It's a GIRL, that's a FRIEND

I remember when I was in high school when I had a TON of guy friends. No, not Boyfriends (believe it or not I wasn't the school slut) Guys that were friends. I would say it over and over to my parents. Somehow I didn't think that they believed me....but that is what they were. Yes, I had BOYFRIENDS too. Actual going steady not seeing anyone else come over and make out on my couch BOYFRIENDS. But then there were the one's that were just friends.

Well my son has one of those over....RIGHT NOW. A girl. That's in his class. But not a GIRLFRIEND. And now I know how my parents felt when I had one of my guy friends (boys that were just friends) over. 

This...is torture.

I'm on my 2nd glass of wine with my ear against the basement door.

Shot Through The Arm, And Your To Blame

Free Flu Shots!!

For some reason my new boss was quite excited about this and urged our department to sign up. (all 4 of us, she's not doing it because she's pregnant...excuses excuses) I guess last year a majority of the company got the flu...so free flu shots are being offered today. 

And because I travel with the herd and want to fit in, I got a flu shot. This has to be one of the stupidest things I have ever done to fit in that is for sure. There I was standing in line with my new found friends. One by one, each of them got their shot and walked past me saying..."Oh, it's really not that bad." One by one I started to become reassured that maybe it really wasn't all that bad. Telling myself, "You have 4 tattoos, this won't be bad at all."

I stepped up to the nurse and she told me I'll feel a little prick. And DAMN, my new found friends all lied to me. That kinda hurt. I would choose a tattoo over a flu shot ANYDAY!

And if I get the flu this year...I'll be mighty pissed.

A Calculator: More than just an adding machine

For some reason, the weather went from summer immediately to winter with just a little bit of fall peppered in between. I knew it was getting colder in the evenings (my ferns thank me for bringing them inside) but this morning I was not prepared. I sent my son on his way to the bus and got in my car whenI noticed....FROST. Frost! Already? Apparently sqwirting wiper fluid and going 10MPH does NOT help the situation. I had to pull over and grab whatever I found (a calculator) and scraped my window.

How's that for MacGyver tactics?

My Two Dogs

There's nothing better than coming home and rolling around on the ground with the one's who love you the most!!

Stylin' and Profilin'

Seems like I don't go shopping at actual stores anymore. Time gets away from me doing other things and I just haven't had a chance to shop. EXCEPT FOR TODAY...I received a promotional code from a friend here at work (that's right, I have a friend!) from Urban Outfitters and well, I didn't want to be rude so I used it. I'm so excited for my new items to arrive in the mail in 2-3 weeks.

I DID IT!!!

Ok, so this Weight Watchers thing really does work. I have officially been in the program a total of two weeks and have lost: 7 POUNDS!! I'm feeling good (can't fit into my skinny jeans still but that's my goal) BUT I know I can do it if I stick to it.

Familiar Faces

Facebook. My new vice. I joined back in July and it's brought me many faces I knew from the past. People I've worked with and who I truely miss. Kids I've been a counselor to at summer camp. But this week it brought back faces I knew in high school. (I hear the jaws music here in my head)

Now, high school had it's fair share of ups and downs for me. Up's being the years I spent cheerleading, designing the school yearbook, hanging out with friends, and driving all over town just because. The down's were well, what a teenager going through adolescense things are downs. A pimple on prom night, a break up because the wind was blowing north, forgetting to wear bloomers under your cheerleading outfit and realizing it when you are on the football track (thank god my coach had an extra pair just for an emergency). Some downs were far worse than others.  The death of an uncle, being bullied during lunch, boyfriend moving away to college and the break up that cut deeper than the others, a car accident on a cold slippery night, friendships that I thought were solid...weren't so solid. Some of these downs seem to have an effect on me in these later years. I have a hard time trusting people. I put up walls around myself. My outward actions don't always reflect how I am feeling inside. BUT despite all of those feelings inside....I have managed to make the most out of life and live it to it's fullest...because life is too short not to.

And all of this analyzation comes from these familiar faces on Facebook. These faces bring back the memories of high school. All of the memories, good and bad. Funny how a face can launch you right back to a place in time....like you've never left. Back when I graduated high school, I was sad and wanted to go back. And now looking back, I'm satisfied with where I am and where I'm heading with the knowledge of the past but the excitement of what's to come. All of this...because of the faces.

Deep. I know....

 

The Trials of Momhood

I remember the days that I would fall asleep and not wake up until the morning. I remember the weekends when I would sleep until 10am and mosey around in my pajamas until noon. But now, I am lucky if I sleep a consecutive two hours at a time. (and this is not because of my 10 year old, it's because of my 2 two year olds) Many have said, "You need to train your dogs not to sleep with you." But looking at their angel faces, in our household that is not an option.

Last night was different and I wasn't upset with my one dog (AJ) who is stubborn when I let him out at 11pm....only wanting to stay outside and look for rabbits. He did stay out there, but I fell asleep sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall waiting for him. But when we all got back into bed, he wouldn't stop itching and shaking his head. By 1:30am I was over it and thought a Benedrill would calm him down. By 4am, we were all fast asleep.

This morning my poor baby's ear is bright red. I think he might have caught an ear infection when he was visiting the kennel. Poor thing.....if only they could say, "Hey, my ear hurts."

We Came, We Saw, We Tired

We ventured into the city on Saturday for a couple hours

 (only a couple because grandma had chili for us for lunch)

Mind you they dropped us off at the El station at 10:30am

We saw the city in less than 4 hours and were home for chili by 2pm

I do love this city!

Token "here I am at this location" picture

The buildings on Michigan Ave.

The Bean at Millenium Park

The happiest grandparents in the world!

4:00pm

I wish the work day ended at 4:00pm. Every single day I seem to "shut down" creativity and every single day it seems to be right at 4:00pm. Now, I wonder if my work day ended at 4:00pm....would I shut down at 3:00pm?

Since 4, I have done the following to burn some time:

• Caught up on celebrity gossip (Madonna is divorcing Guy Ritchie, tramp, he's a cutie)

• Cleaned my desk with 409

• Checked the traffic report for my drive home (all clear!)

• Listened to life.fm (new awesome music site I was told to visit)

• Got scared that the IT guy will catch me listening to internet radio (I'm still fairly new and timid)

• Changed the location of my son's picture on my bulletin board.

And all of that took about 7 minutes.....now what?!?!

Points, Schmoints....Ugh. Weight Watchers.

Warning: Angry Dieting Girl Talking Here

This counting points thing is f*cking AWEFUL (speaking from the girl who just ate chicken strips and french fries for lunch...like 20 points. I said screw it today) Being that I get 21 points per day....ya, I've seriously gone over today. (really, not just today though...it's been like EVERY DAY since I started last week)

I drink wine every night. 2 glasses = 7.5 points.

Weight Watchers can kiss it right now.

I even went grocery shopping yesterday to make my house "weight watcher friendly". My husband and I were watching our favorite show last night, Dexter, and normally we watch it with a nice bowl of popcorn. BECAUSE my pantry is weight watcher friendly...no popcorn. I was dieing.

So I drank more wine to compensate.

I need more control.

Weight and Watch

When I worked downtown, I would frequent the gym everyday during my lunch break. Monday and Wednesday would be Cardio Kickboxing. Tuesday and Thursday would be Buns and Abs. And Friday I would either do the tread mill or throw in another cardio class. I thought I was pretty healthy and fit for my age. I wasn't necessarily gaining weight nor loosing it....but I was toned.

And then there is now. No gym in sight. And I know every fast food location within a 10 mile radius. BUT today I have officially made the decision to be a dedicated weight watcher member. I am going to track my points and it will keep me disciplined.

And it gives me something to take my mind off work for 15 minutes every now and then!

My Little Angels?

They look like little angels, don't they? These are my dogs. Kylie is on the left and A.J. is on the right. Asking me what kind of dog will get you nowhere in understanding them any better. When we adopted A.J., they told us he was part Beagle, part Pomeranian. Ugh, they MIGHT (using term loosely) have the beagle part correct. And Kylie is part Beagle, part Boxer maybe.

These angels are keeping me from 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. What dog needs to go outside because he has to go to the bathroom (a.k.a. play with the rabbits in the yard) TWO TIMES A NIGHT?? That would be A.J. and Kylie goes along because well, since everyone's up...might as well. Leaving me.....completely useless here at work. I even took a Tylonol PM last night to assist me in ignoring them. I think I need something stronger.

Bye Bye Luxury

The sale price of the car if I wanted to buy it.

$52,900

The price I had to pay to drive it today.

$70

Giving it back to Enterprise and 

the sales guy having to pry my fingers off the keys

Priceless

The Clutch, Some Rain, and a Cadillac

The one thing that I am lax on is car maintenance. I guess I got SO used to my dad taking care of all my car issues when I was growing up. I am 32 years old. It's been a while since I've lived with my parents. Don't get me wrong, I get my oil changed when the little sticker tells me I am due, but anything past that....

The lesson I have learned today is that if you think that your clutch is acting funny (maybe sticking a little) GO IN IMMEDIATELY or else you'll be on a hill, in the rain, the first one in line at a stop light when your car doesn't want to get in gear. All I have to say is that at least no one honked at me. They must have seen a sad little woman crying in her front seat. I just thank the LORD I could get a hold of my husband who came to my rescue and we sat in his car for an hour waiting for the tow truck. It was actually nice to have some quality time with my man.

When the tow truck came, my husband took me to Enterprise and I got a car to tide me over until my car gets fixed. Here's what they gave me:

http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/model/gallery.jsp?model=srx

Leather seats. It even smells new! I now want a new car.

Proud Mom

My son makes me so very proud. He is in 5th grade (going on college, I swear). He came home today and asked me to read his leadership essay. I thought to myself, "Essay? Leadership?" As I was looking puzzled, he interupted my thought and puzzled look by saying, "I have decided to be on the Student Leadership Council. So I need you to read my essay."

Funny. I asked him last month if he wanted to be a part of the Student Leadership Council (I had a flyer sent home). He said no at the time. My baby's all grown up and needs to make the decision for himself.

He still lets me tuck him in at night. At least I have that.....