The Rundown

It's been a while! I've been really busy this past week, and just haven't felt like posting anything. I had a really great Christmas! The holiday really started on Friday at work. I walked in and discovered a pile of presents on my desk. I was pretty blown away. I got this really nice leather portfolio planner that I just love. I also got a CD, pajamas, chocolates, tons of candy, a Yankee candle, a gift set from Bath & Body Works, earrings, a gift card to Borders, and some other stuff. Needless to say, I didn't expect any of it, and I work with the best group of people EVAR.

Friday after work, Chris and I drove to pick up my Mom, then we came back and did some last minute shopping and wrapping of presents. On Saturday morning, we picked up my sister from the airport (Hawaii was fabulous, she said.) and then later that night, we all headed over to Chris's Mom's house for dinner and gifts. We had a great time over there. We ended up watching 40 Year Old Virgin (hilarious, btw.) with a 70 year old woman who apparently didn't think the movie was as hilarious as we did. Kinda uncomfortable. Doesn't really matter though. Apparently she told my mother-in-law that she looked "tired" more than once that night. I guess 70 year old woman aren't as nice as we sometimes think them to be!

Anyway, Christmas morning, we had breakfast here and then we all opened our gifts. I scored some sweet loot. Earrings from Tiffany's, 3 cookbooks, all the books from Gregory McGuire, pj's, Philosophy products, 2 games, new silverware, new drinking glasses, gift cards, etc etc etc. Oh, and, the gift that I liked the most, the Burberry Brit Red perfume. If you remember from October, I had got some when I was in Tennessee, but we lost it in the mall. So, now I have it and am wearing as we speak! So, Christmas afternoon, we headed over to Chris's uncle's house for his family Christmas. Again, a great time. Rob Your Neighbor was a lot of fun this year. The food was great, and I even got a nap in afterwards. That night, some of us went over to his cousin's house to play Scene It and Shout About TV (the 2 games I got.) We ate some snacks and drank martini's and had a pretty good time.

The day after Christmas, we went to my friend Geof's "Christmas" party. Geof is my friend who is moving to Greece in April because he works for the State Department now. Even though he denies it, I'm convinced he's a spy. But, then again, what spy would admit they are actually a spy? A stupid one. Really. So, we had a good time at the party and afterwards, ended up going to see Brokeback Mountain, or what Chris has dubbed, Bareback Mountain. First, let me say that I realize this movie is getting raving freaking reviews. My review is not raving. I didn't feel moved by the movie. Actually, I didn't even like the movie. The only thing I can say is this, I have a lot of gay friends, and I have seen the tenderness they show to each other when they're in a relationship. There was no tenderness between the two characters in this movie. Besides that, there wasn't even any chemistry. I expected something more from the movie since all the reviews were raving. Perhaps that's my fault for setting the bar too high.

Anyway, on Tuesday, we went to see Syriana. That was a good movie. Not great, but good. I was impressed how they tied all the stories and characters together in the end. So, I don't really remember much after Tuesday. It gets kind of fuzzy. I do know that today I'm having lunch with Kara and exchanging gifts, and tonight, we're having dinner and exchanging gifts with Jason, Nicole, Beckie, & RJ. So, that should be fun.

I'm sure I had a thousand other things to say, but I can't remember any of those things for the life of me. I'm sure I'll be back to my regularly scheduled updates by next week. Until then, Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I don't have time right now, but I promise a huge update in the next few days.

It's Time For An Update

The party went off without a hitch. It was fantastic. The food turned out perfect, the martini's were tasty, and the masses seemed to enjoy themselves. I'm glad it's over until next year!

This week I have 3 Christmas parties to attend and then on Friday, I've got to go pick up my Mom. Busy week. I'm looking forward to it though. I loooovee parties!

Tonight I went to dinner at Stacey & Jason's house. They had some Saladmaster thing presentation. They cook dinner for you and then try to sell you pans. Oddly enough they weren't very pushy and the dinner was actually decent. Not bad for someone else cooking for you at least.

I got my hair cut on Saturday morning. Nothing special, just a trim. I like it a lot better though. It looks more polished.

Do you all have your Christmas shopping done? I'm 98% done. I have about 3 more things to get, and I'll probably get those on Friday or Saturday. Nothing like last minute!

Tomorrow night I'm going over to Kara's for some girl time. That means wine and dinner and talking. Wooo. My second favorite thing behind parties!

Pictures from the party should be up sometime this week. I'm sleepy and now must go crash in my warm bed!

Tired

Presents have been wrapped. Things have been straightened, kinda. And my mind has been organized once again. Tomorrow is Friday, thank goodness. I am going to have a long long night preparing for my party on Saturday. Now, I'm going to bed.

Shit Showers

My week is shaping up to be one huge shit storm. Everyday this week, something crappy has happened to me. I can only imagine what will happen tomorrow. On the brightside, there are only 2 days left of this week. Besides crappy things going on, my Uncle called me tonight and really sorta pissed me off. I have the most dysfunctional family in the history of dysfunction. If you don't believe me, I challenge you to a family dysfunction dual. Anyway, it's always lovely to get a phone call from a family member who pisses in your Cheerios, right before bed. While I was on the phone, listening to him, because all he did was talk, I realized that my throat hurts. I don't know why, and it's just the right side of my throat. It hurts when I swallow. Damn this week. I've sorta resigned myself to the fact that things just aren't going to work out how I'd like them to this week. It's just not happening. Yes, I know I'm whining. I just want this week to be over. I wish I could just go to sleep tonight and wake up and it be Sunday. That's what I get for wishing. NOTHING. Poop.

I wish I could tell you what's going on at work. Due to the confidential nature of the situation, I can't. Just know that it's hilarious. Oh, I can tell you this though, I told my boss today that I wanted a $6500 raise. I may or may not get it. I'm leaning more toward the "may not" but you never know. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance. I'll know in February. Wish me luck and all that jazz. It won't be a matter of performance, it will be a matter of the conservative firm I work for holding me down.

Oh, I guess I should let you all know I've found a new home and switched hosts. My old host wasn't reliable at all, and that really pissed me off. So, I went with a new host. I'll just call him Daddy.

Chris picked up our kick ass Christmas picture cards from Diversified today. I will mail them out tomorrow. Woo! My research project is done and ready to turn in tomorrow too. I'm happy it's over. Now, as much as I'd like to say a ton more, I'm going to try and get my ragged ass in bed tonight before midnight thirty. I probably won't have time to post between now and Saturday, so have a good weekend kids. For those of you coming to my party, I'll see you on Saturday. Don't forget your party hat!

Stress

So I'm stressed. Totally stressed. Tonight, I started working on a research project for 2 hours before I realized I was doing the wrong project. Lovely. I was so pissed I couldn't even talk. Then, I came home and started to make brownies. Problem was, I was out of vanilla extract. I needed the brownies for work tomorrow. Oh well. I can't even deal with that stupid problem right now. I have a ton of Christmas shopping to do, and I have to clean my house for my party on Saturday. (Even though the cleaning lady came today. Can we say OCD?) Anyway, this week is really starting to pile up on me and I can't catch my breath.

Need oxygen now.

Snowman Jack

Does this count as cat abuse?!?

Campfire.

My hair smelled like campfire from last night. How disgusting. Campfire smells like crap. I had to wash my hair twice. Now it smells like flowers. Much better than campfire.

I'm starting to get stressed out about the coming activities. I have so much crap to do this week. Christmas shopping, party preparation, Christmas cards to send out, my sweet little Volvo needs an oil change, and various other things that I need to do. Oh yeah, and there is work. I'm on vacation during the week between Christmas & New Years so I've got extra work to do this week. Next week is basically a whole unproductive week of nothing at work.

Oh, good news. We're going to Las Vegas the first weekend of March. We're going with Chris's mom & dad and his cousin and her husband to celebrate his Mom's birthday. I'm excited. Going places with Chris's mom is always fun and we always have a good time. So, I'm trying to find the hotel for us. I checked out the Wynn but the cheapest I was able to find was for like $400 a night. Sheesh. I need to save my $$ for shows like Avenue Q. Speaking of that. If I see Avenue Q, I'll be one up on my best friend Melissa for good broadway shows, since she missed out on Wicked. Go me, Go me.

I totally dropped the ball on getting my cleaning lady a Christmas gift so Chris just ran out to find something. Oh the joy of forgetting things up until the last minute. Hopefully she doesn't read my blog and realize that I forgot about her. I'm sure she doesn't, but you never know. I'm bamboozled at the people who actually read this little crappy blog. I've said it before, but who in the hell knew people would actually be interested in reading my crap!

I'm off to watch Nip/Tuck. In this episode, Julia's mom is in a plane crash. Plane crash, my worst nightmare. This should be a great episode to watch. heh.

Favorites: Do You Have Them?

This afternoon, as I was looking at myself in the mirror, it made me think about favorite things I have or use. Don't ask why. It may have had something to do with the shirt I'm wearing. Oh, as a side note, I just want to say that I was just watching Cribs and saw Kimora Lee Simmons closet. Holy shit. I need that closet. Okay, back to my favorite things. The shirt I'm wearing today is one of my favorite sweatshirts. It was Chris's shirt from a '99 St. Pat's Day party at UMR. It's green and it just too comfy to not wear. What is your favorite? Also, another favorite of mine, is chapstick. I use three different kinds, depending on where I am. In my purse, I have Cherry Chapstick brand. By my bed, I have Carmex. In my bathroom, I use Satin Lips from Mary Kay. I like them equally. I also have a favorite bra. I got it during the Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale a few years ago and the only thing I hate about it is that I can't wear it all the time. It's a black demi cup and so obviously, I can't wear it with something that it will show through. So, those are a few of my favorites. What are yours?

In Cookies Up To My Ass

Today was a huge cookie bonanza at my house. When I say huge, I would estimate it to be at the 40 dozen range. There were 9 different kinds, plus 2 different kinds of candy. I'm so sick of cookies that I could puke. Really. There are so many different kinds, including oatmeal chocolate chip, oatmeal lace, Snickers cookies, sugar, shortbread, shortbread w/ white chocolate & craisins, gingersnaps, gooey butter cookies, coconut cookies with mini hershey kisses and M&M's, toffee candy, and coconut macroons made with eagle brand. We started backing around 10am. I'm done making cookies for the Christmas season. Really, I am.

Now, the not so nice part of cookie making. Chris's mom & his cousin came over to bake too. I should first tell you my cooking style. You know how clean most cooking shows have their workspaces when they are cooking? And you think, "damn, how did they get that so clean, cooking that?!" Well, that's how I cook. I'm the Martha Stewart/Food Network queen of cooking. I'm organized and efficient. I also must admit, I'm anal as shit. Bordering OCD type of anal. Chris's mom, not so much organized or efficient. All day, deep inside of my head, I've been freaking out and cleaning up messes. I can't even put into words how I felt. I can't handle disorganization. It makes me want to break things and scream. There were a few humorous moments though. Especially because Chris's cousin knows the extent of my kitchen analness and she kept cracking jokes and trying to keep Chris's mom in check. Even after all this disorganization today, I had a great time today.

Right after we were done making cookies, our friends Jason & Nicole came over and we went to see Journey to Bethlehem at Harvester Church. It was awesome! If you haven't been, I encourage you to go. It was such a well put together event and we had a great time!

I'm completely spent. I've been going non stop since 9am, on not very much sleep. Bed is calling for me. I can hear it chanting. Really. Or, I could be hallucinating from lack of sleep.

Fire!

Chris painted our fireplace front tonight with special fireplace paint. Considering our new front won't be here for a good 3-4 weeks, I think it's pretty nifty that he painted the old one. It actually looks good. It was antique brass, which goes with nothing in my house, but now it's black and blends in well. So, we finally built a fire and tonight was the first night that I was warm enough to feel my nose. Ha.

I'm tired. I could have gone to bed at 4pm but I couldn't. Work frowns upon naps. When I got home a bit ago, instead of sleeping, I started straightening up my house, I mixed up a batch of dough for a special cookie I'm making tomorrow, cleaned out and rearranged my baking cabinet, did laundry, and wrapped presents. It's amazing what you can get accomplished when you're not really thinking, you're just doing.

Tomorrow, Chris's mom and his cousin are coming over and we're going to bake cookies and do a cookie exchange. I went to the store tonight and bought 10 packages of chocolate chips, 6 boxes of butter, 3 bags of flour, and 2 bags of sugar. We'll be whipping up a shitload of cookies. Yum!

Did I mention I was tired? Me, out.

It's Thursday!

Thirteen Things about Dana 1. I like to cause trouble. It makes me laugh 2. I stepped out on a limb today to sell myself to a Veep. I think it worked. 3. I think I may have a minor case of OCD. Either that or I just naturally strive to be perfect. 4. I love my close girlfriend like sisters. 5. Most people don't like their in-laws. Except me. I love them like my own family. 6. Sometimes I'm afraid of being successful. 7. I tend to overreact to certain information people give me. 8. I hate it when people talk over me. 9. I could make you feel like shit by just saying a few words. 10. Yes, I'm that mean. 11. When it comes to caring for others, I'd rather go without, just so I would know you are taken care of. My mom taught me that. 12. I want breast implants, but nothing outrageous. 13. My Christmas party will be a hit, I hope. ! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. http://www.lilybleu.net/blog/ 2. http://blogs.planetevans.com/myblather.php

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Save Tookie!

Hey Ahnold. Save Tookie. For Real.

Okay so my meeting went really well today. I got noticed and I have another opportunity to meet with someone. I'll probably be changing positions after the first of the year, if everything works out right. Yay for me!

I made a list today and realized that I still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. A lot. I also have a lot to do before the party. I will be busy this weekend, and not in a good way either.

I have a new song stuck in my head. It's really stupid too. Way more stupid than the others. I can't get it to stop playing in my head. It's like chinese water torture.

Did I mention that my sister is leaving on the 14th for a trip to Hawaii, paid for by her work? She's the luckiest college student brat I've ever met. She won't be back until Christmas Eve either. 10 freaking days in Hawaii. I told her to bring me back something cool, and she asked me if I liked coal. Brat.

I think this could possibly be the most random post I've ever posted.

So Much To Say, So Little Ways To Say It

So, I might as well just put it all out there all jumbled like.

Yesterday I had a colonoscopy. Yes, I have pictures. I'm still debating on posting them. Most of you are aware of my fixation with disgusting things. heh. Anyway, all is good. They took off a small polyp and I should know something by next week. The craptastic part comes (hah, I said crap) from Monday, when I had to drink the nasty ass crap they give you, to make you crap. Well, I didn't drink it. It made me puke. So I called the doctor, he told me to try this phosphasoda shit, and I mixed it with apple juice, threw back half a glass, then proceeded to puke it back up. Yum. There I am with the puke again. Anyway, I ended up drinking this other stuff that didn't taste nearly as bad, mixed with Sierra Mist. I actually got that down. So, anyway, I was a little freaked out at the hospital, but as soon as I got the fantastic meds, I wasn't freaked anymore. Yay!

So, that is that.

I have a lot going on at work all of the sudden. It's making me pissy. It's also putting a pretty foul taste in my mouth for people in general. Especially those who work with me. GRRRR. Tomorrow is my meeting with Mr. Opportunity. I'm nervous as shit. I'll get it together by tomorrow though.

I went shopping tonight to finish my quest for the giftbag items. I also wrapped some presents. I had a bunch of other stuff to talk about, but I don't remember any of it now. I think I'm still pissed about a certain incident at work today.

I really need to see Memoirs of a Geisha.

I Hate Puke

Really, I do. I am having a test done tomorrow so I haven't had anything to eat since 8pm last night. My test isn't until 1pm tomorrow. Yeah, it sucks. For this test, I have to drink this nasty ass liquid shit that is making me puke. So, I can't drink anymore of it. It's disgusting. I've talked to the exchange three times tonight about it. Anytime I even think of drinking it, I gag. Gross, gross, gross.

So, besides the fact that I'm on the verge of puking again and really hungry, I will move on to something else.

Yesterday I made some purchases for my gift bags for the Christmas party. I'm so so so excited about it this year. The menu is almost complete and the tree is up. I have a few more things to decorate and that will be done too. Yay for Christmas! I think this will be my best party yet.

So, this is all I have to say right now. I'm in a pissy mood and have a lot of stuff simmering deep down undercover. I will post again after I can eat a freaking sandwich.

A Very Wicked Christmas

Freezing

It's freezing and 2005, so I need a new coat. I'm thinking maybe something like this or this. The North Face Nuptse Ski Jacket may have to do. Or maybe I could go in for some sort of surgical procedure that would implant some sort of heating device all over my body. That would work too. Then, I could just wear a light fleece jacket.

Now, I'm going to go forage for some warm food.

Buddon aka Button

My Christmas tree for 2005 is now up. Pictures to follow. It is by far the most beautiful Christmas tree we've had yet. See, this afternoon Jason, Nicole, and their 2 year old came over and we went shopping in downtown St. Chuck. We had a really good time. After we finished there, we came back to our place and Nicole and I started making cookies and the guys went out to get the tree. We also made chocolate dipped peanut butter balls. Anyway, we listened to Christmas music, had cookies, ate pizza, and decorated the tree. The 2 year old was great. I think he had a really good time hanging ornaments and helping out. After we finished the tree, and the baby fell asleep, we played Password and Cranium. This was one of the best days I've had in a long time. I love Christmas. Now that my tree is up, I can start wrapping presents!

Oh, btw I think the weather outside is frightful. It's sleeting. Ew.

A Fine Friday

So here's the rundown.

Today was a kick ass day. This morning I came into the office to find a lovely meeting request in my Inbox. Not another meeting request, right? Well, you'd be wrong my friend. It was a meeting request from the VP of a certain department that I'd like to go work for. The subject of this meeting was none other than "career opportunities chat". Cha-ching! More details to come for sure. Just know I'm completely excited about this.

After work, I headed to Maggie O's for a happy hour for my friend Lori. She is transferring to a different department, so we just had to throw her a drinking party! After I left there, I headed to the mall to check out Stacey's new store. It was her first night at Mid Rivers Mall with her new business. It's a stuffed animal workshop and kinda neat. There are all sorts of different stuffed animals and clothes and stuff. Sorta like a Build-A-Bear kinda thing. Anyway, if you're out that way, you should stop by and check her out.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I woke up this morning with a sore throat. So, today I stopped by Walgreens and picked up some Zicam. So far so good. Hopefully I won't get sick. Right now, I'm tired and need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is an early day with lots of errands in the morning and a big day of Christmas shopping and tree trimming, as well as cookie making.

Memememememe

I stole, well not really stole, more like borrowed this from Kittymama!

10 Random things about me you may not know:

1. My real dad is still alive, but in my mind he's dead.
2. I've been to every state except Alaska & Hawaii.
3. On certain days, I think I'm ugly.
4. I'm very very very close to my Mom and sister.
5. I really like hugs.
6. Before I met Chris, I was really screwed up.
7. I'm very stubborn and proud.
8. My favorite diamond cut is princess.
9. I have some country music on my iPod
10. I have a tattoo on my left ankle.

9 Places I've visited:

1. Nassau Bahamas
2. St. Thomas
3. Key West, FL
4. Knob Lick, MO
5. Yellowstone National Park (thrice)
6. Niobrara, NE (Sioux Reservation)
7. South Beach, FL
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. San Juan, Puerto Rico

8 Ways to win my heart:

1. Be able to hold an intelligent conversation
2. Have a killer smile
3. Bring me flowers
4. Stay with me when I'm at a party and pass out
5. Don't piss me off
6. Take me on dates
7. Tell me you love me
8. Don't smoke

7 Things I must do before I die:

1. Become a CEO at a major financial company
2. Go to Italy
3. Take a vacation with just my sister
4. Have a baby
5. Buy a condo somewhere tropical
6. Go camping somewhere beautiful
7. Open up a homeless shelter

6 Things I'm afraid of:

1. being in a bad car crash
2. sharks
3. flying
4. losing my temper (for real)
5. having a baby
6. losing a family member or friend

5 Things I don't like:

1. people who make up excuses
2. meat that's not cooked all the way
3. people who act like something they are not
4. being disorganized
5. being ignored

4 Ways to turn me off:

1. Smoke
2. Lie to me
3. Act selfish
4. Create drama

3 things I do every day:

1. Say my prayers
2. Take my birth control pill
3. Check my email

2 things that make me happy:

1. shopping
2. Chris

1 Thing that is on my mind right now:

1. What I'm going to wear tomorrow.

When A Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip It.

And whip it good. Seriously. This morning, I heard this song on my way to work and it put me in a good mood. Why? Because of the simple fact that you really must whip it. At least, that's what I do.

The past two days have sorta been a blur. Some stuff going on at work, school, and my head has been super busy planning my Christmas schedule. Last night, I went to Corwin's with Kara, where Tama later met us. I was trying to talk some sense into Kara by playing devil's advocate. I'm not sure if it worked, but I'm pretty sure I planted a seed. Next time I see her, I will definitely be bringing along the water hose.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. This week seemed to go by fast. Oh yay to that.

I hit up Amazon today and got 1/2 of my Christmas shopping done. If you're on my list, I just might have purchased a gift for you today. Unless your name starts with a J and ends with ason and you don't HAVE an Amazon list. HINT HINT.

I got an email asking if I was going to send out cookies this year. I didn't email you back because if you were paying attention, you would know that I already said I was going to send out cookies. However, this year, I'm only sending out a limited amount. The first five emails I get, requesting cookies will get some. Merry freaking Christmas.

I'm starting to get excited about my Christmas party this year! Mostly because I love martini's, and partly because I just love parties. This weekend we're going to put up the Christmas tree and then I'll probably go shopping for Christmas related items. Woo.

Due to a change in plans, tomorrow I will be going to a happy hour for my friend Lori after work. Should be fun. Okay, this is all I have to say.