Maybe you noticed in the past couple weeks I’ve been a real crab. Or depending on your tolerance, a whiny bitch. Whatever. I’m comfortable with myself enough to embrace my pity-parties and recognize what a pain in the tush I can be. Besides my husband who’s legally obligated to put up with me, none of you fine folks need to. But you do. And you have been this whole time that I’ve been moaning and groaning and I appreciate that a whole heckuva lot. I try not to air all my dirty laundry because my parents read this, possibly a few of my co-workers (because I’m stupid bold enough to have vanity plates), and some other friends (um, would it kill any of you to leave a comment once in a while? dang lurkers…don’t make me chase down your IPs now!). Not that I’m saying anything bad about any of them, but there are some things in your life, in your head, in your heart, that you generally need to keep to yourself. Unless you know that no one who sees you on a constant basis is going to read these deepest darkest thoughts and feelings…ah, the anonymity of the Interwebs….

Well, to make a long story short (“too late!”), while you have seen some whiny crap pouring forth, that’s actually just the more superficial stuff bugging me. But all the support, love, humor, and responses back to me (comments/emails) has really meant a LOT to me because it’s helped me deal with the stuff on the surface so that I have more strength to deal with the other deeper things. I don’t feel so spread-out, so overwhelmed, or so helpless. I truly appreciate all of you and your words of encouragement. I don’t know that I could ever put into words what it really means to me…so I’ll stick with the words I know: Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

Speaking of bottoms:

Who’da thunk my baby could have a bigger butt and thighs than my nearly four-year old???

(photo courtesy of Justin)

Apparently about 1.3 inches of rainfall is too much for Comcast because our internet was down most of the day (read: playing catch-up on blog-reading/commenting). Actually, 1.3 inches is pushing it, since that is what the approximate rainfall total is as of 9:30pm…it was probably only at 0.5-0.75 inches at the point the service went down earlier today. Losers. Can you tell I don’t like them? I can’t wait for FiOS to come…obviously Justin and I are nearly foaming at the mouth, waiting for service to be extended to our area. But even for those folks who are too stupid, short-sighted, gluttons for poor internet service and worse customer service, excited to have their rates raised every month, not interested in changing providers should theoretically see a reduction in their rates (or at least a slow-down in the crazy rate hikes). Competition for consumer services is always a good thing.

Since Earth Day is in a few days, folks have been getting all “green” and the cable networks have “green” programming, and there’s ads with a representative from the Left and the Right talking about how they’re coming together for the Earth (my fave is the Al Sharpton/Pat Robertson pairing…goes back to my Religious Studies background, I guess). I recycle…in fact, I force Justin to recycle (although he likes to vex me with tossing stuff in the trash). We’re lucky that our area recycles nearly everything and it gets picked up on trash day. What’s killing me is the conversion from incandescents to fluorescents. I am soooooooo cheap that it is hard to want to pull out a working bulb and replace it with a fluorescent. I went and bought a bunch of the compact fluorescents when they were on sale for the multi-packs, so in the next few days I will be replacing working bulbs (inner monologue: I can do it, I can do it, I can do it). Maybe I’ll just have Justin remove the working bulbs so that all I’m doing is putting a new bulb where we’re missing one. But that’s not my biggest problem…my biggest problem is that we have at least 7 “builders special” lighting fixtures that each contain three decorator bulbs with the tiny candelabra bases (I didn’t build this house so I refuse to take responsibility for those brass atrocities). Each of those bulbs costs $9. Each light fixture will cost $27 to replace the bulbs…times six equates to about $189 (before tax…add like $9.49 more!). Really, people..that’s just crazy! So in light of my resistance to invest an obscene amount into lights I don’t particularly care for, I’m now on the hunt for replacement fixtures that have standard bases. It seems the only light fixtures with chrome/nickel/silver tone that are below $30 are either the ones you find in your grandma’s bathroom, or those fixtures that look like nipples. I just can’t put nipples up on my ceilings. I already have a complex about my magical shrinking breasts…I don’t need large breasts taunting me from above. Does anyone have any reasonably-priced flushmount fixtures with a silver tone from this millenium that will not give me mammary nightmares?

As I’ve mentioned, Justin has been working out for a good 4 or 6 weeks. I’m very proud of him…it’s not easy getting up close to 2 hours earlier than normal to go work out, or to turn away favorite foods, and eat those funky protein bars. Despite all that, he’s been doing well and chugging along, and the results have shown on his body and on the scale. What has been driving me crazy is the friggin’ abandoned water bottles (usually in some state of not-quite-empty) ALL over the house. I tend to leave them because I figure he’ll come back to it. But by the end of the day, I’ll often find several all over the house. Since it’s late, I usually dump them in the plant (can’t make myself dump it in the sink), and leave them on the counter above the kitchen trash can (my recycling staging area). By morning, they are gone, and each time I naively think hope he put them in the recycling bin on his way out. Nope! I pop open the kitchen trash and there they are! It makes me crazy to pick them up; it makes me crazy to dump out the undrunk water; it make me crazy to dig them out of the smelly trash (often from under the old coffee grounds) to put them in the recycling! Crazy. REALLY CRAZY! Like I’m-gritting-my-teeth-typing-about-it-now kind of crazy. And know what? His parents recycle…like really really REALLY recycle…like break-down-the-cereal-boxes-and-toss-in-the-toilet-paper-rolls kind of recycling. HARD CORE! His mom has composted eligible food garbage as long as I’ve known her…yet her own flesh-and-blood can’t put his twelve-hundred-bazillion partially-drank water bottles into the well-marked recycle bin. OMG, people, we don’t even have to separate our recyclables…nope…just toss them all in and they’re separated at the center. Maybe I should go all Ed Begley on him for a week or two so that when I go back to normal, he’ll be so relieved that he’ll comply. And before you ask, I did buy him a reusable water bottle, especially since most bottled water lacks fluoride and doesn’t have the same standards imposed on it as drinking water. He refuses to use it. Says it’s easier to grab a bottle out of the fridge; he refills the bottle a few times during the day (so has 1 bottle of bottled water and like 3 bottles of filtered tap water). But I think he refuses to use the reusable bottle just so he can watch my head explode each morning.

Know what else? PMS is a bitch (as I sit panting in the corner like Animal from all my ranting).

Since that silly baby has been too sick to let me sleep or eat or create coherent thoughts, I thought it best to just do one of the memes that I’m behind on.  THis is one that I tagged myself from Madame Queen.  If you want to do it, here are the rules. You have to answer the questions below using only the images from the first page of your google image search (although in one or two, I had to go to the second page of images because the first ones didn’t make any sense…at all).


1. The age you will be on your next birthday.

2. A place you’d like to visit.

3. Your favorite place.

4. Your favorite object. (yes, I’m considering a 12-step program)

5. Your favorite food.

6. Your favorite animal.  (I kinda drew a blank…but I really do like this breed of kitty)

7. Your favorite color.

 


8. The city in which you were born.

9. The town in which you live.  Actually this lady doesn’t live too far from me…she’s sort of a personal hero of mine…you should be able to click on the picture to see why.  ;)

10. The name of your pet. I have two dogs and three cats…although I added my dead cat because I couldn’t resist…his name is last:

11. The first name of your love.  Seriously…I’m married to JT!!!

12. Your nickname/screen name.

13. Your middle name.



14. Your last name.

15. A bad habit of yours.

16. Your first job.

 


17. Your dream job. (um, this is not that I’d like to become a man…I do much better than a man and don’t feel the need to downgrade, thankyouverymuch)

18. Your current job.

 


19. A picture you find hilarious.

20. A picture that inspires you.  (I am not even kidding…see a plan to get out of debt is INCREDIBLY inspiring!)

I am tagging Burgh Baby’s Mom, LaskiGal, and Karen at The Rocking Pony.  I think this is a really neat way to learn more about someone.  So if anyone else is interested in tagging themselves, I’d love to see yours as well!

I’m supposed to be researching presidential candidates so that I make an informed decision in the Virginia primary tomorrow.  But instead, I’m getting a little caught up on my memes.  This is one that Burgh Baby’s Mom tagged me with, um, a little longer ago than I care to admit. 

(Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, I am SOOOO happy that I did not order that Blackberry Pearl I was lusting over, because otherwise I would be shrieking like a banshee.)

Well, without any further ado………

5 things I want my kids to know:

1. How much I love them…as most parents know, there aren’t words to describe how you feel about your kids and sometimes hugs, kisses, and “I love you’s” don’t seem adequate for that overwhelming feeling in your heart.
2. To get an education…you can have your material possessions taken from you, you can have the people you love leave you (in one way or another), but you can never truly lose what you’ve learned.  Even if you don’t do anything with the degrees you get, they still help you out with Life in general.
3. Compassion for others…it almost gives you a sense of peace about yourself when you help others.
4. Be grateful for what you have…jealousy and lack of gratitude are ugly ugly beasts.
5. Have fun and laugh…there are SO many serious things in life and SO many negative things out there and it’s easy to let all of that get you down, but keeping things in perspective and smiling and laughing help you get through tougher times.

5 things you want to tell your children when they are grown up:

1. I really did NOT know what was best for you all the time, but I did the best I could the best way I knew how.
2. It really wasn’t all that critical for you to finish those vegetables, but as a parent, I couldn’t let you win because I needed you to learn to like other foods so that you’d grow up making (hopefully) healthier food choices.
3. Don’t lose your faith; don’t walk away from it.  Even if it seems everyone has let you down, God is always there.
4. You have no idea how much I love hearing your laughs and giggles…they are literally music to my ears.
5. Those grandbabies are mine MINE MINE!

5 things you want to tell your children before you die:

1. The location of my Last Will and Testament (assuming I finally have the thing written).
2. Please be sure to hug your kids and spouse every day.  Always let them know how much you love them because you never know when you won’t be able to do such things anymore.
3.  The days that each of you were born were the most exciting of my life.
4. The day I met your father was one of the happiest days of my life; my happiest was the day I married him.
5. Please take care of yourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically.  Don’t let addictions take hold of you, unless it’s an addiction to love and laughter.

5 things you want your children to know before they die:

1. Don’t believe the world that you need the nicest house, the fastest cars, the best-looking yard.  It’s not worth making yourself crazy–see above about being grateful.
2. Best Friends…I want each of you to have best friends that are always there for you, sharing in your laughter, and supporting you through your tough times. 
3. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to marry your best friend.
4. The feel of your own child’s arms around your neck and those sloppy baby kisses.
5. Peace…peace about themselves as people, peace about the people they married, peace about the children they’re bringing up, and peace about their chosen professions.

Alright, I’m tapped out!  That was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.  And it’s way too late to do research on candidates now…guess I’ll be voting AFTER work!

I tagged myself for this meme from Karen at The Rocking Pony.  I’m a sucker for all things horoscope-ish because part of me wants to believe that I’m the same as other people born around the same time as me.  The other part of me is the pseudo-skeptic that pretends that all of these are WAY off…etc.  I can’t be the only crazy person who thinks this way, but I’ve a funny feeling that I might be. Plus, I was (and still am) really stoked to share the same birthmonth (and birth week, even) with a couple of my favorite bloggers! 

Here are the rules: copy and paste the 12 months with their characteristics below, highlight the characteristics for your birth month, and make a comment next to each one about how it fits you (either serious or funny). Then tag 12 people to do this.  My birthday was last month, and here’s what it says about me:

January people are:
Stubborn and hard-hearted.  I’m not so sure about “hard-hearted” but I am ridiculously stubborn.

Ambitious and serious. I can be serious, especially when no one is taking me seriously.  And I do get really ambitious, but not consistently because I get bored or impatient if I’m not getting results.

Loves to teach and be taught.  This is very true.  I considered going into teaching because I love sharing my fountain of useless information with people, but I am also greedy and got incredibly nauseous when I saw how poorly compensated teachers are.  So I decided I’d be a college professor, but um, I need a few more degrees first….  I actually would love to go back to school, but with the kids being so young and graduate school being so incredibly expensive, it’s not going to happen anytime soon.  Meanwhile, I just read Wikipedia for fun (no joke!) and consider buying those lecture series on CD to listen to in the car.

Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Um, mostly on people I don’t like.  If I like you, I ignore your flaws and weaknesses, often to my own downfall.

Likes to criticize.  Yes.  See above if you are on my list.  Although I do criticize more than I mean to.  It’s something I’m working on for the sake of my kids and marriage…or at least make it constructive criticism.

Hardworking and productive.Yes, very much so.  In fact, you might want to start calling me Thomas or Percy because all I want to be in life is useful and actively working.  When I start having a lot of downtime at work, I start getting itchy and nervous…reminds me of RIFs and such.  And then I start obsessing about what I could be getting done at home, and then I get annoyed and… 

Smart, neat and organized.  Smart, yes…I’d like to think so.  Neat and organized?  Um, not so much.  If you asked my husband, you’d swear I was one of those hoarders that barely has a path through the house.  It’s no where near that bad, but I’ve got clutter.  I can say I was slightly neater prior to children.  But only slightly.

Sensitive and has deep thoughts.  Yes.  At least I think they’re deep thoughts.

Knows how to make others happy. I definitely try!

Quiet unless excited or tensed.  Sure.

Rather reserved.  Yes, but I figured some of that was due to my WASPish upbringing.  Although I’m one of the noisy ones in my family.

Highly attentive. Yes, I love to people watch!

Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds.  Only because I was constantly sick as a kid…think I caught just about everything by the time I was in 5th grade.  Although the first year of Gavin’s life, and the first 5 months or so of Cooper’s I was pretty sick.  Mostly because they were nice enough to bring home whatever nastiness they picked up at daycare.

Romantic but has difficulties expressing love.  Yes.  But I used to be more demonstrative early on in mine and Justin’s relationship.  I swear that working together for 5 years in the same company did something permanent to our sense of romance.  But he knows that I love him fiercely and I try sometimes to be more sweet and such.  I do tell him at least once daily that I love him.

Loves children.  Yes, I love my children immensely.  I do like other children, but really only love the baby stage.  It’s just magical to me…and slightly intoxicating.

Loyal.To my friends and family, and to companies to the extent that I’m happy.  Get on my bad side, and well, I’m outa there.

Do not have great social abilities.  Correct, unless plied with a little food or alcohol.  That usually loosens me up enough to be friendly and occasionally charming.  Thankfully I married a very charming man…he makes up for my social inadequacies.

Very stubborn and money cautious. Yes, I am stubborn…didn’t we already cover that?  Money cautious?  Yes…  Although if I think (or know) we’ve got a little extra cash, I will spend it, although I try to get the best deal with that money.  But since my new year’s resolution is to get out of debt, I’ve gotten really strict about my spending in an attempt to become solvent.

I’m not going to tag anyone because the few people who I know who would do it either already have, or just did a meme.  Plus, I have some other meme’s in the pipe that I’d rather force on people so that I can see how they respond!  But feel free to tag yourself!

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.