I just bought alcohol, do I look 17?

Today was so freakin productive that I can barely stand.

Okay. Mild exxageration. But my BRAIN is tired.
Working on a Housewide presentation/launch project at work. That's nice. I personally love it because it incorporates many of my favorites, graphic design, web design, and posters/flyers/presentation boards.

Last night I got so much shit done at home I could hardly stand it. At 10pm I was falling asleep but I kept trucking till about 1am. An early night for me.

This morning I was doing final pick-ups before the cleaning people arrived, and trying to take care of insurance and receipts for all my recent visits to doctors/dentists... and also get things ready to take to work, I kept making a pile on the dining room table as I swept from room to room. I had an application for an increase to my disability insurance, a Girl's Night Out Catalog, 2 Bills to mail for home and 3 medical bills to pay. I also had the pink and green swap to package and mail, but first I still needed to iron the bird embroidered towel, and I had the black boots I sold on eBay to pack up also. A man bought them. Could my hot boots be going to a cross-dresser? Hmm. Interesting.

So I decided to skip packaging the boots and the pink and green swap until tonight, when I have more time, except today at work I was reminded that I have to have 3 dozen cookies baked for the upcoming thingy that I mentioned above. Plus I need to make Vodka Slushies for my sex toy party (husband calls it the cooter plug party) on Saturday, otherwise the great quantities of alcohol won't be frozen in time. And did I mention I need to plan the Thanksgiving Menu and make the invitation? Yeah. I have a few things on my mind. OH and my car goes into the shop on Wednesday (my dad=the shop) and I probably won't have it back until Sunday. New Tie Rods, new front Control Arm Bushings, and a new Blower Motor. Today I bought vodka and orange juice, 3 bottles of wine, stuff to bake 6 dozen cookies (some for tomorrow, some for my party), Chex Mix, a piece of black foam board and adhesive (presentation), and a blower motor for my car. Where oh WHERE does all the money go! I got carded to buy all the booze. Showed me ID. Then I got carded to buy the adhesive. I had to be 17. Now please, tell me this. If I am 21, and you just sold me alcohol, and saw my ID, is it really appropriate to turn around and ask me if I am 17? The lady was super nice, but it's like Hell-O? In the exact same transaction you just scanned in my alcohol, viewed my ID, and all that jazz, but you have to ask if I am 17? Yeah. Here's your sign.

What the Fuck is wrong with Yahoo Mail Beta today? As a paying customer and Beta Tester, I am frustrated BEYOND belief that my messages (which I can see the senders and titles of) won't load completely so that I can read them. I have all these new photos from Adam of our 10 year reunion, and I can't see them, and ditto for bunches of other cool emails. And this has been going on for at least 7.5 hours, so it's like RESOLVE it already!! I can't load an RSS Feed and whenever I try to move or delete a message I get an error message. Some email messages that I was able to read or respond to this morning keep showing up in my inbox as unread, over and over, even if I did read them. And everytime I try to mark them as unread or delete them, I get the damn error messages.

You know what I hate? Classmates.com and Reunion.com and Names Database. What a bunch of crap. Here, sign up! It's FREE! Then everytime someone searches for you, we will show you their sex and age and where they live and then if you want to know who they are, you can pay us and we will tell you. Um. No. Nice try. How about you just do shit for free because you are a decent website who cares about people everywhere. Is there NOTHING for free anymore? Or how about you can see everyone in your class but you can't tell who their husband is or what their kids look like or where they work now... Unless you pay us... Mwaaaahahahaha! I get at least 1 email a day from one of those websites "Your old lover is looking for you!" Yeah well, I only have 1 old lover and chances are that he doesn't even own a computer, and if he did, it wouldn't take the internet to search for me because he knows right where to find me and I know right where to find him. That's the beauty of a small town.

And it's dark outside. And I have shit to do. So have a good night. Don't Miss CSI Miami!

We've Been Re-United

Happy Monday! It was a nice weekend. Friday night I went to the football game (Bureau Valley Versus Fulton) and when they were supposed to announce the graduating class of 1996 and that this weekend is our 10-year reunion, We all came for the varsity game, sat through the game, didn’t get announced, and then found out later that they announced it BETWEEN the fresh-soph and varsity games.

So there were like 15 or 20 of us there and we didn’t even really get recognized… Or at least we didn’t feel as though we did. Also very frustrating was the fact that we had asked months ahead of time if we could help at the homecoming game. We asked if we could participate in the Homecoming parade, by putting in a float for our class, and we were told “we don’t have a parade anymore” and then there was a parade on Thursday with floats from all the classes. They even made phone calls to local towns asking for participation (fire trucks, etc.) We asked if they needed any help at the game, concessions, ticket taking, etc. They said no. We asked if we could offer free or discounted admission to the classmates who attended the game. They said there was no way to verify who was in our class or who wasn’t. The Class Officers suggested that they sit at the gate with a class member list and mark off names. The powers that be refused. We asked if we could be announced and go onto the field at halftime and were told there isn’t enough time (and that we understood.)

But overall we were a little upset about the way we were treated as the first ever graduating class, we thought they might like to celebrate with us. But apparently they didn’t give a shit.

The reunion was nice on Saturday. There was an OK turnout and the food was great (catered by Arthur’s Garden Deli in Rock Falls/Dixon) We had hillbilly golf and there were horseshoes and bocce ball.

After the reunion, Angela and I went to Princeton for Coffee and Wal-mart. Both coffee shops were closed so we went to Beck’s North and they just got in a new cappuccino machine. Mmmm… I tasted every kind and found that my two favorites were Creamy Caramel and Cinnamon Vanilla Nut. I had the Cinnamon Vanilla Nut and we went to Wal-Mart. I got the stuff I needed, and bought Bunco, and a card game called Big Fish Little Fish. I had a coughing/non-breathing fit in the game aisle when the last drop of cinnamon vanilla goodness went down the wrong pipe. Yikes! Then we went back to Carrie’s Sister Charlie’s for a cookout. I got to hold the baby for a while again, which was nice. That night, Carrie had to get some sleep so they could fly out in the morning, but Angela and I went to my house, and Anya came over with Ava. We put Ava to sleep in my spare bedroom and played games until 4:30 in the morning. We got a hang of Bunco and really enjoyed it.

On Sunday, Evan and I rolled out of bed around 1:30. We went to Princeton and ate lunch, and then went to Wal-Mart for bottled water. Again we stood in the game aisle. We bought the Pirates of the Caribbean Dice Game (the same one Will and Davey Jones play on the ghost ship) and the newest version of Clue. That evening, Evan and I went to Brad and Anya’s and played two rounds of Clue. It was the first time that Brad, Anya, or I had ever played. It was fun! Evan won the first round (he was totally cheating) and Anya won the second.

So Last night I spent several hours watching TV while organizing, cleaning, and doing laundry until 2am. I watched American Dad, Simpsons, Family Guy, Desperate Housewives, and last Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy Episode. I picked up around the house, did laundry, dishes, etc… in preparation for the cleaning people coming today. Evan had to help get grain out of the bins at the farm today, so I know that tonight he will be dirty and smelly and exhausted. Poor Evan. I guess that means I should have a brilliant plan for supper. Perhaps Lasagna, since that is his favorite. Does this mean another trip to Wal-Mart? Mwwwaaaahahahahaha!

This morning I was feeling like I am on a different shift, after staying up till 2am Friday, 4:30am Saturday, and 2am last night. Whew! Night Owls!

Sunday I did get to order my birthday present from my husband (early) I got a baby pink wool double-breasted peacoat. Yum. I used to have a neat grey one from Victoria’s Secret. It cost me $200 when I was just out of college and it was the most expensive item of clothing I had ever owned. I wore it for years, and then I outgrew it, and last year I gave it to my mom in hopes that she could wear it, but it’s too tight on her also. So this year I got a new pink one, and pink gloves and a pink and black scarf already too. I am set to go!

Also Yesterday, I went to the attic and brought down all the games (board games, card games, dice games, etc.) and Organized them in the living room. They had been up there since before we remodeled and It was fun to get them all out. We have decided that we need to play more games together, Evan and I, and friends like Brad and Anya. I totally covet Cranium, and I wanted to buy it so badly, but it's like $19.99 at Wal-Mart when other games are $12 or $14.

Reunion Photos on Flickr
Cookout at Charlie's Photos on Flickr

"I am totally in it for the Nuts"

Listening:
Emmylou Harris, Allison Krauss, and Gillian Welch- Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby
Soggy Bottom Boys- I am a Man of Constant Sorrow
Wearing: This really cute and sparkly wine colored babydoll shirt, black pants, and those heeled mary janes (again!) with curly hair and sparkly rhinestone hair clips. Dangly wine colored earrings. Wedding Ring.
Eating: Chicken Fried Rice with 1 Eggroll
"Take Action" Link of the Day: Mom's are discriminated against while seeking employment, based on children and marital status.

I have had a bout a BAZILLION thoughts to blog about. Most of them brief. Then I sit down and I can't remember them. Argh!

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I saw a new pimple and I was like "NO!" and then I realized that THIS SATURDAY (as in like 2 days away) is my 10 year class reunion. And I did not, even ONCE think about what I might wear. What does that tell you? Well, I know what it tells me. I am so super comfy in my own skin and as myself, I am not even concerned about what I will wear. I see lots of my friends on a regular basis. No reason for this to be any different. Right? Am I wrong? Should I be shopping? Oh boy. Am I unprepared? Nah. I think I'll just wear my camo pants and my matching jimi hendrix t-shirt. I'ts my outfit that I feel super comfortable in, I have room to eat lots of food, and it reflects my personality. And when I wore it in Utah, my friends Carrie and Angela said "Oh you look so freakin cute!" so I guess that means it's A-OK. And now that I think about it, I wore it to Jackson's one weekend- so maybe he can give a seal of approval or vote for something else. I think I might curl my hair for something different than the same old straight hair. It's just an outdoor family picnic, and I am excited about it! I am thinking of going to the football game Friday night, it's the homecoming game. I guess I SHOULD wear school colors but I don't really have any... except my tennis shoes. So we will see. So comment people! Wear the Camo pants or go SHOPPING?!?!

Note to self- ask to borrow Anya's camera to take to the reunion since I haven't bought my new one yet.

So I finally made it to the salon to pick up the liter of shampoo they ordered for me when I left for Utah. I am a salon whore. Since I was 16, I have been loyal to three salons. IN all fairness, the first one closed and I followed my hairdresser's daughter to a new salon. Then I moved to my current Salon, Guys and Gals in Princeton, because my friend Kelly begged me to let her cut my hair, and she did such an awesome job, that I had to go to her. She can cut and color like no other. It's like she's inside my head. I almost don't have to tell her what I want. She just does it, and I always love it. I do, however, still go to Rita's Rendezvous because Trish Moon does the most excellent manicures and pedicures. Not to mention she is super cute, super sweet, and lots of fun. I just love her to death. She is also the one who initially convinced me to buy a CHI Ceramic Straightening Iron, and I usually buy my styling products from them because they have what I like, and they are super happy with ordering what they don't have on hand. It's difficult to find a salon that carries Biolage, and they have a huge selection of Big Sexy hair products, which I adore. So I split my time between two salons.

Another thing that dawned on me today. I do not like caramel as much as I am apparently supposed to. I know that sounds bizarre. But just today I realized for real that people REALLY like caramel. Hmm. I don't mind caramel topping. But it is NOT the first, or even second on my list. I don't really care a whole lot for caramel candy bars. I don't really care alot for eating caramels themselves (the square ones) and although I do LOVE me some taffy/caramel apples, I am not really one to sit and dip apples in melted caramel. I don't know what it is. I have just never been a real caramel fan. I guess I thought everyone just sort of tolerated caramel, but lately people have been making lots of comments about "oohh the caramel ones." I love turtles, but I am totally in it for the nuts (Bet you'd never thought I'd say that! LOL) and the chocolate. I guess that peanut butter and peanuts are my caramel. Give me a peanut butter cup, peanut butter M&M, or anything peanut and chocolate ANYDAY.

Just in case I haven't mentioned it enough, or in case you didn't HEAR me, I should tell you (again) that you should buy the Wreckers new CD. The entire CD is fabulous. I find myself singing along constantly. I also find me singing the songs without accompaniment occasionally.

Ohhh have any of you tried the new Blogger Spell Check lately? If you switch to Blogger Beta, you will love it! You click the spellchecking button and it HIGHLIGHTS all misspelled words in yellow. You can just scroll through and ignore all the ones that you know are your own "lingo" and then just click once on any highlighted word and suggestions pop up like in Office 2003. It's swEEt. One downfall. I thought that if I turned it on and then typed, it would show me what I was misspelling as I went along. But no such luck. It just highlights what you already have typed, not what you ARE typing incorrectly. But still, Wicked Cool. And I have alot of Lingo. People often say that I write as though I am really having a conversation. What they don't know, is that I grew up talking to myself. Another thing I got from Daddy-o. He talkes through and rationalizes everything, laying out his options to himself. When I first started working at my current job, co-workers would always say "Did you just say something to me?" and I would be all like "no." and they would say "Wow, I swore I heard you say something" and I would be like "Oh, I was talking just not to you?" and they would all look around because we would be the ONLY people there. So yeah, I talk to myself. And I like it. I even talk dirty to myself. Chew on that for a while, eh?