At least for this year.

As you are aware I had a little incident with my thumb on Thanksgiving Day. It's pretty much healed by now too. There's a little teenie scab, and it still hurts a little when I do stuff with it, but for the most part, I'd say it's healed.

This Christmas we went to my parent's house. For those of you who don't know, my dad's dog is now deaf and blind. Poor old puppy... He usually follows my dad to bed every night. Well, since he can't see or hear, he was left in the living room with me Christmas night. I didn't want him to wake up and be all alone in the living room, so I picked him up and carried him to my dad's side of their bedroom. I bent down to put him on the floor when WACK! I slammed my forhead into my dad's old 1950's dresser. With pointy corners and edges! Ouch! I finished putting old Hellen Keller down, and put my hand to my head. No surprise to me, I was gushing blood. Dang!

So I go to the bathroom to see this deep gouge in the shape of the dresser corner in my forhead. (Is my brain falling out the hole yet?) I probably needed stitches, but I just stood there and blotted/applied pressure until I stopped bleeding. By now I'm a pro at this you know. My mom heard me telling DJ what I did, so she jumped out of bed to doctor me up. She fashioned the bandade so it'd pull my skin together, and luckily, in the morning my head wound looked much better, and I think it will heal nicely! I wore a bandade on my forhead for a couple days. It looked pretty stupid because I was right above my brow.

My friend Blac asked me what was going to happen to me on New Years. OMG! I better stay home, and do nothing, inside a steal bubble! Ha!

Oh, did I also mention that I also caught a cold from my mom and sister? Oh, yeah. It's terrible. I have been coughing and sneezing since Tuesday!

I like this quote.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be silent, if no birds sang except the best."

I've got 121 emails to get through this morning so you'll likely not hear from me until tomorrow.  Hope you had a FABULOUS CHRISTMAS (or HOLIDAY if you're not Christian)!

 

I brought Jax into the office today. Everyone has been wanting to see her, so I brought her in after lunch. At first, she was a little freaked because everyone was oooing and aweing. Then she chilled out, and we had fun.

Tomorrow, DJ and I fly out to the big ABQ. I couldn't get my SIL to watch Jax, but my coworker said he'd check in on her. I'm pretty thankful because I didn't know what I was gonna do otherwise. I wish I didn't have to leave her for so long. It's like leaving my baby. :o(

Don't know if I'll be making any posts while I'm gone. Guess you'll just have to check in and see.

Have a Merry Christmas!

I am very pleased to announce that DJ and I have bought REAL bed for my townhome. Woo Hoo! It's so exciting! We went around a looked at about 4 different places. 2 of which were mattress factories. Needless to say, after a night of bed searching, you start to wonder why you even care anymore. And all these salesmen talk about beds like they are cars. So we decided to "sleep on it". We finally decided to go with the first place we visited. Our bed is being specially made. It's very exciting! If at any time we decide we want more padding, less padding, firmer coils, blah blah blah, we can just call them, and they make the adjustments on it for free. Weird, and highly unlikely that we will actually take advantage of it. But the price was good, and we have the option. It is being delivered on Wednesday morning when we'll have just enough time to put the new bedding on it, and then we're off to the airport! It'll be all ready and waiting for us when we get back from our vacation.


Thumb Update:
I've effectively regenerated skin on most of my thumb. The only part left to heal is the deepest part, and that scab appears as if it'll fall off any day now. It's totally neat to watch my skin grow. I've got like 3 different colors of flesh on my one little finger.

I saw it fitting with 12 days remaining until Christmas, that I should start the dancing lights. Turn up your sound and garnish up some holiday cheer.

Last Years Rendition:


The Newest Version:

Holiday Eating Tips: I particularly like #6!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on aholiday buffettable knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like finesingle-maltscotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-maltscotch. Youcan't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out ofyour mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother?It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and NewYear's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table,like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention.They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice ofeach. Or,if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? LaborDay?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with themandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, haveSOME standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

I got my bonus yesterday. Which is so nice for many many many reasons. Should we count the ways?

1. It's nice to work at a company that ACTUALLY pays out their bonus as promised.
2. It's nice to work at a company that not only pays out it's bonus, but pays it out when you need it most. (Unlike a certain other crappy company I worked at that stalled stalled stalled and then ripped you off.)
3. It's nice to work for a company that gives out big bonus potential.
   One by one we were called into my managers office, where she gave us praise for being such a great team.
4. Even though the gift tax raped me, I don't care so much because it's still a good chunk of money! (Unlike some crappy other company that prorated, and deducted amounts at whim prior to cutting the check to you, on top of Uncle Sam's cut.)
5. I still have a large enough amount that I now get to pay off a credit card.
6. I can now afford to buy a new bed for the master bedroom.
7. I can now pay off my lowest outstanding student loan. This will leave only one outstanding that will be payed off within 2007.
8. I think after all that, I will still have enough left over to pay off one of my department store credit cards then close it out.
9. This leaves me hopeful for when my annual review comes around, which happens 1 year from when you start. So everyone's review date varies making it nice for the managers I'm sure.

Charlotte emailed me this and I thought it was fun!  Feel free to answer any or all of these questions for me in your comments, or email me!

 

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?  Hot Chocolate

 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  Sits them under the tree

 

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Don’t know about the house, but definitely color on the tree.

 

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

 

5. When do you put your decorations up?  A week or two after Thanksgiving.

 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I don’t know.  Maybe the relish tray goodies.  Pickles, carrots, olives, smokes oysters, sociable crackers, and something nasty for my dad like pigs feet.

 

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:  Christmas Eve Dinner

 

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? There’s no Santa?

 

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Yes, from aunts/uncles/eachother, etc.  We open the ones from Santa on Christmas Day.

 

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?  Since I’ve been on my own, I collect one fancy glass bulb a year.  All others are plain bulbs, plus whatever ornaments from my childhood that I have that are sentimental.

 

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?  Love it! I’d rather it be snowing that just cold and crappy.

 

12. Can you ice skate?  Yep

 

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  My grandpa made my sister and I a doll house.  I think I was 5.  He died when I was 6.

 

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?  Remembering where I came from.

 

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?  Cherry pie I guess.  But I’m really liking my own desserts that I’ve created this year.

 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  When my parents moved us to ABQ we started our own Christmas Eve & dinner tradition.

 

17. What tops your tree? Angel

 

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?  Giving to those who aren’t expecting it.  They are the ones that really appreciate it.

 

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?  Anything old school. 

 

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?  Yum if it’s the first 1 or 2.  Yulk if it’s more than that.

A friend just forwarded this to me. It's creepy.

My SIL and I went to Schlotzky's yesterday while we were out shopping. She ate, I didn't. So today when I went out to do some returning at Michaels, I stopped and got a Smoked Turkey Sandwich. Mm mmm Good.

I've got some fond memories of being mistreated as a high schooler at the Schlotzky's located right next to the HS. My friend Blac and I would go in there, the workers would be rude to us because they didn't like annoying HSers in there. I think that was the last time I've ever been in one too. They now have different size breads, and different types rather than just Sourdough. I stuck with tradition. As I bite into this warm goodness I am thinking of all the fun things Blac and I used to do. We were so cool!

13th Amendment to US Constitution is Ratified (1865)

 

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution completed the abolition of slavery, which had begun with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. By December 6, 1865, 27 out of 36 states had ratified the 13th Amendment, starting with the state of Illinois. It was not until 1995, however, that the last of the 36, Mississippi, ratified it.

 

Do you know what's great about 8 degree temperatures? I know, not much that's for sure. But one positive thing about this chilly weather is that I can buy frozen stuff on my lunch hour and leave it in my trunk until I get home at 5:00. I just stocked up on frozen meals for the next week at 1.50 a piece. Go me!

My Department is doing a scavenger hunt that leads up to our Christmas Party this Friday. I am in charge of "finding" a cookie recipe on a card, and making them for the "judges". So I decided to try a new recipe. Mint Chocolate Truffle Cookies. That little snowman is a salt and pepper shaker. The hat is the pepper and the face is the salt. And the red plate is a spoon holder. Cute eh?
PS. If anyone is caring anymore. My thumb is doing something funky. I slammed it into my washing machine pretty good yesterday and I think that was a bad thing to do. It's all swollen up again, and I think I've got some skin that is fixin' to fall off.

My body is so sore today! Pretty much every muscle I looked at in the Body Worlds Exhibit hurts on me today. This is likely to be a long post. So I'm warning you in advance. The exhibit, I thought was very interesting. We were not able to take photos. We spent three hours examining the Plastinates in the exhibit. I was both intrigued and disappointed. I was disappointed that they didn't have more women. It would have been very interesting to me to see how a female body's parts fit into the body, and a comparison of man and woman side by side. I realize there are not many differences, but there definitely are some all the same. They did have uterus' under glass cases with different ailments, but that also is not the same as seeing what my body looks like all put together. I would have liked to see how everything goes together down there, and how it changes once a women gets pregnant and other things related to the life of a female. It was definitely Male dominant, something my husband didn't notice until I pointed it out. There are a lot of things I think they could do for improvement on that front. They did have a woman who died during childbirth, and embryo's in different weekly stages. The woman was very interesting. They posed her in a laying down position with an arm up so you could see how the baby pushes your organs upward to make room for itself. The baby also died, so the baby was still in place. After looking at that. I am definitely in favor of the traditional side of childbirth. The layer of flesh, and muscle a doctor has to cut too, is way to much to do to a body unnecessarily. The embryo's were also very interesting to me, it was definitely interesting to see the stages in a much more personal way than images from a book, or ultra sounds. Hands, faces, fingers, etc are so detailed so early on.








insert smilie sticking tougue out here)

Shopping
Saturday we spent at least four hours at the museum on our feet. Sunday, we spend about seven hours walking around the Mall of America. This is why my body aches so much today. The mall wasn't as crazed as I was expecting it to be. Some stores were very hard to get in and around due to the combination of small spaces and overstock of inventory. (ie. The Discovery Store, and any electronic/gadget store.) Don't worry, I'm not going to give you a play by play of our seven hour journey. But I am going to tell you about the Worlds Largest Gingerbread House! It was totally awesome! Because of the mass of people, I wasn't able to get a full picture of the whole house, but I'll post my pictures anyway to try to give you an idea of the scale. Inside they have elves making giant ginger bread man cookies. It was great! I was happy. We started shopping on the 3rd floor, and went round and round until we hit the bottom floor where the ginger bread house was. When we passed it for the second time (we were on the second floor) I really just wanted to go down and tour it. But DJ was not planning on deviating from the original plan. So I decided to periodically whine that I wanted to see the gingerbread house for the remainder of our 2nd floor shopping. :o) Whenever I was ready to get out of a store, I'd whine about the GBH. he he he. Since we don't have kids, I thought it was only fitting. tee hee.

Click here to see my pictures

OK, so some of you may have noticed this post. I tried to post a quick not about how if your young and single, or even young and married (and a girl) that you should get this shot. So many girls get this virus from men who don't know they have it (Men rarely have symptoms, they are just carriers.) And now that it's been linked to the majority of uterine cancer cases, it's very important to be careful, and take measure to protect yourself. Women who have only ever had sex with their husbands have contracted this virus, and later developed cancer and died. This is not just a "permiscuous" girl's issue. It's every woman's issue. Unless you don't care if you get cancer.

If you haven't already, check out this link and start informing yourself today.
http://www.gardasil.com/who-should-receive-gardasil.html

I learned something new about FF. Not only do they send you a $10 gift certificate for the month of your birthday (If you belong to their frequent shopper program) but if they don't have the size shoe you want, they will mail it to you for free! This is awesome! I can remember many times I've passed on a shoe because they didn't have my size. Now that I know they can just mail it to me, I won't ever have to pass up a shoe I desire again!

I really liked these Steve Maddens, but they were $80, and too cheaply made for that price. Not even real leather. So I resisted the urge to waist my money on them (Even though someone else could totally waist their own money on them for me.)

Instead I bought these.

Which are also not real leather, but for $39 ($49-my $10) I can live with it. They will be appearing in my mailbox within 7-10 business days thank you. Then I can get rid of the pair that I almost broke my neck in last winter with a lose heal. I really thought I was gonna go down that day. But I didn't. I have great balance you know. Then, because they were having a buy one get the other 1/2 off sale, I bought these.

These I'll be wearing tomorrow.

Shoe shopping alone isn't 1/2 as much fun as it used to be when CR and I would take off after work to shoe stores around town. He'd always wind up with more shoes than me (All looking curiously similar), but it was always a lot of fun. We'd walk in, part ways, and meet up again to show e/o what we found. It's just no the same with my husband. It starts out the same, we walk in, part ways, and but then he really doesn't care what I've found in the end. Then I wind up spending an extra 1/2 hour looking at some stupid boot that he doesn't know for sure if he should buy or not. Most of the time, I walk out with 2 pairs, and he walks out with none. He needs to learn how to purchase. I'm working on that. :o)

This reminds me of another story too. A couple weeks ago, I bought myself a new handbag. (Impulse buy at when I was shopping for Christmas gifts) I figured that DJ wouldn't notice it because I have many purses that I change out frequently. It was sitting on the steps when he came home, and the first thing he says to me was, "New purse huh?". And since I had just gone off on how broke I was going to be this Christmas season. My first instict was to lie to him. Instead I told him, "Maybe it is just new to you. I have lots of bags you know. and if you're keeping track of all my handbags, then I have to wonder about you." So, well, that's not really a lie. It was more of an observation. Neither accept or deny the accusation. That's what our politicians motto is isn't it?

This weekend DJ is making me go to the Museum of Science to see the Body Worlds exhibit. If you haven't heard it's about 200 real dead bodies that are preserved in a process called Plastination. Some or most (I guess) are posed in different "active" positions like running, jumping, playing chess, etc. I saw one on the news that is standing up, muscles exposed, holding his/her skin. I have a feeling this is going to be hard for me to get through. I'm not too keen on the idea that they are real dead bodies. Even if the people really did donate their bodies to this cause. It's just creepy. Maybe I can find out why the hell my thumb hasn't stopped throbbing since I lopped the top off 6 days ago.

Checkout the Gallery. It's interesting, and creepy all at the same time. I'll give a review after my visit.

Gallery: http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/gallery/
Video Introduction: http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/video/
Official Website: http://www.bodyworlds.com/index.html

My office is sponsoring a Weight Watchers program.  The total cost for the 13-week program is $156.00 per person. My office is going topay for $65.00 of the total fee. This breaks down to only $7.00 per week for 13 weeks. I'm thinking about doing it.  What do you think?  Anyone done WW with the group and all?  What can I expect?

 

Here's reasons why I'm sceptical

1. It's with co-workers

2. Do I really want co-workers knowing how much I've lost or not lost?

3. Everyone will know I think I'm fat, (Even though it's pretty obvious I am fat.)

4. What if I lose nothing? Then I'm out money, and still fat, and my coworkers will know I'm still fat.

5. What if the program is stupid?  I don't want to sit around and talk about my inner demons or anything like that.

 

So I guess really, I want some insight.  Anyone got any?

Since my incident on Thursday I have really developed an appreciation for thumbtips.
First of all, since I have no thumbtip, my sensitivity has skyrocked. If anything so much as flutters past my thumbtip, it hurts like hell! So here is a short list of things that are nearly impossible to do without a thumbtip.

Almost Impossible to Do:
Wipe. I'm right handed. Not very talented with the left in this category.
Put on earings.
Shuffle cards.
Zip.
Put on a seat belt.
Start my car.
Pick up a pen.
Carry anything in my right hand.
Get something out of my pocket.
Use a scissor.

Very Hard to Do:
Type.
Write.
Shampoo my hair.
Brush my teeth. Again, I'm a righty. Hard to do with the left.

In the issue of Self Magazine that hit stands today, Fargo-Moorehead was named the Happiest two Cities for Women. Isn't that interesting? Aren't you girlfriends jealous? I get to live here, and you don't. Nah nah nah nah boo boo! I totally feel the envy as you continue to read through this post. There's no need for you to hide it. I already know.

Da da da. Another one bites the dust. Da da da. Another one bites the dust….

(FYI: I've tried to post this post for a few days now. Finally. I got it to work, but it's a couple days old. So where were we? Oh, yeah Da da da. Another one bites the dust...)

One of my high school best friends told me some happy news yesterday. She even thought she was being clever by predicting what I was going to write in my blog. Well, she was only right about one thing that she wrote for me. She has crossed over to the darkside. (I hear that Darth Vader needed a few more recruits anyway. Better her than me!) I’ve lost another married without kids, to Babyland. Hopefully she won't join the world of “prego-zilla”, which is an even darker place than Babyland. I'm sad that I can't be there to help keep her sane from all the crazed in-laws.

I’ve already filled her in on a few things she could do to keep her loved ones posted. Like starting a prego blog that can also share images, etc. but locks out anyone that doesn’t have a password. She’s not very far along, but I can’t wait to see the first images of little alien lilababe. Congrats again to you and lilaboy. I guess you better go replace your broken camera and quick!

Here’s what iVilliage has to say about what's going on with her right now:
Your baby's head is quite big, due to the rapid growth of the brain. The upper limbs resemble paddles. Your baby-to-be's heart begins to separate into four chambers, and blood is circulating throughout the body. Intestines form within the umbilical cord, but will later migrate back into the abdominal cavity. In the next few days, foot plates, with the beginnings of toe rays, will appear. The external ears are now present. Your baby is now 10 to 13 millimeters long -- about the size of a cherry. The cells that will become either testes or ovaries arrive, but there is no obvious sign of gender yet. Muscle contractions are beginning, but these early "movements" are not yet perceptible.

The first trimester is especially important when it comes to your baby's healthy development. This is the time that most parts of the body are formed and rapid brain development occurs. It is important to consume neither alcohol nor tobacco products. Speak to your practitioner about the safety of continuing prescription medicines and herbal treatments. Reduce or eliminate caffeine intake as well. Recent studies have indicated that more than a few cups of coffee a day may be linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.

Well, I just got finished being mind raped. I took the final two of my office tests today. Turns out they are all weighted the same, so really. I think I’m screwed. ApApparently need an 80% to pass or else I have to do it all again. Considering I am not a good test taker. Fact in the fact that I just don’t care about this test, (Anything I feel I need to know, I will learn or look it up. There is no need to commit everything to memory now is there? I think not!) and I am going to go ahead and guess that I will not make that 80%. Oh, and factor in a third element that on the last test I got a 65% on because I totally blanked out. Even though I studies. I just could not remember anything. And these are those tests with no word banks, or multiple choice. You just have to pull words like “proantocyanadins”, “mthylsulfonylmethane”, “conjugated linoleic acid”, straight out of your butt. So ummm…. Yeah. I think you’re feeling my pain now. And if not, well, then you’re just not very good friends!

I’ve heard some bitchin’ about not updating my blog the past couple days. I’ve been studying, and neglecting all after hours web activities. My office has fallen into quite an interesting oxymoron of convolution. The web team, has been blocked from many many things in the online world. Basically, somone in MIS is on a power trip and disgising it as internet security. The irony in this is that we are the web team. So there is a big battle between little itty bitty power trip boy, and my manager. (Plus some other key players but I’m not going to get into it here.) The current situation is that we will be opened back up for a “test period of time” and everything we do will be reviewed weekly to prove that we are worthy. It’s a bunch of stupidity. However, I’ve decided to take this time to stop blogging while at work due to the fact that they will now be reviewing the sites we visit, and I don’t want to draw attention to my URL. Not that I’ve said anything damning. But my website is a personal site, and the people I work with are not people I share my personal life with. Know what I mean? So anywhoo. If you’re a faithful reader, waiting for an updated post. I plan to continue to post regularly, but my times will change. Instead of whenever the fart tickles me, I’ll be posting in the evening.

There is no one in my office area. No one but me. I've run out of things to do. Well, I suppose I could be researching some stuff. But I just don't feel like doing that right now. I've got a call in about 10 minutes. So that is good. I will have the guy on the other line to keep me company. It's totally quiet in hear. It's starting to bug me. At first I was loving it, but now I'm feeling like I could be doing what I'm doing now from the comfort of my living room. Then I could also take that nap I've been coveting. It's been getting dark here at like 5:00 so when I go home I don't want to do anything but sleep. :o( Totally bites. No one is online right now either. Tried to email a couple people. Nothing. Tired to IM a couple people. Nothing. Where is everyone today?

Well... I'm going to go wait for my conference call. Maybe cat nap. Sorry I'm not more entertaining!

Well, you're all going to be disappointed. Last night was quite a bore. (I guess that's what happens when you get old.) I wound up doing my laundry, and waiting for the man to show up. DJ is working hard in the fields so he didn't leave until 6:30 or somewhere in there. He didn't get to my place until 8:00. We didn't even go out to dinner. I ordered us a pizza and we watched Nip Tuck. We didn't even do "it" because he was so tired. Poor guy. I'm not too upset about it though because the weekend was so much fun, and I know that he's really tired and stressed right now. Since it was a Tuesday, I really didn't mind doing nothing either. Snuggling with my man on a weekday felt really good. Can't wait until January when he actually lives with me! Woo hoo!

I just got back from my eye doctor. My eyes have not changed a bit! Wow! That's exciting for me because they always get worse. I started taking a supplement for them, that has Lutein, Bilberry, Zanthethin (sp) and a bunch of other crap good for your eyes. I know my left eye was getting better because things were less blurry. So I'm totally excited! My Insurance paid for my contacts in total. Unlike my crappy old job that only paid for 2/3 of them (Bastards).

After I finished with DJs laundry, I decided to stop over to my Grandma’s and see what she was up to. My cousin, my aunt, and she were fixin’ to watch a movie, so I decided to stick around. I hung out with them for a couple of hours.

Hint #1 that something was going on: I call him around 3:30 to see what he’s up to, if he wants me to come out there, or what. So he tells me that he thinks he’ll quit around 5:00, and maybe we can go to dinner or something. This is weird because he NEVER quits working this early during harvest season. Especially since it was so nice out. He tells me he’ll call me when he decides to head into town. So I say, “OK” and we hang up.
Hint #2 that something was going on: He calls me at 5:01pm. He NEVER calls me exactly when he says he’s going to call. Usually he calls me 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour later than he tells me. So when he called. I knew for sure something was in the works.
Hint #3 that something was going on: Once he gets home, and cleaned up, he’s already ready to get out of the house and off to dinner. It was only 5:38! He doesn’t eat that early. In fact, he’s always giving me crap for being hungry around 6:00. So I just KNEW that people were waiting for us at the restaurant.

We get to the restaurant, where I am expecting to see my family sitting at a table. Instead, I see my 3 girlfriends from the Cities! I was so excited! I almost cried. I was so excited (and a little embarrassed at the same time, since the Big W is not very exciting this time of year. I wasn’t sure if they’d have any fun or not). So we ate dinner and headed out on the bustling town. Ok. (Maybe we were the only people out.)

One thing I wasn’t expecting was for DJ to organize getting my cousins and have them gather at the Legion. Usually in a small town, we all wind up drinking together anyway. So I was expecting to see some of them anyway. But turns out, he made sure to call everyone and have them come out. I had a blast. It was so much fun having Jordan, Sara, and Charlotte around again. I could post a whole separate blog on just that topic. I have a feeling my in-laws saw a whole new side to me!

Now, I KNOW for a FACT that Jordan had a good time, and I am somewhat sure Sara and Charlotte did as well. Like I said, not much to do in a small town but sit around and drink. And drink we did! Especially me. A girl who’s breaking out a new decade of life can’t turn down drink that were bought for her. Who knows when a man other than her husband will buy her a drink again? Probably never actually.

Anywho, I had a blast! It was the best birthday gift a girl could ever get from her closest friends! The gift of them! What they don’t know is how much I really loved seeing them. I can’t even try to put it into words. I’m very happy that they decided to risk their lives in someone’s silver bullet, just to come little ole Podunkville me. Thanks Sara and Charlotte for leaving your babies to come see little ole me. (ephasis on the ole now) My husband is also super fabulous, because he actually spent some time helping to coordinate this, and he's been working 18 hour days to get his crop in. I feel very blessed to have such good people to call my friends!

Oh yeah, stay tuned for photos from the evening too!

Saturday, 12:00pm: You’ll never guess where I am right now. It’s a place I have NEVER been before. I’m at the public laundromat. It’s so foreign to me, I didn’t even know how to spell it. Thank goodness for spell check. I thought it was laundry-mat, but apparently it’s laun-DRO-mat. What really sucks is that I have to poop really bad (and I can’t hold in my poop very well). There are bathrooms, but I don’t want to go to the bathroom because I’d have to bring my stuff in with me and that’d just be gross. I AM NOT taking my laptop into a public restroom. It hasn’t even made it into my personal one yet! I’m going to wait until it’s about to fall out, then run in there really quick. I don’t want to sit and push. That’d take WAY too long with my stuff unsupervised.

Want to know why I’m here? DJ’s washer broke down about a month or two ago, so he’s been bringing his cloths to my house to wash on weekends. Well, since he’s been farming, he has created quite the pile-o-cloths. So I decided I’d do his laundry. Luckily no one is in here to see my ignorance on this whole process. Did you know it costs $1.50 to wash your cloths these days? When I was in college it cost me $.75. And $.50 to dry. Wow. The world is ripping us off everywhere. (Ok. I really have to go, so talk to you in a minute…)

OK. I’m back. That wasn’t so bad. I inspected the BR’s and the women’s is much nicer than the men’s. If you are interested in a big dick though, call this number 320…. No, I’m not REALLY gonna give it to you. Should I write next to it, “Hey! That’s my husband’s phone number!” That’s funny to me. Tee hee.

Know what’s cool about this place? It actually has those baskets with wheels on them so you don’t have to actually carry your laundry from place to place. You can just roll it. I thought that was only in movies and TV shows like Friends. So what is the process of laundry-ing anyway? I thought when the spin cycle happened, you’re laundry was done. All 5 washers have already gone through spin, but they are still going. What up with dat? I’m so glad I don’t usually have to sit and wait for my laundry to be finished. I think I’m going to go edit some photos. Anything you want to see on my photosite? Let me know. I haven’t posted anything since October.

Stay tuned for Saturday Part II. You'll be glad you did!

Have I mentioned that I'm happy the weekend is here? I've totally been burned out so far as sitting in an office goes. I'd much rather be at home tinkering away on some of my many projects. I wish I could get paid for all the things I have going at home. Maybe someday I will, but for now, there just aren't enough hours after work to get things done. Especially if I don't go straight home to start on them. Last night, I turned my computer on, tinkered for a while, and then decided enough is enough! I'm done! I'm doing nothing. So I sat and watched Earl without doing anything else. Then I got bored, and decided to start knitting a scarf (someone I know suggested I make one for her daughter...) Next thing I know, I'm half way through Grey's and I haven't even been watching, just listening. So then I decide to put down the needles. But then I picked up something else. Maybe I have developed ADD in my old age.

What does everyone do when they get home? Do you lounge around? Do you bake? What are other people doing? I want to know. Am I normal?

So I've decided something really fun to do for my birthday. But it won't happen because what I want to do happens this Friday. And all my fun friends live 3 or more hours away. :o( The Thunder Down Under are appearing at the casino 1/2 way between here and the big W. They'd totally be awesome to see! They are hotter than Chipendales, and these guys have accents. Which we all know, any guy with an accent is automatically hotter than a guy without one.

It'd totally be a good time if I could get my cities friends to come down/up/over (Did I cover them all for you Jordan?) But I think the one friend who'd really appreciate this sort of thing is out of town on business this weekend (J), and the other two I think I'd have fun with (S,C) I don't really have any place to house them if they could make it. My town home would be alright, but DJ's house is closer to the casino, and his place is just embarrassing. I don't even let relatives in that place. So I guess whoa is me. Even though the casino does have hotel rooms attached to it.... Well... either way, it's a little bit short notice.

Dang! I just tried to go to their website to grab some photos and I've been "Websensed" due to sex and gambling. Dang! Websense sucks. If I remember, tonight I'll post some pics of them when I get home. I'm totally bummed because I wanted to see if there was anything going on at the casino on Saturday because that's where I think I'm going to make everyone go instead of sitting in the local bar staring at each other.



Here's one I pulled off of ticketmaster. (Enjoy if you can see it.)

I've decided that on a day like today, it would be fun to have kids. Some people have brought their kids into the office to show off their costumes. Some are totally cute. One little girl (Maybe she was 2, I can't tell b/c I generally don't like kids and therefore don't pay attention) was dressed up like a little white chicken. Her little poofy butt was so cute. She even had those little head feathers. Totally cute. Plus she was running around acting like a chicken. Then there were my co-workers quads. They came in all dressed up as something different. Then there are my "kid costume" ideas that I have come up with while perusing the websites for/with my friends who have kids. I've come up with the first 3 years worth of costumes for my kids. You'll just have to wait and see what they are (If you don't die of old age first). I told my boss that maybe next year I'll borrow her kids and run around with them. Then give them back when they're good and sugared up. Of course!

OK. Well, I'm outy for the night. Peace out brotha!

If you need something to do at work. (Sara) Play with this. It's totally awesome. Kai, now you can carve that pumpkin you've never carved.



Pumpkin Carver

There is someone dressed up as the grim reaper in my office, and it almost scared the shit out of me. At 7:30 in the morning, you don't expect that. I was walking to the coffee station, and he/she/it came around the corner. It was super tall. Like 7 feet! Totally real looking too. I forgot it was Halloween until then. I have no idea who it is. I tried very hard not to act like I was creeped out. But really I was. I'm so glad whoever it was didn't mess with me. I might have cried. Instead all I said was, "Good Morning." And that's all the wittiness I could muster up in such short notice.

Well, I don't have to tell you how my Friday morning was, but I can tell you how my Friday evening was! My SIL and I decided we were going to carve pumpkins. So we went outside and picked two fine specimens. Two hours later, here are the results!

I came into the office today at nine instead of my usual seven-thirty. Here is what I found on my desk. 1 chocolate piece of candy, 1 scored test (65%-pretty shitty I know), 1 medium sized box, a five dollar bill. Which one do you think I picked up first? If you guessed the medium sized box, you'd be correct! It was from a vendor, and I love gifts from vendors. So far I've gathered a large stuffed frog that says "Did It, Dit It" instead of "Ribbit", a plastic treasure chest with key that holds a treasure map, a squishy shopping cart thing, some blue goo that is similar to silly putty, a squishy cactus, a little rainbow slinky, and some "gold nugget" chewing gum that I have next to my "Texas" frame of me and DJ in the blue bonnets (Our engagement photo).
So I open the box. It's a good one. It's a miniature shopping cart, and some sticky notes with the companies logo on it. The wheels actually more, so I can roll it across my desk if I wanted to. OK. I did. I totally want to pull out my Barbies tonight and play "grocery shopping" with her.

Then I pop the candy in my mouth, put the $5 in my purse (this is from my colleague from this weekend. He didn't carry any cash on him, didn't have his debit card, hotel wouldn't cash his check. When the hotel finally cashed his check, he must not have thought to ask for smaller bills so I wound up tipping the bell hops and the taxi driver.), and kick on my hard drive. While I'm waiting for that to boot up, I look at my test results. Apparently the 70% I thought I had to have to pass, was wrong, because not it's telling me I have to have an 80% to pass. What happens if I don't pass? I don't know. Maybe they fire me and I have to go raise chickens. My 65% brings me down to an average of 74% So I guess I have to really care about these next two tests. They actually are taken together which I think really stinks. Why even have a fourth test before the final? Just put them all in one. Whatever. The whole thing is annoying.

Some of you may have noticed one of my tags for this post is, "Announcements, Funerals, Death". Here it is. I got home from the airport last night and called my hubby. He informed me that his father's sister had passed away in the morning. They are planning the funeral for tomorrow. This will make the 4th funeral ever that I have been to. Marrying DJ is totally going to sway my funeral attendance count because all his relatives (aunts, uncles, and other) are already in the 70's and older. He probably attends two a year on average. My boss was totally cool about it. Bereavement isn't allowed for "aunts and uncles" and I have no vacation time. She told me just to take the day off, it was OK with her. So sweet. I get to attend a funeral tomorrow.

One more announcement. I added a new feature to my right sidebar. You can now read past blogs by tag category rather than selecting the past month. You can still go by past months too. That's just been shifted down farther under the tag category listings.

I am now sitting in the Orlando Airport. I had loads of fun last night. We went to some night club that was totally on the house. Food, drinks, Blues Brother's Review. It was great. Did I mention free food and drinks? Did I also mention that there a quite a few hotties using the software that we're seminaring on. Mmmm mmm good. So my co-worker crapped out early on me. I was left to socialize by myself. I didn't mind though. He and I are different personalities, and I wanted to have fun. One hottie boom body was this guy from Spain. (Not Mexico, spain people) His accent. Oh! I melt! His scent. Mmmmmmmmm. His well dressed body. Husband who? he he he. No, I love my man, but ain't no shame in enjoying your eye candy! I wound up having a blast with a bunch of strangers. We left the club around 10:30, and then 3 of us headed for the hotel lobby bar. We shut that down at 1:30. Some tid bits about one of the guys I was hanging out with. He's in a band. (Hey Blac, you listening?) His band, just opened for Bon Jovi while they were in Tampa. I didn't believe him at first, and in typical kb fashion, I told him "Yeah? And my brother is Steven Tyler." But turns out, another girl had her palm pilot on her, and sure enough, his band is legit. And they really did open for Bon Jovi. He says Jons hands are softer than any softness you could ever imagine. Interesting...

So, I'm going to exclude the public complaints about my trip. But those of you who know my email, I'm sure you'll find out what those are sooner or later. Most likely sooner. I can't wait to get on the plane and sleep. I'm totally exhausted, and dehydrated. Tootles.

I'm now sitting in the lobby of the Peabody listening to their Pianist play in the lobby. Cool that they have wireless internet working in the lobby. It's actually part of their business package deal. Regulars only have wireless available to them in their rooms. Poor saps. I totally love business travel. I didn't think I would too much. Sitting in a convention all day dealing with so many people trying to push their product on you. But that's not too bad either. Oh my! I think I've grown up! I just ordered a Colorado Bull Dog. My friend Blac mentioned that drink when I met up with her last weekend. So I'm having one in her honor! My toast, "To her INfertility". Tee Hee. I'm just teasing. Have as many kids as you want. . .

I didn't do too much "Kai style" exploring as planned. I ate at the fancy hotel steak house called Capriccio. Oh my, that steak was so fabulous. I was sad when it was all gone. I had dinner with my collegue, and when he tired, and went to bed. So then I walked up and down the strip for a bit. Another fun perk of this hotel, is that they give you complimentary I-Ride passes, which basically is the bus system up and down the strip. So now I have a booklet of all the places it takes you. Hmm... I see outlet malls on here, I see nightlife bars on here, I see casinos on here. . . Tomorrow night we are being treated to a Blues Brother's show. That should be fun. So, I'm either going to have to skip out of the last hour of lectures tomorrow, or skip some on Wednesday so I can venture out. Would that be bad? I'd be here for most of the lectures. That's totally enough. Most is close enough to all. Right?

So there are a lot of business men around the bar. Some are pretty hot. I met the keynote speaker for tomorrow in the elevator. His kids were stuck on some ride at Sea World today. I think they will forever have memories of their vacation here.

And time.... goes by.... so slowly...... Are you still miiiiiiiinE!? I need your love. I need your love. OK. This piano guy is getting to me. I better finish what I'm doing and head up to my room before I start having fantasy dreams about Barry Manilo. (Sorry gay readers, I know how you love you some Barry.)