A Shellbug's Life

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T00:46:00.002-05:00

I had an overwhelming desire to blog this evening. Now I can't even remember what it was about.

2011 is over. It was an amazingly wonderful yet stressful year. The highlight of course was our baby boy Jack. He is growing so fast. He says mama, Dada, bubba (bottle), hey, and mmm. He is not quite walking, but very close. Sophia turned 5 this year! She is all ready to start school. She continues to amaze me daily. She is counting to 100+, recognizes all her letters and is sounding out words. We also bought our house in 2011. It is hard to believe that a year ago we were living in a tiny cabin like house in the swamp. Chris and I celebrated 10 wonderful years together. We got lost for a couple months in the TV show Lost. We also became addicted to Breaking Bad. My favorite movies of the year were Harry Potter and the Muppets (I don't get to see too many new movies).

2011 a was the year of the great Pennsylvania earthquake (I did not feel it) and massive flooding all around us (thankfully we did not feel that either).

Steve Jobs took his iPod to the sky, Mikey Welsh met Buddy Holly, Macho man Randy Savage snapped into his last Slim Jim, and Jani Lane found Heaven. Let us not forget the great Clarence Clemons or Elizabeth Taylor. The president who I keep hearing does nothing managed to find and kill the terrorist who could not be found and just for fun, took care of Quadafi too. Kim Jong Il also bit the dust. Casey Anthony got away with murder.

All in all I have had a pretty good year. Looking forward to 2012 and all it has to offer. Hope you and yours have a wonderful year!

Don't forget

2011-12-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

December 18th: National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day
Allegedly there once was a Hallmark card for National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day, therefore it must be a real holiday. If you choose to celebrate, let’s everyone agree to use new plungers.

Woot Woot, hope every one remembers this year!

November

2011-11-29T13:59:00.003-05:00

It is 60 degrees again today, and I am loving it! I would be perfectly fine with no snow until Christmas time. Things are good. Thanksgiving was great. Black Friday shopping turned out to be fruitful. I got both kids done. Jordan came with us this year. She said she enjoyed it and would come again. People were their usual crazy plus a little more this year. We are anxiously awaiting Christmas and our trip down South. Hopefully the car will make it!

We put up the tree yesterday. So far Jack has pretty much ignored it. Thank goodness. We actually have enough space above the tree to put an topper on it. Soph and I are going to find an angel for it. I was spoiled last week with Chris being home and the kids have run me ragged today. I am almost looking forward to going to work tonight!

Random

2011-11-06T00:45:00.004-04:00

Chris is playing and my babysitter did not show up, so I did not get to go. Jackie is sick, so it is probably for the best. He has croup. He is not enjoying it one bit. He is up to four teeth and two more just starting to poke through. The two poking through are not helping his mood.

My car took a crap, so I have been working extra hours. I have to say the people who come to the Urgi Center are way worse than the people who used to call the dental insurance. At least the people who called the insurance company worked or had a spouse who worked. People use the ER/Urgi center as a family doc. If they don't have a car, they call an ambulance. Who cares that they only have a paper cut, Access will cover it. Then they expect the hospital to pay for a cab for them to get home. When I only work a day or two a week, it does not irritate me as much.

Sadly, nothing else is happening. We found this article at work the other night. I will finish with it. I am sure people will be lining up for this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/making-brown-eyes-blue_n_1076842.html?ref=email_share

2011-07-08T21:49:00.003-04:00

It has been a rough few weeks. After Chris had his McBiscuit removed from falling down the stairs, I fell down the stairs and contused my Coccyx. I can say that pregnancy/childbirth is not the worst thing in the world, Coccyx Contusion is WAY worse. It happened over two weeks ago and I still have a hard time sitting down. If I sit wrong it actually takes my breath away! When I fell, I was on the 2nd step from the top and went the whole way top the bottom. When I sat there trying to focus, Soph stood in front of me saying "You weren't careful were you mama?" and "You know you have to be careful". Good times. Then after a minute, I walked three or four steps and passed out. Chris said I kind of slid down the counter. I don't remember, I was unconscious! Then my mom came and insisted that since I passed out, I had to go to the ER. When I got up to call off work and put pants on, I passed out again. I think the ER doc thought I was a drug seeker. I didn't go to my ER, cause I didn't want the entire staff looking at my bum. It was a mistake, I should have went to mine.

Jackie started eating baby food last night. He had green beans. He was not sure what to think of it. He gagged the first bite, but seemed to like it better with the next few.

Tomorrow Soph and I are having a girls night out. We are going to dinner and then to the roller derby. I am hoping it won't be too rough. Soph worries about things too much!

Memories

2011-06-14T17:16:00.009-04:00

I installed Blogger on my phone. I thought it might help me to keep up with it. I couldn't sleep so I read back through my blog. It made me all misty eyed. Reading about Sophie's milestones and such. It also made me realize that I really need to use more than the auto spell check. I had do for due, to for too, red for read and way to many other silly mistakes. I will be proofreading all future entries. I was embarrassed that people read it. I need to start putting Jack stories up here. Like for instance, on June 6, 2011 Jack rolled over. He went from front to back first and then on the same day from back to front. On May 19 we noticed the tooth bumps. On June 7 at his four month check up he weighed 16lbs 2 oz and was 26 1/2 inches long. He is almost exactly the size Sophie was. On June 2, he went to Knoebels for the first time. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

2010

Soph had her 2nd dance recital on June 5. She was a Ladybug. She did a good job. She would do much better if she would watch the teachers instead of the other kids. She was always about a second behind.

2011

T-Ball

2011-06-14T01:44:00.001-04:00

My little angels last day of T-ball. I would like to say that the more she played, the better she did, but that would be a lie. At her last game she was still running to first base after third. She did learn to not throw the bat up in the air after hitting the ball though. It only took one hit on the head for her to figure it out.

wow

2011-05-25T15:14:00.004-04:00

When you have 25g's to blow on a family guy necklace, you have entirely too much money.

Macho Man Randy Savage Dies In Car Accident

2011-05-20T14:42:00.001-04:00

The day of reckoning is tomorrow, but Macho Man could not wait.... OH YEAH

Macho Man Randy Savage Dies In Car Accident

Another Day

2011-05-10T18:57:00.002-04:00

Had a great Mother's Day. I had to work for three hours in the morning, but after that it was lovely. My daughter made me some pretty spectacular artwork. Jack helped by putting his footprints across the top. In case you can't read it, it says "I love you Because." The reasons are "You Love Me", "You buy me birthday presents" "You take me places", and "You teach me to play on the computer". It made me a little misty eyed. We went to dinner with my parents, Rick and Julie and the kids, and Deb and her man. It was fun, but the food was TERRIBLE. Ooooh and I bought tickets to go see The Felice Brothers! Front row! We are working on a babysitter, I would hate for Chris to have to miss out on one of his favorite bands!

Why?

2011-05-02T15:42:00.002-04:00

When did he become Usama? Is that just so people like Geraldo quit having slip ups and saying Obama?

Must say

2011-05-02T00:37:00.003-04:00

Holy Shit Osama Bin Laden has FINALLY been killed.

I have already heard Geraldo have a slip of the tongue and say "Obama err I mean Osama is dead". How is Geraldo Rivera a serious newscaster?? He was the early model of Jerry Springer for heavens sake! Why is he even allowed to speak on matters that don't involve sleeping with your brothercousins ex girlfriends dog?? I have seen people who say "well, if it is really true" and "Osama dead, so the president says". He gave you a birth certificate, let's not force him to show a dead Osama Bin Ladens body with a gun shot wound to the head. I have read people saying Obama knew all along where he was, but wanted to wait until closer to reelection time to take action. If that was the case, why not wait until like September 2012, why waste it a year and 1/2 before election day, I mean we have already been waiting almost 10 years, what's another year and a half?? I have read people saying don't be happy, it is not over. Well of course it is not over, but why not rejoice the death of a truly evil man who is finally being judged by Allah or being sent to see Iblīs.

Yes, I had a glass (or three) of wine, but seriously, let's just be happy. Judge the president and every one else some other day.

Oh yeah

2011-04-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

Imagine my surprise while flipping through channels and seeing this!

Yikes

2011-04-29T13:53:00.006-04:00

I have not posted a thing for a year. It is a little sad. In that time, we had a baby and bought a house. That is a good excuse... right? I am going to give a full update just because I like to come read about it every once in awhile. I just read about our wedding preparations. Ahh the memories.
Soph is a bonified diva. She will only wear dresses and insists on choosing her own clothes. She chooses clothes that make her look like a cross between a redneck and Cyndi Lauper. She just started T-Ball and is still dancing, though not well. I fear becoming graceful is just not in the cards for her. Her legs are covered in bruises. She can fall while standing still. It is pretty impressive.
Jack was born on 2/1/11. He was 6lbs 9 oz and 20 1/2 inches. When we left the hospital he was 6lbs 2 oz. At his 2 month check up he was 12lbs 6 oz and 24 in. He is definitely one of us! He smiles and giggles and is sleeping about 7 hours a night. He is a very pleasant baby.

Chris has not yet been affected by the education cuts, but we are a little worried about next year. I made him quit playing for a few months because of the craziness of a new baby. He started playing again last week. Our house is awesome. It is four bedrooms, 3 baths, fenced in yard, deck off the master bedroom and a small back deck downstairs. We really need to buy furniture to fill it up. Our old house would have literally fit in the front three rooms. The picture does not do it justice. The many windows keep Simon busy.

I am still working in the ER. It is only part time and second shift hours are hard to come by. I like it... occasionally. The stories I could tell from there. They make Gumby seem much less entertaining! But alas, HIPAA says no no no. I am casually looking for a new part time 2nd shift job. It would be nice to not have to work every weekend.

OK

2010-03-26T16:49:00.002-04:00

Now I feel bad about spanking Soph. Is spanking corporal punishment like the website I just read implies? I was spanked occasionally as a kid, and really I deserved it. I remember our music teacher in elementary school spanking one of my classmates once. I think he turned out OK. Do you spank your kids?

THAT kid

2010-03-26T16:25:00.002-04:00

We went to Ross and Target today. At Ross, there was a kid who whined for a straight 20 minutes "But mommy I neeeed that toy" "Can I have it? Whhhhyyyy?" Then we went to Target and that same kid was throwing a complete and utter hissy fit. It was a loud high pitched screech. I think dogs from 10 miles away were howling in response. Yeah, you're right it was Soph. I finally, at Target took her screaming to the bathroom and I spanked her. Judge me all you want, but I spanked her. It was not hard, it was just enough to get her to pay attention and stop with all the screaming. I told her if she did not stop whining immediately we were going straight home. She stopped. Then we went back out to where my mom was and she went tearing ass to my mom, wrapped her arms around my moms leg, and said "Mommy said we have to go home and she hit me". The woman who was walking behind my mom just stopped and glared at me. It was a proud parent day for me. The entire fit at Target was because she wanted the Barbie that was $39.99. The kid has at least, not exaggerating, 25 Barbies. She finally settled for a cheaper Barbie and then half way through the store decided she wanted Ken. I said I would take her Barbie back and get Ken, she said no, she wanted them both. ARGH! I need a vacation day.

OK, I am done. Whew, is it bedtime yet?

Another attempt to blog more....

2010-03-23T23:33:00.005-04:00

This picture has nothing to do with anything, but it cracked me up...

Soph was excited to go to the library yesterday. So excited she forgot to put her underwear on. Chris told her to go back to her room and put them on. When she came out, they left. While she was running through the library, her undies fell out of her pant leg. Apparently, she just stuffed them down her pants, rather than going through the trouble of taking her pants off to put them on.... Such a proud moment. Last week she somehow managed to ger the Vicks Vapo-rub and her night time lotion off of a shelf. When her door came open, my stuffy nose was completely gone. She had Vicks every where. Hair, Bed, Clothes, Carpet, you name it. It still smells in there. Thank goodness for the night time lotion, at least there is a slight lavender smell on top of the Vicks.

Still cannot find my stinking camera. I am in Ebay misery. I keep getting outbid and it is PISSING me off. Damn you JoeK95484 and your last minute bids!

Health-care anyone? I say finally! As someone who paid well over $1000.00 a month for health-care, I think this is awesome. I keep hearing people say they don't want to have to pay for people who don't work to have health-care. I get that, but bottom line: You already do! What is really sad is the person working at Target 39.5 hours per week, who can't find a full time job so that they can have health-care and makes a tiny bit too much to get an access card is also paying for it. I think this plan is for those people. I work in a hospital, I see how many people are on the welfare health coverage. This plan also says that kids cannot be turned away for a preexisting condition... Thank goodness. I heard on the news some radical conservative was encouraging people to break the windows of Nancy Pelosi and other dems? Really?

Anyhow, off to Ebay!

Local Newspaper article...

2010-03-10T12:09:00.001-05:00

Police: Man steals Walmart motor-cart, paints it purple

MANSFIELD - Paul E. Paxson, 19, was charged with the theft of a motorized grocery cart from Walmart.

According to court documents in District Judge James Carlson's courtroom, Paxson, who is in Tioga County Prison after failing to post bail on previous theft and weapons possession charges, was charged by state police with theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief for the alleged theft of the cart on Nov. 22, which police say he removed the grocery basket and painted it purple. The cart, valued at $1,000, was recovered at Paxson's residence in Wellsboro.

He was issued a summons to appear and his preliminary hearing set for March 31.

Shocked

2009-11-27T05:39:00.002-05:00

Black Friday shopping was surprisingly easy and pleasant until the end. We decided to bite the bullet and go to Walmart. It too though busy was not terrible. While waiting in line a woman, two people in front of us was bumming a dime from the people behind her. Then, she let the people behind her in front of her because on her 2nd purchase, her ATM card would not work. So she was now next to us. This gross, very dirty woman who had two kids with her at 4AM, one about 4 months, the other maybe 2 then proceeds to complain to us about how the machines at Walmart always mess her pin up or something like that. Then when she couldn't resolve the issue on her cell phone, she looks at me, a complete stranger mind you and asks me to watch her two very small kids in her cart while she runs to the front of the store to use the ATM. I was shocked. I said umm I guess. So she left for at least 3 to 4 minutes. There were approximately 50 people in our 5 feet of space who were all pushing and shoving and I am standing dumbfounded with dirty kids and no mom. It was unreal. Who does that?!?! I am kind of ashamed of myself now for not saying what the f*&% is wrong with you?!?! All this to save $10.

So anyhow, it is 6am please don't judge me on punctuation, spelling, complete sentences... I am really tired, but felt the need to mention this and remind you don't let your kids with complete strangers! Thank you, and goodnight.

In need of a disciplinary action

2009-11-24T13:32:00.002-05:00

Soph just had lunch. After lunch, she wanted a lollipop. After she finished the lollipop, she wanted another. I told her no and to go use the bathroom. She went into the bathroom and peed all over the floor. When I asked her why she said it was because she was annoyed and still hungry. When I told her how important it is to not pee on the floor, she stomped into her room and slammed the door on me. I think she is entering some new phase in her life, and I am pretty sure I don't like it.

On a side note, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. We are having a late dinner with Mindy and Anthony where we will finish planning our shopping trip beginning at 2:30AM. Mindy is a little more obsessed than me. She has started a spread sheet and map with the quickest routes from one store to another. I am going for sheer amusement. I will take the camera to take pictures of the psychos who actually want stuff (Mindy Included). Ahh good times.

Daily Humor

2009-11-13T01:02:00.002-05:00

This just cracked me up...

Birthday Fun

2009-10-26T00:48:00.002-04:00

Soph's party went pretty well. There were a few instances. Like the cake. I ordered a cake 2 weeks ago. Nothing special, but personalized and matching the general theme Soph picked. Today, I made the mistake of sending Chris to procure it. Even though I mentioned to him MANY times that I ordered a cake, when I made him his "to do list", I didn't specifically say pick up ORDERED cake, I just said pick up cake. He brought a Halloween cake with nothing on it. It was still good, but no butter cream icing or filling. Could have been worse I guess. The other issue was that several guests did not come because everybody has the damn swine err H1N1 flu.

It is just hard to believe my little princess it 3 years old!!!

When we were leaving the party, my newly fixed car with a new fuel pump would not move. I put it into reverse and it kept stalling out. Now, I have to take the stupid thing back and have it looked at again. GRRR.

Looking forward to Trick or Treating next weekend!

Ladybug Ladybug

2009-10-21T14:20:00.003-04:00

Though I have not seen as many as I have in previous years, it seems everyone is noticing them this year. We had a huge infestation when I lived in Mass, our sliding glass doors and entire side of the building was covered with them...

From Newsday.com:

Around this time every year people start reporting swarms of ladybugs around -- and oftentimes inside -- their homes. The reason is simple: It's getting cold out there.

The tiny red spotted beetles are usually viewed as the good guys of the insect world. They're right up there with praying mantids and butterflies. Usually, we don't mind when they get into the house. We're not only likely to pick them up, but we'll even hand them to our small children. "Oh, look how pretty it is." Imagine doing that with a spider? Plus, these flying wonders do a number on aphids, saving countless plants from the pests' piercing-sucking mouthparts.

But what happens when they swarm inside your house? I don't mean two or three, which most people would pick up and escort outdoors. I mean a swarm. A literal infestation.

I've only experienced such a thing once, when visitng friends in northern New Jersey a few years ago. I had never seen anything similar to the scene inside that house when we arrived. There were not hundreds, not even thousands, but perhaps tens of thousands of ladybugs on everything.

Ladybugs covered the ceiling, the walls, the couch. And the lady of the house was frantically following them around with a vacuum cleaner. While I felt bad for my little friends, I knew she was doing the right thing. There simply would not have been any other way to rid the house of them safely and effectively.

Why did this happen? Turns out, it's not that much of a rarity. Two-spotted lady beetles, as well as Asian lady beetles, spend their winters hibernating in large groups, usually under leaves. But sometimes they try to find refuge from the cold inside houses.

They seem to be lured to light-colored houses, and certainly those without adequate caulking around windows and doors. And the problem is once they come in, they release phehormones, which in turn lures more ladybugs to the area. The scent is believed to travel as far as 1/4 mile. If you don't get rid of them fast, their friends will keep coming -- and calling for reinforcements. Of course, if you only have a few, say 3 or 5, there's no need to worry. Let them be. But if you walk into a room and can't quite see the lighting fixture on the ceiling, you have a problem.

Should you ever find yourself in such a situation, do as my friend did -- get out the vacuum. And after you've sucked them all up, dispose of the bag. Outside. In the trash. If you leave the bag in the vacuum cleaner, those little ladybugs will become frightened and release blood, which is what they do when they're scared. That smelly yellow smudge you sometimes find on your hand after holding a ladybug actually is a blood release, something it does to convince you not to eat it. If it smells bad, it must not be meant for eating, or so it hopes to convice its predators. You'd notice the same foul odor if you should crush a ladybug, so don't get any ideas.

The Buffalo News

2009-10-17T14:45:00.002-04:00

October 16, 2009, 8:35 AM:

An Erie County sheriff's deputy who stopped a vehicle for speeding early today in Elma was greeted by an odd sight -- the apparent driver sitting in the back seat.

After investigating the incident, Deputy Kristin Rozycki determined that the driver had climbed into the back seat in an attempt to claim he wasn't driving, according to police reports.

Michael G. Spagnola, 38, of Colden, who later admitted that he was the driver, was charged with driving while intoxicated. Police reports indicated that he recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.12 percent.

The traffic stop was made at Jamison and Girdle roads at about 1:50 a.m.

This was terribly amusing to me!

I like it

2009-08-24T02:33:00.002-04:00

I never get tired of PETA

2009-08-04T16:14:00.001-04:00

WATERBURY, Vt. -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman."PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves," the statement says.

PETA's letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield

September 23, 2008Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, CofoundersBen & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.

Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Tracy ReimanExecutive Vice President

Weekend

2009-08-04T12:46:00.000-04:00

We went to NYC last weekend with Mindy and Anthony. Soph stayed at home with my mom and Jess. She was happy about it, I was nervous. It just seems wrong to go places without her. We had a good time though. We decided to go to Coney Island since none of us had ever been there. When I was looking stuff up about it, I saw they had a bunch of Freak Shows there. Though we did not see an actual freak show, I think we saw out fair share of freaks. My favorite was a five foot tall man wearing his boxer briefs while walking up and down the boardwalk. To be fair, for a man who was at least 60 years old, he was very buff and tan, but that is no excuse. His boxer briefs were tan, like him, so from a distance, he seemed to be naked. People were stopping to stare just as he obviously wanted. I also saw a man fishing and I am pretty sure it was for my benefit, he put his leg up on the railing, and I was lucky enough to see his beans. I got a purse of course and three pairs of sunglasses, though one pair is in the back of a cab. Dammit.

Chris had a slight incident in Min's hotel room. After spinning on the computer chair for 15 minutes, he tried to bet us that he could then walk to the bathroom. He did, and then named himself Ninja Chris Van Damme. Of course within two minutes, he flipped the chair over and his beer went every where and he could not get up. Anthony had a slight incident with a chick on the subway who genuinely wanted to kick his ass, and Mindy had a slight altercation with a street vendor in Times Square. When Mindy ignored her trying to sell something, she called poor Min an effing bitch.

That's it, I guess. I will post something else in a month or so. I really do want to start doing this again, but I just don't.

Suicide?

2009-04-20T17:35:00.002-04:00

While I am not sure there is a right way or good way to do it, I am thinking jumping into the tank with polar bears is probably not the best way.

What a hectic weekend!

2009-04-06T15:12:00.003-04:00

So Friday night, Soph and I got home and I was getting ready to give her a bath when the power went out. It was off for about 5 seconds and then flickered, so I assumed it was coming back on. I got up to look out the window to see if anybody had power and saw the flames shooting through the sky and the flames at the top of my trees, and all over my front lawn. Of course my mind goes into overload and I am thinking like oh God, this old house, faulty wiring, it is going to blow! So I am dragging my kid around, putting the dog on his leash (cause why bother saving him if he is just going to run out in the road and get hit...again) all while dialing 911. I tell the 911 operator there are flames in my trees, yard, a loud boom, my address, and she says "what township are you in"? WHAT TOWNSHIP??? I live on a road that has its own exit from the only highway around, figure it out lady! So as my husband is playing in Lewisburg, not answering his phone, I am escaping from the house that I know is about to explode and worrying about the fish that I left to die, I see the tree laying on the wires. Ahhh, this explains the loud explosion and the flames up high (on the wires), sparks falling... It all became clear, and I relaxed a little. I took the dog back in the house when I saw that none of the trees were actually on fire, and realized that the house probably was not going to explode. Soph and I sat on the front porch thinking that someone from the police car, ambulance, 2 firetrucks, or one of the 8 volunteer firefighters would come talk to us and tell us what to expect, ya know, since I did call 911 and they were parked the whole way up my driveway. However, they felt it was not necessary apparently. They got the wire out of the road, talked to all of my other neighbors, sat out there for a good hour and then just left. Thank goodness, PPL was nice enough to have a recorded message for me to advise the power would be on by midnight unless it was harder than expected. Who cares that we don't have HEAT!

Like I didn't already have enough excitement from Friday, on Sunday even more fun! I put Soph down for a nap, then got in the shower to get ready for work. As I am coming out of the bathroom with a towel, Simon starts barking like crazy, I turned to whispering-ly yell at him so Soph didn't wake up and there is a bat flying at my freaking head! Anybody who knows me, know that I am TERRIFIED of bats. So, I of course drop to the floor, crawl to the bedroom while coaxing the dog in, because I am sure that the bat has rabies, I mean why else would it be flying around my house in the day time. I sat down and tried to calm down in the bedroom. Once I regained my composure, I started worrying what if I didn't shut Soph's door and the bat is in her room. So I crawled out of my room (clothed now) and checked her door still shut and somehow quiet. I didn't see the bat, so I am assuming he is hiding somewhere, I looked in all the corners (from the floor) and didn't see him. I got up and ran to the kitchen for my phone to call Chris. While I am on the phone with him still panicking, the bat comes around the corner from the computer room and I run into my bedroom again. Chris came home and played baseball with him and then was kind enough to leave him lie on the sidewalk for me to look at on my way to work.

Now here it is rainy Monday and I am home. Not at the mall like I was supposed to be. SophMoores. I told her if she didn't stop, we would go home and not go to the mall and see the Easter Bunny and ride the Merry Go Round. She slapped me across the face. Now we are home and she is napping. Ahhh Good times!

Soph Stuff..

2009-02-24T23:18:00.004-05:00

Let me start by saying, how cool is it to have a president who speaks English and does not use made up words and stutter continuously when he can't answer a question! Even if he does nothing else, at least it is not embarrassing to hear him!

Now, on with Soph. Today on the way to the mall, Soph started coughing and threw up... every where! The smell in my car is so overwhelming, it is surprising that the smell did not cause more throwing up. After she did it, she just looked at us and said "what happened?" She did get a new outfit and coat out of it. Perhaps she knew that would happen and that is why she did it?

She apparently wanted a new computer chair too, because instead of running to her room wrapped in a towel after her bath, she ran to the computer chair. When Chris walked in she was standing looking at it and she said "Daddy, I peed right there" and pointed to the computer chair. Ahh yes, the fun we have!

We are having little to no luck on potty training. She was excited about it for a brief time and now she just down right refuses to use the potty. I try to put pull ups on her and she kicks her feet and says no mommy, I don't want big girl pants, I want my diaper. Everything we read and the doctor says that if they are like that you should not try to force them, you should let it go and try again after a few weeks, so that is where we are, but it is a pain because she knows when she has to go. When she has to poop she will run to her room and tell us to leave her alone, then come out and inform us she needs her pants changed. We have tried putting a potty in there for her to use and giving her privacy, but no go. She just won't use the potty.

I change her every night before I go to bed, last night I went in and she had her diaper off, and when she put her pants back on, she put both legs in one hole, so she was just stuck, and not able to move much. Chris said he heard her saying "Oh daddy, I need help" but assumed that she just wanted out of bed which is what she usually needs help with.

One more tidbit, WOW is it fun to work in the ER! Some of the patients are just downright hilarious!! We have a guy who comes in so often, he knows how to answer the questionnaire we have to ask, without hearing the questions, he just comes in, give us his medical record number and says yes, yes, no, yes, January 1986, no, Diabetes etc. It is hilarious. I have seen bones sticking out, an arm that looked like hamburger, gaping holes in skulls, the list is endless.

Losing Control...

2009-01-12T18:15:00.002-05:00

I think that I may be losing control in our household. Sophie has most definitely reached the "terrible 2's" and they are everything you ever heard and then some.

The other night we were sitting at the kitchen table with my mother and father in-law having dinner. Soph was eating something and it fell on the floor. Her response was "Holy Crap". I never use the phrase "Holy Crap", so I can only assume she gets that from her father.

The next night at the dinner table while she was eating I told her she had to eat corn and she told me to go sit in my chair. When I said no, she responded with NOW. She has been being punished by having time outs.

Today at the mall, she kept kicking her shoes off and when I would try to put them back on her and she would kick me and insist that Grammy would do it.

This is just a few of the many many many things, but I seem to be a little less in control every day!

Peta is Grrreat!

2009-01-10T14:05:00.005-05:00

Has anybody else heard about the "Sea Kitten" campaign?? I took the following story directly from their page. The buttons as well. I knew that Peta was a bit on the bizarre side, but come on Sea kitten Sticks???

FROM PETA:

People don't seem to like fish. They're slithery and slimy, and they have eyes on either side of their pointy little heads—which is weird, to say the least. Plus, the small ones nibble at your feet when you're swimming, and the big ones—well, the big ones will bite your face off if Jaws is anything to go by.

Of course, if you look at it another way, what all this really means is that fish need to fire their PR guy—stat. Whoever was in charge of creating a positive image for fish needs to go right back to working on the Britney Spears account and leave our scaly little friends alone. You've done enough damage, buddy. We've got it from here. And we're going to start by retiring the old name for good. When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?

Artistic or just plain bad?

2008-12-11T18:25:00.002-05:00

Sophie loves to color. She literally will spend hours a day laying on the couch with her crayons and a notebook. She tells us what she is drawing. Today she took her notebook and her crayons into the bedroom and told me she was coloring. When I went in to check on her she was laying on the floor with her stuffed doggy toy coloring. So I went back out to the living room. I went back again a few minutes later and she had decorated one entire wall and the door on her changing table. She told me it was Rudolph and Santa. I told her it was bad and that she could only color on her paper and coloring books and she agreed, but will she listen? I spent a half hour trying to wipe it clean, but no, it is on there until we repaint. Chris says it adds character to the room. The picture does not show the full scale, but you get the idea... I have my training on Monday and Tuesday and then the following week I will start my job in the ER. I am excited to be going back to work and I think there will be a lot of interesting things in the Williamsport ER. Getting the clearances was annoying though. I had to call people I haven't talked to in years and ask for their date of birth and middle name. A few were not thrilled to share that info and even less thrilled to hear from me. Oh good times!

I think I am finally over the flu at last! A few sneezes and coughs here and there, but for the most part better. I think I got it on black Friday from all the people in an enclosed area.

Election Annoyances and Sophie Stories

2008-11-04T11:42:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying I haven't even gotten to the polls yet. No doubt that I will, but I haven't yet. However, my phone rang 8 times today. At least half of them were the republican party. Seriously do they think calling me with a recorded message is going to get me to change my mind or even go vote if I had not all ready planned on it? At least the democrat calls were real people. Annoying, but at least I could tell them so. The democrats also sent a very cute young man/boy to my house to make sure I had a ride and knew where to go to vote. He could have changed my mind. Also, if you have not already voted, please don't go straight democratic, the last thing we need in office is Rick Mirabito, DO NOT VOTE FOR HIM!

On to Soph, I am sure there will be more to say after I go to the polls, but not yet. Soph has started stripping herself in her crib. The other night I went in to change her diaper and she was completely naked wrapped in her blanket soaked with pee... Mmmm! I am not sure how to get her to stop doing this. We are going to try putting her sleepers on backwards... Next, a much cuter story we took her trick or treating. She was shy at first, but when she realized they were giving her free candy, she was excited and would run to the doors. Because she was so small people thought it was cute and not rude when after she was given the candy she would put her hand up and say "nother one". It worked for her. She made out quite well, she had a bucket overflowing and we only went two blocks. Finally, we were at the mall and Soph saw a midget walking towards us and she started shouting "Hi little boy, how are you little boy" I was so embarrassed the midget also did not look amused.

Random

2008-09-18T23:09:00.002-04:00

Chris and I have been living together for over 5 years now, but I must say I am still sometimes amused by the giganticness of his feet. I had to let the dog out and my shoes were out front, so I put his on. I felt like a clown. When he is wearing shoes, they don't look that mammoth, but dang, when I wear them. They are even more gigantic when Soph wears them. They are almost as big as her. Speaking of the little angel, when I got her up from her nap today she told me she was putting her binky in her pocket. She then proceeded to shove it in her diaper. Great!

Tomorrow we are taking Soph to her first football game. She is going to go and cheer for the Jersey Shore Bulldogs. I am mostly going to drive my niece crazy, but also because I think Soph will like all the people. I have not been to a high school football game since like *GASP* 1992! I am so freaking old! This is also the first game Chris has been to? How does that even happen??

This morning Chris was walking the dog at around 5 am and a deer in our back yard hissed at him! He said he never heard anything like it. I guess he was disturbing them! Someday, I will get up at 5 am to see them... Ok, not really but it could happen.

Video

2008-09-02T23:03:00.001-04:00

Had to do it... It is on the phone so the quality is not great..

HUGE NEWS!

2008-08-29T00:22:00.001-04:00

At 9:05PM my little baby girl took a poop in the potty!!! She was so proud of her self. I know it is gross, but we vidoed it. Not even two years old and pooping in the potty! YAY! We have a song for it and everything... I cannot wait to pull the video out for her prom!

The Departed

2008-06-07T01:25:00.002-04:00

WOW! What an incredible freaking movie! I feel a little bad for waiting this long to watch it. I don't even know where to start my review. From the first minute through the rat walking across the balcony, this movie blew my mind! Even the music was perfect. It as earned a spot on my top ten. If it was not 1am, I would start it over again. There is so much I want to say about it but instead I will just say holy crap if you haven't seen it, see it, if you have watch it again.

Things have been boring on the home front except that Chris already had to turn a job down. Lewisburg area... He is holding out for the port. Speaking of Chris, he ruined my pants. Not just any pants, my "IT" pants. He left a pen in his pants and threw them in the washer. My pants have more ink on them than his pants that the damn pen was in. Oh, and I dropped my phone in the toilet. Good Times!

Sophie is most certainly entering the "terrible twos" a bit early. She has been using the coffee table as a slip and slide. She also tries to stand on her giant rubber ball and jump in her playpen. She stands on her 4 wheeler and pushes the button with her foot and surfs across the living room. She teases the poor dog constantly! She holds food out for him and then when he tries to take it, she either eats it herself or runs away laughing at him. I think he is looking for a new home. She knows when she is being bad too, when she is about to do something she is not allowed to do, she looks right at me, smiles, tells me no, then does it. Worst of all she throws MISERABLE rotten tantrums several times a day! I am talking lay on the floor and kick and scream.

Been awhile...

2008-05-15T02:44:00.003-04:00

So seriously, when was the last time you were calling to check on something (an order placed, dental insurance, your bank account) that you got so belligerently angry you called the person you were talking to "a FUCKING CUNT". I mean come on! I have been called many things since I started working in a call center but that is a little much! Who does that?
OK, I bitched about it... I am over it... Sort of...

Chris has an interview in Lewisburg already. Most of the schools were accepting applications through May, so hopefully he will get some calls a little closer to the port.

Sophie is going through a bit of a "no" phase. Today I told her to put her coat on and she kept saying no... no... no... Finally, I looked at her and pointed to myself and said "I'm the mommy and I said yes" She returned with patting herself saying "I am mommy". She is 19 months old and already thinks she is the boss. OK, she might be the boss a little but damn, I have to try to fix this...

Lastly, I am excited about Prince Caspian coming to theaters, I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it.... Sniffle.

Finally!

2008-04-30T01:06:00.002-04:00

So, let me start by saying both season 1 and 2 of Dexter were really intense and wicked good! I cannot wait for the next season, but really what else can they possibly do?

Next, Chris sent a packet of like 20 resumes out to schools in the Williamsport/State College area. I am torn on which place I want to end up. I guess the Port area. I love living in State College, but we would really be stuck in the same situation if we ended up there.

The biggest reason for moving home is to save the $710 a month for day care. Have I mentioned lately that she is only there a maximum of 40 hours per month... Let me make that easy, that is $17.75 per hour! If we end up in the Port, I can have my parents, brother, nieces, uncle, friends watch her pretty much anytime. Plus we are spending $1000 a month for rent, double what we would pay in the Port. We want to buy a house, but anything under $200 here is pretty much the ghetto, in the Port, $200 can buy you a nice house plus 5 acres.

Sooo, the point of all that is to say that by August we should be home, or at least close by! Woo Hoo!

Can it be?

2008-04-04T15:53:00.001-04:00

3 things

2008-03-25T01:12:00.000-04:00

First, some dick hacked into my WOW! account and got rid of all my stuff and stole all of my gold!! When I emailed Blizzard they said the cannot positively say my account was compromised... Umm hello, I just freaking told you it was! So now, I have nothing and it doesn’t sound like they are going to get it back.

Second, I started giving my agents a weekly survey, this week it was "What are your top 5 favorite movies". One of my top 5 was Pulp Fiction, and of 22 people 3 people have seen it!!! THREE!!!

Finally, we started watching Dexter over the weekend and all I can say after 6 episodes is wow do I love that freaky little weirdo!

No shit

2008-03-20T02:33:00.002-04:00

So I went outside to have a smoke before bed. Since it rained all day, I couldn't sit down because the chairs were wet. So I am standing there and all of a sudden a rabbit ran right into my foot. It made me scream, scared the living crap out of me, I thought it must be a rabid rabbit or something!! After hitting my foot, it kept running and another one that must have been chasing it ran past me, within two feet of me. It was just bizarre!! I am thinking they were excited because it was like 65 degrees out? Or perhaps one was feeling frisky and the other was not and was trying to escape or playing hard to get?

Oh nooo!

2008-03-07T14:11:00.001-05:00

Poor Johnny Castle!

Family Outing

2008-03-02T01:48:00.002-05:00

Today Chris and I took Soph to see Disney Princess on Ice. She liked it for awhile then got bored with it, then liked it again for awhile. There must have been 500 little girls dressed up as a princess, it was really cute. I cannot wait until she is a little older and take her in her princess dress.

I got annoyed at my job on Thursday. The manager likes all "fun" emails to be sent in a certain way. They have to be all short and chunky and all different colors. I on the other hand prefer justified and matching colors, I mean really, who wants an email with 14 paragraphs and each one a different color. Hers look dumb, mine do not. Since it was an email to my section, I did it my way. Twenty minutes later a supervisor had to "coach" me on my email. Are ya kidding me?? If there was a reason other than the manager likes them this way it would have been one thing, but it is an email from me to MY section! I kind of felt like I was ten.

J and L

2008-02-25T01:26:00.002-05:00

So the John Hiatt/Lyle Lovett show was incredible! I went thinking Lyle would be just ok and that I would love John Hiatt. Turns out, I loved them both. I also thought they would each play with their bands, but instead they came out together and sat on two chairs and played an acoustic show! It was so good. They are so different, they complimented each other very well. Good time! Thanks Ryan for the tip about the show!

Sniffle

2008-02-21T14:16:00.001-05:00

I just met my parents half way to drop Sophie off. Watching her drive away while she was waving and blowing kisses hurt bad. She didn't mind at all, but I kind of fell apart. We are going to go to the concert tonight and then come home to a house without our baby girl. It is kind of exciting, but also really scary. I am here, at the house now... ALONE. How bizarre.

January 6, 2008....

2008-01-06T21:50:00.000-05:00

It has finally arrived. The day I have been dreading for the last five, maybe ten years!!! I have hit the big 3-0! Holy Crap!!! I am not quite as panicked as I expected, but maybe it has just not sunk in. I went out in Panama City with Chris, my brother, and sister in law on Wednesday. It was a rough night. For my birthday Chris agreed to sing karaoke for me.... Anybody who knows him, knows how hard that was for him. He sang Into the Mystic and Every Rose has its Thorne... Obviously he let me pick the songs. Soon after he was finished at about 9:30, I had to be escorted to the garbage can outside where I released all the poison I had just ingested and cried about this day coming, then rode with my head out the window of the taxi back to the condo and slept it off....

I have lots to tell all about our vacation, but since I just got out of the car after driving 1024 miles, I am going to go to bed and will write about it tomorrow or maybe the next day.

Sickness has passed

2007-12-19T01:53:00.000-05:00

After Sophie's horrible night, Chris got it. It was 24 hours of pretty much hell. He got it on Friday. After Sunday came and went I was sure that it was going to skip me.... Of course, Monday night I started feeling it and then of course got it full force. The flu blows. I ended up having to take 1/2 a day off. I passed it on to my boss and two coworkers... Needless to say, they were not pleased. However, we are all better now. Thank goodness.

I got a Christmas card from one of my old coworkers. In the card she told me how the place was the same, still sucks for all the same reason. It made me think of my new job. Though I have only been there for 3 months, I have to say I like my job. I don't think I have ever said that before, but I honestly do. I don't even get queasy pulling into the parking lot. Of course, now that I finally don't hate my job, Chris is going to start applying for jobs back in the Port area. I would love to live back there again and be able to have a life, but then I will have to find another job, and there just aren't any there.

I am anxiously awaiting our vacation which is getting very close. We are leaving Christmas day and going to South Carolina to see Chris's parents. Then we are going to Panama City Beach for a week. My parents, my brother and his little angels, and Chris's parents are all coming. It will be like National Lampoons Vacation. Our fingers are crossed for nice weather.

Fun

2007-12-07T01:15:00.000-05:00

This made me snicker. I am not a fan of Star Wars, but I might like Harry a little....

Mmm Mmm that smell...

2007-12-06T01:41:00.001-05:00

Last night, Sophie literally threw up at least a gallon. I have never seen so much puke in my life!!! Her sheets, the wall, the floor, her clothes, her head, everything within 5 feet of her crib were completely saturated. I smelled it all day. I washed everything, but I think the smell is just stuck in my nostrils or something! She had a fever of 101. She still had a fever today, but she seems to feel fine. In case you don't usually read what I say, let me reiterate, "I HATE DAY CARE!". She is sick every week. It is terribly frustrating.

On a side note, I got my first Christmas card of the season last week. Chris's aunt and uncle have stolen my mothers spot of always being the first person to send out her cards. Perhaps to make things interesting I will send some out in July...

I hate NE

2007-11-26T01:16:00.001-05:00

SURPRISE, we lost to New England. However, they are a tough team and it was a really close game. So, this makes me say again, it is time for McNabb to be McNabbed right out of here. He "was" a great quarterback, but he is not any longer. I am counting on Andy even with all of his personal issues going on to see this. I also hate Feeley, but he looked better than McNabb has been looking....

Thankful much?

2007-11-22T23:56:00.000-05:00

My sister in law had everyone at dinner say what they were thankful for, sadly, I missed it because I work at the only bank in the world that is open on Thanksgiving. The best answer I heard from her dinner table was "Music and Pills." Years ago I think that would have been about the same as "Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll".

It made me think of things I am thankful for. I am of course thankful for the obvious things, my beautiful daughter with a giant purple egg on her head, my wonderful husband that words cannot even begin to describe, my crazy little dog who everyone keeps saying will "grow out" of this crazy phase, great parents who I don't think we could survive without, perfect nieces who always keep me laughing , a nephew who is now deemed superman for making it through his work accident, a brother who no longer throws me down the stairs or tells me I was found abandoned by the weird people down the street, an uncle who treats me, Chris, and Soph like we are his kids, a sister in law who makes me think about all this kind fo crap and will always be hitting age milestones before me, my best friend who thankfully didn't die on her chicken nugget, in-laws who are always there for us, but never intrude or try to run things, and a great friend who will still watch my satanic little dog for two weeks straight.

Then there are the little things that also make me thankful, my terribly comfortable bed, a warm house, The Office, Scrubs, Diet Mountain Dew, furry socks to keep my feet warm even though the house is 90 degrees, books that make me want to turn the computer off, the new Robert Plant CD, the old Amos Lee CD, 80's radio stations, vacation coming, Sophie finally getting over Barney, Ramen noodles in a cup, Captain and diet, peanut butter on ice cream, a car that runs, my perfect jeans that are so worn they are ripping, I honestly could go on and on, but will stop because I am tired.

So anyhow, happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I promise not to get all "thankful" again until next Thanksgiving!!

I told you day care sucks!

2007-11-21T01:00:00.000-05:00

Chris got a call from the day care today that Sophie fell and got hurt. She banged her head and has a nasty goose egg. The picture makes it look not as bad. We were paranoid, so we took her to the ER. The doctor just looked at her and said "yeah, she has a bump". I think he thought we were stupid and just as wasting his time, but it looked terrible.

Week Update sort of

2007-11-11T00:22:00.000-05:00

I had to work tonight, on a Saturday. Blah! I am in the mood to go have drinks, but alas we have no babysitter. I really need to befriend one of the sweet old women at my job and convince them to babysit occasionally for us. I think Mindy and Anthony are going to come down next weekend. Hopefully Anthony and Chris won't be too mad if Mindy and I go out and they stay home and babysit...

Sophie is really starting to like her daycare. She starts smiling before we are even in the door. When Chris went to pick her up last week, she cried because she had to leave. Though I still hate dropping her off, at least she likes it.

On Wednesday, I have to go to Philly for work for a "Team Building" thing. At least it is at Dave and Busters and they are buying our food and games, so shouldn't be too painful.

Aside from really enjoying the Robert Plant/country singer CD I have not been doing much of anything, pretty boring existence. I would recommend the CD to everyone. Not really the whole CD, some of it is not great, but "Please read the letter" and a couple of others are really good.

What a week!

2007-10-26T01:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday we took Sophie for her first trip to Gettysburg... I have a feeling with her tour guide daddy that it will not be the last trip. We met Adam, Leslie, and beautiful Jules there. We went to the Boyds bear factory and did the corn maze. Jules was a little unsure of the corn maze. It was her idea until we got in there, then she was ready to get out!

I spent two hours at a doctors appointment with Sophie and ended up having to leave before the doctor came in because of work. I think having to wait that long at a pediatricians office sucks. I mean, the shots and stuff are bad enough, but there is nothing for a kid to do while waiting so of course they get cranky. She is two feet eight inches. She is now OVER half as tall as Mindy.

Sophie has had a rough week again. She has a cold and now cries and says "mommy mom mom mommy" every day when I drop her off.

Work has been insane this week. Because of previous issues, I will not go into too much detail, but I will say that I had a guy who used the fuck word more times in our six minute conversation than I have used it in my life, and I swear constantly. He ended the call by telling me I was a lying scumbag bitch! Nice huh? It was without a doubt a full moon this week. I know that sounds ridiculous, but really, it makes a difference. I think somebody should make a sitcom about working in a call center. Kind of office spaceish... I could seriously come up with at least two or three seasons worth of material. Hey, Zach Braff, read my blog, you could make this happen and Scrubs is almost over, you need something to do right!

Today, I got a text message from my mom that said "Zac hurt bad". Zac of course being my nephew. He recently started working on the pipeline with my dad and brother. Something fell on him and he had to be life flighted from the job site. Thankfully and amazingly, he is ok. Nothing but bruises. Of course when we first found out we did not know and it caused a lot of worry and stress. My brother saw it happen and was sure there would be a lot of serious injuries. Then the boss had the audacity to ask my brother why he was leaving???? My dad works about three miles from them on the same job and nobody even told him until 4 hours after the fact! I guess they didn't want another employee to leave.

So, that is my week. Fun, scary, weird, and happy ending...

More Day Care

2007-10-18T00:50:00.000-04:00

OK, so day number 2 was a little better. Not a lot, but I at least held the tears in until I was in the car. Once again, she took it like a champ. She squirmed out of my arms before I was even in the door. Today, day 3 was TERRIBLE again. She was happy when we got there, but when I started to leave, she let out a squeal and started coming after me. I got down on the floor with her and played with a toy, and then tried to slip out. She caught me peeking in the door and that big pouty lip came out and then my tears started flowing. The girls talked to her and her pouty lip went away, but I cried for another hour AGAIN. It was miserable! This blows.

Traumatized for life

2007-10-16T01:41:00.000-04:00

Dropping Sophie off at daycare was seriously the worst thing I have ever done. I took her in to her classroom, the other kids were all napping. We sat down at a little table with the teacher and the teacher and Sophie played with blocks and puppets and I sat next to them with tears rolling down my cheeks. I stayed for about 15 minutes. When I left, I tried to give her a kiss and she turned her head. I had to stop in the office and pay the lady while still trying to hold the real tears in. The lady asked if I was OK, and then the waterworks just started pouring out. I couldn't stop. I paid her and then went back to watch Sophie for another minute through the window. All I could see was her tiny little head. She looked over at me and gave me half a grin and went back to playing. On the way out the door, I was almost hyperventilating. I cried for 45 minutes straight. I got to work and my eyes were puffy, my nose was red and runny. My boss asked if I was OK, and I started again. It SUCKED ass. I am already worried about tomorrow. Chris said when he went to pick her up she was outside playing. He said that she saw him she smiled and went back to playing. Which I guess is a good thing. I am hoping tomorrow will be easier. I cannot imagine it being harder. SNIFFLE.

Pumpkins Pumpkins every where!

2007-10-13T21:52:00.000-04:00

We took Sophie to pick out her first pumpkin today. When we first got there, we tried to sit her down to take a picture and she was scared of them. She latched onto Chris's shirt. When we were leaving the house, I remembered to grab the camera, but not to make sure the battery was in it. Boy was that annoying. So we had to settle for camera phone pics. They are OK, except the one with her and I, that one is pretty crappy because of the sun. She actually ended up picking a gourde shaped like a rattle. When we got home, Simon was scared of the gourde and ended up chewing on it. We got her a pumpkin too, they were terribly expensive. The big ones are $50 a pop!!! Next weekend we are going to carve it and let her help, should be fun.

Uncle Jim got her a portable DVD that goes on the back of the car seat for her birthday. We got one at Toys R Us and when we got home with it, it didn't work, so I took it back and went to Sam's, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. We got her one there. It is kid friendly and has a plastic outside so that when she starts carrying it around, it will be drop proof the first few times.

The big ONE year old party is tomorrow. I cannot believe she is just a few days from a year old. I remember last year at this time vividly. It was not nearly as much fun as this year, I was scared out of my mind and so uncomfortable it hurt to move!

Oh, and another thing people calling their bank are insane! I had a woman on the phone for 45 minutes insisting that we were "Playin wit her money". She was insane, since I am so new and don't want to get fired already, I will not elaborate and risk it! I don't know why I thought banking would be better than insurance, I mean really the reason people were mad at insurance companies, was because we caused them to spend too much money, and now I am dealing with ALL their money. Fun Stuff. It also amazes me to see 25 year olds with accounts totaling over $500,000 grand. I mean for real, how is that even possible?? I really want to say umm yeah, my checking account is $-.79, how in God's name do you have this much, got some tips?

Janitorial Duties

2007-10-05T00:38:00.000-04:00

I was at my desk at work on a call tonight and I heard somebody singing really loud. I looked around, but couldn't see anybody, just hear it. A minute or two later the cleaning lady came into the cubical farm and was singing louder than I have ever sang in my life. She was singing "praying in the name of Jesus." I am happy for her that she is so full of life, but my caller was not so pleased, he kept asking me to repeat myself and then asked me to have the singer shut up. I didn't have the heart to ask her to stop, so I just put my caller on hold?!??!?! Then, a few minutes later, she came back with the vacuum and started vacuuming under the desk I was sitting at!!! She just vacuumed around my feet!

Sophia was standing up in her crib yesterday and when she started to fall down, she grabbed a hold of her mobile and snapped it in half. She was kind of in shock because it was so loud, but then she got over it and started chewing on the broken parts. She can move around the coffee table and her crib very quickly and has been trying to take steps without holding on, but has not been able to yet. Her big one year birthday is coming very quickly. It is amazing to me that a year has already passed. People are right, you do forget things quickly. When I hold my great niece, I am still in shock that Sophie was ever that small. It is kind of sad and makes me sniffle. I have after just 11 months agreed to discuss having another baby. For a long time, the subject actually made me cringe. No plans immediately, but we don't want to wait to long, I would like no more than like 3 years between her and her brother. I am really slacking on her scrapbook and feel guilty. I have so many pictures and just keep putting off getting them developed. My goal is to have it up to date by Christmas.

Bank Woes

2007-10-03T00:54:00.000-04:00

So, I have been at my new job for 3 weeks and two days. Today we were told that the bank has merged/been bought by TD Bank financial corp. The people I work with are already in panic mode that we will lose our job. The company that bought it is based out of Toronto. I wonder if I am too new to apply for a promotion in Toronto. I love Toronto, I am ready to go.

Fall is here. It is so nice outside. It is jeans and sweater weather. We are going to try to find a pumpkin farm this weekend and take Sophie to choose her first pumpkin.

Look Out!

2007-09-29T00:40:00.000-04:00

So today, my mom and I were at the store and I was walking around the van and a cop car was pulling through a double parking space and then onto the road, and he just stepped on the gas and plowed into a car that was driving on the road. The cop got out of the car and just put his hands on his head and stood there for a minute. Then I heard him on his cell phone say "I have some bad news sarge." At first I thought it was funny since the Lower Paxton police gave me such a hard time, but then I kind of felt bad for him. The front of his car just kind of fell off and the other car was really damaged and driven by a little 80 year old woman.

Tonight at work I had my "graduation" from training. I had to wear a beanie and then parade around the place. Fun Stuff!!! It seems like it will be a good place to work, they have some neat incentives.

I was really excited when Sophie first started pulling herself up, but now it just scares me. She falls constantly! Today I took a shower while she was in her crib napping and when I got out of the shower she had woken up and was standing up and leaning over the side! I am sure it is only a matter of weeks before she flips right out of it!!!

I'm a big kid now!

2007-09-19T13:57:00.001-04:00

Sophie has become quite a pro a pulling herself up to a standing position. She uses the couch, coffee table, recliner, or anything else she can get her hands on. Today, she pulled herself up using the coffee table. She was trying to reach the magazine or remote control. When I saw her doing it, I moved the stuff to the other end of the table and like a trooper, she tried to stretch and reach it and when she couldn't, she looked at me and went for it. One giant step. Woot Woot! She then fell and was terribly mad, but she immediately got back up there. I am so proud of her!

Good Times

2007-09-18T22:54:00.000-04:00

So we went out over the weekend for Min's 30th birthday. It was fun until the end. We were at Hott Carl's and it was after last call and before we left, I ran in to go to the bathroom. When I exited my stall, to my surprise the door to the other stall was open and there sat bartender Jimmy taking a dump. Yes, I was in the ladies room. WHY would he do this??? I am scarred for life and then some. He was embarrassed too and tried (while still pooping mind you) to explain why he had to go. Good Times!

Today we went to check out one of the day cares. It was ok I guess, but I don't think any will ever be good enough for my Sophie. She will be in there from 2:30 - 5:30 4 days per week and most of them are like $200 a week!!! That is insane! We are going to see two more on Thursday.

Sophie also learned a new trick today. She was able to get out of her walker. She leaned over so her hands were towards the floor and then just inched her way out. This is not good. I depend on her excersaucer for the mornings. She will go in it while I walk the dog and get a drink and her cereal ready, now I have to find a new way to confine her.

Sophie Update

2007-09-06T18:25:00.000-04:00

Sophie does not crawl, but she does army crawl. She still doesn't watch where she is going and constantly crawls right into stuff. Her little head is always red where she banged into something. I put pillows all over the room and she manages to get through them and still bonk her head. She is also very into Barney. One of the few things that put her to sleep is singing the Barney song. When he comes on TV, she just stops what she is doing to watch him. Today though, big stuff, drum roll, she pulled herself into a standing position. She then tried instead of walking to pull herself the whole way up onto the couch. I am getting really nervous about putting her into childcare, I will end up missing all these kinds of firsts and it is killing me.

New Neighbor

2007-09-03T23:13:00.000-04:00

We got a new neighbor!!! I have my own Ugly Fat Naked guy!!! He is in this window all the time and always naked. He always has his smokes and Natty Ice.

My week

2007-08-31T17:23:00.000-04:00

I have so much that I have been meaning to blog, but have been to lazy. First, the Poison concert. It was a lot of fun. They played all good songs, but our seats sucked. I stole a box. After I was in the box for awhile, I messaged my friends and they came and joined me in the box. Much better. I wanted to wait by the bus and meet the band, but my friends are wussies and once the cops came and told people to leave, they got scared and insisted on leaving. DAMMIT. We left the show and went to a local bar, it was ok. Then we walked down the street to the waffle house. The service SUCKED. A guy who was watching us went to the counter and complained on our behalf. Still nothing happened, so he did it again. Finally she came and took our order. Then, 10 minutes later, the guy was done eating and we still had not even gotten drinks, so when he went to pay for his food, he bitched on our behalf again and paid for our dinner. So the bad service was worth it. To my surprise the guy who paid waved and left, I was sure he would come and bother us and then it wouldn't have been worth it. The motel we stayed at was worse than the Bates motel, VERY gross.

Next, on Wednesday, Sophie had a doctors appointment. It was because of the flat spot on her head. They had to do a skull x-ray. In order for them to do this we had to hold her still. She cried so hard, you would have thought the world was ending. It was terrible. I couldn't take it. Her whole little body convulsed with sobs. The x-ray showed that she was fine, so we put her through hell for nothing! The doctor said we could get her a helmet that she would have to wear 23 hours per day for 3 months. He said that by the time she was 4 or 5 it would fix itself as much as the helmet would.

Thursday, my uncle Jim had to have Angioplasty. He is fine and the blockage is the same as it was two years ago, and that is good. When I was leaving the hospital, I saw a girl who was in my "circle" in high school. I have not seen her for about 8 years. She looked old and rough. It made me think about the rest of my circle. I only talk to one person of the 8 or so really close friends I had. It is depressing. I mean, I am happy and have new friends, but we thought we would hang out forever and now we don't speak. Even seeing the girl at the hospital, it was cool and good to see her, but we didn't exchange numbers or anything. I mean why pretend we are going to try to become friends again.

What's up Doc?

2007-08-28T14:01:00.000-04:00

The doctor suggested that we try this for teething. Sophie has 7 and 1/2 teeth. She is finally starting to like food, but she was pretty unsure about the carrot.

Interview

2007-08-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

So, I had my interview. I was terribly nervous and actually had cotton mouth so bad that I almost left. I have not had an interview for like 7 years!! I got there 15 minutes early and when I walked in they took me to a room with 4 or 5 other people filling out applications. It was a job fair for a few positions. When I filled out the paper work, they came and got me and I interviewed. I rocked!!! It went really well, I was so relieved. When we were finishing and he was telling me it was nice to meet me and etc, he asked me if I had a few more minutes. I said I did and he asked me to wait and then two women came out and took me to a larger room and interrogated me again. It didn't go as well. I was so dry mouthed I could barely speak. When it was over and I was sure I blew my chance, they asked me if I had just a few more minutes. Of course, I said yes. A few minutes later the woman who had first interviewed me on the phone came in and said that I had first interviewed with the supervisor, then the next two women were the manager and director. She informed me that they all loved me and instead of the customer service job would I be interested in a supervisor position!!! I was shocked and also happy and said of course. She said good, you will start the tenth, she said that they usually hire internally, but that everyone I talked to thought I would fit in great and wanted me to start off in the position! Cha Ching!!!! I have to do the customer service training for four weeks so that I know what they do there and then I start the super training. It is a second shift job which sadly means I will not see Chris much, but at least Sophie will only have to be in childcare about 3 to 4 hours per day 4 days a week (workweek is Sun-Thur).

Next, to celebrate, me and Jessie went to the movies to see SuperBad. It was so ridiculous it was hilarious. I laughed so hard I had a belly ache. Loved it. McLovin is the BEST!

Thank God for Public Service Announcements

2007-08-21T23:54:00.000-04:00

So on our way to my moms today, we heard a public service commercial. It was about remembering that you should not leave your children in the car in the summer. I remember hearing these before about pets, but children??? One of the suggestions was to put your purse in the back with the kids so that you would notice the kids when you reached for it!!!!! It also stated that you should always leave your windows cracked but with humidity, the car can still become very hot. People really "forget" that the kids are in the back seat??? The commercial said that over 30 children die a year from this. That is just wow, indescribable.

On another low note, I have an interview tomorrow. I have not had an interview for eons, I don't remember how to answer the stupid interview questions. I am sick thinking about Sophie being in a day care. I think I will be able to take a second shift position, so at least she will only have to be in childcare for an hour or two per day. I won't see Chris much, but I think it is better than having her in care for 8 hours a day.

My one high note, Saturday is the big Poison/Ratt concert. Woo Hoo! My niece and I have been watching Bret Michaels Rock of Love show, we hope that the chicks from, the TV show will be at the concert. My niece thinks I should try to meet them, not the band just the chicks. We are rooting for Jes.

Nuts!!

2007-08-14T22:44:00.000-04:00

When Chris drove home on Sunday, near Shamokin Dam on Route 15, he started seeing lots of people sitting out on lawn chairs. He thought that there was going to be a parade or something. Then, 20 miles down the road on the four lane highway, he noticed that there were even more people sitting. There were Amish and every thing sitting out there. Chris said they would all jump up and down when he drove by and the people in their cars who were sitting along the road with the lawn chair people would honk. Finally he couldn't stand it since there couldn't possibly be a 50 mile parade, so he stopped and asked. The man he asked replied "We are watching the Nascar trucks go by, ya know race cars". Chris said he said it in a very trailer park way and said it like Chris was the one who was nuts for not knowing this. So hundreds of people were sitting along the side of the road to see not the actual cars, but the trucks that were carrying the cars. Are ya kidding me?!?!? If the actual car was sitting in my driveway, I would not get off the couch to go look.

Family Reunion

2007-08-13T02:25:00.000-04:00

We had a family reunion over the weekend. It is the first one we have had in at least 10 years. It was weird to go there now that my gram and all her siblings are gone. I remember looking forward to them when I was a kid, they were actually fun. Now, it is just not fun. I had to go spend several hours with people who I hide from when I see them in public. After meeting and greeting, I went and sat in a little circle with the few people I know and watched as each of my grams siblings families did the same thing. Why bother doing it if nobody is going to be sociable? I know the siblings kids (my moms generation), but none of their kids (my generation). In another 20 years, I will not know any of those people. Family reunions will no longer consist of my great grandparents family, it will be just my grams family. I remember when I was little and stayed at my grams a lot, she used to insist I talk to my cousins so we would stay in touch as we got older. Now I barely know any of their names and to be honest, I don't care a lot. I just feel a guilty because of my gram. I think this is a reason to have several kids, that way in 50 years, they will be able to have a reunion with my parents descendants. My brother is doing well, 4 kids will be helpful. Chris and I have to get mating or something....

I guess this is the way it always happens, but it is a little sad.

Why

2007-08-07T14:56:00.000-04:00

Why is it that bad things always happen at the worst possible time? Chris and I are terribly broke right now. We are stuck paying $850 a month for health care and I am having very little luck finding a place that will give me benefits. So of course we took my car to get repaired and it is going to cost $1800. GRRRR. I am almost 30 years old, the fact that we don't have $1800 in a savings account for things like this blows. Our savings has been completely depleted because of the health care thing. How do people who have two people working at Walmart make it? Chris has a pretty good paying job and I did too, yet we still have no money. I think I missed a lesson about surviving sometime. I mean, we don't really have a life, our big splurge is paying $12 a month for WOW. We have been to the movies one time in ten months and have been out probably 6 times in the last year. We drive crappy cars, and don't even rent movies. My moms old neighbors had three kids, the mom stayed at home and the dad had a crappy job at a local factory and they somehow owned a home, drove an expedition and another nice car, then decided their house was too small and bought a nicer home with a big pool. What do they know that I don't? If someone passing by reads this and know the secret, please share it.

WOW vent

2007-08-05T02:35:00.000-04:00

Only a few people who read my blog will even know what I am talking about but holy crap am I annoyed tonight. I spent 3 hours in Scholomance, I was working on the quest to get my eipc mount. I thought this was the last one and that in the end of this miserable instance I would have my beautiful new pony. When I finally was able to turn the quest in, I got another quest for another instance. Annoying, but whatever. I had a list of things I needed before I went to the instance, when I went to buy them, it turned out that they were 250 gold!!!! I only had 199 gold. I sold everything in my bag. Even armor that I liked and wanted to save and still only had 215 gold. So another night is over and I don't have my freaking epic!!!! You cannot hear it, but I am swearing a lot right now.

Quick Post

2007-07-24T23:50:00.000-04:00

Just a couple things. First, I read the new Harry Potter, and it hurts. It still hurts and I am just not ready to be in a conversation about it. I am reading it again so that everything really sinks in and I can come to terms with the tragedies. I will say that I shed my first tear on like page 43.

Next, I am now a great aunt. My nephews girlfriend had a little girl, Riley Lynn on July 22 at 5 am. She weighed 6 pounds 9 oz and was 19 inches. Though I have not met her, I have seen pictures and she is beautiful. It took me a minute to take it in that I am a "Great" aunt, but a minute later, I realized that my brother who made my life a living hell is a grandpa. DAMN.

Finally, I took my moms tribe of animals, 2 dogs and a cat to the vet today. When we got home, my youngest niece saw the package of heart worm/flea medicine and said "Oh, you got that stuff to make the dogs heart warm". I loved it.

Grab a life preserver

2007-07-19T19:03:00.001-04:00

So, Tuesday morning, I went downstairs, and as I was picking up the mail, I noticed a wet spot. I thought Simon peed. He gets really excited when the mail comes, so I yelled for him, then I started walking out to the dining room and noticed the hall was wet too. When I stepped into the dining room, my foot just sunk into the soaking wet carpet. As I rounded the corner, I saw the kitchen, there was over an inch of water in it. For at least a moment, I just stared at everything in shock, until my feet were so cold from standing on the carpet, I noticed. I thought oh no, Chris left the shower on, but did not see any wet spots on the ceilings or down the wall, the washing machine was not on, the sink was not on, I was clueless. So, I called the office it rang twice, clicked like someone had picked up and then heard a busy signal. I called three times, same thing. I then called Chris at work and got attitude form the secretary for calling him. Even though he has been there for almost a year and never gotten a personal call. His first piece of advice was to call the office, thanks love, glad I called. He said he would come home, so I called the office a couple more times, same thing. I called my mom and bitched to her then called the office again and finally got through to someone. She asked if I was doing laundry??? Yes dumbass, the water is pouring from the machine, so instead of turning it off, I am calling you. Twenty minutes later, the maintenance guy came and said yeah, was afraid that might happen, it was the guy in the townhouse behind us. He left his washer running and went somewhere and the "boot" broke and dumped water all over his place. The carpet people told me they sucked over 150 gallons of water from his place and only 30 from our place. The cleaner had a bit of a mancrush on Chris, he liked his guitar. He was asking Chris all kinds of questions about it and playing and he kept calling him "dude".

The next day, I got a text message from Chris not to go any where because I had a flat tire. Great, stuck in the house all day again.

However, on top of all this and the doctors appointment from hell which is just too graphic to put on here, I am still terribly excited. 2 hours and 18 minutes until the big release. I won't put all of my theories up here, but I will say that I don't think Harry, Ron, or Hermione will dies, but there will be a likable character that will die, as much as I love him and hope I am wrong, I am afraid it will be Hagrid. I also think Snape will die, but I think he will die saving Harry. I am still rooting for Snape, he has to be good. I also hope that we find out why Dumbledore trusted him.

Sorry for the terribly long jibberishy post, but I had a lot to get out here, and so much more that I will save for later.

W/E

2007-07-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

I had a pretty eventful weekend. Friday night, Chris left work early and we rushed to my moms to drop Sophie off and grab Jessie to go see Harry Potter. We got there 20 minutes before the movie started, so of course had to get crappy seats. The movie (some spoilers ahead): I did not love this movie. DAMMIT. I think there was just too much from the book that the directors had to get in there and it just didn't quite work for me. The movie did not seem to "flow". You didn't get enough time to really get to know any of the new characters. I thought Umbridge was excellent, Helena Bonham Carter was a perfect choice for Bellatrix, and Luna was wonderful. I thought the fight scene at the end was good, but it was way too short. I could not wait to see Dumbledore kick Voldemort's ass, but their fight scene was just pretty much non existent. Sirius's death was too short and Harry just handed the prophecy over to Malfoy! I was glad that they cut out all the house elf crap, and really liked the flirtations with Neville and Luna. I also really liked all the DA stuff. I think I just need to watch it again, I did not love Prisoner of Azkaban the first time I saw it either. Overall, the movie was good, but not the best.

Saturday, Mindy and I agreed to keep the members of a bachelor party alive, by being the DD. She was actually the DD, I was the slightly tipsy co-pilot. They rented a giant van to fit 12 drunks in. We went to Mustang Sally's in Bloom. I cannot even believe the things that happen in that place are legal! I have been to strip clubs before, this was not like them, this was like a porn movie filming. They auctioned these girls off. Not to do what you are thinking, but worse! A man paid $400 to watch two women "pleasure" one another. Everyone got to see, but the "buyer" had a much better view since the girl was lying in his lap while the other one went down on her for about 4 minutes. So, $100 per minute. I don't know what I am more shocked by, the fact that this was happening in a strip club or the fact that somebody paid that much money for this! The same two girls were auctioned off all night. $400 was the highest amount I heard the auctioneer say, but I heard several $200 - $300 winning bids. No really, is that legal???

Today, Sophie's top two teeth are showing through the gums. She is still pretty miserable from them. She also had her first taste of homemade mashed potatoes. She was not impressed at all. She immediately spit them back out.

HP

2007-07-12T17:26:00.000-04:00

The Harry Potter movie has been out for 2 days and I have not seen it yet! This blows! This is the only bad thing about living in Harrisburg, no babysitters. I am hoping Chris can leave work a little early tomorrow so we can get to my parents and drop Sophie off and make it to see it.

Summer is too busy for me, I don't remember the last weekend that I didn't have stuff to do. Most of it is fun stuff, but I really need a lazy weekend. I am thinking I will be able to relax the weekend of August 11th.

We went to a friends for a cookout last weekend, it was fun. Sophie was able to meet some of Chris's friends finally. She seemed to have a bit of a crush on Brad. She would look the other way or put her head down when he was near, but watch his every move when he was not close. This is something new, she usually either likes someone or hates them.

Her bottom two teeth are completely through and visible when she smiles. They are unbelievably sharp! The top gums are swollen now, so I think they will be through soon. She is not overly pleasant when they come through, so it might be a rough few days.

Mini Rant

2007-07-06T22:41:00.000-04:00

I took my niece to the carnival tonight. We rode the gravitron. It was $4 per person!!! Chris and Jordan rode the ferris wheel for $3 per person. We bought a funnel cake and it was $3.50, we got cotton candy it was $3 and a sno cone also $3, Chris got a milkshake, $4, and a bucket of fries that were not very good, they were $7. and two small drinks (I am talking dixie cup small) $1.50 a piece. What is up with this??? When I was a kid, my mom would give me $25 for the week and I could ride everything plus eat like a glutton. We could have went to knoebels and gotten hand stamps for two and not been afraid of dying on the rickety rides! I feel like a grumpy old woman complaining, but that is just insane!!!

Hot Dog?

2007-07-04T13:04:00.001-04:00

OK, so for reasons I cannot explain, I love to watch the hot dog eating contest. When the contestants were coming on, a man named Tim Janus was carrying a sign, something about Hartford. When the camera was on him, he turned the sign around and the back said HERMIONE DIES. Does he really know this or is it just his theory? I hope that she doesn't, what would poor Ron do??? I will watch for you tube to have a copy and post it.

Randomness

2007-07-04T00:20:00.000-04:00

I will start with Libby decision, shocking right? What a freaking joke. Happy Independence day! I am sure it will be terribly hard for him to come up with the $250,000 fine. Who's ready to move to Canada?

Ok, on to things that don't make me want to leave the country. Sophie's bottom two teeth are now completely through and visible when she smiles. She is constantly playing with them, either with her tongue or fingers, so it is next to impossible to get a picture of them.

Something is wrong with my van, it is overheating. The garage thinks it is a cracked head gasket. Oh happy day!! Chris is also having similar problems with his car, but his only overheats when he is stuck in traffic or idling for more than a few minutes, so we are going to get my car fixed, then wait a few more weeks to worry about his.

I am terribly excited about the Order of the Phoenix movie in just six days and even more excited about the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows in 17 days. I am anxious and worried about poor Harry. The end of the last book when Dumbledore died (if you didn't read it yet, that is your problem) actually made solemn and sad for like two weeks! The only characters I like more than Dumbledore are Fred and George, so unless one of them gets *GULP* killed, I don't think I could be more sad.

OK, I guess that is all I have, have a happy Fourth, eat lots of Hot-dogs and drink oodles of beer and discuss the option of moving to Canada....

Kfun Kfood Kfantasy

2007-06-27T23:06:00.000-04:00

We took Sophie to Knoebels for the first time. Of course, it was the hottest day of the year, with record breaking highs. She rode the train, the antique cars, and the carousel. She didn't not like the rides, she was just indifferent to everything. The look on her face in every picture is one of complete boredom. She is 8 months old and six inches from being able to ride the flume. Her favorite part of the day was seeing a man walking his dog, she loves dogs. Simon can just walk by her and she laughs out loud.

Sophie had a doctors appointment on Tuesday, she is 30 inches, 2 1/2 feet, 1/2 as tall as my best friend Mindy. She weighed 20.2 pounds. She was in the 90th percentile with weight and off the charts with her height (shocking I know). She did much better with the shots, she only cried for about a minute, she even waved at the mean nurse on the way out.

We went to John and Lisa's wedding over the weekend and had a great time. It was the first time we left Sophie overnight. I was fine until it was time for bed, then it was just plain weird. The wedding was beautiful. Chris, Dave D, and John's brothers and dad sang "If I should Fall Behind" by Bruce Springsteen for John and Lisa's first dance. It was really sweet, and of course got me all misty eyed as weddings always do.

I have had at least ten things I wanted to blog about over the last few weeks and now forget them all, so now I will just add that Sophilia (my WOW warlock) is now level 56. I am still addicted.

TMI

2007-06-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

I have this weird useless talent, I can find a four leaf clover pretty much any where (except my parents backyard, I think I found them all from there). I was looking through my yearbook and found a couple that I had stuck in there. Since I was thinking about it, I started looking while I was walking the dog and to my surprise, I found a seven leaf clover. Perhaps this is one of the joys of living next to Three Mile Island. I meant to take a picture of it and post it here, but I stuck it in a book and cannot remember which book. When I find it I will post the picture, it is pretty impressive.

Sophie is spoiled. She will only fall asleep when I am holding her and if I put her down, she cries like the world is ending. I have been trying to lay her on the bed next to me and playing with her until she dozes off, then put her in the crib. She starts to scream the second I lay her down. Tonight I layed in bed next to the crib and sang to her, if I moved at all, her eyes would shoot open. I do believe we are creating a monster.

I read the book Running with Scissors, it was of course better than the movie. I just started reading about Augusten's adult life in Dry. It is also good.

"Don't stop believing"

2007-06-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

I am not even sure what to say about the Soprano's (Spoilers to come). For the first several minutes after it was over I was speechless and angry, but I am over that now and I think I liked it. The song selection was perfect, and Phil's death was more than I could have hoped for. I loved the detective saying we may win this after all, I think other than Phil's death, that was my favorite part. I was also relieved that Paulie didn't turn on Tony. Him sitting on the street sunning was the perfect end for him. It was like everything was back to normal and it was business as usual. I wish Sil would have showed some sign that he was going to be alright. Overall, I will say it was not the best episode, but I feel ok with the ending, I mean it was no Six Feet Under finale, but how could it be.

I didn't have the oomph to start a new series last night, so we did not watch John form Cincinnati, but I plan on catching it on demand. I am also looking forward to the return of Big Love tonight.

Sadly, I only had a camera phone

2007-06-10T18:47:00.001-04:00

Poor Bobby

2007-06-03T23:17:00.001-04:00

What can I say except holy effing Sopranos!!!!

Everyone thinks Paulie will be the one to turn on Tony, but I have faith that it won't be him. It just can't be him!!!

It has been over for an hour and I am still edgy, I chewed off all my nails while I was watching it. Gross, I know. I think AJ should really have gotten an ass kicking too, what a pansy.

Harrysburg

2007-06-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

Wow, how cool is this? On August 11, Harrisburg becomes Harrysburg. An outdoor sowing of the Sorcerer's Stone and there is even live music from the Moaning Myrtles!

Unskinny Bop

2007-05-31T15:25:00.000-04:00

I bought tickets to go see Poison in Scranton on August 25. I am so terribly excited I can hardly contain myself.

I went shopping yesterday, and all of the shirts that you can buy look like maternity shirts??!?! I wore maternity shirts all last summer, I don't want to do it again. Every time I see somebody wearing one, I automatically assume they are having a baby. I would guess these new shirts have made for some very uncomfortable moments for people. When I was pregnant, people asked me all the time when I was do, I would assume they will be asking a lot of people wearing these shirts the same thing. Unless you have no belly at all, it is bound to happen.

The Sopranos wasn't on Sunday, because it was a holiday. That is stupid. What else do you do after sitting in the hot sun for hours having a cookout, but watch TV. I just don't understand how they are going to wrap the show up in two episodes! Maybe they are lying and there will really be another season. I saw that one of the creators from Six Feet Under is doing another show on HBO, it cannot be as good as six feet, but I still look forward to it.

And finally, my friend Mindy was outside at work talking to Gumby and he told her to tell me hello and to let me know that there was a TA position in Harrisburg. After almost a year, he still misses me.... Ahhhh!

Vacay

2007-05-18T14:07:00.000-04:00

For Mother's day me, mom, and Sophie took a mini vacation to Massanutten Resort in Mcgaheysville, VA. We went antiquing in the Shenandoah valley. The resort was beautiful, we had a two bedroom unit with a full kitchen and two bathrooms. It also had a jacuzzi that was bigger than my bathroom. We saw a very new baby deer who could hardly walk, it was very Bambi'ish. I hate to say it, but after the first antique place we went to, I had had enough. The store was the size of a grocery store and literally piled to the ceiling with junk. I didn't buy anything since my house is piled to the ceiling with junk.

I will say again that southerners are just plain weird. I saw a woman talking about how tragic it was about Jerry Falwell dying, then noticed that all the flags were flying at half mast for the weirdo! I also saw a bumper sticker that said CAUTION: Unsocialized home schooled children on board!!! It is not enough that you are home schooling, but to advertise it!!!

Soprano Spoiler: What the hell?!?!? It is like they are trying to make us HATE Tony and it is working. I cannot believe that he killed Christopher!!! I was just in shock the whole rest of the show, I have to watch it again to see what else happened, cause it is a blur after that. I will say though that this season is way better than last, not as good as the first few, but better.

And finally, how come I have not heard anyone talking about the movie Running with Scissors? I loved it. If you have not watched it, please do and let me know what you think.

2007-05-06T18:21:00.001-04:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo a day late!!

DD

2007-05-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

Chris and I love Sheetz and eat there all the time, but the Sheetz in Harrisburg sucks ass. We have eaten there three times and three times they have put the wrong stuff on our food. I wrote a letter. I know, pathetic, but I was pissed. Here is the response I got:

"Please accept my apology for the poor customer service you received
while visiting the Harrisburg Sheetz store. I have reviewed your email
with the store manager, Paresh Patel. Paresh will follow up with his
staff on the importance of accuracy when making food. He will also take
steps to improve the customer attentiveness in his store. I will be
sending you coupons and hope you will give us a chance to provide you
with a good customer experience. Thank you for taking the time to email

us concerning this situation."

So, I guess it is OK, though they screwed up three times and only sent us two coupons, I guess it is better than nothing.

Next, Chris and I went for groceries on Sunday and we noticed the World weekly News. The headline reminded me of Looney Luna (if you don't know, it doesn't matter). The headline read: "Redneck Vampire Attacks Trailer Park" I had to buy it and must say the whole magazine was quite informing! Thank goodness, the Redneck Vampire AKA "Vladdy-Joe Crump" has died. The town found out it was him attacking and threw him in the clank. For his last meal he requested a T-Bone steak. After eating, he had a massive coronary. Per Dr. Evans an amateur naturalist, "It was poetic justice, the steak went right to his heart". No really, that is what the magazine said. It is hilarious.

And finally. Tonight, my mom and I went to the movies to see the 20th anniversary edition of Dirty Dancing! Aside from the obnoxious gay guy behind us who liked Johnny even more than me, it was quite fun. I am not ashamed to admit it, I love Johnny. Seeing him on the big screen renewed my love for him. The final scene, a large portion of the audience was on their feet dancing, clapping, and singing "I've had the time of my Life". That part was also a little uncomfortable, because of course I was crying tears of joy.

SC trip

2007-04-13T17:55:00.000-04:00

Chris and I went to South Carolina for Easter. His parents were supposed to come visit us, but his mom had to have surgery on her knee so we went there. This is the first time ever that I did not spend Easter with my family. I mean we usually have to go to two Easter dinners, but to be 11 hours away from my family sucked. Sophie was able to wear her Dolly dress that Chris's parents got me at my shower. She was not at all pleased with the lace and decided if this was how Easter was going to be, she'd prefer to skip it.

On to the trip. When we got to Anderson, we passed my favorite place of all time. It is a garage/church. There are at least 20 - 30 broke down and very rusted cars in the parking lot and on a lot of them there were painted messages like One way Jesus. The building is pretty much split in half, half where they work on cars and the other half they worship. The church side has more spray painted stuff crosses and more messages, the auto body shop has old signs hanging on it. There is are two signs in front of the place one about oil changes and one about worship times. Chris's parents don't really see the humor so we were not able to go to the services and sadly, I was not able to get a picture, but will try again next trip.

Next, in South Carolina, they do not have car inspections. I thought this was pretty neat until a car pulled in next to us at the cracker barrel and was missing a hood!!! Umm, maybe it is me, but that cannot be safe right???

I did amazingly manage to find a radio station that was not christian or country, it was actually really good so I felt the need to mention it. It is 93.3 The Planet. It was very 1992. They of course had to throw in an occasional new song about pants around the knees, but for the most part it was Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam etc. It reminded me a lot of high school. I liked it a lot. So if you are sick of the CD's you brought and in the Charlotte NC - Anderson SC area try to listen to it, it is fun.

And finally of course I must bitch about drivers. I get more annoyed with drivers than anything else in the world. The ride down and most of the way back was OK, but somewhere in VA, this asshole was behind me (I was behind at least 10 cars) all moving around 75ish mph. This ass felt the need to try to get around me, of course there was very little room in the non passing lane so he was not even completely around me when he started coming back over! I had to break so he could move one car length ahead. Why? What is the point of this kind of driving? I hate people who tailgate, so I always leave at least a car length and a half ahead of me and the next car, but then dicks like this ruin it.

So anyhow, we are home now and I can finally after 6 nights without it play WOW. I decided to write this first because if I would not have, I never would have wrote it because I would of course be playing.

HP OOTP

2007-04-13T17:22:00.000-04:00

Famous relatives!

2007-03-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

Chris's parents are doing a family tree for Sophie and they joined Ancestry.com. I was looking my family up and my 11th Great Grandmother is the fifth great grandmother of Doc Holliday! OK, not too impressive, but I was excited.

So this makes him my 8th cousin. (I only know this because Ancestry.com told me).

New Milestone

2007-02-19T00:20:00.000-05:00

Today Sophie had cereal for the first time. We are hoping it willmake her full and she will go to sleep a little earlier. It is 12:19 AM and she is asleep, so it is working so far. She also rolled over on Valentines Day. My little baby is growing up!!

So we took Sophie to church for the first time today. I feel a little guilty, cause I don't know if I believe it, so should we take her there? I think we are going to have her baptized also. Again, I don't know if I believe in all that, but it cannot hurt to have all her bases covered right? I mean when I was a kid I went to church and went to Bible School and church camp, and I actually liked it, so I feel like I should let her have that opportunity. I hope that she will not be brain washed like so many of the church goers I know, but I hope she will pay attention and form her own opinion and also learn about other religions. I know this is a lot of thinking and blabbing about stuff that I don't think will matter for her at least for quite a few years, but it made me feel bad being there listening to the preacher thinking the whole time yeah right.

OK, moving on I am still addicted to WOW (so much so that I refer to it as WOW). I am only level 15, having Sophie seriously takes away from my game playing time and I also made myself a different character to play when I get pissed and cannot do something with my "main" character "Sophilia". Right now I am having an awful time with Sophilia, I am stuck in the deadmines. I have literally died at least 30 times.

Arctic Baby

2007-02-12T03:49:00.000-05:00

Sophie got a new winter coat.

Anna Nicole!

2007-02-08T23:46:00.000-05:00

I recently started playing World of Warcraft and am blown away!!! I cannot stop. I even missed the office and Earl tonight because of it. But I had to put my theory about Anna up quick. I think the rich guys family did it. They couldn't do it while all the trials and such were all over the news, but now the "father" of the baby has had her all over the news again, so this was their chance.... C'mon, you know I am right!!

Sophie has started talking constantly and I can now feel teeth. I cannot see them yet, but they are sharp. She laughs out loud, coos and gurgles a lot and tries to sing with us. I have not uploaded the recent pics onto the computer from the camera, but when I do, I will post a recent one.

OK, I am off to WOW...

HP!!

2007-02-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

I got my official email from the fan club that the new Harry Potter book will be released on July 21, 2007!!!! Holy crap I am too old to be this excited!!!

New England is OUT!

2007-01-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

I was a little disappointed that the Saints lost, I mean they beat the Eagles, so I had hoped they would go on to win the Super Bowl. However, I was so very relieved the colts beat the pats. I don't think I could take another New England superbowl.

On a side note, Heroes kind of sucked tonight, I was really disappointed. I mean I have been waiting over a month, and it was just boring.

Lack of oomph

2007-01-21T01:06:00.000-05:00

We went grocery shopping tonight. It was really really crowded. This man bumped into a woman and she FLIPPED out. She started shouting about what a fucking idiot he was. There were at least 30 people and kids within 20 feet of her. It was just bizarre. Not that it matters, but I am pretty sure the guy did not deliberately do it. He wasn't rude afterwards, I think he mumbled excuse me even. People are nuts.

I have no oomph to blog anymore. None at all. There has been so much happening, but it is just to much effort to talk about it all. For instance, a woman that Chris works with had her finger bitten off. Literally. I should really have a paragraph or two about it, but again, no oomph.

I received word that Gumby who is no longer allowed to pass out gum at work is also no longer allowed to feed his beloved birds at work either. Apparently there are just too many of them and there was some kind of incidence with a hawk. God I miss that lovable nut case!

We tried to watch Pirates tonight and neither one of us could get into it. We turned it off half way through (I would have stopped watching 20 minutes into it if it were not for Johnny). I really liked the first one, so was very disappointed. I also did not get the musical Scrubs. I love the show, but thought the musical was just not so great. I did love the Office though. The Officer and a Gentleman song at Staples was just perfect.

Sophie is growing too quickly. She is now too big for her 0-3 month clothes and has moved on to 3-6. I am afraid it will not take her long to grow out of them too. She is actually about 2 pounds from growing out of her bassinet. It is probably time to put her in her room in her crib, but I just cannot do it. Tomorrow we are moving a dresser out of our room and moving her big crib into our room. Pathetic, I know but I am just not ready for her to be in a different room! She is almost rolling over, she get almost upright on her side and then just gets stuck. I am guessing within another few days, she will get the whole way over. She LOVES bath time. She has even started crying when I take her out of the tub. She is sleeping a solid 7-8 hour per night now. THANK GOODNESS!