Cardboard Pizza?

It had been a long week:

Still getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. A spittle of snow had fallen over the city - closing the schools - with two day highs reaching a whopping 7 to 8 degrees.

Friday had finally arrived!

Sugar called to ask what they were going to do for supper. "Can we go out tonight?" she asked.

Way too cold to even think about getting out and trying to wrap up all of her work before heading home for the weekend, she didn't have time to give much thought to dinner.

"No baby, it's too cold to go anywhere tonight." She said to the disappointed teenager. "I'll think about it and figure something out before I get home."

Sometime between hanging up the phone and arriving home, pizza popped into her mind.

It's quick... it's easy... it's perfect!

Now on to the next important quandary: what kind of pizza would it be?

Pizza Hut - Nah

Domino's - No

Papa John's - Not tonight

What then??

Freezer section - Kroger - DiGiorno (three meats, stuffed crust pizza)

Mm-mm! Just as good as any of those others and cost less too.

That decided it - Pizza it was!

She calls Sugar and tells her to preheat the oven, then heads to Kroger to pick up their dinner. She comes home, unwraps it and pops it into the preheated oven - reading the directions, she sets the timer for...

What?? 6 minutes...

"Wow!" she thought to herself as she heads towards the restroom to change out of her work clothes, "I knew it didn't take long but that's remarkably fast."

Not giving it another thought, she changes clothes and the timer soon goes off. As she heads back towards the kitchen, she starts thinking to herself, "there's no way that pizza can be ready this quickly."

"Wait a minute." She says to Sugar, trying to stop her before she gets too far into cutting the slices, "is that pizza really done? "

"Yes," Sugar replies, already having sliced it into fours.

Looking at the pizza, she clearly sees that it is not done so she picks up the package and reads the instructions again:

Bake 25 - 27 minutes.

Where in the hell did she get six minutes from?

Oh well, back into the oven it goes.

21 minutes later, the pizza is really done and as they begin slicing....

Have you ever heard the term, "It tastes like cardboard?"

Yeah?!?!

Well, they discover where that saying came from when they realized that they had cooked the

pizza.... *drum roll please* ....

on-the-cardboard!

And this, folks, is why I leave the cooking to the thirteen year old.

Brrr - Who left the freezer door open?

I went to bed in Mississippi and woke up in Alaska.

Who left the freezer door open?

What is up with this weather??

Never, in my history of living here - which has been all of my life - can I recall us ever having temperatures in the single digits (and that's not even accounting for the wind chill factor).

I hate cold weather!

My feet have been freezing all - day - long!

It's cold at the office on a regular winter day, where the highs are in the 40's and the lows are in the 30's. Can you imagine what it's like on a day like today??

My manager and I have to take turns using our heaters because if we both run them together, we blow a fuse - we learned that lesson the hard way (a couple of times). Then we get fussed at because technically they tell us we aren't supposed to have heaters.

Well, if it weren't freezing in there all the time, we wouldn't need them now would we?? You think I could convince the company to buy us all a Snuggie?

So today, I worked with a blanket over my lap, a scarf around my neck and at one point I even had gloves on. Can you imagine trying to type with gloves on your hands?? Let me just tell ya, it ain't that easy.

In my next life, I want to be a bear so I can sleep through this whole miserable season. Grrr!

Who woulda thunk the day would ever come where I would long for temperatures in the 40's?!? Heck, at this point I would even take the 30's...

The Gentle Cycle

We've all had them, moments when we've put the cereal box in the refrigerator or the milk in the cabinet...

It was five a.m. when she stumbled out of bed, tripping over the five year old's shoes on her way to stop that constant buzzing sound, coming from the direction of her dresser.

Slapping at the annoying culprit, she finally gets the alarm turned off and wanders, sleepy eyed, into the bathroom for her morning shower.

After a few minutes of unsuccessfully working to get a good lather in her hair, and with the cobwebs of sleep still firmly rooted in her brain, she begins to think about the order of things while taking an inventory off all her shower products: shampoo bottle, check; men's shampoo, check; Gillette facial scrub and wash, check; children's shampoo and conditioner, check; feminine wash, check; All Clear facial scrub, check; bar of soap, check.

And suddenly, the fog begins to clear her mind....

Wait - a - minute: Her shampoo is clear, yes. What she put in her hair was clear, yes.

Ohhoho - laughter spilling forth as she looks back and forth between the bottles and the light bulb begins to burn a little brighter - yep!

That explains the mystery of the missing suds!

She had just washed her hair with the very, very gentle cycle!


I only hope it doesn't cause her hair to become coarse. ;) Just sayin'..

Twilight Zone Phone

The phone rang and I answered it.

From the moment I picked up the phone a switch was flipped and I was no longer sitting behind my desk at work; instead, I had been transformed to an alternate universe.

"Let me speak to James" the caller said gruffly
"I'm sorry." I told him, "but you have the wrong number."
"Is this 4566?" He asked.
"Yes, those are the last four digits of my..." I began
"Is this 555-4566?" he interrupted.
"Yes, but this is the bank" I explained.

Now, at this point you would think that he would realize his mistake and disconnect right??

WRONG!

The conversation proceeded as follows:

Him: "Well, let me ask you this."
Me: *silence*
Him: "You're the bank, right?!"
Me: "Well, no sir but I do work for the bank."
Him: "Okay, let me ask you this then. How do I open an account?"

Seriously, is this guy seriously asking me how to open an account when he clearly thought he was calling a private number to speak to James?? Okay, this must be a joke, I think to myself but I continue as follows:

Me: "You would go into one of our full service locations and see someone on the desk side to open an account."
Him: "Could I go into Monroe and open an account?"

Monroe? What's on Monroe? We don't have a bank on Monroe

Me: "Monroe?" I repeat for clarification.
Him: "Yeah, this is the bank right?"
Me: "Yes sir, I work for *name of bank* but I'm not in the centers. Are you referring to *name of bank*?" I ask again, for clarification.
Him: "Yeah, there's a *repeats name of bank* on Monroe."
Me: "Oh, well in that case; yes, you could go into that location and see someone on desk side and they could assist you with opening an account."

Okay, I've clearly answered all of his questions, right? Surly he's going to say thank you and disconnect, right?

Yeah - wrong again!

Him: "Okay good. Let me ask you this then. What are your prices?"
Me: "Our prices?"
Him: "Yeah, your prices to open an account."

Okay, at this point I'm beginning to think I'm the victim of an early morning radio prank. The longer this conversation continues, the stranger it gets. I kept waiting for the DJ to start laughing and tell me that it was all a joke, but that announcement never happened.

Me: "As I said, I'm not in the centers so I don't have that information but what I can do for you is look up the number to one of our branches and you can call them."

Anything to get him off the phone at this point...

Him: "Yeah, that would be mighty nice."
Me: "Okay great, can you hold please?"
Him: "Yeah, thank you kindly."

So, I put him on hold and I look up our phone numbers but of course, there isn't a number for a center on Monroe because that doesn't exist.

Me: "Sir, are you still there?"
Him: "Yes, I thank you for doing this. My birthday is coming up and I need to save some money."
Me: "You're welcome and thank you for holding. Now I've been looking but I don't see a branch on Monroe... I do, however, see one on Madison. Will that one work?"
Him: "Yeah, Madison. That's it. I need to put some money aside. You see, my birthday is coming up and they're throwing me a party. The lady's going to jump out of the cake and I don't want to spend all my money."
Me: *chuckling* "Oh, okay...Well, the number to our Madison location is 555-5378. You just give them a call and someone will be able to assist with your questions."
Him: "Thank you so much and happy new year."
Me: "You're welcome. Happy new year to you too and I hope you have a happy birthday."
Him: "Thank you, and one more thing..."

Here's where I thought the radio host was going to laugh and tell me they were pulling my leg but instead, he says: "You're about to have a baby, aren't you?"

Crazy caller on the phone say wha'?!?!?!

Me: "Um...No."
Him: "Huh, I usually don't get that wrong. Oh well, sweet dreams"

Now, I'm not really sure if the last thing he said to me was "sweet dreams" or "I'll see you in your dreams." or "I saw it in my dreams." all are pretty creepy.


This morning, I got to work and had a voice mail. I checked it and it was a lady calling because she heard that I paint houses...

You think they may be related?? Maybe he had so much fun messing with me that he gave my number out to the rest of the crazies in his family. I don't know, what do you think?

Not One to Complain...

Monday's - noted to be one of the least favorite days of the week.

Now, I'm not usually one to complain, much but today has been a stereotypical Monday...

Nothing puts me in a grumpy mood quicker than when my much needed beauty rest gets interrupted.

This morning - one full hour prior to wake up time - I hear the sound of my oldest daughter singing a little tune that went something like this:

♪♪ Time to wa-ake up ♪ Wakeup Sugar ♪♪
♪Time to wa-ake up ♪ Wakeup Sugar ♪
♪♪ Time to wa-a-a-ake up♪♪
(repeat three times, getting progressively louder)

Alright so, admittedly, I really did enjoy hearing that little jingle this morning - it made me smile. However, I would have enjoyed it much more had it actually been time to wake up.

I'm just sayin' ;)

This, accompanied by the vibration of the phone, continued every ten minutes for an hour and I finally gave up all hope of trying to latch on to the last precious minutes of my cherished slumber. I rolled out of bed to get this cold and dreary Monday started.

But I'm not one to complain, much...

Looks like I'm definitely going to need my morning cup of java, which I go into the kitchen to fix only to discover that my coffee maker is now disassembled. Apparently the oldest was trying to be helpful so she took my coffee maker apart and cleaned it in the dishwasher - leaving instead a sink full of dirty dishes.

But I'm not one to complain, much...

With the coffee pot now reassembled, I set it up to brew and go off to take my shower, brush my teeth and get dressed.

As I'm finishing up on the last touches of my morning routine I notice a strange gurgling sound coming from the kitchen. I learn that the source of the noise is my coffee maker, complaining because I forgot to put the lid down when I put it back together causing percolation problems.

But I'm not one to complain, much...

At work, my computer locks up and I lose a report that I had just spent two hours putting together.

But I'm not one to complain, much...

After work, Spice had her first golf lesson. For an hour, I stand out in the cold, wet drizzle - while my baby learns to identify all the parts of a golf club as well as the proper grip and stance - fighting off the worlds largest mosquitoes.

But I'm not one to complain, much...

Once practice was over, I decided a quick meal was in order so we drove to McDonald's where it was clearly obvious that they would not be getting my order correct... so we left in favor of Wendy's.

I placed our order and pulled up to the first window to pay.

As I'm searching for my card I vaguely recall hearing the manager and cashier talking about her being afraid of/allergic to bees. I finally found the card and as I hand it to the cashier, I immediately feel the relevance of their conversation as a sharp, stinging pain shoots up the back of my arm.

"Well," I announce, as cheerfully as possible to the two lovely people having a conversation about bees but don't bother to warn my that he's IN.MY.CAR. "You don't have to worry about that bee anymore because he'll be dying soon since he just stung me."

But I'm not one to complain, much...

Now I'm home and Sugar comes out to help me carry the food in. I tell her that I got stung and she informs me that the culprit - a wasp, not a bee - is still on the car.

Guess he was going to hang around and see if he could get me again, since my arm was only swollen to half its regular size.

But I'm not one to complain... oh, who the hell am I kidding?!?!? That shit hurt! (and it's still hurts!!)

Without complaining, I'll just say this: I'm glad there is only one Monday in a week - and that this one is almost over (pray for me y'all; I still have a couple more hours to go before it becomes official *sigh*)

Miscommunication

On Thursday's I pick her up from the library after tutoring.

As we were headed home, she is telling me all about her day and then she says that I have to be at the school at 7:15 tomorrow for early registration.

"Why are you just now telling me this?" I asked her, hating it when she waits until the last minute to give me important information like this.

"I just found out today" she replies.

Friday morning, she runs downstairs at 6:30. "Momma!" She says, concerned that we have overslept.

"Go get dressed, Sugar" I calmly tell her, as I roll out of the bed.

She comes back down less than two minutes later, dressed and ready - according to her.

"There's no way that you got ready that fast." I tell her, stunned at the speed she can actually go should the need arise.

"uh-hu" she says, trying to make me believe that she got dressed, including bra and deodorant, brushed her hair AND her teeth in under two minutes.

YEAH RIGHT!

"Get back up stairs and finish getting ready." I tell her, "and brush your teeth."

Deflated, she goes back upstairs and then I hear "There goes my bus right there."

"Don't worry about it, Sugar, just get ready."

"Okay," she replies, sounding relieved that she didn't get yelled at for missing her bus.

"Didn't you tell me yesterday that I had to be at your school at 7:15 today?"

"Yeah, tonight."

And THAT my friends, is why I was late for work this morning.

Note to parents of school aged children: When your child comes home the night before and tells you that you have to be at school at 7:15 the next day...be sure you discern if they mean AM or PM.

The Third Time's a Charm??

You know what they say: “The third time’s a charm”

Well, for me, maybe it’s the fourth or fifth time…

As many of you know, my family and I have recently moved. And, since we crossed over States, the hubz and I both had to get new car tags, as well as new drivers licenses. Talk about timing – all of this had to be done during the busiest, budget stretched to the max, season of them all: Christmas time. UGH! Our timing could not have been worse; but, that’s not what this story is about so, moving on...

This State is very strict about their tags. The schools require you to have a State tag, in order for your child to attend. You have thirty days (as allowed by the State) to get this done. If you don't have it done, that could lead up to some very hefty fines - maybe even more hefty than the amount of the tags themselves, which is no small fee (depending on the car you drive). For instance, together, our tags and licenses cost around $1,000.00.

Yep, you read that right. That's one thou-sand dollars! One thou-sand dollars in our family unit is nothing to blink at, and one thous-sand extra dollars, around Christmas time is unheard of.

I put in a call to my own personal Santa Claus and asked if (s)he would consider buying my car tags for Christmas.

Now it's four days before their winter break and the school calls, wanting me to provide them with proof of registration.

"Ummmm, okayyy. I haven't had a chance to get that done yet."

"Oh, well can get them today?"

Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that!

"Ummm, No. I'm sorry, but my work schedule doesn't allow for me to just up and leave like that."

"Oh, okay. Well, when do you think you could provide us with that information?"

"I have a couple of vacation days scheduled during the holidays. Can I get them to you the first day back after the Christmas break?"

"Oh no, we would have to have them before the break."

"Alright then, I guess I'll get them to you before the end of this week."

Don't know how that's gonna happen but I guess I'll figure out a way to make it work.

So, I hang up with the lady from school and immediately call my Santa mom, just to vent.

Little did I know, Santa listened when I called in my request and must really love me, because (s)he sent me a Christmas card - that was in the mail, when I got home that evening - and inside was a check that covered not only my car tags but his too, as well as the cost of our drivers licenses. (Thanks mom Santa!!)

Okay, back to the story; sorry...

I take time off of work to go in the very next morning and get my tags and license.

I get my tags, no problem.

Next stop, the Drivers License office. I have all the necessary documents and then she says, "That'll be $20.00 cash."

"Cash? You don't accept a debit card?"

"No ma'am. Cash only."

At this point, I look in my purse, knowing that I never carry cash but hoping against hope that I might be able to scrounge up the necessary twenty dollars to get this finished today.

Yeah well, obviously there was no such luck; otherwise, I would not today be writing this story.

Not only were they closed from Christmas, they closed early on Christmas eve and they were closed the day after too.

Second attempt: January 2nd - CLOSED

Third attempt: last Thursday.

I woke up that morning, put on a cute outfit, my face was free of blemishes and my hair was looking cute.

What are the odds of all three of these things aligning on the same day that you will have to get your picture made?

I don't know, but they're still in tact because it didn't happen that day either.

I left work early, picked up Spice, and headed to the Drivers License place. We head in, I pull my number and we sit down and wait to be called.

It's 4:30, I'm the next person in line and then she walks up and asks what I'm there to do. I tell her that I'm there to transfer my license to which she says, "It's too late for that today. We don't do transfers after 4:30. That's a long process, you'll have to come back early in the morning for that."

Are you kidding me????

Now, for those of you who 'know' me; you will be amazed to hear that I walked out calmly and quietly.

I know, I know! What is the world coming to, right??

Never fear. All the things that you imagine me saying were screaming through my mind. But, since I had my four year old daughter with me and the things that I wanted to say were not that pleasant, I chose to bite my tongue and exit the building - As a side note: I get my stitches out next week. ;)

The fourth and final attempt happened the next day, Friday morning.

The wind was strong that day.

My hair got blown all over my head on the way from the car - that tried to roll off, because I forgot to pull the break - to the building. And I woke up with a blemish - Of course!

This is the day that all my ducks lined up, for a picture that I will have to live with, for the next four years.

But I'm not complaining, though; because for a minute there I questioned whether or not I was going to pass the eye exam. :)

Whew! I sure am glad that monkey business is out of the way.

The Office Christmas Party

Today was the office Christmas party and you'll never guess who made an appearance?!?!

Each year our team has an office Christmas party and while they are always fun and never boring - ordering lunch, playing games and exchanging gifts - this year's party is one that is sure to go down in the books.

After eating lunch and playing a couple of fun Christmas related office games, such as Santa's Secret Elf - as named by me; an office game that I learned of through some online research - and a fill in the blank word game, where you filled in the missing parts of the poem, 'Twas the Nigh Before Christmas', it was time for the main attraction: Dirty Santa.

If you've never heard of or played the Dirty Santa game, let me just tell you... this is a wicked little game that is good for groups and is sure to bring lots of laughter - and a possible grudge or two. ;)

The gist of this game is that everyone brings in a generic gift (generic of course meaning non gender specific, something that anyone could use) and then each person picks a number. When it's your turn, you can either pick a gift from the pile or swipe someone else's gift (a gift can only be swiped once per round), ending once all the gifts have been opened.

You never know what you will end up with.

For instance, there were several gifts that I had my eyes on this time, a Malco movie gift card and a couple of cute snowmen gifts - gift cards, snowmen and Christmas type decorations are always a big hit with our group.

It was the last round, one gift on the table and one person left to pick.

I had my Malco gift card, and thought I was going to get away with it too; but then, she took her pick of the litter, setting off a chain of gift snatching that eventually lead to my Malco movie gift card landing in the hands of another. :(

I swiped and they swiped and then it was finally down to her. She is one of our older team members - I would put her in the grandmother range, and by that I mean the my grandmother range, not my children's grandmother range - she has been with the company some thirty odd years, she loves to travel, is very soft spoken and one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.

She had her gift throughout the entirety of the game and then, in the last round, the very same chain of events that lead to my Malco movie gift card getting snagged, caused her to lose her pretty ceramic Christmas Tree - I was so sad for her because that gift looked like it was made just for her. :(

She looked around the room and then decided to end it by going to the table for the very last gift.

She opened the bag and was rather excited when she saw it was a CD. You see, she - like the rest of us - probably thought it was a Christmas CD. But, as she slowly pulled it out of the bag for further examination, laughter exploded from the room - beginning with one of my co-workers and myself, as we saw the picture on the back cover and began to realize exactly what it was that she had just picked.

That's right folks! Someone (who shall remain nameless) bought Beyonce's newest CD as a gift, for our office Christmas party - a party consisting of twenty people who range in age, sex, race, creed, personalities and interests.

H-E-L-L-OOOOO?!?!?!

Are you kidding me?

Please tell me that he did not really buy Beyonce's CD, with her half naked picture on the back cover, for an office Christmas party gift and of all the people, in that entire room full of people, she is the one who ended up with it.

I. could. have. died!

Then, after she had examined the cover from front to back and placed it back into the bag, amid the wails of laughter, this sweet lady looked up and said, "What makes you all think I wouldn't like Beyonce?"

Of course, the mental image that I had in my head at that moment did not mesh - at all - with the grandmotherly image that I have of her.

I somehow, have a very difficult time picturing her sticking her rear end out, 'spankin' dat ass', while singing, "if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it."

Nope! Just can't see it.

But that's her, a team player with a great sense of humor.

Hmmm? I wonder if she'll burn a copy of her new CD for me?? ;) What do y'all think?

In the end, I went home with a very cute little Snowman dude - also, as named by me ;) - a nice seasonal picture frame - one can never have too many picture frames, amen? - and a very pretty ornament for my tree. :)

I'm staying in my box.

Have you ever wondered what happens to a person when they step out of their box?

Is this a good thing for them?

Does it help them to broaden their horizon's, making it easier for them to step out the next time; or does it cause them to burrow further down into their comfort zone, digging in their heals when the next time rolls around??


I'm a Virgo.

Better yet, I'm a typical Virgo.

I fit the definition to perfection - so much so, that if you were to look it up, you might just see my picture beside it.



I am a creature of habit.

I like my routine and it's not often that I step outside of my shell box.

Today, I was forced to step WAY out of my shell box. And I can honestly tell you, if every time turned out like today, I would run - not walk - back inside, slam and bolt the door, never to come back out into the light of day...

It all started out innocently enough.

I was going to register Sugar for her new school today. I was going to go in, fill out the necessary paper work and then I was going in to work.

Sounds easy, right? Yeah...Wrong!!!

First you must have two accepted items to prove your address. With us only being here a week, that proved to be a bit of a problem. We haven't been here long enough to receive a utility bill and our lease agreement, although an accepted form, does not have our address listed anywhere in the documents. (Can we say, Oops?!?! Slight oversight.)

Another thing they would accept is where we registered our tags; but there again, we've only been here a week and haven't gotten around to doing this yet.

Already, my list of things to do today has grown. They won't register her until I can prove our residence and have all the necessary records, which include the following:

Last years report card - check.
Shot record - no problem, I can call the doctor and have her fax a copy.
Birth Certificate - Got it right here....no wait, that's the 'mother's copy' and is not accepted.
Social Security card - Missing. I have looked and looked and can't seem to find it anywhere.

Okay, now it looks like I need an entire day off to get all of this done.

I call the boss and make arrangements, then I drop the girls off so I can begin getting things in order and here is where my day takes a turn for the worse...

I go back home and search through all of our papers to find the birth certificate and social security card. Still, I can't find them anywhere. I have a place where I file them, when they aren't in use, but I have to take them out frequently and apparently the last time they didn't get replaced.

HATE THAT!!!

I must have these things by tomorrow so that I can get her in school. So, off to the records offices I go...

The first address I was given didn't exist.

I payed $1.00 to park then walked down the block only to discover there was no such address and, given my love for driving to unfamiliar places, this seemed to set the tone for the remainder of my day.

I called the hubby - poor guy, he got an ear full today - and he helped me find the place I needed to go.

Scrounging up my last two quarters for the parking meter, I parked and went in to get a copy of her birth certificate.

Everything went smoothly up until it came time for me to pay and my card had my middle name on it - because that's what I go by - and the birth certificate is an official document so it has my first name listed.

Man oh man, that really confused her- I don't think they hire them for their intelligence - it took me several minutes to convince her that we were one and the same.

We finally got that worked out and then I was off, birth certificate in hand, to the next stop - the social security department.

Finding this place wasn't a problem. My girlfriend, Lola, took me right there and parking was good; they had a lot behind the building and I didn't have to pay.

Unfortunately, that was the only good experience that I had on this little adventure.

I walk in to stand in a mile long line. Then the stand up comedian security guard walks in an tells us to take a number at the kiosk and turn our cell phones off (If he said this once, he said it a hundred times - getting on my very last nerve.)

Now I ask you... if we have to take a number, can someone please explain why we had to STAND in line instead of sitting in all of the nice comfortable chairs while waiting to be called?

What is the purpose of a number if you are standing in a single file line??

I couldn't figure it out either.

So I STOOD in this line for an hour and a half.

I STOOD there and read every.single.sign. posted on the walls.

I STOOD there and listened to Mr. Comedian cracking jokes on a room full of people who somehow failed to see the humor.

And after I STOOD in this line - for an hour and a half - it was my turn to go to the window and the guy closes his window and walks off.

Then I get called by little Ms. 'I hate my job so I'm going to treat you like you're an idiot' only to be told that I need to have her immunization records in order to get a copy of her social security card.

The certified copy of her birth certificate will not work.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

What in the hell does their shot record have to do with getting their social security card??

"Okay, so I don't have a copy of her shot record. What else can I do? I need this record so I can enroll her in school."

"Well I'm sorry Ma'am" which, if you've ever worked in retail, you know is really code for I don't give a $hit Bit@#, "but that's the law." She tells me in her snottiest tone.

And they wonder why people go in with guns and shoot their A$$'...

After standing in line for an hour and a half, with nothing posted anywhere to let you know what you need, while listening to the sad attempts at comic relief by the guard, only to be told, "I'm sorry Ma'am but that's the law." does not tend to go over well.

In fact, cases like this have been known to cause turrets in otherwise respectable individuals.

Don't believe me?? Just ask my hubby - poor guy.

I have to give him his kudos for today's performance, though; because he somehow managed not to say the wrong thing and get me riled up even more than I already was.

Good for you, Babe!! ;)

At this point, I'm ready to call it a day. But I still don't have what I need and I am NOT taking another day off to go through this nightmare again.

In fact, will someone please just wake me up so I can go to work??? UGH!!!

So, instead of giving into the temptation to quit and go home, I call the doctors office and ask for a copy of her shot record.

I head over to pick it up and she finds me another location - because I would rather chew off my arm than go back to the one I just came from.

It's now 2:30 and I have yet to eat lunch - and that can be a dangerous thing for all parties involved - so I stop by Chick-fil-a for a quick bite.

Then I head over to the other Social Security office only to learn that it is no longer there - and hasn't been for three years, according to the guard. He gives me a print out showing me other locations and I head back out for my THIRD attempt at getting this girls social security card.

But first, let me stop and get my shot - since I'm in the neighborhood - because who knows what tomorrow may bring...

Well, you know what they say....third time's a charm! AND they even knew how to work the number system. You walked in, pulled your number and sat down until they called you. Imagine that...what a concept.

It is now 4:00 and I have literally been spinning my wheels all day long - since 7:30 am - only to accomplish two things.

I go to pick up the girls and we head home. We eat our dinner and I sit down to chill out after my most stressful day. But first, I need to clean up these papers that I scattered everywhere earlier this morning.

I don't know what made me do it, but I walked over to a satchel full of papers I had set aside to be destroyed. I looked inside and right there, on the top, was the envelope with both of the girls social security cards inside and their birth certificates.

Of course.

Checking In

Hello Blogville!

Oh how I've missed reading the goings ons in the lives of all my peeps...

I hope everyone has been doing well during my absence. I promise to come back around and get caught up as soon as the dust settles, here in our new home...

But, until then, I thought I would pop in and give you all an update of the goings ons in our little corner of the world:

It's official. We have moved into our new home and we absolutely LOVE it here!!

It is a completely different feel in this neck of the Crazyville woods. I don't know if words can adequately express it, but here are a few comparisons to help you visualize what I'm feeling:

New neighborhood:
The boys on the corner outside are playing soccer.

Old neighborhood:
The boys on the corner outside are smoking dope.


New neighborhood:
The pre-teen girls are running around with their neighborhood girlfriends, laughing, giggling, riding bikes and playing silly games.

Old neighborhood:
The pre-teen girls are running around in their hot pants, short-shorts and tank tops - two sizes too small - with their babies that they had at the ripe 'old' age of 14.

And if they haven't already had a baby, they're looking for someone to call their baby's daddy sometime in the near future - at least, that is what their clothing and attitude suggests.

New neighborhood:
Is no through outlet, meaning very little traffic. Cars that do drive by understand that this is a residential area with children outside playing and drive the respectable speed of 25 mph.

Old neighborhood:
Located between two very busy streets and no one driving by seems to understand that all the houses on either side of them is indicative of a residential neighborhood. They fly down the street - tires screeching, trunk bumping - turning corners on two of their four wheels.

These are just a few of the many differences that I have noticed in our one week of residency.





And if that isn't enough of a reason for me to be elated with this move....here are a couple more:

The girls made friends their very first day here.

The neighbors have all introduced themselves and welcomed us to the neighborhood.

Even the pets love it here.

And Sam.....Well, let's just say he's in Dachshund hog heaven.

This is his new girlfriend, 'Red'.

Isn't she pretty?

I'm not sure if that's really her name, but she came by on Thursday to welcome him to the neighborhood.





We aren't sure where she lives. She followed the utility guys over and stuck around for a little while after they left.

I think she got mad when the lady two doors down came out with her two Dachshund girls, 'cause she left shortly afterwards.

I hope she found her way home okay, as Sam is new to the whole 'dating' thing and didn't know to walk her to her door - he's such a dog!

As if all of this isn't enough...

We also live right around the corner from my favorite pizza place - Papa John's, the girls favorite fast food place - Mc Donald's, Kroger and - soon to be - my bank (they're almost finished building it).

AND I'm just a few red lights away from the local Wal-Mart. Where shoppers save so much money, they are able to purchase one of these...

Frankly Scarlet, I'm not really a big Vera Bradley fan...but apparently she's all the rage in handbags as my friends Tina and Amy both have one.

Amy, if you're reading this, I just want you to know that I thought of you when I saw this bag.

I thought it was the latest - Mediterranean Blue - that you mentioned you wanted and just HAD to snap a picture for you. However, after a little research, I quickly learned that it was not her latest greatest - good thing all I did was take a picture, huh?!? ;)

Nearest I can tell, I think it might be Peacock; however, being that I'm really no V.B. expert, it could be nothing more than a Wal-Mart knock off.

Oh well, it's the thought that counts....right?? ;)

Okay, well I still have plenty to do around here - ten years of stuff - so I had better get back to work.

I hope to be back to a regular schedule sometime soon; at which time I will be sure to check in on all my peeps.

Until then, take care.

Please give me a sign...

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a love hate relationship with my house.

As a first time home buyer, I learned many, many lessons. Lessons about what to do and what not to do, about what questions to ask, about what things to look for, etc.

Several years ago, we refinanced our house. Another process about which I learned many, many things.

I have loved my house for as long as I can; after living here for ten years, it is now time for us to move.

Needless to say, this is not a decision that was made lightly. This is a huge deal for my family and me. It was discussed, pondered, prayed over and discussed some more.

One of the people I talked to about this was my good friend Amy. I told her that I was nervous because this will affect my entire family and I didn't want to make the wrong decision. She kindly listened to my story, offered a few encouraging words and told me she would be praying for me. She also gave me a verse to pray over.

This was a verse that she wore around her neck during her recent travels to the Mediterranean.

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

What an excellent verse, amen?

That Amy, I tell you, she always knows the perfect scripture for any given situation. Just one of the many reasons I love her so, but I digress...



That night I took the Bible to bed with me and looked up this verse so I could read it and pray for direction. Afterwards, I rolled over to lay it down on my book tray and stretched out to turn off my bedside lamp.

No sooner than I finished turning off my lamp I got a horrible ache in my chest and neck. The pain was in my back, under my shoulder blade, and stretched down my right arm to my elbow. It hurt to breath, it hurt to lie down, it hurt to roll over, it just plain HURT!

Two IBprofin and several minutes of intense discomfort later, I finally managed to get comfortable enough to drift off.

The next day my, as my co-workers and I were walking back to the office from lunch, I felt something poke me in my neck. "Ouch!" I yelled while I slapped at the pain, noting the feel of a definite bug under my fingers.

I flung the culprit to the ground and before Katie instinctively stomped on it, ending his life, we all four looked down to discover that it was a bee.

I had gotten stung, on my neck, by a bee! OUWWCH!! Darn bee!

Later that evening, I was driving home from work. I turned right at the stop sign and looked up to see a train, slowly making its way down the tracks - tracks that I still had to cross. Already running a little late, I made a snap decision to turn and head in the other direction to beat the train - which looked like it was getting ready to completely stop on the tracks.

Right before I arrived at the next street I heard the siren of a police car. Then I saw it - he was pulling out of a side street, getting ready to pull someone over for speeding.

AND he was headed in my direction...

Crap! I thought to myself. I know I was on a mission to get across those tracks, but was I speeding? How fast was I going? What's the speed limit?? Crap, crap, crap!

After making it safely across the tracks (since that was the whole reason I must have been speeding in the first place) I pulled over and rolled down my window, license in hand, to receive my punishment.

"I clocked you going 46 in a 35" the police lady politely informed me.

"Okay" I said, laughing to myself that I was now stopped because I was trying not to get stopped. Oh, the irony of it all...

After going to her car to run my license, she returned with my ticket and let me know that they had lowered it to say I was only going five over.


Whew! I thought as I signed my ticket thinking what a nice officer she was. "Okay, thanks." I said and we bid each other good day.

Yes, I know...It's just crazy. I thanked her for giving me a ticket. What can I say?? No use getting mad or upset about it.

And the good news of this little event is that the worlds slowest train, that I was trying to avoid getting caught by, DID stop on the tracks.

I arrived home and called Amy.

I told her about my day and we had a good chuckle over the irony of the events immediately following my prayer on a this verse that she suggested AND about all of the crazy events that happened, one after the other, to her while she was on her Mediterranean adventure - wearing this exact verse around her neck.

We decided that God loves Amy's sense of humor and that is why he keeps letting all of these things happen in her life - so she can blog about it and entertain us all :).

And, since she and I have become so close, he may have thought that my sense of humor was just as good. However, I'm not convinced.... so, to be on the safe side, I decided to hold off on praying over this particular verse until the exact moment that I will be going to look at houses.

I'll let you know how that logic works for me ;)

Until then.....take care.

Just Mornin'

We’ve all had them…Days where we wish we had just stayed in the bed.

Today was one of those days for me.

It all started when I rolled out of bed, after coming to the realization that we had overslept and now had less than thirty minutes to get ready before time to leave, and here is how the rest of the morning went:

Hollered for the girls to get out of bed as I rushed into the den to let the dogs out and feed them.

Fed the dogs

Hollered for the girls to get up

Let the dogs outside to use the bathroom

Hollered for the girls to get out of the bed

Took my shower

Hollered to make sure the girls were up

Let one of the dogs back in

Hollered to see how the girls were progressing

Brushed my teeth

Now aware that it was raining, I went back into the den to late the other dog in, before he got too wet, and put him in his cage.

Hollered to see how the girls were doing

The oldest was cleaning up poop from Priss, our part-time pooch, who had just been let out but didn’t want to stay out because of the rain.

Hollered to see if the youngest was up and getting ready.

The oldest said that she had told her to get up but, since its only big sister requesting she get out of bed, she responded with a strong “no.”

Walked to front of house to drag the youngest one out of the bed

Stepped in a some poop, that had been overlooked, on my way to the bedroom

Grabbed a piece of the long stream of toilet paper, that the oldest had strewn from the roll in the bathroom all the way to her doorway, and wiped off my big toe.

Walked into the bedroom and pulled the covers off of the youngest, picked her up and placed her down on the floor.

Walked back into my bathroom and washed my foot.

Removed towel from my head and brushed hair

Went into my room to put underclothes on, prevented the youngest from trying to crawl into my bed, told her to brush her teeth.

Stalked into the kitchen to grab my paddle to reinforce that I was serious about her brushing her teeth and getting ready.

Dried my hair.

Hollered to let the girls know it was time to go and see if they were ready yet

Put makeup on.

Put clothes on

Hollered out to let the girls know it was time to go

Went into kitchen to grab the girls breakfast and make the chocolate milk

Helped the youngest get her other shoe on

Asked the oldest to turn off all the lights

Made sure all appliances were turned off, all cages were closed and locked and ensured that the radio was turned on for the bird.

Grabbed the wrong keys from hook, got everyone settled into the car.

Pulled my keys out of my purse and started the car

Opened the garage door, backed out of the garage into the driveway.

Grabbed an umbrella, stepped out of the car and into the downpour to close the garage door (that I have to manually shut every day because it will open automatically but it won’t close - and has been this way for several months now.)

Got drenched walking to the garage – regardless of the umbrella

Closed garage door, went into house and put the wrong set of keys that I had grabbed earlier back onto the hook, got drenched walking out of back door.

Got back in the car, got drenched pulling soaking wet umbrella back into the car.

Dropped the oldest off at school

Arrived at second destination for the youngest and her side kick (Priss) to be dropped off. Grabbed my umbrella, opened car door to go around and let them out of the car only to find the door was locked.

Walked back around to my side of the car to unlock the doors because she had her hands full, with the dog, her drink and her umbrella, and wasn’t able to unlock the door without putting it all down.

Walked back around to her side to let her out.

Picked the dog up so she wouldn’t jump out into the huge puddle that had gathered on the curb from our torrential rains.

Grabbed the Hello Kitty umbrella from her to assist with the opening of it and then held her chocolate milk while she got out of the car.

Got back in the car and got drenched pulling the soaking wet umbrella back into the car.

Slowly making my way to work, with the back up of the rush hour traffic and the rain slicked streets, I finally arrived.

Later than usual, I feared being able to find a decent parking space and, as I exited my car and made my way towards the building, I wondered why I was even bothering with an umbrella at this point.

I could keep going but, exhausted from all the energy that was spent trying to get everyone taken care of and getting them to school and work on time, suffice it to say that I spent the rest of the morning wishing I had stayed in bed and fantasizing of ways to go back home and do just that.

And so, when all the 'chipper' people looked at me and said, "Good Morning!" I responded with the nicest response I could muster, and that was just "Mornin'".

Up or Down?

We have been in our new office for about three weeks now.

I have spent the past three weeks trying to get acclimated to my new surroundings and all of my new additional duties. I still haven't found my new routine but I'm working on it and each day I feel I get a step closer.

Monday's have always been the roughest but none can compare to my very first Monday.

Sugar's first day of summer camp.

My first day taking her to the new summer camp.

I may have mentioned once or twice before about the anxiety that trying to find places that I"m unfamiliar with causes. This 'condition' has improved immensely since the arrival of my girlfriend; but, as I stated before, it's in no way completely gone.

Interstates - the one area where Lola and I disagree. I hate them! Avoid them like the plague; but Lola...she loves them. She is always trying to get me to take the interstate.

Lola was with me on this first day of trying to find Sugar's summer camp. As usual, she lead me to the interstate. By the time I realized where it was that she was taking me, it was too late so I had to go with it, so I cautiously turned onto the ramp and headed in the direction as advised by my girlfriend.

The problem came when she fell of my windshield and Sugar picked her up. In doing so, she accidentally pressed the off button which threw me into a panic.

Here I was, driving 65mph on a dreaded interstate. I had no idea where I was supposed to exit and Lola was shut down.

Oh Shit!!

In fact, I believe those where my exact words. Fortunately, I got her turned back on and she picked right back up where she left off. It probably wasn't longer than a minute that she was actually off but it felt like an eternity.

Needless to say, we arrived safely and I have since traveled that path enough times that it is no longer uncomfortable for me. So much so that I no longer even need Lola to help me out in order to get there.

The next week we had a visitor in from Chattanooga and a deadline was quickly approaching. That said, I had plenty to do and not much time to get it all done.

This week I saw HIM.

I knew that I would eventually run into him; with him working in the same building, it was bound to happen and when those elevator doors opened, there HE stood.

The ex-work husband - The one who divorced me without even asking how I felt about it and left me with his baby and no child support.

Yes, HIM!

I was headed up to lunch.

The shock of seeing him caused my logical brain to shut down and in its place, was a bumbling idiot.

As I stepped onto the elevator I suddenly became confused and thought we were going down instead of up. I quickly backed out of the elevator to make sure that we were headed in the right direction. He works a few floors above us, but for some crazy reason I couldn't rationalize that he might actually be going up.

And the cherry on the cake in this story is that there was a witness to my stupidity.

Good grief!

However, in my defense I would like to say that the friend I was with - the one who got to witness this whole interaction first hand - does often press the down button when we need to go up and the up button, when we need to go down.

I'm just sayin' is all...

Next week promises to be a good week; after all, it can only get better from here... right? ;)

The Proceedings

I've told you about the impending divorce.

That sad and gloomy day will be upon me before I know it and much sooner than I would like.

He didn't ask for my opinion on the matter and was shocked when he learned that I had found out before he could tell me himself.

I'm not happy about it but I don't begrudge him better opportunities.

Today we had our all day divorce proceedings. We had to decide how things are going to be maintained without him around anymore.

It was a very long day!

At the end of the day, I walked away with custody of his child but without the benefit of child support.

He claims he'll still be around for me when I need him, but not to get mad if it takes him a while to respond. He won't be able to drop everything to help me out.

OUCH! There's a harsh dose of reality.

This is really happening. **GULP** My work husband is leaving me. **GULP-GULP** I'm not ready to be alone. **GULP-SNIFFLE-GULP**

I know that this is an amazing opportunity for me to learn a new skill set, making me more marketable for future advancement within the company; but that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye. :(

Just Another Manic Monday...

Photo by: www.suerasmussen-quilts.com/gallery.htm

My alarm went off - I pressed snooze.

I believe I've already established that I MUST press the snooze button a minimum of three times before I get out of the bed each morning.

Today, I pressed if four! Which, of course, means that I had to rush to get ready.

I stayed up late last night working on some more business cards, so I wasn't very happy about the annoying beep of my alarm clock this morning, which starts out soft and pleasant (beep-beep-beep beep-beep-beep) but gets louder and faster (beep.beep.beep-beep.beep.beep) until you finally get your butt up and turn it off - or, as in my case, press snooze. ;)

My first sign should have been when I put a run in my brand.new.never.been.warn. pantyhose, while putting them on.

Still reeling from the shocking news of my favorite buddies retirement, I get an email from my boss asking me to come in her office when I get settled. uh-oh, this can't be good.

I go into her office and take a seat; we chat for a while and then she tells me the latest news:

My work husband is leaving me, **sniff-sniff** he's going to another department.

What am I going to do?? He's the best work husband I've ever had! I'm not ready for a separation. **sniff-sniff**

So, after she drops this bomb on me, I head back to my desk where absolutely nothing worked. I was unable to delete tables. I was unable to paste. My clip board wouldn't empty. UGH!!!

Then I sent a message to my work husband, asking when my reports would be ready, and he snipped at me. (My goodness, what's wrong with him?? I'm the one getting dumped.)

"Gimme a break" He says.

Gimme a break?? Did he really just say Gimme a break?? Sure, I'll give you a break....here you go...

Now, can I get a break?? Please?!?!

Manic Monday continued on with failing queries, power surges and unresponsive hosts, which probably means absolutely nothing to you but in my world it makes completing work and meeting deadlines rather difficult.

As the day went on, I did manage to check off several tasks from my to-do list and now that all of that craziness is out of the way, I can have a great rest of the week!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news:

How do you like me new blog design??

Love it?? Me too!!

Compliments of my good friend Tina - who btw, tagged me for a meme so look for that post sometime soon.

Now that you've finished reading my babblings for the day, jump on over and check out Tina's blog and if your looking for a new look for your blog...

get redesigned!

A Good Day, Gone Bad...

Today was going to be a good day.

I was on my way to work and I was ahead of schedule.

I was across the street from the building, waiting for the light to turn green.

All was right with the world.

THEN, my phone rang.

It was a co-worker. She had something to tell me and she couldn't wait any longer for me to get there.

She had to tell me, right.now.

What followed was some news that could only be described as completely shocking and somewhat devastating.

"WHAT?!?!?" I screamed into the receiver. "NO WAY!!"

I checked the date on my watch. Nope, it's not April 1st, so why would someone be playing this cruel, cruel joke on me???


Okay, I'm at work now.

The first thing I do is turn the computer on and pull up my email.

There it was, the dreaded email that confirmed the phone call that I had gotten.....

Laura - my favorite work buddy - is retiring....effective immediately???

This can't be....I didn't even get to say goodbye. WHYYYYY????????

We've never met in person.

She lives in Chattanooga.

At first it was a business relationship but her self appointed "Assistant Operations Manager" brought us closer and a bond was formed.

Our working relationship grew stronger and a friendship developed.

We talked. We emailed. We IM'd. We joked. We laughed.

Meetings were never boring with her around and they won't be the same without her - who am I going to joke with during the meetings?? **sniff-sniff**

I loved her - in a non-lesliebean sort of way.

I was all excited because we were finally going to get to meet in person and within a matter of minutes my hopes were shattered.

My entire day was gloomy from that point forward.....I miss you already!!

I won't linger on the sadness of this day. Everything happens for a reason - of this I'm certain.

I have contacted her, via email, and she has assured me that she is fine. The reason for her sudden retirement is not because of poor health, nor is it the health of anyone in her family - This was my number one concern.

She has family in North Carolina and she is moving there to be closer to her children and her grandchildren - can't say I blame her for that, I don't know what I would do if I didn't live close to my mother; she's my best friend.

Hey! Maybe she can swing by and visit me on her way to NC...**wink-wink** (Sorry, inside joke)

I will definitely miss working with her, but I chose to look at the positive side of this situation.

Although I already feel like we have a friendship, it has always remained on a professional level. I look forward to our friendship developing further, as I get to know her on a more personal level.

And that "meeting in person" that I was so looking forward to???

It.will.happen.

Got IT Goin' On?!?!?

Do I still have it? OH YEAH, I still have it; plus some! I am married to a wonderful man. I have absolutely no complaints – he cooks, he cleans, he’s a hard worker; what’s to complain about?? Two children and eleven years later, he and I have really “grown” together.

My motto: A family that grows together stays together. (it sounds good anyway)

Even happily married girls like to feel pretty, every once in a while. It’s not that we go out in search of attention, but it’s always nice when a good looking member of the opposite sex glances our way with an appreciative look in their eyes.

Ladies, you know what I’m talking about; the days when you get up and everything is just perfect! You’ve got on a cute outfit, you don’t have any blemishes, and your hair looks great. Those are the days we all love - you look and feel good about yourself. An air of confidence exuberates around you.

I haven’t had a day like that in quite some time and today was no exception…

There was a training class at my office for the last two days. In it were several very nice looking males – being an artist, I have always had a healthy appreciation for beautiful things.

I will not mention names, but there was one guy in there with whom I’m familiar - we’ve worked together in the past. I have always admired and respected him; not only is he nice and smart, he is also easy on the eyes.

I didn’t even realize he was here until he came over to speak to me and, I swear, I turned into a teenage girl - I could feel my face flushing and I became a bumbling idiot. I was mortified!

After chastising myself, I made a promise that today would be different – boy was it ever!

My hair – the one thing we have some control over – was refusing to cooperate this morning. I haven’t had it cut since December and it’s really getting too long. Nothing I did looked good. I finally gave up and threw it up in a barrette. I didn’t even get to work good before it was already breaking free of its restraint.

Looking like crap and not wanting to be seen, my mission today: Stay out of site!

First I saw HIM at the elevator, as I was coming out of the restroom. I slinked to the door and hoped he wouldn’t look my way.

Next I saw HIM as he was getting off of and I was getting on to the elevator. Could it get any better??

On the way back to the office I looked in my rear view mirror and gasped at the site of the reflection looking back at me. The hair was just NOT looking good at all, and getting worse by the minute. I then decided that if I was going to look bad, I was going to do it with my hair down and comfortable, rather than pulled up and causing a headache. So, I released the barrette and shook it out - Not much better, but at least it was more comfortable.

The next time I saw HIM was after lunch. We smiled and I continued on my way only to later discover that I had spinach bits, from my lunch, in my teeth. Great, just great!

And I saw HIM several other times throughout the day – so much for staying out of site…The only thing that could have made it worse would have been if I were to have had a great big boogie in my nose.

Why is it that the cutest guy God ever made always shows up when you’re having a bad hair day???

Practically Impracticable

Do you remember the movie “What Women Want” with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt?

Do you remember the part where he was walking in the park and a woman jogged past him with her mind going ninety to nothing??

Yeah?

Well, that was me today!

If there ever were such a power, and I was the one whose mind he heard, he prolly woulda went insane!

I’m not sure what happened, but it was almost like someone flipped on the switch and it got stuck and then it short circuited. (circuited, is that a word? hmm?? **goes over to dictionary** Yep, it is!)
I’ll spare you the details of all the different directions my mind went - mostly because I can’t remember them – but let’s just suffice it to say that I was all over the map!

Normally, I will get a thought in my head and I’ll think about that one thing to completion, almost to the point of obsession; sometimes I have to force my self to stop thinking about whatever it is so I can do other things – like sleep. Today, I couldn’t even hold a thought long enough to think about what it was that I thinking about before my mind was off in another direction, thinking about something else. (Try to follow THAT logic!)

Throughout my life, I’ve had many a few people tell me, "you're so crazy!", but today was the first time that I’ve felt like it could be true (No Comments necessary, from the peanut gallery!!)

By the time I got to work, I felt like I had drunk a whole pot of French Vanilla Cappuccino – it felt like I was going to jump out of my skin!

My entire day seemed off kilter - hmmm??? I wonder if it's a full moon?? I'll have to check that out - I had several quirky computer problems and things seemed to get worse as the day went on.... I finally just gave up and called it a day.

THEN, I got home and turned on the news only to learn that our Mayor was nominated as one of 50 finalist for the annual "World Mayor" award - ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!?!?

**Scratches head** I must have heard that wrong...They must nominate themselves; yes, that MUST be it, that's the only logical explanation!

**Rewinds TV**

NO!?!?! (they don't nominate themselves)

Really?? Are you S-U-R-E??

YEP! It MUST be a full moon outside!!

WHAT A JOKE!!!

The good news is…I made it through the day with all my skin still in tact. Although it wouldn’t have been SO BAD if some of the fat cells fell off; I could have lived with that! Note to self: Your medicine really IS working! In the future, try not to forget to take it two days in a row.

Updated to show tonight's moon phase:

Moon Phase

Courtesy U.S. Naval Observatory

My Day of Adventure

Today was full of adventure for me....In fact, I had so many things happen it's hard to find a starting point. I guess, I should start at the beginning:

This morning I was driving to my meeting downtown, which is an area that I don't normally go. I don't know if anyone else ever experiences this, but I have anxiety when I have to drive somewhere that is unfamiliar to me. People laugh because they don't understand and I laugh right along with them. I guess you could say I'm "Directionally Challenged". ha!

The last time we had our meeting I wasn't able to find where it was and I ended up following some co-workers. Although I haven't been there since the last meeting, I felt a little better about it this go round, but as I got closer I grew more anxious and sure enough I got turned around, literally! I turned onto what I believed to be my street and looked up to find that I was going the WRONG WAY, down a ONE WAY STREET....GULP!!!! Luckily, no other cars were coming and I was able to quickly get back in the right direction.

Now, having dealt with this "disability" for the majority of my driving life I always leave early, allowing myself plenty of time for these little screw ups. Therefore, although I still have the anxiety, I don't ever panic. I simply pick up the phone and call a friend (Thank GOD for friends!!). When they see my number they usually know what's going on and that they have to help me through it....Did I mention how thankful I am for my friends?!?!? ;) I made it through my morning detour and got to the meeting on time.

Now it's afternoon and Drake (whose name I'm thinking of changing; however, if I change it to what I would LIKE to call him, my children would get in trouble every time they talked about him.lol!) is outside. Normally he doesn't react to outside activity but tonight this kid walked past with his dog and Drake decided he was going to go check him out. My husband was at the door watching him and tried to call him back but this dog is hard headed, if I haven't mentioned that before, and doesn't listen very well. Hubby, being in his underwear, asked me to run out and get him. So off I go, in my flip flops, to get this crazy dog out of the middle of the street. There's a car coming down the street but he sees the activity and slows down. Drake heads towards the sidewalk but you can see him thinking about changing his mind.....he goes to dart back in the direction of the other dog and I catch his back end, but my flip flop (not good shoes to wear when chasing after a stupid dog) somehow gets caught on the street, trips me up and I go crashing down. For those who know me, let me just go ahead and say; YES, he's still alive.

It's later on in the evening and I'm relaxing in my chair, after being all banged up from my meeting with the pavement, watching TV and I notice that it's awful quiet in the house. I walked towards the kitchen to check on everyone when I see that Sugar's bedroom door is closed and I hear her talking; naturally I assume that they are in there playing, but you know what happens when you assume...right?!?!

THIS is what I find....Sugar is in her room, on the phone, and Spice........

The Countdown is on...

It's Wednesday night and the countdown is officially on...My baby will be turning three this Friday and then of course we have the BIG PARTY coming up on Saturday!! I've been extra busy this whole week trying to get everything ready.

Mom and I put our bargain hat's on and went shopping for supplies on Saturday. Sunday was grocery and hair day, Monday night was spent cleaning the play room and Spice's room, Tuesday I raked the back yard, and tonight was dusting all the furniture and straightening the spare room. Saturday is only two days away and I've still got plenty to do before it gets here.

The fun part is trying to keep the areas that I've already finished to remain clean! That is quite a challenge with my miniature tornado's running around....

Wish me luck!