Tales of Aimless

2009-09-07T00:35:00.002-05:00

This is the delicious Hardees fried bologna biscuit right before I ate it!!! It may have been a dare, but I was happy to oblige!

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2009-09-07T00:34:00.001-05:00

And this is me enjoying the Hardee's fried bologna biscuit!

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Chicago Trip

2009-07-14T21:19:00.011-05:00

I had an eventful trip to Chicago the past few days. In my own hope of remembering all of the fun I had, I'm going to document my itinerary:

Friday, 7/10: Made it to town around 5 o'clock. The traffic due to road construction and a car gutted by fire kept me from getting to Des Plaines until 5:45 though. At that point I tried getting hold of Corey, at whose place I was staying, so he could let me in. After trying to call him for a good hour, he finally calls me back when he realized that his phone had not in fact been on vibrate like he thought, but on silent. In the meantime, I went to Target and bought some face wash, a new T-shirt for the next day's pub crawl & a new air mattress, since rumor had it there would be quite a few people crashing at his house and I had forgotten to bring my own.

Once I was settled in at Corey's place, I headed over to Portillo's, which is a Chicago style hot dog place. I got 2 Chicago style dogs with everything and an order of cheese fries. This may sound like a lot of food for me. Well, it is. It literally took the remainder of the night to eat it all.

I forgot to mention the job Corey gave me upon my arrival. He had WAY too much beer just sitting in his fridge, so my job was to drink it. Well, ok, Corey, if I must.... ;-)

Anyway, later on Corey's brother, Chris arrives & it turns out he's the only one staying that night. He and I ended up drinking beer and watching season 1 of That 70's Show on DVD. We really put a dent in that beer!

Of course, we were interrupted by the 5 fire trucks outside of Corey's building.....but apparently this happens all the time.

Saturday, 7/11: The big pub crawl day! This year's theme: Super Heroes & Villans. Location: Chicago, Bucktown neighborhood.
Bar itinerary:
Noon- The Web
1 pm- Charleston
2 pm- The Map Room
3 pm- Cleos Armitage
4 pm- Ed & Jeans (note: this place didn't have a phone, so the organizer couldn't call & let them know we were coming. Another side effect was that they weren't open until 6. Hence, back to Cleos!)
5 pm- 6 Degrees
6 pm- Lotties Pub
7 pm- Lemming's

Needless to say, after an all day drinking marathon, we were ready to chill out. Even though we took the train down to the pub crawl neighborhood, my friend Jessie's mom was nice enough to drive us back to Corey's place.

Once getting back to Corey's, we all chilled out for a bit & I changed into my "Call of Duty" PJ pants. Corey put on an MJ CD and I began to show off my MJ dancing skills (or lack thereof) :)
I learned the next day that it was rather humorous.

We then decided we were going to Leona's restaurant, which is around the corner from Corey's place. Yes, I wore my CoD pants :) Luckily we sat outside on the patio. It was a gorgeous evening! I got a huge plate of macaroni & cheese lasagna. Who knew there was something so good in the world! My excitement was enhanced when I realized that I couldn't possibly eat the whole thing that night, which meant LEFTOVERS for the morning!

We then went back & everyone either went back to where they were staying or went to sleep.

Sunday, 7/12: Got up pretty early. Jessie, Chris & her mom left pretty early as Jessie had to be back in St. Louis by 4 in order to volunteer for All-Star game events.

I ate my leftover mac n cheese lasagna then met up with my friend, Jen. I visited with her and her 19 month old daughter.

Later that night we went to visit my friend Rhonda and her husband. Rhonda and I worked together at SAA when I lived in Chicago. Going to her house is always full of great stories, good beer, wine & great food. We also drove Corey's brand new, 2010 Chevy Camaro. WOW! What a car! It was beautiful and powerful & I am utterly jealous!

Monday, 7/13: Pretty low key day. Slept in just a smidge & then went up to the "new & improved" SAA. The new building has been there for 2 years I believe, but I had yet to see the inside of the building having never been in town during the week. It was pretty amazing, really. When I worked there, classrooms were made out of just about any space that would even somewhat suffice. The "gym" and "stage" were really a multipurpose room with pillars in the middle & some classrooms didn't even have real walls. Well, all of that is a recent memory.

My friend Phyllis, who had been the secretary when I worked there and now works in the business office, gave me a tour. For lunch, we went to Portillo's (again :)) This time I only got 1 hot dog! (and cheese fries....)

Later, I went back to Target & returned the air mattress that I had bought on Friday as the "whole lotta" people staying at his place turned out to be false & I never needed it. I got Corey a host gift. The Target dollar aisle had a bunch of Coca-Cola items (coasters, pencils, magnets, etc.), which we both really like, so I got him a sampler of these things.

For dinner that night, we got a required dose of Giordano's pizza! Stuffed pepperoni & green olives! Mmmmm. And of course, Corey & John required me to take the leftovers with me! Darn :-)

Jen came to Corey's later on to visit & we watched some TV and chatted.

Tuesday, 7/14: Last day.....I basically packed up & headed to my friend Shelley's. Shelley and I became friends because I taught her older son at SAA and spent a week for 2 summers housesitting at their old house in Rogers Park. She and I went to a great breakfast/lunch place called Georgie V's. I got a delicious spinach & feta omelette while we chatted about life & what not.

I then began my trek home in order to get back in time for the All-Star Game.

Finis

Lazy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T13:02:00.002-05:00

It's 1 pm and we are still laying in bed. It is one of those rainy weekdays that you would normally want to stay home from work, but today we really get to do that! So far we've watched some 90210 episodes, some HGTV and Food Network. Gene looked at houses online, I scanned the obituaries for my friend Carrie's grandma and bought some discounted restaurant gift certificates. It is amazing how productive one can be simply due to a laptop and wireless internet. How did we ever live without it??

However, now we just lost the satellite signal due to the rain, so now we're having to watch some DVR'd Judge Judy episodes. I'm thinking I might watch some old 30 Rocks on Netflix here pretty soon.

Not much else has been going on lately. For a holiday weekend, we've done very little. A friend from work had a bbq last night so we went to that, but otherwise we've spent the weekend relaxing at home. I'm not always opposed to that. I like spending time alone.

I'd like to go see the stingrays at the zoo. I've heard they've been messing with people, like making splashes with their fins. Most people have been annoyed by it, I've heard, but I think it's funny.

That's all for now folks. I need to get back to my busy day!

Long week

2009-05-18T21:18:00.002-05:00

I received a call rather early on Mother's Day from my mother. My grandpa finally passed away. It was one of those things that we all knew was coming soon, but never really knew on what day to expect the call. I am comforted in the fact that he went to bed that night and that was it. He isn't hurting any longer and he is with my grandma again. I maintain that death is always harder on those that are left behind.
Anyhow, the last week was spent with relatives eating and drinking and reminiscing. I spoke at his funeral. It was difficult, but everyone seemed to appreciate it. I feel glad that I did it because it helped me grieve and say what I felt about him.
Sometimes I feel silly writing this blog. I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in reading about my life. I will try to make it interesting. :-)

Thankfulness

2009-04-05T22:42:00.002-05:00

Ticket is getting spayed tomorrow. Good times. At least she'll be groggy & confused during Cards opening game & I'll be able to watch it without interruption! LOL But it is one more step towards her very important job. She, unfortunately, will not be a mother. I say that because I was having an instant messenger conversation with my husband the other day & he mentioned that we needed to get her spayed soon, though "she'd like to have puppies". I said, "she would?" And he responded, "I guess." I thought it funny. Later I asked him if they had talked about it! How do we ever know what a dog truly wants? Unless, of course, I am an animal psychic. Surprisingly, though, I am not. Oh, well.

I called this post thankfulness because I've been thinking lately about how thankful I am. I've suffered from depression for many years. Actually many more than I'm willing to admit and in that time I've spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and having a very negative attidute. Recently, through the help of some new medication and wonderful friends, I've started to emerge from that long term funk from which I've suffered. I've been very lucky in my life, despite my shortcomings and perceptions. I think back throughout my life and think back to so many people I've known who have made an impact in my life. I know how cheesy this must sound, but I've come a long way to be at this point.

Last night I went to an adult Easter Egg hunt. I won $100. I never win anything. It was awesome. I also won a kick-ass Budweiser hat and some Harrah's sunglasses. And some candy and other crap. It rules.

It is almost 11 and I need to get up early tomorrow to take Ticket to the vet. Don't have much else to say right now anyway....

Ticket to ride

2009-03-01T19:08:00.003-06:00

So there's a new addition in our household. A few months ago, my husband and I applied to be a puppy raiser for Support Dogs Inc. They are an organization that trains and provides support dogs to disabled folks who could really use a good companion/ assistant. Puppy raisers take in the dog, provide their day-to-day and veterinary care, take them to weekly class and work with them on basic training.
We finally got a call last Wednesday telling us that they had a puppy ready, thus our journey began. We picked up our 7 month old black labrador, Ticket, that Friday and there hasn't been a dull moment since. She's a very sweet girl with a lot of energy. We've had some issues with the potty training so far, which kind of surprised me considering her age, but we are getting through it. Almot 2 whole days have gone by without an accident & I'm hoping it continues. She's very smart so she's learning more all the time. My only wish, though, is that I didn't love her so much since eventually we're going to have to give her back to the organization and then to her client. Even though I know we're doing good, the day she leaves will be a very hard day for me as I've already fallen in love with her.
There are 2 funny things she's done so far: yesterday morning she crawled under our bed. Not only did she just crawl under it, but she continued to scoot around once she got under there as if she was looking for something. It was adorable.
The other thing is that she has learned to open the bathroom door. Not a huge deal, but when you're trying to have a little privacy in there, it is a little inconvenient. :-)
All things considered, I look forward to watching her grow and learn until the day where she ulitmately becomes a wonderful partner for someone who truly needs her.

What's Going On

2009-02-04T19:39:00.002-06:00

That is a great Marvin Gaye album. Wasn't my intent when I titled this entry, but alas, the song popped into my head.

I've been kind of busy lately. Kind of strange, as my goals are usually to do as little as possible. I've been to two trivia nights in the preceding 2 Saturday nights. My team didn't do too terribly bad at either one. But the best part is always getting to hang out, drink alcohol, eat snacks and socialize and learn new things.

Last Friday I had dinner with someone I have not seen in a very, very long time. Originally I was friends with her brother in high school and part of college. I always thought she was funny and cool when I was at their house and she even invited my family to her wedding- 12 years ago- which until Friday was probably the last time I had seen her. We became friends on Facebook and became fast friends, so we decided we should meet up and have some drinks. It was a good time, so now we have plans to go see Flight of the Conchords when they come to town. Woo hoo! I'm so very excited!

I find it funny that the very shows my mom would always watch when I still lived at her house are the same shows that my husband watches constantly. I would beg her to change these channels (Good Eats with Alton Brown), HGTV, TLC, etc. and suddenly I'm finding myself in the same position. Albeit I've gained a greater appreciation for what these shows can offer me at this point in my life, I still have a breaking point.

The final point of discussion today is that of Lomax. The above mentioned friend sends out Groundhog Day cards each year, and as her new friend, this year I received one. The idea this year is similar to the book "Flat Stanley" in which Stanley becomes flat when a bullentin board falls on him, so grade school kids send Stanley out to friends and relatives all over the place and he goes on adventures and then they send him back with pictures and stories. I received Flat Lomax and since we are going to Las Vegas this weekend, so is Lomax. You will be sure to see some Lomax pictures up here and perhaps a link to the blog that they are keeping for his journey as well.

bon soir!

New computer, snow, whatever

2009-01-27T21:01:00.002-06:00

I just caught the beginning of whatever show is on after Dirty Jobs and they were talking about a form of racing that involves spray painted school buses racing in a figure eight. That means that without careful planning, you might crash into another bus while crossing the middle of the 8. Weird. That's all.

So, as a past post explained, my brand new laptop was broken. I finally got it back yesterday and it was fixed! Wooha! I actually worked from home so that I would be here when FedEx delivered it. Yes, I'm a dork and I love electronics that much. It was worth it though because it got here right around lunchtime and I wasn't that busy anyway, so I had a chance to play with it. :-)

It is snowing here, or icing or something. I'm not a fan. I don't know how people live further up north and deal with it. I didn't use to mind it so much until I wrecked the first car I bought with my own money because of an ice storm (5 days after I bought it, mind you)

We bought a new rug for the spare bedroom over the weekend. Inside it was a long cardboard tube, much like paper towels or toilet paper, only much, much longer and thicker. Bella decided immediately that it was hers. It was funny watching her trying to drag a 7 foot long tube around the house. Here is a picture of what has become of the tube. Note that she refuses to clean up after herself.

Canine haikus

2009-01-07T21:52:00.002-06:00

Here are some haikus about my dogs:

Bosco:
Wags his little nub
Selective hearing he has
Cuddles on the couch

Bella:
High pitched excitement
Yellow monster runs around
Loves kisses and hugs

What's a matta' with me??

2009-01-07T21:25:00.002-06:00

Why do I have this blog if I'm not going to write in it? I'm such a loser! Here I am watching the new incarnation of 90210 which leaves most of my brain with nothing to do.

I got a new computer on Monday. It is fabulous, the speed, the sound, the resolution, etc. Then I tried to watch some 30 Rock episodes on Netflix instant and that is when I discovered that the headphone jack is whack! I'm so depressed. This computer that I waited for for so long is going to have to go away again to get fixed and/or replaced :-( Sad sad sad

I'm thinking about having a Clint Eastwood film fest over the course of the year. I sat at home on NYE and watched some of his movies on AMC and just loved them. I also think he's dead sexy, even as old as he is now.

I'm trying to eat well and get in shape this year. So far I've done pretty well with the eating well. I'm still so scared of exercising and low blood sugars, though. I don't know why, though, seeing as I biked across France with no incident. I have an obstacle to overcome early next week, but after that, I will focus on good things from here on out!

Hang Ups

2008-10-20T22:11:00.002-05:00

I just saw this thing on tv called a hang up. Basically you just lay on this thing and hang upside down & it is supposed to cure back pain or something. I don't really have back pain, but it looks friggin awesome because I like hanging out upside down. I bet it costs too much money to justify the purchase.

I noticed that it has been over 3 months since I've blogged. I'm sure no one else did. It hasn't been the best time ever, I'm not going to lie. However, I don't care to elaborate either. I've been busy. I got a promotion at work so I have to learn a lot of new stuff. That's cool.

Today is Snoop Dogg's birthday. Mary and I used to celebrate his birthday. Well, we did once & it was ok I guess. We went to the creepy liquor store across the street from our apartment in Chicago and bought 40s. We wanted some other appropriate celebratory items but could not get them. That's all I have to say about that. But today is his birthday and I wish I could be at his birthday party because I think he's really talented and funny & I bet his party would be fun.

That's all. I'm sleepy now. Bye.

It sucks when there's no internets

2008-07-18T23:20:00.002-05:00

So we were just out our internet for over 2 weeks. If I weren't able to use it at work, I don't know how I could have survived. However, it did mean I couldn't do a lot of fun things like write on my blog and look at facebook all night.
I did have a pretty good week last week. We headed up to Chicago on Wednesday afternoon. Hung out in Wrigleyville Wed. night, then to the Shedd Aquarium on Thursday & dinner at a friend's house that night. I had been to all of these places before, but Eugene had not, so it was fun for him I hope. Friday we all headed up to Wisconsin Dells for some "camping" and drinking. I say camping loosely because the only thing that makes it camping is that we sleep in tents. There is a pool at the campground and an amusement/water park across the street. Good times as usual. It did storm REALLY bad on Friday night. While it may have been dangerous, I was too drunk to care & it makes for good sleeping.
Other than that, not much is going on. Oh, wait, I got a promotion, sort of. I'm taking another position on my same team, but it is an upward move so I'm pretty excited about it.
Ok, that's really all I think. Nothing clever. I guess no internet makes Aimless a dull girl. Boo!!!!

Hitting on the married chicks

2008-06-28T20:42:00.002-05:00

So, I guess I've still "got it" so to speak. I was out last night and ended up at a work gathering for someone's birthday. I got to talking with a co-worker, Sara, who is also married. Both of us happened to be without our husbands for the evening. In the time we stood sort of separated from the group, we were approached twice by a random guy with the "hey, how are you ladies doing?" line. We were both wearing our wedding rings and in one case, mine was in clear plain sight resting on my knee.
Funny thing was, eventually they got the hint and I don't even think we ever had to tell them we were married. I think the one guy was insulted that I made fun of him for drinking Miller Lite. He told me I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Miller Lite & Bud Light in a blind taste test, which is of course bullshit. So, I won my taste test and I got a free beer out of it.
So....point of the story.....I can still get guys, especially if I'm with another good looking woman.

more 90210

2008-06-28T09:41:00.002-05:00

Here I am again on another Saturday morning watching 90210. On this one (actually a 2-part episode) Valerie's friend comes to town. Suddenly, things start missing, like valuable jewelry and watches, etc. Of course, bad boy Ray Pruitt gets the blame until Valerie catches her friend and rats her out. Thus, a happy ending for all. Oh, until the very end that I just saw.....turns out the whole thing was a scam to make Valerie look like the heroine.

I think after almost 2 years, I may have hit a breakthrough with Bosco. For the longest time, he would never come inside for me. When I'd try to go get him, he'd act like it was a game and run off. However, lately, he's been considerably different. I mean, he doesn't always respond right away (but he doesn't always respond to Gene right away either), but I don't spend even 1/10 of the effort I used to in order to get him in. It makes me so much happier. Now, if we could only keep him from escaping and running......

We went to Parties in the Park at Fairmont Park last night for my friend's husband's birthday. I bet on 4 races. I actually won $5.20 on one of the races. That still leaves me down $2.80, but food was included in admission and beer was $1, so it's all good.

Well, I think it's time for my mid-morning nap....

Anniversary-eve

2008-06-11T18:22:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is our anniversary- #1. I got a card from my mom and dad (but really my mom) and it says blah blah blah, love mom and dad. We want to take you out to dinner. She's funny like that.

So I've done the vegan thing as best I can for almost a week now. I've had cheese like 3 times and probably some animal products of which I'm not aware. Other than that, I've done pretty well. And I must say, it has affected my blood sugar in a very positive way. I did some reading on that and apparently, if you have type 2 diabetes (which I do not, I'm screwed with the insulin-dependency....) a vegan diet can just about "cure" it. So that kind of explains why I'm needing less insulin, I guess it increases my sensitivity, which is extremely good. If I start working out, I might be down to very little. Woo hoo! Maybe I'll lose some weight too. Word.

I added some blog links to this page. Not that anyone ever reads my blog, but whatever. Iced Coco is written by Jen. It is a fashion critique of Ice-T and his wife, Coco. It is highly entertaining. There is also Game Theory. It is written by my co-worker, Michael, who likes to find articles about politics and comment on them. Then there is emergency pudding, which is written by my brother about his life in general. It is pretty amusing, especially if you know him.

That's all for now kids.

Pondering some life choices

2008-06-04T22:37:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm going to sound cliche, but I'm considering a serious lifestyle change. I read the news in spite of my better judgment and I see the horrors of animal farming, chemicals and additives in my food, unnecessary violence toward living things, the list goes on and on.
I'm considering becoming a vegan....as long as I can find fake cheese that tastes good and eating as much organic food as I can. When I think of what goes on in the world, I feel disgusted that my eating habits contribute.
I don't want to sound off like a militant animal rights activist, but it really is a strong feeling. Non-human animals are capable of having a family and personality and it is unnecessary to treat them as we do for a meal. I also cringe at the thought of eating a chicken that had the bird flu or that had been pumped full of antibiotics or shared a 1 1/2 sq. ft. cage with 4 other chickens during its short, miserable life.
Additionally, I want to rid myself of the chemicals we keep ingesting. As my brother stated, "you shouldn't eat anything that doesn't rot". Simple statement, yet how many people live by it?
I know this will be difficult and a daily struggle, but there are a lot of things in this world that are worth doing that are very hard. We never learn by taking the easy way out and sometimes you have to do what is uncomfortable for you in order to save someone or something else.

Anywho....I'm very excited to see my friend Sandra this weekend. She is getting married. Funny thing about my friendship with her is that we have only met face to face twice. We met during training at a job at which neither of us is employed any longer. She is in KC and I in St. Louis. We were each other's support through the whole process. We got to hang out for 2 weeks during part of our training in Chicago and then she made it here for my wedding reception last summer. I am very happy for her because she is one of those people that followed their heart and it actually worked. She is marrying a great guy and I'm very excited to get to see her again.

Well, that's enough tangents for tonight......

WTF?

2008-05-22T23:49:00.002-05:00

I really wonder why I do things sometimes.....you would never guess what I've been doing for the past 10 minutes or so. I was looking at the list of 9/11 victims. Why? No reason really, I just wanted to google it and see if there was a list of everyone who passed away that day. And, in fact, there is and it includes a picture and short bio of just about everyone. So I've got a real upper in which to fall asleep. It makes you think, though, about how our lives are so unexpected and not permanent. Your time could be at any time and for so many of these people it came at the same time, unfortunately.

On another note, I'm super excited about this weekend. My very lovely friends, Jessie and Chris, are getting married. They met at the big Chicago pub crawl almost 2 years ago. This goes back to my other theory about being where you are at the exact time you're supposed to be there. We invited Jessie to come up and she was on the fence until the last minute and ended up going. Chris almost didn't come down because he didn't have a ride, but he ended up flying in. And the rest is history.....It is truly amazing how every little insignificant moment in your life brings you to where you are right now. Everything happens to get you here and though it seems to have no rhyme or reason, it all happens exactly as it should......

Rooster

2008-05-05T20:30:00.002-05:00

Tonight there was a rooster in the yard behind us. Bosco really, really wanted to get the rooster. 2 hours ago he saw it. He is still whining, and trying to see it.
The rooster did not care that the dogs wanted to kill it. It just walked around all "cocky" LOL!!!!

Do I live in Jefferson County?

Mmmmmmmm

2008-05-03T09:29:00.002-05:00

That hit the spot. Now I'm enjoying the 90210 episode where Dylan is in a coma and they show him having all these dreams about stuff he's afraid of. Right now he's in a room with all of these women and his drug dealer and the drug dealer is playing the guitar and telling him that he's been with all the women. I think it is supposed to represent hell. It is all pretty cheesy and I think they are dragging it out a little too long. Either wake up or don't. Of course, we all know that he does so that kind of takes the suspense out of it. But such is the case when you watch reruns.

Today I think I will do a whole lot of nothing. I had a busy and annoying week at work and I just want to decompress by staring at the TV all day.

I want some breakfast

2008-05-03T08:47:00.002-05:00

Why is it that after a night of drinking some beer, all you want the next morning is a kick ass breakfast? I think I would give my right arm for an egg mcmuffin, hash browns and some coffee. Mmmmmmmm.
The other day at work my friend Debbie was joking that I was pregnant (I'm not, for the record) and that she would bring the baby a sausage biscuit for breakfast the next morning. Sure as I live and breathe, she showed up at my desk with a sausage biscuit. It was delicious.
In fact, I think I'm just going to go to McDonalds while my mind is on this. 90210 reruns will have to wait. Yay for Soapnet.

It's not a good time unless I get injured

2008-04-27T21:26:00.002-05:00

I was in Memphis last weekend for a dual bachelorette party. It was awesome as usual. However, I got a pretty nasty bruise on my left ankle one night because I was dancing at this club and some guy stepped on it. It hurt like a bitch pretty much right away, but I just sucked it up and kept on. I mean, what was I going to do, sue a guy because we're both drunk and stuff happens?

The next day it looked wretched and it just got worse. It still looks pretty bad, 9 days later.

Anyway, it made me think that on all of the really awesome weekends I've had in Memphis, I've always sustained injuries. In 2002 the CD Warehouse gang went down there for the Beale St. Music Fest in Memphis in May. It was super muddy because of a torrential downpour that Friday night. Saturday night my friend, Eric, and I were goofing around and I ended up ass first in the mud with 2 halves of beer spilled down the front of me. It was hilarious.

Anyway, the next morning I woke up with bruises all over my arms and legs and thighs, as if I'd been in a boxing or UFC match. Pretty weird, I guess there was a lot I didn't remember.

Another funny thing that happened last weekend was that I saw the guy who sits behind me at work in an elevator in a club on Beale St. Saturday night. I didn't believe it at first and he didn't even see me, but when I came in Monday morning I found out it really was him. I find it odd that he sits 5 feet away and neither of us knew the other was going to be there.

The Earthquake

2008-04-18T08:14:00.003-05:00

Update.....just after 10 a.m. I was packing and getting ready for the big bachelorette trip to Memphis and was standing by the bed and the shaking started again. This time I was much more awake and I just stood in a bit of shock. I saw the mirror above the dresser shaking and could hear things in the house moving. It was a little unnerving since I was home alone....

Well, early this morning I experienced something I've not yet experienced in my lifetime....an earthquake. It supposedly happened in Bellmont, IL at 4:37 a.m. 5.2 on the scale.

Here's how I remember it.....I was awoken by my dog, Bella, early this morning. She was barking rather persistently and I sat up and looked at her and asked what was wrong with her. Just after that the bed started to shake, as if someone was on the side of it pushing it, but no one was. I then realize that the entire house is shaking and I'm confused. I turn and ask Eugene, "what is that?"
He said, "maybe it's an earthquake" and I say that must be it because I cannot think of any other logical explanation.

So, it stops and I lay there for a while expecting some sort of aftershock that might kill us or something, but that never happens.

And, of course, when we turn on the news this morning, it is "Breaking News" and that is all they continue to talk about as I keep watching.

That's all I got....it's too early in the morning for anything else to have happened.

Bosco et le serpent.....

2008-04-14T18:24:00.003-05:00

The Bosco stories just get better. I come home from work today and I let them outside as one would typically do when their dogs have been inside all day.

A few minutes later I look out the back door and see Bosco whipping something around. First, I'm afraid it is a dead bird or mole. I look closer and think it might be a worm, but no, it is a snake. I chase after him to let it go. Then I call Eugene, who is still at work, to tell him.

"I think he's got a snake" I say and he panics. "You have to get it away from him!" I tell him he keeps running from me. He then asks if I think it's poisonous. I certainly can't tell from where I am, but if anyone in this relationship would know, it would be me.
Finally he drops it and I walk over to look at it. "You have to make sure it isn't poisonous," he keeps saying. I pick it up and find that it has no head, which is normally my method of determining the venomousness of snakes.

Apparently I didn't tell him how small it really was. Even if it was poisonous, I don't know how much damage it could do considering it had to already have been dead. "I'm sure it's a black snake or a garter snake I tell him. Anything poisonous in this region is much lighter colored."

So that calmed him down. Then I came inside and checked on the internet and saw that no venomous snake in Missouri looks like that snake (even though I already knew that, at least I could tell Eugene that Bosco won't die.)

Oh, and I let him know that there were probably more snakes and that many of them are living beneath the tree we had cut down 3 months ago.....so if that doesn't get him motivated....:-)

lalalalalalala

2008-04-13T19:28:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty boring it turns out.....my exciting Friday night involved going to Ozzie's with 2 guys from work, with whom I always go out drinking and just chatted and drank, etc. Finally I go home and as I open the door to get the mail, the bad dog takes off outside into the street. This is bad. When he gets out, he's gone. Then, the good dog takes off with him. They plow full speed up the street & my husband goes out after them running barefoot up the hill.

Well, he doesn't catch them, in fact he has to get in the car with me because he's starting to get sick since he had also been drinking prior to this. So we have to drive around for while and he finds them on one of the cul-de-sacs. We get home and I pull the bad dog (Bosco) inside and give the two of them a good talking to. Meanwhile, Eugene is puking in the backyard now that he knows the dogs are safe. They are such jackasses. Even more so, because the next morning I catch Bosco eating the vomit off the grass (yes, it's gross, but it adds even more to the story).

The whole next day I have a headache, so I lay on the couch while Eugene goes and looks at stoves and refridgerators. (We've been needing new ones pretty badly). All in all, I didn't do crap all day.

Today was a little more exciting (but don't be fooled, it totally isn't). We got McDonald's breakfast and then went shopping AGAIN for appliances. Finally, he dropped me off because nothing makes me more miserable than shopping with him. At least he finally bought the fridge and stove on his own, thank goodness. So, Tuesday, we will have new stuff. Woo hoo!

How sad is my life? At least next weekend I'm going to Memphis for my friends Jessie and Jenna's bachelorette parties. I'm so excited! I haven't had a good night of rockstar partying in a LONG time and this way I'll have 2 nights of rockstar partying AND I'll be in Memphis and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Memphis. It has been way too long!

Tomorrow I go to work, so maybe that will provide a good story or two, though it is highly doubtful.

3 topics tonight

2008-04-07T23:40:00.002-05:00

1) There seem to be too many commercials for military recruitment. What is going on? Is the plan to send more people to Iraq to get killed? Are we looking for a reason to deploy lower middle class and minority kids? Whatever, it just seems odd to me.

2) Good Samaritan- this phrase bugs the crap out of me. In the bible, this story represented two enemies. One was left robbed and left for dead on the side of the road and the "Good Samaritan" tended to him and gave him water and made him feel better. Are we to believe that any time someone helps a stranger, this person is their "enemy"? This phrase has taken on a completely ridiculous meaning that has nothing to do with the original story. For example, a gentleman in St. Louis recently died because he was run over by a car in order to stop a thief that stole from the Starbucks he frequented. He was not only not an "enemy" of the Starbucks, he was their friend!!! He tried to help his friends! Not his enemies!! Even so, the media gave him the good Samaritan label, which to me, is completely inappropriate. Whatever, it just pisses me off.

3) I am so excited about the music I'm getting from my husband's cousins! I have wanted a lot of this stuff for a while (some I didn't even know I wanted).

That's all. My life has been explained once and for all.....

Too long!

2008-03-04T18:33:00.002-06:00

I guess it has been too long since I've written a blog. Too much has happened that I don't wish to discuss. The last 4 days have been interesting. Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous. My dogs spent all day outside, we went to the park for a walk, grilled at my brother and sister in law's house. It was wonderful. Then yesterday came. The temperature dropped. Not abnormal for St. Louis. Then today we got about 50 inches of snow. Not really, but that's what it looks like outside the back door.
I left work early and was scared. I couldn't see anything! Stop lights weren't visible until you were AT the stoplight. I could barely see where to turn onto my street. Craziness. So, I worked the rest of the day from home. It was ok I guess. I actually get A LOT more done at home because I'm not socializing at all. Not that I socialize all that much, but you can't really do it at all at home. The dogs don't really have much to say and they sleep a lot.
Here's a picture of them as the snow was pretty much done. They had a good time.

Super Mardi Hog Bowl

2008-02-03T16:07:00.002-06:00

What a crazy weekend. Not only was yesterday Groundhog Day (he saw his shadow), but it was the day of the ginormous Mardi Gras parade in St. Louis. AND today is Super Bowl Sunday. The Chicago/ Vegas crew came in town as they do annually for another weekend of drunken debauchery. As per usual, "low-key" nights end up insane and eventful. Mary got in town late Thursday night just as the snow really kicked up. So, I unfortunately had to stay home, but she and Corey hung out down in Soulard and subsequently got stuck at Chris's place because they couldn't dig the car out of the snow. I picked them up Friday morning and we soon started drinking. Got some lunch at Morgan Street Brewery. Had a FANTASTIC roast beef au jus sandwich on garlic cheese bread. I would go so far to say that any sandwich on garlic cheese bread is the best it gets. Later we went to Chris and Jessie's place where they were getting ready for the big party. I went to Chavas with Chris and some of his friends, got an excellent margarita and a cheese enchilada. Then we went to another bar and watched a band (I couldn't tell you where we were). At that point, we decided it was probably about time to get some sleep. That's when it got interesting. We walked for many blocks looking for a cab. We then found "Fast Eddie". Mary then decided she wanted White Castle, so we had him pull into the drive-thru. Then Mary farted and the cab driver just couldn't let it go. At the same time, we realized paying for a cab in the long drive thru was futile so we got out and went in. We ate our food and went outside to look for another cab. We didn't find one, but we very quickly noticed hoards of people running out of White Castle and tearing off in their cars. We were in downtown St. Louis, not the best neighborhood, so I declared that we needed to get away from there immediately if not sooner. Finally we found the 'best' cab driver of all. The crazy old man who kept feeding us trivia and asking us trivia questions and yelling at us to "shut the fuck up". He was frightening. Had I been more sober, I probably would have hated him more, but I didn't pay much attention to him. So, our 'low-key' night ending at about 3:30 am. We didn't make it to the parade, suffice it to say.....
The theme of Mardi Gras parade day (courtesy of Jessie) was Happy Mardi Hog! Drink until you can't see your shadow. Too many people took that too literally. There's nothing like major day of drinking to bring friends together. It was a good day, though. Met some new and crazy people and enjoyed hanging out with the out of towners.

The Lakehouse

2008-01-19T18:42:00.001-06:00

Will somebody please stab me so I don't have to watch this movie anymore??? It is AWFUL!!!!

Last night we watched "We are Marshall". To anyone who thinks that this movie starts out sad and ends hopeful and triumphant, you would be wrong. I waited and waited to not be sad anymore and it never happened. This is not to say it isn't a good movie, because it is. In reality, it is nice to see something that is honest and "un-sugarcoated". I appreciated that.

Seriously, if I watch one more second of this movie, I might gag. Thank goodness for my ipod.

Scruffy looking nerf herder

2008-01-19T11:47:00.000-06:00

I'm watching the Empire Strikes Back for the billionth time since we got HBO. I asked Eugene, "what exactly IS a nerf herder." He said, "it is someone who herds nerfs". Duh.
So I googled it, of course. The first 30 or so entries only dealt with the band Nerf Herder, who obviously got their name from the movie reference. Then I found this entry in the urban dictionary. Check it out. (Click on the blog title to get there)
Turns out, if I were Han Solo, I would be pretty upset about this name. However, the only thing that bothers him is when he is called "scruffy looking."

The other day I was on messenger with this guy at work and he sent me this Yoda wink that was hilarious. Yoda was dressed all blingy like a rapper and he says, "what is up, yo? Hmmm?" Yes, it loses the hilarity without the delivery, but if you can picture that statement in Frank Oz's voice, you can imagine how funny it was.

Anywho, I'm thinking by now that I need to do something else with my time today other than blog about Star Wars crap.

No more of the Whopper?

2008-01-13T22:36:00.001-06:00

Alright, I keep seeing commericals about when Burger King "discontinued" the Whopper as a joke in Las Vegas one day and people literally freaked out about it.
Well....I am very concerned about where this country is going when someone is completely distraught over the loss of a merchandised hamburger.
Oh, yeah, and Bret Michaels gets horny over EVERYTHING!!!! I said it before during Rock of Love I, but it continues.... I think my myspace blogs have already discussed this, but ah! Geez! It is unbelievable the amount of horniness this man contains. Yet I continue to watch this, and what does that say about me......

best christmas gift

2007-12-22T00:21:00.000-06:00

So, we'll see if my brother ever reads my blog. It may very well hint at part of his Christmas present. He recently wrote in his blog about "an ideal date" and let's just say it involved Bartles & James, popcorn and gravy, a warm house and "The Little Mermaid". I then decided as part of his Christmas present, I would try to make that happen. While at Dierberg's this evening, I purchased a nice 4 pack of "the original" Bartles & James. I will then add a bag of microwave popcorn complete with a gravy packet. If only I could locate a copy of The Little Mermaid on DVD in time........
Ok, I have to go now before my dogs go completely insane.....
Here they are last weekend in the big snowstorm. I guess Bosco wanted to be dinner, so he jumped in the fire pit.

MLB "witchhunt"

2007-12-13T18:46:00.000-06:00

Can someone tell me what anyone hopes to accomplish by finger pointing toward baseball players who used "steroids"? When your career depends upon you performing at an absolute peak, you're probably going to do just about whatever it takes to help you attain this. Many of these substances were, at the time, legal and misunderstood. So now we're going to destroy the game that so many of us grew up loving because some people want to finger point? Apparently the world doesn't have bigger problems? I tire of this. What are we doing about the professional athletes who exhibit frivilous behavior and end up killing people, animals, etc. As far as I can tell, only one has even received close to what he deserves for his actions. In essence, people guilty of far worse things are getting off with a slap on the wrist and the others, who hurt no one but themselves, if even that, are being ostracized and taken to court? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Best Xmas movie ever

2007-12-11T20:09:00.000-06:00

So, I'm watching "Love Actually" which is pretty much the best movie around Christmas time that ever was (except for the children's movies- this movie is for grown-ups). I love it, it is so funny and truthful and emotional. One of the funniest things about it is that Billy Bob Thorton plays the president of the US. He is a wonderful comedic representation of a Bill Clinton/ GW Bush combo. Then we have Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, but that really isn't a surprising role for him.....
Anyway, today I had the turkey equivalent of "spam" I think. My work had a holiday lunch and the buffet line consisted of this "turkey", but it didn't have any bones at all and it was surprisingly easy to cut with a plastic butter knife. Kinda like a chicken mcnugget without the breading....frightening.....
Other than that, I'm just really tired of all this rain. Rain is no fun when it is cold. I want to lie in bed all day and I feel sleepy at work and can't get anything done.
Oh, one more thing about Love Actually. One of the characters decides that he wants to visit the states and he decides to go to Wisconsin. Now, I have nothing against Wisconsin, I actually really like it, but it is not the typical location that one would expect a foreigner to come to on their first visit. He ends up finding exactly what he is looking for....Shannon Elizabeth wearing a cowboy hat donning a southern accent, because we all know that is what a typical Wisconsonian is like. LOL
That's all folks.

My new friend

2007-12-04T19:18:00.000-06:00

Today I met my new friend Zachary. He is about 1 day old at this moment in time. He is super cute, but his body temp was a little low, so he had to be wrapped up in blankets and a hat like a little bug. It was like holding a football with a head. I can't wait to see his eyes and hands and feet. Then I came home and we tried a recipe we found on yahoo for beef fried rice. Eugene loves beef fried rice. This recipe was pretty good I guess, but we used too much oil. Good to know for next time. And, honestly, by the time you buy all the ingredients, especially the steak, it is probably just cheaper to go get it at the Chinese place. Oh, well.

Was I cheated if I didn't know better?

2007-12-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

So, at the coaxing of my flute instructor, Sunday I participated in a master class with a flautist from Spain named Eugenia Moliner. I was terrified, but Jenna convinced me that it would be fine and that it would be a good experience. I was still terrified, but she was right. Eugenia was very nice and she offered a lot of constructive advice and comments- much of which I've already heard from Jenna. So, I now know what I could have been really working on for years. I have played the flute for over 20 years and I am just now learning about what I should REALLY be doing to get better. It makes me wonder what could have been; what if I had had teachers that had invested more in me, worked me harder, challenged me more? I love playing more than almost anything, but I never put in the time I should have and no one pushed me to do it. For 8 years I took lessons from 3 teachers. I honestly think only one of them could have given me what I needed. Unfortunately, she was the first one and I think she moved away. The other two were very nice and great players, but they never lit a fire under me or showed me so many of the things that I have already learned from Jenna. Such small, simple techniques that have already improved my playing in the short time that I had studied again.
I guess you can't change the past and I can say now that I can give myself the tools to do what I want to do. Lesson learned.
In other news, there have been two babies born in the last 4 days. My friend, Jen, had her little girl Friday morning, albeit 6 weeks early. The earliness was expected and though I was excited for them, I was cautious to get too happy before I knew the status of the situation. But she is absolutely beautiful. She's small, but lungs seem to be developed and she isn't on a respirator.
Then, this morning, I get a text message from Tina saying that she is in labor. I talked to her around 8 a.m. and she had just gotten her epidural. She was pretty funny, feeling no pain. Finally her son was born this evening and he was 7 lbs. 12 ozs. I'm sure I will go see them tomorrow. I'm so excited for the both of them. This is now the 7th friend this year to have a baby. There are more to come next year though!
That's all for now. How about a picture of my cute puppies to look at!
Oh, and you can check out the newly painted guest bedroom as well and my plant that I haven't killed yet. Enjoy!

Only so much I can handle.....

2007-11-11T20:43:00.000-06:00

So, I went to the 'n'th baby shower this year out of 'n'. I'm saying 'n' because there has been too many to keep track. Anyhow, I went to a suburb of Chicago and stayed with my pregnant friend on bedrest (it was her shower), another pregnant friend and another friend who has a 2 year old. I love them dearly and I think it is wonderful that they have/ are having children and feel the need to talk about pregnancy constantly, but I don't know how much more I can take. This is all I have heard about for the last year from SO many of my friends. Luckily, a few of my friends were also in town for unrelated reasons, so I was able to get away Saturday night. I had dinner at a former co-workers house. Getting together again with some folks I hadn't seen in a long time was fantastic! I had such a wonderful time talking about everything BUT pregnancy. It also made me again realize how much I want to move back to Chicago. This recurs every time I go back. I am always so happy when I am there. I know some great people and there are some great places to go, it is just such a different feeling for me. Sometimes I wish that I had never moved back home, but I know that I was supposed to, because I would never have met my husband otherwise. So, now I just drop hints about going back. He's such a good sport, too, and never tells me 'no'. I could pull it off if I keep working on him....

One of the funniest things we did at Rhonda's house on Saturday was watch the video from her daughter's wedding reception. I realize that this sounds completely horrible, but it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Her son-in-law is Dutch and apparently there must be some kind of custom that lays out that you have to sing a half hour long song to embarass the groom. His relatives had this song about all of his past girlfriends and the words were typed out and passed out to everyone at the reception. So, the guy videotaping zooms in on Rhonda's daughter as she reads the words to the song and perfectly captures the look on her face as she tries to figure out what it all means. You then see her new husband try to distract her from reading it and tries to get it away from her. Words cannot describe the hilarity of this unplanned scene from the evening. The videographer also zooms in on people as they have conversations. You can't hear anything, but it is still priceless.

All in all, good weekend. Now I am home again with my puppies and my hubby and tired and ready to go to bed!

The TV Writer Strike

2007-11-02T22:36:00.001-05:00

Today I was informed of the television writer strike. At first, we were discussing NBC shows, so I was naturally upset because that is the network that has The Office, Scrubs and Heroes. This turned into utter shock and despair when my co-worker friends informed me that "no, it isn't just all the NBC writers, it is ALL writers! What don't you understand about all???"
"WHAT?????" is my response. What the heck am I going to do? My life almost revolves around the weekly storylines and drama that television can bring me. My own life is just not that interesting, so I need it to bring me into a more interesting life.
Maybe I could be a TV writer??? I like writing, I like stories, I like being funny, why not? It probably won't ever happen. Honestly, I just hope the writers don't stay on strike. Give them what they want, please!!!! My life can't go on without new plots!

All the babies

2007-10-25T18:39:00.000-05:00

i am absolutely in awe these past few months. as a lot of people know, i have quite a few friends who are either pregnant or have recently had babies. they all came at once it seemed. it's all very exciting, especially for me, who gets to watch from an outside perspective and see how it all unfolds. (yes, it has caused a lot of comments about "us being next", but i'm not worried about that. all in due time....)
anyway, in the last week and a half, i have gotten to meet claire and allison. they are the daughters of three wonderful friends. i met both of them when they were just over a day old. i have to say that i can't even imagine how a mother must feel because i miss them both terribly and they are not even my children! both little girls are absolute angels! they are the babies you are so relieved your friends have because they are honest to god beautiful babies and you can say it and mean it! they were not at all like the weird looking babies that no one knows how quite to comment on because they seriously are not cute.
i used to be terribly afraid of very little babies. they are so fragile and 'soft'. i was always afraid i would do something unintentionally to hurt them. however, i have gotten over this and now i just marvel in the thought of holding these little ones and watching them sleep and make their little noises and make funny faces. it is absolutely amazing.
i am so proud of my friends. they have a lot of courage to bring another person into this world and take care of them and teach them about how to be a good person. believe me, these babies will be learning from very good sources.
my next anticipation is zachary. zachary should be coming to meet us in about a month and i am THRILLED. though i love all the little girls, i'm excited about another boy in my life. his mom asked me if i was going to come see them in the hospital and i responded, "i'm coming to see you the very second they allow me to come see you!" i've watched his mom her entire pregnancy and i just cannot wait for him to be here as i cannot wait to watch my friends' children grow up and become amazing humans. i'm just awestruck.

Blaming others.....

2007-10-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

So, I just read an article about how the family of a Chicago runner is "blaming" a Chicago ambulance for 'getting lost' whilst having a patient in the ambulance. I also read that the ambulance is from Niles. Having lived in the area, I know that Niles is a suburb, the drivers are not quite as familiar with the Chicago downtown streets, and CERTAINLY they are not familiar while there are road closings due to a huge event, such as a marathon. I understand the grief that can overcome a family after losing someone, there are many people that can be blamed, but WHY would you blame an underequipped ambulance driver because they couldn't find a hospital during a time of pandemonium. How could they be easily expected to find a hospital during this. I am SO TIRED of people wanting a scapegoat for EVERY LITTLE THING that goes wrong?????

The last 24 hours.....

2007-10-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

I feel like the possibilities in my life would be endless if I had an unlimited supply of money. Ever since I was at Theresa's parents' house on Saturday, I can't stop thinking about gaming systems and all the games I want to get. I haven't thought like this since I was about 11! Back then, all I could think about was being the first one at the bus stop to beat Super Mario II or the all-time question- did Jeff or I beat Castlevania II first? I was at home and he was at a friend's house when we both beat the game. We may never know the truth.....
So, after many months of curiosity, I finally played Guitar Hero. I quickly became addicted as it was pretty easy to play and had a whole bunch of songs I love. I also played bowling on the Wii. That was fun, too, like something you could just do while you were bored sitting around the house. I felt like a whole new world had opened.
So I came home raving about everything and I look online to see about getting a Guitar Hero game. Turns out the newest version comes out on Sunday AND it will be for the Playstation 3. Therefore, last night we went out and bought a Playstation 3 and I pre-ordered Guitar Hero 3. Oh, yes, you didn't read that incorrectly- I PREORDERED something. I've not pre-ordered anything in my life. That's what those random kids at CD Warehouse used to do when some lame new CD was coming out that they HAD to have at midnight. I don't care, I have owned up to my desperation. However, now I find it very unfair that Eugene already has a new game to play on the new system, but I have to wait 5 more days for the ONLY game that I want to play. I don't know what he's going to about watching football on Sunday...... I digress.

The other fun thing I did last night was download my new Radiohead album- the one where I decide what I pay. I then got into a discussion with Eugene because he said he was reading about how many people still illegally downloaded it. I just don't understand why you'd need to do that when you can actually get the album for free right from the band! Are they just embarrassed that the band will know that they wanted it for free? Honestly, though, I think those people gave it no thought at all and me trying to analyze it is just wasting my time.....

Oh, this is exciting, we got some free cans of Purina One canned dog food when we bought the dry stuff at Petsmart last night. So, tonight, just to make sure that they weren't spoiled just enough yet, I mixed the canned food with the dry. For two dogs who eat about a bite per hour normally and seem content with it, you would have thought that they hadn't eaten for weeks. They were so excited about it, and then they licked their bowls long after any resemblance of food had been left behind. Their life is so hard......

That's all I got. I will now go back to watching Eugene play whatever game it is he is playing. Go Rockies!