So, it's been a hectic holiday season, to say the least.  Craziness abounds, but I'm starting to get a grip on things.

First, my absence was due in part to the computing issue.  My home machine took a serious nose dive and completely crumbled in dramatic fashion.  My work machine, although fabulous, put a serious damper on my interwebz activities.  Thanks in all or part to the numerous restrictions, servers, firewalls and other related programming designed to keep trade secrets... well, secret.  I couldn't get to Yahoo because of the age restriction on the group, so that was completely blocked.  I couldn't get to LJ or Dreamwidth because of a similar issue and because of the unregulated (not an issue I have) adult material available.  Facebook comes up with a "warning" that says my whereabouts are being tracked and regulated by security, so Don't do anything stupid... or something along those lines.  Even e-mail was a no-no unless it was through my work mailbox.

Luckily, I have a daddy that loves me.  :D  He ran a diagnostic on my slug-slow and failing computer.  Turns out the RAM was fried.  Yayz!  He said he'd get me more for Christmas.  What I never expected was that he decided I needed a whole new computer.  Awwwwww!  The tradoff is he gets my old machine and installs new RAM then gives it to my mom since her machine is so old it surfs the web like you're on dial-up.  Oy.

So, I'm baaaaa-aack!

Still work numerous amounts of overtime, and our group even got authorization from the director to get Blackberry devices so we'll get our e-mail and meeting notices no matter where we are.  I'm telling you, they're called crackberrys for a reason.  *does not have it sitting next to her right now... honest*

The kid got her braces off in November.  Her teeth are gorgeous!  *sigh*

I've lost a total of 30 pounds since joining Weight Watchers.  My mom decided since I've had so much success, she'd try the program.  She's down probably 15 to 20 pounds.  Yay!

Sooper sekrit message for Mabi - My friend's BIL has his own distillery that's making the news up and down the coast.  You'll never guess what he makes.  Go ahead.  Guess.  Here's an article as a hint.  I'm tryin' to get in on the bottling/labeling parties.  Heh.

My daughter has decided - with a little encouragement from me - that we'll be taking a 12 day cruise as her graduation present.  She graduates in 2011!  OMG!  So, the deciding factor for this particular cruise was the 4th stop.
Depart - Barcelona, Spain
1st Port - Rome, Italy
2nd Port - Piraeus, Athens Greece
3rd Port - Ephesus, Turkey
4th Port - 2 days Alexandria, Egypt
5th Port - Valletta, Malta
Arrive - Barcelona, Spain

At least 3 friends want to come along, and 2 are definitely going with us.  We're looking at March/April 2011, so I've got two raises, two income tax refunds, one EIP payment and a lot of overtime to get this accomplished.  Everybody is very excited, especially the kid.

I think that's all the news I have for now.  Oh, almost forgot... THANK YOU to everybody who sent cards this Christmas.  Things were insane and it was a little bit of sanity to get them and know that even though I was MIA, you guys were still thinkin' about me.  :)

I've created a monster. Better yet, Lunie created a monster using me as a conduit. *nods*

( My daughter has discovered CROCS! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! )

Thanks to everybody for the birthday wishes!  I had a nice relaxing day shared with some lovely cherry chip cupcakes and friends.

I skipped work.  Technically, I requested vacation, but since I wasn't working and didn't answer my work cell (yes, it did ring) I consider it skipping.  I'll pay for not being in the office when I go back tomorrow, but I'll deal with that insanity when I crawl into the office at 7am.  *nods*

I was supposed to be going out dancing with friends this weekend, but my best friend smacked her ankle pretty bad and is now in a pressure cast due to the sprain and hairline fracture.  Ouch!  So, plans changed.  We had dinner tonight and will be seeing a movie this weekend.

The teenager had an orthodontist appointment today.  Good news.  After 2 years and 3 months, she finally gets her braces off.  Right before Thanksgiving.  Yayz!  So... I have this cool braces icon that I made from a photo I found on line that I use whenever posting about her braces.  The teen had her last set of bands made in a rainbow just like my icon, so I'm going to see about taking a pic of her braces now and changing my icon to her beautiful teeth.  Hee.  This is the last 4 weeks she'll have her bondage.  *dances*

It was a good day.  :D

I am sitting here at ... *checks clock*  ...6:41 am and debating whether I should log onto the work computer now or when I'm actually supposed to start work at 7am.  Oy.  It's come to this.  Earn more overtime, but give up some of my "morning time" on my virtual day, or... get a little more caught up on LJ.

*bites nails*

Yes, I'm still here.  I haven't dropped off the face of the earth or been consumed by my cats.  I haven't fallen ill or been banned from LJ.  Hee.

I have, however, been working insane amounts of overtime lately.  I do still love the new job... I guess after a year it's not so new, is it?  *shrugs*  Anyway, I do enjoy what I do, we're just very short staffed right now and there's no forecast to fill the empty chairs in the group at this time.  So, we're all pitching in to take on the case load from the two people missing which means we're all stretched very thin and are working long hours just to keep our heads above water.  :)

I guess a quick reader's digest condensed version of my whereabouts is in order:

I've been on Weight Watchers for a few months now and am just about to reach my 10% weight loss goal.  People who know me probably will find this crazy, but I'm planning to lose a total of 75 pounds!  Shocker, I know, but there it is.  Right now, I just want to hit my next goal which is 23 pounds.  I'm thiiiiiiis close.  *holds finger and thumb a hair's width apart*

The kid may just get her braces off this month.  *crosses all available appendages*  We've got some heavy construction going just to move the teeth the smallest amount.  The orthodontist says the teeth are straight and if it wasn't for her bite, they'd be off already.  I'll keep y'all posted.

Finally, I'm once again participating in the American Heart Association's heart walk this Saturday.  I've always had a reason to be involved with this particular cause, but in 2007 my mom had a heart attack; and most recently, the Stargate fans lost a very dear man and beloved character, Don S. Davis,  to heart disease.  I have more reasons than ever to volunteer for this cause.  It would be awesome if anybody could donate prior to the walk on the 3rd. You can find my donation page here

I'll try to check in more often.  :)

I spotted several posts of this video when scanning through Facebook earlier. After watching, I had to post it here. You really can't help but smile. It totally makes you want to dance, too.

( Best Wedding Entrance EVAH!! )

This last month has been utterly crazy.  I guess the last I left all of my interwebz friends with, I had cut the sugar out of my diet and was looking to get healthy.  Well, I'm still on a low sugar diet and have lost 10 pounds in the last month.  10 doesn't seem like much to me, but most of that was just due to a change in diet as I've been bombarded with other issues taking up my time lately.

About 3 weeks ago, I finally made an appointment to see my doctor about a couple spots on my arms that looked... questionable.  I had a small bump deep in the tissue on the left forearm that has been bothering me for a couple years; and what appeared to be a small mole looking bump on the right that just appeared a couple months ago, itched and flaked off only to re-appear a week later.  The doctor felt they weren't anything to worry about, but decided to make absolutely certain and removed them both.  The one on the right was burned off with liquid nitrogen.  No problem.  The one on the left, though, required a bit of surgical intervention to remove and left me with a 1 inch incision that required 5 stitches to close.  It was sent to the lab for testing and I spent a little over a week waiting for the results.  When I went back to have the stitches removed, I found out that the bump was benign, but was a skin affliction that is known to be reoccurring.  *sigh*  The kid thinks the scar is cool, though. 

The teenager is out of school and we've been running around to all her regular doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments over the last two weeks so she'll be ready to be shipped off to my mom and dad's place for part of the summer.  She ran up a crazy huge cell phone bill last month which almost made me seriously maim her.  She'll be getting paid for working at my parent's place, so that will be paying off her bill.  *nods*

It's been disgustingly HOT here the last couple weeks.  Wonder if that has anything to do with something frigid moving out of the state.  *mock gasp*  Seriously, though, close to 90 the last few days and definitely high 70's to low 80's the rest of the time.  And, the typical rain we usually get on the 4th of July?  Not a cloud to be seen ... anywhere.  It's gonna be a scorcher tomorrow.  And me with my delicate fair skin that burns under a 5 watt light bulb.  Guess I'll be crackin' out the SPF 3000 for the BBQ and parade we'll be going to.

And, I found booze that is low in sugar and calories, but tastes wonderful.  The shocking thing is that it's... get this... BEER!  I have never really liked beer.  Not a beer drinker.  Hard alcohol?  Yes.  Wine?  Definitely.  Beer?  Not so much.  I was out for an after work/pre 4th gathering with some cow-orkers last night at a local microbrewery.  You may have heard of it?  Red Hook.  Anywhooo... another cow-orker who is also attempting to lose weight had ordered a pitcher of beer prior to my arrival and poured me a glass when I arrived.  I was surprised to find it was REALLY good.  After 2 glasses, I decided to take a break due to calories as well as the need to drive home.  My cow-orker asked me if I wanted more and when I said no, she took me aside and told me it was low-cal and wouldn't spoil my diet any.  I should have guessed by the name... Skinny Dip.  Heh.  Yay for being able to drink alcohol!!!

With all the busy in my life over the last year or so, I have to once again be ever so happy I have my TiVo.  USA network has it's summer programming going as well as some new shows that look promising on other channels.  Also, with the switch to digital and the requirement to get an actual cable box so my TiVo works, I have discovered the wonder that is BBC America.  *happy sigh*  I never knew how many channels I was missing in my basic service without a box.  Huh.  *shrugs*  So, when I get a break in my insanity, I usually pick a program and watch everything from that show marathon style.  It's actually kinda fun.  *pets TiVo*

I miss traveling to see my friends.  *sigh*  I have 154 hours of vacation saved and 44 hours of sick leave.  Even my boss is telling me I need to take some time off.  Heh.  Soon, I hope.  I haven't been on an airplane for almost a year now.  That's so not like me.  Miss you guys.

Hey everybody!  *waves*  Just checking in again to let you know I'm still here and still alive.

First... and most important (read:  what freaks me out the most)... my daughter has her first evah boyfriend.  *gasp*  I really wanna hate him because ... well, it's my DAUGHTER!  But, he's a nice guy, a year younger than my munchkin, a wonderful musician, and very polite.  *eyes him warily*

I've also been having some strange ... health related problems... and finally went into the doctor to discuss what could possibly be causing my symptoms.  Turns out, I'm borderline diabetic.  Diet and exercise are now my friends.  Today's exercise was mowing the front lawn and weeding the garden.  I'm exhausted, but the neighbors must be thrilled now that my yard isn't the eyesore of the neighborhood anymore.  *snort*  I'm relaxing with a nice frozen fruit smoothie, now.

And, I can't forget waking up after a huge thunderstorm a couple weeks ago only to find the ceiling in the spare bedroom going *drip*... *drip*... *drip*.   Naturally, I *flailed* about and called daddy.  *g*  It helps to have construction workers as family members.  Even at 71 years old, my dad high-tailed it over to my house and climbed up on the roof to patch the leak until we got some more respectable weather to rip the roofing off and repair the damage.  That will probably happen this week according to my mom.

So, needless to say, the money I had set aside to take a trip across the pond and visit Monkey is now going towards a new roof on my house.  *pout*  I have to watch my sugar intake very closely and exercise regularly to keep from taking medication.  *ponders the pros of that scenario*  And, I have a babbling, forgetful, teenager who acts as if she's lost about 100 IQ points most days, running around my house now.  *wants to smack some sense back into her*

How much sugar is in alcohol?

Or what I like to call...

( How the Cable Company turned my TiVo into an expensive paperweight )

Just running through to say that I can't stop laughing at the new hulu commercials.

hulu. An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy.

( Alec Baldwin's commercial behind the cut )

And, I can't embed the new one, but here's the link to Eliza Dushku's commercial.

*giggles uncontrollably*

Leverage. Why have I not been watching this show? Marathon on today. Gobbled up every available ep. Yayz! *sets TiVo*

Dollhouse. Again, why have I not been watching this show? I need to spend more time on LJ because I know you guys have been pimpin' these and I just haven't been here to see it. Right? Right?

So, now I have my sweet little DVR programmed to record House, 24, NCIS, Sanctuary, Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Heroes, Chuck, Burn Notice, Nip/Tuck, Psych, Dr. Who, Eureka... and a few others I can't think of right now.

*prepares for TiVo to start rejecting shows or have a meltdown*

*runs back over to lunachickk's post about curing me to watch the video again*

I'm still here, and still fighting what appears to be a losing battle with my sinus issues. Yes, this is still the same sinus problem that was a result of the cold I had over Thanksgiving.

I went back to the doctor today to get yet more and stronger antibiotics so we can kill every darned bug causing this danged infection. That happened... kinda. (More on that in a minute.) But, what took me completely by surprise was the fact that my doc was through pussy-footin' around with my chronic sinus issues and decided a CAT scan was in order. Today. Before going back to work... today. She called over to the radiology office down the street and asked if they could get me in immediately and then sent me over. I had to call my boss and let her know that I was going to be late getting back to the office because my doc wanted to have the scan done.

It would seem that things have become serious now. I am a bit nervous about the results, but whatever they show, at least we'll know what the heck is going on and be able to fix it.

I did make it back to work 3 hours later and finished out my day. My boss asked if everything was okay and I gave her as much information as I have right now. I did mention that since we've come to the CAT scan stage, there may be a possibility of surgery in my future. She understood, and we'll set up a plan for managing my case load if that occurs. Virtual might be doable. :D

Got off work and stopped by the pharmacy only to find that they had no record of my prescriptions being sent over by my doc. Called the doctor's office and they confirmed that they were, indeed, faxed over. So, I have to wait for the doc to send the prescriptions again. I guess one more day won't matter seeing as I've been dealing with this for 2 months. Oy.

So, you see, I had all these great intentions of playing catch-up on my interwebz stuff while I was off work for two weeks over the holidays. I really meant well and had convinced myself that I would spend quality time with LJ and hug my flist and do all this great posting that hasn't been happening since I took the new job.

Yeah. We all know that didn't happen.

I'm still sick. Well... not sick, exactly. I have a sinus infection as a by-product of the cold I had over Thanksgiving. I've already been on one round of antibiotics and am now working on the second. Add to that the fact that the kid also came down with a cold about a week ago, and it's a coughing, sneezing, germ-ridden mess of a house I live in right now. Ugh!

Being not well and having no energy to do much of anything (plus having two feet of the fluffy white crystals from the sky drop on a completely unsuspecting and unprepared town) gave me plenty of time to sit in front of the TV and clean off the hard drive of the poor TiVo. I catchded up on EVERYTHING!! Yes, I can honestly say that I have absolutely NO back episodes of anything on the TiVo. I watched it all. Every Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, SGA, Sanctuary, NCIS, Chuck, Heroes, Burn Notice and Psych episode has been viewed and deleted to make room. I even watched the latest Michael Shanks movie that was on... sometime recently. That boy needs to get better parts. *cringes*

I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about all my friends. I miss you guys tonz. *squishes everybody*

First, I wanna say I hope all my flist in the US had a lovely Thanksgiving! And, for everybody else... Happy Thursday! *g* Mine was good, but the fun was all about the PIE! (Isn't it always?)

Phone call from Mom on Wednesday afternoon:
Mom: I found a pumpkin pie recipe that doesn't need sugar.
Me: Um. Okay.
Mom: I'm gonna try it to see how it turns out.
Me: All the pumpkin pie recipes I have need sugar.
Mom: I know. That's why I wanna try this one. Wonder how good it'll taste?
Me: Well, test it before tomorrow.
Mom: Oh, I will. I'm gonna make it right now.

Phone call from Mom on Wednesday evening:
Mom: The pie is TERRIBLE! Your father said so.
Me: Oh-kaaaaay.
Mom: I attempted to fix it, though.
Me: How do you FIX a pumpkin pie? *cringes*
Mom: I poked holes in it then added brown sugar over the top.
Me: Ummmmm....
Mom: It looks terrible, but it tastes good. Put some whipped cream on top and nobody will notice.
Me: Mom... step away from the pie and nobody gets hurt!
Mom: *giggles* It's fine. Really. You'll see.
Me: Mom, everybody is wanting to eat MY pie. They'll notice yours is... off.
Mom: Okay, just you wait.
Me: See you tomorrow Mom. *rolls eyes*

So, I proceed to drag my coughing, fever ridden, runny nosed self across the mountains this morning. (Did I mention, I'm sick on Thanksgiving?) The first thing EVERYBODY asks is, "Did you make a pumpkin pie?" They haven't even seen my mom's pie, but they expect this from me every year.

We eat dinner early in the afternoon and my daughter is chomping at the bit to dig into the pie. (She had to smell it cooking in our house.) So, the pie is devoured in a matter of minutes... seeing as there were 11 people there. LOL I find out from my sister that my nephew got a look at my mom's pie and told my sis that he REALLY didn't want a piece of THAT pie. LOL

A couple hours go by and everybody is joking about my mom's attempt to save the doomed pie. I'm starting to really want to go home and not looking forward to the 2.5 hour drive back. My dad then turns to me and in a voice reminiscent of a small child, asks if he were to go out to the root cellar and grab a jar of the pumpkin my mom canned... would I be so kind as to bake a pumpkin pie for him? My mom scowls and the rest of the room erupts into laughter. I run the recipe through my head to see if I remember it all, then proceed to bake a pie for my dad from scratch... and from memory.

The pie was still in the oven when I gathered all my stuff, the leftovers, 4 dozen fresh eggs (my parents have chickens), my now empty pie plate and my kid, and headed home. Half way home, the body aches set in and I have never been so grateful in my life to pull into the garage and know I could flop on the bed and die and I wouldn't have to get up again until Monday. *sigh*

But, hey... I have enough turkey to last me at least a week, and fresh eggs that already look like they were decorated for Easter. Plus, my dad got his pie. So worth the trip. :D

I've been having a discussion with a friend of mine for the last few days about certain types of people. Specifically, ones that I've known, ones that are insecure, ones that are jealous, rude and always looking for a handout. I seem to attract the needy and self-appointed downtrodden who in reality are abusive and feed off the generosity of others. Our conversation took many interesting twists and turns, but it all came down to looking at similarities in the people whom have passed through my life.

( Breaking down the details. )

Won't post about the busy, 'cause it's just that... still busy. But, in between the busy, I was able to take a two day class last week on accident investigation at the company. Cool class. Lousy, not-very-ergonomic classroom chairs. Two days sitting in lousy, not-very-ergonomic classroom chairs. Add to that one weekend where neck and shoulders get increasingly more stiff and sore due to the two days sitting in lousy, not-very-ergonomic classroom chairs.

I hurted muchly today. Even with sitting at my own desk in extremely comfortable, made-for-human-body, ergonomic chair. Left work early to go to the chiropractor then spent a couple hours icing my back in 15 minute intervals. I'm a bit better, but I am still stiff and sore. Have to go back to the chiropractor on Wednesday because the muscle spasms made the adjustment today a bit... difficult.

Good news, tho... I'm caught up on most of my TeeVee watching. Chuck, Pushing Daisies, NCIS, Supernatural, Stargate Atlantis, Sanctuary, House and Dexter. I have a few eps of Heroes left on the TiVo and a new NCIS comes out tonight, but Yay for hurt backs and marathon Saturdays.

Wait... that came out wrong. Huh.

I got my promotion!!! *dances like a crazy woman* My boss just gave me the official letter and informed me what kinda raise I got. Whoa baby!! So worth taking the new job. Hee. And, it's retroactive back to last Friday, so I've been working for a week in my new fangled promoted job title and didn't even know it. Go me!

Happy Halloween Everybody!!

Oh, and just for reference... today is the end of week 8 of the IAM union strike. Tomorrow, they're voting on the new contract the negotiating team worked out in DC earlier in the week. Keep your appendages crossed that they ratify the contract. It'll mean busy, busy, busy for me and my cow-orkers, but we're really over this strike. *nods*

glitter-graphics.com

delphia2000

May all the calories just disappear from your cake. *g* Hope you are having a wondiferous day!

Well, yeah, that applies to me every day, but the crazy I'm referring to specifically is the fact that I've been told by my boss that she feels that I was hired in at the wrong level and that anybody doing full case work should be a level 3, not a level 2.

What does this mean for me, you might ask?

I was hired in as a level 2, but have been pretty much performing level 3 work. They allowed this on the premise that eventually I'd be promoted to a level 3... possibly after 6 to 9 months from my hire date. That date has moved up. Significantly. They want to have the paperwork in for the reclassification (fancy word for promotion) by October 10th which would mean the official transfer from level 2 to level 3 would happen right around the 3 month mark.

WOOFRELLINGHOO!!!!! *dances*

*runs back to work*

First, I need to start off with the most important item on my list...


glitter-graphics.com

duck_wrangler

I hope you had an amazing day!!!

( Now onto the boring RL stuff... )