Do you believe?

I was at a meeting yesterday, one of the things we talked about was our holiday floor sets and the theme for holiday this year. The theme is going to be "Do you believe?" When I first heard that all I could think of was that song "Do you believe in Magic....." As an icebreaker we had to introduce ourselves and tell the group 3 things we believe in. What I believe in is nothing something I think about often, it is just kind of who I am, but when asked to list them I had a hard time at first, then I realized I believed in a lot of things and had a hard time limiting my list to just 3 things.

I Believe in...................

1. Myself
2. Family
3. True Love
4. God
5. Everything happening for a reason
6. You get out of things what you put into them
7. The Golden Rule, I treat people the way I want to be treated
8. Hard work pays off
9. Teamwork
10. Paying it forward, when someone does something good for me, I want to do something good for someone else
11. A woman's right to choose
12. Destiny
13. You are only as old as you feel
14. The power of positive thinking
15. Santa and the magic of Christmas

So what do you believe in?

The most amazing dinner of my life

was had last night. Being married to a sales manager has its ups and downs. The downs are that he travels ALOT and is almost NEVER home, the ups are events like last night. D's boss was visiting from California so D, his boss, a customer, myself and a friend of the boss went out to dinner last night. Let me tell you it was like nothing I ever experienced before and I have had some pretty intense meals in my life. We went to Del Posto which is one of five restaurants owned by Mario Batali better known as "Molto Mario"

I don't know where to begin describing the experience, it was that good. I am very rarely speechless and there were several times last night when I had no idea what to say. It was one of those evenings were everytime a course came out and people took the first bit they were like "Oh my God, amazing" or "You have to try this, it is out of this world!" every course was better than the last. I am so not the type of person to try new things when I go out to eat so I was very nervous about what they might bring me.

My appetizer was: Insalata SALUMI Misti with Erbazzone and Stuffed Morel
We had 2 different pastas: Del Posto AGNOLOTTI dal Plin with Parmigiano-Reggiano Butter and Toasted Semolina CRESPELLE with Sweet Garlic, Pancetta & Pesto (I think that is right, anyway, they were out of this world) My main course was PORK Loin with Lucanica, Ceci Spezzatino & Garlic Mustard and D had the Seared HALIBUT with Roman Vegetables Vignarola & Smoked Almond Puree. What meal would be complete without dessert, you have never had anything like the SOUFFLE di Cioccolato with Hazelnut Gelato, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Not only was the food amazing, but we managed to find a great wine on the 66
page wine list- yes you read the correctly, 66 pages. I took a picture of the bottle with my phone so I would remember the name of it and of course the picture isn't as clear as I would like it to be so I can't read the lable right now. I will see what I can do about fixing the pic and getting the name of it soon.

All in all it was an amazing night- great good, good wine, amazing company and CO Bigelow Lemon Hand Wash in the bathroom, does it get any better than that?

I give them 2 thumbs up!!

7 REASONS WHY EVERYBODY IS WEARING FITFLOPS:

1.FitFlop midsoles incorporate patent-pending micro-wobbleboardTM technology, to give you a workout while you walk. Developed by Darren James and Dr David Cook at LSBU, the FitFlop's unique safely -tapered midsole places varying densities of EVA under your feet each time you step, to challenge the support and balance muscles of the foot and leg.

2.They challenge hard to reach muscles more. FitFlops are engineered with a multi-density midsole that stimulates your muscles more while you're wearing them. In independent University testing, FitFlops have been shown to trigger increase gluteal muscle response, increased hamstring response, increase rectus femoris (thigh) response and increased calf muscle response .

3.Every step you take in your FitFlops helps tone and trim your legs: Studies at Salford University by Dr. Philip Graham-Smith and Richard Jones have shown that the FitFlop midsole extends the amount of time that the slow twitch* muscles are engaged during each step (by approximately 10-12%). So just by wearing a pair of FitFlops you'll get more exercise while doing just exactly what you're normally doing. (*slow twitch muscles produce energy by converting fats into energy aerobically)

4.FitFlops work your bum muscles more. FitFlops have been clinically proven to increase the amount of time that the gluteus maximus muscle is 'activated' during every single step.

5.FitFlops have been shown to have a significant effect on the toning muscles of your thighs: The rectus femoris muscle (one of the large muscles in the group of muscles in your thigh) is activated for a longer period of time while walking in FitFlops than while normally shod or barefoot .

6.Walking in FitFlops is like walking barefoot, but a little bit better. According to a study done at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK, the FitFlop wearer's gait is very similar to that of a barefoot walker, but the added cushion provided by the EVA midsole helps reduce joint strain and absorb shock. In fact, several FitFlop wearers have already reported relief from back pain after a few days of wearing them.

7.FitFlops make it easier to stay in shape. Just throw them on while you're running errands, walking to work, or working around your house. Most first-time FitFlop wearers report feeling their muscles working more, while 'fitter' wearers feedback has been more toward great comfort and cushion. One woman reported feeling like she'd had a 'bum-blasting' workout after a half an hour of FitFlop-shod walking.

Reason number 8 should be because I am wearing them and I know the majority of the free world wants to be just like me! But seriously, they are amazing, everything you have read about them is true. If you haven't read about the yet check them out right away!!

I did it!!

This morning before leaving the house I had D take these pictures so I would be able to post a before and after. I was so excited when I left the salon and realized I had time to go home and take some after shots to post before going to work. Granted, I had to take the after shots myself so it took me a little longer- needed to edit out the double chin and what not but I took them none the less. So without further ado.........................

Not only do I have a new short do that I am in love with, but I have 2 6 inch pony tails I am going to try to donate. My hair dresser said the place they usually use takes 10 inches but she is sure with a little bith of research I could find some place to take 6 inches. Of course me being me, I had to laugh- Don't we all WANT 10 inches but TAKE 6?!?!

Before and After.......

You would think with a subject like that there would be pictures and all sorts of stuff to go along with it.... but not yet, tomorrow is the big day, I am getting my hair cut at 11:00am, I can't wait!!!

Testifying for the defendant…. IKEA

I wonder how many marriages ended at Ikea? It is a place where you see all these happy couples walking around, picking out things to help make their house a home, D and I were one of those couples tonight. I saw these

here and thought "hell I could do that" so off to Ikea I went and D met me there after work. Being in Ikea was fine, we got what we wanted, loaded it in the car and got it home without event. Of course since we got it at Ikea the 82x24 inch cabinet came in a box that was roughly 18x3, I will never understand how that happens.

Putting the furniture together became a whole new adventure..... Me being me, I told D not to worry about it, all he had to do was help me carry it up stairs and I would do the rest. Then I start dropping the "f" bomb because things are not going well for me the furniture assembly chic and instead of asking for help I just drop tons of "f" bombs hoping he will get the hint and help me..... it doesn't always work that way and when that happens, my evil twin sister comes out, starts yelling at him and asking him him "wtf his problem is, why can't he just help me." After a few minor mess ups we got the damn thing together and by the end of the weekend I swear I will have my stuff together and organized. Thankfully my dear husband has the patience of a saint and put up with me and the crazy Ikea directions, yet another happy ending brought to you by Ikea.

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.

Boys and their Toys

I am starting this post around 11:45, I am going to make sure it takes me a while to finish so I can post it on Tuesday and keep my streak going- that would be 2 posts in 2 days for those of you who are counting.....

As many of my readers know (I say that as if I have millions of readers, if I am lucky, I have 5) my nephew is the love of my life. Not only is he adorable, funny and a great cuddle partner, he isn't mine so I can give him back to his mother when he starts acting up. Anyway, since he is the love of my life I tend to spoil him a little. Not to the point that he is a brat because I refuse to allow him to become a brat, I do however, enjoy seeing him smile when he gets something new and I love watching him play with the stuff I get him. Mostly books because he loves to "read" and now that he knows his letters it is as if he is reading since he looks at the page and tells you every letter on it.

Anyway I am digress..... he is and has been a big Sesame Street fan, it started with Elmo but it has slowly progressed to all of the Sesame characters. He says "Cookie" the same way Cookie Monster does and he loves Zoe almost as much as Elmo does. He is starting to really like Bert and Ernie, he even knows that Burt loves to take a bath and has rubber duckie. Big Bird is quickly becoming a favorite of his too. As a result of his love of Sesame Street, he walks around with several stuffed animals at one time, always Cookie and Elmo and sometimes Big Bird and Zoe too. He isn't allowed to take them out of the house because my sister knows the drama that would ensue if he lost one of the beloved.

The other night my sister was out with some people and someone asked her "Does BBoy still play with dolls?"

My sister was a little taken aback and didn't know how to respond so she said "What are you talking about, he doesn't play with dolls"

Still not sure what they are referring to, my sister looks a little puzzled, someone else pipes in with "are you talking about Elmo and Cookie? I hardly consider them dolls"

They respond with "my husband would have a fit if I ever let my son play with that stuff."

I wonder does playing with stuffed animals make a 2 year old boy less masculine? He also plays with cars, trucks and blocks, not that it matters. He is a child who loves clothes and getting dressed, always has to pick out his own outfits, loves his shoes (say it sues) his croc boots were his favorite Christmas present, he put them on immediately and walked around the house in them all day long..... does that make him less of a man? Does it matter that he wears crocs? Should we not let him watch Sesame Street and make him watch Transformers? Does it really matter what he plays with? Should we be excited that he is intelligent enough to make the connection between the character he sees on TV and reads about in books? Isn't it great that he is 2 and knows the difference between his crocs and his sneakers? He loves to read and would rather do that than watch TV, he loves broccoli and would rather have a carrot than a cookie. Does that make him a freak of nature? I guess the morale of my story is who cares what children are playing with, "boy" or "girl" as long as it is envoking creatativity and the use of their imagination.

Where were you when.....

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I was in the 5th grade, it was the first time ever a non-astronaut was to be on the shuttle, a teacher. I have no idea what the credentials were or how teachers went about applying. However, I do know my teacher, Mr. Hardy was in the finals. Mr. Hardy was an awesome teacher, he had a passion for rockets and would have been an excellent candiate for the space program. Unfortunately he wasn't selected to be the teacher on the shuttle, at the time, we the 5th graders at Milton School were disappointed because he wasn't selected- how cool would it be to say your teacher went to space? As disappointing as it was to have him miss out on such an opportunity it would have been far more tramatic to have to attend his funeral.

Growing up I would hear stories of where people were when they heard the news of President Kennedy's assassination, I never understood how they could remember ever detail of a day that happened so many years ago. That is until the Challenger explosion.... here it is 22 years later and I still remember where I was and what I was doing. It had snowed and school was closed, I was at my friend Tina's house. We were watching the shuttle launch on TV, not because we really wanted to be watching it, most likely because they interrupted a TV show we wanted to watch to broadcast the take off. I really couldn't believe it was something they allowed us to see on TV, I kept thinking they were going to break away to commerical, why were they making us watching this I kept wondering. Then I started to think about all of the people watching in on the beach in Florida, what must be going through their minds? Could this really be happening? What about the children of that poor teacher- what the hell was a teacher doing on the space shuttle anyway? It was then I realized that this was a day/event that I would remember my entire life.

I started to think about other worldy events, when they took place and do I remember what I was doing when I heard about them.....

1. The Berlin Wall coming down
2. The attacks on the World Trade Center

While the Berlin Wall coming down was a positive event in US history, the other Challenger Disaster and Attack on the World Trade Center were not. As a child I was kind of jealous I never had a "Kennedy assassination" like moment to talk about. As an adult I hope I never experience another one.

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?

I am too old for this stuff.....

Okay so holiday season is in full swing and I my sleep schedule is totally out of whack. I know it is impossible to get caught up on your sleep, you either get it when you need it or you lose it and as someone with narcolepsy, believe you me I have gotten my fair share of sleep. Just not in the past week or so. I went into work on Sunday and everyone kept asking me if I was okay, said it looked like I had been crying, either that or I was really tired. I didn't think anything of it, just assumed I was really tired. Today I wake up and the skin around my right eye is all red, again I think nothing- assume I slept on it or something like that. By the time I get to work I can see that it redness is not going away and I look like a freak of nature. The eye starts to itch- I try my best not to rub it (rubbing your eyes when you wear contacts is never a good thing anyway) because I don't know what is going on- there is no puss or leakage of any kind. One of my coworkers also works in a day care and says to me "I think you have pink eye" I was kind of thinking that myself but kept telling myself no since there was no leakage/crust/funk or gunk. When I got home I decided to go on WebMD to see what they say about pink eye..... personally I think sites like WebMD are a bad idea, how many times have you researched something on a site like that and convinced yourself you were going to die or had some rare untreatable disease? I do it all the time!!

So this is what I found out about pink eye so I knew and some I had no clue about:

• The eye is pink and itchy.
• Sometimes there is a feeling as if something is in the eye.

Other symptoms include:

• Eyelids stuck shut when you wake up in the morning (the classic symptom)
• Uncomfortable, thick yellow or green discharge (often a bacterial infection)
• Thin, clear drainage from the eye (often a viral infection or an allergic reaction)
• Itching, burning, or feels like sand in your eye (often a viral infection or an allergic reaction)
• Family member with the same symptoms (an infection is being passed from one person to another)
• Painful eye in bright light (called photophobia)
• A recent cold (often a viral infection)
• Swollen lymph nodes (often a viral infection)
• Burning during urination or discharge from the penis in men (rare) (kind of interesting, all week I felt like I had a urinary tract infection, could it have been pink eye starting to rear its ugly head?)
• Vaginal discharge in women (a possible complication of a sexually transmitted disease)

Of course when you try not to pay attention to how much your eye itches you start to feel itchy and "creepy crawly" everywhere else. I have been trying so hard to ignore it today and for the most part did okay. I am going to call a doctor first thing in the morning (left a note on the bathroom mirror asking D to make sure I am awake) hopefully the itch will be gone soon enough.

Off to try to fall asleep and think of something other than the itch

Looks like we made it.....

I am proud and excited to say I survived another Black Friday weekend. I wish I could take a long winter's nap; however, this is just the beginning...... I guess I will sleep in January.

Thankful

I meant to do this yesterday but the day got away from me. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on life and remind yourself how blessed you are to be you. As a family we go around the table and talk about the things we are most thankful for, here is my list.

1. Family- sometimes they drive me crazy, but I love them none the less
2. Friends- to me friends and family go hand in hand, my friends truely are a part of my family!
3. My husband- it is so nice to be able to call him that finally! I know it is cliche but I swear I love him more and more every day
4. Health- mine and that of my family. I am so lucky to still have 2 Grandparents who are alive and well.
5. Education- I know it seems silly, but that is something that no one can take away from me.

To sum it up- love, loyality and friendship (the claddaugh ring sums up so many things so well)

De Je Vu All Over Again

OMG I can't believe I was dumb enough to let it happen again. What kind of a moron locks herself out of the house twice in less than 2 months? Seriously, I am an independent, smart and educated female, what is wrong with me? I went downstairs to put laundry in the machine and came up the stairs to go back in side and think about if I wanted to cook dinner or not and low and behold the door was locked. So now I have to decide do I want to walk someplace in my slippers and call my husband to see when he will be home so he can rescue me or do I hang out in the laundry room and wait for him? I start walking with no idea where I am headed because I had no intention of going anywhere when I started my load of laundry. I figure I will walk to the diner close by, call D and tell him to meet me there for dinner and I can just sit, order and wait for him. You have no idea how hard it is to find a damn payphone now a days (I sound like an old fart talking about in my day) Of course the diner has no phone. So I keep walking, end up at the library where I am excited to see they are open until 9:00pm. I try to use the pay phone and of course you can't make a collect call to a cell phone and I can't charge the call to my house because there is no one home to authorize the charge. I tell my saga to the operator and she tries to connect me but as soon as D answers the phone the call is disconnected. So I beg the kid at the library desk to let me use the phone. As soon as D hears me say "I locked myself out again" he busts out laughing (can you blame him?) so he says he will meet me in 20 minutes. No problem, I am sure I can find something to do for 20 minutes inside the warm library. Well 35 minutes my knight in shining armor walked through the door to rescue me. As I sit and type this I have given up on laundry and am enjoying a glass of red wine.

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

How small are we

The other day I was driving to work admiring the look of the clouds as the sun started to fill the sky. It was one of those moments when I really wished I had my camera and was skilled enough to drive a stick shift in traffic and take a good picture at the same time. I was speaking to Kim and she said "Oh my God you should see how beautiful the sky is" we talked a little about the clouds and the sun and the effect it had and it made me feel like we were looking at the exact same sky. Even though she is in Northern VA and I am in good old NJ.

Of course since I spent the weekend with Kim I "caught" her "illness" you know the one where you say something and she immediately starts singing a song with some of the same words in it no matter how appropriate or not appropriate it is......

Somewhere Out There

written by James Horner, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight

Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

I had a great weekend at getaway and have had every intention of blogging about it sooner but work has been crazy!!! The only thing helping me keep my sanity is the Bon Jovi concert on Friday. Not sure what I am looking more forward to, the concert or keeping to spend time with Cheryl and Megan. Either way I know it is going to be a blast

A List

The other day I was talking to Kimmie online and she aske me if I had a list. I asked her what the hell she was talking about and she said "you know, a list of things you want to do before you die" I told her no, but I would love to see her list. She said she had been thinking alot about it, I am sure some of those thoughts were inspired by Ali Edwards and Stephanie Roberts regardless of where the inspiration came from it is something I too have been thinking about. It is hard to come up with 100 things I want to do before I die, I think it is kind of morbid. What happens if I am fortunate enough to accomplish all things in the next 15 years, does that mean my life would be over? I guess it could be a list you continue to update and add too, especially as you accomplish things on that list.

Stephanie started a link on her blog where you can add your list and continue to update it as you accomplish things- you have the support of everyone who reads her blog. Not sure if my list is something I want to publish for the world wide web to read but it is something I have been thinking about. Currently my list only has 11 things on it, would it be cheating if I read other people's lists and borrowed their goals?

Off to create my list, I think once it is done I am going to hang it on the refigerator as if it was an important homework assignment.

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!

Love and Support Needed

My dear friend Kimmie is going through difficult times. Her grandfather is in the hospital. Kim is trying to be strong for her family and grandfather but I know it is taking its toll on her emotionally. As her friend I wish there was something I could say or do to make it better. I just keep praying for her and her family and telling her that I love her and am here for her if she wants or needs anything. It really stinks that we are in two different states, I would love to be there to give her a big hug and give her a shoulder to cry on. Growing up and being an adult really sucks sometimes.

Wedding after Wedding

I almost feel bad for the people I work with, because of weddings and being on vacation, I am not working any Saturday in the month of September. That is okay, I am sure in the long run I still got the short end of the schedule stick. Sometimes I am too nice.

D and I attended our first wedding as Mr. and Mrs. the other weekend. I am not used to things saying Mr and Mrs. Caraway because my last name is hyphenated. So I wonder what is the correct way of writing our name as a couple? It isn't Mr and Mrs. Keating-Caraway because I am the only Keating-Caraway (even though I really tried to get D to change his name too- he didn't go for it). I guess I should consult Miss Manners on that one!!

During the wedding a friend of my parents said to me, "I learned something today" so being a smart @$$ I say "yeah what?" and he says "That you and your sister really love your father" It made me smile on the the inside and out..... My sister and I are not and never were spoiled little girls but I can say with pride we are both Daddy's Girls.