Today is the last day of November - which means that it is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I made it through the whole month without missing a day! I post almost every day anyway so it wasn't as much of a struggle for me as it was for others. Congratulations to everyone who pushed themselves and made it to the end! I hope you all win prizes.

I miss working for a company that allows their employees to wear jeans on Fridays. Where I work they call it casual Friday, but that just means business casual, not jeans casual. It sucks. By Friday I'm ready to stop dressing up for the week. I don't see what it would hurt to let us wear jeans on Fridays. I realize that I work at the corporate office and there are a lot of important people here and important people that come to visit the important people here, but why should the unimportant people (we who make the company the most money, that is) have to suffer because of them? They're not here to see us and we don't see our clients in person so I think we should at least get to dress "down" one day of the week. Don't you?

I can't believe it's finally here - Friday! Actually, I'm quite amazed at how fast the week has gone by considering I've spent the majority of my time at work. If I don't have to report for jury duty on Monday (which I will find out when I call after 5pm today) I'll work some overtime next week too.

It's extremely busy here at work today - right from the start. There are some pretty cranky people out there today. I don't know why. It's Friday!

I hope everyone has a fantastic day!! And I'll try not to start drinking before I leave work. *grin*

I'm so tempted to go down to the cafe and get some lunch right now, but I don't want to get in trouble for being away from my desk. I've already gone down there once this morning to see if they had any breakfast sandwiches left. They didn't therefore I am still hungry! It's five minutes before noon which means that this place is going to start smelling pretty tasty very soon. Do I stay or do I go? Hmmm....

I was thinking, as I struggled to wake up this morning, that I only have one more day to get up this early and then I have two days off. It's funny because I have been getting up later and later each day this week. I normally like to get up an hour before I have to start getting ready so that I can drink my coffee, read a few blogs and wake up. Today I got up twenty minutes before I had to get in the shower. By the time I had a few sips of coffee, checked my email and read one blog post it was time to get moving. Come on, Saturday.. I need you!

It's the last hour of the day and once it's over I'm done with Wednesday - over the hump. The crazy thing is that after tonight I still have to work another twenty-four hours this week. Blah. I'll be so happy when this week is over. Then again, if I don't get stuck with jury duty on Monday, I might just pull another long week next week if the overtime is available. Hey, the money is good. I'll sleep when I'm dead, right?

Kieflie Day last year! You can see my daughter wasn't too thrilled to be a part of the tradition at 4 weeks old. Heh.

More Wordless Wednesday here

It's almost time to make the Kieflies! In case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, it's a family tradition of ours. The women get together before Christmas and spend a day making Kieflies (they are cookies) for the holiday season. We must make about 20 dozen cookies (at least) and we pass tins of them out to friends and loved ones. And yes, we do eat a bunch ourselves while we are making them and throughout the rest of the season. We don't give them all away!

This tradition started with my great, great-grandmother and has been passed down to my great-grandmother, then my grandma (who I desperately miss at this time of year) and then to my mom and now to us girls. It was only a few years ago that my grandmother, mom and aunts all used to gather at my mom's house to make the Kieflies. So much has changed in just a few years. Now it's my mom (leading the pack) my aunt, my sister and myself. We have a lot of fun on Kieflie day - laughing and joking around, gossiping and discussing things going on in our lives. It's a special day for us.

Marilyn is the woman who sits across from me at work. She is totally awesome. She's probably about the same age as my mom and just as cool. She makes each day so much easier to tolerate. She and I have very similar personalities. She speaks her mind regardless of what anyone thinks and she has a great sense of humor. She is completely disgusted with most of the people that call here, as you all know I am as well. She says the funniest things. Things that I would say - and you know that can be bad. *grin* She cracks me up. I don't know what I would do without her here.

It's 6:30am which means I have to jump in the shower and get ready for work - again. This week seems endless. I'm trying to talk myself through it. The day after tomorrow (night) I will be happy that the week is over and the weekend is here.

I'm in a slightly better mood this evening. I'm still at work and not too thrilled about that, but at least the calls have stopped pouring in for a little while. I feel much more relaxed when I'm not being bombarded with stupid inquiries. Now I just wish that the time would go by a little faster. I would love to be on my way home for the night. Unfortunately I still have an hour and twenty-five minutes to go. Blah.

I'm really trying to be in a good mood today, but it doesn't seem to be working out for me. Every person I have spoken to has either been an idiot, an asshole or just plain annoying. I don't know what's wrong with me today. Is it PMS? Is it raging hormones that make me want to jump through the telephone and rip their heads off? Probably.

Let me give you a couple of examples...

1. A man called in and became completely disgusted with me because his bank charged him an NSF fee for not having the funds available when we tried to take the money for his premium. --- Here's an idea, buddy... try having the fucking money in your account next time! I'm a rocket scientist.. can you tell?

2. A woman called in and said that she just wanted to verify that we received a fax she sent at the beginning of the month. It's the 27th now. Need I say more?

I need a drink.

Update: The idiot from the first call just called back to complain to another agent about the NSF fees! Same answer, buddy. Not our problem.

Just so you know.. I may be whining a lot this week. I may also be bitching and complaining as well. It's only 9:05am and I am already sick of talking to customers. Half the people calling want to pay their bill over the phone. Why can't they pay their bill like everyone else - through the mail or online?

It's Tuesday morning at 6:10am and I am barely awake. It's cold and wet outside as it should be at the end of November in Michigan. I'm not looking forward to going to work today. I'm seriously afraid that it's going to be just as busy as it was yesterday. I'd like to just fast forward to Friday night, please. Oh, well. One day down, four to go.

Sometimes I can be a real bitch. OK, a lot of the time I can be a real bitch. Especially when it comes to dealing with ignorance. I really have no tolerance for it. Even the simplest things can set me off.

A woman calls in and begins our conversation by saying, "Yeah, I was calling to ..... "

No! Let me stop you there, you fucking moron. You are calling. Not was. Not past tense. Why? Because you are on the mother fucking phone with me right this minute. If you happen to be explaining the phone call to another person at a later time, then you can say "I was calling to... blah, blah, blah..." but you can't talk to me in the present about something that is happening in the present and use the past tense. It makes me want to SCREAM!

Hello, I am calling to inform you that you are an ignorant fuck. Learn the English language, please.

OK, I'm done venting now. Thanks so much for listening. Sorry if I have offended anyone. I just had to get that out.

This has been one of the craziest days at work. I can't even believe how busy I have been all day long. It's nearly seven at night and I am just now able to take a moment or two to breathe between calls. It's like we were having a major clearance sale on auto and home insurance today. It has made the day go by a little faster though. Monday is almost over. Yay! One more hour to go...

It's been one helluva day so far. It's 12:23pm and I haven't even had a break yet. They never adjust my breaks, they just throw the overtime hours on top of my regular schedule. Most people come in at 8am and have gone to lunch by now, but I'm still waiting for my first break. Whatever. I've learned to deal with it. I'm in no way bitching about it. My break is actually at 12:30 and I'm looking forward to walking away for a few minutes. What's incredible is that it's been so busy today. This is the first time I've had a break between calls. It's been OK because most of the people have been nice. There was one guy that almost made my day turn south, but I took a few deep breaths after talking to him and moved on with my day. Well, it looks like my break just got pushed further back... I have to rewrite an auto policy now.

I'm up at the crack of dawn so I can work my long 12 hour days this week. Blah. It's going to be a long week. I wish I didn't have to work so many hours to get such a huge paycheck. Then again, who doesn't feel that way? I've grown so accustomed to sleeping in because I work afternoons that it really sucks getting up when it's still dark outside. What sucks even more is not getting to hang out with my family for an hour or so before jumping in the shower to get ready for work. OK, I'll quit whining now.

We are all going to my mother-in-laws this afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. She always has Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday after - which is good because that means we can actually enjoy two dinners instead of cramming two dinners into the same day. I'm really happy that we're all going - including my oldest son. He was supposed to work today, but switched his shift with another employee. It's been so nice spending the weekend with my whole family. I'm really enjoying the two days I have off before the upcoming long week. I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend too.

Just as I said I would... I've brought my desktop back to my sidebar. I got rid of that stupid BlogRush widget so now you can always see which desktop I have on my own computer. Since I'm listening to James Blunt with my sister right now (and slamming Absolut Vodka) and she is taking me to see him for my birthday in February (because she is the best!) I've decided to put him on my desktop.

My sister, brother-in-law and niece are coming over tonight for drinking, video gaming and blogging/surfing! I'm so excited. My sister and I will be attached to our laptops with drink in hand while my husband, my oldest son and my brother-in-law will be in the living room playing video games and the little kids will most likely be downstairs watching television and playing with their Webkinz and playing video games on their Nintendo DS's. We're going to have fun times tonight!

OK, well now I've spent $300 on eBay in the last twelve hours. I think it's time to quit! I might need some help though. I seem to be having a problem closing the page. I just love eBay so much! Especially when spending the money is justified because I'm shopping for Christmas. I still need to stop though before I spend more than what I intended. Oh, wait.. I've already done that.

It's so nice having the day off and not having to do anything. I've been sitting on eBay for the last two days bidding on Christmas gifts. I got my son, Evan, several things already. I'm almost done shopping for him. Only a couple items left that I'm watching and hoping to win on eBay. I get so addicted to bidding when I get on that site. It's like a drug. It's almost like gambling - which is why I stay away from the casinos. It's bad enough I have eBay at my fingertips.

Well, after the first drawing we got super busy at work and they decided that no one else was leaving early. So, I'm still here at work until 4:30pm. We have been absolutely swamped today. Even so.. I've been on eBay bidding on xBox 360's for the last hour. I thought it would be a nice Christmas gift for my husband. He would absolutely LOVE to have one. Unfortunately, everyone and their mother is bidding on these systems too so I haven't gotten one yet.

In other news... just about every customer I've spoken to today has a stick up their ass and I want to tell them to fuck off and stop being such an asshole. I need to get out of here soon before I actually say something to someone that I end up regretting.

I just found out that I am making "time and a half" for working today. That's cool. I had no idea.

Do you know what's even cooler? Management just handed out raffle tickets to everyone in the office. They will be drawing tickets throughout the day and if my ticket is drawn, I get to leave early. They just sent out the first email with 9 winning tickets. Mine wasn't drawn. What a drag. But, hey.. who knows.. maybe I'll be in the next drawing. I'll still get paid for the day, but regular time - not overtime. Hell, I don't care. I want to go home so badly that I would go home with NO pay if those were the rules. I didn't even know I was getting paid overtime cash today so it wouldn't hurt me to get paid regular time. Keep your fingers crossed that my ticket will be drawn - soon.

I have no idea what this means because I haven't looked into it enough to figure it out. Obviously it's a joke regarding NaBloPoMo - which I am a member of - but the specifics are unclear. I stole (actually borrowed) it from her and will have to read more to find out. Anyway, the point is.. it cracks me up every time I see it so I thought I would share. Perhaps it will make someone else laugh today too.

Someone tagged me to do a meme last week. Who was it? I can't remember to save my life! Apparently dementia is setting in at an early age for me. I'm sorry that I forgot, but whoever tagged me, please remind me. Either send me an an email or leave a comment. Thank you.

Update: I remember now!! That's a good sign, right? My mom always says that when she remembers something she's forgotten. Alzheimer's runs in our family so she always worried that when she forgets something she will never remember again. No dementia here - yet. Anyway, she is the one who tagged me. I'll post mine over the weekend. And watch out... because I'll be tagging you next. *grin*

It's 8:48am right now. I've been at work for an hour - available for calls for 48 minutes - and I've had one call. That's it. Wouldn't it be lovely if the whole day was this way? I could handle one call per hour. That would make being here on the best shopping day of the year worth it. I don't really have much shopping left to do so I probably wouldn't be out today anyway, but I'd still like to be anywhere except here today. Why are some companies like this? The rest of the world - other than retail - are off today. I don't work in retail therefore I shouldn't be at work today. Wouldn't it be great if they started sending people home early? I would jump for the opportunity to leave early today.

Ooh, my tummy hurts. I think the turkey wants out. Maybe if I spend half the day in the bathroom they'll send me home. *grin*

Yesterday was a great day. I didn't over stuff myself, but I was still tired - eyes burning and all - by 3pm. We came home around 4pm and I napped until 6pm. That wasn't really the smartest move because I had to be up at 6am this morning for work and I couldn't sleep last night. Oh, well. I'm out of here at 4:30pm today. I can't believe there are people callling in already. Who gets up at 8am the day after Thanksgiving to call their insurance agent?

I figure most of the women in the world are out shopping this morning so that leaves most of the men at home to call in here today. I hope Black Friday doesn't extend to car dealerships because that means I will be extremely busy today transferring insurance for everyone out there buying new cars. I'm already ready to go home and go back to sleep and I've only been here for thirty minutes.

My morning didn't really start out too well today. My car was frozen and took far too long to warm up. It snowed a little yesterday - nothing that stuck though - and went quite a bit below freezing last night. My windows were frozen shut, my windshield wipers were (and probably still are) stuck to the windshield and the inside of my windows were even iced up a little! Winter is definitely here.

Happy Thanksgiving! Do you know where your turkey is?

I hope everyone enjoys their day - whatever you may be doing.

It's a little late in the day, but I made it. Here's my "wordless wednesday" post for the week!

Can you guess where it came from?

More Wordless Wednesday

I just put in a request for overtime next week - working 8am to 8pm. It's a long week when I do that, but the money is oh, so good. And the money will be on my check for December 13th - right before Christmas - which will make life much less stressful. I'm a sucker for overtime cash no matter how difficult it is to work that many hours.

An email just went out to the insurance department (which is the department that I work in) stating that anyone who is normally scheduled to leave at 5pm or 6pm and would like to go home now (now being 4:30pm), feel free to go. I want to go home early! It's not my fault that I don't leave until we close. I feel totally ripped off. It's not like there's any chance that we'll close early which means there is no chance that I will be leaving any earlier than normal. Oh, well. That's life, right? Now I know why I felt like it was a half day... just not a half day for me. I guess that means it will continue to be slow today. That's better than being stuck here and being swamped. The glass is half full - right? Although, now that I think of it.. with people going home it will probably get busier than it has been because there aren't as many people to take the calls.

Update: Now they've sent one out for people who leave at 6:30pm and want to go home now (now still only 4:35pm) can take off. They're killing me here. I'm trying to stay positive about this. *grin*

I feel like a little kid today. I'm not sure why, but today I feel like I did when I was a child and had a half day at school before the holiday break. I still have to work on Friday, although I work 8 to 4:30 instead of 11 to 8. It's just the atmosphere in this place today. They got the whole insurance department pizza for lunch today and tacked on an extra 15 minutes to our morning break so that we could enjoy our pizza and still have our normal break.

I feel like the day is going by pretty quickly and that is always good. I'm already going to lunch in an hour. And I plan on getting a little (if not a lot) "tipsy" this evening after I get home. I'm trying to talk my sister and brother-in-law into coming over to drink with us, but they may have plans of their own for the evening. Either way.. we'll all be having fun and no one has to work tomorrow. I'm very happy about that.

I cannot believe it. Blogrush really didn't put my last post about them on the network. That is such bullshit! I should be able to write about whatever I want without them censoring what they put on the widget. Who cares if I said something about them? They shouldn't be able to just skip over the posts they don't want to display. This isn't the first time they've skipped over my posts either. Every time I use a title that is too risque' they omit it from the network. I was waiting to take the widget off my site because I wanted to see if they really were going to leave it out and they sure as hell did. When I get home today, it's gone. Blogrush SUCKS.

I hate to say bad things about others, but it's my blog so I'll say whatever the hell I want. Blogrush sucks. I put that stupid widget on my site thinking it would drive traffic here. I also thought that it would open up a world of new blogs for me to read, but it hasn't done a thing. Sure, I've checked out a few new blogs, but nothing that has held my interest. And only a handful of people have clicked through to my blog from outside widgets so it's not doing anything for my traffic either. It's all a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. They suggest that you make the titles of your posts interesting so that others will click through. Well, if it's too interesting they don't syndicate it anyway. I bet you they won't put this title on "my last 12 blog entries" to go on other people widgets. It doesn't matter. The widget is coming down and the account is being closed. I'm going to put something else in it's place. Perhaps I will start posting my desktop there again.

I just read an article that says they have pushed the release of Resident Evil 5 until late 2008 or early 2009! What am I going to do? This is such bad news! I had originally planned for it to be out late next year, but then my husband read that it was coming out in January and I was elated! Now I may have to wait even longer than I had originally planned. I'm so sad.. not to mention pathetic. Silent Hill 5 better come out early next year or I'll really be devastated. I need some kind of survival horror to get me through this next year. It's bad enough I have to wait four years between my games, but then to throw it back another year is just mean.

Take a peek at Silent Hill 5:

Well, so far I've gotten what I wanted - a slow day at work. I hope it stays this way all day long. I don't mind taking a call every now and then. It gives me time to post here, surf the web and get other things done that I normally don't have time to do. Speaking of things I need to get done, I guess I should transfer the money for my customers account that I should have done yesterday. I suppose I should get on that.

I'm hoping that today is slow at work. Not that it goes by slowly, just that it isn't as busy as it was yesterday. I was totally swamped all day yesterday. It's amazing how many customers this company has and how often they call here. Before I was an insurance agent, I never called my agent. I just paid my bill (through automatic deduction) and it was just there. Even now I have automatic deduction through my checking account. I never have to think about my insurance other than once a year when I get a new certificate of insurance and have to throw the old one away. I guess if they didn't call I wouldn't have a job so I should just quit my complaining.

I'm not so jazzed about Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles anymore. We finished the game about an hour after we started playing last night. So, with the two of us playing we had about three hours of total game play. That sucks. The only thing we could possibly do now is try to go through again and get a better score, but that isn't worth purchasing the game. I can rent it again if I ever want to do that. So much for holding me over until RE5 comes out. It didn't even hold my attention for the week.

I have to stop at the grocery store on my way home from work. It's not something I normally do during the week, but we were quite lazy on Saturday and then busy on Sunday. I generally spend an hour or more at the grocery store because I love grocery shopping, but tonight will be a record time for me. I need to get home as quickly as possible so I can play RE: Umbrella Chronicles with my husband! Yep, I'm hooked. I don't see a good night's sleep in the near future.

I just found out that my sister purchased tickets to see James Blunt for my birthday! Is that not the coolest birthday present? Sure, it's not until February, but it's going to be an awesome night! It will definitely make turning 35 seem a whole lot better. My sister always comes up with the best birthday gifts!

I think my husband and I are going to need a fundraiser to support our video game habit. He has just informed me that all of the great games that we have been waiting for come out in December and January. I'm going to have to work some overtime to fit those into our budget. Here is what's coming out - according to GameStop:

In December 2007: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus
In January 2008: Resident Evil 5 and Silent Hill 5

I'm so excited! I thought that RE5 and SH5 were coming out at the end of next year. It's going to be a great few months coming up!! It's a good thing we're getting a PS3 for Christmas! Just in time for all the games we love.

I know I promised some feedback last night regarding Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, but I was just loving it too much to quit. Even though it's based on all of the RE games, it's nothing like any RE game I've played before. It's sort of arcade-like in that you have no control over where you are going. It takes you through each chapter and you have to pick up items quickly and shoot whatever is coming at you from around the corner. I thought I would dislike it because it's a first person shooter, but I don't. And.. the best part about it.. it's a 2 player game so instead of my husband watching me play it, we get to destroy a bunch of zombies - and other creepy things - together! We had so much fun. I can't remember the last time we had so much fun playing a video game. If I would have had the time available, I would have called in today just so I could sit at home with my husband and play more Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. I will definitely be purchasing this game. It's something fun to hold me over until the "real deal" comes out next year.

We just got home from our eventful day which included dinner with my folks after the memorial. Since the music awards are on tonight we have no shows to watch. What will I do with my time, you ask? I'll be playing Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Yes, they had it at our local video store! This is the moment of truth, people. I can't wait to see what it's like. I'll let you know what I think before the night is over. I'm really hoping it rocks my socks off. I need something to hold me over until Resident Evil 5 comes out next year. Oh, and it's official - we have a PS3! We just have to wait until Christmas day to get it.

Today is going to be quite eventful. First of all, I should have been in the shower a long time ago so we could make it to church, but I just woke up. We'll never make it now. I'm so bad.

Anyway.. we have to be at my parents around 1pm for a birthday celebration for my aunt. Then we're coming home, putting Gabby down for a nap and I am going grocery shopping while my husband is here with the baby - most likely playing Final Fantasy XI online while she naps. Then, at around 4pm, we are going with my parents out to Brighton (which is about an hour away) to a memorial for my cousin who died last week.

It's going to be quite a busy day today.

I am sitting here at my dining room table listening to a little G Love and Special Sauce with my sister who's sitting across from me on her laptop. She's drinking strawberry margaritas. I'm drinking Absolut Citron Vodka. We're both surfing, blogging, talking, laughing... you know, the usual. And me... I'm itching. Not literally, but I am dying for a new blog design already. Not that I don't adore my current skin, but I found an image that I want to use for my next one and I can't shake it. I want it NOW. What's wrong with me? The one you're currently viewing was just installed a few months ago. I'm dying for this new one though. I can picture it in my head now. It's going to be beautiful and simple. I can't wait to show it to you. Of course my husband - who is sitting in the living room with my brother-in-law drinking beer and playing Rainbow VI on the PS3 - chimed in with "remember, only one per year babe." Whatever. I need it now.

I had to drive to the airport to pick up my parents last night because they are home for the holidays. Their flight was delayed an hour so it was nearly midnight before I left. I drove to their house first - which is 3 miles from ours - and dropped the dog off. We had been dog sitting while they were gone the last 6 weeks. I parked my car in the driveway and hopped in my dad's Durango because I figured we would need room for suitcases - not thinking that they wouldn't be bringing too much home since they are going back right after Christmas for the rest of the winter. Yes, we'll be dog sitting again after the holidays for about 4 months. Fun, fun.

Anyway.. as I was heading out to the airport in the wonderful Durango that has heated seats, I reached over to turn the radio on. If it was my car, 89X would have been blaring once I turned it on, but being my dad's vehicle, 100.3 WNIC was on. Anyone who lives in the area and gets that station on the radio knows that at the beginning of November they start playing all Christmas music all the time. I decided to leave it on because I haven't been in the Christmas spirit and that usually kick starts something inside of me. Well, it did make it feel closer to Christmas, but also made me a little sad. I swear if I had just been driving around, without having to see my parents coming out of the airport at the end of my journey, I probably would have started crying. They were playing a lot of the old tunes - Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Silver and Gold, etc.. It made me think of how the holidays used to be when my grandparents were still alive. The melodies took me right back to being in their house on Christmas Eve when all of the extended family came to hang out before the big day. I miss my grandparents. I miss looking forward to seeing my cousins so we could hang out on that special day of the year. Sometimes, with memories like those, I miss my childhood.

I've been reading a lot of different blogs lately that state the following: Bloggers should be focusing on providing quality content to bring new/more readers to their site instead of focusing on page rank and stats. I understand that theory and I totally agree with it, but what exactly does quality content mean? It's got me wondering.. is what I write here not enough to bring people to my site?

This is my journal. I write about a variety of things - music, family, kids, work, video games and once in a great while I might mention something on the borderline of an X-rated category. Am I supposed to be constantly publishing information on world events or technology and gadgets? I've noticed that there are a lot of folks out there that have a "theme" to their sites and they post about a lot of the same type of information all the time. That's not what I'm interested in doing. I'm not saying that having a theme isn't a good thing. I find it interesting as hell to go to a technology/gadget blog and read about all the latest and greatest... but I don't have it in me to publish things like that. I like the variety. Not to mention there is no pressure involved with my site. I don't have to race to be the first to publish the latest gadget or movie or flavored condom on the market. It's just me being me.

God must be punishing me for writing such a nasty post (see previous entry) because my lunch did not sit right with me at all. I am having serious regrets about what I had for lunch - McDonalds. It's been a while since I've eaten anything from there so apparently my stomach was not prepared for such crap.

I'm sorry, Lord, for writing such a horrible post. Please take away my intestinal problems now as I still have three hours left at work.

Well, take a really good look because Google stripped me down last night to a big, fat fucking zero in the page rank department. I'm sure you aren't interested any longer since my entry title implies that there should be a display of tits and ass on this page and there's nothing more than a random blogger whining about her pank rank disappointment.

I know I'm not the only one who's been stripped down to nothing. I've just come from a message board where hundreds of people have just realized this about their own websites. I went to Google's Webmaster Tools last night - when I noticed my poor, naked, rankless website - and for some unknown reason they had my site listed as UNVERIFIED. When that happened, I have no idea. It was fine last week. Whatever. I re-verified my site and I'm hoping that the next time they crawl my site it will increase my page rank to at least what it was yesterday. Otherwise, I give up.

I have jury duty in a few weeks and I have to go this time. I was supposed to go a year ago, but requested they postpone it because I had just had my daughter at that time. I've never gone in for jury duty before, but I've heard enough from other people to know that it isn't a pleasant experience. I have to take my summons into work tomorrow to request the time off. I have no idea how this works. I'm assuming I'm not going to get paid while I'm "on duty" which is really going to suck right before Christmas. Oh, well.. there's not a thing I can do about it so there's no point in whining about it.

Today is the day! Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles for the Wii has been released! I am contemplating swinging by GameStop after work to pick up a copy, but if exercise a little patience (which I really don't have) I can get 15% off by letting my neighbor - who works at GameStop - buy it for me tomorrow. I suppose I can wait an extra day, but I don't particularly want to. I'm just so excited to get my hands on a copy of the latest in survival horror - even if it is for the Wii. Don't get me wrong, I like the Wii, but I'll be much happier when RE5 comes out next year for the PS3. This is just something to hold me over until then.

I also came across this Resident Evil skin for the Wii that I think I might just have to purchase. How cool is that for only thirteen dollars? I don't think I can pass this one up.

I just realized that this is the first office I've worked in where they don't play any music. That's just wrong. No wonder I go crazy here every day. Heck, even a bad radio station would be better than nothing, I think. Having absolutely nothing to listen to except silence or the irritating voices of other co-workers is enough to make anyone unhappy with their surroundings. Music makes the world go 'round, people. Get with the program. I'd be happy with some Christmas tunes right about now. I could go for some "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer" or "Dominic The Italian Christmas Donkey" or even a little something by the "Chipmunks."

I am starving today. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. I'm so tempted to run down to the cafe to get something, but I really don't want to keep taking the chance of going down there when I'm supposed to be working. The thing that sucks about it is that I work afternoons so by the time my lunch hour rolls around, the cafe is closed.

I'm not feeling so good today, as you might have noticed from the title of this post. I have something going on that makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it. I hate having personal issues. To be honest, sometimes I hate feeling anything. Emotions suck - and not in a good way. The worst thing in the world, in my opinion, is not being able to trust someone that you should be able to trust. What the fuck is wrong with some people? That's what I'd like to know. I'm seriously trying to hold out until Friday for an alcoholic beverage-fest, but It's getting more difficult each day.

More Wordless Wednesday here

Well, my guest blog post has been published on the Work it, Mom! website today. If you're at all interested in reading what I wrote, feel free to wander over and take a look at Making Creative Dreams Come True by none other than yours truly.

You can also do a guest blog spot. There is information on the above page telling you how to submit a guest blog post. It was fun coming up with something to write and I've met a lot of other great moms out there by joining the website. I'm glad they found me!

One of the computer programs at work has failed and I've been forced to log into an older version. I find it ridiculous that I have to do this. I now have to manually type information into each field that used to populate with a simple click of the mouse. I should get some type of extra compensation for this! *grin* Wow, I might actually be forced to start drinking on a Monday this week!

I've been shopping quite a bit lately. I bought myself a new pair of jeans and a new pair of work pants from Alloy - because they have inseams up to 37" and that is what I need. I also ordered my daughter new clothes from Children's Place online and then purchased another couple of outfits for her when we were at the mall yesterday. I'm going to pay off my credit card when I get paid this week and I'm already looking at other clothes I can buy for myself. What the heck is wrong with me? It's my mom's fault. She's a shop-o-holic too so I always blame her. I swear it's in my DNA. It's an addiction worse than any drug.

Whether you are shopping for watches or any jewelry, the malls will get you baffled in no time. The best way is to stick to the original list and not list. It is meet that you only buy rings or even sunglasses if that was what you had originally come for.

I'm back at work again after a very short, but eventful weekend. The only thing to look forward to this week is my huge paycheck from working all of that overtime a couple of weeks back. Well, that and having a few drinks with my husband, sister and brother-in-law on Friday night, but that seems a long way away at this time. Here's hoping for a quick week!

We took Gabrielle for her 1 year pictures today and it was the most horrible experience. I was looking forward to it because her 6 month pictures were so wonderful. We were a little irritated because they are always running late, but once we got in the room it all flowed and we got the best pictures. Well, not this time around. The photographer was horrible and Gabby hated her, the sales girl kept coming in and interrupting because she has a customer complaining and the pictures were horrible. When we were looking at them on the screen to pick out a package I said something about not liking any of them. The sales girl (the one that came in and interrupted several times) asked me what the problem was - with a really snotty tone. My mother-in-law chimed in and said they might have come out better if we hadn't been interrupted repeatedly during our session and the girl said, "well I am sorry I had to come in and ask a few questions because we were having a problem with a customer." We could all tell she wasn't sorry and I wanted to smack her for talking to us that way. We chose one pose, ordered a few pictures and got the hell out of there. I will never go back to JcPenney for pictures again. Never. I'd rather pay a huge amount of money and go to Olan Mills where they act like professionals and deliver a great product.

Here are the most recent pictures taken of my children - "Corndog" boy and Camo girl. Aren't her pink camo pants just adorable? They just arrived today from Children's Place.

I've met a lot of really cool people on NaBloPoMo this month. There are a bunch of groups for people who are interested in video games, movies, television, parenting.. all sorts of things. One of my favorites is music and in that category I have made a great new friend with a fantastic website. If you're a music enthusiast or just want to hear about the latest and greatest, then please visit him here. He usually has a sample or two for your listening pleasure. His site is a real treasure; a great find.

So, the whole situation with my son was not as bad as I thought. He did, in fact, make a gesture with his corndog because he was trying to be funny and no, that wasn't the right thing to do, but it's not the worst thing he could do in life. He is being punished for making a bad choice. The thing I was worried about was him buying lunches on credit without my permission. Apparently that wasn't the case. He had to buy a lunch because they refused to heat up the lunch we sent him with. Isn't that a bunch of bullshit? My husband sent him with leftovers thinking that they could just pop the dish in the microwave and heat it up for him. They wouldn't do it so either he charged a lunch or didn't eat. I feel better about that now - the fact that he didn't charge it just because he didn't want his lunch, not that they wouldn't heat up his damn food.

I'm really not impressed with this new school. They don't act like they care much about the children and I'm not just referring to the lunch issue. I'm talking about the fact that the teacher advised us she would write us a quick note each week to let us know how he's doing (because he has ADHD and we're trying to get his medication right) and she doesn't do it. We've asked her to give us some sort of progress throughout next week because we just increased his dose today and we need to know if it's working or not by the end of next week. If she doesn't come through this time, I'm contacting the principal. If that doesn't work, I'm calling the school board. Another thing I'm pissed about is that he has ADHD and we are supposed to be able to get a 2nd set of books to keep at home to help him with his school work (because kids with ADHD don't always remember to bring the books home) and you know what they told us? We'll look into getting you an extra set. Then.. a month and several inquiries later: sorry, we don't have any extra books. Well, tough shit... it's a law that you have to provide them in this situation. Looks like I'll be contacting the school board anyway.

I hate working on Saturday. It only happens once every three weeks, but it seems like it's always that week. It's so not cool to ruin my weekend with work. Sure, I get Thursday off when I have to work on Saturday, but I prefer having my two days off together. What makes it even worse is that the cafe isn't open today so I can't run down there and get something to eat for breakfast or lunch. I guess I'll be starving until noon when I then get to run across the street to A&W and eat something crappy and not worth my money.

I would love to go to The Night 89X Stole Christmas this year! Unfortunately it's on a weeknight starting at 5:30pm - which means I will be at work. I can't justify taking unpaid time off to go to a concert. I have no more vacation time until January. What a drag. They have Jimmy Eat World, Parmore and a special acoustic set by Coheed & Cambria! I can't believe we're going to miss it. They need to have this show on a weekend, damn it! Even if I didn't work afternoons I would still have to work the next morning and need to take the following day off. If it was on a Saturday night I'd be all set.

Well, so much for my son not being grounded anymore. My husband just told me his school called to inform us that he was making vulgar gestures with his corndog at lunch today. First of all I do understand that boys will be boys and that he probably learned whatever he did (specifically) on television or from another kid at school. That doesn't make it right and he will be punished for it, but I do understand. We all screwed around in school and did silly, stupid things. What I would like to know is how the heck he got a corndog for lunch when we packed him a lunch and he didn't have any money to buy lunch today. At this rate, he's going to be grounded until he leaves for college.

My daughter slept through the night last night! It was so nice to get a full night of sleep. She slept from 10pm until 6am. My husband gave her a bottle and she went back to sleep and is still sleeping now at 9:20am. I hope this is the start of a new trend. She is a year old, for crying out loud. She should have started sleeping through the night many months ago. Oh, speaking of the little princess... she just woke up.

My husband picked our son up from school today because he has a doctors appointment. He received three grades from this week - two A's and a C+. I think that should get him off being grounded for the time being. Hopefully he'll keep up the good work and we won't have to ground him again any time in the near future. I have faith. I have to have faith. I know he's capable of doing well. Whether or not he utilizes those particular skills and makes good choices is all up to him. Keep your fingers crossed - for his sake and my sanity.

I was recently contacted by the co-founder of Work It, Mom! - a community for professional moms - who invited me to write a guest blog piece for their site. How exciting is that? I am so honored to be offered such a wonderful opportunity! I just finished my post and sent it off to the editor. It will be published on Tuesday!

Thirteen Things about Neptunebaby

Thirteen (out of the hundreds) of musical artists I like
and have listened to at some point this week:

01. Gogol Bordello
02. Frank Sinatra
03. Bedouin Soundclash
04. Sublime
05. Neverending White Lights
06. Panic! at the Disco
07. Johnny Cash
08. Coheed & Cambria
09. Dredg
10. Elvis Presley (of course)
11. Jack's Mannequin
12. Modest Mouse
13. Rise Against

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. WF Mom
2. Geek Betty
3. Wolfie
4. Jenn
5. April
6. Penelope Anne
7. Comedy Plus
8. Nicholas

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

OK, folks. I've just started doing shots of Absolut Citron Vodka. Who's with me here? Anyone from my Blitzed Blogging group on NaBloPoMo?

Come one... come all.. tie one on with me!

What are you waiting for? Grab a glass, grab a bottle, grab whatever does it for you and come party with me!

Thanks to my sister I've joined NaBloPoMo. I had almost forgotten about it! It's been a lot of fun and I've met a lot of new people and had wonderful conversations with people that I already knew. I'm thinking that next year I may even try NaNoWriMo. That's my goal anyway. Anyone else want to join me?

I accept all friend request so feel free to click on the link to my profile above and take a whirl at NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). All you have to do is post every day in the month of November.

First of all, I have to say that I'm happy that I don't have to work tomorrow. I'm not thrilled that I have to work Saturday this week, but I'll deal with those emotions when the day gets closer. We didn't get the chance to watch Reaper last night so we'll be watching that tonight along with Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. It's another opportunity to have a few shots of vodka, post some drunken words here and have a good time without worrying about having to deal with an alarm clock in the morning.

My husband took our son to the dentist this afternoon. I'm horrible about the dentist and I feel so bad. It's been much longer than 6 months since he's been. I just talked to my husband while I was on break and he said the hygenist told him that we would have to start monitoring him while he's brushing because he's missing a certain area of his mouth. They even gave him those pink disclosure pills that you chew on and it shows where you're not brushing. I remember those from when I was little. I think they used to give them out in school when they had "dental week" or something like that. Too long ago for me to remember the details. Anyway, I feel bad about not getting him in every 6 months. That's going to change right now.

In other news, I had a voice mail from a potential employer. He left a message stating that he came across my resume (because I probably left it on Monster after I got the job here earlier this year) and that he would be very interested in setting up a meeting with me. Hmmm... what could it hurt to check it out? I hate interviews, but I can't really stand my job either. Although, they would have to pay me quite a bit more and be just as close to home in order for me to consider it. I doubt that I'd be so lucky, but I may just call the man back and see what he has to offer.

I couldn't wait any longer. I had to go get some food. I was so hungry and couldn't take the smell of everyone else's food for one more minute. I saw my manager and supervisor sitting down at one of the tables, but I don't think they saw me.

Geez, I'm like a child sometimes. Sneaking down to the cafeteria when I'm not supposed to. Then again I am an adult, not a school girl. I should be able to go get food whenever the hell I want anyway. This place is almost prison-like. Not that I know what it's like to be in prison, but I can imagine after working here. What a joke. It's amazing what people, myself included, will put up with for a paycheck.

I logged myself into "not ready" on my computer to run down to the cafeteria for something to eat. I got half way down there (it's not a short journey in this building) and noticed I was not too far behind my supervisor and manger. I had to turn around and come back to my desk. I don't need to get busted for making a food run when I'm supposed to be working. I guess I'll have to starve a little longer while I'm tortured by the wonderful aroma of food that my co-workers have in this office. I don't know how much longer I can hold out. My supervisor isn't even supposed to be here today! She sent us all an email last night stating that she'd be in a training class all day today. I guess that class is in the building. Oops.

More Wordless Wednesday

Not so wordless today, eh? This is a picture of my beautiful daughter, Gabrielle, on her first birthday. She looks like she's had just about enough cake, doesn't she? To me it looks as if she's thinking, "OK now, you can get this stuff off of me." So cute. I love my daughter so much. More with every day that passes. I can't believe she is already a year old.

I'm such a horrible sister. Well, not really, but I should have "plugged" my sister's newest addition long before now. It's a fabulous idea for a site and I would like everyone to go check it out immediately. Right now. Go ahead! What are you waiting for? Go Now!

I can't wait to see what kind of hits I get on my site with a title like this. Can't you almost see the shit-eaten grin on my face? Hahaha.

I am sitting here at work shopping online. I just ordered my daughter two pairs of pants and two long sleeved shirts since the weather is getting cold and most of her clothes are for warmer weather. I realize she's only a year old and doesn't leave the house all that much, but after looking through her clothes this morning to get her ready to leave for the doctors office, I figured it was time to get her a couple of warm outfits. There are several other things I'd like to get her too, but I guess it can wait a couple of weeks. My husband thinks it's funny that I'm sitting at work shopping. Hey, it's quiet here this evening. What else am I going to do? I blame my mother for my money-spending addiction. At least my bills are paid. That's all that matters, right? And she does need warmer clothes. It's not like I spent money on something totally unnecessary. You have to appreciate the rationalization of a true shop-a-holic.

Gabrielle did very well at her 1 year appointment this morning. She cried a little, but as soon as daddy picked her up she was fine. She's a tough little cookie like her mom. *grin* She only got one shot - chicken pox vaccine. I thought she would be getting more than that at her 1 year check up, but I guess it's OK. Less pain for her. I did get to see her before I left for work so that made me very happy. She weighs 22.5 lbs and is almost 32 inches tall. The last time she was at the doctor's she weighed almost 26 lbs. The doctor said that if she's very active that could have something to do with it and she's been sick the last week too. She's still above normal for weight and height so I guess that's all that matters.

My husband just left with my daughter. She is going for her one year check up at the pediatricians office. It makes me sad knowing she's going to get several shots and I'm not going to be there to comfort her. I hope they make it back home before I have to leave for work. At least I'll get to see with my own eyes that she's not traumatized. Yes, I'm a little over-protective when it comes to her.

I remember going in there a year ago for her very first office visit. She was a week old and everyone that came in with their kids was like, "Oh, a brand new baby! It goes by so fast. Before you know it she'll be coming for her 1 year check up." I hated hearing that at the time because I knew they were right. I knew it wouldn't be long before she was no longer the brand new baby. I miss it a little bit, but you know... every month since then has just gotten better. She's at such a fun age right now. Learning so much every day and her personality just keeps growing. She's amazing to me.

It's only Monday and I'm already ready to pull out the blender. Well, not really. A few shots would do me just fine and it would be less noisy and more potent that way. I have no idea how I could feel this way after getting blitzed on shots of Vodka this past Saturday night, but I guess the hangover wasn't bad enough to detour me for too long. Me.. the girl who rarely drinks anymore.. ready to start the process all over again. What's the world coming to?

I can't believe it's time to vote. I have no idea who I will vote for. I'm seriously considering not voting at all. I don't approve of any of the candidates so I don't see how I can go in there and cast an honest vote. Does anyone else ever feel that way? I know it's my responsibility to vote, but sometimes I just think it sucks. They all screw us anyway so what's the point? I know, it's a shitty attitude to have, but I can't help it. Why can't Bill Clinton just run again? I'd vote for him!

Well, Summer is definitely gone and Autumn is here, but who knows how long that will last. Winter will be here before you know it. It is cold, windy and drizzling outside right now. I just stepped out on my break and I thought I would get blown away. And it's dark outside already. That's what happens after Daylight Savings hits us. The days are shorter, but I swear they feel longer because it's dark out and you feel like you should be going to bed soon, but bedtime is a long way off. Silly, I know, but that's how I feel until I get used to it.

I still can't believe that our daughter is a year old today. This time last year I was lying in a hospital bed holding my brand new baby girl - less than 6 hours old. This year has just gone by so fast! Look at this picture of her in the hospital last year on this day:

And now look at the pictures of her in my previous entry. Look at how big she is now! She's grown up so much in just a year. I am more in love with her with every day that passes.

Happy 1st birthday, Gabrielle! Mommy and daddy love you so much, princess.

I really shouldn't be blogging right now because I'm more than intoxicated right now. I'm past drunk and blogging. I'm.. well, at a loss for a description at this point. I started downloading music from Acquisition (my fellow Mac users understand me) because I was on my sister's blog and noticed that she had recently listened to Seasons of Wither by Aerosmith - who used to be my absolute favorite band (hers too) and it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. I immediately hit my search on iTunes and noticed I no longer had it in my library. We had a slight issue a few years ago and I never replaced all of the music I once had on my hard drive. Now, just seconds later I'm listening the song I wanted so badly to hear. Technology is amazing, isn't it? Years ago if I wanted to hear that song I would have had to run downstairs and dig through my "hard copies" to find it. Now, just a few clicks and it's playing at my command. I didn't even have to get up off my ass to fetch it. How lovely.

I sure hope I don't have a hangover tomorrow. I am hosting my daughter's first birthday party tomorrow at 2pm and I'm really quite drunk (total understatement) at the moment. I have to get up early, shower, get ready, go to church and then come home and start making food for the party. I should go to bed soon before I start listening to Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet.

Oops, too late. *grin*

.... there's booze in the blender.... wasting away again in Margartaville... searching for my lost shaker of salt...

... it's my own damn fault.

It's 11:19 PM right now, but technically it's only 10:19 PM due to daylight savings time. This is one of my favorite days of the year because I gain an extra hour to do with as I wish. My choice this time around is drinking vodka and listening to Elvis Presley while my husband plays Final Fantasy XI online. He's been waiting years to be able to play this game. He's as much of a FF freak as I am a Resident Evil freak. Yeah, we're a perfect pair of "vidiots." A marriage made in heaven, if you will. We decided to sacrifice some of the movie channels on cable (that never have anything good playing anyway) in order to comfortably afford the twelve dollars a month it will cost us for him to maintain an online character. I have to keep my man happy, right?

Speaking of video games.. did I mention that we are getting a PS3 for Christmas? Yes, indeed. My brother called a few days ago to find out what the kids wanted for Christmas. Of course I told him that my boys wanted a PS3. He asked how much a PS3 cost. I told him the truth - in the neighborhood of $500. He said that was a little above his budget for the kids, as I expected he would, but then he suggested that all of my siblings go in on it and I was perfectly happy with that proposal. In less than two months we'll have a PS3 in our living room! I couldn't be any more excited!

I'm catching up on picture posting here today. I haven't posted anything from Halloween so I'm going to make up for that now. I also want to post a picture or two of the cakes that my "cake lady" dropped off this afternoon. She was nice enough to drive them all the way to my house since we weren't getting Gabby's pictures taken today. We were going to meet her part of the way after her "photo shoot" was over. Anyway, the cakes are simply fabulous. Almost too wonderful to eat.

First, the Halloween pictures ~

Gabby and her daddy:

The four of us:

Evan and Gabrielle:

A little 'mingo booty:

And now the birthday cakes ~

This is what she made for the guests to eat:

and this is Gabby's personal cake that she can tear into:

You know darn well that there will be many more pictures after the party tomorrow so I'll stop for now.

I thought Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles for the Wii was scheduled to be released today, but I was wrong. We just confirmed with our local GameStop that it will be available on November 14th. What a drag. I still have nearly two weeks to wait.

Until then...

I've been trying to put myself out there into the "blogosphere," but I'm not so sure that the techniques that people claim to work actually do work. There is a social networking site called BlogRush and you'll notice I have the widget on my right sidebar. I even put it in place of my previous desktop because I haven't changed my desktop (on my site) in quite some time. I thought it looked good there - like it had it's own little spot on my blog. I was told the better placement it has on your site, the better it will work. That doesn't seem to be the case, as far as I can see. You can't make someone click on your post off that widget. They're either going to or they're not. I don't think anything really works. I'm just going to blog the way I've always blogged and stop worrying about "putting out" to get more traffic. I've never been much of a site traffic whore before so I don't know what has come over me lately. It's got to stop now.

I was just at home for lunch and Gabrielle seems to be doing much better this afternoon. I'm so relieved! I still postponed her pictures until next weekend. I don't want to take her out if it's not necessary and I would rather she be feeling 100% herself for her pictures.

Three and a half hours to go before my last work day of the week is over. I can't wait.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two days off. I sure as heck didn't miss being at work. I wish I would have taken today off as well. I would have had five days straight at home. Oh, well. Life goes on. As you can tell, I didn't blog much while I was off. I totally missed Thursday Thirteen, but I'll somehow make up for it next week.

Halloween was great, but now both of my kids are sick. We will probably have to postpone Gabrielle's 1 year pictures that are currently scheduled for tomorrow because I don't want pictures taken with her sore, red, runny nose. Poor baby. I hope she's feeling better by Sunday because that is when we are having her party. She is already on antibiotics from her mysterious fever last week. Hopefully the antibiotics will keep it from turning into anything more than what it is - a miserable cold.

Well, it's a busy day at work. I'll try to post more throughout the day. Have a great Friday!

November is here and so is the fall weather. It's chilly and rainy and the wind is blowing like crazy here in Michigan. What I wouldn't give sometimes to be somewhere else in the world where the weather is always in the seventies. I say that every time the seasons change, but in all honesty... I do like the change of seasons.