Ok, here we go.

This is only a test....

Wow! If you turn your head sideways, you can see a way-too-light picture of my newly-remodeled bathroom. I got a new digital camera and I'm still trying to figure our this stupid Presto! Mr. Photo software.

My next trick will be to add it so you don't have to rotate your head. I will work on the lighting tomorrow.

Why???

Why am I having such a hard time writing new posts? It seems like whenever I get to use the computer, I spend my time reading posts on the QVC beauty board or the Gopherhole basketball board. I really should set a goal to write at least one post a day or something. One every other day? I doubt I'd run out of material because I have so much to say. Maybe I am just sick of complaining about my job??? Since I spend so much time each day there, it seems like I think about it a lot. I need to start leaving it all at the door when I leave there. I used to be able to do that, but ever since I started handling new business, I have been so stressed out and cranky. But when I was handling renewals, I was bored. I'll never be happy.

New episode of The O.C. tonight. I'm not sure what I think of Taylor and Ryan together??? I want Ryan to be happy, but I wanted him to be happy with Marissa. Yes, I know it's a tv show.

The Biggest Loser 3 finale is next week. I'd really like Kai to win. Mostly because I like her name. They have inspired me. I really wish that my foot would stop hurting so I could exercise more. I exercise every night until the pain gets to be too much. I do have a doctors appt. on Dec. 27th, so hopefully my dr. can fix me and make me better.

I'm tired, but not like sleep-tired. Like exhausted-tired. I'm going to finish watching ER and then go to bed....

Friday, I'm in love

That's a song, too. (See Monday, Monday blog) I don't know many other songs with a day of the week in it. Let's see- Manic Monday (The Bangles), Rainy Days & Mondays (The Carpenters), Except for Sunday (which was never good anyway, Tuesday I get a little sideways, Wednesday I feel better just for spite. Thursday, Friday take too long, before I know it Saturdays gone, but it's Sunday now and you can that I'm all right) (Lorrie Morgan), okay and we've already got Monday,Monday (The Mama's and the Papa's) and Friday, I'm in love (The Cure). Oooh, and some song that goes "It's Friday night, just got paid, party hunting, some other babble". Except I think the song is called "Just got paid" and there is no way I will be able to remember who sings it. I think N'sync re-did it, though. Oh, and Elton John's Saturday night's all right for fighting. Oh and Sunday girl by Blondie. And Blue Monday by New Order, which is the reason I bought that cd. And a disco song that goes "Saturday Night, saturday night", no idea who sang that one.

Ok, I;m kind of over songs with a day of the week in them.

My child wants dinner. I guess I am legally (and morally) obligated to feed her......

Monday, Monday

That's a song, in case anyone cares.

I finished the Wendy Corsi Staub book. It got a little better. I'd give it 2 stars out of 5. It didn't hurt me, but I wouldn't re-read it. I also finished Honeymoon by James Patterson. So it's takes me a month to read The Final Victim and less than 24 hours to read Honeymoon?!? I'd give that one 4&1/2. Very, very good. And easy to read. And suspensful. Recommended!

I get to wear jeans tomorrow. yippee. I like jeans.

I also came up with a Christmas present idea for ZickyZou's mom. I am not going to type it in case the world is plotting against me and someone steals my idea. but as a reminder to myself- foot network.

ok, time to go exercise....

Happy Saturday!

Thanksgiving was most excellent. And my house is still fairly clean. That means I don't have to do much of anything today. Sit around and watch tv. ZickyZou is going to hang out with some of his friends and play video games, MissZalyssa is at her dad's. That means the house (and all the leftovers) are mine.

My closet is fantastic! I would post a picture, but the only digital camera we have is on Zalyssa's phone since she broke my real one. I love my new closet. And the bars are not coming down. I doubt you get them down even if you wanted to. and the bars are not connected, so if one were to fall, the other would stay up.

I don't really feel like blogging. I would rather go sit on the couch and do nothing. I have been trying to read a book, The Final Victim", by Wendy Corsi Staub, but it is really hard to get into. I have read a couple of her books and enjoyed them, but this one is slow. But I am not picking up another book until I finish this one, so that is certainly incentive to get it read.

I am also trying to decide if I should get dressed today. I am very comfortable in faded pajama pants and a holey sweatshirt. But I could not go and get the mail in these clothes. You can see my purple underwear through the thread-bare pajama pants. I don't know why I haven't disposed of these. I have numerous pairs of newer pajama pants. They are just not nearly as comfortable as these.

OK, off to read my boring book......

I scored at drugstore.com!!!

I got the best deals on Philosophy stuff today at drugstore.com. They are having a 20% off sale, today only. So I got 20% off. If you spend over $49, you get free shipping. If you spend $40 on Philosophy products, you get a free $18 Amazing Grace Soap set. If you spend $50, you get a $25 hand and foot lotion combo, If you spend $100 at beauty.com (drugstores sister site), you get a free $25 Amazing Grace bubble bath. So I got $16o worth of products for $120, plus all that free stuff. AWESOME!! I got Alyssa a couple of things for Christmas, and I got myself the new Philosophy the Fragrance. I am so excited. I love Philosophy stuff. It took me about 2 hours to figure out which order you had to add the discounts because you have to go through links to get some of them, but I really needed retail therapy after the horrible day at work I had. I was ready to scream after dealing with a couple of difficult agents, but I certainly feel better after going on my scent-sational shopping spree.

Tomorrow night MissZalyssa and I are going to go shopping for paint for the bathroom. I got towels, a shower curtain and bath mats in the mail today- they are turquoise. So we are trying to decide what color to paint. Zalyssa wants lime green, and I don't think I would object to a lighter lime color. But yellow would be nice. I guess we are really just going to have to look at the options. I am bringing one of the turquoise washcloths along. It's just that it is so hard to judge the color on a little tiny sample card. You really need to see the color on the wall.

I have Friday off and next Wednesday. I am doing nothing after Thanksgiving. Three whole days of nothing! I am going to watch The Stand, and maybe put up the Christmas tree that I don't have yet. We'll see.

Ok, I am going to iron my skirt for tomorrow and then take a shower......

I'm still mad at the The O.C.

ok, so not only did they kill off Marissa, they showed a brand new episode on a Wednesday. Yes, there will be a new episode on Thursday during their regularly scheduled time, but what if I had not been scrolling through the guide and saw that they had a new episode on Wednesday? Why would I expect a new episode on Wednesday? Thursday night is The O.C. night. I did get to watch the Wednesday episode in it's entirety, but the I couldn't watch The Biggest Loser. I hate the O.C. people. They suck. And they're dumb. And if I had something better to do I would not watch.

ZarahZou got a new job. Congratulations, ZarahZou! I could use a new one.

It's 78 degrees in my house. That's practically an oven temperature.

I'm doing preliminary Thanksgiving cleaning this weekend. It'll easily take me three weeks to clean, so I need to start now. Maybe I will even put the jack-o-lantern decorations away. I have a pretty pumpkin on my tv, and other assorted orange things floating around. I suppose it's probably time to start thinking about Christmas decorations. And presents. What in the world do I get my dad? I am so out of creative, fun ideas. At least I'm just about done with Zalyssa, except for her big present, which I can not get until the week before Christmas because it's her choice and she keeps changing her mind.

Tomorrow Philosophy is on QVC. I am seriously considering getting the Amazing Grace kit on auto-delivery for $60. It's a great deal, and I love how happy wearing Amazing Grace makes me. But do I need it?

ok, I am going to bed early.....

Election returns

For some reason, I find watching election returns to be fascinating. Actually, I think it might be the whole process of democracy. We get the privilege of voting, and that's huge. I like presidential elections because the whole concept of the electoral college is just fascinating (didn't I use that word already?).

I am, however, deeply disturbed by the people that oppose gay marriage. The people I know personally that are against it have been unable to give me any reasoning that even gives me anything to think about as far as my opinion. The only real argument they have is "It destroys the sanctity of marriage" or "Marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman and the bible says....". Ok, will someone please tell me exactly how allowing a gay person to have a legally recognized commitment to the person they want to spend the rest of their life with destroys the sanctity of marriage? I'd actually really like to understand this. The only people that could destroy the sanctity of my upcoming marriage are me and Nick. That's it. Our marriage will be about our personal and lifelong commitment to each other. And only one of us would have the power to do anything to harm that. It doesn't matter who marries who or what the neighbors are doing. If people were really concerned about the "sanctity of marriage", perhaps they should first work on the divorce rates. And infidelity. The very people that are speaking out against gay marriage are screwing around on their spouse, or are divorced and re-married. And it really, really makes me mad that a convicted child molester/murderer can get married as long as they marry someone of the opposite sex, but yet a highly moral, law abiding gay couple can not. I just don't get it. And the bible was written 18 million years ago. Times have changed and our laws and morals need to change along with them. I don't understand how anyone could be against 2 consenting adults pledging to be together till death do they part.

Ok, it's past my bedtime.....

Mondays!

My commute home was about four times as long as it usually is due to an accident. I hope everyone involved is okay, and I'm sorry it happened, but that doesn't stop me from being cranky about it. I sat right by the exit to 394 East and didn't get off 169 because taking 394 would be way out of my way. So after sitting there for 45 minutes, the traffic starts to move. Yes, it moves because they are detouring people off of 169 onto 394 West. YES! SO I get on 394 West only to loop around (because West won't take me anywhere near where I need to go) and get on 394 East! So I take that down to 100 and go 27 miles out of my way and get home at about midnight! Had I just gotten off on 394 and headed East to being with, I'd have been home about an hour and a half earlier. But, I would much rather sit in traffic.

When I got home I took Zalyssa to Target. We spent $90.06. That's a lot of money. But now she has a winter jacket so she can't call Child Protection as she has been threatening to do since apparently 74 degrees is not warm enough, and I wouldn't buy her a winter jacket. Well, the heat is off and it's 75 in the house and she has a jacket. So, there.

The wonderful midwestern sales reps are in town for a meeting. Perhaps ZarahZou would like to stop in and say hi??? I had to shake Mr.Slimeball's hand. Ick.

It's after 9:00. I'm going to throw another coat of "OPI Nail Envy" on my nails. Too bad it doesn't work. Oh, well. It only retails at $14.95 a bottle.

Silly association rules, or is he a liar??

So ZickyZou told me that he could not help clean the house by cleaning the toilets because apparently there is an association rule against cleaning the toilets after 10:00 pm. And since he doesn't get home from work until 10:00, he can't clean them. Now, he obviously wouldn't lie to me, so he needs to come up with an explanation to explain the following:
*I have read the association rule book front to back and did not see that rule.
*He has not read ANY of the association rule book.
*He does not know where I stored the association rule book so he can't find it and read it.
*That would be a stupid rule.
*Even I am not gullible enough to fall for said rule.
So was he lying?

He gave up on that story when I explained that he could get up ten minutes early in the morning and clean. Then he tried to say that there was an association rule against HIM cleaning the toilets. Men!!

I took Zalyssa and Zemily to see Saw III. Holy gruesomeness. There was a lot of blood. And we have to go see Saw IV to see if the guy gets to save his daughter. Not fair. I hate paying $18 and not having an ending.

I fell down the stairs again. I am a klutz. At least Zalyssa and Zemily were the only ones here to laugh at me. I thought I broke my ankle, but it feels better. I do have a nasty looking bruise on my arm, though. And I was walking down the stairs very slowly because my feet hurt. So what happened?

The doctor called Friday afternoon to inform me that Zalyssa tested positive for a bacteria that can cause ulcers. So she is now taking two different antibiotics plus the prilosec. And her stomach still hurts.

Ok, I am going to watch the second half of the Vikings game.....

Oops, a typo

Post # 53 refers to "Manola Blahniks". I could go back and correct the typo since it's Manolo, but I get an extra post if I just type a new entry to correct that typo.

I just got an e-mail from my dad that was from my sister. She is in the "Jon Carry" picture that is currently on the news- she's the one behind the "N". She's almost famous.

Post # 54

Zarah Zou has 100 posts. I only have 54. Buy I could catch up in no time if I started posting 3 or 4 a day. Too bad I'm so lazy.

The O.C.

The new season of The O.C. started tonight. The O.C. without Marissa is like, well, buying only one designer shoe and leaving the other at the store. Yeah, you could take the one and put it on your mantle. But it's not the same. You can never wear them as a pair, and one Manola Blahnik is pretty, but it's just not a pair. So I guess the point of that is that I am not really feeling the show without Marissa. I was always waiting for their fairy-tale wedding, and now that is never going to happen. I'm very disappointed. I hope that Mischa Barton gets a blister from her shoes, un-repairable split ends, and lots of cellulite as a punishment for ruining my fantasy about the storybook wedding. I guess I have an extra free hour on Thursdays now.

Tomorrow is Friday! Yippee for Friday. I like Fridays.

I also like sleep, so off I go....

5 trick or treaters

That's it. 5. I guess next year they are each getting a new car or something because I have 6.5 pounds of candy left. Maybe I should put it in the garage and pull it out next year???

ok, so I semi-started my novel. I have about 600 words. I let Zalyssa read it while we were in the dr's office since she ripped it out of my hand. She laughed at it, then told me it was dumb. Then she suggested I quit my job and write full time because then I could be rich. I tired to explain that more than a million people a year write novels, and maybe 5% get published, and maybe 1% make enough money to quit their day job. She didn't believe me. But since 86% of stastics are made up on the spot, I am quit comfortable with the numbers I chose. And I am not writing it for the money or the prestige, I just want to finish it. I just have to come up with a plot.

I left work early to take Zalyssa to the dr. She still has a stomachache. The doctor still says it's her stomach and she prescribed prilosec to be taken twice a day. Hopefully she feels better soon.

I turned the heat on. And I cranked it up to 72 since Zalyssa is sick and she was cold. On my way to bed I am shutting it off again until at least Nov. 15th.

okay, bedtime....

Trick or Treat???

It's been dark for exactly 26 & 1/5 minutes, and no trickortreaters have come to my door. That means that I may need to eat 7 pounds of candy. oh, well. worse things could happen.

Consider this sentence the extent of what I am writing about work.

So do I really start a novel tomorrow? I have so many idea's running through my head, but they are more along the lines of short stories. I am reading a book that is starting out pretty blah- At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. I have enjoyed every book of hers that I have read. But I am on chapter 5 of this one and I am just not feeling it. But I am going to finish it before I can move on to the next book. And who knows, it might get better.

Still no trickortreaters. I even have my fake-o-matic pumpkin sitting on a chair. I turned on my "porch" light, which turns on the garage light. So it's well lit. I guess it's only 20 after 6, so there's still time, but I'm impatient.

I'm going to go watch Wheel-of-Fortune and eat some pounds of candy.....

H-A-DOUBLE-L-O-W-DOUBLE-E-N....

Can Little Red Riding Hood wear fishnets? Because that is my plan. And since it is my costume, I can do whatever I want. I bought a loooonng, velvety red cape at Walmart for less than $10. And I got the cutest basket and plaid napkins that will be both a costume accessory and my purse. I can throw my cell phone, lip gloss and a bottle of water in the basket. How awesome is that?

MissZalyssa is going to be a pirate. In a mini-skirt. hmmmm......

In case anyone cares, Neville is not only an idiot, he is stupid, too. And he turns EVERYTHING into a drama. Maybe it's cause he wants to do a good job, but he over-analyzes more than Voldy, and I didn't think that was possible. And he doesn't listen.

I got pop-rocks to hand out on Halloween, except I doubt that there will be any left because they are so much fun. I guess the kids that dare to venture to my door will be getting Smarties, Dun-dums (what an odd combo), sixlets and m&m's. Someone(s) ate the kit-kats and take-5's.

It's past my bed-time. I tired to log-on to blogger earlier, but it wouldn't let me. So I'm going to bed.

Sunday!

Last week Zrandon, ZarahZou's husband, delivered to me a stack of coupons for the movie theater, along with instructions from ZarahZou that I needed to go to 6 movies in 2 weeks in order to redeem them. Well, that would be impossible, but ZickyZou and I did go to see Flags of our Fathers last night (which was excellent!! and I highly recommend it) and I gave coupons to a couple of people behind us. They were very, very happy. Who doesn't want to save $2 per ticket? So, that was my good deed, courtesy of ZarahZou. Thank you, ZarahZou!

I made a most excellent dinner of baked chicken and mashed potatoes. It was very good.

The gophers won yesterday, despite trying their hardest to lose. The Vikings are up by 11, so maybe they'll be able to hold on and win. We (me, Zalyssa and her friend Zemily) were going to go and see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Zemily wasn't home. She was the one who chose the time. And heaven forbid that Zalyssa would go to a movie with just me. What would people think? I would like to believe that I am not that terrible to be around, but I guess I am.

I have to drive myself to work the next three days because my car-pool person has to work at her other job at 4:00. I've almost forgotten the way there. I like car-pooling. I think that they may be considering NG as a permanent replacement for ZarahZou. This sucks because NG has really bad breath. If ZarahZou had had that problem (which I don't think she did) I would have offered her a mint. I am not sharing my mints with NG.

I got my hair cut yesterday. I am now minus 2 & 1/2 inches of hair. Well, 2&1/2 inches of split ends. It is so scary to get my hair cut by someone with really, really bad hair. But she didn't do too bad, although she did tell me that I looked too young to have a 14 year old daughter. Well, I do have a 14 year old, and I easily feel my age plus some. I hope I look 10 years younger when I am in my 50's.

Ok, Miss Zalyssa wants the computer.....

It's past my bedtime...

but it's Friday, so I thought I could stay up for a little while longer and maybe clean my sticky keyboard. I was watching Datelines On-line predator special, and all I can say is WTF!! What is wrong with people? They are so frickin' sick. Soliciting 13 year olds via chatrooms? Ick! I am taking it very personally since I have a daughter in that age-range, but if any of those sick-f*cks showed up at my house, they better hope that they are black-belts, because in a fight- I'd win. Somebody would need to hold me back. I just don't get it. And many of the men were married, with kids, some were military men, doctors, a rabbi. WTF??? 13 year olds. Ok, I can't write about that anymore because it makes me so cranky.

Tomorrow I am thinking about getting my hair cut. I could really use a trim. And since it is $13 whole dollars, I am debating about really getting a cut. Maybe a couple off inches. We'll see. I'll probably end up sleeping in instead since I am up until 10:30.

The lady temp and Dumbledork got into another argument again about coverages. I thought someone was going to get punched. But I took Dumbledorks side, even though I knew he was wrong, just because it was funny. Then on the way home (since I car-pool with lady-temp) I told her that it is usually just easier to agree with dumbledork because he only has two arguments and I know them already- "My son-in-law used to work at a bank" and "I used to own my own agency". They were fighting about tail endorsements for EPLI, and obviously he does not know that LT used to work at an agency and handle only EPLI, so she knows a little bit about it. And since I am able to read, I know a tiny bit about it. He was so wrong, and that's why it's funny to agree with him. I heart my job.

I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my "I doubt it's authentic" authentic kate spade handbag that I won on ebay for less than $25. You are not going to get a "gently used" real kate spade for under $25. That's just not going to happen, even on ebay. But $25 is a fair amount to pay for a fake one. Now, I am totally against buying fake handbags and I understand that buying fakes equals supporting terrorism. However, the seller guaranteed authenticity, so it's okay to buy guaranteed-authentic fakes, because I can pretend like it's real since the seller swears it is. If I were really dumb (as opposed to just kinda dumb) then I might think I was buying a real one. But I'm okay with $25 for a black handbag. Any maybe it is real and the seller is really, really rich and dumb and considers giving it away on ebay the same as donating it to the goodwill.

My electric bill is $50, down from $100. And I still have not turned on the heat. And my house is 74 degrees. That's practically hot. No heat for us this winter. As long as it stays above 60, no heat.

ok, I should get to bed since I have a big day tomorrow- maybe a haircut, definitely a trip to the grocery store, and the Gophers vs. NDSU. Please let them win, I am feeling really defeated and need a good sporting event to make me forget about how much life can suck sometimes. I'm tired, I'm cranky, I just paid the dentist $90 for fillings I didn't want, we have no milk, the garbage stinks because I dumped pasketti sauce in it, my carpets need to be vacuumed, the rest of my house is a mess, my keyboard is sticky, I work with dumb people and jerks, I miss working with ZarahZou, I hate listening to peoples Halloween costumes (I personally think that dressing up like an old lady, a bag lady or a "hobo" is no different than dressing up like an overweight person, a person battling cancer, or any other discriminatory thing), my nails keeps peeling and breaking, my daughter is failing 2 classes, I don't have enough money to pay the phone bill or the cable, I have 5 loads of laundry that need to be done. And all of these things would feel irrelevant if the Gophers would just win. Go, Gophers!!

The dangers of low rise jeans!!

It's been quite a while since I have "blogged". It's not really that I have been too busy, just that I have so many things to do. The laundry monsters come in every night and take the clean clothes and put them in the hamper so that it seems like I am doing two or three loads a night! Well, maybe not quite that many, but it seems like I am washing more clothes than we could possibly wear. The other day I looked at each and every single piece individually before it went into the machine to make sure that someone had actually worn it. And they had. What is going on?

I went to the grocery store to get things to make chili today. What a nice day for it, it is cold out and it is cold in since I haven't turned the heat on yet. So Iw ore my fantastic fitting ultra-low-rise jeans from Old Navy. I couldn't find the belt that fits around my hips, so the pants go low, low, low. As I was reaching across the conveyer belt to grab the two liters of Diet Pepsi Jazz that was on sale for 2 for $1.00, I felt my sweater rise up. Normally something I would not even take notice of, except I felt a chill and then I realized that the entire store could see my thong. If I were 30 pounds thinner, this could be considered sexy. But since I'm not, I became THAT PERSON. That person that should not be wearing a thong and low-rise jeans. That person that people assume is trying to show off what she does not have. That person that makes a spectacle of themselves that people stare at. That person I so often laugh at, feel sorry for, tell stories about. It was me! I am now the story that people will use as an example. "Guess what I saw at the store today?" AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! It is probably a good thing that I have a healthy self-esteem and can find humor in my fashion faux pas. Otherwise, who knows how I would feel right now. I can only giggle.

Any volunteers to clean my toilets?

I got an e-mail the other day with the instructions to say one word about the person that sent it and e-mail the word back to them and then to send the e-mail out to my e-mail friends asking for them to say one word about me. I got funny, silly, smart and considerate. Considerate? That was really, really nice of the person to say. I was excited to get that word. I was afraid I was going to get annoying, selfish, or something like that.

The gophers are down by 2 touchdown in the first quarter. At least there are only 3 quarters left. I need to vacuum the living room, bring my summer shoes upstairs, fold clothes, sweep, and clean the toilets. Oh, and make the chili that I am really looking forward to. I am using the cheap hamburger that was on sale for $1 a pound. And the chili beans were on sale, so were the tomatoes. I'm going to make a vat of it and freeze some. And serve it with cornbread when Nick gets home from working on his car. The gophers just got a field goal! Now they are only down 14-3. My guess would be that the axe is staying in Wisconsin. The vikings can't lose tomorrow since they don't play, so at least something good will happen in my sports world this weekend.

Ok, I'm off to do my chores. Wouldn't it be lovely if I had a self-cleaning house? Or if I could take some high speed out of my computer???

I'm a car-pooler!!

I've never really car-pooled before, but this week the temp has been meeting me at Target and driving me to work. Awesome! Even though she smokes about a pack on the 20 mile drive, it still is nice to just sit and have her worry about traffic. It was her idea, and she really wanted to do it. Now I have to decide how much $$ to give her? Suggestions?

My feet still hurt!!. Really, really bad. What do I do?

Gas was $2.079!! That's practically free.

Tomorrow is ZickyZou's birthday!

Next Wenzday I am going out to lunch with ZarahZou. I miss her. It is very sad when I have something to say, and I turn around to say it but no one is listening.

The Twins Rock!!

The Twins won their division. This is soooooo exciting. Even Zicky Zou watch the end of the Detroit/KC game with me to see the Tigers lose and the Twins celebrate. I was so excited about that I didn't even care about how bad the Vikings sucked. GO, TWINS!!!

I am so totally rich. I just got a money order for $20 in the mail from one of my auctions. And I have over $20 in my paypal account after I transferred $61 to my checking account. What am I going to do with all that money? Besides pay bills, of course.

Zicky Zou started working the 12-9 shift today. That means I can pull my car into the garage and go to bed whenever I want because we decided to just switch cars back and forth so I don't have to sit and wait for him to get home. And I get the TV until 10:00! How much better could it get. Yes, I'm sad I won't see him that much, but as it is he works until at least 7 every night, most often later, so it's just a couple of hours. The only bad thing is that he won't be working every other Saturday, just 1/6 Saturdays. I really like Sat. Morning all alone. Oh, well.

Ok, I am going to make dinner....

I know what I know!!

Okay, you do not have to believe me if I tell you a procedure for doing something. But it is incredibly rude that when you don't like my answer you ask someone else what you should when I can overhear. Especially when you are asking someone that has earned the nickname DUMBLEDORK!! FYI- he does not have a clue about anything. Do not ask him what the commission is for hail. Do not ask him who to contact to bind something. Do not ask him about AOR's. There is a good chance that I am listening in, and there is an even better chance that I am going to interrupt and tell him he is wrong right when everyone else can hear. I am not doing that to be mean, I am trying to make you understand that he is CLUELESS!! There is a very good chance that I know what I am talking about. If I don't know an answer, I will make a phone call or two and find out. Just because he is 127 years old and used to own his own agency and fought in the civil war does not make him an insurance God.

I miss Zarah Zou. I miss her helping me out when I am really busy. I miss not having to explain something 87 times. I miss her being able to understand simple instructions. And I especially miss that she had faith that I was giving her the right answer. Or else she pretended she did. And I also miss her not thinking that Neville and Voldy knew anything about anything,. She was smart enough to not ask either of them a procedural question because she knew that they wouldn't know the right answers. It really sucks working with people that have respect for Voldy and Neville. and having to make sure that I don't accidentally make any remarks about their incompetence.

Ok, enough about work. My items sold on ebay, and I made a profit of $54.25. They sold for $84.25! $30 investment, $54 profit! Too bad I have to split that with my photographer. Still, I am rich!!!

Ok, I am going to work on cleaning my house since the faucet-fixer people are coming (my dad and older brother) to fix my leaky bathtub.

We're gonna win Twins, we're gonna score....

What a happy time the last few days have been in terms of MN sports. The Twins clinched a play-off spot!! They are going to the World Series! Yes, I know that a few games stand in between them and the championship, but if they keep playing the way they are now, they can't lose.

And Blake Hoffarber committed to be a Gopher! College basketball is my favorite sport to watch. I know that this season there are going to be some struggles for the TV between me and ZickyZou, but college basketbvall should certainly take precedent over a video game. Hopefully since he will be working the 12-9 shift, that should eliminate some of the conflict, so I just have to worry about Saturdays and Sundays. What if he tries to interfere with March Madness? We are definitely getting a pre-nup stating that should he not let me watch the NCAA finals, it is immediatge grounds for me to force him to stay at his parents house for the whole basketball play-off time. We have some major role-reversal going on. He does not watch any sports. I watch most all sports. Weird, huh? He'll watch a couple of innings or a quarter of something, but he does not revolve his life around basketball games like I do.

I got my $99 non-motorized treadmill. It will last at least 5-6 miles. It looks liek it is about to fall apart. But, it was only $99. And it is fold-up-able, so that's nice.

My zad bought a new faucet to replace my leaky bathtub. Now he just has to cut 2 holes in my closet wall to replace it.

Ok, I taking Miss Zalyssa and her friend Jessica to OCB for dinner. Too bad I am not that hungry....

I know pirates!

Ok, so I did not win the hole-in-one contest (The Pirate Plank-off). But Cindy and I did win both the Pirate movie trivia contest and the Treasure Hunt. This is very surprising and shocking because we answered about two of the trivia questions correctly before we realized how hard it was and we started answering goofy, silly answers. Who starred in the 1987 Pirate movie that...... well, Torii Hunter. And Name the captain of the pirate ship in.....Cindy? Ywah, we pretty much answered Bluebeard, Blackbeard, and Redbeard for just about every question. Apparently no one else know the answers either because we won!!! A half day of vacation for each of us. We rock!!!

I listed my first ever items on ebay. If you are interested in my listings, go to ebay.com and search by seller for divajennie. You can get a great deal on some philosophy samples or Serious Skin Care products. I am cleaning out my bathroom and making money! Every item I listed except one has at least one bid. I am going to be a zilllionaire. Actually, I will probably end up profiting about 16 cents after the listing fee, but I normally would just throw away the things I am not going to use, so that 16 cents is FREE!

I shampooed my carpets this morning. I went to bed at 8:30 last night. Yes, 8:30 on a Friday night. But I was sooooo tired. Then I got woken up by my cell phone ringing at 3:30. Whoever you are, I don't know you, please don't call me. 3:30 is not the time for a chat. If someone dies, call me. If you just want to make a new friend, wait until noon. I am much more pleasant. I will not swear at a wrong number at noon. I will at 3:30am. Then I went back to sleep and got woken up by ZickyZou's alarm clock at 7:00 and I got up and got out the shampooer and went to work. My carpets are almost clean.

I just got back from the grocery store. I got stuff to make enchiladas tonight. And Cub had chicken thighs and drumsticks for $1.00. So next week we are having chicken,, mashed potatoes and stuffing, yummo.

Okey, I need to check the Twins score and get started on shredding my Monterey Jack.....

Hole-in-freekin'-one

Yippee for me! I hit a hole-in-one in the United Way long putt competition today on my second shot!! It really doesn't;t mean much, a trip to the play-off's against people who golf twice a week, but at least I made it. I rock!

And since this is my blog and no one really reads it (except maybe Zarah Zou) I can write that I hit the hole-in-one while suffering from the worst cramps of my entire life. Like really, really painful cramps. Plus I'm cranky.

I bought a second pair of jeans from Old Navy. I now have a total of 4 pairs of jeans that fit. In case anyone cares, that would be 16% of my jeans that fit. Sad.

Watching the Twins is fun. They are playing so well, it is getting really exciting.

Miss Zalyssa still has a stomach ache, but it appears to be getting a little bit better. Now her hip hurts. I wish I could help her feel better. At least she is going to bed around 9:00 every night.

OK, it is getting late and I still have to fill up my water bottles and make Zicky Zou's lunch.....

Overtime!

The Vikings won in ot. I love football and I love the Vikings. The only bad part was that when we were leaving, we went into the wrong side of the parking ramp and didn't discover it until we had walked up 7 flights of stairs. Then we had to walk back down, walk 2 blocks, and walk up 7 more flights. I do not like stairs very much. Then on the way home we (My sister Zisa and me) stopped at McDonalds to get Zalyssa dinner and the only form of currency I brought with me was an expired credit card. Thank you to Zisa for paying.

I would much prefer to spend tomorrow in bed. Too bad I have the late shift. And not only am I no longer able to talk to ZarahZou all day, but my friend that I e-mail with all day is training her replacement for her job since she's moving, and so I can't e-mail her all day, either. I will be so only.

Well, Zalyssa needs help with her homework, so I am off to figure out speed and velocity.

My feet hurt!

I took MissZalyssa back to the doctor today. I had to take her to the Robbinsdale clinic, right next to North Memorial. It was very nice that the parking ramp was closed for maintenance and I couldn't find a place to park. We ended up on a side street in one hour parking. Nice! How can you close a parking ramp that is the only available parking in the whole area? Can't they "maintenance" one level at a time?

Anyhow, still no idea what is wrong with her. She still has a stomach ache, but the fever is gone. She had more tests and a rather personal exam that we are not going to talk about. And the doctor just said to keep taking the Prilosec, come back in 4-6 weeks, and if anything major happens (extreme pain, vomiting blood) to bring her in right away or go to the ER. She seems to feel a little better, so that's good.

We went to the Mall of America yesterday. That could be why my feet hurt, 5 hours of walking around the mall. I went to Trade Secret and bought some Nail Envy by O.P.I. I had to choose between the bottle of stuff for $14.95 or the bottle of stuff plus free nail polish remover and remover pads for $14.95 on sale for 30% off. It was a rather difficult decision. More items for less money??? Guess which one I went with?

I just dropped Zalyssa and Ashley off at Target. The house is so quiet. I want to turn on the tv, but I also want to maintain the quietness.

I am reading an excellent book, Judge and Jury, by Jonathan Patterson and some other guy, maybe the guy he wrote The Jester with? The book is really good, sort of John Girsham-ish. About the mob and a trial and people getting blown up. Very intriguing.

Vikings game tomorrow. I can't wait. Free tickets plus a free parking pass. I have the late shift on Monday so I don't need to be at work until 10:00, plus I can wear jeans because it's United Way week.

Ok, I am going to enjoy the silence for the next few minutes....

I'm her mom, dang it!

Ok, so MissZalyssa had a really bad stomach-ache. Moaning and crying bad. And it's been bad for about 3 days and she has a fever. So I left work early to take her to see the doctor since she stayed home from school today. So, the reception told me I couldn't sign the forms since I'm her sister. Then I said "I'm her mom". Then the receptionist-lady says "You look more like her sister". So I threw a pen at her. Well, not really but I wanted to. Then we went and saw the doctor and the doctor decided on x-rays after she did urine tests, blood tests, and an exam. The nurse who came to get Alyssa to go to x-rays asked if I wanted to come with. Then she said "And your her sister?". Jeesh. "I'm her mom!". You would think with the was that the media talks about the epidemic of teenage pregnancy that it would not be unusual for a younger mother to bring her child into the doctors office and actually be the mom. My doctor knows I'm the mom. Do I have to wear a sign? I'm the mom. I may be only 31, but I can still recall the pain and terror of giving birth 14 &1/2 years ago. If she's not my child, then some other 14 year old is.

Anyways, the poor childs stomach. The doctor was unable to determine a cause. She ended up with "Maybe an ulcer or some sort of irritation in the stomach, probably". Then she wrote her a prescription for Prilosec and (Good news!) I am taking her back to see the doctor on Saturday morning at 8:30 am for a follow-up. Lovely! I just hope MissZalyssa feels better soon.

My favoritest friend, ZarahZou baked me a loaf of bread. She is so nice. I really miss working with her. (sniffle, sniffle). But I left it on my desk. Ten bucks says that MissScuzzy ate it as soon as I left. Well, I ripped off a huge chunk for breakfast, but she probably ate the rest.

ok, shower time....

My myspace friends

I have 5 Myspace friends!!! And yes, Tom is my friend.

I think my newest addiction is Temp-tations bakeware from QVC. So far I have only bought 4 pieces, but I almost bought a few more until I remembered that I don't really like to use real dishes because I much prefer the ease of disposable aluminum pans. I have every intention of buying at least 4 or 5 more pieces, though. They look really nice sitting on top of my cupboard. Someday I'll post a picture of my new best friends. If you want see what it looks like, go to qvc.com and search for Santo Mauro.

I am taking off of work early on Friday and going to the MOA with my sister. And I get to wear jeans tomorrow and Thursday because I still have 2 United Way jeans days left. I did originally give one of them to ZarahZou, but since she left I decided that it doesn't count and I can reuse it. Allegedly we have a temp starting tomorrow to train for when knee-replacement-guy goes out on leave. I can not verify that because I heard it from someone in another department and not from my supervisor. They (meaning my supervisors) wouldn't bring someone new in and not tell the department, would they?

I am going to the Vikings game on Sunday with my sister. I hope they win. How awesome would it be to start the season 2-0???

Ok, off to finish the dishes.....

"Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament"

They (meaning the city workers) installed a couple of turn-abouts in our city, and I was driving Zalyssa and her friends around, and I decided to drive around in a circle until they got dizzy. It reminded me of the part in European Vacation where Chevy Chase gets stuck in the circle all day and keeps pointing out to the kids Big Ben and Parliament. That was funny.

Tomorrow I am picking my sister up at the airport. She is home from Iraq on r&r for two weeks. I haven't seen her in about a year. After the 2 weeks, she goes back there for another 6 months.

My house smells like bleach. But it is clean. Very. very clean. I spent about 5 hours cleaning today. I still have a little bit to do, but

I'm watching a cheesy lifetime movie, and the mom is making her son heart shaped french toast. Sweet, but what a waste of bread. I wonder what ZickyZou would say if I made him heart=shaped french toast. Would he even notice that they were shaped like hearts?

I bought a melon flavored Propel water. It is different, in a weird kind of way.

Ok, I am off to make pasketti sauce for dinner....

I'm a millionaire!!!

Ok, so I got the following e-mail, and I am 100% almost certain that it is legitimate. I don't actually remember entering the lottery, but it is possible that I did.


THE UK NATIONAL LOTTERYThe Marina Offices, St Peters Yacht Basin,Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HXEngland. Date:5th September, 2006WINNING NOTIFICATION Ref: UK/9420X2/68Batch: 074/05/ZY369 Dear Winner, We happily announce to you the draw (#1116) of the UK NATIONALLOTTERY, online Sweepstakes International program held Saturday 2nd September, 2006. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 withSerial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers (03) (08) (20) (22) (34) (40)Winning Numbers Breakdown Bonus Ball [38] which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e match 5 plus bonus. For verification and checking of your lottery winnings online,you are required to check your winning numbers and draw number and result online by clicking the uknational lottery link below and fill in your winning numbers for confirmation: You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £4,924,924 (Four million nine hundred twenty four thousand nine hundred and twenty four pounds sterlings) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03. This is from a total cash prize of £4,924,924 shared amongst the firstfour (10) lucky winner in this category i.e Match 5 plus bonus.All participants for the online version were selected randomly fromWorld Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations and corporate bodies that are listedonline. This promotion takes place weekly.Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our Europeanbooklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In view of this, your £4,924,924 (Four million nine hundred and twenty four thousand nine hundred and twenty four pounds sterlings) would be released to you by any of our payment offices in Europe. Our European agent will immediately commence theprocess to facilitatethe release of your funds as soon as you contact him.For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning informationconfidential your claim is processed and your money remitted to you inwhatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming andunwarranted abuse of this program.Please be warned. To file for your claim, please fill the form givenbelow and contact our claims agent whose details are given below ;
FILL THE FORM BELOW
Name
Sex
Age
Marital Status
Tel/Fax
Address
Annual Income
NB: FILL AND RETURN THE FORM TO THE CONTACTS BELOW; Overseas Claims UnitUnited Kingdom Lottery Fiduciary Mr.Ian Hilton,Email:ianhilton_claims_release01@hotmail.comPhone number:+447031944739(Outside UK) Once your verification form is completely filled and returned ourEuropean agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate therelease of your funds as soon as you contact him. You may wish to establish contact via e-mail with the particulars presented above citing thebatch and reference numbers to this letter. Goodluck from me and members of staff of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY.Yours faithfully, Brian HuntOnline coordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY, Sweepstakes International Program.Open 7days 8am-8pm CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, isintended only for the use of the intended recipient(s) and may containinformation that is privileged, confidential and prohibited fromunauthorized disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message inerror, please notify the sender by reply email and destroy all copies ofthe original message. Copyright 1994-2006 The UK National Lottery Inc.All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guidelines

It has to be for real, it''s copyrighted and everything. So, what am I going to do with all my money? First thing, I am buying Iowegia. That way I can banish the Iowegians to a better place, farther away. Then I am going to eat 18 loafs of garlic bread, then get liposuction. Then new shoes. Then a handbag. Then a Chanel lip gloss. I can't wait to get my check. I have to keep watching my bank account for the deposit. They said it may take 3-4 days, and I just sent them my account numner a few minutes ago. They said that my account may show some negative activity, but that that was just for security purposes.

Post-it notes everywhere!!

Zarah-Zou left me miscellaneous post-it notes all over my desk. At first the ones I found made me smile. Now they make me sad because I found a really cute one about lip gloss and I realized that I am totally alone at my desk with no one to talk to. I am surrounded by dumb people (Dumbly) or arrogant people (NewGuy-very smart, but I doubt he'd want to have a discussion about a Sophie Kinsella novel). I actually had to have a conversation with a sales rep today because I really wanted to talk to someone. At least now Mr. Michigan knows all about how my daughter is starting high school and that I am glad I don't have 3 boys like he does. I almost started to get all teary when I found the note in my calendar. I seriously miss ZarahZou. She can make it up to me though by discovering a cure for dehydration from inhaling silica gel. I am so thirsty and and am using hand lotion about 47 times a day. It has to be from the silica gel.

I just got back from taking MissZalyssa to Plato's Closet, Walmart, and Joanne Fabrics. I bought the bestest smelling candle and came right home to light it. I also detoured to Paris and got ZarahZou a souvenir from my travels. It was a long trip. And just because the packaging says "Joanne's" does not mean it is from Joanne's. Joanne's is French for Paris.

I took MissZalyssa and her friend Jessica to Baker's Square for dinner. Did you know that they now charge you $.69 for a side of honey mustard? I'm boycotting them. And I had to leave a $5 tip because I didn't have anything smaller.

In case anybody besides me cares, I bound over $100,000 worth of policies for 9/1. Mr.Cody sold a $24K hail policy! I am very happy for him since he has lost so much business to the stupid company that starts with Fed. And Mr. Slimowa sold a work comp for $12K, but he had to include a note that the quote he sold (from gprobe) was $4k less than Gee-e. Nice, but I also gave him a stupid Am-I-Trust quote that was less than a $1000 more. Whatever.

ZickyZou is in the shower, MissZalyssa and Jessica ar at Target, and the Twins are getting their azz kicked by the Yankees. At least my candle smells good.

well, I am going to go and admire the new baking dishes and trivets that I just got in the mail from QVC. I can not wait until Thanksgiving. The littlest one will be perfect for cranberries. The middle one is the perfectest size for candied sweet potatoes, and the large one will make a great green bean casserole. I can't wait. I am so excited to try them out.

Where to start???

Ok, so ZarahZou's last day was Tuesday I am very sad about that. Who is going to check my e-mail? There is no way that NG (NewGuy) or Dumbly or Mumbly are getting access to my e-mail. I am not leaving them my passwords. ZarahZou is the only one I have ever trusted with my passwords. (Except for the fact that they are written on post-it notes stuck to my computer screen).

I almost quit yesterday when I discovered that Mr.Neville forwarded the story that Zarah and I wrote for our company newsletter over to the mumbly one to review. The article was not rocket science and was pretty straight-forward and standard. Why did he not trust us enough to write the article? If it was a technical article then maybe I could understand why it needed to be reviewed. But it wasn't technical or scientific. It just listed what needs to be included in a submission. That was the last article I write for the stupid newsletter. I am not even going to get into the fact that they made some changes involving lots of "you's" and slash marks//////. Plus Mr. Neville came to discuss with me today because I didn't show up for our 10:00 meeting. Want to know why I wasn't there? Because the meeting was at 10:30.

I did inform Mr. Neville that I was not going to participate in the Iowa tracking spreadsheet. I tried to explain how I was uncomfortable with the idea and how I believe that it will only escalate the problems and create more tension between me and Iowegians if we TATTLE to their sales manager. I suggested that instead I will just quit requesting credits without a reason, and send the rep a note telling them they need to provide the justifications before I go back to the market. I then proposed a scenario to him that involved him doing something wrong and instead of me asking him to do it differently, I just went to Mark and told Mark to deal with it. Wouldn't Neville appreciate it if I first gave him a fair chance to correct the problem. He was dumbfounded for a minute, but then he agreed that perhaps I was right. Perhaps??? We ended our meeting with me trying to explain football and downs and scoring. It was a long meeting. He also admitted to being a fair-weather Twins fan. I guess the weather isn't fair enough yet, because he wasn't aware that they are in a heated race for the wild card. Watching baseball is the American way. I suppose next week he'll tell me he doesn't eat apple pie.

One more day of work then I get a four-day weekend. I would be more excited about having Tuesday off, but mr. mumbles is on vacation, so that leaves Dumbledork in charge as the sole CAR, unless you count NG. Now I realize that NewGuy thinks he could run the place, but he has been sending some of his faxes to our fax machine instead of to the markets. Instead of telling him he's dumb, I have just been resending them to the correct place. What is going to happen when it's just dumbles and NG? Other than the conversation about how both of them are way to smart to be doing a job that they CHOSE to do.

First day of high school for my dear daughter. High school! I can hardly believe it. I feel so old. At least we are finally almost done with the shopping part. Just one more pair of jeans.

I am going to go for a quick walk before I come home and make dinner. Just once around the path, which is just over 20 minutes. Hopefully ZickyZou will come home early enough to walk with me again. But he has been getting home at 8:30-9:00.

Ok, off to the path.....

Home alone....

I just dropped MissZalyssa and her friends off at a party. I need to go back and pick them up at 8:30. ZickyZou is not yet home from work. I am home all alone and it is so nice and quiet. Quite different from work where I have to listen to Dumbledork and the new guy talk about the war (WW1, I think) and who they knew from the Battle of Gettysburg or something. Dumbledork is the smartest person in the world. He knows someone who invented the world. It was his son-in-law who used to work at a bank. When I first met him I listened to him because he is about 90 years old and he talks with authori-tye and sounds like he knows what he's talking about. In reality, he's sort of a dum-bass.

I'm still doing research on whether or not the silica gel I inhaled through my nose is going to kill me. I am writing this entry to be used in case of my demise- there was no warning on the package about inhaling it and I did not know it would kill me. I assumed that when it said "DO NOT EAT" it meant I should snort it. So, please call that one lawyer who advertises on tv. I can't remember his name, but I used to work at an answering service and we answered his phones and I talked to his son. He was nice. Or maybe call the Mesothelioma lawyer. Call someone, and sue the silica gel makers. Or just dial LAW-YERS.

What am I going to wear to work tomorrow? I want to wear my new flip-flops, but with what? I just won a lot of capri pants (4 pairs) from ebay. It would be nice if they could same-day deliver them so I'd have them tonight. I guess I could wear jeans since I still have 2 casual day stickers left.

Anyone want to go to the Vikings game with me? My only friends are my new flip-flops, my blog, and my fake Kate Spade handbag. And none of them need a ticket to get into the game.

Ok, I am going to go take a shower. I have to pick MissZalyssa up at 9:00 and then take her friends home......

Toosday!

I don't have to work tomorrow, but I still have to get up at 6:00. Oh, well. after I send MissZalyssa off on the bus, I can go back to bed. Or I can shower and clean my house. We are going shopping after she gets home to finish off the school clothes shopping. She needs at least one more pair of jeans.

ZickyZou just asked me if I wanted to go to a movie on saturday night. Finally, a social life! The vikings game on Friday, a movie on Saturday. I sent Josie an e-mail to see if she wanted to go to the game with me, but I haven't heard back from her and it's been 2 hours. Obviously she did not get memo that my e-mails must be replied to within 5 minutes. Oh, well.

Next Toosday we are having a "last lunch" for ZarahZou at the Chinese Buffet. That should be fun. Plus it's cheap. All-u-can eat egg rolls! yum.

ok, off to start cleaning my kitchen....

A new paranoia

Well, thanks to ZarahZou, I have a new obsession. That would be staring at floors to make sure that my house isn't sinking. I am constantly looking at the walls/floors/cupboards to make sure that everything is where it should be. This is all because ZarahZou's house broke and was sinking. They (being the builders) have since drilled holes in her floor and pumped a muddy-cementy mixture in order to raise the foundation back to where it should be. If you would like to see pictures, go to http://whycantihave15minutes.blogspot.com/ and scroll down. Her house is only one year old, and the layout is similar to mine. So now I am scared my house is going to fall apart. Especially since my bathtub faucet is leaking. While I know the odds of such a thing are low, I didn't have enough to worry about (teenage daughter, crappy job, mortgage, debt) that I decided I should be concerned about my house's foundation.

My brother got a job at Target. The oil change place he worked at went out of business, so he needed a new job. DISCOUNT! Once he actually starts, I'll have to find out the discount policies. I know that they are non-transferable, but maybe he could do my Christmas shopping for me.

The dear MissZalyssa popped her airbed. So we were going to buy her a new mattress, but instead we decided to de-mold the one that is in our garage. Then she will get the waterbed she always wanted. The mold isn't too bad, and we should be able to just use a sponge and bleach and clean it. And then let it dry before we take it upstairs. And we'll need to be very careful with the water when we are filling it so it doesn't get moldy again.

We had "Stuff in a pan" made with Chorizo for breakfast. Yummy!

Ok, off to finish watching the Connecticut-Washington WNBA game......

WIRE HANGERS!!!

I have just finished switching my clothing over to "Huggable Hangers". These are the slickest, most awesome invention ever. They take up so much less room, and clothes don't slip off of them. Except I only bought 150, and I need about that many more to complete the conversion. I switched all of ZickyZou's clothing over to my old plastic hangers. His clothes were on WIRE HANGERS!!! So now I have 3 stupid bags of wire hangers. What do I do with them?

On a happier note, I discovered some wonderful clothing in his closet that will be perfect for me to wear in the fall. Fun sweaters and long-sleeve t-shirts that will fit perfectly except for being a little too big. Since we are practically married, they are practically mine, right? Plus, I am certain he would want me to wear them. And he probably doesn't even know he has them. He has some super-cute Abercrombie sweaters that will be perfect with khaki pants. I can't wait for cooler weather.

If you need something to do, go to www.letssaythanks.com and send a postcard to a soldier to thank them for serving. You can't choose who it goes to, but I would guess that any soldier that gets a thank you card will appreciate it. And it only takes about 15 seconds.

I went to Target to get toilet paper, contact solution, and milk. It cost $65. Yikes! At least we'll have toilet paper for two weeks.

I've got to finish our bedroom before ZickyZou gets home from work. I am giving him two or three of my dresser drawers and am moving my unmentionables into the cutest little Joy Mangano canvas dresser that I got in one of my Huggable Hangers kits. That will eliminate the need for him to continue living out of a laundry basket. We just don't seem to have enough room for my clothes. So, that's where I'm off to.....

Thank you, ZarahZou

ZarahZou brought in bag of clothes for me to give to MissZalyssa. MissZalyssa was very happy and says THANK YOU! She very much loved them all.

On Monday, ZarahZou will be training her replacement. Hopefully he will have plenty of qualities/traits/characteristics in common with the people at work that I adore so much. Hopefully his cell phone will chirp loudly throughout the day and he will answer it and stand up and talk so loud that I am unable to continue working. I also hope he mumbles when he speaks. It would be great if he didn't know the alphabet, and if he took 18 pages worth of notes on how to use the pop machine. Oh, and I hope that Zarah reminds him that it is ultra-polite to say goodbye to his voice mail.

I will not destroy the uh, integrity of my blog by listing legitimate complaints about my job. What would be the fun in that? I am still working on leaving it at the door, but sometimes I leave work so cranky that it just kind of spills over into my personal life. That's not fair.

I invited my sister to read my blog. If you are reading it, Hi, ZerylZou. The only people that even look at it are ZarahZou and Miss Zalyssa. I tried to let ZickyZou read it, but he took it all too literally. It's like a journal/sounding board/place to just write.

I could clean my house, take a nap, or go to the store to get milk. Which should I do? Probably the milk, huh? If I go get it, we've got it. okey....................

Anybody need a job?

I'd like to hire someone to come to my house every day and fill up my water bottles and make coffee. If they could also decide what I am wearing the next day (and it fits me), I'll throw in a bonus. I can't pay much, but anyone that accepts the break bucks currency is eligible. And if they could pick up the misc. socks that end up sitting on my counters or behind the couch, well I'd double their pay. I could really use a personal assistant. I wish I was rich.

ok, off to do laundry....

Holy lots of mail!

So, I get home from work to discover that MissZalyssa has gotten the mail. Highly unusual, but whatever. She also, unknowingly, got some of the neighbors mail since it was mixed in with ours. When you take out the neighbors 2 pieces, the total was: Zennie Zou = 12 piece, ZickyZou = 1, Current resident = 1, Our friends at 12345 = 2. That's a lot of mail for one day. And most of it was good, only 1 bill! Assorted catalogs, my 2 Walgreens rebate gift cards, my new Wells Fargo check card, and best of all the book I just ordered from half.com called "I Hate Other People's Kids" by Adrianne Frost. I can't wait to start reading it.

I told ZarahZou I would look for the remaining Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. I am certain that they are in my bookshelf, but they might be in the second layer since I was limited to only one bookshelf. In my next house in my next life, I am going to have a huge library. I love books. I just wish that I read slower and that I retained what I read for more than one second. Immediately following a book, I could probably tell you the story word for word. Two minutes later, it's all gone. Although I do still have most of the "Divorce Express" memorized. Rearrange the letters in the word parents and you get entraps. That's how I'm feeling now, trapped with nowhere to go...." Pretty cool and useless, huh? It actually could be "trapped with no place to go", but it's been 10 years since I read the book, plus who cares?

MissZalyssa is at tutoring. I need to leave in 15 minutes to pick her up. But, if I left now, I could sit in the car and read my new book. When I get home, I am going to throw the scalloped potatoes in the oven, and then dig through my book shelf. Yeah, I think I'll leave now. I really can't wait to find out why Adrianne hates other people's kids.

Yum, mayonnaise and jello....

For the family picnic tomorrow, I decided to make two different recipes. One is a tuna salad made with red and green peppers instead of peas. MissZalyssa doesn't like peas, so she suggested peppers instead. The salad turned out EXCELLENT!! The second dish is a lime jello salad that is made with cream cheese and mayo. Weird! But I tried it and it is actually okay. And it gave me a chance to use the most excellent stand mixer that ZarahZou gave me. I got to use it for a whole 7 minutes because I had to beat the cream cheese for 5 and then add a tablespoon of mayo and beat for 2 more. I like it! it makes me feel like a professional chef, as every professional chef makes lime jello salad.

Tonight for dinner I am going all out and making steaks, baked potatoes and a salad. ZickyZou is at work now, but he should be home in a couple of hours or so. Then I shall start cooking. Last night we were trying to have a romantic night together with Champaign , but we were both rather giggly and couldn't stop saying "Gazpacho". It was silly, and we did have a good night, just not romantic, more fun. I guess we could have the rest of the Champaign with dinner tonight.

My cell phone battery is about to die, but the dear MissZalyssa took my charger to her dad's. Whatever am I going to without a phone? I guess I could go throw it on the car charger. But who would call me anyway? The only people that have the number are MissZalyssa, my parents, ZarahZou, and the Star Tribune. They keep calling and offering me deals on the paper. Their current offer was (I get Wed-Sun right now) all 7 days for 75 cents less than I am paying now. Why are they giving away the paper? Oh, well. I accepted because ZickyZou really likes reading the paper.

Ok, off to wash my face and change my clothes and drool over the steak in the fridge. If I set it on the counter right now, it will be just warm enough to serve for dinner. We both like it rare, but warm.

Four teenagers?

My living room is full of teenagers. 4 to be exact. Does anyone have nay idea how many that is. Besides 4, I mean. It's lots. A house-full.

Tomorrow I don't have to be to work until noon. Or 11:15, whichever comes first. Then I won't get home until midnight or 7:30. That is going to be a long day. At least I should FINALLY be able to get that one file off my desk. Red Moose Ocean (name changed) will finally be completely resolved and I can move on to the bigger problems on my desk. My goal is to get close to be caught up. Is that even possible?

Zarah-Zou put in her vacation request. It sure would be nice if the people in charge would let us lowly employees know how they plan to deal with her absence since it really, really will affect us. But, then, why would they want to keep us informed??? Is it still a secret that in 2 weeks she won't be back into the office as an employee EVER?

Ok, off to make dinner.....

I'm baaaack....

In case anyone missed me. I am back from a long, long, long road trip. And my back hurts, and my feet hurt, and my head hurts from slamming into the sides of a ride called "The Iron Wolf". My gas budget was over-estimated by about $40! That's like having free money!

I spent a lot of time looking for a unique, fun souvenir to bring back to ZarahZou. I was very tempted to bring her back one of the urinalalisys cups from our hotel, but I wouldn't want to be caught stealing. The "drinking glasses" in our room had these white plastic covers that made them very much resemble something you pee into to take a drug test. It probably goes without saying that we bought bottles of water to drink. I wonder how she would have enjoyed one of those glasses full of lemonade???

I doubt that many people care, but I had fun. It was nice to get away, and not have to work. Not that there's anything wrong with work, but it's nice to have days off. As soon as I got back, I had to go to the grocery store. We are having steak tonight since I have money left over from the gas budget. It was really nice seeing Josie, I don't think I have seen here in like almost year, even though we e-mail nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

ZarahZou is maybe going to put in her "vacation request" tomorrow. I am anxious to see how those in charge deal with her asking for the next 7 million days off. I wonder if they will try to talk her out of it? Offer her more money? Well, if she decides to forego her vacation, I will pay her a dollar a week, not even in break bucks.

Ok, I am going to be the parent and make my child dinner. I have been feeding her McDonalds and pizza for the last few days, so tonight she is getting steak and salad. Later....

We're off to see the Wizard....

Well, not the Wizard exactly, but we are off to Wisconsin. In just an hour an a half I will be in a car with two teenage girls for what will probably feel like 17 hours, but in reality will be only 5. That's okay, though, because we are going to have fun. (I hope)

I had a dream last night about going to a softball game to play. I found a new way to get to the field. Everyone wanted to hear the directions. I would not share. Am I going through softball withdrawal?

My sister called me to have my 3 year old nephew explain what echoes are. He obviously got some of the genius genes from me.

I should probably go and put in my contacts and wash my face and maybe put on real clothes. Or I could continue to spend quality time with my computer. Which one???

I like Walgreens!!

I do like Walgreens. But I have never considered becoming a Walgreens groupie. My latest drive past the Anoka Walgreens has me rethinking that. I spent a good 3 or 4 minutes wondering why they felt they needed to be so self-promoting. The sign in front of their store says "WE HAVE FANS!!" I really did think to myself "Do they think they're the Twins or something". Then I finally realized that the purpose of their sign is that they are selling items that blow/circulate air. I always catch on to things, sometimes it just takes me a few days.

I have to clean my house today. I am going to leave it sparkling for ZickyZou just to see what it's like when I get home. I would hope it is just as sparkly.

I am reading a book called "Lifes Little Emergencies" by the supermodel Emme. She's a plus size supermodel, and the "self-help" book is really big on being happy no matter who/what size you are. She has made lots of good points so far, and it is actually pretty interesting. Except she named her daughter Toby. Toby strikes me more as a name for a puppy and not a little girl. But what do I know?

I have so much to do today. Sweep, mop, toilets, laundry. It seems to multiply. Later....

Only me!!!

In case anyone in the world cares, I was inventorying my make-up/facial/misc beauty products to see what I could sell on ebay once I start my own business, and I reached into a plastic container that contained a stupid disposable razor, and I shaved half my fingernail off. FYI- don't try this. It hurts. A lot.

On a happier note, I found 4 sealed Serious Skin Care products that I can sell as a set for probably $10-12 or more. Plus the $10-15 I will get for my Philosophy samples. Plus the $10-12 each that I am hoping to make from the two Pure Grace lotions I am selling, plus I have a pair of Aeropostale jeans and a t-shirt with the tags still on that I bought for less than $15 for the outfit, I can probably sell that for $25, and I have decided to let go of my only pair of expensive designer jeans. My Sevens are going on ebay. Since they have been worn three or four times, I will probably only get $30 for them. But I must pass them on to someone who can appreciate them and love them. I am going to be a hundredaire!!!

In the back recesses of my closet I found a pair of too-tight khaki ankle pants and an over-sized messy shirt. This is what I am wearing tomorrow. I just need to find my stupid black sandal's.

The Twins are up 7-1. They are so fun to watch. And it's almost time for Football Season to start. And shortly after that (my favorite) college basketball. Is it sad that little things like sports seasons bring me true joy?

My dad called to tell me that the family reunion in Becker is on August 13th. What should I bring? They said to bring whatever we brought last year, but the only thing I can remember bringing is my sister-in-law, and since her and my brother are separated, I doubt she'd want to go. Plus, I wouldn't really want her there. But what did I bring food-wise? What can I bring that is original? I got an e-vite to a jewelry party for that day. Food and bloody mary's. I was going to ask ZarahZou if she wanted to go (free food and alcohol on a Sunday afternoon? who wouldn't want to go-plus it's at the Champlin legion) But then my dad called about the reunion, and I know that that is where I should be instead of a jewelry party. I wonder how much my mom's family would appreciate bloody mary's? And why can't I remember what I brought last year? Danyelle (s-i-l) brought fruit, so I know I didn't do that. And I would have wanted to bring something better than what she brought, so what was it?? And I know that I concocted whatever my parents brought, so..... And ZickyZou can go this year. He had to work last year, so he missed it. This year he has no excuse.

Ok, I am going to go and make Zicky's lunch for tomorrow. and I need to start thinking about packing.......

Where's the weed at??

I have been exposed to a completely new class of music thanks to my lovely daughter. There's a song with the lyrics "Where's the weed at? Where's the weed at? Somebody's got to know where the mother-effen weed's at". I am very impressed with the brilliant lyrical content. Over and over wondering where the weed's at. I guess this song is better than the "Hey, you're a crazy b-t-h but you f--- so good I'm on top of it When I dream I' doing you all night....". That's BuckCherry if you are interested in purchasing the cd. If I did not have a teenage daughter, I would never even imagine that songs like these existed. My type of music is much, much tamer. And no swearing. I don't censor her music, but I am certainly wondering if I should rethink that decision.

I went to Turnstyle (consignment shop) and left with a cute pair of Ann Taylor pants, a pair of capris that I thought would fit but don't, a practically new cute! sweater, and a check for over $82. My three items were less than $8, and I had them subtracted from my consigning account before I got a check. AWESOME! Except I am now paying the music conissewer (intentional misspell) $15 to clean my car. I told her that she needs to clean for an hour. Then I have to go and clean the seats with carpet shampoo stuff because Emily (who we just nicknamed "sippy cup" spilled orange pop all over the back seat. Thanks, Emily!

Ok, off to do the carpet cleaner....

My blog plays music!!

A special thanks to MissZalyssa for making my blog play music without my permission or approval. Since she is so computer-literate and was allegedly trying to be thoughtful, I graciously agreed to keep Rage Against the Machine, etal playing on my blog.

Wenzday

It's Wednesday. Wed-nes-day. I do know how to spell it, but Wenzday is more phonetically correct. I ordered pizza for dinner since I just don't feel very well. (Thanks ZarahZou!) Papa Johns had a killer deal- three large one toppings for $21. What a deal!

I think that I would really be much happier if I could not feel snot running down the back of my throat. But, who knows?

I hung up 2 of my shelves. I put one over the mantle and one in the laundry room area. It looks cheap and tacky compared to the quality of the mantle, but it seems fitting since I may be just a little bit tacky and cheap.

Speaking of tacky and cheap, I am really considering going the way of stretchy pants and t-shirts as my new work uniform. The dress code is supposed to be "Professional" and according to the definition of professional dress code that I learned in college, there is maybe one or two employees total that fit the definition. I am not one of them. The parts of my wardrobe I choose to wear are more along the lines of a dressy-business-casual. Very few employees fit that definition either. Since I really want to fit in, I am going to change over to business-sloppy or even sloppy-sloppy. Stretchy pants and t-shirts would be so much easier to maintain. And so much more comfortable. And if that is acceptable, I'm in. Since we are talking about long-time employees, I am assuming that I can follow their lead. ZarahZou- are you in? Think of how much easier it would be.

And since I am getting all cranky about the way people at work dress, it is evident that I need a nap. And tomorrow I am wearing elastic waist pants and a loose big shirt with a t-shirt under it.