Too Early?

I decided to change my background to something appropriate for the season. However, I am not a fan of Thanksgiving other than it being a day off from work. So I didn't want a background with a turkey or leaves. I decided to go to the next holiday - Christmas. I don't think this one is so bad. Sure it says "merry Chrsitmas" on the side, but it's not all up in your face.

Bored Again

Once again there is very little to do here at work...at least until next week, for me anyway. And it's only Wednesday. Here is another rundown of my day:

• listened to more Pitbull - I downloaded the unedited version of his new album this morning


• looked up Pitbull concert dates - in Vegas on the 26th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


• answered a work-related question for Ron S.


• spent A LOT of time on facebook


• dragged Carol to Sbux again for lunch - I'm in love with the fruit and cheese plate!


• took a quiz about the Constitution sent to my work email - I got 9/10 correct


• yawn

My Day

The boss is gone today and it is also a pretty quiet crew in our group today and I still don't have any work to do. This is what I've done with my day thus far:

• logged onto FB
• checked my email (personal and work)
• played a prank - well, not really. I just put something funny up at someone's desk
• listened to Pitbull on my ipod - I bought his new album last night and realized this morning that I bought the clean version. I guess I'll be dropping another $9.99 tonight.
• logged onto FB
• attempted a little work
• talked to "Julio"
• logged onto FB
• got Carol to go to Sbux with me at lunch since I couldn't find any of the guys and pitifully ask to join them for lunch.
• annoyed Carol by working "Sound of Music" song titles into conversation with her
• logged onto FB
• got caught making a funny sign to put at another person's desk
• tried to help Julio with something work-related. We joked how my birthday is next month.
• started writing this blog

Go Kitty, It's Your Birthday, We Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday!

Yesterday was Mandy's 1st birthday!! My kitten is now a cat. :-( We started the day with a special treat. Or at least I thought it was. I opened a can of tuna to give Mandy the water. Now this was a very special treat for Faler kitties. My old cat D'Art would coming running instantly the second he heard you take the can opener out of the drawer. Mandy started to runaway when I went for the can opener!! I had to call her back into the kitchen!! I gave her a plate of the tuna water and Mandy obediently drank it, but almost like she was only doing it for my benefit. She left some of the water on the plate and it was still there when I got home from work. By then it was time for part 2 of Mandy's b-day treats. I stopped at Arby's and got a roast beef sandwich since she really likes the roast beef. And by "really likes", I mean she will eat a few offerings and that will be it. I should have got a sweet of some kind at Starbucks because Mandy has a sweet tooth. She has even knocked a pastry out of my hand once! Hmmm...maybe she was just trying to tell me I don't need anymore sweets and wasn't trying to steal it from me. Mandy also got extra loving yesterday. However, the party was over by 1am when she woke me up by batting at something at the screen door. She was locked out of my room for a whole 20 mintues!! I'm quite the tough guy, huh?

Mandy

On Friday, Mandy met my brother for the first time. This is the first male that she has met since getting spayed. I am happy to say that Mandy gave my brother two paws up! He got an introductory hiss, but after that, she was fine. She was very interested in him to say the least. Her reception to my brother was actually quite similar to her reception of Mr. X. My brother however is a cat person so he didn't refer to Mandy as "psychotic." My brother just didn't appreciate Mandy trying to play and sticking him with her Howard Hughes-ish claws! They are pretty darn long and sharp right now. My dad tried to claim that Mandy didn't like him because she wasn't spayed at the time.

On Tuesday, Mandy turns 1 year old!! I think I am going to get Arby's that night so she can have some of the meat. I also thought about getting some (canned) salmon, but I'm not sure if she will like or not and it's not like I will eat it if she doesn't!!

Arts and Crafts

Yesterday I went to Michaels and spent probably close to an hour there. There was a craft project I wanted to do and needed just the right supplies. I can't tell you what the end product is just yet as a couple of the recipients are readers of this blog. I found what I was looking for, more or less, and back home I went to start my project!

I did the prototype last night and finished the other three today. Oops! Did I just hint at something there? I'm terrible, aren't I? I really want to hand these out, but I will have to wait a few days. Although they look really good, they aren't exactly what I originally planned on. I hope the recipients like it!

Usually I don't think of myself as that creative, but sometimes I get a good idea and I have a lot of fun creating whatever it is that I thought up. Today though I really wished I had that Cricut machine whose infomercial I see almost daily while I have the TV on in the mornings. I really have the urge to do some scrapbooking!

You'll Get Nothing and Like It!**

**This is a quote from the movie Caddy Shack, which is also the name of the team we bowled last night!


Here are the highlights:

• Dallas kicked ass! She bowled a 130, 124, and a 141!! That is a almost a 132 average for the night and 27 points above her current average! Way to go Dallas!!
• Sandra finally realized that the two of the guys on the other team are brothers. They are only identical twins, so it makes sense why it took her so long!
• I had a slow start to the first game - enough to make the girls worried. I needed to get used to bowling with my glasses. The trick? Wear my glasses but keep my right eye closed.
• Apparently Dallas doesn't like to bowl at the same time I bowl. I'm bad luck or something.
• We consumed no alcohol last night.
• I held a baby younger than 10 months for the first time.
• Our team is currently in third place and will most likely stay there after this week.
• Clarice and Sandra drooled over this really hot guy in a pink shirt on the lanes next to us.
• We won two out of three games!

A Few of My Favorite and Not So Favorite Things

On Carol's blog today she listed out things she hates and things she loves. Carol said it was okay for me to copy her. I asked first incase she blog-slapped* me for being unoriginal. I don't know how many of these come as a surprise to you all, but here we go anyway!

*Blog-slap: the electronic version of a bitch slap. (just made that up)

THINGS I HATE:

Movies, TV shows, etc. about "special" people

Pearl Jam

Corn, except when on the cob or by itself in niblet form

Babies crying on airplanes when the plane is below 10,000 ft. (ie when I can't use my ipod)

Being wrong

Losing

Making phone calls to starngers

People who invade my personal bubble

Birds

The guy in the garage who parks his big ass truck so that you can't get out of your parking space

People trimming their fingernails at work

Horses

Clowns

92% of Ben Stiller's movies

Being tall

Hives

NASCAR

Green beans

THINGS I LOVE:

Giving exact change when buying things

Cookie Dough blizzards

Mandy

Proving people that I am right

My heritage

The house I grew up in

Getting really long hair cut really short

The smell of salt water, the smell of the pier

Going to the movies

Travelling

The sound of fog horns

Blogging
People who pronounce my last name correctly on the first try

Being tall

Curling up on the couch with a blanket and watching the rain

Rollercoasters

Treading the Mill

I got a new treadmill this weekend. Well, it is new to me. I bought it off of Dallas. So she and Chi came by Saturday to deliver the treadmill. It fits nicely in my living room. I was going to put it in my bedroom but it was too wide to fit through the door and since Dallas had left at this point, I didn't have someone to help me turn it sideways and move it through the door. Huh. Just realized I could have taken it out the sliding glass door in the living room and through the sliding door in my bedroom. Anyway, Mandy was reasonably well-behaved. I think she only hissed a few times. But all the swats she made at Chi and Dallas were in play.

I ran on the treadmill this morning. Mandy just sat under the coffee table and watched. I don't think she knew what to make of it all! Thankfully she didn't try and jump on it with me!

Random treadmill note: I think all the Charles Dickens' novels I have read mention the treadmill or the workhouse at the very least. It always makes me think that Dickens would probably be astounded to know that we now use a treadmill for exercise instead of as a method of labor and/or punishment. Like I said, random treadmill note!!

Prebowling

Today I met up with Clarice and Dallas to prebowl for Tuesday. Sandra couldn't make it. I will be out of town on Tuesday for a stupid work thing, so I will miss bowling. We decided to prebowl so that I was able to bowl and so that the girls could get a Tuesday night off from bowling. We got three lanes - two for us to bowl on and one for Kaitlin (I hope that is spelled correctly!) and Chi. Not my greatest bowling. I think it worked out to be just slightly higher than taking 10 points off my average. Clarice however discovered a new way to bowl. She held Parker with her left arm and bowled with her right. I think she had one open frame that game! After we were done bowling, we actually went into the proshop.....after looking through the window for a few minutes. Normally whenever we are at the lanes, the proshop is closed. So that is how we have to look at the merchandise! I saw some shoes and a bag I liked. I have already have my own bowling ball so I'm not in the market for one of those. However, I wouldn't mind some new bowling shoes or a cooler looking bag.

Okay, this was a boring post. Oh well.

Signs of the "Apocalypse"

We joke at work that when Freddy wears pants other than jeans to work, strange things happen. A few weeks ago he wore khakis and it rained that day. (This is Vegas, remember? That is strange for us!) Yesterday Freddy wore non-jeans again.....on jeans day no less. We thought the "apocalyptic" sign was two co-workers who generally don't share the same opinions, actually agreed on a couple topics within a short period of time. However, I think that was just the beginning. Because today I went to DSW and bought not one....not two.... but three pairs of heels. Yes, you read correctly! In the tallest pair, I stand a ginormous 6'4"!!!! The purpose of my trip to DSW was to find a pair of shoes for next Saturday when we go out for my birthday. I want to wear the 4" heels, but I'm afraid no one would dance with me because I would tower over them! I bought a shorter pair that might be more comfortable. However, as I type I am wearing the 4" heels to break them in!

A Good Idea...In Theory

Before I left for Seattle, Clarice gave me the good idea to scan my journal entries from September 1989, leading up to the very first New Kids On the Block Concert I went to. That was a great idea in theory. That was assuming the journals were where I last saw them in December. Well, they have since been moved. Not to Las Vegas in April with my parents. Not to the garage. Not to the closet. Most likely to the storage unit my parents have somewhere. Great. The journals don't move for months, and when I want them for something, they are no where to be found. So there will be no blog about my journal entries from the beginning of 6th grade. It's a shame because they were awesomely bad!

I Miss My Kitty

Today was the first time since I got Mandy in November that she wasn't at the kitchen door greeting me when I got home from work. She is being boarded at the vet. The entire evening has felt off without her running around. And I could have used a nice hug from Mandy today too.

The Fall of BIG BALL

Last night was of course bowling night! We bowled against Team 7, aka "BIG BALL." Going into the night, they were in 3rd place and we were in 4th!! It was once again a fun night out with the girls. We got our pitcher of beer but didn't get any chili cheese fries or chicken bites. They kind of sucked last week. Anyway, we kicked ass the first game. At one point we were more than 150 pins ahead of the other team! We all bowled a 130 or better in that first game too. And Dallas got her personal best that game as well. I didn't really like the bowlers on the other team. They were slow, had bad bowling etiquette, and at times were plain rude. Hopefully we don't have to bowl them again.

We should go up in the standings for next week - fingers crossed! Going in to last night, us, BIG BALL, and CADDY SHACK were all tied for points. Well, both CADDY SHACK and we won all the points last night so it will come down to the number of pins. We definitely have a higher handicap than CADDY SHACK so we might be okay! Reports have MUSHED (Al Pacino's team) winning their games. They are currently in first place. Next week we bowl against THE FIRST TIMERS. Well, Clarice, Dallas, Sandra, and Kelly (my sub) bowl against them. They were in 2nd place going into last night.

There were a few complaints during the course of the night. Some players, who shall remain nameless, do not want to pay the one-time fee of $18 for league sanctioning. Also, there was some disappointment in learning that no bowling trophy or certificates would be handed out at the end of the season. I have to miss next week. I don't want to, but it is for a good cause - meeting the New Kids On The Block!

Reunion of Sorts??

Today JF sent me an article about a guy we went to high school with. Apparently his band is having a CD release party at a bar in good ole' Burien this Thursday. For some reason I really want to go! I avoided my 10th high school reunion a few years ago because I didn't want to be the only single gal in a sea of married former classmates. I felt like I didn't have anything to brag about - no wedding, no rock on my finger, no kids. Honestly who would be jealous of my life? And this event on Thursday is sure to be nothing but HHS alums and maybe a few from MRHS as well. Maybe now I think my life is pretty cool. Or I realize that I can be successful and still be single and without kids. Or maybe I know that the girls who would feel sorry for me because I am single most likely won't be at this event! Hopefully we can go!!

Adios Señor Equis

I recently found a few things out about Mr.X that kind of change my perception of him. No longer someone I really have a desire to date (if that chance even arose). Kind of disappointing. He's still fine as a friend but I know it's going to be hard for me to switch to friend mode without acting like a bitch to him. I figure I have to change the way I act around him. I just don't want a drop in contact to seem like I am mad at him or something. Kind of goes back to the Tears of a Clown thing I posted about the other week. I have to act like everything is hunky-dorey because I did not learn this info directly from him. ¡Que chingados!

So, anyone know any single guys, 25-35 years old, over 5'10" tall????

Doctor's Visit

Today I took Mandy to the vet for her shots. My poor Little Girl. The vet tech comes in to weigh Mandy and get her temp. What does Mandy do? She hisses and tries to bite the nice girl. She tried coaxing Mandy onto the scale, who wouldn't even go for a cat treat. I had to pick Mandy up and hold my arms around the scale like a little bubble to keep Mandy on the scale. I finally realized how tiny Mandy really is. She only weighs 6lbs. 9oz.!!! As we wait for the doctor, Mandy checks out the exam room. I think she was looking for an escape route! Of course the vet is a man and you know her track record with men. At one point the vet even takes a step away from the counter so Mandy can't take a swipe at him. I am completely embarrassed by this! Why is my loving kitty so mean to other people??? He even takes Mandy to the back in her cat carrier!

Mandy is getting boarded next week while I am in Seattle, and so I decided to get her spayed during that time (yes, I know. I have procrastinated on this one!). That meant she also had to have blood drawn too so they could do pre-op blood work. And I had them trim her "Howard Hughes" claws. I'm such a mean mom, huh? So she was pretty exhausted after all the poking and prodding she got. We got home around 12:30pm and she has done nothing except sleep on my bed for the last 8 hours. I feel a little sorry for her. I'd feel even more sorry for her if I wasn't spending over $500 on her for all of this!!!

Stayin' Alive Against Team 5!

Last night was our third week of bowling and as usual it was a fun night!! We bowled against Team 5. They were apparently too lazy to name their team. There are just two bowlers actually and two vacant spots. The vacant spots are a minor source of ire for me because these two "bowlers" score 150s across the board. Que chingados?! I thought vacant spots were given 100 as a score. 150 is a little generous. So of course Team 5 is ahead of us in the standings. Well, so are 8 other teams, but who's counting? Anyway, the two real bowlers didn't even show up!

We started the night with our usual pitcher of beer and order of chilli cheese fries and chicken bites. The weird thing was all the sausces came on the side. Still tasted good though! We bowled near "Al Pacino" again so that was fun. Not too much to say about this week except we actually won all but one game!! I bowled a 136, 148, and a 153. My goal this summer is to beat my personal best of 180. I think I can do it!

Movin' To Brazil!!

Just now we decided that should the US go to war with North Korea, we will move to Brazil. Dallas had suggested Canada, but Jake (who apparently has put some thought into this) suggested Brazil because of their reluctance to extradite. This is so Jake and Dallas don't have to go to war.

Jake sealed the deal for the move by saying we could have mojitos. I said we could rumba. From there we decided that we are opening a bar. I will be the hostess. Dallas is the bartender. Jake is the bouncer. Clarice is the eye-candy waitress. Freddy is the old dude who sits at the corner of the bar, wearing a Panama hat and drinking whiskey we import especially for him. Carol runs the bed and breakfast next to the bar with help from Rosie. Ron is our dance instructor. Marc is our DJ. Justin provides our intel. Malachi will become Brazil's next soccer super star. He will be known simply as Chi (since Brazilians tend to go by one name only). Caitlin will become Brazil's gymnastic superstar. Dallas' mom will be the bar manager. Perry is the cook.

And if the bar thing doesn't work out, we can always get some land in the Amazon and grow a certain cash crop!!

Música en otro idioma

When I was younger I always wondered how people like Michael Jackson and Madonna could have fans in countries that didn't speak English. How did they know the words to the songs? In the "few" years since then I have realized it is all memorization. I think the first song I learned in a foreign language was "Frère Jacques" when I was preschool or kindergarten. But I don't think it was until Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias became popular awhile back that I liked a song in another language without knowing its meaning. I bought Ricky Martin's Spanish language album and can sing along to a couple of the songs. I have no idea what I'm saying though except for a word here or there. I tried this weekend to learn some of the lyrics to a few Pitbull and Daddy Yankee songs, but that is muy difícil!! I can follow the more lyrical parts of the song but once they start rapping, I am lost!! I have no desire to have the lyrics translated into English though. I think I can pretty much guarantee that they are dirty!!