How do they work?

Dishwashers that is.

Honestly, I look at the thing while it's running and wonder what's going on in there. I've looked on howstuffworks.com and there is nothing about it.

I know the propeller dealy is spinning and spraying water around, I get that. But once that soap is released, how is it getting all over? Does the dishwasher fill up with water? Does it just spin like nuts? If it's just spinning, how is that soap being dispersed?

What goes on in there?

Something I do that's kinda bad

Once in a while I go to this church in my neighborhood. I always see this man wearing a nice suit and he wears a black patch over his eye. I can't help myself but I always think to myself, "Argh! I'm a pirate". to the point where I'm smiling to myself.

What the heck happened - 2005

I was just trying to think of all the significant things that happened in my life this past year.

January my good friend Jenny got married.

May my dad turned 60. Also, I pet sat and the cat died - NOT my doing.

June I went to Wicked in Chicago. Libby graduated 8th grade.

August I found and closed on my condo.

September my grandpa died.

November my mom turned 60 and retired four days later from a job she had for over 30 years. Stacy had a lil' baby boy.

December I graduated from college and hosted my first Christmas Eve dinner.


A lot of huge events this past year and I have no clue what next year will bring but I'm looking forward to good things.

Where to begin?

It's been a great 4 1/2 days off!

Let's start with Thursday afternoon. I got off at about noon and met my mom for lunch. Then we went to the Aveda Institute and got manicures. Mine was only okay but still pampering. Then I went home to relax for a bit before getting ready for graduation.

I had to be at the hotel where the ceremony was being held by 6:00. The ceremony started at 6:30. Normally the drive would take about 20 minutes, I gave myself 50 minutes. Traffic was HORRIBLE! I took me 40 minutes to go 3 miles at one point. I was in a panic. I didn't think I'd even get there by 6:30 at the pace traffic was going. I managed not to cry but called the traffic many names (such as "Where the fuck are all you fuckhead going?) I pulled into the hotel parking lot at 6:25, ran down the hall (in 3" heals), had my mom waiting there, threw her my purse and my coat, threw on my cap and gown (everyone was lined up ready to go). Some people rushed me in to get my picture taken then placed me in line. I had about 1 minute to catch my breath and rub the cramp the formed in the side of my calf from running with heals.

From there, everything went great. I saw my family as I walked down the isle and I couldn't stop grinning from there on. Once seated, anytime I turned around I couldn't find them again. Turns out I wasn't looking in the right area.

Libby gave me some earrings for graduation (she's so sweet) and my dad gave me a really grown up graduation gift. A Monte Blanc pen that writes like buttah baby.

Then Christmas. All went well at my house. My step dad took my nephew swimming and came back to get another towel. He accidentally went into the bad neighbors door He opened the door and it was dark and smokey in there. Thankfully, they have no idea!

My mom and step dad got me a trip to NC. My mom and I will go there to see the Vanderbilt home, see the Blue Ridge Mountains and then explore Charlotte. My dad and step mom got me some REAL knives. I'm afraid to use them because I know how much they cost
Christmas Day was pretty laid back. After the festivities at my dad's. Libby, Max and I went to see Narnia. It was good but I was so tired it was hard to get comfortable.

Monday I sat on my arse all day and I was just fine with that. Unfortunately I feel asleep for a couple hours and therefore couldn't get to sleep until about 1 am last night. Plus Rosco was practicing for a marathons and tearing all over the place. Jerk.


Now, back to work.

Graduation

Tonight's my graduation. Finally! A.A.S. in Business Administration.

No more obsessive homework. No more tests and quizzes. No more trips to the library. No more research for papers. No more sitting through lectures and taking notes. NO MORE SCHOOL!!!!

I woke up very excited this morning. I'm feeling really good about my accomplishments.


I'm leaving work early (noon) and going to the Aveda Institute to get a manicure. This is part of my gift to my mom for her birthday/retirement and we scheduled it so I could benefit from it too.

Fill in the blank

I got this in an e-mail. You're suppose to finish the sentence.



I hate being... the one who follows the rules.
I want someone to take me to... Ireland.
I don’t believe people when they tell me... I’m smart and/or pretty.
I own and listen to... the Bee Gees Greatest Hits
I'm not a fan of... the whole idea of dating.
I drive... like a grandma in bad weather.
I order... the same thing at Subway every time.
I lose... just about every bet I make.
Lately I have been... wondering where life will bring me.
"When I grow up" I want... to be happy.
Sometimes... I wonder what my life would be like if my parents stayed together.

If I think of it... I’ll write it down on a list so I don’t forget.

DONE!

I just finished my final. I didn't do as well as I wanted - I didn't get an A in the class. I got a B+ and I should be proud but I was really shooting for that A.

I believe I'm still good for graduating with honors. I'll find out soon enough.

The main thing is I'm completely, fully done, done, DONE! No more homework, no more classes, no more!

So, what do I do with all my time now?

It's Christmas at my house

I finally got my tree up. I'm not so sure about the angel. It's a bit small in comparison to the tree. There are no presents under the tree because Sam I Am (pictured under the tree) likes - loves - tape. Packing tape, Scotch tape... anything with adhesive. He tears it off and eats it then pukes it up later. I've actually played tug-o-war with him with tape in his mouth.

Also, you can see my new curtains, and my new blue walls. I'd like to figure out a way to cover the AC unit to hide it or camouflage it.

Something's off

Since about Friday I have been gradually getting more and more fatigued. I slept a ton over the weekend and today I have been yawning and I am just pooped.

Could it be all the running around I've been doing? My first thought is that my thyroid is out of whack again. This is usually my first symptom that I notice. Shit. I'm sick and tired of this thyroid bullshit. Sometimes it just really pisses me off. Puffy face, puffy buggy eyes, hard to loose weight, fatigue, bloating, joint aches, WTF.

Hopefully it's just all the school quarter coming to an end, getting ready to graduate, Christmas running around, etc. that's making me feel this way.


I'm beyond plum tuckered and I'll stop complaining now because there are worse things

The neighbors are drunken liars

Last night at about 11:50 I was getting ready for bed. The neighbors were blasting Roy Orbison "Pretty Woman" loud-loud-loud. I waited until midnight, called the cops when the guy started whoo-hooing . 12:10 it was quite and remained quite. The cops didn't show up until 12:25. Naturally, they didn't witness the noise but I eavesdropped as the cop talked to him.

Drunken Neighbor: We only have our TV on.


Cop: Sometimes TV's have amplifiers on them.... blah, blah, blah.


DN: Well, we don't have anything on.


C: You just said you had your TV on.


DN: *stutters, babbles...

C: Do you have a mental disability or are you just too drunk to understand? This isn't rocket science here.

Silence.

C: One of your neighbors got pissed off because you were making too much noise and called us.

DN: (stuttering - basically asked if he could get a copy of some report and know who made the complaint)

C: (Told him instructions on getting the report and he didn't know who made the call)

DN: Well, you can see that there's no noise here. Are you going to put that in your report? That it was quite when you got here. We're just old folks. We're going to bed.

C: I'll let you off with a warning this time.

45 minutes later the music came on for a minute.

OINK!

I made a cake last night simply because I was craving one piece. I made a chocolate Bundt with cream cheese frosting. I sliced out a big ass piece and oinked it down. That was my dinner.

Now I have the rest of the cake to deal with. I should bring it to work so I don't try to eat it all. But I sure as hell am looking forward for another big ol' piece tonight.

Funny stuff

This is the funniest thing I've read in so long! Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

"Tom, meanwhile, will be chanting the pledge of allegiance backwards and slapping his butt against the wall in some kind of ritualistic fertility dance."