Random

okay... These are some of our vacation pictures. Random.... that's for sure! There are tons of stories to tell, but I can't get it all spilled out tonight so I'm just posting some of the pics to show us! :) I'll try to get more organized and do a better job later. I've got tons to show from Tulum and the beach!

This is me and my sis in the JEEP we rented to drive around the island.


Our pool (ocean in the background) at the resort.


Picture of our resort.


Our first rental car... POS. We rented the JEEP the next day. I can't believe they thought 5 of us would fit in this little squirrel cage! We did it... but not comfy.


Picture of Playa Del Carmen from the Ferry we took across to the mainland.


A HUGE a@# grasshopper that jumped on my sister during dinner at Senor Frogs. He caused a HUGE scene (she helped).


Me and my baby on the Ferry to Playa.


Apparently they were having a deep conversation.... and I wasn't paying attention.


One of the many pictures of our beach.


and...... I saw a lady who was way bigger preggers than me!!! hehehe

First of Many Nervous Breakdowns

OH MY GAWD!!!! This is such a devastating day for me. Here I am minding my own business... chatting with my buddy from Chaos College, checking on our friends on myspace, when I decided to check C's page (haven't checked it all summer).

OH MY GAWD!!!! Right there it was! A girl had posted a pic of her hugging my precious baby!!! She's hanging all over him! Loving up to him like ... I can't even explain it, its so upsetting.

My stomach hurts from even thinking about it.

I'll take him out of public school and homeschool him! The thought of some girl latching onto my baby boys just rips my heart out! They are so sweet!!!

I'm going to need counseling....

And I was having a good time trying to go through my vacation pictures... deciding on what ones to post and WHAMMO! Hit by the huggy girl! *crying hysterically*

I'm Baaaack!!!

Me-hee-coe is HOT! I don't mean 'omg, this oklahoma heat is sweltering' hot. I mean I was sitting on the Equator HOT at about 130 degrees temp. That was on a cool day! I'm glad to be back to our hot summery weather!

The trip was a blast though! I'm still editing pictures so I hope to get some out in a few days!

Frying Pan & Fire

Now that we’ve climbed out of the water bucket we’re staggering over to the sweltering oven where it looks like we’ll be baking, boiling, roasting and fricasseeing for some weeks to come. I just checked the Weather Channel’s ten-day forecast and it’s Triple Digit City for Okieland this week. Today portends to be a balmy 101 degrees followed by four days (count ‘em, FOUR) of blistering 103s. And that doesn’t even reflect the heat index will should easily put us above 110. Oh joy! I’m really grateful that I slather on moisture-proof makeup each day as otherwise it would all be sweated off by 6 pm.

Chaos College upgrades to Office 2007 this semester and training is scheduled today in the computer lab. I’m still debating whether I want to hit the morning or afternoon session. But the truly ecstatic news to wind up our workweek is that our illustrious honchos are having a two-day slumber party at the lake as they “brainstorm” and pretty much waste valuable time that could be used to prepare for the nail-biting onset of our biggest, most chaotic of all times, *drumroll please* fall semester! Oh well. Guess the peons will do what we always do, keep on keeping on. And we do a stellar job of that I might add. ;)

To my undisguised pleasure, a friendly missive from a Ms Melanie Flowers arrived in my mailbox this week. Here is a replica of her delightful missive:

Hello! I am tired today. I am nice girl that would like to chat with you. Email me at timj@mailmessagecenter.info only, because I am writing not from my personal email. Would you mind me showing some nice pictures of me?

I was terribly sorry to learn of this lovely child’s fatigue and yet greatly moved knowing she was willing to surmount that daunting obstacle and expend her time and what little energy she still possessed in offering photos of herself to an unworthy recipient such as me. Does that not just warm the cockles of your heart? While I’m still debating the efficacy of her offer, I’m more than happy to share her generosity with my fellow bloggers and urge all of you to help her feel wanted by writing back in the affirmative to her charitable proposition.

Today is My Friday

I will miss you all while I am on vacation! *hugs*

I hope to come back with tons of great pictures to share! I will be frolicking around on a sandy white beach wearing my two piece thong with my little basketball belly smeared with 30 SPF sunscreen. I can't wait! My baby girl will be tan when she's born, fer shur! ;)

One of our fellow bloggers is a new daddy! Congrats Egan! Anna is a beautiful baby!

Adios Adjunct!

The most cantankerous, complaining, difficult, (bewhiskered) adjunct instructor in the world quit last week. Woot! I wrote about her pissy ways, demanding attitude, and insistence on immediate resolution to any snag she encountered back in March when she first came on board. Several factors refuted her self-proclaimed special status and I shall enumerate them now.
1. She was here on a grant. 2. She was not a mainstream instructor but rather came under the heading community service. And C. She was adjunct for godssakes! For those of you not familiar with the educational system, let me provide a helpful definition. (crucial words bolded by moi):

ad·junct /ˈædʒŋkt/ Pronunciation Key - [aj-uhngkt] –noun

1.	something added to another thing but not essential to it.

2.	a person associated with lesser status, rank, authority, etc., in some duty or service; assistant.

3.	a person working at an institution, as a college or university, without having full or permanent status: My lawyer works two nights a week as an adjunct, teaching business law at the college.

4.	Grammar. a modifying form, word, or phrase depending on some other form, word, or phrase, esp. an element of clause structure with adverbial function.

–adjective

5.	joined or associated, esp. in an auxiliary or subordinate relationship.

6.	attached or belonging without full or permanent status: an adjunct surgeon on the hospital staff.

---

[Origin: 1580–90; <>adjunctus joined to (ptp. of adjungere), equiv. to ad- ad- + jung- (nasal var. of jug- yoke¹) + -tus ptp. suffix]

As you can see, Mz. Pain-in-the Arse had no reason in the world to throw her pseudo weight around and assume long-term staff would instantly jump at her bossy commands. Nosireebob! Here’s the scoop. Apparently she was informed her grant was not renewed for this upcoming semester and though she could have continued on a part-time basis, she threw a colossal hissy fit, loudly demanding to be made full time. When told this was not possible, she immediately quit. Arriving in our area toting her school loaner laptop, she cryptically proclaimed she had “had it” and she wouldn’t “be fooled anymore,” (whatever that means), handed it back, ordered the erasure of its hard drive, blew kisses to GFR and flounced out the door. We got off easy. We later heard threw the college grapevine that she inflicted her displeasure on the finance office by refusing to turn over her keys, insisting her office first be inspected and when a higher up acquiesced, proclaimed they were not to enter her inner sanctum under after work hours. Who is running the show here??? At any rate, those of us whiling away the last few minutes of the workday in my reception area last Tuesday discussed the days events while a blizzard of confetti rained from the ceiling, party hats and noisemakers magically appeared, and celebratory bubbly flowed from stashed, clandestine bottles in joyful observance of the surprise departure of the Adjunct Bitch from Hell. (Remember gang, she possessed the fitting extension of 666. Really.) Lady, hope the door didn’t hit yer ass on the way out. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Straight From Arkansas

I realize this is their business and their decision....

but really. Isn't enough enough!?!?

LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas couple had a baby daughter Thursday — their 17th child and seventh girl — and the pair say they're still not ready to give it a rest.

Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at a hospital in Rogers, Arkansas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said in an interview.

"We'd love to have more," Michelle said, referring to baby girls. "We love the ruffles and lace."

Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in a 7,000-square-foot home in Tontitown. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are taught at home.

The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.

"We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him," said Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative. "We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."

Jennifer joins siblings: Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.

Read it here.
They also have their own website and there is another special on next month about their family. I watched the special before they had the 16th baby... it was crazy!! I really thank God that he understands i'm not cut out for a couple of baseball teams!

Will the doctors ever tell her "ok... you're done"!?!?!?

Uncle Sam

This weekend we get to shop tax-free!!! There are limits.... we can't buy houses, cars, cigarettes, liquor, etc tax-free, but we can buy school supplies and what-nots!

This means the long weekend checkout lines will be even longer!

Brainy Brouhaha

We endured a marathon departmental meeting yesterday afternoon that featured laughter, tears, pathos, and the very real threat of physical violence as a heated verbal argument escalated and came extremely close to breaking out into geek fisticuffs. Yes, Phoenix, I borrowed the cat pic from you. :) And that was between the gals! JK. Svetlana and I just looked at each other bug-eyed. It’s just a good thing the parties involved were seated at opposite ends of the room. ("R" may be humongous, but "M" looks like a feisty little scrapper.) To add to the mayhem, “L” bonked his noggin (hence the tears) on the large flatscreen dangling from the ceiling which provoked loud, spontaneous applause and cheers. Yep, we nerds are vicious and unsympathetic. ; ) He flipped us off under the table in response. As we exited the room, GFR pulled the ancient There’s Something on Your Shirt trick on Charlie Manson by telling him he had spilled mayo and when CM glanced down, flicked him on the nose. Only GFR could have gotten away with it. However the highlight of this bull session occurred when “L” pontificated on the evils of IMing and how this would be forbidden when our new policies and procedures go into effect only to show his laptop’s display screen with no less than three IM protocols up and running. To add to his embarrassment, “S” messaged “L” from his laptop thus popping up yet another incriminating rectangle. Ooops!

Recently, our darling CruiserMel over at Ramblings posted her selection in regards to her Dream Desk/Fantasy File/Vibra Vault. In no particular order here is my Top Ten list:

• Mark Wahlberg. Eye candy in underwear.
• Jon Stewart. Funny and smart. Dynamic dual combo.
• John C. McGinley. Sarcasm, wit, smoking bod and my fav TV show all rolled into one.
• Gary Sinese. Have to agree there. Didn’t notice him till "Forrest Gump" and I was smitten. Sexy as hell with or without legs.
  
• Jay Hernandez. "Crazy/Beautiful" indeed.
  
• Harrison Ford. Retains sexiness as he ages.
• John Cena. I don’t watch wrestling crapola and I prefer him with a baseball cap and shirtless, but damn he’s fine.
• Heath Ledger. Can’t resist a knight.
• Tony Gonzalez. Which makes me favor the Chiefs after my Browns.
• Colin Firth. Who can resist that British accent?

Former stirrings:

• Fernando Allende from Flamingo Road. Watching him and Morgan Fairchild get steamy together is forever etched on my feverish brain. Damn he was hot! Whatever happened to him?
• Vincent Spano in “Baby It’s You”
• Charlie Sheen. “Platoon,” “The Chase” Rwwwrrr.

Priority Payback

A few weeks ago, while convalescing from my painful injuries, I popped in the movie, Click and to my delight and surprise, found myself engrossed in this moving tearjerker. Known mostly for his goofy characters, Mr. Sandler flexed his acting chops in this funny/serious role and proves once again (thinking Spanglish here), he can go the distance as a versatile actor. Yes, there were humorous moments and silly sight gags (thinking fat suit), but the “Christmas Carol”-like storyline focused primarily on his workaholic existence and the unforeseen fallout that would result.

“As Michael discovers that the remarkable device has the power to muffle the barks of the family dog, zoom himself past an irritating quarrel with his wife, and even allow him to travel back and forth through time to different points in his life, the rush of being able to skip straight to the good parts in life soon leaves him feeling as if he's missing out on the total experience. Only when Michael begins to realize that the he has lost control of his life and the remote is now programming him does he finally learn that life is as much about the moments he'd rather forget as it is the moments he will always remember.”

What would you skip over if you could fast-forward your life and would the expense be worth the price? In skipping over the everyday hassles might we miss out on experiences that are intrinsic to our very existence? *hums Harry Chapin’s Cats in the Cradle*

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Steal This Post

I've read Lawyer Mama's blog a couple of times (maybe just once?) but anyways... today I thought 'I think I'll check that site'. I'm glad I did! For years I was team captain of a team formed by Chaos College and we collected donations and did the 12 hour walk to help raise money and fight cancer... for the American Cancer Society. I havent been able to participate in the past two years and I miss it greatly! I plan on getting involved with it again here in the city.

Anyways... reading her post she writes about Why Mommy's diagnosis. Go to her site and read! I've heard about inflammatory breast cancer before, but I think it's often misdiagnosed. I've had a few friends and family members battle breast cancer (and win! yeah!!!)

I really wish the very best for Why Mommy! This is her post - which i stole. Feel free to copy and post it on your site too!:

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

The Simpsons

We went to see The Simpsons Movie last night.

I saw Bart's twig and berries!!!

HAHAHAHAHA

Full frontal male nudity. It was a hoot! Bart had been dared by dear ol dad to skateboard downtown... neeekid. Bart wasn't going to do it, but Homer called him a chicken and the next thing you know you see his unclothed butt cheeks scooting down the road. His goods was strategically hidden by different things as he passed through the streets. A leaf here, or a ball there. Then all of a sudden he skate boarded behind a fence of some sort and the only open space was right where the goods were. You saw nothing of Bart... except the family jewels. HAHAHAHA

It was a pretty good movie. It brought alot of laughs for sure!!!

We Dig Baseball

One of the perks at my job is I can get my grubby little hands on tickets to the Redhawks baseball games. Not just any tickets either, but tickets to our suite! This is of great importance now that i'm eating and breathing for two and its mega sultry hot outside. The suite is airconditioned! yipppeee! So we enjoy taking in the baseball games.



The view of the game from our suite. The Redhawks played the Beavers *snicker* and beat them by a ton. So much, I cant really remember. 14-4 or something...


Our little angel in the making apparently likes very hot and spicey food because in the last few months i've put away some weird things - that I would never eat myself! Alot of hotter salsas... and now jalopenos on my nachos!!!


Me... 22 weeks with our little sweetness.

Every Rose Doesn't Have a Thorn

Yesterday was a good day at work. Actually... all day! The two biggest jerkwads that cause me the most grief were gone. Nowhere to be found, seen or heard! It was a glorious day *insert heavenly music here*

Richard came home sporting me some beautiful roses!!! He said they were for me because I had a wonderful day! How awesome is that!?!?!? They smell yummy too!

Copier Conundrum

This morning I decided to update some documents and bopped across the hall to make front and back copies. Now how hard is that? I’ve done it a zillion times and I know what buttons to push, but by golly the copier refused to let me choose that option. Prez’s assistant came in to help and even dug out the dusty manual. No dice. Then another VP’s right-hand (wo)man joined us making for one puzzled little trio pondering the complexities of this confusing apparatus. The contraption kept asking for an “ADU,” (Annoying Diapered Unicorn?) whatever the heck that is. I remarked that it sounded a lot like "IUD" but I really doubted it needed contraceptive protection. I could be wrong. After a meeting of the minds we concluded that this massive, blinking machine was not equipped to handle front/back duties and I/we were SOL. Great! Blonde assistant graciously offered to take my originals back to her copier and complete my request and this is indeed what she did. Mission accomplished!

I’m sure you are all waiting with bated breath to learn about my courtroom experience yesterday and you shall now be rewarded. TBC and I met in the parking lot and entered the ornate halls very much resembling a business-like couple who had possibly just stepped away from their snooty bank jobs prior to enjoying a tasty lunch at some elegant bistro. I wore my ladylike burgundy skirt suit with black heels and carried an impressive black file folder neatly holding paraphernalia deigned to corroborate my story and strengthen my defense. Sitting in the waiting room allowed TBC and I to view the crème de la crème of our fair county adorned in their finest judge-impressing attire. It pretty much consisted of ratty, uncombed hair, slovenly t-shirts, dirty flipflops, big honking tats and grubby little tykes in tow. As I perched front and center I was able to watch my fellow lawbreakers plead their case (sometimes with attorneys) and receive their just desserts. The DUIs were quite entertaining and I especially enjoyed eyeballing the orange-jumpsuited motley bunch who had spent the previous night in the pokey. At any rate, before my turn at bat came I was called aside by the congenial assistant DA and we efficiently hashed things out without ever employing the judge. The gist of it is that another court date has been set and after Mr DA gets in touch with the supertrooper either the case will be dismissed or I go back to Square One to duke it out in person with the HyPo. Oh joy! I should know by the beginning of next week and I’m praying it’s the former and not the latter. Have a great weekend! :)

Zoom Zoom

Though sore and bruised, I managed to attend the McConnell AFB Open House on July 14^th along with over 101,000 (good heavens!!!) enthusiastic souls and it was well worth the extra effort. After all the excessive rain and constant clouds we endured during the week, a sunshiny Saturday greeted the assembled masses. Nothing quite beats uniting with a huge (sweaty), happy crowd watching the talented zoomies do their thang. Decked out in my Cleveland Browns regalia complete with Browns earrings (that look similar to this), I accompanied my bro-in-law, his son, and sis to the action-packed show. I even got a “Go Browns!” within the first 10 minutes of arriving thanks to "wearing the colors." No airshow is complete without refreshing beer and though I snubbed the ‘lites,’ I thoroughly enjoyed downing several plastic cups of "Flying Monkey" from the Miller tent. Good job, guys! Also, thanks to the sweltering day, bottled water was passed out with abandon. You all know the drill. First you stake out your spot and plunk down the folding canvas chairs (fittingly, mine is a Blue Angels one) for maximum viewing pleasure. Then you head for the static displays and ooh and ah over their sleek power and macho image (the planes, silly, though this could certainly apply to the sexy flight suits snugly covering their flirty owners.) And while you would love to take the time to walk through the wide array of choices, time is of the essence and your selection must be pared down to a limited few. This year, sis and I picked the Osprey and the AWACS plane (out of Tinker AFB) to scrutinize. While in line for the AWACS, we naturally got to visiting with fellow aircraft enthusiasts patiently waiting to snake their way to the front. Darn if I didn’t hear a voice in the back saying, “Indians.” I whipped around to discover the guy directly behind me sporting an Indians ball cap! Apparently this spot was Buckeye Central as the guy behind him also hailed from my home state. Of course, this started the conversational ball rolling and we yakked away the rest of the wait time with him and his wife. After the informative tour, it was back to our chairs to catch those high-flying daredevils, the ever-popular Blue Angels. I may have viewed their air acrobats many times before but they never fail to thrill, amaze and leave me with shivery goosebumps. It wasn’t until leaving the grounds that the true ramifications of the relentless, beating sun hit me with full force and I thought I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion before reaching the car. Apparently I wasn’t the only one as I heard from another coworker who was there who said she’d been told the base hospital was full of affected spectators who had succumbed and been rushed to the facility. Though getting somewhat sunburned and certainly dehydrated, I still had a wonderful time and am counting the days till the next one. ; )

I'm Pretty Logical

You Are Pretty Logical

You're a bit of a wizard when it comes to logic While you don't have perfect logic, you logic is pretty darn good Keep at it - you've got a lot of natural talent in this area!

How Logical Are You?

"Crash" Course

Hello my darlings. I must apologize for the long delay but it’s been crazy around these here parts. For starters, thanks to my recent vehicle altercation the nickname “Crash” has now been bestowed upon me. Er, thanks. Not to be outdone in the emergency department, another relative of mine ended up in the ER with excruciating pancreatitus last week and has been an ongoing patient this entire time. They are sending him to a specialist today to determine why this keeps developing. I did make it back to work last Wednesday and was warmly greeted by friendly, huggy coworkers. Thursday I zombied through a three-hour dept. meeting and though it was an abbreviated workweek for me, finished up utterly exhausted and brain-dead.

This morning we once again ran the thunderstorm gauntlet as buckets of water poured down from the heavens in time to enhance our 'walking in' experience. This lousy start was pleasantly offset by a male coworker finding my long-lost lipstick that had gone AWOL back in March. Concealed under my computer desk, he scooped its naughty, replaced, shiny ass off the bug/raisin/Dorito-strewn carpet and with a flourish, presented it to its overjoyed owner. She is getting such a spanking for making me so distraught!!! ;) I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say the janitor doesn’t clean much in our area.

This Wednesday Mz Circe, I mean “Mz Crash,” gets to go to traffic court and tearfully plead her case. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to this chore. Hopefully, this unwarranted ticket will either get dropped or drastically reduced and I’ll be able to put all this nonsense behind me. Here’s to better days...

Slip Sliddin' Away

I remember back in the day when Slip N Slide was just one lane and we had to take turns. I saw at Wal-Mart (it was an emergency trip... I swear!) the other day, a two lane AND a three lane Slip N Slide!!!

I had to buy the two lane and try it out. The neighbor kids have had a ball on it!

Debbie Does Daycare

I had a coversation with the little neighbor boy last night...

G: Kerry, have you heard of Pinography?
*racing through racks of information in my head to try to figure out what Pinography was*
Me: Is that like Stenography? A Stenographer?
G: Yeah, Pinography.
*obvioulsy a confused look on my face*
G: You know, when there is stuff on your computer that isnt good?
*big bright eyes*
Me: OH!!!! (obviously hit me) You mean Pornography!!!!
G: Yeah, Pinography... or pornography
Me: why would you know about that!??! *growing ever concerned because he is too small to be thinking of such things!*
G: My dad's girlfriend teaches and that was found on her Superintendents computer and he got fired.

Well good grief, i'd hope so!

P: what's Pinography?
*so happy he's not into knowing what that is*
Me: you mean pornography
G: I'm not explaining it... Kerry you better explain it

First of all, why a little 3rd/4th grader knows all the ins and outs of it is beyond me and secondly, I should have let him explain it to see if he really understood what it was!

Me: Well, P... it's dirty pictures of people doing naughty things and it's too trashy to be looking at. It will get you in trouble.

G: Yeah, so and so said he saw some Pinography with little 3 and 4 year olds
Me: ok!!! Just stop!

I had to end the conversation. I figured there was probably more between them when I left.... but it was so weird to hear it all from such little people. They shouldnt hear about this until..... at least until they go to church camp or something!

He's Still Precious

Last weekend Richard and I went to a club with a friend of mine to listen to a band play (dont remember the importance of the band)... and to meet up with a coworker of hers and other friends.

Here's our sweet Glamour Shot that night...



And then I loaned Richard out to other girls for photo opportunities...

Freaky Monday

I either over did it in the gym yesterday.... or pulling weeds last night. I doubt it was the weeds.

My stomach muscles are aching... hurt actually. Every time I rolled around last night, I woke up and it took every muscle in my body to position myself because I was making every effort NOT to use my stomach muscles. I couldn't even lift my legs this morning while trying to shave them silky smooth. I got the job done.. I just had to bend over at my 'waist' and go to my legs instead of bringing them up to me.

I think i'll take it easy tonight... maybe walk less time or slow down a bit at the gym. I've tried to keep up a good fast pace - as much as I can considering my air intake is somewhat limited these days. I've changed from lifting heavy weights (doing fewer reps) to lighter weights and higher reps... so that shouldn't be an issue. I think its the race/walking I do. I guess I could cut out some of the chocolate chip cookies I eat so that I would be able to get away with less exercise...

I also dreamed about having spiders in my ear. This is the second time I dreamed this dream... about the spiders. In this particular dream, my sister was talking to me and them screamed because she saw a spider in my hair. She got to looking for it, and then noticed a whole trail of them in my right ear. They had set up house in there! My dream ended with me heading to the doctor to have the spiders removed.

The Weather Channel

For about a month or so it's been raining like... well like the Central U.S. was suddenly a rainforest during Monsoon season with a few hurricanes passing through sporadically. Translation: It's rained a flipping ton here! We've gritched alot about it.... but one thing the rains did bring was cooler weather. Although it would be in the 70's or 80's, it would feel like 100 because of humidity.

Well, today its registering 97 degrees PLUS humidity... so that means it is HOT and SULTRY.

I'm not complaining. I'm just sayin'. Its hot. I'm really glad the sun is out... but it's really hot!

Oil & Water

Eight interesting facts about TBC and me (courtesy of our beloved Burg):

We met through his close friend who had moved to the beach after me but prior to TBC’s arrival. TBC was originally headed for Okiedokieland in what turned out to be a massive migration on his family's part but in a last minute change of heart, decided to give the beach a shot thereby heading toward the land of ocean and sky rather than wind whipping down the plains. It was there that rather than meeting a lovely, genteel Southern lass, he spied a skinny, shy, tongue-tied, blonde Northern transplant. (yeah me) Nevertheless, her striking beauty *snicker* intrigued him and the abbreviated chase was on to win her elusive hand. Not one to succumb without a fight, Mz Impossible only capitulated after an interested eye was cast in her sister's direction. After a brief courtship, TBC and Mz Circe were joined in marriage by a justice of the peace and have been battling it out ever since. A few years after our hasty vows, TBC dragged his kicking and screaming spouse to Tornadoville and for the most part we have resided here ever since.

TBC and I seem to prefer "M," "N," and "O" (Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma) states. I have no idea why we have a predilection for living in the middle of the alphabet (and country) but we do.

TBC is the polar opposite of me personality-wise. He’s a gregarious extrovert who never met a human being he hasn’t for the most part, liked. I, on the other hand, am the reserved, shy and somewhat suspicious introvert though I’ve emerged from my shell more and more as the years have passed. No visit to any establishment is complete without his chatting up friends, neighbors, workmates, acquaintances, etc. because this man knows everyone. I believe it may stem from his small town roots where everyone knows everyone else’s business, while I retain my big city ‘MYOB” demeanor.

I’m an avid reader who always has a minimum of three books and/or periodicals in various stages of reading progress going at one time while TBC pretty much only cracks a tome when absolutely forced to. A deep, rocky chasm divides non-readers who think readers waste perfectly good time on copious amounts of mindless drivel and readers who secretly believe non-readers are shallow, clueless morons. TBC’s pretty much given up breaking me of this “useless, boring habit” and arguments regarding this particular bone of contention have fallen by the wayside. Singles need to factor this potential problem in when considering the pros and cons of mate material.

We both come from loving nuclear families though they differed in size, location, and economic status. He’s one of six, mostly male siblings (No. 2) and I (Numero Uno) have one younger sister. He grew up in a small town in northern NY and well, we all know where I hail from. *round on the end and high in the middle* Evenly divvying up the economic pie, not to mention time and attention among so many siblings certainly differed from the simple half division I enjoyed.

Much like Kerbear and Richard, we both love to travel and grew up road tripping on family vacations. This tradition has carried on as together with our two beautiful Circettes, ;) we have seen most of the contiguous United States. Driving duties are divided between us but for the most part, he plays chauffeur to my helpful, passenger side navigator. As much as we love the US, we are woefully behind in observing how the rest of the world lives. Plans are in the works for a tropical island vacation early next year and then European trips in the future.

We were both rebels as teenagers but my vanilla version of rebelling paled in comparison to his wild, rowdy ways. Yep, I married the bad boy. The pseudo fairy tale version of how this all works out in the wash bears absolutely no resemblance to grim reality. Plan on weekly, if not daily, hell.

Much like Weather’s hub, TBC projects a “good ole boy” image to the outside world but living with him day in and day out is a whole other story. I’m not sure one can change a control freak/bully but it sure makes for an obstacle-riddled existence for an easygoing, fun-loving, ‘peace at any price,’ free spirit like me. It’s not all bad and I will enumerate some of his good qualities in a future post, but I know for a fact I would never consider going through this continuous 'mountains out of molehills' drama again and will cherish my freedom when it happens. I leave you with this wise old adage: "Marry in haste, repent in leisure."

Gas Prices are Suppose to Go UP!

I had a weird dream last night (surprise surprise)

I dreamed that the oil fields had a complete shutdown. Gone. So... because they shut down, we couldnt work (in my line of business we are not directly related to them in any way other than we need gas to put in our vehicles to deliver product).

Really weird was that Johnny was my supervisor (he's currently NOT my supervisor and in a complete different line of work. He's in Buildings and Grounds) and he was moving me to this new big plush office, but when it came time to move he came and told me to hang on 'i've got a meeting'. He took off for his meeting and I went and sat at long tables with a whole ton of other employees.

He soon came out and told me that we're having to close the place down because of the oil field shutdown and we were all out of jobs! I got a good 6 month severance package.... but the place completely shut down... and my new big plush office was no longer!

Weird too was that I was completely happy with this. I didnt feel upset in any way... and was relieved that it was over.

I've Been Nailed

Ok. I've been tagged by Burg to list 8 things interesting (or most precious) about my Husband and I. Let me try....

1. Richard and I met for the first time at my sister's bar-b-que. He worked with my (then) bro-in-law and I'd heard alot about him... so I took a friend who had just recently moved to the city (didnt know anyone) and I thought they'd hit it off. What I pictured in my head from hearing conversation... and what I saw when I got there were two different things. With my boyfriend in tow, I spent the evening turning on the charm and throwing myself at Richard because he was just too much fun!

2. Five months later we saw each other again - for New Years. I tried to get my boyfriend to stay home because I knew Richard would be going out with our group, but he came along. My bf was too interested in the big boobs sitting at our table (not mine), so that left me free to focus on this new piece of meat across from me (Richard). I turned all of my attentions to Richard and flirted endlessly... he STILL didn't get it! He's so precious.

3. Three months later (and boyfriend history) I called my bro-in-law and told him to call Richard to see if he wanted to go out (group thing) for fun. Of course he was game. That night, it was like it hit him.... we chatted for about 5 hours nonstop and he says all he could think about were my lips and how he wanted to kiss me :) We stayed at my sis's house that night and we chatted... and I invited him to join me on the futon. He was such a gentleman! He was very proper and kept his hands to himself... so that made me want him even more and VERY determined to get him :) Funny how that works. We, um... talked til the sun came up :)

4. Richard proposed to me while on a cruise and had actually asked both of my boys for their approval - before asking me. He's so sweet! They were so excited and still are to this day. They love him.

5. Now, Richard has me knocked up... and he's having a little girl that will most likely be spoiled rotten by her dad and two brothers.

6. We fight over stupid stuff but typically its short lived. Most often it's when we're in the car and he's driving and usually about the WAY he's driving! It drives me nuts when he rides the tailend of the car in front of him... if he'd ever been sandwiched between two trucks on Hefner RaceWay before, he'd understand a girls jumpiness and be a little more sensitive to her desire for you to slow your ass down and back off!

7. Richard's nature is very quiet and easy-going where as mine is more talkative, loud, aggressive, stubborn, etc. So we go well together. haha

8. We love to travel and go at every chance we get! We've both made up little lists of places we want to visit and slowly but surely we're making it through our list. He is the best travel partner a girl could ever ask for! He doesn't get moody or tire easily and he's always game to try something new! It's always excitement!

I've got to tag the Queen. Her stories crack me up and i'm sure there are some humorous ones with her hubby! Angela needs to be tagged. Her little guy Gregory is a doll and hubby sounds like such a nice guy ;)

If we can get Twisted to write... something is always going down with her and Boxers! They have just too much fun!

I'd love to tag Bone and Ben. HAHAHA Oh, the comedy! But they dont have husbands (that i'm aware of)... but I guess they could write about g/f and wifey!

I hope Circe writes. She's still home recup'in from her car wreck - and doing well I might add. I chatted with her on the phone a few nights ago and she's bruised, but bouncing back quickly!

Chillin' at The Holiday Inn

This past weekend all of us were outside messing around with the camera and C took his new OSU hat and put it on my head. "Mom, you look good! Now do the pose" and he did something like this... some gangsta thing... and I tried to do it. Richard got the pic. Good grief I look corny. hahah

Over The Miles

Yesterday, C and I took a little road trip to see some of his friends and we left Richard and P home... alone. I was on the road for about 3 hours total and I sat and jabbered for a few hours while I was there... so we were gone for quite a while!

I got a text message from Richard that said that he and P had cleaned the house. Yippeee! I didnt have to do as much as I thought when I got home!

I never imagined that they really cleaned! I walked in the front door and it smelled clean! I couldnt smell the trash, or sweatie soccer shoes... I smelled lemony fresh clean kitchen and sugar cookie candle living room! The carpet had been vaccumed, bathrooms cleaned, laundry put away and the tables cleaned off. They did an awesome job!

C and I should travel more often. Rich and P work well together. Note: I did get word from Rich that P took on the bathroom task and drug it out as long as he could and hid as much as he could get away with... probably out of fear he'd be assigned another task if he finished that one. HAHAHHA

Happy Happy!

Yes gang, it was a mere two years ago that Kerbear and I took the plunge, put our quirky heads together (kinda like Siamese twins) and started sharing our unique perspective with fellow bloggy journalists. Amazing, huh? :)

Alot has changed since our initial attempts at typed entertainment but we are still lovin' it and hope to continue for many eons to come. Stop by and have a piece of cyber cake to commemorate this special day. Ker and I will be passing out hugs and kisses to initialize our third year. ;)

Thanks for all your love and support...

your humble servant,
circe

Pull Apart

The humidity here has been horrid for the past month. With a solid 4 weeks of rain (I think we've seen the sun for about 30 minutes total), the temp can be in the mid 70's, but with humidity it feels like 110 and it's so thick you can cut it with a knife!

This morning on my way to work I was listening to the radio DJ's discuss the humidity (we're scheduled to get some heat and sun this next week! whooohooo!) and the fact that they have experienced 'chaffing in cracks and crevices where there usually isnt a problem'. They wear different undies on the higher humidity days to help prevent friction which creates a rash.... which then requires them to use ointment. One guy said the hardest part is recruiting someone to apply the ointment to his rashy areas. eeewwww!

But funny thing is.. this isnt the first conversation i've heard about this rash issue. I guess with the heat and humidity.. you start sweating profusely in the crack of your butt and the constant rubbing of cheeks coupled with being wet, causes a terrible diaper rash.

Desitin isnt just for babies.

Shaun of the Dead

Bright and early this morning, Richard and C visited our local friendly oral surgeon and had all 8 (4 each) wisdom teeth extracted.

C went first... and when they moved him to recovery they asked me to sit with him. Then they took Richard in for his plucking. Both boys opted to be put to sleep so they wouldn't hear or feel the business going on in their mouths - which I think was a really good decision.

C was in recovery just sleeping away... this nice little soft snoring. Not Richard. I heard them come out of surgery and talking to him... walking him to the recovery room. I peeked around the corner and busted up laughing so hard I thought i'd pee my pants. I darted back in C's room.

He looked like something from Shaun of the Dead. A walking zombie. He had the doctor with one arm, and the nurse with the other arm... he was walking stiff like Frankenstein and babbling on and on about something. I heard just a little of 'that was not bad at all!'

They laid him down on his little recovery bed and the doctor tried to run through the surgery and how it all went... but Richard kept babbling. It was like his tongue was 12 inches thick and he was on a week long drunken binge coupled with a round of Meth just to give him that extra little 'ummph' in his step. We kept chuckling at him... finally Richard raised his head, smiled and gave the doctor a 'thumbs up'. *insert hysterical laughing by us here*

After getting all the news, I sat down by Rich who kept trying to sit up but couldn't raise his own head off the pillow. He babbled and rambled and told me that 'he's really good! He should do this for a living!!' then added 'you should be a doctor!' I was laughing so hard! Then my precious... and I am not lying here... asked for a BJ! HAHAHAHAH I nearly fell out of my chair! Of course not! But I certainly grabbed my phone and started shooting little blips of video. He kept telling me 'thats some good shit' and 'I like that stuff... I could do more!'

This craziness went on for 30 minutes. I was soooo glad I volunteered to sit with Richard and the cute little nurse sat with C. I'd hate for her to have to listen to all that and be asked to perform BJ services. HAHAHAHAH Gawd, that would have been hilarious!

When we got home, C was right back to sleeping... and Rich.... well Rich decided to pass out on me. Listerally. I fixed them up with ice packs (tied around their heads) and laid them down. When I took them their pain pills, C swallowed his without sitting up, but Richard sat straight up, swallowed the pill and passed out smooth. So, now i'm on light-headedness alert. It's alot of drama for 4 little sweet teeth...

Oh Crappy Day... update

A quick update to my yesterday crappy day....

First thing this morning our outstanding Director of HR asked me to visit with him in his office. He wanted to know if I had been confronted by the meanie yet. I told him I had been, and that he had apoligized and said "it was all in fun. I meant it all as a joke... I thought we were joking". Well, you don't call someone in your office and say those things and mean it as a joke. It was purely on purpose and he was trying to cover by doing the "it was a joke" thing.

HR guy agreed it wasnt a joke nor should ever be presented as one. It was completely inappropriate and added that I "don't have to work in those conditions". So.... should anything come of this, he's got my back!

Had any of the guys taken off to another site to work (and they do weekly), nothing would have been said. I do it once and something gets said to me. It was because i'm female!

Deep Impact

My vacation plans went horribly awry when I got involved in a two-vehicle accident leaving work last rainy Thursday evening. After a quick (not) trip to the ER I discovered I am suffering from a punctured lung (small, fortunately), cracked and bruised ribs, bump on the forehead, two black eyes and various and sundry bruises yet I’m very thankful to be alive to tell the tale. Oh yeah, and I bit my tongue and have a lovely canker sore. My preshus GP's prognosis is far more dismal and the legal ramifications are murky at present. I should know more later. The pain pills are keeping the ouchies at bay but sitting at the comp for any length of time exacerbates my situation so I’ll keep this post short and sweet. Have a fabulous Fourth and I’ll catch you for our 2 year 'versary on Friday!!!

This Makes Monday Really Suck

I am so ticked!

This morning I was marching down the hall - minding my own business - when I heard "kerry, can I talk to you?". It was my new supervisor (since the death of my favorite and much missed supervisor). I stopped in his office and plopped down in the chair to see what he had on his mind.

He sat half chuckling and nervously playing with a coaster on his desk. He began:

Him: I've thought allll weekend as to why Kerry would want to go to Site XYZ on Friday and I've come up with three reasons.

I'm kind of chuckling at this time because this sounds funny and he's kind of chuckling so i'm guessing something funny happened(?)

Him: 1) you just wanted to get out of the office (and he's counting these out on his fingers) 2) you were just trying to pad your travel expenses to get more money or 3) you're having a fling with Bobby Joe (not his real name) at Site XYZ.

I busted up laughing. Partially because this is the most absurd thing i've ever heard and it was obvious as to why I was going. It IS my job!

He continued:
Him: I'm really hoping it's not number 3. You know he's a known casanova. I'm hoping to rule that out.

Now, i'm starting to get pissed. I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry or really get mad... but it is making me mad because this is completely insane!

He saw me walk out of the office on Friday with equipment in my hand - taking it to Site XYZ so they'd have working equipment fast! My ex-boss always told me I didnt travel enough and I needed to keep in better contact with all of our far sites and now I finally went and THIS is what I get out of it!?

I start in: Well, first of all they needed equipment...
Him: You could send it with a driver that goes down there
Me: I have been told for a year that I dont spend enough time at other plants. I've always been told I need to go visit more and make appearances... and I havent traveled in a year! Besides they needed the goods quickly, they also had PC and scanner issues they wanted to talk to me about. It was better to go and see what they wanted to do (move some offices around) than to try to hammer it out over the phone!

Him: I don't see why you need to go anywhere. I havent been to those other sites in 15 years.

Well, my job is NOTHING like his job. He programs!

Me: Well, I've always been told that's part of my job.
Him: Well, I just couldnt make sense of it and I was just wanting to know.

He then kept chuckling and tried to dismiss me.

I headed straight around the corner to the owner's ADM ASST office and told her the story. She went ballistic. "Get to HR now and turn that in! He has no business even asking you anything about any of it!"

I called Richard for consoling...

Then I headed to HR and turned him in for making such an accusation. I dont think it's appropriate at all... and certainly not coming from someone who spends his lunch hours at the local strip club!

Baby Love

Here's our little sweetness... sucking her thumb I think!

Snakepit

I recently experienced a close encounter of the snake kind and darn if we didn’t have another one on Tuesday. I had thought I’d blogged about the first but cannot find the post so maybe not. Several weeks ago TBC discovered a small one curled up in our hallway beside the full-length mirror. I had to have walked right by him several times during my morning routine but fortunately I avoid stepping on the dozing crawler. Yikes! All we can figure is the night before he had slid through a one-inch gap in our north door and made himself at home. Tuesday, TBC again called me at work to say he had found a three-foot black snake with bird snacks on his slithery brain draped around a rafter right next to our sliding glass door. Our barnswallows that nest on the roof of the carport were understandably disturbed by this turn of events but TBC saved the day and caught the hungry serpent before it could reach them. TBC thinks these alarming sightings so close to (or IN) the house are not related to the excessive rainfall we’ve experienced but I’m guessing they are. His lifeless body (no, not TBC’s) is currently hanging from our lightpole with a sharp knife through his head, a warning to all other hissing creatures thinking our feathered friends might make a tasty treat.

On this the last day before my extended break, things have been hectic and chaotic. The Grand Exalted Poobah’s assistant had spit out no less nine emails before noon with stern warnings regarding outages and funerals and everything in-between. Not only is my building closed next Monday and Tuesday, but late start summer classes begin and I’m gone on vacation for the next few weeks. This week I’ve been training "Svetlana" on taking over my complicated (kidding) duties in my absence thus adding to the already chaotic situation. I’m counting my blessings that I won’t be present when all hell breaks loose next Monday and all my prior campus-wide communication falls on deaf ears. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

In deference to our dear CruiserMel, I leave you with six factoids regards my snoozing habits.

6 Weird things I do while getting ready to sleep or while sleeping:

1. I blow. According to TBC I make this interesting (annoying) sound when I’m asleep where I exhale little puffs of air. And it drives him nuts. He snores like a chainsaw so I fail to see what crime I’ve committed.

2. I toss and turn. A lot. I usually do quarter turns (clockwise) until I finally fall asleep which brings me to…

3. I have chronic insomnia. This is most likely because I tend to tally up all my worries when I finally catch a quiet moment and unfortunately that moment occurs right at bedtime. So I tend to take sleep aids on most evenings but I alternate them so I won’t be addicted. I’m not sure which is worse, taking something possibly habit-forming or being a miserable, sleep-deprived zombie the next day at work. Guess I’ll take the pills.

4. I love to read Star Wars novels before dropping off to sleep. As gripping as the critical Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy is, I never lay awake at night nervously mulling its possible ramifications.

5. I get a nasty sore throat if I sleep nekkid so I must utilize some form of sleepwear. It’s either silky nighties in the summer or flannel jammies in the winter. I also must have some form of covering on even if it’s only a sheet. Go figure.

6. I cannot hear any talking or music before falling asleep but love white noise, especially a fan or air purifier. And while I grew up drifting off to the noisy echo of busy traffic, it’s the sound of total silence I simply cannot handle. Back when I was a teenager, I spent the night with my bud Angie in the rural home her and her mom were then living in. I lay awake all night because, as I groggily informed her the next morning, only two vehicles had passed the entire night!

Okay gang. Take care this weekend and I’ll make a special effort to post before the Fourth! :)

smooches,

circe

Baby News

It is so irritating when you get started writing, get interrupted, and so you save your post then go back to finish it and it's NOT saved! Dangit! It was a good one too!

I've tried hard not to make my entries mostly like a babyblog, but this one time i've gotta talk about the little baby :)

We had an ultrasound yesterday and all indications are that this little guy is a girl! Richard is soooo excited! We left the doctors office with our video and pictures of the little tyke and headed home. I changed... headed to the gym... leaving Richard at home just grinning from ear to ear and working on editing the video.

Later, I get a text message from him.

R: I'm so in love!
Me: ok... with who?
R: Our little girl!
Me: You're screwed.
R: She's going to break my little heart
Me: Yep. You're screwed. She already has you wrapped around her finger and she isn't even here yet!
R: Yep.
Me: You're screwed.

I can see it all now... I'll be the mean one. haha

I hope to get a few sonogram pics posted. She is so sweet... sucking her thumb and stretching those legs. She has Richards toes. He is the only man... person... i've ever seen who can stretch all of their toes apart like fingers! She did it!!!! hahahahahahahha

Buy Me Some Sun

I'm going to Cozumel, kids!!!! *cheerleader jump*

Richard called me at work and asked me about a trip and we got to looking and decided to jump in and take off before school starts. I'm ready to see some sun and sand! No more of this monsoon weather! Yipppeee! Today marks the 15th consecutive day of rain.

Oh yes.... and it seems we'll be buying pink for this little baby ;)

Let's Make a Deal

You know how some people are at the right place at the right time, unearthing all the genuine bargains and never paying full price for a single thing? EVER? I’m not one of them, but my sister is. It doesn’t matter what we are talking about, from toiletries to handbags to clothing to house furnishings, she manages to sniff out any advertised or unadvertised sale, and top it off with extra discounts or coupons thus further lowering its already reduced price. She can wade through a garage sale or secondhand store and uncover real gems sprinkled throughout the superficial dross, totally skipping over the worthless junk. I, on the other hand, will either find nothing but crap, select the most expensive items when I do find anything of worth, and no matter what I’m buying, will have totally missed the sale by sometimes only a day. Sis bought a leopard purse just like mine recently and plunked down a whopping dollar for her second-hand twinkie. This comparison could have been worse as I only paid five bucks for a new one but as we shall see, this is a very rare scenario. Much more common are the next two examples proving this startling monetary deviation where she made out like a bandit and I paid through the nose. Both of us have duplicate prescriptions for a certain tube of medication from our shared dermatologist. And just how much does yours truly shell out for this green cylinder? $97 smackeroos. Almost one hundred dollars and that’s generic mind you. And how much does Mz WaaayBetterInsurance cough up? $10. Ten measly dollars. For the exact same medication. And I don’t think hers is even generic! Now I realize that the obvious reason for this wide discrepancy is the huge gulf between our respective insurance companies (mine bites) and that my state insurance won’t pay jack on something they don’t view as ‘medical’ (which indeed is now) and federal insurance is considerably more accommodating, but still... The most recent instance was a few weeks ago when we both selected almost duplicate frames from our optometrist’s office. Same brand, same color, just a slightly different shape. Thanks to my sucky insurance, I am completely left at the mercy of retail prices and the full cost of those attractive frames was $150. And just how much out-of-pocket money would dear sis need to purchase the exact same pair? $20!!! I think I can be excused for feeling taken advantage of, a clueless neophyte in a sea of savvy shoppers. It’s the story of my life. I will admit to green-eyed envy directed at those blessed with the gift of sniffing out true bargains and making impressive deals. All I ask that they occasionally stop and remember the hapless paying-out-the-wazooty souls who offset their seemingly effortless consumer transactions.