There is something in the water...

The internet is full of newly pregnant bloggers. My job has 5 people with buns in the oven. My family is multiplying. What the heck is going on? Was it the emotional disaster of the tsunami? Was it the snowstorms? I just can't figure out how I wound up as one of the many going along for the ride. Is it my newly heightened pg-radar kicking in? Is my newly expanding stomach picking up on the maddness?

Yes, I too have given in to this baby-crazed 2005 and we are expecting in September. This is not according to the schedule we were trying to stick to, but I guess we have to go with it!

Why me?

Because this is my life and I have a very exciting life, no matter how inconvienent.

I went to the dentist to get that pesky hole in my tooth filled temporarily. After some poking and proding and a quick filing down of the sharp piece that broke off, she filled it with the substance called IRM. IRM stands for Intermediary Resorative Material. It is tooth colored and filled in the hole nicely. I could let it set and eat and drink after it set in 45 minutes. Not bad. The stuff is known to last a long time, but time is a variable. It changes for everyone. My honey's uncle had it last over a year, others lasted 8-9 months, and me, 2 days.

Flossing my teeth (as you can plainly read I am an avid flosser) I nudge the damn thing out and now I am back to square, er hole, one. AAHHH! So now it has been over a week and I don't care at the moment, I will live life with this damn hole. I swish with Listerine 3 times a day and brush and floss at least twice. I will make due, for now. Until I can't take it anymore.

Also, I hate NY Metro Tri-state weathermen. I decided to visit my parents yesterday, a beautiful Sunday. It takes almost 2 hours to get there, and we have a nice time. A little shopping, Grandma's recipe for Beef Burginione (however you spell it) over egg noodles, and a little computer help for Mom, and then it is off to get home, knowing full well that the snow storm is supposed to hit after midnight. I left at 9:30pm. I got home at 1:30am. I cannot believe that the snow hit so quickly. All I heard was that the snow was to hit AFTER midnight. It hit before 10pm. I have never seen so many spin outs, accidents, and cops out on the roads. Everyone is driving slowly, but in a lot of places, they were driving TOO SLOW to keep the momentum in driving! The car needed to keep up at a pace over 25 mph in order to not slide. Idiots were driving less than 20 and skidding out all over the place. The LIE was not great, but it was passible. The Triboro Bridge was actually pretty good. I-87 was not to shabby, just full of slow drivers. Then I get to the lovely City of Yonkers. Nothing. Not a plow had passed through. Cars were skidding all over the place. No one could maintain their speed. It was horrible. I was trying to think who I should call to complain that the stupid DPW was sitting around with thumbs up there asses while drivers were potentially getting killed out there on a major thoroughfare. Then I find out, they don't have a contract yet. None. All year they have done a sucky job. And they could care less. Yonkers is full of MAJOR hills people. Cars skid down them. Accidents happen all the time. I have to wrack my brain to think of the route home with the least pitch. I have to pass through 2 towns to do it. I made it home alive. Just then, as I get out of the car, I realize too late that I am wearing mules with NO SOCKS. I have practically bare feet in 5 inches of snow. What a way to end the day. And the roads STILL are not plowed properly. Yonkers sucks.

Argh.

Creepy

Last night, the dog and I walked out onto the porch overlooking the backyard. It was a crisp, but warmer than usual night. While looking out into the night, gazing at the George Washington Bridge lights and the headlights from cars traveling on the Palisade Parkway, the night was quiet except for the hum of cars on the main street below. Then suddenly, I hear the electronic tune from The Exorcist out of nowhere. It was loud. And echoing. It was very dark. And pretty effing creepy. I assume it was a cell phone ring from someone walking down the main street, but man, I called the dog and ran inside pretty quickly. I guess I will never know where it came from.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I got a call last night from my neice in Arizona.

Hi! It's Makayla.
Hello Makayla! What do I owe for the pleasure of this call? (she is only 7, she had no clue what I said).
Um, I'm selling Girl Scout Cookies.
Wow! Great! (Stomach rumbles) What kind of cookies to you have?
We have Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs, All Abouts, Samoas, Trefoils, ... (all said with perfect diction and without hesitation).
Well (scratching head, thinking how on earth would they get to me in NY from AZ), is sissy selling them too (her older sister is also in Brownies)
Yes...
What is your favorite?
Thin Mints! They taste best when you put them in the freezer.
What is Gwen's favorite?
(Makayla yells at her sister) GWEN! What is your favorite cookie???
Samoas. Wait! No! Double Dutch Chocolate.
Ok. How about I buy 1 box of your favorite from you and one box from Gwen of her favorite. And better yet, how about, I let you guys keep the box.
(Makayla screams to her mom in utter excitement) MOM! Aunt M is gonna buy 2 boxes of cookies from us and LET US KEEP THEM!
(Gwen is all excited in background).
Thank you!
How much are they?
They are $3 a box.
(thinking WOW box prices sure went up from when I was a kid) Ok, kiddo. When do I need to send you the check?
By February 25.
Ok. You are a great sales lady.
Thank you! (again, with perfect diction and pitch)

Then I remember, E is in Girl Scouts and will be selling soon and so will K's kids. It's the most wonderful time of the year! How many boxes of Tagalongs should I get??

Let it snow!

Ten inches of snow. That's what fell in my neck of the woods this past weekend. The weekend didnt start off well with my stepdaughter, for all intents and purposes, I should just call my daughter because stepdaughter sounds weird, as she spiked a fever and the poor thing has a miserable cold and is hobbling around on crutches due to a freak skiing accident. Grandma watched her Friday while honey and I went to work. I felt bad for her as she really couldn't enjoy the snow with her friends but I was kind of relieved that we didnt have to watch her this weekend as I felt like crap myself. I was supposed to go to CT on Saturday. No offense, K, but there was NO WAY we were going to make that drive. It was too dangerous. Next week!

Why is it that when I blog, it seems as if my life is miserable? It really isn't. I love my life. I love spending time with family and friends. It just seems as if I blog non-happy things. I have happy thoughts. And we I get a moment, I will post some!

So, on Saturday morning, honey and I decided to do laundry before snow came. I am so glad we did. We did some quick shopping for supplies and hunkered down in the apartment for the snow.

I took the dog out in the blizzard to the local park to let him run off the leash. He loved it. The problem is, I can't always get him to come back. I can't decide if it was because he couldn't hear me as I shouted through my neck gator or if the wind just carried sound the other way. Anyway, he had fun running like crazy and chasing some brave sledders up and down the hill before mommy froze and made him pull her up the hill. Now that there is snow on the ground, he doesn't want to come inside. I guess that is what we get for getting sled dog. It is negative 5 degrees outside with the wind chill, silly, no way am I going to let you stay outside all day. I know you are a sled dog from Siberia and all, but you are my spoiled dog and I will NOT risk getting hauled into ASPCA headquarters for neglect! So, inside the house he stays, while I worry that he is going to chew everything in sight.

Yesterday, he decided to chase some outdoor cats for fun. Yeah, that was fun. He was with daddy shoveling out the car when BAM, off he goes. He finally realized the err of his ways and came back. But not without some choice explatives shouted from mommy, like "F&*@!" and "S^$#!".

So what do I do after we get the dog in the yard? We play fetch and then mommy makes snow angels. But then I couldnt get up! The dog was jumping, er humping, my leg the whole time! Who would have thought that snow makes my dog horny? Maybe its that Siberian blood. Then we finally get to bed after a great dinner (My honey is the best cook). But who would have thought that snow makes my honey horny? Maybe its it Ukranian blood! I know TMI. But it was a great weekend.

There is a God

Ok, I have to say, this once a week stuff is no where near what I wanted for my blogging updates, but for now, that will do, pig, that will do.

Aside from generally feeling like crap this week (stomach is quezy all the time) and under the weather, there is always something good that will shake away the fuzzy clouds and rain and allow sunshine to come through.

Jonathan and Victoria were eliminated on Amazing Race on Tuesday.

Alle-freakin-lu-jah!

My hands were starting to hurt from all the high fives! I can't wait to see their divorce publicized.

My parents joined the world of the cable modem users!

Double allelujah! Finally! Now I can web cam IM with my dad and let him think the dog is typing on the keyboard, because everyone wants to have a webcam on them typing. Its so friggin exciting. The drawback, my mom would tell me to put on lipstick for the cam. Ugh.

Now, my brother in Arizona, who has 4 kids and no time for anything proper that you are supposed to do (like send at least a Christmas picture of your kids, jeez, it's only once a year!) is about to get on the Verizon bandwagon and get a cell phone so that he can converse like a grown up to me, his only sister, and his twin brother without paying long-distance fees, because, I mean, really, tell me again WHY you had to move to the DESERT 3000 miles away? The parental units will be jumping on Verizon bandwagon soon. He needs to also get a cable modem so that we can at least SEE the kids once in a while by webcam.

Again, amen.

The Bad Wife

My honey got the chills last night so badly, that his whole body began to shake and it would not stop. Two heavy blankets and a down comforter later, his muscles were starting to fatigue from all the shaking. I must have told him to cut it out at least 5 times. I thought he was joking. I thought he was trying to get me to lie nekkid on top of him, like Elizabeth Shue did to Val Kilmer in The Saint. Then, he just went quiet. He had difficulty breathing. I called his mom, who also happens to be a nurse.

She told me that the worse the shakes are, the faster his temp would spike. She wasn't kidding. I quickly gave him 2 Tylenol and 2 amoxicillin and waited. His temp went from 96.7 to 100.5 in 20 minutes. I have never seen anything like that. Then it went up to 101.6 before it started to come back down 30 minutes later. The hotter he got, the more layers started to come off. Finally, he wound up lying in bed in his skivvies, watching The Amazing Race, drinking lemonade. (Sidebar: I CAN'T BELIEVE JONATHAN AND VICTORIA ARE STILL ON THAT SHOW! They seriously need to be eliminated the next round. I hope she divorced him after the taping. He is such an asswipe.)

I feel terrible that I didn't believe him at first. I am seriously a bad wife. Now who feels like crap this morning physically and mentally? Me. Ugh.

Klutz

You know that most office chairs have castor wheels. And they swivel. And tilt. And usually move when you move them backwards. But beware, if you push backward too hard when your chair is on a rug, you might just push yourself over. Backwards. With everyone watching. And laughing. Groan.

Things Overheard at Work This Morning

1. It's my birthday today. No work. We drink later.
2. What is the time difference between supper and dinner?
3. E, you're from a third-world country, how can I open this can without a can opener?

So much for Resolutions

I already blew the one that said I was going to blog daily. I do have an excuse though. I always have excuses. But this year I was supposed to stop having excuses. I think this just proves that my life is just too exciting.

Someone I knew from high school died. Brain tumor. He was my age. We were only acqaintences but I haven't known that many people who were my age who were terminally ill. It just made me reflect on living life.

Tsunami. Tsunami. Tsunami. I can't help but be engulfed in every image, every communique, every ounce of information that comes from the media. I gave money to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. I want to send a goat and cow to the afflicted areas thru Heifer International. I want to help rebuild schools and hospitals. I want to send all of my camping equipment and bicycle. I want to send our old but working computers to anyone who can use them over there. I want to adopt 10 of those children. I want to stop every child smuggler/trafficker from kidnapping these kids and selling them into slavery and prostitution. I want President Bush to send more of his own money because $10k from him is a drop inthe bucket. Sandra Bullock and Leonardo DiCaprio gave over 2 million. $10k looks ridiculous! Hell, I want to jump on a plane and do anything. Clean a street. Set up a refugee tent. Bury the dead.

I am so demanding. But the end result of all of this devestation? I have been decluttering my house and life while giving generously to others. Toss. Donate. Get rid of stuff. Live life to the fullest, minimally, without too much stuff but appreciating my husband and stepdaughter more. Already, I have given coats to the NYC Coat Drive for the homeless, a lot of food to City Harvest, because they need it year round, not just for the holidays, and clothing to Catholic Charities. I am donating suits I don't wear anymore to Dress for Success, they help women who are on welfare get jobs. This is just within the past 3 weeks. And I still have tomorrow! I after I declutter I will have to find a way to donate some time to something grassroots, to help with the community I live.

On a happier note, my bestest friend, of whom I have known since high school, got her big break this week and appeared in a commerical and was asked to do the voiceovers for all 5 that the agency was producing for a local supermarket chain in Connecticut. You see, K has been preparing for this opportunity for a long time. Then serendipity steps in when you least expect it. She was president of the forensics team in college, a communications major and took voiceover training and completed a demo tape. Then she got pregnant (with number 3) and put the dream on hold until her son was older. Even with 3 kids, she is the most organized person I know, but she put some of her own dreams on hold to raise her beautiful family. Then one day, walking out of the supermarket, someone stops her and asks if she would be interested in doing a commerical for the store. Fates! Serendipity! God smiling! So, you go girl! Fly! What a great beginning to the year!

Now if I could only get myself psyched for resolutions again. Atkins, here I come.

Happy New Year

My resolution is to keep up with this blog. It helps me to become more disciplined when I do something everyday. I resolve to be more considerate of others, not so selfish, and patient. I resolve to love myself more and get into the best shape I was in 10 years ago!

I am thankful for my job, family, and friends, and I hope that there is some peace in the world, the Middle East and in Asia, and everywhere.

Let this be a properous new year for all!

70's Porn for $500, Alex

Weirdness ensued last week as I proceeded to watch Wonderland followed by Boogie Nights. I had to take a shower after watching them due to the skeeviness factor. Shutter. Once you hit 35, it's all downhill.

The Lizard King, the Genius, and the Virgin

Happy birthday to my brothers, Karl and Keith. Yes, they are twins. Yes, they are identical. Yes, they are both married.

Today is also Jim Morrison's birthday. Coincidentally, my brothers were born on his birthday the year he died. Today is also the anniversary of John Lennon's death. It is also the Immaculate Conception Holy Day in the Catholic Church.

I have to go light a candle. I wonder what Strawberry Fields in Central Park will look like tonight. Too bad I am stuck in DC. God bless rock and roll.

Deano sang "Sway"

I work on the 21st floor of a 40-storey tall high-rise in midtown Manhattan. You become very aware of how high up you are when on very windy days ALL YOU CAN HEAR IS CREEKING FROM THE BEAMS IN THE WALLS. I am getting seasick here!

Happy birthday to me

I feel old today. Joint pain, tooth pain, feeling generally under the weather.

Despite the pity party I threw for myself earlier in the day, my honey gathered a few friends for dinner and drinks at Havana-NY. Mojitos, plantains, and yuca fries abound. What a great time!

We checked out the Lord and Taylor Christmas windows on the way home. We decided to skip checking out the Rockefeller Tree Lighting as it was SO crowded. I love Christmas season in NYC.

All in all, it was a great day. I love the fact that my mother calls me every year at the time I was born.

Now I don't feel so old.

This one was a miss...

Oliver Stone has good movies and bad movies. I feel so bad for him that his childhood favorite epic that he spent over $150 million to film was TERRIBLE.

Alexander had so much potential. It had drama. High-strung parents. Exotic locations. It had battle scenes. First-rate actors. But then it all went horribly wrong.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead. Look away if you want to waste $10 to see this disappointing movie.

Where do I begin?

The actual briliance of Alexander as a military strategist and tactician was not even addressed. It was just assumed he was great and everyone loved him. It was not shown HOW he got to be so popular with those he conquered. If my honey and I hadn't seen the Discovery Channel show about Alexander the Great, we wouldn't have known what was going on.

The battle scene of Guaguemela was horribly shot. Granted, fighting + desert= dustbowl, but it was inconsistant with the dust and clean shots, not to mention, the editing was choppy.

Alexander's speech before the troops failed miserably to compare with other epic military speeches such as the "Freedom" speech in Braveheart and the "St Crispin's Day" speech of Henry V by Shakespeare. It was the most non-motivational speech I have EVER seen and I think even Oliver Stone knew it because he kept CUTTING OUT THE AUDIO of Colin Farrell's hoarse voice with so-called "vivid battle scene backround noise". It never came across as to why the troops should follow him into such a blood-soaked battle.

Speaking of Colin Farrell's voice, I didn't know Alexander and anyone that played in a scene with him had an Irish accent. He could have at least TRIED to lose the brogue.

Rosario Dawson and Angelina Jolie took cues from Aaliyah's bad accent in "Queen of the Damned" and overacted in every scene. My honey commented that he didn't know that they had silicone breasts back then but that they looked great on Rosario.

The homosexual content of Alexander's life cannot be ignored, but come on. It was when Colin beared his ass and a glimpse of his "tallywacker" was on screen with another guy in the room, about 15 guys walked out of the theater, laughing. Every scene with his lover, Hephaistion, there was that "will they, won't they" kiss, have intercourse, whatever, uncomfortable feeling. Their love/lust was unmistakeable, but Oliver really went overboard to the fact. And then when Hephaistion dies, Oliver barely does it justice, where Alexander REALLY had a 5-storey funeral pyre for him. It wasn't even mentioned.

Jared Leto (Hephaistion) did a really great job. He was understated when he needed to be and forceful when he needed to be. He showed emotion in his eyes and I really felt for him when Alexander took a wife. As a matter of fact, he was the BEST actor of this whole fiasco. The fact that I have loved his work since "My So-called Life" has nothing to do with it. It was "Requiem for a Dream" that really had me supporting him as a talented actor.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, another one of my favorite actors since "Titus" and "Velvet Goldmine", was not well represented in this film. His character seemed whiny and wasn't consistent with either siding with or opposing Alexander.

There is sooo much more to pan here, but I will have to save it for another post after I get the crockpot going. Happy Friday!

Happy Thankgiving

I am thankful that I dont have to drive to Long Island...

God Bless us, everyone.

Update: We made it to New Haven, CT in 1.5 hours. Almost no traffic. Hazzah! Then on the way home, we made it in 1 hour. Horray! Then we went to see Alexander. Fizzle.

Betty Crocker I ain't

Take 1 can Libby's easy pumpkin pie mix. Add necessary ingredients for filling. Pour into premade graham cracker pie shell. Bake according to directions on can.

One hour and 15 minutes later, burn bottom of crust from stupid irregular temperature control on old gas oven and carelessly drop whole pie on floor causing dog to fall into ectsacy while trying to eat the "people food" that mommy put there just for him. Sink onto kitchen floor in tears as I got the last can of pumpkin pie mix on the shelf on Sunday. UGH.

Thanks to my honey for getting me to watch Amazing Race with him so we could make fun of the people we want eliminated (please, please, PLEASE kill Jonathan and Victoria, married entrepreneurs. Their whining is TOO MUCH.).

At least I have the new U2 CD to make me feel better. :) BTW, IT ROCKS!

Just keep swimming...

I feel like I am swimming in work today. Ugh. Thank goodness for weekends.

CHAOS

Yes, we have CHAOS at home (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). We are still unpacking wedding and shower gifts, trying to decide what should go and what should stay as well as trying to streamline our lives by cleaning out drawers and closets. We live in a perpetual state of messiness.

Disclaimer: Stuff just takes over, not dirt. We are not filthy people, just people with too much stuff. Can I emphasize enough, that we are CLEAN people, clean! We are nowhere even close to those people on Clean Sweep or How Clean is Your House? (though I will admit, I LOVE those shows!)

Enter, the Flylady. She rocks. Her motto, "Things didn't get messy in a day, and they won't get clean in one either". I love her, LOVE HER! Each week is a "zone", each day a "mission". Now I have a built in plan for the month. It gets a little tricky to follow as I am working full-time and so is my honey, I don't have all day to do stuff like stay at home moms, but it definitely has helped control the clutter.

Anyone know where I can get rid of a 10 year collection of shot glasses from all my travels? They are now just dust collectors (but they are CLEAN, I swear). I don't even drink shots anymore. Sorry K, no more Jagermeister shots for me! Should I send them to my old sorority house? I am always willing to invest in education. :)