Baby Boom

Judah
Claire
Floyd
Taylor
Sloan
Whitney
Quinn

These are the babies of close friends, family and coworkers.

They were all born within 11 months of each other.

I knit what felt like a ton of blankets in a short time.

 It caused me severe baby fever.

I think I'm past the worst of it.

Light bulbs on all over

I think I just stumbled upon the most brilliant idea I've ever had.

She loves to clean. (I know, it's disgusting).

I hate to clean.  I'd rather stick needles under my fingernails.

I love to do hair.

Do you see where I'm going here?

She was all for it.  I do her hair (color & cut) once a month and she cleans my place once a month.  She charges $25/hour.  She usually gives me $50 - $60 to do her hair.

I'll vacuum and do whatever touch ups inbetween.

We'll work out the details for her starting in a couple weeks.

This is so friggin' exciting.

Water park

Monday I went to a water park to visit with my good friend and her kids. It's a really neat park. Instead of a wading pool the area is full of different fountains for kids to run through.

Blah to YAY in 60 seconds

I've just been asked to be godmother to my niece! I'm so excited and honored to be asked. It is really unexpected.

The service will be held on my birthday. An event like this demands a new outfit!

I was in such a terrible mood yesterday. Feeling down about money and my job and all the "what ifs". But, I got my haircut by my good friend Jen Jen Jennifer. We had some laughs and she let me vent. It's good to be around friends when you're in a funk. Then I got the voice mail from my stepsister asking me to be godmother.

Today is so much better. Being in a funk really doesn't get me anywhere.

Long holiday weekend

This holiday weekend was a busy one.

Thursday was spent at my brothers waiting for dinner. He was almost two hours late in serving. Then onto my dad's for dessert. My favorite - pumpkin apricot cake with cream cheese frosting!

Friday was spent shopping... six hours of shopping. I usually go with my sister but she was in Europe this past week (lucky!). I went with a friend and her two kids. The 15 month old wasn't having any of the shopping business but she did well overall. I got a couple gifts purchased and a couple things for myself... of course.

Saturday I met an old friend for lunch and we ended up hanging out all day. We went on all the rides at Nickelodeon Universe. I've never been on any of the rides at the Mall of America so this was all new to me. I've always gone for the bars (way back when), the restaurants, the movie theater and some shopping. It was fun!

Unfortunately I got a cold somewhere around Thanksgiving morning and it hit me hard Sunday. I slept most of the day and then went to the airport to greet my sister - finally home from Paris and Barcelona.

Sort of out of sorts

I've been somewhat out or my brain for the past several days. Mostly because nothing has really been going on (other than gorging myself on a turkey dinner last Saturday on a trip up to Hinckley).


After eating to the point where we couldn't stand, walk, sit, we managed to lay down on the floor. After a couple minutes, the juvenile humor began. The most dangerous part of this is laughing so hard that we're literally rolling on the floor. It hurts so good.


Yesterday I had a punch in the gut as I noticed a friend on my Facebook page sent me a friend suggestion. I click on the link and it's hell revisited. A person from my past that I really need to leave in the past. Memories of this person are toxic. I have absolutely zero longing for this person. My anger has surfaced. My disgust is prominent. I am walking a thin line between detest and hate. The good news is that I now see this person as a joke - everything they have said, done, will say and will do. I bask in the belief in Karma.


Make him go away.

Lovely weekend, thankyouverymuch.

My dad, my step mom and I went to the Ordway to watch about a dozen of the 30 opera auditions for the MN Opera. I enjoyed it more than I thought. Enough to want to see an opera now.

In May, I got my dad a gift certificate for a shave at Heime's. He finally used it on Saturday. It was fun to watch. But the handle bar mustaches that most of the staff wore was too much. One guy had something weird going on with his little goatee. I was distracted by it when he talked and couldn't possibly take him seriously. What does he do when he's on his own time wearing a Nike running suit to Target? Does he wax up the ol' goat and hold his head high as he browses the TP isle?

My dad was browsing around the shop while we were waiting for his appointment and some shoe salesman latched on to us. He went on and on about this shoe and that shoe. My dad showed no interest but the guy wasn't going to let up. The salesman went on and on about the way this shoe was made and he's been selling these for 18 years and those are only made in such and such, blah, blah, blah. He finally said, "I sold two pair of those yesterday". My dad turns to him and as he walked away said, "congratulations". Is that the best or what?!

Later we had a lunch I would kill to eat again. We went to the St. Paul Grill and I had "The Grill" Charlie's.

Two Grilled Medallions of Beef Tenderloin on Fresh Potato Rolls topped with Caramelized Onions and Horseradish Mayonnaise. Served with a Side of Béarnaise.

It was done so perfectly I whimpered with every delicious bite.


On Sunday, after much debate and trying to convince my friend's daughter NOT to do this, I caved. Cierra has been toying with the idea of coloring her hair black. Her beautiful brown highlighted hair. I tried talking her into dark, dark brown. "No, I want black". I told her once you go black, you never go back. "Black". So, I did it. It's drastic and makes her look an entirely different race (she's biracial- black/white). She just called me this afternoon to thank me again and tell me she loves it. Whew!

Let me tell you about Cierra. I met her when she was three months old. Her mom and I were just becoming friends our senior year of high school. I spent more days with Cierra and her mom than I did with my own family. I fell so deeply in love with this little girl it sometimes took my breath away. She has always been sweet and loving and funny and beautiful and she completely adored me. She is now 18 and an adult but still very much my baby girl. She fills my heart with so much love and I can't imagine my life before her or without her. Anyway, that's my Cierra. Cierra with the black hair.

GO TEAM!

Last Saturday I got my lazy bones out of bed at 9:30 (I like to sleep in really late on Saturday’s if I can) and went to watch my goddaughter’s soccer game. She’s five and just started kindergarten this fall. Another note, she hates soccer. Hates it. She hates it so much that she cries through all the games… and the practices. Her mom and dad made an agreement with her and she’s sticking it out through the remainder of the season – tears or not.

This particular game she didn’t cry and she was in the game for two of the quarters (or nickels as she calls them). It was pretty funny, the coach told her where to stand and she followed directions like a good player.

She stood there

Right there

The whole game

Just like the coach said

Her newlywed aunt and uncle came to watch with there fur babies

Man and Dandy (Dan and Mandy) with Adley and Marley

I fell completely head over heals in love with this six month old Great Dane.

It takes everything I've got not to gobble up Jordan, my other goddaughter.

Way back

I love looking at pictures. I always have had a camera with me trying to capture the perfect Kodak moment.

So, this is me and my BFF from high school. It's dated about 1995 so we're about 23 years old. For some reason I really love it. There are so many memories hidden in this picture.

I had my hair down to a science I was having fun and I was damn cute. When I showed my friend (pictured) this photo I said, "I loved that sweater!" She said, "Yeah, you wore the hell outta that sweater". I did.

Marital Bliss

Congratualtions Mandy & Dan - September 12 2008

Radio star

I did some tracking and found my best friend from sixth grade! We went to different schools by 7th grade and she moved about 30? miles away in high school. We stayed in touch and I had visited her a few times at her house that was "out of town". She was so much fun and we had so much fun together. The last time I spoke to her was probably 15 years ago.

We used to tape record ourselves singing songs or just record our conversations. I wish I would have saved those tapes!!

I've thought about her so many times over the years. Anyway, I tracked her down. She works for radio station in Omaha, NE. She's a DJ in the afternoon during the week and I can listen online.

Just now I got a shout out! How cool is that? If I would have known I would have tape recorded it.

It kinda made my day.

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Last Saturday I went to the MN State Fair. The weather was perfect and the food did not let me down. We went early - 10:30 am. It wasn't that crowded and the lines weren't bad. Suddenly around 1:00 we realized the place was packed. Somehow we managed to stay another three hours shuffling our way through the crowds.

A sea of people

I love going to the animal buildings. My friend's daughter spent the summer in Iowa learning to barrel race so she loved the horses. We walked through the cattle barn and lastly the swine barn. There, plopped in a pen is the 1240 lb. sow that is always featured (a different one each year).

That's some pig!

And when you come out you turn into piggys.

Going with a group of people allows a person to try a little bit of everything. A bite of this and a bite of that. Grazing all day long. This year I tried many more items than normal.

1. Battered & deep fried pickle chips dipped in Ranch dressing
2. Cheese curds
3. Foot long hot dog with ketchup, mustard, fried onions and sauerkraut
4. Luigi Fries (cheese covered bread sticks dipped in marinara sauce)
5. Roasted corn on the cob
6. Seasoned pork chop on a stick
7. Chicken egg roll on a stick
8. Chocolate covered banana and strawberry on a stick
9. Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies
10. Strawberry banana smoothie
11. Root beer float
12. Taco burrito
13. Chocolate covered bacon (served cold. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good)
14. Alligator on a stick
15. Several lemonades and waters

I feel like I might be leaving something out but that's the gist of it!

Pig Lickers - Chocolate covered bacon

That's enough for one year. Now the countdown begins for next year.

Condo hotdish

I got together with my good friend Jenny for lunch at the Olive Garden. She had soup, salad and breadsticks. I had spaghetti and Italian sausage that is so good it brings tears to my eyes. Here, another exchange in oddities that leave me wondering if I am a 12 years old stuck in my 36 year old body.

It doesn't matter what led to this particular exchange because there never has to be a reason.

J - You're sort of like a sandwich.

Me - Yes, because I live on the second floor and...

J - Someone lives above you and below you.

Me - Yeah. Actually, I'm more of a filling because I also have people on both sides of me.

J - (stiffling her laughter)

Me - Actually, I'm more of a hotdish. An ingredient in a condo hotdish.

Or maybe she said "condo hotdish" because at this point we were laughing too much at each other because we really are hilarious.

My cup runneth o'er with commas, question marks and LOLs

I have an old, old friend (our friendship is old, she isn't) that I keep in touch with through almost daily e-mails. Usually their mundane and immature. This is one we did a few days ago. We were discussing the issues of the penal system and what our take on the solution. Very informative, very intriguing, very knowledgeable we are. The e-mail starts when I ask what a person she knows/used to know is going to school for... in prison... on his third time serving five years for burglary:

DB: Ok,,,he is gonna go to school to be a computer technician. And is taking classes now for cable technician.

Me: I have such a huge, huge, huge issue with people serving time getting education. I know they need to do it so they can find something else to do other than the crimes that put them there but I just get so worked up about how the system works that way. I think they should be shoveling cow manure out of a truck for eight hours a day or something. Okay, and really? A cable technician. Yeah, Mr. Burglar, come into my house scope it out while you fix my cable. Oh, I could go on for days about that putz!

DB: LOL! You had me crackin up here at the desk,,,snortin even! LOL! I know! What cable company in their right mind would hire a 3 time felony burglar ??????????????????// ummm....can we say "DENIAL"?!!!!!
I think that prisons should be all manual labor! Screw the humane treatment acts & laws! Otherwise its like free room & board AND a paid job! So what he gets only .25 cents/hour,,,I should be getting that $ !!!!

Me: Yeah, the tax payers pay for their shelter, three square meals a day, entertainment even and they're getting paid so they can buy Tootsie Rolls and toothpaste. AND they are given medical and dental treatment, right? They should have to shave their heads too. Forget humane. Heck yeah, hard manual labor. Get them back on the chain gang! Shoo.

DB: I think they still have the chain gangs down south,,,,thats what I'm talkin about!

Me: I read that they have them in a couple of states south but the human rights activists are making a stink and they had to stop. What's next? They're all going to have Sleep Number beds in their cells? Maybe a Brita filter on their sink faucet? Charmin toilet paper? Downy fabric softener?

DB: Egyptian cotton sheets? Evian bottled water? Grey Poupon?

Me: Grey Poupon - love it! Biscuits and tea at four? Shiatsu massages and deep cleansing facials? Footie pajamas?

DB: How about an olympic sized swimming pool? wekly manicures & pedicures? Live concerts by the most popular artists?

After that I couldn’t do it anymore. It got too stupid (even for me) and I can only handle so many grammatical errors and punctuation faux pas – even within a friendly e-mail. This was overload.

There's nothing funny in Hinckley

I talked to my friend on Tuesday of last week. She was feeling pretty down. Recently, she's come on some hard times. She moved herself and her four kids an hour and a half from the city to live with her mom in a small town. This will be temporary until she gets some finances straight as well as her head. It hasn't been a happy time for her.


As of last Tuesday she had been there for two weeks. After laughing to her on the phone she said, "I haven't laughed for so long. There's nothing to laugh at here."

After hanging up I decided to take Friday off and drive up there for a surprise visit. I talked to her a couple more times to make sure she'd be around ("So, what do you and the kids have planned for Friday?")

I knew she had to be at the house between 10 and 11:30. I left at 10:20 for the hour and 20 minute drive. As I got closer and saw signs saying "Hinckley 42 miles... Hinckley 8 miles... Hinckley next two exits..." I was so excited. I exited with cell phone in hand waiting for the right time to press "send". At a stop sign I called "what are you doing" and so on. She set it up perfectly, "I suppose you're on your way to lunch?"

Me: Yeah, I was going to go to Hinckley for lunch.

D: Oh yeah! (laughing)

Me: Good, I'm two blocks away.

D: What? No! You are?

Me: Yep!

D: Ohhh! I'll meet you on the driveway!

I pull in, she comes out smiling and we hug and it's all good.We laughed all day.


Hinckley is a funny place.

True embarrassment

My friend and I were 90 miles from home in a smaller town Walmart. We had just spent over two hours at the beach. We're burnt to a crisp and looking tired. She is wearing some cut off jean shorts and her swimming suit, boobs smooshed flat, no make up, hair in a ponytail. I'm wearing a swimming suit, jogging shorts, and a short sleeve jean shirt and some old, ugly sandals from K-Mart. I'm 60 lbs more than I was in high school, I have zero make up on, eyes are puffy from the sun and heat, and my hair is messed up from lake water and in a bun on top of my head. We've got six kids with us ranging in age of 13 - 3 and they're running wild.

We're walking down an isle and we run into someone from high school. My friend that I was with used to have a serious crush on him. He's there looking great with his pretty wife and nice looking kids.


I don't think we could look as bad as we looked if we tried! This was just pure bad looks at it's best. You always think your safe when you're miles from home. Here's proof that you're never safe no matter where you go! We turned down the next isle and laughed so hard and just couldn't stop.

The weekend's over

Friday I met Terri at Chuck-e-Cheese for dinner with her kids. It was so nice to see her after so many years. We caught up on some of the big events from the past 15 years and talked about some old times in high school. (sp?) No awkwardness, just fun.

I got a lot of errands done (ie. spent money I didn't have). But with the errands done I was able to cross a couple things off my "To do" list that I've had going since I moved in.

I decided to pretend I have a green thumb and cut back a houseplant I had in my bedroom. It was huge, touched the ceiling, so I cut it down, way down. It was so top heavy that it was tipping over, I had to prop it in the corner more or less. I cut the main "trunk" which means there is no more leaves on it. There are some closer to the planter. Anyway, I thought this could work, new shoots will sprout eventually. I told my mom about it (I got the plant from her when I moved in because it was too big for their house). She gasped and said "Oh Steve is going to be just sick". I freaked, Why?! Apparently it was his from oh, about 25 years ago. I told her not to tell him yet until I get some information on whether it will grow back. God, I hope so. Pray for my plant.

Okay, good news, I am online at home. It's dial-up but I haven't been able to connect since I moved here. I finally got a land line to connect about 3 weeks ago but I couldn't. I kept getting messages that my ISP couldn't connect to my modem. I tried all the troubleshooting and e-mailed my computer manufacturer for their input. Nothing worked. I finally realized that I downloaded some software for the power pack dealy thingy - it's the only thing that is different from before I moved. I uninstalled and BAM I'm on line! I was so frustrated and now I'm happy.


I also got a start on Spring cleaning. Now, I must settle in for Grey's Anatomy.

Funny memory

One of the funniest people I know is my friend Leslie. She and I used to work together about seven years ago. We worked in an office where it was just the two of us the majority of the time. We could get damn obnoxious (I know, WHAT? Me obnoxious?!) We spent most of our time laughing and sometimes literally rolling on the floor with laughter.... about stupid things.

I just had this memory of her answering the phone "Good morning, ADX, this is Laura". I immediately start laughing uncontrollably, she sat there stunned and trying not to laugh. Luckily it was someone else we worked with and he just said, "no it's not". I think we laughed about that all week.

I'm meeting her for lunch today, I'll have to remind her of this.

I guess it's one of those things you have to be there for.

Leaning on friends

Why don't I allow myself to lean on my friends when I'm having a hard time? I have such awesome friends! I guess I just feel like I'm burdening them. I feel like crying is showing I'm not in control and not a strong person. Crazy, I know.

It's just hard for me to just call and say, Hey! I'm hurting! I actually CAN'T control everything I'm feeling! I want to cry and cry. Can I use your shoulder?

My good, good friend e-mailed me today, gradually I got around to talking to her about it. She sad and hurting for me now. She said I have to, have to call when I'm feeling sad. She said she's so sad that I was hurting by myself.

I went to lunch with a friend today, talked with her about it because she's had anxiety problems before. She e-mailed me just now "about our conversation today, I hope you feel better. Let me know if I can do anything for you".Friends make hard times so much more bearable

Monday.

Monday had to come, there's never a way to stop it.

I got to go out to eat with my friend Kari and her little Anna Banana (2 1/2). Sadly, Kari lost her baby. She went in for a pregnancy test last Wednesday, they did an ultrasound and saw that the baby was in her tube. They figure she was probably about 5 weeks along. Poor Kari.

My grandpa now has congestive heart failure. Man. He broke my heart on Friday. I leaned over to give him a kiss good-bye, told him I love him and he whispered "I know, I know". Oh man, my brother was crying when he gave him a kiss and my grandpa whispered "oh, Jesse". My grandpa said he was scared. He is scared for his family. Geez, this is killing me. It's so sad. Yesterday, for lunch, he ate quite a bit of solid food. Something he hasn't done for days and days. He ate turkey, mashed potatoes, tomato soup and even some pumpkin pie! I couldn't help thinking though, that this is a sign of dying. People will get a surge of energy and eat more than they have been just days before dying. I just don't want him to ever be in any pain.

Okay, good news, I just registered for my final class. This makes me very happy. I'm taking it online so I don't have to go into school. Oh yeah, I have to take this 6 week class called Career Development. It teaches you interview skills, how to write a resume, blah, blah. Not a problem, like I said, one night a week for two hours and it only goes for six weeks. You can hardly even count it as a class... unfortunately financial aide does.


I couldn't believe it! I was actually offered help to paint my new condo! Now I just need some offers for help in moving - that's when people suddenly become "busy"