I don't have a lot to say anymore

I have been neglecting blogging. I have been neglecting Facebook and MySpace. My call backs to missed calls...not too hot either.  I will apologize (although a wise lady at work did tell me to stop apologizing for everything...and I realize, I do same "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" waaaay more than I should).  To be honest, I am damn tired. My life has been challenging and downright exhausting. And I can't really talk about it on-line. I just can't. I know that I should be able to free my lips and let it all out in one big torrid verbal vomit episode. But that would hurt someone...so I will just vent and blabber on without that part.

 

I never seem to sleep a full night. I toss and turn, wake up, walk around, look at Perry, wonder if he is sleeping or just lying there, check the time on my phone, go lay on the couch, go lay in the spare room bed, etc.  I bought some over-the-counter sleep aids to help me. (Nobody worry here...they are non-habit forming...and really, they don't work...if your mind has thoughts running through it at the speed of light...that crap doesn't work.) 

 

And last week it was the allergies. I have never experienced spring allergies like these. I am normally a zombie-air-sucking snotty thing in the fall...but apparently mouth breathing and a cracked/bleeding nose was in order for May.  I am, thankfully, on some Allegra-D and Flonase...which has been a godsend.  I now have stopped mouth breathing and my nose is healing (but that is also thanks to some medicated lip balm...workes wonders for a dried, cracked nose).

 

So when your life is consumed by something you can't talk about, your allergies are a nuisance, and you can't sleep...you just don't have a lot to say on-line anymore.

 

BUT I promise...I will blog more positively next time. I do have a birthday coming up after all and I LOVE my birthday. I don't care how old I get.

 

 

Road rage and driving.

I think I have developed an acute case of road rage. It's amazing to me that this has happened, but it has...and I am thinking it will be quite awhile before I am cured of it. I don't really know when it started, but it is a full blown case right now. I think that I have come down with this because my patience is being used elsewhere in my life...and patience that is used elsewhere certainly cannot be used on the idiotic morons that seem to drive around me.

Now I am not saying I am a perfect driver, that I never do anything asinine or stupid on the road. I will not be hypocritical here. I am just as much an idiot driver as others I have witnessed. However, since I am an idiot driver...I feel that I can rant about them in my car as much as I want. The good news is that I don't try to run others off the road, or slow down, or speed up to irk them. I just throw a big ole fit in my car in front of anyone who happens to be in the vehicle with me (and okay, okay...I have used some hand gestures...but just once.). Mostly it is Perry who witnesses my tantrums, but he doesn't seem to mind...he spends enough time on the road that he usually agrees with me.

And I hate to drive in general as it is. I have never enjoyed driving. Perry and I argue (or as I like to say...strongly discuss) who will be behind the wheel, whether it be a long road trip or just a trip to Plover. Neither of us likes to drive. He drives a lot for his job...and I find driving completely boring, frustrating, and...I don't know...I just don't like it. I realize there are people out there who can't drive for various reasons and would LOVE to be behind the wheel, but I just don't like it. Plain and simple.

But you know something funny? I love my car. I have a 1997 white Chevy Cavalier that has 226,000+ miles on it and I just love it. She's all beat up, rusted, has the check engine light on all the time...but I am very attached to her. And she's a five speed. I love driving a manual transmission (It's the only part of driving I really do enjoy). In fact, a few weeks ago Perry and I went car shopping (which is like looking at funeral caskets for me...it's like I am acknowledging that my Cavy will be leaving me soon...) and there were no manuals on the lots we checked out. Anywhere. Apparently car dealerships don't carry a lot of them since nobody really buys them. Pshaw! My next car has only three requirements: manual transmission, air conditioning, and four doors. Other than that...whatever bells and whistles that it may have are just bonuses.

Oh well...I suppose I shouldn't complain. There are worse things that could happen in this world than me having to give up my car, being a hater of driving, and getting really ticked at other drivers. I could be really in love with that new show The Cougar. :)

Our weekend

I was so happy we had a great weekend. Things have been a little stressful around the Team BS household, so I am very happy that the past weekend went as well as it did. He seemed to enjoy the whole weekend, even though sleeping was still a bit of a problem. I really thought Ambien would work for him, but he is still wide awake hours after taking it. But we've pieced together a good ritual of medication (all doctor approved) that gets him some rest...so that's a good thing.

Friday I got home and we decided to check out the newly renovated Smiley's. Smiley's used to be part of Tree Acres Golf Course, but the golf course was closed a few years ago to make way for this big fancy Aquaplex in Plover...that never got built and the developer was ultimately sued by the village of Plover. So it is a bit sad to see the course overgrown and empty...especially since we used to have so much fun golfing it. But they recently renovated the restaurant and bar (Smiley's) that was a part of the clubhouse...and made it more of a ballroom type of place. They now have a dance floor where the old bar was...and we enjoyed our meals while 5 or 6 kids danced it up on the lighted dance floor. Nothing like watching young kids break it down and chase moving lights on the floor. After dinner we did a little bumming around town and ended up at Big Lots and Goodwill. We got some great things...including my brand new, completely sequined shirt...which I have named my Lady Gaga shirt...I can't WAIT to wear it. Once we got home, Perry worked on his biology homework and we watched 20/20 on ABC...only to see my cousin-in-law Mike Gosse on the show. I had no idea that he was going to be on the show and there he was being interviewed. It was a very short clip and he only said a few things, but still, what are the odds that I would tune into that 20/20 episode by random chance and see him on there. Click on the link if you want to see him: http://abcnews.go.com/2020. It is under the April 3rd heading and it is in the segment called Death Wish: Bizarre Letter and Accident. It's about two or three minutes in when they start talking to Chief Park Ranger, Mike Gosse.

Saturday we got up early and headed up to NorthCentral Technical College for Perry's biology class. I hung out and did some stuff on the computer while he went to class. This was his first class since we got some not so go news, but he did alright. I am very happy he went and is not giving up on his classes. Now we just have to get him back on track for his chemistry class. He just couldn't go to it on Thursday night. After class we went to Mosinee to hang out with my mom and sister until we had to go to my cousin-in-law, Tracy's, baby shower in the Town of Wien (yep, pronounced Ween). Perry accompanied us and it was a really fun get together with my mom's side of the family. We even had time to stop at a bar called Willy's because we realized we were an hour early for the shower...and what else is there to do to kill time, in Wisconsin, in the middle of nowhere, than go to some random bar that is randomly on the side of the road. (In which, by the way, there was a random Mel Gibson movie on that we just couldn't place...it really irked the crap out of us...no one at the bar could think of its name either.) We hit up Rib Mountain for some shopping with my mom and sis before heading back to Point. I think Perry is pretty sure that he doesn't want to go to another baby shower...but he enjoyed hanging out with all of my family. Saturday night we stayed in and watched movies and vegged...and best of all, Perry's appetite is coming back so he was eating quite a bit all weekend! Whoo hoo!

Sunday I went to church and then Perry and I went out for breakfast at Diane's Amherst Cafe in Amherst,WI, (You should try it if you ever get the chance...it's a great place right in downtown Amherst.) Then we headed up to Cedar Creek and saw Adventureland...which is not a comedy (as we were lead to believe by the trailer)...it is an angsty coming of age/dramedy...not what we expected, but still rather good...but I would suggest waiting to Netflix it.

All in all, it was a good weekend, which is what I had hoped and prayed for. We are still taking each day, just one at a time, but I am hoping for more good days, nights, weekends, etc.

It's been two weeks...

I don't have a particular point to this blog. It's been over two weeks since my last post, so I figured something was better than nothing. So let's see what is rattling around the old noggin.

Well...I could just do an update of the last two weeks...how about that, people?

My last post was about our surprisingly fun St. Patrick's Day...and it truly was. That same week we got some difficult news that we are dealing with. (No, I'm not pregnant, we didn't lose our jobs, our home is fine, our dogs didn't get hit...it's just private info...no freakin' out here, people.) We also found out how crappy Perry's health insurance was that week AND the fact that Hope(less) in Madison has no idea what she is talking about when it comes to his health insurance (She's the corporate lady for his company that is in charge of benefits....Perry has nicknamed her Hopeless since that is how you feel when you call her with questions since usually has no clue what's going on...) She truly irritates me...I now officially know everything there is to know about his health insurance, dental insurance, and his prescription plan (which was suspended while he was COBRA-ed during his lay-off...don't we all LOVE paying almost $150 for prescriptions.)...and I have myself to thank for becoming so DeanCare savvy...and not his corporate office. But he's back to work now so he has the prescription plan back...yeah! And we can submit his receipts for his prescriptions for re-imbursements.

We also attended a Twilight Viewing Party on Saturday March 21st. Now this was an all-chick thing originally, but Perry wanted to come. Yes. He wanted to come and he had already seen the movie back in November when we took my mom to see it. My co-workers now all know he is not pretend, not a fake boyfriend, my pictures are not photo shopped, etc. He's come into work a few times to have lunch with me and he attended the Twilight party...so he is officially a real person. See, the joke at work for the past 3 years is that Perry didn't exist. He didn't attend company sponsored events with me or go out with me when my co-workers had things going on. He's a pretty private person who doesn't socialize too much...but that's changing as you can gather from the fact he went to an all-chick Twilight movie party. It was a great time and the food was delish...we did Twilight themed food...I brought Billy Black's Beer Cheese Dip...and Traci provided Bloody Bellas for drinks...yum. Perry even bought me a Team Jacob shirt to wear and I brought plenty of glitter along for us all to dust ourselves with:)

Last week was a short one. I had a three day week so that I could use Thursday and Friday to prepare for Perry's 30th Birthday party at the Hitchin' Rail in Arnott. We had a change in plan about the food for the party since we realized it was on a Friday in Lent. So out went the chicken wing bar...and in went the vegetarian food buffet. We had egg salad, tuna salad, Maine crab salad, potato salad, cheese & crackers, homemade guacamole & salsa, deviled eggs, taco dip, homemade pickles, chips, cake..and the list goes on (Can you tell I am very food oriented?!). But it truly was a great party. Our friend Tom deejayed it, the DVD slideshow of Perry ran on both TVs, and people loved the Frisbee fun games...especially since they could win eye patches, plastic winner medals, and mini Frisbees just for playing. (All from our local Dollar Tree) It was such a great time.

This week has had its ups and downs...but last night was an up. Perry and I went to Polonia, WI and tried out Matero's Pub & Pizza. It was quite good. The funniest part was when we found out they didn't take debit cards...only cash or check. So we used their ATM and Perry gave me his debit card. I tried getting money twice and it didn't work. The owner thought it was the machine...so we drove down the road to Ellis, WI and used the ATM at a bar there. Well, this time Perry went in and used the ATM and came out shaking his head. Turns out that when he gave me his debit card to get money out at Matero's...he also gave me his old PIN number. (I am terrible at remembering my own PINS...so I never remember his PIN number)....we busted out laughing. We drove back to Matero's and let them know their ATM was probably just fine...we're just idiots. And this isn't the first time this has happened...but the good thing is that the ATM didn't keep his card this time. Last time he told me the wrong PIN, the ATM ate his card.

I am looking forward to the weekend. It should be good...that is what I am hoping and praying for.

OH...and my sister was a snotbag supreme with extra snot this week...she told me she was pregnant as an April Fool's Day joke...and I FELL for it. D'OH! (Hand slapping forehead!)

Custer, Wisconsin...Not just the home of the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair!

This past Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day. Now I am not Irish...but I find it a fun holiday to celebrate in this weird winter-ish/spring-ish time of year when the weather just can't decide what mood it wants to be. For a few years I have seen an ad about a St. Patrick's Day celebration at Clancey's Stone Lion in Custer, WI. Now let me tell you, Custer has two roads, three bars, a small auto sale place, and a post office...you have to cross Hwy 10 to get to the church. It's just a blip on the map, like any other country blip-like town. (Like Arnott...or Fancher). And up until Tuesday, the biggest event we knew of that occured in Custer was the annual Midwest Renewable Energy Fair...and that's not in Downtown Custer (Insert snicker at the words..."Downtown Custer") Well, I told Perry that it would be fun to go to Clancey's since it's the one bar out of the three that we have never patronized AND it was having a St. Patrick's Day celebration AND it was serving corned beef and cabbage.

Now remember, Custer is not a huge metropolis. Most of the time when you drive through it, the only reason you even need to go through it is to get onto Hwy 10. It is usually pretty ghost-town-like. (I always think tumbleweeds should be blowing through the street or something.) Every Tuesday in the summer when I play volleyball in Polonia, I drive through it and it is whisper quiet...it's eerie. Now we have been to the other two bars in Custer on a Friday and Saturday night. No Problem and Custer Pit Stop are across the road from each other...and it being the country and all...you can walk back and forth with your drink and not have a problem. Hey, it's the country...and it's sad that I think it's okay...but I am becoming a bit too country!

Anyway, you can only imagine our surprise as we drove up Custer Road towards Custer and saw cars parked all the way up and down the road. We were dumbfounded. This couldn't be for the little St. Patrick's Day dealio at Clancey's?!? Then we saw the floats...then the throng of people...then the Guinness truck...and the tent set up outside Clancey's...and we were stunned. How had we lived down the road for the last however many years and never knew that there was this huge St. Patrick's Day festival/parade/celebration in little ole Custer, WI!?!

Everyone was dressed up in green and other St. Patty's Day garb, there were Irish bulldogs, a green hearse for the mock Irish funeral, flags, football scarves, etc. You seriously would have laughed if you saw the dumbfounded looks on our faces. We headed to the tent...and got ourselves some Smithwicks'...they also had Guinness and Harp on tap outside...no green beer in sight (Apparently that is the POLISH way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day...as we were told.) And then we stepped into Clancey's and I was transported back to Ireland. I had studied abroad in the Spring of 2002 and lived in London. I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland, Scotland, and Wales while I was in London...along with a two week tour of the continent. Clancey's Stone Lion reminded me of an Irish pub overseas. Beautiful wood bar, Strongbow & Guinness on tap, smooth Irish whiskeys...it was unreal. And we LOVED it. We kept asking each other, WHY HAVE WE NEVER STEPPED INTO CLANCEY'S BEFORE!?

Needless to say we had a lovely time and really enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day...we saw old friends there and just took in the whole experience...and we made a promise to visit Clancey's more often. The picture on this blog is of the actual parade...thank you Stevens Point Journal!

And on a a follow up note: I finally received the dress from Target that I wrote about in my last blog. I was so excited to get it and when I put it on...it looked terrible! Perry and I were both disappointed in the ill-fit of the dress. So I am going to send it back...and I am not going to go through the rig-a-ma-role of ordering a different size or getting it altered. I just don't think it is worth it...and then of course everywhere I look I see pictures or shows with people in one-sleeved dresses that look fabulous. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be AND it really proves how hard it is to buy clothing on the Internet. I have had the same problem with buying shoes as well.

I Want It

Shopping is something I limit myself to. I usually go to Goodwill, St. Vincent's, or a local thrift store to look around for stuff before heading to a "normal" store if I can't find what I am looking for. I agonize over every penny it seems. For example, just this morning, I was at Copps in Plover and I wanted the Mann's Sugar Snap Peas for $3.49 and the already cut fruit (which had kiwi...and that sounded SO good!) for $3.63. I carried those two items around while having an argument in my head over whether or not to buy them. Was it really worth it? Should I just pick a less expensive fruit and vegetable? It's so expensive since it is out of season, yadda, yadda, yadda! I finally put both items back and bought a bag of baby carrots for $1.99 and two bananas for $0.59 a pound (I know, I know...Kwik Trip is cheaper for bananas...but I was already cutting it close on time due to the aforementioned argument in my head.)

It's not that I don't indulge...I do...but I try not to let it happen too often so that when it actually does happen...it feels like a treat. But sometimes, I have trained myself so well that I still feel guilty for spending the money. But I digress...because really I want to buy something. I don't need it...I just want it and I want to wear it to Perry's birthday party even though it is probably too dressy. I found the dress pictured above at Target and I want it so terribly. It is $39.99 and so amazing...I am SO tempted to just go there and try it on...but then the big debate will start.

So here's my big internal debate...I just got my tax return...and it was a pretty nice return, I was able to pay some bills and have a little left over...so do I splurge or save it? I told myself I would finally get my hair cut and colored with part of my return instead of just a cut (I had my hair colored back in September...so it would be nice to have it done again...especially before his party.) And then I think about his birthday party and what I have left buy for it, a few baby showers I have coming up, my normal expenses, etc. And I can't decide. All I know is. I. WANT. IT.

Sigh. You know, it if it was for someone else I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Best Monday Ever!

I am back in my regular position at work and it is the best feeling in the world! For the last three and a half months I had been a part of a special team assigned to a special project. It required me to move to a different department, do very different job duties, and be away from a job & co-workers I love.

But TODAY I got to move back to my department and be with my beloved co-workers once again. They tried their darnedest to keep me in the loop the last few months and I greatly appreciated it. But it is so much nicer just being able to pop my head into their cube and talk instead of sending or receiving an e-mail or getting the cute newsletter they made me. I am so happy to be back...I can't stop smiling.

Not to say I won't miss the people I met and worked with on my special project. I was very happy to have worked with those five other ladies. They are all special in their own ways....and I am grateful to have had that experience with them. We'll always be the Super Six, The Six Pack, or whatever else we were being called. I can't imagine doing that project with anyone else at this point...it was quite the ride and we rode it together. I hope they are enjoying their first days back in their departments as well (Except for two...two ladies were asked to stay on one more month to wrap up the project...so I hope they are doing well as a Dynamic Duo instead of a Six Pack.)

Anyway...Happy Monday! Because to me it is a SUPER HAPPY FANTASTIC MONDAY!