Christmas Vacation

I took a few days off after Christmas.  We had a GIANT snowstorm, so we have been pretty much sticking around the house.  ...Except for my daily run to Irving for fountain soda OF COURSE!!  I have gotten a crapload of stuff done around the house.  Lots of stuff that I had no inclination to do when I was working and going to school.  I even dug out the camera this morning to snap some pics... something I didn't even have the inclination to do on Christmas.

There is still a ton of stuff I want to get done, but if I don't, I am happy with what I DID get done.  I have to work tomorrow, but then I have 3 more days off, so YAY!

All the New Years Eve action will be here Friday night :)  I predict LOTS of dancing.  Dance Central for xbox Kinect MAY be the BEST GAME EVER!  I am SO sore from dancing!!

My list of 5 celebs I am permitted to... you know :)

Vince Vaughn-  He is a big funny, raunchy, sexy teddy bear.  

It's been awhile since I revised my list.  This revision was not easy.  I had to make some tough choices.  I had to make some cuts.  I tried to convince Rick to please just let me have 6.  He chose today to become a stickler for rules.

So without further ado.... and in NO particular order.....

Ryan Reynolds- Do I really need to say more.  AND he's back on the market... HOLLA!!!!

Do you smell what THE ROCK is cookin'!!??  Why yes... yes I do.  Those arms... those tattoos... that smile....  :::swooon:::

Ashton, oh Ashton... How I love thee... let me count the ways... your boyish mischief, your rugged good looks... your Nikon commercials....

Chef Michael Symon-I don't know what I love more, his arms or his laugh, or the fact that he can laugh while he chops stuff with those arms as he cooks me dinner.

OK Rick said NOTHING about honorable mentions....  hee hee.  Those must go to..... 

Tom Brady- One sexy piece of man meat.  But I hate him.  I hate him a lot.  And as a Jets Fan he would hate me too... so if it ever happened... it would be angry.  And it would be hot.  Hmmm.... maybe I need to swap him up into the rotation......

Shemar Moore-  Hot Hot Hot.  The Arms... the rich chocolate skin... the voice... yeah

Crappy Week so far... and it's only Wednesday.

Ugh.  What a week.  As a new convert to being a rabid football fan, I am also new to watching my favorite team get their asses handed to them.  A lot.  Like a really lot.  It was like the Patriots were playing a Pee Wee Football team in Jets uniforms.  Ugh.  It doesn't help that I chose a team that Pats fans hate and I live in the heart of Pats Fan country... so I have had to listen to some SERIOUS razzing since about 5 minutes into the game Monday night.  Again.  Ugh.  But it's just football.  Just a game.

More than enough real life drama to go around this week too.  School is wrapping up it's semester, and as usual, I left PLENTY to do at the last minute.  Work is beyond nuts... and will be til at least January,  And last but certainly not least, my dad is having some health issues that seem pretty serious, and that sucks.

Black is Back

.....after the Jet's game, about to hit the road to Old Navy for the midnight opening :)

Black Friday is BACK, BABY!!  It was a great night of Jet's football, then lots and lots of shopping!  The lines were CRAZY LONG, but that was expected.  The line at Target to pay was all the way at the back of the store near electronics.  But I scored some great deals and had a great time.  After Target I hooked up the "Karyn the oversleeper" at Dunkin Donuts for a little donut and vanilla chai break.  Then we hit the mall.  At the mall I started to hit the "wall of tired" so had to whip out my little bottle of 5 hour energy.  That stuff RULES!!  Those other engery drinks give me an upset stomach and cause me to act what some have described as "a complete fucking psycho."  Not this stuff.  It got me through the rest of the morning and still allowed me to take a nice long nap when I got home :)  Great day!!

Black Friiiiiiiiidaaaaaayyyyyyyy ....coming soon!

If you saw my post from last year's black friday (which you can read here), you are probably a bit shocked that I am actually planning to go out this year.  If you know me... you are probably not shocked at all.  I have no willpower.  None.  Nada.  Zip.  Seriously.   In fact "deciding" that I am NOT going to do something is pretty much a guarantee that I am going to do the opposite.

I will not eat Sour Patch Kids today... I leave work at lunch and go buy some.
I will not wait til the last minute to _______ .... "OMG I NEVER ______, I have to do it now QUICK!!"
I will not wait until my gas tank is empty to fill it....  Well the car SAYS I have 3 miles before I run out.....  I wonder if it's true?  ;-)

You get the idea.

Anyway.  I wasn't going to do it.  Last year was hellacious.  But, I can't not go.  I just can't.  I have changed my game plan a bit though.  Gone are my spreadsheets and expectations.  I am just going to wing it and enjoy the madness.

P.S.  I totally {heart} Karyn.  Monday morning I said...  "OK.  Let's do it!"  She smiled and said, "OK!  What are we doing???"   I said...  "Black Friday"  She said "OK... I'm in!"  I say.. "I think we should get to Target at 330"  She says, "I think that's too LATE!  We should be there at 3am!"  GRASSY GRASSMAN RULES!!!

My dilemma

I have people in my life that pull no punches when I am doing something stupid, lazy, passive-aggressive, self-destructive....  Some of them actually seem to enjoy it maybe it little too much.  Latest example...  My missing registration.  Some have suggested that MAYBE I missed it accidentally-on-purpose.  The GALL of them to probably be right!!  ;-)


I REALLY want to be a teacher... but I like my job that I have right now, most of the time.
I REALLY want to be a teacher, but between me and teaching is 16 weeks of student teaching and us living on one paycheck.
I REALLY want to be a teacher... but what if when I am done with student-teaching, there are no teaching jobs available, and I have quit a great job?

Why do I want to be a teacher?
-I love spending time with tweens and teens.
-I love teaching people to do things
-I love being "up there" sharing what I know with others
-I am interested in all things teaching.  I follow blogs of other teachers, and can actually see myself NOT crawling out of my skin in meetings that are about kids/teaching/school.  (as opposed to my current job where I AM crawling out of my skin sitting through meetings about Medicare and Medicaid rules and regulations)
-Summers off... HOLLA!!

So... I have very nice list on both sides.  Which doesn't help me resolve anything.

Blogging.... or no?

Kinda busy 'round these parts! It's suddenly "Med D Season" at work... which means I have a lot less time to surf the net and play with my co-workers! I kid... I kid.... ;-) Every year from November 15th-Dec 31st people can change their Medicare prescription plan... and I am the girl they call to do it (well not JUST me... but now and then it feels that way!)

School is.. well... school. Last week was registration and in my busy distracted state... I forgot. So I had to e-mail my advisor and hope she can dig me outta THAT hole. Sometimes I just suck. (Though according to Rick not nearly enough... BOO YA!! LOL)

Weekends are CRAZY... but FUN CRAZY!! I FREAKIN' LOVE that we are a football crazed house!! Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded every Sunday by friends and family cheering on our teams and eating ALL KINDS of great food!! Yesterday I even found myself standing in the kitchen grinning as I looked out into the driveway full of cars... and then rolled my eyes at myself for how queer I was LOL!!

This weekend we also wrapped up Sean's football season with a big banquet. He is SO PROUD of his 'participation' medal, it's freakin' adorable. There were times during the season where he wanted to quit. He is a small guy, and I think the games really intimidated him... but he stuck it out (with a little bribery), and now is all fired up to play again next year. YAY SEAN!! I LOVE this photo Nicole took of him after his game a couple weekends ago!

Fifteen

Those are not really my glasses

I finally bit the bullet and went to the eye doctor. It's been almost a year since I read a book out of anger at the fact that I can't see the books like I used to. Guess what? I need glasses. Shocker. When he told me this, I felt like he has just told me I had six months to live. Yes. I am a drama queen. That is what you all love about me. Right? Or no?

I thought I would just need them to read, but since I have been using them... and seeing the difference in the world when I take them off... I will be getting contacts. Gross.

Aaaaaaand.... I am low-carbin' it again. Been on it for about a week and aside from the headache. tired bitchy mood yesterday... it's all going well so far. I will never live the low-carb lifestyle, but I have been able to keep the weight that I lose when I on it off, so I think it works for me. I think it's because I am an "all or nothing" kind of girl and plans that let me 'eat whatever I want in moderation' ...well... my "moderation" button is broken. So on a low carb diet, candy and cheeze doodles and cheez its are all just plain OFF LIMITS... so I don't even think about them. I want to stay on it until our work bet is over on Dec 6th. But as we all know, my "follow through" button is also broken.

Going to see Paranormal Activity 2 tomorrow night.  Should be SOMETHIN' since tonight when I saw a new ad for it tonight and screamed and thew my laptop (which fortunately landed on the ottoman... and is just fine ;-)  )  Ooooh.... maybe I can find it and link it here....  I think I figured out what it's SO EFFING SCARY... it's because there is no music to warn you of impending danger.

Eh... find it yourself. I give up.

Found her!

That silly runner... she was there all along!! And she hadn't even lost any of her running skills!! Ran over a mile without having to stop to walk! Now let's just hope she sticks around and doesn't go missing again!!

Pics are from a little photo shoot before my team played Rick's team in an epic Monday Night Football BATTLE ROYALE! SUCH a great game... late to start because of storming, didn't think I'd be able to stay awake, but the game was so riveting there was no WAY I was fallin' asleep!!!

I am not a ninja.

Well... I am a week into my weight loss challenge at work and I have felt very unchallengish.  I have pretty much eaten my way through the week!  I suck.  Nicole says that as of Monday we will be solving the "Case of the missing runner" and I agree... we need to find her.  She loved the way running made her feel!!!  So why the fuck did she quit the second she won the stupid bet she made with her coworker!!?  WHY, I ASK YOU.... WHY!!!???

Tomorrow Nicole and I are heading down to Portland/Freeport with the kidlets... should be fun... and maybe not-so-fun at times... LOL!!  We meeting up with another friend of ours at Whole Foods for lunch because we are awesome like that ;-)

I am sucking ass at school this semester.  I am not enjoying either of my classes and and barely even 'going through the motions.'  Need to get back on track with that.  I went to pick Sean up from school early the other day and just soaked up the 'school vibe.'  I really do want to be a part of that vibe.... I think I will be a great teacher.  It's just hard to keep that goal in focus sometimes because I do enjoy my job and totally {heart} my co-workers.  But... it's still just "a job."

OK enough chit-chatter.

P.S. I realize this post has nothing to do with Ninjas... this photo just cracked me up earlier today when I saw it.

Legends of the Fall is the best movie ever.

Seriously.  It makes me want to buy a time machine and set it to the early 1900's and point it in the direction  of Montana.  OK maybe not really.  Those were some pretty brutal times and I think I would miss my TV.... laptop... ipod...... heat <---that's a biggie ;-)

Started a new diet challenge with some friends at work Monday.  Bad week to start since I have been in a bit of a funk the past few days.... actually maybe good week to start since the challenge made me stop and think about whether or not I was actually hungry or not... which doesn't mean I didn't eat it anyway, but I thought about it, that counts, right?

Jessi has an MRI for her knee tomorrow... she is out field hockey for the season, which sucks for her :(  I just hope that it's something we can get fixed up for her so that she can get back life pain-free... god... first the stupid gluten and now the knee... the kid can't catch a freakin' break.

OK movie's wrappin' up... bedtime.

Cuz one concert wasn't enough....

OK... maybe one concert would have been plenty, but I let the girls con me into buying them $10 tickets to see Toby Keith and Trace Adkins and stay one more night in Mass (Which I have to thank Nicole for being my personal travel agent and booking me a hotel while I rocked out at Nickelback!!)  I am a sucker for a good time ;-)  We were going to just stay in the Foxboro area and shop and have lunch at CBS scene, but when I learned that I would have to pay $50 to park there for the day, I decided it would be even MORE fun to spend the day in the fantastic city of Boston!!  It was a great plan :)  We had a GREAT day of shopping and touring the city and made it back to the Comcast Center just in time to join the drunken, obnoxious rednecks at the Toby Keith concert.  Seriously... I would have thought that the Nickelback/Three Days Grace/Buckcherry crowd would be wild and crazy, and the country fans to be laid back and just there to have a nice time.  WRONG!!!  COMPLETE OPPOSITE!  While I did enjoy Toby and Trace (I love both of their deep sexy voices even though I am not a big country fan), I will pass on any more country concerts for quite awhile.

The Nickelback concert was FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!!!  ALL three acts ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!!  The girls and I had SO much fun... it was everything I was hoping it would be AND MORE!!












We were SO CLOSE to staying for the Patriot's game too.... but I had already been naughty enough this weekend... not to mention, I am a SLEEPY SLEEPY GIRL!  Also... Sean had a football game today at 1pm that I didn't want to miss.  I can't WAIT to get Jessi to a game though.  She is a HUGE Pat's fan.. more and more every day.  When she walked into the Pat's Pro Shop Saturday morning, you'd have thought she'd died and gone to football heaven!

I am going to be a freakin' train wreck at work tomorrow.  My Jets are playing right now, and I SO want to stay up and watch the Dexter season premiere too... but it's not lookin' good....  I am also pretending that I don't have a ton of homework AND a test tomorrow....

Happy Nickelback Eve!! :)

The girls and I are heading out to Massachusetts bright and early tomorrow morning.  Shopping on the way down, of COURSE ;-)  SO EXCITED!!!  We are staying at a hotel right beside Gillette Stadium.  I have heard that Tom Brady goes from room to room tucking everyone in.  Can't WAIT for THAT!  The Pats are in town this weekend, so it's gonna be SHENANIGANS in Foxboro.  I LOVE SHENANIGANS!!

5k race day!!

Phew. I am beat! Not sure if it's from the race, or from a looooong day of hangin' out and watching football with all my favs :) We had a house full today!! Pretty sure I will have NO voice tomorrow from cheering on my J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! Yeah... I am a Jets fan... I got TOTALLY sucked into the 'Hard Knocks'- Training Camp with the New York Jets' show on HBO. Fell in love with them then, and then again and again every time I watch them play. They play rough and dirty, just the way I like it LOL!!

The race went great!!! I was SO LUCKY to have my bestie run it with me and scream at my when I wanted to walk... and scream at me more when it was time to run again after a brief walk break. My time was evern better than the last 5k, and it was a WAY harder race with a LOT of hills.... it S-U-C-K-E-D!! But it felt SO GOOD at the end when my favorite peeps (who don't give up Sundays for just ANYONE! ;-)  ) and family were there to hug me with congratulations!!! I felt so good after the race, I could have run another race!! (....as long as Nicole was there with me!)

Ok... time to hit the sack...

Tomorrow is race day.... and the end of the Couch to 5k wager!

Tomorrow I run another 5k.  I should be able to actually RUN a lot more than my last 5k.  I don't think I can run the whole time, so there will be some walking.

I was SO beating myself up about this for awhile there.  I felt a bit cheated by the couch to 5k program.  Which I realize is silly, because had I started day 1 on the program as a normal sized person, I surely COULD be running the whole thing now... but since I am basically carrying around another person with me when I run,... well you get the idea.  I have had SO many cheerleaders throughout this whole thing, it has been so nice.  I love that I have great people in my life that can tell me when I am being very stupid. That whether I can run the whole thing or not... 8 weeks ago I wasnt doing ANYTHING.  I ran a whole fucking MILE the other day without having to stop to walk.  In the beginning I could probably not have run to the mailbox and back.  The other day it was raining when I got to work so I RAN into the office from my car... when I set my stuff down in my office, I was shocked to notice that I wasn't even out of breath!

So yeah.  I rule.  Maybe I won't be able to run the entire time tomorrow... but I am sure as hell going to try. AND I stuck to the program!!!  Which means I won the bet with Johnny who was positive I would quit (hey... can't blame him based on my track record...lol) and he has to bring me my fountain diet pepsi every day this week.  HA!  It is such a nuisance to carry 2 sodas around... hee hee.  AND I am not quitting... by the 5k turkey trot race, I WILL be able to run THE WHOLE EFFING THING!!!!!

Photos... not of the kids!

Someone out back is enjoying the apples....

I don't even know when the last time was that I just went outside to take some photos.  Not sure what made me get the urge today.  Finding anything interesting to take photos of took some doin'...it's in between summer flowers and autumn splendor right now.

Busy weekend ahead!  Football, football, and more football.  Going to the high school game tonight, Sean has a game tomorrow, and Sunday we are having a bunch of peeps over to watch the big Pats vs. Jets game... GO JETS!!

Mom came up from TN for a visit last weekend.  I thought it was a nice visit.  She apparently didn't.  Oh well.  Mother/daughter issues are as old as time, right?

Getting EXTREMELY EXCITED for the Nickelback/Three Days Grace/Buckcherry concert next Friday!!!  SO SO SO SO SO SO SO excited... here is a vid from one of their other shows from this week...

Field Hockey n' Fridges

Our fridge died last Thursday. Again. For the 3rd time... maybe 4th? I was only 4ish years old. This time I was EFFING DONE!!!!!!! I have HATED that fridge since day 1. Why I thought I wanted a side-by-side is beyond me... they SUCK ASS. Also.... don't ever buy a GE Fridge. Since I bought it, all I have heard is how much GE sucks... and I can testify for that. My new fridge is my lover. It is perfect in every way and I want to hug it and squeeze it and rub it all day long. Yeah I said it.

I also have to throw a couple field hockey pics up there. Loves me some field hockey... even though I have no idea how the game works or why the ref has to blow the whistle every 5 seconds for penalties not able to be seen by the naked eye. I also love cheering my kid's team on... but I haven't had a chance to do much of that yet ;-)