Greetins, y'all

So...it's been a really fun weekend in Tennessee thusfar. Mike and I hopped a plane on Friday night. I actually spent all day Friday madly running around to make sure all our trip clothes were washed, bags packed, cats fed and bases covered. We were delayed slightly but got to Nashville without much incident.

On Saturday we spent the day playing Pong on our friends' Atari flashback2. Awesome. Mike was heard to note..."And we spent how much money on our PS2?" That's exactly right - we played game after game of Pong. PONG! And it was the most fun I've had in a long time. Oh, we didn't just play Pong - we played Centipede, Pitfall, River Raid...all of the games I loved in my youth.

Today Mike and I celebrated our anniversary two months early and ate the top of our wedding cake at the restaurant where we had our wedding reception. It was really nice.

We also celebrate Rachael's birthday! YaY! Happy birthday, Rachael.

Rachael's lost so much weight that she's had to buy new clothes. Several times now, actually. But we went through a bunch of her old clothes and I've got nearly a whole new wardrobe! We had to buy a couple of extra duffel bags to pack all of it home again. I was delighted to discover, quite by accident, that I can fit into things one-two sizes smaller than I thought I could. Now, not all of the two size smaller stuff fits...but a bunch of it does! I haven't fit into ANYTHING in that size since I was in college. It's enough to get me back into workout mode and excited about it again. I have only lost a few pounds going by the scale - and I'd noticed that my pants were loose...but actually fitting into smaller sizes somehow makes it "real."

Anyway, we're on our way back to Chicago in the morning. Because Rachael and Aaron have an important class tomorrow morning, we'll be at the Nashville airport at about 6:30 or so. Our flight leaves at 10:30. Luckily we brought plenty of stuff to do. I can work on homework and Mike has my PSP and John Gardner books to read. (He read Bill Bryson on the way down).

I should go to bed now, I suppose. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Up early, a wait at the airport, flight home, traveling back to the apartment and then I have to go to class. Nice. I'll should sleep good tomorrow night.

See you on the flip side.

I'm high...so very high...

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

More Jeff-ness

As per my dad's request, I will relate a couple more Jeff stories - because he was the funniest kid this side of Caleb - who is exactly like him.

When Jeff was small, we went to the Lowell Baptist Church near our house. Well, the family did - I don't think I was born yet. Anyway, Jeff had a line in the Christmas pageant one year. Dad will have to tell you how old he was because I'm not at all sure other than "pretty small." I would say somewhere between 4-6 because Mom and Dad got married when he was almost 4 and I was born when he was 6 and a half. But I'm digressing - He had a line in the Christmas play. The line he was to speak was "Peace on Earth and goodwill to man." When he was small like that, he had a tendancy to mix up his words and letters a bit when he spoke. Squirrel became "skrill" and girl became "gril." (Sidenote: When I was born, Mom told the nurse to come and tell Dad "It's a gril!") When he would say his line, it became "Peace on Earth and willgood to man." The family coached and coached him on this - mostly my Uncle Tony and the day of the pageant arrived. Jeff said his line perfectly but it went something like this: "Peace on Earth and (loud and emphatically) GOOD.WILL. (normal) to man."

The second story also takes place when he's very small. My mom always said he was the most literal kid she'd ever seen. Well, when we were growing up, my Uncle Tony was always around visiting my Granny and he taught each of us to read before we were old enough to go to kindergarten. He was teaching Jeff to read and he said, "Ok. Now say this right behind me." So Jeff got up and stood behind his chair.

A Valentine for Jeff

To wish my older brother, Jeff, a Happy Valentine's Day, I have decided to share with the world my (probably) favorite story that my mother used to tell about him. If it's not my favorite, it's definitely in the top five. There are so many good stories about Jeff that it is sometimes hard to narrow it down to just one.

When Jeff was in the first grade, his teacher asked the class to stand up and share something that their mother had taught them. I imagine it was in connection with Mother's Day or something similar. When his turn came around, Jeff stood up and said, "Never eat yellow snow."

Happy Valentine's Day, Jeff.

Randomness is Grand

I've decided I need to post but I don't have any real stories, so I thought I'd put out a couple random tidbits of what has been happening in our lives.

The other day, as I got ready to go out for our date night, Mike called to me from the living room where he was sitting on the couch. He said, "Hey, pea. If it ever comes up, my bondage safeword is bananas." For a split second, I was like, What. The. Hell? Then I realized he was quoting one of his new tv shows, "The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show" on Comedy Central.

On Sunday night, we didn't go to bed until 6:30AM on Monday MORNING. My insomnia has been plaguing me lately but I've usually been getting to bed between 2 and 3AM. But Sunday night, after much pleading and convincing, Mike went to the casino. While I read a book in bed, Mike played blackjack and texas hold'em. At 1:30, he called and told me he'd be home shortly and that he'd won a little bit of money - about a hundred dollars or so, I think. At 4:30, he called and said, "I'm sorry I didn't come home when I said but is it ok if I bring home some money?" And bring home money, he did. $685. Now it was not all profit because he took $140. So we went out to Clara's for breakfast when he got home (they open at 5). Happy Valentine's Day to ME! :D He's taking me out to one of my favorite restaurants (already reserved) and I have a feeling I'll be getting something that sparkles. Oh, nothing too expensive. He was not to spend a lot of money but he went out to "broker a few deals" on Monday while I studied for my test - so I'm sure I'm getting something. And we all know how I love to get presents. d

Flowers would be nice...but the last time he gave me flowers, I only got them because I told him to buy them. I tried hinting - to no avail and finally I was like, "I want you to send me flowers, you jerk!" Then it wasn't as fun because I had to beg for them. Oh it was still fun...just not AS fun.

Also - Mike keeps saying to me, "The jerk store called - they want you to work the day shift tomorrow." Finally I was like, "What does that even mean?! Just because I supposedly work there doesn't make me a jerk! You can work at a women's clothing store without being a skirt. Or even a woman!" All he said to that was, "You work a lot of overtime." I just snorted and said, "Whatever." I still don't get the logic there. Next time he says it though, I'm going to say, "Yeah? Well you're on clearance."

I know, I know

I'm slacking terribly. But I've had exams to study for, papers due and now I'm sick. If my head does not explode (as it seems to be threatening to do), I will be back when I feel a little better.

*MWAH*

The post by any other name or how I survived the bus ride home

Well, as I am being gently prodded from all sides - I suppose I must suck it up and update the blog. I take comfort in the fact that Scott hasn't Scuttlebutted either. At least he isn't posting more often than I am. :D I have nothing terribly interesting to say. I've been searching my brain for entertaining stories to tell but nothin' - zip - nada. Not that I'm necessarily all that amusing otherwise - I do strive for some semblance of entertainment.

Well, there is this. Today I was on a city bus with a driver who talked to himself. Living in Chicago, you get used to passing people on the street and sitting next to people on the bus who talk to themselves. Usually you just try to stay as far away as possible and not make eye-contact. But this is the first time I have ever been on a bus with a driver who did it. It took me a little while to figure out anything was amiss. I was waiting for the bus and it was stopped behind several cars at a red light. The driver opened the door and I walked down the length of the cars to get on. So far, so good. As I got on the driver said, "Tank you fuh walkin' down - Ah dunno know why day put so much space der." I said, "Uh..no problem." I didn't linger too much on the fact that he was "chatty" - I figured he was just being polite. Honestly, though, it did kinda freak me out just a tad because as a general rule - they're not all that polite. They have the upper hand and we both know it. They've got the bus - I want on the bus...I'll pretty much do whatever I have to do to get out of the frozen tundra. I climb on the bus and grab the first available seat right in the front. I glanced down the length of the bus and notice that it's really pretty empty. There are about four other people besides myself and they're aaaaaaaaall watching me with odd expressions on their faces. Looking back, I realize that they were waiting to see my reaction. We start moving and the driver starts talking. I don't have a clear view of him from my seat but it's clear he's talking to another person. I got mad - to myself I was like, "There's a law against driving while you're talking on your cell phone!" Then I lean over and look - and he has no phone. He's having a conversation....with...nobody. I look back at the other four people and one girl catches my eyes and nods like, "Oh yeah - there's nobody there." It's a little odd but y'know...whatever. Then he starts getting agitated. "Whoo..whatchu tink ya doin', boiy? Whoo! Ya bedda run, boiy! Ah'll take ya out!" I'm like, "Oh, thank God, this is my stop coming up." I got off the bus and started down walking down towards my house. I glanced behind me and notice that two other people had gotten off the bus with me and were waiting at the bus stop. And it's COLD outside. As I walked the rest of the way home, I tried to decide whether I'd have gotten off and waited in the cold for the next bus or stuck it out and tried to get home. In the end, I decided that I probably would have gotten off too. When somebody on the bus is acting crazy, you can tell the driver...but what do you do when the crazy person IS the driver? Nah - not worth the risk. Anyway, I was glad I didn't have to make the choice. It was my stop...but Mike can never understand why I hate riding the bus. He never gets the crazies on his bus...I get the crazy bus DRIVER. What's up with that?

In other news - my Old Navy jeans are too big now. I pulled them out of the drawer today and I can barely keep them up. I'm torn between being happy and bummed because my clothes don't fit anymore. I guess I'll be asking for gift certificates for my birthday this year. It'd probably be a bigger difference but I still tend to eat like I'm going into hibernation. One step at a time, I suppose.

You've Gotta Be Kidding...

Because I was in class and unable to watch it, I must read a transcript of GW Bush's State of the Union address, take notes and be prepared to discuss it on Monday.

Can someone just shoot me in the face instead? It would be less painful.

Just a note -

My brother and I continue to light candles for my mother which keeps the candle group going. You will find a new link to light a candle for my mom on the links section of our blog. I am very grateful to anyone who decides to light a candle for her but I promise not to think less of you if you don't. :D

Signs of a good marriage? or just insanity?

Usually Mike and I go to bed at different times but every once in awhile I am tired and go to bed early (thank you, Ambien). Anyways, last night I actually went to bed a short time before Mike. I was sitting in bed thinking about what I needed to do the next day when the Ambien kicked in and I was sleepy enough to fall most of the way asleep sitting up with my chin tucked against my chest. Mike came down the stairs and we had the following conversation:

Mike: What are you doing?

Me: [opening my eyes but not really moving] Sleepin'.

[Mike climbs into bed next to me]

Mike: Why don't you lay down?

Me: I'm going to - I just got really tired all of a sudden. I think it's the Ambien.

Mike: Ah. You're all drugged up.

[Mike then proceeds to make a "Woooooooo" noise while he moves his open hand toward and away from my face in, I suppose, an attempt to simulate drug induced hallucinations. This does little for me but he is apparently cracking himself up.]

Then Mike gets up and turns out the light on his side of the bedroom and we settle in to sleep. I have this thing about walking across the bedroom in the dark. I can't do it. Well - I can walk across but I have to, like, pole vault into bed. Ever since I saw Pet Semetary when I was a kid, I've had this irrational fear that something's going to reach out from under my bed and cut my Achille's tendon. Yeah, you laugh but watch that movie - that part with the demon kid and the old guy scarred me for life. I'd actually gotten over it - you know, 10 years later...and then we got Furio. When he was a kitten he loved to jump out and scare you. Pounch. And his FAVORITE thing to do was wait until you were getting into bed in the dark and grab your legs with his claws. He didn't just do it. He'd wait until you'd thrown one leg in and were about to lift the other one and he'd grab it. The first time he did it, I screamed so loud that Mike shot straight up out of bed. And now that silly fear is back. So Mike turns out the lights at night.

Anyway, we settled in to sleep and were discussing the previous day and the matters we'd need to attend to the next. This is the best time of the day for me - on the occasional day our schedules align. Talking to Mike in the dark while I stare up at our starry ceiling. The previous tenants put glow in the dark stickers on the ceiling and when you turn the lights off, it looks like a starry sky. It's great. Anyway, I don't know how it got started - but it went from talking about what we had to do the next day to trying to make each other laugh. I know it started because Mike said "boobs" for no reason. We've been watching "The Office" and Ricky Gervais' new HBO show "Extras." Within the last couple of weeks there have been episodes on both shows where they just thrown out "boobs" for no reason. Two weeks ago, Michael from The Office turned on the voice software on his computer and made his monitor into his "friend" named Harvey who just out of nowhere said, "Boobs," which made Michael (and oddly enough my Mike, too) crack up. Then this week on Extras, Andy's (Ricky G) brainless, clueless (hilarious) manager used a calculator to 'write' the word "boobs" and showed it to some of Andy's fans saying, "Well, if you liked Andy's show, you'll like this." I know it loses something in the translation - but the common denominator for both is the fact that both incidents cracked Mike up.

Anyway, it all started with Mike throwing out the word "boobs" to make me laugh. Pretty soon it had evolved into us exchanging random bits of dialogue from Saturday Night Live's Celebrity Jeopardy skits.

"I'll take 'the rapists' for $100."

"Meso. Yes - a kind of soup. How much did you wager? Horny."

"It's a friggin hammer!"

We layed there getting more and more outrageous, trying to make each other laugh for probably another 30-45 minutes before we finally settled down to sleep. Mike with Meme on his feet, me with Furio snuggled against the back of my legs.

Did I have a point to this story? Not really. Sometimes you gotta sit back and just be grateful for what you've got because life has a way of knocking you off balance and then kicking you while you're down. It's important to remember that there are some things (or people) that you can count on to make you happy. Always.

For Sandy - all information also courtesy of Wikipedia

(I just think Carlos the Jackal is fun to say.)

Carlos the Jackal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, also known as Carlos the Jackal.Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (born October 12, 1949) is a Venezuelan-born self-proclaimed leftist revolutionary and mercenary. He was given a nom de guerre Carlos when he became a member of the leftist PFLP (Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine). After several bungled bombings, Sánchez obtained notoriety for a 1975 raid on the OPEC headquarters, resulting in the deaths of three people. For many years he was among the most wanted international fugitives. He is now serving life imprisonment in France.

Sánchez was born in Caracas. His father, a Marxist lawyer, gave him the forename Ilich, after Lenin's patronym. He was educated at a local school in Caracas and joined the youth movement of the national communist party in 1959. Apart from his native Spanish, he reportedly speaks Arabic and Russian, as well as English and French. After attending the Third Tricontinental in January, 1966, with his father, he spent the following summer at Camp Matanzas, a guerrilla warfare school run by the Cuban DGI located near Havana. Later that year, after the divorce of his parents, his mother took him and his brother to London to continue their studies in Stafford House Tutorial College in Kensington. In 1968 his father tried to take him and his brother Lenin to Sorbonne University but eventually opted for Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. He was expelled from the university in 1970.

Apparently he traveled from there to a guerrilla training camp run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Amman, Jordan. It was there that he gained the pseudonym Carlos. He claimed to have fought alongside the PFLP members as they resisted the Jordanian government's efforts to expel them in 1970. When he did leave Jordan it was for London where he attended courses at the London School of Economics and apparently worked for the PFLP.

Carlos was given the "Jackal" moniker by the press when the Frederick Forsyth novel The Day of the Jackal was reportedly found among his belongings. Although the book actually belonged to someone else, the nickname stuck.

The Jackal in fiction

• Frederick Forsyth wrote a novel, The Day of the Jackal, first published in 1971, in which an international assassin known only as "The Jackal" (French "le chacal") is hired to assassinate Charles De Gaulle. A copy of this novel, mistakenly thought to have belonged to Ramírez Sánchez, may be the origin of the "Jackal" nickname. Many erroneously believe that the character portrayed in that novel was based on him, which is impossible as the novel was published before Carlos came to public attention.
• In 1973, Fred Zinnemann directed a movie also named The Day of the Jackal and based on Frederick Forsyth's novel. Actor Edward Fox played the role of the assassin on a film that can be considered as a faithful adaptation of the novel.
• The 1997 film The Jackal, starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier, was a remake of Zinnemann's 1973 film.
• The 1997 film The Assignment, starring Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley is a fictional account of the U.S. government's efforts to hunt down Carlos very loosely based on his true story.
• In the movie True Lies, the character of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a secret agent, intimidates Bill Paxton's character by (deliberately falsely) accusing him of being a dangerous international terrorist named "Carlos the Jackal".
• In Tom Clancy's book Rainbow Six, terrorists attempt to have Carlos freed from prison by staging a terrorist attack on a Spanish amusement park. In this book Carlos is referred to by his real name (Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez) and his nickname (Carlos the Jackal) and is spoken of as a highly successful terrorist/assassin who was imprisoned after an incident similar to his actual capture. The contrast is that in the book Carlos was put under anesthetic in preparation for an operation to alter his appearance, not to perform surgery on his testicles.
• The character Lacrobat in the British sitcom Whoops Apocalypse"is a parody of him (his nick-name is The Devil.)
• Sidney Sheldon's Catoplus Terror is a novel about a former spy attempting to apprehend Carlos.
• A new biopic has been rumored to be in the works, with Spanish actor Javier Bardem as the elusive terrorist. The film is said to be helmed by maverick Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, who directed the crime saga City of God.
• The character Carla the Jackal in the James Bond video game Agent Under Fire is a tribute to Carlos. Her character is hired to assassinate James Bond but ends up falling into a fan.
• The thrash metal band Coroner have a song called "Masked Jackal" about Carlos.
• Carlos the Jackal figures prominently in Robert Ludlum's Bourne Trilogy. In the Trilogy Carlos is depicted as the world's most dangerous assassin, a man with international contacts that allow him to strike efficiently and anonymously at locations anywhere on the globe. His actual name (Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez) is used and details - a mixture of fact and fiction - are given about his upbringing and training, including the fictional account that he trained with Russian intelligence at Novrogod. In the Trilogy he keeps residence in France disguised as a priest, protected by a close network of contacts. In the Bourne Identity a relatively small amount is revealed about him but he factors prominently in the plot of the book because the title character, Jason Bourne, was an American black-ops officer whose mission was to usurp Carlos as the world's preeminent assassin in order to draw him out of hiding so that he could be killed or captured (the Matt Damon film adaptation of the book completely eliminates the Carlos character). In the second book, The Bourne Supremacy, Carlos is not a significant character and is understood to be in hiding (in the Bourne Supremacy the Matt Damon film adaptation strays so far from the plot of the book that the two share little more than a common name). However, in The Bourne Ultimatum, the final book of the trilogy, Carlos and Bourne are pitted against each other again.
• In Munich, the 2005 film by Steven Spielberg, a character named Hans mentions Carlos the Jackal.

For Bren - all info courtesy of Wikipedia

Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is a professional wrestler and wrestling commentator, known throughout the wrestling world as "The King". He currently works for World Wrestling Entertainment as a color commentator for its RAW brand. He also wrestles and occasionally commentates for the Memphis Wrestling promotion.

"Feud" with Andy Kaufman

Lawler may be best known for a publicized feud with Andy Kaufman, that was later revealed to be completely contrived (kayfabe or a "total work" in wrestling parlance). The truth about it being a work was kept secret for more than 10 years after Kaufman's death, until the Emmy nominated documentary A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman aired on NBC in 1995.

On the television show Late Night with David Letterman in the early 1980s, Jerry was in an interview with comedian Andy Kaufman. The two engaged in a shouting match, and Jerry got up and slapped him. No lawsuit was filed. It was later stated by The King in his 2002 book "It's Good To Be The King....Sometimes" that the entire incident was staged, at the request of Andy, in order to further the wrestling angle between the two.

The feud, including the Letterman incident, was dramatized in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man On The Moon in which Lawler played himself.

I quit - but now I'm back...maybe

Last week, I quit the blog. I told Mike it was now his responsibility to post and that I'd be directing everything his way. You see how successfully he's been keeping up with it. So I guess I'm back - maybe. I've got some blog burnout going on. We'll see how well I do - I've got so much homework to do for next week - case briefs, research paper, two tests and a ton of reading. Bleh. Now I remember why I was glad to graduate.

But for now? Bed. Sleepy time. Goodnight.

You tell me...is this accurate?

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections.Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down.You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Birthday trivia

I had forgotten that I started doing this last year and I've already ruined it by telling you how old everybody else is but I'm back on the ball now - so here it is again!

Happy birthday to Mike's Auntie Bren! I'll let you guys guess how old she is.

Notable facts from the year of Bren's birth!
*Harry S Truman is president
*NATO is formed
*The 1st Emmy Awards are given
*Toronto defeated Detroit for the Stanley Cup
*Joe Louis retires
*The California Zephyr (a train between LA and Chicago) makes its first run (This fact may only be interesting to me as it is the train I have riden many a time to go from Mt. Pleasant to Chicago on my way to visit Mikey in Detroit)
*George Orwell publishes 1984

Other Notable Births in this year:
*John Belushi
*Wolfgang Puck
*Erik Estrada
*Billy Joel
*The Kaczynski brothers - (Jaroslaw is the current prime minister of Poland while twin brother Lech is the current president of Poland)
*Bruce Springsteen
*Ric Ocasek
*Phillip Michael Thomas
*Tom Berenger
*Sigourney Weaver
*Carlos the jackal - (I freakin' love this one. It made me laugh. I am forever going to tell people now that Bren was born the same year as Carlos the jackal.)
*Jeff Bridges
*Robin and Maurice Gibb
*Jerry "The King" Lawler - (also made me laugh)

Cat Stew Again

I love having cats. Today after Mike and I worked out, I lay down to try and catch a few winks before I have to head off to my dentist appointment and Furio curled up against the back of my legs. Snug as a bug in a rug. Because Furio's so persnickety as a general rule, I really feel warm and fuzzy when he singles me out for attention - such as laying on me and snuggling while we sleep. Then I realized that I had left my water sitting on the desk and I'd have to get up and get it.

I said, "Furio, I have to get up." and started to move around hoping to dislodge him. Nothing. He wasn't going anywhere. It was like having a mack truck laying on the blanket. Finally, I had to literally crawl on my hands and knees to the head of the bed, contort my body and slide out. As soon as I was done with my acrobatics, Furio looked at me from his perch on the bed, stood up and hopped to the floor where he proceeded to stretch like a marathon runner.

I looked at him disbelievingly and said, "Why, you little son of a bitch." I swear to God - he turned his head and smirked at me as he left the room, swishing his tail behind him.

Sometimes I want to trade him in for a dog so bad.

This is insanity!

So you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging about my workouts. It's not that I haven't been going - I have. Not as often as I should, of course, but I've been going. Blogging about it simply bores me now. There's only so many clever things you can say about the people who frequent our gym without feeling very sad for them trapped in their little yuppie lives. Or for their children who get told things like, "That's not appropriate" whenever they move or do anything remotely kid-like.

I've been quite concerned about my school schedule in the fact that three nights a week it will conflict with our normal work-out times. It was decided that we could go the two nights I wasn't in school for sure and I told Mike that I'd just have to go during the day one day while he was at work. Mike, of course, can go any night while I'm in school to make up his third day. Mike then said, "That's alright - we'll get up early one morning and go before I go to work." It took everything I had within me - every scrap of willpower - not to snort in his face. He says that NOW but when 4:30 in the am rolls around he'll be hitting the snooze button and heading for dreamland. I mean, c'mon! Anybody who knows Mike knows that he doesn't roll out of bed a milli-second before it's absolutely necessary and semi-frequently AFTER it's absolutely necessary. He's a master of the 30-second "Oh-hell-I-slept-in-and-can't-be-late-for-work" shower. I always want to sniff him after one of these speed showers because I think to myself, "There's no way you can be clean." But then I remember that _I_ don't have to smell him all day and my motto is "Not clean? Not my problem."

Anyway - due to school schedule, not feeling well and general bleh-y feelings, I hadn't been able to work out at all this week and with the MLK holiday, I have a Friday class this week which would mean no workout at all this week. Sooooo, we rolled out of bed at 4:45 this morning and got dressed to head to the gym. And I loved it! They're just opening up at 5:30 when we got there and we were the first ones there. There were maybe 4 people at the gym for most of the time we were working out. At 6 when we were finishing up, it was just starting to fill up but we were done and on our way home. Awesome.

Also awesome was the fact that I started on the treadmill and was clipping along when I realized that it seemed way too easy. I checked my heartrate and found it was only 129! Faster than normal? Definitely. At my target heart rate? Not even close. I had to beef it up extra today to hit my target heart rate. I almost said something like, "You're MY bitch now!" to the treadmill ...maybe something a little Uncle Junior-esque, like, "Next time you come heavy or not at all!" but stopped before I made a total ass of myself.

Not that you'd really notice the difference otherwise - I've actually gained three pounds. Muscle mass, I say! Muscle weighs more than fat. It's from my thighs of almost-steel.

Ok, that's all for now. I must nap - I have a dentist appointment at noon and class tonight. No way can I function for the rest of the day on 4 hours of sleep. Goodnight - I'll see you all at a reasonable hour of the day.

Light a Candle

Today would have been my mother, Linda's, 58th birthday. If you would like to light a candle in memory of her, you may do so here. To link them all together, you will want to make sure the initials "lh" show up in the group initials blank. To light a candle, simply click on one of the unlit candles and it will walk you through it.

Many thanks to Mike's mom for the link. And thank you to any and everyone who takes a few minutes from their day to remember someone I loved and miss very much.

As I Lay Waking

Last night, as I lay snuggled under two blankets on the guest bed watching tv, Dog the bounty hunter describe himself and the team as "robots on a mission from God." I snorted and thought, "Man, I love this show."

Life or something like it

I haven't been feeling very well this week. I imagine that a chunk of that stems from the fact that tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I haven't really felt like dealing with that. And part of it is simply that I haven't felt good.

I saw on tv that Monk is coming out with a new season really soon. I have three Monk episodes tivo'd but I haven't watched any of them. The finale of last season aired the night my mom died and every time I click on that episode with its air date of 08-25-06, I feel a little nauseated. It seems odd that Monk would continue making new episodes without his number one fan around to watch them.

I started school this week and so far, so good. Of course I've only had one class. I have another tomorrow and one on Friday. I've done my homework for tomorrow (most of it) - I still have a few pages to read but I've been really good so far about finishing everything really early.

I wish I had more to say but since I haven't been feeling so hot, I've mostly been laying in the spare bedroom getting way to emotionally invested on what's happening on Dog, The Bounty Hunter. That guy cracks me up. "Go with Christ, bra."

Rocky Balboa and Henna Tattoos

The dinner party the other night was delightful - to say the least. There were a few of us there - Jason and Sarah, Mike and myself, Nick and Kim, Mike W. and Kate and Eric. Right after we got there, Sarah broke out the henna she had recently gotten at the Indian food store and we proceeded to tattoo each other. Mike tattooed Led Zepplin symbols up his left arm and Nick gave him an "Ozzy" tattoo on the other. After a couple of beers, Mike proclaimed that he was going to have me take a picture of them and tell his mom he got inked. You had to be there - hilarious.

There was food, booze and plenty of "your mom"-ing. After several more beers, the boys broke out the 'ol Scarface and Rocky impressions. I was told several times to "take it eashy." And, after hearing it repeated by four different but pretty equally bad Cuban accents, I can say with fair confidence that first I get the money, then I get the power and then I get the girls. And for the record, you guys...my name's not Adrian.

Growing Pains

Ok, so today Mike called me from work and I told him that we've been invited over to our friend Sarah's for a small dinner party/get-together. He said that he wants to work out tonight but that we can go after. Yeah, ok - but I have a feeling we're going to miss most of the get-together, definitely any "dinner" part of the party and we certainly won't see Lyric. We probably won't get there until about 9 and, while we can chat with the adults, my sweet baby lady will be long in bed. Poop. Well, we're going to do it Mike's way but I'm still miffed.

I got off the phone and pouted for a bit and thought to myself, "Well, he's going to be making his own dinner tonight!"

I was horrified! That's the best punishment I could think of!? I must be getting old! I had brothers on either side of me growing up. I can dish punishment and fanny smackin' (that's a technical term I learned on CSI, by the way) with the best of 'em. You start knocking on 30 and suddenly it's all downhill, baby!

Then I redeemed myself. I have purposely left my lunch dishes sitting out. Mike HATES that. AND he won't be expecting it because he can't access the internet at work! Mwahahahahahahaha! Am Lex Luther-esque super villain to Mike's Superman.

Plus he's still making his own dinner!

Credit where credit is due...

Ok, Mike got me a couple of days ago. It is fairly well known that Mike questions my taste in all things. If I suggest something - a movie, a restaurant, a novel - he'll go online and look it up and then tell me whether or not he feels he may like it. (I still contend that he is missing out by not just taking my word on stuff!) I'm fairly used to this fact, even if it does annoy me from time to time. Despite the fact that all of my recommendations have to be confirmed via internet or other source, he has no problem taking the word of other people. The best and funniest example of this involved a movie.

Once upon a time, I asked Mike to take me to the movies. I wanted to see "A Mighty Wind" - which at that time was playing in the theaters. It looked so funny! Mike adamantly refused.

"That looks stupid!" He proclaimed.

We didn't go see it, of course and I figured I'd rent it when it came out on video. After some time had passed, I forgot all about this movie. Then, probably two years later, Mike came home one day and said, "I rented a movie for us to watch. My sister told me it's hilarious. It's called 'A Mighty Wind.'" Whoo! It was on. And Mike has never lived that one down. I've gotten a LOT of mileage out of that one.

Well - a couple of nights ago, we were walking out of the house and I asked him about something or other. I can't remember what I had earlier recommended and the specifics doesn't really matter. I had left him a voicemail about doing or buying something and asked him if he'd gotten the message and thought about it.

He said, "Oh, yeah. I talked to Kelly and she said that's really good, so I think we should do it."

I sucked in a big breath and opened my mouth to deliver an appropriately scathing reply about him taking his sister's word and not mine. I must have scrunched my face up or something because my intent must have been clear. Mike looked back at me and gave that cute sputter laugh of his and I knew I'd been had. It was one of the only times Mike's gotten me so good. That's the sort of trick that _I_ play all the time. Mike's usually above such shennanigans.

I can't decide to compliment him on his masterful delivery or be sad because he's sinking to my level. ;) What do you think?

Power trippin'

Well, it has happened. Mike has gotten drunk with power. Today was his second day out in the field for the Health Department of the City of Chicago. He's got a hat and lab coat. If this wasn't enough, he shut down a restaurant today. That's right...my husband slapped big green "License revoked" signs on a Northwest Chicago "famous"* pizzeria. When he gets his badge (that's right...BADGE)...he'll be unbearable to live with. He also is getting a raise after only a month on the job. God bless working for the government.

This is going to be a short post because I really should be getting to bed. I couldn't work out today because I had my sock class to go to but I did manage to get in some walking outdoors. I walked to the bank and then walked several blocks before catching the bus to Filter, where we meet. So that counts.

Then we stopped at Kohl's and found they were having a huge sale on winter coats and it just so happened that Mike's winter coat had just shuffled forth the mortal coil (aka broken zipper) - and we got him a choice coat for 60% off!

All in all, a full evening! Now I'm off to grab a few z's...I've got more errands to run tomorrow. Ta!

*The exact name of this pizzeria was removed.

Gym Journal - Day 2 - 8 Jan 2007

Happy Elvis' Birthday!

Work out recap - 8Jan2007

Minutes on treadmill: 20 + cool down
People who eyeballed my hot body: 2 (either my body or my "Supergirl" t-shirt...you say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to...
Speed(me): 3.0
Incline(me): 1.0
Speed(Mike): 3.5 - \/\/hatever!
Incline(Mike): 11.2 - oh, now you're just showing off. :D
Amount of time spent in line to get replacement card: 17 minutes
Number of times in 17 minutes that the yuppie mom in front of me told her daughter "That's not appropriate": 6...Next time, try this...say it with me - "Sit down and shut up!"
Amount of money spent on replacement membership card: $5
Number of times Mike told me I was irresponsible in an exasperated tone: 4
Number of times that _I_ said, "I said I was sorry, dammit!": 4
Number of times I've lost my library card and he hasn't said a word: 5
Number of friends made at gym today: Almost 1...we'll say 1/2. I was delighted to see that the lady next to me was a WALKER! (Not a jog-at-the-speed-of-lighter) I chatted amiably with her for a few minutes until suddenly, she started sprinting. Deceitful bitch. How DARE she...attempting to dupe me. I didn't say anything but I'm pretty sure that she sensed my resentment which I showed by smiling at her when she was there and then complaining about her to Mike as soon as she was gone.
Number of IPODS dropped by joggers that ricocheted off treadmill and nearly crippled me: 1
Number of Elvis sightings at gym: 0...how disappointing
Number of "Woodward motels" on three mile stretch between our house and restaurant where we had dinner: 11
Number of chocolates in 1/2 pound container I purchased during un-anticipated stop at newly discovered Fannie May store en route to restaurant: 12
Number of calories burned at gym: 500-ish
Number of calories consumed at EXCELLENT restaurant in Lincolnwood, IL: approximately 4 billion

2 days down - 154 to go.

Additional story(aka why Mike is a better person than I): Today the mail-lady came and brought a box from Dell. I was soooooooo excited. Our mp3 players were here! (hence forth referred to as Dellpods). I danced a jig and opened the box - to find only Mike's had arrived. I called Mike and told him that his dellpod had arrived and that I'd charge it up for him to use that evening at the gym. My disappointment must have been clear because he said, "That's ok...you can use it tonight." Ok, first he said (upon finding out his had arrived and mine had not...), "YES!...That's what you get when you pay more money for a bigger dellpod just so you can have a pink one." But then he offered it to me.

I like to think I'd have done the same but I think there's an equally likely possibility that I'd have said something like, "Yeah, suckah! I rule you!" and held it in my hand prominently while I wave to him from across the gym. :D Luckily we'll never have to find out for sure. We can all bask in Mike's sainthood and forget what a hateful (but hilarious) bi-atch I may have been. Whew! That was close.

One moment in time...

My favorite conversation of the weekend:

Me: No vacation and no personal days for a YEAR. It's like he works for the Nazis!

Kristie (Mike's cousin): (completely straight faced) I hate Illinois Nazis.


I don't care who you are - that's funny.

We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

That's right - we have returned to the Windy City. When I was in college and preparing for the five our drive from our house in Iowa to school in St. Joseph, MO, my dad would hold up three fingers to remind me what I was supposed to do.

1. Drive safe.
2. Behave.
3. Call when you get there.

Well, consider this your phone call. We're home. Although Mike didn't behave himself - feel free to give him a talking to. :D

Guidelines

As you all (probably) know, I adopted a new personal mantra after my mom died. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Well, this weekend, after Scott's party, I discovered my new moral compass. When in doubt, I will forever ask myself, "What would Pat Falloon do?" Details to come.

The week in review...

Let's revisit my New Year's Resolutions to see how I'm doing so far.

Cindi's New Year's Resolutions
In 2007, I resolve to:
*Go to the gym at least three times a week - ok, I didn't make it three times this week but I have worked out. Sinus infection + short week has sidelined me. I didn't do it yet, but I anticipate being able to do this.

*Drink more water and less pop - Ok. I did really good on this one until this weekend. I've been drinking so much water that I'm starting to make dolphin noises. Then we went to Michigan where there's pop to be had and I went a little nutso. I'll be back on the wagon starting tonight and, since I have been drinking more water and less pop, I'll chalk this one up as a victory - but I won't buy myself a congratulatory present on this one. Compromises, people. :D

*Stop taking Mike for granted - Little PO at Mike right now, NEXT!

*Go to church every week - Sadly lacking in the God dept. this week. Went to Scott's surprise party and stayed out until after 4 am so I didn't make it up in time to make mass. Better luck next week.

*Answer emails in a more timely fashion - Well, since absolutely no one has emailed me this week, I am going to ring this one up as a victory also - am confident that I would have answered quickly had I actually received an email. And by the way, where's the friggin' love, people? (Except for Allyson - I did exchange e-mails with her. And I did answer her back right away, so I win! Woo hoo. One to nothing!)

*Do one load of laundry every week day AND fold it AND put it away, as opposed to doing it and leaving it sit in a basket so that it gets wrinkled - Yeah...laundry. Wow. Pooped the bed on this one. ;)

*Dedicate at least two hours each day to studying - Currently not applicable. School begins on Jan. 16. Stay tuned on this one.

*Go out to eat no more than one time per week - I nailed this one! YES!!! Being poor does have a perk as far as New Year's resolutions are concerned.

*Eat fast food no more than once per month - Had Arby's on Friday night. That would mean I lasted five days into the New Year. Almost blew it last night when I was super craving Taco Bell at 4 a.m. but luckily Mike was too tired to take me...hence saving me from (so far) breaking this resolution. Go Mike! (You heartless bastard, leaving me to starve. :D)

*Go to the library more and the book store less - Yes! Haven't been to the book store in the New Year. Last visit, Dec. 31.

*Knit everyone in my family something for next Christmas - Working on it

*Learn to crochet - Not yet.

*Write in my journal three times a week - Um...no. Sorry.

*Be more positive in my blog entries - I think so, yes.

*Blog at least three times a week - Oh, yeah. Big time. I rule you!

*Try not to nag as much - I have not noticed myself nagging at all. Check.

Final tally? About even right now but moving in the positive direction...I think. :D Stay tuned.

I missed a day!

Oh, hell. I missed a posting day. I'd been gloating to myself all week. "Self," I'd say, "You've been so good this week. You've posted every day - sometimes multiple times with interesting little tidbits that are going to make people think you are such an interesting person. Then they'll be dying to get to know you and you'll become a celebrity of Jennifer Aniston-ian proportions, at least in blogging circles. Of course then I'd remember that only about five people read this blog - five people who already know me. But it did little to dim the satisfaction I felt in posting every day for an entire week. And then, as Mike says, I "pooped the bed" by not posting yesterday. I adore it when he talks about how he messed something up and then says, "I really pooped the bed on that one." I love it. I adore it. I want to marry it but I'm already married. I don't know why the phrase amuses me so much - it simply does. So deal with it.

So why didn't I post yesterday? I have no answer. I could say it was because we were traveling to Michigan last night (which is true) - but truthfully, I had until about 5 pm to kill before Mike got home and we actually started traveling. Yesterday, I did very little. Slept late and lay around the apartment, mostly. I do have a huge sinus infection which is giving me the worst headaches. I guess I just didn't have anything interesting to blog about. Not that I do today - I just feel that I owe it to myself to post.

I stole this from Allyson. I read it on her blog and I was like, "Yes. That's exactly right." And I wanted to share.

Books: I’m one of those boring people who gives a lot of books as presents. I don’t think that a book is a boring gift, I think a book is the most amazing gift. Whenever someone gives me a book, to me it means that when they were reading the book they thought of me, or when they looked at the book again they thought that I would like it. There is an intimacy to giving books that is deeper than when you give a movie or a CD, because you devote so much of your time and energy to reading a book, more so than listening to music or watching a movie. I love books so much that I even love to read a book that I hate. That is love.

Oh - did I mention that my birthday's coming up in March? Kidding, Mike - lighten up! Next thing you know I'll be getting yelled at for soliciting presents online again.

The birthday dilemma continues. I've decided that I'd like to do something the night of March 16th and do a sort of a "countdown to Midnight/my thirties" New Year's Eve style - but I'm still struggling with the "tacky to throw your own birthday party" thing. I could make Mike do it but, please...everybody'd know I'm the puppet master behind that one. Maybe I should just oust proper etiquette and hope that people simply think I'm getting eccentric in my old age. Of course, I'm poor. When you're poor people just think you're crazy. Rich people are the only ones people label as eccentric.

Back to knitting for a moment. Have I mentioned how much I am really loving being able to knit various ricketa-racketa? This week it's socks! I've been "ribbing" the top of a sock for the past couple of days. It's homework that Allyson gave me to do before going to my sock class next week. I have always hated ribbing because I normally stink at it but amazingly, my abilities seem to have grown exponentially over the past few months. I could be on the tv show, Heroes, as the chick with the amazing knitting powers. "Save the cheerleader, save the world." But I'm getting off point. I do that so frequently anymore - it's aging...I know it. Either that or adult onset A.D.D. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Socks. I'm loving it! I think it's the fact that it's socks. I've always luuuuuuuuuuuuuuurved socks. They have the kavorka to me. For those of you who did not watch Seinfeld and have somehow managed to avoid the re-runs, that means "lure of the animal." I've got a little over 2 inches of the sock knitted and I keep showing everyone how it could be the top of a sock OR the ribbed cuff of a sweater (all you have to do is slip it on your wrist.) What is it? Sock or sweater? I dunno! What's that? "Red team go! Red team go!"

Speaking of Jennifer Aniston (were we? Yes we were - pay attention!), did you know that she played me in a movie? That's correct! Her character in Derailed was named Lucinda Harris. Yeah, ok, so it technically isn't about ME, per say. But it's still my name - or was until I got married! I haven't seen the movie but I think someone told me something about her character cheating on her husband. Which does remind me...if Mike asks, dear reader, I was with you all last week. Hee hee. Oh, yeah, right - like I'd ever cheat on dear, sweet Mike.

Mike's wanting the computer so he can play Texas Hold'em. Now THERE's another fine example of kavorka...but that's a post for another day.

Until we meet again, dear reader (I just like saying that), "keep your stick on the ice."

An update

Heavy rain and a sinus headache from Hell sidelined my workout for today. I could barely lift my head without it exploding. Mike decided to stay home also. I like to think that it's so he wouldn't make me look as bad.

You know what's funny?

My dad pestered me to blog and then I posted that he turned 70 the other day and he didn't even notice. He's actually only 60. :D I guess guys aren't as age sensitive as girls.

Another Birthday...damn

Happy birthday to Scott our brother-in-law. He preceeded Mike and I into our thirties and I'm anxious to see him to view the changes we can expect on our own 30th birthdays! Happy Birthday!

Ok, people, you can stop having birthdays now. That's one every day this week! My typing fingers are tired. :D

Gym Journal - Day 1 - 3Jan2007

I've decided to blog about what I do at the gym as I'm hoping that the humiliation of not being able to post if I don't go will keep me going to the gym the required three times per week. Did that make sense? In other words, you have my permission to holla at me if I don't post about my gym activities because it probably means I weaseled out of going with Mike.

Soooo...today I started my workout regime. I did 20 minutes (plus cool down) on the treadmill at speed of 3.0 and an incline of .5%. Hey - baby steps, ok? We don't go from couch potato to marathon runner overnight! Tomorrow I do 3.0 with a 1% incline and the day after, I get steeper. Then when I've worked all the way up the incline, I'll start with a .5% incline and get faster and work my way up. Then next winter I'll run the Chicago Marathon. Or maybe do a 10K walk for charity...baby steps.

Work out recap - 3Jan2007
Minutes on treadmill: 20 + cool down
Speed: 3.0
Incline: 0.5%
People who eyeballed my hot body: none that I know of...soon to increase as I will be a lean, mean, sexy machine.
Times I wanted to kill Mike: innumerable.

(let me 'splain) I'm on the treadmill - walking. (But it's a brisk walk, ok?) Meanwhile, surrounding me are yuppies running at the speed of light without breaking a sweat. No big deal - any time anybody looked at me I just waved at them and pretended we were meeting on the street. "Nice day, isn't it? Think it'll rain?" Anyway, I'm power walking my way to glory and I happen to glance over into the next room where the stairmasters and elliptical machines are. There's Mike - jogging his way up a mountain on an elliptical machine. Jerk. Makin' me look bad. I want him declared a nuisance and taken away for the night!

Day 1 down. 155 more to go. Yikes.

A new resolution

I've added another resolution to my list: I am going to read Dante's Inferno. It may take me the whole year, so wish me luck.

Oh, and...

Happy, happy birthday to my friend, Leigh!

The Seventh Circle of Hell

My dear friend, Virginia (Vitka), is still stuck working in the seventh circle of Hell, a guest relations department in a famous museum with which I too used to be enslaved. Now, I guess technically, it may not be the SEVENTH circle...as I recall, in Dante's Inferno, the seventh circle is where the violent now reside either in a burning desert, river of boiling blood or as a tree - depending on your particular crime. But I like the way seventh circle of Hell sounds and I'm not sure in which circle you are put in a cube and abused by random tourists who feel like they are better than you. But I'm getting off track.

Vitka started off her new year with a particularly heinous encounter with a young lady. You can read about it in its entirety here. When I read about it, I was so infuriated that I thought I was going to have to take someone's blood pressure meds to calm down. I hate, hate, HATE when you tell a guest the information that they TELL you to give them and then they (the management) come in and are all, "Oh, give them whatever they want." Vitka is a much nicer person than I...she gave the bi-atch her tickets. I'd have told el queso grande (which cracked me up, btw, Vitka) to fire me because no way am I selling that nasty hag anything.

Her post came at a good time, though. I was feeling slightly nostalgic for the days of working at the museum. Now I remember why it is that I quit. I was miserable working there. I cried when I had to go back after my days off and people like that are why. I have a complete hatred for tourists in general after that experience. In fact if I even have to say the word tourist, I do so with a sneer on my face.

I have no real reason for making this post other than to tell Vitka that I will be happy to look up what hotel she's staying in and take her some "room service." Knuckle sandwich, room 304. Heh. Love you, Vitka.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

And Happy Birthday to my dad!

A New Year's Blessing

I have always enjoyed Irish blessings but this one may be my new favorite. At any rate, this is what I wish for all of you in 2007.

May the light always find you on a dreary day.
When you need to be home, may you find your way.
May you always have courage to take a chance
And never find frogs in your underpants.

Cindi's New Year's Resolutions

In 2007, I resolve to:

*Go to the gym at least three times a week
*Drink more water and less pop
*Stop taking Mike for granted
*Go to church every week
*Answer emails in a more timely fashion
*Do one load of laundry every week day AND fold it AND put it away, as opposed to doing it and leaving it sit in a basket so that it gets wrinkled
*Dedicate at least two hours each day to studying
*Go out to eat no more than one time per week
*Eat fast food no more than once per month
*Go to the library more and the book store less
*Knit everyone in my family something for next Christmas (oh, stop whining, we'll give you other stuff too) ;)
*Learn to crochet
*Write in my journal three times a week
*Be more positive in my blog entries
*Blog at least three times a week
*Try not to nag as much (shut up, Dad)

I expect to see your resolutions, too! That's what comments are for. '

And, in the new year -
May your days be gold in the rays of the sun;
May your nights be silver in the light of the moon;
May Jesus welcome you when life is done;
But, God willing, may it not be soon;
May breezes brush soft against your face;
May shamrocks and roses line your way;
May you be bathed in God's bounteous grace;
And may you be given that for which you pray.
-a Blessing for Friends by Andrew M. Greeley

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Random News

Apparently, I am not blogging enough to satisfy my dad, who has mentioned no less than three times that I need to write another entry. Apparently Tiffany Ford's not enough for my old man, I gotta write something new. I'm gonna get him a blog so that I can email him and be like, "Yo! You need to update your blog." As it so happens, I was ready to update anyways, so he had nothing to do with it. Ha!

But anyways, it's New Year's Eve and I'm preparing my list of New Year's Resolutions, which I will be posting later (you hope).

I've also registered for my classes at Loyola University. The prestigious Loyola University. That's what I told Mike he's supposed to say when he tells people where I'm going to school. When I was working at the bank in Michigan, eons ago, I had a cubicle across the aisle from a man named Paul Maran. He was a salesman for the warehouse lending department with which I was a funding coordinator. Every work day, I would find myself listening to him on the phone with clients while I completed paperwork and approved mortgages. I am not exaggerating when I say that he told every one about how his daughter was moving to New York so she could go to Columbia. "My daughter's been accepted to the prestigious Columbia University." I don't know how many times I heard that but it got to be a running joke with Mike and I - especially after Mike came to meet me for lunch one day and heard him saying it. It's been long enough that I'm not sure exactly how he sounded but in my head he sounds a lot like Woody Allen.

Last night, I took Mike out on a date night. He sort of giggled and acted like the whole thing was a little silly - until I told him he could pick any restaurant he wanted and that I was taking him to see the David Mamet play, "American Buffalo" at a small theater on the Northside. I also bought him a present to give in lieu of flowers, which I knew wouldn't do much for him. He'd be like, "Oh...flowers. Huh." The play was really good. We sat in the front row and were close enough to be nicked by flying debris. One of the characters has...uh...anger management issues and likes to kick, hit and throw things. A couple of the times he'd grab something and start smashing things with it and occasionally shrapnel was ejected into the audience. One of the reviews I read said something about the actor who plays "Teach" - that he was so convincing that the audience members were afraid of him. I'm telling you what - I was ready to get up and move back a couple of rows. I also go a bit of random spit on me when another character was being beaten on the stage right in front of me. It sounds gross but it was actually just really cool to me. Mike has joined the program and seems to think the occasional "Date Night" is a good idea. Although whenever he says it, he sings it. "Daaaaaaaate Niiiiiiiiiiiiiight."

Mike and I went to eat at Clara's today. Cheap breakfast and the best hash browns in the city of Chicago. Yummy.

Our plans for New Year's Eve are still in limbo a bit. We had talked about going down to Navy Pier where there'll be midnight fireworks but then Jason and Sarah called and invited us out to the 'burbs to hang out with them at Jason's mom's place. I would love to hang out with Sarah but the midnight fireworks sounded really fun to me. I've become a true Chicago snob. The 'burbs? Who wants to go to the 'burbs? C'mon!

I've also been a little bummed out about my upcoming birthday. Not because I'll be turning 30. Well, maybe a little because I'll be turning 30 - but mostly because my plans to take a celebratory trip have been squelched by the city of Chicago. Did you know that it takes a year before you get any vacation or personal time after you're hired. Geez. My mom's not here to throw me a party and I'm fairly certain my dad's not gonna do it. I always get included by the Kurczewski side of the family when they throw a party for Mike, which is super nice, but it's always after my actual birthday and this year (who knows why) I feel like I HAVE to do something either the day of or before. I can't turn 30 without some sort of fanfare. I think that the anticipation of celebrating it has kept me from being depressed about it and now that there's no trip or getaway, I'm on the verge of being sad about it. On the plus side, I have two and a half months to think of some way to greet my 30th year properly. I just can't think of anywhere that's close enough and cost effective enough to go for just a weekend. And I think it's probably tacky to throw yourself a party. Mike's always accusing me of trying to get people to give me presents - he'd probably have a seizure if I said I was going to throw myself a birthday party. You can all do me a big favor by starting to suggest things Mike can do/buy/take me to that will make my 30th memorable. He'll be grateful for the help.

Other than that, I can't think of too much that's new. Mike installed my Brita water faucet last night and it was oddly anti-climactic - after demanding that someone buy it for me for two years, the reality has been a bit of a disappointment. On the other hand, I always have water in the house, so it'll save a ton of money and be super convenient. I guess it was just so much fun complaining about not having it that the reality of actually having it can't compete. I'm so complicated. :D Mike calls it high-maintenance. Pfft. Whatever.

Oh - and my dad's birthday is tomorrow. Make sure you drop him an email to wish him a happy 70th birthday. Ha! (Take that, old man.) ;)

Happy New Year's!

Birthday Mania!

Happy birthday to my friend, Allyson from The Sweatshop of Love. She teaches me to knit and we entertain each other. She's a younger, as-cute-as-me-in-some-cultures-maybe-cuter version of me, I swear! I went to her house for a knitting class and it was like she'd stolen my bookshelves. She is the only other person on earth (that I know of) who owns a copy of Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. She turns 23. When I thought about that, I nearly went online and ordered a bottle of Geratol. Anyway, Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to you

Today is Tiffany Ford's birthday. Who is Tiffany Ford, you ask? Well, back when I was in junior high, you were only as cool as the height of your bangs. The higher your bangs, the cooler you were. High bangs didn't necessarily guarantee popularity...but they were cool. A status symbol. Tiffany Ford had the highest bangs I have ever seen - to date, in fact. She had grown her bangs out to where, if they'd hung down, they would have rivaled a "Smells Like Teen Spirit"-video Kurt Cobain. But she didn't let them hang down. She somehow got them to defy the very laws of gravity and stand up as straight as a Buckingham Palace guard for several inches before the ends...the very tips...curled over into a gracefully arched curl. Gradually, her bangs feathered down into a brown cascade until it joined the rest of her hair on the side. In the years since, it still remains a feat I have never seen duplicated. Her hairspray costs must have been outrageous!

Why do I remember it's her birthday? Geez, I dunno. I just took a look at the date on my earlier post and that was the first thing that popped into my head. "Oh, today is Tiffany Ford's birthday." I haven't seen her in at least 11 years. It's funny the random facts our brains remember.

So, anyway, happy birthday, Tiffany Ford - wherever you may be.

The Kurczewski's First Annual Holiday Extravaganza

My extravaganza is no more - we extravaganza'd it up last night and it was quite pleasant, I must say. Everyone chatted, ate, drank and was merry. My friend Sarah's 15 month old daughter, Lyric, entertained us all with her baby sign language, animal noises and general cuteness. My niece, Bailey (the pug), wound her way through the throng and into the hearts of everyone who attended with her puppy snorts and stub tail wiggles. AND, Mike's friend Jason managed to stay sober until the party had mostly broken up. When people began to make their way out, the guys made their way into the spare room for some poker at which point Jason managed (over a period of time) to down most of a bottle of whiskey. But that's a story for another post.

The dim point in the evening was when my dad rang my cell phone to tell me that my mom's big sister, my aunt Kathryn, died last night. Kathryn had recently found out she had cancer but we definitely had no idea this was coming. I'm still not even sure what happened. I was worried about my Uncle Mike because with her death, it made his second sister to die within three and a half months. I honestly don't know how I'm feeling right now. Aunt Kathryn always lived far away from us. I talked to her on the phone a lot, always got cards from her and exchanged letters but only ever saw her face to face a handful of times. I'm so sad because she was family and she was always very good to me. I'm sad because her family has lost her - and I can remember only too well what the first few days feel like after losing your parent. I'm sad because my uncles Mike and John have lost another sister. But I'm also happy. I'm so happy because now my mother has what she always wished for - a chance to spend time with her big sister. I'm happy because she's with Mom, Matt, her parents and her son Kurt. I'm happy because she's beyond pain now and how could I ever wish her back to this earth to deal with cancer treatments and cataract surgeries?

I guess I can only leave you with my mom's saying aka my (not-so-new-now) personal mantra from Dr. Seuss. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Eva Kathryn Parker Doerr
2/27/1937 - 12/16/2006

I just can't have nice things

Today I fried my cell phone. When I realized I'd ruined it, I cried and I cried and I cried. Mike couldn't figure out what I was so upset about. Then I called my dad, hysterical, scaring the crap out of him. I'm sure he had pictured me with broken bones or being arrested. On top of the fact that it will cost in the neighborhood of $450 to replace, I have ruined the last present my mother gave me before she shuffled forth the mortal coil. It also had pictures on it of the last time I saw my mom. When my mom gave me this phone(the last days we spent together before she died), she told me, "When I die and there's not much for you to inherit, I want you to remember that I gave you things while I was living." And now I've ruined it.

When I was little and I'd break something, my mom would angrily tell me, "You just can't take care of things!" It was meant to sting and it always did. I still am most chastised when someone accuses me of being careless with things. But she was right. I was terrible about remembering where I put things and/or putting them back where they belong. To this day I generally don't buy myself really expensive things because I am too absent minded. When I realized what I'd done, I kept thinking, "You're so stupid! You can't take care of anything!"

I'm so upset about this and it's JUST a phone. Mike keeps telling me that. My dad told me that it could have happened to anyone and does on a regular basis. I keep trying to tell myself that but it feels like this just spotlights all of my faults. It's as if I've proven that my mother was right all those years ago and I can't stop letting her down even when she's dead. I just can't take care of things.

I'm hoping sleep and a new day will bring some clarity to my brain and I'll stop beating myself up over this but right now I feel as bad about this as I ever felt about anything I ever broke when I was young.

Why can't I just get a grip?

Cry Baby Cry

I spent most of the day today in tears because I missed my mom so much.

Then I went to the City of Hammond's Christmas party with Mike and had a really great time chatting with everybody again. We got invited to a wedding in Mexico in a few months - and it will be SO cool if we can go. Just jet down for a weekend since we won't have actual vacation. Hopefully the airfare won't be too expensive and we can think about going.

Upon getting home I found a package from my dad sitting on my porch. Included were three packages of chocolate from Maxwell's...which is a holiday tradition story for another day. Also in the package was the ornament with my mom's name on it from the candlelight ceremony at the funeral home that held her memorial service.

And now I'm sniffling again.

"I'm grieving...it's a process. " - Billy Crystal in Analyze That

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

I want this guy's cd for Christmas. His name is Jake Shimabukuro and I love his version of George Harrison's song. I adore it. Really.



If it won't come up for you here, you can also view it here.

If I had a million dollars...

For all you Secret Santas and Sandy Claus out there, I wanted you to know that I updated my amazon.com wishlist.

My 15 Minutes

I'm famous! The knitting class I take was featured in a magazine article and I'm mentioned by name!

"I'm in print!"

Here's the link to the online version of the magazine. I am mentioned very briefly as is my mother-in-law. Hee hee. Luckily I didn't say anything bad.

I was fairly excited to find out that my name was in the article but when I saw it my first reaction was, "Oh hell, she put my age in there!"

Confession -

Ok. I have to confess to something that I'm sort of embarrassed about. I love that "Celebrity Paranormal" show on VH1. I've always sensed that this was something that would invite ridicule if I mentioned it out loud. I mean, Mike makes fun of me about it but that's nothing new. He often makes fun of my viewing choices. I'm always dragging Mike on these ghost tours and whatnot when we go on vacation. I've never seen a ghost nor do I feel like I'm somehow 'sensitive' to paranormal activity or anything (I hate when we get a "medium" on the tour with us who swears she feels something everywhere we go)...I just like having the heebie jeebies scared out of me. I like ghost stories and that's basically what ghost tours are all about. They take you to different places and tell you the ghost stories that go along with the area.

But anyway, I'm rambing again. Celebrity Paranormal reminds me of that MTV show "Fear" back in the 90's where they'd send college kids to haunted places and have them do scary crap - if they could stay the whole night they won $5000. Remember that show? I was only in high school myself and I loved that show. I was crushed when they took it off the air. I continued to tivo and watch Celebrity Paranormal despite my inclination to believe that this is something I should be embarrassed about. Today though, in a moment of boredom, I happened upon the vh1 website dedicated to the show and saw the snippet of the message board it includes. This is where you can discuss the "scary moments" or the caliber of the C List celebrities on that week's episode. Everyone on that message board was clearly about 14 years old. I am most likely the only CP fan over the age of 15.

Now that's embarrassing.

The Official Word...

The City of Chicago called me today with good news. I officially have the job and my start date is scheduled to be December 16th. The 16th is a Saturday so I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not. The official letter should be coming in the mail soon.

Places I didn't even know about...

That's how badly I hurt right now. I hurt in places I didn't even know I had. Mike and I have started "gung ho" mode on the old work-out regime. I was like, "Let's WALK to the Y." Yeah. Brilliant idea. It's about a 2 mile walk roundtrip which seemed like an adventure at the time. Now it just seems like a mistake. Plus we didn't eat before we went and on the way home, I nearly tackled the neighbor's yappy, fluffy dog and chewed on it.

On the plus side, I got a good laugh from Mike's antics today. He was trying on a new workout outfit he'd bought at Kohl's awhile back and asked me if his shirt was too tight because it felt really constrictive. The shirt was made of that form fitting, spandexy material and I told him that it was supposed to look like that and hug his body. He had to go upstairs to look for himself because, like always, we can't just take my word on anything. He came back down and said, "I really like this. I feel like Superman." It's still funny to me - I snorted just now when I typed it.

If you need me tomorrow, I'll be the one in bed with the covers over my head - covered in heating pads.

This year, I am thankful for:

Spending Thanksgiving with my dad.
My big brother almost remembering my birthday.
Having great nephews - Caleb and Dex aka "Frank".
In-laws, niece-pugs and nephew-cats.
Fat cats and kittens that jump.
New apartments.
Friends.
Having 29 years with my mom.
Mike falling asleep spooning me and snoring a little in my ear.
Knitting classes.
Drs. Carlson and Lazar.
Ex-landlords who help you paint your new place.
Blue Cheese.
Evites.
Rugrat rootbeer.
Sisters - biological and otherwise.
Vitka's jokes.
Mike's sweetness.
Chocolate chip shakes.
Memories.
Captain Underpants in the Thanksgiving parade.
God.
Every hug I ever got from my mom.
Being able to say, "I'm in my 20's."
Mike's laughter.
Mike.
Mike.
Mike.
Did I mention Mike?
Funnel cake.
Dachshunds.
Democrats controlling Congress.
Cat snuggles.
Puppy kisses.
Family.
Life.
Love in all its forms.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Oops...

I just published a post I wrote a few days ago but hit "save as draft" instead of "publish." Check it out for a story about a trip I took with my dad a couple of weeks ago.

Outrageous!

This made me feel sick to my stomach.

Bobbi and her "freedom march"

I was looking through my emails today and found this one. It's from my mom describing an experience she had with her hamster and it makes me laugh. She could never go into a pet store without buying something and then she'd be mad because it was such a pain to take care of. She always took really good care of her animals...she just hated having to do it sometimes. Bobbi is a black dwarf hamster who still resides with my dad...miraculously still alive as we'd forgotten about her for at least a week after my mom died. Polly refers to "Neopolitan," a guinea pig who left this Earth some months before my mom. We had Boris and Polly and for awhile we would occasionally have baby guinea pigs to give away. After Boris died, my mom would refer to her as "The widow Polly." But I'm getting off track. Anyways, this is an email I got from my mom right before Mike and I got married. It's very typical "mom" humor and I thought I'd share.


Subject: Bobbi and her "freedom march"
From: Linda H. to me, Jeffrey, Robin, JOHN
Date: Apr 13 (2006)

Bobbi the hamster and I have had quite an afternoon.
I asked your Dad(Charles) to change Polly's cage
several days ago. but he hadn't had time time or
inclination to do it. Soo... I decided to do it.
Bobbi's cage in on top of Polly's. So I looked for
Bobbi and nowhere did I see her. I moved bedding,etc
and still didn't see her. Any way I foung her wedged
in the tube between the upper floor and the lower
level wedged with bedding. So I think she has
smothered herself. She was on the wheel last night so
this is not a event of long duration. I took the cage
and emptied it but the tube was still plugged. So I
banged the tube on the side of the trash several times
and finally all fell out. Bobbi perks right up and
starts running around the trash can. I pick her up
and put her back in her cage and put bedding etc. in
to get her fixed up....silently cursing my luck that
she is still breathing. I sat and watched her for a
minute because she is very happy to be "free at last,
thank God, I'm free at last." I had put the top back
on the cage and she is briskly. or confused like as it
turns out, climbing up and down the tube. I think it
is because she is remembering her horrible experience.
Then she goes up the tube and falls out into the
cage. I had put the top on backwards and the upper
level is on the wrong side. So we are now straighened
up and all is well. I have sat here and giggled at
our little problem and just wanted to share with
someone. P.S. Bobbi did not appear amused. But she is
happy to be "free".

Three posts in one day...this is INSANE!!!

I know! What the heck, right? But I'm bored. BOOOOOOOOOOORED. Mike went over to our former upstairs neighbor's house...or the FUN house, if you will. I wasn't feeling like sitting around watching them drink beer and watch the Michigan-Ohio State game, so I stayed behind.

I thought I'd give you a run down of the trip I took with my dad last week. It was lots of fun. Mike and I rolled into Iowa late and Dad and I were up and going early because we had to make the bus at 9 AM. The trip was something his company does every year. The have a "Silver Circle" club consisting of anyone who's worked for them for 25 years or more. My dad will have 31 years in February...on the day he officially retires. (My dad also refers to this as "The Old Farts" club.) But don't tell, ok? Shhhhhh! Aaaaaaanyway, every year, the company pays for a trip for the group. This year they took them up to Dubuque, IA for gambling, drinking and other debauchery. Ok, I made the debauchery part up. But there was gambling and drinking.

We drove up to Dubuque on two big charter buses. Believe me, I was relieved it wasn't a school bus. I had nightmares about all the trips we took when I was in school. On the ride up, they played games. Since part of the trip was at a casino, they were giving away cash prizes. I won all three of the real games. They had a word scramble, a trivia game and a find-a-word puzzle. The word scamble was up first and it had words that were found in a casino. Please. I'm married to Mike "Blackjack" Kurczewski and I've spent enough time with Fred (his dad) to know my way around the lingo, ok? This is an example of actual conversations we've had at my house:

Mike: Guess where my parents are going for their vacation this year!

Cindi: Somewhere with a casino?

Mike: Besides that.

I don't want to give the impression that they're gambling addicts, though. They're very responsible...they just love the casino. I don't get it, myself. My mom got it. All you had to do was suggest a trip down to "the boat" and her eyes'd light up. She got Mike hooked on those stupid scratch off tickets! She'd spend $10 on scratchers and be all excited because she won $2. I'd be like, "But you paid $10 to get $2 back! You lost $8!" and she'd say, "Well, I coulda lost $10." It's hard to argue with that...but it never quite made sense to me.

Back to my story...I was easily the winner of the casino word scramble game. I let my dad pick an envelope for me and I got $10. There was one $20 bill, several $10s and several $5s...so I was happy with $10. Then they played a "game" where they called out an every day item you'd have in your pocket, purse or wallet and then give a prize to whoever showed it first. I did not participate in this game. First of all, I thought it was dumb. Not my kind of thing at all. Secondly, my bag was put away in the overhead compartment and I was too lazy to get up and get it down. Then they played Turkey Trivia with all sorts of Thanksgiving facts. I won this game but they wouldn't let me get another envelope. The lady said, "You already won!" and I was like, "And?" I had the most answers correct with 14 - so I still won...prize or no prize. :D Then they played more of the "show me the item - win a prize" game. Again...I did not participate. This time I refused to participate not only for the above reasons but also because I was boycotting the "can't win twice" rule. The last game of the night was the Thanksgiving 'find a word' puzzle. I considered refraining from this game also but the lady was like, "And for this game, the prize will be an umbrella so anyone can win, even if you've won before." My competitive nature wouldn't allow me to not play then. There were 39 words to find on the puzzle. I have adopted a strategic search and destroy strategy and managed to find all the words quickly. To avoid any further complications, I gave the paper to my dad and told him to put his hand up. I knew she'd said anybody could win but I wasn't taking any chances. The lady was mildly surprised that anyone had found all the words and said she was giving prizes to first and second place. With all the words, my partner in crime and I easily took first place. The closest runner up was a lady in the back who had 22 words. I was absurdly proud of how badly I'd kicked ass...then I thought about it and realized that my big accomplishment was beating a bunch of sexagenarians who probably need bifocals to see the words on the page. I felt a little foolish for a minute...but then I thought about how it was raining outside and _I_ had won an umbrella for first place and I leaned back and smirked at them all. Ha! Losahs! As a friend of mine used to say (in junior high) '|_osah |_osah, \/\/anna be a \/\/innah.' There are hand gestures that go with that but I'll have to demonstrate those at a later date.

After arrival, we unloaded at a casino and ate at their buffet. It was adequate and I had a great discussion with one of the ladies about how Mike is going to step aside when Johnny Depp leaves the supermodel he's got two kids with and realizes we're meant to be together.

Then it was off to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Three words. Cool. as. Hell. It was! Truly. They had huge catfish and other weird looking critters, a lot of great stuff about the boats that used to travel down the river, an exhibit where you simulate driving a barge and a pretty decent gift shop! I took pictures for Mike and bought him a shirt that says, "What happens on the river, stays on the river" with a skull and cross-rowboat oars. He likes it.

Then we went back to the casino to wait for about an hour until it was time to head to the dinner theater where we were scheduled to eat and see a play that night. I decided to take $30 into the casino and play some blackjack to kill the time. I figured it would take me 10 minutes to lose it but I thought, "what the heck...it's only $30." 40 minutes later, I walked out with $60. Not a big win but still cool. I got to say "I doubled my money." for the rest of the night.

The play that night was a comedy called "The Regifters" about three couples who 'regift' a present and then find out that it was worth a lot of money. One gives it to another and so on down the line. It was quite witty with an often wicked bent. It was weird listening to sexual innuendos from onstage while sitting next to my dad, though. Kinda creepy. I will give you a recap of my father's favorite part. One of the couples are onstage when the wife sneezes. They've been fighting and don't appear to get along that well on an every day basis either. Anyway, the husband says, "God bless you." and the wife starts to tell him off because saying "God bless you" is an old and stupid custom with no basis in society today (basically). She tells him not to say it any more. A few minutes later, she sneezes again and her husband says, "God damn you to Hell" in place of "God Bless You." Probably much funnier when you're in the moment.

On the way home, they put on "The Rookie" - our bus had a dvd player and small tvs every few seats coming down from the ceiling. "The Rookie" is that Dennis Quaid movie about the chemistry teacher who promises his team if they win their division he'll try out for the major leagues again. At the beginning, I was like, "Kill me now." Buuuut, it was too dark to read or knit and I ended up watching the tv rather than staring out the window into the Iowa darkness. By the end, I'm having a conversation in my head with myself,:

"Oh, I hope they let him play in the big leagues."

"You are such a sap."

"This is a movie - it's Disney, they've got to let him play in the majors, right?"

"Shut up! You're making me sick!"

"Look! He's gonna play! He's gonna play!"

"Ugh."

Anyway, the trip all in all was a big success. I had a good time, ate good food, took pictures, bought presents for my husband and actually came home with a few dollars more than I'd left with!

Joy.

Mike's Big Announcement!

Drumroll please...ehem...ehem...

My big announcement is that last week I was contacted by the City of Chicago for a position with their Health Department. I'm still waiting for my mountain of paperwork to go through and be processed but I hope to hear something definite very soon. I was also told that my probable start date would be December 1st.

Lazy days

Well, it's 11 in the morning and Mike and I just managed to wake up and get ourselves out of our toasty bed. Mike is currently in the kitchen making breakfast like a good wif...err...husband. ;) I've been the one who cooks a majority of the time but here lately Mike has been exploring his culinary side and I'm here to say, I LIKE it! Ok, mostly I like not having to cook all the time - it's fun for awhile but then it gets old. I still cook dinner most nights - the long drive from Indiana puts him home around 6pm lately and if he cooks after he gets home it's really late before he eats. I don't mind. I've been having fun broadening my own cooking horizons lately. I used to never do meat - other than loose ground beef or bacon. I didn't eat other kinds of meat and I didn't know how to cook it. Plus the thought of touching raw meat just kinda grossed me out. The either the death of my mom or my approaching birthday (I'll be 25 again, btw) - made me stop and think, "Hey, you're an adult now! Get over it!" I still have not been able to stick my hand under the skin of a roasting chicken to season it...I know it's dead and can't feel it but I watched one of the cooking shows do it and it made me want to gag. BUUUUUUUT, I have been buying meat in bulk and putting it into baggies to freeze for later use. Am I rambling? I think I'm rambling...what was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Mike cooking.

The other night, Mike and I tag teamed to cook up a delish Chicken Caesar salad...after which he told his mom that, "Cindi helped me make it." I cut the lettuce, I covered it in dressing, garlic and parmesan cheese and I seasoned the chicken and started grilling it. Mike took over once it had started cooking and then I chopped up the grilled chicken and added it to my be-ee-ay-uuutiful salad creation. Yes, I know...my life is boring. Get over it. ;)

What else is new...well, there's still Mike's news which he has yet to announce. He's going to have to blog about it sometime - I just can't get him to do it.

The other day Mike made fun of me for printing out a poem called "as freedom is a breakfastfood" by e.e. cummings but I still hold that it is a great poem. It's one I like a lot. I've decided to "decorate" the bedroom with poetry. It's such an odd shape with a low ceiling, so it's hard to find things to put on the walls. I'm going to print out poems on different colored paper and put them up around the room to brighten it up a little bit. Maybe print out some pictures - I'm fairly excited about it. The best part being that if it looks bad, I can always just take it off! Low cost, low maintenance - no worries.

Anywho, must dash! My hashbrowns, bacon and toast smell done!

Catching up with Earl

I've been watching the episodes of My Name is Earl that I tivo'd and I swear, when Earl, Randy and Joy started sing 'Convoy' through their walky-talkies and then made their mean neighbor do the hokey-pokey when she thought that they were God speaking to her through her hearing aid...I nearly wet my pants.

"Puteth thy left foot in....Puteth thy left foot out...Puteth thy left foot in and shaketh it all about..."

How can you not love this show?

Today I was bored and decided to walk up to Roscoe St. and go to a thrift shop we visited a couple of week's ago when Mike's sister and brother-in-law were visiting. I showered and got all "de-stink"-afied and then realized I couldn't leave the house today until Mike got home because we have only one set of door keys. Yes, I know we moved in a month ago - but for some reason, we have the "KEY THAT CAN NOT BE SUCCESSFULLY DUPLICATED." (cue fanfare) We have had this key cut at Home Depot three times, only to come home and find that the new key won't turn the front door lock. Finally Mike went to Menard's and they successfully made a copy - but that key is with my friend Leigh who comes over and checks on the cats while we're out of town visiting the fam. Soooooo...the first order of business today when Mike got home was to head to Menard's and have a key cut for me so that Mike is no longer the Keymaster...which I guess would make me the Gate Keeper? Well, whoever I am, I have keys now! Huzzah!

We're still waiting for Mike to break his big news online but if you're too antsy to wait for the lazy slug to blog, you can find a hint on Dec. 1 of our Google Calendar.

Did you know #2 - Mike (from Kelly)

This did you know has been submitted by Kelly - (see comments on Did you know #1)

Did you know that mike used to use a turkey baster as a microphone (i think that's the utensil it was) and he called it his "do da"?

**Update**

Mike has added that the song he used to sing into his "do da" was 'Macho Man' by the Village People.

Did you know #1 - Cindi

Did you know that when I was about four, my Granny inadvertently terrorized me for over a month? My mom had just had my little brother, Matt and I was really curious about babies. I'm sure I was asking her some questions that I wasn't old enough to have answered about where babies come from. So, to answer me, she simply said that God knows when you're ready to have a baby and gives the mommy one in her belly. This is actually probably a fairly decent answer for a four year old but (to me anyway) she made it sound like it just happened to people indiscriminately. One day, you woke up pregnant! I was terrified! Every night for at least a month when I prayed, I would say, "And God, please don't give me a baby. I'm just a little girl." Then finally, I decided I'd made my point and I could let down my guard.

So, just a note - if you're going to try a similar approach someday, you might want to be just a bit more specific.

A new addition

If you're looking, you'll see that we've added a link to our Google calendar on the sidebar. I just got started, so it only has about 2 things on it, but I've decided to get a family calendar going to try and keep us up to date organizational wise and hopefully it'll help everyone keep up with us. Not that we're all that exciting or anything...you know, whatever. :D

I'm also instituting a two new features of this blog called, "Remember that time when..." and/or "Did you know...?" If you have a story to contribute or a request for a story that you want us to tell, just drop us an email.

Mike has news but I don't want to steal his thunder. I'm trying to get him to blog about it himself. C'mon, Mike! Get it together, man!

Another good quote - (while you wait)

Grief. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal. -C.S. Lewis

Dammit!

I just wrote a post only to have my computer "tewt" and lose it. I am too irritated to recreate it at this time. Stay tuned for more info.

I love Shakespeare

Sonnet 1

From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty's rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thy self thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel:
Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament,
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content,
And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding:
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.

Why get out of bed in the morning?

My mom's big sister, my aunt Kathryn, found out yesterday that she has lung cancer. I know no further information and am praying for an early detection etc. Apparently our family has not suffered enough.

Words to live by

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. ~Gilda Radner

A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

My aunt Kathryn is in the hospital. I'm still not exactly sure what's up on that front - something about walking pneumonia, I believe. I'm hoping for good results because when my dad called to tell me, they had moved her out of the ICU and into a regular hospital bed.

My dad's good friend from his Vietnam days, Marvin, was sent home from the hospital today. When he first said this I thought it was good news but it turns out that he is dying and he wanted to die at home, so they released him. Dad said that they told them he only had another 24 hours or so left. I didn't ever meet Marvin but I have heard stories about him since I was little and I know that my dad is probably feeling pretty down, so send warm fuzzies his way, will ya?

I got an email today that a friend of a friend lost his dad on Halloween. I don't really know the friend of a friend and I don't know his dad at all but the news hit close to home and I really feel bad for the family.

Just a weird thing I found out today - that quote that I found on my mom's locker. My personal mantra, if you will..."Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." I always knew she didn't think it up herself and that it came from somewhere...but today I found out who said it. Dr. Seuss. Who knew?

Peace!