Awwww... poor furball :-(

Puppy doesn't seem to feel well today :-( Poor thing.. she's been curled up in bed with her 'buddy' for quite awhile.. I wish I could do something to make her feel better!

 

 

Oh road crews, did you forget your job description?

Dear Coralville road crews: 

Please tell me that you don't consider your job with yesterday's blizzard to be done? The snow stopped over 24 hours ago, and the roads are STILL a mess! Did you forget to buy sand/salt this year?


Sincerely, a citizen who hates having mini heart attacks and being on the verge of meeting other strange and careless drivers at any given time when I'm out and about..

Stupid drivers..

Dear random person from my street: do you think parking in the MIDDLE of the street, rather than your driveway is a good idea when it's snowy and icy? I kinda hope a snowplow catches just the corner of your car..

 

Rare, Unbelievable moment in retail

Three cashiers, one set of self checkouts running and limited staff, five days before Christmas.. And we're doing alright in handling it. I never imagined I'd be saying that!

 

The blizzard seems to be keeping everyone at home. Over FIFTY people in our store alone called in. But, I made it in spite of my pain, and people from out of town made it, so I wonder why the people who live just a few minutes away couldn't attempt it?

Oh, here we go again :-(

After being up and keeping watch over me most of the night, the little furball has definitely found the most comfy spot in the house to rest- a foot deep cushion of blankets...

 I have chronic mouth/dental issues, due to a low immune system. Both which lend pretty easily to infections and pain.. oh, the pain. Last night was AWFUL! It was soooo bad, and I would've actually broken down and gone to the ER to get a morphine shot (which I've had to do before, always in the middle of the night- go figure!) But the blasted blizzard that was going on kept me grounded at home, curled up in a little ball on the couch :-( My momma kept me company for a good part of it, but she had to work early so I wanted her to get her needed sleep..

I've started back on another round of antibiotics, so hopefully that and constant ibuprofen will get me through! 

Top of the hour, Culinary duel!

Breaking news from my kitchen: The spatula has been in an altercation with the dishwasher... And the dishwasher won, bending the spatula into a nearly perfect 90 degree angle! More on this story at 6:00! 

This would be Spaz, all the way.. :D

Kylie Jo just texted this to me, and it made me giggle out loud.. How friggin' cute and funny!!

What is wrong with the Des Moines Register's editors??

Ummmm.. Someone needs a course in being tactful!!

Half hearted attempt at adding to my cooking installment...

 I plan on starting it in earnest at the beggining of the new year, but for now...

 

I made fudge with some full marshmallows... Wonder if it'll work anything like I envisioned?

 

  

Woohoo! 2nd time is a charm!

If nothing unforeseen messes it up, this is the phone that a certain someone's getting me for Christmas!! Yay!! Just a few more weeks of this quickly deteriorating thing I have, and then it's being downgraded to a music player/backup! ...Or smashed with a hammer, I haven't yet decided..

http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/Motorola-ATRIX-4G/72112,en_US,pd.html

They're becoming the best of friends, it appears! :-D

Awww... They're holding paws AND intertwining tails.. too cute NOT to share!!

 

Slightly skewed search results...

Ummm.... I'm searching through Amazon for new makeup brushes, particularly one with a vanity cup... Anyway, look what showed up in the middle of my 'vanity brush makeup set' search... Something slightly off here, me thinks! 

 

 

I should NOT be allowed in the kitchen, I swear!

Has anyone ever had a can good of vegetables spray like a shook-up can of pop when you went to open it? After tonight, I can say I have.. two seconds after the blade pierced the can, there was sweet potato juice sprayed EVERYWHERE in my kitchen... on the walls as high as my cathedral ceiling, the cabinets, the floor-even the light fixtures! Oh, so fun to impromptu scrub my entire kitchen!

 Add this to my list of kitchen inabilities of: can't make Jello, I mess up frozen pizza, and I can't make mac & cheese with a decent success rate...

 

oh, and I forgot to include what else it covered... me! All in my hair, my clothes, etc... grrrr! Time to go take a nice hot, LONG, deyammifying shower!

(And yes, it was still 'good'.. the 'best buy' date was still about two years away.. I am very OCD about such dates lol) 

It must be my lucky day in the world of shiny pretties

Today must be my lucky day in the shiny pretties department! My wonderful mom surprised me this evening with a set that I've been eying since we started carrying them!

 

Best Friends are the best :-)

Yay! I got surprised with a Christmas present of new shiny pretties today, from one of my favorite chicas in the world.. I love them!

Another awesome shopping find.. I'm not addicted to shopping, I swear!

How did I not know Jennifer Aniston has a line of perfume..??!?

I came across it at the very end of my shopping/errands/crowd dodging afternoon out, and knew I HAD to get it two seconds after checking it out. (I mean, she's on my List of 5 after all!)

It's kinda expensive though. One bottle was $29.19, but just an aisle over I found this:

That's right: perfume, body wash and lotion for $29.99. Awesome-sauce! That's a MUCH better deal, yes?

If I keep up collecting though, I'm going to need a much bigger vanity top though...

...annnnddd Bathroom Makeover complete!

Yay!!! Finally after a few weeks, I have my bathroom redone!!

New paint on the walls, new towels, new vanity table, LOTS of new perfume (well, I needed new stuff for the top of the vanity, of course!)...and new awesome Marilyn pics for the walls!

Check out the befores and afters!:

Music induced nostaliga

MMMbop just came on the '90's Hits station. Every time I hear this song, it makes me instantly happy because it reminds me of my 14th birthday, when Joshua brought me a present. He presented the Middle of Nowhere CD to me, saying, "I touched this just for you. Happy Birthday!" 

Now, THAT'S a true friend! :P

(And I then proceeded to play it so much that I both made it unplayable, and my dad said he'd do something drastic to it if I didn't stop playing MMMbop all the time! lol)

New store time!

Finally checking it out.. Lets see if it's a yay of nay :-) — at Potentially Yours Thrift Store

Yep! I like the store a lot! It's like the setup of Goodwill, but the better quality (mostly) of Stuff, ETC.. and it's for charity! Awesome-sauce!

And I LOVE my newest find: red suede Coldwater creek purse, one tiny flaw, less than $5! :-D

Feline treasures!

It's been just about a year since we rescued these two furballs, and it's almost like we have two totally different cats from then! I ♥ them!

 

 

EEkkk.... No good, no good at all! That was scary..

Oh my god. Anxiety attack in full swing. Someone just tried breaking into my house, not once, but twice in five minutes!

Thank God that we always keep boards in the tracks of our windows and doors. I heard the one for the back door rattle, and thinking it was my brother, I went to ask him where he was off to (I was hungry for chocolate!) and saw a dude on the other side take off running! I turned off the porchlight and not just a minute or two later, I heard it rattle again and it was the same dude trying again to get inside! He took off again, and I called the cops.

They couldn't find anything after sweeping the surrounding blocks twice (and with the help of a neighbor guy), and now I'm freaked. I've turned on all the porch lights, double/triple checked the locks, checked the boards and even set up my dining chairs behind the curtains of that door just so I could breathe a little. 

I'm seriously freaking out.. What if he comes back when we're at work or something, gets inside and hurts my furballs? I don't care near as much about replaceable stuff as I do my irreplaceable and defenseless furballs. :-(

Note from a little later:

I feel a little better, we pulled out the securtiy cameras that we JUST bought this evening and set them up...

Okay what the third thing going to be....?

Huh. I just found out last night that my ex-fiance' passed away. I don't know what to think about it. I mean, it was a horrid relationship and things didn't end well. But still, he was a fellow human being, too young to go. And he was a big part of my life, a long time ago.

Aren't we too young for this yet??

R.I.P. Jay, you'll be missed.


(Oh, and since I hadn't had the chance to write about it, the first thing was that my aunt's husband passed away the end of last week.. :-( )

Bedroom makeover completed, Bathroom started!

I know, I know.. I said I would have the '101 Things' book reviewed by the end of the weekend. Sorry!

But my wreck of a bathroom beckoned me stronger than ever..





             (It's beginning state...)


...so I decided without much deliberation to start it's makeover.

(However, I can tell you that there was absolutely no singing going on, and no dancing to '80's music while on the ladder! 0:-)  )

 It took soooooo much longer than I thought it would! The room really isn't that big, but it took me about six hours to paint with two coats. Of course, my short attention span and proneness to distractions didn't help. Neither did the light fixture scaring about ten years off my life!

See, it's really close to the wall, with maaaayyybbbee two-three inches space behind it. The paintbrush wouldn't fit behind it, let alone the roller. I just barely touched it to start removing the glass light shades, so that I could get behind it, and the whole thing sparked out at me (from the center! Not the socket!) and made a huge popping sound. Then the fuse tripped, and the room went pitch black. Mind you, I was on the ladder and it me jumped enough that I also dropped the light bulb and it shattered on the floor.

It's okay, though. It's like a rule of nature. Whenever I do a project, SOMETHING is going to break. No matter how careful I am, or slow I go. I'm used to it. :P

Anyway, it already looks loads better... even with it sort of unusable and a ladder in the middle of the room. I can't wait until I can find the things I want to make it all pretty and setup much better! (It's a secret, you'll have to wait to see and hear about the finished project ;-)

By the way, my goal for the book review is by the end of Thursday. *crosses fingers*

My Bedroom's reintroduction to the rest of the world..

Look, look, look! How awesome does my room now look? Awesome, awesome, awesome! I am so happy with it!

Actually finished it about a week ago, but it's one of those entries I was behind in updating.. but here it is! No more red/gold walls :-)

Tomorrow I am contemplating doing my bathroom...

Brain freezes & light bulb moments don't mix well..

I may sound a bit disjointed this go round, I'm sorry. I know what I want to write about, I have the thoughts in mind.. but for some reason they're not wanting to meld seamlessly like they usually do. But hopefully the gist of it comes out...

So, I've pretty much weened myself off of Facebook, looking through my entries, it seems to be over a month since I first clicked the 'Deactivate Account' button. And for the most part, I haven't missed it. I have checked back a few times, for maybe two minutes a time-just to see if anything has changed, or if there was big developments that I've missed since I've gotten out of the loop.

And tonight was finally an occurrence of major developments going unknown by me. You see, there's this person that I met/started talking to in earnest a couple months ago. I wanted to get to know them better, maybe become close, see where the friendship might go (or fizzle). They were just getting through a breakup, from someone I had known.

They might not have had  no clue what was going through my thoughts. Heck, even I didn't know until recently. But, either way it's where the thing of my shyness and 'slow to warm up' personality comes into play. See, ever since I was little, school would start at the end of August and it would take me months to warm up to the other kids. By the time I was finally forging friendships, summer break would hit and then, if they didn't live near me, I would basically have to start all over the next school year.

Anyway, back to the 'major' development. This person and I were talking A LOT, constant texting every day for awhile. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed to have just dropped off. Bouts of sickness, work, busy schedules on both our ends seemed to be the culprit. (And what was 'blamed' as the cause.) But, I randomly signed on tonight to see in my news feed that they and their ex have reunited back into a relationship. And they had mentioned that they had met with them a few times recently. Which, connecting in my mind with a previous blog discussion about people seeming to only want to use me to fill the void until they work things out with whomever, seems to make the absence of texts I'm getting make sense.

I can recall several instances where it seemed as though I was truly being used as a 'seat filler' until the person they wanted in that particular spot of their lives came back. And this seems to fit the mold of those times.

What do you guys think? First, can you make sense of what my poor brain is trying to say? Second, do you ever experience things like this? How did you proceed with the acknowledgement when you realized what was going on- did you confront or just shrug your shoulders, thinking 'oh well, their loss.'?

Okay, so that was a interruption worth having!

Since multiple factors (Megan being off this weekend, him needing a ride, etc.) all combined into Nick and I having some one on one time tonight, as opposed to later this weekend, my normal 'work, pet stuff, reading, bed' routine was interrupted. But totally worth it, I'm content right now!

Lots of Pawn Stars/American Pickers/etc. episodes, a stolen piece of pizza off his plate, and cuddling on the couch.. and just now making it home. Good thing tomorrow (later today?) is my Friday! I think I should put an energy drink in arm's reach for when my alarm goes off. Speaking of which, bed here I come!

Sweet. I'm finally getting to try my hand at this!

Yay! I'm so excited that the first book that I'm going to actually do a full entry review (as opposed to a sentence or two somewhere just briefly mentioning it) on is written by one of my favorite bloggers!

101 Things To Do Before the Apocalypse is written by Jon over at The Simple Dude. I keep getting interrupted in trying to read it, which sucks because I'm so far LOVING it. I swear, I shall have it read and a review for you guys by the end of the weekend.

Speaking of interruptions, now I must go pick up Nick from work. Grrr.....

30DofP, Day Two

..and the second challenge is 'this makes you smile'.

How could this sweet little face NOT make you smile? She's my little furball, Cloudy. She's a great therapy dog, and makes me laugh with her antics every day. Forget Men, or diamonds, she's MY best friend :-D

How'd they build up so quickly??

So many entries that I need to do to catch up my writing! If any of these spark your interest, be sure to keep an eye out for them- I promise they'll be coming soon!

*finished decorating my bedroom, yay! (Even have pictures taken, just have to post!)
*the awesome night I had with Nick last weekend, first time together we've had in weeks. Almost worth the loooonnnggg wait.. almost. :P
*My first cooking installment
...and my first ever book review.

I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones just begging to be written.

I hope my next phone comes with a hammer..

How annoying. My 'home' button on my phone has decided to go on strike yet again.

Well, at least it's stuck in my messages program, so I can still text!


(And I hope the hammer won't be needed on the next phone, because I want to use it on this one!)

Food Installement Title Chosen!

Okay, so before I went to work today, I posted a discussion on 20sb asking what I should call my new 'Cooking installments' entries. The results were:

A. Munchies Monday-Coyote Rose
B. Tasty Tuesday-Kate
C. Mouthwatering Monday (kate), and
D. Making Food Other Than Hot Pockets Monday (Lauren)..

Although D is really cute and made me giggle, It's just a taaaadddd too long and I'd end up abbreviating it. B is out, because I'd be doing most of my cooking attempts on Mondays, and it would just bug me that it would be a day off from when I'd be writing the entries.

So, that narrows it down to A. & C.. I have the urge to combine them into 'Mouthwatering Munchies Monday's'. So, there you have it. New title for me, and three new blogs for you to check out (the names are links to their respective blogs ;-) ).

Random thought

"You can't choose who you're related to, but thank goodness you can be choosy of who you consider family!"


It's a reoccurring thought I had again today, when I had to make small talk with one of my family members who came through the store. We're related, but if I had my choice, I would have nothing to do with her.

 Is that horrible to think that about any of your family members, whether it's immediate family like siblings/parents or extended like aunts/uncles/cousins/etc.? Or do more people feel like that than I think?

And the bummer is, the people in my family that I'd want to see waaaaaayyyy more often live pretty south of me, in another state. Thank goodness for texting and email!

30 Days of Photography, Day 1

The first day in the series is 'self-portrait'. So voila'! Here's one before I head off to work.. (Don't mind the red eye, I somehow scratched it with my contact lens a few days ago.. Don't ask, have no idea!)

30 Days of Photography

I've been looking for a new photo challenge for awhile, and shortly after joining my new favorite social site, I found one!

I introduce to you '30 Days of Photography'.

Which seems like pretty good timing, almost like the '30 Days of Christmas', except I doubt I'll be doing it everyday.. I'll just have to intersperse them with my regular entries. I have this, and another more 'deep' writing challenge in queue on my desktop. Do any of you have suggestions of any lighter challenges out there, that I might be able to mingle with the deep one?

Newest blog (life?) idea..

So I've been reading several different blogs over time, and I've seen a trend where the writer has at least one 'installment' series laced regularly throughout. Like 'Movie Mondays' or 'Trying something new Thursdays'. So, I've decided on one I'm going to start doing. Not just for writing to entertain my few writers, but to *try* to improve myself a little along the way.

My regular readers will remember the various disastrous cooking stories that I've shared, and the more recent successful fudge making event.

My latest idea shall be attempting to cook something new at least once a week. Not only will this help me get out of the helpless zone, but it'll also get me out of the rut of eating the same simple things over and over until I'm tired of them!

Do you have any suggestions of yummy, simpler recipes I can try my hand at? And what clever name could I give this venture?

List of Five!

Okay, so I just reminded myself of an entry I wrote awhile back of my celebrity "List of Five". I went to dig it back up, thought I would compare and see who I'd have on it now...

For anyone who hasn't heard about this fun, day dreaming concept, it's something I picked up off of an episode of 'Friends' where you can make this list of five celebrities that you can sleep with if the unexpected and unlikely (for most) moment arises that your paths cross. And your partner can't hold it against you. It's like five (hot, yummy, and famous) freebies..

 Anyway, my last update of my list (which is linked to in the first paragraph) was over a year and a half ago.. so here's the new, improved version:

Guy celebrities:

1. Johnny Depp
2. Robert Pattinson (I JUST jumped on this bandwagon.. Just out of the blue one day, I took an actual good look at him, and I'm hooked.)
3. Josh Turner (What an awesome, dreamy voice... man, I'd be content just to listen to him talk for hours..)
4.  Bam Margera (From the Jackass franchise)
5. Charlie Sheen (Oh my. Definitely the top of my list.. oh my, if only he was like ten years younger! Plus side? Nick is sooooo reminscent of him, so I still kinda win, lol.)

Chick celebrites:

1. Elizabeth Banks (The chick lead from "Zack and Miri Make a Porno").
2. Sarah Jessica Parker
3. Scarlett Johansson
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Kari Wuhrer (The lead chick from Hellraiser: Deader)

Do you have any  people in mind for your own lists? I'd love to see who people would include on theirs.. I'm not big on current entertainment and TV, and who's who.. so I might be missing good ones from mine!

Holy heavy-fog-cover Batman!

All day today, it's been like a mild version of The Mist brought to reality. When I got off work (at 6:30), I walked out to this:

I half expected to hear screaming alien creatures while observing slackened rope and weird flying bugs! (Seriously, if you are at all a horror fan and haven't seen it, go watch Stephen King's "The Mist". I work retail, and I have to stop my imagination from running rampant with images from it! (But a side note, the movie actually ends a lot more shockingly than the book. The director definitely was more on his 'shock' game then SK was when he wrote the original..)

Looking out the window now, at almost 11, it's STILL very evidently foggy. Oh well, much better than snow, right??

Cleaning by any other name.. is procrastinating!

Cleaning and organizing has so far consisted of a 2 & a Half Men marathon and finishing decorating for Christmas...

...and this attempt at making fudge. Which should be interesting, since I can't even make Jello or frozen pizza! (I'll save THAT story for another time..)

Wish me luck! I'll definitely need it!

Pep Talk! Not for sure if it will work or not..

I WILL do some much needed house cleaning/organizing today!

I WILL do some much needed house cleaning/organizing today!

I WILL do some much needed house cleaning/organizing today!

Now, where's that motivation and energy I need to possess to get started?

I don't know why.. But I get insanely happy every time the original 'free credit score' guys come on the tv.. That's all! Lol

Sleep, noise and sneezing fits!

Sleep is such a fickle mistress!

I've been having such a hard time getting a decent, full night's, restful night's sleep for a few weeks now. I couldn't get it in my bed, so I took a note from Nick's routine and tried sleeping on my (oh-so-comfy, nice and soft) couch.. and slept great!

I moved back to my bed, and nada. I think it's in part due to the fact that the interstate is sounding louder and louder by the day (and night) because they took it to six friggin' lanes! How annoying. We're going to put this house on the market come Febuary and find one in a small town nearby.. or at least one that's not less than a football field away from an interstate!


Anyway, I digress. The noise is much louder in my room than my living room for some reason.. though I don't get it, since the rooms are right next to each other!

I did find a solution that seems to work for some kooky reason-- sleeping SIDEWAYS in bed! Weird, you may think! But there's still plenty of room for me to be comfy, since I'm tiny and I have a full size bed.. and this way, the pup isn't kicking me in her sleep! For such a small furball, she's a very active and strong sleeper! (And she ALWAYS sleeps sideways in bed... so now I have an added bonus that she cuddles up almost all night!)


*On a completely unrelated note, do you know how hard it is to try to type a quick blog-note when you're sneezing every other sentence??)

Sweet.. finally got to decorate the department for the holidays!

...and I came up with a (hopefully) much better idea than last year. Double-sided tape and cheap garland was a very yucky combination. But this year, I went with a little better garland, command hooks and white ponseitta flowers...

Some songs could be used as neurological warfare!

I swear, if Metallica ever decided to quit the music business, they could get into cahoots with the government, licensing their songs to be introduced onto the battle field.. Their songs are so good, that once they're in your head it's hours or even a day or two before I can shake them out again! And it's a nonstop loop that could make the even sanest person a little batty and distracted!

I give you the following:

Exhibit A:

"Fuel"


Exhibit B:

"Master of Puppets"


You're welcome ;-)

Trying to give thanks early... or explode

I just looked at my schedule for Thanksgiving week and am now repeating to myself, "I'm thankful I have a job. I'm thankful I have a job."

I understand it's Black Friday and all, but the fact that it now starts on Thanksgiving is ridiculous. And the fact that they gave me a mandatory schedule five hours past the end of my availability is even more so.. especially when I have my availability set for a reason (I tend to fall asleep just wherever I am once my body has decided it's had enough.. Nick's witnessed it at a bar before (When it was only 11-11:30 and we'd only been there an hour or so) and my family's witnessed it my whole life. I've started falling asleep on a register before when they pushed me to work past it..)



I'm thankful I have a job...I'm thankful I have a job....

Yay! Obama won re-election!

I'd worry about losing readers.. but I don't really have any to lose, so let me just happy dance right now! WOOHOO!

God, that was a close one! We almost had a used car salesman and dopey sidekick in the white house. I had HORRIBLE feelings about that.. thank GOD it didn't go the other way!

It was a definite roller coaster, for sure! I was watching the coverage while I was at the gym, and it was Obama ahead, then Romney, then Obama.. back and forth, back and forth..


Hmm... I had other things I was going to write about, but for some reason they've escaped me.. Oh well, I shall return with them sooner or later!

Online shopping, how I love thee!

I just sat down and bought six Christmas presents.. sweet! My family is done (excluding the stockings). I didn't have to deal with anyone, I didn't have to get dressed, and I could take my sweet time. LOVE IT!

Now, I have to figure out what awesome thing I can get Nick, and stocking stuffers, and the furballs things. (They're getting a new buddy (for Cloudy), and a new catnip spinner thing and cat stand for the other two.)

Yay! Now to find a bedtime snack and curl up with some Sex & the City!

It's already just a few months away again!?!?

Ekkkkk!

I was just cleaning up my computer of unneeded things and getting it ready to run the disk cleanup/defrag/etc when I saw my Turbotax program from last year. I can't believe it's already almost tax time again! Just a few more months, and I'll be sitting down to do them again!

Yes, I know many, MANY people have about six months before the big event, but I always get them done as soon as possible. It's like ripping off a bandaid. The sooner you get it done, the faster your pain is over. And the sooner you can start laughing at others who wait, and wait.. and then start freaking out because they procrastinated too long! :P

Work and working out...

Quick update before I crash for the night..

So, not long after I wrote the quick entry about my schedule at work, Store Manager Chad walked by. I told him what happened and he told me not to worry about it and it wouldn't get me in trouble at all, since it wasn't my fault and I had been on vacation. And since I almost always take shorter lunches anyway, not to worry about staying later than 5:30.

Sweet. Now, I want to ask him who he is, and what he's done with Chad. It's weird. He's been nicer to everyone and personable and helpful. And the clipboard that seemed to be permanently attached to him hasn't been in attendance in awhile. It's weird. Unsettling. But we all agree that we're just going to enjoy it while it lasts!

And doubly sweet, it gave me JUST enough time to get to the gym and squeeze in a shorter workout. And by JUST enough time, I mean I was walking my last lap in my cool down period when they started turning off the lights.

Speaking of turning off the lights, it is time for mine to go off for the night and curl up with the already sleeping furballs..

Bedroom Makeover Progress Report

Here's a sneak peek of my room makeover:

All I have left to do is find some curtain tie-backs, hang my painting, mirror and candles again...and figure out the best way to store my previously hanging jewelry.

I'm sort of contemplating a few of these for my nicest pieces:

..and the rest of my costume stuff into little plastic compartment trays. Like the ones people tend to use for beads and other small crafts. Now to wait (im)patiently for payday!

Couldn't I have just stayed under the covers?

Blah! I haven't even finished my first morning back at work yet, and I'd like to resume my vacation already!

I was scheduled 11-8, but apparently someone decided to change my hours for today, even though I was gone all week and don't check my hours at home (because their lovely site attaches cookies and other 'suspicious' items to the browser you use). So I get here, thinking I was fifteen minutes early, when I was actually two hours late! But, I don't know if that really counts, because they scheduled me earlier than my availability. So, I'm not going to worry about it.

Anyway, back to retail joy I go!

Hello. My name is Seana and I'm slowly getting addicted to Amazon.

Check it out, dear readers! I've just received my first Halloween decorations for next year in the mail. Yay, Amazon!

Testing, testing.. Is this thing on?

I'm attempting to enable my mobile blogging.. Crossing my fingers as I hit send!

Puppy Makeover!

The Before:

....and after her puppy "spa day":

If it weren't for her eyes, I'd think they'd given me an entirely different puppy back! :P

Day two of my "home-cation"

The red and gold that I've lived with in my bedroom for about five years now will be no more... I've finally reached my limit with it! And since I'm taking the next five days off of work, for a break from the idiocy before holiday shopping really commences, what better time to make it much better to live with??

The befores:

Also, hopefully I'll figure out a better furniture arrangement and stuff! If only I didn't have that blasted built in ledge along one whole wall..

No officer, I'm not drunk.. I'm just a puppy!

I just took the puppy for a walk. I swear if she had opposable thumbs, I'd be looking around the house for a hidden bottle or two!

We just went to the top of the street and back, and I swear she ran on both sides of each sidewalk sqaure, instead of her normal straight-lined prancing/bolting/walking/grazing gait.. it made me giggle. A lot!

Incompetent parenting, Male tact and Cloning needs to happen like NOW!

Such a very looooooonnnggg day at work. Not too hard, nothing too time-consuming, but those two things alone can make a day seem that it drags on and on..and on. The only thing that really sticks out about my work day at the moment is the question: Why do parents drag their sick children shopping??

Come about seven o'clock, I was told to zone Halloween for a half hour before I locked up, took my last break and left. 7:05, and I look up just in time to see a miserable looking little girl getting sick all over the floor. I didn't even have time to react, before a second.. and a third giant mess appeared. And her parent's didn't even apologize or offer to help clean it up. They just took to another area of the store! What the F is wrong with some people? Poor little thing needed to be at home in bed, not dragged around a big box store!

And of course, the only maintenance that was there was the slower one, and the method he was trying to employ to clean it was not at ALL efficient, so his helper had to stop him from doing anything but guarding it and we ended up cleaning it up. Soooooooo what I like doing, I can tell you! Hmmm.. but it did get me out of zoning Halloween for a good fifteen minutes.. so there's the silver lining, I guess.

I got another reminder via text from a friend that Nick either needs to be cloned or somehow overwrite every other man's mental stuff with his. Why do I say this? I got a text from a male friend that said that I seem disinterested in him lately. Self-centered, much?

The only response I could think of was: "Hm. How to respond non-bitchily.. Because I don't really want to be..? How about i just say that comes across kind of self centered regarding your perception of my interactions.. When I've been increasingly and persistently sick the past week and a half?"

His response was, "Ok all you had to say is no just sick? But i understand." (Complete with grammar & spelling errors.. and he's a writer. But no, he is not a reader of this, so I'm safe to vent.) Anyway. Self-centered, much? And not even the cute self-centered!

Okay, onto more cute guy traits, the one that made me laugh today.

The male species seems to have little tact naturally, it seems. One of my favorite co-workers walked by me, and stopped. And after looking at me for a minute, asked me if I was alright, because I look really pale.

Yeah, I'm not feeling the best, but thank you for telling me I look yucky! lol

And he didn't stop there, which made it even better! I'm still giggling now. I said, at least my skin isn't breaking out in spots as bad as it usually is when I'm ill.. and he said, "Well, if it does, then you can just tell people you're trying out different Halloween costumes!"

What?? I just said I'd walk away then, so he wouldn't put his foot any further into his mouth.. and giggled the whole time. lol

I told Nick about it, and he explained it as, " We have male tact. Completely different to female tact. He said that because to a guy that sounds compassionate, but not queer." (Such a way with words, yes? But it makes sense, if you think about it...)

This evening we started painting mom's bedroom, but I'm getting so very sleepy so I'll update on that maybe tomorrow...

What happens when your own self goes on strike...?

Well, it's a good thing last night was so nice, relaxing and wonderful.. because my morning was physically a rough one, indeed.

I slept wonderfully hard, and no dreams for once. Which was a good part, followed by the immediate hour that I was awake which wasn't so good.

When I woke up, I apparently did so waaaaaaayyyyyy too quickly. Usually when I do that, I'm just slightly dizzy and nauseated.. But this morning, I almost fainted from the hallway upstairs spinning. That was just the beginning.. Then my body just decided to go on an all around strike-on the verge of throwing up for over a half hour, dizzy, temperature spiking in moments, asthma freaking out.. just to give the not so disgusting highlights.

Good news (I guess) being that my mind pretty much wiped my memory clean for this morning until I was back in bed recovering. I don't know how unusual that is, or about anyone else, but when I have sudden episodes like this morning, my brain makes them going away. I don't actually have clear memories of the beginning of my day, just know that it happened and the remnants of yuckiness throughout the day. I really don't know what I'd do without my mom. I try not to think about it, because my anxiety freaks out and is paralyzing. She's wonderful, supportive and there for me no matter what. I'm very lucky.

After I rested for a bit, my day got a little better. I just took it very easy while we ran the most necessary errands and then curled up on the sofa alternating between watching TV and doing a few of the things that absolutely had to be done today. Resting was top priority, considering I have to start my work week in the morning. Thank goodness my vacation starts next week, I'm definitely looking forward to it!

Very nice evening had, and not too bad a day

Best evening I've had since I got really sick last week, following a pretty decent day, health-wise!

This morning I woke up feeling pretty good. (Which is every morning, the real test is when I start moving around.) But the good, energetic feeling stuck around for a good portion of the day.. once it kicked in.. which was after some breakfast, some TV off of the DVR, some lunch, and some Daily Show episodes.

Slowly, but steadily, I picked up and did a little cleaning in every room.. took far longer than usual and I did less than I usually get done on a typical Sunday. But at least the house looked a little better! The stairs only started to kick my butt near the end of my cleaning..

Now onto the pleasant surprise of a nice evening.. Nick and I hadn't had time to ourselves for a few weeks, so he invited me over. Which isn't that unusual, Sunday's are pretty much our "unofficial" night each week. On the way over, Def Leppard, "Pour Some Sugar" came on the radio.. Aweeeesooooommee! That's almost always a good sign.

I get inside, and Jon Stewart's "Night of Too Many Stars" was playing on the TV, about twenty minutes in. Which made me very excited, because I had forgotten to put it on my DVR's recording list. But kind of bummed, because I missed a good chunk of it.

Nick's sweetness kicked in then, when he shared some YUMMY chocolates with me. Within the next hour, he was sweet and funny and teasing, and VERY accommodating. Which was very much different than he's been the last few days... but very nice :-) That might mean that his typical mood/thought cycle has made another round and his charming self is back instead of his asinine self. I can hope, yes?

Now back to Jon Stewart's charity program and another example of unexpected sweetness. Even though he'd already seen the first part of the program, which would usually mean he'd change it once it restarted, he just let it play until it hit back to the part it was at when I walked in.

Then he switched to Netflix, and the first thing I pointed out, he switched on. (Which was Kathy Griffin's "Tired Hooker".. love her!) I had started to get tired and my stomach was slightly upset, so I laid down on the sofa while he made some brownies. Which helped him deliver a totally unasked for, unexpected, and wonderful massage that helped me feel better.

A little more TV and that was my wonderful and relaxing evening. And now time for sleep and hopefully nice dreams!

Newest little find..

Before scootching off to bed for the night, I must share my newest little guilty pleasure:

 

 Salted caramel and chocolate? I had my doubts, yes. But as soon as the first tiny little spoonful (have you SEEN the cute little spoons that come with these??) passed my lips, I was hooked.

Good news? Each one is one perfect little serving. 

Bad news? Each one is one perfect little serving! They don't seem to carry it in the normal family sizes yet. 

And it doesn't come in Wal-Mart, I have to go to Hy-Vee for it. I haven't decided if that's good news or bad news yet!

One (major) thing accomplished today

Earlier I took the time that I was just being curled up in the comfy chair in the living room to watch the second debate. I had recorded it on my lovely, new favorite toy-my DVR and all I have to say is Mitt Romney is an idiot. "Used Car Salesman" came to mind once again. I mentioned this to Tab, and she had a better one, "Southern Baptist Preacher".

Which is funny, because towards the end, he said that he was a pastor for ten years. Ironic, yes?


Anyway. In related news, it's all ready to go out in tomorrow's mail! One of my duties as a citizen of the U.S. is fulfilled.

Halloween Awesomeness Has Commenced..!

I must take a break from my sleeping/napping/resting and share the pictures that my sister-in-law sent me of my niece and nephew modeling their Halloween costumes.. how freakin' cute are they??

Awesome. Aren't they just the cutest kids ever? I'm in no way biased, by the way. I swear.

Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth!

New title, look

Okay.. so my penchant for rearranging and redoing has spread here, to my blog.. New title that seems to fit it better, new brighter (happier) design and a few other changes. I like it much better, what about you all?

Wardrobe wondering..

Hmm.. as I'm arriving home early from work, (another day, I just couldn't hack it as miserable as I feel- which makes me feel even worse that I couldn't do it), I'm wondering: Am I weird and alone in color coordinating my pajamas? They always have to match or have a common color palate. Is that weird? It's not like I actively think about it, I just do it..

Anywho. That's my thought for the moment.. now to make some comfort food, and curl up in bed with some medicine, warm furballs and remote to my DVR..

Unplanned Mini B*tch Session..

I was right. It was a very long, long, LOOOOOONNNNGGG day. Socially, not TOO bad.. well, at least with people at work. But energy/health/physical-wise? Sucked.. sucked big time.

I need out of there. I need a new, challenging, comparable pay job. Where people are treated better, and it's nice and fun, not so rushed. Hmmm... I doubt such a thing really exists.

My God, the interstate is flippin' blaringly loud the last few nights. I can't hardly hear myself think, or hear my TV at a comfortable level. 


And while I'm on a mini complaint-athon, do people really not know that they are annoying? Whether the really loud, obnoxious chattering magpies that always seem to be in the break room when I want to relax and enjoy quiet time, or the customers that make the same old tired jokes, over and over again ('I don't think you can give me the help I need, but I AM looking for... (har de har har har)'.. or the people who keep bringing up the same innuendos repeatedly, day in and day out. Like, yeah, it stopped being funny and in any way interesting/relevant DAYS ago. You'd think after you stopped responding to them and changed topic, they'd pick up on the hint and drop it. Yeah... right. Unfortunately, not so much. For one tiny example: Like the $5 bucks joke charge to use the department phone.. or to throw something away.. yadada.. OLD and I ignore him EVERY time, but yet his little brain hasn't picked it up yet. Threadbare jokes/innuendos/conversations/etc are just such a turn off and instantly make my brain want to automatically avoid any further contact. Is anyone else like this?

And, don't get me wrong.. I KNOW I have my faults, and annoying features.. but we're not talking about me. We're talking about the abnormal people we have to share this environment with ;-)

Anyway, it's late. I'm tir-- scratch that-- I'm EXHAUSTED.. and still sick. So it's past time to curl up with my furballs and sleep, sleep, sleep!


**This entry sort of inspired by the awesome Miss Sara at Sara's Organized Chaos, you should go check out her blog. She's a pretty phenomenal writer, and on my list of blogs I read regularly :-)**

Effects were shortlived :-(

This is going to be a loooooooonnnggg day, I do think. I woke up feeling much better, energy-wise, and thinking, "Yes. I feel good. Sleep must've helped.

Sadly, no.

I've been up a half hour, and after only two trips up and down the stairs during taking care of the animals, I'm already beat. And that is after a two hour nap yesterday, resting for an hour before bed, and sleeping about eight hours. Work is going to suck. I could take another day off, since I already have a point against me from yesterday, but I can't do that regularly the rest of my life. I have to push forward, and only let the worst of the worst days get to me.

Speaking of work, I've gotta go back upstairs, take a shower and get ready to go.

..Or not. Since someone else just told me they had to take one first. I guess I'll be doing other small things before that..

Just another day..

I did something today that I haven't done in at least two or three years.. (if not longer). I called in sick to work. I haven't been feeling well anyway, and my lupus symptoms have been pretty prominent lately--especially the fatigue and sore joints. I had an appointment this morning, and by the time I was done with that, I was dragging, my feet feeling like they were cement blocks. I just couldn't see myself working a shift after that.. instead I came home and actually took a nap for a couple hours! I don't remember the last time I did that either, even though I've been craving doing it a lot.. might have to work that into my schedule more.

(In other news, I think I may have just stumbled across how to fix my formatting issue with my blog.. I guess I'll find out when I publish this entry, hm?)

I feel a little bit better tonight, a little less sniffly and congested, a little more energy.. but still much lower than even my normal. I'm hoping a good, decent night's sleep is ahead of me, so that tomorrow is more productive... and work is okay. I'm hoping a certain coworker of mine either calls in or opts to work in a different area, I just really don't feel like dealing with drama and attitudes tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's going to be that in about five minutes, and I want sleep.. so off to curl up I go.

Making progress...!

Okay.. So about four-ish hours later(?), and I've finished for the night, on the closet overhaul. My last post had the before shots, here is what the in-progress looks like:

I've just gone through the two hanging shelves, and my cubby's. That leaves dresses, coats and the topmost shelves for hopefully tomorrow. Goodwill will like me, I hope! This is what they're getting tomorrow:

There's been one casualty found so far in my treasure hunting, I found my white corset ruined because my red one somehow bled onto it.. (fitting color for such actions, especially this month, huh?) I almost cried when I saw it, because it was one of my all time favorite pieces. I think it's ruined, but someone suggested bleach to try to get it out. I figured what could it hurt, since I can't wear it as it is anyway :-( Anyone else have any suggestions for possible repair? Wow. I just realized it's almost 2 a.m.. No wonder I feel dead on my feet and my eyes are protesting staying open- I'm usually laying down at the very least two to three hours ago!

New Project time!

In between coats of paint in the Master Bedroom closet, I have decided to tackle my closet. I have waaaaayyyy too many clothes, and a LOT of them need to go! (How many times have you ever heard a woman say that?) So, I am going to try on EVERY stitch of clothing in there, and if I am not completely in LOVE with how it looks, it is going bye-bye- first to Stuff, and if they don't take it, then to Goodwill. The befores:

Not to mention, I think I may have a few more plastic totes in my shoe/storage closet! Wish me luck!