we're back

We got back last night, but I was (and still am) really tired. It was so fun. I just wanted to share a couple pics. I will blog more about the trip later today. The pictures are not the best quality. The ones of us, randoms took, so you have to hope they do a good job. Whatever.
I gotta get my house clean today, because my in-laws are coming!!!!!!!!!

vegas baby

Chris just surprised me with a trip to Vegas! We are leaving in like 2 hours. We are staying at the Flamingo over night tonight and coming back tomorrow. How freaking awesome! I am so excited. Gotta go pack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 years of bliss

It's Our Anniversary!

Let's take a look back...











Weren't we just the most... yeah whatever.

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life, my best friend and the greatest man I know. How lucky I am that all those are the same person. I could not have asked for a better partner and husband.

WOW - 36 years!

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad

me and my momma

This is as at my cousin's house on Christmas Eve. My sister took this. My mom took pictures of sister and I, but since sister does not want the world to know what she looks like, I will refrain. And plus, no one has sent me any copies of those pictures.

so thankful

I just wanted to say thank you to my parents for all the wonderful Christmas gifts. And a big thank you to my husband too. Everything was so thoughtful and I love it all. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas

I love secret santa!

Look what my secret santa from work gave me!
THIS. I love it. How cute is that?

who stole my Christmas?

See the pretty lighted present in this picture?



It's been stolen. We just realized last night that it was missing. However, I don't remember seeing it for at least a week or longer. I was very upset. It wasn't the cheapest thing, but not irreplaceable. It was more the fact that someone stole my decorations. My Christmas. *tear*

my new monitor

With my bonus this year, I bought a new computer monitor. I need one bad. I have a huge old school monitor. It still functions really well, but it takes over my whole desk. I need more room to work here. I am also going to buy a new desk, but not for a few weeks. The monitor is on its way! hooray.

about last night

The party was nice. The food was amazing. (Food descriptions copied from the website) My appetizer was the heirloom tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic reduction. Chris called it a caprice salad and the waiter said that is what it's called. Chris had the smoked salmon layered with potato-leek cakes, baby arugula, capers, and a horseradish creme fraiche. My entree was an 8oz filet mignon, grilled, topped with Israeli feta and fresh herbs, with asparagus, tarragon mashed potatoes, and a brandy cream. That was some good shit. I had to get the most expensive thing on the menu, of course. Chris had the juniper dusted duck breast with sauteed baby spinach, horseradish glazed carrots, and a chardonnay reduction sauce. My desert was a basil cheesecake. It sounds not good, but it was really quite tasty. Chris had a chocolate amaretto cake. We also had bottomless glasses of wine. If your glass went down by like 1/4 of an inch, the waiter was there to refill it. I cannot tell you who much I drank, for that reason. But it was a tasty Pinot Noir and I was slightly intoxicated. After the dinner, a few people, including me & Chris, went back to Brian's (Chris's boss) house to hang out. I was really tired so we only stayed there about an hour. We got home around 12:30am. Nice night. I was dressed appropriately, in case you were wondering. It was fun.

have you met my friend?

Check it out! That is seriously him. It's not a joke. I have one friend. I am screaming on the inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brokeback Mountain

I just finished reading the short story that the new movie is based on. It was originally published as one of many short stories in the book called Close Range: Wyoming Stories. When I was at the book store last night, they were selling copies of just Brokeback Mountain. I picked it up because I really want to see the movie because it's getting such great reviews. I had heard that the movie is a very good interpretation of the story. Even on the author, Annie Proulx's website, she says, "I may be the first writer in America to have a piece of writing make its way to the screen whole and entire." I wanted to know what it was all about. It has to be more than just a gay cowboy movie. And after just finishing the story, I felt so compelled to post about it. It is very short. I read it in probably 25 minutes. But it tears at your heart. The first mention of the sex does startle you, but after a minute you realize that it is just two people in love. In love and not able to be together. I won't tell the ending, because I hope everyone goes to see the movie. But I can understand why Heath Ledger would be the stand out in the film and receive all the awards. His character... I can't finish that sentence without giving some things away. I am planning on seeing the movie as soon as I can. And I highly recommend the short story. After the new year, I am going to get some more writings of Annie Proulx's and check them out. She wrote and won a Pulitzer for The Shipping News. That was made into a movie a couple years ago too. I had no idea. So now I'm in the know. Wow. I can't stop thinking about the story. Seriously. Check it out.

is this "business casual" ?

This is the top I bought last night to wear to the party tomorrow. I bought it in the color shown, cranberry. It looks way cute on me. I got both pieces, by the way. The sweater and shell. I think it looks good. Lemme know what you think.

my upcoming schedule - for anyone who cares

tomorrow - work
Friday (16th)- OFF
Saturday (17th) - OFF
Sunday (18th) - OFF!
Monday (19th) - work
Tuesday (20th) - work 1/2 day (until noon) then picking sibling up at airport
Wednesday (21st) - work then going for family picture at 6:30pm
Thursday (22nd) - OFF!
Friday (23rd) - OFF
Saturday (24th) - OFF
Sunday (25th) - Christmas
Monday (26th) - OFF!
Tuesday (27th) - work then at night, work dinner at Claim Jumper
Wednesday (28th) - work (but it's my anniversary!)
Thursday (29th) - work
Friday (30th) - OFF then my in-laws are coming.
MY IN-LAWS ARE COMING!
I am not thinking beyond this day. I have so much to do on all these days, that it is overwhelming. I just wanted to share.

Chris's work Xmas party

Things change with his work all the time. I figure since the party is Friday, this is for sure. It's going to be at a restaurant called, Eleve. It's going to be a sit down dinner with a limited menu, but we get to choose. Very cool. And now I know about the attire. It's business casual. So that means I need to re-evaluate what I am going to wear. I think I will still wear the same bottoms (my black gauchos), but I need to rethink the top. I don't want to be too dressy. It's a delicate balance. This Christmas party has changed like 300 times in the last few months. Looking forward to it, but glad that it's finally over.

golden globe nominations (the ones I care about)

Actor, Drama: Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"; Matthew Fox, "Lost"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Wentworth Miller, "Prison Break"; Kiefer Sutherland, "24."

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Naveen Andres, "Lost"; Paul Newman, "Empire Falls"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"; Randy Quaid, "Elvis"; Donald Sutherland, "Commander in Chief."

Original Song: "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from "Brokeback Mountain"; "Christmas in Love" from "Christmas in Love"; "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway" from "The Producers"; "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica"; "Wunderkind" from "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." (it's Alanis's song!)

for the full list, go here

¿Dónde está mi espíritu de Navidad?

Where, oh where has it gone? I have lost my holiday spirit somewhere. I don't know when or where it went. On Saturday, Chris put up the tree with the lights and everything. I managed to get the tree skirt on it and the angel on top. But that was it. No ornaments. I was just so lazy on Saturday and didn't do hardly anything. So the tree sat, all pretty with lights, but naked. It looked sad, but I was bitter towards it for some reason. Last night, I started opening ornament boxes and setting them on the table. I was not going to decorate the tree. I was just going to open the boxes so that they were ready when I was. I usually like to make a big deal out of decorating the tree. After I got out of the shower last night, I decided to break down and put the ornaments on. I did not use them all. I left many of the generic ones off. I don't know why. I usually put tons and tons of ornaments on the tree and enjoy while I'm doing it. I put on my favorite ornaments and it looks a tad bare. Bare for my tastes. Full for probably most people. But it's done. And it does look pretty. But I still do not have the warm, fluffy feeling about it. What's the deal? I am stressed too. I feel like time is slipping way. I have to clean my house for company. I have to wrap the presents that I need to mail. I have to buy boxes for those gifts. I have one more gift to buy. I have... I need to stop listing. It's stressing me out.
I woke up late this morning. I turned off my alarm thinking, "Why did I set my alarm today? I don't have to work today." Good thing that Chris's alarm went off and he woke me up. 20 minutes late. I managed to get out of the house on time, but still. I just messes with your whole day. Having to rush around.
I need to be rejuvenated. I need to find my Christmas spirit. ¿Dónde está?

videos - the good and the bad

It's been awhile since I posted any videos that I like. So here are some new ones.

The Good
RENT - AOL Sessions - it has an amazing acappella version of Seasons of Love

We Belong Together by Mariah Carey - I know this is an old video, but any video with Wentworth Miller is worth taking a look at (over and over)

Pretty Vegas by INXS - I actually can't watch the video, but I like the song. I didn't really want JD to win Rockstar, but I like the song for some reason. The old guys from INXS are just that, old and scarey. And JD is...he needs to put a shirt on and stop pretending to be Michael Hutchence.

Crazy by Alanis Morissette - It's actually a cover of the Seal song. It's a really awesome version. The song is off her recently released greatest hits album called The Collection

Wunderkind by Alanis Morissette -This is not a video. Just the song. It's a new Alanis song that is going to be on the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack. Awesome.

And if you have some extra time, check out a live show from the John Mayer Trio.

The Bad
The following songs scare me to death. And the videos make my eyes bleed. But for a good laugh, check them out.
My Humps by Black Eyed Peas
The Beat of My Heart by Hilary Duff
L.O.V.E by Ashlee Simpson
Confessions of a Broken Heart by Lindsay Lohan
Stickwitu by the Pussycat Dolls (why can't they spell the whole words?)

Damn, I could do this all day. But I don't know how much more my ears can take.

I finally did it.

I made up the pictures to give a little perspective. It's not short now. It's just not as long. It looks so much heathier and has nice clean ends. I love it. I don't miss the length anymore. I was so sick of it.

funny forward

The husband had just finished reading a new book, 'YOU CAN BE THE MAN OF YOUR HOUSE'. He stormed into the kitchen and walked directly up to his wife. Pointing a finger in her face, he said sternly, "From now on, YOU need to know that I AM the MAN of this house, and my word is law! You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert. Then after dinner, you are going to go upstairs with me, and we will have the sex that I want. After that, you are going to draw me my bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe. Then you will massage my feet and hands. Then after that's done, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"

His wife replied, "The f----g funeral director would be my guess."

Our house in lights! I LOVE IT!

meme time

TEN random things you might not know about me
10. I am a QVC-aholic
9. I hold grudges way too long
8. I am obsessed with celebrity gossip
7. I have lots of moles and some in odd places (ie. the palm of my hand)
5. I hate doing the dishes
4. I have 3 tattoos
3. I have IBS (total TMI)
2. I like to make cards and scrapbook
1. I have major issues with turning 30

NINE places I've visited
9. Flagstaff, AZ
8. Columbus, OH
7. Monett, MO
6. Los Angeles, CA
5. Newport Beach, CA
4. Newport, KY
3. Toledo, OH
2. Lansing, MI
1. Niagara Falls, ONT & NY

EIGHT ways to win my heart
8. coke slushies & a Dodge 600
7. make decent money to support my QVC addiction
6. have nice legs
5. commitment
4. cook
3. tolerate my insanity
2. make me laugh
1. be my soul mate

SEVEN things I want to do before I die
7. go to Disney World
6. own a winter home somewhere cold
5. write a novel
4. perform on Broadway
3. learn French
2. go to Paris
1. have a baby

SIX things I'm afraid of
6. turning 30
5. turning 30
4. turning 30
3. turning 30
2. turning 30
1. losing my mother

FIVE things I don't like
(only 5?)
5. bugs
4. onions
3. migraines
2. people who don't like me
1. politics

FOUR ways to turn me off
4. say that you support George W Bush and/or the war in Iraq
3. bad breath
2. being disrespectful
1. not having any teeth

THREE Things I do every day
3. sleep
2. eat
1. pee

TWO things that make me happy
2. (right now) my Christmas lights all over my house
1. (in general) my husband's laugh

ONE thing on my mind right now
1. getting the hell out of work

ACTUAL REALITY. ACT UP. FIGHT AIDS.

The Good - part 2 edit

I feel that I must address something I posted earlier. About the customer calling me a fucking bitch. First of all, I am not upset by this. I need that to be clear. I just laughed and still laugh at it. I know I am a loving and wonderful person and should not be called such things by customers. I know this. But it was so damn funny. When I was telling the story to other people, I realized that I had failed to mention the funniest part of the whole thing. The lady was calling from the side of the road. Something had caused her back glass to shatter while she was driving. So, she being the brilliant person she is, decided the smartest thing to do was pull over to the side of the road and call her insurance company. She demanded that someone come out right then to the side of the road and replace her glass. She also continued to tell me over and over how cold she was. She also repeatedly said things like, "Help me Jesus" and "Give me strength Lord". Jesus? Lord? Total idiot. First off, no one is going to come to your rescue. Your glass is broken. You are not dead. You are not stuck there on the side of the road. That was your choice. Same to the being cold part. Go home and call me from the warmth of your house. DUH. Seriously. She was out of control. She was acting like a child who broke something and was just standing there, crying for their mommy to come and fix it. Be a grown up. She was acting like it was life or death. But the best part is that she frequently called out to her Lord and Jesus and then, when she thought I couldn't hear her, swore like a freaking sailor. Spare me.

you're so money

Article: Vaughn, Aniston pulled over by Scottsdale police
Dude. That's totally near my old apartment. I love that they are dating, in case I haven't mentioned that. And I love that they were in town. Welcome. Stay. So I can steal him away from you Rachel!

what the hell?!?!

I just remembered this. Last night my mother told me that my aunt wants to a have a Christmas day brunch with "just the adults." Then my mother says to me, "But you are invited too." I proceeded to say, loudly, to my mother, "I am 28 years old. At what point am I considered an adult?" She was just messing with me, but still. This is an issue with my family. At least my extended one. I am still seen as a child. It makes me feel like I have no place or position in the family. I keep telling Chris that once we have a kid we will have a place. But who even knows. I love my family and I don't think they are doing anything on purpose. But it still feels bad.

the good, the bad and the ugly

The Good
Have you seen the show The Boondocks on Cartoon Network? It's the funniest damn show ever! It airs Sunday nights and reruns on Mondays, all during Adult Swim. Seriously. Check it out.

The Good - part 2
Most people might view this as a bad thing, but to me, being called a fucking bitch by a customer who thought she hung up her phone, is a good thing. I wear the title as a badge of honor. My soul mission in life is to make people realize that I am, in fact, a fucking bitch. Awesome. Bitch.

The Bad
We decided to order pizza last night because we are getting sick of turkey. We like this place not far from our house called Hungry Howies. (I will not honor them with a link.) For regular pizza, they are pretty good. So we ordered around 6:45. Long story short...and 3 phone calls later...we got our food around 8:40pm. Not even kidding. They told me it would be an hour. Not 2! Then, the forgot to give us our receipt (we paid with our debit card). Then, it was cold. Then, the gave us 1/2 the wings we ordered and paid for. Then, there was no pizza sauce for the breadsticks. Then, the pizza toppings were WRONG!!!!! One thing. Small annoyance. Two things. Damn, that sucks. Three things. We are getting really pissed. Four things. Lets call and talk to a manager. They tell us that the manager just left for the night. We left our phone #, but aren't expecting a call back. If it happens, I will piss my pants. We were really upset. And the worst part is that we can never eat there again. We tend to not give places that give us shitty service repeat business.

The Bad - part 2
I still have a cough. I still have junk in my throat that hasn't completely cleared up just - or maybe its new and not relate to my previous illness. Either way, I still cough and it sucks.

The Ugly
My hair. Its really long. Its the longest its ever been. It goes to my butt. And its getting on my nerves finally. Plus the ends are frizzing out. I decided to cut it. Now, nothing dramatic here. Calm down. I am just gonna get like 6 inches chopped off. Clean it up a bit and make it more manageable. This will probably happen next week.

since I am obsessed with him...

Well, I watched Prison Break all season long. But the fall finale is tonight and I am sad about that. It's not supposed to come back until May. BOO HISS.

edited to add: The finale was such a let down! They got stuck and couldn't break out. But one good thing... they said it would be back on in March, not May. Sweet. Only 3 months to wait.

The Bible on DVD

Chris and I saw an infomercial for this a few weeks ago. We laughed about it for hours. We thought it would be really funny to take 3 days off from work and watch the bible straight thru. I guess you had to be there. But it cracks me up even still. I wandered across it again today and thought I would share. And say that we thought for a minute how funny it would be to buy it for my mother-in-law for Christmas. LOL!

does Santa really have a blog?

Maybe.
But I think that if it really was Santa, the blog would be much more festive.

distractions

Wentworth Miller
be sure to click to see the slideshow.
he's my new TV boyfriend.
had a dream about him on Friday night.
Yum.


Dude! It's finally cold!!!!!


Goldfish Holiday crackers



This Christmas by Jane Green, Jennifer Coburn, Liz Ireland
just bought this today! Love Jane Green. It's 3 short stories.


Dilettante chocolate covered bing cherries
eating them as we speak

so much to say

augh
Can't really think of a better way to explain my feelings right now. I need to vent myself and I don't want it to be misunderstood. I am in no way blaming anyone for my shitty weekend. I am a member of a family and when major things happen to one, they affect all. Please don't misunderstand. Please don't feel guilty. But I am stressed out and my weekend sucked. I did not get dressed at all yesterday. I was in my pajamas until 4pm, then I just took a shower and spent the rest of the night in my robe. Lovely.
The last 5 days broken down...
Wednesday - saw RENT! I cried from the opening credits all the way thru. Not constantly, but here and there during the whole thing. I am glad I was by myself and that there were not many people in the theater. I was able to cry in peace. I loved it. I came home and told Chris all about it. What was added. What was missing. I could go on and on about it, but it will only make sense you anyone who has seen the musical as many times as me. I still need to drag Chris to see it. We will soon. The weekend was flipped upside down, so we will go another day.
Thanksgiving - was nice. Family get together at my cousins house. Lots and lots of food, football, kids. Nice.
Friday - started very bad. Lots of talking. Lots of crying. Lots of cooking. Chris and I did our own Thanksgiving meal. The whole works. I made a pecan pie, pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole. Chris made turkey, stuffing and potatoes. Yum. Lots of leftovers. And Chris's friend (and former co-worker) was in town from LA and he came over to visit for a few hours that night. It was really nice to see Keith (or as he is known to us - Junior). We saw him last year when we were in LA, but since we aren't going this year, it was cool he came to town and came over.
Saturday - explained most that already. Did nothing. Laundry is still sitting in the washer and the dryer. I did do the checkbook and paid some bills, but that was about it. Watched lots of Tv. Did a lot of looking at Chris and saying, "Dude" out of shock at the family drama.
Sunday - that's today. I am at work. It's really slow. That a good thing. Found a website with lots of dumb games. Trying to entertain myself and not think about it. That's not happening.
Not sure when we will start to decorate for Christmas. I want to do it soon, but just don't have the motivation.

explanation not needed

The only way out is through
The faster we're in the better
The only way out is through ultimately
The only way out is through
The only way we'll feel better
The only way out is through ultimately

NO DAY BUT TODAY!

Then why did I wake up with a freaking migraine? SUCK.
I slept all night on my back. I get headaches when I sleep like that. I am so messed up. I hate myself sometimes because of all my medical issues. It makes me feel old.
But I am still pushing myself, because its finally here. RENT! TODAY! 12:45pm!

Besides that. I have a 3 1/5 day weekend. Tomorrow is Turkey Day. We are going to my cousin's house. It should be cool. They have a huge house, but there will be lots of people. Family fun all around. Then on Friday, Chris and I are having our own Thanksgiving. Chris bought a 9lb turkey so we will have leftovers. I am making the world famous sweet potato casserole and a pecan pie. Chris is gonna make stuffing, potatoes and I am not sure what else. For the family meal tomorrow, he is making his famous stuffed zucchini and he also made baked beans. He makes really good beans from scratch. Yum. I love Thanksgiving leftovers. Sandwiches. Yum.

Last night, I watched the entire American Music Awards. Tortured myself is more like it. All my sources said John Mayer would be there. But turns out now, he decided not to go. And the award he was nominated for did not even air. He was up for Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist. He was beaten by Kelly Clarkson. I am very disappointed that I wasted my time on that show. They aired like 2 awards and had like 300 performances. Of course I am exaggerating, but still. Those shows are always like that. Why did I think this would be any different? But he was on Good Morning America yesterday and I taped and watched that last night. What a cute boy! He is supposed to be on Conan tonight and Letterman tomorrow. So, if you are up late...

Better get back to my last hour of work...

we're not gonna pay

DUDE! RENT! TOMORROW!
Tomorrow I get to say that there's NO DAY BUT TODAY!
I am so freaking excited.
I am going to a 12:45pm showing. I get off work at noon and I'm heading straight to the theater. I will eat popcorn for lunch. I can't wait.
Have I mentioned that I love RENT?
I love the boys in RENT too. I am obsessed with Adam Pascal and have been for almost 10 years. And who doesn't love Taye Diggs and Jesse L Martin. And Anthony Rapp reminds me of my bro-in-law. I love it. I love them. I better bring tissues, because I am sure I will cry. I cried during every performance I've seen and I cry just listening to the soundtrack.
DUDE! RENT! TOMORROW!

I guess I get what I ask for, right?

Me: "Were any authorities notified?"
freak on the phone: "Yes."
Me: "What department was it that came out?"
freak on the phone: "The police department."

sick? You're sick?

Yes. Since right around Halloween, I have been feeling very ill. It started as congestion and went down into my throat and got stuck there. I tried to be in denial about being ill. My birthday, our company, our trip up north (I still need to work on the pictures, I know.). Push through it and I will feel better soon. Problem was, after our friends left, I started to feel worse. It was like my body shut down. I was coughing like crazy and was having trouble breathing. I finally went to the doctor on Monday, after leaving work early. I have bronchitis. I was given antibiotics and some cough medicine and told to lay low and rest. I stayed home from work and have been trying to get better. But I still don't feel 100% yet. I'd say I am at about 60%. I am trying again to not be sick. I went to work on Thursday, since it was only my half day. And yesterday, my mom and I went shopping. We had a lot of fun, but I think that I pushed myself too hard. Don't feel guilty, Mom. It was my decision. You told me we could stop and go home, but I didn't want to. I don't want to be sick. I want to feel better. I have a big, exciting week coming up. Tonight, we are supposed to go my works year end event at the Phoenix Zoo. I just don't know if I am going to feel up to it. Plus, I have to work this week. I need the money to pay for all the shopping I did yesterday. Tuesday, the JM3 album comes out. Wednesday, I get to work half day and go see RENT in the afternoon. I am jumping out of my skin with excitement for seeing RENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then Thursday is Turkey Day at my cousins. Then over the weekend, Chris and I are gonna make our own Thanksgiving dinner for just us. We do this every year, that we have leftovers. So, its a Big Week coming up. I need to feel better and really, really want to.

If you're not watching Grey's Anatomy...

you should be! As I say every Sunday night at 10pm (when it's over), "That's the second best show on television." First being Nip/Tuck. But lately, I have been loving Grey's a little more than Nip/Tuck. They are more like tied for first for me.

Read this article.

update on the john

I have been so sick the last few weeks that I haven't even thought about my blog. But since the new John Mayer Trio live album comes out on Tuesday, I thought I should bring everyone up to date on the latest. You can catch the album on Hear Music First on VH1.com. It is incredible.
There are also up coming TV appearances to pimp the album:

Good Morning America
November 22, 2005

American Music Awards
November 22, 2005

The Late Show With David Letterman
November 24, 2005

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
December 24, 2005 (Late night on the 23rd)

Check it all out. I promise you will not be disappointed. Even if you don't like John Mayer, the album is worth a second of you time (at least track 1, 2, 4, 9 & for a classic, track 8)

about last week

The week with our friends from Indianapolis ended with a major reality check for me. We (being me & Chris) had been getting strange vibes from them, like they weren't having fun. But then they would say that they were. We really couldn't get a read on how they felt about us and being here. I really wanted to show them as much as I could of Arizona as possible. So I made lists of things we could do and I planned that awesome trip that those pictures below are from. But still, strange behavior. Apparently it was me. All me. That was the problem. I overstress and overplan. No one said this directly to me, but was inferred and not denied. I mentioned, while we were at lunch on Thursday, that I was a total bitch (referring the air freshener that Chris bought me) and Chris said that he read a book at one of the bookstores about my sign, Scorpio. And it said that I was controlling and selfish and all sorts of other stuff. Chris was joking around and said that I was just like my sign. The response I got to that was - they looked at each other in a look that was agreement and never said a word. What the hell! So, it got me thinking. I really am that way. I just live in this constant state of denial. And having reality slap me in the face just isn't my idea of a good time. I broke down on Thursday night, after we got back. I cried myself to sleep. There are a lot of reasons why I realized that I was the problem. They also have a friend who lives in Phoenix who one of them used to work with. They wanted to go out with him and we had no problem with that. But the thing is, they were soooo tired and wanted to go home when we were driving thru Mingus Mountain and Prescott Valley. Then, we get home and they go out with that guy and are out until 1am. I thought you were tired? It was like the first chance for them to get away from me, they jumped at it. Whatever. I realized that I want other people to act like I do. I treat others like I want to be treated and it NEVER HAPPENS. It sounds like I am being really hard on myself and I understand that it's not all my issues that made the week strange. But I don't like how I am. I don't want to be in denial of how I really think and feel. I really wanted the week to end, but I also didn't want to go back to my life. I wasn't happy in either. I need to do some serious thinking about myself.

I sounds like I didn't have any fun. But that's not true. I tried to make the best out of a bad situation. We went lots of fun places while they were here. Here's a break down...

Friday -
food: Red Brick Pizza
Arizona Mills Mall

Saturday -
Taliesin West
Cosanti
food: El Paso BBQ

Sunday -
food: IHOP
South Mountain park
food: Rosati's

Monday -
The Heard Museum
IKEA

Tuesday -
The Grand Canyon
Arizona Mountain Inn(the cabin we stayed in)

Wednesday -
Oak Creek Canyon
Slide Rock
Sedona
food: Oak Creek Brewery
Red Rock State Park
Cottonwood
food: Blazin M Ranch

Thursday -
Jerome
RAKU Gallery
food: Jerome Brewery
Jerome State Historic Park
Mingus Mountain
Prescott Valley

See? We did lots of cool stuff. So for that, I am really happy. And I have a billion pictures I need to sort thru.
I will be ok.

a couple of...

trip pics to get you through until I organize them better. We just got home a few hours ago and are really tired. But I wanted to share a couple shots before I go to bed.

at the Grand Canyon


at Slide Rock

what we did yesterday

As you probably know already, our friends are here visting from Indianapolis. They came in on Friday and since then we have been having fun going out to eat, hanging out and this is what we did yesterday...

Taliesin West




Cosanti

Birthday Thanks

I want to say thank you for all my wonderful birthday gifts.
I usually list everything that I got, but I don't have that kind of time now. I still wanted to post my thank you, though.

Happy Birthday to me

Life in 2005

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

14. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Our house all decorated:

ERAC

ooh. using my work jargon.
It stands for Enterprise Rent A Car.
I mention it because I work for a car insurance company and thru my company, I get a discount when renting a car thru ERAC. Since we are going out of town in two weeks when our company comes, we need to rent a bigger vehicle. I called ERAC last night and set it all up. We are going to get a standard size SUV and because I am an employee of XXX company, I saved about $100 on my rental! I am so stoked about that. I said to Chris, "My being a XXX employee is really starting to pay off." I ran a quote for the same rental that we got online and saw the difference. My employee rate was about $37 a day and the online rate for the same vehicle was $59 a day. That's a major discount. I love it. I am so excited about our trip. Even more now that we are getting a cool SUV to drive.

2 months until...

my 7 year wedding anniversary. (as I begin to itch... kidding)
I know I talk about boys on here and I go ga-ga over them on tv, movies, and magazines, but I am happily married. And I know this because he understands that my being obsessive about celebrities and singers is just part of who I am and that I would never ever leave him for anyone. Seeing the ticker on my blog this morning made me all introspective about marriage. We are such different people. I know people say that, but I think we are more different than most. That brings up so much conflict. But I was not blind to what marriage is really is like. My parents are still married after, shit - almost 36 years. (Their anniversary is 1 day before mine.) I saw growing up that marriage is not all romance and flowers. It's a life. There are fights. Financial struggles. Illness. Stress. Insane kids. Times when you just want to leave it all behind. But it all comes back to those vows. Sickness. Heath. Good times and bad. And if you went into your marriage with the knowledge that those were more than just words. That they are potential realities. And you still wanted to go thru those times with this person, then it will work. I think so many marriages fail because people just don't want to try anymore. I can't judge people for that. I know marriage is hard. But I am married to my best friend and even though I want to ring his neck sometimes, I can't imagine my life without him. Yesterday at work, this 21 year old who sits near me asked me what it was like being married compared to not being married. I told her that one of the major things I appreciate about being married is not having to deal with boyfriend/girlfriend drama. She said, "You've been with him so long and were so young when you started dating (since we were 16 - if you are playing along at home), don't you regret not dating around?" My answer was, "Hell no." I told her that when you find that right person, you don't feel like you are missing out on anything. And that's the truth, for me. I see the drama that other people go thru in dating and it makes me appreciate so much what I have. I say that to my husband all the time. "Aren't you glad we don't have to deal with that drama?" And he agrees. I told her that I just knew in my gut that being with him, even at that young age, was right. When you are with the right person, you can't explain it to other people. You can surely list off the things that you love about them. The fact that they cook for you, the fact that they are so intelligent, the fact that they make you feel safe. But you can't explain why it's right. It's right because you just know it is. I can only hope that she and everyone else can have that feeling about another person one day. I was lucky. I know I was. I do believe in soul mates and fate and all that other crap. I believe it because I lived it. It's part of our story. And I love our story. We went through so many rough times before we were even married. Being apart for so long. I missed him every second. I cried so many nights that I can't even count. I think it helped me appreciate him so much more. I cherished the time we had when we were able to be together during that time. And now I know how lucky I am to be with him all the time. I also know that I am lucky to just plain know him. My husband can be on the shy and quiet side. Not to me. We are very alike in the regard that it takes us a long time to open up to people. But to each other, we are not shy at all. People tell me that they think he never talks. And I like that I have that little secret. I like that I know that's not true. He surely talks to me. I like that I know him better than anyone else does. I like that, even though he doesn't really say it, I know I am his best friend. I know that there is no one else on earth that I am supposed to be with. I know that he loves me and I love him. How do I know this? I just do.

VV

Last night I watched the last 20 minutes of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and I about died laughing. I need to catch it again on HBO and watch the whole thing. I loved the commercial at the very end of the movie. It reminded me just how much I heart Vince. Then today I find this article and I agree that he should be this years sexiest man alive. He might not be the most gorgeous, but I think being sexy is so much more about personality than looks. But you can't really argue with the tall, dark and handsome.

DAMN - I'm married.

a day late...

but definitely not a dollar short.
My boss and my boss's boss took me into a small conference room today and I was wigging out. I had a pretty good feeling that I was not getting fired, but who knew what it would be about. Turns out it was good news. I was one of a very few people that were getting a mid year bonus! It's gonna be in my paycheck next week. How cool is that? It's like $500! I rule!

look what I made!

I stole my mom's idea and made it my own. I made these center pieces to have on my dining room table for fall.

and one more thing I am looking forward to...

An Idiot Girl's Christmas : True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List by Laurie Notaro
Got it pre-ordered!

stuck in my head for 2 days...

Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson

Make it stop.

Anyway. Work is getting a little better. I am so hesitant to say that. I am still sure that I do not want to transfer to glass. At least not now. At least I do not dread coming to work everyday... as much.

Big days (stolen from my sibling unit) coming up!
This Friday is a party at Chris's bosses house.
This Saturday we are having a yard sale to get rid of all the crap in our extra bedroom to make room for...
The Logans are coming on November 4th.
But before that, my birthday.
Before that, Halloween.
I am so excited to have trick-r-treaters for the first time. I still need to buy the candy. I am putting that off because I know I would eat too much of it and just have to buy more. I can't wait to see the cute kids. I am not looking forward to stupid teenagers with pillowcases and no costumes. I should tell them "NO!" and slam the door. I crack myself up.

I may have gone from the biggest fan to the worst fan.

Can you believe I forgot yesterday was the anniversary of the birth of
John Clayton Mayer?

Well - day late, dollar short, but...

Happy Birthday John.

my week in hell

It's finally 4 days removed and I think I can start to process it and talk about it. As I mentioned before, I was asked to become cross-trained in the glass department and I went through training for it last week. It was my week in hell. To sum it up, we were trained on 6 weeks worth of material in 5 days. We would discuss a topic, then the trainer would say, "That was 4 hours worth of training in 15 minutes." It was so stressful that more than one day after work, I felt like throwing up. I have finally put it all together. The people that care about doing a good job are the ones that were overwhelmed. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever been through in a work environment. And that says a lot, because I have had some shitty jobs. What bothers me more than anything is that when I was first asked to volunteer for this, the thought that went thru my head was "They won't put us through this if they don't think its possible and the right thing to do." And my doubt was accurate. I hate that. They screwed us and knew it. I don't like the direction that this is taking my job. They all knew it was wrong and it would be chaos, but they did it anyway. Now you want me to do the right thing, when you didn't for me? No way. I felt very taken advantage of. But I can be the better person. I can take the hit. I was stressed beyond belief. Last Saturday night, I slept for about 45 minutes. I have been having trouble sleeping for the last week or so. It's not that I don't think I can do this new job, but I just hate that I was pushed thru and not trained and forced to do a job that I am not prepared to do. This is not the kind of job that you can learn "on the job". That means I have to figure out what I'm doing with the person on the phone. "Please hold" has become my new favorite phrase. I am slowly learning and feel more comfortable with it. But we are not taking all the kinds of calls that we will have to, yet. They are adding them in slowly. At least I know now that I do not want to do this job forever. There is going to be that option to become one permanently, but I want my old job back. I am better now and I can deal, but it was so bad that I couldn't even really talk about it.

the (your name here) needs meme...

I saw this on my sister's blog and gave it a shot. And I have to say, I am totally freaked out by it.

...needs a son to carry on her legacy (this was the first one and I knew it was downhill from here.)
...needs our help (See.)
...needs "a man" (and it was in quotes. But I already have one, right?)
...needs a hug (true)
...needs to get stronger and louder (again, true)
...needs to teach (can google read my mind?)
...needs me (and who might you be?)
...needs to do online research (about?)
...needs more fat, less carbs (um, you're half right)
...needs to take the train (where?)
...needs to learn a few things (again, true)
...needs a boob job (and it starts to get creepy again)
...needs a friend (and creepier)
...needs to, like, back off (ah, valley girl speak. what a relief!)
...needs to be confident and outgoing (shit! this is about all I can take.)
...needs to do more photo shoots (ok. we are cool again. I was gonna try to be a model, but they wanted me to take classes and I vetoed that.)

some pics from Chris's trip

Click on the pics to make em bigger


The one that says 1-800-RV4rent is the one they drove and they other one has his company's banner on it.


Chris


Destruction to the Hard Rock Hotel.


Destruction to the Beau Rivage (the hotel that his company is working on).


More destruction to the Beau Rivage.


Mold inside the Beau Rivage. yuck.


Destruction in Biloxi, Mississippi


More destruction in Biloxi, Mississippi

And, oh yeah. He made it home. It took a while for him to recover from the lack of sleep. He said that slipped on Katrina and got some Katrina on his shorts. He just slipped on some sludge and scraped up his knee and is fine.