Blogger, where art tho?

or however that goes? Sorry for the long hiatus everyone. I have been pulling long days at work and then coming home to eat a crappy Lean Cuisine and head to the mall. So far, I have my sister's Xmas present accounted for and a long sense of "why?" related to me trying to find a dress that fits for our Xmas party.

Last year, it was an awful experience. I wanted a cute dress, I had gained a lot of weight, and nothing fit. This year, I weigh the same but I had less expectations since I haven't changed since last year. Last night, I stopped in a few stores as I was Xmas shopping. I tried on about 4 dresses in one store that "sorta" fit. It seemed promising so I decided to keep looking. First mistake...a wrong turn at Sawgrass Mills Mall. Just think about the Mall of America in Minnesota and then have a few drinks and redraw a whacky floor plan that does not loop around but requires back tracking. I find myself pushing to make the mall closing at one other store, stuff my tank top in my purse and button my shirt and head out. Well, I took a wrong turn somewhere or ventured into an area I normally don't visit. The mall closes at 9:30 and at 9:31 I called my hubby stating I was lost! He thought I was outside and said head towards Home Depot. I was inside so that didn't help and I had no desire to walk the perimeter in the dark by myself. Luckily, they don't kick you out at 9:30 so I was able to haul ass back through the mall (third time down some halls) and get to my car.

With that in mind, tonight I decided I would go back and hit some of the stores I missed because of the time crunch. For some reason, they were far less attractive tonight and I was much more depressed after my half attempt at finding a dress. For one thing...I am not 18 anymore. Cute dresses on models do not equal good looking on Erin. I picked out an adorable skirt, asked a clerk what matched it and was told that was a DRESS! If I held it up to my chest, there is no way it would clear my butt and it was a large! It must have been made for fat girls that were hit over the head and compacted or something. I did enter a store with a plethora of options but they were too rich for my price range. I can't justify spending more than $100 on a dress I will wear once. Last year I lucked out because I had a wedding and was able to wear the dress twice.

So...no new hobby but look forward to my wardrobe, dress finding, search. Hopefully Xmas shopping for family and friends is less traumatic.

Long Weekend

Uff, long weekends should be for relaxing but this long weekend was jam packed. I made a feast on Thanksgiving for 15 people. My hubby fried and smoked two great turkeys and our friends all brought good dishes to share. One of our friends flew in for the weekend so after Thanksgiving, we spent our days going to concerts, sight seeing, drift fishing, and taking the mighty Jungle Queen cruise. It has been a great time but I am beat. I have a long week of work ahead of me, some Christmas decorations to start putting up and of course, some shopping.

It is so nice to not be in school right now. I don't know how I did it all before. Uff...it makes me tired just thinking about it.

NASCAR weekend

Saturday's trial run at smoking a turkey worked quite well for Ryan. We had a feast with leftovers for turkey sandwiches; which we brought to the race with us on Sunday.

Race Day was pretty good. It was sooo much cooler than the past few years. It was beautiful! No sweating or melting. Drank a ton, snacked, watched the race, got our exercise in from walking through the haulers and up and down the bleachers to go to the bathroom, and it was a decent race. The final few laps weren't as nail biting intense but it was still fun.

Today was a rough day. I didn't sleep well last night and was basically awake since 3am. The sick feeling I had wasn't a hangover so that made it even worse. It is almost 24 hours since we left the track last night and I still feel icky. I hope I am not getting sick. I have 15 people to feed on Thursday!

Now that it has cooled down, I am in the mood for holiday shopping and decorating. I have to gather some ideas from friends and family and then brave the crowds. I like the idea of Christmas shopping but feel like I always end up settling on presents for people. My great ideas fizzle because I run out of time and get in a panic to buy for everyone. Not to mention there is no MN nice here and the people and clerks make me angry. I am hoping to start going to a couple stores a night and knock some items off my list. I have to get the presents that require shipping done soon. Luckily most of the family's presents are going with us in the car this year.

Blogger...what's up?

Yesterday I logged into check my blog and it was all crazy. Today I switched over to the new format. That must be their trick to make you switch. Mess it up so you think your only option is to upgrade...hmmm...

The hubby has been working hard at this turkey he is smoking. It looks delicious so I hope it turns out. Plus the weather is nice and cool. I opened windows to air the house out but one small problem...smoker smoke is filtering in. Oh well. It beats stinky dog smell.

I have to get moving; we have a busy weekend ahead of us. The parents will be here in a little over and hour and I still have some last minute cleaning. I also have some work work to do before the weekend is over. I am sure we squeeze in some shopping but unfortunately, I think it will be at Publix.

Busy week

So far this week has been hopping at work. I have felt like the world is spinning at a rate I can't keep up with. I am looking forward to the next couple weekends. This weekend, my parents are coming for an early Turkey Day. We plan on smoking a turkey on Saturday and then heading to Homestead for the NASCAR race.

Then the following weekend, we have a guest coming from out of town, we are hosting the big Turkey Day event, might go drift fishing, and plan on hitting the Aerosmith and Motley Crue concert. Not to mention it is a 4 day weekend; ah, that makes it even better. I would like to put the Christmas decorations up too but we will see what other events unfold.

I know I keep mentioning applying to teach...maybe tomorrow or first thing Saturday morning before my parents come. I want to get it done with but really like the free time I have had. I am already wondering how I ever got so much done in one week with school.

The diet and exercise plan is going ok. It sure is tough to get back into the swing of it. So far I have walked a couple times this week and have drastically reduced my caloric intake. The bummer is today I blew most of the calories on a stupid chicken sandwich at Burger King. I would rather have saved some of those up for a nice glass of wine or a beer tonight while good tv is on. Oh well. H2O will have to do.

I had my eyes checked tonight and since they are still dilated, this is tough typing. Sorry for any blatant typos.

It's Official!

I received my email stating my EPP was approved and I am now an official graduate! Wooot Wooo! That makes me feel really darn good.

Not much else to blog about quite yet. I will try to have an interesting day to keep you entertained.

Ghostly adventure

My trip to Chicago was nice but very exhausting. I worked some pretty long hours. When I got back to the hotel each night, I would contemplate venturing out but I usually opted to get ready for bed and watch a little tv or read. I know, not very adventurous, but I was beat!

The hotel I stayed in was very nice. They were remodeling it so the room I was in was newly renovated. Unfortunately it was next to the elevator. The funny thing is that I didn't hear that elevator or anybody in the halls. What I did hear is coming up but first, one quirky thing is that since they were remodeling, the ice machine was on the 36th floor. It said in the room brochure that if you wanted ice, room service would bring it to you. So, my first night in the room I hear a "ding dong" and think it is the elevator. I don't get up and check the door. A little while later, "ding dong." I realize it is the doorbell in my room and head towards the door. Before I get there, a lady from the hotel walks in with fresh ice. I was slightly dumb founded, especially since I had set the deadbolt on the door...

After I went to sleep, I woke up around 2am to the sound of pebbles being tossed at my window. I was on the 12th floor so I highly doubted anyone was actually lobbing rocks at my window. I got up and headed towards the window and the noise stopped. I headed back to bed and it started in again. I opened my eyes, got up again, and you guessed it, it stopped. So, I chocked that up to the constuction and that maybe they were working on the elevator next to mine still.

Next night...."ding dong" but I beat the lady to it. I open the door and say no thanks before the spirit could enter my room ;) Just kidding but after that is when it got super spookey. I went to sleep and the pebble noise woke me up. I stayed in bed and dealt with it. Then a little while later, it sounded like an elevator door was opening and closing or that it was trying to go up but had to come right back down. I got up and went to the door and looked out, the noise stopped. Back to bed, repeat the last sentence several times. After a while I decided there wasn't anything I could do and went back to bed. I pulled the covers up and then it felt like something grabbed the right hand side of them and pulled them down tight against my chest. I froze and thought for sure that was the weirdest sensation I have ever had.

I am not a believer in ghosts but I can honestly say I was touched by something that night. My hubby claims Chicago is known as one the most haunted cities in America. That makes sense with the history of the city and the types of buildings but man...I am kinda addicted. I was hoping for more on my last night there but instead, I had a peaceful night. Maybe the ghost realized I respected it and wasn't going to change rooms so it moved on to haunt someone else.

Chicago and re-evaluating desires to be a corporate bitch

I am still in Chicago for work. For the longest time I thought I wanted to be a corporate bitch. I have realized that "corporate" is another way of saying "screwed up" and the bitch part is because they treat you like a dog. Just kidding. It isn't so bad but having the life I have right now in FL does not lend itself to traveling so much. I miss my pets and hubby.

Actually, my experience hasn't been so bad. The first couple days were like a mini vacation. I worked extremely long hours but when work was over, I went to my haunted hotel room (next post) and relaxed. I didn't log in to the computer, I got ready for bed and vegged out. I had hoped to shop Michigan Avenue but decided for the safety of my credit card and feet, I should just stay in the hotel.

The bummer is that I spent $400+ on new "winter" clothes for this trip and Xmas in MN. I thought the stuff I purchased wouldn't be warm enough. Well, the weather has been beautiful and the darn office has the HEAT on! It is in the 50's outside but the office is pushing 80+ degrees. I have a tank top and sweater on! I didn't pack any lighter clothes. I figured I would freeze sitting in conference rooms. I also brought my scarf thinking how cute I could be but it is too warm for it. Everyone has them but the Minnesotan in me says it is still too nice to wear a scarf. Darn it!

So Monday and Tuesday I was asleep by this time but tonight we had a work dinner that I couldn't pass up. It was at a Greek restaurant. The food was wonderful but a very different atmosphere than Taverna Opa in Ft. Lauderdale. No dancing on tables Jess! I have networked with some very interesting people and for once, actually felt like I really had a lot to offer to my company. I usually doubt my abilities on many things because I am a pessimist but this project has helped me identify my strengths.

Anyhow, that is all for now. Pending the ghosts don't get me tonight, I will blog about my haunted hotel room tomorrow.

As for those that want me to change my blog name....I might be applying to teach in the next week or so....so until the journey comes full circle or I get a new hobby-deal with it!

Sunday

After an early evening of kicking my hubby's butt at cards last night, he went to bed. I stayed up and read for a while. He has me reading one of the last books he read by Dean Koontz. So far, it's pretty good. The funny thing is I made him make a deal with me to read one of my Janet Evanovich books :) The one I asked him to read deals with NASCAR and racing so I think he will find some humor in it. He will never admit it, but he will like it.

This morning he mowed the lawn and I planted two new plants out front, 2 in the porch, and one on the patio. I also put new mulch around the plants out back. That was more than enough fresh air and yardwork for me. The breeze was deceiving, I thought it was cooler outside. At least I will go to Chicago with a pink tint.

This afternoon I have been lazy. Ran to Target and have been reading the book from last night. I need to pack and get to bed early. Not sure how much blogging I will do in Chi-town.

Barely touched my list

The wind was whipping like mad today so I thought it best not to try to wash my car because I would have been more wet than it. So, with that attitude, I also skipped working on my plants. I did however clean the house, iron 10+ pairs of pants, catch up on my tv shows from last week, play with the wild animals, start some laundry, and go purchase a winter coat.

Burlington Coat Factory rocks! I have been there several times before but never really found much. I was on a mission to look for a wool pea coat. I didn't get a pea coat but I did get a cashmere and wool blend. Nothing like getting a $400 coat for $150! There were so many to chose from but since I was in a hurry and alone, I pulled 5 different styles and took the one that fit the best.

Ryan hunted all day (or should I say looked for animals to kill but they were too smart for him). He is beat so I think this evening will be low key. I am going to go kick his butt in cards. Tomorrow I might try to tackle some more chores but more than likely I will run to the mall and Target. My main job is to pack for my trip to Chicago. I leave at the ass crack of dawn Monday morning.

New list but not a hobby

On the way to work today I felt guilty about being a bum last night and going to bed before my tv shows even started. So the list for this weekend consists of washing my car and finally cleaning out my trunk (2 year old Halloween costume lives in it). I also want to pot some new plants and try to rescue my hibiscus that has a nice disease on it. If for some reason I actually accomplish all of those icky chores, I will think seriously about applying for a teaching position at work and maybe even tackle some laundry.

Time to get tackle some real work at work.

Daylight Savings

I still haven't recovered from the time change. I wake up at 5am like clockwork thinking it is 6am and that I have another 20 minutes to go before the dog and I have to get up. I realize I have over an hour but then contemplate sneaking out of bed to go to the bathroom and not waking the dog. After about 20 minutes of indecisiveness, I usually get up, go the bathroom and have to convince the dog it isn't time for the day to begin. Then I can't get back to sleep until about 10 minutes before I have to get up.

I know I shouldn't complain and should think about getting up that hour earlier to take advantage of the daylight (sarcasm implied there). On the way home it is dark out and it makes it seem like it is much later at night. I get so tired and now that I don't have school work, all I want to do is go to bed. It is 7:30 and I could easily hit the hay and sleep a full nights sleep.

I bet some of you are wondering about my list of a million things I wanted to do once school was done...eh! That's the thing about my lists; I complete them when they are super long or there is a deadline. I have hours worth of ironing to do but guess what-not tonight. I have books to read but I think they will put me to sleep. I also have some DVD's to watch but again, might fall asleep. Exercising after dinner doesn't sound appealing either. I guess it's time to pick a new hobby. Any suggestions?