I Would Walk 500 Miles

Well, it's not really 500 miles, it's more like 280. That's 5 miles a day for 8 weeks, or 10,000 steps for 56 days. What ever way you want to break it down, that's what I'm doing.

The 5th Annual WOMAN Challenge started on Mother's Day. I did it last year for the first time and had a really great time. My sister, Mom and a couple of friends all joined the same team and we encouraged each other (via email) to walk our butts off! Of course it's just a self-enforced thing, sort of like NaBloPoMo - it's all about the ability to say that you did it!

So for the next 8 weeks I'll have my handy dandy pedometer on my belt, making sure that I'm doing all my steps! And if I'm running a bit short one day, there's always shopping or "Dance, Dance Revolution" (I don't see why that can't count)!

Now for the standard "I'm a sucktastic blogger lately" speech - but the whole work thing is taking up waaaay too much of my time (like I don't have personal things to do during the work day!). I have succumb to the Twitter phenomenon, so if you're desperate for more Mandy Lou - you can follow me there!

Current Music: I Would Walk 500 Miles - The Proclaimers (on The Graham Norton Show - are you watching this, cause you should be!)

Happiness

I so desperately want to feel like this...



Though, I do worry that I would have to take up a drug habit to get results like that.

Current Music: You just heard it...

Stress Ball

Yep, that's me - a little wound up ball of stress! Have been all week.

So why am I stressed you say (besides the obvious - no money, dirty house, laundry not done, behind at work)?

Well I've got this thing to go to tomorrow - it's a charity "luncheon" for the local hospital. Doesn't sound all that bad right? My friend invited me since she had an extra ticket plus she figured it would be a good "networking" opportunity. At first it sounded like fun, but then I thought about who was really going to be there - all the doctor's wives, the rich stay at home moms and all the other "ladies of leisure" in town (in short, all of the rich folk that I don't hang out with).

So that got me stressing out about what to wear and since I don't do "luncheons" (I'm more of a casual brunch girl or a hang out after work with friends girl). Off I went to the mall - trying on skirts and suits and slacks and all sorts of other things I would never wear in my normal day to day life. But if I was going to be hanging with this crowd I needed something more than my standard nice top, dressy jeans and cute shoes ensemble. I finally found a cute skirt that went with a sweater I already had - cute and dressy, but could be casual for later use.

Then I realized I didn't have the right shoes. I felt quite strongly that my normal selection of boots, Sketchers, ballet flats or flip-flops just weren't going to cut it. So I went shopping again - I've bought five pairs of shoes this week (admittedly two pairs were not for the outfit)! But after multiple trips to the mall I know have skirt and shoes - oh and a new handbag (cause you can't buy new shoes and not a new purse).

That got me thinking about the state of hair and nails and toes (they're peep-toe shoes after all). So I checked the roots and the half gown out bangs and called in for an appointment with my stylist. The hair was the easiest part all things considered, well, except for the evil bangs but I can work with them. The toes are done, though I'm a bit worried that the color is too bright - but screw them if they can't appreciate a sassy summer color. The nails may have to go as they are since I don't see a manicure happening between now and 11:30 tomorrow.

And of course during this shopping frenzy I've been wondering where the money is going to come from for these purchases. I've tried to keep my purchases reasonable and I think that I should be able to wear all of this stuff more than just this time - so that's good. And I do have a fair number of things to return, that's money back in the bank.

I should be relatively stress free at this point, I'm all ready and I should be able to breath easily. But now I'm worried about the even it's self - will I know anyone? Will I see someone I don't want to run into? Will I somehow embarrass my self?

I suppose the question that I should be worried about more is will I be bored out of my skull and be sorry for spending all the time and money?

Current Music: Picture Perfect - Chris Brown

It's Never Been Done Before

Never in all my born days have I seen something like this. Well, not to this impeccable level of care and detail. There has never been anyone on earth who has done such a spectacular job... of cleaning the bathroom.

Apparently that's what I was supposed to say, anyway.

I came home the other day and Scott announced (with all due pomp and circumstance) that he had finally** cleaned the bathroom. I said "thanks" and went on my merry way - unloading groceries, changing my clothes and cooking dinner. He sat down and read a book for a bit, then the following conversation happened:

Scott: Well did you even look?
Me: Look at what?
Scott: The bathroom, did you look at the clean bathroom.
Me: No, is there something special about it, aside from it being clean?
Scott: Yeah, I really cleaned it. I mean really, I even wiped down the baseboards.
Me: Wow, it must be cleaner than ever. (Do you sense the sarcasm here?)
Scott: Well it's just really clean and you should go look at it, that's all.

Later I went to inspect his handy work. The bathroom was indeed clean, no cleaner than I leave it, but nice and clean. Then I noticed a few minor details...

1. He only cleaned one of the bathrooms, the one he uses.
2. There is no way he could have washed the floor - the mop was dry, the swiffer was still in the closet and I know he didn't do it by hand.
3. The shower was still dirty.

So I guess what I'm saying is if anyone would like to see a really clean bathroom, they should not come to my house.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the vacuum cleaner is still sitting in the middle of the dining room, in homage to all the hard work he did last time he "cleaned" the house.

Current Music: Scotty Doesn't Know - Lustra

** When he says finally he means because on my one day off in the last two weeks I should have cleaned it. When I say finally it means, he's been home for almost two weeks and it's taken him this long.

Dream On

I had two stress/work dreams in the early morning hours:

1. One of my bosses was yelling at me for missing an 8:30am meeting, a meeting that she had scheduled for me to meet with a client - but hadn't told me about. Now anyone who knows anything about me knows that I don't do much at 8:30am except use monosyllabic words and get ready for work. So I was yelling back that it was totally unfair of her to be mad at me when she a) knows I don't do 8:30am meetings, b) didn't tell me and c) since she rarely comes in before 10am who was she to tell me when to come in. The fight got so heated, the yelling so intense that I woke up sweating and seriously pissed off.

That was at about 4:30am and though I tried, I couldn't get back to sleep for a while. Around 4:45am I gave up and read for a bit. At some point I managed to get back to sleep again and had this dream:

2. My boss' mom needed a ride to the shop in her motor home (strange for many reasons, one of which is that she doesn't actually have one), but she wanted to drive and just have me ride with her. Once we got there I realized that I couldn't get back home to change (I had left the house without make-up or hair done or clothes on) so went in to ask the boss if I could drive his van back to my house to get ready for work. Since it was well before the time I usually get to work I figured I had time to go home and get suited up for real. But he said no, since I was there he expected me to work, I said I couldn't since I didn't have make-up on or any clothes. At that point I realized that not only was I not wearing work clothes, I wasn't wearing any clothes at all(though they did eventually re-appear)! I looked around the show room and there were a ton of people that needed help (even though none of them wanted kitchens - I'm not really sure what they wanted), so I started helping people with their questions - naked and grumbling all the way. A few clients later (and with my clothes back on) I said I was going home to change. Just as I was walking away, that person (really not sure who it was) bit or stabbed me in the back (left shoulder blade to be exact). The stabbing pain was enough to wake me up again and for good.

The odd thing is the shoulder pain bothers me when I am at work, I rarely have a problem with it anywhere else. But just dreaming about work made me the pain come back!

Not that these two dreams aren't so hard to decipher. As you know I've not been exactly pro-work. I drag my ass in here every day doing as little work as I can get away with and try not to listen to my bosses whining about sales being down (I'm making my sales so there's not much more I can do for that). But theses dreams have got me thinking that I may need to re-evaluate my job or at least how much longer I want to work for these folks.

In any event I think I see a mental health day in my future...

Current Music: Lily Dreams On - Cotton Mather

How Many Licks Does It Take?*

My house is a serious mess, but I haven't had time to clean it - and when I have had time I've been so tired all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book. I know that the house is past gross, but I'm past caring recently.

So when Scott told me that he was going to be home all week I thought, "Great, the house won't get clean, but maybe he'll do some laundry or clean up his mess on the table". Well, that hasn't been the case, all week I've come home to piles of laundry, dishes in the sink, etc. Until today...

I just got off the phone with Scott, he said that he couldn't stand another minute in the dirty house and he was in the midst of cleaning the house! Holy Mary, hell has actually frozen over!

So now we know the number of days my husband can sit around doing nothing in a filthy house before he has to clean it is 4. (May I throw in a snotty comment that if I had taken a week off and the house wasn't clean by day one that he would have started in on the snide comments by day two.)

* Alternate title is How Gross Can My House Get Before My Husband Will Clean?

Current Music: Housework - The B-52's

**UPDATE** Got home at 6 to find out the "cleaning" meant that he had vacuumed. Yep the house sure is clean...

Open Letter

To the Angry Lady in the Cosmetics Isle in Target:

If your daughter is going to throw a full on temper tantrum (throwing herself down on the floor, kicking and screaming, serious slobbery crying) in Target, then she is not old enough to wear make-up. You should not be trying to reason with her about why she doesn't need the loose powder that she wants to buy. You should not be yelling that the lip gloss she thinks she wants to buy is really concealer. You should be telling her that she isn't old enough to have any of it. You should be telling her that she is way past the age of full blown temper tantrums. And then you should take her home so that the rest of us can shop in peace.

Thank you,
Irritated Lady Trying to Buy Mascara

Current Music: Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5

Back to the Shallow End

Things have been a bit deep around here lately - and while I can be deep, shallow is so much more fun, so everyone out of the deep end!

A couple of shallow things I have been pondering:

1. I think I'm going to by Dance Dance Revolution tonight on the way home. It looks like fun and I just realized that I'm going to have to get into a bikini soon - maybe it will help. And if nothing less I'll probably be able to laugh my ass off.

2. Can lotion make you static-y? The last couple of nights at the restaurant I have had a serious issue with static. It's the same cotton/poly blend pants and a cotton apron we always wear (and yes there is a shirt) but ever since I've switched to this new lotion I can't keep my apron from clinging to my pants - and let me tell you, it's not a good look. So as of now I'm blaming the windy and warmer weather, not the lotion, but I wonder...

3. I'm trying to decide on my summer toe color. Not that only wear one color all summer long, but I tend to like to get a new color and really wear it a lot during the season. So, I've got to get that done.

4. Bangs - oh yes, they're still here, evil as ever. I just can't decide what to do with them - keep them, let them grow out? And then there's the rest of the hair - should I go shorter for summer? I'll have to pick up some trashy celeb magazines and get some inspiration.

5. Zebra print flats. There's a cute pair at target and I'm thinking I might have to have them - though buying the video game might put a crimp in that plan.

Alrighty, I guess that's it for now, but I'm sure I can come up with more shallowness soon!

Current Music: Summer's Gone - Aberfeldy

Phoning It In

Well, not literally - not this time anyway. Though I have been known to text in my posts during NaBloPoMo (it does help when it comes to not being near a computer a little before midnight).

Anywho, today I'm speaking metaphorically, talking about the phrase "Phoned It In". Sadly, I think that's what I've done with this month of blogging, not exactly giving it my best. I had high hopes for NaBloPoMo this month, hoped that it would help me to get my groove back, but it didn't. However, I'm not so sure it's because of or in spite of NaBloPoMo - I'm beginning to think it's me.

I think I've been "phoning in" a lot of things lately:
- My job, to be sure. I think it's a fair bet that I only really work for 4 to 5 hours of an 8 hour day. And sadly, I don't really care all that much - and that can't be good. I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm burnt-out, I do like my job, just not lately.

- My friends, sadly. I try to keep up, and email helps, but there are a couple of my friends that I've not seen for a couple of years - and I hate that. And really, email isn't the same - but I don't seem to make the time to call. I'm more in tune with my blogging peeps than anyone else, not that it's bad, but it does make me a bad friend to the others.

- My marriage to a degree. We all go through phases - times when we're less into each other, and we've been through this before, but lately it seems that this phase is taking a lot longer to come out of than before. Of course, the whole baby-making thing puts a crimp in our relationship, but there must be a way to make it good again.

I guess this is a moment that it's good I don't have kids, it would break my heart to put "my child" on that list.

Maybe I should take this moment as a wake up call. So realizing all this and the need for me to make some changes, the next question is how.

Happy last day of NaBloPoMo anyway.

Current Music: Fall Apart Again - Brandi Carlile

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

We've been blissfully plumbing problem free for two weeks now, well until last night that is.

Oh sure, the plumbing got taken care of a while back, we were able to return to normal. There were long showers, laundry, cooking - it was wonderful! But when Scott arrived home from work yesterday the alarm was going off and the pump wasn't working. We called the plumber, set up an appointment for this morning, then went out as planned (no sense letting a little plumbing problem get in the way of dinner with friends right?).

The plumbers spent most of the late morning and early afternoon trying to figure out the problem, which seems to be some metal blockage - which may mean another new pump. We'll know more tomorrow.

So we're back to short showers till tomorrow - or perhaps we'll be schlepping laundry down the street and running back and forth for showers for another week. The only good news is that they've assured us that this is all under warranty and there won't be any charge. March has been pretty crappy, and I'm not speaking metaphorically!

Current Music: Liar - 8mm

More About Me - the Picture Book

Here's what I tried to post yesterday:


I found this over at may-b's, seems like fun...

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box
3. Insert the picture into your Blog



What is your relationship status?


What is your current mood?


What is your favorite movie?


What kind of pets do you have?


Where do you live?


Where do you work?


What do you look like?


What is your favourite TV show?


Describe yourself


What are you going to do tomorrow?


What is your name?


What is your favorite candy?

Working really late

Working really late - and Blogger ate my earlier post - this is just going to have to do it for NaBloPoMo!

Nobody Likes a Tease

I hate to say bad things about my girl, Mother Nature. I love her, but she is a serious tease.

This was Monday, all was right with the world:



And then Tuesday happened:



Wednesday was the bringer of all things spring, the sun was out, the birds were chirping, there were signs of green in the lawn and the piles of snow were melting. I was absolutely sure that spring was here for good.

And this is what I found when I left the office tonight...



Seriously - I am a California girl, when you promise good weather, you can't mean for the next ten minutes!!!!

Current Music: California Sun - Jem

Stars Upon Thars

Look what's in my new Target jeans:


I feel like a Sneetch!

And yes - it's a bit rough on the tushy. Also not sure how it's going to wash up yet.

Current Music: Superstar - Tegan and Sara

Wardrobe Malfunction

The other day as I got ready to go to my Girl's Night I suddenly decided I wanted a new hand bag. So I left work earlier than I had planned so that I could run into Macy's and buy a cute new bag. It had to be colorful and big, something up to date and fun. The only ones I could find were well over the budget I had set for myself (given our household budget, and the fact that there is no monthly allowance for handbags, the budget was slim). Sadly I left the store empty handed, pouted my way home and took my old handbag with me for the night.

So that started off a chain reaction of unhappiness about my budget wardrobe and lack of nice clothes. (Now I don't need really nice clothes because of what I do, but it doesn't mean that every once and a while I don't need to dress up a bit.)

The next step in the chain was on Sunday. I had a cute outfit all planned out in my head for Easter dinner. But between the PMS bloat and the fact that the pants that were so cute in my head turned out to be so uncute - I ended up having a complete melt-down fifteen minutes before we had to leave. I dug through dirty "nice" jeans and checked over all of my worn out sweaters to find something acceptable (thank goodness dinner was casual).

The final straw came on Monday when I found all but my scariest jeans dirty, all of my long-sleeved t-shirts either faded or stained and my shoes just weren't doing it for me.

So Monday afternoon I left work a bit early to check out Target and see if there was anything that could make me feel better. One pair of jeans and a cute pair of "denim" slacks later I was starting to feel a bit better. But I still wasn't there - two pairs of pants was not going to fix the major problem that is my wardrobe. So I continued on and found my new favorite store...

Steve & Barry's. It just opened in town, and between the prices and the clothes those boys have found room in my budget, closet and heart. Nine items and only $80 later I found a cute little dress, another pair of jeans, a cute vest and a few other things.

After a day in my new jeans, I am a bit happier - and Scott isn't too unhappy with the expenditures. Not a bad day's work.

Now I need to work on my shoe selection...

Current Music: New Shoes - Paolo Nutini

I Love My Friends

I'm lucky, our good friends have a great family. That great family has taken us in - we love hanging out with them for holiday dinners, on the beach, girl's nights, weekend getaways. Of course we knew we liked them before we moved, but we didn't realize that they would be so very great over time.

But last night I was loving them for a different reason, M's brother in law is a chef - a serious kick-ass Chef. My Easter dinner included:

Salmon Mousse
Foie Gras
Duck Confit
Champagne
Braised Lamb
Mushroom Soup
Truffled Mashed Potatoes
Spanish Coffee

It was a long and spectacular dinner - but I still have the urge to have a good old-fashioned Easter ham, maybe this weekend?

Current Music: Flavor of the Weak - American Hi-Fi

I Miss Easter

Easter was always one of my favorite holidays. I suppose it still is in some ways, but now it's lacking a bit.

I used to love getting dressed up, including those shinny white patent leather shoes. We used to go to church with my Grandmother - it was the only time that we ever went to church, she always liked to show us off. Sometimes we would go to place Easter Lilies at my Great-Grandparent's crypt. Then we would go home, or to our Grandparent's apartment, or out to our Aunt and Uncle's (it varied by year) and we'd have an Easter egg hunt. We'd hunt for the eggs we had dyed the night before or the really bright plastic ones that were filled with candy (courtesy of our Grandmother) - and of course, the Easter basket itself! Usually the Easter Bunny filled our baskets with a giant chocolate bunny or maybe a See's Easter Egg, coloring books, little toys and some years a beautiful Sugar Egg with a spring scene inside.

Of course Easter hasn't been that way for a number of years, but it was an easy holiday. No gifts, no days worth of cooking or decorating. Basically, just a day to get together with family and eat dinner - something that didn't happen regularly once my sister and I grew up. It was always a good afternoon, good food and wine and company.

The Easter after my Grandmother died, there was no family dinner - and the year after that. As it turned out that it had been my Grandmother that kept us all together at Easter. We did finally get back to it, but it wasn't the same.

Since we've moved to Michigan, I've made Easter dinner for friends, been invited to friends, and made Easter dinner for just us - but it's not the same. Today we're going over to some friend's for dinner, but I miss seeing my family.

Two of my favorite bloggers have recently lost their Grandmothers (Leah over at More Ways to Waste Time and Ali Edwards a scrapbooking superstar). Maybe their loss got me thinking about my Grandmother, or maybe it was Easter, either way I miss them both.

Current Music: Hey Beautiful Day - Bedouin Soundclash

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know

Thanks to Laura, for doing this the other day (and letting me steal it) - I was in need of a simple (yet fun) post for today!

1. What color is your bra? Not wearing one, but earlier it was black, not very racy, but cute.

2. Do you straighten your hair everyday? It's straight every day when I wake up, so no - but I do curl it with a curling iron frequently.

3. Do you worry about the size of your boobs? Nope.

4. What’s your favorite girly magazine? Um, does Real Simple count, cause I don't really read any girly magazine regularly.

5. Would you kill for chocolate? No, I love it, but there are other things I'd be more willing to kill for.

6. Jeans or Skirts? Jeans

7. Do you wear clothes/shoes/jewelry that’s uncomfortable? Yep, but if I do it's cute!

8. Did you ever spend all day/night getting pretty for a guy? Oh yes.

9. Did you ever cry during a romantic movie? Duh

10. Would you leave the house without makeup on? Nope, minimum is concealer, mascara, eyebrows and lipstick/gloss.

11. Do you consider making out “unladylike”? Nope

12. On a scale of 1-10, how fun is shopping? If I'm finding stuff I like 10, if I can't find what I'm wanting 2.

13. Are you spoiled? Sort of, not lately though.

14. Do you think lip gloss is the best? No, I usually prefer lipstick.

15. Do you freak out if you miss your favorite show? Yep

16. Do you yell a lot? Sadly yes, but it really does go in phases (say monthly:-)

17. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? It probably only takes me an hour to actually get ready, but I like to take at least an hour and a half to two hours so that I can really feel "ready".

18. Do you wear sweatpants/pajama pants to school/work? Absolutely not

19. Accessories make the outfit; true or false? True

20. Is pink truly the best color in the entire universe? Nope

21. Lip gloss a must? Nope

22. Status? Very tired, stiff neck, heading to bed.

23. Have you ever dressed unlike yourself to impress a guy? Sadly, yes.

24. Do you often wish there was something you could change about yourself? Of course

25. Gold or silver? Yes Please!

26. The guy that you like/love/whatever, what does his name begin with? S

27. Do you dress up too much for holidays? Not any more, I'd like to more often though.

28. Do you like wearing dresses? As long as it's causal, they are ok in summer, but dresses aren't my favorite.

29. Do you write a lot of mushy love poems? Nope

30. What makeup could you not live without? Benefit "Boi-ing" concealer.

Current Music: Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies

Girl's night

I gotta go...

Current Music: Teenage Wasteland - The Who

Happy First Day

...of March Madness!

It's crazy - I don't like basketball, but when it comes to the NCAA finals, I just love it! Scott and I fill in our brackets and bet who will win. Of course it's not for anything serious, last year it was for a full body rub (which I still have not gotten from last year!).

Now I've already said that I don't like basketball so that makes picking the winners a bit difficult. But I have a fool-proof system:

1. I always pick any UC (University of California) team to go as far as possible
2. Then I pick any other California team to go as far as possible - until they run into a UC team
3. I always pick a northern California team to go farther than a southern California team (we northern Californians have a bit of a chip on our shoulder when it comes to southern California)
4. Then I pick any Michigan teams to go as far as possible - until they run into a California/UC team - in deference to my friends I route for State before UofM (but since UofM rarely makes it, it's never really been an issue).
5. After that I always pick one last seed to go kind of far
6. As far as the fillers go, I pick teams that I like the name of!

So not very scientific, but it works for me!

Here's your random factoid for the day:
1.2 billion - is the estimated dollar amount employers nationwide could lose in productivity during the NCAA men's basketball tournament, as employees direct their attention to filling out the perfect bracket. (thank you Real Simple)

(See I barely wasted anytime, not only do I have a perfect system, but it's sort of like pin the tail on the donkey, never really takes too long!)

Oh right, and happy first day of Spring!

Current Music: Going the Distance - Cake

Is That Your Final Answer?

Hey it's Q&A (No, the T&A is another website!) with Mandy Lou!

Here are the answers to all the movie quotes:

1. Oh, we're going to talk about me again, are we? Goody. - The Philadelphia Story
   


2. Unleash the fury! - Road Trip (guessed by Mer)


3. Oh, l'amour, l'amour, how it can let you down. Hmm. How it can pick you up again. - The Women
   


4. We're not low! - Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (guessed by Mer)


5. It's cozier, isn't it? Boy, girl, boy, girl. - White Christmas (guessed by May-B)


6. All I'm saying is, there's a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one without a fella! - Bend It Like Beckham
   


7. Mischief managed. - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (guessed by Jenni)


8. When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he's in no position to run. - Bringing Up Baby (guessed by Mer)


9. Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler... - Office Space (guessed by Scoobers)


10. Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. - You've Got Mail (guessed by Scoobers)


11. A woman happily in love, she burns the souffle. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven. - Sabrina, the original
    


12. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? - Animal House (guessed by Mer)


13. Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! - Auntie Mame
    


14. Oh, he's so happy being Teddy Roosevelt. - Arsenic and Old Lace
    


15. Mr. Allen, this may come as a surprise to you, but there are some men who don't end every sentence with a proposition. - Pillow Talk (guessed by Mer)

And the title/bonus quote:
Listen to me, you great big bubble-headed baboon! - His Girl Friday

In answer to Lori's questions...
My sister found my blog. She was searching for my photoblog and the user name is the same, so... I knew it was just a matter of time after I gave her the name of my photoblog.

As for Scott not knowing that I blog, I'll let you all pick the answer:
A. he's a man - he's oblivious
B. he thinks of the laptop as a poor video game substitute
C. I blog at work frequently
D. yes I am very clever
E. all of the above

Any more questions?

Current Music: Question - Old 97s

Well I'm No Diana Prince

I've been pondering writing a post about how I came to blogging, and how interesting it is that I have never told anyone that I have a blog.

I was listening to NPR (oh yeah, I'm one of those people) and the interviewee was talking about the fact that both she and her husband had blogs and that in many ways they now communicated better because of their blogs. He traveled and she stayed home and so they got to keep up on each other's days and nights. It sounded nice.

Add to that the fact that I've always liked the idea of a diary and you arrive at me blogging.

So what does Wonder Woman have to do with me and my blog? Well as I've said, I've never told anyone about my blog. It's been for me, well and you guys - but mostly for me. And it's not that I didn't want anyone to know, but I did decide not to use my real name (I know, totally shocked that Mandy Lou isn't my real name!) -in fact it's a name that most of my family and friends would not dare to call me! So in some ways I had a secret identity, just like Diana Prince - though I'm not sure if I'm a blogging Wonder Woman...

Anyway - as I was saying I've been planning to write this post for a while, but my secret identity was blown yesterday.

Some of you might be wondering why a new reader/commenter named Mer knew most of my favorite movies and didn't get any linky-love for her very correct answers. Well, she didn't get any love cause she doesn't have a blog and she knew the movies cause she's my sister!

So everyone, say hi to Mer!

Current Music: We Are Family - Sister Sledge

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Nuf said...


Current Music: Night Pat Murphy Died - Great Big Sea

Listen to me, you great big bubble-headed baboon!

I stole this fab idea from Catheroo, and Jenni . And, while it might give you a frightening insight to my psyche and a number of clues to my secret identity, it was too much fun to pass up!

Here are the rules:
* Pick 15 of your favorite movies
* Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory because you are that bad ass)
* Post them on your blog for everyone to guess
* Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed

These rules are for you, my peeps:
* No Googling or using IMDB search functions (don’t cheat!)
* Leave your answer(s) in the comments

1. Oh, we're going to talk about me again, are we? Goody.


2. Unleash the fury! (Road Trip - Mer)


3. Oh, l'amour, l'amour, how it can let you down. Hmm. How it can pick you up again.


4. We're not low! (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle - Mer)


5. It's cozier, isn't it? Boy, girl, boy, girl. (White Christmas - May-B)


6. All I'm saying is, there's a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one without a fella!


7. Mischief managed. (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Jenni)


8. When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he's in no position to run. (Bringing Up Baby - Mer)


9. Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler... (Office Space - Scoobers)


10. Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. (You've Got Mail - Scoobers)


11. A woman happily in love, she burns the souffle. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven.


12. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? (Animal House - Mer)


13. Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!


14. Oh, he's so happy being Teddy Roosevelt.


15. Mr. Allen, this may come as a surprise to you, but there are some men who don't end every sentence with a proposition. (Pillow Talk - Mer)

UPDATE** Here's a hint, a fair number of the quotes are from "classic" (or at least black and white) movies...

And in the spirit of being a true copy cat, the title of the post is a bonus (which will get you absolutely nothing, but my undying adoration for knowing the quote)!

Current Music: I Can't Give You Anything But Love Baby - Louis Armstrong

Catching Up

Things I caught up on recently:

- finished two mini-albums that I need to send to friends
- watched a bunch of tivo's shows
- got started on the laundry
- slept in till 10 this morning
- had a spectacularly long shower (the plumbing is back!)
- played with the kitties
- and best of all I stayed up late with Scott to watch TV and played Wii, it was nice to catch up with him

Current Music: Still Alright - Adam Merrin

There's No Fiesta Here

When did it become necessary for soda companies (right, I know I live in Michigan and I should call it "pop" - you can take the girl out of California, but you can't take California out of the girl. I also overuse the word "Dude") to sell their beverages as a lifestyle enhancement?

I read about Pepsi's new "zero calorie sparkling beverage" - really they had me at sparkling (oh and zero calorie). But then they had to make up lame flavor names like Mediterranean Fiesta, Brazilian Samba and Tahitian Tamure, now I was a bit worried, but the reviews had been pretty good and it was on sale - who am I to say no.

As I look at the bottle I'm about open my bottle of Mediterranean Fiestaand see this:

Zig when you're expected to zag.
Don't look before you leap.
Sushi. Try it.
Get lost on your way home. Intentionally.
Take the train to the art museum.
Admire the graffiti on the way.
Realize that can't and won't are four letter words.
See. Wonder. Believe.
Or you can open the bottle.
Is your Tava open?

And while I may agree with some of it (especially the sushi bit, sushi is good!) it's like I'm about to drink a Mac commercial or a Mini Cooper ad! I also felt the need to check my zipper.

Undaunted - I opened the bottle. I can honestly say there's no fiesta here!

I realize that there are lots of beverage options out there now a days, and it's a tough economy and companies need to sell their product, but really - it's either good or it's not. This is not.

Current Music: Mi Swing es Tropical - Quantic & Nickodemus

And for those that are curious - The tāmūrē is a dance from Tahiti and the Cook Islands and although denied by the local purists, for the rest of the world it is the most popular dance and the mark of Tahiti. Usually danced as a group of boys and girls, all dressed in more (the Tahitian grass skirt, however not made of grass but of the fibers from the bark of the pūrau (hibiscus)). Courtesy of Wikipedia!

The End of the Tunnel

There it is, can you see it? That little glimmer? That's the light at the end of the tunnel, the tunnel of winter that is.

Our gold finches are getting back to their cute little golden selves - instead of the dreary grayed-yellow that they are during winter.

There was a warm breeze on the air this afternoon.

I actually saw a sunset this evening, that means that there were no clouds and there was quite clearly a sun.

One of the woodchucks that live in the yard was spotted in the back yard, looking for a snack.

And even though the address sign is still totally covered in snow, we can now see a good 25% of the deck.

It's due to be in the 40s the rest of the week and weekend.

This overly cheery post brought to you by the extra sunshine and vitamin D that I got doing errands this afternoon.

Current Music: I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff

And Now For Something Completely Different...

After yesterday's serious post I feel the overwhelming need to post about something shallow, silly or in some way less heavy. But I'm at a bit of a loss, the best I can come up with is this:

Has anyone else noticed that there isn't any good music on the radio? All the stuff I'm loving seems to be coming from TV shows and commercials. Here's my current favorite list...

1. New Soul - Yael Naim - The Mac Air Book commercial
2. February Air - Lights - Old Navy commercial
3. Escape Myself - Nouvelle Vague - Lipstick Jungle
4. Smile - Dry Spell - Men In Trees
5. Get Lucky - The Dragonettes - JC Penny commercial
6. What I’m Looking For - Brendan Benson - Mac iTouch commercial
7. Let's Dance - Chris Montez - JC Penny commercial
8. Summer’s Gone - Aberfedly - Diet Coke commercial
9. Let it Out - Starrfadu - Kleenex commercial (this one's for you May-B)
10. We Will Not Grow Old - Lenka - Big Shots
11. MusicBox - Regina Spector - JC Penny commercial
12. Something's Got Me Started - SwingFly - Private Practice
13. All I Want - The Weepies - JC Penny commercial

And don't even get me started on the music from Grey's Anatomy!

So what we've learned here is that JC Penny may be one of the least hip places to shop, but has some kick ass music and ABC is leading the pack as far as the TV music goes. Well at least in my iPod anyway. (We've also learned what Mandy Lou spends her day doing when not working or reading blogs...)

I must offer my thanks to to the good folks at Tunes On TV and Heard On TV (and the playlists on ABC) for the help in seeking some of these songs! And most of these songs seemed to be readily available on Limewire or iTunes.

Current Music: Long Time Coming - Delays

You Asked

Alright Lori, you asked and (finally) I'm answering. Not that it's a difficult answer, though on some levels it is, but I wanted to do it justice.

Lori asked me why I'm 35 (well it was the day before my b-day, so now I'm 36) and no kids. The answer is I don't know. I'm not being flippant, actually quite truthful.

When I was really young I always saw myself married, 2 kids, dog, white picket fence - you know the suburban Disney fantasy. Into high school and college I wanted to get a degree, go to New York City, work on Wall Street, be a career woman and make some money (I even had a poster that had a picture of a mansion and all these amazing cars and said "Justification for Higher Education") - I was a yuppie in the making.

Not long after that phase I met Scott, 10 years older than I was and yet about the same maturity level. Neither of us wanted kids, he wanted to sail around the world and I figured I'd fly to meet him where ever he landed (not a big sailor). We dated for a number of years, working, playing enjoying our lives. Then we got married and spent some more years working, play and enjoying.

The new year's eve before I turned 27 my alarm clock (that would be the biological one) went off. I told Scott and he was less than thrilled. We had never planned on kids and now I was reneging on the deal. It took a while, but he finally wrapped his brain around it and decided maybe it wasn't the worst idea (this also coincided with his best friends adopting their first child).

But it wasn't a good time, we were trying hard to get out of debt and figured that it wouldn't be the best time to have a kid. So I stayed on the pill and looked longingly at any cute little bundle in a stroller.

We managed to get our spending and debt under control, but moved into a very small apartment to make it work. So I stayed on the pill, we adopted another cat and I would go look at maternity clothes for no good reason.

Then we got another apartment, but I was working full time and going to school full time. So I stayed on the pill, we fought a lot and I stopped going to friends baby showers.

Finally we bought our house here in Michigan, great neighborhood, good schools, huge yard, and a fence for a dog (it's chain link, but you can't have it all). So I went off the pill!

At that point we still had somewhat decent health coverage, so we had the preliminary tests done, just to make sure that the basic plumbing was working, and it was - so we got started trying. And now we've been trying for almost two years.

Of course, at this point, we should go back to the doctor and get more tests done, but not long after we moved our budget went in the tank and we had to switch to the most basic health coverage - if I get hit by a bus I'm in great shape, but if I want to go to the doctor or have tests done I have to fork over cash I don't have. So needless to say, testing is on the back burner.

Every month I take my temp, pee on sticks, check all my fertility signs, have uninspired sex (Scott likes to call it "Science Sex" or "Booty Duty" - that one actually cracks me up), then wait, pee on some more sticks, get my period, cry a bit then have some wine and start the whole thing again.

In the end, I'm not so sure how sad I really am. I love kids, but I love my life as it is. I love that I get to sleep in (or sleep at all), I love that I can come home late and not worry how much extra I have to pay the sitter. My friends and relations with kids tell me honestly that it is hard work and frequently a complete pain in the ass. I've had women say how jealous they are that I get to sleep in on Sunday or not have anyone interrupt them in the bathroom. I also know that I get tired of scrapbooking my cats and dog and nieces - or not being able to chime into a conversation with a bunch of moms as they discuss kid things. I know I'm missing out on certain things in life, but it doesn't make my life experience any less (that took me a while to be able to say).

Scott is adopted, and our dearest friend's kids are both adopted, so we've talked about adoption, but our options are limited by both age and financial issues. You can be any age or financial bracket to have your own kids, but to adopt you've got to be "pre-approved".

So we'll keep at it for a bit more, then hang up the basal thermometer and go back to being a normal couple and I'll enjoy other people's babies and kids and learn to be ok with it all. Maybe we'll get some more cats, that could be the answer...

Current Music: Tears Dry On Their Own - Amy Winehouse

The Morning After

After springing forward that is.

Don't get me wrong, I love Daylight Savings Time, mostly. I love the wonderful long evenings. I love that we can't set off fireworks till 10pm. There's lots of things to love about Daylight Savings Time but this day is always one of my least favorite days of the year.

I figure I lose at least at least 3 hours of sleep and am probably about as unproductive as I can get (well and be at work).

Now, falling back an hour - that's good stuff. Rested, relaxed and ready to go to work on Monday, it's all good! I'm going to figure out a way to only fall back, then run for office - I think I could go far on that platform!

Current Music: Lily Dreams On - Cotton Mather

Folding Our Tents

KimmyK and FADKOG have the right idea - we're getting out of dodge! Well, we're leaving the house for a bit anyway - just heading across town till the plumbing resolves itself. Our friends have a summer cottage and they've offered it to us till this shit storm blows over, so we're packing up the kitties and the pup and heading over there.

Last night we thought we could get through it, paper plates aren't so bad right? After one day of those paper plates (and everything else) we weren't feeling so positive about the possibility of making it through the week.

Then came the last straw... I expect that we are like most working couples, and we do laundry on the weekend, and of course it's hard to have laundry day without the washer and dryer. Happily, our friends were kind enough to offer the use of their washer and dryer (and shower) today, so we started driving the laundry down the street. Half way through the laundry (a load in the washer, a load in the dryer, a load in the basket in the car and a load left to go) we decided that there is just no way we could make it till mid- to late week.

To get back to the whole list theme thing, I thought I would close with a list of things I miss about not having indoor plumbing:
1. showers
2. flushing the toilet
3. the dishwasher
4. the washing machine
5. shaving - a short shower means I'm starting to look like a yeti!

I'm sure there are more, but those are the top ones!

Current Music: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

The Saga Continues

So much for "fixed by the end of the day". So much for $1200 for everything. So we're still in deep shit - and I'm not really speaking metaphorically.

By the time I got home last night (around 9:30 pm) the plumbers were still at it. Apparently once they replaced the pump - and added a few expensive do-hickies to it - they found that the water wasn't making it up to the street (which is the point of the pump). We went to bed with the tank empty, but without the pump working - so limited flushes, short showers, etc. - till they could return in the morning to continue everything. We also went to bed thinking that at best everything would be resolved with a little roto-router action, at worst we'd be looking at ripping up 300 feet of pipe to replace it. Needless to say neither of us got much sleep.

There is a bright-ish side to this... this morning the plumber called and said that he realized that the new pump didn't have the right pressure to get everything up to the street. So no roto-router, no new pipes but another new pump.

The less than bright side of things is that the next new pump won't be here till at least Tuesday. So we're back to limited flushes, short showers, no laundry, no dishes till Wednesday or later!!! And worse yet the tank can only hold so much so we're pumping everything into a small (but ultimately well fertilized) part of the yard - gross (as my friend suggested, we're doing a "cousin Eddie" - free pair of spiffy socks to the person that can name that movie :-)!

In other, less crappy news, my other nieces birthday and birthday party was today - she turned the big 2 today. Why two birthday parties in two days? Because my sister is dumb, that's why. But I'd probably do it for these cuties too!



Current Music: Here It Goes Again - Ok Go.

Well Done

Well, it's been an interesting day so far.

1. Our sewage pump is broken. That means that we were just a flush away from a sewage flooded basement - yuck. On the positive side of things, we got a plumber out as quickly as possible and they will have everything fixed by the end of the day. On the negative side of things we will be out $1200 by the time everything is "fixed". I use quotes around fixed because last time we had these guys out to work on the pump they had to come back to fix what they broke when they were fixing the original broken thing.

2. I've been seriously distracted at work today - I have a ton of work that needs to be done, yet the best I can muster is checking out blogs and E online. I've been here since 9:30, but I've probably only done 2 to 3 hours of work. I'm sure I'll pay for it later in some way.

3. I'm missing my nieces 4th Birthday party today - it's going to be a Disney princess extravaganza! That's the royal invitation, the party includes tiaras and wands, and the actual party is after all the little girls go to see Disney Princesses on Ice. Maybe I'm not so sad to be missing it... But to add to the princess madness I sent my niece a birthday greeting from Princess Aurora (yep, you can do that) - so Princess Aurora called and said happy birthday, so Avery's pretty pumped.

4. I'm working at the restaurant tonight, which isn't really bad. What's bad is that I have a client that has to meet me tomorrow, so no rest for the wicked.

Ugg, what I really want to do is go home and crawl under my bed - I'm so done. But I'll rally, the night is young, right?

Current Music: I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash

I'd Forgotten

Yep, I'd forgotten how hard posting every day could be. Trying to think of something interesting ever day is hard work.

Once I got into the groove of NaBloPoMo, I would find myself thinking of lots of different stuff to blog about for the day (or even the week). By the end of Holidailies I had a hard time not blogging - my brain had trained itself to plan to blog. Apparently I haven't managed to get my brain re-trained just yet.

This is my not so subtle way of saying that I don't have much to post about.

The only other thing I have to report is that my dad is indeed in rejection, but not as bad as last time. He's started on a series of infusions of steroids and another super transplant cocktail. Since it's not as bad he won't have to be hospitalized, so that's good news. Last time he was hospitalized for two weeks, and my mom and the dogs went nuts - so it will be easier for all if he's home.

Not to worry, I'll get my groove back (actually if I had Taye Diggs around I wouldn't have to think about what to post!).

Current Music: Chica Bonita - Shaggy

Oops

I had a big post all planned. It was going to be great, you would have laughed and cried - it was going to be the perfect post.

Well, I might be overselling it a bit, or a lot. In any case, I didn't realize that it was so late and I didn't really have time to do it.

So I'll just leave you with this...

This website has been covered on a number of shows (Tyra, the Colbert Report - I told you I missed TV) - My Free Implants. I'll leave you to discuss this amongst you selves. Oh and by the way, the girl on the front was the first "user" of the site, and is the "founder's" good friend - huh.

Current Music: My Humps - The Black Eyed Peas

Let's Call it Even

Not the best day, but not the worst day today. On the down-side I didn't win the lotto allowing me to leave my life. On the up-side no one pissed me off enough for me to want to beat them with a stick (or make me cry). So we'll call it even.

Now, I didn't do a list yesterday (please don't tell the NaBlPoMo police), but today I think I will. So here's a little list of randomness!

1. Today is my mom's birthday - happy birthday Mom! I won't disclose her age, since I'm a good daughter, and I'm still just a little bit afraid of her (she may only be 5'-3", but she's a dynamo!).

2. My dad is having another biopsy today, he's been feeling poorly, so he decided to bit proactive on the whole rejection thing - we'll know more tomorrow.

3. I am seriously tired of winter, we're due for 3 to 8 more inches of snow tonight.

4. I am getting very good at Wii bowling, I'm only a couple of games away from becoming a "Pro". And my shoulders are killing me from boxing so much!

5. I am tired of my job, I need a vacation that is more than going home for the holidays or sitting home on a couch for an extra day or two.

6. The writer's strike nearly killed me - I've missed TV. When do I get to stop watching re-runs?
That should do it for now, I'll try to be more inspired tomorrow.

Current Music: When You Were Young - The Killers

I Have a Question

What does a fig smell like? I can vaguely remember what fresh figs taste like, but I don't remember what they smell like.

"Why do you ask?" you say - well I bought an air freshener thing-y the other day. I usually buy either a lavender/lemon grass one or a eucalyptus/mint thing (thank you Target). Last time I was there they had a double pack of fig scented ones on sale, and who am I to refuse a good sale?

But, after all that, I'm not sure if they smell like fig. Because I'm not sure what a fig smells like.

There's one thing I'm certain of though, figs don't smell like cedar and these things smell like cedar. Now my house smells like a clean hamster cage, not quite sure how I feel about that.

Current Music: The Riddle - Five for Fighting

Some One Has to Lose

There are so many things vying for my time:

working on real work
playing Wii
sleeping
playing Wii
working on cards for a friend
playing Wii
getting reruns cleared off the tivo
playing Wii
working on a gift mini-album
playing Wii
catching up on my blog reading

I'm fairly certain that the regular work is not going to get done...

Current Music: Sad, Sad Situation - Bowling for Soup

Hello March

And welcome to NaBloPoMo, the March addition...

I'm absolutely rushed off my feet - working, shopping, cleaning and dinner today, dog show and working tomorrow - and yet, being so busy and rushed I found I'm actually feeling pretty happy today. In honor of that (which can be a seriously rare occasion) I thought I'd start off the NaBloPoMo with a list of things that made me happy today (since the theme is "Lists"):

It's sunny today
It's warmish (high thirties)
There are cute puffy clouds in the sky
And most importantly, it feels like Spring is in the air!

That's about all the time I have, so I'll see you tomorrow!

Current Music: watching Top Gear, trying to get the Tivo clear so I can tape more stuff tonight while I'm out!

Happy Blogaversary to Me

Technically I've been blogging for two years now, in reality it's been less than a year. I started the blog way back in 2006, but never really did anything with it until I picked it back up last May. In any case, my little blogaversary widget says today's the day - so let's par-tay! Well, actually I'd rather not, it's kind of nice to just sit here and catch up on the tivo and blogging (which seems oddly appropriate).

Thanks for the wonderful Birthday wishes, it started off a bit rough but ended up a good day in the end.

I only say that it started off a bit rough, because I was still working at the restaurant at 2am Friday night/Saturday morning. It had been my birthday for 2 hours and I there I was cleaning up after a big 21st birthday celebration (I can guarantee that the birthday girl is probably still in a bad way!). Usually Friday nights at the restaurant are fairly quiet and I'm home by 11, this Friday not so much. The good news is that the parents of the 21 year old realized that they had asked a lot and tipped me a hundred bucks, so that takes the sting out a bit :-)!

For the actual day, Scott planned a big birthday adventure day with J & M (almost all by himself). So we started off by going to the Detroit Institute of Arts, then headed out for a fun dinner in Rochester, and finished off the evening by going to see the Blue Man Group (not the greatest seats, but it was still fun!). It was a really great day -doing my favorite things with our friends - out on a glorious sunny winter day. And on the gift front, I did pretty well, Scott gave me a speaker thing-y for my i-pod and a great day out, J&M bought me a great dinner and my Mom and Dad sent me a Wii (that's the best one :-).

So that's the report back on the actual birthday - as for being 36, we'll see how the rest of the year plays out shall we?

I may not post much till the first of March, I'm a bit busy at work and I need to preserve my "creative abilities" for NaBloPoMo. Apparently there is a theme and it will be "lists", haven't decided if I'll go along with that or not just yet. And Lori, it's a fine question - just one that I've avoided talking about here, but I promise to tackle your question on my first NaBloPoMo post.

Current Music: watching 30 Minute Meals, but if I hear her say "delish" one more time I'm turning it off!

Yes, and your point would be...

Right, so I signed up for the March NaBloPoMo, because I'm a joiner and I lack the ability to maintain a blog on my own without some faux-authority overseeing me. As noble a cause as it may be, apparently I can not handle the freedom of "Blogging Without Obligation" (do you think they'll make me take my cool little badge off?).

Ok, so that's not the real reason, but I haven't been doing much blogging lately and I'm bummed about that, so maybe March NaBloPoMo will give me the kick in the a** that I need - we'll see...

In other news:

It's my sweet, fuzzy, little one's birthday today - and being a "sad, overly excited, has no kids" kind of gal that I am - I am indeed overly excited! I got him a new cat nip mat and some fresh cat grass (cause who doesn't need a little fix from time to time!?). So happy birthday Bert (he's a handsome little devil isn't he?)!

Also in the news of cat parenting, we managed to lock Jake out side all last night. On the upside he seemed fine (and highly pissed off), on the down side I'm not really sure how to identify kitty frostbite - so we'll see how things go.

Oh yeah, in not cat news, I turn 36 tomorrow. I haven't decided how I feel about that yet, but I'll let you know.

Current Music: Same Mistake - James Blunt

Let's Take a Moment

Let's just take a moment and ponder the following:

1. Today Scott took the day off, played basketball, got his hair cut, played video and watch TV.
2. Yesterday I worked from home all day.

So why is it that I get a ration of crap for not doing the laundry yesterday and yet somehow it's more than enough work to "sort" a basket of laundry today? How is it ok that I work two jobs (alright that's a bit much - one full time and one Friday night job), and he can take three days off in a week and complain about working on Saturday?

To add insult to injury - my mother sent him a cake for Valentine's, in case you were wondering I got a vacuum sealer bag. Yep, he got a cake, his favorite cake - and I hate that cake, and to make it even worse I actually have to make the cake because she sent the damn thing in packets.

It's good to be the king, apparently...

In other news, NaBloPoMo is doing a "make any month NaBloPoMo" - I'm thinking about doing it. I'm bummed that I'm not posting much, maybe I need a kick in the ass, oh wait maybe that's Scott that need a kick.

Current Music: What a Good Boy - Barenaked Ladies

The Things We Do For Love

Alright, so I don't do that much, but I try and make a bit of an attempt for Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is my favorite Hallmark holiday. My grandfather always made it special for my mom and so she always made it special for us - little gifts and cards. So now, I like to do the same - cards to family and friends, little presents for my nieces and always something special (usually silly and cheap, but special) for Scott. Of course, he doesn't always return the favor - most of the time I have to remind him that Valentine's Day is coming (3 to 4 times), then I have to tell him what to get me (sort of lacks the romance) - but it's what we do.

This year, I've reminded him, I've given him a list, I've planned out a nice dinner - all the prep work is done. So, in case there is also some Valentine's Day sex, I figured that I'd better prepare myself as well. I'm not talking about anything major, just your basic maintenance - hair cut (ok that could be major, but I really need one), eyebrow wax (who wants to have sex with a yeti?) and of course, shaving all the bits that need shaving.

"Where are you going with this" you ask? Well, here's the thing, I hate shaving! I can handle the underarms or bikini line - but really hate shaving my legs. So when winter comes sneaking in I tend to just let it go for a while. Of course I could blame it on the shower which is only 30 inches by 30 inches - so you need an advanced yoga master to really get a good angle on the legs. I could blame it on the shaving cream or the razors, perhaps I need better technology. I could blame my mother, for teaching me poor technique! In reality I think I'm just lazy and a bad leg shaver. I rarely get out of the shower without a nick or two.

For instance, yesterday I figured I'd get a start on the little forest that has taken over my lower legs and do a pre-valentine's shave - I managed to cut myself no fewer than five times. It was like a scene from Psycho, well there was no scary music and most of the wounds were small enough to be handled with a bit of TP - but there was screaming. And, lord help me, I'll have to do it again on Thursday to get all the spots that I missed!

But that's apparently the price I'm willing to pay for love or at least for a little valentine's nookie. If that's not for you - you could always try this!

Current Music: Love is a Losing Game - Amy Winehouse

And I'm Back

The cold is almost gone, and happily I'm no longer in a Nyquil induced haze (not that it's bad mind you).

In other news, it's "Paczki Day" here in Southeastern Michigan. All these years I'd always thought of today as "Fat Tuesday" or "Super Tuesday", but here it's all about the Paczki (pronounced "poonch-key" apparently). I've lived here for going on three years and only last year found out that all the to-do was over a big jelly doughnut! So here I thought is was something cool and special (well jelly doughnuts are pretty cool, but you know what I mean) - and it's just another reason to add to your waistband.

Though just down the road a bit (well, quite a bit) they have a Paczki Day Parade - apparently it's bigger down in Hamtramck than St. Patty's Day - they even sell Jagermeister filled Paczki!

Happily we don't take it all that seriously here, but I did pick up a box last night - might as well make it a real fat Tuesday!

Current Music: Running on Sunshine - Jesus Jackson (even though we have been sunshine free for at least a week!)

Technology

We have sent people to the moon; we can put calculators, altimeters, barometers and heart monitors into watches; we have tiny little phones that can carry information for everyone we've ever called, all our music and our complete calendars for 2007/2008. And yet we can't manage to make cough syrup taste good! Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Ok, maybe it's the cold medicine talking, or maybe it's the buzzing inner ear thing, but it seems to me that it's not too much to ask for. The other day I had this yummy chocolate-y candy thing that turned out to be a calcium supplement. And yet Cough Syrup still tastes like crap. I even tried the little kid version in the hopes that it would taste ok and I'd just have to take more - nope, still tastes like crap.

Enough for my rant I'm heading back to bed, I thought I'd try working from home, but the computer screen is swimming in front of me and I can't tell you how many typos I've committed just trying to get this little bit down!

Current Music: Could Be Anything - The Eames Era

L-ame

Oh yes, I've been lame lately. Strange that I was sooooo into my blogging during NaBloPoMo and Holidailies, now, not so much. Yep, I've been a bad blogger, I looked at my blog today and realized it had been a week and I hadn't posted a word - I felt terribly guilty.

And then there's the commenting - how am I to maintain my vast audience if I don't pop by every now and then and remind you all that I'm out here? For that I feel even more guilty.

Perhaps I'll make a blog resolution - blog more, comment more, work less? Perhaps I will pick up Blog 365? Somehow commitment to blogging made me a, I won't say better, but more prolific blogger. Or perhaps not - it was tough coming up with two months - yeah, that's a bad idea.

But speaking of resolutions, most have gone by the way side. All except two - can you guess? Yep, I'm still flossing (my hygienist will be so proud) and I'm still working on my portion control (oh except for the mac and cheese the other day - and maybe the peppermint patties on Saturday). And in non-resolution news I did decide to do a 365 project (right, not blogging - obviously) I've been taking a picture a day (if you want to take a peek at those you can go here or here). So the water and the veggie things just didn't fly, but I'm feeling ok about the whole resolution thing so far (of course talk to me in June and I may be singing a different tune).

Other than all that, things here are status quo - cold, grey, vaguely depressing. Work is work, home is quiet, Scott is working - so all's well.

Current Music: The Loser Blues - Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys

Primary Day

It's primary day here in Michigan and I have no idea who I'm going to vote for. Normally I'd vote democratic, but a fair number of democrats aren't on the ticket here (they decided to protest Michigan changing it's primary date by staying out of the state - sounds fairly dumb to me, but they didn't ask me.). And since the democrats are likely to chose someone fairly un-electable (as much as I would LOVE to see a woman or black president I just don't think the bulk of America is going to go for that), I thought I might look at the republicans, but then that scares the heck out of me.

Even if voting republican didn't scare me, their candidates would. Really there's just no way I can vote for someone named "Mitt", I thought well maybe it's short for something, like Mitchel - nope. In fact it's his middle name, so he actively chose to be called Mitt - which makes me even more afraid. Then there's Huckabee, Chuck Norris or not - I just can't go there. Maybe Giuliani?

The good new is that I have found the answer - it's a Candidate Matchmaker! It matched me up with who I figured I'd vote for, but it was still fun. And maybe it'll help all you fence sitters out there.

The bigger problem I have is the primary itself - the system sucks. The political season is getting longer and longer as states move their primary date earlier to be more a part of the decision making process. Pretty soon we're going to begin the primaries right after the Presidential elections are held - four years of campaigning - sweet!

I have a couple of ideas on how to solve the primary problem:
1. Go smallest to largest - makes the little guys feel important and the big guys still hold the power (and you could do it by electoral votes or by geographical size, though Alaska and Montana might goof that up).
2. Go in alphabetical order - it works in High School and since that's about the level of emotional maturity we've got, well...
3. Go by date admitted into the Union - also insanely fair, first in, first to vote! Though it would sort of suck to be Alaska and Hawaii.

I guess that's the list for now, but I'll keep working on it - I'll just sit here, finding ways to make America a better place to vote.

Current Music: The Suggestion Box - Aqueduct

Fake Happy

Some days I really hate my job, most days it's fine - but today is one of those hate-it days. Of course I kind of hate everything right now, but I'm seriously hating my job today. And the funny thing is that I'm not hating the job itself - I'm hating having to be happy. It's the one aspect of my job that kills me.

If I wake up on the wrong side of the bed I don't get to crawl into some cubicle and take it out on my keyboard, I've got to plaster on a fake smile and be fake happy. I have to answer the phone nicely, I have to listen patiently to clients, I have to pretend to give a crap about what they are saying when all I really want is to be under the covers with my tivo remote and and a cup of tea (well maybe something stronger, but...).

So here I am, putting on the happy Mandy Lou show - and hating every second of it, counting down the minutes till I can get out of here.

Current Music: I Hate Everyone - Get Set Go

Grey Day

Not just the weather - my mood too. I was going to do a post about Scott's front teeth, sort of like KimmyK's recent post, but I just wasn't feeling it (I promise to do it another time, cause it was pretty funny though it doesn't have anyone running for the bathroom :-).

Maybe it's the weather, the lack of sleep or maybe it's the PMS - who knows.

So far the resolutions are going ok, but I'm currently supplementing my water intake with a big fat glass of wine. I'm hoping that and a good cry will put me out for the night!

Current Music: Hope for the Hopeless - A Fine Frenzy

Resolutions

Every year I make up a list of resolutions - and every year they die a sad and early death. Some years I have a bunch, some years I have very few, sometimes I write them down to make them more real, sometimes I keep them in my head - doesn't really matter how many there are or where I keep them - they all have the same fate.

You would think that I wouldn't want to make any more, but nope - I'm that dumb! I'm making them this year too (maybe it's like a bad holiday tradition, like fruit cake). So here they are:

1. Floss everyday - I'm really a once or twice a week girl and I'm so tired of listening to the dentist about my "pockets" (not that she's not right or anything).

2. Drink more water - I seriously dislike water, it's just not very tasty. But it's good for you, so I'm gonna do my best.

3. Eat better portions - less, not more. When I serve up dinner I have a bad habit of putting as much on my plate as I do on Scott's. Since he out weighs me by a hundred pounds (well maybe 90 pounds, but it sounds better as 100 right?) that's a bad dietary choice.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables - just trying to be healthy. More fiber, vitamins and all the other good stuff - can't be bad right?

Ok - that's it. Four should be do-able, right? And even if I manage to keep one I'll still be at 25% - not too bad!?

Oh yeah - one more, I'm gonna try the photo a day thing, we'll see how that goes...

Current Music: All That I Want - The Weepies

I Need Help...

Alright, I know I'm not supposed to be posting today (not that I shouldn't, I just don't need to), but I thought that it was insanely funny that this morning in the shower I was trying to think about what I would blog about today. I guess that blogging for two straight months gets you in the habit...

Current Music: Rehab - Amy Winehouse

Happy New Year!

Feeling very optimistic about 2008 so far, strange but true. Typically when I wake up on a New Year's morning I'm not really very excited at the prospect of a new year. But I woke up this morning and felt really good, and not just because it's the end of the Holidailies (which is very good - really)!

A friend of mine last night said "everything will be great in 2008" - sounds a bit trite and rhyme-y, but not a bad catch phrase for the year. And so far, she's been right. Woke up with out a hangover with a purring sleepy cat cuddled up to me (that is a great way to wake up!), the cats let me sleep till 10am, I woke up to a serious winter wonderland (the weather men finally got it right, we've got at least 6 to 8 inches right now and it's still going), and when I went to shovel the deck stairs for the dog there was no snow on the stairs. Small things? Yes, but maybe enjoying the small things in life will be the secret to having everything be great.

We had a great time last night, the party of 8 turned into a party of 15 and was insanely fun. As I said - I've never really gone out for new years, no big parties, nothing, so this was a great way to start! We live just a few doors down from J&M, so no driving was required late at night and we could imbibe as much as we wanted to - we still managed to get home by 2 am. Scott went a bit farther than he should, I left him asleep in the chair in the living room, holding onto a bucket (just in case). I on the other hand did quite well, didn't drink so much that I was wrecked, and still had a great time. Once I get all the pictures back I'll post a few (sadly I do not have one of Scott and his bucket, I left my camera at J&M's).

Speaking of pictures, I am contemplating a 365 project - no not NaBloPoMo's 365, PhotoJoJo's 365 Project. A friend of mine did something similar a number of years back - the Internet was in it's infancy and blogging wasn't even a glimmer in some geeks eye yet - but she took a picture a day as a type of visual journal. Sounds kind of cool doesn't it? I'm thinking about it, though not having a camera today might put a little dent in the plan.

I found this link over on Contrary's blog - love the idea. Blogging because you want to - no restrictions on anything, as it should be. After NaBloPoMo and Holidailies I am totally down with it!

I guess that's as much as I have to say to say on this first day of the year. I'm off to finish watching the rose parade, watch U of M play in the Capitol One Bowl, straighten up the house a bit, maybe take a picture, work on some resolutions (one of which is to make sure to visit all my bloggie friends more regularly!), and possibly do a Daily Something page (it's been a while and this seems like a good day to pick that back up).

Current Music: New Day - Kate Havnevik

P.S. Very funny about the rose parade - just saw a float go by and they are wearing gloves, but it's almost 70 degrees there - WTF?!