when you walk around in leather boots and have a mink fur coat. I will not go vegetarian, let alone vegan, and I do not force ill will against you for not eating meat. I will sit here and eat what I want, when I want, how I want. I don't get on your case for eating a ton of veggies and having methane leaks that would make a bovine's eyes water...now THAT'S not healthy! You're destroying the ozone with those veggie farts! And don't even think about eating broccoli around me. Good lord!

-People that race to get in front of you when 2 lanes merge, then feel the need to go under the speedlimit! Come on now, that's just enough to get the road rage going for EVERYONE behind you, not just me.

-Speaking of driving, older people that drive while looking through the steering wheel! Granny, you need another phone book to sit on.

-People who sneeze into their hand, then try to shake yours. That's just plain nasty!

-Mother's who let their kids run rampant in a store screaming and carrying on like a tornado. My mother used to threaten us by saying she'd take down our pants and spank us in the middle of the store. It took one time, and we behaved like angels from then on. Spank your kids bare butts in public, they'll learn who's boss.

So that's enough to get off my chest tonight, anyone with anything else to add, please feel free!

10 Most Annoying Singers

2008-04-22T13:27:00.005-05:00

I found this article while trying to look busy here at work and found it quite entertaining...who do YOU think are the 10 most Annoying singers? Unfortunately, I'd have added Bob Dylan to the list...hey, my opinion...deal with it.

It's stunning to learn that others don't share our tastes. Then again, how did an entire generation embrace faux wood paneling, shag carpets and putting thick plastic on their furniture? Well, someone thought it was a great idea!
Hey, I like Bob Dylan's voice and kept him off this list because I could! Instead, I found the ten singers most likely to make you drive off the road.
Now that's a terrible fate. Not only are you stranded in some ditch, but you're stuck listening to one of these ten singers, who it would seem are singing that way just to mock you. Oh, the injustice.
10) Celine Dion: I know there are millions of people who would beg to disagree, but let's get real, people. She sings 15 notes where one would suffice and turns every song into an anthem for self-empowerment. It's like getting an hour of Oprah condensed into four minutes. She sings. It's time to start the lawnmower.
9) John Mayer: Young people are impressionable. I'm not sure where John Mayer learned his vocal craft. I hesitate to call it singing. It's more like whimpering. And for some reason, this has become a trend not stopping anytime soon. As you'll sadly learn as we go further down this list.
8) Conor Oberst: As the wunderkind who leads Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst was given a certain amount of leeway since he was a young teen when he started out and his precious singing--so sensitive and intimate you could hear the post-nasal drip--was mistaken as precocious. Well, he's in his 20s now and he still sounds like he's swimming back to the womb for protection from this hard, harsh world. Come on buddy, stand up straight and stop trying to imitate the Cure's Robert Smith. He got there first. And even he must know he sounds a little silly.
7) Lily Allen: Contrary to this column, I want to like fresh, young talent. I want to hear singers bring true commitment to their material. The first time I heard Lily Allen I thought it was quaint. Then it seemed every young female singer was determined to sing just like her, as if they're running out of air in their lungs and have to get back to the respirator before the next verse begins. Sure, she's bouncy and spunky. But if I might quote what Lou Grant once told Mary Tyler Moore: I HATE SPUNK.
6) Devendra Banhart / Tiny Tim: I'm not convinced they're not the same person. Tiny Tim was a novelty item singing with that stupid ukulele something about tiptoeing through the tulips. Anyone with any half sense would know it was novelty item that shouldn't be used as the basis for an entire recording career. And for thirty years, it wasn't, until freaky-folk dude Devendra Banhart showed up and started warbling in that unlistenable, untrained vibrato the kind of nonsensical lyrics that didn't sound all that great back when people were taking the kinds of drugs you're supposed to be on in order to enjoy it.
5) James Blunt: All this talk in the media about whether or not waterboarding is torture is moot. Forcing anyone to listen to "Beautiful" on repeat constitutes torture. You want my darkest, deepest secrets? This guy's quivering voice gets you my social security number, my mother's maiden name, my personal PIN and any random government secrets I'm currently harboring.
4) Frankie Valli: Frankie Valli was a hero to some back in his day. I grant you this. He was consistent! He consistently sang in a voice designed to send dogs running for cover and perfect for breaking glass. "Rag Doll, " "Sherry," "Dawn," "Big Girls Don't Cry," the list is enormous. He very well could be tried as a war criminal. Who would object? Seriously? Who?
3) Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins): Yes, despite all his rage he's still just a rat in a cage. Unfortunately, that cage came with a microphone for him to transmit his Smashing Pumpkins hits to a helpless, hapless world at large. While Billy could orchestrate grand walls of guitar and write albums of endless tuneage, he insisted on singing it himself. Except this is not singing in any conventional sense, but rather the sound of a petulant, whiny child. This is what happens when parents don't tell their kids to shut up often enough. Children need to know you don't like them.
2) Scott Stapp (Creed): We could probably start laying the blame on Bono, Eddie Vedder, Jim Morrison and that guy from Blood, Sweat and Tears, but in the end it's Scott Stapp who epitomizes that macho bellow that sounds like a man who's gone overboard at the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet and has just received spiritual orders to let everyone know they're going to hell if they don't save themselves somehow. His spiritual torment becomes your problem. Thanks, pal.
1) Michael Bolton: OK, this was easy. C'mon, you knew Mr. Bolton would top the list. Who else can take a love song and turn it into a hernia? When a man loves a woman he doesn't do so by screaming in her ear--so why should it be acceptable for a man to sing a sensitive love song as if he's directing traffic for the hearing impaired? R&B classics deserve their place in musical history and should be protected from this man's desecration of all that is holy. It's only right. Let's make it a law.

Car accidents...what a headache

2008-04-21T17:39:00.003-05:00

So I'm driving the man's 4x4 back from dropping off a bunch of aluminum cans and scrap metal that we've acquired from working on the house, when all of a sudden I'm spinning out of control, crash into a telephone pole, and end up in the middle of 4 lanes in the rural city of Dixmoor, Illinois. I open my eyes, look around, see a small black oldsmobile, the whole front smashed in, and about 15 people running out from nowhere to see what happened...it reminded me of Dane Cook's comedy bit about people just waiting to hear the squealing of tires and waiting for the big crash. Well, that big crash was me, unfortunately, and I've got the seat belt bruises to prove it.

There was no rain, there was nothing wrong with the street...just an impatient little 20 year old who didn't look as she peeled through an intersection where she was supposed to abide by the big red STOP sign, yes, it was easy to see, yet I do not believe that she cared.

I have never been so shakey in my life. I dialed 911, I do not believe the other driver did. I think she thought we wouldn't have to deal with the 5-0 on this one, but alas my car was undriveable with the drive shaft hanging off the bottom of the truck. My back driver side tire was blown, the wheel well was smashed in...had she gone a moment sooner, she would have smashed into the cab, and into yours truely. Luckily (not luckily, but if there was any luck in this situation, then this was it) she had run into the bed of the truck, and the cab was unharmed. No glass shattered, but the front bumper was partially ripped off from hitting the pole, there's paint on the actual pole itself, and a small souvenier piece of wood still embedded in the front of the truck...and the only 2 things the girl could say to me was if I was all right, and that this wasn't the first car accident that she'd been in. No offense, but I would NOT be saying this to the pissed individual that you've left stranded in an area where you were the only white girl until the ambulance arrived.

So I called the cops, and the other girl felt it was her duty to move her car out of the center of the street. First of all, you do NOT move a car from an accident prior to the police arriving. There were about 15 youngsters around her, and about 5 older gentlemen, as well as numberous others standing around me asking if I was okay. Even they could tell by the damage that not only was it undriveable (yeah, the drive shaft is no longer attached to the front axel, I know this) but you could see where she hit me and that it was her fault. Then it started to rain, and the tears started. This was my man's truck, it needed some work, but it didn't deserve to be demolished like this. Called him at work, told him what happened, and then said I would let him know what happened.

Paramedics arrived, both of us refused treatment, I was feeling fine at the time, just really hopped up on adrenaline and being TOTALLY pissed off. Cop asked me for my statement, had a fireman ask my statement...I must have repeated myself 9 times before I had called my insurance company later on that day. So now it's raining, and I'm standing outside in the rain looking in the truck since there were tools in there. I pray that they'll still be there when we find out if it's totalled or not. If anything is gone I'm not only going to attack the towing company, but the police station as well since not only did I request, but my man requested the truck to be towed to where he works, since he's a mechanic and works at a garage that they could have brought it too. I even brought this up to the other girls insurance company (actually, her MOTHER'S insurance company) since I just got off the phone with them a while ago.

So it's raining, I'm outside pacing trying to think of what I need to do, the cop is in his car writing up information, then FINALLY...I swear it was probably about 10 minutes or so, he asks me to get in the back of the car. So I get in the back when the tow company is trying to get the truck on the tow bed (since they can't tow it by the front since the drive shaft would prohibit them from doing that). Then the cop drives out to the station, which turns out to be a trailer that apparently the person who has the key to get inside is nowhere to be found. So I'm sitting in the bad of the police car as the cop is filling out the paperwork. Then the girl who caused all this grief is in a car in front of us with a friend of hers, and comes to the cops window to see if he's done yet. Excuse me? F-you you little creatin...may your eyes be ripped from their sockets with a spoon, and by the way, I'm sorry that this is taking away from your exciting day. Not only THAT, but the cop had lowered the windows a bit, while it's raining, to get some air in the stuffy car. Then there's about 2 cop cars that go by asking what I did. I told them that I'd gotten hit...and the reason I was in the back was that I had no car! The nerve, they were judging me, a white girl, for being in a nonwhite neighborhood and being in the back of a police vehicle. I seriously wanted to start saying something to them, that just peeved me off even more. There will be a complaint made not only to the station, but to the village after we get our car back and I don't have to worry about Dixmoor ever again. What a hole in the center of nowhere, why I was driving that way I'll never know.

So later that night I ended up going to the docs since my left shoulder was bruising and in extreme pain, as well as my collarbone. Doc took x-rays, no problems. Gave me vicodin and a muscle relaxer shot...after being in the hospital for 4 hours. From 7pm till just after 10pm...then whatever I was given kept me up till 2am. Yeah, thanks a lot! I thought that was supposed to relax me!! Oh well, didn't go get the prescription, but have just been taking ibuprofen as needed. Left work a little early due to some pain, I shouldn't have gone in at all! At least I'm going to an orthopaedic next Tuesday to get my shoulder checked out, and see if MORE damage has been done to my already pathetic shoulder.

So that's what my weekend entailed...being stuck in the back of a cop car after being spun in a truck by a olds...she had to have been going fast to spin THAT truck...going to the docs for 4 hours Sat night, then dealing with ice and Advil for the next 2 days....I am so ready for a vacation. Anyone know a good lawyer, please send them my way...

Hugs, and hopefully I'll have a better story soon.

Bathing Suits

2008-04-21T17:34:00.003-05:00

In the 1960s the bathing suit for the mature figure was boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered.

They were built to hold back and uplift and they did a good job.

Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip.

The mature woman has a choice-she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus who escaped from Disney's Fantasia or she can wander around every run of the mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of florescent rubber bands.

What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material.

The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which give the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you are protected from shark attacks as any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately suffer whiplash.

I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place, I gasped in horror my boobs had disappeared!

Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took awhile to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib.

The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups. The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump.

I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a fullview assessment.

The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fit those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom, and sides. I looked like a lump of play dough wearing undersized cling wrap.

As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, "Oh, there you are", she said, admiring the bathing suit.I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me.

I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two-piece, which gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring.

I struggled into a pair of leopard skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.

I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.

I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them.

Finally, I found a suit that fit...a two-piece affair with a shorts style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it. My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured. When I got home, I found a label which read -- "Material might become transparent in water."

So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too ... I'll be the one in cut off jeans and a t-shirt!

I've been tagged!

2008-04-17T19:34:00.004-05:00

Goodness me, what have I gotten myself into?

First, the rules:
1. Each blogger answers the questions about themselves.
2. Then tag five people. Make sure to let them know!

What I was doing 10 years ago - (1998):That was the year I watched Lindsey date a bunch of guys at one time, then dump them for her current husband. Haha...I think I was working fulltime at Venture and obsessed with a guy named Kelly who screwed a friend of mine while doing a study group. Yeah, he had class...she had less...

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Pay bills
2. Eat
3. Dump out the smelly kitchen compost pail
4. Relax (but then again, that never happens)
5. Finish up this wonderous "tag"ing experience

Five Snacks I enjoy:
1. fresh baked anything (from scratch that is, premade packaged dough doesn't cut it)
2. ritz crackers and cream cheese...no idea when that started
3. toffee...Heath bars, Skor bars...my dentist loves me for it
4. Olive Garden bread sticks...that's a meal by itself!
5. I'm wicked addicted to peanut butter chocolate ice cream

Five Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off my debt and pay to have others finish this "Money Pit" of a house while I make pottery in my barn in the back...with electric wheel and huge kiln!
2. Fly all my girls to Vegas for rest and relaxation...with massages, spa packages, and room service galore!!! (and my girls consisting of Linds, Sarah, and the wonderous Princess Paw Paw).
3. Quit my job and go to school full time (yes, I'd still go to school, but I wouldn't have to worry about working full time while trying to do it)
4. Bitch slap Paris Hilton
5. Actually start planning the wedding.

Five of my bad habits:
1. I am overemotional
2. I relish to do absolutely nothing
3. Stress eater (aren't we all?)
4. sometimes I can be REALLY blond
5. I do for others more than I do for myself

Five places I have lived:
1. Batavia, IL
2. St. Charles, IL
3. Itasca, IL
4. Addison, IL
5. Steger, IL

Five jobs I’ve had:
1. Wal-Mart associate
2. UPS truck loader
3. waitress at Lonestar Steakhouse (otherwise known as the armpit of Hell-hey, you gotta admit, it was pretty cool to be able to eat all the pumpernickel bread you could...and who could match those wonderous line dance moves, and where else can you dance on a table without having to be partially nekkid?)
4. temp for multiple companies
5. telemarketer (yeah yeah, shortlived for about a month...wasn't worth it)

What I’d like to be doing in 25 years: Thanking the great almighty that the house is complete, and we can finally go on that Australia trip we've always wanted...a second honeymoon perhaps?

Anyone who wants to do this, enjoy. I know Linds has done this, and Sarah too...procrastination should've been one of my bad habits, but I procrastinated putting it up. Enjoy, and show me what ya got!

Check your receipts...

2008-04-13T11:55:00.004-05:00

Friday I was able to leave work early, and since my train wasn't due for another 1/2 hour, I decided to treat myself to a certain tasty frozen coffee concoction from a place that rhymes with Barlucks. I do not treat myself often, but thought I had deserved it after working overtime and working through my lunchtime. So as I'm walking, I stopped off at the coffeeshop located at the new location formerly known as the Marshall Fields building (got bless that landmark, unfortunately Chicago will never be the same since Macy's came to town and took over) and ordered myself a tall Mocha frappucino.

First, it took about 2 minutes to place my order in the empty shop, one person was doing bills (their bills, not the coffee shop bills), one girl was chatting with a friend over by the coffee machines, and one guy was cleaning the counters behind her. So I waited calmly until finally the guy cleaning the counters came to help. He was nice, young, and knew what he was doing. After he had finished, my order, I said thanks and that I needed to pay. Then the other person working on their bills came by and acted like it was a chore to take my money for services they had rendered. I should have just walked out after the drink was given to me, but I'm a nice gal. So then my order came to $4.92. I thought about it a second, handed the guy a $5, then thought about how much my order should have been.

After receiving my receipt, I looked at it, looked at the menu, and realized that a tall Mocha frap should have charged as $3.50, not $4.50 like the grande I had been charged. So I ask the other employees how much a tall should have cost, told them I had been charged more, and then the person who had put through the order (now in full Diva mode) started to complain how he wasn't feeling well, how the guy who had made the drink should have charged the order instead of waiting for his tired self to do it, that he was working on other things and was thinking of that instead of ringing up my order properly. Sorry sweetie, you're just being plain lazy, I saw you doing your bills with your checkbook off to the side, so don't pull that crap with me. So I was not only refunded my $5 and received my drink for free, I was given an additional $.92, yes, the number still astounds me, back as a "sorry for your inconvenience" amount. So not only did I get my money back, but given an addition $.92. No offense, and I'm surprised I got my money back, but the addition ninety-two cents just boggles me, as to why this was given back as well. Guess that was what my little 5 minute pop in that turned into a 15 minute headache cost...ninety two cents for my additional time. How some things work sometimes.

I do, however, know that I will not be gracing that location anytime soon, nor any coffee "Barlucks" location for now. I have found a wonderful blog by a friend about losing weight...check out Fatty Fatty two by four. Hilarious, lots of good tidbits, and wonderful helpful hints on the daily grudge of keeping down those pounds.

Well, that's my schpeal for now, have a wonderful day, and remember, if something doesn't look right on your receipt, it probably isn't. Make sure you were charged the correct amount, and if it's wrong, speak up! You don't look like the bad person for telling someone they charged you wrong, they did you a disservice. Plus, don't let them act like its a huge dramatic event because they charged you wrong, if that's the case, ask to speak to a manager, or get the persons name and report them. I pay for a service, I DO NOT pay for attitude, if I wanted that I'd have gone to Ed Debevicks where they give it freely for no extra charge.

The things you hear on the elevator...

2008-04-10T22:51:00.006-05:00

I heard what can be known as the most interesting conversation I've heard on the elevator today while leaving my place of employment. Mind you, I've been riding this elevator almost 6 and a half years now, and this one does take the cake. A girl had raced to get to the elevator, I was already on it from 2 floors above. One of her friends was yelling at her to hold the doors, and alas, I was no longer alone on my descent to the main lobby. Here is how the conversation went:

Boy: Wow, you were quiet getting out of here today.

Girl: Yeah, I'm in ninja mode.

Boy: Ninja mode?

Girl: Yeah, I'm quiet and quick, but I don't wear black all the time. Ninja's are people too ya know. But actually, I'd rather be a pirate. Pirates are cool and can travel on the seas in their big ships. I'd pillage and do what I wanted, and wear a big hat...and get gold, jewelry, and steal stuff...

Boy: What about the honor code?

Girl: Screw the honor code, I'd do what I wanted...

End of scene. The elevator doors opened and I swear I was going to pee my pants at what I just witnessed as I exited into the main lobby...from the mouth of babes I tell ya.

Then on my trek to the train station, a homeless man was sitting on the inside of the doors asking for change. Now, I don't mind everynow and again to share the lack of wealth that I have, but if I don't have money, don't get mad at me when I offer you my Pop-Tarts. You have no teeth, at least you can gum it to death and get some nourishment.

As for the weather, things have been pretty decent, besides the past 2 days being extremely rainy. Someone said they were calling for snow over the weekend perhaps....perhaps someone needs a boot to the head with that kind of talk? Hopefully things will dry up soon so I can plan the garden...oh to get my hands on some seedlings, and to transplant the raspberries who feel they need to overpower the strawberry plants since they do share the same raised bed...and the blueberry bushes (more like twigs, they're not doing so hot) need to be moved near the strawberries as well...the things I need to do, but not in this soggy mess I call a backyard.

But kids, it's time for me to say adieu. Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm leaving early...only to come back and have to run to pick up my x-rays from my previous orthopaedic doc for my shoulder...the only thing that doc did was take an x-ray, give me a shot of cortisone, send me to physical therapy for 8 weeks, and tell me to call him when the cortisone wore off. Actually, after the novocaine shot wore off 4 hours later, I was in more pain that I had been prior to his "miracle shot". Yeah, quack I tell ya, now I'm going to the same guy my significant other went to for his knee surgery, and apparently the doc knows all about me and my shoulder through loverboys doc visits. Actually made an appt towards the end of April, I'm so proud of me. But then again the rest is a story for another time, maybe I'll enlighten you later on this weekend if I have time...ah, time, something I seem to have so little of these days...

Adios, and catch ya later.

How time flies...and some pet peeves...

2008-03-30T00:48:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that it's almost April! Where has this time gone?!?!? Maybe it's because we're still in the mix for getting snow again this weekend. The next person who tells me we've got flurries on the way is going to get a knuckle sandwich!!!

So, what's been going on here...the man had knee surgery about a week ago. Torn meniscus, and he'd torn it not once, but twice!!! First time was last summer while working on the roof (probably the same time I messed up my shoulder and I think when I broke my left collarbone, which was found in an x-ray this past fall and didn't know I did it). That roof I swear was almost the death of us both!!! But he's doing better, he's been walking around since right after the surgery! Get this, the doc even called later on that night to see how he was doing!!! Who does that? Yeah, I'll definately be going to check out that place when I go get my shoulder checked out again.

The house is still in disarray, and actually went through a bunch of clothes that had been put on the couch after the closets were being cleaned out or fixed. I got rid of 7...yes, 7...bags of clothes that were either too small or old or no longer anything we felt we'd wear. Found that while going through the clothes on the couch, apparently we'd had some "guests" leave some presents on the couch as well. Yup, apparently the mice had come down from the attic and decided to check out the piles on the couch as well. I can't wait till we get the apolstry cleaner and give the couch a multi-cleaning...and then actually be able to sit on it for the first time in almost 6 months! The goal this summer is to redo the floors in the front bedroom area and living room (since the wall was torn down, it's now one huge living room in the front of the house) by leveling the floors, finishing the walls, repainting everything, putting in hardwood floors, putting in new ceiling fans (which were damaged last year when the roof was in the process and we basically had a waterfall coming in the living room and the bedroom through the fans from the holes in the roof) and finally finishing it off with a fireplace. Yeah, I think that'll be enough to do this summer!!! What do you think?

What else...I've got the HESI test this coming Thursday (pre-nursing test) and everyone I know is either freaking out about it because it's coming up, or are freaking out about it because they didn't do as well as they wanted to on it. I'm not worried though, it's just a pre test, and if I don't make it, then I'll find anyother place to take classes, or hey, maybe I'll take a year off, or take a class that I'd eventually need for my bachelors (yeah...that's a while away, so I'm not even going to START thinking about that at the moment).

Hmmm....been working overtime at work to make up for my better half being off with his knee. All I know is when he's back at work, it's my turn to get my shoulder checked out...and hey, if I'm off for a couple days or a week, then so be it.

Still have no idea about the wedding...everything's kinda on hold until I find out what's going on with the nursing program. Most likely it'll be around August of 2009, but then again, who knows WHAT is going to happen.

Got myself a workout bench and some weights to start...or should I say try...to get in shape. Loverboy has actually been using them everyday, which I'm happy for. Plus he can use it when they give him the okay when he can do more stretching for physical therapy for his knee. Me? I need to get myself into a schedule and get in gear. Think of it as stress therapy, which I've been having a lot of lately. Speaking of, my sweet man actually drew me a bath last night and told me to relax. Not only did he draw the bath, he set up music AND put a candle in there!!! Have I been extra catty lately and he wanted to calm me down? I dunno, maybe, but I could seriously start to get used to that!

What else...getting a C right now in Microbiology. I cannot wait till the end of the semester, then I'll finally have a break for the summer!!! I've been going to school nonstop since the fall of 2006, including taking a summer class. Yeah, no more summer classes, unless it's pottery or metalwork! I need to keep that grade, but I'd like to at least get by with a B by the end of the semester. Well see what happens.

Had a bit of a breakdown and had 3 cigarettes last weekend. It was that, or running out to pick up a gallon of ice cream. I was trying to do too much in too little time. I've realized that I don't need to get everything done RIGHT NOW, but that I can take my time for certain things, and get what NEEDS to be done complete first. You can believe me that I won't do that again, I felt horrible the next morning and I kick myself for starting in the first place!

So that's what's going on...so much to do, so little time, and so much time spent at work and with commuting. Now onto some pet peeves for the week:

If you're in a contest at work, pay your fees up front. Don't get mad when I ask you for the fees 6 weeks after the contest has begun, and then ask me to pay your fee and tell me I'm "thirsty" for your money. I'm not a personal bank, and if this was a contest done elsewhere, you wouldn't even be in the contest if you took over a week to pay the fine.

If you feel the need to pull out in front of me in your car, don't slow down to under the speed limit. Not only are you going to peeve me off, but the people behind me as well...and that's when the honking begins.

Don't give me a dirty look when the elevator comes to my floor and it's going down and unfortunately you're going up. It's not my fault...blame the elevator gods.

I will beat the next person I catch who feels the need to kill my mailbox with a bat.

Watch your kids when you're in a store...ANY store. We, the other customers, are not personal babysitters to discipline your kid when they feel the need to start a) throwing things, b) trying to open boxes of something to eat, c) tell your kid to move out of the way or not walk into your significant others butt because they're not looking (yes, just happened when we were both out and about today). Oh, and if you can't handle your kids, leave them at home or with a family member!

No, I do not want to "make his member bigger", or take a dietary pill/patch/supplement to help me lose weight, or receive anykind of payment from anyone who I do not know (though it would be nice), and I did not enter the UK lottery so I know I did not WIN the UK lottery. So stop sending me crappy emails!!!

So that's my yapping for the moment. It's actually 2:30am on Sunday morning. No, I have not stayed up the entire day, I did take a 2 hour nap earlier so I'm at the point where that's wearing out. So thanks for dealing with another day in my life, and I'll write more later. Maybe I'll write more later on today about what I wanna do with the garden? Now THAT'S what I'm waiting for...to start getting the garden prepped for the growing season! Hugs, and have a wonderful day!

From the Arctic world called Chicago...

2008-02-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, so someone's going to rip me a new one if I don't get another blog out. So here goes...

I HATE THE COLD!!! That's right, I said it. Now I don't mean ice cold water or even an occasional cold beer. To step outside into the "whatever winter wonderland" is losing it's sparkle. As the Midwestern girl, you'd think I'd be used to this weather by now, but this single digit, let alone (God forbid) negative temperatures, are really tweakin my keister! Now I know February is one of the suckiest months for temperature wise, but come on...it's 17 degrees outside, yet it's actually 8 with windchill!!! I don't even understand that...it's 17, but it's really 8. Why don't they just say it's 8 degrees and not confuse the heck out of us? One day it was 32 degrees, but with windchill it was 11...now that makes NO sense! So I check the weather channel and I'm thinking, "So it's not so bad outside at 32 degrees"...then I GO outside and the boogers in my nose freeze, my eyes are watering, and I can't grab the car door because it's too cold to the touch without gloves...I would've gone back inside if I hadn't needed to get something for dinner that night! Now if this is the way the weather is going to be from now on, I'm moving to Florida!

Now I know everyonce and a while we'd get weather below zero a couple of times a year, it's typical of the Windy City, but this is an ongoing battle with me wanting to stick a shovel up Mother Nature's bootay and tell her to cut us some slack! But at least it's getting lighter when I wake up in the morning...I miss waking up to it being sunny, and me not having to sleep in to wake up to it. The winter depression is really setting in, and you have no idea how happy I'll be when we start having mud instead of snow and ice all over the place. I'll happily take mud, that means I can start working in the garden!!! But then watch, I complain when the mud comes and everything is dirty. I swear, after the winter we've been having, I will wallow in the mud like a pig as long as it's not too cold outside to do it...I'll have a white outfit specifically for that moment, then I'll take a pic and put it on here...no fooling, and I'll take cash to post the pictures!

So what else is going on...I'm still smoke free!!! Stats of the moment:

My Stats: Your Quit Date is: 1/9/2008
Time Smoke-Free: 43 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes and 37 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 1086
Lifetime Saved: 8 days, 7 hours
Money Saved: $301.00

Whoo-hoo, I'm proud of me! I was even around smokers around the weekend, and had NO urge to bum one! Plus, a couple of the people have even started talking about quitting, so I sent them the link to the site I use to check my stats:

http://cookcounty.quitnet.com/qn_main.jtml?

You can also type in http://www.quitnet.net/ , but the link above is always what pops up after I type in this web address. They were surprised that I actually did it, now mind you I don't have the nic-fix energy I did before, but I'm trying to cope...and I've really cut down on the Mountain Dew to try to get some natural energy going rather than from the nicotine and caffiene. Bought myself a Magic Bullet ( it's NOT what some of you think...sickos!) to make some smoothies and I love it!!!

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13430918

I've been making strawberry smoothies with bee pollen (I bought the bee pollen last summer at a farmers market...it's supposed to give you energy), and even used it to grind up some cherry tomatoes to add to my pasta sauce and give it a fresher flavor. I could talk all day about cooking, but I'm not going to bore you today...we'll save that for another exciting time...

What else...etsy! What can I say about etsy. I get to be creative, yet I have no time to be creative. It's a wonderful place to shop for homemade and vintage goodness. This is my link-o-blog since I'm shooting out the links today!!!

http://www.etsy.com/

and my shop: http://www.abyiss13.etsy.com/ Not much to look at since due to school and the house from hell, I have no time to make, let alone list anything, but I'm trying to manage. It also helps me from ripping my hair out, and it's a good way to keep my hands preoccupied and not eating since I quit smoking.

What else...I've got at least 20 pounds to lose to be able to fit in a bridesmaid dress I got, and I haven't lost a pound!!! Well, I lost 3 pounds, but gained them back due to running from work to school and picking something up on the way, my niece's 4th b-day party (you cannot go to a family members birthday party and NOT have cake! And I even got yelled at for not wanting a piece!), and a NASCAR gathering where there was an abundance of the infamous Mr. Submarine sub tray!!! I swear, they lace the bread with crack, it's so addicting, and much tastier than a certain other sub place that I dare not mention for fear Jared will come knocking on my door, begging to differ. I've got an offer to go dancing this weekend, as a pre-birthday gathering, but this is the first weekend I've had since pre-Christmas/holidays (yes, I still say the word Christmas) and I plan to do absolutely nothing on Saturday that means leaving the house. I asked if we could do it next weekend, or if they go this weekend, let me know h0w the place is and we can celebrate next weekend and actually give people notice to come. Lol...I'm reading this last paragraph, and don't you love how my conversations can start off with losing weight, then turn into talking about subs, and end up talking about dancing? Just like my speech, my writing can turn on a dime.

Okay, what else...and I'm not kidding about that rolling in mud thing, anyone interested can send me a comment.

So I'm taking Microbiology, and being a bio buff, you'd think I'd be ace-ing the class. Nope, after 2 quizes and 1 exam, I'm at a C right now. How much do I suck? Apparently big time with the viruses, and bacteria, and microphages, etc. And I'm a whiz with the microscope! My staining techniques are next to perfection! Yet the friggin tests are kicking me in the cheeks I tell ya! But then again, you're going to love this, the tests are a, b, c, d, e, a and b, b and d, all of the above, none of the above...type questions!!! Man, if you've never had a test like that, then you're not being tested correctly! ARG!!! So I'm actually thinking about cutting down a couple of hours from work since the weekends are too stressful and busy for studying, even though I am stuck on the train something like 10 hours a week (with a 15 hour total commute, that's WAY too much traveling time unless you're making 6 figures), but that ain't a light book! Now if it was lighter, or if I could print out the specific pages needed for studying, I'd be more than happy to trek with that. I know, I sound like I'm whining, and yes, I am, but the fact is riding a train with 20 pounds of stuff on your lap, then putting it on your back and walking another 15-20 minutes to work, then doing the whole thing on the way back...speaking of back, mines already messed up and I don't need anymore problems...it's a little much. God bless the soldiers who carry 50lbs plus on their backs, I'd never be able to do it.

So here's my lengthy post for the day. Maybe I'll have more to write in a couple of days, maybe I'll take some time from my resting on Saturday to have a more whitty repose. Maybe I'll take some pictures and post them up for you all to see? Maybe I'll post some of my flowers, those will make me a little more cheery :) Maybe that, a chocolate fountain, a whirlpool spa makeover, and winning the lottery. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

First blog...welcome and sit a spell

2008-01-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

Okay okay, everyone and their mother has a blog, so I'm going to join the bandwagon. Unfortunately my life isn't too exciting at the moment...which is actually surprising seeing how as there's always something going on.

A little about myself, oh Arctic Chicagoland weather...will my toes ever thaw? I'm on the verge of frostbite on my little piggies...but then again maybe I'd be prone to a smaller shoe size? Speaking of, aren't women supposed to have small dainty feet? Arg, my goliath pedal digits are ginormous...thanks to the sense of humor from the Almighty Creator. Yeah, no flip flops here...and I know how you all are interested in my fashionable footwear...

What else...I recently quit smoking...yup, the bad habit is finite-o. After just about 8 years of puffing away my life, I decided to quit. Cold turkey even....hmmmm....cold turkey....with mayo and lettuce....geez, I need some breakfast right about now, and though Fiber One bars are quite tasty, not a replacement for good solid nourishment. So back to the smoking, I quit Jan 9th, 2008. Don't ask me why I chose that date, it was just one out of the blue, and after my previous dental visit and the planning of getting teeth fixed, getting checked for oral cancer, and getting my teeth whitened in the near future, I was destined to quit the cancer stick obsession. Signed up on http://www.quitnet.net/ to get some extra support and find out some helpful stats to keep me on track. And here are my stats of today:

My Stats:
Your Quit Date is: 1/9/2008 12:00:00 PM
Time Smoke-Free: 15 days, 23 hours, 22 minutes and 19 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 399
Lifetime Saved: 3 days, 1 hour
Money Saved: $112.00

My Med Plan:
No Medication

Yeah, quite a feat for me, even with a significant other that still smokes (but God bless him, he's cut down from 2 packs to a pack a day, and won't smoke in front of the computer in the bedroom anymore), and mutual friends that smoke and have TALKED about quitting, but have never taken the initiative to do it. I feel better since I stopped, I have a little more energy (it's only been a little over 2 weeks), and my olfactory lobes are slowly coming back to me...needless to say that my walk from the train station to work now reeks of urine and unmentionables...something I'm sure I was unable to acquire the stench on previously.

As a package deal, to keep myself from gaining weight during my oral fixation adjustment, I joined Weight Watchers as well, and actually lost 3 pounds my first week! In the words of Joey from Blossom...Whoa! Yeah, no kidding, right? So since I will be a bridesmaid this coming August, the weightloss is a huge effort to squeeze into a smaller dress size (yes, always attempted, rarely actually achieved). But I'm on a mission, I tell ya. Weight Watchers, no smoking, and eating better...2008 isn't the year of the rat, this is the year to finally get my keister in gear and get healthy!!!

So this is my schpeal at the moment. Trust me, this blog will not only be about no smoking, losing weight, and about my big feet...I'm a jack of trades kinda gal...kinda like (and I quote my friends) Martha Stewart on crack with my "gifted" qualities. And by "gifted" I mean creative rather than little yellow school bus special. I'll be posting interesting pictures I take, find, or create...maybe I'll take a pick of my growing garden, or the effects of when deer take over my 1st attempt at growing corn (sigh...that was a sad moment). So hope you enjoy what you read today, I guess I better get back to work seeing how as I'm not getting paid to slack off...or am I? Laters!