Yes, I know "Sam" is a boy's Name

I'm having an affair...

2012-01-25T11:26:00.002-05:00

On my blog... with Pinterest. Let me rewind a bit... my computer blew up about a year and a 1/2 ago. Then my MIL gave us her old computer, but then our modem blew up (shit blows up all over my house apparently) then I got knocked up, puked for 5 months, and then had a baby which resulted in a big blog hiatus. Then, my amazing Momma bought me a laptop for Christmas. Amazing. Then, my hubseroni got us a new modem and a wireless router, so I can Internet all over the house. Woo-woo! So, in my head, I've written several blog entries and they were great, I might dare to say awesome really, buuuuttttttt, then I was introduced to Pinterest, which has really opened up a lot of doors and I keep finding more and more treasures on the internet. If you haven't visited, check it out, and if you need an invite, let me know, and if you already have it, you should be my friend so I can steal all of your really tasty recipes you find. Like this chocolate chip, oreo, brownie monstrosity!: http://pinterest.com/pin/30328997460328554/ I mean, seriously, that probably has 8 gazillion calories, but I really think it's worth it...

Im a Mommy-Blogger now!

2011-12-09T13:58:00.006-05:00

My precious little angel is now 3 months old. I know, crazy, right? She is absolutely amazing. She started sleeping through the night when she was 3 weeks old. I know, you're totally jealous. Don't worry, I'm guessing the next baby will be a holy terror. She did have a bout with colic, which sucked and kept me up til midnight for about 4 weeks, but a change in formula did the trick (and maybe a little of me learning how to sooth her while she screamed like a banshee).

I can't believe how much I love her. I mean, head over heels. I know people told me that before I got pregnant, but I didn't really believe them.

I know this is vain, but I'm also so excited that she is such a pretty baby. I've been known to make fun of ugly babies and I was worried that karma would smite me, but I'm safe. I do think I should reform my ways before Mr. Karma catches up to me. I wish that I got paid a dollar for every compliment she rakes in. But who wants to just take my word for it, when I can leave you with a picture to judge for yourself?

Sooo... I had a baby.

2011-09-16T15:35:00.002-04:00

Alicyn Catherine was born September 7 at 4:57pm. But first, let's back up to September 1. I had an ultrasound that day and then I saw my doctor. The ultrasound measured her at 10 lbs, 10 oz! The doctor said, "okay, we have some options." He explained that he didn't think she was that big, but because of my size, it was hard to get an accurate measurement and ultrasounds tend to be off a pound or so in either direction. He said he also didn't believe that she was that big. He felt she was probably closer to 8.5-9lbs. So, we could try and deliver vaginally and risk that she was big and possibly get stuck (and jack my girly bits up in the process) or we could schedule a c-section. The catch though... because of my pudge, I would have a much higher chance of getting an infection. After a lot of contemplation (and crying) I decided that I just couldn't risk doing anything that could hurt or even kill her. I was willing to sacrifice my own well-being for her. So we scheduled the c-section for September 7 at 1pm. We got to the hospital at 11 and they started prep, but told me that I would be pushed back because of emergency c-sections that day, so the clock rolled around to 3:45 and they where finally wheeling me back the hallway. They got me all ready, gave me the spinal, (which was amazing, I must add!), brought in C and started. It was a weird feeling. I could feel the doctor pull her our of my ribs and I could feel myself deflate, but it didn't hurt. Then I could heard the nurse say, "I see a lot of hair!" and then I heard the doctor saying, "That's a big baby! That's a big baby!" Then I heard crying erupt in the OR and I lost it and started to cry. The doctor said to the nurse, "is she crying?" and he peeked over the curtain and said, "What's the matter, dear?" I sniffed and said, "I've been waiting since New Years Day to hear that!" Then I heard the nurse say, "10, 9! 21 inches!" and I was like, "Holy Crap!" After that, things started to get fuzzy. I was starting to doze off and I was watching my pressure drop on the monitor. C kept tapping me of the head, saying "wake-up."

Finally, they got me closed and took me back to recovery where I finally got to hold my baby. My mom told me that I kept telling her, "I can't believe that was in me... I grew her." We were in the hospital for 4 days and we've been doing great. I've been moving around really well with my c-section, with only some mild separation of the incision on one side, but a week in and there is no infection. The baby lost some weight in the hospital, enough to be concerned, but she is back up to 10lbs, 5 oz. They said she has enough to spare. :-)

Still pregnant...

2011-08-23T13:51:00.002-04:00

I'm still here. Still preggo. Very preggo. The top picture was taken last week around 36.5 weeks and the second one was about 34 weeks. Today is 38 weeks, so Baby Girl can come whenever she likes now! Hopefully, she'd like to come sooner rather than later!

This is like one of those amusement park rides...

2011-07-14T12:25:00.002-04:00

you know, the ones that make you go, "please. stop. I want to get off!" Yup, that's pregnancy. Some days, it's not so bad. It's like a gentle train ride and I almost "forget" that I'm pregnant. Then there are those days that are like a rollercoaster that shoots you our of the gate at 95 mph and up an 85* incline into a loop and corkscrew, but it's okay, because the centrifical force is holding you in place. Those days involve waking up every hour to pee and being so exhausted the next day that you feel tears whelling up in your eyes if your boss even looks at you funny. Then you end up bursting into tears because you forget the cat food and have to feed them dog food which confuses them and oh my god, I can't even take care of the cats right and I'm going to have a baby. WTF was I thinking? Then there is looking for your keys for 20 minutes when they are hanging on the key hook where they belong. Then there was the day that I was telling C that my crotch hurt so bad and he thought he'd be funny and go "awww, does your crotch-crotch hurt? awwww, does it? does it?" and I punched him in the balls and asked him how it felt. 8 more weeks, folks. 8 more weeks.

Holy third trimester!

2011-06-13T12:29:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day of my second trimester. Holy cow. Guess what Baby Girl's room looks like? It looks like an office/storage room where the cats hang out. Guess what I have for her? A stroller and about 90 outfits that my mom and I have gathered up at yard sales. My friend is also pregnant and is 12 days behind me and she has her Baby Boy's room finished. Decorated. Crib set up... At the rate I'm going, I'm going to have to keep her in my uterus until she's three...

Oh, I wonder...

2011-05-16T13:51:00.002-04:00

Me: I invited Peanut to come into the delivery room. She can videotape.

C: Why do you get to invite someone and I dont?!?!?!

Me: Dude, when YOU crap out an 8lb turd, you can invite whoever YOU want.

C: I'm calling the Mythbusters and then I'm getting that thing mounted.

Is this really what i have to deal with? lol

So it looks like a....

2011-04-18T12:40:00.002-04:00

GIRL!!!!!!

Althought the little wiggler was moving so much, the ultrasound tech said she thought it was a girl. I go back in 4 weeks for a confirmation.

It's not like I have to actually THINK about it...

2011-03-14T08:42:00.003-04:00

For some reason, unknown to me, I thought growing a baby would be easy. I didn't expect things to change until Baby got here. I have no idea why I thought that. None. After all, I read the Funny Gals blogs the whole time they wrote about their pregnancies. Posts that were often tagged, "Growing a Baby is Hard Work." But, somewhere in my crazy little mind, I figured all I would have to do was to take my vitamin everyday and go to my doctor appointments once a month. It's not like I actually had to think about putting the baby together. Eye here...nose there... let's slap a vagina on it.... no, my body does that all by itself, it doesn't NEED me for that. Pfft, Silly Sam.

The first few weeks that I knew I was pregnant were exhausting. I would go to bed at 8 o'clock. If I wasn't home at 8 o'clock, I would fall asleep wherever I was... like time I feel asleep on the couch at my grandfather-in-law's and woke up with his dog, Elsa, making out with me. ick.

Then came the sickness. OMG, the sickness. Week 5-6, I was so excited. I wasn't sick or queasy and I said to myself, "I'm not going to be sick at all for this pregnancy." Then my MIL's lasagna revisited me one night and I threw up EVERYTHING for about 7.5 weeks. I threw up enough to lose 12lbs. Everything smelled horrible. The garlic dipping sauce for the pizza, the garbage and my husband. It got to the point where I would beg him to put his socks in a bag on the porch, he thought I was crazy.

I'm doing better now. I get really bad heartburn at times and I still get sick on and off, but not nearly as bad. However, next girl who tells me how much she LOVED being pregnant is getting knocked down.

"The Talk"

2011-03-09T12:27:00.005-05:00

I was 12 years old when "Aunt Flo" came knocking on my door for the first time. I remember it exactly. It was the middle of May of my 6th grade year. I was home from school because it was our Kennywood Picnic Day (the day they close school so everyone can go ride rollercoasters). I didn't go and was at home, but I had friends over. We were outside playing and I ran inside to pee and looked down and was like "wtf is this?!?!" Then I was pissed cuz it ruined my Garfield undies that had the matching bra and was like the only matching set of underoos I had. Well, Shit. Having my friends waiting outside (two of which were boys!), I realized I couldn't spend a lot of time on this, so I stuffed some toilet paper in there, went outside for awhile, faked sick and had my mom send them home. I then smuggled the "supplies" they gave us at school downstairs and hid the fact that I had "company" from my mom for like 4 days. I didn't want to tell her, she was going to make a big freakin deal about it and she did. She patted me on the head and she and my grandmother felt the need to go to Walmart and ask the clerk what kind of pads were good. They then talked about it with her for 15 minutes. She ended up listening to the clerk (who must have been an idiot) bc she recommended the generic ones with plastic coating... which stuck to my skin. It was miserable for years until I learned to buy my own with cloth coating.

Do you think the torture ended there? No. My mom then decided it was time for *duh duh duh*! The Talk. Now, keep in mind that I've known where babies came from since I was about 3 (Mommy, where do babies come from? A little hole by your butt. Ohhhhh, that must hurt!) I also convinced her to buy me a very detailed book when I was 7, complete with pictures. The only thing I couldn't sound out was "Vagina." I was a very advanced reader." So, anyway, they used to have those commercials on tv and there was this one with a girl and she'd say "I'm 16 and I have to ask my mom to watch my son so I can go to the movies with my friends." We'd seen it a 100 times, but my mom decides to jam in there: "You know, she's only 4 years older than you and now that you have that 'little thing' you can get pregnant." OMFG, Mom. I haven't had a boyfriend since kindergarten and I know all this crap already. "Mother!" I hissed and ran to my room. We never mentioned sex, menstruation, boys ect again until I was living with C and she pretty much had to figure that the cherry was annihilated. Then she told me to give him a blowjob to get him to do what I want. "MOTHER!" I always knew I was conceived unintentionally. My parents had a 14 year old and were done having kids, but the rhythm method failed them. I always knew that, but really, REALLY never wanted details. But then in January, my mom shared with me that they got pregnant after 2 months of the rhythm method. I think THAT'S what she should have told me when she gave me "The Talk." "We had sex twice without protection and I got pregnant." That would have been a bigger deterrent than "Now that you have that 'little thing'..." If she would have told me that, I wouldn't have been nearly as surprised when I got pregnant after just a mere 6 weeks of unprotected sex.

FYI Facebookians

2011-01-19T14:18:00.001-05:00

No one wants to see what you pooped out on their Facebook feed. It's gross. Grow up. I'm unfriending you.

Day 4: Forgive Others

2010-11-16T12:52:00.002-05:00

Today in the 30 Days of Truth: Something you need to forgive someone else for

Forgiveness is tough. Anger is tougher. It sits inside you and festers. It never hurts the other person, but it will tear you apart. Forgiving someone doesn't mean that you become their best bud, that you start hanging out with them or even that speak to them ever again. Forgiveness isn't something you have to even say to them. You can tell them "I forgive you" or you can write them a letter if you want, but you don't have to. Forgiveness is a decision you make to let go of the anger. The anger that is destroying you. That is filling your veins and your heart with cold, hard hate. I used to hold a great grudge. There was the girl from college who told my best friend that she hated me, because I beat her and her roommate out in two different elections in two different clubs. Then there was the college boyfriend who tried to control me. Then there was the summer boyfriend who would cry and get angry when I'd try to break up with him, but then I learned that he was cheating with his ex-girlfriend. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. There were the co-workers who tried to tell me Chance was a vicious dog and would bite someone, just because he's a pittbull. (He's the one in my header snuggling with the cat, looks vicious, doesn't he?) It's taken a long time, but I think I'm in a good place right now. I've moved on from all the old boyfriends and shady people that I've had in my life.

Day 3: Forgive Thy Self

2010-11-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

Sorry forthe delay. My computer kicked the bucket and I'm limited on my access. It also seems that blogger hates my Blackberry.

So, Day 3: Something I have to forgive myself for...

This is a really tough one, so I guess that's a good thing. I don't really think I have anything to "forgive" myself for. I'm okay with myself. Does that mean I haven't done some crazy stupid things? heck no. But I realize they are a part of my life. They've made me who I am. Do I have things I wish I'd never done? Absolutely. I wish I would have spent more time with my dad in those 7 months before he died. I wish I wouldn't have been so self-conscious in high school, so that my craziness wouldn't have pushed C away and we could have stayed together from 11th grade on. That would have saved me from a lot of stupidity with the loser guys I dated... who made me feel worthless... who I allowed to make me feel worthless, because after all, no one can make me feel a certain way without my permission. So I have nothing to forgive myself for.

Day 2 of the 30 Days of Truth

2010-11-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today is Day Two of the 30 Days of Truth. The topic is Something I Love About Myself.

I love that I care about others, especially kids. I love doing Girl Scouts. I have 22 girls (4th and 5th grade) this year and that's a lot! I love that by doing this, I'm helping to make their lives different. I'm helping them meet new people and grow into confident, intelligent young women. I love that all the work I put into planning, turns into fun for them. I've always known that I would spend my life helping others. From the time I was in 2nd grade, I knew. I wanted to be a vet to help animals. Then by 9th grade, I wanted to be a psychologist to help people. Then I wanted to hit the lottery, so I could spend my life being a Girl Scout Leader, working for Habit for Humanity, walking dogs at the shelter or being a Candy Striper. Alas, the lottery hasn't happened, but I do work in mental health where I do my best to help people. Sometimes, I wish I had a job where I worked completely alone, but I don't think that would last long...

30 Days of Truth

2010-11-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Since I've been living the boring life and have nothing to write about, I figured I might awa well give the 30 Days of Truth a go.

30 Days of Truth:
Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself

Day One: Something I Hate about Myself

Since I have my Confessions of a Fat Girl Blog, I kinda wanna say my weight, but I don't know if I hate that about myself. It also feels too easy to write about that. Do I wish that I was a size 2? Yes. Do I wish that I knew what it was like to make heads turn? Yes. Do I wish that I didn't have to worry so much about dying in my 50s? Absolutely. But what I hate about myself goes much deeper. I hate that I don't have any follow though... any motivation. C calls me "lazy" when he gets mad at me. Maybe I would feel better about myself if I wasn't "lazy." Maybe I could lose weight, maybe I could keep my house clean. Maybe I could have more to show for myself. My sewing box is filled with half-finished projects that I started and got bored with. My table is covered with dished from the cupboard that I took out to sort and never finished. My bookshelf is covered in books that I started to read and never finished. I attempted Weight Watchers and figured out how many points my favorite foods had and I did good for about 36 hours and keeping track of everything just got to be too much work. Things would be better if I could just finish something.

I suck!

2010-11-08T12:41:00.002-05:00

gosh! Where have I been?? Well, for starters, my computer died at home. I got it when I went to college in 2002 and it's been through a lot, so I guess an 8 year run was pretty good for its health. But alas, I'm computerless.

My husband did the unthinkable. He let his mother in our house. "Why don't you let her in your house, Sam?" Thank you for asking, bloggy voice. Because C and I are pretty messy. I can't keep anything organized and my MIL is a neat freak, so last time he let her in, she called her sister and her sister called their dad who told me he heard "how disgusting" my house was. I was livid. I instructed C to never let his mother inside again and if she mentioned it, to tell her that she can't come in until she learns to keep her mouth shut. Alas, when she showed up to go with C to visit the FIL at the hospital, she had to pee. bad. Now, I might have shown her to the nearest cluster of trees, but not my darling C. Nope, he let her in. Fortunately, I wasn't home. He later told me, and I quote: "My mom said that if we get the house clean enough for a baby, she'll buy us a Mac for Christmas." I wonder at what point she's going to ask for a baby for Christmas?

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-10-04T08:54:00.003-04:00

Today is my birthday, so I thought it was a good time to break the bloggy silence and pop in for a visit. So far, by 9am, I've gotten 15 Happy Birthday msgs on my Facebook and 2 txt msgs. That must mean that people still like me :-). I also neglected my 2 year blogaversary on September 8th. I posted that day, but it wasnt til after i posted, that I realized it was my two year mark. Vacation went well. Very busy as always, but I did get some much needed sleep. So, what is going on with you?

omg, this week needs to end before I spaz

2010-09-08T12:02:00.002-04:00

We were closed Monday. For the holiday created for drinking. and partying. Awesome. Then, I have to use my vacation time before September 19, so I took September 9-19 off. Oh yeah, an 11 day vay-cay! We had a picnic with out clients yesterday, so that only left today to mustard through. Until my boss asked me to work Thursday and take the 20th off so one of my co-workers could go to a training. Still 11 days.. still a short work week, but now I feel like someone is slowly drilling a nail into my head. You know that feeling in Elementary school, when it's like, the week before summer break and you feel like it will NEVER FREAKIN EVER end? Yeah, that feeling. Only they are making me do real work instead of dumping colored sand into a bottle or gluing cottonballs to a sheet of blue paper.

Boy or Girl? or Babies are hella scary, dude.

2010-08-27T21:16:00.002-04:00

First off, I want to give KAT from Funny Gals another big congrats for delivering a gorgeous little boy! So stop over to Funny Gals and check out his adorable little face and tell Momma congrats! I also think it's awesome how KAT and SJ were 2 for 2 on their babies' genders. Maybe being pregnant makes you psychic! That would rock. So now we all have to sit around and wait on SJ to bring a baby girl into the mix.

Speaking of babies, have I ever told you how downright terrified I am of them? We were at our friend's ice cream shop and her niece, who works there, had her baby there today. So everyone decided to ask C and I when we're having a baby. To which I laughed and said "When they don't scare the sh*t outta me." So Momma Jody was feeding Baby Jayden and a customer came, so she handed him to me with his bottle and said "hold him for a minute." ohmyfreakinggoodnessandallthingsholyandgood.... scared to death. My dearest husband thought that this would be a good time to tickle me. WTF, dude? It was terrifying, but pretty awesome. I think I caught the "bug."

Life and Death

2010-08-21T13:55:00.003-04:00

Every once in awhile, I start cruising around random blogs. Just to see what I'm missing out there. Today I came across a post from January about a girl named Karissa from Prissygreen.com who took her own life, a week after posting this entry. It did, however, make me think of the wonders of the internet and blogging. Our words and thoughts can still be read, long after we can no longer share them. What words are we leaving behind?

There's also a song that this reminds me of. It's called "If I Die Young," by The Band Perry. I shared it with someone the other day and she wouldn't even listen to the whole thing. She turned it off 30 seconds into it and said "I don't really care for it. It's country." *eye roll* Just listen to the words. If you've ever lost someone way before their time, it will have some meaning. "Lord make me a rainbow. I'll shine down on my mother. She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors....a penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell em for a dollar. They're worth so much more, after I'm a goner"

When Blind Dates Go Bad

2010-08-12T06:00:00.004-04:00

I'm married, so I can't go on blind dates. Unless I close my eyes and let C lead me around.

However, my BFF, Peanut can go on blind dates. She told me I could post it, then she told me I couldn't. But it doesn't matter, because she told me once that I could. This is how she gets in trouble. No takie-backies.

So her dad started talking to this guy's mom (she's a customer in his shop). Some haggling went on, a dowry was agreed upon, cellphone numbers were exchanged and he started to text her. (I've advised her against letting her parents set her up anymore). They set up a time to meet and she headed out. She got there before him (which is a miracle in itself.) He said he'd be in a green truck. So when a green truck pulled up next to her, she got out and knocked on the window. (She told me I can't use his name, so I'll make one up for the purpose of this dialog, also note that I got the second-hand story, and I tend to embellish)

*knock, knock*
Jim-Bo: Are you waiting on someone?
Peanut: Yeah
Jim-Bo gets out, Peanut follows him in, getting 1/2 way to the bar
Jim-Bo (turning around): I'm not who you're waiting for.
Peanut: Jim-Bo?
Jim-Bo Impersonator: No. Billy-Boy-Bob.
Peanut: Oh my Gosh, I'm so sorry. You look just like him.

Peanut goes back outside (not sure if she just got the biggest blow-off ever!) and waits for the real Jim-Bo. So at this point, I would have just cut my losses and run like hell. Not Peanut, no Siree-Bob. Like a little trooper, she went out there and waited for the Real Jim-Bo.

Jim-Bo finally showed up and she put on her brave face and walked back into the restaurant.

Okay, so now I'm laying down some ground rules for anyone who is going to date Peanut.

1.) Do not send her a pic where you are wearing a hat and sunglasses. I like to be able to assess whether or not you have beady eyes. if you have beady eyes, I will be advising her to not date you. I also advise all of you to never date anyone with beady eyes.

2.) If you're shady, I'll punch you in the face. Just saying.

3.) Don't play games. I'll encourage her to punch you in the face.

4.) That's about all

My Journey in Social Networking

2010-08-11T10:29:00.001-04:00

I was always facinated by the computer, even before most people had the internet at home and if they did have the internet, they had dial-up. When I was in 6th grade, my mom signed me up for these classes at the Junior High called Mac Attack. We used Apple IIe's to create animation. Awesomeness. Oh yeah, we also played Oregon Trail. Score! My mom told me that when I cleaned my room and kept it clean, I could have a computer. Fast forward to 10th grade. My mom finally gave up on getting me to clean me room (which I later learned from A&E is because I'm a Hoarder), so she bought me a computer. I quickly signed up for ICQ and MSN messenger. My email address was nsyncette_1 at hotmail and another one at yahoo. The cool thing to do then was to go to chatrooms. Do people actually do that anymore? I mean, to chat, not to have raunchy cyber sex (ohhhh, ohh yeah, baby, just like that... oooooohhhhhhaaaaahhhhh). What was really awesome was that you could create your own chatrooms! A lot of times, I created nsync chatrooms, because, well, i was a 15 year old girl in 1999. What else was I supposed to do, homework? pfft. You had to be careful when creating a chatroom to specify the age group, else you'd get 40-something in there going "asl? what's your bra size?" I do remember creating one once called, "Teens Having Fun," (hey I was 15 and not nearly as creative as I am now) which turned into "Teenshavingfun" which then left a similar question as Petsmart. Is it Pets Mart or Pet Smart?

Oh then there was the whole homestead, make your own website deals. One of mine is still alive, although I can't access it anymore. I just used it for linking. Surprisingly, I did have an nsync website. Then there were the message boards. Oh how we loved the message boards. Do you want to know how annoying I was at 18, learn about it here.

Then I got to college and learned about the power of AIM and the frenzy it created everytime the network went down and people couldn't log on.

in 2003, I stumbled upon Myspace and was an early Myspace user. That same year, I also discovered blogging and started my Xanga, which is really painful to read, because I was really annoying. I won't subject you to that.

My Senior year of college, all hell broke loose. Facebook became public to anyone with a college email address. Those first few weeks were pandimonium. It was a total breakthough in communication. I can't tell you how much sleep I lost or how many times I was late or possibly skipped class to create groups, add people and work on my profile. 4 years later, I have 500+ friends. Including my mom.

Writer's Workshop

2010-07-21T10:48:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile since I participated in one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshops and since I've had writer's block, I figured I'd go with a Writer's Workshop.

This week is pretty easy to pick a prompt. I don't have any kids yet and we've never had an earthquake. I am, however, married.

1.) Write about your wedding song. What was it and why did you choose it?
2.) A movie you probably should have previewed before letting your kids watch.
3.) We talk about mother’s guilt a lot…who needs it? Describe a good mom moment!
4.) Post a picture and a description that fits into this quote for you: “How far to heaven? Just open your eyes and look. You are in heaven” -Shankar
5.)Earthquake! Where were you when it happened?

Our wedding song. I wanted Rascall Flatts "God Bless the Broken Road," but my Hubster thought it was too over done. Finally, after much deliberation, we agreed on Tracy Byrd's "Keeper of the Stars":

It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
Now I just can't believe you're in my life
Heaven's smilin' down on me
As I look at you tonight
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doin'
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars
Soft moonlight on your face oh how you shine
It takes my breath away
Just to look into your eyes
I know I don't deserve a treasure like you
There really are no words
To show my gratitude
So I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doin'
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars
It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew

I just love this song. It's very romantic and it's like he's singing it right to her. It's not overwhelmed by a band. It's all about him and her and no one else matters in that moment. The fact that Hubster and even ended up together seemed like Divine Intervention. We started to date in High School, broke up, got back together, broke up, worked together, went our separate ways, hung out, lost touch, started talking again, lost touch over and over and FINALLY, ended up together. If someone would have told me when I was 17... or 21... or 22 that we would get married one day, I would have laughed, but somehow, we stuck it out and were meant to be.

I used to have this awesome friend named "sleep."

2010-07-10T00:53:00.002-04:00

I think I'm turning into an insomniac and I don't really appreciate that. I also think it might be because when I go to bed, my husband rolls on top of me, Narnia squeezes her 100 lb self in between us and Chance sleeps on top of my legs. Wonder why I don't sleep. When I went to college, my roommate told me that if I wanted to bunk the beds that I would have to sleep on the top bunk. I declined because what's worse than crawling into a top bunk after you stumble back to your dorm room after a hard night of.... studying... and then trying quietly climb up a ladder, which really wasn't even a ladder. When my husband and I (he really needs a moniker) first moved in together and found that actually constantly sharing a bed sucked, I made a crack about getting bunk bed and was again told that I would be banished to the top bunk. I'm beginning to think that it might not be such a bad idea, since: a.) the top bunk is smaller, so any consummation would really need to happen on the bottom, which keeps my bed safe b.) I don't see my dogs climbing the ladder c.) I think it would be worse to be on bottom if the bunk broke... just ask my friend Froggie, who was fortunate enough to not be in his bed the night his brother came tumbling down....

The worse part of this sleep issue is that I have to get up at 3:30 so my mom and I can drive 4 hours to Lycoming College to pick up my nephew from his Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week, so tonight was a night I really needed to be off to bed early. Now, being the indecisive Libra that I am, I need to decide if I should just try to stay up for the next 2 and 1/2 hours or to try to get a few winks in.

50 Things About Me

2010-07-04T23:00:00.003-04:00

Andy at WildARSChase posted a 50 Things About Me post and said "Everyone participate!" so I am.

1. I think I'm hilarious
2. but I can only be randomly funny. I can't plan funny.
3. I've been married for a year
4. Everyone wants me to get pregnant
5. I have a fear that I'll never have kids
6. My husband and I have had a challenging year
7. I think we're better now
8. I love him
9. I work in mental health
10. Sometimes, I can't tell if I'm crazy or just dealing with normal life
11. Things I've diagnosed myself with: Schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and ADHD to name a few.
12. I regret not being a teacher. I think it was my calling.
13. I regret going to such an expensive college
14. but I would have never met most of my friends if I didn't go there.
15. When I was a kid, I loved those "Choose Your Own Ending" books
16. I would mark my spot and read both endings before deciding which one I was going to go with
17. I kinda wish I could do that with life, just to see how things would have turned out if I would have made a different decision.
18. I'm a Libra, we have trouble with decisiveness.
19. We're also diplomatic, romantic, gullible and easy-going.
20. My husband is a patronizing, generous and faithful Leo
21. I like tough manly men.
22. I dated a guy in college who cried... a lot.
23. When he'd make me mad, I'd make him cry.
24. It always made me feel better.
25. I don't talk to him anymore
26. He tried to be controlling, and it just made me rebel
27. I'm kind of a rebel, but I don't have any tattoos
28. I'd like to get one someday.
29. I'm so glad my Mom never let me get anything pierced
30. I'm so glad she didn't let me major in Theater/Costume Design either.
31. I wish she would have talked me into teaching.
32. If I ever won the lottery, I'd hire a cleaning lady
33. and a cook, because I don't do either.
34. Except when I watch Hoarders, then I clean like crazy.
35. I love pastas.
36. It's because I'm 1/4 Italian
37. I'd like to go to Italy some day.
38. I bet they have the best sauce in the world.
39. I worry about my pets when I'm on vacation.
40. I have 4 pets now.
41. This is one of the reasons that I think I'm crazy.
42. The dogs are named Chance and Narnia
43. The cats are named Ruby and Onyx
44. If I get a white cat one day, I'll name her Pearl or Diamond
45. I like themes.
46. I get a little obsessed with them sometimes
47. Add OCD to my list
48. I really need to increase my blog readership
49. I have to get out and visit new blogs.
50. I only post a couple times a month, so I might need to work on that.

If you participate, let Andy know!

why are some men such pigs?

2010-06-09T08:58:00.002-04:00

Did you hear about the woman who got fired for being to sexy? Among the things she was told not to wear: turtlenecks. She was also told to not wear classic heels, because she was already tall. She was fired from Citibank because she was "too sexy for her male co-workers to handle." omg, seriously? Why is it acceptable for men to not be able to control themselved, like, I dunno, HUMAN BEINGS???? Human beings who walk upright, at least. I mean, if we went to the office at the cave downtown and we all gathered around the waterpond to chat and some ultra-curvy cavebabe showed up is a "properly tailored" leopard skin, then, then just MAYBE would it be acceptable for the males of the species to claim distraction.

5 Things Friday- Busy Me

2010-06-04T12:13:00.003-04:00

I'm losing a lot of Girl Scouts this year because they want to try different things and their parents will only let them do one thing at a time. I'm so grateful that my mom paid for and ran me to all my different activities. So here are 5 Things I did in High School or College, but believe me, I did WAAAAYYYY more than the 5. :-)

1. Costume Crew/Class Play: I took theater classes in high school and was part of the International Thespian Honor Society with 2 stars for all my work on stage and backstage. I was Costume Crew Chief my Senior year, when I got really good at dressing and undressing boys backstage.

2. Chorus/Choir: I started in chorus when I was in 5th grade and staying in til I graduated from College . My favorite songs ever: "Walk a Little Slower," "My Soul's Been Anchored," (which we sang in the Rotunda of the Pennsylvania Capital Building. Awesomeness) "The Point of Grace" and "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying." one of the coolest things was when the composer of "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying" visited our college and we were able to sing his song for him.

3. Student Senate: I was never one to say "no" so when my RA asked me my freshman year to represent our floor at Student Senate I said "sure!" Then, on a whim after my friend, Fiore, suggested I run for Secretary, I did and found myself as an officer my Junior and Senior Year.

4. Yearbook: Yearbook and I had a love/hate relationship. I started in 8th grade and loved it and became an editor in 9th grade. I went to the Senior High in 10th and I was the only person from my Junior High on staff, so I was pretty lonely and they used a completely different system than the one I had learned on, so I moved on to something new. I started again in college and was an Editor, but my schedule didn't mesh well with the other editors (they wanted to meet at 9pm and work til 1 or 2 am, and that's not my style), so I ended up quitting.

5. Girl Scouts: Girl Scouts has always been my true love. I went to every meeting. I was a troop helper for Brownies and Juniors. I went to camp every summer. I loved it and I still do.

I'm so glad that my mom never made me choose and that she and my dad paid for everything I wanted to do, sent me on all the trips and came to every concert and performance. My mom never missed a concert. She drove the hour to my college to see our concerts. My mom also said she didn't want me to have a job in HS, because she wanted me to be able to do these things.

Being able to do whatever I wanted, let me learn how to decide on my own when I needed to step down. It made me sad to quit yearbook, but I knew that I wasn't enjoying it. I wasn't forced to quit or chose it over another activity. I quit because I simply didn't enjoy doing it anymore. I learned commitment and I learned how to juggle everything I needed to do. I learned that others relied on me and I had to be there.

I understand that sports and dance take a lot of time and money and I never did those things. I know some families simply cannot afford for their child to take 8 dance classes and play 3 sports and be in scouts and theater. I believe though that their shouldn't be a specific limit "You can do two, one, three activities" I believe that parents should look at their child and the activity. If one child gets straight As and the other straight Ds, then it should be geared toward each one.

These are just my thoughts on the matter. Maybe it will change when I have my own kids, when I have to pay for it, when I have to run them here and there, but I hope not.

So, what activities did you do growing up?

PS: My all-time favorite choir piece: Moses Hogan's "My Soul's Been Anchored" not performed by us, though.

5 Things Friday- day off

2010-05-28T19:09:00.000-04:00

I took today off for a four day weekend and almost forgot to do a 5 Things Friday. So here are 5 things I could do on my day off.

1. Sleep in
2. Watch The Ellen Show
3. Go to Ihop for luch
4. Watch movies (today was "my sister's keeper)
5. Clean (I said things I COULD do!!)

New Blog

2010-05-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

Hi friends. I'm not leaving here, but I started a "special interest" blog, if you will. It's called Confessions of the Fat Girl where I feel that I need to write about my weight struggles. So, feel free to check it out, but don't feel obligated.

5 Things Friday- Time Wasters

2010-05-21T11:18:00.003-04:00

I have this way of wasting time. Things that I start to do for only a few minutes, then I look at the clock and 2 hours have past. Here are my biggest time wasters:

1. Reading. I love a good book and a lot of times I will say "one more chapter" and read for another hour.

2. Tweeting. Although I mostly follow celebrities, I love it now that I can do it from my phone.

3. Blogging. Let's face it, most of us should be working right now.

4. Wikipedia. I love it. I love useless knowledge that I'll never need in life except to say, "Did you know that..."

5. Wii. I rented the New Super Mario Brothers and I'm so addicted.

What do you waste time on?

I hardly talk about it, but I felt the need to write it

2010-05-19T12:26:00.003-04:00

Something happened to me once that i hardly ever talk about. Something scary. Something that frightened me so bad that I could hear my heart pumping in my ear. A mad dash for my mom that felt like hours, when it probably lasted for 30 seconds.

I watch the Today Show every morning before work. Today, the had a girl who was kidnapped from her room, driven to a field at knifepoint, raped and had her throat slit. She searched for 20 years until they finally found her attacker. Before she could confront him, he hanged himself.

Fortunately, nothing that horrifying happened to me. Most days I'm okay. I don't even think about it. It's just something that happened. But then I think, "What if I would have frozen and not run? or what if he chased me instead of running the opposite direction."

Let me tell you what happened:

I was probably somewhere around 6 or 7. My mom had taken me to a mall about 45 minutes away to get my picture taken at Sears. She dressed me in this green and white plaid knit outfit. I felt like such a big girl, because I got to wear real nylons that made my legs look tan under my green skirt and I got to wear my black dress shoes. After we had the picture taken, we went to Walden Books. It was a tiny bookstore. It had to rows of bookcases. The children's books were on the left interior in the back and my mom's romance books were on the right exterior. So she did what she did a hundred times, she let me sit on the floor in the children's section and she went to the romance section. I was looking at one of those books that have the sound buttons down the side. You know, the ones where you read the story and then push the button when you see a picture of the Wicked Witch and she cackles. I was sitting there when some man showed up and I smiled, thinking he was looking for a book for his child. The next thing I know, he's hunched down beside me with his hand on my thigh saying, "nice, isn't it?" I threw the book back onto the shelf and ran as fast as I could, across the center aisle, through the next row of bookshelves into the romance section to find my mom. I looked and I didn't see her. I remember leaning back against the shelf, taking a few deep breaths, looking again and seeing her immediately. She went and told the store employees, but I couldn't identify him. I don't remember ever talking to police. I never wore that outfit again. In fact, I didn't wear a dress again til picture day in the 3rd grade, then for our Freshman Farewell, but i wore shorts under my floor length dress, and then I didn't wear one again til I graduated from high school and it was actually a skort. I wore mostly skorts, when the time called for a dress affair-church, graduation, ect. I own one now, and I only wear it for Halloween.

I am okay, though, really. It's just when I hear about children being kidnapped and attacked, it makes me wonder how I got so lucky. What were his intentions when he walked into that store that day? Had he ever done anything before? Did he run because he was a novice? Did he try it again with other children? Were they able to remember his face and stop him? Things to which I will probably never know the answers.

5 Things Friday- Things We Say Here

2010-05-14T09:14:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I don't live in Pittsburgh, but about an hour away. So some "Pittsburgh-ese" leaks over and runs down. But I figure all place have different terms for things. So here's my 5:

1. Chipped Ham on a Hoagie bun. Maybe you call it chopped ham on a sub. We call it a hoagie. The firemen sell hoagies several times a year along the roads.

2. When I go to the store, I get a buggy. You probably get a shopping cart.

3. Look down at your feet. Are you wering sneakers? I'm not, I'm wearing tennis shoes. A college classmate (from the eastern part of PA) said to me once, "Are you going to play tennis in them? No? Then they are sneakers?" I wonder if he was planning to sneak around in his sneakers?

4. When I was little, I rode my bike into a jaggerbush. You might call it a thornbush or something much less fun.

5. Of course, pop is infamous. There are a lot of Facebook groups dedicated to whether it is "pop" or "soda." We call it pop.

You can learn more about Pittsburgh-ese from CMU's website

So what are your slang terms?

What I know at 26

2010-05-12T09:18:00.003-04:00

Andy from WildARSChase recently wrote about things he knows at 27, since I'm not nearly as old as Andy ;-) here is my list of things I know at 26.

*Don't worry about the girl who stops talking to you when your school makes a new rule that you can no longer bring toys from home. She was just using you for your My Little Ponies.

*Toys were the best in the 80s

*As were cartoons

*It is only ever okay to date more than one boy at a time if you are under the age of 7. Five boys at a time might have been a bit extreme.

*An original NES is still the best gaming system in the world.

*Spending too much time with one person exclusively is eventually going to get on your nerves.

*People like to gossip. Be careful what you tell others.

*Never try to be friends with the popular people. You'll only get burned.

*Find the less than popular people; not the greasy, dirty ones, the average people. They make the best friends and won't see you as "disposable."

*You can identify your best friends easily. Even when you may not talk for months, as soon as you are together, it's like you never missed a day.

*People grow apart and change, so it's okay if you're not as close to them as you once were.

*Sometimes you may need to end a friendship and that's okay, too.

*We all screw up. Don't let anyone ever convince you otherwise. If we didn't, then we wouldn't need grace.

*Be careful about prejudging people. You can miss out on good friends that way.

*Always keep travel deodorant in your purse, car or desk. You never know when you might sleep in and rush out the door without some.

*Weight is really easy to put on and so hard to take back off.

*It really hurts when a horse kicks you.

*Always check to see what kind of shoes your boss is wearing in the morning. If she's wearing dress shoes, you can hear her coming. If she's wearing tennis shoes, she can sneak up on you.

*I don't believe in love at first sight. Love starts as a seed. You plant it together. You water it together. You feed it together. Sometimes it grows, sometimes it doesn't. If it does grow, you have to take care of it for the rest of your life or it can shrivel up.

*As mad as my husband can make me and as much as I'd like to hit him up-side his head, I can't imagine being with anyone else.

*I will never be good enough in my MiL eyes.

*Sex before marriage can be a good way to pass the time, but it can also cause a lot of unneeded heartbreak.

*No one will ever be as devoted to you as your dog.

*Dog car washes are worth the $7.

*Never date someone just because he's willing. It's better to be single than with someone you don't like.

*Sometimes you know what your friend needs better than s/he does. Sometimes s/he know what you need better than you do.

*Somedays, you need to just go home, close the door and shut out the rest of the world.

*A book is good when you catch yourself wondering "I wonder what [main character] is doing these days?"

*Be realistic in what you can do and don't be afraid to tell people "no."

*Make sure the people in your life know that you care about them. Tomorrow might not come.

5 Things Friday- What my Mama Told Me

2010-05-07T14:00:00.005-04:00

I think I did a post last year around Mother's Day about my Mama, but I'm too lazy to go look, so I don't remember what I put. The upside, if I don't remember what I put, you probably don't either :-) So for this 5 Things Friday, Five things my Mama told me:

1: Don't start a fight, but if someone hits you, slide your fingers into their hair and wrap it around. Then proceed to punch them in the face. They aren't going anywhere and they'll remember it tomorrow.

2. If you ever get arrested, don't waste your one phone call on me.

3. When you're in a leadership position, make sure you're not taking the easy jobs.

4. If someone ever tries to hurt you, kick, scream, bite, kick. They won't want the attention it draws

5. "Have a good day, don't take any wooden nickels and Us love you" Us came from my grammatically challenged nephew when he was about 2.

What 5 things did your Mama (or other influential women) tell you?

5 Things Friday- Character Sex

2010-04-30T17:42:00.000-04:00

I debated whether or not to post this 5 Things Friday, but I don't have any other ideas. This is actually the 5 things that started "5 Things Friday." My husband asked me one day if I would ever cheat on him and I said "Never! Well unless (tv character) crawls out of my tv. Then I might be tempted!" He got a look of mock horror on his face and I told him he'd cheat on me with that Gabby girl from NCIS. He reassured me that he'd cheat on me with the actress that plays her too. So! Who are the 5 characters you would have an affair with?

Mine are:

1. FBI Agent, Seeley Booth, Bones
omg, he's hot. Plus, it's the whole White Knight issue with him. He's so protective and genuinely cares about his friends and family.

2. Dr. Greg House, House M.D.
I don't know what it is about House that I love so much. I think it's that slick American accent that Hugh Laurie puts on. I also totally love House's straightforwardness.

3. Detective Lee Scanlon, Medium
He's got a sarcastic streak that is so hot.

4. Detective Elliot Stabler, Law and Order: SVU
He has a lot of pent up anger, which I figure would have to come out somewhere. So one session with him would probably burn 1000 calories.

5. This last one is tough. I've debated between JD Dorian from Scrubs, Pacey from Dawson's Creek, Dr. Jack Hodgins from Bones, Vince from What I Like About You, and Dr. Carter from ER... But I think I've settles on Dr. James Wilson from House M.D. Although, I would have to pair up with House first, because you know Wilson!

What what 5 tv characters would you pair up with?

Five Things Friday- Catchphrases

2010-04-23T00:30:00.001-04:00

Thank you to the participants of last times 5 Things Friday (that'd be you, Amy and Perfectly Unperfect!) 5 Things Friday is pretty easy to follow, so if you'd like to play along, join the fun!

This week is my 5 Things I say a lot.

We all have expressions and catchphrases that we like. Here are mine:

1. Jerkface! My family laughs at this one a lot. My brother scared me one day and I screamed, "Jerkface!" Then I heard him laughing to my mom and saying, "She called me a 'Jerkface!'"
2. "Dang me with a spoon!" I don't know how this came about, but it's most often heard when I'm playing WII and I've lost.
3. "Gosh!" Not a gosh of amazement, but a "I know what I'm talking about and you arguing with me is really getting on my nerves" gosh.
4. "Freakin' A, Dude!" Again, annoyance. Sometimes after a wii death.
5. "okay..." meaning "what's your point?" I've developed this one in my line of work. Also, with my husband.

So, what are your catchphrases? Make your own Five Things Friday post and link it back to this post and add it to Mister Linky! (assuming I can figure out how to work Mister Linky!)

Five Things Friday- Bug Me

2010-04-08T19:51:00.002-04:00

I haven't done a 5 Things Friday for a long time. So I figure it's about time.

Today is 5 Things that really I really love

5. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, especially Karmel Sutra. It's a good thing that it only comes in pints, because I suspect I'd eat a whole 1/2 gallon in one day.

4. The sunshine! I missed it sooo much. I do not, however, like the fact that it's 90* in my bedroom.

3. Animals. Husband Dear cut me off. He said no more. I'm still pushing for a rabbit.

2. Netflix. I consider my day successful when i can mail back a DVD the next day.

1. My family of course! Including my pets and my friends my husband. Maybe not always my brother.

What 5 Things do you love?

April Fool's, Boss Lady!

2010-04-01T12:20:00.003-04:00

I was trying to think of a way to pull an April Fools' joke on my boss, so I left this letter on her desk:

Dear [Boss Lady],

I am writing this letter to regretfully inform you that I will be resigning from my position of [my job] effective immediately. I want to thank you for such a wonderful opportunity to work in a fantastic agency. I have learned a lot working here and I hope i can apply it to my new profession.

I don't know if you are aware, but I have always dreamed of joining the circus. However, after researching it, I realized that infiltration is nearly impossible. Unions, and all. So, I resigned myself to college life and earned a degree. I thought the desire would fade away as I grew older, but the itch has only gotten stronger. Then, one day I saw a posting in the [local newspaper] that Ringling Brother's was looking for a Fat Lady. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for me. The only problem is that I need to gain 300 lbs. So this is why I am unable to provide two weeks notice. I need those two weeks to eat Twinkies. Lots of Twinkies.

I hope by now, you've realized to disregard this letter, because I don't even like Twinkies. Oh, and it's the first of April. So, rest assured that come Wednesday morning, I will be sitting at my desk eating Little Debbie's oatmeal cakes, because those things are much better than Twinkies.

Furthermore, I hope this gave you a laugh. I considered prank calling you, but that is so overdone around here. Then I considered filling your desk drawer with jello, but then I thought I may have no other option, but the circus.

Enjoy Your Day,
Sam

Hairy Situations

2010-03-12T17:12:00.004-05:00

My mom owned a Salon until she retired my senior year of high school. I spent a lot of time there, especially before i started school. When I tell people that my mom is a Cosmetologist. They say that I must, too, be good at hair. Well, after I explain to them what a cosmetologist is... then I laugh and look at my long hair, pulled back into the ponytail it's been in since I was 5ish. I don't do hair stuff. I didn't learn how to braid until I was like 15 and it took even longer than that for me to braid my own hair. I once tried to trim an inch off of my own hair and my mom ended up having to take off 8" to fix it... Another time, she had to cut a curling iron out of my hair. Apparently, it's not a gift that runs in the family. So let me share with you, the disaster that went down here last night.

Txt from the husband: Wanna cut my hair?
My txt: I guess
His Txt: Bring the clippers down to the basement
Me: (Entering the Basement) I don't want to do this
Him: Why?
Me: Because you're already going bald and I'm going to make it worse!
Him: You'll be fine. Use the guides. Anyone can do it. I used to cut my own hair. (snapping on the guide) See, isn't this easy?
Me: I guess.
Him: Stop changing directions!
Me: I CANT SEE THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD!
Him: Leaning forward. There. Is that better? Push a little harder so you get it close. I want it really short. Okay, that's good. (Snapping on a new guide) Here, use this around my ears.
Me: Bzzzzzzzzzz oops!
Him: It's okay, you got it a little short. It'll be fine. I don't care. (snapping off the guide) Now, use this to trim up my neck.
Me: bbbzzzzzzzzzzzz. SHIT!
Him: I FELT THAT! Even it up! Even it up! You went too fast!
Me: oops!
Him: Just stop!
Me: I told you to go see my mom!
It's not THAT bad, right?

An Open Letter to all my Facebook friends

2010-03-09T21:03:00.001-05:00

Dear 400+ Facebook Friends,

I know we probably haven't spoke in awhile, but I wanted to let you know that I'm glad that we are Facebook Friends. It's been a really long time since we shared that box of crayons in first grade and we've probably changed a lot since then. I'm glad that you have facebook so I can ~~find out all about you without having to talk to you~~ get reacquainted with you. I do, however, have few requests. I realize that you are madly in love with your husbands, I'm happy for you, I really am; however, can you please refrain from completely wiping away your old identity and perhaps MENTION your maiden name somewhere? Facebook has this dandy little feature that allows you to have your maiden name show in parenthesis after your married name. Please kindly use this. I know you by the name you used when you were twelve.
I'm glad you enjoy the games on Facebook and thank you for feeding my chickens the other day, but can you maybe post some things with a little bit of substance too? Tell me what's going on in your life. It's how I stay connected to you. I enjoy it. If you don't think Facebook is the place for that, well then, start a blog. I can ~~stalk~~ keep up with you there.

Take Care,
Sam

A Big Congrat to KAT

2010-03-08T20:46:00.002-05:00

While waiting on my GI appointment today, I read a great post by one half of my favorite Funny Gals. So SJ, I know from experience that when your friends start having babies, everyone else expects you to do the same. So it's time to get on the baby-making ball. What would make for better postings than one funnylittleone than two funnylittleones. oh, unless someone has twins!

One of the most disappointing nights in TV

2010-03-02T10:41:00.002-05:00

Alternative Title- "How many times can I saw "WTF?!?!"

1st.) Jake is a dumbass. I've barely watched The Bachelor this season and I knew he was wrong. "I love Tenley so much. She's so wonderful. She's so perfect. blah, blah, BLAH!" I told Peanut that he wasn't picking her when he was going on about how great she is. I had a huge twitterfit last night and everyone in the world knows that Jake is dumb, but himself. Idiot. I went to bed before I saw the aftershow. Anything good?

2.) WTF?!?! Dancing with the Stars. Was no one else available?? They should have taken Chuy from Chelsea Lately.

Chad Johnson, a.k.a Chad OchoCinco annoys the piss out of me. Not only because he's a big-mouth Bengal, but who changes their f-ing name to "OchoCinco?" Plus, "OchoCinco" translates to eight five, not eighty-five. He just looks like a dumbass who fell asleep in Junior High Spanish. He's paired with Cheryl Burke, so I won't feel bad when he gets sent packing, because I don't like her either.

Jake from The Bachelor. Obviously has horrible judgement. Unfortunately, he's paired with Chelsie and I want her to win. Maybe he has some rythmn somewhere.

Nicole Scherzinger of the PussyCat Dolls should go pretty far. But can I say I'm so sick and tired of Derek Hough winning DWTS?? Has he ever had a crappy partner? That sounds like a future rant.

Erin Andrews, ESPN Sportscastor is paired with Maks. I kinda wish Maks was paired with Kate, because I want to see her cry and Maks is the best for that.

Which brings me to Kate Goeslin. w.t.f. Guess we gotta bring home the proverbial bacon since bitter Daddy sent the TLC Gravy Train off. I feel bad for Tony, because it's probably been awhile she she could scream and degrade a man and it's probably building inside of her.

Niecy Nash..she's a hard follow-up to Louis Van Amstel's previous partner, Miss Osbourne.

Still hot from winning "the first Gold medal in Men's Figure Skating since Brian Boitano in Calgary in 1988;" Evan Lysacek has a good shot, Gold Medalists have a good history on DWTS. He's also dancing with Anna Trebunskaya who is a beautiful dancer.

Somehow, I think with Shannen Dougherty on the show, the green room won't be so green. She's not known for her great personality! I hope she'll be the straw that breaks Mark Ballas back and he finally retires. I like Mark, but he's won enough now.

Aiden Turner.. Soap Star. That's all I got. He's paired with Edyta who is the longest running pro. She also doesn't have an f-ing mirrorball trophy. If I were her, I'd be jacked.

It's a good thing the costumes are skimpy, or Pam Anderson might break the budget. She's paired with the only new pro of the season-Damian Whitewood.

Well... I think that's about it... oh, no. I forgot one...

BUZZ ALDRIN!!! WTF?? Yeah, the moon guy. The 80 year old astronaut is paired with Ashly DelGrosso-Costa.

Apparently, celebrity pickins' are slim. Last season, they had 16 couples, this year they are down to 11. Pros not returning this season are: Anna Demidova, Alec Mazo, Lacey Schwimmer, Jonathan Roberts, Dmitry Chaplin, Kym Johnson and Karina Smirnoff. I know from Twitter than Lacey's partner didn't sign. I don't know about the other pros. I don't have time to look right now and my BP is slowly climbing. So I must end with: wtf, ABC?

I don't like babies

2010-02-27T21:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, so because of my stomach pain, I've been a little bit not nice. When I say a little bit, I mean a lot. When I say a lot, I mean I'd probably bite your head off and breath fire. But so would you if you were an involuntary bulimic. So anyway, I got mean. Lucky for you, it gives me something to write about.

My friend "A" from college has a reputation for having "center-of-the-univitis" so things involving her have always been dramatic. It comes to be expected. One day, one of our other friends from college texts me and asks if I heard that "A" is pregnant. I didn't and then later I learned that "A" is afraid to tell me. I don't know why. I see her once a year at Homecoming and it was so stinking cold this past year that no one came. But again, if she's not afraid to tell me, then there's no drama. She finally "tells" me, but asking for my address so she can invite me to her baby shower. So the other day my AIM for Blackberry pops up with a msg from "A" saying "10 weeks." No, "How are you?" "No, what's happening?" No, she goes straight for herself which is usually the case. I play stupid and ask her what she means. She replies that it's 10 weeks until she has to squeeze the little thing out like a 7 pound turd and deal with the poop and the barf and the incessant cry and how bloody excited she is and blah blah blah. I just couldn't take it anymore and I said "I don't like babies or toddlers until they are at least 8." Which is totally true. I don't get all warm and fuzzy over babies. I have no desire to hold them or cuddle them or have them puke on me or pull my hair. I dont. One of the girl scout leaders for another troop has one that she brings to the meetings and the girls want to carry her around and I just don't get it. She poops herself and she smells. Then she cries. Screams. I don't get the romanticism in that. By 8, I figure they are much less likely to poop their pants (I better not do a wordle, or I'll have a lot of fecal words in it...), they can write their names, read a book and tell you about their day. So "A's" center-of-the-univitis kicked in and she said "So you'll hate her until she's at least 8?" So I explained to her that I didn't hate them, that I just dislike them and I probably won't have a relationship with her daughter. So then she said "You're not going to come see her?" and I had to explain that I don't like to drive, so I probably wouldn't be Then I explained that bringing it to my house probably wouldn't be a great idea either, because Narnia has been eating plastic bags and paper towels, so a baby might like look a tasty snack and all... Plus it's hard to use the excuse of going home to feed the dogs when you're already at home..

I know you're probably gasping in horror, except for Froggie who is laughing menacingly. But let me explain. I don't hate babies. I'm sure there is something magical in childbirth and looking into its eyes and all, but it gets sugarcoated a lot, too, I think. When I finally ~~get drunk and forget how to work a condom~~ decide to make my own miracle of life, I'm sure it will be the most amazing experience I've ever had. Don't get me wrong, babies can be adorable. Brittany from Barefoot Foodie just did a post on her daughter and she is beautiful. My college roommate, Holly, has a precious daughter, MaKaylah, who I love to death, but I don't hold her long or change her diapers or feed her... that's just not how I roll. Now when she's a teenager and she needs to know how to sneak around her mother, that's my style. I have personal experience :-)

Things aren't as good the second time...

2010-02-27T01:42:00.002-05:00

Good news: my gallbladder is fine. Bad News: Something else is broken. Worse News: I'm constantly nauseous. Great News: I've finally learned how to spell nauseous since I've had to text in 500 times because everyone wants to know how I am. Score! I've also decided to get someone to give me a dollar every time someone asks me if I'm pregnant, because I'd be freakin' rich! Next time someone asks me that, I'm going to be like "hmmmmm, I never thought about that. I've been puking my guts up every morning. I just figured it would be more likely that I had a stomach ulcer that that my husband's semen escaped and is causing some kind of growth inside of me. Thank you for pointing that out." Even my mom asked me if I was pregnant. I just finished the Fifth Season of House and I understand his frustration...

I think I am going to get pregnant though, because I think people would be more sympathetic if I'm puking my guts up because their is a future Cutsie-wootsie-bity-baby causing it. I think it would just make me resent the embryo, because let me tell you, I'm resenting that pizza I ate for dinner right now....

Call me "Jinx"

2010-02-15T17:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, hubby-dear convinced me to finally leave the house after a week of being a snowed-in shut-in, so we went to his pap-pap's house to do some laundry. Things were going as planned. Clothes go in, twist, turn, swirl, spin; you know the drill. So I finish the white clothes and put in a load of C's uniforms. It fills up with water and sits.there. no spinning, no twisting, no turning. Nada. I yelled for my dearest Valentine and he made me bail in out with a coffee can. I was soaked. Once it was empty, he flipped it over and pulled the pump off and saw something black. As soon as it was out he yelled, "SAMANTHA!!!!" and I looked to see him holding one of my scrunchies. Oops....

Then today, I was backing out of my mom's driveway. Let me tell you that backing up is a difficult skill to master. In the 8 years that I've been driving, it's been the most difficult for me. Well, I started backing up into the yard. Fortunately, the 3 feet of snow said "What? Noooooo. You don't want to go there. No No No." and it was nice enough to catch me and not let me go. Thank you, Mr. Snowbank. Keep my car safe until my darling, probably red-faced and swearing husband gets home from work to yank it out.

Naturally 7

2010-02-14T13:19:00.003-05:00

Have any of you heard them? They performed at my college back in my early years, probably 2003 and I thought they were amazing then. They are an a Capella group. Something made me think of them today, so I googled them. apparently, they are huge in Europe and they are now touring with Michael Buble! I'm so excited for them, because they are really, really nice guys. We had one group perform at school and after the concert, you could buy their cd and get it autographed. But they scattered all over the place and started flirting with all the girls, so I had to bounce from huddle to huddle to get my cd signed. I thought that was really unprofessional. Naturally 7 went out to the lobby and lined up and they'd sign it and pass it along. They chatted with everyone (not just the pretty girls) and seemed very genuine. If you haven't heard them yet, take some time to listen. This is an unplugged performance in London.

49/50

2010-02-14T02:42:00.002-05:00

Have you heard that 49 out of the 50 states have snow? I mean, holy dang. We expect snow in Maine, Michigan, the Dakotas, Alaska, PENNSYLVANIA, ect. But snow in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona... granted, it's probably a light dusting, but STILL! I can barely walk through my yard, and when I do I'm probably burning 5 bajillion calories, because I have to drag.my.legs.THROUGH.the.snow. a couple laps and I'll be looking like Megan Fox in no time.... that and $6000 in plastic surgery. :-)

Too Much TV is bad for you

2010-02-10T16:02:00.002-05:00

I've been snowed in all week long. I don't remember having this much snow since 1993. During that blizzard, I could only go so far out into our yard that I sank in to my waist and couldn't get out, now I'm taller, so it's only up to my knees.

The biggest problem with the snow for me is that I'm stuck at home all day... all week. With nothing to do but watch tv. Pretty crappy, huh? Normally, it wouldn't bother me, but I've been watching E! and they had a special on the Top 10 True Hollywood Stories and then the top 10 or 15 acts of violence and it's really bothering me, how many of these horrible events that I can remember. That happened in my 26 year lifetime.

My mom has always told me that she remembers where she was when Kennedy was shot. She was in English class. She was at work when she heard that Elvis had died. I don't remember what class I was in, but I remember when the Twin Towers fell. I was on a Girl Scout trip when JFK Jr died. I remember the hysteria after Columbine. The copy-cat threat on my junior high. I was in the cafeteria of my elementary school when OJ received a "not guilty" verdict. The Amish School shooting, Virginia Tech, Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina and now the Haiti Quake. I remember when my brother's best friend came home from Desert Storm and like all of you, I witnessed the election of the first black president. I think it's important to remember these things, to help us see where we want to go.

What do you remember, good or bad, experiencing in your lifetime?

What'll I be when I grow up

2010-01-13T12:38:00.002-05:00

Holy Cow, January is half-over and I haven't posted yet. Sheesh. I'm such a slacker. In my defense, my computer monitor is broken at home, so I can't blog there. :( I hope that everyone had a great holiday. I'd like to find a good online Master's Program. I'm always scared of being duped by some crazy program and my degree not being worth the paper it's printed on. I'm interested in a Masters in Social Work or Human Services or something like that.

like that little ghost kid on "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

2009-12-29T22:40:00.002-05:00

My friend got "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" on DVD. Awesomeness! We watched the episode with Melissa Joan Hart at the height of her Nickelodeon days (back when it was Nickelodeon and not just Nick. That really was the downfall of our society. When kids got so lazy that they could only say Nick and not Nickelodeon, but I digress.) and there was this little ghost kid who kept saying "I'm cold" and i can totally relate because I'm frickin freezing. It was 17* outside this morning and I wake up and my husband has the heat turned off and the fan turned on, while the dog is trying to become part of me because he's so cold. He has a fur coat. A nice winter one. I know because I've been sweeping up their summer ones off of the floor... I don't have a fur coat. Yeah, I may not be as diligent about shaving my legs in the winter, but we are not far enough into the season for me to have enough to keep me warm, like built in socks. It really pisses me off when people are like "you think it's cold here, you should live in Canada. It's -25* there!!" and I'm like, "I don't give a crap about how cold it is in Canada! I'm not nuts enough to live there. (Sorry Des.)" Hey if people who live in Hawaii can complain about the cold when it hits 70, I can complain about the cold here when it's 17. Thank God that my mother-in-law got me a Slanket for Christmas and my Momma got me fleece Eeyore pajama pants and my husband got me woolly socks. It's a start.

Sometimes life throws a kink in...

2009-12-04T12:58:00.003-05:00

I've never read Anissa blog. The only reason that I know her is through Brittany at Barefoot Foodie. I did tweet with Anissa once during a giveaway that Brittany was doing. She started to follow me, so I did what I do, I followed her back. Then one day, Brittany wrote that Anissa had a stroke and I've been following Anissa's husband's blogging on her progress. I think it pulls at my heart strings because she is so young, because her daughter battled Leukemia, because she has three young children who need their mom, because I know all to well the pain of waiting. Waiting to see if the person you love is going to be better or worse. Waiting to find out if the doctors are right or praying that they are wrong. Having someone so important to you being so helpless. Wondering if they will ever be the same person again. I know what a stroke does to a person and perhaps that is why Anissa's story touches me as much as it does. Because 367 days ago my dad lost his battle to cancer after he had a stroke. After the doctors told us he'd be a vegetable. After they told us to not expect much. After he fought like crazy. After he spoke his first words to me after two months: "I'm in bed. I'm trying to sleep. Leave me the hell alone." After more months when he tried to walk and worked so hard to recover and had come so much farther than the doctors said he would, only to be overwhelmed by the cancer instead. When I think of Anissa, I think of something my mom said to me, "You've had 25 wonderful years with your Dad. You've gotten to know him. Think of the children who loose their parents young. They don't know them," so I think of Anissa's 3 children and know that they have so much more to learn from their mom and so much more that they need her to teach them and I pray that they get the opportunity. Be sure to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I didn't know I was pregnant

2009-11-30T20:39:00.002-05:00

Has anyone seen this show on Discovery? It's absolutely crazy and addicting like crack and Girl Scout Cookies. In each episode they feature a woman who goes into labor and delivers a full-term (or near full-term) baby without ever knowing she's pregnant. What? This amazes me. What amazes me even more is that they were able to make MORE THAN ONE EPISODE. How many women can be pregnant and not know it. I watched a marathon last night when I couldn't sleep and things I've realized from this show:

1. The baby is always in good health. Rating would plummet if they were delivering dead babies
2. A lot of them are girls in their late teens and early 20s. They may tell their parents that it was Immaculate Conception.
3. Most of the babies are boys, which just goes to show that boys are trouble.
4. I'm extremely paranoid now and panicking that my gallbladder problems aren't my gallbladder, but that my body has been hijacked God and the next Messiah is growing inside of me, because, like, yeah, I've been married for 6 months, but I've never had sex or seen a man naked or anything.... (shhhh, my mom might read this one day....)

Gallbladder Grief, Scouting Sagas and Pogo Preoccupation

2009-11-24T12:14:00.004-05:00

Apparently, as Diane pointed out, it wasn't as easy to reemerge after my absence as casually as I expected. haha. Thanks for missing me.

The last month has been crazy and I've been lazy. I turned 26 and my energy level just hit the floor. I don't know how you guys do it. hehe.

My mom suckered me into doing cub scouts. "These poor little boys don't have a leader and they just sit there. *sob sob sob*" Seriously, can you blame me for giving into that? Then I have Brownies Monday, Cadette Senior Ambassadors Tuesday and Juniors and Cub Scouts on rotating Thursdays. But you know what, I love it and it makes my worries all melt away. The kids are hilarious and they love being in scouts.

My gallbladder is disfunctional. Very few people in my family still have theirs. My cousin Penny and I are the last ones. Hers is going bad too. I think I started getting sick with mine in college, but I didn't know what it was and I wasnt going to the nurse, bc she'd just send you to the hospital and believe me, I wasn't going to THAT hospital. They'd give me a vasectomy or a lobotomy or something. The benefit, I'm losing weight, bc I don't want to eat anything. Drawback, I'm now paying for the ramen noodles with soy sauce that I tried to eat for lunch...

I have a passionate pogo love. I used my coke points to buy a club pogo subscription and have now devoted my life to completing as many badges as possible. :-D

So that is what I've been up to, how bout you? :-)

Netflix

2009-11-23T01:01:00.000-05:00

I just got some really good movies from Netflix- Sunshine Cleaning and National Treasures 2. Have you seen either of them?

They say it's your birthday...

2009-10-04T00:56:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear me.... happy birthday to me! That's right, today, I turn TWENTY SIX. It's amazing how fast it all goes. We celebrated how we always do- with a haunted house. Tonight, we did the oldest hayride in the country and Satan almost fell on us. I don't think that's good. He was very nice though. Except he almost caught my hair on fire.

5 Things Friday

2009-10-02T20:07:00.002-04:00

Today, since I'm in a stinky-face mood is

Five Things that suck about (my) Family

1. Mother-in-laws have a need to make their daughter-in-laws look incompetent
2. Brothers act stupid, no matter how old they are
3. Mothers always defend their sons
4. Husbands never do their fair share
5. The teenagers involved generally have attitudinal problems

Now, these are very generalized statements, because, like i said, I'm in a stinkface mood.

Savannah, 2011

2009-09-29T22:41:00.002-04:00

ohmygawd,ohmygawd, eeekkkkkkkkkk! eeeeekkkkk! AHHHHHH!!!! I'm sooooo excited!!!! I am going to Savannah, GA summer of 2011 for the 100 year anniversary of Girl Scouts!!!!!! Okay, so technically, Girl Scouts wont turn 100 until March of 2012, but it's close enough. I love Savannah, besides being the Girl Scout Mecca, it's absolutely beautiful. The Spanish Moss hanging off the trees gives it this laid back feeling. The history is also amazing and the ghost tours. AHHHHH!!!!! Now, the big part, anyone want to buy any cookies? haha, just kidding.

"I've Had the Time of My Life"

2009-09-24T09:12:00.003-04:00

In my life, when someone says "who's your favorite actor?" I really can't name someone. I don't have one. My list waxes and wanes with my tastes and my favorite movie at the time. One actor that I can remember being high on my list from a young age was Patrick Swayze. My mom and my Grandma liked him. I watched Ghost over and over again in Elementary School. Not to mention Black Dog, which was another on my mom's favorites. I loved it, even if it didn't entirely make sense to me. I was older when I first watched Dirty Dancing but I fell in love with it. I love dance movies and it was the first. I had the final dance scene on my computer and I would watch it frequently.

When I heard Patrick Swayze had cancer, I tried to be optimistic, but I know how low the prognosis is for pancreatic cancer. I remember my friend saying to me "He's going to die" and I said "You don't know that" and she said "yes, I do." Still, when it popped up on my Yahoo home page, I was very sad.

Last night on Dancing with the Stars, they paid a tribute to Patrick Swayze. It was a fantastic number that brought me to tears and ended with the iconic lift from Dirty Dancing. If you missed it, or would like to watch it again, here it is:

I'm a slut

2009-09-23T11:14:00.002-04:00

Does anyone know what Honesty Box is? If not, it's this app on Facebook where you anonymously tell people what you think about them. I have one on my facebook, but no one really ever has an opinion about me, apaprently, because I never get any responses. After I sent one to a few people today, I checked my received and I had one from several months ago that said "you're a slut." I was taken aback. Why would someone call me a slut. I thought I did a good job at hiding that fact... er wait! I'm not a slut. So it gives you an option to reply to it, so I said "Thank you, do you know from personal experience?" a few seconds later, I got a pop-up alert that said "Sam M. sent a reply to your honesty box." It was then that I remembered fooling around on Honesty Box and sending that to myself. So, I guess I DO know from personal experience!

The bathroom can be a refuge

2009-09-23T08:58:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, I hide in the bathroom at work, because it's the only place where I can lock the door and be left alone for five minutes. I can't sit at my desk without everyone feeling the need to stop by and talk to me and I just want to be left alone. Apparently, I've been inflicted with insomnia, because I haven't went to bed at a decent hour and slept the whole night since September 12th. I think it's partially my husband's fault, because he does stupid stuff when he sleeps that disturbs my slumber and then for the last week and 1/2, I've had a persistent case of poison ivy. I haven't had poison ivy in years, then I decide to get it all over my face and hands. Then it spread to my stomach and creeped down my leg. It's horrible, horrible, I tell you. I never even saw it. Stupid geocaching. I was looking for the treasure and not for leaves of three...

Frustration

2009-09-21T16:17:00.002-04:00

My mom convinced me the year before last that I should take my cousin's daughter to girl scouts. Well, when there weren't any troops that fit my schedule and where I liked the leaders, I decided to start my own troop. Everything went well last year. I went and picked up my cousin and took her to Brownies. I paid her dues ($30/yr), her registration ($12/yr) and bought her a vest and badgebook/handbook set ($50), I paid her registration for this year ($12) and my mom was about to give me her money for her dues, when I got a phone call today. "Sam, I'm quitting girl scouts, so I can stay home and play with Jippy (her dog)" I said "okay, that's your choice." she replied "Maybe next year." I said "we'll see." That's assuming that I want to keep doing Girl Scouts (at least her age level) next year. I'm planning on it, anyways, but it just annoys me. I'm not going to quit, because I like the other kids and I like doing it. My cousin frustrates me. She doesn't teach her kids anything about commitment. Her motto is "They don't have to do anything they don't want to do." Like one of my friends said to me, "If that were the case, I'd never have gone to school." I think I really need to have my own kids so I can develop a sense of commitment and character in someone.

5 Things Friday

2009-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

I slacked. I knew it would happen. I missed TWO weeks in a row on Five Things Friday, so I'm going to write this on Monday and post date it for Friday!

In honor of Kanye West I bring you my 5 things that make a person a person a d**che b*g.

5. An elevated sense of self. Why do you think that I give more of a crap about what you think that what anyone else thinks.

4. Lack of Tact. There is a certain way that people do things to keep from being hated.

3. Negative attention seeking. Children do this. If they can't get attention for doing something well, then they get attention for being a jerk.

2. Temper-tantrums. Hate these. Hate them. Really, really hate them. I did this once and my mom picked me up by my hair. Do not scream and holler, people stop listening.

1. A broken filter. Think before you speak. Once the words come out, they are all over the internet within the hour.

Don't do these things.

This doesn't happen at the CMAs

2009-09-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

So I'm sure everyone has heard about Kanye West jumping up on stage and stealing Taylor Swift's thunder during the MTV VMAs. If you didn't hear, after Taylor won Best Female Video, Kanye jumped up on stage and took her mic and said that Beyonce should have won. You know, Taylor's songs may be filled with ideals of perfect love and fairytale endings, but at least she isn't pole-dancing. But as things do, everything worked out in the end and when Beyonce won Music Video of the Year, she gave up her speech to let Taylor shine, because she remembered how excited she was to win her first MoonMan at 17 with Destiny's Child. That's why Beyonce is the Queen and Kanye needs to go away.

you know you want to...

2009-09-11T18:21:00.003-04:00

wish me a belated blogaversary! It doesn't feel like a year. A lot has happened

We lost my Dad.
My nephew grew up
I got married
cleaned my house
messed it up again...
won some blog awards
slacked on my blogging...

Here's to another year.

Maybe babies will come in that year...

I made it 51 weeks...

2009-09-02T12:17:00.002-04:00

I was considering shutting down my blog, because my cup holding time seems to have a hole in it and time keeps dribbling down my chin... or something like that. Then I realized that I'm coming up on my one year blog-aversary on September 9. Holy cow. So I decided instead of shutting down my site, that i needed to reinvent my blogging like Brittany, a 40 year old Madonna or some other Hollywood Skank. My biggest blogging problem is that I'm boring. I go to work, I go to Girl Scouts, I watch Bones on Netflix... then occassionally, I drink very excessively. But my husband and his friends think that drunken Sam is sooooooo hilarious.... then I don't have to pay for anymore drinks. :-) So, I need to find humor in everyday experiences, like last night when the responsibility of giving my 15 year old nephew the sex talk fell into my lap. How did it go?

Me: "I'm 25. I don't want to be a great-aunt until I'm at least in my mid-30s. Deal?"

nephew: "Deal."

Me: "If you need condoms, talk to C."

(Later at home)

Me: "I told DJ that if he needs condoms to tell you."

C: "I don't think I can do that..."

Me: "Do you want to be a great-uncle?"

C: "I'll tell him to get them out of the bathroom at the BP...."

Oh, Lord.....

5 Things Friday

2009-08-28T12:47:00.002-04:00

wow, three weeks. It might be a record!

Today, since I'm trying to be positive is:

Five Things... I'm Thankful For... Friday

1. I'm thankful to be employed. Somedays, I hate my job and I just want a new one, but at least I'm working and I have benefits. That's more than a lot of people in this country right now.

2. I'm thankful for my family. My mom, my nephew, my husband, my pets... and I'm thankful for my friends.

3. I'm thankful that I can bum around when I want. I don't have be ready to run away at a moments notice or afraid of being injured. I live in a safe, secure place. For that, I am thankful.

4. I'm thankful for my pets. I never got to have indoor pets growing up and it's an amazing experience for me to have the three of them.

5. I'm thankful for my ignorant optimism. My husband is contantly hollering because I don't know about all of Obama's policies and what is wrong with them and yaya. Sometimes, I do think it's wrong that I don't take more notice in politics, but I have a blind optimism that things will work out for the best.

What are you thankful for?

Five Things Friday

2009-08-21T10:43:00.003-04:00

C's grandfather passed away on Wednesday. I've never met him and my husband doesn't talk about him a lot, because it's been awhile since he's seen him. I did Google his obituary and learn a lot of things about his grandfather that I didn't know. I love to read obituaries, even for people I don't know. It's their last hurrah. Their last chance to touch someone. The last chance to be honored for their life accomplishments. So i was thinking about 5 things... I hope my obituary will say. Hope it's not too morbid...

1. Sam is survived by her husband of 65(+) years, three children and their spouses, 8 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren and her nephew.

2. Sam was truely dedicated to Girl Scouts. She has been involved in the organization for over 70 years.

3. Sam graduated with a Bachelors Degree in 2006 and a Masters in 2012.

4. Sam believed that the world was a huge place and enjoyed traveling it with her husband.

5. Sam passed away peacefully with her family and friends by her bedside. She will be sadly missed by all who she touched.

What are 5 things you hope that your obituary says? (Think of it as summing up your legacy!)

Writers Workshop

2009-08-20T11:10:00.003-04:00

The Prompts:
1.) What will you be doing now that the kids are back in school?
2.) Things I have learned from my toddler.
3.) What would you put in your favorite things giveaway?
4.) Hi, my name is ______ and I am a _______.
5.) If these walls could talk...

Since I haven't any children, I can't do one and two.

3. This is kinda tough. First, I'd include a Bones DVD set. I LOVE Bones and Booth. Then I'd throw in some Lipton's Southern Sweet Tea, Cherry Pepsi and a Heath Bar... gotta love Toffee. A fruity candle and some Crocs and of course some cute Jibbitz! Finally, I'd top it off with a Ped Egg (pink to support the Breast Cancer Fund) and purple sparkly nail polish!

4. Hi, my name is Sam_I_am and I am a Master Procrastinator. I hate deadlines. Absolutely despise them. I never have anything done on time. I may have time to do it and I may even be excited to work on it, but I'll always wait til the last minute to do it. I don't know why. I just.don't.want.to.do.it. C always yells at me and asks why I always wait til the last minute. Like today, I could get everything that I need to do done in about an hour, but I don't want to. I've always been like that. Do your homework as soon as you get home? yeah, right. How bout right before bed. Then, I got to high school and it got done in homeroom or in the 3 minutes in the class that it was due, before the bell rang. It's not that I was busy or that I had more pressing things to do. I just didn't like the inconvience of doing it, I guess. Gosh, I'm such a brat! haha

5. If these walls could talk, they'd say stop procrastinating and clean the house!

Five Things Friday

2009-08-14T14:55:00.006-04:00

In order to try and get myself into a blogging routine, I've decided to start a feature on my blog. It will probably fall though like my "Blog of the Month" but at least for this Friday I have something to write about...

Today is 5 Things... that I don't like.... Friday

1. Red Nail Polish. It always reminded me of trampy women or my Great Aunt Teresa who pinched our cheeks awfully hard. I own nail polish in blue, green, orange, gray and black. I do have a bottle of red that I won, but I've never worn it. No offense if you like red nail polish.

2. Stupid people. You know those people who have a vapid look on their face when you talk to them? Have you ever seen Jay Leno do "JayWalking?" Jay: Pointing to an American Flag, "How many stars are on that flag?" Woman: "I don't know, it's moving too fast to count them." Those kind of people. I was at the fair and I bought something that was $1.50, 2.50 and 1.25 and the girl couldn't add them up. I had to add them for her and then I had to tell her how much change she needed to give me from a $20.

3. People who swear without realizing it. My husband is great for this. I don't swear at ALL in front of my mom. Not because she's opposed to it, because she swears plenty, but she's my MOM and I don't say those things in front of her. My brother's 40 and he doesn't either, but my husband swears without realizing it and on numerous occasions has dropped the F-bomb in front of my mom. Doing it without noticing it is how you get in trouble.

4. People who don't discipline their kids. We were at Wal-mart the other day and this woman was pushing her daughter around in one of those carts with the seats on the front and this girl was at least 7 and SCREAMING and CRYING at the top of her lungs. "I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!!! I WANNNNNTTTTT MY DADDDDDDDYYYYYYY!" After at least 10 minutes of top of her lung screaming, her dad showed up and proceeded to CARRY her through the store. I wonder if they realize why she is a demonchild?

5. People who spend waaaaay too much on their weddings. Do you know what you could do with $40000? So why are you maxing out your credit cards to spend it on a wedding?

What are 5 things that you don't like?

Wordful Wednesday, what makes me a kick ass bride

2009-08-12T10:44:00.004-04:00

About a month after our wedding, C (formerly the fiance) was in his best man's wedding. Now, I was originally a little upset, because I had originally asked her to be in our wedding. She agreed and started looking at dresses. Then she told her husband that she didn't think "we were good enough friends" for her to be in my wedding, so I replaced her with Holly. I think that things work out for the best, because Holly really was one of my best friends from college, she just started her "grown-up life" two years before I did and we grew apart for awhile. I'm just glad she was able to be in my wedding. Anyways, so we were at this wedding and I was still a little annoyed about not being in it... until I saw her dresses. They were tea length and looked like someone had just wrapped some hot pink material around one the girls. I guess it looked something like this. Which doesn't look bad, but that model is what? a size 2? She had a lot of bigger girls in her wedding and I think the wedding industry is very unfair to us pudgey girls when it comes to bridesmaids' dresses. Since it was strapless, there was no support for the "girls" and they just looked very uncomfortable. I don't think there is anything worse than paying $160 for a dress that makes you look terrible and feel terrible. When I picked out my wedding dress, I picked one in my price range that made me feel beautiful and I wanted my girls to have the same experience, so they each picked out their own dresses. The only criteria was that it had to be floor length and in eggplant. They had a blast.

Rachel is the only one of the bridesmaids who chose to wear separates. She lives in Atlanta, so she flew up Thursday before the wedding and picked up her dress, no alterations. So it had to fit. Separates gave her that option and she'll be more likely to wear it again.

Kelly chose this dress. I was suprised she went strapless, but that was the cool thing about my system.

Holly was the most worried about finding a dress. She kept apologizing, telling me that she just didn't wear dresses well. That was until she found this dress. It looks absolutely amazing, doesn't it?

Becca. The Roomie-O. The next bride. She loved the belt on her dress because it "accentuated her best features."

Then my MOH, Samantha Jo. She wanted a poofy skirt and I LOVED this dress. It also looked amazing on her and it matched my corset back, so I wasn't the only one who couldn't sit.

The other great thing about letting the girls pick their own dresses is that I DIDN'T HAVE TO! I didn't have to worry about what looked good on this one and that this one didn't want strapless (although I'd never MAKE a girl go strapless) or that this girl looked different from the others because she's built differently... they all looked different, because they are different. Samantha Jo is the there til the end, "c'mon Sam, get on the ball" don't screw with me girl, Kelly is the innocent, afraid of showing (or seeing) too much skin, Becca's the goofball, Holly's the mom (even before she had Makaylah) and wife, she's the grown-up, Rachel... oh Rachel... ha. She's the wildly, unpredictable, have faith that everything will be okay in the end and if it isn't, well, we'll figure out a way to fix it. So, why should I try to jam all those different personalities into one dress? And you know what, they looked great together and a lot of people never noticed that they had different dresses. They did though, because they walked down the aisle with smiles on their faces and danced with confidence, because they were happy and comfortable.

9th layer of bloggy hell

2009-08-07T00:46:00.002-04:00

My deepest apologies. Apparently, my shit has been less than together this summer. I've been extremely unmotivated to do anything since the wedding rush ended. Instead of postpartum, I believe I have post-nuptial depression. After all the craziness and the rushing and the congratulations fade away, I've been left staring at the man that I've lived with for three years now. Nothing has changed. We go to bed, he sleeps on the left and I sleep on the right. One of the dogs sleeps on the foot of my side of the bed and the other sleeps on the floor next to my bed, on a blanket that they have stolen off the bed, that I refuse to sleep under once they nested on it for a few hours, because it stinks like a stinky dog, who shakes in terror every time I get the dog shampoo out.... the same dishes pile up in the same sink and I fill the same red and tan bowls up with Kibbles and Bits and open the same can of Special Kitty. I flip through the same 150 channels and determine that there is nothing on... Life go from a whirl of so much to do to nothing to do and it's like a crash. I always feel unmotivated to write when I'm feeling blue and that's how I am in real life too. In my group, I'm the entertainer. We laugh. I feed off the laughter. If you laugh it only makes me funnier. When I don't feel like laughing, I withdraw. I never say, "I need to talk and you need to listen..." Instead, I crack a joke and change the subject. (Which I'm going to do soon, so you need to laugh, so I know I haven't lost my mind) I was thinking though, that if instead of avoiding my blog, I could write even when I feel bad and when I feel good. If I do go off the deep end with post-nuptial depression, I could write about it, my husband could quit his job, we could live off the income from my wildly popular blog. I don't know if Chance can balance things on his head or not, but Narnia is learning to jump through a hoop and I'm pretty sure that she'd do the Macarena for a Milk Bone. Oh! Then, I can throw the cat in the mix and see where that goes... but you know that doesn't really work in real life, right? haha!

Baja Fish Taco

2009-07-30T12:54:00.002-04:00

I know, it sounds gross. Disgusting. When I first heard it on the radio, I had this image of ground up fish on a taco shell with salsa and lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream. I almost vomited. Then I saw the commerical on tv and it didn't look bad. It's just a piece of fish and crunchies in a taco shell with baja sauce for 99 cents! Good deal, so I tried one today. Oh My gosh, Ididn't realize that Baja sauce was spicy. It was good otherwise. Not nearly as gross as I imagined.

Stop back tomorrow and I'll tell you why I'm a kick-ass bride.

Crazy Dream

2009-07-29T16:23:00.003-04:00

I had this crazy dream last night that I had a baby, but I didn't have anything for it. People didn't bring anything to the baby shower, so when it was time to go pick her(!!!) up, I didn't have anything to put her in. Then, I couldn't get a ride, so I was going to walk the three miles to the hospital to get her (I don't know why i wasn't in the hospital, too), but then I got there and they wouldn't let me have her because Hubs-a-roni and i couldn't agree on a name and they said she couldn't leave til she had a name. Then, Husband work me up and told me that I had over slept 20 minutes, ugh.

All about Sam.

2009-07-20T10:57:00.003-04:00

Okay, I'm back. I just spent 4 days in New Jersey with my Girl Scout Troop. We went to Six Flags and we went to the beach another day. It had its ups and downs but in the long run, we had a blast. Actually being away from everything, even though it wasn't a typical vacation, really improved my mood funk that I've been in. Now, I'm on vacation for the next three days and dont plan on doing much. So, since I'm not planning on doing much, I decided to share with you my Sam quiz from Facebook. Do you know me better than my friends? The best score so far has been 10/15. Post your answers in the comments and I'll let you know how you do. I'll be making my rounds around your blogs today and tomorrow.

1)	What would I name my first child (if Husband has no say)?
a)	Jael Leann
b)	Cheyenne Jolee
c)	Zoe Lynn
d)	Noel Elizabeth
e)	Kelsey Rain

2)	What am I scared of?
a)	Jason Voorhees
b)	roller coasters
c)	spiders
d)	heights
e)	Freddy Kruger

3)	What is my favorite type of music?
a)	Oldies- Gotta love a Crooner
b)	Rap- U down with the S-A-M
c)	Pop- Dirty Pop, Betcha Can't Stop
d)	BobFM- I like me a mix
e)	Country- Gimme that Twang Thang

4)	What is my middle name?
a)	Lynn
b)	Lee
c)	Louise
d)	Lucille
e)	Lacey

5)	I secretly would like to be a ________ for a day?
a)	nurse
b)	college professor
c)	teacher
d)	counselor
e)	CEO

6)	If I won the lotto, what is the craziest thing I would do?
a)	Adopt 3 more dogs
b)	Buy an airplane
c)	Quit my job and pursue a career in reality tv
d)	Open a bar/dance club
e)	buy a small island

7)	What would I dress as for Halloween?
a)	Pirate
b)	Witch
c)	Mummy
d)	Monkey
e)	Banana

8)	What country would I like to live in?
a)	England
b)	Spain
c)	Ireland
d)	Russia
e)	Romania

9)	What is my favorite pizza topping?
a)	Pepperoni and Bacon
b)	Olives
c)	Pineapple
d)	Mushrooms
e)	Onions and Tomatoes

10)	My favorite show on TV?
a)	ER
b)	Bones
c)	What I Like About You
d)	Medium
e)	Law and Order: SVU

11)	Who is my favorite Disney character?
a)	Meiko
b)	Princess Aurora
c)	Little Mermaid
d)	Stitch
e)	Nanna (The dog in Peter Pan)

12)	What funny event happened at my wedding
a)	My veil caught on fire and Chris had to put it out
b)	My garter fell off
c)	I tripped and almost fell
d)	The heel of my shoe broke
e)	I forgot his wedding band

13)	What is my dream car?
a)	Ferrari, red and fast
b)	1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, KITT optional
c)	a Brand-new Prius, gas efficient
d)	1964 Ford Mustang, fully restored
e)	a Pontiac G6 Convertible, Chris can fix it when it

14)	What is my favorite vacation?
a)	relax, lounging around all day
b)	Camping, nothing like flame roasted hot dogs
c)	Adventurous, whitewater rafting, hiking
d)	Sightseeing, museums, aquariums, historical places
e)	Staying home and getting things done there

15)	When did I first meet my husband?
a)	High School, he sat behind me in Geography
b)	Junior High Chorus
c)	On ICQ after 10th grade
d)	Elementary School, his mom was my teacher
e)	When he was born, we lived next door to each other

Re-adjusting

2009-07-13T08:54:00.002-04:00

Getting back into a routine after the wedding has been difficult to say the least. I've also been sick on and off, so I haven't had anything postive to write about and I don't want to mope. So, stick with me, I'll get things under control and be back.

Ah, how our world changed

2009-07-07T22:04:00.000-04:00

More pics, as per your request

2009-06-28T11:15:00.006-04:00

More wedding pictures! I'll try to get some of the whole wedding party up soon, but I want to add a blur over the ring bearer and flowergirl's faces, because I don't mind posting adults pictures on the internet, but I don't like to post pics of the kids.

So now what do I do since I'm a married woman?

2009-06-25T10:26:00.000-04:00

So right now this is the best picture I have. My mom has more, but I've been too lazy to get them off her camera. Isn't that an awesome wedding cake that yours truely made? The day went really beautifully well. We had a minor mishap and some laughs when my garter slid down my leg and I kicked it off under the communion table. Then Husband's (almost called him Fiance!) cell phone rang right before "you may now kiss the Bride.." He remembered to tell the Groomsmen to turn theirs off, but forgot his oops. All in all, it was a wonderful day and I am so glad that it is over and I can rest!

Just checking in

2009-06-16T12:26:00.002-04:00

We had a mini-crisis yesterday. I told Fiance to call the DJ to confirm. I reminded him again and again, so yesterday, he finally did. The DJ said "I've been having health problems and I'm not doing anything right now" Holy flippin' cows. That is not something a Bride wants to hear 5 days before her wedding. Fortunately, when we were in high school we worked at this grocery store and one of the security guards, who happens to be my mom and aunt's neighbor, DJs on the side, so he was available. Phew! Crisis Diverted. Unfortunately, I never actually met with the former DJ in person to get a contract, or I'd consider sueing him now. But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is that the day is saved.

So maybe I can't stay away, Wordful Wednesday

2009-06-10T09:03:00.004-04:00

I don't know if this really counts as a Wordful Wednesday post, but I really needed an excuse to post, since I told myself that I didn't have time to. This whole wedding planning thing is really overwhelming. Everyone is getting mad at me, because things aren't done yet. Fiance is yelling at me because I'm never home. Most of my friends flaked out on my Bachelorette party, so I might not even go. I keep having nightmares that things get forgotten. Kepp me in your thoughts and prayers! Wordful Wednesday in two weeks should be a good one ;-)

Don't expect a post for the next two weeks

2009-06-05T21:36:00.002-04:00

I really doubt that I can go two weeks without posting, but it's a big possibility. Why two weeks, you ask? Because that's how much longer until my wedding. Fuck.

I normally try and stay away from using strong profanity on my blog, because my mom might read it, or my Girl Scouts, or my boss, or Jesus and I try to be good for them, but there is a lot to do.

KAT warned me about the time consumption. I will believe anything she tells me from now on.

My dress is still at the seamstress'. I'm pasty white. I have no shoes to wear. No favors done. No centerpieces. No cookies. hmm.

We are writing our own vows. Mine are done and kick ass. I will share them with you after the ceremony. They are top secret right now, even though The Plunge says not to do that. Check The Plunge out, it's awesome.

I haven't had sex for two weeks and won't be having it for two more weeks. I may die before then.

A groomsman dropped out about a week ago, so he needed to be replaced.

I'm planning to Twitter on my wedding day.

I'm having trouble forming words and understanding the written language, due to my Wedding brain. I was at the salon to get my hair trimmed and they had these things for sale called "Hero Cards" I sat for a good minute trying to figure out what "Hair-row Cards" were. I felt dumb. Usually when people speak to me, I stare for a few seconds before my brain kicks in with a response.

So, I hope you'll understand why I won't be here until at least June 22. But leave me lots of love. Tell me I'll be beautiful. Tell me everything will be perfect. Tell me people will come since only 95/298 are coming right now. By the way, if you are going to be in the Arm Pit of Pennsylvania on June 20th, feel free to stop by. Okay, I should go now, I'm getting bitter. So leave me love and leave me wishes and click on my ad so I can buy some new dishes! hahaha, I kill me. Sorry, it's the Wedding planning deliriousness. XOXOXOXO

I like it when people don't like me.

2009-05-31T12:23:00.002-04:00

Diane's most reason post, sparked an interesting memory for me, so here it is. I work in a mental health day program and about 2 years ago, we went to another program's Open House. This program is a work program, so they had a lot of good food that the food service trainees cooked. I was sitting with a client talking to her when I noticed this boy, dressed in a suit (when everyone else is wearing jeans), standing half-way across the room staring at me. Oh, crap, he's approaching me. He interrupts my conversation and introduces himself, something that starts with an S, I return the introduction by saying "I'm Sam, I work at [my program]." That should indicate that I am staff and the pursuing should end there, right? Wrong. He throws his arm around me (never asking permission) and says to one of his friends, "Take a picture of me with Sam." I pull away from him and say, "no thank you, I'm camera shy." I then get up to go outside with the rest of my group. The client I was talking to originally, she's laughing hysterically. I dash outside with S hot on my trail. I bolt out the door and spot my co-worker and some of our clients smoking. I run behind them and my co-worker gives me that puzzled, what's wrong look. She doesn't have to wait long for an answer, when S comes flying out the door and corners me again, I keep refusing, but the camera is quicker than I am. I quickly gathered up the clients who were riding in my car and as I was hopping in, I heard him yell "Are you taking anyone?" I yelled back, "yes. I have a car full!" I thought he wanted to come with me! When one of my clients said to me, "he said 'are you dating anyone?'" Shit. He then yelled, "No! Do you have a boyfriend??" I yelled back, "Yes! I'm engaged! I'm getting married! (I wasn't yet)" He then spun around and ran back inside. My clients had a field day. I don't visit that program anymore.

AB Sam

2009-05-30T09:22:00.001-04:00

A - Age: 25

B - Bed size: Queen, but not nearly big enough for the five of us

C - Chore you hate: all of them...

D - Dog's name: Chance and Narnia

E - Essential start your day item: Contact solution

F - Favorite color(s): Purple

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5' 6

I - Instruments you play: piano, drums and the top part of a clarinet

J - Juice Choice - pineapple

K - Kids: drive me bonkers

L - Living arrangements: our first home

M - Mom's name: Chris

N - Nicknames: Sam, Sparkle

O - Overnight hospital stay: Tonsils when i was 5

P - Pet Peeve: Stupid people. Not people who have a developmental problem, but airheaded people.

Q - Quote from a movie: "If you're gonna eat mat, eat mat hard." Stick It

R - Right or left handed: Left!

S - Siblings: 1 brother, 15 years older

T - Time you wake up: 7:15am

U - Underwear: I never wear white underwear, it's so boring.

V - Vegetable you dislike: beets, blech

W - Workout style: a leisurely walk with the fat dog on the bike trail

X - X-rays you've had: just one on my arm

Y - Yesterday's best moment: Getting an RSVP no without a name on it, so I know someone is not coming, but I don't know who!

Z - Zoo favorite: tigers!

What can I say, I love Zombies

2009-05-28T23:14:00.001-04:00

ZOMBIE MARRIAGE COUNSELING: I DON'T EAT GUYS

Writer's Workshop Sleep Drama!

2009-05-28T12:05:00.002-04:00

1.) What is your life's anthem? You know...that song that is ALWAYS in your head. The one you'd go to sing first if someone told you to sing a song right NOW. What is it and what does it mean to you?
2.) We love telemarketers don't we!?! Describe a memorable experience you had with one.
3.) How much does focusing on weight affect your daily life?
4.) Describe in what ways you expect too much from your significant other. Do they deserve an apology?
5.) List ten things that make you HAPPY.
6.) Share a sleep walking story of your own!!

1.) Hmmmm, for one of my social working classes, i had to choose a song that I thought represented me, so of course I sang "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. I mean duh. But I really do think it represents me...

I hate the world today You're so good to me I know but I can't change
tried to tell you but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath i
nnocent and sweet
Yesterday I cried You must have been relieved to see the softer side
I can understand how you'd be so confused I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one

Chorus: I'm a bitch, I'm a lover I'm a child, I'm a mother I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed I'm your health, I'm your dream I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
So take me as I am
This may mean you'll have to be a stronger man
Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous and I'm going to extremes
tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing

Chorus

Just when you think you've got me figured out the season's already changing
I think it's cool you do what you do and don't try to save me

Chorus

I'm a bitch, I'm a tease I'm a goddess on my knees
when you hurt, when you suffer
I'm your angel undercover I
've been numbed, I'm revived can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it any other way

My teacher said to me, "Are you really a bitch?" I said "Sometimes. But I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one, too"

6: I'm a sleepwalker. The jokes at sleepovers and camp were always what I would do, but the best one happened at home.

One morning, my mom said to me, "Do you remember being the town cryer last night?" I had no idea what she was talking about, so she told me this story.

Around 11pm, after I'd been asleep for about an hour, I got up out of bed and went to my mom's room and said "Pst! Mom! We're late for school. We gotta go!!" my mom said "Samantha, what are you talking about??" "Mom, we're late, we gotta go!!!" (Now, remember that I graduated from High School with TWELVE years of perfect attendance, so sleeping in and missing school would have devastated me.) She then said to me, "Look outside *opens curtains* it's night time."
"I'm so confused!" "Go back to bed, you're fine." "Okay." and back I went.

Stop by Mama Kat's and tell us your story!

Andy is a wise man- Movie Night Spoilers

2009-05-26T10:10:00.004-04:00

Redbox is an awesome creation. While I love my netflix, it takes planning to have a movie night and Fiance is not about planning. So, when he asked if I had any movies, I told him I have Law and Order: SVU and ER on dvd. "Blech," he says. So, we headed off to our local Wal-mart and for $2.12 we came home with two movies. I chose Bride Wars and he picked Satan's movie, Quarantine. So, at 10 pm, we settled in to watch our movies. He sat in his chair and Chance, Narnia and I cuddled up on the couch. Holy sweet mother of God, I thought that I may die. We love Zombie movies, although Fiance totally will freak out if I start to act like a zombie and try to bite him. But this. this movie. Scared all things innocent out of me. Apparently, a rabies virus was created that causes symptoms to show within an hour. Once symptoms show, rabies is fatal. A news reporter and her camera man are doing a piece on a local fire station and accompany them on a call to an apartment building, where they are met by a zombish tenant, covered in blood. Then the carnage begins. Holy freakin' cow. Now, I'm not a stranger to horror movies and started to watch Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was the ripe old age of 11, so I've seen a lot. With the exception of Hostel, most horror movies don't scare me. Half-way through this movie, I started inching away from the dogs on the couch. Chance must have been offended by my lack of cuddles, because he jumped down to lie on the floor. Fiance looked at him and looked at me and said "When does his rabies vaccine run out?"

The movie continued on and the only characters left were the camera man, the reporter and the cute fireman, who were all running and screaming and bashing in infected peoples' skulls. So, I figured they would escape, because that's what happens in horror movies, the lead characters get away. I also knew the camera man couldn't die, because we were watching everything though his camera. Oh, silly girl. Sick, twisted minds did not make this like any other movie. Crunch, the fireman becomes Zombie biscuits. 1 down, 2 to go. Camera light dies, now we're left in a dark attic with night vision, oh yay! There's another rabid zombie. Camera hits the floor... well, I guess I was wrong about the camera man dying. I need to backpedal a bit. A few of the residents who tried to escape from the building, got shot by snipers, since the building was quarantined, when a vet discovered the rabies in a dog that lived in the building. At some point, I would have probably cut my loses and opened a window to let a sniper shoot me. I mean, how would you rather die, an instantaneous shot to the head or by being eaten by a zombie? But no, this girl kept running, until she was the last one left... until she gets sucked into the darkness and the credits roll.

Fiance: *Blink, Blink*
Me: *Blink, Blink*
Fiance: *Blink, Blink*
Me: *Blink, Blink* okay... so, you're not picking the movies anymore....

Since sleeping wasn't an option at this point, we watched Bride Wars, which I really like. But I haven't really found anything with Kate Hudson in it that I didn't like. Fiance made the stunning revelation that Kate Hudson looks like Goldie Hawn "Duh! She's Goldie Hawn's daughter!" "No, Shit?" "no, shit." "Huh."

Anyway, we finally climbed into bed and I had nightmares ALL night about Rabid Zombies. At one point, I woke up and RAN to the bathroom and went back to bad and had a sequel nightmare to my original nightmare. I escaped them in the first one and saved my dogs, I don't know what happened in the second one, except it was a year later, because the dream caption said "One year later." I think my dreamcatcher may need cleaned out....

So, this morning, 3 mornings later, I was still looking over my shoulder for rabid zombies, when it struck me! "I think Andy blogged about not watching Quarantine." So, I searched WildARSChase this morning and sure enough, there it was. So all I must say, is heed the warning, don't watch it!

What is the technical term for a booger?

2009-05-22T12:20:00.002-04:00

Seriously? We have technical terms for other body parts and functions: anus, vagina, penis, testicles, mucus, urine, feces, flatulance!

What is the technical term for booger??? My nose is stuffy and it hurts like there is a booger stuck to my brain, but I don't want to be like "Yeah, it feels like I have a booger that won't come out." Even to my doctor, I wouldn't want to be like, yep, got a booger in there.

I googled it.

solidified mucus... did you know we make a cup full of mucus a day? gross.
nasal mucus
rhinolith
hmmmm, nose nugget?
nasal crust
residual nasal excretion
rhinostalactis

For future reference, never google booger. I had to quit reading when I got to the part of whether or not it was safe to eat boogers. *gag*

Instead of a daily post, it's turning into a weekly post

2009-05-20T09:37:00.002-04:00

Ah, so wedding things are starting to fall into place. That's because my wedding is exactly one month away. Holy crap. Fiance sometimes worries that I will get cold feet. He said he's not worried that he will, but he worries about me. I don't tell him, but I worry about that, too. I mean, I want to marry him. I've loved him since I was 17 years old and I can't imagine not spending my whole life with him. But being someones wife... I don't know. I think it's that huge milestone in life that will be over once I get married. How many are left? Having children, children graduating from high school, going to college, graduating from college... retiring, hopefully... it just seems so finite and it scares me a bit. Just a bit....

A new thing that I'd like to start to do on my blog will be having a "Blog of the Month" which I will then add to my blog roll. You see, I'm following a lot of blogs, but I don't have time to read them regularly and if I don't read them regularly, then sometimes the posts don't always make sense, because I don't know the cast of characters... it's like starting a book in the middle, sometimes. I do, however, regularly read my blog roll subscriptions. I thought of this idea last month, but wedding planning trumped it. My April addition will be: Nesha at 5Strong I just love Nesha. She is always warm and encouraging, but I think she'd be fast to put someone in their place, if need be. I think that comes from her house full of boys, so check her out.

What will I write about when my wedding is over?

2009-05-13T17:56:00.002-04:00

My bridal shower was on Saturday. I kinda felt like a dork, because about 25 people came when 125 were invited. Yup, I'm a winner. But it was still fun. They had a Halloween Theme, since Halloween is my favorite holiday and I promise I'll post pics as soon as I upload them from my mom's new camera. I got some nice stuff, including a George Foreman Grill and a Hamilton Beach Grill, so I need to decide which one I want to return. I also got a great basket of rubber ducky themed bathroom items, including a quacking trash can from my previous roomie/bridesmaid, Holly. My Maid of Honor, Peanut, got me all kinds of awesome stuff, like a pyrex set and cleaning supplies, because she knows that I never do that and that I need to and Halloween beanie babies! Awesome! My college friend/bridesmaid Kelly, the sensible one, got me a serving tray and brightly colored pinch bowls, because i love anything bright. Then my last college roommate/Bridesmaid, Becca. Becca, Becca, Becca... I love her. I love her to death. Becca bought me a really awesome crock-pot cook book, cookie cutters and KY Jelly.... like, I said, I love Becca. She's getting married September 4th. She'll get it. :-)

The cake was awesome and said "Til Death Do Us Part" on it. I can't wait to post that pic. Fiance's pap-pap is home from the hospital, so I've got some more time for stuff like invites! sheesh.

I miss you guys!

Ode to my momma

2009-05-08T11:46:00.003-04:00

I'm so sorry to all my usual reads. I haven't been by your blogs lately, but I promise I will do that... soon. Fiance's Pap-Pap is still in the hospital, but seems to be doing better. They are working on getting the infection out.

Since this weekend is Mommy's Day, I'm going to tell you 25 things about my mom, because that's how many mother's days she has had me. Such the narcisst, I am.

1. My mom's name is Chris, same as Fiance's. At Christmastime, the joke is to write on the tags: To Chris From Chris.

2. My mom has an older brother and 2 younger sisters. They are all 3 years apart.

3. I hit the jackpot with my mommy, because of all of her siblings, she's the only one who isn't selfish and put others before herself.

4. My mom wanted to have 6 kids. Instead she got two... 15 years apart.

5. I think my mom's best friend was her mom.

6. I can only remember seeing my mom cry 3 times: Once, when I broke the lamp my dad gave her, then in the time frame when my dad and grandma were sick.

7. My grandfather had to break up a fight between my mom and a future constable, Roger. Who incidentally, was one of my dad's best friends.

8. My mom and dad met, because my dad and my pap used to talk on the CB. You know, the original internet. My pappy's handle was "Dirty Harry (but his name wasn't Harry)," My dad was "Two Pipes (because he had a duel exhaust or something like that) and my mom was "CurlyQ"

9. If I was a boy, my mom wanted to name me Garth. My dad told her "no." She was then going to name me "Jennifer Lynn" but then my grandmother told the pregnant neighbor, who named her daughter "Jennifer Lynn" 4 months before I was born. She then chose "Samantha" because she had read it in one of her smutty romance novels and "Lee" because it is my aunt's middle name.

10. My mom owned her own beauty shop for... a long time. She also has a Cosmetology Teacher's Licenses, but has never used it.

11. She has horrible artritis, proobably from spending so much time on her feet. She has had both knees replaced.

12. She is a Cub Scout Leader and was a Girl Scout Assistant Leader for about 9 years. She is going to be my assistant leader next year.

13. After I told her how we would compulsively check our mailboxes at school, waiting for mail, she started to send cards to my friends and I for every occassion: Easter, Valentine's Day, St Paddy's Day ect. Once, she sent up all "Letters in a Bottle." She cut open pop bottles and filled it with candy and little things from the dollar store and mailed them to us.

14. A lot of my friends call her "Mommy Chris."

15. When my parents got married they went and got a dog. When they were getting in Dad's truck, there was another puppy sitting at my Dad's feet crying. My dad picked it up and my mom said "That's not a female is it??" He held HER up and the owner nodded from the window and my dad put her in my mom's lap. My mom wanted to name them "Starsky and Hutch." My dad didn't like "Starsky" so she named them Trixie and Hutch. My mom always told me that Trixie was my dad's dog, because she didn't want a female.

16. When my mom was about 3 or 4, my great-grandfather would put her on his knee and say, "What do you want for Christmas?" My mom would tell him a rocking chair. He asked her what she would do if Santa didn't bring the rocking chair and she said "I'll puuuuulllllll his beard out!" Pap would laugh and ask her again and again. Santa musta been scared, cause she got her tiny rocking chair, which she still has.

17. My mom was afraid that something would happen to her mom when she went to school, so she didn't want to go. The bus pulled up and the driver said, "Are you going?" She figured if she had a choice, "no." So the bus left. My grandma went all old-school on her and took her in the house. The next day, when the same thing happened, my grandma broke a switch off the tree and beat her 1/2 way to school, when the neighbor stopped and picked her up. (Grandma didn't mess around). When she got to school, she clung to the flagpole and the teacher pried her off and beat her down the hallway.

18. My mom thinks most things are funny. If you fall, she'll laugh the whole time she is asking if you're okay. Don't get her started on the day that I fell flying my kite and slide through the yard like a speedboat. She might wet herself.

19. Her dog's name is Lily. I named her. Mom fattened her up.

20. My friends always laugh that my mom is constantly trying to feed them. "Are you hungry?" "Are you thirsty?" She's a good hostess.

21. She yells at me when I'm mean.

22. She used to read to me for 2 hours every night.

23. You know how parents say "Don't make me comeback there!"? Well, she did once and I really got it.

24. She always told me, "If you can't sing good, sing loud."

25. Everyday, before I left the car for school, she'd say "Have a good day, don't take any wooden nickels. I love you." Then as my nephew got old enough to talk, he'd say Us instead of I. To this day, if I go to my mom's in the morning, she'll say "Have a good day, don't take any wooden nickel and us love you."

Mood: Disheartened

2009-05-05T12:31:00.002-04:00

You know that Domino effect? Where one falls and everything else falls? That's how I'm feeling now.

This weekend, my Girl Scout Troop went camping. It rained the whole freakin' time. Well, that's not true. Saturday in the day it didn't rain, but it was really cold. Fortunately, my new tent kept me dry. I came home around 11am on Sunday and Fiance was gone. I knew it must be bad for him to be up that early on a weekend when I'm away. He takes advantage of the whole bed and the quiet when I'm away. I called him, he was at his grandfather's house... with the paramedics. Lovely. We took him to the hospital and 3 hours later, were told he had celulousis in his stomach, they gave him antibiotics and sent him home. I stayed until about 9 and went home. Fiance went over the next day. I was at Girl Scouts, where my assistant leader texted me 15 minutes before and told me she couldn't come. Lovely, again. All the girls were hyper, except for the one that insisted on acting like a jerk. I know, that's absolutely horrible of me, but she really was. We're working on a new program that Girl Scouts put out and this kid fought me the whole time on it and insisted that she "did it in her head" already. So I asked her what the next step was and she said she "didn't bother to figure those out." So I told her we needed to do it for the other girls and she needed to sit her bottom in the chair and not on the table and put her feet on the floor. The next step is for them to write a letter to a government offical to ask for a change that they think is important to them. I suggested we think of an issues and write a letter to the President. All the girls were excited, except for one. Yup, you guessed it. She said to me... brace yourself. "I don't like Obama. I don't like black people. I was just born that way." Fortunately, all the other girls were about as appauled as I was, so I said to her. "No one is born to not like others." I them went on to talk to the rest of the group about treating others as we want to be treated. At the end of the meeting, my helper from the "Big Girl Troop" played games with them while I talked to a mom about Bridging her daughter. The same little girl sat on the floor in the hallway and refused to participate in closing and when I asked her what was wrong, she said "none of your business." I got really close to calling her family to come pick her up, because she was tap dancing on my last nerve. Then, as I was leaving, I had 6 missed calls from Fiance and his grandfather's girlfriend, they were taking him back to the hospital. So, we loaded him into the car around 9 and went to the ER. Around midnight, Fiance and his mother went home and I stayed and waited. At 230, they moved him to ICU and by 3am, I had him settled into his room, convinced him that he didn't need to watch X-Files tonight and was climbing into my car. They really didn't know what was wrong, except that he had an infection and fluid in his abdomin. I'm still waiting to hear. He was pretty lucid though and was hitting on the nurses and wanted to make sure he had his cane, so he could "beat the old ladies in ICU off." So, we're keeping our fingers crossed.

2009-04-30T22:06:00.002-04:00

Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/). b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s Mosaic Maker (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php).
d. Save the image and blog it!

1. What is your first name? Sam
2. What is your favorite food? Pineapple
3. What is your favorite color? purple
4. Favorite drink? ice tea
5. Dream vacation? Italy
6. Favorite Hobby? singing loud
7. What you want to be when you grow up? happy
8. What do you love most in life? laughing
9. One word to describe you? wild

And it has begun...

2009-04-30T21:41:00.000-04:00

My first wedding gift arrived today! First, I must say that wedding registries are awesome, but I've been checking mine like a mad woman ever since I noticed that people had started to buy gifts. I know. I know. But, when my mom started making me play Santa and put the presents under the tree, I would unwrap the corner and peek. I have no gratification control. what.so.eva. So, anyways, the things that I noticed had been bought was the bathroom duckie collection, a crock pot and crock pot condoms, you know, those throw away bags that go in the crockpot... a crockpot condom and a pyrex set. Anywho, my bridal shower is next week (holy caa-caa), but this weekend, I'm going camping, so I was pretty bummed that someone bought a tent, but that I wouldn't have it til next weekend, so it looked like I was going to be pitching the 70s throwback canvas tent. rah. So, imagine my shear excitment when there was a huge package waiting for me and I ripped it open and it was my tent! Fiance's Aunt Joy from Tennessee sent it. Exciting! So, hopefully my new tent keeps me nice and dry this weekend, since it's supposed to rain the.whole. time.

Bath Day

2009-04-26T09:41:00.002-04:00

Since we had a sweltering hot 85* day yesterday, I decided it should be bath day for our pooches, so I loaded them into the car and took them to Fiance's Pap-Pap's house to bath in the dog pool; after throwing on the required dog bathing outfit-shorts and a tank top, since I get just as wet as they do. Well, Pap-Pap just got a new dog, Elsa, about 2 months ago, that my dogs haven't met. I knew I didn't like Elsa. I really didn't like her when she tried to bit Narnia through the fence. Narnia doesn't take shit from anyone and went "oh no you didn't, you little bitch! I'll cut you!" Narnia proceeded to try and rip the fence down. I mean, she was foaming. So, Elsa got locked upstairs, because she's a bitch. Once that crisis was diverted, I got Chance into the pool and gave him a bath. He was loving it, until I sprayed him in the butthole with the ice cold hose water. Then he jumped out. I dragged him back in and finished rinsing him, apologizing for squirting his delicate areas with the hose. How did Chance replay me? By rolling in the grass. Jerkface. Narnia was more difficult to get in the pool, but once she was in, she was okay. It amazes me how she gets lighter and lighter (in color) everytime I bathe her. When she came home from the shelter, I thought she was a German Shepard, because her back was black. Turns out, she was just REALLY dirty and still, everytime I bath her, she gets lighter. Poor girl, I wish she could tell me what happened in her life. Since one of Pap-Pap's other 4 dogs was out, so I gave Jocco a bath too. Then, Chance Narnia and Jocco played, but since Jocco only has 3 legs, he came back and sat with me and watched his retarded cousins, jump all over each other. The quote of the day came from Fiance who, while I was bent over bathing a dog, said "That shirt looks like it's ready to explode." Me: "What do you mean?" Him "Your boobs." Me: "That must be why the neighbor's husband went back inside." My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard....

Writing Assignment- A Piece of Cake

2009-04-23T08:43:00.003-04:00

1.) Book review!

2.) When is it okay not to listen to the words? Explain about a song you really love that has lame lyrcis or lyrics you simply don't understand.(writingfix.com)

3.) Why won't you forget? List six true sentences that begin with the words 'I'll never forget...' Then use all six of your sentences in a paragraph, poem, or longer descriptive piece.(writingfix.com)

4.) Write about an interaction you had with a salesman.

5.) What's for dinner? I'm starving.

1.) I read this awesome book two years ago. I'd love to read it again, but I lent it to a client and she was in the middle of reading it when she passed away. I didn't feel that it would be appropriate to ask her family if they could get it back to me, "Hey, sorry for your loss, you know that book she was reading?" But it really was one of the best books I've ever read. I lost many hours of sleep, because I Just. Couldn't. Put. It. Down! A Piece of Cake, by Cupcake Brown is an amazing story of a young girl who hit rock bottom and with the help of her family and friends, climbed her way all the way to the top. Cupcake found her mother dead in her bed after an epilectic seizure, adding to her suffering, she learned that her father wasn't her real father. When her "real" father showed up, he collected Cupcake and her brother and dumped them in foster care, splitting the check with the evil foster mom. After running away, Capcake got involved in prostitution and drug use, ultimately throwing her into a deep pit of depression. With the support of her family, friends and 12 step group, Cupcake excels and reaches for the stars. If you like inspirational stories, this is one for you.

Writing Assignment Wednesday

2009-04-16T08:48:00.002-04:00

1.) If I sent you four hundred dollars today what is ONE thing you would spend it on and why. ps I want my change.
2.) What are your kids talking about?
3.) Tell us about a local news story that's all the buzz right now in your neck of the woods.
4.) Share some blogging advice.
5.) Tell us about that time at the playground when that thing happened.

Huh, well. I can't do number 2, because thankfully, I've made it to 25 without any "surprises." I just wrote about the police shooting in Pittsburgh the post before last. Tragedy. So that's number 3.

4: Blogging advice. Be prepared to give up all life. Blogging becomes life.

5: I had something happen at a playground, but it's too embarrassing to share and I share a lot, so you know this has to be a good one.

1. I love money. I'll be waiting on my check to come, Mama Kat. If I had $400 dollars, I'd of course spend it on my wedding, since that is where every spare dime I make is going these days. Funny Gal KAT, just commented the other day that I'll be surprised how much time I'll have after the wedding... well, I hope that is the same for money. Fortunately, I've found ways to save:
I got Fiance's grandfather to charge my dress on his credit card.
Peanut's mom is going to cater, so all we have to do is pay for food.
Hall Rental- $200. My aunt is an officer at the local Sons of Italy and got a HUGE discount.
Fiance's cousin is a photographer, so we just have to pay cost to print.
We're getting married in my mom's church, so I'll make a donation. The pastor is one of my really good friends, so he'll get a gift.
We're going to make our own cake, since Fiance used to moonlight at a bakery.
I found a slip on freecycle.org I just have to go pick it up
My future mother in law is making the invites.
Fiance wants to grow the flowers, but I think that may be pushing it.

So if I had $400 I'd spend it on bouquets. My wedding is eggplant and platinum (silver), what kind of flowers do you think would look good in my bouquet?

Jesus poked me on Facebook

2009-04-15T09:03:00.003-04:00

Okay, I'm down with the G-O-D and all, but this kinda disturbed me a little. I was checking out the suggestions that Facebook made for me, based on what my friends were doing. You know, peer pressure in the technological form. I noticed that 4 of my friends became "fans" of God. I don't know if I want God reading my Facebook. It's not like there is anything inappropriate there, but it's like my mom reading it- it's just weird.

It also caused flashbacks of my dislike for College Christian Life. There was tons of peer pressure, in many forms, to basically carry around a sign that said "I LOVE JESUS!!" If you didn't do that, you were bad, wrong, you didn't love Jesus, shout it from the rooftops! I'm okay with the people who choose to openly advertise their Faith. We probably need that, but we also need the people who are quieter about it, too. Those who are seeking can be easily intimidated by an outgoing Christian and not be able to ask the questions they wanted. I also feel like I can be friends with people who practice a different religion or *gasp* follow no organized religion at all.

I try not to write about religion too much, because my intention is not to offend someone. If you're down with street preaching, then do it, but I won't. But, I also won't stand and talk to you about how I feel about Jesus- I reserve that for people I know and trust, not for the random girl who walks up to me in the grocery store and says "My boyfriend wanted me to ask you if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?" (This really happened. Do I have a sign over my head that says "sinner?")

I also don't want to give the impression that Christian Life on campus was completely horrible. If it were, I probably wouldn't have stayed for as long as I did. I made some really good friends, who I'm still friends with today.

So I don't think I'll be a Facebook Fan of Jesus and I doubt that God cares. I'm sure He's got bigger issues to deal with than what's on my Facebook.

Call me Pudge

2009-04-13T00:40:00.002-04:00

My wedding dress came in AND it doesn't fit. Crap. I mean, it goes on and it zips, but it has this piece that snaps in the back that goes under the corset lacing and every time I put my arms down it comes unsnapped. Not a big deal and the snaps can easily be moved out some, but you know. I was excited because I was in a smaller dress size than I normally wear, so I don't really know if I've gained weight since I got measured or if the girl should have ordered my dress size up one. I'm getting nervous about the whole wedding ordeal, in general and having my dress just makes it all the more concrete. My bridal shower is in less than a month, I've been vigorously working on our registry. Still don't know what to do for centerpieces. Flowergirl's dress needs done... so much to do, so little time and little money... still haven't found shoes I like and I'm afraid to buy them off the internet, because I don't want shoes that I haven't tried on... I might seriously rock the Go-Go boots.

BTW, Happy Easter. I get a 4 day weekend so I've been slacking on my blogging, sorry. If you don't follow the Christian religion, look at Easter as a secular celebration giving us the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Easter comes with Spring and Spring is the reawakening of life, so, even if your not down with the Resurrection, take the opportunity to reawaken and start anew.

Pittsburgh's deadly shooting

2009-04-09T10:52:00.005-04:00

I had planned to write about Marley and Me today, but there is something much more important for today.

When Pittsburgh police were called to a home for a domestic dispute, I'm sure they never expected to be involved in the biggest police death since 9/11/01, but that's what happened and it was close to home. Paul Sciullo III and Stephen Mayhle arrived at the home of Margaret and Richard Poplawski because of a dispute about a dog urinating in the house. Eric Kelly, who was off duty and nearly home, turned around to aid the the other officers. All three men were killed in an ambush. The gunman, Richard Poplawski, had be worried that the Obama administration would take his guns and was stalking up. Reports say that Poplawski was posting on a white supremacist website and that he was worried that "Jews were secretly running the country." He also wanted to "achieve ultimate victory for his people by taking back the country." He is currently in UPMC hospital and is expected to survive.

The Memorial Service for the fallen officers is today in Pittsburgh at 1pm. 12,500-15,000 people are expected to attend today. Those who cannot attend are urged to light a blue candle or light, in honor of the the officers.

It just baffles me how fearful people can become and how dangerous fear is. It also concerns me for the mental stability of our country. I work in mental health, I know the symptoms. But psychiatric disabilities are become an epidemic. How can we help those who need help? All while protecting ourselves? I don't know.

Sam's Soap Box- Pets Rock

2009-04-06T10:28:00.004-04:00

I came across this article today and I thought it was just amazing and wanted to share it with you. It really is a story of survival. We have two choices when things get tough- die or fight.

Dog overboard found four months later

Mon Apr 6, 4:21 am ET
SYDNEY (AFP) – A pet dog that fell overboard in rough seas off Australia has been reunited with its owners after surviving alone on an island for four months, reports said.
Sophie Tucker, apparently named after a late US entertainer, fell overboard as Jan Griffith and her family sailed through choppy waters off the northeast Queensland coast in November.
The dog was believed to have drowned and Griffith said the family was devastated.
But out of sight of the family, Sophie Tucker was swimming doggedly and finally made it to St Bees Island, five nautical miles away, and began the sort of life popularised by the TV reality show "Survivor."
She was returned to her family last week when Griffith contacted rangers who had captured a dog that had been living off feral goats on the largely uninhabited island, in the faint hope it might be their long-lost pet.
When the Griffiths met the rangers' boat bringing the dog to the mainland they found that it was indeed Sophie Tucker on board.
"We called the dog and she started whimpering and banging the cage and they let her out and she just about flattened us," Griffith told the national AAP news agency.
"She wriggled around like a mad thing."
Griffith said that when the dog was first spotted on the island she had been in poor condition.
"And then all of a sudden she started to look good and it was when the rangers had found baby goat carcasses so she'd started eating baby goats," she said.
Sophie Tucker, a member of the Australian cattle dog breed, had been quick to readjust to the comforts of home, complete with airconditioning, Griffiths said.
"She surprised us all. She was a house dog and look what she's done, she's swum over five nautical miles, she's managed to live off the land all on her own," Griffiths said.
"We wish she could talk, we truly do."

I also feel like this is a great time to mention how important it is, in the words of Bob Barker, to "help control the pet population and have your pets spayed or neutered." I mean, who doesn't love a cute cuddly puppy? Oh, I know, when it grows up and it ends up in the shelter where no one wants it and it lives out its sad lonely days or until they stick a needle in its arm if the poor pet is unfortunate enough to land itself in a kill shelter. Having your female dogs spayed also greatly decreases her chances of developing cancer as well, depending on how many times she has gone into heat. Having cats spayed or neutered is probably more important than having your dog spayed, because cats will go into heat approximately every two weeks for 7 months, while a dog will only go into heat twice a year. Cats can also become pregnant again, while still nursing. Shelters are also packed with cats and in my area, many of the shelters have no more room for cats. So! If you have a pet be sure to have it fixed. If you don't have a pet and are considering one, remember that there are a lot of great pets in the animal shelters.