Victory is Mine!

Tonight was the board meeting to address the parking issue and I won! I can't tell you how ecstatic I am after all the hard work and agony that I have gone through. It passed unanimously, as it did with the parking committee. I found out tonight that this was the first parking petition to ever pass the parking committee unanimously. Wow. I must say, the arguments I presented were pretty impossible to refute, and we had several other homeowners show up to support it. It takes effect December 1 (they wanted to make it Jan 1 initially but then some board members argued and decided to make it earlier!) and I can't wait to tow the first violator. I am so thrilled after all the stress of this week.

What stress, you ask:
1. I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Woke up this morning feeling miserable, still feel that way. So it's lots of echinacea for me and maybe calling in sick tomorrow or Friday.
2. I had my second interview yesterday. It went pretty well, not earth-shatteringly well, but good enough. They say they'll make a decision by the 17th, which is weeks away, but that is probably good because . . .
3. I had a phone interview today (not a good fit), I have two other interviews scheduled for next week and one other interview pending for a job I was really interested in. What is up with that? I'm totally a hot commodity right now. Hopefully I can use all this to my advantage to negotiate a fabulous salary and benefits.
4. Took my dog to the vet for various problems and was told he might need a root canal (they do root canals on dogs?) and they want to biopsy this weird thing on his nose.

To end on a good note, how amazing is this weather? I wish it could be like this all year long. Well, I guess it could if I moved to CA. I hope the weather lasts through the weekend, when I am supposed to go to Williamsburg for a tiny bit of R&R. That's all I got.

Sunday Night

It's Sunday and I'm being lazy and staying home instead of going out to see Jeffro's friend playing music in Cleveland Park. I just hate going out on Sunday night then waking up tired on Monday and starting the week at a deficit. Plus I just didn't feel like fixing myself up to look cute to go out. Why is it that guys can just go out with no preparation and that is fine, but I would have had to reapply makeup, fix hair, find something to wear, change purses, etc. before being able to go? I just couldn't muster the needed energy.

Things have been so busy lately and will continue to stay busy this week. I have a tentative phone interview set up for tomorrow, a reschedule of the interview I missed on Tuesday, and the board meeting where my parking issue will get decided on Wednesday. I will, yet again, be happy when the week is over, although we are supposed to head to Williamsburg Saturday and Sunday if Jeffro can get off work. When will the madness end?

The Stories

Well, you knew I had to have some. So here's a recap of my trip to Phoenix.

Travels from Hell. This was probably the worst travel I have ever had. Of course, we took NWA again--No Worse Airline. And they did not disappoint. On the trip out, they took off late and we almost missed our connection. Literally running through the airport to get on the plane about 2 mins before they closed the doors.

The way back was even worse. We were due to take off at 12:20, so we're taxi-ing (how do you spell that anyway?) on the runway and hear this awful noise. The girl next to me and I just look at each other and say, that can't be good. And sure enough the plane comes to a halt and we are told that the hydraulic system--minor things like brakes and steering--has failed. So they leave us sitting on the runway for 2 hours before they decide it can't be fixed and have to tow us back to the terminal. Consequently, we missed the next flight to DC that would have gotten us back on Monday as planned. We waited in line for another 2-1/2 hours for some worthless vouchers (looking back, we shouldn't have waited) and an upgrade to first class for part of the flight. Our options were 1) take a red eye putting us in Baltimore by 5:00 a.m. and then having to spend $50+ in cab fare to come back, 2) take a red eye putting us back in DC at 8:00 a.m. or 3) leave on the rescheduled flight at 5:30 a.m. Great options. This all meant that I would miss my interview, which was scheduled for this morning. Luckily they are being very understanding and letting me reschedule but what an ordeal!

Wedding recap. We went to AZ for a wedding, and while it was very nice, Jeffro and I had the same issues we always have when going to weddings, which I won't get into here. However, it did take place outside on the grounds of a gorgeous country club at sunset, I mean who can beat that?

The great parts. The great parts of the trip were getting to see and spend time with my friend, getting to see one of my best friends I haven't seen forever, and enjoying Phoenix's 80+ degree, brilliant sunny weather. I have to say, Phoenix is undergoing a lot of change right now--they are installing a light rail system downtown and it's all torn up. That made it very difficult to get around and show Jeffro where I used to live, etc.

I also got to look at new homes in a development that I really love. The prices have really skyrocketed in the three years since I've been back. It's always hard for me to leave Phoenix, and I always wonder what would have happened if I hadn't moved back to DC all those years ago. Of course, my friend was trying to convince me to move back, but I'm not sure that's in the cards either.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Hope you enjoyed the stories.

Headed to Sunny AZ

Well, I can only hope that it's freezing here this weekend as Jeffro and I are headed to AZ for yet another wedding. I'm really looking forward to this, as I used to live there for a couple of years, and we're staying with a good friend of mine that I haven't seen now in like two years. She has the cutest little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Mystic that I absolutely adore.

I get to show Jeffro all my old haunts, where I used to live, and the house that I would love to own that I actually could afford if I sold this place. I also get to see my very best friend ever whom I haven't seen in about 8 years. We were best friends growing up and I can't wait to see him again.

In other news, I do have that second interview next Tuesday, and I've been playing phone tag for two days with someone about another job. So I guess I'll know more what is going on after Tuesday.

Have a good weekend, ya'll and maybe we'll have some interesting photos when I get back.

I Win!

For those of you waiting with baited breath for the decision of the parking committee . . . they voted in favor of my petition! It was unanimous, and I am so excited! However, that is only the first of two hurdles, the next will be getting the board to vote the same, otherwise we're back to square one. That meeting will be Nov 1, so mark your calendar!

In other interesting news, I got called back for a second interview with the company I interviewed with last week and told my boss that I am looking for a job and will not be making the move to Herndon. Good for me! I know this seems like a risky move, but she took it well and I don't seem to be in danger of losing my job. Hopefully.

I'm a Rock Star!

This has been a crazy week, culminating with a show for my drum/band class yesterday. The class has been going on for a couple of months, and I think I've really learned a lot. We did ok, much better than I anticipated cause our "dress rehearsal" was terrible. We even through in an extra song that we had only really played once. After the show, I went to a neighbor's housewarming party and had a nice time and couple of much-needed glasses of wine.

I had an interview this week that went very well and they want me to come back for a second interview. The best part about the job? It's literally 5 minutes from my house.

Your Parking Update

I know you've all been dying to know what's going on with the parking saga in my neighborhood. Well, I was unable to go before our parking committee last month cause I hadn't given them enough time to notify the residents. So this time I apparently gave them too much time cause they lost my damn petition and it took a visit to the office, an email, and a phone call to get this figured out. However, it looks like all's well and I will be on the committee agenda next week. If that passes, it will then go to the board. So I'm one step closer and so excited. I'm trying to rally the troops to come to the meeting with me to argue our case. I'll give you an update next Tuesday.

Another Job Call

As much as I hate job hunting, I have done it so much over the years that I have extremely good luck at getting interviews. It's actually exciting to get that call or email asking for an interview. You get that rush of adrenaline when you find you've snagged another. Matter of fact, I had another call today from a company I have been trying to get into for a couple of years now. So needless to say, I'm majorly psyched and can't wait to call them back tomorrow.

BTW, at work today everyone decided to call in "sick" and make the holiday weekend a really long one. I was the only schlump in my department who was there. Unreal. And I'm the only one who's admitted might not be making the move to Herndon. I must be nuts.

Well, it's another federal holiday, i.e., an excuse to have a day off work. I must say I'm enjoying it very much and using it to search for jobs, get together with a friend, and get some things done around the house.

Here's a little update about the job situation. I had a phone interview Friday, which was just ok. My current employer announced Friday that it will offer flextime and telecommuting 3 days a week after the move to Herndon. How tempting and ideal is that? I would hardly have to deal with psycho boss, could work at my own pace, get other things done during the day. That is really hard to pass up. On the other hand, I would still be doing the schlock work that I don't want to be doing. So it's really a toss up. I have to really think about what I want to do. Obviously I'm still interviewing to see what else is out there, but at the very least if I don't find anything, my job situation will undoubtedly improve after my office moves.

Improved Mood

It's amazing how knowing that you're really leaving a job you dislike can improve your mood. I felt much better going in to work today knowing my time there truly is limited. Then I found out my boss was going to be out sick today and tomorrow, plus I have doctor's appointments lined up tomorrow and Weds, and we're out of the office Friday for a 1/2 day staff retreat, then going home early. It's a great week!

Start planning your weekend early. This Saturday is Del Ray's Art on the Avenue, an annual arts and crafts event in Alexandria that's tons of fun. If the weather is nice I'll be going.

Spinach is Back!

Fresh spinach--not the bagged kind unfortunately--should again be available in your local grocery stores. I am so excited! I eat spinach nearly every day so it's been a really rough couple of weeks for me. So guess what I'll be buying when I grocery shop tomorrow?

Noted on DC Blogs!

Special shout out to DC Blogs for listing me on Sept 22. I just noticed a huge spike in hits that day and had to investigate. Go check it out for yourself.

Well, It's True

We are officially moving our offices to Herndon, just a few miles from Jeffro's office, matter of fact. However, they understand that many people will not want to go, will help us with our job search, let us take time off to interview, give us references, etc. so this provides a perfect out of my job for me without anyone's feelings getting hurt and without having to sneak around and interview. So I am taking the easy way out.

I hate what I do--the actual tasks themselves are boring and not what I want to be doing--so there's no reason to stay. I had two very interesting conversations yesterday that confirmed that I should leave:

1. My boss has said she's not leaving anytime soon, so that doesn't give me any promotional opportunity to stop doing the work I don't like doing. And doesn't give me any hope of getting out from underneath her micromanaging thumb.
2. The CEO, who it was rumored wanted to promote me, gave me no indication of that in a closed door conversation with him. Rather, he staunchly defended my boss (despite rumors that he and my boss were clashing) and he made it really clear that he didn't mind her micromanaging style because it got results. Who cares if everyone is unhappy because of it? Basically, reading between the lines, if it's a choice between her or me, I'm not wanted there. I was very surprised at his lack of support.

So I thought the writing on the wall seemed really clear, and like I said this is a great opportunity to get out without having to sneak around, plus I can get great references. Who can beat that? So ladies and gentlemen, I'll be gone hopefully before our move in January.

Going to Herndon

Well, it seems the rumor about our company moving to Herndon is true. The CEO called a staff meeting for tomorrow morning, and today all the senior execs from the department that would be taking our space were over in our area with their blueprints, floorplans, and tape measures, practically kicking people out right then and there. I am not happy. And I will not be going.

Tired of Work

I am so sick of going to the same place every day dealing with the same psycho annoying boss and all the crap. I have *got* to continue to send out resumes, but this week has just completely gotten away from me and I haven't had any time. I vacuumed and cleaned Monday night (much needed), last night was drum class, and tonight I have to finish a speech for Toastmasters and pay some bills. Maybe watch the Lost recap show, we'll see. I just hate work with a passion. It's so useless and pointless and unsatisfying. I only get 4 hours every night to get everything packed into my "life" before I'm exhausted. Four hours to do whatever hobby you are interested in, try to work out or do something good for yourself, plus make dinner and do all the errands, chores and crap that have to get done in life. I'm sooooooo sick of it. Whose idea was it to work 8 hours a day? Tack on a commute and you've used up 11 of your 16-ish viable hours in a day. What a stupid, ridiculous society we live in where we get four hours at night before we're too exhausted to do anything else and have to go to bed. Then you get up in the morning and start all over again. What kind of life is that?

Why doesn't anyone ever tell you how bad working life really is? Well, maybe they do but you just ignore them anyway and hope and wish and wait to be grown up so you can get a job and start your life. Then you find out that there is no life. That it's ridiculous and stressed and packed with a bunch of crap you absolutely don't want to do--shouldn't have to do. One of these days I'm just gonna go wacko and do something nuts like quit, sell my place, and move to the backwoods. Excuse my rant, I just had to get that off my chest. I'm so over my life right now. It's all just a bunch of crap.

A Day At Tarara

For our third anniversary Jeffro and I decided to do something different than the usual "go out to dinner" and we took a little day trip, as I am always wanting to do. We went to Tarara, a Virginia winery out near Leesburg. I highly recommend it for a day away. We went to their Great Grape Wine Festival, which had all sorts of food and craft vendors, live music, winery and cave tours, kayaking and canoeing on their lake, and hayrides sans hay. All summer long they apparently have live concerts on the weekends at sunset, and many people get married there in their pavilion. They also have apple and blackberry orchards, so you could have picked your own apples. (Next year I would love to go with Lady Brett and DH or MJ, this place is right up their alley.) But the best part was--despite being completely out of chardonnay and pinot gris, my two favorites--their wine wasn't half bad (usually VA wines suck)!

What To Do?

I can't believe this . . . this is a typical example of what not to do by email. I had a phone interview yesterday and wrote a nice thank you note. She replied and all was well. 10 minutes later I got another email from her that was accidentally sent to me when it was supposed to go to some guy, presumably her boss. Here's the email:

I did a phone screen on her. I don’t think she has what we need for DOM but could be a good candidate for Marketing Manager. Unless you see otherwise I am going to TD her this week and let her know the Marketing Manger could be a better fit.

Presumably TD is turn down or something. Question is, do I write her back and let her know this didn't get to the right person, or do I just let it go? If I write her back, I could potentially embarrass her and not get offered the MM job. If I don't, and she discovers her error, she may wonder why I never said anything. So here is your job, and time is OF THE ESSENCE, write a comment and let me know: do I write her back? Vote yes or no.

Your Midweek Update

Well, I emerge finally after my crazy week that actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But I am glad that it's halfway over. I heard back from the interview last week, they hired someone else who had already worked in the industry. I had a phone interview today, not sure how it went, but I think it went ok. So we'll see what happens. I will write my thank you note after this. And I had a call about another potential interview. So I'll just keep sending things out and interviewing until something hits.

I'm actually feeling a little under the weather, so I'm trying not to get sick. Keep your fingers crossed.

Caution: Busy Week Ahead

I was so zonked this weekend I hardly did anything at all except run some errands and go to a book club meeting today that was extremely boring. The book sucked and I didn't get through 1/2 of it, so this meeting wasn't really all that great. I'll stick it out for a few more meetings and see if the book choices get any better, otherwise, I'm ditching it.

Some cool things this weekend: had a call from a very old friend who I hadn't talk to in probably 2 years. Turns out he moved back to Phoenix, and since Jeffro and I are headed there in October, I made plans to see him during that visit. My neighbor is fostering a cute little boxer puppy, so I got a chance to get to visit with her. So very cute! Wish I had time, space, or energy for a puppy.

This week is going to be very busy. My Thurs drum class got moved to Monday night, and I have a parking committee meeting on Tuesday, so the beginning of this week is basically shot. I can't wait till Weds evening when I will get my first moment to breathe.

The exciting news of the week is I have an interview on Weds that could potentially pay big bucks, so I've spent a little time this weekend trying to start preparing.

That's it for now. I probably won't have a chance to blog until at least Weds. Have a good week!

So. Tired.

Jeffro and I are just exhausted. This was a really busy week for some reason and just flew by. My interview on Thursday went pretty well, but it's basically a ton of work for less money than I get right now and a worse commute. So I'm thinking probably "no" even though the place would be a great place to work, probably my ideal job situation. This weekend we're slowing things down and taking it easy, trying to get some much-needed rest. Jeffro took this photo when we walked the dogs last night. A lot of dog owners were out, so there was a lot of socializing going on. This is my dog with neighbor dog Murphy, a shih-tzu who is a princess whose mother dresses her up in little outfits.

Another Interview

I don't want to curse myself, but I have an interview this week. I had a phone interview with this organization yesterday (happy birthday to me!) and I have an interview either Thursday or Friday this week, we are firming up the date. I don't want to get too excited, but this could be really, really cool. I'll write more details if something comes of this whole thing.

They Say It's Your Birthday . . .

Yes, it's true, today is my birthday and I took the day off work. Actually they give you your b-day as a holiday. My question is, who ordered up this crappy weather? Usually the weather is just gorgeous. Even five years ago, when the day was tragic, I remember ironically blue skies. The only good thing about this kind of weather is the dogs let me sleep in. I plan on getting a pedicure and doing a couple other little things to celebrate today.

This weekend was pretty good. I decided to use my grill one last time during the season and had Lady Brett over. Last night Jeffro and I went to see Marah at Iota, and it was pretty decent, except the lead singer was sick and I think they probably cut the show short accordingly.

Tonight to celebrate, Jeffro and I are having dinner at Circle Bistro and I'm looking forward to it.

Got a Bite

Well, I sent my resumes out this past weekend and I have a bite already! I had a call today to schedule a phone interview. It's one of the jobs I really wanted to be considered for. Yeah me! The interview is not until the 20th, but I can be patient. Woo hoo! Great way to start the weekend.

September is National Piano Month

Check it out and go buy one, take lessons, go crazy!

Steve Met His Fate

It was reported today that Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray when filming a special off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It's always been my theory--and his death confirms this--that people who tempt fate like this, and do really stupid things thinking that they won't get killed, will get killed in the end. I do feel badly for his family (he has a young son) but he just kept pushing everything his entire life. What do you expect? If you don't want to die early you should just be a stupid paper pusher like the rest of us. Of course, that doesn't guarantee anything, and hell, he was probably a lot richer and happier than say, me, but it sure makes it a little less likely that you're gonna be killed by a stingray. And personally, I found him extremely annoying and never watched his shows.

The Heat Is On!

Well, it's official. I've jumped in with both feet to the world of job hunting. After a few extremely frustrating days last week I decided I've had enough. No one's come through on verifying those rumors from a few weeks ago, so I gotta do what's best for me. Plus I'm not making enough money to even cover my bills, so it's time to move on. I've finished updating my resume and turned on and updated all my previous search engines, so I'm back in business!

This was a pretty good and busy weekend. I got a lot done. Jeffro and I actually made inroads on cleaning up the basement to get his stuff moved in, so that felt really good. I just don't know where all the time went this weekend, and I'm very happy for this additional day. Which reminds me, I better get to vacuuming.

Sad Dog Week

My dog is sick once again with diarrhea, and I was up virtually all last night taking her out--I swear we went out like 10 times. It was awful. And the night before she got me up 3 times in the middle of the night. I'm exhausted. We went to the vet today for meds and another $125 vet bill to basically tell me she ate some crap on the ground. Duh! The problem is, once she starts going, she doesn't stop without spending $100+ at the vet. Sigh.

The other sad doggie news is my dogsitter's dog Leo, a standard poodle who was only 3 years old, had to be put down last night. He had a very rapidly spreading cancer and he was in pretty bad shape apparently. Poor boy. He was such a good dog.

I'm Back . . .

Well, I'm finally back and blogging again. It was definitely a long week. I think I'm going to head to the pool this afternoon for a little R&R. I spent the morning doing some much-needed cleaning. So I survived my conference. It actually wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I'd been warned many times about how psycho my boss and this other lady would be, and there were some psycho moments, but not nearly as bad as I thought. Here are some highlights of my week:

1. Stayed at the Nashville Airport Marriott. Despite its proximity to the airport and $20 cab ride to downtown Nashville, this was a very nice facility with awesome chocolate cake on the menu and a bed to die for. You can even order the bed for a mere $1,100. I have the brochure somewhere, and I may seriously think about it.

2. Inadvertently challenged the CEO to do a shot of Patron tequila during our staff dinner the first night at the Stock-Yard Restaurant. Let me tell you, that is one awesome tequila.

3. Visited the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry for many years. Unfortunately, neither place had any live music while I was there. I also took a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was awesome. The woman I went with liked it, and she doesn't like country music. I recommended it to someone else, and he said it was better than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The featured special exhibit was Ray Charles. I thought the coolest things were Elvis's diamond and gold car, the gold and platinum albums on the wall, and of course the hall of fame itself.

4. Ate at B.B. King's Blues Club. My only free night, the company paid for shuttle buses to take everyone downtown. Since we were at the airport, downtown was a $20 cab ride, so I didn't want to go too often. It turns out my coworker and his friend went, so I had some people to hang out with. I had the pulled pork BBQ and it was quite tasty. There was live music, but it wasn't blues as you'd expect. Just some regular rock-n-roll band. The highlight of the restaurant was the restroom attendant who had almost died and was really thankful for her life. I had no dollar bills to tip her, so she said she'd settle for a hug.

5. Spoke in front of 400 people and didn't choke or pass out. I guess my Toastmasters experience paid off, as I was able to survive this very traumatic thing. The chair of the board of directors and many others said I did a good job, so that made me feel great. I feel even better than the whole thing is over.

Off Til Friday, Ya'll

I'm headed to Nashville tomorrow morning for our annual conference. I'll be there until Friday, so no postings this week. Have a great one, I'm sure yours will be better than mine. I've heard this conference is hell. If I didn't already want to quit, I'm sure this trip would make me.

New Sugarland Release

Mark your calendar for November 7, when the new Sugarland CD, Enjoy the Ride, is coming out. I'd include a photo but blogger has decided not to cooperate.

Promotion?

There's some crazy stuff going on at work . . . rumors of my boss and the big boss not getting along and things coming to a showdown of sorts. Rumors that the rumors about moving out to Herndon are really true. Rumors that when we move to Herndon we're downsizing staff and everyone in my department but me is getting the ax. Rumors that I am getting my boss's job. Rumors that we're all getting raises if we move to compensate for the horrific gas prices, rumors that we will get casual dress and either reduced hours or telecommuting. If all these rumors are true, this could potentially be great. I'm really excited, but if it happens I'll be really scared to be running the show. But after all, that's what I keep saying I want, right?

Tonight was drum class and they're trying to get me to do this complicated little solo thing. I couldn't get it very well and was getting really frustrated. They need to keep in mind I'm just a beginner too.

Tomorrow night is part 2 of my sleep study where I get to wear the mask and see if I can tolerate it, and if it will help me. Things are too busy. I need to go to sleep.

Jon on Larry

Jon Bon Jovi was on Larry King Live tonight. Pretty cool interview. Can you believe he's 44? What a great life he's had.

Squirrel Overboard

I witnessed the weirdest thing tonight. I was walking the dogs and there was a loud ruckus overhead in the trees and all of a sudden something fell to the ground with a loud plop. I looked over and it looked like a rat lying on the ground. An adult squirrel raced down the tree to get to it, but stopped and retreated when it saw the dogs. What I thought was a rat turned out to be a baby squirrel, so small that its tail had no fur and that made it look like a rat. It started crying and it was so pitiful. I had to walk away because I wanted to give the mama squirrel a chance to get the baby, but I did go back later that night to see what happened, and by then there was a small crowd gathered and one man put it in a shoe box to take to the shelter/wildlife rescue. Wow, the drama. I hope the squirrel will be ok.

Exhaustion Continues

Well, this weekend was quite a whirlwind of wedding and cleaning. Yes, quite the range of activities. Jeffro and I had a wedding to go to in Charlottesville, and since we didn't have the resources to stay overnight, we made it a day trip. The wedding was quite lovely, at the UVA chapel, and reception following at a beautiful country club. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. How a gorgeous, low-humidy weekend happened in mid-August is beyond me. We had a decent enough time at the wedding, but left around 9 to get back to DC and drop of Jeffro's friend who went with us. Sunday we spent the day cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. I cancelled the one fun thing I was supposed to do at night cause I was on a roll and wanted to get things done. We even made a trip to Goodwill. Now the week starts again and I am just exhausted. I leave for Nashville next week, and it will be a week out of the office, which is good, but a week with the office folks, including my boss, which is not good. I have to give a big speech next Weds, so after that, I'm just golden.

Week. End.

What a long week, even though I only worked 4 days. Why? I called in sick for the first time in 8 months. That's pretty impressive for someone who averaged once a month at their old job. I pulled my back on Monday night trying to move some stuff and it was quite painful. I had to go in Tuesday to supervise the intern, but I decided Weds not to go in. I've been feeling really run down this week too, plus I had to kick Jeffro's butt to get the rest of his stuff out of his old apartment. So he played hooky too and we got the apartment cleared out.

Other exciting news this week, I had my third drum group class. This time the singer didn't show up, so I got to play singer for the night and it was quite fun. I was even able to keep drumming while doing it. I think I'll be the next Karen Carpenter. They said that in class--I had forgotten that she had played the drums. It was really exciting to sing, I think maybe this is something I have to do more often.

So it's finally Friday, I had tea at the Ritz today with my boss to celebrate my 6-month anniversary two months and two cancellations (on her part) ago. It was actually a really nice affair for a mere $34 per person, which included a pot of tea, tiny little sandwiches and pastries, and a scone. It wasn't as stressful as I thought, and I didn't tell her how psycho she really is cause I do need to keep my job after all.

This weekend Jeffro and I head off to Charlottesville for yet another wedding and Sunday night I might go to a book club with some friends.

Weekend in Jersey

Jeffro and I attended a very ritzy wedding this past weekend in Northern Jersey. It actually was a great weekend, aside from having to attend a full mass, too much driving and late nights. It was nice to get out of town and the stress here. We drove up Friday night to stay with his mom, and the wedding was Saturday. The reception was at this great place in Mountain Lakes. We arrived at the reception to champagne with raspberries served as you walked in the foyer. We then proceeded to the appetizer "around the world" room, where there were 5 different food stations, each representing different food--Chinese (complete with cute take-out containers), Italian, seafood, antipasto, and one that had grilled tuna and lamb. You could have eaten enough there for dinner, and I think most people did. For dinner I had the sea bass, and Jeffro had filet mignon. Even the wedding cake was awesome and if that wasn't enough, they passed plates of cookies and had cookies available with little take-home bags in the foyer as you left. It was most impressive and I have to say I ate a ton. The 8-piece band was amazing too, with three strong singers. All in all, I had a great time getting to know Jeffro's friends. One couple we hung out with is getting married in October and we're going to their wedding, so I'm excited to see them again.

Miserable Week

This week has been the absolute pits. Shall I share my whole list why or just the top 10?

1. Extreme heat conditions
2. Extreme heat conditions causing metro delays
3. Extreme heat conditions when walking uncooperative dogs
4. Extreme heat conditions causing my exhaustion
4. Very stressed at work with psycho boss micromanaging my life and too many projects
5. Very stressed at work with meeting coming up where I have to speak in front of 400 people
5. Very stressed at home with Jeffro's stuff everywhere and no hope of ever unpacking cause we're both too busy to deal with it.
6. Trip this weekend to a wedding in NJ. Leaving tonight to drive 3 hours to Jeffro's mom. Drive 3 more hours tomorrow to get to wedding. Drive 3 hours after wedding back to his mom. Drive 3 more hours back home on Sunday. Does this sound fun?
7. Trip this weekend and next both involving weddings. Always the bridesmaid never the bride makes for a crabby wedding attendee.
8. Trip next weekend means also no unpacking.
9. Weekend following next I leave for my meeting in Nashville
10. Very stressed with some neighborhood stuff going on and also my next overnight for the sleep apnea study.

Ok, I'll end on a good note. I did have a good moment today--my boss called in sick so I got to miss what was my rescheduled 6-month review. We'll now have to reschedule again. I didn't want to have it cause I can't tell her I hate it there but it will be hard to bite my tongue!

Diagnosis Confirmed

Well, it's official. I do have a mild case of sleep apnea. The doctor called me today. My options are a dental device that costs $1,500-$3,000 and isn't covered by insurance, surgery which has a cure rate of 12% and improvement rate of only 60%, or a sexy facial mask to wear when you sleep that is covered by insurance. So unfortunately I'm choosing option 3 for now, but will talk to the doctor at some point about surgery. Sigh.

Cookout

Well, Jeffro and I had our first guests over after he moved in this weekend. Lady Brett joined us, as well as my upstairs neighbor. I was in a cooking and entertaining mood. I made fresh salsa with a recipe I found in the paper for Guapo's salsa and it was amazing if I do say so myself. I made a black bean and corn salad and grilled some London broil . . . it could have cooked a little less, but it wasn't too bad. For dessert I made a blueberry buckle that I'd had at someone else's party and again it could have cooked a little less. But it was fun and I think everyone had a good time.

Chaos

This has been a really crazy week, but then again, how many times do I say that? I guess I just have a crazy life. Here's a highlight of the past few days:

Thursday night I had my first group music/drum class. It was all the way out in Chevy Chase, but worth the drive. The idea behind it is to play in a group setting, but to learn as you go along. The group I'm in consists of all beginners. The crazy things is there are multiple people playing one instrument, so for example we had 2 bass players and 3 guitarists. It made for a little craziness and I'm not sure I liked it. Since I was the lone drummer, I felt like I wasn't loud enough! But it was fun, and I'm looking forward to next week.

Friday night I had a sleep study to find out if I have sleep apnea. They were supposed to call today to talk to me, but I haven't heard yet. I went to one of those sleep clinics where they hook you up to crazy electrodes and machines and expect you to be able to sleep in a strange setting. Right . . . It took me 2 hours to fall asleep, when normally it's like 5 minutes and then I was disturbed by talking at 4 a.m. and woken up to leave at 5:30. It was not a fun night. Then today . . .

Jeffro moved in and we spent the morning doing that. He's still napping, I got up a little while ago. I've been semi-productive, working on a friend's resume, but I should be rearranging the disaster that is now my basement. But I guess there's plenty of time for that. Tonight is grocery shopping and then trying to get some things set up at the house.

Tomorrow we're having a small cookout with a couple of people. It should be a good time and I figure, hey, we gotta eat anyway and we're gonna need a break from the moving stuff.

The Rest of the Weekend

It was quite the busy weekend. Saturday I got together with my friend Kin to celebrate her upcoming birthday. I forget the name of the restaurant, but we went to a good new Japanese/sushi place in Falls Church. That night Jeffro and I went to the 9:30 Club to see some local bands. I forgot how much I like Honor by August. Sunday I wasn't going to do anything, but thought I'd keep myself distracted by helping my friend who is fostering a dog. We went out to Petco in Chantilly for a Pet Adoption Day sponsored by A Forever Home. It's a good cause, and the dogs were cute, but the adoption prices were very offputting and turned some people away. My friend and I brought home Guapo's for dinner and had some yummy margaritas. Then I went around the neighborhood getting more signatures for my parking petition. I'm halfway there.

On a sadder note, I would be remiss not to say that Sunday was the 20th anniversary of my father's death, and it was a hard day to get through. So I was happy to have a distraction all day.

Drums, Parking and Resumes

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I've been taking drum lessons for a little bit now. My drum teacher called last night with an opportunity to essentially join a 7-week band. He's having a group class where people who are learning the instruments get together to form a band and get to learn how to play in a "real" situation. So for the next 7 weeks, that's what I'll be doing. I have to drive all the way up to Chevy Chase, but I think it will be a great experience.

I'm also apparently now on the parking committee for my association! I decided to formally do something about all of my griping, so we'll see what comes of this.

And resumes . . . I am currently helping 3 different friends with their job stuff, revising resumes, reference lists, etc. Then I am going to start working on my own and start looking for yet another job. I want to be out by the year's end, so I figure I should start now.

Applause, Applause

Well, the budget meeting was interesting. About 25 or so people showed up. In a condo complex with over 1,700 units, that's not a great turnout, but apparently it's more than most years. People were really up in arms about the projected 7+ percent fee increase that could go up to as much as 15 percent, which I didn't realize. Anyway, I actually knew a few people there which was nice. The meeting got pretty contentious, and I actually made 2 comments, the first of which I got a huge round of applause. That was really awesome and unexpected. But I guess I made a good point and many people felt the way that I did. So it was gratifying and worth it to go just for that. After that comment, I just wanted to walk out the door and bask in my victory, but I sat through the whole 2-hour meeting anyway. It will be interesting to see what the board does with all of this information. They're making a final decision at the August 2 board meeting, so I guess I'll put that on my calendar as well. Maybe I'll have the parking petition signed by then and go and argue that too.

Hollywood Shocker

Well, another Hollywood marriage bites the dust, and what a shock this one is: Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra. I guess now Dave is free to pursue his co-host Brooke Burke on Rock Star: Supernova, although there are rumors out there that maybe he plays for the other team on occasion. If you scroll down far enough in the linked article you can read all about it. If you care.

The Heat is On

Boy has it been hot here. But I guess you could say that from juts about anywhere in the country, right now. It's so hot my dogs don't feel like walking right now so we're hanging out in the cool basement for a bit first.

Things have been crazy this week at work. The boss is traveling the rest of the week, which is awesome. And the intern is done with her duties for the week, so I get some peace and quiet to actually get some work done tomorrow. I am feeling overwhelmed and every day my boss thinks of some new task to do.

Tomorrow night I plan to the budget meeting for my condo association and speak out against a proposed 7% increase in condo fees. A year ago I would never have considered doing this, so I guess my membership in Toastmasters is paying off after all. Wish me luck. Gosh I need another vacation.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

My weekend definitely had a little bit of everything. First the good. Friday night Jeffro and I dinner at Matuba, our favorite local sushi restaurant. Saturday we went blueberry picking with Lady Brett at Butler's Orchard and came home with 5 lbs. of blueberries. Then we went to lunch at this cool Amish market in Germantown. Saturday night I went to a party at the Old Dominion Boat Club and had a pretty fun time dancing to the music of DC Motors. A good friend was there that I hadn't seen in a while, so I hung out with her and we got ice cream on our way back home. Today I have a doggy playdate (hopefully it won't be too hot) and then dinner with my neighbor. These are all good things.

However, the weekend has definitely had its share of aggravation. Friday night while trying to park at Matuba, someone who works for a competing restaurant next door was trying to block access to the parking lot, saying that only people eating at his restaurant were allowed to park there. Being a long-time customer, I knew this wasn't true, but others believed this guy and tried to find someplace else to park. Since parking was tight that night, he was essentially turning Matuba customers away. I confirmed with Matuba that this guy shouldn't be claiming the lot was only for his restaurant, and got in a yelling match with the parking Nazi. Yes we did wind up parking there anyway, even though he tried not to let our car in. I called the police, who said unfortunately it's private property and they have no jurisdiction.

Saturday I received a copy of the proposed budget for my condo association for the next year, which includes a proposed 7% increase in condo fees. With this increase, my fees have increased more than $75 over the past 6 years. The reason for the increase is unacceptable: they're saying that it's due to all the "unexpected flooding" recently. I don't know how the flooding could be unexpected when they have known for many years that the same units keep flooding over and over again. There are structural problems to the buildings which they are not fixing. I call it irresponsible management of money and I'm prepared to go to the budget meeting this week and give some remarks to that effect.

This morning started with a call at 8:30 a.m. from my prescription drug company. They called and didn't get an answer, so they called back. Since it was 8:30 on a weekend, I thought it must be some sort of emergency and picked up the phone. Instead it was my drug company processing my prescription and needing to verify my address. This had to be done at 8:30 on a Sunday? Were their computers broken and they couldn't find my address? I yelled at this woman and asked why she was calling so early. She told me she was authorized to call anytime after 8 a.m., and I asked who authorized her. Anyway, it was all ugly and unpleasant and not the way to start a Sunday morning. Needless to say, I called the company back and asked for a manager to put in a complaint about their policy of calling between 8 and 9 a.m. on the weekends. Luckily the woman was nice and understanding, and didn't realize this was going on .

I don't know if any of this fighting back will change anything, but quite frankly I'm sick of just taking everyone's crap and accepting everyone else's policies and decisions without saying anything. I'm also hoping for some peace and quiet the rest of today.

Metro Upgrading Service?

I heard a nice public service announcement today about how metro is striving to upgrade service. Upgrade service? When are they trying to do that? And where? Maybe in some other country? The metro has been worse than ever lately. It took me an hour to get home tonight. Metro insists on running 4-car yellow trains during rush hour. I can't tell you how many times now I have missed a train because it was simply too crowded to get on. Apparently this morning it was "all 4-cars all the time" on both blue and yellow when I got to the Pentagon. It is just unbelievable. I have decided that every time I miss a train, metro will get another complaint email from me. I'm starting to write really mean stuff like "you suck" and "thanks for the continued inefficient service." It makes me feel better. If I have to be miserable, so does the person reading my email. Between the 4-car trains, sometimes waiting 8 minutes for the next train, and the escalators never working, it's amazes me Metro functions every day. Soon they'll be raising rates again to provide this wonderful service upgrade. Can you tell I'm pissed? Don't even get me started on the bus service that has gotten completely packed too because people are finally deciding they've had enough of gas prices and are taking public transportation. Have I mentioned how awful it is to start and end every friggin day dealing with all this crap? Luckily I bought a lottery ticket tonight, so I guess I'll give my notice tomorrow at work and then never leave my house.

Armageddon, Part 3

Well, if the recent floods in my building and lightening strike weren't enough for you, this morning a transformer blew and all the power went out before I could put makeup on and dry my hair. Luckily it's like a sauna out so I won't catch cold having gone to work with wet hair (and of course I took a huge bag of hair implements with me to fix my hair when I got to work). So I called my condo association to let them know, and then I called Dominion Power to report the outage. They have a completely automated system now to report a power loss:

Press 1 to report a power outage
Please enter your phone number or account number
Press 1 to confirm that your name is XXX
Press 1 if you have no electricity at all
Thank you for reporting your power outage. If you want to add anything to your report, press 1
Press 1 if you heard an explosion

I guess transformers blowing must be pretty common these days.

"Dire"

Let's just say my weekend wasn't all it was cracked up to be. My 13-year old dog was sick all weekend, and I mean with diarrhea. Now, given the fact that a dog can't get to a bathroom by itself, let's just say I was preoccupied with this the entire weekend. I had to miss seeing Jeffro play at Austin Grill on Saturday night, plus the dog kept waking me like every 2 hours to go out. I had a vet tech appointment already scheduled for Saturday, but they couldn't see me about the "situation," so I had to go back Sunday as well. The whole weekend cost me over $400 in vet bills. I wish I had a rewind button to do over, but without the dog-doo part of it.

And in the world of work, my boss was out sick for 3 days plus the holiday last week, and she'll be out tomorrow. So that is good news. I found out I have an out-of-office meeting Wednesday morning, and Friday morning I go to the doctor, so I won't have a full week of work. Maybe I'll survive after all.

DC's Iron Chef

I was lucky enough to catch the airing last night of Iron Chef with Washington DC's Morou. Click here to catch it again when it airs in reruns. It was battle "peas" and I must say there was a hilarious moment when one of the judges said something about the "pea-ness" of the dish and the other judge started cracking up. The judge who said it totally didn't intend it as it sounded. It was a good battle all around, and I guess I won't tell you who wins in case you decide to see for yourself. The Washington Post's Reliable Source yesterday had an article about Morou opening a new restaurant in September, taking over the Sutton Place Gourmet's Blue Point Grill in Old Town and renaming it Farrah Olivia by Morou. Since my birthday and anniversary with Jeffro are both in September, I'd be willing to bet a visit there sometime soon after it opens.

Sudoku Anyone?

Well, I've finally caught on to the Sudoku craze, even though I'm still on the easy puzzles. For those of you who are bored at work, check out this free online puzzle.

Staying Afloat

More rain again today. Will it ever end? Things have been nutty as usual. I have to be "Toastmaster of the Day" tomorrow in Toastmasters, and I'm kind of nervous about it. It's been a huge pain in the you-know-what to organize. Basically you have to run the entire meeting, including securing speakers and stuff. Remind me to never be a meeting organizer.

The Fourth was pretty fun and low-key. I got up late, did a crossword puzzle and an easy Sudoku with Jeffro (the only ones I can solve are easy!) then headed to the pool for some R&R. I am the biggest wimp about getting in the water, but it was so hot that I literally jumped right in at one point without really even feeling the temperature. It was heavenly. That evening I was supposed to be hosting a little BBQ for Jeffro and my neighbor, but just after I got the grill set up the storm clouds started moving in. So I covered the grill and used the stove to broil instead. Not quite as much fun, but it worked.

Today felt like Monday, but thank God it's not and the week is almost over. I still have been too chicken to plug in my TV again, and I'm having an electrician come out Friday to look over the wiring first. Between that and my six month review with my boss off-site, I'll barely be in the office all day, which is good and bad. I'm totally swamped, but totally stressed and can use a day off. Guess this is the closest thing I'll get for a while.

Weekend Excitement

Well, there was plenty of excitement and drama this weekend, much of it not good. I had a small tiff with my sister, among others. I was consequently in a pretty bad mood for much of the weekend. The highlight of the weekend was Lady Brett's party on Saturday. Check out her blog for a great couscous salad recipe. And look through the archives for her famous black bean and corn recipe. Makes me want to have a party and make some great food. Maybe later this summer. Today's drama came in the form of yet more torrential rains for the DC area. This time it came with a dramatic thunderstorm, and lightening hit the building attached to mine. Apparently it hit the chimney, but it sounded like glass exploding. I screamed cause it was so loud and startling, then looked outside to see if my outside light (or anyone else's) had been hit. I couldn't see anything, so I went about my business and soon smelled a little smoke. I thought I'd call my neighbor to see if she smelled anything and looked outside and saw 2 huge firetrucks and an ambulance. They found where the building had been hit and couldn't find anything on fire, so after a few minutes they went on their way. Nothing like a little drama to liven a Sunday night. I just discovered that my TV upstairs isn't working. I just flipped a circuit to see if that will help, need to go back up and check it out.

Plans Foiled

Well, tonight I was actually going to get up the courage to go to an open mic jam at Bankok Blues in Falls Church, where my drum teacher was hosting, and jam with some strangers. This would be my first real foray into playing with a full band. I was scared and excited, and left the house to go, but the roads are just too awful so I decided to turn around and go home. I'm hoping that my teacher will host again soon, cause I would feel more comfortable going if he is there. Although Jeffro offered to come and jam there too.

And this rain is just unreal. It took me two hours to get to work this morning on the metro, which flooded. Interesting how the underground structure couldn't handle the rain. I wonder if it will be the same tomorrow? I was supposed to go to an off-site meeting tomorrow morning and would have gotten to miss the worst of the commute, but my psycho boss called me at home tonight to tell me to come into the office instead and we'd figure out plan B for the meeting. What a bitch. I think she just couldn't handle the fact that the off-site meeting started at 10:30 so I'd be getting two free hours of nonwork.

My neighbor's basement flooded, so I am praying that I am not next.

Is It Over Already?

I sort of feel like I didn't really have a weekend this weekend. Jeffro and I used Friday night to go grocery shopping to avoid the crowds of the weekend. We hadn't been shopping in two weeks since we were out of town last weekend, so I had absolutely no food in the house. Saturday I spent, literally, the whole day at my niece's many ballet recitals. I have 5 nieces, who were in 3 different shows yesterday. I did not stay for the last show, but I was still there from 12 until after 7. Today I spent cleaning and doing laundry, which was desperately needed. So needless to say, I'd like to rewind and start all over again so I can do some fun things. Not that the weather cooperated.

Tomorrow and Tuesday the intern will be there, so I have to figure out what to do with her, particularly for Tuesday morning when I have an out of office meeting. At least that will take up half the day. I'm seriously thinking of calling in sick one day next week just cause I need a break. I think my boss is going to cause me to start looking for a job earlier than the one year that I promised her that I would stay . . . six months is close enough, right?

Week from Hell

This has been a really long week already. I got back to work Tuesday after a nice 3-day weekend and my boss was back from her vacation and my new intern was starting. My boss has been on this kick of coming into my office every 5 minutes giving me something new to do RIGHT NOW, not caring what else I may be in the middle of--like training the intern. I almost blew a gasket today. Tomorrow I have to give a speech for Toastmasters and then give a little spiel on a conference call. I'm not looking forward to it. Maybe I'll call in sick Friday and make this a really short week.

Exhausted!

Just got back from LAWNGISLAND--took just over 7 hours with traffic and a stop at my grandparents' for breakfast. Not bad. My brother in law took this alternate route, though, and made it in 5.5 hours. Now granted, he drives really fast, but I may have to look into that for next time. It was a fun, but exhausting weekend. Jeffro and I drove up on Saturday, left around 8:30 a.m. and hit horrible traffic right here on Kenilworth Ave. that made me want to turn around and go home. We stopped in NJ to visit and have lunch with his mom, then went up to the island, again hitting bad traffic the same place we always hit bad traffic in NY. We basically checked into the hotel and headed to my uncle's house for dinner. Sunday was a party for my grandmother, who is turning 90 later this month. It was a nice time, and my grandparents were so glad that we had made the trip up. That in and of itself made it all worthwhile. Well, plus the unexpected money that my grandfather gave me to put towards the hotel, that was nice too. After the party, we went to see some other cousins. So it was a busy weekend. I'm so not looking forward to working tomorrow. I have a meeting at 10 and an intern starting--although she emailed me that there are some problems so she might not be able to start until Weds. We'll see.

Gone for the Weekend

Jeffro and I are headed to LAWNGISLAND for the weekend for a party for my grandmother, who is turning 90. I guess I'm looking forward to seeing all my family, but it's going to be exhausting. Not getting back until Monday, so peace out and pray for no traffic!

PS - This map of the Long Island Railroad is really cool. We're headed out near Port Jefferson, if you enlarge the map you can see it on the Northern shore. If you don't, it's the end of the blue line on here.

No Parking!

I'm on a crusade to change the parking policy in the lot in front of my house to be only one spot per condo. Currently, you can get stickers for two spots if you have two people in the condo, and currently some new renters are taking advantage of this to the point where somehow one renter got an extra sticker for her boyfriend that doesn't even really live here. I'm just furious about the whole thing so I'm getting together a petition to take to the board to consider. So keep your fingers crossed that the petition passes. Yes, I am the Parking Nazi!

Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend despite the drama-filled ending (see post below). Friday night Jeffro made me dinner, which was quite nice. Saturday I hung out at home most of the day having my back door painted and having a local contractor come over to give me pricing on some home repairs. Saturday night Jeffro and I went to see Marah in Baltimore at this cool place called 8x10. Needless to say, we didn't get in until very late, so this morning I was very tired and had brunch plans with MJ at 9:45 a.m. It was cool to see her, but I've been really tired all day. I can't believe the weekend is over already. I'm tempted to call in sick, but since the boss is still out on vacation, and I guess supposedly I'm in charge of the department, I'd best get to bed early and go to work.

Spittin' Mad

I am quite angry about the parking situation in my neighborhood. We are supposed to have parking by decal only, and towing enforced 24 hours a day. Early this morning I observed a car with out of state plates and no parking decal that had obviously been there all night. Tonight the same car is back with no decal. I made 2 calls to the security service and left messages to no avail. Then I called our emergency service and they provided 3 phone numbers--none of which was correct. Then I called back to complain again and they told me they weren't even sure that our neighborhood had a security patrol anymore, which also isn't true. I just wrote a nice, long email to the citizen's association as a letter to the editor in our next newsletter. I also left some pretty nasty messages with our management office. I am just so angry because I pay a lot of money to live here and the management office does so very little to help the residents.

I'm going to go calm down now. I enlisted the help of my neighbor and finally got security to come out. Supposedly they're going to tow the car, but I'm not holding my breath.

Cat Reality TV

Tune in to Animal Planet tonight at 9 to watch a new TV reality show about the life of cats. It is a cross between a commercial--it will be shown in 3 little segments throughout the programming--and "Survivor"-like reality show. Ten felines, picked from animal shelters nationwide, will live in a New York house to compete for a grand prize, in this instance an executive-level job with Meow Mix cat food. What will they think of next? It's supposed to be tongue in cheek, so it will probably be pretty funny. Check it out!

Drats, Foiled Again!

It seems that every time I get an ingenious idea--something that I could market and make millions so that I never have to work again--it turns out that someone else has already thought of it. My latest idea was putting beds in airplanes like Quantas, which flies long distances to Australia. Check out this pic from the Quantas email newsletter. Bastards!

Evolution of Dance

For the one or two people who haven't seen this "phenomenon" Jud Laipply yet, here's the Evolution of Dance. It's been viewed more than 18 million times on YouTube, so I thought it would be funnier. The beginning is boring but if you can get through that and ignore the fact that it's like 5 minutes long, it's entertaining enough, I guess. I think it's one of those things that you need to be there to fully appreciate. But America seems to love it, according to this USA Today article.

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. Things have been busy, and with the summer here, it's hard for me to buckle down and make myself stay inside for any length of time. I get home every night and all I want to do, after I walk the dogs, is sit on my balcony and eat, read, and basically enjoy the weather before it becomes the typical humid Washington summer. The thought of sitting in my basement at the computer has become unbearable. I haven't even worked out in forever for the same reason. But here I am at last to say hi to all of you, after it's dark outside and I've decided to come in for the evening.

So what's been going on? Obviously, I'm loving this weather. I used my charcoal grill again recently to make turkey burgers. They came out ok, but I've gotten some tips on how to improve things next time around. The past weekend was busy shopping for my nieces' (2) and sister's birthday gifts, then going to a family party on Sunday.

The job has been busy even though my boss is on vacation. That's been awesome. I have an intern starting in 2 weeks, so I have to get ready for that, which will be both a godsend and a curse.

And the most exciting news of all, Jeffro is moving in with me later this summer. Will wonders never cease?

Do Point

This title is thanks to Jeffro. I finally reached my "do point" this weekend. I have so much crap to do, so much crap in my house that I want to clean up, fix up, etc. that I get sick of hearing myself say I don't have time to get things done. I am the biggest procrastinator, but somehow I finally reached a breaking point this weekend and did some major stuff to improve my house. Here is my list of things I accomplished this weekend.

1. Switched my summer/winter wardrobe, which led to the next item.

2. Packed up and delivered to Goodwill: 1/2 dozen bags of clothes, shoes, etc., and old TV, old printer. Goodwill wouldn't take my computer monitor, so I will have to go to plan B on that and hopefully I can find some organization to take it instead of throwing it away.

3. Made incredible headway on this terribly messy closet in my basement that is the bane of my existence. Actually, my entire basement might be the bane of my existence. So this is a huge step. My plan is to finish the closet by the end of the week, now that there is no more prime time TV for the summer.

4. Purchased and set up stereo in my living room: I got the gift certificate to purchase the stereo back in September. Yes, September.

5. Purchased, set up, and actually used a charcoal grill. I wanted this grill last year and never got around to buying it.

6. Purchased and planted flowers for my yard.

7. Went to the pool. I usually don't go until mid-summer, and I only go about twice a year. The pool opened this weekend and I was there!

8. Gave my smelly dogs baths.

Whew! That's a long list, I'm tired just thinking about it all. And this is in addition to some other regular stuff like grocery shopping, etc. But it felt good to actually make some progress on things that have been hanging over my head forever. Now to make sure I stick to my goal and get the basement in better shape by this weekend.

Taylor Wins Idol

Well, just in case you have been hidden under a rock recently and didn't hear this, Taylor Hicks, the prematurely gray king of the soul patrol, won American Idol tonight, as if that is a big surprise. I am neither happy nor sad, cause the people I really wanted to win got voted off a while ago. I don't think Taylor's true "Idol" material, so it will be interesting to see what he does from here. And whether Katharine winds up getting a contract too.

I'm Back from Limin'

I didn't know that limin' is the expression for just chillin' an' doin' nothin,' mon. I had a great week in St. John and have a pretty good tan to show for it. I missed my dogs like heck though, as much as I complain about them. St. John is lush and gorgeous. Here are my top loves and hates about St. John. (PS--blogger isn't letting me post photos and I'm soooo pissed but I'm posting this anyway cause I've been trying all friggin' night!)

Top 7 Great Things About St. John/Vacation

1. 85 degrees and sunny every day
2. Fabulous water views from the minute I woke up
3. 39 beaches to snorkel
4. Splendore pool and jacuzzi
5. Cool wildlife like iguanas and geckos
6. Sea turtles!
7. Cool friends to share the house

Top 5 Worst Things About St. John/Vacation

1. Steep crazy roads
2. Price of food and drink ($18 for a watermelon!)
3. No country radio stations
4. Iguana pooping in above lovely pool
5. Having to come back to reality

Off to St. John

Well, this will be my last blog entry for about 9 days, as we head to St. John, US Virgin Islands. I am so looking forward to it, except for the early wake up call tomorrow morning to catch a flight at 7. But it will be worth 9 days in tropical paradise. I haven't had a vacation this awesome in years. And as for the mad posting tonight? I haven't posted in forever so the stories have been building up. I wanted to leave you with some fun stuff to look over. Ya'll take care now!

Bye Chris

Well, Chris was sent home from American Idol last night. I was so pissed! It was really shocking, even his jaw hit the floor. I personally think he should have won the whole thing. I don't know if I'll even finish the season out at this point, cause I really don't want any of the other three to win. Maybe Katharine, cause she has real talent, but as much as I love Taylor, he's no Idol and Elliott is just a monkey face.

Bananas!

This crazy story in USA Today tells the stories of squirrel monkeys stealing cell phones.

Dream Job

Ok, here's what I want to do when I grow up. Own a Paw House, a B&B that caters to pet owners in some really cool local. Now to convince Jeffro that it's a great idea. We both hate working, so why not go for a total career change?

The Weekend

Ok, all I did this weekend was shop. Shop, shop, shop and more shopping to get ready for my vacation, which starts this Friday for nine days. Nine days! I can't remember the last time I went away for so long. I bought 2 bathing suits, clothes, shoes, etc. for the trip. I spent way too much money. I really didn't do anything else this weekend at all. I have 3-1/2 days of work left--I get to leave early Tuessday for a doc appt. Then it's off to St. John!

Lovin' the Butterfly

I had a doc appt today--routine check for my thyroid issues--and they routinely draw gallons and gallons of blood, which I hate. Last time I went, the phlebotomist introduced me to the best medical invention--the butterfly syringe. It makes changing tubes much less painful, so I requested it again today. (Side note: a previous phlebotomist, who got fired for being a sadistic maniac, used to change the tubes so violently and shove the needle further into my arm that I thought it might come out the other side. I was very traumatized by the experience.)