Is anyone watching?

October Road is a new show on Thursdays and I love it! I wasn't sure at first, but last night when I was watching Thursday's episode, I found myself talking to the characters (Don't mess with her Eddie!) and being sad for them (Oh poor little Amanda!) I think it's a good show about a guy who went away for 10 years and is back in town after writing a best-seller based on his life. He's finding out that it's not so easy to go home, and that while some things have changed drastically, some have stayed the same. I hope the show continues, but I sure as heck hope they don't put it on Mondays!!!

the worst dream yet

last night has to be the worst. and it involved people i haven't seen in 10+ years.

I was with my best friend's mother, and we were going around the neighborhood i grew up in and shoveling out people's driveways, just to be nice. (which is funny because of a few things. i can't shovel right now...at least not anything heavy. we haven't had snow in a few weeks. and my friends mom had the worst driveway in the neighborhood...only enough snow removed to get her car into the garage.)

anyway, we were at the end of the driveway of a couple i used to babysit for (their oldest graduated high school a few years ago, if that tells you how long it's been since i babysat). we were shoveling when the dad came out. i don't remember the complete details of what happened, but it seems he had just recently murdered his entire family. and i think i was going to be next. i was trying to get away but it was pretty difficult. i was trying to call the police. just basically trying to not get murdered. at one point i was in my car (which is weird because we walked to the house) trying to get away, and he was reaching in to LOCK it (wouldn't he want to unlock it?). I eventually did get away, but it was disturbing.

it's the first dream i've had since the one about being late for my ultrasound. that one was based on REAL events. i sure as hell hope this one wasn't...

Here you go...

Two profile pictures, and one of a huge foot.

woo

I'm so busy here (so much so that they sent me home at noon with nothing to do yesterday) that there is a new temp starting on monday. I think it's because I keep "complaining" about not having a real desk, and i'm the only one in "temp tunnel", so they're putting someone in here to keep me company!

Have you seen the new Target return policy? It is bad. BAD. I have part of my baby registry on target's website, and I want to take everything off of there. But they have things I want that I can't find somewhere else. Seriously, read up on this. If you shop at Target, you'll need to know. I need to get the word out to anyone buying me a gift off my registry that they MUST give me a gift receipt, and make sure I have the gift within 90 days of purchase! I don't want to seem rude, but I do NOT want to have 2 $200 strollers and not be able to return one!

Beginning THIS SUNDAY - 4-1-07:
Normal Merchandise:
With a receipt - You are still golden! As long as it was dated within 90 days and has not expired (in which, like before, the receipt is useless), you're fine (an expired receipt apparently counts as no receipt)
Without a receipt (but can be looked up via credit card, debit card, or check) - As long as it was purchased in the last 90 days and you have the correct card/check with you, you're also fine.
Without a receipt - You have 2 no receipt ITEMS per year, still starting from the first transaction you use.
Without a receipt - The ITEM you use for a no receipt exchange can not exceed $40! And you may only return 2 no receipt ITEMS. FOR INSTANCE!!! IF YOU BUY 6 HAND TOWELS, AND DECIDE AGAINST THEM OR WHATEVER, YOU MAY ONLY RETURN 2 OF THEM AND THAT COUNTS AS YOUR 2 FOR THE YEAR!! Doesn't matter that you could fit all 6 on one transaction without exceeding the new $40 limit, it now turns into items instead of transactions. You can return 2 ITEMS a year without a receipt.
Store credit may be given if item totals less than $10.
Without a receipt - Exchanges can only be made for the lowest sale price the item has been in the last 90 days. So if that cute outfit was on sale last week for $3.50, and you paid $15.00, sorry, you can only exchange for $3.50.
Merchandise off a Registry
Gift purchase logs may still be used as gift receipts as long as item(s) were taken off the registry.

AND BEWARE BECAUSE AS OF AUGUST 1, 2007:
The limit for no receipt items (still limit of 2 ITEMS per year) drops from $40 each to $20 each!!!)
GIFT PURCHASE LOGS MAY NO LONGER BE USED AS GIFT RECEIPTS!!! NO GIFT RECEIPT (Doesn't matter if you weren't even GIVEN a gift receipt for it) YOU MUST FOLLOW THE NEW NO RECEIPT PROTOCOL!!
So basically - if you get duplicate strollers from target, you're stuck with them both starting August 1. If you didn't register for them or they didn't take them off your registry, you're stuck with them both starting April 1.
If you get 5 pair of shoes, and only like 1 pair, and you paid cash and lost your receipt, you're stuck with at least 2 pair (unless each pair are more than $40/$20- 8/1/07-in which you're stuck with all 5)
The bottom line is: If you have ANYTHING YOU NEED TO RETURN WITHOUT RECEIPTS - DO IT BEFORE THIS SUNDAY!!!!! I want to give you ALL a chance to return without receipts while the policy is still decent before it turns ugly! And urge EVERYONE YOU KNOW to GIVE GIFT RECEIPTS WITH THEIR GIFTS!!! And keep EVERY RECEIPT! Even if you have to make a special pocket in your wallet for just target receipts, don't throw ANY OF THEM OUT!!! Put them RIGHT IN YOUR WALLET for safekeeping!

babyland

all is well with baby. there is still only one, it is growing (11 ounces now, right on target) and heart is beating nice and steady. it wasn't very cooperative for the tech today, so I think it's a boy!!!

I do have pictures, but haven't been to scan them yet. tomorrow night, probably.

They keep getting weirder...

Last night's dream seemed to last forever, so getting out all the details will be nearly impossible. I can give you a basic run-down though.
I was meeting my husband (it wasn't actually him in my dream) to go to our 20 week ultrasound (which is today...) and he was late. And then we went to the wrong place. And then there were 3 other people with us, and we could NOT find where we were going. Even though we were on the correct street and had access to a map and a phone book. We just kept getting delayed, and could not get there in time. When we did, we were VERY late (and it was even another person playing my husband by this time) and they wouldn't take us. So I made him call to reschedule, and they wouldn't find time this week to fit us in. Said we'd have to go to our next monthly visit without ultrasound information. Our monthly visit is this Thursday. Apparently I'm VERY worried about missing this appointment!

In other, non-dream related news...did anyone watch SNL on Saturday? Oh my god, I almost peed my pants. And not because I'm pregnant. There was a skit where Peyton Manning's character went to a party with his wife, and there was a girl there that had to top everything someone said. I swear, it was the girl I work with! I couldn't believe it! I keep looking for the skit to be posted on you tube, but it's not there.

This morning, there was a really annoying driver on my ass on the beltline. And when I moved over, she took WAY too long to pass me, so I had to slow down. Seriously, it was like she just wanted to be on my ass. And you know what? Not only does she work in my building, but in my OFFICE. I had to let her in because she forgot her key card. I hate it when that kind of stuff happens!

Probably no more THAT GIRL updates. She's moved on to a cubicle, and I'm still in the tunnel waiting for a desk. I have nothing to do today except wait for 1:20 so I can leave for my doctor's appointment!

It's how I'll survive

I brought headphones today. I may not have anything to report about HER. But you never know. I'll do my best!

So far, actually, it's almost more irritating. I can just barely hear that SHE is talking, but I don't know about what. I HATE that.

Maybe I'll take the headphones off. Or I'll turn it up so I can't hear her at all...I'll just pretend she's not there.

It will be how I get through the day! :o)

*here's a good one. SHE asked HIM how to send a web page in an email. He told her to copy the whole page and paste it. Um...there's this thing on the toolbar that says "send a page" and you don't have to do any copy or paste crap. I love listening to someone give bad directions and not care enough to correct them!

It's another day

She's doing it again.

One of the women here said "I'm working on a stupid report" and SHE said "Your face is a stupid report."

Is there seriously something wrong with this girl?

SHE told me today she heard a rumor that I will get a cubicle near J (we discussed him yesterday) near the coffee room. I said "I don't drink coffee" and she said "I'll be visiting"

Oh I can't wait.

If you live/work/play in Sun Prairie...

HOLY CRAP!

SUN PRAIRIE - The aisles of the Copps Food Center here were crammed Tuesday with shoppers eager to check out the newest grocery offering in Dane County.
But the 60,000-square-foot store at the corner of highways C and 19 on Sun Prairie's west side may soon have more competition. And for those who shop, a lot more choices.
An official with Janesville- based Woodman's Food Market said this week that the company would bring plans to Sun Prairie officials within the next two months for a 200,000- square-foot store near highways C and 151.
Across the street from the 25- acre Woodman's parcel, Prairie Development is working on a 105-acre project that would include 890,000 square feet of retail (by comparison East Towne Mall has 839,000 square feet) and which might include another large grocery store.
"We are interested in the area," said Joshua Thomas, a spokesman for Target, when asked if a SuperTarget could be coming to Sun Prairie. "However, at this time it would be too soon to say we're coming for certain or to speculate on a possible opening date."
The food business is big business in Dane County.
A SuperTarget, which is a combination Target and grocery store, is scheduled to open in July in Fitchburg. A Wal- Mart Supercenter is slated to open in September in Monona and another is planned for Stoughton.

Sun Prairie is a prime example of the growth.
In 1980, this city known for its sweet-corn festival and Jimmy the Groundhog, had about 13,000 people. Today, it's just over 25,000 and some predict it will be home to 40,000 in the next 10 to 15 years.
Residents of the Sun Prairie School District are debating whether to build a second high school while a second fire and police station recently opened on the west side of Highway 151, where much of the growth is occurring.
Until Tuesday, a Pick 'n Save and Conrad's Sentry, which has been family owned for 60 years, were the two main grocery stores in the city. The addition of Copps and the potential for additional grocery stores could also help keep more of the grocery dollars in Sun Prairie, instead of forcing shoppers to travel to Madison.
The Woodman's store would also pull people from Madison and other outlying areas.
"It's a great location to capture all of the north side of Madison," said Woodman's vice president Clint Woodman. "That area is growing out there and Sun Prairie is a great community."
Woodman's has 11 stores and is building its 12th store in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek. The Sun Prairie store would employ about 200 people and could open by the fall of 2009, Woodman said.
Joe and Carl Conrad opened Conrad's Supermarket in 1947 after they returned home from World War II. Originally located in downtown Sun Prairie, the store has migrated to 1052 W. Main St. and has 50,000 square feet of space. Several of the employees have been with the store for 15 to 20 years and this year two employees celebrated more than 30 years with the store, said Nate Pederson, the grandson of Joe Conrad.
"We are going to do what we do best. And that's good customer service," Pederson said. "We've been in town for a long time and have some pretty loyal customers. We hope to keep them and gain some new business. I see us doing just fine."
At the Copps store on Tuesday, the talk was all about freshness. The store employs about 220 people and features larger produce, bakery, deli and seafood sections than regular Copps stores. It also has a sushi bar, salad bar, coffee shop and smoothie counter.
"I don't think we need two big stores like this," said shopper Barb Justl, 61, of Sun Prairie, when told of the Woodman's plan. "It certainly would hurt the smaller grocery stores."
The 99-cents-a-pound strawberries were popular, and so, too was the $4.99-a-pound fresh, farm-raised salmon. Copps seafood manager Randy Schultz said he may be selling 1,000 pounds of the fish per day by week's end. A former chef, Schultz's department also had on hand octopus salad, stone crab claws and whole trout raised at Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra in southern Jefferson County.
"To have a background in how to prepare it goes a long way here," Schultz said.
Karen Flemal, 63, has lived in Sun Prairie for more than 30 years. She had her first taste of sushi Tuesday and her cart included green and white asparagus and oranges. Flemal said she won't abandon her shopping trips to the other stores and if more grocery stores come, it will mean more selection.
"Now, I don't know if we'll really need all of those, but I'll probably shop at all of them," she said.

about last night

here's another dream for you to analyze.

i was holding my cousin's son (he's 19 months and i've only met him a handful of times) while sitting in a chair at easter. i DROPPED him. literally on his head. no one really said anything. i just picked him up and continued to hold him. at one point he was actually talking to me. like a grownup. and he said something about the badgers being full of white guys. at that point he didn't really look like himself. But i dropped him two more times while holding him.

what the hell does that say about me becoming a mom????

i just gotta say

ok, it's my first real complaint about the new job. i finally have something to DO, which is really good. BUT, there are some strange people here.

the guy that works in our area, we'll call him J (just because. his name doesn't start with J). he's a different sort. i think he has something for one of the girls here. there are 4 girls and that one guy. he walks through our area this morning, and doesn't say anything (she was on the phone). when he came back, he said "Hi, B." As if she was the ONLY one here. Ok, that's real nice.

Then, B asked a question, and my answer was (she wasn't REALLY talking to me, but no one else was answering so I thought I would) "The kit is probably the dough and the sauce and stuff" and she said...get this..."I think your face looks like dough and sauce."

Seriously people. I'm 31 years old. And she's got to be in her 20's. But what the hell? Is she 6?

That's not the only thing she does either. She one of those "I can do you one better" kind of people. If I am telling a story, she's got one that's just a LITTLE bit better. And her comment when she opened her email this morning..."I have SO many emails from people asking me to do all this stuff" as if she's the most important person around. Get this in your head pretty lady. You're a temp, just like the rest of us. SO get off your damn soap box.

Ok, I'm done. For today.

*ok, just one more. everything with her is SO dramatic. everything she does wrong is going to delete the whole company. and it seems like she can't do what she's supposed to do. she always needs HIS help. it's getting more annoying as the day goes on. and it's only 9:47am. at least i have this outlet...

*i'm going to continue because it never ends. she told me that she normally stares at J while she eats her lunch (instead of going to the lunch room, of course, which is on the other side of the wall. since he's not around, she informed me she will be staring in my general direction. great.
then she said something about wishing she would have heard me on the radio to see if she could have picked out my voice. i said "My husband says i have two voices, a normal one and a radio one." and you know what? she, of course, has a roommate who has a voiceover voice, and it's pretty cool.

seriously. i'm going to strangle her. except that this is making for some pretty interesting blogging!

Oh What A Night!

I'm going to start documenting my dreams. They have become outrageous since I got pregnant. Apparently this happens to a lot of women. Now, they might not seem weird to you, but I hardly EVER remembered a dream before. I can't get through a night without a dream lately!

I went shopping w/my friend Julie. When I was done checking out, I went to get the car. I couldn't find mine, so I just started hitting the button on my remote clicker thing, and when I saw the car w/the flashing lights, I assumed it was mine. But other people were getting into it. It looked like my car, but apparently it wasn't, because these people were driving away. And I had the keys. So I got in the car with this other guy who was going to the same place as these people. He had a baby with him, and was holding it on his lap as he drove. So I yelled at him, and put the baby in the car seat.
When we got where we were going, I tried out my remote again, and it still worked...but so did the other key the people used to drive it home. Suddenly Julie appeared out of nowhere....I'd left her at the store and she walked to where we were. So I exchanged remotes with some guy, assuming that we must have mixed them up at the store or something. Julie and I headed back to the store, but still couldn't find my car. I did, however, see other cars that went along with the remote I had.
I went inside to call the police because obviously something had happened to my car. And while I was in there, we found my car, right outside the store. Where it should have been (and probably was) the whole time.

*anyone have a book to analyze THAT dream?

Nesting

It's like moving, but almost worse. I have packed up/thrown out so much crap. Stuff I haven't used in forever and is taking up space in my house. It's an obsession. As I am typing, I'm looking at all the unnecessary clutter surrounding this computer. I'm impatient for repairs to get done on my house. We need new base boards, we need a wall repaired, we'd like to fix the bathroom downstairs. I want it done NOW. Not so I can sell the house and buy a new one, but because once this baby comes, we wont' have the time OR money to get it done.

It's a strange feeling. Packing all your stuff and not going anywhere. It's almost as if part of my identity (the messy, cluttered part of it) is FINALLY being put away. I am becoming more organized. I should have done it long ago, for myself. But none of this is for me. It's so this baby can live comfortably. Maybe it's because I know we're going to start having more visitors in a few months, and the house needs to be kept up.

I hear it's something every new mom goes through. But seriously. If you saw my house before and came back to see it now, you'd wonder who moved in.

I think it's driving my husband crazy. I'm making him put his dirty clothes in a hamper and his clean ones in the dresser. Not both of them on the floor. I'm "making" him become a neater, more organized person too. I'm pretty sure he understands what I'm going through. He knew what a planner I was long before we got pregnant....he HAD to realize what this kind of life changing event was going to do to me! It's taken all my strength not to go buy the crib yet and put it up in the baby's room. I did pick out colors today. We're going to do the main color a sage-ish green, and accent in either blue or pink.

Hey, at least I'm not getting crazy yelling at him or crying over every little thing. Maybe that's because he does what I ask him to without much pushing. He must know better...

Woo!

I gots me a job! I start on Thursday in a business-casual (JEANS!) environment working in a call center but not having to actually talk on the phone.

It's temporary, and I'm very excited about that! I also get to start early if I want (to avoid rush hour and all). And did I mention I get to wear JEANS? YAY!

absenteeism

i've felt "away" for a while now. i find myself trying to come up with things to do that don't cost money or involve housework. there isn't much left, so i've seen a lot of tv. i have been reading your blogs, too. i just haven't done much commenting or posting of my own.

i made chili today. i started with a base recipe and then made it my own. i was pretty happy, cuz it turned out good!

PLEASE root for the Northwestern men's basketball team on Thursday. If they beat Michigan State, then we play Northwestern on Friday. Otherwise we have to play Michigan State again. For the 3rd time since February 20. Seeing Drew Neitzel and Tom Izzo 3 times in 17 days is not my cup of tea. However, I'd rather see them every day than ever see Greg Oden again. I really hope he goes NBA after this season.

I referred to my baby as a boy for the first time tonight. We don't know what it is and aren't going to find out. Up until now, I referred to it as "she". Tonight, I said "he hasn't grown past..." So a mother's instinct can be SO off. Because I'm only having one...there can't be a boy and a girl in there.

It's.Just.A.Game

Holy crap. Did anyone see that Wisconsin/Michigan State game yesterday? It was a hard game to watch. Well, at least for me. Being pregnant and unemployed, I am very emotional. So during the last 5 minutes on the clock, everything hit me. As if any of it matters in my life. You know, it being Tucker, Taylor and Chappel's last game at the Kohl Center. And seeing Tucker and Taylor's moms in the stands. And it being such a close game. I swear it's the truth when I say I cried the last 5 minutes of the game. Which felt more like 20 minutes in the real world. I closed my eyes right before Taylor hit the winning shot. I just couldn't stand to look. And then I had to calm myself down by saying "it's just a freakin' game!"

And now I feel completely stupid telling you this!