Date:	2007-01-07 17:09
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

Wow. The last time I updated was Nov 26? I suck! Sorry!

Well 2006 is officially over and I think it would be physically impossible for me to be any more excited about that. Unfortunately it ended just as it had begun: with the loss of a wee person too small to be able to fight for herself.

Friday the 15th was to be our first dr. appointment for our second pregnancy. Unfortunately, I went to the doctor on Tuesday instead because I noticed some spotting and I didnt need to be told what was happening.

Instead of putting a crib in the nursery and surprising the hell out of our parents and the few friends that hadnt noticed yet, at our 3rd annual Christmas party on the 16th I got totally smashed! Despite that character flaw, I have been dealing with this one in ways I never dealt with the other one. Instead of telling Sean to tell everyone so I didn't have to see *that look* on their faces, I told everyone myself and I am stronger because of it.

Anyway, Sean and I are working on being "us" and becoming healthier happier people. We got into the hugest fight of our marriage on Christmas night and patched things up a few days later. I had surgery on the 29th because it seemed my body was unwilling to let things go. We brought in 2007 at our friend Caryn's house with a bang and we havent looked back since. We were ready to kick 2006 in the ass and it has been done with fervor.

We have been nicer people to each other and have been enjoying every moment of this "20-something-have-no-clue-what-I'm-doing-with-my-life" stage that we're going through right now. And I can say with only a small twinge of guilt, that I'm glad it's just us. I don't know that we ever would have gotten these candid conversations and these romantic moments if the path we were on had continued.

In our public lives things are going great. Sean started a new job at the first of the year and seems to be enjoying it (even if he has to dress in a shirt and tie every day!) and I am still loving the animal hospital. I got a long break with Christmas then the flu then new years and it surprised me how excited I was to be back there this week. I truly like being around people! And puppies!

Financially we are in complete ruin and normally this would have me depressed out of my skull and stressing to the max but, thanks to the new year and the ability to be able to start over, I am not letting it get me down. Its definately nagging in the back of my brain and we are definately going to have to start making some serious changes around here, but I refuse to let it wreck me.

Congratulations to my lj friends who have had children, retained their pregnancies, gotten new jobs, gotten engaged and just continued living your lives.

Relax! Enjoy what you're going through right now! Life truly is a beautiful thing!

How have you all been? It's been forever since I've done an entry in here!

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We did. My grandparents (Mimi & Bud) came in town. We all went out to dinner Wednesday night. Went over to mom and dad's place Thursday morning for some yummy breakfast casserole. Came home and Sean cooked pumpkin pies, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. Went back over to my parents house to eat. I only had one plate because my stomach wasn't feeling well & my grandmother had made an offhand remark about my weight on Wednesday which made me super paranoid. Faaabulous.

Whatever! Went shopping to Kohl's and the mall with mom and Maureen Friday morning before work. We weren't *too* crazy. Started at 8 and were dead on our feet by the time I had to go at 11:30. I got some cutie clothes though so I'm happy! I got some comfy t-shirts and an awesome sweatshirt at Aeropostale. Some sweaters and some super comfy fleecy Chip & Dale sweatpants at Kohls. A sweater from Macy's. All in all, a great shopping experience.

What else has been going on recently? I am "official" at the animal hospital now. Got "hired" away from the temp agency last Saturday. It's still great fun and I enjoy the fast pace of it all. That being said, I feel like a lot of people (my grandmother first and my father second) are disappointed with me that I am not doing anything that couldnt have been done without a college education. I'm not writing or editing anything right now (execept my sisters graduate school application essay!) and I'm not really sure that I want to be involved with anything like that again. The truth be told, I really dont know what the hell I'm doing with my life AND I'M OK WITH THAT.

A lot of stuff has happened recently thats forcing me to make decisions for the future so I'm ok with having few unknowns (even if they are serious issues like a career) in there too. So neener neener boo boo on everyone who thinks they're going to make me feel stupid.

OK. Rant over. I've got to head out the door. I hope you all had a good thanksgiving. What am I thankful for? The ability to survive this year which for 99% of it can be wrapped up in one word: shit. And for the person who has been there with me every step of the way even though I was practically shoving him out the door and begging him not to come back so that he could live a good life with a stable person: my husband.

Who had the SexyBack cartoon?? It was 3 panels and this guy was going to return SexyBack to the store! It was hilarious and now I can't find it. Please let me know if it was you!!

kthnk

Date:	2006-10-23 14:35
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	creative

Yeah It's been forever (again). Literally a month this time! So sorry. I do take a minute out of every other day to read but I just never feel like I have anything to write about. My life is pretty much the same thing every day.

Work is going well. I still love it. I still cant stand the new girl. She's not getting any better. She bitches about people behind their back to the office manager and tries to be all buddy-buddy to their faces. Not cool. Anyways, I still like working there. I also like that I get an entire day off (today!) for working on Saturday (which sucked but whatever). I become a permanent employee in a few weeks so I'm excited about that and the little raise and benefits that go with it!

I went to Savannah with Chad the last weekend in September. It was amazing. Savannah is such a gorgeous city and I could not have had a better person with me to enjoy it. It was America's first planned city and every other block there is a gorgeous square with statues to important people, trees, benches and tons of people just chilling and enjoying the scenery. We found some awesome places to eat (thanks tripadvisor!) The best part though was Rivers Street. Along with Wet Willies!!! they have this amazing bar called The Warehouse. Loooove it. The bartenders, Mel and Dave, are amazing. The people are nice. A good mix of locals and tourists. Loved it! They got us nice and wasted. We stayed in a cutie hotel called the Planters Inn. Most comfy beds ever! It was like sleeping on a cloud! Anyway, the point. Go to Savannah. It rocks.

The weekend after that Helen threw a surprise party for Adrian's birthday. It was fun! Her hard work paid off! The party started at like 6 so by 10 we were all pretty toasted and by 2 everyone was passed out. This is incredibly early for us! It wasa great party though.

Friday night I went out with the girls. We started at Aimee and Erica's with tacos and 2 punch bowls of margaritas. We went to Sammys and Justin's afterwards. Helen was totally wasted and hilarious. Saturday I spend the day recovering after 3 hours of sleep! Chad was in town for his grandmother's birthday. He and I hit a few of the new bars in the Ballantyne area (WTF is up with Vesuvio?! It's like a club but with yuppies in over-the-shoulder sweaters sipping martinis and trying to bust a move. H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.) and then went to Justin's to watch a movie. Chad's such an awesome person and I'm totally missing our college days and I'm so glad that we've been able to reconnect over the past few months. I just want to see more of him and I'm so mad that he lives so far away!

Anyway, last Sunday was the last concert of the Kat Country Megaticket. Brianna and her mom and some of her friends were there too but they had actual tickets so once again it was Justin and I in the lawn as it should have been. We saw Joe Nichols and Toby Keith. Toby featured this new chick during his set. They were in the movie Broken Bridges together. Her name is Lindsey Haun and her voice is AMAZING. Check her out on cmt.com. You can hear her single Broken. Its amazing.

Speaking of amazing, Sugarland's new cd comes out in 2 weeks and I dont think I will be able to handle my anticipation. They recorded Stay, a song Jen wrote in between JNB and Sugarland. Lyrically it is one of the strongest songs I have ever heard. It grabs you by the heart strings, coddles you and then smacks you in the face. LOVE IT. Cant wait to hear what she and Kristian have done with it.

Halloween parties are next weekend. Sean left yesterday for more work traveling so... whatever. Thanks to some help from Diana, I decided what I was going to be. I'm not telling though cause no one else is telling and it just wouldnt be fair! It's pretty low budget which is why I'm doing it. All I need to buy is a wig. Justin and David are having a party so that should be fun. The girls and I are going to a Pure Romance party beforehand which should be... interesting! Never been to anything like that before so... yeah.

Anyway, thats me in a month. Thanks for reading if you made it all the way through!

Date:	2006-09-25 23:31
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay

Hey people! Apparently I update every week on Monday. Fabulous!

Lessee whats happened in the past week...

I spent a lot of time with Justin last week. Hahaha. Hes my hubby substitute. I went to his parents' place on Monday to watch TV. After that we got drinks at Sammys. Tuesday we went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Cute flick if youre in the mood for something with no brain cells required! Wednesday I went to dinner with the girls at Gwynn's place in Rock Hill. Good times. Seriously yummy foods! Thursday mom came over to scrapbook. Friday I went to Sammys with Helen Gwynn & Justin. Got wasted (whoops!) and ended up staying the night at Justins. Was supposed to go to Festival in the Park with mom and Julie but it ended up not happening. Went to Justins house (see the pattern?) to watch Nip/Tuck. What a kick ass show and I've only seen episode 1.1! Sunday was pool Today was work and feeling like poo.

I've got the flu thing thats going around but the lite version. Sean was puking. Justin had the full blown cold for a week. I've got a stuffy nose and skritchy throat!

This week:

I have tomorrow off but a ton of things to do such as:
*sweep & mop the kitchen, living room and hallway
*call Dr. J at Ballantyne Chiropractic to see if he has my cds from the festival (8/26!!)
*get my nails did (haha you just *have* to say it that way!)
*make a Bank of America car payment (mostly for the sole purpose of stopping the incessant phone calls)
*scrapbook with mom
*BB&T deposit

I'm getting my hair cut on Wednesday. There are not words for how excited I am. It had better not suck. I haaate the way its cut now and I'm hoping Barbara (my moms hair lady) can fix it. The chick that did it at Carmen Carmen in June cut it in layers but very very badly. It's in 3 distinct rows. From one layer to the next when my hair is straightened is literally a 90 degree angle. SERIOUSLY? Anyway, I want it long but I want it styled correctly more than I want the length. Oh the sacrifices a girl must make!

More important matters:

Work. Theres a new chick that I can NOT stand. She makes me crazy. She's new to our clinic but has worked at another clinic so she *thinks* she knows everything but she really has no clue. I had to train & observe for 2 weeks. This chick was answering the phone when she came in for her interview. WHAAAT? And she's reallllly fake. Shes super peppy and pretends to be allll into your conversation with interjections of Thats Awesome! Bless Your Heart! No Way! How Sweet! I'm So Excited! (a la valley girl, of course!). It makes me want to puke and shes pissing everyone who... uh... KNOWS WHAT THEYRE DOING off. I mean I *get* that I've only been there for 2 months but I dont pretend to know *anything.* The people that have worked there for years are lightyears beyond my annoyance. I do not envy them.

Well I guess that's it for now. 4 days to Savannah. 5 days till Sean comes home.

I know youre all doing well even tho I never comment!

Date:	2006-09-18 10:36
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

Hey Internets people! Hows it going? I have been so busy these past few weeks.

Went to Wilmington last weekend with work people for the annual retreat. It was good times. I got a hotel room for 2 nights and 2 nice dinners for free! Shared my room with one of my coworkers, Alisa. She was pretty cool and also from Office Team so she could sympathize with me on having to deal with communication strains between the boss and the OT people. Unfortunately, as I found out on Friday night, the boss told her that they werent going to hire her on as a regular employee (you find out after 3 months). Sucks but she wasnt a great employee. She's still a cool person though and we talk on the phone and stuff.

Frida was concert 5 of 6 for the Summer Concert Series at Verizon. Damn that was a sweet deal. Justin and I are totally going to do it again next year. Fri was Gary Allan and Rascal Flatts. I think the concert was good! Hahaha. After no dinner, those beers were making more of an impact than they should have. Afterwards we went to Sammys so Justin could sing "You Had Me From Hello" by kenny Chesney to us like he did on our wedding day (it was our first dance) and last year also. Traditions!

Speaking of the wedding, today is anniversary #2! I had no idea what was going on but Sean had a plan! I had to pack a "cute sexy" outfit before we left for pool. Then after pool was over I had to go to my parents house to change. I was there for about an hour and then got a phone call to go home. When I got here he had cleaned up (some) and was in the process of cooking this totally amazing dinner. The wine flowed. The food was amazing. Yeah... it rocked.

What else?

OH! Went to see Aaron Karo (Ruminations on College Life and Ruminations on Twenty Something Life) last Wednesday at the Comedy Zone. He is soooo hilarious. I have been reading his column online for like 2 years and was SO excited when I heard he was coming to Charlotte. We almost missed the show though because I misplaced my calendar & our tickets were at willcall. I'm reading the column (comes out every other Monday) Wednesday evening while Sean's cooking dinner and I'm all "Hmmm. I wonder when that show is? I should check....AAAAHHHH." It started in an hour! We got there in plenty of time but... wow. I would have been seriously pissed at myself if I'd missed it.

Those are pretty much the highlights from the past 2 weeks. Sean is out of town for the next 10 days (why we had to do the dinner thing last night). I'll try and update more often. Life is just crazy right now, which is a good thing. However, I do miss you guys and I miss writing down my thoughts and the things that go on. It's good to have them around.

Le sigh. I never update this thing tho I do read my f'list every day. Sorry you're not getting anything to read in return!

I am so exhausted from working all the time. I'm not on my thyroid meds (a big side effect of the whole "no health insurance cause we're broke as $^*% thing") but I'm not going to blame my tiredness on my "illness."

Lovin' the vet office. Did I tell you guys that I kinda witnessed my first euthanasia? It was horrible. They did it in one of the exam rooms which is right off the lobby during the lunch time (no appointments or foot traffic in the lobby) and I could hear everything that was going on as the mom and dad were petting the dog and telling them how much they loved him but I couldnt see them. The mom and dad were crying soooo hard. The dog was an 11 year old golden retriever that had cancer throughout his whole body. It was obvious that the dog (Tyler) was in a lot of pain but the mom and dad were so upset. The dad came in today to pick up the cremains. He still looked absolutely devastated. His car didnt leave the parking lot until 15 minutes after he walked out. My heart broke for them. I realize that it's a serious part of this business, especially if you want to be a tech or a vet, I guess I just didnt know how much it would affect me. Like they say, you always remember your first one. I know it's true. Tweak Simon & Mikey got extra love that night.

Speaking of the boys, I think working at the clinic has made me love my own animals even more. At first I was wondering if I would be "burned out" after talking to and about animals all day but it seems the opposite has happened. I think mine are the cutest of all and being there just makes me want to give extra amounts of skritches!

Ok so job 2.... The Ballantyne Times bash is this weekend. It's Saturday from 11-8 at Community House Middle School. It is going to be so awesome, especially if you need a passport (if you leave US Borders after 12.31 {even to canada or mexico you do) or have kiddos. We had our last planning meeting tonight and everyone has their last minute assignments. It's time to get crackin'.

Job 3... Kohls. Went to pee in a cup for the drug test last week. What a fiasco! I didnt really have to pee when I first got there so of course it wasnt "enough." So I sat around the waiting room for 30 minutes drinking water & jumping up and down. Peed again. It was barely enough but not over the temperature mark so it probably got rejected. ARGH. I had to go to work so there was no time to take another test. Hopefully I wont get turned down for the job because of that. Rediculous.

What else is going on?

Last weekend was pretty chill. Helen Gwynn and Justin were all out of town so we spent a lot of time with Wes Diana and Vicki. Not too bad but nothing really exciting.

Upcoming Schedule:
Sat 26: 11-8 Bash @ Community House Middle School
Sun 27: 2-8 Tommys Bday party @ Park Road Park
Sat 2: Celebrate Helen's Bday
Mon 3: No work!
Fri-Sun 8-10: Wimington for staff retreat. WHOOT.

Thats all for now folks!

Date:	2006-08-11 19:08
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

OK So I haven't updated in forever because I've been so busy. It would be *way* boring to do this by day so instead I'll play catch up by category.

Work
I HAVE SOMETHING TO REPORT IN THE WORK CATEGORY! I decided not to take the telemarketing-ish job. The Office Team guy was kinda upset but I didnt care. I knew I would have been dreading going to work -- not a way to reenter the workforce. I didnt hear anything for like 2 weeks and was getting *way* pissed at them for not finding me anything and at myself for people not wanting me. I even went and put out applications at Old Navy, Target and Kohls looking for nighttime work and didnt hear back from any of them either. Yikes!

So Monday the guy from Office Team calls and says that he got me an appointment for a receptionist at a veterinarian's office. Tuesday I went in for the intervew and was hired and I started on Wednesday. I LOVE IT. It's a whole 'nother direction that I never saw my life going in, but it is soo much fun. It's harder and more complicated than just receptionist duties. There's a lot of veterinary lingo and people who want to tell you all about their dog/cat's issue and have you diagnose. Also a whole new computer system but I'm learning really quickly and I think I've impressed the bosslady. AND I get to wear scrubs. Any pattern or color combo I desire. It's like working in PJs.

The Paper
Fran begged me to come back. She even asked for my invoices from the past and everything. I told her I would do what I could in the afterhours but that there were just not enough hours to commit to more than that. We are gearing up for the End of Summmer Bash on Aug 26 so I am helping with that which is fun. I am so glad I'm not as involved with her as I was before because with as scattered as she is I really think that I would be pulling out my hair right about now.

Family
The beach was fun. It rained a few days but the company was good so it was OK. We left on Saturday and came home on Wednesday. Thursday night there was a whole bunch of family drama that I am soooo glad we missed out on.

Aminals
Nala is now Mikey! Chris told us that she was a she but he was wrong. She is a he and now his name is Mikey. He's awesome and so stinking cute. I wish I could make him stay small forever. He and Simon are getting along now and Sean is dealing with his allergy.

Friends
I love my friends! Justin and I went to the Dierks Bentley/Kenny Chesney concert last night. Even though it torentially rained throughout Dierks, intermission and Kenny's encore we still had an amazing time. Uncle Kracker was there too. Hahaha. So bizarre. Tomorrow night we are gong to the Comedy Zone thanks to Helen's free tickets. A hypnotist. Will be a change of "normal" weekend stuff if nothing else.

I think that pretty much covers everything. I'll try to be more "with it" from now on. Will check friends tomorrow!
Happy Friday.

Date:	2006-07-31 02:48
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake

Stoln from beekerzwhirled
Tired of all of those stupid surveys made by High School kids?
'Have you ever kissed someone?'
'missed someone?'
'told someone you love them?'
'drank alcohol?'
Here are some questions for some people who are a little more mature... ok old folks like us.

Note: my "i" is on the fritz please forgive my misspellings/missing letterage.

( Because it's 2:45 and I can't sleep )

Real entry tomorrow.

Date:	2006-07-20 20:22
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	anxious

So... update.

Friday afternoon Sean stopped by his moms house because his cousin was stuck in the tree house. Imagine my surprise when he walks in with a teeny orange kitten! Turns out Simon's mom (he's kinda... free spirited?!) had another litter and this teeny little girl stopped falling all over her brothers and sisters and just stared at Sean. We named her Nala and she is *totally* daddy's little girl. She *hated* Tweak at first but they're adjusting. The biiig problem has been Simon. Simon is not a fan of sharing the kitty love with another fuzzball. They fight all the time but noone gets hurt. You wouldnt know it by the noises she makes though. WOW. She screams allll niiiight loooong. Last night was the first night any of us have gotten a full night's sleep. We locked her in the kitty carrier and she didnt start "yelling" until 11 am! Score! Went to Sammys (of course!) on Friday night. The Bob & Tom & Friends Comedy Show on Saturday was absolutely flipping hilarious. There were like 6 comedians in the lineup. It was excellent! 2 pool matches on Sunday (I played in neither). Dinner with the folks Sunday night.

Monday... Office Team (temp/temp to hire service) interview and Word/Excel/Typing tests. I wasnt feeling optimistic when I left cause the guy was like "Well we'll try and find you something. Call me at the end of the week and I'll let you know." So I was kinda mad about that. But... he called me the next day with a 3 week data entry thing but since I'm going out of town Mon and Tues, they wouldnt make any concessions so screw em. Called me back later that day with a cold calling fundraiser thing for a nonprofit association. I did a phone interview Wednesday and have a group interview tomorrow. So basically my first impression was not great but the follow up has been just peachy. I'm not excited about doing cold calling with a script and all but... it's money and it's not commission so I'll make do...

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty blah. Double pool match on Tuesday night. Lost them both. Blech. Thursday put in job applications at Target, Kohls & Old Navy for part time evening work (let me tell ya... the money situation is U.G.L.Y. right now). Might end up swallowing the ol' pride and going back to Phillips Place because they close at like 10:30-11 so that shift is like 5-5.5 hours instead of the stores which close at like 9 but the money, if they pay me what the starters get, is total shit. I have to call Nikki tomorrow to see if she talked the bossman into more money cause... yeah. Not for $6.25. I'm too old for that shit! Hahaha.

Sean and I went to see Pirates with Justin Wednesday night. That was good times. I loooove Johnny Depp, especially since seeing his Inside the Actor's Studio. His personality and unwillingness to compromise increased his hotness level like 450%.

Today we bummed around. Took some money from my financial advisor. Got haircuts. Went shopping for the trip. Bummed around some more. (Loooved Oprah today with Ellen Pompeo and Isaiah Washington!) Went to meet my mom for dinner at Bellacinos and then we were supposed to go to WalMart but the night got interrupted cause my sister called in tears because of some excruciating side pain and now they are at CMC. ::thoughts and good feelings::

I am PUMPED about going away this weekend (assuming of course that everything goes OK with my sister). Every year my moms side of the family (2 aunts, 2 uncles, 6 cousins) gets together for a week at the beach. We celebrate the "last one" in July of 2004 with our big trip to Turks & Caicos. Mom went up to the condo at Ocean City last year but I didnt. This year everyone is going to Virginia Beach. They'll be there a week (Saturday-Saturday) but Sean and I are just going Saturday - Tuesday. It's a short trip but I'm freaking stoked. I need outta here!

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

So it's been forever. Yeesh.

Ok. So 4th of July weekend. Sammys Friday with an afterparty at David M's. Up till 'round 6. Sean's grandfathers birthday thing for the 1st got pushed back till the 8th so we just bummed around that day. Went to Huntersville to Adrian's place for a 4th of July party. Stayed up till 'round 6 again. Yikes! Sean drove home. I was beyond gone. Sunday I had the 2nd worst hangover of my life (worst was after the bachelorette party).

We spent all day Monday and Tuesday with Sean's uncle Lee moving his mom (Sean's grandmother) out of her apartment and into a townhouse. His family is quite a bit unhinged so everyone barely gets along. Add to that the hottest days of the summer so far, soooo much stuff, sore muscles, etc and it was not a pretty event.

Went out for a bit on Monday night. Found out from Erik's sister that he's moving. David's wasted self was there and (literally) bumped into her a few times and her boyfriend was all "You wanna take this outside?!?!?!" Whatever. Drunk people can be so rediculous. I'm a happy drunk. I laugh at everything and just sit around and chill.

Tuesday night we did absolutely nothing. Decided not to go uptown and watch the fireworks or go to the farm like we usually do. The neighbors were lighting a bunch of stuff off so we kinda watched that but we were too exhausted from dealing with moving and family drama to be proactive.

Made up pool match on Thursday. Won. Whoot! Friday the paper didnt get printed cause of a scheduling issue but I haven't done any work there or spoken to Fran in so long I wasnt about to go bust my hump to do distribution anyway. Instead I went with Brianna to do some temp work with this company called House Expert. We spent all day sweeping out and cleaning up around houses that were being constructed. It was kinda fun but HARD work. By 10:00 I was ready for a nap and a shower! We worked at Marvin Creek and Lake Shores until about 5:30. Came home and took a looooong shower. Went to El Vallarta with Sean. Sammys with Helen Gwynn Tommy Wes & Jennie.

Saturday was the party for Sean's grandfather (finally). It was supposed to start at 12 but due to a bad call on Sean's part and more crap from his mother, I didnt even get there until 12:30. Charlie had gone to a funeral about a month ago and kept talking about how cool it was that they had this slideshow of the guys life going on in the reception room. I figured, "Why do you have to be dead to appreciate your life?" so I *tried* to spend the last 3 weeks getting together pictures of Charlie's life. Of course Jeff (uncle) sent me the pictures the day I asked for them and I got the pictures from Julie at midnight the night before. So anyway, frenzied WalMart trip to scan the pictures and buy all the food for the party (yeah we're broke!). Got back and put the presentation together. Eventually Sean and his dad showed up with the grill. It was just stressful and so could have been easily avoided if people actually followed through on the things they said they would do.

The party was fun though. I was scrambling around until after the food was served and then finally got to kick back and relax too. We showed him the presentation and he was pretty impressed. The last guests (Charlie & my parents) left at around 9. Jeff Barbara Danielle & Kimberly came back at around midnight to spend the night.

Sunday was pool. I won again. Whoot!

That's all for now:

Saturday the 15: Friends of Bob & Tom
Josh's Bachelor Party
Saturday the 22nd: Going to Virginia Beach for a few days (maybe)
August 10: Kenny Chesney concert (I'm so excited!)

Protected entry immediately following.

Date:	2006-06-21 15:01
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	creative

Sigh. I am going to write a protected entry later so you guys can know what's really going on in my life, but here's the surface version for now.

The beach was nice. Driving down there in a bucket truck was hell. We left at like 11 on Monday. Got down there around 4 (Sean likes to stop a lot). I went to the beach while he did some work. There was an awesomely strong breeze so I laid out and read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. LOVE IT. Anyway, Sean came at like 7 and we went to the hotel to check in. The place was SO cute. The motel size was kinda ghetto looking but we were in the little annex that had been redone. The bathroom was hugenormous and the whirlpool tub was nice too. We got all cleaned up and went out to dinner at this place called Russell's. The shecrab soup was amazing. Yummm. Walked across the street to a bar and watched some of the 'Canes game. Went back to the room and watched some TV, read some more, passed out.

Murrell's Inlet is really nice. It's just south of Myrtle Beach so there's enough people to make it fun but it's way way slower and calmer that MB. Very quaint.

Sean had to work to finish up what hadn't gotten done the day before "for an hour." So I stayed in the van while he worked. 3 "an hour"s later, he was done, I was almost done with Angels and Demons and my entire right side was sunburned. We went to the teeeeeny little mall across the street for lunch (very reminiscent of the Boone Mall if you've ever been there).

The good thing about the wee mall is that the biggest store there (other than the KMart, of course) was Bath & Body Works. Turns out Japanese Cherry Blossom is not part of the Memoirs of a Geisha line and is staying around for a while. I'm so happy. I bought the perfume! Yay!

So we drove back to Charlotte in the biotch of a van. The AC doesnt work so you had to roll down the windows. The wind was like smacking you in the face the entire time the window was down. I took a break & decided to be hot & roll up my window where I could relax for my butt kicking by George Foreman. The thing also guzzled gas, broke down twice, and got overheated. JOY!

Got home and surveyed the damage that Chris's midnight on a Monday party had caused (did I mention that the lil dumbass CALLED me at MIDNIGHT to ask if we had ping pong balls for BEER PONG????). There's 4 bags of beer cans sitting outside my house right now. Delish! Good thing I dont live in a neighborhood or people might have been pissed! Oh wait! I DO! grrrrrrr. ANYWAY, went to pool league. Came home and watched TV. Stayed up really late because I'm so stressed out that I think my entire body might just explode.

Today I uploaded scrapbook layouts. Yay! You can see my gallery here: http://www.scrapjazz.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=16663 if you want.

Been a heck of a good weekend I guess.

Friday we got all the hardwood and stuff we needed to build an 8x10 shed in our backyard. Had El Vallarte for dinner. Yummmm. Sammys (of course). Good times.

Saturday Sean, his dad and grandfather worked alllll day on the shed. I stood around and tried to help but they didn't really let me. Everyone had to take turns using the big saw trimmer thing. Very "I need to assert my manhood now" type situation. I left at 5 with Justin to go to concert number 3! Brad Paisley and Sara Evans! We tailgated and drank a bunch and then went into the concert. He agrees with me that Sara Evans has a higher opinion of herself than is warranted. Brad Paisley kicked ass though. I can't believe Sean and I left early from that concert in October. Stupid!

After we eventually got out of the parking lot, we met Bri and David at Applebees. Applebees now has spinach & artichoke dip. Its acually pretty tasty. Yay! After that Justin and I went to David's house, drank some more bers, hung out by the pool. Watched some TV and then crashed out at like 4.

Got back to the house around 11 yesterday. Sean's dad showed up at like 1. They worked for a few hours until they decided they needed a break, some food and more supplies. Got into a HUGE fight with Sean on the way to the restaurant. It was baaaaaad. They worked some more on the shed until it was obvious that everyone was tired and achy so they gave up after the roof got put together and made dinner. The shed is 8x10. It has "Autumn Brown" (aka red) shingles like our house and will be painted white and grey. So cute. It's 8 feet by 10 feet and so far has cost about $800 to build. You can buy one already put together for $700 but this one is made out of hardwoods ad stuff and will allegedly last forever. Thanks to Sean's dad for financing it!

Watched some TV and played Yahtzee with Sean. We are going to Murrell's Inlet (just south? of Myrle Beach, a suburb if you will) today because he has some work thing he needs to do and I desperately need to get the hell away from Charlotte and get some sun!

We'll be back Tuesday night if it doesnt rain on Tuesday and we'll be back Wednesday night if it does.

Date:	2006-06-15 13:31
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake

Ok so I've done some restructuring to this/last week's photo project layout. Here's the results.

( picture post #2! )

Date:	2006-06-13 12:25
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

First of all, all you girlies must go to Bath and Body Works for their clearance sale and buy a bottle of Japanese Cherry Blossom hand cream because (a) It's in a shiny red bottle, (b) It's $5! and (c) Its smells divine. I keep smelling my hands. Yummmm. I think it was from their Memoirs of a Geisha line so after this sale there probably won't be any of it left. I think I'm going to go back later today to buy an extra bottle ($5!!!!) and maybe the body mist too (part of buy 3 get one free) because I'll be so sad when this bottle runs out.

Friday got paper #8 out. Sorry princessbunny but my boss still hasn't used the pic that you took. She was all excited about it and then... nothing. I'm coming to realize that, more often than not, this is the case with her. My patience is wearing thin. Anyway, did my distribution. Came home and chilled out. Sean got home all stressed about a change his boss wants to make. Why does all this crap have to happen at once?! Life was just peachy in like September. Then *WHAM* lose job and get one with no pay, Sean takes a paycut to stay employed, we buy a house and life goes down hill. Sucks.

OK. Enough of the negativity! Dinner. Starbucks. Sammys with Trista & boy, Wes & Diana, Justin, etc. Sean sings "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by himself and "Barbie Girl" with Trista. Hahaha. Buzzed.

Saturday we putzed around some trying to decide which course of action to take with the funds (lackthereof) that we hve right now. Finally decided that we needed a lawnmower more than paint so we took Chris' rent money and the gift card Sean got from my parents and went out and bought a lawnmower. Yay! Sean did the front yard & I said I'd do the back Sunday or yesterday but it has not stopped raining. Went to the farm for Sean's birthday family thing. Good times.

Came back, met up with friends, and went to Dixies. Drank and danced out butts off. Drama with a drunken Wesley at the end of the night but whatever. Came back to our place with Justin Brianna and David. Talked, had some more drinks, got in insanely deep and meaningful conversations until the sun came up. Went to bed at 6:45.

Got up at 12. Had yummmmmy IHOP. Went to pool league. Sean left early with a massive migraine and was basically unconscious for the rest of the night. He skipped work yesterday so he probably slept for 18 hours with a 2 hour break. Crazyness. We went to see DaVinci Code finally. It was an excellent flick and stayed very true to the book. Afterwards we went grocery shopping in the pouring down rain.

Had a late dinner of oven pizza while watching Hell's Kitchen. Damn I love that show. He's like Simon Cowell on crack. Hehehe. Maybe its the sadistic side of me, but I just love watching people get yelled at. Hahaha. Good times.

Photo project:
Thursday: Gato in a Window: Shhhh He Can Hear You.
Friday: Goldschlagger
Saturday: Diana's Drink Holder
Monday: Gato in a Wind Tunnel.

Date:	2006-06-08 15:33
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

( Photo Project pictures behind the cut! )

Date:	2006-06-08 14:07
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	good

Did I tell you my photo project monday was a pansy? It's so cute and purple.

Tuesday apparently nothing happened because I have nothing in my calendar except "pool." I didnt play so I didnt get to win nor lose. Fabulous! Mom and dada came by to buy us dinner and give Sean his birthday presants. He got PJ pants, his and hers pizza plates and a fan-damn-tastic sized gift card towards our lawnmowe. Thanks! We needed it!

I forgot to take a picture! Whoops!

Wednesday morning I woke up to find that my computer was totally virus-ridden and couldn't hold a program open for more than 5 minutes. I'm not going to say here whose fault it was (tracked down the creation of the folder that the trojan was in) but let's just say it won't happen again. That too all freaking day to fix and by the time it was close enough to resolved, it was close enough to 5:00 that I didn't want to be bothering anyone with ad calls. So that got put off another day.

Photo was BugFest2006. We have a bazillion of these red and black dudes (no theyre not ladybugs) that hang out in massive clusters in the natural area right outside the door. Thank goodness they havent made it inside yet. Chances are they will all end up dead this weekend when Sean sprays (theyre kinda munching on our plants and I want to get flowers out there so...time to go!) so I wanted to archive their little pow-wow.

Today I went on an ad sales call with ISupply. It went well and I had a faaaabulous lunch at Olive Garden afterwards with my hunny. Some of the best spinach and artichoke dip out there people! Looove it. Came home in a good mood and did a bunch of ad calls. I did 11 of my 20 calls. Whoot. I hate talking on the phone. I get all nervous and jittery. Blech. I'm way more fun in person. Anyway, I got blown off for 9 of the 11 I did and only talked long enough to get emails for the other 2. Guess I'm not very engaging.

Whatever. I look cute today so there.

Smooches!

Wow. What a freaking weekend. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Friday we had dinner at the house. Went to Sammys. I left at like 10:30 with David M and Justin to go to Ashley and Jason's new place for their party. Drank some beers. Had some Jello shots. Basically good times. Sean Brianna and Tommy come over at 2:30 and things start to go downhill. David Brianna and Tommy leave at like 4. I seriously had no idea it was that late. I was so very awake (thank you RedBull/Vodka!). Anyway, Sean and I are leaving and Justin comes outside and flags the car down because Ashley had told Jason that Sean allegedly said something to her. Drama drama. Screaming yelling. Eventually I get Sean to back down and get in the car. Horrible way to end an otherwise pleasant evening.

Slept in until noonish. Watched a lot of bad tv. Met up with family & friends (mom, dad, David S, Helen, Gwynn, Erica, Aimee, Justin, Tommy -- Lauren, Becca, Angela, Nikki) at Morehead Street Tavern for Sean & Maureen's birthday party. After dinner and drinks we all went to Brick & Barrel. The dancing vibe got to everyone so we headed to Dixies. All of Maureens friends and most of mine were wasted. Mom and dad brought both cars to Dixies to pick all the kiddos up at about 3. Sean Tommy Justin and I went to Skyland for breakfast and then headed home to bed.

Pool Sunday. I won!!! Whoot! It's been a while. Came home and had some birthday fun. Had dinner. Bummed around. Watched Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road. It was generally funny but Ron White was not great this time. Bill Engvall is my new favorite I think.

Met with Fran this morning at the Country Club to discuss the block party and some advertising stuff. Should definately be an interesting few months. Yeah.

Though its been the weekend I think I'm more exhausted now than I was on Friday. It was definately not relaxing.

Sooo. Photo project started on Saturday!
June 3: 6 Royal Flush shots.
June 4: Dog on pile of towels.
June 5: Pansy.

So far so good! I'm trying to do as little "obvious" stuff as possible (me, Sean, dog, cat, house) but sometimes it just might have to be like that. Still looking into finding some classes. So far the only ones I've been able to find are way expensive or they havent posted a new schedule and all their stuff is like 4 months old.

Date:	2006-06-02 11:29
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	exhausted

I am happy to report that I havent updated in 40 forevers because I have been incredibly busy! Yay! Wow I haven't written a real update since the tea party. My bad!

Ok. So,
Sunday 28th. Tea party! I wore a shiny pink shirt and white linen pants and did my hair and makeup and everything. I got lots of compliments so I guess my outfit worked! There was a silent auction and little sandwiches and cookies (just like princessbunny said there would be!). It was a breast cancer benefit and went over really really well.

Lost at pool on Tuesday. Shocker.

Went shopping and had lunch with Justin on Wednesday.

Sean and I got in (yet another) fight on Thursday. Chad and Lauren came into town and Sean and I went to the university area to hang with Chad at Boardwalk Billy's. It was so good to see him. Too bad those 2 hours were the only time we managed to catch up while he was here. That makes me sad but he was busy and had lots of people to see so I tried not to take it personally.

Friday Sean didnt work so he was supposed to help me distribute the paper. Of course this would be the one week that the printer had an issue so the papers didnt come in until Saturday. *mad about that* He went out with his dad and Jack while I went to the Trace Adkins and Gretchen Wilson concert with Justin and Lauren. It had poured down rain for hours beforehand so our bums were soaked. Highly uncomfortable but still a good concert. Went to Fox & Hound afterwards for food and drinks. Yummm.

Sautrday was Bobbi and Nikki's flip cup tournament. Why they started it so early in the afternoon, the world may never know. My team did fairly well but I dont know that a tournament winner was ever decided. The beer just flows too quickly! Went to Rudinos with Chris for dinner. Took the trolley bus uptown. Walked around speed street. Fought with Sean some more (though he tried to make nice for being a random assmunch by buying me a funnel cake). Went to Dixies and danced and sweated all the alcohol out. It must have been 90 degrees in that place and just jammed with people. Blech! Had breakfast at 2am at Skylands with Wes and Diana afterwards.

Lost at pool on Sunday. Did a 3 hour photoshoot with Justin at my place for his new headshot and random other photo needs. It was awesome. Some of the pictures turned out soooo well. I was so nervous but it all worked out ok. Went to see Thank You for Smoking with Lauren and Justin at the new Ballantyne Village Theatre. That was interesting. Got to use my free seat upgrates. Whoot. Had some drinks (and even more spinach and artichoke dip!) at Fox & Hound afterwards. Justin was telling Lauren about the photoshoot and they both really encouraged me to take photography classes.

I've got the eye with the camera but most of the time it's on "portrait" mode and I just snap away. I have no idea on good poses or angles or anything like that so I'm definately looking into taking a class. I'm so excited!!!

Monday my family and I went down to Sean's dad's house in Gastonia. We hung out at the pool and cooked out. It was a perfect way to spend a Memorial Day! Afterwards Chris Sean Maureen and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for some yummmy dessert. I havent been there in forever.

Tuesday morning I met up with Lauren for bagels and to say goodbye! Sadness. I went to Old Navy to kill some time before meeting up with Fran and ended up getting a pair of jean shorts, jean capris (more like longer shorts but whatever) and a navy blue sweater (clearance $9.95!). Yay. Now I'm really ready for our 95 degree weather! I waited for Fran for a few hours, got mad and went home. Of course she called as I was pulling into the neighborhood. Told her she'd have to wait to see me till Wednesday. After waiting for her for forever I was not about to turn around and go back. Lost at pool again (this is a recurring theme!).

Wednesday I finally met up with Fran. Did the retail distribution. Got some stressing news about the paper. Freaked out. Calmed down. Went uptown to Cosmos and Phil's for Maureen's 21st. Fought somemore with Sean. Worked it all out in the car on the way home. Our lives recently have just been too much or not enough. Not enough money, too much stress. Not enough talking, too much fighting. We're working it out though. No worries.

After Wednesday night and dealing with Chris' drunken debauchery (chris = drunker than maureen) Sean decided not to go to work. I met with Fran for a few hours and got all the unpleasantries off my chest. She said her side, I said mine and now I have a lot more responsibility and a clearer understanding of where she thinks all of this is going. Yay. Sean and I went shopping for a lawnmower and racked up a $165 grocery bill. He rewired the lighting in the bathroom. Ladies and gentlemen: I no longer need to blow dry my hair in the entrance hall! Yay! Mom came over and scrapbooked. I finished Gwynn's card (laaate of course).

This weekend is birthday central. Mimi turns 76 on Saturday, the same day Sean and Maureen are celebrating 21 and 26. Seans actual bday is Sunday. I got him tickets to Friends of Bob & Tom comedy tour in July. Damn good seats too. Yay! Maureen and friends & Sean and friends are going to Morehead Street Tavern Saturday night and then doing a bar crawl thing uptown. The word of the evening with be "INTERESTING." I can already tell its gonna be a weird weird night.

So theres 2 weeks in lots o words. Cheers!

Photo project starts Saturday June 3.

Date:	2006-05-24 00:42
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	creative

** I have been inspired. **

This is freaking monumental people because I have never really "stuck to" anything in my little life.

I was inspired by Dooce & kylecassidy.

I am going to do a 365 day photo journey. Take one photo each day of something... anything. I love taking pictures and I really need the practice capturing the "essence" of something in a small momento.

This is also significant in that I have never kept a journal/blog/diary for a significant amount of time. The only exception to this is what you are presently reading and you see how vague and random I am about that.

Some pictures may have a theme like http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily_photo/04_17_2006.html. Or it could be a picture of the dog doing something stupid. Whatever. Right now I am really at a point in my life where I need to start seeing the beauty in the every day because if I keep going "what if..." I may never see the beauty of the light in each day again.

Ta-da.

Your job? Hold me accountable. I may not post each day but I need to make sure you people are keeping on me to do this.

I'm so excited.

Photo project start date: June 1, 2006 (subject to change. May be earlier depending on when I see Fran who has Digi) (Digi is what I call the digital camera, since we have it and a film. It's just a short saying not like her NAME or anything).

I'm excited!