temp post

just a quick note to say i'm baaaaaack from chi-town & it was a GREAT TRIP!  : )  i wrote up a post about it, but haven't put the pictures in yet, and am too tired to so right now.  


so, stay tuned!  i'll add in pictures & publish tomorrow.  i know you are all waiting to see the adorableness that is leyton at the zoo & museum!  ; )  


how's your week going so far?  


ttfn!

witches of oz

i'm not the biggest Wizard of Oz fan.  i've seen the movie lots, and i enjoy it occasionally, but it's not something that i "crave" to pull out.  *laugh*  Return to Oz, however, i enjoyed more.  which is odd, since it's quite a bit darker than the original.  or, maybe that's not so odd, knowing me.  LOL  so, the other day when i was at the video store and i saw The Witches of Oz, i thought to give it a chance.  : )  i watched most of it last night, but then the meds kicked in (i'd had a headache most of the day & finally gave in to taking some vicodin around 9) & i had to go to bed!  so i finished it today.  it was really, really strange, but in a good way.  heh.  and billy boyd is one handsome scotsman, so he was an unexpected bonus!  ; )  


yesterday, despite the headache, i took leyton to the pavilion to play.  we had fun!!  : )  

 i LOVE the reflection on this one!  : ) 

 i can see shades of him at 14, driving a car... 

 this expression!!  drowning in adorableness!  

we stopped at sonic for a cheeseburger & 1/2 priced drinks.  leyton wanted to eat in a stall, so i said "why not?" and we spent a very pleasant 40 minutes or so hanging out there & eating a bite.  he hopped in the passenger seat & i read him a spider book & we sang along to the sonic music.  : )  he made friends w/ our carhop as well, of course.  he was amazed she was on skates!!  : )  

when i brought leyton back to mom's, we watched We Bought A Zoo... it was good, but it wasn't quite as "family friendly" as i'd thought.  oh, there was nothing inherently bad about it - but there was a lot of language!  i guess i don't understand peppering a perfectly good script w/ words that we tell our kids not to say, and then advertising the film as a family affair.  of course, my idea about acceptable language is probably different from the populace... i was happy that leyton at least recognized that they were words he shouldn't say!  


before i left, leyton was being naughty & ended up kicking me in my mouth, and i left not a happy camper.  it was an accident, of sorts, but he shouldn't have been doing what he was doing & it wouldn't have happened.  of course, two seconds after i left, I felt bad because he's so sensitive & i knew he'd feel bad for hurting me. so called right away from the car & he wasn't going to talk to me (mom was trying to get him to apologize) and so i said okay & was going to hang up & then he wanted to talk.  i asked him if it'd been an accident or on purpose & he was crying & said "i don't want to talk about it!"  so then i told him i thought it was an accident & that hopefully he'd be in a better mood tomorrow for our trip.  i just talked to him really gently for awhile & he came out of his sad shell & he was okay by the time we said goodbye.  whew!  


oh, also yesterday i watched John Carter.  that was a GOOD movie!  idk why it didn't do well in theatres, it had all the necessary ingredients!!  i highly enjoyed it!  


today i'm watching a christmas movie, Beyond Christmas, from the ... well, idk what year.  it's in TECHNICOLOR.  *laugh*  it's a very sweet romance.  : )  things were easier back then!  *laugh*  as far as romance goes.  "as soon as i get a teaching job, we can get married."  "jimmy!  you just proposed to me!"  "i did, didn't i?  it's all right isn't, it?"  *happy movie kiss*  *laugh*  CUTE!  


as i'm watching & typing, there is a STORM raging outside.  thunder shaking my house!  praying the electricity holds.  : )  also praying it won't keep on like this all day - i'm sure mom won't want to be driving to chicago in a storm!  botheration.  looks like it's all going south, tho, so that's a plus!  right now it's kinda like being inside a very loud car wash... heh!


so, that's all for now!  *laugh*  hope you enjoyed the pictures!!  :D  


ttfn!

end of the week happy

oh my goodness.  you know how some days are just so lovely and blessed and special that you feel a tiny bit badly for talking about them because it feels like maybe it'll jinx it?  even tho you don't believe in jinxing things?  


yeah, that was today.  i'm going to embrace the blessing & talk about it, and pray to the Lord for more blessing, and praise His name for every.single.ounce.  : )  


after yesterday's enjoyable ride home, i woke up w/ a smile still on my face.  *laugh*  and when i got to work, i did something which was (for me) pretty brave.  i IM'd my crush & asked if that'd been him behind me yesterday.  and we started chatting... and i'm still smiling.  again, the conversation wasn't anything earth-shattering.  we just talked about where we live & our cars & growing up & ... and it made me really, really happy!  one of the things we talked about was roommates, and i mentioned that bret had been my favorite roommie & that if he needed to i wouldn't mind him living here again.  


it was another day of lots to do & lots getting done, which i was quite grateful for since i'll be out of the office til thursday!  i had a nice meeting w/ my boss, where i was blessed to receive some compliments on my recent work & join in a discussion about some changes that are coming down the pike.  praise the Lord for my boss, for her keeping me in the loop of what's going on - not only telling me, but allowing me to be an active participant in the changes that are happening.  she is a good communicator, and i'm thankful!!  :  ) 


btwn last night & this morning, along w/ the fact of vacation looming, my step was light and a smile lit my face.  my poor friend & former wall-mate very kindly spent every break - and lunch (adolph's, YUM) - listening to my gushing.  we talked about other things, and i tried REALLY HARD not to be one of those ppl.  *laugh*  it didn't work most of the time.  


i go back & forth of - i mean, first of all, i can't imagine that a young man of such incredible adorableness and niceness is single.  i know he's not married, so i can continue to happily crush on him.  *laugh*  but that doesn't mean he's available!  and if he IS available, it doesn't mean he would be interested in me the way i am quite sure i'm interested in him.  right now, tho, i'm just enjoying the ride.  i enjoy his smile and would be quite happy seeing it every day.  : )  


sometimes i think i share too much - what if by some weird fluke of the imagination he were to stumble upon this little blog & read all of this & be mortified?  hopefully he'd recognize the compliment & know that if it's just a crush, truly, it'll work its way out of my system eventually.  LOL  of course, on the other hand, if he wanted to ask me out... ; ) 


ANYWAY!  happy thoughts!  


so, after work, i came home & completely forgot that i had to stop at WM.  so i changed into shorts & headed over there.  but first i had to stop at the bank, and then i stopped at the movie store, thinking i'd watch a couple movies tonight.  particularly, Thor, so i could crush on HIM for awhile.  *laugh*  i stopped for thai for dinner, then WM to get some hummus & meds & cat food (angel was hungry).  as i was walking thru WM, my pants were pretty much falling off of me - this is a good thing, in that it means i'm going down another size, but it's also a bad thing as ... well... i don't want to be one of those People of WM.  :|  agh!  so i picked up a pair of shorts in a smaller size for our trip to chicago.  DEFINITELY don't need to be worrying about if my shorts will stay up while traipsing thru the zoo or museum or city!  *laugh*  


when i got home, i popped in thor & settled in for movie night.  i was about 1/2 an hour into the movie when there was a knock at the door.  i wasn't expecting anyone - leyton's staying at mom's since phil & jen have a vb tourney tomorrow, so i thought maybe they were stopping by.  it turned out to be my dearest cousin-brother, bret!  


in an interesting twist, see the note above regarding roommates... *laugh*  he might be staying for a little bit, but i'm not sure what he wants to do yet.  i'd like to help him out if i can, tho!  : )  he shared what's been going on w/ him & i fixed him a pizza & cleaned up the guest room for him - new sheets & blankets for the bed, got him a pillow, all that, and then he went to bed.  oh!  before that, tho, he found a shirt in there that i thought had been lost!  so, that was cool.  


texted a bit w/ my friends casie & erin.  i think erin & i are hanging out next week, which should be fun.  i have missed her!


didn't get much of Storm Front read, but maybe tomorrow after bret & i have our talk.  i rented john carter & we bought a zoo, both of which are due back tomorrow, so i need to watch those... and maybe go to mom's to hang out w/ her & leyton for a bit...!  but now Thor is over & i think it's time for me to hit the hay & have sweet dreams of cute boys whose smiles make me smile.  : )  


what made you happy today?  


ttfn!


thanks to micaela & marianne for the lovely happy things with which to end the week idea!!  : ) 

BLESSED!

today was SO MUCH FUN!  


- lunch at HH w/ my friend & former wall-mate.  i thought i would get pudding, but had waffle fries instead.  almost got both, but that wouldn't help in my goal of losing 50 more #'s this year.  : )  


- coming back from break this afternoon, there was a group of guys walking the opposite direction & apparently my chest was looking awesome today because i got two *ahem* leers? and a complimentary sound.  i'm not really used to men taking notice of my chest in any fashion, so i'm not quite sure what was up today, but i was bright red for at least an hour afterward.  LOL  apparently i should be offended?  idk, i was more flattered.  


- 1/2 the office was in a meeting this afternoon, but my two wall-mates & i had gone to an earlier session, so we were all still there.  somehow we got into many hilarious conversations while we worked.  (started off by the story of the leering from earlier LOL)  i said something about a dude painting his nails while he waited for something & wall-mate to the left made a noise & i said, "hey, he could be goth and enjoy painting his nails, we don't know!"  then, "i wonder if there's a goth contingent in the area."  to which she replied, "idk, but there are vampires."  and then proceeded to tell me about the group of ppl who dressed like 17th century vamps complete w/ fangs at the last festival she attended!!  i prefer my vampires slightly less... foppish... but yay for them for embracing their interests!  from there we ended up talking about the cross-dressers that were at the same festival, and how they were very well put-together.  again, i say if you're going to make a decision like that, commit to it & do it well!  (ala RuPaul!)


- it was a great afternoon, got a lot accomplished w/ claims & pictures & vacations & timecards while we laughed and chatted.  it was very fun & relaxed & nice.  


- what i thought was the topper - i got to see my crush as i was leaving.  we chatted for a minute - nothing at all, really, just how are things going & whatnot.  he has a really brilliant smile.  just thought i'd share.  : )  


- what was really the topper - we were on the same route home & he was in my rear view mirror nearly the entire way.  the smile did not leave my face!  :D  also helping keep that smile in place was Yanni Voices played at a very, very loud decibel w/ the windows open, hair whipping in the wind & car dancing.  yep, car dancing!  i so enjoy moving to the beat!  and then as we turned out opposite directions to head toward our destinations, i noticed that his windows were open, too.  idk what he was listening to, or if he car dances, but thought it was neat that his windows were down.  lol


i am such. a. nerd.  : )  


the plan for tonight is to read Storm Front until a REASONABLE hour.  oh, i did watch some Yanni videos, a Nickelback video of Savin' Me cuz ever since Ash sang it to Tory i've wanted to hear it, but it wasn't playing anywhere on the radio today!  yeesh.  i did hear Electric Blue by Icehouse on the way back from lunch & was super excited, tho!  :D  


oh!  have you watched the new show on ... abcfamily?  i think?  Baby Daddy.  one of my canadian crushes, the dude who was josh on Kyle XY, is the star.  happy dance!  


now, on to the book!  ; )  ttfn!

i cheated

so, here's the thing bloggy peeps.  sometimes i have a story in my head that i really really really want to read. and when i try to read other things that aren't the story in my head, bad things happen.  not like end of the world bad things, but i can't concentrate on whatever else i'm reading.  the story that pulls and calls to me is constantly there in my head, over & over & over again.  until i read the story & the details are more fresh in my head.  then i can go along my merry way, usually finishing up whatever else it was i wanted to read in a more timely manner.


that's what happened to me today.  well, for the past several weeks i've been thinking about Acheron.  his story is one in the thousands of books i've read over the years that stuck w/ me.  a lot of Sherri's books/characters are like that.  actually, lately i've been thinking about Jericho & Delphine, too, so after i finish the Dresden book, i think their story will be next.  but i digress.  *laugh*  


the thing about ash's story is that the first half of it is horribly tortured.  i cried for days reading the first half of this book the first time.  i'm sure i even wrote about it, altho it's 1:30 in the morning & i'm not going to look for it to provide a link at the moment.  *laugh*  and so as much as the story was calling to me, i just did NOT want to read all of that torture again.  i remember it.  i know it, i ache with it.  and so i kept putting it off.  reading new stories and rereading some.  making my way around to it, i guess.  and then today, even tho i'd started my borrowed Dresden book yesterday, when i got home i immediately went into the library & grabbed Acheron.  i sat on the couch, opened it somewhere in the middle, and (aside for a couple breaks) read from 5:30 til 1.  didn't turn on hulu or a dvd or even pandora.  just read.  laughed and cried and smiled a lot.  : )  


and now i'm done w/ it (and, you should be impressed, oh yes you should, because the whole book is over 700 pages *grin*) and i shall go to bed & hopefully have happy dreams since - even tho the 2nd half is also fraught with pain, it is the story of hope and love and healing.  and i love that part most of all!  : )  


so, tomorrow i'll go back to harry dresden, and hopefully will be able to enjoy his story more now that i'm not quite so distracted by ash & tory.  *laugh*  (honestly, am i the ONLY reader out there that is like this?  i know i can't possibly be... altho sometimes it seems that i feel more like an author than a reader in the way the characters stay with me... : )  


anyway!  it's still HOT but we're supposed to be getting rain & then tomorrow is supposed to be about 10 degrees cooler... here's hoping - i know my AC could use a little break!!


ttfn!

mmm

sleepy carrie!


also, would really like it if the house would cool down properly, but since it's nearly 11 & still 80 degrees out, i guess i am just grateful it's finally mid-70's in here!  oye!  and tomorrow is supposed to be even HOTTER.  agh!  


work today was nothing too outstanding, altho i was BUSY.  i did get to have lunch w/ dawny & that was super nice!  : )  and breaks were nice.  *laugh*  i did get to help many ppl w/ timecard issues, so it was a happy day all around.  the one yucky spot was that we had to have a group meeting about the stupid parking situation, which even tho i know i'm exempt because of medical issues, i still got this nearly overwhelming panicky feeling as they were talking about it.  like i felt like they were either going to point me out & say, "and CARRIE who has an exemption due to her unfriendly panic attacks..." or conversely overturn that & call me in to say that they thought i should be cured by now ... thankfully, neither of those things happened, but the panic was the same as if they had.  the only bright spot in THAT was that my cute, adorable boy-crush was nicely in my line of site for the meeting & so i allowed myself to get distracted by him.  : )  oh, what a distraction!  *laugh*  


after work it was too hot to stop at hy vee as i'd wanted, and then i forgot to stop at the bank, so i'll need to do that tomorrow.  i need to order checks!  oye!  


i borrowed Storm Front from a wall-mate & started that tonight.  honestly, my head is still all full of dark-hunters & dream-hunters & i really just want to read kyrian & amanda's story again, but i can't find it.  boo!  and this book is good - well written, good story, all that.  i'm still having a difficult time getting into the universe because my head is still so full of Hunters & Argeneaus.  LOL  i'll be fine, tho.  i've started going thru the library to make lists of the books i have so i know which ones to keep an eye out for.  (yes, i'm a nerd, and will have a laminated card w/ the information in my wallet so i can pull it out when i'm in a bookstore...*grin*)


becks texted me tonight to see if i wanted to go to this year's Taste of Elegance & i said YESSSSSS right away!  last year was so amazing, and doug did great!  i texted nicki to see if doug was going to be participating again this year & she said he will.  so can't wait to see what he's gonna whip up this year and no matter what i'll be voting for him for people's choice!!  woot!  : )  


so, that's all for now!  going to read for another 1/2 an hour or so & then zzzzzzzzzzzzz's for me!  


ttfn!

the music in me

today's (and likely tomorrow's) cd of choice was Yanni's Voices.  oh, the shivers some of the songs give me, i just love them!  i play them very loudly in the car, too.  : )  whenever i listen to opera, or operatic music (Russell Watson is an example), for some reason i imagine myself in a luxury car driven by a very tall man with large hands, who likes to drive very fast while listening to the same music quite loudly.  the car has black leather seats, and occasionally he's wearing black driving gloves.  seriously, who wears driving gloves nowadays?  *laugh*  


it's nearly 1 & i should go to bed.  but i didn't turn the computer on til 10:30 or so, after i'd finished Charmed & Dangerous (enjoyable!!).  then i spent some time catching up on blogs & watching youtube videos of sherrilyn kenyon books (there are some songs that just make you think of certain books & there are a lot of fans out there who do an EXCELLENT job of putting together videos for the books!).  i would really enjoy some of the DH books turned into movies - if it was done right.  the cast would have to be fairly unknown (think harry potter casting) in order for it to work for me, tho.  anyway, i also watched the first ds2dio videos, SO AMAZING!  along w/ the music is the dance.  and oh i love the dance.  : )  after watching the premier video of remixed, i checked out some videos by mike tompkins - wow, his talent!!  check him out, seriously!!


also discovered a little group called biondo.  not sure where they're from - somewhere in europe?  google gave me lots of videos but not a lot of information on them.  of course, as mentioned, it's late & i'm not really digging too deeply today!  


what else did i want to share?  oh, work - monday & payroll cutoff.  mondays always bring an abundance of timecard issues & today was no exception.  i got flustered on one of them & ended up giving out the wrong information & then i had a funny feeling that i'd done it, so i had to research & find out for sure.  and then when i found out that i'd switched something, i had to fix it... not a big deal, just embarrassing, as i don't like to make mistakes like that on things that i know like the back of my hand!!  


ummm... anyway.  : )  tomorrow i get to have lunch w/ my friend dawny & i'm stoked about that!  can't wait to hear all about her new job & maybe see some baby pictures of her latest addition.  : )  


so, i guess that's all for now!  *laugh*  


oh, next book is jim butcher's Storm Front - aka The Dresden Files.  i loved the show on SyFy & was interested to read the books.  one of my new wall-mates is reading the series & lent me book #1.  : )  so, this is a completely new & different book for me - i hope i like it!!  i hope it sucks me in the same way my sherri or lynsay or lisa books do... i'm sure i'll let you know!  ; )  


btw - what're YOU reading lately?  share?  


ttfn!