So, I Was In Funkville

but i'm back again. i will write about my awesome birthday weekend soon (the adorable one treated me to a fantastic and perfect weekend of fabulousness).

for some reason on monday, i just felt out of sorts. maybe it was a let down from the weekend. but i was crabby, pissy, and just felt non talkative, non social, and just wanting to be left alone.

thankfully, like a lingering storm system, it lifted away by thursday and i felt more like my normal self. probably helps that i'm getting my way at work and moving away from the kitchen into a cube that is closer to natural light and in a much more quiet area of our area.

regardless, i'm back. got lots to catch up on, primarily the bday weekend and other news.

Wow, It's Me

Ever Have One Of Those Days

where pretty much everything seems irritating? the boss you usually like gives you a hard time. all the people that congregate by your cube because the kitchen is right there decide to talk really loudly for a long time, which interferes with your work, which includes writing and talking on the phone to clients.

i know there's the saying that some days you are the dog and some days you are the fire hydrant. today, i was most very definitely the fire hydrant. which may explain why i feel pretty crabby and very tired.

It Must Be Something I've Done

because let me say that for the last few nights, all i've had are bad dreams. a few nights ago, i dreamed i was back at the hellmouth, visiting some people. in the dream i thought that the head jerk was around, so i was hiding from him. that dream wasn't as bad as the one i had this morning.

for some reason i was at an expensive restaurant and had to pay the bill for a large group, so i put it on my marriott visa. and then i went somewhere else where i had to pay for something, like the grocery or something, and the card was declined because the adorable one and i had maxed it out. i think that had to do with the fact that i've been a wee bit of out of control with the shopping and spending. it's like being an alcoholic that doesn't have a drink for a long, long time and then goes on a bender. we spent quite a bit this weekend, mostly because of me. which normally isn't that big of a deal, except that i make less money now in my new job, which i do love, but also because the economy seems to be pretty much in the tank and i shouldn't be doing anything that makes our debt bigger. but i am, so there you have it. maybe i am a secret self sabateur. who knows.

the hard part of the dream was like, how are we going to pay for anything? it was like we were out of money, no credit cards, etc. there were no options, so i had no idea of how we were going to afford food, gas, etc. thankfully, that is not the case in real life, but i do admit that i could do a better job of saying "no" to going out to lunch so much, dinner because me and the adorable one are too lazy to cook, etc.

not sure where all this angst is coming from, but it's no fun to go to sleep lately.

$$$$, But Super Delish

damn panera bread--even their spinach & artichoke baked egg souffle is addictive. it's probably a good thing that they are cost prohibitive or i would seriously be in debt and i wouldn't fit into one outfit i own. seriously.

Yum!

I Can't Remember The Last Time

gas cost $2.69/gallon, as that's what the price today when i filled up my car after work. the price was actually less than when i left for work this morning ($2.72). so instead of costing close to $30 for a half tank of gas, i got away with spending a little over $18.

yay, i know it won't last much longer, but it's nice for a change not to feel completely robbed at the pump.

Note The Date

yesterday, due to a cold front that came through that included a drop in temps plus rain, i actually turned on the furnace. we always try to go as long as we can without having the furnace on, but as the low was gonna be in the 40s and the highs only in the 50s for today and tomorrow, i wimped out and flipped the switch last night.

i only have it only set at 68 (usually in the winter, we have it set for 72 when we are both home, especially in the evening, when the cold sets into the house), so it's not like it's running constantly. still, i would have liked to wait as long as possible.

next step is switching to the winter comforter, which we will do this weekend. it took us a long time to get our summer quilt out due to winter lasting freaking forever, so i am saddened to return it, once washed, to the linen closet for another six to seven months.

yet one more reason, in a long line of reasons, of why we need to move to the sunshine state!

What A Total Hoot

yesterday we were watching vh1's "top 20 videos", which is kind of a rarity for us, as usually they feature pretty sucky videos. but i must say katy perry's new single, "hot n cold" is a a fun song with a great hook. and the video is a total throwback to 80s videos. in fact, i liked the song enough to add it to my ipod.

too bad the beginning of pink's new song, "so what", is so annoying, as the rest of it is awesome and the video is hilarious.

It's Vapid, But Still Kinda Sad

so last year i got into the "girl's next door" show on the e! network, which granted is a mindless, silly show. but very escapist, which is what i like.

the toughest things those girls have to do is pick out what they are going to wear on a daily basis. rest of the time, they are living rent-free, in a mansion with staff, going on amazing trips, planning costume parties, and tending to their pets. not a bad life other than having sex with ole hef.

anyway, i kinda liked holly and hef together. she was the main girlfriend, the one that has been with him the last six years. she was very much the alpha female of the house, the one that shares his bedroom, and actually seemed to be in love with him. granted she's kinda territorial and can't stand it if anyone else is actually getting attention or if something good happens for someone else, as she is very scarlett o'hara.

even so, it was sad to learn in my crack mag that they were having problems and then they actually broke up. i can't blame holly for wanting to get married and have kids, which is all she ever wanted. but hef wasn't getting divorced from wife #2 or having any more kids.

she could have spent the next 20 years or so with hef, essentially being the mistress of the manor, but she gave it up to go after what she really wanted.

i'm not sure why she threw away a total free ride, plus cash from the show, calendars, etc., but as weird as it sounds, it made me sad for her that things didn't work out for her.

no doubt the show will go on, as it always does. but it won't be the same.

It's Not Even Winter

and has totally felt like this in our bedroom. which i don't get because it hasn't been all that cold yet. maybe like in the 40s, but not freezing. so it's a mystery why our house, which usually retains the heat of the day, has gone all ice box on us. don't even wanna think what the real winter temps are gonna be like. because feeling like a popsicle in the morning totally sucks rocks.

all the folks out there that thinks fall is a wonderful season, you seriously need to have your head checked.

It's True: I Am A Fat Pirate

i actually heard someone say at work the other day, as they surveyed the latest amount of food in our kitchen area, which hey by the way, is right by my cube, "i feel myself getting fatter." which would actually apply to me, as my skirts are tighter with good reason.

i can say that in my 17 years of working that i have never worked at a place, including the restaurant company that i worked for that has more food around. every day, i swear, is like someone's birthday, it's brought in for a meeting, or some kind of celebration (baby/wedding shower, promotion). honestly, it's like the "seinfeld" episode where elaine gets addicted to having cake every day. it's the same deal. and people bring in, oh my gosh, pies (like all kinds--apple, chocolate cream, etc.) and cakes, and bagels and pastries, and candy. in my life, i don't think i've ever scarfed so many sweets. it's truly and seriously unbelievable.

in the same vein, our hospital is closely aligned with hallmark--helps that we are located right next door (literally) to their corporate headquarters, but the company has always done stuff for us. whether it's donating tons and tons of money, decorating for christmas, building a hospital retrospective display, etc., those folks are serious about giving to us, which is nice.

one of the really interesting and amazing things i learned in the last month is that hallmark donates tons of product to the hospital, which gets stored in our warehouse, which is about 15 minutes from our office. and by tons of stuff, i mean things like stickers, thank-you notes, gift bags, wrapping paper, left0ver promotional items (easter bunny stuffed animals), paper tablecloths, etc. a lot of it is given away at the hospital to patients or sold in our gift shop, which i think is quite nice.

here's the thing. it's turned into a weird obsession for me. let me explain. my bff at work, nancy, took me over there about a month ago. she needed these blue vinyl bags to ship for a conference for our supervisor (who has been a real pain in the ass of late). anyway, while nancy, the workhorse, was loading her car with boxes of the blue bags, i was like on my own personal shopping spree. i think i collected enough bags/boxes of thank-you notes to last me a year, and if you knew how many thank-you notes i buy and go through, you would realize this is a huge amount. no drop in the bucket, let me tell you.

i also picked up a bunch of different gift bags (small ones, happy birthday ones, etc.), and some awesome pink wrapping paper. i went, i will say it, absolutely and completely beserk. now, was i stealing? depends on your definition, as the nice warehouse guy, tony, who was unloading palette after palette of more product, told me that it all gets thrown out all the time, especially by the end of the year because we get more and more product and there simply isn't room for all the product that is shipped to us.

not a bad problem to have. i had to go back over to to the warehouse to pull products for an event that i'm running on my birthday (only the morning, thank goodness), so i had a legitimate reason to pick up a variety of stickers, harry potter products (party hats, cups, and stickers), which totally filled up my car. so i took that opportunity to pick up more thank-you notes that i didn't get the first time.

well, the nice folks in purchasing called to say that hallmark just donated a bunch more stuff and would i want to look through everything to see if there might be something else to pull for the event. so tomorrow, me and the bff are trekking back to the fab warehouse. i am almost giddy!

i really can't explain this--i think it's like knowing you want something and you can get as much as you want of it and you don't have to pay anything. it is the proverbial candy store and i am in its thrall.

anyway, i will provide a pilfer report tomorrow as i am sure to pick up some additional goodies!

If Only There Was An Off Button

for things like bad dreams. last night, the adorable one got home around 12:30 a.m. from his trip to sparks, nevada, where he played golf and toured his jobsite. i had fallen asleep before he got home, but interestingly i woke up right before he made it to the house. was so awesome to see my man, as he had left on sunday, and even though it was only two days, it's just hard to be here without him.

maybe it was the excitement of having him home, but it took me a while to conk out. when i did i had this bizarre dream that i was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder (probably a secret fear of mine, along with being abandoned) and i had to hang out at this weird sanitarium. it kinda reminded me of an orphanage from a charles dickens novel--it was old and run down. and the guy who ran it, well, he gave me the creeps--like he was the type that would barge in on you if you were taking a bath and act like it was an accident, even though you both knew it wasn't.

i'll never really understand my dreams. or why they are so vivid. or so active. in last night's dream, it was like i had forgotten a pair of shoes or slippers, so i had to go back to this place after hours. i used my badge (like i have at work), but it was almost like i wasn't supposed to be there. like i said, very weird.

what i wouldn't give to turn off my dreams as they make no sense and leave me with a bad feeling. it's not the first dream of late that has stuck around for a day. just wish i could make them go away or turn them off forever.

i've talked to people that don't dream or don't remember their dreams. seriously lucky bastards.

How Cool Is The Adorable One?

so adorable that he found these awesome boots on amazon and thought of me. i still have to try a pair of similar boots at BassPro to see what size what works for me, but seriously at the decent price, i think these will be great for my bday . . . along with this little gem i found on craigslist. lucky for me, i am not paying full price. woohoo!

Like I Seriously Wish I Could Explain This Addiction

but i can't, so let's just chalk this up to a really guilty pleasure.

It's Not Just Me

that feels like it should still be august. for some reason, maybe it's me getting old (a running theme in this blog, yes i know), but in my mind, the last two months slipped away like sand and now we're faced with the leaves actually and really turning colors and falling off the trees.

personally, without sounding like a complete nutball here, i feel like the trees are being absolutely disobedient. we haven't had a cold day of weather yet (thank goodness!), so there's no freaking reason that the trees and their leaves should be doing what they are doing. never you mind that it's the first week of october. never mind that it's nature and nature is on its own schedule. i don't care. i'm just not ready. not ready for wind chill. the bare trees. the brown grass. the gray skies. the general ickiness that is winter.

and here's another thing--if it's in the 70s, by god, i am going to wear shorts, t-shirts, and my croc flip-flops (love them!) to breakfast. however, based on the stares we got yesterday at our fav breakfast spot, you would think i was an alien from mars. which seemed odd to me because all those jokers were bundled up like it was cold and it was close to 70 degrees. what a bunch of super freaks.

the hardest part for me is that i can't stop time. i can't put the brakes on the seasons changing. but damn if i wish i could order those trees to slow down.

The Perfect Quote

"I'm a little overweight due to a genetic disorder that makes fried chicken delicious."

-- Artie, "The Norm Show", 1999

A Sure Sign Of Fall & No I Didn't Take This Awesome Pic