All Hallow's Eve

On Halloween, I spent most of the day cleaning my house. After Andy got off of work, we donned our costumes one last time to take his nieces out trick-or-treating.

My knight in shining armor!

It was fucking cold. I wore pants and boots under my costume and still after about 5 minutes of being outside my entire body was numb. We walked them up and down essentially 2.5 blocks before his older niece all of a sudden had a serious attitude.

She'd been whining the whole time we were out - her costume was too long, her bag was heavy & she didn't want to carry it, etc. but I guess about then she reached her breaking point. She refused to go to any other houses, and stomped along about a half block ahead of us. We went back to their house intending to drop her off & take her sister out some more but she decided she was done too.

Wimps. Like I told Andy, "Not to be one of those 'I walked uphill both ways to school' types, but I remember WAY colder Halloweens than this that I was out in until Mom made me go home!" Seriously. So we got home fairly early and I was hoping to watch a scary movie or something but Andy was asleep within a half hour or so.

Wimp.

Halloween, Part 1 – the Parties

Saturday was both my boss's and Andy's boss's Halloween party day.

We went to mine first - it's a family-friendly one. There's beer, don't get me wrong, but there's also a lot of children. Their party was awesome because his wife goes ALL out. Every part of their house is done up in Halloween. She puts fake moustaches on photos on the wall, hangs pictures of their kids in Halloween costumes from years past (what a great idea to get photos done then!), and they have every little detail fall or Halloween themed.

After a couple of hours, we mosied down to Andy's boss's party. It's a good ol' fashioned drinkin' party. He and his girlfriend had also done a lot of decorating, and turned the garage into the "haunted house", which was both amusing and festive. It's more of a ridiculousness sort of event than the other. It involved a jack-o-lantern lit by a kerosene-soaked roll of toilet paper and a costume that consisted of tighty whities and a chicken mask....if that gives you an idea!

Fire in the hole!

And so it Begins.

Halloween, that is.

Today was the office potluck. I ate so much buffalo chicken dip. Uggg, I don't even want to think about it now. I made triple-layer pumpkin spice pie, which has become my favorite easy fall dessert. Andy brought some cakes shaped like a blob and a dead rat. Besides that, there were some spooky treats and some not, but I ate a ton of all of it! I'm a tad worried I won't be able to get my costume on tomorrow!!!

Early stages of the goodie table

If anybody reads this, you should tell me all about your costumes this year!

I love Halloween!!!!! Happy Halloween weekend everyone!

Facebook - the new reality?

Let me start by saying this: I am addicted to Facebook. My name is Angie, and I'm a Facebookaholic.

That said, there are still TONS of things that piss me off on Facebook, and I am going to take this time to tell you about it. Here are my guidelines to remaining my Facebook friend. Unfortunately, if you are family, you are exempt from these and I'm forced to accept your request by default...but that doesn't mean I won't put you on limited profile, beyotch!

Apps

• If I don't already have your app, don't send me any notifications. I don't want a fucking bale of hay - I don't have a farm! If it's a game I have, fine. I always need parts for my lightning stove.


• Don't send me any invites. If there is an app I decide I want, I will get it myself, thank you.

Photos

• Don't take pictures of yourself on your cell phone everyday. There are a multitude of reasons for this one. For starters, I'm tired of looking at your shower curtain in the background. Also, you look the same as you did yesterday. If you get a new haircut, piercing, etc. the occasional one of these is acceptable. After that, get over your damn self.


• When you DO take pictures of yourself, smile! Being completely straight-faced is NOT sexy, despite what you may believe. The token self-portrait pouty/fishlips face is just obnoxious. Say "cheese" if you have to. It's a tried-and-true method for eliciting picture smiles.


• If you have a baby, post pictures of it for the world to see. Absolutely! Just not 200 pictures that were all taken within 15 minutes of each other.

My attempt at "That Girl" - I'm pleased to say I can't do ducklips.

Status Updates

• Do not, under any circumstance, update your status to reflect any mundane daily activity. "So-and-so just put the kids down for a nap and is starting on the laundry now" is not an acceptable status. Nobody gives a fuck. Especially not enough to know on an hourly basis. "Just finished folding the clothes, guess it's time to start dinner." It's amazing you're getting anything done in between this play-by-play!


• When posting song lyrics as your status, please subscribe to a 12-word limit.

Pages & Groups

• When you receive an update from a page you've liked, do not... I repeat DO NOT comment 'First!' or anything of the sort. What the fuck is that about anyway?! You may as well say 'I have absolutely no life!'...it conveys the same message to me.


• If you like a page or join a group, only suggest it to me if it's something I like. For instance if you join 'If 1,000,000 people join this group my soccer coach will shave his head', do not invite me. A) It's complete bullshit, and B) Why do I care if some Canadian high school soccer coach shaves his head? I don't. If you join 'If 1,000,000 join this group American conservatives will start researching their facts', I'm in.

General

• If someone posts to your wall ' OMG is this you http://bit.ly/aodijacoaisjd' don't click the link! Fucking retard, you will get a virus and spam all of your friends.


• There is no reason to add extra l's or y's to words. It simply makes no sense.


• Adding extra words to your name makes you look like a dumbass. Examples of this would be: Angie SmellsSoSweet Lovins, Princezz Angie Dawn, Angela YoMama Lovins, or Angie TheSlickest Dawn. If it's a nickname that a majority of your friends call you, that's fine. If it's random words to demonstrate how highly you regard yourself, leave it out.

Hmm... that's all I can think of for the time being.

If you break any of these rules, I will unfriend you. Please know that because we're not friends on Facebook does not mean we aren't actually friends. It's because your Facebook presence annoys the shit out of me.

Nowadays, your relationships aren't 'official' until they've been posted on FB...If Facebook is going to become everyone's life, then they should behave on there the way they actually behave. If you wouldn't call me and ask me to support your cause 64 times in one day, don't send me 64 cause invitations; If you wouldn't send everyone in your contacts an email about your laundry stains, it probably shouldn't be your status.

357?

Tuesday my phone was dead all day.  I thought I had my charger in my purse when I left for work, but it turned out I didn't.

Wednesday, I had my charger and left my phone at home.

Yes, I suck.  I can't remember for sure what number I was at, but I believe P357 is correct.

My sincerest apologies.

The Chicken Noodle Diaries

Monday, Andy was sans 1 tooth, 1 freshly filled, and 1 root canal-ed. I decided I wanted to make him chicken soup the previous Friday when he first found out what all he was going to have done. After all, when I was sickly he made me some. Always the one-upper, I decided to make the noodles from scratch (Also, we didn't have any frozen ones.).

I actually made the noodles on Sunday whilst the clam chowder (CHOW-DA!) simmered.

Do the noodle dance!

I had low expectations for them, and luckily they exceeded them. And the leftover soup the next day was way better - like the noodles sponged up some of everything else by then.

Take that, soft food diet!

Anyway, it was pretty damn good. I'm getting much better at making things up. I've always been a decent cook, but have always relied heavily on recipes. I'm finally taking off the training wheels! Hopefully I don't fall on my face!

Adventures in Soupmaking, pt. I

As I think I mentioned before, Andy has been having some dental issues the past couple weeks. In light of this, I decided to make some soups for us for dinner Sunday & Monday. Sunday I was going to make a corn chowder, and he insisted on adding clams so we had clam chowder.

[caption id="attachment_110" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Brothy goodness"][/caption]

I also was jonesing for grilled cheese, and he hadn't gotten his teeth pulled yet so he agreed to eating one too. When you haven't had it in a while, grilled cheese tends to be pretty much the best thing EVER.

I'd give it a solid 7 for presentation.

It was good, but a bit runny. I got hungry and gave up on letting it thicken any longer. Tune in tomorrow for chicken noodle!

Hermann Octoberfest!

As I mentioned before, we went to Hermann this weekend for their annual Octoberfest. It's always a good time, and for some reason Hermann is always splendid in the fall - way more than it is here. It reminds me of the Family Guy episode where all the New Yorkers come to Quahog to see the leaves change. This weekend I was a leafer, haha.

So we spent a bit of time Saturday at Oakglen Winery, which is just beautiful. The band sucked, and we had to pay a $3 cover because of them... I still want my money back, but that is neither here nor there. This is the only winery around Hermann I had never been to, and it's up on a hilltop overlooking the Missouri River with a great view.

The wine was okay there. Overpriced for the norton we got, but that's what you get for being a picky dry red drinker in a state where the sweet grapes grow plentifully!

As Laurinda would say about most of their wines, "That would go great over ice cream!"

Only in the Finest Establishments

The first-ever cordless remote

Perhaps I should start a new series, of Awesome 80's Technology in the 21st century....the name needs work, but you get the drift.

Do you remember last time I left town & stayed in a cabin, the sweet alarm clock? Well this time I left town and went to Hermann for Octoberfest. We rented the Mueller Haus. It had 5 bedrooms, and "The Dorm" - the basement where Jenny, Laurinda, & I stayed. It was awesome. That part I am being completely unsarcastic about - I loved it.

In The Dorm we had a Zenith TV that looked just like one that we had when I was growing up. Actually, it was frighteningly recently that my parents parted with it. It never had a remote that I know of. Certainly by the time I inherited it to play N64 on, there was no remote. However, I now know what it would look like if it did have one.

My favorite part of it was that it took a 9-volt battery. That thing better last forever!! I'm guessing the battery in it was the second one since 1977.

Why Andy Won't Eat Chick-Fil-A

Bible thumpers

A Chick-fil-A opened in Liberty....a while ago... The better part of a year ago, I'd guess. I was beyond excited, and wanted Andy to take me there badly. A few weeks after it opened, he decided to go there on his lunch break on a Sunday. It was closed, and he was angry. Ever since he's been boycotting it, so I haven't gotten to go. Mom & I finally went on Thursday before Zumba, and I saw this sign. It made me laugh.

Halloween is Nigh!

We might not get to finish putting up all of our Halloween decorations, since it seems we've lost track of the past month or so, and Andy will be getting some dental work early next week, which would be about the end of the time it makes sense to put more stuff up... We shall see.

Anyhow, the last decoration Andy bought was a strand of Christmas-esque lights. Instead of rainbow colors, though, they are all black. When he bought that he also brought this home to me:

"French Fried Gummy Fingers"....complete with 'ketchup' aka 'candied blood', which was a sour gel to put on them. I only ate 2, it was an instant sugar overload. I gave the rest to the dinner guests I had that night. They made me happy, though.

The Apartment that Was

You may remember me mentioning my friend Matt... he helped me make the Powerpoint presentation that used to be awesome? Well another thing that used to be awesome was his apartment here in Kansas City. When he left for Seattle he still had 4 months on his lease so he posted a Craigslist ad to try to find someone to take it over. He found a girl, but she didn't qualify to live there alone so he left his name on the lease.

Last week, the apartment complex called to tell him that she had left town, her mother was living there unauthorized, and they hadn't paid rent. He sweet talked his way out of getting an eviction on his name, and got a hold of the chick. She'd left town because she felt like her and her child were in danger, because of her mother. I see a number of things that are ludicrous about this - the main one being that it was HER apartment and she could have kicked her mom out and stayed instead.

She told Matt that the apartment wasn't damaged, she'd gotten all of her stuff out, and she'd left the rent money with her mom. All fucking lies. Matt got a hold of the mother who'd been staying in his old room, and they moved out and left his key. I swung by there to grab the key and do a quick run-through. The room that Heather (the chick who skipped town) was living in was a FUCKING DISASTER. It looked like she put cigarettes out on the carpet. As I walked through the apartment, I was again reminded why I hate the majority of people. Here was Matt trying to do her a favor, letting her live in a nice apartment close to her work, giving her the benefit of the doubt - and she screwed him right over. The only room that had been cleaned was the one her mother was staying in and its adjoining bathroom. She's got shit strewn all over the place still and has no intention of bringing her fat ass back up here to clean it. For this, I hate her.

The carpet is completely destroyed, the doors are all beat up, the shelf was torn out of the bedroom closet, the refrigerator is disgusting, she left a bunch of junk including her shitty couch.... What possesses people to live that way?! I've always been the type who, if someone goes out on a limb for me, will work my damnedest to prove that it was the right thing to do.

Sayonara, crazy bitch. Don't come back.

Things I Love, Vol. 3: My Boyfriend

<3

This is admittedly a bit of a copout. I realized as I was watching the Sunday evening game that I hadn't snapped a picture all day, and here Andy was asleep and looking all cute. I should probably tell him I took this picture. I mean, it's creepy that I took it, but even creepier that he doesn't know I did, and I'm posting it on my blog.

However, this post will serve double duty as a Things I Love AND a P359.

Reasons I love my boymanfriend (in random order):

1. He's super adorable. I thought he was cute when we first met, and the longer we're together the more insanely attracted to him I become.

2. He's crazy intelligent. One of the first things that made me "like" like him was the fact that he has a sexy tattoo across his upper back. It turns out the symbol in the center is an Egyptian symbol, and he aspires to get more heiroglyphs on his back from The Book of The Dead. Being an Anthropology major with a particular interest in Egyptology, he has surely forgotten more about Egypt than I ever have known, and I love listening to him talk about it. I love listening to him talk about lots of the things he knows. He's a history junkie, and I don't know nearly enough about it. His intelligence is twofold, though, since it's probably part of the reason he's a gamer nerd.

3. He's thoughtful (sometimes). Once, when he left town for the week, he sprayed my Huggy pillow (yes, that is the name of a pillow I've slept with since I was a child - don't judge!) with his cologne. He also planned a trip to Minneapolis to see my favorite band since I was pre-colonoscopy miserable when we saw them here. For Valentine's Day, he had a beautiful dinner surprise. He sure knows the way to my heart - surf & turf.

4. Mr. Turtle. He too has something he sleeps with, although less so now that he "lives" at my house. Mr. Turtle, a turtle his grandma made for him. I believe the one he sleeps with now is the 3rd one she'd made, and he has a backup #4 for when the current one is worn down to next-to-nothing. For a while, Mr. Turtle stayed at my house, but he moved back to his house... I'm actually not sure why/when that happened.

5. He is an amazing cook. Maybe this shouldn't be part of why I love him, but what can I say? When we seemingly have nothing to eat in the house, he whips up delectable meals out of nothing. Mad skills, I tell you.

6. We share many important views. I have pretty strong opinions on a number of things. Factory farming appalls me, I can't stand people who try to force their religion on me, I believe I should do what I can to preserve the environment, I have little faith in Americans.... He shares all of these beliefs.

7. We have different taste. While I listen to music with hand clapping and whistling, he likes loud angry guitar riffs. I like movies that make me laugh, he likes historically accurate war movies. I hate wearing shoes, he wears boots every day. We both have learned a lot from each other in this respect - now I have him loving Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and I bought Them Crooked Vultures' CD the day it came out.

8. His crazy theories/thoughts on things. When we're in the car between home & work, he frequently tells me how he thinks things ought to be. People should be required to take classes in fluid dynamics before they are allowed to drive, people on government health assistance should be required to take IQ tests before they are allowed to reproduce, you should lose your license for any sort of traffic violation (duration depending on the offense)... Sometimes I find myself agreeing with his tirades.

9. I can tell him anything. This is one of the biggest things that makes me feel differently about him than I've felt about anybody before. I think we could tell each other absolutely anything, without fear of being judged or worrying that it will go beyond the two of us. I love that.

10. He has beautiful hair. Seriously, it's lovely. He'll tell you it's just "like that", but I know it's at least partly because he combs conditioner through it in the shower.

Here's to you, my dahling. Mwah!

Birthdays and More Birthdays

While the picture part of this post is about as unrelated to birthdays as it gets (you can probably guess what it IS related to...), the weekend was very birthday-themed.

Friday we went to Derek & Miriam's for his birthday get-together. I ate my weight in Hooters wings. I was already half-drunk. I stayed home sick because I felt like total shit in the morning. Andy stayed with me half of the day, which made it a lot more bearable. Once he left, I decided that a steak and some wine was probably just what the doctor ordered. The doctor being me, of course. I have to say, 2/3 of a bottle of zinfandel later, I had nary a care in the world.

Andy came home, we went to beer tasting, and then on to the birthday party. I drank an entire bottle of wine while there. What a lush. It was fun, though.

Saturday was Debbie's birthday party, after Stagecoach 75-cent tacos and patio sitting, of course. Andy met us there after he got off of work, and we ate.

(See, this is what I do - I eat and I drink. The highlights of my life almost always go something like this. No wonder I'm such a fatty!!!)

We also played some bags & washers, which was a lot of fun. Turns out Sara is a ringer. Either that, or her pregnant belly somehow balances her out...which seems counterintuitive.

I could have taken a picture of the washers, or the smoking patio at Dave's, but instead I opted for Andy's dinner creation:

A waste of above average mac & cheese, if you ask me

A brisket & macaroni wrap. That should be submitted to "This is Why You're Fat". I won't even broach the topic of his tortilla failure. After a year of me training him how to wrap a burrito, this is what happens.

Toothpicks?! Weak.

F*ck me.

I missed the 15th.  P359, anybody?

2-4

I am starting to find numbering the posts obnoxious, but I don't want to lose track either.... Hmmm.... Maybe I'll start putting the numbers as tags. That's a good idea I just thought of. So it's decided.

Ahhh, October 14th. I don't remember ANYTHING that happened at work, because I spent the entire day anticipating the Band of Horses show that evening. If there's a man I love to see on stage more than Andy, it's Ben Bridwell. And Tyler Ramsey....ooooohhh Tyler Ramsey. I am madly in love with these 2 men, and while I never expected Tyler to become officially part of the band, I love that he did.

Ben & Tyler start the show from the box

They began the show in what used to be the box seats when the Uptown was still a live theater. They sat up there while the other bands played, and I like to think the idea came to them then. Everyone was excited, the band was about to come out, and then the hubbub started. You look up, and there they were, doing a parade wave down to the audience. Ben explained, "The stage is just too big," then they did "Evening Kitchen", a song on their latest album (Infinite Arms) that Tyler wrote. After that, they stayed up there for an acoustic version of "No One's Gonna Love You", which was wonnnnderful!

Then they headed to the stage and joined the rest of the band for (mostly) the rest of the set. There was a time where Ben was back up in the wings for the majority of a song... I can't remember for sure which.

As always, Ben's smoking and drinking during the set made me a happy gal. He's a badass. As a sidenote, he looked like he might have been on X or something during this show, too. But again, that only makes me love him more. He kept saying what a blast he was having, and it was contagious.

The General Specific wasn't quite as rousing as I've seen it before, but at least they played it. That was my biggest beef last time I saw them - no appearance of my favorite song.

I can't decide which time I've seen them was my favorite - they are all so different and so wonderful in their own way... This one kept me a believer, though, and that's the most important thing.

I'm going to go ahead and say this: It took me a long time to adjust to Infinite Arms. It was their first major label release, and without even knowing that, you could listen to the 3 albums and definitely tell. They've reined themselves in a little, and while I finally do love the album, that bums me out for sure. While their set that night included nearly, if not completely, all of their newest album, I was happy that they also included a ton of older stuff. As their catalog gets bigger, that means I will miss more & more songs at each show, so I'm savoring this tour for the fact that I heard most of my long-time favorites.

Horse Power! (hahaha, get it?)

#23

I feel like this post should be about Alicia simply because it's number 23. I did not take a picture of her on October 13th, though. I did, however, miss her on this day. I know because I miss her every day! And especially right after I see her! Being so far from my best friend doesn't suit me very well. I am beyond excited for Baby Gronlicia, and I will love it even if it looks like a freaky little alien. Unconditional love. I learned it from 2 Pac.

Moving along...

Andy's First Homebrew!

On this day, Andy & I drank a quart of his Octoberfest beer. It was delicious! I don't know how to speak Beerspeak, but I can wing it... It had a lot of body, and finished both bitter & sweet. I think it weighs in roughly at 7.5% alcohol content, but it's an easy drink. I liked it a lot, and plan to consume a lot more of it at our Hermann kickoff dinner next Wednesday.

When I said we drank a quart of it, it sure sounded like a lot. We just each had a pint. That sounds like so much less. Isn't it funny how that works sometimes? 60 minutes sounds way longer than an hour - 5,280 feet sounds like an eternity, not a mile... Huh.

To All of You October Babies!

You make me fucking broke right before the holidays, and for that I resent you a little bit. Then again, it's YOUR Christmas gifts that are being downgraded. Just remember when I get you a $5 McDonald's gift card for Christmas that MAYBE if you'd have had the decency to have been born in April you'd be getting a nice sweater, or perhaps even this year's holiday must-have gadget.

That said, I love you guys. Shout-outs to all of you by day, though none of you will probably read them.

9/30: (This counts! It's one day before October!) Sister
10/6: Krista
10/7: Alicia
10/12: Dad
10/13: Sara
10/16: Debbie & Derek

Happy friggin' birthday, Libra friends & family!

Things I Love, Vol. 2: Broken Bells

Looky, looky, volume 2!  I don't feel like working today, so I'm splitting myself in half between some research I'm doing for work and writing this blog entry.

I remember when I first heard Broken Bells late last year, and got really excited about "the new Shins'" song.  I went to download it and saw they didn't have anything new, so I had to do a bit (not much!) of digging to find out that James Mercer (The Shins frontman, in case you didn't know) had teamed up with Danger Mouse to become Broken Bells.

Well, you can't go wrong with either of them, so the pair is of course wonderful!

You can find another cool thing here: \"October\" 3D Interactive Video

An Open Letter to Brett Favre.

Dear Brett,

I hate you so hard right now.  Because you failed to lead your team during the entire first half of Monday evening's game versus the Jets, I came in second place in our weekly pot for the FOURTH time this season.  OUT OF FIVE.

I took a leap of faith for you (and partly because of the addition of Randy Moss), and I landed flat on my ass.  Please next time I choose the Vikings for a win, don't throw an interception in the last 2 minutes of the game on the other team's end of the field.

Very sincerely,

Angie

P360.

Before you know it, it's going to turn into P90X. (Does anybody do that, by the way? I'm looking for a good thing to do at home on non-Zumba nights....)

So yesterday I forgot. And I know my last few picture posts have been subpar, so I'm feeling particularly self-loathing for it this time. I promise I'll make it up to you.

For real I will, not like your dad when he misses your birthday party because he has to work, or never shows up when he's supposed to take you to the circus.

Day Twenty One.

This is probably my third-longest relationship! Three full weeks' worth of commitment, holy sh*t!

That said, I technically forgot to take a picture for this, but I was taking a couple pictures of Halloween decorations just for the heck of it, so I'll use one of them:

That would be the dining room. We have a few more decorations we need to put up and then I'll take pictures of everything. It's pretty great thus far, though!

I am excited for Halloween!!!!

Day 20. Sunday the Tenth.

10-10-10.

This is why they call it the Missouri River Runner

This is the view out the train window on my way back to Kansas City. It was a wonderful weekend, and as always felt too short. Also as always there were lots of people I wanted to see and didn't, and it was nice to get home. I went and had a tall beer and watched the end of the game with Andy at Moxie.

If the Vikings win Monday Night Football, I'll win the pot for the week. Cross your fingers!!!!

Saturday in tha Lou

Guess what! You're getting 2 pictures AGAIN! I'm feeling generous of late.

The Arch, as we wait in construction traffic

In the morning, Erica and I woke up and headed to Springfield, IL for Alicia's baby shower. It was really nice, at an adorable cafe/bakery place, with just 2 games. I won BOTH of them, whoop whoop! But they gave the 2nd place girl the prize the second time. In any case, I got a supercool Starbucks travel coffee mug, and a pumpkin cookie cutter and some caramel apple taffy. Pretty rockin'. After the shower, it was back to St. Peters for the Edwards' wedding reception. Traffic delayed us about 45 minutes, but it all worked out just fine.

We had a wonderful time at the reception. Photo booth ftw, most definitely. Dancing like the wacky inflatable arm-waving tube man was also excellent.

There's not much I love more than hanging out with Rolla folk, and this weekend was chock full of it. Happy feelings.

Project 361

Balls. I forgot to take a Thursday picture. I was doing so well, too!

Thursday was my best friend's birthday. I had Zumba. I think going back to work was just such a bummer that it consumed my brain, haha! You know, I gave you 2 on Wednesday...I'm going to go ahead & say that makes up for it!!

Well anyway, for Friday October 8th:

Not the best thing I've ever eaten...luckily also not the worst!

Amtrak chicken wings. After a hectic afternoon that ended in me not getting food before we got to Union Station, I was counting on the Harvey House Diner....which, turns out, has closed. So these are what I ate to hold me over until I could get to St Louis for some J in the B tacos!

The upside of my hectic afternoon was this:

Just like bein' at the Derby

Dad and I crashed a private party at Maker's Mark to get some wonderful juleps. They were worth not getting food for. Definitely.

October 6, 2010: A Twofer Wednesday

I had the day off for mental health reasons. It was my cousin's birthday. Andy & I went to the driving range. I got my first payday loan. All of these things happened, but I of course failed to get a picture relating to any of those things.

I did, however, get THIS picture:

A true patriot.

I also got this one. This one is more sad. While garage sale-ing, I bought a bottle of bourbon (!) for 75 cents (!). It was from the 70s and had been opened. I knew it would be hit or miss. Unfortunately, it was miss.

Uh yeah...I don't think it's supposed to be cloudy like that

Things I Love, Vol. 1: Oatmeal

In an attempt to lighten the general mood of this blog, and prove that I'm not 100% bitch, 100% of the time,  I'm starting a "Things I Love" series.  When I say 'series', it's good to let you know that I might mean one entry.  Just because there is a volume 1 doesn't mean there will be a 2.  I don't like to commit to things and then underdeliver, so there's your disclaimer.

Today is the type of day when I'd love nothing more but to snuggle up in my bed with a variety puzzles magazine and my Huggy pillow, but since I am at work I obviously can't.  So instead, I use my lunch to get similar warm fuzzy feelings.

Yes, I'm having oatmeal for lunch.  I usually have it for breakfast, but I had a smoothie this morning.  And, as earlier mentioned, today is the day where I need to feed my spirit as well as my body and oatmeal knows just how to soothe my soul and make me warm inside and out.

Not only is it delicious, but it is also a great source of many nutrients and chock full of fiber to keep you regular!  Unfortunately this is something I have to consider, but fortunately I can find it here!

For the record, I love all of the crazy flavors it comes in, but there's nothing quite like good ol' maple & brown sugar.

Day……15? Crap, I can’t remember.

BUT I do know it is Tuesday, October 5th.

For me, this day was an emotionally charged one. I am in the midst of the biggest financial crisis I've ever been in. It's probably not nearly as bad as some people have had, but it is stressing me out to the extreme anyhow. Also, this was the day of Matt's funeral service. It was extremely bittersweet - the service wasn't much about him; it was Catholic so the main focus was God...and singing. There was no body, just a picture. It all made it easier than I thought it would be, but definitely still not easy. Afterward I had the treat of having some drinks with some old friends, and I think I really needed it.

I had already planned to take Wednesday off for my mental health, but rather than coming home and relaxing with a few drinks I fell asleep almost immediately. I was just exhausted. Feeling feelings makes one tired!

Anyway, to contradict the seriousness that day actually represented for me, I took a picture in the Savers bathroom:

Powerful hand dryers make me giggle.

27 Days ‘Til Halloween

Halloween decor: round 1 (only this picture sucks)

Also on Sunday, to add to my list of domestic accomplishments, we had Andy's nieces over and started decorating for Halloween. It was really pretty fun, and the house looks awesome so far. We need some more outdoor stuff, but it'll happen :) We still have a few things to hang here & there, but so far so good! That sort of confirmation that fall is here & Halloween is coming up made me feel happier than I've felt in a while.

Lucky #13

I more or less spent all of Sunday during the day cleaning my house. I'm not sure if I hate or love those kinds of days more. I mean, it's wonderful and rewarding to have clean laundry and floors (but not windows, since the damn Windex went AWOL), etc...but it's also a bummer putting in essentially a full day's work on one of your two days off! Ya know?

To make it more okay, 1 of the 3 times I sat down all day was to take a bath. It was nice - I hadn't taken a bath in at least 5 or 6 months probably.... With the cold starting to set in, and a day all to myself, it was a nice way to relax.

It took 3 tries to get the nasty grout out of the picture

On a related note, how DO you get the grout white & clean? Mine was gross when I inherited it, and I can scrub all day & the rag never stops picking stuff up, but it never goes away either. It's like black magic.

Oh, and also - I made a pot roast. I seriously channeled my inner 50's housewife.

Day eleven!

Friday we got to enjoy a nice evening at home. It seemed like it had been a while since we were at home relaxing, just the 2 of us. After beer tasting, we just went straight home and Andy made us a wonderful steak dinner.

Then I went to work assembling this:

I'm waiting for some ModPodge to arrive so I can affix it all to the canvas, but I made this for a friend's baby's nursery. I'm going to make another one that is more boy-friendly, since they aren't finding out the sex until it's born. I can't decide if I like it or if I think it's too busy, but everyone I've asked says it's cute so I'm trusting them. Now I just need to trust USPS to get everything to me before Saturday!!!

Work Emails, Vol. 1

Do you ever get emails at work that are so ignorant that you want to reply back a message dripping with sarcasm?  A response so condescending that person wants to crawl in a hole or cry their self to sleep?!  Well, I do!  And I'm going to share those with you, as well as the responses I'd love to send back!!

Take HH.  At work, I am the owner of our employee suggestion program.  This is different from the suggestion box, this is the cost-saving ideas program.  HH turns in ideas on a rough monthly basis.  95% of the time she will send me an email if she doesn't hear back immediately.  This pisses me off and I've asked her to stop.  Also, people more important than me have instructed her to stop.  She works night shift, so it's always the first thing I see in the morning which makes my day insta-shit.  I spend the rest of the day walking around killing people with my death glances, and making it quite clear that they shouldn't speak to me.

This morning, I get to work at 6:40.  I hate all times before 8, and it's almost time for my Monthly Gift, so I'm already more-or-less full of hatred toward the world.  Firing up Outlook, here is the first thing I see:

Hi there,

Is there a way when someone submits an idea (tune it up or just a suggestion) they can see the status like if it was rcvd or accepted or what have you.

I submitted a tune it up, and really didn’t want to bother you to ask if you ever got it.

In reality, I will just ignore this e-mail and not respond at all, however here is what I'd love to say:

Hello,

I actually believe that bothering me is exactly what you wanted to do, otherwise you wouldn't have sent me this fucking e-mail after I and several others have asked you to stop.

Believe it or not, there is more to my job than this program, and as I have explained to you NUMEROUS times, you will receive a letter informing you of our decision regarding your idea once we've reviewed it.  One would think that after submitting an idea every month for nearly a year you would understand how this works, but I see this is still not the case.  It's ironic, isn't it, that someone with so many ideas on how to save the company money is a complete and total idiot.

Next time you send me an e-mail regarding one of your submissions, I am going to shred the suggestion immediately and ensure that you are never recognized for it.

Thanks,

Angie

P.S.  I feel sorry for whoever knocked you up.

...Perhaps the P.S. is too much?