Happy Birthday Nenonen!

Happy birthday Carrie! Hope you have a fabulous day! Man, does everyone I know have a birthday in November? It seems like it. Anyway girl, lets go out and celebrate. Name the time and the place.

I had a really weird dream last night. I dreamed that I had hit my pinkie finger on something and thought it was broken, so my family took me to some medical clinic, where I was led to the back room, for some reason I was barefoot and I noticed that there was blood on the floor and I was walking in it. Anyway, I got some young doctor who was not from our country who told me my finger wasn't broken and gave me a prescription for "the pain". He gave me a script for Lorazepam, better known as Ativan (a fantastic and easily addictive anti-anxiety med) and instructed me to only take half a pill at a time, the pills were chewable like a Flintstones vitamin. So, we get ready to leave this clinic and for some reason now Amy's girlfriend Shannon is with me and notices I have a cough. She gets all freaked out and just knows this means I have walking pnemonia (this and the broken finger are the link). So the nurse comes out, says I have to come back in but can't come back till 6pm. So, I get upset because apparently I have Book Club at 6pm and for some odd reason, book club is at my parents house in Salem (and you though Valmeyer was a long drive!). The dream ends with me dropping off some Christmas decorations for the book club girls and then I wake up, and my finger hurts.....

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's 55th birthday. Happy birthday daddy! I know he had looked forward to this monumental birthday because it is his magic retirement age. One month from now, my father will officially be retired. Those 30+ years working for the feds will finally pay off. Although, I think he may be busier in retirement. He will be working full time at his farm and taking on a part time job pimping out his tree knowledge skills. He will also be overseeing the building of their new home. He ordered the plans for the new house and it is beautiful. Good to see I will have a nice inheritance.... :)

Life is short, live each day as if it were your last

Seriously, the title says it all. I just finished re-watching the Channel 4 news story on my friend Krista's sister-in-law Laura. For those of you that do not know the story, Laura was involved in a serious car accident in July. She has been in a coma ever since with a pretty severe head injury. She is in what they call a "waking coma", her eyes are open, she responds to minor stimuli, but remains in a comatose state. The news story told the story of her relationship with her new husband and showed footage of her wedding. My sisters fiance and his friends went to high school with Laura where she was the homecoming queen. Laura was/is a very beautiful girl. She was one of those people you'd love to hate because she was beautiful, had great job, great husband, great house, but was also one of the nicest people you would ever meet. What happened to her could happen to anyone. Watching the story (with tears streaming down my face) made me think about that. Life IS short. It puts things in perspective real quick. If you'd like to see her progress or know her whole story, you can go to www.lauralaughlin.com for more information.

In other news, today, thus far, has been a good day with Chloe. She has been very sweet, although she still seems to think she is a lap dog. I'm pretty sure 40+ pound dogs are not "lap dogs". We'll see how sweet she is when I try to get her in the basement today before I leave for work. Yesterday she refused to go in, would stop at the door and as soon as I got near her she would run upstairs. I finally just had to crate her.

I want to thank everyone for their offers of assistance for my big move. I think I am going to borrow Uncle Ron's truck (I may have to have one of the boys drive it), that'll save a lot of money. Jon-I hope you and the boys know how much I appreciate your help! And sister-don't be sad, we may actually see each other more now that we won't be living together! You won't be able to get rid of me. Who else is gonna be able to keep you calm in the coming months before your wedding? As the MOH, its my job! Anyone got any Valium????? :)

Well, must go make myself presentable-have to go to work in an hour and a half.

Back to work=good times

Ah yes, I missed the crisis line so. Ten days away is a lot. I was greeted to four calls waiting and our bell going off as I came in. Welcome back! It was a pretty busy day all around but should be expected since it was the monday after a holiday. Yesterday was my 5 year anniversary at my job. They just can't get rid of me. I want my desk clock.

So, Amy wants to set me up with her girlfriends brother. Amy claims he is good looking "for a boy". That gives me such hope. Why is it that everyone has someone they want to set you up with but you never end up meeting that person? "Oh, so and so's brother/friend/cousin/co-worker/dance partner would be perfect for you, I'll set you up". But does it ever happen? No. At least not in my world. So, I'll believe it when I see it.

I talked to my new landlord today. Yep, I got the apartment and go pick up the keys on Saturday. He seems like a really cool guy. Now I just have to find someone to help me move and pick a day to do it. I'd also really like to find someone with a truck so I don't have to rent a u-haul. U-haul costs a lot of money. I'm sure Jon and Red will be glad to have the place to themselves and not have the sister/sister-in-law living with them anymore. I know I'd be tired of me if I were them. I will miss living with them because it really has been a good experience, however, it is time for me to be on my own. And besides, I absolutely love this apartment. It's great and I can't wait to decorate it and make it my own. I miss my stuff!

Back to the STL

I'm back. Isn't that great? I have to go to work in just over an hour. Let the fun begin.

Red has decorated the condo for Christmas. It looks great. She is a little mini Val. Speaking of, as soon as everyone left mom and dad's yesterday, mom cleaned the entire house. That woman just can't sit still! I definitely did not inherit that trait from her!

Tomorrow is my daddy's birthday. I'll call home tomorrow and I'm sure the first thing he will say is "I'm retiring 30 days from today...". Gotta love his predictability.

Chloe is sitting here burping. I have never heard a dog burp before. It's weird. What are you feeding her, Jon?

Well, guess I better unpack and get ready to go back out into the real world. Vacation has been fun. Must do it again sometime.

I don't like being in the "tornado watch" area

Storms they are a' brewin'. We have been under a tornado watch for the last few hours. I don't like it. Everyone who knows me knows I hate tornadoes. I am glued to the TV screen currently (all the while watching Grey's Anatomy). The dogs are clawing at the door to be let in. They are too stupid to figure out that they will continue to get wet if they stay on the deck. They have the garage available to them. We are not letting wet dogs in the house.

Back to work tomorrow. I guess I'm ready to come back. It will be quite the adjustment, it's been awhile. I also must detox and not eat any more crap until Christmas. Back to eating green for me!

Playing poker with grandpa

What a night. I finally learned how to play poker (at least I think I was playing poker) tonight. Imagine playing poker with your grandfather. Good times. It was me, dad, grandpa and my cousin Rachel (who I am pretty sure hustled us) and for a bit, Tim. We just played with the spare change from Tim's room since we were too cheap to play with our own money. I now know how to play 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Stud, 5 Card Draw and Texas Hold 'Em. I got confused at times, but kept my cheat sheet handy (grandpa wrote down what a royal flush was, a straight flush, a full house, etc.). I'll probably forget how to play come tomorrow, but it was still way fun.

We also had our bonfire. We gathered out in the woods and dad lit stuff on fire. It was cool. We burned some hot dogs, dropped some in the leaves (the dogs loved that) and burned the crap out of some marshmallows. Then grandpa told some bad jokes and it started raining. Kira (my cousins 3 year old) then pronounced that we needed to go inside because we didn't have umbrellas. She's a pretty smart kid. She also told me I was being mean and that I was in big, big trouble because 1. I wouldn't let her eat cookies before dinner and 2. I wouldn't let her have a glass plate (never did figure out why she wanted that). That child is lucky she's cute.....

Happy Birthday Uncle Jimmy!

Today is Uncle Jimmy's birthday (aka Ivory Tiger uncle). Hope you have a great one unc!

The Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close. I'm exhausted. Between the 12 people and four dogs that were at my parents house, this holiday was a crazy one. Apparently the country dogs don't really like the city dogs and vice versa. There were some tense moments at times. Chloe the big giant sheppard/collie mix got along well with Sophia the maltipoo. We went down to the pond to do some fishing since today was so nice outside. Of course, I didn't touch any fish. Rachel and Grandpa did the fishing (with the occasional assistance from Kira). I baked dad's special birthday cookies for his birthday on this coming Tuesday. Dad is going to be 55-this is notable because 55 is the majic age in which he can retire and he is going to do so at the end of the year (I've heard the story about a thousand times this weekend).

Although crazy and tiring, visiting with the family is always good. I haven't slept much since Tuesday (especially last night when Chloe decided to jump in the bed around 4:00am and start biting me). I am looking forward to going home, although going back to work will be quite an adjustment since I haven't been there in 10 days!

Tonight, on the last night in Salem, we are having a poker tournament. Nothing like playing poker with your dad and grandpa. We tried playing yesterday but Red and I had no idea what we were doing (I am sooooo confused). Today, grandpa taught me all the suites so I am ready to go! Bring on some Texas Hold 'Em! We are also having a bonfire outside and roasting marshmallows. Isn't that precious? Tim suggested family bowling, so maybe we will do that too....its a busy night in Salem, Mo y'all!

Happy birthday Clint!

Happy Birthday to my darling little cousin Clint. He is the big 2-5 today. Geez. Where does the time go? Maybe when he's here tomorrow we will pull out the pictures of me, him and my sister in the bathtub together. Now, don't be sick people! He was a baby, my sister was like 2 and I was 4. It was perfectly appropriate!

He and his daughter will be here tomorrow along w/the rest of his fam (minus Ben) and good ol' Grandpa! Can't wait! Not to mention that Red and Jon will be here. Clint-just because you are a big tough Marine doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!!!!! :)

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.....