Monday Down & 4 Days to go!

I can hardly believe that this is my last Monday of work. It seems impossible. I have worked for my company just shy of 3 years.. but seriously, it seems like FOREVER! So, I have been reminiscing the past few days.. thinking about when I first started here how I knew NOTHING.. knew no one and was kind of frightened. Then I started learning my job.. started making friends.. started to feel very comfortable. And now it all comes to an end on Friday. Im wondering who I will remain in contact with, im wondering what everyone will do.. where they end up? Hell, screw everyone else.. im wondering where I will end up! Im actually excited to think that I will have a couple weeks off.. still getting paid.. and dont have to get up in the mornings, dont have to get to bed at a decent hour at night (minus the party nights). This could be trouble. The one thing that I dont want to get too comfortable with.. sleeping in and staying up too late.

With this economy and everyone and their grandma looking for jobs, im wondering how hard it will be to find a decent job. Ive never had a problem getting jobs in the past.. so I think im feeling a little over confident that im going to find something right away. I have applied for a few positions.. 2 jobs through my company and sent off a few resumes and one application for employemnt (didnt think these existed anymore other than at McDonalds). I think what I need to do is sit down, gather my thoughts and really figure out what I want to do. I dont have a 'traditional' job so I dont think i want a desk job again. But what do I REALLY want to do?

Im thinking of a quick trip to Colorado.. that's what I really want to do. lol.. why not? Life is short.

Nothing too exciting is happening in my life.. just partying, working and sleeping. I have not started my Christmas shopping yet cause I hate shopping. I told my nephew the other day that he and I will go shopping the day before Christmas Eve and he can pick out his present.. and will do the same with the others. My dad told me to get my brothers CASH.. so that's what they will get. We decided to not exchange gifts this year with adults. So, I will get nothing.. cause I have no kids to buy for! hahaha... but it's all good. I guess I dont really care. My family in the past got too overboard with presents and all and it's so ridiculous. There isnt anything out there that I could buy for my mom that she really wants (just things I cant afford anyway).. and same with my dad. My sister and I just dont exchange gifts for anything anymore. My dad and I started the father/daughter tradition last year on Christmas Eve. I go to my mom's house for a couple hours.. then meet my dad and we go drink some Christmas Cheer (Beer) at the local pub. We had so much fun doing it last year, that were doing it again this year!

The dating scene has settled down now.. kind of backing off everything for a while. And it's that time of year when life is too busy to include dating. Last day of work on Friday, Family Christmas up north on Sat but will stay up there until Monday, Doctor on Tues, Christmas shopping on Wed, Holiday.. and then hoping to shoot out to Denver on Friday the 26th. That would be awesome. My friends have been begging me to come out for a while now... and then were back in time for New Years Eve.. which I have nothing planned.

Well, the weather outside SUCKS. Have I ever told you how much I HATE winter? Well, we were supposed to get this huge snow storm yesterday. Then I wake up and it's RAINING instead. But that's the nightmare.. it rains cause it's 38 degrees out.. then the thermostat gets turned down to 16 degrees.. so all the wet roads FREEZE and makes for a traveling nightmare. The northern part of MN got a lot of snow though.. some places over a foot. And I wake up this morning to NEGATIVE 8 for the temp.. my truck is like a freakin ice cube.. doors are frozen shut. UGH! I hate winter.. and look where I live! Im stupid! Can you imagine waking up to that (pic above) in the morning?

That's all for now.. more to come as the close of the floor draws near!

~Peace

Dating Gone Wrong

Why is dating so impossible? Seriously, are there any NORMAL men out there? I once heard a friend of mine say something like this: If there were a room full of single, successful, handsome men and one loser... I would find the loser! YUP.. so would I. Sometimes I wonder if im wearing a sign on my back that reads: "Accepts all forms of losers, drunks, drug addicts, no license or job needed , I love mean people & please treat me like shit."

Then when you find a nice one.. or at least you think he's nice.. get him drunk ONE time and all of his demons come out and the red flags go up. But here is the funny one.. I met one that was an asshole.. we argued a few times, he pissed me off a few times... sent him on his way & told him to lose my number. A week later he calls, we go out and we have been like best friends ever since. We talked about what pissed us off about eachother.. agreed on somethings.. and now we hang out a few times a week and just laugh.. and other things! LOL... He went from being an a-hole.. to being very nice to me. I guess it was a wall that he had up? I dont know. I cant figure these guys out. Who ever said that Men were from Mars...they were certainly on to something!

Heres the other guy ive been seeing a little bit. We hang out.. have fun.. then after a week of hanging out (however, we have known eachother for a couple months) he gets scared. OK.. I can deal with that.. then out comes all this stuff about an ex-girlfreind, dealing with personal things, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.... now im not listening anymore.. His ex-girlfriend drug him through hell, etc... YEAH.. well, my ex-boyfriend wasnt a freaking stoll on the beach in Hawaii either... so get over it already. You can only blame the Ex for so much cause sometimes you need to take a look in the mirror and take some of the responsibility yourself. Anyway, (got off my train of thought).. so after we take about a week apart, then he's calling again.. he wants to see me. We hang out.. have fun.. he goes to his parents house for Thanksgiving.. comes home yesterday.. we hang out again and he gets TANKED! We were at the bar for 1 1/2 hours and he could hardly speak english & I had to help him walk to my truck!! Then my PHOBIA sets in and all I can think about is.. "oh lord.. he's gonna puke in my car.. im gonna freak out and kick his ass".. so I ask him if he's feeling ok.. "Yes, let's go to another bar".

To make that long story shorter.. he got mad cause I didnt want to meet a friend of his, he said some mean things to me in the car on the way to me dropping him off at home, he got mad cause he wanted to drive home. Im pretty sure that I had smoke coming out my ears I was so f-ing pissed off. He told me I like being in control, Im only hanging out for the "free ride", Im a drunk and all I do is drink a 12 pack 7 days a week and this is who he is.. if I dont like it then see ya later! So, who do you think was calling me an hour later? IM SO SORRY... PLEASE FORGIVE ME. (Red Flag Alert, Red Flag Alert.. been there.. not going back).

OK.. so, Im not sure that I want to talk to this guy anymore. I like the other guy, but he's not "settling down" material that I may want one day. But maybe I need to play that one out? I dont know.. im so confused. I hate dating.

Im not a controller, im not dating anyone for a "Free Ride". Im 37, have a job (although not for long.. so maybe I am looking for a free ride..lol), im very independant, know what I want, my morals and values are in check.. as well as my checkbook! Yes, I have strong feelings about things, Im passionate about things (topics of conversation).. I do what I want, when I want with whom I want (most of the time). And I know what im looking for and Im not settling for less.. that's it. Does that make me a controller? NO!

HELP! My friends have told me to go on the internet dating scene. Been there, done that.. met a few decent guys.. but im just not into that anymore.. not interested. Yes, I need to find a hobby other than drinking beer (lol).. but it's such a good hobby! My friends all want me to settle down.. find Mr. Nice guy.. etc... but I think my wall is going back up for a while. These dudes are freakin me out.

On to other things. I have nominated myself to get addresses for my 20 year high school reunion that will take place next fall. I still have contact with a lot of ppl from high school, believe it or not.. so I thought it would be fairly easy. And it has been quite easy for the most part. AND FUN! I have also gotten a bunch of them to join Facebook, which is a total trip! Im having a lot of fun with that.. and I thought it was stupid! lol.. So, everyone wanted to see eachother, so I organized a "Get Together" for tonight. Im really excited about it cause there are people coming that I havent seen in at least 10 years.. some I havent seen in 19 years. I will take plenty of pics (I never leave home with out my camera) and post some of them later.

Only 3 weeks left of work. Now that I know it's coming, it cant come soon enough. Im looking forward to having the last 2 weeks off of Dec.. but then I will go nuts. My company has been very generous with us.. gave us a pretty good severance package. So, I will be ok financially and insurance wise until April 09.

** I posted some randon pics here, and they have nothing to do with anyone that was thrown under the bus in this post**

Time to close.. have a great weekend! ~PEACE

Never too Far Away!

Yeah.. well, it's been forever and im terribly sorry! Life went and got a little crazy on me this past month. With the wedding, family stuff, men and a little partying, time tends to slip away from you. I cant believe it's almost Thanksgiving. And.. finding a computer to use these days has proven to be a little difficult as well. The computer at home is broken I understand and my coworker went and screwed me with using the computer at work.. lol... so.. I will find the time to do this more often and I will also find a computer.

So, where were we? We got our friends Bobby & Lana married off on Halloween. It was a beautiful wedding.. and a quick one. Seriously, I think it lasted about 4 minutes. It was a great party too. When I asked Lana if she was going to be the "run away" bride.. she stated "are you kidding.. im not missing this party!!". We proceeded to party until 430am.. which grandma here doesnt do too often. But not only didnt I party til 430am sat morning, I turned around and did it all over again the next night.

I went to a halloween party at my friend Jareds house. I went with the intentions of NOT drinking.. only water. But once I ran into my old high school friend, Dan Martinez.. that water quickly switched to beer! And we shut down the party at 430am! I had a great weekend with great friends, but was happy when that weekend ended! Im scheduling my liver transplant for the New Year!

Guess whos been dating? Me.. So, my friend introduced me to her coworker (we will refrain from using anyones names here). After my "marriage counseling" with my coworker one night, I met this guy out for a few beers. Im sure I was way over the top for him cause I flapped my gums the whole entire time we were at the bar. And, I was all fired up from the mediation session with the coworker... so, I was out of character! Well, maybe I wasnt.. lol.. Im loud and I talk alot when I drink beer... not too annoying but we have to remember that Paula isnt for everyone.. lol.. So, this guy and I talked a lot and had a nice time getting to know eachother. We havent been out since because I have been dating other people. Seriously, there isnt enough time in the day for everything I have going on. So, I met another guy and dated him for about 3 weeks. But that all went in the toilet cause turns out that he and I arent even close to being compatible. Were better drinking buddies and doing other things buddies! LOL....

Then I bring you to my friend Scott...oops.. it's his real name (and that's not him in the picture).. He and I met about 2 months ago at a bar that we both would hang out at once in a while. I was there alone.. he was there alone.. we were sitting one chair away from eachother and I stuck up a conversations with him. We talked a lot about life.. good things.. and then we exchanged phone numbers. He has recently made BIG life changes and was talking alot about God.. etc... and it kind of freaked me out, so I really wasnt planning on talking to him again..haha. But.. he sent me a txt the next day.. and from there we just kind of kept in contact via texting, phone calls and meeting out for a beer once in a while. Well, a week ago we were talking on the phone and decided to go out. I had a friend that was playing in a band at this bar close to my house so Scott and I joined some of my other friends for some music and beer. Guess what? We had a freakin GREAT time together.. we talked a lot.. acted like goof balls.. drank some beer.. did some shots.. danced a little bit.. It was so much fun! As a matter a fact, we had so much fun last Saturday night that we have been hanging out ever since. We talk on the phone, text eachother all day. And guess what? I really like him. I havent really liked anyone in a really long time. I meet all the assholes.. not the nice guys.. But Scott is super nice.. And generous and all the good things you want in a friend.

Well, the bomb dropped last night.. and I dont think we will hang out anymore. Turns out that there are issues to be delt with and these issues are best taken care of with out the distraction of someone else lurking around. So.. who knows what will happen? It's a little upsetting.. but that's life. I dont talk about guys. My friends know that I dont talk about guys ever. So when I started talking about how I met this great guy Scott.. my friends were like.. WOW.. he must be something if Paula's talking about him.. and now I feel stupid for talking about him cause it may not be anything after all!!! He is NOT a loser.. he is different than anyone I have ever met. He makes all the others ive dated look like complete idiot loser assholes.. he puts them to shame!!

My family and friends always say to me: "Paula, you will meet the right guy someday.. when you least expect it".. Barf-ola. If I had a freakin dollar for everytime I heard that statement.. I would be living in the Bahamas and blogging everyday. Or this one.. "Youre such a nice person.. why dont you have a boyfriend". OH.. thank you for rubbing it in my face that I have NO ONE and all my friends have someone one. For the past couple years I chose to be single.. not that dudes were bustin down my door for dates.. but I chose to be single and not put myself out there cause I was dealing with ex- boyfriend issues and taking care of Paula. So, it has taken me almost 3 years to jump on this "dating" wagon and start dating again. It's been fun.. but geez.. there are a lot of losers out there. It's hard to date this day in age.. serioulsy.. and sometimes it reminds me how much I love being single! OK enough about this already.. BORING. Im staying single and sticking to it. Besides.. you would miss out on all my crazy stories if I were to settle down! lol..

Well, it's official.. Im losing my job as of Dec 19, 2008. However, my company is being very generous with all of us (only 5 of us that are losing our jobs). If I dont find another job right away (which im hoping to) then I dont have to worry about money and insurance until April 2009.. I will be covered. So, that eases things a little. BUT.. jobs are few and far between these days.. and I cant imagine what the competition is like for the few jobs out there. UGH! I do have one possibility though.. and im sending my resume today. I have contacts in Mpls and Chicago.. so im keeping my fingers crossed. And yes, I would relocate if I had to.. it would suck, but sometimes you have to do things that suck.

Hmmmm.. trying to think here.. what else? My nephews football team got to play at the HHH Metrodome.. home of the mighty Vikings (yeah right!). that was fun to watch. My youngest niece celebrated her 5th birthday at the end of October. Hey.. how about our new President? This will certainly be interesting.. change huh?

You know it's time to close out the post when your digging for things to talk about. If it's not flowin, then it's not flowin. I would like to talk more about Scooter.. but I wont. I may have to reveal things.. and that's not happening. Were friends and I want to keep his friendship! lol.. Ive already destroyed a coworker relationship.. not that there was a whole lot to destroy.. with this blog.. lol.. I dont need to ruin a friendship that I actually care about!!

OH yeah.. The only good thing about losing my job, is that coworker and I dont have to see eachother anymore... yeay! You see.. there are silver linings in dark clouds (or however that saying goes)! lol..

Peace!

Listen UP!

OK.. since my blog is a topic of conversation lately because of the controversy it caused between my coworker and I... I need to make a few things clear.

I am NOT going to change anything about my blog. NO WAY! I have thought about this and thought about this! This is MY BLOG. I feel that I am entitled to post about what ever I want and whom ever I want ( I wont use your real name) because this is about MY life.

If you dont like it, dont read it.. SIMPLE! If you feel that only one side of a story is being told here, then feel free to leave me a comment.. as a matter a fact, I welcome all comments.

I will make no promises to anyone about anything that has to do with my blog. I do this because I like to write and I like to share my life with my friends and family and whoever wants to read this. And it's also a way for me to release my feelings at times of need.. get rid of my BS.. so no one else has to feel the pain! lol..

End of story!
~Peace

Catching UP!

Im out of it! I have been out of the loop on my blog, facebook, checkbook, laundry and just life in general. There has been too much going on.. not enough time in the day or week to do everything.. and with no thanks to a short stint in the hospital for me. That threw a kink into all.

Well, we can start by saying that my parenting experience was successful! The kids were very well behaved and that time we spent together was memorable and a lot of fun! We went to the water park at The Holiday Inn in Elk River, MN. Our group included the following: Myself, my dad & 2 brothers (Andy & Aaron), Kelsie, Jonathan and 2 of their friends (Hunter & Noah Litzau). The water park was super cool and they also had Halloween festivities for kids of all ages. We spent the night there on Friday, Oct 17. Then we proceeded to go up north to the lovely Aitkin, MN to my aunt & uncles house on Saturday afternoon. It was on our drive up there that my throat began to tickle and started a wacky cough. I was begining to feel the effects of having no sleep and running kids around town all week.

We returned to Mpls on Sunday evening, after the Vikings lost to Chicago.. lame ass losers. By Sunday evening, I was spent.. tired and all I wanted was my own bed and a good nights rest. NOPE.. not happening! I go home to sleep.. and nothing. Here I am, in the comforts of my own bed and I cant friggin sleep. The reason I cant sleep is because I have this cough and im starting to feel really shitty!

The problem with me getting a cold, is that it usually hangs around in the head area for about a week and then makes a nice home right in my chest for another week or two. And the problem with all of that is.... I have ASTHMA. Well, when I woke up on Monday morning, I was hurtin for certain! I got out of bed and into work and did what I could. Went home and to bed. Slept for a few hours and then had errands to run. Back to bed at 10pm. And then it all starts:

I woke up at 1am to some pretty bad wheezing in my chest. I was having a really hard time catching my breath. I was wondering if I should consider going to the ER.. but thought that perhaps I was over reacting. I never fell back asleep because I couldnt get comfortable and when I laid down, I couldnt breathe. I finally roll out of bed at 530am and decide to go to work and make a doctors appt. I get to work and now my breathing is really bad.. bad enough that even walking took all the breath out of me. I get to my doctor at noon and he tells me that I look completely miserable (Thanks Dr. Pinchback)... and I do feel completely miserable. I get a nebulizer treatment, a couple perscriptions and im on my way. Dr. Pinchback (whom I totally love.. he's a great doctor) tells me on my way out that if I feel I need to go to the hospital, that I better get to the hospital. About 230pm.. im hysterical.. cant catch my breath.. starting to get really scared.. wondering if im dying.. and SHOULD I GO TO THE HOSPITAL? I decide to call my mom @ work.. she's on break. I get in my vehicle and drive to my sisters house. On the way, my mom calls, I immediately start crying and tell her inbetween of trying to catch my breath that I need to go to the hospital because I cant breathe!

I get to the hospital and they take my vitals and realize that my O2 level was well below what it should be... and they admitt me right away. I did have a chest x-ray which revealed that I did NOT have pneumonia.. which is good. They told me I had a severe asthma attack. I stayed in the hospital from Tues 3pm until Thursday 6pm. And we all have hospital stories.

I get to my room and a couple hours later, my roommate has some major seziure.. they move her out. The next morning, they bring in a little old lady and she's very sick.. By that eve, she was puking (go fucking figure) and I was freaking out. The next morning, they move her to a nursing home and a little while later, they move in another lady who is having severe abdominal pain.. which causes her to... GUESS! PUKE! UGH.. by now im going completely CRAZY.. and scratching the walls to get the hell out of there. When my doc came to see me, I BEGGED him to let me go. He said I was boarderline and should stay another day.. but OK, I can go home. yeay!

So, now it's Wednesday and Im a lot better. Im still very tired out and need to watch myself. Ive had a very busy week and it's not gettin any better. Im in a wedding this Friday, which I talked about a while ago. Im very much excited for it, but also looking forward to it being over. I forgot how expensive it is to be in weddings.. it's been a while.

Well, I came back to work last Friday to find out that our Minneapolis Grain Exchange is closing it's doors to the trading floor... and yes folks, that's my job! As of Dec 19, 2008 I will be out of a job.. maybe. I work for a company that trades wheat on the floor and im hoping that we are able to find different positions in the company.. move to another department.. something. Dont they know that this is a horrible time to be laying people off? Merry Christmas to me! I will keep you updated! If youre interested, I linked the article from the Mpls Star & Tribune above if you click on Mpls grain exchange. The grain exchange has been open for 127 years! Sad to see it close. The building itself will remain open as they lease space to other companies.. it's just the actual trading floor that will close.

Still Alive & Learning!

That's right.. im still alive here and ive been doing the "parenting/babysitting" thing for 3 days now.. today is day 4. The kids are still alive too! It's amazing! And my sister was worried? pffff.. piece of cake! NOT!.. So for today's post, I decided that instead of giving you the day to day details of my week, I would give you a list of things I learned so far about being a parent of 3 kids.

1). Kids dont like to take showers

2). Kids dont like to brush their teeth.

3). Things dont change much between 9 & 37.. we all hate getting out of bed in the mornings.

4). Kids dont care what they look like when they go to school.. as long as they can sleep in that extra 10 minutes.

5). Im 37 & still dont know if im ready to have kids yet. They are a lot of work.

6). Bribery still works with the 5 year old!! Yeay for bribery!

7). Bribery does NOT work with the older 2.. they just dont care if you take playstation(or whatever it may be) away from them.

8). I realized that im super organized and have no problem coordinating everything.

9). I also have a good memory and didnt forget to take out the trash on "Trash day" (even though that was Kelsies job).

10). Happy that the school serves breakfast in the morning so I dont have to.

11). Ive learned that I sleep like CRAP at my sisters house.. I only love my bed!

12). Im wondering how many activities parents can fit in to ONE day (from after school til 9pm).

13). Im a lot better at this than I thought I would be.. and Im in control of myself.. not getting pissed off so easily. Take everything with a grain of salt.. esp when dealing with these kids!!

So, weve had fun so far. Ive had a little time to myself.. not a whole lot... but for sure cherish the alone time I get. I took today off work so that we can do something fun for the weekend. I have already sent Camryn (my youngest niece)off with her grandma, who is taking her up north for the weekend to Grand Marais (which is way up near the Canadian boarder.. in the arrowhead part of MN). Johnny, Kelsie, 2 of their friends and myself are meeting my dad and his 2 boys at a hotel/water park this afternoon. We are spending the night @ the hotel. There is a halloween party for the kids and of course, the water park and never to forget that there is a BAR in the water park for the 2 wacked out adults.. myself and my dad!! lol... Tomorrow we are heading up to lovely Aitkin, MN to my aunt and uncles house for the remainder of the weekend.

I am officially off kid duty on Sunday evening... Then my life can go back to normal. I see how I have settled in to my single lifestyle so comfortably, now that ive had it taken away from me for almost a week. A couple of my friends have asked
me to go for happy hour.. or meet them later for a beer, to which I thought.. hmmm.. who can I get to babysit for me already? lol.. But to calm everyones mind.. I rejected all the requests for socializing because it's more important that Im with my wonderful nieces and nephew! See, I dont need treatment after all! :)

This has been a great experience for me to see what it's like to have kids, work, have activities, keep a home clean, keep the kids organized and in line, feeding the kids, getting them to bed and up in the morning.. plus getting myself ready for work, etc. Yes, it's a big job, this parenting thing. The one thing I thought about the other day when I did have about 45 minutes alone was: How do families do it? Both parents working, kids in school/daycare, after school activities, dinner, baths, fighting (lol), keeping up with the house & laundry, etc... all of it? Geez, it really makes my life seem quite easy! I only have to take care of ME! And for now, that's how I like it!

Have a great weekend. I will post again on Sunday.. pics and stories from the weekend.. if there is anything good to talk about!

~Peace!

The Word is OUT!

Yup, thats right.. the word is out at work about my blog! lol! This is funny to me because it assures me that everyone loves a little bit of drama.. even me sometimes. My coworkers arent reading my blog just because they are intersted in my life.. they are reading it because of the drama it caused with the coworker! All the feedbacks arent in yet, but so far TWO positive responses. One even stated something about "Freedom of Speech". Horray for Freedom of Speech. And just in case some of you ppl out there have forgotten exactly what it is, feel free to check it out here!

With all that being said, i've been debating whether or not to talk about this topic anymore. The reason is because we are in "sessions" now (trying to be sensitive here..) and it's probably best to just hack out the issues in person with the one involved and not write about it on here. But that's boring. Drama makes for good reads! lol.. ok.. but since I DO have a sensitive side, I will rest my case for the time being. Although, the coworker claims that she is no longer reading the blog... hmmmm.... I personally think it's too hard to resist. If she's not reading it, someone close to her probably is reading it. I think it's the right thing for now.. not that I wont fill you all in at a later date.. :)

Did I ever mention that I work with a bunch of adult males that act younger than my 5 year old niece? The pics says it all. We have been very slow at work lately, and that's when the alter-ego personalities appear from nowhere. One minute, they are cussing you out, the next minute they are dancing to "It's Raining Men". Since im not about using real names, I wont name this trader.. but this is not an unusual sight in the trading pits. I personally find these guys extremely entertaining and find myself laughing a lot at their strange acts! It's good to have a good sense of humor.. and also a sense of self confidence, such as Mr. Dork here to the left!

So, what's been going on with me.. well, i met my old boyfriend, Mark out the other night. It's been 14 years since we have seen eachother last and it was really nice to see him. We reconnected on F-ing Facebook(which i will touch on in a few), just as I have reconnected with a bunch of old friends. I had a lot of fun catching up & laughing about old times together. We drank some beer, ate some pizza and watch the Vikings beat the Saints on MNF. And no, there were no sparks! I have decided that I really do enjoy being single. I guess I think that if I settle in with someone, I wouldnt be able to go and meet up with Mark.. drink beer and catch up on life. But then again, it depends on who your with.

This facebook thing is a trip. I have reconnected with so many people from my past, it's freakin nuts. I ended up joining this Facebook revolution because someone sends me some pics to view online. But Oh.. no... in order to view these pictures (which i really wanted to see) I had to become a member of Facebook. I caved in!! So, on our girls weekend up north a few weeks ago, we were talking about joining Facebook.. blah, blah, and Lana states that she had to join F-ing Facebook for the same reason I did!! From then on, F-ing Facebook stuck! I have met out with 4 of my friends so far, which has been totally awesome! It's so strange to reconnect with someone after a 20 year absence..but at the same time, it's so much fun!

Im going to babysit my 2 nieces and nephew next week.. to which I say.. are you F-ing nuts? My sister and her husband decided that they are over worked and need a vacation to Mexico (assholes), so are leaving on Tuesday morning and returning the following Tuesday. I have volunteered to stay at her house and lock her kids in the closet! lol.. I get to play mean aunt for a week.. well, almost a week. I get that following Mon & Tues off from them. Im wondering who is going to come out of this alive.. me or the kids?? No, it should be fine. Im a fun auntie, but when I mean business.. they know they better fall in line or I will be crackin skulls! hahaha.. if they are reading this, they are totally laughing right now! lol.. like me! We all get along just fine and I dont anticipate any problems.. RIGHT KIDS? They have MEA next Thurs & Fri. I took Fri off from work and we are going to head up north to beautiful Aitkin, MN to harass my aunt & uncle! They can babysit and I will be ready for the booze! :)

Im aboot (the MN way of saying about..lol) sick of the freakin election shit and the Bailout shit. YES, it's a freakin bailout.. not a rescue! I did catch part of the presidental debate last night.. and must say I wasnt too impressed with either party (that's why im voting for Ron Paul). McCain reminds me of a little weasel.. the way he stands.. the way he talks.. the way he looks like he's going to have a stroke any minute now. Obama is a very well spoken man, in my opinion.. just not sure he would make a good President. I have mainly associated myself with the Democratic Party, but this year, im going to claim to be a Libertarian. And that Palin.. holy shit. Who let her out of Alaska? Speaking of entertainment.. she's freakin hilarious. Speaking of well spoken.. shes definately NOT! If you havent seen the SNL bits with Tina Fey, it's a MUST SEE! They give her the Minnesota accent as well.. it's a gut busting performance by Tina, I must say!

I just freaked myself out here, which is a definate sign to end my post for the day. I forget that these auto save as you type.. I just made one wrong slip of the finger on the keyboard here and all of a sudden my blog screen went blank. I thought I erased everything i'd been typing for an hour and a half.. ugh! It's good to be back after over a week! Stay tuned for more drama.........

~Peace

GO TWINS!

WARNING: There is an illness that is making it's way around the state of Minnesota. It's called.. Twins Fever! Everyone is getting it! I went to the game last Thursday (vs White Sox) at the Metrodome with some friends and it was perhaps the most exciting game to happen at the dome in years! Our seats werent the best, but good enough for me. It was my first Twins game this year and I was excited to be there! This was a big series for the Twins.. a chance to take over first place in our division.. and not only take over first.. but take it from the White Sox. Of course, we swept them.. won all 3 games!!

After Thursday night's game, fans were pouring out into the streets of downtown Mpls.. going freakin crazy! After I seperated from my friends and was walking to my car, people were going nuts... yelling, chanting, hootin & hollarin.. honking horns... fans running around all over. One would have though we won the world series!

Then we go into our last series of the year with the Kansas City Royals this weekend. Here was our chance to secure first place for sure.. and we got BLASTED on friday night and we lost again last night (4-2). UGH! We play again this afternoon at 1pm.. keeping my fingers crossed that we can at least win this one. The only good thing, is that the White Sox have lost both of their games as well. On a lighter note.. for Decision '08, I will be voting for C.. for sure!

OK.. enough baseball talk. The funny thing is, is that im not a total baseball fan. I am a closet sports junkie because I do really like sports.. esp basketball. But for the most part, you can say that Im a bandwagoner.. lol.. It's hard being a MN sports fan because our teams just suck sometimes. Like the Twins last year.. make it to the playoffs.. then lose first round.. DONE. It's disappointing. The Vikings just suck all around.. and the Timberwolves are hot, then cold.. etc. So, I will watch the games, but usually end up walking along side the wagon for the most part. My friend stated to me, "I hope you dont break your ankle when you jump off the bandwagon". Very true. I understand that being a sports fan you will have disappointments in your "fan" career.. but whatever. It is what it is... :)

My weekend hasnt brought too much excitement. I went out with my friend Rob Davis on Friday night. He and I havent seen eachother for 10 years now (I forgot we saw eachother at our 10 year class reunion). It was really great to see him and catch up. We drank some beer and BS'd for a few hours. I spent yesterday being a little hung over.. and then using the remainder of my day working on a top secret project for my friend Lana. It's her bridal shower next Sunday, so I have a special surprise for her.. and I wont mention on here just in case she reads my post today..(which im sure she wont, but you never know). It will be a great surprise for her. Today brings a shitty, cold day outside which makes me feel lazy and want to go back to bed. I have things to do though.. like finishing my laundry (put that off so I could go to the Twins game on Thurs), cleaning my room (you would think at 37 yrs old I could keep it clean by now.. but NO).. finish watching a movie (Trading Places.. ive never seen it), baking some cookies (for my friend at work.. it's his b-day tomorrow) and last but NOT least.. 2 of my shows start tonight. Desperate Housewives & Brothers and Sisters!

So, The housewives move ahead 5 years.. not sure whats up with that, but im sure it will be funny!

Brothers & Sisters.. sooo good.. I love this show. Justin and Rebecca will be making out on the show tonight.. FINALLY (maybe they did on the season finale last year.. dont remember). They thought they were brother & sister, which after a paternity test, it revealed they really werent! So, now it's full speed ahead.. they will start dating, I presume.. and it will be good.

UPDATE: My buget is going very well. I finally got a grip on it, and now im doing this all on my own.. like im all growed up! lol... Even though my "allowance" went up by $25 each week, I am still getting my bills paid.. even have paid some of them off now.. AND I have money in my savings account! Thrilling. I was having my doubts about the buget, wondering if I was going to be able to make it.. but it has worked. I deal only in cash.. it's the best way for me. My checking account balances TO THE PENNY every Thursday when I get paid.

More stuff going on at work. My coworker and I will see a mediator. Since we have differing opinions on pretty much everything, I guess this may be the only option we have at this point. Our work isnt making us do this, my coworker approached me and asked me if I would be willing to do this outside of work.. to which I reluctantly agreed. At first, I thought.. "whatever".. but after having the weekend to think about it, it will probably be good for us to hack out our issues with someone who is a neutral party. So, I will give it a try and put forth an effort to resolve the issues. It's very hard to go to work everyday when you have to sit next to someone who doesnt like you.. you dont like them.. and work with them... elbow to elbow. I pretty much HATE going there. Everyone knows there's something going on.. everyone can feel the tension between us. Someone who works for another company actually pulled me aside last week and asked what was going with us (all 4 of us that work together). This person said that it's very obvious that there is something because none of us are acting "normal". I just stated that there are some issues right now.. didnt get into details.. didnt feel that I shoudl be talking about it with others. (however, there is a BLOG).. lol.. It's a catch 22 for me... I dont tell ppl at work about the problems, but I put the problems on here. My friends at work dont read my blog.. so.... it's all good. Even though my coworker thinks im the "Oprah" of blogging with 10 million viewers... it's not true.

Have a great Sunday.. perhaps more to come this week!!!

GO TWINS!

~Peace

To Blog or Not to Blog??

Someone came and stole my little world of blogging. And im pissed off about it. This someone SUCKS! So, I have been thinking and thinking... should I continue my blog or not? Should I just say F it.. or not? Should I make it private so this suckwad doesnt steal my thunder or should I just change it all together? Hmmmmm..... This is the reason I havent been posting lately. I dont want this loser to effect my blog.. so for today, I continue. But as a little gift.. I give you this you suckwad loser!!!

What's been going on this week? I had a lot of catching up to do on my blog reading.. one of my favorite things to do. I finally got to read the Gadfly's blog again.. so thank you JROD! It was good reads! Not a whole lot happening around here lately. Although, I cant leave out our girls weekend at the Murphy-Valker cabin in Pillager, MN last weekend. There were 9 of us girls and we were there to celebrate Lana's bachelorette party.

I think I would be 100% correct if I said that fun was had by all. Five of us got up there later on Friday night.. we settled in, ate some food and drank some beer. Lana and I polished off a case of beer ourselves just on Friday night in about 3 hours.. lol.. yeah.. apparently we have a high tolerance!

The remainder of the girls came up on Saturday morning. We pretty much sat on our butts all day, drinking beer and playing Testie Toss (that's what Sara calls it.. normal people call it Polish Golf). We also had a boat ride and then headed off to the bar for some UP NORTH fun! You know youre up north when all the white trash women look completely horrid.. lol.. I have some pics of them.. but not posting them. We saw some strange people up there.. but it's normal for Northern MN! They arent as hip as us city girls! lol...

One of the fun things about the weekend: I was the only one with a camera! So, naturally I was in complete control of what pics were being taken. All of my pics are posted on Facebook and for a small fee, we can be friends!

Our Saturday evening ended with the lovely bride puking once we got back to the cabin and everyone else passing out. Molly and Katie did stay with me at the campfire until about 2am.. im so proud of them.

Other than that, it's been a long week. Our Twins beat the SOX 2 nights in a row. Im getting ready to head out to the game tonight. Of course, I will have my camera handy. Also, I made a sign so im hoping I make it on TV. Burt Blyleven, a former MN Twins player is the tv announcer and ppl always bring signs that read "Circle Me Burt".. so Im going to bring one.. and hopefully he circles me & my friends. At the bottom of the sign, it tells my good ole buddy, JS(from Chicago) to bring my brownies to Mpls. We went double or nothing on our last bet (remember, he owes me a pan of brownies from the first Twins/Sox series back in July). He said if I get on tv with my sign, he will come to Mpls and we will party like rockstars! Bring it on!

Some of my fav shows started again this week.. very exciting! Dancing with the stars, Two and a half Men, Boston Legal and last but not least Greys Anatomy. Unfortunately, Im going to miss the premier tonight because of the Twins.. but that's what TEVO is for! Thank God for Tevo!

Im hoping the blogging bug bites again soon. All the fun was taken from me.. and I want it back, dammit! Should I change my blog? Make it private? Stop blogging? I really do like doing this, but with all the work BS going on, it just kind of lost it's luster for a little while. It will come back.. I have the faith!

Go Twins.. Im outtie!
~Peace

37 with a little Journey!

Yup.. I turned another year older last Sunday. I had a fairly good 36th year! There were some good memories with a side dish of shit ones as well.. but we wont mention any names! Now I'm moving on to my 37th year and hoping for a great year!

I spent my birthday with about 15 (or so) friends and some family watching the Vikings be losers again at BW3 in Crystal. It was a lot of fun. I also share a birthday with my good friend, Kevin Moore (pictured at top in yellow shirt). We not only share the same birthday.. but we were born in the same year. That's not too common. I know a lot of people that share my same birth date but not necessarily the same year! We headed for another bar, Mad Jacks in Brooklyn Park and then ended our evening in the White Castle drive thru at 10pm! What a way to end your birthday!

I also had the pleasure of seeing Journey & Cheap Trick in concert at the Target Center in Minneapolis last night. This is my second concert this year and the cheaper of the two. I also saw George Michael back in July.. (i know.. but it was an awesome concert!) Our group last night consisted of 4 couples: Stacy & Tracey Oddy (my sister & Bro in law), Rollie & Nikole, John & Michelle Lee, John and Krissy.. and last but certainly not least: ME! Im the tag-a-long.

So, Journey has a new dude for their lead vocals: Arnel Pineda. He is the "Steve Perry" sound alike and I have to say.. he's very good. He was discovered on none other than YouTube by a Journey band member and was asked to fly from the Phillipines to audition for the band. He has quite a story.

If you have the opportunity to see them, I would highly recommend it. I didnt really know too much about him before I went to the concert.. but if you click on his name above, there is a nice clip that was done on him for the CBS Morning Show. Never give up on your dreams!

Fall is definately in the air here in Minnesota. It's been pretty cool here in the mornings and evenings. The colors should start changing here in the next few weeks. That's the time to head up to northern Minnesota to be a color gawker. Also, in the same week, 2 of my family members have gotten a hold of me for ideas for Christmas! Yes, freakin Christmas is just around the corner. Im not a huge Christmas person.. I would rather give the kids a couple things and just donate the rest of my money to some charity. Im over the gifts thing. I dont like Christmas shopping.. dont like the crowds of people. But the biggest thing is that what gift do you give someone that has everything? It sucks shopping for my dad... I get him the same shit every year.. and he doesnt need it. Im just doing it to give him something. My mother doesnt need anything either.. and my sister and I just stopped exchanging gifts a long time ago. I really dont care if I get anything either. I have what I want for the most part.. except the winning lottery ticket. Could someone please give me that for Christmas this year?

The weekend is fast approaching.. yippy! 2 days away from CW. This weekend will be spent with my girlfriends up north at our friends cabin. We are celebrating Lana exiting her bachelorette-hood for her wonderful boyfriend, Bobby! This will be a great weekend, I already know it. Beer all day, camp fires at night, good friends means good company which all equals a good time! And there will be pictures on Monday!

~Peace

Dear CDM...

Dear CDM...

What exactly does a Manager of Complaints Department do? Can he also solve problems? Or just manage complaints or both?

The reason I ask is because I believe one of my posts landed me in some murky water with a coworker. Apparently this person has read my blog..( which is intersting in itself because I didnt think he/she would be interested in it) and it offended him/her. However, this person didnt come directly to me about it, this person reported it to our Manager at work(HUH?). The complaint on the employees part is that I made mention of him/her in one of my posts and I did it on company time. I agreed that I did (as a matter a fact) do this. It is not "illegal" to blog on company time, as we have a lot of down time and basically have free access to the internet. I have been on many different websites just as my coworkers (including the one who has complained about my posting). We have been known as a group to watch YouTube, Break.com, purchase things on Ebay or other internet sites like that, etc.... and the list could go on.

I was approached at work(not by the manager) and was told that I could no longer blog at work... which I dont have a problem with. My problem is this... Was I told that I could no longer blog at work due to the fact that I mentioned a coworker (whom I did not identify with the real name.. nor have I ever made mention of WHERE I work) in one of my posts? I dont think this is a matter of blogging at work or not. I believe it was personal for this person and perhaps I hurt their feelings. What if I blog about this person outside of company time? Will this matter? I agree that perhaps morally it's wrong (if you have morals..lol).. but legally it's NOT.



Here is my point... I have something called "Freedom of Speech" which is laid out in my Bill of Rights as an american citizen. I have the right to write whatever I want about anyone I want on a free blogging site, which has no rules to whether or not I can blog about certain people. This person (whom I did not invite to my blog site) also has the right as an american citizen to read anything I post on my blog... and I accept that. This person ALSO has the right to NOT read my blog if it upsets him/her, correct? And he/she can also leave a comment about my posting if they so desire.



I do this blog for me.. not for anyone else. Im not here to protect "feelings" or opinions of others. With that being said, Im also not here to intentionally hurt anyones feeling either. I have my own opinions about things that happen in my life. I re-read that posting to make sure I didnt call this person any "names" or make rancid comments about this person, which I didnt. And as a matter a fact, I simply stated how I was feeling about what was going on with the complaining. End of Story.

Is it valid that I can get in trouble with my employer for blogging at work if there are no policies against it? If your answer is yes, then I ask you this.. is it valid that I can get in trouble with my employer if I do the same thing im doing now, but outside of work? How does this work?

Im also aware that if my coworker is reading my blog on his/her time away from work and doesnt like what I have to say(only when it pertains to him/her).. I understand and realize that this could potentially cause tension between us while working together. Also, let it be known that I have only mentioned this person ONE time.. ONE posting. It's not like im running a blog site that is titled: "ALL THE MEAN THINGS I CAN SAY ABOUT MY COWORKER" and actually name this person. I mean arent we going a little over board because of hurt feelings? What about my rights?

I think I would have handled this in a different manner if the person whom im speaking of came directly to me and said.. "I read your blog and it hurt my feelings.. blah, blah, blah", but that's not what happened. Do I then have to stop posting my opinions about all of this? Is it ok that this person can complain about things I do or wear or listen to but I cant do the same, just in a differnt manner? hmmm... good question!

Im interested in what you have to say! Also, understand that Im not trying to be right or wrong here. Im simply trying to get clarification as to WHAT is right and WHAT is not. Where do we draw the line? There is more to this story too.. but that is the basic part of it. Maybe I need to just clear this blog site and start a new one that doesnt identify me and nobody can find me? Then I can say whatever I want.. and protect the innocent! LOL...

Thanks CDM!

**Note to readers: It is 6:49PM and im NOT at work!

Four Things..

Good Monday morning,
It's the Vikings vs Green Bay tonight... and were fired up about it. Party at my house and everyone is welcome!! Beware of the dog!

I thought I would mix things up this morning..

Four jobs I have had in my life:
Landscaping
Travel Agent
Admin Asst.
Commodities

Four Places I've Lived:
Minnesota (all over the metro area)
Denver, Colorado
Keystone, Colorado
Tampa, Florida

Four Places I have traveled to:
Paris, France
Mexico (Cancun & Mazatlan)
Las Vegas, NV
Boston, MA

Four Of My Favorite Foods:
Pizza
Steak
Pasta
Bread

Four Places I'd Like to Visit:
Europe (Italy, Greece, France again, Germany)
Hawaii
Australia
Somewhere in South America

We've all gotten these emails before, so I thought it would be fun to post this today! You can go to bed tonight knowing me a little better!!
Have a great Monday! GO VIKES!
~Peace

! Viva La Revolution !

I got an opportunity to go see Ron Paul last night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, so I went. Since im not really into politics and have heard about this Ron Paul, I though it would be good to go and see what it's all about. Im hesitant about writing too much about all of this because Im a "newbie" at this. Although Ron Paul will not be on the official ballot come November, it's apparent that most people who attended last nights rally will be writing his name in when casting their vote. There were people from all over the country in attendance at this rally. It was quite interesting and held my attention for the short time Dr. Paul spoke.. I think an hour or so. I cant go into all the details of the speech/rally because it's still absorbing into my thick skull!

I, unlike my friends that attended, am not sold on anything as of yet. To be fair to the people I was with, they have been "studying" this whole idea of taking back the Republic for a while now.. 9-10 months. I think for me, it's important that I look into this and form my own opinions about what I read/hear/see. I dont want to agree with anyone until I am able to make informed/educated decisions on topics that involve the words "Politics", "Government", "Facisim"... etc... Too many people nod their head in agreement with these topics just to avoid any sort of arguement or disagreements. For all I know, people who present their information could just be feeding me a large amount of bullshit or their opinion. I am interested enough in this that I would like to get more information about the Ron Paul Revolution and see what it has to offer me.

So, with that being said, I was asked by one of the people with whom I attended the rally, what I took away from my experience. To which I replied : Im still processing. Yes, I believe Dr. Paul has some very valid points about the government. He has valid points about Foriegn Policy, military and some others that are floating away from me right now. One of his big issues is the Federal Reserve, which not an entity run by the Federal Government.. Right? See, Im confused. I believe that because it has the word "Federal" in front of it, it belongs to the government.. but it doesnt. This one of the things I will research because I cant talk about someting I dont know anything about. Maybe people out there can help me.? I know Laury can.. and she's extremely passionate about this topic. So, Laury... after youre done reading this, leave a comment so others can read and learn.

One thing Laury and I spoke about on our ride home was Income Tax.. and this all made complete sense to me.. so I can talk about it..lol... Take Jack (fictious person) for example. Jack works for AB company 40 hours a week.. and they pay him $100/hour for his labor/skill..etc. When Jack receives his paycheck every 2 weeks, they take out Income Tax.. federal AND state.. plus whatever else they take out. By the time Jack get his paycheck, he has lost approx 25% of his check just to taxes to the govt. Then Jack goes out to purchase a mug at the store and is charged sales tax (that's your pay being taxed TWO times now). Now April 15 rolls around and Jack & Jill need to file their taxes. But guess what? Jack & Jill made too much money (god forbid) last year and now have to pay in an additional $20,000.00 in taxes!!! WHAT??? Are you freaking kidding me? How many times does your income (the money you are paid for your services to a company) need to be taxed? And why do you need to be penalized for making too much money? Ahhhhhh.... im starting to get it.

Heres something that really pisses me off... Come Feb 17, 09 I will need to purchase a "converter" box for my television because everything is going digital (unless you have cable). WTF? I can no longer own a tv and throw some rabbit ears on top of it and watch tv. Now I need this fuckin converter box? WHY? I dont get it! Because we just cant live with out a better picture on our tv's? The house where I rent.. they have cable.. but I dont have cable hooked up to my tv in my room... and I dont care about it frankly. I havent had cable in almost 10 years. Im not paying for something I dont watch.. and Im a cheap ass anyway so Im not forking out $90 a month for some extra channels on tv. Can anyone tell me why this is happening? Who's making these decisions and why is it ok? Cant we just live simple lives? Who are we trying to impress and keep up with? Im a simple person.. trying to live a fairly simple life.. and THIS pisses me off.
I guess the point of this "Rally for the Republic" is because our founding fathers wrote a constitution as the Law of the Land back in 1700's. We were to live as a Republic.. not a Democracy. Do you know the difference?

I challenge you to just take a peek at what Ron Paul has to offer us, the American citizens.
Take care,

~Peace

Horray for the First Day of School!

In honor of their first day of school... I present Johnathan and Kelsie (my wonderful nephew & niece)!! Jonathan started 6th grade today and Kelsie started 4th grade! I hope you had a great first day back to school!!!

I love you guys big bunches!!!

1 of 10,000 and One Bad Bite!

In case you dont know.. Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes.. (well, 10,000 plus lakes). One of the great things about living in MN.. there's plenty of lakes for everyone to enjoy on a beautiful Labor Day Weekend!!! We had beautiful weather here all weekend long.. although a little on the warm side (we'll be begging for that back in a couple months).. the sun was out and so were all the parties on Lake Minnetonka!! Yeah, Baby!

I spent my entire day Saturday on Lake Minnetonka with my partier in crime, Laury and her friend Cathy and her friend Will! By the end of our day, we were all friends!! Will has a beautiful boat that he invited all of us on for the day! We only had about 3 cases of beer (for 4 people..lol), vodka & tonic and some disgustingly delicious jello shots (although the jello seemed to be non-existent). This is my first time on Lake Minnetonka believe it or not and Ive lived in MN my whole life except for 4 years somewhere in the middle. It was so much FUN! You re not partying unless you've been out on this lake. It was a madhouse.. crazy... awesome!!

When we arrived out on the lake, Laury says to me, "No injuries today".. because she & I were together on the Apple River when I got injured on the rapids. My toe is still trying to heal, thank you. So, of course I'm thinking there is NO WAY I'm going to get hurt today. Will has a very nice boat.. with a little platform that sticks out in the back where you can sit.. or when you re getting out of the water, it's nice to have somewhere to stand, etc. Well, here I am, climbing over the back of the boat to get out on this platform and I slipped (these platform are slippery from the water & I'm sure it wasn't the beer I had consumed) and fell off the back of the boat and hit my leg, arm and left side of my body on the boat next to us. I was fine.. nothing was broken.. no open wounds.. just some bruises and scrapes the next day (I'm used to that by now..lol).

It's madness out there on this lake. Everyone goes to this island.. seen in the background of the pic to the left.. and they anchor their boats into the sand.. turn up the tunes.. and PARTY! This pic was taken quite early in the day.. perhaps around noon-ish.. one maybe. By the end of the afternoon, this place was packed with people. Most of the people were in their early 20's.. kind of like everyone on our boat!! LOL.. we wish. We were perhaps the oldest people there. But it was a blast anyway.

We ended our day by docking the boat at Sunsets and having some dinner. I pretty much fried my back off (sunscreen? What's that??), had a few bruises, lost my favorite hat, lost my new sunglasses but miraculously found them later and had a whole day of FUN! Thank you Laury, Cathy & Will for having me with you! It was one of the more fun days I had this summer!

Well, on to the remainder of the weekend. I pretty much stayed put on Sunday. Although I wasnt so hung over, I was very tired from being out in the sun all day on Saturday. I watched a couple movies, went to my friends house for a while in the evening and just behaved myself.

I woke up on Monday morning bright and early and thought.. I should take Gus for a walk around Lake Calhoun this morning before it gets too warm out. I called my sister to see if she would like to go with (were walkers).. to which she agreed! I went to pick her up and of course the kids want to come with.. Kelsie and Johnny! Well, Gus is not a fan of people he doesnt know. He is used to being mellow & living in a very relaxed and mellow environment. When he's around people/kids he dosent know, he gets nervous and anxious. So, Im driving down the highway going 65. My sister is next to me in the front, Johnny and Gus are in the back seat and Kelsie is in the way back seat. The music is playing, my sister and I are talking in the front.. and all of a sudden I hear Gus with a deep bark. All of a sudden, Johnny is screaming, Im going 65 down the highway, the music is blaring, Im shaking, there is blood all over Johnny & the car, my sister is freaking out, im freaking out and trying to drive and hold the dog by the collar in the back seat so nothing else happens, were trying to pull over so we can look at Johnny.. finally pull over, pull the dog out of the car.. my sister has to drive.. johnny gets in the front seat.. I get Gus in the back.. and we go straight to the hospital. In the mean time, Im shaking uncontrollably because Im trying to process what just happened.. feeling HORRIBLE about all of it.. trying to control my emotions because Johnny is hurt and upset.

Well, a couple hours at North Memorial Hospital and 4 stitches later... this is Johnny! He was so brave at the hospital and so cooperative with the doctor. Did you know they have this liquid stuff now that they can put on cuts that need stitching to numb the area? No more needles stuck right in there (like they did when I had stitches in my lip 10 years ago). So, they didnt need to stick him with any needles! I told him how sorry I was, my roommate (who owns Gus) felt terrible of course. Johnny said that he still likes Gus and forgives him! And poor Johnny had to start school today!!! What a honey!!!

Needless to say, the bite ruined the rest of my day. I went home about 330pm feeling completely exhausted mentally and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. And that sums up my weekend!!! It was going pretty well, until yesterday morning. UGH! So, to Johnny, I love you Buddy and I hope you had a great first day of 6th Grade. I told him to tell his buddies that he got in a fight and that the other dudes are still in the hospital!! lol.. sounds better than a dog bite.

Have a great Tuesday!!!

~Peace

Reunited Once Again!!

I was finally reunited last evening with my favorite "end of the summer" place to be... The Minnesota State Fair. My niece and I were joined by a long time friend, Jeanine on our trip. We took the bus to the fairgrounds, which by the way, I owe a BIG thank you to my friend Lowanda. She was the Bus - Money taker (for lack of better words) at the mall.. and she let us on for FREE (normally $5 round trip to the fair).. so Thank You Lowanda!!

Our first stop was the "Miracle of Life Birthing Center".. which was awesome. There was a cow in labor right in the middle of the place.. but when the "vet" stuck her arm (and I mean her whole arm) in the uterus, they declared it would be another 2 hours before birth! Disappointing!! However, there were some very cute calf's that were born a day or 2 ago that I was able to photograph. Also, we did see some little piglets be born.. on the tv monitor. It's so crowded in this "barn-building" that they have tv screens all over so you can watch diff animals be born.
(BTW: my camera was acting all funky indoors.. hence the visible lines through the pics...dmit)

Then we kind of made our way to find some food bc I was super hungry by this point. I had some yogurt and watermelon for lunch yesterday, saving my appetite for the fair, of course. So we ate some fried up, greasy sliced potatoes with cheese on them.. (sounded good at the time.. but after... not really). Then of course, my niece wanted to get her "FAIR-DO".. which everyone and their grandma had goin on.. so we headed over to that stand. Check out the fair-do! It's awesome!! They were non-stop busy there and the cost: $13 (for 2 colors & sparkles).

Along the way we saw Don Shelby, who works for WCCO-Channel 4. He is a local news anchor on my favorite channel... so it was fun to see him out and about.. reporting for the news. Ive never seen him in person. He looks the same as on tv!! lol

So, out and about, around the fairgrounds, I spotted a few food items that I thought, "who in the hell would eat that?" Yup.. people actually do eat these things.. I don't know why. I wouldn't eat this stuff.. unless it was a bet and was paid at least $100. lol... You check it out.. ICK!

I told you.. you can get almost anything on a frickin stick at the fair.. even some ostrich if you choose!!
How about some deep fried alligator? Oh yummy!! Only if your a shark! And.. what is it about frozen grapes that even sounds remotely tasty? That's disgusting. To me anyway.

Next to these 2 stands is one of my favorite stands at the fair... The Corn Roast. So naturally, we each had an ear of corn, which was very yummy!

We made our way through some of the buildings where we ran into the Gedney pickle dude and had to have our pic taken! After the pic, my niece stated that she could see the person inside the pickle! lol... They just sold merchandise here.. like t-shirts, bags, etc. There was one shirt in particular that I wanted to purchase, but it was too expensive... duh. The shirt said "Get Pickled"... now were speaking my language!

Made my way over to the MN Twins tent.. where of course I HAD to pose with a T-shirt and say #1.. although were not in 1st place right now. And also posed with MN's fav players, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.. pardon the pic.. I wasn't actually touching them.. just covering them up!! lol...
Also, I did this more for my buddy, JS in Chicago.. because #1). He claims he "resembles" Joe Mauer, which perhaps he does, I dont know... and #2). Our teams are fighting for 1st place and im hoping we come out on top!

I was kind of disappointed because I didn't spot too many freaks at the fair this year. Everyone, including me of course, appeared quite normal. I did capture one guy though.. not sure why he felt compelled to wear his skirt to the fair, but none-the-less, he did. Not sure I would have walked along side of him, but his lady friend did. Jeanines face was in the pic because I was pretending to take a pic of her.. didn't want to be too obvious..lol.. although im sure if I would have walked up to him and asked to pose with him, he probably would have said yes in a Scottish accent! :)

One of the main food items.. I'm guessing one of the top sellers at the fair is the Cheese Curds!! Nothing but grease, grease, grease.. and SO GOOD!!! You cant go to the fair and not get some.. so naturally we did! I only had a couple because I was sooooo full at this point.

We took a ride on the Sky Ride.. from one end of the fairgrounds to the other.. which was nice. But this time my back was starting to really hurt.. my feet were sore and all I wanted to do was sit down for a little bit. We hopped on there.. it takes approx 4 mins to get to the other end. By now its dark.. were all a little tired. But we had to walk by the midway, where all the rides sit. Just a few pics to end my post today of our last sights of the fair before we boarded the bus for home.

Over all, it was a good time. We were all kind of tired when we got out there.. so we were just off in la-la land for a little while. Kelsie has never been to the fair before.. so she really liked it. I wont make it out there again this year, as it closes on Monday. But I will be looking forward to 2009 fair. AND.. if you've never been to the MN State Fair, I would highly recommend it!

Have a great Labor Day weekend.. I know I will. Be safe!!

~PEACE