Okay, so ... wow.

Yesterday I was falling asleep at the wheel so I went to bed at 8:30 pm. I slept like a rock and when my alarm went off at 5 am, I was not a happy camper.

But, duty calls, so I got up and headed to my task for the day. Our town does a school supply drive every July and August and then hands out backpacks and supplies to the kids in need. We did that today and my co-workers volunteer to help with security and keeping the line in order outside as the kids and parents line up to receive their bags.

I got there just before 6am. Why, you ask when the doors don't open until 9? Well, because the first kids in line were there at 3:30 this morning and when I got there it was half way down the block.

We received our briefing and then an ask for volunteers for two people to write numbers came up. NO one was stepping up and I hate that, so I said I would and then Sue said she would too. We both thought this would be a simple process - write numbers on the hands of the kids, parents/guardians, so they would go in the doors sequentially. Easy, right?

Yeah, no. We had a lot of "My brother is coming", "My dad had to work but will be here at 8", "My kid is sick", etc. etc. etc. Sue and I thought we were doing pretty well - we were up to 900 when the doors opened (early, I might add) and suddenly we were super far behind.

Luckily, Mike came and switched our strategy (I'm not sure if for the best or not) and we had two lines, I had the odds, she had the evens, but we kept getting off. And there were line jumpers, and people who we "missed" - though the ones we marked I don't remember at all.

Finally at 9:30 (3 hours of numbering) Mike swapped us out. Thank goodness. It was great, to meet the kids and see how excited they were, but man! People kept thinking they weren't going to get anything if they weren't farther up in line, and we all kept telling them they could come back later in the day or even next week and still pick up supplies.

Anyway, we grabbed a bit of sustenance - cookie, pluot* and lemonade. I had a headache from hell. I'm not sure if it was sinuses reacting (because I've been getting over a cold) or if it was lack of caffeine since I hadn't had a diet coke since yesterday afternoon, or if it was just sleep deprivation topped with people.

I hung out for awhile longer and then Bruce said I could go. The line had diminished immensely and he had plenty of helpers. I was supposed to be on until 1, but I was really glad he let me go.

So Lisa, Emmy and I got together and did a little shopping. I picked up the bowls Emmy and I did last week. I like how it turned out except I realized that I really need to use more paint. I didn't like that it wasn't even in so many places.

Bethany - tell me your secret! Do you prep the pieces at all before you paint? Or just start painting? Help! I have some cool ideas in my head but I need to figure out how to paint them better...

Okay... anyway, Em and I looked at cooking stuff in Kohl's while Lisa shopped for work clothes. We found some cloth napkins that I bought - they were on clearance but they're going to be great for my house. I really want to stop using paper napkins and so now I can! YAY!

We also went to Target where my list of 3 things turned into 9 and was way more expensive than I planned but all things I need. Then we went to lunch because Emmy kept grabbing candy and drinks "Look, Mom! Look what they have!"

After lunch I was exhausted so I ditched the girls and came home to take a quick nap before I'd go out for my run. Yeah, that hour nap turned into 3 1/2 hours. THREE AND A HALF HOURS! I could not believe it. I'm still tired too.

I know I needed the sleep. I have been so off on my sleep schedule the last few weeks with camp, work, Olympics, work. So hopefully, I can get back on track now.

Of course I didn't get my run in, so I have to do that tomorrow. 7 weeks to the marathon. SHEEEIT!

*Pluot - a new fruit I had never heard of but these were really yummy! The lady brought these in for the volunteers this morning and I kind of wish I would have grabbed a couple for the road because I'm not sure I'll find them again. HopefullY!

Falling asleep at the wheel

I stayed really motivated this morning until I went to get the mail. Then suddenly my momentum was destroyed and as soon as I got back to the office I was ready to go home. Luckily Boss1 had already approved for me to take the afternoon off (sadly, I originally typed "night off" - I'm working too much) so I left shortly thereafter.

But once again, I took care of a few last minute details which ended up lasting another hour. Why do I do this to myself? It was very beneficial, but I was in a rush then to get to Sarah and Eric's to help them pack up their things.

This was bitter sweet for me. I'm excited for them that they are starting the next leg on their journey in life, but I'm sad because once again my friends are moving away. At least I go up to the cities enough so I should be able to see them frequently, at least as frequently as I saw them when they lived here.

But I had a gut ache all day and I realized it was because I hadn't eaten all day, so I came home and had a pizza and thought I'd blog. I feel like it's 9pm and it's time for Psych, but in reality it's not even 7. I'm so tired I could go to bed right now - which I probably should since tomorrow my day starts at 5:30 with a school supplies project that I'm helping at with security.

So I'm debating if I should go to bed, or if I should stay up and watch my Friday shows. Hmmm...I'll figure it out.

Never leave work

I was going to title that as "never go on vacation" but I haven't been on vacation. I've been on a work trip. But ugh. Coming back sucks.

It probably didn't help that everything is on a time crunch this month because the end of the fiscal year is coming up so we have to finalize so much in such a little time. I still hold fast to my belief that the way I broke up camp this year was essential but coming back today and having meeting after meeting after meeting just sucked.

I ended up staying until 7 and that was only because I got a phone call at 6:50 or I'd probably still be there. I was on a roll getting things caught up but when I realized it was so late I thought I better go home and get some food in me. Eggs and toast, baby...the dinner of champions.

I'm so tired but I need to sort through papers and find my package slip for my stuff from Dave and an insurance slip for my dentist. The last 4 weeks have been crazy and I've barely read my mail. It's a good thing I pay my bills online or I'd be in big trouble.

I'm watching Pride and Prejudice tonight (the original). I love this book. I want to read it again. I think I just might pull that out tonight to help me wind down so I can sleep. I love Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I want my own Mr. Darcy. Someday maybe.

This...

...is what happens when I don't have internet for a day.

Byrd

Damn.

We're finished!!!

YAY! JDL and I totally kicked ass today. We were finished with our project by 2pm, edited it, then Tony helped us with keyline-ing (once I explained what that meant to him) and packaging the project. I made a PDF, emailed it to me, changed clothes and was on my way by 4.

This was totally awesome because I really didn't expect to get out of there until after 5 and even then I wasn't sure if the project would be done. I hate leaving projects unfinished. I had to do that last year because we were waiting on a letter from Judy which took forever, but this year Marty had it to me by 8am this morning. How incredible?!

So we were able to really get everything together in a timely manner. It helped that JDL did the DVD last week. And of course it helped even more that I stuck with the same format as last year for the other part of the project. So sadly the projects look fairly similar, but yet they're different. As my father used to say all the time, "It's like, but different."

What's funny is that this project is supposed to be for Mike and he didn't seem to really care how it was completed. In one way, the non-micromanager way, this was nice because there was a lot less pressure on content and design. But in another way, it felt a lot like he didn't care one iota what we did or if we even did it. (In fact, last week he told me he hoped I had recovered from camp and when I said I wasn't finished yet because I had 4 more days next week, he was surprised.) Oh well.

JDL and I are really proud of it. I'm a little less proud because last year was from scratch and really all my own work. But I am proud that I was able to do a team project, merging both our work together, and didn't once feel like hurting her. :) In fact, I was really comfortable with stepping aside and letting her do parts of it without me even there. Which was beneficial when Ward took me aside on a work matter that needed some assistance and I was gone for 45 minutes. Whoops. :)

Anyway, I drove home at 72 miles an hour laughing at all the minivans and SUVs speeding past me (and not just at 75, but some were going at least 85, if not 90). Apparently the gas issue that we've had the past few months didn't bother them. I get great gas mileage and I was so not in a rush.

I had one bad moment, which I'm just realizing I forgot to check when I got home. I had a total Bird Strike tonight. A hen (pheasant) started running across the road and I had no time to swerve out of the way so BAM! I looked back and feathers everywhere. The scary thing is that I don't really remember seeing a body fly anywhere so it could be stuck to my car right now, this very moment, rotting away in my garage. Joy. I'll check it in the morning. uffda.

Otherwise during the trip, as normal, I sang a lot and was very thankful when my friend from down south called me right as I was getting into a good scat with Ella. Normally this would tick me off but I had an hour left to drive and if I sang with Ella the rest of the way I would not be able to talk tomorrow. That may be questionable as it is since just before Ella I had been singing with Take 6 for about 90 minutes.

But our conversation was great. We're planning a trip for me to go visit him and we basically have the weekend planned with some fun activities - like an A&M game, a comedy show, fun with his nephew and sister, and just quality time together. It's been far too long since we've seen each other, so this is going to be great.

We're trying to work out the best way to buy the ticket though. I don't travel enough where I need the frequent flyer miles (though that may change in the future as I seem to keep traveling places) but we're checking on if we can use his flyer card but my money. Or if I just need to send him a check. :) Something...we'll work it out. We have time.

And now I need to get to sleep. *yawn* I'm back to work tomorrow and my morning is already booked solid. Sheesh...how does this happen? At least my Saturday project is now only 8 hours instead of 12...but that may change too. :)

No...don't think about it, Moe...just sleep.

Once again

Disclaimer, again: To my "fans", I did write this last night, well within the rules of Blog365, but posting today because I had no internet again.

I am so tired today, and I really don't know why. I didn't hit the Bell last night, instead just came back, burnt some popcorn and curled up on my bed watching Olympic beach volleyball. Deaner called wondering where I was, and he and Skip were up north in a little town. After talking to him today I'm really glad I didn't go with them last night. They didn't get in until after midnight taking the long way back. Sheesh. Maybe if I had gone with them we would have gotten back sooner since I'm at least map aware.

I was going to get up today and go run. I actually did wake up in time to do it but realized that if I'm going out with Di, Dean and Skip tonight I'm going to need my rest. Plus I just needed rest. I have been so wore down the past two weeks, getting over the cold I get every time I go on a work trip (lack of sleep, poor diet, lack of exercise).

The project is coming along great. I really couldn't be more thrilled. JDL is awesome and we've made some excellent strides today. I'm a little apprehensive about timing for tomorrrow because I didn't get to work as late as I wanted tonight since Deaner called at 4:15 wondering where I was ("We're at the club, come soon!") and Di called at 5:15 (which I really thought was only 4:30) and wondering what the plan was.

We all met at the club and didn't leave there until 6:30 for supper. This was a nice plan on Di's and my part because we didn't want to go on another mini road trip with the boys tonight. So luckily we just went to a local place for dinner, talked til about 8 or so and then parted ways. It was a great time - way too much laughter and I didn't have to drink a drop. YAY! I love times out like that.

So because of that I didn't get to Dunn Bros tonight to get on the Internet, so here I am writing. Michael Phelps is going to make history tonight, so I want to stay up and watch that (edit: he did too - relay team beat the WR again - under 7 min - and another gold for Michael). I did get all my stuff packed up, which is good. This will go on top as soon as I finish typing this and I'll actually have less bags going home than I did going out. Weird how that works. I'm really glad I went back and got the rolling bag. That was my one smart move this week.

Well...off to bed. A long day awaits.

Just like I expected, yet not

My partner in crime on this project I'm working on is awesome. This was a project in three parts - 1) take the pictures during camp; 2) make a DVD of the pictures set to music and 3) put together a yearbook.

Well, #1 was a no-brainer and JDL and I accomplished this easily.

#2 apparently was a no-brainer as well since JDL finished this last Tuesday. YAY! It's a lot shorter than last year's version but it's still great and will allow more room on the DVD that we send out to attach picture files which the kids have been asking for the last two camps.

#3 is going so much better than I thought it would.

Basically for #3 I'm using the same template as last year's. This is helping because then all we really have to do is plug in the new pictures and new events. JDL and I spent the morning going page by page figuring out what will be on each, then started at the beginning and started adding pictures and doing some layout. We finished 8 pages and have several more started. This is so great. We only have 28 to do total, so having 8 done already and a few more set up to go is so great.

JDL is so awesome. Working with her is so easy. Everything has been a compromise and collaborative project. It's great.

Yet, we're busy. We started at 7 and I didn't get lunch until 12:44. I totally didn't bring anything to snack on so that was a little rough, but I made it. Then I went back at 1:15 and worked until 5. Then it was time for a little nap and then to figure out what the hell I was going to do for dinner.

The bad thing about me traveling alone is that I don't like to eat out alone. It's not that I can't, I just don't like to do it. I usually just go through fast food, which is so good for me (not) and head back to the room. Tonight I just wasn't in the mood to eat, so I'm at Dunn Bros using their internet and drinking a chai. mmmm Chai.

The fun thing was that K just called so I could talk to Nika. SO FUN! I really needed a Nika fix at that moment. When she talked to me it was like a weight lifting off my shoulders, however temporary. I can't wait to see her again.

So I'm going to probably hit the Bell on the way back and then go through some more pictures tonight. We have a few holes we need to fill and we have to use a few pictures that we maybe don't like just so we can make sure we get enough exposure of the teams. It'll work though it won't be as great as it could be, but really only JDL and I will know.

Hopefully I'll get to go out to dinner tomorrow with Di so I'll be able to eat without feeling like too much of a loser. Either I need to travel more or I need to just figure out how to eat in a restaurant without feeling pathetic. Someday I'll figure me out.

Till then... have a great night. I'm off to figure me out a bit more and then go to bed.

From yesterday

Disclaimer: I really did type this Sunday night, but to my faithful readers (all 5 of you) you'll know this wasn't actually posted Sunday night. Long story...which I wrote last night so here you go:

What a freakin' day. I'm so tired I just want to sleep, and I will as soon as I finish this.

Saturday night ran late (to verify, see post's timestamp) and if I was a good Christian girl I would have gone to church. But I was hoping to get on the road early today so I could travel via daylight.

But no...I got up late (much needed sleep though I could have slept even longer but forced myself up so I could get going). I had to do laundry, I thought, so I threw in a combat load and cleaned up my kitchen. Then started packing, during which I realized I probably wouldn't have had to do laundry, so that pissed me off because I'd have to stick around for the dryer now. Grrr.

Oh well. I tried to just relax for a little bit and do some cleaning so I wouldn't have to when I get back. And I tried to prep my head for the upcoming week. It's going to be another doozy. I can feel it already.

Eventually I got out of my apartment (not before I walked to the elevator with all my bags and then decided to go back and repack everything in my rolling suitcase instead. Smarter, and I have no idea why I didn't do that initially!) and headed to work to finish up a few things from Friday and pick up my work supplies for the week.

After a couple hours of work I got on the road for my 5 hour drive. Honestly the drive isn't bad. I like to drive, especially road trips, even if they are for work. This one was really nice and I took a few photos from my car just for fun.



But then I hit a tremendous lightning and thunderstorm. This was awesome. I'm usually pretty staunch when I drive, believing that me and Morty can make it through anything. Yeah, no. I actually pulled off to the side of the road for 15 minutes for this one. That was really nice. I love storms, not that I like them in my car, but this was sweet. The rain was sheets, the thunder rocked and vibrated the car and the lightning was amazing - thick and long lasting. Suh-weet.

I made a pit stop at Target to pick up the things I realized on my way out that I had forgotten and then headed to my place to stay. I was so exhausted it was all I could to unload my car.

I finally got everything in and I was supposed to call my friend Garry for supper but I just couldn't bring myself to dial the phone. Instead, I got in my jammies and sorted through pictures for this week's work. I watched Doris Day movies on AMC (which were both awesome - one was Young at Heart with Sinatra - awesome!).

Now I'm going to go to bed because it's late and I need sleep. We start early tomorrow, though with the time change it's actually an hour after I normally do. Odd.

Smiles all around

Today is why God invented weekends.

Emmy and I slept in (well, 7am, at least for me - she got up at 8). We had some Kashi Go-Lean strawberry waffles and watched The Wizard of Oz while we frosted our sugar cookies we made last night. Talk about a sticky mess - sticky, sugary mess. But it was fun. I have a person cookie cutter and she decorated one cookie as her mom with purple hair ("She's wearing a wig.") and another as her dad, with white side hair (since he's bald on top) and a pink mustache. I laughed my butt off on that one. Of course his reaction later was priceless.

"Emmy bear, you decorated a cookie to look like me?"
"Yep! I gave you a pink mustache!"
He feigned that he was hurt. And then when I muttered to my sister, "Yeah, and she used white frosting on the sides of the head for his hair" he added a push-away gesture and walked away. We were all laughing though.

After Em and I frosted the cookies her mom called to see if we were going to walk the two blocks to see Zach play in the 3-on-3 tourney he was in. Emmy had a resounding "no" when I asked her. Apparently she's sick of watching her brother play sports all the time. So we went to a place in town to paint pottery.

This was a lot of fun, though a little more expensive than I had planned. You have to pay a studio fee for me as an adult and her as a child. And you have to pay for the piece you're going to paint. It seemed a little steep but it'll probably be worth it. I've seen Bethany's stuff and I love it. I know mine won't be near as awesome but I'm excited to see how mine turned out. I used the colors from my living room so I'm a little nervous.

After we painted we headed to Applebees for lunch. Originally we were going to go to Arby's which is across the street from the paint place. Not the best option since the street is hellacious and I hate driving on it in the middle of the night when no one's around. But put me on it at 1pm on a Saturday and I long for the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic of the cities. It's so much saner there. At least people understand how to drive.

So I ended up ditching the plan to eat in that area and went around town and back to my side where there's an Applebees there. Of course Em's family ended up at the Arby's we had intended to eat at which made me laugh. Oh well. We decided to have dessert at my house (cookies, natch) and packed up her things and headed to meet the fam.

Then I got to have my adult fun. Wow, that sounds dirty.

I made up the salad my sister gave me the recipe for at Emmy's birthday and cut up watermelon and drove to see Sarah and Eric. We grilled burgers and had potato salad, my salad, and then Eric and I began our contest of who could eat the most watermelon. We tied, but it was fun. Then we watched the Olympics and cheered on Michael Phelps set a new world record in the 400 meter individual medley.

Then the fun began...Eric's parents showed up and what a riot! We had a blast. They are hysterical and I can totally see where Eric gets his humor from. What fun! I didn't really want to leave but when I realized it was 10:30 I thought I better get my butt home since I have to travel again tomorrow. Fun fun!

So now I have dishes in the dishwasher and it's time for bed. Tomorrow I have to do laundry, stop out at work and clean up a few more things I didn't finish Friday, then get on the road. I'll be glad when this week is over. God bless!

Roller Coaster

The old grandma in Parenthood was totally right when she said that life is a roller coaster. Today was truly one of those days.

Another sleepless night with weird dreams of running a 5K which turned out to be 1.5 miles which I ran after not running for 2 weeks. Then a dream about a softball game where I was supposed to be the starting catcher but my right knee kept popping out on me when I'd get up or down and my coach said if I didn't play I wouldn't get to start ever again so I sprinted twice and my knee kept popping and then I focused all my attention on my knee and was able to sprint without my knee popping. Craziness.

So I was late for work because I was so freaking confused on those dreams. The morning was spent trying to pick furniture pieces and fit them into a new office for other people. UGH! This went into the middle of the afternoon because it took forever to find the right combination to work. Then there was a bunch of paperwork that needed to be done for someone for a trip next week which after 2 hours of stress and trying to sort out the funding and travel and materials needed ended up being cut by Boss1 due to some poor pre-planning by the individual who wanted to go (and the fact that the person never got approval anyway).

Finally, I was able to clean up my desk a bit and get on the road just in time to pick up my awesome niece Emmy. Emmy is spending tonight and all day tomorrow with me. We've already had a blast. We went to CiCi's Pizza (a place I've never been so she had to show me the ropes) and then to the grocery store so we could make sugar cookies, which we just finished. Tomorrow we'll frost them and then probably eat them. She can't wait!

Now I need to sleep. And so does she. Good night, Emmy! (We have to fold my laundry first...she's really excited about that! Not.)

Okay...

So now that I had the whiny post, here's the good and awesome things that happened today:

- My co-worker who's helping me with my office files these last three and for one more week is kicking ass on the project and it looks awesome! He has a pile of papers from my predecessor that I'm betting we can shred or recycle. I can't wait. There's nothing like purging a bunch of unneeded crap to make me feel awesome.

- Yes, I know there was a pun in that last line and that feels awesome too.

- A bunch of my projects that I needed to complete today I actually was able to complete.

- A form I had to turn into our finance office that was meant as a joke actually turned out to be legitimate and so I'm totally going to score a little bit more cash from last week's work trip. Craziness.

- I was able to talk the recycling guy into taking out my huge bin full of magazines and white paper. Thank goodness (because I get to sort through Boss1's tomorrow).

- I get to spend tomorrow night and all day Saturday with my niece, Emmy. YAY! We're going to pull a Bethany and paint bowls. I can't wait!

- To end Saturday night I'll get to hang out with Sarah and Karen. Double YAY! (and Triple yay if Eric is there too).

- I get to go to bed now.

Tired

I'm sure this is nothing new but I had a totally crazy day.

I woke up late this morning so I missed my 10 minute work out and was late to work. Then I get to my car, which I always lock up, even in my locked garage, and I see that my passenger side window is wide open. I completely forgot to put it up last night.

Then I get to work and take off running...almost literally but not quite because I didn't get to run today because things kept going and going and going. I ate lunch at my desk (not unusual) because I was planning to leave early. Both Boss1 and Boss2 were gone today, though the latter was supposed to be coming in later. He finally came in an hour before I was going to leave and told me he needed to leave tomorrow for another work trip so I had to pull together things for that.

I ended up not being able to leave early, in fact, I left 30 minutes after I'm supposed to be gone on a normal day. UGH!

I was going to go to Tre's tonight to help her with her house and a few chores. She broke her wrist a week and a half ago so I planned to go up and do some dishes and get some things together for her, but by the time I got out of work I would have have been two and a half hours late from my planned arrival time. So I talked to her and we're postponing until next Thursday instead. Cross your fingers nothing else happens.

I'm really tired tonight. I thought I had caught up on sleep, but I guess not. Hopefully tonight.

From one video story to another

Via Dooce

Read

Watch

Hug a child

Pray

This totally made my day

Read the brief story, watch the clip, and read the reactions. Maybe South Dakotans have a better sense of humor than those from Georgia and Kansas. :)

Link Here

How to start the day

Step one: Pick a song line to sing, repeatedly.
Today's choice: "Daddy sang bass, Mama sang tenor, me and lil' brother would join right in there."

Step two: Pick a movie quote to recite, repeatedly.
Today's choice: From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Veruca Salt: What do you use hair cream for?
Willy Wonka: To lock in moisture.

Step three: Make a wish.
Today's wish: I wish I could have a bra-less day.

What are yours?

This is bad...

I'm scratching again.

See, last week at camp, I was brilliant and put on sunscreen Tuesday AM before we headed out for some fun in the sun...or at least something in the sun. I first forgot to reapply around noon or even 9am (since I burn in a snap), but what I really screwed up on was not putting any on my head in my hair line.

I have fine hair, but it's fairly thick. Unfortunately, I had a part that day so I burned bad. It didn't really bother me until Thursday so I started putting my Bare Escentuals SPF stuff on my head to protect it but it was too late.

Then in a continuance of my brilliance, yesterday we went to the pool and NRB got there after us, so I had no one to put sunscreen on my back. I got my arms and my legs a little (though I missed a few essential spots). By the time NRB got there, my back was fried and so I just went with it and didn't even bother reapplying.

I noticed when we got back that my hair line is starting to peel. Mom said I looked like I had cradle cap. Thanks, Mom.

Today, it just looks like I have a bad case of dandruff. But here's the really bad part. I'm itchy on my arms and legs.

Normally this wouldn't be bad, but I've had cases of eczema in the past where my skin has really broken out bad and it took months (seriously) to clear up where I could be normal again.

So I need to moisturize bad. The bad thing is my back is starting to itch and I was able to avoid eczema on my back the last time, and I'm hoping this is just the burn this time. I still need to moisturize, but I'm not quite sure how to do it this time.

Breaking all the rules

Well, at least a few of them.

So South Beach, which I'm kind of on - though I need to get back on it more seriously now that camp is over and I can actually eat food of my choosing not that of Levi and Gary who, let's face it, were a little scary - has a strict thing about sugar and white flour.

Basically...it's better if you don't eat it.

Unfortunately, I not only had white sugar and white flour tonight, I'm using both to bake cupcakes (rule 3 broken) for Boss1 (rule 4 broken) for his birthday (rule 5 broken) which will be celebrated with others (rule 6) and as a surprise (rule 7). Did I mention Casey is buying a bunny balloon (rule 8) to give him too?

Oh well. We were supposed to have our Wednesday meeting tomorrow so I had it all set up with Casey that I'd bring the cupcakes over early and she'd set them out for everyone with the bunny balloon (tied down to a squirt gun so he could shoot the bunny) and then it would be a surprise. So now, I have to go to Plan B (not the contraceptive).

So the man I admire is going to come over tomorrow AM before Boss1 heads to a different meeting to talk about a project they've been working on ("I heard something interesting that I want to talk to him about") and Casey is going to bring her boss over...all while I'm already in there with him talking about the 2 actual issues I need to discuss with him - sensitive issues at that.

I'll feign surprise (I'm an actor, I can do this) and then rejoice that the spirit moved me to bake cupcakes tonight for no apparent reason. I also have fun napkins and candles/matches so he can blow them out.

Yeah, he's not going to buy that I wasn't involved in this at all. In fact the man I admire and I figure we'll be out of a job by about 8 am. So we're going into business together. We're not sure what though...maybe we can start another company like our current one, just at a different location. :) yeah, right.

So, we'll see. I'm kind of having fun breaking the rules on this one but I know Boss1 will be embarrassed. We usually don't do anything for our birthdays in our office (not that it doesn't happen all over the building) but I think we'll just shut the door and no one really needs to know.

Hmmm. Yeah. Pray for me. I'm going to need it.

Feeling better

Okay, so yesterday I really was having a self-deprecating moment. I'm kind of over it now. I've decided what triggered it were these reasons:

- I was super tired after a week of 97 campers, 18 JCs, and other staff members.
- All of that was done while being in the sun, 14 hours a day, with limited water, and 3 meals a day, versus 6 mini meals I'm used to. And lack of fruit
- The picture was being viewed on this screen I'm using which is long not tall, so things are chubby instead of svelte
- The picture was also of me wearing clothes that I hate - bad bad bad shorts and too-short t-shirt (not overly short, just not quite like I like it)
- I haven't talked to one of my hot friends in a while and I miss that, and it made me wonder if I screwed something up there...too anxious too soon?
- I was nervous about today.

What happened today you ask? Well, today I had Jake and Ava, 5 and 2 respectively, for a few hours while Granny was at work. My plan was to meet up with NRB and his son at a nearby water park, which meant I had to wear the dreaded of all women's clothing: the swimsuit.

For the most part, I like my swimsuit. It's not too tight, it's not high cut or rides up my ass, it has a fairly open back, which isn't great if you have back fat (which I have a little) but I do like how it's cut. I just was really nervous to be wearing it in public. I haven't done this in over a year. And here I was doing it in front of NRB and (not planned) another co-worker who we ran into with her great-niece and great-nephew.

But this morning, I woke up feeling less fat (watermelon helps with that, I will say). I was still super tired, but when I put on said swimsuit I didn't want to run for cover like I thought I might. I actually felt okay in it. The kids came over, and of course they don't care what I wear, and we had a blast.

The water park was great. There were a couple slides for the kids and a lot of shallow water for them to play in. There was also a sand park area that wasn't too bad, though I hate being dirty so that wasn't too exciting for me. Jake just kept wanting to build a dam. :)

After the park we went for TCBY and I effortlessly avoided a TV interview of parents and kids meals. "I'm not a parent! And I'm going to feed them ice cream when their grandma told them no. I'm not a good example." Oh well. That worked.

After that we came home and Ava finally fell asleep while Jake and I watched Freakazoid* and Spongebob. When Granny came by to pick them up we went out to BK for supper and then they headed home.

I'm feeling better, I will say. So maybe it's time for some low carb ice cream. I need to save my watermelon for tomorrow. It might be a watermelon kind of day.

*Yes! Freakazoid! I bought Season 1 and it came today in a box that Jake thought would have toys for kids (because my apartment doesn't have any). Here's the clip on YouTube in case you forgot how cool the theme music was. :)

Self-Deprecating Day

Okay...so I'm not happy today. I'm tired. I'm crabby. I'm fat.

No, really. Today Jerry dropped off pics he took last week so we could use them for the DVD and yearbook Jasper and I are putting together.

The sucky thing is seeing me on film. Maybe it's the way my screen makes pictures look...I could blame it on that (since my laptop is more wide than tall) but still...I am fat. Well, at least I look fat. Sorry to any men reading this but I'm going to lay it all out there right now. Having big breasts sucks. T-shirts bulge out so you either look pregnant (if you don't tuck the shirt in) or you look like you're super fat if you do.

My hips are are huge, my thighs ginormous. One of my favorite movies is "Beautiful Girls" from 1996 where Rosie O'Donnell has this monologue:

Beautiful Girls (1996)
Gina: I'm finished speaking to both of you okay? You're both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That's the way it goes. God doesn't fuck around; he's a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It's not my rule. If you don't like it, call him. Hey Mitch. Thank you.
[Looking at a porn magazine]

Gina: Oh, guys, look what we have here. Look at this, your favorite. Oh, you like that?

Tommy: I could go along with that.

Gina: Yeah, that's nice right? Well, it doesn't exist ok. Look at the hair. The hair is long, it's flowing, it's like a river. Well, it's a fucking weave ok? And the tits, please! I could hang my overcoat on them. Tits by design were invented to be suckled by babies. Yes, they're purely functional. These are silicon city. And look, my favorite, the shaved pubis. Pubic hair being too unruly and all. Very key. This is a mockery, this is a sham, this is bullshit. Implants, collagen, plastic, capped teeth, the fat sucked out, the hair extended, the nose fixed, the bush shaved... These are not real women, all right? They're beauty freaks. And they make all us normal women with our wrinkles, our puckered boobs, hi bob, and our cellulite feel somehow inadequate. Well I don't buy it, all right? But you fucking mooks, if you think that if there's a chance in hell that you'll end up with one of these women, you don't give us real women anything approaching a commitment. It's pathetic. I don't know what you think you're going to do. You're going to end up eighty-years old, drooling in some nursing home, then you're going to decide, it's time to settle down, get married, have kids? What, are you going to find a cheerleader? Charge it Mitch.

Tommy: I think you're over simplifying.

Gina: Oh eat me. Look at Paul. With his models on the wall, his dog named Elle McPherson. He's insane. He's obsessed. You're all obsessed. If you had an once of self-esteem, of self-worth, of self-confidence, you would realize that as trite as it may sound, beauty is truly skin-deep. And you know what, if you ever did hook one of those girls, I guarantee you'd be sick of her.

Tommy: Yeah, I suppose I'd get sick of her after about, what, twenty or thirty years?

Gina: Get over yourself. Thank you Mitch. Say hello to Gertrude.

Tommy: What?

Gina: No mater how perfect the nipple, how supple the thigh, unless there is some other shit going on in the relationship, besides the physical, it's going to get old, ok? And you guys, as a gender, have got to get a grip. Otherwise, the future of the human race is in jeopardy.

Willie Conway: What was that?

Tommy: I don't know, but a great ass.

Willie Conway: Nice tits. Come on let's go.

If only the guys actually said that after a monologue like that. Maybe I wouldn't feel so crappy today.

Maybe.

Whew

Okay, so you'll notice that I have updated my blog with all my recent posts. I wrote daily while at Camp, but they are really rough...many written late in the evening.

Last night was rough. After I got home from work I finished writing my post for yesterday, contemplated ironing, burned pic CDs, and finally went to bed.

This morning was harder though. I did not want to get up for work. Why I did I'm still not sure. But I did and I got through a bunch of emails and paperwork. Before I left I had my desk immaculate. Today it's back, covered with papers. I am going to clean it off before I leave tomorrow. I have to or I'll truly go insane Tuesday when I return for the week.

It was nice to be back at the office. All last week I kept text my friend RA telling her about camp and lamenting my furniture. But I'm back and it feels so good. Of course that was until one of the higher ups said to me at lunch, "I thought you were off this week?" well, yeah, but I'm back. "Well, Boss1 said you were gone so we wouldn't have slides today." Grr...I went in last night for an hour to get those updated for him and Mel had them ready to go. Oh...he's in for it later.

After a long day at work, I came home and talked to mom a little. She's watching Jake and Ava this week while my bro and sis are at a conference of sorts. I had originally planned to take them both tomorrow night after work but mom doesn't seem to think that's a great idea. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

So I need to clean just in case they or one of them does come to stay tomorrow. I am watching them on Monday, and I've coerced NRB on a playdate with his son and my 'kids'. I think we're going swimming and to the park. Should be fun. I'm excited to hang out with Jake. I think we'll have a blast.

Tonight I watched the Indians beat the Twins, which is always nice and I'm doing laundry. This is the excitement of my life. I've been looking at a few of my photos from this week and it's one of the first times in my life I have really wanted liposuction and a breast reduction. I feel so fat. Camp food and shorts...not a good combination for me.

Of course one of my trips I thought I'd be going on at the end of the month may be canceled and that was the one I really wanted to be in better shape for. I know I still can get into shape and should for it, but the momentum is gone. But we'll see, maybe it'll come back. I can hope, right?

Man, I'm tired. I need sleep.

Camp, Last Day

As expected, the dance wasn't the greatest, but the kids are resilient and made do. I was really wanting to kiss a boy (not a boy boy, but a man boy – you know, someone not jailbait), but the only real option was Ryan and he's too close to jailbait to make it fun so I just had to pretend.

We did invent a cool game while we were cleaning up. The dance is held in this rec hall with a dusty cement floor that gets slippery. We had a Nerf-like football that we started hitting with a broomhandle, which turned into broomstick base/foot ball and a lot of fun. I got some good pictures, I think. I need to download them and really look because some were a little blurry.

Usually we have a tradition that a group goes out for drinks after the dance. The JC's get their time out, the campers get their dance, so the bar is for the adults. Well, this year we were banned from going out which pissed us off, but Nikki and I were so tired anyway that we decided to just skip it. I wanted to pack up a bit and get some sleep since we had to drive back today.

We had some issues. The helicopter was going to come at 9:15. Mike pissed me off by telling Casey and me (who were putting things together for the graduation ceremony) that we had to be outside for pictures when the helicopter came. Uh, duh, asshole. I know my job but I also know that they are never on time. In fact, they were 45 minutes late. But me, being me, went out at 9:15 and took a picture where it was supposed to land and was going to turn that in as the picture itself. I did show it to Edna this afternoon and explained my joke. She thinks I'm hilarious which is nice.

Anyway, it finally showed up and a rock flew into my eye which sucked. Mike decided we were going to take team photos and I piped up and said, no. He got mad but I said, “Well, how long are they going to be here?” 45 minutes. “Yeah, then no. We won't have time.”

I also said no to the big group photo but I was forced on that one so it was rushed and frustrating and I'm not sure it turned out the best, but I'll check it out later.

Then it was graduation time. Jasper and I ran our butts off getting pictures and we had no recognition. In fact, neither did Nikki or Dale (who also ran his butt off for the camp). That hurt, but whatever. I burned discs for Jasper again, cleaned our cabin, packed up the car, packed up Casey, said goodbye to everyone and we left.

The drive home was longer than Sunday, I will say. We did still talk the whole way, and she doesn't seem to hate me for anything that went on this week, so that's good. I dropped her off with her husband and befriended her little boy who is super cute and then went into work. Boss1 has a presentation tomorrow AM so I wanted to get that completed for him. But now, I'm tired and am going to go to bed.

Camp, Day 4

Yeah, so that didn't happen. I did get in without waking them up, but I didn't take out my contacts or change into pajamas. So my eyes are really sore today.
We're getting ready for the “dance” right now and I'm really tempted to pop out my contacts and just go with glasses, but I better not. My glasses are worse than my contacts right now.

Today was a good day to a point. We went to the Home to perform our skits. By this day in the week if we haven't done team photos I get really nervous. So I had the teams pose at the Home by some of their statues and they turned out really well. Maybe we'll be lucky and the helicopter we are hoping to get tomorrow (in place of Tuesday's fiasco) will show up and we can take them there instead, but I'm not holding my breath.

So while the teams were performing for the residents, I took pictures outside. We had lunch on the bus (well, the kids did – Nikki and I took a van) and we headed to another lake to swim and paddleboat. While that was happening one team at a time went up the hill to a ranch where they had an hour long trail ride. I thought this was really cool, but I didn't get to go along to take pictures so all I could get was the kids getting on the horse or getting off. Again, another photo op moment lost. Depressing for me, but what do you do?

After this Nikki, Casey and I took two vans and the Junior Counselors to another local visitor trap. I drove because Nikki wanted a break. So, in the fashion that is me, we were pulling up to a stop sign as we got to the location and I yelled out “Break check!” and slammed on the breaks. I'm still laughing about this now.

Everyone was pretty well protected except Jessica who flew toward the window but Nikki and I caught her. She busted out laughing. Nikki and I were laughing. Shane was laughing though he scraped his knee a little. Everyone else was fine but annoyed. In fact, Nikki told me later that one of the 'pretty' girls (she's a little annoying) said, “What the...” and then rolled her eyes. I'm kind of surprised they even got back into the van. I'm sure they'll report this to their parents and I won't be asked back but whatever. Nikki and I told Casey and she thought it was hysterical.

After the tour thing we went to DQ for dinner and then their group picture. I was kind of annoyed (again) by all the attention these JC's were getting because very few of them were really involved with their team, instead choosing to text or suntan or talk to each other. They didn't seem to get that it wasn't about them, it was about the other kids and by them not helping they made the camp more difficult and less fun for those who the camp was really for.

Whatever. Tonight is the “dance” and we have no karaoke machine or good sound system, so this will be interesting. For me? Shower time.

Camp, Day 3

Wednesday, shag day...oh wait. Wrong moment. That's from Sliding Doors, and this is truly not a Sliding Doors week. Though it does feel like I'm reliving some of this crap again.

Today we had another obstacle course and training for the kids on camp. We canoed, learned to shoot rifles (pellets only), tie dyed (my favorite part and I have an awesome cloth), and played Capture the Flag. Lots of fun for the kids, but not all the best for photo ops – at least the shooting portion.

It was another long, hot day, adding to my candy striping tan. Honestly, the day seemed to go on forever. Jasper decided to head back to her office to start on our DVD project so I took an hour and burned to disc the photos I had taken so she had those if she wanted to use them.

After dinner, Mike, Nikki and I performed a skit for the kids. We did “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. The kids loved it. I had a blast, though the pictures Randi got make me look super fat so it'll be back on my running and eating program ASAP. I got to be the tree (keep in mind I'm 5'5”) and Mike played the little boy (he's 6'3”). We had fun though. There's a part in the story where the tree tells the boy to take her apples and sell them, so of course I had props – an apple for each hand. The kids loved this. I don't know why.

After we did our skit, the teams performed the skits they had been working on for each other. They'll perform them tomorrow at a local rest home but the room where they do that is so small that they don't get to see them otherwise.

While they did that Nikki and I ran to the big town for supplies for tomorrow night's dance. We were a little annoyed with this because it was our 3rd trip to town (well, Nikki's 3rd) and Sam's Club closed right as we got there. So we had to go to Wal-mart and try to improvise our list. During this Marty called to check on how the camp was going, so we met up with him at a local lounge to do just that.

Can I just say, that was an awesome time? Again, not sure we're supposed to do that, but we had such a blast. There was a biker and his new girlfriend sitting next to Marty when we arrived and Nikki and I started laughing. So I walked up and put my hand on his back and said, “Sorry we're late, dear.” Nikki did the same thing and we sat on either side of him. The biker goes, “Whoa man...you got two women? Can you handle them?” Nikki and I just shook our heads and smiled. So the woman said to me, “You must be his wife.” nope. So she said to Nikki, “Then you must be.” nope. We just work together, though Marty said we worked for him. I was supposedly his secretary. NOT. We put the lid down on that in a hurry.

But the three of us talked about camp and ideas to make it better and stayed way later than we had planned, to the point where our hour drive back was looking a little stupid to do. We toyed with getting a room, but decided that probably wouldn't be a good idea. So we came back.

Of course our cabin mates are all asleep so I'm not sure how we're going to do this. I need to sneak in, take out my contacts, change into pajamas and get into my bunk, all without waking them. Wish me luck!

Camp, Day 2

Today was crazy busy. I hate doing KP. I just want to say that. Okay, it's said.
We took the kids on an obstacle course today and showed them some basic survival skills. It was a lot of fun, but not very well organized. Jasper and I were supposed to take the team pictures but the helicopter we were going to take them in front of was “broken”. That's in quotes because later in the day we saw it flying around the city. Hmmm....

Anyway, we ran out of water early, which is never good in 100 degree heat with limited shade. One group took off by themselves, with their very cool leader (not kidding here), and so we didn't get many pictures of them. Thankfully, one of the counselors had brought his camera for that group so I'm going to trade pictures with him later.

After a lot of stress with lunch, water, heat, kids homesick, blah blah blah, we finally left for the lake. That was fun, though I'm feeling quite hefty these days so I just stayed in my shorts and t-shirt. Probably a bad idea because I have a farmer's tan from hell. In fact, when Marty stopped by earlier in the day he made fun of my tan and made a comment about being a candy striper. Yes it was that bad. I did put on sunscreen, but I totally spaced on reapplying at noon. Oh well. I need whatever tan I can get.

We had dinner at the marina consisting of hotdogs, fruit, cookies and beans. Good times, good times.

Then we headed to one of our fabulous National Monuments. We go here every year and it is truly my favorite part of the week. Of course I'm a sentimental sap, so singing the national anthem, saying the pledge of allegiance, honoring our veterans, and feeling the history surrounding this place always makes me cry. It's really powerful. Di was telling me about the Easter Brunch/Program they have. I'm totally going to look into that for next year because I think that would be amazing.

The ride back to camp was uneventful, sort of. Rich, Nikki, Rachel and I hung back to talk and make sure we had all the kids before we left and we ended up falling way behind everyone else. We had our own van so we didn't care too much, but we got back way later than the rest of the group. Of course, we also stopped for some libation – one, I should say. It's a tradition that we go out for Rachel's birthday which always falls around camp time and we didn't get to go out Monday, so we stopped for one tonight. Tee hee. I'm glad we did. I don't think we were supposed to but it's something we needed. We'll see if we get caught.

Camp, Day 1

Well, to finish up Sunday. Yesterday Casey and I drove all the way across the state to go to Youth Camp. This is an awesome program for the kids of our workers. It's a great time and the kids have friends for life.

The drive, however, takes forever. Normally this sucks, but Casey and I talked and laughed and contemplated life the whole way so the drive didn't seem to take as long. We came up with some great ideas for work, which I have to try to remember now – and I'm struggling to do that. I know they were great ideas, as Casey's and my ideas always are, but I'll have to work on this during the week.

Training kind of sucked, but whatever. Then we went out as a group (of volunteers, counselors and staff) for pizza. Some of the Vs, Cs and Ss had brought their kids along already so they came too. What wasn't fun was that there were so many of them. That's my one beef. I know they need to get to camp too, but it doesn't start until Monday and we have a busing system. Why can't they ride the bus too?

Anyway, we ended up having 17 pizzas and one kid ate about 1 and a half of that. Sad, really. The rest of the night was putting things together for the camp and relaxing a bit.

Today the morning was really boring. We had oodles of time, it seemed. Not sure why we need to come Sunday afternoon for training when we could easily do it Monday AM, but whatever. I'm sure it's just a case of “we've always done it that way.”

But this afternoon – wow! Kids came out of the woodwork it seemed. DJ and I worked on the ID cards for the kids and we had the system licked. It was great. Nikki helped us to organize the cards to hand out later and kept the kids away from DJ so he could breathe. Hahaha. Eventually he left, the whole group got together to talk about the week and so Nikki and I had to take a break from finishing the ID cards. I met my helper, Jasper, who is super cool and had no qualms about stepping aside so she could take pictures.

The latter there is a great blessing. Nothing against my help last year, but I really feel comfortable with Jasper that she can take charge and get what we need. So Nikki and I went to finish up the ID cards. We got them all completed but by the time we got to dinner that night they had finished serving so we took a detour and headed into the little town to get some food. That was a nice respite.

We got back in time for the campfire. That was fun. I hung out with Ryan, one of our on site medics, who is pretty cool. We were lamenting all the sugar the kids were eating (marshmallows, cookies, chocolate). Scary, really. I am really glad that I'm in the adult cabin and don't have to deal with the kids.

Luckily I was smart enough to sit down wind of the fire so I don't smell too bad tonight. I'm exhausted though and tomorrow will be another long day.

Still learning after all these years

I learned a valuable lesson last night.

When you haven't had straight Coca-cola in years, don't drink it in the evening and expect to sleep soundly through the night.

Not.Going.To.Happen.

Have a great week folks! I'll update upon my return with each days fabulous festivities!

Sigh

Okay, so I can breathe again.

Yesterday was a very intense day. I'm on a work trip next week and I have a new guy working in my office who hasn't been around very long. So yesterday was a lot of "set up" for him for next week. Boss1 has been gone for a couple weeks, too, so Tuesday will be a lot of follow-up and finishing things that he and I didn't get completed yesterday.

Anyway, we had a work function last night that I had to work. Since I used to be in PR and take photos at my job (before I got my kick-ass awesome job I have now) I was tapped to hang out.

So my day started at 7am and didn't finish until 10:30 last night. And that was with a workout and an hour lunch with RA (which was awesome). But after lunch I didn't eat again until I got home and it was my night to catch up with a friend (i.e. my phone tab, not theirs).

Let's just say it was a very long, intense day, so by the time I got home to talk with my friend I was dehydrated and tired and desperately needed a shower. So I ate watermelon and took a shower, which then woke me up and I didn't get to sleep until 1:30 this morning. Not a good way to go, though the conversation was quite pleasing.

Anyway, my work trip this week is going to be a blast but without internet. I know that my daily journals that I'll write and have to upload (and correctly date) later won't qualify for NaBloPoMo monthly, but I think this still falls in with the Blog365 rules. Hopefully, at least.

I need to pack. I suppose I should do that.

Holy...

...Mother of a long day. I have so much to write about but I can barely keep my eyes open. More tomorrow.

Yo, yo, yo, Yo!

MG and I were talking today about our coworker AP who, according to MG, is a very up and down individual. I think I fly along those same lines most days. It's kind of interesting.

Because even Mungie Boy said that again today to me. As he puts it, there was this flash across my eyes where he could see how pissed off I was, and then moments (seconds) later it was gone and I was laughing again.

Well, that was true unless you read yesterday's post. I went to bed last night at 8, read for a half hour, and then crashed hard at 8:30 because I was so exhausted from 2-a-day workouts but also just emotionally from this stupid crap yesterday. I came up with a plan to talk to one of the head ladies in the section about how to formulate her invitations for these section lunches so that the section realizes that people in my section aren't invited and then no one has to feel awkward.

Well, I chickened out. Not really chickened out, but I got to the point where I realized they are never going to change and it's not worth my time to worry about. I have other crap going on that requires more thought and effort. Lunch is not one of them.

So today I skipped both workouts and took the day off. I could barely move today so it's probably a good thing. I'm going to run hard tomorrow and have lunch with RA which will be great as usual. I have a late night tomorrow which I know is going to kick my butt, but I'm excited for it in the same sense.

But I'm feeling better again. Probably because I rested today, I got rid of the evil of the lunch issue, and Boss1 is back which makes everything right in the world.

"Happy people just don't shoot their husbands."

"Well, they don't!"

Maybe it's the rain. Maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm not eating right.

Or maybe it's because I'm allowing my peers to influence me in ways I shouldn't - Just Say No!

Today things were going well. I kicked my own butt with the lower body 10-min-trainer this morning, had breakfast AGAIN! WOOHOO, and work was going well this morning. Our Wednesday meetings are awesome and the-man-I-look-up-to joked around with me a lot during it so that always makes things go better.

But then around 11 JH texts me and asks if I'm going to lunch with everybody. Uh, What? So I found her in the hall and I said that I had no idea what she was talking about. She said, "Lunch." Um...yeah. You'll have to expand that statement a little.

Well, one of the ladies in our building (but works in a different section than I do) is leaving for a couple months and so her "section" had a lunch for her to say goodbye. Everyone, including the woman who hates me, was invited except for me and the money folks down the hall (in my section, officially, though we all share the same building).

So I felt bad, then felt like whatever, then kind of got mad...well, maybe annoyed.

I didn't care because I had lunch plans to run with NRB and leftovers from the night before. It's not the first time this section has done this - where "they" have had a lunch but left out those handful of us that aren't in their section though we share the building.

I had kind of gotten over it by the time I got back from my run. Thank God for NRB. We ran the first mile in 10:25, which was awesome and I actually felt really good afterward, but he had kept asking me questions and I can't talk and run so I walked to answer him and we ended up walking 3 miles and talking the whole time...in the rain. Nice.

But when I got back to my office TimDon came in and said, "We missed you at lunch." Okay, thanks TimDon. I appreciate that. "Well, why didn't you come?" I wasn't invited. "What?! That's not right." Well, I'm not in your section so whatever. "But everyone else was invited!" Really, were the money guys invited. "Well, no." Well there you go.

He was annoyed though and couldn't understand why I wasn't invited.

Here's the thing and it's been bothering me all afternoon. I don't care that I didn't get to go. But what I care about is that people like TimDon think I should have been there and so if they don't ask me, and they assume I was invited but didn't come, then I'm the bitch for not supporting my co-worker.

And that's what I hate. I try to fit in with this group, but from the beginning I was warned that the building was very cliquey. I knew this and was reminded a year ago when the other job came up and the girl who we were saying good-bye to had told me to get out of the building while I could because it was so cliquey. And here it happens that it's so very true.

So I've been a little annoyed this afternoon and I hate that because I've been really happy lately! I mean, I've been exercising and exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don't shoot their husbands.*

So this should just be rolling off my back, but maybe I can get over it tonight. I'm going to my happy place. I have a picture of a hot man to look at, my favorite jeans and shirt on, my favorite Converse (at least until Mom shows up with my stuff so I can take them off), I'm going to make my favorite Kashi pizza, and watch Legally Blonde, or maybe My Blue Heaven.

Hopefully this will help.

*Disclaimer: I'm not going to shoot my husband because, hey, guess what?! I don't have one! I wouldn't anyway, 'cause that's just not nice.

Refreshed and reenergized!

Today was great! I love days like today, not that I got much accomplished, but the day felt good.

First I have to say that I really am an introvert, despite some outside appearances. These three days home, away from people (except for church) was SO needed. This is how I regroup. I'm trying not to think about how I have several weeks coming up where I won't have this opportunity, because I have a feeling I'm going to need it.

Of course, that's what mental health days are for, right?

Anyway, I got up early, thanks to my motivator, and did one of my 10-minute trainer sessions by Tony Horton. Awesome. And if I had planned better I could have completed 2 sessions, instead of just one, but it was okay. Why, you ask? Because I was able to actually have breakfast.

Yep, I actually had a normal breakfast for once. I scrambled up some egg whites (and one small yolk) and had a couple pieces of my low fat, low calorie whole wheat bread. Yum yum. It was awesome because I wasn't hungry at all during the morning, which I usually am. Instead I had to force myself to have some protein an hour before my run so I could have some energy.

Which was also good... I went for a run at noon. While it wasn't the best, my first mile was in 10:38, which was pretty decent for me right now. The bad thing was I stopped to walk. I can't do that. My shins tighten and I lose my motivation. But I ended up finishing 3 in about 37, which was decent with the amount of walking I did. I can do so much better tomorrow. NRB was supposed to run with me today, but he got tied up with the guy we call the Sarge and wasn't able to break away. He said he'd run with me tomorrow, which is great, but he's going to have to do the talking because I need to focus on my breathing.

The afternoon was uneventful though I have RG working with me for a month and he's going to help me with my file plan. YAY! That's a project I have been putting off, but this actually works out how it should be set up in our office and, believe me, I have never been more happy.

And the icing on the cake (ooo, cake) was having dinner tonight with Sarah. Another much needed item in my night - girls night with Sarah (Eric was busy). We had Mexican and talked for, literally, hours. I couldn't believe it when she said it was almost 9 and we had gotten there at 6. *sigh* What an awesome moment.

So now I'm on cloud 9 but super duper tired. I'm only hoping that tomorrow can go as well.

Feeling better

Now, while I know I could have done a lot better this weekend (i.e. faster and more efficiently) with cleaning my apartment and moving things around, I'm pretty okay with how I did. I really needed this weekend to just downshift. I feel better, I'm rested (very well rested - nap every day!) and I think I'm ready to return to work.

Of course as I start to think about work I'm realizing this is going to be another busy busy week. I have my new worker tomorrow so I need to make sure I get there early but I also need to run in the AM since I can't after work.

Because tomorrow night I get to hang with Sarah! YAY! I'm so excited.

For now I need to iron my clothes for work and hit the sheets. I'm tired (haha) and I need some sleep.

Catching up on the food network

Okay, so these posts this month are supposed to be about food for NaBloPoMo this month. I haven't been doing very well with that (so much so that I had to go back to my original post to remind myself what the topic is!).

My eating hasn't been the best lately. Walk/Running at night with NRB, or working late has brought me home at 7:30 or 8 those nights. It just seems way too late to eat anything substantial when I'm going to bed at 9:30. So I've had ice cream or watermelon to somewhat satisfy the hunger.

Of course then I wake up starving :) so I've had pop tarts or a bagel for breakfast. Not the best way to start. I should be eating protein. I miss the MocMuffins the boys across the street sometimes make.

And just because I'm a woman, I'll run down what I've eaten today so far. I had a bagel, toasted with lite Smart Balance butter for breakfast. I had about 4 of Tostitos Flour Tortilla chips. I had a small bowl of ice cream for lunch. Then I pretty much laid low while I was cleaning my closet and taking a nap. :)

So tonight I griddle grilled up some Tilapia (which stuck so that's a mess I get to fix later) and then spread some peach/mango salsa with cut up avocado on it. Yum! SOOooo good. Boss1 will never believe that I actually ate fish...on my own...by myself. He makes fun of me for that. He once said, "You'd never survive in my house" because his family pretty much eats only fish.

I will say the tilapia was delicious and I'll have to do that again sometime, with or without the salsa.

So that's my eats lately. Not much. I need to do a little better on the consistency of my eating patterns. They've been pretty much null and void lately. Hopefully tomorrow will be better as I begin my routine again.

A much needed break

*sigh*

Can I just say that? Well, I suppose I could just post a sigh and be done with it, but I'll expand this a little just because I can, and well because I write for me, not you so it'll help me to cleanse the soul, if that's possible.

Last night the friend I recently reconnected with and I talked on the phone until after midnight. It was great! I'm so glad we're reconnecting and planning trips to see each other. It's been far too long. I can't wait to visit. We have a lot to catch up on.

But because of the very late night in the Moe world (I'm usually asleep no later than 9:30 on average), I slept in way late this morning. I think I finally dragged my butt out of bed at 10, which is so unusual for me.

I didn't care though. I needed the rest, and I had no plans for today other than to clean. And I'm in the process of that. I've rearranged, kind of, my living room. I wanted to open it up again. A friend had helped me last summer change it around in a way I never would have thought of, angling the couch in the middle of the room. It worked really well, separating my "dining room" with the living room, but lately it has just felt crowded. I'm such a mess these days and if I can alleviate some crowdedness in my life, then I'm going to do just that.

So I moved my couch to the wall, and moved my rocking chair into my bedroom, which made me have to move my file cabinet next to my dresser, but I think once I get all my clothes for Goodwill sorted and removed from my closet, I can move my file cabinet in there and open up my room again.

Any suggestions on shoes? I have a lot of shoes that I don't wear and I'd hate to just throw them...but I'm not sure on the 'rightness' (I can't think of a word) of donating used shoes.

I like doing this rearranging and cleaning. It's satisfying and is helping in that some of my stress and tension is releasing. It's not all gone though - I have a ways to go yet this weekend.

So anyway...that's my plan for tomorrow too - except the sleeping in. I want/need to go to church. I need a little God, as I like to say, and that's at 8. I need some peace and reassurance to help me through.

Wish me luck

Have you ever had so much to do that you just didn't want to do anything? That's kind of where I am right now.

I did get some of my filing done today so my piles are shrinking. But I keep getting other papers with orders I have to put in for supplies. I'm not normally the supply person but the one who is has a 2 month vacation coming up so it falls on me.

Today was also my day to clean the break room which I never use. Because I'm such a great procrastinator, I cleaned that break room from top to bottom - I scrubbed out the microwave cleaning out stuck on food from three weeks ago, I wiped down the cupboards where people drip their coffee and food, I swept and mopped the floor. It was amazing. :)

Then NRB and I went out for a supposed run tonight. We ended up walking 5 miles which was good. At 4:30 I was this / / close to shutting Boss1's door and taking a siesta on the couch. But I didn't and the walk was good.

The bad thing about running or walking after work is that I don't get home until 7:30 or 8 then and I'm not really hungry then so I don't eat except maybe some ice cream or toast. Not good for the eating plan.

Anyway... I'm totally rambling right now. I have a free weekend so I'm going to clean my apartment and move my furniture around. I need a change and I need to clean. So that's my plan. Wish me luck!

I'm sinking

I love my job. We all know that, right? I really do. I really love my job.

But today, I feel like I'm sinking deeper and deeper in a hole and I'm scared I won't find my way out. I have so much filing and paperwork to do, CBTs to complete (DAMN CBTS!) and everything is just spiraling out of control.

I tried to stay late tonight and I did get through one set of filing I had to do, but as I was doing it I realized just how much I had to do for the other piles and I just felt like a weight was crushing down on my head and shoulders and I couldn't breathe.

So I left. Which wasn't what I should have done. I should have stayed and now I'm feeling guilty. I have to get things completed tomorrow. I have to work this weekend because I get my extra worker in next week and I have to get some things together for him so I don't look like an idiot when he shows up Tuesday.

Can I just say, Oy?

Oy.

The one good thing - I had lunch today with my two mentors: Mungie Boy and Ronny. It was great. I love when we do this and we need to do it more often. That was a much needed break at noon.

WOW

I am SO out of shape. Or I'm just really not used to working out during the warmer temps. Hmm...for the sake of my self-esteem, let's chalk it up to the latter.

First I need to lament for a bit. I really miss my former running buddy.

My FRB was fast but at least when he slowed down to stay with my pace I didn't feel like I was keeping him from a good workout. And he was just a wee bit taller than me so our legs were about the same length which helped with pacing. And he'd talk the whole way so I wouldn't have to until we walked which helped me keep going (because once I start talking I can't focus on my breathing and my running gets jacked up).

So today I'm sad and weeping that I don't get to run with my former running buddy any more.

FRB: I know you don't read this but I really miss you. I wish we could run together again.

OK...so I tested out my new running buddy today - he's way younger, 6'2" and has legs like a racehorse. I tried to forewarn him that I'm slow and walk. He thought I was over exaggerating my speed. Yeah, he caught on quick.

From my perspective the time was good. Granted we did walk a lot but we went 5.5 miles and in the heat so even if I was walking I was still working my lungs toward heat and humidity which I don't get in the morning. But sadly my NRB didn't get a very good workout. He said the company was good but when his shirt is dry again by the time we get back to the car it's probably not the best.

But while it was good that he dragged me out to run, I don't know if I can do it to him again. I hate holding people up in their workouts. I know how I am. And maybe running is just better for me if I do it alone. I learned that a bit with the marathon last year when I was holding up JB. I felt better when she went ahead of me because I knew she could do better without me holding her back.

So tomorrow I need to get out again. And I think Jenna and I are going to look at bikes tomorrow night so maybe I can bike to work instead of driving every day. What a plan.

You'd think...

Yeah, I don't though.

Bethany has cool things for sale in her Etsy shop again. I bought another of her bowls. I love her bowls.

So much do I love her bowls and wish I was as cool as Bethany that I decided to see if this little town has any ceramics places where I could paint my own bowls. Luckily there seems to be a place that does this very thing! I'm so excited. So since this weekend I have NOTHING planned (which is a first since...uh...April) I'm going to search this business out and see if I can't paint a bowl and be as cool as Bethany. Of course I know that being as cool as Bethany is a feat that only Bethany can achieve (being Bethany and all) but maybe I can get close.

OH, Beege - yeah, I'm running another one. But my new running buddy ditched me today, rightly so since he had to pick up his son, so I didn't run today. Uffda. I can't let that happen again. Whoops.

Tires and Road kill

Or Tired Road Kill?

Whatever. This was the theme of the day today. Tires and road kill. I took a day trip to the cities today after saying bye to a few friends going to the beach. My Mini has been giving me some fits lately so last week I set up an appointment for today to get things adjusted.

So I headed out this morning and got to the service place to find out that the whump-whump-whump (fast and slow) that I hear when I accelerate or decelerate is because my back tires were cupped. Basically they aren't wearing evenly and so I got the whump-whump-whump sound which was really annoying. So two new tires for Morty. I was planning on one, but two was a great add.

Then my break fluid needed to be flushed - it's supposed to be done every two years and mine hasn't been done since I bought the car 3 1/2 years ago, so it was time. And I got my oil changed which was good because last week my oil pressure light kept coming on when I turned the corner (only to go out when I straightened out the car).

So now my car runs smooth, breaks like a dream and is fully lubricated. Haha...I said lubricated. hahaha

OH and the fabulous folks at Mini totally scraped off all the dead bugs that had fried onto my windshield back in May. YAY! I can see again!

But during my 8 hour drive I saw more blown tires and dead animals than I have seen in a long time. It was kind of gross.

So much for a day off though. Tomorrow it's back to the grind. And my new running buddy wants to run at the end of the day. Sheesh. It's HOT then. Does he not get that? Oh well. It'll help me to train for another possible humid and hot marathon in October. If nothing else it will help me develop a better lung capacity. Wish me luck!

Sunday sunday

Another good day today. More people hovering at my door, which makes me really want to get a ticket thing and have a "now serving" number sign. Oh well.

I got a lot done today though I didn't finish as much as I wanted. Oh well.

My phone started jacking up on my over Independence Day weekend and I finally got into Sprint to get it looked at. They couldn't fix it without wiping the whole thing clean and completely reformatting it. Which means that I'd lose all my contacts and would be a mess.

So I opted for a new phone and ended up getting a blue one (this is a first) with a camera (another first). I'm not a big fan of all the extras. I just need a phone. But this should be nice to have for awhile. It's fairly similar to my other one, a little thinner and has a couple of nice features.

Overall I'm happy though I really did like my old phone. Oh well.

Yep, that's been my day. Tomorrow's a really busy day - a "quick" up and back trip to the cities to get my car fixed. Should be fun!

It figures

I started a blog at work this morning but I got interrupted about 20 times so I never finished the post. So tonight, you get NOTHING.

Just kidding. I had started to vent about work, mostly because I was interrupted about 20 times just this morning. I was trying to do different work things and people kept coming in and interrupting me. I could be talking with someone about work, in my office, having a conversation, and someone would walk in and interrupt or, worse, stand there even if I paused to say, "I'll be with you in a moment." They just hang there like dead skin on a scab until I finally rush through whatever I was working on or, typically, push off what I was doing and turn to them, thus pushing my things to the side and then forgetting about them and not getting them completed.

Frustrating.

So after another long, stressful day (I even stayed an extra hour just to sort through my papers and create NLPs so I could find things tomorrow), I went to the grocery store and bought Totino's Party Pizza (yum!), popcorn, and ice cream.

Tonight was a total comfort food night. It really isn't on my diet but I really needed it. I also watched 27 Dresses, just to keep in the past practice of sappy movies while I weep alone on my couch.

Maybe I need to find a date. That might be good. Too bad J's in LA or I'd totally call him. Hmmm. I'll have to think about this.

Tonight's Top Ten

The top ten reasons why Moe should not watch sappy, love story movies alone on Friday nights after an intense work week thinking it will be relaxing because she knows it won't be.

10. You're almost out of kleenex.
9. Having a big red nose is only cool by reindeer and in December.
8. Having blood-shot, red eyes are only cool during New Years'.
7. Watching sappy movies during PMS week is not a smart idea.
6. Did I mention you're almost out of kleenex?
5. You know this is just that you're extremely tired.
4. I can't think of number 4.
3. You're a sap.
2. You don't need movies to show you that you have a pathetic love-life. You see that every day.

And the number one reason why Moe should not watch sappy, love story movies alone on Friday nights after an intense work week thinking it will be relaxing because she knows it won't be...is:

1. Snot is not cool.

Overheard

Daily I read Overheard in Minneapolis.

This was on today's and is, by far, my favorite...mostly because of the name of the person who submitted it.

This Actually Happened

Another fun day

Work was great today...for the most part. I'm getting closer to finding my desk. I had asked Boss1 to help me find it yesterday but he said no and handed me more papers.

Slowly and surely things are coming together. On top of that, I was listening to The Cure again today. That's always fun. Yesterday a friend and I were arguing about a song that 311 sings called, "Love Song". I knew I had heard it before and he said that whoever had sang it had stolen it from 311. I knew that was wrong but wrongly thought Coldplay had sang it first. Eventually I figured out that it was The Cure, not Coldplay but at least it was a C band.

Anyway, this same friend has offered to run with me at work. This is great since I have no running buddy anymore. The bad thing is that my friend is at least half a foot taller than me and runs a 9 minute mile (the longer legs do help). So I guess I have to run faster or he has to slow down or maybe both to make this work. We'll see.

I made cookies tonight again for people at work. I miss baking. I miss eating my baking.

Great day

Another awesome day at work. I'd go into it all but that's no fun.

Tonight I went to my nephew's probable last baseball game of the season. He pitched awesome, had a double and a home run. It was great. He had one awesome game. I'm really happy for him.

But now I'm tired and I need to run in the morning so I'm off to bed. Tomorrow will be better for posting, I promise. Not that you care, but just in case you're having a brain lapse or something.

Just a reminder

I haven't had an "I love my job" post lately so I thought maybe I should throw one out.

I LOVE my job. :) Yes, I know I'm a weirdo but I really do love it. It's fabulous to be appreciated. "I'd give anything to not be appreciated in my own time." "Fine, Phoebe. You suck, too." Sorry, Friends channeling.

Today I did a very simple project. I made up some business cards for Boss1 for his upcoming trip. He'll get professional ones done sometime but these were kind of a rush job. So I put on our two logos, added his name and title and then contact info. This took maybe 30 minutes, but only because I had some trouble with the logos not going where I wanted them to go.

But my boss was totally enthralled. "These are fabulous!" I was so flabbergasted I had to ask, "Are you serious? This didn't take that long. It wasn't difficult." He insisted they were awesome and sung some more praises. Weird.

I will admit I'm getting a little better at accepting his compliments (and others). I'm usually horrible at this. Point - when I gave K&E&A the baptism gift and the next day I had to ask again if it was okay (mostly because it was a decorative item and I don't usually buy those for people since I'm not much of a decorator). But K told me again it was a perfect gift. I'm still working on believing that one, though I have no reason to doubt her. She's never steered me wrong in the past.

The rest of my day was great. I got some work done, was given a few more homework assignments (re: CBTs) and got to leave early to see my niece's last softball game.

I really love my job. It's great. Just wanted you all to know that. :)

So much 2 say

Oh, sad...yesterday's post was my 900th. You'd think I would have celebrated that, but I didn't. Oh well.

I have to try to recap the weekend somehow and I'm not sure where to begin. Friday was a quick but long day. I spent most of it on the road, then the rest having a BBQ and drinks with E&K's families. It was a great time. I was the only outsider, so to speak, that being non-family. But I was the solo Godparent who wasn't a blood relative, so it makes sense.

The BBQ was a lot of fun. We played a little ball, drank a lot, had custard (mmmm custard - my eating plan was officially shot to hell) and drank some more. The night went late - way late for me - but it was all a good time.

Saturday started late. I got to feed Nika her morning bottle which was nice. Again some Nika time before the rest of the family congregated. We all had lunch at a nice cafe that I love. Their food is so fabulous and I ate way too much. We had a reception before the service as well as photos, which K had put me in charge of to organize. That was fun. I got to tell people where to go and when. :) It made the photo session go smoothly even though we lost two of them during the mix.

The service was incredible. K&E picked out great hymns and songs. Amused preached beautifully. Gary was awesome during the baptism and especially during communion when he called God a "rascal" which was perfect. Those two work really well together and were able to tie aspect of the service together - from the Gospel to the Baptismal water to communion to the end. It was beautiful. So beautiful, I kept tearing up (of course I did - I'm a sap).

It was a powerful baptism for me, this being my first and only legitimate Godchild. I have 3 others but they are all my nephew's too so the impact isn't quite the same. Nika is just my Goddaughter and it's a wonderful feeling.

My gift to her and her parents was a print of the Lord's Prayer with Luther's explanation from the Small Catechism on the side. My awesome friend Edith does this artwork and it's beautiful. Edith matted it for me and then I framed it. It turned out really well, though maybe a little big. But E&K said they may put it in their dining room where it will be seen, just as Luther intended it. I had to do it because as the vows we take as Godparents state - I am to teach my Godgirl my Lord's Prayer, Creed and 10 Commandments. Guess which one is next?

After the service E's sister R and her fiance J and I headed back to the house to get the dinner ready. K's sister A showed up momentarily after and she and I ran the kitchen. We were a machine. It was awesome. I didn't get to talk with Gary as much as I wanted but we made up for that Sunday after church.

Saturday night's event was fun as well. We had brisket, chicken, beans, fruit, fruit, coleslaw, some more coleslaw and washed it all down with homemade ice cream. Yum! Again, my eating plan was gone. But it was OH so good. :)

Sunday after church we all met up for brunch at a local place that E&K rave about. The food was amazing and again I ate too much. Good thing since I didn't stop on my way home at all, as usual.

You know...it really was an amazing weekend getting to meet K&E's family and spend more time with them as well as getting my Nika fix for the month and spending a lot of great time with K&E (though not as much as I would have loved). I do call K&E my urban family and this weekend really solidified that.

They are my family. And I love them.

Need.Sleep.

Annika made it through her baptism with flying colors. She is so amazing - getting handed around like a football and barely a peep.

I have a bunch to tell, but today was church, brunch, packing and loading many vehicles and another 7-hour road trip and I'm exhausted. more to come. For now, Moe is going to bed.

Just call me Ricky Nelson

I'm a traveling man, made a lot of stops, all over the world.

I won't finish the song since I don't have a guy or girl in every port where I owe my heart, but I will say I my heart is with Nika today.

I'm in Wisconsin, friends, with my urban family. I'm so excited to be here because today, Annika gets baptized! WOOHOO! Considering my urban family - K&E - are both pastors and that E's dad is also a pastor and that K's parents are very involved in the church - this is a big weekend.

Yesterday I drove non-stop for 7 hours to make it to K&E's. I got my Nika fix before the rest of the clan showed up which was good because I barely saw her the rest of the night. We had some very good eats, few of which I could eat and many that I shouldn't have eaten (but I did anyway), and were up very late drinking and laughing and telling stories.

Today I slept in - until 9! Holy crap! I never do that. I got my Nika fix again, which was needed as I know the rest of the clan will have her in hand the rest of the night. We had lunch at an awesome local cafe and have been planning for this evening's festivities.

Life is great, let me just say. Despite the fact that the Indians lost to the Twins last night, about which everyone has been quick to remind me, I am a very happy camper. I love being with my urban family. I've said it before, but these are people who love me for who I am, not because they have to. I love that.

So tonight Annika will be baptized and then the party will continue. Tomorrow will be church and a drive home again. It's a quick trip this round, but one that will be treasured forever.

So much to say

I have about 6 different posts in my head I'm going to try to sort out while I sleep. A LOT more to come tomorrow.

Blogger and bikes

So I updated to Firefox 3.0 a couple weeks ago and only now am I starting to have problems with blogger – specifically fonts and sizes. I don't like this. I like to keep my text smaller, yet readable. It's just a thing with me. Kind of like me reading book series only in one version – either paperback or hard cover – once I begin the series.

So I'm going to type my blog on OpenOffice Writer first and copy and paste it. Hopefully this will work. We'll see.

I totally screwed up today and didn't run. I did lift yesterday too so I am a little sore, so maybe the day off isn't such a bad thing. I did wear my workout gear to bed but when my alarm woke me up at 4:55 and I dragged my sorry ass out of bed to check the weather, I could barely keep my eyes open. The last few days that hasn't been a problem, but this morning I was so exhausted. So I went back to bed for an hour and decided to run at work since I had planned on doing that with a friend anyway. Well, my friend ditched me so I went to lunch with another friend. I was going to run with the latter later but I got caught up in a meeting so I ended up skipping it all today.

This isn't completely bad. I just feel fat and heavy today. I haven't the last few days. I think that working out right away helps in the AM even if my run sucks. Oh well.

Tonight I went to my niece's softball game. It's so much fun to see these young kids play. It's great. And I got to catch up with my sister and reminisce about the first time we learned to ride a bike. My sister had helped me learn though she seems to have blocked it from her memory.

See when I learned to ride a bike, the block I grew up on was horseshoe shaped. We lived on the left side of the horseshoe where all the houses were, the other side was mostly dirt and a gravel road. We started at the top of the backside and my sister started pushing me and helping me steady. Soon I was riding on my own, my brother playing in the backyard of his best friend's house yelling out, “There goes my little sister! WOOHOO!” and my sister running along side of me.

Suddenly I was still pedaling and realizing we were coming to the end of the road which left off into a ditch, a barbed-wire fence and eventually a cow pasture. I screamed to my sister to help and she told me to break.

So I did.

And swerved.

And fell.

Right into a gravel pile scraping the shit out of my knees. I screamed bloody murder. My sister finally caught up to me and was concerned and laughing all at the same time. Eventually my parents caught up with me and I think Dad carried me home where mom brushed out (re: scraped out) the gravel, washed it out, applied peroxide (as was done back then) and then bandages. My brother had come running home super excited to see that I was riding my bike finally and cheered me on.

Ah, memories.

Cookies and other weird things

So I'm typing this post, planning to change my font to something smaller, as I have since the dawn of this blog, and my Fonts are now missing as are the sizes. I'm hoping this is a fluke. We'll see though.

I made my famous chocolate cookies tonight. Famous in two states at least, maybe 3 or 4 if J-man still can remember them. Anyway...Brian came up to me after work and pulls out his wallet and says, "Maybe you should bake me some cookies tonight" and starts to pull out money.

I've made the joke in the past that people should be buying me the ingredients and I'd bake all the time. But I didn't really think someone would take me up on it. Of course I couldn't do it. Oh well.

I do love baking. It's my release, really. I haven't been baking in a long time (other than Pie Day) mostly because I end up eating most of it. I've packed up the cookies so they are ready to hand out - to Brian, the guys across the street, my niece and nephew, etc. If I leave any out - they're gone before morning and on this new eating plan I'm not supposed to have much, if any, sugar.

I did sample the dough though. It is my weakness (one of many). I'll just have to make sure I run in the AM. :) Speaking of...I've ran the last two days in the AM, wearing my workout gear to bed so I have no excuse in the morning. It really does work. This weekend will be the ultimate test. :)

Well, speaking of. I need to be asleep in 15 minutes if I'm going to get up at 5 to head out. I need my beauty sleep (I probably need more, though).

Food for thought

A day of rambling:

First, I know it's NaBloPoMo and the topic is food, so I probably should have signed up my other blog instead. But I don't write there everyday and I do write here. Sooo if you really want food - check here. Otherwise...I'll occasionally mention it here as I go. I'm still doing the Blog365 thing too (just in case people are wondering).

"Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!!"
I'm channeling Ross Geller today. I was working on yet another CBT at work about Excel and the topic was PivotTables. So I just keep hearing Ross yell, "Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!!" in my head. As my friend Sarah and I swear, almost everything can be linked to a Friends moment. This was mine today. And as you'll see I tended to pivot a lot today - not just on the CBT but with my various adventures.

Perspectives
I ran into a friend today (former make-out buddy) and we caught up on life and such. It's weird because the last time we really talked was when we were hanging out and making out back during that ever-so-brief period in 2005. At the time I was a little weirded out because he's about 6 years younger than me and has a little boy. It's interesting how your perspectives can change. I'm now at a point where that doesn't really bother me - the age or the kid - whereas it really did then. How can 3 years make such a difference? Of course I'm not looking to really revisit the make-out sessions or think about a relationship there, though God knows I could use one and/or the other; it's been far too long - so that may be a big reason for my different perspective.

Undies
Later I ran into another friend who works with me. We hadn't talked in forever so it was fun to catch up. Of course as we're talking I noticed that his pants are unbuttoned. I wasn't staring but as he was gesturing in the middle of a story it just kind of happened. Whoops. But hey, nice undies, man! :)

Joy of joys
It was another day of CBTs. Joy. I did take a break though and went to my nephew's birthday party. Woohoo! Happy B-day, Jake! What a cutie.

Hiccups
Twice today I've had the hiccups. Once on the way up to Jake's party for at least 20 minutes, if not longer. And now again for the last 15. I hate them. Grrr. I think the latter was caused by all the hotdogs - well wieners, actually.