Happy 30th Birthday Lizzard!!!!!!

I know it was yesterday, but I wasn't around a computer. Anyway, hope you had a wonderful 30th! Now you can feel me and Robyn's pain! :) I love you Lizzard and miss you tons!

WOW-just saw some wedding pics....

Go to the link for my families blog (Sibs and More). There are wedding pics on there already (Good work Aunt Cheryl!). I started crying......

Part III-The Party Bus and Reception

Oh the party bus...SUCH good times. Nothing like a place where you are handed a drink as soon as you step aboard. Here is what I DON'T recommend-letting my brother make you a drink. My Captain and Diet Coke was at least 3/4 Captain (not that it stopped me from drinking it, mind you) and my Red Bull and Vodka was almost all vodka and tasted like cough medicine. On this bus I got to see my father drinking champagne from the bottle and my mother drinking Captain and Coke. We went through three bottles of champagne in record time. Granted, there were like 20 people on the bus, but still. When we arrived at Forest Park for pictures, everyone was pretty well buzzed. We got out and "frolicked" in the grass, took some pictures and it was back on the bus! The alcohol was flowing and the dirty rap songs were playing (I'm pretty sure my mother was horrified). We dropped mom and dad off at the reception site and the rest of us drove around downtown St. Louis on the bus and continued to drink. We went past the Cardinals new stadium and yelled "STAN!!!!" everytime we passed the Stan Musial statue....once we arrived back at the reception site, parts of it become blurry. I remember going inside and I'm pretty sure we stopped to go to the bathroom. The announcement of the wedding party was blurry-I couldn't hear what they were saying, so we all just kinda paired up and walked in......as the Star Wars theme played (and the boys were all wearing jester hats-it WAS April Fools Day after all!). As we all sat at the head table we realized my brother was not there. The groomsmen went to find him, and find him they did-puking in the bathroom (sorry to publicise this Timbo-but this is good stuff!). Well, no one remembers Tim drinking so much, then again, the rest of us were drinking too. At one point, Dave, Polster and I got Tim out on the veranda and laid him down. He looked like a dead body laying there. Seriously. I didn't want to leave him (we were seriously afraid he was gonna die of alcohol poisoning). Julz-the wedding coordinator-made us all leave and she promised to take care of him (she rocks). The good news is-Tim made a miraculous recovery and by the end of the night was out on the dance floor with us.

The reception was great, although when they announced it was time for the Maid of Honor and Best Man to give their speeches, I panicked. Luckily, I was just buzzed enough to have the guts to go speak in front of 250 people. I remember shushing the crowd and telling them to be quiet so I could talk....I really don't remember much of my speech, but all the stuff I wrote that I thought would be funny was (I loved hearing the crowd laugh!) and I got through it without crying. Robert's speech was great too even though he was so nervous. Once back at the table the bride and groom assured us the speeches were great. Can't wait to re-hear it on the video......After that, the dancing began. I knew my family (the Baumgartner clan) would be out on the dance floor all night long. And they were. Uncle Nick is a dancing machine!!!! And little Kira has some moves (not bad for a 3 year old!). The band, The Ultraviolets, were GREAT! I did get a little sad when they played "Jesse's Girl" as I was really missing J at that point. To deal with it, I put myself in the middle of the dance floor and danced to my song!!!!

It was all great, it was clear the bride and groom were having a great time (which is really what matters). By the end of the night we were all absolutely exhausted and just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. After a rather lengthy wait for transportation (long story, I won't go into it-it will only re-upset the bride!), we arrived at the hotel around 1am, and crashed.

On Sunday, the immediate families met at Jon's parents house for a brunch and to watch them open all their gifts. I'm sure Corningware and matching towels are exciting...actually what was exciting was all the cash they received (after seeing all that I decided maybe marriage wasn't such a bad idea after all!). It was sad saying good bye to them (and weird to say good bye to my new "brother"!), but we all had to go (I was heading to J's where I drove straight into tornado alley. No one was hurt, but there was a tornado at J's house. On my way there, I get a text message that says "Just got hit by a tornado". WHAT?). Anyway, as we speak, the new Mr. and Mrs. Baumgart are on their way to Jamaica (while the rest of us deal with the aftermath of the storm from yesterday).

I may be biased, but I can't help but think that this marriage is gonna be one of the good ones. Sometimes you see two people that clearly belong together. This is my sister and Jon. I love you guys so much. Welcome to the family brother! :) Have fun, be safe, and don't drink too much Red Stripe while in Jamaica!

Part II-The Wedding

Wedding day arrived. We awoke to an absolutely beautiful, sunny day (God took care of us on that one!). We also awoke at 7:30am, but that's a whole other story.....After an ok breakfast in the basement of the Hampton Inn, and an emergency trip to the soda machine for Diet Coke, we were off in our cab/limo AKA mom and dad's mini van, off to the beauty salon for hair and makeup. All of us girls got our hair done, loved the up-do and the 16 gallons of hair spray they put on my head...Red's hair looked gorgeous, and mom (who I've never seen in an up-do) looked absolutely beautiful and way too young to be the mother of the bride (seriously mommy-you did!). Once we were all done, we were picked up by the limo and the first thing we noticed was the champagne. We advised the driver to take us to the Bread Company to pick up some lunch, but the time we travelled the two block trip, we had finished one bottle of champagne. Yea, it was gonna be a long day.....by the way, if you ever wanna draw attention to yourself, take yourself and 6 other people to the Bread Company with your up-do's and one girl with a veil on her head......

We arrived at the church a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule. We were afraid to go in and the Church Nazi (aka the wedding coordinator for the church) specifically said we cannot get in before 1:30. Well I got out of the limo, saw that the church doors were unlocked and smuggled all of us girls in. Church Nazi was nowhere in sight. We all started getting ready and had a bit of a panic moment when Jon's mom called to say she was running late. Not a big deal typically, but she just happened to have my sister's wedding dress with her.....the MOH was on it, trying to keep the bride calm at this point. Anyway, the dress arrived, all was well, and my sister was absolutely beautiful in her dress-I teared up and the wedding hadn't even started. At exactly 3:00 the Church Nazi has us girls line up. I started to get nervous then. What if someone tripped going down the aisle? Or stood in the wrong place? Or walked too fast? As the music started it all became surreal-this was it! My baby sister was getting married!

Once the wedding party was in place, we waited for our bride. I had told myself not to look at Jon because if he cried, I was gonna lose it. Well, as soon as the opened the door and my sister was standing there with dad, I saw just one tear go down Jon's face. That's all I needed. And as soon as I got to see my sister (also crying) walking with dad (trying not to cry), I teared up some more. It was just all so beautiful, hard to explain. I looked out into the crowd, saw a row full of my aunts, all crying. We are a crying people, apparently. The ceremony itself went smoothly, although there was some chuckling later about the sermon as, apparently, we are ALL responsible for their marriage...who knew? And, for the record, the vents were still on...Julie (bridesmaid) and I had our dresses blowing up, I was afraid I was gonna pull a Marilyn Monroe, but luckily, it didn't blow up that high. Julie and I just stood there and giggled. It was very exciting and strange when the pastor had my sister and Jon turn around and introduced the married couple. What? My sister is married now! Wow. After picture taking in the church (loved the whole Baumgartner/Davidson clan pic-where did all those relatives come from? We are one huge family!), it was on to.................THE PARTY BUS!!!! That will be part 3......

My sister is a married woman now.....

Wedding weekend is officially over. We made it and managed to get my sister married off-Jon you are such a lucky guy!!! For my loyal blog readers, this may be a bit boring, but I must capture all that went on this weekend. It was fun.

So, Friday, at the rehearsal, several of us were confused. At first, I thought it was just me because I am easily confused (right, J?), but it wasn't just me. The pastor called Robert and I the "honor attendants". I wasn't sure at first, but he assured us he was referring to us. Then there was the matter of the vents blowing up my dress. I was a little concerned about this and hoped it would not be on during the actual wedding (more on that later....). The ushers, Polster and Jones, seemed confused most of the time-who knew that ushering was such a difficult job? Watching grandpa and mom come down the aisle together brought tears to our eyes. We were all thinking of grandma this weekend, we know she was there in spirit, but the reality of seeing grandpa walk without her really hit home. After our trial run of the ceremony (still confused at this point and figured we'd just "wing it" at the actual wedding...), we headed out to Forest Hills Country Club for the rehearsal dinner. At the door they served us with champagne mixed with cranberry juice-I knew it was gonna be a good night. The dinner was great and getting to chat with the family was great too. Of course, silly Jon just HAD to ask the pastor and his wife to sit at our table, so we felt like we couldn't drink. I got smart though and got a Captain and Diet Coke-for all pastor knew, it was just Diet Coke. Sneaky, right? Then there is the matter of the slide show that Jon's dad put together. This was a truly horrifying but hilarious experience. It was your typical show, pictures from each of their childhoods mixed with current ones. The childhood ones were the horrifying part. Why? Because siblings made the cut. And I really did NOT want to relive the permed-mullet years with 100 people....but I did anyway, and I threatened to kill my mother for giving Jon those pictures!!! The crowd favorite was a picture of Red, Tim and I and on the wall behind us was a giant picture of Michael Jackson-when he was still black, mind you. Hey, it was the '80's after all!!!! So, after dinner, on to the hotel where no one slept. I awoke to a knock on the door at 2am, I look out the peep hole and there is our bride, hair a mess, I open the door and she says she can't sleep because someone in her room was "snoring like a trucker". Well, we couldn't have a bride with bags under her eyes, now could we? So, I let her in and let her sleep with me. I promised her I wouldn't snore like a trucker, but I couldn't guarantee dad wouldn't (he and mom were in the room with us). Anyway, morning came WAAAY too quickly......now for part 2.

Rehearsal Dinner

So far, the day has been good. My mom, sister, and I got manicures and pedicures this morning. That was awesome. Then we went to lunch at Qudoba, or however you spell it. Can you believe the wind today? I thought it was gonna pick us up and carry us away! Right now I am blogging from grandpa's house. Yes, that's right. Grandpa has the internet. He's hip and happening. He even has a cell phone. He doesn't know how to use it, but he has one. Today I tried 3 times to show him how to access his voicemail. I finally gave up. So, we are just chillin right now. According to Jon we must be at the church at 5:45 tonight. I'm ready for dinner. We are having a pasta bar. I'll eat then want to go to sleep. Tomorrow is an early rising day. I believe Red has us at the salon for hair and make up at 10am. Wedding weekend has officially begun!

Wedding Weekend is about to begin....

Man, I hope I can shake whatever is wrong with me. I have felt just under the weather this week, not quite enough to define me as "sick", but definitely not feeling good either. Just really tired and worn down. I have no energy and sleep 10 hours in a night and am still tired...wonder what that's all about....

Mom and dad arrive into town today, in fact, mom just called. They are hitting the mall to go get dad and Tim's tuxes. I can't wait to see them in a tux-I'll bet I cry. Hell, who am I kidding? I'm gonna cry the entire day. Hope my Mary Kay waterproof mascara does it's job.....I am looking forward to seeing everyone-family from out of town and friends that we have not seen in a while. I'm gonna test out my maid of honor speech on mom today and see what she thinks. I'm a little nervous about it, to tell you the truth. Red informed me yesterday that I will be going first...yikes! No pressure there!

Today is pretty much a chill day. I have to go to the store and purchace alcohol that will go on the party bus following the wedding. Then I'm hauling all my wedding crap to grandpa's, where mom and dad are staying. I'm hoping to get to spend a good chunk of the evening with J since I will not see him until Sunday. As I've said before, I don't like going that long without seeing him, but I know this is just one weekend and we'll live through it.....

To Red and Jon: I hope this is the most wonderful weekend of your lives. I hope it is everything you want it to be. Let's have some fun!

My new car!!!!!!

Good-bye Crapalier, hello Mazda 3! Isn't she pretty? This is just a picture I found online, but this is what my new car looks like. I love it. I don't love having a car payment after being payment free for nearly 3 years. It was nice, but the Crapalier was slowly crapping out on me....who wants to go for a joyride? And if anyone wants to make my payments for me, the first one is due mid-May. Thanks.

So the guy that was a big a-hole to me last week (I do not respond well to that condacending tone and talking to me like I'm stupid-I'm not stupid) came up to me and apologized. Good, he should have. Then we got to talking and turns out he's a Cubs fan....I should have known. Actually had a great time at the dealership today. I was entertaining everyone (go figure). Fun times were had by all.

If anyone is in the car buying market and need someone to come in and throw a temper tantrum, let me know. It got me more than $3,000 off the sticker price.......sometimes it pays to be a bitch.

Yikes! Only 3 more days!

Wow, the wedding is in 3 days. So hard to believe. See Red-I told you it would be here before you know it! I am off work the rest of the week so I can be my sisters right hand man (or woman, whatever). I am fulfilling my Maid of Honor duties to the fullest extent (or trying to at least). Or is it really just an excuse to not go to work??? Hmmmm.....

So, finally got internet at my apartment (thanks Tim). I can finally load up my Ipod. So can't wait for that.

I am going on a car buying adventure today. Hopefully I come home w/a new car. We shall see. They better hope they don't piss me off like they did last week......will post more later. Will post a pic of the car too. Later peeps!

good weekend

Had a good weekend. Got to spend time with J when he wasn't working. It was fun. Except for him trying to scare me and telling me that there are clowns in his house that are gonna come after me......SO not cool Mr. B!!!!!!! I do appreciate you making me lunch today.....had a great afternoon just hanging with you before work.

Well, the countdown to the wedding is on! Can't believe it's Saturday. Red, I'm all yours starting on Wednesday. Tell Bean to call me-we need to finalize who is buying what for the limo/bus-thingy! I'm very excited to get to see all of my family-especially Clint and Ben and Mike and Kim (are they coming?). I am totally gonna miss J though-three whole days without seeing him-yuck!!!! I'll see ya Sunday evening though baby!

Well, I have a crapload of work to do today and tomorrow since I will be out the rest of the week. Have a good one y'all!

non-word of the day

rectalfy. not a real word. just ask Stephen.

Another 5k to consider.....

Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 15, 2006. This is the First Annual L6 5K Walk/Run, benefitting the Laura Laughlin Medical Fund.

You may remember me mentioning before my friend Krista's sister-in-law Laura who was in a horrible car accident last July. Laura is still in a coma and her husband/family have incurred an insane amount of bills. This is a great cause if you are able to go. You don't have to do the 5K-there is also a 1 mile fun walk you can participate in! All participants will receive a T-shirt! Here are the details:

Location: Chesterfield Commons Athletic Club
Registration: $20 in advance, $25 Race Day
Info: you may register online at www.lauralaughlin.com

I hope people can attend. I will definitely be there!

Opening Day-coming soon!

Can you tell I'm excited? It is almost time for Opening Day 2006. Being a huge baseball fan, I totally cannot wait for another season of fun! The Cubs first game is actually April 1-I will be unable to watch it since my sister decided to go ahead and get married that day....the nerve. I had high hopes for my Cubbies initially, but now during spring training they are dropping like flies. . Mark Prior is hurt, as is Derek Lee. And don't get me started on that giant wuss Kerry Wood. That dude is weak. Still, I have some hope that they will do ok this year. I think the whole NL Central is much improved this year, so it should be some good overall competition.
Sorry for those of you that could care less about baseball, because after next week, most of my blog subjects will be about it. I talk a lot of smack (as those who know me well are already aware). I can't wait. BRING IT!!!

weird sightings on the road

No I wasn't high on allergy meds today. What I saw was real. I swear it. I saw two strange things on the road today. One was this pickup truck stopped across from me. Lodged in the grill of this truck was a big stuffed cow. No joke. The main reason this is funny is because I have a plastic frog stuck in the grill of my car...don't ask.

So, later, on my way to work, I was cruising down the highway, minding my own business, when I feel/see this car right next to me. Typically, I don't look over when there is a car pacing me, but today I did. And what I saw cracked me up. It was this chick driving a Civic hatchback. In the front passengers seat was a keg of beer.....in a seat belt. It was awesome!

My super-cool cousin Clint

Look at my cousin-he got to meet Miss USA. Isn't he cool? Clint-did you hit on her? My guess is yes.....

Support a good cause!

Help support my little cousin Ben! He is participating in the March of Dimes Walk America fundraiser. For more information, go to his personal web page at www.walkamerica.org/personal_page.asp?w=505824

why am I so sleepy?

I'm pretty sure I got plenty of sleep this weekend. Even with being oncall for work I still got plenty of sleep (it was pretty funny today when one of my staff called me at 10:30am to staff a case and asked me if they woke me up...I was like "uh...yes you did"). Maybe it's the weather. Been kinda chilly and cloudy all weekend. Had a nice low key weekend with J and his girls. You wouldn't believe it if you saw it-I COOKED. I know, it's hard to believe but its true. I was a bit nervous as it was decided that I would make homemade chili yesterday. The pressure was on. It's one thing to be cooking for yourself-if you ruin it, no biggie, it was just for you. It's quite another if you are cooking for you and three other people. If you ruin it, dinner is ruined for all. Luckily, the chili turned out pretty good. I don't know if it was the world's best chili, but it worked. Today I mastered grilled cheese. I know, you're thinking, Kerri, grilled cheese isn't hard. But you would be wrong. It is very easy to burn. Or not flip right. It takes mad skillz people. Trust me.

near death experience on the highway

no, it's not just me being my normal melodramatic self, I really did almost get into an accident on the highway. And it was totally NOT my fault-I swear. Here I was, minding my own business, driving down Hwy 44, I signaled to get over to pass this really slow car, when out of nowhere this crazy ass old man comes flying past the semi I was about to get in front of and comes flying into the lane I was halfway in. I had to swerve back into my old lane and felt my car start to skid. I really thought "this is it. I'm gonna die". Thank God I didn't hit anyone around me. After I got over my initial shock, I got mad. I believe my exact quote was "crazy f***ing old man". Then I went on a rant in my head about how old people shouldn't be allowed to drive. I'm sorry to the innocent old people out there, but this guy makes y'all look REAL bad......

I will definitely need a drink tonight. J-I'm buying. I need a drink.......and maybe a nap too....see ya tonight!

what a CRAZY night!

I should have known it would be a crazy week at the crisis line as it is a full moon week. But today by far surpassed any craziness I have experienced in quite some time, and that's saying a lot since I've been at the crisis line for over 5 years. We have had to call the police several times tonight, the phones have been ringing off the hook, and I can't even escape it when I'm off because I am on call all week. What's weird though is that it totally gets my adrenaline going. This is why I do this job. I may complain about it being busy but, really, I love it. The only problem with it being busy is that I don't eat. No time. Hey J-guess I won't be a fat ass anymore, huh? :)

bat out of hell

We have a bat loose at work. I'm not kidding. The mammal kind of bat. It apparently got in the building today when the main front door was open. Animal Control had to be called, however, they could not capture the beast. So, it remains somewhere in the building, current location unknown. My boss told me about it as soon as I walked in the door. Of course, my initial reaction was "what?" My boss then says "we have a b-a-t in the building". Yes, she spelled it for me as she was aware that I was totally wacked out on allergy medication and wasn't sure that I understood what she was talking about. She guessed right. I didn't get it. Management got mad at me when I started telling staff that it was a vampire bat. I requested backup when walking to the bathroom-safety in numbers. My co-worker Kim went out in the hallway with me. We searched high and low for the bat (I even kicked the plants thinking it may be hiding in them), but did not find it. My only hope is that I don't come face to face with the bat. That would be way uncool.

Upcoming 5K races-for a good cause!

Hey everyone! It's that time of year when area organizations host 5K races to raise money/awareness for their various causes.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 3. This is the annual NAMI Walk for the Mentally Ill. NAMI is the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Of course this cause is near and dear to my heart as this is the population of people I have worked with for the last 8 years. My co-workers and I will be there with our company t-shirts. This walk is great as it combines not only mental health workers, but also the clients of the various community mental health agencies. It is a 5K walk (approximately 3.2 miles). Its a great time, come on out!

Also coming sometime in June is the Race for the Cure. Most know what this race is about-raising awareness about breast cancer-something that could happen to anyone. Not sure of the date yet for this one, but you can bet I'll be there as I am every year!

Allergies are kicking my butt

Kleenex is my best friend right now. Seriously. I look like I have been crying for days-my nose is all red, my eyes are red and puffy. In other words, I am looking REAL hot right now. I am currently at work and doped up on allergy medicine. Stephen called in sick for the night so it is just me in charge of the entire call center AND I am oncall all week. Not good news. I am telling my staff now, if you do call me at 2am, don't be surprised if I sound crazier than usual. As soon as I leave here tonight I am popping some Benadryl so I can sleep without sniffling and sneezing all night.
Benadryl is the greatest invention ever. Seriously. I think the reason it works on your allergy symptoms is because it just totally knocks you out. You are so drugged up you don't even know you have allergies....it's good times had by all.

Pix of my cousin and his little girl

Just wanted to post a picture of my baby cousin Clint and his little girl, Kira. Yea, thats right-I called that big, tough Marine my "baby cousin"! Love ya Clint! Miss Kira is adorable as usual, has her daddy's attitude I see! Daddy does need to learn better ways to fix her hair though......

J is taking me out of my comfort zone...and it's all good

What a weekend! Whew! I am so exhausted right now as I am sitting here at work, got about 4 hours of sleep last night, I'm dragging but I think I'll make it! Had a couple late nights in a row, had fun though, so I'm not complaining. It was Ivory Tiger weekend at Eddie's. Always great to see Uncle Jimmy and the boys-loved some of the new songs! The best part of the weekend was getting to spend a lot of time w/J-seems like we don't often have time together just the two of us. Pop's was interesting (as usual). J-I'm glad I went. Granted we couldn't "go out" until 3:30am, but at least we got to hang together. Besides the people watching at 4, 5, 6 in the morning is unbelievable! Better than Eddie's any day!

J got me out on a 4 wheeler yesterday and I must admit, it was fun. Even when we flipped it....uh, yea...I have mud all over my clothes now-but it's all good. I was ready to keep going! Thx for the good times J-there will be more where that came from, I'm sure! Can't wait to hit the mud pits baby!

Encountered some drama on Friday but it's all good. Narcissistic people amaze me-you know who I'm talking about-those that think the world revolves around them. And so often, those narcissistic people have nothing to be narcissistic about. They truly have nothing of any interest going on in their own lives so they must butt in the lives of others and/or completely make stuff up. I guess J and I should be flattered that folks think our lives are interesting enough that they must talk about us and spread rumors and whatnot. Right, baby? :)

Anyone else's allergies out of control? I was miserable this weekend, sneezing and wheezing. It sucks. I think I'll just live in a Benadryl induced haze until the first frost......sound like a plan?

Here's to a good week. I know I will have one even though I am oncall for work starting on Monday and going until the next Monday. It sucks sometimes, but it's only every 6 weeks that I have to do it. Hoping for no 3am wake-up calls. I've got Book Club too-so not working Thursday. I just remembered that I am hosting too-better get my apartment cleaned up and visitor-ready! The rest of my time I just wanna hang with my boy and chill. Sounds like a good week, indeed!

more fam pix

My cousin Clint's little girl Kira-she's the flower girl in Red and Jon's wedding.
The April brides-my cousin's fiancee Jessica and my little sis!
Our annual Race For The Cure! Can't wait for it this year! June will be here before you know it!

random family pix

This is the REAL Uncle Jimmy!
Me and my mommy
Uncle Jay and Uncle Jimmy
My cousins Kelli and Jackie
Girl's Lunch at Casa

I wanted more pix of my family on here. Since I don't have a scanner it's difficult. So, I stole some pix from the family blog.....

Only three more weeks!

Wow! Only three more weeks until the big wedding! Red and Jon-you getting nervous? Jon, you stupid fool-you will be an official member of the family. It's not too late to back out you know! Just kidding! As crazy as our family is, they are the best!

how precious is my grandpa?

He's the only grandparent I have. I love him dearly!
Check out the Bud Lite bottle! Watch out-he may try to get you to do a shot with him!

Ugh-Grandpa may have been right all along....

Hey fam! Remember Grandpa's theory about his paralyzed cat being picked up by a hawk, thus explaining her injuries? Well, J found a picture that just may prove Grandpa's theory correct. Don't tell him.

What have I gotten myself into?

Boy do I have an exciting weekend ahead of me. Apparently, on Saturday J and I are going.......4 wheelin'. What? I know my mother is laughing right now...Yes, by birth I am a country girl, however, doesn't mean I am used to doing "country" things. People always thought it was strange that my first camping experience was when I was like 22. They'd say "but you grew up in the country". And???? As my mom would say "we are not a camping people". I think that goes for 4 wheelin', fishin', and hunting as well. Now don't get me wrong, there are some "country" activities that I enjoy-floating on the river in the summer time, bonfires, bbq's. The last time I went 4 wheelin was at Brant Schlieper's birthday party in high school. As I recall, we flipped the thing and someone (I can't remember who) ended up breaking a leg. Nice, huh?
Because I love J I will go. I actually think it will be fun. I don't care about getting dirty, or being outside in the rain. I just don't want to be injured in any sort of way. Or get mud in my eyes. That would suck.

Baby Gachie

How cute is this kid? He is the son of my friend Mercy. I have no idea how to pronounce his name. His parents are from Kenya, so I am assuming it is a Kenyan name. I used to work with Gachie's mom and miss her tons. She made the crisis line so much fun! The best was when she would teach Laura and I Swahili. I learned some great terms, such as "busu mutako yango" which, roughly translated means "kiss my ass". I also learned "kumbafu" which means "stupid". My goal is to become proficient in Swahili. I'm off to a good start, huh? Mercy-in all seriousness, I am so happy for you and Tony. Your baby boy is beautiful-I had no doubt he would be genetically blessed! I miss you girl and hope to see you soon!

think we'll run out of fat cat pictures?

further proof that I am an idiot

Most would be embarrassed to tell this story, but not me! Ok, so today I was getting ready for work, had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed (sorry for the visual). Anyway, as I was dressing I somehow dropped my undies in the toilet. It was like watching it in slow motion. At first I just stood there looking at them laying in the toilet. Then I started laughing out loud. I was alone in my apartment, laughing out loud. I am NQR (not quite right). Don't worry people, I did NOT dry them off and wear them (J!!!!). They are in the laundry now, as we speak. And how was YOUR day?

mohawks can be sexy....

The war is on.....

top these J! :)

psychic-and not in a good way

This freaked me out. Ok, so yesterday, for some strange reason, Dana Reeve, Christopher Reeve's wife, popped into my head. Out of the blue I thought about her. Then J tells me today that she died yesterday. I'm a little weirded out by it. Same thing happened this past summer-one of my old friends from Salem, Sharp, popped into my head-I hadn't even seen him in 3 or 4 years, and that very same day he was in a bad car accident. So-lesson learned is: If I tell you I'm thinking about you (only if its out of the blue), run.......and hide.

My boy is sick

Poor J-he don't feel good. I actually feel kinda bad for him. I knew he was really, truly sick when he didn't eat yesterday. People-this boy can eat, so I knew something was definitely wrong. Now, I'm not a doctor, but he clearly had quite a high fever (and all hell broke loose when the fever broke...). I'm going with the flu, but I could be wrong. How many hours in a row did you sleep sweetie? Like 20? He really is kinda precious when he's sick. He talks gibberish (more so than usual). You all know how boys are when they're sick. Anyway, I got him some medicine to take, hopefully he's on the mend now. And baby, by the way-if I end up sick because of you-I will kick your ass. I love you! :)

Happy Birthday Will!

My favoritest person ever, Will, has a birthday today! Happy Birthday darling! Hope you're holding down the fort down there in Farmington. I have even forgiven you for missing my birthday. It's because I love you so! Hope you and Trev can come to the STL soon! I miss you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!!!!

No I didn't forget your birthday yesterday, just forgot to put something on my blog! Anyway, hope you had a great birthday girl! I miss ya tons! Tell Miss Claire I said happy birthday as well. I can't believe she is 5 now! Wow.

This one is for you J!!!

More tales from my childhood

As if you needed more proof that I am completely crazy (or as J would say, wacked out).....

So, when I was a little kid, I became convinced somehow that Satan was hiding in my room and was, in fact, going to show himself to me in the middle of the night. I wasn't sure why he chose me, but I was convinced. I would check the closet and under my bed a million times. Once in my bed, I refused to open my eyes because I just knew that would be the moment that Satan would appear. I would be awake most of the night as well, convinced he would "get" me if I fell asleep. Wow, reading over this I just realized how crazy I am.....

More tales from my childhood coming soon.....it's a never-ending source of entertainment.

In less than a month......

My Cubbies will be back in action! Yay! They are already showing some promise at 3-1 in Cactus League play. I cannot wait for the season to start!

Parker loses his first tooth!

This is a big moment in a 6 year old's life. The first missing tooth. My friend Carrie's little man is getting so big! I won't even get into how I remember Carrie being pregnant with him and remember him being born and now he's in 1st grade and losing his teeth? Where does the time go? Has anyone noticed that the Tooth Fairy is much more generous nowadays? I remember back in the '80's the Tooth Fairy gave ya a quarter. If you were lucky. Nowadays, kids get $1, $5, even $10. It's crazy I tell ya!

This triggers some PTSD symptoms for me. You see, I didn't lose my first tooth until 2nd grade. The kids made fun of me because I still had my baby teeth (they may have made fun of me for other reasons as well, but I wasn't aware of those). It was traumatic.

Anyway, didn't mean to make it all about me. Congrats Mr. Parker. You are the coolest 1st grader I know!

To my Lizzard (and Robyn too!).....

I am so excited you will be in the STL! I work nights all week, but am off on Friday, maybe we can do lunch? Whaddya think? Let me know. Do you have my cell number? Robyn, do you think that you and Lola could come into town on Thursday? I have to work at 3, but maybe we could at least do lunch? What about Friday? I want to be able to see both of you-I miss you guys sooooo much! Lizzard, I am glad to hear your mom is doing well. I continue to pray for her and keep her in my thoughts. I can't wait to see you guys!

How cute is she?

nu=3269>847>245>WSNRCG=3233568892<;7nu0mrj.1.jpg"> This is my friend Sarah's little girl, Elizabeth. She is too freakin' cute-just had to put her on the blog!

Washington Ave. will never be the same....

Wow Red-you and your girls sure do know how to party!!! There were times when I was laughing so hard at your antics (hello, Julie taking her bra off and standing on the bar stool....). I so can't wait to get the 2.5 rolls of film developed! I hope my sis enjoyed her bachelorette party. The bridal party worked hard to make sure she had fun. We had a great dinner-fun times trying to figure out just what the hell we were eating (I have never seen a Caesar salad look like that!). It was also Red's lingerie shower, so it was pretty funny to see all the other people in the restaurant stare at our table as she is holding up bras and undies and other unmentionables! Charlie our waiter was fantastic and incredibly patient with 12 obnoxious, intoxicated girls! For those of you in the STL-I recommend Mosaic. The food was good and the staff were amazing-very helpful. They took good care of us.
After dinner we moved on to a couple of other bars. Once at Lucas Park, things got a little crazy. In a good way. There were many, many drinks involved, not to mention several rounds of shots (by the way, I do NOT recommend a shot called Strawberry Shortcake-I get chills just thinking about it). Thanks to Angie for bringing along the Girls Night Out dare cards. Good Lord. I saw some things I never want to see again. I'll spare you the details. I will say that the girls obviously had fun. Alyssa and I were sober (although she did stand on a bar stool at one point, too....), and just sat and watched the festivities.
Sister, I love you dearly, but cannot believe you told that other bride that you are prettier than her...I was pretty sure we were gonna get our butts kicked-those were some big girls!
All in all, it was a good night. I woke up around 4am and had my sister laying right next to me, I was smashed in the corner of the bed in the fetal position. We were in an KING sized bed people. Girlfriend wasn't moving, so I got up and moved to the other side of the bed. LOVED the hot breakfast. Drury Inn rules! Sis, hope the night was all you wanted it to be!

Spawns of Satan....

Who agrees with me? Go to http://www.ihateclowns.com/ if you do! Come on people! Together we can rid the Earth of these evil creatures!

allergies=bad; Benadryl=good

Yup-it's allergy time. Yippee skippy. Dudes-I feel like crap. My day yesterday started well, but by the afternoon, I was sneezing and wheezing so much I took a nearly hour and a half nap. At church, I was so exhausted, I couldn't do the sit/stand/kneel thing-just had no energy. At that point, I knew what time it was. Benadryl time. I took it on my way home from church knowing it would take some time to actually hit my system, so I knew I would still be able to drive safely. Well, it clearly did not take as long as I thought it would. I don't think J knew what to do with me. I was just kinda mumbling and staring a lot. I was asleep by 10:30 and slept like a rock. Today, I still feel it flowing through my system. I am at work and am totally out of it (but still sneezing!), I'm also kinda cranky-probably from Benadryl withdrawal. I think I need detox.

maybe I should have given up road rage for Lent

I swear I didn't mean to call that guy on the highway a "mother f***er". I swear it. But if he hadn't been driving like an a-hole, I wouldn't have had to. I'm sure it's not entirely his fault that my normal 25 minute commute turned into a 45 minute commute. I don't know whose fault it was. I kept expecting the massive traffic jam to be because of an accident (never a good thing, but at least a valid reason for a jam) or because of road construction (always a possibility around here). But no. Neither of these things caused the jam. It appears nothing did. And then the above mentioned guy, driving in his giant black pickup truck, sped down the exit lane then squeezed in at the last minute to get back onto the highway. You know what I'm talking about-thinking their time is more important that everyone elses', so they drive on the shoulder or another lane and expect you to let them in. Well, I'm sorry-that drives me nuts. I try to be a fairly nice driver, but I absolutely refuse to let these folks in. I'm standing my ground. True, his giant truck could crush my little Crapalier, but at least I wouldn't have given up my ethics. Or something like that......