Saturday

I'm finally getting around to writing about last Saturday. There was a lot of fun had that day - along with a lot of beer. I started by meeting my bff Francine who was getting her hair cut. We then went to a local bar and had a drink (around noon) and then went to the basketball game. (Creighton/Nebraska). It was a GREAT day - Creighton won!! After the game we went to another local bar with some friends and spent most of the day there. Francine and I met up with one of her work friends, Muldoon. He was there with some of his friends, Karaoke, Green and Dan. After spending the day at the bar, we went to the hockey game at the same place where the basketball game was. After that, we hit a couple more bars and ended up at a dance club.

Okay, I don't dance. I mean, I do dance, but I'm not very good and when they start playing the dance mixes, I'm at a total loss. Francine, on the other hand, can cut a rug! She danced with all the boys (Muldoon, Karaoke and Dan). She probably would have dance with Green, but he was too drunk to dance. She sorta hooked up with one of the guys so she was having a GREAT time.

I finally made it home around 2am. I'm totally too old to be doing that.

There are a lot of other details, but it's probably best that they are left out!

Last night Francine called me laughing her ass off. She had looked at the pictures on her camera from Saturday night. I paused - I didn't remember taking any pictures Saturday night. I went and looked at them today and finally did remember. They were indeed funny!

We get in trouble, the two of us.

I have a theme song. It's called, "The More I Drink, The More I Drink." I don't think I've ever heard a more fitting song for me. That's probably not a good thing.

A long weekend

Is it weird to say that I'm ready to go back to work? I'm ready for a routine. To be so behind in my work that I just sit and stare at my computer because I don't know where to start.

It was a good weekend. Thursday was turkey and ham and my dh's family. I missed my family but I talked to my sister about six times so that was okay.

Friday I went shopping. I had a great time but didn't get everything I wanted to get. I put up my Christmas decorations. I brought up all the stuff from the basement and put the tree up and the ornaments. My dh came home in the middle of it after a very long day at work. He asked if it was okay if he didn't help and I didn't. I had a great time doing it.

I finished it up Saturday morning. I was almost done and then I had what I like to call a "mini meltdown." I opened up the last box and saw a program with a bell ornament in it. I had no idea and then I opened it and remembered. Last Christmas my mom attended a memorial thing at the funeral home. They remember everyone who has passed over the previous year. I didn't go which I realize is selfish, but that's a whole other post, but my mom did. When my dad's name was read, my mom went up and received an ornament. After the ceremony, the funeral director took my mom aside and gave her two more for me and my sister. He knew we would like to have them. So, that's why I had the ornament. I looked at it, saw my dad's name in the program and I had my mini meltdown. I needed to call someone, so I called my sister. I normally don't do that when I'm upset, but something told me that she was the one I should call. The conversation went something like this.

Me: I'm calling because I'm having a mini melt down
Sister: yeah
Me: I think I sound like mom
Sister: you do
Me: (I told her what happened - see above)
Sister: (says nothing)
Me: I need you to tell me something funny
Sister: Well, I lost it
Me: About the ornament?
Sister: Yes, I totally lost it
Me: You were upset
Sister: No, I mean I can't find it - I lost it
Me: You always make me laugh

Talking with her always makes me feel better

The rest of Saturday is quite a story - I'll save that for another time.

Tuesday Night

It's been quite an emotional rollercoaster for a Tuesday night. It started with dusting. Yes, that's right, I dusted tonight. I'm not sure why, just one of those things. It totally confused my dh who doesn't see me domestic very often. It really confused the cat. She didn't know what to think. So, I was dusting the bookcase in the bedroom. On the second shelf is our wedding pictures. I was looking at them and remember that August night over four years ago. Then I saw the picture of me and my dad. It made me very sad. I miss him so much. He had been sick for a long time. I remember that day he told me, "You know Gin, this is going to be a good day." It was a good day. He danced with me once and my mom once. I'll always remember that.

Then I moved to the dining room. Well, it's not much of a dining room because there isn't a table. It's just a big room with a lot of space in the middle. I went to dust a little shelf with some pictures on it. On the bottom shelf was my Brady Bunch lunch box. (Yes, a Brady Bunch lunch box.) I opened it up to see what was inside. I found a note. It was the first note my dh had ever written to me. I remember it very clearly. I had just left my first husband and traveled to my hometown where he lived. He was gone that night, bowling with his friends. I walked in the door of his apartment, hung up my coat and sat in a chair. On the coffee table was a note. It was understanding and sweet and made me cry. I think I knew at that time we would end up together forever. I came back to present day and folded up the note and put it back in the lunch box. I went to the living room where he was watching TV. I was smiling and I gave him a kiss. He asked me what was going on. I told him what I had found and that I was happy. He told me that he loved me and went back to watching TV.

I guess it was a pretty good night for a Tuesday.

Christmas Gifts

I bought the best Christmas gifts today. Two of them are for my dh and one is for one of my nephews. I just love it when I get the perfect gift. I wish I could give the gifts today!

I cooked today. Well, I threw some stuff in the crock pot before I left this morning, but I think that counts. Chicken and rice - and it was pretty good. I guess there is hope for me yet.

I'm watching the Bronco/Titan game. I'll be in Denver in a couple weeks to watch them play KC. I'm super excited to go. Of course I'll be wearing my KC stuff. My friend that I'm going with has season tickets to the Broncos. Her family has had them forever. It will be nice to see her and hang out with her for the weekend.

It's a short work week. That is both good and bad. Good because - well - it's a short work week. Bad because I don't think I'll get everything done that I need to.

I'm looking forward to shopping on Friday. That will be fun. I love fighting the crowds. I'm never in a hurry so I just go at my own pace and laugh at the people that are worked up about the crowds. If you don't like crowds, don't go shopping the day after Thanksgiving.

Saturday Morning

It's Saturday morning and I'm in my craft room watching the Mich/Ohio St game. I really don't care who wins. I'm waiting for the Iowa State/Kansas game. I'm torn on who I want to win. I'd love to see Iowa State upset Kansas, but then again, I'd like to see Kansas in the championship game.

I watched the last 1/2 hour of St. Elmo's fire this morning. I loved the 80's! At the end of the movie, the girl gets to sleep with Rob Lowe. She had always had a crush on him and he asked for a "going away gift" and she gave him one. Why doesn't life work out like the movies. I would have loved to give my college crush a "going away present" :-)

Rob Lowe - he has just gotten hotter as he gets older. He is super hot in St. Elmo's Fire and he is super hot in Brothers and Sisters.

I won an ipod shuffle at work yesterday. We were doing some fund raising and I bought a ticket and I won. It's super small. I'm going to have to take it down home so my nephew can set it up for me.

Speaking of yesterday, I did some dancing last night. I haven't done that for a while. I'm more of a sit at the bar, drink and watch people dance. It was my bff Francine's celebration for her birthday. It was a great time, but I'm super tired today!

I need to get going as my dh and I are going out with my in-laws tonight. We're heading to St. Joe for supper and drinks. I'm sure it will be fun, but I'd rather not have to put a bra on today!

My birthday is next month. It's usually my favorite holiday. I say usually, because the older I get, the more I really don't want to celebrate. Now I know that age is a state of mind..blah, blah, blah, but I'm struggling a bit this year. It's not even a significant birthday, just one of those that falls in the middle. Now, I would never want to go back to my teenage years, but I wouldn't mind revisiting my early 20's. I'm sure I'll get through it. In the big picture of life, my issue is not that big of deal.

I sang with Garth Brooks

and so did a lot of other people last Friday night in Kansas City. I sang the third verse of Friends in Low Places and every other song he sang. He ended it with just him and his guitar singing Turn the Page and American Pie. It was a great concert.

I sang with John Mellencamp on Sunday night. Jack and Diane was my favorite. I even called myself at work and held my cell phone up. Now it's on my voice mail at work.

I had a call tonight from a friend from college. We were pretty good friends in college although we don't talk much now. He was asking about my vacation to Cooperstown in October. I would like to think he was just curious about it, but I know better. The friend that I went to visit in Cooperstown is his ex-girlfriend. Although they haven't dated in over 15 years, I'm certain they are still in love with each other. She isn't married but he is...with four kids. I told him that she looked great and that I would send him some pictures. I know he wants to call her but I also know that if he does, she would go back to that time, 15 years ago, and it would hurt all over again. I guess that happens when you think about your college love.

When I think about my college love, it is very one-sided. I was totally in love with him and he thought of me only as a friend. He was two years older than me and during my sophomore year and his senior year, we hung out all the time. When I finally told him that I was in love with him, he claimed he had no idea. Seriously!! I didn't believe him. He gave me the dreaded "You're one of my best friends" speech. Not something I wanted to hear. I still think about him. I still picture him the way he was the last time I saw him. It was over 15 years ago. I like to think that he thinks about me every once in a while, but why should he? He probably still thinks about the girl he was in love with in college. (FYI - I still hate her.)

I'm going out with one of my best friends tomorrow night. Her birthday is Sunday. I call her one of my best friends because I'm very lucky to have a lot of "best" friends. Francine (not her real name, but the name I've called her since we were in college) and I are very different in a lot of ways, but the same in many more. We can tell what each other is thinking without saying a word. We have the same sense of humor. We put a grill together at the beginning of the summer and laughed everytime we said the words, "screw" and "nut" and yes, we did act like we were 12. We can be in a car together for 3 hours and not say a word. We both love sports and the TV show Friends. We both like to drink beer and could belly up at the bar, drinking and watching football all day. She's been having a rough time lately. I'll be here to help her however I can. She got a birthday gift in the mail this week. Something about chocolate covered coffee beans. The gift made her happy and I'm glad. I'm giving her a ticket to see Bon Jovi. We're going together.

Thanksgiving is next week. I will not be cooking :-)

Random Thoughts

I'm at work early today because I'm leaving early tomorrow. I'm going to see Garth Brooks tomorrow night with my favorite sister-in-law. (She's my only sister-in-law - but still my favorite.) I don't get to spend a lot of time with her, so I know it will be a good time.

I'm totally not in the mood to work today. There's a ton of stuff that needs to be done, but all I want to do is go back home, get my blanket, my book and not have to talk to anyone! I get that way sometimes where talking to anyone is so much of an effort, I just don't want to do it. Unfortunately, I'm such an outgoing, chatty person (big surprise) that if I bring it down a notch everyone will ask what is wrong and that is more annoying than anything I can think of. I always say that nothing is wrong because really, how do you explain to someone that you really do like that you just don't want to talk to anybody? We'll see how it goes today.

I don't cook. I never have and I probably never will. I've been getting a lot of grief lately for not cooking. Apparently this makes me a bad wife. Like anyone can make me feel more guilty about this than I already am. I'm thinking about turning over a new leaf, but that's as far as I've got. I do need to eat more healthy than I do right now, but once again, I'm only in the thinking stage. When it's just the two of you, it's easier to go out and get something to eat or just have a bowl of cereal. I love cereal.

My favorite Summertime Song

I heard my favorite summertime song on the way home from work today. It's Your Love by The Outfield. The funny thing is that it is far from summer. There's a chill in the air. Between that and the fact that it's now dark when I get home from work I realize that summer is over. I really like the cool weather. I'm a sweater/sweatshirt kind of gal so I can do without the hot weather. I'm not sure I'm ready for the snow.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my best friend and I are going to the Creighton/Nebraska game. We talked about going and at work today I secured some great seats to the game through my work so it's going to be a great time.

I have shows on tonight. I'm a TV junkie. I'm going to curl up with a blanket, some popcorn, hot choclate and my kitty. It's going to be a good night.

A New Phone

Today I bought a new cell phone. I'm now the proud owner of a razor phone. I'm going to have my nephew set it up for me with lots of fun ring tones. I also have to enter all my phone numbers. That's going to be a pain. The only number I've entered to far is my husband's. He's been watching college football all day. He's happy that Iowa State won, but not so happy that Nebraska lost. I really don't care either way.

I also bought a Christmas present today. It may seem early, but I'm usually done before Thanksgiving. I'm behind schedule. Christmas is my favoite holiday (besides my birthday - which is 6 days before Christmas) and I love it when I find the perfect gift to give. To see someone open a gift that you know they are going to love is priceless.

Last year was the first Christmas without my dad. I don't think this Christmas is going to be any easier. I keep waiting for it to be easier and I'm still waiting. I'm not sure it will ever happen and I'm not sure I want it to happen.

There's a big craft fair in town. I'm going to go tomorrow with one of my best friends. Hopefully I'll find some more Christmas gifts.

I'm putting my car away for the winter. I drive a little red Miata. I got it last May. I tell everyone it was a mother's day gift from my cat and that it's the kind of car that you can have if you don't have any kids. It doesn't drive very well in the winter and when you live where I do, you can bet there's going to be snow. I thought I could still drive it in the winter when there isn't any snow on the ground but apparently there will be salt on the roads until the spring and salt isn't very good for my car...so they say.

Are You Kidding Me!

It feels more like a Monday than a Friday.

Last night I worked on a work project. I sent it to myself at work so I could turn it in this morning. When I opened it up this morning, I realized that none of my changes were saved. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? So, I had to redo everything. I had to tell my boss it would be later than it already was.

Then I went to grab my coffee (it's in one of those cute things with a handle and a lid) and I knocked it over. The lid flew off and there was coffee everywhere. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Lucky for me, I had a roll of paper towels in my drawer. I should note that I have a roll of paper towels because about 3 months ago I spilled a 44oz soda on my desk. Anyway, this just delayed my project that I was trying to complete for the second time.

I got everything cleaned up and my project completed. I'm worn out! I'm getting ready to go to lunch with one of my best friends. I wish I could have a beer at lunch.

The first time

Here it is, my first entry into my new blog. Inspired by my good friend Missy (the only one who will read this) here are my thoughts and feelings.

My nephew is a senior this year. Although I'm 20 years older than him, we are very close. Sometimes too close as he shares things with me that normal nephews don't share with aunts. It's just me and my sister and my brother-in-law is an only child so I'm the favorite aunt - the only aunt.

Tuesday night was their playoff game. My nephew has really come into his own as a football player and is basically involved in every play as he plays both ways. Something that is very common for a 8-man football player from a small town. They lost their game in overtime which was very sad. The seven seniors on the team are very close and they were all very upset about losing. On one of the last plays of the game, one of the seniors got hurt. After the game, he was transported to the hospital by ambulance. During the game, my nephew was escorted off the field by one of the referees. He didn't look like he was feeling too good. After the game, I sought him out and he hugged me for a long time. As I looked up at him, I knew that something wasn't right. I called my brother-in-law over and he took my nephew by the arm and someone started checking him out. I went to my sister and told her that she needed to go to him. I stayed with my youngest niece and nephew and watched as they put my oldest nephew into the ambulance and took him. My sister went with him, my brother-in-law followed and my mom took my middle nephew and went to the hospital. I went into "aunt" mode and took the little ones home. My youngest nephew, who is in 6th grade, went into big brother mode with my neice who is in 1st grade. They were pretty quiet that night and finally fell asleep. My oldest nephew, along with one of his best friends, shared a room in the ER. The entire football team, their parents and the coaches all waited for any news. I was at my sister's house, waiting by the phone. After all was said and done, my oldest nephew was admitted with a pretty serious concussion. Turns out this was his second of the season, he just didn't share how bad he felt after the first one. He was released the next day. I got to the hospital in the morning and sat with him until he was released. He's fine now and even went back to school today. He goes back to the DR next week and at that time will find out if he's going to be able to play basketall. (He also pulled something in his shoulder.)

Whew...that's a lot to type. I don't have any kids of my own (my husband and I have a cat) and so those kids are my life. It didn't hit me until last night exactly what had happened. My husband asked me why I was upset because he was going to be fine. I simply said, "I haven't had time to be upset." I took a sick day yesterday to be with my sister and my nephew. Today everyone at work asked about him and shared in my emotions when I said he was going to be okay. I'm not a public cryer, but I was almost there today. It's nice to work with people who care about my family like they were their own.

I feel better now.