Exploding Popcorn

So as you all know I'm fighting my battle of the bulge and one of the things that I use to help me through my day is my bag of 94% fat free buttered popcorn. Well, I had a coupon for Orville's brand over my normal PopSecret brand, so I used it. I finished my box of PopSecret last week and brought in my bag of Orville's for this week. Of course when I bought the box I thought it was regular size bags, but it wasn't. So I was already not happy with the fact that I had those stupid mini-bags instead. :(

Yesterday, I take my mini-bag in to the kitchen at work, put it in the microwave and start it. As 30 seconds goes by I think to myself that it is strange noises I'm hearing standing by the microwave. At 45 seconds I thought, "Gosh...it sounds like the kernals are hitting the door, but that is just crazy!" At 60 seconds I thought, "Okay, I'm not crazy!" I opened the door to see that my popcorn bag exploded!! There was a hole blown right in the middle of the "this side up" bag and kernals and popcorn were blowing all around the microwave, popping! WTF?!

I had came to realize that all of the Orville popcorn bags I see popped in this microwave come out singed or burnt, but of course it had to be my mini-bag, which exploded. None of the PopSecret bags come out singed, burnt or bombed... After wipping the microwave out, throwing away my much needed exploded remenants of popcorn, I called Orville's assistant. Needless to say a coupon for a "free" product is enroute. The assistant asked if that made things somewhat better. I told her no and that I would give the coupon to someone else because I was sticking to my PopSecret brand at work! What a crazy afternoon...exploding popcorn, WTF?!

Sidetracked Take Two

Well, my man just called and he is sick. :( He sounded horrible, but wanted to explain why he hadn't called yesterday. I felt really bad for him. I know how horrible the colds/infections/sicknesses are right now since I'm still hacking from my illness from the last 3 weeks now. He even parted with $5 yesterday to go and see the nurse for a decongestent and some asprin. That is how I know for sure he is really sick (outside of the proof in my ear), because he is not one that believes in paying $5 to see a prison nurse to get asprin. Honey, I hope you feel much better, really soon!

Of course I was so sidetracked with his illness I totally forgot to tell him about the letter I received from his BF! Dang it!! I hate it when I do that! I swear...I need pen and paper with me 24/7 so I can write lists. I would add to my already going lists of things to do and things to buy. I would add a list for things to say, things to remember, things to forget... You get the idea! I swear that commericial with Alec Baldwin about your brains being turned to mush...I have that disease already! I used to be able to remember loads of information...now, I think I can remember two numbers for two minutes and then I'm done! Ugh....

BTW, any tea-party-goers in the crowd? I support a flat-tax, but I didn't feel the need to dress up like our fore-fathers and (maybe) dump tea in the harbor. I honestly don't know what they were doing, but more power to the people! ;)

Well, since this is the second time I've typed this entry I'll post it now. Nothing worse than when you type up an entry and then go to post it and it is lost due to an error. Nice.....

Tax Day is Here!!!

As some of you know, I love tax time! But that is because I allow the government to use my money, make interest off from it and then get a honkin' check at the end! I find that I do better with this, because I can do big things like buy a new car or buy living room furniture or pay off debts. Obviously since I am getting money back I've already filed my taxes, actually this year was the latest I've ever filed taxes!! I filed them in mid-March! But I know the people who file today are likely those that are having to write a check to Uncle Sam! :(

I still haven't seen or heard about my city income taxes, but that is not a shock...by the time I get that return I will have forgot it was coming!

This year was also a first...I made a mistake on my state income taxes! Last year I forgot to sign my city income taxes when I filed them. I hope this doesn't mean that next year I'll have problems with my federal taxes! That just scares me too much to even imagine!

Well, if you are busy doing your taxes today, I feel your pain! And remember...it only happens once a year!

AIL~P

I am happy to report that I have completed this class for this semester and submitted my final assignment this evening. I think I did well in this class, especially since it is pass/fail and there is no final! :D All I have to do is show up next Monday and watch a movie, Pow-Wow Highway. I think I can handle that!

1 down...3 classes to-go!

Inquiry: Prof. P's 40th B-day is May 8th. Do you think it is okay to send her a b-day card? There are intentions of keeping in touch and going to Tribal Court during the summer, but I don't want to cross that "line". What do you think?

178????

I'm sure you wonder what that number represents.  Well, it represents the number of ounces of water I should be drinking a day!  A day!  I struggle to get 64ozs in daily how am I suppose to get almost 3x's that much in?  WTF?!?  Someone said, "increase it a little each day till you get up to 178ozs and then get used to that."  And I asked, "where do I carry the cath bag that I will need since I'll need to pee every 10 mins?"  They didn't have a response to that!  I'll keep my requirement of 64ozs and try to get a little extra in on the days that I can!  But if you see me running it isn't for my health, it is for the closest bathroom.  And if I float by, grab a leg to anchor me and remind me that 64ozs a day is okay!  Of course today I've gotten 80ozs in and in the time it took me to blog this I've pee'd 3 times!  (just kidding!)

So my man was suppose to call me today, this morning actually, but he didn't.  Sometimes that happens for various reasons and the longer I deal with MDOC the more I understand that this is out of his hands most of the time.  Of course, I had a desire to talk to him today for a few reasons, but such as life.  Then I come home and there is a letter from a Federal Prison and one of the guys he was in county with.  I have nicknamed this guy as my man's wannabe BF!  Everytime he writes a letter and sends it he includes pictures of himself.  The first letter there were like a ton of pictures...they were all the same pictures, but still strange.  But that time they were black and white.  This time the picture was in color, but the same picture.  How weird is this?  So I can't wait to tell my man that his BF has struck again!  hehe  

Of course this is not the same kind of BF that my guy walked in on a few weeks back.  I can't recall if I posted this or not, but needless to say..."gay for the stay" is alive and well where my guy is lodged and he bore witness to this at 2:30am one night during an attempted restroom run.  He said he won't be doing that again.  Needless to say, my man will not be drinking 178ozs of water a day!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful and Happy Easter! The munchkin and I had a nice day. He played outside a few times and buried a treasure chest for the pirates to find in the future. Isn't he cute? ;) The Easter Bunny was too good to him! 4 baskets, some overflow on the table, 23 hidden eggs and a left over grocery bag that hasn't made its appearance yet later...and Easter was ready to start.

Our Easter Dinner was dino nuggets, potato bake, cream-style corn and a lamb cake. Wasn't the traditional feast that we are used to and it didn't seem right. But it is obvious that my family is suffering from a meltdown as the only people that attended my brother's holiday dinner was my mom, dad and one aunt. No one else did. My mother called me for 1 min. 30 secs. today...oh well, her loss, not mine! And as my guy said on the phone today...we will have family dinners soon enough! Only one more Easter before he is free (hopefully!)....that is nothing in the grand scheme of things!

I'll be glad when I'm done with school, because then life will go back to normal. I will have each and every holiday at my home...everyone will be invited and whoever shows up will be here and most importantly, "my" family will be here and that will be enough for me!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and was able to celebrate it with your loved ones!

What a Saturday It Has Been!!

As you can tell, I'm trying to catch up on several areas of my life! Well, it probably would have went much smoother if the auntie worked for a better place. :( I kind of thought I had at least until 8 or 9 until the munchkin came home tonight for Easter. Well, I was sadly mistaken! Thanks to my aunt's crazy job (which she equally is unhappy with too) she called during the 5pm hour as I was finishing up my AIL~P homework and staring my Crim Sentencing homework. Well, so much for my plan to get that all done and get my Crim Pro done too before the munchkin comes home. :( Oh well...no one's fault except her work's fault! Blah work!

Well, anywho...I've finished AIL~P and Crim Sent. I'm ready to delve in to my Crim Pro, hoping the munchkin falls asleep soon in his playroom so the Easter Bunny will come and go! So I'm hoping to be done with the majority of Crim Pro by mid afternoon tomorrow so I will feel like this weekend has been a true success! Not bad for it being 2 weeks before the end of the semester, huh?! Hehe

Also, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm catching up on some of my posts here today. ;) Trying to keep you all informed on the happenings around town!

Some Pictures from the Pow-Wow...Enjoy...

Here is a drum that performed. They were to our right.

They were very good! Actually, all of the drums were very good!

The only person I know in the picture is the guy in the bottom

left hand corner holding the microphone to the drum to

hear them better by allowing their singing and drum to be reproduced

through the sound system set up!

He is Prof. P's son and he is a doll!!

Illegal...but a doll!

Watch out ladies when he becomes older, he is going to be a Native American Heartbreaker!

Here is one of the drums that performed. They were the drum from

NC! They were right in front of where we sat each time!

They were great!

Here are two competitors! A gentlemen who was very in to the Pow-Wow

and a little girl who was the cutest thing ever!!

During the inter-tribal her daddy had her out on the arena floor dancing with her doll!

This was another drum. Equally good. They were to our left.

I wish we had bought our program when we first got there. Because I can't remember who is who! But they all did a great job.

Sorry...not all of these pics are great. :( My camera was taking

very dark at times throughout this day and would

become grainy if you zoomed in. I am not happy with

my camera. :(

Here is a picture of one of the drums performing at the Pow-Wow!

This is a picture right before Grand Entry began! All of the

bright green shirts are security.

These are all pictures of Grand Entry!!

It is just spectacular!!

This is from Grand Entry! That is the start of the Pow-Wow!

It is just beautiful!

Here is a dancer in her regalia. She is a jingle dancer.

Here is a picture of where we got our drinks at the Pow-Wow.

It also shows two of the dancers in their regalia.

The young lady on the right is a jingle dancer

The little boy on the left likely participated in the Tots Exhibition

maybe as a grass dancer. I'm not positive.

A dancer in her regalia. She is a jingle dancer.

I hope you enjoyed the pics as much as we did. They aren't great, but I wanted to share them with you all! This posting pics to a blog is hard! They are not in the order I wanted. I'll do better next time! Dani, you should have told me how hard this was! LOL

Quick update this Saturday afternoon....

My day did not start out how I wanted but I guess that is what happens when you take NyQuil at 1am and go to bed with the hopes of getting out the door by 7am!  Did not happen....

But I have accomplished the following items on my to-do list:  I made my 9:30am thing, then went on to the post office and picked up my monthly role of stamps!  Then I made my way to Meijers and as I stood in line thinking I only need 3 things from Wal-Marts and I was already half way across the store in the check out line I decided to book to the other side of Meijers, get those 3 things, cross Wal-Marts off my list of things to do and check out.  $200 later...I left there and made my way to the bank.  Then on to the Chinese Food Drive-Thru (yum!) since I hadn't had anything except 32 ozs of water and it was now after 12:00pm!  I came home, unpacked the groceries and other household items, ate my Chinese Food and decided to update you all with the following good news:

I lost another 3lbs this week!  Woo-hoo!!  Now that is a total of 7lbs and I'm officially 2lbs less than when I started this little blog/diary thing!  I'm uber proud of myself.  I was hoping to have lost more this week, but I did have a few slip-ups because of being sick and also due to Good Friday's festivities at Red Lobster last night!  I guess I should have weighed myself before dinner last night!  LOL  Oh well...that just gives me more to lose this week!  I'm actually really kind of excited.  :)

My man and I were talking this week about my next trip up to see him.  I was hoping to do it the 2nd weekend in May at the end of my exams, but since I have to register the munchkin for soccer that Saturday I can't make it.  :(  He told me he didn't think I'd be coming up to see him until June or July.  And now I'm okay with that for the fact that that gives me 3-4 months to lose more weight.  I would like to lose a total of 33lbs by the end of June.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is a start!  ;)  

Alright, on to reading for AIL~P!  Hugs to you all this sunny Saturday!!

BTW, Update on Family Drama...

Outside of the family drama I'm creating I was called by my super secret spy today who advised that my ex-s-i-l's pre-lim is scheduled in front of a District Court Judge on April 20th for 2 counts of Child Abuse in the 3rd Degree...

In separate news...my uncle is worrying me with his health problems. He went and saw a Oncology Hemotologist(?) today. She is running more tests, he is still off from work, and I'm worried that there is going to be bad news discovered soon....so keep him in your prayers. He has had a bad couple of years ever since his wife was scheduled to be deployed, while she was deployed and since she has returned home. His 50's aren't treating him so great... :(

Lastly, my brother called me this week to inquiry about repos. I'm not sure how my schooling has prepared me to become the resident family expert on repos. Especially since I haven't had another repo'd (knock on wood! knock, knock!). I told him that I thought they could do what they said they were going to do, but that he was best to call the place where they bought the mini-van and see if they knew anything more. I did try to assure him the fact that he told them to come get the mother-trucker was not helping his cause and didn't alleviate his woman from making the $495/mo payments.... But what do I know! (eye-rolling here!)

Fridays...

Alright...this is going to be another hog-pog of a Friday post! I originally was going to do a post entitled "Fish Tacos, Friday the 13th, and a Shoulder Kiss". Well, I'm going to combine that with today's "Good Friday" post!

Back on March 13, which was another Friday the 13th, I agreed to meet the most recent former co-worker from my office for lunch. Of course, this person isn't the most normal kind of guy. And not all of it is his fault. He does have a mild CHI (closed head injury). I understand this concept and try my hardest to write off some of his antics. Of course, I know he is even more Catholic than I am (which isn't hard, trust me!), so I figure when he asks me to lunch on a Friday during Lent that he will not pick my chips & salsa Mexican restaurant...well, I was wrong and he did. Of course all I could think of was, "Do they have fish tacos?"

Now, I don't know about you, but fish tacos sound like one of the most horrible things ever! I don't even know where the idea comes from. I don't know if they really do exist. I just vaguely recall hearing someone say the phrase "fish tacos" and it has stuck in my head ever since. I consult with Dani and we conclude that they probably have cheese and onion enchiladas, so I should be safe (outside of the craziness that my fellow lunch eater will bring to the table...literally!). I arrive at the restaurant approximately 10 mins late, which I know should be okay because former co-worker is unable to be on time. And me of all people, I'm okay with that. So as I usually try and do, I bring a book from school to read while I wait. When I get to this place I'm actually surprised at how many people are there for lunch on a Friday during Lent. Maybe I will be better than safe with my food options.

Finally former co-worker shows up, at least 20-25 mins late. I then later determine that he is working that day across the street from the restaurant at a health-care insurance company's internal credit union. I find this intriguing since when I hoped on our city's version of a subway system at exactly 12:30pm (the time we were suppose to meet) and receive a text that he is on his way... Hmmmmm...did he get on our city's version of a subway system for old times sake and ride it around one loop?! Oh well...we order and I remind him that it is Friday and Lent and he seems shocked by this turn of events. Equally puzzling, but I move on. We chat, we eat (I don't look at him while we eat, because he isn't the 'best eater'.) and then he announces to our waiter that he needs to place a to-go order. The waiter, who due to my frequent stops in there acknowledges that he knows me, takes the order and leaves. My former co-worker becomes obsessed about this to go order. Hmmm...is this your real meal so you want to make sure it is perfect? When I inquiry who he is picking up the meal for to make idle conversation I'm advised, "No one you would know." Duh..... You think?!

The to-go order comes out and the waiter leaves that along with our bills. As we pay our bills the former co-worker opens up the to-go meal and is upset because he specifically requested a "very large side of shredded cheese" and it is missing. He starts turning frantically in his chair and begins to look for our waiter. So I tell him the waiter is over at a table on the other side of the restaurant, putting together silverware, he is the only male at the table and is with approximately 3 or 4 other wait people. So my lunch companion gets up, walks thru the main dining room and stands behind a pole to attempt to get our waiter's attention. I find this odd...not only did you not walk by the waiter, make any motion to the waiter, you actually kind of walked the long way around him and then stood behind him and with a pole between the two of you. I don't see this getting his cheese....but what do I know. Then he walks towards the kitchen, stops, stares at the table of wait-staff, turns around and stands back behind the pole again. Finally one of the waitresses asks our waiter if the guy standing behind the pole belongs to his table! I'm sitting at our table chuckling to myself because this just seemed like a crazy way to get some more cheese...

Finally, the cheese has been secured, he comes back to the table goes on about how he can now afford to tip and how he is a big spender now. So I ask if that means he is picking up my lunch. If you ever want to see a cheap man sweat ask him if he is buying you lunch. They start sweating, stuttering, etc. Finally I had to tell him I was only kidding and remind him that I had already paid my bill...he was glad I had because he said he was trying to tell me nicely that he wasn't buying me lunch. LMAO!

Upon exiting the restaurant he starts walking and talking to the right and I stop and wait for him to realize I'm not with him. When he does he turns around and I tell him I'm going to the left. He comes at me for a hug...if you knew this person you can close your eyes, picture him in a black peacoat coming at you with arms all up in the air for a hug. It isn't the best site to see coming at you with no place to escape! So he hugs me, tells me how great it is to see me again and before he releases the hug I see that his face is down at my shoulder, like face down and then I hear it...a big smacking kiss sound. You know, the "muah" sound! He kissed my shoulder? Through my winter coat? Regardless...he kissed my shoulder? I told Captain in a separate email...I wasn't sure if I found it hilarious or a bit disturbing...

I'm thinking I need to be intimately involved with someone to kiss their shoulder and even if I'm liking this person from afar and dream of kissing this person's shoulder and figure it is safe to kiss this person's shoulder through a winter coat because they will never feel it and I'm the only one that will know about it...I'm thinking I wouldn't make the kissy noise! I'm still not entirely clear what happened that Friday the 13th between the Fish Tacos that ended with A Shoulder Kiss...

Well, back to today...April 10th! It is Good Friday. I finally made it through my last Friday of Lent without eating meat. I only have 53 mins left right now to make it all the way to the end and I think I can do it! It was a pretty uneventful Good Friday for me. It was opening day for our home baseball team! Who kicked ass today! Go Tigers!!!! I only worked 4 hours today and busted my ass at work today since I was off ill yesterday and really hadn't done much work all week. Monday will be my last catch up day for slacking and being sick this week. I'm okay with that, because unless something crazy happens (which is always a possibility there!) I can complete my catch-up before noon! I'm actually doing pretty good on my homework/reading this week and weekend so far. I have 3 chapters to read for AIL~P and then I need to finalize my case summaries and post those on-line. In Crim Sentencing I need to read the coursepack materials for this week and do a couple hypos. In Crim Pro I have 33 pages to read for this week and I want to work on 2 sets of questions Prof. W. provided weeks ago! I would like to work on tightening my notes up to become outlines for Crim Sentencing and Crim Pro. I have to type Wednesday's notes from Crim Pro too! Then comes BK! UGH...I am approximately 13 weeks behind in that class....I'm planning on devoting the remainder of my time this weekend and this coming week to BK. That is how I caught up on Crim Pro this past week, so we will see how that goes! Of course the munchkin will come home tomorrow night because of it being Easter Sunday and the Easter Bunny needing to visit before Sunday morning. So I'm losing an entire day of studying, but maybe I'll be able to work on my outlines while he is here...who knows. I'm trying to take it as it comes!

Alright...off to read some more AIL~P and go to bed since I have an early day tomorrow. The goal: get up at 6am, leave the house by 7am, do my shopping @ Wal-Marts & Meijers with a pit-stop to the Post Office all before I have to meet someone at 9:30am! Think it can be done? Because then after that the plan is, come home, put groceries away, take a nap, do some homework! Wish me luck!

I hope you had a wonderful Good Friday too!

Time flies even when you aren't having fun...

What a week...  It all came together last night when I went to Urgent Care.  I couldn't take the pounding in my head any more.  Dx:  upper respiratory infection.  According to the doctor, it is running rampant right now because of the crazy weather here!  One day 65, the next day snow and the thrid day 57.  No wonder I'm sick.  Even though some people think I'm sick all the time, I really haven't been sick like this since January.  I thought that was pretty good, but for some I guess that doesn't live up to their standards.  I think sometimes when our lives are so fast and full that it seems like January was just yesterday...  I remember telling Captain that April would be here before she knew it and it is!  So time does fly even if we aren't having fun too!  

Happy Passover today!  Take care everyone!  I heard it was beautiful outside today...I spent the day recouping and am feeling a ton better than yesterday.

UNC v. MSU...

Well, as the clock sits at 3.7 seconds left, we all know the fate of the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game.  It is sad for either team to lose.  I have to admit I have been a UNC fan since the early 1990's when I was in high school and I saw Eric Montross play in the 1993 championship game against Michigan!  Ever since then, I've had a thing for UNC.  So I'm not heartbroken that they won tonight.  Of course I wouldn't have minded if MSU won either.  Either way I was okay with the winners!  And regardless...both teams should be uber proud of themselves!  Way to go!  

I developed one set of Pow-Wow pictures tonight after Urgent Care refused me with their locked door.  :(  This way the munchkin can take them for his sharing day tomorrow, along with the program and wearing his Pow-Wow T-Shirt!  :)  Of course I am not happy with the pictures I took.  I swear...ever since December my camera has gotten worse and worse with its picture taking capabilities.  :(  But I'll post what I can...just they won't be the best or even okay.  I still have to take pics of the new car and post those!  :)

Alright...I'm exhausted.  On to another Tuesday!  Take care everyone!!!   

Our First Pow-Wow! Wow, It Was Great!!!!!

The weekend has been filled with activity, sleep and sickness. :( Friday was my off-site at work, which was okay. You know...the usual! The downside was the fact that I can't eat meat on Fridays (see early post about Fridays during Lent!) so I choked down some whitefish that they had there. It was okay, but definitely not the best. The best at things like this are the chicken dishes...so I tried to fill up on walnut-glazed-carrots, which were delicious, but you don't want to be "that person" at the work function with her plate heaping with carrots! ;)

After leaving the off-site, I went on to school to read for a bit before I met up with friends to go to the annual auction. So I arrived at school about 2:30pm. The auction started at 6:30pm... That was a long 4 hours. Finally about 7pm we made our way to the auction. It was my first time at an auction...my suggestion is to skip the silent auction, because that is just boring and a time waster. If you are going to an auction, just go to the live one...now that is fun. But I'm sure it is more fun if you have money though or if you have been drinking during the silent auction (which I stayed away from for various reasons...). I had a good time, but I probably won't be returning to any auctions in the near future. Who wants to sit there and watch other people have a better time than you and watch others spending money you don't have! Maybe when I'm an alum and have money! ;)

Of course during the live auction I came down with a little tickle in my throat. I kept hoping that it was because I hadn't drank or ate anything since noon, so I tried pushing it out of my mind. Well, when I got home after 11pm (after going to grab some dinner and bring that home because I was starving) I could no longer deny my tickle wasn't from lack of fluid. I took a shot of NyQuil and fell in to bed around 1am. Saturday morning I had lots to do and woke up not feeling the best. I ran some errands and then picked up the munchkin and my aunt so we could go to a Pow-Wow! (Yes, a real one!)

Now that was fun!!! :) And I will be going back to that in the near future! We made it up there in time to see the grand entry, which is where all of the drums play and the dancers enter the arena behind the elders and the flag carriers. If there had been more comfortable chairs, one less munchkin and some one bringing drinks around I could have stayed in my seat from noon till it closed at 10pm! It was so interesting!! I just loved it. I was able to meet up with Prof. P! I think she thought it was great that I brought my munchkin there! :) And the cutest thing was when he started dancing like the dancers did when they walked around the arena! Here you see this Irish looking child dancing like a Native American! I was so amazed by him...he picked up those steps quickly and I can't say much because listening to those Drums...my feet wanted to do the same little dance step! And the dancers regalia....OMG....how beautiful! And to see these itty-bitty-little ones dressed in their regalia doing the dances too...it made my heart go all warm inside! And as for the older, adult, males....well, lets just say it wasn't just my heart that went all warm inside! Damn!!!! ;) Don't worry...my man knows my affinity for dark men... ;)

We had the opportunity to experience some wonderful Indian food as well. We did a little of almost everything...we had an Indian taco, an Indian pizza, Indian Fry-Bread, Indian drinks (made fresh with fruit~~fresh squeezed strawberry drinks, lemonade, and ice tea), and a blanket dog! We just shared with one another. We walked around and looked at all of the exhibits! We bought tee-shirts (our first Pow-Wow T-Shirts!!) and I bought a hair holder and the munchkin suckered me in to purchasing him a bow and arrows (with eraser tips!) too! We spent a little over 5 hours there and since I pirated some antibiotics from my aunt's friend, I could feel it wearing off when we finally decided to leave around 5pm. We drove home and I dropped the munchkin and the aunt off at her home and I came straight home.

I started reading Crim Pro because my goal is to catch up on that this weekend! I laid down on the bed to read some and feel asleep sometime after 6:30pm. I woke up once at 8:30pm and couldn't keep my eyes open. I rolled over and didn't wake up again until after 2:00am. I got up, took my 2nd antibiotic, took some Motrin for my killer headache, and a shot of NyQuil and took my inhaler too since this "illness" has settled in my upper chest. I then went back to bed and slept until after 10am this morning! You would think I felt wonderful, right? Wrong!! I still feel pretty crappy and heck, I've even taken a nap since then today and not done much else, but I still feel pretty miserable. I'm 100% sure had I not started the antibiotic yesterday and gotten as much rest as I have that I would be feeling way worse. So I'm just taking things slow and doing the best I can and hoping that I get better and not worse.

Alright...off to read more Crim Pro, especially since the munchkin will be coming home in about an hour.... Another week behind the 8 ball! Ugh....

BTW, Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

PS: I've lost 4 lbs since going back to WWs on my own...I was very happy to discover that Saturday morning! :D Woo-hoo...not bad especially since I didn't have the best week last week!

A Moment...

Apparently I am having a "moment". I am irritable, pissy, tired and just plain blah... Like little things are setting me off. I'm not blowing my lid or anything like that, but little things are just getting to me! I wish I knew why....is it the weather? ...is it stress? ...is it just me? ...is it school? ...is it family and all that drama? ...is it my guy? ...is it my munchkin? ...is it work? If I could put my finger on it, I would try and address it and get over it. It isn't just the typical "funk" of feeling down or so it doesn't feel that way to me...but maybe it is. I told one of my BFFs today that I was having a "moment" and she said she too was in a funk and we would be "funky" together! ;) How sweet of her... :) Thank you BFF!

Of course the bottom feel out after I came home tonight... I knew this was happening, but I guess I hadn't confirmed it in my head, but I did tonight...

I don't really get along with my family...primarily my mother, my father, my brother and his wives and multiple children. We have some pretty serious issues. Issues that will likely never go away and sometimes if I was honest with myself, if I didn't need my mother to help with my munchkin because of school I probably wouldn't speak to her. Outside of our few words in the morning during the week, we don't talk as it is now. I only speak to my father on special occasions such as holidays and birthdays. Since 12/24/07 I've had 4 conversations with my brother and that all took place in September 2008. I haven't spoken to his 1st wife since 1/24/09 and I haven't spoken to his current wife since 12/24/07...and I've only ever spoken to her 2 times since they began dating in 2/07. I haven't seen my 2 oldest nephews since Christmas 2008 and they have been in foster care (again) for almost 2 months now! I've seen the next one once and that was on 12/24/07 and I've never "met" the youngest nephew. He was there on 12/24/07 and was 3 days old...but I did not see him.

...now let me continue with tonight... Easter is at my brother's. I have been invited through my aunt, but I will not be going. So it appears Easter will be me and the munchkin hunting for the eggs the Easter Bunny hides that morning. :) I will fix us Easter dinner and life will go on. I know I'm probably being childish and that is okay if you think so (and feel free to tell me!), but I can't do it. I can't go to his house and "play" nice after the treatment my son and I have received from them, especially as two of his children sit in foster care and he plays dad & hubby of the year with his "new" family.

Maybe it is because I've been the other child and my son could be the other child...should I have been "left" at foster care while my mother enjoyed her new family? Should I drop off my son to DHS should I get involved with someone other than his father while I have a new family?!

Alright...my moment feels a little better for now...now I'm off to bed! Good night and thanks for listening to some of my issues....

April Fools

Well, today is the day. Some of us love it, some of us hate it, some of us could care less! It has been a long time since someone has played an April Fools Joke on me, outside of my munchkin~of course! I think that comes with getting older and more mature...I think! And on top of it being April Fools Day it is also Hump Day! Each time I look at the calendar it gets better and better! LOL

I've had one hell of a busy week so far. Sunday I worked on some homework, but didn't get nearly enough done. Monday was a prison tour for class. It was actually pretty interesting. More so than what I thought. I told my man about it and how it smelled in there and he said it smells like "ass"! LOL I think he may be right. The other areas we smelled I think was associated with whatever was prepared that day for dinner, which smelled like it might taste like ass. It was definitely not the freshest place to be and if you are sensitive to smells...you don't want to go to prison! Of course there are a whole host of other reasons why you don't want to go, but add this to your list...it smells like ass! The best experience I thought from the whole tour was a guy in segregation telling us if we wanted to see real segregation to go to Level V, because "this here segregation (Level II) is nothing more than a country-club!" Combine that with the dancing man and his $5Million dollar civil suit and the man who did not want us looking in his cell (as he stood in his window the entire time we were in there)...that is where they should bring people for entertainment! It was the best! LOL

After the prison trip was on to class with a sick Prof. W! Why oh why do people attempt to do their job when they are so sick? For instance, my aunt has bronchitius from one of her co-workers who prides herself on never missing time from work! Well, that is all fine and dandy, but you live alone and aren't around other people. My aunt is my babysitter, so if she goes down with some funky illness, I have to find replacements, not to mention the fact that now me and my munchkin are exposed! UGH...people like that piss me off! So I beg of all professors...please do not come to lecture us when you are on death's door, especially when we are only 4 weeks from starting exams! :( But I do hope Prof. W & my aunt & her co-worker all feel better very soon and more importantly, I hope we don't get it!!

Tuesday I called in! I just couldn't take it anymore! I did a little reading, but I seriously sleep too! My man called me about quarter to 9am, which woke me up. I got up and then laid back down about 10:30am and slept till after 1pm. I got up and went back to bed at 3:30pm and slept until almost 6pm. I stayed up, we ordered pizza and then off to bed I went again at 11:30pm, but I read Crim Pro for another hour and then went to sleep again. I think I have sleep-itis! EEK!!! Of course I came in to my office to be greated by 11 new files! WTF?!

So I'm working my fanny off today and paying for taking that day yesterday! Whatev! I will have a later/future posting about squeeky bladders being an excuse for a lube job! Leave it to my work's restroom to bring about another post....and yes, we are all adults here! LOL

Enjoy the rest of your hump-day and beware of the April Fools Jokes!!!

PS: Happy Anniversary Dani!!

Weave or No Weave

So a few weeks ago my man's sister-in-law sent me an email telling me that my man's sister got a weave. The title of the email was "Sister's Weave". The picture was prefaced with a statement that she looked like a man in drag! Ouch!! If you knew my former in-laws you would know such "love" is common among them! So the story continues with a few follow up phone calls telling me that the weave was gone suddenly...

Apparently the sister was brushing her new mane and it came out! EEK!!! She rushed and had the weave replaced! She was furious that her $200 hair came out with a little brushing. The stylist told her it was because she wasn't suppose to use a brush on the weave and was only to use a pick of a wide toothed comb. I don't know if this is normal as I've never had someone else's hair in with my hair...call me cheap, but I have elsewhere to spend $200!

So she was happily re-weaved and life was grand. As she made plans to come home to see the family for a 4-day weekend (her hubby is in the Army and had a pass), I inquired to the ex-sister-in-law will she be appearing for her visit with weave or no weave?!?

I'm here to report, she showed with no weave!

A few updates...

Before I forget, here are a few updates...

Family drama...that is still going on. According to the last court date a warrant was to be issued that afternoon for the ex-s-i-l. She is allegedly facing charges of: maintaining a drug house; drug trafficking; aiding and abetting; and child abuse. According to my source at the local police station, no warrant had been issued as of last Thursday.

Family health drama...my uncle is out of the hospital as of yesterday. I think it is too soon, but I don't run health care in this nation and we know it is no longer the doctor's decision...it is all up to the insurance companies! He is doing much better, but will need to recover slowly, which I know is impossible for him. I worry about him a lot! :( My aunt's face is supposedly clearing nicely now that she finally went to a doctor and got appropriate treatments for it. Self-diagnosing is only good for certain things, but not flesh-eating disorders. (Not what she had, but still!!!) My other aunt has came down with another cold...she suspects her co-worker who prides herself on never missing a day of work who has been coughing up lungs in between smoke breaks is who gave it to her. And of course since my aunt takes care of the munchkin, you know where those germs are headed next. :( UGH.....

Puppies & strings...I don't recall if I ever updated that post. But the following Monday we learned that there was no danger after all, because the string was found under the coach not coming out of the puppies behind! So much for all of that drama! Maybe we should look a little closer next time before we become undone and start booking ORs!

If there is ever something I forget to update on, please feel free to drop me an inquiry in comments and I will do my best to update as soon as possible! ;)

Watch Out WWs, I'm Coming Back

It has been weeks since I've posted about my battle of the bulge.  Part of that is due to time constraints and part of that is because I was devastated last Saturday when I discovered I had actually gained 5lbs.  :(  I know I wasn't behaving perfectly, but I didn't expect this turn of events.  So last week I went back to WWs, but on my own.  

I can't afford to attend meetings, plus my time is so limited so I decided to start counting points on my own.  So that is where I'm at with the battle of the bulge.  I felt really good about it this week though.  I was within my points Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday wasn't so great...I had fish & chips for lunch.  I did eat the 4 pieces of fish (the cook at the greasy spoon has a crush on me so he snuck me an extra piece of fish with a wink...just what I needed!) with tarter sauce, but only ate maybe 5 fries and only 2 bites of cole slaw and didn't touch the bread and butter.  Then we had to clean out the Explorer Friday night and ended up at Red Lobsters.  I topped my Friday off with a Sunset Passion Colada and then we all shared appetizers instead of ordering meals.  We shared Lobster Pizza, (Lobster) Fondue, and Coconut Shrimp.  I also had one cheddar biscuit and 2 cokes.  :(  

Today certainly was no better and likely a little worse.  :(  I started the day out on a run.  I shared pancakes with the munchkin at 10am.  I never ate or drank another thing until we went for dinner after going to the meat market (BTW, don't go to the meat market starving!  Both my freezers are stuffed to the brim!).  We had chips & salsa and then I had fajitas and I think I drank like 10 cokes....of course the class was three-quarters filled with ice and I was dying of thirst.  I think it was more like 4 or 5, but still....  And 6 hours later (actually, just now) I cracked open some crackers and the crab salad we bought at the meat market.  

I know I'm not perfect and I never claimed to be and this is one of the toughest fights in my life.  So I know I will have ups & downs, challenges and I will win some and lose some.  But my biggest success at this point will be being able to recover quickly when I fall off the WW wagon!  

So Watch Out WWs, I'm Back!  

My contribution to the Big-3 is complete!!

Woo-hoo!!!!!  I picked up my car today!  And I love it....  It is beautiful!  Sleek!  Fast!  Comfortable!  I just love it.  I'm back at home in my car.  I should have kept my original Escape, but that is water under the bridge...I'm just glad that I didn't go over my miles (I had 195 miles to spare!) and that I love my new car!  :)  

I even tried to whittle down the miles today.  Before picking up the car the munchkin and I went to the bank, the post office, my one salon, and the grocery store.  If we would have had time we would have crossed the state line to go to the meat market, but we did that after I picked up my new car!  

Of course I accomplished nothing else today...such as homework, laundry, picking up.  But hey...I bought a new car, face products, stamps, groceries and a year's worth of meat!    Hope you had a productive Saturday too!

Family Health Issues...

Well, my uncle is in the hospital right now.  He is suffering from acute pancreatitis.  This has been going on for 3 weeks now.  We are hopeful that this treatment will help and hopefully this is not turning in to a case of chronic pancreatitis.  :(  Of course, my aunt/his wife, is currently suffering from shingles, poison ivy and some other crazy named thing all on her face...  I swear, when it rains it pours.  

On a separate note, my man got a new job in the kitchen.  Now he is a cook.  He told me he got to make spaghetti today.  Oh man...I miss his spaghetti sauce!  I know it wasn't as good as what I'm used to, but still...I could use some of his spaghetti sauce.  LOL  I am proud of him for getting promoted.  Of course he told me it was weird making so much stuff and it is just like in the movies, his "kettle" was so big, he stirred it with a plastic utensil that is as big as a boat oar and looks just like one!  Isn't that crazy?  And here I thought getting dinner on for my entire family is hard...and there is only around 10 of us!  (I know how many people are in my family, but since there are so many splintered issues going on, I didn't get specific with who may be at the next holiday meal...)

Another hump-day down...now I just have to make it to Friday!  I'm crossing my fingers that I make it!  LOL

Busy Signal

Oh my goodness...busy, busy, busy.  Even at work I'm busy!  I feel like every time I turn around I'm giving off a busy signal!  I actually arrived at work at 7:40am today to make my 8:00am meeting and didn't leave until 5:20pm, with no lunch.  And I actually worked that entire time!  Which feels almost equally shocking to me too!  ;)  

I'm equally busy at home and at school.  The days are flying by...too quickly.  :(  I need another 10 hours each day just to get things done now.  And as I sit here thinking about the coming weeks, I just get busier and busier.  

Of course my stressor now is getting to Saturday without going over my miles.  I'll be very happy getting out of this lease!  It is causing problems even to the bitter end.  

I will try to post as frequently as I can.  Take care of y'all!

My Apologies...

I don't want anyone to think I've abandoned my blog. I've just had a very busy week. I shall catch you up in the next several days with all of the happenings around town a/k/a my life! But the biggest things that have been happening is "mid-term" week. Yes, I only had one official mid-term, but then another class we had pass/fail questions to answer, which to me really was a mid-term thing. So needless to say, I was cramming in things for mid-term week, so that has kept me busy. Now it is over, I'm exhausted and I'm behind in all of my reading because I was working on mid-terms. 5 weeks to go and then 2 weeks of finals and I'm finally off for the summer, which I can't wait for!!

Signed the munchkin up for mixed minors today, so now I have a box of 52...er....50 candy bars in my house for me to sell. Of course the idea that I've already paid for the box kind of deflates the whole fundraising thing for me, but I will take it to work again this year and sell some there. Of course this year I'm going to put it in the kitchen because having it in my office last year didn't work out so well for me! But that does remind me of a funny story that will be a future post in the coming days/weeks.

For now, I'm off to wash my face, read some more for AIL-P and hope I wake up more motivated tomorrow! Love & hugs to my faithful readers....Have a great weekend you guys!

Future Blog Posts...

Since my memory isn't so great anymore, I've added a new feature to my blog.  I'll be listing over to the side titles of future blog posts to remind myself what I wanted to post!  This is more a tool for me than you because I couldn't come up with a place to keep a list of my ideas and I had a great idea of one that it just took me about 3 weeks to remember!  Some of them will be posted sooner than others and I currently only have one item on the list (I can't remember the other ideas I've had recently), but it will grow as I come up with things...

Where did my weekend go????

I know I've been slacking in my posts the last several days, my apologizes, but I think someone hit fast forward on the clocks!! Last week was really busy and really stressful. I felt like I was running so far behind on everything and finally I said to myself, "screw everything, I have to get these things done." So I stopped working on anything else and only worked on writing out bills for one period of time. I discovered quickly that I had 3 bills due the next day, so I had to arrange for someone to hand-deliver 2 of them to their respective stores and 1 I had to call and pay over the phone using their automated system, which cost me an additional $9.95, but better then their $39.95 late fee charge! So now I felt better in that area.

The next area I was starting to feel stressed over was typing up my notes. I'm really trying to get better with my "school work", so I committed to typing up my notes after class (meaning the next day since I get home so late). In order to accomplish this, it has meant typing them up at work. I usually figure this is using my lunch hour since I don't really take lunch hours at work, because I end up working through while I eat at my desk. I think this is a fair trade off, don't you? Well, I hadn't typed up my notes since before spring-break, so I had about 2.5 weeks of notes to type up, so I borrowed a day at work and that is all I did was type up my notes to catch up there. So another area where I was feeling some relief.

Friday night the munchkin and I went shopping! We actually have food in the house again!! This was becoming a major stress area for me, because nothing I hate more than not having the essentials in the house and since by Friday we were out of milk, eggs, butter, bread, pop and popcorn...we definitely no longer had the essentials! So this was finally accomplished on Friday plus it was actually a lot of fun to go shopping with the munchkin. It has been a REALLY long time since we went shopping together. And since I can no longer lift him up in the cart (plus as he says, 'mom, I look dump up here where the babies go') I had to overcome my controlling ways and I let him "help" with the shopping. Well, until we hit the end and my stress level was rising by the time we were checking out of store #3.

Saturday morning we went to see my car guy....you know, for that "surprise car" he had for me! Well, it was a surprise!!! It is my car!!!! It has more than I wanted on it, which means more money, but whatever!! It is totally sweet.... The munchkin and I took it for a test-drive. I haven't felt so at home in a car in a long time. This is my car!! It only had 24 miles on it, it has been in the "sold lot" since it came in to the dealer. He said as soon as he saw it he knew it was mine. I love my car guy, because he was right!!!!! It is everything I asked for plus some! hehe So what I thought was going to be a 30 minute thing Saturday morning turned in to a 2.5 hour thing. But it was well worth that 2.5 hours! So I guess car guy was right...he did have a surprise for me!!! ;) BTW, I pick up my surprise on 3/28!! Pictures will follow, trust me!!

After 2.5 hours at the dealer, we met up with the auntie and had lunch. The munchkin was so good on both Friday and Saturday I was impressed and then I was sad, because I realized my munchkin was growing up... :( After lunch they went to Chica's daughter's b-day party and bowled. Apparently my munchkin loved it!!!! Who knew!!! We will have to go bowling this summer. It is so funny that he loved it, because I have dreamt of our "family" bowling in a few years, so I'm really excited about that and can't wait to tell my honey that I've got something to add to our list of things to do upon putting our family back together! (Yes, we do have such a list! LOL)

So by the time I came home Saturday afternoon and picked up the house (which is still sort of a work in progress even by now~Sunday afternoon) I was not feeling the whole homework thing. You would think then I would become productive elsewhere in my life, but I usually don't! I have some crazy hold-up or something that then just has me sit in a chair saying to myself, "I don't really feel like doing homework. I know I have a ton to do. Basically 2 midterms and I'm behind in my Crim Pro and BK reading, but I just can't do homework right now." I say this in my head over and over and over....then I turn on the TV and kind of lose myself for the remainder of the day or take a nap. Isn't this crazy? Since it was really kind of late to be taking a nap, it was about 5:30pm-ish, and I really had high hopes/ideas that maybe if I went to bed kind of early Saturday night that this morning I would get up really early and hit the ground running. Who is fooling who here....this didn't happen!! As I was having this motivating idea about going to bed sort of early and getting up early I added something to it...what if I filed my taxes tonight so I can make that huge ass down payment on my new car and then I can go to bed early, have my taxes filed, and get up early to get a jump start on my homework! Well, 1 good idea accomplished out of 3 isn't bad!!! So last night I gathered all of my papers and filed my taxes. I'm definitely glad that is out of the way. Plus I love the fact that according to Turbo Tax, my federal return should be deposited the day before I pick up my car....perfect timing IRS! ;)

So, as I sit here early Sunday afternoon doing laundry, wondering where my weekend went I think back at all the areas I'm a little less stressed in after the last 7 days...writing out bills, typing up class notes, stocking up our necessities, bailing myself out of my lease fiasco, and filing my taxes. Now I'm off to deal with another stress area...homework! ...or maybe I'll take that nap today! ;)

Enjoy your Sunday...

& a wake up...

Well, we finally made it through Thursday!  Done with classes for the week, two midterms to do this weekend, babysitting issues arising by the hour, just glad for the weekend to be just mere moments away...

Today I was so sleepy, but I tried to retain some control over my eating...

Breakfast...2 eggs & a slice of toast

Snack...pretzels

Lunch...6" turkey & ham sub on wheat w/provolone & mayo

Snack...2 york peppermint patties

Dinner...Crispy chicken sandwich & loaded potato bites from Arby's & a sweet tea

64ozs of water & 20 mins on the treadmill...

Not too bad.  Of course tomorrow isn't going to be so hot...but I'll do as well as I can!  TGIAF!!!

Hump Day Food Journal...

Alright...not a great day.  I can only hope to do better tomorrow and I need to remember that it could always be worse (trust me!)...

Breakfast...2 eggs, slice of toast

Snack...pretzels

Lunch...taco salad

Snack...pretzels

Dinner...12" meatball sub w/provolone cheese on italian bread (no double meat or cheese!)

Snack...Sweet tea & vanilla cone

Water...64 ozs.

Workout...10 mins walking on treadmill, all upper body machines, 10 more mins walking on treadmill

Craziness on Hump Day!!

Some random craziness that has occurred on this every lovely hump day...

#1) I am NOT a morning person and since I don't go to bed early I set a few alarms to get me up. I set my alarm clock, which is in my bathroom and then I set my cell phone alarm clock, which is on my night stand. Well, the cell phone alarm went off and when I picked it up to hit snooze I dropped it between the bed and the nightstand. It was still going off! So I had to find it, thank god my phone glows when the alarm goes off. I still proceeded to go back to sleep and over slept this morning. So I got up and hopped in the shower with the full knowledge that I wasn't going to wash my hair to save time. Too bad my hands didn't know that!! I proceeded to put my face soap in my hands rup them together and apply it to my hair.......WAIT?! HAIR??!!!...yes, I said hair. Apparently someone wanted me to wash my hair, because I used my uber-expensive face soap on the top of my head. As soon as I sat my hand up there I had that "Duh!" moment. Wrong area of my head. It was suppose to go on my face dang it!! I tried "wiping out" the face soap from my pulled back hair and after more bubbles formed each time I decided I had to wash my hair this morning. Sorry "The CH", I was late due to malfunctioning face soap!!

#2) While working I have a report that I just completed and my cell phone on top because I was texting with my LSBFF. I grab the report to put it away behind me on a shelf and as I begin to slide the report on to the shelf I realize I'm putting away my cell phone not the report. WTH?

#3) I have a bad habit when I'm inter-officing things to forget to write on the envelope who I'm sending it to. This has lead to several items of being sent back to me, from me! Well, I had kept my "problem" under wraps until today. After washing my hair with face soap, but before filing away my cell phone I walked in to my office to see something I sent to the secretary back on my desk with the envelope I mailed it in... This time I sent it to our LPU department. The gig is up! The woman who put it there came in later and asked if I got the stuff she put on my desk. She then asked if I incorrectly mailed it or did that crazy secretary send it down to her on accident. I so wanted to put the blame on the secretary, but then I would feel bad so instead I said...'well, I think it might have been me, but maybe she did it. Who knows....guess it is from too much work!' We laughed together and my "problem" discussion disappeared again. Today is not the day to become more deligent with my envelope addressing......

#4) My car guy returned my call verifying we are on track and asks me to come in this Saturday to get some paperwork done...and then says, "Plus I've got a surprise for you." I say what you are suppose to say when someone says such things, "You do???" (all excited, of course!). His response was, "Yes, I got you a car." Okay.....not what I was thinking because that was the obvious, right? Isn't that your job? Didn't we go over the details of what I wanted when I came in 2 weeks ago? I thought my job was to get my Pin # and your job was to get my car. And this is a surprise? How???? I verified with my LSBFF, before I filed away my phone, that car people are weird.

Alright...until more craziness happens, keep enjoying Hump-Day!!!! :D

Tuesday's Food Journal...

Oh, BTW...

Breakfast...2 eggs, slice of toast

Snack...pretzels

Lunch...small grilled chicken greek salad w/pita bread and italian dressing

Snack...sweet tea and a vanilla cone

Dinner...meatloaf, julianne potatoes, peas & carrots

I did get my 64ozs of water in today & a trip to the gym to walk for 20 mins on the treadmill.

Automated Restrooms...

At work a few months back our building remodeled our restrooms and everything is automated now, including the toilets.  At the beginning several of the women in our office claimed they didn't work, but they did.  You just had to walk away from them before they would flush.  They have became more sensitive the longer we have had them.  At one point there was even discussion about making the building management rip out the new toilets because they just weren't "working".  I used to giggle over these discussions, but now the laugh is on me!

Three times I've started leaving public restrooms without flushing before realizing the rest of the world isn't as plush as my office and I must flush it on my own!  So the next time you see that someone didn't flush, maybe they have plush potties at their office too!

There are several things I think of when I think of bathrooms...Often I think of Dustin Hoffman's line in Meet the Fockers, "When it is yellow be mellow, if it is brown flush it down."  I also think about a former co-worker overhearing another former co-worker saying "shoot it Winchester!"  Actually, there have been several current and former co-workers who talk to them selves in the restroom...so when you think no one is listening...oh yes we are!  And sometimes we are bloggers!  hehe

Longest Day of The Week

So obviously it is another Monday.  It is my longest day of the week!  I'm glad it is over.  I spent three days at home over the weekend doing homework...reading and writing a paper!  Glad that is over and done with!  But now I move on to mid-terms this week.  UGH...thank god it appears they are all take homes!  Sounds like another tight and tiring week....

Hope you had a great weekend and a good Monday.  4 more days & a wake up....  ;)

Opps...before I forget:

Breakfast:  2 eggs, slice of toast

Snack:  pretzels

Lunch:  grilled chicken greek salad

Snack:  pretzels, diet sunkist, fruit snacks

Dinner:  beef stew

Snack:  small shamrock shake, cheeseburger, sweet tea

I did get all 64ozs of my water in today.  I need to pack my bag to workout tomorrow too!  :)

Past Bullies

I hated high school. Actually, strike that! I hated the people at my high school. I actually didn't mind high school itself. I sometimes wished I was a natural female Doogie Howser, MD. I really wanted to skip over high school and go straight to college, but that didn't happen. Sometimes I'm glad that I went through the torture of high school, but sometimes I'm not.

I, of course, was fat in high school too. Not as fat as I am now, but still obese. I had bad acne, bad teeth, bad hair...the list could go on for quite some time. However, I remember one particular incident that has never left my mind and all of it came rushing back tonight at Red Lobster! You know...where this one Catholic good-girl was not eating meat on a Friday! ;) I got there early to reserve a table for us~me, the munchkin & the aunt.

I walk in and the hostess is one of the girls I went to high school with. It has been a long time when I've had to interact with someone from high school. I probably seemed out of it to her because I was shocked to see her still there. I knew about 8 years ago she was working there, but I never would have thought she still would be. BTW, she is not in management, so Red Lobster must not have a "work your way up" program as she remains a hostess/server. Needless to say...we didn't communicate outside of me giving her my name and request for our table. (Which she did screw up....but whatev!)

After I was seated I saw him...one of my bullies. :( This short little fucker was a tormentor of mine. (Sorry, I use those descriptors in the most loving way!) I remember when my best friend and I went to Burger King for dinner one night after some school function. Him and his buddies, who all stood at least a foot above him, were sitting up eating. This BK was a bi-level, so we were on the bottom area and they were on the top. All of a sudden he threw an inverted fry box down at us. I self-internalized the message, which read "You need to call 1-800-321-THIN" which was the 800-# for Nutrasystem. I ignored the box as his aim was off since he was short and pretended like I never saw it.

I've thought about that box and its message and that short little fucker a lot in the past 16 years. I will never forgive him for that, I will never let him know I saw it, thought of it, or anything like that. But most of all...I will always remember that someday I may be thin and his ass will always be short!!!!

I, as usual, didn't acknowledge I knew either of these people and never spoke to them. He was there with his daughter, who must be about 4 or 5, and other Dads & Daughters who were all attending a daddy-daughter dance. I'm happy to report his 4 year old is of average height along with her fellow peers and she is a little over half as tall as him. I did smile to myself and when she wasn't listening to him as they were leaving I commented to my aunt, "How can he expect her to listen to him when she will be taller than him in about six months?!" ;)

Of course the fact that all of these daddies and daughters were going to this "Daddy Daughter Dance" made me wonder...what happens if you are a daughter and you don't have a daddy, for whatever reason? Is this really fair to them? I'm not saying punish the ones who do have a daddy, but why can't we call it a "Parent/Child dance?" Or a "Daddy-Like Daughter Dance"... I just think we are placing a heavy burden on that poor little girl who doesn't have a daddy in her life right now, because not always at the age of 4/5 do you understand why you don't have a daddy and others due...

Fridays during Lent...

Am I the only person abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent? Am I the only Catholic that is still "falling for that trick" (as one co-worker said to me)? I don't know if it is because I'm around all new people this year for Lent, outside of my family, that is, but I appear to be the only person not consuming meat on Fridays this Lent.

Exhibit #1) A week ago today, the first Friday of Lent. We decide to go out to lunch for my co-worker's last day. We go to a more upscale restaurant within our office building because of location and because the leader of the pack is convinced that he gets better treatment there because the "guys know him there". The fact that he gets better and is "known" to the guys could be the fact that he puts away a 5th of vodka a night there, but that is a story for another time. So I comment to someone thought to be going in the group that I hope this place has a special of fish/seafood of sorts because it is Friday. He looked at me funny and asked why and I said, "because I'm Catholic and it is Friday." He responded in the affirmative, so I added "...and it is Lent." His response was "Yeah, I'm catholic too, but I'm not falling for that trick. It is optional." I laughed and said "okay". He later no-showed to the lunch upon which I inquired if it was his heel spurs acting up again...

Upon going to this lunch I encounter a $30 salad for trying to be a good Catholic. I don't know if I previously clued you in on my $30 lunch. I was so not happy, because it wasn't even a great salad! I ordered a Thai Chicken Salad and asked if I could get Shrimp in place of Chicken. The waitperson said sure, no problem. Well, yeah, until I got my bill! My salad was $10, the shrimp was $6. My coke was $3. My side of pasta salad (to ensure that I got my main course salad at the same time as everyone else's lunch) was $3. I'm now up to $22. Add tax and a 20% tip and my bill now totals: $27.98, so I put in $30 and figured my $2.02 could go toward the co-worker's lunch. Now I've spent some coin on meals before and don't usually complain, but when the food sucks, you are the only non-heathen, and you aren't pre-warned that your meal is going to practically double in price exchanging seafood for the meat, then I'm going to bitch about a $30 crappy meal...

Exhibit #2) This morning I had to leave and go somewhere for breakfast. I picked a Bob Evans, which was probably a mistake, but I ordered hotcakes to avoid the sausage gravy that I really wanted! The crabby waitress (some people shouldn't be wait staff and when you are in your 50's or 60's and still crabby because you are a waitress, I suggest you turn in your pencil, your nametag and your hairnet. So I ordered the hotcakes and she asks if I want a side of meet with that. Of course I do, but I'm not carrying sausage links in my pocket until Saturday! So I respond, while smiling~"No, I can't. It is Friday!" She looks at me strange and then I did the whole 'I'm catholic and it is lent.' Do you know what the crabby waitress said and did? You will never guess!! She said, "Oh...[rolled her eyes at me]...whatever." So I ate my pancakes, which weren't all that great (and certainly were not nearly as good as the Pancake House!) waited for my call and left.

But after this 2nd encounter it lead me to ponder: Am I the only Catholic out there falling for this old trick refraining from meat on Fridays during lent?

Pick & Choose

A quick recap of today...

Breakfast:  2 eggs, slice of toast

Snack:  94% fat free popcorn

Lunch:  12" black forest ham sub on wheat w/provolone cheese & mayo

Dinner:  Beef fajitas, strawberry margarita, coke, chips & salsa

Snack:  Mexican Fried Ice Cream

I drank my 64ozs of water today, but I didn't make it to the gym to workout; however, I'm glad I didn't go tonight.  Not because I didn't want to workout and not because I was too tired or sore, but because I had dinner with my LSBFF instead.  Sometimes we have to make choices and tonight I choose to ask her if she wanted to do dinner after class and she said yes!  I was very glad she did.  I had a blast.  I think we covered every single subject out there that we would need/want to cover!

After spending an hour or so at dinner, when I returned her to her car we spent another hour and fifteen minutes chit-chatting in my car!  I made the best choice and the perfect choice.  Thank you my LSBFF for a wonderful night tonight.  Now on to that paper...

PS:  Dani, I thought of you when I ordered my Mexican Fried Ice Cream.  I actually even spoke of you!  ;)

Hump Day...Need I Say More?

I must say other than feeling extremely overwhelmed this week has been a good week so far.  I'm just starting to feel the mid-semester pressure mixed with the income tax pressure.  As we say...too much to do and not enough time to get it all done!  The story of my life...  

Let me recap today's menu plan...

Breakfast...2 eggs and a slice of toast

Snack...Lean Cuisine Frozen 3 Meat Pizza Meal

Lunch...Healthy Choice Fresh Mix Southwestern Chicken Meal

Snack...Grapes

Dinner...12" meatball sub (but no double meat or double cheese!)

Snack...Sweet tea & a vanilla cone

I did manage to get my full 64 ozs of water in today, along with a trip to the gym.  I did 20 mins on the treadmill.  Not much, but better than nothing.  Babysteps....

While I was at the gym tonight I noticed something.  When I went shopping a couple weeks ago I made sure I picked up a couple new workout outfits.  Nothing fancy...just comfortable and short sleeves to make me cooler than my original 2 workout outfits.  So this week I've enjoyed working out in my new workout outfits!  :D  However, as I looked around tonight and made some observations...people working out in jeans and guys wearing hoodies, with the hoods up while running on treadmills.  Did I miss something in workout attire?  

I understand that I'm significantly overweight so I'm going to sweat a little more than the in-shape person, but seriously?!  Running with a hoodie on?!?  Come on people!!!  Your overuse of a hoodie while working out is causing me to overuse punctuation...  

That isn't an excuse

After a pretty great day at work today and before I went to the gym I opted to exchange two pair of workout pants I purchased a couple weeks back before I went up to see my guy.  So I go to the store and say I want to exchange these 2 pairs of pants for a different size.  I'm told it is no problem by clerk #1 and to shop around.  So I find replacement pants, grab two pairs of panties (okay, not really panties...more like stuff 'em and see how much that girdle like contraption can hold!) and go to the counter.  

Clerk #1 is gone and clerk #2 begins cashing me out.  The conversation goes like this:

#2:  Are you a perks member?

j'lynn:  Yes.

#2:  Where did you become a perks member?

j'lynn:  Here.

#2:  Do you know when?

j'lynn:  No

#2:  $84.13

j'lynn:  For two pairs of underwear?

#2:  And your pants.

j'lynn:  I'm exchanging them.

#2:  Yes, but the new pants are more.

j'lynn:  They are the same pants.

#2:  Yes.

j'lynn:  They went up because of supply & demand??

#2:  No.  They are the same price as what you paid for them before.

j'lynn:  And I'm exchanging them.

#2:  Yes.

j'lynn:  And I owe $84.13???

#2:  Yes.  

****after some clarification I was advised that I was only getting $15 back per pair of pants that I was returning.  When I inquired why I was told it was because I didn't have the correct receipt****  

j'lynn:  But the other clerk told me it wasn't an issue.

#2:  I don't know.  This isn't my normal store.  Sorry.

j'lynn:  Can you hold the two new pair?

#2:  No.

j'lynn:  Huh?

#2:  No, we can't.

j'lynn:  Great.  They are the last two in that size.

#2:  I'm sorry, this isn't my normal store.

**Yup, heard you the first time!**

So I decide that I want the two new pairs, so I told her I wanted the new pants and the old pants because I know I have the receipt, I just grabbed the wrong one.  So now my bill was an additional $30.  :(  Then I asked the tell-tale question..."Is that with my perks?"

...

#2:  You aren't a perks member.

j'lynn:  Yes I am.

#2:  Nope.  I can't find you.

j'lynn:  Look me up with my phone number.  That is what everyone else here does.

#2:  This isn't my normal store.

j'lynn:  Okay.

#2:  Your perks expired back in 2007.

j'lynn:  So you mean to tell me that in the last 2 years everytime I shopped I wasn't getting my perks rewards?

#2:  This isn't my normal store, sorry.  (WTF?!?)

j'lynn:  Why wouldn't someone say, 'Oh, I'm sorry, your perks membership expired.  Would you like to reactivate it?'

#2:  I'm really sorry.  This isn't my normal store.

Repeating "This isn't my normal store."  isn't an excuse!!! It doesn't answer several questions when they are all different on different subject matters...   So tomorrow when someone asks me something I'm just going to keep repeating, "This isn't my normal store." How well do you think this is going to work?

They are not so sweet & innocent...

Girlscouts and their damn cookies that is!  My day would have been close to perfect, food wise that is, if it wasn't for these cookies that I bought from Chica's daughter to support her Girlscouting.  What does our money go for other than for them to make more damn cookies?  It is a conspiracy of sorts and a horribly wicked circle of which I apparently partake in each year.

But I am pretty proud of myself for today's intake...

Breakfast:  2 eggs, slice of toast

Snack:  94% fat free popcorn

Lunch:  Healthy Choice Fresh Mix Szechwan Beef w/Asian Style Noodles

Snack:  Apple w/peanut butter & a small shamrock shake

Dinner:  Beef Stew

Snack:  Girlscout cookies & a sweet tea

However, I did drink my 64 ozs of water again today and made it to the gym.  Of course I wasn't able to do as much at the gym as I had hoped and I'm totally exhausted, but I did a total of maybe 12 mins cardio and 2 sets of 15 on each upper body machine.  It wasn't a perfect day, but it wasn't horrible either.  

I wonder...is it better to just lose my mind one day and go nuts and eat the remaining girlscout cookies (we only bought 3 boxes total~~1 for the munchkin & 2 for everyone else, which are the 2 I like!) or slowly eat a few each day?  Out of the 2 boxes I like there is approximately 3/4's of a box left now...I have my suspicions of who I believe is "helping" me eat my girlscout cookies too...she is protected by God so it is all good!  ;)  

Why are Mondays so rough?

Is it in the DNA of Mondays that make them so rough? Ugh... Not only was today rough because it was a Monday, but it was the Monday following spring break. I think it should be against the rules to have to actually participate in anything 100% on a day like today.

But I am happy to report that I actually accomplished several things at work today. I made 2 of my 3 classes and the only reason I didn't make my last class, Crim Pro, is because I was stuck in the restroom until 20 mins in to class. By then it was too late to go in to class. So I missed class, headed to Red Robin and then on home.

Even with the ick part of today being the Monday back after Spring Break I am proud of all I accomplished. ;) For my food journaling for today, it is as follows:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 slice of toast

Snack: 94% fat free popcorn

Lunch: A large grilled chicken greek salad with Italian dressing and pita bread

Dinner: a cheeseburger, onion rings, 2 cokes and a hot fudge sundae.

I did get 64 ozs of water in today. So there is some good in today. Now I'm off to bed to read for AIL-P and fall asleep for another day this week... Good night y'all.

Change...

As we all know, this year has been summed up as a time of change.  With the election of the first African-American president and on his election platform the biggest push was a call for change.  I feel the need on this first day of March to begin incorporating that in to my life as well.  

There are several areas in my life that need change and no one will be able to bring that to the forefront other than me.  So as I begin to embark on this new month change will come.  It has to come!  So I come to you today and say, Change Will Come!!

I'm about to start back to the second half of my semester tomorrow and need to buckle down there.  It always feels like there is so little time and what little time I do have goes by so damn quickly!  So I need to tighten the rope around my time and reign in what I can.  

As our nation is gripped with economic woes, I too am in economic woes as I'm sure all of you are too.  So change must come to my finances as well.  So the belt will be tightened, costs will be cut, expenditures will be limited and change will come back in to my pocket here as well.

The other area that I need to tighten my belt with is my health.  Change must come here as well.  I need to buckle down.  Eat right.  Exercise more.  Become healthier.  Especially since in the last 3 days I've come to find out that 2 more people who I know have been stricken with cancer.  So I must do this for me, my future, to be here for my son, to enjoy life and to be a better person physically and mentally.  So change will be embarked on this front as well.

So, as I start my laundry, pick up my house, go through my papers and work on my homework I do it with a new sense of renewal and with change...

How else will I become motivated if not pushed by my own spirit...

Dedication:  I dedicate this post to one of my bffs as she does her duty across enemy lines...thanks for listening to me Capt. and letting me see where I need change in my life...love to you and watch your six!