Stop It!!!!

yes, gas is expensive. we get it. it doesn't need to be the lead story on EVERY damn local newscast. please. and stop making light of Katrina. it's serious stuff, and i wish you would stop putting humor into your story.
thank you.

well, now that that's off my chest, i can get back to watching "Guess Who" and doing laundry.

Baby P

My good friends Damian and Jen are expecting their first child in November. They're 10 weeks away. Yet, they are in the hospital right now with some complications. They've been there about 24 hours so far. Please keep them in your thoughts. I'll post as soon as I know more.

Thank you.

update

never made it to target, but today was good anyway. went to the library instead to get a card and check out a book. i was looking for "The Notebook" but it's out, so I went w/a different Nicholas Sparks book. Right now, I can't remember the name. I also saw my niece play soccer. it's really fun watching 7 and 8 year olds play, because i played soccer at that age. i cringe every time someone gets hit/run into...i can't believe i used to play that game.

i also had a realization on my way into work tonight. i was thinking how much i HATE getting behind semi trucks (especially on exit/entrance ramps to the highway). what started as hatred turned into understanding. i thought "what will i say in my blog about semis?" and then i thought "i'll have to explain that i understand they are a VITAL part of this country...with everything they transport. i don't want anyone who happens to be a truck driver getting upset with my opinion." so, the more i thought about it, the less angry i was. weird. thanks, blogger.

mo cuishle

happy things for today

1. the 4 hours of Mad About You, Designing Women, The Nanny and Golden Girls on Lifetime
2. caramel steamers at Kwik Trip
3. free weekly hydrating facial at Merle Norman
4. seeing my 7 year old niece playing soccer
5. my friend in NY getting a job as a psychologist (she used to work for the devil) *winking*
6. Big Brother 6
7. support from friends (and fellow bloggers) in my dilemma
8. reading blogs
9. seeing Jerry Seinfeld is just over 3 weeks away
10. Target
11. working out (ok, that's not necessarily happy. just necessary)

The Notebook

perfectly predictable. true love. pure and simple.

sci fi channel

it's not my bag, baby. it's daves though. unfortunately. so here i sit, blogging and working on wedding pictures, and he's watching SOMETHING. Battlestar Gallactica i think? I don't really know.

yesterday we went to help scott move his dad out of an apartment. we got a vaccuum cleaner and a drill out of the deal. pretty sweet considering we were going to buy a drill TODAY. awesome! thanks scott! (we've gotten a lot of cool stuff from people since we moved in here. thanks, andy, for the lawn mower!)

Last night my cuz and her boyfriend came over. we grilled out steaks & chicken and then played the game "Scene It". it was a ton-o-fun. i'm not good at identifying movies, but i came through in a clutch a few times. one in particular was funny....it was puzzle pieces and you had to identify the movie from the scenes. dave was convinced it was one movie and was done guessing. until the last scene, and i screamed "Say Anything" because it was john cusack holding the boombox over his head. that was cool. it's a fun game! one was easy. they play a clip from a movie and you have to answer the question after the clip. sometimes it's "who was wearing the white shirt" but in one case it was "what's the title to the movie". it was Office Space! Can't get much easier than that.

Today is grocery shopping, and fixing stuff w/our "new" drill. I'm so excited i don't have to work tonight!!!

saturday

why do i have to work on saturdays? i just do. at least i enjoy what i do. makes being here on a saturday (any day of the week, actually) a lot easier.

tonight, my cousin and her boyfriend are coming over. we're gonna grill out and play some games. my cousin was my roommate a while back. she met her boyfriend and i met dave when we lived together. anyway, i remember she used to get crab salad from the deli at Cub Foods, so i went and bought some for her today as a surprise. and ruffles w/french onion dip. man, tonight's gonna be nice! i'm gonna have a few beers and just enjoy myself. i don't have to get out of bed tomorrow if i don't feel like it, and because i work for Z on monday again, i don't have to work tomorrow night. even though i'm here right now, the weekend is looking to be something wonderful.

BTW, i watched "Million Dollar Baby" last night, and LOVED it. (i love netflix!)

mo cuishle

tgif

so in my last post, i talked about my car being dead. dave picked me up and we took the portable charger thing to my car. it wasn't doing much. we called his brother T and he came with HIS portable charger. i had to laugh my butt off when he pulled in front of my car and whipped his yellow light out to put on top of his truck. makes it legal, he said! he's too funny. the man can find ANYTHING you need, and fix anything. it's cool. anyway, his portable charger was out of juice. mind you, we've been there about 1/2 hour. T went to ask someone at the dealership if they had cables, and the guy said "i don't know" and made a half-assed attempt to look. well, we decided to go to the store to get cables. (which T forgot to bring!) we got back, charged it up, and i was on my way. again, we were outside this dealership, i SAW the owner a couple times, and he made no attempt to say "need help?" seriously, dude. it's a business. i know you're closed, but if you want business, you have to go get it. anyway, T said to let the car run for a while. we decided to go out to Dave's mom's house to get our football tickets. the whole time, my mileage light was flickering, the battery light was on (it wasn't before), etc. i turned the car off and it was dead again. luckily T lives a couple blocks away. we called him, and he brought his spare battery (i told you he can find anything) and changed it. now my car is good as new. thanks, T!!! luckily we can pay him back by having Dave fix his computer!!!
a new day starts. i'm off to work. hopefully today is better!

go figure

just got done with working. now i'm waiting for dave to come home so i can go get my car. nope, not getting a new one....we have to jump my car. it is just dead. it's so weird to me...there was NO sign that it was going to die. it just decided to die. i'd driven it twice today already. it sat for 1 1/2 hours, and now won't start. grr.

i think we're gonna go buy a drill tonight so i can put up the new shower curtain rod and towel bar in our bathroom. so much for mowing the lawn.....

on a good note, my cousin's baby was born on tuesday. 4 weeks early, but doing well. here's Gabrielle Rose:

addicted

i'm addicted to reading blogs that are so FULL of drama. I'm reading one now about a woman in an "open" relationship. I just keep waiting for her to say "Just Kidding" because it is SO ridiculous. Hey, it's not my life, i shouldn't be commenting. But damn it, girl. Get a brain. And a little self esteem.

i'm also addicted (like i've mentioned before) to reality TV. I cried at an episode of "Meet Mr. Mom" tonight. It's so sweet to see the way dads relate to their kids. Oh yeah, I'm also addicted to chocolate. There's no getting past that one.

i have come to the realization that i'm not as handy as i wish i was. i tried putting up a new towel bar and TP holder in our bathroom last night. took me an hour to do both. I'd done the TP holder once, but it came out crooked. i also just try to "do" things without necessarily doing them the CORRECT way. Hey, if it works out, then good for me. If not, I get really pissed and REFUSE to go to the correct way. I have to get it done my way. Grr. It's irritating. It's probably the reason the blinds for our living room are under the couch. I tried putting those up one day. And there they sit.

Gossip: Jennifer Aniston hated the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie. She watched 30 minutes and walked out. Hmm. I agreed on her taste in hair in the 90's. Maybe I'll skip the movie too. Her "advice" seemed to work in the past. Hopefully my husband doesn't leave me for Anjelina Jolie. Wait, would that be SO bad? Maybe they'd let me babysit her kids. Whatever it takes to be on the "inside" of celebrity dirt!!!! (yep, i'm pathetic!)

yikes

my friend Jodi was in an accident the other day. she's alright, but as she says, a Jeep Grand Cherokee does not fit in the trunk of a Pontiac Grand Prix. As evidenced below:

















then she wrecked her race car. talk about a shitty week

if only

if only they'd place this ban on stupid people here in the U.S! men and women, any age. it would be such a great thing!

wha?

gossip: R. Kelly is performing at the VMA's. He is still facing child pornography charges stemming from a widely circulated videotape that purportedly shows him having sex with a minor. God, I wish celebrities were treated like PEOPLE sometimes and actually PUNISHED for the things they are charged with.

hmm

#99 from last post...not being able to stay focused. it has hit me quite a few times in the last 12+ hours. i worked on cleaning out the garage yesterday. twice. had to stop because i lost focus. and posting this blog....i've tried numerous times. i just haven't been able to decide on a topic and stick with it. so my topic is: not being able to stay on topic. hmm.

gossip: courtney love is reportedly pregnant. yuck

bulks: 1491

Did you know...

101 things about me

1. Matthew McConaughey!
2. I love the feeling of putting on tennis shoes when the weather gets too cold for sandals
3. Not as much as I love being able to wear flip-flops!
4. I really want to go back to school some day
5. I have no idea what's going on most of the time when I'm listening to talk radio
6. I worry sometimes about driving a long distance and getting into an accident
7. Most of my closest friends I've known FOREVER. Like, middle school or before. They'll never go away. EVER.
8. I drove w/my friend Carissa from Madison to San Francisco in '03
9. I only drove the UHaul for 1.5 hours between Denver and San Fran
10. My first time trying Sushi was in San Fran.
11. I love sushi!
12. Been to San Fran twice...never went across Golden Gate Bridge in a car
13. Biked Golden Gate Bridge
14. Made Dave watch "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days" when we first met (it was me at the time!)
15. He didn't run away scared!
16. Then he married me!
17. I love to cook because I like making people happy
18. I also love the compliments after cooking a good meal
19. I'm not revealing anything too personal on here because I'm chicken!
20. Harrison Ford!!!
21. I am a sucker for reality TV
22. I am shy. I swear to GOD. I really am!
23. I love to drive fast, I'm just too afraid to
24. got caught speeding twice. only ticketed once.
25. spilled hot cooking oil all over the floor while working at Buddy Squirrel in the mall
26. I waited in line to have LeRoy Butler sign a copy of his book...for someone else
27. I don't talk to the person who got that book anymore
28. Also paid an extra $15 to have him sign a jersey.
29. Kept that for myself!
30. I love chips & salsa
31. I never felt better than the day of my wedding!
32. I'm 3 degrees of separation from Matt LeBlanc
33. I worked for RedBull USA
34. Yes I like RedBull
35. I used to work for Madison Police Department
36. No, I wasn't a cop
37. I've had way too many jobs to list here
38. I have one brother, 4 brothers-in-law, 4 sisters-in-law and lots-o-nieces and nephews
39. Live music is the best therapy
40. Ice cream is a close 2nd
41. I love to cry.
42. Josh Turner
43. tipped over a slide once
44. had a crush on a married co-worker back in '97/'98
45. went to Mexico when i was 17
46. i can be a very jealous person
47. i introduced kenny chesney on stage before a concert in '99
48. have now seen Kenny Chesney in concert 5 times.
49. Only had to pay for one
50. Paid $200+ for 2 tickets to see the Packers at Lambeau Field in '04
51. lied about being sick christmas time '96 to get out of work
52. was 1.5 hours away when i called in
53. co-worker that i spoke to believed i really was sick
54. finally 'fessed up a couple years later
55. it's taken me an hour to get this far
56. waited in line for HOURS to meet Ken Osmond
57. i collect ladybug stuff
58. i'm a control freak
59. I'm afraid of car accidents
60. stupid people/drivers really annoy me
61. i'm not easily offended
62. i swear a lot
63. especially at stupid people/drivers
64. i can be a real bitch
65. i'm addicted to blogging/reading blogs
66. ive never seen an episode of "sex and the city"
67. i hate flying in "puddle jumpers"
68. am "known" for making Breakfast Lasagna
69. didn't want to link Breakfast Lasagna...it's MY secret!
70. i have 2 cats, Blu & Sami
71. i can be really lazy
72. especially if there's a good "Marathon" on tv
73. rode on "Demon" at great america w/my aunt when I was a kid, because she had no one to ride with
74. hated it a LOT
75. thinking about roller coasters is making me anxious
76. went to Vegas for first time in '04
77. went on helicopter ride in Vegas
78. my friends grandpa was mayor of Oskaloosa, IA
79. stayed overnight outside Sears in the snow for NKOTB tickets in '90
80. tickets were so bad, i could barely see the stage
81. I'm competetive
82. i started bowling on a league at a very young age
83. love mcdonalds, even though i worked there as a teen
84. i drove a moped in Door County w/my mom a few years back
85. guilty pleasure: gossip magazines
86. i love nick-at-nite
87. favorite movie line: yes they deserved to die, and i hope they burn in hell!
88. or: If I could only have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy. Pez. Cherry flavor Pez. There's no doubt about it.
89. i hate admitting when i'm wrong
90. i love playing games
91. i've never broken a bone
92. i make dave lunch every day (because i want to)
93. i love purses
94. i'm more afraid of pain/injury than death
95. i cried at the series finale of 90210
96. i'm a very light sleeper (mostly)
97. i refuse to start watching Farscape
98. Will Smith
99. i have a hard time staying focused
100. i never went "tagging" with my friends
101. I love being married!

This was a lot of fun. Try it!!!

good weekend!

Saturday morning we took off for Eau Claire, to visit the Leinenkugel Brewery and take the tour. We got about an hour outside of Eau Claire, and traffic stopped. Literally stopped. To the point where people were out of their cars on the side of the interstate, walking around. Letting their dogs go potty. Going potty themselves. We moved about 2 miles in nearly an hour. We were told at one point, by a guy that had passed this part of the interstate going the other direction, that they were doing road work on a bridge and re-routing people off at the exit and right back on. probably kinda hard with 3 lanes of weekend traffic. well, by the time we got to the point where they were supposedly doing the road work, it was gone. so all that waiting and nothing to show for it. there could have at least been an accident to see! We proceeded from there, and got to our tour just a few minutes late. they put us at the 3:45pm tour though, so we sampled some beer (it's free!!!) and checked out the gift shop. Our tour started, and it was pretty cool. It was the weekend, so they weren't actually brewing, but we saw the equipment. The fermentation tanks hold a LOT of beer. you'd have to drink 4 a day for 79 years to get through one! Each batch turns out 175 barrells, and each barrell is 15 (?) cases. The produce a lot of beer. (I wish I had taken this computer with me to blog while we were at our hotel!) Anyway, it was pretty neat, we got some good gift store stuff, and headed to our hotel. We were in downtown Eau Claire at the Ramada. We went to Sammy's Pizza at a friends recommendation. Yum!!! It was dang good! From there we relaxed, had ice cream at the Acoustic Cafe, and walked around a bit. Then we went to a budget movie theater and saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith. We both really liked it. Especially for $2.50! Sunday morning we left a bit early to go to Erbert & Gerbert's for a Jacob Bluefinger. I hadn't had one in SO long. It was tasty! We left Eau Claire hoping to not see the traffic snafu we had on Saturday. Luckily, it didn't happen this time! However, we did have some annoying road-sharers. one girl was driving on practically a 1/2 tire on the passenger side (rear). her car also sounded really bad. the annoying part was that she kept changing her speed...passing us and slowing down. we didn't want to be by her car. she ended up passing us, and a couple minutes later, who should be pulling off to the side of the road but her....with a flat tire. it was funny. well, to us anyway!
We decided we had enough time, so we stopped at Ho-Chunk. I spent some money, Dave made some money, and we headed out. THEN we hit the traffic. We got off the interstate, took some back road, and made it to his parents' for A's birthday party. We're home now, waiting for "My Kind of Town" to come on. Mt. Horeb, WI is being featured tonight!
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sweet, sweet friday

we paid our bill for homeowners insurance a few weeks back (at the direction of our agent, even though the bill actually said "don't pay. this bill will go to your mortgage lender") Well, we got a check for "overpayment" today! The bill WAS paid by the bank, so now we have more money! I love when things like this happen!!!!!

tornados

we had some bad weather around here last night. about 30 minutes from where i live. here's a picture of some of it:



that would have scared the living crap out of me. everyone i know in the area is fine though. that's the important part!

changes!

dave changed the look of my blog a bit. thanks! it's got more colors, and he'll work on more later. when he has more time. when he's not watching tv. hmm...maybe he won't have time! :o) He does still have those thank-yous to do....

went to Build-A-Bear tonight. Took my nieces and Dave's niece. They pick out an animal, then get to help stuff it. They get to put a heart in it, scrub the loose fibers off, find an outfit, name it, get a birth certificate...the kids love it!

Here's Roxy and her outfit:


This is Sassy Bear and her outfit:



Here's Sassy Kitty and her outfit:



Sassy Kitty and Sassy Bear belong to sisters! It was the cutest thing. They had fun. Then we had McDonald's (well, the kids did anyway) and played at the play area in the mall. In the mean-time, there were tornadoes touching down all around us. We didn't even know! By the time we left the mall, it was sunny out again.

This weekend, Dave and I are going to the Leinie's Brewery for a little getaway. Should be fun. Well, it better be. It's quite a drive to not have fun!

My celebrity "stuff" is a "WTF?" today. WTF are they thinking with the outfits they wear. This just confuses me. So does this. Wilmer looks like he should have this lindsay as an ex, rather than Lindsay Lohan....

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Good day!

busy day

got new car insurance today. we're saving over $470/year, and our coverage has more than doubled. i guess there are advantages to being married!

tonight we're going to Build-A-Bear. Taking the girls (nieces) as a "thank you" for being in the wedding. It's gonna be fun! Maybe kind of expensive, but it'll be worth it to see them enjoying themselves!

Today is also an anniversary. Not a good one. 3 years ago, a friend passed away. It was such a horrible time. I'd just started getting to know her better again, and she was taken away. More importantly, she was taken away from her 2 kids. I miss her a lot, as does everyone that knew her. I know she's watching out for me though.
Jacqueline Sanders
11/75-8/02

other people's blogs

i read other people's blogs a lot. a co-worker comes in and says "who is that?" and i say "I don't know. i found this blog from another person's blog, because she commented on this other guy's blog. no, i don't know him either." It's interesting to read what people have to say. One blog I'm reading is about a girl dealing with her boyfriend, her ex-husband, and his girlfriend...who used to be her best friend. I feel like I know this girl that's doing the posting, and I get caught up in what's going on. I root for her...I want her to get rid of the asshole boyfriend and find a way to get the ex back in her life. It's blogs like that one that I don't want to post comments on. She's having life struggles (aren't we all, really?) and it would seem like such an invasion. However, there's another blog that I read about a military wife living in Louisianna. She's so FUNNY! And I have no problem posting a comment on that one. What's the difference? Who knows. While they're both life stories, the first one is such a personal, heart wrenching story. The second is like watching a comedy. I feel like I'm part of that one.

On the "comments" front...I think I need to post more comments on the blogs I read. It's the only way I can get to know other people, and have my blog "out there". I'd like to be on people's "link" List. it seems like such a fun goal to have!

Gossip: Jessica Simpson's hair is "most wanted" by women, according to msnbc.com. Then they post a picture of her with (in my opinion) bad hair. I'd rather go back to my 1995 "Rachel" cut, thanks.

bulks

at 4:39pm today, i was at 998 bulks. it's 10:45 and i'm at 1021. yikes. will it ever end?

OMG! Color Me Badd "I Wanna Sex You Up" is on the radio right now! Holy memories, batman! I was working at McDonald's, and was friends w/a girl named Andrea Green. She would come over and we'd play Sonic on Sega. Or we'd hang out and smoke cigarettes. When my mom found my cigs, i told her Andrea bought 'em for me. Oh please...I was smart enough to find my own! Anyway, that was a fun time. No worries...except my mom finding my cigarettes. and working at McDonalds. And the hot guys working with me that i constantly had crushes on. (Rick, for one!) :o) (hey, I was 15. it's allowed!)

Not much going on. I've lost all train of thought because of this one song. It's amazing how music can do that to you. Maybe THAT is why I'm in radio. Hmm! Only took me 7 years to figure it out!

ps: gossip for today, from MSN Paris Hilton prefers her younger, tinier pup Bambi over Tinkerbell, and has banished the quivery, shivery Tink to second-rate celebrity status by sending her to live with her mom, Kathy.

I guess Tinkerbell isn't so Hot anymore!

i forgot this???

we went to the store on Saturday, looking for a new phone. nothing too fancy, just a $50 V-Tech cordless phone with a second handset. we got to the register, and the cashier was telling the guy in front of us to get the service agreement for HIS new phone, just $10 more, and he'd be better off. The guy said "Yeah, fine, ok" as if he was saying OK just to shut the cashier up. I looked at Dave, and we both said "Nah, don't need it" so when the cashier started talking about it, we said "No thanks", but he proceeded. I said "No. Thanks." He explained the "Goods" about having this service plan, and i, again, said "No". I think I left out the "Thanks" that time. I was getting annoyed. Just give me my $50 phone and let me be on my way. We told him that if our phone dies, we'll get a new one. He proceeded to say "Well that's silly." WHAT? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME? I'M SILLY? I was livid. That is SO rude. I still said "NO! I don't want the service plan." I couldn't even look at the guy anymore. He had the balls to say, as the receipt was printing out, "You have 30 days to change your mind". Oh my ever loving word...I never want to go back there! It's a $50 phone. If it lasts it's expected 2 years, i'll be more than happy. Then I'll go somewhere else and buy a new one. your competition will be happy for the business.

yard work

i'm finding it fun to do yard work. ok, not as much "fun" as it is rewarding. i'm finally a homeowner, and when the lawn needs to be mowed, i can do it. and it looks good. now if i could just get the damn mower started, it'd be great. weed wackers can be fun, too. it's a proud moment when the yard is mowed, the weeds are wacked, and i can sit back and enjoy my work. plus, it's enough of a workout that i can skip the club for a day!

i'm in the process of sending out thank-yous for the wedding gifts. it's a harder process than it might seem. especially since we got a lot of "donations to the pocketbook". how many ways can you possibly say "thanks for the money!"? at least people aren't going to be seeing each other's thank-yous, for the most part!

fixed some of the "wrongs" from yesterday. found chicken on sale (BOGO!), and had a coupon for my roast beef lunch meat. it was a good day!

ps: bulks=932
apparently they stay for a month before being deleted. this is only about 2 weeks worth....i think after my experiment, i'll just go to having them deleted automatically. i'm tired of bulk emails!

celebrity "news"...from VH1's "Awesomely Wacky Celebrity Baby Names"
Jason Lee & Beth Riesgraf: Pilot Inspektor
Erykah Badu: Puma (her brother's name is Seven)
Director Robert Rodriguez & wife Elizabeth Avellan: Racer, Rocket, Rogue & Rebel
Ving Rhames: Reign Beau (as in Rainbow. it's a girl)
Live Aid founder Bob Geldof & UK TV personality Paula Yates: Fifi Trixibell, Pixie, & Peaches Honeyblossom
TV Chef Jamie Oliver and wife Julie Oliver: Daisy Boo & Poppy Honey

Whatever I choose for my child's name, if they don't like it, I will refer them to this list. They should feel lucky!

how many times can i post today?

For a while, I thought I should have just gone back to bed this morning. I felt ill when i woke up. that wasn't the end of it. we went to the store, and decided to get some chicken to grill. They were out of chicken breast (the Gold'N Plump kind) unless you wanted a 10lb pack. Which we didn't. They also didn't have a SINGLE package of roast beef for sandwiches. What? So, we purchased a few things and went to a different store. What the hell...they had no chicken either. I was pissed off by that point. (i know, better than being pissed on!) We didn't get anything at the 2nd store, we just went home. Without talking. I know, it's not D's fault there wasn't any chicken to be found. We got home, and I just climbed into bed and read my book. D came in and was going to go to another store (15 minutes away) to find chicken. Luckily, I realized there was chicken in the freezer. So, things started looking up. We got the chicken out and defrosted it, went to the club to work out, came home and had chicken on the grill. While he was cooking, we realized there was a new Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on! Woo Hoo! Dinner was great, and now we're hanging out!
by the way, i took my own magazines to the club tonight to avoid having to read the parenting magazines. i took Cosmo and Family Circle. Well, the Family Circle was from may. And it was all about Mother's Day. Hmm. Life is weird.

ps: 855 blogs

fast forward

about 30 minutes. i feel better now. that was really weird. but i'm gonna rest today, that's for sure. and get some vitamins and stuff. try to make sure i don't get sick. i probably feel better because i just ate an entire bag of cotton candy. i bought it (for my mom....sorry mom!) at the state fair. it was just sitting here, begging to be eaten. i couldn't let it down. or put it down. oops.

so last night, dave and I were shopping, and he got a phone call from a friend. General conversation, with the extra little blurb about S being prego. I got a really weird feeling. I know quite a few people who had a very difficult time getting pregnant, if they ended up being able to at all. Now that I'm at the point where we're not trying to not get pregnant, i got that twinge of jealousy. Why does it happen so easily for people who aren't trying? Who aren't married? It's not fair. BUT, it passed quickly. i just hope it turns out to be that easy for us.

Damn it

I think I'm getting sick. Why do I say that? I'm having trouble breathing....it's kinda Wheezy. And not the Jefferson. And my nose is running. God bless it....I don't like being sick. I don't need this right now. I know, who ever NEEDS to be sick? It's weird though. This one hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a little bit of a wheeze last night, but nothing extreme. All of a sudden I feel like HELL. That's the end of my wonderfully worded post.

State Fair

My friend J and I went to the state fair tonight. it was really nice. thankfully the weather was great, and traffic was ok. no delays. We made a b-line for the cream puffs! SO yummy! After that, it was just walking around, checking out the info-mercial booths and the different food/shopping booths. I bought Dave a Packer Clock...it's a desk clock made from a small license plate (the kind you had on your bike as a kid). They also had a Tastefully Simple booth, and I had to get something! I love that stuff. After that, it was figuring out what I wanted to eat...I found cheddar nuggets. not cheese curds, but cheddar nuggets. Yum-O! They weren't your typical cheese curds. It was, basically, a round "puff" of batter with yummy, melted cheese in the middle. So, so good. Then it was the mile walk back to the car. The walk seemed shorter on the way in.
I can say I had a lot of fun tonight. I'm not just saying that because she'll read my blog, either! We don't hang out a whole lot anymore, so I'm glad we got the chance! Thanks J! I can't wait for the wedding!

ps: 727 bulks!

8:30am? what's that?

yes, you see, i'm working during the day today. I'm not usually privy to the goings-on at 8:30am. Like breakfast. Today, I am. It's not much more exciting than 2:30am, to be quite honest! But, because I didn't work last night, I was able to watch BB6. Go Kaysar! He's back, and ready to stir up the pot once again. He got 82% of America's votes...probably because he's gonna start another coup! It's gonna be so exciting! We were going to do the free trial of the 24 Live Video, but after the free trial you have to pay $9.99/month, and I wasn't about to give my credit card info. So we have to make sure we Tivo (ok, we have DVR, but Tivo sounds cooler!) BB6 on Saturday to find out who wins HOH. It can be anyone but James, really.

I also was able to see the first Packer game of the season. Ok, pre-season, but still. In HD. that was NICE! The weather at Lambeau was the same as when my dad and I went a couple years ago. Rain, rain, rain. It was actually a close game. Favre looked REALLY good (and i'm not talking about his butt, either). Green fumbled, of course. The Chargers' Kicker missed THREE field goals. 42, 45 and 46. (He also missed a game winning one in the playoffs last year). So when Longwell made a 53 yarder w/:30 left in the game to win it, it was sweet. I'm thinking the Chargers' kicker (his name escapes me now...how appropriate) may be looking for a new job soon.

ps: 677 bulks. (see previous entry for explanation)!

the name game

my friend Sarah is due to have a baby girl in December, and is going through what most parents-to-be go through...they can't agree on names. So she asked me my opinion on names i like (not ones i would choose from, as she didn't want to be a name thief!) and I gave her this list: Morgan, Alexis, Allison, Hilary, Samantha, Ava, Anna, Julia/Juliet
There are various reasons i "can't" use those names (doesn't go with my last name, don't like a person i know w/that name...etc.) I told her I'd give her more ideas if she wanted...i haven't heard from her yet. She probably doesn't like my suggestions! That's ok though...we can have different opinions!

Today's been productive so far. Oil change and grocery shopping. Now it's on to making Fudge Puddles for a get-together we're attending on Saturday. the recipe gets great reviews on the website i found it on, so hopefully it'll be good. i'll let you know!

ps: i'm doing an experiment. how many bulk mails can i get in my yahoo! folder before it A) stops accepting bulk mail or B) explodes. i'm up to 619 so far....

Meet Blu & Sami

who knew that the box from a case of bottled water and the "bag" from a new set of sheets would come in so handy?

woe is me

it'll happen some day. i'll go through a drive-thru and get what i asked for! it's one thing to forget the fork for my salad (i can usually get one of those)...but to forget the DRESSING? it's like forgetting the bun for my burger. i don't have dressing at home because i get my salads at the drive-thru. dressing usually comes with it. at least this salad has a bit of flavor (chicken and cheese), so i can choke it down. i have saved the calories i would have gotten from the dressing...now i can have some ice cream. hopefully they dont' forget the cone. that would make it a bit messy.

i'm not a mom, but i hope to be one someday. i've mentioned that in a previous post. now that i'm married, it's a matter of time. that being said, is it weird that i was reading a parenting magazine while on the bike at the health club tonight? what can i say? i'm a bit of a planner! i wasn't reading articles (it was getting close to the end of my workout, i just wanted the time to pass) but i was checking out "tips" and stuff. I could say I was looking at it because the gossip mags were a bit slim (i couldn't stomach the interview w/Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott from "Dukes of Hazzard") but i really did want to look at the parenting magazine. it's on my list of mags to subscribe to when the time comes. (if you're reading this and have magazine or book suggestions, please let me know!)

I did read SOME gossip. Well, not really gossip. Celebrity "news". Well, news to me anyway. I didn't know Tony Shalhoub (Monk, Wings) was born in Green Bay, WI! He has cheese hats...but keeps them stored away in his closet. I'm sure that's just an oversight. I'm sure he means to get them out and wear them every season, but he's so busy that it just slips by him. I'm SURE that's the way it is!

good tuesday

I slept SO much yesterday. Apparently funerals are exhausting, even for people on the outside. I slept from about 3:30-4:15pm, 4:30-8pm, then 11:30-9:45am. Kinda broken up, but still a lot of hours. Got free lunch at work today, and was able to give away my remote to someone in need, so I was able to spend some time w/Dave.

Big Brother was on tonight. WHY did James have to win Veto again? Damn him. There's a "problem" though. They (houseguests) are talking about taking Ivette out. If they do that, they're making a huge mistake. They need to stick to their original plan and get Sarah out, then James next week. I guess we'll see. I sure hope Kaysar comes back!!!

Mark Cohn (of "Walking In Memphis" fame) was shot during an attempted car-jacking over the weekend. In the head. And he was released from the hospital with minor injuries. Apparently it grazed his temple, but didn't penetrate his skull. Hopefully he's thanking his lucky stars. He was on tour with Suzanne Vega. Yeah, the "Luka" girl. (My name is Luka. I live on the second floor. I live upstairs from you...) Yikes. I knew those words. Hmm. Well anyway, that's my gossip for the day.

final

to me, a death doesn't feel final until the funeral is over. well, Chad's funeral was today. i'd never been to a military funeral before. that alone made it emotional. they had a slide show going before the service. pictures from all parts of his life. pictures of him with Dylan as a newborn, and as he grew up.

it was sad to see no interaction between Regina's (chad's wife) family and chad's parents/sister. i think there might be some animosity/anger/hurt there. hopefully they'll overcome it so Dylan can know them.

Chad received a purple heart, but for obvious reasons was not able to accept it. It was given to Dylan today. I couldn't see it (the place was packed) but I could tell it was emotional. I hope that boy knows what his father did. And how many people loved, respected, and admired him.

Staff Seargent Chad J. Simon will be missed but not forgotten
8/22/72-8/4/05

What a weekend

last night the guys came over for some D&D and grilling out. scott's wife brought over their daughter. dang, she's cute. and so smart, too! it was fun to play. i haven't gotten the opportunity too often. dave's usually taking up her attention!

today was Chad's wake. i don't know what to say. Stacy held on to me for so long. I tried to back away at one point, but she grabbed on harder. she lost her brother. she needed people to be there for her. i'm so glad i went. the funeral is tomorrow. dave is going w/me to that. (my dad, julie & jessica went to the wake with me). there is a place for us to send a donation, but i'm going to talk to dave. i'm going to donate some money to stacy. she gave up her life to be here with chad the last couple months. now she has to go back and try to resume some sort of normalcy. hopefully a little cash in her hand will help out some.

well, that's about it for me for now. i'm gonna relax a little.

Goodbye, Soldier

I found out yesterday that my friend Stacy's brother passed away on Thursday August 4th. Staff Sgt. Chad Simon, a member of the 2-24 Marines Company G, was injured in Iraq on November 8, 2004. He was in hospitals in Iraq, Bethesda MD, Minnesota and finally back here for a little while. Then he went to hospice last month, and his feeding tube was removed a couple weeks ago. 32 years old. He didn't have to die. But he died for us. I have the utmost respect for him. His memory will live forever. And my deepest sympathies go out to his family.

Chad is a recipient of the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three times) and a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

friday

i'm cooking right now. literally. making a spaghetti salad. i'll make a salsa dip tonight, when i get home .

Ok, done with the spaghetti salad. it's pretty good. used my new pasta pot/drainer i got for the wedding. oh, i mean i used OUR pasta pot/drainer WE got for the wedding. yeah, that's it.

i have to get going now. it's gonna be a long day. i hate long days. hopefully we'll make it fun!

i don't get it

-why is Kate Hudson married when her beliefs include: "Are you prepared to live the rest of your life with just one lover?” Billy asked her. “I don't know the answer to that,” she said honestly. “I hope so. That's all you can hope for." (from an interview on www.msnbc.com) she even agrees with her mother that monogamy is not natural. guess i'm not the coolest wife ever anymore.

-what did martha stewart do to extend her confinement? whatever it was, thank you. i'm not looking forward to "From Martha's Kitchen" coming back to The Food Network. I like having 2 episodes of 30 Minute Meals back-to-back.

-why are celebrities cruel when naming their children? Apple? Coco? and now Michelle Branch's daughter Owen. That's like naming a boy Jessica. Crap, that's probably next. I shouldn't have said anything.

-why do those stupid animated popups come up when i'm searching celebrity gossip? they're not new windows, just an "overlay" on the window i'm trying to read. it's so annoying. i don't want to buy mascara or a new car. i want to read the story about Tom Cruise wanting to become a monk while married to Mimi Rogers. Why oh why couldn't he have followed THAT path?

-why, when i Google "celebrity gossip" do i get to the entertainment section of excite.com where the TOP story is about Big Brother booting it's FIRST? the story is from July 19th. It's August 5th, for crying out loud. Guess i should specify "current celebrity gossip"

-why does the "where are they now" section of child stars include Natalie Portman? Anyone who watches movies knows where she's been the last couple years. (Star Wars, if you're wondering). I'd rather know what happened to cute little Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire. He's going back to highschool this fall. I'm old....

cool!

i just noticed that the colored dots that show up the clearest are green and yellow. how did Blogger know i'm a packer fan?! this is great!

i do work overnights. that is part of the reason i'm so easily amused. DH (darling husband, for future reference) has been asleep for 2+ hours, so I can't talk to him. So here i sit, sipping my Citrus Blend FlavorSplash (from the makers of aquafina, if you're interested).

later today I will clean the house. DH has friends coming over on Saturday. Thursday is the only time I'll have to clean. Course, Big Brother is on tonight (thursday). Kaysar and Janelle....one of them is going home. I hope it's not Kaysar. He rocks. He's shifty and smart...the best player I've seen on BB. Janelle, she's a BITCH. I can say that here. It's nice! Anyway, she is. She's smart, don't get me wrong. But she's so rude. Like when Ivette made up the getto water slide for some entertainment. janelle wouldn't try it out because it wasn't the REAL thing. oh, like hers are real. puhleeze.

so that's my thursday, in a nutshell. i wonder if it will actually turn out like that....

PAYPAL FRAUD

In an earlier post (Spam) I mentioned an email I received from "Paypal". Here is that email:

You have added dechukiat@yahoo.com as a new email address foryour PayPal account.
If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistancewith your account, please contact PayPal customer service at:
https://www.paypal.com/us/wf/f=ap_email
Thank you for using PayPal!The PayPal Team
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannotbe answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choosethe "Help" link in the header of any page.

Well, when I linked through the email, it asked me for bank information. That seemed odd. I logged into paypal through a new window (without using the link) and it didn't ask for bank info. I reported it as possible fraud, and this is the reply I received from Paypal.


Thank you for contacting PayPal. We appreciate you bringing this suspicious email to our attention. Commonly referred to as phishing, these emails are sent by fraudsters in an attempt to collect sensitive personal or financial information from the recipients. PayPal takes phishing threats seriously. Our fraud prevention specialists are working 24/7 to help protect you and enable the community to stay safe. After review, we can confirm that the email you received was not sent by PayPal. Any website which may be linked to this email is not authorized or used by PayPal. Our fraud prevention team is working to disable any website linked to this email. In the meantime, please do not enter any information into this website. If you have already done so, you should immediately log into your PayPal account and change your password, as well as your security questions and answers. We also recommend that you contact your bank and credit card company immediately.

!Thankfully, I didn't fall victim. Hopefully you won't either!

spam

i got an email from "Paypal" today adding an email to my account. Um, no. I don't know the email address and i didn't authorize it. great. so i withdrew my funds and reported the email to them. i knew enough NOT to enter in my credit card info when i clicked on the link. It said something about "we're doing maintenance", but only when i went through the link. not when i opened a new window and typed in paypals web address on my own.

my cats are playing at the patio door right now. there are vertical blinds on these doors. Sami is inside the blinds, Blu is outside cleaning Sami. Cats are so cute to watch! We treat ours like they're our children. We show pictures of them like most people show of their kids. So when we have kids, will that change? Or will our kids just be added to the pictures? I don't know. I have a feeling there's going to be a bit of jealousy on the cats' side. we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

today's gossip...Sienna Miller is supposedly pregnant by Jude Law. IMO, she should raise it with lots of financial support from him, and nothing else. She doesn't need a cheater! No one needs a cheater!

where?

those of you reading this know (or at least know of) my friend carissa. i've completely lost contact with her. i miss her a lot. i did what i had to do for my own sanity by replacing her in my wedding, and i could never thank Lisa enough for taking over...but still. that was months ago. MONTHS. nearly 6 of them. and i've heard nothing from her. well, after some investigating, i found her "latest" blog tonight. it was from february (right around when we "lost touch") until april. it journaled her schooling in Maryland in preparation for going to sea through the hawaiian islands as a pastry chef, and then her first month on the ship. i think it made me even more sad, actually reading all of this. i tried my hardest to convince myself over the last 6 months that she hadn't had the capabilities of keeping in touch. i'd emailed and called her numerous times, with no response. reading her blog brought to light the fact that she could have, in fact, contacted me. march 13th was her first day of her 5 month "stint". which means she should be home fairly soon. i think, when i last talked to her, that she said it would be 5 on, 4 off. hopefully in the next 4 months, i can catch her. it tears me up inside to think i've hurt her. but if i have, i at least want to know. hopefully i haven't. i'll keep telling myself that until i know for sure.

craze

blogging is one. i started one about a year ago, but that fell by the wayside. i started this one a few weeks ago, and dave got in on it today. so did tobby. followers! :o) it's ok though. i guess i can't vent about dave on this one if he's gonna read it. i'll have to go back to my old one! it's only been 16 days. hopefully i won't need to vent for at least 16 more.
today was a good day. decided to work out again. for real this time. did the treadmill for about 30 minutes. it's so much easier when you have a good gossip magazine to read. Did you know Lindsey Lohan and Nicole Richie went out to dinner recently and shared 6 pieces of sushi? Nicole would take a bite of a piece, and Lindsey would finish.

Hopefully I could make you smile. Sorry if I made you want to vomit. (I also found out that it's highly likely that Jessica Simpson has had plastic surgery. Believe what you will.....)

I'm such a gossip junky. I NEED to know that Ben Stiller and his wife had their 2nd baby (Quinlan Dempsey Stiller was born July 10th. it's a boy...)

This is so much fun. I'm glad Mr. M suggested it to me a few weeks back.