Numbers

Not much new to report, just odds and ends. So I thought I'd give you a run down in numbers:

17 - The number of years that Scott and I have been together, as of today. Yep it's the anniversary of our first date (which was supposed to be a one night stand - obviously I am not clear on the concept of one night stand).

8 - The number of times I've listened to Duffy's Warwick Avenue since Monday.

4 - The hour of the morning that I finally dragged my sorry butt home the other night. It's fun to go out drinking with co-workers after a late night at the restaurant, it's even more fun if you don't have to stop drinking at last call because it's the bar you work in and the bartender is there drinking with you.

9 - The number of days that it's taken for this sunburn on my back to stop hurting and itching.

3 - The number of days that Scott has been mad at me since I came home at 4:30am (sure, I left at 4, but it took a half an hour to get home).

10 - The number of times I've apologized for not calling and coming home so late. Even though I'm not really all that sorry.

6 - The number of loads of laundry Scott has done while sighing heavily and rolling his eyes - his way of telling me that I should be doing the laundry, not him

2 - The number of birthday cards I need to make for birthdays that I missed.

11 - The number of magazines I've looked through lately looking for a good haircut (number found is zero).

5 - The number of Double Stuff Oreos I had in place of breakfast.

12 - The number of times I've had squirt vile pink medicine down my cat's throat since Wednesday. The good news is that we're almost done, the bad news is that I think the cat is plotting something.

7 - The number of times one of my clients has called in the last two days to find out when his tile would be in.

1 billion - The numbers of typos I've made today, seriously having typing issues.

Current Music: Heartbeat - Scouting for Girls

Pop Quiz

Today we have a multiple choice quiz, let's see how you do...

1. It's Monday, you've left work early to get your hair done, but that leaves some extra time when you get back. Once you get home do you:
    A. Start the ginormous pile of laundry that needs doing.
    B. Get on line and do some blogging ('cause you are really behind).
    C. Sit on the deck in the sun, read a book and have a glass of wine.
    D. Work on the cards that you've been needing to get done for ages.

2. Tuesday rolls around, you have to take the cat to the vet and go grocery shopping. But after all that you've got a little more time, so do you:
    A. Do the laundry that you still haven't done.
    B. Weed the garden, it's over run (again).
    C. Curl up on the sofa with the sick kitty and watch TV.
    D. Do the work you took home to do.

3. Happy Hump-day! Your boss made you want to run screaming from the building, so you did - an hour early. Should you:
    A. Do the laundry, it's still on the hall floor.
    B. Sit around playing on the laptop and watching the Olympics.
    C. Go for hot dogs and a movie with your husband.
    D. Medicate the sick cat then go to bed.

4. It's Thursday, the weekend is in your sights, but you've got a ton of work to (from leaving early all week). You could:
    A. Still do the laundry, it hasn't magically done it's self.
    B. Make your husband a lavish meal in true June Cleaver fashion.
    C. Work late and get things done, but be really pissy about it.
    D. Clean up the two piles of cat puke that you found down stairs.

If you answered C to each question, then you had the same week I did - see, it doesn't always suck to be me.

If you answered B or D to each question, way to get things done!

If you answered A to each question there's still plenty of laundry here for you to do, come on over (I still have wine left from Monday).

Current Music: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson

"Thinking of You"

I love to make cards, but I've never made a Sympathy card. I've always just gone and bought one when I needed one. I mean, who wants to have those around - it seems like borrowing trouble. Not the mention the fact that I hate Sympathy cards - they never really say what you are thinking. But then, given the circumstances, what can you say?

I made my first sympathy card today. I had to make it, it was to send my condolences to a family that just lost their infant daughter, not yet three months old. Hallmark doesn't make a card for that, do they.

All I could say was "Thinking of You" - because that much is true. I am thinking of them, thinking how unfair it is for such a horrible thing to happen to such nice people. I'm thinking that I'm angry that a sweet little baby had to leave this planet way too soon.

But what else could I say? I couldn't say that the universe sucks and there is no way that they should have to be going through this. I couldn't say that what ever deity they believe in has let them down by not answering the prayers of many who had hoped that she would recover from her fall. I couldn't say that they would be okay, is anyone ever okay after the death of a child?

So I'll think of them, and maybe I can bear some of their sorrow, because right now they have too much to bear.

Current Music: Wasted - Brandi Carlile

What's New

My guilt over my neglected blog has gotten the better of me. Alas, I don't have much to report. I've had a ton of random things running about in my head, some of them might be blog worthy, maybe just I wasn't feelin' it this week.

But in case you were interested...

• Scott is the biggest hypochondriac (I blame his very Jewish mother). He had a headache the other day, which he then decided must be a migraine (even though he has never had one before). I suggested that perhaps - since he was describing his symptoms as headache, backache, nausea and fatigue - that he may have a flu. He immediately decided that was it and went home for the day. Near as I can tell, he didn't have either.
  


• I went to a horse camp on Saturday (just to pick up, not to stay) - that was interesting, in a boring, horsey kind of way. On the plus side of things I got to see a llama with a very unusual under bite. I'm not sure if there's much call for orthodontia in farm animals, but if there is this place has a patient!


• The Olympics are starting soon, so TV is over for a while. Though it does give me an excuse to go do the gardening I've been neglecting all summer. Oh and maybe read a book.
  


• I may have to buy a mouth guard to wear to work - every time one of my bosses starts talking to me I start grinding my teeth. And even if it doesn't help my teeth, maybe it will keep me from saying something to them that I might regret.


• I spent the better part of an hour trying to return a bra at Victoria's Secret today. Yes, very young manager chick, I realize that wore it and that's bad. But your sales lady told me that I wouldn't fall out of the top of it - and I did, at work. So I would like a different bra please, preferably one that I don't fall out off in front of clients. Is that too much to ask for?


• While I was at Victoria's Secret I decided to placate the young manager chick and I bought some new underwear (5 for $25 is a pretty good deal, right?). I now have sayings like "I kissed the quarterback" and "team pink spirit" on my underwear. I think I may have reached the point in my life where I should stop buying underwear, and maybe bras, at Victoria's Secret.


• Due to peer pressure, I've joined Facebook. I have no idea what to do next.

Anything else you guys need to know?

Current Music: Trucker Hat - Bowling for Soup

Any Port In A Storm

I was driving a lot today - I had a bunch of things to do for clients, so I figured I'd get it all done at once. But I was feeling a bit lost, a bit disconnected, missing people and places long gone.

As I drove, I passed a number of different cemeteries, and "Memorial Parks" - it got me thinking about the fact that my Grandmother is buried so far away. I thought about the fact that I couldn't stop and sit by her grave and talk to her, I couldn't tell her what's new or anything that was going on with me. Then I thought, well why do I have to be there - why can't I just pull into any of these cemeteries - will any "body" do? Why do we feel the need to sit by "our person" - when we know that they aren't really there, just what is left of them?

So I tried it - I parked and sat on a bench and thought about all those people, pets and places that I don't get to see, or talk to, or go to. And I talked to those random people there instead of my people - and it was ok. In fact in some ways it was better.

I could tell those folks lying there all about how I miss being a little kid hanging out with my Grandmother, or how I wish I had known my Grandfather better. I told them all about how I think of and miss my friends that died of cancer. I told them how I miss all those pets that made my life a better place and are gone now. They learned about all the friends that I left behind when I moved and how I miss the place I grew up and lived for so many years. And it was nice.

Maybe I'll get a chance to go and talk to my people soon, but for now these people will do.

Current Music: Eulogy - The Hereafter

Ohio Magnetism

No really, Ohio speaks to me (and not just through blogs). It must, because what else could explain my third trip to the Buckeye State in two months?

I can honestly say that I have never been to any state (that I haven't lived in) as many times as I've been to Ohio (well, there's Florida - but once was for business and once for a funeral, so let's not count those). So why do I keep going to Ohio this summer? Is it really "the heart of it all"? Am I just drawn to the giant Longaberger Basket? Perhaps I am destined to move to Ohio and do great things, or not.

I suppose trips to Ohio (or at least through Ohio) are pretty much a foregone conclusion living in Michigan - there's really no other way out (unless I go through Canada, which really would be the long-way round to most places - well, except to Canada). But still - it does seem odd to be headed back there again...

Current Music: Ohio - Bowling for Soup

Another Open Letter

Dear Bosses Wife,

Do you find it fairly hypocritical that you told me I should wear a tank top under my shirt because my bra was showing?

Seeing as how you are the one that usually has your bra strap showing. Not to mention the low cut tank tops that you wear at least once or twice a week (and that your boobs regularly fall out of). I realize that your husband is a "boob man" (it might be why I got the job) and that you mostly just work in the back and don't see clients, but is it really fair to say that I should cover the gap in my shirt?

I will grant the fact that the shirt was a bit tight and I could have made a better bra choice, I will also grant that we are "friends" (in the loose work sense) and maybe you thought you were being helpful. But I still say you're a hypocrite.

Thank you for your time,
Irritated well-dressed Employee.

Current Music: Amy Winehouse - Fuck Me Pumps

And I'm Back...

As Mark Twain said, "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated".

Mostly I've been recovering from a three day drunk-fest, and then getting back into the normal grind of regular life. That's the part that sucks - the real life part, not the drunk fest part.

So let's see, when last I posted I had just returned from the big Gay Ho-Down and the Honky Tonk Queen contest. I did promise you a video, so here is one of the "past queens", I'm happy to report that the newly crowned queen was even better than this "gal" - which I suppose is not really a stretch.



Directly after my second round on the Ohio turnpike (which was magical) I worked for a week then set off into the annual Mackinac Race week routine. The parade, Family Night, Boat Night, and then the actual race. Scott set sail for the island and I hit the road (oh yeah, again) to pick him up. So four days, seven bruises, too many drinks to count and one good sunburn later and we're back to regular life.

Anyway - I'll get back into my groove, maybe do another NaBloPoMo ('cause that's always fun - ha!).

Current Music: Let Me Out - Ben's Brother

Rockin' Out!

All right, so my girl KimmyK didn't tag me for this, but I thought I might do it anyway. Then Katie was all "you gotta do it", so being the one to bow to peer pressure here's the music meme...

Instructions: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

I will preface this as Kimmy did, I listen to a lot of different types of music, so there's a bit of everything in here (well, I didn't put any classical in) - but no matter what they are, they're fun summer tunes that make me smile! Take any of these to the beach and you'll love them.

American Boy - Estelle Love this one, fast slow little bit of everything

Good Life - Kanye West Summer is all about the good life, right - so duh!

Here for the Party - Gretchen Wilson Alright this is a new one for me, but it really works (thanks to the reigning Honky Tonk Queen for turning me on to this one - check back tomorrow for more on the Honky Tonk Queen)

Summertime - Will Smith Yeah, again, duh (old school I know, but still good)

New Shoes - Paolo Nutini I've got to find a way to get shoes in somewhere :-)

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems - Kenny Chesney He can sit with no shirt or shoes with me any day!

It's Love - Chris Knox Heard this one on a Heineken commercial and loved it - took a bit to find it, but it's super!

There's a ton more that I can't live without, but these were the ones that keep popping up in my recently played list.

As you know I don't actually know seven people and two of the people that I do know have already done it, so the rest of you can consider yourself tagged if you are so inclined!

Current Music: Heartbreaker - Will.I.Am

Happy Independence Day!

None who have always been free
can understand the terrible
fascinating power of the hope of
freedom to those who are not free.
— Pearl S. Buck

Happy Fourth of July to one and all!

Current Music: The Liberty Bell March - John Philip Sousa (no really, it's my Dad's cell phone ring)

Hitting the Road (again)

Yep, I've got the road in my blood now - can't wait to get out again!

Ok, not really, but when my mom gave me the dates for her trip I didn't realize that they fell so close to the date that I was supposed to meet some friends (this weekend). And next weekend is the big sailboat race in town and I'm off on another vacation! No rest for the wicked...

So on Saturday I have to get back on the road, this time to Cleavland - that's right I'm headed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Gay Rodeo (you can't say I don't know how to have a good time). I'll be hitting the road first thing Saturday morning and returning to my quiet little burg on Sunday evening. In between all that is the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, a contest for "Queen of the Rodeo" (and I don't mean in the royal sense) and some other stuff that I'm sure will be very interesting.

I only ever get to see these friends once a year, so when they called to say they were going to be in my neck of the woods (roughly, if you can call a 4 hour drive in my neck of the woods) I said sure - I'll meet you! Now I'm sort of regretting it, though I'm sure it will be fun. And probably a fairly good photo op.

So that's a wrap for me - end of visit (mom leaves tomorrow), end of June, end of NaBloPoMo and end of sanity for a while. Peace out!

Current Music: listening to the sweet stylings of a sad old printer because I forgot to bring my iPod to work

3 Days (well, one and a half)

"Fish and visitors smell in three days."
-Benjamin Franklin

Such a wise man, founds a country and realizes that visiting friends and family suck.

Part of me really hates to say that about my mom - after all, she is my mom and she has lots of awesome characteristics. But the bigger part of me says "remember, this is why you moved half way across the country dummy".

Tomorrow I get to go to work - which I don't really want to do, but it means that I don't have to be here listening to her go on and on about all the stuff she goes on about (if I have to hear the story of her making pudding for my niece again I may actually rip my own ears off). Other than that I am not looking forward to getting back into the office - I'm never sure what is worse, leaving for vacation or coming back (in reality it all sucks).

The good news for Scott is that he's stuck home with her tomorrow - all right, so it's not good news for him, but it is good for me :-) Well, since she loves him more that makes it less bad for him!

So it's t-minus 2 days for mom's visit and NaBloPoMo. Won't you be glad not to see my little rant-y posts not showing up in your readers?

Current Music: catching up on tivo, a little "Good Eats"

Nice work

It's not easy, carrying all this amazing food around when you're hungry.

Safe and Sound

Well, we're home - safe and sound, mostly anyway. My mom nearly passed out again, this time was we looked over Niagara Falls, it could have gone so very wrong. It didn't though.

Mentally I'm sure we're all a bit unsound. As soon as we got home (after fighting traffic to get back into the states and picking up the dog at the kennel) we all pretty much went to our corners to have a little "alone time". That's what I'm doing now in fact :-)

Tomorrow I have to work in the evening, but before then I need to return the rental car, drag Mom to the Library and then stop and take a look at the Tall Ships that are in town for the weekend. Really looking forward to work tomorrow!

Current Music: Work That - Mary J. Blige

Is It Over Yet?

Is this "vacation" over? Is NaBloPoMo over? Are we done yet? 'Cause I am!

One more day of road trip to go - the good news is that it's the drive back home, the bad news is that it's the drive back home and I still have 4 days left to "visit" with my mom when we get back.

I guess the real good news is that I don't have to drive for nine hours and then go work in the restaurant. And the actual bad news is that I have to go back to work on Monday, and I expect that there will be all kinds of crap involved with that.

On the asshole husband front - I made him swear up and down that he would not blow his top about traffic or getting lost if he picked out the route. I picked out the route and when he started to get peeved because of a detour I reminded him of his promise and low and behold he actually kept his temper in check. I'm floored.

On the mother front - she almost passed out in Independence Hall due to heat stoke. Happily, she recovered, we checked out a few more things and then hi-tailed it out of Philly. Sadly, we did not get to be on the news or add to the amazing history of the place by having her pass out.

Only a few more days of blogging left too - hang in there, we're almost home!

Oh, Now I Remember

Years and years ago we were in Club Med and one of the ladies there was vacationing without her husband or kids. According to her, it's what they did. One family vacation then one vacation for him and one for her.

And my parents don't travel together, not because they are divorced (even though they should be) but because they don't travel well together. So they choose to travel separately - which is why Mom is here now and Dad is home.

Every time we travel together I remember that I hate traveling with Scott. He gets pissy if I want to do something that he doesn't, he hates it when I want to stop to take a picture, and he completely comes unhinged if we get stuck in traffic/lost/or are the victim of bad directions (the internet kind - don't start thinking that he actually stops to ask for directions). And don't even get me started on plane travel (the only bright side of that is that it's mercifully short).

Oh sure, the vacation sex is always fun; and once we get to a destination or get done doing something I want to do his mood improves. But the traveling part kind of sucks.

Someone please remind me of that the next time I say I'm thinking about a vacation!

It's The Thought That Counts, Right?

I sent in my pitiful NaBloPoMo post on the phone last night and apparently it didn't go through. I really didn't say much - so you didn't really miss much. But I say this counts for Monday and Tuesday!

Day three of the trip, we're headed off to Gettysburg today, should be good for the hour or two - then I'll be bored out of my skull. But, according to Scott and my mom, not everything is about me - who knew?! My uncle is driving up from Virginia to join us, that should be, um, interesting. He's beyond preachy and pedantic, but he's family so what are you going to do? No matter which way you look at it, it is going to be a long day.

Yesterday we checked out the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, and wandered around Hershey. It's true, the street lights really are shaped like kisses - so cute. We checked out the Hotel Hershey and it's lovely 1930's interiors and the Hershey Gardens (those were my picks of course). A good day all in all.

BTW, yes John Corbett is not just a pretty face, the music was pretty good. Yes, he does seem like a regular guy - he drinks Corona or Jack and soda (with lime), and he likes to pick up cute girls (mostly brunettes if that helps!). Pretty regular guy, right?!

Current Music: Mercy - Duffy

Already on history overload -

Already on history overload - tomorrow Gettysburg. Woo freakin' hoo!

Awesome!

I had to work both Friday and Saturday nights at the restaurant, I always work when there's a show. Normally I would say that it sucks - but not in this case, because this weekend's show was the John Corbett Band! It's always a lot more fun to work when the show is good. But wait, it gets better..

The shows ran so long that we were allowed to slip into the theater and watch (service in the restaurant was done and the bar was stocked and ready for the after-show party) - not just listen in the bar (with a wall in between). Then, once the show was out the band came in to hang out in the bar. Sadly I had to serve drinks all night, but I got to make sure that all the band members had drinks. I didn't get tipped in cash, but I did get tipped with a cheek kiss and a little snuggely hug - AWESOME!

Oh yeah - I got that tip two nights in a row, he is nothing if not consistent (oh and cute, and tall and pretty yummy).

In other news:
- The concert was really good - he's not just a pretty face.
- You might think that standing back stage and looking at his "good side" is great, and it is!
- There was a big down side - I worked till 2:30am both nights and am currently working on about hours of sleep in 48 hours.
- The vacation has arrived and I am in PA - getting ready to do the history thing with Mom and Scott (thank goodness for wi-fi at this hotel - take that NaBloPoMo).

More on the "vacation" later...

OMG John Corbett just kissed

OMG John Corbett just kissed me on the cheek! More later :-)