resting

today i did pretty well on my goal of more reading.  : )  i got up & awake around 9 & had a Pretender marathon while reading my Peoples.  it was nice, other than the constant sneezing, coughing, nose blowing, BLAAAAH ing.  *laugh*  


around 6 i left to pick up bret at borders.  normally, this trek would be a straight shot & only take about 15 minutes to get there.  however, 53rd, the road i took, had a blackout that was about 12 blocks wide!!  so, that meant stop & go traffic for 12 blocks.  bumper to bumper.  CRAZINESS!  thankfully everyone did really good w/ the every other car, taking turns thing.  still, took me about 45 minutes to get to bret!  


and that's the short version of my day.  *laugh*  i know, you are shocked by the shortness of this post.  i'm sure i could share all the thoughts floating around in my head today, but i've decided to just fix some butter noodles & watch my show & read my magazines.  : )  i hope your sunday was very restful, too!  


ttfn.  : )  

battle: LA and other random thoughts

saw a trailer for battle: los angeles.  it looks like skyline II.  remember my skyline review?  


and yet i still thought "ooh, i'd like to see that."  LOL  and i probably will, just to see if it ends better.  i want the happy ending, not the weird ending!  


i contracted bret's cold.  :(  so far it's just a little bit of it, and bret was knocked on his butt the first day, so hopefully i'm over the worst of it.  i will get to sleep in tomorrow, tho.  and i didn't get much of a fever, so that was good!  still, the fuzzy headedness and stuffy nose suck!  


took bret to church & then picked juli up.  lunch w/ juli at hungry hobo was very nice!  not long enough, tho.  will have to set up another lunch in march.  : )  


went to hang out w/ the boy's at phil's tonight.  picked up taco john's first.  everything went fine until the dude forgot my diet pepsi.  it took him TEN minutes to get it to me!  what??  i could SEE the guy - it's not like there was something wrong w/ the tanks or anything.  he was just helping someone at the counter, taking a drive-thru order, making an order... there were other workers there!  all i wanted was my soda!  *laugh*  he did give me a large instead of a small, which was nice, but still.  heh.

 LOL  the boys made the same expression tonight!  ; )  

on the way home, once again saw a person walking on the side of the road wearing black.  are these ppl TRYING to be injured?  :(  it's really inconsiderate.  what if someone hits them?  if you're going to walk at night, at least wear a light color or something.  (if you're stranded or something and inconveniently wearing dark clothing, turn your coat inside out if it's lighter, or carry reflective tape or something...)


my hulu watching for the day (which sadly did not include any Walker :( ) - human target, blue bloods, fringe, castle and bones.  all AWESOME!  : )   


but now the exhaustion of sickies is setting in.  *laugh*  happy saturday, party peeps.  : )  hope sunday is restful and blessed!!  ttfn!

books a plenty ... and postcards

good morning!  i hope yours is bright & sunny, as is mine.  : )  i was just going to share a few postcards, but first i was reading through some book blogs (specifically Cari's book blogs) and discovering all sorts of wonderful YA books i'd never heard of!  i tend to get author specific & then forget to look for new books sometimes.  *laugh*  anyway, i think i'm going to really put in a concentrated effort to get back to reading books regularly.  i have missed them.  much as i ADORE my online world, i am going to have to prune some of my reading list.  i hate to do it, but honestly there are some blogs that i've been following for awhile for their potential, and ... lately... i haven't really enjoyed their potential.  *laugh*  and then i've found new blogs ... and ... well, my feed is just getting a bit heavy, and then i feel a little overwhelmed, and ... anyway.  


of course, then - and if you have learned anything about me, you probably know what's coming - i feel guilty for wanting to un-follow, because i remember how excited i was to have more followers during my last contest, and then how disappointed i was when some of them left after the contest was over... it's only a moment of guilt, however, because i didn't really start a friendship w/ any of the followers who un-followed me, and i'm not un-following friends, so... i'll only feel bad for awhile.  


now i'm starting to feel bad that i won't feel bad for very long.  am i horrible??  


oh goodness.  let's look at some postcards before i reveal any more of my insanity, sorry!  *laugh*  

this is my nephew, chase.  he'll turn 1 year old in exactly one week.  : )  

this one came from another nephew, chase's brother, stephen.  i think the marionette's are in a museum where they live, and i think i've visited that museum... marionette's are kinda creepy... just sayin'!  

this one is from lithuania, and i think is my first duplicate card.  which is quite alright, it's not like all the cards i've sent out have been completely unique!  LOL  or, rather, i purchase my awesome unique cards (jana!) in semi-bulk to share w/ more than just one person.  *grin*  it's not like i am terribly crafty and make individual homemade cards that no one else will ever have (like the awesome and also talented micaela!).  i wish each postcard i sent was an individual piece of art from the Boo, but alas, i don't wish it enough to actually DO it.  plus, i honestly have fun sharing the talents of others with the postcrossing universe, and w/ my friends as well!  some of whom came from the postcrossing universe (and we're back to micaela, and then marianne)... 

speaking of jana, here is another talented photog, janice, who made her picture of sunflowers into a card to share!

and finally, today, we have this one from germany.  at first, it seemed kinda awkward, but the more i look at it, the more i LOVE it!  whatchya think?  


soon i will be off to take bret to church for a bball tourney & guest speaker from chicago.  then i'll pick juli up for lunch (still don't know where!) and afterward i will see if mom wants to catch a movie.  if not, i may just spend the afternoon w/ Walker, Texas Ranger.  i wonder if i could find season 2 at WM or Target?  


hope your day is going swell!!  *hugs*  


ttfn!


(i would also like to thank the academy for this... oh... what?  i didn't win an award?  oh.  oh, right.  that... yes, sorry about that.  awkward!  i'll just be going now, shall i?)  ; )  

*sniffle*sneeze*cough*sniffle*

that's right, ppl, i'm all stuffy once again!  :(  i'm hoping and praying it's just a momentary thing.  i already had my cold this year, thankyouverymuch!  *pout*  


anyway, all the puffs are in chloe, so i guess it's a good thing we have lots of TP so i can blow my nose!  lol  or i could *ahem* go out to the car & get the tissues.  whatever.  stop throwing logic at me.  i'm tired and grumpy & logic has no place here!  j/k.  logic always has a place here.  i'm 1/2 vulcan, after all.


(star trek vulcan.  not a vulcanologist or however you spell someone who studies volcanoes! :))  


it's midnight & i'm feeling a little random, can you tell?  i thought i was hiding it, but i guess not!


SO HAPPY IT IS THE WEEKEND!!!!!!  


lots of things going on at work, and 10 hour days are great for the paycheck, but my body and mind are just exhausted.  i'll be happy to get back to 40 hour weeks in april.  that's right, i am expecting to be BUSY for the next couple months at least.  : )  praise the Lord for that, right??  and there's other stuff going on in march & april - back to doing payroll for one thing, and it's easier and yet more involved now, so ... (easier in that i'm doing less, but on more days, if that makes sense!)


today was a good day, tho.  yesterday was good, too.  wednesday was good.  just all loooong.  last night when i got home, i read for awhile.  bret & i watched modern family, which i hadn't seen before, and it is a hilarious show!  i mostly liked it!  today i was at work 7:30 - 6 & then i went to the hallmark to peruse what was left of their christmas sale stuff.  75% off!  i found some cards and ornaments... which may or may not be given before christmas, because seriously they are CUTE!  : )  i also found a plaque for becca which just made me think of her!  and this cute snowman in a ball.  it was $80 worth of stuff for $20.  how about THAT?!  : )  : )  : )  


i met becca at the chinese buffet for dinner at 7:30.  so much fun!!  her birthday is next week & her party is next saturday at biagi's.  YUMMY!  i haven't been to biagi's since my cousin kathy was in town two years ago!  (she was in town last year, too, but that was when we all met at cousin dawn's & hung out.  i am soooo soooo blessed by my family.  was reading boo's blog tonight, and just reflecting on how awesome and talented she is, how talented all my cousins are.  i'll stop gushing now.  but really - they are all amazing!  and i have quite a lot of them, even!)  


when i got home, becks texted that her son, nate, was having some neck pain.  please keep him in prayer that everything will be OK and that it's just a crink like we all get & will go away.  thank you!  


tomorrow juli & i are going to lunch, don't know where.  can't wait to visit w/ her for a bit!  


so, i just got a note from a FB friend who is from my childhood church.  he's organizing a youth group reunion.  i can't find my post about the abuse & harassment i went through at that same youth group, but most of you know the story.  the short version is that i was very good friends with a lot of ppl at church until jr high when all those i was friends w/ seemed to disappear into jr. high attitude land, and i was no longer good enough to hang out w/ them for one reason or another.  so i went to adult church w/ my mom on youth group nights.  for some reason, the youth leaders didn't like this, and would call me every tuesday to try & convince me i needed to be in youth group.  they would listen to my reasons why i didn't want to come & would reassure me that they would sit w/ me, or whatever, and would keep me from feeling left out.  i resisted, most of the time.  but then when i would give in, and believe them - they would say hi to me, and put on a show, but it was just that - a show.  and it was worse than it had been before, because i'd allowed them to scale my walls, and they betrayed me, again.  and then i would go back to adult church w/ my mom, and the phone calls would start over again.  :(  (okay, not so short version, i guess.  and my stomach is literally in knots just thinking about this, so i'm going to stop now.  i'm happy for those who have happy memories, memories of how a youth group for the LORD should be.  but those are not my memories, and the abuse and harassment of that time unfortunately shaped much of my anxiety issues today.  so, even tho i don't hold anything against the friends organizing this group - honestly, most of them graduated from youth a few years before i entered - - i just can't be a part of the group...)  but i want to go to the reunion, except i'm afraid it would bring up all the old...well, it already is, so... but maybe if shelley or shawna are going, i can go w/ them & then it would at least take care of the "going in alone" part... idk.  oh... 


seriously, thinking about that is giving me issues!  :(  i'm 34 years old.  i am loved.  i am confident.  mostly.  the LORD is the important One.  and still... these things that happened 20 years ago still have this illogical power over my stomach.  crazy.  


ANYWAY.
i received 2 postcrossings & a postcard from stephen today, along w/ my People magazine!  : )  i will post pictures later - bret's sleeping so i don't want to use the scanner at the moment.  (yet i'm typing... sorry, bret!  but this is what happens when i don't get home til 10!)


ummm... i lost my train.  of thought.  or something.  


i think i'll go to bed.  it's almost 1.  maybe a piece of cheese... no, i brushed my teeth already.  oh, idk.  i'm kinda hungry but don't want many carbs.  now i'm just rambling, sorry!  i'm going to bed.  *HUGS* to all my peeps.  you (yes, YOU) are important to me, and don't you forget it!  


so, um... TTFN!  HAPPY weekend, seriously, HAPPY.


p.s.
if anyone knows jamie of Daydream Believer, please give her my email & ask her to add me to her blog list.  idk why it's suddenly private, but i miss her blog - one minute i was reading her bachelor review for the week, the next *poof* access denied!  :(  so... if anyone can help a sister out, that'd be cool.  


ttfn again! 

i wanna...

go to bed pretty soon, but first i'm watching GH.  


the rest of this post isn't really i wanna anything.  i just was at a loss for a good title.  LOL  


today was pretty good, just LONG, very LONG!  6AM wake up, laid in bed for another 20 minutes.  bret was still sick, but on the mend.  7:30 work.  i worked on memorials & retirements & vacations & claims... *laugh*  oh my!  met sherry for lunch - we were going to village inn, but they were packed & we couldn't even find a parking spot!  so i suggested we go across the street to the family restaurant.  BEST decision!  the restaurant is owned by a greek family, and they serve everything!  breakfast, lunch, dinner, italian, greek, american, all of it - if sherry's and my choices were any indication - delicious!  sherry had a pecan waffle, which she said was tasty.  i had a chicken gyro and fries, and they were super!  also, they had some pretty yummy coffee.  and aside from the food, it was a really great visit!!  : )  


was at work til 5:30, and would have been there later, but had to head to aunt jan's for payroll.  stopped at chick fil a first, so got there about 6:15, and ate dinner while chatting.  then it was time for work work work.  2 1/2 hours later, i headed for home.  it always goes slow the first time because we go thru the instructions & figure out what things need to change or whatever.  *laugh*  so next week it should go faster... but hey, i get paid by the hour, so it's all good!  i'm just TIRED.  


which means it is nearly bedtime.  hope your day went well!  : )  


ttfn!  


p.s.
BRRRR!  it's 1 degree at the moment.  

oh my flippin heck!

i'm too tired to write anything long, even tho i have stories running around inside of my head, so i guess this might be long anyway.  idk.  let's see what happens.


dreams - i had two really interesting, long, story dreams.  i just remember bits & pieces of the one.  i can see the house, the bus that mom was driving (why?  no idea), the bookcases that had a hidden room behind them.  i know the story was that there was a step-mom who was suspected of being a bad guy, but it turned out that she wasn't the one poisoning the food.  and idk if i dreamed it twice, or if i was just having deja vu in the dream, but i knew what was happening as it happened, and i knew when we were suspecting her, and that she was innocent. i was able to save us some trouble, which was cool.  (yeah, makes lots of sense, don't it?  LOL)


bret was siiiiick this morning, had a fever.  so i gave him some meds & he went back to bed for awhile.  he was feeling better (and not feverish) when i got home, so hopefully he's on the mend!  and also hopefully i don't come down w/ whatever he has/d!!!  


i left early enough to stop at the bucks for a hazelnut latte.  mmm!  i prefer hazelnut to vanilla.  when i got to work, i found out one of my wall-mates needed a ride, so i didn't even get out of the car, just headed to her house.  : )  so, we didn't get in til 8:15, but the day went so fast it didn't even matter!  everything took longer because of interruptions!  like, i'd scheduled an hour for vacations, but they took all morning because i had a lot of email/questions that came up about all kinds of things.  then i'd get onto one thing & it would take 10 minutes to do, i'd go back to vacations for a few minutes & then get interrupted again!  *laugh*  


this afternoon, i worked on memorials & more problem-solving.  and also ... so, i received a vacation request & i couldn't read the number of days.  i emailed the dude & he emailed back w/ the number & was really apologetic, so i wrote back & said it wasn't a problem or whatever.  then somehow we got to talking about vacations & camping & it was a fun conversation!  *laugh*  not like that, or anything - i'm pretty sure he's married w/ a family.  *laugh* but i did get an invite to his neck of the woods for some campfire dinner!  heh.  and it was just fun.  our conversation reminded me of the good parts of my first experiences with the internet, in college.  talking w/ far away ppl who i'd never met and likely never would meet, being innocently flirtatious. 


the trouble, back then, started when i allowed guys to take advantage of me, and allowed my heart to get involved.  not always in a romantic way (tho there were those times, too.  oh goodness, my first internet boyfriend, brian... i loved him, but i didn't know it at the time.  i miss those cuddles.*sigh*)...  anyway!  *laugh*  sometimes my heart would get involved in a non-romantic way.  i don't know how to explain it.  i'm sure i'm not alone in it!  and goodness, i wasn't expecting those memories right now!  


so, yeah, afternoon fun!  i needed it, too, it was a busy day!!  and my wall-mate & i stayed til after 6, when we finally both gave up because we were tired!  


the plan after work was to go to WM, but i turned the wrong way.  so then i remembered that adolph's was on the way... i stopped for some DELICIOUS tacos & chips & my favorite salsa.  : )  while i was in line, i texted bret to see if he wanted anything.  he replied that he'd like bean & cheese somethings, but i didn't get the text til after i had to order.  d'oh!  luckily, the other adolph's is further down the road.  *laugh*  cuz i didn't want to get back in line (this place is POPULAR, a local legend if you will, and packed alll the time)!  i stopped in at hy vee for soda & TP & smokes, then hit the other adolph's for bret's burritos.  and i called juli while i waited.  we're getting together for lunch on saturday.  yay!  


i made it home by 8, and ate my delicious dinner.  oh, nom nom nom!  i could've eaten 2 more tacos.  *laugh*    but bret was busy baking today, so there was plenty of dessert, which i enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie.  


and now i really, really need to sleep!  : )  tomorrow i'm hoping bret will be able to work, and then i have lunch w/ sherry and i need to remember to call & reschedule fixing my brakes.  there's no way i can be gone in the middle of the day tomorrow - too much to do!  plus, after work i'll be going over to aunt jan's for payroll.  : )  


i hope your day went WELL and that you have a wonderful wednesday!!  : )  


ttfn!


p.s.
pam mentioned this awesome website on her blog... i had to check it out & make my own!  


www.boutiques.com  - check it out!  

about snow

i'm kinda over it right now.  


today was an alright day, worked on auditing some claims in the morning, then spent all afternoon working on memorials.  and i didn't even finish them!  i'll hopefully finish up the memorials & send out checks tomorrow morning.  i also didn't get to vacations, which i thought i would.  i was steadily busy, w/o being crazy.  altho there was one guy who caused some issues because he didn't LISTEN to what ppl were telling him.  grrr.  and actually i need to remember to email him tomorrow because i didn't get the form he was supposed to send in.  botheration.  


my plan was to leave on time (which today was 4:15) but didn't shut down til 4:30.  then i called around to price the coolant flush & fuel injection.  just to refresh - the dealership wants $179 for the flush & $191 for the injection.  i called place A, and their prices were $180 & $150.  then, place B, $99 and $109.  finally, place C, which is i think where i will go - $99 and $89!!!  that's more like it.  now i have tomorrow to find a lower price for brakes... : )  i will definitely be letting the dealership know that their prices are WAY inflated, too.  seriously.  that is $188 compared to $370!!!  praise the Lord, dude, praise the LORD!  : )  


april kept me sane thru the day, as we were emailing about turtles back & forth.  did you know that turtles like to have their shells scratched?  i did not, until today!  heh.  but i think that's so cute!!  our turtle conversation started because of today's dilbert cartoon: 

INFINITE TURTLES!!!  Love It!!  : )  


so, yeah.


when i got home, all i wanted to do was get in my jammies & fix enchiladas for dinner & nom nom nom!  sadly, the plow had been by & plowed a big pile of crappy, dirty snow across my driveway so i couldn't get in.  GRRRR!  i tried to call bret - he didn't answer the house phone & his phone needed to be montetised, so finally i got him thru FB & asked him to comve shovel.  : )  lemme tell you, it was nice not having to do it myself, but i still had to step THRU it because i had to potty!  harrumph.  


i made enchiladas (YUMMY) and bret went to WM to cash his check & i watched a really great episode of Glee.  A-MA-ZING episode.  the bullies make me SO MAD, tho.  the fact that they get away w/ what they get away with - including and especially sue, a teacher, who i know is flawed and sometimes i love her, but when she's being out & out cruel?  uh, no.  when the closeted gay football guy is a douche?  i don't care what he's going thru, i don't care that i understand the hurt & fear this character is going thru - i just want him GONE.  but i want to smack him with the truth first.  


anywhoo... i'm sooo tired, so i think it's time to sleep.  i'm anticipating having to work late tomorrow, but then mandi has a show in iowa city i'd like to go to, so we'll see.  


take care & have a top-of-the-mornin'-to-ya kinda Tuesday, eh?  


ttfn!