welcome baby

It's a BOY!

Okay, we knew it was gonna be a boy. Our nephew, little Munchkin Butt, was born yesterday at 10:45am. He was 8lb's and 2oz's and he is so cute and sweet. I think the hubby is ready for some little munchkin butts of his own. I just wish he could carry them and give birth to them.


Anyway, this day/week has kicked my butt at work so hopefully next week I can check up on you all and perhaps post something with a little more substance...

Have a great weekend!

OH

MY

GOD

!!!!


this week is literally kicking my ass! I've gotten home from work after 7pm the last two nights and I am not happy about it. I know, I know...waaaa waaaaa. I wouldn't be so bitter if it wasn't for the sheer incompetence of some of the people I work with! I often wonder if god is testing me by surrounding me with stupid people. Really, I think it's a lack of attention to detail and the fact that some people just can't be bothered to "do their job". OY! Okay...enough of that, it's just making me more pissed...

SO...we found out today that my SIL was going to be induced this coming Saturday because apparently her blood pressure is very high right now. Well, I got a call a little while ago and her water broke so there goes that. I assume I'll be at the hospital some time soon to welcome my new nephew to the world. We are all very excited.

I have been on a roll in the kitchen lately...oh god, pardon the lame pun. We have been having some kick ass meals the last two weeks. I have been enjoying utilizing some easy, quick, recipes that just happen to be really yummy too. Here's the run down, and of course all recipes are easily emailed if anyone is interested...

Things we've made in the crock pot:

• Crock o' Brats with some yummy potato rolls and beer mustard
• Coq Au Vin over rice and a delicious peach/blueberry cobbler for desert
• "smoked" Beef Brisket with a seriously good low fat mac and cheese recipe (I wouldn't lie about mac and cheese) and brocolli
  
• Dill Meatballs (similar to Swedish) over egg noodles and a great salad

Non crock potters:

• Crispy oven baked fish with asparagus and tomatoes on the side
  
• Oven baked manicotti
• Shrimp Monterey (like a cheesy shrimp casserole) over rice
• Asian spice marinated pork loin chops and lima bean puree

Mmmm, the list is making me hungry! I'm on this kick lately of trying to find recipes that I want to make and then I try to decide what day I'll make them so I have the whole week worked out. Then I know what to take out of the freezer on what day or what I need to prep the night before. Obviously I don't have time to make these complete meals when I get home after 7pm!

Anyway, that's about all I got. I need to go partake in any type of behavior that will relax me and help me forget about my day. I hope everyone is having a better week than I am!

I am so glad it's Friday but today pretty much sucks ass! The weather here is shitty but not shitty enough to keep us home from work. DAMMIT!

It has been snowing/freezing rain since about midnight. Throughout the night when the temperatures were really low it was a problem but now it's starting to warm up in areas. So, where I live, it's now rain and slush. In other areas it's ice - there are interstate ramps closed because they are frozen and a salt truck turned over on it's side. BUT, not by my house. By me it's just wet. And, it will probably get cold again tonight making it all freeze back up. I'm ready for spring.

I have been nauseous since yesterday - and no I'm not pregnant thankyouverymuch! And haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday, which I kind of forced down. I just ate some left over mac and cheese because I am really freakin hungry and I don't think that was such a good idea. It's not sitting well...

My injured foot oddly hurts only when I don't have shoes on...go figure. Who the hell bruises the bottom of their foot? I am a total goon sometimes, I swear.

Last night I purchased a crap load of new and fun belt making supplies so they will be on the web site soon. Currently the first 3 belts I've made are on the site if you want to check them out HERE. I also made my mom a small coin purse. I guess that's what you'd call it. Not quite a purse, not as small as a wallet. It has a little wrist strap and a zipper. You know what I mean ladies - it's got enough room to hold your phone, id, money and lipstick when you go out. I'll take a picture and post it. It's really cute, if I do say so myself...

Anyway, I'm over today. The clock is moving SO SLOW. I just want to be home in my warm, comfy house, with my warm comfy dog all curled up by the fire. I think what I really want, if you haven't noticed, is just to complain today...

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Hmmm, let's see, what did I do last night?

I was having a productive evening. I made dinner (mmm yummy swedishy meatballs over egg noodles and a delish salad!), I played with the pooch, did a little cleaning up. Then I decided to get the sewing machine out of the attic so I could get moving on some other projects that I have been neglecting since working on the nephew projects...

On my way down I proceeded to fall off my attic steps, scraping/bruising the bottom of my foot (very painful at the time and the next day) and somehow dropping my sewing machine on my head on it's way down to the floor. I sat there for a while trying to decide if I was going to laugh or cry (it was that kind of pain). The hubby and the dog finally came around the corner to see if I was okay...great protector my dog is, huh? I just needed to sit there for a while. My foot hurt so bad I thought it was bleeding and couldn't look at it. Once it stopped throbbing I looked...no blood, just a bruised ego...kidding, but you definitely don't look too distinguished sitting, legs all akimbo, on the hallway floor laugh-crying with a sewing machine box on top of you...

Once I got over my fall I did actually get things done! I made 3 new belts. YAyyy! They turned out really nice and I think I'm gonna make more and possibly sell them, and hey, they are great gifts too! I can make them for friends and family. I will take pic's of the finished products tonight.

So, today my foot is so sore. Who knew you could bruise the bottom of your foot so deeply? There are no shoes with any type of heel/incline in my future. I am wearing flat bottomed, cushy shoes and they are wonderful, and oh so sexy!

I hope everyone is having a great day. Hey, only two more days until the weekend. Woo Hoo!

So, it's President's Day and instead of being out with the rest of the world buying my new mattress and my new pick up truck to haul it home, I'm at work. It's kind of weird to me because I work for a very conservative company (hence the whole drug testing) yet we're here on President's Day...Okay, I'll stop complaining now, I'm just bitter because when i left the house the pooch and my hubby were snoring away, cozy as can be in bed...

So, this weekend I completed and delivered the table and chair set that I made for my B and SIL's baby to come...here is the completed project:

www.flickr.com

We didn't get to see them receive it but they said that they loved it! My Brother and Sister-in-law are really into music and have probably been to more concerts that I can fathom so we thought it appropriate that they child be influenced as well. That little boy better become a musician or he's out of the family...kidding!

Anyway, not much to say. Probably cutting out of work early because hey, I need to go pay my respect to our fore fathers. Hope everyone is enjoying their President's Day, whether you're working or not...

Valentine's Day, or CHA CHING Hallmark...

So...Valentine's day...love it or hate it?

I kind of think it's lame but whatever, that's just me I suppose. I mean, yes, there is a history of what Valentine's Day represents and the link to Saint Valentine, or according to Wikipedia, the many St. Valentines, but isn't it really just a cute holiday for children and to make money for the card/flower/candy/restaurant industries?

I guess when you have children in the house you probably have to celebrate V's day so that they get the full effect and influence, because you know they do it up at school! Plus if you have boys you want to teach them to treat women nicely, give them flowers and cards, etc. I remember when I was little my dad would always have a card and candy for my mom and for me and my sisters. It was sweet from a child's perspective. I guess it's not "harmful" but, from an adults perspective it does bother me that we have a single day that we "celebrate" one another. Why not be spontaneous and offer each other these things all the time? I think that made more of an impression on me as a child. The fact that my dads and moms did nice things for each other all the time for no particular reason while I was growing up.

I hate the whole pressure thing like you HAVE to do something special on this day. You have to get something nice from your significant other. You have to make reservations and go out to some fancy pants dinner. And if you don't, people think you're weird or you have a bad boyfriend/husband...

I also hate the fact that women are pegged as these sappy, romance junkies and that no matter what we say about how we feel about this "holiday" we secretly want and need the whole Valentine's Day experience...Yes, I know that often women send mixed or hidden signals. Well, not this woman. I don't care about this day and I'm not sending any mixed signals about it.

Tonight, for our special Valentine's Day, the hubby and I are taking the dog for a nice long walk then we're ordering Chinese food and vegging in front of the TV. LOST IS ON TONIGHT PEOPLE! And that is way more important than chocolate and flowers! Well, more important than flowers but it's a close race when it comes to chocolate!

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day Everyone! XOXO

Okay, so at first I thought it was kind of funny. Yes, I've gotten angry a few times but really it's been our fault for leaving things for our pooch to chew on. Now...it's getting to be re-god-damn-diculous!

Every day when I come home from work at lunch to take the little pooch out I get a new surprise. Every day I have to wonder what kind of disaster I'll see. What has she eaten/destroyed? There has been a mess more often than not, and that's not right! This is what I came home to yesterday at lunch:

www.flickr.com

I did yell at her and then I broke out the vacuum cleaner, which she hates and frankly is punishment enough to her, but otherwise she just doesn't learn. How do I know this you ask? Because when I came back home later in the evening she had shredded a paper pamphlet I left on the living room table...I'd say no lesson had been learned, wouldn't you?

I even considered how bad it would be to start putting her back into the crate when we leave but that would just be cruel. How would you like to be free to stretch your paws and lay wherever you're comfortable and then all of the sudden you are cooped up in a crate for hours? I don't think I can do it. BUT...I have decided that it's time for obedience classes.

I have signed Lucy up for "Basic Training" at the facility where our little Nola took her puppy classes. I'll admit, I wanted to take Lucy sooner and I think she probably would have benefited from classes as a younger puppy but I just wasn't ready to go back there so soon after little Nola's death. I know that's kind of lame but that was our place, it's where we spent every Saturday learning and playing and bonding. Plus I really didn't feel like talking about the accident with all of the instructors that used to dote over Nola.

I think now I'm ready to share that with Lucy because lord knows, she will benefit greatly from it and it won't do me so bad either! We start in March and it can't come fast enough! Who knows what we'll lose/what will be destroyed before our classes start...

Grammy's

So...did anyone watch the Grammy's? I rarely watch these awards shows, but man, this writers strike did the Grammy's well this year! No lame host, no lame jokes, no lame introductions. It was a lot of performances and then performers introducing other performers and the nominees/winners. I liked it.

If you did, or even if you didn't see it, Tina Turner is amazing. I swear, that woman is what, in her 60's/70's? and she looks fucking phenomenal and she sounds phenomenal, and man, she's just still got it. She made Beyonce look bad! I swear, Beyonce's thick ass thighs looked like ham hocks next to Tina Turner's hot body. That woman will go to her grave rockin it!

I loved that they did some of the Beatles/Cirque de Soliel show, LOVE. I want to go to Vegas to see that so bad. It looks really great. I am a big fan of both so how could it be anything but fabulous?

The John Legend/Fergie duet was lame because Fugie, I mean Fergie sucks but John Legend is so talented. And not bad to look at!! I wish he would have sang.

And AMY WINEHOUSE! WHoa....that was so entertaining. She's a fucking FREAK! It was a little endearing that when she won she was a little taken aback and so thankful BUT her acceptance speech, if you want to call it that, was so funny! She's got that like Manchester-ish thuggy british accent! She literally said, "FANK YOU...and to RAY RAY and JOE!, to my Blake incarcerated!" OY! You can't make that shite up. So great.

Anyway, I surprised myself by watching the whole thing but it was kind of fun.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Got to get to work...YUCK!

Holy shit balls! is it really Friday at 4:30 already? I have been so busy today it's like I have no time to come up for air. I guess it's good because I feel like the day has flown by. I just hope the weekend doesn't!

Hubby and I have been looking forward to the weekend so we can sleep our faces off and play with the pooch until it hurts. And playing with her does often hurt - she's got some sharp teeth and claws!

Speaking of the little devil, so far this week she has eaten/destroyed the following:

• Two cork pot holders - wow that was a fun mess to clean up!
  
• A picture of our old dog, Nola - thankfully just a copy
  
• Two napkins - sometimes hubby forgets
  
• part of our living room rug - she's working on destroying it a little at a time
  
• One of hubby's athletic socks
• Part of a flip flop and almost through the strap - I can still wear them or she'd be dead
• Almost got through the shoe lace on one of my sneakers
• A People magazine - I haven't even read it yet
  
• A lighter - you know the long one's they sell now to light candles, etc?
• A dog toy - Halleluya!
• Hubby's mouse for his computer - wire and all!
• Part of the bathroom rug - whoops, forgot to close the door before I left.
  

I discover these little treasures when I come home for lunch to walk the pooch. It's going to start getting rather expensive to keep her out of her crate during the day. It's like she gets mad at us for leaving her so she takes it out on us by destroying things. She's nuts. But we love her.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

I Know, I Know...

There's something on my forehead...

Yes, it's that time of year again. Mardi Gras is over, the partying has ceased. Lent has begun with the ever popular Ash Wednesday.

Below is a picture of what you would think you would see on parrishoner's heads after leaving Ash Wednesday mass. Below that is a picture of MY FOREHEAD! It is without fail every year that I end up with a mess of black ash on my head. It's like the priest picks me out and says, "Ahh, yes, this one will be my masterpiece!"

I swear I felt the ashes falling all over my face. I even had to blow them off my chest. I knew from that moment on that today was not gonna be my day. So far, and I won't go into any boring details, but my theory hasn't been wrong. I hope no one can see the red nail polish that is all over my jeans....

HAPPY ASH WEDNESDAY EVERYONE! Now go fast or eat some fish or something...

www.flickr.com

So, did anyone watch the Superbowl? I am a football fan but I have to admit, since my team wasn't in it, I just wasn't that into it myself. I think I watched more of the Puppy Bowl than the actual football game. Damn those puppies are cute! Makes me want a new one myself...until I come home to a ruined pair of shoes, a half eaten carpet, a destroyed pot holder, etc and remember the training process of having a little baby pooper in the house...

I wasn't really rooting for the Giants per se, but I was hoping that the Patriots would lose. And they did...And their classless coach who left the field before the time clock expired just sealed the public's opinion of that team. Cheaters and sore losers.

Anyway, enough about the game that I don't care about...now onto the important part of the super bowl. THE COMMERCIALS! Did anyone watch the commercials at least? Wow, how rediculously disappointing! What a complete and utter crap load of very expensive ad time. I can really only remember one commercial that I somewhat enjoyed and that was the Budweiser commercial where the Dalmation trains the Clydesdale so that he can become a Budweiser horse the next year. And even that one lacked any real entertainment. Other than that it was really sad. The commercials that were supposed to be funny fell way short. It was like the advertisers all had some inside joke they were advertising and no one got it but them.

The movie ad's were pretty lame. Wow look, Will Ferral is gonna be in the same movie he's been in 16 times. Oh look, Adam Sandler is gonna be in the same movie he's been in 12 times - although, I'll admit that one made me giggle, but it was short lived. Oh Angelina Jolie is going to be a computer generated super hero-esque spy or something. She'll be kicking ass and taking names...another very believable plot to showcase her acting ability!

I just couldn't really figure out what most of the ad's were trying to sell me. I mean, Justin Timberlake...uhhh, was that a commercial for Pepsi? Was it for a new album? Is he becoming a stunt man? Not even remotely funny...

Anyway, I won't go into each spot because it's not nice to torture people. I mean, if you've seen it once there's no need to relive it. I hope that everyone enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday. If nothing else it's a day when you can justify eating crappy food and laying around in front of the television for hours, right?

Ahhh, last week was AWESOME! Definitely not long enough, but you know, you always feel that way when you're on vacation, right? You always need just one more day...Oh well. It was nice getting back to our stinky little pooch and she sure missed us so that was nice to come home to.

We spent a lot of time in the sand. The beautiful, white, soft sand. And we did a lot of drinking and eating - back to the grind this week - no more crappy food and we're cutting down on drinking!

Anyway, here is what we did/where we were:

www.flickr.com

And here is what I got while there!!! Everyone at work is so jealous! I love getting a tan in the dead of winter. Yipeeee....

Hope everyone is having a great day. Mondays suck, and so does working!