Rich Girl, Poor Girl

Relocation...

2011-07-22T05:15:00.000-04:00

After doing a pretty poor job of maintaining four different blogs, I have decided to migrate them all over to Wordpress to become one blog. I only chose Wordpress because it is super easy to migrate multiple Blogger blogs over into one Wordpress blog, whereas I would have had to cut and past each individual post from each blog into a new Blogger blog. Therefore, I decided to jump ship.

Anyway, you can find any and all new ramblings of mine at therichgirlpoorgirlblog.wordpress.com. This will be a combination of my general blog (Rich Girl, Poor Girl), my health and fitness blog (Hamhocks), my now-defunct food blog (Chicken, Again?), and my very briefly maintained "mommy blog" (Mountain [Step]Mama). In time, if I maintain more of a blogging presence, I might just look into paying for my own domain, but for now, this is where I will be. Hope to see you there!

Technology!

2011-01-12T07:11:00.000-05:00

Last year, when someone suggested I wait until Apple came out with their new tablet before committing to an e-reader, I scoffed at the idea. After all, I knew I wanted a NOOK from Barnes & Noble, and I had NO interest in Apple's latest creation. When the iPad came out, I knew I was right that I didn't want that as an e-reader. After all, one of the biggest plusses of the NOOK is that it has e-ink technology that makes if virtually like reading a book on a printed page. The backlit screen of the iPad was not going to work for me. And that name! I made fun of it, along with much of America.

I got my NOOK, and as I have mentioned plenty of times, I love it. I read over fifty books on if last year, most of them for free because of my membership to the Free Library of Philadelphia. I can read the NOOK anywhere, and it fits nicely in a purse or tote bag. If has been indispensable during my elliptical and StairMaster workouts, and on my one plane trip of the year, it meant I didn't have to carry multiple books with me. It was a GREAT purchase.

As 2010 continued, I started to see more and more people with iPads, however, and my curiosity was piqued. And then several of my less tech-savvy co-workers found themselves the proud owners of new iPads and LOVED them, and I decided that if they had iPads, I must have one too. I started planning to buy myself one for my 35th birthday, which is coming up in April. And obviously, I couldn't wait because I am typing this blog entry on my iPad right now.

So far, I am pretty impressed! The first thing I did was sign up for Hulu Plus in order to be able to stream their content to the iPad. I have been watching episodes of 'Grey's Anatomy,' a show I have just recently started to develop an interest in, all week. The clarity of the screen is amazing, and I am loving being able to watch TV shows this way! The next thing I plan to sign up for is Netflix, so I can stream their available content to it as well. And this has also given me the push to get something we can use to stream content to our new TV when we get it, so I have decided to get a Roku player as well. I love all this new technology!

Some might recall that I named my NOOK "Alice Bluebonnet" after one of the two hats in the old Disney short cartoon with the Andrews Sisters providing the vocals. Well, Alice Bluebonnet has been reunited with "Johnny Fedora," in the form of my new iPad.

-- Post From My iPad

My literary year in review...

2011-01-01T13:47:00.000-05:00

My goal this past year was to read 100 books, and I managed to do it! When the clock struck midnight last night, I had read 101 books in 2010! I read 69 in 2008 and 76 in 2009, so this was a big jump for me. I credit some of my success to my NOOK (I have noticed that B&N has changed their capitalization on their e-reader from nook to NOOK), as it makes it easy to read in many, many places, and especially while exercising on the cardio equipment at the gym. For record keeping purposes, I will put a * next to the books I read on my NOOK this year.

January:
1. The Widow's Season by Laura Brodie
2. Mania by Craig Larsen*
3. An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
4. Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr*
5. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers*
6. Spellbound by Nora Roberts*
7. Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline*
8. Kelly's Chance by Wanda E. Brunstetter
9. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty*

February:
10. Friday Nights Lights by H.G. Bissinger
11. Three Fates by Nora Roberts*
12. Angel's Peak by Robyn Carr*
13. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky*
14. Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick
15. Roses by Leila Meachan*
16. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister*
17. The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell*
18. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen*
19. Bittersweet Rain by Sandra Brown*
20. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks*

March:
21. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins*
22. The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins*
23. Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins*
24. Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins*
25. Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie*
26. The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie*
27. Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie*
28. What the Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie*
29. The Summer Hideaway by Susan Wiggs
30. McKettricks of Texas: Tate by Linda Lael Miller
31. Moonlight Road by Robyn Carr
32. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie*
33. Henry's Sisters by Cathy Lamb
34. Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins
35. Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

April:
36. McKettrick's Luck by Linda Lael Miller
37. McKettrick's Pride by Linda Lael Miller
38. McKettrick's Heart by Linda Lael Miller
39. The McKettrick Way by Linda Lael Miller
40. Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie*
41. Montana Creeds: Logan by Linda Lael Miller
42. Montana Creeds: Dylan by Linda Lael Miller
43. Montana Creeds: Tyler by Linda Lael Miller
44. A Stone Creek Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
45. Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt*

May:
46. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
47. How to Knit a Love Song by Rachel Herron
48. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
49. Sierra's Homecoming by Linda Lael Miller
50. Spinning Forward by Terri DuLong*
51. The McKettrick's of Texas: Garrett by Linda Lael Miller

June:
52. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell*
53. Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber*
54. Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber
55. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
56. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

July:
57. The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr
58. The McKettrick's of Texas: Austin by Linda Lael Miller
59. A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr*
60. Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart*
61. Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr*

August:
62. The Beach House by Georgian Bockoven
63. Columbine by Dave Cullen
64. A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand*
65. Family Ties by Danielle Steel
66. All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins*
67. Smitten by Janet Evanovich*
68. Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer*
69. Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie*
70. Charlie All Night by Jennifer Crusie*
71. Private by James Patterson*
72. Life's a Beach by Claire Cook*
73. Seven-Year Switch by Claire Cook

September:
74. Summer Shift by Lynn Kiele Bonasia
75. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger*
76. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen*
77. Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe*

October:
78. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
79. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
80. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
81. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

November:
82. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
83. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
84. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
85. Some Assembly Required by Lynn Kiele Bonasia
86. At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller*
87. Beach Road by James Patterson*
88. The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe*
89. Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts*
90. The Hollow by Nora Roberts*
91. Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn*
92. Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
93. The Beach House by James Patterson

December:
94. Summer House by Nancy Thayer*
95. Big Girl by Danielle Steele*
96. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins*
97. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
98. For One More Day by Mitch Albom
99. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins*
100. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins*
101. Trust Me on This by Jennifer Crusie*

WHEW! That took a long time to type out!

If you notice, there were some patterns that emerged in my reading. In March, I discovered Kristan Higgins because her books were on the list of low-priced NOOKbooks. Obviously, I liked what I read because I read everything of hers that I could get my hands on! I also read a lot of Jennifer Crusie's books that month and through the rest of the year. April pretty much belonged to Linda Lael Miller and two of her (interrelated) contemporary series. I loved both of them and hope that she continues them!

I also read two great series this year. After YEARS of being told I should do so, I finally read the Harry Potter series this year. And I loved it, as everyone who recommended it knew I would! I read the entire seven-book series in two weeks. It was that good. I also read the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins on the advice of my online book club and devoured those books! They were AMAZING!

Obviously, the NOOK has really changed reading for me. And a huge part of my NOOK experience is the ability to borrow e-books from the Free Library of Philadelphia using Overdrive. I was able to get a free card to the FLP because my local library is part of the ACCESS PA library partnership. Out-of-state residents can get a card for $15 per year, and I would definitely pay that amount for a card. The selection is great, and it's easy to get e-books from them! I read 56 e-books this year, and I got more than half of them from the FLP. So that was awesome!

I just ordered an iPad, so I am interested to see what that does to my reading in 2011! The biggest thing I think it will do is allow me to compare prices among different e-book stores. The "big three" (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders) have apps for the iPad that allows you to read their books on it. And Apple has the iBooks store and app that is another option for books. I still plan to use my NOOK heavily (especially since I have purchased Diana Gabaldon's entire Outlander series for my NOOK), but I will also dabble in iPad reading if it allows me to save some money on books.

The best stand-alone book I read this year was The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. I loved the setting, the characters, the story...pretty much everything about the book. And the worst book I read this year, by FAR, was Big Girl by Danielle Steel. In fact, I think I am done with Danielle Steel for a long time and perhaps forever because of that book.

In 2011, I have joined a "111 in '11" challenge with my online book club. The first book I plan to read is the third in a Nora Roberts trilogy (the Sign of Seven trilogy) that I started last year. I was on the wait list to get the e-book from the FLP, and it was arrived, so I can't wait to read it!

Happy New Year, everyone!

A MeMe to confirm I am still alive...

2010-09-27T06:54:00.001-04:00

Since I don't have a concrete idea for a blog post, I stole a MeMe from one of my friends from the Nest Book Club to fill a little space here in the old blog! This is a book-related one:

5 Books I’ve Read Recently
1. Life's a Beach by Claire Cook
2. Seven-Year Switch by Claire Cook
3. Summer Shift by Lynn Kiele Bonasia
4. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
5. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

5 Books I’m Planning to Read (in the near future)
1. Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle
2. The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
3. Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn
4. The Quickie by James Patterson
5. Some Assembly Required by Lynn Kiele Bonasia

5 of My Favorite Books1. Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart
2. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
3. The Summer I Dares by Barbara Delinsky
4. Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
5. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

5 of My Least Favorite Books
I don't really have an answer for this one because if I don't get grabbed by a book in the beginning, I stop reading it.

5 of My Favorite Book-to-Film Adaptations
1. The Prince of Tides
2. Beacher
3. The Doctor
4. The Wedding Date
5. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

That's it! Grab it if you'd like!

Nine years gone...never forgotten...

2010-09-11T15:44:00.000-04:00

Every year, I post a tribute to one of New York's Bravest who lost his life on September 11, 2001, fighting the fires at the World Trade Center site after terrorists attacked our country. I will never forget this day, and I will never forget the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice that day. As we look back and remember, I bring you once again my tribute to Dennis O'Berg.

----------

At 494 Dean Street in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn stands the building housing Engine Company 219 and Ladder Company 105. The two companies have shared that building since 1977. Prior to 1977, they were located in separate houses, about ½ mile away from each other. Ladder 105 has its roots in a volunteer company, Ladder 5, from the Greenport section of Brooklyn that was organized in the latter half of the 19th century. After spending time as Ladder 5 of the Brooklyn Fire Department, Ladder 5 of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and Ladder 55 of the FDNY, Ladder 105 was organized on January 1, 1913 as a part of the FDNY.
One member of Ladder 105 who was lost on September 11th after responding to the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center site was Dennis O’Berg. Dennis was 28 years old at the time of his death. He was a resident of Babylon, on Long Island, where he lived with his wife of less than one year, Christine. Their first wedding anniversary would have been September 28, 2001.

Dennis didn’t always plan to be a firefighter. He graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a degree in accounting and worked for the Big 4 accountancy firm Ernst & Young after graduation. However, he followed his father’s footsteps as a firefighter, entering the academy because he felt shackled to his accountant position. He graduated from the academy not long before the September 11th attacks and was assigned to Ladder 105. Being a firefighter changed him into a happy and smiling and easygoing person. On September 11th, he had been a firefighter for only seven and a half months.

Dennis’s remains were not found in the wreckage at Ground Zero, and his family held out hope that something would be found so that they could plan his funeral. After only his helmet, his jacket, and one of his boots was found, Dennis’s family held a memorial service for him on June 28, 2002, burying an empty casket. Dennis’s father, Lt. Dennis O’Berg, retired from the FDNY on September 11th to dedicate himself to finding his son. However, when all the wreckage had been cleared, it was not to be so.

Family and friends remember Dennis as someone who was young at heart. He was a fan of Harry Potter, Norman Rockwell, Star Wars, and the New York Rangers. He collected baseball cards and enjoyed all kinds of music. He was a romantic and often gave his wife roses for no particular reason, took her on long drives and picnics on the North Shore, and left her notes telling her that he loved her. She found one of those notes in her bed the evening before September 11th as she was preparing to retire for the night. His dream was to be there as a husband and father for his wife and kids and to raise a family on Long Island. He never got to fulfill that dream. Instead, his life was cut short by the terrorists who attacked America on September 11th.

Dennis P. O’Berg. Forever in the thoughts of his friends and family. And now, forever in my thoughts as well.

To learn more and pay tribute to other heroes lost to us on September 11, 2001, please visit the 2,996.

Autumn is in the air...

2010-08-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

Today's weather has been awesome here in the Poconos, after some rain this morning, and I am currently happily wearing pants and a cardigan in preparation for a meeting I have to attend tonight. In fact, brace yourself for this...I am actually wearing a pair of SKINNY jeans. I am not sure how I feel about this trend, but since I was able to get a pair from Forever 21 for like $12 on sale, I figured I would try them out. I am wearing them with a black t-shirt, a grey longish cardigan, and black flats. They will also work well with the knee high boots I plan to sport this fall and winter.

And speaking of those knee-high boots, I have added another widget to my sidebar entitled "Dream a Little Dream." I used to have my wishlist on my blog, but I took it off after I fulfilled most of it, well over two years ago. It has returned, and it has some of the items found in my previous post in it, as well as a couple of new items. Two of these items are knee-high boots that I am planning to purchase at some point from my beloved Target. They are real leather riding-style boots in black and cognac, and they are $49.99 per pair. I own a pair of the same boots in taupe, and I really like them. They aren't of as high a quality as a Frye boot, but the price is right. There are also two pairs of suede wedges, also from Target, in black and grey on the list. I don't have dress shoes at all, and these seem to be of a manageable height while still being pretty cute. I am going to space these purchases out, of course, but I would imagine that they will all at some point become residents of my closet.

I also have found another cardigan type that I like from Ann Taylor Loft that is currently on sale as part of a buy-one-get-one-half-off promotion. It's a simple longish v-neck cardigan, and I am eyeing it up in the light brown and dark grey colors to replace cardigans that I just threw in the giveaways bag. I tried on the cardigans I bought last year, and they are just too ridiculously large for me to wear this year. I thought I could maybe pull them off until I had a chance to replace them, but it's not going to happen.

Anyway, I blame all this fashion talk on the weather outside! As we head into fall, I think about things like sweaters and boots and new looks for the new season! Hopefully, by going slowly and buying them over time, I will add all of these items to my wardrobe!

If wishes were horses...

2010-08-19T13:55:00.000-04:00

I really like stuff. I have big appetites for clothes, shoes, purses, make-up, gadgets, gizmos, and any other thing that strikes my fancy. I try not to splurge too often because I am not growing money on the trees in my back yard, but once in a while, my wish list gets heavy. I thought I would share some things that I am a really big fan of right now, as well as some general stuff I am looking for to change up my autumn wardrobe.

First, I love this bag:

It's such a great shape, I think, and I love the color. I will almost definitely NOT pull the trigger on this one, but I do love it. Looking at it makes me happy...I can't imagine how I would feel if I owned it!

I also am on the lookout for some boyfriend cardigans in neutral colors (probably grey, black, and brown) to replace the ones I bought last year. Last year's are about two sizes too big (YAY!), so I will probably be unable to make them work for this year. I would love to get this in each color:

I also am really enjoying the flat ruched-toe boots that I am seeing a lot of places this year. Here's an example:

I wear mostly boot-cut jeans and pants, so I don't need these in a tall boot, but I love this look peeking out from under my jeans. I may eventually make these mine, but I will wait until the weather is a little cooler. And since I am not looking forward to fall, as it eventually gives way to winter, and I hate winter, I am going to pretend it is not almost the time of year to buy these boots!

I am also planning to get a heart rate monitor soon in order to better direct my health and fitness efforts. My plan is to get the Polar FT7, which will allow me to track my heart rate while working out and also track the calories I am burning throughout the day. I am having trouble hitting the "sweets spot" of calorie intake that I can enjoy while still losing weight. I had a good thing going for most of six months, but now that I have lost some weight, I have to adjust that down, and I am not sure what the right answer is. I am currently trying a new calorie range on for size, but the science nerd in me wants some cold, hard proof that I am eating the right amount of calories for my body and activity level.

Other than that, I am filling my closet with khakis and cords from Old Navy for the fall and winter because, they are comfy, come at a great price, and come in different inseam lengths, which is great for those of us who are taller than "regular" pants work for!

Loss

2010-08-14T15:16:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, my grandparents on my dad's side of the family moved to Florida. They first lived in Beverly Hill, and they then moved to The Villages, which you may be familiar with from their television ads featuring Robin Leach, of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" fame. I have many memories of visiting them in Florida, often with a trip to Disney World mixed in. In the beginning, we would spend one day at the Magic Kingdom during our trips to Florida. Later, after my other grandmother also moved to Florida, we would bookend a visit with her and a visit to The Villages with our Disney trips. The last time I was there was May of last year, and I kind of knew at the time that it might be the last time I saw my grandfather.

My grandfather, a WW II vet, father of three, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of ten, proud Texan, and avid golfer (for much of his retirement) passed away on Thursday. When I was a little girl, he always made me Shirley Temples and shared with us chips and French onion dip, Bugles, and crackers and cheese. He wouldn't accompany us to Disney World or to the beach, but when my sister was too young to go along, he would stay at home with her so I could have some Florida fun. He taught me how to use a pitching wedge and chip a golf ball into a bucket in my parents backyard. He used to enjoy working in his yard and feeding the birds. He collected golf tees, and he always kept a clean garage. In the past year or so, Alzheimer's disease had taken the personality of the grandfather I knew, but I will always remember the times we shared.

Failure...

2010-07-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

So I cracked under the pressure of some good sales. But I shopped less this month than usual, and I am recommitting for the next five days to do NO unnecessary spending.

I am a work in progress...

Le sigh. I am weak.

2010-07-12T21:42:00.000-04:00

So I just pulled the trigger on a small Old Navy order. Stupid sales...you get me every time!

Full disclosure...later in the week, I am also planning to buy two eight-pound hand weights, as well as an exercise ball.

Back on the wagon...

Update on my retail shopping ban...

2010-07-05T10:18:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is July 5th, and I have already faced so much temptation with my retail shopping ban! Within two days of beginning this project, I got an e-mail from a friend offering to sell me an extra Eureka Envirosteamer that she has because of some Amazon snafu. Apparently, she ordered it from them, cancelled the order, and got it somewhere else, but they didn't follow through with the cancellation. Luckily, she is a good friend who is used to my quirks, and she is holding it until August 1, at which point I will head over to her house and come home with my new friend! Is it weird that I am this excited about a steam cleaner? I look at my tile floor and think about how clean it could be, and it's pretty exciting! Yeah, okay, that is weird.

On Saturday (3 days into the ban), I opened my mailbox to find two belated birthday gift cards from one of my family's oldest friends (in duration of friendship, not age). One was for The Body Shop (which we don't have a bricks and mortar location of anymore), and the other was from Old Navy (think they know me well?). The thought of waiting until August with these burning a hole in my pocket was KILLING me! And when I went on The Body Shop's website and realized they were having their big sale, I rationalized myself into making a purchase. I did have to drop about $8 out of my own pocket for tax and shipping, but I did stick with the exact amount of the gift card for the product prices, so I pulled the trigger on it. I got some lip glosses, a deodorant, and a body butter, and that gift card is now history. I will save the Old Navy one because I do plenty of shopping there, but it's been so long since I shopped at The Body Shop that I just couldn't wait!

Back on the wagon! When is this month over, again?

Self-imposed retail and fast food shopping ban for July

2010-06-30T20:28:00.000-04:00

I have been having a high old time treating myself to things in the past couple of months. First of all, I have developed a RIDICULOUS Old Navy habit. They get me all the time with their e-mails regarding special deals and discounts. I have, thus far, been unable to say no to them. In fact, they recently increased the credit limit on my Old Navy card...as a thank you for sending their kids to college, I suppose. I also have a special relationship with Target, also known as My Happy Place. A bad day becomes better as soon as I walk through the doors. I was there today, in fact, to pick up some shorts and sunglasses. I also have the issue that some of my summer clothes from last year are way too big for me to wear this year. My favorite denim crops and shorts from last summer look ridiculous now. I also have some jeans that I was able to wear a few months ago that I can pull down without unbuttoning now. This is, as you can imagine, VERY EXCITING. But it is also a little concerning, as I need clothes to wear! I have done some shopping this past week to replace some of these items, and it hasn't been cheap, even though I have stuck to places like Old Navy, Target, and Avenue (and their amazing sale prices!). I also treated myself to a beautiful new Dooney and Bourke bag this month, as well as some new accessories.

In the month of July, I am going to make an effort to stop buying stuff that I don't "need." This will include all clothing items, make-up, "fluff" toiletries (for example, a new scent of shower gel when I have several perfectly good scents in my shower already), shoes, bags, accessories, books (of the printed variety...I have a gift card saved on my B&N account that I can use to purchase e-books if I care to, until the gift card is used up, at which point e-books will be out as well), DVDs, and CDs. I am also going to ban myself from buying fast food, which I have been doing on occasion on my way home from work. It's such a cop out, and I wouldn't have to do it if I kept the house full of easy-to-prepare foods for those occasions.

I may post updates on this project as the month progresses...and expect a recap at the end of the month! It's going to be an interesting experiment, but I know I can do it!

30 Questions

2010-06-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

I stole this from Miss Zoot.

1. It’s 2AM and you are not home. You are more than likely:
I could potentially be doing some overtime at work. Or I could be sleeping at my parents' for some reason. But for the most part, I am home at 2AM.

2. What’s the last thing you spent more than $100 on?
I would say my nook.

3. What do your bank checks look like?
They are the "Heroes USA" checks in honor of the Bravest and the Finest who were lost at the World Trade Center site on 9/11.

4. Where did the shirt you are currently wearing come from?
I am wearing a t-shirt that I got from the Girl Scout council I worked for during one of the cookie campaigns. The theme was "Make a Splash."

5. Name something that will be on your Christmas wish list:Is it weird that I really want a Eureka Envirosteamer? Okay, yeah, that's weird, isn't it?

6. What color is your toothbrush?
Purple

7. Name something you collect and tell us about it.
I collect old Cherry Ames books. I started collecting them before I became a nurse, but the fact that I am a nurse makes them even more special to me.

8. Last restaurant you ate at. Who were you with? How was it?
The last restaurant I sat down and ate in was the Colonial. I went with my husband, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and her husband, my two brothers-in-law, and my husband's aunt. The food was good (pizza, garlic bread, and fried dough, along with some antipasto), and the company was fantastic!

9. Who was the last person you bought a birthday card for?
No idea. I am bad at that.

10. What is your worst bad habit?
Emotional eating. I am working on it.

11. Name a magazine to which you subscribe?
People, thanks to the generosity of my mom and sister

12. Your favorite pizza toppings?
I love onion on my pizza!

13. Whose number were you looking up the last time you used a phone book?
I have no idea. Probably the vet? Or the kennel?

14. Other than family, who is the person that you love most?
That's a really hard question! I can't choose among the people I know IRL, so I will choose a fictional character. And that fictional character is Coach Eric Taylor of Friday Night Lights.

15. What is the last thing you cooked?
I made scrambled eggs last night for my dinner!

16. Name something you wouldn’t want to buy used?Toothbrush (This was Miss Zoot's answer, and I have to concur.)

17. Which shoe do you put on first?
I think it's usually my right, when both of them are right in front of me.

18. What is the last thing you remember losing?
My mind? Almost 40 pounds? I can't remember losing an actual object recently.

19. What is the ugliest piece of furniture in your house?
I would say our dining room table and chairs. They are hand-me-downs, and we were grateful to get them, but they have seen better days and don't fit in with our decor.

20. Last thing you bought and ended up returning?
I don't return things. I should, but I don't.

21. What perfume/cologne do you wear? If none, why?
I don't often wear perfume or cologne. I do love several Bath and Body Works scents, including Twilight Woods, Black Raspberry Vanilla, and Coconut Lime Verbena. I stick with shower gel and body lotion with those, however.

22. Your favorite board game?
I used to be a big fan of Scattergories.

23. What was the last board game you played?
Yikes...no idea. Probably Trivial Pursuit, and Bill was probably involved. And we probably weren't speaking when it was over.

24. Where did your vehicle come from?
Faulkner Subaru

25. If a movie was made about your life what would the theme song be?
That's a hard question. I would like to live my life so that this quote from "Let It Be Me" by the Indigo Girls sums it up: "If the world is night, shine my life like a light."

26. You’re sad, who can cheer you up easily?
My weekend girls at work...working with them makes my weekends better!

27. What was the color of the bridesmaid dresses of the last wedding you went to?
Apparently red, if pictures on Facebook are to be believed!

28. What house cleaning chore do you hate to do the most?
All of them. I am an awful housekeeper. My husband can attest to that!

29. What is your favorite way to eat chicken?
Cordon Bleu.

30. It is your birthday. You hope the cake is?
Topped with homemade buttercream icing.

Play along if you would like to! And let me know in the comments if you do!

"Bucket" List

2010-05-18T18:41:00.000-04:00

I guess a true bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket, if the movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson is a good reference. However, as I stare my late 30s in the face, I find myself wanting to set some goals to achieve by my 40th birthday. After all, I find myself in great circumstances to focus on me for, oh, the next 40 or 50 years!

When I got married, I thought that my husband and I would have at least one child of our own. However, as we got further into our marriage, my biological clock's ticking got slower and slower. And now that we have been married for a few years, I have come to the conclusion that my biological clock's battery is just plain dead. I love being married, but I also love having quite a bit of freedom. I might be selfish, but I don't feel any desire to bring a baby into the family and give up this freedom. The fact that my husband has raised his own kids already and that we are this close to the finish line makes the thought of starting over with a baby seem like a silly idea. In about six years, both of my stepsons will be done with college. I certainly don't want to have a child starting kindergarten at that time!

I turned 34 last month, and this means I have a little less than six years to meet some goals. To meet the goals, I first need to set some goals though. So far, most of the goals I have are travel-related. And right now, there are only about five goals on the list. I expect the list will expand as I think more about it. Without further ado, here's what I've got so far:

Visit a European country - I don't even have a passport right now. So I guess the first step there is to get a passport! I would love to see someplace like Rome or Athens for the historical value of it. I also would love to see some of the beautiful places I have see in movies, such as Tuscany (Under the Tuscan Sun) or the coast of Greece (Mamma Mia! and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants).
Go back to Texas for the first time since we moved away from there is 1986 - I would probably most like to see San Antonio because I used to love going to San Antonio with my family. However, I would also love to go back to Corpus Christi and even to Pampa to see the places I used to live.
See the Pacific Ocean - I have always said that I am not that into California. I would like to see California someday, but I would actually prefer to visit the coasts of Oregon or Washington. I would also love to see the Pike Place Fish Market, so perhaps those could be rolled into one trip.
Eat at the Frontera Grill in Chicago - Rick Bayless is one of my favorite Top Chef judges and Top Chef Masters contestants, and the thought of eating his Mexican food makes my tummy rumble, even though I already ate dinner. I could also meet one of my best IIFs (imaginary internet friends) Christy if I went to Chicago. We met many years ago on eDiets and are still in touch today, and I would love to get together with her.
Run a half marathon - I am currently on week 3 of the Couch-to-5K program. That is a LONG way away from running a half marathon! However, every day that I work on C25K, I get stronger. And by the time I am 40, I should be able to do this without a problem. I can't even imagine how proud I would feel to cross the finish line after a 13.1 mile run, but I can only imagine that it would be a feeling of euphoria.

So that's where I am right now. I plan to give this some thought over the next months and years and sort of formalize the list a little bit. I am excited to live life instead of merely exisiting, and making this plan seems like a great first step!

Alice Bluebonnet

2010-02-04T05:24:00.000-05:00

I was going to write all about how I have a cold and fever right now and am supposed to be at work today but instead chose to call off so I could languish here, thinking about how I didn't remember how awful having a fever feels, especially when the Tylenol wears off and you lay under the covers alternately wracked with chills and sweating like you just ran a marathon. Trust me...no one wants me taking care of their sick or premature babies today, so even though I feel guilty about leaving my coworkers a little bit in the lurch, I know that in bed is the right place for me to be right now. However, I couldn't figure out a way to write all that out without sounding like I am whining...mostly because I was, in fact, whining. So instead, let's talk about Alice Bluebonnet, my nook, the new electronic reader from Barnes & Noble.

I ordered my nook on New Year's Eve, using my Christmas money from in in-laws, as well as the only large check I received this year for working at my second job. Those two things together just about covered it. I had decided to order the nook after spending many hours on a variety of techy websites and nook-related message boards, reading everything I could find on it. I knew I was in the market for an electronic reader and had in mind as my front-runner the Kindle, which is made by Amazon. However, I had never seen a Kindle in person and hesitated to order one sight-unseen. When I heard that preview units for the nook would be reaching stores in December, I knew I had to check it out. On top of that, I am a huge fan of B&N. It's my favorite bookstore to shop at, and I have always received great customer service there. I am a member of their rewards club, and I like to go there on occasion just to hang out. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the nook!

Sometime in December, I was able to go into a local B&N and hold a nook in my own hot, little hands. And as I said to the woman working at the customer service desk, "This thing [was] remarkable." Looking at the e-ink display was not much different than looking at the printed page of a book. The fact that it was not backlit meant that I didn't have to worry about getting eye fatigue from looking at the screen like I would from looking at a computer screen for several hours. I made the decision right then and there that nook would be mine.

I ordered on December 31, which put me in the group with a ship date of February 1. And for the next month, I figured I could spend time continuing to research the nook on-line, as well as building up my e-book wishlist on B&N's website. Well, imagine my surprise when I received a notice on January 16 that my nook had shipped! Thanks to what appears to have been a shipping glitch, I (along with many other people around the country) received my nook early by almost two weeks! I won't go into too much regarding said glitch except to say that I got my nook before some people who ordered theirs before me. Regardless of that, by January 19, I was holding Alice Bluebonnet in my hands!

I got right to work, downloading books using the B&N giftcards I had saved from Christmas. I have read six books on it so far and will probably bang out another today. One of my favorite aspects of reading on it is that I can set it down on my lap and use its touchscreen to turn the pages using a finger swipe. I don't even have to hold the nook in my hands. When I do hold it, I can do so one-handed, which makes it very easy to lie on my side in bed and read. It fits in my purse, so when I am waiting in a waiting room or on a long line, I can just pull it out and get right back into whatever I am reading. It has really revolutionized the reading experience for me.

Another nice aspect of the nook is that it is compatible with library e-books that use the Overdrive system. While my local library does not have e-books, I was able to use my library card and the ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA sticker that it has on it to get a card for the Free Library of Philadelphia, which does offer e-books. In fact, just last night, I finished reading my first library book on my nook, and I have another ready to sideload to it and several more on hold. Although I do have to connect my nook to my computer to do this, it is easy as pie and means that some of the books I will read on my nook will be 100% free to me...and I will be able to borrow library books without leaving the comfort of my own home.

Anyway, that's my early thoughts on my nook. As for the name...my nook is named after the 1954 Disney short about Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, featuring the Andrews Sisters. It's a favorite cartoon of my mom's from when she was a little girl, and the name just seemed to fit. And now, if you will excuse me...I have a date with Alice to read the newest of Robyn Carr's Virgin River series! Happy reading!

Habits

2010-01-05T14:50:00.000-05:00

As we make our way through the fifth day of this new decade, I am bundled into two sweatshirts, in bed under a down throw, watching episodes of Air Emergency on my DVR. Why do I watch this stuff? Luckily, I don't fly very often, so I don't allow myself to get too bothered by these plane crashes. And I feel a little bit like it is important to remember the people who were lost on such flights, so this is a little way that I can do so. Anyway, that isn't my topic for the day. Instead, my topic is going to be the changing of habits in this new year.

I trolled through the BlackBerry app center a few days ago, looking for some sort of food diary to use for my "eat less, move more" campaign. And I found a great one that can be synched with the website FatSecret. I really like that feature because it means I can do most of my food tracking on my BlackBerry but use more advanced features on the website. I decided that Monday would be the day that I would start changing my habits toward the better.

However, before starting to track my new, better habits, I decided to spend one day tracking my food when I was eating the old way. And that led to my use of the FatSecret program on Sunday, a workday, which is probably a good representation of the worst of my eating days. After all, a day at work for me usually means two trips to the cafeteria, one for breakfast and one for lunch. And I sometimes have a small meal before I leave for work at 5:30 AM. I then snack on whatever I find in the unit, and then on my way home, I often stop for something to eat (usually via a drive thru), as by the end of Sunday, I am exhausted and hungry and can't imagine going home and making dinner.

Well, the results of that day of tracking were sobering. I won't admit how many calories I ate that day, but I will say that it was more than anyone should eat in a day. Well, it wasn't more than Michael Phelps should eat while he is training...I am not that bad. However, it was a large number of calories. It was not hard to see why I need to change my eating habits. It was right there in that food diary!

A trip to the grocery store involved the purchase of several types of fruits and vegetables, and I have even been eating them! I also bought some snacks that don't involve processed carbs or sugar or huge amounts of fat. I got rid of some of the junk in the house, especially the stuff that my husband won't eat. And when I woke up on Monday, I started anew. I put that day of bad eating behind me and started fresh.

Here's hoping this will be the time that I manage to put my food-related demons behind me and make new habits that last. And I know that I am not alone in this struggle...so here's hoping this is all our year for success!

Books, books, books...everywhere I look there are books!

2009-12-31T13:23:00.002-05:00

My husband definitely agrees with the above statement because he feels that I buy too many books! I do buy a lot of new books in an average year...but today, I am ordering my nook from Barnes & Noble, which should help with this issue. After all, instead of buying over fifty books in the upcoming year, I will instead download the majority of them to my electronic reader, which is not large or space-consuming at all. However, the nook is not currently chipping until February 1, so he is going to have to put up with the book-buying for another month or so. Also, I ordered five books in the past week from Amazon, so there is that. How did I end up ordering five books, by the way? I was supposed to be reading the books I already own instead!

The good thing about the books I buy is that they will be a nice donation to the book sale that an area branch of the AAUW does every year. I have five large Rubbermaid containers in the basement, full of books that I will be passing on to them. It gets the books out of my house, and it benefits an organization that does a lot of good in the area, so I like supporting them!

I mentioned in my last post that I read 75 books this year, which was my goal. I had read 69 last year, so I was happy to set that goal of 75 and surpass last year's total. I was a little worried when December started that I wouldn't make it to 75 because I had to read nine books in December to do so. However, I buckled down and got it done! I am thinking of aiming for 100 next year, with the idea that I can always cut back to 75 later in the year if I have to. I am thinking having the nook will be a help, as I will have multiple books at my fingertips, no matter where I go.

And without further ado, here is the complete list of books that I read this year. At the end of the list, I will name my top ten for the year, which will be difficult because I read a lot of GREAT books this year!

Deep in the Valley by Robyn Carr
Just Over the Mountain by Robyn Carr
Down by the River by Robyn Carr
A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky
Fireside by Susan Wiggs
Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr
While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky
A Month at the Shore by Antoinette Stockenberg
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
We're Just Like You, Only Prettier by Celia Rivenbark
The Ringmaster's Secret by Caroline Keene (yes, it's a Nancy Drew book)
The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal
More Than This by Margo Candela
Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassidy
Love in Bloom by Sheila Roberts
Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr
Mary, Mary by James Patterson
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe
The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross
Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe
Collateral Damage by John List and Austin Goodrich
Murder in Coweta County by Margaret Anne Barnes
Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons
Chances Are by Barbara Bretton
Vision in White by Nora Roberts
The Richest Season by Maryann McFadden
The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand
Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
Time is a River by Mary Alice Monroe
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
The Eighth Confession by James Patterson
The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook
The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand
Finger-Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Almost Home by Christine Gleason, MD
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
A Good Woman by Danielle Steel
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Carpenter's Lady by Barbara Delinsky
92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber
That Holiday Feeling by Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods, and Robyn Carr
Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal (ARC and Goodreads win)
Tales from a Dog Catcher by Lisa Duffy-Korpics
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
Casting Off by Nicole R. Dickson
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers (ARC and GR win)
Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel
One Perfect Day by Lauraine Snelling
The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb
It Happened One Night by Lisa Dale (GR win)
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Myers (GR win)
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (ARC and GR win)
Mistletoe Courtship by Janet Tronstad and Sara Mitchell (GR win)

I also read Penny's Christmas Miracle by Jason F. Wright, which was another GR win, but since it is a children's book, I didn't count it in my total books read.

Looking at this list, it is apparent that I am a fan of Robyn Carr! She has two series that I love, the Grace Valley trilogy and the Virgin River series. In fact, three additional Virgin River books are coming out in 2010, and I can't wait to read them! However, I don't want to include one of her books in my top ten books for the year. In fact, I am going to avoid series in that top ten list, I think. Instead, I will talk about other series I am reading before unveling the list. And I think I will cut the list back to a top five list because this post is getting long enough already!

I read the Twilight series this year, as did most of the nurses I work with, and I really did enjoy it. I agree with those that say that the writing itself wasn't the best ever, but the story was very compelling, almost to the point of being addicting. My favorite of the series was the final book, Breaking Dawn. In the world of Twilight, readers have either loved the last book or hated it. I loved it...it was, for me, the perfect end to a great series.

I also read and loved the first two books in Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet series, which is to be expected, as I love most of the trilogies and series that Nora Roberts writes. I can't wait for the other two books to come out so I can read the story of the remaining two members of the Vows family.

So that leaves my top five stand-alone books of 2009...in no particular order:

Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry - I discovered this author because Amazon recommended one of her books to me after noticing that I read a lot of Dorothea Benton Frank, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Pat Conroy books. I have read every book she has published, and this one was my favorite! The story was amazing, and it took place in the Lowcountry with a book store as the main location. I loved it!
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen - I was introduced to Sarah Dessen's books by the members of the Nest Book Club, and I have to say that I have loved all the books of hers that I have read. She writes young adult novels, but they are enjoyable for adult readers as well. Lock and Key was my favorite of her books that I read this year.
The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal - This was the first book I won this year from Goodreads. I had read The Lost Recipe for Happiness earlier this year by the same author and LOVED it. And I loved this one too, so much that I friended the author on Facebook and gushed to her about it, possibly almost in a stalker-like way. I liked both of these books very much, just about equally. They both had restaurants/cooking and dogs in them, which are surefire wins for me!
Casting Off by Nicole R. Dickson - I bought this book because there was a quote from Susan Wiggs on the cover, stating how much she liked the book. I read all of Susan Wiggs' books, follow her on Twitter, and have her blog posts sent to my Google Reader, and she is among my favorite authors. If she has good things to say about a book, that is a book I want to read! I loved the setting of a small village in Ireland, and I loved the subject of knitting that was a major part of the book. And the male main character made me SWOOOOOON. I really recommend this book!
The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans - I love the books by Richard Paul Evans. They are so warm and touching, and they really are meaningful. This was no different. I loved the story of the main character realizing what it was that really mattered in his life...and I am sucker for second chances!

I have over 130 books on my to-read shelf on Goodreads, and I am very, very excited about many of them. It's funny to think it will probably take me two or three years to get through them all! But here's to many more great books in 2010...and a healthy, happy, prosperous year for you and your loved ones!

Buh-bye, 2009!

2009-12-31T06:15:00.001-05:00

So, 2009. Not the worst year ever. Not the best year ever either. There were some highlights to the year. I went from being a night shift nurse to a day shift nurse. In doing so, I realized that I didn't have to take multi-day naps when I was able to sleep every night, opening up a ton of free time for myself. I took a great vacation to Disney World with my parents and sister and had the best time. It was a reunion of the original four members of our family, and we had so much fun eating our favorite foods and riding our favorite rides and seeing our favorite sites. I was so lucky that my generous father was willing to take his 28- and 33-year-old daughters along on vacation with him! I set for myself a goal of reading 75 books, and I made that goal with one day to go, which was a big accomplishment that involved speeding through nine books in December.

However, there were some low points as well. I made my triumphant return to the dentist and found out that I had eight cavities (which is not totally unexpected when you haven't been to the dentist in ten years). These were the first cavities that I ever had to have fixed, and I had them done in three visits, two of which were two days apart. Needless to say, it was miserable. The actual dental work was not bad, once I got properly numbed (although the smell of a tooth being drilled is something I could do without). However, the aftereffects are no joke! Months later, I still have some sensitivity in my teeth, specifically the ones that had the deepest cavities in them. Biting down on a pickle or a cold tomato brings a shock of pain through my teeth and down my spine. I never expected this to happen, and if I had my life to do over, I certainly wouldn't skip the dentist for so many years! I also continue to struggle with some debt...credit card debt, car payments, student loans. It's amazing how quickly your paycheck disappears when you plug your expenses into your budget. I wouldn't say I went any further into debt this year, but I also probably didn't pay off as much debt as I would have liked. However, at the end of the year, we are safe and warm in our house on the mountain (even if it isn't my ideal home location), and we are really very fortunate. I try to remember that always.

In 2010, I have some minor goals in mind. The first, of course, involves health goals. I realized not long ago that I am a bad veggie-eater. I like vegetables, but they don't always find their way on to my plate. I eat a lot of convenience foods, and these are not the healthiest of choices! Therefore, I am going to challenge myself to eat two veggies and one fruit every day. I realize this is NOT the Strive for Five goal that we are to aim for, but I also realized that I don't want to set myself up for failure. I also would like to haul myself back to the gym. Every month, I make a donation of $50 to the gym that I have not set foot in for many, many months. If I am paying for the membership, I might as well use it, right? I also have some monetary goals in mind, and they mostly involve saving money. I really would like to stop buying myself so many "treats" (I hope Target can survive in!) and pay more attention to where my money is really going. And I also would like to continue working on paying down my credit card debt, using the Debt Snowball method that Dave Ramsey suggests.

I don't want to set any of those huge, concrete goals, such as "pay off my credit cards" or "lose 50 pounds." I have set those large goals before, and then I have failed to meet them, and that is a real downer! I know it will take more than this year to pay off all my debt, so aiming for such a high mark is really a recipe for failure. Regarding weight loss, I can certainly probably lose 50 pounds in a year. However, if I set that goal and don't make it, it will be another year of, yes, failure in that area. I really don't want to lay that on my plate...I would rather set little goals that I can actually achieve than huge ones that I will be kicking myself over in a year's time.

I always hope that each new year can be better than the last, and that is my wish for all of you as well. Happy New Year! May you have in 2010 your best year yet!

Another free book!

2009-11-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

I have been on a roll, winning advanced copies of books on Goodreads. At last count, I have won five books, and the second of those books arrived in my mailbox today. It was an advanced copy of Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. As I mentioned in my last post, I have paid more attention this year to YA books, and this is one I was excited to read. Although I haven't read the first book by this author (Cracked Up to Be), I have heard great things about it and have it on my TBR list.

Some Girls Are is basically about what happens when one of the popular girls finds herself on the wrong side of her former clique. It is full of teenage drama and angst, and I would say that it is a guilty pleasure kind of book for someone whose 15 year high school reunion was held just this past weekend. Reading it, I could remember what it felt like to be in high school, worried so much about what everyone else was thinking when they looked at you.

The main character, Regina, was someone I couldn't help but like, even when she did things that were truly cringe-worthy. My desire to see what happened next kept me turning page after page, and I read the book in one sitting this evening, in about an hour and a half, and I found myself thrilled with what I would consider the perfect ending.

If you are a fan of the YA genre and are looking for a good read, check this one out...you won't be disappointed!

2010 YA Debut Author Challenge

2009-11-30T05:04:00.002-05:00

One of my Nestie friends, drew my attention to the 2010 YA Debut Author Challenge, being hosted by the The Story Siren. Basically, this is a challenge to read at least 12 books written by new young adult (YA) or middle grade (MG) authors in the New Year. I am always up for a book-related challenge, so I am ready to sign right up!

It has been many years since I read YA and MG novels. I certainly didn't leave them behind when I entered early adulthood, but I had stopped reading them until this year. However, this year two things happened to change that for me. The first was the Twilight saga. My coworkers at the hospital were 100% enamored with these books, and being one to jump on a literary bandwagon whenever one is presented to me, I devoured the four books in the series. And I loved them. The second thing that happened was that I heard a lot on the Nest Book Club about the author Sarah Dessen. And after hearing so much about her, I decided to try her books out. And I was NOT disappointed! Her novels are the kind of books I like to read in the adult world, tailored for the high school crowd. And although I am not in the high school crowd anymore, I am not so old that I can't relate to the themes of friendship, love, and family that are in her novels. I am so glad to have found her...she really has made me look closer at books on the YA shelves at Barnes & Noble when I am looking for reading material!

Here's a (so far incomplete) list of the books I plan to read for the challenge:

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk (who I went to high school with!)
The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter
Tagged by Mara Purnhagen
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
More books TBA as I find them!

For those interested, I used the website The Tenners to begin creating my list. I hope you will join us!

Fight for Preemies!

2009-11-17T15:43:00.000-05:00

This month is Prematurity Awareness Month, and today is being observed as Prematurity Awareness Day. Working as a nurse in the NICU, I come across a lot of preemies. I have seen pass through the doors of our NICU in the three-ish years I have worked there babies at many different stages of gestation. We have the 35-weekers, considered late preterm, who didn't quite make it to their due dates. We have the stable 32-weekers, who spend a month or two in the NICU but come out relatively unscathed. We have the 24-weekers, who were born very, very early and don't always make it. And we have everything in between...babies who spend only a few days in the NICU, babies who spend a few weeks in the NICU, babies who spend several months in the NICU. We have babies who go home on medications and oxygen and monitors and babies who go home with no remaining adverse health conditions at all. Every day in the NICU is different, and we have some really, really great days, as well as some really, really bad ones. There is nowhere else I would like to spend my working hours though...there is something about that place.

During this month, I think of all of our happy endings and how it was largely through the work of the March of Dimes that such happy endings were possible. And I think of the unhappy endings, and the babies we have had to say goodbye to. I think of the stories here in the Blogosphere, of babies like Maddie, Annaleigh, Noah and Talia, Jack, and Ames, who are no longer with us, and babies like Charlie and Lily, Simone, and Charlotte and Katie who came home from the NICU to the loving arms of their families.

It is because of my wish for more happy endings that I am proud to support the March of Dimes in their efforts to fight prematurity. And during this month of November, I think of all the preemies I have known, amazing babies born into amazing families filled with love and hope. And I vow to continue to fight to save the preemies, with the help of my NICU peers and with the help of the March of Dimes.

BEST! EVER!

2009-11-10T08:12:00.000-05:00

Several days ago, I received in the mail a package from Random House. The noise I made when I saw it sitting on my front step was something like this: "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" I have been entering the Firstreads giveaways on Goodreads for a while now, and it appeared that I had WON! A book! A free one! One that had not been published yet! It was my first ADVANCED READER'S COPY! It was one of the best surprises I have ever gotten.

I ripped right into the package to see what I had received and found waiting for me the second book by an author whose first book I LOVED. It was The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal. She is also the author of The Lost Recipe for Happiness, which I read for the Spring Book Challenge on The Nest Book Club and really enjoyed.

Reading her books, I can't help but think that Barbara and I could be friends. She has so many amazing elements in her stories that really speak to me. In both books, there has been a foodie element that I have loved. Dogs figure prominently in both stories (and we all know how much I love dogs). There is a little bit of mystery and a little bit of love and a good dose of triumphing over adversity...all good elements to a story, if you ask me.

In The Secret of Everything, I got to follow the story of a woman I felt connected to immediately, as she tried to come back from a hard experience and regain her footing on solid ground. Along the way, she explored a new area of the country (a spot in New Mexico the description of which had me wanting to book a plane ticket tomorrow to go explore as well), met some new people, had some new experiences, and made her own happy ending. From the first page, I was drawn in to the stories of all the characters, and I spent seven hours yesterday devouring the words and racing through the pages, unable to wait to see what the ending held. I have to say I was not disappointed. Instead, I was left a little sad that it was over but happy to have spent my day in the pages of this book. And now I can't wait to see what comes next from this author!

And here's hoping I get to do more reading via Firstreads because that really made my week!

From fall to winter in one gust of wind...

2009-11-05T16:33:00.000-05:00

It is generally of no surprise to anyone that I am not a fan of living in the mountains. I grew up in a more suburban area, and I loved being in the middle of things there. Now, although I live only 30 minutes away from where I grew up, I feel I am light years away from that place. And I hope that someday I will return there.

Up here in the mountains, we had some beautiful fall colors on the trees not too long ago. However, after one windy day, I can look out my window and see nothing but bare branches and a leaf-covered hard. In fact, my husband is outside raking leaves as I write this. The gray sky and the disappearing light (at 4:30 in the afternoon!) makes it feel more like January, not November. I can only hope that the snow is not heading our way any time soon.

In the past few years, I have really become timid about driving in the wintry weather. Part of the problem is that we are not really in a nice, white, fluffy snow area. Instead, we get snow storms followed by ice storms followed by more snow, which often equates to even my AWD vehicles not being able to drive up the long, steep, unpaved driveway for up to four months at a time. Instead, I have to place these spiky attachments that my mom got me and hike my way to the top. This is fine when I have nothing to carry, but after a big trip to the grocery store? Not so great.

The other thing that happens when the wintry weather hits is that I stop leaving my house, unless I have to. The reasons I have to leave include work and my two social outings of the week, my bowling league and my yoga class. Luckily, I have Otto to keep me company on those long days at home. And I tend to be a homebody anyway. However, on day two or three of the homebound life, I do tend toward stir crazy. And this is why thinking about the upcoming winter already is causing me some anxiety. I just hope that it isn't as icy as last year.

When books are not convenient enough...

2009-10-23T08:12:00.002-04:00

Let's pretend I haven't taken a multi-month hiatus from this blog, okay? We will just act like I have been posting here all along and segue right into today's topic, the electronic book reader.

I am a reader. I read mostly fiction, anything from Harlequin romances to young adult books to women's fiction to suspenseful thrillers. Last year, I read about 70 books, and my goal this year is 75. Next year, I hope to read 100. I have written before about how I frequent some of the message board on The Nest, and recently a new board has shown up that really speaks to me...the Gadgets & Technology board.

Anyone who knows me IRL knows that I am a complete technology whore. If I had endless supplies of money, this little house of ours would be filled with gaming systems and big TVs and laptops galore (both notebooks and netbooks). I would get a new cell phone whenever one struck my fancy, and I would have a GPS system in my car. We would have two DVRs, instead of just one, and I would spend all my free time bonding with all this technology.

Something that has been on my wish list for a while has been an electronic reader. I thought the Kindle, from Amazon, was my best bet because I am a frequent Amazon customer, and the specs of their reader really seemed to be what I was looking for. Although I wasn't sure about putting out all that money (it was about $300 for the Kindle 2 when I started looking at it, although the price has since gone down to $259) just to then turn around and spend $10 a pop on books, I was so intrigued with the idea of carrying around this little tablet-sized machine that would carry all my books for me. I am a book-buyer, not a library-user, and I often buy books in hardcover, so I am spending a lot of money on books anyway. And I like to carry a lot of books with me, in case I have down time. In fact, last time I went on vacation, I brought five books with me in my luggage and bought three more while I was on the trip. Think of the space the Kindle would save! I could bring more shoes with me next time!

However, I don't often have a spare $259 lying around that has not been designated for some other use. So I put the Kindle to the back of my mind. I kept buying actual books, sometimes three or four at a time. Since the day that the idea of owning an electronic reader came to me, I have probably spent a couple of hundred dollars on books. Maybe I should have just gotten the Kindle in the first place?

And then, on the Gadgets & Technology board the other day, I heard a piece of information that made me swoon. Barnes & Noble has come up with their own electronic reader, known as nook.
Although I am generally bothered by a trademarked proper name that is not capitalized, I decided to give nook a look.

Now, I am a huge fan of Barnes & Noble. They are my go-to bookstore, for a variety of reasons, including their knowledgeable sales people, their great rewards program, their in-store Starbucks counters (Caramel Apple Spice is my autumn BFF!), and their good-sized stock. Therefore, the thought of them coming out with an electronic reader had me pretty excited. And the specs I have seen on the internet? They have excited me even more. I need to bring nook into my life. Looks like it's time to stop buying new books (I easily have twenty books at home that I haven't read yet anyway) and socking my book money away to go toward one of these little delights.

Word is that November 30 will bring the nook into the Barnes & Noble stores for people to try out so they can decide if they want one. I am already pretty sure I want one, but I am going to try to hold off and not pre-order it...but I will be there on November 30 to meet nook in person, and I can't wait!

Eight years, gone in a heartbeat...remembering 9/11/01 and Dennis O'Berg

2009-09-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

On a late summer morning in 2001, my mom called me at work to tell me that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. I figured it was a horrible accident, until I found out a second plane had hit the second tower not long after. I was working in my first "real" job out of college, at a local not-for-profit organization, and I interrupted a board meeting in my boss's office to tell her what had happened. She had the only computer with internet access in her office (through a dial-up modem, no less), and I hopped on to the web to see what was going on.

A coworker and I set up a TV in one of the program rooms at the center where we worked and fiddled with a set of rabbit ears to try to get a picture. The best we could get was a rolling picture that showed Bryant Gumbel broadcasting live information from what was apparently an attack on America. We had the TV up and running in time to hear about the place crashing in to the Pentagon and the crashing of United 93 in a field in our very own state. We saw one tower fall and then the other. It was quite clear that something was very, very wrong.

At noon, my boss decided to send us home for the day. She advised me to head to my parents' house, to be with my family. Instead, I went home to my couch, to sit in front of Fox News, staring at the ticker across the bottom of the screen, watching the unbelievable scenes being played out on the TV before me. I watched TV all that day, well into the night, and for the entire next day.

I was fortunate not to have lost anyone close to me in any of the four incidents of September 11, 2001. Living in eastern Pennsylvania, there was a good chance that someone I knew would have been there. My cousin was working at the World Financial Center that day, across the street from the World Trade Center, but he was safe. His father's best friend, a man I had met only once, was in one of the towers that day, and his body was never recovered. A martial arts studio in the city where I lived had a large sign made out of a sheet hanging in their window, honoring one of their lost students. Every day, the papers were filled with the life stories of those who didn't make it out.

Five years after 9/11/01, I became involved in a project called the 2,996. It was an effort to get out on the internet, in blogs and on other public forums, tributes to every person who lost his or her life that day, at the hands of the terrorists who waged an attack on America. I first published the following on September 11, 2006, and I have published it every year since on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks, in an effort to pay tribute to one of the many who lost their lives that day. I don't know if anyone who knew Dennis O'Berg has ever read my tribute, but I know that they think of him on this day, and everyday. And I do too.

**********

At 494 Dean Street in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn stands the building housing Engine Company 219 and Ladder Company 105. The two companies have shared that building since 1977. Prior to 1977, they were located in separate houses, about ½ mile away from each other. Ladder 105 has its roots in a volunteer company, Ladder 5, from the Greenport section of Brooklyn that was organized in the latter half of the 19th century. After spending time as Ladder 5 of the Brooklyn Fire Department, Ladder 5 of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and Ladder 55 of the FDNY, Ladder 105 was organized on January 1, 1913 as a part of the FDNY.

One member of Ladder 105 who was lost on September 11th after responding to the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center site was Dennis O’Berg. Dennis was 28 years old at the time of his death. He was a resident of Babylon, on Long Island, where he lived with his wife of less than one year, Christine. Their first wedding anniversary would have been September 28, 2001.

Dennis didn’t always plan to be a firefighter. He graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a degree in accounting and worked for the Big 4 accountancy firm Ernst & Young after graduation. However, he followed his father’s footsteps as a firefighter, entering the academy because he felt shackled to his accountant position. He graduated from the academy not long before the September 11th attacks and was assigned to Ladder 105. Being a firefighter changed him into a happy and smiling and easygoing person. On September 11th, he had been a firefighter for only seven and a half months.

Dennis’s remains were not found in the wreckage at Ground Zero, and his family held out hope that something would be found so that they could plan his funeral. After only his helmet, his jacket, and one of his boots was found, Dennis’s family held a memorial service for him on June 28, 2002, burying an empty casket. Dennis’s father, Lt. Dennis O’Berg., retired from the FDNY on September 11th to dedicate himself to finding his son. However, when all the wreckage had been cleared, it was not to be so.

Family and friends remember Dennis as someone who was young at heart. He was a fan of Harry Potter, Norman Rockwell, Star Wars, and the New York Rangers. He collected baseball cards and enjoyed all kinds of music. He was a romantic and often gave his wife roses for no particular reason, took her on long drives and picnics on the North Shore, and left her notes telling her that he loved her. She found one of those notes in her bed the evening before September 11th as she was preparing to retire for the night. His dream was to be there as a husband and father for his wife and kids and to raise a family on Long Island. He never got to fulfill that dream. Instead, his life was cut short by the terrorists who attacked America on September 11th.

Dennis P. O’Berg. Forever in the thoughts of his friends and family. And now, forever in my thoughts as well.

To learn more and pay tribute to other heroes lost to us on September 11, 2001, please visit the 2,996.

A Sad Week for Celebrities

2009-06-26T17:21:00.001-04:00

I remember that when Lucille Ball died, I cut her obituary out of our local paper and saved it for quite awhile. She was the first Hollywood loss I felt deeply. She was followed, among others, by John Ritter, Estelle Getty, and more recently Bea Arthur, all people whom I admired and whom I mourned.

This week was over the top. First, we hear of the loss of Ed McMahon. A gifted TV personality and larger-than-life figure, he will certainly be missed.

Yesterday morning comes the news that Farrah Fawcett has lost her battle with cancer...a battle she fought with spirit and determination. She was taken too soon and leaves a legacy behind.

Finally, on my way to work last night, the DJ on my local country station announces that TMZ is breaking the news that the King of Pop himself has died. Madness. I remember watching the "Thriller" video at my friend Lori's house...we were perhaps in fourth grade. I remember being jealous of my friends who owned one silver glove and REALLY wanting a pair of parachute pants. My sister was the proud owner of a Michael Jackson record player. "We Are the World" still makes me cry.

Today, a local station was playing a lot of MJ's songs, some that I had forgotten about. And I found myself getting surprisingly emotional, especially considering how many years it has been since I considered myself a fan. I am sad for his children. I am sad for his fans. But most of all, I am sad for old school MJ, who veered off the path many years ago but was recently trying to find his way back on it. Now, he will not have that chance.

Rest in peace, you three. You will not be forgotten!

-- Posted from my iPod touch

As Seen on TV!

2009-06-02T17:23:00.001-04:00

I bought a Ped-Egg today. After months of "EEEEW! GROSS!"-ing the commercials, in which we watch a woman pour her foot shavings (!!!) into the trash, I was told by my friend Jess that she loved it. True to my nature, I ran right to CVS to buy one.

The verdict? Well, I used it for the first time today, and while I didn't get all the needed work done on my heels, it was alarming the volume of shavings my Ped-Egg collected. I managed NOT to gag when I emptied it, and I would declare it a successful purchase.

So, what's next? Sham-Wow?

-- Posted from my iPod touch

Motivation

2009-05-29T13:52:00.001-04:00

My get up and go has got up and went, which is a shame since I have only achieved one thing on my multi-entry to-do list today! The dishwasher is chugging away, and I am fixin' to fold some laundry. My other accomplishment was the watching of FOUR HOURS of SYTYCD, along with an episode of The Duel II and one of No Reservations.

Of course, I go back to work tomorrow as the rest of you start your weekends...so I think we're even!

-- Posted from my iPod touch

Tee-Vee

2009-05-15T16:52:00.001-04:00

I try not to blog about TV much because, well, I watch a LOT of it, and I don't want to TV to take over the (admittedly minimal) content of this blog. However, I just watched the House (I found out HTML does work on here!) season finale, and I was shocked and awed by it. I was left completely slack-jawed by the last three-ish minutes of the episode. Amazing.

Hugh Laurie is amazing, and I love the play between House and Cuddy (although not as much, I suppose, as the people creating "Huddy" tribute videos on YouTube). I can't wait to see what happens in the fall...but I don't want to wish the summer away. Such is the story of the season finale...

-- Posted from my iPod touch

Courtesy

2009-05-15T09:16:00.002-04:00

After my week-ish of vacation, I find myself with some residual feelings about the way we treat each other in this country. I was at Disney World for five days. It is, to me, the happiest place on earth. What can go wrong there? You sleep in a hotel, get up, eat, go to a great amusement park, eat, go to another great amusement park, eat, get back to your hotel, sleep, get up, and do it all over again. My family and I have it down to a science.

One of the rules on many of the rides and in many of the shows is that you are not permitted to use flash photography. Now, to me, that seems completely fair. Even without taking pictures on such attractions, I came home with over 200 photos saved on my camera's memory card. That is plenty of material to make my way through in Flickr and Snapfish and Facebook and wherever else I will be publishing my vacation pics. However, while at Disney World, people persist in ignoring these rules and take pictures anyway! The worst infraction was on the Great Movie Ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios, when a woman was told FOUR TIMES by the ride operator (while still in character, I might add, which I found to be amazing) not to take pictures with her flash on. FOUR TIMES! After the first time, I would have been apologetic and sort of slumped down in my seat because getting yelled at as an adult on a ride SHOULD BE embarrassing. However, this lady had the nerve to ignore this request the first three times...thereby kind of ruining the ride for everyone.

The other stuff I saw was more run-of-the-mill. There were people who were "excuse-me"-ing their way up the line to where the rest of their party was (we prefer the less-convenient-for-us-but-nicer-for-everyone-else method of letting others go in front of us until the rest of our party catches up), people stopping in the middle of a thoroughfare and creating a traffic jam, and people on scotters driving around like it was the Indy 500 and they were vying for the top prize. This is not to say that all people were doing these things...but I did see more than my fair share. There were also many, many children whose carefully crafted schedules were so out of whack that they were in continual meltdown mode. I saw two specific children who were having such complete and total tantrums that I thought that if I were their parents, I would think of leaving them there, just doing their thing. Note that I am not a parent. Perhaps there is a reason for that!

For the most part, however, we got plenty of doses of that Disney World magic and that amazing customer service that they have down to a science. The happiness that was shining out of most people's faces (with the notable exception of the man we overheard say to his wife, "You are RUINING this for me." Ouch.) made the entire time there feel like a fabulous holiday. I don't know when I will get to go back to Disney World, but I am so happy to have had this time with my parents and my sister, enjoying each other's company in a place we love so much.

Now, the airport experience? That's a whole different story...

DEP DELAY

2009-05-14T18:03:00.002-04:00

I sit now in the airport in Orlando with what is being reported on-line to be a three-hour flight delay, which means we will be departing sometime after 9PM for our triumphant return to the northeast. I am multi-tasking right now, using my iPod touch both to blog and to listen to this damned audiobook. I have officially come down off my vacay high and find myself just annoyed that my schedule is being messed up this way.

Our vacation was fantastic, I am happy to report. We spent two days with my grandparents at The Villages (Florida's friendliest hometown), followed by two days with my grandmother in the Largo area. And after that, as chronicled in my Facebook updates, we headed to Walt Disney World, at which point wireless internet service became a thing of my past. I had to use my cell phone for updates instead...I figure it will take me weeks to catch up on all that happened while I was away!

This trip was me, my sister, and my parents, setting off on an adventure I called the Thomas Family Rides Again. We used to visit Disney World quite often throughout my childhood amd teenage years, and it was so great to revisit one of our favorite places on earth! We stayed at the Pop Century resort, which was delightful in its tackiness!

We were able to see all four of the major parks, and we were able to ride all our favorites...save Space Mountain, which was closed for refurbishing. We got to hit some great new rides as well, such as Expedition Everest (a fantastic roller coaster), Soarin' (awesome), and Toy Story Midway Mania, which may be my new favorite. We also got to see old favorites, such as Peter Pan's Flight, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, It's a Small World, the Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and Dinosaur. It was awesome.

And now, the gate has given a departure time...9:30PM. It's going to be a long night!

-- Posted from my iPod touch

Fancy pants

2009-05-10T07:29:00.001-04:00

This will be my first blog post that is NOT coming from a computer! While browsing Apple's App Store this morning, I found some blogging apps. Therefore, I am currently listening to an audiobook and blogging at the same...perfect for my love of multi-tasking. And I figure I can't blog any less frequently than I already do!

So let's talk about audiobooks. This is my first one, and I am not sure that I am a fan. I am a VERY fast reader, and when on vacation, I can often read more than one book per day. However, one of the categories for my book challenge I am doing requires me to listen to an audiobook. I searched on iTunes for a book to listen, which was good because that helped me eliminate some contendors. Listening to the previews of some good-sounding books made me realize I couldn't imagine listening to a British reader for multiple hours. And searching through the choices made me question why so many of the books were abridged. I finally chose Swimming Lessons (no idea if HTML works in this App...we shall see!) by Mary Alice Monroe...the reader's voice was gentle and not annoying, and the book was unabridged.

Well, I have figured out why so many of the books are abridged. I have been trying to listen to this for days, and I can't help but think that I could have read it three times over by now, and I am only on chapter ten! I really think I will have to read the actual book when I am done listening to the audiobook...just to make sure I don't miss anything!

Unless I get an adapter for my iPod touch to allow me to listen to audiobooks on my commute, I don't see a lot of these in my future...I prefer the written word!

-- Posted from my iPod touch

So this is more than a little twisted...

2009-03-26T07:56:00.003-04:00

As I have mentioned before, I spend time on The Nest, which is an online community made up mostly of women. I was looking around on that site today when I came across a story that just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

A woman named "Lindsay" apparently posted a story about the loss of her young daughter, I believe from some sort of cancer. Her daughter's name was Avigail, and she had a blog here on Blogger that was called "Remembering Avigail." I remember reading her blog and being touched by her story.

Well, it turns out the entire thing was a lie. Some very impressive sleuths on The Nest were able to discover that her entire story was made up. And if you do a search on Google of the name of her blog, you can find that she was all over the Internet, leaving comments on other people's blogs (including some people who actually lost children, as well as Matt Logelin's blog,which has the story of the loss of his wife the day after his daughter was born just over a year ago). She also did some posting on iVillage, about her supposed loss, but luckily, the women there, who had in fact lost children, found out about the fact that she was lying as well.

I find it hard to believe that someone could be so callous and make something like this up. I guess it just shows that there are some sick people in the world.

Welcome, Spring!

2009-03-20T08:35:00.001-04:00

Since winter began back in December, I have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of spring. And even though it is a mere 31 degrees outside my window right now, I don't care because spring? It's here! Sure, we got a minor dusting of snow last night, but it doesn't matter because that was still winter! Now, it's spring! I have survived another snowy season here in the Poconos.

If we get another large snowstorm this year, I am going to be diving off this mountain. Just saying...

Bullet, dodged...

2009-03-12T14:58:00.003-04:00

So the other day, when I was preparing for work, I was doing a little flossing. I have not been a regular flosser, but I am trying to take better care of my teeth and gums (after hearing from a few friends that they needed gum grafts and deciding NO, THANK YOU!), so I took my little Reach flosser thing and went to town.

And then, while pulling the floss out from between two teeth, it happened. I heard something hard hit the mirror.

I immediately went into panic mode because I was assuming that a piece of my tooth had just broken free and went flying through the air. And while no one wants a tooth to break while she is preparing for work, I had a much more important reason for going into full-on freak-out mode. I haven't been to the dentist in a long time.

Like ten years type of long time. L-O-O-O-O-O-N-G time. Sooooooooooooooooooo long.

Yes, I am sufficiently ashamed of myself.

Anyway, I went running into the living room and started frantically grilling my husband about the dentist he had seen in an emergency a few years earlier (after a long absence of his own). Were they nice? Did they judge? Would I cry? Would they be gentle?

His answers all checked out, so I grabbed the phone to make a call. They were able to see me today at 2:00. I grabbed the appointment, stuck some gum in what I thought was a gaping hole in my tooth (albeit one that didn't hurt at all), and headed off to work.

Today, I had my visit. And they were nice, and they didn't judge, and I didn't cry. And they were very gentle. It turns out it was no tooth breaking free. It was tartar. I don't have to have anything done to fix the tooth because it didn't break. I dodged a bullet this time.

I go back on April 22 for the full complement of dental check-up services. That gives me another month or so of flossing and getting my gums in better shape. I am aware that I may need some work to get things back to normal, but I have taken the first step. I have made my triumphant return to the dentist.

And I am still standing...

More about books...

2009-03-06T05:35:00.001-05:00

I read a blog that is written by Susan Wiggs, who is one of my favorite authors. Her most recent blog post, as of today, asks what it was that got her readers into reading (and writing, if they are writers, which I am not). Here was my reply (which actually was a bit longer than her original blog post...ooops!):

"When I was in either third or fourth grade, my mom gave me some of her old Nancy Drew books. I was hooked on reading from that day forward.

I made my way through the Baby-sitter’s Club, Christopher Pike, RL Stine, and Sweet Valley High as I made my way through school. I then got really into historical romances (Linda Lael Miller, Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, etc.).

In college, I read ‘Outer Banks’ by Anne Rivers Siddons, as well as many of Pat Conroy’s books, and became a little obsessed with Low Country writers. Today, I have expanded that list to include Dorothea Benton Frank, Karen White, and Patti Callahan Henry.

After I graduated from college, I discovered Barbara Delinsky, who I think as more in the women’s fiction arena than in the true romance arena. I quickly followed her to find you (Susan Wiggs), Debbie Macomber, Luanne Rice, and Kristin Hannah.

I later spent some time reading a lot of chick lit (the Red Dress Ink books), but I have come around again and am reading everything I can get my hands on by you (Susan Wiggs), Sherryl Woods, Jodi Picoult, and Robyn Carr, as well as my traditional after-college favorites and the Low Country writers listed above.

And that is how I got to reading what I read today…perhaps a bit too long of a story for a comment on a blog!"

So what about you? Are you a big reader? And what made you that way?

Because I don't have enough to read...

2009-02-27T07:29:00.002-05:00

Someone on my NBC board the other day mentioned this awesome website that is going to serve to further my addiction to the literary world. It is called Literature-Map. Basically, you go to this site and type in the name of a favorite author. The map that is created shows you a whole bunch of other authors that you might also enjoy.

I will give you an example.

One of my favorite authors is Susan Wiggs. When I type her name into the website, I get a list of almost 50 other authors that the map thinks I would enjoy. Some of these are authors I already read and enjoy, such as Nicholas Sparks, Debbie Macomber, Luanne Rice, Jude Deveraux, Kristin Hannah, and Robin Cook. Some of them are authors I have heard of but not read, such as Ann Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Emilie Richards. And some of them are authors I have never heard of but would probably enjoy, like Lisa Kleypas, Emma Holly, and Jilliane Hoffman.

Not everyone has 50 other authors mapped to his or her name. For example, when I check on Thea Devine's name to see her literature map, there are only about 20 names shared with me. When I click on Emilie Richards, there are only eight names shared. Another nice feature is that each author in a map is a clicky link, so you can click on each name to see that person's literature map.

I sometimes come to the point where I dramatically state that I have NOTHING to read. What I mostly mean is that I have read all the new releases of my usual favorites and don't know how to find something new. However, this literature map might help. It certainly can't hurt! And now I will have a new weapon at my disposal before I head out to Barnes & Noble to browse their selections...and a little direction so that my visit there doesn't take as long as usual.

Happy reading!

Books, books, books, and more books...

2009-02-25T15:26:00.002-05:00

I am a relatively infrequent poster on The Nest, which is basically a site that women use to suck time at work.

Ba-dum-bum.

In all actuality, The Nest is like many of those websites out there that consist of profile, bulletin boards, informational articles, shopping opportunities, and blogging capabilities. I have found a new bulletin board on there that I immediately christened "My People," and I have enjoyed hanging out on there and seeing what everyone has been up to.

The board is know as NBC (for Nest Book Club), and on it, women basically chat about what books they are reading. There are other off-topic posts as well, but for the most part, the board is a group of women who hang out and talk about books and recommend books to others and talk about buying books and reading books and storing books.

You know, My People.

Anyway, I have joined a challenge on NBC, and that challenge has me slated to read 50 books this year. I read over 70 books last year, so I am assuming I will fulfill this, but I didn't want to bump up to the 100-book challenge because I was pretty sure that was setting myself up for failure. I believe I am now seven books in, which seems a little low for me as the end of February creeps up on us...and the book I am reading now (The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb) has over 700 pages, so it might be a little while until I get to number eight (although I have four days off after working tonight, so perhaps there will be some good reading time in the next couple of days).

And you know what this means...at the end of this year, you can expect another recap of everything I read this year. You know you can't wait!

----------

When I went back to create that link to my book recap from 2008, I thought that it would be a much older post, which is why I thought I would link to it. Then I realized it is, literally, like three posts ago. Bad blogger! Why do you ignore your blog so much?

I will try to be better, but I make no promises!

Sacrifice

2009-02-22T12:14:00.002-05:00

As a Catholic, I follow the tradition of giving something up for Lent. With Ash Wednesday coming this week, I have given some thought over the past few days as to what this should be. In the past, I have given up meat, fast food, potatoes (or at least tried to...I did end up breaking that one before Easter came), and chocolate. This year, I wanted to be serious about what I was giving up, and I wanted it to be a real and true sacrifice.

Therefore, I am giving up soda. Not just regular soda for diet...all soda, all the time. Seeing as how that is roughly the only thing I drink, this should be interesting. See, I love soda. I love the sweetness and the fizziness. I love that cola taste. And my body has a special relationship with the caffeine in it because if I go too long without having that caffeine, I develop a headache that feels like a vise grip being tightened on my temples.

And this is not good.

So even though I am sitting here, fully enjoying a can of Pepsi right now, I am already planning for Wednesday, when I will be quitting the soda cold turkey. As someone who works nights, the caffeine will probably be the thing that is harder to give up. It might take some days of Excedrin Tension to get me through, but in the end, I will be better for it. I will break my addiction to soda, and I will make my sacrifice for Lent.

Two birds, one stone. Wish me luck!

A Man and a Dream

2009-01-19T08:01:00.002-05:00

Today, I am remembering a great man who believed in the worth of every human being and fought for equality for those of his race.

Tomorrow, we will experience the inauguration of a man who is a fine representation of what this man was fighting for.

I did not vote for Barack Obama. However, I will respect him as my President. And I acknowledge that this could be a great day for America. I hope that the change he preaches is the change he practices. I hope we can look forward to many great years in this country.

But for today, I will remember Martin Luther King, Jr., who fought for Mr. Obama's right to be President and gave his life for that fight. May his dream live on forever...

Bookish

2009-01-10T17:27:00.002-05:00

Since I learned to read, I have been someone who is never so happy as she is when she has a new book to read. And since I am a fast reader, I tend to go through books quickly. In 2008, I decided to keep track of all the books I read in a little journal. I expected that I would read about 100 books. In reality, I read 69.

Without further ado, here they are, in order:

Dakota Born by Debbie Macomber
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Dakota Home by Debbie Macomber
Always Dakota by Debbie Macomber
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
Bygones by LaVyrle Spencer
Miracle by Danielle Steele
Snowfall at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
Twelve Times Blessed by Jacqueline Mitchard
Table for Five by Susan Wiggs
7th Heaven by James Patterson
Home Song by LaVyrle Spencer
Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutals by Paul Teutal, Sr., Paul M. Teutal, and Mikey Teutal
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Accident by Danielle Steele
No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel
Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan
The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini
Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennier Chiaverini
Suddenly by Barbara Delinsky
The Fat Smash Diet by Dr. Ian
Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
Texas! Lucky by Sandra Brown
Texas! Chase by Sandra Brown
Texas! Sage by Sandra Brown
The Appeal by John Grisham
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
Sail by James Patterson
You've Been Warned by James Patterson
That Summer Place by Debbie Macomber, Jill Barnett, and Susan Wiggs
Mending Fences by Sherryl Woods
When Light Breaks by Patti Callahan Henry
The Birthdays by Heidi Pitlor
The Beach House by Jane Green
The Memory of Water by Karen White
The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky
Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky
Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer
Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs
Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
The You I Never Knew by Susan Wiggs
Enchanted Afternoon by Susan Wiggs
Last Kiss by Luanne Rice
Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs
Sweet Life by Mia King
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
The Art of Keeping Secrets by Patti Callahan Henry
Christmas at Sea Pines Cottage by Sally Smith O'Rourke
A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber
A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr
The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky
My Sisters by Ann Roth
8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber
The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Brett Witter
Welcome to Serenity by Sherryl Woods
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell
Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber
Unraveled by Robyn Harding

Whew! The interesting thing is that it is now January 10, and I have not yet read an entire book this year! For some reason, I have been pretty distractable, and I haven't had the attention span to sit down and read. I am hoping this feeling goes away soon because reading is one of my favorite things!

Looking at my list, there are some authors that obviously stand out. I read every book that comes out by some favorite authors. Long-time favorites include Susan Wiggs, Debbie Macomber, Kristin Hannah, and Luanne Rice. I used to read a lot of "chick lit," but the only author that has survived the cut now that I have moved on to "women's fiction" (I am getting so old!) is Jennifer Weiner, and I read everything that she writes. I also am a huge Jodi Picoult fan and buy most of her books in hardcover...I can't wait for the paperback versions!

In the past two years, I have found some new favorites as well, mostly thanks to the recommendations on Amazon. They include Patti Callahan Henry, Karen White, Sherryl Woods, and Robyn Carr. I am a big fan of books that take place near the ocean, so I also read a lot of stuff by Dorothea Benton Frank and Anne Rivers Siddons (her latest book is on my to-read list right now).

Once in a while, I go for an oldie, but goodie, that I know I will enjoy. This may include something by Danielle Steele, LaVyrle Spencer, or Sandra Brown (her old stuff, when she still wrote romances). And then there are the other types of books peppered in...John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson (I love the Women's Murder Club series; not so much the Alex Cross). And I have only missed two of Nicholas Sparks's books...True Believer and At First Sight. I have loved all of his other books, but these didn't speak to me.

The others are random books I have picked up in local book stores or at the library. I got very excited about finding Jennifer Chiaverini's quilting series at my local library initially, but I haven't been to the library in quite a while, so I gave up on that. I also really enjoy some of Barbara Delinsky's books, especially the stuff she has been writing recently.

And I have some favorites on this list. My absolute favorite novel of all time is Mirror Image by Sandra Brown. I reread it a couple of times per year and enjoy it just as much each time. It's got romance, intrigue, adventure...I just find it to be a really good read. Another old favorite on this list is The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. It's about a woman who heads to a Maine island to visit her aunt when her marriage goes south. It's an awesome story, fun to read and inspiring. I also read that at least once a year.

Anyway, that's the literary story of my year! I am now starting in on a re-released trilogy by Robyn Carr, the Grace Valley trilogy, and am looking forward to getting engrossed in it, as soon as my attention span comes back. And I am looking forward to come upcoming releases from some favorites...Susan Wiggs, Sherryl Woods, Karen White, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kristin Hannah, Barbara Delinsky, Jodi Picoult. I have a lot to look forward to!

How about you? Read any good books lately?

Happy New Year (the six-days-late edition)!

2009-01-06T03:39:00.002-05:00

So here we are, almost one week into 2009, and unlike many bloggers, I have not yet posted anything that would suggest that we have ended one year and started another one. Thanks to a whirlwind of holiday get-togethers and nights at work and even some cooking, I have let the New Year come and go with hardly any fanfare at all.

That's not to say that I don't have resolutions. Of course, I have some resolutions! After all, I am a multitasking adult female who is trying to do it all. Why not add some pipe dreams to the list?

Wow, that sounds a little bitter, doesn't it? Suffice it to say that I have, for the past many years, made diet and exercise my #1 New Year's Resolution. And for the past many years, I have failed miserably at it. I have continued to sit too much, move too little, hit the drive through too often, choose chips over veggies, and generally neglect to pay much attention to my health whatsoever...even when I am on a "diet." Although I don't know if this year will be any different, I did begin counting Points again yesterday and journaling all my food...so let the games begin!

I think if I could sum up my resolutions this year into one handy phrase, it would be this: "Get your shit together, Sister!" That covers the diet thing. It covers the exercise thing. It covers the continued paying off of debt. It covers many things. Let me break down some of the details for you.

In 2009, I resolve to cook dinner for my husband and me for four meals each week. Now, this might mean that I cook two meals and we eat leftovers for each, making four meals total during the week. Or it might mean that I cook four separate meals. I am currently working on changing to a weekend position at work, which will make this easier. I will work every Friday and Saturday and one other day during the week, thereby leaving open four nights in which to cook. I will detail any recipes I try on my food blog, Chicken, Again?. However, I won't be posting pictures. When I tried food blogging with pictures, I became a big failure of a food blogger. There is no sense in setting myself up for that again.

Also, in 2009, I resolve to be a better wife. I read something interesting in one of the many magazines that I like to peruse. It was sound advice that I probably should have started taking the day I said, "I do." It recommended that, once you are married, you start thinking of your husband as your first family, as opposed to your family of origin. And I admit that I struggle with this. Even though I am now more than two years into my marriage, I do not hesitate to put my family of origin first when planning for things like holidays and weekends. If my husband doesn't fit into those plans, I don't change them or cancel them to accomodate him. Instead, I just go without him. Now, our circumstances are a little different, in that he has both his family of origin and his children to compete with me for time. And more than once in a while, it does make sense for us to go our separate ways, especially since I work nights and am often asleep during the day. However, I should be putting him and our life together first more often. I don't think he is 100% with this either, but he is probably a bit better at it than I am. So I plan to improve in that arena in 2009.

Part of being a better wife is being better about keeping my home neat and clean. Quite honestly, I am not a huge fan of where I am living. While I do like our house and what we have done with it, I do sometimes wish it were larger and also not situated on a mountain. I wish our driveway were paved and our water came from the city instead of the ground and that we were hooked up to a sewage system instead of the septic tank buried in the yard. These feelings are never more true than during this time of year, when I let my semi-irrational anxiety regarding the weather get the better of me and keep me in a darker-than-normal mood for the duration of the cold/snowy/icy months. Therefore, year-round, and even more at this time of year, I tend not to pay attention to what things are looking like on the inside. I have never been the neatest of people, and clutter honestly does not bother me. However, it does bother my husband, and I would like to be more on top of things, instead of finally cleaning things up when he yells at me about them. And doing this will probably contribute to the overall harmony in our home, which isn't a bad thing either.

So there you have it. My plans for getting my shit together in 2009. Here's hoping that this year will involve fewer ice storms, more joy, fewer drive-thru runs, more exercise, fewer arguments, and more fun! And here's to you and your resolutions...may all your plans come to fruition!

Eight things...

2008-12-29T01:37:00.002-05:00

I took this from a blog I read because I thought it would be fun to fill out. Please feel free to do it too!

Eight Shows I watch:
1. Law and Order: SVU
2. House
3. The Office
4. Top Chef
5. Two and a Half Men
6. Throwdown with Bobbly Flay
7. Iron Chef America
8. Lipstick Jungle

Eight Favorite Resturants:
1. Chili's
2. Carraba's
3. Chick-Fil-A
4. Sicily
5. Texas Roadhouse
6. McDonald's
7. Don Pablo's
8. TGIFriday's (is it bad that most of these are national chains?)

Eight Things that Happened to Me Today:
1. I slept until 2:30 PM in preparation for work tonight.
2. I cut the dog's butt hair.
3. I watched two episodes of General Hospital.
4. I played with the dog.
5. I loaded all my dirty clothes into the washing machine.
6. I stopped off to get Coke to bring to work.
7. I went through the McDonald's drive-thru for dinner.
8. I put an IV in a baby that weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz.

Eight Things I Look Forward to:
1. Four nights off, starting Wednesday
2. Going out for NYE
3. Getting my iPod touch
4. Having a holiday open house this weekend
5. Getting paid on Thursday
6. Spending time with my husband this week
7. Getting HD installed tomorrow
8. Spring...and the end of the snow for the year

Eight Things I Wish:
1. That I lived in a more suburban/urban area
2. That my student loans were paid off
3. That my credit card debt was paid off
4. That I was better at keeping in touch with friends who are far away
5. That I could stick to diet and finally lose some weight
6. That I had room to have more dogs
7. That all my friends lived close by
8. For health and happiness to all those I love!

Cold...

2008-12-22T08:12:00.000-05:00

It is seven degrees here this morning. I am going back to bed.

Where did the year go?

2008-12-04T09:54:00.004-05:00

While I wasn't looking, December came along. I was working and working and working and working, and suddenly, without me noticing, it was Thanksgiving. And because Thanksgiving was so late this year, four days later, it was December! And three weeks from today, it will be Christmas! One week after that? 2009! Where is the time going?

For someone who had not yet started preparing for Christmas before last week, I am doing surprisingly well. I have bought all the toys that I need to buy, except for one purchase for the Giving Tree that we are doing at the store this year. I have my sister, my mother, my grandmother, and my best friends covered. Bill and I are buying a big family gift this year, a new TV for our living room, so we aren't really exchanging anything else. And I have also got my sister's boyfriend taken care of, with a gift that I am really excited about! I still have to shop for my dad and my stepsons, as well as pick up a few things for the dog, but I am in good shape! And I have been able to do all my Christmas shopping with cash! Yay, me!

One important component in these Christmas preparations was my Black Friday shopping. I am not a Black Friday shopper. Because I work retail, I am instead a Black Friday worker, and I was working from 7 AM to noon at Bath and Body Works on Friday. However, I decided this year that I would bite the bullet, and that is why I arrived at Kohl's at 5:45 AM on Black Friday, ready to grab up some deals. I shopped for 15 minutes...and then I stood in the longest line I have ever seen for about 40 minutes, getting to know my other shoppers, texting updates to Twitter and Facebook, and trying to maintain my sense of humor. It was awful. It caused me to say that I would never go shopping on Black Friday again.

And that was a lie.

See, after I was done at the store at noon, I couldn't help but think of all the deals I probably missed because I was so worried about the line making me late for work. So I went back to Kohl's. This time, I only waited in line for about 15 minutes, and I was able to complete a more leisurely stroll through the store. There were definitely some power shoppers there (I heard one trio of woman talking about how they had been shopping since midnight the night before because they had hit the outlets at midnight and then been in the stores since they started opening at 4 AM...it was now after 1 PM, so they had been shopping for about 13 hours!), but the crowds were less, and I was happy that I decided to brave it again.

Now, I am just doing the here-and-there method of shopping. I did some on-line shopping. I stopped at K-mart yesterday. I was back at Kohl's last night to use up my Kohl's Cash. I have to head to mall at some point to stop at American Eagle. Bill and I have to spend some time in Sears or Best Buy or Circuit City or wherever we buy this TV. I have to hit the pet store. And I still have to find something for my dad.

All in all, when I wasn't really paying attention, I managed to take care of most of what I needed to do to prepare for Christmas. Sure, our tree isn't up yet, but that is mostly Bill's job. He goes and cuts it down and gets it up, and then we decorate together. And any baking that I am going to do hasn't been planned yet. But I don't usually do much, and it shouldn't take too long. For now, I am going to sit back and relax and watching everyone else in their frantic attempts to get their preparations done. I will be the one with her feet up and the glass of egg nog in her hand. Please don't throw anything at me...

Post-drinking and pre-going-to-bed...

2008-11-01T03:49:00.002-04:00

So tonight, I headed to bed to watch the movie The Bodyguard, followed by the latest episode of Lipstick Jungle, which, by the way, is one of my favorite shows. And then Bill's guests arrived (our friend Jeff, his GF Gina, my stepson Collin, and his friend Caleb), and it has all been downhill from there. Instead of staying in bed, I decided to get up and join in the party. And after a couple of hours of drinking margaritas and a whiskey sour (more whiskey, less sour!) around the fire, I find myself as the only one awake in a house of sleepers! I also find myself as the only one not heading to Cleveland tomorrow for the Browns game, so I guess it all evens out in the end.

So sleepy. So drunk. So would like to sober up before going to bed.

Go, Browns!

Sort of a minty color, maybe seafoam...a lighter shade of Green

2008-10-21T02:35:00.002-04:00

When I was a freshman in high school, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first observation of Earth Day. I was pretty into the whole jeans and flannels grunge thing, and being a little crunchy fit right into my vibe. I immediately set about reading the books Fifty Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, Fifty Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, and The Recycler's Handbook and started to put some things into action. I lectured my family on the importance of recycling. I stopped using aerosol hair sprays (and my bangs were big...and they suffered a bit without that AquaNet), and I wrote letters to companies, urging them to become more environmentally friendly in their practices. I was quite the little activist.

In my junior year (I believe) of high school, I was a leader of the Great Spork Revolt. Our cafeteria, which had been using real silverware for as long as we could remember, made a sudden switch to a prepackaged plastic combo of a spork, a napkin, and a straw. There were no extra components not found in these packages, so anyone who needed any of these three items got all of them. This didn't sit well with me (I am thinking now that I may have been a senior, actually; but I digress). Therefore, I wrote a letter to the school board and the superintendent, passed it around in all of my classes, and sent it off, awaiting their response. I had blind faith that my plea would be heard...and it was. We went back to the old way of things, and the earth was better off for it. Still quite the little activist.

Then I went off to college. And although I continued to recycle and such, I didn't put as much thought into the impact my daily activities were having on Mother Earth. And then I graduated from college and joined the real world, already in progress. And I continued to recycle and such, but I still didn't put a lot of thought into my environmental friendliness. Once in a while, I threw out a peanut butter jar because I didn't want to clean it out. I took long showers and threw away lots of trash and used harsh chemical cleansers to clean my home. The little activist from days past was gone. And it didn't really bother me.

Now, we here a lot about going Green. And this means something different to everyone. There are those who cloth diaper and those who have a rain barrel and those who use a clothesline to dry their clothes. There are those who have switched over to all compact fluorescent light bulbs and unplug their appliances when they are not in use. There are those who compost and those who have become a one-vehicle family and those who have started walking or biking to work. There are those who recycle everything, taking those items not included in their curbside pick-up to the recycling center. There are those who buy all local and all organic and all natural.

I am not one of those.

However, I have learned a lot from some of those people. My time on the Earth-Friendly Family message board on The Bump has taught me a lot about all these things. And when the time comes for me to diaper a baby, I think I might choose to go the cloth route. For now, however, I am taking little steps to reduce the impact I am having...even if it's just a little bit.

First of all, we have gone the compact fluorescent route. And although the light they give off is a little different, we have adjusted...and we are very happy with them. We have stopped buying paper plates and paper napkins. We use our real plates, and I just bought two more sets of cloth napkins, which should make using them more regularly an easier thing. I have replaced my usual face care products with some that are environmentally friendly (and a little more face friendly too). Once my household cleaners are gone, I plan to switch over to the vinegar-and-water way of things...perhaps with some Dr. Bronner's soap thrown in. I have stopped using Clorox wipes, choosing instead to use a reusable cloth and some surface cleaner when I need to clean the counter. And I have even experimented (with good results) with going shampoo- and conditioner-free, using instead baking soda and apple cider vinegar for my hair care needs. I also have been carpooling when I have been able, but that is mostly for money reasons...but now that gas prices are down, we plan to stick with it! And next year, my list of goals includes a compost bin and a clothesline. My mom has always had a clothesline in her yard, and I love how her clothes and sheets smell after drying in the fresh air.

So I would like to think that I am going a little Green...not as Green as some, not a grass green or lime green or forest green. But a little bit of mint or seafoam? I think I am there!

That crash that accompanies the end of a vacation...

2008-10-20T15:21:00.002-04:00

Our week in Bar Harbor is over. It was a glorious week of vacation, in which I spent too much, ate too much, and drank too much. And it's over. O. VER. Clearly, I am not handling that too well...

I won't offer a play-by-play account of the entire week because I don't want to lose the few readers that I do have. Incidentally, to those of you who are still sticking around, even though I average less than one post per week according to my Google Reader, THANK YOU!!!! It makes blogging a little more worthwhile to know that someone out there is actually reading this. And with that, here's the highlights...

Second paragraph I ended with an ellipsis...overkill?

My parents, my grandmother, and I set out last Saturday for Kittery and Freeport to do some shopping. Bill had a wedding to attend that day, so he drove up to Bar Harbor and met us on Sunday. While in these two outlet towns, I spent lots of money at the Eddie Bauer and Crate and Barrel outlets, as well as the big, huge, lovely main LL Bean store, located in Freeport. I could move in there, I love it so much. It was convenient that I had worked so much overtime over the summer because I acted like a woman who did not live in a country with an iffy (at best, I know) economy. And there were many, many other people in both towns doing exactly the same thing...to the point of being shocking, really. Ah, the adrenaline rush that accompanies some good shopping. Hopefully, the memory of it will keep me going for a while.

Our week in Bar Harbor included a kick-ass room at the Bar Harbor Inn, dinner out every night (including two nights that I ate whole lobsters, which I love, and two nights that I watched Bill eat whole lobsters, which made me wish that I could video it and post it on YouTube because he enjoyed himself that much with it). It also included ice cream on four different occasions (three occasions of my favorite butter crunch ice cream - with homemade butter crunch in it - from Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium and one occasion of some awesome blueberry soft ice cream that you could see had actual blueberries in it). I read four books (The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs, Sweet Life by Mia King, and The Art of Keeping Secrets by Patti Callahan Henry - all awesome books that I would recommend in a heartbeat). I did about 75 Sudoku puzzles. I went on a whale watch with my dad and Bill and saw three humpback whales and one right whale (and there are estimated to be only 400 right whales left in the wild IN THE WHOLE WORLD, so this was an awesome experience - the whale researcher who served as our guide was downright giddy about it). I toured Acadia National Park and found a sand dollar the size of my pinkie nail on Sand Beach. I went to some cemetaries that hold the graves of my great-grandmother's (and therefore my) ancestors who once lived on Mt. Desert Island. I drank a whiskey sour almost every night we were there. I took over 200 pictures that were keepers (and even more that I deleted immediately after taking them). And I managed not to kill my husband in the midst of the 160-mile tantrum he threw as we drove "the long way" home down Route 1 along the coast of Maine, as he wanted to be on I-95 instead. All in all, I would call it a big success.

Of course, now I am home. And I am feeling a little low about it. For a while now, I have been having some vaguely uneasy feelings about the upcoming winter. I think of what winter was for us last year (awful, awful, and awful, beginning with an ice storm in the late fall that kept me stranded at my parents' house for a week with my then-18-month-old dog and ending with snow storms that just kept coming), and anticipating what will probably be this year sends me right into anxiety overdrive. I am not someone who enjoys living out here in the middle of nowhere, where I sometimes have to rough it a little. However, as a result of Life Decisions, that is exactly where I am, and I hate it sometimes. And this hate is a little more on-the-surface for me right now because my vacation just ended and the temperatures dipped into the thirties last night.

Now that vacation is over, I also have to face the reality that I owe my parents a bit over FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, and any relaxation that I thought I would find in cutting back my hours this winter is no longer a reality because I have signed on for another bonus contract at the hospital and will be sucking up the overtime in an effort to get ahead a little. The trick, however, is that I will never get ahead because things keep coming up that have to be paid for. First, we had our income taxes. Then the car issues. Next come our school taxes. And the holidays. And when all that is over? Here come those income taxes again! I shudder to think what will happen if something really big goes wrong. Being a homeowner is scary stuff...especially when you are a homeowner without much of a cushion to break your fall. And once all that is taken care of, there is still other debt like credit cards and school loans to worry about. I will say this...going to nursing school is the best thing I ever did. I have not ever had a career when I could work as often as I wanted and get paid for every minute of it...and I know that I am very fortunate to have this now. And to actually enjoy that career? A huge bonus...at least I don't dread going to work every night. I don't know what I would do if that were the care.

Whew! That was a total brain purge. If you are still reading, I say again THANK YOU! Sometimes the good people of the internet are the ones who are really keeping me sane...

Bang-bang...

2008-10-08T04:24:00.002-04:00

That's just a fancy way to say that I am gearing up for a bulleted list. And without further ado, I give you the stuff I can come up with at 4:30 AM:

My car is costing FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS to fix. I wanted to spell that out so you didn't think that I was perhaps reporting too many zeroes when I wrote the amount out. I do not have FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. I do, however, have parents that offer very reasonable loan terms (along with the advice not to worry about it right now...not sure how I cannot worry about it right now...all I seem to be doing is worrying about it...right now). I am picking my car, with its brand-spanking-new transmission up tomorrow. The transmission shop contacted Subaru on my behalf to point out that my transmission should not have failed at two years of age and about 52,000 miles. As Shawn, my transmission guru, put it, Subaru seemed "disinclined" to help me. Well, I am disinclined to ever buy a Subaru again. I am also disinclined to keep my mouth shut, which means that everyone I know will here why I won't be buying a Subaru, why I think they should not buy Subarus, and how Subaru was disinclined to offer me any assistance. And Subaru is going to hear about it too...as soon as the steam stops coming out of my ears.
Sometimes, working where I work is really hard. This is one of those weeks. I can't give away any details because of privacy laws, but we had a hard loss this week that was very sudden and unexpected. Please keep in your prayers a family from PA that has had an absolutely tragic week.
I am going on vacation in less than a week. I could not be more excited about it. My husband and I are going to Bar Harbor, ME, with my parents and my grandmother. That's right - on top of paying for my new transmission, my parents are letting me and my husband tag along with them on vacation. I am officially ashamed of any shenanigans I engaged of in my youth that may have given them some extra gray hairs. Clearly, they deserved none of it, and they are showing once again that they are THE BEST!
My friend Paula, who was the one who turned around after a full night of work and drove me back to the hospital for x-rays when I had my tire-changing accident has proven once again to be amazing. She drove fifteen minutes north of her home to pick me up and take me to work today, and knowing that I am a bit short on cash until payday (I have $0.91 in my checking account...I kid you not), she treated me to dinner at Panera on our way in. While I would not hesitate to do the same for her, it still is so wonderful to have someone so selfless in my life...it's been the Year of the Paula in my world! Santa Mary will be SO good to her this year!

And I think that's about it! I have a post in the works about some eco-friendly stuff that I have been trying to do at home, but I think that deserves it's own entry. So maybe I will be back before long...or maybe (more likely), I will just sit on that for a while.

Weekend = FAIL!!!!

2008-10-05T03:45:00.002-04:00

My mom has this saying that can just about sum things up for me right now..."Life is a shit sandwich, and every day is just another bite." She didn't make this up, but she says it relatively often. Open wide...here it comes!

I have been more upbeat than usual lately because it was seeming like things were Going My Way. I have finished up the bonus contract I signed at work, so I am no longer working completely insane hours (I have dropped down to crazy hours, a far cry from normal hours, but better just the same). Bill and I seem to have finally figured out this whole marriage thing (just shy of two years into it), and I have begun to make an effort to remember that it is US against the world, as opposed to me against the world and him against the world, coincidentally living in the same household. And vacation is coming! A blissful week of shopping and eating and reading and knitting and drinking...in Maine! A week at the Bar Harbor Inn, after a day in Kittery at the outlets and another day in Freeport at the enormous LL Bean store. My big plan was to spend a lot of money on myself, a bit less money on Bill, and some money on some other people. And on top of all that, I would still have some money in the bank for the school taxes that are due by the end of the year. I was flush with finally being on some semblance of the right track.

Of course, I still have a decent amount of credit card debt. And my student loan debt still totals more than $27,000. But the drowning feeling I had a year ago? It was pretty much gone.

Bill is planning to drive my car to Maine next weekend, after attending a wedding at the Jersey Shore. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that my car was good and ready for a long trip, so I took it to get an oil change. I also asked them to check my tire pressure. And it was at this point that the FAIL!!!! began.

I went off to my usual garage to get my oil changed. They called to let me know it was ready. I went to pick it up. And all hell broke loose. The car was not running well. It had been running well when I got there. After a trip to the grocery store next door, it was right back to the garage to tell them about the crappy running of the car, along with the flashing oil and cruise control lights and the rather insistent, non-flashing check engine light. A definite FAIL!!!!

After putting the car through the diagnostic thing (so scientific I am with my terminology here), they determined that it was a code for the transmission. This is the point that I started thinking, "Oh, shit." The guy told me they would clear out the code and try running the car again. He came back momentarily to tell me that, "Yeah, something is wrong with the transmission." And this is the point that I started hyperventilating because I know that blown transmission = several thousand dollars. And I don't really have several thousand dollars.

After the guy from the garage was kind enough to have the transmission shop that he recommends arrange to pick up my car, I called my mom and asked her to pick me up. My car was being towed to...somewhere...either Emmaus or Macungie, I don't remember which. And I was without a vehicle. And I was having a big crying meltdown. Not the best plan when you live forty minutes from your place of employment and you're leaving for vacation in a week's time. Not the best plan AT ALL.

So the good news is that my parents are going to lend me some money to get the car fixed so that I don't have to use my vacation money, use my tax money, or cash in the one remaining savings' bond I have that my grandfather bought for me when I was little. The other good news is that I can sign up for another bonus contract at work for October through February to make up a little of the money that I am sure I will owe my parents when this is all said and done. The bad news is that I don't really know what is wrong with my car. And I don't really know where my car is (although I have a name and phone number for the person whose shop it is at). And if it's not fixed by Tuesday, I am either going to have to move into my parents' house with the dog so my mom can give me rides to and from work all week or I will have to rent a car to get me through the week. Oh, and also, my transmission might need to be replaced. Definitely bad news.

Why is that one I get ahead a little bit, life has to come along and kick me upside the head? Was I really that evil in a former life?

Revisiting September 11th...Remembering Dennis O'Berg

2008-09-11T06:32:00.002-04:00

Again this year, I thought I would re-post my contribution to a memorial project that was initiated for the fifth anniverary of 9/11 in 2006 to post memorial tributes to all of those lost in the terrorist attacks on our country on blogs across the internet. On this day, I remember all those whose lives were lost that day, all those who have lost their lives fighting this war on terror, and Dennis O'Berg, who I wrote a tribute to for that project.

***

At 494 Dean Street in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn stands the building housing Engine Company 219 and Ladder Company 105. The two companies have shared that building since 1977. Prior to 1977, they were located in separate houses, about ½ mile away from each other. Ladder 105 has its roots in a volunteer company, Ladder 5, from the Greenport section of Brooklyn that was organized in the latter half of the 19th century. After spending time as Ladder 5 of the Brooklyn Fire Department, Ladder 5 of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and Ladder 55 of the FDNY, Ladder 105 was organized on January 1, 1913 as a part of the FDNY.

One member of Ladder 105 who was lost on September 11th after responding to the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center site was Dennis O’Berg. Dennis was 28 years old at the time of his death. He was a resident of Babylon, on Long Island, where he lived with his wife of less than one year, Christine. Their first wedding anniversary would have been September 28, 2001.

Dennis didn’t always plan to be a firefighter. He graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a degree in accounting and worked for the Big 4 accountancy firm Ernst & Young after graduation. However, he followed his father’s footsteps as a firefighter, entering the academy because he felt shackled to his accountant position. He graduated from the academy not long before the September 11th attacks and was assigned to Ladder 105. Being a firefighter changed him into a happy and smiling and easygoing person. On September 11th, he had been a firefighter for only seven and a half months.

Dennis’s remains were not found in the wreckage at Ground Zero, and his family held out hope that something would be found so that they could plan his funeral. After only his helmet, his jacket, and one of his boots was found, Dennis’s family held a memorial service for him on June 28, 2002, burying an empty casket. Dennis’s father, Lt. Dennis O’Berg., retired from the FDNY on September 11th to dedicate himself to finding his son. However, when all the wreckage had been cleared, it was not to be so.

Family and friends remember Dennis as someone who was young at heart. He was a fan of Harry Potter, Norman Rockwell, Star Wars, and the New York Rangers. He collected baseball cards and enjoyed all kinds of music. He was a romantic and often gave his wife roses for no particular reason, took her on long drives and picnics on the North Shore, and left her notes telling her that he loved her. She found one of those notes in her bed the evening before September 11th as she was preparing to retire for the night. His dream was to be there as a husband and father for his wife and kids and to raise a family on Long Island. He never got to fulfill that dream. Instead, his life was cut short by the terrorists who attacked America on September 11th.

Dennis P. O’Berg. Forever in the thoughts of his friends and family. And now, forever in my thoughts as well.

To learn more and pay tribute to other heroes lost to us on September 11, 2001, please visit the 2,996.

Branching out...and a little about politics

2008-09-07T07:57:00.003-04:00

I have been branching out in the world of technology lately after finally fulfilling my New-Every-Two requirement with Verizon Wireless. For the last two-ish years, I have been using the LG Chocolate Cherry. For the last one-and-one-half-ish years, I have basically not liked it. I didn't like the sliding action or the touch wheel or the size. And right after I got the phone, they came out with an upgrade to it that looked much better, and I was mad I had bought it before the new one came out. But...you live and learn, and I made it through the two-ish years (with the one blip on the screen when my phone fried itself and I had to get a new one), and now I was ready for something new.

My new phone arrived the other day. Now, I am the proud owner of the LG Voyager Titanium. Thanks to my on-line discount and my New-Every-Two credit, I paid only $50 for this phone that is so much more than my old phone was. This Voyager has been billed as Verizon's answer to the iPhone. It's a lovely piece of equipment with great features (most of which I am too cheap to pay to use), and I love it. I especially love the touch screen on the front and the full QWERTY keyboard that it flips open to reveal. I don't text all that often, but I would to do more of it, and that keyboard will help!

I also was excited to hear this week that Google was introducing their new web browser, Chrome. I used Internet Explorer for a long, long time, and when they came out with the newest version, I tried to continue using it, but I hated it. I read around in the Blogosphere about what other people were using, and I became a Firefox convert. Firefox has everything I would ever need in a web browser. I love that it can open new tabs when I want it to. I love that it is fast and doesn't freeze up on me. And I love that it supports Google's toolbar because without the "AutoFill" feature, I would be a much less happy (yet also much less lazy) internet addict.

Enter Chrome. Of course, I downloaded the beta version right away. After all, I love Google, Gmail, Blogger, the Google toolbar...all Google products. The only non-Google product I use regularly is Flickr, and that is just because I joined it before I learned about Picasa. I am big fan of Google. I couldn't wait to try Chrome.

And? Eh...I am not so excited about it anymore. I do enjoy that the homepage is a snapshot of your most-visited pages. However, that is the only thing about Chrome that I like better than Firefox. I have heard people say that they like that it is so clean and spare. Well, I like to have various toolbars at the top of my window to help me more conveniently navigate the internet. I would maybe have expected some of the same functionality as the Google toolbar, but not even the AutoFill feature is to be seen. And the thing that bothers me most of all is that there is no "home" button. It has "front," "back," and "refresh," but "stop" and "home" are mysteriously missing. I use them both quite often, so a browser without them is not one for me.

I will, however, keep an eye on it to see if any changes are made that make it more my style.

Now, switching gears into the political arena, which is a place I don't often find myself...

I am a registered Republican. There, I said it. Please feel free to throw rotten eggs and tomatoes at me. I am sure that some think I deserve it. And I will be voting for McCain/Palin in November.

The other night, I read something on another blog that got me so inflamed that I started typing out an off-the-cuff diatribe about the reasons that I am supporting McCain/Palin this year and the reasons that I would not, in any version of this life, cast a vote for Obama/Biden. Wisely, I hit "save" instead of "publish," went back the next day, reread it, and hit "delete." I sounded much like a raving lunatic, and that is not what I wanted to sound like. I wanted to sound like the educated, relatively rational woman that I am...not some shrill, borderline hysterical female.

Anyway, here's the deal. Every time someone mentions to me that Sarah Palin is anti-abortion and doesn't support sex education in schools, I just shake my head in disbelief. Is this really what you are most worried about? Gas costs $3.50 per gallon (ballpark figure), my estimated heating oil costs almost doubled this year (and some may say I got off easy), there is a war going on in Iraq, banks are failing, and you are worried about abortion? Really?

Here's the deal...America has a three-branch government for a reason. Just because Sarah Palin becomes vice-president doesn't mean that the abortion clinics across America are going to be forced to close their doors. She will not, as one person, have that much power. Regarding sex education, she advocates abstinence-only education and does not support explicit sex education programs in schools. Well, you know what? If anyone is going to speak explicitly about sex to my children (when I have them), I want it to be me. I will perhaps forever be scarred by watching my poor, quiet friend Shannon be made to put a condom on a banana in tenth grade. Mortifying. And when the time came for me to put a condom on someone? I couldn't do it! The banana-watching didn't work! He had to do it for himself! So that was really effective sex education, don't you think? Again, not an issue I care about.

What I do care about is that we are in tough times, and McCain is someone with experience in government who can help us save our country. And Palin is someone with executive experience who can be right beside him to help us on our way. In my mind, this is not about her being a woman or a hockey mom or a VPilf. It's about her and McCain, together, being the best chance this country has to get out of the mess that we have gotten into. When they lay out their plans, I see substance. When their opponent lays out his plans, I see vague promises of "change" without many concrete plans to back that up.

I have rarely gotten this interested in a Presidential election in the past. Eight years ago, I voted for Al Gore, and after seeing him drop off the face of the map after losing the election, I was very, very happy to have George W. Bush in office when 9/11 happened. Al Gore did not have it in him to get our country through such a tough time, and no matter what you think about Bush, he came through. Four years later, there was no way I was casting a vote for John Kerry, so I helped to vote Bush back into office.

Now, we are making history. For the first time ever, a black man and a woman are running for the top two offices in the United States. No matter which candidate wins, history will be made. However, when choosing between an experienced United State Senator and one who has been in office only a few years, I will be going with the experienced candidate who I think is best prepared to serve our country as President.

And that candidate is John McCain.

That being said, I know that most of the people who read my blog and comment regularly are not on my side of the fence on this one. I hope we can still be friends!!!

Triumphant Return

2008-08-31T07:39:00.002-04:00

On Friday morning, I found myself once again in a room full of like-minded women (included my mom sitting next to me), listening to a leader discuss some of the core tenets of the Weight Watchers way of life. Right before the meeting started, I weighed in and learned that I had gained back all but one of the pounds I lost on Weight Watchers last year. And all I could think was, "Thank God I am not fatter than I was when I started last year."

Weight Watchers is something that has worked for me in the past. It's relatively easy to convert foods into Points values and track them in the handy little weekly journal they provide to you. I have the book that lists the Points values for thousands of food items. I have a handy little electronic calculator that will convert my foods to Points if I tell it how many calories, fat grams, and fiber grams it contains. I have all the tools I need to be a success.

In the past, what I have been lacking is the drive and the attitude I need to make this work. Sure, I do well for a certain amount of time, and then I let a slip (a holiday party, a birthday cake at work, a bad night in the NICU followed by breakfast out with my coworkers) take me into a downward spiral. By the time I come up for air, I am so far away from the Weight Watchers way of living that I think that it is pointless to find my way back. After all, I am relatively healthy. And my husband doesn't seem to have any complaints. And there isn't anything that I want to do that I can't do because of the extra weight I am carrying around.

But then I take a look in the mirror. And I realize that I don't want to wear "this size" forever. And I don't want to have back fat and a double chin forever. And I want to be healthier when I eventually decide to have kids. And I want to live a long, long time. And I don't want my knees and ankles to hurt when I get out of bed in the morning, to the point that my trip to the bathroom looks more like the hobbling of an 80-year-old and less like the stride of someone who is only 32.

So as we head into the fall and winter, I find myself once again back in this place, feeling hopeful that this will be the time that it sticks. After all, I have the tools, I have a buddy, and I have a real desire to turn my life around. Now, all I need is to make sure that I don't get in my own way and that I remember that it's not a diet...it's a way of life.

Good Citizens

2008-08-29T13:10:00.002-04:00

One thing that I love about the internet is that it has shrunk the world down into what can fit on my computer screen. And one thing I have loved about this is the fact that the internet can come together like nobody's business to help someone who is in need.

I am a member of The Nest, and I found out yesterday that there is a fellow Nestie who could use some help. She is expecting her first child in six weeks, and on August 25, her home burned to the ground due to a wildfire. She and her husband lost everything but the clothes on their backs and the photos he was able to rescue from their home before being evacuated. He was also able to save their dog, and I believe that their cat, who was outside the home at the time, is also okay. However, she is left with a little one to prepare for (they had just finished the nursery) and nothing with which to welcome this baby home.

If you are interested in reading her story and seeing how you can help, her blog is called Rising from the Ashes. And the women on the Success After a Loss board on The Nest are spearheading some efforts to help her out. If this story speaks to you and you are interested in helping Brooke and her husband out, you can e-mail me at thomas(dot)mm(at)gmail(dot)com for contact information for those who are working this all out.

And if you don't have the means to help right now, I am sure prayers and good thoughts and positive vibes would also be appreciated!

ROAD TRIP!!!!!

2008-08-17T09:06:00.002-04:00

When I share with people that I am still working part-time (very part-time) at Bath and Body Works, even after finishing nursing school and taking a full-time night shift position, they usually think that I am a little crazy. After all, I work anywhere from 36-60 hours per week, almost all in the overnight hours, at the hospital, and they always want to know when I have time to work at the store.

The real answer is that I don't always have time. In fact, I have only worked once in the last month. However, I can't give it up because the girls I work with at Bath and Body Works have become my family. After our manager, Lisa, got sick several years ago, we all banded together to help her through chemo and radiation and to keep the store running in her absence. And after she passed away about a year and a half ago, we banded together again to help each other through our loss. And now, each year, we band together to walk as team Lisa's Tribe in a local Relay for Life event, to raise money to fight the horrible disease that is cancer and to pay tribute to Lisa.

Every three weeks or so, we have a floorset change in the store, usually on a Sunday night, and when it is over, there is a group of four of us who always heads to Applebee's for half-priced appetizers and girl time. We call Applebee's our "Zone Six" (our store is divided into five "zones," which is what makes Applebee's the sixth one). Sometimes others join us, but unless I am working at the hospital the night of floorset, the four of us are always there, without fail.

Last year, the four of us, along with a couple of others, headed to Dresden, OH, to tour Longaberger land. It was our first big road trip, and we had a blast. We have since done flea market trips and other short jaunts, and our next road trip is this Thursday. We are heading down to Gettysburg, to Boyd's Bear Country, for their annual Longaberger event. We will also be hitting the outlets in the area. It's a ROAD TRIP! And I can't wait!

I haven't been blogging much lately because I have been working a lot, trying to fulfill the hours for the summer bonus contract I signed. I am 32 hours from the fulfillment of that contract, and I have all 32 of those hours schedule in the next three weeks. But for now? I am heading a road trip. We will be wearing matching t-shirts and giggling like teenagers and spending money like champs. And I will come back revived and ready for more work.

I just have to make it through the days leading up to it first.

Good-bye, old friend...

2008-08-01T06:32:00.003-04:00

I have discussed before how much my years at Camp Mosey Wood meant to me as I was entering adulthood and figuring out what I wanted from life. There are so many important experiences I had at camp and so many things I learned about myself, and I know without a doubt that I would not be the person I am today without my years there, as well as my years working for the Girl Scout organization. I brought from that time a belief in myself, a belief in the goodness of others, and a belief in the power of Girl Scouting.

One person who was so important to us during those years of camp was our property manager, Lou. He kept us feeling safe, as he lived near the camp entrance and kept track of everyone who came in and went out. He always went above and beyond, willing to help us out whenever we needed it. I remember one day, when my fellow counselor Addie and I were out of camp, doing a little shopping, that Lou especially came to our rescue. Addie had locked her keys in her car (a big old boat of a car that was built like a tank), and we called camp to get some help. Our camp director answered, I told her the problem, and she asked what we wanted her to do. My reply? "Send Lou."

And Lou came.

He used a wire coat hanger to get us back into that car, and that car got us back to camp, and we weren't even late for dinner. Lou saved our day.

I received word last night that Lou had passed away during the day yesterday. Although I had not seen him in many years, my heart has a bit of a hole in it today, remembering the wonderful man that he was and knowing how much he will be missed. It has been some years since he worked at camp, as he has been enjoying his retirement since several years ago, but he will always be a part of camp to me, and my memories of camp will always include him.

Rest in peace, old friend...

Good Friends

2008-08-01T06:17:00.002-04:00

Since the gas prices have gotten so out-of-control, my friend Paula and I have begun carpooling to work a little more frequently than we used to. We used to carpool to nursing school together, and when she took a job at the same hospital at which I work, albeit on a different floor, I knew we would be carpooling again, and I was thrilled about it. After all, we never run out of things to talk about, and now we would get to see each other on occasion, sometimes even often, depending on how our schedules worked out.

This week, we were working a couple of the same nights. One of those nights was Tuesday. I drove down to her house to leave my car, and she drove us out to work, as is our routine on the nights that it is her turn to drive. We made it through the night fine and made it back to her house...and this is where it all fell apart.

When we arrived at her house, I noticed that I had a flat tire on my car. So I figured that Paula and I could change it, as we have done this before, on her car, after a clinical session one day during nursing school. I went to work, loosening the lug nuts, with the lug wrench that came with the car. To do this, I had to stand on it, as those suckers were on pretty tight! All was going well...until my shoe slid off the wrench that I was standing on...and I fell on my turned ankle...and I heard a pop.

When Paula came back outside, I was sort of crying/hyperventilating from the extreme pain in my ankle. She asked if I needed to go get it checked, and we looked at it, and it wasn't swelling, so I said no. She offered Advil; I accepted; she went to get it.

When she got back, everything had changed. A swelling the size of a golf ball was on the outside of my ankle. She took one look at it and said she was taking me for x-rays. I asked where. She replied, "Back to work." Well, work was 35 minutes away.

By this time, her husband was up, and he was dragging all sorts of tools out of his garage. He told us he would take care of the car, and we headed back to work, to the ER, to get my ankle checked out. The good news was that it was just a sprain, which worked out perfectly, because a broken ankle would have meant an extended time off work, as well as an inability to fulfill my summer bonus contract, which would mean I would not be getting the bonus that Bill and I are counting on. The bad news was that it was now 9 AM, and Paula was expected back at work that night, and she was running lower on sleeping time.

However, she never flinched. She was most concerned that I was taken care of, and she definitely did the right thing in insisting that I go get my ankle checked. It turns out that it is a pretty bad sprain, and I am on crutches (although I get to start walking with the crutches today, which will up my mobility quite a bit). The doctor told me I could expect a three-week healing time before I am back to normal.

And while we were off on our ER adventure, Paula's husband took my tire off, blew it back up, found a nail in it, removed the nail, patched the tire, and put it back on the car. Friends going above and beyond? Two out of two. Grateful person who was so lucky to have such great friends taking care of her? That would be me.

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig...

2008-07-21T12:31:00.002-04:00

I spent last week in the Indian Rocks Beach are of Florida, visiting my grandmother with my mom and my sister. This was our big girls' week vacation before my sister headed off to Pittsburgh to attend business school at Carnegie Mellon University. We have been looking forward to this trip for a long, long time.

We set off on Sunday, after I checked and rechecked my suitcase eight million times, said an almost-tearful goodbye to Otto, and a less tearful goodbye to Bill. Although I did make the mistake of watching a couple of episodes of Air Emergency! during the past couple of weeks, I did not hyperventilate on the airplane, and our trip down was smooth. My grandmother met us at the airport, and vacation ensued.

Here's what we did during the week:

went to the beach three times
drank eight bottles of wine
went out to lunch or dinner five times
drank wine at lunch and dinner as well
walked on the beach
shopped at Target
went to the movies to see Mamma Mia!
shopped at John's Pass (a tacky-ish tourist attraction)
ate Panera for breakfast
read
watched lots of reality television
ate calamari at four of the five restaurants we visited
went to the beach on our last night there to catch the sunset, which was breathtaking

Needless to say, it was a great time! I read seven books from the moment we got to the airport to catch our flight down to the time we arrived home. I got a bad sunburn on the first day on the beach and proceeded to make it a little bit worse every day. The movie was AWESOME, no matter what the reviewer in People says...it deserved more than 2 1/2 stars. I found a new wine I love...Sauvignon Blanc. It tends toward sweet like my beloved Riesling, but it is a little more drinkable all the time, while Riesling is sometimes a little too sweet. My sister and I spent a good amount of time walking, whether it was walking on the beach or walking down to the grocery store to get the makings for dinner and MORE WINE. I have to say that I love that they sell wine in the grocery store in Florida. And for so cheap! Here, we have to go to the state store to get our wine, and it can be expensive. They are spoiled like that in Florida!

And I arrived home last night, pretty happy to be here. I missed my dog like crazy (because of the fact that I am, you know, crazy), and I missed my husband too. I missed my bed because sleeping for a week on a pull-out trundle bed in a room that is heated up by the computer that is on all night right next to your head with pillows that are not your own can get a little old. And I even missed work a teeny little bit. I am actually looking forward to going in tonight to see what babies got well enough to go home while I was gone and whether we got any new ones to take their places. There was one baby I was worried about when I was leaving, and I am hoping that my return tonight finds him either home with his family or on his way home this week. And I missed my coworkers a little bit and can't wait to show off my tan!

Oh, and I have restarted Weight Watchers yet again because being the fat girl on the beach is a humbling experience. And Bill and I are talking about actually trying to get pregnant in the next few months (I asked if we could use August and September to get in shape and then start trying in October, and he was amenable to that), so I would like to lose some of this non-baby weight before I have to put on some baby weight. I don't know that I am 100% ready to have a baby, but I also know that we are not getting any younger, and in October, we will have been married two years, and it's never really the right time to have a baby, and I know I do want to be a mom. So after a nice discussion last night about just when this will fit into our lives, it seems like we will be trying that out sooner, rather than later.

Okay, I think that is my entire update for y'all. Check with me on Thursday, when I am once again sick of working and once again longing for the beach! Actually, I should be okay for a while. This is, after all, just where I should be...

Brave

2008-07-08T09:51:00.002-04:00

I believe I may have discussed before how I don't like to call customer service lines and ask for, well, customer service because I hate talking to people I don't know on the phone. I have gotten better at this since entering the working world, as I have often had to answer phones without knowing who was on the other end, but I still don't like it much. When I was in middle and high school, I didn't even like to call and order Domino's Pizza...this is how bad my discomfort with talking to strangers on the phone was.

Today, I had to call two different customer service lines. And I survived it...I am so brave!

The first call was to our cable provider. We have two cable boxes in our house, and one of them has a DVR. We also have two remotes for these cable boxes. The first remote stopped working a couple of years ago, but the second still worked, so Bill did nothing about it (this was before I lived here). The second finally crapped out last night. We are now in the midst of a cable television emergency. We can get up and change channels by hand, but we can't surf the guide to find what we want to watch, we can't on-demand any movies or television shows, and worst of all, we can't use the DVR. This has to stop! I called customer service today and inquired about getting some new remotes. And as soon as I finish blogging and take a shower, I am heading up to their office to pick up some new remotes...the kind that work.

The second call was to my auto insurance company...well, I should say my former auto insurance company. Being the slacker and procrastinator that I am, I never combined my auto insurance with Bill's auto insurance. As a result, we have been overpaying for this service for the last 21 months. He finally got a quote from the company that holds our homeowner's insurance policy for us to have a combined plan, and the prices were, obviously, much better. We stand to save about $90 per month on our auto insurance from what we were paying for our two plans combined, and we will save $120 per year on our homeowner's plan since we now get a multiple policy discount. However, I knew this would be a tricky call to make, as they are not going to let a customer go without a fight.

I stood strong. I refused any offers to give me a quote on a combined plan with Bill or a homeowner's plan. I thanked them for their years of good service, remained firm that I wanted to cancel, and sealed the deal. And because I had already paid for this month, I will even get a refund. And I will use that refund to buy myself something pretty.

After all, I deserve it as a reward for my bravery.

Guilt

2008-07-03T09:11:00.002-04:00

Ever since my husband gave me my new Nikon D40x camera for our first anniversary, I have looked forward to the day that I could get a longer lens for my camera. This week, I have found that I have a little spare money in my paycheck. After carefully crunching numbers last night, I realized that it was in this paycheck that I had the money I need to buy the lens, and I am heading up to the local mall to the camera store there to buy it today.

And this is where the guilt sets in...and it is also where I realize how far I have come.

Back in the day (when the credit cards were still heavily in use), if I wanted something of this cost (it's about $250), I would get it. I didn't get something that cost that much every pay, but if I wanted something badly enough (sometimes even not that badly), I didn't make any effort to save up money for it. Instead, I waited until I had a month when I wasn't charging quite as much on my credit cards, and I charged it.

Bad, I know.

Now, I have a budget spreadsheet saved on my Google account on which I track every penny I earn and every penny I spend. Therefore, I was able to lay out my expected expenses for the next two weeks on my spreadsheet today, compare those expenses with the income I received from my job at the hospital (YAY, OVERTIME!) and my job at Bath and Body Works, and see what kind of wiggle room I have for this pay period. I already set aside $300 from my last paycheck to take to Florida in a week and a half (July 12-19 in the Clearwater area with my mom, sister, and grandma - YEAH, BABY!!!!), and I found that this pay I had enough to pay my bills, pay for the extensions to our septic tank access (so we never have to dig down to those suckers again), and pay for my other expenses for the week (gas, food), as well as a decent cushion to put away for miscellaneous costs. This is mostly because our economic stimulus payment is going toward a black cloud of debt that we had hanging over our heads that is not there anymore (Thank you, President Bush!). So I can afford the lens. And I am going to buy it. Today.

However, there is a little niggling guilt in my head. Am I in a position right now to buy myself something that costs $250? Should I use that money for something else? Should I put it in my ING account to let it grow? Do I deserve the lens?

And that, my friends, clinches it. I have been working my ass off all summer, fitting overtime in wherever I am able to fulfill the bonus contract I signed for the summer months. Next week, I am scheduled for TWENTY-FOUR hours over my normal schedule. I did that because the next week, I head to Florida to spend some time relaxing. But I am doing my fair share, plus some, to bring money into this household.

I deserve it. And I am going to buy it. Today.

Just as soon as I wake up from my nap...

Sun Seeking

2008-06-09T13:34:00.002-04:00

I went out into the 90,000,000 degree, 70,000% humidity morning, on my way to the grocery store to restock our fridge and pantry. We were long out of lunchmeat, our snack stores had been depleted, and our milk had an expiration date of 5/30. It was time.

While grumbling about the heat as I wound my way along the roads on the mountain we call home, I passed a yard that was full of dandelions.

The face of every single one of those yellow flowers was pointing up and to the east, turned right to the sun. It was an amazing sight to see.

It put a smile on my face, even as I felt a trickle of sweat making its way down my back.

Isn't nature amazing?

Mary, in pictures...

2008-06-07T11:03:00.003-04:00

I found this cool post on the blog slackermama.com, whose posts I get send to my Google Reader because I am friends with Miss Zoot. She used Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of pictures that make up who she is.

I had to try it. So without further ado, I give you my mosaic:

1. Proud Mary, 2. day 63: french fries, 3. The Freedom (to Be), 4. Gizmo, 5. Vince Vaughn, 6. Just a daisy, 7. Snow White, 8. Creme Brulee, 9. Yearning for Spring, 10. duck to duck to duck..., 11. Comfortable*, 12. a sign?

How to make your own:

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
Using only the first page, pick an image.
Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker.

My answers:

What is your first name? Mary
What is your favorite food? French fries
What high school did you go to? Freedom
What is your favorite color? Red
Who is your celebrity crush? Vince Vaughn
Favorite drink? margarita
Dream vacation? Disney World
Favorite dessert? creme brulee
What you want to be when you grow up? nurse
What do you love most in life? My family
One Word to describe you. stressed
Your flickr name. M. Thom

Have fun!

Unbelievable

2008-06-07T10:38:00.003-04:00

It was a tough week in the NICU because there is a family we are working with who suffered a horrible loss this week. I can't give more details than that, obviously, because of our privacy guidelines, but I just kind of wanted to put it out there.

If you are someone who prays or sends good vibes or thinks good thoughts or anything else in that neighborhood, please remember a family in the Lehigh Valley who could really use it this week.

Thanks!

Over-the-shoulder Boulder Holder

2008-06-02T10:47:00.003-04:00

I might go into the area of things you don't need to know about me right now, also known as TMI.

That's your only warning.

Anyhoo, I am currently rocking the sports bra right now, complete with uni-boob because the other night at work, I finally decided I had had ENOUGH. If the indentations from the underwire at the side of my, um, "girls" were any indication, my bra was NOT fitting me. I have long had issues with bras (buying the wrong size, buying the wrong fit, buying cheap bras, etc.), and I thought I had found a solution. I went from wearing a 38C to a 40D, and I thought all would be right with the world.

I was wrong.

In the back of my mind, after enduring the pain of about 18 hours in a bra that wasn't particularly comfortable from the moment I put it on that day, I decided I had to do something. I went on-line, Google'd the term "bra sizing," and learned a somewhat painful lesson.

I am supposed to be wearing a 42DD (42E to some manufacturers).

That would explain why the underwires were trying to permanently mark up my bosom. I have been wearing the wrong size.

When I met Bill, I had a large collection of beautiful bras in size 38B. I also had quite an outstanding balance on my Victoria's Secret credit card. And I had matching underwear for all those bras. And also some slightly skewed priorities (Hey, I was young and looking for a man. Don't judge.).

After a few years (and more than a few pounds), I moved up to a 38C. I had gained some extra boobage, and I needed a larger cup. I bought more beautiful bras and matching underwear. I ended up with a larger balance on the credit card.

I went to nursing school. I gained 35 pounds. I started working as a nurse. I needed white bras and underwear to go under my white uniforms (although we get to wear those fun print scrub tops in the NICU, so I don't have to wear the whole white deal like some nurses do).

I moved up to a 40D. Initially, everything felt good. The girls had more room, the band seemed to fit much better, and I was pretty darn comfortable.

Lately, it has not been so. I haven't really gained any more weight (although I have not lost any either), but the bras I have are not fitting. And I am down to about four bras total (none of which really fit) because I finally got rid of most of the old beautiful ones that were just taking up room in my drawer). And since I can't handle this uni-boob look, I am going to do something about it. I know what I should be wearing...I am going to go TRY ON SOME BRAS (What? You have always done this? Well, I never have. Don't judge.), and I am hoping that when I go into work tomorrow night, I will be wearing something that is not torturing me and leaving bruises and red marks on the sides of my boobs.

This is my dream.

Doesn't every woman deserve that?

Quick updates...

2008-05-30T17:10:00.002-04:00

The septic tank has been pumped out. Five years of waste added up to 1200 gallons and $258. We (Bill) dug our (his) own hole. We are still working on paying off our federal taxes (don't even ask), so we definitely were not going the pay-more-for-them-to-dig-the-hole route. I am so relieved to have it done...hopefully for four or five more years!

I saw the new Sex and the City movie today. I went to the 10:15 AM show with my mom, which means I went to the third possible showing at our movie theatre. I don't recall ever in the past going to see a movie during the day on it's opening day. The best word I can think of to describe this movie is "perfect." If you were a fan of the girls during their HBO days, then you will love this movie. And that is all I will say because I don't want to give away any spoilers!!

Asinine

2008-05-23T14:38:00.002-04:00

One of the joys of living in the mountains (and I am inserting every drop of dripping sarcasm you can imagine into the mention of said joys) is that we don't have the ability to be hooked up to a city sewer line. Instead, we have a septic pump and tank and a sand mound in our front yard (terraced nicely into the front yard, but in the front yard just the same). I didn't know much about how all this worked until this week. I knew that I flushed my toilet, the waste went bye-bye, and something involving the sand mound and the septic system took care of it.

However, one of the joys of having such a system is that you have to get it pumped out every so often. For the average family of four, they recommend every two to three years. Well, Bill has been in this house for five years, and this has never been done. Mind you, four people have never lived in this house at the same time, but this week we decided that we should take care of this, as I don't really want to miss my guess on how long we have before the whole system backs up into the basement. Better to be proactive and get it taken care of, I thought.

Bill called one of the companies that can do this dirty (literally) job for you, and he was greeted with some questions that he didn't know the answers to. The first was about the size of our tank. Don't know. The second was whether we wanted them to dig it out or if we would do that ourselves.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

All this time, I was under the apparently mistaken impression that the white PVC pipe with a cap that was sticking out of our front yard was the place that they stuck their hose in to suck up whatever happened to be hanging out in our septic tank. Well, it turns out I was wrong. Instead, somewhere anywhere from five inches to two feet underground, our septic tank lies. Make that our septic tanks, actually. The first one receives the solids, which settle out. The second processes the liquid in some way that makes it truly just liquids. And then it goes through a pump tank, before heading over to the sand mound to somehow percolate through and make it all good for heading back into the natural cycle of things.

Yeah, I got some good education this week.

To get the tank pumped out after having dug it out ourselves (clearly, by "ourselves," I mean by "himself") will be about $300. I have some room in my budget this pay (as the reason I haven't blogged much recently is because I am working all kinds of overtime right now), so this was not a tragedy. If we had them dig it out? ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!! Yeah, I don't have that kind of room.

My husband is out front right now, with a pick ax and a shovel, digging out said tanks. He has unearthed the first one, ONE AND ONE HALF FEET UNDERGROUND, and he is going in for the kill on the other one. He says it will be done tonight. I say that if he didn't live here with me, I would be out $1000. And then I would be putting this house on the market because this is NOT how I roll.

Our next home will be in a city. The kind with a sewer system.

Smörgåsbord

2008-05-04T15:52:00.002-04:00

I can't figure out just what I want to blog about today.

Is it that I have received in the mail this week $16 worth of checks for surveys that I have filled out on-line?

Is it that my family and I walked in the MS Walk today, which was about 4 miles?

Is it that my mom's cousin and her husband came out to the Lehigh Valley to walk with us in the MS Walk?

Is it that we brought Otto to the walk with us, and he behaved himself, and he walked like a gentleman, and he seemed to have a great time, and now he is passed out in my bed?

Is it that I cut myself with a bagel knife on the palm of my hand and had to use my nursing skills to bandage it up with some butterfly strips and a big band-aid?

I guess it's all of those things...and now they have been shared!

How you know you've totally lost it...

2008-04-29T21:29:00.002-04:00

You visit your friend's new baby's website, and when you sign the guestbook, you write your comment as if the 3 week and 2 day old baby is sitting at the computer reading what you are saying. Who needs to send comments to Sarah when Riley's around to read them?

I really need to get some more sleep!

After he worked so hard to get his smell just right...

2008-04-16T10:20:00.004-04:00

Here, I have for you one wet dog, as he paused on the trail of frantic-running-around-the-house-trying-to-get-his-smell-back.

The first bath of Spring...not Otto's finest hour. But necessary, just the same!

Two things I love...

2008-04-14T12:43:00.004-04:00

I have been finding new things here on the Web that make me super-duper happy. The first is Google Reader, which I have finally figured out how to use. Actually, I knew how to use it all along, but I didn't know the super easy way to add things to the Reader, so I was lazy about adding blogs to my line-up. Now that I have figured out what the little "Subscribe to this page..." button is all about, I have successfully added almost all my favorite blogs to my reader. This means I have been able to add even more blog feeds to the Reader because I am not wasting so much time visiting blogs that have not updated. Well, I am still wasting time, I guess...but it's a better waste of time now!

The second is something is both thrilling to me and a little pathetic. And it happens over on Facebook. Facebook has an application called Pieces of Flair on it. Basically, your profile gets an old school cork bulletin board on it, and you can hang flair on it (If you have never seen the movie Office Space, flair is basically the pins that people who work at restaurants like TGIFriday's wear on their uniforms. There is a restaurant in that movie that is sort of a mockery of Friday's. And if you haven't seen that movie, you really need to. Now.). You can send flair to other people, and this gives you credits to get your own flair. I have become addicted to flair. I have a serious problem.

I present to you My Flair...

Clearly, I am running out of room and will soon have to start prioritizing my flair. Is Mary Poppins less important than Coach Taylor? Do I like Crocs or Uggs better? Do I need two LOL Cats, or will one do? Is one Yankees button enough? Is it really necessary to declare with flair my love for Firefox?

I don't have to go back to work until Wednesday night. And that's good news because it appears my brain is busy enough...

Not Pennsylvania's Greatest Legacy

2008-04-05T20:32:00.002-04:00

On Friday, instead of sleeping, which I should have been doing in preparation for work that night, I decided to step right outside my comfort zone and watch the Oprah episode that was dedicated to puppy mills and other problems with pet overpopulation. I initially did not want to watch this episode because the whol puppy mill thing is something I prefer to file away in my mind, along with things like the genocide in Darfur and the fact that the polar ice caps are melting, to be more or less ignored because to do otherwise would cause in me paralyzing anxiety. However, I decided to rise above that tendency and do the right thing and watch this show.

Wow.

First of all, the director of Main Line Animal Rescue, who put the bug in Oprah's ear about doing this show, operates his organization practically in my backyard. I am in awe of this man. While I don't seem to have it in me to dedicate my life to one cause like this (I prefer to dabble), I am so impressed by those who did. He makes me proud to be from PA.

The puppy mill owners of Lancaster and Chester Counties? Not so much. They are also practically in my backyard, and I have to say that it is hard to hear that Pennsylvania is one of the top producers of puppy mill dogs. As much I like to ignore what is probably the truth, the little puppies that I fawn over at the pet store in my mall are probably from puppy mills. My own Otto is from a backyard breeder who is a friend-of-a-friend. While my family has rescued dogs in the past, we have also had pet store puppies. Clearly, we are not doing what we could.

I plan to look into volunteering at a local animal shelter as soon as I do some research into where I want to go. And I plan to never again bring into my home an animal that is not a rescue (although I will be quite honest and say that I would not trade Otto for anything). And I will spread the word.

Won't you do the same?

Small Victories

2008-03-29T07:14:00.002-04:00

The first kind of cool thing that happened this week was that I needed new front brakes on my car (not the cool part), and I had the CASH ON HAND to pay for their installation, plus an oil change (the cool part). That has NEVER happened to me, the being-able-to-pay-cash-for-an-emergency thing. I have ALWAYS had to resort to credit cards. I was probably a little disproportionately proud of myself.

The second cool thing is that I paid off two credit cards this very morning. They weren't the big, multi-thousand-dollar balance credit cards. But they were credit cards just the same. Take that, Sleepy's and Old Navy (Incidentally, I paid off the Sleepy's card within the 12 months of free financing they offered me when I bought my new mattress last summer, so I lost no money to those credit card people! SQUEEEEEEEE!).

And the third cool thing is that I tallied up my current credit card debt on the handy spreadsheet that my husband and I made up at the beginning of February, which was designed to kick us in the head and make us puke and show us that perhaps we should do more saving and less spending, at least for a little while, you don't need those shoes, m'kay? And I have paid off roughly $1000 of credit card debt in the past two months. And in that time, I have also saved $1000 to put toward our rather large federal tax bill (Let's just say that claiming 4 on my W-4 was the WRONG THING TO DO, so now we are paying for it, and I already changed my federal withholding for this year, thanks!).

I am sure the pride will wear off by the time I get my next credit card statement, but for now I feel good!

Bandwagon

2008-03-25T12:45:00.003-04:00

I am always quick to join a trend. Actually, I will join things that aren't even trends. If something seems like it has any chance of becoming a trend, I am there. This has enriched my life many times. Other times, it is just plain exhausting.

One of the first bandwagons I ever joined was back in the year 2000, while living with my best friend from high school in my very first apartment. She, along with another friend, decided to try her hand at on-line dating. At the time, it was not yet a trend. Instead, it was something you never admitted, to anyone, ever. That other friend and I both met our husbands on-line. Our code name for it was "in a bar." Interestingly, my roommate actually did meet her husband in a bar. And the on-line dating was her idea to begin with. Anyway, following that trend-to-be brought me my husband, my two stepsons, a huge extended family, some wonderful friends, a home of my own in a town that I don't particularly love, a great dog, and many, many happy times. It was a great bandwagon to jump on!

A potential bandwagon that is on my mind quite often right now is the one that involves having children. Both of the friends from that first bandwagon? They are both pregnant right now. One is due with her first any day now, and the other is having her second in July. I am not pregnant. I am not making any strides toward getting pregnant. I don't know that I really want to get pregnant right now. However, this is a topic that occupies a lot of my thought. I know I want children, someday. However, I am going to be 32 years old next month, so someday doesn't seem as long as it once was. I am happy to take care of other people's babies all night and come home to a day of sleep with my dog. But once in a while, when cuddling a little one close while I feed him at night, I wonder what it would be like to have one of my own. It hasn't helped that, recently, the statement "everyone I know is pregnant" is hardly an understatement. There are those two friends from high school, another friend from high school, three of the girls I work with, a cousin, several other acquaintances...I am surrounded! Add to that the people who have recently had babies (two other coworkers, another cousin, two good friends, several other acquaintances, my brother-in-law's wife), and the numbers get to be a little ridiculous. While I haven't seen any signs that scream "PROCREATE NOW," I am starting to think this is a bandwagon I will want to get on sooner, rather than later. Not right now...but not too far from right now either.

Another bandwagon that I am hitching myself too (or trying to, anyway) is this whole green living thing. I am the girl who read Fifty Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth back in high school when the 20th anniversary of Earth Day was being celebrated and decided that it was my job to save the earth. I led the Spork Revolt back in high school, during which we successfully campaigned to get rid of the prepackaged spork/napkin/straw combo being used in our cafeteria and go back to real silverware. I recycled like a madwoman, and I preached my message to all who would listen. And then I got...lazy. I am trying to overcome the lazy, but it's hard! Some things are simple. We switched over to compact fluorescent light bulbs. We recycle...and I even wash out and recycle things like mayonnaise and peanut butter jars, which I did not used to do. And I bought some reusable grocery bags...although I am just as likely to realize when I reach the checkout that they are in the car, not in my cart. However, I save all my plastic grocery bags and bring them back to the store for their recycling bin. And I would say that about half the time the reusable bags make it into the store with me, which is better than the former no times at all.

Another topic that I find very interesting (and which is related to that baby-making bandwagon that I am pondering joining) is cloth diapering. When I was in high school, I baby-sat for one family that cloth diapered. It involved folding a diaper, pinning it on the kid, and covering it with a pair of plastic pants. When the diaper was dirty, it had to be dunked in the toilet before being placed in the diaper pail. I swore then and there that I would never cloth diaper. However, while perusing a new message board on The Nest called "The Eco-Friendly Family," I learned a few things. First of all, cloth diapers are now much easier than before. The options out there will make your head spin. There are those old-fashioned options, which some still use. But there are also pre-fitted diapers and all-in-one diapers and pocket diapers. There are covers with cute designs and covers handmade out of wool and covers that snap and covers that Velcro. There are diapers that seem to be no harder than disposables to use, until you get to the laundry...and even then, it doesn't seem too bad! I definitely think this could be a possibility for us. The space saved in a landfill speaks to me, but speaking to me even more loudly is the money that will be saved in the long run by cloth diapering. And also, there is the cute factor! I am all about the cute factor!

So there's your update on some of the things that are on my mind right now. At night, when I am at work and things are quiet, I have plenty of time to think. And these are some of the topics that my mind makes its way around to...always looking for another bandwagon to hitch myself to.

Nirvana

2008-03-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

My husband is out of town, and I am off for the first night this week. I went to the grocery store on my way home to pick up a New York Strip Steak and a baking potato and made that for dinner. I opened up a bottle of wine. I am eating dinner while reading blogs. I already watched Top Chef on the DVR, and next on the list are Celebrity Fit Club and The Gauntlet III.

Bliss.

I am just living the dream.

Success!

2008-03-10T16:51:00.003-04:00

Good news! Verizon Wireless gave me a $50 credit on my cell phone bill...they refunded my money! Their reasoning wasn't exactly spot on (the communication from them cited my long-standing relationship with them and good payment history...not my extended warranty), and I sort of come out of it looking like a diva who demanded a new cell phone, but instead of prolonging this by pointing out ONCE AGAIN the extended warranty thing, I am going to let it lie. I am just thrilled to have gotten my money back.

Verizon Wireless, you are back in my good graces once again!

A painful lesson...

2008-03-07T21:19:00.002-05:00

Last evening, something unfortunate happened. My cell phone ceased working. When I say it ceased working, I don't mean the battery went dead or the antenna couldn't pick up a signal or the buttons stopped working. I mean that the phone, when turned on, gave me what I playfully called the White Screen of Death, and then the Verizon Wireless symbol came onto the screen and stayed there. Not. Good.

However, I have been paying $1.99 per month for an extended warranty since I got this particular phone (the LG Chocolate Cherry) in January. Therefore, even though the phone was two months past the end of the initial warranty, I assumed that I would get a replacement phone for free. In my optimism, I thought I might even get the updated Chocolate, which is a much better phone, since the original is not available anymore.

You know what they say happens when you assume...

I headed off to my friendly, local Verizon Wireless dealer today. The nice representative there concurred that the phone was, in fact, dead, and he directed me to go to another location where they had technical support to get my new phone, since I shared with him that my phone was under an extended warranty. He even also said that perhaps I would get the newer one if the old version was not available. I remained optimistic throughout this time.

Then , I got to the technical support location. And the glass began to look less full.

Within the first six months that I owned this phone, the keypad, which is one large piece of plastic overlying the entire keypad (all ten numbers, the *, and the #), cracked right over the 5. As the ensuing eight months went by, the crack grew larger, and the area over the 5 broke right off. The phone was still usable, although it was a P.I.T.A. to use and difficult to dial a 3 or a 5. However, I was prepared to suck it up and keep using it until I was eligible for a new phone in September.

That all changed yesterday.

After agreeing that my phone was irreparably damaged, the technician told me it would cost $50 to replace it. I pointed out my ace in the hole, the extended warranty. And that is when he sounded the death knell on my free replacement phone.

It appears that the structural damage to the phone means that the phone would cost $50 to replace, with or without the extended warranty, even though the reason I was seeking a replacement had nothing to do with the crappy quality of the keypad. He said that I could call customer service and seek out other options, but what he could offer me was the same make and model of phone I was turning in, at a $50 replacement cost. He seemed pretty firm.

I use only my cell phone to make calls. I didn't really want to wait to get a new phone. I went ahead and paid the $50.

I then came home, went right to the Verizon Wireless website, and sent them an e-mail pointing out how asinine this whole experience was and requesting that they refund that $50. Clearly, they are not going to give that phone to someone else. The guts of the phone DO NOT WORK. And they weren't even able to retrieve one piece of information from the phone's memory (which was another problem altogether). The thing is dead...no matter what the keypad looks like.

I haven't heard from them yet. However, I have had excellent customer service experiences with Verizon Wireless in the past, and I am cautiously optimistic that they will come through for me now. If I have to throw around my 9+ years as their customer and breakdown how much money I have paid to them over the years (easily over $10,000 in that time frame), I will. I just wanted a free phone with my extended warranty.

Was that too much to ask?

My DVR won't be the same without you...

2008-02-17T10:15:00.001-05:00

I love me some Coach Taylor. And I want to keep on loving him right into the new season. Do the right thing, NBC.

Casey Economic Summit

2008-02-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

When Bill and I got married, we opted to keep our finances separate for a couple of reasons. The first is that, as a non-custodial father, he has child support obligations every month that must be paid. I didn't want my money mixed in to that. The second is that I brought with me a good amount of credit card debt to the marriage, and I didn't want his money mixed in with that. Therefore, we divided up our co-expenses what we both thought was pretty equally, and that has worked pretty well for us.

Last week, Bill took a look at what we were each paying into things and became concerned that he was getting the short end of the stick. When looking at a ration of what he pays to what I pay, compared to what he makes and what I make, he thought that perhaps he was paying more than would be fair considering our original plan. Therefore, yesterday we had a little economic summit to set things straight.

The first thing that happened is that we discovered that we are, in fact, paying the correct amount toward our household expenses. He makes about 40% more than I do and pays about 40% more than I do. The second thing that happened is that we wrote down all of our credit card debt and set a plan for how to deal with it.

I had not ever put a real number on what I owe to credit card companies, although I had an idea in my mind. I also had never told Bill what the true number was, or even a ballpark figure. Because I was so intent on it being my debt for my to deal with, I didn't even want to get into it with him. However, yesterday, we laid it all out on the table. It was an ugly picture, but at least we are on the same page about it now.

I really would like to cash in one some of our home equity and deal with this Right Now. However, everything I have read suggests that option is merely a band-aid and that it is important first to learn to live without credit cards. After all, if you use home equity to pay off debt, what is to stop you from running the debt right back up? Instead, it is best to learn not to incur more debt so that using home equity to pay it off can be more of a solution, as opposed to a temporary fix. Therefore, this year, we will use a snowball method to pay off our smaller debts, while chipping away at the larger ones. And next year, we will look into a home equity loan to pay off some or all of the rest, after having learned to live without credit cards.

Regardless, it feels good to be on the same page and to have a plan with my husband as my partner. This must be what being a grown up feels like...

TV Time

2008-01-22T19:09:00.000-05:00

The night I have been waiting for since, um, last Tuesday is here! Law and Order: SVU is all new tonight, and as it has the last few weeks, it promises to be phenomenal.

I have always favored SVU over the other Law and Order incarnations. It was something about how much I enjoy Mariska Hargitay and how hot Christopher Meloni looks when he runs after bad guys (I honestly said something like this last week to my husband - "YAY! He's chasing them! This is my favorite part!"). However, what with the complete lack of new episodes of my favorites, I have been even more into SVU. And the previews for tonight look amazing. I can't wait to see it!

I will probably fall asleep before it's over because that's how I roll. However, my DVR will keep it safe for me until morning!

Sigh...I love TV!

A real prize...

2008-01-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

I am a member of Blingo, which is basically a search engine that gives you an opportunity to win something with every search. In December, I won two different $5 Amazon gift certificates, and I had tucked them away for a rainy day.

Today, I was adding a new element to the sidebar of my blog, Dream a Little Dream. This is basically my wishlist...things that I would buy myself if I were using my credit cards right now and not being a good little budgeter. When I went over to Amazon to find out the real, true, full-length name of the next lens I hope to get for my new camera, I found that the nice people at Adobe had come out with a new version of Photoshop Elements, and the version on my wishlist, version 5, was on sale. The lowest price for a new copy was $25. When subtracting my $10 in winnings from Blingo, that meant I could get Photoshop Elements 5, which once retailed for $99 on Amazon, for $15. So I bought it! And the shipping was only $3.99! And I can't wait for it to get here so I can play with it!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I love surprises like that!

Some things I don't need...

2008-01-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

I tend to spend money on a lot of the same things. And they are all things that I don't need. To remind myself of this fact, I thought I would blog about it...with the thought that maybe when I see it in print, I will know it is true. Maybe.

So here we go...things I don't need:

More yarn - I have so many projects started (by projects, I mean scarves), and I have other yarn waiting to be made into projects (scarves). I don't need any more...not this year, and maybe not ever.
T-shirts - My favorite t-shirt is the Cherokee Ultimate Tee, available at Target. It comes in short-sleeved, 3/4-sleeve, and long-sleeved varieties. The latter two are on sale right now for $7...but I don't need them! I have a drawer dull of the short-sleeved ones and a drawer full of the long-sleeved ones. I DON'T NEED ANYMORE! I need to stop buying them. As an aside, I probably need to stop going to Target altogether...but when I am there, I need to stops buying these t-shirts.
Anything from Wawa, other than gas - I am a big fan of Wawa sandwiches. They have the screen where you order your sandwich the way you want it, and they create it for you fresh. My mom and I often get lunch there on Fridays before bowling. I don't need to go there any other time.
Books - I have about ten books lying around that I have not yet read. And I have a library card. I don't need to buy more books.
20 oz. bottles of soda - I don't need to throw a soda in my cart when I at the grocery store, just because the refrigerator is right there. I have cans of soda at home that work just as well. The only exception to this is an occasional soda from the soda machine at work. However, even that should be kept to a minimum because I am allowed to bring cans of soda to work from home...and that is what I should do.
Fast food - I need to keep my fast food consumption down to one every two or three weeks. This week, I have hit the drive thru at McDonald's no less than three times. That adds up, and it isn't the healthiest food out there!

That should be enough to get me started. Now, I am going to go read a book from the library and do some knitting with yarn I already own. And I will be drinking a can of soda that I got out of my garage. For lunch, I will eat a sandwich made of lunchmeat I already have in my refrigerator. And when I go to work later, I will wear a Cherokee Ultimate Tee that I already own...not one that I made a special trip to Target to buy since it was on sale.

Looks like it will be a busy day...

The first snag in my plan...

2008-01-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

While I was updating my budget spreadsheet in preparation for getting paid on Thursday, I realized I left my electric bill out of the budget for the entire year. So my budget, which was already leaning more toward money out and less toward money in (it's going to be the Year of Overtime, along with the Year of Getting My Shit Together, it seems), is even more unbalanced now. Thank goodness we have oil heat and not electric. I did budget for the oil. And the electric bill is not usually more than $80.

Of course, that it $80 that I don't have.

I hate money.

Well, this is kind of cool...

2008-01-12T07:41:00.000-05:00

I awoke this morning to an e-mail from Karen White, the author who wrote two of the books I raved about on my Fall Into Reading wrap-up post. It seems she had been googling her name and came across my blog post. Here's what she had to say...

"Hi!

I was just googling my name and came across your blog.

I'm the author of The Color of Light and Learning to Breathe and thank you so much for reading them and then blogging about them!

I, too, love to scrapbook and also love to read (and write) books set near water. You might be interested in my book Pieces of the Heart (2006) which takes place on a lake in the NC mountains as well as my March 2008 book, The Memory of Water, which is set in the South Carolina lowcountry on the coast in McClellanville, SC. The cover has a beautiful beach scene--check it out on my website www.karen-white.com.

If you'd like to be notified of when I have a new book out, please sign up here: Karen White, Author : Join Mailing List .

Thanks again, and happy reading!

Warm regards,

Karen White"

Well, you could have just knocked me over with a feather! This made my weekend! And I loved her books so much that I am, of course, going to want to read anything new as soon as it comes out, so as soon as I am done blogging about this, I am heading over to join her mailing list!

I love the Blogosphere!

My Fall Reading Wrap-Up

2008-01-11T06:13:00.000-05:00

Back in September, I signed up for the Fall Into Reading 2007 challenge, hosted by Katrina at Calapidder Days. Through that challenge, I listed ten books that I planned to read before winter came. Later on the in the fall, I added an eleventh book, and I didn't get to two of the books. First, let's talk about the ones I did read...

What Matters Most by Luanne Rice

Luanne Rice is on my list of favorite authors (along with Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Weiner, and Nicholas Sparks), and her books never disappoint me. This book was a sequel to the only Luanne Rice book I had ever had trouble reading, Sandcastles. For some reason, I just was not getting into that book. Well, reading What Matters Most changed that all for me. It was a great sequel, and it made me glad that I had read the first one. I have to declare the two books together to be another success from Luanne Rice!

74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber

This is the seventh book in a series about the residents of a town called Cedar Cove. I love when authors use the same characters for a series of books. When I finish a book, I am often sad if I am not going to be able to find out what happens next in a character's life. Luckily, many of my favorite authors tie their novels together using characters who either cross each other's paths or live in the same area or are related in some way, so there is enough character overlap in the books to keep me happy. This is a fun series that could definitely be described as light reads...but I love them!

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

This book caught my attention on a table at Barnes & Noble one day. I picked it up because it had a beach scene on the cover. I love reading books that happen near the water...be it coastal New England, the Chesapeake Bay area, the Outer Banks, a big lake in the Catskills. I love them all. Therefore, the cover made me pick it up. The description got the sale. It is about a woman who escapes her mediocre life by answering a personal ad and moving, sight-unseen, to a small village on Mount Desert Island, ME. My ancestors are from a small village on Mouth Desert Island, and we use to vacation there every summer when I was growing up. And it is one of my favorite places on earth. I often have thought about how wonderful it would be to just move up there to get away from it all, and this character did it for me. It was the first book by this author I have read, and it will not be the last.

Here if You Need Me: A True Story by Karen Braestrup

I read an excerpt of this book in Yankee Magazine, and I was drawn to the description. Karen Braestrup is a woman whose husband, a state trooper in Maine, was killed in the line of duty. He dreamed of going to seminary and becoming a minister and serving as a prison chaplain. She went to seminary in his honor and in his place, and she ended up being a chaplain to game wardens in Maine. This book was very moving, and her courage in a time of sadness is amazing. I definitely enjoyed reading her story, even though I am more of a fiction girl!

Between the Tides and Losing the Moon by Patti Callahan Henry

These books (along with a third that I didn't finish reading yet, When Light Breaks) were ones I found on Amazon, after going through their recommendations for me. I had not read anything by this author, and when I looked in bookstores near my home, I couldn't find any of her books. I ordered these from Amazon, and I am so glad I did. They are my kind of books...they take place by the water, they have strong and well-developed characters, they deal with human relationships, and they are enjoyable to read. If you are a fan of writers like Luanne Rice and Barbara Delinsky, you will love these books!

The Color of Light and Learning to Breathe by Karen White

I also found these two books via Amazon, and again, they were by an author I had not heard of. They had all the same elements as the books I mention above did, and I loved them just as much. I am adding Karen White to my list of must-reads, although I don't know that I can get her books around here.

(As an aside, I was able to get the books by the previous two authors at crazy-low used-book prices on Amazon. Even paying the individual shipping and handling charges for each seller, these books were ridiculously cheap. And they would have been worth full price!)

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

This book was not originally on my list. However, my basic rule is that I have to read any Nicholas Sparks books as soon as they are released. He is such an amazing author, and I have loved almost all of his books. I have not yet read At First Sight, but that is because I have developed some kind of mental block against it. It's prequel, True Believer, is the only Nicholas Sparks book that I have not liked, and I haven't yet gotten to it's follow-up. It's on my bookshelf...but it hasn't yet made it to my reading list.

The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans

This was another latecomer to the list. I was browsing the shelves at Barnes & Noble, checking up on some past favorite authors, and when I came to his section, I found this book that I had not yet read. It was another great read from this author (he wrote The Christmas Box, among other things), and I am really glad I found it!

So it looks like I read ten books throughout that fall challenge. I planned to read ten books, but since I added those last two books in, there are clearly two that I didn't get to. And here's what I have to say about them...

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

I have had this book for quite a while, and I just haven't started reading it yet. I pick it up and put it down and pick something else up and never get back to this book. I am a big Susan Elizabeth Phillips fan (and I love all her books that revolve in some way around the Dallas Stars football team), but for some reason, this one hasn't grabbed my attention yet. It's still on my bookshelf, awaiting my attention!

When Light Breaks by Patti Callahan Henry

I think I am almost saving this book because it's the last of the Patti Callahan Henry/Karen White books that I own. I don't want to be done with them, so I keep putting this last one off. I imagine I will love it as much as I loved the others. But after my trip to the library yesterday, I have some other stuff on my reading list, so I am going to put this away for a lazy, rainy day, so I can fully enjoy it!

And that's it! I can't imagine anyone will read all this, but thanks if you do! And special thank to Katrina for hosting this event! I will not be such a slacker about posting my wrap-up next time!

Working the budget...

2008-01-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

Before I begin, I have to tell you that about 500 Canada geese just flew over my house. It was one of the most bizarre things I have seen in a long time. I guess they are confused by the wacky weather we have been having!

Anyway, today I joined the library! One of my goals this year is to keep track of the number of books I read. So far, since January 1, I have read five. So I am averaging one every two days, which makes me think that I will find that I read well over 100 books per year. I often (very often) buy books, and other times I borrow them from my mom. Well, now I can borrow them from my library! I took out three books today, and I am looking forward to reading all of them...and to not having to pay $15 to $20 to buy them myself!

I just did my second food shopping trip of the pay period, and I kept to the $45 I had left in my $150 food budget. That involved prioritizing my purchases, writing down what I was spending as I picked things out (light bulbs and Infusium leave-in conditioner fell off the list when I hit my spending limit), and really looking at prices (I bought Scotch Brite scouring pads instead of Brillo pads because they were cheaper). I felt a real sense of accomplishment as I walked out of the grocery store, knowing that I had not been sucked in to overspending!

I have checked things out for the next week, and it looks like I am in good shape. I filled my gas tank today and still have $60 left in my gas budget. I have plenty of money for our night out on Friday night. And I don't really have any other expenses anticipated before my next paycheck is deposited in my bank account a week from today. If all goes well in the next week, this will be a credit card-free pay period...my first in a good, long while!

And now, if you will excuse me, I have some laundry to do. It's such an exotic life I lead!

Getting my shit together - pay period #1

2008-01-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

Today was my first paycheck of the new year. Therefore, it was also my first opportunity to visit my handy budget page, painstakingly created with the assistance of Google Spreadsheets, and plug in my income and take an inventory of what I was planning to pay out in bills and other expenses this pay. It was looking good. Considering my bills, my gas costs, and my grocery costs, along with the money I pay to bowl each week, I was looking at having about $50 left over this pay for incidentals. And if I can stick strictly to my budget, that's $50 I will be able to throw in my savings' account to go toward my New Lens Fund (which I will use to buy a longer lens for my new camera). Not too shabby...

Then I made the mistake of looking ahead the next several pays. And I started to have a little anxiety when I realized that my budget, for the most part, is about $200 more than my general take-home pay. Looks like somebody is going to be picking up some overtime. Thank goodness I have a job that gives me that option...

I headed out to do some grocery shopping today, and I actually planned it out so that I would go to two different grocery stores. The first was the Wal-Mart Supercenter that is on the way from my parents' house to my house. Let me start off by saying that I generally hate shopping at this Wal-Mart. First of all, it is enormous. It is totally unlike my beloved Wegman's, but the price is right. At Wal-Mart, you can get individual yogurts for $0.38 each. That is a seriously low price, my friends. You can get rice and sauce and noodle and sauce packets for less than $0.75 each. And because I am someone who has no brand loyalty whatsoever, Wal-Mart is a great place for me to shop. I followed up that trip to Wal-Mart with a quick stop at the beloved Wegman's. If I were rich, I would do all my grocery shopping there. It is such a pleasant shopping experience, with organized aisles, a clean store, short lines at the checkout (although I do like Wal-Mart's self-checkout option, and I didn't have to wait in a line there today), and wonderful, wonderful products. I went there specifically for lunch meat, American cheese, bread, and cheese to serve with crackers tonight when my in-laws come for dinner. I left there with all those things, along with the latest issue of People magazine. Hey, I didn't say I was perfect. But I did do a good job with my budget today.

I have budgeted $150 for two weeks of groceries, and I should be able to stick to that without much of a problem. I spent a little over $104 today between the two stores, and next week, I should only have to replenish my lunch meat, American cheese, and milk supply. The rest of the groceries should last until I get paid again. We do have Collin and Connor, along with their two siblings, staying with us this weekend because their mom is going out of town, so that could hit the food kind of hard. However, I am hoping that the fact that they will be out of the house all day on Saturday at a variety of basketball practices and games will mean that they will not be eating too much at our house. If not, I do have a little wiggle room to buy some more supplies for Bill and me for next week. But all in all, I would call today a success.

And now, I am going to go read my magazine...

My friends, I have big plans...

2008-01-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

I hereby declare the year 2008 to be...

(wait for it)

(drum roll, please)

The Year Mary Gets Her Shit Together.

After a year that I was not sad to see the end of, I am happy to see that 2008 has arrived. And I would like to start off this year by resolving to stop living a life bred from fear. I think that it is quite true that fear in some way dictates many of my actions...specifically a fear of change and a fear of doing things differently than I have before. How are those different? Let me explain...

A fear of change is pretty self-explanatory, I think. I don't like when things change. I don't deal well with new challenges. That can be a new house (still recovering from that one, and I have lived here since July 2006), a new marriage (still getting used to that one, a mere fifteen months in), a new job (almost one year down at this one, but still having plenty of anxiety about it), a writers' strike (WHEN can I get a new episode of The Office?), and anything in between. I have actually changed a lot of things in the past year and a half or so, and I am not completely paralyzed by those changes, so maybe I am doing okay. But maybe I also need to stop fixating on something that happened 18 months ago...maybe.

A fear of doing things differently than I have before is both broader and narrower than just a fear of change. This fear encompasses every little thing that happens in my life. I have to take care of a baby on a ventilator? Scary. I have to call someone I have never called before? A little scary. I have to stop using my credit cards and realize that just because I want a new pair of boots, I don't really need them? Scary. I have to actually pay attention to what I am eating and exercise a bit because I want to live a longer, healthier life? Scary!

The two biggest things I would like to tackle in 2008 are (I think you will be shocked) my over-all physical health and my over-all financial health.

My plan for the first is to go back to Weight Watchers and do my best to follow their program. I also plan to take my dog for walks at least four times each week (good for both Otto and me) (oh, and weather-permitting). And I plan to get back in the gym, which will cause me to no longer just be wasting those $50 per month and will get me in better shape and better spirits.

My plan for the second is to realize that I have some debt to repay, and I need to repay it. I don't need to buy new boots or a new purse or multiple lenses for my new camera. I don't need to go to Target weekly and spend $100 I don't have on stuff I don't need. I don't need to stop at Wawa every time I am on my way to work to spend $10 on snacks and drinks for the night. I don't need to stop in at CVS for a magazine, a pen, a lip gloss, and a Sudoku book. I don't need to eat McDonald's several nights per week. What I do need is to budget realistically. I need to look at the bills I have to pay each pay period, stick them in a spreadsheet (done), include other expenses like groceries and gas for my car (done), and actually follow that budget as religiously as is possible. When I pay all my bills and realize I have $400 left over for two weeks, I need to remember that other expenses will crop up before my next paycheck appears, and I should not commence spending said $400 on things I don't really need. I have spent a long time surrounding myself with things...and I am definitely scared about not doing things the way I have before. But I am more scared of my mounting debt and what it will mean ten years from now if it is still sitting there, compounding itself. Therefore, I have to take care of this now so I don't have to take care of it later.

Here's to getting my shit together in 2008! Here's to a life without (as much) fear! And here's to the 366 days we have to get it right before we celebrate New Year's all over again!

Good-bye (and a touch of good riddance) to 2007...

2007-12-30T18:51:00.000-05:00

It's been a hell of a month. First, we started off with the aftermath of the death of my parents' dog at the end of November. Because we are very much Dog People, this was a horrible time for us. She has about 14 years old and had been blind for five years, but she was an important part of our family, and we miss her.

Then, things got crazy with preparing for the holidays, and I got crankier and crankier, and I lost my holiday spirit. I got it back right in time for Christmas Eve. And Bill I spent Christmas Eve fighting (in the sense that I spent the entire thirty-minute drive home from my parents' party screaming at him at the top of my lungs...one of those fights). We recovered to have a very nice Christmas day, but fights like that are exhausting and a little disturbing, and I just don't like to have them.

On December 26, we found out that my mother's only sister, my grandmother's oldest daughter, my aunt and Godmother, who had been in the hospital since December 21 and had celebrated her birthday in the hospital on December 23, had passed away. She was 59 years old. The words "too soon" do not even begin to cover it. Life in her house has been very difficult in recent years because my uncle has a chronic illness that has basically taken over their lives. I don't think that there has been real happiness in that household for quite some time. And now my cousin is left, at the age of 32, to care for her father and settle the household affairs on her own...something I do not know that I could do. And my aunt is now at peace, hopefully enjoying a couple of games of cards with my grandfather and great-grandfather up beyond the pearly gates, but she is missed, and she will be missed always by those she left behind.

We just got home today from a trip to Long Island for the funeral. My sister was unable to attend, but my parents, my grandmother, and I made the trip together to say goodbye. I couldn't help but put myself in my mom's shoes and wonder what it would be like for me to have to say goodbye to my sister, who is my best friend and the person who knows me best in the entire world. I don't know that I could stand it. And I thought of what it would be like for my mother, to have to say goodbye to me or my sister, the way my grandmother had to say goodbye to her daughter. Again, I don't imagine that it could be withstood. And then I put myself in my cousin's shoes and imagined what it would be like to find myself without my mother at the age of 32. I can't imagine how I would go on. I can't even imagine wanting to.

We are lucky that we have family on the Island, and my grandmother's brother and his wife, along with their daughter and her family, opened their hearts and their homes to us and helped us through this difficult time. Uncle Brud and Aunt Loretta were there every minute for my grandmother as she said goodbye to her daughter, and my mom's cousin Barbara, along with her husband Rich and daughter Corrine, helped us to remember the good times and laugh and reminisce and realize just what it is that family is all about.

The Thomas branch of this family (that would be us) doesn't make it out to the Island that often to visit with the extended family. My grandmother lives in Florida now, and we have not been out to visit my aunt and her family in recent years, and there is not often a real concrete reason for us to make the trek out there to visit. We do get invited to family events and go to spend the day once in a while, but often other things get in the way, and it had been several years since I saw the people we reunited with during the funeral. Although the reason for the get-together was a sad one, as far as family times go, it was one of the best times I have ever had. It was amazing to see my traits reflected in my mom's cousins. It was fun to sit around and talk to people and get to see a side of them that I had not seen before. And it was amazing to see the number of family members who made the trip (sometimes several hours each way) to say goodbye to my aunt, their cousin or niece. It was a loud and rowdy group, and they joined together to see each other through a hard time. And at the center of that were my mom and my grandmother, being held up by these people that they don't even talk to that often. It was an amazing thing.

My husband comes from a large, close family, and we often spend time with them in large groups. Sometimes, in the past, I have felt a little jealous of the closeness that they share, as I don't think my family is as close as they are. But this weekend showed me that we are a lucky family because even if we don't see each other very often, there's a lot of love there. And when we needed our family this week, they were there for us. And isn't that what family is all about? It's not about who spend the most time together. It's about the ties that bind and who is there for you when the going gets tough.

I am proud to be a member of the Casey family, where my father-in-law is one of eleven children and holiday dinners can number upwards of 50 people. But I find myself after this weekend with renewed pride in my family as well, realizing that we know what family is all about and knowing that we share a lot of love, even if we don't see each other that often. I am lucky to have so many people to love me, and this weekend reminded me of that.

Rest in peace, Aunt Lynney. And may you always win at cards!

I seem to have found my holiday spirit again...

2007-12-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

I have not been posting this week because I have not been home...at all. Last weekend, while Bill was out of town, we got hit with an ice storm of the worst kind. Because we were expecting the bad weather, my mom invited me and Otto to come down so I could leave him there while I was working Saturday night. That way, if the weather was bad in the morning, I wouldn't have to worry about getting home to him with Bill out of town.

And I finally made it back home yesterday.

It was a long week.

The ice was several inches thick, and the weather remained cold, and Bill could do nothing about it. He had to park at the bottom of the rather long and steep driveway and monkey-crawl his way to the top each day. There was no way that I would be able to do that, so my mom let me and Otto stay. First, we were supposed to leave by Thursday. Then Friday became our time to go. And finally, Saturday morning, we got the boot, and I trekked on home with my dog.

My brother-in-law Brian had spent Friday with an axe, chipping away at the ice on the driveway. He cleared about a third of it. Then Bill came home Friday after work and joined in with a pick, and they got more done. When I got home Saturday morning they were not done. In fact, they were so not done that I fell twice in the 34 minutes I was home, landing once on my already-bruised tailbone (from a fall two weeks ago) and once mostly on my wrist (which is now sprained). When I got home from working at the mall and grocery shopping six hours later, it was much better, and I could walk up the driveway without falling. And after today (my stepsons joined in the fun and it is warmer and raining out), we should be able to drive up it with no problem.

I was left with little to no Christmas spirit as a result of this. I had with me one pair of extra underwear at my parents, one change of clothing, and some minimal toiletries. I had to do laundry every day and borrow scrubs from work just to keep myself clothed. I didn't have conditioner with me, and my mom doesn't use conditioner, so I had to scrounge around in the bathroom drawers to find little trial size packs. And once I made it home and fell those two times, I had to go to the mall and work for four hours amidst the rush of holiday shoppers on what is actually the busiest shopping day of the year (busier than Black Friday, although it is often believed that the reverse is true - studies show that the Saturday before Christmas is actually busier).

At the end of my shift, I headed over to the toy store (RED ALERT! RED ALERT! Big mistake!) to pick up a few small items, and then I went to Wegman's to pick up stuff to make spinach dip for a family gathering last night and also my holiday cookies. And then I came home, made it up my driveway without falling, and relaxed for a while before heading to Bill's grandmother's house for a family dinner to celebrate the birthdays of her and my younger stepson. Luckily, soon after being welcomed into the warmth of family, my general Scrooge-iness went away, and my normal cheerful demeanor returned. And today I got up and made my cookies and wrapped my gifts, and I think I am just about ready for the holiday! I just have a few more things to wrap and have to work one shift tonight at the hospital and one shift tomorrow at Bath and Body Works, and then I can relax at my parents' Christmas Eve party (where my friend Julie and I plan to get a little stupid drunk) and then wake up beside my husband on Christmas morning and celebrate a wonderful day together. For the past two Christmases (the one we were engaged and the first one we were married), I spent day shift working at the hospital on Christmas, so this will be very nice, indeed.

Have a merry, merry Christmas! May Santa bring you just what you want this year!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

2007-12-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

Today, we here in the Pocono Mountains got more of the white stuff. And after it snowed a couple of inches, it was kind enough to sleet and rain (and the rain was kind enough to freeze), and we were left with a nice fluffy snow cover with a less nice crust on top.

However, our neighbor has a four-wheeler with a plow, and he is the neighbor of the year because he cheerfully plows for us in exchange for a few beers and some conversation.

Anyway, I was scheduled to work at the mall today, and I am in the earning-as-much-money-as-possible mood, so I set out in my Subaru for Bath and Body Works under grey skies that were not yet precipitating.

That changed within the first two minutes of my journey.

By the time I pulled into the McDonald's that is ten minutes south of us, the road was covered.

I continued to brave the elements, however, and I made it to the mall. Some C-R-A-Z-Y people (mostly men who were thrilled by the lack of crowds) were, in fact, shopping, and our store was a mess, so it was a fruitful four hours. And I cleared a little over $25 (money is NOT in retail, people).

The trip home was less enjoyable, especially when I got to my neighborhood. However, I made it up the driveway and safely into the house.

And now I am enjoying this:

I was in the mood for a Red Bull and Vodka after I found two cans of Red Bull (sugar-free) in my garage. The only vodka I had in my freezer was Stoli Vanil. And on my first try, I added too much vodka. Therefore, I guess you can just go ahead and call this a double. I think I have earned it!

The glass has a story. In Sharon, PA, there is a restaurant called the Quaker Steak & Lube. There are smaller fast food-type Lubes all over the Pittsburgh area, but the real Lube is the one in Sharon. I went there one night with friends in college, drank one (or three) too many beers out of This Very Glass and then stashed it in my purse for a ride back to campus.

It is one of my favorite mementos from college.

And it held my booze very well tonight.

Now, I am off to snuggle with my hubby and fight off the dog. He likes to snuggle too...

Night Owl

2007-12-12T08:34:00.000-05:00

I spent many of my daylight hours on Sunday and Monday catching up on sleep. I didn't even realize that I was sleep-deprived, but in any case, I spent Sunday sleeping to prepare for my night of work Sunday night. I woke up nice and refreshed, noticed that some freezing rain was starting, stowed Otto in his crate, went out to my car, and in the process of getting into it, went right down on my tailbone. Ouch. For as klutzy as I am, I have never taken a direct hit to the tailbone like that, and the pain was (and still is, when I move a certain way) intense.

I made it through my shift okay (albeit moving very gingerly) and headed home to "nap." Except for my nap lasted from about 10 AM until 7 PM. Ooops. This is when I realized I might have been sleep deprived. And life has been a roller coaster ride ever since. When one wishes to spend a night sleeping, it is best for one not to take a nine-hour nap during the day. Just saying...

I am sure you can see where this is going. I have not yet gotten back on track. I stayed up until 3 AM Monday night, watching TV (Mary Poppins on ABCFamily took me through the first part of that, and then the DVR took me through the rest). I then slept until 6 AM and was up when Bill got up. I went back down to "nap" at 10 AM, and I slept until 2 PM. I headed to work at Bath and Body Works, got home about 9 PM...and stayed up until 1 AM again, reading (Crazy Aunt Purl's book) and knitting and watching more TV. And then I was up at 4 AM today, and here I sit, in front of the computer screen, thanking God that I have plans all day until 9 PM that leave no room for one of those so-called naps...and maybe, just maybe, I will sleep a full night tonight. I should get back on track just in time to head back into a stretch of night shifts...wouldn't you know?

Anyhoo, I woke up this morning at 4 AM when my husband rolled over and let out a loud snort. I must not have been sleeping very soundly because I was having a very vivid and realistic dream, and when I came to, I remembered every detail of it. And it was a weird dream...although not as weird as some I have had. I tend to have dreams that are not realistic at all, just weird. At least this one was more on the realistic side of things.

Except for the main character is someone who has been dead for many years.

So maybe not so realistic.

Anyway, I know you are just itching for details. Before I met Bill, I dated someone named Bob. We met when we were running summer day camp programs, and we dated for less than a year. However, we continued to work together for a while after that, and we remained friends. Bob was taken from us suddenly after being diagnosed with leukemia a little over five years ago. It was a devastating loss, and he left behind a young daughter, a loving family, and many friends. His death was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through.

Last night, I dreamed that he was alive.

Well, that isn't really accurate. In my dream, he was still dead. However, he had returned to earth for his annual holiday visit. We knew that he was no longer alive. But he was real and there and standing in front of us, and we were hanging out and spending time together and talking...and it seemed very normal. It was just like old times, except for the fact that I was still married and living up here in the mountains in this dream. But he and his brothers and I were hanging out at the same places we used to.

Some of the details of the dream were very odd. For example, we were driving around in a white Plymouth Grand Voyager, circa 1995, with tires that were bulging with weak spots and an expired inspection sticker. His stepmom was planning to try to have a baby in the new year, even though her youngest son right now is 21. And his dad and stepmom were renovating their living room by relocating their floor-to-ceiling mirrors with gold trim from the wall behind their TV to the wall with the fireplace on it. In real life, they live in a nice older home with beautiful woodwork and molding, and there are no floor-to-ceiling mirrors to be seen.

But the nice thing in the dream was that I was able to see him and talk to him again. I sometimes think it would be so nice if there would be some way that God could install AOL in heaven so we could IM our loved ones in the Great Beyond. Even better would be these annual holiday visits...a way to reconnect that wouldn't make death so final. But of course, this is not so...so I guess we just have to wait for those we have lost to visit us in our dreams.

I woke up to face another day of the day-to-day crap that goes on in life. We are expecting snow YET AGAIN, and my bank account is getting low, and the laundry is piling up, and I have to go buy dog food today. But in sleep, I had a visit from an old friend that I haven't seen in a while...and remembering him puts all that other stuff in perspective.

Now, I just hope I can sleep tonight...

Souper Douper

2007-12-07T07:39:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of BooMama, so when I read about the Soup-Tacular she had planned for today, I wanted to take part! Therefore, I bring you Cabbage Patch Soup. I first had a soup that was similar to this at the home of my ex-boyfriend's dad and stepmom. It was yummy and wonderful and filling, and I set about creating my own version (because I was too shy to ask for the recipe, apparently). I have shared it with many friends, and everyone has loved it.

And here you go...

1 - 2 pounds ground meat (I used meatloaf mix, but anything ground will do)
1 head cabbage, chopped coarsely
3 cans diced tomatoes
6 cans broth (I use four can vegetable and two cans beef)
2 to 3 cans beans (whatever kind you like - I used kidney and white beans)
carrots

Brown the beef in your stock pot. Once it is brown, add the tomatoes and the broth. Allow to come to a boil. Add beans, carrots, and cabbage. Turn down heat to allow soup to simmer. The cabbage absorbs a lot of liquid, so you might have to add water or more broth. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

This soup is one of those that is even better the next day.

And here's a photo of the final outcome, stolen from my cooking blog Chicken, Again?.

Don't get too excited about that link there. I don't cook all that often, and when I do, I forget to blog it!

Can't wait to see what other soups everyone is cooking up for the big Soup-Tacular!

Blah, blah, blah, money, blah, blah...

2007-12-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

I know that the tens of you who read this (and that might be generous) are anxiously awaiting my next blog post about my money issues. To recap, I have shredded my credit cards and am attempting to live an all-cash life. My very first week of this all-cash life, I needed two new tires on my car for it to pass inspection, so I had to borrow money from my mother. Fate 1, Mary 0.

Anyway, I spent this morning setting up a Google Spreadsheet to serve as my budget for 2008. I have all 26 paychecks spoken for on 26 different sheets in my spreadsheet, and this time I remembered to budget for such things as groceries and gas for my car. Pretty much every pay looks like I will make it in just under the wire, and if I can pick up some overtime here and there (we have a couple of pregnant girls in our unit right now, and they have to go on maternity leave sometime!), I might even be able to have a little fun during the year as well. However, at least the amount of money I have to put out each pay was not several hundred dollars more than what I expect to pull in. In that case, I would have been sitting in the corner rocking back and forth right now...and instead I am sharing this blog post with y'all!

The good news this pay is that I worked a holiday and my four-day week, so that fact will allow me to finish up my Christmas shopping and actually get for my husband what I was planning to. I was concerned that I wouldn't have the money for it, and without those handy credit cards to fall back on, I would instead have to give him an IOU for sometime in the New Year. Now, however, I will be able to order his gift and wrap it up and have it waiting under the tree for him.

I feel like now is the time that I can breathe a sigh of relief and know that Christmas will come to the Casey house after all...

Saying goodbye...

2007-12-01T06:59:00.000-05:00

This week, my parents had to make the decision to have their basset hound Marti put to sleep after she experienced a severe worsening of some leg weakness that she had been having off and on for a few months now. Of course, it's never easy to decide when it is time to let our furry friends go, and it has been a sad week in our world. Marti came to up back in 1997, when I was a senior in college, just after we lost our previous basset hound Jesse. She quickly became a part of the family and lived a great life as a loyal and faithful companion. She will be greatly missed!

One of the most difficult but most important thing that we can do as pet owners is realize when it is time to put our needs aside and worry more about the quality of life of our faithful companions. While it would be nice if our dogs and cats could be with us forever, their comes a time when we really owe it to them to let them go. I am glad that Marti had a long and happy life, and I am glad we were able to spare her the suffering that sometimes comes with the life of an older dog. We will miss her, but we will remember fondly our Lady, our Party Girl, our friend.

Enjoy the Rainbow Bridge, my friend...

Let's talk about money...

2007-11-27T07:02:00.000-05:00

And the fact that I don't have much.

Seriously, do I revisit this often enough on this blog? If I am not talking about dieting, I am talking about my money woes.

Here's the deal. I didn't transition well from the in-college-and-being-supported-by-my-parents time of my life and the out-of-college-and-mostly-on-my-own time of my life. I didn't get the fact that I was earning a paycheck that had to pay for all of my essentials (rent, bills, car expenses, food, and...um...beer) before it got to the non-essentials (shoes, shoes, a purse here and there, and also shoes). I came out of college with a teaching degree, but except for one year of teaching, I didn't use that so much. Instead, I went to work in the not-for-profit world. And that would be not for my profit or anyone else's...

At my first job, I believe I made about $22,000 per year. After paying all the essentials, I had very little money. However, I had a trusty Visa card, and I didn't have a good grasp of the long-term consequences of credit card debt, and I used that card pretty regularly. This continued through slightly better paying not-for-profit jobs right on through to my stint in nursing school, where I worked part-time for about $10.50 per hour as an aide. During this entire time, I could not afford a lifestyle like that I was living (and it wasn't even that extravagant), but my credit cards could!

Now, I am making a decent amount of money, working as a nurse. And if you include the times that I work for bonus or do overtime, that is even more decent money. However, I have a load of debt upon my back and have continued to make errors on my road to financial freedom. And oh, what a long road it will be.

The first thing I have done wrong is I have kept using my credit cards. A few weeks ago, I actually shredded my highest-interest card, which happens to have the biggest balance. Therefore, the use of said card is over, although the paying it off has just begun.

The second thing I did wrong was to overpay on my cards. I would throw a low of extra money at the cards each month. However, the whole reason I was using the cards was because I didn't have enough money to buy what I wanted to buy. Therefore, I would pay a large amount toward the card, but then I would charge that same amount, or more, thereby compounding the problem. I know that you should pay more than your minimum balance each month...but you also have to balance this with the money you have to live on.

Quite honestly, in the New Year, Bill and I may look into tapping into some of our home equity to pay down our debt. However, he has asked me to continue soldiering through for now, until we can get our taxes done and see where things stand. Part of me just wants to take that easy way out already. The payment on a home equity loan would not equal anything near what he and I pay to credit card companies each month. However, he is the one who bought this house and built this equity, and I guess I have to respect that.

On the plus side, this will be my first 100% cash Christmas ever. I have had to budget and balance and think about where each dollar is going. But it feels good to know that my Christmas spending will not add to my debt. And if those boots I want have to stay on my wish list for a little bit longer, then so be it...

Detox

2007-11-26T07:11:00.001-05:00

After a "holiday weekend" that started on Tuesday and ended late last night, my digestive system is a mess of indigestion, and it's time for some detox. We have one day less than one month until Christmas, and I don't want to use that month to gain back the 20+ pounds I have lost on Weight Watchers. I don't know that I will use that time lose a large amount of additional weight, but I would like at least to maintain those results.

Eating like I have for the last six days will not make that happen.

I had good intentions, as I usually do. I figured I would be "good" until Wednesday (and weigh in Wednesday morning), go off course for Thursday and Friday, and step back on the bandwagon on Saturday. After all, I was working the weekend, so I should have been able to moderate things pretty well.

I might have failed at that.

Reason number one is that Bill's Aunt Mary sent home for me a whole apple crumb pie, the best pie I have ever tasted, my favorite pie in the whole world. I polished that off sometime Sunday morning, while at work (in the 1 AM area of things). Reason number two is that I had not been grocery shopping in about two weeks (due to a cash flow problem), and therefore I had to stop and pick up things to eat. I could have picked up salads at the grocery store. However, instead, many of my meals came from either McDonald's or the wing bar at Giant. Mea culpa. And reason number three is the big family dinner that we had at my parents's house last night, followed by a BBW floorset and trip to Applebee's for half-price appetizers. My sister's boyfriend made ribs with homemade barbecue sauce, with a side of homemade biscuits. I contributed roasted root vegetables. At the floorset, we had a Jimmy John's sandwich tray and some carrots and dip. At Applebee's, four of us split five appetizers, and we each had a dessert shooter. It was a fitting end to a time of excess.

But now I don't feel so good.

The plan for this week is lots of water, less processed food, and a big, old apology to my insides. When I fall off the wagon, I fall hard. And now I will fight to drag myself back on that wagon again.

Otto seems to like the white stuff!

2007-11-19T08:16:00.000-05:00

I know I already complained a bit about the snow...but Otto isn't complaining! He seems to like it!

The Party's Over

2007-11-18T16:46:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my own personal hell...complete with a little spin-out in my ALL WHEEL DRIVE CAR WITH ABS!!!!

Is it spring yet?

Blah-ditty-blah-ditty-blah...

2007-11-16T06:43:00.000-05:00

I have not been feeling very witty as of late, and I have not been blogging like I should be. In fact, I have not even been reading blogs like I should be! I have been keeping up with a few people out there in the Blogosphere, but for the most part I have been working and sleeping and not finding much time for anything in between that.

However, I just enjoyed my first of six nights off, and I have big plans for that time! First of all, I have got to do some house cleaning. Now, I hate cleaning the house. I would happily live in squalor, I think, because I don't notice things like dust bunnies in the corners or spots on the stove top. Those things are just outside of my notice. However, my husband is one who complains on occasion about the state of our home. He has been known to pile all my stuff up and issue orders for me to put it away. This method, of course, doesn't work with me, so those things stay where they are, and others things are piled on top of them. I am SO mature.

It has not escaped my notice that the holidays are coming, and I would like to go in to this festive season with a clean slate. Before long, Bill and the boys will head off into the woods (unless the boys are too busy doing More Important Things) to cut down our Christmas tree, and we will be getting ready to welcome visitors into our home for various reasons throughout January. Therefore, I should really get a jump on things before I lose the sudden urge to clean it all up.

There are bathrooms to clean, rugs to vacuum, floors to sweep, a refrigerator to clean out, a bedroom to straighten up, an office to organize, and furniture to dust. If I start now, it should only take me to 2009. So you know where to find me this weekend, in between a basketball game and my nephew's Baptism. I will be that lady kneeling in the corner, trying to take down the kind of dust bunny that can only come about if you share your life with a long-haired dog. Let's hope that dust bunny doesn't win!

Please feel bad for me...

2007-11-03T16:45:00.000-04:00

Tonight is either the beginning or end of Daylight Saving's Time (I can't ever keep that straight), meaning that tonight we get to FALL BACK. The whole world is abuzz with the fact that tonight we get an extra hour of sleep because of this time change. Fantastic.

Unless you happen to work night shift. In which case you get an extra hour of, well, WORK! That's right - tonight we get to enjoy the hour of 1 AM to 2 AM, back up, and enjoy it again. So my already-long (especially since I have a cold and feel like my nose is ready to run off my face) twelve-hour shift turns into thirteen hours of overnight fun.

You can't get much more lucky than that.

I just hope I am working for SPRING AHEAD as well...because I will gladly give up that hour of work while all you people are losing an hour of sleep!