1.30.2009

Snow days, pop stars and a lot of babies

I'm feeling a bit irritable today. I'm in a mood...and it could be because I have PMS and would like to eat a whole lotta chocolate right now.

Or it could be because I'm at work (you know, the job that I'm not really needed for anymore), MAKING UP my hours from Wednesday - when we got 10.9 inches of snow and the entire freaking campus was closed until 5 p.m. and so I wasn't really able to come to work (even if I had wanted to risk life and limb to drive 40 miles in a snowstorm).

Yeah, apparently all the "real" employees were able to NOT show up for work and still get paid. Not me. I have to make up the hours. Except now HR says that "no determination on policy has been made" and I should just mark "snow day" on my montly time report and it would be figured out later. Exactly when "later" might be....since I'm only here 'til June....no one knows.

So, other than those 2 minor irritations (and the fact that I currently smell SMOKE in the building...I'll get to that later, I hope)...there are a couple other things irking me today.

1. Jessica Simpson's "weight gain." OK, Jess honey...those high-waist jeans are horrendous. Please don't EVER wear them again. EVER. But really....I take issue w/ the media here. The girl is NOT fat. [and if she is, I'd like to be 'fat' like Jessica. really, i would]. She's probably a size 8 (lucky her!). So stop with the "Jessica balloons to a monster size has-been pop star" stories. Please. You're giving little girls (and grown women) everywhere a freaking complex.

Shut up already about the weight thing. I will say it again. I would LOVE to be FAT like Jessica Simpson.

2. The woman in California who just had 8 babies. At first blush, my thoughts were this: hmm..I wonder if she'll get her own show on TLC too, now that the Gosselins are beyond annoying and should be removed immediately before anyone is harmed. But after seeing the news today that (1) she already had SIX KIDS before she (inexplicably) went to a fertility doctor and had EIGHT embryos implanted and (2) she's a 30 year old single mom who lives AT HOME with her parents and SIX kids in a three bedroom house...well, let's just say I'm a bit irritated.

Here's the thing: Her six kids range in age from 2 to 7 years old. So, essentially she's been popping out kids every year for the past 7 years. I'm not saying there's anything WRONG with that...(she's crazy!)but I am just wondering (out loud) why she felt it was necessary to have another (8) kid(s) when she's living AT HOME with her parents and, according to all reports, has no other support system (read: husband, boyfriend, baby daddy, etc.). WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DO THAT?

Perhaps I'm just being a bitch.

But it just seems CRAZY to me. How in the world is she going to care for 14 kids (8 of whom are preemie babies who will need constant medical care in the hospital for the next 2 months or so...)???? And, they said her dad (the kids' grandpa) is leaving to go back to Iraq as a contractor so he can earn more money to help raise the kids.

How in the world is this woman going to raise 14 kids on her own? I only have two kids and am struggling to keep our budget in check -- and my husband and I still have two jobs between us. [Until June 30 when I will be unemployed. But you knew that]. I would just like to know what she was thinking when she said "gosh, I'm a single mom with 6 kids living with my parents so far...I think I want to have just one more!"

Go ahead...tell me I'm being mean, heartless, judgmental...or whatever other name you'd like to call me in the comments.

I'll extend my congrats to the new mom.
I just think she's crazy.

(Oh, and the burning smell? Yeah...no, it wasn't the gates of hell opening up to swallow me whole for questioning this new mom and her 14 kids. It was burning popcorn. The. Worst. Smell. In. The. World. Well, almost the worst smell.)

1.24.2009

1.23.2009

Twenty-five things....

I posted this on my Facebook page....and tagged a few people.

Join in, won't you? Add your 25 in the comments or on your blog.

Tag, you're it.

25 totally random things about me:

1. I have two tattoos. And I would like to get a third.
2. I have six piercings - all in my ears.
3. I sued a former employer for pregnancy discrimination. And won.
4. The number of speeding tickets I've received: ZERO
5. I failed the Ohio Bar Exam seven times. Yes, you read that right. Seven times.
6. In the fourth grade, I received straight A's for the entire year.
7. I intentionally failed my last quarter of Algebra II in high school because the teacher refused to help me in class. I still graduated because I passed the semester with a "C".
8. I met my husband via online dating.
9. I believe in ghosts.
10. My dream job is syndicated columnist.
11. I have a tendency to say "fuck" a lot.
12. I converted to Catholicism when I was 29.
13. I am probably addicted to Starbucks.
14. I have a third blog, but have yet to update it. It's a work in progress.
15. I am addicted to all things related to Walt Disney World.
16. I'm obsessed with 'Twilight'
17. I pluck my gray hairs.
18. I used to be a newspaper reporter.
19. In the course of my lifetime, I have had 17 teeth pulled: 6 baby teeth in the 2nd grade, 3 baby teeth and 4 adult teeth in the 4th grade and 4 wisdom teeth in high school. Therefore, I only have 24 adult teeth (you should have 32 including the wisdom teeth).
20. I have a short fuse and a bad temper.
21. I wish I was 3 inches taller and 40 lbs thinner.
22. I had 2nd degree sunburn in the 7th grade. To this day I hate to lay in the sun.
23. I took Russian in college - at one point I was able to read and write in Russian.
24. I wanted to be an Olympic figure skater as a kid. Then I quit skating when I was 13.
25. I failed the eye test of my first driver's exam because I needed glasses and didn't know it. Apparently, I thought everything was SUPPOSED to be fuzzy.

A truly shitty day

Well, remember how a few posts ago I said my job status was in limbo?

Yeah, not in limbo anymore.

As of June 30, I no longer have a job. My contract with the university will NOT be renewed. It has nothing to do with "performance" according to my boss...it's all about the money. Apparently my paltry part-time salary (that does NOT include benefits, sick days, paid vacation or any other perks) is affecting the unviersity's budget in such an adverse way that I must be let go.

Of course, June 30 is just a date. They could let me go today if they wanted to. My contract says so.

This fucking sucks.

So, if anyone needs a writer/editor please let me know. I'm available. NOW.

1.20.2009

A great day

The 5 things I'm grateful for today:

1. President Barack Obama
2. see above
3. see number 1
4. did you see it?
5. I'll say it again: President Barack Obama

I think that pretty much sums up my mood today.

I am ecstatic.

Today is the first day of the next chapter in America's history. And what a day it is.

1.18.2009

And the hits just keep on coming....

So, the weekend started off on a not-so-stellar note (see previous post).

I had hope for a better weekend yesterday morning.

It didn't happen.

My weekend in a nutshell:

Friday - Husband's company cuts everyone's salary by 10%
Saturday - Only high point was seeing 'Twilight' again w/ my sister and one of her friends. It was all downhill after that.
Saturday night - my 81 year old grandmother is taken to the hospital and has emergency surgery to remove her large intestine and part of her small intestine. The docs tell my mom that grandma might not make it thru the surgery. She pulls through but now has months of rehab in her immediate future. She's still in ICU, but might get moved to another room on Monday.
Later Saturday night - my husband says he's feeling sick to his stomach. Oh wonderful.
Sunday morning, 6 am - husband IS sick. I send him upstairs, away from me and the girls.
Sunday afternoon, 4 pm - Olivia gets sick. It's now 8:30 p.m. as I post this, and she cannot keep anything, even liquids, in her stomach. I'm hoping this passes soon. Husband seems to be better.

And so that leaves me and Emma. I have intentionally not eaten a thing today - hoping that maybe if I have nothing in my system, there won't be anything to, well, uh...you know. Emma has been OK all day...running around, happy, eating small meals. She's asleep right now, but I am fully expecting a vomiting 2 year old by the middle of the night.

Thankfully, I don't work tomorrow. As things are going now, I expect that I will be home alone, caring for 2 sick kids and myself. Really looking forward to that.

Today I am grateful for:
1. The surgeon who operated on grandma
2. My sister's friend for taking us to Twilight for free
3. The fact that I have not yet thrown up
4. The fact that Emma is still doing OK too
5. The hope that this stomach bug is a 24 hour thing and will soon vacate the premises of my home

1.16.2009

That giant sucking sound you hear? It's the economy sucking money out of my bank account.

Everyone knows how bad the economy is right now. It sucks.

The university where I work is in the midst of a hiring freeze and they are eliminating jobs across campus. For now, my job seems to be safe. That could change at any day. I could get to work on Tuesday and be told "you're fired." And that would be that.

My husband is a purchasing manager for a company that sells steel to the auto industry. Guess who isn't buying steel lately? Yeah, the Big 3 -- who just happen to be the company's big customers. We keep waiting for something bad to happen -- and today it happened. My husband, along with all other salaried workers at the company, was informed today that his salary is being reduced by 10%.

Granted, it's not as bad as a 20% reduction - which is what was part of the rumor mill. And, he still has a job. For now. But a 10% reduction in salary is huge to our family budget. It's going to have a very negative effect on everything.

He's been looking for a new job for months (years???). He had what we thought was THE interview last month...but he didn't get the job. I keep hoping against hope that he gets another interview somewhere that will lead to THE JOB. So far, nothing.

This whole situation just SUCKS.

I'd post the 5 things I'm grateful for today, but really there's only 1. That my husband still has his job. For now.

1.14.2009

More snow? Seriously?!?

It's snowing. Again.

It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive from the BGSU campus to Sylvania. Not exactly a fun commute.

However, I made it home safely....and now I'm in for the night. And we're having leftovers for dinner...so I don't have to cook. :)

And now...

The 5 things I'm grateful for today:

1. Blogger friends AthenaBee and Wrestling Kitties for suggesting I try BK Iced Mochas.
2. BK Iced Mochas. For $2.19 you too can have a good morning!
3. My new 'Edward Cullen' keychain! Thanks to Wendy for creating it! LOVE IT! :)
4. A safe drive home....with little to no slipping and sliding!
5. Leftovers for dinner. I don't have to cook tonight and that makes me happy.

1.13.2009

This made me smile...


OK...so I didn't post my 5 things for yesterday....I'll try to make up for it today..

The 5 things I'm grateful for today:

1. Coffee from Burger King. Yeah, it's not Sbux...but it's OK.
2. Mindless TV last night (i.e. "The Bachelor"). I don't have to pay attention and I still know what's going on.
3. My new issue of InStyle.
4. Two straight days of good commutes to work, despite Mother Nature's attempt at bad weather.
5. My husband - for telling me I'm not fat when I'm having one of "those" days. :)

1.10.2009

Still snowing....


This is my backyard after nearly 24 hours
of constant snow. We must have at least
10 inches of snow. It's obnoxious. I'm over it.
Oh, did I mention...it is STILL snowing?!?

Today's "top 5" list -- Today I am grateful for:

1. Two napping children.
2. Time to finish Olivia's scrapbook before tomorrow's party.
3. Not having to drive to work in this snow.
4. Cheddar-broccoli soup for dinner tonight!
5. My husband, because he shovels the snow..and I don't have to!

1.09.2009

SNOW!

My gosh..it's a freaking snow storm out there right now! I told Olivia it was her birthday blizzard.

And now, the 5 things I'm grateful for today:

1. Olivia. She has made the last 5 years amazingly fun. And exhausting.
2. Emma. She's got my temper, but when she gets mad it's cute.
3. Having Friday's off. I'm so happy I don't have to commute home from BG in this weather.
4. Weekends.
5. Quiet time while the girls nap.

Happy Birthday Olivia!


Happy 5th Birthday to
my Olivia Rose!!

We love you!!

Love,
momma, daddy and emma

1.08.2009

100 Friends

As I was on Facebook today, I noticed that I hit a milestone of sorts....I now have 100 friends.

100 Facebook Friends.

Hmmmm. I didn't realize that I actually KNEW 100 people, but apparently I do. And therein lies the beauty of Facebook.

Those 100 friends include my sister, my brother in law, my cousins, one of my lifelong friends (we've been friends since we were 5...so that would be 31 years!), high school friends that I still see and go to dinner with, high school friends I haven't seen since graduation day in 1991, college friends I haven't seen since graduation day in 1995, law school friends (and/or their spouses), ex-boyfriends (2 at last count...OMG...did I just admit that?), at least one politician, one TV personality, one newspaper editor, a couple co-workers, the woman who used to do my manicures when I had the time and money to afford those, and several of my dear blogger friends (whom I would love to meet someday, but that's another post entirely).

So..wow. 100 friends. I always wondered how people could have 200, 250, or 300+ friends on Facebook. Now I know. It's an interesting commentary on social networking and friendship, no? I wonder if it would be so interesting if there were classifications instead? You know, groups such as "Friends", "People from work", "Acquaintances", "Stalkers", etc. I mean really...if you have 486 friends on FB are you REALLY friends with everyone? No, I think not.

However, one of my favorite things about FB right now is that I have reconnected with so many people. There's a group of about 30 of us from SUA's class of 1991 who have reconnected...and I can only think that this might make our 20 year reunion interesting to say the least.

If you're on FB you will understand when I say this: I am addicted to status updates. Really. I am. Most are so random, but so interesting...they're like a little peek into that friend's day at that moment. [Twitter does the same thing...but I'll save that post for another day].

And so there it is...I have 100 friends on Facebook. If any of you, dear readers, are on FB and would like to add another friend...leave it in the comments. :)

And now for the things I'm grateful for today:

1. Facebook (that was rather obvious, right?)
2. Venti skinny caramel macchiato
3. Supermassive Black Hole by Muse
4. It's Thursday
5. The sun is shining today

1.07.2009

Does winter weather make people stupid?

Yes, in fact, I think it does. Case in point: we had a little bit of snow last night, making roads wet and a bit slick this morning. And so, what do 99% of all Toledo drivers do? Well, they drive over the speed limit on the expressway, ride my ass (seriously, a few were THISCLOSE to the back bumper of my car), and then get pissed when I choose to GO THE SPEED LIMIT! Morons, every last one of them.

Speaking of stupid people...did anyone watch "Homeland Security: USA" last night on ABC? I have to admit it...I watched. (And before you all go "what the hell? has she lost her mind?"...listen - there was nothing else to watch last night. Well, OK...The Biggest Loser was on, but I hate that show. It sets unrealistic goals and well, it irritates me.)

So anyway...I was watching this Homeland Security show last night -- and let's just put this out there first: The people trying to cross our borders are often very stupid.

The people who work the borders, TSA, etc....they rock. But, I would NOT want their jobs - it looks like constant stress, 24-7. They're keeping us safe...so two big thumbs up for them. [I will try to remember this when I'm stuck in the TSA security line on my way to Disney World in April, loaded down with 2 kids, a stroller and a diaper bag!].

But, man OH man....some of the people trying to cross our borders are just STUPID. A special kind of stupid. My favorite was the Swiss belly dancer who came to the US without a work visa and without any US dollars...to find a job as a belly dancer (because, apparently there's a huge market for belly dancers in LA?). It was almost painful to watch her segement...many things were lost in translation with that poor dear.

I doubt very much that I'll add the show to my Tivo season pass...but it might be worth watching every now and then .

And so, without further ado....today 'top 5' list:

Today I am grateful for:
1. A good (great!) review at work. They like me, they really like me.
2. Being an overly organized, type-A person.
3. That there are people willing to risk their own safety to keep us safe.
4. The fact that it's Wednesday.
5. Twilight.

1.06.2009

Snow and Chinese food...it must be Tuesday

What's with that post title, you ask?

Well, today is "Chinese Tuesday" at work -- you know, because it's Tuesday we order Chinese food for lunch. And...the snow part? Last year (yes, 2008)..it snowed/iced/sleeted damn near EVERY Tuesday from January through March.

And, today is Tuesday...so guess what? It is SNOWING. Of course.

I am so over winter already. Is it April yet?

And now, for the 5 that I am grateful for today:

1. My health
2. My coworker who brings me coffee and yummy muffins
3. New calendars
4. My ever-growing "to do" list -- it means I'm busy and I have a job to do!
5. Emma's new words: "bye-bye" -- said in her cute baby voice every morning when she leaves for daycare w/ her daddy and sister.

1.05.2009

A new year

OK, so following the lead of my fellow bloggers Wrestling Kitties , t.w.i.t , and Happy Hopefuls , I am going to try and post a daily "Grace in Small Things" list of 5 things that have graced my life either on that day or at any time in my life. [You too can join in here].

And so, 5 days into January 2009...here we go:

Today I am grateful for:

1. 'I love you so much' from Olivia
2. Hugs and sloppy kisses from Emma
3. The fact that I have a job
4. Kevin
5. Blogging

OK, that's it for today. I promise that I'll try to blog more often. I just didn't have much to say the past few weeks -- so I stayed quiet. I'm sure that won't last too much longer.

happy 2009!