Playing catch up for the last time (in 2012)

What a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been!  I know everyone has been UBER busy with Christmas preparations & can I just say I'm SO glad it's over?  Sigh. 

I haven't really talked to ya'll since I went on vacation 2 weeks ago....which coincidentally feels like 9 years ago.  UGH.  (And this is right about the time ya'll start to miss me.  You are never far from my mind & I KNOW I need to update you on the exciting adventure that IS my life, but I also can't BEGIN to tell you how it warms my soul when I get facebook messages, emails, tweets or texts saying you miss me.  Sometimes I like not blogging for a while just to hear that!)

  It's the end of the year & if you remember years past you know I'm not fit to be talked to the last week of the year NOR the first 2 weeks of the New Year.  (Not that ya'll have EVER asked what I do exactly...  Nope, not still bitter about that at ALL.)  And guess what?  As an extra added bonus from the God's of Irony - I am 'pms'ing.  Uhm yea- destruction & mayhem are in store for anyone who dares to cross my path in the immediate future.  Someone could DIE...

I still have to pull all my Christmas pics off the camera & life & work is just busy & honestly I don't have the time or energy to work on that just yet.  Ya'll know I go on & on for what seems like forever pride myself on telling quick, simple stories & I will get to Christmas I PROMISE.  It may be 2013 before I do, but eh, better late than never.  (It involves GUNS & my dad calling me a dumbass, ya'll.  You're gonna LOVE it.)

As if actually coming BACK to work from a week of shopping, lunches, new car, visits with friends & napping isn't bad enough, I walked in Monday morning to my desk looking like THIS:  

I tell ya, I got pissed immediately...I sure as HECK didn't leave it looking this way.  BLEH.

This meant that before I even started going through what I needed to catch up on I had to clean the damn desk off first.  Jaime Mac was NOT a happy camper...

I got the windows tinted on my car.  I really like the way it made it look.   My jewelry mom, Brenda, was kind enough to give me a nice little cash gift & THIS is what I did with it.  

I'm on the hunt for a new purple flower sticker for the back window of the aforementioned car.  That's my calling card, people.  Everyone knows when they see that sticker it's me!  The only problem is that with a smaller car, I need a smaller sticker. The flowers (purple, duh...) I like on the internet are either too small or too big.  B-rad suggested I take it to store in Corydon that custom makes stickers so that's on my agenda eventually.  

Shauna & I were going to see the new Tom Cruise movie last Friday night.  (boy, I love me some Tom Cruise...) & her sister-in-law, Tricia, came with us.  We went to dinner & to the mall.  We went into Claire's (where I found some super cute headbands... I'm into headbands now...yes, I'm 16...) & Tricia found glasses with moustaches on them.  There were no moustaches on purple glasses & well, you know I had to model the purple ones...

B-rad & I got his parents Tervis Tumblers for Christmas.  I had ulterior motives & told Stanley, "These are for you, but they're also for Shauna & I this summer."  (The lake is in a dry county which means you can't buy alcohol there NOR are you supposed to have it on the water.  Which I think you're probably never supposed to drink & drive on a boat but eh, what do I know?...)  Shauna makes a yummy spiked lemonade & it will go great with these cups.   I have decided that drinking is the best way to make it through weekends at the lake... with in-laws... Just sayin'...

 Brian, Lora & the kids got B-rad a Ford racing flag he wanted for Christmas.  No lie, as SOON.AS.WE.GOT.HOME he hung it up.  He loves it.

Do ya'll remember the story I told you back this spring about that chick at Fourth Street asking if she could kiss me?  (I mean, can you BLAME her?!)  I SWEAR everytime I see anything about Thompson Square I remember that night & laugh at myself hysterically.

You know I have an obsession with purses, right?  And remember my obsession has come to bite me in the ass because my shoulder is SHOT?   Like anytime I carry anything on it, it aches & hurts for days later.  So, I have my super cute brown & PURPLE Coach wristlet that I carry around & all is well in the world.  However, since I feel I need to be obsessed about SOMETHING, I have now turned to cell phone cases.  We've talked about this before...  I have had my new, super cool iPhone for 3 months.  THREE MONTHS.  I have had 4 cases.  Four.  Seriously.  I got #4 yesterday.  It's loud.  It's obnoxious.  B-rad said it was perfect for me. 

The no talking ballet

Last night, my theatre monster, her daughter, Ally, & myself went to see 'The Nutcracker'.  I have never been to a ballet & had no idea what to expect.  

We had some random guy snap a quick pic before we found our seats.

 You're not allowed to take pics during the performance that's why ya'll always get the boring view of what it looks like before it starts.

Shauna & I.

 So there was NO dialogue during the performance.  NONE.  Not one.single.word was spoken.  That was seriously weird for me...especially being the lover of talking that I am....  

At the end of the first act, they are dancing in this forest thingie & it's snowing onstage.  It was beautiful.  Suddenly, Shauna pointed up & said, "LOOK!" There was snow falling into the crowd too!  It was really neat.   When the curtain went down, I did what any self respecting blogger would do & got pics of the bubble snow for ya'll.

 When I told Ally to come over & get a pic with me, she made a silly face.  

I made her a deal:  first one smiling, pretty faces - next one silly faces...

 And this is what they did to me.  Double bunny eared.   Hmph.

And MY silly face? ... mouth wide open.  Shocking, I know...

 The dancing & costumes were really neat.  I never realized just how many Christmasy 'tunes' come from the Nutcracker.  I recognized a lot of them.  But I just can't get over the 'no talking' rule.  I don't like that rule.  Ever.

Kalightoscope - the uncensored version

My wonderful week NOT having to go to work for 5 days straight vacation week is winding down.  Sigh.  This makes me sad... No, I don't wanna go back to work, but I gotta pay for that stupid new car somehow.  Eh, it's a vicious cycle!

Ya'll know I'm a bit of a planner, so it should come as no shock that when I knew for sure which week I was going to be off, I invited myself along asked Alicia if her & the kiddos would like to hang out one of her days off.  Of COURSE, she said 'YES' & told ME to come up with something for us to do.  UHM, pump the brakes... what do I know about fun stuff kids would like?  Sheesh...  

I finally decided on Kalightoscope at the Galt House.  

Alicia is a great hostess & was really looking to show me a good time.... she knows how much I love Christmas music, so she was sure to have the van radio stocked full of Christmas CD's.  THEN, she allowed her child to bring a jingle bell in the car with us.  AWESOME.  I thought guests were suppose to be held in the highest regard?  You know, be nice to them because they're GUESTS?  Hmph.

Jake loved ringing the bell until I wanted to take his pic...  I assure you - there WAS ringing.... lots & LOTS of ringing....

Since Alicia & I are both directionally challenged, we had to rely on smart phones to get us to the Galt House.  Sad, I know.  When we got in the van she said, "Do you know how to get there?"  I said, "No, do you?"  Details schmetails...  Once we found the Galt House & parked, we went inside & a guy told us where to buy tickets.  He sucked at directions too because we ended up at a locked ped way door...in a parking garage.  Nice.  I called the Galt House & told them we were lost... she figured out that we were at the ped way for the Yum Center.  A very nice security guard came up & told us where to really go.  (Apparently there are TWO towers to the Galt House & we started in the wrong one.  So fyi if you're going to Kalightoscope you need to be in the REVUE tower... Who knew?!)

Jake wasn't thrilled about going down the escalator.  He hurt his elbow last time he rode one.  Heck, I get nervous getting on them too.  Alicia hopped right on with that stroller & nearly gave me a heart attack.  

All the while we rode down, we're screaming to Jake, "C'mon buddy - just step on..."

I couldn't take it anymore so I went back UP the DOWN escalator to get him.  (UHM, that's not easy to do...I almost died, people...)

He finally got on & then sat down.... then he was nervous all.the.way.down because he was going to have to get off.  Oy.

 We FINALLY made it into the Kalightoscope display & first up, Alicia read the sign out loud that said, "Please do not touch."  Really, Kalightoscope?  Bright, shiny, colorful displays right on kid level?  Hell, I wanted to touch them...

 Jake signed the 'nice' list.... Nora played with her marker...

Fun group shot in front of the Vegas inspired North Pole sign.

 I loved all the displays because they were SO bright & colorful!

 Santa & his reindeer hung from the ceiling.  Jake kept saying, "Hey guys - look at this!  Hey guys - look HERE!"  He was so excited.

 This display was made to show what it looks like UNDER the Christmas tree.

 There was also a display about the real Reason for the season.... you can see the baby Jesus above & behind me.  There were three Wisemen & camels & all that... but you're not gonna see pics of that.  You're gonna see a pic of me with the Angel who stood there singing...Christmas music.  Yes.

 After you leave the Kalightoscope display there were a couple of other places to visit.  This sign was CLEARLY marking our path when we left that display.  These are the kinds of signs Alicia & I need everywhere...

 There was another wall in the Santa's workshop to write on.  Almost every pic I took of Alicia she was making weird faces.  We're kindred spirits - the same thing happens to me.  We're animated, people...we can't HELP it!

 Ah, there's a good smile!

 There was a snow fairy princess display that Jake REFUSED to go into.  Alicia & I went in & there was a little girl camped out by the snow fairy.  And the fairy was all nice & talking to her & I said, "Wow.  What a job.  I can't imagine sitting here all day talking to kids & being nice to them."  

Maybe my job is not so bad after all?...

 Next up was lunch!  I must tell you - this was the most chaotic part of the day.  There were a TON of people at Qdoba & adults don't like standing & waiting in line, let alone kids!   I asked let Jake show me the food he was consuming.

 And this one right here?  Oh, I enjoyed every second watching her eat.  And when I say 'enjoyed', I mean my face cringed in horror every time she would pick up that milk to take a drink.  Alicia taught me very quickly that the chip is 'just the vehicle' to get the cheese into her mouth.  So when Alicia took Jake to the bathroom, I'm not saying that I put that pile of cheese right within her arms reach.  Nope, not me...you do NOT see my lovely manicured nails at the bottom of the pic holding the dish for her.  

 And my cringing paid off because she had milk EVERYWHERE.  Down her shirt, on the table & on the floor.  GAG.  I hate milk.   At one point she had her straw out swiping it through her milk...I wasn't quick enough to get a pic of that...

 Alicia is so laid back & so are her kids.  They are well behaved & she's constantly teaching them lessons along the way.  She amazes me at how she juggled both of them effortlessly.  (I was exhausted & had to come home & nap!) At one point she said, "And we're even a kid down!"  You moms are crazy...truly.... I would lose.my.mind.  

I had a great day hanging out with all of them.  Jake said on the way home, "Mom - this was a great day!"  That made it worth it...gross milk & all...

Merry Christmas (Happy New Year, Valentines day, St Patricks day, birthday & anniversary) to ME!

Ah, my vacation week is half over (tear), but I've got a LOT done & even got to see some stalkers!  (Hi, JLL, Alicia & Marcia!)  I got my Christmas shopping done today (!) & have some more fun things planned to end my week.

One thing I wanted to do while I was off was go look at a new car.  Yes, my car IS new (I've had it almost 2 years).  But I'm a brat like that.  Ya know how everyone has their 'thing?'  My thing is a new car.  I would rather have a car payment & know I'm driving a reliable vehicle.  That's just me.  

I've had an suv since like 2000.  And I LOVE my suv's.  I love being above everyone, I love all the roominess, I love the 4 wheel drive so I can anywhere-anytime... I do NOT love how they guzzle gas though.  I also HATED the red color.  HATED IT.  B-rad LOVED it & convinced me to get it originally but I've not been happy with it since.  (Like I said, I don't like the color of my car so I'll just get a new one.  I'm a brat...)  

I've been thinking for awhile of going back to a car.  We don't NEED an suv.  If I ever need to get anything big, I have B-rad's truck.  If I ever wanna drive anywhere super fast, I've got B-rad's Mustang.  I knew I wanted to stay with a Chevy because I love Onstar & the remote start option.  I originally had liked the Chevy Cruze's, but thought they were too small for me.  The next size up is a Malibu & I really liked them, but just never could make the leap.  The 2013 Malibu's changed models & I was all about it.  I loved the new, sportier look & that's all it took for me to tell B-rad we were going car shopping.  (I knew what color I wanted too - Silver Ice Metallic.  No if, ands or buts.  SILVER.)

We went on Tuesday & we're the kinda people that we know what we want, they make us a good deal & we're signing on the 457 dotted lines.  I don't need to drive 9,000 different cars.  The Malibu model we wanted is not available yet. (Which is really stupid because they show it online.) We went ahead & drove an 'Eco' model & it was just 'ok.'  B-rad saw a row of Cruze's behind the Malibu's & really liked the look of them.  He convinced me to drive one on the lot that had most the options I wanted... & it was Silver Ice Metallic.  That was all it took...  

 (And they are like $5000-$7000 cheaper.  Score!)

So, I traded in my HORRID RED equinox for this little beauty right here.

 And ya'll know I'm all techy & like my bells & whistles & this thing delivers.  On the 2013 models Chevy has something called, "My Link".  It's a touch screen radio thingie.  

 When I play my super cool iPhone through it (via Bluetooth, no cord required...) it shows the album graphics for the song.  Very fun.

The thing I think I will love the most is the fuel mileage.  My Equinox got about 20 miles to the gallon, which is not really bad, but not really good either.  This bad boy got 30 mpg while I was in town today. 

 

It's small & sporty which is exactly what I wanted.  Sure, I'm going to have to get used to driving a car again, but I guess I'll manage.  If I start to miss my suv, I'll have the new car smell to comfort me.

Merry Christmas (Happy birthday & anniversary) to B-rad

B-rad has been wanting to get a new tv for the living room.  And you know, what Princess wants - Princess gets.  But let me tell ya how he thought he could doup me into thinking this was a good idea hatched a plan to convince me to let him get it.

B-rad is a 12 year old & plays video games online.  Xbox, play station you know what I'm talking about.  He plays with his other 12 year old friends online & they even get together once every couple of months & have 'game night' at Brian & Shauna's.  He has a tv JUST for his little video games.  It's like a 32" tv which nowadays is like having a tv that fits in your pocket.  TV's are gigantic now.  And B-rad has been wanting a new one...a bigger one...the ONE that was Jaime's bedroom tv.  Pump the brakes.

Plan A:  Since he wanted MY tv, he tried to sell the idea that I was going to get a better (& bigger) tv because he would put the tv currently in the living room in our bedroom.  (Follow all that?!)  So he started doing some research & figured out just which tv he wanted.  They have '3D' tv's now, but I didn't care about all that noise.  You have to wear those tacky glasses & you can only watch in 3D when it's a special movie, blah, blah, blah.

He went to Best Buy Friday night alone to look around.  Typically I don't allow him to shop unsupervised because he tends to spend WAY too much money.  He did good, though, just looked around & narrowed down his options...no purchases.

Saturday night we went in town so he could show me which ones he wanted.  Brian & Shauna had called -they were also headed to eat dinner & we were going to meet up with them.  It quickly became the most chaotic & confusing night I've had in a while.  They went with us to Best Buy & THEN we were going to eat.  UHM, we never made it to eat....

B-rad did a total 360 on us & changed his mind about which kind of tv he wanted.  SIGH.  We had driven my car because the tv should lay in the back with the seats down.  WELL the kind of tv he got cannot be 'laid' down.  It has to stand upright.  It was 8pm & the store closed at 9.  

Plan B: He was going to come home, get his truck & go back.  If you have ANY clue where I live - you know that's not possible...

Plan C:  Brian said he could go get HIS truck (they live quite a bit closer) & come back & get it.  Brian went with B-rad & Shauna & I hung out & shopped (happy accident for us!) & when the boys got back we were going to eat... finally.  Unfortunately the tv wouldn't fit in the back seat of his truck upright either so it had to go in the bed... & there was no way in Hades B-rad was going to leave his new, shiny toy in the bed of a truck while we ate.

Plan D:  Brian & B-rad come to our house to start working on the tv & Shauna & I bring home pizza.  

I'm exhausted just from reliving it.

It took them forever to get the tv installed because B-rad also got one of those wall mount thingies for it.  I didn't get any pics of those two dorks working on it, because Shauna & I were working on something else at the same time (which I will show you later...)

I had a huge tv box & other shrapnel in my kitchen...

 B-rad just opens stuff & throws the packages down wherever they land...

Success...finally...

Remember how I told you I didn't care about 3D?  Well, the tv B-rad got is a 3D tv.  We had anticipated hanging out in our tacky 3D glasses & watching some Transformers coming towards our faces but it took so long to get it mounted we didn't do that.  When they FINALLY got done I proclaimed that we need to all put the glasses on & take our pics...  & no one really listened.  HMPH.  It only really took me screaming it once or twice more to get them to cooperate.  

THIS is what I got.  Brian looks like he's not enjoying all of us piled on him...

So we tried AGAIN.  And now, MY hubby has photo bombed the picture.  

Ya'll wonder why I'm crazy?

A post just to say I posted

 Loyal stalkers, it's that time of year that we are ALL super busy with holiday STUFF.  And some of that STUFF includes shopping....of which I have done NONE.  Sigh.  Christmas sneaks up on me every.single.year.  I am going to take the last of my vacation days next week & I am VERY excited about that! I mean, who doesn't love NOT having to go to work while still getting paid?  ME!  ME!  I hope to get some shopping finished.  I also have a few fun things I'm planning to do (Hi, Alicia!), but also wanted to leave some time open to just do NOTHING.   

So, until I can post about all the fun stuff I'm NOT doing while on vacation, I will tide you over with the minutia that is my life.

I got something fun in the mail from the Harrison County Court.  I had to fill out a qualification paper for jury duty.  While most people grumble & groan about it - I am excited.  I would LOVE to be on a jury.  I think I'm actually over-qualified to JUST be on the jury.  I mean, I watch enough tv that I could probably be on either the defense or prosecution team to assist.  I totally picture a court room setting like from "A Time to Kill" or "A Few Good Men".  (Unfortunately there is no one that looks like Matthew OR Tom in Harrison County.  Hmph.)

Next up - my hair saga.  I know ya'll are obsessed with it.  Remember I got it cut & that was like a really big deal only to me?  Well - I made another change.  COLOR.  

I haven't had it highlighted in years & decided I wanted to have it done.  I was off work this past Friday (yea, I'm burning up vacation days!) & made an appointment.

Me on the left 2 weeks ago... & me on the right this morning.  I must say - I FREAKING LOVE IT.  My hair is so thin & fine that it gives it a bit extra texture & body.   I got it cut even SHORTER this time.  Love that too...

This is the best I could do with the back.  

I have decided to start working a little bit in the kitchen to update it.  For my first trick, I will attempt to take these tacky, bright gold knobs...

 

 and spray paint them with this stuff & make them the color of that lid.  I've been reading online (God bless the internet) about how to re-do fixtures instead of buying new. 

 Of course I will require B-rad's assistance because I am:

A) incapable of re-hanging cabinet doors period straight when I'm finished.

B) not patient enough to spray all 5000 knobs & 10,000 hinges & wait for them to dry.

 McAfee animal shelter is once again in full swing.  We had the grown up puppies hanging around for awhile & then the momma dog had yet another litter (poor thing).  I went out to feed the only one smart enough to stay there full time, Daisy, on Sunday & saw the momma dog running through the yard.  And behind her, were 3 teeny, tiny puppies -  two white & black & one solid black.  The only one that hung around was one teeny black & white one.  DUH - I bought him food...

And in tragic news - did ya'll hear about THIS?!

SIGH.  Mom was talking about it yesterday at lunch & I just blew her off.  Nope, I did NOT believe it.  I even told her I REFUSED to believe it until I saw it from a reputable news source.  And like .002 seconds later, I got a tweet: 

Can I just say that I LOVE that my friends know me so well (or that I run my mouth about WAY too much?) that they know when things are going to affect me?!  LOVE!

& unfortunately, People magazine is pretty damn reliable.  That's when my soul started to sink...then I saw it had a hash tag assigned to it & EVERYTHING:  

UGH.  

I did what any self respecting will never, ever be Queen gal would do & professed my disdain on facebook:

of course, comments of sympathy came right away, but also - once again - friends said when they saw it they thought of me.  I love being thought of...hello?!

I am beside myself.  My life long dream of marrying Prince William & being a Queen is REALLY becoming increasingly more difficult...  I did have a friend suggest that I start my own country.  OH, I SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT....