2000 Thru 2009: A Decade Of Insanity

Okay, so the last ten years haven't been that bad, but so much has changed. This is a super condensed recap of it.

2000: I turned fifteen and began learning how to drive...

2001: Got my first car; finally got my license seven months after my sixteenth birthday (thanks mom for not wanting me to drive...); and subsequently had my first two accidents.

2002: A large chunk of my friends graduated high school; I decided to finish school a semester early; started working at Ace Hardware; essentially became homeless.

2003: Finished high school in January, walked in June; got my first tattoo; had my car stolen and set on fire; got my 1986 Honda Accord; moved into my first apartment with my best friend at the time; my nephew, Jordan, was born in September; moved to Portland in October, had some really awesome times.

2004: Realized AiPD was a mistake; moved back to LC; started working at the salon; friend moved back to LC and we moved in together; lost said friend/roommate due to my family issues; my sister, niece and nephew moved in with me; met the love of my life; he gave me our beautiful monster, Spaz, who was only six weeks old; got in crazy rollover accident in my Honda; moved to Silverton to live with said love and his family; lost my license for a year.

2005: Turned 20; got married August 21st; honeymooned in Astoria; got second tattoo; started temping; got my license back in November (longest year ever); we bought "Ethel" our 1993 Nissan Altima.

2006: Turned 21; went to the casino (didn't win....); continued to do temp work, most cush job- four hours as a test proctor and getting paid $11 an hour to do nothing; celebrated first anniversary at the coast; in September began working for MCB; attempted to quit MCB in November but was offered another position (if only I knew what I was getting myself into...).

2007: Collin went back to school and received his A+ certification; we celebrated our second year of marriage; I celebrated my first anniversary at MCB; bought "Lucy" our 1985 Toyota Camry from Collin's grandma for $1.

2008: Collin got a good job at Hollywood Entertainment; we moved into our first place in Salem; had issues with "Ethel" and decided to replace her and sell her; bought "Ricky" our 1999 Chevy Blazer fully loaded for $2,500 (we are still paying Collin's parents back for loaning us the cash); celebrated our first Christmas at our own place.

2009: Cut off all my hair and dyed it pink and black; found out Collin was getting laid off (unless we moved to Nashville, TN); Collin's lay off kept getting extended; I renegotiated my salary with MCB so I wouldn't be forced to look for a better paying job if and when Collin lost his; turned down an interview with DMV after accepting MCB's new salary (still suffer from moments of regret with that...); got my third tattoo in April the same day we learned a good friend had drowned (RIP Zach); Collin got laid off; week after lay off Collin went back to work for Hollywood in another department which he has thrived in; got my fourth and biggest tattoo so far in August; my niece, Amanda, was born September 25th; I dyed my hair purple and black in October; Cassidy turned twelve in October; I passed my three year mark with MCB; Kristina moved back to Oregon; I typed this blog.

It's crazy to think back on how much I have changed and how much things around me have changed in the last ten years, if you had asked me in 2000 where I saw myself in ten years, I don't think it would have been exactly where I am at, but I am happy with where I have ended up... I can only imagine what lays ahead in the next ten; buying a house, maybe kids, and who knows what else. I just know that 2010 is going to be an awesome year (and hopefully less stressful). I'm sure more things will change over the next year (or ten) and I hope I enjoy the ride. As long as I have my husband, family and close friends I know it well be great.

I wish you all the best in 2010! See ya next year!

I Think About Time, A Luxury So Hard To Find

I changed my blog again, what of it? Like me it is ever changing, dynamic, and evolving. As long as this suits me this is what it will be, until another inspiring wind moves me along.

This weekend, (mainly Saturday night and all day Sunday) my brain was on another planet.

Saturday night I had the most bizarre dream I can remember having recently (like how I left that so wide open...). I was outside at work smoking with the girls and these two chicks are jogging down State Street towards us. I thought I recognized them but wasn't sure so I just continued the conversation with my coworkers. The joggers go by and then stop and come back. Turns out I did know them, it was these two sisters I knew from "the way back when" and they came back and said hey like we had been hanging out or something. Then one of them says, "If you want, the track is ready for you to pick up." Doesn't make any sense to you, does it? It didn't to me either... It was just a totally random dream that made no effing sense.

My brain's trip continued into Sunday... While heating up some leftovers for lunch I decided to get a glass of milk. I got a glass down from the cupboard (I love that word cupboard for some reason) and then turned to get out the milk. For some absolutely unexplainable reason, I opened the microwave... 'Cause all sane people keep their milk in the microwave; especially while it's heating food.*sigh*

Now you are probably thinking, "How could it get any funnier?" Trust me it did...

During the really bad cold snap at the beginning of the month we wrapped the water heater in one of our extra comforters to help keep it a little more insulated (the laundry room gets really cold since we keep it closed up...). Since Winter just barely started we have just left it as is; though I hope there isn't to much more extreme cold.

After finishing my laundry I went to take it in the bedroom. I set it down in the kitchen so I could shut the laundry room door.For some paranoid reason, as I turned around I almost screamed because my brain registered, "AHHH!!! Creepy dude in the laundry room by the dryer!!!" Then just as I opened my mouth to suck in the breath to scream with, the not-stupid part of my brain kicked in with, "Umm... No, Stupid, it's the water heater wrapped with a comforter..." Luckily I was able to laugh at myself, and hopefully I even made you laugh... Come on... You know this shit's HI-larious.

Toast!

My Gum Fell Out Of My Mouth Luckily My Lip Caught It

All the Christmas decorations are tucked away for another year, and 2010 looms large at the end of the week. So many things I hope to accomplish in the next year. I think, no scratch that, I know I will be able to accomplish all of my goals for the year. I hope and pray that things aren't as stressful as they were the first half of 2009... I don't believe they will be.

Right now (literally, right now) I feel like doing about five different things... Watch a movie, go on the elliptical, post this, sketch, and get something pierced. Thing number five is not something that will happen today, but the rest will.... Maybe. There may have been a sixth thing but I don't think it was important... My sweatshirt!

Is in the dryer and almost dry.

Yesterday was a great day. I slept in until after nine, got up took a shower, went to LC and saw Kristina and her parents, K and I went cruising around LC checking out all that has changed (like the Subway.... When the hell did that happen?!!?), and then I came home and just chilled. It was great when I got to K's parent's house, Emmy wanted nothing to do with me for about the first ten minutes, then (almost as if someone flipped a switch) she started showing me her toys and stickers and even gave me two little heart stickers (which now happily reside on the back of my cell). She is such a great little girl! K and I also went over people from school who had gotten hitched, or had babies, or both (they aren't mutually exclusive after all). It was just awesome to catch up with her!

Until she moves over to the valley ('cause yea, you are moving to Salem, K... I don't care what you say!), I think I will be spending a lot of my weekends over in LC. I can't just leave her over there... LOL. Of course I am sure there will be times for her to come over here too! There is so much more to do over here... I am so freaking happy my neighbor is in the same state again!

Oregon has no clue what will be unleashed now...

2009: A Year

I haven't done one of these in a while but it was a good way to kill time. For a real re-cap of my year scan through my older posts; this was mostly for fun.

2009 IS ALMOST OVER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Were you involved in something you'll never forget?
I don't remember... What does that tell you?

Tripped over a coffee table?
.... and a couch, and my feet, and the cat, and air....

Dyed your hair?
Nope, it naturally grows purple and black.

Came close to losing your life?
Not this year

Saw one of your favorite bands/artists live?
I will next month, but that's 2010.

2009: Friends and Enemies

Did you hate anyone?
Nope, hate is a wasted emotion.

Do you have any regrets when it comes to your friendships?
No.

2009: All about YOU

Did you change at all this year?
Yes, I got older and even more wise than I already am!

Did you change your style?
Not really changed... Embraced would be a better term.

Were you in school?
No

Did you get good grades?
Yes

Did you drive?
Yes

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Ummm.... Like half the females I know did....

Would you change anything about yourself now?
Not really change, maybe improve.

2009: Wrap UP:

Was 2009 a good year?
stressful

Do you think 2010 will top 2009?
I think so.

IN THE YEAR 2009 I CONFESS THAT I....

Kissed in the snow?
maybe

Had your heart broken?
No

Done something you've regretted?
No... oh, well there was that one thing.... NO.

Painted a picture?
Yes

Wrote a poem?
No

Ran a mile?
Not ran....

Visited a foreign country?
Nope

Cut in a line of waiting people?
..... Maybe....

Told someone you were busy when you weren't?
I'm always busy...

Lied about how old you were?
No

IN 2009 I.....

Broke a promise?
No

Lied?
Maybe, but who didn't?

Disappointed someone close?
Not that I am aware of.

Hid a secret?
No (if I said yes it wouldn't be a secret!)

Pretended to be happy?
At some points

Slept under the stars?
Yes, in my house.... The stars are always above me... duh.

Met someone who changed your life?
Probably

Changed your outlook on life?
Yes

Pretended to be sick?
No, but I pretended to be well.

Had way to many days off school?
no

Lost something expensive?
No....

Learned something new about yourself?
Everyday bitches.

Tried something you normally wouldn't try and liked it?
I don't recall

Made a change in your life?
Yes

Found out who your true friends were?
You have no idea... lol

Met great people?
yes

Stayed up til sunrise?
woke up before sunrise...

Cried over the silliest thing?
more than I care to admit.

Had friends who were drifting away from you?
Yes, but who doesn't as we get older...

Had a high cell phone bill?
Nope, same thing every month.

Spent most of your money on food?
No, most of it goes to bills, rent, and utilities.

Had a fist fight?
An imaginary one.... I won...

Gotten sick?
Yes

Liked more than 5 people at the same time?
I like tons of people... LOL

Became closer with a lot of people?
Not a lot, but a select few awesome people.

Anti-Gravity Trees and Floating Rocks

Today was a great day. It would have been the best day if Collin could have been there... But it was still a great Christmas. I really wish Collin didn't have to work today. Everyone loved their presents. Before lunch/dinner (it was way early to really be dinner...) Dad, Joshua, Jordan and I went for a hike up the mountainside. It was nice. Sunny and bright, but rather windy and chilly. Luckily the road we hike up is on the lee side of the mountain, so until we crested the ridge it was merely breezy. At the top of the ridge though the wind was whipping through the trees like a banshee. It was a great walk.

The funny thing is I remember taking that same hike with my brother two years ago and thinking I was going to die. I was so horribly out of shape. I am not by any means in "peak physical condition", but I am a whole helluva lot healthier than I was then. Today, I didn't even get winded. Yay for progress!

Shock of shocks, my mom never called, so I didn't get to see her today... Oh well. I'll catch up with her in the next couple of weeks.

Amanda is three months old today. She is such a doll. I don't think anyone can resist her; she is such a peaceful and happy little baby girl. Dad adores her(like all his grandkids); he says she reminds him a lot of me at that age....

Today would have been perfect if Collin would have been with me. It really sucked coming home and now being by myself. Doesn't help the depression crap very much. Last night wasn't as bad as the night before. Today was good because I was able to be distracted all day, until I got home to my empty and quiet house.

One thing I know will help me get out of this funk: I get to see K tomorrow!!!!! I have been looking forward to this forever and a day (well, since the last time I saw her... Over two years ago!). I am so thrilled I get to go over and visit her and Little Miss.

I've kind of lost my steam for this post... Got distracted by Facebook... I am going to go curl up with my cat and watch some tv or something, and await my husband.

*~*~*~*~*MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Inevitable Wave...

... Of Holiday Depression is crashing down on me hard.

And try as I might to be cheerful and happy, I'm just not.

Last night was bad. For a while I was afraid the insomnia I have been free of for over four years had decided to rear its ugly head. Needless to say, I am utterly exhausted and on the fringe of tears. As I lay in bed next to my husband, the tears broke out. I had to get up and go in the living room before I started to sob.

As I sat on my couch, bawling my eyes out for no discernible reason, I tried so very hard to focus on all the awesome things in my life. Sadly (depressingly) that was unable to stem the flow of saltwater pouring from my eyes.

I sat there for almost an hour until I was able to get some form of control. Then I went and crawled back into bed ever so silently, praying the tears would stay at bay. They didn't, but I was able to fall into a dreamless sleep. Today is not any better. Luckily, I am not crying since I am at work. But the weight of my sadness is crushing me. I just need to get past this, I really don't want to spend Christmas as an emotional wreck.

I could list hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons why I feel this way, but there is no way to fix those things for they are in the past. As much as I love this time of year, it leaves me feeling so empty and used. I wish I could just curl up and sleep away the holiday season.

I just need to suffer through two more hours of work (yea, why the fuck am I here anyways?), and then I can go home and suffer without people, who in all actuality don't care, asking me, "What's wrong?.... Are you okay?...." I hate that. Telling them won't make it better, just like you reading this isn't making me feel better, neither is me typing it. I just need to get it out... That's what my mom used to tell me when I would get depressed, "It's okay to cry, sometimes you just need to get it out." One of the few wise things my mom taught me.

Two positive things on the horizon: I get to see my family tomorrow (negative- Collin won't be there...) and I will hopefully get to see K this weekend! (nothing negative there!!!)

I just don't like feeling so hollow...

I Made Meatballs...

Seriously. I just made the meatballs for the office potluck. Tomorrow I am making homemade whole wheat noodles to go with and a simple white sauce, and on Thursday I am taking all of the above and the crock pot to work for the potluck.

Today was Collin's Friday so I let him have his Christmas present tonight. It would have been cruel to wait and give it to him Christmas morning as that is his Monday (yes, he has to work Christmas Day... Oh well.). I gave him something he has been dreaming about and wishing for for months: a PlayStation 3... He started squealing like a thirteen year old girl who thinks they saw Rob Pattenson at the mall... It was great! I got him two games as well (I mean, sheesh, wouldn't that be cruel giving someone a game console and no games?). I gave him EA's NHL 10 (we are hockey fans here...) and Need For Speed: Undercover (because we both like racing games). The next game I want to get is mostly for me; Katamari Forever. I have been drooling over that games since I saw the previews for it. I LOVE the Katamari games; they are the only reason I would really want to hold on to our PS2 (since the newer PS3's aren't backwards compatible... Which blows...).

My work week is half over... THANK GOD! Just have to last through Thursday and then I get a wonderful three day weekend! Then I get another three day weekend next week (Thank you New Years Day!).... Then (other than my vacation time) no paid time off until Memorial Day... Ugh. Well I am taking two days off in January anyways to go to Portland for am AFI concert, spending the night there, going to coffee with Selena the next day (hopefully), and going to IKEA (aka house stuff mecca!). I am excited about that.

Snowflake, Arizona...

... Let me guess, the town motto is "One of a kind!" Right? You know, the sad fact is I probably am...

This week was a blast. Woke up Tuesday morning feeling like I had a cold... WRONG! It was a lovely little sinus infection. Thankfully I am over it. It was enough that I actually stayed home from work... For almost a whole day... I know, what the hell is wrong with me right? I went in for two hours Thursday (this was the day I mostly stayed home) afternoon, and am making up the rest of the time tomorrow by working 8am to 2pm. Which shouldn't be too bad and I should be able to get a ton of stuff done with no distractions.

Of course me being "sick" in anyway always frustrates my coworkers. We all smoke at work except for DomaRicktrix (he's the only dude working there other than the co-owner, don't ask about the name it is another terrifying story that maybe I will share someday...), and it drives the girls crazy that whenever I don't feel 100% I don't smoke. This drives them crazy because they do not understand why or how I can go without smoking like that. The why is because I know that me smoking will prolong whatever is wrong with me (especially if it is a cold or respiratory in nature). More than that, it's the how that they themselves just can't do. For me smoking is a totally recreational and social behavior (albeit an unhealthy one, but so is drinking), yes I have the cravings sometimes, but I know I don't need to smoke. Am I going to quit smoking entirely? Not right now, but definitely long before we seriously think about having children. I know, I'm weird... I hear that daily and relish in it.

Interesting things were learned this week while I was sick, such as the following:
The Top Five Reasons I Like Taking Nyquil:
1. It makes me sleep when I don't feel well.
2. It makes me feel better (even if only temporary).
3. It generally knocks me out in an hour or less... Depends on if I am fighting the drowsiness.
4. It makes me have funny dreams (...most of the time).
5. I like fruit flavored alcohol, especially if it has a medicinal purpose.

Now....

The Top Five Reasons I Should NOT Take Nyquil:
1. Sometimes I don't remember getting to bed... Or falling asleep... Or other things...
2. "Supposedly" I babble senselessly in my Nyquil induced sleep... This is unconfirmed hearsay.
3. I typically wake up within moments of it wearing off.
4. If I take it too late in the night, I don't want to wake up or feel tired all day.
5. (Frankly this is more rubbish) I apparently tend to snore... Like a lumberjack, after the Nyquil wears off....

Preposterous... Me snoring... *scoffs*... Not likely...

An Okay Monday

I went to Border's yesterday morning and when I was in the checkout I was wearing my awesome new sweatshirt that I got from Renee for Xmas. It says LiLi on the left breast. The cashier asked if my name was LiLi... The smart ass in me wanted to respond with, "No, I beat up some chick named LiLi and stole it." But upon reflection that may not have been wise, so I just said, "No, it's one of my nicknames. My name is Alicia."

I was on a total bake-a-thon this weekend. (It was my annual goody making fest.) I made a ton of cookies and some fudge. Collin took some of the fudge with him to work and apparently it was well received by his co-workers. I took a bunch of the cookies and some fudge and a german chocolate birthday cake to my work (it was Renee's birthday today). All was well received at my work. The cake was orgasmically good. I totally wrecked Sandy's diet... And Jenny's... All of them in fact... Maybe next year I will just do veggies and fruit. They need better will power.
If you are wondering about the pink... Renee said she wanted slippers for her birthday but they could not be pink, she hates pink.... So the girls made her office look like something puked pink all over her office, and I did the kitchen....
It was a good day....

=D

Depression Please Cut To The Chase

... No, I am not depressed, I just really like that line.

Anyshizzle. I have decided (as a promise to myself) I am not going to distance myself from people just to make other people feel comfortable... If it bothers them they need to be able to say so. And I will then inform them to suck it... How is that a way to live one's life? Distancing themselves from people in fear of someone else's reaction. PLUS, my personal life is just that: PERSONAL...

The clouds have rolled in down here, and the forecast can't make up it's mind whether we could see freezing rain or snow or both tonight, and they aren't quite sure as to the when. Being the obsessive compulsive type this has me check the National Weather Services website for Salem constantly; checking the radar, seeing if they have updated the Winter Weather Advisory that will be in effect from 5pm today until 6pm tomorrow, etc... I really REALLY would like to make it to the store after work before it starts... My boss suggested I go on my lunch, but I explained to him I had a lot I needed to get and the effing store is a zoo at lunch time, so I wouldn't have enough time... If it is just snowing when I get off work I will go, but if there is any ice shit going on I am just going home and I will suck it up and deal with it tomorrow when everything is supposed to melt... Best laid plans etc etc etc... I have learned that time and time again, especially this week.

Last night when Collin and I were going to sleep I realized that the "sound machine" was turned down and I couldn't hear it (it makes the ocean sound and helps me sleep... What can I say? I was born on the coast.) so I asked Collin to turn it up. He did and then asked me if it was too loud. I said, "No. The worst thing that will happen is I will wake up in the middle of the night screaming, 'AAHHHH! WE'RE DROWNING!!!'" I slept through the night sans dreams of the ocean... At least as far as I know... I don't remember any significant dreaming from last night.

Yesterday was a stressful day at work, but me being the sarcastic smart ass I am dealt with it. At one point I was on the phone with the CEO and she asked if I had any rabbits I could pull out of my hat. Totally serious I replied, "All my rabbits are dead..." Luckily she laughed, but I was dead serious, my magic hat is tapped out. At least it was yesterday, today hasn't been to bad aside from the sketchy weather forecast. It is currently above freezing... Well it was an hour ago at a hot thirty three degrees. Crap. Waiting for the hourly update....

Hmmm... I guess I should make a go at getting some more shit done...

That's What I Tell You When I Scratch My Ass...

Today was one of those days where the atmosphere at work quickly deteriorated and pissed me off. Instead of retelling those wretched events, I am going to tell you about all the awesome things I plan to do this weekend.

Tomorrow after work, I am going to go to the store and stock up on baking supplies. Then I am gonna come home, work out, eat dinner, and seriously contemplate drinking some hard core liquor.

Saturday, whenever I decide to drag my ass out of bed, I am going to start some hardcore baking. I'll be making chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, oatmeal craisin white chocolate chip cookies (aka cowboy cookies), snickerdoodles, thumbprint cookies (maybe), and four kinds of fudge (plain, with nuts, peanut butter, and peppermint). My goal is to fatten up my office mates... Not really. I just love baking and am damn good at it, and people love when I bake. Lord only knows what other shenanigans I will get into on Saturday.

Sunday I will continue to bake, make a birthday cake for my BFF Renee and sneak into the office with it and her present. Her birthday is Monday, and I hope it is a great day for her. I will also take most of the goodies to the office that day too. I totally lost my train of thought here... And now I am bored with this...

Sorry, I know this was kind of a half assed post. I iz tired, and looking at clothes while bouncing around on Facebook.

That Backfired Like A Car With A Banana In The Tail Pipe

Yea, so... Didn't get to leave early... Still had to run the deposit but ended up staying late because otherwise we would be leaving one of the minions alone and unattended. Yay...

Up side; I get to leave at 4:30 today since I had to stay late last night.

I am tired and feel like it was one of those nights where I kept waking up every five minutes. Luckily today is a paperwork day, so minimal brain power required. (THANK YOU JEEBUS!)

It is still mother effing cold here but is supposed to break on Saturday, which is awesome because I don't know how much more my skin can take of this insanely cold and dry air. I am seriously looking forward to this weekend. It will consist of getting some baking supplies, a couple items left on the Christmas list, baking a bunch of goodies (and making fudge, the good kind), and wrapping presents. I love wrapping presents. Lame right? But I am awesome at it and it's pretty; I like the sparkly ribbons and paper.

Now I am going to mindlessly scroll through facebook.

Just A Random Act of Necessary Toughness

... Dammit I couldn't think of a better "T" word that would fit... Just a RANT... lol... Yay for my nerdiness...

Anyways, people. I hate people in general. What I hate even more is people that turn into assholes... No one likes assholes, not even their own assholes. If you are an asshole, and for some fucked up reason landed here and are reading this, please stop. You'll know I mean you and turn into an even bigger asshole. Like one that was stretched out by a fucking watermelon. Luckily, I am fairly certain there are no assholes that read this. I am so sick of people who claim to be friends then wind up inflicting pain on people and disappearing, only to reappear, pathetically apologize and proceed to fall off the face of the fucking earth again. And I am sick of people that spread rumors that cause stress in what is already a mother fucking (dammit I keep trying to type "ficking") stressful ass office. Asshole people if you are reading this I am flipping you off. Fuck you in your big stinky self. Another thing I hate is deadbeat ASSHOLES who make children and disappear, they miss out on an amazing life of what will be an amazing person. Probably for the best that those assholes left, hopefully they won't fuck up their child's life the way they fucked up there own. Shit.

I feel moderately better and I am sure I could go on bitching about assholes but I have things of greater importance to take care of... Like making people cry... I'm a bitch, and if you are still reading this you must love me, are a true friend, or you are one hell of a fucking retarded asshole.

Peace bitches.

Your Shivers Freeze All The Rivers

I am never drinking the sweet tea from McDonald's again. After my hair appointment on Sunday, before heading to my dad's, I picked up a sweet tea from there but never finished it. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to carry it in the house when I got home so I set it on a shelf in the garage to deal with later. The temps here have been barely above freezing (if at all) for the last couple days.

Last night when we went to go grocery shopping it was 26 degrees, I was curious to see if the leftover tea had frozen.... It hadn't!!! I thought well maybe the garage hasn't gotten that cold yet. This morning, same thing, shook the tea and it was still completely liquid... No ice had formed, nothing... I got in the truck and it informed me that in the garage it was 20 degrees! I do not want to know what the eff they put in their tea, I just know it will never ever go in my body again! Disturbing, right?

On another, totally unrelated note, I should have worn gloves in the shower this morning when I washed my hair. It was the first time since getting it colored on Sunday, and the intense purple dye that makes my hair so awesome slightly stained my hands... Oh well, it will go away in a day or so... It won't, however, just come out of the shower curtain that hangs over the window, thank god for bleach.

Today my boss is not here, I am hoping he is not here all day because then I will "have" to leave at 4:40 to take the deposit to the bank... Oh darn... I feel bad that he isn't here because the reason he is not here today is the well pump out at his house froze in the insanely cold weather we have been having (it was 11 degrees here this morning, and is currently a balmy 29...).

Upside to today, Collin brought me Baja Fresh for lunch and I quickly found out that his definition of "something small" greatly differs from mine. I was hoping for maybe a taco and some chips and guacamole; he brought me chips and guacamole and a chicken burrito mexicano enchilada style!! There is no effing way I can eat that much... I think I maybe got a third of the way through the burrito, and then shared the chips and guac with Renee while we watched Jerry Springer. Maybe I will save the rest of the burrito for Kristina... I could if I froze it... But that would not be nearly as good as fresh Baja Fresh, so I guess I will just have to go there with her once she gets her butt back to Oregon... =D

What to do now... I should probably find something work wise to do, but I am sort of caught up with some stuff right now... I don't think I can get away with crocheting at work...

Bleh.

Wanna Hear Something Gross?

It took me and my husband about five minutes to hang up the phone with each other... The age old power struggle of "You hang up first.... No, you hang up first." Sick, right?

After over five years we still effing do that...

It started by him answering the phone and me saying in my creepy trucker voice, "Hi, Candy Cane..."

I don't remember what else we discussed other than him making dinner tonight because we have some other shit to do after I get home and I want to get in at least twenty minutes on the elliptical... It's becoming addicting that thing... I think in the last month I have only skipped four nights and three were because I was recovering from vomitting all night (one night, not three nights of vomitting), and the fourth night I skipped was because of a MASSIVE migraine. I iz proud!

But I totally digressed... and it's 3:33 and I need to get my posting shit done. Work has been bearable the last couple days... Which makes me leary of what's to come.

Listening To Classical Music and Feeling Mature

Today was nothing like I expected.

LeeAnn had a family emergency so we rescheduled my hair for tomorrow morning (fine by me, after all shit happens... then we die), I ended up going to Wal Mart and almost completely finished my Christmas shopping (go me!), now I only have a couple things to pick up.

After I got home from the store I called Renee to let her know I was getting my hair done tomorrow instead of today and wanted to know when she wanted to run errands. Turns out this worked out great because the heating element in her oven went out last night and we needed to race to this appliance place on 12th that said they might have one in but needed to see it to be sure and they closed at noon (it was only eleven so I guess it wasn't that epic... But it could have been.), made it there, got the element and went back to her house to make sure it worked. Got it installed, her husband made cookies, then we (Renee, myself, Drea {Renee's daughter}, and Mia {Drea's daughter}) hopped in the truck and went to run errands.

We went to the Chase at Fred Meyer, then went over to the Target on Center, and then went to Kohl's at Salem Center... I am not a big fan of the mall to begin with but the Marion Parkade was FULL of idiots... I thought for sure we were gonna die. Drea just needed to run in there real quick so I dropped her off at the Sky Bridge and went and parked on the opposite side of the parkade until she texted that she was done.

Mia (who is three) was being a butt after the first stop, so by the time we left the mall she was getting really cranky. I said to her it sounded like someone was getting tired. She responded "No LiLi, I not tired. I don't wanna go to bed." I told her that no one said she had to. Eventually she said okay.
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Remembered I had to do some research for my dad, I am going to try and pop over there tomorrow after my hair appointment. And now my laundry needs to be folded... Please enjoy the music while you hold..............................................................................................................................
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I lied, well my laundry did. It needs another twenty minutes. Damn towels.

I was sitting here doing my bills (ugh...) and I realized that two, TWO more creditors of ours will be paid off in January. Then I thought about the fact that that extra couple hundred dollars a month will help us pay off another big ass bill (that isn't technically ours, but if we don't pay it it will bite us in the ass... even longer story...) with in six or seven months! Once that's paid we would be able to pay off our two remaining balances in rapid fire succession. As all this is flying through my brain like lightning I almost started to cry with the realization that by this time next year we could have ALL of our debt paid off (except maybe little balances on the credit cards...) and we would be able to start seriously saving money for a house. It's just crazy... I mean that is one of our biggest goals (isn't it everyone's?) to pay off all our debt and get a house. But to think that it can be attainable in just a couple years (I'd like to save a nice fat down payment saved up), is just amazing to me.

Laundry should be done now, and I need to go do other stuff.

Pasta Linguine!

The Misadventures Of A Partial Arm Amputee

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That Is A Long Chunk Of Brown...

Yarn! Yarn you nasty people... Sheesh.

I learned (taught myself) how to crochet hats this week. Now I am working on a hat for Collin, and he chose a variegated yarn that is shades of blue, white, green, and brown. I made mine to match a scarf I finally finished.

This week was interesting. Started the work week by waking up at 1:30 am Monday morning (Sunday night) throwing up in my mouth... Thank god I made it to the toilet. Spent the next hour or so doing that, followed by about half an hour (give or take) dry heaving... Yay! Somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00am I went and sat on the couch, passing in and out of consciousness. Collin found me like that around 5ish. I told him I was going back to bed and that I needed him to call my head boss at about 7:15, and pick up Renee at 7:30, and to let them both know I would be in later but needed to sleep. I slept until 9 and then dragged my exhausted ass into work.

The rest of Monday wasn't much worse.

On Tuesday Collin picked up our SUPER AWESOME 2009 Christmas cards (I cheated a little and had them printed at Costco). Now I just need to print out the envelopes, get some stamps and get them mailed.

Wednesday was long and tiresome.

Thursday was awesome! Best Thanksgiving ever. Just me and Collin (and Spazzer of course!). We went to Walmart and bought another new strand of Xmas lights. This one is blue and white snowflake LED lights. All of our lights are LED... In fact all of our lights are blue and white too... Anyways, after we got back from Walmart we put up our Xmas lights, and started to make dinner. We had all the fixings but downsized for the two of us. Just made a turkey breast (dans la slow cooker), stuffing, mashed taters, and yams (with the marshmallows like my mommy used to make!), oh and cranberry sauce. We just stayed snuggled up in the house, watching movies and being together. We had dinner at 4pm so I was able to get on the elliptical for a half hour around 6ish. Made me feel great.

Friday, today, was icky. We were one of the only office type places open... The chiropractor next door was closed, the majority of our clients were closed, and even the ice cream factory across from us was closed. It was a long slow day, that left me feeling absolutely frustrated and angry. So when I got home I hopped on the elliptical and worked off the negativity, and now I am typing this and sipping some "chocolate milk".

Now I think I am gonna go check out some other stuff.

Peace!

Cut Me Off Like Necrotic Flesh

I am not gonna lie, I like the Twilight books and I own all of them. I think it's because of the love story and how easy it is to read. A nice break from some of my other darker books. I am however getting so effing sick of seeing the movie previews, and all the gay ass merchandising. Nothing like selling your soul to the devil... I will see the movie, when it comes out on DVD. I really don't think I will see it in theaters at this point because I know there is no possible way it is marginally as good as the book. (without sounding racist here...)They effed up in the first movie when they cast Laurent as a black vampire... And you know they did it for a "token" black person. Honestly... I know, no matter how I say it, it sounds horrible. But, that's how I feel and I am totally allowed to feel that way.

This last week at work has been rough and depressing. I have had the urge to start screaming (or worse, hitting/smacking) at my employees... They are just acting so... So... I don't know. Childish, immature, uncaring, etc. The saddest fact about this: THEY ARE ALL OLDER THAN ME! I am still the youngest employee in my office, yet one of the most senior; both in position and behavior. I mean, I am all for having fun at work, it makes it more bearable. That's why I have tried so very effing hard to implement new things to make it more fun. I work in one of the most stressful industries; we need to have fun. But when people are rude, ungrateful, bitchy, whiny, and complacent it just makes me want to shut down or blow up.

What's worse? Working with all these "adults" who act like they are in high school. If someone isn't feeling all cheery and happy or is in an antisocial mood, someone inevitably gets all butt hurt and starts asking, "Is she mad at me?" or "I don't think she likes me." or "What's wrong with her?" .... O.o .... This seriously reminds me of high school, and how I was always the one who was asked those questions about someone, and I always just wanted to yell, "IF YOU CARE SO MUCH WHY DON'T YOU CALL HER?!" I know this was because I was pretty much the only person this other person really spent regular intervals of time with... And now I am starting to ramble...

My pizza is done, and after I eat pizza I am making some apple crisp!

Is That The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Or Just The Train?

This week was excruciatingly long, and it seems like a lot has happened... But I don't think that much actually happened...

The beginning of the week was shocking and kind of good in a way. Found out someone very near and dear to me was going through some tough stuff, but the up side is she will possibly be closer a lot sooner than expected. And "Oh, lawdy!" how I have missed her!

On a totally unrelated note, while partaking in some quality tube time there was a commercial for YellowBook... Seriously, YellowBook? What the F is wrong with you? This nice family sits down to what appears to be Thanksgiving and the mom is like, "I followed your recipe, Mom." Or whomever the hell she was talking to. They get ready to dish up and the turkey starts vibrate, for lack of a better term, and out pops a little kitten... How in god's green earth did that kitten get in the turkey?? And why the hell didn't the lady notice said kitten climbing into the effing turkey?!? The little girl had it right, "Ew, that's nasty..." Amen, little girl... Amen. It was messed up... I am surprised they didn't have to have some crazy disclaimer how no kittens were harmed in the making of the commercial or something to that effect... Cah-razy. Otherwise it was kind of funny...

So this morning was going pretty awesome except that my hair didn't want to cooperate, and Collin tried to sidetrack me while I was getting dressed for work. Then I go out to the truck and it wouldn't start! The battery was dead... Turns out it was most likely the original battery from the factory. Thank jeebus Collin didn't have to go to work yet, so he took me and Renee to work. Then he came back and pulled the battery, went to Les Schwabs, got the new battery, snagged me from work, came back home and put the battery in the truck just in time for him to head to work, and me to go back to work. The downside to my super awesome husband being able to accomplish all this is that he didn't have time to eat breakfast or anything. Also, he called me when he was halfway to Wilsonville to let me know in all the rushing he forgot to put socks on... My poor baby. I love him so much and if it wasn't for him I would have totally broke down crying this morning when the truck didn't start.

I know that's stupid, but my kneejerk "girl" reaction is to cry when something goes wrong with my car. And it causes me a lot of anxiety. What's even sadder about that is I know cars! I know the basic trouble shooting, and more than half the time I know EXACTLY what's wrong with the vehicle. Yet still, I have the urge to cry... Maybe it's the damsel in distress reflex.

Either way, all is well now. It's Friday, I am going to curl up with my book, an "adult" cup of coffee, and embrace my well deserved weekend.

Pour Me A Heavy Dose of Atmosphere

Banana Spiderman is a slippery character, and he is everywhere and knows EVERYTHING!
Seriously, that was the best costume.

I am thankful it is a new month. October was long, stressful, and full of anxiety. I hope November is better.

Yesterday was Collin's 27th birthday. I had a blast!! I made him this awesome skull and crossbones birthday cake (this can be seen in the Fall 2009 album on Myspace and Facebook), and I got him exactly what he wanted for his birthday (that was within reason, otherwise he would have got $1,500 for a new PC). I pre-ordered Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game he has been drooling over for months it seems. It comes out on the tenth of this month. I had loads of fun wrapping his present *evil laugh* (in case you haven't seen the photos). I put the pre-order confirmation in an envelope; placed it inside of a really sweet card; place the card in the box from his cake mix; wrapped the cake mix box with tissue paper and clear packing tape (like sealed it shut); put that box inside another box with a book for weight; sealed that box with tape and wrapped it in tissue paper; placed that box in a box with two cans of chili (more weight); taped the box and wrapped it before placing it inside yet another box, which was subsequently taped shut and wrapped as well; put this box in a big box with four cans of tomatoes and a sheet and a bunch of shredded tissue paper; finally, I sealed the big box, wrapped it with black wrapping paper, and put some ribbon on it. Oh, it was devious. Payback's a bitch. He did the same thing to me the first Christmas we were together.... And I waited all this time... It's diabolical I know! But when he finally got ALL of it open, and saw his gift, the expression on his face was priceless. I totally got a picture of it.

Another, slightly diabolical birthday gag I pulled on him, was when he got home I told him I had made him this awesome cake, but being the clutz that I am, I dropped it and the chunks in the pan were all I could salvage. He took it very well. He changed out of his work clothes, and while he was doing that I got his uber awesome cake out of the laundry room. He LOVED it.

It was a very good day.

I am happy to say it has been over a week and I have not come down with H1N1, so I am hoping that means I am in the clear. Jenn and Amanda are doing fine as well.

Ugh, I hate the time change... It always throws me off for about a week or so... I almost started dinner at 4pm because it felt like it was almost dinner time.

Speaking of, dinner smells so freaking good... I am making meatloaf, rice, corn, and an improvised gravy. What is an improvised gravy you ask? Well, it's when you realize you want gravy with dinner but there will be no meat juices (which sound extremely dirty anyways), and you don't have one of the easy cheat packets, so you make it from scratch (which I have become really good at doing).

Are You There? Or Are You Just A Decoy Dream?

This weekend was crazy busy, and pretty awesome. Except that today my niece, Cassidy, tested positive for H1N1... I am hoping I didn't get it when I saw her on Saturday... I can't believe she is twelve now.

Last night I had the cah-raziest dream, which sucked because I slept like shit, and this dream was intense so I felt like I didn't sleep at all.

Honestly, it was kind of retarded, but it still fucked with my head.

I just remember that I was with a bunch of people from high school, like Josh, Kelly, Sommie, Alana, Kristina, and a bunch of others. I think aliens invaded, or Earth was being occupied by aliens. This is kind of what made it seem a little stupid. The aliens looked like midget versions of this guy (well, this is as close of a likeness as I could find...):
They were about four feet tall and wearing sequined black jumpsuits...

Anyways, I don't know exactly what happened, but for some reason Kelly told them I did what ever it was and they cut off the tip of my right index finger. Then it was night time and we were all hiding, I think we were planning to overthrow the aliens... I don't know, it was jacked up and left me totally confused as to why the hell I am dreaming about my high school chums... Okay, what concerned me more was the aliens, and getting my fingertip (from the knuckle to the tip) cutoff... It was just weird, comical upon reflection, but still weird.

I am tired... Ever since getting the new comforter last week I long to be wrapped up in bed, all warm and snug... Obviously that is not ideal for, nor conducive to being a responsible adult... And it is amazing that I have been able to force myself out of bed in the morning. Maybe I have the occasional helpful nudge from Collin, but just as often he is advocating for me to stay in bed...

Last week we got the CD "Ocean Eyes" by Owl City, and I must say it is an awesome CD. We bought it because we were hooked on the song "Fireflies" so we figured we would give the CD a chance. The songs are hilariously funny ("Dental Care"), and just sound so different from a lot of what's out there right now.

Collin should be off work soon, and I miss his big goofy face. Which, as a matter of fact, will be much goofier come the first. He is participating in the Prostate Cancer Awareness thingy at work where he has to shave off all his facial hair (not his eyebrows... I was worried about that at first...) and then spend the month growing a mustache. He chose to grow a handlebar mustache, like this:
There will be daily photos on facebook, and myspace... Though they might only be uploaded every couple days. (and yes that was a picture of Hulk Hogan. He was the least creepish example google images came up with...)

It will be interesting...

I'll Be Your Guardian When All Is Crumbling

For your amusement, a series of text messages:

Me: Did u get my big orange balls?

Collin: lol yes

Me: I can't wait to gobble the balls...

Me: Let me know when u are laughing so hard u pee.

Collin: lmfao i almost fell out of my chair. (thank god he was at home...)

Me: im so excited to taste those big dusty orange balls, and have them melt in my mouth.

Collin: ok stop or you'll have to clean up the pee.

Me: lol ok. they would be even funnier if u have the phone read them out loud. (our phones can speak the text from notes and received text messages... it's insanely entertaining when you have a filthy mind like us...)

Now, can you guess what balls I am speaking of with such adoration?

It's really more innocent than you think... Just sounds horrible...

Today is Thursday. I hope that they find the missing boy in Colorado, and that he was just hiding in a treehouse down the street or something.... So scary.. We watched as the balloon landed in the field and then they found no one inside. My heart about stopped. He's probably just afraid of the trouble he'd be in...

Okay, I'm out.

Truly, The Leopard Can Change His Shorts.

I bet you are wondering where the hell I got that title? It's from a book I am reading called Thud! by Terry Prachett. It's interesting so far.

This weekend was fun (I guess you could call it fun...). Saturday I spent five hours going crazy and cleaning the house from top to bottom (as I do every season), and was utterly exhausted by the time I was done. I did it all, the windows, the floors, everything. It felt good once it was all done, but every inch of me ached from scrubbing and sweeping and wiping and dusting. Now I should be good with just the regular sweeping/mopping and vacuuming until about January or February.

Yesterday I picked Jordan up from Grandma Sharon's in West Salem at noon and took him home. I spent the afternoon with Jenn and the kids. Amanda is doing awesome! She is such a little ham. Jenn and I went to town. Then I played outside with Jordan for a while kicking his soccer ball back and forth, and then watched some ScoobyDoo with him. Going into town was a trip (I rarely go into LC anymore since Dad lives in Rose Lodge), we went to Bi-Mart and Safeway.

I never go to Bi-Mart in Salem, but the one in LC hasn't changed hardly at all since I was a kid. This caused me to have some crazy trip of a dream last night that was just too bizarre. All I clearly remember was that I was in Bi-Mart and I ran into this girl Samantha (who is the younger sister of an old friend), and we were like talking and stuff, and her dad was there (who used to hang out with my dad), and it was just weird. Both of those people I haven't seen in over five years. I don't even think I would recognize either of them if I saw them in the street (they both looked like they did when I was 18). It was a trip, it was one of those dreams that just feels so real, even after you wake up you think, "Hmmm. Maybe it did happen."

Tonight I am going to call Cassidy and see if she wants to accompany me to the pumpkin patch this weekend (provided it's not really nasty outside) and then get some lunch or something. I can't believe she'll be TWELVE on the 24th. That's the age I was when she was born!

I am getting pretty consistent about logging into facebook now... I don't know why it was so "difficult" for me to find the time before... Weird, right? So far I have had two friend requests that leave me pondering, this is mostly due to the fact I haven't seen or spoken to these people in years. On top of that, when I did speak to them it was in passing, but hey, it never hurts to have new old friends... Or would they be old new friends... No I think NEW old friends.... Whichever... I am extremely happy about some of the connections I have made with past friends, and I love the little suggestions they give based on mutual friends (like Myspace does I know). It's tempting to just start adding all the suggestions they give and maybe reconnect with half of the people who went to high school with me. There are definitely a few that I will avoid though, for various reasons.

Okay, I think I am starting to ramble, maybe I will continue rambling this evening... For now I am done.

It Was A Trick...

Nothing has changed, except my bitchin' new hair!!!

I am so in love with it, it verges on being wrong.

Work is still the same. Good and horrific.

Collin is still amazingly awesome.

I don't seem to have the time to post as much during the week, but I am working on it.

I am sure I have shit-ton of stuff to say, but, alas, I am at work and should be doing work stuff... I just realized it's a week into "Chucktober" (as per my calendar at home) and I haven't posted anything on here...

Back to my slave labor... oops, shit, I mean work...

I'm Making Brownies! And I Don't Mean In My Pants This Time!

What a crazy weekend... So glad to finally have my new niece here. Her birth took away a lot of the stress and anxiety I had been feeling (I was worried about when it would happen, how much work would I miss, etc.). I went back to my Dad's on Sunday and took more pictures, including Jordan getting to meet Amanda for the first time. It was precious. He was totally infatuated with her.
This was when he first got to hold her.
I absolutely LOVE this candid shot of the three of them. Jenn looked a million times better than right after she had Amanda.
And Amanda lets out such a big yawn!
She was getting hungry and fussy. Jordan started telling Jenn to feed her and was asking for her bottle. Jenn then had to remind Jordan how mommies feed babies...
Jordan started to rub her tummy to soothe her (Jenn didn't want to feed her in front of everyone; Dad, Joshua, Grandma Sharon, Grandpa Bob, Matt (Jenn's biological father), and Curtis (Matt's son, therefore Jenn's half brother)...)

I seriously made brownies. they smell so freaking good.... I wonder if they have cooled enough yet...

I Think About Life, and Oh How It Changes So Fast...

Welcome to the world, Amanda Marie!
She was born at 4:56pm September 25th, 2009 and weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs and 14 oz!

This is how it all went down, Jenn started having some mild contractions and at 3:30pm decided it was time to head to the Cynthia's. She called me at 3:49pm right after arriving a Cynthia's. I essentially dropped everything I was doing at work, ran to my truck, came to the house for my camera and then drove like a crazy person to Rose Lodge. As I pulled into the driveway at Cynthia's my clock read 4:57pm and as I get out of the truck and walk to the door I hear a baby crying. The thought that goes through my head is, "Wow, they must have two going on or something..." WRONG! As I walk toward the door, and in the entry way Bill comes out and says, "You just missed it." I go in the room, and sure enough, Jenn is lying there as they position her newborn daughter on her chest, and Jenn is still shaking. I was like, "Wow...."

This is what happened before I got there: Jenn, as I said, started having some mild contractions early afternoon. At 3:30 she decided it was time for Dad to take her and Bill to Cynthia's, where she then called me at 3:49 to let me know it was time (I told her before hanging up to keep the baby in until I got there, lol.). At 4:50 her water officially broke, and six minutes later at 4:56 Amanda Marie came screaming into the world. It was crazy fast.

I stayed over there with her until about 8:30ish and then headed home to Salem. I got some really cute pictures, the first ones are all blurry because I was afraid to use the flash (I didn't want to be the one to blind my niece!), but the midwives gave me the okay to use the flash on the later pictures after it got dark out. The picture at the top of this post is my favorite of Amanda, and the one below here is one of my favorites of Jenn and Amanda.
At this point Jenn was getting a little tired of me blinding her with the camera flash.

All the pics from yesterday are up on my MySpace, they are the first for the Fall 2009 album. What a great way to start Fall....

You Hog All Our Robots And Steal All Our Corpses!

This will be blunt and to the point, way too much to make a longer coherent thought.

Still no new baby niece. Jenn is due tomorrow (as she informed me yesterday... I thought she wasn't due until Thursday). Literally it could be anytime now... I (like Jenn) am getting impatient. Mom has been calling Jenn everyday, and if she can't get a hold of her she then calls me and asks me if I have talked to Jenn. Today she went beyond calling and showed up at my dad's. Jenn said Mom was rubbing her tummy and telling little girl to come out soon so she can see her. Jenn swears she felt her crawl back up into her ribs. LMAO!

Work is still work. One day it is tolerable, but more and more it is dreadful. And now Maury isn't on from noon to one (my lunch hour), it's on one to two. Instead, Jerry Springer is on during my lunch. It is a major help to my day, I figure as long as I CANNOT relate to the stories on Jerry my life isn't that bad... Ha. I have every hope work is and will be getting better... But who's to say?

I tried this new boxed dinner (I had a coupon and they had it at Wal Mart) Romano's Macaroni Grill: Chicken Marsala w/ Linguine. It was like making Hamburger Helper but tasted a million times better, and I served it over steamed broccoli, sooo freaking good.

I got the best news ever on Friday (which made it into a FABULOUS Friday), my K is coming back to Oregon!! I don't know how soon but I just know I almost started screaming and jumping up and down at work when she told me the news. I have missed her so freaking much and it will be so nice to have her back here.

I'm going to go chill... I am tired, and I pray Jenn doesn't go into labor in the middle of the night...

Am I A Little Sick Or A Little Sane...

So I lied at the end of the last post. I never quite made it to my sketchbook yesterday. I just couldn't get focused... I am going to try again here in a little bit.

Today I indulged and bought a two disc CD set of various classical pieces (I like to listen to classical music on the weekends and evenings to relax). When I got home, before sitting down to do my weekly coupon clipping, I put one of the CDs in the player in the living room and the bastard wouldn't effing play it! Oh, I was pissed... So much for the classical music calming me down, right? Then I popped it into the laptop and it came up just fine. I am thinking the laser on the CD player in the living room is going or has gone out. Which is just fanfuckingtastic....

I miss Collin... I know, lame right? He officially started his new schedule today... Instead of working Friday & Saturday 10am-7pm and Sunday-Tuesday 9am-6pm he now works Friday 10am- 9pm Saturday 8am-7pm, Sunday 10am-9pm and Monday 10am-9pm, with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off. So, I now effectively see him EVEN LESS on MY weekend. Don't take this the wrong way. I am not mad at Collin, he had no control over his new schedule, and we are just thankful he has a job. I just miss him when he's gone and I am here alone (with the cat of course but sometimes she isn't the best company). But, there is a silver lining, the schedule will probably change again in a few months if not sooner. It's just the waiting.

It doesn't help these feelings that I am reading The Time Traveler's Wife. It is such a good book, but I don't want to finish it because I am fairly certain it's gonna be very sad. Just the undertones and the foreshadowing and what has recently happened in the story, all of it paints a picture of suffering. Hopefully I am not ruining the storyline for anyone... The book is awesome though, and I could be wrong maybe it has a miraculously happy ending...

As of right now (7:27 pm Sunday, September 13th) my new niece has still not made her entrance into the world. Hopefully now (much to Jenn's discomfort but my convenience) she will wait until Friday evening or Saturday, but knowing my luck it will be tomorrow night... (Wouldn't it be creepy if I am right?) At least there wouldn't be anymore anxiety about that, and hopefully my dreams will not be so weird... Thursday night every time I closed my eyes I dreamt I was at the office, and at one point Jenn was there with Tyson (Cassidy's dad which is why it is so effing weird) and Jenn was giving birth to a baby... Then today, I took a nap, and at one point my dream was so surreal but almost believeable I didn't know if I was awake or not. I dreamt that my sister and Jordan had come over and parked on my front lawn. And I couldn't understand how they got in the house because I know I locked the deadbolt, but it seemed almost real.... I was so freaked out that when I really did wake up I had to go take a shower, and splash some cold water on my face.

Right after my shower my mom called and we talked for a bit. I yet again dodged talking about Jenn, I know that if my mom knew I had just talked to her Friday she would ask about when Jenn has the baby and if I would pick her up or something like that. As heartless as this may sound, no, I will absolutely NOT pick my mother up to be at the birth of Jenn's third child. Reason number one: I don't know how much time I will have to get there from here, without any weird side trips into McMinnville. Reason number two: (and don't judge) Jenn does not want her there, last time (when Jordan was born obviously) mom caused way to much tension and Jenn almost bit her head off at one point... As hurt as she might be at first my mom will get over the fact that Jenn didn't invite her to be there (it sure as hell isn't my place to be extending invitations... LOL), and just like everything else it will only be used on rare occasions for guilt trips.

I need water and graphite therapy... (I am thirsty and going to sketch...)

That's What Our Tax Payer Dollars Are Going Towards?

Letting old people on Medicare buy penis pumps??? Seriously, saw the commercial this week one morning before work... The old dude said, (in shaky old wrinkly voice) "And because I qualified Medicare paid for all of it..." And I just about retched my breakfast all over the living room...

So here's the story:

This was Jordan's birthday cake:

This is Jordan with frosting on his nose:

And this is what made that so freaking adorable: We had done the candles and Jordan wanted to play with the Spongebob figure from the cake, so Grandma Sharon took it off and Jordan licked the frosting of its legs. Then they took off the protective plastic shell so that Spongebob's back wasn't covered in frosting and gave it to Jordan to lick off the frosting. And he just went at it with vigor. He didn''t notice when he got a huge gob of yellow frosting on the end of his nose. I was frantically trying to get my camera on and take a picture, Jenn was telling Jordan to let me take a picture when his nose must have itched. He reached his left hand up to wipe his nose and Jenn deftly used the "Mommy's Got Both Your Hands" one handed restraint. Jordan then managed to wipe his nose on his shoulder before I could take the picture! This all essentially happened in a matter of seconds. When we told Jordan I wanted a picture of him with the frosting on his nose he said, "Oh!" Then he preceded to get another gob of yellow frosting with his finger and then put it on the tip of his nose, and let me take the above picture. It was just too freaking cute.

I meant to post all this last weekend but I have been rather anxious (which is soooo not good for my psoriasis, I am dealing with a fun little flair up) and having a hard time focusing unless I am really into something. This is because Jenn is due any day. Her children thus far have all been slightly early by about a couple weeks, and this little girl's due date is less than twelve days away. Today would be optimal so I don't have to miss work (because I will miss work for this, I am not missing the birth of Jenn's last child for anything), but since when do babies come at the most opportune time? LOL. Jenn informed me last week that she will be getting her tubes tied after this one. I politely said "phew"... I have an "emergency kit" ready to go regardless of when her water breaks. It consists of a couple waters, a Dr Pepper, an orange flavored energy drink, and some snacks. So be it 3pm or 3am, when she calls I am gone. Whatever I am doing will be left behind and I will be in the truck and headed to either my dad's or the midwife's.

I think (and hope) today will be our last hot day this year. Yesterday it was about 93, and they are forecasting close to ninety again for today. This summer seemed hot but short... Well, it was really hot for two weeks at the end of July and then mostly comfortably warm... I just can't believe it is fall almost... Kids are in school, leaves are beginning to turn, so on and so forth. Before I can blink the holidays will be here. I will have to start on the Christmas cards soon, I have an AMAZING idea for them that I have been holding onto since last Christmas, it might be difficult to get all the elements I need though... We'll see, I will find a way to make it work... (I know, sheesh, I am so stubborn and persistent... LOL!)

I think I am gonna go work on my next masterpiece... It's gonna be time consuming but totally therapeutic and worth it.

I Think I Will Regret Eating That Sandwich...

Word of advice.... When you begin making tuna for a sandwich, make sure you have mayo... It is NOT the same without it (all I added was mustard and relish).... Maybe I will chase it with some salt and vinegar chips... Might as well make it interesting...

Here is what I did on the 2oth (The Thursday I was on vacation):
I will try to get a better picture after its completely healed. And I am not going to lie, this time the tattoo hurt. It was totally worth the pain and I freaking love it! I brought in the idea for what I wanted and the exact Aquarius symbol I wanted and then the artist sketched out the symbol and drew the water around it. It was more than I really should have spent, but you are only young once and after it is gone it's hard to use youth as an excuse ;-) . Collin also got a tattoo of the Scorpio symbol on his upper left arm.

I talked to my sister the other day (making sure she has all the phone numbers to reach me at) and was informed that the baby is getting in position. I am really hoping she goes into labor in the evening on a Friday, or in the morning on the weekend... I really don't want to have to get up at three in the morning, or rush out of work at two in the afternoon, but I will because I am not missing this for anything.

I started reading The Time Traveler's Wife, and so far I must say I love the book. I haven't seen the movie, and probably won't until it's out on DVD, but I like to read books whenever they are made into a movie because it is a good indication the book was at least halfway decent, since someone felt it was a good enough story to invest the time and effort into writing a screenplay for it.

Visited my mother in McMinnville yesterday... It wasn't as bad as it normally is. It was actually kind of nice. I took her to Wal Mart and bought her some minutes for her cell and oven roasting bags. She treated me to lunch. We mostly just talked and visited for a couple hours. I left at three and if I hadn't been stuck behind this stupid slow ass person I would have totally beat Collin home... Oh well.

There's laundry that needs folding and the book beckons for me to read it.