Holiday's Must Hate Me

At least for this year.

As you are aware I had a little incident with my thumb on Thanksgiving Day. It's pretty much healed by now too. There's a little teenie scab, and it still hurts a little when I do stuff with it, but for the most part, I'd say it's healed.

This Christmas we went to my parent's house. For those of you who don't know, my dad's dog is now deaf and blind. Poor old puppy... He usually follows my dad to bed every night. Well, since he can't see or hear, he was left in the living room with me Christmas night. I didn't want him to wake up and be all alone in the living room, so I picked him up and carried him to my dad's side of their bedroom. I bent down to put him on the floor when WACK! I slammed my forhead into my dad's old 1950's dresser. With pointy corners and edges! Ouch! I finished putting old Hellen Keller down, and put my hand to my head. No surprise to me, I was gushing blood. Dang!

So I go to the bathroom to see this deep gouge in the shape of the dresser corner in my forhead. (Is my brain falling out the hole yet?) I probably needed stitches, but I just stood there and blotted/applied pressure until I stopped bleeding. By now I'm a pro at this you know. My mom heard me telling DJ what I did, so she jumped out of bed to doctor me up. She fashioned the bandade so it'd pull my skin together, and luckily, in the morning my head wound looked much better, and I think it will heal nicely! I wore a bandade on my forhead for a couple days. It looked pretty stupid because I was right above my brow.

My friend Blac asked me what was going to happen to me on New Years. OMG! I better stay home, and do nothing, inside a steal bubble! Ha!

Oh, did I also mention that I also caught a cold from my mom and sister? Oh, yeah. It's terrible. I have been coughing and sneezing since Tuesday!

A Quote From My Calendar

I like this quote.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be silent, if no birds sang except the best."

I've got 121 emails to get through this morning so you'll likely not hear from me until tomorrow.  Hope you had a FABULOUS CHRISTMAS (or HOLIDAY if you're not Christian)!

 

Jax' Day at the Office

I brought Jax into the office today. Everyone has been wanting to see her, so I brought her in after lunch. At first, she was a little freaked because everyone was oooing and aweing. Then she chilled out, and we had fun.

Tomorrow, DJ and I fly out to the big ABQ. I couldn't get my SIL to watch Jax, but my coworker said he'd check in on her. I'm pretty thankful because I didn't know what I was gonna do otherwise. I wish I didn't have to leave her for so long. It's like leaving my baby. :o(

Don't know if I'll be making any posts while I'm gone. Guess you'll just have to check in and see.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Important Announcement

I am very pleased to announce that DJ and I have bought REAL bed for my townhome. Woo Hoo! It's so exciting! We went around a looked at about 4 different places. 2 of which were mattress factories. Needless to say, after a night of bed searching, you start to wonder why you even care anymore. And all these salesmen talk about beds like they are cars. So we decided to "sleep on it". We finally decided to go with the first place we visited. Our bed is being specially made. It's very exciting! If at any time we decide we want more padding, less padding, firmer coils, blah blah blah, we can just call them, and they make the adjustments on it for free. Weird, and highly unlikely that we will actually take advantage of it. But the price was good, and we have the option. It is being delivered on Wednesday morning when we'll have just enough time to put the new bedding on it, and then we're off to the airport! It'll be all ready and waiting for us when we get back from our vacation.


Thumb Update:
I've effectively regenerated skin on most of my thumb. The only part left to heal is the deepest part, and that scab appears as if it'll fall off any day now. It's totally neat to watch my skin grow. I've got like 3 different colors of flesh on my one little finger.

Love This One!

George Bush and his accomplice Dick Cheney were riding on an elephant. A group of bystanders were watching intently. All of a sudden someone in the croud shouted, "Hey look that elephant has two assholes on it!"

 

Bush and Cheney looked down at the elephants ass, confused.

Reasons Why I Don't Answer My Phone

I HATE checking my voicemail.  I'm not sure why, but I do.  I'm sure the people that call me are aware of this but I thought I'd bring it up.  I have not checked my voicemail since Thanksgiving.  I have messages from my Dad, and an old family friend I haven't talked to in years.  I hate going through them.  I just got done going through the messages on my cell, now I have to go through them on my office phone.  Yulk.  Those are even worse.  I hate that blinking light.  I just recently learned how to turn off the blinking light without going through the messages, so I've been doing that.  I bet I have at least 5 messages built up since Monday.  Which is the last time I checked my work voicemail.  

 

I know, people wouldn't leave me messages if I would just answer my phone.  But here's the thing...

 

I like silence.  It may not seem that way when we hang out, but when I am at home, relaxing or being crafty, I like silence.  And so, when I am into the silence, I sometimes turn my phone off.  Besides, I have to rest up for next time we see eachother and hang out.

 

Other times, I just don't hear it ring.  And that is the truth! 

 

There are a couple people I avoid from time to time, but really, for the most part, I don't avoid any of my "good" friends. 

 

I also don't like to talk on my phone for a long time while I'm in public (I.e. the mall, waiting for an oil change, getting my hair cut).  So I have, on occasion not picked up a call from someone because I know we'll talk for a long time. 

 

One more reason I may not pick up my phone is if I'm with someone.  If I'm out shopping with a friend, having dinner, etc I might not pick up a call from another friend, because for some reason I think that's rude to do.  I especially won't pick it up if I know it's going to be a long conversation. Which brings us back to a reason I've already mentioned.

 

I also don't answer my cell phone during work hours.  My personal things are in a drawer, and if my phone rings, a. I Don't usually hear it, and b.  If I do hear it, it's usually a solicitor.  c.  Most of the people I want to talk to, are at work as well d.  If it is someone I want to talk to, I don't like talking personally with friends while at my desk because my office area is litterally a cave, and the 7 people in the cave with me can hear everything I say, no matter how quiet I speak.

 

Oh, and one last thing, my battery dies about once a day, although fully charged, so I have to buy a new battery.  Which I'll likely be doing soon since I got that nice bonus.

Holiday Lights

I saw it fitting with 12 days remaining until Christmas, that I should start the dancing lights. Turn up your sound and garnish up some holiday cheer.

Last Years Rendition:


The Newest Version:

Another Holiday Post

Holiday Eating Tips: I particularly like #6!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on aholiday buffettable knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like finesingle-maltscotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-maltscotch. Youcan't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out ofyour mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother?It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and NewYear's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table,like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention.They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice ofeach. Or,if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? LaborDay?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with themandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, haveSOME standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Bonus!

I got my bonus yesterday. Which is so nice for many many many reasons. Should we count the ways?

1. It's nice to work at a company that ACTUALLY pays out their bonus as promised.
2. It's nice to work at a company that not only pays out it's bonus, but pays it out when you need it most. (Unlike a certain other crappy company I worked at that stalled stalled stalled and then ripped you off.)
3. It's nice to work for a company that gives out big bonus potential.
   One by one we were called into my managers office, where she gave us praise for being such a great team.
4. Even though the gift tax raped me, I don't care so much because it's still a good chunk of money! (Unlike some crappy other company that prorated, and deducted amounts at whim prior to cutting the check to you, on top of Uncle Sam's cut.)
5. I still have a large enough amount that I now get to pay off a credit card.
6. I can now afford to buy a new bed for the master bedroom.
7. I can now pay off my lowest outstanding student loan. This will leave only one outstanding that will be payed off within 2007.
8. I think after all that, I will still have enough left over to pay off one of my department store credit cards then close it out.
9. This leaves me hopeful for when my annual review comes around, which happens 1 year from when you start. So everyone's review date varies making it nice for the managers I'm sure.

Holiday Get to Know Me

Charlotte emailed me this and I thought it was fun!  Feel free to answer any or all of these questions for me in your comments, or email me!

 

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?  Hot Chocolate

 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  Sits them under the tree

 

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Don’t know about the house, but definitely color on the tree.

 

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

 

5. When do you put your decorations up?  A week or two after Thanksgiving.

 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I don’t know.  Maybe the relish tray goodies.  Pickles, carrots, olives, smokes oysters, sociable crackers, and something nasty for my dad like pigs feet.

 

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:  Christmas Eve Dinner

 

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? There’s no Santa?

 

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Yes, from aunts/uncles/eachother, etc.  We open the ones from Santa on Christmas Day.

 

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?  Since I’ve been on my own, I collect one fancy glass bulb a year.  All others are plain bulbs, plus whatever ornaments from my childhood that I have that are sentimental.

 

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?  Love it! I’d rather it be snowing that just cold and crappy.

 

12. Can you ice skate?  Yep

 

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  My grandpa made my sister and I a doll house.  I think I was 5.  He died when I was 6.

 

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?  Remembering where I came from.

 

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?  Cherry pie I guess.  But I’m really liking my own desserts that I’ve created this year.

 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  When my parents moved us to ABQ we started our own Christmas Eve & dinner tradition.

 

17. What tops your tree? Angel

 

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?  Giving to those who aren’t expecting it.  They are the ones that really appreciate it.

 

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?  Anything old school. 

 

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?  Yum if it’s the first 1 or 2.  Yulk if it’s more than that.

The Man in the Coffee Beans

A friend just forwarded this to me. It's creepy.

Find the guy in the Coffee Beans:

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, your right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, your right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!!

Memories

My SIL and I went to Schlotzky's yesterday while we were out shopping. She ate, I didn't. So today when I went out to do some returning at Michaels, I stopped and got a Smoked Turkey Sandwich. Mm mmm Good.

I've got some fond memories of being mistreated as a high schooler at the Schlotzky's located right next to the HS. My friend Blac and I would go in there, the workers would be rude to us because they didn't like annoying HSers in there. I think that was the last time I've ever been in one too. They now have different size breads, and different types rather than just Sourdough. I stuck with tradition. As I bite into this warm goodness I am thinking of all the fun things Blac and I used to do. We were so cool!

Finger Update

Something freaky happened with my finger last night.  Don't worry, there are no pictures attached.  It was too creapy.  Even for me, who's been living with this thing for two weeks now. 

 

I think what is happening is that my finger is starting to generate new skin.  Two days ago I grew this big blister that was all pussy.  Yesterday I noticed that it was sort of hard, and my finger hurt everytime I moved it.  (Sort of like I was tearing my skin every time I moved it.)  I keep it bandaged up in the daytime so I don't foobar (yes, that's a word) it up at work.  So when I got home I took the bandaide off to find this weird bump thing moving.  So I decided, "Ok.  I'm going to touch it."  I did, and it moved again.  So after looking at it and being a little freaked out I decided to see if it would come off.  So I pulled it up a little bit, and it came away freely from my wound.  Well, 1/2 of it did anyway.  Then I noticed that the skin around my wound was also coming off with it.  I couldn't feel any of it.  I think I could have peeled the skin off of my whole thumb if I wanted to!  It was freaky.  So I lifted until it started to hurt a little and decided to cut it off.   Then I peroxided it, and rebandaged it because it was freaking me out.  I am starting to feel like Jeff Goldbloom in the fly.  This morning, I think it looks a little better.  I think the reason all that came up is because part of my finger - the less chopped part -  has generated a new layer of skin.  I've got like 10 more layers to go.  (How many layers of skin do we have anyway?) The major part is still icky, but I think it's getting better.  If only I could get this oozing to stop...

On This Day...

13th Amendment to US Constitution is Ratified (1865)

 

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution completed the abolition of slavery, which had begun with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. By December 6, 1865, 27 out of 36 states had ratified the 13th Amendment, starting with the state of Illinois. It was not until 1995, however, that the last of the 36, Mississippi, ratified it.

 

http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Thirteenth+Amendment+to+the+United+States+Constitution

8 Degrees

Do you know what's great about 8 degree temperatures? I know, not much that's for sure. But one positive thing about this chilly weather is that I can buy frozen stuff on my lunch hour and leave it in my trunk until I get home at 5:00. I just stocked up on frozen meals for the next week at 1.50 a piece. Go me!

Anyone Hungry?

My Department is doing a scavenger hunt that leads up to our Christmas Party this Friday. I am in charge of "finding" a cookie recipe on a card, and making them for the "judges". So I decided to try a new recipe. Mint Chocolate Truffle Cookies. That little snowman is a salt and pepper shaker. The hat is the pepper and the face is the salt. And the red plate is a spoon holder. Cute eh?
PS. If anyone is caring anymore. My thumb is doing something funky. I slammed it into my washing machine pretty good yesterday and I think that was a bad thing to do. It's all swollen up again, and I think I've got some skin that is fixin' to fall off.

Dead Bodies, and the City of 10,000 Flatulents

My body is so sore today! Pretty much every muscle I looked at in the Body Worlds Exhibit hurts on me today. This is likely to be a long post. So I'm warning you in advance. The exhibit, I thought was very interesting. We were not able to take photos. We spent three hours examining the Plastinates in the exhibit. I was both intrigued and disappointed. I was disappointed that they didn't have more women. It would have been very interesting to me to see how a female body's parts fit into the body, and a comparison of man and woman side by side. I realize there are not many differences, but there definitely are some all the same. They did have uterus' under glass cases with different ailments, but that also is not the same as seeing what my body looks like all put together. I would have liked to see how everything goes together down there, and how it changes once a women gets pregnant and other things related to the life of a female. It was definitely Male dominant, something my husband didn't notice until I pointed it out. There are a lot of things I think they could do for improvement on that front. They did have a woman who died during childbirth, and embryo's in different weekly stages. The woman was very interesting. They posed her in a laying down position with an arm up so you could see how the baby pushes your organs upward to make room for itself. The baby also died, so the baby was still in place. After looking at that. I am definitely in favor of the traditional side of childbirth. The layer of flesh, and muscle a doctor has to cut too, is way to much to do to a body unnecessarily. The embryo's were also very interesting to me, it was definitely interesting to see the stages in a much more personal way than images from a book, or ultra sounds. Hands, faces, fingers, etc are so detailed so early on.

The most interesting to me, other than the embryo's, was the artery system. They had a family of 3 showing only the their arteries and blood vessels. NO bones, no organs, just bodies of arteries. It was crazy to see, and interesting to read about the process they used to accomplish this sort of preservation. They also had an arm that you could look at close up. I now know why my thumb has been throbbing constantly since I loped off the tip. There are a lot more vessels in that tiny little tip that a person would think. The most artistic Plastinate to me was a man and woman Ice Skater that was meant to show how the muscles act when the body is in balance, and how the weight shifts from point to point.

It was also interesting to note that most of the plastinates had black lungs. I'm curious to know if they were all indeed smokers, or if some of those black lungs were products of second hand smoke and/or the environments nasty chemicals. Maybe that would be another thing they could tackle next time around! I think I could discuss what I saw and didn't see for quite some time, so I better stop before this gets too long. If it comes to your city, it's definitely something worth seeing.

Dinner with Good Friends

After the museum, we met up with friends downtown for dinner. We usually do a girls night out, but since I had DJ, we invited our significant others. It was a good time. (I think anyway, maybe the men think differently.) I didn't get to talk to them much because the restaurant was loud, and there were nine of us, so we were all having different conversations that I was in and out of most of the time. The good thing is, I think we can involve our men more if we wanted to. They seem to be able to carry conversations with eachother. With acception to our single friend Jordan, who didn't have a man, but she is lucky, she gets to accessorize her man to her event. The rest of us on the other hand, have to bring the same accessory to every event. Plus, we can aways hook her up with our waiter. She likes a man in uniform... he he he. Just kidding.

Here's the part my girls asked me to report on in detail. Afterwards we went to the Lodge. It was a lot of fun. Started out slow because it was still early, but picked up soon enough. The band (If you want to call them that. Were two guys with guitars) was pretty good, and a lot of fun. They were giving out free shots, and had us sing along while the singer took drinks of his "vodka". I'm sure it was water. I noticed the other one, the one I thought was totally hot btw, wasn't drinking anything. Maybe he's the sensitive, responsible type. That's what I'm going to believe is true in my head anyway. He was hot. Anyway. This is where the story ends. Other than a lot of dancing, drinking and fun, that's all you get to hear. If you want to know details of our outings, then you should come with us. Nany nany boo boo to you.

insert smilie sticking tougue out here)

Shopping
Saturday we spent at least four hours at the museum on our feet. Sunday, we spend about seven hours walking around the Mall of America. This is why my body aches so much today. The mall wasn't as crazed as I was expecting it to be. Some stores were very hard to get in and around due to the combination of small spaces and overstock of inventory. (ie. The Discovery Store, and any electronic/gadget store.) Don't worry, I'm not going to give you a play by play of our seven hour journey. But I am going to tell you about the Worlds Largest Gingerbread House! It was totally awesome! Because of the mass of people, I wasn't able to get a full picture of the whole house, but I'll post my pictures anyway to try to give you an idea of the scale. Inside they have elves making giant ginger bread man cookies. It was great! I was happy. We started shopping on the 3rd floor, and went round and round until we hit the bottom floor where the ginger bread house was. When we passed it for the second time (we were on the second floor) I really just wanted to go down and tour it. But DJ was not planning on deviating from the original plan. So I decided to periodically whine that I wanted to see the gingerbread house for the remainder of our 2nd floor shopping. :o) Whenever I was ready to get out of a store, I'd whine about the GBH. he he he. Since we don't have kids, I thought it was only fitting. tee hee.

Click here to see my pictures

Now, I suppose you are wondering, "Why is the latter part of her Blog title City of 10,000 Flatulents?" Those of you that are educated on state history, or maybe you are just a license plate buff. Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Well, after this weekend I think it should also be known for 10,000 flatulents. All was well at the MOA until around 3:00. Then it seemed no matter where DJ and I went someone would bust ass, and all around would have to suffer. In a store, on the escalator, in the hallway, in another store, sitting in the food court. It was disgusting. So bad, that at one point, I looked at DJ and said, "I'm starting to wonder if you're really doing this to us." But I know he wasn't. Sadly. I know him so well, that I know what his farts smell like. This WAS not it. I would have WELCOMED his nasty ass farts after about the third tortured blow I had the misfortune to whiff. We were so high on gas, that DJ had some pretty witty jokes and incites about the subject while we sat on a bench eating our Peppermint Blizzards. After we got yet another whiff, he made this observation, "There are what? Thousands of people in this mall right now? And right now there are about 100 people farting at this very moment." I'm surprised the place didn't explode with the amount of gas it was emitting.

I'm making myself giggle hysterically in my office right now.

Ok, you might say, "Yeah, but that doesn't make the it Land of 10,000 Farts". That's just the mall. Well, I would like to also mention, that some hot chicks are very nasty while out on the town. After dinner with my friends, Jordan, DJ, and I all went out for a nightcap downtown. Once the dance floor was packed, someone or someones let loose a few doozies. It was terrible. DJ and I decided it was some of the hot chicks because by the third nasty stink he looked around and he was surrounded by drunken women. Now, I don't know what he's talking about because I have never busted ass, and if I were to bust ass, I'm sure that it would not smell. (Insert innocent smilie face here). So for these reasons, I have now dubbed Minneapolis/St Paul the Land of 10,0000 Flatulents.

Want to Know?

Want to know where Self Magazine Ranked your city in that article I talked about a few posts back?

 

Follow this link.  Interesting stuff.

 

http://www.self.com/livingwell/articles/2006/11/20/healthy_cities

 

Ranking on Places I used to live:

 

Albuquerque

Population: 764,600
Ranking: 44 out of 100

+ Heart disease deaths one third below average
+ 69 more days of sunshine than average
+ In top 10 areas for air quality

– Second highest suicide rate on list
– Violent crime nearly 75 percent above average
– In bottom fifth of list for prevalence of asthma and allergies

Fort Worth
Population: 1,878,300
Ranking: 93 out of 100

+ Top-ranked area on list for watershed quality
+ Women's cancer death rates nearly one fifth lower than average
+ 20 more days of sunshine than the average place on SELF's list

– In bottom 10 areas for rates of women getting mammograms
– Less than half the average number of ob/gyns and internists per capita compared to the average city
– Drinking rates among the 10 highest on the list

Dallas
Population: 3,886,600
Ranking: 77 out of 100

+ Among 10 lowest rates of depression on SELF's list
+ Among top 10 places for watershed quality
+ Women's heart disease death rate nearly 30 percent below list average

– 21 percent of women lack health insurance, among the list's five highest rates
– Among bottom 10 cities for air quality
– Among the five lowest rates of women getting mammograms

HPV Vacine

OK, so some of you may have noticed this post. I tried to post a quick not about how if your young and single, or even young and married (and a girl) that you should get this shot. So many girls get this virus from men who don't know they have it (Men rarely have symptoms, they are just carriers.) And now that it's been linked to the majority of uterine cancer cases, it's very important to be careful, and take measure to protect yourself. Women who have only ever had sex with their husbands have contracted this virus, and later developed cancer and died. This is not just a "permiscuous" girl's issue. It's every woman's issue. Unless you don't care if you get cancer.

If you haven't already, check out this link and start informing yourself today.
http://www.gardasil.com/who-should-receive-gardasil.html

Memory Lane

I'm driving into work this morning, and Poison's Talk Dirty to Me comes on.  So I totally crank it up and am jamming to it in my car.  Singing along and all.  The roads are a bit icy because of last night's snow, so everyone is in this Zombie like state, and here I am, radio cranked, jamming.  It totally put me into a good mood.  I started thinking about how Blac and I used to dance around and be stupid, as well as how we used to pretend Kirk Cameron was her boyfriend.  She had a life sized poster of him laying on his side with one leg sort of propped up.  We moved it to her bed level so he could lay in bed with us.  ha!  We were clever little girls.  I wonder if her mom ever worried about us?  ha!

 

I'm going to try to find that poster on Google.  Brb...OK.  I've lost interest.  But I'm pretty sure this pic is from the same photo shoot.  Doesn't he look dreamy?