Friday, July 31, 2009

Thanks for the Love

After reading lots of other people’s blogs, I am always amazed at how many comments they get. One of my favorites even wrote a blog about how to increase your readership. Blogging can totally be a popularity contest, but since I wasn’t exactly the popular girl in high school, (although some might say that I sort of hung out with some of them occasionally…but it was a really small school, it would be hard not to hang out with the popular girls at some point or another), I would love to feel the love. And being the lazy one that I am, I took only one of her suggestions and posted about my blog on facebook. And I think I might have gotten a couple of new readers!! YAY!!! The reason why I know this is because they left comments!!!! (or they e-mailed me, which is just as good in my book.) YAY COMMENTS!!

Many women (Do you know how weird it is to call myself a woman??? I am a girl, married to a boy. My mother-in-law is a woman) who blog feel a need to express their creativity, other just like to talk, others want to make new friends. I will honestly say that I started this blog because I would sit at work, with work to do, but not wanting to do it, (because it is boring), and the insanity of my office was just too much, and I wanted to write about it. I wanted to tell. the. world. (at this time, I didn’t yet have Samantha and was a mom only to a Golden Retriever) After about, oh, a day of blogging, I realized that I could quickly get fired if I wrote at all about what happened on a daily basis on the 6th floor. And that would be bad. So I decided to write about, well, whatever I feel. Except for work.

After a year or more of updating this site on a semi-regular basis, I determined that blogging for me IS sort of a creative outlet. (Which is hilarious, considering my mom gave all the artistic genes to my oldest sister and gave the rest of us with the shit left over. Kind of like in that movie Twins with Governor Arnold and Danny DiVito) Making new friends, or re-conneting with old ones, is an awesome side effect. I like to talk, and I like to write, and I like even more when people leave comments about how they like when I write. Makes me feel like the popular girl…because you really can never leave high school behind.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Sleepy Violence

I’ve mentioned before how tired I’ve been. Thinking about crawling back into my bed now actually makes me tear up, because I would just love to, but can’t. You know, because momma gots to make the money. (side note: when I was a kid, I was terrible about going to be at a decent hour, no matter how hard my mom made me try. I would go in my room and just lay in bed. So every once in a while, I’d convince my mom that I had a “stomach ache” just so I could stay home from school and sleep. Which obviously did not help me go to sleep any easier the next night.)

Lately, Workaholic has really gotten into the show NCIS. Which means that I am into the show NCIS. We used to watch CSI, (Las Vegas, Miami, and New York) but I think either he got tired of it or he has seen them all. Either way, we watch it, a lot. (he has 68 of them recorded on his DVR) Anytime we are home, it is on, and THANK GOD the cable channel USA has marathons of NCIS on all. the. time. Just in case we aren’t in the bedroom, where his DVR is. And since they are marathons, it’s not like we turn on the TV in the living room at 6pm while I am making dinner and watch it during dinner and that is the end of it. OH NO…we watch during dinner, and then go up in the office and watch some more, and then maybe he takes a shower and turns it on in the bathroom, and while I am folding clothes in our bedroom, I try to ignore the fact that I can hear the same episode that I am watching in the bedroom from his TV in the bathroom except it is delayed by about 2 seconds because of his DVR and also because, as I have mentioned before, THE TV HAS TO BE ON THIS LOUD.

This would all be OK, because there really isn’t anything on TV nowadays that I am that interested in watching, and I really do like Gibbs, McGee, Tony, Ziva, and especially Abs. I really am fine with watching stories about dead people during my waking hours at home…until it is time to go to bed. Because I am a firm believer that when it is time to go to bed, you turn off the TV. But Workaholic likes to fall asleep with the TV on. I got around this for a few years by decreeing “no TV in the bedroom.” But then we moved upstairs and we have a big ol' projection TV up there that is way too hard to move. So then he would just turn it on for a few minutes and I would reach over his corpse-like body when the sleep breathing started.

But now, NOW, I am into the show. So when we get into bed, and he turns on an episode and is asleep 15 minutes into it, I just cannot turn it off. I have to stay up and watch the end. Did Gibbs really kill that police detective? Did Jenny really die? Will Abby get her Caf-Pow?? So this means that I am not going to sleep until after 11pm on most days. And while I have been attempting to sleep in a bit later, it just hasn’t been working out.

It is not for lack of trying to sleep in. This too would be Workaholic’s fault. (notice how I tend to blame him for everything??) This morning, for example, he got up and went into the bathroom a little after 6am. I heard the fan turn on, which is white noise, totally can handle that. Then I hear the TV turn on. Oh no. Please God no. And there, there goes the volume…up, up, up like Mary Poppins flying a kite. And whoo-boy, when the commercials come on?? I give up. I know it is only 45 minutes, but that is the best 45 minutes of sleep I get all night!! I almost went and slept in the guest room, but my mom was in there, I am not sure she would have appreciated an early morning cuddle.

I seriously considered pulling a stunt like I did in the 7th grade, and just call my boss and say that I was sick. But I am an adult now, and even if I was sick, I probably would still have to take care of Samantha, and wouldn’t get much sleep anyway. So I decided to just whine about it here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, especially if they involve violence, because if this crap continues, I do think that the boy is going to get a swift kick to the head. (lovingly, of course) However, I do think a couple of people who read here are fairly new to the site due to the wonderment of facebook, so until I figure out just how hard I can hit him without leaving a mark I’ll do the next best thing…post a not-so-flattering picture of Workaholic and Samantha taken when she was just a few weeks old. Yes, this was taken in our bathroom. And yes, the TV and the fan were on. THIS LOUD.

Monday, July 27, 2009

50 Things About Me

It is entirely possible that I may have mentioned before that I love blogs. I read them daily, and have my faves. Every once in a while, I’ll branch out and try new ones on for size, and I recently found Gemini Girl. (she is one of those exotic-type (meaning, not from the Midwest) people that I think are just so cool because they had such a DIFFERENT, yet same upbringing as me) (I mean, she hops back and forth between continents! I guess I do that with states, but and hour and a half drive is way different than a plane ride and customs)

Anyway, GG (which is awesome because that used to be my initials) did this thing in her About section, 50 things about her. Which of course makes sense that it is in her About section. So I decided that I am bored and will do 50 Things About Me, and I wanted to update my profile with it. But because this is a simple-type website, I can't write that much about myself in the profile section. So a blog post will have to do. Here goes!



1. Before I got married, I didn’t have a middle name. When I got married, I made my maiden name my middle name. My older sister claims I was traumatized by not having a middle name growing up, but I just saw it as a way to get attention.


2. I think my Golden Retriever (I call him Fonz on here) is the best dog that ever lived. So much so that he has ruined all other Goldens for me now and I don’t think my next dog can be a Golden Retriever.

3. I have a daughter, Samantha. She was born on January 8th 2009, but I always write January 9th when filling out forms.

4. Most of the time I feel as though I am a terrible wife, only occasionally will I think that I am a good one.

5. I’ve never broken a bone, or had stitches, or had to go to the hospital for anything other than giving birth.

6. The first time I drove a moped I wrecked and sort of flipped over the front, and felt like a total idiot.

7. I am the master at killing time.

8. I am pretty sure that I am the reason facebook got blocked at work.

9. The first time I saw my husband he was puking out his bedroom window, was luckily was on the first floor. He was still nice and said hello.

10. I tend to obsess over things, but I am working on that.

11. My first dog was Black Sheep, a black lab. Then my in-laws got Buster, a chocolate lab. Neither one would come when called. Our friends had a Golden Retriever, Colby. You could tell Colby to go home and he would. That is why I got a Golden Retriever.

12. My stripper name is Black Sheep Woodcliff. That is only one of the reasons I am not a stripper.

13. I have good nails. People compliment me on them all the time.

14. I sucked my thumb until I was 9. I have an overbite to prove it.

15. When I was pregnant, I thought I was having a boy. I was terrified of having a girl with red hair. God is laughing at me right now.

16. I love my little red-headed girl.

17. I don’t handle stress well. I tend to yell.

18. I have terrible posture, and a weak back. But I don’t complain about it or anything.

19. When I was little, I had a huge crush on the boy next door. When I was in college, he was killed in a car accident.

20. I went to a Catholic high school and loved wearing uniforms.

21. The only person I still talk to from high school (facebook doesn’t count) was there 8 years before I was.

22. I’ve been known to be brutally honest. Don’t hate me for it. I’m working on just keeping my mouth shut.

23. I tend to talk a lot when I drink.

24. I’ll karaoke the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia after at least 5 beers. I’m awesome at it.

25. I am really bad about procrastinating.

26. I like to snowski and do water sports, but I really suck.

27. I wish I could live in Chicago during the warm months of the year, but just for a couple of years, and if money was no object.

28. I love making lists.

29. My first English class in college, I wrote a descriptive essay about my first car. My professor read it aloud to the class. When I moved out of the dorm that year, I threw it away because I was afraid my parents would find it and read it. I regret doing that.

30. I like beer and wine, but not vodka. Or rum. Or tequila.

31. I have “mommy guilt” constantly.

32. My husband works a lot, and if he didn’t, I think we would kill each other.

33. I play with my hair a lot, and rub my fingernail so much that it gets really shiny. I don’t know why I do that.

34. I set goals for myself and then don’t achieve them. This doesn’t really bother me all that much.

35. I’ve gone to therapy a couple of times, but I get bored with it and quit.

36. I think most people in America need some sort of professional help.

37. I went to a funeral on my 30th birthday.

38. When I was little, I would go to visit my grandparents on their farm. I still wish I could do that.

39. I am the youngest of 27 grandchildren on my mother’s side. My husband is the 3rd youngest of 18…I win! (both of those families are Catholic-go figure)

40. I went to Europe once and didn’t really like it. I went to Mexico twice and hated it. I would really like to go to London.

41. I would be a vegetarian if I didn’t love meat and hate vegetables so much.

42. I used to volunteer for lab rescue, but it was too much work, so I quit.

43. I tend to know a little about a lot of things. And I am all too willing to share my opinion about anything. Just ask me!

44. I lived in Florida once for 4 months.

45. I really love TV. Brother & Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy, Jon & Kate, The Office, The Soup, NCIS…the list goes on and on and on. BUT, I generally can’t handle terrible reality shows about celebrities in more than 10 second bursts.

46. I have a DVR through my cable company, but still miss my TIVO.

47. I will watch the same movie from the 80s three days in a row as opposed to watching a new movie that I might not like.

48. The only kind of pie I like is chocolate.

49. I obsessively balance my checkbook.


50. I really really really want to be a stay at home mom.

Friday, July 17, 2009

It's all TV's fault

One of the things that I have always been sure of in life is that TV is a time-sucker. It could be a time machine, as it is the single-most invention on the planet designed to make hours fly by and you have no idea where they went. It’s even worse than the internet, because usually on the internet, there is some reading involved. With TV, however, you sit down on the couch, and next thing you know, Saturday has turned into Tuesday and you forgot to go to work. This I know, and I really am OK with that.

A couple of years ago when I joined myspace, I laughed and laughed when the profile question came up “Favorite TV shows.” And than I began to list them. I had probably 20 or so when I was done, ranging in everything from Animal Planet (the entire channel…except anything to do with reptiles or sharks) to Zoey 101 (OK, not really). But you get the picture. We even bought a 65 inch DLP TV that I still heart. And then I had Sam.

It’s not that I really watch that much less TV, because Workaholic is insistent that it MUST BE ON AND BE THIS LOUD IN EVERY ROOM THAT HE IS IN. It’s just that I haven’t watched my favorite TV in a while, in my favorite chair, or my favorite shows. Which, granted, aren’t on right now anyway. Moral of the story is, in the evenings, after I eat (or don’t eat) dinner, I’ve been taking walks. Always with Fonz and Sam, sometimes with Workaholic. It’s been great.

Until last night. I heard on the radio on the way home that there was a severe thunderstorm WARNING out for Cook and DuPage counties in Illinois. You know, the state next door. Which means that there IS a severe thunderstorm out there, watch out for it and take cover if it comes. Now, if you look at a map, Cook and DuPage counties in IL are just to the west of my house, and, contrary to my belief, not a bit north. So I set out on my walk with my mother and daughter and dog. And yes, I did notice the sky was dark, and the clouds were all roll-y and fast-moving. And yes, the thought did occur to me to turn around, but there was a thing with a house down the street, and her dogs, and I thought I’d keep going for a little while until she got them all inside. Stupid me, being all nice and considerate. We won’t let that happen again.

So we finally decide to turn around and go home, and then we decide to cut across the golf course to get home quicker, and then I make the mistake of looking up. It was a mistake, because no matter what, we were going to get soaked. But I look up and see the clubhouse, which is about 400 yards away, almost invisible through a wall of rain. And I mean, a wall. Which quickly overtook us. (and I now cannot get the picture of the nearly invisible clubhouse out of my head) So we attempt to run, alternately pushing and carrying the stroller, and the wind is pushing us over, and poor little Samantha is just lying in her stroller going “Why the hell am I getting wet with my clothes on?? This shit is COLD.”

We finally make it home, dodging the piles of dog poo as we sort of run across the backyard, and I say sort of because by now we’ve run against the wind quite a bit and we are both pretty much out of shape. Workaholic said later that when he heard the rain and saw the lightening he laughed at first, until he remembered that his daughter was out there, and so he jumped in the car to go find us. (good thing we had her, otherwise for all he knew we could have died out there.) I would be remiss not to mention at this point that the whole time Fonz, everlasting in his weirdness, literally pranced along next to us as we were staggering across the golf course and gave me that look that says, “Hey, can we do that again?” when we got inside. He likes water, no matter how he gets there, he likes to be wet.


Moral of the story? Either stay in and watch TV, let fear and common sense turn you around, or at least check the radar next time!

Monday, July 13, 2009

We're Teaching Her Right

Go ahead...threaten to call CPS on us...won't be the first...probably won't be the last!!

I Need to Get Away

Over the past month or so, I’ve been just exhausted. I am not really sure of the reason for this, probably the same things that doctors tell you…not enough sleep, eating unhealthy, etc. I really think little of it has to do with Samantha, as she is usually still asleep in the morning when I leave for work, and in the evening, we hang out before Workaholic showers with her and we put her to bed. Her bedtime routine isn’t excruciating or tiring, it’s really quite simple. Bath, food, swaddle, bed. And she usually goes right down. It has just been more and more difficult for me to get out of bed, and even worse, through the day.

Our weekends have been full of fun and family, and this past weekend was one of the first of the summer where we had no planned events, and could just sit down and relax. (So what did we do?? Instead of lazing around, we went out to dinner on Saturday and on Sunday went to the St. Joe art fair) After the fair, we finally went out for a boat ride with Uncle Tony. We took his dog and the Fonz…other than that, it was just me and Workaholic and Samantha.

Being out on the lake when there were few other boats, as most of everyone had already gone back to the “real world”, was just awesome. It is the life. Captain Tony cruises at the perfect putt-putting speed, we enjoyed a couple of Bud Lights, and the sun shone brightly overhead. The dogs settled down and even Samantha was just chillin’ in the back corner, happily chewing on her sunglasses. The only thing you can hear is the hum of the motor, and possibly whatever CD is in the player. The wind always dies down around 5 o’clock Sunday evening, and the gentle breeze was just enough to blow your hair around a little bit. The night ended too quickly, as we too needed to head back to the real world. But when you hear me talk about wanting to go to the lake, that’s what I’m talking about. Sometimes a boat ride is all I need.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Quickie...but not goodie.

Yes, I know it has been forever since I have blogged.

Yes, I am still alive.

Yes, we have been very busy.

For those of you who are my friends on facebook, yes, I still want to take a nap.

I have so much that I want to write about, but I have been creatively stifled by multiple things lately, most notably work. So maybe, someday, I’ll be back in full force. For now, I’m just trying to get to Friday.