Bronx Zoo

My sister and I took "the boy" to the Bronx Zoo yesterday. I took about 200 pictures and wanted to post so of my favorites here. I have learned a lot from my fellow bloggers since I started blogging.

One of my key take aways (wow that is such a work phrase, sorry) is from Anna she is always taking pictures of strangers doing stupid things or looking like fools an posting them on her blog. She has been such an influence I took this picture while in London. This is a wide spread addiction that is quickly spread, Kimmie and Luz have started doing it too. Our adventures in the Bronx Zoo were no different....... While waiting for my sister to bring lunch to the table, I saw this I couldn't believe it, it is one thing to ensure the table you are eating at is clean, but this lady took it to a whole other level..... rubber gloves? She used about 6-10 wipes cleaning that table and when her husband got to the table with the food she told him where he could sit, because of course she cleaned the benches too!!!

They have a cute little merry-go-round there, instead of horses, you sit on various different bugs. The ride couldn't end soon enough for me, since this was my view Are you serious?

What would a day out with the family be without a submission to Glamour'sFashion Don'ts

On my way home I saw the picture isn't the best because I took it while driving. What I thought was so crazy about this is the damn weed whacker is ELECTRIC if you look closely you can see the extension cord, it is plugged in by the front door. Correct me if I am wrong, but there have been serious advances in lawn maintenance equipment, why is she still using one that needs to be plugged in?

Move over Thelma and Louise......

Tonight I was driving home from work and passed a card with a digital speedometer and busted out laughing. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to have to pull over because the tears were blurring my vision. Most people don’t respond this way to digital speedometers and usually I don’t either but I had a flashback from college and I just couldn’t control the laughter.

As many of you know Kim and I were partners in crime while in college. We met freshman year, my roommate (randomly assigned by the university) was someone Kim went to high school with, Kim and I quickly hit it off and became forever friends.

Typically the older you get the wiser you get; however, I don’t think that statement holds true while in college. As a matter of fact I think it might be the exact opposite, the further into our higher education we got the crazier and more daring we became……

Junior year we had a friend whose Grandmother passed away, he needed a ride to the airport so he could get home with his family. The airport in Morgantown is very small, it only has 1 runway and flies to Pittsburgh and Washington, DC only. Most of the time if you had to fly you would just fly out of Pittsburgh, shit you could drive there faster than you could fly there. Our friends flight was at 6:30 in the morning or some other ungodly hour. We decided it would be better if we just hung out all night, got some breakfast then left to get him to the airport. The ride there was very uneventful. Since I got to take a quick nap on the way there I told Kim I would drive home. She feel asleep and I was exhausted and needed to get back to the apartment STAT. So I was really pushing her car, I swear I had the pedal to the floor the whole way. Her digital speedometer went to 99 but I know I had the car going faster than that. At one point Kim woke up to see where we were and I told her I discovered her speedometer didn’t go any higher than 99. She looked at me like I was crazy and quickly went back to sleep, I am sure it is because she didn’t want to see her life flash before her eyes if we had crashed.

There was the time we were going to PA to surprise a friend for her 21 birthday. We were on the PA turnpike traveling at a rate much higher than the posted speed limit. Kim looks at me and says “What would you do if I died right now?” I looked at her like she was crazy and told her I would cry. She said “what the hell is the matter with you? Why wouldn’t you regain control of the vehicle first?” oh right because that is what would be going through my mind if the driver of the vehicle I was in died! WTF?

The reason the digital speedometer makes me laugh…. Kim leased an Explorer our Senior year. Because it was a lease she was cautious of the miles she put on it. We quickly figured out what fuse to pull to keep the odometer from moving. We didn’t realize the same fuse controlled the power windows, the windshield wipers and the speedometer. Whenever we were on a road trip we would look for people with digital speedometers, pull up next to them so I could how fast they were going and we would know how fast we were going and set the cruise control accordingly. Pretty smart thinking if you ask me.

Something that wasn’t so smart was the year we returned to Morgantown to hang out with some friends who were still in school. It was Super Bowl Sunday weekend, we ended up staying later than we wanted to and had to book it to get home since we both had to work on Monday. We were in a rented car, I forget what kind but I know it had some get up and go to it. We were cruising through the mountains of Maryland at speeds much higher than those allowed by the state of Maryland when we saw a cop. Kim quickly stepped on the break and pulled over behind a tractor trailer to slow down. She realized we were right by an exit ramp, so she quickly exited the highway and pulled into a parking lot, turning the lights off hoping we could wait it out until the cop passed. We waited for a while and get back on the highway, not before switching drivers, now that I think about it what kind of an ass am I agreeing to drive a car that just ran from the law? Anyway, we got back on the highway and wouldn’t you know it, the tractor trailer we pulled behind to slow down was on the side of the road having been pulled over by the same cop we were running from. I am sure he was cussing us.

I could tell tons of stories about our trip to Canada in a rental car that wasn’t supposed to leave the VA, MD area. We covered 5 states and a foreign country. While in Canada we made an illegal u-turn and confused the shit out of the border patrol guy, but those are stories for another day.

Our road trip adventures didn’t stop once we graduated, there was the time we went to TN for a long weekend. We stopped at a gas station and the attendant told us to be careful you know how it is “you come on vacation and leave on probation” we thought it was nice of him to give us that warning. He should have told us the rental car we were in was a piece of shit and when we rolled down the window on a snowy mountain, it was going to get stuck and we wouldn’t be able to get it back up. What a mess that was, calling the rental company and telling them the window won’t go up and we needed to trade in the car at the nearest airport. They had the nerve to try and charge a drop fee since we were returning it to a place other than where we rented it, you rest assured by the time they were done listening to me they were ready to pay us for the trouble of giving us a piece of shit car.

Our most recent adventure was when were in Raleigh and the low fuel light came on, we kept pushing our luck. By the time we got to the gas station we realized we had enough gas in the tank to go about 10 more miles. Talk about cutting it close.

Thelma and Louise got nothing on us.

Throwing a Bone.....

I got an email today harassing me for not updating my blog. I know, I know I am not the best blogger in the world and I have made numerous pledges to change that. It isn’t that I don’t want to update, it is honestly that I feel like I have nothing to talk about….. my life is not half as exciting as most people whose blogs I read- and Kim will tell you I am quite the blog reader, hell I talk about these people like I know them. Let me warn you now, since I haven’t updated in awhile this post might be all over the place... don’t blame me, Luz asked for an update- blame her.

The email I got said they needed some “K and K in their life” referring to Kim and I. Let me tell you, no one knows more than I do how much K and K you need in your life. Kim and I spent the weekend together (first time seeing each other since October- unacceptable) we had a great time. Wondering what we did? A whole lot of nothing and that is exactly how we wanted it. Not nothing exactly, we spent the majority of the weekend at Archivers, scrapping, creating, laughing and having a great time. They say in your 30’s you might start to experience memory lose and that is absolutely true- because I have forgotten how much fun we are…. Not to brag but we are pretty damn funny when you get us together…. Example: car in front of us has a license plate that says “ARUSAVED” of course that means “are you saved” but we wondered why didn’t it just say “R U SAVED” it would make more sense than “ARUSAVED” so Kim says “maybe they are pirates and proceeds to talk like a pirate. As if that wasn’t bad enough I join her in the pirate talking…. WTF?

Like I said we spent the majority of our waking hours at Archivers, I wish I had thought to keep track of how many hours we were there, it is safe to say we did about 35 hours of scrapping. We had tons of fun, you would think being the only “Yankees” in a sweet southern city we would be on our best behavior but we weren’t. That isn’t entirely true, we were on our best behavior for the first few hours, then we let our true colors show…. And by that I mean we made sure we selected a table close to an electrical outlet so I could charge my cell phone while working (truly a priority) and when we needed something in the crop room that wasn’t out, we would just dig through the cabinets because we knew that had to have one somewhere. Who do we think we are? K+K that’s who!! Did I mention ½ of K+K has been renamed to the “antichrist of scrapbooking” I will let you figure out which K has changed their name.

If you are ever in need of a co-pilot or navigational support, call us. Despite the fact we were about 10 miles away from running out of gas we covered some serious grounds this weekend- found about 1,00,000 churches and 500,000 porn shops- quite an interesting combination.

I can’t believe I am this far into this post and I haven’t mentioned the Giants once. Can you believe the Giants are going to the Super Bowl? I have been a Giants fan since I was able to walk and talk- seriously I am not one of those girls who pretends to like football or watches it because the guys look good in tight pants. I am one of those girls who watches football even if I am the only one home- shit last week I was listening to the game on the radio while driving home from work….. I am a true fan. That being said, I know when we (I say that is if I play for the team, oh well you know what I mean) are outplayed, handed lucky breaks or when we really earn a win. I know we don’t deserve to be in the Super Bowl; however, we are going and that is damn exciting. Do I think we stand a snow ball’s chance in hell at winning……….. NO WAY. However, I am looking forward to seeing a really great football game on February 3. Too bad I can’t say the same thing about the half time show…. Tom Petty- what is that all about?

Speaking of lucky breaks, Kim got one this weekend, for whatever reason, the hotel we were staying in was having TV reception issues- of course not with all channels but with the channel that mattered most- FOX. So the game was kind of hard to watch- unless of course you had 3D glasses which unfortunately I left at home. So I had the computer logged on to nfl.com to get the play by play information and was listening to the game on the TV, if we had a radio that worked or were in the NY area you better believe I would have turned the damn TV off and just listened to The FAN- they have the BEST commentators, you really feel like you are watching the game when you are listening to them.

Like I said, I have been a Giants fan my entire life, blame it on my mother and grandfather, I got the gene from them. When the Giants missed the field goal that ended up putting the game in overtime I picked up the phone to call my mother- of course it went to voicemail so I say to Kim “The phone went right to voicemail, that means 1 of 2 things. My mother is on the phone with my grandfather or my father is calling the paramedics because my mother just had a heart attack. Either way it isn’t a good thing.” Lucky for all of us it was the first option and my mother and grandfather were talking…. I am sure both of them had elevated blood pressure and were a few heartbeats away from a stroke.

I could go on and on about all of the amazing, strike that I mean unusual and interesting things I have seen in the airport today but I think I will save that material for another day- that way I will have an excuse to update my blog again. Speaking of updates, the look of this thing is getting on my nerves, anyone have any ideas what I can do to spruce it up a little?

Working for a living sucks....

Well that isn't really true, I love what I do, I just hate that I have to leave the house to do it and sit in traffic or take the bus to get to work. I have been working in NYC helping with a store opening for the past 2 days. This is one of my favorite things to do, it is so cool to be part of the process from beginning to end. Yesterday I went with 2 people I work with, since it was raining I decided I would drive it because I didn't want to walk a couple of blocks in the rain (you know sugar melts when it gets wet) I forgot that people forget how to drive when it rains. Traffic was a bear!!

Today I went in alone so I thought it would be a good idea to take the bus since the bus stop is directly across the street from my house. I get on the bus, get a seat and mind my business. There is a sign on the bus that says "Cell Phone Usage Prohibited" when my phone rings and I see it is work I answer it. Out of respect for the other riders on the bus I whisper to the person on the other end of the phone. There are tons of people on the bus talking to each other and being way louder than I am. About 3 minutes into my conversation someone 2 rows and across the aisle from me stands up to get my attention and points to the no cell phone sign. Are you kidding me. Sit down b&%$h you are not the cell phone police. The rest of the ride is uneventful.

I get in a cab right outside of port authority and tell the driver where I want to go. He tells me that is fine (of course it is, I am paying him) but he is going to have to cut through the park because of traffic. I tell him that is okay. After all I don't want to sit in traffic any more than he does. He starts to talk to me about the problems with this country and how the US dollar is worth nothing.... it is getting lower and lower everyday and it is all because people keep buying junky cars- look at the all the new Mercedes and BMW on the road- junky cars are sucking the money out of the economy, before we know it gas is going to be $5 per gallon and it is all because people keep buying cars. Whatever dude, I just want to get to work.

After working all day (did I mention it was my day off today) I hope in a cab to head back to the bus station. The cab driver is not happy that I want to go to Port Authority and starts talking to himself out loud in a foreign language. At one point I hear "Corruption in this country (something in a foreign language) 10 o'clock (more foreign language) $10,000 ticket." I was so confused. Since he had an attitude and seemed to be mad a the world I didn't feel the need to be overly generous with my tip. The total fare was $19.10 so I gave him $21 and asked for a receipt- he had the nerve to say to me "is that it" I felt like telling him "no that isn't it, give me my $1 back and by the way where is my $.90" Really what the hell is wrong with people?

So I get to the ticket window to buy my bus ticket and there is one person in front of me, I don't mind waiting I have more than 20 minutes until the bus leaves. The woman in front of me hands the ticket agent $20 and asks for 4 tickets. The person gives her one ticket and too much change. So the woman says "I asked for 4 tickets" and the agent looks confused and gives her 3 more and takes the money. The customer then says "can you tell me what time the bus leaves?" the agent hands her a bus schedule. So the customer gets a little annoyed and says "you can't tell me what time it leaves?" and the agent says "no". The customer gets all pissy and said "if you would turn your radio down you would be able to hear me better. You are supposed to be working, not playing." Obviously this woman had a bad day.

I get to the gate about 15 minutes before the bus comes, so I am standing there waiting, eating my pineapples and minding my own business. Who should get in line but a woman with 2 young kids who are clearly not happy. They were screaming/crying and just miserable, which in turn made everyone on line miserable too. Of course being on the bus didn't quite the kids down, they cried and screamed all the way home.

I survived the trip and am glad to be home.

There's no place like home

Interesting Life

I enjoy reading blogs and always wonder how or where people come up with the stories that they share with the world. I feel like my life is not nearly interesting enough or that nothing exciting/entertaining ever happens in my life. That is until tonight.....

It is Wednesday which means Yoga. (D has been going for years and convinced me to start going the beginning of this year- I love it) We usually go together but D had a meeting after work so I was going to go by myself (no big deal, happens often) I gab my water bottle and my keys and head out to the car. As the door closes behind me, I go to put my key in the lock to lock the deadbolt (the lock on the doorknob is always locked) and realize the keys I grabbed were my work keys, not the house/car keys. So now I am locked out of the house and have no car keys to go anywhere. Not only am I going to miss yoga, I need to find something to do until D gets back from his meeting. So I start walking.... I send a text to my sister and D telling them I locked myself out of the house/car and am walking to the book store. I send D another message saying my phone is dying (isn't that my luck) and to please come straight home after the meeting- I will be at Barnes & Noble waiting for him. I walk the 1.3 miles to B&N in about 20 minutes (very proud of myself for that) and waited there for about an hour and a half for D to get there. Thankfully they had tons of scrap magazines and books I hadn't seen so the time went by pretty quickly.

The good news is I am now home safe and sound the bad news is reading all those magazines gave me so many ideas I want to scrap the night away but I have to be at work tomorrow at 8:30 so I can't stay up until the wee hours of the morning (damn it)

Prior to my adventure this evening I did get some stuff accomplished around the house- I changed my doormat from my summer one to the fall one, put new placemats and napkins on the kitchen table and put away some laundry- all of those are reasons why I could never be a stay at home wife/mother- I hate all that domestic BS!