the annie blog

I went to work today and *tried* to get stuff done, but some former students were on campus and stopped in for about 40 minutes.  Then an employee stopped by for about 15 minutes. So, there I was with an hour lost.  I will need to go in tomorrow again to get a few things together.   I did take time to go to the campus library and get some stuff for fall.  I need to start working on that stuff asap. 
 
Mark is at school all day today.  They are rigging the theatre for flying.  Then they have their first flying rehearsal.  I wish I could fly – but the weight limit is 100 pounds.  Hmmmm – I think I’m over that limit, so no flying for me.  I’ll have to watch vicariously. 
 
I have no idea what to have for dinner tonight since Mark will be gone.  I have some ideas, but we’ll see…  I am feeling kind of lazy actually.

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I got very little sleep last night.  I was feeling fine till my head hit the pillow around 11:30.  Then – my neck suddenly tightened up on the right side.  It’s like my right shoulder and right ear were practically glued together.  I could NOT find a position in which to get comfy.  I would doze off for a little bit here and there, but I would wake up the minute I tried to move.  I’ve never had such a painful stiff neck before.  So, this whole ordeal stresses me out.  I can’t figure out why I am like this.  Well, we all know what happens to Bethanie when she’s stressed – she breaks out in hives! 
 
So, at 2:30 I get up to take a pain reliever because I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I decided to wander out and watch TV till it kicked in. So, there I am, wandering through my dark house with hives forming on my body, my right ear and right shoulder are stuck together, I look like hell because I haven’t slept, and I stink! Why do I stink?  Well, while I was in KC visiting my mom I bought this novelty pillow thing that’s stuffed with these awesome squishy micro-bead things.  It’s so soft and scrunchy – I fell in love with it right then and there.  I bought it.  Well, that morning, Mark said that he thought I was stinky?!  I had showered – my clothes were clean – what was up?  It was kind of a chemical smell – like dry cleaning stuff. Well, during my attempt at sleep earlier I rolled right into the middle of my new squishy pillow. Voila – my pillow was the culprit! So, that’s why I was stinky at 2:30 am.
 
I decide to watch TV – we all know there’s nothing on at 2:30, so I watch music videos.  I see some good stuff – like Modest Mouse, Train, and Jet.  Then I see some horrible stuff – like Maroon 5, Brittney, and Usher (Though I do have to admit the Usher video made me laugh.  Throughout the course of the song he proceeds to remove articles of clothing.  Now, the boy is cut and mighty fine to look at, but when in the world do people randomly sing and remove clothing?? I mean, come on!) I watch videos for about an hour (and yes, for those of you playing the home game – that means it’s 3:30.)
 
I can finally turn my head some and move my shoulder a little bit.  I decide to head back to bed because I’m pretty sure I can find a good position now. So, I turn out the lights and pad back to my snoring husband, my purring kitty, and my stinky pillow.

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Here is today’s Friday Forum:

1] Describe your ultimate favorite pizza. What type of crust? Which toppings? What kind[s] of cheese? Stuffed crust or not?
Great question. I’m thinking of going out for pizza for dinner tonight now!  Ok, I love very thin crust, not much sauce, lots of REAL mozzarella, lots of spicy pepperoni.  Then when it comes out of the oven I want to top it with cold anchovies.  That is the best!

2] Which beverage do you prefer to drink along with your pizza?
Pop usually fills me up so much and can make my stomach upset when I’m eating.  I actually prefer water.

3] Where’s the best pizza place ever, in your opinion?
I’m not sure what it was called. When I was in Chicago once, we stopped at some “hole-in-the-wall” pizza place and it was awesome!

4] How do you eat your pizza? With a fork, with your hand, folded in half, or some other way?
I usually start off with a fork till it cools down then I eat it with my hand.

5] Which toppings would you absolutely NEVER want on your pizza? What’s the strangest kind of pizza that you’ve encountered?
To me, chicken and pizza just don’t mix.  I can understand other combinations, but that one confuses me.

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Mark and I went to see I, Robot today.  It was ok.  I would probably tell people to wait for the DVD.  I really like Will Smith, but this wasn’t the best.  He does have his shirt off a lot and my God!!!  That boy is cut!!! 
 
I will finish packing tonight and hit the road around 7am.  I should be in Kansas City around 10:30ish.  I return Wednesday afternoon. I will probably have to audioblog during my time away.  My mom’s PC is antiquated and SLOW!  Plus it freezes up all the time and boots her off.  The last thing I wanna do it be in the middle of the post and get booted.  That always pisses me off.  So,  I will keep in touch via the phone. 
 
TTYL
 

Well, I’m back from vacation and I said I’d audioblog while I was away and I didn’t. Why, you might ask – because my mother had us on a strict schedule with no down-time whatsoever.  Here, check it out:

Sunday – I arrived at 9:30 in the morning – I know, I left at the crack of dawn, literally.  We sad and visited that day.  I could have blogged then, but there was nothing going on.  We had lunch at her house and headed to my brother’s and his wife’s house around 4:00.  They had pictures to share from their recent trip to England, and gifts to pass around.  Mom had pictures to share of her trip to Arizona.  We also celebrated my brother’s and SIL first wedding anniversary – champagne and photos.  We then headed out to eat at Bravo’s- around 7:30.  We had drinks on the terrace first for about 30 minutes. Then had a nice leisurely meal and coffee.  Around 9 we walked around and looked in the store windows and headed back home.  I was in bed by 10 because I was up at 5 that day.

Monday – up at 8 – out of the house by 9:30.  First we went to Gordman’s and bought some stuff for Mom’s kitchen.  Then we went to Claire’s had Chipotle for lunch.  Went to Kirklands, Kohl’s, Linen’s and Things, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Pier One, another Hobby Lobby.  Then we went to see “The Notebook” – I wasn’t sure I would like it, but I  bawled my eyes out.  We had dinner at Quiznos.  Then headed home to hang up the stuff we bought at the stores that day.  I hit the hay around 10 that night too – I was exhausted!

Tuesday – up at 8.  Back to Hobby Lobby.  Then we went to a nearby town that’s set up so cute!  It has lots of different crafty shops and antique stores. We toured all those till noon.  We had lunch at the Main Street Tea Room.  I’ll post pictures and stuff when I get motivated.   That afternoon we went back to Michael’s, Steinmart, another Bed Bath and Beyond, DSW, Barnes and Noble, back to Steinmart, back to Hobby Lobby then stopped for a malt at A&W.  The rest of the afternoon we put things together around the house and organized all our shopping.  Dinner was at El Cerro Grande’s – service was kind of slow so we were there awhile. At home we changed into our jammies then we played with my tarot cards.  Again, we were in bed by 10. 

Wednesday – up at 8. Hit the road at 9.  Arrived at noon.  Unpacked, took a much needed nap and waited for Markie to come home.

So, I think you can see why I didn’t audioblog.  We were a shopping machine!  I am sick of shopping right now. I don’t want to go again for along time. I did get good stuff for my dining room, but it’s still in packages on the table.  Not in the mood to even look at it.  I feel like I need a vacation from my little vacation.

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Here are my Friday Forum answers for this week:

1] Do you prefer to wear name-brand clothing, or does it matter? Which clothing labels were popular when you were growing up, and did you feel like you *had* to wear them in order to fit in?
The whole name brand thing doesn’t affect me anymore.  In fact, I’m more turned off by name brands now than I was when I was in high school.  In high school it was imperative to have jeans like Jordache, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt.  And to wear these big sweaters from Forenza. The shoes had to be top-notch penny-loafers or top-siders.  Life is different in high school.  You are absolutely judged on appearances.  I’m glad I’m out of that era,
 
2] Which brand of toilet paper do you prefer? [And, the big question: Do you prefer your TP to come over or under the roll?
Honestly, whatever I have a coupon for – it’s usually Charmain, Cottonelle, or Angel Soft.  I don’t care if it’s over or under.  I know a lot of people do, but I don’t even think about it.

3] What name-brand products have you used so far today?
Goodness, ok, let me go through my shower routine.  Shampoo – Suave, Conditioner – Pantene,  Body Wash – Suave.  Face cleanser – Cetaphil.  Face lotion – Ponds.  Deodorant – Secret.  Lotion – Bath and Body.  Gel – Aussie.  Hair Spray – White Rain.  Toothpaste – Crest.  Mouthwash – Listerine. 

4] Do you usually buy generic/store-brand soft drinks, or do you prefer to stick with big names like Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc.?
With pop we only buy Coke.  But I don’t drink it – Mark likes it.

5] Do you have a favorite brand of laundry detergent? Fabric softener? Dryer sheets? Bleach? Stain stick?
For all my laundry needs I use the store brand or off-brand or the dollar store brand.  Makes no difference to me.
 
I am enjoying playing with the new Blogger stuff.  Well, today was our little daytrip – guess what?  We slept in instead.  HA! The alarm went off and we looked at each other and went right back to bed.  We are so spoiled.  So, all we have to do today is go out for dinner and watch the play tonight.  Other than that, it’s relaxing around here. 

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Ok, I have a link to my dining room – finally. It’s in my Yahoo photos.  Click on the Gallery button on the my sidebar.  It’s got a picture of a camera on it.  They’re basically for my mom, but you guys can look too.  I don’t know how much it’ll make sense for you though.
 
I slept like crap last night!  I was up the whole darn night.  Darn period!!!  So, I took a two hour nap this afternoon. I needed it! 
 
I’m doing better and back among the living, but I am tired.  I’ll be hittin’ the hay soon tonight. Tomorrow Mark and I have plans for a little day trip and then we’re going out to dinner and going to see a production of Peter Pan.  This theatre about 45 minutes away from us is doing it too, so we want to go and check it out.  Mark is probably Peter Panned out by now.  Then Saturday we want to see I, Robot. 
 
Then I leave Sunday morning to visit my mommy.  I will miss Markie and the kitty so much!  I have two books on CD to listen to while I drive.  It’s a 3 1/2 hour trip. I’ll take it slow and stop a lot and check in with Mark.  Half the journey is country roads and the other half is highway.  They both have their pros and cons. 
 
We need to wake up early tomorrow, so I better get my book and get some reading in before it’s beddy bye time.
 

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I have been remiss in my blogging as of late. It’s crazy busy here. Lots going on. Let’s see…I am getting the dining room in order. I will be visiting my mother next week, so hopefully while we go on shopping sprees I’ll find stuff to finish it off.

My online class is good. I was finally able to log on. They gave me a user name that was already in use. So, they had to assign a new one to me, blah, blah, blah. I have actually spent a lot of time on it. I am trying to work ahead since I’ll be on out of town next week. I won’t have as much time to work on it obviously. I would rather visit my mom than do homework anyway. I am learning a lot about the online program in which I teach. Some of the functions I have kind of blown off thinking they were a little gay, but now I see how they can be of use. I will have to get to work on my fall class an include all these new functions. Just in time too!

My laptop has been acting up. Mark has spent time working on it, but it’s not perfect. So, I’m not online like I usually am. The PC is basically Mark’s and the laptop is what I prefer to use. I like sitting cross legged in my chair with it on my lap. I can actually work very comfortably that way.

So, what else – oh, Mark’s dad is pretty sick. He’s always had heart problems, but things aren’t looking real good right now. His dad is a very stubborn man, so hopefully he’ll fight his way out of this. Mark’s been on the phone with family and everything talking about what to do. His dad lives in Ohio, and everyone else is in Milwaukee – only Mark is out of the Wisconsin. So, there’s really no one to help him. Hopefully they’ll convince him to get his butt back to Milwaukee where he can have family around. That would be the best solution. But, like I said, he’s stubborn.

I have been packing for my trip to KC to see my mom. I leave Sunday. She has major decorating stuff for me to do. She needs something for this wall in her kitchen, she needs something for the wall in the guest bathroom. She needs a window treatment for the guest room. And she wants to do something with her downstairs half bath. She moved in a little over a year ago and hasn’t really don’t anything. So, we’ll get stuff for the walls and towels and all that stuff. I like decorating, so it’ll be fun. Plus, I’m gonna look for stuff for my dining room while we’re out and about.

I have been heachache queen lately. I’m pumped up on migraine medicine. I don’t know what gives, but sometimes it just happens that way. I’m doing ok. The trick is to get it at first, then you aren’t in pain for very long.

Ok, that’s about it for now. I think I may be a sporadic blogger for the next week or so. I’ll try and keep up though.

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My, my, my. It’s been busy around here. Ok, let’s see… Mark repainted the dining room for me in a dark taupe color. Much better! The furniture is in place. The stuff is where it should be. One wall is totally empty – I don’t know what should go there yet. And this one corner looks kind of naked, so I’ll have to work on that. Also, the light fixture needs to be put up. Other than that stuff – we’re done! I will post pictures – I am super busy though right now.

Today I was in interviews all day again. This is it though, it’s the last day. Then I came home and cleaned the kitchen and the bathrooms. Then the power went out for some reason. All over the block. So when it came on I had to run around and reset all the clocks.

I am enrolled in an online class – about how to teach online classes. It begins today. I tried all morning while I was at work to log on, but it says my password and stuff don’t match. So, I emailed the help line and they kept telling me to keep trying. When I got home I tried again on my home PC – same crap. So, I emailed again and still haven’t heard back from them 2 hours later. They do have a hotline phone number, and I guess I’ll have to do that because I have got to get going on this. They mailed my textbook to me and everything. So, I will be a student for the next 6 weeks.

Tonight I need to work on this lamp we have – I need to paint it or something so it goes in the dining room. I need to do something to this mirror we have too. I need to paint my toenails. And I need to eat some ice cream. I have my priorities in line, don’t I?

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have the most patient husband in the whole world!!! I went to bed before Mark did, and I just couldn’t sleep – I was starting to think that I didn’t want my dining room blue afterall. I got out of bed and stood in the dining room, then returned to my room. I got up again, then went back to bed. I finally knew I had to tell him. I was a little stressed about it. I mean, he’s been working so hard. So, I told him. His look was priceless. It was a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and humor. He took a deep breath, and said he’d do it. Wow! I’m lucky!

So, we got up today, I was all excited to have my room painted again. We went to out to breakfast and then went to another furniture store before picking up our buffet from yesterday. That store had nothing. We went to the store from yesterday and loaded up the buffet. While that was happening, I noticed a dining room I hadn’t seen yesterday. We checked it out, measured it, and talked it over. We’ll take it! So, I paid for it and told them we’d return shortly. However – on the way home to unload, Mark started talking about how very different the woods were. Plus, where was I going to find matching chairs? And why didn’t I want that one table that matched the buffet pretty well? I got really quiet – and stressed. Ok – maybe I hadn’t quite thought of all that. I was just pumped to finally see a table that we liked.

Let me stop here and give you a history of my decorating experience. It’s always very easy for me, and I ALWAYS “see” it before I do it. I’ve done our whole house, and my Mom’s. I guess I have a knack for color and coordinating. A few years ago when I was doing Mark’s bathroom – I had this same kind of experience. I kept changing my mind and felt completely unsure. But hey, this is only the second time, so I look at it like a kind of decorator’s block.

We quickly unloaded the buffet and I was totally stressed. I was going to have to go to the counter and explain to them that I had changed my mind and even though I had paid, I was going to have to buy another table. So, we go in the back door and guess what? I see this OTHER table and chairs that I think I like even more. Mark is rolling his eyes at this time. On our way to the counter, the “All Sales Final” was glaring at me. I went up there and decided to do the “I’m just a stupid little new home owner and I have no idea how to decorate” attitude. It worked! I even threw in a sentence about how I was almost in tears over the whole thing. ha-ha We paid the difference and went on our merry way.

Then we had to go buy paint – again. I picked out what I wanted, and Mark kept asking me if I was “sure” because he didn’t want to paint the room a third time. I was sure. So we bought it and I came home and re-fabriced the cushions of the chairs and cleaned them up while Mark started taping the dining room.

He has to meet with someone for work tonight, so I’m going to do laundry and clean the furniture and touch up any marks on the pieces. Plus, I also have to sew some cushions for the play for Mark. I’ll get that stuff done and then when he comes home tonight – he wants to start painting – again. He really is patient. How many guys would re-paint the entire room the very next day? Not many… Mark just keeps smiling and says, “I’m here to make you happy…”

Yippie!

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Ok, first things first. We did tons of stuff today even though we slept in. We went furniture shopping. Lo and behold we found a buffet at the second place we went. We bought it. But, we weren’t in the Jeep, so we will pick it up tomorrow.

Then I had to go get my very first mammogram. It wasn’t bad. I guess I’m at the age where I need a baseline mammogram. So, I got it. No biggie. I was a little stressed at first, but then I realized it wasn’t a big deal. I made the technician lady crack up the whole time. Especially with my piercing. She was a bit surprised at first – guess I don’t look like the typical nipple pierced college professor. lol

Then we went and checked out a few more places for furniture – no luck the second time out. Then we had lunch. For being such a late lunch for us, I really wasn’t overly hungry. When we got home we chilled for awhile. I did some stuff around the house till dinner. We went and got pizza – mmmm.

Then it was time to work on the dining room. I worked on finishing the valance, and Mark worked on hanging the blinds. That was a bitch! He worked for a few hours. Many curse words were strewn. But finally – success. Then we hung the valance. I took pictures, but they look a little odd to me. Ignore the treadmill (we do)

Then this is a close up of the windows: I still need some stuff on the side of the windows, but I have no idea what I’m going to do:

Better late than never for the Friday Forum:

1] Which time of day do you prefer: 9 a.m. or 9 p.m.? Why?
I think 9pm. If I had my way I’d always be sleeping at 9am

2] Tell us about your ninth-grade year. What was your school like? Did you participate in any school activities? What were your career goals? Who were your good friends?
Uhm – not real good. In 8th grade I was at a very small Catholic school – like 30 something in my class. Then I went to a majorly large high school – my class was like 600 and something. I knew no one. I have always been horrible at making friends. I had never had a locker, so I had no idea how to work one. I had never had a school cafeteria, so for the first couple weeks, I didn’t eat lunch because I didn’t know how to “work” the cafeteria, plus I would’ve had to have sit alone. I was so alone and quiet for such a long time – it really was horrible for me. I barely participated in anything. I hung around the theatre, but it took me a couple of years to get involved in the theatre program. That’s it – no other groups or organizations. Career goals – I thought I’d be a famous actress. My good friend was Lisa and the guy I dated – Chris. Actually, high school was not a fun time for me – this question stressed me out.

3] What will you most likely be doing on the 9th of next month [August]?
I will be sad, because it’s my last day of freedom before In-service starts.

4] Name nine things that you hope to accomplish or would like to do before the end of your life.
This was such a good question – I stayed up last night thinking about it.
1 – get published
2 – see an ocean
3 – become a runner
4 – become a vegetarian and STAY one
5 – become a better and more confident cook
6 – fly in first-class
7 – win a big sum of money – not too much – like half a million maximum
8 – go to NYC
9 – learn more about wines

5] If you could go back to age nine and live your life over again, knowing everything that you know now, would you want to? Why/why not?
Probably not. I like where I am now. I’m afraid thing would be different because I wouldn’t make the same silly mistakes.

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