Pet names

Do you have a pet name for your SO? Mine's not so interesting. It's just "honey" or "hon". I may through in a "sweetheart" when I want something done around the house. I've thought about starting to use a new one but I think it would be weird since I kinda already have one "assigned" to him.

I had to laugh to myself today because I think the hubby has a "regular" one for me and a "fun one" too. Actually, I can't recall the regular one!! But I know his pet name for our lab!! (figures..) But his fun name for me is "sweet tits". I think this is HILARIOUS!! Of course, he doesn't call me that in public. that's good for many reasons! One - because I would bust out laughing. And I'm not exactly sure where he came up with that 'cuz it's not like I have big knockers or anything.

So there you go Sweet T. I hate to admit it, but that was my nickname before it was yours ; )

That's what friends are for...

I have some great friends!! First of all, Tri-Girl didn't hesitate when I asked her back in the summer to run this half marathon with me. Of course, she's done a marathon and this was her 7th or 8th half... but still. It required plane tickets and vacation days. I'm very grateful that she met me out there. Otherwise I wouldn't know what I have would have done out there by myself.

We had a great time. We shared a hotel room and all I'll say there was a lot of laughing. As in "Oh My God! That smells awful!!" I don't know how, but we share the same flatulence talent. Lord help the people in the room next door... (Yeah, no dainty girls here, for sure!)

While out there I got in touch with my friend who moved out to Phoenix about 2 years ago. She also happens to be a Brand New Bride!! So BNB and her hubby met up with us on Saturday and took us to Cooperstown. (I think that was the name of it.) It was a restaurant by Alice Cooper! It was all hard rock and sports. While catching up I sarcastically mentioned "If you're not doing anything tomorrow morning you could always come out at watch the race." I think watching running is about as exciting as watching rowing. or golf. As in - it isn't.

Sure enough, I was on mile 3 (TG and I had separated in the pack) I heard "GO JULIE!!!"

Huh? Wha?? I look around and there's BNB and her hubby with their dog standing in parking lot cheering me on!! Can I just tell you how great that was!! It totally kept me pumped up for the next few miles! And then, towards the end of the race, when I wanted to pull over and stomp my feet in a tantrum (and give the finger to the race coordinator) I thought of them coming out (EARLY) on a Sunday morning and cheering me on. Really - it helped me finish the race! Thanks guys!!!

TG also got me a great b-day gift (which I'll share once it arrives...) and she took me out for dinner after the race. It was great! I just wish I'd had more in me to go out afterwards. As it was, we came back from the race, showered and promptly fell into bed for a good 'ol nap!! We woke up about 4:30 and at 5 we were at the restaurant! We chatted through dinner with a marathoner who was by himself. And then we went back to the room and essentially put our jammies back on. I think I was asleep by 8! (But we did have really early planes to catch the next morning...)

So thanks to all of you guys that emailed me encouraging words while I was training. But a special thanks to TG for going with me and to BNB and hubby for their support!!

Heard on a plane...

Rather, while boarding a plane. From SYR to ATL. There was a hold up with people boarding in front of me. I was standing at the door of plane waiting for traffic to move. Behind me I heard two southern gentlemen having a (rather loud) conversation:

SG1: Bomb-ba-deer! Well look at that! Our plane is made by Bomb-ba-deer! I do believe my boat is made by Bomb-ba-deer!

SG2: Huh, well how 'bout that! I didn't know Bomb-ba-deer made planes!

SG1: I'm sure of it. My boat is from Bomb-ba-deer. Or is it my engine?? Wait.. Bomb-ba-deer....

I swear they were almost yelling this conversation. Just loud talkers I suppose...

Well, the reason they were having this conversation was because they saw the manufacturer "Bombardier" on the side of the plane. Now, I'm no big city girl, but I've been flying enough to know that it's "bomb-bard-ey-ay". Not "bomb-ba-deer"...

So every time they said it I couldn't help but giggle a little bit. I finally turned to the attendant at the door and whispered "Can you hear them?" (I mean, really - who couldn't??) She finally cracked a smile and said "yes. You wouldn't believe what we hear sometimes!!!"

Oh, I can only imagine!!!

I'm alive!!

I made it! I completed the half marathon, within the time limit - before they forced people off the course. So I call that a winner!

Today and yesterday (especially) I was convinced instead of running 13.1 miles someone chased me 13.1 miles and then proceeded to beat me with a baseball bat. However, Tri-Girl insisted that's not exactly what happened. And I should believe her because she's the veteran of these races.

I will post more on the weekend. Right now I want to unpack and sleep. And hopefully I'll wake up in time to go to work tomorrow ('cuz I didn't ask for tomorrow off, so if I don't show up they might get worried...)

Whew!!

I got an email back from the Fabulously Hawt Bod today. Luckily FHB thought it was funny and even made a joke out of it. And he wasn't offended. Whew!!

And it's all even funnier if you have actual excerpts from the email....

me: Where was that hot bod hiding in that little trumpet player?!?!?!?
FHB: He was waiting to come out! No pun intended... ha, ha.

Love it!!

Note to self - please self edit prior to sending out emails... just in case others aren't as forgiving as FHB...

FB experiment

There is a guy I went to high school on FB. Back in the day he was a little scrawny thing. Trumpet player, actually. He was a nice guy, quiet.

Well I've seen him on FB now and then since I've been part of the FB world. He's changed. He's got the body of a greek god - no lie. And he's gay. (so no, I don't feel bad/guilty or any such thing by writing this in the event my husband reads it.)

It's been quite obvious from the get go of his sexual orientation. And I guess because of that I feel "safe"at ogling his pictures. (Apparently he hangs with a big group of the most built gay guys I have EVER seen. And they ALWAYS have their shirts off!!) It's just a little harmless eye candy, in my opinion.

Well, I thought Mr. Trumpet would get a kick out of a compliment. So I finally just dropped him a note (we are friends on FB, after all..) and commented on his rockin' bod in all these pictures. Now remember - I'm a spaz now and obviously always have been. So I'm sure (hoping) that he laughed at it. But since I just sent it I haven't yet got a response.

So here's hopin' I didn't offend him and hope he loves the compliment!

Or totally creep him out....

WTF?!?!

I've been having really interesting, vivid dreams lately. This morning I woke up giggling... OUT LOUD! Apparently the hubby sleeps like a rock.

And as I lay there I tried to remember my dream right then so I might have a chance at recalling it later. It was a doozey!

All I can remember -but of course I have a feeling there was much more to it than this ,but this is all I can recall - is it was me, eyeheartorange and about 4 or 5 other gals. First we went on a "tour" of Hershey's. But it more like touring a big 'ol Crakcer Barrel-type place. All folksy and crafty and such. I do not recall seeing any chocolate whatsoever. But I do remember just us being taken into R&D where they were developing drinks. They had us taste test many sodas and something really new for them - GIN! As in "gin & tonic"!! And no, it wasn't chocolate flavored. Maybe that was in the development queue...

Needless to say we all freely sampled the gin.

The only other thing I can remember is all us girls back at my house. Although, it did not resemble my "real" house whatsoever. It was much cooler - as in layout and style. I seem to remember that EHO helped me decorate it. She's got some kickin' style! (that's a "real" statement. As in: in real life she's got great style!) And I was explaining to the other girls that EHO "is very autistic! Oops!! I mean ARTISTIC!" Clearly alcohol had been involved.

So looking back and trying to analyze this dream I have concluded it is telling me to:
- hurry up and finish decorating the house
- cut back on the gin & tonics!!
- and to visit Hershey, PA?????

Damn FB

Have you heard of the game "Farkle"?? It's an addicting dice game that I picked up at Target for $5. And last night the hubby pointed out that I can play it on FB.

Damn him!!

But in case you're wondering, so far my high score (playing by myself) is 8100.

7th Grade all over again

Since none of you that read my blog knew me in 7th grade I should explain. In 7th grade a classmate of mine, who had a sister that was a senior, introduced me to trashy romance novels. And when I say trashy I'm essentially talkin' porn in print. And because I was already a voracious reader, by the time I got to these I wouldn't leave my room in order to read. (NOT for the reason you're thinking. I wasn't a pre-teen boy for goodness sake!!)

Actually around that time I was reading just about anything I could get my hands on. So it wasn't all trash. But it got so bad that I would come home and go straight to my room and read. Remember, I had a little brother about 1 or 2 so I was really just escaping all the craziness associated with raising a toddler...

Most parents would be ecstatic if their kid did this. Nope. Mom was pissed that she had to call me a few times to get me to come to dinner. She complained that she never saw me. It was so bad she actually GROUNDED me from my ROOM! I could only sleep there. Obviously she couldn't ground me from reading so that was the best she could do. It didn't help. I'd just sit on the sofa and read instead. It actually made me an even better reader. It taught me to read while there was toddler destruction and other loud noises in the background.

I should clarify that at this time in my life I had not even had my first kiss. As a matter of fact, it was still a few years away. What can I say? I was a late bloomer. I won't go long here but let's just say that my first kiss and all other firsts after that pretty much sucked (no pun intended) compared to what I'd already been reading about for years. Yes, I admit it. The trashy novels ruined the experience for me.

I usually wouldn't admit to reading such filth. So over the years I sneak and read a few in the confines of my house. I would NEVER be caught in public with such a paperback!! It was bad enough reading the Twilight series in public on a business trip...

So, for my covert reading pleasure the hubby got me a Nook for Christmas. If you're not familiar it's Barnes & Noble's eReader. Similar to Amazon's Kindle but with more features. This way I can read anything I want with no one around me being the wiser. I can read all the trashy crap I want in the middle of the airport and I don't have to worry about being judged. I love it!!

Although I'm not sure, in retrospect, that the hubby thinks his gift was such a wise decision. I did help with all the renovating we did over the holidays but every other waking minute was devoted to reading on my Nook. And it also gives new meaning to "nookie", much to my hubby's chagrin.

But I've stumbled on a problem with it. Or with B&N, I'm not yet sure. I downloaded some free short stories. Ok, I'll admit it. They're trashy romance short stories. I ready the first one, 15 pages. I got to page 14 and when I hit page forward it automatically took me back to my master book list, NOT PAGE 15!!!

HELLO!! How am I supposed to figure out the ending??

Another one gets you through the copyright pages, etc and then when you should be at the first page of the story it sends you back to the book list.

The hubby thinks this is funny. Somehow he's convinced that B&N knows I've already read my lifelong limit of smut and is cutting me off.

But isn't this part of the allure of having such a device?? I can read whatever, whenever without any worry?? They shouldn't be censoring what I'm reading!!

Of course I'm sure it's a tech glitch that must be worked out. But I find it interesting that I have had no such problems with Pride & Prejudice and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Whew!

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. Dad's here so that means home remodel time!! I kept is "easy" this time. Ok, "easier"....

Here's what we've done so far:
- removed chair rail and wallpaper from living room
- painting living room
- painted dining room
- painted family room
- painted stairway
- replaced molding in living room (floor and windows)
- replaced molding in dining room (floors and windows)
- replaced molding in family room (floors and windows)
- purchased an assload of pictures and...
- hung pictures on wall (the first things we've had on the wall in this house... in over 5 years..)
- took some artwork I bought in Egypt almost TEN YEARS AGO to get custom framed so I can finally use them
- added 2 rows of tile above the tub where the contractors screwed it up a few years ago
- ordered a sideboard to use in the kitchen so I can get rid of an old thing that was all function, no form
- rearranged furniture in dining room
- by doing the above was able to create a true reading/ music room (that also has to act as David's winter workout room. I can't have everything!!)

To do within the next week:
- build and mount headboard
- hang remaining pictures purchased

To do in spring:
- paint and install new front door and screen (that has already been purchased and is biding it's time in the basement)

Left to do to the house when budget allows:
- new windows throughout
- new carpet for stairs and bedrooms
- wood floor for living/ dining room

And I'm convinced we're living on borrowed time with our furnace so I might as well add that to the list.

At least the roof was new when we moved in!!

Whew!

Thanks Dad!!

how do you spell indelible??

Years ago when Cover Girl first came out with that "stay put" lipstick I gave it a whirl. Unfortunately my lips are pretty sensitive. For example I can't use any blistex products. There's something in there that doesn't agree with my lips. Can't do anything with menthol or peppermint oil. You get the idea. Same with the "stay put" stuff. There is something in it that just wrecks havoc on my lips. So I haven't tried any of the stuff in years - even though other companies have come out with their own versions.

I'm also one of those girls that looks best with a swipe of color on their lips. I say I look better, not that I do it on a regular basis. You know how some people just look better with mascara? Like that. The easiest way for me to look "made up" is to put on some lip stick. Which is still good 'cuz when I want to "dress up" I just put on some colored lip gloss and I'm done. You know me - that's just about as much effort as I'm inclined to put into getting "glammed up".

I decided that I'd give the indelible lip color another go. I steered clear of Cover Girl. Standing in the makeup section I saw that Revlon had an indelible gloss. I figured that'd be a good place to start.

That did pretty well. It will eventually come off but not as easily as regular gloss. However the color was a bit more pinky than the browny I was hoping for. But it still looks good. It's a keeper.

Last night I was at good ol' Walgreens and decided to see what else was out there. I again turned to Revlon. I won't lie - there was a BOGO promo. And since these things cost about $10 a pop I figured I could try two different colors with limited financial investment.

I picked up one that had two wands. One end was the color and the other was a clear gloss. I picked out what I thought was a "day" color. "Fearless fawn" or something. Then I decided for my "free one" to get a color with more punch. They have another formula that has no top coat. So I went for it and got a deep, dark red. Yes, me. I did!!

I was sure that at least one wouldn't live up to the color it suggested. So I got home and miraculously the fawn color looked great!! Woo hoo! Even if the red looks terrible at least I got one good one out of it!

As designed, the color would not come off. Not even with toner. I had to use eye makeup remover to get it off!! But now to try the red.

I don't use lip liner - which might change after this experience... It's hard to draw perfectly in the "lines". I had a few slip ups which made me resemble a three year old sneaking into her mother's makeup. But I cleaned it up and it actually looked good too!!

TWO FOR TWO!! Woo hoo!!

I went into the hubby's office to show him. I was so proud!!

I went back in the bathroom because I wondered if I put more on would it get darker?? I was playing with it for a bit and finally stepped back to admire my work in the mirror. About then the hubby walked in, and in an effort to be more spontaneous and sexy, grabbed me and planted a passionate kiss on my lips.

I went with it. I'm not gonna pass that up!

But when he stepped back I confirmed what I thought. Since I had been playing around my lipstick wasn't yet dry when he kissed me. HA! He was now smeared with dark red lipstick all over his lips and above his lips!!

Did I mention the hubby is sportin' a beard these days??

I started laughing. He grabbed a kleenex to wipe it off. It didn't budge.

I had to wet a cotton ball with my eye makeup remover and wipe it off of him. It was tricky getting it out of his moustache!!

Somehow I think I may not be getting many passionate kisses in the future! or at least he might stop to consider if my makeup is "done" before hand...

I heart funnylady

I heart funnylady from my office. On occasion she buys flavored creamer for us. I'm in the process of doing my fiscal 2011 budget along with a cup of coffee infused with Belgian Chocolate Toffee creamer.

YUM!

And that fiscal year is not a typo. I'm currently in fiscal 2010 that will end March 31, 2010. As of April 1, 2010 we are on fiscal 2011. Confusing, isn't it??

Band aids

WARNING: Personal body details below.

I have not run for the past week. And even the week before I didn't log as many miles as I was supposed to due to the blisters-on-the-arch-of-foot issue. Well this week I had a different excuse not to run at all.

See, I had, um... a skin tag. In a "private place". It appeared to be causing some of my aforementioned chafing in the nether regions. So I had that sucker removed.

And let's just say I can't run with a band aid in my crack.

I'm going to go to the gym tonight and see if I can comfortably run a few miles tonight. Sans band aid, of course. Heck, I scoot around too much on the sofa and that sucker wads up in a heartbeat. NOT comfortable!

We'll see how it goes. I really need to get movin' again since my race is in a MONTH!!!

I'm definitely not a kid anymore...

This weekend I finally got around to painting our bedroom. I know, we've only lived in this house for over FIVE years now...

One night last week I trimmed the edges while the hubby was out of town to make it faster for me to get it done in one day during the weekend. So come Saturday I painted the room with two coats. Well, almost 2 coats as I actually ran out of paint! It's not like our bedroom is huge. But I went through a gallon. I haven't used a whole gallon for any of the other rooms...

Because the room still smelled like paint and because I didn't want to move back furniture to sleep just to move it out of the way again the next day to finish touch ups I decided we weren't going to sleep in that room that night. I figured we'd leave it as it to make it easier on Sunday to finish.

So, to make it more "fun" I proposed that we pull out the sleeper sofa in the family room and have a "sleep over". Hey - how else do you sell sleeping on a pull out couch??

I didn't purposefully buy a sleeper sofa. I picked out the one I liked and it happened to be a sleeper. I say this because it's in the family room - not an ideal place to put guests. As a matter of fact I don't think we've ever actually used the sleeper portion before. 1) we have a guest room and 2) it's in the middle of the family room which is open to the kitchen. Whoever is up first (me) will be making a racket feeding the animals, watching the news, etc. It's just not feasible.

Also the family room is a small rectangle. You are required to move the coffee table to utilize the sleeper and even then you only have just enough space to walk between the end of the bed and the sliding glass door. (Thank goodness we have blinds for the slider!!)

Well, we pulled it out. I put on the only set of sheets that we have that fit it - currently our "camping" sheets. As soon as I put on the fitted sheet I remembered that last time we took the dogs camping they put big slices through it. So the fitted sheet on the sleeper has doggie toenail marks through it. Not good for use with guests, but what do I care if I'm using it??

I finished making the bed and the hubby and I climbed in. We watched some tv and when I was tired he used his trusty headlamp to read a book. (which is the same method we employ in our regular bed...)

I tossed and turned trying to get comfy. It's not possible on a sleeper sofa. I don't care what you say - it's just not. But apparently I feel asleep because the next thing I remember is looking at the stack of sofa cushions the hubby put on the leather chair beside my side of the bed. There was the unmistakable outline of a cat atop the cushions. He finally moved, as though trying to figure out how to get down. I thought to myself "good luck with that", rolled over and closed my eyes. Seconds later a huge clatter. The hubby "what the hell was that???" I guess the cat figured out how to get down after all...

Also, Nikki apparently didn't get the memo that we were downstairs to SLEEP. She kept pacing and would smack at the slider to be let out. Did I tell you there's snow on the ground here?? She didn't have to go she just wants to go play in the snow. We kept telling her to lay down. She would still wander around and come back and smack at the door. Finally at FOUR am the hubby let her out thinking maybe she did have to go since she's kept it up for so long.

Nope - she just went outside and ate snow on the deck.

We had the usual fight for leg space with cats. That's not new. We also had to listen to Liam snoring all night. He hasn't slept upstairs with us for a year or so now since his arthritis is getting so bad. So we got a reminder of why we aren't so upset at his choice of sleeping accommodations downstairs.

Then the morning came. Or rather, I decided I'd had enough and got up. And then I realized why we don't sleep on the pull out regularly. I HURT! I ached all over like I'd been beaten with a baseball bat. My hips hurt, my neck hurt. My knees were stiff. I felt AWFUL!!

What happened to being a kid when we thought it was a treat at a sleep over to get to sleep on the pull out???

Never again.

Feels like forever!

Sorry for the lapse in blogging. I have been out of town for work. again...

This time of the year is busy for us since Mr. In Charge thinks it's a great idea to combine a managers meeting, a national sales meeting all together with our biggest trade show of the year. It makes for two very tiring weeks. Yes, including the weekend.

And to make matters worse the hubby had to leave on Sunday to fly out so the pups were in the kennel from Saturday to Tuesday. : ( I hate boarding them. They're gettin' old you know!

So I was in San Antonio for these lovely meetings, etc. Yes, I was in Texas when SNOW came through! Really? People I can get that at home!! Show me some love! Give me heat!!

Ok, well only Houston got snow but it was colder than... than... well I don't know what. But it was cold for Texas. It was actually funny to watch the morning news. The headlining story for three days straight was the cold weather and possibility of snow. I think the last time they got any good accumulation was back in the 50's or something.

I actually heard this on the traffic report:
"It's going to be a very cold day out there. Remember, you're going to need your heater on for the commute!"

Seriously? She had to remind people to turn on the heater in their car?? I understand if you're not used to snow and extremely cold weather, but I'm pretty sure most smart people will figure out to turn on the heater if they get cold. Or maybe they'll just think to bundle up in lots of blankets... in their car. Geesh!

By the way - the record breaking lows were in the 30's. Yet one more thing to laugh at.

So according to the news I get the impression that people aren't too smart in that part of the country. However I will say that they were all exceptionally polite. (and they really didn't seem that slow to me...) I went running and everyone smiled and gave me a nod. Of course they're probably wondering what in the hell I was doing out running in the FREEZING COLD and all. I was in a long sleeve and capri pants and was quite comfy. (as I was running past people walking to the bus stop in Arctic parkas. no kidding...)

And I can also attest to the fact that San Antonio is THE place for margaritas. So much so that I fear I might have to take a break from them for a while. Not a lifetime ban, like whiskey... or bourbon... But I don't think I'll be touching another margarita until at least the spring!