I should be doing laundry...

Actually, I should be, sleeping because it's midnight, but neither The Baby nor I have anything practical to wear tomorrow.  I really should have done laundry last night, but instead, I decided I would get up really early and put clothes in the wash and go back to bed.  Yes, I am not only lazy and an "excellent" (I put that in quotations to make sure you could hear the sarcasm in my words, mmm-kay?) procrastinator, I also have unfounded faith in my ability to function in the morning.

Care to guess what happened when my alarm went off this morning?

Yep.

I hit the snooze button.

Every 10 minutes.

For three hours.

I'm going to go start a load of laundry, now...

Oh, is it irony? or just weird coincidence?

Remember that story I wrote out a few months back?  The one about looking for a ring and finding the candy canes instead?  The candy canes that brought up memories of a Christmas 4 years in the past? 

Yeah? 

Well, I found the ring today.

In the very first drawer I looked in when I searched for it the first time.  This time, I had memories twice as old as the former come flooding back.  I don't remember much, good or bad.  My very first real relationship.  Somehow this ring has made it through 8 years and a move to a smaller house.  I would return it, but if he didn't want it back 8 years ago, I'm pretty sure he's not going to want it now.  What's he going to do with it?  Give it to the pregnant girlfriend he's trying to cheat on with me?  I doubt it.

It's strange the way we've changed.  We reconnected through an internet social site a few months ago (hence the searching for the ring just to see if I still had it).  I'm taller than he is, now.  He used to be all about skinheadedness and started growing his hair after we broke up.  He no longer speaks to the mutual friend I met him through.  He wears skinny jeans, works in a leather shop that specializes in S&M products, I believe, and is in school for fashion design.

He's still as persistent as ever.  Assumes that he can get his way if he keeps insisting and pushing me around.  I, however, don't take his crap this time around.  I make my own decisions.  I got no butterflies in my stomach that first time I saw his name after these 8 long years.

I went to see him once in the last few months.  He tried to act like we were 16 again and still together.  Tried to force a kiss before I left and I threatened to physically hurt him.  I think that shocked him into backing off.  I haven't talked to him since.

Now, are you ready for the irony, or weird coincidence, or whatever?

When I went looking in that drawer, I was aiming for the Christmas CD in the back!

Christmas seems to be a common denominator in dredging up memories, huh?  Wish it would remind me of happy times...

I think I am going to get rid of this ring. Then maybe I will stop thinking about the similarities in the relationships that worry me and start remembering the differences in the personalities that calm my fears.

I just found out that a check that I wrote on Monday for $100, just went through on my account as $600 which caused that account (not my main account) to go under and incur an insufficient funds fee.  This is the account is the one I use to pay the daycare.  I have a certain amount deposited directly into this account from my paycheck, enough to cover the cost of two weeks, and the rest goes into my main account.

I called the bank and it will take 2-5 business days to fix, which means I do not have access to any of the money that is supposed to be in that account, including extra $50 I keep in there for emergencies that would have helped me replace the stupid tire on my car that keeps going flat!  So here's hoping I have enough in my main account to cover the cost of the tire and my holiday traveling expenses!


So then I called the daycare provider and asked her to check her online for me. She said everything looked fine, but then, while I was on the phone with her, she got a $500 recall on her account! WTF?! Now she is having to call HER bank as well!

Happy Freaking Thanksgiving!!

*bleh*

**Ok, so I just talked to my dad and he is going to meet me up at the discount tire after work and has offered to pay if I do need to replace the tires!  YAY!!

Halloween 2009 - *whew* Thank goodness it's OVER!!

(This is a long, detailed description of my Friday night and Saturday, if you don't want to read it all, you can just look at the pictures and read the last sentence...)

  

The Baby insisted on being piglet for Halloween. Even if I could have found one to buy, they don't make piglet costumes for tall toddlers!

 

So I went to Joann's Friday night (10.30.09) after work and got some felt and fabric dye (just in case).

 

Then I went to WalMart. The one 30 minutes away because it's bigger than the one by my house and I knew for certain it would have the pink pants and matching shirt I needed. I not only found what I needed, I also found a perfect pink knit cap for $1!!

 

I found their leotards, but they weren't exactly what I needed, so I paid for the clothes I had picked up and headed across the street to the Target, which had Jack Shit for what I could use.

 

Ok, fine. I came all the way back to the WalMart by my house because I swore I saw a leotard like what I needed there. I was wrong and I couldn't even find the leotards that I had seen at the first WalMart! They weren't ideal, but I could've made it work, right?

 

By this time, it was getting late, it was past bedtime, I was cranky cause The Baby decided she wanted my dinner instead of hers, The Baby was cranky cause she was tired and I was getting crankier trying to deal with a tired, cranky toddler! So I took her home, put her to bed and left her with my dad so i could go to a DIFFERENT WalMart 15 minutes in a different direction.

 

I found the very small, 3x4ft aisle where WalMart keeps their dance wear, grabbed a small, short sleeved leotard and left, patting myself on the back, while kicking myself for not getting the leotard in the first place at the first WalMart.

 

I took everything home, took all the tags off and threw it all into the washer because I couldn't dye the leotard until it had been washed, right? Thank goodness I bought that dye!

 

After waiting and waiting for the washer to be done so I could start the dyeing process, I found that the darn leotard didn't even make it into the wash with everything else!!

 

I grabbed a few things and started a new load. This time, I made SURE the leotard was included. I didn't even get to start dying it until 1am!

 

It took a little over an hour to dye. I rinsed it in the bathtub as well as I could and threw it in the wash with an old towel.

 

While waiting for the dye to set, I started on making piglet ears. I cut large, leaf-like shapes out of felt, pinched them in the middle and stitched it so the pinch would stay. This way I could be sure that the ears would stand up when I sewed them onto the $1 hat I found at the WalMart!

1ear done!(1am):

2ears done! (2am!):

 

 

When the washer stopped, I hung the leotard up to dry and went to bed. It was 3am!

 

We were up by 7:30 the next morning and The Baby was SO happy with her piglet ears.

 

So happy, obviously, that she had to try them on before even going to the bathroom! haha!

 

I put on a Winnie the Pooh dvd for her to watch and set out to add the finishing touches to the leotard. A pair of scissors and a sharpie later and voila!

 

 

 

PRESENTING, THE BABY as PIGLET!:

 

 

Oh d-d-d-DEAR!!

(Please, please, please somebody notice that my little piglet has pigtails!)

 

 

 

THEN - I left my purse and camera (VERY important to have) at a friends house on the way to The Guy's to meet up with BMF (Best Mom Friend) and BBF  (The Baby's best friend) at BBF's dad's house for ToTing (BBF's dad lives less than a minute away from The Guy). geez, that was a mouthful...

 

So, I dropped The Guy and The Baby off with BMF, BBF's dad and BBF and went off to get my camera. They were done ToTing before I even got to where I had left it!

It's all good as long as The Baby liked her costume and got to go trick or treating, right?  yeah.  it is. *smile*

I told The Guy that Halloween was his responsibility next year. Ha!

So, in short, I spent all night on a costume only to miss seeing her trick or treat in it because I had to have my stupid camera. Worst Halloween E.V.E.R. (Except for the cuteness that is My Little Piglet!)

Memory

A strange thing. Everyone remembers things differently. It's interesting to think how two people can be in the same place at the same time and remember completely different parts of that time. It's crazy the little things I can remember from years ago, but then I can't remember whether or not I ate breakfast this morning. Also, the things that trigger these memories can be so completely random. Like, if I can remember what I was wearing on a particular day, I can remember details about that day that no one else would. Or, If you can tell me what I was wearing, I can tell you the date if it's within a month. Strange. Very strange the way the mind works.

Today, I was searching through my drawers looking for a ring that it is possible that I have thrown away. Not probable; I remember thinking about going outside and just flinging it as far as I could, but I doubt I ever really did. There's not telling where it has ended up, now, I didn't find it.

What I did find, buried in the bottom of my desk drawer, was 14 peppermint candy canes. I immediately knew how many there were without having to count them. I remember the night I begged to go look at the Christmas lights in the park, how it was the end of the season and the ladies handing out the candy canes at the end gave us all they had in their hands. 14 to be exact. I remember counting. I remember it being dark and going to look at more Christmas lights around the town. I gave horrible directions. I said to go straight, because I thought we were on a different street. You couldn't go straight on this one.

This was years ago, and yet, every aspect of that night came flooding back because of these stupid candy canes.

I threw them away.

I don't even like peppermint.

Good Riddance.

BATTLE!!

I just stalked a Spider...

Seriously.

This was no ordinary spider, this was one of those Spiders that looks like a tiny tarantula. Hairy and ugly. I have a sneaking suspicion it is the same Spider I saw climbing up the outside of my window the other day. He was caught between the window and the screen. He must have heard my *sigh* of relief and silent laughing at his plight and came back for revenge...

I'm trying to upload a video I took, I doubt it will work...

He (or she?!) was climbing up the door frame, I was trying to file, but just couldn't bring myself to have my back facing this monster. For goodness sakes, I saw it JUMP!!

Now, I could have asked one of the guys in the office to dispose of it for me, but why do they need to know how much of a wimp I am?

I watched it for a while. Thank goodness no one saw the look of utter horror on my face as they walked past. I tried to get a picture of it, but it was moving so jerkily and quickly that all I got were little blurs with many, many legs. Oh my, so many legs.... so many....

*cough*

Sorry.

So it was climbing so fast and so high, I, being the stupid girl that I am, decide to blow at it to see if I can get it to stop...

That little fucker dived off of that door frame and nearly landed on me!

I look down and he has disappeared into the multi-colored carpet.

"Bad plan, very BAD plan."

Now it's on the floor, I can sit in the chair and finish my filing with my feet off the floor looking like an idiot, but he could still climb up the legs of the chair!

So I get down on the floor, searching with my face as close to the floor as i dared and searched for the damn thing. I would find it, stand up to step on it and it would be moving so quickly that I couldn't even kill it with my big ol' feet!! (seriously, they're huge)

I started looking for it while bent over instead of actually being on the floor and that damn Spider was STILL too fast for me!! I would think I squished him, but there wouldn't be any spidey guts on my shoe and when I would go to look for them on the floor, I would catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. It was like a weird kind of dance and I would much rather never learn the rest...

We went back and forth like this for a good few minutes. I chased him out of the office, but for the rest of the day, I will sit in MY office, scared to death because this is the direction he was heading when I couldn't find him anymore!

Spider: 1
Me: 0

*sigh*

OH GOD IS THAT SOMETHING CRAWLING ON MY LEG?!??!

Love YOU!!

Well, I believe we have broached the topic of 'love' before....

As I recall, I was not very upbeat or optimistic about the whole subject. I never was one of those girls who gushed over a guy. Never had smarmy nicknames like 'Schmoopie', or 'SugaDumplin'SweetiePie'....

Never liked those stupid, "I love you"-"I love you more!"-"No, I love YOU more!" games (Still don't!) That just wasn't my style.

I have actually cringed when a guy called me his girlfriend(we hadn't discussed anything of the sort) and have corrected another for telling me he loved me after only three weeks or something ridiculous like that.

I will admit I have been cynical. Heck, I already have!


Well, kiddos, today is a post of a different color. Or perhaps it is more black and white:






This is my profile picture on my facebook.



Yes, I took it myself, I take all my own pictures, you ought to know that by now! Sometimes I wish I had photoshop for real so I could do lots of cool stuff, but I'll settle for this, for now.



This is me, kissing.... wait for it.... wait for it.... my boyfriend. (Wait did I really say it out loud? We're in a facebook relationship, so it must be real, right?!) He says this is the universal sign that you are in a relationship, when the girl puts up a picture of the two of you kissing. That's when it's official. If you're gunna freak out and run, do it now cause there ain't no turning back! ;D



I know, in the past, I have had a severe allergic reaction to this type of affection... but somehow, this is different. Very different. This is not some guy who has fallen instantly in love with me. This is a guy I have known for 10 years. Can't say he doesn't know me, can I? He knows exactly what to say and when to say it. When he says these things, there is no urge to vomit. (That's a pretty thought, huh?) When he says he loves me, there is no hesitation when I respond with "I love you, too." I know he means it. As do I. When I send him a heart symbol through text messaging, my own heart longs to be the one on it's way to him.



I can't help it. I am that girl. That gushing, nickname calling, "I love you whole bunches!" kinda girl. He brings out the smarm in me and I love it.



I've been trying to write this post for days. It's been in my head for a lot longer! I mentioned this to him and offered him the privilege of choosing his own alias. His first suggestion: God.



I vetoed that one.



His next suggestion? Jesus the Lord. (J.L. for short, of course!)



Sorry. Next?



This is where he asked my opinion. I told him that if he didn't choose, I was just going to call him The BF.



He offered me more variations on his first two suggestions. (Jesus Christ, J.C., The Lord Our God (The L.G. for short). I was not amused. Blasphemy is not one of my favorite subjects.



He suggested I call him The Dude, but I fear that is just too close to The Guy's alias. What a mess that would be if I got the names confused!



The next thought he had was 'Jeff'(Andonuts) a character from the video game, 'Earthbound'. While the character fits (intelligent, creative, glasses and a blond chili-bowl haircut like the one he had when he was younger), It is not a good alias as it would be very confusing using an actual name. Well, it would be confusing for me, at least!

We finally decided on 'The Joker':


A fitting alias. I approve! He went as joker for Halloween last year and I wish I could have been there to see it, or help him make it, or even been there when the tread came off his tire in the middle of nowhere so that he wouldn't have been alone. I wish I could have been there to make things better.

Well, I loved his costume in pictures!

Aw Hell, I love him.

*daydreamy sigh*

Now if only he didn't live four hours away! What a punk!

(Love you, Baby!)

I <3...

I started receiving these e-mails from iheartdaily.com about a month or two ago. Don't ask how I stumbled upon the site, because I really have no clue. I remember signing up for them, but that's about it. I'm very glad I did.

Every morning, I get an e-mail from them about something the authors (or guest authors in some cases) have found that they love. Each article ranges in spectrum from fashion to books to news to music. For example, I have learned about t-shirt prom dresses, The Sledge Grits Band, and affordable glasses that use water to adjust the strength of the lenses.

One of the things I gave up during Lent was purchasing unnecessary clothing. My will-power was strained to the breaking point when the link to Sock Dreams showed up in my I Heart Daily e-mail. I have a deep affinity for unique socks. The only plain socks I have in my sock drawer are white ankle socks for work and even some of those have a ring of color around the cuff. Even now, I am drooling over this website.

Now you know my dirty little fashion secret. I have even been known to wear fun knee high socks with my Capri pants. Yes, yes. Fashion disaster, right here. If I hadn't had to throw those Capri pants away because I popped a button (*gasp*), I would take a picture so you could see how I rock my fashion statements!

My point for telling you about I Heart Daily is not just because I think you should subscribe to their daily e-mails, 'cause really, you should. It's like a ray of sunshine in my inbox every morning. I mean, their tagline is "You’ll never hear about stuff we hate, just stuff we heart. We’re nice that way." You can't go wrong with that!

The real reason I am giving you the background on I Heart Daily has a lot to do with what I got in my inbox from them this morning. Today, I Heart Daily hearts an etsy jewelry designer. Her shop is called yellowgoats. In particular, her $15 version of the seller's original Good Time Ring. It is a picture frame for your finger! I Love it!

I had heard of etsy before, but I had never felt the need to check it out, really, but I just had to check this seller out. I clicked the link and soon decided that I had to sign up so that I could add this seller and some of her pieces to my favorites. My favorite piece from her store is a small matchbox necklace. The handmade box, which is stamped with the words, Perfect Match, actually slides open to reveal two small matches inside. A bit out of my price range, but still absolutely wonderful.

So I created an account and decided to browse. I didn't really get a chance to look at much. In fact, I only looked at one other seller. One of her pieces was displayed under the gift guide and I fell instantly in love. Her shop is called KeysAndMemories. She creates wonderful jewelry from vintage typewriter keys. My favorite from her shop is this XO earring set.

As I searched through all of her listings, I found that she does not only make jewelry from typewriter keys. She also makes beautiful Glass Tile Necklaces. My favorite being the Wonderland XO Glass Tile Necklace. I'm debating whether or not I should ask for a JS (my initials) necklace like that one. I am slightly impulsive, but the past 6 weeks of limited spending seem to have inhibited my impulse buying habits... We'll have to see. ;)

I'm a flake, it's ok, everyone else knows, you should, too.

I'm sorry I haven't written anything in a while. *smack hand* I know, I know. The trip to Florida was good. I haven't done anything with any of the pictures, I need to get on that... *blush*

I'll catch up with some stuff from the past three months in a little bit later. I'm here today to bring you a story from the past week that has had me in agony from the pain of shin splints. You, however, will probably be laughing at my misfortune! Shame on you!

I get shin splints every time I run. I don't run regularly, and am in no sort of shape. Just for the record, you know... I honestly blame colorguard and marching band for introducing me to this pain. Seriously. I believe the constant laps I had to run for my being late are the initial cause. I often wonder if I would get them so often now if I hadn't gotten them for that first time in high school...

What's that you say? Maybe I should have been on time? Well then my nickname of 7:20 would not have made sense, so shove it!

Okay, okay, enough complaining, here's your story for the day!

I was in a hurry. I parked the wrong way in a parking lot of angled spots at the post office. I was just going to jump out real quick to put a FedEx envelope in the drop box, so I left the car running. I got out of the car and closed the door behind me as I ran up to the drop box.

When I got back to the car, I realized that I have programmed myself to lock the doors whenever I get out of the car. (If I don't do it every time, I forget for days...) This time was no different.

Yep. I had locked my keys in the car with the engine running.

Along with my phone, my purse and any number of enticing and useful items...

I couldn't call work for help, most people were gone already anyways. I was supposed to meet up with The Guy cause he owed me money; I couldn't call him and tell him what was up. There was no one else in the parking lot that I could borrow a phone from, not that I would know any numbers anyways, I have become way to dependent on my phone knowing the important numbers. [expletive deleted]

I briefly debated grabbing the trashcan/ashtray in front of the post office and breaking a window. I decided against it. With my luck, the thing was probably plastic.

So I ran back to work.

It wasn't far, a couple or three blocks.

Big G., the only guy who hadn't left work for the day, drove me back to the post office. He called a few friends to get an idea of what to do, left me with his phone and went to his house to grab a wire coat hanger and some tools. I called work and had the office manager look up the number to the daycare to call them to tell them what was going on.

Big. G returned a few minutes later and I am amazed at just how easy it was to pop that damn lock, especially for someone who had never done it before! Shit!

So, since I paid the car off a few weeks ago, I had a spare key at home. It is now here in my desk at work. Things could have been so much worse. I'm glad they weren't.

And, of course, the story was all over the office the next day. "Do you know where your keys are?" was a very popular phrase...

*sigh*