Overheard on Monday

"This day has had a crappy start for a Friday.

Oh Shit! It's Monday!"

It’s that time of year again when the Catholics stick out like marked people

Ash Wednesday is upon us once again and I find myself contemplating what to give up for Lent. I usually give up chocolate, which is not as easy as it seems since it is also Girl Scout Cookie season.

I am also reminded of last year’s homily where the priest said, "We all give up candy and that’s easy but who can go home after a bad day at work and be Joyful?" That made such a difference in my life and changed the way I viewed Lent. Mini Red enjoyed it too!

I believe I have kept up with the “Joyful After Work” theme but now is the time to stop and re-evaluate. Then every year can just become better and better, right?

I have decided to take on a bit more and this one is a toughie. No cussing in the car or rather no Road Rageous cussing. I am, however, allowing myself to say “POOP”.

Mini Red has been encouraged to choose something in her life to eliminate or improve and really stick to it. Last year she didn’t do so well but at 12 I believe she can learn a thing or two.

What are all you Catholics out there planning on giving up?

Oh and if there is abundance of “Ode De Fish” on Friday’s it’s us Catholics.

The Mice chased us to Happy Hour where we escaped Hawaii, met Dave Matthews and now might be on our way to Alaska

Thursday and Friday I was in the office for a Train the Trainer course. I wasn’t real excited about being in the office after being on site for so long, but primarily because of the mice issue. Yes, I said mice. Yuck!

The hotel across the street is undergoing major construction and the theory is it has run the mice over to our building. At first we thought it was just our office but it is all over our building with the fifth floor seemingly getting a rather large population.

The mice droppings hit the fan about a week ago when a mouse bravely walked across a co-workers desk as she was working. Ewwwwwwwwwww! The exterminator came, laid down the sticky traps that would entice the mice out, which hasn’t been a problem, and said he would be back the next morning to get what was captured. Well the mice started coming out and running all over the place but weren't sticking.

Thursday morning one of the guys went to make coffee and when he opened the coffee drawer there was a mouse looking up at him. Evidently, he did a very masculine man-scream and Shortie saved him and captured the mouse, which she released in a dumpster behind the restaurant down stairs.

So the training room seemed to be somewhat of a safe haven due to its location and it’s a freaking freezer box. When I worked at my desk I was still freezing but I wasn’t going to complain. I didn’t even try to mess with the heater because if it was cold then hopefully it might keep the mice away. The thought of even seeing a mouse just heebeegeebeed me out but it was another excuse to wear the boots.

Fumigating was to commence at 5pm so a number of us took that as a cue to get to Happy Hour as soon as possible. The go-to place was Bistro Europa. I had passed it before but never been there but I followed the troops. The name did not describe the place at all and I would not have expected them to have a pool room.

There were eight of us and WW was the only dude and I think he was digging that. The majority of our group disappeared before the bar started picking up, but WW, Liz and I hung in there. WW was finally playing pool against some worthy opponents and Liz and I were taking in the sights.

WW had stopped playing pool and the three of us were in conversation when I noticed this dude getting closer and closer trying to read our company name off WW’s shirt. He pushed his way in saying he had heard of our company. WW and Liz were very excited about this but I just stayed back because something was fishy here. At first Liz thought he said his name was Mahalo so that is what we will call him here.

At first we thought Mahalo was trying to get close to Liz but then he moved in my direction. I was the only one who hadn’t given my name but I was the only one who had been to Hawaii where he was from so a discussion ensued. When a pool player asked Mahalo to move so he could play Mahalo didn’t move to the side as one would expect but, evidently, grabbed WW’s knee and moved in. This is when WW put his arm around me and moved closer. When the hint wasn’t taken we decided to get out of the pool table area primarily to get away from Mahalo.

The three of us got separated but Liz and I met up and we saw WW at the bar and Mahalo found him. We didn’t know if we needed to save WW but figured if he needed help he would let us know so we could come running and throw a boob in there and break it up. On the other hand they could very well be talking business.

Liz and I were able to procure a table and sat back waiting anxiously for WW to break free or just ready to save him. Finally, WW got away but he never saw us right there behind him. Liz ran to grab him and this cute guy at the next table immediately turned around and we started talking. Ok no one was going anywhere at this point because Red had the attention of this Dave Matthews look-a-like. We got pulled into his group of friends who had gathered with another table. It was a great eclectic group and this dude, who we'll call DM, said he would introduce me but he didn’t know most of these people’s names.

People moved around and I got to hear about the fingerprints WW had on his ass from Mahalo. I told him he needed to throw out the help signal next time because Liz or I could have very well alleviated the situation if he was uncomfortable. As WW and I were talking this big dude took DM’s seat to talk to Liz and the next thing WW and I hear is, “The size of my penis…” WW hopped up to interject and protect Liz.

Meanwhile I notice DM sitting two seats over and I’m left wondering if he’s even interested. I decided I better get my number ready because since he mentioned leaving soon. He gets up to leave and I hugged him and handed him my number. WW, Liz and I left soon after since it was about 1am at this point.

On the way out I mentioned I handed over my number but also I wasn’t sure if he was going to even ask for it. WW said just the right thing, “Guys can get intimidated by beautiful women and be afraid to ask. It’s good you gave it to him because he was a good looking guy. We are going to have so much fun when we have to travel to Alaska.”

My response was a bit mixed with delight at WW’s theory on DM but shocked at this mention of traveling to ALASKA! “What!”

Liz says, “WW, you didn’t tell her?”

I think I had this shocked look on my face as I said, “ALASKA?!”

WW says, “Lots of men there for you! We’ll talk about it next week. Bye!”

Yeah, I’m not sure what to think about that one.

BUSTED!

This is for Mad Cabbie and Lugi:

To play click here.

The damn show is making me cry

This is a tough Grey's Anatomy. They know how to bring on the tension and make us cry.

WHAT!

I can't believe it ended like that!

Bastards!

Valentine's Day and a Dude Review

Tonight I took my Valentine, Mini Red, out to dinner. We went into Bethesda and ate at Rock Bottom. She tried to pull a fast one and ordered a Mountain Dew, but I nixed that one real quick. I don’t need her all spazed out on the Dew.

Eating at Rock Bottom reminded me of a match.com date I had a few years ago. Bob seemed like an all-American type guy. We met up at the bar and from the git he couldn’t stop staring at my chest. There's a large mirror behind the bar and he would stare at my chest from there but wouldn’t turn and face me directly. So I got a bit of the heebeegeebees going on but it had only been approximately 15 minutes and you can’t make a decision on a person in that short of a time.

We decided to get a bite to eat so we moved to a table in the restaurant area. As soon as we sat down he would look down at the table rather than face me. What the doofus didn’t realize is I could see his eyeballs even though he couldn’t see mine but he could see my chest and stared at it non-stop through dinner.

I had finished my meal but not my beer and excused myself to the restroom. When I got back to the table it was cleared and he wasn’t there but he appeared moments after me.

The doofus had followed me to the restroom for fear I was ditching him and I guess the waiter thought we left so he cleared the table. I was done with this date at this point but I continued to be the nice person I always try to be and prayed this would be over soon.

We walked out of the restaurant and suddenly his arms were around me asking where we could go next. I guess he thought if he made it through dinner then he could touch. I told him I had to go, thanked him and started walking home.

He was so odd I feared he might follow me. In my mind I still think of him as “Bab the smarmy sales dude who acted as if he had never seen breasts before.”

This is one of the awful dates that have led to my absence from the dating scene or rather mistrust of you fellows. My friends are becoming concerned and one has even made it his New Year resolution to get me a date. Another friend said I was just demagnetizing from all the bad/scary dates.

It has been suggested that I do some chasing of boys. My experience has proved this to be disastrous on several occasions. I believe it's obvious when I'm interested but I could be wrong. It's difficult to put yourself out there and show interest not knowing if that interest is reciprocated. I have even put it out there when it was reciprocated and then they change their mind.

I admit I can be a bit picky, as some put it. I'm also not gonna fight for one of you dudes especially if another woman is involved. You know who you want and if it’s me then you'll do what it takes to show me that you want me and keep me. I don't want some man that’s wishy washy or full of drama.

They say women are difficult to figure out and I agree they can be but you dudes are just as difficult.

Bryan Adams seems to have gotten this down pat, which is evident by this song:

Happy Valentine's Day

Gawd I love this kid!

We are home today due to the ice. Mini Red decided to go down and clean off the car while I hopped in the shower. When I peeked out to check on her she she was almost done. I was nervous about her trying to get into the car because the windows pop down when you open the door and the ice could cause a problem there. Seems she handled it fine. Good girl!

I grabbed the other set of remote keys for the car and made the car beep. Mini Red stepped back from the car and was checking her pocket thinking she had hit the button. She started to move back to the car and I hit the button again! Again she stepped back and checked her pocket. So I hit the button again. She looked up to see me in the window and shook her fist at me.

Mama messed up and got busted down by the Munchkin

The ice wreaked havoc on traffic today so it was such a long frustrating drive home from work. I tried to prepare myself for it but it still grates on your nerves when you just want to be home and out of the car.

I picked up Mini Red and on the last leg of the journey I got frustrated at another car and almost said the F-word. I scrambled to cover what I almost said but Mini Red was on to me.

I said, “You know like that restaurant... Fuckrudders?”

“MOM!!! You said THAT word!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Mom! It’s called Fuddruckers! F-U-D-D.”

“Oops!”

I missed the Mad Mad Mad Genius and the Hottie Von Hotterson

Stewart Copeland is a MAD MUSICAL GENIUS!
Sting is HOT!

I missed the reunion of The Police on last nights Grammys but thank goodness for You Tube so they can bring me/us this:



Seems a tour has been announced. Check it out at Sting's site or even at Stewart Copeland's. Even better yet check it out at it's own site The Police Tour

Maybe they will add DC... Gawd I hope so.

How do you know if you’re Royalty?

Mini Red hangs with my Mom every afternoon after school. Mom makes sure Mini Red gets her homework done, which is a huge help and makes our busy evenings easier.

Saturday morning Mini Red and I were hanging out at home and she says to me, “Mom, are you a Princess?”

I have no idea where this is coming from but I tell her that I’m the Queen of our home so she is the Princess.

“Grandma told me that Steve would say he’s a Prince since his Mother’s name, Regina, means Queen in Latin and his Father’s name, Regis, means King in Latin. If Steve is a Prince then you must be a Princess Mama.”

How cute was that? What I liked even better is that Mom spoke of Steve and then to tell her something I had never heard.

Steve is my biological Father who was killed in Vietnam. We never spoke much of him because I was so young and then Mom remarried. It was an unspoken thing between her and I and we wanted to be respectful of the man who became my Dad.

“Well Mini Red… Then that proves you ARE a Princess.”

Done , Over, Fini, Discharged or as they tell me Graduated

I’m talking about my physical therapy. It has been many months and lots of co-pays. Just as I was getting better I got worse again due to stress. It didn’t help that my physical therapist is very attractive. Well… maybe that did help.

My desk calendar from January 24th covered the stress thing very well:

Stop Thinking

Recent studies reported in real-life medical journals indicate that there is no such thing as a stressful life event – only stressful thoughts about life events. Therefore, if something upsets you or makes you nervous, stressed, or freaked out in any way, just don’t think about it. The way to eliminate stress from your life is simply to stop thinking. Hurray! One less thing to do.

Mini Red gets introduced to The Money Pit

Mini Red didn't want to watch The Money Pit but I reminded her she didn't want to see Forrest Gump either. I told her we could turn it off at any time if she wasn't enjoying it but that's not happening after this scene:

Assignment #2 for my Graphics Arts class

Assignment #2 is on raster graphics. Our assignment is to recreate a book cover using the tools we’ve been taught so far. Mini Red helped me decide on a book cover to recreate.

Below is my completed assignment:

Bridge to Terabithia

Last year Mini Red's class read Bridge to Terabithia. I remember hearing her talk about it all the time. Now the movie is coming out on February 16th and Mini Red couldn't be more excited.

I'm excited about it too! The movie looks too cool.

Check out this trailer:

Mini Red's Birthday celebration

Last weekend Mini Red had three friends over to celebrate her birthday. We all met at Build-A-Bear and the girls all got bears and matching BFF t-shirts. How cute! As I watched the girls run around the store and do their thing I couldn’t help but cringe at how old they are now. Mini Red is officially a PRE-TEEN!

I think I’m having heart palpitations. I am so thankful to have her, she is my life but I imagine she just might be my death too! Hahaha. She is just growing too fast and I can’t believe I’m old enough to be her mother. I always thought I would have more than one child but some people don’t/can’t get as far as I have. So I am thankful for what I have.

After Build-A-Bear All three friends were spending the night at our place. Earlier in the day I took Mini Red to the store to pick out the junk food she wanted. She picked Ho Hos, Twinkies, Oatmeal Creme Pies, Popcorn, Coke and we ordered Dominos when got back with all the girls.

Their night started by putting on the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. They attacked me with pillows as I yelled, “I’m the Mama, I’m the Mama go back to your room!” They did a fashion show after putting makeup on each other. They surrounded me again in hopes of doing my make up. With this I covered my face and yelled, “I’m the Mama, I’m the Mama go back to your room!” I don’t know why they kept trying to pull me into their little party. They even wanted me to watch the next movie with them and asked Mini Red if I could sleep in there with them. I don’t know why they think I’m the cool Mom. It’s not like I gave them beer it was just junk food.

Mini Red has a loft bed with a bed underneath and we set up a queen size blow up mattress. When I went to wake up the girls the next morning all four of them were crammed and crashed on the blow up mattress. It was absolutely adorable!

The parents were coming to pick them up and we got a call from one of the girl’s step-father. Guess who that was? He wanted to speak to me. Oye! I didn’t want to talk to him but what am I supposed to do? I answered and he apologized and explained that in his line of business he gets crank calls all the time.

I said, “I understand that but you started by screaming at me and then hung up.”

He started to give me another excuse and I wasn’t about to get into a pissing contest with him so I said, “Let’s just say its water under the bridge and leave it at that?” This was agreeable to him, thank goodness, because I didn’t want to hear all the lame excuses he was ready to throw down.

These girls Mini Red had over are adorable and sweet and I think they all had a fabulous time. The most important part is Mini Red had a great time and it was everything she wanted.

Waiting for my real life to begin

There has been a lot going on in my life lately keeping me pretty busy. Namely, Mini Red and all her activities like violin and swimming. On top of that I finally started taking a college class. One is enough right now considering it’s two hours of lecture, three hours of lab and all in one night. My class is on Graphic Arts and I can’t wait to learn more. It is so much fun and the time flys when I’m there.

This class is the thing that seems to be wearing me out but I am so grateful for it. The day of my first class my company did a third round of layoffs. This one was hard, at least for me, because I don’t think anyone saw it coming. Thankfully, I still have a job and I’m on a new project that is keeping me VERY busy. So to start the class that day is giving me hope for my future so that if I am laid off (heaven forbid) at least I’m finally doing something about it.

Even though this class is wearing on me it is also making me very excited about possibilities. I guess you’re never too old.

With all that said Velvet says it’s Bloggie Poetry Day and posted lyrics to a song that define how she’s been feeling lately. I happen to have a song that keeps running through my head especially on the nights I have class.

***************************************************

WAITING FOR MY REAL LIFE TO BEGIN
Colin Hay

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down down down, on me

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
But don't you understand
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again
And you say, just be here now
Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin
Let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I’ll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon
It's just that times are lean

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart, let the light shine in
Don't you understand I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Where is the snow we were promised?

I want SNOW!
I wore my BIG ASS boots today. I've had these things sitting in my closet for a few years. I was afraid to break them in but they have some serious traction, which is useful in foul weather. So why not break them in now... Right? They aren't real comfortable... yet I wore them in anticipation of snow and ice and trying to thwart any chances of me looking the fool falling on my ass. Now I'm just real disappointed that they’ve been worn for no reason. I hate when promises are broken. Damn you (*shaking fists*) promise breaking weather people!


If tomorrow is a snow day for Mini Red I'm not sure what I will do with her since I can't take her to the client site with me and I can't miss work right now. I'm sure Mom would be able to help me out but then again it's not looking like I have to be worrying about that at this point.

I'm still holding out hope for some of that white stuff and maybe it will start as soon as I get home. I have a feeling the drive home will be awful especially if the drive in this morning was any indication. It seems people were getting all crazy this morning and causing chaos everywhere. Telling the DC area it's going to snow is like jumping in someone's face yelling BOO! Everyone gets freaked out over nothing.