I Think I May Stand Corrected....

W.C. Jack...
I'm posting to say that I may very well stand corrected in the "Kimber Theory" !
After tonight's episode....
The only thing that could pull me back from the brink of being wrong is if they pull some weird thing where it's really Kimber and her twisted head or something funky like that...
AND !
After tonight's episode...
I'm starting to wonder about Quentin....
Though I'm still having a hard time believing it's a man and not a woman...
HUH.
Anyhoo !
Just thought I'd "publicly" stand corrected and give W.C. his props !
:)

P.S. - enjoy this...it doesn't happen often !

Out of control

I knew this would happen, but I hoped it wouldn't !
Most of the places I've called have "no available Saturdays for 2006" which means I'm screwed.
I did make appointments for 3 places that are local and do have availability for the date we want.
And I just found a couple of funky places that are a little further away....so they'll be next on my "to call" list....
To add to all of this insanity, I spoke with mom today who was shocked at the "per head" minimum I'm finding (we're not in small-town Florida anymore, ma ! ! !). It's amazing how when we got engaged she and my step-father were all about "we'll pay for it ! ! !" and now she said "you know we'll help you out with this".
Help me out.
Huh.
What the fuck did I DO to get downgraded?!?!??!
She tried to shove the shithole I'd used for my last fiasco (the runaway bride incident) and I told her "Absolutely NOT".
I didn't really WANT them to pay for everything - I wanted to be able to tell them that we'd pay for a portion of it. It's a bit of a smack in the face when she determines it for me.
GRRRRR....
Sorry for the rant y'all...
And I promise to try REALLY hard not to turn this blog into my own little wedding blog....
I've just got a THROBBING headache after all of this crap today and needed to vent....
Perhaps an apple martini will help?
;0)

Finally !

J and I finally talked wedding details and have it narrowed down to a 1st and 2nd choice in dates !
We went over the the save the dates and invitations have been narrowed them down as well !
We also worked on the invite list and started a list of sites we need to go visit.
Wow.
I really didn't expect it to go as easily as it did !
I also spoke with the seamstress last night about a dress and am awaiting a quote from her.
I guess we're really doing this, huh?

Big Grin !

Know what I just did?
I just watched a VERY special video.
You see, the first night J and I started "dating" per se was at an office holiday party.
An office holiday party that had a videographer at it ! ! !
And EVERY employee got a copy of the tape !
WOW !
I thought I'd be sad watching my ex co-workers enjoying their last holiday party together.
But no.
I am happy.
VERY happy.
I laughed so much !
And I LOVE that the first dance J and I danced to was caught on tape !
:)
*sigh*
I wish I could go back to those days, sure, but I'm really happy to have a tape to remember and enjoy...and I'm overjoyed that it's not something that's making me sad but rather something that brings a smile to my face and a laugh in my heart.
Wherever you are, former CSO employees, I hope that you are happy and well ! ! !

SWOON ! ! ! !

Happy, happy, joy, joy !
:)
Pride & Prejudice is on t.v. ! ! ! ! !
OH Colin Firth ! ! ! !
*faints*

It's Thanksgiving....

And for the first time J and I are on our own.
Both places we'd had the option to go to have fallen through on us - first J's uncle got sick so that was a no go, and then our backup plan (his best friend's house) fell through YESTERDAY !
J got the call that the wife, apparently, has been sick for a few days now.
Nice notice.
So I had to dart out yesterday and do the thanksgiving day supplies grab as quickly as possible seeing as how I was working from home and had to get back. Lucky for me my boss is a VERY understanding man. Even luckier for me is that I managed to get through the grocery in 1/2 an hour flat !
WHOO HOO !
So today it's a "we'll eat whenever we want to" mode - and I think I'm going to enjoy not having to go anywhere or confirm to anyone else's schedule.
So, even though yesterday was VERY hectic, today I think will be nice.
Happy Thanksgiving all !
May your holiday be stress free !

I suppose I'm EVIL for finding this funny....particularly the "cowardice" comment...

Shots Fired At Poison Singer's Tour Bus
POSTED: 11:05 am EST November 23, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Poison singer Bret Michaels escaped serious injury after shots were fired at his tour bus Monday night, said his publicist.
Michaels was on his bus in Chicopee, Mass., where he was performing a solo show. According to the publicist, witnesses said someone in another vehicle fired at the bus while Michaels was still on it.
Michaels was struck in the face by broken glass but was not seriously hurt.
The publicist said police do not believe it was a random drive-by shooting because the shots were fired directly into the living quarters at the rear of the tour bus.
Michaels said in a statement that it will take more than what he calls "a cowardice act like this" to make him stop performing.
The singer was scheduled to perform as scheduled Tuesday night in Harrisburg, Pa., and Wednesday in Cincinnati.

How to Wash a Cat

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power-wash" and rinse".

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.




Sincerely,
The Dog

Lemon Tart Cookies

Here ya are !
:)

Tart Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt


Lemon Filling Ingredients

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, vanilla and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour and salt. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

2.
To make Lemon Filling:
Beat all ingredients in small bowl with wire wisk. Cover and refrigerate.

3.
Heat oven to 350. Spray 48 miniature muffin cups with cooking spray. Shape dough into 48 one-inch balls. Place 1 ball in each muffin cup. Press dough into bottom and up side of cups. Stir lemon filling mix and spoon slightly less than 1 tablespoon filling into each cup.

4.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until centers are puffed and the edges are light brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Wiht tip of knife, lift tarts from muffing cups and cool completely on wire racks. Just before serving, sprinkle tarts wtih powdered sugar.

HOLY SHIT ! HOLY SHIT ! HOLY SHIT ! ! ! ! ! !

Ya know...
The past few weeks I've been a bit disappointed with Nip/Tuck...
Thinking the show was losing it's edge.
TONIGHT TOTALLY MADE UP FOR IT ! ! ! !
My heart is pounding again and I'm on the edge of my seat ! ! ! !
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH ! ! ! ! ! !
HOLY SHIT ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Kimber SOOOOO didn't run away ! ! ! ! !
Either
#1 - the Carver has her
OR
#2 - she IS the Carver and is holding herself hostage (because she's crazy like that and I still suspect that she's actually the Carver !)
ARG ARG ARG !
And how much of a SLUT is Julia ?!?!??!?!?!??!??!?
SLUT ! SLUT ! SLUT !
This show was GREAT ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
LOVE IT ! ! ! !
I have GOT to get J caught up on the previous episodes so he can start watching this with me ! !
He's only about 3 shows in - this long weekend, I think, should be the catch up time he needs !
HA !
Considering how light they're going on the surgery scenes this season he should be able to handle it (he doesn't really have a stomach for them).
CANNOT
WAIT
FOR
NEXT
WEEK ! ! ! ! !
WEE HA ! ! !
It's BACK ! ! ! !
I wonder how many more seasons there are this season?
Hmmm...

Cookie Testing - Phase I

Tried out 4 new cookie types yesterday - resulting in my living in the kitchen all day...
And the verdict?
One can only be used for my local people (needs to be refrigerated).
One is good but I'm wondering if it will be popular - it's a cinnamon/walnut tea cookie. Most people don't get the concept of a tea cookie and that it's SUPPOSED to be dry.
Seeing as how I don't particularly like lemon-flavored things, I can only go by J's opinion on the lemon tart...he seemed to like it !
The 4th cookie I'm still not sure yet. It's a bit labor-intensive and I'm not completely convinced that it's worth it.
We shall see !

OOW-WAH ! ! ! !

So....
Yesterday was Day #1 of starting to exercise....
I did a 1/2 hour DVD that was all about whipping my abs into shape.
Today I'm paying for it BIG TIME !
My back and neck are KILLING me - from all the work on the floor and doing all those crunches.
My abs are sore and so are my sides - but this pain makes me happy unlike my back and neck pain. This pain is telling me that I'm targeting the parts I wanted to target !
YIPPEE !
Ouch.
The other thing I realized is that I think working on one's abs works in 2 ways to make you lose weight and tone up. When you first start out the intense muscle pain that accompanies post workout life makes you think you're full even when you're not when you eat. I guess the stretching of your stomach makes the muscles hurt more and that triggers your stomach to think it's full or something like that.
HUH.
So not only will I lose weight and tone up thanks to my exercising, by my starvation will contribute as well !
LOL
Me thinks I should utilize my heating pad when I got to bed tonight....otherwise I probably won't be able to do session #2 of my ab workout tomorrow !
And I'm officially on a mission now....I REFUSE to be a chubby bride ! ! !
I will be toned, and slim, and in great shape by the time I charge down the aisle !
(I know, I'm SUCH a cliche !)
I REFUSE to continue living the way I have and this is just the push I needed to get motivated and back into a workout routine !
It's bad enough that my jeans were getting pretty tight on my big butt...and that I'm embarassed that I can't wear some shirts I love thanks to my bloated out belly.
Do I have medical problems that will limit what I can do and effect my results?
Sure.
But maybe getting my body back into shape will help with some of those issues (I can only hope) and will lead to a better/less illness prone life for me !
Nothing would make me happier than to have the "guarantee" on the Abs DVD - which claims "Visible results in 10 sessions !" - to be right.
Here's to trying !
I'm going to focus on my abs only for another week - working out every other day - and then the week after that I want to incorporate the stationary bike at work for 10 minutes per day to try to work on strengthening my knees (they still have a lot of problems in general thanks to the ACL tears - both knees - I suffered a few years back) so that when I move myself up to adding yoga into the mix I'll be able to do it with less issues.
I wish I could tolerate the cold and that I could run- THAT would be a great way to exercise.
And BOY do I wish my job offered a membership to an outside gym that had a pool !
But no such luck on either - so I'll stick to my DVDs and yoga classes and at-work, pool-less, gym !
:)

It's that time of year again...

time for me to start figuring out the list of cookies I plan to make for this year's holiday batch and the list of who will be receiving it.
FUN !
The only problem is that I need to actually start KEEPING the lists from prior years because, as I'm making up this year's list, I'm realizing that I'm definitely missing some of the cookies from last year's list but I can't for the life of me remember which ones those would be ! ! !
EEK !
So now I'm weeding through my cookbooks, magazines and database trying to figure it out.
The good news is that this year's list of who's getting cookies has shrunk from last year !
YIPPEE ! ! ! !
Less for me to have to bake ! ! ! !

The other good news is that "To Wong-Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" is on at the moment - I LOVE that movie ! ! ! ! And I haven't seen it in AGES ! Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo in drag ! ! ! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! ! ! ! !
AND Stockard Channing as a small town hick ! ! ! ! !
SQUEEE ! ! ! !
FAB-U-LOUS ! ! ! !
Now...
Back to this cookie list ! ! !

Flashes of my Past...

Went to an old e-mail account I have had since college...
And found an e-mail from an ex's wife - considerably nicer than the original e-mail she'd sent me which, apparently, has been deleted.
And so, because I'm a nut, I do an online search...
And find out they had a miscarriage some years ago...
And I feel bad...
Then I look back at the e-mail and realize it's after the miscarriage...
And that in her e-mail she's telling me that they have a kid (and in her words, not that I would care)...
And she mentions having Lupus.
I then get a bit annoyed.
Not always, but depending on the severity, it can cause death - which she said her's is.
How can you bring a baby into this world knowing you'll likely die????
It just seems very selfish to me is all.

TOTAL lack of motivation ! ! ! !

Which SUCKS seeing as how I have a Bus Law test tomorrow morning - 8am sharp !
:(
The point we've hit is just soooo BORING ! ! ! !
I have NO interest in studying at all and I CANNOT force myself to get my head in the game !
BLAH !
I've been sitting here for 2 1/2 hours desperately trying to study - to no avail.
The TV's off and everything ! ! !
I just have NO interest ! ! ! !
I'm thinking turning in shortly will be good - so I can "cram" tomorrow morning and hopefully do o.k. on the test !
EEK !
(what the HELL happened to all that excitement I had when I first started school?!?!?!)

Of course

Mel was a BEAUTIFUL bride and Bri a handsome groom !
I was SOOO wonderful !
And, for the first time in a long time, I really cried...
The moment I saw her I cried....
And I cried throughout most of the ceremony...
Tears of joy.
I love them both so much that I just couldn't help it.
I took a bazillion pictures between the ceremony and the reception.
I've decided to make her a scrapbook of those pictures - one with plenty of pages so that she can get copies of pictures from others who were there taking pictures and fill them.
:)
Unfortunately...
Today I feel a bit like crap.
For some reason I have no energy lately - no matter how early I go to bed or how much I sleep in I'm only more exhausted than I was before.
WTF is up with that?!?!?
Breakfast this morning was tainted as the cook obviously made something spicy before making our food and whatever it was seeped into our eggs. J and I both aren't great now. My stomach CANNOT deal with spicy food...so now I'm laying on the couch in pain - my stomach on FIRE, feeling like I want to puke. He, luckily, is already about back to normal...so it's just me feeling like poo.
Oh well.
At least I had fun yesterday and last night.
And once I'm feeling a bit better I'll have to weed through the pictures I took to see how I did.
:)

Tomorrow !

Tomorrow is Mel's wedding ! ! !
WHOO HOO ! ! !
I am SOOOO excited ! ! ! !
I spent this evening lovingly wrapping her gifts and decorating the boxes with pretty ribbon and flowers. I then finished off the card I started making last night. Crap. I just remembered that I didn't take a picture of the card before I sealed it up. Oh well. It wasn't my finest work, but I do rather like it and would've liked to have a picture. Maybe once they get back from their honeymoon I can see if Mel would let me take a picture of it. I'm sure she will. :)
ANYWAY !
Back to my happiness !
Mel is going to have a BEAUTIFUL wedding - I just know it - and more importantly, the man she's marrying is one of the best people I've ever known. The two of them are SO perfect together and I couldn't ask for more for either of them. They're one of those couples that you want to smack and hug all at the same time because they're so perfect together.
I cannot WAIT for tomorrow ! ! ! !
SQUEEE ! ! ! ! !

AWOL

So, I've been AWOL for a little while now.
Everything's just been SOOO busy lately. I've got another test in Bus Law coming up and a ton of homework due for my computer class.
The good news is that this semester is starting to wind down - the bad news is that suddenly things are going FAST - especially in my Bus Law class.
There's also some stuff going on at work right now that has me a little nervous - changes that aren't guaranteed as a bad thing...but still a little uneasy.
J and I still haven't really discussed anything about the wedding...and I'm not pushing.
I think we both have enough going on right now.
One thing that does bother me, though, is that he did mention wanting a certain individual in our wedding party - possibly as his best man.
This is a person I DETEST and there is a reason his nickname among me and my friends is "Morally Bankrupt Mark".
I can't be upset by this right now....I just hope he doesn't ask him before we talk about this some more. I really want J to understand why I'd be seriously uncomfortable with that creep in our wedding party - especially if he were to be the best man.
Anyway...
Enough of that...
Just wanted to pop in and say "I'm alive !"

PIcs of the ring....

Thought I'd post pictures of the engagement ring...


Top view



Side view

WHEW

Yesterday my parents came to dinner to celebrate our engagement.
I was a bit "nervous" because I wasn't sure if they'd behave themselves and not try to push us about wedding details.
BUT !
They were GOOD !
YIPPEE ! ! ! !
Dinner went off without a hitch which was nice.
So step one is done.
J's parents didn't come - so we'll see if we get to actually see them one of these days and see if they want to celebrate.
I won't hold my breath.