Today has been the total opposite of how I described my work days yesterday. I've been super busy and all of the calls are from really irritating customers that are getting on my last nerve. It's going to be such a long day. I need a nap already and I've only been here for two and a half hours so far.

It's the middle of the week and almost the middle of my work day. It's been so slow around here (at least in my department) that I'm running out of ways to entertain myself this week. Some days I'm happy that I took this temporary assignment because we are so slow and I'm getting paid for chatting with friends and surfing the internet, but other times I just hate being here altogether.

I need to start playing the lotto - it will greatly increase my chances of winning it and then I can stay home and stop bitching about my job.

It's been a while since I went this long without posting something. It's been a rough week. I haven't been feeling well lately. I came home from work early on Wednesday and took Thursday off. Today was a long day back at work, but I'm happy it's over and now I have a 3 day weekend ahead of me so I can relax.

Jeremy and I have been thinking about where we would like to go on vacation for quite some time now. We have never been on a real vacation together. It's a seriously sad thing don't you think? Sure, we've gone on small family trips such as spending the weekend up north, but nothing really spectacular.

We've narrowed it down to the fact that we want to visit Europe. Who wouldn't want to go to Europe? We have also been thinking about what we would like to do on our vacation. We've decided, among many other things, that we would like to see a few shows while we are away from home. I found the best ticket hub site in Europe for concert tickets. It took me a while to find a good site and now I would like to share that information with my readers. The company matches buyers and sellers of concert tickets, sports tickets, theatre tickets and more.

My husband and I were going through the site together and found great seats at a great price for Nickelback Tickets. Neither one of us has ever seen Nickelback live so we agreed that it would be a good show to see in Europe.

We also came across another show that we probably wouldn't think to see here in the States, but I think everyone should see Tina Turner at some point in their life. Once again Viagogo had the best deal on Tina Turner Tickets. You simply can't go wrong with this company! I've never found a better ticket hub site than Viagogo. It's like stumbling upon a ticket paradise.

And for the final show, we thought we would take things in a different direction. My husband and I have been to so many music concerts over the years, but we have never been to a comedy show together. Isn't that odd? Well, we're going to remedy that on our vacation. We are going to get Steve Coogan Tickets! He is one hilarious guy and we are really looking forward to seeing his show live instead of watching on television.

Do you want to know what else I love about Viagogo? They also have a site for those of us who live in the States. This is quickly becoming my favorite site on the internet and has already been marked at the top of my favorites. I find my husband searching the site several times a day looking for new shows. You definitely want to pay a visit to Viagogo today. I promise you it is well worth your time.

I despise Mondays. I hate being back at work. I had a miserable weekend because I am sick and now I am having a miserable Monday because .. well.. I'm sick. This day needs to end soon.

Finally.. the work week is almost over. In six hours and twenty-five minutes I will be out of here for the weekend. I've not been feeling well at all and being at work this week has been pure hell. I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. I don't plan on doing much of anything. I know, I sound extremely lazy because I'm always happy to do nothing, but hey.. that's just me.

I really wish the weekend was here already, but at least we're over the hump. Tomorrow is Friday which means I still have eleven hours and 15 minutes of work left from now until my weekend begins. On the bright side, it's better than being back to Monday again.

I can't believe it's only Tuesday! I feel like time isn't moving at all. I'm bored out of my mind at work today and the day is just dragging. It doesn't help that I'm tired, feel like crap and it's a gloomy day outside. I just want to go home, crawl into my pj's and lounge on the couch all day long.

I had such a nice, relaxing, three-day weekend. I didn't feel like it went by fast at all - until today when I had to walk back into work. Blah. And this day is going by so very slow. I miss the weekend already.

Our dining room furniture is not the greatest. It's not stable enough to let my daughter into the dining room and climb onto the chair without worrying that it will topple over on her. We got it from a friend and it was wonderful of them to give it to us to get us started, but we are in need of some new Dining suite furniture. We are looking for a set that will match our other dining room furniture without taking up the whole room and be solid so we don't have to worry about our daughter getting hurt.

It's almost the weekend! This is my last day in hell (at work) until Monday. I'm so excited! I've got one hour behind me; only 7 to go (8 if you include my lunch hour). I hope this day goes by faster than I'm anticipating.

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

I want to take my son, Evan, to see Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D. I think he will love it!

More Wordless Wednesday here

It's only Tuesday and I am so bored at work. It's not as if we're slow; we've actually been very busy the last two days, but I am still bored out of my mind. There is no challenge here; nothing to hold my interest. Don't get me wrong, I do feel fortunate to have a good paying job with a secure company. With the way the job market is, I know I'm lucky to have what I do. It doesn't change the fact that it's become extremely boring.

Is it Thursday yet? I need the three day weekend.

Have you ever just wished that you could use one site to search for a credit card? Instead of being forced to hop from site to site to research what each one offers and what you may be looking for, you can now do it all in one convenient location! It's about time, don't you think?

Cardhub.com is a one of a kind and first of it's kind search tool that allows you to customize the way you search for Credit Cards. Instead of trying to understand the complex information they are trying to tell you on each one of those individual credit card websites (most are extremely difficult to understand and you really don't know what you are getting into) this search tool is easy to understand and fully interactive. You can even select to view credit cards side by side to make it simple to compare them. Once you've found exactly what you are looking for, Cardhub.com will direct you to that credit card secure website to easily apply for your card. I just did it myself and I have to admit it was the easiest thing I've ever done and I got exactly what I was looking for in a lot less time than I've spent in the past. I searched for a personal credit card with cash back rewards and no annual fee. My search results brought up several different cards including Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa, Blue Cash American Express and Bank of America Cash Rewards. Finally, an easy way of finding a credit card!

I can't believe this is the last day of June already. The first six months of this year have flown! Why is it that the older you get, the faster your life passes by? The other day my son told me about something he wanted - a toy, I believe - and I told him to put it on his Christmas list because that is always what I say to him. Then I started thinking about it and he could very well start a Christmas list now because it's not really that far away! That's a scary thought.

It's rainy and gloomy outside today - the perfect day to be lazy. I don't plan on doing anything today. I did, however, get up extremely early today. I was so tired last night and there wasn't anything good to watch on television so I went to bed at 11pm. I woke up at 7am this morning and have been up ever since. It's strange, I've been waking up at 7am every day for the past week. Until this morning, I just closed my eyes and went back to bed. It was kind of nice being up before everyone else today though. I put on a pot of coffee and sat quietly surfing the internet.

Oh, and last night we sat down as a family and watched Bee Movie. It was so cute! We all enjoyed it a lot. It was well worth the four dollars to rent it. I love having a family night and spending quality time together. Last weekend we watched Yours, Mine and Ours. That was cute too, but not as good as Bee Movie.

I find it really irritating that my benefits at work cost so much. Especially since I work for an insurance company. Sure, it's not a health insurance company, but they should at least understand the need to keep costs low for their employees. The last place I worked I only paid $98 every two weeks for my Blue Cross for an entire family and all of the other benefits were included - dental, vision, etc. The only thing I had to pay at the doctors office was a $15 copay. Now I pay over a hundred and fifty dollars every two weeks for all of my benefits and my Blue Cross isn't as good. We have a five hundred dollar deductible to pay before they pick up anything and then they still only pay eighty percent. It's all very frustrating that we have to pay so much for health insurance.

I'm considering just looking for my own health insurance. I have heard that sometimes you can get more affordable health insurance without even going through the company you work for. I think I am going to start looking for health insurance quotes and see if I can find a more affordable rate for my family plan. In these times, you have to save money wherever you can.

I stayed up way too late last night watching television. I just couldn't bring myself to shut it off and go to bed. I was watching CSI re-runs and then What Not To Wear. I think I finally shut the television off a bit after midnight, fell asleep around twelve-thirty and then my daughter woke up crying at one-thirty. I didn't need to go into her room, but she still woke me up and it took me a little while to fall back asleep. So, the alarm going off at six this morning was not a pleasant experience for me. I'm going to be ready for a nap by lunch!

I inherited the love of gambling from my biological father. I've only been to a Casino a handful of times because I don't want to get myself into trouble, but I do like to pretend I'm sitting at the Blackjack table with a little online gambling now and then. I recently found a fabulous website for online Casino reports, gambling news and free online games (something safe for me). It's a very reputable site, not like the one's you find out about by opening your spam folder. It's a one-stop shop for anyone who loves to play Casino games as much as I do. My husband even gets enjoyment from it even though he's not as hard-core about it as I am. He likes watching Poker on television more than actual playing.

Online Casino Reports gives you the ability to watch gambling news and reviews in rich video format. It allows you to see the week's headlines, upcoming events (which is what my husband really likes) and even gambling tips for players like me! Take a look at the following review of 888 Casino.

I can find out everything I want to know about the gambling community online by visiting Online Casino Reports. Just one click on my favorites and the the gambling world is at my fingertips. It's the best online casino guide I have ever come across in all of my time on the web. One of the great things about the site is that you don't have to sit there and read and feel like you're alone. It's an actual community of people that you can talk to in the forums. You can discuss all of the latest recommended items and even read personal blogs.

No need to worry about whether or not something is legal in the online gambling world. Online Casino Reports has a wonderfully informative School and Guides section that tells you everything you need to know about gambling legality. All of the bases are covered on just one information packed website! It couldn't get any more convenient than that.

If you're looking for the best jackpots on the web, look no further. Online Casino Reports has a free service available to you that tracks the best online casino, poker room, bingo and sport betting bonuses on the web. They've implemented real time algorithms that scan the web and find the highest jackpots, best casino promotions , casino and poker reviews and other attractive information. You can't go wrong with this site! They're out there working to make it easy for you.

It has been a lovely day off so far. I slept until nine-thirty and have been lounging around for the last two hours. I do have to get in the shower soon though because my mother-in-law is stopping by. I also have some running around to do this afternoon and then dinner at 6pm for the June birthday people in our family.

In eight hours I will be home from work and happy that I have tomorrow off. I have to work Saturday so it's not really the weekend, but close enough. I love days off. I really hope this day goes by pretty fast. My fingers are crossed. I want nothing more than to get home to my family.

A co-worker of mine keeps talking to me about her house. She knows that I am addicted to remodeling our house so she comes to me when she wants someone to talk to about it. She wants to wallpaper part of her dining room over the upcoming holiday weekend and asked if I could recommend a good brand since I've been searching for everything related to interior design. Of course I can! I have become the queen of interior design over the last couple of months (in my own mind, of course). Graham and Brown drama wallpaper is what she chose to go with after our conversation. I think she decided on Midsummer Cream. After seeing pictures of her house, I think she made a fabulous choice!

We have been so busy at work this week that I haven't had much time to do anything else except work. I hate being that busy. I feel like I have no time to catch my breath. One call after another after another. It's slightly irritating. I enjoy having my time to surf the internet and do all sorts of non work related things while I'm getting paid to work. Heh. I can't wait until tomorrow night when I can leave here and not worry about having to get up with an alarm clock on Friday.

My new favorite television show - Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood

more wordless wednesday here

Tori & Dean is on tonight! This has been one long week. I feel like it was two weeks ago that I was watching it instead of only one. Heck, this day alone is dragging on forever. I'm tired and I don't want to be at work today. I need a vacation; some serious time away from work. Unfortunately I won't be getting that any time soon. I used up all my vacation time for the year already. I have no will power.

That had to be the shortest weekend ever! I feel like it didn't really happen it was over so fast. I have this Friday and Sunday off and I have to work Saturday, but then the next weekend I get a three day holiday weekend. I am so looking forward to that!

In other news, our pool is worthless. It's one of those pools that has the inflatable ring at the top and you fill it and it raises. It was about 3 feet deep. Not much, but enough for us and the kids to swim around in and enjoy. Unfortunately, there was a hole in the ring and we thought we found it and patched it, but apparently there is another hole that we just could not find. So, every morning when we would wake up the ring would be deflated and half the water would be gone. It's all very depressing (as will my water bill when it comes). I'm hoping we'll be able to buy one soon. They have them on sale at Dunham's Sporting Goods for $200 and it's actually a bigger pool. It would be silly not to spend the money now since we already spent $150 on things for the pool; a vacuum, skimmer, cover, etc. Fingers crossed.

Hooray! It's Friday!! I can't believe I've almost made it through this week. It's been like a trip through Hell. I can't wait until the fourth of July weekend so I can get an extra day off. I have no plans for this weekend. I just want to relax and enjoy every moment of my time away from work. Hopefully we'll get the pool back up and running for this weekend. We've had some really irritating pool issues this week. I'm going to be really upset if we have to take it down. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll finally get it fixed for good this weekend.

Last night I colored my hair from a very light color (strawberry blondish) to a deep auburn red (like the girl on the right side of the banner over at Two With A View) and only one person at work noticed. There's no love here. What's amusing is that for the past several months people constantly asked if I kept lightening my hair and I hadn't colored it or lightened it at all, but I make a drastic change and no one pays any attention. Whatever. At least my husband loves me.

I just read that Tori Spelling's beloved Pug, Mimi LaRue, died yesterday. How sad! I just started to love that dog while becoming addicted to their show. Poor Tori. I know how hard it is to lose a pet. It's like losing a member of the family.

Thanks to Perez Hilton advertising the show on his site, I watched Tori & Dean (Tori Spelling and her husband's reality show) last night on the Oxygen channel. I didn't know it was season three. I caught up a bit watching the reruns of the previous season prior to the premier and now I am totally addicted to the show! I can't wait to see next weeks episode!

My pretty little girl

Don't forget to check out my other Wordless Wednesday at Two With A View to see my handsome son.

More Wordless Wednesday here

There won't be any swimming going on at my house most of this week. The temperature has dropped to the mid-sixties for the better part of this week and there is quite a bit of rain predicted as well. My poor kids and niece. They were so looking forward to spending a lot of time in the pool. Sure, they have the whole summer, but I still feel bad. It's supposed to get back into the eighties by the weekend. I hope that actually happens.

This has turned into a very long Monday. I can't believe it's only ten minutes before five. It would be nice if I was leaving work in ten minutes, but lucky me... I get to be here until eight. I love being able to sleep in, but sometimes I hate not being able to leave at five. I wish I could work from 11 to 5 and still get paid the same salary. That would be lovely.

The weather channel is predicting scattered showers and thunderstorms all week, but so far today it's been nice and sunny. That makes it even worse being at work. I would love to be at home right now with my bathing suit on. Is it Friday yet? Heh.

We had a fabulous Father's day weekend. It's a shame that I'm sitting back at my desk again, but I did really enjoy myself over the weekend. Our Mexican theme dinner was a total success yesterday. I'm actually still stuffed. I love spending time with my family. There's nothing better in life than having a family that you love and enjoy being with. I'm a very fortunate person.

Well, I got to work on my tan for a little bit today and jump in the pool once. Now it's starting to storm outside so we had to cover the pool and head inside. We're having a Mexican theme dinner for Father's day today. My sister and brother-in-law are coming over this afternoon and my mom is also coming for dinner. Our dad won't be here though because he is gone for the weekend fishing with his buddies. My in-laws might come over, but haven't heard from them yet. For dinner I'm making chicken quesadillas and quacamole with chips and salsa and my sister is going to bring her taco bake. Mmm, mmm good. I can't wait.

Well, I'm over the half way mark for the day. In less than four hours I will be done with this work week! Thank the Lord. I don't know why I am so cranky today, but I know I will feel much better once I get home and am able to relax with my family for the evening. Having two alarm-free mornings over the weekend is sounding really good too.

How are you spending your weekend?

I was in a good mood this morning. I walked into work with a spring in my step because I was so happy that it's Friday. But my day is turning to shit. I've had calls transferred to me that shouldn't have been and strange customers on the phone today. Grrr. I've tried not to let these people bother me, but a person can only take so much. I just need this work week to end!

Deep, cleansing breaths.....

Has it been a rough week for anyone else? I swear I feel like I've been on the go without a moments rest this week. I've gotten a good amount of sleep each night, but I feel like that is all I have been doing - work, run around, sleep - all week long. Enough is enough. Time for some rest and relaxation. Sure, gardening is still work, but at least it will be in my yard with my husband and children close by. I'm tired of hearing my kids say "bye mom" all the time. Heck, even when I'm not leaving the house my daughter says "bye mama" every time I stand up to go into another room. That's bad. It's a shame that people have to work so hard these days and spend so little time with family. It's just wrong.

It's finally Friday! Woo hoo! I don't even care that it's Friday the 13th. I'm not superstitious so it doesn't matter to me. Although, our computer system was down this morning. Heh. That was due to the thunderstorm, not the date. Unfortunately they got it working again. It would be nice to have an extra day off though, wouldn't it? I hope it's nice the rest of the weekend because we plan to get a lot of yard work done over the next two days.

I have not had a call in over an hour and I am bored out of my mind. I shouldn't be complaining because at least I'm not dealing with any irrate customers, but man am I ready to get the heck out of here. I still have two hours and fifty minutes left of the work day though. Blah. Is it Friday yet? Please, please, please can it just be Friday now?

My oldest son, the graduate! Doesn't he look handsome in his cap and gown?

Don't forget to check out Two With A View for my other Wordless Wednesday photo.

More Wordless Wednesday here

This has been one helluva week already and it's only Tuesday. I'm really going to enjoy the upcoming weekend after a week like this. I can't believe how slammed I've been at work. It's truly exhausting. I'm so happy that I have both Saturday and Sunday off this weekend and next. I'm going to cherish every moment I'm away from work.

It's hard to believe it's Monday again. I didn't really get much of a weekend and I'm kind of bummed. At least I have the next two weekends off. I hope it's warm and sunny so we can enjoy that pool. The kids are addicted. We took Gabby in it yesterday and even though she was cold (because we had just filled it) and her bottom lip was quivering she did not want to get out. It's going to be a fun summer! Maybe I'll have a better tan that I normally do since I'll be pool side on my deck half the summer.

I hear people talk about Craigslist all the time, but had never gone to the site. Today, since I'm at work and have plenty of time to surf the internet, I decided to check it out. I've been on the site for over an hour now and have found all sorts of things for sale (and free) in my local area. It's like garage sale hopping without leaving the house. There are some really good deals out there too! Does anyone else buy or sell on Craigslist?

It's Friday, but it sure doesn't feel like it to me. I have to work tomorrow and I had an odd schedule this week so I am completely off. I had Sunday and Monday off, then only worked 3.5 hours on Tuesday so it sort of feels like Thursday to me.

I'm hoping we can get our pool going this weekend because it is hotter than hell here in Michigan right now! I'm looking forward to having a pool this summer. I'm also glad that we have central air conditioning and that I work inside with air conditioning. I couldn't imagine working outside or in a machine shop in these temperatures.

Let's go Red Wings! and they did. It was an intense game all the way down to the last second, but we did it! Another Stanley Cup win for our team. It would have been nice if they won it here at home, but I'm happy they won.

Oh, and how could I forget that Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP! Go Zetterberg! You rock!

The graduation ceremony was wonderful last night. I'm so proud of my son. I got some pictures, but haven't uploaded them yet. The pictures on the stage didn't come out so well - a bit dark, but maybe I can lighten them and make them look alright. We got some good pictures of family outside of the auditorium though so I will post them once I get them off my camera. We all went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's after the ceremony and had a great time. It was a perfect night.

My beautiful girl...

More Wordless Wednesday here

Can you believe this game? Going into a third OT now! If Zetterberg would have just shot the puck down the ice in that last minute we would have celebrated the Stanley Cup win and been to bed by now, but nooooo... I'm having a heart attack waiting for yet another OT at twenty five minutes past midnight.

It's been a long, hard week, but I made it through and my weekend is finally here. I have today and tomorrow off and then a half day on Tuesday because my oldest son's graduation is on Tuesday evening. Woo hoo! I'm so proud of him. Jeremy is out in the back yard for most of the day today rotatilling and getting the back yard ready for greatness. Well, maybe not greatness, but a good start anyway. My mother-in-law is coming over to visit today and my aunt is stopping by too. I'm hoping my sister and brother-in-law are coming too and we can BBQ some good food for dinner.

I wasn't able to watch the hockey game last night, but Go Wings! I knew they would win it. They'll win the Stanley Cup next game here at home too. Mark my words!

Yeah, I'm at work. I don't want to be here, but I am. Let's hope this day goes by quickly, eh?

Anyone else feel like the Red Wings totally threw the game last night? That was one intense game and I'm highly disappointed with the ending score, but hey.. it's only one game. I think they purposely lost so that the Stanley Cup will be won here in Detroit. Then all the local restaurants can profit from our victory as well. It's all about the money.

If anyone read the post about Addison the other day and said a little prayer... thank you so much! I received an update from my friend today and here is the most important part of that email:

The doctors believe with medication and careful monitoring, she will outgrow this when the antibodies eventually pass through her (hopefully in about 8 weeks or so). Until then, she is on thyroid medication and we are trying to get her levels stable enough to go home and be treated as an outpatient. The NICU doctors think that this whole process could take about two weeks in the NICU. This was not music to my ears to hear that my baby couldn't come home and wouldn't for two weeks. But the Lord is healing her with the help of an amazing NICU staff and that is quite comforting. So for the next two weeks, my days will be spent there with Addison.

I am very hopeful that things will be OK! Please keep those prayers coming, folks. You gotta have faith!!

A friend of mine recently gave birth to her 2nd child - a baby girl. Her first child - a baby boy - died 2 short hours after he was born. We were both due the same month when I was pregnant with Gabby. The reason for his death was a thyroid issue that they had no idea was affecting him in utero. It's been a very sad 19 months. The doctors were very careful this time around and her daughter, Addison, was born perfectly healthy this past Friday. She is absolutely beautiful! Today she is 4 days old and her blood pressure has gone up, her thyroid levels have elevated and she is steadily losing weight. The doctors think it's just her body reacting to the thyroid antibodies that were passed to her in the womb. They admitted her to the NICU this morning and are hoping that it's something that can be controlled with medication at this point and that things will level out. This has got to be very scary for my friend, her husband and their family. I have been praying my heart out ever since finding out she was pregnant again and I haven't stopped. If you pray, please say a prayer for little Addison today.

Well, I've completely caught up on my "celebrity juice" after being away for the long weekend. Now I'm completely bored at work and still have an hour to go. I'm going to go catch up on my blogroll now. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend!

We had a great weekend! Well, other than yesterday because I was sick with some sort of stomach bug. Friday was good. My husband and I went out to dinner at Red Lobster and then went to see the new Indiana Jones movie which was fantastic. Saturday we picked up the kids around noon and headed to Saginaw to spend most of the weekend at my father-in-law's house. We had a fabulous time. The kids were covered in sunblock, but my husband and I are a bit red. It's better than being whiter than white though. I wish I hadn't been sick yesterday, but at least it's over. I feel better today. Still a little weak, but better.

I'm a bad, bad girl. We had Cottage Inn pizza at our work meeting today. I had three pieces of pizza, a breadstick and salad. I'm so full right now - four and a half hours later - that I can't think straight. Why did I do that to myself? I need a nap.

I was recently introduced to Red Heron by my mother-in-law. I didn't know red wine could taste so good. I had been trying out several different reds over the last couple of weeks and have enjoyed many of them, but this one really takes the cake. It's made by St. Julians Winery - which is right here in our own state of Michigan! The website is located here. I have been wanting a bottle ever since I had a glass at my mother-in-law's candle party on Saturday night. I don't think I can fight the craving any more. It is so incredibly delicious I may have to stop for a bottle on my way home from work.

I have no idea what White Heron or Blue Heron tastes like, but I don't like white wines anyway. That's my love down there on the left side. Isn't it beautiful? Heh.

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I have been so cranky all day. This is the worst hump day. I can't stand a single person I come in contact with. Well, at work, not at home. Although I did yell at my son before leaving the house on my lunch break for having to sign in for a missing assignment. I'm so tired of hearing "I don't know what happened" when I ask why he couldn't find an assignment or why he got into trouble or whatever the case may be. This day seriously needs to end - with a bottle of Red Heron. Unfortunately I still have three hours and fifty minutes left of my work day. I may start crying any moment. I really need this long holiday weekend coming up!

It's out for delivery! I can't wait to spend an entire day playing games on it. As my sister said in an email this morning, I'll have all day Monday to play with my new toy! Thank God for holiday weekends.

More Wordless Wednesday here

I am a total nut when I have a shipment coming in from an online order. I can't help but check the tracking number repeatedly throughout each day until the item gets here. My point.... our Xbox 360 should be here tomorrow! I'm going to have to run out and rent some new video games!! Dead Rising here I come.

It's ten thirty at night and my husband is outside in the dark changing the oil in my car. It needed it badly. He also put two new front tires on it for me. I still have to take it in to get them balanced and to get a front end alignment, but for now it will be better (and safer) than the tires I had on it. They over stayed their welcome for sure. I wish I would have done it sooner, but sometimes it's hard to fit things in. Since we are going away this weekend and have a several hour drive each way, we wanted to make sure all things were good on my car. I can't wait until the weekend gets here!

I'm so tired of being at work and it's only fifteen minutes past six. Another hour and forty-five minutes of dealing with annoying customers. I know.. I'm not very nice. I can't help it. It's been one idiot after another today and I'm ready for it to end for the evening. I'm much more chipper in the morning before I've been exposed to an over abundance of stupidity. Is it Friday yet?

It's only twenty minutes after one and I am already tired. We have been so busy at work that I can't even get a break between calls. Where do all these people come from? It amazes me that so many people call in every day. Do they have nothing better to do than call their insurance company? Sigh. I wish it was Friday.

Today is going to be a very long day. I'm working from 8am to 8pm. Fun, fun. It's not as bad as I anticipated though because they actually adjusted my schedule to give me 3 breaks and a lunch to make up for the extra hours I'm working. They normally don't do that. Usually when I work OT they pile the extra hours on top of my already planned schedule and I have to wait 5 hours for my first break. I'm so glad they changed it. That will definitely make it easier to get through the day. Although, my lunch is at 12:15 and I'm used to going to lunch around 3pm. I can't complain though. At least I don't have to wait until 1:30 pm for my first break.

It's been a pretty good weekend. I really enjoyed going to church with my mom and sister and then we had a good time at the candle party at my mother-in-law's house on Saturday night. I got a lot of great stuff. I can't wait until it gets here. Today wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped, but it has been sort of "blah" kind of day. I'm already bummed that tomorrow is Monday. I am working a twelve hour day. I volunteered for it because it's three hours of over time, but I'm still not looking forward to it. What I am looking forward to is next weekend. I get to have a "date" with my husband on Friday night and then we're taking off for the three day holiday weekend with the kids. I hope the week goes by fast.

On a day-to-day basis I am a pretty tame person. Sometimes it's nice to spice things up though. My husband and I are going out on a "date" next Friday. Our kids are going to spend the night at my mother-in-laws house so we are going to go out to dinner and a movie. After that we will have the house to ourselves for once. Having no kids in the house equals time to get a little crazy. I've been shopping for a little something special to wear that evening. Perhaps a leather corset would be nice. I think my husband will be thrilled. I don't know what man would not enjoy his wife buying something leather to wear for him from time to time. We're going to have a good time. I can't wait until next weekend!

Leather Obsession is a great place to find anything you need to spice up your special times. And for you men out there that are looking for a gift, they even wrap your purchase in gold tissue paper and a glossy black box. If you're worried about not getting the right size there is no need. They will exchange for size issues at no charge. If for some reason you need to return your item, that is the easiest thing to do with Leather Obsession. They have a 30 day return policy - no questions asked - for a full refund of the purchase price. So what are you waiting for? Get shopping! There is a huge selection of fun things that you girl will love - and so will you.

This evening is going by way too slow. Why do Friday's seem so long? It drives me crazy. I don't want to talk to any more customers. I just want to go home and enjoy my evening. Is that too much to ask for?

Tick... tick... tick...

One hour and nineteen minutes to go....

This evening is going by way too slow. Why do Friday's seem so long? It drives me crazy. I don't want to talk to any more customers. I just want to go home and enjoy my evening. Is that too much to ask for?

Tick... tick... tick...

One hour and nineteen minutes to go....

I'm so happy it's Friday! Sure, I'm at work right now, but it's still the beginning of the weekend. My husband is taking our son to the movies tonight to see Iron Man. I'm sure they are going to have loads of fun. Once my daughter is in bed for the night, I will actually get some "me" time - silence in the house is what I'm looking forward too. A little computer time, maybe a little red wine, a little music. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Our Stimulus payment was deposited into our checking account this morning and we've already made the first purchase -- an Xbox 360. We'll call that my husbands early Father's Day gift. The rest of the money will go toward bills and we'll leave a chunk in the bank for safe keeping.

My oldest son's high school graduation is on June 3rd! I'm so proud of him. We are going to get our backyard in shape so we can throw a graduation party for him next month.

Tomorrow I think I will go shopping, get my nails repainted, go to 4:30 Mass with my mom and sister and after church we're heading over to my mother-in-law's house for a candle party. Sunday is my day of rest and I plan on doing absolutely nothing.

Well, dealing with my really long day has been much easier than I expected. Sure I still have an hour and fifteen minutes until I can walk away from my desk, but that is OK. I'm not letting it get me down. Before I know it my break will be upon me and once that is over I will only have 45 minutes until I can leave for the night. And we all know what tomorrow is -- Friday!!!

Tomorrow is Friday. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the long-ass work week. Today is payday so that is always good. It's beautiful outside today which puts me in a good mood too. The only thing I am slightly disappointed about today is my schedule at work. I have a meeting from 2:45 until 4:30 so they have me scheduled for a 1pm lunch and then I don't get a break until 7pm. The people that make up these schedules really must not care what they are doing. Why would I want to go to lunch only two hours after I get here? And then I can't get away from work until an hour before I leave? How freaking stupid. I asked my boss to submit a request to have it changed to a 1pm break and then my lunch hour after the meeting, but so far it hasn't been changed. I'm so bummed. It's going to make for a really long day.

And now they are just teasing me. I had an alert pop up stating that my schedule had been changed, but they were just adjusting my times for tomorrow. Grrrr.

It's almost Friday. It's almost Friday. It's almost Friday.

I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

It's hump day! I'm nearly half way through the work week - thank God. This has been a shit week and I'm desperately looking forward to the weekend. I'm super tired today. My daughter decided that she wanted to get up and play at about 11:30 last night. I don't think I went to bed until about 1am. Between the lack of sleep and still trying to get over the viral infection I had last week, my butt feels royally kicked today.

Well, I guess this week is just going to be a bad news type of week. I just got to work and found out that a girl that works here died last night. Everyone is crying and there are going to be grief counselors here. I knew her. Not well, but I knew her. She was extremely nice.. always smiling, always saying hello to everyone. It's very sad.

It's only the second day of the week and already it sucks. I've gotten bad news both days so far. I'm too "blah" right now to even go into detail, but yeah... this week totally sucks. I just want to go home, climb into bed and forget about it all. Is it Friday yet?

OK, a few minutes ago something crossed my mind that I wanted to write here, but by the time I got off the phone with my customer and opened MT to start writing, I lost what I wanted to say. I have absolutely no stinking idea what it was about. I think it was something good too because I feel really disappointed that I can't remember. Is that crazy or what? Apparently I've taken too many drugs for this viral infection because I have completely lost my mind.

On a brighter note... an email just went out a few minutes ago saying that there are several Chicken Ceasar wraps from our cafeteria -which are the best things in the world- left over from a recent meeting. Yum. I was on the phone, but had one of my favorite co-workers grab one for me!

Thank you all for your well wishes. I am feeling better today. Still hacking my lungs up, but at least I feel better. I got a good amount of sleep last night and woke up feeling like a different person. I am definitely not back to one hundred percent, but I feel like my body is trying to reach for it. Good stuff.

Also... happy Friday!

I am really looking forward to getting our Stimulus rebate check. I would have already gotten it, but we didn't file our taxes until around April 10th so we didn't fall into the schedule of when they were being deposited. The tax return has to be processed by April 15th, not just filed. I hope we won't have to wait too much longer. We could really use that extra money about now.

My poor daughter is sick and I was up with her all night last night. I thought it was just a simple cold or possibly even allergies, but she wound up with a fever last night. I've been alternating Tylenol and Motrin throughout the night, but the fever keeps coming back strong. I feel like the walking dead today. My eyes are literally burning because I am so tired. I am popping Zicam like crazy and drinking vitamin water because I feel like I am coming down with it too. If I make it through this day without collapsing, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Our upstairs master bedroom is in the process of being remodeled. My brother-in-law and husband have been up there for the past two days. I've already picked the color scheme - even though I know it will be a little while before we're ready to paint and decorate. We're doing two different shades of brown - Harvest Brown and Cozy Cottage; dark and light - and then we are going to trim with Shallow Sea - a lovely shade of blue-green. I think they compliment each other nicely and we will be able to accent it very easily. I can't wait to see it finished!

It turns out it wasn't as difficult as I thought with my kids away for the night. I had a fabulous evening last night. My husband made me a delicious dinner and then we watched Burn Notice and rented One Missed Call. We even had a few drinks. I got through my daughter's first night away from home. It should be smooth sailing from here.

My children are going to my mother-in-laws to spend the night tonight. I'm having major separation anxiety today! I'm not worried about my son. He's ten years old and has spent the night away from home more times than I could ever think of counting. My daughter, on the other hand, has never been away from home overnight. I know she'll be fine, but I still can't help but feel this heartache. It's going to be too strange walking in the door tonight after work and her not being there. I won't see her again until tomorrow evening when I get off work.

After two days of gutting our upstairs bedroom, it's completely cleaned out and ready to be rebuilt. I took pictures from before and now and will continue to take pictures as it progresses. I will most definitely post them here when it's all said and done.

We had a great team meeting and there was a ton of Mexican food. I ate quite a bit, but not so much that I felt overly full. I don't plan on eating again today though. That was my breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll be drinking water the rest of the day. I am, however, extremely tired and in desperate need of a nap! I still have four hours left here at work though so that isn't going to happen. I would trade my left arm for a little snooze though.

I don't mind Thursdays at work because we always have a team meeting. That means an hour off the phone and away from my customers. That's always good. Today we are having a Mexican Theme lunch for our meeting. I made a Mexican Chicken Lasagna which is oh, so good and the best part... it's Weight Watchers.

Here is the recipe:

3 Chicken breast Cooked and Cubed (I broil with Chipotle seasoning)
1 Can Black beans; drained
2 Cups Light sour cream
2 Cups Reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz Green Chilies
2 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
5 Large tortillas cut into strips
1/2 Cup Salsa

* Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray pan with Pam. Mix chicken, beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin, salsa, and pepper. Mix well and arrange half of the tortillas overlapping in pan. Top with chicken mixture, then tortillas, then chicken again. Sprinkle with 1 Cup of cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

6 WW points per serving

One of my favorite new television shows is Eli Stone with Jonny Lee Miller

More Wordless Wednesday here

My husband and I have not always had the greatest credit. We did things in our past, when we were younger, prior to even knowing each other, that really hurt each of our credit reports. We have since fixed all of those problems over the years and now we get new credit card offers like there is no tomorrow. I am fairly certain that every day in the mail there is a new offer for one of us, if not both. As tempting as it is, I do not want to get in over my head again so I pay very close attention to all credit card reviews. It is so important to know what you are getting into when you sign up for things that have the potential of blemishing your credit report. I don't want to have any further dings on mine or my husbands. That is in the past and we intend to keep it there. I will never be careless with it again. I don't know what everyone else does when it comes to applying for new cards, but if anyone out there has questions about their credit cards or potential future cards, I would look into as much about it as possible. You can never be too cautious.

I've been at work for two hours and have had nothing but problems since I got here. Every call has been a difficult one - people complaining about things they know nothing about, banks calling on behalf of our customer regarding a financial problem, and on and on and on. I'm so ready to go home already. To top it all off, they started sending people home early again. I won't be able to go because I work the latest shift. Blah. Work sucks. I can't wait until the weekend!

I have never been a fan of drinking water. The only water I consumed was what I used to make my coffee with. Well, I bought some Crystal Light (only 5 calories per serving) and now I am drinking a lot of water. I bought the on-the-go packets so I fill a bottle at work and pour one of those in and I'm good to go. I understand that Weight Watchers works much better if you drink a lot of water, so that is my motivation. Plus, I know that drinking water is good for me and I should be doing it anyway.

We love our new bed! It's so nice having a King size bed instead of a Queen. There is so much room in that bed that both kids could crawl into bed with us and we'd hardly notice. It will be even nicer when our upstairs bedroom is done so we can sleep in our room instead of going to the basement to sleep.

I had a candle party yesterday evening. I had such a good time. I hope everyone else did too. I made a bunch of food and bought cream puffs for dessert. I ate way too much, but most of what I made was Weight Watchers so I don't think I went that far over my points. Besides, there are 35 bonus points to be had each week and I rarely use them so having a party was a good reason to do so. I weighed myself at my mom's house yesterday morning and I've lost 16 pounds total since I started; about 2 months ago now, I think. Not bad.

Anyway, I did really good at my party. I ended up getting over $400 worth of Partylite stuff for only $59.00. I can't wait until it gets here! My mother-in-law booked a party from my party so I'll have $50 "fast cash" to spend at her party next month. Fun times.

The lady that sits across from me at work keeps singing, "sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't." That will be stuck in my head until next Tuesday, I'm sure.

I feel better today! Not 100% yet, but at least eighty-five. Much better than I have felt over the last week. It is absolutely gorgeous outside too. It's supposed to be seventy degrees out today! It's also pay day so that extra money in my bank account makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

Have a good day. Friday is just around the corner!

I can't believe it is only Wednesday. It's been one helluva week so far. I think I might be getting better, but it's hard to tell because it comes in waves. I left work early again, but I didn't end up leaving until 4:30 today. We were so completely dead at work that management was asking people if they wanted to go home. I, feeling like death, gladly volunteered. I feel a bit better this evening, but still very tired. I hope it's on it's way out now. Is it Friday yet?

It's gorgeous outside! Unfortunately, I still have this flu-like bug and I'm stuck at work for the next 8 hours so I won't be able to enjoy much of it. I spoke to my son's teacher yesterday and she said there is definitely a "bug" going around and it lasts a good week. Her whole family had it last week - which means my son probably carried it home from school with him and gave it to me. Nice. Here are the symptoms: headache, fatigue, nausea. I don't feel like I am going to be sick, but almost wish I could so that perhaps I would feel better.

I am at work and just got an email from my mom telling me that she and my dad put our dog, Kayla, to sleep this morning. She was 14 years old and was not doing well at all. She had been at our house all Winter while my parents were in Florida. I knew it was going to be soon, but it was such a shock to read that email while on the phone with a customer. I stopped talking and forgot what I was saying. It was hard to stop the tears while still on the phone. The man I was talking to probably thinks I'm a total freak. I had to go to the bathroom and let out a good cry after getting off the phone. I'm so sad that my Kayla dog is gone. I know it was the right thing to do for her sake, but it's still a very sad thing. I feel horrible for my mom and dad because they had to take her in to have it done.

Loud children and Blue's Clues blaring from the living room is enough to make anyone wish for nap time. Luckily, it has arrived and now I can spend some time on my computer without high pitched screaming and the word "mom" coming at me from all directions. Heck, I only got up three hours ago and I think I'm ready for a nap.

I wasn't feeling very well last night and went to bed early. I ended up sleeping twelve hours and now I'm not feeling so good again and ready to crawl back into bed. What is wrong with me? I think maybe I'll skip computer time and head for the couch with a pillow and blanket. Perhaps there is a good movie available On Demand that I can watch while I lounge.

I know I've mentioned this a thousand times, but I really hate when I have to work on Saturday. It's far too early for me to be awake, showered and out of my house. On a regular work day I'm still not awake yet! I've been logged in for 12 minutes and not a phone call yet. It would be lovely if the entire day went this way, but I know it won't. We're always busy on Saturdays. It just takes our customers a little longer to get going because normal people are sleeping in today.

It was so nice having three days off! Now I'm back at work and the day is going by so slow. We're having a rock, paper, scissors tournament at work today. How freaking stupid is that? I hope I get my ass kicked in the first round so I don't have to deal with any more than a few humiliating seconds of this nonsense. Fifteen minutes from now I'll be heading down there. Fun, fun. At least I won't be on the phone with a potentially annoying customer.

Update: I got knocked out in the 2nd round. No championship tournament for me next week - thank God.

I was very productive yesterday. I spent most of the day on the go. Today is another story. I have done nothing but lay around. I just woke up from a several hour nap while my daughter napped. It's almost 4pm and I feel like the laziest person ever.

My mini-vacation is now half over. I go back to work on Friday. I'm totally enjoying myself though. I needed this time at home with my family. My son is on break from school and it's nice to actually get more than an hour or so with him each day. It would be nice if we could just win the lottery and not have to deal with work anymore. Oh, yeah.. we'd have to actually play to win though and we just don't waste money on that.

The Channel 4 News truck is down the street again at that house where the guy murdered his parents. It's been days. What are they doing down there again? Maybe they are going to talk about the memorial that the neighbors set up and the flowers all over the porch? Who knows?

I am thrilled. I have the next three days off! My manager pushed through Wednesday for me even though there was no time available so now I don't have to go back to work until Friday. It's been nice already being at home. I slept in, went to the park with my husband and kids this morning, made a delicious lunch and have been working on my computer now for the last couple of hours while my daughter is napping.

A very sad thing happened down the street from my house. Every time I look down the street I feel a horrible twinge in my chest. Yesterday afternoon a 27 year old shot his mom and dad on their front porch from inside the house. Apparently the son was in the middle of a heated argument with his dad and from what I understand, has a history of mental illness. My son was outside in our driveway at the time and heard the shots before running into the house to get my husband. He claims he didn't see anything and thought that perhaps it was fireworks. I thank God for that. The scary thing is that he had raced me down to that corner only a few short moments before it happened. I was going back to work after lunch and he was on the sidewalk trying to "out run" my car. As I turned the corner I sent him back to the house and told him to stay away from the corner because of all the passing cars. Little did I know that had I not sent him back, he would have seen the whole thing and been in harms way. So disturbing.

It was all over the news last night. The street was blocked off for several hours. Even after I got home from work last night the news trucks were down there broadcasting live at the corner of my street. It's such a sad thing. I can't understand why people do the things they do. How could someone kill their own parents? or children? or anyone, for that matter? It just puzzles the hell out of me. It's sad to look down there and see all the flowers and balloons on the porch and the memorial wall that was put up over the boarded up window. To think that yesterday morning those nice folks were alive and well. Today they have people passing by, stopping and leaving flowers because they are gone. Friends and neighbors are crying and wondering how this could happen. The other two kids (daughters) are trying to mourn and pick up the pieces. It's such a tragedy.

I had a fabulous weekend! I went to Twelve Oaks Mall on Saturday to meet up with a handful of the girls from my message board and their toddlers. We had a wonderful time. It was great seeing them in person after sharing so much with them over the last two years! The kids played hard in the play center area. I will have to post pictures at some point this week. Here is one of my daughter that I have with me. She looks so grown up in this picture!

Saturday night I made the most wonderful Chicken Quesadillas and homemade Salsa for dinner. I got the recipe from my favorite Weight Watchers Blog. The salsa recipe is actually in a recipe for Salsa Burgers. It's the best salsa I've ever had - restaurant style! I will be making that again soon. Yesterday my family and I took it easy - lounged around the house all day. We made Shrimp Scampi (WW recipe) for lunch and a salsa meatloaf and baked fries for dinner. It was all very yummy. My husband and I watched several movies this weekend too. I will probably write a review here later today.

I am work now, but I took a vacation day tomorrow and I have Thursday off because I work on Saturday. It'll be nice to work every other day this week (other than Saturday). It's beautiful outside and my son is home this week for "spring break." I'm really looking forward to being at home!

I feel like shit today. I don't know what's wrong. It kind of feels like a stomach bug coming on or something. I'm not sick with a cold. I feel very weak and my stomach feels very blah. I really hope I'm not coming down with something! I am supposed to be meeting a group of girls that I have been talking to online since April of 2006 (a pregnancy message board I joined when I was pregnant with Gabby) tomorrow at noon. Obviously I can't meet them all because we're spread out across the country and some even in different countries, but a bunch of us from Michigan and a few from Ohio are meeting at a mall that has a large play center in it. It will be so much fun meeting them and having our toddlers play together. Cross your fingers that I don't get sick!

I can't wait for this game to come out!

More Wordless Wednesday here

My sister introduced me to Entrecard today and I am completely addicted. I can't stop dropping mine on other blogs! I wasn't so sure about it at first. It seemed very similar to the last widget I put on my blog which did nothing for me and ultimately just pissed me off. After a little more investigating and research, Entrecard seems like a pretty cool set up.

I had such a nice weekend! Saturday I did some shopping at Target and some other running around - getting snacks and alcohol for when my sister and brother-in-law came over Saturday night. We had a great time! Yesterday we all went to church together - both of my sisters and all the kids. Gabby did pretty good considering she doesn't sit still for very long. I'm so glad we went. I got a nap in yesterday afternoon, caught up on some CSI and chatted it up with my friends online. I had one too many cups of coffee throughout the day yesterday though because I could not fall asleep to save my life last night. I think I finally fell asleep at around 2:30 AM and then my daughter was up several times in the middle of the night after that. I'm doing a whole lot of yawning this morning. All in all it was a fabulous weekend though.

Today started out beautifully. It's still cold outside and there is snow on the ground, but the sun is shining and the snow is slowly melting away. I was in a fabulous mood all morning. My customers were even nice. Everything turned around right before lunch. We've been totally slammed on the phones and I've had nothing but idiots to deal with (including some people I work with). I'm not in such a good mood anymore. I'm dying to get out of work so the weekend can begin. Three hours and thirty-nine minutes to go. Lord, help me.

We began with computers that occupied whole rooms, to desktops. In the meanwhile we also received the cell phones wholeheartedly. Then we had laptop computers, and the progress of electronics has not yet ended. Now it is basically altering our present digital cameras.

OK, I decided to get off my butt and do one today - even though the day is almost over. This is an easy one!

Thirteen Things about Neptunebaby Thirteen things I hate about Winter (that won't seem to go away this year) 01. Cold 02. Snow 03. Ice 04. Bad roads 05. Cold 06. Snow 07. Ice 08. Bad roads 09. Cold 10. Snow 11. Ice 12. Bad roads 13. Cold Remember me posting that it was 50 degrees outside yesterday? Well, here is the advisory that just went out: Rain will completely changeover to snow by early evening. Snow will become heavy at times this evening, causing a reduction in visibility. Total accumulations will range from 3 to 6 inches. A snow advisory means that periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibility and use caution while driving. Where the F@$% is Spring? Did it get lost on it's way to Michigan?

Are you ready for my latest Weight Watchers update? Please check it out here. I'm very excited about it! I've also posted two sites that I use frequently to help with weight loss. If you're trying to lose weight, I recommend checking both of the sites out.

A few of the kids from Easter.

Once you fall off the dieting wagon it's difficult to climb back on. After having access to all the good food over the holiday weeken