10 years...

This is going to be a "I remember..." post. Get ready...

10 years. 1 decade. 520 weeks. 3650 days.I still remember where I was when it happened. I was a senior in high school, sitting in the back of Mr. Smith's history class. I remember that the teacher from across the hall came in and told our teacher what happened and all the color drained out of his face. We turned on the news and saw that the first plane had hit. I felt numb and hollow and extrordinarily scared. Then the next one hit, and I started to cry.

I cried for all the people on the planes and their families. I cried for everyone in the towers who died and for all the people who would never see them again. I cried because my boyfriend at the time was in the military and I was so afraid of what would happen to him. I cried because I knew our country changed that day.

I remember everything stopped that day. All day at school, we watched the news no one really spoke. It was scary and awful and sad, but it was nothing compared to what all the people who were directly impacted had to feel.

It's been 10 years. We did come back, we did rebuild, we grew as a country, and we found justice. Are we completely back to the way we were? No. Will we ever be? Probably not. I do know that I am so very thankful for each and every person in the military who has gone and protected us. Thank you all so very much.

9/11/01... Never forgotten.

Repo

So, as you all know, husband, dog and I live in an apartment. When husband and I moved in here, it had been a long time since I had lived in an apartment, so I had to get used to apartment living. I was not at all prepared for what I would experience.

One cool spring night, husband and I decided to sleep with our bedroom window open. It was around one am when I was woken up when a vehicle smashed into the empty dumpster. Ok, did you guys know that when a car hits an empty dumpster, that makes a loud ass bang? I'm here to tell you, it does.  So, I heard the "BANG!!" and shot up in bed and immediately thought "SHIT!! The apartment exploded!!" I'm not the most logical person when I awake due to loud noises. Anyway, husband being the awesome guy he is, gets out of bed and opens the blinds on the window to survey the damage, and to make sure the source of the bang wasn't someone smashing into our cars. He informed me that a tow truck had smashed into the dumpster and was trying to back up to our neighbor's car.

Husband watched them for a few minutes and seemed concerned. The following conversation ensued:

Husband: Neighbor's car is an all wheel drive.

Me: Uh... ok...

Husband: The repo men are hooking up to her back axle.

Me: *blank stare*

Husband:  You can't tow an all wheel drive vehicle by the back axle while it is in gear. It will mess up the car.

At this point, husband is awake enough to call the cops, just to have them say that since it is not our car, then there is nothing they can do about it and to call back if they smash into any vehicles. As soon as husband hangs up with the police,  the repo men started to drag the car out and I immediately understood what he meant about not towing an all wheel drive vehicle by the rear axle. There was the loudest episode of squealing tires/dragging plastic that I have ever experienced in my life. We got to listen to the repo drivers drag the car up the driveway, out to street, and then fade away into the distance as they got onto the interstate, dragging the car behind them.

The next morning, I went out to get in my car and go to work and there were long, dark black tire marks and a white scuff mark (the car was white) all the way up the parking lot, down the street, and onto the on ramp for the interstate. It was amazing. Luckily we haven't had to wake up to repo men again, thank goodness, but I will never forget that night. Those neighbors moved out soon after.

How about you, any crazy neighbor stories?

Graceful... totally...

Do you ever have days that make you question your intellect or question why in the hell other people let you live on your own or drive a vehicle?  I have those days all the time... Saturday was one of those days for me. I went and got my hair cut and styled that morning, then, I stopped and grabbed some lunch and went to work. I have to hike up 3 flights of stairs to get to my cube. Alright, so I’m on my way up the stairs w/ my lunch and my full, large Dr Pepper… (you see where this is going right?) and I am on the last flight of stairs, I can see the door… and I catch the toe of my flip flop on the stair and fall down. I dropped the DrP and it went EVERYWHERE… but this was overshadowed by the fact that I landed w/ all my weight on my right “girl” and hit my stomach and knees on lower stairs… awesome. So… now… I have a huge bruise on my chest right above my right "girl" and it looks awful and it hurts. I also have matching bruises on my stomach and knees where I landed on the edge of the stairs.  Not to mention that my hair style was ruined because I soaked myself in Dr Pepper. I had to use an entire roll of paper towels to clean up the mess I made and my "girl" hurt for the rest of the day. Awesome. FYI… did you know that Dr Pepper has more “hold” than any gel or hairspray I have EVER used?? It totally does, but it makes your hair crunchy and kinda sticky at the same time, so I would not suggest it

Out of everything I was thinking “DAMNIT! I really wanted that Dr Pepper!” because it was all hot and gross outside. The next thought was "Thank God that this happened on the cement stairs, not the carpeted ones", because I really really really did not want to explain that to our director.  I didn’t even really notice the pain until after I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up and washed all the Dr Pepper off my hands and arms and neck and chest and face. Then the pain kicked in, it still kinda hurts to move in certain ways and to breathe really deep. I slept on Saturday night with a big bag of frozen corn on my chest to avoid further bruising... it didn't work.

My stepmother has called me Grace since I was really young, yeah, this is obviously the perfect nickname for yours truly.  Maybe, someday, I won't be so damn clumsy... but I doubt it.

Reminders.

Every once in a while at work, the powers that be send out "gentle reminders" of policies that are supposed to be used, but are sometimes forgotten.  I have decided to take it upon myself to send out some reminders to the general population... here goes...

Hand washing etiquite: Ok kids, let's go over it again... after you go to the bathroom, you need to wash your hands with soap and water. This should not be an optional thing. We are all grown ass people who know to wash their hands after going to the potty and doing God knows what in the stall.  Also, turning on the water and splashing your hands under it for 2.7 seconds does not count as washing your hands. That actually makes it worse... when someone does this, they have demonstrated that they know that they are supposed to wash their naistee hands, but have decided to be lazy and not use soap. uh... EW!  If there is no soap, please use hand sanitizer.

Clothing/Undergarments. These should always be worn. I am not exactly sure why I need to issue a reminder on this subject, but apparently I do. While we are on this topic, just because you can cram yourself into an item of clothing and it doesn't explode at the seams does not mean it fits, it means that you haven't had to sneeze, fart, or breathe yet... believe me, when you have to do one of these functions, that shit is gonna break.  To quote my friend Mallory, "You should never look like a 10 pound sausage in a 5 pound wrapper." Ladies... I realize it is summer time now and its like a million and a half degrees outside, but please look in a mirror before you leave the house. Now, I could cram myself into a tube top and booty shorts, but I don't because I know that NO ONE wants to see that, so, please cover it up a little bit. Also, if you are deciding to wear a short skirt, 1: please wear full underwear and 2: please do a "bend check" before you leave the house. This would be where you put on the skirt and then bend to make sure your ass isn't completely exposed when you have to bend/move/do anything other than stand or sit completely still. You would think that this goes without saying, but the last time husband and I went to a particular restaurant, a waitress kept bending over in a very short skirt and we could see her undies everytime. Not awesome.

My mom and I go kayaking every summer. I fall out of the stupid damn kayak every summer. If you see me, or anyone else, fall out of their kayak, do not stand on the bank and point and laugh while the person struggles to get all their shit flipped back upright and into the proper spot. It will make me... uh... kayaking people want to beat the shit out of you with the paddle.

Like I said earlier in this post, it is now summer time and it is a bazillion and ten degrees outside y'all, but please do not wear a lampshade as a hat. I realize that the normal head coverings may be kinda boring, but seriously? When I see someone wearing a lampshade as a hat while I am on my way home from work after a VERY trying day, I will turn around in my car and about swerve into the car next to mine, let's avoid this ok? I mean, seriously?  What made you decide that a lampshade was a good hat?  "HEY!!  I'm tired of wearing my hat and this here thingy will fit on my head, I'm gonna wear it on my head for a while!" Um... really?

This last point isn't a reminder, but more of a warm fuzzy. I would like to add a shout out to Ben & Jerry's ice cream company.  Ok, you guys remember how I went to the grocery store and bought ice cream while it was all blizzardy outside and I lost it somewhere between the grocery store and my apartment? That was in either January or February, well... guess what... husband found it. It was in my car under the passenger seat. Uh, I totally looked there but whatevs. Let me tell y'all something, that ice cream was in my car for about 4 months and it didn't leak at all. Whoever packs that stuff at the factory deserves a Nobel Prize for awesome!  Ok, that's it for now, more later.

Can you guys think of any reminders that I have missed?

Feelin' kicky...

What. The. Hell??  Really?  Why is it that when some of us have to be grown ups and do what we need and have to do, others are able to just do whatever the f**k they wanna do?  For example, I like my job but it's not easy, it can be kind of emotionally draining.  Some days I would like to run away, screaming like my head is on fire, but I don't because husband and I have bills to pay.  This year, when we got our tax refund, we paid off my car. YAY go us!!  But someone I know, who is old enough to know better, has decided that instead of paying off some outstanding debt, they are going to go on a vacation out of the country instead on their refund.

Are you serious right now?  I mean, really...?? I am aware that I cannot control other people and their actions, but sometimes it really chaps my ass to know that some people would be able to do whatever they want when husband and I actually have to be grown ups.  Being a grown up sucks.   Guess I am a little jealous, because I know that if husband and I made a bonehead move like that, our parents would say "Uh, no. We aren't helping you."

I am feeling considerably less kicky and bitchy than earlier because husband and I went to the gym this evening after dinner and I used some of my anger energy there... but I'm still pissy. In with the nicey nice, out with the rage. 

Whatever, I guess I get to just go to my happy place, put on my big girl pants, and deal with it.  On a happy note, I was able to catch up with someone from high school yesterday that I never really expected that I would be able to hang out with again.  It was great, and I had a blast catching up. I guess that's all I really had to say.  I am aware that this post wasn't funny or quirky or entertaining.  I realize that it was angry and rage-y and kinda bitter, but I promise that this won't be an all the time thing, it will be the exception rather than the rule. I promise I will be back to my normal slapstick, goofy ass self next time.

Until then...

Well, that didn't work did it?

Well, I didn't do well with the whole posting everyday thing did I?  Sorry about that, I don't even have that great of a reason other than apparently if I create a "goal" or "deadline" then my brain freaks out and short circuts and I rebel by watching hours of TV and eating ice cream.  Not such a great plan...

But, this brings me to my first real topic. Husband and I have decided that we are going to try to get healthier, AKA: get less fat or die trying. Today was day one.  Went to work, came home, ate dinner, went and walked a mile then lifted weights. I have sore parts that I forgot I even had.  Wow.  I'm sure that tomorrow I will be in SERIOUS pain, but it is totally worth it and I have been needing to do this for a while now...  I'll keep you updated on the progress, not specific details, but kind of the broad strokes.

I figured that since I don't really have a well defined topic in mind, I will write about a few random things that have happened since my last post... ok, sit down and hold on.

About a month or so ago, I was on my way to work one morning.  The road I was traveling on is a main street that runs the entire length of the city, it is always busy and there are always people on this road.  I was driving about 50 mph and there was no one in front of me. I looked down to change the airspeed on my AC/heater, I looked up and there was a Nissan and a FedEx truck stopped in the lane about 100 feet in front of me. The actual phrase that was yelled was "OH, FU*KITY SHIT!!" I locked up my brakes and skidded about 97 feet, at that point I had nowhere else to go so I hopped the curb into someone's front yard to avoid hitting the Nissan and the FedEx truck.  I came to an extremely rough stop and ended up being right next to the FedEx truck.  The delivery girl looked at me and said "Oh, do you live here?" I pulled myself together enough to say "No, I was trying not to hit you." She just looked at me and said "Well, this is a busy road." and took the package to the front door of the house. Wow... thank you so much FedEx girl, I am so glad that you drive around in a big ass truck all day with your inepitude and just make up your own damn parking spots.  Thanks so much!

A couple weeks ago, I went to lunch with my mom.  This is not odd, we go out once a week. Well, that particular day was a Wednesday (more on that in a minute).  First, it should be noted that I work in the ghetto.  It has gotten to the point where random sirens and people outside yelling at each other doesn't really phase me anymore. Anyway... Mom came to pick me up for lunch and I was crossing the street to meet her.  As I was crossing the street, a man passed me (who was easily 45 years old... not old, it's just 20 years older than me) and said "Why you didn calll me lass nite??" I ignored him, and he SAID IT AGAIN. Uh, sir in the ghetto who was "wearing"  (*read, he had his head through the head hole and was wearing one arm of the garmet , the rest of it was crammed up around his neck/sitting on top of his shoulders) a sweatshirt when it was 70+ degrees outside, I heard you the first time you the first time, there is absolutely no reason for you to say it again.  Thanks! I ended up walk/running across the street, jumped in my mom's car, slammed the door and locked it and said "Drive.  Now."  As we were pulling away, I was telling mom what he said, she looked in the rearview window and said "well, now he's running across the street."   He was gone by the time I got back, thank goodness, I just don't know if I could have handled that much pimpin in one day...

Finally (I know, you were wondering if this was ever gonna end huh??), I hate Wednesdays.  They are completely pointless.  Now, before someone says "Oh, but it's hump day." ask yourself, what kind of good comes from Wednesday?  It is in the dead middle of the week, you know you have been through two days, but you still have two days left, it's like you haven't really gotten anything accomplished. There is no more excitement about the prior weekend and it's still too far away to get excited about the next weekend.  I rather deal with Monday than Wednesday. Yeah... it's that bad.

Well, I guess that concludes my random nonsequeters, run-on sentences, my random ass train of thought.  I am going to try to post more often since I failed the last time.  We will see what happens.  :)

Day 5: dog vs weather.

Seriously weather? You can't freakin decide if you want to he hot or cold, dry or rainy, sunny or cloudy. After writing that sentence it occurs to me that maybe Katy Perry actually wrote her song about the weather in my beloved state instead of her ex boyfriend. Anyway, this blog is not about Ms Perry-Brand, it's about the stoopit weather that attacked us today. Yes... Stupid does have to be spelled that way because it is just that stoopit.

Can someone please explain to me how the hell the weather dropped 20+ degrees in the span of 8 hours?? Dog so graciously woke me up this morning at 5:45 by barking at the thunder. I guess he figures it's big and loud so he needs to be big and loud in response. Anyway, I drug my ass out of bed to get dog to calm down, put him on the bed with me and finally got him to lay down and chill out a little bit. As soon as he relaxed another giant thunderclap rolled through and dog stood up and barked directly in my face, loudly. Awesome. This did set the tone for today.

Finally got out of bed, took a shower, got dressed. I did vaguely remember something from the news the night before about it being rainy so I did have the foresight to wear boots. Yay me! This was the smartest decision I made today. Go to the door to leave, open it and see the monsoon outside... Grab my rainproof coat, roll up my pants to my knees to avoid getting my pants wet and slush through the lake that has replaced my apartment building's front yard. It took me 45 effing minutes to get to work this morning. It should be noted that from my door to work should take 15 minutes with traffic and lights. I. Was. Irritable. Apparently, dear readers, people in this town have problems driving in the rain as well as snow. Great.

So, work was work. We did have an office lunch for birthdays today, that was good. Now, everyday I move my car in the afternoon so I don't have to walk to the back of a dark parking lot when I leave for the day. Today was just like any other, I went out, moved my car, and came back in to work. I had noticed that the temperature dropped significantly since lunch, but it wasn't done. I came out to leave 2 hours later and my frigtin car door had frozen shut. What. The. Hell.??! Are you friggin kidding me?

I eventually made it home and I have not left. Husband went to take he dog out this evening and he said "oh... It's snowing." I looked outside and it is starting to flurry and the wind will blow he hair off of your head. All I can say is that I hope it either dumps a foot of snow tonight or it remains clear. I am tired of snow and I'm tired if having to walk through it to get to my car to get to work. Bah humbug.

Here's hoping that I get a redo tomorrow and it gets better. As for yesterday's blog, it didn't happen because I was kind of having a crisis thinking that no one actually read this thing, but I found out today that people are actually reading... So I'm back. :) aren't you so excited?

Day 4: " I've got brand new tattoo..."

So, obviously I didn't post yesterday.  Yeah, I was doing things and stuff and whatnot.  AKA... went to dinner with friends, met with husband and his friends at a bar... oh yeah, got a tattoo!  Woot Woot... Ok, kids, it was 6 years between the last tattoo and this one.  I forgot that tattoos friggin hurt!  Went to the tattoo place and was like the first person there which was awesome because from start to finish - from talking to the guy about the tattoo I want to walking out with new ink - it took an hour.  AWESOME!  While I was waiting for tattoo man to draw up my picture, a couple girls walked in, both 18 yrs old. Great. The large, tattooed man behind the counter (who had tattoos on his face and eyelids) greeted them and said,

"Hey. How can I help you?" 
Girl 1: "I want a hello kitty tattoo on my hip." 
Tattoo Man: "Uhh... I'm gonna have to google that..."
Girl 2: "I want the word 'Love' on my hand in cursive." 

At this point I wandered away to keep from laughing at them. I am apparently getting old because when girl 2 said that she wanted a tattoo on her hand, I immediately thought "Ok, you obviously never plan on having a professional job." I realize this is hypocritical since I was there to get a tattoo as well, however, mine is on my back and can be covered easily.  Whatever.  So, without any further ado, the new tattoo:




Cute huh?  It hurt like a bitch, but I didn't cry or scream, so that's good on my part I guess. This is number one in a two part series.  The next will be blue and purple. Super excited... however,  now that I remember how damn painful it is to get a tattoo, it may be another 6 years before it happens.  I'll keep you posted.

PS: I know that I failed with my goal of posting everyday for 30 days, whatever. It may just end up that I am unable to post on Saturdays. So, I will pick up from here as day 4 and move forward.  :) 

Day 3. starting to fizzle...

so, blogging for thirty days straight is going to be difficult. i have had writers block all day and have wondered what i will write about.. so here it is... it is finally friday and this week took forever. i am so very glad that it is over.i dont have any lists or funny stories about snow. i am tired and i am out of ideas for today. i will have more interesting things to say tomorrow... until then, sweet dreams.

Day 2: Winter weather advisory

Husband and I live in the south.  In case you have been living under a rock lately, the entire friggin country has had problems with snow and ice.  Now... people who live up north are used to dealing with this ridiculous weather.  We southerners have a more than a small problem with it.  It is true that schools let out and we completely freak out when half an inch of snow/ice/sleet/freezing rain/whatever falls.  It is also true that even the threat of winter weather causes EVERYONE to go to the grocery store and buy all the milk, bread, and eggs and shit kinda goes bananas.  Last week, we had more terrible weather (read, two inches of snow that fell for 4 hours) so yours truly had to go to the grocery store because husband and I will completely let ourselves run out of groceries before we go back to the grocery store, because it is hell and people there are ruthless. Anyway, I showed up at the gro sto and found a parking spot (no small feat people) and I went inside.  Walked around the store and picked out things that I thought we may need (*read* Ice Cream and cheese dip) and made my way to the check out.  I aged 40 years standing in line and finally made it out to my car... in the snow.  Ok, loaded the car while some guy in a prius stared at me and motioned for me to move my slow ass because he wanted my parking spot, because God forbid he park in the open spot two slots down. Awesome.  Got all my groceries packed in the car. Left the hell store. On the way home, I was in a 45 mph zone on a 4 lane road and the freaking out yuppie soccer mom in front of me in the giant SUV was taking her half out of the middle. Lady was driving down the middle of both lanes going 20 mph.  There were a lot of dirty words and unladylike hand gesutres going toward the "wonderful" driver in front of me. Finally turned on my road and was able to get home. Parked. Grabbed the first 3 bags of groceries and shlepped all that crap inside.  After making 3 trips, I was able to stay in out of the cold and started putting all the groceries away, but somewhere between the grocery store and my apartment, I lost an entire container of Ben & Jerry's ice cream... not a happy time. Moral of this story, I hate snow. It's cold. It's wet. It makes me grouchy because I get stuck at home and cannot get out of the bowl where my apartment complex is located. SUCKS!  Now, I know that people in the great frozen tundra laugh at us for freaking out about the minimal amount of snow we have to deal with one month out of the year... but I'll wager this... I'll bet that those people also would spontaneously combust if they had to deal with summer down here... 115 degrees with 98% humidity. End of rant for today.

Random things.

So, I'm earning a big fat epic fail on this posting more often thing, mostly because I have had writer's block lately, and kinda because I'm lazy right now because when I have to blog, I have to get out the computer and wait for it to load and all this crap which I don't have the patience for... Whatever, I'm here now, so let's do it.  This is gonna be a big ass post about random factoids about yours truly because I have been reading other blogs and this is what other people tend to do when they also have writer's block.  Fair warning, I will probably come back to this post for blog ideas in the future... Here we go...

A random number of facts about me with no explanation or point of reference:

• I hate the color orange.
• I have ADD and OCD. Awesome combo...
• I love tattoos - getting them, watching other people get them, and looking at other people's tattoos once they have them.
• My dream job would be an underwater photographer for National Geographic.
• I sing along with commercials, except the Truvia commercial... I hate that stupid commercial.
• I actually know what SCUBA stands for without having to google it.
• I will start sentences with "And" and end with a preposition.
• When I am singing in my car, I think I sound like a rockstar.
• When I sing karaoke I do not think I sound like a rockstar at all.
• I love sushi, but I will not eat fish.
• My dream house would be steampunk.
• I rather stain my hands by dyeing my own hair than pay someone else to do it for me.
• My favorite bands are Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, and Saliva
• I firmly believe that age is actually a state of mind.
• My pet peeve is an ignored phone call or voicemail.  CHECK YOUR MESSAGES!
• I can name all 50 states, however, I cannot draw an accurate map to save my life, don't believe me?  Ask my husband.
• Alabama looks like Arkansas and Mississippi is very long with no places for potty stops.
• I think I should be able to talk to people the same way they talk to me.
• I feel naked without my necklace and my watch.
• I won't leave my house without wearing makeup.
• The World is designed for tall people, shorties are at an extreme disadvantage.
• I do not care about pro football, however, I love college football.
• I own the fact that I am kind of a nerd.
• I love pineapple.
• And rum.
• I hate it when people have a sense of entitlement and think they deserve every compliment when they haven't put forth any work.  These are typically the same people that take credit for other people's work but they do not take the blame when something they are working on is wrong.  These people irritate the shit out of me.
• I use run-on sentences.
• My sternum is bruised.
• I know what medical terms mean and I know how to spell them correctly.
• I can no longer really read my handwriting... to see an illustration of this phenomenon, go peep the post about handwriting on http://theoatmeal.com/ . The oatmeal has done an amazing job, his website is hilarious, if you have some time, go look at the stuff.
• My favorite colors are green, black, and purple.
• I hate wearing socks.
• I love taking things apart but typically can't remember exactly how to put the same thing back together.
• Everytime I spell the word together, I have to think "to get her"
• I have a twitter account, but I still don't really get it.
• I love Sephora.
• I love chapstick and reapply it multiple times a day, but I don't really like lipgloss or lipstick.
• Speed limits should be suggestion, not law.
• I still listen to Korn. Yes, I'm serious.
• I hope my life means something and I am able to make at least one person's life better.
• Robot Chicken is stupid.
• I can make a grocery list and still forget something that I wrote on it.
• I hate blue ink.
• I fall asleep with the TV on.
• I am actually a lot calmer than people give me credit for, but if you piss me off then look the hell out.  Husband would disagree with this statement.
• I get angry when people tell me to calm down.
• I HATE poetry and Shakespeare.
• People who use large words to seem smart typically aren't.
• Favorite movie is "Snatch".
• I like beer - took me a while to warm up to it though.
• Eggs are gross.
• For the love of everything sacred, underwear and deodorant are not optional, if you will be around me, please wear both.
• Laser tattoo removal is fu*king painful!!
• Clowns are scary.
• I watch The Big Bang Theory and understand the jokes.
• Notice to Willow Smith and Ke$ha: GO. AWAY!!

That is all. As strange as this sounds, I am going to attempt to blog every day for the next month. I bet I will fizzle out by this weekend, but so help me I will try.  No, I am not going to start on the first of the month, I am starting today and I plan on writing a blog post every day until March 1st. People, I am telling you right now, be prepared for some really random shit...

2011... I'm putting you on notice.

Dear 2011,

So far, you suck.  I trust that today is not an actual representation of how this year is going to progress.... SO HELP ME!!!  (shakes fist at nothing in particular)

First, I turned off my alarm this morning and overslept.  Ran through the shower and then after getting out and getting dressed, I realized I left my makeup in husband's car yesterday, which was with husband at work... an hour away from home. Then husband got sent home from work because he is sick.  Feel bad for husband, but he has meds so it is ok.  Worked an hour past when I was supposed to get off, then had to run errands. Didn't get home until 7:30 and didn't have dinner finished until 8:30.  *SIGH* Thank goodness that today is over.

Now that the bitch session is over... I'm back bloggysphere!  Be excited!! My resolution this year is to post more often.  I would like to say Happy Birthday to Stepdad, good luck/congratulations to my friend Mal who will be expanding her family at some point this week, and YAY for Charity for getting engaged, looking forward to her wedding weekend!  After my posting vacation, (AKA, I was a slacker and had a severe case of writer's block until now) I have a lot of things to discuss, but not right now because I'm tired and I want to sleep.  Goodnight everyone.