The grass does not grow on the places where we stop and stand

Today is Christmas Eve which means I'll be traveling somewhere. This year is a bit different, as it is my first year not celebrating with my parents. Usually we're spending the night at their place, then waking up early, and opening presents in our pj's, just like every other family out there.

My mom always gets tons of store-bought cinnamon roles, donuts and breakfast pastries for breakfast. My mom and food - you'll never starve with her around. Gotta love her. There is usually tons of bowls of candy, a pot of coffee always ready, a ham ready to go in the fridge with the bread and mayonnaise right next to it for the perfect Christmas Day lunch.

Growing up, we did develop a few weird traditions. Or, anti-traditions as sometimes the case was. We were never allowed to watch It’s a Wonderful Life because my mom hated how bad things got in the movie, and how completely sappy it is at the end. I did manage to still watch it just about every year, but never when she was around. I’ll never forget Christmas Day 3 years ago when we (my sister and I) persuaded it to be played in the house while my mom was home. My sister-in-law had never seen it (we’ll forgive her – she’s Australian) and in our effort to continue to force our American customs on her, we sat her down and put it in. At first, my mom was putzing around the kitchen, doing whatever she could to avoid watching it. But her wanting to spend time with the family forced her to sit down eventually. Heck, even my dad, Mr. Un-sappy himself was watching it and enjoying it.

Well, you know how this story turns out: EVERYONE cried at the end and my mom had a new appreciation for the movie, declaring that we would have to watch it every year from now on.

Feeling like we still needed to force strange family weirdness on my brother’s poor wife, two years ago we were opening presents on Christmas Eve and my mom chose the one for my brother to open. Now, my family has a few ULTIMATE Winslow inside things that make us special. One of them is knowing all the lines from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. My mom may as well have given us EACH the best present EVER, even though it was wrapped and had only my brother’s name on it. We of course popped it right in and began another new tradition.

My mom still can’t stand it (she hates how poor they are), but will tolerate to watch it. My sister-in-law on the other hand thinks we’re COMPLETELY nuts but is kind enough to humor us while we sing along. We all have our favorite scenes, and my brother does the best at singing all the songs. I personally love the flying squirrels and the ice sliding.





This year I am personally hoping a few games of Trivial Pursuit are planned, but we’ll have to keep the Battle of the Sexes game hidden from my brother or he’s liable to scream and run out of the house.



We did the gift exchange thing this year for the 3rd year. Without my parents, it was a little more difficult to pull names with only 5 of us, and two married couples – hence canceling them out for each other. But we managed, and I’m really excited with the things I bought. We also buy everyone stocking stuffers, which my mom started the tradition of those being completely random. Last year I can recall getting a cell phone stand in the shape of a pink stiletto that lights up when your phone rings, and silver glitter sunglasses in the shape of two hearts.



Good times.

Those are traditions we’ll be upholding this year, and passing them down to a new generation for the first time. However we won’t have mom’s breakfast fit for an army, or be opening presents Christmas morning at her house in our pj’s. But it’s what happens to every family: new families enter in, and we make adjustments. I’m looking forward to what new things we come up with. One thing that’s never gonna change is that my family is never dull.

The grass does not grow on the places where we stop and stand

Today is Christmas Eve which means I'll be traveling somewhere. This year is a bit different, as it is my first year not celebrating with my parents. Usually we're spending the night at their place, then waking up early, and opening presents in our pj's, just like every other family out there.

My mom always gets tons of store-bought cinnamon roles, donuts and breakfast pastries for breakfast. My mom and food - you'll never starve with her around. Gotta love her. There is usually tons of bowls of candy, a pot of coffee always ready, a ham ready to go in the fridge with the bread and mayonnaise right next to it for the perfect Christmas Day lunch.

Growing up, we did develop a few weird traditions. Or, anti-traditions as sometimes the case was. We were never allowed to watch It’s a Wonderful Life because my mom hated how bad things got in the movie, and how completely sappy it is at the end. I did manage to still watch it just about every year, but never when she was around. I’ll never forget Christmas Day 3 years ago when we (my sister and I) persuaded it to be played in the house while my mom was home. My sister-in-law had never seen it (we’ll forgive her – she’s Australian) and in our effort to continue to force our American customs on her, we sat her down and put it in. At first, my mom was putzing around the kitchen, doing whatever she could to avoid watching it. But her wanting to spend time with the family forced her to sit down eventually. Heck, even my dad, Mr. Un-sappy himself was watching it and enjoying it.

Well, you know how this story turns out: EVERYONE cried at the end and my mom had a new appreciation for the movie, declaring that we would have to watch it every year from now on.

Feeling like we still needed to force strange family weirdness on my brother’s poor wife, two years ago we were opening presents on Christmas Eve and my mom chose the one for my brother to open. Now, my family has a few ULTIMATE Winslow inside things that make us special. One of them is knowing all the lines from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. My mom may as well have given us EACH the best present EVER, even though it was wrapped and had only my brother’s name on it. We of course popped it right in and began another new tradition.

My mom still can’t stand it (she hates how poor they are), but will tolerate to watch it. My sister-in-law on the other hand thinks we’re COMPLETELY nuts but is kind enough to humor us while we sing along. We all have our favorite scenes, and my brother does the best at singing all the songs. I personally love the flying squirrels and the ice sliding.





This year I am personally hoping a few games of Trivial Pursuit are planned, but we’ll have to keep the Battle of the Sexes game hidden from my brother or he’s liable to scream and run out of the house.



We did the gift exchange thing this year for the 3rd year. Without my parents, it was a little more difficult to pull names with only 5 of us, and two married couples – hence canceling them out for each other. But we managed, and I’m really excited with the things I bought. We also buy everyone stocking stuffers, which my mom started the tradition of those being completely random. Last year I can recall getting a cell phone stand in the shape of a pink stiletto that lights up when your phone rings, and silver glitter sunglasses in the shape of two hearts.



Good times.

Those are traditions we’ll be upholding this year, and passing them down to a new generation for the first time. However we won’t have mom’s breakfast fit for an army, or be opening presents Christmas morning at her house in our pj’s. But it’s what happens to every family: new families enter in, and we make adjustments. I’m looking forward to what new things we come up with. One thing that’s never gonna change is that my family is never dull.

The grass does not grow on the places where we stop and stand

Today is Christmas Eve which means I'll be traveling somewhere. This year is a bit different, as it is my first year not celebrating with my parents. Usually we're spending the night at their place, then waking up early, and opening presents in our pj's, just like every other family out there.

My mom always gets tons of store-bought cinnamon roles, donuts and breakfast pastries for breakfast. My mom and food - you'll never starve with her around. Gotta love her. There is usually tons of bowls of candy, a pot of coffee always ready, a ham ready to go in the fridge with the bread and mayonnaise right next to it for the perfect Christmas Day lunch.

Growing up, we did develop a few weird traditions. Or, anti-traditions as sometimes the case was. We were never allowed to watch It’s a Wonderful Life because my mom hated how bad things got in the movie, and how completely sappy it is at the end. I did manage to still watch it just about every year, but never when she was around. I’ll never forget Christmas Day 3 years ago when we (my sister and I) persuaded it to be played in the house while my mom was home. My sister-in-law had never seen it (we’ll forgive her – she’s Australian) and in our effort to continue to force our American customs on her, we sat her down and put it in. At first, my mom was putzing around the kitchen, doing whatever she could to avoid watching it. But her wanting to spend time with the family forced her to sit down eventually. Heck, even my dad, Mr. Un-sappy himself was watching it and enjoying it.

Well, you know how this story turns out: EVERYONE cried at the end and my mom had a new appreciation for the movie, declaring that we would have to watch it every year from now on.

Feeling like we still needed to force strange family weirdness on my brother’s poor wife, two years ago we were opening presents on Christmas Eve and my mom chose the one for my brother to open. Now, my family has a few ULTIMATE Winslow inside things that make us special. One of them is knowing all the lines from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. My mom may as well have given us EACH the best present EVER, even though it was wrapped and had only my brother’s name on it. We of course popped it right in and began another new tradition.

My mom still can’t stand it (she hates how poor they are), but will tolerate to watch it. My sister-in-law on the other hand thinks we’re COMPLETELY nuts but is kind enough to humor us while we sing along. We all have our favorite scenes, and my brother does the best at singing all the songs. I personally love the flying squirrels and the ice sliding.





This year I am personally hoping a few games of Trivial Pursuit are planned, but we’ll have to keep the Battle of the Sexes game hidden from my brother or he’s liable to scream and run out of the house.



We did the gift exchange thing this year for the 3rd year. Without my parents, it was a little more difficult to pull names with only 5 of us, and two married couples – hence canceling them out for each other. But we managed, and I’m really excited with the things I bought. We also buy everyone stocking stuffers, which my mom started the tradition of those being completely random. Last year I can recall getting a cell phone stand in the shape of a pink stiletto that lights up when your phone rings, and silver glitter sunglasses in the shape of two hearts.



Good times.

Those are traditions we’ll be upholding this year, and passing them down to a new generation for the first time. However we won’t have mom’s breakfast fit for an army, or be opening presents Christmas morning at her house in our pj’s. But it’s what happens to every family: new families enter in, and we make adjustments. I’m looking forward to what new things we come up with. One thing that’s never gonna change is that my family is never dull.

Go Tell it on the Mountain

I've officially been slacking on this blogger. It's not that I've been "too busy" or "haven't had the time". I HAVE been busy, but not that busy and I just haven't felt like it.

But let's put all that aside and get to it.

I am officially an Auntie to officially the most perfect boy in the world. He arrived 10 days late, but according to him he must have been right on time. CJ is now two weeks old and I don't think I could love him more.

Finished my Christmas shopping early this year and have been spending time at various Christmas parties, and gathering with friends to exchange gifts. I always love Christmas shopping because I tend to buy people really meaningful things that I put thought into. I usually have a lot of fun, and this year was no different. I was most excited about Heather's. She's easy cuz I know her so well, and I actually had to put stuff back that would have been really perfect. Her birthday's only 6 months away. But I couldn't put back the Orange County Choppers slippers with pink fur that I found. Those were too good to resist.

This weekend will mean more traveling than ever for me,but I'm looking forward to seeing SO MUCH of the family. Especially celebrating CJ's first Christmas.

Someone from Canada told me this week that they were in a funk because it doesn't seem like Christmas here because it was sunny and there was no snow. Welcome to Southern California. Now go back to Canada where you belong. It did get colder later this week, which does help. At least we can wear scarves and a sweater and pretend it's actually cold enough to do so.

That's a quick rundown on me the past few weeks. Always having the various adventures a day manages to bring about that I will be writing about some day: random people at the gym, the guy with the gray afro in the little yellow car that I saw THREE days in a row last week, Santa in a pink T-Bird for no apparent reason, and the guy on the bike.

I really should write a book.

Go Tell it on the Mountain

I've officially been slacking on this blogger. It's not that I've been "too busy" or "haven't had the time". I HAVE been busy, but not that busy and I just haven't felt like it.

But let's put all that aside and get to it.

I am officially an Auntie to officially the most perfect boy in the world. He arrived 10 days late, but according to him he must have been right on time. CJ is now two weeks old and I don't think I could love him more.

Finished my Christmas shopping early this year and have been spending time at various Christmas parties, and gathering with friends to exchange gifts. I always love Christmas shopping because I tend to buy people really meaningful things that I put thought into. I usually have a lot of fun, and this year was no different. I was most excited about Heather's. She's easy cuz I know her so well, and I actually had to put stuff back that would have been really perfect. Her birthday's only 6 months away. But I couldn't put back the Orange County Choppers slippers with pink fur that I found. Those were too good to resist.

This weekend will mean more traveling than ever for me,but I'm looking forward to seeing SO MUCH of the family. Especially celebrating CJ's first Christmas.

Someone from Canada told me this week that they were in a funk because it doesn't seem like Christmas here because it was sunny and there was no snow. Welcome to Southern California. Now go back to Canada where you belong. It did get colder later this week, which does help. At least we can wear scarves and a sweater and pretend it's actually cold enough to do so.

That's a quick rundown on me the past few weeks. Always having the various adventures a day manages to bring about that I will be writing about some day: random people at the gym, the guy with the gray afro in the little yellow car that I saw THREE days in a row last week, Santa in a pink T-Bird for no apparent reason, and the guy on the bike.

I really should write a book.

Go Tell it on the Mountain

I've officially been slacking on this blogger. It's not that I've been "too busy" or "haven't had the time". I HAVE been busy, but not that busy and I just haven't felt like it.

But let's put all that aside and get to it.

I am officially an Auntie to officially the most perfect boy in the world. He arrived 10 days late, but according to him he must have been right on time. CJ is now two weeks old and I don't think I could love him more.

Finished my Christmas shopping early this year and have been spending time at various Christmas parties, and gathering with friends to exchange gifts. I always love Christmas shopping because I tend to buy people really meaningful things that I put thought into. I usually have a lot of fun, and this year was no different. I was most excited about Heather's. She's easy cuz I know her so well, and I actually had to put stuff back that would have been really perfect. Her birthday's only 6 months away. But I couldn't put back the Orange County Choppers slippers with pink fur that I found. Those were too good to resist.

This weekend will mean more traveling than ever for me,but I'm looking forward to seeing SO MUCH of the family. Especially celebrating CJ's first Christmas.

Someone from Canada told me this week that they were in a funk because it doesn't seem like Christmas here because it was sunny and there was no snow. Welcome to Southern California. Now go back to Canada where you belong. It did get colder later this week, which does help. At least we can wear scarves and a sweater and pretend it's actually cold enough to do so.

That's a quick rundown on me the past few weeks. Always having the various adventures a day manages to bring about that I will be writing about some day: random people at the gym, the guy with the gray afro in the little yellow car that I saw THREE days in a row last week, Santa in a pink T-Bird for no apparent reason, and the guy on the bike.

I really should write a book.

Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Today marks Day 8 of my sister being past her due date. Poor girl has caught a cold making these last few days even more miserable.



She is scheduled to be induced tomorrow. Strange that my sister will officially be "Mommy". And even stranger still that the thing that's in her body today will be in my arms tomorrow. Pregnancy is truly an amazing thing, but birth is something that I don't think I'll ever be able to wrap my brain around. How is it that in a matter of seconds she will bring a new human into this world, and he'll have a face and a name and a family that loves him... But it's still inside her belly at this moment???



Baffling. But I can't wait to be an Auntie. Hopefully he'll look just like me.

Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Today marks Day 8 of my sister being past her due date. Poor girl has caught a cold making these last few days even more miserable.



She is scheduled to be induced tomorrow. Strange that my sister will officially be "Mommy". And even stranger still that the thing that's in her body today will be in my arms tomorrow. Pregnancy is truly an amazing thing, but birth is something that I don't think I'll ever be able to wrap my brain around. How is it that in a matter of seconds she will bring a new human into this world, and he'll have a face and a name and a family that loves him... But it's still inside her belly at this moment???



Baffling. But I can't wait to be an Auntie. Hopefully he'll look just like me.

Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Today marks Day 8 of my sister being past her due date. Poor girl has caught a cold making these last few days even more miserable.



She is scheduled to be induced tomorrow. Strange that my sister will officially be "Mommy". And even stranger still that the thing that's in her body today will be in my arms tomorrow. Pregnancy is truly an amazing thing, but birth is something that I don't think I'll ever be able to wrap my brain around. How is it that in a matter of seconds she will bring a new human into this world, and he'll have a face and a name and a family that loves him... But it's still inside her belly at this moment???



Baffling. But I can't wait to be an Auntie. Hopefully he'll look just like me.

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Time for another weekend recap. Yet again, my weekend involved another H&H adventure. Man, are we good or what?



Friday afternoon got "the call". I was to pack my things and immediately get myself to Anaheim for Heather's company Christmas party at California Adventure. Good thing I have no life and was able to follow instructions quickly. In my defense, I have been keeping my calendar pretty open on purpose since we're still waiting for my sister to go into labor - no one more than my sister, I might add. But yeah, I have no life so I was ready for an adventure.



We spent the evening at CA with all of Heather's coworkers who are an interesting mix of people, but who are all very friendly and funny. Much to her dismay, I've been Heather's date at more than one company function, so I've met most of these people before, making it easier to kick back and have a good time. We, of course, proceded to make best friends with Jeffrey, our very gay waiter, who was very good at making sure we had everything we needed allllll night. We fell in love with him, and probably would've hung out after he got off work if he hadn't done such a damn good job at keeping us so well supplied that we (I) passed out at 10:45. We also made very good friends with the head chef Chad, (who eerily reminded me of what my dad probably looked like at 30), the head bartender Javier, and the straight waiter Jeffrey was in love with whose last name had the word "cock" in it which Jeffrey was very excited about. Basically all the important people... We had our caricatures drawn by Andy who made Heather a hot chick in a bikini with ripped abs (cellulite) and me a hula girl. Heather and I dont really look anything alike except that we share a common bond of being blessed with big lips. Yet from Andy's perspective, the only differences we have were my sleepy eyes and Heather's thicker eyebrows. Everything else was pretty much the same - strange.



For the umpteenth time Heather and I ended up in bed together naked. Well, actually it was only me that was naked this time. Woke up with a raging headache, and the realization that I had made a few phone calls before the night had officially ended. Mind you, not because I actually remembered making the calls, but because I checked my call log and saw the names of a few friends who I knew I'd be getting crap from later. I'm sure they're all very honored to be on my drunk dial list. We made it to breakfast where I was officially not human until I was able to sit down and put something into my stomach. It was not a pretty sight. I'm never drinking scotch again - no matter how many chefs tell me I must try it, it's good.



Quick rundown of the rest of the weekend: spent a few hours at California Adventure for my first visit there. I had to leave early to get home and take care of a few things, then go to a Christmas party with some people from work. Being vegetarian, potlucks are never usually a good thing, and this party was more of the same. But the evening was redeemed when the karaoke machine came out and I found myself shouting at people to "work it! work it!" as they sang all the Christmas standards in the goofiest ways possible. I resisted all encouragement to get up and do a song, not willing to humiliate myself in a room of people who all sing exceptionally well, no matter how many times they chanted my name. Sunday sold my car (woohoo!), which was an interesting learning experience and maybe someday I will share with the class. In any event, I'm so glad that's done and that my baby has found a good home. Was in a fantastic mood, which led to an exceptionally good night at work. Amazing how that happens. At work I was informed that someone I work with thinks I'm "so beautiful". Which I thought was the absolute cutest thing because the guy is 20 and it was his mom who told me. Can I reclaim my Mrs. Robinson title back? Maybe I never lost it...



I think I'll leave that one alone.

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Time for another weekend recap. Yet again, my weekend involved another H&H adventure. Man, are we good or what?



Friday afternoon got "the call". I was to pack my things and immediately get myself to Anaheim for Heather's company Christmas party at California Adventure. Good thing I have no life and was able to follow instructions quickly. In my defense, I have been keeping my calendar pretty open on purpose since we're still waiting for my sister to go into labor - no one more than my sister, I might add. But yeah, I have no life so I was ready for an adventure.



We spent the evening at CA with all of Heather's coworkers who are an interesting mix of people, but who are all very friendly and funny. Much to her dismay, I've been Heather's date at more than one company function, so I've met most of these people before, making it easier to kick back and have a good time. We, of course, proceded to make best friends with Jeffrey, our very gay waiter, who was very good at making sure we had everything we needed allllll night. We fell in love with him, and probably would've hung out after he got off work if he hadn't done such a damn good job at keeping us so well supplied that we (I) passed out at 10:45. We also made very good friends with the head chef Chad, (who eerily reminded me of what my dad probably looked like at 30), the head bartender Javier, and the straight waiter Jeffrey was in love with whose last name had the word "cock" in it which Jeffrey was very excited about. Basically all the important people... We had our caricatures drawn by Andy who made Heather a hot chick in a bikini with ripped abs (cellulite) and me a hula girl. Heather and I dont really look anything alike except that we share a common bond of being blessed with big lips. Yet from Andy's perspective, the only differences we have were my sleepy eyes and Heather's thicker eyebrows. Everything else was pretty much the same - strange.



For the umpteenth time Heather and I ended up in bed together naked. Well, actually it was only me that was naked this time. Woke up with a raging headache, and the realization that I had made a few phone calls before the night had officially ended. Mind you, not because I actually remembered making the calls, but because I checked my call log and saw the names of a few friends who I knew I'd be getting crap from later. I'm sure they're all very honored to be on my drunk dial list. We made it to breakfast where I was officially not human until I was able to sit down and put something into my stomach. It was not a pretty sight. I'm never drinking scotch again - no matter how many chefs tell me I must try it, it's good.



Quick rundown of the rest of the weekend: spent a few hours at California Adventure for my first visit there. I had to leave early to get home and take care of a few things, then go to a Christmas party with some people from work. Being vegetarian, potlucks are never usually a good thing, and this party was more of the same. But the evening was redeemed when the karaoke machine came out and I found myself shouting at people to "work it! work it!" as they sang all the Christmas standards in the goofiest ways possible. I resisted all encouragement to get up and do a song, not willing to humiliate myself in a room of people who all sing exceptionally well, no matter how many times they chanted my name. Sunday sold my car (woohoo!), which was an interesting learning experience and maybe someday I will share with the class. In any event, I'm so glad that's done and that my baby has found a good home. Was in a fantastic mood, which led to an exceptionally good night at work. Amazing how that happens. At work I was informed that someone I work with thinks I'm "so beautiful". Which I thought was the absolute cutest thing because the guy is 20 and it was his mom who told me. Can I reclaim my Mrs. Robinson title back? Maybe I never lost it...



I think I'll leave that one alone.

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Time for another weekend recap. Yet again, my weekend involved another H&H adventure. Man, are we good or what?



Friday afternoon got "the call". I was to pack my things and immediately get myself to Anaheim for Heather's company Christmas party at California Adventure. Good thing I have no life and was able to follow instructions quickly. In my defense, I have been keeping my calendar pretty open on purpose since we're still waiting for my sister to go into labor - no one more than my sister, I might add. But yeah, I have no life so I was ready for an adventure.



We spent the evening at CA with all of Heather's coworkers who are an interesting mix of people, but who are all very friendly and funny. Much to her dismay, I've been Heather's date at more than one company function, so I've met most of these people before, making it easier to kick back and have a good time. We, of course, proceded to make best friends with Jeffrey, our very gay waiter, who was very good at making sure we had everything we needed allllll night. We fell in love with him, and probably would've hung out after he got off work if he hadn't done such a damn good job at keeping us so well supplied that we (I) passed out at 10:45. We also made very good friends with the head chef Chad, (who eerily reminded me of what my dad probably looked like at 30), the head bartender Javier, and the straight waiter Jeffrey was in love with whose last name had the word "cock" in it which Jeffrey was very excited about. Basically all the important people... We had our caricatures drawn by Andy who made Heather a hot chick in a bikini with ripped abs (cellulite) and me a hula girl. Heather and I dont really look anything alike except that we share a common bond of being blessed with big lips. Yet from Andy's perspective, the only differences we have were my sleepy eyes and Heather's thicker eyebrows. Everything else was pretty much the same - strange.



For the umpteenth time Heather and I ended up in bed together naked. Well, actually it was only me that was naked this time. Woke up with a raging headache, and the realization that I had made a few phone calls before the night had officially ended. Mind you, not because I actually remembered making the calls, but because I checked my call log and saw the names of a few friends who I knew I'd be getting crap from later. I'm sure they're all very honored to be on my drunk dial list. We made it to breakfast where I was officially not human until I was able to sit down and put something into my stomach. It was not a pretty sight. I'm never drinking scotch again - no matter how many chefs tell me I must try it, it's good.



Quick rundown of the rest of the weekend: spent a few hours at California Adventure for my first visit there. I had to leave early to get home and take care of a few things, then go to a Christmas party with some people from work. Being vegetarian, potlucks are never usually a good thing, and this party was more of the same. But the evening was redeemed when the karaoke machine came out and I found myself shouting at people to "work it! work it!" as they sang all the Christmas standards in the goofiest ways possible. I resisted all encouragement to get up and do a song, not willing to humiliate myself in a room of people who all sing exceptionally well, no matter how many times they chanted my name. Sunday sold my car (woohoo!), which was an interesting learning experience and maybe someday I will share with the class. In any event, I'm so glad that's done and that my baby has found a good home. Was in a fantastic mood, which led to an exceptionally good night at work. Amazing how that happens. At work I was informed that someone I work with thinks I'm "so beautiful". Which I thought was the absolute cutest thing because the guy is 20 and it was his mom who told me. Can I reclaim my Mrs. Robinson title back? Maybe I never lost it...



I think I'll leave that one alone.

I wander this world

It's almost midnight and I am wide awake. I have packed for my weekend away-- too many clothes as always. Looking forward to having a weekend of total relaxation and getting away from the recent stresses of life for a while. Strange that I actually go to Vegas to relax and rest.

Still no nephew. He's taking full advantage of the womb before he decides it's time to brave this weird world. I can't say I blame him. But fully expecting to have to cut my weekend short, and am prepared to drive back at a moment's notice if need be.

This past weekend endured the wedding of a dear friend. Quite a surreal situation, but it all turned out fine. H & H hit up Hermosa again, and felt like we were in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Running into RANDOM people who should have never been down there, seeing the Trenchcoat Mafia guys again, having the bartender remember us... ugh.. We're taking a much needed break for a while.

Did drive home in the craziest rain storm we've been in in a while. Well, I slept most of the way home - with a half-eaten burrito still in my hand, actually. Good times.

I must go attempt sleep so that I can stay awake for the drive tomorrow night. Hoping I won't encounter too much traffic. Who goes to Vegas for Thanksgiving? I'm hoping just me. And, as always, looking forward to seeing the fam including this guy. (The flash kept making him blink.)

I wander this world

It's almost midnight and I am wide awake. I have packed for my weekend away-- too many clothes as always. Looking forward to having a weekend of total relaxation and getting away from the recent stresses of life for a while. Strange that I actually go to Vegas to relax and rest.

Still no nephew. He's taking full advantage of the womb before he decides it's time to brave this weird world. I can't say I blame him. But fully expecting to have to cut my weekend short, and am prepared to drive back at a moment's notice if need be.

This past weekend endured the wedding of a dear friend. Quite a surreal situation, but it all turned out fine. H & H hit up Hermosa again, and felt like we were in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Running into RANDOM people who should have never been down there, seeing the Trenchcoat Mafia guys again, having the bartender remember us... ugh.. We're taking a much needed break for a while.

Did drive home in the craziest rain storm we've been in in a while. Well, I slept most of the way home - with a half-eaten burrito still in my hand, actually. Good times.

I must go attempt sleep so that I can stay awake for the drive tomorrow night. Hoping I won't encounter too much traffic. Who goes to Vegas for Thanksgiving? I'm hoping just me. And, as always, looking forward to seeing the fam including this guy. (The flash kept making him blink.)

I wander this world

It's almost midnight and I am wide awake. I have packed for my weekend away-- too many clothes as always. Looking forward to having a weekend of total relaxation and getting away from the recent stresses of life for a while. Strange that I actually go to Vegas to relax and rest.

Still no nephew. He's taking full advantage of the womb before he decides it's time to brave this weird world. I can't say I blame him. But fully expecting to have to cut my weekend short, and am prepared to drive back at a moment's notice if need be.

This past weekend endured the wedding of a dear friend. Quite a surreal situation, but it all turned out fine. H & H hit up Hermosa again, and felt like we were in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Running into RANDOM people who should have never been down there, seeing the Trenchcoat Mafia guys again, having the bartender remember us... ugh.. We're taking a much needed break for a while.

Did drive home in the craziest rain storm we've been in in a while. Well, I slept most of the way home - with a half-eaten burrito still in my hand, actually. Good times.

I must go attempt sleep so that I can stay awake for the drive tomorrow night. Hoping I won't encounter too much traffic. Who goes to Vegas for Thanksgiving? I'm hoping just me. And, as always, looking forward to seeing the fam including this guy. (The flash kept making him blink.)

I cross my heart

I've got the need to share a few things with the class. Because I don't think anyone is actually reading any of this, I feel fairly safe divulging a few of my guilty pleasures. In case anyone IS actually reading this, can you please post a comment so that I can quickly delete the embarrassing parts (all) of this post? You can do that at least, can't you?



Here's me and my random brain with three things that completely blow the cover off of any sort of "cool" status I may have possessed at any one time. Not that I consider myself cool in any way EVER, but this will seal the deal and convince anyone who thought I may have had any potential. Boy, were you wrong.



Exhibit A: I get way too excited about a new toothbrush than any human being should. I actually thought about it last night as I was falling asleep (I'm gonna use my new toothbrush tomorrow morning. That'll be fun!). For those taking notes, I use the Crest Spinbrush and it's changed my life. Never before have I owned an electric toothbrush, but I made the big purchase about a year ago and it's been rocking my world ever since. They were on sale recently, so I decided it was time for a new color. You know, to spice things up a bit. I think I bought a dud, tho because I've put 3 sets of batteries in this morning, and it still doesn't work all that great. (For those who are taking notes, 3 sets because one set was already in the toothbrush when I bought it, one set was floating around my junk drawer, so I didn't know if they had been used previously or not, and the 3rd set was new from the package). In any event, my new toothbrush makes me very happy. And it's such a "happy" color: dark pink.



Exhibit B: I've rediscovered a long-lost childhood friend. Smucker's Hard Shell chocolate syrup. It absolutely FASCINATES me, and I find myself wanting to search for things to pour it on, just to eat it off of. For those who don't know the magic that is Smucker's Hard Shell, it is chocolate syrup that looks just like any other in appearance... AT FIRST! But once it is poured on something cold (ie: a big bowl of ice cream or cool whip as I prefer it), it turns into a hard form of chocolate in a matter of mere seconds. So now do you not only have the added FLAVOR of chocolate, but you also have the added CONSISTENCY of chips. Pure perfection. I remember it as always being such a special treat when mom would have a coupon for this magic in a bottle, and now that I have control over what I choose to purchase while shopping, Smucker's Hard Shell always finds its way into my basket.



Exhibit C: And by far the most damaging piece of evidence that I've got no cool in me. I really really REALLY love the movie Pure Country. I KNOW, I KNOW what you're thinking. "huh? Wasn't that that really cheesy movie made with that one guy who sings but can't act?" No, not "Moonlight and Valentino" with my boy Jon Bon Jovi. Pure Country was a gem of a film made way back in 1992 and starred none other than the very talented George Strait as Dusty, the country singer who was tired of the lights, the touring, and the lifestyle that is required of a very popular artist. He decides to leave it all and go back to his roots where he finds himself again and also finds love. He shaves his George Michael-inspired stubble, and cuts his hair, which apparently he learned from Clark Kent, because now no one in his new life reckognizes him as Superman (or Dusty). He enjoys being a normal guy, drinking beer, line dancing, and learning how to rope a horse - all without any responsibilities. Of course his leaving his career behind so suddenly has left his "people" scrambling to keep the fans happy, which is where chaos ensues. Now, if you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to spoil it for you. But it's a great movie about finding out what truly makes you happy, not everyone else.



"You'll always be the miracle that makes my life complete. And as long as there's a breath in me I'll make yours just as sweet"



That's pure lyrical genius, kids. Check it out next time you're browsing your local video store and are looking for a good, clean movie for the family to watch. Or turn on CMT and wait. It'll show up eventually.

I cross my heart

I've got the need to share a few things with the class. Because I don't think anyone is actually reading any of this, I feel fairly safe divulging a few of my guilty pleasures. In case anyone IS actually reading this, can you please post a comment so that I can quickly delete the embarrassing parts (all) of this post? You can do that at least, can't you?



Here's me and my random brain with three things that completely blow the cover off of any sort of "cool" status I may have possessed at any one time. Not that I consider myself cool in any way EVER, but this will seal the deal and convince anyone who thought I may have had any potential. Boy, were you wrong.



Exhibit A: I get way too excited about a new toothbrush than any human being should. I actually thought about it last night as I was falling asleep (I'm gonna use my new toothbrush tomorrow morning. That'll be fun!). For those taking notes, I use the Crest Spinbrush and it's changed my life. Never before have I owned an electric toothbrush, but I made the big purchase about a year ago and it's been rocking my world ever since. They were on sale recently, so I decided it was time for a new color. You know, to spice things up a bit. I think I bought a dud, tho because I've put 3 sets of batteries in this morning, and it still doesn't work all that great. (For those who are taking notes, 3 sets because one set was already in the toothbrush when I bought it, one set was floating around my junk drawer, so I didn't know if they had been used previously or not, and the 3rd set was new from the package). In any event, my new toothbrush makes me very happy. And it's such a "happy" color: dark pink.



Exhibit B: I've rediscovered a long-lost childhood friend. Smucker's Hard Shell chocolate syrup. It absolutely FASCINATES me, and I find myself wanting to search for things to pour it on, just to eat it off of. For those who don't know the magic that is Smucker's Hard Shell, it is chocolate syrup that looks just like any other in appearance... AT FIRST! But once it is poured on something cold (ie: a big bowl of ice cream or cool whip as I prefer it), it turns into a hard form of chocolate in a matter of mere seconds. So now do you not only have the added FLAVOR of chocolate, but you also have the added CONSISTENCY of chips. Pure perfection. I remember it as always being such a special treat when mom would have a coupon for this magic in a bottle, and now that I have control over what I choose to purchase while shopping, Smucker's Hard Shell always finds its way into my basket.



Exhibit C: And by far the most damaging piece of evidence that I've got no cool in me. I really really REALLY love the movie Pure Country. I KNOW, I KNOW what you're thinking. "huh? Wasn't that that really cheesy movie made with that one guy who sings but can't act?" No, not "Moonlight and Valentino" with my boy Jon Bon Jovi. Pure Country was a gem of a film made way back in 1992 and starred none other than the very talented George Strait as Dusty, the country singer who was tired of the lights, the touring, and the lifestyle that is required of a very popular artist. He decides to leave it all and go back to his roots where he finds himself again and also finds love. He shaves his George Michael-inspired stubble, and cuts his hair, which apparently he learned from Clark Kent, because now no one in his new life reckognizes him as Superman (or Dusty). He enjoys being a normal guy, drinking beer, line dancing, and learning how to rope a horse - all without any responsibilities. Of course his leaving his career behind so suddenly has left his "people" scrambling to keep the fans happy, which is where chaos ensues. Now, if you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to spoil it for you. But it's a great movie about finding out what truly makes you happy, not everyone else.



"You'll always be the miracle that makes my life complete. And as long as there's a breath in me I'll make yours just as sweet"



That's pure lyrical genius, kids. Check it out next time you're browsing your local video store and are looking for a good, clean movie for the family to watch. Or turn on CMT and wait. It'll show up eventually.

I cross my heart

I've got the need to share a few things with the class. Because I don't think anyone is actually reading any of this, I feel fairly safe divulging a few of my guilty pleasures. In case anyone IS actually reading this, can you please post a comment so that I can quickly delete the embarrassing parts (all) of this post? You can do that at least, can't you?



Here's me and my random brain with three things that completely blow the cover off of any sort of "cool" status I may have possessed at any one time. Not that I consider myself cool in any way EVER, but this will seal the deal and convince anyone who thought I may have had any potential. Boy, were you wrong.



Exhibit A: I get way too excited about a new toothbrush than any human being should. I actually thought about it last night as I was falling asleep (I'm gonna use my new toothbrush tomorrow morning. That'll be fun!). For those taking notes, I use the Crest Spinbrush and it's changed my life. Never before have I owned an electric toothbrush, but I made the big purchase about a year ago and it's been rocking my world ever since. They were on sale recently, so I decided it was time for a new color. You know, to spice things up a bit. I think I bought a dud, tho because I've put 3 sets of batteries in this morning, and it still doesn't work all that great. (For those who are taking notes, 3 sets because one set was already in the toothbrush when I bought it, one set was floating around my junk drawer, so I didn't know if they had been used previously or not, and the 3rd set was new from the package). In any event, my new toothbrush makes me very happy. And it's such a "happy" color: dark pink.



Exhibit B: I've rediscovered a long-lost childhood friend. Smucker's Hard Shell chocolate syrup. It absolutely FASCINATES me, and I find myself wanting to search for things to pour it on, just to eat it off of. For those who don't know the magic that is Smucker's Hard Shell, it is chocolate syrup that looks just like any other in appearance... AT FIRST! But once it is poured on something cold (ie: a big bowl of ice cream or cool whip as I prefer it), it turns into a hard form of chocolate in a matter of mere seconds. So now do you not only have the added FLAVOR of chocolate, but you also have the added CONSISTENCY of chips. Pure perfection. I remember it as always being such a special treat when mom would have a coupon for this magic in a bottle, and now that I have control over what I choose to purchase while shopping, Smucker's Hard Shell always finds its way into my basket.



Exhibit C: And by far the most damaging piece of evidence that I've got no cool in me. I really really REALLY love the movie Pure Country. I KNOW, I KNOW what you're thinking. "huh? Wasn't that that really cheesy movie made with that one guy who sings but can't act?" No, not "Moonlight and Valentino" with my boy Jon Bon Jovi. Pure Country was a gem of a film made way back in 1992 and starred none other than the very talented George Strait as Dusty, the country singer who was tired of the lights, the touring, and the lifestyle that is required of a very popular artist. He decides to leave it all and go back to his roots where he finds himself again and also finds love. He shaves his George Michael-inspired stubble, and cuts his hair, which apparently he learned from Clark Kent, because now no one in his new life reckognizes him as Superman (or Dusty). He enjoys being a normal guy, drinking beer, line dancing, and learning how to rope a horse - all without any responsibilities. Of course his leaving his career behind so suddenly has left his "people" scrambling to keep the fans happy, which is where chaos ensues. Now, if you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to spoil it for you. But it's a great movie about finding out what truly makes you happy, not everyone else.



"You'll always be the miracle that makes my life complete. And as long as there's a breath in me I'll make yours just as sweet"



That's pure lyrical genius, kids. Check it out next time you're browsing your local video store and are looking for a good, clean movie for the family to watch. Or turn on CMT and wait. It'll show up eventually.

I don't mean to be so strange but my life just took a change

Listening to Gavin DeGraw's album right now. I love this stuff.



You know how there's always a disclaimer on concert tickets at the very bottom "Lineup subject to change"? That should be a footnote on my life. No matter how you plan things or anticipate how a certain thing is going to go, it's always subject to change - and probably will. I used to be someone who would plan things out and make sure everything was going to go according to my plans, and get a little more than ruffled when the schedule wasn't on time, or when there was a kink along the way to throw a wrench into things. I would have this grand idea in my head of how something should look or go, and how perfect it would all be at the outcome.



The one factor I was always forgetting about was other people. MY plans would be perfect if they were all up to ME. But they're not. And thankfully I finally started learning my lesson a while back and have become much more understanding of the "life is subject to change" philosophy. I'm not in control of everything, and shouldn't try to be.



People will disappoint, cancel plans, or change their minds. I understand they are most likely not intentionally trying to hurt me. It's just that life has changed for them, and following the ripple effect, it now means things have changed for me as well. This I can deal with. It's just that sometimes I would rather feel like I was floating on a still body of water, having to adjust to a minor ripple every now and then. As opposed to what usually happens, which is me going along with the flow, then getting overturned because a bunch of little ripples have all come at once causing a huge wave, catching me off guard.



But this is life and it's subject to change. I don't fight it anymore. I never know what could be waiting on the surface once I get my balance back.

I don't mean to be so strange but my life just took a change

Listening to Gavin DeGraw's album right now. I love this stuff.



You know how there's always a disclaimer on concert tickets at the very bottom "Lineup subject to change"? That should be a footnote on my life. No matter how you plan things or anticipate how a certain thing is going to go, it's always subject to change - and probably will. I used to be someone who would plan things out and make sure everything was going to go according to my plans, and get a little more than ruffled when the schedule wasn't on time, or when there was a kink along the way to throw a wrench into things. I would have this grand idea in my head of how something should look or go, and how perfect it would all be at the outcome.



The one factor I was always forgetting about was other people. MY plans would be perfect if they were all up to ME. But they're not. And thankfully I finally started learning my lesson a while back and have become much more understanding of the "life is subject to change" philosophy. I'm not in control of everything, and shouldn't try to be.



People will disappoint, cancel plans, or change their minds. I understand they are most likely not intentionally trying to hurt me. It's just that life has changed for them, and following the ripple effect, it now means things have changed for me as well. This I can deal with. It's just that sometimes I would rather feel like I was floating on a still body of water, having to adjust to a minor ripple every now and then. As opposed to what usually happens, which is me going along with the flow, then getting overturned because a bunch of little ripples have all come at once causing a huge wave, catching me off guard.



But this is life and it's subject to change. I don't fight it anymore. I never know what could be waiting on the surface once I get my balance back.

I don't mean to be so strange but my life just took a change

Listening to Gavin DeGraw's album right now. I love this stuff.



You know how there's always a disclaimer on concert tickets at the very bottom "Lineup subject to change"? That should be a footnote on my life. No matter how you plan things or anticipate how a certain thing is going to go, it's always subject to change - and probably will. I used to be someone who would plan things out and make sure everything was going to go according to my plans, and get a little more than ruffled when the schedule wasn't on time, or when there was a kink along the way to throw a wrench into things. I would have this grand idea in my head of how something should look or go, and how perfect it would all be at the outcome.



The one factor I was always forgetting about was other people. MY plans would be perfect if they were all up to ME. But they're not. And thankfully I finally started learning my lesson a while back and have become much more understanding of the "life is subject to change" philosophy. I'm not in control of everything, and shouldn't try to be.



People will disappoint, cancel plans, or change their minds. I understand they are most likely not intentionally trying to hurt me. It's just that life has changed for them, and following the ripple effect, it now means things have changed for me as well. This I can deal with. It's just that sometimes I would rather feel like I was floating on a still body of water, having to adjust to a minor ripple every now and then. As opposed to what usually happens, which is me going along with the flow, then getting overturned because a bunch of little ripples have all come at once causing a huge wave, catching me off guard.



But this is life and it's subject to change. I don't fight it anymore. I never know what could be waiting on the surface once I get my balance back.

Day ain't over yet...

I've had another "one of those days". I don't usually take time each evening to sit back and reflect on the day I've just had. I'm used to my life being random and unconventional, so remembering it all would probably make me realize how insane I actually am. But tonight I couldn't help it, and now I'm sitting here spilling it for whoever wants to read it.



For the first time in a week, I slept 5 hours in one stretch. I'd like to thank Vegas, Jill, Mike, and Sean for that. Thanks everyone. I owe you. This is disregarding the 12:30 am phone call from Heather that I let ring to my voicemail. I should never ignore her calls, especially late at night, but I was so excited about sleeping, I couldn't do it. She'd call me again if it was really urgent, right?? Good thing I didn't answer. I checked my voice mail this morning and it was her rambling on and on about a persian person or "pershian pershun" she had met. She must have repeated this phrase about 20 times, and actually pronounced it correctly only once. Good times. Love ya, Heather. This is also disregarding the 5:30 alarm I had set to get my butt up to go to the gym. Yeah... bye bye. Off it went so I could sleep for another couple hours.



As I was getting ready for work, the call from my sister came in. Read the post below to find out how that went. Got to work at about noon after dropping my sister off at work, then left again at 3:30 to go pick her up to get her car. Once we got there, she realized she had left her keys in her other bag, which her husband had taken home. The girl had had a rough day, so I went easy on her, but kicked her out of the car since I still had a ton of work to do. Thursday is always my busy day because I have Fridays off. (She was parked by a Quizno's and was starving anyway, so she went to grab a bite while she waiting for her husband to drive down with the keys... I didn't just leave her stranded).



Got back to work and proceeded to work until 7:30. In that time, checked my bank balance and realized I'm not gonna have any money for two more weeks after rent and bills... Fantastic. Came home, set the vcr to record Mr. Probst and his Survivor gang and headed to the gym. I hadn't gone to the gym at night for a long time, and had forgotten about one character that I used to always see: an elderly gentleman with white hair from head to toe (even his leg hair is white). The hair on his head is in an Elvis-style bouffant, and he's grown it out into a ponytail in the back. He wears super short running shorts and two shirts layered, and his outfits are usually something of the neon variety. He wears sunglasses and a bandana around his neck, which I think officially qualifies as a "kerchief". I have no idea how old he is, but he looks older than dirt. People are funny.



It'd been an interesting day, so I was looking most forward to hitting the steam room after a good workout. Kicked my own butt on the stair climber, elliptical and other things, then eagerly went to change out of my sweaty duds and into my bathing suit. Charged into the shower room, heading for the steam room... And it was closed. "Out of order." What!?!? Hopes dashed, I thought there might be a small chance I could be happy with sitting in the hot spa. Took a peak, and it was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding in there, there were so many people. Frankly, sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of total strangers really grosses me out. Dejected, I childishly grabbed my things out of my locker, threw my sweaty shirt and pants back on, and dragged myself out of there to my car.



Got home and decided to dye my hair. Nothing spectacular, just the usual refreshing of dark dark brown I do to cover the red that manages to come blazing through every 6-8 weeks. Now, I'm not known as being the tidyest hair dye-er in the world. I tend to dye hair, as well as necks, ears, and foreheads. There is a trick I learned where you can rub chapstick all over the hairline of the person whose hair you're dyeing in order that it will wash off without hassle. They don't make enough chapstick for me. With the very first squeeze of the bottle, I had managed to drip directly down the front of my forehead, next to my eyebrow, and down the left side of my nose. I only felt the drip on my forehead, and by the time I looked at my face and seen what I'd done, it was too late. I had a stain that made me look like my left eyebrow was much too overgrown, and that my nose had a weird inkblot birthmark. "Get that girl a pair of tweezers and some laser surgery!" I'm hoping it will rub off in the night. And should there be any remnants, I will just use some extra concealer in the morning.



Good news is my hair is back to being dark. And I'm much happier because of it. Okay, so technically the day is over since it's past midnight... but I'm still up and anything is still bound to happen.

Day ain't over yet...

I've had another "one of those days". I don't usually take time each evening to sit back and reflect on the day I've just had. I'm used to my life being random and unconventional, so remembering it all would probably make me realize how insane I actually am. But tonight I couldn't help it, and now I'm sitting here spilling it for whoever wants to read it.



For the first time in a week, I slept 5 hours in one stretch. I'd like to thank Vegas, Jill, Mike, and Sean for that. Thanks everyone. I owe you. This is disregarding the 12:30 am phone call from Heather that I let ring to my voicemail. I should never ignore her calls, especially late at night, but I was so excited about sleeping, I couldn't do it. She'd call me again if it was really urgent, right?? Good thing I didn't answer. I checked my voice mail this morning and it was her rambling on and on about a persian person or "pershian pershun" she had met. She must have repeated this phrase about 20 times, and actually pronounced it correctly only once. Good times. Love ya, Heather. This is also disregarding the 5:30 alarm I had set to get my butt up to go to the gym. Yeah... bye bye. Off it went so I could sleep for another couple hours.



As I was getting ready for work, the call from my sister came in. Read the post below to find out how that went. Got to work at about noon after dropping my sister off at work, then left again at 3:30 to go pick her up to get her car. Once we got there, she realized she had left her keys in her other bag, which her husband had taken home. The girl had had a rough day, so I went easy on her, but kicked her out of the car since I still had a ton of work to do. Thursday is always my busy day because I have Fridays off. (She was parked by a Quizno's and was starving anyway, so she went to grab a bite while she waiting for her husband to drive down with the keys... I didn't just leave her stranded).



Got back to work and proceeded to work until 7:30. In that time, checked my bank balance and realized I'm not gonna have any money for two more weeks after rent and bills... Fantastic. Came home, set the vcr to record Mr. Probst and his Survivor gang and headed to the gym. I hadn't gone to the gym at night for a long time, and had forgotten about one character that I used to always see: an elderly gentleman with white hair from head to toe (even his leg hair is white). The hair on his head is in an Elvis-style bouffant, and he's grown it out into a ponytail in the back. He wears super short running shorts and two shirts layered, and his outfits are usually something of the neon variety. He wears sunglasses and a bandana around his neck, which I think officially qualifies as a "kerchief". I have no idea how old he is, but he looks older than dirt. People are funny.



It'd been an interesting day, so I was looking most forward to hitting the steam room after a good workout. Kicked my own butt on the stair climber, elliptical and other things, then eagerly went to change out of my sweaty duds and into my bathing suit. Charged into the shower room, heading for the steam room... And it was closed. "Out of order." What!?!? Hopes dashed, I thought there might be a small chance I could be happy with sitting in the hot spa. Took a peak, and it was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding in there, there were so many people. Frankly, sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of total strangers really grosses me out. Dejected, I childishly grabbed my things out of my locker, threw my sweaty shirt and pants back on, and dragged myself out of there to my car.



Got home and decided to dye my hair. Nothing spectacular, just the usual refreshing of dark dark brown I do to cover the red that manages to come blazing through every 6-8 weeks. Now, I'm not known as being the tidyest hair dye-er in the world. I tend to dye hair, as well as necks, ears, and foreheads. There is a trick I learned where you can rub chapstick all over the hairline of the person whose hair you're dyeing in order that it will wash off without hassle. They don't make enough chapstick for me. With the very first squeeze of the bottle, I had managed to drip directly down the front of my forehead, next to my eyebrow, and down the left side of my nose. I only felt the drip on my forehead, and by the time I looked at my face and seen what I'd done, it was too late. I had a stain that made me look like my left eyebrow was much too overgrown, and that my nose had a weird inkblot birthmark. "Get that girl a pair of tweezers and some laser surgery!" I'm hoping it will rub off in the night. And should there be any remnants, I will just use some extra concealer in the morning.



Good news is my hair is back to being dark. And I'm much happier because of it. Okay, so technically the day is over since it's past midnight... but I'm still up and anything is still bound to happen.

Day ain't over yet...

I've had another "one of those days". I don't usually take time each evening to sit back and reflect on the day I've just had. I'm used to my life being random and unconventional, so remembering it all would probably make me realize how insane I actually am. But tonight I couldn't help it, and now I'm sitting here spilling it for whoever wants to read it.



For the first time in a week, I slept 5 hours in one stretch. I'd like to thank Vegas, Jill, Mike, and Sean for that. Thanks everyone. I owe you. This is disregarding the 12:30 am phone call from Heather that I let ring to my voicemail. I should never ignore her calls, especially late at night, but I was so excited about sleeping, I couldn't do it. She'd call me again if it was really urgent, right?? Good thing I didn't answer. I checked my voice mail this morning and it was her rambling on and on about a persian person or "pershian pershun" she had met. She must have repeated this phrase about 20 times, and actually pronounced it correctly only once. Good times. Love ya, Heather. This is also disregarding the 5:30 alarm I had set to get my butt up to go to the gym. Yeah... bye bye. Off it went so I could sleep for another couple hours.



As I was getting ready for work, the call from my sister came in. Read the post below to find out how that went. Got to work at about noon after dropping my sister off at work, then left again at 3:30 to go pick her up to get her car. Once we got there, she realized she had left her keys in her other bag, which her husband had taken home. The girl had had a rough day, so I went easy on her, but kicked her out of the car since I still had a ton of work to do. Thursday is always my busy day because I have Fridays off. (She was parked by a Quizno's and was starving anyway, so she went to grab a bite while she waiting for her husband to drive down with the keys... I didn't just leave her stranded).



Got back to work and proceeded to work until 7:30. In that time, checked my bank balance and realized I'm not gonna have any money for two more weeks after rent and bills... Fantastic. Came home, set the vcr to record Mr. Probst and his Survivor gang and headed to the gym. I hadn't gone to the gym at night for a long time, and had forgotten about one character that I used to always see: an elderly gentleman with white hair from head to toe (even his leg hair is white). The hair on his head is in an Elvis-style bouffant, and he's grown it out into a ponytail in the back. He wears super short running shorts and two shirts layered, and his outfits are usually something of the neon variety. He wears sunglasses and a bandana around his neck, which I think officially qualifies as a "kerchief". I have no idea how old he is, but he looks older than dirt. People are funny.



It'd been an interesting day, so I was looking most forward to hitting the steam room after a good workout. Kicked my own butt on the stair climber, elliptical and other things, then eagerly went to change out of my sweaty duds and into my bathing suit. Charged into the shower room, heading for the steam room... And it was closed. "Out of order." What!?!? Hopes dashed, I thought there might be a small chance I could be happy with sitting in the hot spa. Took a peak, and it was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding in there, there were so many people. Frankly, sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of total strangers really grosses me out. Dejected, I childishly grabbed my things out of my locker, threw my sweaty shirt and pants back on, and dragged myself out of there to my car.



Got home and decided to dye my hair. Nothing spectacular, just the usual refreshing of dark dark brown I do to cover the red that manages to come blazing through every 6-8 weeks. Now, I'm not known as being the tidyest hair dye-er in the world. I tend to dye hair, as well as necks, ears, and foreheads. There is a trick I learned where you can rub chapstick all over the hairline of the person whose hair you're dyeing in order that it will wash off without hassle. They don't make enough chapstick for me. With the very first squeeze of the bottle, I had managed to drip directly down the front of my forehead, next to my eyebrow, and down the left side of my nose. I only felt the drip on my forehead, and by the time I looked at my face and seen what I'd done, it was too late. I had a stain that made me look like my left eyebrow was much too overgrown, and that my nose had a weird inkblot birthmark. "Get that girl a pair of tweezers and some laser surgery!" I'm hoping it will rub off in the night. And should there be any remnants, I will just use some extra concealer in the morning.



Good news is my hair is back to being dark. And I'm much happier because of it. Okay, so technically the day is over since it's past midnight... but I'm still up and anything is still bound to happen.

Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about oh... 9 months

I thought the nephew was going to make an early appearance this morning when my sister called and told me her water had broken. She sounded more than a little panicked, so I put on my usual outfit of "brave and calm" and tried to calm her down. Her husband had left for work, and it would be at least 2 hours before he would be able to meet her at the hospital. I offered to drive the 45 mins to pick her up so she wouldn't have to drive alone, but somehow the 45 minute drive would've been much longer and more treacherous due to the recent 2 feet of snow that had just fallen. She drove down by herself and met up with friends who drove her the rest of the way to the hospital where I had been waiting.



All she kept babbling about was how it was too early. But not necessarily too early for the baby-- but too early for HER. She had work to do and was completely unprepared for his arrival. She had housework to do, baby necessities to buy, hospital bags to pack.... Poor thing was so frazzled when she left that she grabbed 3 outfits for the baby: a onesie that was fine, a pajama outfit that was sized 3-6 months, and a fuzzy blue number that was for a 0-3 month, but had random spaceships and aliens sewn all over it. Not exactly the pictures I'd be proud to show my child and tell him about the first day we'd brought him home from the hospital... but maybe that's just me.



The nurse hooked her up to all the equipment, asked all the normal questions, and left to find the doctor. The Red Sox victory must've meant the cosmos were all out of whack, because it seemed that every woman due within 2 months was there giving birth. Packed waiting room, full board of patient's names and their room numbers... Craziness. Eventually the doctor arrived and did the usual tests to determine if her water had, in fact, broken. The conclusion? No. Now, I don't want to allow my mind to dwell too much on what could've possibly made my sister think her water had broken, when it hadn't--that's probably something I never want to know, even when the time comes for me to be pregnant.



My job in the family is always to be supportive and stable, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we found out he still had some baking to do. I would love nothing more than to share my birthday month with my nephew. But I'd much rather have him hurry up and grow and come at the right time... Whenever that may be. Afterwards, the doctor was gracious enough to do an extra-long sonogram so that us family could stand there and ooh and ahh at the kid. "He's so cute!" "Look at his eyes!" "He's sucking his thumb!"



So strange to think I'll be holding this little alien in a few weeks' time.





Isn't he so photogenic?? The kid in July...

Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about oh... 9 months

I thought the nephew was going to make an early appearance this morning when my sister called and told me her water had broken. She sounded more than a little panicked, so I put on my usual outfit of "brave and calm" and tried to calm her down. Her husband had left for work, and it would be at least 2 hours before he would be able to meet her at the hospital. I offered to drive the 45 mins to pick her up so she wouldn't have to drive alone, but somehow the 45 minute drive would've been much longer and more treacherous due to the recent 2 feet of snow that had just fallen. She drove down by herself and met up with friends who drove her the rest of the way to the hospital where I had been waiting.



All she kept babbling about was how it was too early. But not necessarily too early for the baby-- but too early for HER. She had work to do and was completely unprepared for his arrival. She had housework to do, baby necessities to buy, hospital bags to pack.... Poor thing was so frazzled when she left that she grabbed 3 outfits for the baby: a onesie that was fine, a pajama outfit that was sized 3-6 months, and a fuzzy blue number that was for a 0-3 month, but had random spaceships and aliens sewn all over it. Not exactly the pictures I'd be proud to show my child and tell him about the first day we'd brought him home from the hospital... but maybe that's just me.



The nurse hooked her up to all the equipment, asked all the normal questions, and left to find the doctor. The Red Sox victory must've meant the cosmos were all out of whack, because it seemed that every woman due within 2 months was there giving birth. Packed waiting room, full board of patient's names and their room numbers... Craziness. Eventually the doctor arrived and did the usual tests to determine if her water had, in fact, broken. The conclusion? No. Now, I don't want to allow my mind to dwell too much on what could've possibly made my sister think her water had broken, when it hadn't--that's probably something I never want to know, even when the time comes for me to be pregnant.



My job in the family is always to be supportive and stable, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we found out he still had some baking to do. I would love nothing more than to share my birthday month with my nephew. But I'd much rather have him hurry up and grow and come at the right time... Whenever that may be. Afterwards, the doctor was gracious enough to do an extra-long sonogram so that us family could stand there and ooh and ahh at the kid. "He's so cute!" "Look at his eyes!" "He's sucking his thumb!"



So strange to think I'll be holding this little alien in a few weeks' time.





Isn't he so photogenic?? The kid in July...

Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about oh... 9 months

I thought the nephew was going to make an early appearance this morning when my sister called and told me her water had broken. She sounded more than a little panicked, so I put on my usual outfit of "brave and calm" and tried to calm her down. Her husband had left for work, and it would be at least 2 hours before he would be able to meet her at the hospital. I offered to drive the 45 mins to pick her up so she wouldn't have to drive alone, but somehow the 45 minute drive would've been much longer and more treacherous due to the recent 2 feet of snow that had just fallen. She drove down by herself and met up with friends who drove her the rest of the way to the hospital where I had been waiting.



All she kept babbling about was how it was too early. But not necessarily too early for the baby-- but too early for HER. She had work to do and was completely unprepared for his arrival. She had housework to do, baby necessities to buy, hospital bags to pack.... Poor thing was so frazzled when she left that she grabbed 3 outfits for the baby: a onesie that was fine, a pajama outfit that was sized 3-6 months, and a fuzzy blue number that was for a 0-3 month, but had random spaceships and aliens sewn all over it. Not exactly the pictures I'd be proud to show my child and tell him about the first day we'd brought him home from the hospital... but maybe that's just me.



The nurse hooked her up to all the equipment, asked all the normal questions, and left to find the doctor. The Red Sox victory must've meant the cosmos were all out of whack, because it seemed that every woman due within 2 months was there giving birth. Packed waiting room, full board of patient's names and their room numbers... Craziness. Eventually the doctor arrived and did the usual tests to determine if her water had, in fact, broken. The conclusion? No. Now, I don't want to allow my mind to dwell too much on what could've possibly made my sister think her water had broken, when it hadn't--that's probably something I never want to know, even when the time comes for me to be pregnant.



My job in the family is always to be supportive and stable, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we found out he still had some baking to do. I would love nothing more than to share my birthday month with my nephew. But I'd much rather have him hurry up and grow and come at the right time... Whenever that may be. Afterwards, the doctor was gracious enough to do an extra-long sonogram so that us family could stand there and ooh and ahh at the kid. "He's so cute!" "Look at his eyes!" "He's sucking his thumb!"



So strange to think I'll be holding this little alien in a few weeks' time.





Isn't he so photogenic?? The kid in July...

Mamma Mia!

The anticipation that was stirring before this weekend turns out was well justified. We were a little nervous that we were placing too much importance on how this weekend would go, and worried that the amount of fun we would actually have would be nowhere near as much as we were expecting. We were not disappointed.



The adventure begins. Thursday night, at the Del Taco drive thru.



Many adventures, most of which I cannot/will not write about here. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, at least most of what happens in Vegas does not end up on Holly's blog.

I will post a few pics and you can let your imagination wonder about the trouble we are capable of getting into. We forgot to take pics until Saturday, our last night. Better that way--less evidence.



One thing I can definitely write about is Mamma Mia! Which we went and saw on Saturday night. Great show. Lots of laughs. Highly recommended for a girls night out, or any one who needs to reach their inner ABBA.



Getting ready for Mamma Mia. (And no, we didn't actually wear these to the show. )







H&H at the HOB

The girls. We offer something for everyone: blonde, redhead and brunette.

After Mamma Mia, we met up with the boys at The Beach. Lots of fun was had. For everyone's safety, that's where the story stops.





Me caught in a brother sandwich. Incest is best!





Right before trouble begins...





The ride home. An appropriate ending to the weekend.

Mamma Mia!

The anticipation that was stirring before this weekend turns out was well justified. We were a little nervous that we were placing too much importance on how this weekend would go, and worried that the amount of fun we would actually have would be nowhere near as much as we were expecting. We were not disappointed.



The adventure begins. Thursday night, at the Del Taco drive thru.



Many adventures, most of which I cannot/will not write about here. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, at least most of what happens in Vegas does not end up on Holly's blog.

I will post a few pics and you can let your imagination wonder about the trouble we are capable of getting into. We forgot to take pics until Saturday, our last night. Better that way--less evidence.



One thing I can definitely write about is Mamma Mia! Which we went and saw on Saturday night. Great show. Lots of laughs. Highly recommended for a girls night out, or any one who needs to reach their inner ABBA.



Getting ready for Mamma Mia. (And no, we didn't actually wear these to the show. )







H&H at the HOB

The girls. We offer something for everyone: blonde, redhead and brunette.

After Mamma Mia, we met up with the boys at The Beach. Lots of fun was had. For everyone's safety, that's where the story stops.





Me caught in a brother sandwich. Incest is best!





Right before trouble begins...





The ride home. An appropriate ending to the weekend.

Mamma Mia!

The anticipation that was stirring before this weekend turns out was well justified. We were a little nervous that we were placing too much importance on how this weekend would go, and worried that the amount of fun we would actually have would be nowhere near as much as we were expecting. We were not disappointed.



The adventure begins. Thursday night, at the Del Taco drive thru.



Many adventures, most of which I cannot/will not write about here. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, at least most of what happens in Vegas does not end up on Holly's blog.

I will post a few pics and you can let your imagination wonder about the trouble we are capable of getting into. We forgot to take pics until Saturday, our last night. Better that way--less evidence.



One thing I can definitely write about is Mamma Mia! Which we went and saw on Saturday night. Great show. Lots of laughs. Highly recommended for a girls night out, or any one who needs to reach their inner ABBA.



Getting ready for Mamma Mia. (And no, we didn't actually wear these to the show. )







H&H at the HOB

The girls. We offer something for everyone: blonde, redhead and brunette.

After Mamma Mia, we met up with the boys at The Beach. Lots of fun was had. For everyone's safety, that's where the story stops.





Me caught in a brother sandwich. Incest is best!





Right before trouble begins...





The ride home. An appropriate ending to the weekend.

Add another candle...

I've had a full 24 hours to get used to being 26. It's been an interesting and eventful ride so far. Here's how my birthday weekend wrapped up to look like:
Friday had lunch with a friend in the CBU Cafeteria, which, to be honest, was the best present I probably ever could have gotten. And it only cost $7. Dyed her hair, had a glimpse into the adventures of having two kids under the age of 3 (that's a story for another time. I'll only say it involved lots of poop.) Came home and did a whole lot of nothing, which was very appealing, despite the fact it was a Friday night. I couldn't have thought of anything better to do.
Saturday I did more of the same - again, I couldn't have planned for a better day. Caught up on all my programs and some magazine reading. Very important when you live the kind of life I do when these simple pleasures are so hard to accomplish.
Saturday night my brother, sister, and their spouses took me out to a very nice dinner at Las Campanas where we shared lots of laughs. I love my family. Some pics from the evening below.






I drove my new car home on Saturday night. It still seems not real to me, but it's slowly sinking in I guess.

Sunday morning I woke up to the best birthday present EVER... rain. And lots of it. Decided to break in the new car and left for church... I got as far as the end of my street when I ran out of gas. Actually, I made it as far as the middle of the intersection at the end of my street. Thankfully it started up one more time for me to inch forward a little further to the turning lane so I wasn't completely blocking traffic. Now, you must understand something: I've never EVER run out of gas. Call me responsible. Call me a goodie two shoes always playing by the rules, never walking on the wild side... whatever. I just don't run out of gas. It's a simple thing to prevent. So I was a bit shocked when this happened, considering I never witnessed a gas light warning me it was time, AND the fact that that needle hadn't even touched the red warning section on the gauge yet. Thankfully Rebecca was already in the area to meet me at church, and an angel named David ran across the street to help me push the car through the intersection to the gas station. Yes it was pouring, and I was in flip flops, pushing my brand new car on my birthday. These are things that are my life.

The day continued with lunch with the girls, then work, then dinner with Heather. Was strange because no one at work really knew it was my birthday, and since I'm not one to advertise, I let it stay that way. But I couldn't help the occasional thought pop into my head that said "I shouldn't be here today. I'm special. Be extra nice to me. It's my BIRTHDAY." Those lasted about 1 second and a half until I snapped back into reality and thought "who cares... get to work". Heather and I met up with Z for dancing at Club Sevilla. It was okay, except I was still stuffed from the fantastic cdinner we'd just had, so I spent a good part of the evening in agony and just trying to stay awake. Good mix of music when we finally started dancing, although Z and Heather spent most of the evening just watching me. Apparently I was feeling "really good" and was shakin' my groove thing pretty good to "Lean Back" and the rest. I remember everything-- mostly thinking what a good dancer I am.

I was falling asleep soon thereafter and knew Heather still had to drive home, so we left and I came home and crashed. Good times. Good friends.

Tonight had dinner with some other girl friends, which felt more like I was enduring some horrible test since the conversation tended to dwell more on the topics of nice cars, nice jewelry, nice hair, and other topics I tend not to stick too long with. It's a wonder I don't have more girl friends I hang out with a lot.

Most everyone I consider a close friend forgot my birthday, and even those who aren't close but should've known forgot... Weird. I guess it kinda hurts my feelings because I have a freakish memory that never forgets a birthday(maybe I should qualify that by saying I hardly ever FORGET a birthday, but I may forget to CALL someone on their birthday). But when people who are really REALLY important to you don't call... and still haven't.... or have given some really LAME excuse about why they didn't call... that just sucks. You have a phone, a computer, a palm pilot. All of these things have the capacity to set reminders for birthdays. Use them. That's all I'm sayin'...

But that's why there are people like your family and Heather in your life, who make your birthday a really special day and do everything they can to make sure it is memorable. This weekend can't come soon enough, and I look forward to celebrating with the parents and my brother again... while I drag Heather along for more fun.