The tides have changed

Hank got a taste of the good life tonight. He was allowed inside the house. He doesn't usually get to come in like Stubby does because he is big and, well, dumb (I call him Forrest Gump) and his one bullet wound still has not healed. Tonight, we felt sorry for him as he watched us playing Yahtzee-he stood at the deck door and cried. He didn't quite know what to do once he came inside. He tried going in the living room (a big no-no with the white carpet), dad was convinced he was looking for a place to pee. He couldn't quite figure out how he was supposed to act once inside, so he was banished to the outside again. We later let him back in, he trotted off down the hall to my parents bedroom and his 70+ pound self climbed up on my parents bed (it took quite the effort to get his fat ass up there). Stubby didn't like this at all, as she was kicking back on dad's side of the bed. She barked at Hank who just stared at us. He then laid in mom's lap. His head is bigger than hers. Tim and I then tried to lure both of them into the basement, we figured they could do the least damage there. Hank gave us a big "hell no" about going down those stairs-he was scared to death! (he was also scared of the TV when it was on and his own reflection in the window). Anyway, we finally got them both downstairs where they are currently napping on Tim's old ALF sleeping bag....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Time for me to get sappy for a bit. I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Hope everyone is celebrating with family and friends. I find it odd that people only focus on what they are thankful for on this day. Shouldn't we be doing that everyday? I try to thank God every day for what He has given me. I really can't complain too much about my life. Sure, I'm still single (and almost 30), but what I do have is so much better. I have a wonderful family and am blessed to be able to see them on a fairly regular basis. I so many wonderful friends I can't even count them. I have a good job, great co-workers and even have a great soon-to-be brother-in-law. Life is good. I hope you all take the time to remind yourself of the good things in your life. Thank God every day that He has given you another day on this Earth with your friends and family. Even though several of my friends are far away, I love them dearly, and know that if we hung out today, it would be as if we see each other all the time, the months and years in between mean nothing. I am thankful for my mom and dad-they are a constant source of support to me. I am thankful for my sister-she is my best friend and the greatest sister a girl could have. I am grateful for my brother-he and I are so much alike, he's a great kid and I love him dearly. I am grateful for my grandpa-he is the best grandpa in the world and I am thankful for every day I get to spend with him. I am grateful for my many aunts, uncles and cousins-they are the greatest and I look forward to our get-togethers. And last, but not least, I am thankful for my many friends. I have found so many great people that I couldn't possibly name you all, but I hope you know who you are, let's get together sometime and have a beer.....or go see Ivory Tiger!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Get dressed Ker, we're going outside and hanging Christmas lights"

This quote came courtesy of my dad when he came home from work today. I just kinda looked at him-me? doing manual labor? what kid of his did he think he was talking to? Where is his son when he needs him?

So, I put my jacket on (I was already dressed) and outside we went (Tim conveniently announced his lunch hour was over and sped off in his car). Dad advised me someone was going to have to get on the roof of the house (I volunteered him) and the other person would need to climb the ladder (I got that duty). Once dad was on the roof, I climbed up, handed him the lights, and continued to "supervise" from the ground. Hey-I was multi-tasking! I was able to hold the lights, pet the dogs, and talk to my sister on my cell. That takes talent. It was quite entertaining watching dad try to figure out how to connect all the strands of lights as well as making sure the little red bows were straight. The end result was beautiful clear lights all along the front of the house and the porch, which brings the question-who is gonna see it? My parents live in the woods at the end of a private drive. The only people that will see the lights are....us. I then suggested to dad that we hang a huge wreath atop the porch. He liked the idea, but did one better-he suggested we make one. So, tomorrow we are going to go out in the woods and gather some cedar branches along with some wire and some ribbon, and we will make our own wreath. Must be where I get my creative streak....

Coming home creates a plethora of blog material.

weight loss sabotage

The holidays are evil. Let me put that out there. I have successfully maintained my weight loss since around April. This may change after this week. I recently scanned my mothers kitchen. On top of the typical Thanksgiving feast, we will also be having chicken wings (no, Jon, you cannot have ALL of them), two pumpkin pies, a pumpkin/cream cheese cake, an Almond Joy cake (I will be hiding that one in my room...), a chocolate fudge pie, various dips, chips, sauces; cresent rolls wrapped in cheese and bacon, and so many more things I can't even keep track of. Ugh, my pants are getting tight as we speak. When I finally come back to work next week, no one will recognize me. No-must keep my focus. I will repeat this mantra "you will not eat like a pig, you have to fit into the bridesmaid dress you ordered that will be arriving in January, you must say no". Repeat.

Does everyone like the quiz I sent?

Has everyone checked their email? It's quiz time again! Stormy started this one, I swear. It's good, clean fun. My sister responded and noted she is a government worker and it's the day before a holiday, therefore, it is totally PC that she is checking her personal email on company time. I couldn't agree more.....she also publicly admitted that she cheats at Clue. Admitting it is the first step sister dear!

Well, on this very special day, good ol' Val (aka mom) has me.....BAKING. Uh, baking? Does she know me? Not only that, but she has me baking FOUR pies/cakes. What? I'm afraid I'm gonna get dad's yearly accusation of "you ruined Thanksgiving". Usually, this accusation is directed at Red in some sort of way (she gets to ruin every holiday in one way or another-long running family joke!). This year, I may really ruin it if those pumpkin pies don't turn out right. I'm feeling the pressure....I haven't entered the kitchen yet. I must finish watching All My Children first. Priorities, people. Priorities.

Hope the Ivory Tiger show tonight is a great one! Half the family will be there. Tim and I will be here in Salem, we'll have a beer in honor of the band!

The lucky Jew game

Please don't take offense to the title-my family is part Jewish, I would never make fun of them on purpose. That being said, every year my family and I do play what has affectionately been titled "The Lucky Jew Game". The rest of you may know this game by it's other, more common name-Yahtzee.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we inevitable have a family game night (last year it was poker and my sister and I learned just how bad we are at that game), and at some point we end up playing Yahtzee. One year, we were all gathered around the dining room table set for some fine family fun. My mom was on a roll that particular game. She was rolling double Yahtzees, if she needed a straight, she rolled one, if she needed "6's", she rolled that. Well, after her 2nd Yahtzee in a row, my dad yells "you lucky Jew". And my mom says (sarcastically, of course), "oh yea, my people were really lucky". We laughed and laughed, especially because dad continued to say it (he would also roll the dice and say "come on, papa needs a new pair of shoes"). Ever since then, the game has been known as the Lucky Jew game. Guess you had to be there.

This year, we will be incorporating both Go Fish and The 80's game. They are new to our game repetoir, joining Yahtzee and Uno. Speaking of Uno, that can be one vicious game! Every year my little cousin Rachel has won just about every time. Last weekend, I boldly said to her "you're going down in the Uno tournament this year Battocletti". She was like "uh yea, right. I'm gonna win". Sadly, I know it's true. That 12 year old will take the Uno crown again this year.

I will have to post the results of game night. It's gonna be some stiff competition. I can't wait. BRING IT ON PEOPLE!!!!

There's no place like home

Here I am, in the big town of Salem. It's good to be home. I had lunch with my mom at the new Taco Bell/KFC, it was good times. As I pulled into my parents driveway, I was greeted at my car door by Stubby and Hank. They were quite excited to see a human and began jumping on me before I could even get out of the car. Their little paws were wet, which leads me to believe they had been playing in the pond earlier. Anyway, Stubby is now sprawled out on dad's chair, laying her head on the pillow like she's a person. Poor Hank, he's just outside laying in the yard. He did talk to me though, in his "dog talk". I'm sure he doesn't understand why he doesn't get to come in the house but Princess Stubby does.

Mom already has the Christmas tree up with wrapped presents underneath. Man, that woman works fast! The house is decorated throughout, the porch is even decorated! Tonight we will have one, of what I am sure will be many, trips to Wal-Mart. It's very exciting.

I wish I was going to the Ivory Tiger show at Humphrey's tomorrow night. I know the Batto clan is gonna be there, not to mention Cute Boy. Aunt Mary-if you see a cute boy, short hair, lots of tattoos, usually hangs backstage or with the band-tell him I said HI! I am a shameless, shameless flirt. Oh well, I will catch them on the flipside. I'm thinking of becoming an Eddie's groupie.....

I found an apartment!!!

I am so excited! I saw an apartment yesterday that I just fell in love with. I'm mailing my deposit today. It's in the area I wanted and there is a park with a lake right across the street. It is second floor, makes me feel a bit safer. When you walk in the door, you walk up a curved stair case to the living room. The living room has a huge window overlooking the park, and a huge walk in closet to the side. The kitchen is nicer than the other kitchens I have seen, the cabinets are even updated. There are four huge closets, plenty of room for my crap. The landlords are a nice older couple who do things simply: if we like you, you move it. If you pay your rent, you stay. If you don't, we kick you out. I like it!

Are dogs supposed to eat Jolly Ranchers?

Well, Chloe did. Grape. She seemed to like it. I'll admit, she is grating on my nerves today. Woke me up around 3am and got me out of bed nearly two hours before I usually do. I'M ON VACATION DAMMIT!!!!! When I freed her from the basement today, I noticed she had tried to chew off her leash. Don't know why her leash was still on her (I'm guessing she was grating on Red and Jon's nerves too), but there are definite chew marks on it now. I tried to get the Jolly Rancher away from her, but she resisted. She laid in the floor and crunched it up, wrapper and all. She is a monster.

My ears are still ringing...

SUCH good times last night! Ivory Tiger rules! And, I believe it was the general consensus of all I talked to that they were better than Warrant! That's right, I said it! The new lead singer of Warrant is......scary. I WANT JANI LANE!!!!! What a fun evening. Ivory Tiger did their set first, complete with their very own groupies! My friend Carrie's husband told me he wanted to marry Ivory Tiger (He was pretty drunk when he said that, but I think he may have been serious....). By the time Warrant came on, I could no longer hear anything.

I saw Jon Bounds there! He is a good ol' Salem High School alum. His brother Benji was there too and his wife-they are in a band here in St. Louis too-Slapdragon, I believe they are called. Anyway, Jon looked hot, too bad he's married......I had my chance in high school! I remember what finally drove me to break up with him was his obsession with Def Leppard...oh, the irony.

Karen, how was going to work at 8am? You were cracking me up last night girl! I had so much fun with you. And thank your darling husband for trying so hard to hook me up! :) We had so much fun just dancing and singing. Uncle Jimmy was rockin the guitar. The band was totally in a groove last night. IVORY TIGER ROCKS!

The best part was before the show. Us girls went in together and got Robyn a Warrant/Cherry Pie t-shirt for her birthday. Then after the show.....we got the band to autograph it. It was the coolest thing ever! I'm still laughing thinking about it....

The people-watching at Stratford Inn/Ballroom is unlike any other. My friends and I were definitely the hottest chicks there. Unless you count the lady wearing flame pasties......I did have to tell one dude with a mullet and a do-rag tied around his head to not touch me. I was feeling my head because I was running a fever prior to the show (like that was gonna stop me from going!) and do-rag guy decided he would feel my head too...uh, no buddy, I don't dig strangers touching me. Especially strangers with mullets....

Uncle Jimmy!!! Uncle Jimmy!!!

That's what the crowd will be chanting a little bit later tonight (at least my crowd will be). Tonight is the night! Ivory Tiger and Warrant, baby! I've got my Bud Light cans chillin' in the fridge as we speak. The show doesn't even start till 9:00, so I have approximately nine hours to kill.....

Thus far, my vacation has consisted of shopping....and getting my hair done. I got the best hair cut ever. It's quite sassy, which given it's on my head, seems pretty appropriate. I love it. Going to do some more errands today. Can't spend all my money though, between getting new brakes and possibly paying a deposit on an apartment, money is a bit tight right now. Not to mention Christmas is right around the corner....

Jon, Red and I have survived (barely) the week without sleep, thanks to Miss Chloe. All three of us seem to be fighting some sort of cold-like thing which happens when you haven't slept and your immune system is compromised (right Red? I pay attention to your Miss Health Department lectures!). All three of us still love Chloe thought and are spoiling her rotten with toys. She LOVES stuffed animals. She ignores the rest of her toys and carries around her stuffed ones all over the house. She is quite funny. Last night she jumped on my sisters lap, even though she is not allowed on the furniture. Red and I laughed as she tried to get down-her front paws were on the ground, but her rear ones were still on Red's lap. We laughed till we cried. It was good times.....

The countdown is on...

Two days until the big concert! The excitement is mounting! I can't wait! Big hair, hoosiers and beer in a can-whats not to like?

Saw an apartment today. It was totally retro and I loved it! I filled out the application, so we will see if they want me. I'm hoping my boss will give me a good character reference (remember how I bring you Diet Coke almost every day Chris??????).

Chloe and I have been hanging out all day. She loves her stuffed rabbit (at least I think its a rabbit). She carried it upstairs and brought it to me while I was typing. She is quite content as long as one of her human's is within eyesight. She went poopy for me today which was quite exciting. The pooper scooper they got is quite a contraption. I'm not sure if I was working it right, but the poop got cleaned up and disposed of properly.

I must go now. I have to "cook" something for Book Club. I am making green bean casserole, and it does go in the oven, so technically, I AM cooking....

Free at last...

It may sound like I don't like my job, but that is not the case. I actually really like it (most of the time). However, I am about to be off for 10 days, and who doesn't like time off? I'm not doing anything exciting, just hanging out and hopefully relaxing a bit. I have my Book Club tomorrow, getting my roots covered/hair cut on Friday, the big Ivory Tiger/Warrant concert is Saturday; I'll probably go to church and see Grandpa on Sunday, maybe Monday I'll go shopping and Tuesday I will be leaving for Salem where I will stay until the following Sunday. Sounds good to me.
Hopefully some time in there I will go see some apartments and start to get an ETA of when I'll be back out on my own! I have enjoyed living with Red and Jon, but haven't lived by myself in 3 1/2 years. I miss it. I actually never got lonely-I really crave the independence and freedom living by yourself brings. Red and I have already discussed the fact that we will have to have at least monthly Sister Shopping Saturday's. It's imperative. Maybe I'll dog-sit Chloe every now and again (ONLY if she stops that whining bit!). Things will be good.
Red informed me we have a ship date for our bridesmaid dresses-January. Perfect timing! What if we gain weight over the holidays like so many people do? What then? Can they take out the dress a few inches? Must watch my fruitcake intake carefully between now and then....

Happy Birthday Deven!

Today is my friend Deven's birthday. Happy Birthday D (or as he was briefly known-D Mac). Deven lives in Jeff City with his lovely wife Mandy. I miss him tons, actually haven't seen him since their wedding a year and a half ago. Deven is from my college group of friends, its funny that we don't see each other often (even those of us that live in St. Louis), but we are all still great friends, and if we got together today, it would be like we see each other all the time. I love those people!

Have a great birthday Deven!

Having a dog is hard work

Sure, they're cute, but having a dog in the house is harder than I thought. Chloe is lucky I already love her, because last night, thoughts of killing her went through my head. Ok, not serious homicidal ideation, but imagine her WHINING all night long. And I mean ALL NIGHT. Around 1:00am, I finally couldn't take it anymore and went down to see what the fuss was about. Now, I know the whining is just attention seeking behavior, still, I wanted to make sure she didn't have to "go potty" or something. As soon as I opened the door, she shot out like a bullet. She ran two flights of stairs to the upstairs and started clawing on Jon's bedroom door. She LOVES him! I HATE him, because he was able to sleep through all that (I am so jealous-I wish I was a deep sleeper!). My sister and I, however, heard every whine (I even heard barking), all night long. I just talked to my sister. We're both pretty sleepy, probably cranky, and litle miss Chloe? She is passed out on the floor next to me as I write. She's perfectly content as long as one of her humans is around. I took her outside for a walk this morning hoping to use up some of that energy. She likes to chase leaves and stands at full attention when she sees another human outside. I won't even get into the excited "dribble" of pee I found on the kitchen floor today. Again, she's lucky she's cute......

Where is Stephen when you need him?

To put it bluntly, tonight was the NIGHT FROM HELL at work. At last count we had called the cops six times....this may not sound like a lot considering it's the crisis line, but trust me, it is. My faith in the St. Louis City PD continues to dwindle. They just don't impress me at all.

I have a pounding headache, have eaten nothing but a few bits of South Beach Diet cereal, and am all the more glad that tomorrow is my last day for 10 days. Today was one of those days where you just have to throw up your hands, a day where you either laugh or cry (or do both, whatever).

At the end of the day, I know we have done all we can do to help people. We cannot control the other agencies we come in contact with, cannot make them do what we think they should be doing to ensure safety. As long as I can leave work knowing we did all that we could, I feel ok about it...I am hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day. Plus Stephen will be in.....

Pujols is MVP!!!

All is right with the world. Albert Pujols has been named NL MVP. Congrats to him! My boy Derek Lee finished 3rd-not too shabby! Congrats to him as well!

Fellow Missourians, be careful out there! The weather is crazy today! My car was swerving all over the highway and I swear when I was getting gas the wind picked me up. There were rumors up here that tornadoes had touched down in Southern Mo; we feared our parents were dead. I just talked to my mom, she is alive and well and working her butt off at the bank. Those newspeople overreact!

Happy Birthday JP!

Just want to wish John a very happy birthday today! I know it is hard being away from your family and friends, but hang in there, you will be home soon! We are taking good care of Heidi for you, we're working her like a dog! :)

Take care, have a great birthday, we'll see you next month!

Out of the blue....

I got a call from an old friend tonight who I haven't talked to in a year and a half. We'll call this friend C. C and I worked together about 6 years ago and became fast friends. Truthfully, I had a major crush on C and would make excuses to go by his office (why the hell else would I need to go to the accountants office 6x a day?). I think C was diggin me too, so we had this flirtation thing going on. Fast forward to me leaving that job-we began hanging out outside of work periodically, I was finally honest about my feelings and C admitted the same...we sorta dated a bit, then didn't talk for a while, I don't know who stopped taking to whom-this has been our pattern...then a couple of years ago C calls and tells me he moved to NYC...a couple of months after that, C was back in St. Louis, we started hanging out, he pursued me, we dated for a bit, that is, until I freaked out-and this time, it was me that stopped calling....fast forward again to today. Today was the first time I have heard from C since then. I truly never expected to hear from him again as the way things ended last time were not good-I broke his heart, he was pretty pissed at me, and rightfully so-I was always the one pursuing him, now he was pursuing me and I rejected him. Tonight, talking to C was just like we had talked yesterday-we have such great rapport, laughing, joking, conversation was never a problem. We make awesome friends, I just don't think we were meant to date. Anyway, he suggested we "get together" sometime for drinks, I'm hoping some old patterns do not repeat themselves....he is really cute tho.....

Trivia Night=Good Times!

Man, trivia night was awesome! There were 24 tables of approximately 10 people each. The theme-80's and 90's. Got it in the bag, right? I was happy with our table-a good variety of ages (roughly late 20's to late 30's). I figured we had a good shot. After all, I have been faithfully watching I Love The 80's 3D and listening to Y98's 80's flashbacks every weekend.

We dubbed our team "Team Ninja Pony", as Shannon was gracious enough to bring us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and My Little Pony stickers. We got extra points for dressing up 80's style. I sported the fake pearls, tons of bracelets, and collared shirt (with the collar up, duh!). Karen sported the sideways ponytail, ripped t-shirt (Flashdance-style) complete with wrist and head bands. Shannon sported the big hair (complete with "wings"), blue eyeshadow, tight rolled jeans and her cheerleading jacket. Our table was decorated with a Rainbow Bright doll, a Smurf poster, and a Pound Puppy (this and the dressing up scored us 8 extra points!).

Some of the categories were tough, I ain't gonna lie. "National Sports"? What? And "Books that became movies". Uh, right......We totally rocked on "Family Sitcoms" (I knew my late nights of watching Roseanne, Who's the Boss and The Cosby Show would come in handy someday! And I totally knew who sang the Dukes of Hazzard theme song!), "Childhood Cereals" (the cereal was in a baggie, you had to name it-we got 10 out of 10. I know my Fruity Pebbles, ok???), "Children's Television"-yes, I knew that Alanis Morrisette was on Nickelodeon's "You Can't Do That On Television"! (remember Red?). I nearly pulled off the answer to the question "What was He Man's real name?"....I knew it was Prince something....Grayskull? No, that was the castle....the answer was Prince Adam! SOOO close. Also-can YOU name all 4 of the Ninja Turtles? Donatello, Leonardo, Rafael and Michealangelo! Woo hoo! We also rocked on "Name That Tune" (hell yea, I know myself some Faith No More and Hootie and the Blowfish!) and we got 10 out of 10 on "Game Shows" (take that, Chuck Woolery.... "hey Richard Dawson, get back behind your podium where you belong"-what movie was that from?). "CD covers" sucked-do YOU know what the cover of U2's "Zooropa" CD looks like? Me either. I did, however get Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" correct.

There were prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and last. We knew the table next to us was gonna be last-it was full of old people who got 0 out of 10 on Name That Tune ( I really wasn't expecting them to recognize "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground). They were good sports about it though! My team finished a very respectable 7th out of 24. Not too shabby! I knew all my useless knowledge would come in handy some day.......

New poll

Check out the new poll!

I'm an aunt!!!

No, my sister is not knocked up. She and Jon adopted a dog today. I went with them-it was just supposed to be a nice little trip to the APA to see all the poor doggies (all three of us had been entertaining the idea of getting one), however, as soon as Red saw Chloe, she was in love. Chloe is a 7 month old German Shepard/Collie mix. She is brown and black and totally adorable....and she LOVES Jon! She will definitely be a daddy's girl. My niece will be spoiled by her Auntie Kerri, thats for sure. She didn't get to come home with us because she needs to be, um, "altered". She will be ready to come home on Monday. We realized they were gonna need tons of dog supplies, so off to Target and PetsMart we went. Chloe will be well taken care of, that's for sure. I'm studying up on how to crate train right now.....

Goodwill

My sister and I decided today that we needed to, um...dress the part at next weekends Ivory Tiger show, so we headed down to our local Goodwill in search of rock and roll t-shirts (the tighter the better). We didn't exactly find what we were looking for, but we did laugh a lot. What we DID find may be even better than we thought-I pulled out the Hilary Duff 2004 Tour t-shirt and my sister pulled out N-Sync...we laughed and laughed and laughed. Especially when we found a Tim McGraw t-shirt for Jon....I don't think he wants to wear it.....I am off to other area Goodwill's tomorrow in search of better material, after all, they were only $2 a piece!

The worst team in hockey is....

Our very own St. Louis Blues! Coming into today at 2-10-3, they are sitting in the basement of the Central. Man, Tim and I were just joking about them only getting 15 points this season...now, it's not so funny. Canada, enter any insult you'd like here: _________________. This isn't cute like it is when the Cubs lose. They are not doing much to win their fans back, that's for sure. Is it too late to become a fan of the Oil (as in the Edmonton Oilers)? How bout the Hartford Whalers? Oh wait........

Isn't Moose Jaw your Salem?

Surely Canada has a "Salem-esque" town....how bout Moose Jaw? I've never been there, but it can't be too exciting there....And yes, sadly the Tower Inn is no more. No, wait, that's not entirely true. Actually about 4-5 floors of the great Tower still stand. It's gutted of course, and is quite an eye sore standing right at the 4-way stop. Rumor has it, it will be turned into office space as well as apartments. This rumor has been swirling for nearly 2 years, so we shall see. It's quite white trash looking right now....

Who's ready for Trivia Night? Such good times! It's a night where people get to fully realize they don't know jack....a real self-esteem booster. Especially since my darling friend Shannon has already reminded me and a couple of other friends that we are a part of Team Short-bus. NOT a compliment....of course there is a story behind that. A couple of years ago, we had a slumber party at my friend Krista's house (yes, adults can still have slumber parties!) and we played the board game Cranium. We divided into teams, and lets' just say, my team didn't do so hot (example-Krista had to sing a song and we had to say who the artist was. She began to belt out "What A Wonderful World" and Maggie yells out "Neil Armstrong!". Well, actually its LOUIE Armstrong, Neil being the astronaut, of course, thus Team Short-bus was born.) We have never lived it down.....

It's my last night of work this week...hope its a good one....then only 4 more working days till vacation (can you tell I'm excited?)

One week til vacation!

Six more working days and I am then off for a week and a half! How exciting! Not that I'm doing anything exciting, the prospect of doing nothing is exciting to me....I will be spending a lot of time in Salem with the fam (Canada, I'll tell the big Conoco you said hi!) during Thanksgiving week. I so look forward to that. Thanksgiving is always a good time at the Davidson household. From dad burying the turkey carcas in the woods (long story), to Jon breaking his ankle during the Annual Men's Football Game in the front yard, Thanksgiving is never boring. I love it, helping mom prepare some of the food the night before, putting up the Christmas decorations (a tradition), spending time w/mom and dad and Timbo, as well as the cousins and aunts/uncles that come down to visit, it's always fun. And I do have Book Club with my friends and Ivory Tiger/Warrant next week to look forward to as well.....

This Saturday is Trivia Night. I pose a question to you all-If you study for Trivia Night, is that cheating? I've received mixed answers to this one. Krista found a fab web site that has 80's trivia on it (our Trivia Night theme is the 80's and 90's). Most people in my age group remember the tail end of the 80's, so I figure a little studying isn't such a bad thing. Come on, you think we're the only group studying? Trivia Night is ultra competitive! It's every man for himself! One of the subjects is album covers, so, as soon as I see that close up of a man's ass with the American flag in the background, I will be able to yell out "Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA", and my team will be soooo proud......

Dating-a strange phenomenon

Dating is a weird, weird thing to me. Even if you are not a game player, there is still game playing going on. Trying to figure each other out, trying to decide "do I really like this person?" or "do I only want certain things from this person?" (fill in the blanks there). Sometimes, I feel too old for this, dating is hard work, but I realize, if I ever plan on getting married, well, I kinda got to date first (not that marriage is an absolute for me, and I really think I'd be fine without it). I'm in the midst of the dating game right now. As I told my girls-we are currently at the pivotal point-either this guy likes me for me or he is only after one thing. The ball is in his court now-if he calls, I'll know he likes me as a person, if he doesn't...well, I'll know what he was after all along. I am ok with it either way. Life is too short to worry about such things. Besides, there's always those creepy, leering old dudes at Gitto's.....Everyone knows I'm saving myself for Canada anyway! :)

RENT?

Anyone interested in going to see RENT with me when it comes to theatres? If you have never seen it before, you should. I was lucky enough to get to see the play on Broadway in NYC a couple of years ago. I fell in love with it. The best part was the little old couple in front of us leaving at the intermission-I think they were offended by it (ok, so there are a lot of references to sex, drugs, AIDS, and "alternative lifestyles"). I also got to see it again in St. Louis when the show came through. Now its a movie. Even if you don't like the premise, you must see it anyway-HELLO??? Taye Diggs is in it!!!! I believe it opens the week of Thanksgiving. Did you know that Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye) was the original "Angel" in the play? I soooo can't wait to see the movie!

I wonder what my team thinks of me....

I supervise a team of 16 at work. I often wonder what they think of me as their supervisor. Half of them I am friends with outside of work (as we were friends long before I became their supervisor). Today one of them told me I needed some Ritalin...ok, so I can be a bit hyperactive at times...I really want to try to make work fun. The crisis line can be the most stressful place on Earth (as you can probably imagine), so, I try to lighten the mood, crack some jokes, tell my staff about my latest adventures, stuff like that. My guess is that they are thinking a combination of "what the hell is wrong with her?" and "why do I have to be on her team?". Well, Team Sunday rules! We have a very tight, close-nit little group. We had to band together when Heidi and John left as they were both very integral parts of the team. Everyone just kinda takes care of each other-I like that. My team really makes me enjoy my job. That, and the nights I work with Stephen. We are very immature, but boy do we laugh a lot! Laughter makes the world go round. That, and creepy, leering, bar guys....

Karaoke-a study in human behavior

What an interesting phenomenon karaoke is. Seemingly mild-mannered people all of a sudden become Diana Ross, or Garth Brooks, or the chick that sings "I Will Survive". It's the chance for the truly talentless to shine. Everyone around them is drunk, so no one cares. My favorite karaoke experience took place in some random bar in Columbia, MO and it involved my dear friend Canada. Now, Canada was/is a big Police fan so, he decided to sing "Roxanne". If anyone knows the song, you know that Sting hits some pretty high notes. Well, Canada being Canada, he, uh...hit the notes too. It was so horrible that everyone in the bar was cheering for the horribleness. It was awesome. That, and we signed Deven up to sing a New Kids on the Block song.....Last nights karaoke experience was an interesting one. Shannon was cracking me up with her signature dance moves, all of us were singing into our beer bottles and we even got up to belt out "YMCA" and helped Denise with "I Will Survive". Then....there were the random dudes hitting on me. Ever since I dropped 20 pounds.....I have been hit on more this year that in the rest of my life total. I really shouldn't complain, but I also don't know what to do with it. I get all embarrassed. This one dude last night was at least 45-he wanted to dance and I was like "uh, we're getting ready to leave". That wasn't a total lie....we left about 20 minutes later....There was some other dude that kept dancing behind me, the look on my face was pure horror, Sarah was cracking up at me...oh yea, and there was another old dude-you know the type-stands in the corner, leering, is probably an alcoholic and is hoping, maybe, just maybe, tonight will be the night that some young thing will talk to him....He asked me my name and tried to grab my hand...Not so much dude. The song "My Humps" started going thru my head, you know the line "don't pull on my hand boy, you ain't my man boy". I really just wanted a night to be with some of my girls and hang, ya know? I wasn't out man-hunting. But if I ever am, I know where to go...

HEIDI-your dude was there!!! You know, the old guy with the toupee? The one who called you a "witch"? His name is Mikey, I found out. He didn't sing the witch song, but he sang plenty of other Frank Sinatra-esque songs. Reminded me of that night when he sang to you and you were like "uh, I need a shot". I ran to the bar and took care of you.....

Nature

Sometimes the beauty of Missouri escapes me. Today, I decided to recapture it and I took advantage of the beautiful scenery we have right here in our backyards. I drove around a local park today, taking pictures and just pulling my car over and listening to...NOTHING. The quiet of the woods, the leaves falling. There are still some beautiful leaves out-yellows, oranges and bright reds. They won't be around much longer as winter will settle in soon. And did I mention the elk and buffalo? Oh yea...right up to your car. They were amazing, truly. Just hanging out, eating grass, tearing the bark off trees. There were babies and an adult elk with big freakin antlers. He must have been the leader of the pack. I wonder if they were thinking "what the hell are you looking at?" as all the humans drove by in their cars, snapping pictures of these animals in their natural habitat. A sign to the right stated "bison mating season. proceed with caution". I was thinking in my head that I really hoped I didn't have to actually witness bison mating, so I did what the sign said and I proceeded with caution. Buffalo are cool. They are so huge. One was sticking it's tongue out. I'm sure that was a big "F you" to the humans....

Crying 2

Uh yea......cried at the mall today when they began playing "Lady In Red". The fam knows what I'm talking about.....

Crying

I never was the kind of gal that cried. Hallmark commercials didn't get me, funerals didn't touch me. I cried privately at times, but even that was a rarity and usually when I was really pissed off about something. Nowadays, however, I cry at anything. Now, I'm not talkin the "I'm depressed and can't go on" crying. No, I'm talking "I can't get through 3 minutes of Three Wishes without the tears flowin" crying. I can't watch A Baby Story, A Wedding Story, or even Ryne Sandberg's(formerly of the Cubs) retirement celebration at Wrigley without crying. I've even been known to cry at All My Children, reading greeting cards, and reading emails from various people. Yes, its official, I am a SAP.

What got me today? See page C3 of the West County Suburban Journal. That's right, my sister's engagement announcement is in there. Now, I've seen the picture before (very good, by the way, Red and Jon look fantastic!) and knew the announcement was coming, but still, as soon as I saw it there and read the words, I cried. I was even crying after reading the OTHER PEOPLE'S announcements-I DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM!!! If I'm this bad now, how in the HELL am I gonna get through the wedding? People-start gathering your water-proof mascara now!!!! I am gonna be one big, bubbling idiot. Sister-I'm sorry in advance. You know us Davidsons are NOT pretty cry-ers!!!

Do you have YOUR Warrant/Ivory Tiger ticket yet?

Get to ordering people! It was $17.25 with tax. I'm receiving word from lots of folks that they are going. I can't wait. Did I mention that Ivory Tiger will be playing again later that night? It's double your Ivory Tiger fun! By the way, you can catch Ivory Tiger on a lot of Wednesday nights at Humphreys (the SLU bar)...hey, I could be your promo gal, guys! Do I get a free "I love Ivory Tiger" t-shirt????

Well, I'm off to do what any other self-respecting gal would do on her day off...I'm going shopping. Bye!

WTF?

What kind of world do we live in where someone can make homicidal threats to kill people and the local police elect to not do anything about it? It amazes me that this can happen, but does not surprise me. At the end of the day, all I can do is have the knowledge that I did everything in my power to ensure safety. The above referenced situation still bothers me, I hate cases without resolution, I will have to work through this. What an ending to an otherwise good week.

Welcome to my blog Shauna! You voyeur, you! :) You must register and join the fun. Such a cathartic experience. I realize no one really cares what I think. But if any small bit of my rambling entertains others, then by all means....read on! It makes me feel better to have an outlet.

HEIDI'S BACK!!!! I am so happy! I can't wait to work with ya again, but also hope we can get together outside of work, you know, especially since I'm not your "supervisor" anymore! :)

My work week is over, let the weekend begin. Another weekend with the place to myself as Red and Jon are heading to Perryville for a wedding-have fun! I swear to God I am going to clean my room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's really happening

The invitations for my sisters wedding came in this week. This has made the wedding all the more real to me. It's really happening! And soon! Less than 5 months now! The realization that my baby sister is going to be a married woman soon hit me hard. Wow. The fact that she is marrying a great guy helps. She found the perfect person for her. All I ever wanted for my sister was someone who would adore her-she found it. Jon will be a great husband, father, brother-in-law, friend. If you think I'm sappy now, just wait until that maid of honor speech! Robert can do funny, I'll do sappy! I truly cannot wait for her big day. It's going to be beautiful, she will be beautiful. Let's just pray for no rain (which is always a crapshoot in April).....Davidson/Baumgart Wedding 2006 is gonna kick ass (watch those Baumgartner women-they know how to party!!!)!!!

What? No Crisis Counselor?

I can't believe no one has chosen "crisis counselor" as my dream job. Just can't believe it.....
I'm gonna have to come up with some new poll questions. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
My co-worker Stephen showed me some pics of his kids today. They are three of the cutest children I have ever seen! Adorable! And I'm sure they have their father's charm.....:)

Only one more day of work this week. Went by fast! Geez! Tomorrow we play host to a former FBI agent.....that should be fun!

Anyone have big weekend plans? Amy and I and some of our other friends are finally gonna hang. It's been too long! Of course, hanging out with Amy usually gets me into some sort of trouble.....thats why I love her!

Cow Crap Capital of the USA

Lizzard-I didn't know you moved back to Salem! :)

Hmmm....come to Texas and visit-that could be a good idea....I am off starting the Thursday before Thanksgiving...I DO have time to spare say Sun-Wed.....let's talk! LOVED the pics of your kids. They are so cute! When did they get so big? Good Lord, we're getting old! Where in TX are you now? Are you sure you can handle me? Are you coming home at all for the holidays or staying in cow crap?

Ivory Tiger/Warrant

I have invited just about everyone I know. I think my boss is even gonna go. It's huge. I was talking about it at work today with one of the newbies, who looked at me and said "I'm going to see Quiet Riot this weekend". I was like "really, cool, then you'd like Ivory Tiger". He looked at me again and said "I was joking". Oh......

November already?

Where has 2005 gone? I can't believe it is November already. I swear I missed a few months somewhere....today was a pretty good day. Having to do more training of new employees at work-seems to be a daily thing. Luckily these two trainees are pretty smart-they'll be easy to train. My motivation is knowing I have a vacation coming up-10 glorious days of doing NOTHING! I can't wait....

Mom asked for my Christmas list. Isn't it cute that even though her kids are all in their 20's (and some of us about to leave our 20's....), she still makes us give her a Christmas list? Of course, I can't remember what I did an hour ago, much less be able to think of things I may want. The truth is, I don't really need anything. I truly love the holidays for the meanings behind them, and the fact that I get to spend time with my family. Thats what makes my memories good ones-time with my fam, not the gifts. Cheezy, but true.

Happy Anniversary Eric! One year-I am so proud of you!

JP-hang in there. I know its tough being out there by yourself right now. Hang tight, study hard, you'll be home before you know it! We will all have to get together when you come back to the STL. Tell that wife of yours to call me!

Happy Halloween!

What a crappy day in St. Louis! It's cold and rainy. Hope the poor kids get their trick or treating in! I, on the otherhand, have to go to work. We are supposed to be dressing up. I'm still lacking energy from not sleeping Sat night, not really feelin it anymore. Maybe I'll wear orange-that'll be fine. I totally slept like 12 hours last night and still feel like it's not enough. I cannot even tell you the last time I was asleep before midnight. I was last nite tho!

I am soooooooo glad that my sis is ok (she knows what I'm talking about). I see things like that, and the fact that baby Nicholas is doing ok, and I know that the power of prayer works! Now if we could just hear about mom.....

Well, here's to a good week. Tomorrow is a very important day in my friend Eric's life. Eric-if you are reading this, I want you to know how very proud I am of you. You are stronger than you'll ever know! I love ya and miss you tons! :)

I'm too old for this....

Yes, Halloween is my favorite time of the year to go out. Nothing like being in the CWE w/all the freaks! I love it! Last night was no exception. Us gals were lookin HOT! Val, that blond wig you gave me did the trick-I was totally lookin like Jan Brady. That thing was itchy tho....and WTF? Me drinking cosmos? Who do I think I am, Sarah Jessica Parker? What a night.....Thanks to my girls Val and Rob for looking out for me last night, doing some screenings to make sure that any potential suitors were acceptable.....we found one! My theory, however, is that guys that are seemingly nice, and dare I say, normal have got to be hiding something...I can't trust it.....it was the blond wig that was attractin' em....sure as hell wasn't that Doors t-shirt! As usual, Jimmy looked freakin scary as hell! We missed our girls Ern and Carrie-it wasn't the same w/out the five of us! :(

I am soooooooo freakin tired today! Lack of sleep will do that to ya! It didn't help that I had to be in to work at noon and it was freakin crazy for the first 3 hours....thank God it calmed down later. I was NOT in the mood for crazy.....

Is is true? Is Heidi back in the States? Call me! Let's get together soon! :)

Ivory Tiger ROCKS!

Mark your calendars people! Ivory Tiger is opening for Warrant on Saturday, November 19. It is a MUST SEE. It's been a while since we've had an Ivory Tiger outing. I can't wait! Who's with me?

Why do I have "Mr Roboto" in my head?

Such random things float through my head sometimes....ok, all the time. "Mr Roboto" is in my head tho and I don't know why....

Ok, so the Blues totally suck. Canada, I got nothin. I can't even talk smack a little bit. It's really taking the fun out of it for me...they are currently 2-5-2. The only good thing they got goin on is that hot goalie (hot as in good looking, not hot as in good), Patrick LaLime. I will take two of him, please. To go.

So, tonight we went to this awesome bar with a tin can theme. Every beer sold there came in a tin can. Of course, all the girls stuck to Bud Light (except for my sister who decided drinking Nat Light all night would be a good idea), while the boys decided to get creative. I saw Schlitz, Old Style, Amstel, Corona, lots of Foster's and some Colt 45. Nice. My sister drank hers with a straw. She also started lip syncing "Black" by Pearl Jam with one of the dinner knives. We had to take it away from her for everyone's safety... It really was a cool place. We got to watch the Blues game ("got to" really is misleading. It was more like we had no choice because that's what was on). Hey Canada-we had a Canadian with us! She's from Toronto though and loves her Leafs! Apparently she hates Patrick LaLime because he used to be Ottawa's goalie-I didn't know there was such a fierce rivalry between Toronto and Ottawa...those Canadians mean business! I told her that if I had to pick a Canadian team, I'd have to go with Vancouver (no, not because my beloved Canada lives there),because I have a mad crush on Markus Naslund...Canada, remember driving me by their arena so I could get a picture of him? I'm a dork.

Tomorrow I am having lunch with all my aunts (and a couple of the girl cousins too). We started this a couple of months back. It's really fun. I love hanging with the fam. I miss out on so much working nights and Sundays, they are kind enough to schedule our luncheons on Saturdays so I can go. I wish my mom and sister were gonna be there, but instead Red and Jon will be in Salem w/mom and dad. At least they get to see Stubby the Wonderdog and Hank the Not-So-Smartdog. I'm jealous...can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving.

Well, I have 7 hours left of being on call and then am free from this phone for another 6 weeks. It's funny that just because you carry the oncall phone people think you will automatically know the answer to whatever they ask. Don't they know I'm making this up as I go along????

Check out my new mini poll..

Stop it you pervs, there really is a mini poll.....located at the bottom of my blog...Thanks Stephen for introducing me to bravenet...now I have found all kinds of crap to add to the blog. Don't ask why my background has been changed to black...it has to do with me being an idiot and not knowing how to do links, then trying on my own and screwing it up. I finally have it all right (I think) and will not mess with it again....

Oh, yea, I forgot to comment on the World Series....SO glad Houston lost (sorry to their like, 20-30 fans). And I'm really happy for the city of Chicago. God knows the Cubs were never gonna give that city a title, so I'm glad the White Sox did...Now, call me delusional, but the White Sox winning gives me renewed hope. They ended a, what, 88 year old skid? The Red Sox last year ended their curse....so, maybe, just maybe, there is hope for my Cubs???? I know, I know....they are historically the crappiest team in baseball, but I, and the rest of the Cubs faithful, will never give up hope. And I am waiting patiently for April-the Cubs will be on year 98 without winning the World Series...

Freaky Friday

I don't really know what that means, but it is the friday of Halloween weekend. I love it! Halloween is my favorite time of the year. The day when you can be a total freak and its ok! I really wish all my girls were gonna be together this year, but poor Carrie is still stuck in Mexico (or as we are now referring to it-"Mexi-hell, Hellexico") and poor Erin has to go home to Iowa and participate in putting the family dog to sleep. Ern, I know how you feel. I was crushed when our beloved Spaz passed away in February. Thank God at least Blossom will be at peace. Poor Spaz was hit by the trash truck....

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Christi. She is the big 3-0 today. Good Lord. I remember meeting her our freshman year of college-just 18 years old. Babies. Has it really been 12 years? Christi and I have laughed together, cried together and drank lots of alcohol together. I remember when we took her to Dent County and let her ride on a real tractor and she thought those little green things on the ground were apples (they were actually walnuts), she also got to see her first skinned deer hanging in Stormy's dads garage. I remember going out with her to buy liquor for the boys because she and I were the only ones who were 21. I remember walking through the streets of New Orleans on spring break, completely wasted, singing, and having the best time of our lives. I also remember Christi acting completely selfless and driving me to St. Louis when my grandmother was dying (because I didn't have a car at the time), she then drove back to Warrensburg (a 4 hour drive) and back to St. Louis that next weekend to take me back. That is a great friend. And though since then she and I have had some ups and downs, we are back to "ups" and I love her dearly. So, happy 30th girl, give me hope that I can live through it when its my turn in Feb!

Stephen-I jacked up my links again. I think I have them back tho. How do you add more than 3? I'm an idiot. I appreciate your help.....

Bart says....

Bart says you are very sweet Heidi, however, it is apparently not in the budget to fly you back here. He is, however, still trying to figure out a way to have you take calls while on Grand Cayman. Also, Amy says "Hi Beautiful". We told old John and Heidi stories tonight (it was a really slow night), nothing but good stories, I promise!

Stephen helped me put links on my blog. I am completely retarded when it comes to these things. I appreciate your help Stephen!

Today was a fabulous day at work. It was nice and quiet, everyone was in a good mood, the clients weren't too crazy! Well, a little crazy, but not too crazy. Today is my friday, thank God! It's Halloween weekend! Yea!!!!!!!!!

Well, still have 45 minutes left of work, guess I better finish my notes....

Happy Birthday Red and Jon!!!

I just want to wish a very happy 27th birthday to my sister and future brother-in-law! Isn't it freaky that they have the exact same birthday, even the same year? It was fate! I hope you guys have a wonderful day, I can't wait for your special birthday happy hour!


For the record, today at work sucked so bad we moved past cranky to laughing hysterically for no reason because we didn't know what else to do. Everything that could go wrong, did. You just have to laugh. I would have killed to have Heidi and John there....seriously. Thank God tomorrow is my friday although I am still oncall until 8am on saturday.

I really don't have much else to say. My brain is fried. My head hurts. All I wanna do is go to sleep, so, I think I will. Good night.

Whatta Day

Whew! What a crazy night at the crisis line! I managed to get out only 45 minutes late, that's pretty good. Thank God I have the ability to multitask and do literally five different things at the same time-I couldn't do my job without this skill. The real challenge is doing it with a smile on your face! Today was not bad-I was almost fueled by the craziness. It was like I worked harder, and gained energy from it, never once feeling overwhelmed. Of course, theres always tomorrow....

Hey Heidi and John-funny story for ya. Today Bart and I were mid conversation about something (I have already blocked out what it was) and out of nowhere he goes "hey, have you talked to Heidi and John lately?". I was like "where did that come from?". But I gave him the latest info: surviving hurricanes, iguanas, med school and your crack infested neighborhood. Did I cover it all? Email the poor guy, will ya? I think he was needing some love today, he seemed a bit out of it.... :)

My dear, dear ex Mike advise me my blog has too many words for him to read it. I'm not sure how to dumb it down, and really think he should have the patience to read it since he is a teacher and all....Mike, I cannot even begin to imagine why we didn't work out... :)

So, I am grateful that all my friends are safe from the hurricane. I am sending quiet prayers out for my mom and sister-they know why-I don't want to advertise it. I know everything will be alright though.

Elizabeth-we must reconnect! Sorry our call was so short! I blame you and your 300 kids... :) (you know I love you!).

Thats all. I'm out. I'm oncall for work the rest of the week and pray I don't get a middle of the night call. Being awakened by "the mexican hat dance" ring tone is not at all pleasant. Trust me.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

My friend Carrie and family are also featured in the St. Louis paper today. Why is it that they can't get a flight out of there but the media has easy access to them? Is that somehow messed up? They are not sure now when they are going to get to go home-they were thinking Thursday, but the airports are now saying next week. I know stir craziness is kicking in for them, I wish there was something I could do to help them. If you wanna see the newspaper article, you cango to www.stltoday.com, their story is on the main page.

Thank God we are in Missouri where all we have to fear is tornadoes and earthquakes.....

Ever experience a hurricane???

This is an excerpt of an email from my friend Carrie, who survived Wilma while vacationing in Mexico:

The past 5 days have been nothing short of a living hell. We are just so glad to be OK. We really, really want to get home... but feel so fortunate to be here to write you...So, Thursday, we were evacuated at 10 as I had written, though at that point... no one knew how SLOW Wilma was actually moving. They postponed our evacuation to noon. And then 2. And then 4. And then finally placed us into a ballroom, the 'safest area of the resort', at 9. Accommodations at that point were fairly comfortable. In a large ballroom with close to 600 others. Though plenty of water, food, and blankets. As the winds picked up, we started to grow more concerned as there was water streaming down the walls, huge crashes and booms against the building exterior, and the doors were starting to give to the gusts, despite the plywood and sandbags.The eye started to enter Playa Del Carmen, sometime in the morning, around 8AM. I can't explain to ANYONE the noise and chaos that a level 5 hurricane produces, though can assure you that I would not even wish this experience on my worst enemy. All was fine until there was a huge gust of wind and an enormous noise. We looked up to see DAYLIGHT IN THE BALLROOM. The hurricane PEELED BACK the ceiling of our shelter. Our only saving grace was that the eye had situated over us, so the air was pretty still and the rain had stopped. Though one more gust of wind lifted the ceiling like a parachute catching air. Bad. We were all scared. Really, Steve and I thought that was it. Thank god, all remained virtually calm... as they systematically removed us from the room. We then were placed into a restaurant until the eye passed, though they got us out with the kids before the gusts commenced again. Every time the wind blew, the doors shook and appeared to be in the danger of giving way. We were quickly moved into a concrete food pantry storage with all of the other families with children, where we remained for the next 2 days.We slept on concrete floors with no belongings other than a little bag where we had rationed food and water. There were approximately 60 people in our small space. It was very wet, dirty, and hot. Taking all into account, however, conditions were as good as they could have been. We had plenty of food and water...There was a lot of standing water and sewage back up, but the resort tried it's hardest to keep us clean and calm.It took FOREVER for this stupid thing to pass. It felt like the rain and wind would NEVER pass. Though we made it. We were finally let out of the shelter yesterday morning,. The resort is trashed. Glass everywhere. Roof shingles. Roofs and large debris. Palms uprooted. The palapas are stripped. Several of the rooms had been blown to bits. That being said, the resort fared better than we had though. Fortunately, this part of PDC has HUGE beach fronts... so we are MUCH better off than the folks in Cancun, despite the hurricane had dropped to a 3 when it finally hit them. We wish we knew how it really hit. The resort next to us went virtually untouched, while the one next to it is GONE, flattened.We are now in a room. All of our things survived, though FILTHY, At this point, we could really care less. We have clean linens, water, food, and beds to sleep on. No electricity, but we do have water (freezing) to stay clean. Parker has been repeating over and over 'I miss Mrs. Rovin and my class'. The boys really need normalcy. They made several friends within the shelter and Parker journaled and drew pictures the whole way through. Though his reoccurring picture was of him standing in front of our house with a HUGE smile on his face. We are all ready to get home and put this behind us. His biggest fear... he will miss Halloween. Their innocence has been refreshing.

My friends in Mexico...

are safe, thank God! They were able to call the States today. Now their only obstacle is getting out of the country. I think we are going out Saturday night for Halloween, can't wait to hear Carrie's stories (no one can tell a story like she can!).

So, the book A Million Little Pieces is a good book, not quite the life altering/fabulous book that it has been portrayed to be, but nonetheless, good. There is something about it that makes you keep turning the pages. Maybe because it is not divided up into chapters....I'm going to recommend it to my team at work tho. It definitely puts you into the mind of a substance abuser-folks we deal with every day. Perhaps it will make us a little more understanding....

Dude....

I am too old to be going out and getting home at 2am...seriously. Although I had a ton of fun last night (the band doing Weezer covers MADE MY DAY!!!!), I am tired today. A night of dancing and being crazy isn't what it used to be. Why are my ears still ringing? The best part was Karen and I walking around telling everyone I was her boss (get it? It was funny, out drinking, being crazy w/THE BOSS). It's just ironic that one of my friends just happens to be on my team at work, thats all. Karen's friends were great, pretty drunk,but great. And who was that boy diggin on me? I'm pretty sure I will never hear from him again, but it was nice to be complimented and having my ass slapped (what the hell?). And Mark actually knows who Ivory Tiger are b/c he works as a bouncer at one of the places they play-he says they rock! We didn't get to go to the Haunted House as planned. As we pulled up, we noticed the huge "SOLD OUT" sign...what? Sold out? So, instead of cutting the night short, we went back to Main Street St. Charles and hit a couple more bars. Now, of course I was not super liquored up-I am oncall for work all weekend!!! But, a good time was had by all. And did I mention I had my ass grabbed?

Car and dog shopping

Oh how I want a new car! I cruised down the new car highway (also known as Manchester Road) seeking pricing info and perhaps a brochure. When I drove onto that Mazda lot, the Mazda3 before me, I saw my future car. My impulsive side wanted to test drive it and bring it home today. My practical side, however, told me to just get some info and come back in the spring. My practical side won. The thought of having a car payment again pains me. And even the thought of giving up the Crapalier pains me. She may have some problems (uh, lets see...the CD player is broken, the trunk won't open, someone gave me a major door ding, the steering wheel is fading, the gas cover thingy broke off, oh yea, and the air conditioning doesn't work), but she and I have been through some good times. Affectionately known as Hot Mama, she has given me 119,000 miles thus far and counting. She really is pretty reliable (although I'm pretty sure she needs new rear breaks-they're not supposed to make noise are they?) and gets me to where I need to go. It'll be a sad day when Hot Mama is retired. An even sadder day when I have a $300 car payment again.....

I also looked at dogs today. I shouldn't do this because they all tear at my heartstrings and I want to take them all home! Once I have my own place again, I will get one. I fell in love with a little gray schnauser today named Jasper. He's older, 6-8 yrs, but was sweet as can be. Some of the other dogs were a little spastic but way cute. Again, my impulsive side said "go ahead, take him home". My practical side said "I don't think Red and Jon would appreciate me bringing a dog home". Again, my practical side won. I figure w/the hours I work and limited space, a small dog, maybe a little older, would work for me. I need one willing to stay inside all day and sleep. Surely I can find one of those. I know whatever dog I get will be spoiled rotten!

I went and got the book that the world is talking about-A Million Little Pieces. I have heard nothing but rave reviews for it-from Oprah to co-workers. Many have said it's the best book they have ever read. I'm intrigued, so.....I'll let ya know what I think of it!

Dump Trucks

I have a thing against dump trucks. As my sister and I were driving down the highway today and some debris fell from the dump truck in front of us, nicking my sister's windshield, I thought "you know, I really don't like those dump trucks". They seem to be everywhere you don't want them to be. They are always spewing crap on your windshield, they're slow and big, and just plain in your way. A couple of years ago, my sister and I were on our way to my friend Sharon's house to pick up a TV I was buying from her, we got off of hwy 70 onto Zumbehl, make a left, stop at the light, and all of a sudden we are rear-ended by a dump truck. Now, luckily, we were in my sisters Jeep Liberty. Had we been in my Crapalier, I may not have been able to type this rant that I am on right now. Though our seatbelts were on, I went slamming into the dashboard, and we hit the car in front of us (that was towing a trailer of some sort). The back end of the Jeep was smashed, as was the guy's trailer. The dump truck driver? On duty, and I swear intoxicated. He even said "man, I'm gonna get in trouble at work". My sister was like "good, you deserve it". After a motorcycle cop took our report, the crisis was over. This story just proves my theory, however. Dump trucks are evil and should be banned from America's highways. Thank You.

Haunted Houses

Why do I put myself through this torture every year? Haunted Houses always seem fun at the time, but once I am there, I am scared to death! The worst experience was two years ago, a huge group of us got one of those package deals where you get to go to two haunted houses for one price. The first one was fine, pretty standard. The second one, however, was just plain wrong. It was a 3-D haunted CLOWN house!! My worst nightmare come true before my very eyes....anyone who knows me knows I absolutely hate clowns. They are agents of satan. I'm sure of it. Seriously, there is no need to have your face all painted up like that! What are they hiding? And don't even get me started on the balloon animals.....So, on Saturday night, we will be going to a new haunted house, its at the old Noah's Ark hotel in St. Chuck. Can't wait. I can't even drink beforehand to calm my nerves b/c I am on call for work all weekend....I can see it now "Uh, hold on a minute, I'd help you with your case, but I just wet my pants, I'll call ya back". Any credibility I might have would go out the window.
I am very excited to be going shopping w/my sister. We have barely seen each other in two weeks (even tho we live together!). I have to get up earlier than I would like, but its worth it to get to spend some time w/her.

Here's the lesson I learned this week. No matter how shitty things get, I always have the power to be the bigger person. Once you learn to let things roll off your back, you're bound to be much happier.

World Series

I am truly sorry the Cards didn't make it. Mainly because I hate the Astros, but also because now St. Louis has nothing going on until April (do you REALLY think the Blues or Rams are gonna do anything?). While I would typically stay true to the NL, in this case I am going to have to defect. I will be cheering for the White Sox. It's been what, 80 some odd years since they've won? Almost as bad as my Cubs. If both the Sox teams can end their curse, maybe my Cubs can as well (wishful thinking?).

So, good luck White Sox. I'm hoping the northsiders of Chicago will be cheering for you. Down w/the Astros!!!!!


P.S. Hey Canada-the Blues have won one in a row. Beat that sucka!!!!!

Hurricane Wilma update...

Thus far, Heidi and John are ok (last I heard anyway from their blog), although Wilma did hit there(maybe it'll wash away some of the iguanas???). Must keep prayers going and add my friend Carrie, her husband Steve and their two boys, Parker and Reed. They are in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and Wilma is supposed to hit there tomorrow. They are holed up in their hotel room, no flights going out to get them back to St. Louis. Wilma is currently a category 5 which I believe is the highest and most powerful a hurricane can be. I just hope and pray that everyone is safe.

God has listened-St. Louis is getting an H&M...

it's the greatest store on Earth. And it opens Friday. Anyone ever been to one? Until now, the closest one was in Chicago. It is a fabulous place to get cute, trendy clothes that are WAY inexpensive. I went once and got a pair of flipflops, a matching bag and a pair of capri pants and spent under $20. I can live w/those kind of prices....So, be there, Friday, The Galleria, my sister and I will be first in line.....

I'm wondering how going to haunted houses Saturday night and being on call for work is gonna work out...what if I am called just as a big scary clown is chasing me? What if I've just wet my pants or had a heart attack? How am I supposed to give my co-workers sound advice after that? I should have thought about that before I switched oncall weekends, huh???? Well, here's to NOT wetting my pants and/or having a heart attack and/or NOT being chased by a clown.

This is why Pujols will be MVP

That dude is amazing! And hot. Last night was just fabulous. Everyone knows I'm not the biggest Cards fan in the world, but even I was caught up in the excitement of that 9th inning home run to take the game from those nasty Astros. Cards fans faith has been renewed! It's back to Busch now, baby! Now, hopefully, my friend Cheryl doesn't have to have a breakdown just quite yet.

Little side note, I was home in Salem a couple of weeks ago with my sister and we were going through old pictures for the customary slide show for her wedding. I begged her not to display my mullet years (4th grade, 1985), but I don't think she listened. Anyway, I was going through one drawer where our mom had saved various clothing items-our dresses from our first day of kindergarten, the outfits we came home from the hospital in, things like that. Now I'm getting to the point of this story.....tucked in the back I discovered this little red t-shirt (3/4 length red sleeves) from the 1982 World Series-yep, the last time the Cards won. I believe it was our grandma who got my sister and I those t-shirts-you may have seen them, they replicated them last year (she also got us autographed pictures of Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee!). Anyway, it brought back all kinds of memories (mind you, I was 6 in 1982) from that series. I remember mom and dad letting us stay up late to watch the games (my sister was 4). I remember how exciting it was even if I didn't understand what was going on. I remember my massive crush on Keith Hernandez (I always was a sucker for first basemen) and my sister's crush on Tommy Herr (ah, those golden curls...). I remember thinking Ozzie Smith was the greatest guy alive because not only was he an awesome shortstop, but he also did flips! I remember Bruce Sutter pitching, and Darrell Porter behind the plate. I remember thinking the baseball Cardinals and the football Cardinals were the same team b/c they both had guys w/the last name of Smith.

I just want to thank that shirt for bringing back such great memories. Even though I took a turn to the dark side in the late '80's and haven't looked back, my childhood Cards memories live on. I hope St. Louis gets to see another run at the championship b/c God knows we won't be seeing much from the Rams (1-4) and the Blues (I think also 1-4). Go Cards!

Praying for my friends in Grand Cayman

Just sending out a prayer to my friends John and Heidi who are currently living on Grand Cayman Island. They are currently under a hurricane watch with Hurricane Wilma possibly heading their way. Who names these things anyway? I pray that Wilma changes her course and that John and Heidi will both will be safe from harm. I plan on keeping an eye on the news. Be safe guys! We'll be praying for you!

Is this the end for the Cardinals?

Say it ain't so. Those damn Astros in the World Series? NOOOOOOO! I truly hope the Cardinals win this series. I don't know what I'll do once I start experiencing Albert Pujols and Mark Mulder withdrawals....I may need detox. Know of any good treatment centers?

If you haven't seen Breaking Bonaduce on VH1, you MUST see it. It's about Danny Bonaduce and his wild adventures. He is freakin crazy! For real Bipolar w/a lovely substance abuse problem. It's a trainwreck-its also must see TV.

FYI to those of you working in social services-tomorrow is the full moon. You know the crazies like to come out when that happens....I may need to have a drink after I come home from the crisis line tomorrow night....

One wild and crazy Saturday night!

Oh yea, home by 10:00pm on a Saturday night....damn, I'm getting old! I went to my co-worker JuJuane's wedding today. It was beautiful and she was a beautiful bride, although I'm pretty sure her dress weighed about 100 lbs. And the eyelashes Tia helped put on were fabulous! Didn't know anyone but my fellow co-workers, Laura (and her husband Jason), Tia, Aisha and Sue and JuJuane of course. There were like 10 bridesmaids, I'm pretty sure I don't even like 10 people enough to want them to be my bridesmaids....all in all, it was a very nice wedding. The wedding coordinator about fell off her chair when I told her I went to the Ludacris and 50 Cent concert this summer. Hey! This white girl knows whats up, ok? I'm totally down....or not.

Where did the weekend go? Already I have to go back to work tomorrow. Ick. At least it's team meeting day...you know where we sit around, talk about work issues for about 2 minutes and then shoot the shit for the next 30....I'm a REAL tough supervisor! My team is the only team that has a mascot though...its a Justin Timberlake bobblehead w/a local realtors face taped to it (don't ask...) wearing a Cardinals hat...I make people carry it in to the board room for our meetings. I know, I need help......at least I have fun! Team Sunday RULES!

Here's to a good week. As my old drunk-ass neighbor used to say "Happy October to ya".

I didn't do a damn thing today...

and it was awesome! I've got the condo to myself this weekend as Red and Jon are in Indiana visiting Jon's grandma. I got up early (well, for me early is 10am) and went to my aunt's house to water her plants as promised while she gets to travel Europe (I'm not at all bitter about that). After that I decided to go apartment hunting. I'm thinking I'm going to move next month if everything works out (financially speaking, of course). I drove by some great places today-I'm looking in the city-no more suburbia for me!!! Now all I gotta do is make some calls and go see some places.
I did go up to Castlewood Park just before sunset to take some pictures. There is a scenic overlook there that is just awesome. You have to hike up a rather steep hill (great for the calves), but up top you have a beautiful view of the river and trees. Unfortunately, most of the trees are still pretty green, not too much color yet. Hopefully in a week or so...
The evening thus far has been a nice, hot bubble bath and reading People magazine. I even treated myself to some ice cream which is a rarity nowadays. And has anyone watched that Amy Grant show "Three Wishes"? I've seen it twice and have bawled like a baby each time. I'm such a sucker for these hard luck stories!
This may sound like a pretty sad Friday night for a single gal. But for me, its perfect.

Sometimes work sucks

today would be one of those times. Maybe its just the after effects of being sick all week, I don't know, but today everyone was annoying me. No one was safe from me. I even took it out on Stephen who I adore-Stephen I'm sorry I was cranky!!!! I really don't like feeling that uncontrolable cranky feeling. Luckily, nowadays, I don't get it too often. I can usually fake it. Not today. Every caller was bugging the crap out of me-what the hell is wrong with everyone in Michigan anyway? It was way busy too which I'm sure didn't help. Thank God for good co-workers. The night ended ok-perhaps it was because I had the realization that I am now off for two days. Enough time to regroup, refocus, and be ready for a new week. I'll be fine on Sunday.

I plan to do some hiking and picture taking tomorrow. The leaves are starting to change a bit, gonna go be at one with nature. This will help me relax and get back my sense of calm. Good times. Saturday is my co-worker JuJuane's wedding. Weddings are always good times no matter what. And weddings with Laura Coleman are even better!!! Now if I could just figure out what I'm going to wear....

The Cardinals lost to the Astros today. I'm sure my dad is saying right now "I told you so. The Cardinals aren't going anywhere. Houston has the best pitching, they're gonna win it all". To his credit, dad has been going with the Astros since before the season started. We have a bet going. I may lose. I hate it when he's right (which is often).

Why girls should love sports

Ladies-its all about the hot men. Seriously. If its not for the love of the game, its about the hot men. The best place to scout hotties is, of course, baseball. I mean, the tight uniform says it all. Let's run down the list: Mark Mulder-H-O-T hot, Albert Pujols-my friend Melinda says his thighs are a work of art. Andy Pettitte-now I hate the Astros, don't get me wrong, but Mr. Pettitte is one nice piece of.......also on my list of hotties are Derek Lee, Kyle Farnsworth, Alex Gonzalez (the one on the Devil Rays), and Scott Rolen's ass. There are plenty more, trust me. Now, we'll move on to hockey. The Blues new goalie, Patrick LaLime is yummmmmy. I'll take two. He's my current new fave. So even though the Blues are horrible, I will continue to watch.
So, girls, get a big group together and go to the games! So you're not looking for the perfect double play, and you don't care about a penalty shot-at least you are there!

Mark Mulder is HOT!!!

That's really all I have to say. He is one fine looking man! Now that I know he lives in Arizona during the offseason, I will DEFINITELY be planning a trip back out west....too bad the Cards don't have their spring training out there! Mark-if you wanna become a Cub, just show up in Mesa around March or so! He is beautiful.......

Back in the land of the living

Day 6 of being sick and I am finally feeling better! That trip to my doctor was worth it, as he gave me the diagnosis I was thinking-I have a sinus infection. Not uncommon for me this time of year. Have you ever had one? They just kick your butt. The main symptom is pure exhaustion, your entire body doesn't want to move. This, coupled with a stuffy nose, sore throat (and a rather raspy voice-sexy, huh?) makes for a long week. Now I have my Z-Pack and some Zyrtec D (I told my doc I didn't want something too sedating-this was the best he could do). I stayed home from work yesterday (as I should have done the previous two days but didn't) and SLEPT. I mean slept-all afternoon, wake for a couple of hours, fall asleep again around 6, my sister brought me some soup (isn't she great?), manage to stay awake for the Blues game (they finally won!), get drowsy again around 9, finally sleep for the rest of the night around 11:30, don't wake up until 11 today! And now I'm back! That's all I needed folks! At least I can move today...I think perhaps I am motivated by the fact that the leaves are finally starting to turn outside. As my dad said, this is one of the latest falls he can remember. There is a maple tree outside my window that is turning a beautiful shade of red. This makes me happy and motivated to feel better so I can do some hiking and picture taking this weekend. Z-Pack-do your job!!!!

I hate being sick

Since Friday, I have felt like I was hit by a Mack truck. Being sick is no fun. Especially when you have no time to properly rest as life duties such as work call your name. The sinus and congestion pressure is so bad it feels like someone is pushing on my face and sitting on my chest (maybe they are and I'm just totally out of it). And now that my stuffy nose is draining, well, trust me, its gross......Although I am not calling in sick (truly out of a sense of duty-all the other supervisors are off today) today, I need to as my body is telling me I need to sleep, and take some more Nyquil...that stuff is a godsend! I did break down and agreed to go see my doctor. I'm guessing I have a sinus infection, which is fairly common for me this time of year, but I'll let my doctor make that call tomorrow morning. Till then, I will continue to dope myself up with Motrin Cold and Sinus during the day and Cherry Nyquil at night.....good times.

Stubby the Wonderdog, Part 2

Last night, Stubby discovered her own reflection in the mirror. It didn't go well. She managed to sucker us into letting her in the house (its the country-dogs live outside!), she ran straight for my parents bed as per usual (she really likes pillows), and was laying at the foot of the bed, being a good girl, no big thang, that is, until she stood up. Once she saw herself in the mirror, she started barking and growling-she clearly did not know it was her. My mom, brother and I could do nothing but laugh b/c it was hilarious! She wouldn't stop growling.....just when we thought she was kinda bright, she proved that perhaps she isn't so much. Meanwhile, Hank was outside barking his head off b/c he was stuck outside by himself....seriously, they are the funniest animals I have ever encountered!

Stubby The Wonderdog and other adventures...

My parents have the craziest dogs! There's Stubby, a little, furry, wienerdog/collie-looking dog and Hank-a big, giant, part Newfoundland/part something else dog with the biggest head I have ever seen. The two of them are like Mutt and Jeff. Stubby hops when she runs to you, like a rabbit-it is freakin' hilarious. When Hank looks at you, he stares, and it is clear that there ain't much going on in that head of his....Hank is the one who was shot this summer-yes, for real shot, with a gun. It was a horrible day, we thought he was going to die as he was covered in blood, but Hank made it through. He had two bullet holes in him that had to heal, but other than that, he is fine. My mother has spoiled both of them by feeding them doggie cookies after dinner. They don't have the recommended amount of 3, oh no.....they have more like 10 each! I took pictures of them this weekend just because they are so funny! My parents have a bench on their front porch that we like to sit on and just relax. Little Stubby likes to jump up there with you and sit in your lap. Apparently Hank was jealous of this (Hank weighs a good 70 lbs, mind you), and today decided he was going to sit on the bench too...so, he climbed his fat self up, my mom and I had to get up as he took up the whole bench-then he just sat there and stared at us. He stares a lot. Not a smart dog by any means. They also talk. It's true. Hank has this really deep voice and will respond when you talk to him, it really sounds like he is saying "woof". Stubby talks too, and they like to out talk each other. I just thought I'd share some of their adventures. They are hilarious.

The power of a small town

My hometown amazed me tonight. The town put together a benefit to support the Cahill family-this is my dear, dear friend Elizabeth's family-her mom, Mrs. Cahill, has cancer and is in the midst of chemo in Columbia. This woman has been through a lot-she gave birth to FOURTEEN children, for God's sake! Tonight, I saw my hometown (that I know I like to joke about) act selflessly. I saw people donating money they don't have-there was an auction, and someone actually paid $150 for a pie! I think some cupcakes went for $100. It was great. All the money goes towards Mrs. Cahill's treatment and to support the family. I pray she is able to fight the cancer and be able to return home. Elizabeth-your mom and your entire family are in my prayers. And, by the way, Lizzard-I MISS YOU!

Why I love Canadians

1. They have great accents, plus many speak French, which is way hot! (all I can remember is je suis fatigue and je suis mal la tete)
2. They seem to be a fun loving people (yes, I am generalizing here), at least all the ones I've met are.
3. They are so cute because they honestly think Molson is good beer.
4. Watching Hockey Night In Canada on CBC is practically a religion-if you don't, the Mounties may come and get you.
5. They have hot older brothers and tolerate their friends harrassing them about this.
6. Their identities can remain "anonymous", yet people know who they are.
7. They are great tour guides-I recommend going to the suspension bridge in Vancouver, unless of course, you value your life. Then it's best you just stay on the ground.
8. They have a sense of humor when their ignorant friends arrive at the airport to pick them up holding signs that read "Welcome to our country!". They also let you call them "Canadian Bacon" without taking offense.
9. They help keep you awake when you are driving from Alabama to Missouri doing an all-nighter. Sure, delirium may set in, but you still have a good time...
and last but not least,
10. They have the ability to make me laugh even if via the internet nowadays, AND, even though you may go years without seeing them, you know that you will be friends forever, no matter what and that the Canadian in YOUR life will forever be one of your favorite people. I miss my favorite Canadian, even if he is a Red Wings fan. I miss his hot brother too.

Sincerely,
Yankee Doodle

this job of mine....

What nuttiness that goes on at the crisis line! I suppose, of course, that this should be expected, given this is a refuge for the mentally ill, but still, tonight was especially nutty. From the lady who thinks there are demons working at Wal-Mart (which may or may not be true) to the lady who thinks George Clooney is the devil and is stalking her, it is never boring at my job. We have really great folks working here all of which have a health sense of humor. It truly is not that we are making fun of our callers, rather, our jobs are quite stressful and a little humor to relieve stress is healthy. We need it in order to stay sane ourselves. The line between sanity and insanity is a very thin one. At the end of the day, however, I truly love my job. My team of 16 that I supervise is fantastic, a great bunch of people. My fellow supervisors are wonderful as well (I'm really just saying that because I know Stephen will read this). I think I am finally settling into the supervisor role. It's taken me 6 months, but I think I am starting to get the hang of things. This could be my own delusional perception, I don't know.

Dear "Random Person",

Oh, I know your identity all right, but I will not out you at this time.....As for your comment that the Blues suck and Detroit rules...well, the Blues suck part is absolutely correct, I'm not so sure about this geriatric version of the Red Wings.....I wasn't mad b/c the Blues lost yesterday, I was mad b/c the Blues lost to the Wings. I hate it when Random Person is right.....

Hey, Random Person-I was thinking about you the other day. The combination of Weezer, the Foo Fighters and hockey remind me of the times when we blasted the stereo in your dorm room (usually was Weezer's "Pinkerton" and Foo's "The Colour and the Shape") and had hockey fights in the hallway, both w/our jerseys on-I challenge you to a rematch fool!!!!

I don't want to talk too much smack as I don't want the Canadian Mounties to ride down and get me......I'll leave you with this: "Oh Canada, our home and native land. True patriot love, in all thy son's command....."

P.S. Random Person, I think your "Random Brother" is way hot....not as hot as you, of course, but still way hot! :)

Rockin' The Bitches Since 1994

I want that Weezer T-Shirt-"rockin the bitches since 1994". LOVE IT! Well, let me just say that last nights Weezer and Foo Fighters show was the greatest thing ever!!! They rocked hard core! That Dave Grohl can scream! Weezer was awesome-Rivers didn't wear his "Buddy Holly" glasses tho, and I'm pretty sure I saw a bald spot, but he was still adorable in his jeans and long sleeve shirt (even tho it was like 107 degrees in the Assembly Hall!). They only did one Pinkerton song ("El Scorcho", and Rivers got craaaazy! He even slammed down the mike stand-it was the most animated I've ever seen the guy be), the rest were a good mix of the other 4 albums, most, of course, from the new album. Rivers at one point said "We're so excited to be here that we even learned a Foo Fighters song", and then they played "Big Me". It was awesome! Rivers even played the drums while Pat (the drummer) sang and then began playing that one Blur song-you know-the one that goes "Woo Hoo"???Rivers also did a killer acoustic version of "Island in the Sun". I knew every word to every song they played-what can I say? I love them!!! The best was the very end when tons of confetti was shot into the air-all of which had little Weezer "W's" all over them...of course I snagged some-gotta have it for the scrapbook! No wait, the real best part was when they re-introduced the giant lit up "W" on the stage-this is their trademark and they hadn't been using it on their sets, but it was back last night! I managed to get a way cool picture of it w/the camera on my phone-it is now my wallpaper! The Foo Fighters were great too. I am intrigued by that Dave Grohl. There's just something sexy about a guy who can rock hard and is funny too! I'm pretty sure he was drunk last night tho-he even chugged a beer on stage and encouraged people to give each other hickies....he said "if you ever jump in the sack with Dr. G, you never know where the hickies will end up"....nice. They did all their standard songs-the singles. Dave Grohl cussed a lot, at one time dedicating their very first song (can't remember the title, but its something about fingernails...) to all the "old mother f***ers out there". It was fab.
Champaign is a pretty cool town. I loved the downtown area w/all its cafes, shopping and bars. I recommend visiting. Wish we could have stayed longer.
We got back into St. Louis today in time to watch the first Blues game after a years absence. It was a huge let down, since they lost 5-1 to the freaking Red Wings, but it was still great to have hockey back. I said they were gonna have to earn back my loyalty, but after 5 minutes of tonight's game, I was definitely back! We watched the baseball playoffs tonight too. I was happy to see the Yankees lose. The Cardinals are on tomorrow at 3:00, they are up by a game. Good luck!
Well, thats all for now. More rambling later!

Random people-GO AWAY!!!

Seriously, you random strangers, please stop w/the posting on my blog! Does anyone know how to prevent this? I am a blogging virgin and am unsure about the settings....And Stephen-you are gonna have to re-teach me how to do the linkage thing...then I will be more than happy to have a link to your blog. Perhaps I can help you in your hick-hop advertising, Dr. Bourke.

I suppose it is technically Tuesday now. I get to see Weezer today! Yee haw! I love them as much as I love my Cubs, as much as I love scrapbooking, as much as I love, well, just about anything! I am also looking forward to hanging w/my brother for a couple of days. He's one cool kid. We always have a good time together.

Eric-the beard wasn't all that scary, but I prefer the before version. Grizzly Adams was a scary guy....

My random question/observation of the day: Does anyone else think that Nicolas Cage is creepy? I mean, if I was Meg Ryan in City of Angels, I would have been way freaked out if ol' Nick Cage suddenly appeared in my bed...I think its a combo of his voice, weird hair line and his eyes-he is just way freaky. My sister feels the same way, she may even feel more strongly about it than I do. And now his 20 y/o wife just had his baby? Gross.

Go Cards-you play in about 11 hours-may you kick the crap out of the Padres!

If you're hung over in another country...

does it really even count? This is a question that warrants further discussion. My friends Heidi and John are basking away in Grand Cayman. Ok, not really "basking" so much as it is John working his butt off in med school and Heidi fighting giant killer lizards at every turn.... My guess is that the island beverages are rather potent. Having never left the country myself, I am depending on those two to do some research for me....Heidi, let me know what you come up with. I expect a full report when you come home in December. And to answer the first question, I'm pretty sure it doesn't really count-so drink on!

For you sports enthusiasts, the MLB playoffs begin tomorrow. Now, everyone who knows me knows I am a die-hard Cubs fan. You also know that they played their last game yesterday because they suck hard-core. It is now time for me to switch allegiances (for the playoffs only, mind you) and become a Cardinals fan. Now, I always like them 2nd best next to my Cubs, and fully recognize that they have some of the hottest men in baseball on their team (hello, Mark Mulder!!!!). Given the other teams that made the playoffs, rooting for the Cards is a no brainer. I wish them luck, truly I do. Besides, I absolutely hate the Braves, Astros and the Yankees. I have no thoughts on the Padres whatsoever, and really don't so much care about the American League, so....GO CARDS!!!!!! Melinda, my dear friend in Green Bay, please play the Cardinals Drinking Game w/out me-this game consists of taking a drink everytime the camera shows the asses of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds or Scott Rolen (who is out and for this game will be replaced by Mark Mulder). It's a great game, if you've never played.

Tomorrow night, Tim and I will be in Champaign, Ill. to see the greatest band on earth, Weezer (and also the Foo Fighters). The Weezer show in July was the best ever, and I totally cannot wait to see them again tomorrow night!!! ROAD TRIP!

For once....

couldn't the Cubs have won today? Huh? I soooo did not want the Astros in the playoffs. All the Cubbies had to do was win one little game, produce a tie between Houston and Philly, and decrease the Astros chances. But no, it wasn't to be. My boys finished the season 4 games under .500 and 4th in the Central-behind even the lowly Brew-Crew. It was a sad, sad year to be a Cubs fan. I actually prefer the years prior to 2003 when you expected the Cubs to be crappy and you didn't care if they only won 60 games. The Cubs of 2003 spoiled us all, and actually ruined the mystique. When they won the division and actually made the playoffs, we had hope. Hey! Maybe this is the year the damn Billy Goat Curse ends. Well, that didn't happen, but it created the thinking that this team is good and should contend every year. It gave us false hope. Perhaps they are on their way to being the consistently crappy Cubs of old. One can only hope. Till then, as every great Cubs fan says-THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!!!!!

the word that comes to mind is....horrifying

Getting measured for a bridesmaid dress. It may be one of the most horrifying experiences ever. I was doing ok today, they get your 3 basic measurements, then look on a chart to see what your size should be. The final number was two sizes bigger than I wear in normal clothes, but was still single digits, so I was pretty pleased. I was thinking "yea, this dress gig ain't so bad". That was until.............the dress shop called all of us girls mid-lunch (we had headed to Yia-Yia's for some post measurment nourishment) to advise us that they had looked at the wrong sizing chart so they had to redo the sizes using our measurements....and we all got BUMPED UP A SIZE!!!! What little self esteem I did have went completely out the window. And I decided not to finish the bowl of pasta in front of me....I know, I know, its just a number. But it plays tricks w/your mind. It's a girl thing. Or maybe a totally, self-concious, insecure, low self esteem girl thing.

In fun news, my sister and I were cruising down Hwy 141 this morning on our way to the dress shop, when a blue mini van went cruising by us and the woman in the back seat was waving at us. I thought perhaps she was waving b/c my sister was stuck behind this a-hole who was going about 30 in a 45....but, no...we caught up to the mini van, and wouldn't you know it, it was Chris Mayer, my boss! It was too funny, we played highway tag for a bit, Travis was leading the way. Unfortunately for him, my sister has a lead foot, and we soon left the mini van in the dust.....