Pickles are the New Goose

So I was assaulted by a jar of pickles yesterday. No, really. I'm still not sure how it happened but as I was leaned all the way down getting something out of the crisper drawer for the kids

I all of the sudden saw little stars and birds floating around. That shit is really true! After the fog cleared and I looked down I realized that I had just been nailed in the back of my head by a 32 oz jar of pickles It had fallen directly on my head from the top shelf. About 3 feet. Exhibit A showing the size of the jar in comparison with a bottle of vicodin

Due to my insane bawling the kids started to freak out which made my skull throb. I just wanted (for the love of all that is holy) for them to be quiet long enough for me to decide if 1) I was going to pass out, and 2) if I were bleeding from the brain. Neither seemed to be the case so I sent Joe (who was in class) a few texts about how I was just clobbered by a pickle jar. In true man form he was all, "Man that sucks" not "Hey do you need me to leave and come home" But whatever.

I managed to survive the rest of the evening with a throbbing headache like none I have ever experienced. Hindsight I probably should have NOT gone to bed but I did at least ask him to poke me a few times in the middle of the night and make sure I was not dead. I stayed home today, still feeling kind of dizzy and just off. Plus I was not quite ready to face my co workers knowing that they would all soon know that on top of geese I also apparently am on the pickles death list

I ended up going to urgent care today because the headache and "weird" feeling that I cant so much describe would not go away. I sat across from the intake girl and when she asked why I was there responded with "I was attacked by a jar of pickles" She stared. I stared. And when she realized that I was not kidding she began making notes

I underwrite health insurance. A perk of this job is getting to read all of the random shit that people tell their doctors. When you tell your Dr that your marriage is in trouble because of your addiction to hookers or that you just cant seem to shake the vaginal itching they write that shit down verbatim. Forever in my medical records it now says "hit on the head by a jar of pickles.

Diagnosis? Concussion. For realz. Treatment? Nada. There is not a thing to be done about concussions other than don't sleep more than 4 hours at a time without being pestered and don't drink. Both which I have already failed to comply with. Don't judge, the wine helps with the headache.

So adding to the list of things I hate with a raging passion (geese, sold out NKOTB cruises and Snookie) I officially add pickles. And yes I forgive you for laughing because truly....who is NOT going to laugh at a chick who gets a concussion from a pickle jar. I would.

And A Kindle In a Pear Tree.....

Oops, my blog missed Christmas. Santa did not come for my blog because, well, let's face it. My blog WAS very naughty last year

Let me do a recap of the last month(ish). My birthday came and went (more on my gift in a bit)I'm finding that 34 is not much different that 33 was so no big drama there. Joe and I finished Christmas shopping at the last minute....as usual. Wrapped at the last minute.....as usual and I cursed my way through finding him a gift....AS USUAL.

This is the part where I get sidetracked because I did not plan this rant until just now. I can give you a list about a mile long of things that would be an awesome gift for me at any given moment. Truly. Don't get me wrong...I loooove to give presents. Love it. But I'm not ashamed to admit that I also love to receive them. Joe is NEVER at a loss for what to buy me for Christmas or my birthday. Him on the other hand.....he SUCKS to buy for. So hard. Do you watch that new show out called the Modern Family? If so you will get this when I say he almost got 5 hugs and a visit from Spandeau Ballet. Don't watch the show? Then you will have NO idea what that means. Rant over.

The kids were much spoiled this year. Big hits in our house were a Nintendo DS for Pierce....which I think came with a side of crack because he has barely put it down in 4 days and an easel with art stuff for Mallory. I was spoiled a bit every this year too! I got a Kindle and I am in LOVE with it. Bet you can't guess what the very first book I put on it was? I also scored a bottle of bubble vodka (yum) some perfume, an Archivers gift card and a case of wine. Yep, a case.

We actually have PLANS for New Year's Eve. We are going to a party at THIS GIRL'S house where I will once again manage to elude THIS GUY
and keep my true identity a secret.

This brings me back to my birthday. My present this year is a plane ticket that is taking me to HOUSTON!!! No, not with Joe....the best gift ever is a weekend with your GIRLS right? So I am hoping a plane with the above noted New Year's Eve party giver to go to Houston to visit THIS GIRL (don't bother, she never updates), this biatch, this girl, going to cut THIS GIRL, hopefully get to make out with THIS GIRL and her non blogging sister as well as a few other of my besties. Yep, going to have a weekend with "those Internet friends" If you missed last year's debacle (one of them) it can be found HERE. Whew, that was a lot of links

It has only been a few months for most of us but we are finding that this whole "long distance relationship" thing really sucks. I miss them more each day and cannot wait until we are back together....in Houston....for a boot scootin good time YA'LL

So there you are caught up to the last month or so in my world. I'm going to try and get better and being here more often (Jodi, I'm talking to YOU) and I hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS

New Moon Review

I know this is a bit late but better late then never right?

I need to preface this review by letting you all in on a little secret. I carry Edward in my purse. Some of you may remember my awesome friend known as Mama Loco...I'm not bothering to link because she has not updated her blog in forever. Melissa sent me a little present about a month ago....Edward the action figure. I have since done a number of fun things with him (minds out of the gutter please) that I may save for another day. He escorted me to see New Moon

Along with Pocket Edward were my good friends Laura, Erin, Bree, Brandy, and my Mother. Yeah, my mom came too. We kicked off our night at California Pizza Kitchen for drinks. Edward got carried away with the Sangria. I swear, you cant take him anywhere. I did not mind though, easier to take advantage of him when he has been drinking

After drinks we went to get in line to get in line. Yep, that's right. There was a line at the bottom of the escalators that lead up to the theater. As you can imagine it was a 98% female crowd. Guarding the entrance way was a tool that problem has never been around so many women in his life and was clearly enjoying the fact that HE was in charge of when we got to go in.

While we waited....the following things may or may not have happened.
-I saw a little girl with a cooler Edward doll than mine and contemplated stealing it
-Security guards arrived to make sure there was not a riot
-My mom worked her way to the front of the line and tried to bribe the guy to let her in

Once the douche blocking the way to my happiness stopped acting like he was guarding the Mona Lisa moved it was total mayhem up the escalator. My mom and I leading the way!! Its possible I even pointed teenagers in the wrong direction when they asked me which way to the theater.

Once we got to the hall where the theater was we had to wait AGAIN for the following show to let out and for the theater to be cleaned. Honestly this crowd would have taken a dirty theater. When the prior show let out they just built up our suspense by shrieking about how awesome it was! The rush to get seats was not too bad. We scored seats in the middle, half way up. Perfect! I was afraid that Pocket Edward and I would be stuck straining our necks in the very front row

We waited with baited breath for the movie to start. Calls of "TEAM EDWARD" and "TEAM JACOB" being called out here and there. Pocket Edward was overwhelmed with love from his fans.

And apparently by the flash on my Blackberry.

The movie was AWESOME. In my opinion so much better than Twilight which I also loved. I loved how the director gave more "character" to some of the non main characters and I thought the wolves were done very well. No complaints about the lack of shirts either. I did come out of it still TEAM EDWARD but I think others may have shifted to the dark side. I loved it so much I have actually seen it a 2nd time. I cannot freaking WAIT until Eclipse (thankfully not a full year) and will just have to find ways to entertain myself with Pocket Edward (minds out of the gutter) until then.

Im alive....barely

Miss me? Im the lucky winner of pleursy which is a kicked up version of bronchitis. It suuuuuuuuucks. It hurts and I have been sleeping most of the last 2 days. Add a sick husband to the mix and Im not even sure how are kids are getting fed. Good times. So send some healthy vibes my way and while I recuperate you can find me catching up on my TIVO shows. After I wake up at noon

Q&A part 1

A couple of days ago I threw out a post while I was sick soliciting questions. I'm going to answer the ones I got in the next few days in between other stuff. Sometimes you just need a nudge for a writing idea you know?

First up is my pal Tooj who wants to know:
"what is my ONE favorite thing to do individually with each child and with the husband"

My most favoritest thing EVER to do with Pierce is to take him to the movies. I have always loved kids movies and used to try and steal a cousin to go with me once I outgrew them. I'm so glad he loves to go and it is 99.9% of the time just him and I. Most recently we saw G-Force which made me want to dig my eyes out but most of the time I love the movies just as much as Pierce does. Hoping to make it soon to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs!

Mallory....she is my snuggle bug. She insists on ME putting her to bed every night and that entails a story and some serious in her bed snuggle time each night. We lay face to face and sing songs together before I wiggle my way out of there. I know she wont always want me to do this so I will take it when I can.

My favorite thing to do with Joe.....honestly....raise our kids! We don't get a lot of time together to just do date nights and I do miss that but I love that he is SO involved with raising our kids. I know a lot of dad's are like that these days but I did not grow up with my father and seeing Joe with our kids just melts my heart. When we DO get away....it is usually a dinner out and that is about it. we are fairly boring people.

The Kids Said WHAT? WILL be back this week, although I only have one good one so far this week and it was not even my kid who said it!

Awesome or Shagalicious?

Joe and I would love to move. We love our house but we have outgrown it and there are a few demands things that I would really like to have in a house. I would love a bigger yard, one that is kid friendly. Ours is wooded, not much grass can grow and pretty hilly. I would also love a 4th bedroom and a fireplace. But what I really want is a soaking tub. It does not have to be a jacuzzi or anything, just a nice big garden tub that I can chill in with a glass of wine and a good book. And no kids.

I like to go to realtor.com and search out new homes in our area. Our house is not even for sale but it is still fun to dream right. Imagine my total delight when I found a home that defeats the purpose of moving although smaller then our current house has the coolest thing EVER!!

Feast your eyes upon the coolness!!! A soaking tub IN THE BEDROOM!!!! Of course I did make a few slight changes in my mind. It would need a flat screen TV (as indicated) that could play Twilight and a(horribly drawn)wine rack built in so that I would not even have to get out to fill up my glass. Dream come true yes?

So I sent my fabulous find to Joe who proceeds to tell me that it was shagalicious and in no way cool. I tried to point out the pros....if I had a bathtub IN our bedroom he would most likely find me naked more than he does now. Add to that my flat screen playing Twilight and then you have me naked AND ready for action. Add the wine rack....naked and drunk....2 sure ways to get some action. Win Win yes?

I really don't understand his hesitation. Yes he talked some trash about moldy carpet....but DUH...the amount of distance from point a (bath) to point b (bed) would be so minimal that there would be no time for water to GET on the floor. We can buy a bathmat for pete's sake.

Sadly I don't think I will win this one. As cool as a bathtub in my bedroom would be it is a smaller house then what we have now and that just wont work for us. Don't think I wont mention renovations when we DO find our dream home.

My Life According To.......

My life, according to...
The rules to this game are:
1) Answer the questions as well as you can, but using only song names from one artist.
2) Try not to repeat a song title
3) Pick your own artist, leave mine alone (to quote someone).
4) Tag a bunch of friends. Tag, you're it.

So I first saw this on The Wife O Riley's blog and I thought it would be super fun to do. I thought about what singer/band I would use. And I thought MADONNA....she is awesome, she is timeless....she is already used on Tooj's Blog. Well Crap. Then I thought about Sarah McLachlan or the Indigo Girls but they were a little too obscure. Well, who else do I love? Duh, The New Kids!!

So here is my life according to them!

1. Are you a male or female? Cover Girl
2. Describe yourself: Hangin Tough
3. How do you feel? Twisted
4. Describe where you currently live: Games (toys anyway)
5. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? New Kids on The Block (this IS a song and since they don't have one about a tropical destination I will have to use this...)
6. Your favorite form of transportation: Step by Step
7. Your best friend is: My Favorite Girl
8. Your favorite color is: White Christmas (okay, not really but this is HARD)
9. What's the weather like? Summertime
10. Favorite time of day: Tonight
11. If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? Call It What You Want
12. What is life to you? The Right Combination
13. Your relationships: I'll Be Loving You (Forever)
14. Your fear: If You Go Away
15. What is the best advice you have to give? Baby, I Believe In You
16. If you could change your name, you would change it to:-Mrs Right
17. Thought for the day: This One's for the Children
18. How I would like to die: Dirty Dancing
19. My soul's present condition: Keep on Smilin'
20. My motto: Don't Cry

One final note....I think I am going to use THURSDAYS for my edition of "The kids said WHAT?" You have a week to stalk up on their juicy bits of random. Have fun!

The Parade of Homes makes me sad, how I spent my weekend blind, and I heart New Kids on the Block

This past week has been a bit on the crazy side. I did not post much last week and I finally figured out why. Not only was I crazy busy but a little crisis hit my family last week that pretty much took a big steamy one on my desire to try and come up with anything fun for the blog. I did not post about it here in my desire to pretend all is well in the world of me. Anyways, last Saturday my mom had a TIA which is a mini stroke. It sounds much worse than it is but it still sucked. She was taken to the ER after the left side of her body went numb and she could not walk very well. By the time I got there that morning they had ruled out major stroke and her symptoms were going away. A TIA has stroke like symptoms but there are no permanent problems like with a major stroke. She was not admitted, they sent her home and she has since had some tests with her Dr and nothing has shown up. So, I spent most of last week calling her every 5 seconds to check on her, hung out with her on Monday and finally just as of this weekend have chilled out a little. I was even able to toss her a couple "don't have a stroke mom" jokes. Now my biggest concern is that her and my step dad who is retired are home together for ANOTHER week of marital bonding and I hope that they don't kill each other

While I was not calling my mommy every 2 seconds I had a few dates this past week. None were with my husband so I did not have to put out which is always a bonus. On Wed I went with BFF Brandy to see the new Harry Potter movie which was FANTASTIC. Also fantastic were the 2 sangria's I sucked down prior to the movie. Even more fantastic is that I did not have to leave the movie to go potty one time....yeah for my bladder.

Thursday's date was with BFF Jenn to our annual buzz kill called the Parade of Homes. We spent 2 hours hating people we don't know for having houses WAY cooler than ours. Some of my favorite's this year....a theater room with a planetarium type ceiling, huge walk in showers with no doors and heated floors, wine cellars and vacuums built into secret holes in the wall. Even I would run the sweeper if I could just pull a hose out of the wall in each room. After pretending I was rich I went home to clean cat vomit off of the floor and wipe up my non ceramic kitchen counters.

Friday. Sigh, oh Friday. Friday morning as I lay in bed with my evil precious daughter.....the one who needs to START SLEEPING IN HER OWN BED I reached over and pulled a "mom". By that I mean I went to swipe a booger out of her nose with my finger. And she put her finger in my eye. In her effort to swat my hand away she stabbed me in the eye with her pointy little finger. I swear I saw fireworks. I had to call Joe because I could not see, make him come home and we had to go to the ER. I had lasik not even a year ago and I was so scared that she jacked up my "flap" which is the cut they have to make to fix your eye. 2 hours later I leave with a diagnosis of 2 corneal abrasions, some eye drops, and an RX for vicodin. Really? Vicodin? They also tried to give me a tetanus shot which I declined....it was a finger nail, not a rusty nail (Nurse Heather, Nurse Janeen, want to weigh in on why they tried to stick me?) The last time I took that I had a BABY cut out of me. Now, that is not the biggest crisis of Friday. The biggest crisis of Friday was that I had a date with BFF Liz to watch the web cast of the New Kids on the Block concert at her house. And I was NOT missing it. She had to come and get me (thanks!!) since I could not see out of one eye and take me back to her place. The concert was AWESOME. Even out of one eye. My vision is STILL not back to 100%...it was better on Sat (meaning I could open the other eye)but still not perfect. Hopefully in a few more days. So, how was YOUR week?

Ahhhh, The Attention is back one ME

Today I get to be the featured blogger over at The Secret Is In The Sauce. If you are visiting from there WELCOME!!! After last week's "The Week of Joe" I'm thrilled to have the focus back on me where it belongs.

True to Cammie form, I do not follow directions well and totally forgot to change out the dirty words in my 3 favorite posts so Heather had to use some PG ones until I got around to doing that. Now that I have done that HERE are my 3 best (until Heather gets around to changing it over at SITS)Pretty Please go check them out! They are a better glimpse into my blogging personality! Feel free to follow me on Twitter!!

The Tale of the Dragon and the Queen

Respect Your Periods

Mommies Gone Wild

134

Wow, I have 134 followers. I feel like I need to declare today National Leave Cammie A Comment Day because I know that out of all 134 of you only about 20 of you fail to kill a fairy. Not sure what I am talking about? Go read my comment box.

I heart ALL 134 of you and I want to PLAY with you all! I can no longer see my followers here at work (darn filter software gives me a big old HEY WE ARE WATCHING YOU every time I pull up my blog)so come on out of lurk mode so I can see who you are. I know I tend to be a bit scary at times but I promise that (for the most part) I am nice. I don't bite. much.

Don't kill the fairies guys. They are people too.

I have been incognito for a few days now and I have realized that it is because I am a bit stressed about my upcoming trip to DC this weekend. I'm pretty excited about 6 days away with my husband but I'm starting to stress leaving the kiddos. Add that to the fact that I hate to fly and I'm a bit frazzled. I'm hoping that once we actually GET there and I find out that my 3 year old is not rocking in a corner crying for her mommy (I know Pierce will be fine, he is actually excited to spend 6 days with his cousins)I will calm down a bit. If I DO find out that 3 year old is not rocking in a corner crying for her mommy I will probably just stay hammered all week and try not to throw up on anyone important to my husband's job. YES I'm kidding, but it is kind of fun to watch Joe get all twitchy when I tell him that.

Now.....YOU.....go forth and comment. Yep, I am looking at YOU

Into The Wilderness I Go.....

First off I feel the need to apologize for the suck-age that was yesterday's post. I am in the middle of some sibling related family drama and was just not myself yesterday and probably should not have posted at all. I will do my best to keep you from such crap in the future.

So, this weekend is our first venture out into a really nice campground the wilderness. We will pitch our tent pop-up that we acquired earlier this year and live off of the land out of our mini fridge. We will eat what we catch steak, chicken and burgers and drink out of the river lots of wine and beer. We will try not to succumb to the elements turn on the a/c so we don't get hot.

It may come as a surprise to some of you that I am spending the weekend in such squalor. I am generally known to be kind of an indoor girl....however I do actually enjoy camping having made lots of childhood memories doing so. We are taking the dog...the one who hates you (don't be offended, she hates everyone) which should be a treat and sending the OTHER dog (the one who would like Charles Mansion) to puppy camp for the weekend. The kids will have a blast and if it storms I plan to head to the next site over and sleep in my mom's insanely large motor home. The one with the potty.

I may not be around bloggy-land this weekend, I may try and *gasp* go without my laptop....hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

"I got a dress"

She said sounding like Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman

After assessing my wardrobe I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to do a little shopping for my upcoming trip to our Nation's capital.

Oh Darn.

Here is the problem. For over a year now my office has allowed us to wear jeans to work. This is a nice thing but my shopping for "business attire" has dwindled down to nothing.

So when Joe advised me of all of the dinners and tours that we are attending in D.C. I got a little stressed about what to wear. As usual HE does not have to worry much about this because he will be in uniform 95% of the time. We are attending 4 dinners and 3 days worth of tours that include the White House. Yeah, I can't roll to the White House in jeans.

Easy solution right? I used to have to be business casual so I can just pull out my dressy clothes from back then. Imagine my surprise when I realized that my closet had shrunk them!!!!!!! Stupid Closet.

Now I DO actually have a few outfits that will suffice....I'm not total white trash for Pete's sake. I do however need to pick up a few things.

So last night after work I went shopping for a dress for Thursday night which is when Joe will be honored for his award. I tried on probably 20 different things and came out with a dress. I considered this a success.

My next issue is that I will likely have to wear hose. My legs have not seen hose in literally over 5 years. To say I hate them is an understatement but right now I am the color of a member of the Cullen Family (God I love when I can find a reason to use Twilight in a post) and honestly I could use the benefit of a control top. Hose it is.

I'm not a fan of dressing up. I used to be....I think having kids and therefor the constant threat of being puked on or spilled on has caused me to not want to be as girly as I used to be. This week in D.C. sans children is causing me to have to get back to my girly roots.

Could be interesting. Could be scary.

One more thing.....I need to drop about 20 10lbs before then. Awesome.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Oh my goodness. This almost makes me want to be team Jacob. But not quite. I need some private time now so I have to go.

Ouch

Before I grumble about my pain I would like to point you towards my book blog. I was given the opportunity to review a book called Reunion by Therese Fowler. My review is up and if you are interested I am giving away the copy that I was given....you have to post over there if you want to be entered and I am having random.org pick the winner on Friday.

Now onto my regularly scheduled bitching.

I am sore. Why? Yesterday I tried something new.....I ran. Without a fire, a sale in the wine aisle or Edward Cullen cheering me on (oh wait, more on that in a minute).

A few months back Kami (cool name right?) sent me a program to get started on a running program. While I have never EVER been a runner, or even WANTED to be a runner, I thought that it would be a good way to get in shape and drop some weight.

Then I was given a little more incentive to want to do this......My sweet friend Andrea lost her husband in a tragic work accident last fall. Andrea and the company that her husband Matt worked for are having The 1st Annual "Run for Row" Memorial 5k.

When I first heard about this I knew right away that I wanted to be there to support Andrea and my other friends that would be running, no way did I plan to RUN in it. Actually I still don't have plans to run in it but maybe I could run/walk it. We will see.

Yesterday was day 1 towards "maybe" doing this. We will see how I do in the next few weeks....this week was the easy week.

Today I hurt like hell. To say I am out of shape is being nice.

Oh and Edward......he actually DID kind of help. I had Twilight (the movie) playing on my iPod while I was on the treadmill....in my mind I was running to him........heehee

Things To Do With A Goose

I have been thinking. I have been known to be rather bitter towards the feathered bird known as the goose. Yes, I have lost an iPod to a goose and yes I feel that they stalk me. While they seem to really be a menace to society, I have found that there are quite a few GOOD things that can come out of the goose population. Who knew? Most of them do involve the goose being dead but that is not my fault. So I would like to dedicate this post to THIS goose....the one that is sitting her fat butt on what is sure to be more little spawns of the devil more feathered friends in time to come. This is the goose that lives in my office parking lot. I hate her.

Bear with me as this may get a little lengthy....I had no clue that there were so many FUN things to do with geese.

First off we have the obvious.....goose outfits. Now I do think it may be a little difficult to get my office goose into an outfit (unless it is dead) but still there is much fun to be had with goose clothes. I feel THIS is most representative of their little birdy personalities.

My Mother in Law enjoys dressing her goose. I want to kick it every time I go to her house but I don't want to break my foot. Actually I also want to kick the office goose but I fear the security cameras would catch me.

Did you know that almost ALL parts of the goose can be used for something fabulous? Look at these pillows filled with goose down. Don't you just want to curl up on them and dream of geese being hit by semi trucks? I know I do.

Something else that is cool to do with goose feathers--dress up clothes. I know that if Mallory had a goose feather boa I would smile with glee every time she played with it. I would know that somewhere there was either a dead or bald goose that gave up it's feathers for my daughters enjoyment.

Even the EGGS of the goose are full of potential!! Look at this beautiful Christmas ornament made out of a goose egg. I would LOVE to hang it on my tree....every year I could think of the goose that did NOT hatch out of this egg.

Now let's talk about some of the awesome ways to EAT a goose. Tired of turkey at Thanksgiving? Feast your eyes upon this.What a tasty reminder that the only good goose is a dead one. How easy to make! All that you need is 1 goose breast, skinned and boned (2 fillets), 1/2 cup wine vinegar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, SAUCE: 1/4 cup currant jelly, 1/4 cup water,1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon steak sauce, salt, fresh-ground black pepper to taste--I have most of these ingredients at home and I can get the goose the way to my car.

In a zip-seal plastic bag, combine vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil and pepper. Add goose fillets, and allow to marinate 2 1/2 hours, turning often. Broil for 10 minutes on each side and VOILA....dinner is served.

A 3.5oz serving of roasted goose breast has 25g of protein!!

Having a party? Don't serve boring old cheese and crackers. Serve Goose Liver Pate and be all the talk of the town.

If all of this goose awesomeness has not convinced you that geese are our friends then I will leave you with this........The AwayWithGeese Unit.

From the products website........The success of the product is based around a simple concept. At night, geese sleep in areas where they feel secure from their predictors, such as dogs, fox and coyotes. (And jaded attack victims) Placing an AwayWithGeese unit into these areas disrupts the geese's ability to sleep, and they simply move to another safe area within a few days.

I hope you have learned something from all of this information. I know I have. That said....I still hope to accidentally run over the office goose today after work. I need a new pillow.

Dani's Daily Drop and Stellan

Attention whore that I am I thrilled to be featured over at Dani's Daily Drop. If you are new here WELCOME!! Dani did an awesome job linking my favorite posts!

I wanted to come up with some witty bit of fabulessness today but really, I instead I think I will just remind you about this guy.....

I'm sure about 99.9% of the blogging world knows all about Stellan and that he is having surgery today. If you DON'T know about Stellan you can go meet him and his awesome mommy MckMama over at her blog. Instead of doing a regular blog post I just want to keep Stellan in everyone's mind today. Please pray that he comes through his surgery okay and that his doctors are able to fix his heart! He has been in the hospital for over a month now and I know his family is ready for him to come home. I am SO amazed at the number of people all over the world who have come to know Stellan just through MckMama's words.

Happy Tuesday!!

Survived New York......Not without a bit of drama of course

I thought about doing this NOT ME style but that will take WAY to much effort.



I had SO. MUCH. FUN. in NYC.....even with an unexpected bit of drama.



We got there around 6AM. I had not slept much on the bus and I was SO tired but there was not much to be done about that. We were dropped off at Rockefeller Center and told to meet back at 8 that night. We got lucky with beautiful weather all day long. The first thing we did was hop the subway to head towards the ground zero area since all of the shops were still closed.


We took the subway all day long...some of the people on the trip wanted no part of that but it really was not bad at all, yeah some were dirty but we did not have any trouble getting where we needed to be and we were able to see so many more parts of the city that way.


The World Trade Center is actually under construction to be re-built right now. It was kind of a bummer not to be able to see it due to construction fences up everywhere. The one thing that I thought was SO cool was the St Paul's Chapel which is directly across from where the Twin Towers stood was left unharmed after the attacks.



We spent some time in a store called Century 21 which had a lot of designer clothes and shoes at a more reasonable price. I bought one little bathing suit cover up for Mallory (Kate Mack brand) but I was not about to go nuts there because I needed to save my money for......

PURSES

We hopped back on the subway and headed into China Town. This was where the real fun began....as SOON as we got up onto the street they started. And by THEY I mean the purse people. They walk around the streets mumbling under there breath and this is what you BARELY hear....."Coach, Chanel, Prada.....Coach, Purses?? Chanel?" Seriously....all just so you can barely hear them. Once you make eye contact they give you a "look" and you kind of nod and the next thing you know you are in the back of some shady parking lot in a kidnapper van with no windows filled with purses. It was awesome. At one point I was so excited to be following someone through a parking lot that I tore a hole in my jeans on some rusty van and barely avoided a nice case of tetanus. That however was not the best part about shopping in China Town. The best part was when we followed some guy into a shop, went behind a curtain, down a hall and then he OPENED PART OF THE WALL to reveal another hallway that lead to a room full of bags. You could not even tell it was a door. These people are pretty serious about not getting caught...they use walkie talkies to find out if it is safe to bring people in. Scandalous!!

Once I scored my 2 "Pradas" and a pair of Chanel sunglasses we headed back to the not shady part of our day which was lunch at Hard Rock and then shopping at Macy's.

Feet are starting to hurt by now.

We capped our day off with a quick visit to Central Park which was super pretty and then headed back towards Rockefeller center to grab dinner quick somewhere and wait on the bus. One last stop into an AWESOME cupcake bakery that thank GOD is not in my city and then we were ready to go home.

And then the drama started.

About 10 after 8 one bus has shown up along with the owner of the company. Apparently when our awesome bus driver Rudy went to start the bus that my group was on it did not start. And we had to spend the night. A lot of people were pissed because by this point everyone was so tired and just wanted to go home. But what could we do, better it broke down here than in the mountains in PA. The owner of the company was awesome....she put everyone in a hotel just outside of the city and paid for it. We ended up not getting home until 7PM instead of 7AM.

One complication of spending an unexpected night.....clean undies!! Thank goodness that I am super smart and am always prepared but SOME people....who shall remain nameless....because they did give birth to me had to ride home commando and SOME people who shall remain nameless but might be related to me in other ways might have turned their skivies inside out.

Once I got home I pretty much turned right around and went out again.....yes I AM a rock star thank you......how could I not go and see THIS GIRL who came into town. So I capped my night off at a Mexican restaurant with her and This other girl I kind of like.

Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure if you made it this far.....

Group pic with our awesome driver Rudy I'm the one under the B.

Mini Van (not to be confused with the kidnapper van that was also visited) full of goodies....you can barely see me, I'm the blue shirt with her head in the van.
Happy Monday!

I want to BE a part of it.....

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Tonight at about 7PM I will be boarding the "FUN BUS" along with my mom, sister, aunt, and 2 of my work BFFs. We will be driving all night arriving tomorrow morning in the Big Apple!! While I am not overly excited about sleeping on a bus all night I AM excited about my very first EVER trip to NYC. Fear not though, armed with my snuggie and my Twilight movie I will manage to deal with the bus trip.

We will only be there for a day, hopping back ON the bus tomorrow night to come back home. While I am most excited to be purchasing AUTHENTIC purses such as PRODA and LUIS VITTON, I am also looking forward to seeing Central Park and NOT getting mugged on a subway.

My mother has us on an agenda that will get us to see most of the important sites in New York in a 12 hour period. What she did NOT factor into the agenda is extra time for her to argue with my sister which is almost a guarantee.

Here is what we have planned.....

-Ground Zero---which I am sure will be very emotionally overwhelming but I am glad to be seeing it to pay respect to those who lost there lives there.

-St Paul's Cathedral-Where I will pray for all of your sins.

-Statue of Liberty - eh

-China Town-to buy those authentic purses, once you knock twice on the secret wall....

-Empire State building

-Macy's

-Hard Rock Cafe for lunch

-Rockefeller Center

-FAO Schwartz

-Central Park

Now, my mother did this same trip last year and apparently if you stay on schedule it can be done.

The negotiations for what is considered an "appropriate amount of money" for me to take shopping have been completed. I won.

Look out New York.........

The Story of Us

I'm feeling kind of crabby today so I figured I would grace you all with a feel good kind of blog in hopes of perking myself up. Nothing in particular is wrong....just feeling a little bitchy. Might be the kink in my neck compliments of sleeping with my daughter sleeping wrong, or maybe just the never ending rain. At any rate.....this guy suggesting I blog about something my husband did to piss me off yesterday in hopes to cheer myself up and give him something to laugh at....but then I remembered that I keep seeing everyone blog about the "how they met, engagement, wedding stories" days in their life and that I wanted to do that as well....

Quite a few dress sizes years ago I had just gotten dumped by an asshole my boyfriend and I was realllllllly jaded. My Aunt had been telling me for like a month that she knew this guy out at the Air Force base that was really nice, cute, blah blah blah and that she wanted me to meet him. I had told her over and over that I did NOT need my AUNT to hook me up with a boy thankyouverymuch and that boys were dumb and I did not need one. Finally in an effort to shut her up I agreed to meet him in a group scenario, no pressure, no strings, no thanks.

I met my this group including my aunt and this random guy that I probably would not like anyways out at a bar that night. How cliche right? Much to my surprise he WAS cute, and he WAS nice but I still did not think I would like him. I never did go for the nice one's....which was probably why I was still single.

He asked if he could call me sometime and I said yes. Meanwhile I was ALSO working on this guy who was WAY to young for me, lived with his brother and took me on a date to BW3 (wing joint) for our first (and only) date. Clearly he was the better choice.

Joe called and asked me out within a few days. I would not let him pick me up (no strings, no stress) and said I would meet him out. We went to the Shadowbox Cabaret for our first date which is kind of like a comedy club but more of a Sat Night Live skit type feel. I really enjoyed myself. Our date ended with him promising to call me again and me starting to think I just MIGHT like him. I went home since I don't put out until the 2nd date. And I'm kidding. About putting out, not that I went home.

It did not take long for me to realize that I was in trouble and that little by little the bricks that made up the wall that kept my emotions in check were coming down around me.

We met in February of 2001. We got engaged 7 months later. He proposed to me in the middle of a fountain area at an outdoor shopping mall......we were walking across to the other side and I was like "what in the hell are you doing down there.....OHMYGOD"

6.5 years, 2 kids and a mini van later takes us to today. Those of you who know me know that I tend to be a little on the pain in the ass side (I know, you are shocked) I don't cook, I'm kind of spoiled and I do things like wreck his car in the garage. He snores (although I have heard that I might as well), stalks my shopping on our bank website, and FORGETS TO TIVO Matt and Maddy Logelin on Oprah 32 seconds after I call and remind him to do so. He is my best friend, the love of my life, and my soul mate.

I still stand by my statement that I did not need my Aunt to hook me up with a boy. Although I DID need her to find me a husband.

Thinking Before Coffee 101

Pierce threw quite a curve ball at me this morning. I generally always have a snappy comeback for anything he throws my way (shocker right) but not this morning. We were talking on the way to daycare about college. Pierce wants to grow up and be a weatherman. Very Cool. He knows that he has to go to college to be a weatherman. This morning he asks me: "Mommy, what did YOU go to college to be?"

here the crickets chirping?

First off, my kid does not know what psychology is, 2nd....how to explain to him that I got a degree that I don't so much use. (although that may actually be debatable).

Since he does not know what psychology is and since I can't tell him that I majored in my boyfriend with a minor in my sorority, I told him that mommy took a lot of classes about books (thank you English minor).

"So you learned to read in college?"

crickets.

I was able to explain to him that you learn a lot of different things in college and that you read a lot of books about many different things. That seemed to appease him but then it got me thinking. What exactly DID I learn in college?

Since about 4th grade I had always wanted to be a teacher. Kindergarten specifically. Around my sophomore year in college I decided to be a social worker. The following year I switched to psychology with no intent to get a masters or a PhD. I always kept English as a minor...I like to read and write.

What do I do now? 32 seconds after graduating from THE BEST COLLEGE IN THE WORLD (here in Ohio we get excited about our Alma mater) I started working for an insurance company as an underwriter. 11 years later I am still here. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE my job, I am truly blessed to HAVE a job, not to mention one I like, and to work with cool people (including my mother....nepotism at it's finest).

I'm not sure that I need a psychology degree to do what I do. Or any degree really....everything I learned about my job I learned in training when I started.

So all this got me thinking (BEFORE coffee, no good) what DID I learn for all of that money that I am STILL paying back?? I really think that college is more about experiences than anything else.

I learned-

-How to budget.....or not budget.
-How to schedule according to priority-i.e. no classes before 10AM or that interfered with Days of Our Lives.
-Responsibility-Your professors really don't care if you show up or not but your grade does....this one took me a few years to learn
-Resourcefulness-There was that place on High St that sold notes to almost every class on campus....in case you did not learn the above skill.
-How to be safe- carry mace for your walk home and avoid the "little person" who was always drunk on High Street. He will chase you if you make eye contact
-Relationships are not always forever- Just because you are in love does not mean that life wont take you in an entirely different direction years to come. Thank God
-The best relationships ARE forever- Sisters do not always have to share blood
-Direction-When you are stumbling home from a late night out, turn right at the HUGE sign that looks like a penis but is really a book store sign...that is your street.
-Patience- I spent one year living with 20 other women. Enough said.

The 4 years that I spent at THE BEST COLLEGE IN THE WORLD really taught me more about life than anything else. Some days I think I'm lucky to have made it out with a liver unscathed.

Looking back I don't think I would change a thing.