30 Days - Day Two

A favorite movie.

Hmmm...Gonna have to go with Grease.  It just Never. Ever. gets old for me.  I HEART John Travolta in all his 24-year-old 1978 hotness.  Oh, Danny Zuko...You're the one that I want.  ;-)

Thirty Days of Blogging - Day One

A Favorite Song

This is actually very difficult for me to answer.  I have MANY favorites.  But if I've gotta choose just one, it's this one.

The first live concert that I saw was Tom Petty (with my parents :-)).  Any time a Petty song comes on, I have a rush of memories that comes over me.  This particular song brings back junior high.  I listened to this song on repeat in 7th grade, so I could learn all of the words.  I don't know what it is about "Mary Jane's Last Dance," but it's always been a favorite.  Maybe it the guitar - I feel like I'm just getting down.  Maybe it's the harmonica - I'm a SUCKER for anything with a sweet harmonica solo.  At any rate, this is the favorite song for today.

And yet, I'm still a slacker...

I promise you people things, and then I don't follow through.  I'll try to be better. 

Melissa is doing this nifty Thirty Day Blog Challenge, and we all know how much I like theiving things like this, so I'm definitely in.  Thirty Days goes something like this:

Day 01 — A favorite song
Day 02 — A favorite movie
Day 03 — A favorite TV show
Day 04 — A favorite book
Day 05 — A favorite quote
Day 06 — A fun fact about me
Day 07 — A favorite photo
Day 08 — Something I crave
Day 09 — Pet peeves
Day 10 — A photo of me taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of me taken recently
Day 12 — Something I bought recently
Day 13 — Something I want to buy
Day 14 — An old photo
Day 15 — My celebrity crush
Day 16 — A favorite food
Day 17 — A photo of my family
Day 18 — A baby photo
Day 19 — A fun memory
Day 20 — A hobby of mine
Day 21 — A favorite recipe
Day 22 — A favorite joke
Day 23 — A video
Day 24 — A travel story
Day 25 — A favorite photo
Day 26 — A funny (true) story
Day 27 — A child I love
Day 28 — A place I love
Day 29 — A person I love
Day 30 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

B-Wagon

Oh hell.

I got wrapped up in life and forgot to update my blog.  I apologize.  As I will again next time this happens. 

But for now, Melissa has inspired me to come back.  So, let's do the quick recap of what's happened in my life...

November:

• Terrie had a birthday.  We celebrated with friends.  Good times were had.
• Hubby & I did Thanksgiving solo - I made a turkey & fixings and then we went to see a movie.
• My coworker JB informed us that she had been accepted into the LPN program at the local community college and at the beginning of year, she would need to either become part time or leave the company.  Part-time was not available to her, so she helped in the interviewing and hiring process for her replacement.

December

• I received a Christmas card and $200 cash from an 'Anonymous Friend' in the mail.  Over the last few months, I sorta accidentally found out that it was from a coworker.  I sent a thank you card back to the return address (which had no name and was in California), and have let that person remain anonymous.
• I asked for a raise in lieu of the new responsibilities and additional workload that I'd be taking on with JB leaving.  I was denied.  But managers said that they would continue to push Bossman Bob to compensate me for the work I'd be doing.
• Holidays were lovely - had Christmas Day at our house for my mother-in-law & her boyfriend.
• Sang in the Christmas Eve mass with the choir - super long HOT mass, but very nice.
• Joined a...club?  A friend from choir invited me to join a group that she's in that consists of women that live in the area.  They do monthly events, which I've tried to attend at least one of per month.  December was my first time playing Bunco.  LOVED IT!

January

• I turned 29.  Holy hell.  How did that happen??
• JB's replacement was hired and started.  She's older (in her late 40's probably?), but very nice and is getting the hang of things.  I don't see us becoming good friends and going to lunch and getting our makeup done together, but I know we'll be able to work well together.
• JB left for good.  I cried as I walked down to my car that day.  I hate goodbyes.
• I planned a Baby Shower for Terrie with a Gone Fishing theme.  The invitations were handmade and amazing, if I do say so myself.  I had all type of fishy themed things planned, including fish bowl centerpieces with live goldfish on the two main tables.
• My managers continued pushing Bob for my raise and he finally gave in.  Yay!

February

• Terrie's shower was a success!  Everyone enjoyed themselves and I received a ton of compliments on what a nice job I'd done.  If only I could plan parties for a living.  That would really, truly be a dream come true.
• I have a new pet fish.  :-)  One of the two centerpiece fish went home with a guest from the party as a door prize.  The other one was abandoned.  No, really, the other guest who won the second fish had no interest in taking it home.  And I have to admit that I was kinda happy about that.  I wouldn't have minded keeping both of them. 
• You can't have just one fish in a ten-gallon tank, so we got two more.  They all seem to be coexisting happily together.  Freddie, Mortimer & Albert are all different types of goldfish and totally fascinating to me.  I can literally sit in front of the aquarium for over an hour and just watch them swim around.  Ridiculous, I know.

And I think that's about it.  You'll notice there are no updates on Hubby - he's still not working.  And there's still not a chance of a baby in the near future.  One is very dependent on the other, so I just continue to wait....:-P  Life is actually pretty good right now.  I mean, aside from the lack of a job on Hubby's part, things are plugging along.  The new responsibility at work is welcome.  I like having stuff to do for the entire day.  I like being the more experienced one.  I like feeling like a big fish in a small pond.  Always have.

Anyway, that's life for now.  Melissa is doing a fantabulous challenge, which I will be happy to steal and start doing tomorrow.  :-)  I hope that I'm able to get back into the swing of things.  I'm just going to have to figure out how to blog and watch tv at the same time. 

You say it's your BIRTHDAY!

Today is my best friend's birthday.  Today begins the last year of her 20's.  And for the next two months and three days, I will be younger than her.  And I'll make sure to remind her of this.  Often.  :-)

Terrie has been such a big part of my life for the last six years.  She helped me to come out of my shell in college.  She helped me to realize that there was much more to life than sitting in my room, playing on the computer or watching tv (not that those are terrible things...believe me.  I still spend way too much time doing both.).  She has truly become the sister that I never had.

She's been a shoulder to cry on and someone to laugh until I cry with.  She has been the person to tell me what I need to hear, whether I like what she's got to say or not.  She has been my confidant and my cheerleader.  She stood by my side, as I vowed to my husband.  She spent countless nights just sitting and watching tv with me.  She showed me that with determination, you can achieve your goals.  She is my best friend. 

I am so glad that she has come back home and I don't know what I would do if she ever left again.  I still don't see her as often as I would like, but once a year is just unacceptable. Terrie, if you decide to leave again, I will cut you.

Life has thrown her some curve balls, but she is a strong woman who I believe is capable of anything.  In four months, she will become a mother and I'm so excited for her.  Being that Hubby and I are both only children, Terrie's children are really the closest I feel I will ever come to having nieces/nephews.  I can't even express the happiness that I feel for her.  I am overwhelmed with feelings of excitement!  I am chomping at the bit to start planning her baby shower and I can't wait until the day that little man in born.  I will be at the hospital, in all my Auntie Jen-ness. 

Terrie - I just want you to know how very important you are to me.  I hope that your birthday is everything that you want it to be.  I hope your man spoils you rotten in whatever ways you like - candy, flowers, sex...You know, the whole shebang.  I hope that beautiful step daughter of yours realizes what a lucky little girl she is to have you in her life.  I hope you win a scratch off Lotto ticket for a million bucks.  I hope your little sea monkey comes out in a ninja outfit and a kippah.  I hope your life can be drama-free, if only for a day.  I hope 29 candles grace your cake for the rest of your birthdays.  And I hope you know that your best friend loves you more than words can ever EVER express.

Happy Halloween Peoples!!!

It is true - I'm a couple days early.  However, today is the more exciting day.  I dressed up at work in my last minute costume and am super excited to share it with you Lovelies....That is, if anyone is still reading...lol

Up until Wednesday night at about 11pm, I was planning on being a mime this year.  I had everything I needed, except for the shirt.  I figured it would be easier to MAKE a black & white striped tshirt than it would be to buy one, so I went to the fabric store in search of black & white striped jersey or cotton knit fabric.  And was rather dismayed when no such fabric was found.  I called a couple other stores and they didn't have anything like what I was looking for either.  I then found this fabric spray paint and thought this would be the perfect solution!  I had a long sleeved white tshirt and I taped stripes on said shirt, and painted it with the spray paint on Wednesday night.  And realized how tacky it was going to look.  I had two cans of the paint and they only covered one side of the shirt and it was really just not coming out the way I wanted.  I laid down that night and told Hubby how worried I was that the costume was going to be jinky, and he convinced me to scrap the mime idea and figure something else out.

So, yesterday, I went back and forth with a number of ideas, and finally decided on one.  See, for me, Halloween is all about the makeup.  What interesting, cool shit can I do to my face?  And once I decide on that, I plan the rest of the costume accordingly.  So, I found a YouTube tutorial (this is where I get a good number of my makeup ideas) for a Tim Burton-inspired look.  I decided that was the route that I'd be taking.  On my way home from work yesterday, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought a bunch of different black & white fabrics.  I started construction at 7 and was probably done by 11:30.  So....No more babbling!  Now I share pics!  :-) Oh, and don't mind the background...It's the only full length mirror I have at my disposal.

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!

Changes are in the making...

I've decided that it's time to give this blog a makeover.  I'm just sorta blah about the title & url.  So, I'm going to be changing it up.  

Changes will be coming soon!  Stay tuned!  :-D


In other news, one of my coworkers got married this weekend.  It was a very nice ceremony (full Catholic mass) at an historical church in Peoria, IL.  Aside from my own, this was the only ceremony I've ever been to.  I've been to lots of receptions, but it's usually hard enough to get my husband to go to a reception, let alone church.  So, he stayed in the hotel, and I went to the reception.  The weather was gorgeous.  The reception was very nice, though I wish I'd known ahead of time that the open bar only lasted for the first hour of the reception.  :-/  Hubby and I were very excited to get silly.  And then we were limited to wine & beer for the remainder of the evening.  Neither of which Hubby was willing to drink.  I tried to get buzzy on the wine, but all I got was a headache.  Nonetheless, it was a nice party and fun to hang out with my coworkers outside of work.  I really do enjoy the company of most of them.  And Hubby behaved himself, which was very nice.  :-)


Sunday, we left the hotel around nine and headed out to visit our parents.  I dropped him at his mom's house and then drove the ten minutes to my parents' house.  I watched a little tv with my mom and then had "linner" with my dad.  I sat down with him to watch the end of the Bears game and ended up catching a cat nap.  When I woke up, decided it was time to go round up Hubby, so we could make the two hour drive back home.  Unfortunately for me, he was doing some computer setup junk for his mom, which ended up taking much longer than planned.  We didn't leave there until almost 8pm.  Of the 4 hours that I was waiting for Hubby to finish up, I slept half of them.  I was just SO tired.  That cheap ass wine really did a number on me!  lol


So....I'm trying to decide on the new name for my blog...Here are some of the ideas I've come up with.  Anyone like one better than another??


Jeneric Ramblings