Thanksgiving - Preparing Edition

I love Thanksgiving!

I'm heading to Kansas City. Home of the Chiefs, the Royals, and my Dad!! It's my favorite place to have Thanksgiving. My dad is the youngest of 10 kids, so there are lots and lots of uncles, aunts, cousins, 2nd cousins, and 1st cousins once removed that get together to celebrate. This year is super awesome because I convinced my sister that if she really loved me she would make the trip from Maryland to Kansas City also. Which means that my dad, me, my sister, and my daughter will all be under the same roof for like 4 days! It sounds sad, but it has been forever since we've all been together. Damn living in different parts of the country.

Last year, Kaeli and I flew to KC. I'm a nervous flyer. The take off and landing freak me out every time. It's so bad that Kaeli reaches over to hold my hand when the plane starts moving. She loves flying, and tells me I'm silly for being scared. Role reversal much? This year, I decided to make it a ROADTRIP. The plan is to leave tonight for Rob's house, stay the night, and then the 3 of us will make the 8 hour drive to KC early Wednesday. It's really not that bad because I plan on making Rob do all the driving. I have the 4th Twilight book, Breaking Dawn, to read. I can't be expected to focus on the road!

Did y'all catch the very important part of the above paragraph? Rob is coming with me. To my dad's. For Thanksgiving. My dad met Rob once before we were dating, but claims he has no recollection of it. Which means, that Rob and my dad are meeting for the first time. At my dad's house. For Thanksgiving. I'm bringing a boy to my dad's house. For Thanksgiving. So weird. It's almost like I'm a grown up in a serious relationship or something.

The even weirder part is that my sister is bringing her new boyfriend suitor gentleman caller male companion friend. I don't really know what to call him because, apparently, the little sis believes in this whole freewheeling, we're too cool for labels, we're just hanging out type of thing.

So to recap - My sister and I are BOTH bringing the boys (her's is newer than mine) in our lives to my dad's house. For Thanksgiving. It's freaking me out. I swear that just last week, we were teenagers crammed in the back of my dad's Ford Thunderbird, arguing over leg space, and annoyed that we had to make the trip to Missouri for Thanksgiving again.

Can you believe there is more awesomeness to this post?

I've mentioned how my kitchen skills are absolutely nonexistent before. Well, there is one exception. It's a Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake that my aunt used to make every year. It's full of double layer deliciousness. My mother loved it so much that she got the recipe, and she taught me how to make it. As soon as I was old enough, it became my job to make this dessert whenever requested. The problem is that over the years of growing up and moving, I somehow lost the beloved recipe. I had bits and pieces in my head, but not the whole thing. Well, over the last 2 months, I've racked my brain, searched the internet, done some testing, and come up with the recipe!! No one has had it since my aunt passed away years and years ago. My dad let it slip that I'm making it this year, and I have some very excited relatives expecting it. It's a lot of pressure. I better not screw this one up.

I also started packing last night. I'm trying to justify 8 pairs of shoes for 5 days. I know I won't wear them all, but I need all 8 pairs. Not a single one can be left behind. I also have 3 different outfits for Thanksgiving day because I just don't know what I will feel like wearing. I'm ridiculous. It seems Kaeli has inherited my overpacking gene. The bag she created to keep herself entertained is insane. I had to talk her down from 6 Barbies to only 2. 2 stuffed animals instead of 4. Then there are the movies, music, books, crayons, markers, coloring book, and sketch pad. All of which are unexpendable. I could barely get it zipped! Plus, I'm in Texas were it is currently 60 degrees, and I consider today an absolutely freezing day. In KC, the high for the entire time I'm there is like 50 degrees! I will be spending the majority of my time in 40 degree weather. OMG. I had to cram hats, gloves, scarves, and the heaviest of our decidedly non heavy winter coats into the suitcases also.

I'm super excited, though. I can't wait to see my family! I can't wait to eat! Thanksgiving is seriously the best meal of the year!!

In case I'm not around for the rest of the week, I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!!

Breaking News!!

Perez Hilton is reporting that Spencer and Heidi eloped in Mexico!

I guess I should admit that after 3 weeks of not watching The Hills, I gave into temptation and watched last Monday's episode.

Tonight is the whole "Did Lauren Sleep with Justin Bobby?" Fiasco. I can't lie. I'm going to watch. I can't help it. It's a sickness. I crave the dirty soul-dying feeling that comes after I finish an episode.

But back to my point - Heidi and Spencer are now married. This means there might be little Speidi offspring one day. This also means that Heidi is officially an idiot with the worst taste in guys ever documented.

Stay posted in case this is just a rumor, but I doubt it. Perez is rarely ever wrong!!

What do y'all think about the union of these two? Bets are being taken on 1) When she's going to be knocked up and 2) How long until the divorce.

Ask Me What I Did This Weekend...

Hey, Kristi. What did you do this weekend?

I snaked a toilet!

I don't even know what that means, but I did it. I'm probably heading into unpleasant territory, but bear with me. Kaeli got a little too toilet paper happy and clogged the toilet. So gross. Water everywhere. Whatev. This is why I live in an apartment. I'll just call the maintenance people, right? Wrong! I live in the world's crappiest apartment complex. Well, not the apartments themselves, but the staff. They suck. It wasn't like this when I first moved in, but now it's so bad. They are disorganized and inefficient. I called the number to get the emergency maintenance people, and it was disconnected. How is that possible? So, I went to Lowe's, spent $8 on my very own toilet auger, and unclogged the damn thing myself. Who freaking needs a man? I can solve my own plumbing problems. I kick ass!!

I'm also on this get my place pretty for the holidays kick. I spent Sunday cleaning and organizing Kaeli's room. I'm still in shock over the amount of crap my daughter has. The fact that I've bought most of it astounds me. I had her go through all her toys, and she got rid of 2 huge bags of stuff that she doesn't want anymore. Her toybox is still overflowing. It's ridiculous. Plus, Kaeli loves to draw and write stories, so there are pieces of paper with half written stories everywhere. I used to try and keep them all (in case she becomes a famous author), but the sheer quantity made it impossible. Do you want to know where she keeps all of her drawings and stories? Under her bed!! I swear I have never seen so much paper in my life. I don't even know where it all comes from. I should have taken before and after pictures. It was crazy, but it's all neat and organized now. 1 project down. Next I have to tackle my closet. It's out of control.

I watched Texas Tech embarrassingly lose to Oklahoma. It was bad. So so bad.

I also found the cutest ornaments ever at Target. I love snowmen. They're my favorite thing to decorate with. These are little snowmen with little snowballs inside. I think they're so cute. The picture doesn't really do them justice. I can't wait until next week. I always put up my Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love the way everything looks decorated for Christmas!!

Hope everyone else had a better weekend than me. This might shock y'all, but toilet issues and cleaning is not the most exciting way to spend a weekend!!

Tales of a Bus Rider

When I first started commuting to work by bus, I hated it. Since then, I’ve learned to embrace it and even be thankful that I don’t take my car to work every day.

1. It’s better for the environment
2. I get lots of reading time
3. I rarely put gas in my car. I fill up maybe once every 3 weeks. Which makes visiting Rob less financially straining.
4. My company pays for the majority of the bus pass, so I’m seriously saving money. Especially when gas was $4/gallon.
5. When everyone else is working late, I can use the excuse “I have to catch my bus” and get the hell out of dodge!! (I don’t really do that. I just take a later bus. Ok. Fine. I would do that if it got really late)

Sometimes, though, things happen that make me forget all of the positive reasons for taking public transportation.

Today was one of those days.

I hopped on the bus this morning and took a window seat. I almost always take a window seat. Generally, I read or pull out my iPod, but today I got wrapped up in staring out the window. Weird I know, but this fact becomes important later.

A man sat down next to me. I glanced over and responded to his “Hi. Good Morning.” He seemed like a normal bus commuter. I’m horrible at guessing ages, but I’d put him in his mid to late 40s.

I continued staring out the window and thinking that I should open my book and start reading.

A few minutes into the ride the dude starts talking to me. I do not enjoy strangers talking to me in the morning, but I tried to be polite.

Middle-aged Stranger: Can I ask you a few questions?
Me: Um. Questions? Really? OK. (me thinking: you have to be effing kidding me. Why do I always get stuck next to people that want to talk to me?)
Middle-aged Stranger: What’s your name?
Me: Kristi.
MAS: What kind of music do you listen to?
Me: Um. I listen to lots of different stuff.
MAS: OK. Here’s a tough one. When I look over, you’re staring out the window deep in thought. What are you thinking about?
Me: Nothing really. Just looking out the window I guess. (like I’m really going to tell him that I was daydreaming about my boyfriend. I’m a really good daydreamer. I can zone into my own head with very little effort. All of this is almost too embarrassing to admit even here. )

Then he paused for a while. I went on looking out the window. I wanted to open my book, but I thought it might look rude now that he had initiated conversation.

He didn’t pause for long. As soon as we turned downtown he started up again.

MAS: I have another question for you.
Me: Ok. (dear god will this never end)
MAS: How about you come and play a game of pool and go to dinner with me tonight?
Me: Um. Um. Sorry. I have plans tonight. (Is he for real? This isn't really happening, is it?)

Being hit on is always a little strange for me (socially awkward when put on the spot remember), but this was just plain icky weird. I know guys have a tough job. It’s hard to ask someone out, but the DUDE was MIDDLE AGED. That means he was my DAD’S AGE. Have I unknowingly crossed the age threshold where almost 50 year old men think that it is appropriate to ask me out? Furthermore, he asked me out for tonight. A Friday night. Do I look like the type of girl who doesn’t have plans on a Friday night? Granted, I don’t have plans, but my inflated ego I thought I was still young and attractive enough for guys to assume I was busy!! I mean no disrespect to women who like their men 20+ years older than them, but it is so not my bag. Let's not forget that it was 7 AM. That is just way too early to be asking someone out. I hadn't even had my coffee yet! Oh and can y'all imagine how awkward it was for the rest of the bus ride. I don't think I breathed until he got off at his stop. I wanted to just curl into myself and die! This really wasn't my idea of a great start to my day. What an uncomfortable morning.

Rob was absolutely no help. I emailed him about it as soon as I got to work. His response? "That's awesome. My girlfriend is a bus babe." I don't think he gets it.

April thinks I should go to Wal-Mart and get one of those fake engagement rings to wear whenever I use public transportation. That’s not a bad idea. Or maybe it's time for Rob to consider buying me a real one!!

I now have a new bus rule. Never look out the window of a bus. Always be inaccessible and busy with a book or an iPod!!!

Living Vicariously Through My Child

Kaeli and I went to the store to pick up a few things. I thought it would be a good idea to let her scan the toy section to get an idea for Christmas presents. This is our conversation over a Girl Crush Hair Beader.

Me: Cool! A hair beader! I wanted one of these so badly when I was a little girl.
Kaeli: And all your dreams can come true when you buy it for me.

That has to be the most effective technique she has used yet. I seriously love having a daughter. A son would never let me have a hair beader!!!

What The Hell Wednesday

Welcome to our new segment WTH Wednesday!! Today, I get to talk about all the things I read, hear, or experience where the only response I can come up with is What The Hell!

(I maybe sorta kinda stole this title from The View because I love that show. I want to be BFFs with Joy and Whoopi)

- Did y'all notice that I posted 4 separate times yesterday? WTH? I swear I really do have a job, a kid to raise, dishes to do, laundry to fold, lots of TV to watch, and the 3rd Twilight book, Eclipse, to finish. I just couldn't be stopped!

- Speaking of Eclipse - **If you don't want to read a tiny spoiler then turn away now** - Bella is getting on my nerves just a little bit. I'm not very far in, but her persistence to be friends with Jacob is making me crazy. Bella, he's a werewolf and the "love of your existence" is a vampire. They are mortal enemies. Get over it. Plus, you're begging Edward to make you a vampire. WTH? Vampires and werewolves can't be friends. Stop causing trouble by sneaking off to see Jacob!!!

- A man in Florida is facing battery charges for hitting his girlfriend with a sandwich. WTH? Hitting your girlfriend is wrong. Hitting her with a sandwich is just weird, and a waste of a good sandwich!

- A blind elderly woman in Massachusetts faced having a lien put on her home for an outstanding water bill. The amount of the bill? 1 cent. WTH? The debt has been paid. This is just ridiculous. There has to be more important things to worry about than a penny.

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Update on the Lip Fiasco from yesterday!!

First, y'all have the best ideas! S, I've never used the rosebud salve, but I am intrigued. I'll definitely have to get some! Astarte - You are so wise. I would have never thought to use Orajel! I'm totally going to try it. This little nugget of information is awesome!

I ended up running to the store in a panic after work. The pain. Oh. The Pain. I grabbed $15 worth of lip moisturizers. Pretty much anything that didn't have the words "peppermint oil" in the ingredients. The first one was still too harsh. It burned the dry parts. No fun. Then, I tried this random Swedish one, Lypsyl. I will never be able to fully express the joy that I felt when I put it on. It stopped the burning. It felt so good. I'm in love. Before bed I also put about 2 pounds of Vaseline on my lips. That helped a lot too. My lips aren't quite 100% kissable yet, but they feel so much better than yesterday. My Lypsyl is within an arms length of me at all times now!!

Tween Girls Hearts Are Breaking All Over The World Tonight

I let Kaeli stay up past bedtime to watch the Dancing with the Stars Results Show. I'm usually a stickler about bedtime. I haven't let her do this all season, but the show is almost over and she's just so cute when she watches it. I'll pay for it in the morning, I'm sure.

We got to the elimination, and Cody and Julianne's names were called.

Kaeli: Wait, what does that mean?
Me: Well, they got the least amount of votes so they're going home. They won't be on next week.
Kaeli: WHAT?! They're going home? Mom, we didn't vote enough! We didn't keep them on! We should have done better!!
Me: (this is were I lied because I didn't vote for Cody at all) Kaeli, we tried our best. They did a good job and got really far.

Kaeli then jumped off the couch and stomped to her room. She fell asleep mourning the loss of Cody. Kids sure are insane about their Hannah Montana stars. She was so upset. I feel a little bad thinking that it's funny. It just proves that, along with my lipbalm addiction and flair for the dramatic, she also inherited my tendency to get way too emotionally involved in reality tv.

Pain is Beauty, Beauty is Pain

I'm a lipgloss slut junkie. I have no less than 5 different kinds in my purse at any given time. In fact, I have a little lipgloss purse inside of my actual purse to keep my lipglosses and chapsticks easy to find.

I'm also a Target ho addict. If I go in for 1 thing, you can bet I'm leaving with $50 worth of stuff. It's a habit I'm trying to break.

Two weeks ago, I was getting my Target fix, and I found a really fun lipgloss. CoverGirl WetSlicks AmazeMint. It's a lipgloss with Crest peppermint oil, so you get a little boost of fresh breath with your lipgloss application. How could a junkie, like me, resist. I even bought 2 different colors! How exciting to hit 2 of my addictions in 1 trip.

At first, I loved it. Such a great concept, but I'm beginning to think that I might be having some type of reaction to it!!! I'm not sure if it's the lipgloss or just run of the mill weather getting colder lip issues. I used the lipgloss for a few days, but then my lips started seriously hurting. I don't even know how to explain it. It's like they burn on the outer edges. They feel really tight too, maybe dry. They don't really look cracked or chapped.

No amount of chapstick is helping the situation. I've used the Burt's Beeswax stuff for years, but now it burns the edges of my lips if I use it. I'm assuming it's the peppermint oil. I frantically used some SoftLips Organic stuff that Kaeli had laying around (she seems to have inherited my affinity for lip coverage). In a fit of desperation, I even smeared super dry skin lotion on the edges of my lips. It didn't seem to help either.

Since they burn, I keep catching myself licking my lips. Which is only making things worse.

Like I said, I'm not sure it's the lipgloss. I noticed it last week. It got bad enough to irritate me on Saturday, and now it's agony. I haven't used the lipgloss the entire time. Colder weather does tend to wreak havoc on my skin, so I guess it could be that.

I'll put up with a lot in the name of beauty. I'll pluck and wax. I'll suffer through uncomfortable shoes. I'll spend hours getting the right cut and color. But agonizing lip pain sucks, and I can't take it anymore. I'm going to have to go and stock up on every kind of lip moisturizer I can find. Anyone have any suggestions?

It's Her World, I'm Just Living In It

There have been other things going on in the life of a Material Girl besides my new Twilight obsession.

Shocking. I know.

It’s actually Kaeli’s life because it’s All About Kaeli Day.

Last week was her school carnival. It’s a huge fundraising event the school does every year. It’s actually a lot of fun. The school goes all out. There are lots of games and activities. Kaeli had her hair spray painted blue, her face painted with stars and a butterfly, and went through 4 cans of silly string spraying down other kids in the silly string pit. There was also a petting zoo, a bunch of inflatable bouncy houses, and The Rock Climbing Wall! Kaeli is obsessed with the rock climbing wall. It always scares me a little because she is so tiny, but she loves it and is pretty good at it. Plus, there was a Cupcake Walk. Kaeli talked about the darn cupcake walk for days. She was so excited to try and win a cupcake. When we got to the carnival, it was the first thing we did. But Kaeli's super shyness kicked in and she wouldn't even look at the people running the game. She looked straight at the ground while standing on her chosen number (10). The volunteers spun the wheel. It stopped on 10!! She won! Hurray! I think I showed more excitement than she did. She didn't even seem to care. She took her ticket and walked away. She got so shy that she was really nervous when they made a big deal about her winning! Crazy kid.

I also had a Parent/Teacher Conference. Her teacher said stuff I pretty much already knew. Kaeli is the smartest and best six year old in the world. She has never loved a student more. She’s going to quit teaching as soon as Kaeli is out of 1st grade because no other kid will ever bring the same amount of joy to her job. The usual stuff. Ok. I might be exaggerating a little. The teacher did say that Kaeli is a great student, she’s adjusted well to 1st grade, and is a super sweet kid to have in class. Apparently, Kaeli is also a bit of a chatterbox, but I’m not really surprised. After all, she is her mother’s daughter.

Kaeli also got her report card for the 2nd six weeks. This report card is a huge milestone (at least it is in my warped brain) because it’s the first time Kaeli received real numerical grades! Before it was all S’s, N’s, and U’s (Kaeli only got S’s, thank you very much.). The numerical grades are for the 4 main subjects. Now to invade her privacy (and brag) a little:
Reading – 96
Language – 96
Spelling – 97
Math – 95
I’m super proud of her. It’s probably crazy, but I’m relieved that she is doing so great because I think it bodes well for the future. If she can develop a strong foundation now, hopefully she’ll have an easier time when things get tougher or when/if she ever goes all adolescent on me and refuses to do homework (I might have put my parents through that phase).

In other news, it seems that Kaeli has developed an aversion to the word Dork. I can say that she is Silly or being a Goofball, but if the word Dork crosses my lips, she goes into full on freak out mode. She gets all frustrated and tells me that it's not nice and that I know she doesn't like it so I need to stop right now! It's actually really funny. (Some of y'all might be appalled at my choice of nicknames, but Kaeli is a really funny kid - when she's not overcome with nerves. It's hard not to call her a Goofball. Plus, there are loads of other nice ones like Sugar Plum and Angel Face that I say too.)

Last, but not least, I might still be feeling a little guilty about tricking her into going to bed an hour early on Thursday. I let her stay up an extra half hour last night, so that she could watch Dancing with the Stars with me. She loves the show because of all of the “pretty outfits” the dancers wear. Plus, she is the most fun to watch DWTS with because she gets so excited about the scores. She keeps her little fingers crossed and chants “10, 10, 10. Give them all 10s”. She doesn’t care which team it is (I’m rooting for Lance and Lacey). She just wants everyone to get 10s. Then when the team gets a 10, she shouts and cheers. It’s too cute.

OK. That’s Kaeli’s life in a nutshell right now. Doesn’t your life feel more complete now that you know everything going on in the world of a 6 year old?!

Gifts, Gifts, Gifts

Melissa clued me into The Holiday Gift Guide over at Musings of a Housewife. There are a lot of really great gift ideas to check out. I think it will be great for some of the harder to shop for people on my list! Plus, most of the items on the guide are from moms with small businesses. I can definitely support that!! What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

There might even be some really cool giveaways going on over there too!

Why Can’t My Boyfriend Be Like Edward Cullen?

I did it.

I gave in.

I'm a changed girl.

As part of my “Kristi needs serious downtime to get rid of the grumpiness” weekend, I decided that I would indulge in a little Twilight. I bought Twilight and New Moon several weeks ago, but then I got into that pesky book backlog I told y’all about. I innocently started reading, and by the middle of Twilight I was hooked, so I ran out Saturday and bought last 2 books in the series. I couldn’t face life without the complete series at my fingertips

I knew that I would like them (mostly because I enjoy anything marketed to a 14 year old girl), but I didn’t realize that I would LOVE them.

I’ve become obsessed. I don’t know how it happened, but I can’t get enough. I can’t even explain how it happened. One minute, I’m enjoying a fun story, and, the next thing I know, I’m totally consumed by these books.

I neglected all weekend chores. No cleaning got done. No laundry was done (until late last night when I realized that there wasn’t a single clean article of clothing for me or Kaeli to wear). No blogging. No reading of other blogs. I have no clue what even happened in the news this weekend.

Kaeli was so sick of seeing me with a book in my hands. I didn’t put it down. Saturday night, when I finished Twilight and immediately started New Moon, Kaeli was like “Mom, are you still reading about those stupid vampires?” I had to stop myself from telling her that we are moving to Forks, Washington so that I can find my very own vampire love. Six is probably a little young to realize that your mother is completely insane.

Rob finally had to ask me to stop talking about Edward. He couldn’t take my nonstop lusting over a vampire. I can’t help it. Edward is just so fantastic. I think I have fallen in love with him. I can’t stop thinking about him.

Then, when I got to work this morning, the woman that sits in the cube across from me said that I looked different today. I realized that I must have that crazy wild eye look of someone who just spent 72 hours consumed by Edward Cullen.

By Sunday night, I had finished Twilight and New Moon. I just wish I had another day! Staring at Eclipse, but not being able to read it because of work is like pure torture. I’m not generally a rereader when it comes to books, but I’m already fighting the urge to reread Twilight.

I fully understand all of those teenage girls freaking out at malls now!! I want to be right there with them. What has happened to me?

Are Y'all Watching 30 Rock?

You totally should be! It's like the funniest show on TV!!

Randomness brought to you by beer. God Bless Fridays off!!

You Gotta Do What You've Gotta Do

I mentioned Monday that I was feeling grumpy. Well, that feeling hasn't gone away. For no apparent reason, I am petulant and bitchy bratty.

Tonight, I tricked Kaeli into going to bed an hour early because I needed some down time.

I feel a little guilty, but the quiet and the beer are easing that pain.

Throw my name in the hat for the Mom of the Year Award.

Quitting The Hills - Progress Report

Three weeks ago I decided that I was over The Hills. The relationship wasn't making me happy anymore. It's been tough letting go, but here is an update on my journey to quit The Hills.

Week 1 - Monday, October 27th. This was a tough week. Could I really just not watch it? I didn't think I was strong enough to quit cold turkey. I decided to ease myself into quitting so that I could learn to fight the craving. At 9:00pm, I flipped to MTV and started watching. Then, I got up and cleaned my whole kitchen. I figured, this way, it was on as background noise. I got my fix without paying super close attention. Every time Spencer came on the screen, I just turned on the water faucet to drown out his rude attention seeking comments. On the plus side, my kitchen was super clean by the last silent glance between Lauren and Whitney.

Week 2 - Monday, November 3rd. The Hills was still set to record on my DVR. Instead of watching it, I turned off the TV and read a book. I left it on my DVR. Then, on Thursday, I did some routine clean up of my overworked DVR. The Hills was there. Taunting me. Begging to be watched. I almost caved. I figured that I was in control. It's not Monday. I wasn't a slave to the MTV line up. I was watching it on my own terms, but then I thought of Spencer and his ugly fleshbeard. I deleted it off my DVR. Unwatched. It felt good.

Week 3 - Monday, November 10th. A friend of mine called at 8:30pm. We chit-chatted for a while. When we got off the phone, I realized that The Hills was finished recording. I pulled up my DVR recorded list and immediately deleted it. This was the most decisive victory yet. There was no wavering. Just the desire to be done with the battle.

I still have some work to do. I haven't managed to bring myself to delete the preset recording yet. And, in week 2, I read a recap of the episode Tuesday morning. It's still hard sometimes. I battle my addiction daily. I miss Lo, and her quiet bitchiness. I miss the knowing looks from Lauren. I even miss Audrina's whining about Justin Bobby, but 3 weeks without Spencer has been well worth all the pain.

Looks Like Someone Has a Case of the Mondays

I am super grumpy today. So grumpy that I'm even annoying myself.

• I could not stay focused at work to save my life. All I could do was stare at a Excel spreadsheet with no interest in actually doing anything with it.
• The time change means it's super dark when I get home from work. I haven't gotten used to it yet. It's so depressing.
• It was pouring rain when I left work today. Guess where my umbrella was. If you picked on the passenger seat of my car in the parking lot of the park and ride then you get a gold star. I had to use my jacket to protect THE PURSE leaving my hair to fend for itself against the elements. I was wet and cold the whole way home.
• My apartment is so messy, but dishes be damned. I'm so not cleaning up tonight.
• Kaeli gets out of school at 3:40pm. I get home around 6:00pm. Her grandma picks her up from school and keeps Kaeli in the afternoons. I realize how lucky I am to have this help. BUT - Why in the hell does Kaeli never have her homework done when I pick her up? She is there everyday for 2 freaking hours, and, as far as I can tell, she just watches TV and eats junk food the whole time. It's so frustrating. She goes to bed at 8:00pm, which means that we have 2 short hours for homework, dinner, shower, and reading. I barely get to just play with her during the week. It would be so nice to have a little extra time to just hang out, but, no matter how many times I mention it, the homework never gets done. Her grandma is a teacher for fuck's sake! Shouldn't school work be a priority?

I am so crawling into bed early tonight and forgetting that today happened!

We Dodged a Bullet!

HeHe. Jon Stewart is funny.

I know part of this was for comedic effect, but so much of it is true. Sarah Palin couldn't name the countries in North America. Seriously? How is that possible? Her state even borders one of them! Maybe because she can't see it from her house, she thinks is doesn't exist.

She's only 44. We could be seeing her face for the next 20 to 30 years. How scary!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all of this new information makes it impossible for her to remain a viable Republican candidate!!

Book Nerd - 2nd Edition

Sometimes I get stuck in book dry spells. A book dry spell is very annoying. Nothing sounds interesting, and I can't find anything I want to read. Everything seems pointless and not worth the effort.

Then all of the sudden, my curiosity is piqued by so many books that an enormous stack begins growing on my table.

This is one of those times. The stack just keeps getting bigger. It's so fun!!

I believe the last time I regaled y'all with my fabulous literary opinions, I was reading Jennifer Weiner's Good In Bed. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I figured it would hold true to chick lit nature and be a light and fun read, but it was way less shallow than the title would suggest. It was so much better than I expected it to be. I can't even put into words all the things I loved about it. It was so smart and funny. I want the main character, Cannie, to be my new best friend. It was my first Jennifer Weiner book, but it definitely won't be my last.

I picked up The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd a year ago. I tried to read it, but couldn't get into it so I put it down on a shelf and never looked at it again. Then, I hit my previously mentioned book dry spell. I decided to try it again, and I am so glad that I did. I think the first 30 pages or so were a little slow which is what made it hard to get into the first time. Once I got past them, it picked up and was a really great book. Normally, I read through a book pretty quickly, but there was something about Secret Life that made me want to take it slow and really enjoy the reading process.

I've mentioned before that the new book club over at Literally Booked had it's first selection, The Heretic's Daughter. We haven't discussed it yet (which means that there is still time for more of y'all to read it!!) so I won't get to far into it, but it was very good. It's not a fun and cheery book at all. It was haunting and thought-provoking. It's definitely a book that stays with you long after you have finished it. It's not like any book I've ever read before. I think being introduced to books that I wouldn't have selected on my own is going to be my favorite part about participating in a book club.

After an emotionally tough book like The Heretic's Daughter, I wanted something light and silly. I picked up Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. I've read her books before and really enjoyed Something Borrowed and Something Blue, but O.M.G. I hated this book. Not since high school, when my senior English teacher made us read Gulliver's Travels, have I hated a book so much. The main character was totally unlikeable. She was a spoiled brat who complained nonstop, constantly compared her life to other's, and, in my opinion, had disdain for everyone she considered "mainstream". I am so glad that I got this one from the library because no one should have to spend money to read a story that dragged on so pointlessly. I really tried to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I kept reading and hoping that there would be one thing that would redeem the story, but nothing ever came. Even the ending was a complete and utter letdown. I almost want to recommend this book to people just so that I can have someone else understand how much I hate it. Anyone want to waste 342 pages of your life and talk bad about a fictional character with me? Anyone?

That about does it for now. Time to get back to work on that never-ending stack I told you about. Stay-tuned!!!

Yes We Can!!!

I am speechless.

I am overjoyed.

I feel inspired.

I feel empowered.

I want to fix America.

I want to fix the world.

Congratulations, President-Elect Obama! January can't come soon enough. I am so proud that you are our 44th president. "Change has come to America," and I could not be more proud to be an American.

November 4, 2008

It is 8:11am. The polls have been open in Texas for 1 hour and 11 minutes. I should be working, but all I can focus on is how hugely important today is. Today will be exciting. Today will be historic. Today we get to elect the new leader of our country.

I locked in my vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden last week thanks to Texas early voting. I called Rob at 6:45am to get him up and out to his polling location when it opened today.

I've always been excited about elections, but this one is different. This one ignites a feeling I've never had before, and I don't know how to put it into the words the way more eloquent bloggers have.

I think it's because I truly believe that this election will make or break this country. America is strong and America is resilient, but we just can't take anymore of the failed policies that have been brought on us the last 8 years.

We need change. We need someone to believe in. We need someone to inspire us.

There is not a doubt in my mind that Barack Obama is the right person for the job.

So get out and vote today. And if you happen to live in California, vote NO on Prop 8!!!

It's Weekend Update Time!!

**Warning - This could possibly get very long. I just have so much to say!!**

Rob came to town this weekend, and it turns out that he seriously impacts my blogging. I just have no time to write or even read other blogs because of all of the snuggling on the couch that we have to fit in to make up for the 2 weeks that I haven't seen him!!

He decided to come in Thursday night, which made me super happy because it's an extra night of snuggling. Then, he had the nerve to wake up sick on Friday morning. I'm not talking a little cold, he was seriously sick. He even dragged his ass to the doctor that day because he felt so crappy. The doctor confirmed. Rob was seriously sick and given lots of medicine.

Apparently, I can't let anyone be sick on their own because I woke up Saturday feeling like crap. (God forbid someone has more attention than me!) It was like I suddenly got sympathy sick or something. Nothing was wrong with me, but I couldn't move because I felt so icky. Miraculously, it's Monday, and he's still sick but I'm totally fine. I'm starting to see a pattern that I'll be fine during the work week, then once the weekend hits, I'm plagued with all sorts of vague symptoms that ruin my weekend. So not awesome.

Even with the sickness all around, the weekend must go on.

Friday, I volunteered for Kaeli's school field trip. I generally don't get to volunteer for school stuff because of work, but it just so happened that the field trip fell on one of my Fridays off. (My company does the whole 9/80 thing, and I have every other Friday off. I don't know what I did before 3 days weekends came into my life.) The field trip was at the zoo, and it was a lot of fun. There is A LOT of parent participation at Kaeli's school so there were a lot of moms and dads there. I rode with a group of other moms I had never met before. They all had at least 3 kids (2 had like 5 kids) and looked shocked that I only had one. So shocked that these complete strangers asked if I was planning on having more. Maybe I'm crazy, but telling my life plan to strangers is weird for me (but that makes no sense because I tell the whole internet about my life...whatev...i'm a contradiction), and I get a little socially awkward when put on the spot. I think I mumbled something like "Um. I don't know. I guess it's possible. One is suiting me fine for now. Blah blah blah."

I was paired up with another mom and we had 5 girls to take around the zoo. I thought 5 girls was going to be super easy, but OMG was I wrong. Did y'all know that when girls get together they shriek? A lot. 3 out of the 5 of them cried (mine included) and by the end of the day I was totally exhausted. I did learn a lot about sea lions and koala bears, though. Did anyone else know that sea lions are not born knowing how to swim? Their mothers teach them. Isn't that nice? And koala bears sleep like 18 hours a day.

Then, Friday night was Halloween (duh!). Kaeli was Sharpay from HSM (another duh because we live and breath all things Disney). We went trick or treating with my friend and her kids. It's times like this that I wish I wouldn't have told certain real life friends about my blog because I really want to vent about something that happened. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read it, but I'll leave it at some drama went down with said friend's husband,and I'm still super pissed about it. I don't even want to look at him. I probably shouldn't still be mad. It's her life and all, but I can't help it. I feel like this was just the last straw on me trying to get along with him. Which sucks because I see them all the time. I know that I'm dramatic, but I really don't like drama. There's a total difference!

Saturday, Rob made this super awesome dinner (even though he wasn't feeling very well. Isn't that nice of him). He made spaghetti, and the sauce was from scratch. He didn't just pour it from a jar! Since, my kitchen skills are nonexistent, I'm so glad he's Italian and a super fantastic cook.

Then, he made me watch the Bond movie, Casino Royale. I seriously wanted to scratch my eyeballs out. That movie is 2 1/2 hours long, and I think 1 hour of it was totally pointless. I like a good action movie as much as the next girl, but this one was not good. It's like the movie makers were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records on fight scenes and plot twists with no concern to how it affected the movie. He wants me to go and see the new one that's coming out it a couple of weeks, but I just don't think I can handle it. I might have to suggest that he has boys night for that movie!!

Hurray to those of you that made it to the end of the longest blog post ever!! I completely understand those of you who just skimmed and/or stopped halfway!!