Get out of my dreams, get in to my car!

I had a dream (I would say last night but I've been awake since 3am--it's 4:15--so it's technically still tonight) that I acted out the scene in License to Drive that includes this line:

An innocent girl. A harmless drive. What could possibly go wrong?

You know it.



Anyway, I think the reason I dreamed this is because of the new show "The Two Coreys" that I watched tonight. Corey Haim moves in with Corey Feldman and his wife. Back in the day, I LOVED Haim. He was the better one in my eyes. (In my dream, I acted out the scene FOR the two Coreys. Because I'm that cool.)

God, he can be a JERK! If you saw it, you know what I mean. The Feldmans had a rep from PETA over for dinner, and Haim ordered a frickin' pepperoni pizza because he didn't like what they were having. He's a slob, and is pretty rude to Feldman's wife.

I did feel bad, though, when Feldman had to tell Haim that they are, in fact, making a sequel to Lost Boys and that he (Haim) wasn't asked to be a part of it. Feldman was (as a cameo) but turned it down.

It's a big freakin' train wreck.

I can't wait for another episode!

First time ever...

I have higher blood pressure now that I've had in my life. SO, I got to go in today to get monitored. (It's not alarmingly high, just higher than normal for me)

The baby seems fine...moving around and having a good heartbeat, which is all that matters.

I have to go back on Monday to get the blood pressure checked again.

Hey, it's not all bad.

I'm on mild bedrest, and can't do housework.

Aww, shucks.

Free at last!

Today was my last day of work.

WOO HOO!

There are a few reasons this is good, but I'll just mention the parts about being able to blog whenever I frickin' feel like it! And having access to all those "adult" sites, like the one I tried to look at yesterday when I wanted to try to read a book online.

They're probably glad to see me go...I was constantly trying to access "bad" sites. Like blogger. It's a personals/social networking site, you know. And lord knows when there is NOTHING for you to do at work (seriously. i did 3 things in 2 days, and they each took about 3 minutes) you shouldn't be trying to socialize.

Anyway, it's all good. I'm back!

You'll never believe this...

I talked to my sister-in-law on Friday and she said she'd call me after she got done work at 11am Saturday to come pick up the blasted mattress.

Imagine my "surprise" when she didn't call.

Imagine my SURPRISE when she DID call on Sunday.

She picked up the frickin' mattress Sunday afternoon!!! I'm so excited!

(the back story includes at least FOUR conversations where she promised to call the next day and didn't, and I was getting VERY irritated!)

What Else Will They Take?

I can't access blogs anymore at work. They're considered "personal/social networking" sites and have been blocked. No fret...my last day of work is next Wednesday. After that, everything is fair game again! I don't have any sites blocked at home yet!

Next WEDNESDAY? That's only 17 days before my due date. EEGADS! What the hell am I going to do???? I'm sure I don't have to worry too soon though, my mom thinks I'll go 12 days late. (Thanks, Mom!) A co-worker told me today she agrees, because I "have a ways to drop yet." Yes, I realize this. (The heartburn makes me feel like this baby is in my freakin' throat!) Regardless...no woman 3+ weeks from her due date wants to hear "You'll go late!"

Back to baking my brownie cupcakes. It's the last night of class tonight and my turn to bring the sweets!

Yes, I have pet peeves

It drives me crazy when someone says "I'll call you" and then doesn't.

However, if "I'll call you" means "Just want to chat", then it's pretty easily forgiven.

If you say "I'll call you after my 3:30 hair appointment" so that we can possibly go to dinner, DO NOT wait until 6:15 to call (and leave me a message because I'm NOT answering at this point) to say "Not hungry. Maybe next week."

Because seriously? That's just freakin' rude.

And I don't like it.

Here's another one...

Another cat that is NOT Blu...



I found this one while reading some message boards on a pregnancy website I visit.

(Poor thing - Kozmo - broke his leg jumping off his owner's steps!)

It's the little things!

My husband came home with cheesecake for me yesterday as my anniversary "present" and said "Sorry I didn't get you a card!" A card? Who the hell needs a card when you have CHEESECAKE? Seriously! He also said later "I thought about getting you a card and flowers, but I just wanted to get home." Again I said "Hello! You brought me cheesecake! I don't need no flowers...they don't taste very good!" Ok I didn't say that part, but I did tell him that flowers are pretty much lost on me. I don't take care of them and then they die. Cheesecake I can EAT. Have I mentioned I'm 9 months pregnant? Give me something to eat!

Then he did the unthinkable. Without me having to ask, he made his own lunch for today!!!

Life is good!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Monday 7/16) is our 2nd anniversary!

Last year we spent our anniversary in NYC, visiting a friend, eating at Nathan's on Coney Island, and spending way too much $ on steak at Ruth's Chris Steak House (the best we've ever had...we can't wait until the one in Middleton opens!)

This year, because of my condition, we couldn't travel quite so far from home. So we went to Fitchburg and Middleton. (If you're not familiar with the area...I actually work in Middleton. It's pretty close!) Anyway, we went to see Harry Potter 5 on the IMAX and it was GREAT! We both really enjoyed it. We then went to Hooter's for dinner. I'd never been there, and the food was really good. Of course after all the movie goodies, I wasn't too hungry, but I ate it anyway! Still not very hungry, we went to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. I'm glad I only got a "like it"! It was a beautiful night and we sat outside to eat...it really was perfect. To be completely honest, there was no real "reason" for us to get a hotel room just 25 minutes from our house, but we did. I've always thought of it as a bit of a luxury...so my husband booked us a room. I probably would choose otherwise next time I'm 9 months pregnant. It just wasn't comfortable sleeping (as always lately) and my husband forgot his breathing machine so he snored all night! But, we were close to some shopping, so I got to buy some "necessary" goodies this morning. (I'm making the birth announcements myself, and had to buy some supplies!)

Anyway, on our way home he said "Do you have the Lowe's gift card with you?" and I said "No, but we can go get it!" So we headed home to grab it and found my goodies from Babycenter had come...a monitor, baby bjorn and bf'ing pillow among other things. So exciting! In the meantime, my husband's mom called to ask us over for dinner tomorrow night.

We headed out for Lowe's (the closest is over an hour from home) and used our gift card to get a smoke/carbon monoxide detector and some other stuff.

Heading back home, we stopped at Fuddrucker's for lunch/dinner. I love that place, and the one closest to my house CLOSED. I was mad about that.

Anyway, it's not NYC, but it was a pretty good anniversary weekend overall!

When will it stop?

This story makes me so angry and so sad. It happens too damn often.

Coroner Confirms Body That Of Missing College Student
Dane County Coroner John Stanley positively identified the body found in a rural Wisconsin area Monday as that of missing college student Kelly Nolan Tuesday night. Police said that Nolan's death is a homicide but that the exact cause of death will not be made until all testing is complete. Nolan, a 22-year-old University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, vanished early June 23 after a night of drinking at bars in downtown Madison.
Authorities said that before Kelly Nolan disappeared, she might have been walking with a man in downtown Madison around bar time as she was heading for home.
The owner of Amy's Café said that one of his workers told him that he was at the Lava Lounge on Gilman and then started walking Nolan to her West Mifflin Street apartment.
The employee reportedly said that they had passed only a few homes before another man suddenly appeared and said he knew Nolan and would take her home.

It happened in another case just under 2 years ago. A girl (Angela Drake) left a bar without her friends. She turned up dead in a ditch. Thankfully the guy was caught. But seriously...think about it people. If you're out with your friends and one of them wants to leave on their own, DON'T LET THEM. MAKE SURE THEY GET HOME. I would NEVER leave my friends to walk alone at that time of night. Especially in an area of town that has gotten a fairly bad reputation lately for things like sexual assault. Do whatever you can to make sure your friend gets home. If she wants to stay at the bar, suck it up and stay with her. Don't let her tell you different, because she's drunk and therefore "10 feet tall and bulletproof". It will be a lot easier in the morning when you know exactly where she is.

That's Wild!

We had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night I hung out with the girls at the Pier at Edgewater. It was pretty hot out, and the lake was smelly, but it was still nice to hang and chat. Saturday was my husband's uncle's 80th birthday party. Ok, so it wasn't very exciting, but it was nice to see Cousin Judy up from Texas. She was preoccupied with her grandson, but it was still nice. After that we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner...we'd never been there, and there's a new one in town, so we thought we'd check it out. D got boneless wings and I got a wrap, and it was really good. Our service kind of sucked, but what do you expect, right?



Sunday was Marshall's first birthday (Dave's great nephew) so we went to Devil's Lake and chilled. Well, as much as you can chill when it's 90+ out, but there was shade and breeze, so it wasn't too bad. On the way there, the baby got it's first Ferry ride...I hadn't been on the Merrimac ferry in AGES, so it was a nice little ride.



Now we're home, spending some quality time with the air conditioning. And my real reason for posting is to show you these pictures.


Here's Blu...but you know that.



This, however, is NOT Blu. It's cousin John's cat Taz. When I first saw him, I was taken aback. He looks JUST LIKE Blu.



What's even crazier is that Working Mom's looks like her too. When we got Blu, I thought she was a pretty rare looking cat.

I was wrong!

She's not as evil as her eyes make her look

I found a Pack N Play at a resale store today, and it's in great shape. I brought it home and set it up, and here's a picture for you.

BAM!

No, not the Emeril sort of Bam. It's a different kind of BAM.




Easy Off BAM toilet bowl cleaner. I know...I HATE cleaning the toilet with a PASSION. This stuff is a God-send. Pour some in, and 10 minutes later you have a clean toilet. No scrubbing! Yay!!!

And that's the end of this commercial interruption. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Half Days!

Things are slow at work, so I offered to go half days. And they accepted! Hey, I've got stuff I could be doing. I'm only going to be working a few more weeks anyway. And getting paid for a half day is better than not getting paid at all!

The boss man said he appreciated my honesty (about it being slow and me having nothing to do). I thought "Well, you see, there are only so many websites I want to browse, and I can do all of that before 8am!"

So, I get to leave work at noon every day...except maybe next week, when people are on vacation. But so far, I LOVE it. Yesterday, I went home and took a 2 hour nap! My house is a disaster, but I slept great!

Well.

Standing in line at Babies R Us on Sunday, purchasing our car seat, stroller and diaper genie, I saw something I've never seen before. And probably never will again.

If you've been in a Babies R Us, you know there's a "mom's room" for women who need to take care of their babies. Feeding and such in a private area.

Apparently this mom missed the sign.

I understand it is legal to breastfeed in public.

But most women don't do it while they're walking through the store.

Without a blanket to cover themselves.

I honestly don't know if I'd even be coordinated enough to WALK while breastfeeding.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I was minding my own business, listening to a little Eric Church on the iPod, when I had to take my headphone out (ear buds...only one works) because I could hear half of a conversation. I work in a call center, and at first I thought the girl was yelling at a customer. Then I thought it was a bill collector, because she said "I should not have to take these calls at work!"

It was her mom. Pestering her about money. "I am writing the check for you right now. I don't have a stamp or an envelope, so I'll have to give it to you when I get home."

And the clincher?

"You know I forget. I have memory problems. All the drugs you had me on for 3 years, this is a result of that."

When she got off the phone, she said "Jesus Effing Mary And Joseph"

I'm in an office with a LOT of people. And you could tell they were all listening. It wasn't just me!

Wait...WHAT?

I saw this story today, and I could NOT believe my eyes.

I shit you not, this EXACT same thing happened last August. You'll find a reference to it here.

It's not weird enough that a truckload of onions spills onto the beltline TWICE in ONE year, but it was ALMOST THE SAME SPOT.

I will not forget the day in August '06, because I was stuck in it, trying to get to work to grab something for my boss before the biggest concert of the year. And I ended up going in a big freakin' circle because of the mess combined with construction.

It's not just me...this is weird, right?

She Could Be A Rock Star

So, Sunday was THE day.

No, not THAT day.

The day my cousin sang the national anthem at the Madison Mallards game.

I was so nervous ahead of time. I was shaking and my heart was beating like crazy. And that was before she even took the mound.

She started...but they didn't have the sound on. So she started again, and she blew me away.

I cried through the whole thing, I was so proud of her. And so happy that I'd been able to give her the opportunity.

I'm going to look into getting video of it, so you can see just what a Rock Star should sound like! :)

Who would YOU go to?

Sometimes using the shuffle feature on your iPod can open your eyes to things you didn't know existed. For example: a song from a CD released in 2001 that I think is the best I've heard in a while! From Gary Allan, I present to you, What Would Willie Do

I was lost in trouble and strife, I heard a voice and it changed my life
And now it's a brand new day, and I ain't afraid to say
You're not alone when you're down and out
And I think you know who I'm talking about
When I don't know how I'll get through
I ask myself what would Willie do
What would Willie do, well he'd travel so far with nothing but a song and his old guitar
And a tour bus and some semi-trucks, thirty crew men and a little bit of luck
Well he loves all the people, the ugly and the randy
If you don't believe me take a look at the family
And they'll tell you that it's true
When skies are gray what would Willie do
Well long ago he came unto us, his words were simple but they went right through us
And the whole world sang along, but then they didn't want to hear his songs
He was gone and we thought we'd lost him
But he grew his hair and he moved to Austin
And all of the people smiled, they came to hear him sing from miles
Like a miracle all those rednecks and hippies
From New York City down to Mississippi
Stood together and raised a brew
When it's all gone wrong what would Willie do
You know sometimes I wonder when I ain't gettin' nowhere
What would old Willie do when it all gets too much to bear
And I can see him on his lonely old tour bus
And he's got his problems just like any of us
Well he'd just take a deep breath and then he'd let it all go
And he'd take another deep breath and let it all go
And he'd take another deep breath...and he'd hold it
Ah and I bet he'd feel hungry in a way that seems strange
Yeah hungry for all the things that he just can't change
Like the time he passed out in is own bedroom
And his wife sewed him up in the sheets and beat him with a broom and he forgave her
And you think that's rough, well then the IRS came and they took away all of his stuff
They took his golf course and his recording studio, and he just went out and did another show
So when it's all coming down on you
You better ask yourself what would Willie do
What would Willie do, well he'd take a little time
And talk to old rooser as he'd drive on down the line
And there's millions down that road, and with a word he's gonna lighten their load
He loves all the people no matter their races
Hell he even had a hit country song with Julio Iglesias
And that ain't easy to do, so when it's all too much, what would Willie
When the game gets tough what would Willie
When they call your bluff what would Willie do

National Lampoon's Minneapolis Vacation

You know the scene in "Vacation" when the Griswold's end up lost in the ghetto?

It happens. One minute, you're in downtown Minneapolis. Then you go around the building, and you know there could be serious trouble. And I'm not just talking about the guy walking down the street that looked like a zombie. I'm talking about groups of people standing around looking scary, and a paddy wagon stopped in front of one of those groups., which happened to be in front of the Salvation Army. Thankfully, it was still light out and we were able to get out fast. We were able to laugh at it.

We laughed a LOT this weekend. We went to see Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood and it was the FUNNIEST THING EVER. We laughed for 2.5 hours straight, including the intermission. It was worth the 4.5 hour drive...and we're very excited they're going to be in Milwaukee in January. We figure since it's an improv show, seeing them more than once wouldn't be redundant.

Other than that show, dinner at the Loon Cafe, and the hotel we stayed at, Minneapolis was a disaster. The hotel was good because they give turn-down service to "club level" members. We got the club room because it included free room-service breakfast and "high speed" internet. We didn't know about the turn-down serivce though, so when we got back from the show and our bed was made and there were new towels and stuff, it was a bit freaky. My husband went to get ice and when he got to the machine he realized there was ice in the bucket already. We didn't know where it came from.

Anyway, I can not tell you how many times we got lost or turned around in that damn city. On Saturday it was funny. Street names include S 1st St and S 1st Ave. That's not confusing enough. But it was all laughable.

Sunday is a different story. I shit you not, it took us 2 F(*(ING hours to get out of Minneapolis. (I apologize to anyone reading this that enjoys MNPLS...I do NOT. I should have gotten better directions, I suppose). There are a lot of one-way streets in downtown Minneapolis. And when we got lost Saturday, we were seeing a lot of signs for the interstate. We couldn't find them today. We had looked at the map online before we left the hotel, and it looked plain to us. Hwy 55 runs into the interstate. Yes, 94W. We want to go east. And when we FINALLY (after a lot of searching) found an entrance to I94 East, it was under construction. Closed. Ok, there's a detour sign. Never fun, but it's got to take us where we need to be. So we're following this highway, and there's a detour 94E sign pointing up and to the right. So we took the exit. Realizing right away that there must have been another exit right under the bridge that was actually the detour. Shit. We have to get across the highway we were just on, get turned around, and back where we came from. Easy, right? Not so much. I swear to God, the side road ended with no way to get across the highway. We had to take some random way back because part of the side road was one-way, and we finally found our way back onto the highway and to the correct detour. We still have not found 94E, still detouring.

OOH! What's that? A sign for 94E. GET ON! We do that, and are determined to make it out of town without getting off the highway. But we really need gas, and the only places we've seen gas stations were really shady areas. We're trying to find something a little less scary. We see a BP, but we've passed the exit because there wasn't a big blue sign that said "GAS" on it. So we get off at this exit that has "attractions" on the big blue sign. No gas stations. We actually go BACK two exits to the BP. There's a guy washing windshields, and that creeps me out. D can't get the pump to work, so we decide to head across the street to the other gas station. Still not a great area, but dammit, we're down to about 20 miles until we're out of gas, and we haven't even made it to St. Paul yet. We get our gas, get back on 94E and GO GO GO.

Needless to say, it was a LONG day. I cried a little bit, but there was no yelling. I was very glad to know that we could get through that without yelling. A lot of times it would be each person blaming the other, even though it is NO ONE'S fault. We don't do that, and I consider myself very lucky for that.

We finally made it home, and I can tell you I will not be going back to Minneapolis. I'm pretty sure my husband won't be either.

EVER.

Another song...

I don't listen to my old station much anymore...but when I do, I often hear a new song. This one was on while I was sitting in the car with my 6yo niece last night, waiting for the rain to stop so we could watch her sister's soccer game. It caught me instantly, and I can't wait to hear the whole thing.

Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tracy Lawrence (With Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw)

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Get yourself in a bind
lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor
need a couch
need a bus fare
This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie
You find out who you're friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who you're friends are
Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way
then you slide back down
look up and see who's around then
This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off
When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there

You find out who you're friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who you're friends are

Pictures!

We have painted the room, and yesterday my friend Mike came over to install the floors. I am so excited! The room looks so much better. Now, if my husband would only start putting the crib and changing table together.

(FYI, when we bought the house, the sellers had a young boy and girl. They shared this bedroom. 2 walls were BRIGHT pink, 2 light blue. we changed them to all light blue, and have since painted again...since we don't know what we're having. the room also used to have some nasty carpet.)

Time is running out (I have just over 10 weeks left) and my temper is running short. I'm crying (or at least choking up) about everything. It's more painful/difficult to move every day.

But it's all gonna be worth it.

That's what they say, anyway!

Why?

I'm watching Cops. This woman got "pulled over" on her bike and they found a bunch of drugs in her backpack. she said she didn't know how it got there. kept claiming innocence.

the cop takes her to an interview/interrogation room and asks her. she finally admits to it, and says she lied because it's too hard to admit to this problem. she starts to cry.

why the HELL am I getting choked up for this woman?

Because I'm pregnant, and that's what we do.

this is fun. seriously.

I get into work at 7am (well, a little after that, since I can't have access to the building until 7) and the 2 people I work directly with come in at 8. I did some work before they got in, and as soon as the first one got here, I said "I have worked on some of these, just waiting for you to look at them and let me know how to proceed."

it's 9:54 people. and i still haven't heard from her that she has time to work with me. (initially she said she just had one thing to wrap up and she'd be good to go).

i know it's stupid, but i don't feel like repeating myself and telling her i need help.

*edit: i did it. i bit the bullet and asked again. and no one said "what have you been doing for the past 2+ hours?"

i wish it were july 13 (my last planned day at work).

oh i know what i can do. look up 3WW on Bone's blog (since TC probably doesn't have it posted yet) and work on that!!!

I know you're dying to know

Madeline Ruth.

Finally, a freakin' name for the poor girl!

Good mother vs. Bad mother

I found this link on a message board I frequent. It really is for all current moms, moms-to-be, and every single one of us that has ever put a mom down for doing something we didn't think was right.

And I think that includes every woman (and some men) that I have ever known.

Article

She Has A Name!

The baby I spoke of yesterday has a name.

I just don't know what it is.

My husband says "T told me the baby's name. It was going to be Reagan or something else. It's not Reagan. I can't remember the other name."

I told him he needs to start writing things down. I need to know what this baby is going to be called. Not what it MIGHT have been called.

Men.

mostly about babies

Some friends of my husband (they're my friends now too, but were his friends first) had their baby last night, a girl weighing in at just over 8#. He started giving me all the stats, and I said "I don't care, what's her name?" (because I want to make sure it's not one we're thinking of...) and he said "She doesn't have one yet."

I would understand if this baby had been born 4 weeks early or something, but she was 8 days LATE. What have you been doing, if not picking a name? I've been thinking names since before we even got married!!!

(Dear T {baby's dad}: I'm sorry. But seriously. Why don't you have a name picked out yet?)

According to the new dad, she's a screamer. My husband said "It's because she found out you're her dad!" How nice.

Our nursery floor is getting installed next Monday (memorial day). Wood laminate. We're so excited!!!! A friend of mine is doing it for free (we just pay for the material), which makes it even better! then we can finally put up the crib!

Tomorrow is our last monthly appointment, and then they start coming every 2 weeks. and then every week. that will be good...at least for me. hardly time to get worked up over nothing in between appointments! 3 weeks from this Thursday we start our parenting classes. Eee gads! There are so many things I hope we learn!

I read the baby his/her first book yesterday, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's a cute book...I can't say I've read it before. I have another book with nursery rhyme type things in it that I will probably start reading from soon. It's a far cry from the book I'm reading now!

Work is slow.

(I had to put that in so not everything was about babies!)

Famous In A Small Town

I'm not from a small town, and I will probably never know how this feels (but I know people who do!) Unless I move back to the town my husband is from, and in that case, it won't quite be the same. His family practically owns it. And we're practically hermits, so no one would know what we're doing anyway! Oh, and the town isn't big enough! I really wanted to post these for TC because she IS from a small town. Regardless, I love the song!

Famous In A Small Town by Miranda Lambert

They say life is so much sweeter
Through the telephoto lens of fame
Around here you get just as much attention
Cheerin' at the high school football game
I dreamed of going to Nashville
Put my money down and placed my bet
But I just got the first buck of the season
I made the front page of the Turnertown Gazette
Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell
Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend
Maybe knows us just a little too well
Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail
Hey words gonna get around
Everybody dies famous in a small town
Tyler and Casey broke up
It ended pretty quietly
We heard he was caught red-handed with her mama
That's just what they let us all believe
Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell
Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend
Maybe knows us just a little too well
Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail
Hey words gonna get around
Everybody dies famous in a small town
Baby who needs their faces in a magazine
Me and you we've been stars of the town since we were 17
Let's go on down to the quick stop
Wear your yellow shades
And I'll put on my tight jeans
And we'll just spend the weekend burnin' rubber
And we'll let em point and stare distantly
Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell
Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend
Maybe knows us just a little too well
Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail
Hey words gonna get around
Everybody dies famous in a small town

mental health days=best days ever

i didn't go to work today. i just couldn't. i don't enjoy my job. i'm tired a lot (apparently it's normal in the 3rd trimester which starts on saturday). i get frustrated at work and spend a lot of time trying not to cry. that's not good for anyone!

so, today I called in "not feeling so hot". ie: i'm taking a day off and i'm not even sick. i just want to sleep until i feel like waking up, and spend the day doing whatever i want! which is what i did today.

tonight, DC and I watched Grey's Anatomy "together". Ok, she's in DC and I'm not...so we chatted. And that was fun. Check out her blog for a recap. Too bad we waited til the freakin' season finale to chat during the show!

It was a great day. I don't know how I'll get through work tomorrow after having today off!

I haven't mentioned work in a while....

It is still quite boring. I really spend a lot of my day on the internet. And I don't care. SOMEONE must not realize I don't have much to do. Oh well.

Anyway, yesterday I was asked about an item, and I said "I'm working on it. Waiting to hear back." That seemed to satisfy...temporarily.

Today, it was "Why is this item flagged?" and I said "It's the one I'm waiting to hear about." (yes, same as yesterday). "Well maybe we could do this." and I said "already tried that, nothing works." I was then asked "Who did you email?" and I replied "S, who forwarded it to B." I got the OK sign and "That's exactly what you should have done."

Yes, I know this. Because I asked what I should do with it yesterday. So please, don't ask me tomorrow why that item is flagged. I don't think I can go through it again.

Maybe it's just me...

...but this is what you would call fate!!

an email conversation with a co-worker went like this:

me:How come, on the day I forget my lunch, the cafeteria is serving crap?
her: YEAH, THAT'S JUST THE WAY LIFE GOES. MURPHY'S LAW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
me: Murphy’s a bitch! I guess I have to go somewhere else!
her: YES, MURPHY IS. AT LEAST PANERA IS CLOSE
me: My first thought was arby’s and you know what? It’s on Murphy Drive.

Seriously folks...who could pass that up?

I'm goin' to Arby's today.

Could this be the end of an era?

I flipped on ESPN today to see the results of the Bulls/Pistons game, and saw something scroll across the bottom that I could not believe.

THIS story could mean the end is coming. I would think, if Favre was so unhappy with the draft results, he won't stick around after this year. It's been hard for him to decide in the last couple years...I think this might have been a deal breaker.

Enough of that...this was my first (while unofficial) Mother's Day. I got season 2 of 90210. Couldn't be better! Our parents came over for lunch (we grilled out) and it was a nice day. Although halfway through the meal I realized I forgot the asparagus and corn on the cob. Oh well. Pregnancy brain at work!!!

Now it's time for some Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I won't be able to handle the emotion of this show much longer, so I watch while I can!!

Hope you had a great Mother's Day!

I put my yogurt in the fridge

If there's one thing about pregnancy that is annoying on a daily basis, it's EVERYTHING. I have no brain. A very good friend of mine...her birthday is the 28th. I haven't sent her a card. Oh, the 28th of APRIL. I just put pen to paper today to write out a card. When do you think I'll get it to the mailbox?

Everything is irritating. Moreso than normal. The fact that they clean out the fridge here EVERY friday, regardless. I lost a tub of country crock. so my bagel this morning was plain. and most of it is in the garbage.

People drive SO slow during rush hour. doesn't rush mean fast? at LEAST go the required 5-over, dumbass.

And the "little" things. This girl's laugh. This other girl...the way she answers the phone. And the way she sounds like a fog horn on a ship coming in at night when she blows her nose.

Good thing the work week is only 5 days.

They call it Three Word Wednesday

Usually these things are done on Wednesday. three word thursday sounds good enough to me. Go to TC's blog for a bit more info. To put it simply, we're given three words and are asked to create a story. Today's words are: Packed, Cozy, and Anticipation.

Here we go...

It was a chilly October day. She'd had it planned months in advance. The anticipation was killing her. But it would be worth it. All the driving. The unbelivable cost of it all. It was his birthday, though, and unbeknownst to them, the last they would spend together as a family of 2.

It started out rough. The map she'd found online was wrong. It should have been a simple drive..she'd done it many times before. After realizing the map was wrong, they found their way to a cozy town a couple hours northeast of Madison. They stopped at a restaurant very similar to one of his favorites. Dinner was great, and from there they drove to the hotel included in this package deal. She'd finally explained to him what was going on, and he was as excited as she'd hoped he'd be.

They went to the store, needing a marker, a piece of poster board and some stencil letters.

Early the next morning they boarded the bus. It was packed, which put her mind at ease. She wasn't the only one who thought it was all worth it. Some had travelled much farther-Indianapolis and Nashville, for example.

They spent all day in the sun. It had started out cold, but the afternoon was beautiful and there they were, the end of October, outside, in t-shirts. With thousands of other die-hards.

The drive back to the hotel was long...the driver got lost, and the guy from Indianapolis was quite a talker! Poor guy from Nashville was told he had to be at work at bright and early the next morning. He wouldn't get out of town until 5:30 or later, and it would be at least an 11 hour drive for him. But even then, it was all worth it. Because that afternoon, out in the sun, the announcer had told them some great news.

Green Bay Packers, 31
Arizona Cardinals, 14

(by the way...completely true story, if you couldn't tell! when i saw the words on TC's blog, it was the very first thing that came to my mind!)

Who knew?!

Panera Bread (oh YUM!) is very close to my work, and I didn't even know. Needless to say, when I met Amy for lunch today, I was way early. That's ok though...I got my soup and sandwich and read People until she got there. (Rachael Ray is on the cover, by the way). It's always fun meeting blog friends...it's as if I really do know them before we even meet. It was a good lunch...hopefully we'll go again soon! (not that I need to go to Panera every day...but I could....Mediterranean veggie sandwich and a cup of french onion soup, please!)

Went to another (useless) training at work today. That makes 3 of them now. I don't do anything with what they teach me...and if I ever do, I'll have to be trained again anyway. I would say I probably won't use any of it in the next 2 months though. And that's about how long I plan on working. Now, if they gave me official training on the things I actually DO do (yes, I just said doodoo)...well THAT's a concept, huh?

Here's a little bit of TMI/useless info for ya: my friend's 6 year old nephew (her husband's nephew, to be exact) wears pull-ups. In case you didn't know, they are potty-training pants. He's SIX. and he peed right through them the other night. His pants were SOAKED. and his mom let him continue on with the church program he was in.

Remember when?

Remember this post?

I was upset, naturally. Then I realized how little stress there was in my life, compared to the previous 5 years.

Things changed there, and I wanted to be a part of it again, part-time.

Not anymore. The shit just keeps falling. They're making major changes (bad, in my opinion) and I can say for sure that I want no part of it.

Again, I was upset when it happened. But now, I am SO glad I'm not there, in the middle of it all.

There is ONE full-timer there that was full-time when I left. ONE. Out of 7. Ridiculous. I've only been gone 3 months. 6 people fired, quit or demoted in 3 months.

Yikes.

I'm so excited!

When I lived with my cousin in 2003, I heard her say she wanted to sing the National Anthem at a Madison Mallards baseball game someday.

Back in September, I gave my her a wedding shower gift that I knew she'd never forget. I was able (through work) to get her a letter from one of the PR guys for the Mallards inviting her to sing at one of their 2007 games.

I'm excited to say she didn't fail me...she finally set the date, and will be singing the National Anthem at the June 10 Mallards game!!!

Anyone in the area interested in going to a Mallards game this summer...June 10 would be a great time to go!!!

Do you watch Greys Anatomy?

DC usually posts a recap of the previous night's episode, but she wasn't up for it today. So I'll do my "best"...which won't even compare, but I'm gonna try. Just for TC.

WTF? that's the best I can come up with. They previewed this episode as a "2 hour event" and I'm pretty sure they said it would be something "you can't miss". If you did, you weren't really missing anything.

Addison is getting a spinoff, and they shoved it into last nights episode of Grey's. From what I have read, people aren't thrilled, and were upset that it wasn't very much of a Grey's episode. It was Addison at this place in LA that is a co-op. Multiple doctors, doing multiple things. And a young guy at the front desk who likes to go surfing at lunch time.

Taye Diggs and Tim Daly are a couple of the "stars".

She heroically saves a woman giving birth to what she thought was another woman's baby (surrogate) but turns out to be her own. She got implanted, had sex with 3 guys, and the implant didn't take. No one knows who the father is yet. Could be the husband of the woman she was going to be a surrogate for, the ex-husband of that woman, or the man he left her for. (I think I got that straight...)

Then there was the mysterious lady talking to Addison in the elevator...and the kiss in the stairwell.

In between we saw a few shots of Seattle Grace. Meredith's step mom came in with non-stop hiccupping. She had a couple procedures. Thatcher thought she was making it up so Meredith would spend time with him. She had complications, and ended up dying. Meredith's dad slapped her and said "she trusted you!"

cristina's and burke's moms came to help plan the wedding. cristina "asked" callie to be a bridesmaid, as well as izzie and meredith. things looked like they might be going ok between callie and izzie, until izzie and george kissed in the elevator. moments later, the door opened and there was callie, completely blind to what is obviously still going on.

ok, it sucks, i know. i'm not much of a recapper. but last night...well, it wasn't much of a show. i hope next week is back to normal. there are only 2 episodes left of the season. as for addison's spinoff? i doubt it.

"NEWS" of the day...

I sometimes read Fark, and if you haven't you should check it out. It can be VERY funny.

Here's a news story they linked to today:

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2855970&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1

I can't believe it's April 30!

A couple weeks ago I told my husband I wanted to start keeping better track of our finances, and specifically where it all goes. I said "May 1, let's start" and here it is April 30. May 1 is tomorrow, and I have to figure out how to do this budget!!! Good thing all my "fun" spending came before May 1! Wednesday I went to a Pampered Chef party and bought an i-Slice, a chopper, a mix-n-chop, a scraper...i think that's it. Friday was a Tastefully Simple party and i bought all sorts of things there too. Like the Si Si Cilantro Spicy Dip Mix and Some Nana's Apple Cake Mix. I'm a sucker for all that stuff. And thankfully it doesn't have to go on my budget tracker, because i bought it before May 1! :o)
It was a beautiful weekend, but we didn't spend much time outside. We went to home depot to pick up paint (Tinker Bell) on Saturday, but everyone else was already there so we just skipped it. We watched the NFL Draft (YAY Joe Thomas!) grilled out burgers for lunch and brats for dinner (it was a great day, we had to use the grill!) and then went to my brother-in-laws for a fire. Sunday was SO lazy. I made breakfast and was ready to do some shopping, but decided on a 2 hour nap instead. I watched some basketball and didn't even get dressed until 7:30pm. I went to walmart for a few things, and was back in my PJ's to watch Desperate Housewives just after 8!
All-in-all, a great weekend. Next weekend will see paint (in the nursery), a put-together crib, and another bonfire at the brother-in-law's house!
Oh, and I almost forgot. My MIL let us know of a house going up for sale in the next month or so in my husband's hometown (where she and his brother still live). As if being pregnant in the middle of summer isn't enough, now she wants us to MOVE? I guess that's what we get for telling her (just the day before) that we plan on moving back there someday. Meaning: someday when A)I'm not pregnant and B) the work on our current house is done!

Seriously?

Us "temps" got this email this morning:

It was just brought to my attention this morning, per our Facility Manager, that only "COMPANY" employees are allowed access cards to the building, which are the one's I handed out a couple weeks ago. Please put a yellow sticky with your name on the card and turn it in to me by the end of the day today. I apologize! If you need access into the building before 7am, or weekends, please see your manager.

This just kind of makes me sick. I start at 7am. Apparently they want me to be late every day. I said it before, I'm not changing my hours. If you can't "trust" us enough to have access access to the building during "off" hours...that's just too bad.

can you tell i'm not very HAPPY here?

this sucks

most people at my job have 1 specialty. that, or they are a boss that oversees a team. and they get paid as such.

me...i still (after over a month) do "whatever". i work with 2 different departments, doing two totally different things. and you know what? most of the time that "work" consists of waiting for someone to give me something to do. and the chances of me knowing how to do said "work" without asking a billion questions is unlikely.

i'm really starting to wonder if i should be here full-time, if at all. it's making me crazy, and that's not good for anyone. i got chewed out yesterday for not finishing a report before i left monday. HELLO. NO ONE TOLD ME IT WAS PRIORITY. i was told i might need to change my hours because it needs to be done every day. (btw, yesterday's report came "late last night", so i couldn't do it until this morning anyway. good thing i didn't stay late waiting for it!)

i am not changing my hours. no thanks. i chose to work 7-330, i told you that my first week here, and if that's a problem, find someone else. because i'm completely willing to find a job where i actually work. (yesterday, for example: by noon, i had done about 10 minutes worth of work).

sorry...i'm a little irritated.

Buying a crib

Choice 1: out of stock
other stores: nothing desirable/sturdy
back to store 1
choice 2: out of stock
choice 3: in stock, not something i love

FINALLY talk to sales person. choice 2? Nope, out of stock and back-ordered. don't know when it will be ordered. could check another store 70+ miles away. you want me to check choice 1? oh look, it's in stock. delivery? $90 to your house 10 minutes away. would still be $90 from that store 70+ miles away. what's that? you want me to put it in your truck so you can take it home? sounds good.

So there you have it. Lesson learned. ASK someone when you see an "out of stock" sign on something you really want. We got the crib we really wanted. Sturdy, looks good, and inexpensive. As if that part mattered, my mom bought it! But still. The less she pays for this, the more she might buy in the end! She is the grandma after all!

Anyone want to come and paint the baby's room so we can set this crib up?

i knew there was a reason...

i drive 50+ miles to work and back each day. for a temporary job. this morning i was hungry, and wanted to stop at the grocery store for a muffin, but they weren't open yet. so i thought "Ok, I'll do mcdonalds". And then I saw it. A beautiful sight. And the best chocolate creme-filled donut I've had in a long time for $1.

Scott's Pastry Shoppe in Middleton

It's on my way to work, and very convenient.

I might stop in tomorrow and actually browse. This morning I was just so excited to realize it was there that I Just ordered the first thing I saw. And it was delish!

One down...

A million to go!

My cousin had her baby yesterday, about 10 days early. Her mom was supposed to fly down to NC next Tuesday, but got the call that she wouldn't last through the week. So she flew down Tuesday night and Marin Elizabeth (still over 8lb) was born Wednesday morning. Marin joins her 19 month old brother Matthew in what is to be a VERY busy household! (seriously...two kids under 2...i couldn't handle it!)

Congrats to my cousin and her expanding family!

Besides...

Besides:

*one cancelled and one delayed flight on Thursday
*the lady at the madison airport telling me i couldn't use the bathroom, i had to board the cab to milwaukee (my husband convinced them, telling them i'm pregnant. i might use that excuse again someday, even if it isn't true) which got us there before the plane would have, had the flight not been cancelled
*tornado warnings (and a tornado less than 10 miles from us in Haltom City, TX) on Friday
*their McDonald's NOT having Cinnamelts
*40 degree weather (but lots of great free stuff at the baby expo) on Saturday
*and one delayed flight on Monday

my trip was great.

seriously. i have to stop travelling. i'm ruining it for others! :o)

I shouldn't travel

1pm Thursday, checking the weather/flights just before leaving for the airport.

Flight from Madison to Milwaukee: CANCELLED.

WHAT? My flight was "on time" an hour ago (i'd been checking for hours) and now it's CANECLLED?

I get to the airport and walk up to the counter. Lady says "Are you on the 2:20 flight?" and I said "Yes." She said "Go to door 7, there's a cab waiting." Holy crap people, you're sending me on a cab to Milwaukee?

Yes. That is what I did. And then I sat at Milwaukee for an extra hour, because the flight from there to Dallas, scheduled to leave at 3:50, finally boarded around 5pm.

I hope my flight home is a little smoother.

Oh, and the weather here? There was a tornado warning Friday night.

Cleveland so does NOT rock!

What's the deal? The Cleveland Indians haven't been able to play yet this season because of the weather/snow in their area. So the Brewers graciously give up their stadium because it has a roof on it. The Indians played there last night against the Angels and guess what? We're getting slammed with a freakin' WINTER STORM WARNING. And I'm supposed to leave for Texas tomorrow afternoon.
WTF???? Damn you, Cleveland!!!

Oh, and if that wasn't enough...the Brewers were playing in Florida and got RAINED OUT!

You want to borrow my horseradish?

Don't you hate those stupid forwarded emails that say "do this and your life will get so much better"? Here's one with a twist!

ONE. Give people a piece of your mind at least once a day - whether they want it or not
TWO. Marry a man or woman – period. Animal marriages will get you nowhere and strain conversations as you grow old together.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear - people are usually full of crap. Give them piece of your mind.
FOUR. When you say, "back off woman!" mean it. FIVE. When you say, "I cheated on you with your best friend," look the person in the eye. SIX. Be engaged at least six times before you get married. Seven’s the charm. SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight, but verify that with a one night stand. EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream, unless it involves circus folk and antique farm equipment.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to feel really good about getting even with the bastard when you break up. TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling unless you thought up a REALLY good one!
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives - judge them by their shoes and car. TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly. If you can’t do this, be with somebody dumber than you.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and say “you better get outta my face!"
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk, so go ahead and hitch up with that ex-con!
FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze, and “you’re such a pig” when they break wind
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the chance to accuse someone of cheating. Do it quick! SEVENTEEN. Remember the three T's: tequila for yourself; tequila for others; and tortillas for all!
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship – blow it up into something irrevocable.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to cover it up. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller won’t expect it when you bitch them out for calling so early.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone in the bathroom.

Now, here's the FUN part! Send this to at least 5 people and your life will improve by making theirs worse.
1-4 people: Your life will improve slightly and you’ll get a little laugh.
5-9 people: Your life will improve to your liking the more you see these miserable people.
9-14 people: You will have at least 5 surprises in the next 3 weeks – maybe have a party.
15 and above: Your life will improve drastically and everything you ever dreamed of will begin to take shape.

A true friend is someone who laughs at this. Do not keep this message!

no matter

no matter how bad my day is going

no matter how frustrated i am

no matter how much i want to cry over something small

no matter how scared i am to see my nieces tomorrow and hear their stories

no matter what...


when i feel that baby kick inside of me, it stops me in my tracks and reminds me that NOTHING ELSE MATTERS IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE.

my 3ww

TC does a post every wednesday (or thursday, depending) called Three Word Wednesday. Sometimes I try to use the words and come up with my own story. You can go to her blog for the "real" 3WW. I'm making up my own today. The three words I will use are:

fuckoff
asshole
druggies

two sisters went to stay with their grandma on sunday night, with monday being the first day of spring break. around midnight, gunfire rang out. their uncle was pistol-whipped and robbed. there were bullet holes in every wall except the one of the room they were huddled in. the oldest holding her younger sister, saying "just be quiet!" they were both scared out of their minds, but they stayed together and everyone is alright. the family would later learn that the place they were in used to be full of druggies. asshole druggies, apparently.
those two sisters are traumatized. and they are my 6 and 9 year old nieces.
so to you asshole druggies, all i can say is fuckoff.

I did one of these before...

I made a list of 100 things about me once. Maybe it was 101 things. I wonder how different this one will be than that one.

1. I love surprises...but I don't like to know a surprise is coming
2. I am a lot less stressed at my current job than I was at the last one
3. I miss some of the people I worked with terribly and hope I don't lose contact with them
4. I did not want kids until about 5 years ago
5. I did not take my SATs or ACTs, or the PSAT/PACTs
6. My dad would not let me (or my mom) mow the lawn while I was growing up. It was "man's" work.
7. I will ALWAYS be a Dixie Chicks fan
8. I really like the movie "Where The Heart Is"
9. I walked down the aisle to "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait
10. The recessional was the themes to 90210 and Seinfeld
11. I watch way too much television, and realize this will change when my child is born
12. I have to have the television on to fall asleep 99% of the time, and it needs to be something I'm interested it but have seen before
13. I am all about instant gratification...most of the time
14. I made more as a base salary when I was 21 than I probably ever will again
15. I took a $10,000/year pay cut to get into radio
16. People I know often shock me with their intelligence
17. Some also shock me with their stupidity
18. I am possibly the most impatient person you know. (ie: #1 and #13)
19. I got drunk on a country singer's bus, drinking Jager Bombs with him and some co-workers
20. I've always gotten along with more people older than me than younger
21. There are people in my life I should keep in contact with, but don't really have anything to say to.
22. 99% of the time I'm listening to ESPN Radio in my car
23. I ate SUSHI (the raw stuff!) for the first time at Ace Wasabi's Rock N Roll Sushi in San Francisco in 2003
24. I loved San Francisco
25. I love fruit
26. I hate housework
27. I don't mind grocery shopping...the bigger the store, the better
28. when we were looking for cats names, we came across Chamois (pronounced Shammy) and that's how I came up with Sami
29. Our other cat's name is Blu...don't ask
30. I dated a cop once
31. They say sometimes a woman marries her "dad". My dad's a mechanic, my husband is a computer geek. Couldn't be more different.
32. none of my ex's live in texas, but my oldest friend does
33. her brother surprised me by coming from arizona for my wedding
34. he wore a "Vote For Pedro" t-shirt to my reception
35. my husband and i both worked in government downtown madison for 2 years, and met at a bowling alley 6 years later
36. we actually "met" online
37. we met in Feb '04, moved in together May '04, got engaged in June '04 and married in July '05
38. I have occasional carpal tunnel, and it is aggravated by being pregnant
39. i don't have a favorite anything...it changes all the time. movies, television shows, food, etc
40. i think that makes me indecisive
41. i love small town shops and gourmet stores
42. i considered culinary school, once going on a tour of the culinary and hospitality institute of chicago
43. i didn't have the nerve/money
44. last time i went to illinois i used a friend's IPASS to save toll money
45. i love going to IKEA
46. i've had 12 roommates (not counting my husband)
47. in the (almost) 13 years since i graduated high school, there have only been 7 months i didn't have a car payment
48. in those same years, i have had 6 cars; 4 brand new and 2 used
49. my husband never had a car payment until he met me
50. my husband owns every episode of seinfeld that has been released on dvd
51. we have 3 functioning computers in our house at all times, not including the work laptop my husband is using right now
52. we sat outside best buy this past thanksgiving night for 6 hours to get a good deal on a television and laptop
53. i love to travel...by car or airplane.
54. my longest car ride was madison, wi to san francisco, ca
55. i hate answering unknown calls...i give the phone to my husband
56. i tend to look for the goofs/quirks of movies and tv shows. both sets of stairs on Full House lead to the exact same place...(watch it, you'll understand)
57. for a long time, i've felt Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders on 90210, current partner to Cheryl Burke on Dancing With The Stars) reminds me of my brother
58. I don't like watching characters get embarrassed on tv shows and in movies. i get embarrassed for them.
59. i cry. a lot.
60. i had to stop reading true crime books and watching daytime talk shows for a while. i was having anxiety problems.
61. i read the book on jeffrey dahmer
62. i have a friend that was working in manhattan on 9/11
63. i LOVE visiting big cities
64. i don't spend a lot of money on clothes or shoes
65. i think it is engrained in me to expect the worst
66. i'm trying to move past that
67. i am hoping my baby can teach me patience (among other things)
68. the names we have picked out are the ones on top of my husbands "favorites" list
69. i lost 2 friends in 10 months
70. the song "Wide Open Spaces" helped me get into the radio business
71. In high school, I said (even when I didn't want kids) I wanted my first son's name to be Christopher David
72. That will never happen
73. incense gives me a headache
74. scented candles do not
75. i am very competetive
76. i am a sucker for reality tv, but not Survivor
77. I lost a spelling bee on the word "lens". the judge asked me if i was finished, so i thought i should add something, so i added an "e". WRONG!
78. I grew up not knowing people actually pay money to go to the zoo, since ours is free
79. i went to the bronx zoo this summer, and it is HUGE and costs $14
80. i am right handed
81. my favorite new kid was/is Donnie
82. i thought napoleon dynamite was funny...but not the first time i watched it
83. i also didn't like dirty dancing when i first saw it, and it's one of my *many* favorites now
84. i currently have 771 recipes in my recipe blog
85. one of my favorite holidays is christmas
86. i don't understand the draw of watching a parade (having been in too many of them myself)
87. one of my favorite websites is IMDB
88. i read the gossip, but at the same time "hate" papparazzi
89. i love to watch it snow
90. i love to watch lightning
91. i hate to drive in snow
92. i got hit by the hail storm last year, driving 60mph on the beltline
93. golf-ball sized hail did not crack my windshield
94. i want to learn to golf
95. i worked overnights for almost 5 years
96. i was in radio for 8
97. i don't think i'll work in radio again
98. i love a good iced mocha
99. eating out is like a hobby
100. sometimes people talk and i don't want to listen.

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!