VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

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!!!

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!!

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!!!

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??????

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!!

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.........

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.....

OR

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!!!