this one's for you, kare

I have so much to blog about and I promise I'll blog this week - I just wanted to post this because it made me think of Kare.

Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real"

You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Karen called me last night - her daughter's water broke and they were on their way to the hospital!!! I'm anxiously anticipating a phone call!!!

Karen's gonna be a grandma!!!


update: It's a girl! Born shortly after midnight - 6lbs 7oz. Karen is so happy, I think she may steal her!!! Name is not offical yet, but I'm going to call her Layla. :o)

how i spent my jammie day

After giving myself a much needed break from 'The Sopranos' (It's getting bad when I'm seriously considering whacking anyone who pisses me off - the fact that I use the term 'whacking' should be a warning in itself), after making Mickey Mouse waffles for Adam and his friend for breakfast I then figured I'd wrap up in a blanket and watch something a little lighter for a change. Besides, it has only been a month and I'm already 1/2 way through season 5.

'Ghost Town' was exactly how I thought it would be - Ricky Gervais was made for this character - at one point I laughed so hard, I actually cried. If you've seen the movie, you know which scene I'm talking about. 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', to me, was along the same humor as 'Superbad', '40 Year-Old Virgin' - funny, lame, and just what I needed.

Going on Day 5 of my diet and, as of Friday I was down 1.6lbs. Yesterday I had to pee so much, the normally 2 hour movies took about double the time to watch - I swear if I were a man I would think I had a prostate problem.

it's my best friend's birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Kare!!! I wish we could be closer today. I miss you so much. I hope you have an absolutely spectacular day - you deserve it. I love you!

confessions of a shopaholic...

My main resolution this year was to be more frugal. You see, I'll be the first to admit that I have a little bit of a shopping problem. I'm an impulse buyer. I'm sure there has to be some type of support group I could join, but, I figured I'd try to go cold turkey - only the necessities. Nobody needs a closet for only purses & shoes....do they? Furniture can last longer than a year or two. I've got to stop living in the world of want and focus on what I actually need. After a ton of soul searching, I actually got nauseous thinking of the money I've wasted.

On Friday afternoon, while taking Adam to the book store, I stumbled into Stokes and celebrated my newfound economic maturity by purchasing these:


Let me just say (as it ALWAYS is with me), I absolutely loved these in the store. Loved, loved, loved. Once I got them home and they were washed & put in their temporary home that is my cupboard, all I could think was 'whatever.....they'll do for a few months'.


p.s. If you're wondering (you're probably not) why this dish set didn't come with mugs, well, they did - I just have no room for them, so they never even left the box. Allow me to show you a few shelves in my cabinet... You see, I have a weakness for mugs as well...



Help.

all work and no play makes darlene a dull girl.....

This is my favorite mug - the mug I won't let anyone else use for fear that they will lose a limb. Inside this mug are the remains of my final egg nog latte of the season - taken Friday. No more until November. I think my heart dies a little each year.

My weekend consisted of my parents coming over Saturday for dinner. They leave on Wednesday and will be back in June for Adam's graduation. It was great seeing them, but, I don't know what it is about my mother - she drives me to the brink of insanity after 10 minutes of being in a room with her. I haven't decided if it's her tone of voice or some underlying unconscious resentment I have. Don't get me wrong, I love her. But, there's just something that makes me want to flail my arms and start shrieking madly whenever we get in the same room together.

Yesterday was a complete jammie day - I decided that I'm treating myself to one of these every week. I wrapped up in a blanket and finished season 3 of 'The Sopranos', while eating a shitload of pistachios washed down with an insane amount of caffeine-free diet coke. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend a day. However, I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I'm finished the complete series. I'm averaging a season a week, and with only 3 seasons to go, I figure I'll just go crazy. I tried to limit myself to only watching an episode or two on the weekends, but by Monday of last week, I was like a heroin addict. I was shoveling my dinner in me as quick as I could just so I could sit down to watch 'just one'. Needless to say, it's never just one, and I'm dreaming about it every night. I think I've become obsessed.

I'm a complete winter person. Just ask anyone. However, I can honestly say, without remorse, that I'm totally sick of the cold. In the 26 years that I've lived in this city, I've never experienced a winter like this. With the temperatures -30 or colder every day since the end of November and the days being so short, I'm slowly going batshit crazy - I'm starting to feel like Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining'.

Our plans for the evening consisted of Vaughn, Adam & I playing the CSI dvd game that Santa brought me. However, Adam informed me this afternoon that he had other ideas and is now spending the night at a friend's house. So, Vaughn has gone to pick us up dinner, I'm in my jammies and we'll be watching more 'Sopranos'. Sounds like a fantastic evening!

Happy New Year to you and your families, and all the best in 2009!

woke up this morning, got yourself a gun....

So, Santa was great this year - I got the complete series of 'The Sopranos' and have had serious dreams of organized crime for 4 nights. I never watched the series - not even one episode. But, when the commercials used to come on, I'd always say that I wish I had started watching it. I'm enjoying it so much.




Christmas was great this year - My Mom & Dad flew up and are staying until 14 January. Notice the normalcy of what is my family. Once again, another 'licking' picture to circulate the web.

Porkchop on Christmas morning - She's not so crazy about the insanity of the holidays. But she loves treats.











I love having my parents here - I love it even more that they're staying at my brother's.

Adam wore this under his sweatshirt on Christmas Day & told his friend, Katherine that he had something to show her. He lifted up his hoodie and she said yes! It's amazing to think my son would have been a stylish gangster - the suit he picked out for his graduation has been worn by just about every mobster in 'The Sopranos' - black, double breasted with pinstripes, and the hat with the feather to top it all off. So cool.

no man is a failure who has friends....

This is the one thing I look forward to most every year - watching this on Christmas Eve. As I have for the past 20 years, I swear every time I won't cry, and every year it moves me more than the year before. (Can you believe it, Kare? I actually cried. hahaha) We watched it this evening instead because Amy managed to get tomorrow off work so she's flying up in the morning!!! I'm so happy.

Here's wishing you and your families a very safe and happy holiday. May you be blessed with love, and much happiness.

Okay, so it's not a hurricane, it's not a tsunami, it may not even be the end of the world. But, believe me, it's a disaster for me.

I was getting ready for work this morning, and, as I always do, I dry my hair, put on my makeup, and as I'm sectioning my hair, I turn on my flat iron. However, this morning, it would not work. After about 15 minutes of panicked attempts of pressing the 'reset' button, Vaughn woke up & my eyes were filled with tears. When I told him what was happening, he immediately took out his tools to try and fix it. Poor guy - he took one look at my head and knew he had to perform a miracle. When that didn't work, he took out the soldering iron to try and make a connection in the wires. Nope. Nothing.

When I say I have naturally curly hair, its kind of an understatement. I mean, if I had intended on wearing my hair curly today, it probably would have looked great, because I have corkscrew curl - but it takes a LOT of work to make it look good. I have to use a ton of product and a diffuser. When I'm intending on wearing my hair straight, I just turn my head upside down and wait until the hair dryer does it's job. The result is that I look like a mixture between Gene Simmons and Don King. That's when my flat iron does it's magic.

So, here I am, having had to use a bottle of shine and a curling iron to straighten this nest on my head - all so I can look presentable enough to make it to the hair salon to purchase another straightener before I have to go to work.

Just to give you an idea of what my hair is like, allow me to share a few photos of my childhood. When my mother took me for my 1st haircut, the hairdresser couldn't even get a comb through my hair. She had to grab it in clumps and cut it right to the skull. I looked like a little boy for years. Needless to say, I have total hair issues.

decorations & dogs.........

I got this ornament at Liberace's museum in Las Vegas in July - it doesn't matter where I go, I'll scope out ornaments anywhere. It's my Christmas 2008 favorite.

Porkchop's friend, Winston came over with his human for a visit last week. As you can tell by the photo, Porkchop was not too impressed with the visitor. He likes to sniff her bum and she wants nothing to do with it.

This was taken after Winston finally left. She was exhausted, having to dodge his nose for three hours.

Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree this year.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

urinetown

at the makeup table

in costume

Adam & Luay aka Mr. Cladwell & Officer Lockstock

I'll be the 1st to admit that I was a little skeptical about Adam's drama club performing this musical. I figured, if anything else, the name alone would turn people off from seeing it. Boy was I wrong. It was absolutely fantastic. They performed 'Cats' last year, and while I appreciated the professionalism and the talent of the play, 'Urinetown' totally blew it right out of the water. It was the most entertaining show I'd ever been to.

Adam's character, Caldwell B. Cladwell, was the token 'bad guy', and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but my son was the best asshole (his interpretation, not mine - okay, maybe mine too) in the history of high school musicals. It was phenomenal. They had 7 performances and I made it to three. I even bought out an entire row last Friday for family & coworkers. I'm so proud, I can't even stand it.

picture this....

I saw this painting in a store back in September or October and was instantly attracted to it. I knew it was probably too big for my dining room, so, as always, I sent a picture to Kare and anxiously waited for her opinion. She liked it, told me I should buy it (yes, she's a terrific influence), so I did. I brought it home, Vaughn hung it on the wall, and from that moment on, it gave me the creeps. I don't know if it was the fact that none of the people had faces, but it was giving me nightmares. Seriously. I didn't know what to do.

Then one evening while I was in a furniture store with Vaughn, I came across another painting. I swear, angels began to sing when I looked at it. It was much bigger than the already too big creepy painting, but I loved it right away. I made myself comfortable on a couch while Vaughn went looking at big screen tv's and once again sent the picture to Kare. We had a long, wonderful conversation while I laid on the couch, and I contemplated whether or not I should buy it. I mean, it had only been a few weeks since the creepy painting episode, so I figured I'd lay off the impulse buys and give it some time. I walked in about 3 weeks later and there it was. I took it as a sign.


I'll be the first to admit that I have a shopping problem, but I kind of blame Kare. Even living 8 hours away, she still helps me feed my addiction. I miss her every day.

alrighty then......

Well, this would be a bit of an exaggeration, but when I dropped Netter's package off at the post office yesterday, after the lady weighed it, she literally tossed it onto the back counter. I looked at her and said, "Ummm....That's 'fragile'. Can you please put some fragile stickers on it?" She walked over, put a few stickers on it, and as the mail carrier was walking out of the back room with all the parcels, she once again, took mine and tossed it on the back of the trolley. The only thing that I could muster was, "Are you fucking kidding me?" She just looked at me and said, "Well, it's insured, right?" and then laughed.

I hate this city. hate. hate. hate.

Ever get the feeling that it's gonna be one of 'those' days? I miss Amy today. I miss Kare today. I want to call in sick & drink coffee all day, but there's no Amy or Kare to play hooky with.

and the winner is.....

Seriously, people - I can't make this shit up.

Since I had a whole bunch of Partylite, I figured I'd draw 2 names. So, I put all the names in my bucket - every time you made a comment since last week, your name went in the draw. I drew the 1st name:

Netter

This lady has won every draw I've ever had, so I chuckled. Then I drew name 2:

Netter

Are you seeing a connection here? ahhaha That woman has a hex on me.


Congratulations!!!!!

I Do.....Again

Every young girl fantasizes about her dream wedding. You know, big poofy gown, lots of people, jillions of flowers.... My dream was a little different. I always wanted to be married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas. Because I got married quite young and my parents paid for everything, they totally dissed the idea, so we settled for a semi-traditional wedding which I despised (read a previous blog-rant here).

With our 20th anniversary in 2009, Vaughn suggested that I finally make my dream come true. We're taking the kids to Vegas and we're renewing our vows at Graceland Wedding Chapel!!! Finally, I'm getting my dream wedding....and I get to marry my dream man all over again.

Oopsie....

After I picked up Adam from school today, I went into the drugstore to get him refills for his toothbrush, on account of the fact he's using a new brush tip every 2-3 weeks because his braces rip through everything. Adam waited in the car. He knows never to go into the drugstore with me because 'I'm just going to pick up one thing' is never the case. I smell the new perfumes, check out the magazines, buy some makeup, etc, etc, etc.

I do my Almond M&M check as I'm walking by the candy aisle & I clean the store out of the 9 bags that are there. As I'm walking back to the car and fumbling with the m&m bag, trying to get it opened, I grabbed the handle & yanked the door open. I think it was the man's scream that prompted me to look up. I had walked to the wrong car, opened the wrong door, scared the crap out of the poor man waiting for his wife & lost 1/2 bag of my m&m's onto his lap in the process.

Thing I learned today - ALWAYS WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

CONTEST!!!!

Have any of you ever been to a Partylite party? Well, let me just tell you that I've hosted many and have been to more than I could even count. I have blanket chests that have so many candles that there is no room for blankets.

I over-indulged at the last party I went to about a month ago, so now I'm going to have a giveaway! Every person's comment for the next week will be added to a jar & I'll draw the name next Friday!

happy halloween!

This was me at work today - I swear, I'm game for dressing up anytime.
Notice the 'Hitmen' hockey jersey - a Calgary team owned by the man himself, Bret Hart. *big sigh* I painted on the black eye, but Vaughn offered to give me one for free. All I said to him is 'Go ahead, but you'd better pray that I don't get back up'. I guess I didn't think this whole costume up so well, because I realized too late that hockey pants aren't meant to be worn while driving a car. It felt like I was wearing armor, which would probably be a good thing if I were a real hockey player.

It's almost 4:30pm & I'm expecting the kids to start showing up pretty soon, so I'd better get the treats ready by the door.

Have a Happy Halloween!

my latest read....

My favorite niece, Kaylee (my brother's daughter) is sleeping over for 3 nights, along with her dog, Sparkles. This is her absolute favorite book so she brought it to me and insisted I read it. I've seen a few trailers for the upcoming movie in November, and it looks pretty interesting. I'm a sucker (pardon the pun) for love stories and vampires so I figure I'll start it this weekend... Has anyone else had a chance to read it?

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Desperate Housewife & Peter have been having some fun at my expense. See if I ever lick something when there's a camera around again....Who would have thought my tongue would become this famous?

this one's for rue as well....

How adorable would netter's niece look in this? Enter the contest, and if you don't know a girl that would enjoy it, I know netter does!

size does matter....

When I'm with Amy, every situation is a photo opportunity....even in Costco.

Imagine my surprise when I notice I'd been tagged on Facebook.... I forgot about this picture - I wish she had too.

Oh well, with all the jumbo sized items, I guess this really could have been worse.

Really.

who's the boss....

Every morning I wake up at 5:20am (over an hour before everyone else), just so I can shower, make coffee, get ready for the day, in peace. I'm not sure if I do this every day for the safety of myself or others, as it's been clinically proven that I will bludgeon anyone who comes into contact with me before I've showered and had at least had 4-5 gulps of caffeine. Anyway, back to my story.

Anyone who knows me knows my love for Miss Porkchop. However, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not her favorite human. Sure, she loves me, but in a different way than anyone else. We've discovered that she thinks she's Adam's mother, as she protects him, sits on his lap to 'help' him with his homework, wakes him up in the morning, and nags him by burrowing and licking until he finally gets out of bed.

As for Amy, well, she's her wrestling buddy. When she and Amy 'play', there are sounds that come out of my little Angel of a dog that are more resemblant of a rabid hyena than the little princess that I claim she is. I always yell, "Cut it out! She's just a little girl!" But, there Porkchop is, jumping on Amy's lap, waiting for more.

My role in Porkchop's life is her companion, aka, her pain in the ass. You see, I'm the one who can't stand it if she's just sleeping there. I have to go up and hug her, kiss her, scratch her, pick her up, and just basically, piss her off. Sure, she loves me to death. When I come home, she cries with joy and rolls instantly on her back so I can maul her. I still tell her every day (about a million times) that I love her more than anything, and that she's the greatest part of every day. However, she usually lays there, taking it all in, giving me the stink-eye the entire time.

And then there's Vaughn. To Porkchop, the sun shines right out of his ass. She follows him wherever he goes, whether it be to the kitchen to get a drink, or to the bathroom. Sometimes at night, he'll wake up to go downstairs and if she wakes up and he's not there, she'll start to cry. When he comes back to bed (about 30 seconds later), she jumps on him and kisses him like he's a long lost soldier that came back from 30 years at war. As you can see from this picture, he is sitting on the couch and she's buried herself right behind him. She sleeps directly on top of him, and I know that if it were up to her, I'd be sleeping on the couch. I know this to be a fact, because when I get out of the shower every morning, I tiptoe into the bedroom to kiss her good morning. There's never any glee or joy to see me. Want to know what I walk into? My darling dog buried under the blankets laying on the pillow peacefully sleeping - on my side of the bed. Heaven forbid if I was ever considering getting back in.
I couldn't possibly ever get mad at her. I still love her to the point that I can't stop picking on her - no matter how cheezed she gets at me. She was and will always be Porkchop the Wonder Dog - Princess of Greatness. My little angel right from heaven.

Who doesn't need a quilt? At Pigtails and Snails, she's giving away an absolutely beautiful, original, handmade quilt! Check it out & enter your name!

happy thanksgiving!!!

We had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and, as usual, I overloaded my plate and smothered everything in gravy. If you look closely you'll notice one thing missing from my plate and that's turkey. I love everything about a big dinner, but there's always so many other things to eat, I never have meat until the big sandwiches on Vaughn's famous homemade bread the next day.

It was a quiet day for us - Amy couldn't come home & I had been battling a migraine all weekend, so Vaughn got up and prepared the turkey (which, to me, is the most disgusting chore of all time), so all I did was peel the veggies and make the stuffing. It was much smaller in scale than it usually is, but, with only the 3 of us, it was just right. I left the fancy dishes in the cabinet & it was pretty laid back - we all ate dinner in our jammies and watched movies.

Happy Thanksgiving !