Nice Weekend.

My mom and I were chatting on the phone Saturday night, and after about an hour I said, "This is stupid, why don't I just come over?" She agreed. So, I threw the pups in the car with an overnight bag, and we went to see 'grandma'. (That's what I tell the pups and they get all excited. LOL.) We watched a movie (A walk in the Clouds) and then went to bed. Sunday, we got up and went to breakfast at Denny's (I had the prime rib & eggs skillet) and then went shopping after I said this, "You know how material things only give you temporary happiness?" My mom said "Yes.", then I said, "Let's go get some temporary happiness!" She said, "Okay!!" So, we went shopping. She bought a ring; I bought some new sunglasses (like I needed more of those) and we both got some makeup. Had a great time. Went back to her place, took a nap, got up and grabbed dinner and watched another movie "He's Just Not That Into You". The movie was too funny. It was obviously chick flick weekend. I'm back home now getting a load of laundry done and paying the bills.

I don't know what day next week I have the interview for the Cali position, but I'm anxious for it. I have zero patience. I want to know NOW. It's funny, I'm going on vacation in a month to the place I might end up living in. Guess I'll have to find a new vacation spot!! I cancelled my eHarmony subscription (shut up) not only because I'm sick of it, but I'm thinking I probably shouldn't date anymore until I figure out where I'm going to be living. Ha.

It is so weird how everything has changed so much for me in such a short amount of time. But you know, I'm doing pretty good. I feel like things are really looking up. I do wish I had a special someone to share this exciting time with, but I believe he will come. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but he will. I hope it happens the way I want it to, but in the meantime, life is happening all around me and for the first time in a long time I can see it and am participating in it! I have learned much, made mistakes and feel like I've been through it all, but now I know what I want and what I don't want. I'm actually feeling more confident, and I know I can handle what life throws at me. I've still got some self-improvement to do, and I'm doing it, however no one is perfect and I'm not beating myself up over the stupid stuff! At this point I am actually willing to take chances I've been so afraid of before, live anywhere, and I'm on the road to happiness, and when that special guy does ride up, I'll be ready, and he will be spoiled rotten! (And so will I!) ;-)

He answered me.

I prayed to the Lord to ask Him if I was making the right choices, because these are BIG choices! I asked if He could somehow let me know that I was on the right path, and this is what was sent to me this morning:

This is a time of the culmination of many of the things that I have spoken to you in the past, says the Lord, and also a time when you can now proceed into the next phase of your life. You may experience a sense of loss as you make some required changes, but this will actually be a time of looking back briefly before you begin to move forward. Don't be afraid to let go. I am with you to take you higher. Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." 

Up at 3:30 am.

I'm either too excited, or there is something wrong with me.

With the great news at my company (having fun on e*trade!), as well as the possible MAJOR move for me, I can't sleep. My boss wrote the nicest recommendation email to the director at the new L.A. plant on my behalf. I had no idea she thought of me so highly, either that or she wants to get rid of me, ha! (I cause trouble and make people do things right.) I'm getting interviewed next week, so wish me luck! I've never been a "boss" before, so this is uncharted territory for me. My stepson is all excited at the thought of me moving because he is going to college there in the fall. I am to text him the 'minute I know'. He is getting nervous for college; it is so cute. I went to his last stage play last week, and he was so good! I think he will do just fine.

So, I am hiring a gardener. Screw it. I just don't have time. My elderly neighbors gave me the name of theirs, so I'm just going to do it. Not only that, but if I have to sell the house, I need it looking decent. I am replacing the rotted fence in the next week or two and looking into new carpet since the dogs have destroyed it. I swear I am going to get them doggie diapers!

Well, that's about it for now. Have no idea what I'm doing for the weekend. I don't know what to do with a weekend off! LOL!

It's Official!

A very, VERY good day! The company I work for got FDA approval today (in the news) and officially went commercial! This means great things; I will go into detail some other time. Things are changing rapidly for me (and going to change more) so I'm just trying to keep my head above water.

Up and Running Again

The TV guy just left; he was here for TWO hours! Apparently, everything was toast. I'm up and running now though! Yay! Now I just have to remember all the shows I watch so I can set up my recording stuff. That will take a day.

I've been multi-tasking all day. Working on VPN, doing laundry, supervising TV guy, ordered a pizza, ran the dish washer and kept the dogs at bay. Everyone keeps calling me, so the phone has been ringing off the hook too. SHEESH.

I really thought I knew what busy was, but lately I have learned a whole new kind of crazy/insane.

Lou's Birthday and a Tattoo Idea.

Happy Birthday to Louie! My big boy is 11 (77 in dog years). He is my grumpy little old man. LOL.

Need to do a cover-up job on part of my tattoo because I'm stupid. Maybe something like this.

Looks like I have a pretty good chance of getting my big promotion and moving. Most likely to California, but I haven't ruled out Dallas if I don't get this one. I would have no mortgage and a pool in California, though! Wow, life is really changing, kind of weird. I had this idea of what my life was going to be like once, I'll never make that mistake again! I should know within a month or so.

OMG the world almost came to end tonight.

I turned my TV on, and no signal. Reset it, unplugged it and plugged it back in, did everything I knew how to do. Nothing. I know the bill is paid. So, I went to my computer to get online to get Direct TV's number. NO INTERNET. WTF? Did an EMP hit my house? Spent an hour trying to diagnose the problem. Gave up and called my ISP. A 30-minute wait to talk to an agent. Wanting to kill someone at this point. Gave up after 10 minutes and decided to take my modem apart and put it back together. That worked! Hallelujah!! Went online to get 24-hour tech support for TV. Spent an hour online with them and got nowhere. CRAP. The earliest they can have a guy out is WEDNESDAY. This means I miss "24" AND "LOST". NOO! PLUS, I have to work from home on Wednesday to be here. Hopefully my boss will let me. Good grief. At least my crackberry is working. Lord have mercy.

I hate it when I can't sleep.

I guess I can go in late tomorrow if I have to with all the hours I've been working. I worked about 5 hours today on site. 14 days in a row now.

I've been listening to music tonight since I have no TV. Just daydreaming and relaxing. Got caught up on some of my personal computer work, too.

I'm getting my tattoo changed. Finally. I'm not looking forward to the pain though, it HURTS. It is right on the ankle bone, so it is a big OUCH. I'm going to make the appointment tomorrow. It's time.

Freedom has its advantages.

My mom and I were talking and we are finding that we are enjoying doing what we want, going where we want, talking to who we want, buying what we want, watching what we want and seeing who we want! Just being who we are! I like it. I'm finding out a lot about myself, it is interesting. The future looks bright and exciting!

Enjoying the moment, the present. Anyone want to join me? I am never going to put myself down again! I'm awesome! LOL.

Everybody's Workin' For the Weekend.

Remember that "Loverboy" song from the 80's? LOL! I have it in my head.

I'm at work waiting for people to get things to me so I can edit them. Taking a little lunch break to blog in order to appease my readers. There are so many things happening right now (can't talk in detail yet) and my head is spinning. My life could be in for another major change, a really positive one, I think. Regarding my career, I'm meeting with someone next week to discuss a possible transfer/promotion, which would be out of state. I will talk more about it once I know more, don't want to jump the gun here. I have decisions to ponder, people to talk to and arrangements to make, but it is all very exciting. These things take time of course, so nothing is going to happen quickly, but I am optimistic and excited, nonetheless.

For the month of May I am going to concentrate on getting some repairs done on the house and finish the painting. These things need to be done whether I stay or go, so no time like the present. I haven't been on any more dates or been talking online to anyone seriously. I'm taking a break from it and concentrating on other things. I occasionally get emails and hellos, but that is about it. The one guy I recently went on a date with keeps in touch, but we haven't discussed another date yet. I've been sick and super busy though, so that is probably why. I'm still holding out for my fairy tale. That happens, right? PFFFT!

A month and a half until my 2-week vacation! Woohoo! Oh, that's another thing, if this move happens for me, I will have enough money to start doing some of the traveling I've always wanted to do! Wouldn't that be COOL? Well, I think so. :-) I've certainly paid my dues!

Things are getting VERY interesting around here!

Sorry I've been a blog slacker; I'm working 7 days a week right now and still fighting this virus or whatever it is. I haven't been able to sit down and write with the whirlwind of activity going on and the possibilities surrounding me at the moment. I promise to write about it sometime tomorrow morning, OK? I know you are on the edge of your seat.

Fun Book

First, a reader of mine now has her own blog, so let's hear it for "A Green Guitar"! There is also a link on her site that I have been stalking called "June Bug on a String", which is a great site also!

I am suddenly inspired to read this book because, well, it will be obvious why:

"Divorce is never easy, and fortysomething Nikki finds herself unwillingly thrust into a major identity crisis. She was happy being a housewife and mother in an upscale neighborhood of Colorado Springs and thought all was well until her husband takes off, and the family house blows up. As she slowly comes out of the fog of divorce, Nikki realizes she needs a job and a place to live, then has to face the clash with her old way of life: her fancy friends can't understand her waitress job: they eat in restaurants, they don't work in them. Nikki veers away from her now strained relationships, makes new friends, and enters the world of dating. As Nikki tries to find herself, her old dream of making perfume as a business instead of a hobby infuses her with purpose, but is she willing to take a risk? With great insight Samuel explores the many problems facing newly divorced women and offers hope and inspiration in the form of one gutsy heroine. Patty Engelmann Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved. "

The part that says "and the family house blows up" just made me laugh. That seems so appropriate to me at this point in my life. Now, I wasn't a housewife, mother (except my stepson) or "upscale" by ANY means, but the starting over and taking risks inspires me. I am currently in the middle of going in a completely new direction. I am applying for positions at my company's new sites, which are all out of state. We will see what happens.

I need to be well now.

I'm tired of being sick. I've had a sore throat for a week. That's not normal, is it? I'm feeling very overwhelmed. Very, very overwhelmed.

Food and Mowing Woes

Did some work remotely on my laptop today because I just didn't feel like driving in. I pulled the Friday night and Saturday night shifts (and I'm on salary), so they can deal with it. I also mowed the front lawn and picked some weeds. My body hates me right now. The stupid lawn mower is a huge pain in the ass. The grass gets all mucked up in it, and then it dies. I empty the bag and have to clean it out about every 20 steps. It's maddening! THEN it takes approximately 15 minutes to get the damn thing restarted. My neighbor felt sorry for me and came and helped. I was close to tears after I ran out of cuss words. LOL. Got it done, though, and yay me! The picture of me is right before I started mowing. Yes, I mow in pig tails. That has to be the dumbest picture of me ever, but oh well. I'm starting to show my age. Shit.

The other pictures are of my diet food that I had tonight (marsala chicken, green beans and carrots) and the dinner I had last night of spicy shrimp with my mom at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I only ate about 5 bites of the refried beans. My cholesterol has to be about a million with all the shrimp I eat. The real tragedy here though is that I love to cook, and I never do it anymore. I microwave my diet food or go out. One of these days when I have a spare 20 minutes, I should make something nice. However, it just seems pointless anymore.

I still have a sore throat and a cough. Mercy.

I need a bed for my office.

Since I pretty much LIVE THERE. I wish I could bring the doggies with their little doggie beds, too. Of course, they frown on that in medical facilities. Bah!

So here is my office with the TV-size monitor and yes, I keep it THAT dark. I HATE fluorescent lighting; it gives me headaches. Dark is calming and soothing in a crazy and frustrating environment. Shut up about the pizza, salad and root beer to the right, it was free, OK? I worked Friday night and on Saturday for 5 hours and I have to go in tomorrow. UG. At least I'm needed. 

I am feeling better today, just tired with a slight sore throat. I did cough all night long, though, so I am not getting enough rest. If it keeps up, I PROMISE to go to the doctor and get cough medicine.

One more thing. I am very proud of my mother. We were driving today, her at the wheel, and I was giving her crap about her driving.

Me: (holding onto the ceiling of the truck for stability) "Are we late for something?"
Mom: No, this is just how I drive.
Me: Why don't you slow down a bit?
Mom: Why don't you shut the fuck up?

The apple doesn't far fall from the tree. LOL.

Deathly ill.

So yesterday I couldn't keep any food down and my chest hurt so bad I honestly thought I was having a heart attack and almost went to the emergency room. I left work a little early and everyone was pissed that I drove home. (I'm stubborn). My blood pressure was way up too because I was freaked. Today I'm not having chest pains, but my throat hurts so bad I can barely swallow. Had soup for dinner after I got home at 9 frigging PM from work. You see when I get deathly ill, work is insanely busy and everyone is on vacation. I'm on call tomorrow night and have to go in over the weekend. I am the only one to cover so if I'm conscious, I have to go. Lucky me. Gah.

Meeting at Headquarters

So tonight, a lady I work with asked for a ride and in exchange said she would buy me a drink to thank me. I said OKAY! On the way she made a few calls to see if some of our other coworkers wanted to join, but all she said to each one was, "Meeting at Headquarters". I've now learned that a local bar and grill is "headquarters" and many of my coworkers who live downtown apparently have frequent "meetings" there. LOL. This was my first meeting. We were the only two girls, and a few other guys came several minutes later. Now mind you, these are all scientists and technical people, so they drink a lot but talk shop. Before I wanted to stab my eye with a fork, I decided to "liven up" the conversation. I have a few tricks. I made an "L" with my thumb and index finger, raised it up and said, "Did you know that the length of a man's penis can be determined by length from the tip of his thumb to the tip of his index finger?" What ensued next was absolutely hysterical and works EVERY TIME. ALL the men made their "L" at the SAME TIME and intently stared at it. Some started comparing their "L's" and I heard quite a few, "That's CRAP!" and "There is NO WAY that is true!" statements. To one of the guys I said, "Oh, honey, I'm sorry." ROFLMAO! Consequently, we had the attention of the entire place as I laughed until tears were coming out of my eyes. I can't help it. This went on for at least 20 minutes, I shit you not. The women at the place were all laughing and putting THEIR "L's" up to their forehead; the signal for "Loser". This is quite entertaining.

A short time later I brought up some trivia that started an hour long conversation carnival. I said "You know, I found out the other day that the definition of Sodomy includes oral sex." This really freaked them out. "WHAT? NO! IT DOES NOT!" I told them to look it up. They all got out their iPhones and Blackberries and whatnot and LOOKED THE DEFINITION UP. One guy actually used the voice command to look up the definition on his phone, so yes, he spoke this into his phone IN PUBLIC, and loudly because it was a noisy place, "DEFINITION FOR SODOMY". OMG, I freaking ROLLED. They discovered in fact, that I was right, and things were just too much fun after that.

Needless to say, I am now the CEO at headquarters and am required to attend every meeting. ;-) Oh and I didn't have to pay for a thing.

The opposite of a rant.

So I went on a rant, then I deleted it, now I will be silly. This is a picture of me with wet hair getting ready for work, and Lou and Mags pretending they are aliens. Lou with his green Jedi-eye trying to mind trick me into feeding him steak instead of kibble.

Nothing special going on. My coworker/office roommate left for Hawaii today. Bitch. I've got kind of cold or flu going on and a really annoying cough. That's it. Bye.

I deleted the freaky post.

To my two commentors, I say this:

You both are extremely kind and I am honored to have you as readers! Thank you for your thoughts. It is true, I am in the middle of a healing process. I only deleted your comments because they wouldn't make sense now, not because I didn't like them.

To everyone that read it and did not comment:

I hope I didn't freak you out or piss you off. ;-)

To everyone that did not read it and is now confused:

I wrote a post at 1:30 in the morning and aired too much of my own dirty laundry. I wanted to vent (about myself, no other people were mentioned) and be honest about the "real me" when I needed to first consider how it might come across. It seems from comments that people appreciate my honesty, but I think I freaked my mom out. LOL.

It felt good to spew all that onto the table, but for the sake of safety and privacy I decided to pull it for now. Good therapy for myself, though.

Back to the old grind.

I had my nice date, then spent time with my mom on Sunday, but now it's back to the same old crap. My empty little life. I still have the "What now?" questions; those certainly don't go away in a day. Neither do the dirty dishes, the laundry or the yard work. I'm looking out at my way-overgrown grass, and I REALLY don't feel like dealing with it. I think I might give up cable to hire a gardener. Well, maybe not. I think without the computer and the TV, I would just sit here and stare at the wall. How sad.

Best Date Ever

If you are not excited, feeling blah and expecting nothing, you will have a fabulous date! So, as you can see, I was less than thrilled and all pissy last night. I woke up this morning trying to be positive, however, and got myself dressed and pretty, but not too pretty. The drive across the mountains was GORGEOUS. The sun was shining and despite the storm, and there was no snow on the road. We met in a park in Leavenworth around noon. I figured I would just shake his hand, but instead he delivered me a big, genuine hug and told me it was great to finally meet me in person. He was more handsome than his profile picture and he gained some big points with his compliments to me. We walked and talked for a bit, then decided to go to lunch. It turned into a 3-hour lunch! Not only is he kind and very intelligent, but he is also fascinating! A firefighter, an EMT, part of search and rescue, a skier, a rock climber - a very interesting man! There was never one moment of uncomfortable silence, and I've never had such great conversation. When the bill came, I didn't know what to do, I reached for my purse and shyly told him that I had no idea what the dating "rules" were these days and was perfectly willing to contribute my share. He laughed and said he had no idea what he was doing either (he is divorced after a long marriage also) and said, "But I do know I am paying for lunch." Very sweet. After lunch we shopped for a bit; I was on a mission to find a particular "sauce dip". He was very cute in helping me on the hunt. I told him I would spare him the hunt for a cute pair of earrings! LOL! We decided to sit and have some coffee (which he also insisted on paying for) and we talked for another 2 hours. I kept saying I had to go, but we kept getting into a new conversation. Finally, I looked down at my phone and it was getting late, and I HAD to go. I said that we would talk all night if I didn't go now! He smiled and agreed. He walked me to my car, and we said our goodbyes. He was a perfect gentleman. He opened doors for me and never made me feel like I was being "sized up". Such a pleasant surprise! I believe we will see each other again.

I can't figure myself out.

And I've known myself a long time! LOL!

You'd think I'd be all excited for my date tomorrow, but I'm like, meh. I was excited, but I think my subconscious knows it is probably futile. He is such a nice guy, but I'm just so damn picky. I'm sure it will be fun, but I have zero expectations of anything anymore. I laugh to myself thinking I'm going to go from being "CrazyDogMama", to "CrazyOldDogWoman" whom the children in the neighborhood are afraid of. HA. I'm starting to not really care about the dating thing anymore. It's stupid. It's like trying to convince people you are "worthy" or something. Screw that. I'm too old to put on airs, play games or be on my best behavior. Maybe I'm just in a crap mood, I don't know. I'm even sick of talking to people online. NY guy said "Where did you go? I haven't talked to you in two days!". I guess I'm feeling like what's the fucking point. There have only really been two people I was truly interested in; one wasn't real (and I don't mean my ex), and the other is a pipe dream. There is fantasy, and then there is reality. Reality ain't so great. And then of course there are the guys I'm not the least bit interested in that won't leave me alone. Figures.

Okay, maybe I'm a little grouchy, but seriously, what now? Work. Sleep. Eat. Yippee. I'm getting my life together and all, you know, working on myself, that sort of thing, but I keep saying to myself, "What next?" Got a career, check. Losing weight, check. Getting my financial situation in control (slowly), check. Interact with my friends on a regular basis, check. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do, but it doesn't seem satisfying. I dream of finding love, but another person doesn't make you happy, YOU have to make YOU happy first. I know that. But what is happy? What is content? Something is missing. It always has been.

My theme song right now.

'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Israel Kamakawiwo. What a great song. It makes me happy and perfectly describes how I'm feeling, even the melody. Think of me when you listen to it.

Men are funny.

Okay, this post is going to seem kinda vain or something, but seriously, stuff like this does NOT normally happen to me and I have to share because it was so funny and it made me feel good. If I record the little things, then when I'm feeling bad about myself, I can always come back and read stuff like this and feel better.

So I'm sitting at a stop light on the way home today. To my left, a truck was stopped at the adjacent light directly facing me. I was thinking about something that suddenly made me smile, and I happened to glance over at the truck while I was smiling. Inside the cab were two very nice-looking guys. Somehow the driver's eyes and mine met, and when they did he smiled back and kinda waved. I was taken aback and smiled bigger and waved also. (I did not know him.) His light changed and he was making a right away from me, but as he was turning, he kept looking at me and almost slammed into oncoming traffic! He overcorrected quickly and there was no accident (Thank God!), but I busted up in laughter. I've never almost caused an accident before! LOL! I'm definitely not "all that", but just the fact that I caught a man's attention like that just made my whole day. There's hope for me yet!

The questions kids have.

So, my stepson calls me today. This is not unusual, in fact we've gotten very close since my divorce, but he called while I was at work (instead of texting) so I was concerned when I couldn't answer. I discreetly texted him back quickly to make sure everything was ok. Usually, he calls to tell me he got a part in a play, or wants to go out for dinner, or something like that, but this is what he called about today:

"Me and BJ found a muffler. Can we sell it?"

LOL! Crazy kid. Then he wanted to know if they could come raid my fridge. Have you ever had ravenous teenage boys raid your fridge? Yeah.

Right now, I'm catching up on "Modern Family" and eating Velveeta right out of the box. THAT can't be good. Shit.

One more thing. It is supposed to snow 2 feet in the mountains the next few days and be extremely stormy. I have a date on Saturday that requires me to drive right through it. Neat. Murphy's Law. It hasn't snowed all fucking winter.

The QUEEN

I am the Queen. Here is proof. My coworkers provided this for me.

DO NOT FORGET IT.

Easter, a 7.2 Earthquake, and Steak and Lobster

OK, well, Happy Easter to everyone first of all. Over at my mom's for the weekend with the pups.

Just got a text from my friend Cathy who works at Disneyland, and she said there has been a series of quakes in Cali today, the most recent a 7.2 out of Baja (Mexi-Cali). I guess it lasted 20 or 30 seconds and was a "rolling" quake, which is unusual for California, they usually have "jolting" quakes. Everyone is saying it was big and major all the way up to the LA area. I tried calling my new friend Danny in Rancho Cucamonga, but I can't get a hold of him. (He is the one I am going to Disneyland with, in June.) As most of you know I study earthquakes but have not had the time recently to keep up. With the one in Chile and now this, guess it wasn't a good time for a break! Sheesh! Hope everyone is OK. I don't know if I've ever said why I am so interested in earthquakes, but back when I was in college a good friend of our family, Johnny, who used to babysit me when we lived in California, was killed in the big Northridge quake. He was underneath the freeway when it collapsed. I remember watching it on TV and then the call came in from my mom telling me what happened. I was working at the time.

Anyway, my mom and I are starting a new Easter tradition this year being that it is just the two of us. No ham, no lamb, but steak and lobster baby! Maybe I'll take a picture later.

Stay safe if you are in Southern California.

April 3, 2010

Exactly two years ago today, my life changed forever. It wasn’t one of those kinds of events like the birth of child, or a wedding or anything like that, but it was very significant for me. You see, it was an ordinary day. A typical day where I was all comfy-cozy hiding inside myself. Hiding there trying to survive the best I could. Then, suddenly and without warning, someone came along and opened my door and let me out, never to return to that dark and lonely place where I was dying. I don’t think they have any idea what they did, or perhaps they even believed they did me harm. But the truth is, if they hadn’t come along and let me out, I would never have survived some of the events that were to come my way the next two years. Actually, I truly believe the Lord had His hand in this, and used this person as a vessel, or a test, even. Nothing that has happened to me was a direct result of their influence, but because of them, I was able to see things a little differently, and most importantly, I thought of myself differently during extremely difficult times. It’s funny how you don’t see life-changing events coming and may not even see them when they are happening, but when you look back, you see a lot. So, today, I want to thank them. If you are out there in cyberspace somewhere “KS”, thank you. You changed me. I hope you are well. A part of me is doing well, because of you. Bet you didn’t know.

Hyphenated

So, remember that post where I gave the link to the website called "Shit My Dad Says"? Well, I think I need one for my mom! Seriously. She is the most creative person I know when it comes to the English language. We went to dinner at "Oddfellow's Grill" tonight (I took a pic for you, how nice of me), and had a lovely time. When we got back to her place, she kept running back and forth getting things and spilling coffee, kind of like a confused, spastic waitress, and when I asked her for something she said, "Stop it, you're getting me all hyphenated!"

Hyphenated? LOL!

It was a dark and stormy night.

Thunder, lightning and mega rain tonight! Love it! I have all the lights out except my laptop (with surge protector on!) and the dogs are at my feet. It is cool; makes a great ambiance for the storm!

WOW, I had some drama today. (I HATE drama.) Remember that guy I turned down for a date? (I think I blogged about it.) Anyway, he caught me online tonight and struck up an instant message chat. It started out OK, but then he got all pissed off that I turned him down! He actually cyber-yelled at me, got all huffy and signed off. Isn't that sad? Sheesh. I'm thinking I made the right choice there. LOL!  In other news, I was asked out by a different man (the one East of the Mountains that I mentioned) and I said "Yes!". That's right! Crazydogmama has a date! As much as I can tell so far, he is a kind, gentle, intelligent man who writes and expresses himself well, is super sweet and been through similar circumstances as myself. He is both a part time Firefighter and EMT. Anyway, not this weekend because of Easter, but the weekend after we are meeting for coffee. I'm looking forward to it!

I went in late today to work because of all the hours I worked this weekend, then went home early to take a nap. Gotta like that! Of course, now I'm wide awake. Sometimes I wonder about my brain or lack of one.

My day. Not that you care.

It's funny, who cares about some stranger's day? But I read lots of blogs and personally LOVE reading about other people's days! It is a strange phenomenon I guess, but I think it is cool to see how other people get through life. You get ideas, laugh, cry and empathize. You get to know people. Being that I mostly work long hours and live alone, the internet has been a great tool for me to communicate with people and not isolate.

Today I worked pretty much all day on the computer. I got a little frustrated because everything I tried to work on had some sort of problem, but I was productive, and I feel good about my progress. Hopefully I scored some points with the big dogs who can give me more money! I broke down and ordered a pizza and got to expense it to the company, gotta love THAT! It gave me a major tummy ache though, and it came back up. GROSS. I guess now that I have been eating super healthy for 7 or so weeks now, my system rejects grease and fat. Yay? I made some tea and ate one of my Bistro MD meals and I feel fine now. Been intermittently doing laundry, did the dishes and was going to mow the lawn but it started raining. Thank God. Now I'm catching up on blogging, emails and am actually going to finish my ironing before bed. A year ago, I would have never done all of that in one day! Go ME! I didn't get my exercise in today, though. Bad me. I'm going to run stairs tomorrow at work though with my friend Jenny. There is a big stairwell that goes down to the parking garage and we like to run up down until we feel dizzy. Silly, huh?

Anyway, gotta get to the ironing and get some shut-eye. Sorry for the boring blogging this weekend. Hopefully something exciting will happen this week to post about.

Twist of Thinking

At first, I thought "This weekend sucks". Yesterday I cleaned out the garage and made a huge dump run, then spent the next four hours trying to sleep a headache off, then worked until 2 am doing work from home on my laptop because we have part of a project launching on Monday. Today, I have to do some more work from home and then do laundry/vacuuming, etc. But then I started really thinking about things and changed my mind about my feelings on not having "fun" on the weekend. I am blessed to have a job, and a GOOD one. Most people I know right now are either unemployed or struggling big time with money. I have a roof over my head that I'm able to pay for. Three homes in my neighborhood just went into foreclosure. When I started thinking like that, my whole attitude changed, and I am even more productive now!

A Lovely Evening

I spent a lovely evening with myself. Well, myself and the fuzzy freaks. :-) Traffic was hell, but once I got home, I got into my comfy clothes, had some dinner, fed the pups and put my feet up. I watched an older movie that I love (Moonstruck) with Louie sprawled across my lap and Maggie at my feet. It was peaceful and relaxing and I felt happy. It's not that I never feel happy, it is just that this time I took note of it and appreciated it for what it was. I lived in the moment, I guess you would call it. It wasn't an especially exciting or what you would normally call a memorable moment, but I just stopped and took it in. I was warm and full and pleasantly entertained. Thought I would share.

Back to crazy BS tomorrow. LOL

FUCKER

This needs an explanation, yes I know. Well, my coworker (who shares an office with me), "R", thinks that the way I say "Fucker" is hilarious so she RECORDED me saying it on her cell phone. Now she plays the soundbyte all day long and laughs. BTW, she is 48 years old. She says I'm going to be famous some day and everyone will have this .wav file on their computer. She is so funny.

People Are Crazy

You know, since I've started this "dating" thing (if you want to call it that), I swear I am a freak magnet. Now, I haven't been at it very long, granted, but DAMN. Not that I'm completely normal, but seriously, there are some very strange people out there. It is hard just to find someone to have a decent conversation with! CONVERSATION! It does give me entertainment; I'll give it that. I've pretty much cut off everyone I've talked about on here for one reason or another except NY guy. We talk every day, but decided we will just be friends, and if he moves here, or I move there, we will be BEST friends. He is crazy too, but he makes me laugh. He told me today that I was the nicest person he'd ever talked to. Aww.

I had an old friend from Highschool contact me through Facebook and we email quite a bit and will probably meet up some time, but I think he got back together with his girlfriend. He is super-hot and has a good job, but I'm not thinking anything more than friends, at least for now. A new guy started calling me who lives East of the mountains I live in, and we have some decent conversation, but I don't know, we'll see. He sounds really nice, and he said he felt we had some "chemistry", so who knows. No one seems to quite fit the bill, but of course this kind of thing takes lots of time. Maybe it won't ever happen, who is to say? But it is still early in the game. Gotta go through 1000 weirdos before you find the right weirdo. I'm almost there! LOL. (Kidding.)

It seems like every day something new or strange happens, although this week has been boring as hell and I'm broke. I hate being broke, it makes me nuts.

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm down 28 pounds so far! Going strong! Not giving up!

If I were ever to get married again.

Even though it doesn't seem possible to me to find real love with as messed up as my life is, if I ever did, I would want to get married on a beach like this one. A teeny tiny little ceremony, barefoot in the sand with a wispy, soft white sundress on. Paradise. Ah, to dream. If you are going to fantasize and dream, I say DREAM BIG!

Working out with dogs.

So have you ever tried to work out at home with 2 dogs who love attention? It is an adventure.

Push-ups: Lick your face and crawl underneath you.
Sit-ups: Lick your face and crawl up on your stomach.
Squats: Bring out their toys and drop them in front of you, patiently waiting for you to reach down and throw them after each squat.
Lunges: Get in your way so you fall over.
Kicks: Bark at you.
Stretching: Bring the ball and drop in your laugh and whine.
Step-ups: Drop the ball in front of you so you trip over it.
Cool down: Pee on the floor.

AAAARGG!

Favorites Today

OK, this is not going to be a "Friday" thing I do, it is going to be a whenever-the-hell-I-want-to thing I do. LOL. I can't stick to a routine to save my life!

So here is the "favorite things" list for today.

The Yankee Candle air freshener for the car; scent "Sun and Sand". Smells like the beach! Suntan oil and hot, warm sand. Love it! Purchased at Fred Meyer (Kroger's).

Quicken 2010. Personal Finance made easy. This is the coolest program ever for getting your "Shit Together"! Purchased at Costco for $39.99, but had a $20 off coupon, so got it for $19.99. Worth every penny!

Nighty night.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Well, it's a good thing I told myself not to get too excited. Gah. Another day, another disappointment. Shocker.

I finally watched "The Pursuit of Happyness" (great movie) and the main guy (Will Smith) said something to his son like "Just go after what you want until you get it. PERIOD." It is a great saying and I believe you can apply it to jobs/success, etc. but, it doesn't work for everything. I'm still hoping I have a chance for something in particular that I didn't get that I REALLY want, but it's not really something I have control over. I know that doesn't make sense, but it would if I explained it. Maybe I will someday if I get the guts.

I didn't just see that.

Well, something potentially really good may be happening to me, but I'm not going to get too excited yet because, well, its MY life and I also don't want to sabotage it by talking about it too early or being presumptuous. I will just see how it goes. :-)

I'm at my mom's and I actually got her to watch a horror movie with me! The weird thing is SHE used to be a horror film fanatic and is the one who got me started on them when I was little! NOW, she has decided she doesn't like them anymore. We are watching "High Tension", a pretty gruesome little flick with a hell of a twist. (I've seen it before.) My mom cracks me up. We just saw a "gross" scene and she said out loud, "I didn't just see that." LOL!

Eat, sleep, work?

I really don't know what to do. I am so tired ALL the time. Lately I just have zero energy. The doctor is messing with my meds again to try and fix me. I guess I don't sleep well, but something is going to have to give. I have to go to work, I have to do the household chores, I have to take care of the dogs, I have to exercise, blah, blah, blah. I do make time for fun, but it is sad when my "fun" is taking naps and doing nothing. Is this all there is to life? Eat, sleep, work? I surely hope not.

My Whiteboard

Sometimes the senior person should take the grunt work upon themselves. I have a really good attitude about it too. LOL!

This is my whiteboard assignment of who's doing what at work, so if anyone asks about something in particular, we know who to send them to. Our "workflows" are documents that need revisions, and each is assigned a number. "Admin" workflows are the tedious unimportant ones that no one wants to do.

Slacker Extraordinaire

I'm behind. I'm a slacker. I know. I will catch up soon, OK? I have so much going on and I can't catch my breath.

Miss me? (If you go to comments and say, "Yes", I will update sooner and better with more details. If not, you'll get minimal effort on my part.) A little incentive. That is all.

Hot Tub, Candles, Wine, and BFF

Ahhhhhhhh. Hot tubs ROCK.

My BFF's Cabin

Life is sweet and peaceful out here at the cabin. It has been a day of eating, napping and hot tubbing. I made us eggs-in-the-hole for breakfast and burritos for dinner. Tomorrow is steak and onions. I love doing nothing. I'm really good at it.

Demolition

Here we go. Since I'm going out of town for 4 days, it is a great time for my neighbor to fix the heater leak and, BONUS! I get to have someone watch the house while I'm gone! Gotta like that. The wall crumbles apart in your fingers, and when you poke at the floor, pieces drop down into the crawl space. Awesome. Good thing I'm getting this done now.

I'm looking forward to a nice glass a wine while looking out the water. Leaving work now. I watched the time at work today, and it did not make it go faster.

Don't know what to say anymore.

I feel like I ramble about the same shit over and over again. I need a new muse. ;-)

I am getting ready to leave for several days to go down to Hood Canal to stay in a cabin with my BFF for some nice R&R. It is right on the water and has a hot tub. Getting out of town is just what I need right now. I am also in the process of solidifying my trip to Cali in June.

I have been unusually tired lately, to the point where I am nodding off on the freeway. NOT good. I went to see an endocrinologist yesterday and she wants to adjust some of my meds; namely my thyroid meds, and also run some tests. Terrific.

Well, there is a bunch of other stuff going on in my life right now, but I am going to keep that to myself for now. Sorry! :-)

Finally a chance to sit down.

I have been running around like a maniac all week and I am finally able to sit down at the computer and catch up. Paying bills, blogging, writing, returning emails and looking at some of my favorite sites. My BBQ went well, everyone loved my kabobs. It was my first time BBQing all by myself. (The cooking part, I mean.) I inherited my mom's old Weber, and I bought a new grill for it and some utensils. I've never worked with coals before so that was interesting, but I did it! This must sound stupid to everyone out there, but I have been making some small victories for myself lately, and as dumb as they are to the rest of the world, they mean something to me. I've always been pretty independent, but there were a few things I just never had to do, and now that I'm doing them, I feel empowered! Super Crazydogmama! LOL.

Now here is the sucky news. I have a heater in one of my back bedrooms that has been broken for some time due to a leak. (It is powered by water.) It was turned off and not used, but I noticed a spot on the carpet the other day. I had my neighbor come and look at it, and the leak still somehow continued, and has rotted out my floor and entire wall between the bedroom and the office. FUCKING GREAT. We ripped up the carpet and looked into the wall, and OMG what a mess. He has to replace all the flooring and wallboard and fix the leak. Not only is my house going to be ripped apart, but I gotta shit some more MONEY. When it rains it pours. I get one thing fixed, and something else goes wrong. Thank God he is a friend and is only going to charge me minimally, but it is still going to cost hundreds of dollars I don't have. And I still have to pay my taxes. I don't know how, but I will manage. I can hock stuff, sell blood, maybe pimp myself out.

Life can be crap, but my day is coming. There is nothing like learning and growing in the journey, right?

Running around nuts.

Gotta run to the store, go to a baby shower, then I'm having a BBQ! It is beautiful today. Going to make CrazyDogMama kabobs! (Are there any other kind?) I have never had a BBQ so early in the year.

New Friday Theme?

Crazydogmama's Friday Favorites!

This might be a new Friday theme! So, what we have here are products that CrazyDogMama recommends. If I keep this up, it could be anything from food, to products, to places or anything in between. Today we have Mrs. Meyers air freshener, a little gem I found at the Metropolitan Market on lower Queen Anne in Seattle. A nice, light and "cheery" scent that doesn't smell all chemical-ly. THEN, we have a beautiful mocha made with love by "Ellie" at "Holy Grounds" coffee shop on 1st Ave in Seattle. YUMMY.

Have a nice weekend y'all!

My little articulate extortionist.

My mother has this hilarious little habit of saying phrases wrong and using words incorrectly. As I get older, I am starting to do the same thing, proving it is genetic. Ha. The other day at work I was trying to tell a few of my coworkers how "intuitive" Louie, my dog, is. Instead, I told them my dog was "articulate". Roars of laughter. THEN, yesterday Louie was chasing his tail and rolling around like a freak and my mom exclaimed, "What an extortionist he is!" I laughed so hard I peed. So now everyone wants to meet Louie, the "articulate extortionist". LOL!

A Strong Woman Vs. A Woman of Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape,
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything,
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her,
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future,
a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks sure footedly,
but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face,
but a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey,
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

- Marta S. Hardy

The Crazies

Gotta love good zombie flicks. My neighbor was an extra in "ZMD, Zombies of Mass Destruction". How cool is THAT? I'm going to see if either he or my stepson wants to go see "The Crazies" with me, I have to go with someone who can appreciate the genre, and I'm not going by myself.

It's a DATE not a wedding!

I love my coworker's take on my situation.

"For the love of God Cheryl, it's a DATE not a wedding! Just GO. Let him take you out and spend some money on you, and have a good time!"

She has a point.

Persistence

Remember the guy I told you about that asked me out and I turned him down? He won't give up. It seems strange to me that he wants to go out with me that bad. Most likely guy hormones, I don't know. I'm suspicious of motives I guess. Am I being paranoid? As much as I *love* a persistent man, I just don't know. I don't trust my decision making abilities.

The Bucket List

Watching that movie right now and I'll tell you what, EVERYONE should watch it. I want to LIVE my life, not exist. I actually have a bucket list. (Things you want to do before you die). I totally forgot about it until now. I crossed two things off of my list that I wrote so long ago. TWO. Pathetic. The things I crossed off were 'start my own website' and 'go to NY'. Uh, I need to do a little more, I think. There are 100 things on my list, 98 to go. Where there is a will, there is a WAY.

I learned how to mow the grass today. NOT on my bucket list. LOL. Trying to get that motherfucking mower started took an hour. My shoulder is killing me. I also broke up the part of my fence that got kicked over and drug it across the yard out of sight to go to the dump. I'm going to sledgehammer the rest of the parts standing. Therapy. I'm sure I was quite the spectacle to my neighbors today.

Ways to Annoy Your Public Bathroom Stallmate

1. Stick your palm open under the stall wall and ask your neighbor, "May I borrow a highlighter?"
2. Say "Uh oh, I knew I shouldn't have put my lips on that."
3. Cheer and clap loudly every time somebody breaks the silence with a bodily function noise.
4. Say, "Hmmm, I've never seen that color before."
5. Drop a marble and say, "Oh shit!! My glass eye!"
6. Say, "Damn, this water is cold."
7. Grunt and strain real loud for 30 seconds and then drop a cantaloupe into the toilet bowl from eight to 6 feet high. Sigh relaxingly.
8. Say, "Now how did that get there?"
9. Say, "Humus. Reminds me of humus."
10. Fill up a large flask with Mountain Dew. Squirt it erratically under the stall walls of your neighbors while yelling, "Whoa! Easy boy!"
11. Say, "Interesting, more sinkers than floaters."
12. Using a small squeeze tube, spread peanut butter on a wad of toilet paper and drop under the stall wall of your neighbor. Then say, "Whoops, could you kick that back over here, please?
13. Say, "C'mon Mr. Happy! Don't fall asleep on me!
14. Say, "Boy, that sure looks like a maggot."
15. Say, "Damn, I knew that drain hole was a little too small. Now what am I gonna do?"
16. Play a well-known drum cadence over and over again on your butt cheeks.
17. Before you unroll toilet paper, conspicuously lay down your "Cross-Dressers Anonymous" newsletter on the floor visible to the adjacent stall.
18. Lower a small mirror underneath the stall wall and adjust it so you can see your neighbor and say, "Peek-a-boo!"
19. Drop a D-cup bra on the floor under the stall wall and sing "Born Free".

ROFLMAO!

Tried to sleep, but no banana.

Up all night. Dying now at work. It's because of all the fun I've been having. I gotta cut that out. ;-)

I think I am going to leave early today before I collapse. Going to hit Costco, and then going out to dinner with mom, so if I don't get a nap I'm going to fall over. My throat is a little scratchy too. Blah. My coworker said I looked like shit today. THANKS. LOL. I feel like a college student again, no sleep, too much caffeine and big dark circles under my eyes.

Oh, and everybody stop with the texting! Some of us have to work!

Planning for the Future

Here's an unusual post for me, a serious one. I'm trying to figure out the whole retirement/savings/investment for the future thing. It's not that I haven't thought about it before, but circumstances have been such that I really couldn't focus on it too much until now. A 401K is a duh, but that isn't enough, and I need to seek advice on some strategies that will work for me. I need to find more out about exactly WHAT to invest IN. The pro and cons of CD's, money market, IRA's, stocks/bonds, and so on and so forth. Is real estate still a good investment? It doesn't seem so in this economy, but I don't know. Should I be aggressive, should I be conservative, a little of both? I know to diversify, but how? I had a financial planner help me out with the different stocks to diversify in for my 401K, but it gets pricey to go much further than that, and I would rather invest the money rather than pay someone too much to give me opinions. The stock market is volatile of course, and I don't know much about it, so it frightens me. I'm doing some research, but it can get confusing and it takes a lot of time I don't have. At present I don't have much to work with, but I anticipate with hope that things will change later and want to be ready and educated so as to not make poor decisions. Right now it is important for me to work on getting out of debt of course, but I want to be proactive in saving as well.

Does anyone out there have any general advice? What do you do? I don't expect details from strangers on the internet of course, but if anyone has any practical advice I would love to hear your thoughts.

DDD

Day of Dealing with Dickheads. That was today. I have my moments like anyone else, but I don't believe I am hard to get along with or talk to, in fact most people I work with tell me I am one of the most easy-going people they have ever met. HOWEVER, if you are a dickhead, I run out of patience with you at some point and tell you like it is. Dickheads generally don't take this well. LOL.

SOME people like to be aggressive with me and do not respect any knowledge or authority I might have in my profession of 16 years. I can deal with that if they are diplomatic and professional, but when they get in my face, I absolutely do NOT back down and stand my ground. I had to do that today. I will probably hear about it tomorrow. Oh well. I have no problems admitting fault or apologizing if I have stepped over the line, but I will get my point across come hell or high water. I am just not a "lay down and die" kind of person.

Okay, enough of that, I don't want to get "Dooced". (If you don't know what that is, try Googling it.)

I decided to say "fuck it" tonight and order a pizza. Haven't done that in quite a while! (I had a slice at the California Pizza Kitchen the other night, but mostly ate salad.) I have lost 22(?) pounds now since I started keeping track, probably more, but I just want to indulge this evening. Tomorrow it will be back to Bistro MD and protein shakes. The pizza people said it was going to take an HOUR AND 20 MINUTES for delivery. CRAP. I won't be eating until 9pm. Well, at least I won't get interrupted during "LOST"!

Chillaxing.

Did a few things around the house, but mostly relaxed, slept and spent time with myself. It was so nice. I turned down a date. (I know!) He is local, but I can tell he is not a good match for me. I guess I'm picky. I would rather be alone than be with the wrong person. I felt kinda bad, he wasn't very happy about it, but I am not desperate and I know what I want. I also told one of my "cyber chats" I wanted to be just friends. I am soul searching and this was the result of it. I'm proud of myself! I deserve the best!

Right now I'm trying to decide whether to watch "Walking Tall" or order something from Pay-Per-View. It is late, but with all the relaxing I'm wide awake.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

It was sunny and (sorta) warm, not a cloud in the sky! I drove with my sunglasses on, windows down and the sunroof open. IN FEBRUARY!

Went out on a date for dinner tonight at the California Pizza Kitchen. Had a decent time, but he's definitely not "The One". I dressed up in some new clothes and wore my cute new kitten heels. I felt pretty. And that is even more rare than sun in Feb! :-)

Have a fun weekend planned.

Got some cute shoes for half price. Louie apparently likes my new shoes too, because he just wouldn't get out of the way. The weather has been nice, so I have a date planned tomorrow that includes dinner out. Perhaps details later, we'll see.

The earrings are a gift from a friend who just got back from Panama (so nice!), and I also got some new glasses. My eyeballs are failing, I had to get progressive bifocals. Those suckers were expensive.

Not much else to say today, so goodnight.

CrazyDogMama Code

I'm bored. I have cramps. I don't want to eat. I don't want to exercise. Just back away, slowly, no eye contact.

I can't seem to focus on anything for any length of time, so beware that this post will no doubt make no sense at all. I was feeling happy yesterday, and today I want to smack someone. Anyone. Just for fun. Everything everyone said today, in person, online, wherever, irritated me to no end. I don't know why. Women, huh? We are moody, get over it. I wasn't mean to anyone though, mind you. That is not acceptable.

That gives me an idea. There is a CrazyDogMama Code that I live by. You should too.

1. Never take your bad mood out on anybody.
2. Carry Aleve on you at all times.
3. Don't smack people unless it's absolutely necessary.
4. Always be ready to go out. (This is new for me.)
5. Get to know your neighbors.
6. Never guzzle wine. Enjoy every sip.
7. Don't try to be something you are not.
8. Remember every problem is temporary.
9. Take leaps of faith.
10. Keep hope alive for the life you desire.
11. Take chances once in a while.
12. Talk to people. Even if you are afraid to. It will most likely be worth it in some way.
13. Forgive easily.
14. Give it your all.
15. Don't give up.
16. Don't put God in a box.
17. Remember that you suck just like everyone else, just maybe in a different way.
18. Take regret out of your vocabulary, even bad experiences are important.
19. Kiss slowly and softly.
20. Compliment others.
21. Don't try to breath in while drinking a beverage, you will choke and cough for about a half an hour.
22. Try to find humor in everything.

Eating good, losing weight, having fun.

I've decided that I have been taking life WAY too seriously and it is time to chill out and have some fun! Instead of worrying about every little detail, I'm just talking to everyone and being myself not even thinking about any outcome.

So, let's see, we have NY Guy, Cali Boy and the new addition of Florida Dude. (I have the corners of the country covered, LOL.) Florida Dude is HOT. Not celebrity hot, but rugged, outdoorsy, big-huge muscles hot. The other two are handsome and all, but Florida Dude, WOW. All three of them share the same faith as me, but each is so very different. I feel all popular and shit! I'm being totally honest with these guys about who I am, and they dig me anyway! Not that I have been so dishonest before, but just scared that guys wouldn't like the real me. Turns out I was wrong. How cool is THAT?

What is so fun is that I don't have to make any "first" moves, I just sit and wait, then respond appropriately. These three are now what I'm calling my "regular chats". One of them is seriously wanting to get together soon, one is very optimistic about a future meeting but is taking it slow, and the third is just casual, fun and very interesting. I now eat my dinner in front of the laptop, sometimes with a nice glass of good red wine so I stay chilled out.

Speaking of dinner, here are a few pics of the yummy food that I get to eat while watching the pounds melt away. Pork tenderloin in a papaya sauce, chicken marsala, and beef tenderloin with a Thai chili sauce. All yummy.

4 days of bliss comes to an end.

The weekend is over. Poo. I did enjoy parts of it, my mom and I had fun as always. I had a nice lively email chat this morning that kept me in stitches (NY guy), and a long-ass phone conversation tonight with California boy. That's right, two men. What do you know! In the same day! NY guy and I have been sending pictures back and forth. Quite amusing, I must say! We both like to snap cheesy cell phone pics. My mom was bugging me during my email chat this morning and so I sent of pic of her to him too. She wasn't mad at all! She even picked out the pic! (My mother won't allow me to post pics of her on the internet, but she is good with sending them to my cyber boyfriends.) I think she is living vicariously through me. "What did he say now?", "What are you talking about?", "Can I read it?" (Um, NO.) California boy is planning my Cali vacation in June for me. None of this will probably happen, it's more like enjoying a fiction novel.

I should go to bed, but I'm wired. Too much coffee. The dogs have gone bonkers. They have EVERY freakin' dog toy out. You can't even walk in here. At least they are happy. :-)

Call from a distressed friend.

I got a call from a distressed friend at 3 am this morning. My long-time friend Brent has a blood clot in his leg and the doctors can't seem to help him. He has been in and out of the hospital many times over the last month and it is possible he could die if it gets to his heart. I am so worried for my friend; I have known him since I was 18 years old, and he has always been one of those people in my life I could always count on. He has lent me many an ear and many a shoulder to cry on, and I don't know how to feel other than extremely sad. I wish there was something I could do for him other than pray. He sounded so scared, and we cried together.  I love him so much.

If you pray, please pray for him. He is a good man. He has a wife and a young son.

I am stiff and sore and can hardly move.

I've spent the last two days running errands and cleaning. I cut up what seemed like a hundred boxes for the recycle bin, did 4 loads of laundry, threw away and bagged up a bunch of stuff from the garage and cleaned it up, sewed a hole in my cheetah pillow, fixed a nice dinner for my mom (who was helping me bless her heart), did a huge pile of dishes, answered a million emails and now I'm lying in bed with a backache. What I wouldn't give for a massage right now!

Tomorrow I am going to clean out the pantry, and if it is not raining, attempt to mow the lawn. That should be entertaining in that I've never done it before in my life. Please God let it rain. LOL. I have been avoiding the task for some time now, bribing others to do it, but I'm out of bribe money. I also have to somehow get on the roof and get the moss off. If you don't see me blogging, you'll know I fell off and died.

For Valentine's Day my mom got me a set of tools. So romantic! We were trying to do some household fixes and we found out I had no tools anymore. D'oh! You must own a hammer. Life is difficult without a screwdriver and a hammer.

My four-day weekend kinda sucks, but at least I'm getting some much-needed things done. Hope you all are having a little more fun than I.

Let's also hope for no more nightmares, how about a nice dream that makes me feel good when I wake up? OK thanks. Goodnight.

No matter what I do I can't stay asleep.

I keep waking up for some reason or another. The latest awakening was due to a nightmare. What adult has terrible nightmares? Aparently I'm 12. This one was a taunting nightmare that bad things keep happening to me because I'm a terrible person.

It is dumb, I know. But it keeps me awake nonetheless.

I might be funny.

4-day weekend, here I come! I don't know what I wanna do. People keep asking me to do stuff, but part of me just wants to curl up with the dogs and not leave the couch for 4 days. Or go to Greece. Either one. HA.

So, what is everyone doing for Valentines Day? Per usual, no romance for CrazyDogMama. Perhaps I will clean the garage. Good times.

I went out with some coworkers tonight to bid farewell to a friend of mine who was contracting. His contract ended and they didn't renew it so we thew him a party. It was a hoot. I (think) I got a compliment tonight. One of the ladies who joined us said to me "I didn't know you were so funny!" She said I was "fun". I thought it was nice. Apparently, I'm "funny". I actually wasn't trying to be, it must just be that shiny personality of mine. LOL.

HOT WATER

I have never missed something so much.

I am going to take a nice, long, bubble bath. Ooh the luxury. The steam. The pretty girly smells. Cold showers can really make you a lunatic, LET ME TELL YOU. Not that I had far to go.

Change of subject.

I'm finding that I'm very picky. (You know what I mean.) No one is cutting the mustard. So far it is fun and entertaining, and I'm making some friends, but I think I'm a freak magnet. OK, not every guy I've talked with is necessarily a freak, but they just aren't good enough. And damnit, I'm not settling! I'm not even settling for a mediocre date, if they don't come up with something cool, forget it. (Disneyland is cool, for example.) You never know until you really get to know someone, but I gotta "feel it". Not that I was expecting (nor wanting) this to be a quick or easy process, I'm just sayin'.

Can't afford cable...OUT.
In between jobs...OUT.
Wants to marry me after 2 emails...OUT.
Calls me incessantly...OUT.
Can't type a complete sentence...OUT.
Refers to himself in the 3rd person...OUT. (Wasn't that a Seinfeld episode? LOL.)

I can't find normal. I'm not trying to be shallow or snobby or anything, I just have standards, that's all.

They say when you stop looking, THAT'S when it happens. OK. Maybe I'll give that a try, this is nuts.

OK, gotta run. Hot water awaits.

My head is spinning.

No, I haven't been drinking. Things are just going so fast and furious in my life. I feel like I don't have one second to take it all in. To reflect. I need a switch to stop time for a week or so. Between work, errands, responsibilities, phone calls, paperwork, projects, and other crap, it is very difficult to get a foothold. I have a little anxiety going on. I got an unexpected phone call this morning from one of my new "friends". It was sweet, and exciting, and made me feel good, but I find myself grappling for words these days. I feel like a Highschool girl or something. Ha. I'm going to try and get some sleep, but I'm not holding my breath.

First Date?

It isn't until June or so, but STILL! The guy I've been talking to in California wants to meet at either Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm this summer. Great date, huh? I thought so. In the meantime, we just keep talking and getting to know each other. This gives me time to work on my weight, too, which freaks me out. He doesn't seem to care, but I do. The NY guy wants to move to WA. Really?

We shall see how things turn out. I am a natural pessimist, I think. Or maybe I'm just jaded, I don't know. I need to get the hell over it!

Happy Superbowl!

My new NYC hat that I bought for my ex as a souvenir, but then he left, so I kept the hat. Doesn't exactly scream 'Superbowl' but I'm not really a sports person anyways. Happy Superbowl.

Hot Damn!

I'm down 9 pounds in a week and a half! That's a total of 19 since December. On my way to being a hottie! Ha.

I'm trying to be open-minded and casual.

Woke up at 7:30 and it's about time for my nap. LOL. Got invited to a Superbowl party tomorrow, but I don't know if I'm going to go. Haven't decided yet.

Been emailing a couple of people for a few weeks now (yes, guys) who are both sweet. One of the conversations is getting pretty interesting, we'll see. I've been pretty tight-lipped, letting them do most of the talking. I'm loosening up a little, though. One is from NY and the other is from California. Too far away, but who knows. It's fun to just chat and get used to this new adjustment in my life. You know, dip my toes in the pool slowly.

It just keeps getting better and better.

For the first time in as long as I can remember I owe the IRS my kidneys and my first born child. I always get a refund, but not this year! It is more than I can come up with by April 15th. Fuck me. Back to eating Top Ramen and frozen burritos. I sometimes wonder what keeps me from driving off a cliff Thelma and Louise style, but without Thelma.

Wine, Cards, and The Captain & Tennille

We each have a personal bottle of Woodbridge Chardonnay, I'm losing at Gin Rummy, and The Captain & Tennile are coaxing us to get up and dance. "That's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it!"

Yup, Friday night with my ma. LOL! I love these kinds of nights, honestly. Brings back memories of my childhood and is just a way to totally decompress from the trainwreck that is my life. I don't know what I would do without my mom right now.

Don't you wish you could join us?

Yeah, go ahead. Check me into the loony bin.

There is someone I wish I could talk to, but I don't know his real name. Oh well, he probably wouldn't want to talk to me anyway. I could have a one-sided conversation here on my blog; I have so much I want to tell him. But for tonight I'll just talk to him in my head.

Plumbing Issues

It was a DAY.

I took the day off to deal with my plumbing issue and to get some much-needed R&R. It looks like my neighbor can get me a new water heater tank for a few hundred bucks and is going to install it for me for free. I owe him BIG. I'm going to have to cook for him or something! I feel like such an idiot with house maintenance issues. I have to call him for everything. "My heater is broken! My water is cold! I can't lift this! I need help installing my TV! How do you use the lawn mower?" Good grief.

LOST in LOST

AGAIN. My biggest question: Desmond wasn't on the original flight (he is the one who caused the original crash by not resetting the numbers to keep the magnetic forces at bay), so the bomb going off didn't recreate the time accurately for that counterpart of the show, so something else is going on. WTF? Damn it!

Whoever wrote that show was on crack. But I love them. ;-)

Several things here.

Lou is sporting my new scarf and leopard gloves, albeit with much annoyance. I could NOT get him to look at the camera. He punishes me for doing such things. I'm sure he'll shit on the floor later. You may also notice that there are no sheets on my bed. Yep, just the naked mattress. I washed the sheets over a week ago and have not put them back on. I am the epitome of laziness sometimes. I also hate putting sheets on. HATE. IT.

I bought this candle, and I don't care if I had 1000 dogs in this house simultaneously peeing, you would not smell it! It is SO worth the $8.99. Trust me on this.

Bistro M.D.

It is going well, the food is quite tasty and the weight is falling off, but OMG I WANT A FREAKING COOKIE.

You may fall over when you read this.

I went to church today. A new friend of mine invited me to go with her and her husband to a local community church. Now, for those of you that know me, you know I love the Lord but am not all that thrilled about organized religion. That is still true to some degree, but if the people are real and the place isn't a stadium, I'm willing to give it a chance. And NO, I did not spontaneously combust when I walked through the doors. LOL I am not exactly a shining example of what a "typical" mainstream Christian woman is, I guess. I cuss, I drink occasionally, I watch horror movies, I don't have the whole little cozy family thing going on and I am little sarcastic. Now, I don't expect to be joining the choir or leading Bible study next week, but it was nice. I believe it is what is in your heart that makes your faith what it is, and there is no room for judging others or trying to be someone you are not.

I suppose you could say I have hit a sort of "rock bottom" in my life over the last few years. Things aren't that bad, but they could certainly be a whole lot better. I'm working on that. I thank God for what I have, and ask for help and wisdom when I need it. It isn't God's fault for anything that has happened in my life. It is just life. We make choices, but all in all I believe in a personal relationship with my maker and do not consider Him my personal genie in a bottle.

I felt a little out of place today, but once I got settled, I talked to God. I said, "Where do I go from here? What is the plan?" (I don't like to mince words.) After that I sat in silence, listening to the message. I felt physically alone, but I knew God was right there keeping me together. I could feel it. I feel Him sometimes when I am home or driving. He told me that He knows all about me and what I am going through. He said he has never once left me. I asked Him to let me know that it wasn't my own voice telling me those things. The words, "Trust me." just kept coming to mind. That was it. When I opened my Bible, there were familiar scribblings among the pages. They reminded me of a different time. The pastor was teaching from 1 Corinthians. A good chapter for me right now.

I pretty much ran out as soon as the service was over and didn't talk to anyone because I'm not used to church and haven't been in one for many years. Silly, huh?

I came home and my neighbor and I have been trying to figure out my water problem. I'm going to have to get on my knees about this one I think. UG.

The Cuteness of Sleeping

Why are sleeping dogs so damn cute?