Monday, November 28, 2005

I Wasn't Fast Enough

Yep, I couldn't run fast enough. A dirty rotten cold caught up with me.

I was feeling a little punk yesterday. I thought it was the day, or the end of a long weekend or just feeling a little blue with the holiday. Ha. I was up half the night with a sore throat. Today, my dirty rotten cold hit me right in the face.

My face feels like it's swollen, my sinuses are so full. And, it's already backing up into my ears. Everything sounds like I'm underwater. I hate that.

But, I went to work anyway. Before I left, I grabbed a huge handful of tissues from the box, since my nose is running faster than most faucets. By 10:30 a.m., I was out of tissues. Lucky for me, there is a pharmacy right next door to where I'm working. So, I took a break, and headed downstairs and next door. Relief was just a few steps away.

Unfortunately, I had to run the gauntlet first. As in any downtown area in a larger city, I had to run the gauntlet of panhandlers. And trust me, they are everywhere. I get accosted every morning leaving the parking garage, crossing the street, trying to get into the door of my building. Keep in mind, I'm there before 7:00 a.m. It's still dark outside. One day I'm going to get mugged and probably shot because I'll try rebuffing him thinking he's a panhandler. Grr, I hate downtown.

Anyway, today at least I had a courteous panhandler. As I stated, I went next door to get some tissues and throat lozenges. My local panhandler opened the door for me going into the pharmacy, and he was waiting there to open the door for me to leave. Hey, with that service, how could I say not give up some cash?

Sharing the love as I like to say. And, I'm hearing Ron start to sneeze and snortle and cough behind me. I guess I shared some love with him too. Sorry, honey. A word for the wise out there....avoid our house for the next few days! If you choose to ignore this warning though....bring tissues. The ones with lotion, please!

Friday, November 25, 2005

I Am Moving Up

We started a new audit this past Monday. I am now working right smack in the middle of downtown.

Since I am directionally challenged, Ron took a ride with me last Sunday so that I could make sure I could find my way to the new audit on Monday. Well, I kinda knew where the right building was, but I wanted to make sure I knew where the closest parking ramp was and how to get to the building from there.

This sounds like it should have been an easy Monday morning. I did a test run, so I knew where the parking ramp was, I knew which way to walk from the ramp to the audit, and I knew my contact's name. What could possibly have gone wrong?

Let's start with my parking ramp of choice. This ramp happens to be a designated ramp for one of the major hotels downtown. This ramp also accepts public parking. There are two entrance and two exit lanes at this ramp. I saw one entrance and exit ramp for card holders only. I went past that ramp to the next one which was marked for public access. How could I get into trouble here?

I did what most people would do. I pulled up to the gate and looked to the box on my left, assuming it would be where I get my ticket. But no. It was a machine for people with access cards. You insert your access card into this machine and the gate will open. Hello? If this is the public access lane, where the heck is that box? Now there is a freakin' line of cars behind me and I'm stuck between an SUV and a closed gate. This sucks. As I was starting to panic, I looked around. Here, the machine with the button that says "push here for card" is about five feet behind me. The SUV's bumper is a lot closer to me than that. With the card holder's access machine right next to me, there is no way I can open my door, get out of the car and walk the five feet back. We all need to back up. Finally, the idiot behind me realized he was behind a bigger idiot and backed up enough so that I could stretch farther than I ever thought I could and get my dang ticket. Finally, the offending gate opened.

I headed up the ramp, and up the ramp, and up the ramp. As long as I don't end up on the roof, I consider it a good parking spot. I found a good parking spot. I thought I would be a good girl and take the steps down, but the stairwell was really a frightening place. More lights not working than were working. I opted for safety, shut the door and headed for the elevator.

When the elevator gets to the ground floor, you walk out into a little foyer. The only place to go from there is out one of the double doors that goes to the street. I push on one door. Nothing. I push on the other, still nothing. I again look around. On the left is a sign that states I needed to push this button to open the door. Ok, I can do that. Button was pushed repeatedly but still, neither door would open. So now what am I supposed to do? I can see life passing me by on the street, and I'm stuck in a foyer. I see on the outside a sign that says you have to have a card to get back in this door. The only people with this card are people from the hotel that are allowed to park there or people that pay by the month. So, now I start thinking that if I ever get out of this foyer, how in the heck am I going to get back in? But, I digress.

Finally, some guy comes down the elevator, realizes I'm an idiot, and tells me the secret of getting out of the foyer. He told me to hold the button IN and then the door will open. Duh. Sure. Once you knew the secret, the door worked. Before I could ask him now how do I get back in after work, poof! He was gone. Oh well.

So, across the street and down the block and there I am. I had a few problems finding the correct door, but I finally made it. And believe it or not, right on time.

The day was pretty uneventful. The best part is that our office is on the 14th floor, where one wall is a window that looks out over the lake! Man, this must be how the other half lives. This sure makes up for the other audits where I'm stuck in a basement, or an outhouse. The only bad part about this is how hard it is to concentrate when I have this kind of view!

For the curious, I couldn't get into the same door of the parking ramp that I left from. I had to walk down the side street a bit to where I pulled in that morning. I asked the attendant at the exit booth how do I get back to the elevator. I had to walk down the ramp to the basement floor and get the elevator there. What a nightmare. Luckily, the next day I chose the ramp across the street from the first ramp. For $1.00 more a day, there were more lights, no confusing signs or boxes or gates, and many, many, many more lights that worked.

For now I'll have to fight the traffic in and out of downtown every day. At least I found a better parking ramp to park in. Life is good.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

It's been a quiet day in our household. We watched the snow, we watched the wind blowing. I don't think I've been warm all day since I came out from under the electric blanket!

We have family plans the rest of the weekend. Since we'll get our fair share of the most scrumptious poultry dish there is, we decided to make one of our other favorite meals for dinner today.

Meatloaf! Scoff if you will, this is one meal that just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. It's comfort food for my soul. We had an awesome meatloaf, some mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and even garlic bread. Believe it or not, even without the triptophan from the turkey, we are both exhausted. And stuffed!

For now I'm going to go downstairs and do some time on the treadmill. I need to make sure I can handle the turkey dinners to come!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May we all have a safe and happy holiday season!

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Remember Me?

Remember me? I'm the person that used to blog! I can't believe I've slacked off so much. No excuse, just haven't made the time to sit and write.

I have a bunch of half thoughts running in my head, ideas and even some pictures to blog about. So, now I'll just pick one and get started.

As a last minute substitution idea, this blog is going to be a complaint. I should have written this one last week when I first started to get peeved about it.

Has anyone else noticed how early people are putting up Christmas lights this year? Granted, the stores have been decked out in holly for weeks now, but I can't believe how many people jumped on this bandwagon.

Since when did it become ok to take down the Halloween lights and put up Christmas lights? Are we to just forget about Thanksgiving? What's next? Take the Christmas lights down, put up the St. Patrick's Day Green and then right back to Christmas decorations?

My vote is to go back the way it was...the way it should be. The Christmas season is not allowed to start until you see Santa Claus at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Monday, November 14, 2005

What's In A Dream?

Wow.

Aside from being restless at night, my nights have also been filled with wacko dreams. I won't even get into the one where my boss and I are stuck on the 92nd floor of a skyscraper. Yes, that's Ninety Second Floor. Who would even believe that I of all people would go that high in any building let alone with my boss? But, I digress.

So, let me tell you about my latest dream.

This takes place at Aunt Mary's/Mom and Dad's. It doesn't look like it does now, but like it did then. Now that you have that picture, here we go.

Mom and Aunt Mary bought a dog. It was a good sized dark brownish, blackish dog. Mom was getting a water dish ready for the dog (no idea what his name was!) and wanted me to go downstairs to Aunt Mary's to get the dog.

I'm watching Mom get the dog's water dish ready. She is using one of Dad's insulin needles to suck up some Jose Cuervo tequila and squirting into the dog's water dish along with the water. I tried to reason with Mom, mentioning that the dog has already had a decongestant and a pain pill. He doesn't NEED any tequila! Mom assured me that the dog did indeed need the shot of tequila because she wanted to make sure the dog slept the night.

Wait! It gets worse.

I go downstairs to get the dog to bring him upstairs for his water. Billy is walking from the kitchen to the livingroom, pulling his pants down over his right butt cheek to show his new American Flag tattoo.

To recap:

Mom is still alive and she and Aunt Mary bought a dog that Mom wants to feed tequila. Not just any tequila, but Jose Cuervo tequila. That and Billy showing me half of his butt so I can see his new tattoo.

I may need therapy after this dream!

Sunday, November 13, 2005

I Still Hear Her Saying "I Told You So"!

Years ago, while I was living in Texas, I was on the phone with my sister Barb. I was probably calling her for directions to make something! She was always good for that. She knew almost everything I needed to know.

I remember this one day in particular. Whatever it was she was trying to teach me, she said something like "just use your rolling pin". To which I replied "I don't own a rolling pin".

Believe it or not, we actually got in an argument over the rolling pin! She couldn't believe that a woman in her 30s wouldn't own a rolling pin and I countered with I'm not a baker, so why would I need it? We went round and round and finally, I relented. My next shopping trip found me in the kitchenware aisle buying a dang rolling pin!

I can count on one hand how many times I've used this rolling pin. It sat in my cupboard for years untouched. I think the first time I used it I was already in Ohio! Even now, when I do use the rolling pin, I generally use it for other purposes. For example, it's great for pounding raw chicken! A couple of pieces of plastic wrap around the chicken, a nice wooden cutting board and my rolling pin! Works great every time.

Friday night I was making chicken breasts. The recipe I was using required the chicken be pounded to 1/4" thick. So, I got out the wooden cutting board, the plastic wrap, and went to town with my rolling pin pounding the heck out of the chicken.

Even now, years later, whenever I pull out that rolling pin, no matter what I'm going to use it for, I hear Barb in my ear telling me "I TOLD you you needed a rolling pin!" How right she was!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

I Can't Believe I Missed It!

I have not been sleeping well the last few nights.

I can't really pin it on anything in particular; I don't think I'm overly anxious about anything new, no new problems, no new issues. I'm pooped before bedtime, fall asleep more or less ok but I just don't stay that way.

Then I can't get comfy. I really don't like our bed, but that's really a whole other story. Regardless, I don't think I can blame my recent restlessness totally on the bed. So, I lay there only so long and then work my way downstairs to the livingroom.

I recline on the recliner, cover with my favorite blanket, take remote control in hand and confirm that there is nothing worth watching on TV after 3:30 in the morning. In case anyone cares, there are really no entertaining infomercials quite like the ones from Ronco. But, I digress.

At 5:00 this morning, I came across a show on one of the ESPN channels. It was a fishing show. YES, I like to watch fishing shows! Anyway, there were two guys on the back of a sports fishing boat. I didn't catch where they were, but the water was blue and absolutely gorgeous.

The announcer for the show sounded very ominous. When I first came across it while channel surfing, I almost thought it was a movie. The announcer kept making comments like "if only they knew the monster they were dealing with" or "too bad they didn't realize the kind of beast they were about to meet". That sure piqued my interest.

Two guys, back of a sports fishing boat, one pole bending into the water with the owner of the pole shouting "I think it's a marlin! I think it's a marlin! It HAS to be a marlin!!!" Sure enough, this beast broke out of the water! What a magnificent creature! I thought I was mesmerized with the show.

One guy fighting the marlin for all he was worth. The other guy offering tips on how to win this fight along with an estimation that this fish weighed close to 300 pounds! Still, that dang announcer spouting crap with words like "monster", "beast", "caution" and all that.

We go to commercial at 5:20 a.m. What do I do? Fall ASLEEP! The worst part is I woke up right about 5:30 a.m.! Hello?? The only thing I missed was the end of the dang show! So....was anyone else up this morning watching ESPN? What the heck happened? Did the guy win the fight and bag his prize marlin? Did the marlin win and skewer the guy on the boat? What happened????

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Public Service Announcement

Attention! Attention! May I have your attention please!

Just 936 more wake ups until Mr. Phil retires!

Now back to your regularly scheduled evening.

End of the Season

Well, here we are. The end of another long, tedious season.

No, I'm not talking baseball. Or football or basketball or any of those other things. Unfortunately I'm not even talking about the winter season. I'm talking about the always dreaded election season.

I complain about my elected officials. Well, some of them. But, I'm out there reading up on the issues and out there voting every election day. Since I'm out there voting, I have every right to voice my opinion about how my officials are doing.

That aside, I am so tired of all of the signs in yards, political backstabbing and pimping via television ads. Monday night was about the worst! Made me long for the days of Budweiser and Vonage commercials.

Welcome to the day after the election. Ok, the commercials have stopped. Let's get the front yards picked up now and send the signs out with the trash. And for heaven's sake, quit the jabbering how you knew all along that you'd be elected and get to work!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Ree's Bed and Breakfast


Well, ok, we're not great at breakfasts, but Jim was willing to spend the weekend with us anyway! Speaking for myself, I think we had a great time.

Jim joined us on Friday. Ron and I had a few technical difficulties getting home that night, but that's another story. Poor Jim ended up sitting in our driveway awhile waiting for one of us to get here. I'm telling you, I need to hand out more keys to the house!

But, the wait was worth it. We whipped up one heck of a batch of lasagna from a recipe that is older than dirt. My lasagna recipe is the recipe Cathie got in home ec class in highschool! It is an old recipe, yes, but it's also very easy to follow, and judging by the "mmm mmm" noises around the table at dinner, I would say it was mighty tasty!

Saturday Jim, Ron and I went on a picnic. That's the picture at the top of this post. We went to one of our favorite parks that is right on the lake. As you can see, it was an overcast day, but still very beautiful. Especially considering that this was on November 5th, and none of us needed coats or even jackets. That's my kind of November day. We grabbed a picnic table and had some sandwiches and enjoyed the lake and the two views below.





Hopefully y'all can see why this is one of our favorite parks. It's just so beautiful there, even without the fountain being on. The fountain can be seen in the middle picture. (And that's my lonely car in the parking lot in the bottom picture!)

Saturday evening, we partied hearty at Mike and Mary Jane's. They put on a FEAST! One dish was better than the next. Seriously, kudos to both cooks. Once again, meal time was filled with "mmm mmm" sounds and not much talking. After dinner, I think all pants were unbuttoned! No, not in getting ready to audition for the Jerry Springer show, just trying to making room for dessert. It didn't work, but that's ok. The cake we found out on Sunday, pretty much sucked!

Anyway, before Jim headed back home, we made a stop at Dave & Busters. Everyone should try out the place at least once. There really is something for everyone. One note to self here. No more car racing games for me! The three of us competed against each other. This is one of those games that there is a big screen in front of us, and the car "seats" that we sit in for this game actually move! You hit the virtual wall with your race car, it almost feels like you hit a real wall! Same thing with hitting another race car!

I know I'm competitive, especially with Ron. And, I'm pigheaded. I was trailing Ron most of the race. Finally, I came up on the inside and took over the lead! I thought it would be smooth sailing to the end of the race! If only I could keep it on the track and off of the wall, I thought I could do it! All of a sudden....who is that coming up on my left?? Oh NO! Car # 8! None other than Ron! That's not fair! I don't know how, but I know he's cheating!! I would have none of it. I gave it my all and got really ugly. I knocked him spinning into the wall while I took the win for myself! Go me!

The price for me cheating? I was car sick like you wouldn't believe. Ugh. I guess I deserved that!

Nausea aside, I had a great weekend. Huge hugs to Jim for giving up a free weekend and spending it with us. I'm already starting on plans for what we're doing on his next Ohio vacation! Love you, brother!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Nothing But The Best

Yes, that's right. Nothing but the best for me and mine.

Tonight was a shopping night. We are having company this weekend (that's you, Jim!) and I wanted to make sure my cupboards were supplied with just the right foods and sodas and perhaps even a margarita or two. So, after work, Ron and I were on a mission.

I needed to hit Sam's Club followed by a quick trip to Giant Eagle. Some time in there, I figured we'd decide on somewhere to go for dinner. By the time I walked through Sam's Club and paid for our booty, I was hungry but too tired to think about supper. That's when Ron got the great idea of eating at Sam's Club!!

For those of you that don't know, Sam's Club has a little cafe if you will, by the checkouts. Ron said hey! Let's just eat there! It worked for me.

Our order included one polish sausage sandwich, one italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions, one soft pretzel, two sodas and one four berry sundae. All together, our bill came to $7.30! How the heck can you beat that? The sandwiches were awesome. The four berry sundae alone is worth the trip to Sam's Club. Just how good is this sundae? Ask Ron. Even though it gave him brain freeze, he finished every last drop!