Let Freedom Ring

As many of my fellow Americans celebrate our country's day of Independence on July 4, I will be joyously celebrating the freedom of one of my dearest idols.

After lying (or as I see it, just fibbing a little...) to a grand jury, Lil' Kim was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. Now, on account of good behavior (or something like that), Queen Bee will be released from prison with enough time to catch a cab back to Brooklyn to watch the fireworks with her posse.

I can't wait to hear her post-pen album!

Junior M.A.F.I.A in the hizzy!

Seriously though, if you get anymore work done Ms. Jones, people will no longer recognize you...

I love Target

I had an hour to kill yesterday after work before my hair appointment. So, what did I do you ask? (Because the logo and the title of the entry don't give it away at all...) I went to Target!

I left feeling a little guilty about buying two pairs of gauchos and one really adorable sweatery-type shirt that I didn't really "need." (I always leave there feeling a little guilty. Unfortunately for my ever-depreciating bank account, never guilty enough, though, to not buy things.)

Anyway, for all those out there who might be a little vertically challenged, I’d like to mention how excited I am about the gauchos I purchased. They’re linen, and come in a wide variety of colors. The best part? They're actually an OK length for short people! They are wonderful.

When did Target become such an amazing place to shop anyway?

Check them out here!

D-Day

Seriously, do doctor's offices have to be so stinking cold? Do they realize the "gowns" they give you to cover up with are about the same thickness as 1-ply toilet paper? What's up with that?!

Perhaps I'll bring my bath robe with me next time.

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ICE CREAM!

Mmmmmm.... Ice cream.

Had some french vanilla bean topped off with chocolate and caramel today. Soooo good. Thanks for making such a delicious menu J!

I'm pretty sure you're supposed to have at least one serving a day.

If you could only choose to have one flavor for the rest of your life what would it be?

One of my favorites

"For Good" (From the musical Wicked)


GLINDA
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

ELPHABA
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you:

GLINDA
Because I knew you:

BOTH
I have been changed for good

http://www.wickedthemusical.com/

Warning: May cause erratic behavior

There should be a warning label on this box.

Cooper's 2nd birthday was last Friday. I didn't even see him on his special day. (I know, what a horrible mother.) So, in light of my bad parenting, I thought we'd get a treat for him while at the grocery store last night. I had heard about Frosty Paws from a few of my co-workers and was eager to purchase them for my pup.

We got home around 8:30 p.m. and gave him the treat around 8:45 p.m. At 8:50 p.m., he had gulped down the savory faux ice cream and had instantly become more wired than I've ever seen before. He was running circles around us, playing with all of his toys and panting so hard he couldn't catch his breath.

I don't think Cooper got a wink of sleep last night. I woke up and he was on top of me, just staring. Perhaps Frosty Paws should only be dispensed in the morning, on the weekends or to very large dogs.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

He's no longer in the house.

Thank you BP.
Thank you Lowe's.
Thank you sticky trap.
Thank you again shop vac.

(I will still abstain from going to the basement for a while.)

It is a good day.

Someday

Everyone ought to have a giant room of colored balls. (Please refrain from any obscene comments.)

Day 2 and counting

I didn’t sleep that well last night. The thought of that little mouse running across the foot of my bed or right above my head was enough to keep me up until the point of sheer exhaustion.

After work yesterday, A went to Lowe’s to purchase a wide variety of traps in an effort to buy back my sanity. Unfortunately, A took my blog a little to literally and bought traps large enough to entrap a rat instead of a mouse. (He will be the first to point out that I compared our lovely mouseguest to the size of a softball, not a baseball.)

Anyway, you’d think that nearly 10 traps would make me feel a little more at ease. This is not the case. With every passing moment, I’m convinced that the furry bugger has moved on from the basement and is now upstairs cohabitating with us. (I just trembled again.)

I keep trying to picture Gus and Jack – the friendly mice that helped Cinderella escape the evil grasp of her stepmother – but that’s just not cutting it. I never knew how incredibly scared of mice I was.

RIP Eddie

I only really saw episodes of Frasier via reruns. I tuned in enough, though, to know and to love Eddie (real name Moose). May he rest in peace.

http://popsugar.com/8296

The heebie jeebies

Had a pretty eventful morning this morning. As I embarked on my usual beautifying journey and headed to the basement to iron my skirt, I was quite alarmed (to say the least) by a mouse scurrying above me in the rafters. I then proceeded to burn myself with the iron. Doh!

Why is it that a creature roughly the size of a softball can creep you out so much? Would someone please make sure the mouse is gone before I get home? Pretty please?

Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!

Who said computer games weren’t for toddlers? My nephew absolutely loves this game. He sat on Uncle C’s lap for hours just watching the animals this weekend! He now owns his first computer game at the ripe old age of 2. Happy Birthday again Lil’ B!

https://www.microsoft.com.nsatc.net/games/zootycoon/

I can't wait until April! Congratulations to my wonderful friends!

Life's Givens

Popcorn at a movie… Turkey at Thanksgiving… These are only a couple of life’s “givens.” No one questions you if you indulge in that oh-so-wonderful buttery popcorn during the weekend matinee. In fact, they expect it. After all, what’s a movie without popcorn? And, heavens, what’s Thanksgiving without a turkey?!

In life, we are often expected to do certain things or follow a certain path just because that’s the path most people before us have followed.

I remember when I was younger, my dad sang in a quartet with a man – a hilariously stoic man – who was well-past the point at which most people start a family. He was married, and they were very happy. For whatever reason, though, many people (including myself) couldn’t focus on their happiness. No, all they seemed to think about was why they didn’t have children and why they didn’t seem to want to have children.

Only now do I realize the great mistake in assumptions. What if that couple simply decided that having children just wasn’t for them. Or worse, what if they had tried and tried but had major difficulties? Should reproduction – life’s single greatest miracle – really be a given?

So far, I’ve followed the politically correct path. I went to college out of high school. I graduated in a respectable timeframe. I met a wonderful man. I got a job. I married that wonderful man.

The next step would seem quite obvious – even to a toddler. However, as I start to hear baby murmurings at family functions, I realize that I’m starting to take offense. If and when we do decide that we truly want children, our family and friends will be the first to know. Until then, perhaps it might be best to just be happy with where we’re at.

Some things in life should simply not be givens.

Fungi. Gross.

Yesterday, before the big monsoon, I was letting my dog outside to do his usual after-work business when I was distracted by a big orange thing in the middle of our backyard. Upon further inspection, I realized that it was in fact the largest mushroom or group of mushrooms I had ever seen before. Eew. Gross. This then made me reminisce back to a time in college when we realized that some roommates were simply much better at cleaning than others. Double eew.

Hopefully this rain will stop sometime in the near future before our whole yard becomes a fungal mess.

Shop vacs are wonderful

I LOVE my shop vac.

Whoever invented this wondrous machine was an absolute genius. Our basement flooded last night due to a torrential downpour. It took us a minute to remember that my sister and bro-in-law got us this contraption last Christmas but, once we did, we quickly realized that it might behoove us to use it. Armed with only our shop vac, we were indeed ready to conquer the world (or just our basement...)!

Everyone should own a shop vac. http://www.shopvac.com/

Ever had this feeling?

Helped my friends move yesterday.


As victims of the PC fire, Team Marren found out they had 30 minutes to evacuate on Sunday. After B was done rehashing the story (probably for the 100th time), I offered to help with the move yesterday. I was amazed to find them already half moved into their new apartment across town by the time I got over to their new place.

Now, I don’t know if you’re like me, but moving is probably the single most exhausting/annoying thing there is in life. (OK, so maybe I’m being a little dramatic.) Anyway, it made me think of all the useless junk stored in our little house in T-town. Seriously, do we really need all the crap we accumulate throughout our lives?

I know you can’t put a price on items like those written notes folded in different shapes from junior high days, that T-shirt from the high school musical/play or that cowboy hat that came home from that family trip to Wyoming 15 years ago. But, come on. When should we just let go?

When’s a good time to clean out and move on? Do we need our material possessions to help us remember things? Or, is the memory of being somewhere or doing something enough to sustain us?

I'd like to commandeer his ship... Savvy?

Barbeques/bonfires are where it’s at.

Cheesy potatoes, Zimmerman's hotdogs and grandma's fruit bowl...Yesterday, I celebrated Father’s Day with my family by having a good old-fashioned barbeque. As I casually conversed with family and friends, I realized just how wonderful this time-honored tradition really is. No TV, no video games. Just time well spent with loved ones. I wish we could barbeque every day.

Also had a bonfire this weekend with some of my closest friends in the world. Most people who know me know that I wear my emotions on my sleeve – which can definitely get a little embarrassing at times. I’m sure this weekend my friends could see how happy I was just to be home, spending time with them.

It was definitely one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. Happy Father's Day Dad!

Remember this one? (As I plot my escape into the sunshine...)


Sick
by Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is -

what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?


G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

When I was a little girl, we used to visit my aunt's house in Florida almost every year. It was always a race between myself and my siblings as to who might spot the first palm tree.

Now, potentially thinking of living among the palms, I wonder, "Will I always love the sight of palm trees?"

I’ve only ever had this feeling once before.

It wasn’t until I walked across the stage to receive my college degree from the President of Western Michigan University, that I realized it was officially over. It was the end of an era. My care-free days of sleeping in, staying up and going out were over. Worse yet, life as I knew it with my incredibly close circle of college friends was never going to be the same again. Playing out like the final scene of “Ocean’s Eleven,” it was time to go our separate ways.

Looking back, I don’t regret rushing to complete my college degree. I was ready. Now, as I find myself at the same familiar crossroads ending another era in my life, I feel fortunate to have experienced this feeling before. It doesn’t seem quite as scary this time.

When I moved to our new Midwestern town, I never expected to find the kind of welcoming, unwavering friendships that I found. They are the kind of friendships that comfort you. They are the friendships that make you laugh. They are the friendships that make you feel a little less alone when you are far away from home.

As I stand at the proverbial fountain once again with this wonderful family I’ve come to know, I am a little saddened. At the same time, though, I look forward to what is in store. Because, if anything, my college experience taught me that the people important enough to stand by you at your fountain in a time of change are the people that you will forever be blessed to have in your life.

Goooooooooooooooo PC!

A conversation from my all-time favorite movie...

M: Well, there is still some confusion as to whether or not there is anybody else in this house.
W: I told you there isn't.
M: There isn't any confusion, or there isn't anybody else?
W: Either, or both.
M: Just give me a clear answer.
W: Certainly.
[clears his throat]
W: What was the question?
M: Is there anybody else in the house.
All: NO.

Woke up in a really good mood this morning.

The fact that I am so unmotivated at work didn’t even cross my mind for once… Woohoo! I don’t know if it is because the possibility of change and excitement is in the air, because the sun is shining or if it’s because of all the physical activity lately. Either way, I’m liking this feeling!

In light of my good spirits, I’d thought I’d list what I’m thankful for. (Yes, I know most people usually leave this ritual for Thanksgiving…) Anyway:

I’m thankful for the love of my husband.
I’m thankful for the love of family.
I’m thankful for the love of friends.
I’m thankful for the possibility of change.
I’m thankful for my dog.
I’m thankful for tennis, volleyball and long walks.
I’m thankful for New Guinea impatiens and patio sets.
I’m thankful for our home.
I’m thankful for ice cream sandwiches and cheese and crackers.
I’m thankful for sunshine.

It's nice to have someone (or something) listen to you so intently. I love my rascal-pants pup, Cooper!

Question of the day...

Does corruption exist in every place of employment?

If you have experienced a work environment free of corruption and greed, please tell me about it. I'd love to know that such places exist... I seem to be losing my optimism and I'd very much like to keep it.

Hehehe... Nothing makes your day like a random photo of a cute chicken:)

So, in following with my “better late that never” philosophy to life (that I didn’t really know I followed until just recently…), I sat down and read “The DaVinci Code” this weekend. I must say, I’m very glad I did. I know that most avid readers (a.k.a. book snobs as my good friend calls them) look at that book as somewhat juvenile, a work of fiction with no basis in actuality. I don’t mind that. For me, if I read something other than celebrity gossip columns or magazines, I’m doing well. Anyway, I found the book to be incredibly interesting. I love learning about art history and different religious theories.

Growing up, I was always one of those people who went to church with my family, but never actually got into religion the way many people around me did. Honestly, that always made me feel as though something was wrong with me. I didn’t understand how people could be so convinced in something to never question it, never doubt it. I believed in God, but, at the same time, thought I was a bad person for not being able to grasp or believe everything that was being told to me.

While I was cemented to my couch this weekend reading Dan Brown’s fictional masterpiece, I was thoroughly entertained and somewhat enlightened. Not to say I believed anything or everything the author wrote. No, it just made me realize it is normal to question history, to question the world, to question religion. In fact, Brown’s book, if anything, made me thirsty for personal enlightenment – to learn and to understand what I believe to be true.

So, had a luau this weekend to bid a fond farewell to Team Wink. Very fun... a little sad. We all seem to be growing up, moving on. I hope all people moving to new cities are as lucky as we were at the PC.

Had to add this to my blog for my BP. May he always warn me of bumps in the sidewalk.

Who Knew?!

Wow. The world of blogs. Who knew the extent of this alternate universe?! As one who (embarrassingly enough) tends to follow cultural and technological revolutions more so than lead, I was astonished to open my eyes to the world of blogging recently.

As I set off for my first encounter with myspace.com, I was a little hesitant. I had heard of it for a while, but had never actually had the gumption to explore. When I did, frankly, I felt as though I was some kind of creepy stalker who was unfairly spying on his prey without their knowledge in the least. (I can definitely see why parents might keep their children away from such innovations. Many facets of the Internet are downright scary.) Then, out of nowhere, I got addicted. Seriously, how else can one find out what half of their fellow high school graduates are up to without actually having to endure meaningless small talk and awkward reunions? How incredible.

That said, blogs are obviously here to stay. So, in hopes of trying to actually be among the technologically savvy for once, I have created my own blog. (With many thanks to my much more-so technologically-savvy officemate...) Not really sure yet what it might consist of, or if there will really be an actual purpose, but I hope you enjoy!