Another canine addition to the family!

Last Sunday mom and I went down to see my little bro's new condo. He decided we should go look at puppies. So we headed over to the new PAWS facility..and look who he brought home!


That would be Wrigley (brought home to feline brother Altoid).

He's a 7 month old mutt. And SUCH a sweetie..most of the time. He's not very socialized with other animals so he barks at other dogs and his new brother. Though yesterday when my bro tried to introduce them for the second time Altoid gave Wrigley a run for his money by giving him a good swipe - and got a claw stuck in Wrigley's head. The folks at PAWS said it would be just a few swipes from the cat before the dog would back off..so I guess we're on swipe one!

Mark says that Wrigley has been sleeping through the night in his crate without making a sound. And he's lasting all day in the crate with no accidents. And the very smart Wrigley already is shaking his paw and when he wants to go out he brings his leash to Mark. How cute right?

New Car!

I decided to treat myself..... More pics: Here

To Joey, Zella, and Elphaba:

Dear Furbabies,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom (or top Miss Elphaba!) is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, bark, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butts. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it "fur"niture.

3. 
   

4. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

5. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember...

Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
   
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't want to wear your clothes

(I don't know who deserves credit for this...I've seen it several different places...but I love it!)

Are you like me....

And hate it when there is an extra scene all the way at the end of a movie??

I was just sitting here working on the laptop while X-3 was on in the background. Has anyone watched it all the way through the end of the credits? I've seen this movie several times and never saw the end of the credits. Well guess what...Charles is alive! The credits end..and you go to a scene with a nurse caring over a patient (unseen). You hear the patient (Patrick Stewarts voice) say "hello moira" and the nurse look at him started and say "charles ?" OMG....what does this mean.... He's supposed to be dead..and I didn't think there was going to be another sequel...

Reminds me of the fact I've heard there's always something special at the end of the Pirates of the Caribean credits too. I never knew this until a week after I saw the third movie. Apparently a scene comes up and you see Kiera Knightly walking the beach with a young boy...its the first time Orlando Bloom is able to come on land and see her...and their son. I still have yet to see this one for myself....but was very upset when I heard about it and realized I'd missed it.

Why do studios do this? I mean....almost no one stays and watches ALL the credits of a movie... I usually only stay if its animated to check the names and make sure I got them all right. Or if I want to see more about the music that was in the movie.. but thats it. I wonder how common it is to have a special scene after the credits... Does this mean I need to start sitting through them? How many of you watch the credits til the end?

Please go check out my uncle's blog!

Hey readers! My uncle started a blog a while back, there's just a few posts, but he said something to me about no one reading it because I'm the only one commenting. So do me a favor...go check it out and give him a quick comment please!

http://chiefsworld-warner.blogspot.com/

Good News Bad News

Good news
I got an A in my second class! Yeah!!!!

Bad news
Elphaba and Joey both have ear mites. Yucky!

Thats the kind of thing that makes sense for good news bad news right?? How about this.

Dad calls Saturday night..mind you..Dad NEVER calls. I'd heard from mom that Dad's father, my "Pa", was really sick. In fact, mom said my bro and dad had gone down there last week because in my brothers words "he's gonna go at any minute". Now, a normal person would think perhaps DAD would have called to tell me about this at some point in time....but no. So Saturday he calls and first chit chats about when we're going to see a Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theater. Then he tells me he has some bad news.

Me: About Pa you mean?
Dad: Yeah, how did you hear?
Me: Well I know Mark says he's sick and you guys just went down there.
Dad: So you talked to Mark?
Me: No. Mom told me.
Dad: Oh. Well, yeah, he's sick. Its really not good.

(then he goes into the explanation - he has colon, lung, and kidney cancer...and its basically everywhere now. fortunately he has no symptoms at all. we're not going to try any treatment cuz there's too much of it and it will seriously decrease his quality of life, 3-6 months to live, etc)

Now mind you, I really don't know my "pa" at all. My mom tells me when we were infants he was a doting grandfather. But I've maybe seen him 3 times in the past 20 years. So I feel kinda bad, but am feeling worse that I'm not more upset about it.

Dad moves onto other topics and starts asking me about when I get moved next. How do I think I'm gonna do selling my house, what does the market look like in Peoria, etc. Then Dad says "well the good news is you'll be coming into a lot of money when pa goes. there are some restrictions on what you are able to spend it on up to a certain age, but property is allowed so that should be a big help when you buy your next place".

Am I the only one that finds that inappropriate? Bad news, grandpa's gone in about 3-6 months, good news, you are going to inherit a bundle of money?

On the other hand, I now understand the callers who contact Suze Orman feeling guilty about money they inherited. I feel strange that this man I barely know is about to die and I'm going to profit from it. On the other hand, I could use the money, I would love to be able have way more equity in my house. Its just strange. I feel like he shouldn't have told me about the inheritance you know? Does that seem weird?

Stupid Strike!

The girls and I are headed into NYC this weekend to celebrate Karen and my birthdays. And Destiny and I had tickets to see Legally Blonde...but due to the freaking stagehand strike....there will be NO Legally Blonde on Saturday.

They better get this straightened out by next week. I'm gonna be REALLY upset if mom and I don't get to see The Little Mermaid the day after Thanksgiving!

Just had my excitement for the day...week maybe?

That would be coming home to find the house across the street... ON FIRE! Here's the aftermath.

Look who knows how to play fetch already!!!!

Zella in a different box

Many of you may remember my first Zella in a box post here.

The saga continues......I have a little tiny basket for Elphaba's toys...and look who has decided its her new favorite place to lay...well....squish!

Clapotis Oops

So I finally finished my "clap" well..kind of...turns out I didn't follow the decrease directions right and missed the second drop stitch during the repeats. I don't see how I can frog it given the drops....so...guess its just for me!

2 lb 5 oz

Thats right! Miss Elphaba had a visit to the vet today for her next round of shots, and she's currently weighing in at 2lb 5oz. Thats a full half pound growth in 2 weeks. No wonder her bigger harnesses are starting to fit!

Elphaba's new Sweater

xSo we started this week at 90 degrees..but its quickly fallen very cold. Especially for Miss Elphaba. So, it was sweater time. I was wary thinking I wouldn't find a patter small enough. But she's bulked up a little in the three weeks she's been home and I think this will do for a while. How cute is she?



Also, Miss Elphaba has her very own web page..be sure to check it out!

Elphaba

Three Nights!

Three nights in a row with clean cage!! Yeah!!!!

And her special harness showed up and fits so we went on a few nice little walks last night and this morning.

Teeny Tiny Doggie Harness

Okay...so we've not been able to go on a real walk on a leash yet....because the tiny harness I got at Petsmart was WAYYYYY too huge for my little Elphaba. But I scoured the internet this weekend and found a company that said they had stuff for dogs up to 2 pounds...so I placed a couple of orders and found that "Tiny 1" from Cloak and Dawggie fits Elphie! We just went on our first walk on a leash! I ordered a Puppia harness too in XS (their smallest) but its still way too big...but maybe she'll grow into it (I hope since you can only return for size!). Anyway, for any other mommies with teeny tiny babies...here's where I got my harness from!

The New York Dog Shop

Looks like they have other cute stuff too so I'll have to check it out. But I ordered on Friday and it arrived USPS on Monday..not too bad!

Oh yeah..and TWO nights in a row with no mess in the crate! Yeah!

Elphaba - 1 week update

Well, little Elphaba has been home a week now and I'd say things are going pretty well overall.

Zella seems to be warming up to her...she still runs off most of the time, but she is letting Elphie get closer...and of course Zella and Joey love Elphie's food so they are REALLY close by when she's eating!

Housetraining is going .... probably good for this age....during the day I've been gone up to 6 hours and come home to no mess in the crate. Problem seems to be at night...and its not wet, but dirty... :) I thought we'd gotten passed that Friday night when it was wet but not dirty...but then last night..nice little present again when I got up in the middle of the night. As far as in the house outside the crate...I've figured out her signal for when she needs to go #2...so thats not a problem anymore. I just have to watch REALLY closely. She does like to go to the kitchen and pee....so again..have to watch REALLY closely.

Big problem at this point is she's too small for a harness. I bought the smallest one you can get at Petsmart..and the matching collar got small enough...but the harness at 8 inches around is still WAY too big. And she's starting to get braver outside and run away from me some...so I bought a little pen I've got set up out back. She's not crazy about it...but it makes me feel better that she's not running loose. Hopefully she'll put on some pounds soon and the harness will fit. I did special order a couple to from online..but I'm worried they might be too big too.

She's taken okay to the collar...at first she was attacking it because I put the tag on it too...but I took the tag back off for now for her to get used to it and she doesn't seem to know its there...so hopefully in another day or so when I put the tag on she doesn't realize it.

Tomorrow we're off to the vet for her first checkup with ME...that should be fun.

Oh..and have you heard of Catster and Dogster? I was looking for other teacup owners for advice on the harness thing and came across Dogster and Catster...too funny.....All my furbabies are now signed up and making lots of friends!

Elphaba
Joey
Zella

Apparently she's SOOO tiny....

that everything she eats comes out IMMEDIATELY! Have to readjust schedule to go out RIGHT after she finishes eating!

Tell me she's not the cutest damn thing you ever saw.....

ittle Elphie (short for Elphaba) came home yesterday, and I'm exhausted already!

She wimpered a little in the car on the way home..but nothing too bad. We got inside and I put her on the kitchen floor. She promptly took off after Joey and Zella. And for you to understand how funny that is.... Sweet little Elphie weighs in at 1.75 lbs currently. Zella weighs 11lbs and Joey weighs 17lbs. After the cats were out of reach Elphie took off after TMX elmo..and promptly knocked him over and started jumping on him. To put that in perspective...she only comes up to his hands!

Most of the day was spent in the crate with Elphie not too happy. I was laying on the floor working on my final paper for this class (worth 18% of my total grade) and she was CRYING away. Then Wicked came up on iTunes and she got quieter...just a wimper. Then when Defying Gravity started with the sharp "Elphaba!" from Glinda...she perked right up and got super quiet...so Elphaba it is!

We had to make a Petsmart run despite all my advance purchases, as the breeder said she needed some moist food to mix in with the dry they gave me (she'd just run out). And I wanted to pick up some Nutrical while I was there as everything I read said this was important to keep on hand to avoid hypoglycemic shock for my little munchkin. Of course we picked up a little something for Joey and Zella too. Anyway, Elhpie was the HIT of the store. We had SEVERAL people walking up to us to ask about her and give her a little pet...and she was loving EVERY minute of it. Though she was very happy to have her mama hanging onto her the entire time. In fact...she's happiest in general if she's touching me.

Oh...did I mention the worms yet? That was fun...not sure how the vet didn't know she had roundworm since .... well....her 2nd time at #2 it was QUITE obvious....spaghetti in the poop....means roundworm. I know this is extremely common in puppies...but it was a little frustrating on the first day.

Anyway, bedtime came and my little sweetie was NON too happy to be in the crate....I'd made a last minute run to CVS for a hot water bottle at mom's suggestion as the crying was driving me crazy. This seemed to help a lot and the crying turned back to a low wimper that I could barely hear while upstairs (she's downstairs). But that wimper turned into serious noise again after about 2 hours. When she quieted down for a second I ran down to see her (only taking her out of the crate when she's quiet so she learns crying doesn't do her any good). Crate was clean so we went outside and back into the crate she went. Two more hours of sleep and I was up again with the noise. Again...waited for her to quiet down and went to check on her..and she'd made a little mess in the crate (thank god no spaghetti this time though, YUCK!). So back outside we went, cleaned the crate, and in went Elphie. This was around 2am. And thankfully...when I woke up at 6:30am (thanks Joey...its okay...mommy doesn't need any sleep!) it was still quiet downstairs. I wanted to take advantage of the quiet so I went down to take her out..and she was still sleeping away cute as can be. Woke her up, took her out, tried to feed her...and then during "playtime" she promptly curled up in a ball and passed out...so...back in the crate. This time I stayed downstairs and slept on the couch..and got another 2 hours before Joey came and started hissing at her and upset her.

Anyway, this morning she seems to be doing better at sleeping...been in the crate most of the morning with not a peep out of her except when joey walks by and hisses at her. Problem now is eating...which she's not doing (the cats on the other hand LOVE her food). So I'm forcing little dabs of Nutrical onto her tongue to make sure she's at least getting her calories and nutrients. Hopefully the roundworm is the cause of the not eating and the vet can get us all fixed up on that when we get in this week to see her.

Back to my project.... oh ..and here's another pic of my sweetie.


L

New puppy comes home

TOMORROW! YEAH!!!!!! Lots of pics coming soon I'm sure! :)

New Love in my Life....

That would be my new PUPPY!!!!!!!


She's not home with me just yet because she's not even 8 weeks old yet!!!!!

She's a yorkiepoo (yorkie poodle mix in case you weren't sure) and weighs about 1 lb right now. Her parents are 4 and 5 pounds so she should stay pretty tiny! I'll have to watch her carefully around the cats since they are 11 and 17lbs!

I have to call middle of next week to check on her...they may let me pick her up next weekend...might have to wait til the weekend after that...but they said she's the strongest of the pups so next weekend is promising.

I'm so excited!

Loopy Groopy!

YAY!!! I finally made Loopy Groopy status at the Loopy Ewe!!!!!!! Sheri sent me the most beautiful colorway of Panda Cotton. Strawberries Limes. Yummy!

You know you have been traveling too much when....

......you show up in the office on Sept 4 and your page a day calendar still says July 31.

If only I were done....

Headed to Baltimore tonight and traveling all over MD, VA, and WV Wed/Thurs this week. Then headed out to Pittsburgh and State College PA the week after...THEN I think I'm done for a while. No..I know I'm done...I don't have any more travel and entertainment budget left!

Finally on Ravelry! Yayyyyyy!!!!!!!

So happy! I finally got my invite to Ravelry last week! I didn't have much time to play with it mid week...but I did over the weekend...I've sucessfully loaded up some projects and some of my stash! I'd taken pictures before heading to Chicago last week knowing that I was getting close to getting my invite and wanted to be prepared... Now I need to find time to finish photographing my stash!

Latest Bargain

Picked up this little beauty for $200 less than retail at the outlet last weekend. YEAH ME!

10%!!!!!!

So...not too many people know this and I don't think I've blogged about it...but I started Weight Watchers again back around the end of April. Well this week was officially week 16...and I weighed in...and I finally got my first weight loss goal of 10% of my body weight!!! Thats right...in the 4 months since I started I've lost 10% of my body weight! I still have a long way to go..but this is super exciting for me!


My ticker is set based on the minimum loss I need to do to be in the healthy range again....we'll see how things are going when I get there...I may add another 10-20 pounds to my ultimate goal. For the meantime....my next goal...10% of my NEW body weight!!!!!

Socks...

I finished these a while ago but kept forgetting to post pictures. Made using TOFUtsies in I think it was the Light Foot Colorway. Used my generic pattern that I modified from the pattern on the Colinette Jitterbug yarn I am in love with.


Oh..and the sock blockers are from the The Loopy Ewe. Be sure to check it out! Only two more orders from the Loopy Ewe and I am officially a loopy groopie. Gonna have to get Michelle's birthday present from there I think..... :)

Its Official!

I'm registered for my first class to start on Aug 15. And I finished one of two orientation classes tonight. Gonna get a little done on the second one now.

Sweeter yet....

1) I'm typing on my new MacBook as I speak!!!! I already got most of the software I needed installed and my music moved over. Working on pictures and documents now.

2) My iphone which was out for repair (don't want to tell THAT story on my blog..if you really want to know and actually KNOW me email me...I'll send ya the story) is finally showing repaired and to be delivered to me TOMORROW! And I never got a call with a repair estimate so I assume that means they fixed it under warranty. YIPPEEEE!!!!!!

I will say though...kudos to apple on the AppleCare Service phones. My iPhone was out of commission 2 days before I got to the apple store to meet with a genius. And I was going crazy without it! Its insane how hooked I am after just 3 weeks with it! Anyway...for $29 you can "rent" a service phone to use while yours is out for repair. I know there is a ton of griping about the battery life and having to rent a phone while the battery gets replaced if you choose to do that.....but after 2 days without my iphone...I had NOOOO problem paying the $29 to rent one while mine was in for repair. OUTSTANDING!!!!

How sweet is today!

Oh man..I'm having the best day!

First, I'm officially enrolled in grad school. My advisor should be in touch today or tomorrow to help me register for my first class.

Second, I got approved for tuition reimbursement started from DAY 1!!!! So now instead of shelling out $5000 this year on school....it will be more like only $500 I spend! Well....plus books...but $500 rather than $5000 is a BITCHIN deal!!!

And finally, my new MacBook showed up today two days ahead of schedule!!!!! If only I didn't have to work this afternoon...I'm going crazy wanting to start playing with it!!!!!

Update on me!

Goodness...I've been a bad blogger lately!!!! I'll try to put together a little update ... at least on my July which has been hectic!

I've been off a bit this month as I had two friends get married. My friend Missie got married outside St Louis on 07/07/07 (yes I know someone who got that crazy wedding date!) Anyway, I'd hoped to stay in Illinois between this wedding and the one I had on the 14th....but the cost was crazy since one was in St. Louis and one was in Chicago and I'd need to get between the two.... So....after talking with Mandy who was also headed to the wedding near St. Louis I flew into Nashville to drive with Mandy and her husband to St. Louis. This was great because I got to see their new house and meet their dogs! Drive to St. Louis wasn't too bad...less than 5 hours I think....of course...we weren't really IN St. Louis...we were in the sticks and pretty much bored out of our minds the entire time we were there.... That said, Missie made a beautiful and obviously very happy bride!

The next week was busy as my boss's boss was in town, I was in my first official meeting of our "work/life balance" team, and I had my mid year review. Apparently I really impresssed my boss's boss as I said something in my one on one about how much I don't like Harrisburg, but that I had volunteered to stay a little longer due to some coverage issues. I didn't say it to impress him...but evidently I did so thats great! Then I had my mid year...which was good...not that I didn't expect it to be (toot toot!). Anyway, my boss said I'm doing everything really well, and said he does think I'm getting better at not getting too wound up about stuff and just supporting my issues. He also gave me kudos on a couple of nightmare projects I've been working on and said that we would not have made the progress we have to date if not for my tenacity...so that was really good! And because it was my mid year...and technically I'm due to move in 6 months (although will probably be closer to 9) its time for us to start positioning me for my next job. Which frankly couldn't come sooner...but I'll get back to that later.

So then I headed from my mid year off to the airport to fly to Chicago for my friend Alicia's wedding. Now Alicia and I have known each other since grade school, and her parents are now best friends with my mom and my second set of parents (the famous Nelson's many of you have heard me talk about). That said, Alicia and I started drifting apart in high school when we started dating...well...when I started dating...and we just haven't been all that close in years. That said, her family really is my family and we spend all of our holidays with them. I also never would have gotten through my mom being so sick when I moved to California if not for her family who spent every day with my mom when I couldn't be there. Anyway, so Alicia and her new husband were getting married on 07/14/07 (now that date didn't get as much attention but I think its kind of cooler than 07/07/07). I did escape bridesmaid duty, but got a lot of other assignments in addition to having to do a reading during the mass. I spent most of the morning before the ceremony running around the church trying to ensure that everyone had their flowers..and DANG were there a LOT of flowers! Anyway, wedding went well, there was a few hours between that and the reception so we went to her parents house with the rest of the family. Reception was fun....our parents have learned well and all us kids were at the table closest to the bar....but that reminds me....what the hell is the deal with closing the bar during dinner? Thats the second wedding I've been to that did that and I don't get it! Anyway, I had an early flight back on Sunday (gotta love the limited options when using frequent flier tickets!) so I took it easy at the bar and just chilled all night at the reception.

While I was home I got to experience my sister studying for her grad school classes...and it occured to me.... I'm not all that fulfilled in my job right now for various reasons. And I always planned to get my MBA...hell I worked on it for a while before moving to California. So I started doing some research and I've decided its time to go back to school. That said its happening WAY faster than I expected since I've decided on doing it online (then I have no worries about my schedule!) through Kaplan University (who has a specialization in Management, Quality and Communication which is perfect for me). Their next term starts Aug 15....so we're speeding along to get me admitted in time. Bummer is, my department didn't have education reimbursement in the budget this year...so looks like I'm paying for the first three classes on my own...but I'm so excited that I really want to get started. Plus the timing is better for me to start now, because then I'm likely to be able to take a term or two off (like the next time I get transferred) and still be done with it before I finish up my NEXT job which is scheduled to be a two year position. So....hopefully before the end of this week I'll officially be admitted and on Aug 15th I'll be started class!

What else, oh yeah...so I've mentioned work kinda sucks right now....its funny...I still don't really like the people in my office. My boss and I talked about it during my mid year because he's not getting the best marks for teamwork and teambuilding. Anyway, I still feel its a very unwelcoming bunch..which is fine because I'm not really crazy about anyone anyway. And I really do like all the people I work with OUTSIDE my office...WAY more than I did in California! That said there is a lot of internal stuff going on at my company thats not making my life very easy right now! And since Michelle quit her job....I don't have my best friend to vent to work stuff about anymore!

Lets see what else.....oh....I just ordered a new Macbook! I adore my iMac and will definitely never buy another pc at home. And I figured with starting school up again....it would be much nicer to have a laptop. And my having my home computer be a laptop..then I'm not worrying about transfering files back and forth from my iMac to my work laptop. And if I'm on the road I can just bring IT with too and have all my school stuff. So, my admin assistant was in the market for a new computer anyway, and leaning mac based on talking to me and another convert in the office....so I'm making her a great deal on my imac which is less than 2 years old and still under applecare, and that will offset about half my cost on a new macbook! So YEAH! Tracking shows my new macbook left China last night...so hopefully I'll have it by the end of this week and have plenty of time to get all my personal files transfered over to the macbook before classes start and I can get my admin my imac before her boys start school this fall.

What else.... ah yes....hosted my first passion party this past week!!! My girls and I (we call ourselves the "fab five") have been talking about doing this for a while...and after MUCH difficulty getting a date we could all 5 be there...we finally hosted it last week. I don't have to tell most of you how much fun those can be...and this party was no exception! Our consultant learned early on that we were not your typical group of ladies and had a great time with us.

And finally (I think!) for my knitting friends out there...have you heard of Ravelry? I don't know the best way to describe it as of yet as I'm still on the wait list dammit! But from what I can tell it seems kind of like a social networking thing for knitters...but you can create pages that show your stash (for you non-knitters...thats would be your YARN you bought just because it was pretty and didn't really have a specific project in mind!), and pics of your completed projects, and I think there is apparently a way to indicate if you see something in someone elses stash that you want you can add it to your wishlist? Anyway...there are still like 3000 people ahead of me on the wait list....but based by my calculations I should be in by late August and then I can share more specifics on how cool it is!

Um...I think thats about it for now.... August is shaping up to be another crazy month...well the last half of it anyway....but I'll try to do a better job posting!!!

06/24/07 spending

$175 at target on super paper mario (thanks to recommendations from julienne and my mom), assets (from the creator or spanx) and assorted toiletries.
$6.75 for movie ticket
$8.75 for dinner at moes

06/23/07 spending

$0

06/22/07 spending

$10 dinner and drink
$8 for carnival ride tickets

Furniture Update

Its coming tonight!!!!! I'm finishing getting the room cleared out and a path way for them to bring it up. Will post pics soon!

06/21/07 spending

$0

06/20/07 spending

$3.76 for latte
$4.95 for dinner at panera
$3.25 for ice cream at 3Bs in Harrisburg - my first time and it was GOOD!

06/19/07 spending

$3.76 for morning latte

06/18/07 spending

$8 lunch
$45 at home depot for 2 hanging floral baskets, a stake for my tomatoes, and two shepherds hooks for the floral baskets.

06/17/07 spending

$6.75 movie ticket
$140 two sweaters, a dress, a cute little strapless top, and a pair of bermudas

06/16/07 spending

$4.95 dinner at moes
$69 two classic controllers for the wii and a vacuum filter

06/15/07 spending

$148 on groceries

Blister Block!

This stuff is the BEST!

I know all the ladies like me who love their shoes will instantly enjoy this product..... Ya know how when you put on a new pair of shoes...sometimes there is a little spot that rubs funny on your foot. Or some shoes you can wear for a few hours but longer than that they start to rub and you end up with a blister. Well....blister no more!

I ordered some Band-Aid Brand Blister Block from drugstore.com recently and have finally gotten around to using it this week. I noticed the first time I wore my black patent coach wedges that there were a couple of spots that were a little scratchy (knowing my coach shoes I know it will go away and its a break in thing) so when I broke out the bronze ones to wear this week I grabbed my blister block and rubbed a little on in what I thought might be the problem areas. It looks like a mini deodorant stick, goes on clear, and doesn't really feel like anything other than its smooth. I put it on when I put my shoes on at 6:30am and was great all day!!! I did finally reapply around 5pm before a cocktail hour for a meeting I was at that I knew I'd be on my feet. But I'd heard that depending on what you were doing you might need to reapply every 1-2 hours....so I was thrilled when it lasted all day! Today I have on a pair of wedge sandles I got last summer and noticed this morning that one of the straps was rubbing up against my big toes a little funny.....but I had the blister block in the bag and on it went...and now I don't even notice it!

So ladies...have no fear! Break out those strappy sandles and dance the night away!

Blister Block Stick

06/14/07 spending

$21.60 on wii points (which I promply used to buy donkey kong jr and donkey country).

Now I need to buy another remote because only dk jr uses my wii classic remote.

New furniture!!!!!

Yeah!!!! So Thomasville's delivery company called today and they are going to deliver my furniture on the 22nd! I'm so excited! I was really bummed that I couldn't be home tomorrow when they wanted to deliver..and I"m thrilled I only have to wait an extra week! Will post pics of the new furniture with the new decor once its all in and neat!

06/13/07 spending

$0...

work meeting continues...who has time to shop?

06/12/07 spending

$0 due to a work meeting all day including all meals and not allowing any free time!

06/11/07 spending

$39 at rite aid on assorted things for women.....

06/10/07 spending

$0!

06/09/07 spending

$3.76 iced latte
$10 contribution for food for a coworkers going away party last night

06/08/07 spending

$4.01 on iced latte
$139.47 on grocerys and wii play game for my wii (which mom said was a must based on her research...but I'm thinking is pretty lame...so it might become her birthday present since she needs the extra remote anyway)

06/07/07 spending

$3.86 mocha
$1.19 coke vanilla zero
$6.87 dinner at panera

06/06/07 spending

$4.01 iced latte
$57.97 3 new bras

dinner was expensed!

06/05/07 spending

$100 to US Department of Education for additional loan principal payment

$61.38 for electric bill

$105.90 for personal miles on company car for may
$4.01 for iced sugar free vanilla nonfat latte

06/04/07 Spending

$4.01 for morning latte on the way to pittsburgh
$1.00 for powerball ticket

06/03/07 spending

$0

chillin at home watching tivo and playing wii

06/02/07 Spending

$0

stayed home and painted my bathroom with previously purchased paint!

06/01/07 spending

$960.62 Primary Mortgage
$6.95 Bill Pay Fee
$95.47 Personal Miles on company car for April and May
$15.68 Verizon

Hm...

Alright....so....my spending in May didn't really fall in line with my spend less goal I've had....

For example
$5400 on a new bedroom set
$1200 on two coach purses, a messenger bag, and two pairs of shoes
$440 on hermes bracelet
$200 on yarn
$400 on clothes
$350 on Wii and extra remote set

You get the picture.

On the plus side...I did open up a savings account with HSBC so that I'm earning more interest on my savings....and because its not linked with my other accounts I don't see the money there to think of as a cushion!

That said....I know I was doing a really good job on spending when I was tracking it....so...gonna start listing it here again!

Lots of action this weekend!

.....Not THAT kind of action! I wish!!!

Mom's in town, and since I bought a new bedroom set LAST weekend (pics to come when its delivered) I decided it was time to redecorate my bedroom.... So Friday was painting day.....which started with primer since my bedroom was a crazy bright yellow before. Now its a pale purple with lavendar and chocolate bedding. Very peaceful and calming. Anyways....painting a room is a lot of work as some of you know...especially when you are up and down on the ladder a lot...and using the roller up high...my legs are still sore!!!

Then today...I got Wii!!!!!!!!!!!! Its crazy how much it gets you up moving...in fact I started doing research and there are people that add 30-45 minutes of wii play (typically wii sports .. with boxing or tennis burning the most calories) who have lost weight over time. Anyway...mom and I have been playing wii for hours...its fun! But exhausting!

Maybe now I'll play more wii than keep shopping...damn have I spent a lot of money this month!!!!

OH! And unrelated...but my brother just bought his first place!!! I little 1 bed 1 bath condo in roscoe park (chicago). I'm so excited for him!!!!

High Heels

"High heels are a paradox. They can make a woman appear more - or less - powerful"
--Rona Berg, Vogue

How true is that????? A woman in a power suite with Manolo mary janes looks a lot different than a big haired woman with too much bright colored make up, a mini skirt, and 3 inch stilettos.....

What kind of Alcoholic Drink are You?

You Are Sex On the Beach

When comes to drinking, you like it to go down smooth. You really don't like the taste of alcohol - just its effect on you. So, you're proud to get drunk on fruity, girly drinks. Because once you're liquored up, the fun begins!

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

My weekend purchases!

Hermes Kelly Dog Bracelet in PlumSignature Stripe Multicolor Messenger
Signature Stripe Multicolor Mini Skinny
Ireland Wedges in Bronze Crinkle Patent and Black Patent

Holy Mother of God...

I spent a LOT of money today in Chicago!!!


Started off at Nordstrom where I bought a dress that might be good for the weddings I have to go to this summer.

Headed on to the coach store where I picked up the Ireland wedges I've been coveting...in the bronze (because they didn't have the black I wanted in my size). I also picked up
Signature Multicolor Stripe Messenger I've been longing for. Along with t he matching Mini Skinny. And some signature cleaner.

Then stopped off at Macy's on the way to Hermes...because I was FREEZING and decided I needed a sweater or jacket or something....where I ended up with a Lauren Ralph Lauren denim jacket.

Then finally on to Hermes for Michelle to shop....but I ended up making my first Hermes purchase....A Kelly bracelet in Raisin Box.

Then mom wanted to hit the OTHER coach store...and they had the Ireland wedges I wanted in the BLACK! So I bought those too....

Thank god it was dinner time and then too late to keep shopping!

Wow...I'm spending a lot of money on yarn this week.....

Over the weekend I ran by Colonial Yarn the new yarn shop close by now that the one right down the street closed. That's where I'd previously bought the Colinette Jitterbug for the socks I just finished. I was so in love after sock 1 that I picked up two more skeins of this while there.

While I was at Colonial I asked if she could wind my new yarn...but she doesn't have a winder currently...and after the hassle of winding by hands the last two hanks I bought and used for socks....I decided perhaps I needed a swift and winder of my own..... So off to JoAnn.com where everything was on SALE! Yeah!!!

Then, a new Lime and Violet podcast came out..and after listening and watching on their message boards I decided to make my FIRST purchase at The Loopy Ewe which I've been oogling ever since I first heard about Lime and Violet.

So....I'm super excited about my new yarn, my new equipment, and the sock blocers I ordered this week.....but I think I'm down nearly $175 on knitting related products in less than a week!

Wow...thats the fastest I've ever knit a sock....

Finished the second sock in the latest pair in less than a week! I'm so impressed with myself!

The Last Knit

Just finished the first of a new pair of socks!

This was knit using Colinette Jitterbug in the Fruit Coulis colorway. Its gorgeous! Can't wait to finish sock number 2 so I can wear them! I've heard they get even more lovely after the first washing!

Hm...Might be time for....

A new messenger bag.....

How cute is this???

Why must the snow continue to torture me!

According to the calendar spring is nearly upon us..... Will someone PLEASE tell that to the SNOW that is falling AGAIN! I just spent the better part of an hour shoveling the first 4 inches off my driveway (my mommie always taught me its better to shovel as you go then to have to shovel 12 inches off!). And by the time I got to the bottom...I already had another half inch of snow at the top! I hate the snow!

Latest Coach Lusts.....

I want I want! I can't spend the money because of my recent glasses purchase....and its really too big for me...but its so damn cute!


Limited Edition Lily Straw Basket


There's also a crazy expensive perfume themed straw basic - $1600 - but it comes packed with all kinds of perfume themed goodies!

Holy crap.....

Just spent $400 on new glasses.... thank god I put so much in my flexible spending this year!

My heart is broken......

So I had the girls over tonight before/after a game night event we were going to. After a exciting game of Disney Scene it we somehow got on the topic of all the naughty things in Disney movies over the year.

And I'm very sad to say.....Disney has pulled ALL of them out on the DVDs!!!!! Seriously....we opened up several of my as yet unopened Disney DVDs to find...no more penis during Eric's wedding to Ursula in The Little Mermiad....No more SEX in the clouds in the Lion King..... you get the picture. If you didn't realize all these things existed....check out Snopes - Disney Films and you'll see what I'm talking about.

On the plus side...my Videotape of the Little Mermaid was purchased on the first day the videos came out...before Disney realized the phallus on the cover in the castle. I'm told my video is worth some money because of it...and I do have The Little Mermaid on DVD now....I should check into selling it for cash I think. If you're not sure what I'm talking about there....welll......

Ah to see again...well....soon

So I've been having serious issues with my eyes of late....in fact...its now been nearly 3 weeks since I've had my contacts in. And I HATE wearing my glasses.....always have..not because of their serious coke bottle lenses...but because my vision is so bad I don't like the correction glasses provide as opposed to contacts. And thus far I've not been considered a LASIK candidate as my vision isn't "stable". So the last few weeks of constant glasses wearing has been particularly stressful....especially when it comes to things like oh...DRIVING!

So I finally got into the eye dr my whole office sees today. The good news is...he thinks my problem is just deposits on my lenses...not due to how I care for them...but because they are nearly 5 years old and it happens! My prescription has changed some....but just slightly they say. So....he thinks with new contacts I'll be good to go. That said, he said my current lenses FIT so well (I wear Rigid Gas Perm for all you contact experts out there) that he doesn't want to start from scratch...so they're trying to track down my records. But I'm not hopeful since all I had to tell them was the last dr I saw was at the Costco in Concord, CA....and the girl at the counter was like..."I guess I can call information???" Hopefully I'm wrong and it will be a snap...and we'll have new contacts on order in no time... And they did clean my lenses with a stronger enzyme than what I can get at home....and he said that might make them okay to wear for a few more weeks if I want to try.

In the meantime...I do have new prescription for glasses...as my right eye is WAY off from my current glasses...and will be headed out on a mission shortly to see who in my area sells Coach frames (the optical shop at the dr did not). And if they don't then I need someone to measure my "pupil depth" so I can order from framesdirect.com or someplace like them. Because lets face it....how can I NOT get Coach frames as big a collector as I am? And they're all damn cute anyway.... In fact...one of the TWO ads in this months Marie Claire featured a girl with coach eyeglasses on her nose and sunglasses on her head!

Oh yeah....and my eyes are still dialated....so I can't see all that great and have a splitting headache from the light...even though I have my sunglasses on over my glasses and a hat on. Fun stuff!

Oh yeah...and my vision blows....just today's exam exceeded the $150 I get to spend on routine vision exam, lenses, etc every two years. And I still need to buy the glasses and contacts!

But really soon I'll be able to see again!!!!!

To prove to El Walto that girls like gadgets too....

For my "fun" stuff from my bonus this year...I did not buy a purse...or shoes...or clothes....well I did get a couple of sweaters on clearance at ann taylor loft.... but the bulk of my fun stuff (since most went into savings or paid off debt) I went tech!!!!

I had lots of fun at The Apple Store (online of course cuz this dumb burg I'm in doesn't HAVE an apple store for 100 miles in any direction. Thank god apples got a distribution center about 4 miles from my house and stuff normally shows up next day when I order online!

A wireless keyboard:

Wireless mighty mouse (which I just recently learned to configure for "right clicking" I can't believe it took me so long...I knew it was supposed to work...but couldn't figure out why it didn't...dumb me...I had to SET IT UP for that!

And a 120GB hard drive for backing up. Especially since I'll need it for Time Machine when Leopard releases. But for now even using "Backup" its a hell of a lot easier than all the DVDs I have to back up to weekly. I've got Backup set to backup to the hard drive at 10pm every night now!


If only Leopard would hurry up and come out!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies...wanna go commando...but feel a little too bare????

Check out "Nundies"!!!

I just saw these in my bliss catalog...and it seems like such a great idea!!!

Nundies

I'm the proud owner of the new coach deluxe fragrance sample!!!

I've known for about 5 months now that Coach was soon to be developing their own fragrance....and waiting eagerly to see what it might be. As we've gotten closer to its March 5 release date there's been more in the press about it...and LOTS of buzz on the Purse Forum. Some of the Coach sales associates on the purse forum have been raving about how much they love it. AND from what I've heard the prices are great.

So yesterday I got home to find THIS in the mail!







Not only does it smell amazing..but how cute is the packaging!!!!! And I have a lovely little purse size spray that will last me for ages!!! Guess I'll have to add this to my wish list when my sample starts to go away....maybe that means I won't need to buy a new bottle of the Hermes Rose Ikebana I liked when I'm in Chicago in May....certainly this would be WAYYYYYYY cheaper than that one! And if Michelle buys more at Hermes they'll probably give me another generous sample of that anyway which will last for ages!

More shoe quotes

"Boots are very seductive, in a stronger way than stilettos or satin shoes, which are much more fragile. Boots take out anything that is fragile about a woman" - Anh Duong, artist

"A pair of new shoes might not cure a broken heart or sooth a tension headache, but they will relieve the symptoms and chase away the blues." - fashion critic, Holly Brubach

I hate the snow.....

There are only 2 days i've not liked owning my own home.....and both are for the SAME reason....and happened almost exactly one year apart.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock you've probably heard about the storm that swept the midwest and has not hit the north east. I swear I've never seen a storm that big...the radar maps yesterday showed it going from Iowa all the way to PA. We were in Hartfort, CT for a meeting - not due to return this AM....but upon watching the storm information decided we had a better chance of getting home last night than today.......(staying longer wasn't an option for various reasons). We hit the rd at 2:30pm yesterday....made it to NYC in good time with minimal traffic...and just before we made it from Jersey into PA the snow finally started. Mind you...we'd been getting updates from spouses at home that the snow was climbing higher and higher...and that the snowblowers had been out several times already..... Alas...we hit the storm and it doesn't seem TOO bad at first... Then the roads got impossible to see. We thought we were good following a semi....but then our drivers side slipped off the roadway with a jolting thud. My boss was driving and in attempting to get us back on the road way we lost control of the car....after a quick back and forth (in which the other passenger and I were SURE we were going to hit the jersey barrier) we were safely driving straight again. at that point we slowed to about 40 miles per hour for the rest of our trip..... My car was at the office where I'd met my boss...a full 11 miles past my house......and my boss helped me clean off the car...and waited to make sure I could get out (which I struggled with) and off I was to home. My trip was long.....as those 11 miles I could only do approximately 20-30 miles per hour....and was slipping and slidding the entire way. I finally made it home...to barely get up my driveway....THANK GOD for traction control. Once the car was safely in the garage I finally could start to relax.....8 hours after we left hartfrd (tooks us 5.5 to get there).

This AM after watching my neighbor attempt for an hour to get down our driveway...and the snow plow dude having to help her get the car back up the driveway then so she could give up and go inside I decided I would be working from HOME today. around 10 I decided to try and shovel the driveway...as my mom always taught me to shovel frequently so there was less to shovel and it would be easier.

WELL......6 inches of snow and 2 inches of ice.... makes for very difficult driveway clearning....... after an hour I got about half way down maybe.....and my arms are about to fall off....so my typing will end now.... Damn I need a snowblower.

Other blogs

My aplogies to Krissy I just realized the link to her blog was missing off my page....I must have accidentally deleted it when i was trying to clean up the links.

Also, be sure to check out The Lazy Chefs!

01/31/07 spending

$5.48 at starbucks
$5.xx at taco bell for lunch
$15 on water bill
$32.30 on my corporate visa for tolls while I was on the way to and in illinois over the holidays
$15 to verizon

01/30/07 spending

$5.68 for lunch
$45 at knutty knitter for the size 2 double pointed needles I was waiting to come in and three skeins of sock yarn (20% off on the needles and 30% off on the yarn).

And I opened up a special savings account to be my "christmas club" account. $100 from every paycheck (I get paid monthly) will get automatically moved into that account..and come Christmas I'll have lots of cash saved for christmas shopping and misc expenses while I'm at home -and anything left over will help pay for vacation in 2008 - mom and I are gonna see if we can swing the panama canal cruise on the disney magic while they move it to the west coast for another summer of mexican rivera crusing.

New socks!

So I think I posted before about how I discovered this particular knitting needles I love....they are called "brittany" and they are made of birch. I bought some when i was working on all my christmas goodies and noticed I was able to knit a lot longer with these needles than I normally can in one sitting. The next time I was in my yarn store I mentioned it and they told me its because they're relatively soft needles....so they feel better in your hands. So....all these needles I've been buying lately are brittany birch needles to convert my entire selection of random needles to one good type of needle.

I decided to pick up and make some socks again....so far I've actually only completed one pair like 2 years ago...and about half of a single sock that I haven't touched in over a year..... But I picked up some great pink/purple supermerino that I bought in Laguna Beach a while back and my size 5 double pointed needles and went to town....and I made a complete pair of socks (albeit ankle socks) in just a little over a week. And they are SOOOOO soft and comfy!!!! Look at my pretty handy work.... I'm so excited to start another pair! I'll have to check out the sock yarn at my local yarn store that's closing and see if there's anything good for a good cheap price!

01/29/07 Spending

$25 to a co-worker for a color me Mine gift card he can't use.
$197 for 4Q estimated local income tax

01/28/07 spending

$0

01/27/07 spending

$24 at Michaels on little holders to hold knitting needles together.

01/26/07 Spending

$19 on Chinese (for lunch and LOTS of leftovers!)

01/25/07 spending

$35 to HOA

01/24/07 spending

$3.45 at Starbucks

01/23/07 spending

$0

Key Largo

Okay...so my meeting last week.....

As I mentioned in a previous post..it was 48 hours before I got to take a minute to enjoy my view...and it was brief because then we headed out for teambuilding..but I'm getting ahead of myself....

Tuesday night we had 10 minutes to change for the evening and then headed over for those activities.... we had to build a race car out of various fruits and vegatables. We had to use at least a part of every food item on our table - and could only attach them using wooden skewers. Despite the fact that half the team are engineerings - with 3 of us being MECHANICAL engineers...our car sucked. Although in our defense....we actually made something that resembled a car....some of the other items were crazy...not at all car like. It was this evening we learned about the "nosiqutos" as they called them there...because the mosquitos were SOOO tiny you can barely see them....so we had to COVER ourselves in Off..and then were sweaty and stinky the rest of the evening. Dinner was outside that night as well...and let me tell you....I've NEVER been so happy to see a shower as I was when I got back to my room that night.

Wed night was the beginning of our etiqutte@work training. Throughout our dinner that evening we learned all about proper etiquette at a formal business dinner. Meant it took a REALLY long time to eat as we had to learn the proper steps every minute of the meal....but I did pick up a few interesting things. After that I headed to the bar with a group of folks for a few hours.

Thursday the meeting was only half day with team building in the afternoon. I wish I could say this was awesome since it was when we finally got to actually see where we were and enjoy the beauty of our resort. Alas...we were sadly dissapointed. The first thing we had to do was build a boat out of three sheets of cardboard, some plastic sheeting, and duct tape. We had 10 minutes to design, and 30 minutes to build. And then two people had to get in and race the boat around the lagoon. We were THRILLED when the race took off as our boat quickly took a strong lead (while 4 of 7 teams immediately sunk). Then as we were nearing the finish line - one of the fallen teams sabotaged our boat.... We were HEARTBROKEN. And feeling very mean towards that team the remainder of the day - and really had no interest in further competetion at that point. Sadly our afternoon was just beginning. After that we had a volleyball competition, followed by a weird water balloon human slingshot with us as human targets (this one sounded dangerous...but we reported no injuries). Then onto the next event...a kayak relay race where the front passenger needs to collect tennis balls in the lagoon while the back paddles. My partner and I were the 3rd to go on our team...and by the time we got out there we had to go all the way to the far side of the lagoon for balls. A little mishap had us roll..and fall out of our kayak (with the speed of the even no one buckled themselves in). We were unable to get BACK in our kayak..so we gathered our balls and started swimming back with our kayak in tow. Remember...I said we were ALL THE WAY ON THE FAR END OF THE LAGOON..... I was SOOOOO tired....about halfway back we decided we couldnt' swim the entire way...but we were fairly close to the shore up the beach a bit...so we'd swim to there and get out and carry our kayak back to our team. well.....even then...I was so tired from power swimming...when I went to stand up my legs gave out....and I landed right on my left leg where I hurt myself when I fell down the stairs..not pretty.... I was also unable to lift the kayak...so thank good for my team member picking up the slack (the rest of our team was not able to help us at that point). Luckily the balls all got collected and we didn't have to make a second attempt at this event. After that was tug of war...with no gloves.....so....nice and ripped up hands...AND...when our team went down...I fell and landed on the OTHER leg where I hurt myself when I fell down the stairs. Oh...and the man made beach where all this was happening was NOT soft to walk on at all...and most of us had left our shoes back where the boat building event had occured...and the sand was softer.... So everyone feet were dying from the rough sand by the end.

SOOOOO......now you know why i was too tired to blog on Friday!!!!!!!!

Anyway, after showering and getting all the sand out of my wet clothes from teambuilding (since they had to be packed that night) we had a tropical themed dinner on the beach. This was probably the NICEST thing we did....it had cooled off....the bugs weren't out...and we just had some good drinks...some great food...and good fun.

Friday was morning meetings and then traveling all afternoon to get home.

And that was my trip to Key Largo in a nutshell. I'm wishing we'd just gone someplace colder like last year (in Baltimore) so we wouldn't have been sad to miss out on enjoying the locale where the meeting was.

01/22/07 Spending

$333.91 on my HELOC

01/21/07 Spending

$5.29 at Taco Bell
$86.34 on Groceries at Target

01/20/07 Spending

$89.98 on knitting needles - my local yarn store is going out of business...and I'd decided its time to replace all my old random knitting needles with the birch needles I love from brittany. The going out of business sale meant they were 20% off...so I bought every size of straight needles they had that I did not already have, and 2 sets of 2 sizes of double pointed needles. They're also calling me when the third size of double pointeds I want come in.

$87.96 on cat food (its special food and will probably get me through 3 months)

$12.16 on Breakfast at bob evans

01/19/07 Spending

$21.88 on Itunes

I'm too tired to write about my week so far.....

You'll understand why when I do get around to posting...but here's the view from my balcony...its a crime that the first time I got to see it in the daylight was today though!!!!

01/17/07 and 01/18/07 spending

still nothing!!! gotta love expense books!

Key Largo

So our meeting started in Key Largo today. I left Hburg on a 6am flight....we got to Atlanta okay...but then sat on the tarmack for EVER trying to get takeoff clearance for Miami. Somehow we were only a little late....but by the time we got bags, and our rental cars...it was 1pm...the start time of the meeting. And we had a 90 minute drive to the resort. Luckily the HOST of our meeting was also on our flight from Altanta....so they couldn't start without us.

I only had about 2 minutes in my room to change for the meeting while it was light out. Its an AMAZING view. I'm hoping to get a pic tomorrow...it was too dark when we got back to change for dinner and teambuilding.

Not liking the BUGS! We had to cover ourselves in bug repellent so the entire group STUNK throughout teambuilding, drinks and dinner.

Anyway....I was up at 3:30am today...so early night for me tonight.

Here's the web page to the resort if you want to check it out: Ocean Reef

01/16/07 Spending

$0

All spending today was expensed! Yeah!!!

01/15/07 Spending

$6.50 on lunch

Performance Review today!!!

So I had my annual review this morning. As suspected..it was very positive. The only negative thing is that I take things to personally sometimes. Which I know...I tried to take a class this summer on managing emotions and thriving under pressure...but the class ended up NOT really hitting on the high points I needed.....so.....yeah...didn't do me any good. Anyway, my boss said he things I've learned everything from this job that I needed to and am ready for my next one (not that I get to take it until next year). We'll start trying to get more specific about my next move and exactly what that job will be in the June / July timeframe.

AND the best news....a nice big fat 6% merit raise. Now....6% may not seem like a lot to some people...but its a VERY healthy raise for my company. In fact...the only time's I've gotten close to it are the 5% raises I got with the last two promotions....the biggest my annual raise has been outside of that is 3%.... Not that I'm whining...if you look at my starting salary and what I get today.....the increase is pretty remarkable.... But...I'm thrilled with the added income from my raise!!!!!!

Now...off to get ready for my business trip to Key Largo in the morning.

High Heels

I had a GREAT quote yesterday on my 2007 "just the right shoe" calendar.

"High heels were invented by a woman who had been kissed on the forehead." - Christopher Morley

I still think they were invented by a man as a torture device....but maybe that's just me! Somebody asked me recently why girls wore them.....and I was like are you kidding....guys LOVE them. Thats a big factor in why girls wear them. I mean..I'm not super tall....5'5"....but I like a guy to be taller than me...and most of the guys that I meet are in the 5'7" to 5'10" range. So when I wear high heels...at puts me at almost the same height.....I'd rather be shorter (its a wanting to be "protected" thing). But guys LOVE the way girls look in heels..and hence..I wear them.

Although sometimes its because my pants are too long and I am too lazy to hem them.......

I think I need to get drunk more often......

HEHE....so not what you think. I got SMASHED on friday night. Like....I think I drank and entire bottle of wine by myself, and at one point I was chugging vodka...and oh yeah.....I didn't eat dinner!

It occured to me as I was trying to recover from my crazy night that I hadn't been drunk since like last May....so I'm thinking I need to get a little drunk more often...and not get CRAZY drunk occasionally!!!!!

I won't get into the details of my night....lets just say....I needed a drink....or 6 .... and had them. And at least I was in good company...my girls were all pretty drunk too!

01/14/07 Spending

$3.05 for bagel and hot chocolate at panera

01/13/07 Spending

$6 at McD's for a hangover curing breakfast

01/12/07 Spending

$13 on lunch (way more than I was expecting...I paid $6.50 for egg salad wrap and water at one stand at the farmers market...and then went over to another place for some tomato and mozzerella salad....and I saw the sign said $7 a pound....but I just ordered the smallest container..a half pint...and it was over $6!!!!!!)
$14 on veggie tray for party

01/11/07 Spending

$8.50 on lunch
$42 Quarterly Sewer bill

For all the lovely ladies in the house....

Actually....this advertises fun for BOTH men and women.

If you are just dying for that one extra accessory for your ipod....perhaps this is the one for you!

iBuzz (warning...you may not want to access this page while at work!)

They make EVERYTHING for the ipod these days don't they???

40 Questions

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Nope

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
Yeah...but its mostly because I'm afraid of losing my contacts, and a little because I'm scared

3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
HEHE..Senior Year of college. We had this crazy big snow....so we went to the sledding hill by campus.....and we didn't have sleds...so we used these crazy big cardboard boxes we found.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
With someone else.....but I have to settle for the cats for now. And my teddy bear.

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Definitely....the ghosts of my old dogs used to torture Chloe I'm convinced. There was this place in the house they always used to lay before they died. When we got Chloe she'd always stare at that place and sometimes she'd go NUTS barking at it. I'm convinced its because she saw Molly and Pepper.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Not really

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
I kinda do....

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jen

9. Do you stay friends with your exes?
Nope, but I really wish I talked to my ex from college....we keep in touch via Christmas card now....but I really miss our friendship....which we had before anything else.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yup...but I get my ass beat when playing with the girls.....but last time I played with all my guy coworkers at a meeting in Seattle I cleaned up big time!!!!

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Nope.

12. What's your favorite commercial?
Not into commercials thanks to my tivo

13. What are you allergic to?
Eurethrimicin (I'm sure its totally spelled wrong....but when I say it they know what I mean).

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights?
Nope.

15. Have you ever had a Choco Taco?
Nope

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Chicago Cubs!!!!

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Yes. But not since freshman year of college

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Goes in stages...right now....some are vividly stuck in memory.

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
At work last week.....we just remodeled the office....and becaue of where the heat/ac stuff is we have a small aisle between our cubes and the windows.....so our cubes are cut out so we can see the windows...but to adjust the blinds you have to walk around down the little aisle. Just that morning the guy next to me was complaining that people were going to try and scare each other.....so that afternoon when I needed to close the blinds.....I noticed he was standing up adjusting something in his cabinets and jumped out with a big "BOOO"...he jumped so high!!!!!!!!!! I was laughing so hard I had serious tears down my cheeks!

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
Love, I think we're alone now, One, Sg Peppers Lonely Hearts Club, Help

21. What's the one thing on your mind now?
Its a person...that's all I'm saying....

22. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I believe in chemistry at first sight...and that you can fall in love very quickly....but not love at first sight. How can you be in love without having a conversation?

23. Do you put salt on a turkey dinner?
I only put salt on eggs, tomatoes, and pasta (well...in the pasta water). Oh..and french fries!!!!

24. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes.

25. What cell service do you use?
Cingular! I'm so getting the iphone when I have enough money!

26. Do you like sushi?
Yes, if its without seafood

27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Yes....somehow my accident down the stairs didn't result in anything like my neck or back broken...I had so many people tell me afterwards about people they knew that broke their neck falling down stairs.

28. What do you wear to bed?
Pajamas

29. Been caught stealing?
Nope.

30. Do you pee in the pool?
No, but in the ocean.

31. Do you truly hate anyone?
No, but strongly dislike.

32. Bluegrass or Rap?
Rap I guess

33. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Too hard to pick just one!!!!!

34. Skim, 1%, 2%, or whole?
Skim

35. What food do you find disgusting?
Anything that lives in the water

36. Windows or Macintosh?
Mac!!!!

37. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours"
No...which is weird because my primary playmate my entire childhood was a guy

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Yes, but seriously...who hasn't?

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
Don't know.....

40. Have you ever sung infront of the mirror?
Oh yeah....lots during jr high and high school. And of course while my roomy in college and I would blast Alannis while getting ready for a night on the town.

01/10/07 Spending

$3.80 at Starbucks
Bought a fabulous "Barefoot Dreams" robe at Nordy's....but I had a $171 credit from returning some uggs that didn't fit and they didn't have the other uggs I wanted...so I got the robe and still have a $37 credit left!!!!!

01/09/07 Spending

$.17 at Panera (hehehe...I had a $5 gift card and breakfast was $5.17.....so it was only $.17!!!)

01/08/07 Spending

$8.50 for lunch
$100 for Roxio Toast 8 (yeah tivo2go!)

Tivo2Go for Mac OSX!!!!!

Now...those of you that know me know that I LOVE my tivo! And several of you know how much I love my mac. But I've been seriously dissapointed this past year that I could not use the famed Tivo2Go program to transfer stuff from my tivo to my mac - like I could with my laptop. Which I didn't even KNOW when I got my mac.....and when I got my new tivo's last February I intentially didn't order the ones with the built in DVD burner because I figured the new Imac had a DVD burner and I could just Tivo2Go and burn from there. And I was SOOOO upset when I learned I could not do it. And tivo's web site has just said "its coming" for ever. I got excited when I found out a beta version of it was shown at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show...but all of 2006 passed with no Tivo2Go for Mac.

Fast forward to today, and Macworld starting. And I get an email from Roxio, that the new Toast 8 Titantium contains Tivo2Go for Mac OSX!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm downloading my very first tivo recording as we speak...and this means I'll be able to transfer stuff from my Tivo's to my IPOD to watch on the road. I'm so excited right now!!!!!!

What a weekend!!!

So on Saturday it was 70 degrees out!!!!!! It was amazing! I had plans to go to the driving range, but decided to take a look at the Coach outlet in Hershey first. I'd read online that some of the "legacy" collection in the whiskey color (now discontinued) would soon be hitting the outlets and had a credit I needed to use....so I tossed the golf clubs in the truck, rolled down all the windows..and off to Hershey I went!

Overall I wasn't impressed by the offerings this trip...but I did luck out and find the vintage flight back from back in 2004 in the blue (I have a demi in the bronze that was part of this collection too). It was marked down to $103 and I had a $45 credit from some gloves I returned after Christmas....so it was a steal!!!!


Then I headed off to the driving range to meet my friend Nik. It was so amazing outside! And Nik and I hadn't talked in ages...so we got a large bucket each and spent an hour or so swinging and just having girl talk. And a nice ego boost....she said I looked great and that I was losing weight (I really hope so!)Then we decided a lunch place with adult beverages was a must...so we headed off to Damons for a mid afternoon lunch. When I got home I started doing some stuff around the house....straightening up and paint touch ups. I've had several spots downstairs that have been SERIOUSLY in need of touch up...pretty much from the beginning. So I finally dragged out my downstairs paint....made my touch ups..and then moved some of the remaining paint into my nifty touch up bottles. If you haven't seen these....get one! They make it so easy to do touch ups. I have one for every paint in my house.



Sunday was a FULL day of productivity. I was up by 8am thanks to the kitties. Started off the morning with my walk around the neighborhood. Then after checking out the Sunday Target ad I headed off to stock up on some workout wear that was on sale for the week and some food for dinner this week.

I got back home and went STRAIGHT up stairs where I began with installing a new showerhead that I've had sitting around my house for a good 3 months now. Then I moved on to cleaning out my closet and drawers. Did some reorganization of my clothing..and a few furniture pieces. Did some cleaning out and organizing of my bathroom - got rid of various cosmetics and things that don't get used (need to do this with my linen closet too!). And I think most exciting...I cleaned out my glass doored cabinet so I can get some of my shoes out on display...the only ones not packed away right now are the one from Bev for my birthday and the one from mom for Christmas. I'm thinking tomorrow night I'll dig the rest of them out and unpack them. Anyway, I also did a MOUNTAIN of laundry...all my clothes, towels, and like 20 differet items of dry cleaning (god I love dryel). The only thing I didn't get to yesterday was the sheets because by the time a friend called last night I was beat!!! So...spent a while on the phone and then I headed downstairs to make dinner and work on my sweater for the rest of the night.

A nice, productive, enjoyable weekend for Shelley!!! Yeah!