my scramblings & ramblings
I met LL Cool J today. Got tipped off by co-workers, so I took advantage of the situation.
Ignore how dorky I look and concentrate on how gorgeous he is. He was very soft-spoken and nice, it was very cool meeting him.
Chicago is awesome.
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)
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This entry is likely to make very little sense. Just sayin’.
- It’s been a long time since I’ve worked more than 40 hours in a week. Last week, I put in almost 51 hours. I was having dreams about Sears ads until last night when I talked myself into dreaming about something different. I brought home some ads on Friday for genuine shopping planning (I want a new electric blanket and maybe some pillows) and immediately caught a mistake and started proofing. I threw the papers at Adam (not meanly) and told him not to let me look at them anymore.
- We’re getting a TON of work over the next few weeks, so I’m looking at probably 10-15 hours of overtime until the end of November. I am SO getting a massage sometime in December.
- I still like the job, but it really gets into my head and my brain, so I am mentally exhausted by midday Wednesday. That’s not good, because I don’t want to get burned out. I still have about six weeks of this to go. After all these weeks of intense work, it’s going to be weird to going back to job hunting. But I hope I can save enough that I’ll be OK for a couple of months.
- Sarah came to visit for a bit last week. She went home yesterday. I didn’t see much of her because I was working so much. Fortunately, she’s very independent and found ways to keep herself entertained in the city while Adam and I made that money.
- I ate a LOT of spaghetti today. I actually went all day without eating meat–I can’t remember the last time I did that.
- Tomorrow, Sleeping Beauty comes out on DVD. I have never seen it. Can you believe that? So, I’ve decided to go ahead and buy it. There is also really cute Disney jewelry on Jewelryland.com and I’d like to get a few pieces. Other than that, I want to stay very frugal with my money because if I get in the right wrong frame of mind, I know I can spend way too easily. I don’t want to be that person again.
- I can’t believe it’s already October. I am usually such a stickler for changing calendars, and my Nene Thomas calendar is still on September. I guess I’d better go change it sometime.
- The weather is nice in the mornings. People are wearing coats. Cute coats. Leaves aren’t changing colors on the trees much yet. Actually, they seem to skip that part and just fall. I’ll have to take a look, when I’m not at work. Ha.
- I really want to go back to a Disney park soon. However, I’m trying to be wise with my money, and airfare is RIDICULOUS. Any allotted travel money for the rest of 2008 needs to go to seeing Aidan first and foremost. But wow, I’d LOVE to go in December and see the place all decorated for Christmas. One of these days.
- Helena’s been peeing on the bed. She tends to do it just before bedtime, so we’ve had to keep our bedroom door closed when we’re not in there. One night, I’d laid out my nightclothes and went to take a bath or a shower. I got out and went to change, and she’d peed on my nightclothes. And on my side of the bed. Apparently, I somehow piss my girl cats off because Lucy used to do the same type of thing.
We’re working on trying to break her of it, but once SHE stops peeing, Crookshanks starts. It’s very frustrating.
- Aidan’s adorable. Just in case you forgot. I need to call him tomorrow. I saw a missed call on my phone that came at 5:34pm, when I was on the train and underground. No reception there. Aidan’s in bed now, so I’ll have to talk to him tomorrow
- Today, UPS randomly brought us a blender. I found the packing slip and figured out why. Months ago, we’d gotten a wedding gift from Adam’s godparents: a pizza stone. The slip said “Shipment 1 of 2.” Shipment 2 never came and we forgot about it. Turns out that this is the 2nd half of the shipment. The blender had been back ordered like WHOA, and it finally came today. Adam is so excited and eager to blend something in it.
- I’m thirsty. I want pop, but I think it’ll be a better idea for me to drink Tang. Yummy, Tang.
- I’ve been sneezing a lot. At work, whenever someone sneezes more than once, I hear: Achoo! “Bless you.” ACHOO! “Bless you!” ACCCHOOOO! “Come on, one more!” I also hear weird pirate noises way more often than I probably should. It’s neat there. Lots of work, but neat. I will miss it.
I think that’s all for now. I’m tired and want to take a bath before bed. I got these bath bombs from a place in the Grand Floridian called Basin White, and one of them is Satsuma. I can’t wait to use that one, and I think I’ll use it tonight. Their bombs are cheaper than the ones at Lush, but just as nice and fun. I bought one with Mickeys in it–I don’t think I’ll use that one ever. I can’t exactly order one of those online; I have a feeling they make those special for the park.
OK, then. Enough randomness. Good night.
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)
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I don’t know about you, but the opening ceremonies blew me away last night. China does not play around when it comes to pyrotechnics. I LOVE watching the Parade of Nations. Yes, it takes hours, but I enjoy watching the outfits and the different faces and the different people. Amazing. At first, I was grumbling because there were many times that Bush didn’t seem to even TRY to be looking interested, but when I saw other world leaders SLEEPING, I stopped being so critical. At least W stayed awake, even if he was checking his watch. Sigh.
In a little over a week, I start a temp assignment at Ambrosi, an advertising firm. I am very excited about this assignment. Not only does it pay really well, but I get to look at some really cool stuff. I’m nervous, of course, but I’m also excited. Plus, the train stop is right across the street from the building, and there is an Argo Tea downstairs! One of the best things about having the chance to temp this summer is the fact that I am getting so much experience in different fields. When Ambrosi is completed, I can say I have agency experience (I actually do have a little bit with Trisect and S2) as well as educational publishing experience. Not to mention the flexibility that comes from being able to state my availability. It’s been quite a blessing.
I love when I’m lying in bed, and I feel a little thump next to me, then tiny footsteps walking across my legs and back. I know that means Helena is settling in for the night, or at least a few minutes.
I recently decided that I wanted to get used to wearing contacts again because I do not want to bother with glasses (other than sunglasses) when I am in Disney World. So, while I was out yesterday, I stopped at an America’s Best eye clinic to see about getting an exam. I hadn’t been examined in two years, and I knew that my glasses were not as effective as they used to be. My vision did deteriorate a bit, but it’s still not too bad. Anyway, now I have new contacts coming in, and soon, I’m going to go get new glasses. YAY. Let me tell you, it’s weird wearing contacts again–not having my glasses on and being able to see clearly all the way to the back of the apartment. I pick up my boxes of contacts in a few days, but he gave me a trial pair to wear home.
I love it when I’m sitting on our new loveseat, typing away on my laptop, and Crookshanks comes and curls up right next to me. Yes, he usually plops his big butt right where I need to move the mouse, but it’s still very sweet.
I finally got to read Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. I thought the book was beautifully written. I got to meet Melissa in April of this year at an author signing in La Grange, IL. It’s so easy to see that this woman LOVES writing and creating stories, that love definitely comes through in her writing. I really enjoyed this book. I did have a hard time with all the faery names–trying to work out pronunciations in my head and such (and she thankfully has a guide on her site), but that didn’t make the book any less good.
I also FINALLY read Rainbow Party and while I can understand why some people were like “whut” over it, I think the book handled the matter in a very responsible and well-written way. Other books I recently read include Meg Cabot’s Airhead and April Henry’s Shock Point, which is actually a re-read because I enjoyed it so much the first time around.
My allergies haven’t been that nice to me. I have a hard time sleeping because of all the gunk in my throat, or the itchiness. This was probably not the smartest time to try wearing contacts again, seeing as my eyes get itchy and tired too. I’m constantly sniffling and clearing my throat these days.
And here is something interesting I’ve found out. Some groceries at Target are a lot cheaper than the grocery store, even my beloved Strack & Van Til! What a nice, pleasant surprise. Although this particular Target is SCARILY crowded, and yesterday, I remembered WHY I hate driving in Chicago. Seriously, UPS trucks and random SUVs that park and take up whole lanes REALLY irritate me. I usually end up behind those idiots and I can’t get around them because everyone behind me sees that I’m stuck and they just jut on out, thus keeping ME from getting around those losers. I also hate that it takes 25 minutes to go four miles because of all the stupid traffic lights. This city is NOT driver friendly at all. Especially not to people with Ohio license plates.
I didn’t get a lot of normal groceries yesterday, just snacks/junk mostly. And cereal. Edy’s Dibs were on sale, two for $5. Trix was $2. Doritos were two for $5. I also got us some treats. Reese’s miniatures and Pop Tarts. Yeah, not the most healthy of foods, but I wanted them. Ha.
Anyway, I want to go relax a bit before Adam gets back from the farmer’s market. ‘Til next time!
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)
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ETA: Professional wedding photos are up here! They look amazing.
Today, Aidan headed back to Ohio to spend the rest of the summer with my mom. After that, he will go on a trip to Phoenix with his dad, and then he starts kindergarten. Seems like yesterday he was moving in for the summer. I keep expecting to hear him calling for me and asking for more Froot Loops or something like that.
The good-bye was painless. He’s excited about the rest of his summer adventures and I’m excited for him. I’ll miss him though. He has the cutest little cheeks and ears; I’ll miss nibbling on them whenever I have the chance. This morning, he woke up with his face and hands covered in marker. I’m pretty sure he purposefully colored his hands for some crazy reason. Thank GOD he used watercolor markers, not Sharpies!
I woke up at about 2 or 3 am with crazy allergy symptoms. The back of my throat was EXTRA itchy, and I was sneezing up a storm. I took an allergy pill this morning knowing it would pretty much render me useless all day.
I spent the day reading and napping. Adam spent the day doing mad loads of laundry. He heard that I wanted to put up a clothesline, and he went ahead and did it for me. So tomorrow, I plan to do the towels and let them line dry. There’s nothing like line dried linens. They smell amazing.
Today, Paws contacted me about finalizing Helena’s adoption. As if there was going to be any doubt! That little kitty had my heart the first moment I saw her. She eats like a little piggy, I’m worried that she’ll get fat. She’s adorable, though. Cuddly as all bananas, and she follows me everywhere. When I’m in bed, she lies either on my legs, at my feet, or right beside me. And she loves to be rubbed under her chin. She’s an awesome cat. We’re up on the adoption site, by the way. We’re picture #17 under the July 11th week.
I’ve been tweaking my site for the past few days, adding little things to the sidebar, adding new pages, and playing with the CSS a bit. I’m happy with how it’s evolving.
Tomorrow, it’ll be a week that Adam and I have been married. It’s been amazing. He brought me breakfast in bed twice already, he does all the cooking and kitchen cleaning; basically he takes amazing care of me. I like this life.
I’ve been feeling extra blessed lately. I am not sure if I’m just starting to relax, or if the meds are helping me. It’s probably a combination of many things. Almost all the big milestones in my life are finished (all I have left is finding full-time work), and I’m finding myself sleeping entire days away because of all the tension and adrenaline leaking out of my body. I’ve been so tightly wound the last few years, it feels weird to kind of relax and enjoy life. Adam helps me, though.
Here are things I’m happy about:
01. Being married to Adam. ♥
02. Aidan getting to enjoy a good rest of the summer with more people who love him.
03. Discovering good music (Kerli, M.I.A.)
04. Getting my hands on a rare Japanese New Kids on the Block CD called More Hangin’ Tough. This CD has versions of I’ll Be Loving You Forever and You Got It (The Right Stuff) that I only heard on the radio and could never find in the stores. I’ve been looking for these versions for years and I finally found this CD on eBay. The CD came straight from Japan, and I’m so excited to finally have it.
05. A cute little cat named Helena.
06. Living in a cool city.
07. Getting better at finding my way around said city. (Cas told me that she’s impressed at how well I get around now, and she is impressed that I give directions to people).
08. Doctors who care more about seeing to her patient’s health than making a profit; discounts when you self-pay at the doctor’s office.
09. Friends who take amazing wedding pictures and share them all with me!
10. Tang! Yummy! 😛
So, I got out all the scrapbooking stuff, and yesterday, I finally got my pictures from Snapfish. I didn’t grumble at the very late delivery and processing. The photos have been prepaid for years, and the shipping was free. All I had to pay was $1.32 for more than 100 prints. And it’s not like I’d have had time to work on the scrapbook last week anyway. Plus I needed adhesives. BUT now the pictures are here, I don’t have any work assignments lined up for the next few weeks, so I’m going to work on my scrapbooks. One will be an Aidan book and one will be a general scrapbook of the past few years. Plus a wedding book, but I’m still waiting for pictures so that I can order all the prints at once. Hoping for another free shipping Snapfish code soon!.
I guess that’s all for now. I had other stuff, but I can’t think of it at the moment. I’m thirsty, which always happens right before bed. Not good, seeing as my bladder is tiny and overactive as it is. But either way, I’ll be up, so I might as well not be thirsty. Good night!
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)
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Wow, what a week it’s been. Three meetings downtown, having my soon-to-be sister-in-law Cassidy in town (which has been awesome!), Aidan’s growing pains, a trip to the vet for Helena, a trip to the library for me…. whew. And it’s not over yet. I mean, I’m getting MARRIED in a few days!
Plus, more visitors are coming! Tomorrow, Adam’s family makes it into town, Ivy gets in. Saturday, my friends and photographers Kelly and Garth get into town, and Sunday morning, Chris flies in just for the day. 🙂 It’s going to be a crazy next few days! On top of all that, I have a hair appointment at noon, so I will be looking fabu for the ceremony.
Yesterday, Helena had to go to the vet for a dental cleaning. They told us not to feed her after 8pm Tuesday night. Cassidy and I were out with Deborah getting our nails done (thanks for the mani/pedi, Deborah!). We got home really late because the Grand Ave. bus sucks, and when I dumped out the last of the food (it was after 8 by then), Helena just looked at the bowl so sadly. At about midnight, we heard her crunching. That little booger had gotten into the big bag of food! She was so pissed at me, she actually turned her little back on me. :O
When we went to pick her up at the end of the day yesterday, she was a feisty little something. I thought she’d be loopy and out of it. No way. She was ready to kick SOMEONE’S butt for leaving her there all day! But once I held her close, she stopped fighting and became still, her little heart pounding. She was glad to be home, but upset that there was no food in the dish. They’d told us to go light on the food that night, to give her half of what she normally eats. Then I realized that she eats a LOT, so half is a lot more than what we were giving her! She was happy after that.
Isn’t she pretty? She totally matches our floors:
Saw Batman last night with Jeff and Deborah. We made the date last year during our “spying on the movie set” phase. I have two words for you regarding that movie.
The coolest part (besides the freaking awesome movie) was recognizing Chicago is almost all of the Gotham City shots. That parking garage scene at the beginning with all the Batman impersonators? I totally spied on them when they were filming that scene. I remember we were like “Dude, why are there so many Batmans running around?” It all made sense once we saw the movie. 🙂 The Batmobile is totally in these pictures; you can click on the link to get to bigger versions on my Flickr site. Lookee:
It is VERY cool living in a city where they film movies. It’s kind of surreal to go “Hey, that’s the bank I sometimes go to!” and “That’s the building where the law firm I temped at is located!” The movie was great. VERY intense, not sure if I can handle seeing it in the theatre again. My body’s in so much pain from being so tensed up, but I promise, you will NOT be bored watching it. Now, I am ready for Twilight, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I have several months for those, though. I’d like to see Get Smart and Wall-E too. We’ll see.
People have been so generous with our Disney Honeymoon Registry! We are so excited about the trip, and it’s fewer than sixty days away. Wheee!
I’m getting excited about the wedding, too. I’m excited about the people who will be there, the picture taking, the good times. I’m mostly excited about finally being married to Adam. ♥ Again, if any of you locals want to tag along, everyone’s meeting about 10:30 at the Edgewater Beach Cafe, then we’re going to walk over to the beach. It’s going to be short and simple and awesome. I got Adam’s ring today, and after I get my hair done, I think that will be everything! No fuss, no craziness, just goodness. 🙂
I think that’s all for now. My brain is tired, and I’m ready to go to bed and read. ‘Til next time!
P.S. Do you say “I have to scratch my arm, it’s itching” or “I have to itch my arm, it’s itching”?
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)
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