Boss Free.......Finally

My boss has officially left town as of Saturday & will be gone until September 8th. As predicted, his productiveness did not kick in until about 5:00 p.m. on Friday so I was at the office until 7:00 p.m. trying to get our to do list done. We still didn't complete it but at least he put a dent in it. I am so excited that he won't be in the office for a week because now I can get caught up on some of my work instead of getting interrupted every 2 minutes with him buzzing me & asking me "did this go out?"; "did I do this?"; "can you get me this?" This week will be like a vacation for me also. Before I left on Friday night Brian told me to take Friday off so I could have a 4 day weekend; he doesn't have to tell me twice. Of course this all depends on there not being an emergency that needs to be taken care of; I guess we'll see what happens. Even though Brian will be out of the office he will still be calling in to check messages, etc. I'm sure I'll be hearing his favorite saying several times this week while he is gone which is, "so what did you do today? Sit at your desk with your feet up & eat bon bons?" Of course my response is, "yeah, like I have nothing else to do". Here's to a relaxing & productive work week (knock on wood)! I hope everyone else has a good one.

Blast From The Past

The other night I was going through my camera & cleaning out old photos & I found a video that I took of Lexi after she got out of the bath tub. She doesn't like the whole bath experience but afterwards she goes crazy; probably because she knows she's clean. I love how her fur is all curly from being wet & she just looks frazzled. I don't know what is more hilarious, Lexi running around like a crazy person or the sound of my voice in the video. You be the judge but don't hold it against me because I'm using my baby talk voice the entire time. You'll notice that Lexi's toys are all over the place because she tore into them while she was running around; you'll also see a hanger on the floor in the video; that was when she use to steal the hangers out of the laundry room & run around the house with them. We put an end to that when she started biting pieces off & eating it. What a little stink.

*In order for me to share this video with you I had to upload it to YouTube because the size was too large for Blogger.

Be Seen Being Green

Last weekend I made our weekly trip to Wegmans (our grocery store) & instead of getting the plastic bags at the check out line, I opted for the recycled cloth bags which only cost 99 cents & here's the best part, they are R-E-U-S-A-B-L-E. Instantly I felt better as I was pushing my cart out to the parking lot, just one more person helping to save the planet even if it is in a small way. About 6 months ago I took the plunge & started recycling; I know, I know but better late than never, right? When I lived in PA my parents always recycled when I was growing up & I always thought it was such a pain; you have to have separate bins & wash everything out, etc. Its easier to just throw everything in one big bag & set it out at the curb. Pretty lazy, huh? Well now I'm making up for lost time. We have so much recycling every week that sometimes I can't even fit it all in our recycling bin. Dan hasn't got on board with my whole recycling mentality yet but he'll come around; I still have to fish out his soda cans & plastic water bottles from the trash. Lately I've been doing some online research about recycling & going green. Here are some tips that might help you if you're new to recycling like I was & here are some ways to help you go green & save green.
So the next time you're at the store maybe take a peek at the recycled bags you can buy instead of those plastic bags that are bad for the planet. As you can see I chose the bags that looked girlie, aren't they cute? I'm not sure if Dan was too fond of the ones I chose but he did say "good for you" when I showed him our new purchase. Happy recycling!

I Will Survive!

I am using this post as a chance to vent. Here it goes...this week at work has been pretty stressful. My boss, Brian, is getting ready to leave for Ocean City on Saturday so of course we have a HUGE long list of to dos before he goes. I have been having daily meetings with him since Monday to keep him on track; he is already in vacation mode & not being very productive. The fact that I can go into his office & catch him watching videos on CNN's website instead of working on his to do list, is not a good sign. I have also been sick all week & that has not helped the situation either. I'm miserable, crabby, impatient & just flat out do not want to be at the office; I'd rather be at home in bed sleeping. All I have to do is get through this week, only 2 days left (sigh). I will not be surprised if his productiveness kicks in around 5:00 p.m. on Friday which will mean I will be stuck at the office late trying to get everything out. Why is it that he waits until the last minute to do everything? I just can't figure that out. It would certainly make my life easier if he was consistently productive. One of my co-worker's, who works for the other attorney in our office, says that her boss is going 90 mph & she is so bogged down with work that she can't get caught up on anything. I don't know if her situation is worse than mine or not. Sometimes its like pulling teeth to get Brian to do anything. No wonder I have anxiety every night worrying about deadlines being met. Only 2 more days left......I think I can, I think I can.......

Old Favorites

This post is pretty random but I was thinking last night as I was lying in bed about some of the classic 80's movies that I love to watch. Some of them are on TV now & then but not as often as I would like them to be. I guess I should start buying the DVDs instead of waiting for them to come on TV. All of the movies I listed below cause Dan to roll his eyes & say, "we're not watching this again?!":

1. Look Who’s Talking (1989)
2. The Money Pit (1986)*Best quote: "Yeah, as soon as we peel the rind off"; "it's a lemon, hun".
3. The Burbs (1989)
4. Turner & Hooch (1989)
5. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
6. Frankie & Johnny (1991)
7. Bird On A Wire (1990) *The scene where Goldie Hawn is in the shower with the cockroach is hilarious!
8. Overboard (1987)
9. Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)
10. Footloose (1984)
11. Sixteen Candles (1984)
12. Pretty In Pink (1986)
13. Caddyshack (1980)
14. Dirty Dancing (1987)
15. Flashdance (1983)
16. Ghostbusters (1984)
17. The Goonies (1985) *My brother's favorite.

I hope this post made you think of some of your favorite movies & maybe you'll take them out, pop some popcorn & curl up on the couch & watch them this weekend. :o)

Rough Night

Yesterday Lexi wasn't feeling too great; she barely ate anything & slept almost the entire day on her pillow. Last night I woke up around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of Lexi's feet walking on the hardwood floors, pacing back & forth. Now, anyone who has been to our house knows that we have potty trained Lexi to go on puppy pads while Dan & I aren't home. The last time I took her to the vet they said that she has an overactive bladder, what? I had no idea pets could have that so her problem is she can't hold it for long periods of time. It amazes me how pets can have the same problems that we can; I remember one of my neighbors back in PA had a lab that was diagnosed with acne & I am still shocked about that one. Anyway, I woke up & walked over to the 2 puppy pads that I lay down in our bedroom just in case she has to go in the middle of the night & they were covered because she went potty so many times. She was pacing because she was trying to find an open spot on the pad to go potty again. Poor thing. :o( So I took her downstairs & in the back yard & then made her a piece of white toast (which helps her when she has an upset stomach); we went back upstairs & I put her in the tub to clean her up & tried to get her to eat some of the toast; she ate a couple pieces but wasn't too hungry. I put down some new puppy pads & we laid back in bed & her tummy was making all sorts of noises, I felt so bad; sometimes I wish she could just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it. I ended up rubbing her tummy for about 30 minutes until she fell asleep. This morning I got up & boiled her some chicken & rice which is what the vet says to feed her if she has signs of an upset stomach. Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow & I won't have to take her to the vet this week. So we're back to giving her chicken & rice which will make Dan very happy; he hates buying chicken & giving it to "the dog". He says that we spend so much money on Lexi that we might as well have a baby. Not yet, Lover.

Dan's Request

So I changed our blog last night & lets just say Dan wasn't too happy about it. He said he liked the photo of Lexi sitting on the couch surrounded by her toys & wanted me to put it back up. So in an attempt to compromise, I decided to repost that photo for him; it is pretty cute, don't you think? I remember getting that chocolate covered strawberry for her last year on Valentine's Day & its still one of her favorite toys to play with. Basically anything with a squeaker in it she loves but this was just so girly that I had to get it for her.

Grammie or Bacon?

As you know, my Mom made me breakfast on the morning of my birthday. Lexi, like always, would rather have people food than her dog food. I took the below video on my cell phone while Mom was cooking. Do you think Lexi was excited because Mom was talking baby talk to her or because of the smell of bacon? I think it was the bacon. :o)

Not Me! Wednesday

So I got this idea from my neighbor Laura's blog: The Brownstein’s & she got it from one of her friends. I thought it was cute so I decided to post something similar. Now I know you're suppose to post it on Mondays but of course I am a few days behind.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



I was NOT excited about my Mom coming into town this weekend for my birthday.

I was NOT thankful for being able to take Monday off to spend an extra day with my Mom.

I did NOT wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon on the morning of my birthday.

I did NOT get pink Nike flips from my Mom as one of my birthday gifts.

I did NOT go to the spa on Saturday morning to get pampered & fall asleep while getting my pedicure.

I did NOT let my Mom braid my hair for my birthday like I was back in the 5th grade again.

I was NOT excited to eat my birthday dinner at Macaroni Grill.

I did NOT get giddy after opening my Banana Republic gift card from my Hubby.

I was NOT so camera happy at the restaurant when we ate dinner that everyone let out a big sigh every time I said "picture time".

I did NOT sleep in until 8:30 a.m. the entire weekend that my Mom was here.

I did NOT watch my favorite show True Blood on Sunday night while my Mom sat next to me giving me weird looks & asking me if I really liked this show.

I did NOT take photos of Lexi every time she did something cute this weekend.

I did NOT miss my Hubby while he was at football camp this weekend.

I am NOT sick of football season even though the season hasn't officially started yet.

I did NOT use the bread maker that my sister-in-law Kelly got me a year ago for the first time this weekend.

I did NOT allow my Mom to do Dan & I's laundry because she just can't sit still.

I did NOT do a full load of dish towels because my Mom used them all while cleaning the kitchen daily.

I did NOT have to help Lexi go potty in front of 5 strangers during our walk because she was having a hard time going to the bathroom.

I did NOT get irritated with Dan because he refused to help her.

What have you not been doing this week?

Birthday Weekend :o)

As you know, Saturday was my 27th birthday. My Mom & I had so much fun while she was visiting. I was sad to see her leave this morning to go back home. On Saturday morning we got up early & went over to the Evian Day Spay in Sterling; we had mani's & pedi's done. It was so nice there I loved it. I've been wanting to go there for quite a while now so it was nice to share that first experience with my Mom. While we were getting our pedicures, they gave us complimentary drinks & watermelon which was great. Below is a photo of our pretty toes after we got home.



Lexi was attached to my hip the entire weekend. She wanted to be in every room my Mom & I were in. Here is a photo of her lying on her bed while we ate our lunch; we wrapped her up in her pig blanket.



For my birthday dinner we went to Macaroni Grill which is one of my favorite places to go to for Italian. Here are a few photos of us leaving for the restaurant.

Dan & I:


Mom & I with our shades on:


Here are a few photos of the three of us sitting around the table, can you tell I was camera happy?







My Mom made me a carrot cake for my birthday which was a double layered cake. Dan LOVED it. He ate more than I did. I love her little carrot on the top; she's been doing that since I was little. =]



On Sunday my Mom & I stayed home all day & just relaxed. We ended up doing a lot of baking. My sister-in-law Kelly bought Dan & I a bread maker almost a year ago which we had never opened. Once my Mom found out about that, she was in the mood to bake so we took it out & tried to decide what we were in the mood for. We decided on homemade rolls & they turned out great; then we baked homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast in the morning & those were even better. The entire weekend I felt like I was eating constantly so I'll need to step up the work out program. My Mom was baking & cooking almost the entire weekend. Here is a list of the things she made while she was visiting:

1. Chocolate chip cookies
2. Chicken and pasta dish
3. Pancakes & bacon
4. Homemade rolls
5. Homemade cinnamon rolls
6. Carrot cake

Below is a photo that I took of our homemade rolls; I was so excited when they came out of the oven, they were yummy!



On Monday my Mom & I made a trip into Tysons to do a little shopping. We didn't find a lot of things we had to have so we drove back to the house to spend the rest of the afternoon with Lexi. We watched The Money Pit, one of my favorite movies, and waited for Dan to get home from football. All in all my birthday was great. It was nice to have my Mom here to celebrate. Thanks to everyone for my birthday wishes. :o)

Fight Like A Girl

Last night I was doing some cleaning around the house to get ready for my Mom this weekend and since I am very TV oriented I always have to put XM radio on the TV otherwise I wouldn't get anything done; I listen to The Highway which plays only country music. A song came on by Bomshel called Fight Like a Girl. The meaning of fight like a girl to me has always been a negative thing, "man, you fight like a girl"; basically meaning that you're a wuss or my brother & I's favorite word, pansy. This song has a positive spin on that saying. As soon as I heard it I thought of my Mom. She was always the one that comforted me during my middle school & high school years of teasing, lost friends & break ups. She always reminded me that I had more strength than I knew I had. To this day I still call her when things are going bad & she always gives me advice & lets me vent. So in anticipation of my Mom's visit I thought I'd share this song with everyone. I hope it reminds you of someone that is a big impact in your life, just like it did me.



Lyrics:
Little girl alone on the playground
Tired of gettin' teased & gettin' pushed around
Wishin' she was invisible
To them

She ran home cryin'
"Why do they hate me?"
And Mama wiped her tears & said
"Baby, you're brave & you're beautiful.
So, hold your head high.
Don't ever let them define
The light in your eyes.
Love yourself, give 'em Hell.
You can take on this world.
You just stand & be strong
And then fight
Like a girl."

At 31 she was wheelin' & dealin'
Kept on hittin' that same glass ceilin'
She was never gonna be one of the boys, no
She coulda gave up on her ambition
And spent the rest of her life just wishin'
Instead she listened to her mama's voice sayin'

"Hold your head high.
Don't ever let them define
The light in your eyes.
Love yourself, give 'em Hell.
You can take on this world.
You just stand & be strong
And then fight
Like a girl."

Oh, with style & grace
Kick ass & take names

Ten years of climbin' that ladder
Oh, but money & power don't matter
When the doctor said "the cancer spread"
She holds on tight to her husband & babies
And says "this is just another test God gave me.
And I know just how to handle this"

I'll hold my head high I'll never let this define
The light in my eyes
Love myself, give it Hell
I'll take on this world
Yes, I'll stand & be strong
No, I'll never give up
I will conquer with love
And I'll fight
Like a girl

Weekend Visitor!

So guess whose birthday it is on Saturday? Mine! And guess who is coming in to celebrate my birthday? My Mom! I am so excited. She hasn't been down for a visit in quite a while. This will be the first time she has seen our new floors too. We haven't planned anything yet besides dinner on Saturday night but Dan won't tell us where we're going; he says its a surprise. My Mom will be driving down Friday morning, unfortunately I have to work all day, but I was able to take Monday off so she will be leaving on Tuesday morning which will give us 3 whole days together. At least Lexi will have Gammie to keep her company until I get home. I was concerned about leaving my Mom home alone but like she said, "oh I'll find something to do". The last time she came down for a visit I had to work half a day & she beat me home; when I pulled up to the house she was outside doing yard work, i.e. trimming bushes, sweeping, weeding, etc. Of course when I walked into the house she was doing laundry and had vacuumed all 3 floors. What can I say, she is a clean freak but I love her more than anything. :o)

Birthday Dinner

Saturday night I planned a birthday dinner for Dan & a small group of our friends. We met at Don Pablo's at 6:30 p.m. & had such a great time. Friends in attendance were: The Fulcher's: John, Kristen & Halliday; The Frohm's: Shannon & Jonathan & our good friend Ashley. Dan of course was not too excited to be celebrating his birthday twice in one month so he refused to acknowledge that it was a "birthday" dinner. Here are some photos of us sitting around the table eating some great mexican food...

Halli loving the queso dip:


Dan & John:


Kristen & Halli cheesin':


Shannon & Jonathan:


Ash & I:


Lover & I:


Halli loving the fountain; she would run around it & giggle & laugh - so adorable:





John aka Daddy & Halli with her toilet paper roll telescope; she would come up to you & look through her telescope & say "see you":


After dinner we went back to our house for cake & ice cream. Below is a photo of Halli taking a break from eating cake & "cream".


Lexi did so well with Halli. In the past she has been scared of little kids but I think spending time with the neighbor kids, Audrey, Austin, Owen & Jack is helping her not be so afraid. Halli was good with Lexi too; she would go to her toy basket & take out most of Lexi's toys & bring them over to her. Her favorite was the birthday cake & she would say "happy birthday" when she gave it to her. Halli was so sweet; she would come up to me & take my hand & say "come" & she would take me into the kitchen & look up at the stove & say "cake?". So I would dip my finger in the chocolate frosting & feed some to her & she would say "mmmm" & rub her hands together; that's my kind of girl - a chocolate lover. =] We had such a great time & thanks to everyone that came out with us. We love you guys!

Colorado

Dan is home from his trip to Colorado. I picked him up from the airport yesterday around 4:30 p.m. Lexi & I are so happy that he's home. I have uploaded some photos that were taken from his trip. Even though he took my camera with him he wasn't too camera happy while he was there so most of these photos I copied from his sister Kelly's photo album. I still have a few photos to upload from my camera & I will do that over the weekend so check back later. The scenery photos are absolutely beautiful & everyone had such a great time.

Easy on the Ears

So I am a huge Daughtry fan & to this day he is my favorite singer that has come off of the American Idol show. I want to give everyone an opportunity to hear his new CD Leave This Town if you have not had a chance to listen to it yet. Visit his website at: http://www.daughtryofficial.com/us/music/leave-town.

The last time I was home for a visit my Mom read my brother & I a short article out of Rolling Stone Magazine. Here is what Rob Sheffield had to say about the band:

"Ladies love Chris Daughtry, and it's never been simple for the men in their lives to figure out why. How does Daughtry do it? He doesn't sing pretty, he doesn't write catchy, and you probably look better than this guy when you wake up in the morning, even if you passed out behind Pizza Hut. He always looks incredibly pissed off, as if Vin Diesel just stole his razor. His greatness is the way he embraces the full-on rock cheese that runs in his veins. He has no interest in playing cool; all he cares about is ovary-melting power ballads. Hell, he even calls his band by his surname, a corny trope that rock stars haven't dared since the days of Winger and Montrose.

It takes gall to put a song called "No Surprise" on your second disc, but gall is something Daughtry does not lack, and that's what made him one of the only bona fide rock stars to come out of American Idol. In Leave This Town, he brings in chick-rock titans like Richard Marx and Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, and teams up with Vince Gill for an ace country heart-tugger, "Tennessee Line." But the topper is "Life After You," where he stands by the side of the road, 10 miles out of town, after burning out his engine speeding back to his woman to beg her to take him back. Daughtry is cocky enough to know the ladies love him even more when he makes their boyfriends suffer."

I hope you all like the CD as much as I do. =]

Happy Birthday Hubby!

As you can tell from the title of this post, today is Dan's 28th birthday which he will be celebrating in Colorado with his family. He is not too fond of his birthday because every year he says, "it's just a reminder that I'm getting old". I think he's crazy because I LOVE it when it's my birthday. A whole day when its all about you & no one else...what's not to like. :o) Dan gets home from Colorado on Thursday so we will most likely celebrate this weekend. Happy Birthday Lover! I hope you have a great day & Lexi & I miss you terribly. =]

Dan is Colorado Bound

Well Lexi & I will be flying solo until Thursday the 6th. We just dropped Dan off at the Dulles Airport to meet his Dad, sisters: Aurie & Kelly & his twin brother Tom. About 4 or 5 months ago Dan's Dad called everyone & told them that he wanted to take them on vacation to spend some quality family time together. He did not tell anyone where they were going or what they were doing but just that he would purchase the tickets & he needed to know when they would be able to go. As the time to leave got closer, Don told them that he was taking them to Colorado. Of course, none of them had been there before so they were extremely excited. A few days ago Dan found out that they were going to go horseback riding while they were there. I, of course, was jealous about this because I have also wanted to go horseback riding & to be able to go in Colorado must be amazing considering how beautiful it is there. So those are the only 2 things that they know for sure about their trip: Colorado & horseback riding. Dan took my camera with him so he could take pictures & I will be sure to post them when he gets back for everyone to see.

Lexi & I's week while Dan is gone will not be very exciting. I'll be working, of course. :o( When Dan goes away the first day I am usually fine because its a time that I can have to myself but after that day has passed, I am ready for him to come home. Like they say, "distance makes the heart grow fonder" & that is definitely true in my case. I hope everyone has a great weekend. =]