brackets update

As predicted, I did not do as well with the second day of the first round. After all 32 games were played, I ended up getting 21 correct and 11 wrong. With those, I am now out 3 of my picks for the sweet 16. Damn. But all the teams I really wanted to win did, so that's what is most important. The U of A game is in an hour and the Cincy vs Kentucky game is tonight. LOVE MARCH MADNESS!!!!

How do your brackets look?

So far there are 8 games played in the Men's NCAA Tournament. And of those 8 games, I am 8 of 8 on my picks! WOO HOO. I even managed to pick Wisconsin Milwaukee to beat Alabama. I'm good. After tonights games, I might not be so happy. But for now, I'm good! Not that I will win anything from this, but I like knowing that I can pick 'em!
GO BEARCATS!
and go wildcats & spartans too!

I love my reality TV

I have two favorite reality shows on right now. And no, one is not Survivor. I am so over that show. It's not even good anymore. Although, I was flipping last night and noticed they were doing something cool on Survivor. They had the other tribe voting on who they thought should get immunity from the tribe at tribal counsel. That was a neat twist. But anyway.
I am obsessed with my two shows...

The Amazing Race
What a kick ass show! I was concerned about having Rob and Amber from Survivor on this season because it was such a disaster the last time they have reality "stars" on the show. Remember Allison from Big Brother? I thought not. Anyway. I LOVE ROB & AMBER! I hated them on Survivor All-Stars and all the crap afterwards with them getting engaged and whatnot. But they are really great players. I am very impressed. He managed to not only quit doing a roadblock challenge, but convince other people to quit too so that there was no chance of them being eliminated. It was crazy. So crazy that my mother and I both called each other at the exact same time to talk about it. I called her house and got a busy signal, then hung up the phone and it rang. It was funny.

America's Next Top Model
Oh my god BECKY! Literally! Does anyone else watch this show? Last night, this contestant named Rebecca was at judging and she was standing there while the judges talked about her photograph. She passed out! Flat on her damn back. They had to call an ambulance and take her to the hospital. Turns out she has some condition that she's had her whole life that causes this to happen. It was crazy. So crazy that the played her passing out again after the came back from commercial. Totally instant replay. I love this crap.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Get to Know your Blogging Buddies

And you thought I had a life. You would be wrong. She wanted it, she got it...

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
In Paris, with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
jeans and Birkenstocks

(Edited to add): 2a. LEAST FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING? bras

3. THE LAST CDs YOU BOUGHT?
Seriously? Damn. I don't buy music anymore. Lemme think. I can't remember the last CD I bought, but the last CD I GOT was Songs About Jane by Maroon 5.

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
no more than 9 hours after I go to bed. If I sleep longer, I get a migraine. And we all know how pleasant I am with a migraine.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
yuck. none. well, I'll have to agree with Dr.H on the dishwasher.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
well, I did play an instrument. Alto Sax and I was 3rd chair, damn it!

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
at the moment, taupe and sage. they are the colors that I am gonna use in the master bedroom in our new house! normally though... red, purple, green

8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?
none. sports car - too fast and scary. motorcycle - dad fall down go boom. suv - gas guzzling mother f@#$%&s. I'll keep my little sedan thank you very much.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?
sure. I can't wait to see some friends.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. I thought I was just like Ramona.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Spring. Right now in Arizona it's so gorgeous. It'll only be this way for another couple weeks, but man it's nice.

12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
In order of acquisition - Daisy on left ankle, Heart on lower back, Ladybug on top of right foot.

13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
telekineticly clean my house

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
no. But they tried to teach us in my special PE class in high school. Being overweight, they put me in PE with the, how can I say this without being mean???, "slower" students. We got to do random things like learn to juggle while the "normal" kids got to run around and play sports. Shit, I'm not complaining.

15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
There is more than one.
Tarah. Referencing question #9. If I knew my time with her would be so short, I would talk to her forever. It's been 8 years since she died and it still seems like yesterday.
Robert. I would want to help him and make sure he's happy.
Ryan. I would explain a lot of things and say that I am sorry.

16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
Another lovely trait I've acquired from my mother - empty gift boxes. And blankets.

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY? Friday.

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Hamburger. never have and never will eat sushi.

19. FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY READ YOUR BLOG, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST? probably no one. but whatever.

20. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?
Dr. H's (but, am I dumb to not know what a MEME is?)

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? daisies.

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Grilled Caribbean Salad from Chili's. especially now that I can't eat it!

24. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.
usually just long t-shirt nightgowns

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?
mmmm, donuts

26. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
sure. It's the highest paying one I've ever had, so I can't really complain.

27. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
Not having one and/or being a mother

28. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE?
Well, if the answer to the last question ever comes true...

29. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Long story. Short answer - church at age 16. At the end of April that will be 11 long years ago.

30. SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE.
Own a house - oh, wait. Something else - go to NYC with my sissy.

what do dreams really mean?

Last night I had a dream that I really don't want to admit to. Not because it's nasty or anything. But because I don't like that I dreamt about it. I had a dream that my grandma died. She was in the hospital last week, so that was obviously on my mind. But I still don't like that I had a dream about it. Weird that we had watched Nightmare on Elm St that is all about dreams and then I had a dream about death. In my dream I don't know how she died, but it wasn't tragic or anything. I know that my dad will be upset reading about this, but I wanted to put it out there just so that I would not feel so bad about my dream.

She wants your boots!

I just thought about this again! And I am cracking up all by myself.
The other day, Chris called me from work because he was bored. He told me that I need to entertain him the way that I entertain my family. I told him that I couldn't because he doesn't think I'm funny. He would not have laughed at half the things that happened that day. At least some people think I'm funny.

1, 2 Freddy's coming for you...

Can you believe that Chris has not seen ANY of the Nightmare on Elm St's? I couldn't either! Last night we watched the first one. It was on Bravo. I love those movies. I'll admit when I first saw them, I was scared to death. But now, they are just so funny to me. I remember bonding with my sister over those movies. She liked them and because she did, I did too. I wanted to be just like her back then. Even though the movies scared me, I watched them to be cool and to be like her. NEAT!

Anyway, I am having a major anxiety attack right now. I am thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong with closing on our house. Everyone I've talked to and everything I've read says that you will pay more at closing then you think or then you've been told. This is really what's freaking me out. On Thursday, we have to give our loan officer proof that we have enough funds available to pay closing costs. From what she's told us, we should have enough. But if everyone else is right, we might be short. We are trying to do this on our own and not borrow money (not that there's anything wrong with that - because that might end up happening). So, I've been freaking about that. Then I go and read my stupid horoscope for Thursday and this is what it says:
Don't be depressed by financial shortfalls, and advise the others the same. Just because you can't do what you want now doesn't mean you never will.
WHAT!?!?!? That does not help! I keep telling myself that horoscopes are never true and they are against my damn religion, but I can't stop thinking about it. I hate this. I think that I have been rather calm about this whole home buying process up until now. I am normally a person who freaks out at the littlest things and I am always stressed out. But I have been relaxed about this house, for the most part, because Chris has been taking care of most of it. But it's getting closer and closer to becoming reality and I can't stop myself from wigging! I keep telling myself to calm down, but it's not working. I've given myself a headache. Shit.

yikes

Has anyone seen this new Britney video and/or heard the song? I feel visually assaulted after watching it.

one word

migraine

Chris wanted me to share this...

He found this article on the internet and wanted me to post the picture that goes with it. You need a dirty mind like ours to get why it's funny. It's all about the angle.

we all live in a yellow submarine...

That's the song in my head right now. It was on the radio on the way in to work.
Neat.

Things on my mind:
- Even though I like to find out about the lives of people I used to call my friends, it really gets to me. I found out last night that one of my old friends is getting married next week. Not only that, but another one of my old friends who is in the wedding is already married. Great for them. I know I am no longer part of their lives, but I sometimes wonder why. I know I moved away and I know I am not the best person at keeping in touch. (Actually, I suck at it.) I am trying to just be happy for them. But maybe it would be better if I didn't know.

- Don't you hate it when you are waiting for something, then you get teased like it's about to happen, but it still hasn't yet? It's like enough already! Happen if you're going to. Damn.

- We went to Home Depot last night and spent like 2 hours going through the store and saying things like, "We'll need that." Random things that we don't own that we will need to now that we have a house. A weedwhacker! We need a weedwhacker. That's cool, right? A wheelbarrow. Oh, we need one of those. Plus, we were looking at paint colors and all sorts of good stuff. We had to price new door locks. We have 6 doors that need new locks. Great. We are gonna be poor for a long time. All the extra money we have will have to be spent on house crap. That's cool though, I suppose.

To bring you up to date on the house:
- Friday was the termite inspection and it passed.
- We had submitted the request to the seller to repair certain items from the inspection report. We got a list back of the things that they will repair and the things that they won't are not a big deal. So, that worked out well. I was concerned that they wouldn't fix anything. And the biggest thing to me is that they are going to get the chimney cleaned. Thank god. Who knows how much that would have cost us!
- We are still waiting for the appraisal. Chris talked to the loan officer Monday of last week and she said that we should know by the end of this past week or Monday (tomorrow). I feel like it's all still up in the air until we find out about the appraisal.
- We have to have the funds to cover closing in the checking account by like the end of next week. I am pretty sure that will work out. I know that we have the money by the time we have to write the check, but having proof of it a few weeks ahead of time might be tough.

to my dad!

This is totally random

but its something that has been driving me nuts for a really long time. Back in like 2000, I saw an interview with John Mayer and he was talking about this condition that he had. It has been driving me nuts ever since, because I could not remember for the life of me what it was called. And the strange thing is that now that he is much more popular, he does not talk about it. There are subtle things here and there that if you knew he had this condition you would understand. Anyway. Today I found out what it's called! His condition is called synaesthesia and its a condition where he associates one sense with another. Like sound with color. He hears sounds and associates a color with that sound. It's kinda cool. They say that a lot of musicians and really creative people have it. The reading that I have been doing on it says that it's just a genetic condition and it's not a big deal. It's not gonna kill you or anything. So, the now that you understand his condition, I feel like sharing a couple of his subtle references to it. One is that liner notes to the Heavier Things album. There are color charts all over it. Colors assigned to each state that he wrote a certain song in. The same goes for the concert t-shirts from the spring tour last year. Each state that the tour went to is a different color. And the most well know reference is the first line to the to song Bigger Than My Body. The line is: "This is a call to the color blind. This is an IOU." Get it now? I always understood the line, but I am sure there are millions who have no clue that line means. Now you do.
Damn, I wasn't supposed to write about JCM anymore. Opps. Oh well.

to my husband

didn't get picked

I had to appear for jury duty today and after a long day (at least it seemed long!) I did not get picked. One cool thing about not getting picked is that I was able to go online and find out about the case. And damn, it would have been cool!! This is the trial. There were only 4 defendants that were actually on trial. Here is another article about the case. Seriously! BLACK MARKET BABY FORMULA! That would have been an awesome case. The judge asked us if we had heard anything about the case after he read the defendants names and charges. He didn't say anything about black market baby formula. If he had, I would have remember the case. Whatever. It's over now. I do still have to be on call, though. I have to check each weekend to see if I have to appear again. Joy of joys.

new house pics!

just what I need, jury duty...

According to the Automated Jury Information System:

You are CURRENTLY scheduled to appear at 8:00AM, Tuesday, March 1 to the U. S District Courthouse located at XXXX in Phoenix. You MUST check this message again after 5:00PM, the evening before this appearance date to verify your reporting status.

suck

favorite song of the moment

Ordinary People by John Legend

house update for the day... so far

The inspection is tomorrow at 9am. Chris is gonna go and be there during the inspection. He said he will take tons of pictures. I am still waiting to find out about my visit to the house tomorrow. Chris is gonna check with the realtor to see if he can take me over in the afternoon.

house update for the day...

The realtor called and he is gonna schedule the inspection for Friday. I am taking the mom and sibling unit (who is in town - WOOOO HOOOO!) by the house on Friday. We might even get to go through it, depending on if they are doing the inspection then. We are gonna pay for the inspection out of pocket and that will take that amount out of our closing costs. If we waited until closing to pay for the inspection, they charge more for the delay. It's all good. We might as well pay for what we can while we have the money and have to pay less at closing. Speaking of closing, notice my new counter up to the right? I got that idea from a poster on my sister's website. It counts for you. Sweet.
The husband is in Vegas for the day. That's fun for him. He called me on his lunch to tell me that the realtor had called. I am really thankful that Chris is taking care of all this house stuff. I am usually the one with all the responsibilities for things such as this, but he is taking this all on and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that.
I do have a headache today and it sucks ass.

our new house

The picture is not the greatest, but so far it's all that we have. Today, we put in an offer and it was accepted. We are planning on closing on March 28th. That gives us a whole month to move from our apartment into the new house. The house has a lot of things that we want to improve, but it is move in ready. The dude that owns it has lived there for 22 years and has a lot of crap, including and RV and a car in the back yard. We are excited, but we don't close for 5 weeks, so I am trying to refrain from really freaking out.

the dry cleaning dilemma

I wanted to share what has been going on with our dry cleaners, but I figured I would just post the letter I emailed to them and save the time typing. Here's the letter:

First of all, let me say that we have been loyal customers of yours for over two years. However at the end of January, I dropped off some shirts of my husbands to be laundered. One particular shirt came back with a marking on it that I have since learned was done by one of the thermal tags your company uses to put the names on the shirts. We took the shirt back to the same location and showed the marking. We were told that it would come right off and that we would not be charged to have it re-cleaned. When we picked up the shirt about a week later, the marking had been removed, but we were charged for cleaning it. I dismissed this, because I was happy that the marking had come off. However, when I went to take that same shirt out of the bag, I noticed more stains. All over the bottom half of the shirt there are red marks that hadn't been there before. I worked at an Ultra Cleaners in Glendale for over 2 years and I recognized the stains as color transfer from the press. I was so upset about this shirt, that I had my husband take it back to the same location and show them the new stains. That was February 12th. An employee there told him that since it was a weekend and no managers were there, that a manager would call him on Monday the 14th. He did not receive a call back and on Wednesday, the 16th, he called the store. He was given the excuse that they had our phone number wrong and was told that a manager would call him the next day. The excuse of having our phone number wrong frustrates me even more. Every time that we drop off the shirts, we are asked for our phone number and I give the correct number each time. The fact that this was not updated in your system is not our problem. My husband did give his correct number when they found that error and was assured that a manager would call him. By around 3:00pm on the 17th, my husband had not received a call, so I drove to the store to speak with someone in person. I spoke with a women who identified herself as Ann. Ann said that she was just told about the shirt. Mind you, the shirt had been in the store for over 5 days at this point. Ann told me that she would look at the shirt to determine if the stains could be removed. She said that if they determine that the stains cannot be removed, that the shirt would be replaced. She also told me that she would call me by the end of business that day. I gave her my correct phone number again and saw that she wrote it down correctly. I was very respectful and kind, despite my anger and frustration. I left the store with confidence that the situation would finally be resolved. It is now February 18th and neither my husband nor myself have received the call backs we were promised. This is the some of the poorest customer service that I have ever experienced. As I said, I worked at a dry cleaners for over 2 years and I know the things that can happen. I am not naïve to that reality. However, not resolving issues and flat out lying to my face, is not customer service or any way to run a business. My husband and I have already decided that we are no longer going do business with your company and we will advise all those that we know who use your company of our situation. I understand that it is only one shirt, but the fact of the matter is, the shirt was ruined and not one person seems to care. We would just like this issue to be resolved.

Update on the story: it's still unresolved. I got an message on the 18th from the manager Ann and she gave me all sorts of excuses about dialing the wrong area code. Blah blah. She said that she only found two red spots. It's all just more lies. It's red all over the bottom. I don't know what is gonna happen with it and it's still unresolved. Thank god we're moving.

countdown ends...

My mom and I are going to see Lion King tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited.

mmm, philosophy

I just started using my philosophy chocolate chip cookies shower gel and it smells more like Coco Krispies then chocolate chip cookies. But it's still neat. I am on a program where I get two new shower gels every 60 days (that's when they are supposed to come, in theory) and my last shipment was shipped today. I guess I will have to buy some on my own from here on out. But I am backed up with what I have. At home now, I have white chocolate hazelnut, and mini's of double rich hot cocoa and spiced cider from my Hot Toddies collection that I got for Christmas. What's coming in my last shipment is key lime pie and coconut cream pie. Yum. I was going over the website and they have new flavors like lavender pound cake, vanilla cupcake and crumb berry pie. Yum again.

to my mom!

to blog or not to blog

In an effort to make my blog more "interesting" and less "about John Mayer", I give you the following article: Have a blog, lose your job?
The funny thing about this is that I am posting this while at work. HEHE. I am breaking the rules, but at least I don't write about work things. Sometimes I mention it here and there, but nothing really specific. I learned that lesson. Who would be dumb enough to post stuff about their job? Plus, all the businesses need to do is block access to blogger. But I better stop before I give them any ideas.

my flowers

These are my Valentine flowers. The picture does not do them justice.

Zach Braff

for Dr. H :

i gots me some flowders

neat! I got a message on my voicemail from security that I had a delivery. I went down and found some purty flowers. It has orchids, tulips, lillies, and a bunch of other neat smelling flowers. It was a total shock, especially since we weren't supposed to give each other anything for Valentines Day. I did get him some chocolates, a Simpsons trivia game and a card, so I guess we were both trying to trick each other with saying that we weren't going to give gifts.
What a neat husband I have?!?!?!?

a valentine's day song...

to my husband, my favorite and only valentine...

Believe
by The Smashing Pumpkins

close your eyes
until the sunlight dies
in your head a thousand stars
through the darkness you can see love light
and if they steal your light
your heart is still in mine

i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth is no other
i want to believe in you, dear

of someday...

there's a life i hide
but i try to disguise
and i could take you a million miles away

i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth is no other
i want to believe in you, dear

on sunday i made amends
of all my mistakes
may godspeed be with you

and i...
i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth is no other
i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth is no other
i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth, a lover
i want to believe in you and i heard you
your song, you sing, a truth, is no other
i want to believe in you, dear
of someday...

on sunday i make amends
for all my mistakes
may godspeed be with you

Grammy's

YEAH! Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. I had my doubts, but can I just tell you how pleasantly surprised I was. For once, awards went to those deserving, not just the most popular.
The show was pretty lame. The tsunami tribute song was terrible. I can't imagine anyone wanting to download that. It's sad when the best part of the song was sung by Steven Tyler. Melissa Etheridge scared the crap out me with no hair. I get the cancer thing, but that doesn't mean she's not scary. Joss Stone, I thought was the best performance of the night. Yes, better than JCM's. J.Lo and Marc Anthony's performance was disturbing. Let's pretend to play house while we sing in spanish. No thank you. One thing that really pisses me off is that I am in Mountain Time and all the pre-show shit didn't start until after the awards actually started here. So annoying. They don't adjust for the time zones on the cable channels. But really, I can't stand Star Jones on E! anyway, so it's not that great of a loss.

Beck - both our boys won Grammys! Zach Braff won for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media. NEAT!

rain

It has been raining since noon on Thursday. Most people would not find this information blog worthy. But here in AZ, that's amazing. I think the storm has moved on now, but it left us wet and humid. The other reason I mention it is because our bedroom window leaks. I have two towels on the window sill and I had to change them out because they were soaked. This is inside the window. I even had to the window closed for most the day. I will be so glad that we will be leaving soon.

guess who's pre-qualified?

WE ARE!!
Yesterday, we met with a mortgage broker and we are pre-qualified to buy a house. This is scary and cool all at the same time. This means that we are really going to be getting house. Being pre-qualified was a huge relief because now we know that it can be a reality. We have been working really hard on paying things, like credit cards, down and it has paid off. We have to start saving money now so that we can actually do this. But at least we know we can get the financing. And now, we have to get a realtor and find house. YIKES!

HOLY CRAP! WE ARE GONNA GET A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

music of the moment

Here are some songs that I can't seem to get out of my head right now:
Get Right by Jennifer Lopez
Disco Inferno by 50 Cent
Pain and Work by Jimmy Eat World (gotta support the local boys!)
Over by Lindsay Lohan (yes, I know. I'm ashamed of this.)
Beautiful Soul by Jesse McCartney
Now, I'm not saying these are good and/or high quality songs. Just songs that I like to blast and groove to.

This is a cute interview with Gavin DeGraw. We love him too.

Grammy's are Sunday! JCM is performing Daughters, of course. He's up for two awards. Song Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He will probably not win, but he's got my love and support, so what more could he really want anyway? hehe.

and if you have some time, Kanye West's live show is available to watch. JCM was there and performs about 40 minutes into Kanye's set and stays for the rest of it. Or you can just watch All Falls Down and see the best part of JCM performance. Watch it.

Edited to add: for anyone new to my blog, JCM is John Mayer.

magic brownies

Ben & Jerry's have come out with a new Dave Matthews Band ice cream flavor. The first was called One Sweet Whirled. I love the new flavor name : Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies.

oh the irony

This is another crazy thing that Chris found on the internet. He was bored yesterday. This is total irony.

blast from the past

Chris found this on the internet. He said that he did the floorplans for these when he worked at TCI in college. He didn't design them, but when you click on the floor plans, he did those drawings. that's neat!

Happy Chinese New Year - 4702 !

GoDaddy.com

This company is getting the most publicity from the Super Bowl commercial then any other. The cool thing is, GoDaddy.com is based here in Scottsdale, very close to my house and to make it even closer to home, my co-worker's husband works for them. She said that she got an email from her husband today and all he said was that they are so busy and they are making so much money. Read an article about them here. Just goes to show you that any publicity is good publicity.

my boy speaks

Thought that I would share his column from Esquire this month:

Music Lessons
THIS MONTH'S LESSON: Five More Songs of the Year

by John Mayer | Mar 01 '05

I was stunned to learn that I was nominated for Song of the Year at this year's Grammys for my tune "Daughters." There's so much great music out right now. So I've decided to sublet my nomination to five equally deserving songs.

"Float On," Modest Mouse
When I first heard this tune, I thought Mick Jagger had gotten together with Dexy's Midnight Runners. That would've been cool, but no cooler than this perfect little number. This is the kind of song you listen to when you lay out tomorrow's outfit just before bedtime, thinking, Being me is about to get awesome. Too-rye-ay!

"This Love," Maroon 5
I'm surprised this song didn't get nominated, being that it was one of about seven on the radio that actually had a chorus, let alone one strong enough to hold its own next to any song from the last ten years. You might think it's overplayed, but this one is a half-court shot, nothing but net.

"99 Problems," Jay-Z
When Jay-Z came up with the lyric "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one," he probably celebrated at Friday's over an Oreo Madness dessert. Oh, wait, that's what I do. But consider this: Jay is the only mainstream artist brave enough to release a capella versions of his music. The man is not only one of the greatest rappers ever, he shows his work on the back of the test.

"I Don't Wanna Be," Gavin DeGraw
The problem with having Gavin DeGraw shoved down our throats is that he's so good, he didn't have to be. Once you get over the shooting pain of a twisted arm, you realize that this is one badass song with a unique chorus and a nuts-out vocal performance. It's never come on the radio when I didn't want it.

"I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You," Colin Hay
This is without a doubt my favorite song of the year. I'm still trying for a tune like this of my own. It's my favorite kind of ballad, "chin up" sadness that even a cold bastard would get swept away by: "And if I lived till I could no longer climb my stairs/I just don't think I'll ever get over you." No further comments.

i guess it was worth it

Last night was the company party that I reference below. I was really not wanting to go, but we went anyway. I put on a nice shirt (the beautiful one that I bought for the JCM concert last February) and flat ironed my hair. oooh. Not like I wanted to impress these people, but I felt that if I was going, at least dress up. So, the food was ok and the music was all country. YUCK!!!!! But I guess it was worth it because I won a $200 door prize. Sweet! It was a Visa gift card. I am gonna save it for when we ever get a house. We were home by 9:30, which worked out good because the SAG Awards were on.

what a crappy day

Today sucked.
Our electric company notified us yesterday that our power would be turned off for about 4 hours this morning, starting at 8:00am. This pretty much altered all my plans. I was intending to cook pork chops in the crock pot today. So, I had to cook them overnight and then had to get them out of the crock pot by candlelight. My kitchen gets no light, so you have to turn on the light, which I couldn't do, obviously. That's just one thing. I don't want to start complaining. That's just making me more upset. I also know that the next few days are gonna suck too, so that doesn't help. I have my stupid work party tomorrow at Corona Ranch and I am not really looking forward to it. Plus, on Sunday I was gonna try to leave work early to watch the game. But that can't happen. I have to do some coaching and I have an interview to be an official "on-boarding guide". That's what I did when I was helping the new hires when they first got on the phone. They are putting together a team of people to do it each time a new class starts. It's no more money and not a promotion, but they are still having us interview. So, I have to deal with that and I have dress up. None of these things are a problem, they are just things that I have to deal with and I would rather not. AUGH! I can't seem the bring myself out of the grumpy mood that I am in. AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

wet bed

This may be TMI, but bear with me.
Last night, I was up late watching Sex and the City in the living room when I heard Chris scream from the bedroom. At first I didn't think I was him. I thought it was someone outside because it was kind of muted. But then I heard more talking and then he walked out into the living room. He looked so confused. I switched into maternal mode and went in the bedroom to see what happened. There was this huge wet spot on the bed and on his pillow. It was soaked down to the mattress. We stripped the bed, dried the mattress and put clean sheets on the bed. The reason I am sharing this is because we have no idea how on earth this happened. It was so crazy. We started ruling things out. Definitely not pee. Totally wrong place for that to be it. It was not hot in the room, so it couldn't be sweat. Plus, even when it's 120 he does not soak the bed like that. Plus, and this is kinda gross but it's reality, it didn't smell like sweat. He had taken a shower before he went to bed, but he was dry when he got in bed. So, that wasn't it either. We kept looking around thinking if something had fallen from somewhere, but there was nothing. There was nothing on the headboard that could have caused that wetness and there was no spot on the ceiling. We couldn't figure it out. Did he puke water? He said he didn't think so. Plus that didn't smell like that either. It didn't smell at all. Meaning it was just regular water. It couldn't have come in from the window. Not only are we on the second floor, but his side of the bed is no where near the open window. How did this happen? This is crazy. We still cannot figure it out. It's the strangest thing.

There's a reason for the caps! Yes, I am yelling!

I JUST HAD A GUY TAKE A PISS WHILE FILING A CLAIM WITH ME. I HEAR THE SOUND AND I SAID TO MYSELF, 'PLEASE TELL ME THAT'S WATER.' AND THEN I HEAR IT - THE FLUSH!!!!!!! AND THE ZIP!!!!!!! THEN HE DIDN'T EVEN WASH HIS HANDS. THAT WATER I DIDN'T HEAR.
THAT IS THE NASTIEST THING IN THE WORLD. I AM GONNA HURL.

Yes ma'am

I just took a claim with the freak girl and after every thing I said, her response was, "Yes ma'am." I wanted to kill her! She was not saying it in a nice way either. It was getting on my last nerve. And to top it off, she had this southern accent that made it like nails on a chalk board. Mind you, I like listening to southern people talk, when I am not trying to get information from them. I sound really bad, but if you did my job, you would understand.

dear God

I wish I had never found this game.

TAXES

Our taxes are done! Thanks to TaxSlayer.com I was able to get the taxes done is less than an hour. We are getting nice little returns from Federal and State and they should be direct deposited in two weeks! What a relief!

drama

more water drama
On this topic I have strong opinions. We here in AZ are very quick to overreached when we are told there is any kind of a storage or problem. The gas "crisis of 2003" when people waited in lines for hours just to get gas. Now this water thing. And this wasn't even for real! That's the worst thing about it. If I lived in Phoenix proper, I would sue the government for inciting panic.

Church drama

too much drama. thank god none of it affects me directly.

blame it on the rain, part deux

Phoenix residents have turned into a bunch of paranoid freaks. So, there is a problem with the water. It's not gonna kill you, people. But places are closing down and panic has set in. It's really making me laugh. Here at my work alone, there are signs everywhere saying not to use the water. Signs on the bathroom that say, do not use water to wash your hands. Um, what else can I use? I have hand sanitizer stuff at my desk anyway, but it's just funny. Plus, they are handing out bottles of water to anyone here who wants them. People are taking like 5 or 6 bottles at a time. Plus, since the cafeteria here does not want to use water, the managers are buying pizza. Like delivered food with be so much safer than food made here. I just can't stop laughing at this. I had put ice from the ice machine in my cup and poured my soda before realizing that I shouldn't drink it. But I am. And i'm ok. I really don't think it's a huge deal. Plus, when I am home, I am not in Phoenix. I plan on running my Scottsdale water until my heart's content!

oh great

Today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year!

suck

Just found out that my review will not be today.
My boss said that she has not gotten final approval on our raises and so she wants to wait to do the reviews until she does. She said it has to be sometime this week. But not today. boo hoo.

blame it on the rain, yeah yeah

It rained last night.
I woke up with a headache.
Today is my performance review. I keep telling myself it will be a good day because I get to find out what my raise will be.
Today we are working out for the first time.
Last night, I got home 11 and 1/2 hours after I left that morning. I don't like that. I don't know if this new schedule is all it's cracked up to be. I hope I get used to these long days. I was so tired last night I hardly got anything done that needed to be done. I am lucky that I managed to get our gym bags ready.
Plus, I know we are going to be busy today. We were busy yesterday with all the fools out driving in the blizzard. I slid into this, I slid into that. He slid into me then I slid into that. Blah. Blah. Blah. STAY OFF THE ROAD WHEN IT SNOWS, freaks!
Anyway. Let's see what the rest of today brings...
at least more money. at least more money. at least more money.
(yes, I am trying to convince myself its worth it.)

Saturday

This is what we did on Saturday...
Verde Canyon Railroad

more shoes

got these new shoes, in white, so I have something to work out in. I love that they are mesh and are very breathable.

jury duty

So, on Wednesday (another thing to add to the shitness of that day!) I got a summons for Jury Duty. The last time I got one I was a college student, so I got to be exempt. But now I have no excuses. So, not only did I get the summons, but they informed me that I am going to be on call for the entire MONTH of March. What I have to do is every weekend in March, starting with February 26th, I have to call to find out if and/or when I have to appear. So, for one whole month, I am the federal courts bitch. Great. I am not happy about this at all. I had to fill out the questionere where you can put down your reasons for wanting to be excused, but I figured "Cuz I don't wanna do it" wasn't good enough. Why me? Chris said to just tell them that I am racist, but I can't lie about shit like that. I think I am the perfect juror candidate actually. And that's why I'm pissed.

more bonus cash-ola

My bonus check is broken up into 80% in December and 20% at the end of January, or beginning of February. I just found out that I will be getting the other 20% on Monday! Party. Party. Party. It's not much, but any extra money is good for me. Plus, I get paid today! Don't rob me. hehehe.

Plus, my work day is almost over. I hate to brag, but that's awesome!

early start to today

but maybe it will get off on a better foot than yesterday. yesterday was just bad all around. the only good thing that happened yesterday is that Chris wanted to go out to dinner, so we went to Macayos. that's become my favorite restaurant.
anyway, we carpooled today for the first time. we had our orientation at the fitness center. thrilling. she just showed us the machines. one really cool thing this that they have satellite radio and TV. you bring headphones and plug in and you can watch or listen to whatever you want. with the radio there are only preset stations, but with the TV, as long as no one else is watching it, you can put on whatever you want. neat. so, I am only here for 4 hours and I am rejoicing over that! Chris is coming back to pick me up at noon and then I am gonna take him back downtown and we are going to lunch together. sounds nice. at least we are getting along today...

in case you needed confirmation (of me not wanting to be here today)

...been arguing with husband all day via email
...some new hire freak from sales sat with me and listened to my calls for two hours
...lunch changed until right now, so that the freak could sit with me. been here since 8:00 and haven't eaten anything. ok, that's a lie. I ate a Krispy Kreme! DAMN!
...all our systems went down all at once
...still really tired

AT LEAST I ONLY WORK FOR 4 HOURS TOMORROW!!!!!!!

I don't want to be here today

this is not my day... I just typed a long post and then my stupid computer freaked out and it's gone.

the jist of what I wrote was that I have been tired for the last 3 days. I've been going to bed at around 10:30 every night, but I wake up and I am still tired. I wish I could wake up. All I want to be doing today is sitting on my butt at home watching QVC scrapbooking day. And I hardly ever even scrapbook!

get that damn SONG out of my head

why do I have On the Way Down by Ryan Cabrera in my head?
I hate that song.

Happy MLK Day

looks like lots of things are changing...

Chris and I are signing up for the gym at my work. It's about $40/month of the both of us and it's open 24/7. We are going for our orientation on Thursday morning, before I start work. We are going to start going after work at least 3 days a week. Chris is gonna start taking me to work and then meeting me in the gym after I get off work. I don't know how I feel about it. The trainer chic I met today is not real nice and I am very intimated by it all. But I am really only planning on starting on the treadmill. I can walk and not look like a fool. I know it's something that needs to be done and Chris really wants to do it. So, we are going to try it together. I would love for the outcome to be that I loose weight, but I have no goals attached to this. I will go to support him, and get some benefit out of it myself, I'm sure. I just want to start feeling better. Doctors can't really help me. I know my body better than anyone and I need to start paying more attention to it.

more neatness from QVC

I think this weird stuff just happens so frequently with me and QVC because of the frequency in which I purchase from them. So, anyway. I bought those new Birks from them a few weeks ago and right before New Years, the clogs came. I was sooo happy, until I started wearing them. They were busted. I had to send them back. So, I got an email from QVC that they could not exchange them for another pair because they were out of stock. I was pissed. I went to the website and found out that the email lied! According to the website, they have them in stock. So, I just ordered a new pair. And - THEY HAVE SHIPPED. Which means, they had them in stock all along. Unless... and I just thought about this now... they are going to send me back my old, busted pair. No, they would not do that. They shouldn't have put that pair back in stock. If they do, they are fools. Anyway. I am getting a new pair, either way. They are freaks.

Proactiv

So, I have resisited it for a long time, but I do have zits and I hate them. I have finally broken down and purchased Proactiv. It was on QVC - shock of shocks - and that's were I bought it from. It was a kit that has everything you need. It is on auto-delivery, which means it will ship every 60 days. But I am not sure if I will keep that up. I want to try it first, but I bought the auto delivery so that I can keep that cheaper price, in case I do keep it. I am praying that this will work. Nothing else has. I am even eating better and nothing seems to work. I will keep you posted...

last night's concert

In case you haven't heard, the only interesting thing that happened on the Tsunami concert last night was my boy cursing. You can read this article if you want to. This article says that when he said (hold your breath - it's a curse word!!!) shit, it was bleeped on the West Coast broadcast. Um, nope. It wasn't. Maybe my broadcast is not considered the "West Coast," but whatever. I heard him say shit and it was only because he was so into his playing. It just came out as he was turning his head. I think it's hilarious though that people are making a big deal out of it. What a controversy he has started. I guess those people who just stood there and sung and were not emotionally into their music are better than John Mayer.
Oh, in case you did watch it and were wondering what he sung... it was Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix.

Watch it - Saturday, January 15th.
Not only is it a good cause, but my boy's gonna sing. What more reason could you need?

credit card fraud

I have finally had my first experience with credit card fraud. On Monday night, I was looking at my credit card statement online and noticed a charge from some random web site. I didn't think I had bought anything from there, but I went to the website and then I was sure that I hadn't made the charge. It wasn't porn or anything. Oh, that reminds me, we did have one unauthorized charge to our debit card from a porn website. But this is much worse than that. Anyway. On my statement, there was a phone number next to the website name, so I called it and it was a voicemail for some guy named Alex and it sure did not sound like a business phone. So, I called the credit card company and wanted to dispute the charge as unauthorized. The dispute department was closed for the night. This is find very strange. Anyway. I came home early yesterday and was gonna call them back, when I checked my email and saw that I had an email from the credit card company saying that my account had been suspended due to possible fraud. FRAUD! Holy crap! Heck yeah there's fraud because I didn't make that charge! So, to make a long story short, I talked to the fraud department and they asked me if I made that charge that posted - um, no. Then they asked me if I made two other charges, one for $339 something and $33, to two different website companies. Um, no. He said that they had declined those charges, because they (being the credit card company) suspected that they might be fraud. I was totally shocked. The guy said that they will close that account and issue me a new account number and take care of the charge that did post, so I will not be responsible for it. Thank god. It wasn't a lot of money, only $25, but I still didn't want to pay for it. I just kept saying, "Oh my god. I can't believe this happened." I thanked the guy over and over. The last time I had used that card was on Amazon and when I purchase using Amazon, they have my credit card on file, so I just point and click and I don't have to put the number in each time. So, I went to Amazon and deleted all the cards that I had kept on file with them. I recommend you do this too. I don't know if Amazon is responsible for these three different places getting my info, but since that was the last time I used it, I am taking precautions. And after my mom's advice, I put a fraud alert on my social security # with the credit bureaus and got a copy of my credit report. There was nothing on my credit report that was fraud, thank god. (that rhymes!) It will all be ok. It will not effect me in any way. The worst part about it is not knowing how it happened. I have my card in my possession. It was not stolen. People used to tell me things like that all the time when I worked at Discover, but at least I am not naive enough to have thought it would never happen. I will not say the cliche that I thought it would never happen to me. I am just upset that I don't know how. I want to know how. Bastards.

Lots of water

Look at this picture.

Looks like people enjoying a nice meal until you look out the window!!
This is apparently in La Jolla, California from the storm the last few days. Those are waves hitting the windows of the restaurant. That's nuts!

whataday

Chris is in Vegas. His plane landed on time. Well, at least I assume he's there. I told him if he does not get on the plane for any reason, to call me. No call. So I assume he's there.

Last night he was coughing like no other and it kept me up. AND - I think I've caught his sickness. My throat hurts. I've got pressure in my head. I WAS JUST SICK! How does one person get sick so often? I guess mom was right when she said that I get sick all the time. I was taking echinacea, but I haven't been taking my vitamins (see New Year's resolutions). So, my immune system must be shot to hell. Lovely that I am sick again.

I put in to leave early, even though I have to pick Chris up at the airport at 7:15pm. It would actually work better if I get to leave early. That way I can go home, then come back and pick him up.

Must go back to work for now...

movie reviews

I keep forgetting to post my reviews of the weekend movies...

Troy: it was decent. Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater, though. It was really long. I thought it was really funny that Orlando Blooms' character used a bow and arrow, just like Legolas. Brad Pitt is very nice to look at. But I really liked Eric Bana's character, Hector. He was an honest, just man who protected his family. He is a good actor, too. I would say that if you have 3 hours to kill, this is not a bad way to do it.

Garden State: I actually got Chris to watch it with me. (This is a rare occasion worthy of mentioning.) At first I was not sure what to think about it. I really liked Natalie Portman's character and the music was great. I think I liked it. I was not blown away by it, but it was good in it's own right. SPOILER ALERT: It ended very traditionally, but as I discussed with Mandy, you were not sure if they would end up together or not. In most movies, you know for sure that they will. But it was not clear until the last moment in this movie. So, that was good. It is worth watching.

movies to watch

forgot to mention that I have two new movies to watch... Garden State & Troy.
need to get to watchin...

flowers make me smile

Guess who bought these for me today? ME. I bought them at the store this morning.
I said to Chris, "I am easily pleased. These flowers have made my day." I am hoping he took the hint. (He never buys me flowers unless I come right out and tell him to.)
Hopefully, I will be able to get through my crampiness and enjoy my flowers.

ooh, gotta take the Christmas tree down today. It's starting to get on my nerves.

It makes perfect sense...

This lady called today to report that her vehicle had been vandalized. Before I could really start to take the claim, she just went off. She said that someone took her car keys and took her car out and backed it into something that ate off the paint on her bumper. She said that it was done by the people that have been harassing her for a long time. She said that they were satanic worshipers and doctors of parapsychology. She said that she has a government case worker at the state senate office who she reports the harassment to. She kept going on and on and then she said that she worked for the grassroots efforts (she lives in Florida, mind you) to re-elect President Bush - ENOUGH SAID.

new hours?

So, we have this thing here at work called your Optimal Schedule. You get to submit to scheduling your ideal schedule. If you could work any shift in the world, what shift would you work? So, I guess every once in awhile they review everyone's Optimal Schedule to either declined it, approved it or give you other options (they call it "counter offering"). Well, this has taken place. I had put my Optimal Schedule as 4 - 10 hour shifts, Monday-Thursday. Well, no one got Monday-Thursday or Monday-Friday shifts. They were all declined. But my boss told me that my counter offer is to work 10 hours on Monday & Tuesday and 10 hours on Friday & Saturday. Yikes! I do not want to work Friday AND Saturday. Plus, the hours I might have to work on the Friday & Saturday would be (maybe) 11am to 10pm! YIKES again! So, no. I don't want that counter offer. I counter offered back and I have a good feeling about it. I said that I would want to work 4 - 9 hour shifts and 1 - 4 hour shift. The 9 hour shifts would be Sunday-Wednesday, and the 4 hour shift would be Thursday. That would be great. I really don't mind working Sundays. We are so slow that it doesn't seem like working. So, we are waiting to see if my counter offer has been approved. If it is, it will take effect on the 16th ( but I will only be working 1/2 day that day, because it's Golden Globe day!!).

Five for 2005

I really like this too...

Five Resolutions for 2005
1. Find more balance in my relationships
2. Re-connect with my friends
3. Control my stress level
4. Drink more milk
5. Get my headaches under control

Five Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2005
1. Buying a house
2. Not living in an apartment
3. Paying off debt
4. Getting new furniture
5. Baby?

Five Things I'm Not Looking Forward to in 2005
1. Change (ie. Buying a house)
2. Moving
3. Moving
4. Moving
5. Did I mention moving?

Five Books I Want to Read in 2005
1. Magical Thinking: True stories
2. Why I'm like this : true stories
3. Bad girl : confessions of a teenage delinquent
4. Hello Kitty : The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon
5. any and all James Patterson books

Five Things I'm Going to Try to Cut Back On in 2005
1. Doritos
2. Carrying grudges
3. Spending money on useless crap
4. Procrastinating
5. Worrying about things I can't control

Five Things I'm Going to Try to Do More of in 2005
1. Exercise
2. Save money
3. Drink water
4. Take my vitamins
5. Blogging (hehe)

Even though we are not together today, (Right now, Chris is up in sky, flying to Indianapolis to see his friends and famliy) and I am home sick, I want to celebrate my anniversary by saying that I love my husband more today then I did 6 years ago or even 10 1/2 years ago. I am the luckiest person on the planet and I could not ask for a better man to be my husband.

Anniversary gifts

And since today is our anniversary, I will share the gifts that we got:

from Mom & Dad - a crock pot and a recipe book

from Mandy & Eric - Xbox game - Museum games w/PacMan

from my in-laws - this bath mat in natural and a set of towels in natural w/ our initials monogrammed

Thank you for the nice gifts.

Christmas & presents

Hope Christmas was very merry for everyone.
I have put together a list of my gifts.

from Chris -
Shiatsu Back Massager and these things direct from Japan:
Hello Kitty candy


and Hello Kitty toliet paper!



from Santa (AKA my parents) -
a few coloring books:1, 2, 3, 4, the FRIENDS book, Where The Red Fern Grows dvd, Mary Poppins dvd, a flat iron, philosophy body wash, a limited edition Precious Moment, some clothes: a nightshirt, black hooded zip cardigan, Quacker Factory Embroidered Daisies Twin Set in lime, Bath & Body Works antibactrial soap in different scents, scrapbooking scissor set (like this one, only it's a 24 piece set!),

from Mandy & Eric -
Maroon 5 cd, soundtrack to Annie, a coloring book, this book,
and a Hello Kitty calendar

for both Chris and I from Santa -
a new George Foreman grill, some fancy new hangers, and an iron trivet (to match the smaller one I already have)

from my in-laws -
this blouse (which I plan on returning. color does not look good on me), this shirt, in medium aqua, this cardigan, in Aquaria, another blouse that I can't find a link for, some socks, this cake stand, and some Bath & Body works shower cream, lotion, bubble bath in Warm Vanilla Sugar. There were a couple of other little things, but I can't think of them now.

from Sarah - post-its, stickers and scrapbooking accents
from Linda - a photo album and scrapbooking accents

If I am forgetting anything, please don't be mad. It's taken me a long time to compile this list and I tried to list everything. Doing this list is sorta like the updated version of what we used to do when we (being me and Mandy) were young. We used to display all our Christmas gifts out on our beds so that when people came over, we could show what we got. It's sorta the same thing.

Thank you everyone.

Cold in the Nati

This is the forecast for the next few days in Cincinnati - where I used to live.
OH MY GOD! It is gonna be -10 for the low! That's insane. It's like 48 degrees here and I need a sweater. That's crazy.

Thanks family.

I need to say thank you to my family for all the support during my interview process. I can't tell you all how much it means to me when you all tell me I will be great and to "Knock 'em dead." You all have been so nice to me while I have stressed about this and I hope you know how much it means to me.

Note to self: enough with the niceness...

new Birks!

Bought 'em! Sweet.


Plus, I used my Christmas money and bought these too.

sorry. forgot to post about it.

My second interview was today. It went ok. I am not a good judge of these things. Half way through some of my answers, I lost my train of thought and forgot what the question was. That's probably not a good thing, but whatever. I am just glad it's over. Maybe now the dull headache that I've had for two days will go away. Or maybe not... Mandy is coming to town today. Mandy Claus is coming to town. Mandy Claus is coming to town. Neat. That's funny. I crack myself up. I don't like dressing up at work. I feel like a freak in these shoes. I am so used to wearing Birks that any other shoes feel weird. I think with some of my bonus money, I am gonna buy myself one other pair. I am lacking a pair to wear with khaki pants. I am planning on wearing khaki pants tomorrow and I have nothing to go with them. It depends on what I'm wearing on top as to which shoes I will wear. Such a decision. (Damn, that's a Joan thing!) My father called me Joan yesterday and the funny thing was, I was actually on the phone with Joan when he referred to me as Joan. Whatever. Y'all can bite me. I'm glad today is over. I couldn't even eat my lunch today because my stomach was all knotted up. TMI.

edited to add: I was this close to changing all the Mandy's to Moaned!

scary santa

Chris found this. It's hilarious!

second interview tomorrow @ 1pm

strange that I am not nearly as nervous. or maybe I am internalizing it much better this time. I think that I was more nervous about destroying my bosses impression of me in the first interview, than any thing else. for this interview, I am not nearly as concerned about that.
wish me luck...

12 Days of Christmas

I keep forgetting to post this...
the origin of the The Twelve Days of Christmas
It's very interesting.

some party pics from Saturday

I guess it wasn't a bad thing that I didn't bring my camera to the party. One of Chris's co-workers did and here is the link to see them. In the picture #10, Chris and I were highly intoxicated. But that's a really cute picture!

I'll post more tomorrow! Just wanted to share these now.
This was on Santa Monica Pier today.

shoes for the Christmas party

these are the shoes (in black) that I had shipped overnight so that I would have something to wear to the Christmas party in California. Neat.

toilet seats

I think it's grosser (I know that's not a word, but whatever!) when someone leaves a toilet seat cover on the toilet, then when someone doesn't use a cover at all. Now, I don't use toilet seat covers (We're talking about public toilets here.) because I personally don't understand why my butt can't get dirty. I read somewhere that there are more germs on your computer keyboard then on a toilet seat. So, when I walk into a stall and there is a toilet seat cover already on the seat - that's just wrong. What I think is so wrong about it is that I know have to move said cover to sit down. I tried to use my foot, but I ended up having to use my hand to push it in the bowl. Then I had to flush the used cover before I sat down. Maybe it's weird, but I can't stand when that happens!

edited to add: when I ran spell check on this entry, I had spelled toilet wrong every time! Damn.

my boy's Grammy nominations!!!

Song Of The Year - for Daughters
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance - for Daughters

I am sooooo proud. Song of the year? That's freakin awesome.

I survived

it wasn't as bad as I thought...
isn't that always the way?

Step one is over. Now we wait a few days. My boss
said that the next step is the second interview
that will be with the big boss. They will let me
know if I'm moving on (sounds like a game show)
in the next couple days. Joyful.

I have a huge knot in my neck from stress. I'm dying here.

please get me through this...

I am 15 minutes away from my interview. I need to throw up.
I did not sleep but maybe 3 hours last night. My stomach was
killing me too. I am so stressed I can hardly contain myself.
I just want the next two hours to be over.
Dear God, please get me through this...

The OC

I love how bad this show is. It was so bad tonight that it was good.
I just wish they didn't rip off 90210 so much. They now have a club where popular real music groups come and play. Like not tv music groups. Real groups. Like they did at the Peach Pit on 90210. I just love to hate The OC.

movie trailers

The trailer for the new Dave Matthews movie is out: Because of Winn Dixie
This is his 2nd movie. Where the Red Fern Grows is going straight to DVD, but this one is getting a theatrical release. Hooray! So, I found the trailer, but also realized that the page hosting the trailer has tons of other trailers too.
I have been watching movie trailers from this website for over an hour.

Thanksgiving present

Chris wanted me to share the lovely ceramic dish that his mother gave us
as a Thanksgiving present. Isn't it lovely?

Edited to add: WHAT? NO COMMENTS!

Actual reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS


to Sarah Ellersick!