Have a chuckle at my expense...No, really...I did. :-)

I had to go to the dentist for a filling today. I was so incredibly nervous about it. On my drive there from work, I was trying to come up with excuses to cancel. And then I'd talk myself out of it, saying that I needed to get these cavities taken care and to just get it over and done with. Besides, I left work early so that I could make the appointment.

So, I went. Man did he shoot me up with novacaine. I had one on top and one inbetween two teeth on the bottom. (That's just on the left side - I have to go back in two weeks for the right side). He loaded both jaws up with novacaine and left me to stew in it for about 20 minutes. By the time he came back in the room, I was sure I was drooling. I'm glad I was so effing numb, though, because they sure were rooting around in there quite a bit. An hour later, and I was ready to go. He warned that once the novacaine wears off, I'm going to be quite sore and that I should be extra nice to my teeth for a couple days. He also said that because he was so thorough, he had to get kinda close to the nerves. Yay.

Anyway, after I left there, I got in my car, looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that the left side of my mouth was literally a sad clown face, while the right was just normal, relaxed me. I tried to smile and busted up laughing at how ridiculous I looked. I talked to myself in the mirror (Yeah, I do that sometimes, so what?) and watched as the left side of my mouth just sorta drooped there, while the right moved normally. I figured everyone could use a good laugh, so here's me with my cockeyed smile! I promise, I was SO trying to smile on both sides...See it in my eyes!


The novacaine is starting to wear off in the middle of my face and GEEZ does it itch!! My lips and chin feel like they're being tickled with a feather or something. It's going to be an interesting evening...Hope I can at least speak with some normalcy tomorrow...Otherwise, someone else is going to have to be in charge of the phones. lol


edit: omg...the novacaine is wearing off. Simply put: ow. :-( Not so funny anymore...Hubby was nice enough to point out that the left side of my face is all poofed out, too. Thanks, Dear.

Ummm...WTF Mother Nature?

We actually had plans for today! Hubby invited his mother, who offered to drive my grandmother (Omi) as well, up to the house. We (I) have spent the last week cleaning the house and getting it ready to have the two clean freaks to the house. We were going to take them to the local winery that we started going to before we even moved up here, and then we were going to take them to dinner. The plan was to take them someplace that's local, though we hadn't yet decided where.

Yesterday, it rained like all day. And then as the night went on, it started getting colder and and the rain started sounding like someone was throwing rice at the windows and the siding. Hard little ice pellets. And then I get up this morning and not only are my windows completely iced over (like...Can't actually SEE out of them), but there's probably 4 inches of snow out there. WTF??? Seriously? Why must we do this every year? March rolls around and we all start getting comfortable. No coats, heat off, windows down a bit...And then BAM! The snow and ice and frozen ugliness come back for one last hurrah. Stupid stupid stupid.

So, I don't know if m-i-l & Omi will be coming or not. I'm probably going to suggest that they don't make the journey. I'm betting there's a fair amount of ice buried underneath the snow. And how horrible would I feel if something happened to them on their way to see us. Yikes.

Hopefully, I can still get Hubby to help me finish cleaning the house, even if they don't come. It'll be nice to have a totally clean house again.

**Edit, the sun came out and is already starting to melt the cold crap. We rescheduled with m-i-l & Omi for next Saturday. Didn't really get any more cleaning done, but that's okay. I've got a week to do it in now.

Ouch

So, I'm not going to lie...I'm kinda really hurt. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. Or maybe I take things too personally. Or maybe I read into things too much. I'm not writing this entry as a jab at anyone specific, because chances are, if you're a RL friend and you're reading this, the post isn't meant for you.

I feel like a number of my friendships aren't valued. People that I think really are my friends and really do like me, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't notice if I moved to the moon. Maybe that's my own fault. For a long time, I was a shitty friend. I didn't call people. I didn't make an effort to be around for them. I know everyone has their own stuff going on in life. And I don't expect them to all drop their responsibilities because I asked them to. But when you try to make plans a month ahead of time, so that they can all make it, and you still don't know three days before if anyone's even going to show...it hurts. I don't want to be all 'No one loves me,' but honestly, that's how I feel. When someone else organizes the get together, everyone makes an effort and we all have a good time. Obviously, they value me enough to invite me to these shindigs, but I feel like in the past two years, when I try to make plans, nothing ever comes of it. And I'm always left feeling like I'm the ugly stepsister.

So, I cancel at the last minute. Yes, Hubby invited his mother over for the next day. And yes, that's a bit inconvenient. But I was going to make it work. I was so excited to have some friends over to the house. Lock Hubby away in the office and be obnoxious with my girlfriends. I wanted to show off my cooking skills and jam out with the Rock Band.

Should I say something? (I guess I just did, right? :-/) Do I cut my losses and focus on the few friendships that I do feel are very real? Do I just chalk it up to me being a big baby? How do I show that I want to be a better friend? That I want them to include me?

If I did move to the moon, not only would I want them to notice, I'd want them to want to go with me.

Los Gatos

So, I was trying to take some photos last week for Beth's You Capture, and while I didn't come up with a lot of images for the shadow challenge, I did end up taking some nice shots of my kitties.

I think Woofie is a lot more photogenic than Bubba, and I'm not sure why. I think Bub is a lot like Hubby and just doesn't like to have his picture taken. Woofie is a lot more like me...that is, a ham. :-)

Another Photo Meme...

...I just can't help myself. Especially on a Saturday when the only other things I have to do are homework and cleaning. :-P

I was catching up on blogs posts, when I came across this at Irascible Crayons. Looked like fun to me, so I did it, too!



Give credit where credit is due:1. “Blue,” 2007, 12" x 12" x 7", construction paper, by Jen Stark, 2. NOODLES " STRAW and HAY to the egg"., 3. marian abloom , 4. Aqua, 5. Untitled, 6. Orange Crush, 7. Blue-Alaskan Dusk, 8. trader joe's cupcake: vanilla, 9. MOMMY & BABY, 10. My Family, 11. It's just the fear of being alone, 12. Day 191: Your Doll

Thinking Positive Thoughts

Okay, so yesterday I whined about why I don't like Hubby being on third. Today, I've decided to not be so pessemistic and I'm trying to come up with reasons why third shift is GOOD.

So, #1. I can shower with the door open (which I prefer to do because the bathroom gets so stinking hot!!!)
#2. I can blowdry my hair without worrying that I'll wake Hubby.
#3. I can snooze for an hour (not that I should...But I can!)

That's all I've got so far....It's better than nothing, though, right? :-)

On a pretty much TOTALLY unrelated topic, I went to see my parents on Friday after work. Mom has not had a jaw pain in about a week!!! The new medication really seems to be doing the trick. It was so nice to see her and be able to talk with her, to see her interact with people, rather than just sorta zoning out inbetween pains.

Booooooooooo!!!!

So Hubby found out today that he's going back to third shift. He couldn't be happier.

I, however, am not so thrilled. I liked having some freedom when I got home from work. I liked being able to cook dinner and watch tv without having to worry that the noise or the smell would wake him up. I liked being able to run the dishwasher, without worrying if there would be any hot water left for his shower. I liked having him home at night, even if he wasn't in the bed with me, it was still nice to not be alone all night long. I liked not having to get him up for work. He's such a crab ass when he gets up and not at all pleasant. Most days, I felt like I was waging war for the 45 minutes between his waking and his leaving. Simply put, I am not at all excited about going back to the old schedule.

I've really been on a sort of Cloud 9 since he started working 2nd shift. I feel like we've been getting along very well and we've both been very happy with how things were going. I'm terrified that we're going to go back to disliking one another. This whole 3rd shift thing is scary the crud out of me. I definitely have a negative attitude going back to it. I hope he's right and that things are going to be okay.

This weekend, I had a little bit of a meltdown...He plays WoW like it's his job. And while I do enjoy playing the game, I'm not nearly as addicted to it as he has become. It's all he ever does. Really. If he's not sleeping, working or pooping, he is playing the game. And this weekend, I felt crummy about it. It was one thing after another and he just wouldn't get up from the game. It's not like I was all in his grill all weekend. I let him sleep in on Saturday morning, I brought him coffee when he got up, I made lunch/dinner, I really just didn't bother him at all on Saturday. Sunday, I went to church and did some shopping. I didn't get home til 2pm. So, really, it's not like I was all 'Love me!' all weekend. But, it was like 5pm and I really was feeling down. I wanted him to do something other than play the game and hit the bowl. And when he told me he was busy, I got all pouty and started crying. Now, I know part of this is due to PMS, and I accept that, but really? All weekend? You can't quit playing long enough to come to bed with me? I am your wife, damnit......../rant

Keep your fingers crossed that third shift isn't the end of the world, please. :-)

Letter to Myself

I haven't been following 20-something writers for the simple reason that I never thought I was much of a writer. I really disliked writing papers in high school...I always felt like I'd put my best work on those sheets of paper, and it'd come back to me with a less than acceptable grade. I wrote poetry in my early high school years. I thought it would make me mysterious. Or cool. It was neither. I think it was actually kinda lame. I mean, it was a way for me to express my feelings. But I was all woe is me and I really had no reason to be. And blogging...Well, I've had an online journal for quite a few years. A large part of that time was spent displaying dolls that I'd made.

After Melissa posted her Letter to Herself, first, I got Brad Paisley's song in my head, then I thought...I could do that. And I might like to. If that's what this writing blog is about, maybe I am interested! So...I go there, poke around a little bit and see that while there is some writing that I could never live up to, inspiration is what I'm looking for when it comes to Making Sense of it All! And I think I'll definitely get it there! So...Without any further blathering...


Dear Me,


You may not agree with everything that I have to tell you right now, but just hear me out. The most important thing that I can convey to you right now is that you need to be there for Mom. She will be around for longer than you think, but don't let that fool you. Cherish the time you have with her. Talk to her when you get the chance. Don't yell at her when she's asking for help or when she tells you to do something. Stop taking advantage of her. And appreciate Omi. She may be a pita sometimes, but she does what she does because she loves you. Stop taking money from Dad. You want it, earn it! And he's probably right about balance. Your family will be there for you when you feel like no one else is. They will support you and love you, through the good and bad times.


Choose a major that is both achievable and something you're passionate about. Don't just go in there hoping for the best. I know you think you have it all figured out, but be realistic. And when you figure out what it is that you'll be best at, don't let someone else change your mind for you. If you decide that you've made the wrong choice, figure out the right one and keep moving. Don't freak out. Don't quit. Keep on truckin', woman! And for God's sake, make the best of it! Dad will tell you that college was some of the best times of his life. And it can be for you, too, if you are open to it.


Learn to be independent. Figure out what you want in life. Don't strive to make someone else happy. That'll come later. Just because a guy pays you a little attention, don't throw away everything else that is important to you. If he's really into you, he'll hang around. And if he's not, say to hell with him. Just because you're not a perfect size six doesn't mean there won't be other guys. Believe me, there will be plenty of guys who like you just the way you are.


That being said, get up off your ass. I know it's so much easier to sit around and talk to your friends online or on the phone or to watch tv or to do anything else, but you can't keep on living this sedentary lifestyle. I know it looks like a huge mountain to climb, but believe me, it's so much bigger 10 years from now and I'm still dealing with the laziness.


Don't start smoking. Anything. You'll think you're all cool because someone else is doing it. But really, it'll become addictive and, frankly, gross. Just. Don't.

It's going to get a little Church-ey in here...

When Hubby and I purchased our home, I knew that I was going to feel lonely. We don't really know anyone near us. I have a coworker that lives in the next town over and my aunt and uncle live maybe 20 minutes from here. But I'm not that close to the coworker or the family, so that leaves me feeling a bit secluded. For quite a while now, I've been coming to terms with the fact that it's just not so easy for me to make friends anymore. I'm not sure what that's about and it really sorta hurts my feelings. I'm not sure if it's me - am I not likable? I do find myself being much more shy than I can ever remember being. And my husband doesn't really help. He's very anti-social, most of the time. He prefers to stay at home with his computer than to go out and meet people. So I'm on my own.

Not counting our wedding, I've only been to mass once in probably five years. It's not because of some boycott of the Church or ill feelings about the state of Catholicism (though, there are some of those). It's simply because I was either too lazy or Hubby didn't want me to go. His reason for wanting me to skip it was not because he's against the Church, but because he has major jealousy issues. He fears that I'm going to meet some wonderful Church-going man and leave him. *insert eye-roll* If I was going to cheat/leave him, it certainly wouldn't be with someone that I met at church! lol If anything, I would think he'd be pleased that I want to go to mass. Put some God-fearing in this woman! ;-)

Really, though, I needed to find a way to meet people, so I don't feel so alone. And I really do miss feeling like I have a connection to my religion. I used to be so active in the Church when I was younger. I went with my parents to mass every Sunday, I participated and tried SO HARD to make our Youth Group an active one, I *sorta* taught CCD (Meem really taught the classes. I was just there as backup...And I liked to color with the kids), I enjoyed going to a Catholic high school. When I went to college, I lost all of it...I just sorta walked away from it. I'm not sure if it was Hubby's anti-church persuasion or if it was because I was just too lazy to get out of bed on Sunday morning. I'm not sure what it was. I just didn't do it anymore. And I feel like I'm missing something in my life.

When we moved here, I started looking for churches that were nearby. I came up with a list of about five churches and intended to go to a mass at each one to determine where I felt I best fit in. I wanted a church that has an active youth group. I wanted a church where I felt the pastor really cared about everyone - not just those who made the biggest monetary difference or the ones that had been there the longest. I wanted a place that felt like home when I was there. And an active choir would be nice, too. My coworker that lives nearby told me on Monday that she'd had her newborn baptized last weekend and she told me about the church that they'd done it at, which is about 15 minutes from my house. I made up my mind that I wanted to check it out, so first I looked on the internet at their website. It's an old church, but a young congregation. There's a junior high and high school youth group, that seems to be very active. The high schoolers even have a summer retreat that they go to in July, much like I did when I was that age. Oh, and the choir is open to all. I was very hopeful and went to mass yesterday.

As a kid, we always went to the 8am mass. And I always thought it was such a bummer to have to get up so early on the weekend. So I skipped the early mass and went to the 10:30. I arrived around 10:10 and there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot. I sat in the car and watched young families and older couples started trickling in. After five minutes, I decided to get inside and find my seat. I always dislike going to a new mass...I worry that I'm going to take someone's regular spot. But I suppose that's the brakes, right? So, I walk up to the door and there's three older ladies walking up. I always love the grandmas. They always have something nice to say and seem to appreciate the little things, like me holding the door for them.

I follow the three ladies into the church and I'm immediately blown away. The building looks fairly small from the outside. Nothing really fancy about it. Just a regular old church building with some stained glass windows and a steeple. But it is amazing on the inside. It is fairly small, in comparison to the church I grew up in, but it is beautiful. High, arched ceilings and little details on the walls. The altar is gorgeous. I wish that I'd brought my camera to mass with me...I would've loved to take some photos of how beautiful it is.

As I sat, looking around, the choir began to sing. It's nothing like the choir at my old church, which is made up of mostly old women and a couple men, most of which really can't carry a tune. I tried to join a couple times and just felt out of place. And overpowered. This choir was fantastic. Wonderful harmonies and a cantor whose voice just wouldn't quit. It sounded like they had some real direction...They mostly sang songs that I was not familiar with, but that was okay because I just wanted to listen.

As we got closer to the start of mass, more and more people were filing in. I was sort of taken by how many people were there. And then about 5 minutes before mass started, there was a rush of moms and schoolage children who'd just come from the Sunday CCD classes. I thought to myself, how are all of these people going to fit in here? And they just kept coming. The only times I'd ever seen St L (the church I grew up and was married in) that packed was on Christmas or Easter. The ushers actually had to find people seats. This wasn't any special Holy Day or anything. This was just regular Sunday mass. I was squished between two dads in their early forties, and I had to shuffle my purse around all throughout the mass, just so we'd all fit comfortably in the row, but I didn't care. It was so nice to be there with all these other people. To know that we were all there for one reason.

*Disclaimer...It's going to get a little Church-ey here.*
Mass began and I went through all the responses, etc. It's funny...You'd think you might forget what you're supposed to say or when you're supposed to stand or kneel. But you don't. I fell back into it like I'd been going all along. The first reading was basically the list of the ten commandments. I've been thinking about how I need some guidance and could use an owner's manual on how to live my life. It was nice to have a little reminder. And then the gospel reading was the story about Jesus' disciples and all the folks in the Temple, making it more of a marketplace than a place of worship. Again, another nice one to hear. It's funny how you hear these readings so many times and don't come to appreciate them until after you haven't heard them in a while.

When I was younger, I hated the homily. The priests were always so long-winded and I never could follow them. How does what you're talking about relate to the readings? How am I supposed to apply this to my own life? Most of the time, I'd spend the homily looking at the bulletin and counting down the minutes til I could get out of there. Yesterday, I sat and listened. I felt like he was talking to me. He told a story of how a man came to a church and parked in the first available spot and as he was getting out of the car, someone else pulled in next to him and said 'That's where I normally park! You took my place!' And then the man goes into the church and has a seat and someone else comes up to him and says 'This is where I normally sit! You took my place!' So the man gets up and lets them have their seat. Father Joe goes on to explain that later in the mass, the man reveals himself as Jesus and that he did take all of our places. He died so that we could have life eternal. I just found it so poignant that Father Joe would relay this story on my first time back to church in years. Like I said, I felt like he was speaking to me. He continued his sermon by talking about how there are so many parishoners that do not come to mass and that no matter what he does, these people just aren't going to come. He said that someone at a previous mass had come to him and said 'Father, you're preaching to the choir! We do come to mass!' and he responded by telling that person that the people that already come should be the ones to spread the Word and invite those that do not. At that moment, I felt like I wanted to speak to him after mass and let him know how touched I felt by his story, and that he wasn't only preaching to the choir, but to someone who'd strayed a long time ago.

Mass continued and I found myself comparing this new church to St L in many different ways. And not saying 'This church is so much better.' But instead, I thought 'This is what St L was at one time. It was warm and inviting. It was young and old, at the same time. It was active and important.' I get choked up at the idea. I know to some people, it's only a church. But to me, it was and is so much more. It's a way to connect with other people who believe something similar to me. It's a way to be a part of something so much bigger than I am.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. I'm so proud of myself for taking this first step. I didn't speak with the pastor after mass, but that's just because I'm a chickenshit. Maybe next weekend, I can step a little further out of my comfort zone and introduce myself. And maybe the following week, I can say hello to the the choir cantor...And maybe talk to him about joining. Baby steps, but ones that I'm so incredibly excited to take.

Going on an adventure

I wanted to tell you all a little story (complete with photos!) about a road trip that Hubby & I took in May 2005. I don't really get adventuresome, so this really tops my list of craziness.

At the time, Hubby was driving a little Match Box type car - a 2000 Toyota Celica. It's a two door (well, technically 3...It was a hatchback) and he'd dropped it down to about 6 inches from the ground. It was like you had to squat down to get into it. We are both rather large individuals...That car was NOT made for us. And then we decided to take it on a camping trip for five or six days. So we packed in our tent, sleeping bags, air mattress, pillows, a week's worth of clothing and I'm sure a lot more junk that we didn't need. It was quite the cramped car.

So, we left on a Friday night, right after Hubby got off work (at midnight). It was pouring rain and incredibly windy. Being that he'd just worked 8 hours, Hubby was getting a little groggy, so he asked me to drive. We pulled off on the side of the road and I got in the driver's seat. It was so windy and the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely control the car. After driving for a while, I pulled off at a rest stop and we both took a little nap. After a couple hours, we got back on the road, Hubby driving again, and started making our way toward South Dakota. The idea was to see Mount Rushmore and camp for a couple days. And then head back.

We pretty much drove all day Saturday, and as we got farther west, the rain turned to snow... By the time we arrived at the campground, there was probably a good two inches of snow on the ground. And it was coming down like crazy. Seriously...We were in a blizzard. Definitely not ideal for camping in a tent...And being that it was May, neither of us had appropriate clothing for snow. Luckily, the campground also had cabins, and they kindly offered one to us for a discounted rate.

Now, when I say cabin, I hope you're not picturing some fancy 2-story place with a kitchen and a bathroom. Because if you are, you're so very wrong...It's a one room cabin. It has two sets of bunk beds, the bottom bunk on one is a double. It has a heater (which obviously doesn't run when no one's camping there, so it was FREEZING in this place when we got there). The bath house is at least 100 yards away. Luckily, that's clean. But when you first wake up in the morning, you've gotta pee and you have to traipse through 7inches of snow across a football field...Yeah, that's so not fun. It was a beautiful morning, though. The sun was shining brightly, the snow had stopped falling. And the snow had been wet - the kind that sticks to everything. The mountains and the trees were just gorgeous. What was not gorgeous was the car...It was totally buried. We didn't even have a snow brush. We had to use a dust pan that was in the cabin to scoop all the snow off the windshield. And when Hubby tried to get the car out to the road, he totally got stuck. The folks from the office offered to tow us out to the road, but Hubby managed to get out of the snow and out to the road. The streets were all quite slick still, so we slid around a bit, but we ended up making it out of there alright.

We went to Mickey D's for breakfast and I determined that the eggs on the Egg McMuffin taste COMPLETELY different out there than they do in Illinois. It was quite bizarre. As we had our breakfast, we decided that we didn't want to stay in South Dakota and that we'd just get on the road and start driving south. I was really hung up on going swimming (and getting a sunburn, apparently), so we wanted to head for a warmer climate.

After a filling breakfast, we headed to Mount Rushmore, since that was the reason for going to SD in the first place. You have to drive up and up and up to get the the viewing area. Round lots of turns and bends in the road. Like I said, the scenery was just amazing. Every picture I took was like something out of a magazine. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. I'd never been through the Rocky Mountains before, so this was a new experience for me. So, we get to the entrance to the viewing area, and there's a forest ranger type dude that tells us we'll have to wait at least an hour, as they haven't cleaned all the snow off, yet. We didn't want to wait another hour to get on the road, so we started coming down the mountain and noticed some folks parked on the side of the road, taking photos from there. Seemed like a bright idea, so we followed suit. We took some photos of Mount Rushmore from where we were, and then noticed another car pulling up behind us. Strangely enough, they were also from Illinois. We chatted with them for a moment, asked them to take a photo of us and then we were on our way. We drove around in the mountains a while longer, and then started heading out of South Dakota.

We kinda looped around through Wyoming and much of the snow there had already melted. It was probably pushing 50 already. Turned out to be a great day. The thing that I love the most about being in the mountains is how clean everything feels. The air is so fresh and the sky is bluer than anything I've ever seen here. We continued south through Colorado and then on into Kansas. Boy, was Kansas a bad day...


It was starting to get late and we needed to find a place to stay for the night. We determined that there was another KOA campground, but they were only in the office until 6. We had about 20 minutes to get there and get checked in before they left. And then all of a sudden, we had police lights behind us. Hubby wasn't actually speeding, we weren't making any goofy lane changes...We really weren't doing anything wrong. There were two cops in the truck - an older gentleman, maybe in his late 50s or early 60s, and a younger one, probably in his early 30s. The older one walked up to Hubby's side and the younger on my side. They told us the reason for pulling us over was that when they ran our plates, they were registered to a SUV or something.

So, they ask for Hubby's license and registration and when he opens the glove box to get his registration out, Cop #2 sees the 1/4 ounce of greenery sitting there. (*Pause* If you don't know what I'm talking about here, bless your heart.) My heart immediately begins pounding out of my chest. I knew he saw it. Hubby hadn't realized it was in there.

Both officers come back to the car. Old Man Cop hands Hubby back his license and registration and tells us we're good to go. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, he changes his mind and decides that they want to chat with us for a moment. They started asking what do we do and why are we in Kansas. And then they tell us, 'A lot of people that are driving through here will have narcotics and/or weapons in their vehicles. Might you have anything like that in your car?' And so it goes...Hubby confessed, gave him everything that we had. He swore up and down that that's all there was. Then, they ask us to get out of the car, so that they can search it. What? Seriously? Dude, do you see all the crap we have jammed into this little go-kart? Whatever.

So, we get out and they SEND ME OUT INTO THE FIELD! Like 25 yards away from the car, out next to some corn field, facing away from the vehicle, so I can't see what's going on. They have Hubby stand on the side of the road, also turned away from them, while they start to rifle through all our shit. The whole time, Hubby keeps turning around and telling them that we don't have anything else and please let us go. And they keep telling him turn around. And the whole time, I'm freaking out...I'm thinking we're going to jail or at the very least Hubby is cuz he won't just shut the hell up. After about 10-15 minutes of just barely sorting through our things, they call us both back up to the car and tell us that they're going to let us go with a warning. They tell us that if we're ever caught with anything ever again (anywhere), they'll find out about it and we'll be in huge trouble (a scare tactic that worked at the time). All I could think about was OMG...How would we have gotten out of this if it'd gone differently? Old Man Cop told us that he appreciated the honesty, and that's why they were going to let us go. Really? Can they do that? Just confiscate the goods and not even write a ticket or anything? Hubby seemed to think that they were going to go use it for their own recreational use. I dunno about that...But I was thanking my lucky stars (and God, who I'd been begging to help us, as I stared at the corn fields) that it worked out the way it had.

Because of all the commotion, we missed the time to get to the campground, so we ended up staying in a motel that night.

The next day, we got up early and headed down to Louisiana. We ended up in Shreveport, LA. We got there fairly early, so we set up our tent and got all settled in. We drove to the nearby town and found someplace to eat dinner. We spent the rest of the evening battling off mosquitos and then headed to bed. We still had a couple more days for our vacay, so we were going to stay in Louisiana for one more day. We played catch in the pool (this is one of our favorite pool activities....Not sure why...), I got an awesome sunburn and then I was ready for a nap. But Hubby decided he didn't want to stay there for a second night. So we packed up again, stopped for dinner at a fabulous restaurant in downtown Shreveport that his mom had suggested, and then started toward home. As we were coming back, we hit some nasty weather, and ended up staying that night at another motel, this one was in the northern parts of Mississippi.

We left Mississippi the next morning and by dinner time, we were back in Illinois, and were unpacking all of our crap into Hubby's mom's garage.

It was quite the adventure. And while it was terrifying at a couple times, it really was a lot of fun. We listened to Harry Potter the whole trip and laughed a lot. It really was a fun trip and I'm hoping that we can do it again sometime. Maybe with a little less drama, though...:-)

I would love to hear of other folks' adventures. Have you gone on a wild road trip? Or maybe a fabulous vacation that you'll never forget? I want to hear about them!

Him & Me

Stolen from Jamie...Nothing like wasting time at work. :-)

What are your middle names?
Anne & James

How long have you been together?
In August, it will be 9 years.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
My junior year in hs, so like 2 years

Who asked who out?
He definitely asked me. Many times. Like I said, it was two years before we actually started dating.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
We're both only's, so this question definitely does not apply

Do you have any children together?
Not yet. :-P

What about pets?
Yeah, we started a collection of cats when I was about 20. We have Bubba & Woofie. And then we had Biggie & Diddle, but we left them at my mother-in-law's house, for Bubba's sanity...He's a tad on the bitchy side. :-)

Did you go to the same school?
For a while...Though, not when we were dating. We apparently went to preschool together - which neither of us remember - and then he went to my high school for his first two years, but then transferred to the public school before we ever actually met.

Who is the most sensitive?
I'm the winner!

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
It's a toss up between Olive Garden and White Castle

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
South Dakota/Wyoming/Louisiana (One big road trip)

Who has the craziest exes?
Um...I don't think any of my exes are really crazy. And he only has one ex...I dunno if I'd call her crazy. More like a skanky ho.

Who has the worst temper?
Hubby, for SURE

Who does the cooking?
Most of the time, it's me.

Who is more social?
I dunno. I have more friends, but I'm probably also more shy.

Who is the neat freak?
Neither of us. We're both pretty sloppy. Kinda sucks.

Who is the most stubborn?
Hubby

Who wakes up earlier?
Me. Always.

Where was your first date?
Pizza Hut! lol

Who has the bigger family?
Hubby - we're both only children, but his extended family is enormous.

Do you get flowers often?
I don't think he's EVER bought me flowers. WTF is wrong with him!?? :-)

How long did it take to get serious?
2 weeks...? lol

Who eats more?
Depends what we're eating. And what your definition of 'more' is...I think I eat more often, but he definitely eats more quantity.

Who sings better?
Probably me, but he still thinks I suck.

Who does the laundry?
Mostly me. Sometimes I can get him to switch the loads and bring the clean stuff up for me to put away.

Who’s better with the computer?
Hubby - he's a computer genius!

Who drives when you are together?
Hubby

Who picks where you go to dinner?
Usually Hubby. He's quite finiky, I'm pretty willing to go anywhere (aside from Taco Hell)

Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?
Me - I dunno if Hubby's EVER admitted he was wrong.

Who wears the pants in the relationship?
Hubby

Who has more tattoos?
We have two each.

Who eats more sweets?
Hubby - I'm more of a salty/savory girl

Who cries more?
Duh! Me.

Do you see this relationship lasting?
Yeah, we are married, so I sure hope so!

Newness!

I'm still trying to learn the code to do this on my own, but in the meantime, I nabbed a new layout from here.

Much prettier than the last. Whatcha think???

Public Washroom Etiquette

This bugs the poop outta me (pun intended)...I've asked Hubby how he would handle the situation and he agrees. So it makes me wonder how you feel about it...

Our washroom here at work has three regular stalls and one handicapped stall at the end. My questions to you are these:
a. No one else is in the washroom - which stall do you choose?
b. There's someone in the 1st stall - which one do you choose?
c. There's someone in the 3rd stall - which one do you choose?

It drives me CRAZY to be going to the washroom and there are three empty stalls and this woman has to choose the one right next to me! I used to always use the first stall and recently decided to start using the third one, since it seemed that women were just choosing the next stall available. So, today, I'm in the 3rd stall and this woman uses the 2nd one -right next to me. Dude! The first stall is open. Why do you have to come sit right next to me? Are Hubby and I crazy? Does it bother you to have someone squatting right next to you if there are other options available?

And here's another public washroom question for you...There's a woman who works on my floor that does not wash her hands. She does her duty, goes to the sink and turns the water on for 3 seconds, just enough to get her hands wet, turns off the water and dries her hands. I know who she is and I've seen her do this countless times. It's effing GROSS!! What would you do? She doesn't work for my company and I only see her in passing, but in addition to sharing a communal bathroom, we share a kitchen. And ice in the freezer. So she's putting her nastiness all over the place. I mean, I can't walk around with latex gloves on all day long...This is a grown woman. Did no one ever teach her to use SOAP!?!??

Ew.

Gimme a C!

I love a good game!

Melissa posted a game on Monday, where you're given a letter and you have to come up with ten things you love that begin with that letter. (If you wanna play, comment and I'll give YOU a letter! :-)) She gave me the letter C. This wasn't exactly easy and not because I couldn't come up with C things, but because I came up with TOO MANY! I spent all of yesterday thinking of things that start with the letter C, and then had to narrow down my list to 10!

The first one was really easy - Chris! The man really makes me insane sometimes. But I love him. He's really everything to me. My best friend, my love and the person that I will share the rest of my life with. How could he NOT be my favorite C item? :-)

Next is Cats! I love my kitties so very much. I swear Bubba (the fat black one) is a homo (of course he is...I always was a fag hag. ;-)) and Woofie thinks he's a tiger with those ridiculously long claws. Until we actually HAVE a baby, these two felines are my only children.

CARBS! Potatoes and pasta and bread...Mmmm...I mean, seriously, what's not to like? Unless you don't like the extra poundage, but whatever.

Cupcakes are the best!!! I love making cupcakes. They're about the only thing I can bake and NOT mess up. I love dyeing the frosting different colors and using sprinkles. They're just so pretty!!!

Camping! My first camping trip was maybe five years ago. I can't get enough of it! You know, you'd think someone like myself, who like to be all girly wouldn't like it. No power, no fluffy bed, no a/c...But really, it's awesome. I love being in the outdoors. Smelling the fresh air and sitting around a campfire. Most of the time, when we go camping, it's with a bunch of older-ish people that I don't really know (friends of Hubby's mom), but I still really enjoy it. Remind me to post a blog about the time we went to South Dakota! That was QUITE a trip! :-)

Curls!!! I love wearing my hair with big fat curls like this. I've debated getting a perm to try and replicate the way Christina Applegate wears her hair in 'Samantha Who'...I've never EVER had a perm though, so I'm very hesitant. I suppose a curling iron does the job just as well, huh?

Cuddling! Who doesn't love a good cuddle??? I could just lay in bed with Hubby (or the cats for that matter) and cuddle for a good few hours! That'd be an excellent Sunday afternoon, don't you think?

Cooking! Now that I no longer have meals made for me (Dad/Cafeteria), I have to cook for myself. Most of the time, Hubby isn't home to have dinner with me, so I have a lot of freedom as to what I can make and different foods to try. I've really found that I LOVE cooking. It's a hobby that really has an end result. And I think I do alright...:-)

Cars - preferably old school muscle cars. This 69 Chevy Nova SS is my dream car. All the noise that they make...They're just so powerful. Have you ever gone to the track and seen people drag race these puppies? They literally make my heart flutter. It is the most awesome feeling!

Christmas! I know that the holidays can be stressful for a lot of people, but I just LOVE it. Everything about Christmas is so fun for me. The music, the shopping, wrapping gifts, the decorations...I Love Love LOVE the lights. Every year, I like to drive around on Christmas Eve and look at all the lights on people's homes. It's nice to get together with family and spend time with people that you love.

Momma Update

I just wanted to give a little update on my mom. She ended up NOT having the Gamma Knife surgery yesterday. Apparently, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops before you get to that point. But they (my mom, dad and Omi - mom's mom) did go see a neurologist at the University of Chicago yesterday. He wanted to try some other options before doing the GKRS.

First, they're going to try some new medications. The first one is apparently the drug that is most commonly used to treat trigeminal neuralgia (TN). She's never been put on it before, so they figured they'd try it out for a couple weeks. When she first was getting the jaw pains, they weren't sure what it was, so they tried other ways to treat it and for whatever reason, they've just never tried this one. So, if after a couple weeks, she's still not getting any relief, they're going to try another drug, which was originally used in a drug study to treat MS. The doctor that did this trial found that while the drug didn't actually help with any of the MS symptoms, it did seem to help MS patients who have TN.

If neither of these medications give her any relief, they'll look into a couple other 'non-invasive' treatment options, similar to the GKRS. I'm waiting for my dad to text me with what these two things are called so I can google them...I'll get back to ya on that.

And if those aren't successful, then they'll look into actually doing the GKRS. Apparently, there are not any doctors at the U of C who've actually used this as a solution to TN, so they'd have to go to another hospital on the northside, if that's the route they end up taking. Hopefully, one of these medications will give her some relief.

On the upside of things, this trip to the U of C was Mom's first venture out of the house in close to two years. Dad said that she held up pretty well. I'm sure it was nice to get out of the house for a little while - to feel the fresh air on her face and to see sights other than her bedroom and the kitchen. I can't imagine how trapped she must feel. I mean, I love being at home as much as the next person, but 2 years? Yuck. I start getting cabin fever after a few days of just sitting around at home.

Anyway, that's the update. I will keep you all posted.

And thanks for your positive energy being sent her way...Every little bit helps. :-)