halloween

O Hai! I Can Has Update? (Pictures)

What does one call a bunch of pimps? A Daddy of Pimps? A Gaggle of Pimps? At any rate, there were some at work today. And Balloon Boy’s family (in many forms) was there. Some red-headed stepchildren, a vampire, and other assorted creatures showed up today. It must be Halloween!

Every time I decide to sit down and do an update, my mind goes blank. Totally blank. So that’s part of the reason I haven’t been writing much. But the other reason is that life is going by in a blur these days. I’ve been working 45-55 hours a week, then I come home and fry my brain with FarmVille and Cafe World before climbing into bed, ready to start it all over the next day.

I have been managing to do some reading, though. I finished IF I STAY by Gayle Forman (library), GRACELING by Kristin Cashore (library), and THE VAN ALEN LEGACY by Melissa De La Cruz (purchase). I am kinda jonesing for more new books, but I’m also trying to save money.

I’m missing little Aidan like crazy. I’ll see him again in 13 days, though. :) Then he’ll be here for Christmas! Seriously, I didn’t think it would be hard to shop for a soon-to-be-seven-year-old, but when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said “999 stuffed animals.” HUH? Like that’s going to happen! So I talked with Chris and I think I have some ideas for him and I’m sure I’ll come up with more stuff once I start holiday shopping.

In the meantime, my little boy was a werewolf for Beggar’s Night!

Werewolf Aidan!!!

Most Awesome Werewolf Ever!!!!

OH YEAH you know you’re jealous of that display of PURE AWESOME.

This year, the holiday shopping will be drastically pared back, though. I really need to save money and I’ve already bought enough stuff that I probably shouldn’t have. Not to mention eating out. So, I’m going back into frugal mode and I’m OK with it. It’s a challenge, but years ago I learned about the “I don’t need it” technique and it’s been working. For example, I was hell-bent on ordering some wings and tater tots from D’Ags tonight for dinner. Until I actually got online and started the actual order and realized that 10 wings, a side of tots, and some bread would cost me more than $20 PLUS tip. Um yeah, no.

Unfortunately, my craving has not been satisfied, but I don’t really know where to get good wings in Chicago. I’m still learning my way around. Yeah that’s it.

Maybe I can figure out how to make some…?

Yeah, right. Snort. I’m still stressing about how we’re going to get this place clean for when Adam’s family visits in a few weeks. As it is, he and I have both been working our butts off. We’ve maybe seen each other an hour a day the past few days. By the time I get home, he’s gone. He’s gone right now, and I have to go to bed soon. We both work tomorrow, so I really won’t get to spend any time with him until Sunday. And then it’s right back to work on Monday. All hail fourth quarter. And October. I am so ready for October to be over. Thank goodness that will happen tomorrow. And Sunday is “fall back,” so YAY for an extra hour!

Let me think, is there anything else I can plop down before I crash. ‘Cause I’m fading fast. My circadian rhythm seems to have synced with those of normal people (you know, sleep at the night, awake in the day), and I don’t want to throw that off, at least not until the assignment ends. Then I can turn back into an “owl.”

And with that, I’m outta here. Sorry my first post in ages wasn’t more substantial, but my eyes are closing. ‘Til next time!

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Happy Halloween! (Pictures)

More like a TRYING Halloween for me.

I was at work for an hour when I got the call that Aidan had pink eye and needed to be taken out of preschool. I spent a good part of the day driving. I drove to preschool to get Aidan, then all the way to Pickerington to get medicine for him, and then up to Craig’s to take Aidan trick-or-treating. He didn’t even last an hour out there before he had to potty. After that, he was done. Well, not quite. He did take the time to put on his father’s costume:

Bob Ross Aidan
“Happy Wittle Twees!”

Aidan’s fine, though. I managed to get him to take the eye drops by telling him to close his eyes, then I put the medicine in his tear ducts. It’s how I do my own drops. Poor little guy, he’s been plied with so much medicine the past few days. πŸ™ First, it was a cold that turned into a bad cough. Then allergies. Then a sinus infection. Now pink eye. I say it’s just preschool initiation. Unfortunately, he’s passing that stuff on to me, and I just don’t have time to really be getting sick. Tomorrow, I have errands, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are Aidan days, and then it’s back to work for another week. There is no full day of relaxation for me until November 17th, and that’s a long way away. I hope my body holds out!

And on that note, I’m going to bed. I’m sick again, and I just took a Nyquil to help me sleep. It should be kicking in pretty soon. I can’t afford to take time off of work. I’m trying to save my vacation for Thanksgiving, and I’m out of sick time, as usual. *grumble*

Sigh. I’m so tired.

Good night.

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Stuffity Stuff Stuff (Pictures)

Today was a weird day.

When I got to work, I was making myself some tea and also getting some water for my water bottle. One of my co-workers came over and asked if I’d heard about our receptionist. Now, I knew our receptionist had been very sick. This morning, I found out she’d passed away.

I haven’t worked at Zaner-Bloser long, but Ann was always a sweetheart. I’m in denial, because I can’t believe I won’t hear her say “good-niiggght” to me as I’m leaving for the day, anymore. I mean, it just doesn’t seem real. πŸ™ I’m still going to be checking her desk, wondering when she’s going to get better and come back to work.

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After work, I went to the library and ran into one of my neighbors there. The nice one. He sits out back and he reads and smokes his cigar. We stood in the parking lot and talked for two hours. He is older, but funny as hell. He’s one of those naughty old men. πŸ™‚

Although, he did give me three pounds of hamburger because he said he doesn’t want to cook it. So now I have a HUGE three-pound roll of hamburger meat that I will separate and use for spaghetti and chili and other assorted yummies.

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I went to two costume parties this weekend. Had a blast-a-rooni. Friday night’s was at a clubhouse, and with a few friends I used to go to church with. Aidan was freaked out by the creepy decorations. But he looked very cute:

See?

Spider Aidan & His Healthy Dinner

Spider Aidan!

Aidan was so cute! And this little girl came to the party and I sat there and watched him try to impress her and get all flirty and stuff. It almost make me cry, because it was like I was getting a sneak peek at teenager Aidan. Eeek!

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Saturday night, Aidan and I hit my friend Heather’s housewarming/Halloween party. It was the best party ever. EVER. Seriously. There was so much food (she had me take some home, and I have enough for lunches all week, and a few dinners, too), and there was candy and all sorts of treats and toys and favors and fun fun fun. Again, best party EVER.

Roy & Laura

Roy & Laura, who is having her baby RIGHT NOW. OMG.
Laura is on maternity leave from ZB at the moment. If she didn’t go into labor on her own, they were going to induce her at 8pm today. OMG.
I was so happy to see her.
The story is so funny. She and my mom live right around the corner from each other. Her mom is my mom’s pharmacist. But Laura and I just met this year.

Sarah
Sarah the Bling Bling Cowgirl.

Mary
Mary, the art director.
She’s really cute and she wears very nice perfume.

Heather and Aidan
This is Heather, the hostess, and Aidan!

Heather the Candy Corn
Heather again! She was Candy Corn!

Aidan & The Purple Witch!
Aidan and Heather’s Mommy. They got on really well! πŸ™‚

Again, Heather’s party was amazing. Her house is gorgeous, and I have NEVER seen so much food at a party before. Seriously. It was incredible. And Aidan had a BLAST, running around and playing and melting everyone’s heart. People kept coming up to me with tons of compliments about him. He’s adorable, he’s a sweetheart, he is well-behaved, he has great manners. Yay! He’s just such a great kid. ♥

On top of that, Heather’s house has this amazing energy about it. I can’t describe it, but I felt so relaxed there, and happy. It’s carrying over, too. My back didn’t ache at all when I was there, nor did it ache yesterday and today. I’ve been smiling a lot since hanging out over there.

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My friend Dave works as a reporter out in Los Angeles. He was covering the fires. He was pretty much right there. Check out this picture:

Isn’t that crazy? Of course, this guy’s been blown around in hurricanes, played in the no-gravity simulator in a plane, all sorts of stuff. He loves doing this kind of work.

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The other night, I was giving Aidan a bath. He asked me to scratch his back. I did, and cracked up laughing as he went “OH YEAH OH YEAH” in this funny gruffy voice. That boy is hilarious. And his obsession with Tom and Jerry is the best thing ever. He LOVES the Zoot Suit episode. And we love to quote a part from a SpongeBob episode. The cartoon goes like this:

Sandy: I love karate!
SpongeBob: I love karaTAY!
Mr. Krabs: I love moneyAY!
Squidward: I hate all of you.

Yeah, Aidan and I quote that over and over and over. He’s so getting another SpongeBob DVD for Christmas, so I can watch it with him. πŸ™‚ That cartoon is growing on me.

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It’s finally starting to get really cold in my apartment. I’m in running pants, a sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks and I am totally shivering. It’s about 65ΒΊ F in here now. The electric blanket will feel nice tonight. I’m trying to hold off as long as I can in regards to turning on the furnace.

How early do you guys (who this applies to) turn on your furnace?

Cheers!

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Potluck (Pictures)

I can’t believe the end of October is already here. Sometimes, it seems that time goes so slowly, but honestly, it’s not.

Tonight was the night for all the little beggars to come out and get free candy. My favorite was the boy dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. When I guessed who he was, he seemed very excited. Also, work gave its employees Highlights for Children magazines to pass out–WHAT A HIT! The kids absolutely LOVED getting them! And the parents were impressed too.

This is what I dressed up as:

Dorky Me
A DORK!

Aidan was Scooby-Doo, but he pronounces it “Fooky-Doo.” Here he is in his costume a few days ago:

Scooby Doo

He loved his costume! This is the first year he specifically asked for one, so I made sure I got it for him. His reaction was so worth it. “Oh, I love this! Thank you, Mommy, it’s just what I wanted!!!” πŸ™‚

Work fed us. Fazoli’s. Yum. And speaking of work, I’m starting to do “1Rs” which are the first stage after working proofs. Big time stuff, that. I’m getting good at this, and I do enjoy it. I could tell you all sorts of things about Zaner-Bloser handwriting style. Strokes and curves and la la la.

What amazes me is the volume of different handwriting programs out there. Naturally, I think ZB is the best, but there are so many others! I’d never even thought about it before!


Vampire Aidan!
Vampire Aidan!!

Just Me
Just Me.
This is what I look like these days.

Flirty
Callin’ myself “flirtin'” here…

Aidan & Me
Aidan and Me. πŸ™‚

Now, if you’re wondering why he appears to be naked, here’s the story. He’s actually in his underwear, but here’s the thing. As soon as he walks in the door, he strips down to his underwear. Don’t ask me why. It’s just how he unwinds, I suppose.

Ack. It’s already nearly 11! I guess it’s time for me to head towards the bed, huh?

See, time DOES go fast. Now there’s Bob Dylan and Thanksgiving to look forward to! Eeeek!

‘Til next time.

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Happy Halloween! (Pictures)

I hope everyone had a super fun Halloween!

I know I did! πŸ™‚

Looks as if GOOGLE did as well:

First, I went to work. The theme (for my particular team) was California attire, so thanks to Amy’s (verytruly) great idea, I went as a Disneyland park guest. I ran into someone dressed as Minnie Mouse, and we entered the costume contest together.

We didn’t win, though.

We got free lunch (ziti, salad, garlic bread, a drink, and candy). YAY for free food!

After work was Halloween Night, of course! πŸ™‚ Aidan went as a pirate. How cute is he???

You know you love him. πŸ™‚ I know I do! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

I had a lot of fun handing candy out. The kids were so cute and we didn’t run out this year!! HA. Well, not ’til the end when three teenaged boys came and pretty much cleaned us out (at our request). Good times, good times. I wore my tiara. Tee hee.

Oh yeah, before I go, I have one more picture to share:


Venus

Halloween night was so beautiful this year.

Okay, I have some work to do. Good night! πŸ™‚

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