The Holidays

Because I haven't had time yet to sit down and actually write a post, I'm just going to post some pictures and a video...I'll be back to add the details later.

The snow when we arrived at my parents house in Idaho!

Chips from the restaurant in Minneapolis where we were stuck overnight.

Duncan waiting patiently for Zach to give him his present (blind as a bat but his nose works!).

Me bundled up for a cold afternoon of skiing.

The ski path on the mountain. Beautiful!

And I leave you with a video of Duncan helping Zach unwrap one of his presents. I'm not sure how it started, but every year since I can remember having Duncan, he has helped unwrap at least one gift.

Snow Day!

One of the greatest things about living in the Midwest as a child was the opportunity for SNOW DAYS! An unexpected day off school! Wooo!! I didn't care if the roads were bad or if we were going to be stuck at home all day. It was thrilling. Usually there was enough snow on the ground to go sledding, and my house was THE place to be for sledding in the neighborhood. The backyard was a gigantic uninterrupted hill. It was awesome. My brother and I would bundle up and head out for hours. We were usually joined by various neighbor kids and we'd swap sleds and partners and sled until our toes were numb (and sometimes right through the numb toes)!

As I've grown up, Snow Days haven't been quite as exciting. In college, we rarely had classes canceled due to snow - and even if we did, we were just thankful we had a few extra hours to finish that paper. My job during college didn't care about the weather. We were always open - even if we only had 5 customers all night.

Then I got my first "real" job. Suddenly, I was rooting for snow days again. As a dance school, if we canceled classes, office staff didn't usually have to come in! When I left that job, I assumed that was the end of that, but once again, I chose to work at a company that takes days off due to weather!

So this past week I have been sitting around pining for a snow day. Tuesday afternoon they forecasted a big snow storm and snow we got. Unfortunately, it started after I had been at work for a couple hours...so I had to drive home in it. Not my ideal, but I got out of work a couple hours early!

Then yesterday, they started predicting a severe ice storm. It was supposed to begin around 3pm, but luckily (for everyone who HAD to drive home from work and school and the likes) it didn't start until nearly 8pm, so there were rumors flying around regarding closing for the next day. So, just like when I was younger, I sat in bed last night praying that there would be no school on Friday.

I woke up this morning (at 5:15am) to Rob scraping ice off his car. I told him to check the TV before he left to make sure the roads were drivable...he said "they just said to be careful."

Damn.

Then I couldn't go back to sleep, so I turned on the TV to see just what was going on. Was the storm not as bad as they had predicted? I start reading the scroll on the bottom of the screen and it is listing all the outlying districts and as time goes by, a few more local districts start showing up. Then I get the call. We're cancelling for the AM! WAHOO!

As soon as it gets light outside, I get up to check out just what miracle is keeping me home. And I find this:

Pretty, huh? But not worthy to get out and about in. Thank you God!

So today, instead of sitting behind my stupid desk and wondering how pass the time until 4pm, I get to stay at home and do whatever I want! I laid in bed until 10am and watched all of the Today's Show and plan on catching up on a few other daytime programs. :) I can also catch up on laundry, dishes, wrapping presents, loading up the iPod and maybe even a workout on the elliptical! Yay!

Blogs

I have always claimed I like to read. Generally, I am drawn to ChickLit. I am always drawn to that section of the book store (speaking of the bookstore, I went to Borders the other day to get some presents and was overwhelmed and excited when I walked in...I feel like 12 and in the same room as my crush...that kind of excitement...ohhhh over-stimulation!)

I digress.

While I LOVE books, I enjoy reading of any type. Recently, I have gotten hooked on several blogs. My daily routine consists of checking like 15. I am going to update the list on the side of this site to reflect my new hobby. The great part about finding new blogs is back reading their stories...I can spend an hour or more reading about their life and then they reference someone else, so I click on that link and start reading their stories. Its fabulous. I'm addicted.

My "Pretend Job"

Sometimes, I tell myself, "I should get a real job." I apparently have a 'pretend job.' In a way, this is true, since some days I do not do much that people in the real professional world do. Today is a good example.

So one of my friends informs me today that she can't chat with me 'cuz she's crazy busy today. I ask what her current project is and she says its something to do with Nigeria, hospitals, the words "due diligence" and "analysis" were in there and some other fancy sounding stuff...big report. Wow. That sounds like a real job. She's researching and writing serious stuff for very important people to read and consider.

Guess what I have done today?

Yup, I am coloring, cutting and decorating bags like reindeer. That is part of my job today. I also stamped bags and then put gifts in them and sealed them with pretty ribbon. I also set up a photo area for Santa to sit and get pictures taken with kids. Yup. This is my job. We've got a Santa Lunch on Sunday, and since I'm apparently the "Special Events Coordinator" (wahoo! that sounds mildly important), I have to get stuff ready.

This new title is...well just that...new! Apparently, when they hired the other lady to help out in the mornings, they decided I should focus that time on special events. I'm cool with that. Plus, some day when I look for that elusive "real job," Special Event Coordinator will look sweet on my resume!

Plus its kinda fun. Who doesn't like to spend their days coloring?

Check the Temperature!

As I stated in the previous blog, Rob decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner for his family. Just thinking about it stressed me out, so I knew I couldn't stick around for it.

I guess I need to point out that Rob cooks two things...tacos and chicken cordon bleu...both with some assistance from usually me or someone else. So the fact that he was going to do this big important meal all by himself....ohhh too much for me.

So I left the city.

I was a little concerned about what I would come home too, but I was rather pleasantly surprised when I arrived home from Idaho.

Until I opened the medicine cabinet...

It was a psychotic mess.

Ok, I am a little neurotic, so maybe it was a psychotic mess, but it was messy.

I notice the thermometer is randomly sitting out. Nervously I ask why.

"I had to check the temperature of the turkey..." was the response I got.

Um excuse me? The themometer I use when I'm sick is the same you stuck in a half cooked turkey to see if it was done!?!? Yup.

I had a moment of WTF!? And then had to laugh when he said that the thermometer didn't go up that high. Nice Rob.

Thankfully, I believe there are two thermometers in the medicine cabinet.

Happy Thanksgiving

Let me start by saying Rob decided he wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner for his family. Zach told me I could sleep in his dining room. And my parents were going to be thousands of miles away for the holiday. I wasn't exactly excited about the upcoming holiday.

After a week of fretting over where I would spend Thanksgiving and not being thrilled with my options, my mom sent me an email Wednesday morning telling me she'd fly me out to Idaho. After considering it for a bit I said yes! I needed to get out of town and seeing my parents would be the perfect place to go. She found Zach a decently priced ticket also and so the two of us flew to Idaho on Thursday morning. It was a great trip. We got to spend the holiday together and were able to have some quality family time. Friday afternoon we took a "hike" into the surrounding area and were able to see some gorgeous scenery.


On Saturday before we left for the airport, we went for a drive so my parents could show us the mountains in the area. Once again, gorgeous scenery. It was a cloudy day, but it actually made for some neat pictures.


I'm looking forward to going back in a couple weeks! There's a lot to see and do out there, and I'm definitely excited about it!

Its Almost Here

In 22 hours...

yes its sad I know the exact timing...

In 22 hours I will be at opening night for Twilight.



Squealing like a little girl and bouncing in my chair...

Yeah, I'm super excited. Like giddy. Even pre-bought my tickets. Yeah, I'm a dork. But thankfully I have dork friends to join me. I believe there is a group of 9 or 10 of us going.

I also am jealous of Tia and her adorable hoodies that she made. I'm not a fruit cake who wants to dress up like a character or anything, but a cute simple hoodie would be ok.

Laugh if you must. But if you're laughing, I can guarantee that you have not read the books - or even just the first...but if you read the first, you'll want to read the rest, so books it is.

I'm just hoping that I am not disappointed. I just don't know if the movie can live up to the images in my mind. Lets hope.

A Kick to the Groin

I watched the movie "North Country" tonight. Yeah, I'm a little late on the uptake, but I figured it was about time. So, since there was nothing good on TV, I decided to pop it in.

I understand that women were treated inferior in the past, but I can't get past that it took so long for anyone to do anything about it. While I was watching I became infuriated with, obviously the men, but also the women who didn't seem to stick up for themselves. I would think think, nay I know that if I were in a similar situation, I would throw it right back at the men. I would say nasty things (probably a bit later cuz I'm not my wittiest under pressure), I would kick and I might even scream. I would not however sit idly by and let that kind of treatment ensue.

In the end, I realized that while I am sorry that those and other women had to endure that but am uber thankful that they did so that laws could exist to keep that from happening to women today. I am grateful that I do not have to take crap on a daily basis, keeping my mouth shut or have to kick men in the groin in order to remind them that I too am human.

Thank you women of the North Country for not putting up with that sh** and taking a stand. Thank you.

Ellie's New Toy

Ellie got a new toy.

From PeaJay (her former owner).

I think PeaJay's ulterior motive is to drive me crazy.

Maybe she wants her dog back. Hm....

Anyway, here is Ellie playing with Pirate Rob, the toy PeaJay got her...

Fat Food

Last night while I wrote my blog, I was watching The Biggest Loser. I don't mean to, but I generally end up watching this show and actually enjoying it. But considering its all about losing weight, I almost always get HUNGRY while watching the show. And since I have no will power, I usually end up eating. Last night we ordered pizza. Its terrible. I need to stop. Both the eating and the show watching.

My House Is Way Cuter

I went back to CB (Council Bluffs, IA for those of you who don't know) this weekend. Since my parents are moving to Idaho and my brother just moved out, I didn't really have a choice of where I was going to sleep. Zach had taken the extra bed to his new house, so I had to sleep at his place. Let me just state that Zach just bought his first house on Wednesday, so he just moved in and he has a roommate who was moving in Friday afternoon. So this is a house that two males under the age of 25 live in. Ugh. I've been in frat houses before...I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be much different. But he was sooo excited for me to come stay at his house, so whatever, I can suck it up and stay for two nights.

I head to my parents house first (Zach is off galavanting somewhere) and end up having dinner with my dad then heading off to Omaha to pick up my mom from a UNMC reunion. It was odd to go into that house since all the ladies in there have been friends with my mom since I was 2. I've seen them randomly over the years, but it had been a while. It felt a bit strange to sit and have a glass of wine with them while they were talking their "grown up talk." I still felt 10 and out of place.

Anyway, Zach called to say he was home as we were walking out to the car. He gave me directions and started talking a little about his house. About this time he tells me there are 41 steps to his front door. WTF!?! I don't really believe him or understand how you could have 41 steps in front of your house. So, when we get back to CB, I head over to Zach's new house.

This is what I pull up to (though its like 12:30am, so its actually dark...):


So yeah, lots of steps. Then I walk in the house and have to walk up ANOTHER giant set of steps to get to "my" room. Yikes. It is good that two young males are going to live in this house...especially with winter coming up!

So then I get the tour of the rest of the house. Uh! So not fair. His house is way cuter than my house! The people who owned the house before him basically redid a lot and fixed up basically everything. So he's got a new kitchen, new light fixtures, refinished floors, etc. Its pretty. Not fair.

But we'll see what it looks like after two months of two boys (read pigs) live there.

What books?

I finished reading the Twilight Saga last weekend. I'm kind of sad now. What will fill my time?! I was actually sitting around Sunday thinking, "I'd like to read some more about Edward and Bella and Jacob." But alas, that is not possible. Actually, I take that back...I can go online and read part of the leaked book. I just don't know if I want to start something I know I can't finish....

I sound pathetic.

But I've found I am not the only one. Lots of 27 year old girls (women? do i refer to myself as a woman? thats a whole 'nother blog.) are addicted to this series. One of the girls at work talks about it all time...she's my Twilight go-to-gal. My friend Elizabeth is completely immersed in it. Then I pull up one of my favorite blogs and she's talking about it too! She cracks me up and she wrote a great blog about it. Check out October 21st. :)

So since there is no more to read, I have moved on to the movie! I was not excited about it while I was in the midst of the series, but now I am impatiently waiting. In the book, Edward writes Bella a lullaby (cuz he's had over 100 years to learn to read, play and compose music). I had kind of forgotten about it until someone posted a link to the song that is rumored to be used in the movie. Now I'm all about it. I've listened to it like everyday. In fact....



Ok, but now reading up on it, they've officially released the soundtrack and this is not apprently the correct version. Whatever. Its still a pretty song. So I'm still sharing it. :) So relax and enjoy.

Funny Stuff

So I was watching some tv and surfing some internet when I ran across some Saturday Night Live clips. It reminded me of a few clips I'd seen years back that made me laugh hysterically but I never seem to catch anymore. So I went a searching. Let me tell you its not easy. SNL has been on for 36 years and when you don't know when the clip was played or the name of it or of any of the characters, its not too easy. So I just dug in and started searching.

Jackpot!! I found it!

The skits contain an uber-hyper tween named Kaitlin who bugs her step-dad Rick incessently. She amuses me to no end. I hunted down a few of the skits, but apparently due to copyright shit, you can't find them all that easily. But, if I did this correctly, I should be able to share this hysterical clip with you (no idea how to make it smaller...). Thank you Hulu.com for having these!

Ramblings

I am sitting all alone at work and while I have plenty to do, I have no motivation to get anything done at this moment. I have spent the last 30 minutes reading various blogs and looking up random things online. Then I decided I should blog myself.

(More time wasting...)

Thursday night is my TV night. Its really the only night of the week that I must be home and sitting in front of the boob tube for two hours. I start with Ugly Betty and continue with Grey's Anatomy. Last night was no exception.

My first comment is that there were excessive amounts of commercial breaks and they weren't all that long. I let Ellie out and thought I'll go get her during the next break. I picked up a snack when I walked through the kitchen and by the time I got back to my room, the show had already started back and within 4 minutes it was commercial time again! Oh for pete's sake! And my house is not big! Ellie probably hadn't even finished sniffing yet, which meant she hadn't yet gone to the bathroom! So I left her out for another 4 minutes until the next commercial break and raced back to my room to catch the remainder of the show. Multiple times I missed that first minute or two after the commercials. It seemed like there was 4 minutes of show and then 1 minute of commercial. Seriously!? Is that necessary? What happened to the days of 7 minute commercial breaks?! (or so they seemed when I was 10)

Grey's Anatomy cracked me up last night. Well specifically the Dermatology Department. One by one the residents ended up on the couch in the waiting room of the Dermatology Department because it was quiet and soothing and they had fruity water. It cracked me up how they sat in awe watching and observing the non-chaotic lifestyle. Specifically Christina. Then there was the whole scene where Bailey cornered Callie and gave her a sex talk. "The vah-jay-jay is undiscovered country..." Catch a clip here. I was also glad to see Izzy finally stand up to Alex, who's been an ass lately. Definately not one of the best episodes, but a good one none the less.

Speaking of soothing places though...my job is generally not considered soothing. Each week, 750 kids (mostly under 8) come running through here and sometimes scream and cry and talk real loud....sometimes I can't hear the phone. It is not soothing. This week has been worse due to the registration deadline. I don't know why people can't just turn things in on time and not be annoying. Thankfully, this time around, there has been extra help in the office and it has not all fallen back on me. I am calmer this time. May have to do with the pills too. Today however, there is not one single person in the building (there were a few earlier, but now classes are over until 330 and everyone else has decided to leave). It is REALLY quiet. Almost errie, but after the chaos of this past week, I am enjoying it. I had the radio on earlier, but turned it off so I could just enjoy the silence.

Listen to that. Nothing. Ahhhh.

Its nice for about an hour and then I get ansy. I need something going on. I'll probably get the deposit ready and go run errands. That sounds good. Gets me out too. Plus I have to be here tomorrow and that does not thrill me, but I just tell myself the extra money will be nice!

I Love the Smell of Scotch Tape

I really do like the smell of scotch tape. The smell takes me back to arts and crafts time when I was younger. I don't think we really got to use tape in elementary school, but for like girl scouts and other such activities (and wrapping presents at Christmas), we got to use this fabulous product and it was fun.

So next week is Fire Safety Week (in case anyone wants to know). And since we try to educate kids on more than just gymnastics, we are incorporating fire safety into next week's classes. Last year, I made a beautiful flame that was laminated and used in the gym. PeaJay pulled it out again this year but claimed she needed two more flames. I was busy at the time so told her to just grab some paper and cut...she had something to go by.

HA! She comes out with the saddest looking set of flames ever, so I took over. Screw the newsletter! Its time to cut and tape!! She claims she's not artsy...I'm not much further behind, but I enjoy it. I love to create something from nothing (ie a blank piece of paper).

So, with no further ado, here are the flames. :) Can you guess which ones are mine?
Mine are the first three on the left. :)

Patting self on back. Good job.

Reoccuring

I keep having the variations of the same dream.

For some reason, I am taking classes at my high school, Abraham Lincoln High School. The school generally looks like its supposed to and even the hallways are pretty accurate.

Sometimes I am 16(ish) again, but often times I am my real age. The odd thing though, is for various reason, I am not attending classes. For like days at a time. And I realize that if I go back to class, the teacher will be mad at me and I will be lost in the content, but then if I don't go back, I won't be able to pass the class. Its very nerve-racking.

Emily said its probably because its fall and the start of school, but I've been having these dreams for months.

Last night's dream had a new variation. I still wasn't going to class and I knew I needed to in order to graduate. Then it occurred to me that I had gone and gotten two college degrees without my high school diploma. How was that possible? I must be doing it backwards! Then I thought, no, I'm pretty sure I did get my diploma already. So why was I back at school?

I think my self was trying to tell itself not to fret, this was just a silly dream.

I'm thinking that my mind is trying to work something out and so therefore there is some strange meaning behind the high school dream....I'm just not sure what it is yet. Until then, I'll just close my eyes and let my subconscious do what it needs to do.

New Look

I'm going pink for October. Specifically since its breast cancer awareness month. So girls...check your "girls" and stay healthy!

Vampires and Such

The latest phenomenon around here has been the book series "The Twilight Saga." I kind of scoffed at them at first as they were originally intended for young adults and include a line of vampire characters, but I kept hearing about them. The girls at work talked about them, the people on TV talked about them. And the books were all over the stores. Rob has a thing for vampire stories, so I told him about them and the next time we were at Walmart, we picked up the first book.

He finished it in less than a week and had to go and get the second book immediately.

That's when he started pestering me about reading them. I was in the middle of another book that I just couldn't motivate myself to finish and I wasn't up for starting something new...much less a silly book about vampires.

Well I got bored the other night. I picked up the big fat book and decided to see if it was worth digging all the way through. The book is written very well. It just keeps you reading. I think I read 120 pages the first night more because it was an easy read than due to the story line. But the storyline picked up and then I couldn't put the stupid book down. I think I finished the 500 page bohemith in 3 sittings.

So I'd heard about the obsession people had with the characters and the storyline and kind of laughed at them. But as I got into the story, it was all I could think about. Yesterday I couldn't wait to get home to continue reading. I looked up stuff on the internet. It was pathetic. I was one of those people I had been laughing at!

The author does such a good job at capturing feelings and putting them in words. I was transported back to high school and was giddy with excitement for Bella when she got to see Edward. I remembered that butterfly feeling of seeing the guy you had a crush on and the all-consuming thoughts of that person. The excitement of a new love! I miss that. I could do without the vampires and oddities, but the book reminded me of a feeling that disappears after a while in a long term relationship. It stirs something inside of you!

Needless to say, I can't wait to start the second book. Thank goodness it a series, because I would seriously be disappointed if I didn't get more of Edward and Bella!

My 1/2 Birthday

Yesterday (Sunday) was my 1/2 birthday. I figure its a good excuse to eat good food and have some cake. :) Everyone knows I LOVE cake. Specifically, yellow cake (from a box) and chocolate frosting. Mmmmmm. I'm drooling over here.

So anyway...I was watching Rachael Ray when I was bored a couple weeks ago and was sucked in by some delicious looking food she was making. I watched and drooled and by the end I declared that I would find that recipe and make it. It didn't seem like it would be too hard.

Cooking for two is better than cooking for one, but even that isn't all that exciting. Having people over and cooking all together is even better! So I declared that in order to make this recipe, I would like to have guests over. AND since my half birthday was coming up and on a Sunday, I declared that would be the day!

So, the point is, we invited Elizabeth and John over to celebrate (i.e., EAT). This delicious meal consisted of italian sausage meatballs with centers of mozzarella, roasted broccoli, homemade cheesy pepper mashed potatoes, and of course cake. :) Actually two. I made the yellow cake with chocolate frosting and Elizabeth and John brought a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. Mmmmmm. It was delicious. Soooo good! I am really proud of my meal and that I have been trying new things lately. Yay me!

So happy half birthday to me. I am 1/2 a year closer to 30. I try not to think about that though. I've still got some time. Besides, its just a number!

Rain, rain go away...

First it was Gustav and then it was Ike. But don't forget about the little ones between.

I live no where near an ocean or even large body of water, but don't you doubt that I have seen these storms up close and person. Ok, well maybe not in the full force that they hit down South, but they sure have brought A LOT of rain to Central Illinois. In the last 9 days, I believe it has rained 7 of them. Sometimes its heavy rain, sometimes light. There have been days when its 63 and raining and then days when it hits near 80. AND the weather last night said it was 104% humidity. Didn't know it was possible, but if you walked outside you sure could feel it.

Now, I don't really mind rain. I generally enjoy a rainy day...ideally spent at home with coffee, good movies and a good book thrown in for good measure. Seven days of it has been a little much. I sympathize with Seattle-ians.

Anyway, we've been lucky and had no rain water in the house for quite some time, so I figured we had fixed whatever the major problem was. NOPE! I was wrong. Last night we stood out on the porch watching it rain and watching the water run down the drive way and flow directly into the basement door. Its a bit odd to stand there knowing what is going to happen and realize there is not a damn thing you can do at the moment to stop it. Here are some pics and a video of the event. The video actually shows up better...

And the video of it happening...

Thankfully, we've learned (the hard way) to keep everything off the floor so not much of anything got wet or ruined. We also watched the water enter, so we were able to pull up those few things did make it to the floor. The floor, for the most part, slopes to the drain, so the water pretty much clears itself, but it does have a tendency to leave a lovely muddy residue. So this afternoon I'll go down there and start cleaning up a bit.

I'm thinking of taking the pictures and video to the city to see if they can come dig the ditches a little deeper. The one on the right side of our house is barely there...that doesn't help! I know the other part of it is needing to fix the grade of the drive way though too. Ugh. This is when owning a house sucks...

The Wedding Weekend

I honestly really enjoyed my time home. It went quickly, but it didn't fly by with no time to do anything. I actually got to do a lot! The only thing I was really bummed about was the fact that my camera died after the wedding Saturday and I wasn't able to take any pictures when I went to see Katie, Ben and Lucas! I so have to learn to start packing the charger for my camera battery. Gr.

But anyway, because I'm not sure what to write, here are a few photos from the weekend (well through Saturday...)

My mom and her cousins from Germany (I realized I have NO IDEA how to spell their names)

Me and my brother Zach
The Cousins - Krissa, Becky, Me and Angie
Michael, the groom, and his sister Becki

Unfortunately, all the photos I had with Jackie, the bride, turned out fuzzy or dark. Bummer! Anyway, it was a great wedding and a great weekend. Can't wait for the next one! And no, it won't be mine!

Like a Bald Man's Head

Like a bald man's head. Interesting phrase.

I went back to Council Bluffs last weekend for Michael's wedding. Among other things, we went to see the Lewis and Clark Monument. Now I lived in CB for some 20 years and return a number of times each year since, but I'm not sure I had ever been up to this monument. For those of you who don't know, let me give you a little history lesson. Council Bluffs is named so because when Lewis and Clark were traveling across the great Midwest for President Jefferson, they came across this area where the Missouri River cuts through the land and had created these magnificent hills (the Loess Hills). Here they had a meeting with a tribe of Indians...a "council on a bluff."

ANYWAY. Since we had family in from Germany, my mom decided to take us up there. Really, nothing more than a look out point with some plaques and a flag pole. Still...great views. But, thats not the point of the story. As I was walking around skimming the plaques, I came across the one above. Just seemed like an odd phrase..."Like a bald man's head." Ok.

I actually learned a lot on this trip home. I say home losely too as one of the things I learned was my parents house in Ankeny was sold and therefore my mother will soon be moving out to Idaho with my dad. Yikes. Its a scary thing that I don't like to think about. That is not just an afternoon drive to go for a visit. There were some realizations and some facts I learned that made me rethink what I thought I knew. It was just a four day trip, longer than most, but still short, and I felt changed as I drove back to Peoria.

Like a bald man's head. You think you know a man's head until he shaves it and you see that there are bumps and lumps and freckles you never knew about.

Being Brave

Yesterday at work we were talking about new hairdos. PeaJay wanted to cut her hair and add low lights. Elizabeth claimed she wanted to make some sort of change. And I mentioned that I had bought hair dye but had yet to use it. This prompted Elizabeth to state that she wanted to cut and dye my hair...something drastic, she said. Uh, no thats okay. In case you didn't know about 2 months ago, I cut about 6-8 inches off my hair, so its not that change scares me, but I had already done my major change for the time being.

Well, Rob had decided to grill out, so we invited Elizabeth and her husband John over for dinner. I told Elizabeth she could dye my hair, since it was something I had in my cupboard with intending to do anyway. Well she claimed she was going to pick up a color for me...with this whole drastic thing in mind. But as we discussed, it wasn't permanent color, so I thought, take a chance. I could always wash it a million times to get it back to its original color.

We got right to business when she came over. She didn't pick up a new color for me since she saw the color I had and liked it. Phew. I hesitantly asked her if she brought or bought scissors. She said "No, I figured you'd have some." I was still not sure about this but thought, it will grow back. Be brave! Be adventurous!

So I got out my good scissors....

I'm actually impressed. (Though, this photo does not show the cut too well...I was actually about to hop in the shower...I'll try to get & post a better one.) My hair turned out well! Nothing too drastic! I had picked out the color on my own and she just added some layers and wispy bangs...which I had been considering anyway! Yay for that!

But that was not my only brave, adventurous moment of the night!

Elizabeth also brought over Mangoes with a Mexican spice...sweet/sour/spice of limes and chili and whatnot. I had never actually had mangoes...or the spice...but I tried it and actually enjoyed it!

Yay for me!

Lost Thoughts

I had big plans to write of the rest of my weekend, but I got caught up in Facebook.

Damn you Facebook. You are the stealer of my time.

Anyway, today someone Friend Requested me and I thought the name looked familiar, but was not 100% sure who she was. After searching the photos and checking for any Mutual Friends and still not having any luck, I turned to an old friend....my senior year book. Eeks. I haven't pulled it out in forever! As I was looking for this person in the book, I came across some photos of me, so I ran in to show Rob. He then pulled it out of my hands and skimmed through the whole thing. Then he proceeded to read some of the things people had written in it. Yeah haven't done that in something like 8 years! In fact, some of the people who signed my book, we couldn't read their signatures and it took me a second to recall their names. Yikes. Does that mean I'm getting old? Am I beginning to forget high school and the people it included?

Anyway, I digress. It was fun to look through the book. I am amazed at how young everyone looks. Its just nuts. We all look like babies! I so want to be able share some of the pages with you people. We also all look rather unattractive. I really don't think the black and white headshots do anyone any justice. Seriously. Not good.

My mom brought pretty much all my belongings to me last time she came up...including all books...photo albums and yearbooks included. I found the tub they are in, but have yet to dig in. I really can't wait. But I figure I should wait for a rainy day to spend in the basement.

As for Facebook though, its been fun to find people I went to high school with. I mean there are a few I keep in touch with, but I've found a lot on there that I'd completely lost but used to be fairly good friends with. Then there are those I don't recall...such as my new "Friend." In fact, I never found them in my yearbook either. I think everyone should have to post their high school picture on their profile. It would just make it easier. :)

*Even though it would be embarrassing, I really would post a picture of me from high school, but I don't have any on my computer. I'd have to dig and scan. Perhaps thats my other rainy day project.

Weekend Adventures

This weekend has been packed with a little more adventure than usual. Not necessarily a bad thing!

It all began Friday at work. I agreed to pet sit for Peajay next week, so she brought Willow in for me to take home. I've met this dog a few times and figured since she's small and is Ellie's "sister" it wouldn't be that bad. On Fridays I get to leave early so I figured she'd bring her in later in the morning, but she got there right as I pulled up. Ok. Ellie has come to work with me a few times and been ok so I didn't think much of it. Boy was I wrong. I was barely able to work because this dog is HYPER! She barely sat still and if I wasn't paying attention to her, she'd bark. Thankfully, there weren't many people around and no classes, so she basically only disrupted my office work. Anyway, Willow is rather sweet, just a bit higher maintenance than Ellie. She's also not as cute.


See. As we speak (or rather type), Rob is calling her ugly...which is a little harsh. But her and Ellie are doing well together. Friday evening they were a little unsure of how to interact, but as time has gone by, they've become fast friends again. But I'm not so sure if Willow is good for Ellie...today I looked out the window when they were out together and saw this...


They're digging holes. More specifically Ellie is digging holes while Willow appears to be on the look out. Bad girls. After a little while I let them in (kind of forgetting what they'd been doing) and found them covered in dirt. Willow wasn't too bad, but Ellie...she's the one who'd been doing most of the digging. She was covered in dirt...her paws, her belly, her mouth. Look for yourself!

Needless to say, a bath is in order. Before I caught them, they both, with their dirty paws, jumped up on my clean, fresh, bright white sheets. Grr.

Fatties

I love my fat cat. Love love love her. She is big fat and mushy and while she is sometimes snotty, she loves me too. She snuggles up next to me at night and often times burries herself under the covers. She's a big ball of love, I like to say. :)

She wasn't always this fat. When she came to live with me, she was thinner. I have a habbit of making cats, humans, etc fatter when they come in close contact with me! Regardless, she is my Chubs. She even responds to Chubs.

I just like "fluffy" animals. I feel like they are more lovey. When I saw "Princess Chunk" on the Today Show the other morning I instantly fell in love with her too.


Then today I read its actually a "him" named Powder. Whatever. Still cute. So the site also had a photo album attached of people sending in their chubby pets. I enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share it with all of you!

My Food Diary

Monday
3 Cups of Coffee
Cookies
1 Banana
Coffee Cake Bread
*I'm sure there was something for lunch...
Macaroni and Cheese
With Hotdogs
Ice Creame
Made Brownies at 9pm - Rob and I finished off two rows before bed.

Tuesday
3 Cups of Coffee
A Banana
Some more bread
3 Cheese Ziti (from Smart Ones)
Steamed Brocoli and Carrots (trying to be healthy)
More Cookies
A Better Butter Cheeseburger
Fried Cheese Balls
Concrete Mixer made with Chocolate & M&Ms
*resisted brownies...

Wednesday
Dunkin Donuts Med Iced Coffee
Glazed Fritter
Monicals! Pizza Rolls
Salad
...and its only 3pm

The point of this is I am a pig. I am going to grow big fat and disgusting.
Something like the lady from the Slimquick commercials. You know. Its disturbing. I will have to curb myself. Only food from the ground the rest of the week. HA! There is still a half a pan of brownies at home. And I can not resist them. I don't have the will power.
I did mow the lawn though. My one thing of exercise this week. My goal is to start swimming again...but thats been my goal for a number of months now. We'll see...

My Garden

I've always wanted a garden. Always. With Tomatoes and Basil and other delicious items. After my mom and grandma came, I was inspired to dig in. I dug up a spot in the back yard that I thought would get enough light and thus began my garden. :)

I started with 6 plants. Tomato, Cucumber, Yellow Pepper, Strawberry, Basil and Catnip (for Teeka). They started all rather small and I was excited to watch them grow.

So was Teeka.

So the above was taken not too long after I planted. See the plant behind Teeka...thats a cucumber. See how small it is? It is not that way anymore. No one told me that thing grows ENORMOUS! It took over the garden! Its crazy. As the plants grew, Rob started to get excited about it. He started calling himself a gardener, but I pointed out all he did was watch. That is not gardening. So a couple weeks ago, with the cucumber exploding out of my little patch, Rob and I went and tilled up some more of the yard to make the garden larger. With Rob excited, we went and got a few more plants...a green pepper and a jalepeno pepper plant.

Last week we were out and noticed our veggies were popping up left and right! So exciting.

The Cucumbers

The Tomatoes

Jalepeno
The Green Pepper

I Can See the Potential!

Last week my mother came to visit. Its always nice to have her around as she helps fix up my house...and this time was no exception.

When I bought my house, it was not a "oh this house is adorable, I want to live in it forever." No. It was a steal and a major fixer-upper. See below.


See. It looks like a shack. The inside was just as bad. But I saw the potential. It just needed some TLC and a little elbow grease. Rob and I got to work on the inside immediately. Ripping out carpet and refinishing the original hard wood floors, painting and patching the walls. It was a lot of work! The outside of the house however, continued to look like a shack. My mother and grandmother came in May and brought enormous amounts of flowers and plants with them. The transformation began! We spent all weekend pulling weeds, picking out rocks and planting. What a change!

Still, the shack looked remained. While I love the huge porch up front, all the wood made the house look like it should have been in the middle of the woods in Montana. My mother kept saying she wanted to come out and paint it. I knew it would make a big change, but I felt bad having her come out here to do it. I could do it. I just need the time! Under unfortunate circumstances, she came to Peoria last week and armed herself with paint clothes and informed me that she would be painting the front of my house. Well....if she's here... So we went and picked out colors and she got to work while I was at work. Rob's mom came and helped a little and I helped when I got home, but for the most part my mom was out in the nasty sticky heat painting the front of my house. I felt a bit guilty, but seeing the end result, all I could say was Thank You!!!! I no longer look like I live in a shack!!

See, now it looks like a house! Yay! I can't wait until this humidity disappears and I can sit out on my fresh porch and enjoy my morning coffee. :)

A New Something

Its been in my mind to try this for a while, but I just have never sat down to do it. I'm inspired by all the fun blogs I see on the net. I really decided I wanted to do this when I got my new camera and had all these great pictures that had little stories (or big ones) to go with them. So here I go. I'm going to try! I hope you enjoy...or maybe learn something...of maybe just are able to waste some time here. :)

Girl's Weekend

A girl's weekend always includes a few things...good food, good wine and good company! This weekend was no different. We all met up at Miller's (though now Lubich, but that doesn't flow as nicely...sorry Jason) near Springfield, IL. She welcomed us with bottles of wine and enchilada's in the oven! There were no boys to be seen and we filled our plates and glasses and sat around the basement coffee table to enjoy ourselves.

We laughed and talked about the past, present and everything in between. It may have been months since we'd all been together, but soon it felt like no time had passed. As the night slipped on, so did the glasses of wine and soon we had to break into Jason's Dad's wine. It was a different experience, but as Emily suggested, a little OJ made it all better. Stories continued late into the night. We laughed at each other and told stories from our college years.



It was somewhere around 3am when we decided to call it quits and turn off the lights. Most of us didn't only fall asleep, but flat out passed out. Still a little hung over, Anna and Sara woke up at 7am to drive back to Peoria to pick up their family and continue up to Chicago for separate family events. Emily, Amanda and I woke up shortly thereafter and lazyily made ourselves some much needed coffee and cinnamon muffins. After what seemed like 11 cups of coffee each, Emily and I said goodbye to Amanda and headed to St. Louis so Emily could attend a high school friend's wedding. I went for fun. While she was at the wedding I wondered a bit downtown (because I work at the Embassy, I got us a great deal on the Hilton in downtown) and ate dinner at some tasty little diner around the corner...stuffing myself with Alfredo and Chocolate Cake. When Emily returned from the wedding, I got dressed up to match and we ventured off in search of a great little St Louis bar. After a broken heal and major blisters, we gave up searching and landed in a loud Irish Pub - not exactly what we were looking for. We made due. After a drink there, we headed off in search of something a little less loud and landed in a bar/restaurant that was about to close but seemed to have the atmosphere we'd been looking for. We opted for a cab to take us back to the hotel and fell into bed immediately. As we sank into slumber, we realized once again, we forgot to take a picture of us!

Sunday morning we took our sweet time getting up and getting going. Hell, it was vacation. But we did promise to be back in Peoria for a BBQ later that afternoon. With a quick pit stop at Bob Evans, we drove up to Peoria. After picking up Rob and Ellie, we headed over to Sara and Bobs for an afternoon with the families. The babies were there and so were the boys (Miller's was boyfree - for the most part). Bob lit up a fantastic grill and got everyone some tasty treats. We all brought sides that were delicious and mostly sat around and stuffed our mouths and talked some more.

It was a fantastic weekend that ended way too soon, but we all had a great time. We definitely have to do it again soon!

The Girls
The Girls...with their girls