this whole getting up at 6:30 thing SUCKS!

I mean seriously, the sun is barely up. I feel like I just fell asleep, then all of a sudden that damn, evil alarm is going off. That alarm is truly one of the most horrifying sounds ever. I hate it. I think I am starting to get adjusted to going to bed earlier. By 9pm I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open. It's sad, but true.

Nacho Girl

My career as Nacho Girl is over. No more concession stands for me. Two hours of making nachos, hotdogs, pretzels and running around like a crazy person was enough for me. I'm tired. And we all smell like grease-not cool. It actually was kinda fun. But I'm never doing it again.

home hair highlights and the Dent County fall festival-2006

Uh.....yea. So I was whining and complaining (I know you're surprised by that) about how it is so freakin' expensive to highlight my hair at the salon. I'm talking like over $100 usually. So, mom and I got the brilliant idea to do home highlights. Uh.....well, I figured the worst that could happen is that I would look like a bigger freak than normal, so I said what the hell!

Tonight from 6-8pm I will be working the concession stand at the Dent County Fall Festival with my parents. Rockin' Saturday night, huh? Yes, I will be grilling hamburgers, hotdogs and serving people nachos. Yippee. After that, I am going to the movies with my little brother to see Snakes on a Plane. It's gonna scare the crap out of me, I'm sure. I will be blogging later to let y'all know how the gig at the Fall Festival turns out. Wish me luck.

swarms of hummingbirds???

Dude, I saw the freakiest thing today at my parents house. Sitting down to eat dinner, I looked outside and saw a freakin swarm of hummingbirds-there were like 100 of them (ok, not really, more like 10-15, but it was still a lot of hummingbirds in one place). It was quite creepy and kinda gave me the chills. Ewww.

Driving can be hazardous to your car's health

There I was, Monday morning, my first day of my new job, driving on Hwy 70, listening to Steve and DC on the radio when all of a sudden I hear a "smack" on my windshield. Something big and ugly had hit it and before my eyes I saw the crack start to grow, and grow, and grow. It's a good 18 inches long now and may not be done growing. There is quite the chunk broken out from where the unidentified object hit my car. I was really hoping this was not a bad sign, as I was already nervous enough about starting a new job. Turns out, it wasn't. J did help me find a place to get it fixed, guess I should call them, huh? That car has been nothing but bad luck-I love it, but bad things happen to it-it has a couple of dents already, paint chipped off, someone door dinged me. It's beginning to look as ghetto-rific as the Crapalier.

You really don't want to be at 170 and 40 during 5:00 rush hour....

Ok, so I started my new job this week. So far, so good. It is a LOT to learn, but luckily I'm a quick learner. If you show me how to do something once, I usually get it. We're doing a lot of training right now. I'm getting antsy, I want to get on the computer and do this already! It's been rough adjusting to being an 8-4:30 person. Still having trouble sleeping (even w/Tylenol PM-I think I'm immune to it), but I know that will pass w/time. All my co-workers are great, my supervisor is great (any sup that will say the "f" word at work is alright w/me!). I'm glad I have friends that already work here. Makes the transition easier. Wanna give a shout out to my favorite old co-worker, Stephen. I know it isn't the same w/out me, but it will all be ok! Hell, maybe I'll come back and do those 4 hours a week, who knows?

lunch with Grandpa

I got to have lunch with Grandpa today-always a treat. I drove up to God's Country (aka Florissant). I let Grandpa pick where he wanted to go-I knew it would be one of three choices: IHOP, Jack-in-the-Box and/or the deli over by the Myer House in Florissant. Well, the deli place won out, so off we went. Lunch was good (tuna sandwich for me, BLT and coffee for Grandpa). The company was the best part. You realize how precious time is spending it with your only grandparent. We talked about a variety of topics-the American Legion, bowling, woodwork, Jefferson Barracks, and Cardinals/Cubs baseball, to name a few. I love my Grandpa very much and promised him we would do lunch more often. He also wants me to go bowling with him sometime. Now, this is a man who used to be on a bowling league. He tells he he did pretty crappy this week-only bowling like a 160. I informed him that usually I barely break 100, so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get the crap kicked out of me by a 78 year old man!

The Clowns in the Closet

From left to right, we have Jo Jo, Sparky, and their little friend, Petey. Jo Jo and Sparky apparently live in my closet and taunt me at night. I'm convinced they're gonna kill me one of these days. Look at the evil bastards! You gotta watch that Jo Jo-he's one bad mo-fo. I think even Jesse is scared of Jo Jo. Let me know if you wanna come over and party with them though. I'm sure they're good times.

ick

me don't feel good. i feel really weak and tired. it's only 8:30 and i want to go to bed. maybe i'm withdrawing from all the sugar i had all week. or maybe, i'm getting sick. whatever the case, i feel like i could sleep for days non-stop. $20 says this girl doesn't make it till 10 tonight......

Happy Birthday Amy!!!!

Happy Birthday to my girl Amy! You rock-party on! Such a lucky gal-starting Monday, Amy will get to see my smiling face 4o hours a week....sucker....Luv ya Aim!

My last day at the crisis line

I haven't cried-yet. I've come close. I mean, come on, when the vice president of the company calls you into his office to wish you well and give you a hug, tell me you wouldn't tear up. I walked into the office today to sea of red and blue crepe paper and balloons everywhere-my exact comment was "it looks like Spiderman threw up in here". I know, I'm not right. The decorations were cool, what was a little creepy, however, was someone had made probably a hundred copies of my picture from my employee ID and plastered them around the office. I was a little disturbed having to stare at myself all day. When I finally made it to my desk, I found a princess crown and several presents, including a 12 pack of Diet Coke and two 1 pound bags of Skittles. These people know what I like. Rumor has it Stephen did the decorating in the middle of the night (such dedication!). There was tons of goodies (brownies, cookies, cupcakes)-I am soooo on a sugar high right now. I can't seem to stop eating the brownies. I KNEW I shouldn't have thrown away my fat pants!! Damn. The princess crown is a bit small-either that or I just have a big fat head. I can't believe I only have 3 hours left. I've been taking some calls, for the last time. I've spent a lot of time shredding paper-again (been doing that all week). It's the end of an era at the crisis line. The place will definitely be quieter and less obnoxious with me gone. J-we gotta find a place to put the, um...interesting gifts I received, such as the angel statue, the red/yellow cow, the elephant candle, and the barbie doll (I'm not sure, so don't ask). I think I'm starting to come down from my sugar high....getting sleepy now......

nice chat with my boss

I had a very nice meeting with my manager Bart today. He was very, very sweet and I believe genuine when he says he'll miss me working there. He was very complimentary (and anyone who knows me knows how hard it is for me to take compliments). Bart is the one that hired me 6 years ago (sucker!!!) and trained me and really gave me the foundation to be a good counselor. Of course, we've had our moments throughout the years, if anyone at work could push my buttons, it was him. Yea, we had some real knock down, dragouts throughout the years! But in the end, he's one of the people I respect the most in the world, certainly as far as clinical/counseling skills go. Yes, I know I am being quite sappy this week, but I just can't help it. My attachment to these people is very real, and I will genuinely miss them. Tomorrow will be rough for sure as it is the official last day. I'm gonna try not to cry but can't guarantee it.

Happy Birthday Cabin Boy!

Today is my friend Brian's (AKA Cabin Boy) birthday. If I remember correctly, he was born the same year I was making today his........30th BIRTHDAY! Brian-if you're out there in cyberland somewhere, I hope you have a great birthday, hope you are doing well! One good Cabin Boy story-he used to drink Aftershock in college, would then just exhibit some bizarre behavior, such as ramming his head into the wall. You fellow CMSU people that read this blog know what I'm talking about!

How to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity in the Workplace

1) Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
2) Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits. Wear them one day after you boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is a different gender.
3) Make up nicknames for all your coworkers and refer to them only by these names. "That's a good point, Sparky." "No, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Cha-cha."
4) Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you're doing. For example: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the bathroom."
5) Hi-Lite your shoes. Tell people you haven't lost them as much since you did this.
6) While sitting at your desk, soak your fingers in Palmolive liquid. Call everyone Madge.
7) Hang mosquito netting around your cubicle. When you emerge to get coffee or a printout or whatever, slap yourself randomly the whole way.
8) Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you're waiting for your document.
9) Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask them if they want fries with that.
10) Send e-mail back and forth to yourself engaging yourself in an intellectual debate. Forward the mail to a co-worker and ask her to settle the disagreement.
11) Encourage your colleagues to join you in a little synchronized chair-dancing.
12) Put your trash can on your desk. Label it "IN."
13) Feign an unnatural and hysterical fear of staplers.
14) Send e-mail messages saying there's free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunch room. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, "Oh you've got to be faster than that."
15) Put decaf in the coffee maker for three weeks. Once everyone has withdrawn from caffeine addiction, switch to espresso.

late night sugar rush

Well, I'm on my third cake this week. Too bad I threw out all my "fat pants". It has been quite the Last Week of Work. Tonight I was given another cake, complete with Barbie decorations (don't ask). I now have the whole call center hopped up on cake. It's gonna be a long night for all. J-be glad you won't be home. It make take me awhile to calm down. I'm wondering if I'll get more cake tomorrow........

blah Monday

maybe I'm having Skittles withdrawal. Feel blah today. And everyone at work keeps telling me how upset they are that this is my last week, which just makes me feel bad. I really need to quit feeling guilty about things I have no control over, huh? Cleaning out my desk has been quite the process. You accumulate a bunch of crap in 6 years! I shredded a pile of paper today probably a foot high. I really didn't think anyone needed copies of my time off requests from 2001.

Skittles overload

Today, I learned that my staff at work really do love me. I walked into the office today to find balloons all over my desk with "good luck" signs everywhere. The best part however, was the bottles of Diet Coke and the several packages of Skittles on the table in the kitchen. They DO know what I like. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my co-worker Gabe came in and presented me with a homemade Skittles cake. It's a red velvet cake with red icing and Skittles on it everywhere. I have died and gone to Kerri heaven.....I promised J I wouldn't be too wired tonight...must pace myself. I'm gonna miss these people, I really am.

I'm a hazard to myself....

and, no, I am not singing that Pink song. Seriously people, just today I managed to 1. scratch the crap out of my leg with a stick (all I was doing was walking, mind you), 2. totally blacken my ankle with a bruise by climbing on playground equipment (don't ask) and 3. cut my finger with a pizza cutter (purely accidental, I assure you...no mental health people, I am not a "cutter", thanks though).

I'm pretty sure I should not be allowed out of the house. I told Jesse today that maybe I should start wearing a helmet. Anyone know where I can find a good one? Thanks in advance. Seriously, I took the girls to the park today (it's across the street from the apartment). Our mission? To free Henry and Gary. Who are they, you may ask? Well, they are the turtles who have been living with us for a couple of months now. We decided the boys would be much happier in their natural environment (Salem was too far away, so the park had to do). And, really, I think we were tired of cleaning up after them-those things go to the bathroom-A LOT. Anyway, so the girls and I found the perfect spot by the lake, surrounded by trees. Henry was all over getting the hell outta dodge. Gary was a little slow-then again, it's always been my theory that Gary is a little slow...we did get sidetracked by some stoners with a guitar (don't ask), but managed to let the boys free. The girls and I then kicked the soccer ball around (who knew KD had such mad soccer skillz, huh?). We then ventured on to the playground where the hideous bruising incident occurred. We tried to score the swings but some other kids were there, so finally, we returned home. The ironic thing about the pizza cutter? I went running through the apartment with it in my hand to answer my work phone (I'm on call all weekend). The girls informed me I was a bad influence because you really shouldn't run with a pizza cutter in your hand-thanks girls, point taken. No, I didn't cut myself while running. No, this girl cut herself while cutting the pizza. Now, that takes talent. I rock.

Want to know a way to horrify two 10 and 11 year old kids? Tell them you think their dad is hot. That will traumatize them for life. Seriously. It was fun.

So I'm sitting here typing at nearly 1:00am-probably shouldn't have taken that two hour nap from 5-7, huh? Work has called like five times, I'm cool with it though because after tomorrow night, I never have to be on call again-yay! Maybe I should try to get some sleep, I do have to work tomorrow (today, whatever). Hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm off to start my very last week at my job. I'm a little sad about it. It's kinda surreal. Six years is a long time to be at one place. I'm gonna miss it. Ok, maybe not the stress of the job so much, but the people. There really are some good people there. Enough sappiness for now, I'm off to bed. Nighty night folks!

mental health humor

full moon II

Another co-worker just asked if we could unplug the phones. Stephen and I politely informed her that that probably would not be a good idea, given we are a suicide crisis hotline and all......

It's the full moon

A co-worker just asked me why it has been so freakin' crazy tonight. I had to break it to her that it's the full moon. This fully explains the craziness. There is some correlation between the two. It explains why my boss Bart sings in the call center, why we are so busy at work and why I poked myself in the eye with my headset. This is scientific fact people. Look it up.

The extended Baumgartner clan

Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Nick, Michael and his wife Kim, Jeff and his wife Jessica


Aunt Jan, Uncle Craig and Kelli



Aunt Mary, Uncle Ron, Clint, Ben, Rachel and Kira


Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Diane, Grant and Jackie
Aunt Paula, Uncle Jay, Greg, Chelsea, Patrick

My mom is from a pretty big family. Here are some pics of her sisters and brother and all of their families. Is it possible for like 40 people to all look alike?

more vacation pics

The Davidson gals-my sister, mom and me

My sister and I


These pictures are from my mom's camera-they are some of my favorites from our trip.

I am gonna wet my pants laughing.....

Ok, so there is a story behind this one. So, we took a day trip to Charleston and went to Ft. Sumter (Yes, it was at Uncle Jimmy's urging-he is a Civil War freak!!!). Anyway, mom and dad and I went into the museum (really because it was 105 degrees outside and the museum had air conditioning) and were looking at all the pictures and facts about the war (that Abraham Lincoln was psychic y'all!) when my dad whispers "hey, is that guy cross eyed?". Well, mom and I looked and of course started giggling, then the people behind us were like "oh my God he IS cross eyed". Of course my mom had to take a picture of it. It was freakin hilarious, guess you had to be there.

Yes, Aunt Cheryl, I'm stealing pictures!

This is my entire family on my mom's side. Cute, huh?

My Grandpa with the great-grandchild of the family, Kira

Here's my family! My brother-in-law Jon, my sister Kristy, me, dad, mom and my brother Timbo

My parents

Newly posted on the fam blog thanks to Aunt Cheryl. Like the matching shirts?????? :)

I swear I got attacked by a crab....no really.

I'm back! Did ya miss me? I had a good time in Hilton Head, but sure am glad to be back home. I missed my boy and, more importantly, my bed (no offense baby-but I slept in the floor for seven nights...it takes it's toll). Anyway, I'll try to keep the Saga of the Family Trip fairly short (yea right). Here goes.......

So, the trip down there was fairly entertaining. From dad informing us every 100 miles how far he had driven that day to Tim spilling an entire box of Skittles in the seat (with me laughing so hard I truly thought I was going to wet my pants), good times were had by all. Tim and I picked up a job application from Wendy's fully intending to fill it out (Tim wanted his name to be "Turd Ferguson"). Mom informed us all that "country music is queer" (thanks mom!). Dad was upset that we were going through the Smoky Mountains in the dark because he couldn't see anything (hey, I wanted to see some toothless hillbillies too!). I again almost wet my pants laughing when mom agreed to play my iPod and my 55 year old father started dancing to Tupac's "California Love". My family is insane.....We had a stimulating discussion about Lance Bass telling the world that he's gay (like we were surprised by that one). I brought up the fact that Lance Bass once wanted to be an astronaut, to which my brother said, and I quote "only gay people are astronauts, just look at Neil Armstrong". What? We stopped in Atlanta that first night (the "ATL"), then proceeded on to Hilton Head the next day.

As you can imagine, the majority of the time, we just sat on the beach. A family full of fair skinned people, mind you. It was pretty cool to get to hang with all of my family (and by all, I mean aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and, of course, grandpa). We were together a lot but did our own thing too. There was whiffle ball and football on the beach and Tim and Ben's new sport-"wave shredding". Yes, those two are awaiting their endorsement deals and plan to be the first ever wave shredders at the X-Games. Uh.....yea. The nights entailed all of us meeting out by the pool where Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Jay entertained us by playing the guitar (with a rousing family rendition of "Wanted Dead or Alive", complete with the whole fam getting to sing the Richie part).

We thought Uncle Ron broke his leg in a freak wave runner incident. Turns out it was just severely bruised. At least he still scored some Vicodin! I was surprised I made it the whole week injury free, after all, I'm the girl that runs into my cubicle wall at least 3x a week and hits myself with the car door pretty much daily...well, I was injury free until Friday. That was the day all hell broke loose (ok, not really, but the melodrama makes for a better story). There I was, out in the ocean with my family, having a good time, laughing at the wave shredders when all of a sudden I felt this piercing pain on my right foot (kinda felt like being sliced by a knife, which I know about since I tend to accidentally cut myself with the kitchen knives when chopping things). Anyway, I lifted my foot and noticed blood pouring from my foot. Not a good thing when you are in the middle of the ocean and there have been recent documented shark attacks....luckily, my family is full of medical people and there was a nurse and a doctor right there. Not to worry folks, I'm gonna make it. I don't know if it was really a crab that attacked me, I guess I could have stepped on a shell or something, but the crab thing sounds a whole lot more dramatic, don't you think?

So, overall, it was a good week. I missed J tons (he should already know this) and was getting quite homesick for him. I'm back in the swing of things now. Today went back to work where I now have only 9 more working days. It is sad for sure, but I am ready to move on to my next job adventure. Well, I'm sure I'm forgetting some funny shit that happened, but I can't remember it all right now. Peace out party people.