The Drama Spot.......

Remember Me??

2010-12-04T12:48:00.009-06:00

Whoa.......

Is anyone still out there??

Hello?

People??

Okay well just in case anyone still checks to see if I have added anything new.....

HERE I AM!!!!!

I think about writing just about everyday...then a funny thing happens....LIFE!! It's funny how the days just seem to dwindle and disappear. Seems like yesterday I brought my baby girl home from the hospital and entered into the never-ending...feeding...diapering...crying world. Here we are almost 14 months later and she's walking (okay..running crazily...resembling a drunko sometimes)...talking...and wearing me out!!! I blinked and here I am. There's barely anytime to breathe, let alone sit down and write blog..........but the time has come....I am going to make time. This will be my therapeutic stress reliever......maybe I won't resemble a frayed..tightly stretched rubber band in the near future.....maybe....hopefully??

Nah.......but we'll do it anyway =)......I wouldn't be me without stress...come on, you know that's true.

I can't believe the holiday season is here...seems like I was swimming and bar-b-queuing just last week. Actually we probably were, the weather has been extremely crazy and warm. I think that maybe why I don't quite feel in the "Christmas spirit". I have the gargantuan tree up, the awesome man has put up the twinkly lights on the house....but I feel like something is missing. Does anyone else seem to feel that way too? Black Friday came and went and I really had no desire to go hang out amongst the crazies...usually it's what I look forward to the most!! Sadly....I went one place and bought one thing...yay me.

Lily still has zero idea what is going on. She is, however, enthralled with the monster tree with it's sparkly bright lights and the glittery little toys hanging from the branches........need I say more? Due to this, the decorations are sparse along the bottom =). I have already bought her presents.....regretfully I neglected to include Daddy in my purchases....oopsie. A slight (okay huge) oversight that will not happen in the future =) Sorry dear. We only got her a couple things...let's face it...she'd rather play with the wrapping and bows and things anyway.....right? We should take advantage while we can =)....besides...our house has pretty much reached capacity on storage and if I relocate one more thing to Joe's garage, he's going to go postal =) Not that I can blame him...Miss Lily's things pretty much eat up ALL the space in the house itself...I can clean up and the house can be spotless, then tornado Bug strikes........ARGHHHHH.....but I love her, how could you not? Add to that 2 dogs..(one's a 65 lb jerk, and the other is an 18 lb vacuum) and 2 stressed out adults and we got ourselves a full house =)...can't you feel the love? It's nice and cozy =).

Speaking of holiday spirit...maybe I should write a letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

I know I haven't written in a while, so please don't think me rude. Up until now, I had decided that you had so much to do that I wouldn't be a bother. I know I have had my ups and downs with the whole naughty/nice thing, and to be quite honest...who decides what's naughty anyways?? There are so many shades of gray in that area, so why don't we just skip that little detail?? Hmm?? We can agree to disagree. As I'm sure you know (since you see everything), that I now have a sweet (depending on the day) baby of my own. She's everything I was ever scared of, I mean wanted. I do love her dearly. On a daily basis I give that little miracle every thing I have. Therefore this year, I decided it was time I sent a request for me. The things I want are simple and I kept that way because I know you are such a busy man.

First on my list...is a nice hot bubble bath with some wine and candles. I know it sounds simple, right? Did I mention I would like to have this without dog noses sniffing at the door or little hands knocking and crying outside the door? It's not a high ticket item, so I hope it's not a problem.

Secondly.....a day of pampering for me. This would include a cut, color and hi-lights for my hair, eyebrows waxed and nails done. Seeing that most days I'm lucky to get a shower and comb my hair, I would be forever grateful to feel like a woman again and not a nanny/maid. My nails currently have been gnawed like wood being gnawed by a termite due to stress. It would be nice to see pretty hands in lieu of a mangled looking mess.

And lastly....but most importantly....I know you are a very powerful figure and probably have an "in" with a few others. The next item on my list is sort of a favor. For the past year sleep deprivation has been a killer. I play russian roulette every time my head hits the pillow. I never know how long or how much sleep I am going to get. This is all due to the 32" munchkin that sleeps in the adjoining room. What I am afraid of is that our friend, Mr. Sandman, is accidently forgetting to pay her a visit. Maybe some how she's been left off his list. Since I'm sure you are all really good friends, I am sooooo hoping that maybe you could pass along her information and have him to make sure that in the future she will be on his list. It's not a huge request but the most important one for me this year. I would be forever in your debt and bake you as many darn cookies as you can eat.

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my letter. I hope that I find these things in my stocking this year....Merry Christmas.

Love,

Chris (an exhausted, raggly Mom)

Do you think he'll answer??

I'm a slacker....

2010-06-07T20:05:00.003-05:00

Yes people...

I am very much a slacker.

But hey, at least I'm honest about it.

Time just seems to be zipppppppping by lately. It seems like just yesterday I was waddling around with my Sasquatch sized, much inflated feet and ankles - just wishing I could stand for longer than 5 minutes before my legs felt like they'd fall off. Now here I am wishing I could get off my feet for more than 5 minutes a clip, because I'm constantly move, move, move. I know, never happy. Typical woman,right???

I can't believe it's been 8 months since my beautiful baby came into this world. Time flies and you wonder how the heck you made it this far. What a journey, and to know that it really, truly is just beginning just leaves me in awe. Watching her grow and discover new things everyday is miracle. Seeing the smile on her face or hearing that giggle-box laugh is enough to make your heart swell and explode out of your chest. I know - motherhood has turned me into a sappy mooshy mess.Sickening isn't it? Never thought you'd see the day.......

Have no fear - I still have some sarcasm and spunk left.....trust me.

It's official...

Our house has finally been taken over and threatening to swallow us whole. Okay, not the house, but the endless piles of out grown clothes, baby toys, and countless apparatuses that now occupy every single solitary open space we possess. Slowly but surely, this girl is taking over everything. It's amazing the crap you have to have to occupy a little creature who has ZERO idea what she's doing half the time anyways. It's like a work out gym for midgets in my house. You think I'm kidding??

First you must understand that we live in an adorable little house. Little being the key word. So to start - we have this fabulous little invention called an "Activity Jumper". While it has saved us countless times by allowing us to place little Bugger (Lily) in a spot long enough to accomplish a few things here and there without worrying, it is by far the BIGGEST space taker upper we possess. It is about 2 1/2 ft square, about 3 1/2 ft tall and does NOT fold. Nope not even a little. So everyday it gets brought out of the princess's room, put in the living room which in turn causes the coffee table to be pushed to the far side of the room. Getting it in and out her room is a fabulous challenge. It's too wide for the doorway. So it must be tilted and finagled in and out. It slams into the doors, walls...ugh. Daddy prefers to leave it out but I can NOT stand tripping over the darn thing. So I was insistent that it be put away. A small source of discontent with us =).

We also have a cutesy little pink walker in the living room. Lucky for us it does fold down. It's home has been in between out wall and love seat. Up until this weekend, if Bugger was in it - she could only move in a 4 foot straight line backward and forward. Poor Bugger. It really didn't do her a whole lot of good. On the love seat itself we have storing a sleeping bag and soft blanket.

Seem strange?

Well we have hard wood floors through out, and in order to give little one some floor time - we had to put this stuff down to avoid massive head trauma when she fell =) Why not avoid brain damage if possible, I always say.

Our living room is also the home of the fabulous bouncer. Since the day she was born this has been the most wonderful apparatus in the world.She used to nap in it, she used to play in it....now we use it now and then when we need her to be secured to one position for a short period of time. She also likes it in the mornings when her and Daddy have their weekend morning coffee times while Mommy sleeps in. THANK YOU DADDY =)....Daddy drinks coffee and buggers sits next to him. This apparatus does not fold up either. Bummer. Last but not least is the fabulous Bumbo seat. Lily has been sitting in this since she was a couple months old. It's a little foam seat with a tray. We use it everywhere: outside on the porch, in the kitchen while I do cooking or cleaning, in the living room. We have a highchair, but it was ANOTHER apparatus we were tripping over. So we decided for the time being that as long as she fit in the Bumbo....THAT is what we will use to feed her. So the highchair is temporarily hanging out in her room. The Bumbo is shortly going to be too small since Bugger inherited her Mom's fabulous thighs.....poor baby.

When she was smaller the only toys she "played" with were her rattles......that didn't last. We went from having a few rattle to having a couple baskets of attention holders. One of those is now located in our living room......

Have a mentioned the dimensions of our living room?

Ready???

16X12....

Did I also mention that we have/had a couch, love seat, entertainment center, end table, AND a 35 Gallon fish tank and stand?????

C-R-O-W-D-E-D

Sometimes it's enough to make us feel claustrophobic.....

This past weekend I couldn't take it anymore....I got rid of our love seat. Now all of her neglectaroo apparatuses are neatly stored along the wall and we can breathe some =)

We are very lucky to have what we do and I am grateful, but with 2 dogs and 2 kids.....oops I mean one kid and Daddy....sometimes it's enough to drive you to the loony bin =)

Spring Spring....

2010-03-23T12:20:00.002-05:00

Dear Spring.....

Why do you seem to rear your lovely head when I can't enjoy you? This is not the first time you have alluded me, nor will it be the last I fear. Have I angered you in some form or fashion? Why do you not want to shine your rays of warmth upon my face? I can not tell you how it disappoints me to sit behind a wall of glass and watch you from afar. I want you to wrap your warm breezes around me and shine your sparkling beams down upon my head. I have had my fill of the bitter old man winter. His icy grip has left an awful indent upon my life. His gloomy gray skies have darkened my day on far too many occasions lately. Haven't I dealt with enough icy gusts cutting through me? Or enough of the chilly dampness that settles in your bones?? I want to walk around coatless, I want to roll my windows down and open the sunroof. I want to feel like a teenager rockin' out to my favorite CD where all can hear, while coasting down the road. I don't ask for much. I don't need 80 degrees, 70 is perfectly acceptable. I don't need cloudless blue skies, a few cottony fluffy puffs lofting above my head is completely okay with me. Everything need not be green yet, just seeing the buds on the trees and my rose bush is grand. I am not a greedy soul, I only take what I need. Thank you in advance for your consideration of appearing at a more convient time for me, so that I too - may enjoy you =)

The Road Rage remains....

2010-03-09T11:56:00.005-06:00

UGHHHHHH!!!

That seems to be the only word that leaves my mouth, once my butt hits the seat and my foot hits the gas....

Some where in my fantasy world, I assumed (yes I am aware what ass-u-me really means) - that with the exit of pregnancy hormones, so went the extreme feelings of needing to beat the holy crap out of any idiot driver that crossed my path.....ummm...apparently not. Those feelings are still alive and well and bubbling to the surface any time some jerk feels the need to get in my lane and creep on.

UUGGGHHHH.....usually followed by - REALLY??? Come on REALLY??

I'm not a hateful person. I swear, you can ask anyone....well almost anyone. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll grab you a list....

For the MOST part I am a sweet, loving, and happy person. I just have this little teeny tiny, itty bitty problem. I am a Road Rager. There, I have admitted it. I am thoroughly ashamed, but unfortunately-it's a fact. My trips to ANY WHERE usually involve a spewing geyser of words not meant for children's ears. Well honestly, not made for any one's ears. Funny part is, I am not a huge user of profanity. When I get into "disagreements" with my significant other, I don't use them. I rarely raise my voice. I am calm and quiet. That's how I roll....yes truth be told, I am a pouter. I kill you with silence if we are in a "disagreement". For some insane reason I don't quite understand, that seems to be far worse than someone yelling at you...explanations?? Any one?? Yeah, me neither.

I'm a hand thrower upper too. You know what I mean, the people that you can look up at and the throw their hands up in the air, like - "Hey jack-a$$!!!" or "WTF???"...yep that's me and chances are extremely good that I am using that EXACT terminology while performing the gestures that accompany them. Uh huh, you better believe it. Lucky for me, I'll probably never see some of the moron drivers ever again. Every once and a while that is NOT the case.

Example:

A week or so ago.........

It was a good morning, like most mornings these days. Lilybug was hanging out in her bouncer while I got ready for work. We were singing and laughing, having a good old time. I packed up my "Lilybug Care" kit (diapers, wipes, bottles) and carried her across the street to Miss Jackie's. With 'bug taken care of I gathered my belongings and headed for my fabulous "new to me" car. I loaded a few of my favorite CD's into the coolio in-dash CD player =).

Music - check

Seat belt - check

Sunroof open - check

Time to go. I backed ever so carefully out of my obstacle course drive way. You see we have 2 big trash cans, a monster truck and Jeep lined up on the street. Off I go. Down our street to the main one. No problem. I make my left on to the main street...

UGGHHH....that's when I realized my mistake. I was directly behind a snail. It was a huge a$$ truck with a damn NASCAR sticker in the window....but dude was going 20 MPH in a 35MPH zone. I mean seriously guy?? A freaking NASCAR sticker in your window and you really can't do the speed limit?? OH THE HUMANITY!!! I hate going slower than the speed limit. It's my pet peeve of ALL pet peeves. How hard is it??? So I find myself behind Mr. Nascar and I'm morphing into evil driving lady. Words are flowing, arms flailing....it was the longest mile and a half of my life. All I wanted was to get to QT to get my morning tea. That's all. I could see QT. I was almost there, all this guy had to do was drive another 100 yards to the light....BUT WAIT...he turned on his turn signal(miracle of miracles) and guess where he was headed....yep...QT. Now what do I do??? I don't want an actual physical confrontation with this guy. I know he saw me in the rearview mirror gesturing like a mad woman, looking like I was speaking in tongues...I couldn't go to QT now!!! So I went across the street to Walgreens. I sat in the parking lot and watched for him to leave. LOL....Yeah I'm a big bad a$$ as long as I'm in my car =).

I find I am at my worse in parking lots. Oh how I wish there were parking lot police. But alas, there are none. Parking lots are enough of a choatic mess that it comes very close to giving me a nervous breakdown...a psychotic break even. Here's my take:

There are 2 major PL (parking lot) offenders. There are "Stalkers" and "Ignorers".

The Stalkers -

These people drive my inner road raging demon to the brink. People please tell me, why is it sooo darn important to have a spot basically at the front door??? They're just like predators in a mighty asphalt jungle called "the Parking Lot". Please tell me that you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about?? Please?? Never fails. I pull down an aisle just looking for a spot when WHAMO...the car in front of me starts doing 5 MPH. They have spotted their prey. You would swear they start drooling and their eyes glaze over.....ahead of us (by like half the parking lot)...a poor Mommy and her baby are coming out of the store and starting to walk across the lot. The car in front of me pulls up behind her and literally follows her at a slow pace until she reaches her car....then they sit...and they wait....like this will be the ONLY space in the lot so they MUST HAVE IT!!! The poor Mom is trying to get baby in the carseat and then trying to unload her spoils from the day as quickly as humanly possible. All the while the "Stalker" is staring ever intently at her. Willing her to hurry. All the while, the traffic behind them is starting to back up. They don't care. They wait. After Mom gets in the car...Stalker pulls up, barely leaving enough room for her to back out. It's pathetic. I mean REALLY??? I like to play games with the "stalkers" =).......they're such easy targets. When I exit a store and feel the lurking headlights behind me...I purposely pick the aisle one over from where I parked. When I reach where my car is closest to, THEN I cut over...HA!!! No parking spot for you!!! You should see the hatred in their eyes...it's sinister. ..>:-> Yep...I'm evil like that =)

Next....there's the "Ignorers". These people are clueless. They live in their very own bubble and pay attention to nothing. When I say NOTHING I mean NOTHING. The arrows on the ground that tell you what direction to go (for those that can't seem to figure it out by the direction the cars are pointing), apparently they're just a suggestion. They just go cruising up or down in the opposite direction, not making eye contact with you because they KNOW they're driving impaired. These guys also pretty much run over any pedestrian in their path. HELLO people....pedestrians have the right of way!!! Especially in front of the damn store!!! Oh and heyyyy...how about you look behind you BEFORE you start to back out of a parking spot....K?? Since there's lots of people at the store, could be someone might be walking behind you. Just a thought.

I think maybe I should get to take some Valium or something before I drive. My blood pressure has to be sky high by the time I get home. Maybe people should just get the heck out of my way when I decide to go out. I think that would be the best solution. Don't you?? Then again maybe there should be an IQ test for driving, because some of these people must have the IQ of a flea. It can't be that hard.....can it??

I feel like doogy doo....

2010-02-23T12:55:00.002-06:00

Ugh......

I am feeling like doggy doo. I am exhausted. My throat feels like some lit a blazing, scorching fire inside and no matter what I do, I can't put it out. I have a waterfall of snot flowing down the back of my throat similar to good ol' Niagara Falls.

Gross?

Yes, but true.

It all started a week or so ago, to this very day......

My sweet little angelic baby girl developed a little cough. Later in the day, she had a slight runny nose. So erring on the side of caution....I made her a visit with her new pediatrician (whom I really love). Since Mommy had to work and bring home the bacon, Daddy was left with the task of taking Bug to the appointment. Like a good Daddy he got her ready and took her.....

(please don't ask me what the poor kid was wearing....you don't want to know.... Okay yeah, you do.....she wore a onesie and a snow suit. Rookie dads=) he's a fabulous Daddy, he really, truly is)

Off to the doc they went. Only to find out that poor bug had a cold and slight case of pink eye. Poor baby. As the day went on she got a little worse. Cough worse.....THEN the nose started to run....

The next morning Mommy had to do it. It was inevitable. It had to be done.

Mommy broke out the BBB. Mommy speak for the Big Bad Boogy sucker. Lilybug is NOT a fan of the blue tool. Not at all, PERIOD. It took Daddy to hold her arms and Mommy to suck out the snot so that the poor girl could breathe. On top of the BBB, we also had the added pleasure of further torturing her with the eye drops prescribed, twice a day. Daddy got to put these gems into her big blue eyes. I had to hold her arms this time. I felt like we were torturing her. Our only intent was to make her feel better. She didn't understand this. I know she just thought we were the worst people in the world. I know she will never remember, but I will.

As the week went on, Friday came. After a 3 days of drops, boogy sucking, and rest, the coughing got some what worse. So being the paranoid Mommy I am, I called and took her back to the doctor. Good thing I did. Now my precious baby had BOTH ears infected and a case of RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus . Here's a quick definition:

"It often starts out with cold symptoms. In fact, for many babies and young children, the virus is no more troublesome than a cold.For a few, though, mild cold symptoms (such as a runny nose, a minor cough, and a low fever) develop into a more pronounced cough, labored breathing, and sometimes wheezing. Your baby may also be irritable and restless and have a poor appetite.

It's important to call the doctor if you think your baby may have RSV, because the virus is the most common cause of two lung disorders in babies, bronchiolitis (which swells the small airways and fills them with mucus, blocking airflow) and pneumonia (an infection and inflammation of the lungs). Either of these conditions can be dangerous — even deadly — for babies, particularly those younger than 6 months.

RSV can also lead to ear infections."

Yeah, I copied that =)

So NOW....along with the eye drops and the BBB...we then got to give her antibiotic twice a day. So our mornings and evenings started and ended the exact same way. Baby girl screaming. Mommy and Daddy holding her down force feeding her pink bubble gum flavored medicine (at this age she doesn't give a darn what it tastes like) and dropping eye drops in her baby blues. Fun Fun.....But she's getting much better.

Too bad Mommy and Daddy aren't. I guess it's bound to happen when you're being sneezed on and coughed on. You're bound to be bitten by the same sicky bug as baby girl. Mommy has a sore throat and ....wait, we already covered that. That's exhaustion talking. To understand why the exhaustion is so bad today, we have to talk about poor Daddy.

That wonderful man caught Lilybug germs worse than poor Mommy did. His throat is soooo sore he has a hard time swallowing. He's blowing his nose a million, bazillion times a day. No matter how many times he blows, his nose is locked up tight like Fort Knox. Poor guy. We have both taken lots and lots of medication. Sudefed, Tylenol Cold and Sinus, Nyquil, Dayquil.....you name it..we took it. Helped me some. I can breathe, that's a alot to be said. Poor sweet, lovable Daddy is not fairing so well.

Last night was the worst.

He snored his ass off. I'm thinking some where along the line this is payback for for my snoring back when I was pregnant. It has to be, it's like some cruel joke. I dozed off to slumber-land about 10 or so. Joe must have dozed off some time after that. Lily decided to lose her pacifier and wake us up at 11:45 pm or so. THAT'S when it started.....

We got her back to sleep and we laid ourselves back in warmth of our pillows and blankets. Ahhhh....sleep. About 10 or 15 minutes later I heard the most frightful, loud noise. It wasn't coming from outside. It wasn't the dogs. It wasn't coming from anywhere else but next to me. Joe was snoring his butt off. I heard things rattle on the walls...I saw paint chip from the ceiling.....I laid there. I closed my eyes and tried desperately to block out the barrage of noise filtering through my ears, to no avail. I pulled my pillow up around my ears, no help. I tapped him on the shoulder - "Honey. PLEASE rollover." He rolled. I sighed in relief. I closed my eyes and tried once again to drift into that land of sweet dreams.....then it started again. Ugh. I grabbed my pillow and trudged off to the couch. Awaiting me there was the nice warm fluffy blanket that my good friend Kelly made me (she needs to know how fabulously handy this has become =) love it!!). I tried but I couldn't get comfy there, so back to the bed I went. It was quiet....for a minute...then Lumber Jack Joe came back strong. I woke him again. This time he was sweet enough to go to the couch. It was to be our downfall......

It became a vicious circle. Seems Ms. Lily had a problem with Daddy's snoring as well. Whenever he would get going really loud, she would wake up. Then Daddy would trek to her room give her the pacifier and go to the bathroom, blow his trumpeting nose and then back to the couch. She would fall back asleep, and he would lay his head down and close those eyes......snoring then began......Lilybug woke up......this cycle happened like 4 or 5 times. We have a small house so you can hear everything in every room. That meant I was an unwilling witness to their dance of sleep deprivation. At 3:15 am, Lily woke up fully. I heard Daddy rise (yet again) from the couch and head to the kitchen to prepare the princess's bottle. I decided to help (we always do the early feeding as a team since it requires feeding 2 annoying pups as well). As I entered her room, something seemed amiss. Miss Lily was laying SIDEWAYS in her crib and (to my shock and horror) was also laying on her belly.

Okay - she rolled over!!! YAY!!! Too bad the poor kid absolutely detests being on her tummy. So I figure, it's fluke. Well, not so much. Daddy sent me a text a bit ago saying she rolled over not 1, not 2, but 3 more times. Once while being swaddled. Not really a good thing for us. I see a lot of sleepless nights in our near future. This new development means no more swaddling at nap time (bummer....MAJOR bummer) - I just received an update pertaining to this from Daddy....

Apparently it takes an hour of crying to get a free Lilybug to take a 5 minute nap. Hooray for us =(

I hope this adjustment doesn't take too terribly long to make. Daddy might not have any hair left or what he does have left - might be good and gray!!!

Poor Daddy. Poor Mommy.

Ha ha ha.....

2010-02-13T14:06:00.003-06:00

So it's that time of year again.

The time of year when every male version of our species makes a mad dash for whatever florist they can get in the door of!!! Well at least they do..... if they know what's good for them.

Any one that was reading my blog this time last year, will remember the post about Valentine's Day. If you a re new comer, I HIGHLY recommend reading it =) It's quite entertaining.

I am working today...okay well I showed up to WORK this morning...however there hasn't been much to do. Let me give you the lay-out of where my store is. We share a parking lot with....

WAIT for it.....

My FABULOUS entertainment for the day.....

Ready.....

Walter Knoll Florist!!!!

Oh yeah....I am watching every Joe(not you dear), Bob, and Larry (get tired of good old Tom, Dick, and Harry but I'm sure they're over there too.)..that waited until the last minute to order flowers or pick up flowers. it is UNBELIEVABLE! Our parking lot has approximately 10 or so parking spots. Not very many. So needless to say it's causing gridlock out there. I can see an endless parade of green, red and sometimes pink.

Cha ching....Cha ching....Cha ching

I can only imagine the money being made over there. Wish I was making it here. The only thing I'm getting today is lots of exercise. You see, as an employee, we are required to meet our customers at the door. The parking lot is in front, so when they pull up - we get up and walk to the door. Today has been a whole lot of round trips to the door and back to the desk. It's kind of like a joke on us.

We see them pull up.

We get out of our chairs.

We walk to the door.

SIKE!!!!

We turn around and walk back.

If nothing else, I can thank all those guys for a semi serious workout. I'll probably walk ten miles today =) Good thing I bought these Sketcher Shape- Ups. Guess there's a silver lining in just about everything, huh?

The really surprising thing to me is that a lot of these "last minute" V-Day shoppers are....

WOMEN!!!

In all my years, buying flowers for a guy just seemed silly? At least any of the guys I've been with. I never heard:

"Aww man....I can't believe you didn't buy me flowers."

Most of them are thinking - "THANK GOD they didn't buy me flowers." I think flowers are mainly a girl thing. I could be wrong, PLEASE tell me if I am. Maybe I'm just a weird kind of girl. While I think flowers beautiful, and I am sooo thankful when they are given to me, I just don't get depressed or feel like he doesn't love me because I didn't get any. It just seems silly to think that way. How can flowers measure how someone feels about you?? Well, I won't get into all that. My post last year pretty much covered that.

Tonight we are sending little Lily-bugs to Nana's house. I get off work at 7 so Daddy is taking her up before I get off. I swear I suffer from separation anxiety. BIG TIME. I have some sort of irrational fear that something bad is going to happen and I won't be there. My Mom is awesome and I know she is very capable of taking care of Lily, but it's just a fear. Maybe all Mom's have it?? Last time, I spent the evening worrying about her and didn't get the enjoyment out of it that I could have. I just love my Bug and I miss her lots when she's gone. But I think maybe a Mommy and Daddy only night might be good for us. Besides, it's less than 24 hours right??? I'll still be a basket case on the inside. TRUST ME. That little girl is gold to me.

Well I hope all of you enjoy your V-Day. Love as much as you can.

It's time...

2010-02-11T16:43:00.003-06:00

I can't put it off any longer.....

It's time to get rid of this baby-weight.

I'm tired of getting up in the morning and having feet that hurt. I'm tired of getting up in the morning and realizing that pants are getting a tad bit more snug every couple days. It's a bummer, it's a reality check....it just down right SUCKS!!!

For those of you who have been around a while (Kelly)...you know that a couple years ago, I found myself completely disgusted with how I looked, how I felt, and hated how I had let myself just go. I went from a healthy 140 or so, to a not so nice 185.....I felt blah. My feet hurt all the time and I found myself having to buy the biggest size I have ever had to buy......I went from a size 9/10 to a size 16 almost 18. It was a nightmare for me to have to buy clothes....I cried my eyes out like a baby anytime I stepped foot in a changing room. I would try on pair after pair of size 16 jeans until I found a pair that fit. I would go from store to store. If it took me all day, I found a pair. All of this because I refused to buy a size18. I told myself I would NEVER go up another size.

Don't get me wrong. By NO means am I looking down on people that happen to be "healthy" or that happen to be anywhere near that size. It just wasn't the right fit for me. It made me feel very depressed, very worthless, and very much like a someone with nothing to care about. I know you may think -

"Wow, how shallow."

Not really. You can think what you like, but ultimately the only opinion that mattered at the time was my own. And my opinion of myself at that time was low....very low....bottom of the barrel.....I stopped caring about how I looked, stopped doing things like styling my hair, putting on make-up, and started not caring what I wore. I dressed myself in big sweatshirts trying to disguise, even hide how I looked. Instead of hiding myself, I actually made myself look worse. I didn't know it at the time.

The day came....

I was shopping for a pair of work pants. About 30 pairs later, I still could not find a size 16 that fit me.....I broke down. I cried. Then I bought my first pair of size 18 pants. I had no choice. It was the worst day ever for me. I vowed then and there - "I would NEVER buy another pair." - and I meant it.

I had half hearted tried, what seemed like millions of times to lose some of the weight prior to this. You know all those fabulous "lose weight quick" methods?? I tried the pills that raised your metabolism. I tried the pills that blocked the fat you consumed for each meal. I tried pills that made you lose "water weight". I had tried just about every pill there was. While taking them, I'd weigh myself everyday. When I didn't see any kind of result....I'd lose heart, drop my head and have a hot fudge sundae. What was the point? I was getting no where. Exercising was tiring just thinking about it. I had joined a gym a couple years before and stuck to that for about 2 months. It seemed like so much work and to be honest, I didn't think it would work either. The results just weren't coming fast enough for me. To make matters worse, I smoked. I wanted to quit. I really did. But I was absolutely TERRIFIED because everyone tells you that when you quit, you put on 10 more pounds...

10 MORE POUNDS?????

No way, no how. Not an option. I couldn't bare the thought of being 190 pounds plus. I smoked more. I figured if quitting made you gain weight...hey, maybe smoking more might help you lose it.

Get hungry??

Grab a smoke. Seemed logical at the time.

Yes, I know how flawed that thinking was. Yes, I do know how dumb that sounds, but trust me, if you have been there..then you know EXACTLY how bad you feel and if it makes you feel just a little better, then you do it.

The day I had to buy a size 18, I promised myself a change. I kept that promise. I got my jelly butt off the couch. I bought a fabulous MP3 player. I bought a comfy pair of walking shoes. I quit buying candy. I quit eating out at work and grudgingly took my lunch - consisting of yogurt, veggies, and soup.

Did I mention that in my basement I had a sweet treadmill that cost me 600.00??? Yep sure did. Had like 2 inches of dust on it, used it maybe 4 times or so before I gave up because there were no "instant results". I dusted that sucker off. It was time to put it to good use. I made a plan. American Idol season something was starting. I made it a point to be in place on that treadmill at the beginning of that show and walk until that hour was over. That first week was hard...VERY HARD. I walked for an hour, walked maybe a mile and a half. I was winded, my feet hurt and I hated every single minute. I felt my thighs jiggle with every step and it made me sick. The second week got a little easier. Along with walking everyday, I got myself a calendar. On this calendar I weighed myself and wrote down the number every single morning, every single day. Whether the numbers went up or down, I refused to judge my success by the day. I began taking the number at the end of the week as the point to measure my progress.

When I began my little mission, it was January. Waaaaayyyyyy to cold for me to get my butt outside and walk, so I continued in my basement. Me, American Idol, and that damned treadmill....we became one. After a couple weeks, I realized that I was getting faster. I was now up to 2 miles in that hour and it was beginning to feel easy. Since Idol was only on 2 days a week, I looked for other shows to be my partners. I had Bones on Monday, Idol on Tuesday, Idol on Wednesday, CSI on Thursday.....Friday was my day off.....

The first & second months, I lost maybe a pound and a half a week. I was getting results. They weren't as fast as I had hoped, but they were coming. As it gradually began to warm up outside, I began walking 2 miles on the treadmill (which only took about 35 minutes now) and took my weight loss party outside. I walked my neighborhood. I lived on an awful, horrendous hill. Actually, I lived at the bottom. The first day I walked it, I panted, I grunted, I groaned, and I lost my breath...but I made it up that damn hill...I did that once a day, 3 days a week. I was still smoking..sad to say. After a month or so of that, I made it up and down that hill 2 times a day in addition to my 2 miles on the treadmill.

I watched the numbers on that calendar go from 185 to 140.....

It didn't happen over night. it didn't happen in a month....

In fact, it took about 8 months. I lost 45 pounds. I felt awesome. I went down to a size 9!! I started buying clothes that fit, I started getting my hair done, getting my nails done. I felt good about me. I smiled more, I laughed more, and I had so much more confidence...I even went and got my navel pierced AND an awesome tattoo on my side.

THEN......

I got pregnant.

I was so excited about being a Mom. I was also terrified of getting all that weight back. While I was thankful I had lost all that weight before getting pregnant, I was certainly NOT looking forward to seeing what the end result was going to look like. At each appointment I cringed at the thought of stepping on that scale....I watched the numbers crawl and creep up at every single appointment. By the end.....

I was 195.

I felt like crying, but deep down I knew this was different. I wasn't gaining just to gain. I was growing a new life and she was worth every pound =). After I had her, my one week check up provided me with a glimmer of hope. I was already down to 172....giving birth I lost 23 pounds.

WHOO HOO!!! Go me!!!

Then reality hit. For the first 8 weeks, I was pretty much house bound. I ate, I sat, and I did it all over again everyday. I haven't been on a scale yet, but I see pictures and I am getting that same disappointment. I see 3 chins. I see turkey neck. I feel jelly thighs. My feet constantly ache like they did before and I am wearing somewhere between a 14 and 16. I have been preferring running pants to jeans. Here I go again.

So it's time. I'm done.

Wednesday I made a trip to Shoe Carnival. I bought 2 pairs of athletic shoes. I bought the Sketcher's Shape-Ups (99.99 ugh). They're supposed to help tone your legs, butt, and core muscles...huh, we'll see. My second pair, I chose New Balance......for the gym. Yes, I said the gym. I sold my beloved treadmill because when I moved, I had no where to go with it. So now, I plan on joining the gym. I just hope I get some of the same results, if not better ones. I should mention that when I got pregnant, I quit smoking. So now, I'm about to see what kind of difference that will make. I'm hoping alot. As I write this, I'm eating my last bits of chocolate. I will be buying no more in the near future. I have done it before, I can do it again. I have waaayyyy more motivation this time. I have my daughter. I want to be happy, healthy and the best I can be for her.

American Idol has started........

So now, it's time to do it again.....

D-Day is Tomorrow....

2010-02-09T20:01:00.003-06:00

Well.....

If you read my post before last of all the things no one tells you about taking care of a baby, then this will come as no surprise....

My little Lilybug turned 4 months last Saturday. Do any of you know what that means??? If you are experienced moms, then you most certainly know what is coming....

The most dreaded part of this mile stone.

Tomorrow, I must carry my sweet little angel to the doctor.

**tear**

Her fourth month visit. This all important visit is going to have a few things happen.

Firstly - they will weigh her chunky butt, measure her little noggin, and measure her height. After taking said measurements, they will then plug the numbers into their little computer and then proceed to tell me where my little one ranks as far as growth....it kind of sucks that they do this, you wait for the little graph to tell you if she's measuring up to the others, hanging somewhere in the middle, or maybe lagging somewhere behind. It's sort of like a report card of sorts. I think that maybe they should just tell you if there's anything to worry about..or tell you every thing's fine. Why is there a need to tell you where you rank in the scheme of things? Is it to make the moms of the higher end kids feel superior?? Is it to have the moms in the middle feel just average?? Or lastly, is it to make the moms on the low end feel like failures?? I don't understand what good it does, exactly? Especially for a new mom, seems we take things harder than those more experienced than us. Is it not enough that half the time we look down on ourselves when we make mistakes??? Just saying......

The worst part of tomorrow's visit will be the second half.......

Shots.

Oh how I really hate these =(

Experienced moms know why. For you inexperienced moms, let me fill you in...

Your beautiful bright eyed baby, will be smiling up at you and is completely clueless as to what's to come. You know. You're dreading it. THEY have zero idea. She/he may not mind the whole measuring,check up part....they deal with it. May be a fuss here and there, but nothing too dramatic.....but it's coming. The drama is about to begin.

Like I said in my previous post, no one clued me in the first time, but this time - I know. I can already see it in my head..

I will be holding the Lilybug. The nurses will come in with two needles...yes, 2. Hopefully no more than that....but I am a first time mom and I could be soooo very wrong. They will make me, lay her down. She'll be smiling up at me with her big blue eyes. Without warning that mean old nurse will plunge sharp object number one into my sweet girl's chunk of a thigh.....her smile will stop...a look of panic will shroud her face....the normally pale cute face will suddenly morph into an awful red...about that time needle number two, will connect with the second chunky thigh. Her mouth will open and ZERO sound will emerge.....her eyes will well up and then she finds the sound to match the scream she's formed on her lips....to me her eyes say:

"Why Mommy?? Why did you let these mean nurses hurt me??"

I know that she really can't think that, but it's what I see in her eyes, her face...

Last time, she looked so pitiful and helpless and I cried just as much as she. I don't presume that this time will be any better. Part of me wants her Daddy to just take her, but that would be wrong. He wasn't present for the last set, but he's insisting on going for the second. I'm not quite sure he really understands what he is in for. Wouldn't surprise me if he breaks down with her and I. I really wish someone would invent some pain free method for these tiny creatures...it's sooo much like torture.

I guess all babies go through his, but it doesn't make it ANY easier...really all I can do is try and prepare her in advance with her Tylenol. Not to mention PRAY that the evening that follows tomorrow, doesn't end as badly as the 2 month shot experience.My poor girl screamed for almost 2 hours straight....inconsolable....miserable....sad. I held her for 2 hours and cried myself when she finally stopped and fell asleep for the night.........

These are the moments that make me dread being a parent =(.

Looking back.....

2010-02-06T15:43:00.003-06:00

Wow.....

Last night while I was laying in bed....I started to think.

I was starting to feel old and I began to revisit old memories. How many of you ever do this? Is it just me? Is it some weird affliction I have?? I lay there and tried to see what my earliest memory was.....

It's kind of strange the things we choose to remember, or maybe we don't choose. Maybe some weird cosmic force decides for us. Maybe we remember things for a reason, although some of my memories leave me baffled as to why they're still floating around in the vast cavern I call my memory. I wonder if they're important in some bizarre fashion...will they give me direction when I feel lost??? Some maybe. Others? I doubt it.

As far as I can tell, the earliest thing I can remember has to do with my first real bed. I guess I must have been about 5 or so?? My Mom would know but I'm not sure. I can see it clear as day. I remember almost every little detail about that bed, in fact, I remember just about everything in my bedroom in general. I haven't lived in that house since I was like 9 or 10, but I remember. It was a white canopy bed with gold trim and the canopy was this cute patchwork like design. It was still big for me. Standing next to it, it came up to just below my shoulders. I had to throw myself up on it when I tried to get in it. I absolutely loved it. The canopy became the place where I put my teeth when they finally fell out, the tooth fairy would leave me 2 quarters for every tooth......I wonder what she leaves these days??? I hear it's like 5 bucks!! My room was in the basement and there was an old door that no one used anymore that lead to the outside. In the window of that door, I always had a paper Japanese Lantern that hung there. Every 4th of July we would get one to light off, I would watch it spin round and round throwing off pretty sparks. When it was done it would pop open and reveal a cute paper lantern. Then mom would hang it in my room in that window. I had a few posters on the wall. Popeye was one - the one with Robin Williams. I think I had a few animal posters too. They used to scare me sometimes........

I'm not sure what possible use I may ever have for remembering that. Who knows??

OH!! I have one other and my Mom is going to love me for this.

It took me forever to learn how to ride a bike. My brother who is a year younger than me learned before I did. I was quite content to ride my pink and white big wheel....my mom decided she was going to teach me. I remember the bike clearly. It was Blue and it had a red, white, and blue sparkly banana seat and streamers on the handle bars that matched. My mom held the back of the bike and let me pedal. Apparently she had been letting go here and there and just walked behind me. I guess I was okay as long as I knew she was holding on. I happened to look back and realized she wasn't holding on.......

I FREAKED!!!!

Not a mild freak but hysterics....screaming my little head off. In an attempt to get my attention, because her telling me to stop was having zero effect, she reached out to slap my check to get my attention. I was in a zone. About the time she reached out, I turned my head....

Can you guess what happened??? Any idea???

WHAMO!!! - right in my nose...for a normal little kid it probably wouldn't have done much damage, but I didn't happen to be normal. Never have been. Never will. I happened to be one of those awesomely lucky kids that had nose bleeds for no particular reason. SO....as soon as hand connected with nose, the bleeding began. So the freak out continued. I jumped off my bike and ran crying down the alley. If you were a neighbor or nosy busybody, you would have yelled CHILD ABUSE!!!

Now the only message I get from that memory is - DO NOT WHACK LILY IN THE NOSE!!! Sounds good anyway.

I don't know why I'm sharing all this with you, maybe cause this is my blog and I CAN???

Then there's always the "first" memories. The first bike ride. The first best friend. First days at new schools (I had a few of those). It's funny how those "first" memories bring back the actual feelings. I can feel the fear and nausea just thinking about my first day of high school. Fear of getting lost, fear of forgetting my schedule, fear of forgetting my locker combination......well...just fear of everything. To make matters worse...I was unusually scared of EVERYTHING!!! It made things a billion times worse for me.

How about your "first" kiss??? I know there's got to be tons of you out there that remember that moment in detail???

Come on, be honest....

I know I can't be the only one to remember the butterflies in the stomach, the heat rising to your face, and the nervous anticipation. I remember.....I remember clearly.

I'll not disclose names, but I'll just use initials for anonymity. MS was the first boy who ever kissed me. I was 14 and I remember everything right down to the song playing on the jukebox in my basement. It was a cool basement, we had a pinball machine and a jukebox (it played 45's..yeah, I'm THAT old). It was right after school started for the year or right before. I had never ever kissed a boy in my life. I had a "boyfriend" in 8th grade, but back then it was only hand holding and he actually broke up with me because I wouldn't kiss him...stupid boys...ANYWAY....we were in the basement playing pinball I believe, the dumbest song ever was playing on the jukebox .......

Okay...seriously

Don't laugh....

really...don't.

It was "Wild Wild West" - by The Escape Club. I guess it was cool at the time cause I was playing it?!?! I remember the butterflies, I remember the music..I remember it all. To this day, if that song comes on...that's the memory that pops in my head....ahhhhh...to be young again.

Don't get me wrong, there's quite a few bad memories that I doubt I'll ever be able to erase. But to be perfectly honest, I don't think I'd want to. Everything that happened in my life, well it happened for a reason. I wouldn't have learned the lessons with out the mistakes. I wouldn't be near as strong if my life had been sugarplums and candy canes......I wouldn't trade any lesson I learned for a million bucks. I might go back and redo somethings a little different if I could.....

But I can't.

And there's no use spending my days wishing I could. I just know better next time.

Every path I chose, every choice I made...got me where I am today. I wouldn't have it any other way. My life hasn't been easy but I have so many good memories, they out weigh the bad. I just hope that my little Lily has wonderful memories like some of the ones I have to look back on when she's older.

Instruction Manual???

2010-02-05T17:41:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it's been months since I've even been on here...yet there are my faithful still checking for updates!! You guys are fabulous!!!

Motherhood is wonderful =)......

Don't misunderstand.....wonderful but exhausting...there are sooooo many things no one prepares you for. Everyone tells you about the precious things like smiles, giggles, and looking into your eyes....but no one and I do mean NO ONE tells you about things that make you crazy or that are just down right awful.

Example???

No one warned poor me that you must flip little one's noggin every night or they just might develop a nice little flat spot that may require a fabulous helmet - would have been awesome to know in advance.....now we are desperately trying to fix said flat spot before it requires that little helmet.

No one warned me that getting her to nap would be a personal challenge that rarely resulted in victory for anyone.....napping never equated screaming and crying and down right hysterics in ANY of the baby books I read. Books that everyone brags about, it seems someone conveniently forgot to write that chapter....

No one warned me that the after effects of 2 month shots were equivalent to having your finger nails ripped out....2 hours of inconsolable screams and a red face nightmare later we figured out that Tylenol worked wonders and you should probably (most definitely) give it to her PRIOR to the poking of the needles....Let me tell you how awful it is to see your little one getting the shots in the first place, they go from happy smiley baby to turning red and opening their mouths and being so upset that ZERO sound emerges from their little mouths....yeah...I cried....then I cried some more when she had nuclear meltdown at home because her little legs were so sore.......one word..TYLENOL, it will be your best friend.

No one warned me that every night the torture method of sleep deprivation would occur. The fun kind where you fall into a deep sleep and are suddenly awakened by the one in control. She doesn't let you forget =) that SHE controls when you sleep.....just when you think you're in a great routine, she changes it just enough to torture you =)...and even when she doesn't wake, then you wake wondering why she didn't wake.....vicious circle after vicious circle.......

She's the sleep Nazi.

One of the last things I will tell you about for now is:

No one warns you about "baby blowouts".......

Have any idea what I'm talking about??? If not, here's a slight warning - this is not for the weak stomached people. If you are one, then please do not read any further.........

For those of you remaining, well......you asked for it.

Baby blowouts.....

The best, most kind terminology I can think of. Recently we discovered these. Normally Miss Lily's beautiful little face turns beet red when she's desperately trying to leave us her daily present. Normally it's pretty cut and dry. She poops, we change her (meaning - one of us..this will be important in a bit) takes only a minute or two - no real mess, easy breezy.......all that changed a few days ago. Poor Miss Lily. She didn't sleep real well the night before and was up a bit early. Her normal schedule is to leave us a gift while in the middle of feeding her. That day was no different. I should have been warned by the mini earthquake rumbling in her belly.....I should have, but I wasn't. Mommy rookie mistake number 745 (just guessing). So we sat together and I waited, like usual, for her to finish. The effort she put forth was really minimal for that day..no red face.....should have been warning number 2......nope, didn't equate. Mommy rookie mistake number 746.....suddenly it hit me.....the most god awful smell I have EVER EVER EVER had the displeasure of wafting through my nostrils....it burned....I gagged. I immediately wisked her to her room and the waiting changing table...I was scared...very scared. I placed her gently on the pad....she smiled up at me and kicked her little cute feet (probably should not have let her do that)........I slid off her little pants and unfastened her onsie....diaper wrapped around her little bottom loomed ahead....

I paused....

I figured - "it can't be that bad...it's just a diaper"...oh how wrong was I? I unfastened the little tabs and the most awful sight lay ahead......

There was poo EVERY WHERE!!!!

It looked like someone poured a vat of Gray Poupon in my little girl's diaper - GROSS....I took baby wipe after baby wipe...and tried to hold her legs with one hand so that she wouldn't get it every where and use the other to desperately clean the stuff out of every nook and cranny on Miss Chubby Thighs(she gets those from me).

Now here's where I made rookie mistake 747.....

I got her all clean and I did what I always do - I lived life on the edge and pulled that diaper out from underneath her. BIG MISTAKE!!! HUGE!! Apparantly she wasn't finished. As soon as that diaper was out from under her, she let loose. It was on the changing table, on her clothes and all over her once more. I continued to gag and clean all over again. EWWWWWWW. That's all I can say. Daddy thought it was funny.

Well...

Daddy got his today. I was soaking my aching back in a nice hot bath when Daddy had to do it by himself. The past couple of times we worked together to avoid a big mess but since I was soaking, he was flying solo...hee hee. From my warm heaven, I hear:

"OH NO...don't do that!!!"

I started cracking up!! She got Daddy good. He thought she was done, just like me. To his horror...she wasn't. It was on her, her socks, the changing table!! I jumped out the bath, grab a robe and stood dripping trying to help with the situation......she laid there smiling and giggling at both of us...snot.

Things nobody warned us about......I'm warning you!!!

On a better note, the things people do tell you about, well it doesn't even do justice to actually seeing it yourself. Like when she looks at you with her big blue eyes and smiles because she knows you....or the tinkling sound of her precious giggles=) It's priceless and brings tears to my eyes every time I hear her. The sound of her little voice chatting with her bib or whatever toy is in her view. It sounds like she's holding a full fledged conversation with them. So cute. I just want to eat her up =)

Daddy says I need "Mommy time" so I am vowing to take an hour and write here everyday =)......let's see how long that lasts!!!

Back to Work =(

2009-11-30T20:52:00.002-06:00

I will be going back tomorrow and I am sad =(...here's a few pics until then. I'll plenty of time to catch you up tomorrow....

2 More =)

2009-11-16T12:08:00.002-06:00

Just a couple more pics=).....I'll write soon

2009-11-16T11:26:00.002-06:00

Few More Pics =)

2009-11-06T10:36:00.002-06:00

WOW!!! I am SOOO late with updates =)

2009-11-05T09:56:00.003-06:00

Sorry guys!!

I know you all have been waiting for updates and I have let you down =(....my bad. No one prepared me for how little time you have when you have a little one and are not working. I'm lucky to keep myself bathed these days =) or maybe I just need more time to get my Mommy skills down. I have no idea how some of you do it with more than one.

Okay so ........

Lilliana Marie Placht has arrived.....

....actually she arrived on October 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm. She had to be coerced to make her arrival. She must have found it quite warm and comfy in there because she had no plan of coming out on her own =) I was due October 3rd, and she was a no-show. I was admitted to the hospital October 5th at 8 pm for induction. That night they stuck a magic string in there (yeah, THERE) and by 11 pm that night I was having painful contractions. By 7 the next morning, I was praying for my epidural...which i got all right.....it worked all of 30 minutes...and ONLY on the backs of my legs....NICE. My doctor came for a visit to check my progress....in the middle of me crying for the pain of my contractions..he tells my nurse to start pitocin....UMM HELLO???? Can we PLEASE fix the stabbing awful pain that is searing up and down my insides BEFORE we make it worse?????

PLEASE???

The nurse looked at him like he was nuts. She hung the bag up, but bless her heart she left it there and didn't subject me to anymore torture. About 3 hours after my original epidural, they sent some newbie to try and redo it. This clown put another 3 or so holes in my spine and STILL couldn't get it in right. It took another doctor twice to finally get it right. Poor Joe is lucky he still has fingers that aren't broken....

FINALLY....it worked. I felt no pain. In fact...I felt absolutely NOTHING. Which ended up being a slight problem when it came time to push. I had to have 3 people help hold my legs, luckily I could still feel the pressure and knew when to push.....Pushing...now there's an experience...and it's even more so when you have to stop because the nurses are doing shift change...OMG.....here's something you all may find funny....what got me through was the promise of the BIGGEST, COLDEST ICE TEA they could find if I just pushed hard enough and got our little miracle out.......So I did!! I pushed for 2 hours and 20 minutes. It didn't feel that long and I will spare you the awful details on the damage to my nether region....I will tell you that it hurt like hell when they started stitching and I realized I could feel that!!! I had him remedy that quickly or there was going to be some screaming done =)

Lily......

She is the most wonderful thing (besides Joe =)) that has ever happened to me. She's beautiful, looks just like her Daddy. Big blue eyes.....and she even inherited his freaky second toe thingy where it's bigger than his big toe.....weird. She weighed 7 pounds 6 ozs when she arrived and I am absolutely in love with her. Holding her is the most amazing experience everyday. When it's just her and I, I love to lay her in my arms and watch her breathe. I smell her baby head and feel her heartbeat on my chest. I never ever thought I would be that person. When she cries, most times I know what she wants....very rarely does she just cry for no reason. She hates to sleep during the day, but at least we have her sleeping at night. Right now she's smiling in her sleep (one of my friends from Bosnia says she's smiling at angels, I believe that =)) Everyday is becoming a new adventure. Joe is doing so well with her, I love to watch him talk to her and watch her big blue eyes focus on him. I love him more everyday too =)

I can't believe she's already 4 weeks old. I have to go back to work in 4 weeks and I feel like crying everyday. I don't want to leave her =(....I'm don't trust anyone to take care of her they way we do....except my Mom =) I think my Mom would steal her if she could!! But I am so lucky to have her and her help!! This whole daycare thing is going to be a nightmare for me. I worry incessantly anyway and to have some stranger caring for my precious little girl is going to freak me out. I'm not happy about it, no way, no how. Luckily I am only going to work 2 days during the week and one on the weekend. It doesn't make any sense to work just to pay for daycare when I could work part time and stay home with her. But that's 4 weeks away, and I don't want to even think about it. AT ALL!!!

This is kind of short, there is so much more to tell and I will do my best to give you updates in a timely manner =)

Starting to freak out!!

2009-08-28T13:18:00.002-05:00

Okay....

So lately I have been gathering all the things I will need to take to the hospital.....and frankly...just THINKING about the hospital is sort of ....

well......

FREAKING ME OUT!!

Last week - Joe and I did the Childbirth Prep Class at St. John's. It was sort of a crash course filled with lots of videos of women with awful contorted faces in pain and the whole experience really was no comfort....I hate pain. I am a giant cry baby.....I feel bad for poor Joe, who will probably want to kill me before this is all over.....

I have 5 weeks left and it still seems like it's forever away....

Yesterday was a productive day off....I spent it cleaning her room, washing all her blankets and clothes (and MAN there was alot of clothes)....I wanted to cry holding her tiny little socks, just thinking that in a few weeks there will be teeny tiny little feet to put those on just brought tears to my eyes....Damn hormones =)...part of me is soooo excited and ready for her to be here, the other part kind of likes her where she is - No crying =)....I am NOT the world's most patient person...as if you didn't know that already....and when out in public, other people's screaming kids make me want to yank my hair out. I hear that it changes when they're yours.....man I hope so. Even with my nieces and nephews, I tend to run short on the patience side. I feel horrible about it, but a fact is a fact. Even my pups tend to drive me batty at least once a week....or more like once a day these days =)....Joe is one of the most patient people I know, so hopefully together we can manage to do an awesome job.....

I was also extra surprised to learn that I had to pick a pediatrician before they'd even let our baby girl come home!! Ummm...wouldn't you think that my doctor should have maybe given me that important little piece of info?? Uh, yeah....he's pretty much useless and if I ever have another one, I will NOT be using them. I got a referral from the instructor at class and I called them today. I have an appointment to meet with her. Does anyone have any idea what I am supposed to ask? At least we will have one and they can't keep our little girl hostage =)...

It's kind of amazing the things they want you to pack for the hospital....there's like a list of 30 things!! Stuff like - aromatherapy oil, snacks, and the funniest written on the list was on the list for stuff for Joe.......

- Mints or chewing gum for fresh breath because your partner may be extra sensitive to odors during labor!!

Wow...they are really worried that a hormonal woman might come unglued cause their mate has bad breath...Sheesh.... what am I about to turn into??? They also suggest you bring a video camers...Uh...NO...there's no way in hell anyone is video taping ANYTHING that comes out from down there!!! A camera for afterward?? Most definitely, but during..NO WAY.

How about a "Hot Rice Sock"???? Anyone??? Have never in my life heard of this...

I almost feel like I'm planning for a romantic weekend getaway....music, LED candle, Aromatherapy oil, massage oils.......isn't this what got us into this to begin with?!? =).......I have the bags packed...well at least one with most of that stuff including toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant....etc....I want to be a little presentable when people come to see her!!! I did remember to pack all these things for Daddy to be as well as snacks and stuff for him. I just hope we remember to grab the bags when it's time!! I can see us running out the door with out it =)....then WHAT???

I'm trying to decide what to pack for little miss to bring her home in. It supposed to be October...will it be warm? Cool? I have no idea!!! There's so much to remember and try and have ready!! My Mom makes fun of me for always being OVER-PREPARED.....oh well, I guess we all have our issues!! I'd rather be over than under-prepared...how about you??

There are lots of things I am REALLY looking forward to:

Holding her for the first time.
Looking at her face.
Holding her tiny hands in mine.
Listening to her breathe.
Smelling that baby smell =)
Sharing her with Joe.
Being able to walk normal =)
Being able to like food again.

I want to cry just thinking about the first few things =) ......Damn hormones

I'm sure I will be worrying my little head off between now and 5 weeks from now =) Feel free to share your advice on how to deal in the mean time =)

Let's have a talk......

2009-08-20T12:52:00.003-05:00

I am beginning to come to the conclusion that maybe it's not my hormones that may be causing my maddening case of road rage.....nope maybe I am not to blame at all. I am thinking that, in fact, the ones to blame are the ones that simply........

CAN'T DRIVE.

PERIOD.

I thought that maybe today I could give some friendly advice, some that maybe, and I mean maybe, might help educate the driving incompetent....

The problem lies with......

WHERE THE HECK TO BEGIN!!!

I know that time is limited, and there would be absolutely NO WAY that we could address every issue, but I guess a good place to start would be utilizing the different components that all cars are equipped with. Believe it or not people, some of these particular items SERVE A PURPOSE!!!

Oh where, oh where to begin........

We can start with.....OH! I KNOW!!!....on your steering column...there's a lever.....depending on what kind of vehicle you drive - it maybe on the left or the right. It has a reason for being, it has a purpose in it's life....can anyone of you guess what it's called????

Anyone????

That's RIGHT boys and girls!!! it's called a blinker!!! A turn signal!!!
Do you know what it's for??? Here.....I'll help you out.....

When driving down the highway and the need to change lanes occurs, this little miracle of modern invention alerts us to the fact that you are performing that particular action. Then being the responsible drivers we are, can adjust our position. The second part of the highway use is rather important too......once finished positioning your vehicle int he appropriate lane, you must then.....

TURN THE DAMN THING OFF!!!!

I can't stress this little detail enough. It's bad enough when morons don't use that particular tool, but it's even worse when they leave it on and you are following behind, being next to, and just plain waiting for the dumb-ass to complete what we think is an intended action.....and THEY DON'T....

My biggest pet peeve in the world is following behind someone on a street or road and they are doing 20 - 25 MPH with their blinker on and they just keep driving.....and driving....and driving.....I'm waiting and waiting for them to turn....UGH!!!!

Another fabulous invention put on our wonderful vehicles is something we all use in our homes daily!! At least I hope when you get ready to leave for some where you do....it's shiny and shows reflections of things in them.....anyone???

Say it with me........ MIRRORS!!!

M-I-R-R-O-R-S

That's right people. These too, are in place for a particular purpose.....

Because most of us were not born with eyes in the backs of our heads, these little shiny tools make it possible for us to see things that are behind us, beside us, and various degrees of these positions....This is VERY important. It enables us to assess the situation around us before we make any sudden movements....example - changing lanes perhaps??? Because a lane you may want to use, maybe already occupied....it's a good idea to find out BEFORE trying to move there and being loudly reminded by the blowing of the occupier's horn!! The lanes were built for one automobile...not two. The sharing of lanes could result in screeching brakes, crushed metal, and vulgar obscenities being shared. No one wants that......I mean really......these tools don't cost extra, they come with the car.........

USE THEM!!!

My last tool instruction for the day.......

On every vehicle produced, there is another helpful tool. It usually sits right behind the steering wheel or off to the side. It is located near the gas gauge (I know you all know what the gas gauge is).....it has numbers on it that usually range in increments of 5 or 10 and has a little rod that moves sort of left to right......it's called.......

are you ready????

A SPEEDOMETER

This tool if used properly could reduce alot of road rage in my opinion. You see, it has been decided by various departments how fast one should travel in particular areas.....there are even SIGNS that tell you what speed you should be traveling at.....

THESE ARE NOT SUGGESTIONS PEOPLE!!!

If a sign says 60MPH...then do 60MPH...not 35, not 40.....if you can't drive it...STAY OFF THE ROAD or find one that fits your particular driving habits!!! If you feel the need to do 80MPH or 90MPH....go buy a damn race car and go to the track....I don't want to risk dying because you can't slow your ass down.....thanks, but no thanks......

I hope that this may help educate some people....I hope this sheds some light on why there are road ragers.......if we all work together, we can all be happy drivers =)........

Yeah, like that'll happen......

Am I crazy???

2009-08-08T10:33:00.002-05:00

Well........

It's official.....

I must be becoming certifiable......

There's no other explanation. It seems to be the only label I can put on myself lately. Blame it on pregnancy, blame it on hormones but bottom line is......

C-R-A-Z-Y........it fits.

I guess you want to know how I happened upon this completely BRILLIANT deduction?!? Sitting here contemplating life is how. Pretty simple actually. I am a complete worrier by nature, those of you that know me....you KNOW this. It's no surprise. It's 100% FACT. Most days I am pretty good at keeping things under control...but as of late...it's becoming a struggle.

Take today for example.....

I have the most caring, wonderful, and amazing man in my life, that I get to share the single most amazing thing in my life with. I feel so lucky sometimes and with that feeling comes the "I don't deserve to have this" feeling. Even before this little miracle happened along, I felt that way about him. I was a complete and total mess. I pushed him out of my life, and stepped up and took care of a lot of things. Knowing how much he meant to me and how horrible I was being, I did what I thought I had to. Finally, I got my act together. Took care of the things that needed attention and got myself in a good place for the first time in what seemed like ages....but there wasn't a single day that went by that I didn't kick myself for pushing him away...nor was there a day, that I didn't break down in tears at some point because I missed him so much. Luckily for me, by some miracle - he gave me the second chance I SOOO did not feel I deserved. It was so much better than before!!! We became completely amazing together, I hadn't been this happy ever =).......

Now...you're probably saying....."okay so WHAT'S the worry???"......I will tell you:

We are now 8 weeks away from becoming parents....little scary, huh?? I just feel like I worked so hard to get back to being myself before and now being pregnant (as WONDERFUL as it is) has taken that away from me and from him. I have become a nightmare to be with, at least I see it that way. I don't mean to but I complain a lot about things....like:

My feet hurt.....My back hurts......I'm tired....I'm scared....

It seems to go on and on.....I know that is SOOOO not attractive after awhile...I bet it's down right ANNOYING!!! Heck I annoy myself after awhile!! I need to just put on my big girl panties and deal. It's not so much that I expect someone to DO anything about my complaints..I just find myself voicing them out loud. I think starting today, I will TRY to not share so much negative out loud. Maybe that will help some. My self image is pretty much shot as far as self confidence right now. Every time I have ever put on weight, I feel blah. I know that this time is different, but for him I feel bad. I went from feeling wonderful about myself and looking pretty okay....to this. It's hard to find clothes that flatter or make you not feel like a beached whale. Sometimes I get down and I just give up. I don't think anyone would want to be with that.....I know I wouldn't. He keeps telling me, not to worry........I love him more than anything.....I try to make sure he knows that to the point where maybe sometimes THAT gets old. I just want to have him and my little girl...my family. I want to finally have the very thing I have always dreamed of having of my own, that for some reason - I have never felt I deserved or would ever have.....Worry ...worry ....worry...

I am C-R-A-Z-Y.......yeah, I told you......I guess the first step is admitting it....

Where to go from here.....

So...no more complaining...about pain, tiredness, or anything of the kind. Can't do anything about it...so no sense in talking about it. That's number one. Nobody likes a whiner......can't say that I blame them.

Secondly - start finding one good thing everyday instead of focusing on what I feel is the negative. Maybe those negative things will go away. One can only hope......if they don't...well..... at least I won't be bothering anyone with them. I'm hoping these few small things will help me with feeling lost, scared and not myself. Not to mention- maybe ease the anxiety that has me sit straight up in bed at least once a night. That, I do try to keep to myself. It wouldn't make sense to anyone, but it happens and I manage. Some of my baby forum people assure me that it's the hormones and all pregnant women do it, some how.......that's not very comforting at 3 A.M........

I have made one kind of big step for me......For Mother's Day - Joe bought me the most adorable baby book, you know - the kind that you write down all kinds of stuff about me, him, and family........I wanted so badly to write in it but I had this fear that if I did, something bad would happen. He would ask when I was going to write in it and I would have some excuse about not having enough time, I think I may have even told him why I didn't write in it for real. Well I am happy to report that I am on my fourth page. I have started her book and I am glad I did. I just couldn't bring myself to do it earlier. You all probably think I'm some sort of lunatic......I swear I'm not.....well........maybe a little. I have even gone so far as to buy a pack of diapers, baby powder, baby lotion, and etc....because when she comes, if it's early...I want to be prepared....(notice I said WHEN...not if...that too is a big step for me).

I guess I'm kind of using this post today to try and clear my mind of some of the craziness that swirls around and has been causing me grief.....maybe if it's out here, then it will stay out of my little whirly brain.....

My very last worry to put out here:

I worry that my most wonderful man, may feel like he's suddenly starting to miss out on a lot of things he enjoys doing, because I can't do them. Like hanging out late with friends, or like the upcoming float trip with friends. I tried to tell him that just because I can't go doesn't mean he can't. I feel so honored that he would miss out on my behalf, but if he really wants to go, I don't want him to be resentful later that he didn't. Both of our lives will change significantly once little miss gets here, there will be a lot of good, but a lot of missing out on other stuff. I want him to enjoy himself now, do the things he wants to do =).....I don't mind missing out right now, I know it's for a wonderful reason and it can't be avoided.

I know you guys are probably bummed from my lack of comedy today, but I needed some self therapy =).....promise next time won't be so awfully blah....

Yeah...yeah....

2009-07-30T10:39:00.002-05:00

Yes....I know....

What can I say??? I have been super busy!!! You try starting a new job while 6 months preggo!! Yeah...hard work, trust me.

Well....as is evident..I passed my "certification" with flying colors. In fact, I got one of the highest scores. On each of the three parts, I scored a 96%.....yep....role play included =)..I must have sweated off 10lbs during that said role play, but damn it...I PASSED!!! No more career wrecking plays for me =). I am now "authorized" to sell US Cellular technology. Geez....it's now that I know why they don't have snot nose kids working in their stores.

The day I passed my little tests - I was thrown to the wolves....nothing new there...It was a Friday, I was done and certified by noon. I got a call from my manager begging me to close because one of our staff had a family emergency. Umm...sure...no problem, I can be a team player. So I get to my store, where I discover - I am working with someone who is helping out at my store. That means he has no alarm or safe codes. Ummm...me either?!? So I call the boss and he gives me codes. I have NEVER closed a store in my life so the poor dude I'm working with is pretty much working solo!!! Between answering my questions and helping people, I'm almost sure he was ready to shoot himself!!! My first day was a mess. Thankfully I had the Saturday, Sunday, Monday off before I went back and started over.

Well I paid for having those days....I worked the next 7 in a row....THAT SUCKED!!! It kind of flew by but I was so ready to not be here...I had Tuesday and Wednesday(yesterday) off. That leads me to my next little vent/story.....

Okay...SO...last Wednesday I was supposed to have a doctor appointment. I am now at that lovely time of my pregnancy where I'm supposed to be seen every two weeks. I get a call Tuesday evening that they have to reschedule......the good ol' doc has a funeral to go to. I believe it was his father in law??.......Ummm....in my past experience with funerals, rarely do people pass away then have the service the next day??? Really?? So in my brilliant deductions - one of the following happened:

A. They simply overlooked me and realized - Whoops we need to reschedule her!! Makes me feel oh so important.....

B. It was a crap excuse?? - Let also say that this is not the first time I have been rescheduled with some excuse, INCLUDING - He decided to take a vacation day....Ummm...AFTER you have already scheduled patients?? Do all doctors do that???

I accepted my reschedule...after informing them that due to the hours I work, I can only do the appointments on my day off. The receptionist appeared to be a bit put off by this...well..EXCUSE ME....We rescheduled for yesterday - my day off. So Joe ended up off early and he likes to go with me to the appointments when he can (isn't he awesome?), so off to the doc we went. We got there a little early, but that was okay. We are in the lobby 5 minutes...literally 5 minutes...when the rude lady receptionist in the back opens the glass and says -

"We have to reschedule you...."

I forgot to mention there is 5 people in the lobby, so at first I have NO idea to whom she is speaking....then a little louder she says.....

"I said we have to reschedule you....."

So I assume she is talking to me and I get up and go to the window. There was no - "I'm sorry"...no "please"...no pleasantness of any kind. I explained to the nicer receptionist that this was the SECOND time I was being rescheduled. I told her I was on week three of the supposed two week interval that he wanted to see me......she politely asked what day this week I could come back.....

AGAIN.....

I explain that due to my work schedule I can not come back this week. She says - "Not at all??" Umm....NO. Which part of - "Due to my work schedule, I have to come on my days off"....do you not quite comprehend??? So she looks at me and says "Well what about next week?"......okay so now the two week interval just became four.....so Tuesday I have a rescheduled (for the SECOND time) doctor appointment.....I am ready to switch doctors and I wish I had at the beginning. When I go I feel rushed, kind of like the Dobb's commercial.....

IN - UP - FIXED - OUT

Maybe I'm just hormonal, but I rely on these appointments to hear that everything is good, to tell me what I should be experiencing. That way I don't worry. It's not like I have done this before and am so very experienced......It just frustrates me to no end. I am a worrier by nature so when things start to go awry, I freak the hell out!!! Work with me people!!

Other than that...all is well =)

I have a soccer player in my belly and she kicks away nightly so I try not to worry to much =)

My worry falls when I start thinking of the changes to come....the everyday life changes are what scares me......then it's like...WHOA

Did I sign up for this???

2009-07-15T12:15:00.006-05:00

Ya know........

I'm pretty sure when I applied for this job, no where in the qualifications did it list:

MUST BE ABLE TO ACT

Ummm.....yeah, in fact, I'm almost 100% positive. Had it stated that was a talent you must possess, I wouldn't have even lifted fingers to keys to fill out the darn application.....but alas.....here we are. =(

In a post or two ago, remarked how at the end of this week I have a Skill Certification to perform to determine whether or not these 4 weeks of training have had their projected outcome. Remember??? Well one of the portions, as I told you, is a role play that is to last approximately 2 hours......yeah...you read it right...2 HOURS!!! In this 2 hours, I am supposed to have a conversation with a "customer"....assess their needs (you know-find out what the hell they want)....recommend a plan and features.....and recommend phones. AFTER that is done, I am supposed to actually use our training system (which is COMPLETELY jacked up and out dated) to set up all the changes I need to perform on the system to get the desired out-come. This "play" will determine if I have a job or not. Now....for the most part, this probably seems like an alright thing, it's a piece of cake right???

In most ways you'd be right, but let me tell you why this could turn out badly......

This wonderful fullilling training program is actually quite effective........IF used in the proper manner. For me....this did not happen =(....When I was hired, so were quite a few others. Due to this little fact, training space was limited. I was one of the lucky few that wound up doing what they refer to as "in-store" training. Yeah.....not exactly what I would call it. Here's the way MY training has played out:

Week one- get shoved to Fenton where NO ONE knows exactly what they are supposed to do with you, so for 2 days....you do NOTHING....whoo hoo...fun. Next 2 days you get shoved to Telegraph, there the Leader wants to know how far you are on your training modules??........Ummmm......training what????? I had NO clue what he meant...AT ALL!! I just kinda stood there with this "HUH?" look on my face......He was nice enough to get me set up with what I needed, now I was 2 days behind. I liked it there, Telegraph was nice.....alas it was not to last.....that leader was leaving the next Monday because his wife was having a baby.....my dumb luck.

Week two- Don't find out where you are going until late the past Friday night.....I ended up in Webster Groves for the Monday....there the Leader acted like I was completely in the way. He gave me a computer and I was ignored for the day...YIPPEE.....HOORAY....=( Let me also point out that at the end of each "module" is a "Skill Check" where someone is SUPPOSED to work with you and review what you learned....ummm.....did not happen this day.....Days two (Tuesday - Friday) I was then shuffled off to the Delmar store in the city!!! WTF?!?!? For that week I was shoved into the back room with a computer to do the "modules" and asked every once in a great while by the Leader how I felt.....Really??? You want to know??!!?? I SOOOOO want to tell you....but I'll use my better judgement and just NOT!! I tell him that it's fine, then I smile my biggest "kiss my butt" smile and move on.........by Friday, I had most of my "modules" done and like only 1/4 of my "Skill Checks"....very nice huh???

Week three - Started off at the Delmar store...same room, same amount of help....On Wednesday...I started off at Delmar....when I say started off, I mean - I drove there, got out of my car, went in and was told: OH, we are going to Hampton today......UHHHH....okay....that's fabulous....it would have been WAAAYYYYY more fabulous had you told me that BEFORE I drove over here...considering Hampton is 3 miles from MY DAMN HOUSE!!!! Come on people!!! THINK a little....Hampton is the store I was hired for, duh...because it's CLOSE!!! So I go there...same result...little desk, computer, work alone. Gee big surprise. The rest of the week was carried out in similar fashion at Delmar..

Are any of you beginning to understand my frustration???? No one has time for you, You are training for a test that could mean job or NO job. No one acknowledges your existence half the time and the people you work with give you the impression you are a nuisance.....very nice.....carrying on>>>>

Week four- Here's where I start to be a little upset.....

I am now sent to.......

ready???......

ST. FREAKIN CHARLES!!!

Okay so my 9 hour day just became an 11 hour day....It is a 50 mile round trip for me to go there. For the first couple days, I learn I am an experiment for some chick going through a "Become a Leader" program.....This kind of infuriates me. My future with the company rests on this "certification" and you want some random chick to practice on me??? SHEESH people!!! Cut me some slack!!! I spent all of week four out there learning to help someone else train people...does anyone see anything wrong with that set up??

Week five- I am still out in St. Chuck, but for the past couple of days, I have been doing what I feel I need to do. In fact, I have been demanding time from the experienced folk to get what I need down pat for my "certification" on Friday. I tried it their way, waiting for them to get their crap together, but NO MORE!! My job, my future. I am doing this week - MY WAY.......

I have all my training stuff done and I have been barreling through these miserable role plays to make SURE I pass. I refuse to let this hold me back. I have spent way too much in gas and time to give up. Tomorrow is my last day of practice before D - Day, so wish me luck and hope I don't freeze up from being nervous. Passing will feel so much sweeter because I did it WITHOUT their help and on my own accord.

I will have to say though...the bright spot of the 50 mile round trips daily is the 26.50 they pay me per day for mileage...makes for a nice little chunk of change!!

Hormones...out of control?!?!?

2009-07-14T09:48:00.003-05:00

Okay...so maybe this pregnancy thing is really causing my hormones to make my emotional state COMPLETELY out of whack.......

......or maybe I'm just horribly hateful, suddenly sad, and awfully anxious in every waking moment of my everyday life....

.....I'm SO hoping that's not the case!!

I guess maybe you're kind of wondering what in the heck I am talking about, so I guess I should explain myself before sounding like a complete idiot on top of the insanity I already suffer everyday =).....

Let's talk about - Horribly Hateful - we all know my road rage is completely all consuming when I drive anywhere...and I never thought it could get worse...

BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

For some reason now, when my wheels hit the pavement, I morph into "Queen of the Road"....I feel entitled to whatever lane, speed, or anything related to what I want. It's complete insanity. Example:

I can be rolling along in my own wide open lane....quite content that there's no one behind me, in front of me, or even beside me...I am Queen of my stretch of highway.....suddenly some jerk feels like they are entitled to join me and even have the nerve to share my lane by getting in front of me!!! Then I start mouthing unfriendly, hateful type things......now in hind sight this poor guy didn't do anything except merge when he got on the highway, he didn't slow me down, he merely decided to use the same lane. Now I know, and you know that he's looking in his rear view mirror thinking that I have gone completely mental...and he may be right!!! My favorite is when I decide I need to change lanes to get off the highway or just want to......god forbid if some poor soul is already occupying where I want to be!!! Then, once again, I start mouthing harsh mean things and I hit the gas and speed around them to get in front. Now that poor person was doing nothing but minding their own business, doing their thing. Now they too, are looking at me like I just escaped from the loony bin and they're wondering who they need to call to take me back!!! It's getting utterly incomprehensible, my responses to really nothing!!! If I'm following behind someone - they're too slow. If I'm in front of someone - they're riding my butt. If someone is in the lane next to me - they need to speed up or slow down.....it's almost as if I am entitled to drive however I want but they MUST follow what I want or expect them to do or it gets ugly.....

Say it with me........ C-R-A-Z-Y.....cause that's how I feel when I sit back and think about it!!!

NOW...let's talk about - Suddenly Sad. Okay, this one drives me nuts. I can be happy as a clam one minute......laughing, smiling, giggling....well you get the picture....suddenly, like a flash of lightening, I start thinking some horrible thought and I want to cry. Some times I can't even tell you WHAT the thought was to begin with. I just will feel sad, blue,"end of the world" like, for no particular reason. I'm sure, that some of you ladies can sympathize, but the guys are like - crazy chick!!! Maybe so.....but I can honestly say I do my best to try and NOT let it get to me. Every once in a while I lose, but I do the best I can.....it could be WAY worse.....TRUST ME!!!

Now...to my final hormonal nightmare - Awfully Anxious. Okay, so normally those of you that know me, you know I already worry myself sick over a lot of things....but now....it's a million times worse. I know, impossible right??? WRONG!!! It's like this impending sense of doom that never quite goes away. It lessens a bit, enough for you to put it in the back of your mind, but never goes completely away. Feeling like you're waiting for something bad to happen takes a lot out of you. It invades your dreams, makes you get up in the middle of the night just to make sure you WERE dreaming. I have gone through quite a lot this past year and I have to get through to my ever stressing brain that I am now in a good place. That things ARE going to be good. Being awfully anxious almost kept me from wanting to put out any of our little girl's stuff, almost like if I did, then something was going to go wrong and none of it would ever be used. it's almost like living in a dream. You know what's happening but you keep thinking to yourself that you don't deserve it, or that it's just wayyyyy to good to be true. I constantly look for reassurance that everything is going to be good, that she is going to be here in October, and that we are - in fact - going to be parents!!! I'm sure every once in a while Joe would love to shake me silly until I stop with the worries, and frankly....I don't blame him!!! But he never loses patience and keeps saying those reassuring things and it helps. I wish there was a switch in my brain that I could just flip and turn it off, but I can't. I must live with it. I am hoping that when she is born it will ease up some, but something tells me I'll just have a whole new batch of stuff to worry myself over!!! WHOO HOOOO!!!

I think most of these problems are DEFINITELY hormonally based and are definitely effected by the major body changes going on here, I hope for people's sake some of this lets up soon!!!!! I hope for my own sanity that some of this lightens up quickly =)!!!

Starting the countdown....

2009-07-13T13:06:00.003-05:00

Let me tell you that I have been completely spoiled by my years of "Banker's" hours....I am quite happy to be doing something else, but the hours are going to take some serious getting used to.

I am starting my countdown until next Tuesday when I officially exit my training - which, I kid you not, has gone on for 4 weeks....I guess I shouldn't complain, it is retail and I have still had weekends off......until now..=(....

This coming Friday I do what they call my "Skill Certification"...It's an online assessment, followed by what they call a guided conversation where they ask me questions and grade my answers, and THAT is followed by a 2 hour or little less role play....Did I mention I absolutely detest role plays?? I have no problem getting in front of a real live customer, but these fake scenarios are uncomfortable to say the least. All of this is to take place via web/conference call so there won't be anyone right in my face for this....kind of weird but what can ya do?? I am praying I get through it with a passing score, if I don't I will once again be unemployed...not a very good option right now.

I have no doubt that I will be fine, however with passing comes the realization that I am now subject to random hours.....

EWWWW........not liking it one bit.....

I will be off Saturday, Sunday, and the were gracious enough to give me Monday as well......yeah....maybe that's because I am scheduled to work the next SEVEN days in a row!!! A little relief before the craziness hits, perhaps?? Then I am welcomed into the "I now work weekends" life.....I guess the hours could be worse...We are open 10-7 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday. Not so bad, but for someone who has been spoiled rotten on a cush schedule, these seem like the end of the world =(......

My only saving grace is that I will be going out for maternity leave in less than 3 months.....less than 90 days....less than 12 weeks.....I guess I can hack it. Then the plan is to check into part-time.....cross your fingers for me =)...

I really do like the job and it's nice to be interested in the stuff you sell....

Banking??? - B-O-R-I-N-G

Cell Phones??? DUH - I live for mine =)

It's so cool to work for a place that ENCOURAGES you to play on your phone all day long!! The more you play, the more you know and the better sales person you become!! Internet?? They say please play there....again....KNOWLEDGE is power..did I also mention I get cell service FREE??? Not just for me but a substantial discount for anyone else I put on my account???

EXAMPLE:

Me & Joe : Unlimited Minutes, Unlimited Texts, Internet, and insurance on both phones..........

READY????

Don't be jealous........

We pay a whopping.......

$35.00 a month!!!!

between the two of us we weren't getting near all that stuff and paying about $130.00 together.....

That in itself is pretty freakin' awesome!!! I guess I shouldn't complain =) The hours aren't wonderful but they could be a whole lot worse!!!!

8 days and counting................................

What they don't tell you........

2009-07-10T09:55:00.002-05:00

Now that I am 6 months into my life changing journey, I have to tell you about a few things that NO ONE ever told me about being pregnant. In the movies - pregnancy is some blissful event. You see them walking around in a happy fog rejoicing every minute of every day. Even a few of my friends led me to believe that this is how it was going to be..........

IT'S A LIE>>

Don't believe it, don't base your idea of pregnancy around it!!!

TRUST ME!!! =)

But before I go any further, let me say this - I wouldn't change it for the world! I would go through this a million times over if I had too!! I would walk through fire for this little girl doing somersaults in my belly morning and night!!

THAT being said, I want to share a few things that I was not prepared for!! The biggest shocker for me was the fact that my ever expanding belly has a hard time keeping up with my ever expanding butt!!! Seems it expands at what feels like TWICE the rate!!! Funny....I thought the baby grew in FRONT, but maybe????? For the first couple months, I looked like someone that went on a serious food binge and just kept going!! I know that any time anyone saw me eat, they were thinking -

GOD SHE REALLY DOESN'T NEED THAT!!! Put down the cheeseburger lady!!!

A few times I broke down in tears because if you know me well - you would know that a couple years ago I weighed like 180 lbs and worked my butt off (literally) to drop 40 lbs!! Now all those size 14 & 16 jeans I swore I would never wear........

well........

you should never swear........

When I finally started to "show".....I felt a slight sense of relief.....even though my butt cheeks were now bouncing twice for every one step that I took, people could now understand there WAS a reason!!! But now....all they try to do is feed me!!! NO!!! I promise little miss is getting lots of nutrition!!!

I am happy to say that the weight gain has slowed a bit and I have come to the realization - thanks to Joe's non-stop reminding =) (I knew I loved him for a reason!!)- that I am NOT fat...I am pregnant....it's SUPPOSED to make me feel better but.......

not so much =).....

Along with the weight gain comes another little side effect......it's a fabulous little thing called......SWELLING!!! Yep, you seem to blow up like a balloon by the end of the day. it's most prevalent in your feet and ankles.....I cried one night because the swelling was so bad I thought I had CANKLES!!!! I found that there were a few things you could do to help...no salt and feet up....helps some =)

There are some neat bonuses to being preggo - you get bigger boobs =).....I keep getting told by a certain somebody (JOE) that he hopes they stay when we are all done.....something tells me he probably shouldn't bank on that =) ......you can dream though!!! We all need to hope for something I guess!!! One other benefit, well half a benefit, is that your hair grows much faster!!! My hair is already past my shoulders!! I can put it in a ponytail now!! It's shiny and soft!!

There is an evil flip side to this however.......

I now feel the need to buy stock in Gillette or it's parent company....

I would swear that I can shave my legs and underarms in the morning and by night they both have TOMORROW'S five O'clock shadow!! It's UNREAL!! I almost can't keep up, never mind how hard it's becoming to even see what I'm doing because of the expanding belly!! No one ever told me that was going to be an issue...it's hard to feel attractive when you can rub your legs together and make sandpaper sounds......or maybe call crickets.....

I guess I can thank god that I did not, for the most part, get the dreaded morning sickness that everyone talks about. My version was a lot less painful and only really applied when riding in a motor vehicle. Car sick was basically what I got. If I ate it was much less of a problem.......

How about feeling like you have run a marathon when in fact you have only walked from the kitchen to the bedroom??? Yeah, and that's only like 10 feet??? You constantly sound like that person that is extremely bored or feeling ignored when you**SIGH** sooo loud all the time =)!! I had to make sure I told Joe that I wasn't doing it because of him....I literally could NOT stop =)

I really don't want you all to think I'm complaining....I'm not, this has been the most rewarding experience. Every time I feel her kick or roll, or any time I get Joe to feel her - my heart just swells up and I want to cry =)....I never thought I would be doing this. And I really never thought I would be doing this with someone as wonderful as Joe. He's my rock =)....he keeps me sane and balanced. Didn't think that was possible, did ya???

I am still terrified. I walk into her room and look at her crib and try to imagine what she will look like sleeping there. I know Joe is going to be a good Dad, but I am soo scared that in some way I will screw up and this poor little girl is not going to have the Mom she deserves. I will love her with all my heart, I just hope I make good choices for her. It's so scary to think that someone else's life is going to be dependant on me. I haven't always done the right things or made really wise choices on everything, but I hope I can for her.......I'm almost making myself cry!!!

I have 3 more months to go.....it seems like forever but these past 6 have gone by soooo fast.....

I promise tonight I will post some ultrasound pics....

Holy Cow.......I hope you didn't hold your breath!!

2009-07-07T09:29:00.003-05:00

I know...I know.....

I know that when I said I would resume my writing...none of you thought it would be 3 or 4 months from then.....all I can say is OOPSIE!!! After all of this is sort of explained(since we really don't have hours upon hours to read my life story) maybe....just MAYBE....some of this will all make sense!!

First.....I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July....even though it was wet =)!! I have to tell you about the little fireworks stand I saw a couple of days before....Now we all know that these stands come in all shapes and sizes..from the gigantic super Wal-Mart of fireworks stands with every kind of blow up, make loud noise, sparking masterpieces-right down to the lean-to on the side of some backwood's road that has maybe some things that pop and only has one of each item.....we have seen them all. Some have gas stations connected...hmmm...gas and fireworks??? Who's brilliant idea was that??? ANYWAY....some have little snack bars and air conditioning......If I have seen it, I'm sure you have.

We have even seen some of their awesome marketing campaigns and deals meant to entice you in.....example..the old BUY 1 GET 4 FREE.....uh yeah...not really a deal since the one you actually pay for is priced 6 TIMES what any other stand is charging...but you know there are people out there that think -

HOLY COW!!! I GET 4 FREE!!! WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!

Silly rabbit......

What I have never seen in my life what was what Joe and I ran across on Friday night......

It was about 9 pm or so and we decided it would be a good evening for a nice drive and to go get our fire power for the following evening.....We had been running our behinds off for the week, and the preceeding month prior. We got in the trusty Jeep and headed south down highway 55...The windows were open..you could hear the crickets start to sing the further south we went....We kept our eyes peeled for those cool circus tents full of fun........we saw none for about 15 miles or so....we reached Herculaneum and the first one I saw was Phantom Fireworks....if you are familiar with this place, you know it's like a giant warehouse full neat sparkly things =).....what I discovered from my view on the highway , was that hundreds of others had the same idea as Joe and I...there was a line OUTSIDE the building..it wrapped AROUND the parking lot, and they were waiting to get INSIDE!!!

NO THANK YOU>>>

We drove on........

Finally, we took the Farmington exit off the main highway and decided at the next light to turn around and head toward 61/67.....

That's when I saw it......

A small "lean-to" type stand connected to .......yep....a gas station/snack bar. It was small. There was room for one person to walk back and forth in front of the small selection they had....sort of resembled a carnival game stand......that wasn't what made me start cracking up....nope....not it at all.

In all my days, I have NEVER seen this and why they thought it was an awesome idea to bring in crowds, well....was WAY beyond me.....Set up in the right corner of the parking lot right next to the stand was........are you ready???.....I wasn't......

It was a.......

KARAOKE STAND .....

Yep, some dude out in the parking lot signing and inviting others to sing....I want to know WHO thought...

Fireworks and Karaoke = Good business!!!

Then again, I did say it was the Farmington exit......anything to make a buck?? Sad part was, the poor DJ dude was the only one participating...in fact, he was the only soul there.....sad, very sad.....I just had to share.

Now for some catch up for some of you......

I have been a very busy girl and Joe has been a very a busy boy.....most of you know already but for those that don't.....

WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS IN OCTOBER!!!

Yep. We are having a little girl. Joe was a little disappointed, as all guys probably are when they find out it's not a little boy that will be trailing behind them, but a sweet little girl instead =)

I am a little scared but Joe seems to be ready for her.

I have to say that he has been wonderful and I couldn't have a better man in my life. He's been patient, giving and all without complaint. He's the love of my life =)....

I will try better to stay on top of this and post some preggo pics and keep you updated!!! I missed writing here!!

LOVE YA!!

Taking a Break!!

2009-03-24T12:59:00.002-05:00

I know you all tired of looking at the Valentine's Day post......I hear ya loud and clear!!! Fact is I am working on something spectacular and you'll just have to wait a little while longer!!! I did not forget about you, nor would I even dare!!! I'm just merely taking a break!! I hope to be back soon!!! Don't miss me too much =)

Valentine's Day......

2009-02-13T11:37:00.003-06:00

I am your average everyday female.......well, maybe not.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.....if you're female - you know this. If you're male and in a relationship of ANY kind - you better know this!!! UNLESS......you are my boyfriend, because if you are MY boyfriend then you already know that I think....

Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday!!!

YES!

You read that right!!! H-A-L-L-M-A-R-K Holiday!!!!

I actually feel badly for the masses of the male sex that run out like chickens with their heads cut off.....trying desperately to find that perfect gift for their mate. The whole hour between the time they get off work and the time they get home...is a mad dash through whatever mall or store is on their way home........I especially feel bad when I see them en masse at Walgreens pouring over the already scoured greeting cards, just looking for that one card left that doesn't say - "I love you Mom". They're usually standing 3 deep, reaching over each other, snatching card after card until they hit gold. THEN...comes the mad dash through the candy aisle where they dig like mad for a heart shaped box that is not crushed, torn, or smashed......and so on and so on....This same scene is played at the grocery stores where they do the previous but added to it is the florist department dig, petals every where.

I feel badly but I have to tell you, it's very comical!!

They do all of this in a sad attempt to please their female counter parts. Knowing that if they arrive empty handed, the wrath of all time will come crashing down around them. The crying will ensue, doors will be slammed, and things will be broken. It is their inevitable fate.

The interesting flip side to this is the female.....

While the males are doing their Valentine's Day freak out, the females are lying in wait like lionesses waiting to pounce. While they have been, what they think, as subtly dropping hints for two weeks about this love and romance filled day, they are POSITIVE their mate has forgotten. Secretly in their minds they are already forming the tirade that will no doubt happen when the men come home empty handed. The females are going over, in detail, EVERYTHING they have done for their mates....from home cooked meals to the lovingly red foil wrapped gift adorning the entertainment center......Then suddenly they start to imagine that the men actually put forth effort this year!!! It won't be like last and maybe they all got those diamond necklaces or earrings they hinted at.....just maybe!!!

Then the time comes.........

He walks in the door......

She excitingly runs to greet him......

He hugs her and hands her his hard fought for gifts - a rumpled card, box of no name chocolate, and roses that will die tomorrow......

She fakes a smile and says "oh...you remembered"........

It's the same scene played year after year. After many years, I came to a conclusion.......

I don't need a single day of the year for someone to prove to me that they love me.

Nope. I prefer to look at the little things that happen everyday. Such as:

Doing the dishes when I'm tired.

Washing my car because it's nice outside.

Throwing in a load of laundry cause you saw it needed to be done.

The hug and kiss for no particular reason.

These are the things you should be happy about, things you should be grateful for......not over priced flowers or candy that people feel forced to buy on this holiday that makes us all crazy!!!

If you're a guy and reading this....I know what you're thinking.....

THIS IS A TRICK!! If I listen to you...I'm a dead man!!!

If you're a gal and reading this....I know what you're thinking....

SHUT UP!!! I might get those diamonds this year!!!!

Don't bet on it.......

What happened to customer service????

2009-02-11T14:57:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure you have a good idea on what I am going to write about today....uh huh....in fact, you're all probably bowing your heads in agony as I prepare to tell you the next chapter in my little on going saga with.............TA DA:

SOUTHTOWN DODGE!!!!

You knew it didn't you????

I'm sure you did, and if you didn't.......well then you haven't been paying attention.......

It all started with a single little sunroof.....it is now spiraling out of control....Let me refresh your memory......NO, wait.....if you need a memory refresher.....please go back and read a few of my older posts.....I'm all out of patience for rewriting the things I already wrote......I'm feeling a bit lazy these days...

I will start with Friday.....I wrote that my lovely sunroof is indeed, NOT fixed. Nope....not even close. SO.....I made the dreaded appointment for Tuesday( this past Tuesday, in fact) to take it in and YET AGAIN have it "looked at" by the incompetent staff at Southtown Dodge......at that same time, I also left a some what "pleasant" voicemail for one of the owners, asking her to return my call. THAT has not happened.......I am very annoyed by this on Monday.....but THAT was just the beginning, I was soon to learn....

My Monday evening came crashing down as I was driving home.....Imagine, if you will, a calm serene me(yes, it is possible) relaxing on my drive home.......SUDDENLY, my cell phone rings.......have any idea where this is going??? I answer the little beckoning device....

Me: Hello?

Voice: Hi! This is Eric from Enterprise Leasing.

Me: Yes?

Eric: I see here that you are bringing your vehicle in for service tomorrow and are in need of a rental?

Me: Yes, that is correct.

Eric: Well, there's been a little problem with tomorrow. It seems that we are short 5 or 6 cars for tomorrow.........

WAIT!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!! - Someone, PLEASE tell me how the biggest rental car company here in St. Louis can be OUT of cars??? Are you trying to tell me that every car in your inventory just happens to be rented on that one particular day?!?!?!?!? Really?!?!? COME ON!!!

Me: Are you serious?

Eric: Yes Ma'am, I was hoping that you could work with us..

Me: Work with you? I have to work that day, this is the 3rd time I am bringing my vehicle back there, and I have to have a car.

Eric: I understand Ma'am, but maybe we can give you a ride to work and hope that we get a car in that afternoon.....

WHAT?!?! So they wanted to drive me to work with NO guarantee that I would even get a car?!?!? Really?!?!? Are you kidding?!?!?

Me: I can't be stuck at work with no guarantee on how I'll get home or if I'll have a car.

Eric: Well, we could always play it by ear. You can drive up here in the morning and we can cross our fingers that someone drops one off early?

Is he completely an idiot??? Why would I get my butt out of bed EARLY, to drive up there and HOPE they have a car for me??? Knowing....that if they don't I'll have to reschedule......where's your brains, man????

Me: No, that won't work. I will call the service department and reschedule - due to your "lack" of cars.

Eric: Okay, thank you ma'am.

You would think THAT was the heart of my story......uh nope....guess again.

After I hung up with "Mr. I don't have any cars".....I called good old Southtown Dodge's service department. They are open until 7pm Monday - Friday. It was 6pm.......

The phone rang and rang for what seemed like forever. No answer. I tried this THREE times and got the EXACT same result each and every time. So I accepted the fact that I was just going to have to call back in the morning and reschedule. I was fine with that, not happy, but dealing.

Tuesday morning comes and I awake to a lovely little voicemail:

Eric: Hi, this is Eric from Enterprise. I just wanted to let you know, we still don't have any cars......

Like I would have expected anything else?!?!?

So off to work I go. We happened to be fairly busy during the day, so I did not get the opportunity to call to reschedule. Funny thing - nobody even called me to find out WHY I hadn't shown up.....Not that I'd expect them to, I guess........

I got off work at 5pm and figured I would call Southtown - YET AGAIN. First time I called it rang and rang and rang....then SUDDENLY a voice filled the other line!! It said:

Service. Please hold...........

and I did.....for 15 FREAKIN' minutes!!!! I had to listen to the most horrible muzak ever!!! Finally another voice came on the line:

Hi, how can I help you?

I explained to him my situation and he asked me to hold a second......THEN...I heard it!!! That deadly little click.........

I had been DISCONNECTED!!! UGH!!! Are you kidding me??? Really??? Now, I am angry. So I call back........rang and rang......got bounced to the receptionist TWICE!! FINALLY a different voice:

Service. Can you hold?

Do I have a choice??? No, I don't. I sit and I wait for the disconnect.......

Voice: How can I help you??

Luckily this time I got a nice service department lady who apologized - yes, I said apologized. It was a shock to me, as this has been the first one since all this started!!! She gladly rescheduled me and then placed me in the other owner's voicemail, where I left yet another message.

I just want to know - WHAT HAPPENED TO CUSTOMER SERVICE???

In this day and age, you would think that businesses need to keep the customers they have and do everything in their power to provide quality service to get customers to return. But NOT them. If I had a nother dealer close, I swear I would go there!!! I'm still waiting for my return call and I promise you this......If he doesn't return my call, I'm marching my happy butt in there to see one of them IN PERSON!!

POSTAL!!

2009-02-06T17:27:00.002-06:00

This little post is going to be short but sweet!!!

I just wanted you all to know that if you hear a news report of some deranged customer going POSTAL at Southtown/South County Dodge.....Well.....IT'S ME!!!

I have had it.

I am SOOOOO angry I can't even see straight.

All of you know, by now, that I had to have my sunroof replaced. You also are aware of all the drama that has come along with it.......well we can add another little chapter today!

This afternoon was beyond beautiful. We finally had enough people here at work that I could actually take a lunch!! Whoo Hoo!!! So, I go out to my Jeep and I think to myself - Hey, I should open my new sunroof!!!

Wrong thing to do. I opened it and to my dismay, found out that it no longer opens all the way. NOW it only opens 2/3 of the way!! This beyond unacceptable!!! How can my sunroof go from open all the way to this and I'm just supposed to be ok with it??? I don't think so.

So I called. I got one of the service writers and I asked for the service manager. I was told he was out and could he return my call. The gentleman that answered my call was well aware who I was. I said that would be fine and then I asked who the service manager's supervisor or boss was. He tried to tell me that no one was above him?!? Really??? Do I appear to be that stupid? Come on. He tells me that corporate is the next step up........Right. So I said "ok, he can call me at......". Then I hung up. I IMMEDIATELY turned right around and called and got the receptionist. She was nice enough to give me the OWNER's name and place me in her voicemail.......corporate huh? Yeah, I got your number......I promptly left her message because she was out of the office for the day. I will be calling back on Monday. I placed my original call at 2:30 pm. It is now 5:40 pm and I have JUST gotten a return call and have made yet ANOTHER appointment to take it in.....UGH!!!!!

I'll let you know how that pans out on Monday!!!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

2009-01-30T10:04:00.003-06:00

I think it's time for a VACATION!!! It's been a very crazy, out there kind of year and I need to get away. My favorite place to go with all it's flashing lights and never sleeping excitement is...........

L-A-S V-E-G-A-S!!!!

I am absolutely crazy about the place.....

I have been there a grand total of 5 times already, and each and every time I flew. Not this year. It has been decided that a road trip to Vegas is in order. I have never seen any of the states on that side except for Nevada. I thought it might be nice to see a few of the others....

The decision to even want to go was a little hard for me. For those of you that know me, you know I got engaged there, honeymooned there and I am now divorcing. But to be honest, I loved that place before all that happened and to not go......well just seems like giving up something I love. So I decided to go. It's time to move on. Life can be hard, life can be sad....but sooner or later you pick yourself up and get on with it. You learn valuable life lessons and try again.

SO!!!! Enough with the sentimentality aspect!!!

I love Vegas pure and simple. I love all the people, the huge incredible monstrosities filled with sparkling lights, tinkling bells, and the hope of striking it big!! I am filled with amazement every time I step out onto that energizing Las Vegas Strip. There is SOOOO much to see. After being there 5 times already, you would think that I have seen it all......NO WAY!! I have seen a lot, and I have been sad to see some places fall and become piles of rubble. History gone with the blink of an eye. I have also seen a lot of new growth and amazing new architecture. Every time I think about going, I can feel excitement rushing up like a volcano ready to explode!!! Pitiful, I know right??

I am supposed to be going in June. I have been there in March 3 times, July once and August once. I like going in the spring, it's warm but not hot and you can still wear shorts in the day and jeans at night. The summer is, well.............

HOT!!

I know what you're thinking.......

"but it's a dry heat".....blah blah blah

I'm sorry, but 105 degrees is 105 degrees.....HOT!!! Sweltering...walk out side and lose your breath hot. Feel your face melting off - HOT!!! The soles of your feet burning and you swear they will be gone when you look down - HOT!! Luckily the casino's provide cool refreshing air and free ice cold drinks for your enjoyment =)!! Bottom line.....

HOT is HOT!!!

None the less, I can't wait to go!! I am hoping my sweet loving mother, who means the world to me.....will puppy sit her gran-dog for a week =)......I haven't asked yet, but I will =)!! She's an angel and I know she's loved......

That's all I got for you today...short and sweet =)....I'll keep you updated on my trip planning and details....Have a great weekend all!!!

THANKFUL!!!

2009-01-29T12:23:00.004-06:00

I........am thankful.....in fact I have never been so thankful for a decision I have made....EVER!!! Our lovely little snow storm convinced me even more that keeping my little Liberty was the best thing I could have done. Had it not been for my 4 wheel drive, I would have kept my butt at home for the past couple of days!! I should be burned at the stake for even considering it.

I'm not sure how the rest of you fared in our little storm, but I didn't do to horribly bad. As many of you already know, I am the world's most scaredy cat driver. I don't like the rain, snow, traffic.......hell....if the wind is blowing too hard....I hate to drive. I have lots of confidence in my ability to drive, however.....I DO NOT have such confidence in my fellow man, or woman for that matter. Can you blame me? I know you guys have seen the people I am referring to:

A. The - I have 4 wheel drive so I can go as fast as I want in any condition- driver...Umm yeah, I don't think so. Just because you have a 4X4, that doesn't mean that suddenly you have like a super power vehicle that does everything safely on command. No..you idiot...the only thing 4X4 does for you is help you accelerate. When it comes to stopping...or hitting an icy patch, you are just as susceptible to accidents as the rest of us. The proof of this is the hundreds of brain dead fools that are in ditches, flipped over, or sliding dangerously across intersections BECAUSE you are going way too fast. SLOW DOWN.

B. The - Oh my god there's a snowflake- driver.....these guys are plain ANNOYING. It seems to be everyone with a handicap placard pretty much fits this category. Let me just say this....JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE A SNOWFLAKE, DOESN'T MEAN SLOW DOWN TO 15 MPH!!! Uh...hello, it hasn't even begun to stick on the ground yet, in fact it hasn't even REACHED the ground yet!!! Give me a break.

C. The - I make my OWN road - drivers....these guys are just plain dangerous...Ever notice how when the roads are covered...snow packed...the lanes are usually undefined? Especially on a four lane (two going one way, two going the opposite) road? Most times only half of either side is clear enough to drive on.....quite often, it's smack down the middle of the two lanes....The majority of us do the single file thing, being safe...BUT....you have the rogues, and they drive 4x4's MOST of the time, not all, but most!! People...most of us are doing the single file thing for a REASON!! It means the other lane is not safe, not to mention - NOT EVEN A FULL LANE!! So when you go flying by trying take the road less traveled, you are eventually gonna hit somebody!! I value my life...how about you value your own???

Those are the main three dangerous/annoying drivers to me. After driving myself through all this mess of the past couple of days, I am happy to report that I only had ONE close call!! It didn't even result from anything I did. I didn't slide, get stuck or anything of the sort. Nope. It was all some mindless human that should probably have NOT been on the road......

I was on 270 going North to work....minding my own business....doing about 25 or so like everyone else on the snow packed highway.....off to my right I see some idiot that was going WAY too fast sitting perpendicular to the traffic off on the side of the road-kind of on the entrance ramp...something about him made me uneasy as I approached, so I kind of kept an eye on him (yes, I said HIM)......there was a good distance between me and the driver in front of me, and no one behind me. As i got closer, I just had a gut feeling that this dumb ass was going to pull out in front of me....B-I-N-G-O.....as I start to drive by he gave it gas.....I had to swerve to the left and pray no one was coming or that I didn't slide, to keep him from running SMACK into the side of my Jeep. Umm..HELLO?!?!?!? I KNOW he saw me, he looked me dead in the eye. Brains....brains dude, where are they? Leave them at home did ya??....WOW.

I am very happy to report that I was one of three that made into work yesterday-three did not. I have my own opinions about that, but ya know? I think I might be better off to keep that to myself =).......

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! YEAH!!! Seems like this week has just flown by. I'm really not looking forward to it. I HATE run, run, run weekends. It almost feels like I don't get a day off!!! I go back to work to relax =).......This weekend is.....

Friday night is BINGO -I am SOOOO ADDICTED. I may start growing gray hair!!! Laugh if you wish, but it actually is an inexpensive way to spend a Friday night!!! It's kind of become my thing....I still have yet to scream that magic word....

Saturday is the Car Show - WHOO HOO!!! Let's hope I don't get another useless urge to get a new car.....ppppplease?!?!

Sunday is the SUPER BOWL - YIPEE!!! I only watch for the commercials...unless the GIANTS are playing (save your comments about how they tanked, thanks anyway...)!!! That means lots of food, friends and fun...WOW - I sound like a damn commercial myself =)

By the time Monday gets here, I'll be begging to go back to work for some relaxation.......

BEWARE OF SOUTHTOWN DODGE!!

2009-01-22T16:11:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that the temporary insanity that caused me to think about trading in my beloved Jeep has passed. I am now back on Earth and all is right with the world..........I decided that paying $28,000.00 when all was said and done for a Ford Focus was asinine!! I think you'd agree =)!!

THAT.....however.....is not the reason for my post today, but just a side note.

The pertinent story for today's post, is as follows..........

If you go back a bit in my posts, you'll recall that I had a sunroof issue. It was broken and needed to be replaced. Remember???? Well, it turned into a customer service nightmare for me.......

When I first got my blue dream, I regulary took it to South County Dodge (NOT to be confused with Southtown Dodge). The service there was great. I always got everything I needed and the people were pleasant as pie.............

(FLASH FORWARD TO SUNROOF ISSUE)

When I realized my little window to the world was broken, I immediately called on my favorite little crew at South County.....to my amazment, they had closed and combined themselves with Southtown Dodge a few miles south on Lindbergh. I had never dealt with Southtown but how bad could they truely be? I mean, most of the staff at South County had been taken on there - so I had been told. So I gave it a shot. I made my appointment and took it in.

It was an early morning appointment. I arrived at the service bay door at 7:20 am - promptly. They opened at 7:30 am and I had to be at work at 8:30 am. Sure enough...at EXACTLY 7:30 am the mammoth white metal walls went up. Hey, so far so good right? They immediately pulled up my info, got me my little permission slip for the rental and ushered me out. In fact, I was only there a little over 15 minutes!!! This included me picking up my rental. RIGHT ON!! I went to work as usual and waited.........and waited........3 hours went by......no word.....waited.......5 hours went by......nothing. Finally I called. They proceeded to tell me what I ALREADY knew, except I knew it in 5 minutes, but apparently they needed hours to figure it out - it was BROKEN!!!

DUH!!

THEN they informed me that they had to order the part. I could come pick it up and when they got the part in - say 7 days - they would call me to schedule a time to bring it back. Okay, so they had it for hours, just to tell me they can't fix it today.....fine.

I picked it up. As I'm driving away, for whatever reason, I looked up.....low and behold on my once clean headliner, there was 3 or 4 nice Neanderthal prints....great. There was no sense in telling them now, since they'd probably do it again when they installed the sunroof...so I waited.

A week went by.........waiting.........10 days.......still waiting......2 weeks.....okay this is ridiculous......so I called. Now by nature, I KNOW I'm not the most patient person in the world, but I was REALLY trying. When I called, I was dismayed to learn that they had gotten the part in a WEEK AGO!! Yet not a single soul had contacted me......now I was perturbed......never the less, I begrudgingly made the appointment to have it put in. The day they wanted to do it, I had plans......They ASSURED me I would have it back by 3 pm.....PROMISED ME.......Yeah, right....

So I got there bright and early that day, again...in and out within 15 minutes.....I made sure to point out the prints!! I went to work, I had a half day that day. At noon, I left had lunch and waited....2 pm went by....2:30pm came......no call from them. So I called.....

"It won't be ready until 4pm ma'am."..........Say what??.....I was promised 3 pm....."Well ma'am we didn't get it done."......no apology, no sorry for the inconvenience...no nothing....just another promise that it would - indeed - be done by 4pm.....really???.....So I showed up at 4pm......ONLY to be told they were just finishing it up and it would be a few minutes.....more like HALF AN HOUR!!! Seems it takes that long to get the smudgy nasty prints off headliner.......FINALLY they bring it to me. It was dark and I was happy to have my little Liberty back =)....

When I got home, I reached up to turn on an interior light....for some reason it wasn't where I expected it to be.....maybe it's just cause I drove something different for a day.....right? The next day happened to be kind of nice so I tried my sunroof...I reached for the button and realized maybe I was pushing the wrong one, cause it wasn't working...do you know how whenyou have driven something long enough, you know where things are WITHOUT looking??? Well I am like that. After a few minutes I finally convinced myself that I wasn't being silly....I really looked at my control buttons and lights.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?

I wasn't crazy! The damn little control panel had been put in BACKWARDS!! They do this on a daily basis...it's their JOB. That would be like me forgetting to run somebody's deposit.....I was aggravated. The next thing that happened took the cake.

The back window on my Jeep was dirty. So like normal, the little washer fluid thingy on my column was the cure. So it got turned....the pretty blue water came down, swish-swish went the wiper...CLEAN WINDOW!!! Cue the REALLY crappy thing that happened....

Do any of you know where your little line that carries the magic blue cleaning liquid runs through to get to the back window??? I didn't......BUT I DO NOW!!! I only know this because about 5 minutes after the window got washed, pretty blue liquid streamed out of my handle next to the windshield on the INSIDE of my Jeep!!! Some how the idiots manged to nick the line when putting my headliner back in!!! THAT'S also when I noticed that then did a crappy job putting the trim back on as well....NOW I WAS PISSED...did I happen to mention that this occured as I was on my way to test drive a new car?? Which meant that if I liked it, they'd be looking at the Jeep for trade in value?? So we had to kill about 15 minutes trying to make it stop leaking before I got there!!!

SO>>>>

Monday I called and got an appointment for today. Explained what happened. AGAIN - as expected - NO APOLOGY....NO NOTHING....I dropped it off this morning. I told them how unhappy I was....got my rental car...and headed to work. I heard nothing, so I called them at 2:00pm. Yes - my car was ready I could come get it.....So I got there....

As I am walking from the rental car I see the Service Manager driving my Liberty carelessly through the parking lot and honking the horn at his buddy who was walking across the parking lot......NICE!! I go in, turn in my rental and pick up keys, still NO ONE HAS APOLOGIZED...except for the nice cashier lady. I go out, get in my Jeep where I notice 2 new half dollar size stains on my driver and passenger seats...so I get out..go get him and show him....then he looks at me and says:

"I don't know how they would have done that."

I gave them my view on how it could have happened, his next response nearly floored me.....

"They only took the handle off to replace the hose."........

WHAT?!?!? Do I look stupid? Do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck? You mean to tell me that he replaced a WHOLE line using 2 small screw holes???

WHATEVER!!!

And that's all, no offer to fix....no apology.....that's it....

I will NOT GO BACK TO SOUTHTOWN DODGE!!! Horrendous customer service!!!

UGH!!!

I am SOOOO Stressing!!!

2009-01-21T11:05:00.003-06:00

All right, all right........

I know exactly what you're thinking.....

"She's stressing?? Gee what's new???"

But seriously....you'd be right!!! I have come to discover that it is my job in life to worry. I happen to be VERY good at it! I can take the most minute of things and make it in a full blown world catastrophe. I think I even create things to worry about =)!! As if life wasn't stressful enough........

So now for my NEW thing to stress over.....

ARE YOU READY????

I am car shopping.

Okay before you all flip out and think to yourselves - OMG! Is she nuts?? Let me tell you that I have asked my self that very same question. I assure you, I am not insane. I am of sound mind and body(ok well almost sound body). It just seems that I have picked up a new talent!! It's called......

RATIONALIZATION

I have found that I am quite good at this =)

Here are my reasons:

Better Gas Mileage

Newer Car

More Warranty

and the best one:

ONLY MY NAME WILL BE ON IT!!!

So.........

Here goes the real story.....

I shopped online for two whole days (yeah, I got paid to do it!!) to find the perfect car, my new golden chariot..........AND I DID!!

It was a new 2008 Ford Focus SES. If you haven't seen the new 2008 and 2009 Focuses, you should go check them out. This was an absolutely perfect car for me. It had:

Leather Seats

Power Everything

Ambient Lighting - this is a truly cool thing, you can change the colors of the lights in your interior!!

Microsoft Sync - this little gem lets you control your Mp3 player and cell phone all by voice command!!! Safety and coolness at it's finest!!

Great Gas Mileage

Really all that was missing was my beloved sunroof!!!

This was just an all around awesome little car. I found this little miracle at Suntrup Westport, so I emailed the dealership to investigate the kind of deal I might be able to scrounge up. It seemed that I was gonna get an awesome deal!!! The car originally listed for 20K and I could pick this one up for 15k or LESS!!!

WHOO HOO!!!........ right?

Is it ever that easy??? Seriously??? OF COURSE NOT!!

Friday night was spent cleaning out the Jeep. I was sad. I love my Jeep, but she's not very gas efficient and I use my 4 wheel drive like once a year. So with bittersweet feelings, I vacuumed and wiped down the interior. While doing this, I made myself a promise -

I WOULD NOT GET SUCKERED INTO A HORRIBLE DEAL!! It wasn't that I needed a new car because mine was a piece of crap, because it's not. It's a matter of getting something that could benefit me in the long run, if I don't think it's going to......I won't do it. My momma didn't raise no dummy!!! HA!!

ANYWAY>>>>

So I worked on Saturday until noon....ugh. Then after work I made my little jaunt North. I was excited and nervous!!! As we pulled up, I saw it!! A little sleek black dream, beckoning me to drive it and take it home =).........So I took it for a test drive...I LOVED IT!!! As I'm driving around relishing my excitement......I noticed the first little truth of the day.....

THE CAR HAD 5600 MILES ON IT!!!

That's alot of miles to just leave out when someone is inquiring about a car. I feel like I should have been told BEFORE I drove up here. It was a DEMO!!! The sales lady - Jessica(don't ever go see her, save your energy) told me that it would be discounted - yeah? Don't believe everything they say....I also made sure to inquire on the factory warranty, I asked if the warranty kicked in the day I purchased it or the day they put it in Demo service. She assured me it was from the day I purchased it.......

Apparently knowledge is not a requirement to work at Suntrup Westport. Either that or she must have thought I was pretty stupid. I did further investigation to find out that the information she gave me was FALSE, A LIE, INCORRECT, MIS-TRUTH.............You get the point. Seems you only get the balance left on the factory warranty.....not a good thing to mislead someone on....

That was mis-information number 2, number 3 came when the numbers she gave me over email didn't realistically come close to what she gave me in her little cubical from hell. First off, I know the market for SUV's in today's economy has slacked off quite a bit and values are down. So I wasn't expecting to get every penny of my payoff without rolling a little over. That being said, I had pulled the KBB and the NADA values myself so that I had first hand knowledge of what I was dealing with. I found that 7500 was the low amount for a "rough" trade in, 11500 was the high amount on an "excellent" one. Always be prepared!!! Miss Jessica did the usual disappearing act to find out her first proposal. It was laughable!! READY????

23,000.00 roughly for a 15,000.00 car.......Uh.....I don't think so!!!!

They offered me...........................................8500 for my Jeep. That's when I got insulted. I looked at the print out she had from KBB. I noticed she left off SEVERAL things that would bring my value up!! Do I look like an idiot?? You want me to eat 6K on my trade??? Not to mention there was NO discount allotted for the 5600 miles on the damn car already! I asked her about that......"Oh, sorry. I didn't tell him, I forgot.".....REALLY??? How do you forget the car you're selling has 5600 miles on it??? I think it was a blatant attempt to pull the wool over my eyes.....not gonna happen chickie.......meanwhile, she's holding the keys to my Jeep...literally holding me hostage!!! We must have went back and forth 5 or 6 times and I was there for a total of almost 3 hours!! The stupid chick kept holding my keys...TWICE we tried to leave. I obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with them and she wasn't getting anywhere with me, but she wouldn't give me my DAMN KEYS!!!! I was aggravated and angry and it was the most horrible experience of my car shopping life. I would NOT recommend them to ANYONE!! I had to DEMAND my keys...I finally got them, then got the hell out.....NEVER GOING BACK THERE!!!

I told myself I was done looking, I was keeping my Jeep and that was that............until YESTERDAY!!! =) I have been in email contact with Doug Reuther of Reuther Ford.....They are offering me a realistic amount for my trade, and he went and took the time to find me a Focus with EVERYTHING I wanted on it, for a good price!!! Not to mention he has been professional, upfront, and very accomodating. He took the time to review my information, listened to what I had to say and was just an all around awesome salesman. He worked some honest preliminary numbers that he broke down for me so that I would have the utmost understanding of what was going on and what was going where. I would send everyone I know to this man even if my deal doesn't work out the way I want it and I would go back later myself!!!

SO!!! Yesterday I filled out the credit app, and now I wait patiently.........I still say if I don't get the payment I want or the bottomline I want, that I will walk away. But at least I will walk away knowing that someone really tried to help me and not cheat me =) !!!! I'll let you know, when I know!!!

Antarctica??????

2009-01-13T08:36:00.002-06:00

I am, without a doubt, a SUMMER girl!! So just let me say how -

I AM SOOOO NOT A FAN OF TODAY'S TEMPS!!!

I walked out the door this morning and thought I was going to immediately freeze to the spot where I was standing!!! I thought I woke up in Antarctica!! This isn't just the - burrrrr it's cold - kind of cold, oh no!!! This is the - the snot in my nose is freezing and hurting my brain - kind of cold!!! I don't like it, not one bit!! You see, I sit at my comfy little desk all year round with a toasty little space heater!! If it gets below 75, I'm a walking, talking, shivering ice cube....no lie. The goose bumps well up on my arms like little Mt. Everest's!!! I thrive in 80 to 85 degree temps. Those temps are jeans and t-shirt weather as far as I'm concerned!!

The worst part is that the weather report says it's supposed to get to ZERO??? UGH!! I already broke out my green puffy coat, gloves, scarf......I look like the little kid from "A Christmas Story". You know, the one who's Mom bundled him all up and sent him to school?!?!? I think his name was Randy. I HATE THE COLD!! Yes - I am whining.....and NO I don't think it's going to help - BUT - it sure makes me feel a whole lot better!!!! =)

I do have to say that I have to hand to those of you that work outdoors in this kind of weather!!! You're so much better a person than I!! Either that - or you're just plain NUTS!! You know - you may be just a little bit of both!!!

ENOUGH WHINING!!!

I haven't written a lot lately, I don't want to bore you to death with tedious day to day crap and to be honest, nothing crazy or exciting has really happened in the past week or so!! So rather than saying:

I got out of bed.

I went to work.

I sat at a desk all day.

I went home.

I went to bed.

I got up and did it all again the next day..........

I just figured I'd give you a break instead!! If I start writing that stuff you may not come back!!! Who wants that??? I sure don't!!

Tonight I am going to go do something I have NEVER done before. At one time I thought this activity was for the frail, wrinkly, grey haired part of our population........I wouldn't have even stepped foot there. Apparently, times have changed!!

B-I-N-G-O

I guess it's not just for seniors anymore!!

Those of you that know a little about me, know that I am not a very vocal person. I do not yell, I do not get loud. So this should be very interesting. I can't imagine how this is going to work.......

I'll get my little Bingo boards - paper promises of victory.

Get the little colorful dauber thingy to mark those glorious numbers off as they flow sweetly from the caller's lips.

Position myself over the cards, dauber in hand - like a predator stalking it's prey, intently listening.......

Greedily start marking off those beautiful numbers on my board.....begging, pleading for 5 of them to be in a row......

Realize that I do indeed, have a BINGO!!!

HERE LIES THE PROBLEM FOR ME!!!!

You are then supposed to yell - BINGO!! HA!!! I don't yell, I get embarrassed easily. I start thinking to myself.....

What if.........

I go the numbers wrong???

I marked one by mistake??

Someone ELSE got it too???

I sound retarded screaming out BINGO??

OH how stressful it's getting already!!! I have been told by several people that I worry far too much. The poor little hamster that runs in my little hamster wheel brain always works double time!!! I worry about the silliest of things.....ALL THE STINKING TIME!!! I swear, if I wasn't worrying about something, I don't know what I'd do with all my free time!! Well, I hope I win LOTS of money!!! Or at least break even would be good =).....if nothing else, maybe I'll get a good story out of it!!

Positive thinking!!

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

I missed New Year's =(

Yep, that's right. No celebration. No fanfare. No kiss. No champagne toast. No noise makers. No embarassing photos. No music. No countdown........

You get the point.

Nope, this New Year's my behind was planted firmly on the couch, where I fell asleep at like 10:30 pm. I know what you're thinking:

Oh how sad......you have no friends and you had to spend New Year's all alone =(

I assure you - THAT, in fact, was NOT the case. Not even close. Part of me wishes that in all actuality, it was the truth!!! I have been dealing with something far more sinister. More evil that anything I have ever encountered!!! I have been dealing with...........

The Stomach Flu

I want to tell you how unforgiving and dreadful a week this has been. I will spare you the gory details, but let me assure you I do NOT wish this on my worst enemy....and secondly - you may want to buy stock in Proctor & Gamble....because before this season is over, they are going to make a mint off me, my family and a few co-workers!!!

I also want to apologize to all those unsuspecting souls that I unknowingly shared my dreadful gift with. I would NEVER give it to you on purpose. I know you are secretly slamming me with every hateful name and phrase you can think of while donating to P&G's success. I don't blame you!!

Since it is a New Year, I thought instead of focusing on the negatives from this little bug, I would try to look at the positive side =).

I KNOW YOU'RE IN SHOCK............please try to control yourself.

Trying to think of positives when it comes to the stomach flu and it's effects is not an easy task. I think if I try though, I should be able to find a few. Okay let's see....

Thinking.........

STILL thinking.........

OKAY!!! I got a few.

1. I am willing to bet I have lost about 10lbs!! - Nothing like getting the stomach flu to help you lose those last 10 stubborn pounds before swimsuit season arrives!!! And the only exercise you do is a short brisk walk!!! Maybe we could market and sell it?!?! Whoo Hoo!!! How's that for a positive????

2. I eat less junk =)!! I am now very careful as to what I put in my sensitive little system!!! We all must remember:

WHAT GOES IN........MUST COME OUT!!!!

3. No New Year's hangover!!! That has to be the best positive I can think of!! We all know how MOST New Year's Day's are......and we all know we NEVER plan on it to be that way!!! NO NO NO!!!! This is usually what we start out thinking......

New Year's eve comes.....we sit at work all day with anticipation of yummy food, tasty drinks, and super fun games with friends!! We can't wait to get off work, run home, and change clothes and get our party on!!! YEE HAW!!! In the back of our mind - we are thinking - I have the day off tomorrow and I can FINALLY get caught up from the holiday crap. OH!! I can also take down all my Christmas stuff and get my house back in order.........yeah......keep dreaming pal!!!

NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!!

We get all snazzed up and get to our party destination and immediately grab a cocktail and a little plate of finger foods. Stuff like chili cheese dip, little smokies, taco dip.......at the time these sound like FABULOUS choices!! Don't they?? We then meander our way to where a little circle has formed at the table to play one of our "way too much fun" games!!! Did I mention these games are played with mass amounts of alcohol?? Anyone played 3-Man? How about Jerry's Kids?? No? If you haven't then good for you!!! If you have then.....well...then you have my prayers. We sit at the table with our friends playing, drinking, playing, drinking....eating......We ring in the New Year whooping and hollering!!! We hug and tell everyone how much we LOVE them - cause that's what drunk people do =) We love EVERYBODY and we want world peace =)!!

THEN it starts to happen.......

Your mouth starts to get dry.......you feel your tasty little snacks welling up....climbing back from the pit of your stomach to the back of your throat.....MMMM....bet those smokies and chili cheese dip don't seem like such a great idea now, do they?? One of two things is now going to happen.....

A - You will go to the bathroom and discreetly rid your self of the past 3 hours worth of food and drink consumption.....

B - You will find a nice quiet spot to disappear to and pray you aren't missed.

Either way, you're done.

QUE the next morning.....

You awake in what's left of the morning......probably like 11:00 am. You have a whole drumline playing in your head.....every step you take you sway and stumble...Equilibrium???? Ah...overrated.....

You have a severe case of "cotton mouth".....you keep drinking water, like you have been trapped in a desert for days.... Remember all those plans you had??? GONE!!! OUT THE WINDOW!!! The only thing you'll be doing today is trying to keep from vomitting and trying to quiet the drumline......

The funny part is that we not only do that to ourselves once....WE do it EVERY YEAR!!! Duh???

So I guess it really was a positive that yesterday morning there was NO hangover, Joe and I went to breakfast.....did some vegging with a few movies....got out - did a little shopping...and all in all had a really great day!!!

I guess this whole "POSITIVE THINKING" thing, isn't so bad!!

We both STILL have the stomach thing, so we don't go far from our little haven, but we are hoping to get out a bit this weekend!!! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's and didn't subject yourselves to too much torture!!!

I hate working Saturdays......

2008-12-27T08:46:00.012-06:00

First.....let me say, for the record.....

WORKING YESTERDAY SUCKED ROCKS!!!

Not because I had to be here.......no not at all. I had accepted the fact that I had to be here. I didn't like it, but I had accepted it. Christmas has been a 4 day long event, I was exhausted already.

It started with Christmas Eve at 4pm, stayed out until 11:00pm.

Got up at 7:00 am Christmas Day and didn't make it back until 10:30 pm.

THEN....

I got up at 6:45am yesterday and worked from 8:30am until 6:15pm.

After work, I had more Christmas stuff until like 10:00pm.

THEN......

I had to get up at 6:45 am this morning to be here!!!

And tonight is the LAST of the Christmas stuff...it starts at 7:00 pm.

I think I need a serious nap!!

ANYWAY........yesterday sucked SOOOO bad because it was SO slow!! I literally got paid to do NOTHING yesterday. I sat my butt in this chair for 9 + hours.....I'm not sure which is more exhausting...working my butt off or sitting here staring at the wall. I'm pretty sure it's the latter......

NOW....here I am back here YET AGAIN....and I really just want to go home!!! Wanna know why??....TOO BAD>>>I'm gonna tell ya anyway!!

We open at 9:00 am every Monday through Saturday(holidays when we are closed are the ONLY exceptions).....it doesn't deviate...we have never opened earlier...nor have we ever decided, for the hell of it, to open later!!

It's 9:00 am people!! PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!

It's amazing to me how many of our regular visitors must lose their brain between Friday night and Saturday morning!!

I arrived here at 8:15 am this morning. I was running a bit early and thought that was okay. I figured I could come in, relax, check my email, etc. I no sooner got the door open when I hear the phone ringing......Now technically we really don't have to answer the phone until 9:00 am.....There have been times when we just sit here and let that phone ring, ring, ring......it's pretty amazing how persistent people can be, it's like they have a little spy camera some where in here and they just KNOW someone is here. You can almost picture them on the other end:

Gritting their teeth

Phone clutched in hand and glued to their ear

Frightening grimace on their face that gets worse with every ring

Through the gritted teeth, you can hear:

ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE!! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!!

Well....I'm beginning to think that's exactly what I should have done this morning, but no.....I decided I would be nice(I know it's hard to believe, but it does happen sometimes). As I set my tea down, I grabbed the phone......here was the start of my crappy Saturday:

Me: (Very Pleasantly)Thank you for calling National City, Fenton. How can I help you??

Caller: (Very Rudely) Yeah...you can tell me WHY you people charged me $72.00 in fees!

Me:(still rather pleasant) Okay Ma'am, I'd be happy too but I just walked in the door and I do not have my computer up yet. If you would like to call back in 15 minutes or so.......(cut off)

Caller: (still horribly rude) What do you mean??? Don't you people know that my time is valuable and I don't have time for this crap?? You can help me now!!

Me: (pleasant) I need my computer to assist you. I can give the 1-800 number if you wish, they can help you now.

Caller: (a plain bitch) You're pretty useless. Why do I even bother with you people?? Give me the damn number...

Me: (monotone) Here's the number, you have a good morning.

Caller: (evil bitch) Whatever, learn how to do your job........click, end of call.

Here's what I really wanted to say.......

Look lady(not really the word), We don't open until 9. We never open before 9. What makes you think I have a little magic bank fairy in my f*cking pocket that has all the answers to your stupid questions??? No, I have a computer. It has to be turned on to be used and that takes about 15 minutes. I can't help that you're not a math genius, and therefore can't balance your own damn check book. it's simple addition and subtraction, LEARN IT!! Until then you can call me back in 15 minutes or call and harass someone else.......COMPRENDE???

Unfortunately, it is required that I remain composed at all times....too bad.

That was the start of my lovely Saturday work shift. It is now 10:00 am and I haven't waited on one damn person.....nope....I have been sitting here staring at this screen. That lady hasn't called back....YET.....the teller's computers have crashed twice and something tells me that between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm, it's going to be horrible!!

Saturdays SUCK!!!

Here and gone.....

2008-12-26T09:51:00.004-06:00

Does anyone else ever feel blah the day after Christmas??? it's kind of bizarre to me how for months we build it up, build it up.....

Then TA-DA - It's here!!

Suddenly.......FLASH - It's gone....=(

Just like that. What makes it worse is - I have to work today. Before you ask...

YES I AM WHINING!!!

Make no mistake, I am being a full fledged baby today. If I thought stomping my feet and screaming hysterically would get me out of here, I would DEFINITELY be doing just that...I would be the biggest 5 year old you have ever seen!!! But alas....I am subject to another 8 hours of boredom....life goes on I suppose. Could be worse, I could be unemployed......

I hope everyone had a spectacular holiday =).......Mine was pretty good!! I got a few cool things for Christmas,like:

A Vintage Cabbage Patch Doll - soft face and all!!

An 80's CD Box Set - way cool

A pretty Sweater - Pink, it's toasty warm. I'm wearing it now!!

Perfume - Paris Hilton's Fairy Dust

I got a few other things, but no need to list them all!! Harley even had a super Christmas! She got:

A Jeep T-Shirt - She will LOVE it

A Jeep Backpack - It's pink, maybe people will stop calling her a he...

A bunch of toys - She's "destructo" so we go through them quite quickly!!

A Pedi - Paws thing - she's not real thrilled with this, but I am!!

Getting some gifts is nice, but you know what?? It's not the best part of the holiday for me, nope.....not even close. The best part for me, now and always, is spending it with my family. Most of all - my Mom. Yeah, I know.....you're all tearing up...sorry I am being kind of sappy today but....it's my blog and there's absolutely NOTHING you can do about it...So THERE!!!

Okay....SO....remember how I was sort of "scared" about my Mom's new Christmas "tradition"? I should learn to have more faith =)..It was actually pretty cool and I can't wait to do it again next year!!! She had like 10 little gifts all wrapped up. Her and Kerry(my Step-Dad, for those of you who do not know) had a list of Christmas trivia questions, the rules were simple (you would think):

1.Kerry read a question.

2. If you had the correct answer, you were supposed to yell out your own name.

3. Whom ever yelled out their name first, got to answer.

4. If you got it right, you got to pick a prize from the bag.

Doesn't seem all that complicated.....right???

Let me tell you, from experience, that yelling out your own name was harder than it seemed. I wasn't the only one with a problem!! The first question, I yelled the answer, oops. We had people raising their hands - instead of name yelling...it was really funny. My 8 year old nephew - Zack - seemed like he was the only one who could follow directions from the word - GO!! He won like 4 prizes, I am proud to say that I won 3 myself!! WHOO HOO!!! Mom said it needs a little tweaking....but I think I got why she really came up with it.....

So often at Christmas, everyone gets together and instead of actually being "together" you have little groups here and there and everyone under the same roof but doing their own thing. Only when you opened gifts were you all in the same room. During that time you're not really talking or having fun together, it's kind of an organized "mass chaos"!! This little tradition will give us all the opportunity to have some fun and enjoy each other, all together!! We can sit back and sort of - take a break - and have some fun together!! I really liked it. I hope we all keep this going!!

I have to commend my Mom this year. It has been a tough year for her and she still made it a very memorable Christmas for all of us. She has watched us go through things, her and Kerry's own health issues, not to mention she takes care of my Grandpa too.

WARNING.......

WARNING: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ANYMORE SAPPY STUFF.....STOP READING NOW!!

Recently her and Kerry have discovered my little "Drama Spot" and now follow me!! I really think it's pretty cool. So I have something I want to tell her:

I just don't think I tell her thank you enough. Not for things she gives me, or does for me. I want to thank her for who she is. I love her more than anything on this Earth. Anyone who knows me, knows that if you don't like my Mom - I don't like you. If you have a problem with her, then you have a problem with me!!! I want her to know that I realize how much work it took to keep our family together. I understand some of the things she sacrificed for us and I am grateful everyday for who she has helped me to become. I want her to know that even though I may do things she doesn't agree with, that she can trust that she taught me right from wrong and that I have a good head on my shoulders and I have it because she was there. I can sit here and say thank you over and over, but in my own mind it would never be enough. But I will continue to say it every opportunity I get.

Thank you Mom for everything you have done, everything you have taught me, and everything you are. No one could ever come close to holding the space you hold in my heart.........

I LOVE YOU!!!

PS......thanks for not making corn crap!!! HA HA!! It was nice to be wrong......for ONCE!!!! Although a new "crap" took it's place - "Sweet Potato Crap" - ewwww...

It's almost here......

2008-12-23T10:19:00.004-06:00

I know it's been almost a week, ok it has been a week, since I have written anything.........

Hey, I gave your brain a break.......did you miss me???

Nah, I didn't think so......

I have been so busy trying to get stuff ready for Christmas. The shopping, the cooking, typical stuff. I hate to have crap to do last minute, so I guess you could say I'm a "Christmas Over-Achiever". Actually any of you that really know me, you are well aware I am very much one!! I like things to be just so. From wrapping gifts that make you NOT want to disturb the paper, to making my Banana Split Cake(I usually end up throwing(literally) my first attempt because it's not right and then I burst into tears =)!! I want things to be perfect....maybe that's why I end up screwing up at stuff.....who knows. I am who I am....ANYWAY.....

Sunday I made a trip to my Mom's to drop off my gifts, so I wouldn't have so much to lug around Christmas Eve. Good idea, huh?? Of course it is =).....I also figure by dropping off my gifts now, I can't get in trouble for buying so much stuff....maybe no one will notice???? I have a problem...I hate to leave anyone out, so I always try to get everybody something, even if it's small. I don't expect everyone to get me something, that's not why I do it. I do it because I want them to know I was thinking about them....I know sounds silly, but that's just me.

I have to tell you..I am terrified.

While I was at Mom's, she informed me that she was starting a new Christmas tradition....ok??....I asked what she had planned and she would NOT share. She said I'd have to wait and see......I am SCARED!!! What could she possibly be up to?? I think it would be neat to have a new tradition. We don't really have anything that is unique to us. We celebrate Christmas Eve and I know the menu by heart:

Ham

Kerry's Hashbrown Casserole (he puts orange marmalade on it...ewww)

Green Bean Casserole(my job, that apparently I screwed up for years before they told me!!!)

Corn Crap (It's like the corn stuff you get from Chevy's or Casa, it's corn and some kind of cornbread or something - I LOATHE it!!! But I eat it....ewww)

Red Velvet Cake (If she makes it from scratch, it's AWESOME. It's okay from the box)

Banana Split Cake (My great aunts used to make this and some how I inherited it, I HAVE to make it every year, I guess that's my tradition!!)

I kinda can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve!!! I sort of feel like a little kid!! I know this isn't one of my typical little posts, it's not quite as entertaining as usual!! But 'tis the season and I am quite busy!! I'm sure before the week is over I'll have some amusing little tid bit to share!!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!

Bank window!!

2008-12-17T15:19:00.002-06:00

I know, I know.......ANOTHER dang post!!!

Well, I took pics of my creation at work and thought I'd share it with you!! It's the front window of my work, I decorate every Christmas!!

I know it's hard to believe that I can be creative!!!! HA!!

Water shortage?????

2008-12-17T09:58:00.002-06:00

Is there some national or world water shortage going on that I am NOT aware of??? There almost has to be.....it has to be the ONLY reason for me to be writing about what I am today.......if not, then people are just plain gross.

I debated on whether or not to write about this, but the more I thought about it, the angrier I got!!! It doesn't make sense to me, and you are probably REALLY wondering what the hell I'm talking about....and I'm about to tell you......

I work in a public building. The restrooms we use are used by our customers every once in a while......SO.....I want to know WHY people, when using a public restroom, can't or won't flush?!?!?

Do they think they're doing the planet a service by conserving water???

NO!! There isn't any water shortage that I'M aware of!!!

Do they think people that follow are dying to see what they did - like a kindergartner coming home with a macaroni necklace???

LOOK WHAT I DID, LOOK WHAT I DID!!!!

Is it laziness???

PLEASE tell me exactly how much energy it takes to place your finger on the little lever and push?? NOT MUCH!!!

Or is it that we have become SO spoiled and dependant on modern technology(you know, the auto flushers) that we don't even bother????

It's just plain SAD!!!!

I don't think that it's too much to ask to make SURE your eliminations are dealt with properly!!!! Turn around, look, flush. End of story. I do NOT want to come in behind you and see what you have done. I don't need to, definitely DO NOT want to!!! EWWWW...........It's not like when you were a baby and everyone wanted to see your doody!!! It's sick, it's gross, and UNCALLED for!!!

FLUSH - DAMN IT!!!

Seriously??? If the same people that do this crap in public restrooms, do they do it at home??? Is there some - You have to use the bathroom 2x before flushing rule?? I HIGHLY doubt it!!! They need to try using the same consideration when they're out that they use at home!!!

I guess you can count this as my - PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - for the month!!!

Few good pics from Saturday

2008-12-16T16:12:00.003-06:00

This is Che-lia(center) and her brother Ron and sister Dorothy

Here's (left to right) Me, Tonya, Che-lia, Laura....

Then we have - Joe, Me, Che-lia, and Tonya

I think Che-lia really liked her sucker!!!

Just wanted you guys to know that I DID take pictures of normal people Saturday night!!!!

Come on......really???

2008-12-16T09:37:00.002-06:00

Ok people.........

I don't get it. Every year I am constantly amazed at what I see when a snowflake falls........

You all know what a road rager I have become(more of a closet road rager,actually). This time of year really is starting to get me a tad bent out of shape. Most of you have lived here ALL your life, that being said.....SNOW is NOT a foreign concept to you or me, nor should it be to the hundreds of thousands of other idiots that live here!!! Yet.........you see it EVERY year:

The first snowflake falls and the first idiot winds up in the nearest ditch!!! The roads can be dry as a bone, but you better believe there will be some moron with a license in just about every ditch and crevice along any major thoroughfare!!! I wanna know, exactly, HOW THE HELL DO THEY GET THERE?? Are they being proactive?? Do they figure - I'll end up here eventually, so might as well get it over with?? Try as I might.....I can't seem to rationalize what I see. I guess I should just give it up?!?!? Now, I am not perfect.....all of the time =)....but when it comes to driving, I feel I have the right to voice my views. I have never gotten a ticket, and until the moron in the Schneider National tank backed into me - have never really had an accident. I am careful, I am observant(as long as what I need to see is right in front of me), and I make sure to take utmost care when driving in inclement weather......wait....maybe I am PERFECT!!!! HA!!

My other favorite Winter driver is the "I have 4 wheel drive so I can drive like a jack ass" driver. You have seen them, in fact - when it happens to actually be a rough drive due to snow or ice - they are the ones barreling down the road in the fast lane while others are taking precautions and being quite careful.....funny part is....they're also the ones you see a mile or two down the road in a ditch!!!! This is where we take our revenge by honking and waving as they try to flag you down for help!!!! What you REALLY want to do is - stick out your tongue and go na na na - na na - na!! Most of us will forgo actually doing this in reality, but in our minds we are five and you know we just GOTTA!!!

I think most people must have - what I like to call "Seasonal Amnesia". We see the fluffy white stuff EVERY YEAR!! It's not new, it will be back next year and next year the same incompetent drivers will be in the same ditches!!! You can bank on it!!!

I gotta tell you what blew my mind this morning!! It's what got me to thinking about this stuff:

Last night, when I went to bed, I watched the news and got the weather report -you know, that's the job I should have....terrorize people with your reports and then watch the "shock and awe" when you're wrong(please detect the sarcasm, lots of it) which is 90% of the time!!! Not to mention - GET PAID FOR IT!!! Anyway....they were saying how horrible the rush hour drive in to work was going to be, so I adjusted my alarm accordingly. If it's one thing I hate more than anything, it's to be late. I am habitually early if anything. I got myself up and ready this morning, warmed up the Jeep and off on my merry way I went. Now we didn't quite get what was predicted - SURPRISE SURPRISE......NOT!!! After what I saw....I think we're lucky we didn't!!!

I had to make my usual caffeine stop at QT. I made it there in normal time, so I was in and out. As I'm driving up 141, I find myself behind this huge SUV that is crawling at about 30 mph in a 60 mph zone. The roads here had NOTHING on them, not even wet!!! COME ON......REALLY???? So while cursing under my breath....I pull over in the left lane to go around. I can't help but look over as I pass......here's what I saw:

There was a lady driving......on her ear, lodged between her head and shoulder is.....TA-DA...a cell phone...go figure. In the right hand was a make up brush that was furiously painting!! In the left hand, the one that was supposed to at least be on the steering wheel...was a cigarette that she was puffing like mad!! That means she was driving with her knees??? I have heard of multi-tasking but this was just plain ridiculous!!!! Can you even imagine what it would have been like had the roads been as predicted?!?!?!? I can guarantee this lady wouldn't have broken stride and would have been doing EXACTLY the same damn thing!!!! Who gets in their vehicle and decides it will drive itself??? At least she wasn't texting...huh?!?!? All I can say is - GET A BRAIN PEOPLE!!!

Okay....well there's my rant for the day...guess I better do some work!!!

OMG!!!.......WTF!!!!

2008-12-15T21:07:00.003-06:00

You're probably wondering why I chose my title for this.......and TRUST ME...I'll get to that...I PROMISE!!

I was sick all last week. If you'd have talked to me, you would have thought I was on my death bed, as dramatic as I can be.....you KNOW I felt that way!! I know everyone gets sick, but when EVERY one else gets it....I don't have to suffer=)!! Saturday night I was feeling a bit better and decided Joe and I would venture out for a bit that evening........So begins my little story......

My wonderful friend Che-lia wanted to go out for her birthday, so a bunch of us from work and some of, well most of her family, went to a grill/bar on Gravois close to Taft in the city. The place itself was quite cute. Exposed brick walls, red painted ones that weren't and all in all had some potential......at first glance that is......

We were a bit early, so we grabbed a seat and attempted to order some food. Let me also take this opportunity to tell you that I was to be alcohol free for the evening. I was taking a strong antibiotic and I wanted to make sure it did it's thing and I was not ABOUT to risk it. So it was Ice Tea for me, Bud Select for him and keys for me to drive home =)!! I gained a whole new perspective that night by going out and being the ONLY one NOT participating in the alcohol madness....We will get there...I promise!! Che-lia and her husband and whole entourage showed up and apparently the party had begun a bit earlier. SHE had already had at least one fishbowl size margarita ( I know this because she must have told us 10x AFTER she got to where we were!!! LOL!!). Might I also add that she is not the typical drinker, she doesn't do it very often.....so a little goes a LONG LONG WAY!!

But this story really isn't about her. It's about the WONDERFUL group of women (I think that's what they were) that claimed a table right next to our large group. When the first lovely (PLEASE NOTE>>>I am using LOTS of sarcasm) lady arrived...at first glance...she appeared to be a bag lady - you know homeless, carrying a blue grocery store bag. I was praying this lady wasn't with Che-lia's family. She wasn't but she had a girl/boy friend. We couldn't tell which. Then more started arriving.......the only way I can think to describe this little group is this.....Have anyone of you EVER seen the movie "Shallow Hal"?? If you haven't then I HIGHLY suggest you see it......There is a scene where "Hal" is at a club dancing with what he is POSITIVE are the most B-E-A-UTIFUL women on the Earth......when in all actuality they show you that they are horrendous. The women at this table could have been their doubles....I know that's mean and I apologize right now, but when you don't just get hit by the "ugly stick", but the whole damn "ugly tree" gets you.......WOW....just WOW.....take a gander at the pics below. I though you might want to see them as proof positive of my description:

But you know, it's not even how they looked so much as WHAT they were doing while they were there that had ALL of us going - OMG!!! WTF??? OH no...

Most of us when we go out, go to have a couple drinks and listen to the band and dance.....did I mention there was a bad....I mean band there?? Oh yes and it was loud, that's all I will say for the music. Remember that grocery bag I mentioned?? Well.....

It contained things like a box of Christmas cards, Tupperware catalogs, and god knows what else. Picture if you will:

3 or 4 women that broke the ugly tree, sitting at a table with cigarettes hanging out the side of their mouths.....filling out their Christmas cards while doing their version of "bumping and grinding" in their chairs and shopping for Tupperware at the SAME time...Yeah....I saw it...NO...it wasn't pretty. Did I mention that they even made the guitar player for the band a card and stopped him from playing to give it to him????? OMG!! WTF??? It had to be the most BIZARRE little group I have EVER encountered or maybe will EVER encounter.....I have video too!! Just think....I might have missed all this had I been drinking myself!! All I can say is:

OMG!!! WTF????

WOW

Ok...so I'm not dead.....YET

2008-12-11T14:20:00.002-06:00

I bet you guys are all wondering if I dropped off the face of the Earth again.......

YOU COULDN'T BE THAT LUCKY!!! HA!!

Nope, until just about an hour ago, I have pretty much been bed ridden with strep. Eww...and why me??

Let me let you in on a little tid bit about me. I don't get sick, nope not me. I have no idea why, but when any of you come down with whatever the affliction of the day is....It never quite makes it to me. I can sit next to you, drink out of your glass, or all but kiss you and STILL not even get so much as a sniffle. I know - BOO HOO- stop whining, right??

That leads me to another little tid bit about me:

Ready??

Here I go:

I AM A MOMMA'S GIRL

Yep, a great big ol' baby. At 34, the only thing I want when I actually get sick, is my Mom. You would think somewhere along the line I would have grown out of this phase, but sadly - NO!!! Make fun if you want...but secretly you all want your Mommies too!! I know you do, no use in denying it!!!

I have to say I have gotten much better about not letting her know that I still feel like I'm 10 sometimes =)!!

I started feeling "blah" on Monday night. I went to bed smothered with 3 comforters, sweats, and socks and STILL froze my behind off!!! Tuesday morning brought zero relief, in fact, all I wanted was to stay in bed and sleep......

No luck, I got my self up dressed and off to work.....Not for long though. I had a fever and they sent me home under direct orders to call a doctor.......UMMM....Did I mention that I despise doctors??? Hate them.....dread them.....well, you get the point!! I went home as directed, called the doctor and they were booked....in my mind I was doing a happy dance!! Yes, I'm the moron who would rather suffer than see a miserable ol' doctor.........

Can you say- S-T-U-P-I-D??? Yeah, I know!!!

I stayed on the couch for the rest of the day, minus the hour or so to go get an Xmas tree for Joe and go to Kmart for some lights for said tree. I was feeling a bit better being up and mobile.......maybe Wednesday would be a better day.....

Uhhhh......Not so much =(

I got up feeling 10x worse....I could barely function....It was an utter miserable experience just to get out of bed. So I called in sick (I HARDLY EVER DO), and then I did what I dreaded doing....I called the doctor.

THAT was an experience in itself....

First let me say:

If you don't LIKE your job....find a new one!!!

The receptionist lady who answered the phone at my doctor's office was the most unpleasant woman I have encountered on the phone. Imagine a overweight woman, filing her nails, rolling her eyes....You get the idea......She was so pleasant!!! NOT!!! I asked if they had openings for that day, she said no, booked solid, no sorry or let me see if I have any cancellations, but flat out NO WAY!! She said - how about Thursday, I said sorry I have to work, but I'm off Friday. She either was hard of hearing or plain didn't listen. Her response was - You can come in Thursday, You'll get a note.

Okay....I said I'm off Friday, do you have anything for then? Then.....after telling me there was absolutely nothing open on the day that I called- Wednesday- she says - Can you come in at 2:30 pm today???

OKAY????

Did I miss something or am I crazy??? Was she saving that spot for somebody special??? Wow. I told her I could definitely make it in. I also said - Thank You- to which her response was - Uh huh......Nice.

I went in to the doctor and was told I have strep and a pulse of 90/60. They gave me antibotics and a doctor's note saying that I can't go back to work until Monday!! Now here I sit after I drug myself off the couch to shower, feeling a bit better. Not sure, but I think laying around makes you feel much worse. I was starting to get a stiff neck from doing nothing!!!!

I just wanted reassure you all that I was alive and well and still feel good enough to write!!! I know....YOU'RE ALL SO THRILLED!!!! Ha!!

9ft tree - 8 ft ceilings??

2008-12-06T07:20:00.005-06:00

Okay.....here's the question:

How do you get a 9 ft tree into an apartment with 8ft ceilings????

Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done!!! It can!! This was the dilemma I was faced with about 2 weeks ago (yes, I had my tree up BEFORE Thanksgiving!). I had bought this beautiful 9 ft pre-lit tree last year when I had vaulted ceilings. I hadn't thought about only having 8 ft ceilings at any point and I thought I was screwed. Here I had this VERY EXPENSIVE tree that I didn't think I could use......

Well.......

With a little ingenuity.........

Take a look:

This tree was made in 5 parts. Each part plugged into the one below it until you got to the top. It ended up being quite simple!! I eliminated the bottom piece which took off about a foot and a half off the height!!! I started with the second piece and plugged it's cord directly into the wall!!

VOILA!!

9 ft tree just became 7 1/2 ft tree!!! It still managed to look very cool!!! Thank god for modern technology =)!!

OH!!! I can't forget to also thank the awesome guy that helped me solve this dilemma!!! =)

THANK YOU!!! XOXO

Few requested pics!!

2008-12-05T22:22:00.003-06:00

Here's a few pics of some of my fellow apartment dweller's b-e-a-utiful lights!!

I'm sure I'll definitely have more to follow!!

Since when.........

2008-12-05T12:14:00.003-06:00

Please tell me something..........

Since WHEN did human nature manage to make us look stupid??? If you're a man and you have an answer to this - you'd be WELL advised to keep your trap shut =) and thank you in advance.....

First let me tell you exactly WHY this question is being asked.

We all know how bone chilling cold it was yesterday morning, we were all cutting glass with various parts of our bodies (and you know EXACTLY what I mean!!), but that's not where this story is going, nope not at all...

Yesterday.......I was a girl, wait let me take that back...I was human. This does not mean I was stupid, so think again....well..when I get to the story you may NOT agree with that! Here it goes:

My morning started out like any other normal morning......

Alarm went off

I hit snooze

Alarm went off

I hit snooze

Alarm went off

I decided it was time to get my lazy butt out of bed. That, and Harley (my four legged furry roommate) was giving me that "If you don't get up and put some DAMN clothes on and take my wiggly butt outside, you're gonna be sorry" look, so I decided she may be right. The last time I doubted her, I swear she grinned and promptly relieved herself on my favorite comforter......did I mention I was UNDERNEATH it??? I got up, put on my warmest puffy coat and hooked the brat to the leash. Off we went. I will have to say that Harley is the most efficient morning reliever I have ever seen. Out the door, down the stairs, feet hit the grass...do number 1 and 2 at the same time...BAM...we're done!!! Yee Haw!!Apparently SHE hates the cold as much as I do and therefore she ain't picky!!! The rest of my morning routine went off without a hitch. I got ready and bundled myself back up to face the bitter cold......

I made it out to my Jeep, started it. Let me tell you how much I DETEST the cold!! I am so not a "below 75 degree" girl. Good example - I run a heater at my desk 365 a year. That's right....in the middle of August when you all are sweating your butts off...I am sitting right here toasting my self with a space heater~!!!!! I have already managed to kill 2 space heaters this year....... The Jeep was aboslutely freezing, my seats were like rocks. I sat there a minute letting it warm up. Teeth chattering I backed out of my spot and slowly made it out of my complex. It doesn't take long for that little Liberty to start kickin' out the heat so once I got to the road it was starting to warm inside...when I got to the road, I started hearing a whistling sound like a window was open...if any of you remember my previous blog - windows are so not something I have had luck with lately. I checked to make sure all four windows were up, and they were. Hmmm.........

I have a sunroof =)....Normally that is an extremely awesome thing. That morning, not so much. I lifted my hand up and felt a slight breeze...AH HA!!! Here was the source of my whistling. No problem, close the sunroof...no more whistling. Uhhhh....WRONGO!! I pushed the little button to close it.....CLUNK!! AWWW man you have GOT to be kidding me!! Here's where good ol' human nature rears it's insane head.....

The right thing to do would have been NOT TO TOUCH IT!!! It's cold outside, the sunroof is closed, except for the slight tiny crack where the whistling noise was emitting from. The little voice in the back of my brain kept repeating:

LEAVE IT ALONE....

DON'T TOUCH IT......

LEAVE IT BE......

NOTHING GOOD IS GONNA COME OF THIS!!!!

The little monster that controls my hands and fingers, well......let's just say he wasn't taking orders today. I knew better....but I did it anyway....I hit the little button with the "V" on it - for vent. That means sunroof doesn't open, just the back part lifts up for air - in case you didn't know.......it worked fine...vented it was =)...Then once again, I hit the little close button. I closed my eyes and prayed.....

NOBODY WAS LISTENING.......

CLUNK - Again..this time it was more awful sounding than the last.....not to mention now the damn thing was stuck open.....out went the heat...in came the cold....If only I would have left it alone....UGH!!!! It's kind of like driving by a horrible accident - you know you shouldn't look, but you just can't help it. I believe it's called human nature...Here's where I had to laugh at myself. I got to work and I was furious at myself. I pulled into my parking spot and thinking it "may have just needed a rest or something" ....I tried the damn sunroof again. I hit the buttons - same result....suprised??? Yeah, I didn't think so....

Guess what I did next!!! Like I even had any idea what I was looking for....I opened the Jeep door stood inside and tried to see why it wouldn't close!!!! Again..like that WOULD fix it???? As if looking at it would will it to work.....I got back in the Jeep and tried it AGAIN!!! I kept hoping it was just a fluke thing and would work in a minute....................

I called Southtown Dodge.

I took it in this morning and they had to order a new sunroof for it. They also tried to sell me lots of service crap....Do they only do this to women??? Are we supposed to be stupid??? DON'T ANSWER THAT!!!! THEY don't know what's wrong with the sunroof..........but I bet I KNOW what broke it......... =)

Yep........

Wanna guess???

Ok but don't tell anyone.........

I think it was FROZEN!!! Did I tell you I lacked patience???

Holy Redneck Christmas.......

2008-12-03T10:08:00.003-06:00

Well........

I'm not quite sure if this qualifies as "redneck" or not but by definition "redneck" means "a glorious lack of sophistication" , so I guess this qualifies........

For those of you that don't remember - I live in an apartment complex. It's not bad if you forget the fact that somewhere along my application process I pissed someone off enough to stick me in the BACK of the apartment complex. Being in the back of the complex is similar to riding the short bus to school.....all the degenerates live there. I endured a summer of beer drinking hoosiers playing poor man's golf (game similar to horse shoes) in the middle of the parking lot....That was a whole other post from my previous blog, so I will not subject you to that again. My point is - I figured I was getting a break since the weather has now become far too cold for them to drink their swill (Busch Beer in a can, the ULTIMATE redneck drink of choice) and play on the blacktop. But .........sadly, I have a new reminder of their existence.....

It seems that every year that my wonderful apartment complex holds a contest....

This contest promises the winner $300.00 off their January rent, wanna guess what the contest is???

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!

That's right, whomever has the best Christmas light display on their balcony or patio wins $300.00 off their rent. Notice I said "the best" apparently in "redneck" speak, this means "the most"..........I never in my wildest imagination thought someone could fit "25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights" - Clark Grizwald style- on a balcony that is maybe 8 ft wide and 4 ft deep. But seeing is believing and I ASSURE you it has been done...take a drive thru my little complex and make sure you leave the LSD at home........lights lights and more lights. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas lights more than anything, tastefully done that is. This is no where near tasteful. I would be willing to bet that these idiots spent MORE than $300.00 on the flashing, strobbing nightmare their balcony/patio's have become. How dumb can you be???? The redneck clan that lives in the building adajecnt to mine has enough crap on his balcony that you can barely make out what stuff is!!!! OVERKILL - at it's finest!!! It took me 20 minutes to figure out some of what they had:

4 Foot Tall GREEN Candy Cane - hung on the siding NEXT to the balcony

2 5ft Wide Red Bells

1 Huge Ass Snowflake

1 Huge Wreath of some sort

and about 5,000 lights of all kinds!!!!

That's just one of about 15 or so that are decorated so far......I'm scared to see what the future holds for the rest of them......guess I'll be digging my sunglasses back out for my drive home......

I know...I know.....

2008-12-01T11:43:00.003-06:00

Okay.......so I have been slacking a bit.....okay...a WHOLE FREAKIN' LOT!!! My apologies...seems I've taken to living life rather than writing about it!!! My bad....

I hope all of you had a super fantabulous(yeah not really a word, but I liked it!!!) Turkey Day, mine was pretty good. Went to my little brother's house for an early dinner( yeah, like NOON!!). It was my sister in law's first attempt at turkey and I am very proud to say...she did a superb job!! It's always a good day when nobody gets food poisoning!

An amazing thing happened for Turkey Day.......

Generally, I am used to be the one responsible for making and bringing what ever dessert or dish I have been commanded to bring. It usually lies on my shoulders to slave over the hot stove until midnight.

NOT THIS YEAR!!!!!

For the first time......EVER.....I got to lay on the couch and do absolutely nothing while the cooking was done for me!!! I think I died and went to heaven....I dozed on the couch, all warm and toasty. Watched TV and snored...just a little though =)......all thanks to my wonderful baking elf!!! XOXO

I, unfortunately, had to work on Friday..... Boo =(......I did not get to participate in that awe inspiring shopping frenzy know as.....

BLACK FRIDAY!!!!

I told several people that I would NEVER EVER partake in such a cash spending frenzy !!! Truth is......

I WAS JEALOUS THEY GOT TO GO!!!

Okay....so I know that I really dislike crowds.......I really dislike shopping......I really detest people bumping into me for any reason with their shiny little metal shopping apparatuses (you may call them carts)....I can hear what's playing in your little brains...

WHY ON EARTH WOULD I EVEN CONSIDER SUBJECTING MYSELF TO SUCH TORTURE THEN!!!!

It's really quite simple.....

It's a mad rush to watch mild tempered normally sweet women turn into vicious bloodsucking shopping lunatics!!!! Up until the past 6 years or so, I used to get up like the crazy people at 3 a.m. My Mother and I were annual Black Friday soldiers. We spent Thanksgiving Day scouring all the ads for the best deals, then made a list of where we wanted to go. It was like plotting a war. The first couple years, I have to admit, I was purely in it for the bargains. As time went on, my sole reason for going had nothing to do with buying anything or getting the mad deals....oh no, not at all.

I am an avid people watcher....I love to just sit back and take in the people around me. I can tell you that the best time for such an activity is Black Friday. For anyone who has NO IDEA what I mean, let me give you a bit of a run down:

3 AM - Get up, get dressed (don't worry bout showering-cause you'll need another when you return from the war zone), grab the nearest "non coffee" source of caffeine and drink about a gallon of it. Organize your charts and weapons(cell phone, credit card, debit card, list...etc) and get the car motor running and go....

3:30 AM - Drop your counter part off at the door so they can grab your place in line and then drive around the parking lot a million times until you find a place to park (It's easier now!! We got a Handicap placard!!! Front row parking baby!!! Yes I realize how wrong that is but on any normal day, I wouldn't even consider it, but BLACK FRIDAY is not that day.)

When you get out of the car, take a few moments to look around at the various people waiting. Here's what you see:

Aww...there's a sweet little grandma all bundled up, leaning on her cane as she holds the arm of a daughter or granddaughter. She looks so sweet and innocent....She catches you looking at her and she smiles back at you with that little granny smile full of warmth and eyes twinkling. Behind Granny is a young mom with a stroller. She is humming sweetly and talking quietly to the little one. People are chatting, being friendly, sharing the "Pre-Christmas" spirit. You half expect them to all break out in Christmas carols together........But DO not fool yourselves....it's all about to change.........

4 AM - Suddenly it's silent.......everyone listening for that "click" that signifies doors being unlocked....all is quiet.....a soft tinkling can now be heard...this is the sound they have been waiting for...KEYS...then suddenly, it happens:

CLICK

That single little noise controls everything......people start to morph and you are now being transported to what you are sure is an alternate universe. That sweet little Granny who needed the cane to steady herself is now using said cane to prod and push people through the door and raising it above her head like a Star Wars character with a light saber and trying to run down the aisle. That sweet smile and those twinkling eyes are now evil and malicious...daring you to step foot in front of her...She now looks like Darth Vader on crack and in a dress......Remember the sweet little mom with the baby stroller cooing and humming? HA!! Think again!! There's no baby in that thing, she's now grunting and drooling and using that thing as a ramming device to shove people out of the way!!! All of these Christmas spirited people who you swore were gonna hold hands and sing are now enemies.....glaring at each other....doing tug of war with various sale items because it's the last one. There is No Christmas spirit here folks...just unadulterated greed....It's amazing to me the amount of energy these people expel!! If have seen it, you know EXACTLY what I mean......If you haven't, then you need to at least once in your life to truly appreciate the magnitude of what happens!!!

IT'S WORTH THE LACK OF SLEEP!! I PROMISE YOU!!!

Moving on.........

I was starting to have a really hard time looking forward to the holidays, so much had happened this year that you kind of want it to just be over already. I know there's a few of you that feel the same. I realized something though, thinking about all that I did this weekend. I realized - There are lots of little things that make everyday worth experiencing and take it all in when you get the chance.

My wonderful BF suprised me on Friday. He did something no one else had ever done for me. I love Christmas lights, and anyone that knows me.....well knows that very well. After I got off work Friday, he shuffled me to the car and started to drive. I asked several times where we were going....."It's a surprise" was the answer.......after about 20 minutes or so of driving....we arrived.

I couldn't believe my eyes.......

In front of me was the biggest display of Christmas lights I have seen. They were beautiful. I felt like I was 5 again. As we drove through, I stared in awe at all the displays - there were skating bears, skiing mice, snowball fighting snowmen, elves making toys. There were gingerbread houses and lights of every color hanging from trees, wrapping around trees and making everything sparkly and beautiful. It was just what I needed. I feel so lucky to have someone that really pays attention to me....I won't forget it =)

I know you all have tears in your eyes =)

I promise I will make an effort to be more frequent on my updates if you people will.......

LEAVE COMMENTS!!!

Halloween Pics...part 2

2008-11-07T09:31:00.003-06:00

This silly thing only let's me put a few pics on at a time.

GROUP SHOT =)

Dan really thought he was gonna fix it....he killed it

I LOVE BONFIRES!!

Guarding the keg!!!! I wouldn't wanna take her on....

LOVE Cassie's carving jobs!!! AWESOME

Great time was had by all!!!!

Halloween Pics

2008-11-07T09:12:00.003-06:00

I know it's a bit late but here's some pics from Mark & Cassie's Halloween bash!!

Joe and Mark were really tryin' to tear this up!!

Cassie & Slash?? I think he put on a little insulation!!!

Awww....aren't Stan & Melinda cute??

Cassie muggin' for the camera.....YET AGAIN!!!!

Happy Hookerween!!!!

In case you're wondering....there is a point to Mark's costume

Me & My Garden Gnome =)

THIS is what happens when boys play with lawn mowers.....

Stupid Voting!!!

2008-11-06T13:38:00.004-06:00

Okay.......................

So I gotta tell you that I did my patriotic duty and VOTED on Tuesday...........yes I am well aware that the election is now old news, but this has been the first opportunity I have had to tell anyone my little story about election day.

At my ripe old age of 34......I have NEVER voted in my entire life....I know.... I should be ashamed.....oh well. I decided that with the Presidential Election being so significant this year, and the fact that I was registered, I was going to vote!!!

The day started off easy enough.....

Che'lia and I found out we'd be voting at the same location so we wouldn't have to go solo!!! YEAH US!!! She had never voted before either (and she's older than me!!) I didn't feel so horribly bad......

We left the branch to go to our appointed voting location at about 10:45 a.m. We were both excited and had spent the morning debating on the candidates and their various stands on the issues facing us. We were both kind of undecided about whom to vote for.........

By the time we arrived, we had made up our individual minds....

We walked into our polling place...........THIS is where things got a bit sketchy.

First of all...

One lesson that I learned about Jefferson County...specifically the High Ridge area...is that apparently every one's last name begins the letters L - Z. For those of you that went and voted, you saw the lines where they broke the alphabet down into four lines. You were supposed to get in the line that contained the first letter of your last name (confused yet??)......THERE WAS NO ONE....ABSOLUTELY NO ONE in the lines marked A - H and I - K.......there were probably 10 people in my line ( the L - R line) and 15 or so in Che'lia's (the S - Z line).....so we got in line and waited........I guess we really shouldn't complain, there were people in some places that waited hours to vote...our measly 20 minutes was nothing.

Fortunately for me....MY line was moving faster than hers!!!

I finally get my turn at the table.....

I hand the nice elderly election worker my ID....

She takes it and ever so S-L-O-W-L-Y starts to search for my name....

I am searching with her....She finally gets to where my name....SHOULD BE...but it's not there...not anywhere on the page!!!! I start to sweat....

I hate confrontation of any kind.......

The nice lady passes me off to another very nice lady that proceeded to make a call to her "headquarters" in Hillsboro....They search for me......No luck. I was there for 25 minutes while they "looked" for me. Apparently I was lost. Meanwhile Che'lia has already voted and is waiting patiently for me....After my 25 minute wait, it was decided that "they didn't know what to tell me".....THAT was their answer.... I, being the non-confrontational person that I am, said OK.

Che'lia and I even went back to the house to try and find my registration card where they send you your polling place....no luck...couldn't find it. So back to the branch we went.....I was very upset about the whole "Not being able to vote" thing.....I felt kind of like a loser =( ...

I thought about it for awhile when we got back......

Did any of you know that I am a Notary Public?? Yep, I sure am......let me also tell you that to be come one.....YOU HAVE TO BE REGISTERED TO VOTE!!!! It's requirement...you gotta do it......I remembered this fact as I sat at my little desk stewing.....So right then and there....I decided to go back to that little polling place and FIGHT for my right to vote =) and that's EXACTLY what I did.

At 4:30 p.m.....I marched my butt back to that line and demanded to vote. As I approached the table I saw the look on the little old lady's face....the "oh no, here we go" look. I said to her:

I am a notary...that means by law I have to be registered to vote to be ONE!!! Please call your office and ask them to search yet again......

She did as I asked and called their little "help" number....for 45 minutes I sat there and listened to the election judge argue with the invisible person on the other end of the phone line:

Yes, they see I'm a notary....

Yes, that means I had to register to vote.....

No, they still can't locate my voter registration....

No, they don't know know what to tell me...

ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH!!!!

I ever so nicely informed them that I was NOT leaving until I got my chance to vote......

FINALLY - the invisible helper on the other end of the phone told my election judge to write me in and give me the damn ballot....

I GOT TO VOTE!!!!

I fought for it and I won!!! That felt better than the voting itself =)!! Too bad Missouri's votes didn't even make a difference, I'd do it all over again though!!!

A good laugh.....

2008-10-30T14:09:00.003-05:00

OKAY, since I'm not wearing the purple nightmare costume tomorrow night, I thought maybe you would like to have a good laugh at my expense!!!

This had to be the worst idea I have ever had!!

Be sure to come up for air between laughing sessions!!! I know it's bad and I promise to NEVER wear this again!!

PS: This thing made me look like a purple whale......NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!

Weekend fun!!

2008-10-28T10:36:00.010-05:00

This weekend was a blast!!! I haven't had that much fun in a really long time =)!!

Saturday night was Monica & Jeff's Halloween party. I do have pics from there but due to the fact that I'm a cheap ass and am wearing the same costume to Mark and Cassie's, I will not be posting them!!!.......YET!!!

What I will post is my fabulous Sunday!!!

It started off with my FAVORITE breakfast spot. Waffle House......don't ask me why, but I absolutely love that place.....I know it's greasy, but man it's good!! Not to mention, it's great for a hang over.........more about that later!!

After breakfast we went and got pumpkins. Mine was like 26 lbs!!!It's kind of funny the amount of money we pay just to destroy it!

After pumpkins......was a few hours of relaxation.....laying on the couch.....cozy and warm, watching scary movies. I absolutely love scary movies!!! My all time favorite thing to do is bundle up in a blanket, with a bowl of popcorn and a scary flick. Turn all the lights out, maybe light a candle....

Later in the afternoon.........

I got to do my most FAVORITE thing in the world!!! I love riding on the back of this bike!!!

See the pretty pink helmet =) That's all me!!!

We went to to a park that had this really HUGE tower!!

I really climbed ALL the way to the top!!! it was windy and it only freaked me out a little =)!!

The view was amazing!!

All the leaves were changing........

It was beautiful!!!

Below is a couple pics of our pumpkins!! Mine's the scaredy one and Joe's is the scary one!!! Go figure.........

I can't wait for this weekend!!! It promises to be better that the last =)

Costume update......

2008-10-23T10:42:00.002-05:00

Okay........

Last night, I got the tulle nightmare out of it's bag and gave it a hefty steaming in the shower.......

I am happy to report that I am no longer 5 feet around. It's still rather puffy and I think I look more like a ballerina than a fairy.....but oh well....so be it...problem 1 solved. I'm not gonna complain =) !!! I have brought in the cute little ribbons and flowers to girl at work who is going to sew them on for me =)......that would be problem 2 solved......Yippee!!! Problem 3 - my shoes matching- ended up a perfect match!!!! I was all freaked out for nada!!!! Seems everything is FINALLY working out for a change!!!

I don't think there is anything in the world that can bring me down any time soon........... =) =) =)

I'll be sure to post pics from the party so you can all envy my fancy little costume :).............

HELP!!!

2008-10-22T12:47:00.003-05:00

Okay.....so today I got the Halloween costume that I ordered..........

Ummm.........

To the LEFT is what it's supposed to look like...cute enough, huh??

What I got resembles this cute little outfit, but not entirely.......Let me tell you what the few little issues I have are:

First of all.....the sweet little skirt picture here looks clean and straight.

Mine - looks like crap. I put it on and it makes a five foot round poof. Not so cute. Any ideas on how to make the balloon of tulle a little not so huge would be greatly appreciated.

Secondly.....the lovely ribbon and flower attached so neatly at the waist......

Mine - Shoved in a bag, flat as can be and did I mention "not attached"...problem...I can't sew.....Any ideas???

Thirdly....Let's talk about the wings....perfect match in the picture, huh???

Mine - I have never seen so many different shades of purple all shoved together before....my little ballet slippers I bought to match....well....THEY DON'T!!!

It really looks like a big pink, blue, and purple nightmare
=( !!!

I have exactly 3 days to make this pile of crap they sent me look like a costume......ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

I am just a tad upset because this happens to be a night that I want to look good......it's important to me.

Sorry this is so short, I'm actually working today!!! Sheila - please don't have a heart attack, I know it's hard for you to believe!!!

WOW........

2008-10-21T10:37:00.002-05:00

This pretty much covers me for today!!!

Enjoy everyday like it's your last =)!!!

Didn't know that!!!

2008-10-17T13:11:00.006-05:00

In the spirit of upcoming Halloween, I did a little research on what our good old city has to offer as far as good old fashioned hauntings........

No, I don't mean the cheesy but fun, cost ya an arm and a leg haunted houses, I mean REAL ghostly encounters and places that are said to be "disturbed". A few of the ones I found weren't surprising but a couple....well let's just say....I wouldn't have thought.....hmmmm...Let's start with what we know:

St. Louis --- Lemp Brewery, Grand Hall, and caverns.

The area in and around S. Broadway, Cherokee Street, and Lemp Avenue There is a definite feeling in the air around this entire complex. The entire city of St. Louis has miles and miles of underground caves, and some of them are under this complex. The Pointer family are the current owners of the entire complex including the mansion. The underground caverns used to be the site of a yearly haunted house. Due to their association to the Lemp family, the entire area is said to show a lot of paranormal activity.

St. Louis --- Lemp Mansion - 3322 DeMenil Place

Life Magazine designated Lemp Mansion "One of America's Most Haunted Places" in 1980, and with good reason. The Adam Lemp Family moved to St. Louis in 1838 and began brewing beer in 1840. Adam died in 1862, and his son William Lemp took over the family brewery, building a new facility in 1864. The 33 room stately mansion was built by Jacob Feickert in 1868. William and his wife moved into the mansion in 1876. The mansion overlooked their huge brewery complex to the south. Frederick Lemp, who was said to be William's favorite son, died in 1901 from a long-fought illness. On the morning of February 13, 1904 William Sr shot himself in the head with a .38 revolver in his upstairs bedroom of the mansion. William Lemp Jr and his wife Lillian take over the brewery. Bad luck continues to plague the family and the two are divorced in 1909. In 1911 the mansion also becomes the office for the brewery. The Lemp Brewery falls further into hard times and ceases beer production in 1918. Elsa Lemp, the daughter of William Sr, followed in her father's footsteps by committing suicide in her St Louis home in 1920 by shooting herself near the heart. Also in 1920, the famed Griesedieck family, another St Louis brewing empire, purchases the Lemp shield logo to begin bottling Falstaff. The familiar shield logo is still used today. The Lemp Brewery did not recover well from the times of prohibition and was sold at auction in 1922. William Jr also follows his father's footsteps and shoots himself in the heart with a 38 revolver in the office of the mansion. His son William Lemp III attempts to revive the family brewing empire but fails. On the morning of May 10, 1949 yet another suicide occurs in the mansion. Charles, brother to William Jr, shoots himself in the head with a .38 revolver in his bedroom. Four family suicides, three occurring in the Lemp Mansion lead many to believe that the family suffered from mental illness. The dark history still hangs ominously over the mansion to this day. In 1977 the mansion was opened to the public as a restaurant/bed and breakfast. Owners and employees today speak of strange cold spots, candles mysteriously lighting themselves, and even occasionally, ghostly apparitions. Today you can dine or if you dare, sleep in the stately mansion. Much of the brewery complex still stands as it did during the best of times for the Lemp family.

St. Louis --- Alexian Brothers Hospital

This site is where an exorcism took place on a young boy, which later served as the basis for the movie "The Exorcist".

St. Louis --- Old City Hospital

There are reported sightings of apparitions appearing in the windows of the abandoned building. Sounds of screaming and feelings of being watched have also been reported. The hospital was built in 1906 and has been closed since 1985.

Webster Groves --- Plant Avenue House (Gehm House)
Several people who have lived in the home have reported very similar experiences with the ghosts of this house. An apparition of an old woman, dressed in black has frightened children that have lived in the home, by trying to hit them with a broom. The apparition of Henry Gehm appeared to a former resident for the purpose of leading her to a hidden space in the attic. The ghost of a little blond girl has been sighted in the attic and an almost transparent white entity has been seen in an upstairs bedroom. Other activity in the home includes sounds of things hitting the windows, hammering on headboards, sounds of children running on the staircase, shaking of beds, footsteps in the attic, etc. Some people believe that the home also contains an evil inhuman presence.

History: The 2 story brick and wood frame house was built in the 1890's by Henry Gehm. Mr. Gehm was said to be somewhat of a reclusive individual and reportedly worked with the circus. Henry died in the house sometime in the early 1950's.
In 1956 the home was purchased by the Fury family, then in 1965 the Walsh family moved into the home. The house is still a private residence.
Location: 300 block of Plant Ave.

There's lots lots more.....here's some that I didn't know.....

Eureka --- Six Flags Ramada Inn
An employee reported seeing strange shadows while working in the laundry at night. The building is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a little girl named Aggie, who died on the property. The story says that while playing in a barn on the property, some time ago, the girl fell from a window and died. The little girl is said to be playful and likes to peek around corners at people. There are reports of Aggie’s apparition seen running the halls and she sometimes appears in the banquet hall mirror. Supposedly there is a painting of Aggie hanging in the hallway that she visits most often.

A room located in the 300's is said to be haunted by the ghost of a man who committed suicide in the room. Customers have reported seeing the apparition of a man lying dead in the room bathtub.

History: The motel was built over the site of another building. The previous building dated back to the 1800's. The chimney of the old building still sits at the location of the motel. Reportedly the construction workers refused to remove the chimney after several failed attempts had yielded some bad accidents.

St. Louis --- Pinehurst Apartments Near Jefferson Barracks, just off of Telegraph Rd.

A resident, Heather, reports a television set turning itself on on more than one occasion and VCR setting its clock by itself. Also other paranormal instances, such as lights flickering, smoke alarms without batteries sounding their alarms, and even mouse cursors slowly tracing across the screen by themselves.

Festus --- Haunted Railroad Tracks
Legend says that at midnight the apparitions of a man and woman can be seen walking hand in hand across the railroad crossing at the old Hwy. The couple was supposedly killed when a train at this crossing struck their car.
Location: From I- 55 take Old Hwy. A west for approx. 2 miles to the railroad crossing.

The Town Of Barnhart
Rumor has it that many years ago most if not the entire town was wiped out by a horrible epidemic. It is reported that the souls of the towns’ people never moved on. Witnesses say that you can still here the sounds of ghostly children at play here.

St. Louis --- Fort Bellefontaine N. end of Bellefontaine Rd. where it meets Fountainhead Lane.

This area is reported to be very active. Visitors to this site report seeing, hearing, and feeling odd things. Most pictures taken of a stair case at the site have been found to have a dark reddish smoke anomaly appear in them. The site was established as the 1st US, military post in the Louisiana Territory in 1805. It was used as a Native American trading post.

Again there are lots more, but I don't have the room!!! So do your own freaking research!!! XOXO .......but....I do have one last one to share with you.....when I first saw this I had to do a double take.............

READY????

WAIT FOR IT!!!

WAIT FOR IT!!!

OKAY..........

HERE YOU GO!!!!

St. Louis --- Wal-Mart
Telegraph at I-270

This store was supposedly built on a site that once was a mental hospital. If you go in late at night, it feels odd, and employees there say poltergeist-like activity happens after midnight. Lights going on and off, banging and objects being moved are the most reported incidents. There's a pet store at the opposite end of the center from Wal-Mart, and people have reported seeing odd lights in the back, hearing people walking, etc.

Must be haunted by disgruntled union member ghosts!!! =)