January

I've always hated January...you know, back to school, holidays are over, nothing to look forward to until Spring. I can remember one year that I loved January...

January 1984 - I got a ton of games for Christmas 1983; Monopoly, Clue, those games that bridge you from Candy Land to grown up games like Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary. I also got new ice skates for Christmas so Christmas vacation (yes, we called it Christmas vacation in Catholic school) was spent ice skating, playing board games, drinking hot chocolate...we were like a freaking Christmas song. Alas, vacation came to an end and I returned to school. For 6th grade we were mixed with 7th and 8th graders for homeroom. I remember watching some of the older girls putting on mascara in homeroom and feeling completely inadequate and childlike (which, lets face it, I was). Anyway, by the end of the school day my eyes really hurt and I couldn't stop rubbing them! We went back to our homeroom for dismissal and Mrs Bischoff handed out the brightly colored "infectious disease" parent information form for conjunctivitis...aka PINK EYE! So, I took the form home and my mom took one look at my eyeballs and made an appointment with the pediatrician. Back in 1984 they still excluded for pink eye so once the doctor examined my eyes and the prescription was dispensed I was free from school for the rest of the week! It was like Christmas vacation all over again! Staying up late to play board games, sledding, ice skating, hot chocolate! So. Awesome.

Blah Blah Blah

Frequently I think about writing on this blog, obviously I started this blog with the intention of writing about something once in a while. What kind of blog to make this has always been up in the air?

I enjoy snark and that sneaks into a lot of my posts. A couple years ago I wrote about our desire to start a family but have never wanted to make this an "infertility blog." I read literally dozens of blogs featuring women in all stages of fertility, I don't feel intelligent enough to contribute intellectually to the "infertility blogosphere" so I will leave that stuff to the "professionals." Once in a while I might mention it, complain about it, feel sorry for myself...but fertility or lack there of doesn't define me enough to drive me to write frequently concerning fertility.

I do enjoy finding hideous objects for sale, usually by Publisher's Clearing House - they seem to have cornered the market for horrifying retail products.

Sometimes I might tell about the bizarre workplace happenings (without identifying information of course, don't want to get "Dooced").

I'm rambling. My point is that I want to write more, I hope to write more...but really, I'm lazy and only post when I feel slightly motivated to write.

Um, why are we giving away national secrets?

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92024/?fp=1

Aren't the "code" names supposed to be top secret? Idiots.

More drunk blogging...

So I had my "baseline" ultrasound today - no big whoop. Most likely start my FSH injections on Thursday and daily ultrasounds beginning next week. Blah.

Excited that the in-laws arrive on Thursday. Much still needs to be done around the house but I'm sure we'll get it done. Coolest thing about my mother-in-law is that I don't feel like she judges me on the cleanliness of our home. She's the bestest...although she makes me miss my mommy even more.

Too much wine, Mark isn't home, must head to bed after The Hills (soon).

TTFN, internets!

Like drunk dialing...only blog writing.

So, I've had some wine tonight. Honestly, I might grab some more later. Any men folk that read might want to skip this post....if you read on that's your problem not mine.

So, we've been trying to have a baby for over 5 years now. We got serious about it 2 years ago. So far I've gone through many rounds of Clomid and FSH (injections at home), still no baby. We're embarking on yet another round of FSH this week. We are going to go one step further this month and and attempt to do the artificial insemination (artificially introducing the sperm into my uterus when eggs are ready to roll). I'm on yet another drug this cycle (Medroxyprogesterone) and I begin the ultrasounds tomorrow (to measure the follicles and estimate when the eggs will be ready to be released. Blah. It is a huge headache and I know in the end if we have a baby it will ALL be worth it, but right now it really sucks. So, if you're a praying sort, some prayers would be appreciated.

In other news, Halloween has come and gone. We didn't get many trick or treaters this year. I think maybe 5 or 6 groups of kids. At least 2 groups of older kids didn't have ANY costumes on, just regular street clothes. I gave them the cheap gum. Bastards! Either you're too cool for the whole Halloween experience (dressing up and trick or treating) OR you're going to need to put forth some effort and at least wear a costume of some sort.

Mark's parents arrive Thursday evening, we're excited to spend time with them. For the first time both Mark and I have time off for when they're here! We're hoping to do some fun stuff while they're here. I know we're going to Buca on Friday night for my dad and step mother's birthday dinner, that should be fun. I think we're going to do the apple orchard that weekend. We're also planning a trip to a Brazilian restaurant called Fogo de Chao My father-in-law, Bruce, LOVES him some steak so this should be a fun evening. Hopefully we'll have nice weather and a nice time spending time together. Anyway, the house needs a thorough cleaning before they arrive but I'm not going to kill myself. I have to say I have the best mother-in-law - she really doesn't care if the house is clean, etc. She's cool like that.

Ok, more wine and then hitting the sack. I have to be in downtown Saint Paul for my 8:20 appointment. yippee!

I need wine.

I know, I know, I shouldn't mix over the counter medicine/prescription medicine with alcohol but sweet Jesus, the cramps! (Sorry to my extensive male readership but it has to be said, check back tomorrow for some hideous merchandise). Anyway, hopefully the wine will kick in with the Tylenol PM's and relief will be mine (plus, double duty damage for the liver...take THAT liver)!

Six days until the election. I'm sure my political views come through pretty loud and clear so I won't bore you with them, but if you don't vote at all I don't even want to hear you complain about the outcome. I know it is total cliche, but people suffered and died for our right to vote and it is your civic duty as a citizen of this country. Don't know where to vote? Visit vote 411 for your polling place (site is nonpartisan). Don't know who to vote for? Take a candidate quiz and figure it out (should be a nonpartisan site, if not I'm sure you can google just as easily as I can)!

Anyway, a box of wine is calling my name.

Monday Night

One day down, four days to go until the weekend! Today kind of sucked - work was slightly busy and we had one of those stupid quarterly, mandatory meetings where they tell us crap that has little to no impact for our area.

Since I got home at 5:30 I've been working on laundry and surfing the net. We've been in a bad place laundry wise for many months now. A few months ago our dryer stopped working, after drying for 10 minutes it would flip the circuit. For a while I could get it to work on medium heat, then low heat but eventually it stopped working completely. The first thing we tried was taking apart the dryer and cleaning lint from every conceivable location, but it didn't work. Next, Mark did some research on our dryer and ordered the initial parts we thought would help (heating element). He put the new heating element in and we crossed our fingers...it worked for one load. *GROAN* Mark did more research and found a site that seemed to describe our exact problem (with the circuit). He ordered the parts the site recommended and installed them for me on Thursday. The first load I did was beach towels (all wet from the hot tub users at the Halloween party) and they dried up nice and fluffy warm! We were so excited! So I did another load, put it in the dryer, washed a third load and waited until this morning to switch the loads. I opened the dryer to what felt like wet clothes...I was thinking to myself that I either forgot to turn the dryer on (hey, its happened before) OR perhaps the outside temperature made the clothes feel cold and they weren't actually wet. I turned the dial for 70 minutes and hoped for the best. I got home this evening and the clothes were still cold/wet. So now I have three loads of wet clothes and a nonworking dryer. I did try drying the clothes again but the top of the dryer never got warm even after 10 minutes! As Charlie Brown would say..."ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mark has volleyball Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays this fall so it will be a couple nights before he can take a look at it. Yuck - I hope none of the laundry turns moldy. He's so handy and I'm blessed to have him, I know it bothers him when he can't fix something for me asap. Hopefully we'll get it back on track soon.

So, this might be the most boring post ever created! In my defense, I do have a migraine and am tired.

Telly is whining to go outside, he doesn't quite understand that the balmy summer evenings have come to an end and chilly fall nights have begun.

Well, I know it is only 9:00 but I think I'm heading to bed.

Until tomorrow, Internets!

Doing it for my country!

I feel a sudden need to blog daily...our country is depending on my efforts! ;)

I'll do some research for the CVS and Walgreens deals and get them posted (probably Monday).

I need to come up with a new Halloween costumes for next Friday. We were smurfs for our Halloween party and while it was a great costume I don't feel like reliving the blue paint for the next party.

We had our annual Halloween party last night (Saturday). It was a lot of fun, a lot of work...but I think it was a good time for all.

The wind today is crazy! It was a nice day to be snug as a bug in a rug at home with my furry babies. Tony (cat) is perched on my lap right now (soaking up some body warmth, I'm sure).

We'll be gearing up for a visit from Mark's parents 11/6-11/1l. We always love when they visit and are sad when they return to Rochester, NY. We need to firm up some plans for Mark's parents to see some of my family. Stella needs a haircut so she looks pretty for "Grandma and Grandpa." Other than those details I just need to get the house clean (my issue...everybody else thinks the house looks fine).

We had snow today, crazy! Mark used to hate winter because he felt cooped up inside but since he discovered skiing and snowmobiling he seems to look forward to winter. We need more snow than we got today (flurries that didn't stick) but I'm sure he'll be getting the snowmobiles ready for action soon. I love winter, I know, CRAZY! I love being cozy at home...I'm still in love with our house after more than 5 years. I love sweatshirts and fuzzy warm blankets, love watching the snow whirl around and the wind blow, hot chocolate, slippers...love it.

Well, I didn't get much sleep last night/today so I better get to bed. I'm hoping tomorrow is an easy day at work!

Good night!

Friday

Man, I'm glad it is Friday! This was my first full week back at work full time. Nothing a nice weekend at home won't cure. I don't think we have any plans. We went out for dinner tonight and I think Mark might do some snowmobiling this weekend (hopefully it will be above zero degrees outside). Of course I'm looking forward to spending Sunday sorting through next week's coupons and ads!

Monday Night Blahs...

I am really trying to keep up with the blogging this time so I thought I should write SOMETHING (just in case somebody is reading...and to follow through with what I start). I don't have much to write about tonight but I guess I could write about my day.

Today started off CRAP-tacular! I was late for work (more than my usual 5 minutes late hehe). When I got to work I couldn't find a good spot to park. I had my windshield replaced today and the Evil Empire has atrocious parking so I wanted to find a decent spot that would make it easy explain to the glass technician where my car was located. Yeah, not so much. I tried to leave the truck in one of the reserved lots thinking I could just notify the security guard but they notified me that was unacceptable so even though I was already late I had to go move the truck and then get all the way back into the building. I ended up signing into the computer about 20 minutes later than I should have! Oh well, luckily my supervisor is pretty cool and doesn't really seem to care if I'm not exactly on time. It kind of felt like the whole day was going to suck but in retrospect that was really the only hassle of the day. I got a LOT of work done and feel mostly caught up now, that is a huge relief. Tomorrow I need to do a bunch of filing and then my batch of work for today then I will be 100% caught up. YEA!

I went to lunch with my friend Danielle, we went to Zantigo's for "cheesy happiness." Danielle is expecting her first baby in August. She is one of those "I never want kids" people and now here she is, almost 1/2 way done with her pregnancy! I'm excited for her but a little jealous too, I'm so wanting to be having a baby...hopefully soon (if Mr Marco can quit traveling so much! Don't they know I'm ovulating this week?!)

Mr Marco is in Kentucky (as previously discussed). He is still not feeling well - stuffy nose, sore throat, earache...I feel bad for him and I hate that he's not here so I can take care of him (you know, take the childproof cap off the Nyqui1 and such). He just called and was on his way to bed, I hope he gets enough rest and recovers before he has to fly again on Friday morning.

Tomorrow is supposed to be over 50 degrees again! I both love and hate spring. I love the warm air after so many months of freezing. I love summer (summer activities, warmer temps), autumn (crisp temperatures, apple orchards, pumpkins), and even winter (cozy winter nights watching movies, Christmas!). My main complaint about spring is that the backyard gets mushy and muddy and it sucks to wipe off the dogs paws every time they come inside (especially since they are pretty spoiled and go in and out frequently). I'm always happy when the ground firms up and the grass covers the mud even if it means mowing the grass weekly. I also dislike spring because I tend to get a lot of migraines with the changing of the seasons/temperatures and pretty much ANYTHING to do with mowing.

I should probably round up the dogs and cats and head to bed, both dogs are already snoring and there is a sleepy kitty on the window ledge right next to the desk.

Ok then...weekend SUCKED

Friday night was nothing like planned. Mr Marco didn't get home until 10:30 PM and he arrived with a horrible cold. Obviously he wasn't feeling up to going out Friday night, we came home and he crashed on the couch. Saturday wasn't much better...the plans for joining my sister's birthday fell by the wayside after he could hardly get off the couch all day. I talked to her today, sounds like they had a great time. We were sad to miss the party but I really don't think we would have had much fun with him feeling so ill.

The biggest damper on the weekend came Friday when Marco's work notified him that he was going to Kentucky at 7 AM on SUNDAY!!! GRRRRR classic example of people NOT listening/paying attention to details. The group (of computer nerds) decided they should fly out Sunday night instead of Monday morning - the call to the office resulted in Sunday MORNING reservations. UGH! So not only was he LATE coming home on Friday but he had only 32.5 hours to be home before he flew off to Kentucky for a week, 31 hours if you figure in arriving at the airport with enough time for security etc. To top it off, he got stuck in Detroit and missed his connection, he wasn't happy.

I just moped around all weekend. Saturday I ran to Target for my sister's birthday present and tonight I ran to Linen$&Thing$ where I found the best thing EVER! "How Many Licks, Mr. Owl" PAJAMAS!!!!!!! So. Excellent. The. End.

I guess I will veg out and watch TV with the pets. Have I mentioned how much it SUCKS when Mr Marcos travels?!

Must See TV...

Inspired by Princess Grace I decided to check out what we have set up to record on our DVR...keep in mind some of this is my husband's crap er educational programming.

All "Comedy Central Presents" shows (stand up comedians)
Engaged & Underage (MTV)
Extreme Engineering (nerdy husband stuff)
Family Guy
Frasier
Futurecar (again with the nerdy husband)
Intervention (A&E)
Man, Moment, Machine (husband)
Mega Builders (husband)
Modern Marvels (husband)
My Name is Earl
MythBusters (husband)
Numb3rs
NewsRadio
Scrubs
The Brady Bunch
The Hills (MTV)
The Office
The Twilight Zone (original)
Whose Line is it Anyway
Will & Grace
Wings

If you think this is bad you should check out Grace's list

Friday!!!!

So happy today is Friday! Husband has been in glamorous North Dakota all week for business so I have been a little lonely and missing him. He should be home around the same time as me tonight! YEA! The bad news is he has to go to Kentucky next week. Boo! Oh well, the good thing is that he works these huge long days and ends up earning some comp time so that works out...but the sucky thing is he is tired and irritable...nothing a nice dinner and some drinks can't cure. *sigh* Just looking forward to being back in his arms. OK, enough of the sappy crap!

Still swamped at work today. Voice mail light is already on...glaring at me to retrieve my messages. I just put one of my piles on top of the phone and then I can't see the light. Problem solved!

I'm so looking forward to my sister's birthday tomorrow. We (husband and I) don't really do the "clubbing" thing very often but once in a while it is a good time. We're heading down to the Lyon's Pub in downtown Minneapolis.

Life feels good right now...house is clean, today is payday, husband is coming home tonight...YEA!

Lazy as a Little Girlie Man!

I really have to post more. I like to read blogs but then when it comes to actually writing in my own I get lazy. For some reason I cannot say the word "lazy" without slipping into "Hanz and Franz" mode from SNL. I'll try to think up some good post stuff soon. I'm sure the work bitches will give me something to work with...

2.5% day...

You know that clever mug or tshirt thing about giving 100% at work? Well, today I'm only giving 2.5% even though it clearly states today is 5% day. It is hard work being this lazy while managing to look busy so you don't get additional work dumped on you, but I manage. I have mad skillz. We have a temporary supervisor because our old supervisor retired and our new supervisor doesn't start until March 1. It is kind of like having a long term sub at school. Nobody pays any attention to her but she managed to send out an email that angered all of us..hence the 2.5% day. So, enjoy my "efforts" today, Evil Empire. Next week I'll be back to my typical 12% (Monday's customary amount)...if you're lucky and nobody irks me.

I Give 100% At Work:
12% on Monday
23% on Tuesday
40% on Wednesday
20% on Thursday
5% on Friday

Gimme

We're in the middle of the annual cubicle driven charity frenzy here at work. Bake Sales! Make Your Own Nachos! Raffle Tickets for Baskets of STUFF! Silent Auctions! Casual Day Stickers! Yeah, I'm serious on that last one. They dangle casual wear before me like crack to Tyrone Biggums. I'm allowed to dress like a "semi-professional" slob if I donate to the cause and purchase these stickers. Now, let me put this out there that it isn't that I'm against charitable giving. I actually do donate to most of these causes. I only get offended because I seriously got 13 emails today reminding me to GIVE GIVE GIVE! By the time I'm done GIVE GIVE GIVING I have to sign up for the very programs I'm helping to support. One of my co-conspirators here at work sent me her version of Casual Day Stickers to sell to the drones:

I’m casual today because I donated my soul to the devil.

Once again, the line is blurred between my pathetic life and the movie, Office Space.

The following is an exerpt from an actual company wide newsletter:

October 25th is Bandana Day across "Evil Empire"
Do you crave a real creative challenge? Do your friends always tell you how creative and talented you are? Well here’s your chance to show off your talent.
Tuesday October 25th is Bandana Day across "Evil Empire." Representatives from the Community Giving Campaign will be distributing purple Campaign bandanas to employees across the organization.
Employees should use the bandanas and their creativity to accessorize their work attire or their work space. Employees with the most creative use of their bandanas, as determined by our panel of distinguished judges, will win fun prizes. Watch Online News on Monday October 24 for more details.

Are you reminded of the scene in Office Space where employees are boldly encouraged to wear their Hawaiian shirts on Friday?! Sadly, Bandana Day is not quirky humor in a cult classic film...but a day in my pathetic work life.

Thursday Morning 10:30ish

Ok so dipshit co-worker (whose blog nickname shall be "babytalker" because she thinks it is adorable to speak like an infant even in the semi-professional environment of the evil empire) bought a

Kirby

vacuum cleaner (you know, the ones that cost $1,400 last time I sat through the presentation….no lie). She's been dating that guy she met at Cub Foods for a couple months now and you'd think they've been together for years the way they carry on about "us" and blahblahblah. Before the Kirby presentation she told him no way she would be buying one and he didn’t have to worry about it because if she can get out of the $100 TiVo sales pitch she can certainly withstand the Kirby presentation! She just wanted the "free carpet cleaning" (HA…HA…Double de ha ha).

Anyway so whitetrashskank (she'll get her own post later in this delicious blog) just asked her if their friend, Michelle, got a vacuum too and babytalk said "No, Michelle's husband wouldn't let her." (I guess he thinks $1,400 is too much for a vacuum? What a NUT!) So then whitetrashskank and babytalk start talking about how they would never let a man control them blahblahblah and whitetrashskank says that all men try it at first and babytalk says "not mine" (because you know, in two months you know just about EVERYTHING there is to find out about a guy, right?) So, she starts talking about how swell he is…for the 14th time this hour and she tells this tantalizing story…

She was coming home from her mom's in Hudson, Wisconsin and she was 7 minutes (SEVEN) late from when she said she would meet him and he called her cell phone to find out where she was. She said he sounded kind of upset/worried and she had to calm him down. She explained was just crossing the bridge and she would be right there in 2 minutes yada yada.

Now, my question for you is, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being hardly at all and 10 being uncontrolled screaming at the top of my lungs - how hard was it for me to not scream "THAT IS CONTROLLING YOU! HE WANTS TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND WHY YOU AREN'T WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE (WITH HIM) WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH HIM! WELCOME TO STALKERVILLE, POPULATION 2!"