Bloggin from Tennessee

Hy yall...here we are in the Rocky Top state of Tennessee. We got here Tuesday evening after a frightening trip on the interstate. Things were fine leaving Alabama, but going through Chattanooga was just horrific. Lots of construction and lots of wrecks - it was pretty hairy a few times and yes I did say some bad words. Our timing was impeccable though (good thing we did sit on the interstate for an eternity) because by the time I started getting close to Knoxville, I called hubby on his cell phone and it turned out he had just left work and was like 2 minutes in front of us on the same piece of interstate! We met up at the next exit and I begged him to sell his car and drive the rest of the way. No luck though. I had to get us to the hotel (following him of course). But, we are here. We made it alive.

Yesturday daugher and I decided to hit the local mall. We were there all day. We shopped for school clothes and me a small work wardrobe. It will take me weeks of working to pay off my Mastercard *sigh*. We had a lot of fun though and daughter was excited they had a Godiva Chocolate place here because she always has to get one of those $6.00 chocolate covered strawberries. I hate that she has expensive taste. Everytime someone would walk by with a designer thing that she recognized, she would tap my arm and tell me about the product. Example: "Wow Mom, that girl has a Louis Vuitton handbag!", "Oh wow...she has one too!". I mean....we are in Tennessee not L.A.,...what are these teenagers doing walking around with Louis Vuitton handbags for gosh sakes? During our shopping extravaganza, youngest son called to tell me he had dropped a 5 gallon bucket of paint on his foot and not to worry because it had just started swelling. Oh...thanks! Something to worry about. I called back 10 minutes later and he got short with me and told me not to worry about it. Okay, first off, if you don't want me to worry about it, why did you call me in the first place? Grrrr!!!!! He is almost 19 years old and he is still pulling the pay attention to me/I am mad at you for paying attention to me crap. KIDS!

Last night we went to dinner here and it was delish! I had never been to one before, but it was better than I expected. The dessert was divine! After that we walked around downtown Knoxville although my feet were killing me (I think flip flops are killing my feet).

I am not sure what we have planned today, as daughter is still sleeping and I think the breakfast buffet is over. Looks like we are going to have to get ourselves together and go find something to eat and plan from there.

Maybe I will have time to write again.

Good Morning

Good morning one and all. This has already been a very productive morning for me. I am practicing for when I start work next week. I actually got up at 5:30 this morning and headed to the gym. If I am going to get my workouts in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, this will have to be my ritual. I have already done 3 loads of laundry. Working will be pretty easy until school starts, then I will have to factor in the kids getting up and getting them ready, etc. FUN! Anyways, I already did my workout...25 mins on the treadmill and 20 mins on the elliptical followed by weights. I am sitting here with my yummy french vanilla coffee and bowl of oatmeal, enjoying the morning before all hell breaks loose (translation - kids wake up). Some of us here will be taking a short vacation starting tomorrow. I will be driving to Knoxville, TN to take advantage of free hotel and swimming pool with hubby who has to go do some management evaluations there. Daughter and I have already planned to hit the new mall and The Melting Pot for a fondue dinner. One of the days we plan to drive to Gatlinburg to check out Ripley Aquarium and we definately do not want to miss looking at the freaks at Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum (although, we could go see War of the Worlds and see the biggest freak ever...Tom Cruise!). I am looking forward to the time away, but not the drive. As I have gotten older, I don't enjoy long drives as much.

Today I think I may go do just a little shopping for some clothes for my new job. I don't want to get anything unless I absolutely love it, because they have a J. Crew in Knoxville, and I want to wait until I see what they have. I cannot wait to do some shopping in different stores! Whoohooo! I am not yet nervous about starting my new job, but I guess that will come as it gets closer. The people there seem so nice and relaxed, and I am praying that turns out to be reality. Last time I thought that, the company I was working for turned out to be totally anal and the lady (and I use that word loosely) was a real you know what. Needless to say, I was not there long. I don't deal with anal very well. So please...no anal stuff....okay?

One more cup then the shower. Hope you all have a great day!

Sunday

Log

Logging my 30 minute walk. Nothing exciting here. You want to read something even more boring than this post? Check this out:

Dull

I am Employed!!!!!

Okay, this is one of those funny stories. I had a really good interview this morning with the local school system and I left there feeling spectacular. I came home and took my stuffy interview clothes off, and then I just started to get confused. Since both interviews went so well, I didn't really know what I would do if I got an offer from both. I decided that nothing would help calm my nerves like a shopping trip! So, while I was in the midst of trying on some really horrible bathing suits (well..the bathing suits were not so horrible, I think it was more that my thighs were horrible), my cell phone rings. I couldn't get to it fast enough and ended up missing the call. I got to where I could dug it out of the bottom of my purse but I didn't recongnize the number. I sort of thought to myself "here we go". I called it back and it was the university. Not only did I get the job, but they offered me more money than the announcement offer. That was my omen. I accepted and am awaiting my offer letter. We are going to be in and out of town all next week, otherwise they wanted me to start next week. Not only did I get more money, she said to think about the hours I wanted to work (WOW!!!!). Since I am part-time, I can pretty much pick and choose my hours. I cannot believe my good fortune. This is perfect!

On another note...I did get an awesome bathing suit. :0)w

Waiting

Well..nothing yet. I know I just had my interview this morning, but I was hoping I was just so awesome and outstanding, I would hear something already. ha! I have another interview in the morning. This interviewing is about to get to me. I am going to go take about a 30 minute walk here in a little bit and just think about things. My former employer told me that they did call and do a reference check on me today. I had asked her if she told them I had a habit of falling asleep at my desk which is pretty funny because we acutally had someone that worked there did that on a daily basis, but that was not me. The waiting is torture. Who knows, maybe I won't get it. Maybe my competition is much more awesome than me. If that is the case...then go her!

Other than that, it's hotter than blue blazes here and you can cut the humidity with a butter knife. It's just horrible. All you losers that could not wait for the hot weather to get here, just go on outside and hang out for a day. I dare ya. I take Spring and Fall over this any day.

Interview 2

Phew...just returned from interview #2 at the university. I feel pretty good about it although they wanted me to start next week (if I get it), but we had some vacation things planned for next week. I hope that does not hurt my chances. I am competing against another person, so....I dunno we will see. Everyone there seems really nice and have been there for ages...like 20-30 years, so that is a good sign. I also did not realize they get Christmas break off...like...the whole school Christmas break!!!! Whooohooo! That would just be spectacular!!!! So we will see. I still have another interview tomorrow morning. I hate interviewing. Some of the questions make me so nervous, especially the ones that you are not sure how to answer. You know, the ones you do not know what answer they are looking for? Those. *sigh*

Going to try to get most of the laundry done today. I need to start gutting daughter's room for painting. So much to do, so little time. There might even be less time now.

The post that says I am dumb

Okay, I am a dummy. I posted almost the same thing the first parts of my two previous posts. I think it was the runaway bride that made me to it. Her freaky eyes hypnotised me and made me feel as dumb as she is. I really tried to feel sorry for her, but I couldn't. Does that make me a bad person? No. Actually, it made me mess up my glorious blog. Damn those wild crazy eyes.

I promise from this day forward, I will not watch her on TV (hopefully her 10 mins are over anyways) while I blog. I blame my stupidity on the runaway bride.

Tell me if this would not drive you to stupidity?



Oh yeah, and I got in a 10 minute walk tonight. At least that was smart.

Tuesday is the day...

Today is Tuesday. I got up early and headed out to the gym (6:30am), came home and mopped the floors. Doesn't that sound so exciting? I thought not. This is how my day begins normally (when I don't sleep until 9:00am...hey it is summer!) Not very exciting, but I am not sure how long my days will start like this. You see, I got my second interview call today at the previous secret place, but I can go ahead and tell, it's at our local university. They called me at 4:40 this afternoon, and they want me there first thing in the morning. I should be excited about this, but I also got a call this morning for an interview with our local school system for a job that would not be so bad either. I have a fear about making choices because I usually make the wrong ones. Who knows, I may not get an offer from either one. The worst case scenario is that I get offers from both. Then there will be lots of deciding to do. Both jobs are local government jobs with great benefits (I do not need health benefits, but there are others I would take advantage of). The university job pays more, but the local school system one provides more time off (Spring break, Christmas break, summer break, etc.). Oh the decisions! Okay, I need to calm down because I do not have to make a decision yet. I guess I need to get through the interviewing process first before I jump into being all nervous. I am hoping if it comes down to a decision between the two, it will come to me in a dream. ha!

Help!

Btw...I am trying to blog, but I have just discovered that the interview with the runaway bride is on, and just watching the white around the pupils in her eyes is distracting me - you know, that deer in the headlights look? As part of my college studies, we did some profiling of people, and just by looking at her I can tell you she is crazy (it has to do with that white around the pupils thing). Well..this is just too distracting, I guess I need to just satisfy my curiousity and just watch it. Even if Katie Couric totally gets on my nerves.

Ciao!

Ever wonder?

Ever wonder how Paris Hilton lives? Me either. But I did run into this interesting website with pictures of her house. My daughter sat here and looked at them with me and drooled over her bathroom. She was commenting on how Paris had great taste. I reminded her how people with money (lots of money) could afford interior decorators to do it all for them, and it might not be so much about how Paris has good taste. It really is a beautiful funkyish house though.

Today started off with me at the gym at 6:30 am. I have got to get off my lazy butt and get back on it. Tomorrow I am determined to take a spin class. I gotta get this butt moving. Today's workout was 40 mins on the elliptical (split) with weights in the middle. I plan to walk at least 30 mins tonight (I tried last night but it started lightning). I have to have some motivation going on here. Jeez!

Bunny seems to be doing good today. Stopped at the store and got him his favorite treat....carrots with the greens still on. He loved them!

Off to get my day started and haul a bunch of teenagers to the mall. I know you are jealous.

Good News/Bad News

Well..bunny had a trip to the vet today. The news on the seizure front is good. He seems to have recovered nicely and has even regained the use of his rear legs. Before he was just sort of dragging them behind him a little bit, which was upsetting to watch. The bad news is something I sort of expected because I had found a mass on him a few weeks ago when I picked him up. I told hubby about it and he could not find it. Today the vet found it and believes it may be a malignant tumor because of where it is, it's size, and the way it feels. So, I am not sure what route we are gonna go yet. I mean...he is a rabbit for gosh sakes. She was talking surgery which would have to remove much of his muscle to one of his hind legs, which may cripple him, etc, etc. I mean..he is a 9 year old rabbit. We love him dearly, but you must understand, he is a rabbit. We paid 20 bucks for him. Rabbits usual life span is 4-6 years so he has already beaten the odds. He has had a wonderful life. Our vet visit today was more than we paid for him. I am not sure what we are going to do except just love him and give him a wonderful rest of his life. Lots of carrots and pine cones to chew on. And of course, some lovely yogurty covered treats. He is spoiled. Obviously we are taking excellent care of him because otherwise, he would not have lived 9 years! Oh, did I mention he is a rabbit?

Other than that, I also had to go to the eye doctor today for the contact portion of my earlier eye doc visit. All my contact lady could keep saying is that she could not believe how freakisly bad my eye sight has gotten. Thanks! Of course I had to be fitted for special contacts for my freakishly bad eyes. It will take extra time for them to come in also because of the type of prescription. Can't anything ever be easy? Can't anything or anyone around here be normal? Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!

Oh, and also, I can not help but laugh at the incident with Tom Cruise getting squirted in the eye with that water microphone. I was showing hubby the tape of it and we both had a great laugh. I have to admit, I was one of the girls that was crazy in love with him in the 80's and 90's - until I saw "Eyes Wide Shut". That killed it for me. Now I think he is just sort of going psycho. I am not sure if it fame that has made him so nutty, or the fact that he is just a huge Scientologist. Something has warped his mind. If you have not seen the incident, watch it here. It's hilarious. Funny thing is that at first he was laughing, then he started getting all uppity about it (I guess he spent a lot of time on his hair or something). Hilarious!

Sad News

Sad news to report. We have a pet mini rex rabbit who is 9 years old. This afternoon he had a seizure (I didn't witness it thankfully, but hubby did). We have been watching him closely since and he seems to have had partial loss of his rear legs. I am taking him to the vet as soon as they open in the morning. This is pretty sad. I was hoping when it was his time he would not have to go through anything traumatic. I am hoping it is not his time, but if it is, I hope it is peaceful. He has been a very good and sweet pet and I am sure I will be very upset if anything happens to him. His name is Ears and he is a beautiful caramel colored mini. :0( <------ me being sad.

Take it Easy

I am sitting here watching The Eagles concert on Bravo with the stereo turned up really loud. The memories are just flooding in. All the fun (and trouble) I had while listening to The Eagles as a teenager. Gosh, I can't even pick out a favorite Eagles song because I think they are all my favorite. Even "Hotel California" which has been played to death is a favorite. I feel like lighting up a lighter and waving it in the air as I sing along. They still sound soooo good. My daughter just came downstairs to ask me to turn it down. The phone has been ringing off the wall since it was announced in future 7th grader land that she has broken up with her boyfriend. The calls of condolences seem to be never ending today. *sigh* Seems she should start listening to The Eagles like I use to do to make her feel better. I don't know how many times I listened to "I Can't Tell You Why" or "Victim of Love" while I sobbed uncontrollably. Sometimes whatever mood I was in, I could listen to almost any Eagles song, and they could interpret my exact mood. Weird huh? Well..."Life's Been Good to Me So Far".

Tears and Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you Father's out there. Today makes me miss my father who passed away in 1991 from a massive heart attack at the age of 52. So young. He raised me mainly on his own in between horrible step mothers who would act like they would be the best mothers in the world until he married them and then they turned into wicked stepmothers. When I was five he was married for a short time to one I actually called "Old Black Witch". I actually called her that (not to her face of course), but things must have been pretty bad for a 5 year old to refer to the woman who was raising her as that. I call that my dark period, because my father traveled a lot on business, and I was left to fend for myself a lot of the times with this woman. Many times things did not go well, and they must have been down right terrible because many on my dad's side of the family tell me it was good that I blocked much of it, because I do not remember many things that happened during that time. Those are also things I hope to never remember if they were bad enough for me to block them. My poor dad tried his best, but was not the best judge of character, and I can only imagine these women thought he was a catch, or they were looking for someone to take care of them/raise their kids with, or whatever, and they just did what they had to do to get a man, and just do the best they could with the little freckle faced girl that came as part of the package. My dad truly did love me and when he figured out their game, he was out of there, taking the only girl/woman that ever truly loved him (outside of my last stepmom Kathy - she truly did love him and me and although he is gone, she still treats me as her own). Things were never easy for him. He had his first massive heart attack at the age of 38, and it scared the hell out of him. His family has a horrific history of heart disease, and it seemed that the pattern was to continue. He had lost older brothers to heart disease early in thier lives, and now it seemed he was following the same path. He recovered from that heart attack, and went on to have several more, with the last one killing him at the age of 52. I am scared too. This pattern seems to follow the women in the family as well as the men, which is why I go to the gym/walk and do my best to stay healthy. I miss my daddy. He was my everything. Luckily I have a wonderful husband whom I had just married when my father passed away. Some of my relatives swear that my father lived long enough to make sure I was happy. My biggest regret is that he never got to meet my beautiful daughter. He was the greatest grandfather to my two young boys that he loved so much. Every Saturday he would come pick them up and take them to the "Cafe" for french fries and chocolate milk. Then he would take them to the convience store and let them buy candy and then bring them home. They loved that! I did too, because at that time I was a single mom really struggling, and I needed that break. He knew it. I miss him.

This morning we woke up and I made bacon, eggs, and lemon poppy muffins for the daddy of this house. We bought him some cedar planks and later we will be doing some salmon on cedar planks on the grill. Yum! We are also making homemade chocolate icecream and yes, we are having a healthy salad, corn on the cob, and whatever else he wants because today is his day! After breakfast, daughter came downstairs crying because she had broken up with her boyfriend and she was devistated. She had been going out with him since Christmas - although, they really didn't go out since they are like 12, and there was no where for them to really go. We did take them to a hockey game once with a bunch of other kids, so I guess that is what a 12 year old calls going out. He was the best kind of boyfriend for her to have because he was not the least bit annoying. So tears and drama all around on Father's Day. I hope yours is not so devistating. Hug your fathers, you are blessed to have them in your life. Hug your husband for being a great dad (or at least trying). Have a great Father's Day!

Life is Good

I just heard from my sailor son. This makes my life good. He has been out to sea for a bit, and when he is gone, I can't help but worry. We have email contact, but no phone contact while he is out. Although he is not involved in anything relating to the Middle East, the nature of his job alone makes me worry (he has a dangerous job on the ship, he is part of the burn/rescue team). Everyone on that ship and in the military is part of a dangerous job, and we should be thankful we have them to protect us. He has met a wonderful girl near the base where he is assigned and her family has taken him under their wings and for that I am grateful. I worried about him even more when he was alone, with no one there to worry about his return. No one to celebrate holidays with and such. I am thankful he has found someone to return to. He is talking about coming home for Christmas, and we are the ones at this port that cannot wait to see him! (Although we are landlocked and not really exactly a port). I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear from him and hear that he is okay. He is already anxious about turning 21 in February when he will be of legal age. *sigh* I for one am not looking forward to that. My child is growing up.

How???

This is an excerpt from out local news the last few days:

Ten month old twins were found in an SUV outside their Harvest home Tuesday. The baby girl didn't make it; the boy is recovering at home. Meanwhile, the investigation in this case continues.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department says state law requires that a child death review board meet to discuss any child death that meets certain criteria. The board will review the 10-month-old girl's death.

The review board is comprised of forensics and medical personnel as well as the Madison County District Attorney's Office, law enforcement and other professionals.

At this time, officials cannot comment on the whereabouts of the parents or possible charges because the case is under investigation.


Today it was released that the father had taken another child (3 years old) into the family home, then proceeded to forget that the twins were still in the SUV. Supposedly, the temperature in the SUV got up near the 150 degree mark. They were left in the car for 6 hours!!!!! How does this happen? How do you forget your children?

This is so sad.

Interview

I had a very good interview today. It's for a part-time, but pretty important position. After the interview I was informed they had more interviews to do, but that they were going to choose the top 2 or 3 interviewees and then they would interview with the V.P. and he would make the final decision. Nothing like a little stress huh? Ugh! I hate interviewing! Who doesn't? To make matters worse it was all hot and humid and here I was dressed to the 9's and being all icky. I felt hot, sweaty and nervous. And I could not stop peeing!!! (not during the interview silly - while I was getting ready for the interview). I guess we will wait and see. If I do get another interview, it will be towards the end of next week. I really would like this position, so please keep your fingers crossed. I wasn't nervous until I got there and realized I really wanted to work there.

Say a little prayer for me.

Happy Birthday Yellow Guy

Happy 25th Birthday Pac Man!



I wish I had all those quarters that I put Pac Man machine growing up, I would probably be a thousandaire. As 16 and 17 year olds my best friend Valerie and I use to cruise the strip in our area for hours on Friday and Saturday nights, stopping to talk to various friends and harrass the cute boys. Eventually we would get tired of crusing, and head on over to the local scuzzy, smoky bowling alley and challenge each other to many games of Pac Man (well, depending on how much money we had left after illegally buying alcohol - we were bad). I would play until my poor hand would cramp up into the shape of the joystick. Valerie was much better than I was and always followed the same path and could go on forever, racking up the guys. Unfortuately, I had the attention span of a flea, and would keep devising different paths, of course killing my Pac Man guy off early and would stand there in defeat as Valerie played her extra guys and put me to shame. I would try to remember her pattern, but you know, that attention span thing kept getting in the way (as well as the alcohol we had drank earlier). After that, we would go back to cruising where she would brag to everyone about how bad she beat me. Whatever!

Log

Just logging my 25 minute walk tonight after a large Mexican dinner at our favorite Mexican place. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Woot!!!!

I just got off the phone with a phone interviewer. This place would be a very good/boring place to work. Hahahaha....more on that as it develops. I don't want to curse anything, so that is why I am being so spylike about all this. The minute I say where it is/what it is, I will never hear from them again. Will let you know. Looks like the phone might just start a ringing.

:0)

Yay me!

I'm Alright

In the infamous words of Kenny Loggins...."I'm Alright....". Just for the record I had to get this in. After doing an hour and a half at the gym this morning (45 mins of it on the elliptical machine), I have successfully done a combination aerobic day. Tonight I did 35 mins walking. Not just wimpy walking....speedy uphill walking trying to keep my heart rate over 100 bpm (no easy task since I have a very low resting heart rate and it's so hard to get it up....har har..no pun intended). Anyways, I just wanted to log that because I wanted to have it for later.

Latah!

One month

One month from today will be my 42nd birthday. How do I feel about this? hmmm....I dunno. I was thinking today as I was cleaning and gutting my teenage son's room that 42 seemed so old when I was a young girl. I remember the year one of my stepmom's friends turned 40 and we kids thought that she was just ancient! We never thought we would be 40 anything. I am not sure exactly what we were thinking because the alternative is not so good. I guess when you are a child, time is so slow and it seems like anything you are waiting for will never come anyways, so why worry about being 40? I am not so worried about being 40 anymore, I am worried about being 42! So many things I meant to accomplish by now and haven't. *sigh* Nowadays I just take things one day at a time, and I try to get one thing at a time accomplished. The only good thing about being 42 is that hubby and I are one year closer to retirement and spending quality time together and traveling. The other day he mentioned that when all the kids are gone, he would like to sell the house and buy or build a house on a large lake. That actually sounded good to me. Sitting on the porch reading a book while he is getting his tackle box together to go fishing. When I was a child, that would have not sounded so great. Funny how times change, lives change, kids grow up, and we get older. Somehow we deal with it all and march on. I am marching towards 42. *groan*

Happy Day!

Happy International Weblogger's Day!

See here

Secret

New Secrets:

Secrets

Tuesday

I got off my lazy butt this morning and went to the gym at 6:30 am. I am getting a little tired of sleeping late everyday and I know that when and if I do go back to work, I won't be able to snooze in all the time, so, I gotta get up and moving. I worked out for an hour and a half this morning because at that hour there are not many people at the gym so I didn't have to wait on anything which was nice.

Sometime this week I have an interview at a place that I will reveal later. This is the place the temp agency called me about last week. I just found out yesturday where it was, and I was pretty surprised. First, I was surprised where it was because I already knew what the hourly rate was, and being where this is, I was even more surprised. Dang...that's vague isn't it? Well, anyways, when my rep called me yesturday to tell me where it was, I sort of sat here with my mouth hanging open, because I have never thought about working somewhere like this, and although it sounds pretty interesting, I will be able to say more after the interview. Let me just put it like this. It is a BEAUTIFUL place. I dunno....I am excited about the job itself because it sounds interesting, and it's more like a PR job than an admin job although there are some admin aspects to it. Oh well..more on that as it develops. The hours are awesome though and I only want to work part time and this will fit right into what I am looking for, and with decent pay too.

Otherwise, it has been so hot and humid around here it has been absolutely miserable. UGH! I haven't even been trying to style my hair in anyway since as soon as I walk out the door, it just frizzes right up regardless of which expensive stying product I use on it. Frustrating is what it is.

Sigh....I hear the dryer buzzer.

Type at ya later.

Rainy Days and Sundays

Ick...it's so yucky outside and I want/need to go walking. I am about to put on my walking shoes and head out. I made some delish chicken alfredo tonight with Texas toast and I feel like I might bust. I sauteed some zucchini and sweet onions and added some sweet english peas and it was a hit! Go me!

This morning was just lovely because I sat up reading new blogs and then got to bed a little late. I ended up sleeping until 12:30 pm! It has been ages since I slept that late, but man did it feel good. I got up and hubby had made french toast and coffee and it was waiting on me. Yum! I sat and read the paper and perused the want ads for a job. I ended up only circling two of them. *sigh*

One of the blogs I read last night really made me think today. It was the blog of an ultra liberal couple who are both lawyers, who did what just about every single liberal in our area, in Hollywood, heck anywhere have threatened to do, but didn't do, and that was move to Canada. I say good for them! Finally someone who made good on their promise. Now, if Alec Baldwin would just make good on his promise to move to France, I think I would be even more impressed (and just why is he still here? His movie career is pretty much over isn't it? Couldn't he even thank the Americans for making him rich? Jeez!!!) I did find it quite funny that although this family did move to Canada, they keep coming back accross the line for various things they cannot get/find/take advantage of in Canada I can't believe people would move to a different country (although one reallllllly close by), just because they don't like the president (also, they have not been able to find employment there because unlike the United States who will let just about let anyone work here, the Canadians do not appreciate anyone but Canadians working in their country). We do get to change presidents every four years (or eight years) don't we? Jeez. Just to make them happy, Hillary will probably run and might even win in 2008. The thought of it makes me cringe, but instead of running like some weirdo cowardly type person, I choose to stay and find ways to help run her off. Hehehe. That's the fun of being an American. We may not like the way things are going here, but it is up to us to help make the change and let our voices to be heard. That is why we are free. I have plenty of friends who are liberals, but I love them anyways. I love the fact that we can voice our opinions and not be shot or sent to prison for it. Now, I know they do not do that in Canada, but to those of you that don't like it here and want to go, please, go! You won't hear any of us complaining! Actually, we will be proud of you and cheer you on! You don't want to move to Canada? Then you can do like Madonna and move to England, get a nice fakey English accent and drink Kabbalah water, wear red strings and stuff....Yay Madonna! Go you!!! No, really...GO!!!! I can't help but wonder if this family plans to renounce their American citizenship or if they plan to move back and forth depending on who is President at the time. Dang, that could get expensive! Since the Canadian government will take most of their paychecks when and if they get jobs up there, will they be able to afford to do that? I dunno...food for thought I guess. It really is something to think about/follow. I am proud of them though for doing what they said they would do.

Hopefully no one found this offensive, and if you did, sorry. Just voicing my opinion and using my right as an American citizen. That blog really did make me think and appreciate those that make good on their promises.

Go them! No...really GOOO!!!!!!

TGIS!

Wow, that almost looks like a "kiss" word. When my youngest son was very young, he would call a curse word a "kiss" word. He was so funny. He is 18 almost 19 now. The other day hubby and I were at Toys R Us and we picked him up a Darth Tater. Have you seen these? They look like this:



Isn't' he cute? My son totally loved it. He is one of those big Star Wars nerds. And speaking of which, hubby and I finally saw it last night. All the way home I kept driving him crazy talking like Yoda in his all backwards language. I thought the movie was good but pretty dark. I am hoping that parents were not mislead and took their small children to see it, because it was a little too dark for most small children. I thought it was good, but not the best of the Star Wars series, although it did answer a lot of questions. It made me think back to when I was 13 and I went with a bunch of friends to see the first one. I guess I was more into fantasy back then, because today, I am not into that sci-fi stuff anymore. I like more realistic type fiction. Dramas, stuff like that. Not with me the force is (that's Yoda speak).

I am hoping I get my daughter back today. She has spent the last two nights with her best friend. Today they are having her friend's Birthday/Pool party. It's raining. Doesn't that just figure? Actually we are getting some tropical storm action here this weekend, so it will be raining both days. Lovely! Next weekend I am going to be doing a multifamily yardsale thingy at a friend's house. This will be a great weekend to gather things to put in the sale. Hopefully I can rake in a few extra dollars for doing some fun things for the rest of the summer before I head back to work this fall. On the job front, nothing yet though. I did run into a friend of mine who works for the school system where I applied and gave me some info to use for my interview (she knew I was getting an interview, maybe next week). So, we shall see. I didn't hear anything from the temp job yet. Looking for a job totally sucks. Don't worry, it won't be long before I am complaining about working. ha!

Hehehehe

This totally made me laugh this morning:

Enjoy

Kickin

Well...I only have a few minutes to post today as I am getting ready to try to do something with daughter's hair before her big finale to band camp, a mini concert. This outta be just great since most of these kids had never picked up an instrument before this week. Aren't you jealous you can't go? Please pray I can get through this without rolling in the floor laughing uncontrollably. Please!

Also, after I dropped daughter off this morning, I headed over to the temp agency I worked for before, because they wanted me to retake my Excel test that I took last year. Evidently, I did pretty pathetically on it, but my typing was good, so she wanted to leave that alone, although I am sure my speed and accuracy has picked up quite a bit, but I did fabulous last time, so why mess with a good thing. I sat down and took the Excel test and went to tell the girl I was done, and she was like, "Already?". Huh? I told her I was only there to take the Excel test, not the whole thing, so, still looking at me funny, she went to get the test results. Seems I did a WHOLE lot better this time. She still kept looking at me weird, because before she gave me the results, I was telling her I have not used it in forever, and in my previous job, I really didn't use it a whole lot. This didn't make her get that funny look off her face though. I wish I would have asked her what the problem was, but I had to get to the grocery store before having to pick daughter back up again.

Last night I took what started out as a long walk, but my dog heard I was going walking and started following me around whimpering. I guess she thought if she was on her best behaviour I would take her with me. Now, let me tell you about my dog. She is a Peek-a-poo. Very small dog with very short legs and lots of hair that sort of resembles a mop. I don't really like to take her with me because she slows me down and everyone around here can tell you that I am a fast walker. I break out into a jog occasionally just to get my heart rate up, but dang it, I felt sorry for my dog. She wanted to go so bad. Oh, and let me not forget to tell you that my dog is also old. She will be 12 next month. And, she is almost blind. It's hard not to laugh when your little mop of a dog runs into furniture constantly. Well...my planned walk turned into a short walk because about a mile into it, she kept running ahead of me to lay down in people's comfy grass yards. I would keep walking and when she would feel the leash run out of tension, she would do the same thing all over again. grrrr!!!!! (we have one of those extension leashes) This went on forever. I looked at her and her tounge was practially dragging the ground. I just kept lecturing her about how she wanted to go, and next time don't beg me to go if you can't hang, and all that. My poor dog has slept most of the day. Actually I have not even seen her and I guess I need to see if she is okay. I am wondering if she will remember this lesson. Probably not because I am sure while I am getting ready to go walking, she will be following me around and whining to go again.

Stupid dog.

Things

Things I have accomplished today:

1. Got up.
2. Did a few loads of laundry.
3. Woke daughter up and took her to band camp.
4. Went to doctor's office to pick up TB skin test results (don't have..what a waste of time, but I have to do it for this job I put in for).
5. Dropped TB skin test results off at central office.
6. Picked daughter up from band camp.
7. Went to bank to get cash.
8. Took daughter to Burger King for lunch.
9. Came home and picked up some clutter while waiting to take daughter back to band camp.
10. Took daughter back to band camp.
11. Moved chairs out of kitchen.
12. Mopped kitchen floors.
13. Mopped master bathroom floors.
14. Getting ready to pick daughter up from band camp.

Dang....when you look at that list, it looks like I do a lot doesn't it?

Things left to do today:

1. Pick daughter up from band camp.
2. Put chairs back in kitchen.
3. Clean master bath some more.
4. Fold laundry.
5. Put away laundry.
6. Make dinner.
7. Clear dinner table.
8. Take long walk (if it's not raining)


Wow...I am busy!

Sorry, I had to do that for my benefit since I wasn't really sure if I was doing anything all day. Obviously I am.

Quirky!

Five Quirky things about me: (snagged from Lasadah).

1. I am incrediably clumsy. Yesturday I walked down our hill to get the newspaper which was pratically hanging out of the gutter, and tripped on the asphalt where it meets the gutter, twisted my ankle, tried to catch myself with my hand, and landed on both the palm of my hand and shin which both started bleeding profusely (I have the Sponge Bob band-aids to prove it). It hurt pretty bad, and I screamed out "CRAP!". I am not sure why I said crap instead of my other much used injury word, "SH*T!". Either way, every church going person in my neighborhood were out in their yards at the time, and I actually felt bad about saying "CRAP!", imagine how I would have felt saying the other word.

2. I hate looking at people's feet. To me, feet are the ugliest part of a person's body. I totally do not get people with foot fetishes. They are just gross. I have actually broken up with guys because of their feet. I liked my hubby so much when I met him, I tried to never look at his feet.

3. Although I have very dry and fair skin, I take scalding hot showers. Hubby says he is surprised I have any skin left on my body. I didn't know this trait was genetic, as daughter is the very same way.

4. My eyes change color according to what I am wearing. This use to freak my best friend out in high school. I have grey eyes, and they seem to pickup the highlights of what I am wearing. I can get up in the morning with blue eyes, and have green eyes later in the day. Just weird.

5. I love collecting things with acorns. I know that is weird, but things are hard to find with acorns. I have this big wooden acorn box that I got at Eddie Bauer years ago (large acorn box), and it is one of my favorite things. I stash all the giant acorns I have found in various places across the country in it. I am not sure I have ever heard of anyone else that loves acorns as much as me....except maybe squirrels, but they are not people.

Anyways, there you have it. You may not like me anymore, but, I had to get that out there.

What are five quirky things about you?

Dang!

I have found so many new and interesting blogs, I am gonna have to make some time and update my favorite blog links. Maybe tomorrow I can get to that. Otherwise, still busy. Band camp is still going on, and somewhere in there I fit in a trip to the gym. I could only work for an hour because of just stuff in general..so much to do. I got two interesting phone calls today. One from a good friend of mine who hand deliverd my reference letter to the job I told you about a couple of days ago. She called me all excited because the department head had already pulled my resume out and told her that she was impressed. Whoohooo! Impressed! Also, I got a call from the temp agency where I worked before, and she has a part time job that I might be interested in. She is going to give me the details at the end of the week, but it pays pretty dang good. The hours are awesome. I can either work 10-3 or 9-2. Either one works for me. I may take this temp job for the rest of the summer just in case I don't get the other job. The dilemma is that the part time higher paying job is every day (I know, poor me huh?), where as the other job is during the school year (summers off, Christmas break off, fall break off, spring break off, as well as all holidays - and my daughter can ride to and from school with me), but it's full time days 7:30-4. I know. It sucks. It is probably going to come down to me making some big decision, and of course I will choose wrong. grrr!!!

Tonight we were invited to our neighbor's house to watch, "Son of the Mask". Please, save your rental money! I think that whole "Mask" thing is played out. Please do not let them make another "Mask" movie. Dreadful I tell ya. We had dinner at home though. I made delish pancakes with a side of bacon. Don't you love making breakfast for dinner? If you haven't done it. Try it.

Well, I am up way past bedtime.

Freaky Monday

Now, I know it's supposed to be Freaky Friday, but for me, it was just a freaky busy Monday. Little Miss Sunshine (daughter) had her first day of band camp today. They split it up so they got like an hour and a half lunch, so there was much running around involved. During her lunch break, it stormed like a you-know-what (ummmm you do know..right?). When the high winds and tornadic activity ended, I ran my resume 3 miles up the street to a Real Estate office that needs a part-time book keeper and accounting person, (ME!), and on the way back home I ran over this huge ass snake that was slithering accross a two lane road (did I mention this real estate office is only 3 miles up the road...wouldn't that be perfect? Please cross your fingers on this one). Anyways, I saw this snake slithering accross the road and I really did not want to run over it, but I could not avoid it since another car was coming in the oncoming lane, and I could not throw on my brakes because there was a car right on my butt. This snake was so large, it could literally stretch out accross both lanes. It made that sickening *thump-thump* sound...*shudder*. Truely creepy and horrible both at the same time. When I came home and told Sunshine about it, she insisted we drive back by it so she could identify it (she is an animal nerd). Eerily it was not there. I ran over it hard, and the car behind me ran over it also. UGH!!!!

After her band practice, she had her first session of Jazz dance class. No, I am not one of those mothers that sign their kid up for everything and keep them so busy they can hardly think, this was just total coincidence. Anyways, she enjoyed her dance class although I think her heart is set on modeling. Now, I am not saying this because she is my child, I am saying this because I can see it. She would make an awesome model. She is 5'6" tall (she is only 12), and weighs about 97 lbs. Of that 5'6" of her, about 3 1/2 feet of her is legs. When she stands, she just has this look...it says "Model". She is also naturally dark blonde with natural sun bleached streaks (grrrr...why couldn't that be me?), grey eyes, a perfect nose, and my cherokee inherited cheekbones. It's just not fair! Also, the girl does not have a single blemish anywhere. She could do it. I promised her after she finished these dance sessions, we would look at the one and only modeling school in town where the would train her to walk the local mall catwalk. I hope that would make her happy.
I, on the otherhand, do not seem to make her happy. On our way home this evening, her best friend called and asked her to meet them (her and some boys) at the local burger joint. Okay, let's tally this up. Last week I spent 80 bucks on bandcamp, 45 bucks to rent her trumpet for 2 months, 35 bucks to sign her up for dance, 57 bucks for the summer sessions, 50 bucks to take her and her pals out to dinner on Saturday night, 20 bucks for her to hang out at the mall yesturday, and now she wants more money to go to the local burger joint with her peeps. We only have one person working in this house. Uhhhh....no. Tonight we had a long conversation about earning money to do chores (allowance), how much she would get, and how that would have to last her the week, and when it was gone, it was gone. She needs to start choosing her activities more carefully. KIDS! She ended up crying for about an hour after she learned the gig was up, and repeated told me how left out she felt because they were having fun without her. Booo hooooo.

Oh yeah, and to add to my freaky day (running over snake), The Ring is on ABC. Which we all keep saying is totally weird. I am expecting bad dreams tonight.

Dancing with the Stars

Are you watching this? First Loverboy and now, a dancing Evander Holyfield. Argh...what is this world coming to? What other rediculous thing will they put on TV? Wait...I am watching this so it must not be too bad. Actually it is, but it's all that is on.

I have sent out I don't know how many resumes in my quest for a job. I really would not mind going back part-time, but I am very nervous about full-time. I know many many many mothers that work both part-time and full-time, but I am just really scared. We could really use the money, and I know this is something I need to do, but I am so scared. Sometimes I feel like crying when I think about it. I have worked off and on in the last few years, but stores have closed and government contractors have lost their contracts at the time I was working for them, so I think I might be bad luck. No really, I am! I don't think I should go back to work because it might spell disaster to those I work for/with. Actually, I seem to get hired by people who are already having problems, so I know it's not me. I guess I need to stop whining and just do this. Today I faxed a resume to an attorney's office, which would be perfect for me because my degree is in Pre-Law/Justice. Somehow I always get chosen for accounting jobs. Oh, and I also applied for an accounting job for a travel agency and a car dealership. We shall see. Also, I am the front runner for the job at my daughter's school. It does not pay well, but we just need fun money, so that's not really the issue. Also, I would work the same days my daughter is at school and I would have the same days off, so that would be the perk there. Oh gosh. I cannot believe I am doing this!!!!

Any positive thoughts or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated here. Do we really like money anyways?

Thanks!

Over the hump day

Today is Thursday, rolling down the hump...almost Friday. Today was a pretty nice day considering it is day two of me waking up with my back killing me. I am not sure what the heck is going on. I decided it might be my running shoes are worn out, so I ran out and got some new running shoes (actually I walked out the door and drove to the shoe store). I ended up going back to Asics. I ended up getting these wonderful Tangerine dreams:

Tangerine Asics

Very comfy and I hope they help because my back did not start hurting until the night after hubby and I took our hour and a half walk. Gah!

Anyways, one of my friends and her daughter, my daughter and myself, went to see "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". Me and my friend ended up crying through half of the movie. It had some really sad parts. Of course, our daughters looked embarassed to be with us. It was a very good movie and I highly recommend it.

I made a really wonderful dinner tonight. I am not sure what got into me. This morning I took my husbands boss and his wife to the airport to send them off on their Alaskan Cruise (I am soooooooooo jealous). She had a big bag of salad in her fridge along with a bunch of mushrooms, so she gave them to me so they would not go bad (they will be gone almost 2 weeks). So, tonight I made a big salad with tomatoes and mushrooms, a nice eyeround, grilled sweetpotatoes, and grilled corn on the cob. It was so good. Yum! I am hoping my back is up to going to the gym or walking/jogging combo tomorrow morning. I guess I need to just fight through the pain and just do it.

Hubby is in his recliner snoring away. I guess it's time to hit the hay.

Wow....I made a rhyme! This is not the blog of Rosie O'Donnell...so don't be scared. I plan to not write this thing like a rhyme or haiku or whatever the hell is she claims her's to be.

Have a great night!

I can appreciate this

Section I - General Rules of Calling "Shotgun"
1) The first person to yell "SHOTGUN" gets to ride in the front seat.
2) The remaining back seats may be divvied up in the same manner by being the first to call "back right seat", etc..
3) The word "shotgun" must be loud enough to be heard by at least one witness. If no witness is to be found, or in case of a tie, the driver has the final word. After all, it is most likely his car. (note: if it isn't his car, and the owner is present, the owner's decision is final. Owner must be sober, however, or he will defer his judgment to the driver.)
4) Early calls are strictly prohibited. All occupants of the vehicle (including the driver) must be outside of the building and directly on the way to the vehicle before shotgun may be called. Under no circumstances may a person call shotgun inside a building. For sake of simplicity, a garage is considered to be outside. Parking structures and detached garages are always considered as being outdoors, even if they are underground.
5) A person may only call shotgun for one way of a trip. Shotgun can never be called while inside a vehicle or still technically on the way to the first location. For example, one can not get out of a vehicle and call Shotgun for the return journey.
6) Being as how everyone is created equal, men have the same right as women to the front seat of the car. i.e. women don't own the front seat.
7) One is allowed to ride shotgun as many times as he can call it, but for himself only. No one can call shotgun for their slower friend, unless the friend has a speech or mental handicap that prevents them from calling it for themselves.
8) The driver has final say in all ties and disputes. The driver has the right to suspend or remove all shotgun privileges from one or more persons.

Section II - Special Cases of Calling "Shotgun"
These special exceptions to the rules above should be considered in the order presented; the case listed first will take precedence over any of the cases beneath it, when applicable.
1) In the instance that the normal driver of a vehicle is drunk or otherwise unable to perform their duties as driver, then he/she is automatically given Shotgun.
2) If the instance that the person who actually owns the vehicle is not driving, then he/she is automatically given Shotgun, unless they decline.
3) In the instance the driver's spouse, lover, partner, or hired prostitute for the evening is going to accompany the group, he/she is automatically given Shotgun, unless they decline.
4) In the instance that one of the passengers may become so ill during the course of the journey that the other occupants feel he/she will toss their cookies, then the ill person should be given Shotgun to make appropriate use of the window.
5) In the instance that only one person knows how to get to a given location and this person is not the driver, then as the designated navigator for the group they automatically get Shotgun, unless they decline.
6) In the instance that one of the occupants is too wide or tall to fit comfortably in the back seat, then the driver may show mercy and award Shotgun to the genetic misfit. Alternatively, the driver and other passengers may continually taunt the poor fellow as they make a three hour trip with him crammed in the back.

I really really really....

want to go here:

The Greystone Inn

Product Rant

Okay, I have to post about a great product here. You know I do not do this often, but this was just a great find, and for all of you out there with unruly hair, I think you might appreciate this. My daughter literally has the worst hair of any of us. I am not sure where she got it, because not one of us has the type hair she has. First of all, she has A LOT of hair. I have A LOT of hair. Here is where we differ: She has A LOT of very corse, frizzy hair. I have fought with this hair for years. I am not sure if it's the combination of Cherokee Indian and Norwegian (they just don't seem to go together) or what. She has so much hair that it is hard to find anything to hold it in a pony tail, muchless anything else. Around Christmas, she asked me to get her a CHI Flatiron like our hairstylist uses. When I would take her to get her hair done, after Jennifer (our hairstylist was done), we would be amazed at how straight and soft her hair would be, but I just chalked it up to product (Biosilk) and experience (Jennifer knew what she was doing where I obviously did not). I started pricing these CHI irons, and there was no way in heck I was going to pay over 100 bucks for a flat iron. We were at JC Penney and walking by their beauty salon (holding our noses of course because of all the perm solotion smells wafting out), and there sat a "ceramic" iron for $29.99. Now, it was not a CHI, but it did say ceramic, which Jennifer had told me was the secret ingredient, so of course I snatched it right up. We came home and tried it out, and although it did okay, we did not get the results as we get when an experienced person does it. Once again, I am not a hairstylist, and I just assumed that was the problem as a whole. After daughter graduated from elementary school, I told her we would splurge on the CHI for her graduation gift. Oh my goodness.....I am a hair stylist! That thing is totally amazing. Now I regret not turning loose of that extra 80 bucks around Christmas. That thing truly works. When I do daughter's hair now, it is stick straight and so soft I cannot belive it is her hair. I truly endorse this product. I am even using it on my hair!

CHI Flat Iron: 5 stars!

Yikes!

Wow...I haven't paid attention to my little blog since Sunday. That is so not me. You would think I would have all this time since the kiddos are out of school and everyday is sorta a lazy day. Well, not really, everyday I spend running errands or running my daughter to her various social events. Yesturday we got her trumpet. Let me tell ya how noisy it's been around here since. HA! Today we may be going to the movies with friends. Not sure yet, but looks like that might be the case. I am not usually up this early in the summer, but hubby and I walked for about an hour and a half last night (it was so nice and cool outside!), and my back is just killing me. Getting older truly sucks.

Looks like I "may" have a job starting this fall. I will let you know if this comes to pass, for if it does, it would be a good thing. If not, I will keep looking for part time work. This job would be full time, only my schedule would follow the school schedule so I would have all the same holidays off as my daughter. 2 1/2 weeks for Christmas, Spring Break, Fall Break, Summer Break, etc. That would be the great part. They pay is not terrific, but the benefits would be great. Sometimes the benefits outweigh the pay if you can afford that. We will see. I hope to know something by the end of this month. If not, I will begin sending out resumes soon and if I don't get this job, I am going to be all about the money and the part time hours.

We will see.