Boo. Halloween. Scary. Etc.

It's not my holiday.. what can I say? I'm trying to think of the last time I dressed up for halloween... Hmm. About 5 years ago I did the costume thing at work. I came as a construction girl with hard hat, flannel shirt and tool belt (I had to borrow all three things) which was appropos, since we were doing some building then. We're always doing building now! Before that? Man.. I don't remember. It's just never been a big deal. Is there such a thing as a halloween scrooge? That'd be me.

Last night there was knitting at a coffee shop, so now all is right in my world once again. If it's cold and dark outside, there must be communal knitting to go along with it. I got another square done. I think I need to wash and block the ones that are done and start sewing some together. Good motivation to keep going.

So, yes, it's 26 degrees this morning, and welcome now to winter. I think we got ripped off in the Autumn department this year.

I've paid literally zero attention to football this year. But hey - Weren't we supposed to win this game? That's what they were all talking about on the radio.

Is it wrong that I'm really really excited about this? I love a good crooner...

That's all the stuff that's in my head so far. Time to start the day. Have a good one, and I will talk to you tomorrow, Bellas. Ciao.

Good Morning, World. It's time to be awake and ready to go once again. It was another good weekend - lots of stuffs going on, so it seems like Friday was a long time ago. Let's take a look at some of the newses.

Should it surprise me a bit that St. Louis is the most dangerous US city? I've only been there once. I'm surprised that NYC or Detroit doesn't beat it.

Good for her, I guess. It's good to be comfortable with your self and who you are.. although I'd forgotten that she had surgery.

While the Wild can't win every single game, it's hard to see them play like this. They had nothing going for them last night. Sometimes they just forget to skate...

Note to self: the next episode of Jericho is still on the TiVo. Better watch before this week's episode airs.

I really really don't like the day we turn the clocks back. When the sun set at 5:00 yesterday, I just wanted to stand outside and yell "NO! It's not time yet!" I don't like it when I wake up and it's dark and I drive home from work and it's dark. It's like being one of the mole people. Heh. I think I need to get some of those broad spectrum lights for my house. Now we're on the real downhill slide til 12/21 - my least favorite day of the year, cuz it's the shortest - then I can start feeling hopeful once again.

But anyway.. instead of complaining about the day, I should go out and embrace it. I'm pretty sure there is knitting to be done tonight! So off I go, and I hope you have a glorious day as well. See you tomorrow. Ciao.

We bowled last night and raised some money for The Susan G. Komen Foundation. And most importantly (because it's all about me, you know..hehe) - I got 95 in the last game! Laugh if you must.. but that's the highest I've ever ever gotten. Next time I'll break 100.. I just know it.

The time changed messed me up a little bit. But this is how I know it's fall - I'm all messed up on time of day, and now that all the leaves are down I can watch The Deer Show in my backyard. There were just 6 of them running through there. They're so pretty. Heh. I love it.

My knee is killing me today, so it's best to take it easy. I'm going to ice it and rest as much as I can. Time to play on the internets a bit. Have a good day, Bellas. Ciao.

Time for the quickest of updates before I go and start this day's version of running around like a crazy girl. We went to Benihana last night and had ohmygod wonderful food and drinks and really just a lot of fun with a couple of my most favorite friends ever. Then, because every once in a while it's fun to just eat like there's no tomorrow, we had to stop and have some cheesecake for dessert. The best part of the evening was the wide-ranging conversation.. from baseball to auras to ages to farts - hehe! You know you're friends when you can cover all of that.

I've gotta fly now, because Mrs.H is picking me up in just a few minutes so we can drive, oh, about 90 million miles to plan our girls' crafting weekend. And - More bowling for boobies tonight, which I will tell you all about tomorrow. Updates on the live journal as needed! Ciao Bellas.

It's exactly 24 hours later..and how are you? I went to the old neighborhood yesterday to look at some office sites. Very nostalgic. I pulled into the same ramp that I'd pulled into for 11 years.. only this time I had to push the button to get a ticket. I parked in very nearly the same parking spot. I almost went up the apartment elevators. They were just starting to put the lights on the trees in the park across the street. The pizza place is still there, and the scary inconvenience store.

I love where I live now. I love my house, I love the deck and the backyard (even with all the scary nature stuff - heh), I love my 10 minute commute to work. But I miss my old neighborhood - the old buildings, the park. Given the opportunity, would I move back? Hmmm. I have to think about that.

Good God.. Who would set a fire on purpose?

No politics on cheleblog - but doesn't it always seem to happen this way? One party is in power.. we get sick of them, vote them all out. Then the other party is in power - we get sick of them, vote them all out. Really, I think they're all bad in one way or another. You just have to pick your favorite flavor of bad.

Good God Part II - Hello, Crazy Man. Why do they always think they're acting "under God's orders"?

Mmmmm.... Pizza. And I've only sampled six of the ten places listed! I think this will be our winter project.

Okay, Kevin. I believe I will, thank you.

HEY! It's Friday already. Go to work, get my nails done, then it just might be time for some shrimp sauce... mmmmm. Ciao Bellas.

Word of the day yesterday was h-o-c-k-e-y (eeep!). My Wild are now 8-1-0, we lead our division, and we're second in our conference. It was a GREAT game, and there was ice cream. What could be better?

The word for today will be b-u-s-y. I will be spending the afternoon doing real estate tours.. I'm hoping it'll at least be halfway decent outside. After work I need to get some fabulous prizes for bowling on Saturday (because really, there must always be prizes!).

I loved Mary Poppins when I was little. I've heard that Macy's (who have taken over Dayton's/Marshall Fields/whatever name the store is this week) is going to continue the 8th Floor Holiday Displays, and that the theme this year is Mary Poppins. I can't find any real details about it yet, other than dates here. One of my most favorite things, though.

I get cold really easily now (my metabolism = the most messed up thing ever), and every once in a while I'll get all-the-way-chilled-to-the-bones cold and it takes FOREVER to warm back up again. I got a tiny chill last night at the game (yeah, probably shouldn't eat ice cream at the hockey arena.. but it was GOOD), and I warmed up and was fine on the way home. Once I got home, though, the chill hit with a vengence. I crawled into bed with about 3,743 layers of blankets on top of me and luckily fell asleep almost instantly. Then the alarm went off this morning. HOT. I was HOT and sweating and yuck and bleah. I couldn't get out from underneath the covers fast enough. It's wonderful, I tell ya. Heh.

And now, really, I must bid you a fond farewell. For today, anyway. Have a good day and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Ciao.

I'm back again. And so are you. I have done exhaustive research on the internet (okay - I scrolled through the Yahoo headlines) and here are the most fascinating and important items of the day:

Yes, the cleanup at the WTC was fast. I don't think they did it that way out of any disrespect at the time. If they'd gone slower, the families would have complained that it was taking too long to get the remains out of there. It's a no-win. These people are hurting - nothing will bring back what they lost that day. It's easy to want to lash out.

Someone needs to explain to me why people get so up in arms about stem cell research. I know... no politics on cheleblog. But honestly, when I watch things like this - and I see that research like this could help him, could help me, could help thousands of people... I just think that maybe it's not a narrow black and white issue. Okay. Moving on.

Blah blah blahty blah. They were out of the media spotlight for one day. You've had your baby. Now you're getting married. I don't want to hear about you anymore, okay?

And I don't want to hear about her anymore, either!

PSA Time: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Early detection is so important. Mammograms save lives, and I'm living, breathing, walking-around proof of that. Do your self-exams. Get a mammogram (or, if you're a boy, make sure the girl you love gets one). Learn more about it. Donate to the cause. Thank you.

Hockey tonight! Lots of working to be done before then, so I better go. Ciao, Bellas.

I was actually awake much earlier than this, but I was distracted by several things that were on the interwebs here. It's amazing - click, click, click and you're reading about ponies and go-karts and Brazil and whatnot and then you're thinking "how did I ever get to this page?" and then 20 minutes have gone by and you haven't yet started to write in your blog.

So the day yesterday consisted of a big long meeting in the morning that made me think so hard that my brain nearly exploded, then the usual Monday lunch with il mio ragazzo favorito (we have lunch other days too, with and without other people, but we always have Monday lunch. It's tradition.), then catching up on all the stuff that I'd missed doing all morning after being in said brain-crunching meeting. By the end of the day I was tired, and I had to quickly run (drive) to St. Paul to be a grownup and sign some papers, and THEN I finally got to go home. I got to chat with TargetGirl about important girly things, and then I heard all about these cars, and ohmygod he should probably buy one right now because they're really pretty. That's not the exact one, but it's very early and I'm very lazy about looking for the right link. Then it was time to fall over into bed because the day just plain wore me out.

I said that there were pictures from the 612 Party on Friday, and that I would point you to some of them. Here they are, and many of them make me laugh really really hard. My friend Jenni-from-the-internet (and all the rest - but again, too lazy to get all the links) knows how to throw a shindig of massive proportions. Molto Bene!

Now I will go look at the news of the day and get ready to throw myself out into the big bad world outside my door. I just remembered that there's HOCKEY tomorrow night, and that makes me quite a happy girl. Have a most excellent day, peeps. Ciao.

It is once again very very early and time to be awake again. Let's start with some news first.

Awww. RIP Jane Wyatt. She was everybody's favorite mom. I've seen a few episodes of Father Knows Best. Talk about the perfect family..

Oh, my. Will they ever be done finding all the remains? But even if it was just a fragment, if it were my loved one, I'd want it identified.

Kids in LaCrosse binge drink, leave the bars, walk down the street, and fall into the river. Oy. Don't fence off the river. Change the behavior. The last paragraph says it all: "At some point, we have to start working on personal responsibility. That's probably the biggest thing. You can't have somebody looking out for you your whole life." Indeed.

This seems to be unravelling now.

Awww... Babies! Yay for them.

Time to head out for the day. Have a good one, and I'll see you tomorrow. Ciao.

good morning peeps!

i just heard that my new SuperTarget is open! how handy.. i must go check that out today. and then it's time to clean clean clean and scrub and polish. i won't stop til it smells like bleach and lemon in here. hehe.

i took a minute to look at my calendar. yet another kinda crazy week is coming up. i was thinking that i'd get to have a couple of quiet weeks, but really no such luck. so far, though, i've been successful at keeping most of the Sundays open. as long as i can have one day to put myself and my house back in order, it's okay.

one more cup of coffee, and then it's time to get my move on. talk to youse later. ciao, bellas.

Good morning.. and look how early I'm up on a Saturday. Even after I got home really very sorta kinda late from the 612 Party.. the greatest party celebrating all things Minneapolis. Greatest. Ever. We had a blast, and I know that at some point there will be pictures posted around various places, and I will probably point you to a few of them.

Yes, I am up this early because I have to go visit Aaron my fabulous hair guy and get everything on my head to be one color again. It still isn't time to cut hair just yet.. it's growing out nicely, and so I will look just like a supermodel. Or.. not..

After that it's time to go to the condo meeting and listen to everyone fight and argue a little bit (how fun. or not.), and then CuzGirl and I will do a little shopping.

I must be on my way then - I'll update on live journal as I go along. Ciao, amici.

Arrrrriba! We had mucho de margaritas last night! Muy bueno. And surprisingly there's no headache or anything this morning, which is very good. I will be relying on Mr. Metro Transit Bus to get to work this morning, since AudreyCar stayed downtown last night. Lots and lots of fun.

Today should, in theory, be just a half day or so of work... I'm still trying to catch up on the comp time from all the moving. I'm going to come home and clean the place up a bit, throw some dinner together, and then we're going to the big 612 party. I have my Minneapolis-gear ready. It'll be great.

THEN! Let me tell you about the very stylin' boots I got yesterday. Too, too cute. I'm dying of the cute from them. Also picked up this pretty blouse, and this skirt. I'm ready for some holiday parties now.

Okay... here I go. Gotta get ready so I can meet up with the bus on time. See you domani! Ciao.

It's Thursday, and therefore the official start of the early weekend. Heh. There will be much of the partying happening at various points throughout the next few days.

I did the first half of the alphabet game a while back. Since I have nothing better to say right now, I'll finish it up.

M is for MIRACLE: Once upon a time, someone gave me a card that said "you are always on your way to a miracle". Having been the lucky recipient of several of those in my lifetime, I honestly, truly believe that.

N is for NEIGHBORHOOD: I'm finally getting used to my new one. Although I'll admit that every once in a while I get totally turned-around-lost and I have to give up and get back on a freeway so I know where I am. Someday...

O is for OBLIGATION: I have a love/hate relationship with obligations. It's the fastest way to make me run away sometimes.. my past has included relationships with many strings and obligations attached. But yet I can be fiercely loyal to those I care about the most and then the obligations don't seem to be a burden at all.

P is for PINK: Go look in my closet. You'll see where that comes from. Heh.

Q is for QUIET: One of my New Year's Resolutions (the only one I kept!) was to work on quieting myself down a little bit.. not rushing around at one million miles an hour, and taking time to be still and quiet. I've actually DONE this, and I'm a better person for it. I can really appreciate a quiet night at home.

R is for RAGAZZO: *smile*

S is for STRONG: I'm stronger than I often give myself credit for being.

T is for TODAY: One of the things I'm working on right now is living in this moment/today. It's easy for me to get caught up in wishing for tomorrow. Life's short.. I want to enjoy every moment.

U is for UNDERSTAND: When I was 20, I thought I knew everything. Now that I'm 20 and some months (heh), I understand that there's a lot of things I still need to learn. It's about the journey, not the destination.

V is for VARIETY: I walked around work yesterday saying that I never have the same day at work twice. Variety is what keeeps my life interesting.

W is for WORK: I used to be a much worse workaholic than I am now. When we had the stores, I routinely worked 75 or 80 hours a week. I can't remember the last time I worked a 40 hour week (it was probably when I worked at the airline and the union MADE us work 7-3:30 and that's it)... but I've dialed it back to about 50 now. I could easily work more but, again... life is short. Take time to enjoy it.

X is for XRAY: I've had so many of these lately I'm surprised I don't glow in the dark. Hey? Why's my monitor acting funny? Hehehehe.

Y is for YOLANDA: That's for you, Mr. H!

Z is for: Hmmm. That's the one I got stuck on! Let me get back to you.

I have an early morning construction planning meeting (because I'm always either building something or getting ready to build something lately..), then the ever-popular 3M lunch (it's an inside joke that I just unfairly shared with the world), then tamales and margaritas tonight! I plan on over-indulging in both. Have a most wonderful day. Ciao.

Up early to move file cabinets, not people. I'm assuming that the file cabinets will not complain as much when we move them, but you never know.

Because it's so early and I'm not REALLY awake yet, let's just look at a few headlines:
Hold on, while I tip over from NOT surprise. Truthfully? I thought they broke up years ago.

Blah blah blah blather blah. This doesn't excuse you.

I go back and forth on this adoption thing. I think she's sincere, and has good intentions. I also think that they bent all the rules so that she could do this quickly, because she's a rich western celebrity. I've seen cases of this in real life.. if you have enough money lots of things - even adoptions - happen quickly for you. But I guess ultimately if it's for the greater good of a child, it's not that bad at all.

I've gotta get going now.. Those files won't move themselves. Well, I'm not moving them, the movers (who've now confirmed 4 different times that they are indeed coming) will be doing that for me. But I've gotta be there too, because I'm just like that. Anyway - here I go. Talk to you later. Ciao.

Buon Giorno. It is once again time to get up and do the living life thing. There are many things I could say, but I won't. So instead I will do a little meme that I got on an e-mail, of all places. Unfortunately it's early, so I can't remember who sent it:

FIVE YEARS AGO...

How old were you?
HA! You can't catch me! 5 years younger than I am right now.

Where did you go to school?
I was already done with school then, but once upon a time I went to St. Kate's.

Where did you work?
The same place I do now.. doing the same job. I never ever thought I'd be at a job this long. This makes me a lifer, I guess.

Where did you live?
St. Paul. Even though I'm not there now, I will always be a St. Paul Girl at heart.

Where did you hang out?
Hmmm. We used to go to O'Gara's quite a bit.

How was your hair style?
I had long hair then. *sigh* Someday I will have long hair again.

Did you wear glasses?
Yes.

Who was your best friend?
Mare.

Who was your regular-person crush?
As opposed to my IRregular-person crush? Moving on...

How many tattoos did you have?
Two.

How many piercings did you have?
Three holes in my ears.

What was your worst fear?
Being left.

Had you smoked a cigarette yet?
Yes.

Had you been arrested?
No!

Had your heart broken?
Yes.

Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: I was taken then.


October 2006

How old are you?
AGAIN.. you won't catch me! I'm.. well... the same age I am now. Heh.

Where do you work?
The place of craziness! Which I will sometimes complain about, but most of the time I love it.

Where do you live now?
DaPark, in my OWN house.

Where do you hang out?
I hang out at different places with entirely different people. And life is much much better now.

Do you wear glasses?
Yes.

What is your hairstyle?
I'm glad that I HAVE hair to style now!

Who are your best friends?
I literally have an almost entirely different group of friends now. And, as I said, life is pretty spectacular right now. TiAmo, Amici.

Still talk to any of your old friends?
No. I used to be really really sad about this. Now I've just come to accept it. Life changes.

Who is your current love interest?
I love everyone, all the time!

How many piercings do you have?
Still 3.

How many tattoos?
3 now. And seriously, it's almost time for another.

What is your biggest fear?
Still - being left.

Have you been arrested since if so how many times total?
Nope.

Has your heart been broken?
Yes it has. But it's mended now.

Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: How about we go with HAPPY!!!


Life is so different now than it was 5 years ago. I've been through the wringer a couple of times, but I think that's what makes me who I am today - a little wiser, a lot stronger. I can take just about anything life throws at me. And I know I can face it by myself if I have to.. but it's so much better to face it with good peeps who have my back. All in all, I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Off to work! Have a good day, kids. Ciao.

Holy cow. It's the middle of the month, and it's raining and pouring out there. But a little rain won't dampen my mood today. It was a fun weekend, and I'm determined to carry that forward into the week. Just try to stop me!

I need to do some home projects over the fall/winter (besides getting a refrigerator, which yes - I will get one day). I've narrowed tile choices down again, so I will do a new kitchen floor. And I need to buy one of those green carpet cleaning machines. The carpet in here is still in pretty good shape, so a good cleaning is the way to go for the next year. After that.. I WOULD like to have hardwood floors. It just seems an easier way to go with the kitty cat-tles. It's overwhelming to think of doing that myself.. not to mention I can't figure out what I'd do with all my stuff, since it isn't like I have extra rooms to put it all in. This is why we call on the pros, I guess.

News from the weekend:
Earthquake in Hawaii. No one was killed, and the worst injury sounds like a broken arm.. thank goodness for that.

Reason #3742643 to have kitties and not kids: another kid guns down his family. I'm certain that Maddy and IssyCat will never come after me with a firearm. They may wake me up early for food, or hack up the occasional hairball.. but that's it.

Even though I rail SO hard against it sometimes.. part of me will always be catholic (it's that 16 years of catholic school, maybe). They canonized a little nun from Indiana this weekend, and part of me thinks that it's cool.

Note to self: don't go to this hospital. It's obviously being run by The Three Stooges.

Well. I have no words for this. Maybe one. **oy**

Okay, it's now time to make with all the new week stuff. See you here tomorrow. Ciao.

This weekend I'll be playing over on my livejournal. Click that for updates. See ya there!

I am a very loyal creature of habit. Once I find something that I like, or something that works for me - that's it. I'll get into the pattern very quickly. So when things come along that might mess up the pattern, well, that's a big deal. The gal who does my nails is out for a while. It took a long time to find her, because I refuse to go back to the "sweatshop" nail shops. I've been nicked with the drill at those places one too many times, and some of them look scary-dirty. So I'd found a great place.. I've gone there for almost a year.. and now I couldn't go there anymore. AND I had a broken nail. *horrors*
I took a chance and found a new place that's even a little closer, and went there on my break yesterday afternoon. I like this place, and this new gal, I like it alot. In fact, BETTER than the other place, because she doesn't use the drill thing at all. And my nails look great. I guess it's good to break out of the comfortable rut and try something new. Of course, now I'll have some guilt if I decide to not go back to the old place ever again...

Ooooh, I baked pumpkin pie last night and it smelled SO incredibly good at chezChele. This was a brand new recipe and I think it'll be good. I can't try it yet because I want to save it for Saturday.. so it makes me nervous that the first time I'll be eating it is when other people are having it, too. I always like to give it a trial run first. I have a lot of Cool Whip to go with it. That goes a long way towards covering up mistakes if they happen. Heh.

After dinner last night while the pie was baking, I did a big huge meme over on the livejournal. If you want a little entertainment stop over there.

I think I'll go read the news and have one more cup of coffee and then get ready to start the day. Talk to you later, kids. Ciao.

Good morning, Internet.

I just had a scary moment, when I thought I had to be at work to meet movers at 6:00. Then I realized that it's NEXT week, and it's on Wednesday anyway. Today I just have a 7:30 meeting, and I'm okay for that one. But what a feeling! The sudden rush of panic and adrenaline.. I'm wide awake now, and I didn't even need coffee. Heh.

Quiet at home night. It was good, because the knee needed it. I wonder if now the weather is going to start to bother it. I could tell I was DONE walking after work, so it's a good thing my place is very tiny and there's not a lot of walking around I can do here. I literally lazed about on the couch and talked on the phone for a couple hours to Cali. Almost started baking at about 9:00 and then realized that would keep me up for longer than I wanted to BE up, so I ditched that plan. And again I was sleeping by 11, so I'm quite proud of myself. Yay chele!

We had the killing frost last night, so hopefully this puts an end to allergy season. This also means that I really need to get one more heavy winter jacket, and start dressing for the weather. I wore a skirt and anklets yesterday and by 11:00 my legs were like two chunks of ice. I'm just not ready to give in to winter yet, and I have the feeling that I'll still be saying this in November. This was one of the most awesome and fun summers ever...and the best thing is - I know that there are more good times yet to come.

It's probably time to go start the day. Make it the best one yet, and I'll talk at you later. Ciao.

Well, eeek. They were sort of right. There are snowflakes mixed in with the rain this morning, and the wind is whipping through the trees in the backyard. Bleah. I'm not liking this one bit, I tell ya. I can't believe that 4 days ago it was eighty degrees!

One of my vendors dropped by yesterday with some hockey tickets for me. Yee-Haw! They know how to keep me happy and on their side. And so the Saturday plan was born. My weekend will now contain two of my favorite things: steak and hockey. If every weekend could be like that, I'd be the happiest girl in the world.

Good for him. Stay off the sauce now, Mel. I wonder how badly this will hurt his career.

Show of hands - Who thinks this guy will EVER get out? Uh-Huh. That's what I thought.

You know... it's almost time to start the countdown to cheleBirthday. And if you're looking for gift ideas, well, I'd love this. Heh.

Do you SEE how you boys are? You'll delay going to the ER if a good game is on TV. **Shakes head**

What's so weird about this? I often walk around naked in the office after hours. Or... NOT. Ya big weirdo! Stop doing that! I don't want to think about this happening in our office at night. *shudder*

And because I'm secretly 12 years old: Hahahahahahaha!

Time to get ready for the day. Middle of the week, and we're on the downhill side after this. Have a most excellent day, Bellas. Ciao.

In bed, asleep, at 10PM. Oh yeah. This is what the change of season does to me. Not that it's a bad thing. It's kind of nice to wake up with the alarm and feel rested.

Somebody needs to explain all this school violence to me. Honestly.. how scary is this? I'd be thinking long and hard about home-schooling my kids at this point.

Reading about the Amish Community has been a lesson in forgiveness and compassion. They set up a fund for the gunman's family. I'm in awe of their capacity to forgive.

She used... her 4 week old baby... as a WEAPON. WTF? Maybe you should have to pass a test before you get to procreate....

Hahahaha! I love this list of 10 Things You Don't Know About Women by Jenna Fisher (from The Office)..especially the PMS one.

They must stop talking about snow in the forecast. It's way too early to be thinking about that.

It's about time to get ready for work. Let's hope this is a better day than yesterday (il ragazz dubbed yesterday the Mondayest Monday of all.. his day was really rough). And so it goes! Ciao, Bellas.

It was a good weekend. Feels like Friday was a long long time ago. My goals for this week include getting the ATM card back (heh. it will be nice to once again have access to my cash. Although it's been nice not spending any money. Well, not any of mine. Thanks, hon, for spotting me. You're da best.). I also need to stock up on all the winter cooking supplies. Now's the time for pumpkin pies and beef stew and veal parmesian and corn muffins and all that good heavy stuff.

I hauled in all the deck furniture.. but then Sal and I went out to lunch and rode home with the top down (and the windows up and heater on.. but still!!) so it's not quite winter yet.

No politics on cheleblog.. but I can't believe that in the year 2006 South Dakota is actually proposing legislation like this. Next they'll go after electricity and the horseless carriage, I guess. Have to watch this carefully, and be prepared to donate more to PP.

I don't know why, but the fact that they were mobbed on a rickshaw ride made me laugh and laugh. Honestly.. if you're that famous, do you expect to be able to go out in public and not raise a ruckus?

I'm going to start advocating for more playtime for adults, too.

Oh my gosh! They've named their kid ESPN. If I had a baby, I'd name it QVC..

I suppose it's about time to start the new week. I'm hoping this one will be just a little bit calmer. Just a little, that's all I ask. See you later, kids. Ciao.

I really didn't accomplish one thing yesterday, and I keep telling myself that it's okay. Well, I DID tidy up and visited the consignment store (bargains galore!), and had some dinner.. Let's be honest. I have very few days of INactivity. Heh.

Let's play the alphabet game: A-L edition:

A is for APPLE CIDER: I'll only drink it hot, and only in the fall.

B is for BABIES: Great when they belong to someone else. I'm the best Auntie ever.

C is for CAT-TLES: Starting in the Fall, they get more clingy and lap-py than ever. Every time I sit down, I'm instantly covered in cat.

D is for DECK: I'm not ready to take down my deck yet. It's the best place to be in the summer.

E is for EVERYONE: As in I love everyone, all the time.

F is for FRIENDS: See also E. Heh. It took a while, but I've rebuilt a good solid circle around me. I couldn't be happier.

G is for GRATEFUL: I have a grateful journal.. I write down the five things I'm most grateful for every day. It's a good reminder of what life is about.

H is for HELLO KITTY: 'Nuff said!

I is for ICE CREAM: It's about time for a jaunt over to Grand Ole Creamery again. I need some birthday cake ice cream. mmmm.

J is for JOKES: One of the greatest things about Papa was that although he was one of the funniest men on the planet, he couldn't tell a joke to save his life! He'd totally butcher it, or forget the punchline, or START with the punchline. I have a letter that he wrote to me when I was on J-Term in school.. full of bad jokes and puns. It's one of my dearest possessions.

K is for KITCHEN: Someday, I want a huge eat-in kitchen with a fireplace. That's the only room I'll need in my house.

L is for LIPSTICK: A few years back I saw a therapist. I hadn't been to one for a while, and it always took a while to get back into the whole swing of things. One about the third or fourth visit, I REALLY opened up, and got into some hard stuff. She looked at me and told me to "slap on some lipstick and look for a good man to buy that house for you." Really. Seriously! (yeah. I didn't go back.)

More letters later. Now it's time to get cleaned up and start the day. Lunch with a friend I haven't seen for a while.. that will be fun. Have a good day, peeps. Ciao.

It's a late start to the weekend. Yesterday just wore me out. The movers never showed up, so I ended up moving 12 people's boxes and computers BY MYSELF. I was happy about that... or, not so much really. Then we had some PBX issues, and really, it was just all nutty, alla time there. I don't care what anyone says - the full moon really DOES bring with it all sorts of craziness.

So then last night we had quiet night in, complete with gnocchis and Willy Wonka and fast car racing (well, watching it, not driving). That was a good way to end the week. I slept very very late this morning and therefore must now RUN to catch up on everything I might have missed in the earlier hours. My room is a disaster, so that must be tidied up, and then I have to put away all the deck stuff, which makes me a little sad. I'm not ready for deck-time to be over just yet. Tonight, the CuzGirl and I will have some special girl-time shopping and dinner, because sometimes you just need to do that.

I will update on the LiveJournal if anything exciting happens.. otherwise I'll be right back here tomorrow. Ciao, Bellas. TiAmo.

It's so early. I'm meeting the movers at 5 AM, hence the getting up at 3:30. I'm actually surprised at how awake I am.

Yesterday was a pretty big, pretty important day. No, not my birthday (although you really should be shopping early and often in anticipation of that day next month. heh.). Not Christmas. It was the Minnesota Wild's season home opener, and we won 3-2 in overtime. Whoop! I like their chances this year. Of course, I like their chances every year, but this year there are others who do as well. Hockey rocks. It's one of the few good things about winter! I'm hoping to get to a lot of games this year.

What the heck? Was this guy flinging poo at his trial? (hehehe.. and the phrase "flinging poo" is just making me laugh and laugh. Because it's really early, and because I'm like a 12 year old. hahahhaha.)

Nice job there, Mr. Mailman. You're supposed to deliver the stuff, not keep it.

I'm not scared of spiders at all, really. Not enough to crash my car because I was startled by one. I usually don't even kill them if they're inside.. I'll catch 'em in a cup and drop them out on the deck. But yesterday one of them crawled across the bathroom vanity and startled me, and without thinking I just smashed it. I felt a little bad about it. Until I remembered that it's a spider and it really has no sense of SELF or anything. Sheesh.

So yes.. moving people this morning, day of chaos at work, then tonight I think we might just have to watch one of my all time favorite movies. I love Netflix..

Okay.. I'd better get moving. I'll talk to you soon, kids. Ciao.

Brrr. It's chilly in here. The kind that makes you want to just stay in bed with the covers pulled up under your chin. The kind where the cats just want to stay burrowed in next to you. I only hit the snooze once, then got up and started putting on every sweatshirt within reach. Oh, and shorts. Heh.

I'm totally addicted to The View now, having never watched even one second of it before last week when I was home those two days. It's a good thing I have to go work everyday. Otherwise I'd be planted in front of the TV eating bon-bons. Or maybe not.

And good lord.. did I mention it's 33 degrees out there? I need to find more blankets.

And now, just so all you boys out there can be forewarned:

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

Ahhhhh HA! I have successfully cracked the code! **insert evil laugh here**

And with that, I think I will get going. Have a most excellent day, and I will chat at you domani. Ciao.

Oh, I'm very very very late.. I slept in til 5:15 (mostly from the not going to sleep until 1:00). There is a lot of coffee required this morning, I tell you.

Yes, yes... no politics on cheleblog. But I just can't help but say something about this guy. Now that he's been caught - OUT come the excuses! "I was drunk! I'm gay! I'm in rehab! I was abused! etc. etc. etc." He's going to start blaming his parents and/or society next. Here's the deal. BE a drunk. BE gay. BE whomever you want to be. Just leave the kids alone, m'kay? Being any of those things doesn't mean that you're a pedophile.. and that's exactly the way he's trying to spin it. He's evil.. and anyone who was covering for him is evil too.

So - things of yesterday: 1. It was busy at work, but I continue making progress at shovelling out from under all. I'm not even going to say (or think!) the words "caught up" yet, but every day it gets better.
2. I didn't tackle the laundry, so now I have even fewer clothing choices today. Hmm. I declare it mid-week-jeans day.
3. No, I didn't tackle laundry. I talked on the phone with Cali for a while, and then had late late pizza with my ragazzo.
4. I managed to lose my ATM card IN the ATM. Doh! I hardly ever use the ones where you have to physically put it INTO the machine. So yes, I was an idiot and walked away before I got the card out. I've done this 3 other times. Called in and got it cancelled last night, and now I have to call in to get a new one sent to me. Excellent. or not. I have to figure out a way to get some cash without having to drive all the way out to the bank in South Nowheresville (AKA by the airport).

That's it. I gotta go get ready for the day. Behave, bellas. Talk to you later. Ciao.

Um... what the heck! I had an entire post finished. I hit command "y" instead of command "v" to put my closing tags on.. and deleted the whole thing. Yes, I'm pretty happy about that. Heh.

Well, it was sort of a complain-y posting anyway, so let me just start again here.

Good morning, world. How are you? It's a great day to be vertical, and I successfully completed another trip around the sun yesterday. I even got to have lunch with my favorite person in the world and play darts last night.

It's amazing.. spinning something positively makes me feel just a whole lot happier than dwelling in the negative. I feel much better. I spent a lot of time and therapy dollars getting rid of the people and things in my life that were negative and draining. The hardest work I've ever done, but by far the most worthwhile. It's so easy sometimes to want to slip back into those bad patterns, or to go back to those bad relationships that just weren't working. But really, all it takes is a good hard look at where I am now versus where I was then and it makes the decision really simple. Do I enjoy being happy and healthy? Yes? Okay. Stick with what's working now, even if it is harder and/or venturing into the unknown sometimes.

I get to tackle Mt. Laundry tonight. I don't know who wears all these clothes. It certainly can't be just me. I have an unexpected 2 hour appointment this morning, and then just the normal craziness of the day. I'm actually making progress towards getting the entire desk cleared off. I'm not delusional enough to think that this might actually HAPPEN - heh - but I'd enjoy feeling a little bit greater sense of control over what happens in my day. Lots of times, the day drags me around. I'd like to be on the other end of the leash once in a while.

That's what I've got so far, kids. Make it your best day ever. Talk to you soon, Ciao.

Hello, and oh-my-gosh, it suddenly turned into October over the weekend. How did that happen? It certainly didn't feel very October-like yesterday, when it was all 80 degrees in the afternoon. It was even top-down-driving-around day. There really aren't going to be too many more of those.

So since the last time we really visited, I've had japanese food, played darts and pool, had sidewalk cafe brunch, watched hockey, had a starlight convertible ride, did a lot of baking, and many other various important and unimportant events and tasks. It was a big weekend!

Apparently the Twins are doing really well right now (hello, understatement. I don't pay much attention to them otherwise). It's almost time for me to jump on the fair weather fan bandwagon.

And really, that's about all I have right now. Time to go back to work and see what chaos the day will bring. I will talk to you later. Ciao, Bellas.

I'm back.. did you miss me?

it's been a busy weekend.. and I'm still not done yet. So let me run around and finish up a few last minute things, and then I'll tell you all about it.
Ciao.