You say it's your birthday...
Happy birthday, Erica!!!! Have a fabulous day and if I can find it, I will have some Boone's Farm Melonball in your honor. :)
BTW, I Googled "Boone's Farm Melonball" and got two hits - Erica's site and Mel's site. And damn if I can't find a website for Boone's Farm.
Mmmmmmm...
"The key to eating a black and white cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet, still, somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie. All our problems would be solved." ~ Jerry Seinfeld
My second-most-favorite cookie of all time is the black-and-white cookie (surpassed only by the crumbly Italian bakery cookies that are glued together with jelly and dipped in chocolate and sprinkles). I can't get black-and-whites around here, but I always bring some back with me when I go back to NY to visit my family. For some reason, I never thought of the possibility of making them myself - until now. I found a recipe, and the reviews are glowing. I'm going to try it this weekend - I'm so excited!!!
Now, if only I could learn how to make perfect pizza and bagels, I'd be all set.
Freaking YUCK!!!!
We had a potluck today at work, and one of my coworkers brought her famous chocolate chip cookies. Now, these are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted, so I splurged and had a few (or four). I have since come to find out that many of my coworkers have found multiple cat hairs in each cookie (she is obsessed with her cat, and not in a good way). I'm tempted to ask her if her cat helped her make them. She thinks that we all think her cat is as great as she does, so I'm sure she wouldn't ever think I was trying to be a bitch (note: I don't hate her cat, I just feel sorry for him). I think I'm gonna be sick.
Sorry kid, that's how the world works
A high school in Washington State will have two valedictorians because one of the kid' parents SUED to have him made valedictorian. One of my favorite quotes: "The Colberts contended that Bobby had always ranked first in his class of 85 students, based on a 4.0 grading scale. But school administrators told the Colberts earlier this year that Bobby would not be chosen as either valedictorian or salutatorian because of a selection process that gave more weight to honors classes."
Ummm, since when did honors classes NOT count for more than regular classes? They did in my high school, I can tell you that much. And why shouldn't they? Getting an A in an honors class requires a LOT more work than getting an A in a "regular" class. In my high school, there were people who deliberately took "regular" classes so they could boast that high GPA, knowing full well that they wouldn't necessarily come close to the people who aced the honors classes. If Bobby aced every honors class he was in, it sounds like he probably should have been in the honors classes, and then maybe his parents wouldn't have had to sue to get him named valedictorian. Or maybe he wouldn't have aced the honors classes and the whole point would have been moot.
Helpless sniffling mess
I don't even know why I'm crying. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that there is an infant boy, barely 16 hours old, who will go to sleep in the absence of loving arms tonight. And I can't do anything about it. And I can't help.
One of our friends gave birth to said infant boy this morning. He is the fruit of a one-night-stand with a person who has treated her like crap since finding out she was pregnant. Knowing she wasn't ready to be a mother, knowing she does not yet want to be a mother, realizing she wants nothing more to do with this child than to give it life and set it free, at first she was going to choose adoption. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the father decided he would step up to the plate and claim the child and raise it on his own. But for months he'd taunt our friend, saying that he'd force her to spend time with it, would constantly send her pictures, etc.
Well, he's gone from that to letting his girlfriend of 5 months pick out the child's name and telling our friend that if there's a name she'd like to see the child have, she can let him know and he and said girlfriend of 5 months will put it on the list of potential middle names. And now he doesn't even want to take the baby home until there have been conclusive paternity tests done, even though it's definitely his.
I know there is a lot a family has to go through to be considered for fostering a child, and there are so many good people in the foster care system, and that we only think it's so bad because we only hear about the handful of bad families, but for some reason I’m sitting here bawling over the fact that this baby is going to be with "strangers" until this guy gets his freaking paternity results.
I just want to go to the hospital, pick that baby up and kiss his little head and cheeks and nose and fingers and toes and snuggle him tight and say "I'm sorry your father's being such an asshat, but there are a lot of people who love you very much. You'll be just fine."
QOTRI
"Technically, you're not paying taxes. According to the Bush administration, your bank account is being liberated." ~Jay Leno
Damn this "getting healthy" crap
I'm really hungry right now, I would LOVE a big greasy cheeseburger or some chocolate right now, and I missed American Idol last night because we were out walking. I'm trying, I really am. I just keep telling myself that the first few weeks are the hardest (they'd damn well better be). And the only reason I'm so hungry right now is because I totally wasn't in the mood for what I brought for lunch, and I willed myself not to go out and buy something. I'm such a good baboo. ;)
AAARGH!!!!!!!!!
Senator Rick Santorum said "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." This is officially the biggest bunch of bullshit I have EVER heard. NO wonder his name sounds like "sanitarium."
Stupid people piss me off
Since Bryan didn't work last week, that means he wasn't there to pick up his paycheck for the 5 days he actually did work last pay period. Thinking she was doing him a favor, the office manager mailed it. All well and good, except that she still has our old address on file. We moved in August. He gave her the new address when we moved, and again after his W2 was mailed to his parents' house. I should have known she hadn't updated a darn thing when she called Bryan's parents' house looking for him one day last week.
On the nature of friendship
Why does friendship have to be so complicated? I just don’t get it. It’s so frustrating to me that on one hand, I have friends I can go MONTHS without talking to them and we can pick up like we never left off, but on the other hand are friends who refuse to call you for a couple of months if you don’t return their call within 3 days. Oh, and then when you finally call them, you get chewed out for not calling. Not to mention the fact that I’m totally NOT a phone person.
Take for instance, my friend Dawn. I’ve known her for almost 8 years. She’s my best friend from college, and is like the older sister I never had but always wanted. She came from NY to stand up in my wedding. That was 8 months ago, and I haven’t spoken to her since the wedding. We both know that we’re both incredibly busy, and we don’t have a problem not speaking for so long. We’re both pretty low maintenance when it comes to friendships. And I know that next time I talk to her, or next time I see her, it will be like there was never a lapse. There will be no "how come you didn’t call," no "you’re a bad friend," no "you don’t care about me," no "I guess I’m just not important enough to you." Nobody cares who called the other last, nobody cares how often one person calls over the other. Nobody keeps track. And there has NEVER been any of that. And if I know Dawn as well as I think I do, there never WILL be.
Take Carrie. Also a bridesmaid (hey... I had seven). She is my best friend in WI. She lives in the same town I do, and there have been times where we haven’t seen each other, let alone talked, for a couple of months at a time. It’s not a huge deal. It’s the same as it is with Dawn. We both have very busy lives, and we know we’ll catch up next time. No blame game, no keeping track, none of that crap.
Then take Rayna. I’ve known her for almost 11 years. She is my best friend from high school. She also stood up in my wedding, and she made my absolutely beautiful gown. Even though we both grew up in NY, she currently lives about 3 hours away from me. She called me a few months ago. I wasn’t home and was really busy so I didn’t return her call. She hasn’t called since then. But it’s not like it is with Dawn and Carrie. I know that when I do get around to calling her, all I’m going to hear for the first half hour is how I’m a terrible friend, she’s not important to me, I never call, yadda yadda yadda. Which is part of why I haven’t called yet. I just have this pool of dread welling up at the bottom of my stomach.
Maybe I’ll just send a card or something.
So much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say...
But not really. Sorry for the hiatus, I haven't had a whole lot to say. I suspect this week will be different. No particular reason, just a feeling.
Please stand by...
Technical difficulties getting less difficult, but still not quite the way I had it.
Experiencing technical difficulties
Okay, so I'm posting, posting, posting and suddenly I refresh my screen and it's my old format! Grrrrrrrrr. Unless I saved my HTML code somewhere on my computer at home, I'm screwed. Links, formatting, etc. Gone. I really hope I saved my code.
Weight weight weight
Okay, so maybe if I put this out here for everyone to read, I'll do a little better. Bryan and I have started walking at night. We're already eating healthfully, but it wasn't getting us anywhere. Well, let me rephrase that. We weren't gaining weight, which is good - but we weren't losing it either, which is bad. I've decided that I need to be under a certain weight before we start trying for a baby, and we're not going to start trying for a baby until we buy a house. We figure it will be around 2 years before we can buy a house, so that gives me just enough time to get down to my goal range (yes, I'm that fat) before we start trying. I'm going to post my progress somewhere on this page, haven't decided where yet. But I can't do anything really concrete until I get down to a weight where I can actually be weighed on my doctor's scale (again, yep, that fat). I can tell you when my clothes get loose though. ;)
Unemployment update
Well, Bryan's still laid off. He'll be going back next Tuesday, so he'll have a full week of unemployment pay this week. We found out that his weekly benefit rate is only about $65 less than his take-home pay, so we won't be too far behind. Plus, I got a (small) raise and changed my deductions from Single 0 to Married 2, so my check will be about $75 more every two weeks. I'm not making up as much as he's losing, but I'm a little more confident that we'll be relatively okay. Now we just need to get through the next wedding... (both standing up - my gown needs alterations, his tux needs to be picked up, I need to contribute toward shower and bachelorette party...)
I'm a beeeeeeeeg dork!
We went to a wedding on Saturday night (Congrats, Chris and Jodi!). The wedding was okay. We got there *just* in time. We literally walked in 5 minutes before the bride walked down the aisle. Our friend Dave did most of the food and did a FABULOUS job (he did the chicken and all the sides, salad, bread, etc.). And so prepared, too - thank goodness he thought ahead, because the bride had another friend who was supposed to do a beef dish, but he didn't actually get there until after everyone had finished eating, so only a few people had beef. I had a good time, but it resulted in almost having to go to the ER Sunday morning...
Over the course of the night, I drank a lot, I inhaled a ton of cigarette smoke and mineral fog from the DJs fog machine (he went waaaaaaaay overboard), and was also quite the dancin' fool. All of this after an hour-long walk earlier in the afternoon. My lungs got more of a workout on Saturday than they'd gotten in quite some time, and boy did I feel it.
We got home around 1:30 AM, and I woke up 3 times between then and 6:00 (for water and because it hurt to breathe due to all the crap and lung exercise), to the point where I went and slept on the couch in the computer room so I wouldn't wake Bryan up. I got up around 7 and called the ER to see if I should go in, that's how much pain I was in. My entire upper body just ACHED. They basically said "well, not being able to breathe is considered an emergency," and suggested that I come in. But it wasn't that I couldn't breathe, it just hurt to take anything more than a shallow breath because the muscles around my lungs were so worn out, so I decided not to go. I had had a raging headache since before we left the wedding. Bryan made me take some Naproxen after yelling at me for not taking anything while being in so much pain. I fell asleep and slept like the dead until 2:00 in the afternoon Sunday.
Mental note to self: don't smoke a lot and dance a lot after getting exercise the same day after not having exercised in months. The body's just not used to it.
Fat kids unhappy? Who'da thunk it?
"Obesity makes children so unhealthy and miserable that their quality of life is slightly worse than children having chemotherapy to treat cancer, a new study suggests." I had an absolutely miserable childhood, though not in the way most people would think upon learning that someone had a miserable childhood. My home life wasn't too shabby, no matter how much I bitched about it. I was a fat kid. I'm a fat adult. I've struggled with depression, low self-esteem, all that crap. I even dropped out of both semesters of my last year of college because of my depression. $20,000 in student loans and no degree to show for it. So yeah, I can believe that obese children are miserable. The dress I wore for my 6th grade graduation was a size 18. I won a ton of awards at that ceremony, but I would gladly have traded them all in for a few friends.
The article speaks about BMI and how the study was done on kids with an average BMI of 34.7, and goes on to say that a person who is 5'3" would have to weigh 190 lbs to have a BMI of 34.7. Yep, that was me. Your average fat kid, LOL. I weighed 190 in the summer of 1990, when I'm guessing I was probably between 5' and 5'3" (I'm 5'5" now).
The one quote that got me saying "THANK YOU, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS" though was this: "The study doesn't offer any new information about why very heavy children have less fulfilling lives than their skinnier contemporaries. However, Schwimmer suspects social stigma plays a large part." Well geez, let's give this guy the Nobel freaking Prize. I believe that social stigma is one of the VERY FEW reasons fat kids are miserable. After all, if I had friends, if kids weren't teasing me, calling me names (my all-time favorite - Kath...is not...leen - cute little play on my name, huh?), doing all sorts of stuff to me because I was the fat kid who wouldn't fight back because then I'd get in trouble... all of that. I would have been a lot happier if I could have just been myself, had a few friends and not been tortured. Is that too much for a 3rd grader to ask?
I can definitely tell that my weight has played a huge (no pun intended) role in my interpersonal relationships. I had an online "relationship" with a guy when I was still in NY. He was an absolute health nut. I was quite up front about my body, and he later confessed that he had feelings for me, but was afraid to meet me for fear that he'd no longer have those feelings after he met me. I met my husband online - he fell in love with me before he ever laid eyes on me. He knew I was fat, I knew he had some meat on his bones, but we'd never seen pictures. The first time we ever laid eyes on each other was when he visited me. Most of my best girlfriends are women with whom I've solidified friendships sight unseen (not that they would have shunned me anyway - they're a fabulous bunch). I don't like to go out by myself. I'm quite self-conscious when I do go out. If I'm meeting friends at a restaurant or the movies or something, I try to make sure I'm there first so I can meet them right at the door (and don't have to walk around looking for them, therefore having everyone stare at me). I have friends that I haven't seen since I left NY that I'd love to see the next time I visit, but I probably won't because I've gained 60 lbs. since I moved here. Even though I know my friends won't think any less of me, the voice in the back of my head tells me to be ashamed.
But for some reason, no matter how healthy I try to eat, there are days where I just want a huge greasy cheeseburger, and I have one - because they say the surest way to go on a binge is to deprive yourself - but for some reason, that cheeseburger (or chocolate, or ice cream, or whatever) switches off the part of my brain that has the ability to say "okay, you had your fix, now let's start eating well again." Bryan's been trying to keep me on track, but it's not always easy for him, nor should it be his responsibility.
"Wild and wacky," party of one
My dream date. Someone's got a little too much time on their hands (courtesy of Dan).
Pity Party, otherwise titled "Economy, schmeconomy"
Okay, so the hubby got laid off. But not completely laid off as in "you'll be off for a few weeks straight and will probably get every cent of unemployment you're entitled to" laid off. Oh no. More like "well, we'll probably need you to come in once or twice a week, which means the amount you'll get will be significantly reduced" laid off. Lovely. We JUST got caught up on our bills, we have less than $500 in our "oh shit" fund, and his car needs a few routine maintenance things (totalling probably about $150). The car really needs to be taken care of. As it is, we're already hoping she'll hold out until his old consolidation loan is paid off in somewhere between 12 and 18 months. We can't afford another monthly payment right now (I've even had to put my student loan into forbearance), not that anyone would actually give us any money.
He'll be using his time off to job hunt, but I'm not sure what exactly he's qualified for other than his current field and possibly working with children. The former is embroidery, specifically computer digitizing (anyone looking for a digitizer, he has 2 years of experience with the Wilcom system, and could probably repair a Tajima machine with a hand tied behnid his back. He's also worked with Melco equipment as well). As far as the latter, he's experienced but not certified in anything. His mom ran a daycare out of her home for many many years, and kids love him. There are several positions around here for working with kids that surprisingly have a nice hourly wage, but are only 10-15 hours a week, which is just not gonna cut it.
To save wear and tear on his car, we have a couple of options.
* Find a job in town
* Find a job near mine, with hours similar to mine, so we can carpool
He's been looking to leave his current job for a while, but I think this has given him the extra shove to start really looking. Hopefully he finds something good, but we'll just have to wait and see. Beggars can't be choosers at this point.
Lazy lazy lazy
I'm so freaking lazy lately. I put in for a vacation day today because of the aforementioned show last night. Even though the show was cancelled, I decided what the hell, they're already not expecting me to come in, and I could certainly use another day off (even though I took off yesterday after becoming very friendly with a ditch on my way to work - promptly turned around and went home). I had all of these grand plans, as I always do on my mid-week days off. Well, guess what? I've been awake since somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:00 AM. It's now 1:30 and what have I done? Ummm, a big fat NOTHING unless taking some meat out to defrost counts as getting something accomplished. I came in here to use the computer at 11:00 to look up ONE THING after deciding that it wasn't worth watching an hour of Judge whoever, because that would mean it wouldn't be over until noon, when I'd feel compelled to watch Days, then get sucked into Passions, and before I knew it it would be 2:00 and I'd have accomplished nothing. So of course I wind up on the computer for 2.5 hours accomplishing nothing. Oy. I'm turning the damn thing off now.
Conspiracy theory
We were supposed to see David Sedaris last night, but it was postponed. I'm a little upset about how the Civic Center handled it, too. When we walked in the building at appx. 7:15, it was still scheduled to go on at 7:30 so we decided against beverages. Then a few minutes later, they announced that it was delayed until 8:00. We decided beverages sounded like a nifty idea. Coming up on 7:45, they announce that the show would be postponed because his plane couldn't get in from Detroit. I'm sorry, but you didn't know that until 7:45? 15 minutes before the show was supposed to go on? I don't think so. Not to mention that the second we were told it was cancelled, they also told us the reschedule date in the same breath. Meaning SOMEONE knew that it would be cancelled AND was able to take the time to firm up the reschedule date BEFORE they told us. Bryan thinks it was a "concessions decision." Meaning, "let the concession stand get as much money out of these people as they can before we tell them David won't be here." I'm inclined to agree. Not that the drinks were overpriced though - $3.50 for Bryan's whiskey old-fashioned sweet and $3.50 for my zinfandel, which is pretty much what you'd pay almost anywhere in Madison, if not more, but that's not the point. They HAD to have known well before 7:45 that he wasn't going to be able to make it. So we spent 16 bucks for nothing ($7 for the drinks, $3 for parking, probably about $6 in gas), and it totally could have been avoided.
Snow, snow go away
Today is April 8th. It's been snowing since probably 4:00 AM yesterday. Granted, there's not much actually on the ground - but it's been snowing for over 24 hours! The phrase I kept repeating on the way home from the cancelled David Sedaris show last night (more on that in a few minutes): IT'S FUCKING APRIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There, I feel better. Well, actually I don't, but I'm trying to convince myself. I wish I had a digital camera (there's one on my Amazon wish list) so I could show you what it looks like outside my computer room window. It's really pretty, especially since the tree directly outside the window has a ton of little red berries on it, but alas...
Perfect breakfast
Mmmmm, fresh warm homemade cinnamon rolls and a can of diet Pepsi so cold there's ice crystals in it. Life is good.
Money doesn't buy everything
Two boys driving cars they had no business having in the first place are charged with murder for killing a couple while drag racing at over twice the speed limit in quite possibly one of the richest areas of Long Island (which is not a cheap place to live to start with). I've driven down that road before in that very same area, and I wasn't even comfortable going the actual speed limit, let alone twice the limit. Sadly, money doesn't buy brains or common sense.
Never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it
Spotted on I-90, Madison, WI: A large white Cadillac sporting the following license place: TKND5TH
Just a little change, honest!
I made my post text font a little smaller - I thought it just looked too big the way it was - lemme know if it's too small.
SUE!!!!
CNN article on Sue Johanson - or as I like to call her, Canada's Dr. Ruth. :) My favorite quote: "My age is a definite advantage," says Johanson, while refusing to pinpoint it. "If I was cute with big hair, I wouldn't have a great deal of credibility. I'd be seen as a sexy chicky-poo. And I'm not. I'm the grandma you can talk to."
Some of the best news I've heard all day
Sharon Osbourne is cancer-free!!
YGTBKM
The latest from that bastion of intelligence, and the ultimate poster child for not knowing how the United "Sodom and Gomorrah" States legal system works, Zacharias Moussaoui.