big brother season 1

thank you, YouTube!  i'm watching season 1 now.  i missed tonight's episode because i had to get groceries after work.  btw, oh my heck, i spent like $75 more than i thought i would.  and that was BEFORE i added $25 for gas!  oooh, but the good thing about gas - i was able to fill my tank at $3.29/gal!  (it makes me a little sick that i'm HAPPY about $3.29/gal...)


anyway, i should be set on groceries for awhile...i hope... *laugh*  and when i got home, my computer was acting up. so i watched some buffy.  : )  but then ... i don't even remember what made me think of it.  i was looking up good charlotte lyrics for a comment on jessi's blog (which i then ended up using a jimmy eat world song because i couldn't find the right GC song) & then i was reading by bbdish update, and they mentioned something about how season 1 was different, and i had forgotten.  so then i wondered if it was on youtube and it IS!  hooray!  chicken george!  brittany!  JOSH (so cute!)!  : )  i like the way it's edited now WAY better than season one so far, but i'm thinking for the next season BB should go kinda old school.  bring back the chickens!  lol  maybe not that, but ... i think it'd be cool to bring back the america voting ppl out rather than the houseguests.  whadda ya think, BB peeps??  


i think it's time to sleep before 1 AM.  TTFN!  : )  

can't top mark LOL

but i did want to get a quick blurb about the day out before i go to sleep.  


the day was quite busy, but my meetings were cancelled, so i had more time for the work work.  and some nice emails!  i got to do some investigating & report running & other things that don't sound exciting, but that i enjoy.  : )  


after work, i made my way down the main street - which was slooooow going because something knocked the power out for several blocks & the stop lights were all dark!  :|  things moved faster once i got to the bridge, tho.  *laugh*  i met trish & marcie at golden corral for a yummy buffet of steak (the buffet steak was WAY tastier than last night's Outback steak, which is disappointing since Outback is a STEAKHOUSE) & baked potato & bread pudding & ice cream.  and pretty good coffee, too!  i didn't have any vegetables, i just realized.  but i had a spinach salad & salmon for lunch, and fruit for breakfast, so at least i had that going for me!  *laugh*  it was nice to see trish - hadn't seen her in a couple weeks!  we talked about leyton & trish's grandkids & marcie's grandkids, and kids kids kids!  *laugh*  it was a fun night!  


i was gonna watch rizzoli & isles when i got home, but ended up watching more buffy.  heh.  and then thanks to marianne i decided to do a man-candy post & so y'all benefited from that, right?  mmmhhhmmm!  


and now, now i must SLEEP!  tomorrow after work i have to remember to go to WM for some GROCERIES which i am in desperate need of!  heh.  have a GREAT night & happy wednesday!!  : )  


ttfn!

Man Candy - a day late, but hey!

MARK HARMON!

via 

oh my goodness, i love him.  he is my movie-star husband.  isn't it nice of pam dawber to share him w/ me?  *grin*  i have loved him in Summer School, when he was just a kid.  that was about the time People acknowledged that he's the Sexiest Man Alive.

imo, he still is.  in fact, i love him more now, all mature and gray haired, and playing NCIS agent Jethro Gibbs.  he makes the name jethro COOL, i tell you what!  : )

and thanks to the picture below, i discovered a whole new website to feed my obsession w/ silver haired foxes.  YUM!

look at those gorgeous eyes, yes?  

aside from his dashing good looks, there is just something about his voice that makes me want to sleep w/ a cd of him reading me a story.  (or, you know, HIM.  LOL)  i would love to be able to meet him & take a nifty picture like the one below.

anywhoo!  hopefully the link thing works so you can see all the wonderful man candies ppl are bragging on this week.  but either way, i hope you'll enjoy the deliciousness that is mark.  tune in next week, when i think i'll feature another mark... : )

ttfn!

newsbrief

- monday was nutty, busy, fun, and not at all stressy.


- okay, maybe a little.  ; )  


- worked through lunch.  well, i did take a break, but ate at my desk while uploading photos & helping ppl w/ timecard/vacation issues.  


- had a meeting about photos, which was fun.


- another meeting was cancelled & will have to be rescheduled, which was okay because it gave me more time to work on stuff & things.  lol 


- met mom for dinner at outback.  my asparagus & potato were yummy, but the woodfire grilled steak was just okay.  :(  i hate when they get steak wrong, ya know?  bother.  anyway, i'm sure it'll be good leftover... and it was nice to hang out w/ mom, of course!!  : )  


- at home, uploaded pictures to photobucket & watched Buffy & read some blogs & played that stupid angry birds game.  oye!  got to talk to trish.  : )  


- it's midnight & i'm tired & i wanna go to bed.  more meetings tomorrow.  or maybe just one?  idk.  anyway!  goodnight!  


ttfn.

packed!

yes, it was a packed sunday.  i may need a day to recover from my weekend.  what's that?  oh, back to work tomorrow?  well, okay.  (but next weekend is a three day weekend, so hooray!!)


leyton fell asleep on the couch last night, so i just let him stay there.  i left the livingroom light on for him, so he wouldn't be scared when he woke up.

which he did around 4 a.m.  i had him take another dose of tylenol because he felt a little warm & i just wanted to make sure!  then i tucked him into his bed & we both went back to sleep!  : )  we didn't get up til 8:30 or 9!  woot!  


i made breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, waffle) while he watched thomas.  after i was out of the shower & dressed, phil called & we chatted for a bit.  leyton wanted to talk to him, as well, so i gave him the phone.  after they'd hung up & been off the phone for a few minutes - leyton called him back!  LOL  i think he's done that before, but i forgot he has his dad's number memorized.  LOL  

we played for a bit more, rescuing turtles & the like.  

he even found an old pair of my glasses - which, interestingly, i could still see out of!  he looks WAY cuter in these than i ever did, i'm sure.  i can't even believe i wore those, they are so BIG!  lol   

then it was time to get him dressed in cat hair-free clothing, and head out to hallmark so i could get a sympathy gift from the team.  except when we got in the car, i realized my billfold was missing!  


dun dun dun!


i searched the house.  i called mom to see if i'd left it there last night.  she wasn't home, so we just went over there so i could look.  no billfold.  i was praying but not panicking.  i called WM - and sure enough, they had it!  thank God!  apparently, in all the melee yesterday, i left it at the register.  d'oh!!  ah well, it was nice for leyton & phil to hang out for a bit.  : )  

then leyton & i met mom at my house cuz when i'd called her about the billfold she suggested we go to lunch.  : )  i ran in to WM first & then we went to wendy's to eat.  nothing spectacular, but it was filling.  : )  

mom & i took leyton to jen at marty's & then we stopped by the memorial for ginny, our family friend who passed away last week.  she dropped me at home & i went to hallmark.  found what i hope is a nice gift... after that, i went to becca's church for a creative memories get together.  couldn't buy anything, but got some good ideas if ever i have a few hundred in disposable income!  LOL  


i headed to mom's after the party, so we could watch BB together.  LOVE IT!  especially because i have been reading the feeds & april was reading the feeds & so i know what's been going down!  LOL  love it!  


talked to juli for a bit when i got home, and that was nice.  my newest niece shall be born around new year's.  woot!!  : )  now i'm settled in for some Buffy, and soon will be headed to zzzzzz land!  


all in all, a really good way to spend daddy's birthday.  he would have been 65.  

ttfn.

tantrums

WOW.


so, i've been around leyton when he's had tantrums.  many, many times.  but not ever to this degree & not ever when it's just been him & me.  


i know he'd been excited about coming over, because phil called me at 2 & i could hear leyton saying, "tell her to pick me up now, dad!"  : )  if only... but there were a couple ppl coming to the hawkeye at like 3 or something, and jen wanted them to see leyton, so that's why she'd said 3:30 to pick him up.  


i got to the bar about 3:45, and i guess jen & phil were already playing because leyton was outside w/ their friend.  he came running up to the car & was in a seemingly good mood.  i had to stop at WM to pick up a couple things.  he didn't want to go in, and if i hadn't NEEDED to, i would have said okay i can get it another time.  so i bribed him that he could get a $1 toy.  and things started out okay.  he was in a good mood!  i picked up a couple things, then we spent some time in the toy area, he picked out a hot wheels & we were on our way to the milk.  however, i had to stop at the loo.  he was still in a good mood.  then, suddenly, literally out of the blue, the tantrum began.  


it started w/ "i want a movie."  i explained that we couldn't get a movie this time because i didn't have the money.  he went into the normal, "i want my mommy/daddy/gramma/whoever will give in to my demands for a movie" routine.  he stomped his foot & folded his arms & said over & over, "i want a movie!"  pretty normal fare.  then it turned into "i want my mommy," and when i said she was playing volleyball right now & there wasn't anything i could do about that, the full-blown tantrum began.  


at first, i didn't think it would be too bad.  i mean, normally i can distract him out of these things pretty quickly.  this time, tho, he was digging his heels into this tantrum, and there was just no stopping it!  in the middle of the movie area of WM!!  now, i was aware of the ppl around us, certainly.  but i was focused on him and his needs.  i didn't want to be too hard on him, or too lenient because that behavior is so NOT acceptable.  after awhile, i walked away, because he wasn't getting up off the floor in front of the movies, and went around an aisle.  he didn't like that at all.  and he wasn't following.  so i went back, because he said he would come w/ me.  he didn't.  so i walked away again, and he screamed louder.  so i went back & picked him up off the floor & he kicked off his flip flops & i put him in the cart.  then he wouldn't stay seated in the cart, of course, because he's screaming his head off that he doesn't want to be IN the cart, and so he was standing up hanging on to me & trying to get out of the cart.  


i'm trying to wheel the cart over to the flip flops while holding him in the cart & stopping him from climbing out, but not hurting him while trying to protect him.  cuz ya know how sometimes that happens?  and being aware of that, it was just a lot of thinking & yet instinct, if that makes sense!  finally i made it over to the flip flops & got them up into the cart while maintaining a hold on leyton so he wouldn't flip the cart or fall out of it while trying to escape.  


did i mention that all this time he is screaming in my ear that he wants his mommy & doesn't want to stay w/ me?  


eep.  :(


so, he gets his flip flops on & stops screaming long enough for me to tell him he can get out of the cart if he sticks w/ me & keeps up, but as soon as he gets stubborn & doesn't move w/ me, he's going back in the cart.  we at this point are in the book area.  we start walking, and he says he doesn't want to see the fish (which is just him being contrary because he LOVES to see the fish), so we detour around pet supplies.  we're just about to the milk when he decides he does want to ride in the cart after all.  he continues to "cry" and whine and yell about wanting mommy, while i continue to tell him she's playing volleyball & there's nothing i can do about it.  


i call phil.  he, of course, is also playing vb, but will call me back.  i get milk & leyton says he wants some fruit punch, but i tell him i'm not going to buy it if he isn't spending the night because i don't have the money to just have it in my fridge.  phil calls back, leyton talks to him - then is mad that it's not his mom, so phil puts jen on the phone.  then i talk to jen & she says i can go ahead & bring him by the bar.  


so, i don't get the fruit punch, i put the root beer back, and i tell him we're putting the cars back.  he starts another fit.  now, i do not agree w/ giving in to fits.  i don't agree w/ rewarding bad behavior.  but sometimes, sometimes it is just easier to not fight over the 84 cent toy!!  so i told him he can pick ONE car to keep.  he picked the school bus.  which secretly made me happy, but i was also disappointed to have to put the other car back, because it was a fire department race car & really cool!  ah well, maybe when i have money i'll go back & get it.  


anyway.  he was all pouty at the register & the cashier was giving him a lecture about being nice to his aunt.  he was nicer for a little bit.  when we got to the car, i told him how his actions had hurt my feelings & disappointed me, and asked him what was going on.  he was quiet.  but then started in about wanting his mommy again.  so we went to the hawkeye & jen came out & told him that she couldn't take him home right now.  i thought about telling her she could just get in my car & i could take them both home... but i didn't think she would take me up on it, and didn't want her to have to explain to leyton that she was choosing to stay w/ her friends over being w/ him.  one of those friends was there, telling her to stop babying him.  ummm.  


oh, and THEN, the kicker (for me) - jen asked if i had any tylenol.  i said yes, and then she said, oh, give him some when you get home.  he had a fever this morning & he didn't get a nap (which i knew).  


so... he had a fever this morning, but you still took him to the bar all day & didn't give him a nap, AND didn't tell me about the tylenol thing until just now?  thanks.  


*sigh*  that sounds judgy, but i don't really mean it that way.  it's just my opinion that if you know your 4 year old has a fever, you cancel your plans & stay home w/ the kid.  


anyway, so after jen went back in, the tantrum started anew.  "i want my mommy!"  breaking my heart, kid!  and i realized that i don't have any CHILDREN'S tylenol, but that mom might, so we headed to gramma's.  tantrum continued.  "turn off the music!"  to which i replied that i would turn off the music as soon as he stopped whining.  he continued to whine, i continued to listen to music (some really good songs were on, too, which was good because i needed them!  LOL).  we did have some discussion intermixed with the whining... 


when we got to gramma's, he didn't want to get out of the car, so i took the groceries in & gave him a few minutes, thinking he'd come in on his own.  he didn't, so i went out to the car & he was being VERY bratty, so i picked him up & carried him into the house.  kicking & screaming.  he once again lost his flip flops, so i went back out to get them.  when i came into the house, he shouted at me that i should go away & he wanted to be alone, and he ran into phil's room & shut the door.  so i said, "okay," and walked away.  he said, "where are you going, aunt carrie?"  in his normal leyton voice.  i said, "you want me to leave, so i'm going to leave."  and i grabbed my purse & walked out the door.  (obviously i'm not really leaving, folks, put the panic button down.  LOL)  


i had been outside about 30 seconds when he opened the door, crying, and said, "aunt carrie, come back!"  i went back in the house & said, "i thought you wanted me to leave so you could be by yourself."  he said, "no, i don't want to be by myself."  so i sat on the couch & he curled up in the recliner & fell asleep.  i got his blanket from bed & tucked him in.


he took about a 20 minute nap, til the phone woke him up, but it was enough to "reboot" him.  mom got home w/ the tylenol & we ate dinner & watched there goes a train & he shared his sandwich w/ me & his mood was greatly improved.  


he decided he did want to spend the night at my house (*happy dance*) so we left around 8:30 & came home to play in the tub.  he even let me wash his hair, which is always a battle anywhere else.  of course, i don't dump anything over his head when i wash - i put soap on my hands & scrub his hair, then use a wet washcloth to get the soap out.  it seems to work anyway!  *laugh*  we scrubbed his feet & hands, but not his arms because they had a bunch of temp tats that he wanted to keep.  heh.  


we popped popcorn & watched a thomas movie & played w/ my old cell phones.  then, when the movie was over, he ZONKED out on the couch.  i'm not sure if i'll try to move him when i go to bed or not.  if i leave the light on in the guest bath he should be okay out here... i think... hmmm.


SO!  that is my story of the cycle of a 4 year old's tantrum.  *laugh*  i wasn't sure if i was going to share the whole story or not, but decided that you should all see a well-rounded version of leyton, and not just the "always happy" version.  he is mostly happy, but he's also a KID and it's normal to have tantrums.  idk if it's normal to have them quite to the degree of the one today, but since he was both TIRED and not feeling well, i'm giving him some slack.


plus, ya know, i kinda love the kid bunches.  : )  


i'm gonna watch some tdd vs. victor & hit the hay myself.  


ttfn!

oooohhhh

been a busy day at casa de marie!  : )  had a really nice sleep, then did some housework (ugh, doing housework always makes me feel inadequate, like i'm not doing enough, like it's not good enough.  i really need to hire a service since aunt jan's teams never have time to come over!).  read some of Lies My Teacher Told Me - really an eye opener!  


the other day my wall-mate & i were talking about buffy, and so i had a hankerin to watch it.  *laugh*  i pulled out season 1 & am having a mini-marathon.  and it's not even christmas!!  


my bug dude came & sprayed the inside w/ anti-ant spray, and thank God for him!  thank God for ppl & pet safe spray, too.  : )  


now i'm off to pick up leyton, run to WM - i have $19 & need $16 worth of stuff.  oye!!  i really hate weeks when i'm literally living paycheck to paycheck & one paycheck comes up short.  :(  i just hate the feeling of brokeness.  altho i do have change, so maybe i'll dig thru that before i leave... hurry up payday!  LOL  


what're you up to today?  ttfn!

happy friday! woot!

Felt MUCH better today, thank God!  Especially good since – for only being gone what boiled down to 6 hours of work-time – I came back to 50 some emails.  Lol  normally I schedule ½ an hour to work on emails when I get in.  today I scheduled two hours, but then they kept coming in as I was working on them, so it ended up being closer to 3 ½!  That’s a lot of email, folks.  *laugh*  a good chunk contained photos – and a couple of those contained more than one or two photos! 

I got a note from my friend Mary at Qwest/Century Link.  She was still working on my account, as when we’d talked about my modem she had pointed out some savings opportunities.  Well, turns out she saved me a TON of money!  *happy dance*  Her customer service really is above par.  I hope she’s appreciated by her co-workers & managers, because she certainly is by her customers!! 

So happy today’s Friday.  J  Did you have a happy Friday?  Did you know that sometimes you can make someone’s day w/ just a thoughtful note?  It’s true!  Just as we can be torn down by thoughtless, cruel words, we can be built up by words of kindness and respect.  I love seeing the light in someone’s eyes when they’re surprised by a nice note.  : ) 


(this paragraph made me think of little things that annoy one, which then turned into a rather long GRRR, which then of course was moved elsewhere lest someone be offended by the GRRR because they don't understand that sometimes you just have to GRRR and it doesn't mean anything or much of.  LOL)


whew!  so, yeah... work went nicely today.  even all the emails were very productive, i was able to get lots accomplished, AND i even got to leave *gasp* ON TIME!  : )  always nice when that happens on a friday, right?  


had arthur's for dinner, got to chat w/ april AND linda, watched America's Got Talent (oh YES they do!)... started an episode of GH, but i needed to write & then SLEEP.  it's definitely calling my name.  especially because in the last 20 minutes or so my tummy has decided it's tired of feeling better & wants me to know it's there.  oye.  


so, i hope your friday was fab, and your sunday will be sunny.  hurricane irene ppl, batton down the hatches & i'm keeping you in prayer!  God is good ALL THE TIME, and He loves you & wants to be your ALL.  so, talk to Him today, eh?  : )  


love you & will say - TTFN!   

gleek-ability

this post may contain spoilers from the glee project finale & tonight's LIVE episode of big brother.  so, if you're one of those ppl (like me) who watch things late & (unlike me) don't want to know what happened...don't read this!  LOL 


today was an odd, but ultimately good day.  i woke up still not feeling well, but had things i needed to do at work, so i went in.  didn't make it very long, tho, and ended up leaving after 2 hours.  i was pretty miserable for a few hours.  :(  BUT i watched some dance movies to cheer me up - honey & fame!  : )  then i went for the cute boy & watched about a boy.  HUGH GRANT yumminess!  : )  


i tried to watch last night's BB since i missed 1/2 of it, but my computer was anti-BB again, so ... alas!  mom called around 6 & asked if i was coming over to watch tonight's show, so i headed over there, after a stop at culver's for some RED MEAT which i was craving!  : )  they were having a classic car gathering in the parking lot.  i wonder if they do that regularly??  would have loved to get pictures!  there was even an appearance by the general lee!  woot!  


BB was SO SAD for me tonight!  well, bittersweet.  dani got the boot, yay!  but then jordan lost the HOH by a wrong answer & it was bye bye to my favorite player, jeff!  poor jordan!  :(  i mean, i'm sad for jeff, of course.  i wanted him to win!  but alas again.  anyway, i feel bad for jordan since she's had her jeff in the game this whole time.  i also wonder, tho, if she'll step up her own game now.  : )  


when i got home, i watched the finale of the glee project.  i rooted for damian.  i've been rooting for him since the beginning thanks to his adorableness and accent, of course!  ; )  but after the jeff thing, i was prepared to be disappointed again.  


BUT I WASN'T DISAPPOINTED!  i didn't think i could love glee more, but i now will!  *laugh*  they whittled the final four down to 2.  damian was still in it, but from what the judges said i figured samuel would win.  and then he did, and poor damian's face broke my heart!  but then... then ryan said that damian had won, TOO, and his face lit up like the sun and ... oh, it was just so sweet!!!  : )  then he went even further and announced that linds & alex both get to do 2 episode guest shots!!!  


amazing, really.  : )  


so, there you go.  *laugh*  how was your day?


ttfn!

glee glee glee glee

glee project was my marathon tonight & ohhhh!  stayed up too late watching.  but that damian, man, he compels me!  his accent!  his eyes!  his cute little smile!  ohhhhh.  and before that, i fell in love w/ canada all over again, watching a couple episodes of rookie blue.  i want to marry a canadian, should i marry.  a nice canadian detective, who has been a mountie.  yesss...!  ; )  


i wasn't feeling very well today & thought i might not make it the whole day, but i did.  well, a normal day, but i didn't stay late.  a co-worker had a death in the family, so i stopped at hallmark to pick up a sympathy card for everyone to sign.  being in the sympathy aisle was unexpectedly torturous.  like, i know i've been missing dad especially lately, and i know this is the beginning of my "hard time."  yet, it still hits me out of the blue!  what the what?  marty offered to pick up the card, and i was just, "Nah, i'll be fine, but thanks."  then i got to the sympathy aisle.  and i saw all the cards for fathers.  and then i saw the mother cards, and i got a shot to my chest.  like, i am just so grateful for my mom & the relationship we have now, and ... i hope i picked a good card, because i really booked it out of that aisle fairly quickly as soon as that feeling hit me.  i don't think it quite helped that the store was filled w/ HALLOWEEN decorations...!


to highlight the dichotomy that is me - i didn't struggle as much w/ those decorations.  like, logic would tell you - you have a reaction to the sympathy cards, thinking about your dad that you miss very much.  he died on halloween.  you have a hard (HARD) time w/ halloween.  of course running out of the sympathy aisle into a bunch of halloween stuff is going to be hard.  however, illogically, the halloween stuff actually comforted me.  what?  i know, right?!  i was looking at the Peanuts stuff & thinking of good memories of daddy.  there was a plaque w/ a lucy quote that he was fond of - "I've never been mistaken in my life.  I thought I was once, but I was wrong."  HAHAHA!  : )  makes me smile every time i think of him saying that.  so, finding that plaque right then amongst all this halloween stuff... well, it was like he sent me a message or something.  


AND THEN!  i didn't even have to pay for the cards, because i had a rewards certificate and $$ on a hallmark giftcard.  sweetness!  


when i got home, i made pasta w/ chicken for dinner & it was pretty good.  leftovers for lunch tomorrow if i remember to bring them.  : )  


april reminded me that BB was on, and i got to watch about 1/2 of it (but i can watch it on youtube later).  was trying to chat w/ her during the show, and my computer kept saying "NO YOU DON'T!" and randomly shutting off.  d'oh!  so that was frustrating - it was the first time we'd been online at the same time for more than 5 minutes - and we only got to talk for like 5 minutes btwn breakdowns!  and then it was fine the rest of the night.  (thankfully, but still the BB thing was frustrating!)


i met mom at murphy after she got off work & she filled my tank w/ gas.  *HUGS* to mom!  we talked about BB & leyton spending the night saturday (she thought he was staying at her house cuz phil told her he was, but then jen asked me?  mis-communication somewhere!) & then she randomly mentioned that a family friend, ginny, had passed away & her celebration of life service would be sunday.  ?!?!  she thought she'd told me earlier, but it must've been phil, because i hadn't even known ginny was sick!  i just saw her at the family 4th of july picnic & we chatted on a bit.  :'(  so yeah.  


so, if you think of it & can add ginny's family & my co-worker's family to your prayer list this week, it'd be much appreciated!  tho we have faith and knowledge that both ladies are rejoicing w/ the Lord right now - and i'm sure if there are welcoming parties to heaven that daddy & grandpa vern & grandma arlene were all at ginny's.  : ) 


i hope your wednesday was less wacky, but just as blessed!  tomorrow is double eviction on BB, and i'm hoping to watch at mom's, but might have to risk it here again!  ; )  goodnight & TTFN!  

mrrrh

my tummy doesn't like something i ate.  i refuse to blame the delicious chicken dinner.

there was an earthquake in virginia today, felt all along the eastern seaboard.  april emailed me to tell me!  there was another one in CO earlier.  idk but i tell you what - my friend's dream about a BIIIG earthquake in the midwest doesn't seem far-fetched at all especially now!  must continue to work on a new emergency bag...

that's all i can think of right now.  sleep is calling to me!  : )

ttfn!

oh yeah, haven't shared postcards in awhile - here are some from the netherlands, germany & kansas.  turtle!

WET!

Goodness what a morning!  So, it was dark & stormy-looking when I got up, but dry outside.  Just a little sprinkly.  Still, I kinda wanted to burrow back under the covers.  I did not, I got up & got going & was out the door in time to pull the garbage can to the curb to be picked up.  Yay!  the drive was going well.  And then… then I got to the road before the bridge & it was not going so well.  When I’d gotten into the car, I’d been reminded that I had not stopped for petrol last night.  D’oh!  Well, it will be fine for getting to work & back & I’ll get it tonight, I thought.  Except the bridge was a parking lot because they’d decided to start construction today.  Today!  I’m sure there were warnings & whatnot given on the news, but I don’t watch the news, and I hadn’t heard anything on the radio.  Alas! 

 

Meanwhile, the clouds got darker & darker, lightning got brighter & brighter… and then the clouds opened up & the DELUGE began!  So we have sheets of water coming down, streaks of lightning, thunder that is shaking the car and the road (nice!), and ppl are trying to merge.  OH!  And I’m praying that I don’t run out of gas.  (Thank You, Lord!)  Finally, after I think 30-40 minutes from the time I reached the traffic to the time I got across the bridge, I broke free – but there is still the rain… and when I reached the road to work, it was pretty much a pool in the right lane.  And the parking lot – I watched WAVES in the parking lot.  A couple ppl walked in & the water was over ankle deep.  Then a guy came out & made it to the handicap pole & ran back in.  I was stuck in the car!  I don’t have extra socks…finally, I couldn’t wait any more (I gave it about 10 minutes, until I heard the rain was likely to stick around til noon) & I made a run for it.  my feet were soaked when I got out of the car! 

 

I spent another 10 minutes in the bathroom, using the hand dryers alternately to dry my socks & paper towels to dry my feet & shoes.  OYE!    The bottom of my skirt was on its own to dry.

 

So… how was your morning?  : ) 

TIRED!


should have been to bed an hour ago.


work was fine.  got all my claims in.  yay!  i was worried, a bit, this morning.  i got a little inundated w/ timecard issues, & wasn't sure i would have time to get all the claims in by 5.  but happily, the timecard issues were resolved, claims were in by 4, vacations done by a little after 5... and i was outta there at 5:15.  woot! 


after last night's dinner that didn't work out very well, i really was wary to make anything.  yet i was hungry.  so dinner consisted of some chili & a mint ice cream sandwich.  not together.  *laugh*  


i watched a State of Georgia marathon, Melissa & Joey,  and The Protector.  and something else, but i don't remember... huh.  oh, last night i watched rizzoli & isles, right, and angie harmon is in it.  well then as i was going to bed, i thought about Crossing Jordan (*heart*) and could not for the life of me remember who played jordan (jill hennessey)!  cuz she looks like angie harmon & i always used to mix the two up... was driving me batty til i finally googled.  


speaking of Google... did you know that google+ has angry birds?  i'd never played it before tonight, but can totally see its addictive quality... LOL  


i'm off to bed now, so ttfn!  hug your dad, if you're able, cuz i'm missing mine A LOT. 


*HUGS*  

just a random thought before bed

okay, it's not that i really want to be a blog of note (yes i do) or anything.  it's just that as i'm looking at some of the recent ones i can't help but think - THIS?  they picked THIS?  what am i missing???

i'm not going to give examples, since i'm sure if i ever AM fortunate enough to be a blog of note (*waves* *panders to audience*) i'm sure someone will think that about me.

anywhoo.  bed calls!  : )

ttfn!

bright light

my screen is all bright.  i've tried to fix the colour but it just looks weird.  *sigh*  ah well, the shows look good, it's just that my other screens, some parts are realllly light!  hard on the eyes, ya know?  lol 


okay, i think i adjusted enough... still bright but not painful.  *laugh*  except now my shows are dark... what the what?!  grrrrr.  


ANYWAY!  today has been restful & nice & got to see mom & the boys, got to watch some neal & peter, jeff & jordan, and evan & hank.  woot!  lunch was at steak & shake, and the boys were getting along mostly (altho from what i heard they started in on each other right when mom & leyton got home from church... anthony got to go last night so he didn't have to go this morning.  mom had nursery duty & he doesn't like to sit by himself (understand that!)).  


leyton gave me lots of hugs before we parted.  : )  anthony ran away, but i got him in a hug & kiss to the top of his head while he was seatbelted.  LOL  


i finished The Hunger Games - my final review/decision is that i like the story, but not sure if i like the book.  does that make even a little bit of sense?  i like katniss.  i like peeta.  i like the romance.  the heartbreaking stuff?  i didn't really like.  but then, i suppose that's what makes the whole story.  idk, but i definitely want to read the rest of the story, so now i just need to hunt down a copy of catching fire.  heh.  


next on my read list is Lies My Teacher Told Me, about american history.  it's a biiiiig book, and not my usual fare, but i love history & i KNOW that most if not all of what is taught in our school systems is a contrived mess.  ppl are so SOFT anymore.  they don't want to remember the bad times, that they were real.  like w/ all this claptrap going on about the book/movie The Help.  ppl getting all up in arms about a *gasp* white person showing the plight of the *gasp* black person in the past.  oh my heck, shut the heck up already!  um, sorry, tangent.  anywhoo, i like to read things that remind us history wasn't all roses & love & happiness.  not that i want to read about the bad stuff - this is a major reason why i'm not sure i "like" hunger games! - but i want ppl to know the truth.  i want ppl to REMEMBER that we are here in this country because we "conquered" the native peoples and not in a very nice manner.  it happened.  it's over.  move on.  don't continue to insult the native american people by keeping them locked in reservations.  i want ppl to REMEMBER that white ppl haven't treated black ppl very kindly through the years.  but again i say - it happened.  it's over.  move on.  i don't think the white ppl of today "owe" the black ppl of today anything.  your great(times whatever) grandparents owned slaves.  someone's great(times whatever) grandparents were slaves.  okay, but that's not YOU.  your family doesn't owe their family anything - other than remembering that ppl AREN'T slaves & treating everyone with respect.


uh...i'm not entirely sure where all THAT came from.  i basically am just trying to say that we have to acknowledge the bad stuff in our nation's history, and try to be better w/out bending over backwards.  this can go to the whole immigrant thing happening now, too.  just because our borders used to be open doesn't mean they need to be now.  not unconditionally.  if you want to live here, you should be able to live her and be a PRODUCTIVE member of society.  you shouldn't have to jump thru hoop after hoop & get lost in red tape.  however, you SHOULD be sent back from wherever you came from immediately if you're here illegally and are not fleeing some dictator.  (cuz, let's be fair - if you are fleeing an evil dictator & didn't have time to wait for proper clearance before coming into the country, i think you deserve a break!)  


i'm full of random thought-tangents tonight.  i'm going to just say goodnight & watch some rizzoli & isles & try to get a good night's rest.  : )  tomorrow is payroll cutoff, and thus a VERY BUSY DAY for carrie!  what do you have planned for tomorrow?


ttfn!

down by the river (photos)

remember last weekend when mom, leyton & i took the water taxi across the river to play at the pavilion?  : )  here are some pictures!  

 architectural park - it's a turret!!  : )  

 is that the boat?  

 it is!  it is!  we're going on the channel cat!!!

(he was SO excited!)  

 i *heart* this picture!!  : )  

 SEATBELTS!

 bunny ears!

 wearing the JD shirt he picked out the night before at Kohl's.  

: ) 

 Lunch at TGIFriday's 

 lots of lily pads & ducks to watch at the dock. 

 love this picture, too!  

 so, on the ride back, there was some spray going on.  

we got a little wet.

leyton changed places w/ gramma right after i took this picture.

the left side of her shirt got SOAKED.  

i had to clean off my glasses 3 times.  

LOL 

we had a LOT of fun, and it was a beautiful day.  


ttfn!