Sunday, September 30, 2007

~whirlwind weekend~

Phew - this weekend flew by - more so than most, but the best part is that I got A LOT done.

On Saturday, I made 2 separate pet-sitting stops (2 dogs each house) and then had to be at SB by 12noon. I got out of SB at 5:45pm and made 2 pet-sitting stops again. I got home around 8pm...I was tired. I stayed up only 'til 10:30pm and crashed out.

I was off Sunday - hooray - a whole day to do what I wish. O and I were up early thanks to the built in alarm clocks that I "own"...they are named Hula and Milo. They so kindly reminded us it was 7:30am and time to get up...not sure why though - they had food. Anyway, we went to IHOP for breakfast and then to one house for pet sitting (2 dogs again). From there we ventured to Lowe's for weed-wacker wire (say that 3 times fast).

Oh wait, we detoured to JoAnn Fabrics before Lowe's where I had a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. In my defense, I went there to purchase the EK Curvy Circle cutter (supposedly everyone's favorite - at least on 2Peas)...well, they didn't have any, so instead I gave in to my impulses and splurged for the Cuttlebug I'd been wanting. Hooray! I picked up 2 embossing plates too. A new toy for me!!

From there it was on to Kroger for a few groceries. We had invited my mom over for burgers on the grill tonight and needed to pick up meat, buns etc. Earlier this morning we saw the neighbor -the one that is on TV- and invited her to join us as well. While talking to the neighbor, I mentioned our Homeowners Association Meeting today and how I was interested in going. She said she'd go w/me and so @ 2pm, off we went. It was actually quite interesting...but I'll spare you the details.

After Kroger, O and I had gone home, but then had to run back out quickly to Walmart. I picked up a movie and an itunes card as a gift for a gal @ work. This gal is 22 yrs old and just found out 2 wks ago that she has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She spends 7.5 hrs every other Monday in a chair getting chemo. She said she knits and watches movies on her ipod, hence the itunes card. Her family also had to completely redo her room - get rid of carpet etc, to make it hypo-allergenic (sp?). She said that she's worn down for 3 days after her treatments and so I imagine she'll be watching a lot of tv - hence the movie. (It's one I know she'd want, as we've discussed it a lot at work).

The burgers were a success and we had tons of laughs at dinner. Mom and I are also walking in the Komen race here on 10/20 and it's my TV neighbor that invited us to join her team, so it was nice to hang out with her for a while - she's a riot. Don't tell anyone, but I wish I met her when I was single...she's 37 and tons of fun...dangit!

After dinner, I still had 1 last pet visit to make - the last one of the weekend, but it's an hour long visit. Off I went and since it's near my mom's house, she went with me to keep me company. Upon leaving, I stopped at the pet-sitter's house to drop off the key as she returned from her trip, we ended up talking for about 45 minutes (we could talk all night, she's great) and I didn't leave her house 'til 9:35pm...oops. O was calling and calling since I was expected back around 9pm. Oh well!

I'm home now and FINALLY able to just sit down and RELAX. I should just go to bed!

quest for a beautiful lawn

(i found some old posts on a message board I used to frequent...I am pulling them from there and adding here...it's the best I can do right now to "re-cover" my forever lost blogs. If anything, it's a way to restore a few more memories from my past.)

Had to report in that I was super excited that O was able to fix the lawnmower when he got home on Friday night - and so he finished the lawn. Yay!! (I was using the lawnmower and ran over the metal circle thingee and well, the mower didn't appreciate it)

On Sunday we finally picked up more wire for the weed whacker so I could do all the trimming...finally we have a respectable looking lawn.

All went well with all 4 dogs...I'm beat though...phew -that was a lot of work.

I'm glad to only have to work the day job tomorrow and then head out to the outlet mall w/mom.

Friday, September 28, 2007

~feels like a Monday~

Ugh - what a crappy day. It feels like a Monday. Usually my Fridays are fairly calm...not the case today.

Is it 5pm yet?

busy busy

My weekend plans unfortunately will not be as exciting as a Wine Festival (that Mary is going to) and even though I don't typically care for wine, I've had a week that would certainly warrant going to one (if I weren't PG of course).

Anyway...I'm super busy with some pet-sitting jobs I have thru Sunday. I help a lady out who has her own pet sitting company. She's out of town, so I will be caring for 4 dogs over the weekend.

In addition to that, I have a 6 hr shift at Starbucks on Saturday, but am excited to report that I'm off on Sunday....wahoo! I'm also off on Monday night so mom and I are going to cruise out to Pigeon Forge to the outlet mall there and have a girls night out. Yay!!

I went out to cut the grass this morning because it's nice and cool out there and honestly, I do a better job than O does...sorry, but he grew up in a desert - there's NO grass there!! Anyway, I'm an idiot...there is a metal sewer cover in the middle of the front lawn...I have gone over it tons of times already w/no problem...well, not this time. The blade came to a screeching halt and the mower shut off. :oops: I looked @ the blade and it still turns, no damage there, but the cord to pull to start the mower will only pull 2 inches, so I cannot re-start the mower. So the lawn is 1/2 mowed and instead of getting it done and out of the way, O will have to try to fix the mower when he gets home and finish the lawn...oh well.

Did I mention it's my mom's husband's lawnmower too? They have a lawn service so they "loaned" us the mower. Eeks!!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

~maybe next year~

~No postseason play for the Tigers this year.

~They played their last home game of the year last night. After winning in a 5-inning rain shortened game against Minnesota, the Yankees defeated Tampa Bay 12-4 to secure the Wild Card spot in the MLB Eastern Division playoffs. Boo..hiss!

~On the bright side, that saves me the temptation of making another whirlwind 8 hr drive up to Michigan to catch a playoff game...although realistically that probably wouldn't have happened this year anyway.

~And so with only 3 games left to play, in Chicago, against the White Sox...the Tiger fans are left with the overused phrase "maybe next year."

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

~scrapbooking~

Last Scrapper Standing
I wanted to sign up for this grand competition, but I didn't. I guess it started a few days ago and after quite a bit of web-surfing, I cannot find where they gave the directions for the 1st challenge. It's ok though...I eventually figured it out...you need to use 8 transparent items on a layout.

I guess I wouldn't get far because I don't even own 1 transparent scrapbooking item. It's never been a medium that I've been really attracted to and since I scrap 8.5x11, well, I only ever see 12x12 transparencies, although I know that Hambly makes them in all kinds of sizes.

I have a feeling I would go broke trying to participate in this competition, so I think I'll watch from the sidelines again this year...although I really, really, really do want to participate. :-( You can see the layouts each week here.

HMITM Challenge
Here is my layout/creation for the challenge I mentioned in yesterday's post. When I went back to re-read the instructions, they want you to use 30 scraps. I do have 30 pieces there, but I'm not sure if they had to be 30 DIFFERENT scraps, so I'm not sure it'll even qualify, but I like the way it turned out anyway.

I guess that's all for now.

Off to take care of puppies later tonight.

"Private Practice" premieres tonight too...I think I'll give it a try.

Adios! Ciao! Goodbye! Auf Wiedersehen!

~a little randomness~

~One (small) positive to working @ SB is that I receive 1 personal day every 6 months...not bad for a part time job, heck I don't even get 1 HOUR of paid time off with my full time job, let alone a full day. I put in to collect my "windfall" on the next payday. I'm saving the itty bitty amount of vacation time that I'm accruing there for November when I go on leave. (50 more days to go).


~If the NY Yankees win 1 more game, Detroit's hopes of post season play will be no more. Detroit is currently 5 games behind NY for the Wild Card spot and since there are VERY few games left, NY only needs to win 1 more to secure their spot in the playoffs....boo...hiss!!

~I have a petsitting job beginning tomorrow night. I'm pretty stoked about it because I will make in 1 hr what it would take me 5 hrs @ SB to make. I'm scheduled to work @ SB tomorrow but I am getting someone to take my shift. Hooray! I will bank some good dough on this petsitting job- woohoo, cuz I need it. I also have to make 2 stops with the Rhodesian Ridgebacks on Saturday..their owners/parents go out of town almost every weekend...poor doggies. I love them though -they are a riot!

~For a change, it was a fairly uneventful night at SB. No drama and business was slow too.

~Not sure how I stumbled upon this blog, but I really like their challenges and so I've added them to my Bloglines and plan to try to participate in some of their challenges. I completed #52 and posted it to 2peas already.

~Ok, I'm off to bed now...I'm tired.

Monday, September 24, 2007

"these are the days of your lives"

I thought that was an appropriate title for this post since I am about to write about more drama at SB...thankfully it doesn't concern me, but I continue to be truly amazed with the amount of drama that surrounds that place...more drama than what you'd find on TV!!

So...as previously mentioned there are 2 other gals @ SB who are PG. Girl #1 is the annoying one who finds it necessary (for some odd reason) to tell everyone and their brother that she is PG. She has also been playing the "pregnancy card" at SB for quite some time, claiming she cannot do certain tasks...she is only 2 wks ahead of me and I've not been told I cannot do anything....mmm. I realize everyone is different, but she's 24 years old and I'm 36, so realistically, who should be having a harder time with physical labor..me or her? OK ---enough said.

Girl #2 recently told me she thought she was PG. This would be her 5th pregnancy but only her 3rd child. She had a miscarriage and she also buried a child that was born prematurely. Sad, I know. Anyway, this gal didn't go to the doctor until 3 wks ago at which time she said she was about 23-24 wks. (Red flag) She is approx 5 wks ahead of me and she is a bigger gal than me pre-pregnancy yet somehow it is still not possible to detect that she is PG. If it weren't for my apron at SB, you would be able to tell I am PG...or you'd think I was a fat slob w/my belly bulging out like it is.

While @ work tonight, this gal came up in conversation. Apparently she has told some co-workers that she had a hysterectomy back in February. Ok - that's strange...last time I checked, you cannot get PG if you've had a hysterectomy. :-) In addition, she has recently put in for a transfer up to WI and says she is moving there in October. She randomly picked WI -she has no friends or family there. Oh and this gal's husband lives in California and apparently will be re-joining her in WI. She has been living alone here since January. Her conception would have had to been around mid-late March...so I hope she made a trip out to CA back then...she was not at SB then, so who knows.

If she is lying, that is very sad and she obviously has some issues going on. If she's not lying about being PG, then I don't know what the story is with the hysterectomy claims. Since she says she'll be in WI when she would deliver (Jan), then we'll never know the truth I suppose. She has also mentioned that she is high-risk, so I guess she could always just say she has a miscarraige a ways down the road and no one would ever (really) know she fabricated the entire story. I just don't get the reason behind making all this up, if that is what she is doing. Gal #1 is only receiving negative attention for her annoying behavior, but then some people like negative attention instead of no attention. I'm not sure what's going on!

Anyway....quite a bizarre story so I felt I had to share it.

~always makes me wonder~

~Why would you submit your resume for consideration without a phone number or email on it?

Sunday, September 23, 2007

~can't sleep~

~can't sleep

~have to be @ SB in 6 hrs

~not good

Friday, September 21, 2007

~work in progress~

After yesterday's post -I feel like I have very little to say...LOL...so I'll just post a couple pics of projects that I am working on. :-) Hope you like them! I will likely spend ALL DAY Saturday working on both as I have the whole day to myself - yahoo - no work!!!

The first one is the "Daily Something" album - as seen on Ali Edwards blog. My plan is/was to do at least 30 days. I started on August 28th so I guess I only have a few more days to go. :-) It's a small album - 3.5 x 5.5 - and I love Heidi Swapp's date stamp.

Project number two is the Recipe Book I referenced from Cathy Zielske's blog...I discovered though as good as it feels to get organized...once the album is decorated, this project is a bunch of typing and just not quite as fun as truly scrapbooking...but I won't quit. I will finish it.

The outside of the album - the 6x6 American Crafts Modern Album.

The cover page.

And a sample recipe page - not too exciting, but uniformity and organization is a good thing.

Have a good weekend!

short vacation update

I got back from Myrtle Beach on Wednesday afternoon and have been trying to adjust back to reality - ugh - I don't like it.

I had a good time with my dad and my (step)sister and her family, although my (step)brother in law decided to call me "prego" all weekend and I quickly discovered that I really DO NOT like that. Of course, I didn't have the heart to say anything and so I tolerate it.

We are going to their house for Thanksgiving too, so I'm sure more is to come. Oh joy!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

~newflash~

Amy guessed it...even though she made 4 or 5 guesses, she did guess that I am pregnant and that is indeed the case.
I had a couple people inquire as to why I had not shared this info earlier and all I can say is it's not my style. I'm not one of "those gals" who upon discovering this news, finds herself only able to talk about babies, being pregnant, babies, being pregnant...you get my drift. There are many people at SB who don't even know...oh and I'm 5 months pregnant right now by the way.

After much introspection, I've found that I was the same way with the wedding...very low key - I think Mary will agree - I did not find it necessary to talk about getting married all the time -it's just not me. Being pregnant is NOT my identity and I therefore do not find it necessary to consume every conversation that I have. I think it all has to do with my prior strong beliefs of living eternally single and being quite the independent soul that I am. :-)

While I have officially transitioned to maternity clothes, I'm not showing too much - still able to hide it under a shirt and apron at SB and while my main objective in life is not to hide it...there is a PG girl working at SB right now who has worn on everyone's nerves talking 24/7 about her pregnancy and she is the last person I want to be associated with at this point.

OK - so anyway...this is a honeymoon baby for sure...happened a bit quicker than I ever anticipated, but here we are.

I found out in my 11th week that it is a boy. I had a NOT-SO-FUN test called a CVS which tests for many things, as well as providing the sex of the baby. His name will be Ethan Alexander and he is due to arrive on February 5, 2008...although we all know how that could change.

I had my 20 week ultrasound today and all is well, 2 feet, 2 hands, 4 chambers in his heart etc. He was doing advanced acrobatics during the ultrasound and so far I have yet to feel anything. After seeing his antics today though, I think I'm gonna be in for it when I do start feeling it...ouch! Oh yeah..and I gained 10 lbs in the past 4 weeks - damnit!!

Now you know...

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

~I'm back~

~My mini-vacation is over and unfortunately, it's time to get back to reality. :-(

~I have a lead-foot. I made the drive back in 6.5 hrs. Mapquest said it should be 7.25 hrs. HeeHee! (It took me 7 hrs on the way there.)

~I have a few pics to share...let's go back to Friday though...the Eddie Money concert...it was SOOOOO good. He was better than Night Ranger! Time had taken more toll on Night Ranger's voices than on Eddie's - he sounded as good as ever. He was hilarious too!

~The best part-he did pics and autographs after the concert....I got my picture taken w/him. Yay!!~The beach was fun -it was a bit cool in the mornings and quite windy, but I was able to get some sun-time in, so that's good. I set a goal to finish reading "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan", but I unfortunately fell just short. As much as I want to give up on the book, I'm determined to finish - I have about 100 pgs to go.
~I was excited to see one of my favorite restaurants there too - Margaritaville...if you have never set foot inside, I highly recommend it...even if you don't eat there.


~In closing, here's a pic of the beach - this was the view from our room. :-)

>~And so now it's back to reality... :-(

~Oh and I'm getting closer to sharing some rather big news...one of these days...soon...

Friday, September 14, 2007

Swiped this from Dawn's blog cuz I am bored awaiting the end of this long week and it seemed like fun...

01. If you could have super powers what would they be and what would you do with them? (Please feel free to be selfish, you do not have to save the world!)
The ability to read people's minds...yep -that would be cool!

02. Were you to find yourself stranded on an island with a CD player...it could happen...what would your top 10 bloggers island discs be?
Kenny Chesney's "Be As You Are," Eddie Money's "Sound of Money: Greatest Hits", Don Henley's "Inside Job", and 2 other CDs both by Jimmy Buffett- perfect island music.

03. If you were a smell what would it be?
pumpkin spice, maybe....I dunno

04. What bird would you most like to be?
A Hummingbird - small and fast!

05. If you were a bird who's head would you poo on?
This is a good one...do I only get to pick 1 person?

06. Are there any foods that your body craves?
Lately, not so much, but I can always find room for Mexican food.

07. What's your favorite time of year?
I love Summer because of the carefree, vacation-like feeling most people have but once you become an adult, Summer isn't really as fun as it once was...I would have to say Fall is my favorite. I love the cool weather and the changing leaves. It makes me want to go back to Michigan.

08. What's your favorite time of day?
Late night...I'm usually up alone scrapping or playing on the computer...and it's quiet.

09. If a rest is as good as a change which would you choose?
Huh?

10. If you could have a dinner party and invite any 5 people from the past or present who would they be? (Living or deceased.)

1 & 2. Hands down..my grandma and grandpa...I would do ANYTHING in this world just to see them one more time.

3. Vince Vaughn - needs no explanation!

4. JK Rowling -how fun would it be to pick the brain behind the wonderfulness of Harry Potter?!?!

5. My mom - because she'd want to see my grandma and grandpa too.

~randomness~

~I couldn't be happier right now...I just got home from SBUX and do not have to put that apron back on for an entire week!! Wahoo!!!

~Hobby Lobby rocks my world! I stopped in the other day and was pleasantly surprised with all the yummy scrapbooking goodies they have. They are TONS better than Michael's or JoAnn's in my opinion. Now, if they'd only have coupons out EVERY week or at least take competitor's coupons. Tonight I picked up 2 pkgs of AC Thickers (YUM) in black & white. They were 30% off, so I spent a whopping $6.11...gotta love it! Check them out -it'll be WELL worth your trip.

~Six days of fun and relaxation ahead. Friday night is the Eddie Money concert @ the local fair and what a great way to start the weekend. Yippee!! I need to find time to pack during the day too because I'm hitting the road on Saturday morning for the beach. Cannot wait!!

~I volunteered w/the library here a while back to deliver books to the home bound and the finally called me w/someone to deliver to. I have to squeeze that in my day tomorrow - lunch time probably...either before or after my pre-beach pedicure appointment :-)

~I think I have ADD when it comes to scrapbooking. I cannot seem to finish one project before starting another. I currently have at least 4-5 "projects" going on. Ugh...it's kind of frustrating...I need to finish something...I need closure. :-)

~I guess that's all for now...be back in 6-7 days. :-)

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

~a few layouts I've managed to put together~

Hula always finds the oddest places to take a nap!

Me and my cousin Andy...definitely my favorite pic from the wedding...figures it's a snapshot as the over-priced photographer that I paid totally did a crap job.
Click on the images to see a bigger image.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

~the local fair~

O and I went to the fair last night, it was concert night - NIGHT RANGER. It was really good too. I took some pics to share with you:

Caramel apples - so good, but so hard to bit into w/o making a mess.
Here's O, enjoying some onion rings.

And, Night Ranger!!

Oh and the funniest part...there was a young girl that introduced the band, she was some sort of pagent winner or something - probably had not been born yet when Night Ranger was in their heyday...anyway, a roaring laugh was heard when she said "The Night RangerS will be right out"...obviously confusing them with I dunno, maybe the Power Rangers. LOL!!

Monday, September 10, 2007

~half empty or half full~

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an optimist and since I'm sick of hearing how negative I am from {people who call themselves} 'friends' and family, I've put together the following list in an effort to be more positive...

(I saw this on another blog and had to lift it)

10 things that make me happy {right now}
1. Milo & Hula cuddling with me.
2. A day off from BOTH jobs.
3. Argument-free days.
4. That I'll be at a beach in 5 days (thank goodness).
5. Hula carrying her (huge) stuffed dog in her mouth - makes me laugh everytime.
6. Finishing a scrapbook layout or card AND being happy with the end result.
7. Getting goodies in the mail.
8. Pedicure!
9. Sleeping.
10. Kenny Chesney's new CD comes out tomorrow!

Yep, I'm definitely more of a pessimist here as I REALLY struggled to come up with 10 items for that list. Oh well, that's just WHO I AM!

Friday, September 07, 2007

~to be a cat~

I think I could handle this lifestyle:



Yep, I could definitely handle this leisurely life!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

~a few cards~

Thought I'd post a few cards I've made recently: Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

~I hate baseball~

Well, of course I don't hate it -but the last 4-6 weeks have been painful - truly painful - my Detroit Tigers are killing me. Continually losing to teams with worse records, the Tigers now sit in 2nd place and are 7, let me repeat 7 games out of first place. I could handle the 2.5-3 games behind, which they maintained for a while - but 7? Time to hang it up...this is torture.

If you recall (or not), they did the same darn thing last year...in first place almost all season and fall apart at end so they don't even win their freaking division title - dorks!!

They will be lucky to even qualify for the Wild Card....I guess I can ditch that "Got Post Season?" tshirt that I bought last year...I was optimistic to think I'd get more than 1 season of wear out of it!!

Argh!!!

~need time to play~

~All this work is not leaving me enough time to "play" and when I say "play", I mean SCRAPBOOK of course. Check out Cathy Zielske's latest creation - so cute - I HAVE to make one of these! I love that tab punch - very cool...never knew it existed.

~As is typical with me, I'm in the middle of 3 other "projects" so who knows when I'll get to this one, but I really do like the idea. I like uniformity and especially the page protectors so my recipes don't get destroyed.

~If you recall, yesterday I posted that O brought some food home from AZ on Monday night...there is nothing better than HOMEMADE refried beans -believe me - I KNOW.

Somewhat shamefully, I will share with you what I consumed yesterday:
Breakfast: 2 (smallish) bean burritos
Lunch: 1 bowl pozole
Dinner: 1 (smallish) bean burrito
Late night snack (after coming home from SB): 1 (smallish) bean burrito

See, I told you they are delicious!! Good thing he brought home 10 lbs of beans, neatly separated into 1 lb portions. Yum!

Today's lunch menu: Pozole!! (surprise, surprise)

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

~blah, blah, blah~

I swiped this from some blog, somewhere...

Three things in my fridge that define life right now:
(1) Pozole -Mexican "soup" that traveled from AZ w/O last night, it's my favorite Mexican dish (if made right and O's mom makes it PERFECTLY...mmmmm). (2) Diet Sunkist - my drug of choice and (3) Granny Smith apples - I've been craving them lately, especially w/peanut butter! Yum!

Three recent acquisitions:
(1)Too many scrapbook supplies, (2) Red Couch and (3) Coffee Table.

Three classics I reach for every day:
(1) Computer, (2) Underwear, (3) Deodorant. :-) Not necessarily in that order.

My kids right now, in three words or less: n/a

My sweetie right now, in three words or less: In a bad mood @ work.

What's on my to-do list: Work, Shower, Work (again).

What I do often that relates to the season right now:
Absolutely nothing...if it's the season of "work" - then that's what I do.

What I'm listening to right now:
The TV in the background. I need to go turn it off since it's in another room and I have NO idea what's going on.

What I'm worried about right now:
Accruing enough hrs @ SB this quarter to meet the insurance requirements.

Which news stories I'm following right now:
Owen Wilson's suicide attempt. It makes me sad, I really like him. :-(

What I'm reading right now:
Well, I'm not doing too well in the reading dept lately...I started Shopaholic Takes Manhattan but am only about 25 pgs into it - just isn't drawing me in. I still have not finished "Without Reservations" either. I may start an entire new book to take to Myrtle Beach w/me.

What I'm looking forward to right now:
Going to Myrtle Beach in 10 days. I *need* a break...badly!!

One small thing that's making me happy right now:
2 soft fuzzy things actually: Hula & Milo