Boo!

Well, I'm at 8 am tomorrow. Wish me luck with that! Also, I wanted to remind you all that tomorrow is March 20 - the day to wear your favorite sweater! I bought myself a red zip-up sweater yesterday just for the occasion.

Scott had a meeting this afternoon, so he and I had lunch together, and then wandered aimlessly around Disney's Hollywood Studios (can I still call it MGM?) for a little while. He left for his meeting just in time for me to catch the new "Block Party Bash" parade.

I read someplace recently that John Lassetter has done little more in his new position within Disney than put his Pixar products in as many places as possible. This parade (transported from California Adventure) does little to dispel those thoughts. Oh - and the next attraction to open at the Park-Formerly-Known-as-MGM is a Pixar-themed shoot 'em up ride. Funny, I enjoyed that the first time around when it was called Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin!

But I digress. The parade (which isn't a traditional parade by any means) is cute. The only characters are Pixar-branded: those from Toy Story, the much-ignored A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. with surprise appearances from the Incredibles. The non-character performers are dressed in outfits that look like someone threw Austin Powers and Pixar into some sort of costuming blender.

The "block party" portions where the parade stops feature trampoline performers, dancers, and performers on scooters. I didn't get any pictures of those because I didn't do my homework ahead of time. I was at the very start of the parade, where the floats race past in less than 5 minutes, and then I leap-frogged the parade and caught it at the end... where the floats once again don't stop! How's that for dumb luck? Well, I got some cute pictures of the characters and some of the dancers. Next time I'll watch from a better spot!

Let it Be So...

If you haven't read or seen Obama's speech yesterday, I recommend reading the whole thing. I won't tell you what Scott said upon seeing an excerpt of it, but it brought an actual tear to my eye. Anyway, I wanted to share a portion of the speech here and keep it for posterity.

Am I alone in thinking this could be "the speech" of my generation? I just can't wait to hear what he has to say when added to the Hall of Presidents!

We can play Rev. Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words.

We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other
distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children.

This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st Century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the emergency room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care, who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life.

This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag.

We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for president if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.

And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation -- the young people whose
attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this
election.

Baby!!!

Congrats Beth and Brian on your newest addition!!!

(the kid is 3 days old and has his own blog... that's impressive)

The Raise

Wow... one little line in a blog post sure generates discussion I didn't think about. Just to clarify a little bit:

* Because my job is no longer unionized, my raises are merit-based. I thought this was extremely cool last year because I work hard and I deserve more than Joe Schmoe who sits there and does minimal work and gets a guaranteed 4-5% raise. Surely I'd be recognized beyond that!

* The raises are figured out on a scale of 1-5 (of course the company has cute little names like "meets expectations" and so on... but there's 5 of them, so I'm sticking to my 1-5 analogy). In 2006, after having been at The Restaurant for 5 months, my boss rated me a 4. He said he couldn't rate me a 5 because I still needed something to strive for or something like that. Still, 4 is a "B" performance - nothing to complain about.

* I was rated 4 in December 2006, and my raise kicked in in April 2007: a whopping 3.5%. To this day, I am still making about 30 cents per hour less than I was making at the RCC. Still, it's a trade-off because a) I'm so much less stressed and b) I make a ton of overtime here. I'm definitely bringing home more money.

* This past December, I was rated 5 (the only person in my location to do so). The raise hasn't kicked in yet, and I don't know what it is. I've got my fingers crossed for 5%... but even that doesn't seem that great considering everything I did last year. Even at only 4%, it'll still bump me over what I was making at the RCC... and within $3 of what Scott makes.

Anyway, when I was talking in that last entry about justifying a raise, at this point, whatever I do won't be reflected in my pay for another 13 months... and that's only if I'm still at The Restaurant in 13 months. It's sort of academic.

Spring Training

This Thursday and Friday are "Spring Training" at The Hotel. It's that lovely time of year when the unwashed masses convene in the convention center (where better to convene, really?) to learn tidbits about aspects of The Hotel we might not know.

Last year, we got to taste gluten-free cookies from the Bakery, saw a sneak peak of the newly re-designed rooms (including the sweet flat panel TVs), learned about the Swarovski flip flops for sale in the women's shop, etc.

Each little booth is manned by the managers of the location. Last year, due to The Boss's impending back surgery and the fact that he and The Chef had an awards ceremony to attend, Girl Chef and I had fun running the last round of presentations. Ironically enough, I dished out food while she talked. And in case you were wondering, 4-star cuisine can look like dog food on a plate, but it still tastes great!

This year, I imposed my will on my bosses early. About 6 months ago, I found a stash of old menu paper and proclaimed that we would use it to make this year's hand-out. I held onto it, and last week I finally got around to making the hand-out. Actually, I made two. One was visually pleasing, but quite verbose. The other was a large print bullet point list of facts. And The Boss and I actually agreed that the pretty one was the way to go, even though half the staff of The Hotel probably couldn't read it even if they wanted to! Good for us for not catering to the lowest common denominator!

The Boss also decided he wants my help during the event. That's slightly problematic for the following reasons:

* the first session starts at 8 am. That means two 14-hour days.
* the last session runs from 3-5 pm, which I couldn't do because of my "real" job.
* did I mention 8 am? or the 14-hour days?

I know from experience that when The Boss wants me to come in for something special, it means running around doing a whole lot of random errands/odds & ends. I imagine this particular project would mean a bunch of trips between the convention center and the office.

I'll probably go... even if the days will be long and painful. The food is good at Spring Training, and I know from last year that they feed the managers even better stuff between sessions. And it'll be one more thing to add to my list of "this is why I deserve a raise" at the end of the year. Isn't that what's most important? ;-)

More Chemical Warfare

Well, Scott's late-night chili dogs didn't do me in. However, I found myself closed up in my office today for 3/4 of my shift with 15 chairs fresh from refurbishment... complete with that "new chair smell," a.k.a. fresh varnish.

Wheeze!

Farewell, Cruel World(?)

About ten minutes ago, Scott finished eating the following:

* 2 hot dogs
* with spicy mustard,
* chili,
* and cheese
* plus a bowl full of chili
* with more cheese

If this is my final entry, it is probably safe to assume that I was overcome by fumes while sleeping.

Poor Milo was the first to go. Luckily, I was able to find a 24-hour taxidermy place to mount his head on a plaque. I find comfort knowing he didn't suffer long. And I will be comforted by his presence as I drift off into eternal sleep.

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take

Disclaimer: Milo was not harmed in the making of this blog post. In fact, since he sleeps 2 doors removed from Scott, I hereby leave my blogging empire to him.

Lifetime Movie Cliches

I'm not lying when I say that Lifetime (TV for Women) is not one of my guilty pleasures. In fact, I generally flip right past that channel when I'm surfing.

Sadly, there's not a whole lot to watch on Sunday afternoons. So today I watched two Lifetime movies. Since I did, I thought it would be fun to list a whole bunch of Lifetime Movie Cliches and let you pick which you think were woven into the two tales I watched today:

A. Teen pregnancy
B. Teenager murders her parent
C. Husband murders his wife
D. Cancer struggle
E. Adoption/infertility
F. Adultery
G. Teen daughter seduces her stepfather
H. Anorexia/bulimia
I. Suicide
J. Christmas miracle
K. Mother & daughter fight with each other
L. Blackmail
M. Mother & daughter come together in the end

Made your selections?

OK, give yourself a point for each of the following: A B C E F G I K L M. That's right - 10 cliches rolled up into a mere 4 hours of television!

The first movie, which absolutely left me in need of a shower, was Mini's First Time. I missed the actual (G) and (F) in the first half hour, but was there when the mother tried to (I), and the (B) and (C) happened, followed by (L). This movie had an impressive cast - Carrie Anne Moss, Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Jeff Goldblum... I imagine Lifetime must be paying well!

The second movie was Mom at Sixteen. This one was definitely more of an after-school special. As you can imagine, (A) (E) (K) and (M) fit neatly into a two hour package: Teen mom lets her mom raise the baby as her own, but decides she wants to raise him herself. Then she decides to give the baby up for adoption to her barren high school teacher and her husband the swim team coach.

Everyone now: riiiiight!

So how'd you do in my little quiz? I sure had fun with it... possibly even more fun than watching these movies!

Day Off!

I found someone to cover my shift tomorrow, so I'm going to spend 8 paid hours curled up on my couch watching movies.

…and drinking orange juice

…and taking AirBorne

…and consuming lots of soup and hot tea (anything to open up my sinuses!)

Sick pay: it's a beautiful thing!

That Song!

I made it through my entire birthday without anyone feeling like they needed to sing Happy Birthday to me. I made it through the visit with mom two days later. And I even made it through work... right up until around 8:00 last night.

Girl Chef brought in an ice cream cake on Monday, forgetting that I wouldn't be there, and then she took Thursday off. So last night she brought it in the office with a candle and everything and made both managers sing to me. And then I got some Spanish birthday song too!

Bonus: I cut 5 pieces out of it for me, the chefs, and the bosses. I would have cut up the rest and let her feed the kids in the kitchen (not the servers, because I'm bitter and petty), but she made me take it home to Scott. So now there's 1/2 of an ice cream cake in my freezer. Yum!

Blue Steel

I'm sick, and am working on a Nyquil hangover. So here's a picture from my birthday... at Spaceship Earth (for Dummies) between my "birthday around the world" (Japan for dinner, drinks at Italy, dessert at Norway) and the party at Jellyrolls:

Happy Birthday to... MILO???

I barely got the paper off the box before Milo claimed it as his own! (Kilo never had a chance)

And of course, once Scott opened up the box, Milo moved right in.



I hereby open comments for photo captions and birthday wishes... because I'm shameless like that!

What Are You Doing March 20?

Won't you wear a sweater?

Friday Video Clip

I heart Stephen Colbert, but I think this clip from Wednesday night's show might kill his presidential dreams forever!



...of course, his kickin' music choice could bring him back!

Note to Self:

Before deciding to leave the living room windows open over night, take 30 seconds to check weather.com and make an informed decision as to whether that is the best thing to do.

The AOL main page informed me that it was 39 degrees when I woke up this morning. That explains why, even with a sweatshirt on last night, I woke up with sore muscles from sleeping tightly in the fetal position!

oops!

Discount Fashion Show

Scott escorted me out today to shop for a new "party shirt," since this one has been photographed WAY too many times. I found three shirts that I just loved, and ended up deciding against one because it was solid brown, and I have a lot of brown in my wardrobe right now.

The first shirt I bought has really cool open rings on the shoulders, which presents a little weird bra strap situation, but it's all good. Obviously, my hair is long enough to cover the shoulders anyway. It is really comfortable, looks pretty decent, and nothing in my closet looks anything like it. I think this one is going to make its debut at the baby shower I'm going to on Saturday. It's more of a "daytime" look than the other shirt.

And speaking of the other shirt, it's PURPLE! I don't have any other purple shirts in the mix right now, except for a short sleeve sweater. But this one is so much cooler! Check out the giant fake belt/belt buckle! This one I think I'll be wearing out for my birthday dinner and the subsequent get-together.

I also got a brown "pea coat" that's just a cotton shell with a simple liner. I doubt it would keep me warm, but it looks like a nice jacket on top of that flowered shirt. And the total for all 3 was under $30.

Fashion is fun, but discount fashion is so much better!

Mrs. Houdini Did It?

Gross: Entering the stall in the women's room, only to find out the last person didn't flush.

Disturbing: Seeing that there is no toilet paper in the bowl.

Is there a woman alive who doesn't have to wipe?  TruckerMom? Any insight into this phenomenon?

Anyway, just thought I'd share with the group.  I'm good like that!

Mail Call

It's probably for the best that I don't own Post-It notes. Otherwise, the following would be on my downstairs neighbor's front door:

G.S. -

Glad to hear that you're getting laid, but would prefer to not actually hear when you're getting laid.

-P.H.

Honestly, two nights in a row after midnight is a bit much for me to stomach. When Mia lived downstairs, her romps were at least entertaining. His romps are so... aerobic that they jingle my wind chime alarm clock!

...at least they don't last very long.

Highway Robbery

I filled up my gas tank this morning with the cheapest gas in the 13 miles between home and work.

For $3.09/gallon.

I'm pretty sure the last two times I filled up, I paid $2.92 and $2.99.  That's an increase of 17 cents per gallon over 2 weeks.

What the heck is going on???

Florida Voter Fraud? You Decide

Note: I am not actually accusing anyone affiliated with the Lake County Supervisor of Elections of voter fraud.  I just found this interesting.

I bet many of you know that when I first moved back to Florida (right after the turn of the century) and traded in my NJ Driver's License for a Florida License, I registered to vote as a Democrat.  A few weeks after this, I was mailed my very first Voter Registration card, which showed a big fat R under my party affiliation.  Gah!

I had a good laugh about this, and then after the Bush-Gore debacle, I actually half-wondered whether there was a secret underground society of DMV people who try to force Republicanism on new drivers.  I doubted it.  After all, had I chosen to vote in that election (you remember - the one in my lifetime where my vote could have changed history), I could have done so regardless of my party affiliation.  And they did send me a corrected card once I notified them of the "mistake."

This week, Scott and I both received "official election mail" from our good friend Emogene Stegall. Both envelopes included our new voter registration cards.  I looked at my card and was elated (yep… elated) to see that our polling place has been moved from the local fire station to the library at the front of our apartment complex.  That's right, we can WALK to vote, then get a coffee at the coffee shop inside the library (yep… you read that right… the new library is practically a Barnes & Noble!), then walk a little further for some pizza or Chinese food to celebrate.

OK… there was a little tangent there.  Sorry.  The important thing to remember is that I had to look at my card to see that my polling place had changed.  Scott opened his envelope later on and left it on the table. I picked it up and realized that his envelope also included a letter in large bold font explaining that his polling place had changed, and exactly where and why and when the changes would take effect.

Please note that my husband the Republican got written notification of the change, and that I the Democrat received no such notification.

I smell a rat… a rate the size of an elephant!

I-4 Flop Sweats...

...and two other short stories

I am sparing my viewing public a photo of the t-shirt I just took off. After driving Scott up to the Saturn dealer via I-4 and 528 and then right back again, the shirt has pit stains about 6" in diameter. No lie. It's gross. And that's with Secret Clinical Strength AND a spray of Arrid aerosol. That combination gets me through the average 12-hour day, but not less than 2 hours of driving at highway speeds.

Amazing that I plan on driving my fair share of the 1,000+ miles from here to NJ this summer. Scott will be doing most of the driving around big cities... that's for sure!





Brokeback Barrel



I know it's a little hard to tell what this picture is. It's a page out of a calendar on the wall at the Cracker Barrel on route 27 near I-4. Scott and I were seated under this print one day and nearly shot Coke out our nostrils making fun of it. The painting shows two men (fully clothed), one laying on his stomach, and the other one straddling his hips.

I can't completely remember, but I think the caption talks about this being the best way to dislodge something from a choking victim... via the rectum (ok, I might have added that last part!).

Anyway, during our odyssey last week, we found ourselves once again in the same restaurant and we actually saw the print. I waited until the family seated at "our" table left, and then snapped this pic with my camera phone. I'm pretty sure I got nasty looks from the old people in at 11 am for lunch, but that's their problem, not mine!

Ben & Jerry: Politics With a Swirl of Caramel

It seems Ben & Jerry have endorsed Barack Obama. While I was saddened that the article didn't mention a flavor called Obama-Rama, I did enjoy the story:

The founders of Ben & Jerry's endorsed Barack Obama on Monday, and lent his Vermont campaign two "ObamaMobiles" that will tour the state and give away scoops of "Cherries for Change" ice cream...

Echoing Obama, Greenfield said he and Cohen succeeded when they opened their ice cream shop 30 years ago in Burlington by doing things differently, instead of copying the "tired ways" of doing business.

"What we saw is that when you want real change it's not a marketing slogan. You have to do things differently. And that is not going to be done by someone who's been involved in the system for years and years," Greenfield said. "It needs to come from inside and Barack Obama has it."

I haven't been able to find out the exact content of "Cherries for Change," but if it shows up in the Publix freezer section, I will buy that instead of Americone Dream until November!

Put a Little Love in Your Tummy!

Our Chef gave a bunch of us bricks of "special chocolate" (I asked if it was like "special brownies," but all the management types just pretended they didn't hear me) a while back, and I hadn't thought of what to do with it.

Dark Belgian chocolate, it turns out, melts nicely and gives a nice coat to a bunch of strawberries. These are going to go so well with the bottle of Rosa Regale in the fridge... especially after the dinner Scott has planned for tonight.

This Box of Chocolates is Like Life!

Scott bought me a Whitman's Sampler heart-o-goodness for V.D. this year. I haven't had one in a million years, and was so excited to have good chocolate for a change (as opposed to the crap we bring to work to share).

I was a little surprised when I opened the box and discovered there was no map. I didn't know which were caramel, nougat, or coconut. I still don't! We managed to figure out the cherry cordials without much ado, but I'm constantly getting frustrated with the different truffle flavors. Luckily, I'll eat just about anything covered in good chocolate (but NO BUGS), and can handle a little "white mystery filling" in my life.

But it's so true: You never know what you're gonna get!

Unsolicited Parenting Advice

...from someone without children

I really don't have much business dispensing advice... to most people. However, I can not imagine a situation where the following story could be considered good parenting!

I awoke at 3 am to the sound of a screaming child. These weren't the screams of a baby, but of a child probably 3-4 years old having an absolute melt down. I had the bedroom windows open, and could tell that the noise was coming from outside and not in another apartment. And I listened to this screaming for at least 5 minutes.

I also heard two other voices, one male and one female (I'll assume they were the parents of the little night screamer). They tried reasoning with the child. They tried threatening the child. They pleaded with the child. From what I gather, the child didn't want to put his/her shoes on. So they wouldn't let him/her get out of the car. Later, I heard one of them say "fine, go without your shoes. just don't step in any dog shit." Then Mom started the "count to three" crap. And when she got to three, she said she was taking away a specific toy.

And during all of this, the child didn't stop screaming.

Finally, from the sounds of it, they grabbed the kid and dragged him/her into their apartment, screaming all the way.

So really. Does anyone else think that the fact that the child was up at 3 am might have contributed to the situation? Get your child home at a decent hour! And if your child starts screaming in the car, get him inside and into bed. And for goodness' sake, on the street at 3 am is NOT the time to experiment with various parenting techniques. The rest of us don't care how you get the child to stop crying, only that you do it quickly.

Next time, I'm just going to fire my air horn out the window.

Dr. Jones

Adventures in Dining

Scott and I found ourselves spending more time and money dining out over the past few days than we would have preferred.  We ate breakfast at Chick Fil A on Tuesday and Cracker Barrel on Wednesday, skipped lunch both days, and ate dinner at sit-down places both nights.

Tuesday night, we went to Up The Creek, which is a chain that I had never heard of, but Scott has fond memories from college.  The menu can be summarized in three words: Southern/Deep Fried. We both had catfish for dinner, served with hush puppies and french fries (fried/fried/fried). And the appetizer platter: a combo of onion rings, chicken tenders, popcorn shrimp, hush puppies, chicken tenders, fried green tomatoes, and fried pickles.

Yeah, deep-fried pickles.

I'm shocked that we didn't have to sign a waiver acknowledging what we were about to do to our arteries!

Well, at least the peach cobbler wasn't deep-fried!

And then there was last night's adventure. I decided that I wanted a meal from a chain restaurant, because I was looking for something more along the lines of "comfort food" ("comfort" to me is just familiar food… not necessarily home-cooking).   We were driving down US 19 looking at the strange sights when I saw a friendly-looking dive with patio tables and umbrellas outside. It was called Pasco Patio. Well, I joked to Scott that we should eat there, and he said he didn't think they would serve us, since they were a furniture store.

Sure enough, those friendly patio tables outside were just a sampling of the entire store full of patio tables inside!  Oh, how I laughed.  I don't really know if this is something that the rest of the world would find funny, or if I just laughed because I was exhausted and cried-out.  But I still think it's funny.  A while down the road, we passed a Pier 1 Imports, and told Scott I had heard excellent things about their wine list.

We ended up at the Olive Garden, where I had the best thing they've ever put on their menu: steak gorgonzola alfredo.  I couldn't believe how good it was!

And now, my bank account and I are going to spend a few days in detox.  Nothing fried, nothing from a restaurant, and lots more fruits and veggies.

Happy News

Scott was sitting at the computer this morning (you know... 10 minutes ago) relaying top headlines to me. He showed me a picture of Obama, hand up in the air in a victory stance, and then went on to tell me that a beagle won Westminster. When I asked whether he won it all, he said "yes, best in show." Ironically enough, I had gone back to asking about Obama. I made the comment that he must be almost dead even with Hillary in delegates now.

I actually went "WOO!" out loud when I logged on and saw on the AOL main page, "Obama takes the lead in delegates." Woo! I said it again!

The Associated Press count of delegates showed Obama with 1,210. Clinton had 1,188, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. Neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

And one more time for good measure: Woo!

Guess What I'm Doing Today!

Yep... getting a hair cut! I'd say it's necessary. Actually, it was necessary two weeks ago when Scott looked at me and said, "I thought you were going to get your hair cut." When the husband notices, it must be bad!

Other plans for the day include going to Borders with Cat and wandering the aisles of various stores killing time before she gets off from work. Oh yes - and I also plan to not take any more pictures that show that my left ring finger is curved to the side. How weird is that!?!?

Assorted Nuts

Just some random thoughts:

Oh golly! Does Obama actually have a chance? All of a sudden, I find myself hoping against hope that the Florida and Michigan delegates don't count at the convention. GO-bama!

Happiness is: the first day of a new battery in my electric toothbrush!

I learned yesterday that I really love a good Reuben sandwich. Individually, corned beef, sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing, swiss cheese, and rye bread are items I generally avoid on a sandwich. But put them together and they become an irresistible tour de force of culinary delight!

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are musical geniuses. My current favorite cover: Leavin' on a Jet Plane. Although I must say, my favorite version of that song is in Armageddon when Ben Affleck and the guys sing it to Liv Tyler. I always laugh and cry at that part of the movie.

Over-"Stimulus"ed

I was reading a post over at the Whatever earlier about the stimulus program working its way through Congress right now that will, in a nut shell, give all of us tax-paying adults a check for $600 some time before Summer.

The question was raised about what people were likely to spend their money on, and I got to thinking about it, and I just don't know! It's so rare that we get that kind of money (especially since Scott and I owe $300 in taxes AGAIN this year… grr…) in a lump sum. So below were some thoughts on how I would spend "my" $600 or "our" $1,200:

* I need a new car, but could only put my own $600 towards it in good conscience. Of course, the new car will probably happen before the money comes in, but that's still almost 3 payments I could pay at once.

* $1200 could be spent a few different ways on our summer road trip. (Oh yeah - Did I mention that Scott and I are planning a road trip up north this summer?) That could extend our stay in NYC… in a decent hotel... pay for our theater tickets… maybe even pay for lunch at a fancy restaurant!

* Scott wants a laptop, and $1200 could pay a good chunk of a sweet new Mac Book Air. However, we're not Mac people. And I know if "we" got a laptop, one of us would bring it to work with him every day and the other one of us would never see the thing! But Dell has laptops starting under $500. So maybe that's an idea for one or both of us.

* Stick the money in our ever-rolling 6-month CD (which earned a whopping $82 in interest last year!): $1200 could be a nice addition to the buy-a-house fund.

* Stick the money in checking to be wasted on entertainment, eating out, etc.

* Buy furniture! Do you KNOW how much you can get at IKEA for $1200? Sadly, what I want most is a sofa, and I just don't want to spend that much without first de-clawing the cats. And I think they're both a little old for that now. But I could certainly use a new dresser!

* Two words: vacation fund! The trip to NJ/NY/PA this summer is already budgeted for. But that money could pay for a nice long cruise to somewhere we haven't been before, or a flight to England to visit Alicia, or a trip out to Disneyland!

Scott and I haven't even spoken about this. It just popped into my head, and I thought I would share. Anyone have any good ideas to share?

America Has Spoken...

This was just too perfect to not share with you all...




Of course, sometimes the AOL video doesn't work so great here on Blogger. So here's the link to Mo Rocca's site just in case.

P.S. I love that song from the Daughtry CD. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was looking for a cheap-ish birthday gift for me. ;-)

The DemoCat

What better way to follow up a silly political post than with a picture of everyone's favorite DemoCat?

I think this picture looks absolutely tragic, so I shall caption this one: Proof That Cats Don't Always Land on their Feet (even though he was just laying under the table).

Anyone have a better caption?

Stirring the Pot

Scott sent me this... so blame him! Please remember that it's all in good fun.

Just in case you were in danger of getting too caught up in the relatively small matters that divide or bother you about the Democratic candidates...

To be a Republican you need to believe:

1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him,and a bad guy when Bush needed a 'we can't find Bin Laden' diversion.

3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies,then demand their cooperation and money.

9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring theInternet.

13. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

14. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

15. Supporting 'Executive Privilege' for every Republican ever born,who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)

16. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest,but what Bush did in the '80's is irrelevant.

17. Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

If you don't send this to at least 10 other people, we're likely to be stuck with more Republicans '08.

"Friends don't let friends vote Republican."

Universal Fun

Scott and I went over to Universal Orlando today. We got rained on, I didn't have my ID (no booze for me), and we only rode a handful of rides. But we sure had a lot of fun! Here's some pictures from Scott's camera phone:

And here's the link to the album for Scott, so that he can change his darn myspace profile picture!

Super Freak

Can someone please explain to my how Mike Huckabee is doing so well tonight across the country? The man doesn't believe in evolution, he thinks the Constitution should be re-written to better align with the word of God, and he has jowls like Richard Nixon.

OK, I get it that the Evangelicals are willing to sacrifice our national security and our economy in order to get a President in office who will appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade and prevent stem cell research from catching on...

...but where are all of the logical, rational Republicans?

Janette? Can you explain it to me?

Super!

I hear tomorrow is Super Tuesday. And for some reason, I am incredibly excited about the prospect of sitting in front of the TV all night long flipping between CNN and ABC watching the returns come in.

I found another "choose your candidate" survey thing, and thought I should pass it along to the masses. I really like the graph on this one. It turns out I don't really match any of the candidates, but they say I'm closest to Hillary.

So take the quiz and let me know how it goes. Anyone out there in one of the far corners? Even closer to the center than I am?

A Valid Point

I saw this video at Patrick's Place today:



The man makes an excellent point. Why don't I know how many soldiers have died in Iraq so far this year? Why haven't I heard one single name of someone who died "protecting" me? I read CNN.com every night during my lunch break, and I don't think I read one single story today about Iraq.

Thank you, Montel.

Deadbeat No Longer

Let's start with an admission of guilt: 

Hello, my name is Jamie, and I have terrible credit. The best example of why I have bad credit is that I applied for a Discover Card in college just to get a free PEZ dispenser. It was pretty much all down hill from there. Did you know they expect you to PAY for that stuff eventually?

About 4 1/2 years ago, my student loans defaulted to a point where I got a letter in the mail giving me 2 weeks to make a payment or they were going to start sucking money straight from my paycheck. I called them 13 days after I got the letter, and the man on the other end of the phone explained to me that I had 2 weeks from the date they sent it, and that I was too late. The garnishment was effective immediately.  And 10% of my pay has been going to the student loan people ever since.

Fast forward to a year ago: I started thinking I should be just about done with these payments, and called my company's payroll department to find out what the balance was. Payroll didn't know. They basically told me that they take the money out until the government tells them to stop.  Dead end. And in typical Jamie fashion, I got distracted by something else and forgot all about it.

Finally, yesterday I called SALLIE MAE. A man in India called me back this morning (yes, the US Department of Education has outsourced its call centers to India… I'm still in shock!) and he couldn't help me. He transferred me to a woman here in the US who told me that SALLIE MAE doesn't have my account. She gave me the phone number for PHEAA and I was on my way.

When I called PHEAA, I was mildly amused to find out that it was the deadbeat hotline (ok, "default collections" department, same thing!). The girl I spoke to was so incredibly helpful. She told me I had a little over $3,000 left on the loan, and then went on to explain that because I was paying involuntarily, that my credit is continuing to decline (really - I need to pull my credit score - it's got to be the lowest possible number!). So she sent me the form to do an auto-debit from my checking account. Once I send them the form, they will cancel my garnishment and in 9-11 payments my account will be transferred back to the "good girl" department. So by the time I pay off the loan, it will actually be in good standing.

Of course, I'm thrilled about that. The payments are actually lower than what is being taken out of my paycheck now. What bugs me is my contact with the last person. He never gave me any other options. He told me it was too late, and basically that this was my lot in life. Any time over the past four years, I could have made the call I made today and gotten back on track, but I never knew that was an option.

But enough blaming other people for my issues. This is a happy day. Thank you Andrea for being nice to me and helping me take a step to putting my financial life back together!

Fresh Air

The cats are grateful for the cloudy sky today. The clouds are keeping the temperature down enough to leave the windows open.

...and the cats sure love open windows!

I'm betting this month's electric bill will be the cheapest ever.

Work in Progress

I rearranged our dining room/office today. Check it out:



Nope, this isn't the "before" picture!

Right now it still looks like a bomb exploded. But the potential is infinitely greater than the way it was before. Yes, there is still a pile-o-crap in the corner. But that laundry basket in the corner is full of stuff that Scott needs to weed through. And I threw out 2 garbage bags of stuff already. One little decorative screen, and that corner could be its own little closet.

The two biggest changes:

• I set up the old computer on the square table, but only until I can transfer the photo files on that computer onto a CD. Once the important files are off the computer, we'll have to decide whether or not to toss it out the window. That could potentially become the game computer.
• The tall wood table with stools has been moved up next to the kitchen counter so that it's almost an extension of counter space. It also opens up the possibility of eating a dinner for two some place other than on the couch in front of the TV. Once the stuff on top of that table finds a home, I think that space is going to end up utilized very often.

I also had to move the garbage can, which used to sit right where that tall table is now. For now, it's sort of floating in the kitchen. There's also still a lot of paperwork and random odds and ends to sort through. This, however, is a great start. I'm proud of how I spent this afternoon.

Bad Mommy

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and realized that ZoePig had been chewing on her water bottle longer than normal. Then I noticed that the water level was still at the very top. Then I remembered that I changed her water on Monday before I left for Mom's.


She's fine. The bottle had just been twisted shut too hard and the pressure was stopping the water from moving down the tube. Once I fixed that problem, she drank about 1/2" of water and then probably spent the next half hour peeing!

Maybe I should have put together the pieces sooner. I do remember thinking at one point yesterday that her bottle still looked remarkably full. It just didn't occur to me why the bottle looked full. Oh well... she's a trooper. And now we know how long a guinea pig can last without water!

Primary Colors

I voted...twice! Just kidding - Scott voted too. And according to every major news outlet, his vote actually counted! (MSNBC referred to the Democratic primary as both a popularity contest and a beauty contest.)

Yep, still bitter. I'm just hoping the Florida Democrats are either too dumb to realize how badly we've been dissed or too passionate to care come November. To be honest, my vote is up for grabs. I don't see why I should be loyal to the party after this, and I don't loathe McCain or Romney the way I loathe the current administration. Could be a dangerous combination...

Today, my vote went to Obama. And I feel a little guilty for that. So far, I am 0 for 2 on my Presidential scorecard, voting for Edwards in the '04 primary and Kerry in the '04 general election. I almost voted for Edwards today, just to keep my losing streak alive, but I thought I should throw my vote to the contestant who I thought was the prettiest and the most popular. Also, I'm really pissed at Bill Clinton's low-blows recently.

As for the amendment, I voted NO. I'm quite sure it's going to pass, because it gives more money to old home owners who care more about the money in their pockets than about education or whatever else that tax money covers now. That's also another example of something that does not belong in a state constitution. Why not leave taxes up to the legislature?

So that's my story. Who did you vote for?

6 Day Trip from PA

On my way home from work last night, I got behind a teeny tiny motorcycle (I really thought it was a moped at first) on one of those little back roads where you can't pass.

Speed limit: 40
Our speed: 30

And as I got closer, I realized that he had a Pennsylvania tag. I wonder if he went 30 the whole way down.

Cheap, Party of Two

I just read this post at Waiter Rant and it reminded me of a phone call I had at work last week.

Fast Fact: The Restaurant offers a Prix Fixe seven course menu for $125/person. Wine pairing is available for an additional $60/person. There are premium menus on the menu such as caviar and Kobe beef for an additional charge. (you have no idea how many times I say that in a day!)

I had a call around 9:00 one night from a man who informed me that he was scheduled to come in for dinner the following night. He told me that one member of their party probably wasn't going to be very hungry, and asked if it was possible to only order a few courses off the menu. I explained that the menu isn't a la carte, and that the price is $125 regardless of how many courses you consume. He asked if that person would be charged if they didn't eat at all. I was pretty sure that we weren't going to let them do that, but told him I would double-check with the manager and call him back. And then before we got off the phone, he asked if plate sharing was allowed.

So I called my manager and asked him my questions. He was dumbfounded. "Of course we don't split plates! Someone actually asked you that?" Really? Could I make that up???

Amazingly enough, when I called the gentleman back 5 minutes later, the phone rang twice and went straight to voicemail. And then I got to use all of my professionalism in constructing the message that I left him. I had to tell him that if the money was an issue, then I'd be happy to help him with reservations at a different restaurant. But, you know, without mentioning that money was an issue. So I ended up saying that if either member of their party wasn't up for the 7 course meal, then we would be happy to assist them with reservations elsewhere and we would waive the cancellation penalty.

They did show up the next night... but I bet they didn't get any wine or surcharge items!

Now here's the deal: I understand that $300 is a helluva lot of money to spend on dinner for two. That's a week's salary for some people. And I'm not calling someone who can't afford to eat at The Restaurant cheap OR poor. However, I do think it's rather ridiculous to expect a restaurant like ours to lower its price just so that you can afford to eat there. If you want it that badly, then save your pennies. And since this guy did end up coming in, my gut instinct is that he was just cheap.

Hillary

(so much for the book-end post titles!)

I just heard this on the local news. I think I finally decided to vote for Barack, but I like that Hillary is stepping up:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton wants delegates from Michigan and Florida to be seated at this summer's Democratic National Convention.

Although the Democratic National Committee's Rules Committee stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates as punishment for moving up their presidential primaries, Clinton said Friday that she plans to ask her convention delegates to support seating the delegations.

"I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election," she said in a statement, adding that it's important that "we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention."

I agree! You need Florida, kids... don't forget 2000!

I'm still pretty sure my vote doesn't really matter, but I'll be there on Tuesday to get my sticker!

Mom

(What can I say? I like that my titles today are a nice little book end)

Mom is flying down from Indianapolis tomorrow night. I feel like I haven't seen her in a million years, and I really miss her. I'm so glad that she's coming.

Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. I know he doesn't read this, so there's no need for me to send him birthday wishes. Besides, I sent him a card. It left my mailbox yesterday, and he doesn't live that far, so it might even get to him today. If not... tomorrow is ok. It's the thought (and the postmark) that counts.

Still 99

And I still don't really have any symptoms to speak of... except my face feeling like it's about to burst into flames!

Am I ok?

Flashback: Encore 2007

There are just no words to describe how much I love this picture. Thanks for sending it my way, Mom!

Another WGA Casualty

I just read something about movies being cancelled or put on hold because of the WGA strike. This one piqued my curiosity:

'Shantaram'
Warner Bros. called off the February start date on this Mira Nair-directed flick, in which Johnny Depp was set to star as an Australian heroin addict who escapes prison, pretends to be a doctor in India and eventually fights against the Russians in Afghanistan. Busy guy.

Umm... any guesses on whether this movie will (or would have been) any good? That's quite the twisty plot!

Birth of a Miracle

For anyone out there having a crisis of faith, or who just needs some inspiration or a good cry, I urge you to visit Nathan and Rick's blogs.

Nathan is the husband of Tricia, who has cystic fibrosis, and father of Gwyneth Rose, who was born very very early. Both mother and baby are going to be in the hospital for a long time, but this family (Rick is Nathan's dad) have such amazing faith that it's positively contagious. They are all also amazing writers.

Gwyneth was born 2 weeks ago, so if you're looking for a place to start, I recommend this post, followed by this one, because it catches you up on how the story started.

My Serenity Mantra

God is bigger than anything life can throw at me...although things are out of my control, they are not out of His.

Cable's Out

It's been out since Saturday.  Thus the lack of posts.

Funny thing: when I called Sunday morning, the nice lady set me up with an appointment for tomorrow between 11 am and 2 pm.  That would've been great, since Scott was supposed to be off tomorrow.  However, Bright House changed the appointment time to TODAY and failed to notify me.  I only found out when I went online from work to pay the cable and electric bills!

So the tech is going to check the outside connections and see if something there is fixable. If not, I have to call tonight when I get home to reschedule.  Oh - and my appointment tomorrow is no longer available.  First available is Wednesday.

grr

What Rhymes with Orange?

Umm... look... my head and my camera are mysteriously floating in front of the shower curtain.

I'm magic!

It's foggy and rainy and pretty much all-around gray today, so I dressed to counter that. And now I, much like my bathroom, look like morning threw up on me! (yes, I'm afraid my bangs really do look like that. did I mention the humidity?)

Sneaky...

(things they don't tell you in business school)

If your bosses are hanging around in your office, and you would really rather have the place to yourself, here's what you do:

Leave the office, take a stroll around, and come back and casually mention that you just saw the GM of the hotel talking to another restaurant manager.  They will be out the door before your butt hits the chair!

Still Alive

Wanted to take a moment to let anyone who read my last entry know that I did not, in fact, die from that massive 99.0 fever. And though I have a boogie nose and my ankle hurts (related? sure... why not?), my face no longer feels like it's going to burst into flame.

That's good, right?

On an unrelated note, I think Ghetto Superstar downstairs from us might be moving out. Either that or someone else on the 2nd floor is either moving out or having their large heavy stuff repossessed. *fingers crossed*

99

I have a fever.

So far I'm just... so... tired. But it's the kind of tired that whispers in my ear, "if you don't sleep now, you're going to regret it. I need this sleep more than you need the TV."

But what about the Daily Show? Meh... I hear they replay at 10 am. Maybe I'll be awake then.

My... Isn't That Special

Why didn't I think of this?

Oh - probably because I'm not a blatant narcissist. Heck - my cake topper didn't even look anything like me!

Learned Yesterday:

The sticky pads on a wasp's feet will adhere to windshield glass at speeds above 60 mph.

...but they will fail the moment I reach for my camera phone.

Fake Money

I think I might be the world's biggest fan of gift cards.

Up until today, I thought they were a total cop-out when you didn't want to think too hard about a gift in your price range. (yeah, I thought that last Christmas when I was purchasing them too... only then it wasn't not wanting to think, it was a last resort.)

Now? Now I think they are pure genius!

I had 2 gift cards from co-workers (I suppose I should specify that they were both from management-level co-workers and not from anyone I may or may not have been "favoring") (yes, I'm still pissed) (yes, I'm getting over it) (no, I'm not totally over it) and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

The $25 at Target? Easy - clothes! I desperately need some new work pants, and I figured even if I found an "expensive" $30 pair, then I'd only have to pay $5 out of pocket. Well, wouldn't you know, I hit a sale! With my $25 gift card, I bought 2 sweaters (one yellow, one orange... don't ask what's up with my color palette!), a pair of pants (really nice gray ones that are a little too long, but what else is new?), and a black & white twill (is that the word I want? maybe I want tweed. well, if I knew that much about fashion, I wouldn't be shopping at Target!) skirt that's going to look sweet when I buy a white oxford shirt to go with it. So what if I only got one pair of pants? Go where the sales take you! Oh yes - the best part is that I still have money left on the card (you know, enough for a pack of gum).

The $25 at Best Buy was earmarked for a video game. Scott bought me a Nintendo DS for Christmas with two games - both of the educational variety. And while I enjoy doing speed arithmetic and have learned to love Sudoku, I wanted some good ol' Nintendo brain-mushing to undo those great mental exercises I've been doing for the past 2 weeks. So I bought myself a two-in-one Incredibles/Nemo game. I really want a Mario Brothers title... and a Legend of Zelda... and one of those 5-arcade-games-in-one games... but for now I'm happy with my little collection.

And today I did all that without even taking my debit card out of my wallet. How fabulous!

Drama Drama Drama

I swear, it's not me.

I hope it's not me.

Is it me?

Does everyone step in steaming piles of metaphorical dog shit as much as I do? Yesterday I stepped in it, had it thrown at me, and had no recourse whatsoever.

The super-short version is that one of the servers at The Restaurant (which, by the way, is creating its own drama at the moment... but that's been fun!) accused me yesterday of helping one of the other servers get good tables by making up call parties for him. (Call parties are guests who request a specific server) She said that I let him see the seating charts in advance and pick the people he thought would be big tippers. She also implied that there was an illicit reason for my doing so. She spewed all of this at Number Two (The Boss is off Sundays) while I was sitting at my desk 10 feet away.

Aside: No matter how upset or pissed off I get about my job, I don't cry there. I cry at home. Or at least during my lunch when I'm alone in the office.

So after she left the office, while I was sitting at my desk trying to convince myself to keep doing my job and not run out to find Scott, Number Two asked if I was ok. I said yes. He came over and sat next to me and asked if I was really ok. And, blinking back tears, I asked him if he or The Boss had any doubts about my conduct in or out of the office, or about whether I had been fudging anything at all. He told me that the only thing they think about the way I do my job is that I'm freakishly good at it. He tried his best to convince me that no one else thinks the things that she said were true, but I'm not so sure.

The worst thing about this is that I really think I left myself open to this sort of attack. Last fall, there were only two people at work who knew about the Crap going on in my life, and this male server was one of them. He was always there with a hug and a kind word when I needed it. And I chose to ignore the raised eyebrows and smirks from some of the girls because I needed the support more than I needed the good reputation. Now I realize what a mistake that was.

What's really ironic about the situation is that this guy and I had an argument over a month ago and haven't really said more than "hello" or "good bye" or "Merry Christmas" to each other ever since.

Scott and Number Two have both advised me that the best thing I can do is to keep my mouth shut and wait for this to blow over. And I really don't have any choice but to do just that. I certainly can't bust into pre-meal and proclaim my purity. At the most, I don't think there are more than 4 people who share this suspicion. And there are probably twice that number who don't know any part of the story. There's no sense stirring up the pot.

And that's a good example of why I keep this blog. I get to tell my side of the story... vent about it... and let it go in time to go back to work on Thursday.

Huh?

Look, I admit it, I don't read the real news.  I prefer stories about other people potty-training their kids.

But I bought a Sentinel today (after all, how often does your workplace appear on the front page above the fold?) and was reading an article about the Florida primaries.

It says that the Democratic Party took away our delegates.  They are punishing the state for moving its primaries to January.

Umm… so that means if I haul my ass out of the house to go vote, my vote OFFICIALLY has no purpose?  That's the most disheartening thing I've ever heard.

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm sure I am), but doesn't that mean that the party has said to Florida "we don't care about you?" 

Someone please tell me why I should still bother at all...

How I Spent My New Year's Eve

(a photo-only entry)

Gotcha!

I'm a little disappointed. My last post was my 666th. If I had realized, I would have saved the entry for the picture of Frances turning 77,777.

Actually, I was mildly amused at the chain of events that lead to this picture (and yes, I know it's an awful picture). There I was driving home from work last night talking to Scott on my very safe hands-free headset when I looked down and saw the holy grail number rolling over. "Ooh! I gotta go! I'll call you back." And then I handed the phone to my unnamed passenger who very safely took a picture of my odometer. And then I sent the picture to Scott so that he would know why I hung up on him so quickly.

And by the way, this picture was taken on Osceola Parkway right before the entrance to Animal Kingdom. The speed limit there? 40 mph. Who's a good driver???

As Seen on TV

Check out the website for the PedEgg. If you can watch the video in the corner without activating your gag reflex, you are stronger than I.

Seriously. It's a cheese grater for your feet. And if that wasn't bad enough, the top collects your skin shavings for easy disposal. OR you can dump them on someone else's pasta - it looks enough like parmesan cheese!

**shudder**

Happy New Year!

100 Miles To Go

In 100 miles (some time this week), my car will be 77,777. And I'll probably miss it. On the bright side, I managed to take this picture today. And for the record, this picture was taken on a stretch of 192 where the speed limit is 45. Gotta love holiday tourist traffic!

Oh - and the thing about this picture that disturbs Scott? Apparently I've only gone 7,000 miles in my car since last December. How does that happen? He drives everywhere we go together.

2007 in Non Sequitor

I had a lot of fun with this last year, and decided it was worth a few minutes to do again in '07.

Take the first sentence of the first post of every month this year on your blog and put them all together. So here you have it, 2007 in Non Sequitor:

So... umm... I was trying to come up with this great post topic, because it's the first one of the year and might be a sign of things to come, but then I realized that I was putting pressure on myself for no reason. I flipped over the calendar this morning and was greeted by four medical appointments and a jury duty. Can you believe it?

I promised my mom I'd put something up here before bed. Well, I had my excitement for the month last night. A big shout-out to Matthew and Kristen who
felt compelled to go down to Key West this week and come back engaged!

Does anybody know what today is? Well, July seems to have come and gone before I had a chance to wallow in the 100% humidity! It's September!

When I'm sad, or when I'm sick, he knows just what to say (nothing) and just what to do (just be with me). Yesterday I went to work at 10 am - which means that after finally falling asleep at 6:30 I got a whopping 1.5 hours of sleep... Here's my little helper monkey... erm kitty... licking stamps.

It seems to me that I spent a lot of time this year being surprised what month it was. Also, the Milo Worship might be a tad out of hand. Oh well - that's me!

Circus Interruptus

I had a half hour today filled with absolute glee. I finally got Scott to agree to go to the circus with me when it comes to town next month. I checked the dates on the calendar, and we decided to try to get a group together to go on Tuesday the 13th. I called Cat on my way to work and she was on board. I was all set to send an e-mail to the masses. So I checked the site one more time to find out ticket prices and that's when I realized that January 13 is actually a Sunday. Apparently I was looking at the tiny November calendar instead of the tiny January calendar right in the corner of my full-size December calendar.

...and we don't have any days off during the run of the show. So no circus for me.

So Long... Farewell...

Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoot this week should have been simple:

Your Final Photo Shoot: Wave goodbye! Because all good things must come to an end, but I think we can leave on a high note.

Of course, I decided Milo should say goodbye, since he just loves to be exploited! So I set out to make the little monster "wave." Using a fake palm frond as a lure, I taunted him with it until he'd swat at it.

Obviously, I need to work on my framing and my timing... but it sure was a fun little project.

Well John, it's been a pleasure playing along with the Photo Shoots and the Weekend Assignments. And I'm sure Milo has enjoyed the ones he has participated in as well!

Milo 360

Scott gets: State-of-the-art video game system

Milo gets: The perfect sleeping box (albeit with all sorts of packaging still inside)

Jamie gets: Blog fodder.

Everyone wins!

Back to Work

Yesterday I finally achieved the golden dream: sleeping in past 9 am. I can't remember all the reasons why, but I know I didn't get to sleep in at all last weekend. And then this week, Monday I went to work and Tuesday I got up to make cookies for breakfast (it was Christmas - normal rules of consumption do not apply). And then Tuesday night I did a shot of Nyquil. And woke up at 11:30 Wednesday morning.

...and then I pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day. I laid in bed with the heating pad alternately over my uterus and under my back. I played on the computer. And I did 3 loads of laundry and unloaded the dishwasher. OK, that's something.

At any rate, I woke up this morning feeling so peaceful and well-rested that it's almost like I had a whole week off. Scott is still sick, and I can feel myself coming down with it. But for this one particular moment in time, I feel good.

**knock wood**

Full Circle

other appropriate titles for this post include:

• A December 25 Post that has Nothing to Do with Christmas
• Why Scott and Jamie Should Be Banned from IKEA
• Matching Your Shower Curtain to Your Listerine is COOL

You know with all of those titles, I think I covered most of the story. But here goes anyway...

During our anniversary weekend, I finally let Scott peer pressure me into checking out the new IKEA store in Orlando. We went and test-drove couches and chairs, checked out book shelves, and ended up buying way more than we had any business buying. We bought two little white shelves ($5 each... plus the cost of screws... plus then we had to get a drill at Wal Mart), two bread & butter plates to replace ones that we have broken (though I opted for pink this time. life's too short to have matching dishes!), a pack of different colored chopsticks, and we bought this curtain set in orange.

Why curtains? Well, they actually had them on display in the showroom as a shower curtain. They have a bit of an iridescent quality, and our Nemo curtain has seen better days. We were going to get blue, but then the orange was calling out to me. So we figured the orange would match the Nemo bathroom accessories and my current pouf. Why not?

And then the curtains sat in the bedroom for 3 weeks. They had to be "hemmed" with an iron and magic tape (which they provided - I'm not MacGuyvering this!), and we also had to buy a second shower curtain rod because they have tabs on the back that wouldn't have worked with the plastic rings. Yes, now we have two curtain rods on the shower. So?

I finally got around to hanging them tonight, and I'm pretty happy with the result. It's bright. Like morning threw up in there.

It also gives me major flashbacks to the room I grew up in. Apparently orange is my signature color. Who knew? So here's the picture - taken in the mirror because that seemed to be the way to get the most bathroom in there at once. We need to get a less-clear curtain liner, but that's an easy fix. And for now, it'll do. I'm just going to have to shower with my sunglasses on!

Christmas Eve

Today was a good day for me.

(Scott is coming down with his first big cold of the season, and is at work, and is therefore miserable. But since he's not home yet, I'm taking this opportunity to bask in my own holiday joy)

I got up a minute before my alarm clock and was out the door by 10 am. My goal was to be at work by 10, but I didn't set the alarm earlier than 9, so I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. I stopped at Chick Fil A for breakfast (and yes, there is a third cup holder in the car for my giant un-sweet tea), and rolled in to work by 11.

Work wasn't quite as productive as I'd hoped. Actually, I got a lot done - just not the things I wanted to get done. Who calls a restaurant on Christmas Eve to buy a gift certificate? I have three names for you! ...but I won't share them.

I got a lot of very cool gifts from the folks I work with this year - home-made cookies and chocolates, LOTS of candy, a gift basket of random yummies, a few gift cards (Target, AMC, or Best Buy, anyone?), and I got the most random and fascinating gifts from one of our servers.

His brother is a famous writer/director who has a new movie coming out soon. And I got a promo t-shirt from the new movie and an autographed comic book of said movie. Yes - autographed! This particular writer/director has die-hard fans. I know a lot of them. And I feel like I am unworthy to possess these items. I haven't even seen the films that made him a cult legend (though I have seen and loved 2 of his more recent movies). Needless to say, as soon as I got to my car I called Scott, who was duly impressed, and Cat, who agreed that I was completely unworthy.

Speaking of Cat, we got together tonight to have some wine, torture some hapless souls in the hospitality industry who had to work so we wouldn't have to cook, and exchange gifts. But not in that order. She got me an electronic game, but we couldn't play because it needed AAA batteries. I didn't know anything took AAA's anymore! So we went to Logan's Roadhouse and had fried mushrooms with horseradish dipping sauce (wow - I never got a horseradish headache before! yum!) and big fat steaks. OK, little steaks. But they sure were tasty! And then we came back here and reminisced fondly about the year we lived together. (yeah - we gloss over the bad parts... life's too short to dwell on the negative)

So yeah, I'm all aglow with yule. Or chardonnay. Either way, I'm sure I'll be back (with pictures!) tomorrow after Scott leaves for work. I hope that anyone who reads this between now and then is having a fabulous holiday filled with good friends and cheer... or at least a good glass of chardonnay!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Dispatches from the Camera Phone

Two completely separate photos. The only thing tying them together is that they were taken from the phone:

This is my desk. With four open bottles of wine. Sadly, none are mine - they rarely let me drink on the job! We had some finicky diners last night who only wanted sweet German and Italian wines, so the server brought me the bottles so that I could put the wines on their menus. These same half-full bottles were still sitting on my desk this morning. Hopefully they'll be gone by the time I get back on Thursday!

And this picture was taken on the way to work today. This is the inside of my car - with two potted plants in the cup holders. Though it's a nice look, it's not a permanent arrangement. I bought the Chefs, Managers, and the other reservation girls random cacti for Christmas. The Chefs got the aloe, the girls got the little mini cacti, and the Managers got little gardens (3 different plants in a short wide-mouth terra cotta pot). Since the other girls all gave out chocolate in some form, I figured I'd be different. Anyway, I have been taking the plants in a few at a time (still have 2 at home for the girls who are off until January) and these two got a ride in the cup holders.

(and yes, that IS a PEZ dispenser. it's Remy from "Ratatouille" for our head chef. because I'm cool like that!)