Is there something you want to tell me?

For the second Monday in a row now, my brother told me not to bother going to work at the bar tonight.  You might remember he had me stay home last Thursday, too.  Did he fire me and not tell me?!

Actually, it's been a little slow lately at the bar, which is why he doesn't really want me to drive all the way out there.  It would be a waste of my time.  Plus, it saves him on some payroll.  I'm ok with it, really.  Once again, I get to watch my shows live, instead of on the DVR in the middle of the night. 

It's so funny to me that my two favorite nights for television are Monday and Thursday, and those are the two nights I work at the bar.  Anyhoo, I'm off to watch Dancing with the Stars.  LIVE! =)

2013 Day Eight

Friday, November 8, 2013
Tell us what you've learned so far about daily blogging.

That it's daunting, and more pressure than I need!!

Actually, I think it's these dumb prompts that are causing me stress.  I want to come up with witty, clever posts, that you guys will want to read, but it's hard sometimes.  These prompts are just not the best, ya know?

Really, I guess I shouldn't sweat it, since there's no rule that says you HAVE to use the prompt to participate in NaBloPoMo.  You simply have to post something every day.  I have a feeling I'm going to be skipping a lot of their prompts.  I've read through all of them for the month, and I'm not really feeling most of them.

Well, look at that!  I came up with a whole post just by complaining about these prompts. :D

I'm off to meet  my brother at the bar to get some prep work done for a party that I'm catering for him tomorrow.  I have a feeling it's going to be a LONG evening....

Let's start this NaBloPoMo thing!

Friday, February 1, 2013
When was the last time you said, "I love you."?

Ummm...about 2 minutes ago when I went into Stud's room and kissed his head.

Naturally, he rolled over, grumbled about me waking him up, and then started snoring again. =)

Ok, I hope the rest of the posts are as easy as this one.

This week I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with my little Monkey.  I probably said "I love you!" about eleventy-billion times!!

The first day I had her (Tuesday) I brought a beanbag up from the basement for her to sit in, and watch The Little Mermaid.  I think she liked it.

 The next day, she wanted to watch the movie again.  She was still in her jammies here, and it was really cold in the house.  (Tuesday, it was about 66 degrees here, Wednesday it dropped to the low 30s.)  So, I bundled her up to watch the movie.  She actually sat like this for quite a while, much to our delight and amusement!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, so maybe I'll give you a quick run-down of what's been going on.  After an almost 3 year hiatus, I actually worked at the bar this past weekend.  My poor brother has been really sick, and something was going around the bar.  He was totally short-handed Saturday night, and too sick to work himself, so he broke down and called me to tend bar.  I gotta tell ya, I had a BLAST!

I felt a bit useless the first hour or so, since I hadn't done it in so long, but once I got my groove back, it was fun.  It was just like riding a bike!  I really miss it more than I thought I did.  A bunch of people who used to be my regulars actually came in that night, so that was awesome.  The funny thing is, they all said they hadn't been there in ages.  Fate, I tell ya!

Then, I worked again on Sunday.  My brother threw a party for his employees, and some of his best regulars.  I already knew I would be working that night, and helping my brother with the party.  What I didn't count on was being there until about 5:00am Sunday morning (after working Saturday night) then only getting about 4 hours of sleep before having to drive all the way back out there to set up for the party, and get all the food going.  Yes, in crock pots!!!  (Shut up, Suz!)  We spent a couple hours getting ready, then I went back home to shower and change, so I could come back and work.  (In weekend traffic, it's close to a 45 minute drive EACH WAY!  Ugh!)  It was a LONG night!!  I finally had to leave at 2am, cuz I couldn't keep my eyes open another minute.  Plus, I figured I'd be getting Monkey the next morning, since her daddy was going to be there way later than I was!  I believe he was there until nearly 5am.

Monday morning, I got up about 7am, after getting to bed at almost 3, because I didn't want to miss the call from Monkey's mom about taking her.  Yeah, well, I finally texted her around 9, only to find out she took Monkey to her parents' house.  WTF?!  I tried to get a little more sleep, but it wasn't happening.  Thank God I got to have Monkey for the next two days, or I'd still be pissed at her mom!

Although I was exhausted after this weekend, it was great to make a little cash.  I made almost a week's worth of unemployment in those two days, so it was well worth it.

Ok, this was way too long and rambly.  Sorry.  I'm going to try and stick to just answering the prompts for the rest of the month, I swear.

**woo hoo! Got the call at 7:45, I get a THIRD day with Monkey this week!!**

Yes, I'm whining AGAIN...

...cuz I'm just so tired. This morning, I planned out a lovely little post in my head, taking pictures and everything, but somehow, it's after 10 PM, and I've been home for about a half hour.

I had an appointment straight from school, and then it ended up lasting 3 hours. I then headed out to the bar, because Stud was cleaning, and somehow ended up being there for a couple hours. I stopped on the way home to pick up something for us to eat, then finally headed home after 9. CSJ had texted earlier to say he was going to be home between 9:30-10. He literally pulled in right behind me. As I was shifting into park, there he was. It was a nice way to end a LONG day.

We just finished eating, and it's time to hit the sack. I have no idea how he's even conscious, since he was up at 3:30 this morning for work. Stud is already in bed, since he said he was exhausted from cleaning the bar. We are such a bunch of dorks, don't you think? Whatever. I'm too tired to care what you think.

Is it still only Saturday?

Holy shmoly, I'm tired. Stud and I left here just over 12 hours ago, and we spent the whole day with my brother. Stud went out to clean the bar, which I think is his new job now. This is the third weekend he's gone, and my brother has slowly been phasing out the kid who was cleaning for him. He was NOT happy with this kid, so it all seems to be working out for the best.

We spent some of that time enjoying lunch with my brother and cousin, and we ended the evening by having a quick bite to eat with just my brother at a restaurant across the street from the bar. While we were eating, our parents arrived at the bar, so we ran in to say hello real quick before leaving. Stud is wiped OUT! He came straight in the house, and went to bed. I'm about to do the same, now that I've fulfilled my NaBloPoMo obligation for the day. Good night!

Oh no, not again!

This is going to be a total BS post, because I'm sitting at the damn bar!! My brother had a minor crisis, and needed me to work tonight. Holy crap, I haven't worked here in well over a year and a half!! (My longtime Bloggy Buddies might remember those days well!) I don't even think I remember what the hell to do! We have nearly 60 martinis on our menu, and tonight is Martini Monday (all specialty martinis are $5. Come on down!) We also got brand new, fancy shmancy registers, with touch-screen computer thingys, and I really don't know how the hell to use them. I came here the day they were installed (about a year ago!) so I could be trained on them, but then I literally never looked at them again! Yikes!!!

I couldn't fail NaBloPoMo with only two days to go, so here I am. And, here I go! I'll try to come back later!

Change of plans...

Apparently, one of the bartenders told my brother he can work afterall. So, I guess I'm getting a reprive. Too bad I already cancelled my dinner plans, huh? At least I managed to do all my cleaning this morning, which leaves my evening free to get ready for tomorrow. Somehow, I managed to waste over 3 hours (and LOTS of $$!) at Sam's Club. Well, truth be told, about 30 minutes of that was spent retracing my steps because I lost an earring. :( I'm so sad about that! I have been wearing these same earrings, which I received as a gift in Italy, since I got them in 2002! They are gold hoops, and I wear them everyday. Now, I only have one. Ugh! On the bright side, this is the perfect reason to switch to the new sterling silver hoops my mom brought me back this year. Still, I'm not happy.

OK, I've got to get back to work. It took me almost a half hour to bring everything I bought at Sam's in the house and get it put away. This short post was my "break," but now I've got some yummy dips to make. On the menu for tomorrow - Buffalo Chicken Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Bruschetta (all 3 of which we serve at the bar, tee hee) and Chili Cheese Dip. Gee, not having to actually cook a meal freed me up to go Dip Crazy, didn't it? My brother, God bless him, offered to make the 3 things we serve at the bar for the party, but I told him not to worry. Now that I have so much free time tonight, I'll get it done.

I'm planning to come back later with a birthday post. I hope I get all my work finished...

Aw, shucks....

I feel like such a slacker. I had planned to do a wonderful post yesterday about my "baby" boy, who turned 16 yesterday. SIX-FREAKIN'-TEEN!!!!!!!! Who the HELL gave him permission to do that!? I thought I would spend the evening upstairs working on my post while he enjoyed his surprise party down in the basement with his friends. But, it didn't work out that way. My parents came over, as did my sister, and one of my girlfriends (his best friend's mom) stayed. Later, her boyfriend joined us, as well. Bottom line, I spent the whole night downstairs enjoying the party! Woo hoo! A few more friends spent some time with us as they were dropping off or picking up their children. It was a really nice evening.

I still plan to do a lovely post about my baby, I'm just not sure when. This has been a whirlwind week, and it isn't over yet. I'm having a Big Fat Italian Birthday Party tomorrow for Stud Muffin, so I've already spent the past 4 hours cleaning, and now I have to go shopping. AND, I have to work tonight, for the first time in a looonnngggg time. Jeez, I hope I remember what the hell to do!!

[little side note here- I haven't actually worked (bartended) since, I think, August. But, like I said in a previous post, that doesn't mean I've been doing anything with my Saturday nights. Most nights I'm in my jammies, watching TV in bed, by 8! THIS Saturday, however, I made plans to have friends over for dinner, then go see the one friend and his band play at a bar that is walking distance from my house. This is the first time in who knows how long I've actually made plans, and now my brother needs me to work. (Neither of our bartenders can work tonight.) I mean, WTF? Is this some kind of cruel joke, or a punishment for not working for so long? Eesh! I keep reminding myself that I may just make enough tonight to pay for the catering that I now have to get for tomorrow, since I won't have time to cook, since I'M WORKING TONIGHT!!]

Whatta ya think?

This is pretty much what my thermostat has looked like for about 3 or 4 days now. Do you think it's time to turn on the heat? As long as I'm dressed in layers, with a sweatshirt and slippers on, I'm usually fine. Especially if I'm in my bed, wrapped in my flannel sheets, and under my comfy quilt. That's the BEST place to go and read! But, Stud Muffin has taken to wearing his big, fluffy robe around the house OVER HIS CLOTHES! It's kinda cute. He keeps telling me the house is cold. What's wrong with that kid?

*
I just can't stand that smell when you turn the furnace on for the first time for the season. That "something smells like it's burning" smell, that lasts for at least an hour, sometimes longer. I did go down and put a new air filter in the furnace, hoping to alleviate some of that "smell." I think I just may wait til Monday though, since Stud will be at his dad's for the weekend. (Oo, a little side note, for my fellow mean girls- Today is CSJ and HWW's first anniversary! Ain't that just kick-me-in-the-crotch-and-spit-on-my-neck sweet!? I wonder how they're going to be celebrating....maybe he'll tell her he wants a divorce! Wouldn't that be rich? Well, if I remember correctly, the traditional 1st anniversary gift is paper, so the perfect thing would be divorce papers, no? Yeah, yeah, I'm a bitch....you still love me!) Anyway, Stud won't be around to complain about how cold it is, so maybe I'll hold off on hiking up my gas bill until Monday. (Suz, I can't believe that less than a week ago, you told me you're still running your A/C!)

*

In the meantime, I think I may just do a little shopping today. I still don't know if I'm working tonight or not, because me uber-considerate (NOT!) brother still hasn't told me what's going on for tonight. I'm really hoping one of our bartenders will work. Even though my wallet is screaming for me to do it, I've really started enjoying these weekends away from the bar. I almost don't know why, though. At least when I work, I get out of the house, and can almost pretend I have a social life again, since I'm out, at a bar, with other people! Now, I've taken to just sitting in, alone, on the weekends, doing nothing. I AM completely caught up on laundry, however, so there's a plus! ;-)
*
Here's a little something for Auntie KBL, and all the other doggy lovers out there. Buster keeps sleeping in the adorable little pose, and it cracks me up! The little paw under his head is so stinkin' cute! He just started doing this less than a month ago.

I'm back...

...from an awesome weekend away in Michigan with my boys. I did manage to burn myself to a freakin' crisp at the beach, but other than that, we had a great time. The boys managed to talk me into staying one more night, so we didn't get home until yesterday afternoon. The boys then asked ever so nicely if I'd drop them off at the mall on the way home, and I happily obliged. Then I went home and unloaded the car. I could only let them stay about 2 hours, though, because I had already made plans to meet up with my dad and brother for dinner. Originally, I wanted them to come over for a barbecue, but in the windup, I was glad my dad suggested we go to a restaurant because I was completely exhausted.

On the way to dinner, I stopped at the car wash and the boys vacuumed all the sand out of my car (and there was a lot!) and then washed all the dead bugs off the exterior. They did a hell of a job! After dinner, we hung out at my dad's for a while, but after Stud Muffin's friend was picked up, we headed home because he had homework. My brother came over, and we did some work for the bar. It ended up being a late night, which made for a very difficult morning, let me tell you. Stud was almost 15 minutes late for school, and I was late for work. Way to start a week!!

School wasn't so bad today, to tell the truth. It surely helped that I had 6 babies absent. And, believe it or not, I did not get even ONE new student today. That is just shocking!! We thought for sure we'd get a big influx of new students after the holiday, but I don't think we got any. I'm not really complaining, I guess, but I was hoping for about 10 so we could open that second kindergarten. And, without the no-shows on my list, I'm down to 32 children who have actually been sitting in front of me every day. That's probably not enough for New Principal to agree to half-day. But, it's still FAR too many to have in a kindergarten class. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and do a little begging. Imagine how awesome it would be to have two classes of 16 each! I would be able to get twice as much done! Send positive thoughts my way for that conversation, please. :)

I finally started our new reading program today. Hey, it's only the 5th week of school, don't rush me!! Truthfully, before this point, they weren't really ready for it. Plus, I didn't even get my stuff until last Wednesday!! I'm still missing a substantial portion of the program, but I have enough to start. The babies did a great job today, so let's hope this trend continues.

I met with some girls from work for dinner tonight after school, which was a great way to end the day. Now, I'm ready to put my jammies on, crawl into bed, and watch some mindless television. I hope you all had as wonderful a holiday weekend as I did!!

One down, 39 to go....

That was the looonnngggeeesssttt first week in history! Once again, I was at school until well after 5. I could barely drag myself to my car. Besides the long day, and the physical demands of herding cats, I mean dealing with 30 5 year-olds, the freakin' heat just zaps any little bit of energy I have left. It has just been so unbearable this week. By the time I leave, I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck.

I did, however, force myself to do my Wii when I got home. I just kept reminding myself that as soon as I did it, I could relax for the rest of the night. I barely made it home before Stud's friends started coming over. I told him he could invite a bunch of guys over to hang out on Friday night. It was mostly a ruse to get him to stay home. He finally came home Thursday after almost 2 weeks at his father's. He came home to cut the grass, but his father wanted to pick him up when he was done. Um...I don't think so! So, I convinced him to invite the guys over, guaranteeing that I'd get to see him another night.

His one friend arrived about 5 minutes before I finished the Wii. His other best friend was supposed to be coming with another boy, but when he showed up, he was alone. (He couldn't find the other boy.) When I realized it was going to just be "my 3 sons," I was thrilled because I realized after my shower, I could just put on my pajamas, and relax. The other boy did end up coming at about 9:30, and by then, I was already settled into bed! The boys moved down to the basement just as I was passing out, and I never heard a peep. Stud and his late-arriving buddy were both up by 7 this morning, which is unbelievable! The other little darling is still asleep.

Oh, wait, I was supposed to be writing about school, wasn't I? I can NOT wait for preps to start this week. I'm hoping it makes a difference in my exhaustion level. I have about 7 days worth of work to do this weekend, and unfortunately, I have to work tonight. I'm starting to get a little panicky. I'm probably already on New Principal's shit list because I never did turn in any lesson plans this week. I HAVE to turn them in on Monday. I'm really a little freaked out about doing them. I know that sounds crazy coming from someone who's been teaching for a couple of decades now, but let me tell you, I've gotten really lazy and out of practice after so many years of working for the Big Cheese. I always did my lesson plans (which was not the norm around that place!) but for the past 4 years, I've only had to do half the work. I decided years ago that it made more sense for me and my partner to do our plans together, with my partner doing the math and science plans and me doing the reading/language arts plans. (And, truthfully,after saving them on my computer, all I've had to do the past year was change the date!) Now, since I have NO partner, I've got to do them all by myself again. And, I can't even use the plans I have saved because we're switching to a new reading series. God, just thinking about how much work this is going to be makes me want to cry. I don't want to go back to those days when my entire Sunday was spent working on lesson plans!! And, now that I work Saturdays at our bar, I don't know how the hell I'm going to be able to do that, since most Sundays I don't get home until 5 or 6 am! OK, I'm starting to feel my chest tighten again....

This group of babies, for the most part, are just that - babies!! This is one of the most immature groups I've ever had. It says a LOT about what the hell must be going on in our preschool program. Um...that would be...NOTHING! These kids can't even write their names, nor write their letters. They think the whole day is for playing. I keep trying to tell myself it'll get better. It's only their first week, it's got to get better.

ALL of them except 1 showed up yesterday. Yikes! I had to put 5 of them at my group table, since it's the only other table I have. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next week when I actually start doing small group instruction. I'm going to have to have a lot of movement to keep shifting them from table to table.

The pep rally was WAY too long yesterday. My babies were amazing, though. Hey, wow, did I just say that?! I going to try and focus on that fact next week. I was really impressed with how quietly they were able to sit for well over an hour. That's a long time for 5 year-olds to sit. At least without a cartoon on for them to watch! :) We ended up having to leave before it ended because we needed to start getting ready for dismissal. We should have started about 30 minutes earlier.

New Principal introduced the entire staff, and had us come up on stage, while the kids cheered us on. I have to say, I was really touched by the reaction I got when my name was called. The whole auditorium erupted! It was really cool, and reminded me that I really do make a difference in the lives of some of these kids. (My first class at the Hell-Hole is now in 7th grade, so pretty much the entire school knows me.)

After the staff introductions, New Principal and our AP, Mr. H., went over the rules and expectations for this year. We talked about the uniform policy, and each teacher was asked to send 2 students up on the stage to show the proper uniform. My 2 did a great job, but they didn't take their eyes off me for even a second. It's a little scary to stand up on stage in front of the entire school!

When all the talk about rules, etc., was finished, each class then came up on stage and did their little presentation. We were first, of course, and the kids actually did a great job. We kept if very short and sweet. I "borrowed" a line for the pledge our kids are expected to say every morning. They loudly, and proudly, said, "I am in Room XXX. I am talented, smart and capable of success!" Thankfully, I had Ms. H. to help me again yesterday. She helped get them back in their seats as I got them off the stage. Then, they were forced to sit there while the rest of the school gave their performances. We only made it to the 4th grade performances, then we had to go. Unfortunately, because the upper grades still had to perform, that meant most of the students were dismissed late, which then meant that I was stuck outside on the playground, in the blinding sun (!) waiting for big brothers and sisters to pick up my babies.

OK, I've procrastinated long enough. I'd better start working on these lesson plans. I hope you all have a great weekend. Think of me slaving away while you're doing something fun and relaxing!
;-)

Where have I been lately?!

• Last Friday-All day field trip with the babies to The Museum of Science and Industry. Walked about 45 miles. Dragged Stud Muffin with me since he was off.
• Friday afternoon/evening-Had the WORST plantar fasciitis attack ever, almost went to the emergency room. Poor Stud had to take care of me, Ace bandaged bags of ice to my foot, brought me drugs, etc.
• Saturday-Worked my usual 37 hours at the bar
• Sunday-spent the day hanging out with my parents and my brother. Went to dinner, then back to my parents' and played Wii all night (Did I mention that we bought my mom a Wii, plus Wii Fit and Wii Play, for Mother's Day?) It was an awesome time. I could hardly move by the end of the night because we were laughing so much and so hard, that my sides were cramping! My dad swearing at the game pushed us over the edge!
• Monday (Memorial Day) spent the afternoon with my best friend, then back to my parents' for a while.
• Tues-Thurs-The usual craziness that is the Hell-Hole! (Just don't have the strength for specifics right now)
• Friday-Went back to the museum, but had a much smaller group (the ones that couldn't behave last Friday were NOT invited this time!) and I had my favorite mom, Mrs. G, come as a chaperone. I made Stud come again, too, since he finished school on Thursday. Yeah, he hates me....
• Friday night-Had to freakin' work at the bar since our bartender is out of town. 'Nuff said.
• Today-Was woken up early by a(n unnecessary!) phone call, drove Stud and The Girl to the museum (yes, seriously! There is a Harry Potter Exhibit going on, and The Girl is obsessed with Harry Potter.) drove around for a couple of hours delivering Pampered Chef orders, went shopping for Spirit Week next week with my babies, and now doing laundry. I'm waiting to switch loads because my "work" clothes are in the washer! The twenty minutes it's taken me to type out this post is the only twenty minutes I've had to sit down today. Quite frankly, I should be in the shower right now. So, on that note....

So sorry...

...I've been MIA lately. By now, you all know how crazy things around here can get. I'm sorry I've been out of touch. I'm especially sorry to my BBF, KBL, who actually sent me a message today, checking up on me, since I've been out of touch lately. I also owe her a homework assignment, so I'm going to take care of that right now. (I also owe Karen one, but I'm not using my own computer right now, so I have to come back to it. Sorry, Karen!)

MeMe


What are your current obsessions?

• Counting down to the last day of school! (Sorry, just tryin' to keep it real!)
• Dancing with the Stars (I just watched the first night of the finale. Go Gilles!!)
  

Which items from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

• At the sad state that I'm in these days, whatever I can squeeze my fat ass into! :(
• I tend to wear my black sweats a LOT (I change into them as soon as I get home from school.)
• An old pair of Stud Muffin's slide-on sandal-y things. They are the ONLY thing that helps relieve the mind-numbing pain of my plantar fasciitis.
  

Last thing you bought?

• Burrito Bowls all around at Chipotle
• Rainbow Cones all around at the ORIGINAL Rainbow Cone (only my ChiTown friends will understand this one. To the rest of you I say, "SOOO sorry you aren't lucky enough to live here!!!")

I picked Stud and his best friend up after school (like I do everyday) and The Girl was given permission to hang out with us for the afternoon. As you can see, we went on a Gastronomic Adventure :)

What are you listening to these days?

• I have EVERY radio I own tuned to WLIT. I guess I'm kinda a loser that way.
  
• In the shower, I listen to these great mix CDs that my brother made me.
  

Favorite kid's film

• Hands down - #1 Lion King
• So many others, I can't even list them. ANYTHING Disney, for sure
  

Favorite Holiday Spots

• OK, I know this is lame, but my hammock in my backyard
• Saugatuck, MI (where I take Stud and his best friends every year)
• I know I should probably say my parents' villa, but eh, I don't know. It's beautiful and all, but I seriously can NOT take the heat. Especially since air conditioning is almost non-existent there!! :( (KBL, you and BelovED should seriously spend some time there. My mother would LOVE to have you, and it's in a part of Italy you haven't visited yet!)
  

What are you reading right now?

• My usual pile of magazine subscriptions
• I've started buying my summer books, so I can't wait to dive in to them. I hope I actually get to read them this summer, since sadly, the pile I bought LAST summer went unread. I got to spend my summer vacation bustin' my ass at the bar!!! Well, not THIS summer, God willing!
  

Four words to describe you:

• mom
• teacher
  
• tired
• obese (hmmm....think these last two are related?!)
  

Guilty pleasure?

• ANYTHING chocolate!! Currently it's the Dove ice cream bars in my freezer and the chocolate peanut butter cups from WalMart. They are AMAZING!! (Gee, remind me again why I'm obese these days.....)
  

Who or what can make you laugh until you are weak?

• Stud Muffin (he has such a quick wit, he kills me!)
• My babies at school
• My family, in general, is hysterical. When we get together, we all laugh until we can't breath. My sides are usually sore the next day, seriously.
  

First Spring thing?

• Definitely my lilac bush blooming. I wait all year for it!
  

Planning to travel next?

• I have no idea, since I can't even fathom having any free time. I've been working 7 days a week for so long now, I wouldn't even know what to do with a day off.
• Stud has already been bugging me about Michigan, since he wants to bring The Girl this time, so that'll probably be our first trip.

After this?

• My best friend just sent me an interesting email over the weekend about some killer deals to Ireland. I've never had one iota of interest in going to Ireland, but the deal is seriously killer, and hey, it's not HERE!

Best thing you ate and drank recently?

• Ate-go up to #3!
• Drank-I've been a bit obsessed with Mike's Hard Lemonade lately
  

When did you last get tipsy?

• I can't even remember. Despite spending most of my free time in a bar, I'm not much of a drinker. I know I JUST said I've been obsessed with Mike's lately, but I'm talking about 1 every two weeks or so. I'm very much a light-weight in the drinking department.

Favorite ever film?

• Comedy - Coming to America (I wore out 2 VHS tapes before I bought it on DVD!)
• Musical - Singing in the Rain
• Kid's Movie - The Lion King
• There are way too many others to finish this list!!
  

Care to share some wisdom?

• I love the quote at the top of my page - "All children are gifted. Some just open their presents later than others."
• The greatest gift you can give your children, after your love, is discipline. A spoiled child is hard-pressed to be a productive, responsible adult later in life. Teach your child that there are limits and boundaries in life. Teach him to work hard and take pride in his work. Teach him to be responsible and accept the consequences of his actions. Teach him to make smart choices. Teach him to respect himself and his body. Teach him to be a kind, caring, compassionate person, and to treat all people with respect.
• OK, I'm going to have to stop there, cuz I'm making even myself sick!
  

What is one special talent that you have? (Replacement question)

• Since opening the bar, I have become one hell of an awesome martini-maker! I suppose that sounds a bit conceited, but I have customers tell me ALL the time that they prefer my martinis to my brother's, (which TOTALLY pisses him off, by the way!!) and that makes me think I might know a thing or two about mixology.

What are the TV shows you absolutely CAN NOT miss these days? (Added question)

• Desperate Housewives
• Brothers & Sisters
• Dancing with the Stars
• LOST
• Ugly Betty
• Grey's Anatomy (Thankfully, all of these are ABC shows, so I can watch them online when I have the time. Usually that's how I spend my Sunday afternoons. I know, I'm a loser!)
  

Rules of the MeMe above: Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 8 people. And hell yeah I'm gonna tag!!! I tag:

• That Girl - her blogs cracks my ass up!! Especially since she's joined TMI Thursday!
• The Girl Next Door - I don't know how she does it. Living next door to her ex, that is!
• C - I don't even know what to say about her, other than we have a very serious blog-mance going!!
• Tiffany - I discovered her blog fairly recently, and I love it. You should check out the awesome journey she's been on, as well as the one that lies ahead...
• Smiley Girl - I love her like a sister, and hey, KBL didn't tag her first, so she's all mine!
• JLo - We were destined to be friends since we both married men with the same last name...
• Jason - I LOVE THIS MAN! I actually found JLo through his blog. He's a fellow teacher, and never ceases to crack me up!
• Dana - She and her beloved are planning their upcoming nuptials (they have a separate blog all about it!) She has a renewed love of ChiTown ever since we met up a few months ago. Right, Girlfriend?! :)
  

Unless you have an hour to kill, don't bother to read this!

Let's see...my last "real" post was back on Monday, April 27. WTF?! REALLY??! Wow, let's play catch up, shall we?

I posted about Stud's new bed. You can see by those photos that my poor son has a room that's about the size of most people's closets. I have the typical Chicago bungalow. That means it's very small. I have 3 bedrooms, but they're all small. I kid you not, my entire house would fit in my classroom, which isn't saying very much :(

I mentioned in one of my "pretend" posts this past week that Stud was sick. Apparently, while I was typing that last real post, he was over at The Girl's house, not feeling well. His father picked him up from there, so I never saw him that night. The next morning I get a frantic call from CSJ telling me that Stud is sick. (For those who are new here, or have a memory like mine, CSJ=Cocksucking Jagoff=my ex-husband, AKA-The Sperm Donor.) The first thing he shrieked at me when I answered the phone at 6am was that Stud was sick, and he just "coughed up a yellow golf ball!" Yeah, nice, right? Apparently, at some point the day before, my son saw the school nurse, who told him he had an upper-respiratory infection. Well, Father-of-the-Year decided he needed to rush him to the doctor's office. He bullied his way (literally!) into being seen, and turns out Stud was diagnosed with severe bronchitis and a sinus infection. He was given two different prescriptions and sent on his merry way. CSJ actually took the rest of the day off to stay home with him. Naturally, he wanted a fuckin' medal for it, too! Who the hell does he think took care of Stud for the past 15 1/2 years?! This is the FIRST time he's EVER taken ANY time off because his son was sick. But, to hear him tell it, he should be given an award! Ugh!

OK, I'm already boring myself with this story, so suffice it to say, I ended up taking Wed-Fri off to stay home with Stud. I knew I'd have to take Thursday off, since Stud needed to go back for a follow-up visit smack in the middle of the day. Wednesday, he was still really feeling lousy, so I'm glad I stayed home with him. Friday, well Friday was just a little bonus. The doctor told me Thursday that Stud couldn't return to school until Monday, so I figured, what the heck, I'll stay home with him. I also may or may not have been having a Pampered Chef party Friday night, and I may or may not have needed some extra time to clean, shop and cook.

The Pampered Chef party was a freakin' blast!! I wish you could have all come. My PC lady is an old friend, and she loves doing shows for me because I own everything in the catalog. She never really has to bring anything with her, other than whatever new items have come out since my last party. I am a bit obsessed with PC. I used to be a consultant, I love it so much. But, then I threw CSJ out, and needed to get a "real" job to support myself and my baby. But, I still have shows every 6 months, as that's when the new items come out. Every March and September, like clockwork! I'm able to get the new things for free, so it's awesome!

The past couple of years, the PC parties have turned into drunken kitchen fests, much to my PC friend's dismay, I'm sure! But, making a pitcher of martinis is such a GREAT way to show off the Quick-Stir Pitcher! This party was no exception. This time it was a pitcher of mango martinis, which happens to be one of our top-selling martinis here at the bar. Yummy!!

The last drunken fool, I mean friend, left around 2:30am. It was a great party! I can't wait to do it again. It'll be sometime in September, so if any of you are going to be visiting Chicago in September, let me know!! ;-)

Last weekend was a busy one at the bar. It's almost a good thing that my party kept me up so late on Friday night, because I slept in Saturday, and was more rested than usual by the time I got to the bar. Usually, I'm up around 6:30ish on Saturdays, so by Saturday night, I'm dying. When I get home at 6am on Sunday morning, I've usually been up for nearly 24 hours.

Anyway, Saturday was a busy night, then we had another private party on Sunday (3rd one in a month!) which went later than we had hoped. Instead of getting home in time to watch Desperate Housewives, I didn't even pick Stud up at his grandma's until nearly 10:30. Then, the real fun began...

I was about 1/2 mile from home, approaching the major intersection near my home, when I decided I was too hungry to go to sleep and that I was going to get Arby's. As I was moving into the left-turn lane, I hit a freakin' crater the size of the Grand Canyon!!! (If you aren't lucky enough to live here in ChiTown, you may not be aware of our pothole situation.) INSTANTLY, my tire was gone! I thought I was going to wet my pants. Luckily, I was able to get back over, out of the turning lane, and proceed through the intersection. I turned into the shopping center on the corner, and got out to survey the damage. I can NOT believe I didn't take a picture to share with you! My rim looked like a pie that someone had cut a slice out of! I didn't know what the heck to do at first. We could have easily walked home, as it was only about 6 blocks, but I was afraid to leave my car in the Lowe's parking lot. I figured with my luck, it would be towed.

I called my daddy, of course, but he was already in bed. I told my mom not to bother him, and then called my sister. I thought maybe her boyfriend was around. In the meantime, my mom completely disregarded my request, and got my dad out of bed. At some point, Stud Muffin said he thought maybe he could change the tire himself. I figured, what the heck, it's better than just standing here, right? Plus, once I knew my dad was coming, I figured he could talk Stud through it. Next thing I know, my sister calls to say that she and her boyfriend are on their way. I tried to call my dad to tell him to stay home, but he had already left. He pulled in the lot as I was talking to my mom. (My parents only live about 20 blocks from me.)

By the time my dad got there, Stud and I had gotten the spare and the jack out of the trunk, so my dad put the jack under the car, and Stud started pumping. A few minutes later, my sister arrives, and her boyfriend takes over. He was having a hell of a time getting the tire off because the bolts were sort of rusted on, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. (Did I mention that her boyfriend is about 6'6", 330+lbs, ex-football player? Yeah, picture the dad from The Incredibles, and that's him. Literally. He looks exactly like him.)

The tire is loose now, but Mr. Incredible notices that the car still really isn't off the ground, despite the fact that Stud has been going at it for about 10 minutes. He looks over and freaks. Apparently, my dad hadn't placed the jack where it belonged, and instead of lifting the car, Stud managed to jack the car frame up into a lovely divot! I thought I was gonna lose it! How the HELL did he not see what he was doing?!?! Ughhhh!!! Of course, my dad took full responsibility, but still, come on! Pay attention to what you're doing!!

Mr. Incredible lowered the jack, sort of fixed the frame (he pulled down on the fiberglass, which is now completely unattached, but the dent is hardly noticeable!!) and took the tire off. He got the donut on, only to realize that it had no air. Of course! But, don't despair, I have an air compressor in the trunk. (I had a slow leak in one of my tires for years. I used to have to pump it up at least once a week!) He hooks it up, lets it run for a few minutes, and says we're good to go. We were going to go across the street to the gas station to fill it up properly.

Everyone gets back in their cars, we start to pull away, and my dad starts beeping like crazy to tell me the tire is flat. WTF!!? We figure the only thing to do is try to make it across the street. We make a caravan with my sister in front, me in the middle, and my dad in the rear. All three of us had our flashers on, and basically went about 5 mph to the gas station. If you've been paying attention, you'll know that the story can't end that easily, right? We make it over to the air compressor, only to find out that they remove the damn hose at night!! REALLY!?!? I seriously almost started crying.

The decision was made to try and just take our caravan down the main street to the next gas station, which was about a mile up the street. Picture that, will ya? We finally made it, Mr. Incredible filled the tire, and we were on our way. My dad followed me to his house, both of us still going about 10 mph with our flashers on, so that I could get my mom's car, as I certainly didn't want to be driving to the ghetto the next day on a donut! By the time my head hit the pillow, it was nearly 1am! I was already feeling sorry for my babies the next day.

The next day, I call my mom from school to let her know I was on my way to pick her up so I could drop my car off at my mechanic's. Stud had Anime Club for an hour after school, so I figured we had plenty of time. I get to my mom's, she gets in her car, I get in mine, and we take off. I didn't want to take any chances, so I put the flashers on, and tried not to go over 15-20 mph. Trust me, it was not appreciated by my fellow drivers. We were very nearly there when suddenly I HIT ANOTHER FUCKING POTHOLE!!!!!!

The tire instantly went flat. AGAIN! Luckily, I was about 20 feet from an entrance to a strip mall, so I pulled in, and called my mechanic. Through my sobs, I told him what happened. He tried to calm me down (the poor guy!) and said I should just keep driving, real slow, to the garage. I told him the tire was completely flat and his answer was, "Fuck it, it's the donut, who cares?" So, I managed to turn around, go back out onto the busy main street, and I literally idled for about 3 miles. The whole time, I could hear the metal of the rim grinding into the ground. It's a good thing I never even hit 10 mph because I could hardly see through my tears.

In case you've fallen asleep, we're still on Monday, folks. About an hour and a half after I got home, Billy, my mechanic from Heaven, called to tell me he was done! He was able to pound out my rim, and the donut's rim, and everything was hunky dory! But, I need to get new wheel covers as the one on the flat had been destroyed (plus about a month ago, I was hit by a kid, and it ruined my back cover) so he was going to get me a set of 4 new covers. He said they would be there the next day. Yay! When all was said and done, the whole ordeal cost me less than $80. I know, I can't believe it, either. Oh, and Stud ended up getting picked up by The Girl's mom, as there was NO WAY I was going to make it to his school in time. He was thrilled, to say the least ;-)

Maybe now you have a little insight into why I felt the need to post on Monday about what made me smile that day. It was truly a day from hell! As much as I'd love to fill you in on the rest of the week, I'm afraid I've lost all of you at this point, so I'm going to take a bit of a break. Plus, I stole a martini recipe from TGIFriday's the other day that I'm dying to try, so maybe after I drink it (!) I'll type a little more! (You've all been given fair warning!)

Random Crap, Part 2

Stud Muffin is spending some time with The Girl and her family today, so I had a few hours to kill. I figured why not spend them trying to post pictures here! Here's a random modge podge of pictures I've been meaning to share for the past month or so.

I think I mentioned that Stud's grandparents bought him a bed, right? Well, here's the GIANT bed. Plus, his messy room, complete with the Thomas the Tank Engine wall decals that he refuses to let me take down. Seriously?! You can just see the Thomas curtains. On the wall that you can't see, there are shelves, which used to be completely filled with Thomas figurines and videos. I managed to pack those away a couple of years ago, but the rest of it, not so much. I'm shocked, actually. But, whatever. I guess I'd prefer Thomas to half-naked girls, right?

Back on Sunday, April 5th, we had a private party at the bar. A warm-up had started a few days before this, and it was about 60ish that day. But, right at the beginning of the party, it started to rain, which then turned to snow as the temp dropped. So weird!!

This is what the cars looked like when I left the bar that night.

At one point in the evening (around 10ish) I called Stud Muffin to check on him, as he was home alone, and he told me the power went out because of the storm. When I got home, this is what I found on the kitchen table. (Yes, the power was still out.) The candles were lit, by the way.

This was on the counter, but was already blown out. I had warned him not to leave the candles burning after he went to bed.

Another counter.

On top of my stove. This one was still burning. He probably figured it was safe, since it was on the stove.

This one was also burning. It's on the pedestal sink in my bathroom.

The following Saturday, well I guess it was technically Sunday, when I got home from work, this is what the sky looked like. Gee, I wonder why it's so hard to fall asleep when I get home? Could it be that it's freakin' daylight already!!?

Hey, whatta ya know! Something about school! The babies made these Easter eggs last month.

No, despite the uncanny resemblance, these aren't my droopy boobs, "they're necklaces!"

We made these last Wednesday. I LOVE the way they turned out, don't you? The babies adored the book The Rainbow Fish, which we read on Monday and Tuesday. They were sooo excited to make these. This almost looks like a "real" bulletin board, doesn't it? Granted, I could have changed the lame background paper, and maybe used some sort of border, but my days of putting up killer boards are over. You can't have anything nice around the Hell-Hole, because it gets ripped down almost immediately. I don't expect my seaweed to last very long. The random kids that wander the halls like to destroy everything they see. As much as I would love to go on and on about that, I'm not. I think next time, I'll make the fish a little smaller, because the board looks a little crowded, doesn't it? I started out to make them half that size, but that seemed too small. Oh well, live and learn!

OK, time for Dancing with the Stars! I still had a bunch of school tid-bits I wanted to share, so maybe I'll come back later tonight.

*Don't forget, you can click on photos to enlarge them. You may want to do that to get the full cuteness of the babies' creations!

I miss you, my Bloggy Buddies!!

I feel like it's been a year since I've posted. It's been an incredibly busy week, which led to an even busier weekend.

Ding dong, the witch is dead.... has been playing in my head all weekend. I may or may not have posted about our bartender, who I did NOT care for. Long story short, she's gone. She did, however, screw us over on what should have been her last night, so I had to work Friday night. It was pretty busy, but certainly not as busy as most other Friday nights (I really didn't need my brother's help for much, since I had a server) and yet the ring for the night was a full 50% more than it usually is on busier Friday nights. Gave me a little more ammo to use in my arguing with my brother over this bartender, who I believe was stealing from us left and right. I really don't want to get into all the details, but let's just say, our numbers should improve greatly now that she's no longer stealing from, I mean working for, us.

Friday was a pretty profitable night for me, which was an added bonus. I went home with nearly a half-month's tuition for Stud Muffin. That almost makes up for what a looonnnnggg day it was. Naturally, I worked at the Hell-Hole all day. It was an unusually stressful day, too. I received a new student. A new student who HAS NEVER BEEN TO SCHOOL BEFORE! What the hell?!?! I wanted to grab her mother by the collar and ask her, "What the fuck have you been doing with this child since September when school started?!" Oh, wait, I forgot the best part...this little girl was SCREAMING when her mother brought her to my door. S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G!!! And she continued to scream for about the first two hours of school. It never even died down to crying, it just was constant screaming. The first 30 minutes or so I was feeling really bad for her. The poor baby has never been to school, she's used to being with her mommy all day, she's scared, etc. But, shit, after an hour of non-stop screaming, I was reaching the end of my patience. By the end of Hour 2, I was ready to slap her! Thank God, by lunchtime, she had calmed down, and was actually joining in with what we were doing. By the middle of the afternoon, she was doing great! Yay! I just hope after this long weekend, she doesn't come back on Tuesday crying. (Did I mention we have a three-day weekend? We're off Monday for Casimir Pulaski Day.)

Besides dealing with Screaming Mimi, I had to deal with the fact that BOTH of the assistants who dismiss my kids had called in sick on Friday. It was nice of them to both take a four-day weekend! So, naturally, instead of walking out at 2:45 like I usually do, I was stuck until the last one was picked up at 3:00. Now, I realize that 15 minutes doesn't seem like a big deal, but Stud Muffin also gets out of school at 2:45, and ends up waiting outside for me for about 15 minutes everyday, even when I leave on time. Well, by the time I walked out to my car Friday, he had already been waiting 15 minutes, outside, in the freezing cold, plus it had started to snow!! I was NOT happy, to say the least. Then, as I was pulling out of the lot, a huge fight/riot that had started in the building spilled out to the street, so I couldn't even get off the damn block! Ugh!! I finally had to call my sister and see if she could pick up my son for me, otherwise I'd never make it to the bar in time to open at 5. I finally got out of Englewood, drove home like a bat outta hell, ran in the door, changed my clothes, packed up my gear (mostly just my computer!) cleaned the dog's infected ear with antibiotic cleaner, forced his pills down his throat, got the ear drops in his ear, and I was on my way! I made it to the bar with about 5 minutes to spare.

Like I said, I pretty much worked by myself behind the bar all night, which was exhausting. But, I did get to see some customers I hadn't seen in a while, since I've been trying to only work Saturdays. There were really great customers all night. Unfortunately, it was a late night, and I didn't walk in my door until about 5:45 am. Which wouldn't have been so bad (even though I had been up since 6 am the day before!) if I didn't have to get up at 7 to take that rotten son of mine to school for a Saturday detention!!! Argh!! I had to repeat the whole process with the dog when I got home, so by the time I got into my pajamas and finally lied down, it was after 6:15. I was up at 7, drove to school and back, which woke me up a bit, which sucked, cuz I wanted to go right to sleep. I finally started to doze around 9ish, but I was so afraid I wouldn't wake up in time to pick Studly up, it was a VERY restless sleep for about an hour and a half. I woke up in a panic at 10:30, thinking I overslept, which got my adrenaline going, so then I felt wide awake. After picking him up at 11, I came home and tried to go to sleep for a while, but it just wasn't happening, especially since it was literally the middle of the day now. I finally started to doze off around 1:30, but then my brother called at about 2:30 to tell me he would open so I could come in a little later. Well, that's mighty nice of ya, but now you woke me up, asshat!! I think I fell back asleep at 3ish, with a pile of pillows over my head, but then CSJ called at 4 and woke me up, so I gave up. I was going to have to make do with about 3 hours of broken, crappy sleep.

Saturday was it's usually crazy busy time. My cousin and his boyfriend came in, which is always great. My parents came in, too. At about 1 am, one of my oldest and dearest friends called because she was on her way home from a party and wanted to know if I was at the bar. She stopped by, and we got to visit for about an hour and half, which was awesome! There were a TON of people here at 3 when we closed, and NOBODY wanted to leave. Needless to say, I was getting more and more annoyed. I turned the ugly lights on, and finally just turned the music off, but still they couldn't take a damn hint. I finally begged my brother to ask them to leave. It was nearly 4 before the last person left. I balanced the drawer, cleaned a bit, and headed home. I was too tired to even go to breakfast!! That's highly unusual :)

I walked in the door at 5:15 this morning. I think I fell asleep at about 6, and next thing I knew, my brother was calling me at 2. Eight full hours of sleep!! I felt like a million bucks!! Sadly, I had to work today, too, which is why my brother was calling. We had a private poker tournament here tonight (it's still going on!) and I have the pleasure of bartending for the crew. I had no freakin' clue they'd still be playing this late (it's 12:30!!) and I'm dying again. I got here about 3:30. Even though I'm off from school tomorrow, I still have to get up to drive Stud Muffin to school, then I made plans to meet friends for breakfast. I'm really tempted to skip breakfast so I can sleep, but I haven't seen my friends in such a long time, I know I would regret not going. I guess we'll have to wait and see how I feel in the morning.

Wow, I've been working on this post for about 1 1/2 hours now, and the boys are still playing!!! I think it's time for me to call it a night. It's 1 am, and I need to sleep. They're going to have to get their own damn drinks. I had intended to post about school, so maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. Or, would that be later today? Whatever. I'm too tired to be technical :(

~~~Update~~~

I finally left the bar at 3:15, pulled into my driveway at 3:40, carried a sack filled with two weeks' worth of dirty towels, a box with 6 reams of paper, my computer and my purse into the house, let out Dorky Dog, brought the towels down to the basement and loaded the washing machine, came back up and let the dog back in, cleaned his ear, put in the drops, got the pills down his throat, pulled my son's essay up on his computer, proof-read/edited it, printed it out, stapled it and put it in his bookbag, and it's now 4:25. I have to wake up Studly in about 2 hours. Should I just stay up? Hey, Matlock is on, I could just watch that! Nah, I'll just review my weekend:

Hours worked (on my feet, slinging drinks) from Friday-Sunday = 32

Add in the hours spent driving to and from, plus time cleaning = 8

Came home Friday with $370, Saturday with $200, tonight with $210. Total = $780

Sounds amazing until you figure out that hourly that comes to about $19.50/hour. Now subtract the fact that from the time I woke up at 6 am on Friday until right now (4:30 am on Monday!), I've slept a combined total of 11 hours. Doesn't sound so great now, does it? I'm just going to focus on the fact that I was able to make almost a month's worth of tuition for Stud Muffin, and I'm going to pretend I don't have to be up in 2 hours to drive him to the school that demands $800 a month from me. At this point, I'm seriously thinking I'm going to have to ditch breakfast with the girls. I still have so much to do tomorrow, that I think that couple of hours I would have hung out with them would be better spent napping. I had planned to spend my evening reprinting all the menus and table tents for the tables at the bar. I spent an hour editing the menus, changing the lay-out, etc., only to find out that my printer was out of freakin' ink!! I tried to run to Office Max, but they were closed. Target doesn't carry the ink cartridge I needed, so I obviously couldn't finish the job. So, now I have to print them out tomorrow, here at home, then somehow get them to the bar. More than likely, I'll have to drive all the way back out there tomorrow, which is gonna suck big time. I'm going to try and get all the towels washed, dried and folded before then, so I can kill two birds with one stone. Yeah, so maybe I should try and get a couple of hours of sleep right now, huh? OK, well good night then...

Happy Valentine's Day, My Bloggy Buddies!

Valentine's Day used to always be such a big deal to "us" when CSJ was around. His birthday was yesterday, so we always made a week of it. I always made him a heart-shaped cake that said, "Happy Birthday to My Valentine." The first year, we had been dating for 2 months, and man, I went ALL out! I borrowed some cake pans from my mom's friend and made a TIERED heart-shaped 4-layer cake. WTF?! It took me a full day. That lasted for years, and even though it eventually just became a standard two-layer heart-shaped cake, the message was always the same. Once my son was old enough to "help," he took over the decorating part, I just baked the cake (still heart-shaped. What can I say, I love those pans.)

This year, I didn't even bother. This is his first birthday since marrying HWW, and I wasn't sure how it would go over with her. I have no idea why I give a shit, since she had absolutely NO problem causing turmoil in OUR marriage, but whatever. I'm too old for this shit, and I don't want to have to deal with any crap, ya know? Besides, if Studly had asked, I would have done it, but he didn't say a thing about it, so screw it. Stud Muffin actually stayed home last night, and hung out with his two best friends. (He and his one friend are still snoring away, and it's after 11:00!) It seems his father didn't really care, either, since he has a new wife to celebrate with him. So, actually, I'm the one who made out, cuz I got to hang out with my three favorite boys all night! I picked the other two up right after school, and we had blast.

Studly is going to a Valentine's Day dance tonight with "the girl." I can't stand that he's gone from being a baby to being a man in about a minute and a half. I'm letting CSJ handle tonight completely on his own. I'll be at work, anyway. Apparently, he took it upon himself to go out and buy a ton of things for Stud Muffin to give to "the girl" for Valentine's Day. Luckily, Stud Muffin isn't into all that mushy crap just yet (and neither is "the girl") so he told his dad to take it all back. All he wanted to give her was a rose. I hope they have fun tonight. It'll be the first dance he'll be going to without his posse, since this dance is for couples. I hope he loosens up and actually dances.

I came across this hilarious page, and thought I'd share it with you. It's called If Valentine's Day Cards Told the Truth. Too funny! Enjoy!

After a week of warm weather (Ok, warm to us!) it snowed last night. Only about an inch, but enough to be kind of annoying. Dorky Dog is at the groomer's right now, and all I keep thinking is that he's going to come out, want to run around in the snow/mud, and I'll have wasted the $50 they charge me to bathe and brush him. Ah, well, I hope they at least give him a Valentine bandanna tied around his neck. If they do, I'll come back later and share a picture.

I think it's time to wake up the boys. Stud Muffin wants to go to the store and get some new pants for the dance tonight, so we'd better get going since I have to leave for the bar in just over 4 hours. Ugh! I'm already tired just thinking about it...

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. ~Author Unknown

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. ~Author Unknown

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? ~Author Unknown

This looks so cool...

...I think we should do it for the bar! http://mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/

Friendship

Friendship

Friendship is a magic tie

That reaches past the last good-bye,

Past the miles and past the years,

Past the laughter, past the tears.

Nothing breaks this golden strand

Spun by heart and not by hand

----Clare Mishica

-

Isn't that just the sweetest? I've reread it about 10 times in the past 3 days, and I love it every time. And, you'll never guess where I found it...Highlights! Yes, the same Highlights you used to read as a kid, probably at the doctor's office like I did. Unless, of course, you were one of those lucky kids whose parents actually got them a subscription. Spoiled little brat! But, I digress... I did have a cousin who used to get them (my uncle is STILL the coolest guys I know!) and when we would visit, I would disappear with a giant pile of Highlights until it was time to go home. See, I HAVE always been a geek! It's nothing new, trust me. I used to do the same when we'd visit people who had Readers Digest in their house. (Why is it that nobody can throw those away?) I would try and read a year's worth in one visit. I suppose this is where my obsession with magazines started.

-

We never had magazines in our house when we were growing up. At least not any that I wanted to read. My dad received some sportsmen/shooting/NRA magazine (He's a world champion trapshooter) but who the hell wanted to read those? My mother was a Harlequin romance kinda girl back then, definitely not a magazine girl. I, however, have a serious issue, and I probably need professional help. I have no less than 10 magazine subscriptions that come to this house. Maybe it's more...let's count...

1. Highlights*
2. Ninetendo Power*
3. Game Pro*
4. Readers Digest
5. Playboy
6. All for You
7. Family Circle
8. Woman's Day
9. Family Fun
10. First for Women
11. Woman's World
12. Everyday with Rachael Ray
13. Everyday Foods
14. Everyday Living
15. Cooks Illustrated
16. Food and Family

I think that's all. (*These come in Stud Muffin's name, but I always snatch the Highlights first. Believe it or not, he will still read through them, and he loves to do the hidden picture puzzles. He cracks me up!)

OK, so that's 16, if I didn't miss any, which is possible. This is the part where you all tell, "What the hell is wrong with you?!! If you didn't subscribe to 16 freakin' magazines, you could quit one of your jobs!!!" Believe me, I know. And, I hear it all the time from my mother (thanks, Ma!). But, I feel completely justified in my magazine addiction. First of all, magazine articles are about all I can read in my free moments. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there is really all I have. Sundays used to be my Magazine Day, and I would take a pile of them to my room, and stay in bed reading them all day. That was BI (before Intimo!). Now, I try to catch up on my sleep and still get up in time to watch Desperate Housewives!

Anyway, another reason I feel justified in buying all these magazines is that they really are my only vice. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't gamble, I don't spend money on my hair or clothes, I don't care about jewelry, and I don't wear a stitch of makeup, so there's no money going there. I'm sure if you added up what 'normal' women spend on all those things (not the drinking, smoking and gambling parts!) I'm way ahead in the game.

And, finally, I'm not asking anyone to pay for my magazines. If I choose to work 3 jobs to support my habit (tee hee), that's my business. I have managed to eliminate some subscriptions in order to cut back on my spending, and if I have to do it again, I will. But, for now, this is what makes me happy. And, you can't really put a price on that, can you?

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest! Sorry to unload on my Bloggy Buddies, but I know you don't judge! ;-)

Sometimes I just wanna....

The same friend that sent the email below sent me this today, too. He wanted to know if I ever want to do this while I'm working at the bar...