This morning the cabinet guys are starting to install my cabinets. It's very exciting. The countertops are a grey marble. By 3:00 today they will be complete. I can't wait to see what they look like!

Also this morning, we got 4-5 inches of snow or something like that. So the roads are nice and hazardous. I have been coming in at 9:00, but because the cabinet guys were coming at 7:00 I got up and 6:00 and got ready. They started lining things up outside my apartment at 7:00, so I just hung out until 8:00. I figured maybe by the time the sun comes up, the snow won't be to bad to drive in. 8:00, I head off to work. There is just a slight snow. Then all of a sudden about 1/2 way to work, I can barely see because the snow is so thick. They are nice big fat fluffy snowflakes. All I wanted to do when I got out of my car was run around in it and play. But instead, I stayed adult-like, and went inside to work. I wish I had a hard office. All of those have windows. But I'm just a pee on, so I have a cubical without windows. :( woah is me.

I think I'm leaving today at 3:00. I doubt I'll have much to do anyway.

I went to Target on my lunch hour to look at their selection of cameras to see if I wanted to trade the one my mom bought me for a different one. Then after looking at target, and not buying anything yet, I headed off to a place my friends and I call Cheap Chinese. Can you guess why? Because it's cheap Chinese when you get take-out. So I dish up my little take-out box, and head to the checkout counter. The girl who I'm not sure if she speaks English or not, is weighing my take-out, when I go into my purse and realize I DON'T HAVE MY WALLET! Oh My God! What the heck happened to my wallet! So I tell the girl, "I'm sorry I don't have my wallet. I think it's at the office, I'll be back in 10 minutes." So I get in my car and I'm freaking out. When did I see my wallet last? I go back to work and check my drawer. No wallet. So I drive to my apartment. There it is, sitting on my counter top. Apparently I used it last night for something, and don't even remember it. By this time it's too late to go back to cheap Chinese. a. If I did go back, the food would now be cold, b. I'm not sure if the chick really knew what I told her anyway, c. I am now twice the distance from the place anyway. So I climb back in my car and head to Arby's which is next to my house.

How embarrassing is that? I don't think I can go back to cheap Chinese for a long time. Maybe only if I change my hairdo or lose a lot of weight or something.

So last night when I get home, I have a note on my door from my apartment management office. It says that I need to get all my crap out of both my kitchen and bathroom cupboards because they will be installing new ones on the 30th. In addition to this, I need to empty out all appliances because at that time, they will also be replacing my appliances. So I got excited! My apartment is going to look totally new and different! Woo hoo! Then it hit me. Wait a minute... Where am I going to put all this Sheot? And man, this is really going to bite. It's essentially like moving, accept I'm not moving. :o( I have a cabinet in my bathroom that I'll have to move out so they don't mess up, as well as one in the hallway, and one in the dining room that they could possibly scratch up while carrying things to the kitchen. This bites.... But it will be cool when it's complete! Woo hoo! I should take before and after pictures!

I think my neighbors were pretty wasted last night. I was tired last night and went to bed at 9:30. OK. Maybe 9:15. So I was sound asleep at 1:30am when I heard something. It was loud thumping. I thought it was someone in my apartment, but it turns out that it was my upstairs neighbors, stumbling and falling. Then laughing. Turns out, whoever the beotch upstairs is dating and her must be vaudeville singers or something. They were so loud I could hear their conversations without even trying. The icing on the cake is when I heard them singing to each other. The chick started singing "goodnight sweetheart, it's time to go...", and the guy chimes in, and HARMONIZED with her!!!! It wasn't good harmonizing, but I couldn't believe it! Who harmonizes with their mate???? This singing, and stumbling went on for some time, and then I decided to put in my ear plugs. I just knew where this was going.... loud drunken sex. And I was NOT in the mood to hear that.

Cesar, I highly reccomend ear plugs for your elephants. They really help! I fell back asleep pretty instantly, and was not disturbed again until my alarm clock went off at 6:00!

If you've been watching any of the millions of music awards, you'll have witness the atrocity that is Marriah Carrey's boobs. She keeps winning these awards, and keeps accepting them in horribly outfits that are non to flattering of her chest area. As you may have noticed, she has large boobs. And these boobs, if not supported hang low and to the sides. I was so fed up with her nasty outfit last night that I had to call my husband to look at them. I had to complain to someone. If only she had something to push them up and in, she would not only look less trashy, but she'd also look thinner.

The reason that I have made this a blog-worthy topic is because just now on the radio, my morning show was discussing this very topic! And they were saying the same thing as me! I felt so vidicated. I totally would love to be her stylist, because I'd love to help her out with her big ole nasty ta ta's! This girl needs to get a clue, she's got plenty of money to get someone to dress her better! Maybe I'll start a crusade to fix Mariah Carey's boobs!

Yesterday, Big D and I went Snow Mobiling on his land. After getting all bundled up to resemble the Abomidable Snowman, we headed out. This is only the second time I've ever been on a snow mobile, but someday I will be a pro. Everyone who knows me, knows that I hate to be cold. However, once you put all this stuff on, you don't really feel cold. I didn't look very cute, which of course I had a problem with, but at least I was warm.

After we head out and play around for a while, I get stuck. So Darin had to come help me get unstuck. Who knew that snow mobiles can't go through all snow. Aparently, I launched myself into too soft of a patch, and instantly got stuck. I was sad. The snow was all the way up to my thigh. So that's about 3 feet deep. When I attempted to walk out to where Darin had driven my snow mobile to, I fell over head first. Please note: It's very hard to move when your dressed like the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man. And, because the snow was so soft, everytime I tried to push myself up, I'd just sink again. Plus, my arms are already starting to feel like jello, because steering a snow mobile, is quite a workout. Then I started laughing because I realize how funny I must look trying to get myself up. When I laugh hard, I get week and have to sit down. So here I am, in a snow pile, can't get up, laughing histerically, and so week I can't do anything but lay there. Flat on my face. Are you wondering if my husband came to my rescue? No. He didn't. He was sitting on his snow mobile rolling his eyes at me. So I had to fight my battle with the snow drift. I finally won. When I walked over to my man do you want to know what he said to me? You looked like a vegetable. Gee, thanks a lot my Prince Charming. Not!

But anyway. Once I got used to the feeling of possibly falling off the thing, and killing myself, it was actually very fun. He even taught me how to spin around on the ice. Which again, I thought I was going to die, but I tried it anyway, and that turned out to be pretty fun as well.

Who knew I could actually have fun in the cold? Maybe my southern climate friends should come out and try it with me some time. :o)

Warning: If you plan to see this movie, here is a bit of information we wish we had. This movie is LOOOOOONNG! The last movie that I saw that had an intermission was Shindlers List. This movie has an intermission.

Although this movie was long, I think it was quite good. I got worried because about 45 minutes in to the movie, I remembered that the original King Kong droned on for a while, and with my short attention span, I would stop watching it because it stopped being interesting. No need to worry here though. Although there are definately holes in some of the plot, I think the movie is definately a must see. The way the depict all the crazy characters on Skull Island, and especially the way they made King Kong so lifelike is pretty amazing.

You'll laugh at this movie, you'll be angry with humanity, and you'll cry. Well... maybe you won't cry, but I did, and you should.

Darin and I saw two movies this weekend that made us really angry with humans and their self distruction of both themselves, the people around them, as well as the planet. We rented Hotel Rwanda. Boy the world is really F%^* up. And if you ever thought the UN was useless, or maybe if you thought they were usefull, once you watch this movie, you'll see just how useless this organization really is/was.

For the first time in at least 9 months I have very little to do at work. I can actually sit back and relax a little. Phew. It feels weird. I have talked to people for most of the day today. It's very nice! I love it! I remember the days at P1 when I was like this. That would happen about once every two weeks there. Jeez I miss that place!

So if anyone reads this today, get onto MSN Messenger (if you know my address) and give me a chaty chat chat. :o)

So, I pull my car out of the garage this morning, and it has little beads of water on it from where the snow from last night has melted. I drive across the street to the gas station and while I'm pumping gas, I notice that the little droplets have frozen! I was surprised that they would freeze that fast, since I literally did just pull out of the garage. Holy crap this place is cold! Right now it's 16 degrees, which is actually warm compared to the past few days that have been in the negatives.

There are a lot of people around the office right now that are either going through a divorce, just married but already having problems, or married for years with problems. You know, I never realized how many people in the world just don't know how to communicate their needs to one another, nor did I not realize how many people are completely unable to understand the Men and Women think differently. I'm not saying that my marriage is perfect, or that I have all the answers to peoples problems, but I can say, that Darin and I have a hightened understanding of eachother that seems to get better with time. Especially after reading the book, "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus". I really reccomend this book to anyone who is in a serious relationship, as well as anyone who would like to be. This book spells out how to talk to eachother using a light humor that makes you feel like it's alright to be the way you are, but be willing to improve yourself. One of the girls in the office asked me one day after I was telling some funny story about me and Darin, "How do you guys keep it interesting?" This girl is 1 year older than me, and has only been married maybe a year longer than me! I was surprised. I told her first of all, I learned not to take everything so seriously. (Which was something I learned from Darin.)

It makes me very sad to see how many married people out there don't really enjoy eachother's company. It's like they got married because that is what is expected of straight people when they hit a certain age. Or, and this is my favorite reason, because they want to have a baby. Which is totally stupid, because if you can't create a happy environment with your spouse, you're not going to raise a mentally healthy child, nor are you going to build a happy relationship with that kid! Anyway. . . Back to my point. Everytime someone comes to me to vent or for advice, I think to myself how lucky I am to have the man that I do, and how glad I am that I never wound up with some of the idiots that I dated. I seriously feel, like a fine marinade, our relationship is just going to get better with time. I'm a very lucky girl. Now, if only one of us were rich, I think I'd just about have it all (in my scope of things anyway).

Over night it snowed about 4-5 inches. So on my way out of my garage this morning, I backed into a winter wonderland of light fluffy snow. All went well until I had to stop to change gears into drive. I got stuck. But I didn't panic and gun the gas (note: this only gets you more stuck). Instead, I slowly let on the gas in drive. But I didn't move. Then I switched to reverse. I didn't move. So then I did it again. Drive. Nothing. Reverse. Nothing. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to leave my car in the middle of the parking lot. But then I remembered that my fancy car (Not. It's a Pontiac Grand Am.) has traction control. So I switched that off. And repeated the steps. Slowly let on the gas in drive. Nothing. Reverse. Nothing at first, but then I started moving. So I reversed until I lined myself up with the tracks that were already in the snow, and followed them out to the main road in my apartment complex.

Now all I have to do is get home without any troubles. It's still snowing, so it should be interesting. It's supposed to snow all day today, and all day tomorrow. Fun Stuff! I took pictures for all you southerners sitting in tee shirts and sipping coffee outside to see.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Here at my office, most of us have been under a lot of stress, and our jobs are just not enjoyable at the moment. Obviously this results in a lot of bitterness and pissiness amongst us all. Well, today there is a little beacan of light in the form of food. :o) Our office is having a Company wide luncheon. They are totally pulling out all the stops. Prime Rib, some chicken thing, and all the fixin's to go with it. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmm. I brought left overs to eat, and when I walked through the lunch room and saw the tables setup. I was happy to realize I won't have to eat my leftovers until tomorrow! Woohoo! Go free food!

Would you like know how sweet my husband is? Well, I’ll tell you. Yesterday he was supposed to drive home to take care of business. Instead, he stayed to spend one more evening with me. He went to the grocery store to pick up some milk for dinner, and guess what he did? Guess. . . He bought me a caramel apple.
Here is the back story on this, and why I thought it was so sweet. When I drive to the Big W, I sometimes stop at this travel center that is on the way, get gas, and buy a caramel apple from the bakery inside. This is why it’s so sweet of him. He knows I buy them occasionally. All he needed to buy was milk, but he bought me an apple too. Ahhh. He’s so great.

Well, I don’t exactly know what I should write about. We had a lot of fun. We didn’t get sick of each other once. Had little sleep. Attended a wedding. Walked and walked the strip. That’s about it. I’ll spare you the details, mainly because I don’t feel like typing it all out. However, I will tell you that because of Vegas, I now dislike -with a serious passion- Marathon Runners.

Sunday we had a 7:15am bus appointment for an 8:30 tour of the Hoover Dam.
7:30, the bus shows up to take us to the meeting point destination for all Hoover Dammers. 8:00 We’re still on the bus. Turns out, there is a Marathon in town, and our bus driver is trying to get around them. The problem is, the police have blocked off all the streets that we needed to pass to get to our meeting destination. This resulted in several turn a rounds, and attempts to pass the long train of runners. The police were content with blocking all through traffic, as well as backing up hundreds of cars for 3 hours. Yep, that’s right. THREE HOURS!!! They weren’t letting anyone pass through. They were making all these cars sit and wait until the Marathon was completely over! Completely! No letting us though when the slow poke lagers came through. So there we sat. And sat. And sat. Then sat some more. By the time we got to the place where we were supposed to get on out tour, we had spent a total of 2 hours on that damn bus! (No pun intended. Ha!) Then, because we were an hour late for our tour, they asked us to please take the 6 hour tour instead of our paid for 4 hour tour. So we wound up spending ½ of our day either trying to get to the Hoover Dam, or at the Hoover Dam. It was quite an ordeal. Our luck really wasn’t with us. And Monday, when it was time to fly out, our luck still was not around. Perhaps it went to a strip club, and forgot how to get home.

We got to the airport an hour and a half early. (According to my good friends Chris and Rachel, they felt this was plenty of time) We get to our check in area, and there is a huge line to check in. At BOTH the Eticket line, and the regular line. So D and I are forced to stand in line for about an hour. We finally get past that, and we head up to Security. Now this is where I realized that I really love the layout of the DFW and MSP airports. These two well thought out, well planned Airports have security entrances decently spread out, so in the event that there is a huge amount of traffic, people still get through quite quickly. I believe the longest I’ve ever stood in line at a security line at either of these places is 15 minutes. Less at DFW. I’ve never been more than 4 people back in that line. At Las Vegas, it was mass chaos. Every single person going to every single gate, has to go through the same place. Which couldn’t be too bad, if the Airport officials knew how to organize masses of people. And since this Airport is probably pretty busy majority of the time, you’d think they’d have this down. This definitely was not the case. We step off the escalator into a major blob of people. No lines. Just a big conglomerate of people. So we pick what we think is a line, and wait to move ahead. The problem with this is that jack-off dill hole people, who apparently think they are much more important than the rest of us, keep jumping ahead, saying they have a flight they need to get to. No shit. Don’t we all? After all, we are all holding Airline tickets. Those people deserve to be shot. So anyway, about to crap my pants because the line is so long, we have to sit in this line for some time. At this point. Darin stopped telling me what time it was. (I think he knew that I would crap my pants in fear that we would miss our flight. He knows me so well. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I get stressed out when it comes time to fly because I’m always afraid I’m going to miss my flight. Although I am getting better, usually the closer it gets to the time of the flight, if I am not sitting in the terminal, and able to check the sign on the gate (several times) to ensure that I’m in the correct place, I get stressed. This is probably my most neurotic habit. But at least I’m aware of it, and only my husband gets to see how bad it really is. J I love you honey.) Another tid bit you need to know, is that my husband, God bless his soul, hardly ever gets stressed out. At least doesn’t get stressed out to the point where anyone can tell. He starts really working his way through the mass of people. He shuffles me to a newly opened security line, and poof! We’re through. Then he starts running. “WHAT? He’s running?!” Shit, we’re in trouble. So now I’m trying to run, with my handbag, and my bag of paperwork. And! And! I’m wearing clogs. Plus! My feet are killing me from all the walking around we’ve done. All of this, on top of the fact that I don’t like to run, and here I am, running toward my gate. Another reason I hate the Las Vegas airport… Their gates are forever and a day away. The walkways were all shutdown, so here we are dodging people, and running.

I know your just dying to know what happens when we get to the gate right? Did we make it? Did we miss it? Did I crap my pants? Well… We made it. The plane was just unloading it’s inbound passengers when we were pulling up. So no crapping my pants for me! Woo hoo! Even though that started a whole new discussing with me and my husband about how much it sucks that the whole game of Flying is “hurry up and wait”. We’re always in a hurry to get there on time, in the event that the flight is actually on time. But if it’s late, then tough cookies. We all get to wait! It’s not like if we had called ahead, and said, “Please hold the plane, we’re running a little late”, the plane would have waited for us. It really sucks the amount of time that is wasted by people all over the world, in many different situations at the mercy of the person or company you are paying for their services.
Other than the tiny bit of issues that we expirienced near the end of our trip, Darin and I had a great time! I can't wait until our next vacation!

In about an hour we will be off to Vegas. Woo hoo!

Want to hear something funny? Well, maybe not funny ha ha. But funny in a sort of Charmic way. All of Wheaton/Western Minnesota is iced over. It rained about 6 inches, and then froze, then snowed. So the weight of the frozen rain on the power pulls, caused several of them to fall over. Wheaton was without power for 2 days. Darin's family is still without power tonight. They are renting a generator from a neighbor. Otherwise they'd have no electicity. They have had no electricity for 4 days! 4 days! And they are supposed to be on a plane to Vegas tonight too. Aparently they got someone to watch the house. But isn't that terrible? They youngest son is getting married in a far off city, and they almost can't make it. Some people have already backed out from coming to the festivities, so it's a little sad. I have no idea how many people will be showing up to this little shin dig. So it will be interesting. My friends that live there will be picking us up tonight, and we are staying with them tonight and on Sunday. So if nothing else, at least we'll have fun on those two days. Even though, how can you not have fun in Vegas? Really?

Wish me luck! I'm hoping to make it big off of just a quarter! Woo hoo!

Ahh yes.... I've been on vacation for what? 6 days now. It's been bliss! I forgot how wonderful doing only what I want to do is. Ahhhh..... Now why didn't I marry a rich man? I'm starting to think I should really have considered that when years ago I was on my quest for perfect love and relationships. I really should have been out there looking for a man with all the loot. I haven't really taken a vacation from work for more than a day here, or there since I moved up to the Alaska of the mainland.

Thursday, Thanksgiving, I slept in until 9:00 local time, which was really 10:00 my time. The best part of this is, my husband even slept in with me! He is a 6:00am-er. I hate this about him. Usually I can get him to stay still until at least 7:30, but after that he's usually waking me up because he's ready to start his day. We've had very long conversations on this matter, and how I'd really love it if he really just layed in bed in agony until I am ready to wake up. I see nothing wrong with this, but for some reason, he has problems. Anyway. After getting up, my dad, my husband, and I all played cards and a family borad game called "Marbles". (Until a few years ago when my cousin died of pancreas cancer, my sister and I believe this game was unique to our family. In our horrid surprise, when we picked up some travel games to play in the car, our "Marbles" game was included in the set! Do you want to know what our family marbles game is called to the rest of the world? Are you ready? wait... wait..... Parcheasie. All these years we thought we had a unique family game, but it turns out it's not!!!! We were very saddened when we discovered this. :( But we did take solstice in knowing our family game had been modified. Anyway... Back to my vacation...) We ate, ate some more, then played cards some more. It was nice. We played cards outside in the back yard. It was so nice out. My dad lit the Chimenea (for those of you that don't know, it's basically an outdoor fireplace). This made it pretty cozy.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Slept in again. aahhhhh, this is the life! Then we sat around, watched movies, went to see Harry Potter 4, I crocheted one of those cute fuzzy scarves that everyone is wearing, then I read 1/2 of the book I picked up in the airport on the way down to NM. I intended to leave it for the plane ride to Vegas, but it was so good that I wanted to pick it up again. So I crocheted, then read, crocheted, then read. Exciting day eh? Oh yeah, I also ate.

Monday and Tuesday were similar to all of the above. So this blog is probably pretty boring. But here is the fun part. Well, maybe not for my readers, but for me it was fun. I went to see my friends bran new baby. She's going to kill me when she reads this, but I seem to have a brain-fart on his (the new baby) middle names. Yes, this particular friend has assigned all of her kids 2 middle names, it's tradition in her family. Anyway, her newest cutie patutie, is only about 2 weeks old. (I'm probably wrong about this too, but either way, he's very new to the world.) We went to go see him, and he was very cute. Of course he was pretty much just asleep the whole time Darin and I were there, but he was still cute. Almost makes me want to have one. But then I remember all the nasty inconveniences that occur to a woman, while her man is sitting around saying, "Yep, my sperm did all that." (I imagine that he is also popping the top of a beer can while he says this), and I'm brought back to reality. The surprising thing to me, was how Darin responded to this baby visit. He seemed to fair pretty well. I think he was less tense holding him than I was. Which isn't really that surprising to those of you that know me, but I've held the other two of her children, so you'd think I'd be getting better at it. ;o) Come to think of it, I think her kids are pretty closely the only babies I've ever held. There have been a couple here and there. On the car ride home, my husband told me that I come off as someone who never wants to have babies. I think it bothers him how I talk about not wanting them. But my friend who really know me know that one day I'll suck it up and have them. It's just the process that really bugs me. It's not that I don't want kids, it's that I don't want to physically HAVE them. I'm definitely not looking forward to it, but that doesn't mean I'm never going to have them. My friends know where I stand on this issue, besides, that's a whole seperate blog. So I'll just leave it at that. No babies for me at this present time. No matter how cute my friends babies are. You heard me brenda, no matter how cute your babies are!

On Thursday we will be off to Las Vegas - Woo hoo!- where I hope to win a million dollars, or at least enough to pay off all of my credit card debt off of one quarter. Think that is possible? I hope it is. I'm too poor to really gamble high stakes. A girl can dream right?

Now back to reality for a quick moment. I've decided that when I get back to the cities I'm going to pick up a second job. The cities are just sucking me dry. The cost of living is so high there, and I really don't make enough to cover my debt from college, my rent, gas back and forth to the big W, plus have money to spend on fun stuff to do. So I'm going to take a second job, maybe try something totally different than retail, and hopefully have money to just blow. If I ever find out who this guy is that invented money, I'm going to have to kick the crap out of him. I'd totally love to barter my way through life.

OK. Back to my little vacation! Have fun all of you that are at work right now reading this! woo hoo!

I'm so tired of Bank Fees. I realize that it's my fault for not always balancing my checkbook, therefore occassionally having overdraft fees, but this last fee has my hide chapped! I forgot about a couple checks that I had out, and therefore had one overdraft. As a result the bank charged me $33. Usually when this happnens they pay the check. This time, they returned the check, and charged me an addtional "returned check fee" of $30!!!! WHAT!!!! My paycheck goes in automatically, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't just pay the check like normal. So that first pisses me off. Then the fact that they charged me $63 for it! Now, if a person doesn't have any money in their account, how is it going to help them if they have a fee of $63 on top of the bill they have to pay?!!!!!! Grrrrr!!!! I hate banks!

As all my friends already know. I hate the cold. I hate to be cold. Which is why Texas was so perfect for me. But last night when the rain turned to snow in the middle of my drive home, I was pretty excited. If you've never had the experience of seeing this happen, it is quite amazing. One minute your driving down the road, windshield wipers flicking the dreary rain from your windshield, when suddenly you notice that the rain is becoming solid. Wipe wipe wipe. Suddenly, after 2 or three more wipes, your wipers are now flicking away soft white snowflakes.

I have to admit, this morning when I woke up, I was like a little girl. I got up, and went straight to the window to see how much snow had fallen. Everything was lightly dusted. Driving to work, even though I was saddened by the idiots on the icy road, I was very excited to see all the trees and house tops dusted with snow! Everything just looks so beautiful with a little bit of snow on it!

Tomorrow I'm sure I'll be back to hating the cold. But today, I'm really liking the view.

Sound like fun? Did I get your attention?

My husband just called me and told me he attended this annual shin-dig over at his neighbors house. Apparently, they have a party every year after he castrate his bulls. So they fry up the tasty viddles and have an excuse for a party (otherwise known as Rocky Mountain Oysters). As gross as I think this is, I'm OK with it. Because I guess they are edible. I just wouldn't eat them. YULK. But I am more disturbed than a Man would eat another Male part. My dad wouldn't even get his dog fixed because he thought it was cruel and unusual punishment. I just don't know how a guy could do that to another guy. Even if that other guy is a stupid bull.

Side note: Did you people realize how dumb cows and bulls are? They are really dumb. I feel no guilt eating meat after learning how dumb they are. I truly believe that God created this creature for the sole purpose of supporting human life.

My managers don't seem to realize that I can't get all of these ASAP projects done if I'm sitting in their 2 hour meetings one after another all day long! Why don't managers ever get a clue? It seems like the moment someone becomes a manager they stop thinking intelligently.

It's here! My new computer is here! Woo hoo! Woo hoo!
I can't wait until I get off work. I can come pick it up in the office! Woo hoo! Woo hoo!
Now I have to fig. out wireless internet. That'd be so great!
Woo hoo! Woo hoo!

Did I say Woo hoo?

Well, another birthday has passed. And with my new birthday wisdom, I have decided that next year I will be 29 again. And the year after that, and the year after that....

Happenings of my Birthday Weekend:
Friday: A guy from the office left for Chicago, so we had a going away happy hour/party for him. The great thing about my office is that they are all alcoholics, and never turn down an excuse for a happy hour. So we had loads of fun at the bar, doing shots, and drinking, and just being loud. Then around Midnight, we headed off to a co-workers house for an after party. This was also a blast, but the bad thing about my office is that they are all alcoholics, and never turn down an excuse for a party. So of course the drunker they got the wilder it got. I wasn't drinking too heavily because the memory Darin's birthday are still too fresh in my mind. I even had to change my drink of choice, I ordered my regular jack and coke, but when it came I took one sip, and had to pass it on to someone else. I think ordered a cranberry and vodka, which I could handle quite well. So that is what I drank all night. With exception of course, to the 4 shots that I did. I have no idea what the shots were so don't ask me. Because I was probably the least drunk of everyone else at the after party, I realized the strangeness of the mix of people, and how crazy some people get when they have alchohol in their system. I headed home somewhat early. 1:00am. And was happy when I got into bed and nothing was spinning.

Saturday: I didn't do much of anything. I sat around and thought to myself how I needed to get off my fat ass and do something, but instead I just watched movies and slept. Darin called me around 5:00 and said he was driving down. So that was nice because we had planned on not seeing eachother over the weekend. So he arrived around 9:00, and we watched a movie and just cuddled. I love cuddling with him. It feels so good. Good for my soul.

Sunday: Again, we didn't do much of anything. We went shopping for his brother's wedding gift, and ate at wendy's for lunch. woo hoo. Then we went back to the house and opened my present. It was a Frogger Game. woo hoo! Now, I know you people are probably judging my gift, but I love it! I had wanted it months ago, but it wasn't in stock. So I made him go to two different Walmarts to find it. And it wasn't there! So I was very sad. So not only did I get something that I wanted, but he remembered that I wanted it. And that is what makes it sweet. Ahhh. I love my man. Then we went out to dinner. Steak of course. We stuffed ourselves, and drank. It was great! I can't remember the last time that he and I went to a nice restaurant with just the two of us. It was like a real date! We decided that we were going to do that more often.

Monday: D-Day. I went through work without even a birthday cake from my department. My friends of course gave me cards, etc. But my team didn't do anything. Not even a card. Oh well though. I don't like fake attention anyway. Since Darin wasn't going to be around after work, 3 of my girlfriends met me at Don Pablos for dinner. You know. Until recently I didn't realize what good friends I have made up here. I have at least 4 trustworthy, reliable friends up here. That may not be a whole lot. But if you think about the people in your life that you really feel like are really "true" friends, I'm betting that you'll find there are not many. I feel very lucky to have the truely good friends that I have. I have about 5 friends from Highschool, 2 friends from college (well.... maybe just one now a days), one friend I made at P1, and now the 4 here. I feel very blessed and lucky to have these people in my life.

Woo hoo!

My old computer crapped out on my. Boooo!
So I told my dad for my birthday he should buy me a laptop. Of course, he's not buying me a laptop. That would be too easy for me. But he did tell me about a discount that he gets through his company. So I built my own little laptop, and he ordered it for me yesterday! Woo hoo!
I should have my new laptop in a week. Yippie!

Grrrr!!!!!!!!!
There is a stupid chick here at work, and whenever I am talking to one of my FRIENDS she chimes in with whatever stupidness she deems necessary. Usually it is tolerable because I just ignore her. But lately she has picked up the ever so much more annoying habit of chiming in, "What? What are you talking about? Huh? What?"

Oh so annoying. So that is harder to ignore. Even though I do a good job of it. She'll chime in with that, and I'll go, "nothing". And keep talking. ha!

So today, I'm talking to my manager about how I worked out and now my ass hurts, and she started to tell me how she likes my body, and how there is nothing wrong with it. (I totally love her). She then started to tell me her daughter's body is the same as mine, and that just because you're curvy doesn't mean there is something wrong with you. (Again. I love her) So then I told her, I usually don't have problems with my curves, but I'm getting a little too jiggly. So anyway... that's what our convo was doing. Then this stupid girl chimes in... "Remind me to tell you about a great workout tape for you!" Ummmm.... Excuse me? Was I asking advise on working out? Nope. Don't think I was! So I ignore her like usual, and later she comes to my desk to tell me about this fabulous tape.

Now, my problem with all of this is that this is advise that I did not ask for. And I realize that my office of cube farms is hard to not over hear conversations, but I find it very annoying that some people seem to think they can chime in any Frickin' time they want to. And you know what? Sometimes I don't care. Like when the girl on the other side of the cube chimed in today when we were talking about those Pop Rock candies. I didn't care. She is funny. And normal. And not annoying. So I didn't mind.

Stupid, annoying people bug me.

OK. Maybe not for real, but in my dream he was. And I didn't care! He's so hot. Even if he is a little flawed.

Maybe I need to stop watching the TV Show Medium. I think it'd doing weird things to my head.

I found a great new product for killing acne! Lately I have been breaking out badly around my chin, and since I no longer have my fabulous Dermotologist, I went to Ulta and got a line of product from Neutrogena. I bought a cleanser for the shower, a cleanser for the evening, a toner for the evening, and then (the special product) I bought some zit zapper stuff. I don't remember what it's called at the moment. But I've only used it twice now, and my zits are running away screaming! I had one big painful one that has been there for too long, and it's almost gone. In TWO days! I'm so happy! I love it!

I had Madonna's new song. I wish she's just fly off into the abyss and leave the hip music to the new artists. She's no Cher!

So, I guess it’s only been about two weeks since my entry regarding NEVER DRINKING AGAIN. Well, I guess I have no will power. Darin’s 30th birthday was this weekend. We went to the local Legion to celebrate. Seems harmless right? Well, I have decided that drinking with relatives is worse than partying with friends. I never was without a drink. The drinks were very bad too. The bartender was making them horribly strong. I was so drunk, that when we closed the place down, I stood up to walk out, left over cake in hand, and fell over. It was a little embarrassing. But oh well, my husband was wasted too. So it was all good.

After we closed down the bar, we all decided that we should all go back to my grandmother’s house, where my aunt lives in the apartment above. We were on a mission to wake my aunt up, because she crapped out on us and never showed up to the bar. So we all tromped upstairs to my aunt’s place. My poor Grandma, she never came out to yell at us, but I know she was in her room pissed. My aunt wound up making us eggs. After that, around 4:00am we finally decided to go home. At this point, I still was not aware of the extent of my drunkenness. I should have been tipped off by my husband’s statement, who is never drunk, “I’m wasted”. As he drove us home… No I’m sure you city folk people are now thinking, “you kids shouldn’t have been driving if you were so drunk”. Let me remind you that this town only has like 5 houses in it. OK, that was an exaggeration… But we drove only 3 blocks to our house.

After greeting the toilet bowl with a little surprise, I wound up falling asleep on the couch. Don’t ask me why. I don’t remember lying down on the couch much. Sunday morning, I thought I was feeling fine, except for this little puking problem that I developed. I couldn’t hold anything down. I think I puked 7 times. The toilet and I are now close buddies.

So let me tell y’all again. I am never going to drink again. The thought still today makes me a little queasy. If I do drink again, I think I’m going to have to change my drink of choice. Maybe to something a little less alcoholic. Maybe a Shirley Temple next time.

No, I'm not talking about the cold northern winter. I'm talking about my Lateral Thigh Trainer!
woo hoo! I came home last night, and there it was, in all it's glory. Waiting for me at my door.
So I brought my new friend into my house, and assembled it. I only had time to assemble it because I had to run off to meet some of my relatives for dinner. So tonight, it's all me and my LTT.

Right now and for the rest of the week, we are having our annual Warehouse Sale. Last night they were allowing us to use our 30% discount on top of them marking everything 50% off. So I found some good deals! This is the retail perk that I totally love, and am glad to have! I bought a regularly priced jacket at $250, for $25! Woo hoo! And an $80 purse for $10. I love it!

Woo hoo! My Lateral Thigh Trainer has shipped!

I'm on my way to looking like J-Lo!

Let me share with you, the details of my Friday Night.

Friday Night was designated Ladies Night Out. Dinner and a Movie. This is because my pregnant friend wanted to do something, but didn't want to do anything too strenuous. It also turns out that it was a co-worker of mine's 30th Birthday. That being said, our evening didn't exactly stay as planned.

We started out innocently enough by going to Houlihans and having two-for-ones and appetizer. Then around 7:00 we decided that we didn't have to go to a movie. So we stayed a while longer. Then our prego friend left, so then it was just us non-pregos left. 5 of us. So we stayed and drank some more. Then happy hour came back on, so we had a couple more two-for-ones. Let me tell you, our waiter loved us! So at about 11:00 we decided to go to one of the girls boyfriends friends house where they were hanging out. We decided this because the alcohol would be free. So after a crazy night of drinking, I finally drove my ass home at 3:00.

I totally thought I wasn't that drunk though. I went home, felt fine, and went to bed. No spinning or anything! I thought, this is great! Tomorrow I'm going to feel fine!

Noon on Saturday. I finally wake up to the chirping birds. OK, not chirping birds, loud fu&*^ing stomping upstairs neighbors. I hate them, how the hell can you stomp so hard on the floor, and not realize you are stomping? I swear they were going to fall through the ceiling an into my bed with me. Grrrr.

So I decided to get my lazy ass out of bed. Boy, did I feel nauseous. So I go to the fridge to get some water and some lunch. Since it was noon and all.... After I ate, I just felt even more nauseous. So I decided to take a nap. Then Darin called, and I had to talk. It was at this moment that I realized I was hung over. I didn't realize how hard it was to talk when you thought you were going to puke at any moment. So after I got off the phone with my hunky husband, I took a nap. The only time I changed out of my pj's all day was when I had to leave to buy groceries, then I came home, snacked on my watermelon, and did very little.

I'm not sure what put me over the edge. Like I said, when I came home I was feeling pretty mild. So I was pretty surprised by the state I was in the next morning. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that blue shot I did. Or maybe it was that pink one. Or maybe that green one. Or maybe the big blue drink I had with chunks of pineapple floating in it.... Yeah, I think it was one of them.

I am the proud new owner of a Lateral Thigh Trainer. I have watched the infomercial for this thing several times and each time I think, "it's compact, it probably does what I want it to do, it's small enough to fit under my bed, I can move it back and forth from the living room to the bedroom. Heck! Why not buy it?!"

A few days ago I went to good ole' Walmart, and found the first version of this machine for $60. But it didn't offer the video workout with it, so I decided I might as well order the newest one, with all the bells and whistles!

So I can't wait until I get it! They say it takes 4-6 weeks for delivery. :o( I'm going to be eagerly waiting it's appearance.

I'm also thinking about buying "Core Secrets" with Brook Burk. I figure if she doesn't motivate me to work out and stop eating, then no one will. She's so hot.

It's f*&^%$# 38 Degrees out here!!!!!!!

Isn't it funny how crippling technology is? I mean, with the power outage the other day, I learned that there isn't much you can do in the dark w/o electricity. And this morning, I came in to work at 8:00. (1/2 hour late, and a good thing too!) And couldn't get into any of the office systems. So here it is 10:30 and we still can't get in. The cool thing about my office is that we all like to party, so we've all gathered and are shooting the shit, and have the radio cranked. Good times!

Today is going to be a long day once they get back up though, and I AM NOT STAYING LATE!
I want to get to the big W so I can love on my husband.

Last night, at 7:00, I was just starting to cook up a yummy stirfry, and fixin' to watch Martha Steward, when my electricity went out. Luckily right before it went out the weather man came on and said there were FIVE Tornado Cells coming into the area! So poof! We're back to wen the electricity went out. My chicken quit sizzling, and my rabbit started running around. This alone was a good sign of something bad going to happen. So I look out the window and everything is flying around, and the hail is pounding on my window. Then! my window starts to leak! So I dig out some towels to sop up the water. Then the Tornadoe sirens went off. So I look out my patio again, and trees are bent sideway, the air was thick and a weird green color. So I grabbed Jax, and went into the closet with my cell phone and flash light.

When I couldn't hear the windows shuttering anymore, I came out to see if I still had windows. I did, but now there was some strange buzzing noise coming from the hallway. So I went to investigate where I found my nice neighbor Sharon. She and I stood there and talked for a bit while we wondered what should we do. Do we go downstairs and wait it out, or is it finished and we can relax without electricity? So we went into her apartment, and had a couple beers and wait out the storm. About an hour later, the winds picked up yet again, and we both freaked outselfs out again. But in the end it was all OK.

At about 9:00, I went back to my own light-less apartment, lit a bunch of candles and read some of my Men Are From Mars book. It would have been somewhat peacefull had it not been for the anoying buzzing coming from our stairwell. I read until 10:00 and then decided the weather had calmed down enough for me to go to bed. I brought Jax into my bedroom to ease her ears from the buzzing. All seemed to bo well for about an hour, when she started thumping. I don't know what was freaking her out, but I really wanted to kick her ass. So finally I pulled her out of her cage and layed her in the bed with me where she stayed for about another hour. Then, she hopped off, and did whatever while I slept. I woke up about an hour later when I heard her nibbling on my plant. So I got up, chased her into her cage, and tried to go back to bed.

By this time, now I hear someone's little brat crying. And this little kid, I've seen. He is too damn big to be crying and whaling the way that he was. This went on for about an hour. I don't think his parents even came to see what was the matter. Jerks!

So... Needless to say I had a long long LONG night. Today when I drove in to work, the street lights were out, trees were down, and the news had said a tornado touched down in Brooklyn Park, (very close to where I live), and then in Minneapolis. So as you can tell, it really was an exciting night!

I bought a new box of Green Tea, and upon opening that box this morning, the side of the box had a phrase printed on it. Here is what it said...

"The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away."

Wow. Ain't that the truth?!

This weekend I froze Sweet Corn. Aren't I just quite the domesticated little farmers wife? It actually was fun at first, but you people know my attention span isn't very long, so by the second batch I was pretty sick of it. Plus, my mother-in-law does things a little different than I would, making for a much longer day than needed! If I did things my way, I would have been done with three batches of corn in about 3/4 the time... But oh well. Se la vie. I thought I wasn't going to want to eat corn for a while, but last night as I was food savering a few ears of corn-on-the-cob I was really craving it. So tonight I'm eatin' corn! Woo hoo! Go me! It's not exactly on my south beach diet (Phase one) but I don't care. I'm not going to eat anything but corn tonight for dinner, so I fig. it's alright.

I spent $50 on gas this weekend. The trip back and forth is starting to get a bit pricey for me. I can't wait until May when I move closer. Even though I don't want May to come because I'll be poor again. :o( Double edged swords. Don't you just love them? LOVE THEM I SAY!

Sunday, we went to the lake and floated around in our little floaties for about 2 hours. This will probably be the last time we do that since it's getting ready to snow. Waaaaahhh!

My brother-in-law and his lovely fiance finally booked their little Vegas Wedding. It's in Dec and they are JUST NOW booking it. So I guess my plans are final for the winter. MSP-ABQ-LV-MSP, Nov 2-Dec 6th. Boy am I going to be poor. Maybe I'll ask everyone to send me money instead of gifts for my birthday. I guess I get to go out and buy a slinky "appropriate for a Vegas Wedding" dress. That'll be fun! I'm looking forward to going back because I haven't been there in a while and I miss it. We'll be staying at Treasure Island, and they have a new night club called Tangerine that we can get into for free, so it'll be nice to be able to go clubbing and dance, instead of going to a bar and staring at eachother while we get drunk. I hate that! I'd much rather be dancing! Plus, it burns off calories!

That's pretty much all my news! I'll try to write more often, but really, I've become pretty boring. :o(

Ricky Martin i s on my radio right now, and I just melt at the sound of his voice. MMMMMM "....Yes Ricky, I'll do anything you want me to do......." He's talking about all the humanitarian things he's been doing, and is going to sing his new song in a little bit.

It's so sad. I received a notice from my apartment complex management that the pools will be closing on Septmeber 12th. This is so sad. It's so soon! Which really depresses me because that means that it's going to start to snow soon. I hate this place! All it ever is is COLD!
It's especially depressing to me because the leaves are already turning, and it's only SEPTEMBER! If I were still in FTW, it'd still be nice and toasty, and my pool never closed there! Booo hooo hoo! woah is me!

I saw we revolt! Revolt against the Cold! Yes! Come on! Rise Up!

I started back on Phase One of ye ole South Beach diet on Monday. Well.... Actually Tuesday because I broke down and ate at Wendy's. MMMMM MMMM Good. So actually, my news is even cooler now that I realized that!

Since Tuesday I have lost 5 pounds. That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Pounds! Woo hoo!

My goal is to lose 20 pounds. So I've got a long ass way to go, but if I can lose 10 in the next 2 weeks, I'll be happy. I've totally porked out, and need to do something about it.

Saturday
Blackberry Shake
Pork Ka-Bob
Diet Coke
Beer
Roasted Corn

Sunday
All you can drink Milk for $1
Bite of Darin's Brownie
Carmeled Apples in a dish

I'm so proud that I didn't eat a whole bunch of sheeeot! Even though I wish I had. :o)

This Saturday we went roller blading around the lake. There is this great path that weaves in and out of the woodsy lake area around my apartment. We were maybe 20 minutes into our ride when we came upon a steep decline. Not only was it a steep decline, but a turn at the same time too! If you don't make the turn, you'd fly straight into the lake.

Now, for those of you who don't roller blade. Breaking isn't always the easiest thing to do, nor is it always very effective. So my solution to this little problem was to go down the hill in a zig zag formation. Coming off of the path onto the grass to slow me down as I go. First zig. Went great. Second Zig. Not as smooth, but I go ahead with the next Zag. This one I failed miserably at. Suddenly I am on my ass, sliding down the hill. So I scream, of course! and when I finally come to a stop, I realize that my ass is pretty cold. So I put my had back there to see if I still have one. To my surprise, I had ripped the ass out of my jeans!!!! And when I say ripped the ass out of, I really mean it! I had split it down the middle seam on both sides! So I call Darin to come back and get me because we now have to go home. After he laughs at me, and makes me get up to see how bad it really is, he tries to convince me that it's not that bad, and that no one on the trail will notice. Ummm... Yeah right! I have a big ole white ass hanging out of my pants. I think that's noticeable from anywhere! So after a little bit of a squabble, Darin finally takes off his shirt so I can wrap it around my ass, and we roller blade home.

Today, my right ankle and wrist are sore, and so is my ass. My spirit is broken. I no longer want to roller blade around the lake. :(

I'm 28. And to 1/2 of my friends, that's pretty old! Why you may ask? Because I'm married without any kids. Everyone my age that already has kids, keeps asking when we're going to have them. Then, my soon to be sister in law (who is a twit) is 32, and her man (my brother in-law) is 27. She said she's going to stop taking her birth control before the wedding because she wants to get pregnant right away. "no pressure on me, of course!" --She said that to me. And actually, I didn't feel pressured until she said that. And then I started thinking about it. It got so bad I brought it up to Darin and started to cry because there must be something wrong with me that I do NOT want to be pregnant right now. Now I'm like, "b/c we got married first should I be preg first?" "Should we get right on that?" But then, because I don't like it when people do things that I do, I don't want to be preg when she is. --mainly b/c I don't really think I like her, and don't want to have to "bond" with her over being preg at the same time. :o) So maybe I'm off the hook until after she squeezes one out. :o) She's already got an 11 year old too. So that really makes me not want to be preg w/her because I bet she's one of those people that will tell me all the things about being pregnant. Which I HATE when people volunteer information, or tell me what I'm feeling.

Anther one of my twenty something friends who is freshly married has gone down the childless drain too. Which leave me to wonder, do I really just need to get on with it and get it out of the way before I really am too old?

This is actually a weird time in my life. (Which I'm guessing is probably the REAL reason why I'm starting to over think this part of it.) I'm still fairly young, and I either have single friends that are doing everyone in site, or married friends that are squeezing kids out left and right. I have no one to relate to because no one is just happy being young and married w/o kids! What is this world coming to??? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being married without kids. And what if I just happen to be one of those women that NEVER wants to have kids?

You people that call yourself my friends will just have to accept this if that turns out to be the case. (Read my blog from July on a similar topic if you must :) You all have your own flaws, so don't make me point them out in an attempt to make myself feel better about this! :o)

Peace - Out

Are you wondering if you are in the right job or career? Nothing is more draining or less motivating than staying in a position because of inertia or fear of the unknown.Wouldn’t it be better to find out and decide whether or not to take action? Then you can plan what steps you need to undertake before you start your job search efforts.

The career quiz below will help you judge whether your career is on track. Answer yes or no to the following questions.

1. I look forward to going to work.

2. I talk about my work in a positive way.

3. I have mentored a junior colleague or want to.

4. I don’t fear layoff or termination, as I have a portfolio of skills to draw upon.

5. I know how to network and market myself to my best advantage.

6. People seek me out to ask career advice.

7. I’ve achieved a good balance in my life between work and play.

8. Money is not the driving force in deciding my next career move.

9. I am learning from, and enjoy working with, my team or co-workers.

10. If self-employed, I have a network of professionals who I can turn to for advice and encouragement.

11. I feel excited about my upcoming projects, as they engage me creatively.

12. When I face a setback at work, I am able to recover quickly as I have a reserve of energy and self-confidence.

13. I am self-motivated and generate much of my “to do” list at work.

14. I have a well-written, up-to-date résumé.

15. I feel positive about my future job prospects.

16. I know where I’d like to be in five years.

17. I know where I’d like to be in one year.

18. I’m being compensated fairly.

19. I respect my boss.

20. I am able to work productively with my co-workers (or clients), even those who are difficult.

21. I know how to deal effectively with office politics.

22. I have the training I need to do my job well.

23. My boss is supportive and has provided me with opportunities to learn and grow.

24. I’m working with a company (or client) that has integrity.

25. I attend professional/trade association meetings to stay up-to-date in my field.

Each yes answer counts as one point. Compare your point total to the scoring key.

Scoring Key:

21-25 Points Wow. Congratulations, you love your work! Never stop improving. Consider taking a seminar or learning a new language.

16-20 Points You’re doing well; this is a very good score. Speak with your boss about new opportunities or challenges you might undertake.

11-15 Points You’re doing okay, but there’s room for improvement. Join a professional organization to grow your network and get information about other opportunities that may exist in your industry.

6-10 Points Yes, there’s work to do. Tap into your network of colleagues and friends to discuss other career areas of interest. Seek out a mentorto get support and a broader perspective.

0-5 Points You are not alone. It takes time and desire to find the right livelihood. Use this quiz as a starting point to pinpoint the changes you want to make. Consider taking a career assessment and/or working with a career coach to help you clarify your career goals. Know that many have successfully transitioned to careers and jobs they love.

I think I could make a guest appearance on Kirsti Alley's show Fat Actress. I'm getting so fat, and no matter how much I watch what I eat, I'm still a lard ass!!!! I want to try joining one of those places like Weight Watchers or LA Weight Loss, but I am too poor! This is also the reason for me not belonging to any gym around here! All that stuff is just too expensive!

For a while I was walking, so at least I was maintaining my weight. But I have been so exhausted after work, or too busy, that I haven't really stayed up on it. Today, I put on a silk shirt that I used to love, and my fat rolls were so big, it was no longer flattering! Eeek! So, as of today, I'm back on phase 1 of the SB diet. No fun food for me! I have to lose 30 pounds, and I'm going to do it the old fashioned way. Just don't eat! No food, and when I do eat food, I should purge it!

Friday, the merchandising department had its annual boat cruise. We leave the office at 11:00, rented a yacht, were given free drink tickets, free food, and then float around on lake Minnetonka for 3 hours. What could be better?! I have to say, this boat cruise couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve been at the breaking point at work for the past 8 weeks now, and quite frankly, am very impressed with myself that I haven’t seriously “freaked out” on anyone. After the boat cruise, some of us headed off to a lakeside bar for more drinking and fun. Although, at this second stop, we had to pay for our own alcohol. Booo! All that being said, I planned on getting schnockerd. Oh yes, you heard me. Schnockerd! I pretty much accomplished this goal. It was great! I haven’t been drunk in a long ass time, so it was long due! We started drinking at noon, and I was finished by 7:00.

The strangest thing about being drunk that earlier in the day, and still having daylight around you is that when you stop drinking, you realize how long it really takes for a person to sober up. My lovely husband, who failed to meet me at the second location because he was too “busy” to leave on time to meet me there at 3:30, was stone cold sober when I got home. Making me very aware of how drunk I was. So when we headed out to eat, and all I could think about was how much it sucks to try to sober up without just crashing on the couch until the next morning! I mean, I had to carry on sober conversation, and stuff! But anyway. Friday was long overdue for a good time. I’ve made some good friends at work, and it’s fun to let lose with them. I can’t wait to do it again… Good thing there’s a happy hour on Thursday for someone who is quitting! Woo hoo!

I applied for an open Planner Position in the Airport Division. I once again was up against a girl that has been with the company longer. So, of course, I didn’t get it. As a result, her position was open. (Same job I’m doing, but in Women’s Garments and is considered a higher position because it is in Garments.) So I guess I was flattered when I was told they gave the job to her, and that they are moving me to Garments. The strange thing about all of this is that I wasn’t asked to move to Garments. I was told. I was also not given a pay raise offer. So the news was bitter sweet for many many many many reasons. I will be doing more work (in the eyes of the managers at this company), and more detailed analysis’, etc. Yet, keep in mind. No raise with the move. I feel screwed. I’m a hard worker. I’m a dedicated worker. I feel like, because I’ve excelled in Accessories I’m being recognized for Garments, yet, I’m getting screwed because my hard work didn’t give me more money. This, by the way, would be very helpful for me right now.

So after stewing on this over the weekend and talking it over with my amazing husband. I typed up 2 pages worth of argument for a pay raise that I planned to take to HR. I then scheduled a meeting with my manager’s manager, prefacing it with, “There are some concerns that I have about my move to Garments, and I’d like to discuss them with you before I go to HR.” So I sat down with her for an hour, and discussed with her my problems and issues with the current “system” in place. I suppose I could post my little essay, but I think it’d just bore you. J So you can thank me for that later.

So, after all that, I am sure that nothing will change from it. This really leaves me feeling as if this company isn’t as employee friendly as they keep toting to everyone. Which in addition, leaves me with a lot to think about. Questions questions questions. So many questions! I looked in to how much it would cost me to get out of my lease. Around the numbers of $3000. So the option of breaking my lease and finding something closer to D ASAP is out of the question. I will finish out my lease here in the Cities. Then, do I start looking for something to satisfy me monetarily until my lease is up? Do I find a second job, or do I find a higher paying new job? If yes to the latter of those two options, where?

Why is it that money never seems to be enough? The cost of living up here is so damn expensive! Plus the cost of gas, with me driving back and forth, I feel like I’m never going to get my bills paid off.

Yep, you read that right. Rob Thomas! From Matchbox 20!

OK, so what if it was only in my dreams, but Rob totally wanted me, and I turned him down because I was married! I told him that I loved my husband too much. Now is that not pathetic? If I can't sleep with famous people in my dreams, what do I have left? Of course, Darin thinks it's great. Meanwhile, he's probably sleeping with Britney Spears, or Jessica Simpson in his dreams. Boy I was mad when I woke up. If Rob Thomas ever hits on me in real life, I'm NOT turning him down!

Last night I did something fun and charitable. (Something I haven't done is quite some time, but have been meaning to do.) My Allocation group went to this organization called Feed My Starving Children. It's a Christian based non profit organization that packages food for starving children around the world. What we packaged was packed full of vitamens and minerals that kids need to be healthy. The meal formula was developed by food scientists specifically to meet the needs of severely malnourished children under the age of five. 1 packed bag serves 6 meals. And 1 meal is enough for one child a day. My group alone packaged 1440 meals in one hour. It was pretty amazing.

Mission statement: Dedicated to providing nourishing food to starving children throughout the world, and to providing volunteer opportunities for youth and adults. By providing life-sustaining food we give thousands of children an opportuity to live more meaningful lives.

To learn more, here is their website: http://fmsc.org

Yesterday, I was going home after my weekly visit to the Craft Store. I came to the 4 way stop sign, no one was around, so I proceeded to turn left. When out of my blind spot popped this little deer! In the middle of a metropolis!!! I couldn’t believe it! The poor thing looked so scared! All I could do is slam on my breaks and hope he doesn’t run right into my car! He then bounced around the intersection for a second or two, and then ran down the sidewalk. I felt so bad for the poor little guy (or girl). He was so scared, and it was rush hour, so I’m sure he got hit eventually. What a bad mother his mother is. Just goes to show that mothers should not leave their children unattended for one SINGLE minute! Not a minute I tell you!

I took some much needed time off to celebrate my 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY this past weekend. Yes, it’s official. I’ve gone over yet another major milestone in life. I think there is probably only two more to go. (Childbirth and Death) But that’s OK. I’m coping with the fact that I’m already becoming ancient.

Let me tell you, it was really great not having to work! Darin and I originally planned to go up to Duluth for a 4 day weekend, but then we discovered there was some marathon race going on, and we decided we didn’t want to go up there during that. Apparently it is some really big deal, and we just wanted a relaxing weekend together. So we decided to just go up to the lake and try to have time alone. Luckily, his parents had something to do on Saturday, and weren’t planning on coming up until Sunday. So that left Friday and Saturday for us to have alone. Woo hoo!
This weekend was so great! I love spending time with my man!

Even though it rained majority of the time, we did manage to have a sunny and warm Sunday. We had so much fun just sitting around in the fishing boat - - Not catching many fish. I had bought a trolling lure before we headed out, and we tried that on Saturday in the rain. It was so exciting I caught a Walleye within the first hour! It was awesome! My dad is going to be sooo jealous! That’s his favorite fish. Who knew I’d turn out to be such a “professional fisherman”? Fishing is actually pretty fun! Who knew eh?

So now it’s off to another year of marital bliss! Have I mentioned that I love my man?

Now for the negative part. Because I took 2 days off of work (Friday and Monday), I now am swamped AGAIN! It doesn’t pay to take time off to relax, because when you come back either stuff is messed up because someone tried to do something to help you out, or the shit hits the fan while you are gone! Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that knows whats going on around here!!
On a lighter note thought, the girl that I really dislike because she is PSYCHO put in her two weeks notice. Which means that there is another Planner position open that I will be trying for. That would make me happy because it means more money! Gotta love that! So hope for the best for me with my job! Life is looking good! The weather is even getting better finally!

OK. Maybe not a professional. Just yet, but I think I'm pretty good at it. :o) We went fishing yesterday and I was the first person to catch anything. Go me! I caught 2 18" Bass, plus 3 Croppy, and 2 Sunfish. Woo hoo! It was so much fun.. Who would have thought that I would enjoy fishing so much??? I can't wait to get my dad down here so we can fish together. I bet he'll be surprised to hear me have so much fun fishing.

The sun actually came out yesterday, and to my surprise, for a little while on the boat there, I actually was standing in a tank top! It was great! To those that don't read all my blogs. The weather here has been shitty! (Read my last blog)

Friday: I got to the big W at about 9:00. I told D that I wanted to go out because I looked cute. Yes, I was cute, and I'm not ashamed to point this out for myself. So we went out to the local "liquor store" because they don't call them bars out here. It was fun. We talked to a couple that were an old classmates of mine parents. They bought us drinks. So that was nice since I've been quite poor the past couple weeks. Then my cousin showed up. His friend tried to hit on me while D was in the bathroom. It was a little funny, but fun at the same time. At least I'm not dead to the world now that I'm married.

Saturday: Raining again... So we went to a neighboring town where D bought me some flowers to plant in the flower beds around the house. D tried to run my car out of gas by first not filling up my tank before we set out, even though it was less the 1/4 tank, and then taking a road he was not very familiar with to return home on. I think we were on fumes when we finally came upon a small town with one gas pump. We drove 26 miles with the empty light on! I was about ready to shit my pants. But actuall, I handled it quite well. He'll even tell you I did! Really, I didn't freak out, or yell at him or anything. he he he. Then in between rain spurts we dug up the beds and planted. It was pretty fun. I got to play with the high powered tools that D brought over. You know... Because no "man" can do anything without at least one power tool being involved.
So now that ugly house looks a little cuter.

Sunday: We went to the lake. It was of course, raining. But once we got there it cleared up, and it was quite nice.

Monday: We went fishing! And of course, you all know the short version of that story already.

Out of the 27 days of this month it has RAINED 19 days! That's 70% of the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago I slammed my finger into one of my drawers at work. (Yes, I'm real slick, I know this.) It hurt more than usual (Yes, I do do this often, don't you know I'm accident prone? Lord only knows how I was a good waitress in highschool/college, but I was! No really! I was!)
So I noticed a week or two ago that my finger nail was not growing right. In fact the upper left corner of said nail was not even connected to the quick. I thought nothing of this because it wasn't a very large portion, and I figured as my nail grows it will fix itself. Now it is a week after I first noticed this, and my nail is getting worse. The part of my nail that is not connected to the pink skin below has now spread to almost an entire 1/4 of my nail! It's a little freaky! It doesn't exactly hurt, and I don't know what to do to stop it from getting worse. It's not like I can put nail polish on it to help it. Maybe I should super glue it down. :o) ha! It's starting to freak me out. I've thought of cutting it down as much as possible, but then what if it NEVER grows back?! Then I'd be the fat girl (Stylish fat girl though) with a mutant finger. I don't know what to do about it. Is there such a thing as a finger doctor?

There, I changed my blog.

I don't neccessarily like it. I'm going to have to modify it, but at least it's not pink right?

:o)

Finally, I have something positive to speak about again!

Yesterday was the nicest day this state has had since I got here. The temp probably didn't even top 70, but I didn't care, there was (for once) no rain, no snow, no wind, no sleet, no tornadoes.... you get the picture.

Besides having to be trapped at my job from 7:30-5:00, I had a really good day.

When I got home, I changed straight into my workout gear, and took off for a walk around the neighborhood. The smell of fresh outdoors was so nice, and very calming. As I looked around at all the new saplings, and buds on the evergreens, I was able to calm down from my hectic life for a while, and in that time, I discovered one good thing about this state. Foliage baby. Everywhere you turn there are plants on peoples window sills, evergreens everywhere, green grass, pretty flowers...And this is just in the city limits. As you get out of the city, there are miles and miles of fresh land, and right now the farmers have just finished tilling it over and seeding. So everything is jet black, and smells like fresh earth. I can't wait until the fields start growing up! It's going to be quite a site. I remember from when I was little driving through fields and fields of wheat and corn. It's going to be so fun to see! As you may have noticed, I've been a little bitter lately. tee hee. I desperately needed a nice day like yesterday.

But, in case anyone missed all the crappy cold and rain, it's back today. So woo hoo for shitty weather! Not.

It seems all of my friends, local and long distance, have one thing on their mind when it comes to inquiring about my life. "Are you pregnant?" or "Are you pregnant?" or, now this one is classic, "Are you pregnant?" (All said with different voice influctions of course.) What has caused this anoying phenomina? Is it because everyone else is knocked up around me, and my friends no so little about me, that they think I'm one to follow the crowd? Just for shits and giggles or what?!

So, in case you are now inquiring. No. I am not pregnant. I do not intend to get pregnant. And No I do not know when I will want to be pregnant.

This whole knocked up thing just has no appeal to me. First of all, I already have a weight problem, so why would I want to go and get myself purposely fatter, when I'm trying so hard to battle the bulge already?! Second, several of my friends are prego right now, so I have been reading their misc literature that they send my way. This one site that I found for my friend Shari, tells you on a weekly basis what is going on with your body, your kids body, and what to expect in the days ahead. This information is enough when standing alone to make me never want to be prego. For example:
WK 7: Rapid acceleration of hormones can cause your face to break out. (Who wants extra problems with facial blemishes!) If you are taking vitamin B6 to help with nausea, you may find it also improves the condition of your skin. (Well, good, at least my puke medication is going to help me to not break out in big pussy zits!) Your waist may already be expanding, causing your clothes to feel snug. You may experience constipation and have occasional bouts of indigestion. (Awesome! This rockes!)Some women also feel a bit dizzy or lightheaded at times. (Of course, any persistent symptoms that concern you should be immediately reported to your practitioner.)
WK 11: You may be suffering with more frequent headaches as a result of the change in your hormone levels. (More awesomeness! I already have on average a headache a day, so this is great! I'm now going to have one steady headache for nine months!) If you experience frequent headaches, if the headache is the by-product of a fever, or if it causes visual disturbances or puffiness in the hands and face, call your practitioner immediately.
Although all of this is appealing, and really making me want to go home and get knocked up right away, I really love this part of Week 11 describing what's going on with my baby...The irises are now forming. The liver, intestines, brain and lungs are beginning to function on their own. The primitive "tail" is now gone. The intestines are beginning to migrate into the abdominal cavity and the external genitalia are present but difficult to distinguish. (I'm hungary, let's go eat now!)

Call me selfish if you like, but I see nothing wrong with spending time with my husband as just he and I for a few years before we start popping them out. (Even though with me it will likely be just one for the above reasons.) I'm also getting tired of women telling me after it's all over with, you want to have more right away. I find that very hard to believe considering so many woman are pissy the last trimester of their pregnancy, and having a cute baby really doesn't really even the score. Evening the score for me would have to be passing off some of this pain, suffering, awekwardness, and disgusto stuff on to my man. Since he gets to sit back and do nothing while I suffer. I already have enough problems with my body in it's childless state, I'm just not ready for all added aiches and pains this birthing process brings on. I honestly don't know why all these little girls are thinking pregnancy is fun. So far I know it's jut not for me. At least not yet. And probably not for many years.

So to wrap it all up. I am not pregnant. So please stop asking me the 20 questions about it.

Thank you, and good night.

Well, Summer has come and gone already in the FABULOUS state of Minnesota.
This weekend was the worst weekend I've seen yet in this place. I really hate to be so negative about one area, but it's really hard not to be negative when weird crap like this keeps happening.

This weekend, it snowed. That's right. I said SNOWED! It's May 1st, and it's still fricking snowing here!!!!!!! On both Saturday and Sunday, it went from bright outside and windy, to pitch dark and blizardy all throughout the day. So at one time you'd have sun, then 15 minutes later you'd have this dark gloomy scarey blilzard-like conditions out. What the hell is going on with this state?! So I spent most of my weekend indoors wishing I was in a warmer climate so I could be more active. I had the heat cranked and hung out on the couch with a blanket over me for most of the weekend.

I'm sure all my friend in TX and NM are reading this and thinking back at their fabulous warm outdoors activities and thinking about how strange it must be to live anywhere else than their fabulous states. While I'm in some sort of hell! Oh yeah, I got my wonderful man, but at this point, how much does that really matter if I don't get any sunshine?! I'm so offcolor it's not even funny. I'm almost the color of silly putty. I desperately need my vitamin E in the form of Sunshine and sunbathing. Why oh why God?! Why or WHY?!!!!! Please, just make it warm enough for me to be outside, and for me to have some sunshine!!!!!!

This weekend I went to the big W. I hadn't seen my husband for 2 weeks. So it was a "good" weekend.

Besides all the "staying at home" we did, we also went out and had a lot of fun with his four wheeler and horses. Saturday we took the four wheeler out to a couple of his fields to see if they were dry enough to get a tractor on them, that was fun because we almost got stuck in the mud, not once, but two times! I don't know what it is, but seeing your man do manly things is quite a turn on. Then after that we relieved his brother from his 'scratching' duties. No this isn't something he was doing while sitting in front of the television with his pants unbuttoned and watching the Simpsons. Scratching is what they call tilling up the top layers of the soil in an attempt to get the rest of it to dry. Wow, aren't I such a knowledgable farmer's wife?
So we took over that and finished a whole field. Now, I know this might sound boring to most people, me included really, it wasn't, because Darin and I had a lot to talk about. We sat in his tractor, going up and down the rows, and talking about whatever we felt like talking about. I love bonding with my man. :o)

Sunday, we headed out to the local Dairy Way, yes, I said Dairy Way, not Dairy Queen; and had lunch and desert of course! Then we thought since it was actually nice out we'd go ride horse. Turns out we didn't ride them, we were both to lazy to get all the gear setup, so instead we bribed 2 of the 5 with oats, luring them over to us by the barn, then we combed them and just hung out with them until they were sick of us. Which really was a good amount of time. I've decided that I'm going to get one of the horses to love me. This way when I walk out to the barn, it'll come up and be happy to see me. Then it'll be MY horse. he he he. Then after that we went four wheeling again, but this time I got to drive! Look out! We went down to the field that D wrote on when he proposed, then over to the river that is just behind it. One side of this river is Minnesota, the other side is South Dakota. The land around there is really beautiful. I wish I had a good camera so I could go back and take some really awesome photos. Actually, I think that will be my next investment. I think I'm going to get a good camera. Cesar would be proud. :o)

So that was weekend in a quick recap.

Trim Spa:
Trim spa seems to be working good, it's only been 2 days but what I think it does is takes your appetite away. I haven't had any desire to eat at all. So I wind up eating because I have to, not because food sounds good. Which is what I really need help on! I love food! It doesn't make you feel weird like Metabolife does. Your not all hopped up on cafeine and stuff. It just makes you not hungry, and takes the "munchies" away. Last night I ran around looking for something until 8:00pm (5-8 to be exact) and when I got home I wasn't even hungary yet. So I had a handful of Cashews (cashews are good to eat because they take longer to digest, so you actually burn them off, instead of store them as fat), and then a thing of string cheeze. I woke up this morning, was a little hungry, but when I made my usual scrambled egg in the microwave, I wasn't craving anything afterward like usual. I'm only taking 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and one in the evening. They reccomend 2 in the mornings. So! So far so good! I think I'll buy a bottle and see what happens.

Job:
Well, I didn't get it. But it's ok because the girl that did, I totally love, and she's going to be awesome! I got really good feedback from one of the managers that interviewed me. Basically, that I was a strong candidate, and it pretty much came down to me or her. So I'm happy. Plus, the manager that interviewed me told me that when another position opens, I'd definately get it. So that was good to hear. I totally love that she told me that, it makes me feel like I really am ready to move into a more challenging roll. She also said, "I see that you'll be in a Planner Position soon." Which I'm starting to wonder if that was sort of a "heads up" comment??? I guess time will tell now won't it?

Husband:
He's back in Wheaton, starting to chisel plow or "dig" as the seasoned farmers call it. Which basically is what they usually do at the end of the harvest season, but since things were too wet last year, they had to do it this year before they start to seed. So he's off in his farmer world, while I'm here in my Corporate world. I love the Corporate world by the way. I don't know how I'm going to do without it when I have to move to suburbanite land.

This weekend I got a refund check for my rent. Finally! Something awesome about this state! Woo hoo! So what I was lacking in tax refunds, was made up for in rent refunds. woo hoo!
So I made a much needed trip to Walmart to stock up on all the essentials. And what do I see on the shelf? Trim Spa. I have been considering trying it, since they did help to turn Anna Nicole Smiths lard ass into a pretty decent looking body. But I was not sure. So I turned around the corner, and they had these 1 day samples for $1.74. So I bought two! So today and tomorrow I am going to try them out as directed, and see how they make me feel. If they don't freak me out, then I'll buy a bottle. I think this is a good plan. They are made of all natural material, so they shouldn't be too bad. Basically what I'm looking for is something that is going to help boost my motabolism. And if these do that then perfect! They say they help to surpress your appetite too, so that can't be too bad either! Wish me luck. I hope I'm not all wired up like I was when I did Metabolife.

I come in at 7:30 this morning, check my voicemail, and I have a message from the HR director in charge of these open positions. So I call him back, and he wants to schedule interviews for me either today or tomorrow. He said he'd check my calendar.

Shortly after, I get two emails for interviews. TODAY! Starting at 2:00! Eeek! Luckily. I'm anal retentive, and have a list of interview questions to ask and/or expect to be asked. So I can go over those, as well as I have lists of accomplishments throughout the past year that I typed up for my review. So hopefully, I'll have two good interviews today. I just wish I could have had a days notice so I could go home, and really obsorb some info. That, and so I could have at least dressed a little cuter. :o I should go walk around and see what the other two girls are wearing today.

Dead Popes:
So this weekend the Pope finally passed away. I think this is a good thing. Why? Because I think it was time for us to get a fresh face in there. Nothing against the old Pope, I just think he should have stepped down a few years ago. The weird thing about this whole, "The Pope's Dead" thing is all the people that are preying for him. Everwhere everyone is saying Prey for the Pope! Prey for the Pope! Well, really now, if there is anyone in the world that doesn't need our help on his death bed, I think it'd HAVE to be the Pope! Afterall, he is already God's right hand man. Also, has anyone else found some of these death rituals a little strange? After he dies, they call out his name three times, and if he doesn't answer all three times they remove his ring and smash it. This of course, replaces the old tradition of tapping him on the head three times with a gold hammer. Now, he's going to be on display for a maximum of nine days. I think this is a little weird. I've only seen two dead people, my cousin and then my Grandfather, and I know what they looked like only the second day after their viewing. I can't imagine what this poor man is going to look like in NINE days! It's outrageous to me to do this. Why can't we let this man rest in peace? I think the Catholic people can morn this loss without the corpse.

Dead Granpa's:
It's a little strange. Once I heard that the Pope's death was imminent. All I really wanted to do was pick up the phone and call my Grandpa to discuss it. He always had a quick wit about him, and although a topic might be serious, he has a good way of putting it into perspective, and making it a lighter subject. boo hoo.

My Grandmother's Burnt Yard:
Apparently, this past Easter weekend, while my Grandma was in Kansas City with my Aunt and Cousin's, her neighbor decided to burn some weeds or something. He thought they were out, and they wound up flaring up again, and the fire came 3 feet from my Grandparent's house. So, she got to come home to a burnt up yard! Thankfully, nothing in the house was ruined, and she says she didnt' have much of a smoke smell. Thank goodness my Granpa wasn't alive for this. After his initial excitement that there was a fire, he'd have tore that neighbor a new a-hole for not making sure his fire was out. Then he'd make a few jokes about the neighbor's mistakes, and we'd all eat dinner. God I miss my Grandpa!

Lots of things happening here at the workfront. Friday; Yes, April Fools day... they pulled us into a room and told us that they were creating two new positions for Accessories. one Planner and one Allocator. Which is great! I'm obviously applying for the Planner position.

Then, even more good news! The planner position that is open is the one in my department! The girl who is currently in it is moving to a smaller assortment! So this rocks! Not only am I going to apply for a Planner position, but it's in my department, which means I'd still have the same team! (Minus the weakest link) So this is good! Plus, if I don't get the Planner position, I like the other two girls that are also applying for it, and I know they'll do a good job in it. So for me, and my MPS Katie, we totally have it made. We win either way! I love it!

What a fabulous day this is!

Lately I have been dreaming like crazy! Which really sort of sucks for me because I have a hard time sleeping, and when a person dreams they aren't in that deep sleep stage. Which means I've been really tired lately.

Last night I had a very strange dream. I had a dream that I was in my silver Corvette (As you can tell this dream is very realistic....because I actually own a Vette. ha! not.). I pull into a gas station in this really shady neighborhood. (It was either somewhere off the highway in Texas or in New Mexico too by the way.) So I get gas, and get back into my car, when I suddenly see someone stairing at me. So I try to drive off, but my car won't shift out of park. When I put it into Drive it won't go, so I have to put it into first and it goes, but then I'm driving in first gear, and someone is now chasing me. But I can't speed up to get away because my car won't shift out of first gear! So the "person" drives up on me and I pull off into a field and try to turn around. Only my reverse doesn't work either, so now this "person" is right next to me, and I have no way to get away except for to drive straight through this field in first gear.

Then I woke up because my noisy neighbors were moving around upstairs and I heard the floors creek.

A good friend of mine (Yes, you heard me right. I actually have made a friend that is I can classify as a “good friend” up here.) has been trying to get in at Target. (This is a funny epidemic up here. Everyone is desperately trying to get into Target. She finally got an interview, and apparently it is a long grueling process. They finally called her, and she is now going to be leaving me to go to Target! Woo hooo (for her) Boooo (for me. I’m sad she’s leaving me.) She’s my work out buddy, and we have walking plans for the summer. (all at our lunch hour) But she’s pretty happy about it, and she’s going to break the news to our manager today. So shhhhh don’t tell anyone yet!

The Dallas Radio Station I listen to just reported tha there are Sheeps in the intersection of I30!!! ha! That is hilarious! That is definately something that you don't ever hear about out here. Noone's corn can escape and enter the intersection to back up traffic for miles and miles. apparently, there are Sheep Hearders out there, trying to move them off the road! ha ha ha! That's awesome!

To my surprise, several people have noticed that I haven't written anything new in a while. I totally thought no one read my blog anymore. ;o) I haven't written in a while, because I usually write on my lunch hour, or when I have down time at work. Well, work has been really crazy lately.

Tuesday I was called into an all day Styleout meeting, which consists of all the buyers talking about their 3rd quarter products. The District managers and some other big wigs come in and we discuss the new lines. Which is all good and dandy had I not had a million other things to be working on.

Wednesday, we had a deadline that our Planner missed (Monday Deadline) however, she called in "sick". So I "volunteered" to work on the Planner issues. I actually was very willing to help, and made sure not to complain, or bitch, because I really want them to see that a. I am a team player, b. I am a hard worker, c. I'm dedicated to the Company, d. I get sheeeot done!
So I didn't leave work until 6:30 last night. For those of you that don't know. I come in at 7:30am, and usually leave at 4:30pm. Yesterday, just my luck. I even came in early. So I was here for a long ass time today!

It's supposed to snow about 6-7 inches tonight. Which is a little weird because it's actually nice and warm out right now. Go figure? It does make me happy to know that my friends and family in Albuquerque have already suffered through this fabulous cold spurt. For once it's not just this miserable state that's getting it. This makes me happy! :o)

Lately I've been phizzling out by about 1:00. I am usually pretty productive all day long, but for the past 2 weeks, I feel like I've had no energy around 1:30 until I get off. All I want to do is go home and take a nap. I actually sit at my desk and phantasize about taking a nap when I get home. It really sucks today because I'm really lovin' the idea of laying on my couch and falling asleep to Peoples Court in the background, but I have a 7:00 hair apointement. I plan to stay at work late, and then head up to get it done. Hopefully by then I'll be more energized by then.

Our company reviews are due today. General concensus from everyone is that they are a joke. They are similar to those at P1, but a lot less questions. Myself, being as anal retentive as I am, have kept notes on the "extra" things I've done since being hired. So I made sure to use that information as examples in all my answers. I can safely negate that I probably have the longest review in the office. I even apologized to my manager when I handed it in to her. I told her I am used to how P1 makes you do it, and that it might be a bit lenghthy. She just laughed at me and told me she likes that because it helps her with hers. This was Wednesday. Thursday she sends an email out to the other Allocators telling them to use examples as to why they rated themselves the way they did. I think this might be my fault. Everyone had to redo theirs. he he he.

Another great piece of news with my company is that we actually made Plan. Which we were first told in October that we were right on track with plan, and would be receiving bonus if things went as planned. Then in January, we were told not to expect a bonus. Then we were told on Tuesday or Wednesday that we made Plan. And even Exceeded Plan by 102.3% woo hoo! So I am getting a bonus! Which I totally love. Especially because I've been seriously missing the structure and prestige of P1. And one thing I thought was great about Wilsons is that it gives bonuses to everyone in the merchandising positions. This includes buyers, planners, allocators, and MPSs. P1 doesn't do that. Only buyers and managers get a bonus there. So when I started working here I thought that was a great benefit. So this totally rocks that we indeed are getting it! And it'll be a good hunk of change too!

Then today. We had our monthly meeting, where they cover all that happened in the last meeting, announce the employee of the month (another thing P1 doesn't do), and give a way new product.. During this meeting out new CEO told us that everyone in the home office, full time to part time will be on a bonus plan for 2005. It will be based on a percentage of salary. So I think this is totally cool. I don't know any retail coorportate company that does that. Even though this change doesn't effect (or affect? I can't ever keep them straight) me I think that it is totally the right thing to do. Of course, I think the merchandisers (and a select few other departments) should get a bigger % of the pie since we are the late hour workers, and the first people to be blamed when things do not go well. We also just announced that February was 7.8% above plan total company, so I hope that all this news makes our stock price go up since it's only $4.22 or something like that. I don't even own any yet because they do that weird. But it'd still be nice to see.

I'm not sure where all this news leaves me though. I have been contimplating looking elsewhere, but obviously haven't done much about it. There are many aspects of this place that I like, that don't have anything to do with my position. And there are many aspects of my position that I don't like too. I really want to get into something more creative and I don't think anything here will be opening up nor do I know for sure if I'd be a good fit with the current design department here. So I guess I'll keep you posted!