Friday: I made it!

It's the end of the day Friday. In no particular order, today I:

1. Worked a full day from home.
2. Took care of two children the entire time, by myself.
3. Cleaned my house.
4. Made banana muffins from scratch.
5. Made chocolate chip cookies from scratch.
6. Packed a family of 3 for a week at the beach.

Just in case you were wondering, yeah, I'm pretty fucking awesome. It's only 8pm and I'm still standing baby! Bring on the booze!

Puffy Paint for the Win - My Ass!

You know how on your Facebook feed, you see so many random posts people have shared to friends of yours? Well I saw a random post alright and I thought, oh how fun!

Random Post - Puffy Paint for the Win!

Looks pretty right? Fun and pretty! Yay!

It was a rainy day when I saw this and I was heading to the store. So I stopped at the dollar store and got some glue and some shaving cream to do DIY puffy paint. Looked SO easy!

It was pretty easy and my paint looked just like the video! Until it dried... 

Overnight they sat and in the morning:

Here is my picture - wrote Lyla's name, can you tell?

Here is Lyla's gorgeous rainbow!

DIY puffy paint? Ha! More like DIY liquid from a car engine! The paper and "paint" were still wet and the beautiful colors gone. I guess the video should have included proper measurements and a full disclosure:

Our DIY puffy paint recipe worked like this for us. It may however not work like that for you. Be prepared for your picture to be super ugly and not resemble ours at all. Results vary!

We did get 30 minutes of messy, painting fun. So there was that. Setting expectations would have been a good idea though. My daughter we pretty unhappy her rainbow looked more like the combination of rusted entrails from a 1977 Chevy and the aftermath of an AutoZone explosion. Bummer! Maybe next time...

A New Tradition Begins - And I'm SOO Freaking Excited

My little one graduates from Kindergarten this year. She made it! Yay! I knew she would nail it and she did! She is 100 times smarter, an amazing reader, and impresses me with her educational facts like it's her job.

So what a better way to celebrate this milestone and every year of school she completes... then with a CONCERT!

I am beyond thrilled to have booked tickets to see the Avett Brothers with my little kindergarten grad and music lover. She and I have the same music taste (yeah most of the time I control the music output at our house and car!). Avett Brothers are one of our favs and she is so excited! I couldn't wait to tell her so I did.

This will be the third concert I'm taking her to. Live music is a passion of mine and it's really how me and Jared met and fell in love. Being able to share this love with her and starting a tradition gives me the warm tingles inside. The show can not come fast enough and I'm excited to see who we'll get to hear next year. A new tradition and I'm in love.

I'll leave you with Lyla's new favorite song. Some day I'll try to video her singing and getting down to it!

Airport Musings

Traveling for work and observing... Man I LOVE people watching; especially at the airport.

Some musings:

Tall people have really big hands. REALLY big hands. This chick's hands covered her whole laptop. I have munchkin hands. Makes me want a big lollipop from munchkin land over by Oz. I'd say hi to Glenda the Good witch for you.

Everyone at the airport looks like someone I know for some reason. Seriously.

I just saw my reflection in the mirror and realized I looked like a homeless person. I took a pic but can't share it. It's that bad. And I did shower this morning. I need a stylist or a style. Or I need time or a personal assistant. Or something...

They also have really long forearms. Tall people. You with me? I literally just shrunk the size of my screen so lady longlegs didn't see me talking about her. She's pretty. Pretty LONG. Haha, I'm so going to hell. No really, she is a very pretty girl. Just next to me she looks long. I bet if she stands up, she'll be 5'8 or something. Not even that tall. I'm just a shrimp, that is the real problem. She is probably looking at me thinking I resemble a meatball. Eh, whatever.

There is a woman over there with shiny black pants. REALLY shiny. And a very shiny floral tight top  that is VERY loud. Oh and she's got cheetah print flats on that are furry. But she smells good. Thank goodness for that. Wow is she a sight!

I just had to move seats. There was someone around me with lethal smelling burps. I kept gagging. It was THAT bad. I got up and sat somewhere else. I couldn't take it anymore. Goodness... STANK!

I swear, I went to high school with that guy. Nope, maybe not. OMG, that is my cousin's husband. Nope, he lives in Florida, can't be Tony.

Everyone is lining up to board the plane. We are ALL getting on the plane, relax people. You can't fit your enormous "carry on" overhead anyways. Take a chill pill and sit down. Stop waiting in line. There is no line. People are annoying.

Oh they are calling my flight. I should shut down now... Toodles!

Update: Omg I got a pic!! 

What NOT To Do when Your Spouse is Away

Everyone once and a while, we all need to hit the reset button. That was true for my husband. After being laid off and doing some contract work, he needed a break to think about what to do for the rest of his career. Being a supportive, loving wife, I told him to book a trip to England to visit his parents and some friends. I told him to think about what he wanted to do and to come back motivated to make it happen.

At first, he thought I was crazy. He didn’t want to leave his full-time work at home and stay at home wife with two children - yup, you guessed it, me. Yet crazy me insisted. I’ll be fine, I told him. You need a break. Go.

He left and those 2 weeks didn’t go by fast enough! I don’t know how all the single working moms do it. In fact, I don’t know how I did it! Working from home full time with my 8 month old son and 5 year old daughter with me at the same time.

Here is what NOT to do when you’re home working and watching your kids full time at the same time when your spouse is away:

1. Don’t get sick. Easier said than done, right? One night I was nauseated and developed a migraine. At bed time. Then I was up all night with my son at the same time. The sickness stayed a few days but the job and the kids remained. Seriously, do whatever it takes to not get sick.
2. Don’t sign up your child for an everyday activity. My daughter had 4 weeks of swimming lessons, 4 days a week for 30 minutes a day. Carting both children and their gear every day plus checking work during said lesson is not easy at all. I’m still trying to decipher what I was smoking when I thought that was going to be a good idea!
3. Don’t bother cleaning. By the time I finished my work hours and the kids were asleep, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t imagine cleaning my house. Therefore those two weeks, we got by without visitors because I didn’t have the energy.
4. Don’t drink. I was eyeing that bottle of wine in the fridge. I wanted to chug it. Usually that desire hit me at 10am. But the one time you pour the glass, your son’s teething gets out of control and you need to hit up the local pharmacy for infant motrin. Put the glass down. Inevitably you’ll regret it.
5. Don’t do things half fast. Feed the cats? No biggie. (3 days later) Oops, forgot to cover up the bin of cat food. Regardless of what you do, there is no other adult present so double and triple check stuff. I forgot to cover up the cat food, botched the home alarm system, and accidentally left a candle burning while we were outside playing all day. I know, I’m such a klutz.
6. Don’t buy candy. Regardless of your lack of time, Dove chocolate covered cranberries are not healthy, nor are they a substitute for a good lunch. Neither are Raisinets or ice cream. Plus it will only worsen symptoms of #1.
7. Don’t make promises. Oh, you want to have a play date? Dinner at mine? NO. Don’t make any plans or promises. Two sets of plans made, were canceled in the matter of five days. Shit happens and it’s easier to just not leave the house!

Those things you don’t want to do. But what should you do?

Plan a day off when your spouse is back. Check.

Make sure your mother or a family member/friend is available to help. Check.

Borrow your neighbor’s husband for odds and ends. Check.

Praise every full time single mother you know. And often!

Wow, I Royally F#**^$ed up My Husband's Birthday 25 Days Early

I'm just on a roll lately. (Caution: immense swearing below...)

Seriously.

Jared's birthday is June 28. I've been thinking about what to get him and thinking about his likes and things. I came across Hatchery.co and thought how perfect! Jared loves to cook and these little packages all year will come in handy as he loves new and unusual things. A whole year's worth just for him!

I was multitasking; checking out on PayPal for his gift at the same time I was having an Etsy conversation about something else.

My PayPal checkout timed out.

Then PayPal got stupid - it's been happening a lot lately.

I had to go into Chrome settings and clear my cookies and my cache so PayPal would work again.

Back to Hatchery.co to get back to checkout and try again. This time PayPal worked but it just paid. It didn't say, what card do you want this on, as per usual. And I heard Jared getting up and freaked out and clicked submit.

I was excited for about 2 minutes until I realized my personal credit card was not charged but our FLIPPING JOINT CHECKING ACCOUT that we never use for purchases - just bills! To which I realized we hardly had any money in there (we literally charge everything and pay it off at the end of the month to get points and big rewards so our checking account is never overflowing with dough...)

Oh my fucking God! What have I done!

Here I am with an adorable printed card stating his gift info and how to claim it to give him on JUNE 28 while it's ONLY JUNE 3 and our CHECKING ACCOUNT IS TOTALLY MESSED UP and THE SECRET SURPRISE IS OUT!

I frantically tried to take it back - not happening. And if you can get it done, it takes a week to happen.

I solemnly walk into the living room with my head hanging and almost in tears.

It begins.

Me: Jared, I'm so sorry but I totally just made a huge mistake and your birthday is ruined.
Jared: Oh dear, what now...
Me: (a lot of rambling and mumbling really fast what just happened)
Jared: Are you serious!? You better fix it!
Me: I'll try my best.

I went back to the computer and go to log into our bank account. BUT I mess up the password a few times and WE GET LOCKED OUT OF OUR ACCOUNT!! Mother. Fucker.

Jared is getting texts from the bank:
Your account is locked.
Your account is locked.

Jared comes in and tries to unlock it and can't.

I have to go in and completely change the password all the while talking to Amanda on chat from the bank. I'm in, so she passes me to Sofia Kites (no joke) to help me try and cancel the transaction.

No go.

Jared is furious. Not only did I fuck up the checking account but I also spent $240 on his birthday gift which in his mind is WAY too much. I disagree, but whatevs...

He walks away and comes back calm.

He's now just upset that I didn't ask him what he wanted for his birthday. Spending that kind of money on food stuff is a lot and he was not keen on the idea.

So not only did I mess up, I also picked an unsuitable gift.

I can't win.

I need to drink. Heavily.

I couldn't make this shit up if I tried. I really am a train wreck. Really. I need a vacation.

Adventures with my Sister - the Bride

My sister is getting married in August. So don't mind me while I humor her.

I was supposed to go to Cincinnati this weekend for work but due to weather, my flight was canceled and I couldn't go to my event. I was at my mom's house already as Lyla was staying there for the weekend so I decided to stay for a night and do work from her house rather than mine.

So my bride-to-be sister pretty much set up an entire makeover for me. And now I look like a Barbie (minus the size zero waste).

First it was highlights but they are a lot blonder than I anticipated.

Then it was a spray tan. Now, I only did this because it was free, and figured I'd see how it worked because if I'm not tan for her wedding, I'll probably have to go this route.

During said tanning expedition, I laughed hysterically while being sprayed so I have white lines on my face creases (see below). And I didn't take off my jewelry so I have white ring marks.

All in all, instead of going to Cincy for the weekend, I came home:

- A blonde
- Orange
- Spotted

I'd say it was a productive weekend...

Buttonwood Farm!

Love this place! Me and L at Buttonwood Farm to see the sunflowers and eat ice cream. Check them out if you're local.

A Vow

Wrote this on an airplane to Florida 8 years ago today to recite on a very special day.

I love you Jared.
I love your passion and the way you show it.
I love your smile and how it makes me smile.
I love how caring and considerate you are and how you'll go out of your way for people.
I love your ambitions and goals and want to be by your side to support you.
I love that every minute I'm with you I love you more than the minute before.
I love that you sleep with your mouth open, how everything has a place, and how important certain things are to you.
Most of all, I love that you've chosen me to spend the rest of your life with and I'm honored and promise to love you with all my heart forever.

31 Things I've Learned in 31 Years

(Well I started this in September 2012.   Just added a few more in October 2012.  Added a few more November 2012.  Adding more now January 2013. And finally finished March 2013.)

On my 32nd birthday, today, I have decided I must finish this post. Finally. Enjoy...

Over at one of my new favorite blogs, they are all doing this exercise and I really wanted to add my two cents... Let's see how long this takes me to write!

31 Things I've Learned in 31 Years

32 Things I've Learned in 32 Years

1. Nothing ever turns out the way you planned. You can plan 100% of everything but get ready to be disappointed.
2. Judge a book by it's cover, literally.  In the end, you'll be more surprised with the outcome because you didn't what it was about!
3. There is no such thing as true love until you've become a mother.
4. No matter what you're going through, always remember someone out there has it worse off.  It could be worse.
5. Be grateful for the little things like running water, an abundance of food, shelter, and people in your life making things all the more easier.
6. Marriage is hard!  You both have to work at it and it can't be one sided.
7. No matter how many romantic comedies you watch or chick lit novels you read, your life will never be like that.  This one is hard to swallow ladies but if you think John Cusack will be outside your window some day with a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel, think again...
8. When all else fails, have some chocolate.
9. Nobody can get anywhere without rolling up their sleeves and committing to some hard work.  
10. Enjoy life in the now and don't say "I can't wait until..." because that moment will come all too fast and go by even faster.
11. Take some me time, every day.  Even if it's only for 5 minutes!
12. Be spontaneous.
13. Don't get upset over the little things like spilled milk and broken glasses.  They are only things.
14. Do stupid stuff every once in a while. It will be fun, I promise.
15. Never, ever, ever change who you are for someone else.
16. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, even if you think your tunnel is never ending and too dark.
17. They are your feelings and don't listen to someone if they say don't worry, or it's stupid.  Your feelings always count.
18. Working from home rocks.  Seriously, it rocks.
19. Age is just a number.  You're only as old as you feel.  And no matter how depressed you get for being older and growing up (well do we really ever grow up?) and life going by too fast, just remember it could be worse. You could be dead!
20. If you have troubles, nothing can take them away better than reading a good book.  A little bit of fiction is a great escape!
21. You will do some of the same things your parents did.  Try not to.  I dare you! (Trust me. I never thought in a million years I'd be saying, "That's right on a Saturday night!" like my dad always says.  Damn, I can't escape it!)
22. True friends are hard to fine.  And friendship is a two way thing.  One person can't do all the work.
23. Playing with a child and using your imagination is so amazingly rewarding.  We must all do this more often.
24. Don't stress about weather! You can't control it.  So what if it's torrential down pour on your wedding day.  So what if there is a hurricane and it cancels your event.  There is nothing you can do and stressing just makes it worse! (Okay so I need to listen to this myself...)
25. Food is awesome so don't limit yourself because of calories!
26. Family is just that, family; no matter what.
27. A good cry is necessary every once in a while. Try it while sitting on the bathroom floor or in an empty tub for superior results.
28. Sing loud and often wherever you are. Singing is so gratifying even if you have a terrible voice.
29. Being nice all the time is not all it's cracked up to be. People will walk all over you and take advantage of you. Sometimes people suck ass.
30. Close your eyes when you're listening to good music. It will sound even better and it's invigorating. 
31. The beach is more fun and calming in the winter so grab you hat, gloves, and coat and take a walk by the waves during a snowfall.
32. Smile. Really, smile. So many people have blank faces or frowns all day long. Having a smile on your face puts you in a good mood and will make others happier around you... If you just smile...

I can't believe how long this post took me to write.

Why I can't drive with my daughter anymore

1/4 of our media closet

I love my daughter more than anything in this world. And I've strived, as a mother, to make she has what she needs, is growing up well-educated, and has good taste in music.

See, music is the cornerstone of my marriage. We fell in love because of music and have spent most of our marriage being together with music all around us. From the moment Lyla was conceived she has been immersed in music; all music that constitute "good music" and by "good music" I don't mean anything of the country or metal genre.

Between Jared and I, our collection boasts more than 4,300 albums and more than 100 vinyls. You can come to our house and ask for a song, and we have it.  Many a night we've spent as a couple sitting on the couch and going through good tunes. I like to sit with my eyes closed and just feel the music. Music makes me happy.

For a little more background... Lyla is now 2 1/2 years old. Weezer was the founding music of her in utero. For some reason, Weezer was all I wanted to listen to when pregnant. So it's no surprise that Lyla can recognize Weezer and even sing Troublemaker when I'm not looking.

When she was a baby, we didn't play baby music around her, we played The Beatles, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Maroon 5, and the list goes on. Some of the best memories we have of Lyla are of her bopping around to 80s dance music, singing/dancing to top 40, spinning to club music, grooving to Nicki, singing classical Christmas hits, in tune with great tunes, performing Broadway hits, making up her own song and dance, and singing Georgie.

Lyla loves music and I couldn't be happier.

But...

And you knew that but was coming...

Unfortunately, Lyla is too much like me. I am super picky with my music and so is my darling daughter. With the arrival of my new vehicle came XM radio and boy do I love it. I can listen to my jams on 90s on 9 all day long. However, the little one does not like my music. Ring a bell? Why yes. Growing up, my dad always played "the oldies" when we were in the car and I would complain. I would beg him to put on the top hits and not the oldies. Now karma is a bitch. I'm jamming to Snoop Dog and my daughter behind me says, "Can we listen to Maroon 5?"

It's my fault. I made her a music snob. She is not quiet at all about her taste in music. If there is a song on that she does not like, she tells me to put on Maroon 5 or to put on the "lalala" song, whatever that may be. And if she hears a song she likes, she yells: I LIKE this song. This is my new favorite song. I want to hear this and THEN we can listen to Maroon 5.

1/8 of our media closet

If I don't listen to her, it's WWIII in my car. True story. She cries, screams, yells, arms/legs flailing. God forbid I put on something my daughter doesn't want to listen to. It makes for an interesting car ride. Sometimes I dread it. And sometimes I'll go through every radio channel and all the XM channels like mad just to find Maroon 5 to shut her up. Now I could just put my Maroon 5 CD in the car but that would take away all the fun!

Lyla does love music; that is very true. But not only does she love it, she's very good with it. She can sing dozens of songs by heart and most days I can hear her singing song choruses - most recently it's Try by P!nk she's singing nonstop. When we're out shopping or somewhere and she hears a song, she'll yell: Mom, it's Train! Or she'll yell:  This song is from The Turtle movie!  Seriously. She can spot random songs that play for two minutes in a movie she's seen once. My husband has even been showing her piano and she has a lot of promise.

Will my little girl be the musician I never could be? Maybe. But for now, driving with my little music snob of a kid is difficult yet fun.

Epic Blizzard of 2013

This was the forecast:

Almost three feet of snow, 24 hours of no power, and 2 days of digging out...

Mid storm

waking up in them morning - my SUV is buried

Snow!

harding working husband

our house is there somewhere

having a blast!

even though she can't move

been working on this puzzle for three years now and finally finished it

freezing my ass off in my house as we  held off on the generator so we didn't run out of gas.

power was restored five minutes after this photo - thankfully!

front of the paper today

Dame Julie Andrews and Me

No photos but I got the book signed, yay!

I was beyond blessed to meet the one and only Dame Julie Andrews last night.  (omg, holy shit, whoohoo!) I'm still a bit giddy over it to be honest.

I heard that a local bookstore was having her in to do a book signing for her new children's book; The Very Fairy Princess collection. I bought the book and reserved my spot and my mom and grandmother did the same.

Lyla and I talked about it all week how she was going to meet Mary Poppins.  She was so excited!  I actually went out and bought her a princess dress (damn I didn't take a photo!) and new sparkle shoes to wear.  Yesterday was beyond hectic.  Here's why:

I left on an 8am train for NYC for a meeting.  Caught the 3:30 train back to Old Saybrook.  Met Jared at Subway with Lyla (he had picked her up from school, showered her thankfully).  In the Subway bathroom I stripped off my business suit and put on normal clothes. Fed Lyla fast, drove to Madison's RJ Julia and got Lyla dressed in her adorable outfit in the car.  Phew.  It was hectic!

There was a huge line out the door but I had called the store the day before to ask about it as I was going to have my 90 year old grandmother with me.  We were allowed to wait in the store and skip most of the line.  Yay for us but I'm sorry to those who were outside for so long!

We waited in line in the store for about 40 minutes but it wasn't too bad.  Lyla kept every one entertained saying she was meeting Mary Poppins.  When the line started to move, I was beyond excited.  Well I had been excited all week but this was it.  I was totally bummed when they said we couldn't use cameras of any kind but oh well...

When it was our turn, they were very strict, friendly but strict.  You couldn't even see her until you were escorted down.  And there she sat!  The most beautiful, talented woman on earth - for real!  She was gorgeous.  More beautiful than on television and even at her age.  I was in awe.

I said to Lyla, that is the lady that played Mary Poppins and Lyla was unsure.  Ms. Andrews said oh that was a long time ago.  Don't look like that anymore! I told her no, she looked amazing!

But they were all focused on Lyla.  She talked to Lyla, complimented her, asked her questions and my darling daughter stood there looking down playing shy.  Ugh!  Julie Andrews loved my daughter though!  We probably got more time in line than anyone because they were marveling at her princess shoes, her dress, her red hair and it was so sweet.

Lyla eventually walked to a big chair and sat on it like it was her throne and they cracked up.  I took this as my cue to totally embarrass myself with a slew of crazy person talk (really fast mind you):  I am a huge fan. This is so amazing for me to meet you. It's an honor.  My daughter sings all of your songs and I recorded her singing and just a few weeks ago I tried to find a way to send you an adorable video I thought you'd appreciate it. But then I heard about this event and I was so excited I could actually meet you. 

My eyes nearly teared up.  I know, I'm a freak.

Then my grandmother went off chatting about singing and such and the guys in charge started rolling their eyes because we had taken too much time.  My mom eventually almost pulled my gram away and after Lyla gave a princess wave to Ms. Andrews we started walking away.  Then she proceeded to ask, when are we going to see Mary Poppins?  We laughed and laughed.

My whole entire  year was made. Thank you Julie Andrews!

One regret though...and I feel like a total dumbass, I totally forgot to tell her we love her books!  The whole reason we were there! lol

Count Your Blessings Wednesday

Today I am grateful I don't have acne.  Whoohoo!

All of 2012 was a trial and error on my used to be always clear face.  I've never had so many pimples in my life!  I never had to wear make up to cover up pimples.  Nothing I did worked!

Finally I was sick of it and saw the dermatologist.  I don't have acne, I have rosacea.  Phew!  I got a gel that I put on every morning and in less than a week I have no more pimples and no more red splotches on my cheeks or chin.  I finally don't feel like a puberty-stricken teen any more.  Yay!

2012 was a rough year for me personally and the pimples did not help at all.  So I am grateful.

Oh and one other thing I'm grateful for. I get to meet one of my personal, all-time favorite, most talented woman of all time! I am shaking with excitement right now and tomorrow can't come soon enough!  I am going to bribe my child to sing this for her.

I am thankful for this opportunity!

PS: See my post here today as well.

Things That Happened to me Today

It's Friday, thank the LORD!

This week has been chaos.  My sister sent this to me yesterday and I felt like this every day pretty much.

Wednesday night I didn't sleep at all.  Zero.

Last night I slept but was up at 3:30 this morning and got right to work.

It's now 1:40 and I'm exhausted to say the least.

So today this has been my day and remember it's only 1:40.

3:10ish:  Lyla woke up screaming for me.  Something she does often when she has a nightmare.  She was completely awake so I had her pee and then go back to sleep. Me not so much. I was WIDE awake.

3:30: I decided to go downstairs and start work.

5:00: I got on the treadmill for my work out.

5:40:  Lyla is at the top of the basement stairs screaming bloody murder for me which thankfully I could hear through my head phones.  How husband slept through her waking up, screaming for me, etc is beyond me.  And to think I bitched at him last night for being able to exercise whenever he wants cause I'm always watching Lyla.  He always told me to get up early and work out while she's sleeping.  Okay so I did that today and she was still up wanting me.  WTF!  Okay, kidding, the fact the my child adores me is awesome so I don't mind, ever.

5:45: Lyla is on the couch watching Barney so I can finish my work out.

6:00: I'm in the kitchen playing Susie Homemaker making home made breakfast burritos; eggs, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese, yum.  

6:30: Jared finally wakes up and comes down and pretty much grossed out at the sight of me eating onions and peppers so early in the morning. He declines a sandwich - his loss...

7:30: Alternately working and getting ready, showered etc.

9:30:  Hit the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and an envelope plus bubble bath. I got everything but the envelope.  FAIL.

10:00:  We're at the library.  Lyla plays and I work.

11:15:  Leave the library because middle school had a half day and I thought it better to not hear all their potty mouths with my child.

11:16:  In the car and Lyla falls asleep.  Called that one. She was exhausted but who am I kidding, I was too!

11:30:  Arrive at Starbucks drive thru for latte and park.  Lyla is still out so I whip out my laptop and work in the car with the free wifi.  Thanks Starbucks!

12:20:  Lyla wakes up and we hit up McDonald's for lunch.  Yes, I'm a great mom...

1:30:  Arrive back home.  Lyla is watching little Einsteins, and I'm sitting her with my eyes half closed trying to work wondering if it's time for bed yet.

Only 7 more hours to go...

Oh and I have a nasty rash or acne on my face.  Fucking wonderful.  Never had zits, ever and now I get them in my 30s.  WTF.  I need a dermatologist stat.  Pimples are just gross...

My First Fight!

I am so freaking proud of little old self!  Tonight I got into my first ever fight!

Let me set the scene.

Jared and I were on a date night at a location I will not disclose in case the psycho woman finds my blog!  Unfortunately we had had a big lunch and were not super hungry and decided to order an appetizer and go from there.  We ate, had a few drinks and then just ordered a couple soups to seal the deal.

Twenty minutes later we still didn't have our soups and I figured the waitress forgot to order it.  No biggie.  We were not starving and it was a night out.  Well apparently the couple at the booth next to ours was not that happy about it.

Now, keep in mind I am the most non confrontational person there is.  It takes a lot to push my buttons and I never in a million years would have expected I would have the balls to do what I did.  Here is what happened, with NO exaggeration whatsoever!

Scene:

Two back to back booths in a restaurant.

Characters:

Jessie - that's me

Jared - the husband

Psycho lady - the perp

The beotch - the psycho lady's husband or bitch

Poor staff - those working at the restaurant

Psycho lady: (in her booth loud enough for all to hear)  Where is our dinner, it's been 20 minutes, this is ridiculous.

Poor waiter finally comes to table.

Psycho lady: WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 20 MINUTES FOR OUR MEALS AND THIS IS RIDICULOUS.  YOU HAVE RUINED MY NIGHT.  JUST BRING US THE BILL WE ARE DONE HERE.

Poor staff:  I'm sorry ma'am we have a large party over there and things....

Psycho lady:  WELL APPARENTLY WE ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOU DON'T CARE TO FEED US.  THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND I'M NOT WAITING ANY LONGER. GET THE MANAGER OVER HERE NOW.

She then leaves the table to go to the bar where the manager is to say the same thing to him and get her check.

They start to bring her food and the beotch gets up (after psycholady makes him) to tell them they just want their check.

Waitress brings check.

Psycho lady:  YOU HAVE RUINED MY WHOLE WEEKEND.  IT'S MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND AND WE HAVE A SITTER AT HOME AND DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME.  I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK I WILL WAIT 20 MINUTES FOR OUR MEALS.  YOU HAVE RUINED MY NIGHT!

Waitress, almost in tears walks away.

Meanwhile I'm agitated beyond belief.  This lady was being SO rude.  I mean okay you're upset but don't be so damn rude!  Finally the waitress brings our soups but I can't eat I'm so wound up.

I told Jared I was going to say something and he begged me not to.

The manager came over to talk to them.

Psycho lady goes into her rant, again.

Poor staff:  I'm sorry about...

Psycho lady cutting him off:  YOU HAVE RUINED MY NIGHT. I'LL NEVER COME BACK HERE.  THIS IS NO WAY TO RUN A BUSINESS.  YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO CARE ABOUT OUR BUSINESS.  WE'RE NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH.  YOU'VE RUINED MY NIGHT.

I've had enough and I stand up.

Jessie:  Excuse me but you do not have to be so rude.

Psycho lady:  YOU MIND YOUR BUSINESS!

The Beotch:  SIT DOWN AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS (pointing his finger at me)

Jared:  DON'T YOU TALK TO MY WIFE LIKE THAT!

Jessie:  You're being so rude to the wait staff and it's inappropriate.

The beotch:  JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.

Jared:  You want me to call the cops?  

Jessie:  YOU are ruining my night because you're being so rude.

Jared:  I think you should just leave.

The beotch:  We're leaving.

Jessie:  No need to be so rude. So what, you wait a bit for your meal.  Who cares!  Stop being so rude!

Jared:  You should leave.

Psycho lady:  (placing her hands in a "posh" way and trying to fake a British accent)  You want us to leave now, eh?  

Okay, blatantly making fun of my husband's accent?  Real cool, lady.  How old are we?  

She continues to do this for a few more seconds until her husband ushers her out and the manager basically waves a good riddance wave at them.

He apologizes to us and I'm feeling high.  I stood up for the staff because no one should be treated that way.  I'm so glad I did it and I feel good all over.  That lady was crazy and incredibly rude.  Maybe it was non of my business but it became my business when I could hear her being so loud!

We packed our soup to go, being too upset to continue eating.

Oh and we will be back to that restaurant!

Sunny Days

Lyla adores Sesame Street so when I saw the chance to take her to Sesame Street Live, we definitely knew we wanted to take her.  All three of us went and Lyla really enjoyed the show!

We got her all dolled up in Elmo gear down to the undies!

The great seats we got were perfect. Not too close and not too far.  We even lucked out with no one in front or behind us!  Lyla loved the show and asked to go back again tomorrow!

Operation Closet Redo!

I'm a very organized person when it comes to everything and everyone else.  But when it comes to myself, I feel like I don't give myself enough effort.  It's annoying, really.  I deserve organized stuff!

My closet got way out of hand.  It's a good size closet but not well organzied.  We keep saying we're going to invest some money to really make it a nice closet but that still hasn't happend.  So today at my favorite neighborhood store, Target, I got some stuff and went to town.

I am WAY too embarrassed to show you an actual before photo because it was not pretty.

But here is all my stuff emptied out!

Voila!

I got this great hanger at IKEA a while back.  It has 28 little circles so I was able to nicely drape all my scarfs in there for ease of access!

Happy as a clam am I!

Happy Halloween!

Well, another hurricane in CT

Yup, can you believe it?  Another freaking hurricane.  After last year and ten days without power, ugh, I'm so not looking forward to this.

Got the house ready today and then decided to take a drive around the coast, the calm before the storm. We saw a few houses boarded up (below) with messages to the hurricane.  

We also went to Clinton Town Beach, again, having just gone there yesterday.  That park is so fun but it was eery.  The wind was whipping around like crazy and the sky was an ominous color of gray.  Lyla and I ran around in the wind racing down the slides, flying on the swings, and running through the sand. It was good ol' fashion family fun.  Jared even got a few photos that are super cute.

Bring it on, Sandy!  We're ready!