Ahhh... the 4-day weekend has arrived. :-D What SHALL I do?? Well, the cubemate Greg is back from his 1.5 week trip. Damn! I was enjoying life so much while he was away... then he came back and needed me to do all sorts of things. Yeah - its my job to do his expense reports but NOT my job to read his mind and hold his wittle hand. He discovered that today was a deadline to register him for a conference he's speaking at in April. He asked me if I registered him... ummmm..."No, wasn't aware that I needed to. Did you tell me about it?" No.... he didn't! Karen saved the day... like he couldn't take 2 minutes and fill out the silly form, nooooo... he needed me to come to the rescue because he had more "important" things to do. Like I didn't?? The boss needed the some critical financial info and I'm supposed to drop it all to fill out Greg's registration! Sheesh! MEN. OK, done bitching. Gonna enjoy my weekend now :-)

Go to the first blog of the day - for the story from the beginning! 2:30: Busted! After several blasts of the fart machine, Pam discovered it… I heard laughing so I set it off a few more times, then silence… thinking she found the ‘off’ button, I went over to retrieve the machine. When I arrived, she had the back off the machine with batteries spread all over. She was so flustered she couldn’t even see the on/off switch. Janna, Nicole, and I stood laughing hysterically. I asked her why she was killing my fart machine and she said, “This is yours?? You look too sweet and innocent to even be a party with these girls!” Then we really started laughing! I think Julie probably would like to quit, being scared of working with a bunch of loons like us. I mentioned poor Benjamin being blamed for all the fart noises a couple of months ago, and that stared another round of laughter. She had no idea! She was actually going to confront poor, innocent Benjamin about his ‘problem’. As for the ‘smells’ that were wafting from his ‘so called problem’, she still swears they were real smells and he was probably taking advantage of the noises already provided and letting some slip by… being a man and all ;-) We all had tears rolling down our faces and my side still hurts from laughing so hard. Several people had to come by to see what we were laughing about, which caused more laughing as we explained. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end… I took my fart machine and went back to my cube. Pam is such a great sport! Now we’ll have to await a new victim…

12:00 Fart machine in place. 12:50 Found the perfect opportunity to set it off. I hear Pam and Julie chatting and laughing. I hit the remote… the laughter stops… silence for what seems an enternity… then conversation proceeds. Could you just imagine what both of these ladies are thinking?! Both thinking the other one let one loose?? I’m over here snickering trying not to bust up. How old am I, you ask?? Hmmm… never too old to play a prank!

Seems that my poor co-worker Pam is once more the victim of a joke. Her mouse was stolen, or rather it ran away. She’s the same victim that we (cohorts Nicole and Janna) got a couple of months ago with the fart machine. She had NO clue there was a fart machine, but blamed it on her soon-departing co-worker Benjamin. She was so convinced it was him, she even thought she ‘smelled’ the farts. That was the funniest part. It went on for over a week! So, the time has come again to place the fart machine in good hiding place, Pam’s gym bag. They’ve hired a replacement for Benjamin, her name is Julie. So, we’ll get Pam and break Julie as well. Aren’t we nice?!! Yeah, yeah… makes life fun. :-) I shall plant the machine as soon as they leave for lunch… details to follow…

One of my pet peeves is drivers who go slow on the freeway – and when you go to pass them, decide to speed up for one of the following reasons: 1. They wanna race you. 2. Discover that they’re going slow and need to speed up. 3. Feel the need to keep up with the other car – like it’s a competition. 4. They just like to irritate me. Once you manage to pass them, then they slow down again! Consistency people!! The air here has been stagnant and full of pollutants. Quite unpleasant. I thought I was coming down with a cold, but turns out its just reaction to the nasty stuff in the air. But, there’s finally a bit of a wind to blow this shit out of the area. Blew right up my dress this morning, which is a slight thrill but at 20 degrees, its COLD! I’d rather have it on a hot summer’s day than in the middle of the winter, but hey, you take the thrills when you can get them. Tee hee Another good thing today is my window in my car (power) worked today! Its on the fritz and needs a new motor. It didn’t work all last week, so I was pleasantly surprised when it worked this morning. What a great thing as I was coming through the Air Force gate and didn’t have to open my door to give them my I.D. No guard had to put his hand on his machine gun and be on alert for me opening me door. Nice, safe feeling not to have someone want to shoot me. I’m working on getting the new motor for my window, and someone nice enough to install it for me, or maybe I can figure out how to do it if I can get the door panel off and back on properly.

Men seem to really like to blame one thing for everything else that is going wrong in their lives... and I suppose its really human nature. Sigh. I also know that men are conditioned to not deal with their feelings which is really an injustice to them. They're taught to be tough and not let things get to them and that's sad. It takes such an incredibly strong person to face their feelings and deal with them, male or female. Takes a lot of courage. So, I guess I don't hate men after all - just very frustrating creatures... just like us women are for them.

MEN. The most complicated creatures on this planet. Definitely from Mars.

Hmmm... Ya know what? I just noticed I'm still not listed on the Z-Listers Blogsite! I've requested it a couple of times... maybe my blog sucks to much to even be on the Z-Listers?? LOL! I'm not surprised at that ;-) Oh well, great therapy and I like that cool button.

Discovered (through the help of my buddy Colin) a good blog called Retailbytes. Stories that will crack you up! The link is now on my list :-) Enjoy!

Friday... had a pretty good Friday... got up early, got all my cleaning done then went off to play with buddy Linda for the day. We used to play on Fridays all the time, but haven't done it regularly in about a year. We met at the diner where my sister works and had a fab omelet then we went to the mall to shop a bit before our movie started. We're quite the shoppers - get in, find what we need and we're done. :-) The movie we saw was Harry Potter. I haven't read any of the books, so I wasn't totally sure what it was all about (except that wizardry was involved). I must say I really enjoyed the movie. It had humor and adventure. I suggest seeing it. The movie was enjoyable despite the child behind us that kept talking and smaking her lips while eating candy. Reminded me of an toothless dirty old man smaking his lips when a georgeous 20 year old walks by. Then the mother was constantly rattling a bag. Gets kinda irritating. Yeah, I know... we asked for it going to a 'family' type show. I like kids, don't get me wrong... I just have the opinion that children under the age of 3 shouldn't go to movies exept maybe cartoons. They can't understand the storyline and end up being a bother to everyone around. Movies generally can't keep a child of that age entertained for any more than 10 minutes. OK, enough bitching about that. There were other children in the theatre that were quite well behaved - those are the kind of kids I don't mind having around. I came home, unloaded my car from all my errands then took a nice long hot shower. I feel like I've been reborn but my feet may not forgive me for a few days. What is it with malls and tile floors that KILL your feet? You'd think they'd want to make it easier on the feet so people would stay longer and buy more things!

Yesterday driving home was total grid-lock for about 8 miles. All 3 lanes of traffic were almost stopped completely for about 25 minutes. I was excited when I got out of first gear. I was listening to the traffic report on the radio and the incident was actually reported - Ogden very rarely gets reported, usually only Salt Lake. Turns out there was an accident, very minor though. Some f*ckwit rear-ended a Highway Patrolman. Quite funny when you think about it - how big of an idiot do you have to be to rear-end someone on the freeway, let alone a Highway Patrolman. The person who reported the accident to the radio said the policeman was NOT smiling. I'd hate to be the poor sucker who ran into him.

I just got an e-mail from my childhood friend Carol thanking me for a gift I'd left for her at her parent's house. She had a funny story to share with me. When I dropped off the present, no one was home, so I left it on their door step. In the bag (besides the Xmas present) was a stuffed hedgehog, (because she likes hedgehogs). I didn't wrap it so it was just laying there in the sack. Her dad picked up the sack and looked to see what it was and immediately dropped it - he thought it was a dead rat! Scared him to death!! I could see Howard jump and let out a little scream! Sorry Howard... not so much for the hedgehog but for laughing ;-).

I've emerged from the fog... driving to work this morning was terrible. The fog was the thickest that I've ever encountered. I couldn't see much except about 6 lines on the road in front of me or the occasional tail lights in the distance or the head lights behind me. When I couldn't see any lights, it felt like I was the only thing on this earth surrounded by whiteness in the dark. But - I made it here safe and sound... having a bad hair day again thanks to the fog!!

I have some stubborn cupboards here at work that won't roll back to open all the way. I was walking down the hall when I spied my friend Renate carrying a can of WD-40. Linda came along and heard me ask Renate if I could borrow the can... Linda asked me if I needed some 'lubrication' loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear - and my mind went right in to the gutter (and why not - it lives there the majority of the time)... and started to blush. Then of course them and everyone in the hall had to ask why I was blushing carrying the can of WD-40... I just giggled and walked away. I knew I'd get into trouble if I said one word... wouldn't they like to know if I needed some lubrication...

Got this in my e-mail this morning. It was attached to one of those irritating "Pass along to # friends and you'll have good luck forever, but don't pass it along trouble will come your way" e-mails. I hate those things and usually delete them right away, refusing to forward them on. I read these before I got down to the chain letter part and thought they were worth sharing - no clue where they came from originally. Read Each One Carefully and Think About It a Second or Two 1. I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you. 2. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry. 3. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. 4. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. 5. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them. 6. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile. 7. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. 8. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you. 9. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful. 10. Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened. 11. There's always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around. 12. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you. 13. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.

The Bad Hair Day. How does it start? I styled my hair normally this morning, everything went the way it should, look pretty good heading out the door... then an hour later pass by a mirror at work and my hair has gone to hell. No rain, snow, wind or other hair destructive weather situations. Truly a mystery...

Thanks to the tip from The OtherCheek, I now have comments! Thanks :-) It was so easy so if anyone wants to add comments to their blog, go to YACCS. Truly a lifesaver for the HTML challenged like myself. Ignore the entry just below... something got goofed up! Won't let me edit it to get rid of it. Don't know what I did!

Thanks to the tip of The OtherCheek, I now have comments! Thanks :-) It was so easy so if anyone wants to add comments to their blog, go to

Saturday, January 5

I was sent this list by e-mail (thanks Uncle Shorty!). #23 didn't surprise me one bit.. although I thought it would be a higher percentage. Little Known Facts 1. Barbie's full name is Barbara Milicent Roberts. 2. It is impossible to lick your elbow. 3. A crocodile can't stick its tongue out. 4. A shrimp's heart is in their head. 5. People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a mili-second. 6. In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand (or attempted to do so). 7. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky. 8. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit. 9. Between 1937 and 1945 Heinz produced a version of Alphabetti Spaghetti especially for the German market that consisted solely of little pasta swastikas. 10. By law, every child in Belgium must take harmonica lessons at Primary school. 11. On average, a human being will have sex more than 3,000 times and spend two weeks kissing in their lifetime. 12. More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call. 13. Rats and horses can't vomit. 14. The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language. 15. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. 16. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants. 17. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times. 18. If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles? 19. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere. 20. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match. 21. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married. 22. A duck's quack doesn't echo anywhere, and no one knows why. 23. 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their buttocks. 24. In the course of an average lifetime you will, while sleeping, eat 70 assorted insects and 10 spiders. 25. Most lipstick contains fish scales. 26. Cat's urine glows under a black light. 27. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different. 28. If you keep your eyes open by force, they will pop out.

Take the What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz
Thanks Fluffy Muppet and The OtherCheek for the link. I'm beginning that everyone needs to stop being stupid this year... it definitely works for me!

So glad E and P are back from their holiday! Welcome back!!!

Cool link - courtesy of Fluffy Muppet to see what your Hobbit name is. Mine is Esmerelda Bumblefoot of Haysend.

Had a nice day today. I worked this morning to make up time from earlier in the week, then went out with my friend Linda to a movie and lunch. Happy Birthday Linda!! :-) We went to see Royal Tenenbaum. We heard that it was supposed to be hilarious...wrong. It had some pretty dark humor and some pretty sad parts. These people are royally screwed up - maybe that's what was so funny?? It was mildly amusing in some parts and all the actors did a great job. It wasn't boring at all, kept us interested. I doubt I'll rent it when it comes out on video. Linda and I had a great time despite the not-so-funny movie... I got me a big pickle to eat during the movie. Yum... and its fun to eat and be a bit naughty with the pickle to see how many people I can shock. Unfortunately, the previews had already started by the time we sat down and the theatre was too dark for people to see what I was doing... licking the juices, sucking on the pickle (to prevent more drips) etc. Oh well, I enjoyed the pickle immensly. tee hee Linda was going to get a pickle too, but she opted for Sprees... but I think she wished she'd got a pickle.

Pet Peeve of the week: People who don't clean the snow off their cars. Yes, its a pain and its cold BUT it makes it possible for SEEING out your windows when you drive. I almost got ran over the other day because some ditz decided to change lanes going 75 miles an hour (me along with her) down the freeway and couldn't see me because of the snow on her back window. I was in the middle lane and thank God there wasn't anyone in the outside lane. I ALWAYS clean off the snow that is not stuck to my car - including the roof because it tends to slip off the back and obstructs my rear view.

New Year's Eve was a nice evening, I went out to dinner then came home and played a rousing game of Dominos... then fell asleep before midnight. Am I pathetic or what?! (I thought of lots of fun things I wanted to do, but J is too far away!!!) I did wake up right at midnight though, to the sounds of my neighbors setting off fireworks. Well into the night, there was another commotion that woke me up from a dead sleep... the gazeebo over the hot tub decided to cave in from all the snow! Such a site to see. The walls are all still standing, the the roof caved in from the skylight and it looks like it crushed the hot tub cover where it landed on all 4 corners. Hopefully it didn't crack the hot tub though, we can't move anything until the claims adjuster gets here tomorrow. There wasn't even that much snow on the roof - most of it slid off and melted. Maybe the wood weakened from all the moisture... who knows.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Ahhhh... holidays are now officially over, well that is after today is over. Time to get back to normal life as we know it. Tomorrow is my sister Susie's 40th birthday! The family is celebrating it tonight. I've spent the greater part of this afternoon making over-the-hill type banners and signs. I made a big poster board with cute and embarrassing pictures of her youth with the saying "Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40!" Really original I know, but funny. I scanned in the pics then printed them out (just LOVE my new scanner and printer!) on photo paper so I wouldn't ruin the originals. She's probably gonna kill me... oh well. It would probably be a good idea for my 40th birthday if I lived far, far away... paybacks are a bitch... ;-) Tomorrow night Susie will go out to dinner and clubbing with her friends to celebrate the occasion properly. I'll go along for a while - should be fun. Oooo... me going out on a weeknight... oh wait a minute... me going out at all! Here's to New Year's Resolutioon #1. Meanwhile, back to work tomorrow! I'll get to leave early to go to the doctor for him to check on my RA... and surely he'll be drawing the usual 8 viles of blood... which is OK, I suppose since he's very thorough. Time to use the new insurance too, they're gonna love me I think!

Uh oh... time to start thinking about those New Year's Resolutions again... so here we go: 1. Continue to try and get a life. 2. Take more chances and break out of the safe little world in which I exist. 3. Go to England! Woohoo! OK, so this is something I've planned for a long time, and finally the year is here! 4. Get those irritating, sick people searching for p**ped panties away from my Blog. The idea is beyond me. The sniffing panties (even though I don't personally practice it) seems to be much more normal. 5. Don't be so hard on myself... believe me, easier said than done. I'm my own worst enemy. 6. Be more charitable all year around, not just the Holiday Season. 7. Blog about more interesting things... which kinda goes hand in hand with getting that life. 8. ....??

Best quote about Christmas that I heard all week came from my friend Nancy..."Christmas is like sex with my X... lots of hoopla and build-up then its done before you know it."

Christmas Eve family party was nice. We had 18 bodies ranging from ages 7 to 67 plus 2 babies. Lots of food, even though we toned things down. We ate... then played a fun pass present around game, opened and traded the funny gifts... some held onto their presents as if their life depended on keeping it... the Pepsi and Mountain Dew trucks were the highly coveted items. I ended up with a dream catcher making kit...oooo... can't wait to dig in and make one. ;-) I think I may let my 7 year old niece have it when she's over next. Christmas day was pretty good too. Mom and Dad spoiled me (and everyone!) more than they should have. After opening our gifts, we made the trip out to each of my brother's houses to see their kids. Then home to a nice, quiet house. I put things away and crashed from exhuastion. I worked Wednesday and Thursday... days that I hoped I could play catch up, but it sure didn't turn out that way. I kept really busy and didn't even get bored!! I think Monday will be just as crazy. My boss is really frustrated with our corporate contacts people not doing their jobs in a timely manner so our contract with the gov't isn't in place as of yet! It was supposed to have been done by Dec 21 but it didn't even get started until yesterday. Thanks Judy! Appreciate your timeliness in this matter... sure would like to come into work on Jan 2. I could always go sit in our local office, twiddle my thumbs and charge my time to overhead. Too bad I can't charge the contracts people directly... I cleaned and put all my Christmas decor away this morning :-) Nice to have it around, but nice to have things back to normal. Mom has been working for 2 days putting things away from upstairs. This afternoon I took a short nap and was awaken by the sound of her falling down the last 2 stairs!! She's all right, thank goodness!! I'm sure she's going to be mighty sore tomorrow.

Its been such a lovely day today! Nice, quiet, and soooo relaxing. I even took a 2 hour nap! :-) Love those Sunday afternoon naps. I was just flipping through the digital cable channels and came across the old show "Rudolph's Shiny New Year"! I got all excited... some childhood memory flashes hit me! Right after this show is "Rudolph and Frosty"!! I'm set for the night's entertainment. Hey, you do what you gotta do sometimes. Watching these types of shows seems to bring back the magic of Christmases past. One of my favorite movies to watch this time of year (or anytime of the year really..) is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. What a riot. Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh... the baking is DONE! All cornpops are divided out into care packages for all my siblings and their families as well as the spicy chex mix. :-) Salsa turned out is a little tamer than I normally make, but has fantastic flavor that I didn't want to mess with. Now comes Monday... the Christmas Eve meal preparations. Mom has declared that we are doing it simple this year. Thank goodness! Its about time... every year that I can remember we've had the entire kitchen counter and a long table filled with food - for around 18 people. We always have a ton of leftovers and it takes longer to divy up the leftovers than it does to clean up the dishes. About 5 years ago, I had Mom sign a document saying that next year she wouldn't over do it.. impossible to hold her to it. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we had the same amount of food as the year before. This year we REALLY are cutting back. We're having honey baked spiral ham (YUMMMY!), homemade rolls, soup (two kinds, Tortilla and cream of potato), frogeye salad, little smokies (simmered in cranberry sauce - sounds strange but is soooo delicous), potato chips and dip, tortilla chips and salsa, pickles and olives. I know she'll stick to it this year because she's bought all the groceries and won't be going out for more. Mom was really my favorite person yesterday... she me made peanut butter fudge... peanut butter is one of my weaknesses and I don't eat any chocolate (except for the white chocolate)! I got to lick the warm fudge from the spatula after she was done spreading it in the pan... pure heaven! I'd like to have the whole pan for myself, but I'll share with the family, 'tis the season after all!

Ewww... tomorrow comes the baking! I'm making 9 more batches of cornpops, probably 4 batches of spicy chex mix, and some homemade kick-ass salsa. Hoping I can get it all done in one day!

The blog has really suffered this week. Not one entry! Sunday was a shitty day beyond shitty days, so we won't discuss it because it involves the sister Kathy. Monday was better, but so crazy at work. Seemed like I looked at the clock at it was time for lunch, looked up again and it was time to go home! I love it when the time speeds by like that... Tuesday was much the same. We did have our office Christmas party on Tuesday, and it was a lot of fun. We all brought white elephant gifts... I donated some golfer's toilet paper. We all drew numbers and who ever had #1 started by opening one gift. The person that had #2 could pick a present already open or get another gift... and so on. If someone took your present, then you got to open a new one. I had #36 of 37 so... I pretty much had the pick of the game. I had my eye on a singing reindeer until a pair of massage balls were discovered... I seem to be attracted to pairs of balls of any kind... just special that way. So, I got the balls! #37 got the reindeer and seemed pleased with himself. There was a guy who got a tube of hemmaroid cream... he was so pleased... it was so ironic because this guy is the biggest pain in the ass in the entire office! A few of us got quite a kick out of that! Couldn't bring myself to blog when I got home... didn't even look at the computer! Wednesday was just as crazy at work... came home and was all ready to blog then the power went out! The power was out from Brigham City to Layton... which is about 40-45 miles. Seems that two power stations blew. Took 2 hours to get power back, but soooo nice to have it back. Really makes you appreciate power when you do have it. Mom was right in the middle of wrapping presents when it went out, but the trooper lit a hurricane lamp and went right on wrapping. That's dedication for ya! We had a quarterly meeting with the management yesterday morning and the rest of the day was crazy as hell. Last night, total and complete exhaustion hit, I layed on my bed and didn't move. Got up this morning and cleaned... then went into town and met my good friend Robin for lunch. The last of my Christmas lunches!! I think I've had 8 in the past 2 weeks. Quite a few for someone who doesn't go out to eat much... but it was nice catching up with friends and trading presents. I've got a group of really terrific friends, very fortunate :-) Then after lunch, went grocery shopping and then snuck into the local Hastings (video, CD's, book store) and found a nice little stocking stuffer... the compilation of Pink Floyd, best songs, should be sooo good! I also found some cheap videos, movies I already have taped, but tapes are getting a bit worn.

Something just occured to me... yes, you'd better sit down... I wonder if SOME of my bitching about Kathy is a way to vent my frustrations about my life... hmmmm... could be! Rheumatoid Arthritis isn't easy to deal with and I do need some sort of an outlet for how frustrating day to day life can be. OK, I am willing to admit SOME of it is just my own frustration. Having her here so much does interfere with my rest and relaxation but it doesn't really give me the right to bitch about it all the time. My apologies to my readers. I'll do my best to quit bitching so much... I do have other things in my life to talk about. I must say that this blogging thing is great therapy!

Oh crap... I just hate it when I go to post my Blog and I get an error! GRRRRR!!! I spent the majority of the day baking my goodies for work. I made about 25 dozen cookies (5 different kinds)and 9 batches of my famous Cornpop treats... well, OK its not MY recipe... got it off the package of Corn Pop snacks (not the cereal). They are small morsels of heaven... and have the ability to make one's problems seem to disappear. Easy to make, which makes a lot of my problems disappear. If you want the recipe, just e-mail me! I'm exhausted but happy to have all of this done. I'll have another 9 batches of Cornpops to make and then about 4 batches of Chex Mix, hot and spicy to make next weekend. Kathy has already started to beg for the Chex Mix... maybe I'll tell her I'll make her some if she'd GO HOME. She was gone the majority of the week... while I was at work naturally, but is back again. She stayed the night last night because her husband was having a friend over... now why she can't be home while he has 'friends' over non of us can figure out... but she is still here as of 2:43pm. I'm praying very hard that she'll go home very, very, very soon. But really why should she? She's got Mom and Dad to tend her child and a bed that she can sleep on and not have to get her ass out of it for anything other than going to the bathroom? GRRR! On the brighter side of things, Christmas is fastly approaching and I've got all the prezzies bought, wrapped and delivered :-) One of the biggest things I enjoy about Christmas is seeing someone's joy from a gift that I gave them. My Mom keeps asking me what I want... I started to say "Obsession shower gel and lotion" and she beat me to it by saying "don't tell me Obsession shower gel and lotion." Sheesh! I don't know what else I'd want her to get me... she doesn't do well with picking clothes out for me and she'll be hurt if I say 'give me money' because she likes shopping for gifts. Quite the quandry.

Activities for the weekend: Baking, baking and more baking. Going to make cookies and some of my special buttery cornpop treats for people at work for Monday! The family stuff is going to have to wait until next week. Exciting life, I know...

Been a long week... been either too exhausted or too busy to blog! Tuesday my TV went out, so I ventured to Wal-Mart for a new one (Merry Christmas to ME!)... had Xmas lunches everyday this week except for Monday, so I'm feeling quite popular... the festivities will continue on into next week. One really good thing this week, is Kathy has been living at her very own apartment... imagine that... Life is good... until she comes back... don't mind visits, just not extended visits. :-) Its snowing yet again!

Well, the bitch is back... actually she never really left... that's right, Kathy is back. Some lame excuses for having to stay the night... which includes the mornings because she can't drag her ass out of bed until 1pm. So tired of her being here and her crap! UGH!!

Well, the shopping is done! I made my list and went to town. I like to get things done early so I can enjoy the holidays, but for some reason this year I've been quite the nervous nelly about getting it done NOW. The only thing left is to get my nieces and nephews the usual gift cards, but I need to wait for my sister Susie to go in halfsies on those... or hey, we may decide to just to cash. Cash is good. Now comes the wrapping of the gifts, most will go in gift bags. Closer to Christmas will come the baking. UGH

Oh, what a scream! Mom came downstairs to put her laundry in the dryer... I was waiting inside my bathroom listening for a scream... all of the sudden, I heard a sort of a gasp/screech as Mom put her hand in the box of Bounce. She felt the spider (gasp) and then she saw it (screech). *snicker* then she called me by my full name! LOL! I love it. I'm still in posession of the little critter because I grabbed it after she set it on the dryer. I'll have to plot my next hiding place for the critter.

The spider war continues. Just after Halloween, Mom put a fake black spider under a pillow on my bed. It did look real, I didn't scream but I did jump. I never said anything to her... I just took the spider and placed it in some fabric pieces that Mom would be sewing soon. I waited all month of November for the pile of pieces to move... she finally got a chance to do some sewing this week. Funny, she never said a thing to me about the spider... then I found it this morning under a towel in the laundry room. The war continues.... I placed the spider in the box of Bounce fabric softener sheets. tee hee In the summer months, we plant rubber snakes around the yard.

Notice the new button on the right. I'm now an official Zee Lister! Much better than an A or B Lister, was never into that anyway. I'm too much of a goof. My sister Susie went to get her hair done yesterday by my old school chum Kass. Kass gave Susie an envelope for me, which contained some thing we'd written in the 9th grade. I opened it and read it, it was a letter/poem to our 9th grade History teacher Mr. Morris. Oh my God! I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard!! Mr. Morris was a strange creature indeed. We constantly made jokes about him - a matter of survival. It was either that or never go to class and flunk. Kass was one true friend in my school days - she brought me out of my shy shell and made me like life. We were always up to something, giggling about this or that... drooling over a guy or plotting how to get a guy to notice us. I could tell her anything and she never judged me. I should really get together with her and talk about old times. Last night was Girl's Night (my group of close friends) Christmas party. We had a great time, lots of laughs but we couldn't stay long as the weather was turning bad and we needed to head home. We were also starving because the club kitchen was closed due to remodelling. How rude. Last night was just one great night. I got home, and all evidence of my sister Kathy was GONE. She moved into her new apartment. WOOOHOOO!!! She's up to something though - she called me (on the phone when she was right upstairs!! LOL!!) the other day and told me that the reason she was staying here in the house instead of the motel with her husband, was because Dad loves baby Elyssa so much. She wouldn't want to deprive him of time with her. I about choked to keep from laughing. Then she proceeded to tell me that she was so worried about Mom because she was looking so tired lately... hmmmm.. would that be because Kathy is a lazy ass and Mom has to clean up after her and tend her baby so much??!! Duh! I got the feeling she was making excuses for her behavior... like she was trying to clear her conscience?... why on earth did she tell me these excuses if she didn't have a guilty conscience? Me thinks she's up to something for sure.

Note to self (and others who read this): Don't spill your Spaghetti-Os on your keyboard. That's what I get for being pressed for time and being hungry... actually desperate to be eating Spaghetti-Os in the first place. ;-)

The Saturday Wal-mart Experience! I kept asking myself, "who's idea was this to come to Wal-Mart on a Saturday before Christmas?" and I had to keep answering "your's you silly goose!" I was feeling ambitious today and wanted to get some more shopping done. I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to go to Wal-Mart with me and both of them said yes. Now I knew Mom would, but Dad?? Come to find out, he could either go shopping with Mom and I OR stay home and babysit baby Elyssa. Dad LOVES Elyssa but Kathy and her husband Ellis were trying to pawn her off on someone while they went out for the day. Dad decided it was high time that Kathy and Ellis took responsibility for their child and they could just take Elyssa with them OR wait until he got back from Wal-Mart. They chose to take Elyssa with them. Dad made a comment in the car that "we have a life too and they need to respect that". Miracles never cease. :-) Its good to know that Mom and Dad are FINALLY realizing that Kathy takes advantage of the Grandparent Babysitting Services. Dad really hates shopping, so that shows how much he's getting fed up with the whole Kathy & Ellis situation. Anyway, back to the Wal-Mart shopping experience. We got a pretty good parking place - not in the north forty. But I can tell you that people are so rude! Mom and I were standing waiting for the Welcome Lady to get a shopping cart for us, and 3 people butted right in front of us. Finally I went around one lady and grabbed one myself. What happened to waiting your turn and being polite?? Guess its to be expected around Christmas, being the season and all. People forget what its all about. I'm sure I got cut off at least 20 times trying to get through isles while trying to find things. I'm surprised I didn't come out with bumps and bruises from all the people bumping in to me... next time I may decide to wear protective gear. Not that I was being slow or obnoxious, just trying to shop. Some people use their carts as weapons! 1 hour later, Dad said he'd had enough and was going to sit in the car. It took Mom and I about 30 minutes later to finish what we needed to do, then get through the check out counter. Lesson Learned: Never go to Wal-Mart on a Saturday during the month of December. Although I am happy to have the majority of my shopping DONE, I'll never do that again!

Had a pretty good day yesterday. Got my cleaning done, then took my Mom to lunch then shopping. Mom is becoming my cheese enchilada buddy :-). Dad never eats in a Mexican restaurant (he only likes home-made tacos!) so Mom is happy to go with me, especially if its my treat. I'll never catch up to all the meals she's treated me to though. Shopping was nice, not too crowded and we got the things we intended to - my trunk and the backseat of my car was full. We got home, and here comes my sister Kathy and she just watches Mom and I unload everything... then after my 6th trip downstairs she finally asks, "Oh, did you need some help carrying that stuff downstairs?" Duh! But wouldn't want her to break her streak of not lifting any fingers to help... although I still fight not to lift a finger in her direction. I suppose I shouldn't complain because she and her husband moved out of their apartment Wednesday and Thursday and I couldn't help (one of the good things about having RA is I can't lift much). Kathy and the baby are staying here until Dec 6 (when their new apartment is ready) but her husband is staying in a flea bag motel. Fine with me. Yesterday he called and asked to borrow Mom and Dad's portable heater and an extra blanket because he was freezing. Everyone got quite a chuckle over that. After shopping and unloading the car, I settled in for a nice quiet night. I watched 5 episodes of my soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 2.5 hours. I forwarded through the story lines that I'm not really into - like all the teen romances. I'm getting sick of the teeny boppers taking over the majority of the show these days while the grown ups are in the background. I want to see more of John and Bo... oh and let's not forget the new Brady cousin Colin who is very nice. There's a big story on the horizon... I wish they'd just get to it and let the teenagers grow up!

Yesterday, this area of Utah got dumped on with a huge snow storm. It didn't quit snowing all day and well into the night. When I left the house at 4:30am there was already about 4 inches and the further South I got, there was about 6 inches. Hill AFB and Salt Lake always seem to get more snow and rain due to the "Lake Effect" from the Great Salt Lake. Driving to work was nerve racking, but I made it and really glad I got there when I did because the people coming in after me had worse conditions. I finally left work about 11:00am because I had a strong feeling that if I didn't go home then, I wouldn't make it home. Maybe it was just nerves, but I've learned not to ignore those 'feelings' because they usually are right on. Anyway, I got home safe and sound. The freeway wasn't bad but the side roads were a mess. I got home and stayed here. I decided to get part of my cleaning done and get the Christmas decorations up. Nice snowy day for such an activity... I could think of something 'better' to do, but that sexy man J is too far away! So, I got all my decorations up and they've got me more in the Christmas mood. I do really enjoy the holidays, if I can get the majority if my shopping done before hand so I'm not stressing out. I have done quite a bit so far. My Mom usually depends on me to help her get things ready for our big Christmas Eve family party so I'll get my stuff done well in advance. Last night after I turned my lights out, I could see a warm glow coming from my window well. I knew Dad had turned the Christmas lights on. So, I put my sweats on and went outside to see the beautiful lights in the snow. It was sooo beautiful. One of my favorite things about Christmas are the lights! Todays plans are getting the rest of my cleaning done, then to run some errands... if I can get out of my neighborhood that is. Its still snowing in the mountains, but can't tell if its snowing down in the valley yet - too dark yet. I can't remember having a storm like this in years, especially in November!! Where ever the storm is headed next, people beware.

I'm home sick today and bored out of my mind. Couldn't stay in bed for one more minute. I've got a sore throat, nothing that's killing me or anything, but I thought it best to stay home. Only a slight fever and don't feel like complete shit so I'm sure its not strep, although I have those cute little white spots. I can feel my glands snap and rub every time I swallow. I'm drinking lots of hot Tang and its soothing my throat. I may get some hot lemonade later. Old family remedies that work well. I wish I could have a shot of whiskey but can't do that cuz of my RA meds. Bummer... I could really start feeling great. ;-) Dad always says "You've got to sweat it out!" Which is really true I think, because once you really get sweating, your fever usually breaks and it helps get all the poisons out of your system. My cat is keeping me company - she's such a loyal companion. Especially when I'm sick, she's extra cudley. She even tries to follow me into the bathroom, which she does from time to time, but not like this. I leaver her on my bed thinking she's totally zonked and next thing I know, she's scratching and meowing at the bathroom door.

The weatherman finally made a correct prediction about snow... so far we've gotten about 2 inches and the storm doesn't look like its done with us. The mountains look like they're getting dumped on. Winter is finally here, although it didn't even feel like we had much of a fall since its been so warm and dry. The colors were beautiful but not quite as brilliant as they usually are... but still doesn't compare to back east from what I hear and the pictures I've seen. I just noticed that my post from last night has disappeared! I don't remember what I wrote, but know I DID write something.

Thanksgiving was pretty good. Mom and I prepared most of the meal together, then my sister S came over about an hour before to help finish things. Sister K sat on her ass the entire day, didn't lift one finger. I would have liked to lift a finger in her direction when she announced to everyone that she helped out by 'staying out of the way'. But I remained calm and just started clearing the table. Her husband E didn't join us for dinner, I suppose he wanted to stay in their dreary apartment and enjoy the solitude. I told K that we all would enjoy some solitude around here, but I don't think she caught my meaning. She kept trying to stir up trouble all day long, whispering little jabs about someone in the family in who ever's ear was close (except Mom and Dad's, of course). The rest of the family came over in the early evening for pie. They all stayed for a couple of hours and visited, which was nice, but I was soooooooo happy when everyone left. Don't get me wrong, I love my family just not all at once in a small space. My niece H was being her typical self... come to think of it, she and K have a lot in common in trying to stir up trouble. She's 12 going on 20. UGH. Today I didn't go shopping!! So not in the mood. I did work on my shopping... it kept getting longer and longer... it started to depress me so I stopped. I do have the majority of the Christmas shopping done, I have picked things up all year long. I'll have quite a bit of baking to do, but that will have to wait until closer to Christmas. I could start making cookies and freezing them, but I don't trust K not to eat them while she's living here. I'll have to wait until Dec 6 to start. Yes, I am soooo looking forward to that day! More than Christmas itself at this point!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

My Mom told me that she was planning a trip to Salt Lake on Friday to visit with my Aunt J that is there from California (who is staying with my cousin). She said she'd like my sister K, baby E and myself to go along... hmmmm... lemme think... I don't get along with this Aunt very well, she's always telling me 'what I need to be doing' and she and K are sooooo much alike (that explains a lot of the apprehension right there) so they get along famously. If I went, I'd be miserable but... if I stayed home, then for sure K would be completely out of the house. Hmmm... what shall I do?! I know!! I'll stay home!! What a fab idea!! Well, Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I got home from work early this morning, and got a few things done. I even managed to get a nappy in! Ahhh... nice afternoon. I think I slept for about 2 hours! Tomorrow Mom and I will have the last minute things to do. I'll have to finish my frog eye salad, yes the name sounds digusting but its quite good. Its made with pasta (tiny penne (sp??) pasta) that has to sit in a pineapple juice, egg and sugar mixture over night. Tomorrow I'll add pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows and whipped cream. We'll do the turkey breast, potatoes, gravy, relish tray and warm up the banana squash, yams, and stuffing. Voila! Dinner will be served. My sister S is bringing the ham. Oh, the ham! She bought a honey glazed spiral ham. Pure heaven. I get the fun of setting the table. I always enjoy it, really I do. We'll use my Mom's beautiful red dishes (that will be MINE when she passes on) and gold flatware. I don't go to the extreme of making turkeys out of napkins though... that's where I draw the line. ;-) There will be plenty of turkeys at the table already.

Picked up the new Creed CD today at lunch, then listened to it most of the afternoon. I must say that I like it, like it a lot. It bothered my cube mate so its definitely a hot CD! The single My Sacrafice is such a great song. OOO! 4.25 hours left to the work week.. ahhhh!! The first "Official" shopping day for Christmas starts on Friday. Do I want to get up and fight the crowds? Hmmm... no, I think not. As E reminded me I said the same thing last year and went out shopping. I didn't go 'early' so the crowds weren't horrid and picked up a few good deals. So lets say that I'm not planning on going out this year, BUT can change my mind. Mom may drag me out or sister K will DRIVE me out of the house. Shopping would be the lesser of the two evils there. She is being better and leaving me alone this week... I think she had a 'talking' to about keeping her butt upstairs.

Mom is feeling lost. We got the news that the two brothers and their families won't be joining us for dinner on Thanksgiving. One brother, due to his wife's brother passing away recently and her mother needing her there. The other brother, because of his little shit son T who has to go to his other grandparent's house because the next 2 Thanksgivings since he'll be on a mission. BFD. You see, we're the 'unfavorite' side of this brother's family... which is OK with me considering what an ungrateful little shit T is - I'll be able to enjoy the day much more without him. Ah well... there will still be 6 people for dinner and everyone else will be coming for pie! Mom was feeling really sorry for herself when she said "Well, maybe I won't even make pie." That shows you the extent of her hurt and dismay. But I think she'll get over it and will be making too many pies as usual. Not having so many guests for dinner is a huge relief for me - since I'm the #2 cook. We'll make just enough for ourselves and then to have lots of leftovers. Its tradition. :-) Tuesday is Pie Day at work. I'll be making a cherry cheesecake pie. Yummy!

Finally saw Shrek! It was sooo funny - loved it. Highly recommend it.

Having a pretty relaxing weekend despite the fact that my sister and her baby are back staying upstairs... they were gone for 2 days. Despite the excuse that K is scared (totally paranoid) that her land lady will do physical harm to her or the baby, now they are here because the baby picked up a virus and the doctor told K not to take her home to a damp basement apartment. Which could possibly be true since the virus is causing little E to have raspy breathing. Oh well... they have been quiet so far. I've just stayed down here and not let them bother me. I'm putting some foam rubber in the heat vents to block out more of the noise coming from upstairs. I've got the heat vents covered with cardboard anyway since it gets too hot down here in the winter. I'd rather have it a bit chilly then dive into a nice warm snuggly bed with lots and lots of blankets. Still no *major* RA flare ups - woohoo!! I'm still achy as hell in the mornings and my hands and feet hurt throughout the day, but not bad enough to take pain pills. Relaxing and stretching seem to be helping keep it under control. I've also discovered wrapping my hand when the knuckles are swollen helps a lot too - to keep it slightly immobile. This week will be Week #6 with the new medication - 2 - 6 more to go before we know if its working or not as far as modifying the disease to prevent joint damage. I actually won't know for certain until Jan 2 when I go see my Rheumatologist. My company dumped my current health insurance for 2002. At first I was really freaking out - wondering how it would effect the doctors I see, etc. I'm hoping that things will work out OK. Pre-existing conditions don't play as a factor which I'm grateful for.

I went to see the movie "Shallow Hal" today. The story line was good, I think but a lot of the exaggeration about "fat" people was bad. They had one chair break and one booth in a restaurant fall apart when the "fat" girl was sitting in them. Like that ever happens. They also had her eating all the time. I saw the making of the movie on a HBO special one night and they made this movie sound very sympathetic and realistic towards heavy or "not so good looking" people and how the world treats them. This movie really didn't. It wasn't sympathetic at all, if anything it made fun of them. The part I did like about the movie is how the inner beauty of the people was showed. I don't think I'll see this movie again. All in all it was a good day though. L and I (and her niece came along) went to lunch and had a chance to do a bit of shopping. I went into one of my favorite stores, Bath & Body Works to get some of my favorite Tranquil Sleep body mousse and lotion. Much to my surprise and dismay, their whole line of aromatherapies changed. They now have Vanilla and Lavender Sleep products, which are basically the same as Tranquil Sleep, but the smell isn't quite the same. I'm bummed. I still bought some and hope I'll learn to love it just as much as their old stuff. I wish they'd just leave some products the same!! Why fix something when its not broke, as they say?!

I'm much calmer tonight about the whole K thing. She was actually gone today - off celebrating her husban'd b-day so things are nice and quiet. YAY! But, she'll be back tomorrow. The whole thing with her staying here is she's scared of her land lady. She's being totally paranoid but there's nothing I can do. My parents told me tonight that they're tired of her being here so much too, but she's their daughter and they want to help her. So, I'll just stay down here in my safe haven and try and ignore the fact that she's here. If I can just hang on until Dec 6 then I'll have it made. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm going out to lunch and a movie with my friend L. We haven't been out to play for ages and this will be nice and relaxing I think - just what I need right now, a day out to play. :-) I stopped off to get my brother-in-law a gift card from the local video/music store and found a couple of CDs for me - to make myself feel better I suppose! I bought the Default CD Fallout (they sing "Wasting My Time") and all their songs are produced by Nickelback so the CD should be good. I also bought an old Cult CD Sonic Temple with "FireWoman" and "Sweet Soul Sister" on it. Have to give them a listen while I'm cleaning tomorrow morning.

I need to rant and rave a bit about my favorite sister K. She is so bugging the shit out of me I can just scream. She's taking such advantage of my parents and their good hearts. She and her husband moved out (after living here for 9 months), K had her baby and they were out this house for about 2-3 weeks. All of the sudden, they start having problems with their land lady - or one thing or another so K and the baby start staying here at night (while her husband works graveyards) and pretty much here all day too. (Note: I live in the basement of my parent's home - pathetic I know, but I pay rent and help out around the house, etc and I'm poor) The Baby waking up all hours of the night, crying, you know, the usual baby things. But of course, K is sooo tired so Mom and Dad get up with the baby. Free babysitters 24 x 7. Tonight I get home, and was fixing myself something to eat - some leftovers. She came into the kitchen and this is how the conversation went: K: Oh, what's for dinner? Are you fixing that for me? Me: No - this is for me. K: I wish you would make some sloppy joes, I'm really craving them! Me: You can cook (thinking "What the F*CK are you telling me this for? I've been at work for 11 hrs and the last thing I want to do is cook something for YOU who's been sitting on her ass all day long!!"). K: Oh, but you're such a good cook and I don't remember how to make them. Me: I tell her how to make them. (thinking "What a snow job" but it is true! I'm a much better cook than she is because I do know how to cook and she's too lazy to). I leave and come downstairs to my safe haven. No sooner than I sit down here at my computer does she come downstairs to get into the food storage room. She starts asking me "Is this all you guys have is this and that..." I couldn't bring myself to answer. She was making fun of the variety of macaroni that Mom has in there. I so wanted to say "Excuse me, but you are eating HER food - what the hell are you complaining about?" Free room and board and she has the nerve to bitch?! I thought I just better keep my mouth shut or it would mean World War III. She's got a wicked temper and if I did say anything, she'd play the "MOM!! Karen just said..." shit and make me out to be the bad guy. No thanks. She also told me that they're moving out of their apartment on Nov 30 but can't move into their new apartment until Dec 6. Guess what that means? UGH. They'll all be living here! SCREAM!!!!!. Xanax is going to be my friend that week!! I hope I don't suffer any permanent damage or don't injur one of them. Gotta keep my stress under control. GRRR! Mom and Dad are so sympathetic toward K and she is really taking advantage of them in all sorts of ways. They're not helping her, they're enabling her. She needs to get off her ass and get a job now that the baby is over 2 months old. She always comes up with some excuse.

MUCH happier today. Had to work, but that's OK. I got a lot done and stayed pretty busy. I got a call from a friend who did have the day off, and we went to lunch to my favorite Mexican restaurant. Cha, cha, cha. LOVE those cheese enchiladas. :-) Had the best day in a long time as far as my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'm enjoying every minute! Ahhhh!

I'm grouchy, therefore, I will not blog! Trust me, you'll thank me.

Watched the movie Cats and Dogs. Cute movie and pretty funny. I didn't like the way the cats were portrayed as the 'evil' ones though. The discussions of Thanksgiving Dinner are starting. What are we going to do, where are we going to have it, what are we going to eat, etc. Every-other year we have dinner at my brother's house and that was last year... so, hello people! Its the year for the parent's house. Not a hard decision. As for what we're having? The usual?? Turkey and stuffing, ham, potatoes and gravy, yams (yuck), veggies, salads, homemade rolls and pies, plenty of pickles, olives, etc. Don't get me wrong, I like Thanksgiving. We always have WAY too much food and all that preparation for a dinner that is over in a matter of 45 minutes. After dinner the usual tradition of everyone getting up from the table, claiming pure misery and disappearing to the basement or some other corner of the house, leaving my Mom, sister S, sis-in-law P and I to clean up. As soon as we get everything cleaned up, the others mysteriously start re-appearing as quickly as they disappeared earlier, and hungry for pie. Its almost like they have radar. This will be the first year in probably 15 years that all siblings will be under the same roof for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My sister K has been out of the state for years and didn't ever come home for the holidays. I think Mom and Dad are really excited about everyone being home. With Thanksgiving comes the ceremonial house cleaning with my Mom. Which includes cleaning carpets. I usually am the one to clean them for her, but it looks like this year is out because of the RA. I don't want to see Mom clean the carpets though, its too hard on her too, as well as Dad. But if I know Mom, she won't be satisfied unless the carpets are clean.

All right, Gaekwad we need to talk! What's the deal with quitting your blog?? I'm so bummed!!!

I had a cleaning frenzy this morning. Since I haven't been able to clean *really* good the past few weeks, I went nuts today. It was driving me nuts... it feels so good to have it done, such a feeling of accomplishment! But I'm paying for it tonight. I'm sore as hell... but relaxing and will behave the rest of the night. Its been 7 whole days without a major RA flare up. YAY!! :-) Although some of my joints are swelling, they're not painful enough to take a pain pill - hate the way my mind goes fuzzy with them ... yes, fuzzier than normal, and that IS possible. Even though I haven't had any major flare ups this week, I've still been a bitch from hell at times - achy and soooooo tired/exhausted. Also frustrated that my body is doing things its not supposed to and not cooperating with my mind. You know its bad when I can't stand being around myself. Fortunately I've got great friends and family that put up with me. I rented some movies - which seems to be the only way to keep myself entertained these days on the weekends. Blockbuster loves me. Bridget Jones Diary: so funny! Saw it in the theatre and loved it so had to see it again... I shall have to buy it... Angle Eyes: very good movie, I really enjoyed it. More of a love story than I got the impression of from the previews, but that was OK. Bit of a tear jerker, but ended good. So E, if it comes out in the UK, rent it! Legally Blonde: cute movie. Wasn't a laugh-a-thon but funny. Shows that blondes can be brilliant - I liked that! Cats and Dogs: haven't watched it yet... review to follow...

Yesterday at work, all access to the internet as well as outside e-mail was knocked out for over 5 hours by an auto accident that occured off the base. Sure makes it easy for someone to purposefully sabatoge the communications. Major security breach in my opinion! Not a good idea to have a single point of failure, but this is how the AF wants it. The communications sector wants total and complete control. So when something like this happens, not just one building goes down, but ALL buildings go down.

Ever had one of those days when the piddliest thing can set you off? Well, having one of those days. I came sooooo close to telling several people where they could shove it today. I kept silent, finished work, drove home and now I'm going to lock myself away from the world for the night. I HATE being this grouchy! I'm exhausted, so that's probably all it is. To bed I go!

I heard about this website RA-Access for Rheumatoid Arthritis on TV. Not much information on the website itself, but you can request more information and newsletters - its free!

In the past two days, 12 different searches on both Yahoo and Google have brought people to my blog for the term "pooped panties"!! Who the hell is looking for this type of shit (no pun intended)?? I thought MY life was pathetic... ;-) So if you're one of these people MOVE ON no pooped panties here... NOT sorry to disappoint you.

Ho, hum... busy couple of days. I worked most of the day today to make up for being sick on Monday. Really cuts into my weekend. I've got all my errands done though, so all I have to do is get my ass out of bed tomorrow and do my cleaning. My Dad vacuumed for me... which was very sweet. I think he has no clue *how* to vacuum anything other than the middle of the floor. He didn't even go around my cat's litter boxes, can't even tell he did anything. So tomorrow of course I'll have to do it. I sound like I'm ungrateful... I'm not really! I suppose I'm one of those people that if I want something done right I must do it myself! My cat is quite messy and tracks the litter and dumps it out the sides, no matter how many times I've asked her to be careful! and despite the neat little walking boards that I purchased at Petsmart. Sigh. Work was nice and quiet today. I caught up on lots of little things. I was so excited to hear that neither my boss or my cube mate were coming in due to meetings. Then all of the sudden, the cube mate walks in! UGH!! He changed his mind and decided to come in to the office before his meetings. Crap. So he was there for 2 hours then left... not too bad I suppose. He'll be gone most of the week of Nov 12 - YIPPEEE! I don't mind my boss being there actually, he's pretty cool and is a different cubical so he's not always breathing down my neck. Ahhh... so glad its the weekend!! :-)

I decided (with much prodding of my friends) to dress up for Halloween at work today. I pulled out an old costume that was both easy and comfy. You could say I was a 'horny' girl. I was a unicorn! Didn't win any contests, but by the end of the day I wasn't throwing things off like mad like everyone else getting tired of their costumes. It was a pretty fun day, although I didn't play as much as I usually do on days like this. I just had too much to do and didn't feel up to being a party animal. Maybe next year I'll be better...

I've shocked a family of church-goers. While outside washing my car (for probably the last time by hand this year!) and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. This green mini-van drives by and suddenly slows down while approaching my house. I look up and there are two parents and several children peeping at me through the windows. Their faces almost plastered against the windows. Was I naked? No... just washing my car! Is this a crime? No... don't think so. I started cracking up at the sight of these people... my next door neighbor also happened to be washing his truck and noticed the scene and I heard him start to chuckle. We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. I'm a sinner, I know... but I do enjoy to wash my car on Sunday mornings. I also have enjoyed the occasional dirty look from other church-goers, but nothing like this - ever. Woohoo! Success!

I really HATE the time change to end Day Light Savings time. I wish they'd just leave well enough alone. It would be nice to have some light in the evening after work rather have that than in the morning. Grumble, grumble. I'm having a dilema over what to dress up as for Halloween for work. I don't want to go to a lot of trouble, but want it to be fun. Just don't seem to have the energy this year. L and I were thinking of being angels but that idea fizzeled out. It was a great idea, total opposites of what we are! She's decided to be a spider lady which will be cool, she found a costume. I was then thinking of being an old woman cuz that's what I feel like lately... but then its too much trouble to LOOK like one (I've got the walk down though). I may just end up wearing a Halloween sweatshirt and black jeans. Then I'd have to go OUT and FIND a Halloween sweatshirt... I'm pitiful. At least my cubical is well decorated!!! Although the security people put the cabosh on my decorative cool spider web lights! They're hung up, just can't turn them on. Just not the same... Yes, thank you, I'd like some cheese with my whine...

The movies are NOT keeping me entertained... I'm beginning to wonder about thinking about what trouble I can get into. Too much nervous and ummm... naughty energy in my body that needs an escape! Will have to work on that... My cubical at work is full of fake cobby/spider webs. These webs are everywhere! I wore a lacey dress the other day and the web started to stick to my dress. They looked like they were coming out from under the hem of my dress... my friend L and I looked at each other and started to giggle. We both had the same idea that the cobwebs were actually starting to come from ME. Yes, it has been a loooong time and the cobwebs need to be cleared. The next day she came up to me and told me she and another friend were going to buy me a pair of cobweb covered panties... What characters they are... like I need any! I got a good laugh out of it... and face it, I would have gotten them the panties and just not thought about it, if the situation were reversed. ;-)

OK, so yesterday I was in the most pain I think I've ever been in... or at least the worst Rheumatoid Arthritis pain I've been in. I woke up about midnight in a cold sweat and in such pain I could hardly breath. Both my shoulders flared - and my right wrist. Trying to get out of my water bed was fun... managed to finally get out and find my pain medication. I took two and it barely numbed the pain... UGH. Not fun. By yesterday afternoon I was feeling much better. Today is a totally better day. I got yelled at for vacuuming... so promised not to do that for the rest of the day... easy promise ;-) I went to Blockbuster and rented some movies... so now I have to behave... well, as OK, much as I can behave...

AH! Weekend is here. :-D I got a letter from my 21 yr old nephew T-RAV today. I read it and by the time I was done with the first page, I was crying. This young man - who is pretty much like a son to me told me how much I have meant to him and how much he admires me. Thanked me for all I've done for him, etc., etc., Oh, here I go again... getting all misty eyed just thinking about it. We've always had a special relationship but it warms my heart to know just how much he's learned from me... when I think I've done most of the learning from him. Before he came along into our family... first granchild... The siblings or parents hardly ever showed a lot of affection towards each other. We knew we loved each other and were loved, but never said it or showed it. I think the first time T ever said "wuv you Kurn" in that cute little voice, my life was changed forever. It changed the majority of my family as well. Kinda cool!

Thanks, E for the link!!! Great story about the police in Thailand having to modify their groin protectors due to some groin grabbing! LOL!! If the policemen are cute and single, I'd like to give that a go!!! They better get some butt protectors too... ;-) *snicker*

Call me the financial ass kicker. I FINALLY got things straightened out. Good thing cuz I was getting really frustrated. My boss, the Timster, told me that I could keep my job for another day! Woohoo!! I actually got quite a bit accomplished today which was nice. One more day to the weekend - WOOHOO! If my calculations are correct, I'll have my 40 hours in by 1pm tomorrow!! Ohhh yeahhhhh! Benefits of being an 'hourly' employee. And maybe I'll be ambitious and get all my errands and cleaning done so I can kick back and rest (and hopefully feel good enough to play a bit!) the rest of the weekend. Sister K went home... but is coming back. There is apparently a carbon-monoxide leak in her apartment... hope the gas company gets it fixed FAST. But as long as she stays upstairs, I'll be down here in my safe little haven. No one can bother me in this safe little haven... ;-) I'm pathetic...

A couple of interesting referrals from search engines: *Fart sniffing girls. Are there any out there??? Hmmm... probably must be somewhere... not here though, sorry. *Balls and pheromones. Do the pheromones come from the balls and/or somewhere else?? Anyone know the answer?? I'm curious now...

Two words for my sister K: GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's been staying here for yet another day... this makes 8 out of the past 9 days. GO HOME, GO HOME, GO HOME!!!!

UGH, what a day... just as I was THINKING I'd solved all the financial quandries, I found another area where I'm off. Sigh... I'm getting tired of this shit. All the construction cones are FINALLY gone!! Woohoo! Road construction is done for the winter. 3 lanes were open on the freeway, I almost didn't know how to act getting home in 25 minutes vs 40! Is it really only Tuesday???

Today was quite an adventure... about 6:30 am we were evacuated from our building, no one knew why - just that we were to leave. The meeting point was in the parking lot across the street - which is next to a cafeteria/restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant filled to its maximum capacity within minutes... not like I'd really want to be in there since I HATE crowded places. I'd type the phobia, but I can't think how to spell it right now, brain dead! My jacket was in my car - great place for it, huh? The parking lot was blocked off so I couldn't go get my coat. So, I stood in the nice fresh, crisp air. Not really too bad, wasn't shivering... just had goose bumps and I'm sure my headlights were on FULL beam if ya know what I mean... There were a couple of gentleman who offered me their coats (nice to know there are still some gentleman out there) but I declined thinking we'd go back in the building any minute... well, almost 2.5 hours later we were let back in. Feet were frozen but quickly thawed. The time went very quickly really, caught up with friends about their weekends and chatted with people I don't see very often. Got to admire the one really cute guy (in my opinion) in the building - and his ass. Enjoyed that very much ;-) I want to ask if he's packing heat in his pants but I keep my self control. tee hee I have one rule I stick to: don't date anyone from work. Found out this afternoon what all the hub-bub was about. There was a guy who was working over time and suddenly took very ill - and they suspected Anthrax. Hmmmm... doesn't Anthrax symptoms take days to surface?? But I'm glad they weren't taking any chances.

Colin in Boston requested a story of how I got the nickname Toad. Its really not an exctiting story but kinda funny if you know me. So, here it goes: I had a dream one night that I was a female mud wrestler, which included having the great body that fits in the bikini and looks damn good (yes, it REALLY was a dream!!). My stage name was Little Toad... when it came time for the wrestling match, there were men everywhere crowded around the ring cheering, drunk, etc. The usual scene in a bar like that. A male volunteer came into the ring wanting to roll around with two women in the mud. In the end, we whipped his ass (details are a bit sketchy so I can't elaborate). He was NOT begging for more... I made the mistake of telling my sister and a friend about it, so they started calling me Toad. But I think the meaning has sort of changed a bit over the years... It could be that people think I'm a horny little toad... hmmm... could be... My dream of a personalized license plate would read HRNYTOAD.

Sunday activities: Laundry, lounging, Sunday dinner with parents, aunt and probably my sister K and baby who have been a permanent fixture here for 5 days. Enough already... GO HOME! She figures she's got free babysitters and its starting to annoy me, as much as I love little E, I need my rest and can't be looking after her or hearing her cry. My nerves just can't take it these days. She doesn't cry much, only when you change her, bathe her, and when she's hungry. Its starting to grate on my nerves. Just seeing people in general really! ;-) I'm going to my sister-in-law P's brother's viewing tonight, (he passed away last week) with my other sis S. The drive through Sardine canyon this time of year is soooooo beautiful! All the fall colors in full sight. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm going to the funeral tomorrow... so I better go tonight so I can pay my respects at least once. Haven't gone anywhere with S in quite a while, so I think it will be nice to get away from everyone else. I love my family dearly, don't get me wrong... but I need my solitude for at least one day... but that's not gonna happen this weekend so I might as well get used to it. Sigh...am I a bitch or what?? Sure feel like one, or maybe that's just my guilt talking.

All righty P, getting my thoughts together here, as per your orders! ;-) My thoughts are quite muddled at the moment... just finished having dinner with 18 relatives - aunts, uncle, cousins and brothers, sisters, nieces, etc. What a house full. Quite a huggy bunch too, which isn't good when my shoulder hurts like hell. Doesn't do any good to pin a note to my shoulder that says "do not touch" they still gave me a full hug, even as much as I tried the half hug. One cousin gave my upper arm a squeeze and I had to bite my lip from screaming... made my eyes water and had to take a pain pill. I know she'd feel like shit if she knew, so we won't tell her... good thing she doesn't know about my blog. So glad to be down here in my nice, quiet haven. Just me and my pussy cat hanging out, watching Ally McBeal reruns and waiting for J to come online. Check out Gaekwad's geekornot.com pic. I voted a 10, so he should be nice to me... and thanks to E for the link too. He's gotten quite a few 10's and is quite proud... and I'm proud to know him. :-)

Oh yeah baby! Nickelback CD Sliver Side Up! Found it, bought it, listening to it. Great CD so far... but I haven't been able to get past song #2 "How You Remind Me" yet... gotta keep backing up! I also pre-ordered Creed's new CD, coming out on Nov 20 - can't wait!!! Had a pretty good shopping trip with Mom and Aunt LJ. I'm exhausted, but it was relatively painless. They usually shop for HOURS on end, but seems that as they're getting older, shorter trips are in order. I may go shopping with them more often. We also went for Mexican food... tummy is HAPPY.

Ahhh... Fridays... love Fridays... no work for 3 whole days. :-D I'm actually feeling well enough today to get some things done! YAY! My Aunt is coming for the weekend, and she has a list of things she wants to do. One of them is to go eat Mexican food. I'm IN! I'll take her and my Mom to my fav Mexican restaurant... Mmmmm... Cha, cha, cha. I was there yesterday and had the delicious cheese enchiladas... I'm thinking I can do a repeat today. Then a bit of shopping. There is one CD that I MUST have. Nickleback's new one with "How You Remind Me" on it. Can't wait for Creed's new CD to come out too, MUST have that one!! LOVE CREED!

My sister-in-law's brother passed away last night from a long, tormenting illness. So sad, but at least he's not suffering any more. Things happen in 3's. Another gentleman (that I knew growing up and his wife and my Mom are great friends), also passed away from cancer. So, there's the 3. All within a week. The first one was my old boss Dr. C. Strange but true.

I have a weakness for peanut butter... one of those things I just HAVE to have... I discovered some Fiddle Faddle Popcorn with Skippy Peanut Butter... MMMM! Could hardly wait to get out of the store to try it. Yes, I did get back to work before I tried it, I'm proud of myself. I could have opened the box right there in the store and try it, but decided I wasn't THAT desperate. It was pretty good actually, but I was hoping for more peanut butter and less sweet. My friend Sandi found something at the local military BX - popcorn with white chocolate (another one of my weaknesses). She bought me a package and it was pure heaven. Better than the peanut butter, but not quite as good as sex. At least I'm thinking sex is still pretty great, been so long I'm having trouble remembering it... but that's another story.

Holy shit - the brother-in-law just dropped by and was so cheerful, he actually KISSED me on the cheek (face)! Good thing I was sitting down or else my knees would have buckled.

Feeling more like myself today... I finished decorating my cubical for Halloween (yes, already!) by putting the cobwebs all over. The webs came complete with cute little black spiders so I planted them on 3 lady's keyboards. 2 out of the 3 jumped. I got my jumping spider out and set it by the candy jar. It has a long tube where you pump air into the spider and it jumps. I got a man reaching for some candy, he about jumped out of his skin. It was great. I have these cool spider webs that light up, but was told they're 'illegal' to have in the building, fire code. I'm so bummed! I put them up anyway and just not plugging them in. If they have a tizzy, they can bite me. They can't catch on fire without electricity! It was an absolute gorgeous fall day today! I totally spaced Boss' Day today, so L and I snuck out and went to the store "All-A-Dollar" and went wild. Bought our bosses balloons and candy. The Timster (my boss) was quite excited. I love making people's days like that!

Turns out the guy from Price, UT was making the whole story up about the envelope containing Anthrax. How desperate (AND STUPID) does one have to be to go to such lengths for attention and to scare people?? I hope they nail his sorry ass to the wall for that.

What is this world coming to?? Idiots everywhere. The Anthrax scare is horrible - and if everyone doesn't be careful, we can all end up in trouble. One example, a man in Price, Utah (some po-dunk little town) receives an envelope today filled with white powder. What's the first thing he does?? He goes and shows all his neighbors what he got in the mail. He exposed himself as well as countless others to possible anthrax. HELLO?! Shouldn't we call the police?? Hmmmm... would be my first instinct. There was a man who stole a single-engine airplane in Idaho (borders Northern Utah), flew it to Utah and dropped a pipe bomb on I-15 (our freeway). Luckily it didn't explode. Not sure where exactly it was dropped yet, details are still sketchy. What is the matter with people? Seems like this terrorist stuff is bringing all the closet terrorists and sickos out into the world. What ever happened to "live and let live"??

I've just added another link to the right, Cuddles - my friend J from the UK! YAY!!

Oh my hell! New website referrals: Google: "Licking my butt clean" and Yahoo: "Pictures girls in pooped panties". There are some seriously SICK people out there. I get the usual 2-4 of 'pantie sniffing' type referrals per day... but ya know, that's getting kind of boring. Its good to see that Gaekwad moving up on the list for the "free beast porn". Congrats P!! ;-)

Coming soon! Colin's Blog!!! YAY!

Today started off on a nice note. I got up, got some breakfast and was going to check my e-mail while eating my yogurt. I turned on the computer and a flash came out of the back of the tower. Yes, the power supply had blown. I took the tower to get it fixed, and was so grateful to them for fixing it then and there... 10 mins and it was done. No charge either - love warranties! The day got better when I took my Mom to lunch and then ran a couple of errands with her. She commented on how this war is bringing back memories of her childhood and WWII. She was only 5 or 6 at the time, but remembers the loud sirens to warn everyone it was a 'black out' and her mother gathering her and her 2 sisters to hide under the kitchen table and sitting there until the threat had passed. She said the uncertainty is very unsettling, which I agree. My Mom is one great lady - very sweet and tender hearted. I'm also lucky to have a great Dad as well, don't want to leave him out! He had knee surgery a couple weeks ago and has been naughty. Doing things he shouldn't be doing, going up and down stairs, etc., before he should have. Mom has been on his case but it doesn't do any good. Last night while eating dinner, he told her "Dear, I think I've been over doing things. I'll start taking things easy now." It takes them a while to figure things out... ;-) No offense to MEN out there, we women just naturally have more common sense. Well, MOST women. There are some women out there that worry me more than me.

Its been a terribly BLAH week, so I won't go into details. Haven't felt like doing much at all, I've gone to work, then home to crash. My old boss Dr. C passed away on Sunday from a brain tumor. So sad! I'm off to the viewing now, should be standing room only type crowd. He was a great man and will be missed.

So yesterday was a low point. This arthirtis pain was starting to get to me, so I decided to have a Karen day. I got in the hot tub and soaked for a while, then took a nice hot shower. I went to the local Blockbuster and rented 6 movies. A Knights Tale, Someone Like You, The Mexican, Sweet November, Double Take, and Exit Wounds. I ended with Sweet November (excellent movie and Keanu looks soooo fine) and had a nice long cry - long after the movie was over too. Quite ridiculous at the time, but sometimes you just gotta let loose. This morning I got into my e-mail and my friend J in the UK sent me some virtual flowers - so made my day! Thanks again J!! :-)

Hey Colin - you tall and extrememly sexy man in Boston.... WHERE'S YOUR BLOG????? I'm waiting and need entertainment!! And no, Carol didn't tell me to say that. ;-)

Nothing much happened today, I got up and managed to do some dusting and clean my bathroom. Someone will have to take pitty on me and do the vacuuming. I chatted with E over the e-mail while I was limping around being busy. Then I went to my general doctor and he prescribed some pain pills to help me survive the next few months until the new medication takes effect, which is 8-12 weeks! I ran (or limped) some errands then came home. Crashed for the afternoon and slept for about 3 hours. Ahhhh... this is the life. I really don't like sitting around when there are things to be done, its frustrating that my body won't cooperate. I do have to keep my chin up and my good attitude or it will make things worse. Deep breath. Cheezy grin. :-D

Last night after work, the girls (a group of my buddies) went to the club for an evening out. We celebrated Renate's birthday and it was pretty fun. We had a lot of laughs, although we weren't our usual selves. The manager didn't even come around to harrass us, guess we didn't draw enough attention. At least while I was there... I was the first one to leave cuz I was soooo tired and feeling like shit. It felt so good to laugh though - and with great friends which makes it even more great. :-)