Oh!

And J broke his nose last night. I completely forgot. He had an appointment at the doctor today at 1:45pm and I still have not heard from him. Why??

Wrap-Up

My friend from college came to visit, so Rah and I took her out in style. On Friday night, we went to this great place in my neighborhood. We felt like we were back in Europe, or at least TOLD ourselves we felt like we were back in Europe. Anyway, we had little bits of cheese and wine and chocolate, my little piece of heaven. Everything is by the ounce, so you pay anywhere from $1 to $3 per ounce of cheese, wine or chocolate and so are able to TASTE everything on the menu (well maybe not everything, but we tried)! We chatted and caught up and it was so nice. I forgot how nice it is to have girlfriends who KNOW you, not just know you as you are now, but know you and your history. They knew me in college, knew me when I started dating J, knew me when J and I broke up and I dated others and then subsequently came to our wedding. I am myself around them and I realized something this weekend, my self is an annoying know-it-all beatch sometimes! I felt myself spouting diatribes about things that I only have read about, not experienced (like childbirth and starting a business) and this spouting opened my eyes to the fact that I DO IT ALL THE TIME. I am a know-it-all! It is something I definitely do not like about myself and now that I have realized and admitted it, am going to try and change. I think what happens is that at work I always have to agree with other people, so when I am not at work, I try to impose my will and ideas on those around me. Argh! Must stop knowing it all. Because I don't. Not even close.

Kiki had her baby yesterday and I am jealous. I am jealous that her husband was talking about how she was so strong and dug deep when they thought she might have to have c-section after endless pushing and pushed the baby out. I just hope with all my heart that J feels that way about me someday. I am jealous that she gets a perfect little creature of her own. I am jealous that she had an easy breezy conception and pregnancy and delivery. And most of all, jealous that she has three months of maternity leave from work. I am happy for her, so happy, but yesterday when I knew she was in labor, all I felt like doing was crying. I have no idea why.

We are going to visit her after work today and so from today on, I am going to try my hardest to not let it show how jealous I am.

The grass IS greener

I have a good friend from college, who let's call Mel for anonymity sake. Mel got pregnant while dating her boyfriend, they broke up, got back together, she had the baby and then they got married (to make a loooooonng story very short). The now have another baby and have moved to Mississippi. He is in the armed forces and is currently in Iraq. She is a stay-at-home mom with the two kids and they own a really cool older Southern home. I want what she has. I want my life to be that simple. She is raising her children, putting down roots with her husband and making a small difference in the world. When I was younger, I thought having a family is so boring, so trite, your life is basically over once you do that. But seeing her and seeing how she lives, it looks amazing to me now. I am sick of working my heiny off for a company that could care less. I'm sick of the rat race of the Big City in the North life. I just want my hubby, my pup and some adorable children and to live my life to the fullest raising them to be decent and kind human beings.

Ding dang, I want what Mel has.

Is that so much to ask?

Monday FunDay

So today, J almost electrocuted himself at work. He was working on a big machine and hit metal to metal or something like that, and a huge explosion happened. I guess that is one of the risks of being a computer engineer? Luckily, he suffered no injuries, but part of me thinks that a little jolt to the head might have been nice, maybe knocked some sense into him.

It was so nice getting dressed in my new clean closet this morning. After cleaning it on Sunday, I took 2 huge garbage bags to goodwill and can now remember a lot of the clothes that are in there. I can't believe some of the stuff I forgot I had! I need to remember that when I feel the urge to buy more.

I just went online and cashed in a bunch of my amex points. I've been trying (not very hard) to stop spending so much money, so I thought that I would by some of my Christmas presents with Amex point giftcards. We'll see how that goes.

1 day down, 4 to go!

Tis the Season

Today is December 1st, I can't believe it! I love Christmas time and all that it entails. Except the cold weather, I hate cold weather. I am really really trying to get J to move someplace warm, but unfortunately, we are stuck here for his job. His job that he does no work at. UGH.

Anyway, today I met up with my darling little Rah for lunch. She is such a sweetheart. We went to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of the prepared food and had a bit of a picnic in the eating area. I got yelled at by this older lady who thought I was trying to put my sleeve in her soup. She was taking FOREVER at the salad bar, so I reached around her soup and she accused me of putting my sleeve in her soup and not saying excuse me. I told her that my sleeve, in fact, did not go in her soup, it wasn't wet. She said I still should have said excuse me. So, I said excuse me and excuse you too. It was not one of my finer moments.

I am sitting here waiting for J's uncle Will to get here with his son Baseball Boy. BB is a phenomenal high school baseball player and so is making the rounds to clinics and showcases in order to get his name out there for college scholarships. He has a clinic tomorrow near us, so they are coming for dinner and staying the night. It should be fun. Will is always a barrel of laughs. BB is adorable and is that guy who is cool, but SUCH a nice guy too. And not a dork. Hard to come by that is for sure!

My Civic Duty

Yesterday I had jury duty. Hooray! It was so boring. I was actually hoping to get called to be on a jury, this is a slow time at work and then I wouldn't have had to go back for 3 years. Unfortunately, I just had to sit there the whole time and didn't even get called into a courtroom for questioning. Afterward, I headed to Burlington Coat Factory and found this adorable white puffy coat. I love white puffy coats, you can wear them with brown or black. I recently discovered I have the aversion to mixing brown and black. I can NOT wear a black coat with brown shoes or vice versa and I have no idea why I have this so stuck in my head! Does it really matter all that much? YES, to me!

I can't wait for the weekend.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We headed to Florida to hang with J's family and the weather was SOOO nice! It was such a shock coming back and we're all, WHY do we leave in the crappy northeast?? It was a very interesting trip, his family is so kooky! We flew in on Thanksgiving and went out to dinner with his family. His sister was there with her two kids (she recently got divorced), his mom, brother and grandparents. His brother was actually pretty subdued. He is bartending in Fort Lauderdale and had to work that night. Everyone got the turkey dinner, but since J and I had made Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before, we were sick of it and got seafood pasta!

On Friday, J and his brother went deep sea fishing really early, so I got up and just walked to the beach and walked around. It was so quiet and peaceful with a bunch of joggers and parents pushing strollers. Then later that day, we drove up to Titusville for one of Jayson's friend's weddings. It was a fun weekend. On Saturday after the wedding, a few of the other girlfriends/wives and I drove to McDonald's at 2am for late night food for everyone. We ordered so much that the drive-thru guy's response was "DAMN!" We started laughing so hard that they then thought we were high and tried to sell us pot!

We also visited the airfield where J's dad used to fly his plane. It is home to an air club that all of the members rebuild and fly old war planes. It was pretty incredible for J and I think that he felt really close to his dad just being there. We even got to meet someone that knew his dad and we also saw the memorial plaque that the airfield put up after his dad died.

On Sunday, we drove back down to Fort Lauderdale to spend the rest of the day with his mom and grandparents. His mom recently had knee replacement surgery, so she is walking with a cane and staying with her parents. It is so cute to see her interactions with his grandparents. Her dad drives her to therapy every day and her mom makes dinner every night! His grandparents are such a hoot! His grandmother went into the library where Jayson and his grandpa where working on the computer and was real bossy like, Dinner is ready, come eat now! They took a few minutes so she was yelling at them to come to the table. His grandpa came out and saluted her and said, "Reporting for duty sergeant!" I almost busted a gut trying not to laugh.

We flew home yesterday morning and today its now back to the grind. Ugh.

Happy Turkey Day

Well, we are headed down to Fla la la this afternoon for Turkey Day with J's family. They don't cook it, so we are eating out. It should be an interesting weekend, with spending time with J's family and his friends from college at the wedding. I'll definitely update when we return.

Yesterday I left work at 5:00 p.m. and felt like I was leaving early. They have me so brainwashed. What I don't understand is how they can't let us out early the day before a holiday. For some reason, they just won't. I wonder if they realize how much employee morale would be improved by letting us out at 3:30 p.m.? Probably not, otherwise they would do it.

We're off to the airport, hopefully there won't be too long of lines.

Three Days

My weekend was pretty uneventful. Wait a minute - I just typed that and realized that I actually did a lot both days, just nothing at night. I guess I am still at the age that if I don't go out on the Friday or Saturday night, my weekend is considered uneventful!

On Saturday I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner. The whole shebang, by myself, with J to help with timing and taking things out of the oven. I'm not really sure what everyone makes such a big deal about cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I know, I know, I'll get yelled at for saying that, but it was easy! I cooked a 15 pound turkey, brussel sprouts w/ bacon, mashed sweet potatos, stuffing w/ apples and onions, dumplings, and a pumpkin pie. I didn't start everything until around noon because my expert grocery shopper husband got back from the store at that time. I made the sweet potatos and the pie filling. I also prepared the turkey in the oven bag and got it ready to go. I popped the pie in the oven and then headed to the mall with Kiki! J had strict timing instructions, he took the pie out when it was finished and put the turkey in. When Kiki and I got back from the mall, the turkey was roasting and I made the brussel sprouts, dumplings and stuffing. The turkey came out, we carved it and sat down to eat with Owen (J's bff) at 5:00 p.m. I have to say, it was delish! Of course, we were ready for bed by 7:30 p.m. We had decided to make the dinner because we are headed down to Florida for Thanksgiving to spend it with J's family and they go out to eat - enough said!

On Sunday, Kiki and I headed to Atlantic City for a day of video poker AND.... Giada! We got to see Giada de Laurentiis from the Food Network. We are both big fans and our hubbys were at the football game together, so they treated us to her show. We were slightly embarrassed for the legions of superfans that were there (seriously people, don't you know that your 11-year-old daughter's brownies are NOT going to be eaten by Giada?), but it was great! I also lost $80 in about 2 hours playing video poker, which was not so great! I am now obsessed with video poker and Kiki sent me a website that I have spent many an hour on!

Oh! And this week is a three day week! Happiness is a three day week!

My Favorite Time of the Week

My next-door neighbor (Kiki) and I have a weekly email that always starts, on Monday, with, Is it Friday yet? We've often commented on the fact that we are probably wishing our lives away, but I seriously make it during the week knowing that the weekend is coming. And next week is Thanksgiving - a very short week! And the week after, I took off Monday, so another short week! Hooray!

So, I've thought about it and have decided that Friday evenings are my favorite time during the week. I say evening, because it is really from about 5:00 - 8:00 that I love. I love coming home from work and knowing that I can do anything I want - I can stay up late, go out, or stay in and make dinner. I just love the feeling in the air of a Friday evening. You are carefree with the whole weekend stretching in front of you. I also remember Friday evenings when I was younger and my dad would get home from work and our whole family would "go crazy". My sissy and I would wait anxiously for my dad to get home from work and when he did, he and my mom would turn on music and our family would dance around the house. We always played the family favorites, La Bamba (for me), Love Potion #9 (for sissy) and For the Longest Time (my parent's songs). After that was over, we would decided what to do for dinner or my sis and I would either be hosting or attending sleepovers. But, I think that "going crazy" time is why I love Friday evenings so much.

I can't wait for 5:00 today!

Can Can

So, the highlight of my week so far (and probably for the rest of the week), is the fact that I got to see Paris Hilton in person tonight. Last weekend, during my shopping extravaganza, I tried on two different perfumes. I wore them home and then decided I do like one of them, so stopped at Macys tonight on my way home to buy the one I liked. I walk in, lights are flashing, music is blaring and a ton of people are milling about. I wonder to myself, why is Macys playing that cheesy mccheeserson song "Stars Are Blind". Sure enough, there she is, signing autographs to promote her new perfume Can Can. Unfortunately, you had to buy the perfume to get the autograph and that was NOT the perfume I was going to buy. Its too bad, it would have been a good Christmas present for J.

As an aside, I truly am annoyed by Paris, but can't deny that she is really pretty and reeaaalllly thin in person.

Shopping Extravaganza

Yesterday I headed out to the mall and of course, bought more than I intended. I also have a boat-load of shit to return that I absolutely need to return this upcoming weekend! I loathe the idea of going back to the mall because I know I'll end up buying more, but I don't have a choice. After returning from the mall, Walmart, getting my haircut and Wegmans, I went over to Precious Little's (PL for short) house. She and her hubby live about 15 minutes away and I don't get to see nearly as often as I would like. We have a wedding over Thanksgiving weekend, and so I needed her advice on my dress. I bought it at one of those cheesy teeny-bopper stores, and wasn't sure if it was cute or just tacky. Since PL's tastes are VERY expensive, I knew she would give me her honest opinion. It is a go! With open-toed shoes. With ankle straps. We had to debate all.

Little Baby

We just got back from visiting one of my friend's from work, her husband and their new baby, in their new house. It was great to see them, although funny too since they weren't really acting like first-time parents. They just moved from a condo in the city to a house in the 'burbs and have no furniture in their living room or dining room. Every time little baby started to cry, they would push him around and around in his carriage and once he stopped, just park it in the living room so little baby could be the neighborhood watch! J and I got a good chuckle over that. But boy oh boy, was little baby cute. I warned J beforehand to not get any ideas when he saw how cute little baby would be!

The end of my week was pretty uneventful. J and I went to bed last night literally at 10:00 p.m. We are such a sleepy poo family. Or just really bored with ourselves. This morning we got up, hit the gym (where J was conquered by the St. Judes Children's Hospital fundraising workout) and then left earlier to buy a gift for our friends. Tomorrow I plan to hit up the mall, and of course, spend money on things I do not need!

Stetson, My Stetson

Stetson, my Stetson

I thought I would write a little post about my little pup, who is known as Stetson (or bitty, bitty-boo, princey-poo, momma's preshus boy, princess stetson, daddy's boo), this dog has more nicknames than I don't know what. He is so dang cute! Which is a good thing because he is spoiled rotten! He sleeps in our bed, licks our plates if we eat on the couch and regularly poo-poos and pee-pees in the house (although he has gotten better about that - knock on wood - now I know I am going to go home to a lovely present). He is probably the cutest dog who has ever lived. He is a three year old Maltese and has so much personality, I swear he understands English. He sniffs in response to things. Stetson - do you have to go outside? - sniff, Stetson - do you want breakfast? - sniff sniff, Stetson, where is monkey (or giraffe, moo-cow, lazy monkey, graham, bittybear or any other toy)? - sniff sniff sniff, Stetson - please got off the couch - righteous indignation sniff. He also barks - but only at J. When J asks him if he has to go outside, bark, or when J gets home from work, bark bark bark bark. He is such an odd little dog! But, he loves me, and I mean luuuuuurrrrrrves me. He sits and watches the door until I get home and when I do, he sniffs, snorts, jumps and licks. I often say, if only J would do that when I got home from work!

Ah, ah, ahh choo!

Today is the day in which I carried my husband's used tissue with me all the way to work. J has this very endearing (read very annoying) habit of blowing his nose everywhere around the house. And then he likes to leave the little tissues as evidence that his nose ran. On the coffee table, the bookshelf, the bathroom sink, sometimes he leaves them behind in bed (I know, ewwww, gross). Today was the bookshelf. I was walking out the door and while grabbing my keys, noticed the little bit. So, I grabbed it to throw it away in the trash outside. Don't worry, today was cold, so I had my gloves on (more on that later). I walk by several trash cans on my way to work, there is one at the end of our street, two right by the bus stop as I am waiting, one right by the bus stop as I disembark (I have been wanting to use that word ever since I learned it on our cruise), and three more trash cans while I walk to my office. So, one would think that I would have thrown the tissue away in one of those lovely, strategically placed, trash cans. No, I just found it in my purse as I was searching for my wallet to go grab lunch. Greeaaattt. Ugh.

So, about my gloves. Now, those that know me, know I hate hate hate winter. Those that don't know me, are surprised that I hate winter. But, you grew up in Chicago, they say. You should be used to it. No people, just because you had to endure it every year of your life since birth, does not mean that you like it. Do you like the dentist? Do you like getting shots? Do you like going to school? Anyway, the one thing I like about winter is wearing gloves. Gloves not only keep your hands warm, but they also protect your hands from the gross, smelly bus handles. And your husband's used tissues. So I can feel free to stand up while the bus is in motion and make my way to the front so that I can disembark (again - LOVE that word!) right away. During the summer, spring and fall months, I sit in my seat until the last minute and then shove around those trying to get ON the bus in my quest to get OFF of the bus. Gloves - gotta love 'em.

Let's play a game!

Yesterday, on my way back from one of our other offices, I spoke with my dad, who has yet another cold. I swear, I think that my parent's house sometimes is a "sick" house. You know those places where the air just keeps getting recycled and the sick germs keep reinfecting everyone? My dad built our house about 15 years ago and I don't think that one drop of air leaks in or out of that house. Anyway...as I am talking to my dad, I can hear my mom and sister being the peanut gallery in the background and it just hit me how homesick I can get. I really miss my family. Unfortunately, I married a man, who said that he would shrivel up and waste away if he ever lived more than an hour from the beach. I keep telling him that Chicago has beaches, but for some reason, he likes the way his hair feels from the saltwater! I said, by that John Frieda, beachy hair spray stuff already. But, unfortunately, we will not be moving the Chi-town anytime soon (even though it is way cooler than the city we live in now). I then spoke with my mom who is back in the classroom teaching kindegarten (sp?). She is so full of complaints because it has been a huge adjustment for her. I keep telling her that at least she is making a contribution with her job! I am so not. Unless you count adding to the asshole population a contribution!

When I got home, J and Stetsie-boy were watching tv. It was 9:00 and J looked at me and said, do you want to go to bed. I thought, hmmm, 9:00?, hell yes! So, we hopped into bed, cozied up, and my loving husband, as I am drifting off into dreamland, turns to me and whispers "Do you want to play the dutch oven game?" That's love! Sleep, sweet sleep.

Until my cuz called at 10:45! Now, I know that she is an hour behind on time, but who calls someone at 9:45pm??

As we are fumbling for the phone, we popcorn'ed Stets off the bed. Poor little pup, he sniffed in righteous indignation and then curled back up and went to sleep.

Popettes

Okay, so I did something bad yesterday. I went to CVS to buy some soap, dental floss, lightbulbs, and some other random odds and ends. Well, after grabbing the bulbs, I walked past the food aisle. And lo and behold, my eyes landed on the donut aisle. More specifically, the mini white powdered donuts that are called popettes. I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so thought it was a fantastic idea to buy them. Oh, I admit, I looked for the individual packets of 4 little popettes, but they didn't have them, so I ended up buying a box. Yes, a box of popettes that contains about 25. I ate 8 yesterday after lunch and have, this morning eaten 5. And I'm still going. Down girl, down.

Popette, what a great word.

We'll see...

I am 28 and live in Old City with my husband (J) and our stay-at-home pup (Stetson). I work at a law firm, but no, am not a lawyer. My family is far away in Chicago and I miss them.

So.... I decided to start this as a way to capture my life. I felt that I was too busy making other plans and just letting my life, as it is, pass me by. I want to start capturing all of the ordinary things that happen to me. My hope is, by knowing that this is here, I will start paying more attention to the everyday occurences. But, we'll see. I have this annoying tendency to totally overdose on something and become slightly obsessed, and then drop it. Case in point - my myspace account. My sister (Doobers) and I spent hours perfecting my page. Pictures, the layout, acquiring "friends" (which were comprised mainly of people I hadn't seen or spoken to in years) and then, a week later, I never went back.

All right, here we go! Eleven things about me:
1. I ride the bus to and from work. And most mornings, end up running the three blocks to the bus stop because I always, without fail, manage to leave the house at the exact moment the bus is turning the corner.

2. My dog, Stetson, is without a doubt, the cutest dog that ever lived. He is also the most spoiled. And badly trained. He is an obedience school dropout. He knows how to sit and play fetch, that is it. But, he will play fetch for HOURS on end. If only we could think of how to develop an automatic fetch machine.

3. My husband (J) and I have been together for 7 years, married for 1.

4. I am only slightly neurotic. I check to make sure that the doors are locked several times before going to bed. Also, when staying at home alone, I check all the closets, showers, under the beds, for any potential robbers.

5. I am an avid reader. I have been known to devour books at an alarmingly fast pace, while retaining the details. I need to figure out how to morph this "talent" into a job.

6. I have a highly developed sense of smell. J will get mad at me because I will walk around the house, sniffing extremly loudly, saying, "Do you smell that, what is that smell?"

7. I forgot to mention that most of the books I avidly read are romance novels, yes, romance novels. Don't hate, appreciate.

8. I fantasize about being famous. I would love to be rich, but I would love love love to be famous AND rich. But seriously, I often wonder how cool it would be to leave my house and have photographers taking my picture. Or, doing the most normal, ordinary things, but everyone knows that you are famous. A friend's wedding, the grocery store, etc...

9. I'm going to try and not say anything too bad about my job. I've heard all of the horror stories about people getting fired from their online diary postings. While not having to go to work wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, our mortgage lender would not be happy with us.

10. I am going to try and be witty, engaging, smart and sassy on this blog, but am pretty sure that I'll fall short and/or lost interest shortly. See above - myspace debacle.

11. I am a messy person, trying to live as a neat person. It is not going so well.