Charmed Life O' Mine

Month 2 Day 11

2010-02-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

Down 7.5, but it's tough going. I go up and I go down. I'm trying to watch my sugar intake, but it's extremely difficult. There's hidden sugar everywhere. The belly fat diet guy, Jorge Cruise, says 15 grams of sugar & 6 servings of carbs daily. Haven't hit that yet. I seem to average about 25 - 30 grams a day.

I really need to get to the gym. Need to find a way to fit it in. Any suggestions?

What I'm reading - "Soulless" by Gail Carrigan

What I'm listening to - "Soldier of Love" by Sade

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Month One, Day Twenty

2010-01-20T08:19:00.000-05:00

So I didn't completely clear out the sink last night. And I need to put my laundry away. But still hopeful for 2010.

Down 5 lbs. Yay for me! Goals for this week include the following:

1. Drink the water. I get to about 20 oz short most of the time which is a huge approvement. Still haven't drank any soda!

2. Get myself to the gym more frequently. Still rather inconsistant with this one.

3. Eat less carbs & eat more protein. Keeping a food journal has been enlightening.

Until next time...

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Day 12

2010-01-12T12:46:00.001-05:00

Lost 4 lbs last week for a 2.22% loss. There are 8 of us @ work doing the whole losing weight thing, so that's nice. We can keep each other accountable. Goals for this week include:

1. Drink all my water
2. Take my lunch to work every day.
3. Eat breakfast every morning.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Week one

2010-01-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

I'm almost to the end of week one. Foodwise I'm a mess, bit on the bright side, I've accomplished the following:

1. Given up soda
2. Logged all of my food. Even the bad stuff that I usually don't count properly.
3. Ate breakfast every morning.
4. Had a clean sink before going to bed.

Goals for next week include:

1. Drinking the recommended amount of water daily.
2. Getting a consistant workout schedule.
3. Giving up alcohol during the week.
4. Taking my lunch to work at least 3x a week.

At least that's the plan.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Year New Me?

2010-01-03T10:22:00.001-05:00

New year's resolutions can be tricky. You don't want to feel like a failure if you break them, but statistics show that most people do not keep them. With that in mind, here goes:

1. Ah yes - probably the number one resolution - to lose weight. I'm going a different route. Yes I need to lose weight, but my resolution is to live a more healthy lifestyle. What I am hoping is weight loss will be a side effect of that.

2. To have the kitchen sink empty when I go to bed.

3. To put all DVDs back in their cases when done watching them.

4. To blog more.

5. To take pictures more.

6. To keep track of what I read this year.

So that's it. 6 things. 1 year. Let's see how I do.

More milestones

2009-04-02T19:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my 14th wedding anniversary. Today is Chelsey's 13th birthday....good lord, I am the parent of a teenager. A lot has happened in 14 years:

Got married - had a kid
bought a house
bought 2 cars
got a new job.
made new friends
reconnected with family
bought a new house
bought new cars/trucks
had another kid

I am never moving again!

Some things are still the same though...I still read a ton of books. Still procrastinate to the nth degree. Still hate to put away laundry. Still have cats, still hate dogs....

On an aside note...Joey is wandering around pretending to be a monster....at least that's what I'm telling myself....he made me pretend with him ;)

Valentine's Day Crap...

2008-12-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

Christmas has come and gone....my birthday has come and gone. Joe's birthday has come and gone. Superbowl has come and gone. Next holiday - Valentine's day.....bleecchh!

It's on a Saturday this year...how fantastically fantastic. I don't know why I am anti Valentine's this year, but I am. I don't want any overpriced cards, flowers, or restaurant trips. You get a fixed menu so they can churn out the dinners and the guests for maximum profits, and most times the dinner isn't that great. I'd rather stay at home and have Joe cook for me. He's a hell of a cook.

I got a list of children that are in Joey's class in daycare for sending Valentine's....are you kidding me?? It starts this early?? There are only 5 other kids in his class right now, so it's a little ridiculous to get the box o Valentines that come 32 in a package...although, now I'm thinking it would be funny to give everyone at work one....just stick them in their mailboxes...but I digress. I found these cute little candy boxes filled with little chocolates with either Disney princesses, or spongebob, spiderman...like that....so I got those for the kiddies. They're having a Valentine's Day party on the 13th...must remember to bring in potato chips...that's what I signed up for! Nice and easy - as long as I remember. Hah!

Atlantic City

2008-10-04T15:11:00.001-04:00

Joe had an EMS conference this past Friday and Saturday, so he suggested that I meet him down there after work and we could have an adult night out. We stayed at the Sheraton by the Convention Center where the Miss America Pageant used to be held. Our room featured the 1939 winner Miss Mississippi. The lobby had displays of the evening gowns from past contestants and even a crown on display. Out in the courtyard was a statue of Bert Parks with a crown.
It was a nice night, so we decided to walk up to the boardwalk after dinner. AC was empty! We ate at Ruth Chris Steakhouse...it was very good, our first time at one. Joe wanted to go to the Showboat because he heard they had a roulette table with a low minimum. So after passing various casinos and whatnot....

Ripley's Believe it or Not.....

Caesar's

We finally make it down to the Showboat...we also passed a ton of massage parlors. Which we thought was weird. Joe found the roulette table he was looking for and started playing...I wander off to the penny slots....I managed to lose $30 in about 20 minutes and decide that that's enough for me...I wander back over to where Joe is and he's up about $60 bucks.....and then he starts to lose.....so I decide that I'm bad luck and wander away again....by the time I get back, Joe was finished....he lost his original $20 he started with and another one...so all in all, we're only down $70.00....so we're actually in the plus, cause we said we'd play with $100 each....

We head back down the boardwalk and decide to get some drinks along the way....first stop was the "Irish Pub"....cute little bar, but no Smithwicks.....I was completed flummoxed by that...They had Guinness, but no Smithwicks....at an Irish Pub?? WTF...so one beer there, and we're back on our way...next stop was the Wild West Casino...that was pretty cool. It looked like Disney with canyons and cactus and wagons...They also did not have Smithwicks....bastards....But they did have a live band playing. Country music, of course, but whatever...

We then stumble back to the hotel and have a another drink at the bar in the hotel....who also didn't have Smithwicks....but one of the other EMS guys bought our drinks, so that was cool. The next day we decided that our tolerance is way lower than it used to be....I wasn't feeling too bad, but poor Joe was. He had some more classes in the morning, so I decided to use the time to do a little sightseeing during the day and hit the outlet stores along Michigan Ave. since I didn't lose all my money!

Self Portrait @ the beach

I saw this lonely little shoe left on the ground.....shoes always freak me out. I hate the ones I see that people throw over wires....this is why...I read a short story about a mass murderer that did that because shoes take long to degrade or they don't at all, I forget which...it was a great little story in 999. But now seeing lost shoes flips me out.

Part of the Wild West Casino

Bird picture for Joe

Me being crowned by Bert Parks....tee hee hee...

front of Caesar's

Storytime at Borders

2008-09-27T15:48:00.001-04:00

I finally figured out how to import notes to my Facebook...so I'll be able to update this blog more often, hopefully.

Anyway, today Borders had a huge kids party with activities, story time, and crafts. I told Jamie M that I'd try and bring the kids by. We all go and it's mobbed...tons o kids everywhere. I let Joey loose and he immediately goes over to
where Jamie is and waves hi....in the meantime she's in the middle of reading a story. Then Joey goes over and picks up a balloon and plays with
it....then he ends up giving the balloon to another little boy and they proceed to walk all over the store. We finally end back in the kids room where they are playing Freeze Dance....kinda like Freeze tag, but with dancing...Joey loves to dance and stood behind Jamie and danced away.

I then led him over to the coloring station where he "colored" (tried to eat the crayons) and then more dancing. Fun day had by all....

blogging blogging blogging

2008-09-25T08:46:00.001-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while...Being back to work almost full time will do that. It's hard to believe that Joey is almost 15 months old. He's really coming into his own now...full of personality and just the funniest kid ever. He loves to dance. He has 10 teeth now and likes to stop and pet the cats.

Sheer Genius

2008-06-26T09:34:00.001-04:00

Another reality show I am watching.....hairdressers run amuck and do crazy challenges. Jaclyn Smith hosts....'nuff said

Reality Television

2008-06-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

I'm going thru our DVR to kind of clean it up and see what's new out there in the tv world that I want to watch. And I am horrified to realize that 90% of it....is reality television.

This is what I am DVRing.....and watching:

"I Survived A Japanese Gameshow"

ABC has it available in HD and let me tell you...Tokyo looks stunning in HD. The premise is kinda silly...they take 10 Americans and dump them in Japan and make them go on Japanese gameshow....I thought this was pure campy fun and I am looking forward to watching this all season. Last night was the premiere and I LOVED it. Dress up Americans as giant bugs and make them splat themselves on a pretend windshield....Awesomely bad!

"The Baby Borrowers"

Takes teenage couples and lets them experience the joys of parenthood from infant to toddler to school age to teenage to old people....I predict not one of these couples will be together when the show ends.....Great great birth control....why do you think I make Chelsey watch Joey so much?? tee hee hee.

"Legally Blonde - The Search for the Next Elle Woods"

I kid you not....It's like the Grease casting show that was on last year....but blonder!

"I Love the New Millennium"

The 2000s are not over yet...but that hasn't stopped VH1 from creating this series.....great look back at pop culture over the last 8 years.

And that's what's on my DVR....

I have some junk in my little trunk...

2008-05-25T09:24:00.001-04:00

We were in the middle of clearing out our crawlspace for the garage sale our neighborhood is having when Chelsey said..."I have some junk in my little trunk"

She was talking about a little container full of crap....Joe and I.....we laughed our asses off....cause she really doesn't have any junk in her trunk :)

Chelsey and the National Anthem

2008-05-22T17:56:00.001-04:00

Chelsey's school band played the national anthem at the Blue Claws Minor League game on Wednesday. We all took the day off and enjoyed a nice baseball game. Chelsey's grandparents also joined us and we had a great day with a nice barbecue afterwards. Here's some pictures:

If you click on the picture....you can see her!

Joey and Mema

The Whole band....Rob is in this picture too!

Throwing out the first pitch....cute kid...

Action shot by me!

My two men...

Another action shot.....look at that leg!

The cheese, the pork roll, and the egg...guess who won the race around the bases??

The PORKROLL!!

Me and my baby boy with my new hat!

It's amazing how fast the games go when there are no breaks for commercials.....We got there around 10:45am, game started around 11ish and we were out by 12:45pm....Joey was so good too. It was a perfect day....I did get a little sunburn on my arm, but other than that...the game was good!

Things that annoy the crap out of me

2008-04-29T22:03:00.000-04:00

I have one of those travel systems where you carry the car seat from the house to the car and what not...it's been great, love not having to disturb Joey when he was sleeping. The thing that annoys me about this is people.

People who see me carrying this car seat with Joey inside and stand in my way. Oblivious to the weight I am carrying. It has happened at the gym, especially with little kids that stand in the doorway...so tempting just to knock them down, but no, I hold back. But now we have the big boy car seat and I have to just carry Joey everywhere.

At daycare, there are 2 spots closest to the entrance and then a handicap spot and the rest of the parking is across from it further away....it annoys me when people's whose children are fully capable of walking park there....I have a frickin' baby to lug inside with all of his crap....Is it so much to ask to park across the way if your kid can walk??

Joey's First Haircut

2008-03-23T18:42:00.000-04:00

Uhmm...yeah...

2008-03-20T17:45:00.001-04:00

The results of when Joey feeds himself....

Stuff White People Like

2008-03-12T08:57:00.000-04:00

I found this new blog....which I find funny in my warp sense of humor..

Stuff White People Like

Take #70 - difficult break ups.....Don't we love having the angst in our lives? And don't we love reading about it in celebrity news? And don't we love to gossip about it?? White people need drama, dammit....otherwise what else do we have to do?

I disagree with #67 - standing still at concerts....I totally dance my ass off....Joe, on the other hand. will stand still....tee hee hee

#41 - Indie music....this is something that I have been exposed to during my stint at Borders....a couple of people there introduced me to some indie bands...and I like the alternative sound....Bands like Iron and Wine (which is really just Sam Bean), The Shins, Ryan Adams, etc...except I think that these are all mainstream now...like Coldplay :)

#39 - Netflix....I love me some Netflix....We are so bad with returning movies that it's cheaper for us to buy them....now I don't need to. Of course, my Netflix queue is out of control. I think at last count, I had 255 movies saved....it's too easy. But now I find I'll add stuff that I'd never rent but would check out on cable, maybe...it's like I think it's free! Woo hoo. I also add movies for Chelsey, tv series that I missed the first time around, or quirky documentaries, such as Dogtown and Z boys, 7 up series, Expo - Magic of the White City, Chuck Jones, and Double Dare.

#54 - Kitchen gadgets...need I say more??

Check it out...it's a funny read, and very true....

Life Sucks....

2008-02-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

We went to a wedding this weekend....very nice....had a great time. We get home and I turn on the tv and it doesn't go on...It does the blue light on and then the orange light flashes and then the whole thing shuts down....which usually means the lamp is burned out or damaged in some way.

The Oscars are on. All I want to do is relax and watch the Oscars. Really. We look in the phone book for some kind of place where we can get a replacement bulb, and it's Sunday, so everything is closed.

Joe finds a place online and gets overnight shipping, but it doesn't ship until Monday, so we won't get it until Tuesday.

Life Sucks....

The Roosters are tired.....and other postings from YouTube

2008-02-21T14:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, the funniest part is about 40 - 50 seconds in....and you can skip ahead....everytime I hear this on Disney channel, I always want to shout out the real song....You know....

THE ROOF...THE ROOF....THE ROOF IS ON FIRE...WE DON'T NEED NO WATER, LET THE MOTHERF*CKER BURN
BURN MOTHERF*CKER, BURN.....

___________________________________________________________

I don't have any words for this one.....

___________________________________________________________

I love this video

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Can't wait for this game to come out:

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T07:58:00.001-05:00

Photo taken by Neko Chan

From last night's eclipse....It was pretty cool to watch. And it won't happen again until Dec. 2010. I kept checking on the progress of the eclipse thru out the night. I did see it totally covered and then the next time I got up to see it...Full moon. So bright and pretty. Especially with the little amount of snowfall we received.

Finally....teeth!

2008-02-19T13:21:00.001-05:00

Hooray!!

Another milestone down...if you click on the image to enlarge, you'll see Joey's first 2 teeth...I have been trying to get a picture of them forever...Here are some outtakes:

state of mind...

2008-02-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

I am so bummed that this isn't in focus, but that is what happens when you drunken picture take.....I spilled some milk on the counter and this is what landed....I swear....had to take a picture. So someone is telling me to "have a nice day"....or "shit happens!"

Watch "Forrest Gump" if you don't get it.....

More Pictures from yesterday's dinner

2008-01-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

More pictures from yesterday....

Chef Chelsey

Yummy....

Apprentice in training??

The Meatballs!

Well deserved wine break....

Getting ready to taste the sauce...

Tasting away...

Making the bread....

Dinner Impossible

2008-01-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Here's my husband getting ready to cook his family sauce....We're having family over tonight, and people over tomorrow...He can't just do anything without a challenge, so why not invite 6 family members over and make sauce from scratch and bread too! We were cleaning out one of our drawers looking for kitchen towels when Joe came across his chef's jacket....and he just had to put it on....I told him he should make a tryout video for "Top Chef" using the jacket like they do in the credits...this isn't it.....but it's equally as funny...mine and Chelsey's favorite part is when Joe asks...."this is a video??" several times...

OK, I just have to say that the end of "The Karate Kid" was on during the making of this video....

________________________________________________________________

Here's a funny picture of Joey that Chelsey took:

"No pictures, please..."

One I took of him in his Ohio State hat....his bib says "Spoil me"

New Year's Eve 2007.....way too much fun :)

It's my birthday!!

2008-01-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

We just saw an episode of "Unwrapped" where they showed Maggie Moo's ice cream cakes....they had cupcake ice cream cakes...I think I *just* might go get me some of that....yummmy.

What I Learned This New Year's

2008-01-02T13:36:00.000-05:00

This is what I learned this New Year's Eve:

No matter how many people we invite over, Joe always makes too much food.
Joe D. can pick out wines like no one's business
Amy and I are similar while drunk
Becca can pace herself good
Champagne will explode in your freezer if you leave it there overnight.....

Fun times.....

Christmas Hell

2007-12-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

Over this last week I have tortured my newborn by keeping him strapped in his car seat for 6 hours.....

Right.

No, I'm serious...it's called Christmas shopping and it's what you must do to babies in order to get it done. I didn't think about it until I got home and realized that Joey was in his car seat for 6 hours.

And didn't make a peep....what a great baby! Granted, he slept most of the time. But when I got him home, I changed a very loaded diaper and gave him a BIG bottle to drink....but I am finished....

There's some more to get for Joe's side of the family, but you know what? I am done...he can finish them up.

Now, let the wrapping begin!!

56.5 miles

2007-12-11T17:17:00.000-05:00

or way under my estimation....oh well...back on track. It's been hard with the holidays arriving and Joe (still!) taking his EMT classes...almost done with those! My goal this holiday season is not to gain any weight.

It's a good goal, I think, and if I lose, even better....I'll still have to do the New Year's thing....you know...resolve to lose weight...but I am impressed with myself that I have kept up on going to the gym at least 3x a week, sometimes 4x. It's been 3 months...I'd love to say I have lost all this weight, but I haven't....I am gaining muscle....it's depressing. But as long as I keep getting muscles and not fat, I think I'll be able to continue. And if I can ever get this diet under control...so much the better.

Then the weight will melt off...or so I'm told.

New Photo Blog created...

2007-12-03T15:25:00.001-05:00

I created a photo blog...partly to inspire me to take more images, and partly to have a place to post them.

Here's the link:

http://mycharmedphotos.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy!

Black Friday

2007-11-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

I survived Thanksgiving....my weight is up 2 lbs....I think...I'm making tomorrow my "official" weigh in cause I sure as hell wasn't counting the day after Thanksgiving....known as "Black Friday"

Speaking of "Black Friday", I went out shopping for the first time in my life on that day. I work in retail so I usually work it, but now that I'm home with the baby and only working 1 day a week, I wasn't on first thing in the morning. I didn't have to go in until 6pm.

Joe tells me that he was looking at a GPS system for the motorcycle and Staples had a good one on sale. "I think I might go." he says.

"Really?!"

"yeah, really"

"But I was thinking of going out too."

"Ok, you can go, but you have to go early"

So, now I have been trapped into getting up before dawn to go to Staples. Great! :P

I wake up at 4:45 am....Joey isn't up....so, instead of going back to sleep, I pull myself out of bed, shower and get dressed (in my workout clothes, you know the Size Medium Pants) cause I have delusions of going to the gym.

I stop at Wawa to get my morning coffee. Damn, it's cold outside. And dark. I decide to go to the Staples at Eastgate, cause there's an Old Navy there and a Target nearby. Both places I wanted to shop at according to my shopping list at Black Friday Ads. (An aside - this is the coolest shopping site ever....I mean it's not a shopping site, but you look at the stuff that's on sale at all of the stores and you click on it and it creates a shopping list with the stuff you wanted, the prices, and the stores.....very organized!)

OK, back to Staples.....I figured I'd go to Old Navy first and then hit the Staples afterwards....until I pull up and there is a line from the Staples down to the Mikasa store (which is closing BTW) 3 storefronts down....I kid you not! I get in line....There must be about 200 people in line. I kid you not. The store doesn't open until 6am, it's 20 of and there is a stinkin' line to get into Staples.....STAPLES!!! You know, where you buy ink and paper! INK AND PAPER!! And GPS systems and big ass tvs on BLACK FRIDAY! Finally a manager type person comes out and explains how the shopping is going to go down....For big ticket items, you need a ticket, then you go into the store and immediately purchase your item. Then you can go pick it up....

He goes back to the front of the line to start handing out tickets....can we all see where this is going?? yep, that's right....GPS systems sold out before the store even opens....I find out later from Joe that they only had like 100 or so....guess you have to get up earlier to get the GPS system. It's not a total loss, cause I go in and find two items for my in-laws at a really good price. I end up talking to 2 very nice people in line (35 minutes!) who had already been to Best Buy. The guy was telling me that he was buying stuff that he wasn't even looking for cause everyone else was snatching it up....It's very easy to get into that mentality. I found myself looking around to see what I could get at a great price....then I shook myself of that!

After Staples, I go to Old Navy....not so crowded....and find stuff for my niece, nephew, my SIL, and my sister. Whew! Dang, I did great!

After Old Navy, I just didn't feel like heading over to Target, so I head over to the Wal-Mart. (I like to say it like that...The Wal-Mart) I get a jacket for me ($10), and I wander over to the electronics dept., just to see what their pricing was on their digital frames. (Too high), but then I see a GPS system for around the same price as the one as Staples.....I ask the salesperson if they have any left...not expecting anything, cause at this point it's 8:30am (holy crap, I've been holiday shopping for 3 hours) and he tells me, "yes, I have one right here!"

Hooray! I love the Wal-Mart!

I also picked up 2 digital keychains, I'm thinking for my parents. How fun, right? I look at the time and I have just enough to head on over to the gym and get a short work out in....I decide to do cardio since I'll only have about 45 minutes...and that's exactly what I do!

Weekly Update

2007-11-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

38 miles down....

I did manage to eat breakfast Mon, Wed., Thur, and Friday.

I did cardio on Monday, Thursday....strength on Wed. and Friday.

I still am showing a 7 lbs loss and when Denise weighed me on Friday at the gym, it showed a 6 lbs loss...so, gym scale = 1 lbs heavier than home scale....I can live with that! Or it could've been the 2o oz of water I drank before weighing in at the gym....a la Biggest Loser :)

I feel like I am getting stronger....

Today I went to the gym and had a shorter workout due to the fact that Joe is going to the Eagles game today. He was supposed to leave at 9:30am, but didn't leave until 11am, so I went to the gym and did some cardio.

Normally I do 3.5 miles in an hour. Today I did 2 miles in 35 minutes....When I do cardio, it's HIIT (high intensity interval training). I can't run.....got bad knees, but I can keep my heartrate up to the 65% - 85% needed for cardio. So I do lots of incline climbing, some running and lots of fast walking. I try and not let my heart rate drop below the 65% and keep it as close as I can to the 85%.

Here's a link to find your target heart rate - http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcheartrate.htm

My playlist today:

Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Anything But Ordinary - Avril Lavigne
Crazy In Love - Beyonce
Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
Chocolate - Snow Patrol
Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna
Gone Daddy Gone - Gnarlys Barkley

Band Geeks Unite...

2007-11-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

Gotta love it....marching band playing video game theme songs and acting out the video game....for example, the first one is PONG.....tee hee hee

Very funny!

PS 35.75 miles down......

Turkey Turkey Turkey

2007-11-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

The title says it all....Chelsey took this video from her camera. Can you believe these were in our backyard??

OK...which one is right?

2007-11-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

When I weighed myself this morning on my scale....it said that I lost 7 lbs from yesterday. I think I like my scale much better.....

Goals for this week:

cardio training 2x weekly

strength training 3x weekly

drink only water....after my morning coffee, of course.

eat breakfast

Update to follow next week....

I am 32 Flavors...and then some

2007-11-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, not really, but I like that song....and I've got 32 miles under my belt for walking.

I had my last session with my trainer today....we did some measuring. Not quite the results I was looking for, but it's a start.

I gained. Can you believe it? I've been working my ass off and I gained 5 lbs.

2lbs. were muscle, which means that 3 lbs were fat.....damn Halloween candy!

I lost an inch off my waist...woo hoo and a 1/2 inch off of my chest. Hips were the same, as were my arms, and my thigh...gained a 1/4 of an inch....

So now I am on my own. I got copies of the workouts that I did over the last month, so I can keep them up. We also went over all of the machines again. Hopefully I'll remember. I think I can...I think I can.

Chocolate Chips

2007-11-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

I shop at Costco. Mainly for Joey items, such as formula, diapers, and wipes. Oh yeah, their paper towels too....I highly recommend them. They pass the "Joe" test. As in he likes 'em. Did I mention my husband can be really really picky.

Recent quote - "when I say that I want Brillo pads, I really want SOS"....then why didn't you just say SOS pads....maybe I would have bought them then. whatever.....

Back to Costco....someone left a coupon book in the cart I was using and they had a coupon for $2.00 off a bag of chocolate chips. Cool, I think, Chelsey has been bugging me to make cookies. So, I get it. Now in the store, nothing looks huge cause everything in there is huge. I get it home and put it away. Joe and Chelsey are like "holy crap" that's a big bag....what like you've never seen a 4 1/2 lbs bag of chocolate chips?

My challenge now is to find chocolate chip recipes....I figured I start with the ones listed on the bag and work from there. It should be fun for all!

27 miles down

2007-11-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

Walking away.....27 miles down....473 miles to go....damn I'm tired ;) I found this website to help me stay motivated when my trainer sessions end....which is very soon:

www.freetrainers.com - free site that puts together a workout plan for you. You tell them how much you want to exercise, what kind of equipment you have, or lack there of, how fit you are and whatnot...you can then print out the workouts and take 'em with you. Check it out!

Playlist to motivate - aka this songs always make me go faster:

Come Baby Come - K7
Din Daa Daa - George Krantz
Cobrastyle - Teddy Bears (it's been in a million commercials lately, you know it)
Animal - Def Lepard
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
Galvinize - Chemical Brothers
L-L-Love - Astaire
Toxic - Britney Spears....yes I know...but it's great for exercising....
Le Disko - Shiny Toy Guns
Shut up and Drive - Rihanna

PS We had Joey dedicated this past weekend and my SIL sent me this picture:

Both boys were really good. Joey slept the whole time and Patrick was just cooing away. It was a very nice ceremony and it was great that we could do it together. We had a gathering afterwards of both families at our house....it was great! Lots of food and fun....Joey had a slight meltdown when we got back...but I think he was just overtired. He eventually fell asleep on my dad.....did I get a picture? Nope....slacker that I am.

Size MEDIUM, BITCHES!

2007-11-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

I was at Target the other day and they had workout clothes on sale....as I perused thru the racks, I found a really cute pair of capri pants on sale for $10. They didn't have my size, but I decided to go with the medium in hopes of fitting into them the long awaited "one day".

Last night as I got dressed for bed in the dark, I put on my Tim Gunn t-shirt which was previous too small.....It actually took me a while to figure out which t-shirt I put on and when I figured it out, I was like woo hoo, cause it fit....which caused me to try on the "one day" pants in the morning....and they fit too! Size freakin MEDIUM!!! I haven't been a medium pants in about 10 yrs.

This is a great thing, cause my scale still hasn't moved at all. In fact, I have actually gained 2 lbs. Of course, muscle weighs more than fat, but it's still so frustrating. I do, in fact, need to step up my diet, cause that's been sucky, with all of this Halloween candy in the house. I mentioned this to my trainer, Denise, and she said that it may take 6 weeks to see results on the scale. I am seeing results on my body though....there's more definition in my arms and legs, and I swear that my belly looks a little smaller. I know that I am getting stronger, cause I am doing the workouts and it's not killing me. I am still sore, but that's a good thing.

The other thing, Joe and I were snuggling the other night and he totally freaked out about my legs and how strong they felt. He freaked out even more when I flexed my thigh muscles and they popped. I got the giggles from that. He then asked what other muscles I have built up, and I flexed my biceps...tee hee hee. I thought it was very funny!

Is that a bad thing to freak out your husband with your muscles? tee hee hee....

Much to Blog....

2007-11-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

I've been slacking the last couple of weeks....this is what I need to catch up on:

Trip to NYC - yep, I've got pictures, but I need to process them to the computers. We went with the Bauers and had a blast.....did a show, dinner, sightseeing, drunken texting, and a comedy club.

Halloween with Joey...yep, did that too! I even had Chelsey get Joey's candy...wink wink

I've completed 23 miles walked so far by my estimated count.

I haven't lost any weight yet, but my trainer said it may take 6 weeks or so to see results....although I am getting definition in my arms and legs...and I think my waist is smaller....

Oooppsss...Joey's fussy, gotta jet!

The Long Walk

2007-10-15T16:10:00.000-04:00

I have completed 11.5 miles on my treadmill walking journey. Woo hoo...I think I may actually map this out to see how far I will walk. Let me think on it.

I didn't think I would enjoy the walking treadmill, but I actually do....it's getting easier for one thing, and I like listening to my tunes. Sundays are a good day to go cause like I said before, it's less crowded and I don't have the Joey factor....this also lets my husband see that I am working out.

I had my 3rd session with the trainer today....my arms are sore...my chest is sore....but I am doing it. I always feel good after a workout (if not tired)...but I am sore...I do not know how those people do it on shows like the Biggest Loser...I'm only doing an hour....they go for 4 and 5 hours.

Just FYI, one of the contestants, David from Tennessee, is posting a blog that he'd written while at the Biggest Loser Campus. He posts them weekly and it's great insight into what they're going thru. He's very nice and even took time to answer a question from me...I wanted to know what they all had on their arms...it's a body bugg....measures calories lost.

Everytime I get on the treadmill, I always think of the Stephen King story, "The Long Walk". And I'll tell you why. The story is about a national contest for boys that involves walking. As the story goes on, you learn the following:

The winner is set for life.
The boys have to walk at a pace of 4 miles per hour or they get a warning.
After 3 warnings they get eliminated. Permanently. As in shot by soldiers. Dead.
Last one standing is the winner. They walk until there's only one left, no breaks whatsoever....

So, back to me and the treadmill....I don't know how long I could walk, cause I usually do about an hour....but 4 miles an hour is very fast for me....I usually go between 3.3 - 4.5 intermittently, to get my heartrate up and down. So, I always wonder, how SK picked out 4 mph for the speed? Did he pace it out himself? Did he pick it willy nilly? I don't know....but it haunts me.

Gossip Girls or Dear Lord does it begin already?

2007-10-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

Today I get a phone call from Chelsey's principal. She tells me that she had to call Chelsey down to her office to talk. What for do you ask?

Gossiping, rumor spreading....real mean girl stuff.....She tells me that Chelsey was only involved minimally, and she wasn't spreading the rumor....great, what does that mean??

She really wouldn't tell me anymore than that except for Chelsey was trying to help the persons the rumor was about.

So, now I had to wait until she got home to find out what really happened.....she walks in the door and I ask her how school was..."it was fine"

Oh really....wanna tell me about your trip to the Principal's office?

"she called you, didn't she?"

You got it...tell me what really happened

"Well, someone told this girl that someone else heard this thing about these 2 people and since I am on student council, I thought I should try and stop it, so 3 of us went to the guidance counsellor to see what we should do."

Now, I am proud of her that she wanted to help her friends, and that she went to an adult to try and rectify the situation. I'm kinda mad that she got sucked into the drama and ended up going to the principal's office for something that she really shouldn't have been reprimanded for. She wasn't spreading any rumors...she was just trying to help out a friend and didn't know what to do, so she went to an adult. End of drama.....

But I asked her what the rumor was.....and it was a doozy....needless to say, I was kinda horrified. 6th grade is way too young for this kind of stuff. I told her next time to just try and stay out of it.

Mean girls suck!

Is it Fall??

2007-10-10T14:36:00.000-04:00

Chelsey had off on Columbus Day, so we decided to do something a little fun....not knowing it was going to be 90 degrees out. I wisely decided to wait until late afternoon, so it would be a little cooler. It wasn't by much. We went to Johnson's farm with the intention of going pumpkin picking, but when we got there, the ticket booth was closed...and I forgot that you take the hayride out to the pumpkin patch....not really good with the stroller. So we settle for ice cream and picking out our pumpkins. I told Chelsey that when she got her picture taken on the pumpkin for the first time, she was all bundled up cause it was cold....not this year....Joey is in a summer outfit....can you believe it? But the ice cream was good and we did have fun picking out the pumpkins for this year. If it was up to Chelsey, she would have picked out an enormous one...I told her if she wanted to pay for it, we could get it...but when they are sold by the pound, you don't necessarily want a big one!

Life at the Gym

2007-10-09T12:28:00.000-04:00

So you know that I signed up about 2 weeks ago. I had a free session with a trainer to set some goals. We did the fun weigh in, measured my body fat...(also very fun) and measured my waist, arm, thigh, and chest. Joe always said that I should get a trainer to keep me in line. I liked who I met with and signed up for 13 sessions....yikes! I am hoping she'll keep me accountable and teach me what I need to do to get it done! My first real session is tomorrow at 10am...wish me luck! We've set it up for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Whew! I fully expect to be kicked in the ass.

More Gym notes....every time I go, it's completely packed and I usually have to park far away which sucks since I have to lug Joey in his car seat...but I guess that's also a good thing, that it's packed, I mean.

I have found that the day to really go is Sunday.....I don't have to lug Joey and it's not packed at all....so I think I'll be adding Sunday mornings for some cardio workouts...tee hee hee...we'll see how I feel this upcoming Sunday.

My guilty pleasure is reality tv....the latest one I'm watching is "I want to look like a High School Cheerleader again". It's on CMT....The premise is former cheerleaders getting in shape. Yesterday I watched the first one. I wish they also said how tall these cheerleaders are....cause they looked a little heavy, but when they weighed in....they went from 134 to 175. I told Chelsey, I hope those lighter ones are all under 5 ft....if not, I don't want to know. I just couldn't get my head around the fact that someone who weighed 134 thought she was fat....arrgh!

I don't know if it's just because I am so used to really heavy weigh ins due to the Biggest Loser, Celebrity Fat Club...it really just boggled my mind. Anyhoo, they have the trainer from "Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders - Making the Team 2" Jay Johnson....(yet another show I watch...you know for the drama...it's also really funny to see cheerleaders cry when they get cut.) He likes to use the Army Fitness standards....2 minute situps, 2 minute push ups, and 2 mile run....yuck. And he's making those cheerleaders work! One has already dropped out by her own choice...I think personally, she thought it was going to be easy....she obviously doesn't watch enough tv, or at least the right shows. ;)

Back to the gym...I made some playlists for my iPod to work out to. So far so good on the treadmill. I've done about 8 miles so far...I figured if all those people lost weight on the "Fat March" by walking from Boston to DC (about 500 miles), it might be fun to keep track of how much I've "walked".

Here's one of my playlists:

Little Less Conversation Remix - Elvis Presley
Notorious - Duran Duran
Din Daa Daa - George Krantz ( from Breakin)
Gossip Folks - Missy Elliot
Triple Trouble - Beastie Boys
God Put a Smile on Your Face - Mark Ronson version
If you Want Blood - AC/DC
Animal - Def Lepard
The Mating Game - Bitter:Sweet
Come Baby Come - K7
Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
Flesh Wound - Robert Palmer
Play that Funky music - Wild Cherry

Enjoy!

a deep breath, please

2007-09-28T15:19:00.000-04:00

OK, I did it. I took the plunge and joined a gym. It's hard to describe what I'm feeling....relief, nervousness, ill....

I mean I've done this before and have gotten defeated. I'm hoping this time will be different cause I have a couple of girlfriends that joined as well. Accountability will be good. It's something that I desperately need. I know if someone will be waiting for me, I'll go. If I have to on my own....forget it.

this is what inspired me today to join the gym.... http://www.myspace.com/jwb57nashville

His blog especially titled 20 minutes....I have done this...I have also not eaten the whole day cause I'm afraid of making the wrong choices and then having a huge dinner with the justification that, oh I didn't eat all day, I can eat whatever....nope, you can't. I'm not in my 20s anymore! Face it...this is a lifestyle change not just a diet, right??

I have given up alcohol during the week...Not that I drank a lot, but Joe would open a bottle of wine during the week. I told him, no more...let me cut that at least to the weekends. It should help.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day, Music Review and What I Can't Wait to see on TV

2007-09-19T10:49:00.000-04:00

Arrggh...me mateys.....today be "talk like a pirate day"

Try it out ;) and have a bottle of rum...yo ho ho

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I recently got the new Mark Ronson CD - called "Version" and it rocks....one of my new faves.

If you like your music with some funk, then check it out.

Favorite tracks would include the cover of "God Put a Smile on Your Face" originally done by Coldplay...this is a funk instrumental cover. Very fun and upbeat.

Also, love the cover of Britney Spear's "Toxic", instead of dancified crap, it's a slower version...the only drawback is the naughty words rapped into it. Not for young ears at all.

Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen both contribute tracks on this album as well. As my friend Michelle said...drunken British chicks....yep, but they sing pretty.

It's what's playing in my CD player.....

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The new fall television schedule is starting soon, if not already. This is what I am looking forward to seeing this season:

Bionic Woman - supposed to be different from the original, no cheesy slo mo shots, but on the negative side, I heard no "Bionic" sound...you know....nnnn nnnn nnnn nnnn
Journeyman - sounds like Quantum Leap without the sci-fi aspect.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles - yep, from Terminator...just pretend the 3rd movie never happened....tee hee hee
Heroes - I need to finish watching the first season dammit!
America's Next Top Model - more drama, yay!
Kitchen Nightmares - Hell's Kitchen Chef Ramsey helping real owners of restaurants turn their businesses around...wanna bet there's cussing?
K-Ville - New Orleans police detectives after Katrina...I liked it!
The usual CSIs and NCIS

And that's what I'll be watching as well as Project Runway as soon as they put it on!

Sangria Recipe

2007-09-17T18:28:00.000-04:00

After having an impromptu party last night, I decided this is the easiest and best recipe for a quick Sangria....(and cheap too!)

1.5 liters of Carlo Rossi Sangria Wine - aka the small jug
1 can of frozen limenade - not frozen
1 cup of orange juice
1 - 2 cups of rum - depending on your taste....I only had a 1/2 cup of Barcardi light rum, so I had to supplement with the rum that Heather's boyfriend, Justin brought us back from Belize and then I threw in the rest of my citrus rum that I had....maybe another 3/4 of a cup....just for taste...Yum!
1 cup of Sprite (or 7up)

Mix thoroughly and garnish with fruit slices....Enjoy!

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On another note....just finished the new James Patterson "You've Been Warned". Don't bother....it was horribly bad....I don't even think he's writing them anymore...just passing off an outline or story concept to the other author "writing" with him. He needs to go back to either the Women's Murder Club series (which is being turned into a tv show) or Alex Cross. 'Nuff said.

Chelsey as told by her mom….in a million words or less

2007-09-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

Here is my "homework" on Chelsey......

Chelsey was born on April 2, 1996 just one day and one year after her father and I got married. She had some issues during the birthing process and ended up being an emergency c-section. She was then whisked from Burlington Memorial Hospital to Cooper Medical for a week’s stay in the NICU. Chelsey was a sight to see among all of the preemies, as she was 8 lbs and 1 oz at birth. There was one other child her size that also had complications during birth and they were housed next to each other. The doctor in charge joked about them being in the big section.

We just moved to Medford 2 years ago, so Chelsey was raised in Marlton for her first 9 years. She went to daycare when she was 5 months old and then to Beeler Elementary for Kindergarten thru 3^rd grade. She made many friends there and still misses some of them, although she’s made plenty in her neighborhood now. Chelsey is a very friendly child and will do anything for anyone. She has a kind heart and loves to help people out, whether she’s helping me with our new baby or helping out one of her friends. Right now she is in the process of growing out her hair to donate to Locks of Love.

Ever since she was a little girl, she’s been interested in animals. If it was up to Chelsey we would have 3 dogs, 4 cats, fish and some birds. She has also stated from a young age, that when she moves out, she’ll get all of those animals. I tell her, good luck with that. Chelsey has also had her vocation planned for most of her life. Ask her and she’ll tell you that she wants to be a wild life veterinarian. I imagine her in Africa one day amongst the lions and tigers, keeping them well.

Chelsey loves music, whether she’s playing in band (clarinet) or just jamming on her guitar. She’s been taking lessons on both for about 2 years now. Some of her favorite artists would include Jack Johnson, the Beatles, Hilary Duff, and Avril Lavigne. She can read music fairly well, I’m told, which impresses me to no end as I can not.

Chelsey also loves to create art. She is a photographer, painter, and a writer. She’s done some really creative things which we have displayed proudly in our house. Chelsey also loves to cook and will help out in the kitchen whenever possible. She loves to bake cookies, cakes, and help her father make his family’s spaghetti sauce. Her love of food comes from her father’s side of the family; she has a great palette and can usually be coaxed into trying different food items. Some of her favorite foods include shrimp, clams oreganato, and chicken parmesan. Her favorite restaurant is Benihana’s. She learned how to use chopsticks in first grade during Chinese New Year’s. She is always offered the children’s chopsticks and always turns them down. We started taking her there when we realized that she would eat a whole lot of food at that restaurant.

Chelsey also loves to play sports. She plays softball in the spring and either field hockey or soccer in the fall. This year she played softball on the Medford league and played several positions, such as 1^st base, pitcher and short stop. This fall, she is playing field hockey on the township league. Her aunt played field hockey in high school and showed Chelsey the basics of the game.

Chelsey is a huge help with her new baby brother. We weren’t sure how she was going to react after being an only child for 11 years, but she has stepped up and is now a pro at caring for Joey. She’s a pretty amazing kid and I am proud to have her as a daughter.

Home work?? Huh??

2007-09-11T17:11:00.000-04:00

Chelsey comes home from school yesterday and informs me that I have homework....yeah right...more papers to sign, right??

Nope....the parents are to write an essay about their kids...1 million words or less.

Are you freakin' kidding me??

It's due on Friday....

Wish me luck!

Game Day!

2007-09-10T14:46:00.000-04:00

Sunday was football day....not knowing the Eagles were playing...this is what I dressed Joey in:

Happy baby boy....yay! This outfit is 12 months...yikes!!! Here's another picture after the Eagles lost to the Green Bay Packers:

Tee hee hee....

Star Wars Lego Video Game

2007-09-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

I am addicted to this game....

We got it for Chelsey originally for the xbox. I started playing with her recently. It's a perfect game.

You have unlimited lives....
You shoot everything in sight to find studs (not people, but you know like rivets) and collect them.
Each section of the game is a part of the original trilogy.
You can smack the crap out of your partner....tee hee hee
It's really funny to watch lego star wars characters smack each other.
It's funny to watch them build things.

Indiana Jones is coming out next summer.....I can't wait!

First Day of School (Middle, that is....) Part 2

2007-09-07T11:41:00.001-04:00

Awww...here's the pictures of Chelsey's first day of school outfit. I can not believe she's in middle school now. We also got her a new backpack that she picked out. Her first day went well...she's got several of her friends on her team and a couple in her classes. She said that she liked all of her teachers so far.

When she got home, we went over all of the paperwork that needed to be signed and I went thru her agenda book to see if there was any homework...there wasn't, but she needed to wear sneakers tomorrow and her were at her Mema's....off to the Wal-mart to get her new ones. We started off with a size 3 and s l o w l y worked our way up to a size 6.....(ladies that is....)although I think it was just this particular style of sneakers that she needed such a big size...her feet aren't that big!

You could really tell it was the first day of school yesterday with all of the big yellow buses...I was driving to the bookstore yesterday morning and got stuck behind a bus.....normally not a big problem, but on the first day of school, and it was an elementary bus....BIG problems....

Cause you see, all of the parents wanted to take pictures of their cute little kiddies at the bus stop and then on the bus and then they had to chat with the bus driver....oblivious to the fact that they're holding up traffic both ways.....I wanted to lean out and yell at the parents to let us thru.....but I didn't....but it was close.....

First Day of School (Middle, that is....)

2007-09-06T07:05:00.000-04:00

It's 7am and Chelsey has just left for the bus stop...we did our annual first day of school pictures which I'll put up later after they have been processed.

all I know is that it is too frickin' early to be off to school.....

I love this guy....

2007-09-05T15:27:00.000-04:00

this commercial makes me laugh everytime I see it.....

this one too...although it's not on anymore...

Movies I can't wait to see....

2007-09-05T12:17:00.000-04:00

We recently switched to verizon FIOS for our tv, phones, and internet....as a result we have some different channels than with Comcast. One of them is the HDNet channel which has a show called, "Nothing but Trailers"...all movie trailers for the entire show...I love it...so, in that spirit are some movies that I can not wait to see:

First up is "Be Kind Rewind"
Starring Jack Black and Mos Def

Next up is "Shoot 'Em Up" starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Bellucci

Also.....Halloween 2007

The Mist - By Stephen King

I Am Legend - Will Smith

You know your husband trusts you when.....

2007-08-30T12:25:00.000-04:00

He lets you cut his hair.....

I am so bummed I didn't think to get pictures of the whole process or even the end result, but here's the story...

I think everyone that reads this knows how particular Joe is. His regular hairstylist (yep, that's right, he's got a regular hairstylist) is on vacation. His hair has been bugging him for the last week.

He says to me Tuesday night, "I don't think I can wait until Thursday to get my hair cut."

I say, "OK, what do you want me to do about it?"

He says, "You should go get some clippers and cut it for me."

Are you kidding me? What the heck do I know about cutting hair??

I say back, "You want me to cut your hair?"

He says, "Yes..."

OK, so I head off to the local wal-mart and get some stuff we needed, some stuff we didn't and the hair clippers...I get not the cheapest, not the most expensive, but the one in the middle...it's a pretty good kit...with several size combs, scissors, cape, etc.

I bring it home. He sees the clippers and says, "Oh, you really did buy them"...hell yes!

We then go upstairs to the bathroom....he says, "Wait, I need a drink" Scotch it is.....

We get a big sheet to put down on the floor...I read the directions again....I raise the clippers to start and say, "Do you really want me to do this?"

"Yes"....ok...then

I realize he's too tall for me to do this...and I tell him we need a chair for him to sit in....we grab one out of Chelsey's room.

First cut done....no turning back now....At least Joe was smart and started off with a longer size than normal....so we cut using that...then he puts on a smaller size and proceeds to cut it himself.

"Wow, that's really short" he says....can't turn back now! I finish up the back for him and even out the rest...I think it looks awesome and let him know that....he's a little freaked that it's too short....I tell him, it will always grow back!

PS..I don't think it's too short at all.....and I'll be more confident next time :)

Brave brave man!

Movie Quotes

2007-08-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

Did you ever quote a movie and not realize it?? I have...most embarrassing one would be from "Clueless"

I have used the phrase - "I'm outie"...as in I am out of here...not realizing it's from that movie until I saw it years later...

The other one is from "Jawbreaker" - and it's "Learn it, live it, love it...." as said by the girls as they are introducing Fern as Vylette....why I watch these movies is beyond me....Clueless was actually very fun...Jawbreaker plays a little like "Heathers",but of course "Heathers" is way cooler. Christian Slater is at his personal best in this film...

This is also a film that has memorable quotes.....such as "What's your damage?" and "How very.."

Another one that Joe and I used all the time and had no clue what it was from until maybe 2 years ago was "What's your boggle?"

and it's from Demolition Man I kid you not...and when I looked it up, it actually is credited to the Boggle Guard as saying it....tee hee hee.

Others include "Have fun storming the castle"...Joe likes to say this after a potential client leaves our house after a consultation. This, of course, is from "The Princess Bride" which also has many many fun quotes:

"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"As you wish..."

"Inconceivable!" "You know, I don't think that word means what you think it means"

"ROUS...what, rodents of unusual sizes...I don't believe they exist."

"is this a kissing movie?"

Not that we go around and quote this movie....but it's fun to say when it's on.

There are certain movies I can not stand to watch with Joe cause he'll quote the whole damn thing....most notable is "My Cousin Vinny"...which is a funny funny movie, but I can't do it. He quotes the whole thing.

So, what's your boggle??

Baby Joey's Baby Blog

2007-08-24T17:23:00.001-04:00

I have been inspired by Chelsey's baby book...that I never finished. We didn't even get a baby book for Joey cause I knew it would never be completed. But maybe this will stand in for the book instead....

First impressions - Holy Crap what a big baby!...also big cheeks, lots of hair, tiny mouth, boy bits, great temperament, red hair (?)

Date - 07/06/07
Day of week - Friday
Time - 10:47 am

Length - 21 3/4 inches
Weight - 10 lbs, 3 in
Color of Eyes - Dark grey
Hair - reddish brown

First Pictures

The Birth Annoucement

Baby Name - how it was chosen

Well, if we ever had a boy, we decided the first time around that it was going to be Joseph Richard after the grandfathers....so we already had the name...the girl name was a fight...but I think I would have won in the end :)

Pets

Lancelot and Sasha - our 2 cats....Lancelot is very protective of Joey and likes to keep an eye on him.

Birthstone and Flower

The birthstone is a ruby and the flower is a daisy...tee hee hee

What's Popular in the world today?

tv shows - American Idol, Top Chef, Heroes, Lost, CSI(s), Jericho,
Movies - High School Musical 2, Hairspray, Spider man 3, Simpsons Movie, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Plays - Hairspray, Avenue Q, Wicked, Spring Awakening
Music - High school Musical soundtrack, Amy Winehouse, Justin Timberlake, Lily Allen, Plain White T's (hey there delilah)
Books - The Final Harry Potter book released on July 21st. Need I say anymore??

OK...hate to admit this...but I am bored with this already....I am such a bad mom!

Baby Joey smiling...

2007-08-23T17:12:00.000-04:00

I managed to capture a Joey smile on my camera phone....he's such a good boy today! Awww...

Home alone...with baby Joey

2007-08-16T15:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was looking pretty good. Joey was being cooperative, I got some sleep. I had to take Chelsey to the church parking lot yesterday as she had signed up for a kayaking trip. Dropped her off at 9am and went back home.

This is where my day turns into crap...first of all, we have a fingerprint door lock. This means that it scans our print and then in turn unlocks the door. My whole problem with the fingerprint lock is documented in serial killer movies. In the movies, the heroine always struggles to get the door open with the keys...she can never find the right one. Now you'd think that the fingerprint lock would have an advantage over this. You always have your finger, right?? Of course, but the problem with our lock is that I can never get it to open on the first try....it's usually 5 or 6 tries. By this time, the serial killer would have offed me....

But yesterday, it didn't open on the 5th, 6th, or 7th...in fact the door never unlocked for me....so now I have Joey in the car seat, no house keys on me, so I hope that the garage door is unlocked...it usually is, but of course, I'm thinking cause I have no keys, it will be locked. Go back to the car, and open the garage door, take Joey thru the obstacle course of the garage to get to the door...cautiously turn the handle.....and it opens..hoo ya!

Fabulous....bring Joey inside and start to put him in his swing, cause he's just about asleep and then it hits me.

What you ask....the huge freakin' pain in my lower back.....I mean pain like I've never felt before. Like I tried to get up and couldn't it hurt so much.

Great....here I am trapped on the floor, Chelseyless for the day, with a 6 week old baby....what the hell do I do now??

I call Joe....he asks me if I can get up....I start to try and burst into tears it hurt so much...He tells me to call Lissa to see if she can come over to help with Joey until he gets home, in an hour or so...

So, by this time Joey has decided not to nap and to start screaming his head off....fabulous! Just what I need, right? But you can't really reason with a baby, especially a hungry one. So I manage to crawl on the floor to get to his diaper bag and fish out a bottle to give him....which he takes....whew! While I'm crawling on the floor, I get over to the cabinet and take some pain medication to try and help with the pain.

I then call Lissa to see if she can come over until Joe gets home...she can! Yay! But, she's waiting for her neighbor to get home to pick up Emma for a play date...The neighbor takes her time, but Lissa does get over and takes over the Joey watch! Yay! Lila is fascinated with Joey's belly button when Lissa goes to change him....I can't believe she remembered that he had the umbilical cord on it when she first saw him. That's some good memory!

I try and call my dr to see if I can get in to see what the heck happened. But they're booked and can't see me until tomorrow. Blecch! I decide to see if I can get in to see Bryan instead like I should have weeks ago (Actually Joe took care of this for me....yay!)

Bryan says of course and we go in at 2pm....We get there before Bryan and when he pulls in and sees me, he says "You look better than I thought you would" . I take this as a positive....I am feeling much better thanks to pain killers that I had left over from Joey's birth and advil!

So, Bryan fixes me up as best as he can...which is miles better than I felt and tells me to see him again on Friday.

Today is much better as I am able to lift my child without fear of dropping him. Although, I am paying better attention to how I lift and put him down now.

So, the moral of the story is don't put off seeing a chiropractor if your gut is telling you to...like mine had been for weeks and weeks.....

Car Dancing and whatnot....

2007-08-11T15:54:00.000-04:00

So, Chelsey and I were out driving home the other day and I glance over and see this guy rockin' out at a STOP LIGHT no less....He was caught up in the music and unabashedly so. I, also have been known to car dance, but never at a stop light. Car dancing is truly a guilty pleasure. Where else can you be yourself without anyone to mock you, unless you're stopped at a light. I totally wanted to get this guy's attention and give him a big thumbs up....cause I also love to car dance. It was one of the few ways I could move during my pregnancy without hurting myself. Ahhh, car dancing....

Segue number 1 - I was reading my EW mag from last week and Stephen King wrote an article about dancing in public and specifically mentioned this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAxG3lgRKUU

Otherwise known as Man rocks out at Best buy.....

Who would rock out in public....?? I caught myself dancing and singing at the supermarket the other day when I went out by myself....so the answer is....sleep deprived moms who get the hell out of the house by themselves without the baby crapola and with baby drool all over them.

Thumbs up!

Joey at 3 weeks

2007-08-03T10:18:00.000-04:00

This is really random stuff...

2007-07-26T11:38:00.001-04:00

Random thoughts that I've had this week...it could be cause I am sleep deprived...

You really can tie everyone back to Kevin Bacon...a la six degrees of:

For example - Chelsey said Hannah Montana...here it is:

Mylie Cyrus is in Big Fish with Albert Finney. Albert Finney is in Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts. And Julia Roberts is in Flatliners with Kevin Bacon....and that's just 3 degrees. It's much easier if you can get to either JFK or A Few Good Men.

Yesterday, we had our FIOS installed, which pretty much took all damn day. On the upside, I watched a couple of episodes of ER and CSI: Miami...and I've also determined the following things:

CSI Producers must have gotten most of their casting ideas from ER. George Eades, Jorja Fox, Marg Helgenberger have all appeared in ER, as well as Khandi Alexander who plays Alexx on CSI:Miami.

Speaking of CSI:Miami...one of my favorite phrases that comes from that show is "Hands Akimbo" as in Horatio always does this....it simply means that he puts his hands on his hips...but you can't really say that about a man, so they say, "Hands Akimbo!" I also love it when "The Soup" and Joel McHale totally spoofs Horatio with the sunglasses and the hands akimbo...you should check it out if you've never seen it....pop culture at its guiltiest pleasure. If you don't have time to watch crap on tv, just watch this show....you'll be caught up in the world of trash tv and magazines in no time!

I finished the new Harry Potter....it had a nice ending.......although I think JK Rowling killed off about 17 people in the book....wow....and no I didn't count them....just a guesstimate.

Rest in Peace, Remote Control.....

2007-07-23T12:58:00.001-04:00

How dependent on remote controls are we? First I have to explain that we have a universal remote that controls the tv, cable, stereo, dvd, playstation, and x box....It has a light up screen and goes thru many operations just to turn the damn thing on....
I am sad to report that our remote control has died at 9:30 am this morning. Chelsey and I have tried to resuscitate it several times, but have been unsuccessful as of 12:41 pm.....Of course it's a rechargable one and I guess no one has been recharging it at night....I usually do, but obviously have been pre-occupied lately.
It's now in the charger and hopefully will be resuscitated soon
On a more humorous side....Chelsey had no idea how we were going to change the channel....tee hee hee. I actually had to show her how to go up to the cable box and push the button to change the channel. Of course, now I can't turn off the tv, but that's ok. But that also makes you watch stuff that you might not usually watch, cause who wants to sit by the tv changing channels? As a result, I watched some dumb ass movie this morning called Just Visiting starring Christina Applegate and Jean Reno...it was pretty bad, but I was feeding baby Joey at the time and couldn't get up to change it....the next movie that came on was The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH which was pretty good. Chelsey was up at this time and watched it with me. It takes place in the 50s, which also ties in with our remote control debacle....Chelsey didn't understand why the mom didn't know how to drive, and why they only had one car. At one point, the mom and the daughter are traveling to Indiana from Ohio and the car breaks down, Chelsey at this points says, "I suppose they didn't have cell phones either." Nope, no cell phones. And look at the milkman delivering milk in bottles every week....that doesn't happen anymore either.
You just don't realize how much you depend on technology until you don't have it anymore.
And this is a stupid remote control....on the other hand, I think it will be hysterical when my husband realizes that he can't change the channels either. Chelsey and I had a great big chuckle over that.
later,
nik.

The Birth of Joey

2007-07-16T11:14:00.001-04:00

July 6th - 8:20 am
We arrive at the hospital and walk into the maternity ward. We're greeted by one of the nurses, Gail, who is very pleased that we've arrived not only on time, but in fact we're 10 minutes early.
She puts me into a room and tells me to put on one of those very stylish hospital gowns. I start to strip down only to realize that there is a whole construction crew right outside my window....I immediately bang on the bathroom door and yell at Joe to let me in, so I can change in privacy.
My next obstacle was to get into the bed....the bed was so high and on wheels, so that was fun to do, but I managed without falling onto the floor or otherwise embarrassing myself!
Then the medical stuff starts....I'm hooked up to the baby monitor that measures contractions and baby's heartbeat....I don't know about you, but there is nothing more annoying than having your husband tell you that you're having a contraction....thanks honey, but I actually FEEL it! Jackass!
Resident comes in and does an ultrasound to check out Joey's position...He's head down...whew!
And he tells me that he thinks that my dr. is wrong about the weight. He thinks that Joey is only 7.5 lbs. My dr. says at least 9 lbs.
The anesthesiologist comes in next and goes over his stuff, has me sign a bunch of things....he's not the most personable person I've seen today, but if he makes it so I don't feel anything, so be it. I can deal with it.
Finally it's time to go....The only thing that sucks about this is that I actually have to walk to the labor room. 9 months pregnant and the anesthesiologist is literally pushing me along to walk faster to the room. Jackass!
Get to the labor room and hop (not literally!) up onto the bed. Now comes the spinal block....big ass needle in my back...blecch. The only good thing about this is that I can't see it. So I'm ok with this. I start to feel tingling in my left leg. It's the weirdest sensation. Finally in both legs. They lay me back and I'm still losing sensation in my legs. I can kinda feel them to move around, but not really. This is where I start to lose it a little.....I'm thinking, "Nope, don't really want to do this....." It's too weird, I was really starting to panic, although I have been thru it before. I really wanted nothing to do with the delivery. That's when Joe arrived dressed in his scrubs and I started to calm down.
The anesthesiologist starts to check to see where I can feel by poking a needle on various parts of my body....I'm good to go and the operation starts.
Joe was much better this time around in that he did actually stay by my side as opposed to viewing the operation like he did with Chelsey....Not that he didn't peek around to view the operation, and he actually took a couple of pictures of it...yuck! But that's my husband for you.....
During this time I'm feeling lots of pressure as the drs. are getting ready to release the baby! Finally I feel this HUGE weight lifted and breathe a sigh of relief...whew! This is when Joe tells me that Joey is a moose....He's huge! The drs. continue to work on me and Joe goes off to take pictures.

Me just after Joey was born

Proof of the big boy

Proud Dad!

First Feeding

All cleaned up!

OK, that's all for now...as Joey is waking up!

Let the Labor begin...

2007-06-30T10:14:00.000-04:00

OK, now I feel much better prepared for this child to come.....I swear the last week is the worst. At least I have a definite end date in sight.

The nursery is completed.
Thanks to my MIL and SIL, all baby laundry is done and away. My laundry is also under control.
My thank you notes from the shower are mailed out!
All baby items are put together.
My bag and baby bag are packed and ready to go!

On another note, here's some pictures that Chelsey has taken....I love her perspective on things:

At the horse farm

Bird outside our house

Close up of foliage

Lancelot sunning himself

Her cousin, Emma

Jump Shot of Bryan

Chelsey and Joe are going on a photo safari today, so I'll have more pictures to post later on....Kinda like a last father-daughter thing before the baby comes....just think, this time next week, we'll have Baby Joey added to our family.

I just can't wait to get my body back. I miss being able to move normally. I miss dancing to the music. I miss wearing my rings.

Another side item - anyone watch the new show, "Hey Paula" on Bravo...?? Complete train wreck of her life...it's hilarious, but that'll be another post!

Pool Party!

2007-06-26T16:21:00.001-04:00

Here's some of the photos Joe had taken at the pool party on Sunday. It looks like a good time was had by all. I don't know who had the more fun...the kids or the men :)

Enjoy!

Baby tests and whatnot....

2007-06-21T16:39:00.000-04:00

First - life is not whatnot....anyone remember what movie that's from??

Bonus points for you.

My non-stress test was good....the baby is reactive.

He's also head down again...hooray! Which means I still feel a lot of pressure down there! blecch

I asked Chelsey what she wants to do this summer and she said the following:

go to the pool - (check, did that)
go to the movies - (check, did that)
go to the beach

She also has summer reading to do....and she's a s l o w reader. At least the book isn't bad. It's "Running out of Time" by Margaret Haddix....it's like the movie "The Village", which means M. Night Shaymalan done ripped off Margaret's idea. tee hee hee

We saw "Nancy Drew" today....very cute. Chelsey thought that parts of it were a little tense for Nancy Drew, but I said Nah...Bruce Willis has a cameo which was fun. Tate Donovan played the father...boy he looks old. The cute kid from "The Pacifier" played Ned, and one of the girls from "Sky High" was also in it...

Well, off to a softball game...later kittens!

Pregnancy.....

2007-06-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

OK, so it's about 2 weeks before my c-section and I have yet to put the nursery together....I can start that now since it's now painted...it looks wonderful....Chris did a fantastic job, it's perfect!!!

So, I can either do the laundry, clean my kitchen, or start going thru all the crap that's in the nursery now...I am so overwhelmed.

Today is also the last day of school for Chelsey, I told her we could go swimming today, but I think it's too cold.....

We'll see....

I'm also trying to get out my thank you notes from my baby shower before I go into labor as well....I got most of them done and sent out, but I do have a few to go. Mostly my friends, I tried to get the family done first and the family's friends done second. I figured my friends would be more sympathic :)

Tomorrow I have 2 dr appts. - one regular one and one for another non-stress test.

The non stress test is kinda fun as I get to hear the baby's heartbeat for 1/2 hour or so and I get to push a button when he moves. The last time I went, the ultrasound tech, Darlene, told me that the baby has moved again so now he's heads up, instead of being head down...yesterday, I thought he was trying to move his head back down, cause I thought he was sideways. I guess I'll find out when I go back to the dr.

Life Imitates Art Once Again...

2007-06-20T10:50:00.000-04:00

Monday March 16th, 2007

OK, so I recently just re read the Bachman books. My copy has all four stories...including the infamous "Rage". SK, himself, put this out of print due to the state of the world back then, mainly when the first school shootings took place. As SK himself did not want to be held responsible morally.

Back to my revelation....the 4 stories that are in the book are "Rage" about a teen that goes to school one day with a gun, "The Long Walk" about a national Long walk event that lasts until one boy is standing....really, "Roadwork" about a man who is about to lose his house due to a road being run thru his house and his descent into non reality., and "The Running Man'...totally different from the movie...it's more like Series 7, the Contenders, but not really....It does take place in the future, there are men on the Run...but it's the whole country not a game grid....truly creepy, but good.

OK, this is what freaked me out...I'm reading the introduction to the stories and mentioned is the way that the Running Man actually ends in the book....The main character, Ben Richards, hijacks a plane and then proceeds to crash it into the Games Building.....

Life imitates art once again....will Running Man be next to go out of print?

Movies, Movies, Movies

2007-06-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

Monday, January 29th, 2007

Just caught this on VH1 recently. I remember when this first came out, it was right after 9/11. I read somewhere in an article that the director (Vondie Curtis Hall) said that when the Twin Towers appeared people cheered. I read so many bad reviews about this movie that by the time I finally did catch it on cable, I thought, eh? I've seen worse.

Did you ever have that happen to you? Someone tells you that a particular movie was so incredible that it changed their life, you must see it...it will change yours (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and then when you finally do, you do not see what all the fuss was about....
Although that movie has grown on me. I tend to really like movies that are eye candy....not so much on the plot, but visually stunning. If they have a good plot as well, whoa baby! I also adore movies that have really good endings. It could be the best movie in the world, but if the ending craps out....blecch. I hate it.

One movie that I did not expect to love was "The Butterfly Effect". I just ate this movie up. I thought about it the whole night, and then again for the whole next day. I bugged Timmy to watch it just so I could have someone to talk to about it with...I asked everyone who said that they saw it what they thought about it. I mean, I was obsessed. If you haven't seen it, definitely pick it up....it makes you think. Ashton's performance was actually quite good, quite a change from Kelso on That 70s Show. I don't want to spoil it, but basically here's the plot:
The main character, Evan, suffers from blackouts, there's some kind of craziness in his family history cause his dad's in a mental hospital. He starts writing journals to help get over the blackouts. Grows up, reads back one of the journals and then finds himself at that particular moment in his life....this is where he trys to change the past to better the future....never works in the movies, but there it is. It is a really good movie.

Anyway, back to "Glitter", Mariah was not completely awful, the story seems to be tailor made for her. I think that the editing had a lot to do with how awful the picture looks. There's a lot of stop action and speeded up shifts taking place. What I didn't realize the first time I watched it was that Terrance Howard was in it, and also the host of Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, had a small role as Sylk (the girl who couldn't sing and Mariah's vocals were "ghosted" on hers). Da Brat also was cast as one of Mariah's friends that she grows up with. I don't think that it's a "Movie that Rocks" according to VH1, but if you've got nothing else to do and for some reason you can't change your tv channel, by all means, give it a look.....

Sin City....now that's a movie that is visually stunning and has a great plot(s). I adore watching this movie and every single time I find it on cable, I must watch it. Truly. And if it's in HD...well, it's just that much better. My husband doesn't like it, but man, there is just something about it. I was mad that an extended version came out on DVD and I already bought the regular version. Now meanwhile, I have been patiently waiting for the Kill Bills to come out as an extended version and no luck yet....but Sin City...oh yeah. Can't wait for the next one.
Well, kittens....gotta go make dinner.

I Hate Target!

2007-06-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

December 29th, 2006

I hate Target Current mood: annoyed Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping
This is the letter I sent off to Target after trying to return something yesterday:

To whom it may concern,
I went to return 3 items at your Mt. Laurel location that I received for Christmas that were incorrect. I did not have a receipt or a gift receipt as I forgot to ask my sister for one. It's still the week after Christmas, so I figured I would have no problem. I wasn't looking for a cash refund, just a store credit that I could use at a later date, since the items I was returning were for my daughter who wasn't with me at the time.
I go to the customer service center and tell the girl that I want to return the 3 items for store credit and that I don't have a receipt. She looks at me hesitantly and says she's a trainee and they didn't teach her how to do that. She asks an older lady for help. She comes over and asks me if I've ever made returns at Target before "because you are only ALLOWED to make 2 returns a year". I look at her dumbfounded and reply that I have never made a return at Target before. She then says, "Well, we'll find out when we check your license and normally you can only return 2 items, but we're allowing 4 items after the holidays"
I look at her flabbergasted....She scans my items and gives me two receipts. I tell her that I just wanted a store credit. She informs me that Target doesn't do that and that I would have to pick out the items from the same dept for the same prices. The items I was returning were the following: Ice Age Blu-Ray DVD, Superman II DvD, and a Deal or No Deal PC game. I don't have a Blu-Ray Dvd player, so I can't use the blu-ray DVD. I just wanted to get the regular version, which was not the same price. The PC game we wanted the DVD version, so our whole family could play it, and the Superman DVD we got 2 of.
I could not find anything for those exact prices in the electronics dept that day, so I took my items back. The reason I am writing is that I am appalled at the way I was treated for a holiday return. I work in retail and have worked retail for the last 16 years. I have never had any problems returning items after the holidays with out any receipts until this year in your store. I wasn't asking for cash, just a store credit that I could give my daughter to use at a later date.
I did not appreciate the fact that I was treated like I did something wrong for not having a receipt. I did not appreciate the fact that it was implied that I was a serial returner. I did not like the fact that I was not able to get a store credit. I did not like the fact that I was told (rather snotty) that I would have to make an exchange right then and there. I did not like the fact that I would have to shop in the same dept as the returning items for the same exact prices. What kind of return policy is that?
Based on my experience on trying to return items that were incorrect, I will never shop in a Target again. I am 3 months pregnant and was planning on having my baby registry at Target, but after the way I was treated for returning gifts, I will be using a baby registry elsewhere. I ended up taking my items back to a Best Buy and they were more than happy to give me a store credit without a receipt and did not treat me like I did something wrong.

NYC Mini Vacation

2007-06-20T10:36:00.000-04:00

Our NYC mini Vacation

Edited to add: My husband is the best in the world.....check out this amazing trip we had this weekend......Joe is the best! And I luuuuvv him. We had such a great time!

Just got back from the annual Photo Expo that Joe and I go to every year. We usually catch a couple of shows and then head over to Don't Tell Mama, a fabulous piano bar on W. 46th St. Which is where we end up every night. It's just a lot of fun, even though we've been there a million times.

Thursday night, we ate at our favorite Italian restaurant, Bello and had our favorite things. They do homemade potato chips during the week and they are to die for....so good. The prices are so reasonable that you must try it out.

The show for that night was The Wedding Singer which we loved.....even though they had an American Idol in the cast...Constantine....ya know....he was the one that had the alleged affair with Paula.....anyway....even he was good as Sammy. The person who played George was tremendously funny and good, but not as great as Alexis Arquette.

Then we went to Don't Tell Mama's.....and stayed way to late. Joe wanted to get pizza afterwards (it's tradition), but we could not find the one that we usually go to....whatever...
Friday, we both had classes at 9am...and both coherant for them as well. Then we walked the floor of the expo...saw some really cool stuff....drooled over some really expensive stuff.....heard Denis Reggie , you know....the one that did JFK jr's wedding....tremendous photographer.
Friday night was French night!!! Oh la la....Chez Napoleon . This came about because the usual French restaurant we go to closed, so I had to find a restaurant that was close to the theater district, had escargot and crepes....I only found one. Chez Napoleon......what a little treasure. They had little French speaking waitresses. The food was stupendous and the prices were even more reasonable than Bello's....

Our show for that evening was Hairspray . Which we enjoyed. Had quite the cast.....another american idol, Diana Degarmo, Tevin Campbell and Darlene Love , who is most know for being Danny Glover's wife in the Lethal Weapon series. Another great show....although Joe and I were both concerned that Diana DeGarmo was going to pop out of her dress during the final dance number....whew, thankfully, no nipplegate .

Again, back to Mama's.....love it....Then we're walking back to our hotel whoa...can't believe I didn't mention the hotel yet, but let me finish this story....OK...hotel on Friday and Sat. was the Double Tree Suites in Times Square.....We're at the light getting ready to cross and I look over and see a guy on his knees....He's freakin' proposing in the middle of Times Square at 2:30 AM!!!!! Is that not the most awesomist thing ever.....I should have pulled out my camera, but I didn't....

OK.....back to hotel story....Joe's dad has a timeshare in NYC which we usually stay in and not have to pay. Which is very very nice. This year with the Photo Expo, the NYC marathon and whatnot....we were only able to get one night's stay on Thursday and then we'd have to move on Friday. Joe books us at the DoubleTree in Times Square thru the expo at the unbelievably low low price of $300.00 per night.....which in NYC is pretty freakin good for a small room. We get a freakin suite. It's very very nice and I highly recommend this hotel. Everything went smoothly, from check in to check out. Very attentive. Well worth it.

OK, so Saturday, I don't have a class until 1pm. Great....walking tour...yay! I wanted to see Parsons, Bryant Park, Mood, and the Empire State Building.
Here's what I saw....Empire State Building and Bryant Park....had no freakin clue where Parsons was....and didn't find it along our way. OH well....there's always next year....on another aside, Joe has always wanted to see the Intrepid....so we trot ourselves down there immediately on Thursday.....closed for repairs until the 6th...Can you believe it?? We couldn't....and that's our trip in a nutshell :)

PS....totally forgot to add what we did Saturday night....I wanted to go to
Coyote Ugly , but since it was down in the E. Village, Joe was not down with that....so we ended up at the House of Brews where we tried the Brooklyn Lager. Then I tried the cask ale which is hand drawn.....it was called XXX Black Hole Ale....and it was dark...knocked me on my ass...from there we went to eat at Broadway Joe's....which is usually good, but this time was ehh....I had to send my steak back cause it was well done.....blecch....I like mine bloody :P....After dinner, we start walking back to Times Square to get my Times Square at night picture:

Then we ran into a man that was giving out discounted prices for a comedy show at Ha Comedy Club that was starting in 10 minutes.....normally $18.00, ours for $3.00 each with 2 drink minimum....so we saw a great show with Chuck Nice and some other good comics for under $50.00..woo hoo.

And that really is our trip in a nutshell.

Project Runway Meltdown

2007-06-20T10:35:00.000-04:00

Monday, October 02, 2006

Brought to you from the guys at Project Rungay...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV3gXj1_dJE

PS...got my pink Tim Gunn shirt from Emmett today....should really take a picture and post.....nah....maybe later!

Inventory and Regis Trolls

2007-06-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

September 18th, 2006

Working in retail means one annual event happens every year. Yesterday, we had ours. I'm talking about inventory....and since we're a publicly owned company, we have to have an outside company come in and inventory the store.

For some reason, there is only one company that inventories every single retail company....starts with a "R" and ends with a "S" and if you've worked retail for any length of time, you know this company and you probably loath them.....

Warning.....I'm making some general statements about my experiences about this company....not to say that everyone that works there as a scanner is a moron, but....if the shoe fits.....

The people that showed up at our store were surly to begin with....had attitude galore and were complete f**k ups.....one guy in particular decided that he would lead a sing a long as we were performing double counts to check their work (and it was a good thing we did, cause most of the store was completely f**ked up) After several attempts to get their attention to shut the hell up, I finally managed to get their attention and they thought I was rude....oh well, I'm so sad...

Then one of them asked if the food we had in our breakroom was just for Borders employees....uh, hell yeah, we're not feeding your asses. And I shut the backdoor, so they don't have access to our pizza and chips....this immediately sets them off all a twitter as they whisper, "I can't believe she closed the door..." "I guess that's all we get..." Sh!t like that....

Then around 1:30ish am, while there are still huge chunks of the store to count, they leave en masse....I tell one of the supervisors, "you need to do bag checks on all of them....quickly" and she said they had attitude about that as well....oh well, store policy.

We're left with about 10 - 15 inventory peeps with lots of sections to be counted and corrected. I left around 4am and counted my blessings that I didn't have to stick around for the grand finale.....cause what I saw was bad enough....

Now I get home around 4:15am and put the coffeepot on time for my husband, who will be getting up about 5:30ish am.....he gets up and asks me how it goes...I tell him it was a complete clusterf**k on the inventory company's part and that our managers should really press for another inventory to get it right....

He asks me if I'm going to get some sleep. I tell him after I get Chelsey up at 7am, I'll be crashing. I get her up, tell her that I've been up all night and that she should immediately get up so I don't have to wake her again. To her credit, she does.....

I finally get some sleep and wake up around 11:30am.....coffee is much needed :)

Proper Movie Behavior

2007-06-20T10:28:00.000-04:00

Monday, July 31, 2006 -

My husband Joe, Chelsey (my daughter) and I went to the movies Saturday. We saw Monster House, very good....but that's not what I'm bloggin about....you see, Joe hates going to the movies with a passion. When Chelsey told me that Joe said he would go, I was astounded. You see, Joe can not go to a movie without some kind of incident happening. Usually it's just the people behind us talking thru out the whole movie. And when I say it always happens....it truly does...

Examples:
We went to see one of the Harry Potters on opening day. Usually it's so packed anyway and everyone is excited to see the movie. Y'know, die hard fans....So we're good thru the previews and the instant the movie starts.....loud snores start up behind us. I mean really really loud, louder than the movie loud. Joe turns around and hits the guy on the knee and says "GIVE ME A BREAK!!" It turns out that it was a grandpa and grandma and grandson behind us. The grandpa was the snorer...

Star Trek - fangirl talking the whole time behind us and finally Joe had enough and turns around and tersely yells "COOL IT!". Her boyfriend was over 6', my dh is 5'6"...whoopss....he apologized at the end of the movie.

Memoirs of a Geisha - We saw this at the Ritz theater which is a little more arty and not as mainstream....I tell Joe, no one loud goes here, it's pretenious (sp). Womens movie group sits behind us....I finally turn around and ask them to be quiet......

Da Vinci Code - yep, more talkers, but not as loud.

Monster House - I finally think that we're golden....little grandmas behind us, very quiet. Until about 40 minutes in......2 old geezers walk in and start shouting at each other....I think they were deaf.....they sat in the front row and yelled at the screen. I turned to Joe and bust out laughing....cause really...how funny is that?? So the 2 old men play like the old guys from the muppet show (stalder and waldorf - I googled it!). They finally leave 20 minutes later and return in about 5, but they quiet down....

Speaking of the muppet dudes.....look at what I came across:
http://movies.go.com/moviesdynamic/muppets/index
Movie Reviews by the muppet geezers.....perfect!