Old Guys Dig Me

She's Crafty

2011-02-13T20:59:00.001-08:00

I've been really awful at keeping up with blogging; and I've been super busy trying new things (like quilting!) So, I've started a craft blog if you're interested in that sort of thing.

you can find me here.

What Married People Do

2011-01-11T18:55:00.001-08:00

Hi Guys!

How were the holidays? I want to say that mine were good - but they flew by in a flurry of wedding parties and drive-by Christmases.

My BFF Emily got married December 19th. Prior to that we had her bachelorette party (which was really a crafting sleepover during which we finished a lot of her wedding projects). We had an adorable bridal shower - it was vintage 50s housewife themed. So I made an apron shaped cake and sported a cupcake covered apron.

And even with all of that going on, I still had time to finish the Christmas gifts I was crocheting - including these two hat and scarf sets. (one for my sister in law and one for my sweet niece)

I was also able to finish a hat and sweater set for my 6 month old niece.

Plus(!) we found time to take the kids to see santa!
That was a true experience. We've taken Daisy and Meatloaf to see santa at the same store every year. The last two years, santa was a little woman. This year santa was a big man. But he wasn't jolly. In fact, he was afraid of dogs(!) I know, right?! It was annoying. But the pups looking adorable. So there is that.

We spent Christmas with all the families - Mark's mom's side the weekend before, my dad's side on Christmas eve, My mom and her side on Christmas day. Overall, married Christmas is pretty awesome. I got a bunch of fun baking things (ingredients, pans, etc), fabulous books, adorable clothes (and boots!) I must have been very very good.

We followed up all that excitement with a low key New Year's on the couch.

And you know what comes with the New Year right? Resolutions. I haven't made real resolutions but I definitely want to spend more time doing things I enjoy. And spend more time at the dog park (these things go together, mostly). I don't like that I only read 6 books last year. Though, I had a good excuse. haha. I made a goal of reading 111 books this year. I've read 3 so far, so I'm on target.

I hope to blog more - and keep the internets up to date on my latest creation or book review. I've missed you guys.

Happy Monthaversary!

2010-11-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Remember back when I was planning a wedding? Yeah, so, we did it! We got married October 2 - and it was wonderful and beautiful and so much fun. I giggled my way down the aisle. Cried through a song with my Mom and my Maid of Honor. Laughed at the sniffles that came from all my bridesmaids during the ceremony; hooted when Mark got down to "Low."

I adored each and every one of my vendors. We did such a great job picking such wonderful people. I've talked to every one of them in the month since the wedding - because it would have been weird to just not talk to them again. We had developed friendships that went beyond just working a wedding.

Things I'm so glad that we did: Sprung for the cake I wanted, trusted my gut on the first photographer and went with a new one (even though I lost my deposit), giving my DJ free reign to really play what they want and read the crowd, rented the bridesmaid dresses, had someone else do my hair and makeup, spent the night with my mom and best friends the night before, asked my sweet new niece to be our flower girl, let Mark choose a friend to perform the ceremony (he was a jack of all trades), had a low-key rehearsal dinner, Mark surprising me with a champagne that I LOVED, letting our bridal party with with their guests (at tables of honor), video recorded the ceremony, getting snacks for the rooms - I was famished after dancing that much, oh yeah - and getting married to my best friend.

Things I would have done differently: I would have looked at Mark more when I walked down the aisle (I kept looking at our friends and family), and I wouldn't have stressed about anything - because the things I worried about were inconsequential on the day of.

oh, but I know what you really wanted anyway - the pics!

Wedding Stationary Reviews

2010-05-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Back in December, my pal Ashley at Bride on a Budget hosted a giveaway. (she hosted lots of giveaways, but this one I actually won!) It was for some personalized stationary/thank you cards from Gifts in 24.

My information was sent off to them in December and when I hadn't heard anything in February, I contacted Ashley; who let me know that when she got her items from them they took FOREVER and to just sit tight. Considering I'm still 5 months out from the wedding now - I wasn't in a hurry. But in March and April when Ashley followed up again (and I followed up once as well) Gifts in 24 didn't have any record of my order or the contest or anything. And they were unwilling to work with Ashley to make it right. So, boooooooo on them. Seriously.

BUT, what did work out well is that Ashley worked her magic and was able to give me an alternate prize. And what a prize it was! The fine folks at Vistaprint offered me 100 free thank you cards. They even threw in expedited shipping, since I'd already waited so long for my prize.

I have ordered from Vistaprint before and was very impressed with their business cards (We had our photo sharing cards printed through them) but the thank you cards were even better. We had them printed on linen paper - and they fit nicely with the sunflower theme of our wedding. Besides, it's the first thing I have with my new name on it! And I adore the printed pattern on the inside of the card too.

So, a big thank you to Vistaprint and to Ashley!

The Lucky One

2010-05-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about you; but when I think about my luck, I don’t consider myself to be very lucky. I was lucky once in the third grade. I won a bicycle in a raffle I got entered into for reading a bunch of books. (It was called Books and Beyond). Ironically, my parents had just bought me the same bike a week earlier. Go figure.

This may explain why I don’t find myself gambling very often. Sure, I enjoy going to Thunder Valley with my family, but I mostly just do it for the buffet. I play a few dollars on the slots and usually lose. I don’t usually play table games when we do local trips. However, once we’re out of town – I find that I can be drawn to the blackjack table.

I blame this on necessity mostly. Because it’s where I got my start in blackjack. Back in my yeehaw days, we did monthly Reno runs. We’d drive up, spend the weekend in a seedy (ie cheap) hotel and go dancing all night long. On one such trip, we found ourselves short on cash and low on gas. So I decided to risk it and play blackjack (I had about $10 to my name at the time).

Next to me was a nice gentleman who helped me to really learn to play the game. It must be noted that this nice gentleman was a one-armed trucker. And no, I’m not kidding. He showed me when to hit and when to stay. I even learned to double down. I was able to win enough money that night to not only fill the tank with gas, but to buy everyone breakfast on our way out of town.

These days I don’t play much. I’d still prefer to play in the kid’s area where I’m guaranteed a prize. But I can see where people might really enjoy gambling in their spare time. If not for the convenience, but to avoid the cigarette smoke. That’s enough of an incentive. And, as Rook says, you don’t need pants. Just sayin’.

For those of you who are into the online gambling scene, you should check out Casino Las Vegas. It’s an online gaming site with all of the games that you would find in Vegas. Including blackjack. I don’t think they have any one-armed truckers though. Sorry about that.

More Wedding Junk (with pics)

2010-04-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

I have photos!

I finished the flower girl basket today. It's got sheer bows/ribbon in burgundy/black/white on the sides. I had them flowing down but with a black and white patterned dress, I thought it was too much.

And the table numbers were done over the weekend (they are little table tents - but you can't tell that from the photo).

Now it's your turn to weigh in on the cake topper. There are three that I've gotten over the course of our engagement. One is a Princess House Crystal bride and groom, another is a set of birds, and the last is a vintage (40s or 50s) ceramic couple. Mark really wanted people and not animals - so I think it's really between the vintage couple or the crystal couple. What do you think?

for those of you who are budget concious, here is the breakdown.

Flower Girl Basket - $10.20

$3.20 basket (easter clearance at michaels)

$2.00 flowers (2 bunches from dollar tree)

$3.00 ribbon

$2.00 green stuff to stick flowers in

Table Numbers - $13.00

$3.00 white card stock

$1.25 damask paper

$1.25 black textured paper

$7.50 adhesive (martha stewart - full price michaels)

Cake Topper - $14.75 (i included them all since I won't be returning any of them)

$0.00 Crystal bride and groom (gift from my aunt - she bought it at a yard sale)

$6.75 birds (full price at michaels)

$8.00 vintage couple (flea market find!)

Finally Feeling Accomplished

2010-04-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

I can't shut off my brain. I feel like I need to be doing more; but there's too many things to do that I haven't been able to pinpoint anything.

I think it's been a week that I've been telling myself, "you need to make a list." And I LOVE lists. But I still couldn't manage to even put that together.

So, this weekend, I finally sat down and just did one thing from my list. I had made table numbers for the wedding a few months back - but I didn't think about the fact that they needed to be double sided. (00ps!) So I busted out my paper trimmer, printed table numbers, printed paper, and textured black paper. They all turned out PERFECTLY (yeah!!) I did one for the sweetheart table. and then 1-8 and 10 & 11 for the ten tables (no table nine!)

It's sad, but I felt SO MUCH BETTER just because I got that one small thing done. And Mark spray painted the little for the flower girl basket. So now I can start putting the flowers and ribbons on that.

This weekend we get to see our little flower girl - and give her the dress I bought. It's just darling - I'm very excited. Saturday is her 7th birthday. :)

In other news - something I never thought I'd say....I LOVE Kate Gosselin's hair. The do she had when she got kicked off DWTS is just darling! you know, except for it being fake. lol

******

We took the puppies to the river - it was Meatie's first time out there and Daisy hadn't been since last summer. Meatie did really good and didn't poop out too quickly. And they both played in the river.

Meatie's on the last of his pills for a staph infect/allergies. I'm hoping that will fix all his itchy issues so we can shave him and be cool for the summer. Poor guy.

Sorry I don't have anything more exciting. Or photos for that matter. I'll really have to start working harder on that. :)

Product Review - Online Eyeglasses from GlassesUSA

2010-03-17T12:54:00.001-07:00

I have toyed with the idea of doing product reviews on my blog because 1) I like getting a recommendation from someone about a product that works and 2) I have an OPINION. I do.

So I'll probably introduce this feature once a week or so. (any excuse to buy new products!)

For my initial review - I'm going to start with something I've desperately needed, and yet, hadn't really attended to. Eyeglasses. If you're like me, you put off going to the optomotrist because it's like a trip to Costco. You can't leave without spending several hundred dollars.

But, I was prompted to go when I got an email from GlassesUSA offering me a free pair of prescription glasses in exchange for a review on my blog. So, I went to the dr. and got my updated prescription. I sent it over the same day along with my selection of glasses from their website - and within 2 weeks they arrived at my door! ADORABLE! And PINK! With rhinestones!

I was very impressed with the style, the promptness, and the customer service. I was also impressed with the company's "recycling" program. GlassesUSA does not restock returned glasses - they donate all of their returned eyeglasses to various organization around the US who then sanitize and redistriubte with the correct prescription to people all over the world who can't afford vision care. As they say, seeing properly shouldn't be a luxury - it should be a necessity!

I was seriously excited about the selection Once I received the glasses - I thought I could have done a better job at picking the style. Which is totally my error because I had noticed on the website that the lenses looked larger than what I'm used to - but I couldn't get past the shiny pink/rhinestone. So I ended up with a "nerdy" look - which is okay - because it fits my personality. And the perscription was perfect. And the prices are phenomenal. The glasses I bought through my optomotrist would have cost me over $300 without insurance - with insurance they cost $104. However, a similar pair through glasses usa would have cost around $50! I never would have considered buying glasses online before - but I'm definitely going to be going through them again. At these prices, I can afford an entire glasses wardrobe. And lord knows I love me some accessories!

For those of you in the market - GlassesUSA is offering a discount to my readers. Just use the code Mommy5 to receive 5% off your final order!

Disclaimer: I received a pair of precription eyeglasses for this review. No other compensation was received and the opinions in this post are solely mine.

Whew!

2010-03-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

So I think I'm finally winding down. yeah - it's 10:45. Speaking of which, I'm watching Chelsea Lately's big interview special. I'm feeling weird about the fact that Bradley Cooper is wearing an ill-fitting shirt and is sweating profusely. And somehow his face looks pointier. Maybe it's my new glasses.

Anyway - It's been a crazy week. I have spent most of my week running around like a crazy person. I am lucky in that my boss trusts me to get things done and to get them done well. However, this greatly increases my workload. And unfortunately, I can't delegate most of it because it's like finishing up projects that I've been privy to for months. That, and keeping up with assigning other tasks and making sure things are completed - it's just a huge transition.

I left the office early today so I could go get my cute new glasses (yeah!). I spent about an hour enjoying being at home (read: straightening up) and then I left to help my mom finish a job. My mom owns her own cleaning business and does cleaning of empty houses/apartments for property management companies. She had two big jobs today and it was only her - so I helped. :) (thankfully I didn't break a nail. I'm not usually big on manual labor. just sayin')

Then I got home and had to eat dinner and feed the pets and and and etc etc etc. I finally sat down at 10 to go over my work email - I made a "to do" list. (1/2 my to dos and 1/2 "check and make sure someone else did" list) The list is three pages long (so far).

I'm down to 65 emails. YEAH! Now there are two loads of laundry waiting for me to fold them and a nice warm shower. I'm really looking forward to crossing all these items off the list. I'm really really looking forward to wearing jeans to work, since it's technically our friday.

And I'm ESPECIALLY EXCITED that in less than 48 hours I'll be hanging out in San Francisco with my pal Julie! (and hopefully Mrs. F) Oh? did I fail to mention this earlier? It will be the first time we've met, and I'm uber looking forward to it. I'll take lots of pictures. I promise.

Dog Park Drama

2010-03-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we attempted to take Daisy and Meatie for a walk around the park. You know, so we could also get exercise. Unfortunately though, with all the stopping and starting and tripping and squirrel chasing - we got more annoyed than exercised.

So we decided to leave after doing just one mile - and hit the dog park on our way home.

We were suprised by how well Meatie did. Daisy is Miss Social and likes to check out everyone and run around a lot and get things going. She's super nosey and always wants to know what's going on when there is something going on. She's not shy.

Meatie, on the other hand, is a baby baby mama's boy. He whines a little and he hides a lot. He sticks close. And if he does get brave enough to run off; he always looks back to make sure we are we he left us. He had also developed a bit of a limp in his front legs; which we blame on growing pains. However, on Saturday - his limp was gone and he was being very social. It probably helps that he's as big as Daisy now (55 pounds!) (and still growing! ack!)

So Daisy was boxing and playing and running with another dog, Bo. And then another dog joined in, and then Meatie did too - and they ran and they jumped and they played.

Until Meatie got rolled and stepped on - and he FREAKED THE F OUT! He was YELPING so loudly I thought he'd like lost a limb or something. And the other dogs ran off like, "OMG please make that noise stop!" and the other owners all stopped and stared. We ran over to him; expecting to see a dislocated shoulder or something - (he was holding his foot up, so I should have known better) - but he seemed fine. I was petting his face (he was still yelping for like 30 more seconds!) and Mark was poking and prodding to see if he had a tender spot.

But, fortunately he was mostly just startled.

He was up, not limping, and ready to play again within minutes.

I'm very thankful not only that the experience didn't break his spirit - but also that it didn't break the bank by requiring a vet visit. whew!

Manager = Never Getting Anything Done

2010-03-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

So I finally got a (psuedo) promotion. I took on an "acting" manager position while another person is on maternity leave. All my career (until fairly recently) I did NOT want to go into management. But, when I got closer to the top of my pay scale - I reconsidered.

Today was my first day.

I managed to get barely any real work done. It's no wonder the managers stay so late - they do that so they can actually do something. And it's not like we're answering questions all the time (though, I do have three new people on my team - and no experienced staff on my team - so I do get questions...but that's the fun part.) It's the meetings. Meetings about meetings. Premeetings to discuss meeting that never even happen. Meetings to discuss changes to the organization - that may or may not ever come to fruition.

They started at 9 and went till lunch. They started at 1 and went to 4:15. In between I answered two emails and was never able to get online to check my gmail. sad.

Though being thrown in at full speed will definitely get me the experience that I was looking for. And might just reinforce my previous stance of never wanting to be a manager. :)

In other news, I got cute new glasses. Two different pairs from two different places. More on that in a week or two.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Store?

2010-03-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Years ago when I had roommates - I had one that smoked. She only smoked outside, and it wasn't a big deal.

Except that it was obvious to our neighbors that she smoked. and if she smoked, that meant that there were cigarettes in our house.

So the fourteen year old son would come over and say, "my mom wants to know if she you have a cigarette she can have." Being that 1) I don't smoke and 2) I can smell bull from a mile away - I did not give him a cigarette.

Over the years the requests have been more frequent and less interesting. And to clarify - we do not live in the 50s where all the neighbors borrow cups of sugar and bring over casseroles when someone is sick. Instead I paint this picture: I've had to call the city twice to remove the abandoned shopping carts.

ugh.

Things my neighbors have asked to borrow from someone living in my house:

an air mattress (my roommate never asked for it back and we never saw it again)
a pump for the air mattress (she may have gotten this back)
cigarettes (uh, I think not)
dog food (in a baggy - I can't deny the puppies)
three tupperware containers of ice over a two day period
and today: 3 eggs (also in a baggie - I'm secretly hoping she sends over cake...but suspect that somehow eggs are being used to cook up meth in their garage)

In other news: I started Weight Watcher's last week and I lost FIVE (5!) pounds this week! yeah!

Roll Call

2010-02-24T21:57:00.001-08:00

It's time to make yourself known. Who is still out there?

I feel like I've been out of touch for too long. Especially after I checked in with Rhi and saw that she's planning her wedding to "the boy" that I remember her going on her first date with. And after I heard through someone else that Erin is expecting twins!!

So congrats to you both!!

Can I just say that everything I know about my blog friends I learned on Facebook? Facebook is ruining the face of blogging. It's too easy to twitter or facebook a one-liner. Who knew we'd see the day when we thought blogging was a more personal way to keep in touch? hehe.

As such, every post ends up being an "update" of what's been going on. After a rocky start to 2010, I think things are getting much much better.

The puppies have made life a little more crazy. We added Meatloaf to the mix and he was pretty well behaved when he was tiny. Now he's Daisy-sized and he's LOUD. He likes barking. He also thinks "sit" means "speak." Which is actually just darling. Much cuter than how he thinks "high-five" means "bite the hell out of my arm."

Work is work. Nuff said.

Mark hurt his back pretty bad, which left me bowling alone (and badly). But, thankfully, he'll be back next week. whew! And he's going to be starting softball again next week. That will be nice - except that the weather isn't nice yet; so I have to prepare for cold nights. (some of the games start at 9:30!)

Other than that - it's all wedding, all the time. haha.

I'm really down to just finding one vendor. The DJ. We have a meeting with some people next month that I'm hoping will fit the bill perfectly. I'm very happy with the line-up we've arranged for this shindig. Everyone really fits in with our personalities and the feel we want for the day. Today I met with my fabulous florist to get things squared away. She came up with some pretty ideas; you can see them here.

I finished putting the ribbons/charms on the bubbles. Of course, I figured out that the basket I bought is too big for them (grrrrr).

I also did some mockups of the programs - which one do you like better? Mark is leaning towards the one that folds up. I'm indecisive. You know this.

Next on my list? deciding on invite wording and starting to print the invites. woot!

BLAH-ging

2010-01-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm totally blah. Sorry about that.

I'm back in full wedding planning mode, and also feeling sorry for myself. Neither of these things have anything to do with the other.

I'm typing two handed, but probably shouldn't be. I had a punch biopsy on my shoulder today and I keep pulling the stitches. Not good. I'm listening to poor little Meatloaf whine in his bed because Sister-Daisy didn't have to go to bed too. He'll be over it in about a minute though because he's just seriously good natured. He's a happy little guy. I'm hoping he's going to love that he's going to daycare with Daisy in the morning. He's still a little skittish around other dogs; but he's getting used to them. I'm hoping daycare helps.

Hopefully it will help him to forgive us when he goes in to be neutered on Thursday.

Yeah, probably not. But again, he'll get over it. Besides, he'll get extra special treatment too, I'm sure. I'll be home with him for three days in a row - so yeah, one spoiled puppy coming up!

Today I did lots of googling. Looking for DIY flower arrangements. I'm really leaning towards using sunflowers, which seems like a fairly easy thing to put into bouquets. I have the prettiest black and white damask ribbon that will look fabulous. I'm just worried about buying bulk wholesale flowers and having something go wrong or have them arrive looking awful and giving me nothing to work with. Although, I haven't heard any bad reviews...so I'll probably go that way. (I'll also probably order the smallest order I can in the next month or so - that way I can check out the quality and my DIY abilities!)

I've got a DJ appointment scheduled. They are actually driving down (about an hour and a half from here) to meet with us. They seem really nice and are VERY reasonably priced. I got a suggestion from a friend at work....her DJ played the more classic smoother music at the beginning of the evening (read: for the older people) and then slowly moved into more modern dance music as the night wore on. Seriously though, I think that when it all comes down to it - it will be like my girlfriends (and their boyfriends because they will be stuck!), Mark's friend Gregg, my mom and my aunt Claudia...they will be the ones left standing.

I also went ahead and booked a trial run with a makeup artist that I found online. She's located very close to where the wedding will be held; and she was running a special this month. (free trial and 25% off!) So, while it's a bit early - I'm going to do that next week. I figure it's not like hair - my face will probably not change color/tone before October. It's funny because she asked me to bring photos of "makeup inspiration" and I realized that all the photos I pulled are of the same girl. LOL Apparently, I know what I like. (not too dark, smokey eye, pink glossy lip) It was actually kind of funny too because I sent out an email to my bridesmaids just letting them know that if they were interested in getting theirs done - that I was doing a trial and they all were interested - and one even asked if someone was coming to do hair too. I hadn't decided that yet either. Maybe closer to I'll look into that. I'm not sure what kind of veil for sure yet since I'm making some dress modifications. :)

I think Mark and I picked out the style of the cake too. I found a photo online of a white cake that had black lace placed onto it. And since my dress mod includes adding black lace trim - I think that might work out just perfectly.

gosh, I feel like I haven't gotten anything done, but once I started typing it all out - I realize I am not nearly as bad off as I thought! Especially since we're going to meet with the caterer to finalize everything next month and we're going to go check out the classical guitarist (for the ceremony) next month as well.

I really need to get on the elliptical and get camera ready for our engagement pics - I'd like to do them in May(ish).

So what are you guys up to?

Meatie Monday!

2009-12-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve marked Meatie's first trip to the dog park (it was the day after Meatie's first bordatella and rabies vaccines). He was a little nervous, so he hid between my feet for the first little bit. Then he gradually followed his sister's lead.

She was really good with him - he didn't want to get too far away from us, so he'd follow her a little ways...and then she'd run back to check in with him. If she went to fetch a ball - she'd bring it back to where he was and drop it so he could pick it up and bring it back. She's a sweetie!

He got to go into the little dog park - but that made him even more nervous because little dogs are assholes (just sayin').

(doesn't he look GINORMOUS?!)

I think he enjoyed it though - and I know Daisy had a blast. They were pooped by the time we got home. Hopefully he'll get to go again soon.

Paper!

2009-09-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

My office is getting more and more stingy with the websites as of late. I tried uploading pics to photobucket, but it wouldn't allow it. Which meant I couldn't post to theknot.com. So I tried uploading the pic to our wedding planning website, but that's blocked too. GRRRR.

So I'm posting the first step of my table numbers here. Good thing I hardly ever blog :)

I plan to put a thin burgundy border around these, and then a thicker black and white damask frame around that. I'm still deciding on whether or not I will put them on the table in a clip or if I'll use floral picks to have them sticking out of the centerpieces.

Some Things

2009-08-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

::tap tap tap::
Is this thing on?

Yeah, so some people (hi! Mark!) have complained that I don't blog anymore. But, most of you aren't either. So here is the long version in short form.

101 Things

1. I got a new job
2. At a craft store
3. its my "fun job"
4. because my "real" job sucks
5. a lot
6. plus, I get discount
7. for wedding stuff!
8. speaking of which - less than 14 months till we get married!
9. we picked out the bridesmaid dresses
10. they are burgundy
11. we are renting them
12. I found a florist that can do all our flowers for 1/2 of what we budgeted
13. which means I'm splurging on the cake I want
14. it's orange truffle filling with chocolate cake
15. and probably raspberry truffle with white cake
16. gosh, I want some cake now
17. they've re-orged my office again
18. for like the 3rd time in 6 months
19. I'm definitely applying elsewhere
20. I found some super cute clothes this weekend
21. Mark and I put my elliptical together on Thursday
22. I've used it once since then
23. I started another semester of tennis class tonight
24. it sure was hot outside chasing balls since we aren't very good
25. had a fun girls night on friday
26. watched 27 dresses (again)
27. mark says that all my movies have weddings in them
28. ha! Post Grad did NOT have a wedding in it! yeah!
29. it also wasn't very good
30. go figure
31. I have Definitely Maybe from Netflix
32. Which will probably sit for another week till I get around to watching it
33. Last movie we netflixed was Forgetting Sarah Marshall
34. It made us laugh
35. But there was a little too much wang in it for my taste
36. Daisy went on her first camping trip
37. It was short lived
38. she lacerated her inner thigh about 4 inches
39. two emergency vet visits, and she's healed
40. she went on another camping trip the next weekend
41. with only a minor potty incident
42. I'm talking Mark on the bluetooth
43. I still don't know how to use it that well
44. I'm super excited about reading the new October 2010 Knottie Book Club book
45. I'm not so excited about reading the SDBBE book I got in the mail
46. I just can't get into it
47. I miss my bloggy friends!
48. Where you guys at?!
49. Thank goodness for Facebook right?
50. My friend's dad calls it spacebook
51. He's not trying to be funny
52. I'm super excited to go to Mark's brother's wedding
53. less excited about spending money to go
54. but my boy is very handsome in a tux
55. and I have a cute dress
56. Plus I love his new sister-in-law
57. I'm really glad we'll be family
58. Did I mention less than 14 months?
59. We're getting married in a historic church
60. Unless they close down the state park that it's in
61. Then we're getting married on the river
62. which isn't as nifty
63. but will work as long as I get to marry my hunny
64. Did you just throw up a little?
65. Sorry!
66. A couple of my friends are going through crappy stuff
67. I feel helpless because there's nothing I can do
68. but I listen good
69. and apparently with bad grammar
70. I'm feeling motivated to do something crafty
71. but not motivated enough to make a mess pulling the crafty stuff out
72. I wish I had the motivation to really sort through all my stuff
73. and have a yard sale or donate it
74. I hate clutter
75. yet, it usually exists
76. I have fun new friends at work
77. We do lunch and fro yo
78. and bitch
79. I went 23 days without soda
80. but I drank one today
81. the first sip was heaven
82. then not so much
83. but at least I won't crave it again for awhile
84. I really want to lose 20 pounds by the time I go dress shopping
85. In October
86. And then I'd like to have to wear a smaller size because I lost 30 more pounds
87. I lost 4 last week
88. only 46 more to go
89. GAH!
90. I'm actually bummed that Megan Wants a Millionaire is being cancelled
91. and relieved that Ryan guy didn't win
92. because I actually HEART Megan
93. even if she is pretty useless
94. I'm looking forward to relaxing this evening
95. and maybe getting to bed before midnight
96. which hasn't happened in a LOOOOONG time
97. of course, I won't get there if I keep trying to think of more things
98. I've been struggling since about number 45 or so
99. Mark's home
100. Gonna go say hi
101. Bye for now!

Another Reason To Hate Work

2009-06-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Shouldn't it go without saying that if you are giving a deadline to complete an assignment, and you know that will not be able to make that deadline - or that the deadline is approaching and you may not be able to make it -- that you would let someone know rather than hope that the person expecting your assignment to forget all about it when you don't turn it in?

So then, why did I have to send an email today that said, "you missed the deadline friday, please submit to me by NOON TODAY. If you are unable to meet that deadline please communicate with me so that i don't have to keep tracking you down and you don't have to keep getting these emails"

seriously.

It's Quality Not Quantity

2009-06-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't been a very good blogger (Mark keeps reminding me that I haven't updated). However, I am saving you from the "the dog chased the cat, she barked, I made her go outside, she ran around and then we all went to bed" type of entry. You're welcome.

However, I'm pretty excited about the fact that I have another tie in (sort of). As I sit here typing, I am not only watching Dr. Phil, but I am also NOT going to the grand opening of the new Super Walmart that is like less than 1/2 a mile from my house. However, Miss V is publishing my Walmart story on The Aisle Files on Thursday. Be thankful it isn't the one where Emily laid the smack down on a very small troll like woman. That's another story for another time.

Since I don't update often, let's appeal to the masses on several levels.

1) I joined a "The Biggest Loser" club at work. It's a team weight loss competition, and we're going to be putting together walking teams too - so hopefully that will get me on the right track to being the size I want to be before seriously dress shopping.

2) Speaking of which (this in particular is for Lindsey), we're still tossing around ideas on theme/color for the wedding. Any suggestions? links? pictures? The only things that are certain are the location which has medium color wood floors and chairs, and 1/2 wood walls with white/cream on top and a stone fireplace; and silver accents and sunflowers. Everything else theme/color wise is up for discussion.

We've gone from burgundy and leaves to tangerine and lemon. I'm still thinking fall, but with a kick. And seriously, any ideas you have, please send 'em. There's a darling flower patterned dress on david's bridal's website and also - the cute pattern - also comes in shoes! peep toes! really! So with a maid of honor in patterned dress and solid shoes and bridesmaids in solid dresses with patterned shoes....swoon!

But is it fall enough? and is it mean to make the girls wear orange?

Also - I think we might go more traditional with the cake topper - though, we're avoiding the one where the bride has her legs wrapped around the groom. I think that should be saved for the wedding night, if you know what I mean.

But what about something like this? (also - Mark hasn't seen these so...tell me what you think, Mr!)

And I think that's all I have. Besides, my dinner is ready. hehe.

A Post With a Tie In

2009-06-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited because 1) it's been forever since I've blogged and I actually came up with something that I think you will want to weigh in on and 2) that I have an actual tie-in because I've been so lazy and watching awful TV all week.

As you know, my life has become "all things wedding" - you know, between bitching about work and going to book club. While surfing the knot at work (shuddup), I noticed a link to a groom's site called "the plunge." It sounded interesting, so I checked it out.

Most of the advice was pretty right on. For example, including a female friend in the wedding and fighting to have that friend in the wedding. Unless you've slept with her. Then no. Not even if the bride to be says it's okay. It will NEVER be okay. Well done The Plunge.

Then I moved onto the article about the groomsmen responsibilities. One of which is making sure that the groom doesn't cross "the cheating line" at the bachelor party. The article linked to other articles that explained certain areas in detail. Such as exactly where that cheating line is. It basically ranked different types of cheating - and the author indicated that his threshold is kissing. Kissing is definitely cheating. But innocent flirting wasn't. He also ranked having sex with a random girl as worse than having sex with a stripper. Which, I also agree with. I mean, sex with a real girl could lead to something like a relationship. Sex with a stripper leads you to the poor house.

Of course, the next link was too - I cheated, now what?! Okay, so ideally, your groom to be wouldn't cheat. But, the article talks about how depending on what line was crossed, how the groom should handle it. Most of the advice was to "let it lie" (read: don't tell). I was horrified. But then I thought about it some more. I'm definitely not condoning it, nor am I giving someone permission to have one last fling - but really, I can see where not much good would come from telling the bride about an indiscretion that was a one-time, alcohol induced mistake.

And the other side of me says, he better tell her. And she better kick him in the balls.

I think the real problem is that if he cheated, (a one-time dumb thing), at a bachelor party...there are too many other people who know about it for it to remain a secret forever. It's just not possible. Someone will tell their wife/girlfriend and word will get back to the bride, and then oh crap will there be hell to pay! Besides, if anyone else knew about it, and the bride found out later, she'd feel like everyone's been looking at her like she's an idiot. If there were guarantees in life, one of which being that no one will ever find out that you were a scumbag, then I'd agree to let it lie. Especially if it were just a kiss. Don't do it. But if you do, don't tell us.

For example, on Paris Hilton's My New BFF (see! awful TV!), Paris had her BFF Wannabees throw a bachelor party for one of her friends. During the party, one of the girls "beat him with her vagina" in the worlds most puke-evoking lap dance; while another girl kissed the groom after he bellowed to the crowd "I need one last REAL GOOD kiss."

They revealed their indiscretion to his fiance the next morning in a "walk of shame" meeting where they berated the kissing wannabee. Needless to say, the Fiance was NOT HAPPY. She accepted the girl's apology and told him "they have some things to talk about." THIS, would have been a good time to not have the whole thing on tape. You could have just let it go. I mean, the fiance had to be pretty clueless considering she is/was going to marry a guy who is FRIENDS WITH PARIS HILTON. A guy who's bachelor party was thrown by Paris Hilton. THIS was perhaps your first of several clues that maybe this guy wasn't marriage material.

So tell me - where do you fall in this debate?

Also - disclaimer - this has nothing to do with what Mark may or may not have planned for his bachelor party. He and his friends are all good guys, and I don't anticipate him needing to refer to these articles except for entertainment. :)

I Love Games

2009-06-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

What actually happened:

Today, while mom and I were at Target, I did a double take. A woman walked past, and I did a double take. I felt bad for her because it appeared she had forgotten to put on pants before she left the house.

She was walking into the dressing room - and was probably all the way to a room when I heard "what are you looking at?" I think I was too far away for her to be talking to me - unless she was really passive aggressive. Besides, there were lots of people around that were probably looking at her and wondering, "do I have enough coin to buy some of that?!"

I have really good ears though - and I swear she had to have been in her room....and I was already in the men's department when I heard her say "fatty."

Now, I still assumed she could have been talking to me; but I don't know that that's true because the dressing room attendant wasn't a small girl, and neither were like 90% of the other customers.

I almost wish I would have known that she was talking to me (or that she had been talking to me). Because then it could have gone more like this:

"What are you looking it?!"

"omg I love games! Okay. Well...A hooker? hahaha. No seriously, I just wanted to tell you that you forgot your pants. They sell them here. You should get some. they are nice."

"Fatty!"

"Honey, I'm owning my look. It appears to me that someone is walking around in denial about the extra 40 pounds she's carrying around in her ass. perhaps someone forgot to empty her saddle bags? Seriously though, say it with me....PANTS"

Blue Ribbon Jam (and other stuff)

2009-05-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

I was going to wait to write this blog post until I had pictures - but then I realized if I waited until I downloaded any type of picture, I'd never blog again. So...you get no pictures. SAWWY!

I left work early on Thursday to go to the county fair and see how my jam did. We didn't see it at first, among the other baked goods/canned things, so I was worried that maybe I did something wrong and was disqualified. BUT! On another table, THERE IT WAS! WITH A BLUE RIBBON! Yeah me!! So yeah, I got first place. And now, instead of eating toast and jam, we are eating toast and blue ribbon county fair prize winning jam. hee!

The holiday weekend was spent cleaning a LOT. I did a total scrub down of the kitchen and much furniture polishing and windexing ensued. We did get out quite a bit too. On Saturday morning we took Daisy for a walk by the river - it's kind of a woody trail and she was a little nervous and kept slowing down when the bushes got too dense. We were all exhausted when we got home and so we took a nap.

On Sunday we run a bunch of errands and took a walk around the park. And then yesterday we took Daisy back to the river. She was EXHAUSTED. I think it was all the "trying to run away from the bad bad man in the scary hat" I'm not sure what got into her - but she did NOT want to be anywhere near that guy. Apparently, she didn't hear me say that I brought pepper spray.

Today I am contemplating the fact that I have an interview on Thursday. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't particularly like it here - but I do like most of my coworkers. I'm afraid to jump into something different and maybe I'd really like the work, but hate the people. Or maybe I'd hate BOTH! or LOVE both. ::sigh:: No harm in going on the interview, I guess. (as you can see, I'm super excited. ha!)

Wish me luck. Or you know, don't.

Aimee and the No Good Awful Bad Day

2009-05-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a super awful bad day. It was the most awful of a series of extraordinarily full and not that fun days.

Yesterday I started the morning by dropping a bowl full of dog food into the dog's ceramic water dish. Not only did I chip the dish, but I sent dog food into four neighboring counties. After that, I spent over an hour at the dentist getting "attachments" for my invisalign. (basically little dots of toothcolor filling that coincide with raised spaces on the invisalign - it forces the teeth up and down). It was a crappy appointment - very uncomfortable.

The day wasn't awful, other than I could NOT sit at my desk for more than say 5 minutes. I got to work, sat down for a minute to check my email, went to a meeting, went to a luncheon, went to training, sat at my desk for 5 minutes to check email...Then went home.

Over the course of the day I managed to spill water down the front of my shirt, and then drop all of my handouts for a training onto the floor and my makeup bag into the sink of running water. ::Sigh::

I got home and was particularly uncoordinated. I spilled things, tripped, and knocked things down. I ended the day by stepping bare footed into a plate of canned cat food. I washed my foot and cried. Mark gave me a kleenex. hehe.

Thank goodness yesterday is OVER!

In other news, I have gone to the vet 4 times in the last 5 days. I know! First, Salem has his urinary tract problem (he develops crystals in his urine that are too large to pass - which backs him up, which is VERY BAD.) So he spent a day and a half in the hospital getting IV fluids and meds. Now he's home with pills that he takes twice a day, and a new prescription diet which costs more and is kind of a pain because i have 3 other cats who eat the food he isn't supposed to have. Thank goodness Mark is on vacation this week - he's been giving Salem his pills in the morning.

Then on Monday, we took Daisy to the vet because her toe was swollen and purple and had some blisters on it. Turns out she was bit by either a small nake or a spider. We're guessing spider since we don't have snakes and I haven't seen her playing with one (I'm sure she would if she found one!). But now she's on pills twice a day and we have to soak her foot in warm water to get the swelling down. Thankfully she loves baths, so Mark just puts her in the tub. We put a little kid sock on her too so she'd stop licking it. hehe.

She's been pretty lethargic, so I was worried about her. I think she was just feeling lazy though - and maybe her meds are making her kind of drowsy. But I made the decision to go ahead and let her go to daycare on Thursday to get some exercise. I made sure they knew that she had an owie and that if something happened to give Mark a call since he'd home all day.

He got a call at 2:45. Daisy had opened up the sore on her foot and was bleeding. They didn't want to put liquid bandage on it in case it needed to drain some of the ick out of it. She had been zipping around the yard playing in the pool when she reopened the sore. And apparently she'd been playing with a white dog - who needed a bath after that. oops!

The other visits to the vet were to pick up food and meds and what not. ::sigh::

The highlight of the week was Mark's softball game on Tuesday. It was AWESOME! They kicked ASS and Mark played like a rockstar. He was all proud when I was reenacting all his fabulous catches and slides for my mom. hehe.

Keep your fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy and that today is a better day!

Aimee Through The Ages

2009-04-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

I know Fridays are the days that we go to work and try to avoid working...or is that just me?

I was going back in time to check out old websites - one was a website I set up for Clyde and Salem back in 2004/2005...which reminded me that I have moved around a lot. So, if you're bored, you should go back in time with me - and definitely check out the photos - there is a crazy sequined pants one on the cat's website. hehe.

clyde and salem's page - with sparkly purple pants http://clydeandsalem.itgo.com

My first webpage http://newage.htmlplanet.com

My first online journal http://littlehoney.livejournal.com

My first blog http://30andflirty.typepad.com

Have a great weekend!

Can We Get Married Tomorrow?!

2009-04-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are out there thinking, "OMG woman, seriously. You have 18 months till your wedding, spare us the details!" you might want to step away from the blog. And maybe come back in for the last couple paragraphs - unless you hate puppies too (in which case, what is wrong with you?!).

As you know, there will (eventually) be a much anticipated wedding next year. October of next year to be precise. Last time I updated we had reserved the church and the reception location and were talking to photographers. And we had decided on a noon wedding.

On Monday, we talked to the caterer. From that conversation we decided to move the wedding to 3 p.m. so that the owner of the catering company would be available for the wedding (his restaurant is open that day and he'll need to be there during the day). This is also good because 1) the lighting will be so much better at 3 than noon for photographs; 2) I can actually light the candles that I'm putting in those pretty pretty votive holders I bought off craigslist; and 3) we can plan more of a dinner than a lunner. Which was too confusing.

I was able to switch the time with the church with no problems and I'm just waiting to hear back from the photographer that we decided to go with to make sure that a 3 p.m. wedding works for her - and then we'll book her too! YEAH!!!

Our meeting with the caterer went so well, and both Mark and I were thrilled with everything he had to say. He's very reasonable and he's just the nicest guy ever. His staff will handle all the set up and rentals (linens mostly since the location comes with tables and chairs). They will pass hors devours, serve a fabulous meal, bartend, and cut and serve the cake.

Mark and I had pretty much decided on a feel for the wedding, which was that we would be surrounded by people who love us and are genuinely happy for us. I wasn't sure how vendors were going to fit into that - but so far, we've found the nicest and most accommodating vendors possible. I can't wait!

Out of curiosity, for those of you who are married - what things did you do or not do that you wished you would have done differently for your wedding? Any tips for a beginner? hehe.

*****

I hear something funny from one of the daycare moms at Daisy's daycare. She said, "You know, it was so hot today, so I tried to get Daisy in the pool - but she would only put her front feet in." Um....Yeah, Daisy is a pool lovin' fool! So she must have been feeling kind of contrary that day. She was pretty tired, apparently, since the owner of the daycare said she should pay me for the day since Daisy wore her dog out so bad he was passed out on his back with all four feet in the air. (hee!)

We took her to the dog park last night, where she played with a cute young yellow lab named Carmen. They played and ran and jumped in the pool. She also got to play with Malakai - which really just gets her in trouble. She will find someone to play rough with and Malakai will come along and want to join in - but he's really vocal and kind of rough - so it looks more like they are ganging up on the dog. We had a couple incidents that required us to grab her and sit her down for a time out, but otherwise, all was good. And she did, in fact, play in the pool, the little turd.

I Am Officially....

2009-04-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not sure what you'd call it. But I'm kind of tickled by the fact that I have decided to enter the strawberry jam contest at the county fair. I sent in my registration yesterday - which means I will be making jam early next month so I can send it in mid May. heeee.

Yesterday I got back into the wedding planning. I've been slacking for a week or two because of this awful head cold. But now I'm feeling better, and frankly, work sucks, so I spent some time yesterday sending emails and checking on a few things. I was talking with one of the photographers yesterday - our mission now is to find photos that we really like to send to her so she can show us samples of similar things that she's done.

Next week we meet with the person we want to perform the ceremony, the caterer, and one more photographer. So we will be back in full swing.

Let's see, what else? Oh, Daisy got in trouble at the dog park on Monday. She had been playing really nice with all the dogs - it was a particularly mellow day at the park. But then, she decided she wanted to wrestle with this big german sheperd. And he decided he did NOT want to wrestle with Daisy. But she wouldn't get out of his face. Like, "hey! play with me! Hey! You! Hi!" and I'm chasing her around trying to make her stop - while the other dog's owner has a hold of him. Finally I caught her and I made her leave. I admonished her with, "if you can't listen and behave, then you can't stay and play" Of course, all I got in response was a giant doggy grin. She passed out almost immediately in the backseat of the car anyway, the little turd.

I'm sure by now, Today, she's already living it up at daycare.

In other news, I'm looking for a new job. I have a couple leads and a few apps out. Keep your fingers crossed for me, wontcha?

Guess Who?! Work Edition

2009-04-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

This morning started out with a rousing game of Guess Who?!

The email I received said, "Why would I wear black fishnets and a short denim skirt to work?"

My guesses:

1) Because you're old and they go with your platforms?

nope.

2) Because today you are broken up with your husband, and you haven't had time to do your makeup in the bathroom?

nope (darn!)

3) Oh! Because you think you make an awesome, if not overweight, Avril Lavigne?

YUP!

GO ME!!!

(and yes, I work with these people!)

- Also, I managed to score 6 different people meetings with one of the higher ups because I brought it to their attention that our office does, indeed, suck big donkey wang.

More People No One Cares About

2009-04-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

While I was home sick this week, I spent quality time watching educational television. Or you know, watching Tyra.

On Monday, she had on Levi Johnston. And you're all, "who?" And I'm like, "You know, Bristol's baby daddy." And you're all, "Bristol? What kind of name is that?" And I'm like, "sigh"

Bristol Palen's baby daddy and his mother and sister. I don't even know his mother's name, but his sister's name is Mercede. If you can't afford the whole Mercedes, perhaps you should consider a shorter name. Like Chevy or Ford.

But I digress.

So Levi has this to say, "mumble mumble yeah she knew we were having sex, mumble, careful every time, mumblemumblemumble, well maybe not every time." (his grammar was even worse than Tyra's!)

And Tyra is like, "so why'd you break up? what's this tattoo? oh, it's Bristol's name? Does she have a tattoo of your name?"
Um no...she got a ring (smart girl!)

And the sister pipes in with, "but i have his name tattooed here" (shows her wrist)

What kind of backwoods deliverance family is this? Seriously? I would have been less disgusted if she had tattooed "My other car is a moose" across her forehead.

Tyra would also like to make it clear that they were not paid to appear on her show. They just really wanted to get their story out.

You know, about how the mother was supposed to have the baby to babysit, but for some reason she isn't allowed to babysit anymore. Oh yeah, and she can't comment on her DRUG ARREST.

Now you're wondering, "Aimee-enchalada, why on earth didn't you just change the channel" and I'm all, "::cold medicine slur:: the remote is too far away. I'm siiiiick."

Besides, it was still more educational than Pretty Wicked.

How To Lose Customers

2009-04-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

Mark and I experience horrible service this weekend. Two different types of service, as one place. We like to keep it simple.

We have been meeting with photographers for the wedding, and had made an appointment with a local woman to review her albums. We were supposed to meet her at Hina's Tea today. We arrived about 10 minutes early and decided to go ahead and order.

The woman behind the counter was very short and had a little bit of an attitude. We ordered smoothies (one peach, one mango) and told her they were for "here" since we had planned to meet the photographer. After looking around and realizing that there was really no place to sit, and that we might have to move our meeting to another location, I asked her to change the order to "to go." She YELLED into the backroom - "make them to go!"

Um, thanks.

A few minutes later, our smoothies were in fact in to go cups and being handed to us. However, one of them was only 3/4 of the way full, and the guy said, "I don't remember which one is which" Uh, what? So, being that the general rule for french fries is that the boy usually gets like 5 fries, and the girl gets half a plate, I assumed the full one was mine. And in fact, it was. Yeah me!

We waited a little longer, and didn't see the photographer. We did see a woman that had a bag that we thought might be a photographer...being that one of the others we met with had a similar (not good) look.

We took a short walk, where Mark said, "it's probably that lady with the bag" and I said, "uh, would it be horrible if I said, "if it is her, I want to go home NOW?!" But we decided to go back to the tea house. We stalked the strange woman. She didn't talk to us, and pulled out her homework (whew!)

So, we ended up leaving.

Later, I received an email from the photographer that said, "I hope you're having a nice Sunday afternoon. Our appointment today didn't end up on my calendar, do you have time to meet next week? My treat."

Um, no. Just no. Seriously? Oops, your wedding didn't end up on my calendar! sorry!

(in my defense the woman was wearing a top that did not fully reach the top of her jeans and her belly was hanging out - and while I think my friends would enjoy having someone to mock, I didn't want her distracting the beauty of the day.)

To my bridesmaids: Sorry!
To the rest of the wedding guests: You're welcome.

I'm Not the worst blogger - but I'm bad

2009-04-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

Some other people we know are much worse about posting regularly, but I've been pretty lame. I'm lame at reading and commenting too. So i'm going to do better. :) I hope.

The people in my "real" life are probably bored of wedding talk, but I know some of you EAT IT UP. So a quick update might be necessary. We drove about 45 minutes yesterday to buy desserts at the bakery that we are seriously considering for the cake - because they are THAT good. We've met three photographers, and I set up a meeting with another, but of course, we're busy that day. grrr. We're meeting with the caterer next month. I've been talking to Mark's mom about flowers and centerpieces.

And we've begun the fight over the guest list. (good times!) We started with a "we want a really great loving vibe" theme and it's moving towards "we can't not invite this person" theme. Which will greatly impact the number of people we will be inviting, and therefore changing the whole vibe. As predicted, this will probably be one of the few things we won't be able to agree on. And yes, I had big plans of not being bridezilla. Wish me luck. :P

We've also wandered into the "well, you can't invite one kid and not invite the others." Which, is a huge issue since, frankly, neither of us are big fans of kids in general. We don't necessarily dislike them, we're more neutral. Except in the case of one - I LOVE my friend's daughter. She's just darling. I bowled her into the wedding (this consisted of me going up to bowl and Mark saying, If you get a strike, she can be in the wedding - I totally got a strike! woohoo!) We might have to have a yahtzee game to make other decisions (like, band vs dj)

In other news, work has been kicking my ass and I haven't had time to do much personal stuff. I did actually pay all my bills on time this month though, which is different. I've had the money in previous months, but never had the time to just sit down and do it. You know, like blogging. I use bill paying as a way of measuring how out of control my personal life is. If I can't find 10 minutes to pay all my bills ONLINE, then I'm obviously neglecting other areas.

Like emailing my book club girls at 11 p.m. the NIGHT BEFORE our meeting.

I'm taking in all the victories that I can though. Including reading 4 books in the last week and a half (OMG I love Karen Kingsbury!) and remembering to water my newly planted flowers EVERY SINGLE DAY. Tomorrow I intend to put in my 9 hours and then check out and watch my boy play softball.

Guess Who I Met?!

2009-03-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day.
While out and about with Mark, I ran into a fellow blogger! One I've never met in person before!

And of course, I was a total nerd/space cadet. But that's neither here nor there!

Hi Mrs F!

Nice to meet you!

I Shoulda Went to Work

2009-03-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Monday was my day off. I had spent the weekend cleaning and was pretty comfortable that I was going to get to enjoy my day off by Sunday night. Until the refrigerator made a clunking sound. And we realized that it was really warm inside (not optimal, right?) Luckily Mark was able to make some adjustments (it was almost like a breaker made just the fridge go off, which makes no sense to me, but I'm not an electrician, so whatever) and get it to seem like it might be cooling off.

But, better safe than sorry...we moved all the stuff into an ice chest - and threw most of the leftovers in their containers in the sink. (it was late - like 11).

So, in the morning I was greeted with (yeah!) a working fridge....but left in the wake of the night before was the leftover containers and the fact that I still had to unload the ice chest back into the fridge. sigh.

And then I realized that Jack was having an issue, and would need to go to the vet.

And then Daisy decided that she didn't like the ice chest. It took me 15 minutes of watching her to figure out what she was barking at. OMG dog, STOP! She saw me put it out there! and didn't start barking till like an hour later. I think it was just an excuse for her to be an asshole. But maybe I'm wrong (I'm so not wrong!)

Yesterday I was back at work, where I had a ton to do. I made the realization that, 1) my direct supervisor is not the brightest bulb and that 2) she will take every opportunity to throw her staff under the bus.

I did manage to get everything done today, but not till I spent 15 minutes trying to show her how to add three numbers together on her calculator. (i wish I were kidding, y'all)

I also managed to cry twice in the last two days, both times were about Chance.

And now, while I'm happy to have gotten my invisiline, I'm not super happy about how much my mouth hurts. I am happy that it's such a pain in the ass to take them off and then brush/floss before putting the trays back in. it's just not worth the hassle to have extraneous snacks. I'm hoping this is going to be the BEST DIET EVER.

Wish me luck.

ThursDaisy. Sort of.

2009-03-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Daisy is having so much fun going to the dog park with us. And I'm getting a little more confident in my ability to take her by myself. It's funny because at home, she's bad a lot. Well, not a lot. Just when she's not sleeping. In fact, she was exhausted last week after having gone to the dog park 3 days in a row and having daycare....and so I felt comfortable leaving her in a room alone (she was sound asleep!) But it didn't take two minutes of me being out of sight for her to eat my favorite pair of sunglasses. Sigh.

BUT, at the dog park, she's such a sweetie. We really did luck out in getting a "good dog." Most of the time she's running with another dog or she's standing by herself trying to figure out which group of dogs to play with. Sometimes she's splashing in the little pools or licking the face of a tiny child. I don't have to worry about her much.

Her only problem. Well, two problems. Is 1) it's sometimes hard to get her to leave and 2) She's hella nosey. Dogs are growling? She's going over to see what's going on. Everyone's looking at something? OMG, she has to know what it is. The only reason why this is an issue is she gets a little too close to aggression sometimes, and I don't want her to get hurt or to appear to have been involved.

But she's trying new things and getting more confident in meeting other dogs. She even played with a frisbee the other day. Two dogs were playing tug o war with it - and she came up and bit it right in the middle so it was a three-way tug o war, which was pretty darn cute.

Yesterday she played with her friend, Malakai, and a big black lab. They had a lot of fun rough housing and jumping into the pools. We were there for over an hour, and thankfully I brought a cookie to get her to come to me to leave....especially since she kept putting herself in the middle of these three dogs that were playing pretty rough. (Malakai was right there with her though, so all four of us left).

So, due to the fact that Daisy was not pretty yesterday, attributed mostly to the slobber of two black dogs and a shove into the dirt to seal the deal, how about a substitute?

Daisy's brother Jack Jack, pictured with a daisy?

Now I Speak

2009-03-12T07:29:00.001-07:00

Thank you for answering my last blog. It's good to see that some of you are still out there! hehe. I wanted to clarify that the questions had nothing to do with the wedding and any subsequent showers that may or not be thrown for me/us.

It was brought on by the recent rash of strange baby shower texts. First, two caveats:

1) I still go by what Emily Post says is proper - I'd rather err on the side of being too polite than not polite enough (although, if you catch me being impolite it's because I meant to, not because I didn't know better!) and

2) I like to text message - ONE ON ONE. Sending blanket text messages like, "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone in your phone lacks sincerity. And in some cases people are paying ten cents to receive your message.

That being said, I think things are changing from the days of Miss Manners, but some people may be going too far with how relaxed they are about occassions where gifts are required. (and to totally branch off - where are the thank you notes people?!)

But yeah, over the past month or so I've received an invitation to a baby shower via text message (a blanket text message to a bunch of people, because I know at least one other person who got the message). The reason for a shower is "shower" the person with gifts. It's the premise. For a wedding, a gift is not required, for a shower, it's pretty much the whole point.

So, I think we all agree 1) spring for invitations and a stamp! 2) Don't throw a "give me presents" party for yourself. A point of contention is the "who" but I think in the oldern days (ha!) an immediate family member shouldn't hold a shower because then it's your family asking for gifts. Or something like that. I think we've gotten away from that a little, and that doesn't bother me as much as the other two things. (That being said, my bridesmaids - who are not related to me- are throwing my shower and have, in fact, already bought invitations! They are so awesome)

And I know the only one shower for your first kid (unless it's been 5 years between the first and second, etc) is old school....but for me, I don't like the idea. I think people are still going to bring gifts for the new baby, it just wouldn't necessarily be a "shower" type event. In fact, I spent several hours working on a crocheted baby blanket for a second baby. I sent the gift over, but didn't go to the shower. It was a couples shower too, which I'm not a huge fan of. None of the guys want to be there, so it just feels VERY uncomfortable.

So, sorry Mark. My shower invites are pink and have wedding dresses on them. You might not want to be associated with that anyway. Love you!
(and yes, we totally discussed this before, this is no shock to him. In fact, I believe it was relief I saw wash over him when I mentioned that they bought the invites.)

And also (sheesh - won't she shutup already? and what's up with the parenthesis?) Mark was a sweetie yesterday...I was having a bad day and he sent flowers and solicited donations for the Walk to Empower for me. He's an awesome fiance and I can't wait to be his wife.

Have a great weekend y'all!

Speak

2009-03-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

I am soliciting your opinions on a few areas of etiquette. So for those of you who are still out there? (hello, hello, hellooooo). Sound off.

1. Is text messaging the new acceptable way of inviting people to events like baby/bridal showers?

2. Is it acceptable for someone in your family to throw a shower? (like your mom or your sister?) Does your opinion change if it's an aunt or a cousin or a sister-in-law?

3. Do you get more than one shower? Say, you're having another baby two years after your first.

I'd love to hear your take.

Not The Best Way to Announce an Engagement

2009-03-04T07:06:00.001-08:00

My friend's parents live down the street from us. I don't see them often, or visit ever. However, I had to make a hasty visit on Sunday.

Mark and I went to leave the house at the same time on Sunday morning, but we were going to separate places. We locked the front door and the security screen and left.

So I thought.

Later, after taking Abby to the groomer, stopping by work to pick up a project binder that I needed to work from home, and grabbing lunch; I headed home.

When I got there - the security screen was open. I thought, "that's odd" and I was nervous about it. So I decided to try the doorknob to see if the front door was also open. AND IT WAS! I only opened it about two inches and then I RAAAAAAN down the driveway my 300 pound binder, while whispering to myself, "OMG.omg.omgomgomg."

By the time I drove the block to my friend's parents' house, I was crying. They answered the door, and the husband called the police. Then I called Mark. He was on his way home, and he said, "you know, I might have left it unlocked." Um, well I'm not going in to find out....so hurry home.

The husband went down to meet the police (who didn't show up even 20 minutes later when Mark got home). So while we waited, I worried. And I talked to the wife. I hadn't seen her since we got engaged, so we talked wedding and oohed and aahed over my bling. It was a nice distraction.

Once we knew Mark and her husband had made it down there, we drove down to meet the boys at our house, and Mark determined that it was clear inside and that yeah, he totally just left the door unlocked. Apparently he had forgotten his work keys (he was also going to the office) and he came in frantically looking for them so he could go and hurry up and get done what he needed to do. And in his haste, he left the door unlocked. And almost gave his future bride a heart attack.

Once a Bar Fly, Always a Bar Fly

2009-03-03T07:14:00.001-08:00

Because Nicole asked so "nicely," here it is.

On Saturday night, I made plans to go out with my friend B, one of her friends, and our friend Tracy. We planned to pre-party at J's house, which really just meant that I had to pick up the obligatory bottle of Boone's Farm. Because, seriously, that's always my job.

8 Jack Daniels coolers, and 3 bottles of Boone's Farm later, I left the liquor store. Shortly after, B & T picked me up and we headed over to J's. We drank a little (ha!) I believe I may have had something around 2 coolers and one entire bottle of BF. Wooo!

Around 11, we called for a cab, and were picked up by Santa Clause (it must be what he does in the off season). The cab dropped us off at Fanny Ann's in Old Sacramento. As we were coming through the door (I was third in line with the girls) the two bartenders were yelling to get the door guy's attention, so I was all, "uh! They want you" Which was a good thing because the bartenders had recognized me and wanted to let us in free.

Good times.

So, my theory for what happened the rest of the night is - I like lots of different types of drinks. And I rarely go out. And I'd never make any of them at home. So, if I only go out like once a year, I have to order every drink I like. Right?

a pink goldshlogger infested drink, two midori sours, a white russian, and a round of bl*w j*b shots.....might explain:

-people in my group being motor-boated by a random girl in a very pink dress
-me complimenting another girl on her dress, without any concern for the fact that the dress had become a shirt over the course of the evening
-another girl helping me down the stairs (remember the stairs, Nicole?)
-47 trips to the potty
-making out with a very small dog
-eating del taco at 3 in the morning

We had so much fun!

Wedding Stuff

2009-02-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

So, Mark and I went and looked at our possible wedding locations...and now we're in full planning mode. Almost daily I'm getting emails from him asking me about this idea or that vendor. Yeah for boys who get involved!

And, since I'm still super swamped at work....I'm posting a few pics of the locations we're looking at (a historic church from the 18/1900s) and the reception hall.

Derby Girl!

2009-01-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

And now!
The moment you've all been waiting for! (or not)

Yes, I tried out for roller derby last weekend.
And yes, everyone thinks I'm insane. But seriously? I've got a lot of rage, and I can skate like nobody's business!

Things I heard when I told people that I wanted to do roller derby:

1. You? You know you'll get hurt right?
2. Um, are you sure you wouldn't rather just make cupcakes?
3. That's like a sport, you know.
4. You're insane.
5. Oh, well if you're going to lose weight- then I think it's a good idea (thanks dad)

My favorite response was - let me know when I can come see you play. (this won't be for awhile, but that's what I call support!)

So, now that I'm walking again (ha!) after the trauma of it all - I can talk about it. ha! Emily and I went and tried out (completely out of character for both of us - our biggest source of competition is figuring out who saw the cute shoes first) One of the current derby girls is the step daughter of a coworker and she is just darling. She even brought me her old pads so I'd have them to use (I had to borrow a helmet from my other coworker's brother because I apparently have a big head, er, I mean hair. big hair. yeah)

So we're geared up (and looking fabulous) and we teeter out to the floor. And we skate. And skate. and OMG my legs are shaking! Can we please stop skating?! and skate....
And then we stretch. And then we do drills that include, um, skating. We squat while skating, we skate without picking up our feet, we skate and practice falling. We practice turning around. We lunge across the floor (while, skating!) We lay down and practice jumping up. We stretch. We drink water. We almost die. And then, we skate.

Over and hour and a half later, I'm barely able to walk and we get to watch the veteran girls play a short scrimmage so we can see how it works. And some of the girls go sliding across the floor on their heads because someone shoved them down and I'm thinking "holy sh*t, these skills might come in handy at work!"

Afterward, we were starving and in pain. But nothing could compare to the next day. I bet my coworkers thought I had a little too much fun over the weekend considering how I was hobbling around the office. But today, I'm almost back to normal (minor hobbling) and I'm ready to go buy my helmet and get back to it. Wish me luck!

I'm Legit

2009-01-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

I'm officially a bride! Well, a not-so-soon-to-be bride. BUT, we went to our first bridal fair. I tried to bribe my posse (as they were referred to on several occasions during the fair). You know, in case I became bridezilla, which, um...duh.

I made snacks!

B!
Kait!
Mom!
Em!

and then I tortured them by forcing them to eat some of the food samples brought in by the caterers and about 5 different cakes and 1 cupcake. We had a lot of fun and found some interesting leads for getting this whole wedding thing together.

What else have we been up to? Crafting! We've been making scrabble tile necklaces...the first step being to separate out a portion of the tiles to each of us...

Otherwise, it's the same old thing. I hate my job. Mark is having fun restoring/modifying our little 63 Falcon. Daisy is still being bratty, yet cute. The kitties are doing good - Minnie is on medicine for her cough (keep your fingers crossed). Oh, and there's this little thing I did this weekend having to do with joining Roller Derby. But I'm sure you don't want to hear about that.

Attention Swappers!

2009-01-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Ladies!

So, I ended up with twelve people signed up - and 1 unknown mystery person. Anonymous Nicole - please email me your email address so I can add you to the swap.

I'll be sending emails to each of you with your swap partner's email address so you can exchange snail mail addresses.

Also - in your emails, please include a few facts about yourself (your favorite color, candy, things you collect or like, etc) Give your new friend an idea of what you like.

And without further ado! (is that how it's spelled?)

Julie is swapping with Mrs F
Nicole P is swapping with Cece
Vanessa is swapping with Emily
Craze is swapping with Charli (non blogger)
Freckle Face Girl is swapping with Aimee (that's me!)
Carrie is swapping with Flutterbyshutter

Also - Julie made up this super cool badge...if you're interested...except that I don't know how to do html - so all I can post is the picture or send you to the my sidebar?? I'm sooo cool!

Go forth and check out your partner's blog, drop them an email, and don't forget to get your packages in the mail by February 4th! Please drop me a quick note and let me know when you mail your package and also when you receive it.

And most of all...have fun! and Happy Heart Day!

Anyone Feel Like Swapping?

2009-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

Is there even anyone out there?

So my idea is this - Let's do a Valentine's Day Swap! Something inexpensive, yet fun (say $5-$10). A small gift and a card? Exchange with another blogger and see what you get!

If I can get more than one person(!) to sign up, I'll post the partners for the swap.

What do you think?

The details if you're interested. Sign up by leaving a comment on this posting by January 15th. Partners will be posted on January 16th. Send your packages by February 4, and get something nifty in return!

I'd love to post a cute badge for those who want to participate, but I'm not technically gifted and have no idea how to do that. Go me! If someone nice wanted to make one up, I'm totally open to that. ha!

And for the two of you who are still out there....tell a friend!

I Stole This!

2008-12-31T09:00:00.001-08:00

I totally stole this from Nicole, who stole it from Aly. The blogging world is an incestuous place, I tell ya.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? went to my first funeral, went to a pet halloween party, baked my first all homemade cake (read: not from a box) and got engaged to Mr. Mark!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? ha! Never. I always make a collage of sayings to remember and goals I'd like to meet. I did hit one. We got engaged. (are you sensing a theme here?)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Um, I don't think so. But I'm not so much into babies, so I probably put it out of my mind, if they did.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. :(
5. What countries did you visit? None. That probably won’t change for a few years.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More fun and relaxation. I tend to get really stressed out about life in general and I get too involved in the little mundane things.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 2008, we got engaged. March 2008, grandma Katherine's funeral. August 2008, Chances passing and Daisy's adoption.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Somehow creating an environment where four cats live together peacefully and have found their places.
9. What was your biggest failure? Puppy training. Oh.my.god.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Only cat scratches...see above. lol
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mark! Finally! woohoo!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? You know, I was fine until Christmas happened...and then I could give you at least two names....okay, three or four. but not more than twelve. Anyway.
14. Where did most of your money go? Being a stupid grown up with a house and bills. And also, doggy daycare.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Finding a new best friend, (hi Kait!), meeting a bloggy bestest friend (Hi Nicole!) and partying like rockstars. Or you know, painting our nails and eating hotdogs and pizza. Same diff. Oh, and that whole getting bling thing. That was nice too. ;)
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Gosh - I have no idea.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) Happier or Sadder? Happier. (b) Thinner or Fatter? about the same (c) Richer or Poorer? about the same
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Working out, and doing more stuff outside.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing.
20. How did you spend Christmas in 2008? 400 different family Christmas parties prior to Christmas, Christmas Eve with my dad, Christmas morning with my mom, Christmas Day with Mark's mom, Day after with Mark's dad. (next year we're leaving on vacation for Christmas and anyone who wants to see us can just go with us because I REFUSE to drive around like we did this year)
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? still falling
22. How many one-night stands? (I love your answer Nicole) and um, none, thankyouverymuch
23. What was your favorite TV program? John and Kate Plus 8
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Um, yeah. I'm a very nice girl.
25. What was the best book you read? The Time Traveler's Wife
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Jason Mraz
27. What did you want and get? BLING!
28. What did you want and not get? A well behaved puppy.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? 27 dresses? Was that this year?
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 31 and I don't remember. It's because I'm old.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If people/critters wouldn't die.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Hide those flaws girl! No, really, I'm all about structure and cute jackets and fabulous shoes.
33. What kept you sane? I'm not sure I was sane. At all.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hilary, but we all know how that worked out.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? I'm not really into politics. I felt pretty strongly about notification of parents when minors request abortions, but I didn't care enough to pay attention to how it all panned out. So yeah, this isn't the best question for me.
36. Who did you miss? Nicole! Come back!
37. Who was the best new person you met? I actually met Kaitlin this year and we became instant friends. And I finally got to meet my bbff in March! Hi Nicole!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Be patient, young grasshopper.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "goin' to the chapel..."
40. What are your resolutions for 2009? Fit into a wedding gown in the single digits. ha!

Dontcha Love Family...

2008-12-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

You know, my family is pretty rowdy. We used to get together a lot more. There were picnics and parties and bbq's and holiday open houses. We don't do that so much any more.

But, one thing still holds true. It's not a holiday unless someone gets in a fist fight or leaves crying.

Except, this time, it's not my family. (at least not yet)

Merry Christmas!!

ThursDaisy: The One Where Our Heroine Sees Santa!

2008-12-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

In all of the hustle and bustle, (and while I was buying Daisy a ladybug sandbox)...Mark took her to see Santa. It was a clusterfuck of the grandest proportions. The camera wouldn't work, the printer wouldn't work, the printer ran out of ink. 1.5 hours later, Mark came home with two blurry photos on our own camera. All for the low price of $13. ACK!

However, blurry or not, this picture is just darling. Don't you wanna squeeze her?

Happy Holidays!

I wonder what Kaya, Rufus, Ben, Smalls, and Bailey asked Santa for this Christmas.

I don't know, where have YOU been?

2008-12-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I couldn't subject you to more Daisy without an update of where the heck I've been, already.

The boring first. I've been hanging out hating my job. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the work (sometimes I even like it) and most of the time I really like my coworkers. But last week was rough. I spent every day except Friday crying. And on Wednesday night I started to say, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow" and I just lost it and started bawling. Not a good sign, I'd say.

The bulk of my unhappiness had to do with one of my coworkers. My friend/coworker S and I came to this job to follow a manager that we both really liked working with. And we met R. We became a superstar team (much to the dismay of the other half of our office who hated seeing us be successful) Apparently R was offered a new job moving to another unit, and when I asked her about it, she flat out told me no, she wasn't offered another job. I thought that sounded weird since her new manager pretty much had confirmed it already. So, the next day R comes into my office with all kinds of excuses about how I asked this and not that and so she really wasn't lying. But even then, she was lying. Maybe not just to me, but to herself. I really felt like I'd been betrayed since we had become this all for one, one for all team. I think S and I deserved to know what she was up to. Maybe I'm naive and stupid. But I was really really hurt by it.

And to top it off, the manager we followed is also moving. And S and I had no real hope that we'd be able to move to other units where they weren't trying to sabotage us for being successful. Thankfully, something came through on Thursday and S and I will be moving to new units too. The three of us will be on different units, and I will be the only one still working directly for the manager that brought us over. Overall, though, I think it's a good move for all of us. And most importantly, the crying has ceased. Thank God.

And then there is the fun stuff, which, while fun, was still time consuming and stressed me out. I coordinated an office charity project, which included adopting three people (a mom and a daughter and then a single man) through the Volunteers of America. We also were collecting scarves, gloves, socks, and hats too. So, I had to keep hounding everyone for their gifts and their donations and whatnot. We ended up buying the girl and her mom robes and tennies for both of them, a cookware set and a vacuum, a toy and pjs and a pretty sparkly dress. And for the man we got him a leather wallet and a dress shirt, along with a gift card for Jamba Juice (in the wallet). AND we collected 2 boxes of scarves/hats/gloves. And we delivered it all to the organization on Friday. (so, in other words, thursday was spent buying the vacuum and wrapping everything).

Then! Also on Friday, our social committee had to transport all our secret santa gifts (which I was also collecting all week - my office looked like Christmas threw up in it) to our Holiday Luncheon, which I also planned. (why did I do all this for the same week? I don't know. Or because I'm INSANE). The lunch turned out really nice. We had it at a local Indian Casino Buffet, so no one could complain about the food. (yeah!) Once I was able to sit down and enjoy my tiny chocolate mousse dessert, and our office presented the social committee with a gift certificate and posters with everyone's comments on how much they appreciate all that we do....all my hard work was so worth it.

We left the luncheon and had just a couple hours until our bunco Christmas party as S's. It was nice to relax and exchange gifts with the girls with all the stress of last week behind me. I've pretty much got everything bought and wrapped, and I just have one little present to get for Mark and a gift card for my dad and I'm DONE! woohoo! And then all our Christmas parties start on Sunday.

Bring on the Holidays!

ThursDaisy - Giving Edition

2008-12-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

While Daisy has been very busy making friends at daycare, she has asked me to tell you about another pup who needs your support.

Meet Jeffrey.

Jeffrey is a 1-3 year old Rottweiler who was rescued from a shelter in Southern California. He was starving and had a horrible case of mange. Now he is being loved and getting treats and food and medicine...and he's gaining weight. (he needed to gain 40 pounds!) Please visit this site to read more about Jeffrey and donate towards his medical costs.

Don't forget to visit Daisy's other friends Kaya, Rufus, Ben, Smalls, and Bailey.

ACK!

2008-12-02T16:10:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I really don't miss blogland. Not you normal people - but the "popular" bloggers and their minions. OMG.

It seems like certain bloggers can say or do anything and all of their commenters are like, "omg you said that so amazing - I'm forwarding your blog to our President" and "you're perfect and beautiful and your kid is just the most precious thing ever."

And if you say something like, "holy crap woman, get a grip" then you're a troll. You're just being mean.

No, I'm just not going to pretend that you sh*t rainbows. Seriously.

Have any idea what I'm talking about? Probably not.

A certain blogger posted something today about a comedian being an asshole because he finally made a joke that hit too close to home. This same blogger admitted to the fact that she laughs at things that are off-color and that could be offensive to someone else or to some other group. So, I thought she was being really big about the whole thing - but just going to put in her perspective about it. But no, then she flipped out about how this guy just went to far because he hit on something that offended her. Hmmm.

and I'm okay with that. It's her blog, I can choose to read or not. But the comments, they just pissed me off. Because seriously, because they all wanted to jump up her ass and tell her that she's amazing and awesome and omg WELL SAID!

Yeah, if you want to be a total hyprocrite, you totally said it perfectly. Way to go.

Weekly Update

2008-11-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

It looks like I'm only updating like once a week - so I'll get a head start on this week and do it on Sunday, how does that sound?

Let's see - Daisy is still full of energy. She's found a new way to deal with it though - digging. She has been digging in our flower beds. Exhibit A:

I've had to do a little rearranging at the house. It seems that Minnie really likes this vase of fake flowers that I usually keep on the buffet. She's been rubbing her little face on it and knocking it off. Which, in turn, makes Daisy bark like a crazy person. So I moved the vase to the dining room table. That worked for like 20 minutes. And now it just lays on its side on the table. Minnie took the opportunity for a photo shoot:
Pretty!

Needless to say, we are probably not getting a Christmas tree this year. Nor will we be putting up many decorations. I'm still trying to figure out where to hang the stockings since everyone has one (I got Minnie's recently and Daisy's about a month ago). It will be sad without Chance and Golem's stockings though, so maybe it's better to be more low-key. I'm not really feeling all holiday spirity. Well, I take that back. I'm excited about some projects (like our gift of warmth and adopt-a-family) at work and I'm excited about holiday get togethers. I'm just kind of stressed about shopping and all the stuff that doesn't even really matter. go figure.

As for wedding stuff - we're talking plans. I think the only thing that will stress me out is the guest list. We really need to decide if we want to make it really small and intimate or if we want to have everyone there. That will probably help us decide if we want to do it in 2009 or 2010 (read: more people = more money required = wait one more year). I think I've decided that I'm going to try to rent a dress - I'm really against spending a frillion dollars on a dress to just have it sit in the closet forever. Because I'd probably never get rid of it, and I'm not naive enough to think that in 25 years when I have a daughter who might be getting married that she'd want to wear my out-of-style dress. So, to save me (and my non-existant offspring) the guilt and the closet space, I contacted the dress rental place to see if they can get the gown that I love. (keep your fingers crossed). Otherwise, we've pretty much decided autumn (october), sunflowers, and these darling leaf invitations. And that's pretty much it. But, considering we have 11 months or 23 months to plan - I think we're doing pretty good.

Ending on a good note: I can't wait for Thanksgiving. I love stuffing. and then I can start cookie baking for the holidays! yeah!!

I feel very important

2008-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

The lovely Julie asked me to guest blog for her while she is off having a grand old time in London (the brat!) Go check it out, here.

Have a great weekend.

I'm Still Mean

2008-11-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

In case you thought that I'm completely distracted by shiny bling and overly shmoopy and happy - I'm still mean. And hilarious. :P

I'm also confused.

I was walking to work this morning and I saw a woman who was wear suit pants and a pretty short sleeved shiny top. She was carrying her suit jacket. As I'm walking towards my office she says, "OMG it gets cold here!"
Um.

K.

1) It's f*cking autumn/winter. What did you think happened here?
2) You're carrying your jacket? Why not put it on? and stop talking to strangers?

So my question is - Where is this woman from? Normally I'd say she's from the midwest, because you know, from that perspective California is always in the 80s and we all spend our days surfing. But 60 wouldn't be all that cold to someone from the midwest, so that's out.

Maybe she was from Southern California, except, then she'd know that the stereotypes aren't true...right? Or maybe not.

All in all this morning started with a wtf moment that I really shouldn't spend so much time analyzing. So I'll let you ponder it instead. :) You're welcome.

The Bling

2008-11-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

And now the moment some of you (Lindsey!) have been waiting for.
The Bling! It's perfect and gorgeous and soooo shiny. Mark has good taste. :)

Thurs-Daisy - Party Edition

2008-11-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you have:

Trips to two different beaches +

one trip to the dog park +

one very cool doggy Halloween party??

A very tired puppy!

How do Daisy's friends like to Party? Go check 'em out! - Kaya, Rufus, Ben, Smalls, and Bailey.

Okay, Okay - Sheesh!

2008-11-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Boy, you ladies are DEMANDING. Hee.

We had a pretty eventful weekend, but I know you're just here for the good stuff...so I'll get to it. Mark and I went to Fort Bragg (on the Northern California Coast) Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. We try to go once a year because we both LOVE it there. This time we brought Miss Daisy with us, to stay in a cottage for the weekend.

We arrived late in the night and got settled in. We spent most of the drive talking about how he had bought me a ring (Mark is HORRIBLE at keeping secrets) and that I should NOT expect him to propose because the ring was being set/sized and he wouldn't be able to pick it up for a week or so.

On Friday we got up early and took Daisy to the dog park to play and then we stopped for breakfast. After breakfast we went to my favorite beach (Glass Beach). Afterward, we went walking through downtown (it's a cute little town) and checked out the shops. The pet shop was having a pet halloween party and Daisy was having fun eating treats and she got her picture taken, while I tried a scavenger hunt game.

Then we went to Mark's favorite beach, Jughandle. We all had a blast watching Daisy chase the waves and just enjoying the light rain.

When we got back to the cottage, Mark dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him. I said, yes and asked him what he had in his hand. It was a rock. A rock shaped like a heart that he had picked up on the beach. :)

The rest of the trip was a series of eeeeeeks and yippeees and shmoopiness. And he wasn't kidding about the ring - I really do have to wait until next Monday to get it! And I'm just giddy with excitement and happiness (everyone in our family is just over the moon about it).

We're thinking of having a fall wedding.

More details about our trip and some more pictures later.

Guess Who's Getting Married!

2008-11-02T23:03:00.001-08:00

Fort Bragg, CA
October 2008

Random Cases of Randomness

2008-10-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, it's almost 7 pm. and I'm at work doing that "hurry up and wait" thing that we waste money paying overtime for. Awesomeness.

So, yesterday, in the car I'm talking my friend, um, we'll call her Paitlin...and my mom. And we're talking about candy coated sunflower seeds. And Paitlin and is VERY excited because...

"and they don't even have the shells so you don't have to spit them out"

um, okay.

****

Last night was pretty crappy. Mark couldn't sleep and Daisy had two accidents in her crate, which meant we were both up in the middle of the night.

I'm really looking forward to getting away over the weekend, even if it's gonna be raining. ::sigh:: I think Mark might disown me if I got Daisy a raincoat too...which is just sad. They have one with rubber ducky buttons on it.

So, in between working 400 hours a week and having school twice a week and doggy day care twice a week and bowling once a week...plus getting ready to go out of town...my dad calls to tell me that my grandma has cleaned out her hutch, which she wants me to have. And can I come by and get it this week before the weekend since it's going to be raining over the weekend.

Um, I own a Kia. Not a truck. Mark has a truck, but I don't think that he and I and grandma can lift a giant hutch into the back of the truck. He, on the other hand, has a truck, lives closer and also has at least one if not two friends who are usually with him...and who have bigger muscles than me and grandma put together. People are silly (particularly since I asked him to come by and pick up Mark's Christmas present because it's too big to keep hidden for two months till Christmas...so he could drop off the hutch and pick up the Christmas gift. right?)

And no snooping Mr. Mark! :P

I Can't Believe We Live Here

2008-10-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

You may not know this, but Mark knows everything about cars. Not just like how to fix them, but what year those headlight styles were changed in that model of car, etc etc. So, when you take tires off your car, and you leave them sitting in the front yard (more in our yard than in ours) he's not gonna buy it when you say, "oh someone just dumped them here. they aren't ours." Because he knows that two weeks ago he saw the gold rimmed one on that one car (insert year/make/model here), that was at your house three thursdays ago. On the full moon.

Thankfully, a few weeks ago I signed up for the neighborhood cleanup appointment. Basically it's when you can take those items that you might otherwise have to haul off to the dump yourself - and you place it on your curb and the city will come haul it away for free. Once a year.

Mark started hauling stuff to the curb right after work, including an old bike (which I was going to leave out for the donation truck for salvation army or the disable veterans of america...but hadn't mentioned that to Mark (I felt bad just tossing it). Except our neighbor came over and said, "don't throw that away!" and took it.

He also brought out a couple of old plastic chairs and a wobbly wooden bench. Both of which ended up on her front porch within an hour of us going into the house. We're pretty used to seeing people who drive around and pick through those piles (they used to do the pickup for each neighborhood on the same day so there were like a 100 houses participating, but i think they went to the appointment format so people wouldn't troll entire neighborhoods pillaging). We just hoped it wouldn't be our neighbor that would do the picking.

Although, this neighbor did pick up our old BBQ during the last neighborhood cleanup, so this shouldn't surprise us at all. The tires without rims ended up going in our pile too - and the other two with rims (the city won't pick them up with rims) were hauled away by Mark, who is my hero. Because now, our yard looks so much better. You know, until the neighbors work on their cars again. ::sigh::

ThursDaisy: Take a Walk!

2008-10-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

It looks like Daisy is ready for daycare!

Hurry up, Daddy! It's time to go for a walk!

Where Have YOU Been?

2008-10-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I got a complaint yesterday that I never blog anymore. And I realized that I keep checking my "regular" blogs and a lot of those people aren't blogging anymore either. Does this mean that I need to somehow weedle may way into a new group of bloggers? I'll have to look into this, I think. (also, if you've been lurking and not commenting - please drop me a note so I can come by and visit your blog.)

I wish I had new and EXCITING things to report, but alas, there are none. I'm still taking tennis classes twice a week - and I think I've really improved. I can actually return a serve now, which is pretty exciting. And I'm not bad at serving either (and you don't want to mess with my backhand, I'm just sayin'!)

Bowling isn't going as well. I'm all over the map (as is Mark) so we're slightly frusterated. I am starting to really like a few of the other bowlers though - and somehow have managed to avoid the ones I don't particularly care for (which seem to outnumbered those that I do like! ha!)

Work has been kind of crappy. Lots of unnecessary overtime at the last minute. I do like being busy, but I hate sitting around doing nothing waiting for someone else to make a decision so I can finish an assignment and get home to my family. It is very apparent that there are managers in our office who must hate their families because they never seem to want to go home.

The kitties are doing well. Minnie has adopted a small tent as her "base" and loves to jump into it when you walk into the room or jump out at the feather toy. Jack keeps hiding in shoe boxes so I keep saving them for him and so there are like 4 in our hallway and he jumps from box to box. Salem is still super needy and spends most of his time under the bed or sleeping on our heads. Clyde was a little cranky and distant when we first got Daisy, but he's been getting special attention and seems to be back to normal...he regulated on Daisy yesterday and made her yelp - so I'm sure that brought a little joy to his fussy little heart.

Daisy went to her first dog birthday party at daycare yesterday. Apparently there was a party scheduled so the daycare lady called to ask if Daisy could participate and eat cake. I told her she could (along with OMG that's sooo cute). Later, the update was that they did finally get a party hat on Daisy's head, but she flung it off shortly after...and she didn't want any cake because she was too busy playing. That girl, she loves to play.

Now we're just gearing up for a vacation to the North Coast to enjoy a few days (with Daisy) in a cozy cottage. I'm hoping it rains one day because it was nice and cozy last time we went and it rained. Mark will be abalone diving and I will just be enjoying some time away with my boy.

ThursDaisy!

2008-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

How you bee, people?

Daisy had a fabulous time at daycare on Tuesday. When we got there, no one was at the reception desk and so Daisy was loooooking all around like, "where is she?" When the woman came around the corner, Daisy was very happy to see her.

When I picked her up, they reported that Miss Daisy has a boyfriend! Apparently she played and flirted with a 7 month old border collie named, Buster. A younger man! Go Daisy!

Daisy's Fun-filled Weekend

2008-10-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

I know I've totally been MIA lately. The dog, she takes up all our time (the dog, not to mention the tennis, the bowling, the being lazy and watching TV)

So to help you with the waiting (until I get off the couch and actually blog about something using my words...) Here is Daisy's weekend, in pictures.

First, there was the partying.

And um, too much partying.

And new toys! (notice it's pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness)

And snacks! (Daisy chewing a bone and a Dinosaur eating Daisy)

And finally, exhaustion.

I Need a Break from the Real World

2008-09-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Not the show on MTV (is that even still on? if it is, it probably shouldn't be...but that's totally not the point). I just need a break. Like a C@lgon take me away break - except for like a month.

Daisy did much better this week in Puppy Kindergarten. The trainer was impressed with her response to "sit" (she's a good dog!) and she did a lot better than we thought she would on the "loose leash walking." She tugged some, but she didn't try to drag Mark down the aisle...and she responded well when he stopped (every time she pulled). She'd look at him like, "Daddy? Can we go? Hello?" and then she'd sit. (see! I'm a good dog!) and then they'd start walking again.

One of our problem areas is working on "no cat!" Daisy wants so badly to play with the cats - and the cats are like, "oh hell no!" So she's always getting swatted at or spat at or hissed at. And she continues to jump at them. So last night, she did pretty good with "no cat!" and I refocused her attention on a toy or her bone. Except, Clyde thought she was still too close to him and he reached out to smack her. And instead, dug his paw into my skull, not to mention freaking me the f*ck out by smacking me a couple times.

And then Daisy came running out of the bedroom from her kennel and knocked into the back of my knees - practically knocking me to the ground.

I swear, when I die and my life flashed before my eyes - it will just be a series of me being knocked down, tripping, or burning myself in the kitchen. That is not exactly how I want to remember my life.

Daisy Goes To Kindergarten

2008-09-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

This morning when I got up, I thought, "I need to remember to charge the camera so I can take a picture of Daisy on her way to her first day of school."

I didn't charge the camera. So there is no photographic evidence of Daisy going to school. This is probably a good thing. No reminder of the clusterfuck I'll call Daisy's Kindergarten Class.

There are 9 dogs in the class. Daisy, Bailey (my friend Bri's dog), this white fluffy drop-kick dog, a dog that the woman thought was spayed but went into heat and now wears "panties", a bulldog named Cheeseburger (ha!), a really calm Rottweiler named Johnny, and three German Shepards (one of which was really docile - and the other two kept playing and mauling each other).

The dogs are all fine. Well, except drop-kick...but one of the owners should have been drop kicked herself. She's the one with the dog in heat...and a stroller with two screaming toddlers.

At what point did she think to herself, let's lock me, the dog, and the two screamers into an area with 8 other dogs who have not had basic obedience training (that's why we're all here!)

Bri actually did okay - Bailey can be a handful, but she brought an extra set of hands. I can tell you that being a single parent at doggy kindergarten is not easy! lol I had to hold her leash (while she tried to play with drop-kick and Bailey), our binder, and her homework. My hands hurt from struggling with her leash. I bet she has a sore throat tomorrow from tugging.

So, I'm really hoping that the screaming toddlers don't show up next week. And that the clickers (used for training) have arrived so we can get started. I'm really anxious for Daisy to focus in a large group and be able to do the commands that I know she already knows...but with an audience and not just for me or Mark.

I did get a chance to take her to the dog park (alone, because Mark has been out of town)...and she was playing too rough with a tiny 3 month old pomeranian (she's a little too exuberant for tiny dogs) and so I had to grab her collar and pull her away....as I'm walking away with her, my friend Kait is laughing and I'm like, "what?" and I look behind me and the little fluff ball is following us...hippity hoppitying right behind. The little bugger.

Seriously, I wish I had something uplifting and fun to tell you - but really my weekend was full of "let's tire out the dog!" fun. Otherwise, I did get the house clean. So that's something. :P

Queen Bee

2008-09-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

You know how some people will get a puppy because they think it will help them to determine whether or not they'd be a good parent? We didn't do that. But, on the other hand, I know I've thought (as I run around yelling and pulling shoes, books, remote controls, cat toys, etc from Daisy's mouth) OMG I'm going to be the worst parent EVER. Then reality sets in and I realize that while kids come out noisy - they don't come out with 200% energy and a penchant for chewing on everything I own (so far the only things we've sacrificed are some dog toys and Mark's belt - so we're not doing too bad).

(one of these things is NOT a toy - can you guess what it is?)

And I know you're thinking, "Aimee, she's a puppy. What did you expect?" and to that I have to say that she was so much more mellow at the SPCA. Come to find out it was because she had kennel cough - but that's neither here nor there. So, now that she's on antibiotics, and feeling much better, she's turned into a puppy! (the horrors!)

She's very smart, and listens (when she wants to! ha!) But she has sooo much energy. She's usually calm all day but then when night comes she's a CRAZY PERSON. She's running, she's chasing the cats, she's flinging toys, and she's stealing everything else she can get her teeth on.

So, we found a solution. Sort of. We found a solution one day a week. We took her to doggy day camp. (darling!) (but they are only open one day a week. boo!) Apparently, she fell in love with an Australian Shepard and they played ALL DAY LONG (read: from 9:00 - 3:30) They said she was too busy playing that she wouldn't even stop to eat her lunch (awwww). And when she got home, she pretty much passed out.

EXCEPT! Thursdays are also softball nights. Soooo we took her to softball, and since there is a dog park at the softball fields, we took her there too. She had fun chasing after a 3 year old (giant!) chocolate lab named Cosmo. By the time the game started, she was curled up asleep at my feet on the bleachers (bliss!)

Yesterday (Saturday) Mark fixed all the sprinklers (the city fixed a water main which messed up some of our sprinklers and made them leak) and filled in the giant mud hole (the one Daisy liked to play in so she wasn't allowed out in the backyard - which made it harder to get away from her for some peace for just FIVE minutes.) So she got to play outside with him (she's afraid of the sprinklers - she was hiding in the far corner from him while he had them on). Later, we took her to a different dog park - the one we went to when Nicole visited earlier this year.

There were SO MANY dogs. (duh) Dog parks make me nervous (especially since I don't know how she'll act - we've had her less than two weeks) But she just loved it. She wasn't agressive and a lot of the other dogs really liked her. She was like Regina George (only nicer of course) - a group of dogs kept following her around as she raced around the dog park. She made friends with a GIANT white pit bull (with brown spotted ears) named Zukko. (any time another dog would chase her and she didn't want them to anymore, she'd come hide between the chairs near Zukko, which I thought was hilarious.) Smart girl.

And she was pooped again. And a peaceful evening and night's sleep was had by all (except for Mark - he's a light sleeper and Daisy likes to wiggle around in her crate while she sleeps and makes a lot of noise - and she snores. hehe).

So, right now, I am taking a break from cleaning while the cats enjoy being able to wander around the house without the dog trying to "play" with them and Daisy is taking a nap in the sunshine in our freshly watered backyard. Things are looking up.

We Need Something Good

2008-08-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your sweet comments. I love you all! You guys are awesome friends.

The last week and a half has been sad and lonely. We miss Chance, and we miss having a dog around. Jack has tried to be a dog stand-in by greeting us at the door, but it's just not the same.

So, we decided to adopt another dog. Mark went to the SPCA two days ago and found a little girl that he loved. I went to visit with her yesterday and then he went back last night and picked her up.

She's just darling. She's a 6 month old boxer mix. She's energetic, but also likes to sleep alot...and doesn't bug the cats (they have been showing her who's boss though!) Her appearance on the scene has created a bonding opportunity for the cats and they seemed to be closer last night than they ever have (Salem and Minnie were even both laying on my bed within a foot of each other!) And Jack and Salem ate at the same dish at the same time. AND Clyde has been more social too. (wow!)

I think Daisy is a fabulous addition to our family.

Good Boy, Chance

2008-08-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

I don't really have the strength to go into much detail, but I wanted to let you all know what's going on. (Thank you to those of you who have emailed to ask me about Chance). Yesterday, we had to put Chance down. And we are all heartbroken.

For those of you who didn't know...On 4th of July weekend Chance wasn't feeling well. He was lethargic and vomiting. We took him to the vet where we found out that not only did he have pneumonia, but he also had a very large (cancerous) tumor on his liver. We were advised that there was extreme risk with doing a biopsy because of it's size and also with surgery to remove it. So, we opted to treat his pneumonia (what was making him sick at that point) and see how things went.

For awhile, things were okay. The antibiotics were working on the pneumonia and he was eating and behaving normally. The weekend we went camping, he stopped eating dog food. But when we got home, he was eating dog food (I bought him a new kind - I figured he was bored). But a few days later, he wasn't eating it and I had to cook him meals. In the last few days, he stopped wanting people food too.

We got to spend a ton of time with him and he got lots of love and snuggles and special food and treats. Some moments were very very good (tail wagging and snuggling) and others were not so good. By yesterday, he just looked tired. We made the decision to let him go before he got to the point where his discomfort was unbearable.

I'm comforted knowing that somewhere he is running and playing...and he can take big gulps of water and lick his cold wet nose (he had a previous injury that left his tongue 1/2 paralyzed). He is happy that is free from injury and disease....and he's watching over us, knowing that we love him and miss him so so much.

Camping!

2008-08-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

(please hold while I laugh hysterically at Tori Spelling trying to sing)

Is anyone still out there? I'm telling you, this has been another rough month. And on top of everything else, (including the governor cutting my salary to the whopping sum of $6.55 per hour) our office has blocked ALL BLOGS. Seriously. That's just mean.

Needless to say, I can't post from work and I can't keep up on your lives from work either. :( And when I'm at home - I'm rarely on the computer. But I will catch up! I miss you guys!

There is a lot of suckiness happening around here. Everything is clouded by the fact that Chance is sick...and while he was getting better and seemed fairly normal, he's taken a turn for the worse this week. He's not wanting to eat (which means he's eating lots of treats and people food).

But, prior to that, Mark and I planned to go on a family camping trip and we decided to take Chance with us. We went to Bodega Bay (ocean!). But we were silly because we forgot to bring coats. um, hi! ocean! water! wind! cold! So we had to stop in a small city on the way and buy sweatshirts at the outlet mall. (mine is super cute though!)

The road trip was fun. Mark and I always have fun when we go places because we laugh and talk and joke a lot. We took a couple breaks and got Taco Bell (Chance had a taco). We got to camp late and set everything up. When we were done setting up the rest of our group showed up. (almost everyone was already there when we got there, except two cousins and their wives and one baby).

The days consisted of lots of walks on the beach (Chance loved running from the tide with me and collecting sand dollars....though he did try to eat the first one.) And there was lots of food. (which Chance got to share with everyone). Mark is always a great cook, particularly when we're camping.

We had a great time. Chance was a little confused about the tent, but he caught on quick....especially when he got to wander away from his bed and sleep with us on our sleeping bag bed (he kept me snuggly warm!) and when he got to eat graham crackers around the camp fire with us.

the only downside was the horrible sunburn we came home with. Mark has a super redneck and I look like spiderman. woohoo!

Things I Could Blog About That Would Be Much More Interesting If I Could Find My Camera Charger

2008-08-03T22:21:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty busy here. But like I said, this would all be much more interesting if I could find that elusive camera charger. grrr. Instead of going to Blogher, I painted my living room. And it looks fabulous. It went from being 4 walls of off white to being 2 off white walls and 2 taupe walls. It really warmed up the room and separated it more from the kitchen area.

I've also been teaching myself to can/preserve. Mark and Kait helped me peel a frillion peaches....which netted us 7 quarts of peaches! Definitely not as much as I thought we'd get. And if I never see another peach - it will be too soon. So, I switched to strawberries. I made 4 jars of strawberry jam (and it's delicious).

I peeled and sliced the rest of the peaches and froze them - they will be good for smoothies and baked goods that way. I cannot wait to make pickles and can pears! mmmmm!

Mark's good. We're good. He's been cooking really good food for me lately, which is always much appreciated. We haven't really done much outside of the house. We went to a baptism last weekend. And his Thursday night softball team played really well last week. All of us in the bleachers were yelling and jumping around. It was super fun.

The animals are all doing well too. Minnie is starting to integrate into the household. She hisses when she thinks anyone is getting too close (but she's stopped hissing when Chance is just in her line of vision - so that's good). Jack got to her a couple times and there was some fur flying (she hasn't tried to bite anyone though...and she's hardly ever the aggressor.) The one time she was the aggressor, she was putting Jack in his place. After he beat her up twice....she waited until things were calm and when he walked past her, she reached out and smacked him twice on the rear end. She was too cute.

Chance is doing well. He's drinking a lot of water (apparently a side effect of having the liver problem). And the water drinking is causing him to wake me up three times during the night to go potty. :( But his attitude is good and he's been playful. So for now, I'd say he's doing well.

I think that's all for me. I've got a ton of stuff to do this week. Book club on Monday (you should read our recent book - Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - it's really good). On Tuesday we have the award reception for the Y-Me walk we did on Mother's Day (our team raised over $1,500), and Wednesday a bunch of us are going to see the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants II. It's gonna be a fun week.

What are you guys up to this week?

Chance Update

2008-07-14T09:10:00.001-07:00

Thank you all for your sweet emails about Chance. I wanted to update you all on what's going on and how he's doing.

Chance wasn't feeling well over the 4th of July weekend. He had a fever on Monday (the 7th) and so I took him to the vet. He had some x-rays, a blood panel, and an ultrasound. On Tuesday morning we were told that he has a touch of pneumonia. But the major issue is that he has a tumor the size of a bowling ball on his liver and his liver function numbers weren't good.

Our options were to get a biopsy done through a specialist to see how progressive the cancer was (whether it was slow growing or fast) with the understanding that the biopsy could put him in danger. Best case scenario was that the tumor would be treatable and by treatable they meant surgery to remove it plus chemo.

Our other options were to put him down or to bring him home and see how he does.

The first option didn't seem to be very Chance friendly (neither did the 2nd!) Chance is twelve, and surgery is rough. Recovery is no fun and chemo certainly doesn't sound very fun either. We think that is a lot of trauma to put him through. The second option wasn't an option. So, we opted to pick him up on Tuesday afternoon.

He came home with his temperature down from 105.4 to 100.8. (yeah!) He had spent over 24 hours getting fluids and electrolytes and on antibiotics. He was sent home with a weeks worth of antibiotics. And he is doing much better! He is pretty alert and greets us at the door. He's back to watching us eat dinner (and cook dinner). He's back to eating his dog cookies and eating meals (he wasn't eating! of course, he's only eating special dog food with gravy or chicken breast tenders that we cook for him).

Yesterday, he even laid on his tummy with his legs behind him - resting all of his weight on his belly. Hopefully, this is a good sign that his liver/tumor aren't painful to him.

For now, we're enjoying our time with Chance and keeping him on the antibiotics to make sure the pneumonia clears up. We'll keep our fingers crossed that this tumor has been growing for years and years and years and that we still have some good quality time left to spend with him.

More Good Thoughts?

2008-07-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

Do you know how much I appreciate you guys (girls!)?! I know I've called in more than my fair share of happy thoughts - but I have to ask one more time.

Channy isn't feeling well.
He was sick most of the weekend and now he's spending the night at the vet so he can get some fluids and antibiotics. They are doing x-rays and running tests to find out what's wrong with him (he has a fever and has been lethargic and not interested in eating - which, as we all know is very unlike Chance. He's a big fan of the "c-o-o-k-i-e".)

Please send your prayers and well wishes to Channy for a speedy (and not horrible expensive!) recovery.

Thanks, gang. You rock!

I've Found My Calling

2008-07-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Apparently my calling is giving advice to people with bad grammar.

Have you all experienced the joy of Yahoo! answers? Basically, people can submit questions for other people to answer. The asker then chooses the "best answer" and you can earn points for being best answer and for just answering the questions. I've been answering questions for a couple of days (maybe 15 questions?) and I've gotten 7 best answers.

I'm so proud.

Sad News

2008-06-30T22:04:00.001-07:00

Our (Mark's) savannah monitor lizard, Golem, passed away today. :(

She died peacefully in her sleep, and is resting under a pretty rose bush in the backyard.
As most of you know, I was a little nervous about living with Golem. I wasn't used to reptiles as pets, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Yet, she flicked her tongue and warmed my heart. She became a member of our family, and we'll miss her.

The One Where I Don't Lack Motivation

2008-06-29T17:34:00.001-07:00

Over the last, uh, 31 years I've been telling myself, "I'd really like to..." or "I plan to..." or something similar. On Friday, after awesome pedicures for my fabo coworker's birthday...

I actually did something that I said I wanted to do. Namely, to clean up/out our spare room.

Our spare room/office had become a general "catch all" for everything that didn't have another spot. So, needless to say, it was crowded. And Minnie has been staying in there (mostly on Mark's desk though....he has to play "find my accessories" when he comes in to use the computer because Minnie likes to knock stuff off the desk, hehe).

Now the spare room is a much nicer place to hang out (darnit - so now Mark is playing video games again. grrr.) and I was able to put Minnie in the kennel and let the other kitties come by and say hi.

Jack just loves her.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-06-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

It seems like June 24th is a pretty popular birthday day! Not only did Janet and Marianne celebrate a birthday yesterday, but so did my mom!

We had a great time. I invited over my aunt and my cousin and my friend Kaitlin. I made bbq pork in the crockpot (I got a recipe for pulled pork from Audrey and changed it a bit to be bbq-y) and we had sandwiches and Mark grilled corn on the bbq. It was a fabulous dinner, followed by karaoke. (weee!)

There was also cake! and the traditional singing of the birthday song.

And a karaoke game with a mean streak (we WERE singing, jerk).

All in all, I think it was a fabulous birthday. I love you mom! Happy Birthday.

Miss Minnie Mack Mack Mack....

2008-06-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today marks one week of Minnie's captivity. The way it worked with Minnie is I took her to the vet and got her tested. She came back FIV+, which, from what I've learned isn't a death sentence, but it does make things trickier. I have been reluctant to bring her in and especially to introduce her to the other cats. (who are not FIV+)

However, she had fleas and looked scrungy. So I brought her in and gave her a bath. She wasn't thrilled, but was really easy going and pretty much just let me give her the bath with little struggle. (and only one tiny scratch where she was trying to get around me at one point - it was an accident).
She looked very pretty afterward though (and comfy)

We were worried that she might be preggers or that she might get preggers, so I scheduled her for a spay at the SPCA. I picked her up that evening and she was still pretty much out. She got groggy and wanted to walk around all wobbly. (which scared me, but I let her do it and just helped her not fall over. She kept jumping onto Mark's desk so I borrowed a big dog crate from my friend Sheila. It fits her water, food, bed, and a small litterbox. She stayed in it when we weren't home during the day (for maybe a day or two) Now she's been hanging out in Mark's computer room lounging on his keyboard. (when she's trying to get comfy she stretches and kicks the keyboard off the desk too, which I think is funny. it's like we're in cahoots)

For now, I'd love to keep her - she's just the sweetest thing imaginable...she's so mellow and go with the flow and she just loves to snuggle. But I'm going to try to find her a home where she can be an only child or with other FIV+ kitties in the home. If you know of anyone in California (or Norhtern Nevad) who is looking to adopt a sweet tortie girl, please let me know. I'd be willing to drive just about anywhere to make sure this baby gets the best home.

Air Conditioning Repair = Bad Porn

2008-06-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

You know what is really lame?
105 degree days.

Know what's lamer?
105 degrees and a broken air conditioner.

::sigh::

Last night, Flutter and I started our girls sleepover karaoke weekend. We noticed it was super hot. (like 86 degrees hot) And then I realized that the AC was broken. DAMMIT. Flutter was a trooper though and stuck it out. And I called several AC repair places today.

We were so hot that we decided to just go ahead and set up my pool. So we're out there huffing and puffing, knowing full well that when we were done there would be no refreshing cool air in the house to go into. Instead, we parked two chairs in the pool and sat in it while it filled up.
We didn't get out until our butts were wet from the pool water rising so high.

Around this time, the AC repairman called and said he was on his way. So I got out of the pool and put on dry pants. Flutter decided to just take off her pants. (interject here to say that I'm totally cracking up at that - and uh, we just heard a big train horn...there is no train by here. uh...yeah.) Anyway, so Flutter is wearing a towel around her waist (she assures me she is also wearing underwear) She has parked herself on the couch in said towel and is reading a book when the repairman shows up. (bow chicka bow bow).

Sam (as it says on his shirt) works his magic, steals all my money and then leaves. (giving me a "how you doin'!" look as he tells me to enjoy my summer). When I come in laughing at Flutter and telling her that this is how bad porn starts she tells me...

Well, you're pigtails aren't really helping either.

Touche'

The Minnie Chronicles

2008-06-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Chronic - What?!

les of Minnie.

Meet Minnie.

Minnie showed up on our porch (this is how it always starts, right?) a week ago. I started feeding her (of course) and she kept hanging out. She's the sweetest girl EVER. She loves to snuggle and she follows us around.

Stay tuned for pictures and video from Minnie's first bath.

Party Crasher

2008-06-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

My lovely pal Lindsey is getting married this weekend! I'm a little late to the party (that I wasn't invited to - JULIE)

My wishes for Lindsey and Edgar:

I hope that your wedding (and marriage) find you surrounded by people who love you and care for you and wish you all the happiness in the world.
Also - I wish you all the happiness in the world. (duh)

I'm wishing you a lifetime of scrapbook worthy memories, and the luxury of having time to really cherish those pages.

I'm wishing you just enough drama to make your relationship stronger and to really appreciate each other.

And most importantly, Lindsey, I'm wishing you the joy of knowing that you look amazing in that dress and Edgar is going to be OVERJOYED to have you as his bride.

Way to seal the deal, girl!

Love you guys!
(I knew I'd eventually get to use that tag again - for you - and hopefully Laurel and Julie soon!)

Such a Pretty Fat Book Signing

2008-05-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

Last week my friend Kaitlin and I went to see Jen Lancaster in San Francisco for a book signing. SF is about an hour and a half drive here (if you do above the speed limit)* And the City SUCKS. Cities that make sense are built on a grid. Letters go one way, numbers go another, etc etc. San Francisco looks like the engineers just randomly sent some guys out to pour asphalt to make streets. It's all willy-nilly. And then the decision was apparently made to create areas that have awesome shopping. These areas are very close to one another, however, they seem like they are miles apart. Also, they put in 500 huge stores and no parking lots. Hate you SF!

(Note to Jenny: I am still making the supreme sacrifice of going into the city once again to see you in July. You can take this as the highest compliment EVER. Even if black shoes DON'T go with everything.)

Once we found the bookstore where the signing would take place, we found a parking space (on the street) about 40 blocks away and hiked in. First plan was to swing by and see if there were people at the bookstore yet (nope). So we had dinner. After some caffeine and awesome parmesan and garlic focacia, we were back to being happy campers. After onion strings and entrees we were ready for naps.

Instead, we headed back to the bookstore. We were still the first ones there. (it was like 6:00 or so). I felt bad that I wasn't going to be buying Jen's book at the signing so I bought two other books instead. (the Memory Keepers Daughter and Otherwise Engaged, which is kind of crappy). Right around 6:45 the staff at the store had finished setting up chairs, so we sat down to wait for Jen's arrival.

A brief background on my feelings about Jen. She's wicked funny. I loved Bitter is the New Black. However, I didn't so much like Bright Lights Big Ass. I felt like the 2nd book really just laid out how mean spirited she was and I didn't find her very likeable. In Such a Pretty Fat, she completely redeems herself though and morphs into a snarky, yet no really mean, girl that I totally love.

However, I do not love her (or anyone) enough to try to be JUST LIKE THEM.

The difference between Kaitlin and I and 85 percent of the other women at the book signing? We were not trying to clone the author. We didn't come wearing the signature pearls nor did we bring signs proclaiming our undying devotion to hating "fucktards."

We did however realize that we really aren't that big of fans of other women. (Have I thanked you all for being so normal? If not, Thank you!)

Anyway, the signing went well. Jen did a reading from the new book and answered some questions. Apparently her next book will be titled "Pretty in Plaid." And my favorite moment of the reading/Q&A came when someone in the crowd asked "why pretty in plaid? why not pretty in pearls?" (as she fingers the strand around her neck). Jen's reply? "because I like Pretty in Plaid" (with a big old DUH at the end). HEART.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned here that I was included in Such a Pretty Fat's acknowledgments as being part of the postcard posse. Chance also got a mention. So I brought a photo of Chance to show Jen. She asked if she could keep it, and so I let her. She said she wanted to put it up at home. So, Chance is joining what I'm sure are the many photos of Loki and Mazi. (I'm totally spelling these wrong but am too lazy to double check the spelling of her dogs names).

Overall it was totally worth it. Jen was entertaining and interesting. I had never been to a book signing before and I'm not sure I'd ever do it again. But it was worth the effort this time for sure.

*When being pulled over by a highway patrolman and he asks, "do you know what the speed limit is?" the correct answer is NEVER 75. Apparently there are no streets/highways/etc with a speed limit that high in California. Who knew?**

**When the officer asks, "don't you read signs" it is okay to reply with, "as a matter of fact I was reading the sign for the carpool lane because in Sacramento carpool is two people and carpool here is three and I had 10 more minutes to be in that lane because it doesn't start till 3. Don't I get points for that???"***

***And no, he didn't give me a ticket. Though, he did NOT find me as funny as I found me. (luckily I knew better than to respond with "It is completely out of character and a miracle" when the officer said, "your friend is quiet." I do have that much sense, people.)****

****Highway Patrolmen do not know who Jen Lancaster is and they need to be schooled.

Love Love

2008-05-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the lovely Janet...I present to you the Love/Hate (but really all just Love) Tuesday.

Love - finally finishing one of the three books I started this month.

Love - playing tennis with my new Hope racquet and pink tennis balls

Love - those "real men of genious" beer commercials

Love - wearing a sweatshirt in the morning and being able to enjoy a walk in the afternoon without sweating to death

Love - waking up before the alarm clock and having 10 extra minutes to snuggle my honey

Love - being the only one in the office (OMG I can get stuff done - you know, like finally blogging)

Love - So You Think You Can Dance is on tonight

Love - work hasn't made me cry in well over a month (yeah!)

What are you loving?

SF Tomorrow?

2008-05-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Anyone out there planning to go to Jen Lancaster's book signing in San Francisco on Wednesday? Wanna meet up?
:)

We (flutter and I) are heading out in the afternoon for some shopping and lunch and then off to the signing. Also, I can't stop talking about this - but did you notice that Chance and I got a mention in the acknowledgments?? :) hehe.

I Call Bullsh*t

2008-05-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

From People.com:

"They were very cozy and cute together," said a source close to the couple, slamming Internet reports that Simpson was devastated to learn that her ex, John Mayer, has taken up with Jennifer Aniston. "She's definitely not mourning John Mayer! She was in an amazing mood and so happy her sister was getting married."

*****

From me:

I can buy that Jessice Simpson is still dating Tony Romo. I'm not so sure I buy that she's not upset that John Mayer is dating Jennifer Aniston. And I would put money down that Jessica is not, in fact, "so happy her sister was getting married."

Y-Me

2008-05-12T09:04:00.001-07:00

Hey Look! I'm still alive! I know you all were wondering. (is there anyone even out there??)

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! Marianne in particular what with it being her first year as a mom!

Mom and I continued our Mother's Day tradition of participating in the Y-Me Walk to Empower. We were joined by lots of friends and family and everyone had a really good time. We went from 3 people last year to about 15 this year! (yeah!)

Here are some pics from walk day.

Mom and Me!

The Rack Pack!

Kaitlin, Me and Our Moms
My friend Stacey from work.

After the walk mom, Mark, and I went to a barbeque at my dad's house. There was lots of family there. And I love having a big family (one that I don't see much so I get updates at these type of events - which are usually invite only and limited to the people we like this week. LOL)

Things I learned:

1) it is not good to call a family member and ask, "are you a good person or are you an asshole?"

2) the conversation isn't over until someone is called and F*ing C*.

I believe these life lessons will serve me in good stead. Hope you all learned a little something yourselves! Have a great week!

Life via Text

2008-05-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

A conversation over text:

Me: You know, I really am undecided on that whole do I want kids thing. One one hand I LOVE Aubrey on the other hand I just yelled at some neighborhood kid, "Get out of the street you little asshole!"

Flutter: OMG I HEART you.

In my defense, ~~the little jerks~~ darling little boys were playing football in the street. Okay, no problem. But then the cars came (there was a car in front of us) and we slowed down waiting for them to ~~get the hell out of the street already~~ move aside politely. And one kid runs in the middle of the street in front of the other car (like following the road) and another one is standing enough of the way over that he's technically out of the way, but still in the street. And the little f*cker is raising his arms up at the two cars like, "What?!" and I'm thinking, Oh no he didn't! So I take the time to roll down the window to call him an asshole.

I am justified in this because:
1) he was totally being a little asshole
2) he was 8/9 which is old enough to know to get out of the street
3) I know he's probably heard that kind of language before considering his parents are obviously really bad at parenting because they leave him outside to be disrespectful and to run around in the streets.
::takes a breath::

I did however, have enough heart to feel bad once it was over. I was totally impressed by the little bastard because he was nice enough to not flip me off.

I'm Going To Vegas!!

2008-04-28T08:53:00.001-07:00

I had a stroke of good luck this weekend!

Apparently a website (hi! I can't remember what it was) that encourages bloggers to do giveaways. And then they post the links to all the participating blogs and you can win cool stuff and meet new bloggers.

I found out about it through Mrs. F.

And I entered her giveaway.
And then I found a couple other sites and I entered one more giveaway.

And then I got emails and I WON BOTH!!!

I won a pretty beaded necklace that will be made especially for me (using my favorite color!) from Mrs. F.

And then I won a gift certificate towards a Maddy Moo creation from Kathie B. If you haven't seen Maddy Moo handbags - you must go to Kathie's blog and then to her Maddy Moo page (it's linked there) and see what adorable purses they create. You get to pick the design, the fabric, the ribbon color, the interior fabric, etc etc. I'm soooo excited.

So there ya have it. Two giveaways and Two wins! This NEVER happens to me. I'm buying a lottery ticket today.

Y-Me Walk To Empower

2008-04-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

I think there might be one or two (More?) of you that live in Northern California - and some of you who are in cities that may be doing the Y-Me Walk to Empower (read: Chicago).

Y-Me is an organization that provides support/services to people (and their families) who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. They aren't a research for the cure organization, but an organization that serves those who can't wait for a cure. They provide 24 hour telephone support. They match up those who have recently been diagnosed with a survivor so that they have someone they can relate to. They are wonderful!

So, I'm walking. I'm putting together a team to walk on Mother's Day in Sacramento. If you'd like to join me, learn more about y-me and if they are hosting a walk in your area, or if you would like to donate, please click here.

Thanks!

Huggy Church & a Happy Anniversary

2008-04-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend wasn't all that thrilling. I can't remember most of it. I think Mark worked a lot. yes! he did! he worked on friday night and went fishing on saturday. I think I slept. a lot.

I like sleep.

On Sunday, Flutter and I went to a new church. We call it Huggy Church. (the guy giving us our programs gave us hugs - but he gave hugs to everyone so it wasn't tooooo creepy.) AND we actually LOVED this church. It was big enough so that we didn't stick out like "hey! look! new girls!" and it was small enough that people seemed to know each other.

The music was fabulous and contemporary (the singer looked like Aiden from John and Kate plus 8 - only older, obviously) The Senior Pastor was a great speaker. and the sermon was fabulous. He had a way of speaking that was almost like a comedian. Like, he said something funny and kept a straight face. I really liked him. They kept the tithing till the very end which I thought was interesting. overall this church is winning in the race by a mile.

After church we stopped for lunch and then I took a nice long nap. Mark and I went on a double date with B&K to Benihana for dinner. (the 20th was also our anniversary and Benihana is where we had our first date 3 years+ ago) Dinner was really fun. Mark and I really like hanging out with B&K. He and K have gotten to be pretty good friends and I met B a frillion years ago - in third grade. They are good people. And their puppy is just toooo darling.

Overall it was a nice weekend.

Update

2008-04-18T08:32:00.001-07:00

Mom is doing well after her surgery. It was pretty darn short and she got to go home by noon! Now she's taking pain meds and trying to keep the cats from jumping on her. good times!

I'm looking forward to a weekend where we have very little on the calendar. and by we, I mean me because Mark is booked solid through the weekend. He's working tonight and then going fishing at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday. Come to think of it, I have no idea when he plans to come home either. I should probably ask about that. Sunday is our anniversary (3 years y'all!) We have plans to go to Benihana with our friends B&K and we get to see their new puppy Bailey! yeah!!

Happy Thoughts

2008-04-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

Clyde was pretty cute today. He decided that he likes Chance's bed. First he kneaded the bed. and then he took some time to get pretty. and finally, he snuggled in to stay. Chance was not thrilled. He's afraid of Clyde though, so he let the squatter stay.

Later, Clyde stole a hotdog from Mark.

I did take most of the hot dog away. But he found it in the sink and I ended up giving it back to him. He's way out of control. Right now he's flinging toys around the living room. I think the hotdog gave him energy. And I also bet he's gonna look really round tomorrow from all that salt and water retention. hehe.

***************
Please send happy thoughts to my mama tomorrow. She's having surgery in the morning. (goodbye you pesky gallbladder!)

Finally!

2008-04-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

I had my final meeting yesterday. It went just as I suspected it would. Except that instead of yelling at me, the institution was very complimentary. (I know I caught one of the guys on a bad day). That was really nice of them.

But yeah, basically the entire story is - they were spending way more than their budget. Our office wanted to discuss this with them. Our office kept switching around the dates on them. Their analyst kept sending me frillions of pieces of paper explaining small expenditures (under$100,000) and I kept pushing that aside (that is nothing in the grand scheme of a $70 million dollar budget).

But yeah, so they were worried that we were going to be mean to them. And then they kept getting their date changed and by the time we actually got to meet - we'd all stopped working on it. ::sigh:: But, it's over and now I can focus on other stuff. (we only do these meetings once a year - THANK GOD)

So now I'm feeling more relaxed and less stressed and I'm able to focus on some other stuff that has been building up on my desk. (again, ::sigh::). Last night I celebrated by watching Paradise Hotel and painting my nails (again). Today's polish is Orchid Oasis by Essie. I call it my Thank God Fiscals Are Over polish.

So I'm enjoying my downtown with a little more blog posting and a lot more blog reading. This one is cracking me up.

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-04-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Look at this! I'm updating about the weekend before it's even over. How's that for being an overachiever?

Friday was bunco. And then I came home and watched What Not To Wear and did some work. Friday was a crazy day because I was working on my new prison's paperwork. And in the process uncovered a bunch of paperwork that was never processed from 3 months ago. Someone had put it in a folder and shoved it into a random bookshelf. So yeah, I have a ton MORE to do than I had originally planned.

On Saturday, Flutter and I went to the spca book sale (it's going on through next weekend if you happen to be in the Sacramento area) Afterward I went to lunch with Mark and then he had to go to work. Flutter, Horrible Warning, and B met up at my house so we could go to the Rivercats game. That was a lot of fun.

I stayed up super late watching The Memory Keepers Daughter on Lifetime. (lol) and I have to say it was pretty darn good. Though, I haven't read the book. So I can't make that comparison.
I was super groggy when I got up to go to church with Flutter in the morning.

But we made it (and our baseball nail polish choices matched both of our clothes perfectly, which we thought was kind of fun.) We tried a Nazarene church (also known as physical fitness church because people kept walking around)...which is the same type of church I went to for youth group. And it was way different than my old church. There was no sermon - just communion. I've never done communion, but this seemed weird. They posted signs on the walls of all the things that people might want to pray about (health, finances, marriage, family members who aren't saved, etc.) and then people went from sign to sign, praying about the things they needed to pray about.

It was a little uncomfortable sitting in the pews and being able to watch other people pray and know what they are praying about. We were happy to get out of there and go to breakfast. (recap: so far the church of doors and stairs is winning by a landslide).

We had breakfast, did a little shopping and then went home to do chores. It was so hot today (mid 80s), so every time I stopped moving, I got super sleepy. We were able to get everything done and then Mark took me out to dinner. yum! And now, I'm watching the Memory Keepers daughter (yes, again) and thinking about doing some more work. ::sigh::

Have a great week!

Um, Weekend Wrap Up?

2008-04-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Like how I'm doing my weekend wrap up on the day before the weekend? Yeah, sorry about that. We've all been a little on edge around here.

Last weekend we spent some time on the coast, camping. (and freezing) We didn't get out there until after 9 p.m. and we set up camp and Mark made burgers for dinner. (That is the major plus of camping - Mark takes care of EVERYTHING) The rest of our group (Marks two cousins and their wives plus one baby) got there after 10:30.

We did a lot of eating. And sleeping. And napping. And reading. And talking trash. It was great fun.

We did sneak away from camp at one point to see the water.

and we visited a cove and ate some lunch (oh and I totally fell down. woohoo!)

We had a really good weekend. The only regret was that we didn't get the marshmallows out of B's truck before he left.

So, I had to resort to this:

YUM!

The One Where She Doesn't Cry

2008-04-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at book club my coworker R brought her darling little girl Aubrie. Now, Aubrie just happens to be the CUTEST baby EVER. And she was all giggly and smiley. She also made a really cute face when she heard her first fire engine siren too (R & I had our hands over her ears) She stiffened up and got wide eyed looking around.

When it was time to heat up her bottle, I went inside the diner to get a cup of hot water to heat it in. And I took Aubrie with me. I thought for sure she'd cry because she couldn't see mom. But she didn't! I was shocked.
I was like Sally Field, "They like me, they really like me!"

Book club went really well too. We had 9 grown up ladies there. :P We didn't talk much about the book other than to say OMG WE LOVED IT. (except one person who just couldn't get into it) But it was nice to get together and chat and enjoy sitting outside in the fresh air. Not to mention eating copious amounts of chocolate cake.

This weekend we're off to the coast for camping where it will be 40-60 degrees (eek!) I'm really sad that 40-60 degrees doesn't sound that cold to some of you (my condolences) Enjoy your weekend!

Does She Look Like??? - THIS!

2008-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last night at bowling, I spotted a girl. This girl might have been cute in the 90s. But today, she looked like a hood skank. Not a hood rat. She was thin and had long light brown hair that was just plain. she had on flip flops, tight jeans, and a tank top.

I pointed her out to Mark and said, "She looks like someone you might have dated - in like 1992" (read: someone who would like to ride around in a camaro.)

His reply, "I wasn't dating in 1992."

"Unless she looks like.....

THIS!"

I'm still laughing.

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-04-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

Oh hey! Sorry I'm wrapping up a day late - but I did get a three day weekend (and yes, in case you didn't realize, I'm totally rubbing it in.)

On Friday, Flutter, Mom, and I went to dinner at Fresh Choice (yum!) and then Flutter and I went to an Arbonne party. Where the woman lied to us about mineral oil and it's existance in ALL THINGS. (read: I found nothing that I use that contains mineral oil) And where I avoided spending $85 on a lotion and serum (which I promptly bought on ebay for $25) yes!

On Saturday, Mark and I had two surprise parties to attend. We went to the first one - a 30th b-day for his cousin. Apparently, 30 is the new 50 because they decorated in an over the hill theme, complete with black balloons. The second party was for a mutual friend who was turning 40. This one was a total shock to him. Which was pretty cool. And he got to see some old friends that he hadn't seen in awhile. So, I know he really enjoyed it.

While we were there, I got to talk to an old friend of mine too. My friend's sister, who I was really close to for awhile was there. She and I had had a falling out and hadn't spoken in a couple years. She's a really funny girl, so I was glad we were able to chat and catch up.

On Sunday, Flutter and I went to a new church. We deemd this new church the church of doors and stairs. It took us passing 3 doors and pausing for a few minutes to contemplate our entrance before we actually made it to the entrance. And when we went to the "power room" there were several flights of stairs (this church is 5 levels and has multiple levels per floor with just a one or two step step-up.)

Overall, we liked the pastor and the music (it had both contemporary songs and hymns) And they gave us a present. (a water bottle, chocolates, a pen, and some scriptures and whatnot) I think we're still going to keep trying new churches, but overall this one is a possibility. (i love that we're scouting churches.)

On Monday I bought groceries and ran errands with Mom. And I cleaned the house. It looks so good. Now if I could find time to wash my car again, I'd be happy.

This week I've got bowling, softball, book club, a luncheon and then we're going camping! woohoo! I think I'm going to need another weekend to recover.

And Then There Were...

2008-03-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

I was feeling overwhelmed by my weekend. We have a ton of stuff going on. and then I remembered that Ceasar Chavez is a wonderful man - who left a legacy, and also a day off for government employees.

Thank you!

Tonight I've got a party with the girls. (where we get to try makeup and skincare and drink margaritas! and yes, you can totally tag along!) Tomorrow, we have two birthday parties (surprise parties!). Sunday I've got church with Miss Flutter (who totally made out with a cute boy last night after Mark's softball game). And Monday, I'm hoping to get a personal training session at the gym. woohoo!

And in between all that, I'm hoping to maybe relax. Yeah, I know, good luck.

Luckily, there is nothing happening here at work so I am relaxing RIGHT NOW. And typing, but whatever.

And this may also be the most boring post EVER. So, I'm sorry about that. But, luckily none of you ever work on Fridays to read or post anyway. :P so there.

So Long Warranty

2008-03-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Long ago a friend of mine (who was several years older than me) said to me: When you turn 30, your warranty runs out.

Sad, I thought.

And 30 came and I was not doing too badly. And now I'm 31 - and I guess a total late bloomer because the warranty ran out today. :(

Yesterday I did something (reached for something or something equally normal) and I felt a weird twinge in my neck. I said to Mark, "that made my neck feel weird for a second" So then I went about my business and then went to sleep (after watching some horrible stuff on tv).

And this morning I COULD NOT GET UP. My neck hurt so bad. I feel like the girl in Sixteen Candles - the one with the neck brace. I tried to get a drink of water to wash down the ibuprofin this morning and it took two hands and some definite splashing to get any water in my mouth.

Let's not even rehash how hard it was to drive to work without turning my head to check to see if traffic was speeding towards me when I tried to make turns. Or how hard it is to parallel park when you can't move your head. Or getting into the car when you're taller than the doorway when you're sitting down so you have to bang your head on the top of the door just to wedge yourself into the vehicle. Let's not talk about these things, okay?

I think I'm gonna go home - but I'm afraid if I lay down again, I might not get back up. Sad.

Operation Find a Church: Part II

2008-03-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Horrible Warning called me to tell me about how her mom was guilt tripping her about not going to church. Her mom sent her the link to several churches that were having services - however, they were all Episcopal churches and I couldn't visit one of those without Flutter so we decided to try something new.

We went to a Presbyterian church. The church itself was one that I had passed fairly often and always thought it was pretty (if not a little dated). Our original plan was to attend the sunrise service, but, did you know that the sun rises at 6:30 a.m.?! Uh, so no. No 6:30 service. We went to the 8:30 one. And we were one of about 10 people who were not over 100 years old.

The church has an AMAZING choir. There were probably 30-40 people and the music was FABULOUS. There was lots of singing. And lots of standing and sitting and oh! time to stand again. No, sit down. And I kept thinking, they really need one of those applause signs like they have at the tapings of Jerry Springer - except to say sit! and stand! Or, "you respond now"

About that - the program for the service showed pretty much what the church leader said, and then had lines that the congregations were supposed to respond with. It was all very drama rehearsal-y, but the overall service was okay. Like I said, I loved the music. And they did a little activity with the children where they got to decorate a cross with flowers.

Overall, I didn't really like the message. It was semi-boring and it was hard to follow. I really liked the last church's program where it had notes and they were "life keys" and stuff that they focused on.

Next week Flutter and I are trying the pretty Baptist church downtown. Wish us luck!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

So, after a whirlwind week of softball, bowling, baking and shopping; I spent this weekend being equally busy. I'm so not complaining - I love being busy, but my allergies are kicking my butt and I can't tell if I have just allergies or a cold on top of it. So I'm just whining (a little).

Mark and I had lots of stuff planned for Easter Sunday, so I had to get all the chores done on Saturday. I made a list and Mark and I tackled it and we did pretty darn good. Included on this list was washing my car (it looked really good for almost 24 hours) and making 40,000 cupcakes (or so).

First, I assembled my supplies...

and like magic - I created these!

up close

heee!

I gathered up the cupcakes and we headed for a family picnic (Mark's family)

The whole family gets together on a piece of property owned by a family friend...and we have a potluck picnic. Someone also sets up horseshoes and they do an egg hunt for the little kids.

It looks something like this

After the picnic, Mark and I headed to his mom and stepdad's for dinner. And I was ready for a serious nap.

I like to call this one - AFTER

Stay tuned tomorrow where I will tell you all about project Find a Church Part II.

And also - a gratuitous photo of Golem because as Mark says, "she so cute" (and also, because she's not a snake beast, Nicole)

You Make Me Smile!

2008-03-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

I got this ~~today~~ yesterday from Flutter!

And now I get to pass it on (that is, if y'all are still reading....you're there? right?)

For the love...for showing me how to cool off a teen romance.

Lindsey for being my twin and also for using Jesus as an excuse to plan her wedding flowers.

The Bloggess for being the ultimate stalker and finding me no matter where I may roam.

B. Good for working just as hard as I do every day.

Flutterbyshutter for being the best work BFF EVER. I've never met anyone who gave into my hairbrain schemes so easily.

*****

Can I tell you just how glad I am that the weekend is here? It's really rough having friends that like to do stuff because I've been super busy all week. I haven't done hardly any laundry and the house definitely needs some straightening. (let's not talk about the mail that is building up on the counter either!)

Luckily, the first part of the weekend will be pretty darn boring. I've got nothing planned tonight or tomorrow. So cleaning and relaxing and hopefully finishing my latest book I Feel Bad About My Neck (I'm halway through) and maybe even start a new one.

I'm going to go back to scary church on Easter morning - because Flutter will be out of town and at least I'll know someone (if they are at the early service). I figure that since it's an Easter production and they know random folks will show up - it will be more traditional. (keep your fingers crossed). Afterward, we have a big family picnic with Mark's extended family (read: out of the 60ish people who were there, I knew about 6 - Mark's immediate family and then one woman I met at Weight Watchers. lol)

Afterward, we're going to Mark's mom and stepdad's for dinner. Should be a nice way to end a fairly relaxing and fun weekend.

Enjoy your Easter!