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