happy Monday!

Hi everyone! Gosh, I've missed you guys. Our monitor at home was broken so I've been mostly without a computer, other than at work. I avoid the blogs at work and frankly, with the boss out of town, I've been way busier than I'd anticipated. Anyways, I have a lot of catching up to do. I might not fully be able to do that until Wednesday.

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This weekend was my girls weekend with my BFF. We went to our usual place and did the usual stuff. I bought some awesome close-toed, red, hidden platform heels (pics to come later). We watched some movies, drank too much and laughed a lot. It went way too quickly but was muchly needed. :)

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One thing I wanted to blog about last week (and couldn't) was something I thought about after talking on the phone with my friend Cliff. I started wondering whether most men pee while sitting or standing. I think more men than I previously thought might be closet sitters. Any idea? I grew up with standers, but I'm beginning to think that there are a lot who like to sit. My friend Cliff said he sits when he's tired. I think sitting (and then consequently having to stand) takes more time and energy than just standing to begin with. I also kinda wondered where their equipment goes when they sit. Wouldn't it touch the inside of the seat? *ewww* I don't know, maybe I've given this way too much thought. Am I the only one?

Your thoughts please...

So...umm......

My shoulder massager is broken. It keeps shorting out while in use. Have you ever been in the middle of a really good shoulder massage when the massager cuts out? Not. Good. At. All. In fact, it's downright infuriating. I'd go as far as saying that it's the worst. feeling. EVER.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll update over the weekend with how my day with Kelly went.

Work stuff and grocery stores

So, Kelly has been gone for a week now (she went to Vegas) and I must say, her absence has really made me realize how unhappy she makes me. I've had a wonderful (albeit stressful) week while I've covered. It's a hard job to do without a second person, and even harder for me as the new girl. I am proud of what I've learned this week though and one thing I realized is that when she gets back, I will no longer be turning to her for assistance. This week has shown me that when left with no other options, I *can* problem solve and figure things out. I am dreading her return on Thursday but will be happy to get back to my regular schedule of having Wednesdays off.

On another note, who here has a Nugget Supermarket? We just had one open here and I have to say, I *love* it! It was decorated so nicely and had so many more selections than our "regular" store (SaveMart, I think). Do you shop at an "upscale" grocery store or do you do the "smart" thing and shop at the cheaper places? I can definitely tell a difference in the produce, but I'm also shallow enough to admit that I just like the trendier decor of the nicer places. I did shop smart though and tried only to get the sale items. I'm not sure which stores are national chains... do you have Bel-Air, Albertson's, Safe Way, Pak-n-Save, or Winco? I'm sure we have others but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

New Phone?

I was thisclose to getting a blackberry the other night. Have you seen the red one? I love it. I was (am) having a hard time committing to getting the internet on my plan though, as it will cost me a minimum of $30 a month. In the end I think I'm going to get this phone because it has the full keyboard and I can always add internet later if I feel I must.

"Palm® Centro - Glacier White
The Palm Centro is a compact QWERTY smartphone offering a full range of features. Keep up with work and friends via email, Instant Messenger and Push-To-Talk. Enjoy the sounds of AT&T Music and XM Radio. Take pictures and video with the 1.3 MP camera."

Other than deliberating over what phone to get, I had a busy weekend. My DH's car broke down the other night and apparently needs a new engine. *sigh* It's a '99 Toyota Camry with 118k miles on it. I feel as though it should not be having this kind of problem and I am irrationally (??) blaming this on my husband. Maybe he drives it too hard or ignored some signs? I don't know. I'm just bummed and irritated and need someone to blame. *looks around at all of you* ;-)

What did you do on the 4th? Do you/can you do fireworks in your state? Do you like them? Has all this been covered in someone else's blog and I missed it?

Rebelution

Happy Monday! My weekend was good. I went to see a band play on Saturday night in what I can only describe as a teeny-bopper hang out kinda place. It was for all ages, though it did have a bar area. I had to wear a wrist band so they could easily see that I was over 21. It was completely out of my comfort zone but I did it for my brother, who bought me the tickets and really wanted me to see this particular band (called Rebelution). They had a reggae/dub sound and were actually very good.

(links are to youtube)
Here is a link to one of their songs

And another

Now, I have to admit, walking into this club was very difficult for me. I'm just not into that scene. If I'd have had an ativan on me, I'd have taken it. I was thinking, I wish I was one of those people who just don't *care* what other people think and could just walk in there and have fun. I sat in the car for a while with my friend Ashley just watching all these young people going in. All the pretty girls, all glammed up. I felt too old and frumpy to go in.

How many of you are like that? Do you ever feel self-conscious and if so, what situations bring it out of you the most? Does any particular kind of crowd intimidate you? I'm easily intimidated by lots of people, even kids. I think I was afraid that people would see me walking in and think, "what's SHE doing here...she doesn't fit....". So, is it just me or do any of you experience these same kinds of thoughts?

Drive-By Work Rant

I am trying really hard to keep a positive attitude and continue liking my job. Some days are good, others are just awful. Kelly is just not easy for me to like. She likes/needs to exert her "authority" over me on a regular basis. I'm getting a little bolder in realizing that she is *not* my boss and sometimes, I don't have to defer to her preferences. Example; when I started working, my boss never said what time I needed to take my lunch. He left it up to me. I asked Kelly about it and she said she takes hers at 1pm, so I should before then.

Usually, it's not a problem for me to be back by then. What bugs me though is that a) I'm there longer than her each day so sometimes it seems a little backwards to me since I get hungry late in the afternoon, as I'm eating so early, and b) sometimes I want to take an hour but it's really hard to leave right at noon. That's what happened on Tuesday. My brother was at the office and I wanted to eat with him and my father, so I needed to leave as close to noon as possible. Well, my boss came out and asked me to do a Proof of Service for him (which includes typing the document, copying it, and mailing it to the person being served). The phone was ringing non-stop and before I knew it, it was 12:30. I was beyond frustrated because Kelly was not answering the phone at all, even though she knew I was racing to get out the door. When I finally did leave, I all of a sudden decided to screw it, and take my effing hour anyways. I decided that for once, Kelly could wait. Russ (my boss) has never once told me I needed to be back by 1pm. So I did it; I took my hour and came waltzing in at 1:30. *grin* I acted all nonchalant and ignored any attitude she might have been giving me. It felt really good. I won't do that a lot, but it was kinda liberating. I had found out that same day that Kelly took it upon herself to tell my other boss (the wife, Jacquie) that I was intimidated by her. That really pissed me off, as it was not Kelly's place to divulge it and only made me feel more uncomfortable around Jacquie. *sigh*

The other thing I have been doing lately is *reading* the client files. OMG. Interesting stuff. I now realize that some of our clients are not very nice people at all. One guy is a playboy who is hiding assets from his wife; cut her off financially; refuses to see his kids if they stop by; and he forged his wife's signature on checks! Another woman tried to seduce her 14 yer old nephew and threatened to kill him if he told on her. There are allegations of every nature, in lots of graphic detail. It was also kinda neat to read the depositions where the attorneys start getting catty and sarcastic with each other, lol!

There are definitely some good things about working there, and of course there is the negative. I am just going to keep plugging along and hope that things change at some point, relieving me from working so closely with Kelly.

*whew* Thanks for letting me rant. I wish I could post a little every day instead of saving it to this extent.

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So, does anyone have a good site they can recommend for posting and sharing pictures? I was using Ringo (with family and local friends) but it is closing down. I'm pretty upset by it, as it was a great way to keep in touch with people that I don't normally talk to regularly. I was thinking of trying Flickr...does anyone have any thoughts on that?

The Perfect Shoes!!

Is it just me or is RTVW down again? *head tilt*


~I have had a crazy busy weekend. It started on Thursday night when I went to my mom's to get my kids at the same time that my ex-sister in law was there to get hers. Somehow Sex and the City came up and she decided she should take me to see it right then. I protested in all sorts of ways (it was almost too late as the movie was about to start; I was still in my work clothes; I had no money on me; hadn't eaten dinner; etc.). She would not take no for an answer so off we went. She is the one that was married to my brother for over ten years; his first wife. I have to admit, I expected to hate the movie so I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I found it entertaining.

~On Friday night I went to see my RLBFF. We had dinner and then hit the mall. In Hot Topic (a teenagers dream store) I found these shoes: (taken at a friend's house with camera phone)




At first the lady said they were $39.99. They also didn't carry half sizes, so I was thinking they wouldn't work as they'd be either too big or too small. When I had her bring out the other size she mentioned that they were on sale for $15.99! I decided to get them too big (just slightly) and I'd make them work. I added those pads at the heel of the shoe and they fit fine. They are *very* comfortable. I've been wanting some closed toe black heels for a while now, so I was thrilled. Yay me! We discussed our upcoming girl's weekend and we decided we want to do the same river rafting that Puffy and Mr. Puffy did. We also talked about getting (semi) matching tattoos. :)


~ On Saturday night I went to my friend Ashley's house. Her husband cooked and they had another couple over. It was a good time. I had a margarita which was the first alcohol I've had in a long time. She gave me a pair of purple heels that I need to show you. I'll get a pic in the sunlight so you can see the color. I love them! Double yay me!!

So today was all about family, as most Sundays are. I almost fell asleep in church a couple times. I'm beyond tired. I didn't want to leave my blog un-updated though.

Hope you all had a good weekend! *smooches*

Random tiny updates

There's just too much to cover, so I'll do a list. *waves to Boo*

1. We went to a formal wear party this weekend in a barn in my grandfather's meadow. Country meets City. It was pretty cool. My cousin Kelsey was graduating and she looked like Cinderella. I added a pic of her and I in my slideshow. There's another picture from that night of my kids in the slideshow also.

2. Kelly called in sick today so I was on my own. It was stressful but it went ok. I'm having such a hard time with her right now. I want to like her. I think part of my struggle is that I feel like she doesn't like *me*. She's very negative and talks bad about everyone else, so why should *I* be different, kwim?

3. My boss had me go into his office to learn to do a Proof of Service and there was a spider on his wall that was hideously huge. I screamed and he started laughing at me. His wife, in the next office could hear everything and made me keep talking to her while the boss went to get a ladder (to get it down). She knew I was freaking out and was trying to keep me distracted. My boss made a joke about "showing it to me" after he grabbed it in a paper towel and I told him he'd get my two weeks notice in all of 10 seconds if he did, lol.

4. My grandparents house has been sitting empty on the farm for a couple years now. It's starting to look abandoned and overgrown. It was very sad to see.

5. My daughter found a dog collar on the sidewalk recently. It looked nice and the brand on it said B.B. Simon. We looked it up and it was a $100 collar! We called the number and the lady was thrilled to be getting it back. When DD went to the door, they gave her a trick or treat bag that had Honey Roasted almonds and a $5 bill. Pretty sweet (and random!).

6. Do you say All-mond, or Am-and?

7. So is everyone going to go hands-free in July? I think I'll hate having the blue-tooth on my ear, too. I'm dreading it. I might not even do it. But I also hate breaking the law....

8. I want to start walking every day after work because I want to take my kids on a pretty big hike in August. I have to decide between going to the Quincy "Q" or to the Lighthouse that's on the mountain behind my grandparents house. Both are pretty hard, with the Q being a shorter and steeper hike. I did both (often) as a child/teenager.

9. I miss playing with you guys everyday. :(

10. Should I blow my whole next paycheck on a new cell phone so I'll have internet? :D

Lucky me!

Edited to add~ I also got a call from Boo! See, I knew I was too tired to update properly last night. It was so sweet (as usual) of her to think of calling. I missed her call initially, but then called her back during my lunch hour. I got to hear Conner's sweet little voice too. *grin* Thank you, Boo!

I got to spend almost 2 hours with Puffy and her husband tonight! They met me for dinner after work. I'm sure they were tired and could have easily had dinner near their hotel, but they graciously drove toward my area (work area) and we ate at Olive Garden. Puffy gave me a bag full of apricots (which are almost completely gone now, lol) . She (they) were easy and fun to talk to. I could have easily stayed for hours longer. I really hope we get another chance sometime to meet again. I really already knew how much I liked Puffy but I have to admit, her DH was a pleasant surprise, lol! I had no preconceived ideas about him but he was just an all around nice, easy-going fun guy to talk with. She took a picture or two of us at the table that she will post on her blog whenever she can. And oh! She also came bearing a gift from MTW as well! Since they had met earlier for lunch, he sent along a bag full of different teas and chocolates for me. Most the chocolates were dark with some sort of espresso flavor. *drool* What a thoughtful gesture *that* was, as well. Thank you, MTW!

I'm sorry the day is over, and even sorrier that I feel I'm not giving this topic the justice it deserves, as I am SO tired tonight.

Thank you Puffy and Mr. Puffy! You were just wonderful. *smooooch*

*ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Nothing to see here. I'm too tired to update until maybe Wednesday. But as always, I'm here in spirit.

*leaves comments all over blogland*
*in spirit, I mean* ;-)

Update mostly about work *yawn*

Things have been so insanely busy and I hate feeling like I don't have time to update here. In a nutshell, work has been more of the same but with lots of different scenarios. Working (as most of you know) keeps things interesting and weird stuff happens all the time. It's nice meeting new people (clients) and it sucks meeting crappy new people (some other clients, lol). My boss was overheard saying he wants to take me to court with him. I was really excited and nervous to hear that. It means he wants to train me to do more, and also that he wants me to focus on helping *him* more while Kelly goes back to being mainly a paralegal and not the office manager as well. If I *do* go to court with him, she will be pissed. That makes me nervous. She will be assigned to Jackie (boss' wife) and I will be assigned to him.

As long as I'm not working for Jackie, I'll be fine. This woman makes Geg look like June Cleaver. Feminist isn't even the word for this woman (and I have nothing against feminists, either, except that I'm not one and I end up with my foot in my mouth half the time when I'm with her). Anyways, she and her husband are polar opposites in how they do business and how they communicate and I much prefer my boss' ways to hers. I really could go on and on about work stuff but I'm guessing it's akin to making people sit and watch your vacation videos, so I won't. *grin*

One thing I've learned is that I hate driving in the non carpool lane. Not because I'm impatient, but because I get pissed when I see people cheating and using them when they're alone. Does your state have commuter lanes? Would you use one illegally if you were rushed? I just never could. And now when I drive, I have to keep myself from watching the cars speed past me because when I *know* it's just one person, I get all pissed off, lol.

One last thing; when you drive, do you prefer talk radio or music? I prefer talk in the morning and music on the way home. Don't know why...maybe just to hear what's going on that day, news-wise.

As per MTW's directions;

~For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For Chuck Norris, each testicle is larger than the other one.

~Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter. *snort*

WTH?

Is it just me or has been RTVW been down today? I keep getting the "this page cannot be displayed" screen...

Anyone else?

Private Calls

My cell phone rang today and it was a 'Private Caller'. I don't get too many of those kinds of calls. I didn't answer it for a couple reasons. The timing was bad, as I was in the middle of something with my kids and also, I didn't know who it was. I was *so* tempted to answer, just is case who ever it was didn't leave a message and it would have bothered me not knowing who it had been. In the end, they left a message.

Still, it made me realize how much I've come to depend on caller ID. Is it safe to assume everyone here has it? Cells all typically display the caller's number, but most home phones do now, too. It made me wonder what life was like before....did we blindly answer, never knowing who it was and likely end up taking calls we never would have answered had we known?

Do you answer all your calls or do you screen them and pick and choose? I ignore a lot of calls. Lately especially, I'm just not in the mood to talk on the phone. There are only a few people who I'll answer for every time, anymore.

What about you? Do you answer blocked number calls? Is your number blocked? Do you remember back when we had to answer phones without caller ID? I do, but it seems like a lifetime ago.

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this entry is a result of having almost too much to blog about, to the point that it's overwhelming and this was the only subject my brain would allow.

Tagged

Tagged by Dragonflies


The rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Now I have to come up with 6 random things about me.

1. I can't fantasize about *anything* very well. I am thinking about this after responding in Boo's Two for Twosday thread a little while ago. I may need professional help.


2. I am a neat freak at work. I'll wet a paper towel and go in search of fingerprints. I'll straighten everything on every desk/counter top as needed. They assume my house is immaculate. *snort*

3. My current favorite song is Simply Beautiful by Al Green. I'm also enjoying Carey's very naughty song on the CD from Weltek. *grin*

4. I drink hot tea and eat 20 shredded wheat bites every morning while driving to work.

5. I helped my BF choose $150 worth of clothing at Kohl's the other night and bought nothing for myself.

6. I bought some Bobbi Brown lip gloss that is my current fave. I also bought some tinted moisturizer from her line as well but want to finish using what I have before starting a new one.

So now I'll tag:

Arkie

Breezy

Weltek

Puffy

Swami

MTW <--maybe he'll come out of hiding, lol

It's over :)

Wasn't that video hilarious? I'm glad some of you were able to watch it. :)

Tonight was my last class. :)

I *think* I have an A in the class, based on the numbers I saw. *crosses fingers*

At work we leave the kitchen/break room door open in the mornings and this morning, Kelly walked into the kitchen and screamed...apparently there were several cats on the table, eating bagels and other bread. Poor kitties. The bread was no good so we tossed it out back to the cats. Later, we found that they had come back in and taken a package of cookies outside. They must be pretty hungry to be that bold. :(

I have not watched Desperate Housewives or Paradise Hotel yet (the finale). I was not impressed with what I've read about DH. The Lost finale was interesting, though. Oh wait, it wasn't the finale. Never mind. *yawn* I haven't even watched The Office finale yet. I'm so behind.

So, who here tans? Does anyone go the tanning salons? My BF just started and I can't believe how good she looks after just a few sessions. *pout* I have tan lines everywhere because I tan at home in the backyard.

I'm tired. Very, very tired. I studied my butt off and have been pretty stressed out about this test tonight. So glad it's over. Anything over for you that you're happy about?

An honest R&B song...

This has made me laugh every time I've watched it today, which I think has been a dozen times or so. Have a great weekend everyone!

*yawn*

So much to update about and so little time. School has been going great and there is only one more class left. Just have to show up and take the final exam. I'll be squeezing in some serious studying time this week.

Work is also going fine...small annoyances from Kelly (the Paralegal) but mostly stuff I can handle. I like her GF Bridgett way more than I like her though, lol. The boss complimented me tonight as I was leaving, and coming from him that was really nice. I'm really getting used to working there and other than some super stressful times when the attorneys are in bad moods, it's a fun environment.

I was driving home the other night when I had the weirdest encounter. I was pulling up in between two cars who were stopped at red lights. The car on my left was going to be turning (with me) and the car on my right was waiting to go straight. As is normal, I glanced over at the lady in the car to my right. I noticed her glance over at the same time, so I looked away quickly...because hello, that's the rule, right? I could tell she did not look away though. She was looking at me. I said something to DD who was in the front seat next to me and she confirmed it with "yeah mom, she's just staring at you". DS was in the backseat and started to freak out because it was so odd. I decided to call her out on the breaking of the rules by looking right back at her. I did. She did not look away!! WTF? I kept right on looking at her and she was staring straight into my eyes. I was beginning to freak out too because she had a wild, crazed look about her. Then she slowly started to nod at me. Imagine maintaining eye contact with a complete stranger in the car next to you for 5-7 seconds...long seconds. Then! She started moving her mouth like she was mumbling or something. I desperately wanted to believe there was a reason for this and I almost rolled the window down to ask her, but DS begged me not to. In the end, my light turned green and I floored it to get away from her.

She has the oddest, birdlike eyes that just stared as if she were plotting my murder. Well maybe not my *murder* exactly, but it was creepy! Why would someone break the rule and stare at another person with no expression whatsoever, without ever indicating what they wanted? It freaked me out so bad that later that night I actually paused and was almost too scared to open my front door because I had the image of her face and staring eyes stuck in my head. *shudder*

So that's been what's going on with me. I might get to see Etta James in concert on Friday if my aunt has an extra ticket. That excites me! What's new around here? I miss you guys! I hate that when I get home at night I'm so tired I barely even get on the computer anymore. :(

Friday Night

I left my house just before 4pm and headed to South San Francisco. Boo's plane was supposed to come in around 6:30, IIRC. The Bay Bridge traffic was slowing me down and I was starting to worry I'd be late. I eventually got over the bridge and called Carey when I was close to her house. She was pretty easy to find. Her house was the funnest place I've seen where grown ups live, lol. I may move in with them this summer. ;-)

When I got there, I found out that Boo's plane had been delayed so we had a little bit of time to kill first. We were both starving and went to Chipotle. She had never been, so I was her first! She was a cheap date. I think she liked it. While we were there, Boo called and we zipped over to the airport to get her. We may or may not have held up a sign labelled "Cheap Hooker" so that she could see us easier. :P

We ended up going to a diner nearby where we were able to talk and gossip and laugh and all that good stuff. We did not talk about any of you. Not even you. Not one bit. Nope. It flew by much too quickly and we had to head back to the airport. We tried to convince Boo to spend the night and take another flight but she wanted to get home to Conner. Mothers! (lol)

We did manage to get a picture of us before leaving.

Carey and I headed back to her place (my car was there) and she let me come in again because she had no idea I would make myself comfortable and keep her up talking, lol. I was *that* guest. The one who ignores the cues and just stays. *snort* I was thrilled to see Michelle when she got home, though. I *heart* Michelle and have since the first time I met her, two years ago. They say they have four cats but I never saw the fourth one. *suspicious* The three I did meet were gorgeous and obviously very loved.

Boo, thanks for making this possible by having the flight come in to SF! I was SO thrilled to see you again. It had been one year this month, you know. Carey, thank you for sharing your home with me and being a wonderful host, and for sharing Boo with me. Would do it all over again, any time. *smooches*

It just kills me....

To brag. It really does. *sigh* So this is not a braggy post, ok? It's just me saying in a casual voice, "hey everyone, I'll be away today preparing for my night with Boo and Carey". Yep, that's about it. Nothing really more to say. *whistles* Just me, Carey and Boo, having a night on the town...nothing exciting about that.


*grin*
*hop*
*pees*
*squeeeeeeeellllll*

Have a great Friday everyone!!

Don't hate me!

Sleeping Habits

Just wondering how it is for everyone here when it comes to your sleeping habits. For me, when I'm slightly anxious about *anything*, I get insomnia. I was worried that for the first few weeks after starting my job, I would be severely sleep deprived. I *have* been tired, but surprisingly, it's not because I can't sleep. I've been falling asleep quite early every night and waking up early now, even when I don't have to work. My internal clock has easily adapted to my new schedule. The only downside is that I can't seem to stay awake long to watch any of my recorded shows on tivo, lol. Oh well, that's what the weekends are for, I guess.

Are you one of those people who nod off easily, every time you stop moving, or does your head start spinning with thoughts that keep you awake?

How many hours per night do you think you need to feel ok the next day?