Ciao.

Now

2007-02-18T14:12:00.000-05:00

I was promoted. Yay.

So I now work from 7:30am-8pm Monday-Friday. On Saturdays I only work 4-6 hours. Sundays are a very blissful day for me.

We've had over two feet of snow, which makes driving and just walking out the front door a mission into the Arctic.

On a random note, I'm looking for various ethnic dishes that can be served to a large group easily and economically. Suggestions, if anyone in the world still reads this piece, are welcome.

Beta Blogger...basically, it sucks

2007-01-28T21:29:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I just need to say I hate the new beta blogger. The one where you sign in with your gmail account and then enter your password...also included is a box you click to save your sign in info so you don't need to sign in every single time you post a comment on someone's blog or post a new post. I've clicked it numerous times and each time I post a comment on someone's blog and go to another, I have to sign in again. Are you kidding me?

Sadly, it's preventing me from keeping this piece up to date, yes I am so lazy that I am thwarted from posting blogs because it won't save my email. That is horribly lazy. Basically, I'm horrible. And, to reiterate, lazy.

So I've decided that until I've lost 15 pounds, I will not let myself suck into a new pair of pants. This is problematic as my only pair of decent-fitting jeans are so mad with me that they're coming apart at the seams. Literally. My crotch is starting to rip. Of all the places, why there? I'm reminded of an OMC song....

And, blurry as it is, I know this picture represents that song as well.

Ciao.

And yes, I know my links are messed up. Laura...I wanted to ask if you wanted yours their as well...I know that I rarely talk to you not that you became the myspace bum. I still love you though.

So...bleh

2007-01-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

Shane and I went to Manchester, NH last Friday/Saturday and stayed at a very nice Hilton hotel right in downtown. It was fun, fresh air but freezing cold.

I have pictures, but as I scrolled through my album I realized about 75% are of houses I saw and liked. I do like houses.

Lately I've been wondering if sometimes I care too much. I mean, I'm "friends" with two of my ex boyfriends, and sometimes I go out of my way, foolishly, to see how they are doing. I never get responses back, ever. It seems like I'm used only when they're lonely. I wonder if I think too often about them - not missing them by any means - while they think little or not at all of me. Why should it matter? Both proved to be great impacts on my life and I think of the time I had with them as nice, young and fun...but it seems they don't think the same way for me. Again, it shouldn't matter, it really really shouldn't, and I can't seem to figure out why I wonder too often about it. Maybe I care too much, maybe I am only bothering them when I send them a quick message "how are you?". I don't know. All I ever wanted out of those relationships was the friendship that it was built on. I never got it back.

Ciao.

De-Lurking Week of 2007

2007-01-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, we all do it...we all read blogs and never, ever comment on them. I have a list of about six blogs I read and never comment on. I don't know why, maybe I'm shy? Meh.

But anyways, I'd like to know if ANYONE still reads this piece...I know a few people do, as they mention it once in a while. But, if you're lurking on here, just drop me a comment, tell me something about yourself. It's creepy not knowing who is listening to you.

Thanks to those of you who do read and I'm sorry you read this at the same time. Thanks anyhow, perhaps my posts will become more interesting with the latest developments?

Ciao.

Just want to say...

2007-01-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

I don't say it enough, my friends are truly amazing. I love you all.

Top 10

2007-01-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

I was waiting until the New Year to write this just in case something seriously amazing happened on New Year's Eve - which, nothing did.

Last year, I did a top 10 of moments, top 9 of movies, top 7 something...and it went down to top book...but I'm feeling a bit, hmm, tired, so a top ten moments of 2006 should suffice.

10. Moving into the new house. Obviously, the apartment was seriously small, and aggravations with everything seemed to control us all. Moving in to the house also leads me to number 9.

9. Getting our dog Albert. We weren't able to have a dog at the old apartment, so getting a house was a huge blessing. Sure, most of the time I could kill him, but he's fun when he wants to be.

8. Going to Idaho for a few weeks. It was the longest Shane and I had been apart since before I went out to his house in Lewiston, but all in all, it was fun. It was hard on Shane and I after my phone broke two days into the vacation, and my flight didn't get in until three hours before work after traveling for 48 hours straight, but whatever.

7. Getting the summer job. As annoying as it was to leave the house, go north to Charlestown, go south to Alstead for work, and then go north to Bellows Falls, and then more north to Charlestown, it was a rewarding experience and definitely prepared me for my second job.

6. Starting work again. I know, as much as I complain, I really did miss a lot of the people and the kids. Plus, I got a kind-of promotion to librarian...woo!

5. Getting the second job. (Noticing a trend?) The second job is a HUGE blessing for us, I'm basically making the same amount I make with my first job, and it thrills me. I'm blessed to work with someone I already know, someone who I respect and admire.

4. Finding out Crystal is preggo. Even still, when I look at her and see her stomach growing with each week, I can't fully grasp that there is a child in there. It's beautiful; amazing.

3. Getting my cat, Akila. I know, sad that three different jobs and a cat rate higher than my dog, but I'm still getting used to him. Akila has been great, the best cat I've ever owned (that's saying a lot!). She's so much fun, so loving, and Shane and I just adore her.

2. Sona visiting for my birthday. I love and miss her so seriously much, I feel like I come out of my shell when she's around. She is so incredibly giving, I can't imagine my life without her.

1. Getting the ring from Shane on our anniversary. Though I've lost the ring (!!!!!!!), I know I'll find it eventually. The promise was more important than the ring, something I learned afterwards.

2007 is shaping to be one of the best years of my life, so I'm sure that this time next year (2008) I will have many more remarkable moments. This was rather a "blah" year I'd say. I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year celebration!

Ciao.

New Template

2006-12-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

No, you're not seeing things - I have changed my blog template.

It's been two years now that I've had this beast, and although it's popularity has dwindled to nothing, I am going to keep it for myself.

Ciao.

I must be getting old...

2006-12-26T22:51:00.000-05:00

Christmas is without a doubt my favorite holiday. I love the nostalgia of the mistletoe, the smell of the Christmas tree, lying under the tree to see the lights sparkling above, the smells of cooking, beautiful snow (hrumph), etc, etc, etc.

However, this year seemed to be lacking in all that warm, gooey feeling. We had a real tree this year, my mom started decorated way early, we were baking in November, but still, I feel "meh" about Christmas. And I love Christmas.

I can do without the material gifts, really, I can. They are a nice perk, but seeing family that I rarely see, toasting to our futures, sharing stories...I just love my family. Ever since my mom divorced my stepdad, things haven't been the same. I come from and Italian/Irish Catholic family, so you know there are a lot of us. A typical family gathering that is (to be redundant) typically every holiday has about 50-70 family members. Lately, everyone is just too lazy to care.

My brother visited this Christmas, so that was nice. But still, I would never be able to put this year's Christmas at the top of my most memorable Christmases. Or even close to the top.

I am feeling really down, which is unusual since I love this time of the year. Something is missing, something isn't right.

The day after Christmas was nice, Justin and Ethan came over so Shane and I, along with my brother Danny, and Ethan and Justin went to a Chinese buffet place. (Yes, I know that sentence is fragmented, I really don't care.) There has to be something wrong with me to think that I could go to a restaurant with four obnoxious boys and have a peaceful dinner. The boys cracked jokes left and right, causing the brother to shoot food out of his nostrils, Ethan to almost knock over the back of the booth, and Shane and I being the victims of a one-sided food fight. I wish I'd brought my camera with me, as the pictures would've shown exactly how I felt. It was nice, really, and basically better than Christmas.

Not much left to say, I start work with my second job again, as I fight a second bout of flu this season. I just want to close my eyes and sleep until things are better again.

Ciao.

"The Michael Jackson Disease"

2006-12-23T00:02:00.000-05:00

My vitiligo is back, as I expected. I'm scheduling a doctor's appt after the holiday rush to be checked for several things including (but not limited to) diabetes.

My grandfather was diabetic and for the last year, my health has become increasingly worse, with mild symptoms associated with diabetes. I don't think I have it; whether that is denial or not I'm not sure. However, when I was in Colorado I was supposed to get blood work after the doctors found an abnormally (don't you love it when they use words like that?) large amount of white blood cells leaving my body through urine. But, I moved and was dropped from my insurance because I didn't live with papi anymore. I really can't afford this doctor's visit and whatever tests they will have to run...so I hope my vitiligo leaves...it won't, but whatever. Damn it, I'm pissed. I've had so many problems with my vision blurring, I've been to the restroom at least 10 times a day (Gah, I wish I was kidding), I wake up several times at night to drink water, I'm exhausted and I'm having one particular infection repeatedly, no matter how often I've treated it.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ciao.

Because I am possibly the most annoying person on Myspace

2006-12-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

I am the annoying person who posts a bulletin a few times a week. Usually, they are those lame surveys that no one really reads, they just do them because they're completely bored and don't have better things to do. As I was filling out a bulletin survey today, one of the questions read:

Who do you stalk on MySpace?

Now, I don't seriously stalk anyone on Myspace. I started it to find people from high school that I was friends with, but when it comes down to it, the only friend I consider as a high school friend is Sona. Most of the people on my list are people I did indeed go to high school with, but I didn't know them well enough to call them a friend. I don't take the title "friend" lightly. Maybe I'm intense, but all of my friends have the potential to easily be a best friend; I don't count aquaintances as friends.

Since I joined Myspace, I've gotten to know a lot of people I never gave a thought to in high school. A few of them said they were afraid of me, I can't blame them. I mean, I'm the same kid who purposefully flung my locker open at the perfect time to ram the corner of it into someone's head, essentially cutting open their forehead. "Oh, that's why you were almost expelled?" No, it's one of the many instances my intensity pushed it's way onto another person. One of the many instances that put me in an intervention with the vp and principal, police guy, etc. To put it mildy, I wasn't the most congenial of sorts.

My answer to that useless bulletin? It's nothing monumental or life inspiring:

People that should've been my friends in high school.

Really, I should have been. Instead I moved a couple thousands of miles away to develop friendships afterwards because I'm smart like that.

Still, after I posted that I thought to myself, "I would have never been friends with them either way." Why? I'm the person who finds it much easier to communicate via msn, email, lame myspace comments, facebook pokes and whatever else. I'm awkward in person, I have zero conversation, I have ADD tendencies and I stutter. Yep, I stutter. You'd be surprised to know your "friend" Whitney was in speech therapy in elementary school to stop the st-st-st-stuttering.

Moving away has improved my socialness (is that a word?). I'm working on what happens when I start meeting/reuniting with a lot of these people when I see them next summer. If it worked for Shane and I (meeting online and then in person) then surely it can work for someone who I see as having just friend potential, right? Right? It better, or else I'm stuck in high school.

Ciao.

P.S. I know, skimming through a few posts, that I mispell and my grammer is often horrible. Keep in mind that my corpus collasum is probably about as useful as a male's, so my multi-tasking is bound to be non-existent. I never truly focus 100% on posts through completion; I wish my life was so dull that I didn't have a million things to do. Since I over explained as I often to, the bottom line is I'm making mistakes, but I see no reason to correct them. I won't pretend to be perfect, don't expect me to be.

25 Things I've Noticed

2006-12-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

So, being this has been a busy month, I've spent about (cringing as I type this) $400 on eBay for Christmas shopping since December....7th. Yes, I'm a maniac. Okay so my first sentence is rather fragmented, but what I was going to say was I've noticed 25 things this week, and I'd like to document them.

I don't guard my expressions as much as I thought I did.
Some people really have no spine. I'm not talking literally, but they've got no back bone when it comes to telling the truth, no matter how bitter it tastes.
I have the tendency to be a label whore. For example, I find myself never buying bottled water that isn't a brand I like (ie: Aquafina, Evian, or Fiji). It doesn't matter that the store-brand bottled water is probably just as refreshing, at $0.50 less than the name-brand; I'm just picky. I admit this with some shame, as the idea of buying something I could have for free (albeit, it tastes grimy from our tap) is rather obnoxious indeed.
I'm a leader too often of the time. I feel like a lot of people have no idea what they're doing when it comes to anything, and I have to coach them through it, often planning the entire thing myself. An example? A friend of mine was telling me that he was going to propose to my friend. I took the reigns and steered us my way, with me picking out the ring, going over his proposal idea and immediately rejecting it and telling him exactly what he should do. Pompous? I didn't realize how rude I could be.
I have a guilty pleasure with listening to Mandy Moore's original hit "Candy" over and over to the point of insanity.
Some people genuinely think that turning their bass up to earthquake-esque "booms" is sexy.
I rushed into accepting the librarian position at work without knowing exactly what it entailed.
Fixer-upper homes sound more appealing than a beautiful home for the same price.
There really is no point in me owning a cell phone when I'm not fond of chatting on it and lose it on a weekly basis.
I have a new passion for autistic children and how amazingly intelligent they truly are.
I am seen as, to take the title from Jet, a cold hard bitch. I'm sorry to those who think that's who I am.
Double-sided tape is just annoying.
I find saying goodbye on msn is often dragged out to 5 minutes, so often I rudely just sign out while I'm being messaged.
There is nothing more beautiful than the transition from Fall to Winter in New England.
When it snows outside, mesh ballet shoes do not cut it on recess duty.
Netflix, as much as I adore them, LIES!
I have a floor in my room and it's beautiful.
I adore children and am becoming more open to the idea of adoption.
It defeats the purpose of bragging about your great-great-great grandfather when no one knows who Sitting Bull was.
I'm in my twenties, still a virgin, and my little brother who just got his license lost his virginity before I did.
My dog is a douche.
I love the smell of clean linen spray.
I have two weeks until Christmas, I haven't sent out my cards yet, I haven't started on Shane's home-made gift yet and I missed an entire week from my second job because I had the flu, so I am missing out on moolah.
It should be pretty easy to tell what side of a turkey is facing up, but it isn't to me. Our Thanksgiving turkey was cooked upside down.
I'm in love with Christmas.

Ciao.

Deers again

2006-11-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

My mom is happy. She went to Istanbul last week, for a week, and is happier than I've seen her since..forever. She's in love, she is being valued - mind and body. It makes me happy for her, she's just hit forty and deserves to be in love for once.

Shane and I spent Saturday night with Crystal (Preggo) and Tristian. It was interesting, her and I cooked a yumo meal, complete with four cheese ravioli in marinara, hamburgers, garlic bread and corn. It was an interesting meal. Anyway, because we live in towns that offer just one working traffic light, we ventured north to Walmart. Amazing.

As we drove back on one of the little back woods roads (the one that boasts Little Canada Rd!) we came across two deer, grazing in the grass next to the road. I can admit that ever since our literal run-in with the deer last month, I've been very wary of driving on the interstate at night. When we came across the deer, I caught my breath. We ended up turning around, going back and just looking at them, in the dark, with the only soundtrack being the cliche crickets chirping and owls whoing. It was serene, it was nice.

When Shane and I finally left that night, we took the interstate. I wanted to caution Shane to drive a little under the speed limit, but then I realized that if it's supposed to happen again, it will. I don't want to know I'm responsible if I ask him to slow down and this causes us to hit a deer again. I still feel guilty about that deer, and I still have nightmares about it. I can't get out of my head the sight of a huge brown blur flying in front of us, from the left side of the car, and all the blurs we saw as the car spun. I'm scared, and it's humbling to admit that.

Ciao.

195th

2006-11-10T22:41:00.000-05:00

So I guess this is my 195th post published, according to blogger beta. Actually, it's much more, as I deleted a few handfuls frantically, paranoid that someone I knew would come across this site and read things I don't want read. It's one of the reasons I don't list my blog on my myspace or facebook pages. Anyways.

It's Friday, for another hour and a half, and I am keeping my promise with posting. It's kind of sad though, a lot of the people I started blogging with have disappeared (ahem, ahem Leif, Miriam, there are more but I'm lazy). Depressing, I tell you what. I mean, I remember in December of 04, harrassing Leif on his blog as I was very angry for no apparent reason, and then when he traveled to the U.S. in October of last year and we went to Yale. That was fun, eh? Wow, off topic, but yeah. Blogging has become lame since the people I blogged back and forth with have died or something. My blog posts are missing comments after the stalker and the Aussies stopped commenting. I don't care, really, I just feel lonely.

This blog seems lame- I almost want to scrap it, but I'm sentimental. This blogged followed me through mine and Shane's relationship. I posted a lot of personal posts. (Most of which have been deleted, so should you feel the urge to search through past posts - HA! You'll only find lame posts.) I've resigned myself to viewing blogs of people I don't know, since other people don't keep up with theirs (AHEM, Josh, Chris, Sona, Crystal, etc, etc). I've followed a couple women through their pregnancies, some through lawsuits, divorces, and other things that are monumental in one's life. Sometimes, it makes me feel claustrophic, trapped on the merry-go-round of life, never able to jump off. (Unless it's off a cliff, thus killing myself. I don't see this in my future, so no worries.) I'm moving on with my life, making essential career and relationship decisions that have made me happier than I've probably been all of this year. But I'm scared of failing. Failure has always been my biggest enemy; I've avoided people so much that I have agoraphobia symptoms. I've made crucial decisions in deciding what I want to do with my life because I'm scared of failing. I've hurt people when I've tried to project everything I could fail while keeping the friendship. Failure is a pain. In everyway imaginable. Gah, I'm depressing.

Ciao.

So, pretty much, I'm lame

2006-11-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, let's just pretend I never even mentioned trying to post every Friday. I can't even tell you what I was doing Friday.

So, a few nights ago, I get a call from some chick who talks too fast for me to fully comprehend every word she is saying. Frances, maybe. It sounded like mumbo jumbo to me. Anyhow, here's basically what she said,

"Hi Whitney, I just wanted to say congratulations! This is Francemumbojumbo from Mumbojumbo Company and since you entered your name into one of our sweepstakes, we just wanted to congratulate you and your fiance on the free honeymoon you've won! You've won our Ultimate Bridal Package and we anticipate your phone call to follow up on everything you are recieving! Call us at 1.888.80.BRIDE with [confirmation number]. Again, congratulations to you and your fiance! I have wonderful news for you!"

Wonderful news?! You sure do have wonderful news for me, Frances! It's definitely news to me that I'm:

1. unknowingly entering my personal phone line into illegitimate sweepstakes,
2. already planning my honeymoon and
3. engaged.

Engaged?! I'm engaged? That is amazing news to me! Thanks Frances! I must've been asleep for that ride!

So, my incessant cynicism kicks in after I've jumped with glee that I am engaged and never knew it! I call the number, on a Sunday, and hear that I'm connected to Royal Prestige. I leave a brief message, basically saying that I would very much appreciate a call back.

After I hang up, I jump onto the computer and search Royal Prestige. A cookware company, Google dutifully informs me after a moment. I didn't realize I could win honeymoons from people who sell waterless/greasless cooking sets.

To my dismay (heh, heh), I see that this link is one of the first things Google spits out. After scanning, I am a wee bit concerned and visit a few other sites, like www.ripoffreport.com and search Royal Prestige.

Basically, they're going to call me back and say "Oh, all you need to do is go to one of our presentations and you'll win a free 3 day/2 night honeymoon wherever you want."

My first reaction is, now why do I want to go to a high-pressure sales pitch, buy some pots that are more expensive than what I plan on spending for a honeymoon (I've seen $3500 for a measly set of pots), just so I can get this free honeymoon voucher (Airfare included? I think not!) for two whopping days when I would rather do this and rest assured that this seller is Square Trade verified (similar to the bbb and I will get my money back should this not work, which, judging from their feedback, it should work). And can you beat $49? Maybe, if it was $48, but I couldn't find that.

But! I am going! I'm going to listen to the high-pressure speech, refuse when they offer me their craptastic cookware, and ask them how they recieved my phone number. Knowing my stubborness and big mouth, I'll probably say a thing or two when they say "Only 2% interest if you finance with us..." when their contracts state it is 2% each month, thank you very much. They offer a no-return policy, so...RED FLAG! But I'll go, open my mouth, maybe get kicked out...all in all, it should be a jolly good time.

Fifty-Nine

2006-10-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Santa,

It is my dearest wish that you bring Christmas early this year.

Please.

Pretty please, with sugar on top.

Love,

Whitney

Ah-Ha! I'm On Time!

2006-10-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

I guess I shouldn't be too ecstatic, but...meh. I'm happy that I have the day off today. This week, with the exception of today, I've had 12 hour days of work, but thankfully it isn't dragging on me....yet. I've got my eyes on the prize. I work tomorrow, whenever I get up I guess. Sunday off, thank you Jesus.

I'm having one helluva time trying to find maternity pants for Preggo. Oh boy. She wears scrubs for her job as a LNA, but is in need of maternity pants. Ebay has them, but there is no way I'm spending $40 on a pair of used preggo pants when I have Wally-World at my disposal, and for a good deal less. Yeah, I'm cheap, but so what. I don't make buckets of money.

I took a GRE Psychology Pre-test today. I got about five correct. Awesome.

I have neglected my Sims 2 characters for so long, I think they need some TLC, so I'm a sign off......

Ciao!

TGIF

2006-10-20T22:39:00.000-04:00

Truly, Thank God it's Friday.

Other things to be thankful for?

1. Schedules. Which leads me to the new purpose of this blog. Rather, a "wing" of sorts. My blog has lost a lot the spunk I had. Well, to be exact, the spunk I still have and never put onto the blog. Where was I? Ah, yes. Schedules. Because I seem to be following a 50 hour work week schedule now, I've found I acclimate to schedules fairly (and notably) well. Before my hapless attempts at writing on something outside of my life supersede what really matters (to me at least. Don't read this if you don't want to know about my life anymore. I'm no martyr of sorts for any real cause. I feel no reason to pretend otherwise) I'm going to make a plan for me. Odds are against me, due primarily to the fact that, frankly, my memory sucks. I probably won't remember to post, I'll forget I have a blog until Blogger suddenly and befittingly emails me to let me know they have deleted my account. And then I'll probably make a new one. But I've had this one for almost two years, I'm too lazy to start up a entirely new blog. Bah. My new schedule consists of me posting Fridays, after I've finished two jobs and will have probably fallen asleep once before 10:00 when I am right at the end of an excellent movie...yeah, like tonight. But it's 10:47 and I'm running anew on a York Peppermint Patty. Thank you, chocolate.

2. I am thankful that I have things to be thankful for. Almost two weeks ago, Shane and I narrowly missed having deer meat ride along with us (along with a windshield) to a hospital, unsure of whether the blood dripping down our faces is our own. Okay, maybe that was a bit grotesque. Oh well.

3. I am thankful for a second job like mine. I mean, $10/hr, I choose my hours, and I already know and admire the team. How awesome is that? Très awesome, I tell you.

4. Ben and Jerry's. My two favorite men got it right with their many eclectic but glorious chocolate combinations. First Vermonty Python and then Chubby Hubby? When did life get this good?

5. Netflix. Sure, they have gypped (is that word even politically correct? I know it refers to gypsies...but really, that's what they do...so I am deciding it works) me a few times by "losing" a dvd I sent them, so I send them an email begging for their mercy and can I please have Grey's Anatomy Season 2's disk number 3? Thanks muchos.

6. Family. Sure, having a huge family sucks ("No, aunt Carlotta, I didn't say that cousin Kyle was knocking up another under age girl...yes, I know you heard it from aunt Robin, but trust me I didn't say that...."), but they are the first to come to your aid when you're in trouble. Not that I have been in, but they've helped me out in recent weeks with issues that are troublesome but not in a bad way. If that even makes sense, because to me, it doesn't.

7. Discovering I had another $2 in the back pocket of my levis. Boo yeah.

8. Fall. I can't described how it looks at 8am, driving along the Connecticut River as the fog starts to ascend from the river, revealing an amazing reflection of the beautiful trees as they change color. If my memory didn't suck so much, I'd remember to bring my camera.

9. Cotton socks. Call me crazy, but whenever I used to wear them I'd feel claustrophobic within a few minutes. I think I've healed a bit. True, I can now only wear them for about an hour before my feet start twitching for air and chilliness, but for that one hour I am extremely cozy.

10. The approaching winter. Haha to you Coloradans who got some snow early, sucks to be you! I can probably only tease for a few more weeks before I am up to my knees in white, trying make the journey from my front door to my frozen-shut car while I gripe and mutter under my breath at the New England winters. But I'm thankful for it? Why? It's one more sign that Christmas will be here eventually. Boy, how I love Christmas.

Ciao!

Scary....

2006-10-09T20:29:00.000-04:00

It was 7:30, we were getting off of the highway in our coworker's car after dropping Sona off at the airport in CT. My car decided to not work this morning, so Shane had to postpone an appointment he had with Aflac to drive to the airport and back with me.

We're getting off of I-91 and it's dark out, as fall sets in. In a flash, I start screaming as I see a brown blur fly in front of us and Shane shouts, the car starts spinning, 55mph. I feel the car start to spin onto one side, as if it's about to tip over and hear Shane struggling to gain control of the car. We hit a deer that ran in front of us.

Shane gains control and veers us off to the side of the road. I've never been so shaken in my life and can't control my breathing. Shane's holding me, trying to settle me down, but I lost it. I feel my throat start constricting, signalling an impending asthma attack (I have stress-induced asthma).

All in all, it took an hour for me to stop stuttering, stop crying and stop shaking. Shane was amazingly calm, his heart wasn't racing like mine, his breathing was normal, but I was a wreck.

Speaking of wrecks, our co-workers car is amazingly alright. The headlights on my side were ripped out and the hood is all dented up, but it could've been worse. If I had been driving, I know I would've panicked and lost control, sending the car into those flips that almost happened.

And the funny thing is, if my car hadn't been a douche this morning, I would've driven home all alone.

Ciao.

P.S. Happy 2 years Shane, today, October 9th!

Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, BLOG.....

2006-10-04T18:37:00.000-04:00

Life is wonderful lately. Doctor prescribed me more ranitidine but I've yet to fill the $65 prescription because, I'm broke. I have muscle spasms due to a possible fracture somewhere in my back according to my doc....going to get $1,000 worth of x-rays soon and start physical therapy. YAY!

But that's kind of sad stuff, not how I wanted to start the bloggity blog blog.

My new PC (yes, a PC, Laura, I hate Macs!!! I hate that rainbow spinning beach ball! Gah!) is so amazing. It has so many gadgets, I love it obsessively.

The next 12 months are shaping to be the best of my life, I'm intensely excited!

Picking up a second job, so I will have a good 50 hours under my belt, whoo hoo!

This weekend, in celebration of my birthday, the Sona and the Preggo are spending a beautifully glorious weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and MONDAY!) of Ben & Jerry's, movies, mudslides (the drink, not the activity, though that would be fun) and mischief. Plus, lots of yummo fried ravioli with marinara and vodka sauce, mushroom and cheese tortellini and nachos courtesy of my amazing cooking skills. I am so amazing, don't be jealous that you don't get wonderful red welts on your hands when frying ravioli in burning hot olive oil.

In other fantabulous news, I just spent $20 at the Bump N Dent and got TONS of food....like buttloads. It's amazing too.

Ciao.

TGFSM

2006-09-27T18:09:00.000-04:00

Thank God for small miracles, like:

1. Nutella. Oh my goodness, good lordy. The store here FINALLY got some, I'm going crazy!

2. Ending the work day early enough to catch "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network.

3. Heather...small and a miracle after generations of all boys.

4. Spending time with pregnant women. God love them.

5. Ranch Wheat Thins. All I gotta say.

6. Having good blood pressure, 116/64

7. Cooking a big Italian feast with minimal oil burns.

8. Telling a few people a secret and not hearing it around the world in a few hours.

9. The Sims 2

10. Netflix and their timing.

Ciao.

Headache

2006-09-23T22:10:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, Whitney is in a mood. Because I have articulation issues, I find music to be my voice. Please ignore the eclectic assortment. This is mainly for me, but might help some of you know what's going on with me lately.

You and I have been through many things.

I'll hold on to your heart.

I wouldn't cry for anything,

But don't go tearing your life apart.

"Cry" - James Blunt

Most of us are sad

No one lets it show

I’ve been shadows of myself

How was I to know?

"Most of Us Are Sad" - Eagles

Which of the standard lines will we use?

I've been meaning to call you

I've just been so busy

We'll catch up soon

Lets make it a point to...

"Hope You're Happy" - Dashboard Confessional

I wanna be the first to call and tell you

Yesterday I heard the news

I hear you oughtta be congratulated

So I guess that's what I'll do

"Happy for You" - Saving Jane

Why do fools fall in love?

Why do birds sing so gay?

And lovers await the break of day

Why do they fall in love?

"Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" - Frankie Lymon

Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was good friend of mine.

I never understood a single word he said but I helped him drink his wine.

He always had some mighty fine wine.

Sing it Joy to theworld...all the boys and girls now ,

joy to the fishies in the deep bluesea and joy to you and me.

"Joy to the World" - Three Dog Night...

Okay that last one was added just because the song popped up on my itunes

and made me jump out of my "emo" mood.

Just to clarify any questions, Shane and I are wonderful

(as unhappy as some of you may be at hearing that, but get over it),

none of these songs reflect my feelings on our relationship.

Arrivederci.

4 Weeks So Far.....

2006-09-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

Don't mind the weirdness of my pose in this picture. It's Crystal, on the left, and me on the right while we were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina... (ignore the dates, the only accurate one is the first black and white one)

Again, ignore my weird look, I was burnt and I think I wasn't prepared for this pic (from left, Me, Mama, Crystal)

This is me and Crystal...(notice a theme? You'll see why...)

So, me on the left, Crys on the right....this is old school fabulous.

**************

Crystal, my cousin and practically a sister is pregnant. She's about a month along now, and I can't help but be overjoyed.

I love you Crystalski! You are amazing, so beautiful and honest; you will make an amazing mother! I can't wait to be there for you when you need me (and when you dont, haha). I am so honored to be a part of this child's life and I look forward to holding your hand or being another ear when you need someone to grouch to. You've blessed my life so much, I couldn't help my bawl when you told me first. You are such a wonderful, gorgeous individual; this child will be so loved! I'm excited for you and Tristian as you go through this together. I will keep your health and your child's health in my prayers always! I'm ecstatic to be there for you when you give life and all the years after. I don't know how else to say it, I just adore you! Let's go to Little Canada Road and celebrate your Preggoness!

Ciao.

Worms and Birthdays

2006-09-13T09:23:00.000-04:00

My puppy (Albert) has worms. I was in the shower, getting ready for work, when Shane came in and told me that he's relieved himself (that'd be #2) in front of the front door, five minutes after he'd been out for a potty break. He said that tons of worms were visible and that my mom (who was home because it was Sarah's first day of kindergarten) said there was a possibility Albert passed them on to us.

For a while, I've been feeling a bit under the weather, nauseous, dizziness and experiencing weird back pain that takes away my breath when I go from a sitting up position to laying down. I set up a doctor's appointment (my first in a year and a half, my last one from when I was in Colorado). After all, my prescriptions for ranitidine and naproxen had run out last July, and I definitely need ranitidine for my ulcer. Anyway, I made the appointment (happy now, Sona?) after trying to put it off as much as possible, due to the expenses that will incur (the 300mg variant I use of ranidine is an expensive prescription), luckily, I'll be able to check the worms thing out too. Still, it's almost two weeks away, September 25th, so that I have enough time to have my records mailed to New Hampshire.

While I'm here and you're reading, I'm having a party on October 7th for my birthday, so if you're in the area, let me know via Shane's cell, as mine is lost and/or broken. I'll be cooking a lot of Italian food, and if Sona comes she's making baklava (right? ha) so it should be a good time.

Ciao.

EQs, IQ's and High School

2006-09-10T00:22:00.000-04:00

I recently took an EQ test with work (which is supposedly set up similarily to an IQ, with the same scoring method). I scored a 140, which I guess is handy because I plan on applying those skills in my future career. I got the same score when I did an IQ test and thought it might've been wrong, so I took it again. I still got the same score though. I'm told that usually, one has a higher EQ than IQ or the other way around?

I have to say, I was terribly intimidated by the IQ one. Anything that measured skills, intelligence or knowledge always scared me. When I took my ACT in Colorado, I got a 30 overall, which wasn't very impressive (for me). I did horrible in my English, but fairly okay in Math, which shocked me as I'd been placed in the wrong math class my freshman year (Math A for all you Broomfield kids who read this) and wasn't in Geometry until my Junior year. Then, I took a mediocre math (problem solving), for my first semester in high school and graduated early after that. My freshman counselor had lost all my records and asked how I liked math (Mr. Johnson, I think his name was) and I said it was okay, so he put me in Math A, with all the slower kids. So, getting a 33 in Math was a feat for me (http://www.act.org/standard/planact/math/index.html I am too lazy for links), since I'd known so little on math in the first place. But yeah, English wasn't spectacular.

Anyhow, I never took the SAT's, never needed to, but they intimidate me as well. In high school, I was the kid who never took notes, rarely did homework on time, but aced tests....I mean, I'm sure some of you remember Advanced Placement U.S. History....and how I left after the first semester. (Lame, I know)...I'm lazy, I realize this and am vaguely bothered by it. But APUSH intimidated me, I felt her eyes boring into mine when she'd see I wasn't taking notes on her every word, and it didn't keep my interest.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my early graduation. I guess it's kind of sad that I still wonder if it was the right decision. I missed out on so much, and whenever I had to work in the afternoon, I would drop by the school to visit people. I missed it a lot, and my senior yearbook has two signatures, one from Sona, and one from Shane. (who didn't go to my school, who lived in Idaho!)

Meh. I guess I feel like I never was able to say good-bye to everyone. I might need closure. I was in Broomfield for years, I went to Kohl Elementary (yeah, Chris!), went to Broomfield Heights, and then Broomfield High. A handful of people in my graduating class were in my kindergarten class. I loved my class. I could've done without the cliques, but they did keep those people away from me, so I can't complain too much.

Ah, as I just told Laura, I'm a bundle of energy right now. If I tested my W.P.M., I'm sure it'd be in the hundreds (with an equal amount of mistakes). My back is killing me, my neck has been craned towards my nightstand - the temporary resting place for my monitor until I buy a desk. My cat is fat and taking up my half and hers on the bed.

On a completely unrelated side note, the power turned off at around 9pm tonight. I took Alaberto for a walk and discovered that our whole town's power had gone out. Including street lights and traffic signals. It was interesting to see crazy people driving.

Another unrelated side note, I never, ever edit my posts. Not for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or what have you. I guess you could file it as me being lazy, but I also see no need to edit what I say, misspelled words and all. Ti amo!

Ciao.

Thinking....

2006-09-03T23:30:00.000-04:00

Today, two people from my graduating class got engaged. Another one was married last April and has a son coming any day now. A third friend (who was my "exclusive" best friend for ten years) has a two year old.

It blows my mind, me, realizing that I've been out of high school for a year and 9 months, but I still feel...I dont know....young.

Now, I know....technically, I am young. I'm a month away from my twentieth birthday, still without a degree and relatively healthy. But sometimes, I still feel like that insecure girl, still unsure if the boy in her homeroom liked her. The girl who thought going out to lunch was a blessing. The girl who used to pick fights and slam girls heads into lockers (ah yes, the good ol' days).

However, the people who I knew as my friends, the ones who encouraged me to talk to the boy, who drove me to lunch, and who stuck up for me in detention have changed. It's like everyone is growing up around me and I'm...not really regressing, but...like my life is on pause. I have tons of things I want to do, but every time I try to do one of those things, I'm unable to.

An example? I upon what FAFSA decided to aid me with. I'm not going to be proud; I needed financial aid to go to school. My job won't pay a fifth of my tuition, nevermind everything else that goes along with college. FAFSA said they recieved my application, but my school later said FAFSA denied my application. After looking at their website, they said they never recieved it. I found out just days before the deadline for financial aid, so I'm going to have to rapplied for college, for the fall semester last April. My enrollment was contingent eapply for everything all over again to be considered for Spring.

Back to my friends, I had my circle. There was the one I could do anything, say anything to. We're still close, thankfully, but distance is a major problem. Another friend, we promised we would stay in touch. Now, I'm lucky if we send an occasional text message to one another...every six months or so. The final friend I was extremely close to. Even talking to them over messenger now hurts, just because we've lost that feeling, the same one I confided in every single day.

The first friend is doing something with her life, she's doing something she's wanted ever since I met her. The second ended up with the guy she's loved for five years, and the third is doing some amazing things with their life, spirtually and mentally.

And I'm here, in a job I love, but a job that is, admittedly, too much time. It's part time, but too much in the way that the schedule interferes with most other jobs shifts (ie: I can't get a second job). The people at work are great, the kids are excellent, but I'm not going anywhere. Because I'm in a forced union arrangement, I get no raise. I just work the same hours, for the same amount, for 180 days of the year, for however many years I work.

Shane and I probably wont get married for a few more years, which adds to the pile of things I want to happen now, but I know wont. I actually want to go to college. I want to travel abroad. I want a job that gives me the luxury of health insurance. I want so much, but I feel that I'm stuck, unable to achieve any of my goals.

Ciao

Citizenship

2006-08-26T22:54:00.000-04:00

So, good news on something random.

My great-grandmother, Nicola Barbatti, was born in this town, Grisolia, in Italy in 1907. She passed away when I was six, but was kind of the family matriarch on my mom's side of the family. After she passed, my grandfather, her son, started searching for the town she was from. At the time, we believed it to be called Grazolia, Italy, as it had a "z" before World War II. He searched until he passed away, in 2000.

At dinner, tonight with my mom, we started talking more and more about grandmother Nicola and how if we had her birth certificate, we'd be able to apply for Italian citizenship.

When we came home, I looked up Grazolia, and then I remembered how some cities had their z changed to an s after World War II and tried Grasolia. No luck....but when I was about to quit (we had believed this town to be demolished after the German's attacked it, so there was little hope we'd find it in the first place), I tried to change the a to an i, realizing a lot of words are pronounced as an a in Italian but are spelt with an i. It worked, I found the cities main site, which was remarkable because it's a small, poor town.

Anyhow, I drafted an email to the town's office to figure out if I could obtain the birth records. It will be a little tricky, as we're not 100% certain that her last name was Barbatti. We know when she arrived in America, it was spelt Barbetti, but she always pronounced it as Barbatti. Also, I'm not sure if the Catholic Church there saved their records, as it was burned (supposedly) in the war. Luckily, we know her father, Fioravante, was a cobbler there, and apparently had a very large family, a good percentage of the town, which would help us track down any record of Nicola.

When I told my madre everything, she about cried, exclaiming, "Dad searched his entire life for this!" She's super excited, as I am, because if I gain Italian citizenship, there will be no issues when I purchase property there someday, and visiting wouldn't be such an issue...plus, it'd just be cool to be an italian citizen!

Accident Pictures

2006-08-26T02:02:00.000-04:00

So, if you want to see pictures from my mom and little brother's accident....well, I don't have any.

However, I have something better:video. Actually, I couldn't find my digital camera when we went to look at the car, so we grabbed Shanes.

He edited it, and it's actually kind of funny.

My brother, the one who was in the accident, is wearing the orange shirt (yes, the one with the umbrella).

The first few seconds are kind of slow footage but it goes on a bit, and shows basically everything in the car. It's kind of gross, just to warn you, at the beginning, all the fur is the moose fur, there are parts that show the moose feces and bodily fluids with the McDonalds cup. Still, it's not really bad.

It plays Enya, so mute your speakers, ha.

Pictures....

2006-08-25T11:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, after the worst traveling experience of my life, I thought I would give some pointers for what to avoid when traveling...

When boarding a four hour shuttle at 2AM, don't automatically assume the person sleeping against the window in the back wants you to nudge them awake to start talking about philosophy.
Also, on a shuttle at 3am, don't call the boyfriend you haven't talked to in two years and giggle into the phone when you find that they, like a good portion of west coasters, were asleep. Additionally, don't continue to giggle and chat so loudly that the people in the car behind the shuttle can hear you, and please, don't exclaim, "Oh my God!" every twenty seconds.
If you see someone waiting outside the airport, sucking on an inhaler, don't take that as your initiative to sit next to them while you go through four or five cigarettes, especially while the wind is blowing the smoke in their direction.
If you happen to vomit while on an airplane and you're facing a window when you do, don't close the shade and wait for the person who comes on the plane after you to vomit from seeing the window when all they wanted was a view.
When you're on a plane with your children after the flight has been delayed for 5 hours, pay attention when your child (who is right next to you!) uses the back of the chair of the person in front of them as their own trampoline. This should especially be avoided when it is close to midnight.
If you are a child on a plane with the same situation as #5, don't assume the person in front of you wants you to stick your sweaty foot on their arm rest and stretch your foot so you're rubbing it against their elbow.
With the new security changes, don't blow your top when, in security, they take your evian bottle of water and tell you that they have to dispose of it. It's a bottle of water, millions of vendors in the airport sell the same thing (granted, they unfairly jack up the price twice as much). But honestly, is a $1.45 bottle of water worth holding up everyone behind you? No.
When in the Chicago airport, don't sit next to someone when you have every intention of talking about African Americans in a less than complimentary way. Avoid this in airports like Chicago when about half of the travelers are of African descent.
When people are boarding the plane, and you rushed so you could be the first in your row (in an aisle seat no less), don't expect everyone else in your row (a grandmother and an irritable italian) climb over your 6'4 body to sit in their seats. It is too much of a stretch to stand up in the aisle for a few seconds?
When traveling on a plane and the time is any time late (for example, 2:19am), don't turn the controls of the person who is sleeping next to you. They don't want you to turn their light on and off repeatedly, and they don't want you to turn their air on full blast when they're huddled under a blanket. Also, when listening to the airline radio, don't change the channel on their armrest (and turn the volume up) so that Cyndi Lauper screams into their ear drums.

Well, I could go on and on and on, except thinking about those experiences makes me mad, so I'll just highlight the rest of my trip with pictures.

I went to my father's house in Idaho Falls, Idaho....

Played in the yard...

Terrorized the annoying ankle-biter....

Went to padre's cabin in Island Park, Idaho

Narrowly missed a huge accident on our way to Yellowstone National Park

Was greeted with this sign as we drove in...(I love the cartoon, it's classic)

Took pictures of the inside of the park....

Hung out with my dad by some hot springs.....

Came dangerously close to some bison...

Saw Old Faithful...........

Found a 6 by 6 elk (six points on each antler, the biggest they get) skipping toward me....

But thankfully had him walk right by me....

And watched him chow down...

Had pictures taken with a drunk-looking Goliath....

And bad pictures with a scared-looking Goliath.....

Hung out during the day with my sister Courtney....

Went four-wheeling (not with her on my lap)...

Fed Goliath some mac and cheese....

Had some fun with him...

And watched him get whooped by a cat....

Ciao.

Idaho

2006-08-10T09:13:00.000-04:00

Okay kids, here it is.

I'm leaving for Idaho Falls tomorrow morning at 6 and I won't be back until the 23rd (Wednesday). However, on the 23rd I have a flight from Salt Lake City to Denver, where I will arrive at noon and I have a four hour layover in my connecting flight to Chicago. So, if anyone from Denver wants to hang out or something, let me know. I won't be online much, if at all while in Idaho, but send me a text through this with your name and number. It goes right to my cell, so I don't have to give my number out for the world to see. I won't be checking my email, so this is the best way to contact me. Thanks.

Ciao.

I hate Moose

2006-07-28T17:53:00.001-04:00

Hey kids, wont be on for a long time....

My mom and my little brother were in a car accident yesterday. They were in her convertible on the way to the beach, on a highway (going 60mph) when a moose ran out in front of the car. He flew through their windshield, and the car cut the huge thing in half, sending the other half of the moose across the hood, ripping the top off the car completely. Luckily, they both had bent over to brace themselves, the shattered windshield ripped apart the seats behind them, basically they would have beem impaled had they not bent. The car is completely totaled. My mom and Danny are fine, they have hundreds of spots on their skin from all little flecks of glass that hit them, and because the moose flew into the car, he rammed the tops of their heads really hard, so they have these crazy bumps. The paramedics on the scene said it was unbelievable lucky that they lived, especially in a convertible car.

As it is, my car is the sole transportation around here so I wont have much time between our work schedules to talk to anyone for a while. I miss you all! Call me if you want to talk or something.

Ti amo. Ciao.

2006-07-28T17:53:00.000-04:00

Hey kids, wont be on for a long time....

My mom and my little brother were in a car accident yesterday. They were in her convertible on the way to the beach, on a highway (going 60mph) when a moose ran out in front of the car. He flew threw their windshield, and the car cut the huge thing in half, sending the other half of the moose across the hood, ripping it off the car completely. Luckily, they both had bent over to brace themselves, the shattered windshield ripped apart the seats behind them, basically they would have beem impaled had they not bent. The car is completely totaled. My mom and Danny are fine, they have hundreds of spots on their skin from all little flecks of glass that hit them, and because the moose flew into the car, he rammed the tops of their heads really hard, so they have these crazy bumps. The paramedics on the scene said it was unbelievable lucky that they lived, especially in a convertible car.

As it is, my car is the sole transportation around here so I wont have much time between our work schedules to talk to anyone for a while. I miss you all! Call me if you want to talk or something.

Ti amo. Ciao.

Crocodiles....

2006-07-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

Yay for holding my laptop battery outlet in long enough to post a blog.

Nothing much happening, I'm watching the Animal Planet with Sarah when a Crocodile Hunter show came on. Sarah loves watching the animal planet and is hooked on the Meerkat Manor show they've got going on, so I figured she would appreciate Steve Irwin's high energy.

Of course, we happened to catch the one episode where his favorite croc, Mary, passes away. So, while Steve is bending over the dead animal, bawling his eyes out, I look over and see a sheen of tears on Sarah's face. Great job Whitney is what I'm thinking.

I'm no fan of the crocodile either, but I'm still not surprised to find myself crying. I'm emotional; when I see someone else in distress, I happen to react the same. Sarah, my five year old sister, is very embarrassed of her tears, probably due to her life before we adopted her, so I still feel like crap. How do I repair the damage? By watching the following show, The Most Extreme Biters. Where, currently, Hippos are the number two most extreme biters....anyhow, she digs this scary stuff, ooing and ahing every few minutes. It's pretty great.

Ciao.

10 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

2006-07-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

In light of how stressed I've been, I decided to write a blog about...well, 10 things that made me smile this week...(not in any particular order)

Arguing with a second grader, on a bus on a field trip on Friday, about who smelled the stinkiest...
Watching my very first Bond movie
Realizing that the library in town has decent stock in books and its free to check them out
The Colbert Report
Seeing a grown man hug his mentally retarded, 10-year old brother and kiss him on the top of his head
Making Italian Pane Tostato Dolce....and having Shane happily devour it
Finding that we had biscotti in a cupboard that no one else has touched yet
Having my laptop work for the first time in four days
Seeing that of the 214 messages in my email inbox, I had to view only two of them
Watching the Food Network

Ciao

The Emergency Room Visit

2006-07-08T20:41:00.000-04:00

So, Shane was playing softball last night and a ball went down third base line. He didn't hear everyone saying, "let it go! It's a foul ball!" and he dove for it. Unfortunately, he over-dove and landed sideways, with his right hip landing on top of the ball.

I wasn't there, I just got the call immediately after I posted my last post on here. I ran to the hospital and was upset to see that he was sitting in a wheelchair, in the waiting room for over an hour still, and hadn't been seen.

I could tell he was in a lot of pain, he couldn't laugh without going completely white. He had to wear headphones with loud music so he couldn't hear Ethan (who was on his team, and brought him to the hospital himself) and I cracking jokes. Shane, Ethan, and I pretty much can't go two minutes in each other's company without making a joke about something, Ethan especially. Two hours into waiting, a doctor finally agrees to see Shane, and just pokes him in a few places, gives him a hospital gown to wear and leaves us for another 45 minutes. Someone comes in and gives Shane a percocet and motrin cocktail and leaves us for a half hour. Finally, another person rolls Shane in to get x-rays and we wait for a full hour after for someone to tell us what's wrong. In total, Shane arrived at the hospital at 8pm and we didn't leave until after midnight.

Shane basically fractured one of his ribs and has a hip contusion. He got a prescription for some painkillers that I have prescriptions for, so we decided to save money and let him have my supply. He's feeling okay, one of the doctors gave him some codeine so he's basically slept all day, but he's really stressed about paying for the bill.

We have no health insurance because it's too expensive, and I have no clue what it's all going to cost. Because work has been done since July 16th, we haven't gotten another paycheck and we're not getting one for another month. If you could just keep Shane in your prayers, I would definitely appreciate it.

Ciao.

Whitney Blake, Co

2006-07-07T20:09:00.000-04:00

So...I'm thinking of applying for a job here:

http://whitneyblake.com/facilities.html

Because, not only is it only a mile from where I live in the same town (view the first location), we have the same name...I just have a hyphenated last name...so it doesn't end at Whitney Blake....

Nope, my last name isn't Frechette, like my blogname....there's a long complicated story with how one of my ancestors, a Frechette, was a draft dodger and took his dead best friend's last name, Blake so he could stay home with his wife. I can hardly blame him for his cowardice, as he was a Frenchie, but yeah...that's how I'm a Blake. I chose Frechette for my blogger name only because I'd used Blake so much, and I was technically a Frechette.

But still, I could be a mascot or something for this company, right?

2006-07-06T01:19:00.000-04:00

Shane has a new blog...

http://TheIP.itscause.com

I'd fix my linkage and add a couple others but my laptop is being a flamer....until I get a new computer, I can only use the computer for 45minutes at a time because my "long-life" lithium ion battery is dying and the laptop sparks and shocks me slightly when I plug in the power adapter....so don't expect anything amazing (not like you should anyhow :D) for a while.

Time for random pictures from the last few weeks:

I did say random, right? We found this on our car hood outside the local pizzeria one night...yep, that's right- I still have Idaho license plates...it's only been....ten months?

Craptastic picture of downtown BF, from one side while in a car, turning

My brother doesn't realize that when putting a convertible hood down, you need to remove all the objects that are in the spot where the glass goes..so the glass busted

Crystal and Tristian moved into their new apartment, and I helped them this weekend and part of this week. We spent July Fourth over there, as seen in the following pictures.

Crystal and I (hair in the face, lovely, mhm)

I made this really good pie...chocolate crust, caramel bottom layer, chocolate fluff middle layer, and whipped cream on top with chocolate and caramel squirts...it wasn't as rich as it sounds, but it was delish.

Part Two is below

Part Deux

2006-07-06T01:00:00.000-04:00

Pity that blogspot only allows me to post so many pictures...so here are the rest:

Tristian carving the chicken Crys and I made...we made a feast for July fourth, complete with roasted lemon/thyme/garlic rotisserie chicken, egg & potato salad, rolls, whole wheat stuffing, gravy and corn....

So cute you wanna barf

I love Crys's nephew, Deegan....

Shane's...interesting face....and I....(yes, I have a big nose, thanks...)

Ciao nerdos.

White Supremacy

2006-07-03T02:38:00.000-04:00

So this might seem bizarre, but I'm watching "Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race War: America Undercover" on A&E.

As taken from the A&E website description:

This documentary takes you inside to an actual neo-Nazi Skinhead organization for a extended look at the methods and mentality that fuel the White Power youth movement in America. Focusing on the Alabama-based Aryan National Front and its leader, Bill Riccio, this special features behind-the-scenes footage of group members in their rural commune, at a series of White Power rallies, at a cross-burning Skinhead/KKK "Unification Rally," and on the brink of extinction following the arrest of Riccio.

Along with my psychology degree, I've been toying with the idea of another in sociology. Shows like this intrigue me; not necessarily my reaction to the topic, but how people come to conclusions, like this, in which the Aryan race is the supreme of them all.

I know that I used to believe (back in my Sunday-only Christian days) that 99% of Skinheads were radical Christians, which was one major turn-off to the entire faith for me. I studied (gosh, how nerd-alerty am I?) groups like this later on, and upon watching this show, within the first five minutes, the main leader, Riccio bowed down to pray. Thankfully, the caption at the bottom proceeded to inform viewers that he was not praying to the Christian God, but the Norse God, Odin. Odin, in short, is considered to be the god of wisdom, war, battle and death.

Now, this interested me further. Because I know that many skinheads see lynching as a means to halt the growing African American population, I wondered where that started. I read further about Odin and his followers and came across this quote in an article referencing Odin:

People assembled from all over Sweden....Male slaves and males of each species were sacrificed and hanged from the branches of the trees.

Another quote on Odin:

His main objective seems to have been to track down and kill the
forest creature huldran. In these accounts, Odin was typically a lone huntsman, save for his two wolves. Originally, he was armed with a spear, but in later accounts this was sometimes changed to a rifle.

A huldran is a sneaky creature who happens to be completely black when not luring moral people to have sex with them. I wonder if this plays into this White-Power movement against African Americans.

Also, because the Skinheads look up to Hitler, and his picture was displayed throughout the "safe-haven" of the southern Skinheads, they obviously don't love Judaism. In fact, a quote directly from one of the leaders:

You know, if I'm going to hell, I want the job where I can hold a pitchfork and stab all the Jews that enter after me.

I wondered what the connection was to Odin and Germanic culture, relating to Hitler, so I looked that up. In a 13th century collection of Old Norse poems, several passages had Christian elements to them. Basically, Odin hangs himself for sacrificing and has his side pierced with a spear, which some-what resembles the crucifixion of Jesus. However, because Odin was hung by a rope from the tree and Jesus was nailed to a cross, the only similarity is that both were made of wood. History suggests that early Germanic Christians connected the story of Odin and the crucifixion of Jesus and saw them as the same. This theory is supported by poems depicting Christ as a Germanic warrior-king.

Around the time of World War II, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung released an essay on Richard Wagner (German essayist) and his comparison of Jesus and Odin's simiarities. And, just recently, the National Democratic Party of Germany released tee shirts declaring "Odin statt Jesus" (Odin rather than Jesus). Statistics show that they are more popular with the extreme right and Neo-Pagans, which sort of dismantles my previous naiveté on White Power groups and their seemingly overwhelming radical Christian population.

Let me just clarify that in no way do I agree or sympathize with this White Supremist movement, I was only curious as to why Odin was worshipped, when it seems these groups are often labeled as extreme/radical Christians.

Wow, if you read all that and wasn't bored to death with my rationalizing, congratulations? It's 2:37am right now, and I should be sleeping....but I wanted to hash all that out...let me know your thoughts.

Ciao.

Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin#Germanic_neopaganism

http://www.ststlocations.com/Archives/Scandinavian/Folklore/

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Odin_-_Medieval_reception/id/596862

http://www.cgjungpage.org/

http://www.trell.org/wagner/

http://www.answers.com/topic/german-christians

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Odin

GREAT MOVIE.

2006-06-30T17:43:00.000-04:00

Just so everyone knows, the new Adam Sandler movie, "Click" is an excellent movie. I highly recommend it.

I like Adam Sandler, he's funny, and to be honest, I didn't want to see this movie just because I had guessed the entire plot (or so I thought) before, by viewing the previews. It looked kind of lame, with the usual Adam Sandler jokes. I just wanted to see something with more substance. But this movie, in my opinion, was his best movie ever.

I bawled my eyes out for twenty minutes (it takes a lot for me to cry watching a movie), and even Shane teared up at one point (please don't kill me for telling people!). I didn't realize Adam Sandler had this kind of acting in him, and I refuse to share what made me cry so much, but it was excellent. Amazing. One of the best movies I've seen in years, I'm not even exaggerating. It's worth the crazy high costs theatres charge, I plan on buying it when it comes out.

Anyhow, see it, and tell me what you think.

Ciao.

It's Been A While

2006-06-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

It's been some time since I actually posted intelligent thought, I realize. I'll just catch up on a few key things.

Job

I officially finished the 2005-2006 school year at work almost two weeks ago. I'll be doing a summer program with the district that should be fun starting in July. I'll be tutoring kids Monday-Friday, with Friday comprising of 5 and a half hours of this program called TRAIL. I'll be doing that for four weeks and then I'll start work again in late August.

Family

My family is doing great, my brother is out here visiting for the summer, so it's been interesting.

Health

Probably the only horrible thing happening in my life right now. I can't afford my health insurance, hopefully when I start up with college, I'll have a better discount. I broke my big toe while camping, it doesn't hurt as much as it's uncomfortable and ugly. Also, this might be tmi for some people (if monthly cycles gross you out, skip down a topic), but I didn't have my cycle for five months straight and then it suddenly showed up, more painful than it has ever been. Since my painkiller prescription ran out, I'm chugging a bottle of advil constantly to dull some of it. I'm also having trouble swallowing food, when I do, I get a sharp pain in my back, just behind my esophagus.

Life (in general)

Is great. Shane and I are doing better than ever, we've been together for 18months now, and I feel closer to him than I've ever felt. We got the much-needed space (he now plays for a softball league and spends time with my guy friends and I have been doing more socially, with Crystal, Sona, whomever) that our relationship required, and we've adjusted to having our own bedrooms. It's great, really. I was afraid that I would miss having Shane to cuddle with at night, but my dog just smothers me instead.

Mine and Sona's website it moving along slowly, because someone is failing to give me more ideas on what to work on (that would be you, Sona).

My car hasn't had any real issues lately (except I still haven't recieved the check from the guy-who-hit-me's insurance company to repair the fender).

I'm feeling relatively healthy and my stress levels are low, which is always a good thing. My ulcer isn't bothering me too bad. There was one instance, where, at a family party I let shots of Jose Cuervo, Dr. McGillicuddy's, and Smirnoff get the best of me. I was fine that night, I didn't even get drunk, I was just really buzzed two separate times, tried to carry an inflatable mattress across a dew-slickened hill at 1am....that was interesting. I was fine that night, but was over a toilet in the morning. Serves me right. Oh well, at least I provided amusement for my extended family.

Ciao.

New

2006-06-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

New Website

I'm still learning about html, forgive the mess.

A Somewhat-Stalker?!

2006-06-11T16:35:00.000-04:00

Someone by the name of Cami (or Hannah, or Megan, or whatever other names she uses) has been, in her way, stalking Shane.

She added Shane to her msn messenger, then he blocked her. She got a new email and added him again, he blocked her. She's done this several times, over and over.

Today, while on technorati search, I decided to see who links to my blog. I found a few from Min and one from Leif, and one from Brian...then there was one I didn't recognize.

I'd list the blog address, but she already deleted it. I went there, and saw links to Shane's blog, as well as mine, when I have never met her or talked to her before.

I skimmed over her blog content and saw a lot of Shane adoration (Shane has never met this girl, and only spoken a handful of words to her). She referred to him as her best friend, took videos we made on myspace and posted them all, talked about him incessantly...it was very creepy. As I showed Shane each link, he became more and more annoyed and creeped out. Then, he told me that she was very stalker-like with him, and she told him firmly, "whoever your friends are, they are definitely mine too" before he blocked her.

Over the past few months, I've been having a lot of anonymous comments and comments from someone named Megan. I've discovered (through the wonderful world of tracking) that they were all from her, using different names.

I've learned that she's started linking a few of my friends as well, and possibly posting a lot of anonymous comments, harmless, but still creepy. She goes by Amber, Megan, Cami, Jess and Hannah, so keep your eye out.

I was getting annoyed with how creepy she was being (the whole puppy love/adoration for Shane was beyond being cute, it was very invasive, very disturbing), so I found her myspace (which, by the way, wasn't even her, it was her cousin's pictures, her words) and sent her an email. About an hour later, that myspace account was deleted, as is her blog. I've sent a few emails to her msn emails, but I've recieved no reply.

So, my blogger friends, if you're getting weird comments, ignore them, and I'm sorry if she's started reading your lives and making herself automatically a part of it.

Or stalk her back. Whatever.

Ciao

Photos

2006-06-11T14:16:00.000-04:00

Sona came up last weekend, I've been busy with my monster bedroom to post pictures, but here they are!

Sona and Kyle, after her and I got back from buying the boys pizza.

Here we all are, Shane the only one who's neglecting the camera. Next to bloated me is my little brother Danny, here for the summer.

Random black and white of Sarah getting her mange on.

Sona with the hunk of cheese from the girls' pizza. She's takes the cheese off of her pizza before eating...I guess it's cause she's Iraqi...

Yeah, so I don't really need to post useless pictures, but this is our pizza, girls' on the left, boys' on the right...extra sauce and green peppers vs. meat lovers...the grease makes me laugh.

Of course something was bound to go wrong while she was visiting, and this time it was her car....

We're leaving the pizza place, and a guy runs up to the car as we were about to pull out and bangs on the passenger window. I was sitting there, so, naturally I jumped out of my pants, wondering what it was for, when he pointed to Sona's tire. It was a fun ride home, that's for sure.

It took a little too long to jack the car up, we ended up calling Crystal and Tristian to help...

My brother tries to help Kyle.

Finally, we figure it out to get it jacked up enough to put the temp tire on....

We now realize that we don't have the right tool to take off the lug nuts, and Sona's parked just so she's blocking both of our cars in the driveway. We figure it out eventually, get the tire on and head to Wal-mart.

Brand-Spanking new outfits, how cute is it?

So happy, it's creepy...

Meanwhile, my jeans were soaked in all the rain (yes, I know, my toes are spread far apart...),

And I played on the railroad tracks for a while,

And someone placed my stuffed animals in a peculiar position.

Ciao.

Video!

2006-05-29T02:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, so the video is posted....read the post below to see what I am talking about first....

Seriously, this video is from parts of down stairs, and I don't remember filming it. I'm curiously slurring my words and misprounouncing things like "tortilla" and the video is poor quality and dark in spots, and the music is loud...and I'm sarcastic about the wallpaper

Anyhow, diregard whatever I say, as I had issues at the moment...

Our House!

2006-05-29T01:47:00.000-04:00

So, we bought a house....well, we in the way of my mom's name is on the mortgage papers, but Shane and I are still paying a third of it... don't mind the pictures, it needs work...the two windows on the second floor left side of this picture are my room!

It's Cape Cod Style, five bedrooms, two bath, no yard, but hey....at least it's a house.

It needed a lot of work....

We, this time as in Shane and I, started with my room, it had weird blue wallpaper, which went against my browns, reds, greens, tans feel....

So we took it down, only to discover that there was heavy, old contact paper underneath

So, we spent another three hours stripping that (we used loads of fabric softener and hot water)...and primed it

And then painted

(me, frizzy hair clutching my life that night, diet cream soda...the back is the color of the walls)...

So the end product looked something like this....it looks different now, but this is the only current picture I have

We tackled Shanes room in midst of stripping mine....he had some ugly wallpaper

And we were getting tired stripping contact paper...in his case, we have four layers underneath the first layer of wallpaper....it took 6 hours for his tiny room...we were getting weird with the spray mix of water and fabric softener...

He wanted a jungle green paint, and oh boy did he get it....

We were getting tired, as it was about 1am when we started painting his room, so we were writing on the walls with the paint

We decided to take down the wallpaper and contact paper in my mom's room that night as a Mother's Day present....and by that time, I was so exhausted and furious with all the wallpaper that I ripped off a few chunks from the staircase

We took down wallpaper from the living, dining, and kitchen rooms as well...

This picture is from standing in the kitchen, looking into the dining room. The door on the left goes into the living room and the door on the right goes into the guest room...

Here's mia mama stripping contact paper in the massive living room

And here is the interesting hole we found in Shanes room after stripping three layers of wallpaper and three of contact paper...it was a lot of fun to caulk...

And in the midst of moving in, we got a dog, named Albert (after a black lab we had for 16 years named Einstein)...

We're still in the process of moving...with boxes and boxes left to unpack....but it's a start.

There was also the instance with the new neighbors, a sort of stray cat and the police all rolled into one....

Ciao.

I took a lot of video, and maybe I will post it on here should I find time....

I miss me.

2006-05-23T22:38:00.000-04:00

I’ve been feeling, increasingly so in the last few months, that I over-commit myself. Lately, my life has become regimented by long lists full of things I haven’t done.

Send $2 check to high school for transcripts
Fax car repair quote (again)
Clean trunk of car out
Set up auctions on ebay for summer clothing
Get rid of some books
Watch Netflix movies that have been sitting around for months
Buy Akila a new water bowl
Buy food so I stop living off of ramen noodles
Organize desk at work
Actually put polish on fingernails/toenails for the first time in a year
Get some sun on white legs
Plant flowers out front
Give dog a bath
Finally hang up pictures purchased three months ago
Put photographs in albums
Call family
Reply to the dozens of emails left unanswered
Do something worthwhile with Shane
Finish unpacking
Use Gazelle!
Figure out how to work the huge exercise ball
Catch up on friends’ blogs
Purchase health insurance so I don’t keep throwing up
Have an eye exam
Iron work clothes
Work on website html
Talk to CR Bank about loan

Now, there’s much more to that list, and that list has just started this week. Granted, a lot of those are frivolous: my nails do not need to be pampered, I could wear wrinkled clothes to work, Akila can keep using the china bowl to drink water, my legs can stay white, the front yard doesn’t need perennials, dogs smell – I can get used to it, etc. But I haven’t even made a list of things I want to do…

I’m lagging; emotionally, and physically. Perhaps spiritually as well. I feel that I can’t accomplish a third of my list before the total of bullets is doubled. I’m slowing sinking.

I’m actually multi-tasting to the point where I can’t use the bathroom without bringing something in with me that needs to be done. Case in point: I’ve started to bring my nail polish in with me. I can’t drive a car and fully focus on the road. My mind is jumping as soon as I wake up: I need to thrown wrinkled clothes in the dryer before I shower, halfway through the shower I need to turn on the hair dryer, finish the shower and eat breakfast while taking the dog out for his morning leak. Get Sarah eating while brushing her hair and my teeth. Getting dressed while putting my lunch together, putting on my makeup in the car on the way to work….it goes on and on.

I can’t wake up too early, else I’m more exhausted than I am. I can’t go to sleep earlier because my body refuses to shut down before 11pm. I’ve tried candles, lavender, milk, exercise, reading, bathing and doing nothing…my body just insists on being horribly stubborn.

I’ve been caught sleepwalking and talking more in my sleep than usual. I find myself coming back to earth wondering what I’m really doing. Example: Today, I was talking normally to Sarah about a bump she had on her head when I suddenly came back and was randomly doing the Macarena.

I’m not there for my friends like I was. I’m actually ignoring all phone calls. (So, if you’ve called and it hasn’t been answered – I’m not too busy, I’m just too drained). I’m socially challenged on msn, I feel like I have nothing to offer but silence. It’s maddening, when I’m used to being so tuned into others’ feelings and I’m suddenly at a lack for intelligent thoughts. I hear things, but I don’t process them.

I miss me.

Ciao.

Are we saints?

2006-05-20T01:56:00.000-04:00

The other day I was at a gas station, buying a few snacks for the long ride I had ahead of me. I happened to travel through one aisle as noticed an elderly couple sitting at a booth in the cafe part of the station. A boy, who looked to be about 17 years old was pushing a stroller, calmly, back and forth (I assumed he was rocking the child in the stroller to sleep). The elderly couple looked on with a look of disgust at the boy, who was dressed in clothes that reflected the punk generation. The elderly woman spoke up first, "Is that your child, boy?"
He answered, "Yes ma'am."
The elderly man spoke up next, "Don't you think you're too young to be a daddy?"
The boy replied, "Yes sir, I try my best to be a good father though."
Both the couple tsked tsked and looked down their noses at the boy, who had obviously become uncomfortable. Deciding it was time to leave, he pushed the stroller out of the store, saying "Have a good day." Acting compeltely polite despite the circumstances.
As he went out the door, I overheard the woman say "These kids today, they don't have any Christian values anymore!"

At first, I admit, my first thought was, "yeah, he's young, unmarried and has a child." And then, I realized, shouldn't we be thankful that the child was born, and not aborted? Instead of criticizing a teenage boy for mistakes he made, let's celebrate the fact that he and his, presumably, girlfriend, chose to have the child? I wanted to scream at the elderly people, "Are you a saint?! What happened to, 'let he who has not sinned cast the first stone'?" Sure, the teen made a mistake in having premarital sex, but the child that was concieved from the relationship is alive and has a father that cares for him.

I'm just baffled.

Ciao.

BAH!

2006-05-07T21:53:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else remember this? Because I did. Especially having my belts replaced.

Friday. I'm running late that morning, skip breakfast and forget to pack lunch for work. When lunch comes around, I forget to bring my wallet with me to the store, as I left it in the school. I spend a half hour at the post office in lieu of lunch. I get off work and have little time to clean my car for the drive to Rutland, Vermont to pick up my cousin Kyle (who would be spending the weekend with us). I end up missing lunch, yet again.

So, at this point, it's time to pick Shane up from work, pick up Sarah from daycare, run home and run to Rutland. I have very little time to do all of this and make it to Rutland in time to be back by 5:30. We leave, running late.

Fortunately, there is enough time to stop at a gas station to grab a bite to eat on the run. Do I have the time to eat? No, because I'm the one driving.

Now, at this point, the only thing I've consumed all day is a cup of coffee, which is horrible for my ulcer and burns on an empty stomach. I'm used to having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, so I'm pretty hungry.

We start to get close to Rutland, and it's then that I start to stress. For some reason, I have a fear of driving in crowded cities, ever since our drive through Chicago on the way here. If I was more familiar with Rutland, I probably wouldn't stress, but I wasn't, so I did.

Fortunately, we make it to Kyle's and pick him up. I ask Shane to take over since I was hungry/stressed...and as a result of both of those, I was having having nasty tastes from acid reflux.

I got in the back seat and Shane started to drive. Just as we get onto Rt 7, we hear this loud "click, click click" nose. It sounds like a flat tire, so we pull to the side of the road.

I get out and run to check out what the deal is. Shane yells "It's coming from under the hood!" I wasn't sure what to do, since it sounded so bad. A fleeting thought was to run far away (thinking the car would blow up, ha).

We lift the hood and look around. Shane asks, "shouldn't there be something there?"

He's pointing to where the fan and serpintine belts should be. After we heard the noise, Shane lost a lot of steering and the heat went up rapidly. We conclude that our belts somehow ripped off. The belts that I was charged $200 to replace a year ago.

I'm stressing more, mainly because I don't have money. I have had to pay a lot for something (that I will post about later) recently and have almost drained my account because of it. I also hadn't eaten yet.

I feel like I'm about to vomit and my head is spinning. All over this little thing. It's silly, I know, but I can't help but worry.

We have no money for a tow, let alone a repair. We figured out a way to get AAA to tow us, but had to wait on the side of the road for three hours. We have to have the car towed to Sears, and they will work on it in the morning.

Next morning, Sears calls. Of course the belts aren't the only problems we're faced with. Our other problems will cost us another couple hundred.

After spending five hours driving around, we get all the problems fixed, with empty bellies and heavy chests. We won't get paid until the 16th, so I'm fortunate to have credit cards for now. Money sucks.

But this weekend was probably one of the best weekends otherwise. And, Sona is driving back home after spending the weekend here, so I'm hoping she's ok.

Update?

2006-05-03T17:15:00.000-04:00

I'm not in the mood to say much. I just found out that someone from my graduating class was killed last November. It's really more of a shock that anything, I don't think the realization has set in completely.

He was speeding on his motorcycle (90mph) and ran into a drunk driver.

I had several classes throughout middle school and high school with him, and he had a big crush on Sona.

It's like walking into a brick wall and delayed reaction. It's so weird, and so sad, but I don't feel anything yet.

Ciao.

Can you believe this?

2006-04-28T21:33:00.000-04:00

You need to check this out. This story is insane, and my jaw was dropped the ENTIRE time I viewed it. I am thoroughly appalled by this woman. (It's a 2-3 minute long video, definitely worth the watch...especially with the things she says towards the end).

http://media.spikedhumor.com/24864/insane_woman_on_fox_news.wmv

Second Photo Post!

2006-04-22T15:13:00.000-04:00

I cut my hair.

Sad day...

BEFORE:

Nevermind the fact that it's a horrible shot of me....

AFTER:

It's me and Crys...you'll probably have to click on the pic to see it better, but it's shoulder-length....she hacked off eight inches...I'm not thrilled, but it feels nice...that's a good thing, right?

Don't ask me why I cut it, because I don't know...

Ciao.

Photo Post -DANGER: DO NOT VIEW IF YOUR STOMACH IS WEAK

2006-04-22T14:10:00.000-04:00

Crystal and I decided to take on the task of cleaning the apartment of her boyfriend, Tristian. Crystal is moving in with him next month and the place was in complete disarray. I mean, his bed was a mattres, placed on the floor in the living room. Sadly, I only brought out the camera when there was about an hour left of cleaning (there were six total)....

Upon walking into the house, you were overcome with the stench of feet and poop....it was horrible... (TRUST ME, YOU NEED TO CLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE THE DETAIL OF DIRTINESS)

Crystal, wearing her mood on her chest...

Here is one view of the bathroom...look at the toilet! It's so nasty. See the box of tissues on the floor near the toilet? That was his toilet paper...

Another view of the bathroom...around the door was the shower/tub, where we found....

This was two shower curtains. We were gagging and our eyes were watering as we tried to put it in the plastic bag. Yes, that curtain used to be the color of the bag, clear/white...it smelled like the worst case of diarrhea I've ever had the misfortune to whiff....our senses were assaulted with the way it looks and reeked....horrible!

In the kitchen, where we found countless bottles, moldy food, random stains..

The sink. I started to do dishes when a spider jumped on my hand from inside the sink....I wasn't too ambitious after that..

SEVEN bags of trash, including the one in the trash container. See the two pizza boxes on top? I found a piece of pizza still inside one of them that was so hardened, I used it to play soccer on the kitchen floor.

And where it ended, Crystal and I on the couch, a few drinks and very dirty feet.

Pictures!

2006-04-16T20:32:00.000-04:00

So...my "surprise" was not a surprise for me. It was for my cousin Kyle, who is dating my bestest buddy Sona. Kyle lives an hour and a half away.

What was the surprise? Sona herself.

Now...back in the day, Sona and Kyle dated and actually became engaged. It lasted all of 8 months due to distance (Colorado and Vermont). They NEVER got to see one another. Sona is stationed in Quantico Virginia, about a 8 hour drive (conservatively)...Sona can drive it in 6-7 hours. They only recently started talking, and haven't seen one another since they broke up, three years ago...

About a week and a half ago, Sona and I were talking, and decided that she should take a day off and visit. She's without transportation for the time being (she's been in Quantico for only two weeks), so the folks at Greyhound.com hooked us up with cheap cheap tickets (military discount) to come up and stay for a few nights. She did, and we surprised Kyle yesterday, showing up at his home at the crack of dawn. He was thrilled.

We spent that day at the mall, McDonalds, at a park, going on walks and hanging out at his house. He has a son named Noah, who is absolutely adorable...These pictures are a reunion...and I think they are wonderful...(P.S., I love you guys!)

This is their first picture together, with all three. They look so natural together, don't they? It was so easy to capture these awesome pictures because they are so photogenic... (and yes, Kyle does think of himself as a "gangsta")

This would be me and Crystalski....

All of us ladies...at McDonalds....

Crystal hamming it up....

Kyle, Sona and Noah...I love taking pics in black & white...especially with people who photograph as well as these guys...

I love, love, love Noah!

There's some PDA in a few pictures, sorry....

Aw.....

Notice Sona's bling...a gifto from Kyle...

This was their goodbye (Sona is wearing Kyle's shirt)...how awesome is this pic? These are all candids..but I love how both of their eyes are open in this last one...beautiful

Ciao.

Akila, Black and Whites

2006-04-10T22:51:00.000-04:00

Akila, with a sock on her head....is that one happy cat or what?

Sarah, after we went bowling, at Friendly's Restaurant.

Sarah again, checking out her reflection.

Tristian and Shane, on the other side of the booth.

My beautiful cousin, Crystal.

Sarah and I.

More pictures....

2006-04-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

Farmer Boy (Ethan) and me (with hair in face, lovely).

Wally-World! (Notice how the light is turning yellow...Crystal ran the light entirely, it was red before we even reached the intersection...)

This a deer we saw on the windy way home...he ran away after my flash, but it was a pretty cool animal.

Sorry the pic isn't the best quality, but it just shows how bumpy and wonderful (to me) the backroads of New England are.

And here's me, happy despite my cold. (And what's going on with my crooked finger? And bushy eyebrows?! Oh well.)

So, that'd be the end of this month's photo post...I have a surprise coming to see me this weekend and there is surely going to be many more to come. :D

Ciao.

FAFSA!

2006-04-04T20:32:00.000-04:00

Ugh! I am sooooo annoyed right now. I have curses ready to roll right off my tongue.

Fafsa.ed.gov is a piece of crap (for those who don't know what FAFSA is, it's a form to fill out with tax information for the government to decide whether or not one qualifies for aid to pay for college)! I filed my taxes as an independent this past year, as I paid rent, bills, utilities, etc. I made very little, but FAFSA required me to submit my mother's tax info to see if I am eligible for financial aid for college. My mom can't support me because she's in college herself (and I don't expect her to support me anyhow). So, FAFSA wouldn't let me file my fafsa form as an independent, though I claimed myself as such for the past tax year. So, taking my mom's information in account, FAFSA Freaks decide that I have money coming my way via my momma (though she doesnt make much either!) and won't let me add that she is in college herself! What in the world?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Basically, I make a smidgen of money, and over 100% of my income will have to pay for college this year! :@!

BAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CIAO!

Please HELP!

2006-04-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a lot of selling on ebay and usually each transaction is completed successfully and without problems. However, one item, a green dress that I sold for my mom has the buyer complaining. I would like your help with this.

Here is the dress:

Here is how I listed the item:

DESCRIPTION:
This dress is very cute, a dress that looks bad on a hanger but great on the body! Bright Green in color, it resembles a lot of Moda International peices I've sold and see before. It is size 14 and knee-length, very cute and in pristine condition! It is fully lined and zippers in the back.
All items are shipped from a smoke-free home.
SHIPPING:
I ship an item the next or same day that payment clears. I go to the post office twice a day so you can be sure that your item will arrive promptly! I prefer shipping Priority, but I leave the option up to you. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing insurance, I am not liable for whatever damages or losses of package occur after package has been left in the USPS's hands.
PAYMENT:
Payment is due within seven days of auction close. If there is any issue with paying, please let me know. I do not bite! I am willing to work with you on my items! I accept Paypal (with a confirmed address only) from all buyers. I accept money orders and personal checks from U.S. residents only. Orders will not be shipped until payment is cleared.

I specifically bolded the shipping part. I shipped the item after the winning bidder paid. She recieved it this morning and emailed me this:

"I just got the dress today - thanyou - but it has a significant snag on the front on the left side. It must have happened in mail transit because the corner of the box was broken into when I recieved it.... I tried to smooth it out as best I can but it still has a big loop and a pull of maybe 5 inches in length that runs vertically right up the bust of the dress. I haven't tried it on or anything - that's just how it was when it came from the box. I have been a seamstress for many years and would consider this snag to be unfixable. HELP!"

(part of importance is bolded) Now, my dilemma is this: as seen in the picture, there is no huge snag down the front of the bust. She and I have been maintaing contact today, and I explained that I am not liable for damages done to the item (which was in the box) once it is out of my hands, and in the Postal Service's, as I said in shipping. I also said that I recommend purchasing insurance for the items to avoid any mishaps that happen during transit (as happened in this case, with the box being broken into). She is very desperate for me to refund her money, however I don't feel it's my responsibility because I specifically said "I HIGHLY recommend purchasing insurance, I am not liable for whatever damages or losses of package occur after package has been left in the USPS's hands." I feel really bad for the problem that occured in shipping, because I've been there as well and it sucked. I also don't want negative feedback, as my record is spotless. My question is, what would you do?

Grazie, Ciao.

Books

2006-04-02T13:12:00.000-04:00

I think I've gone mad.

A month or so ago, I noted that I had purchased over 100 books since January. Now, those were all paperbacks. I collected them, read most of them (a good lot of them I had read before and didn't feel like reading a second time). However, when I really noticed how easily damaged a paperback is, I changed my mind.

I bought hardbacks. It started off with just a few, to replace the paperbacks. I would sift through my hoard of books and find my favorites, then buy those instead. In two weeks, I've managed to accumulate ove 40 hardbacks. And that's not the end of it. I still have at least ten coming to me.

I'm going out of mind, up to my ears in books (I have a paperback collection that has been moved off my books shelves due to the lack of room).

While I'm going crazy, I decided to purchase one particular book, written by my favorite author. It just so happens her husband owns a book store and carries most of her novels. Many, many hardbacks. What's so special about this particular book is that the main character has the same name as myself. I have the book on tape, but I decided to go for it, and buy from her husband.

I recieved it on Friday. I opened it up and almost cried. Why? It was autographed. And not just one measly signature. My favorite author signed it to me especially, with a little message as well. I turned a few pages and found that this was her first book dedicated to her husband.

Now, you might think I'm being overly silly for just one signature. But, I've never had anything autographed to me. I've recieved autographs from many sports players and what have you, but nothing that said "Whitney" especially. So I'm touched and not a little thrilled. That book has now take priority on the bookshelf and I know I will never be able to part with it.

I'm going mad over my hardback book obsession. I guess there are worse things.

Ciao.

My Sundown

2006-04-01T18:49:00.000-05:00

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have lost a best friend.

No, not through death. Or not really. My ambition in pursuing this friendship died. It's not sudden. I find that friendships that dissolve overnight more often than not, rekindle. I didn't wake up this morning, from a night of laughs with this person, and suddenly say "we are no longer friends".

In truth, the whole thing started months ago. I noticed the change. We didn't finish one anothers' sentences, we had nothing to talk about, and we avoided one another like a plague. We didn't discuss it, we didn't try to rectify the distance we put between one another. I don't know how we changed, how we went from wanting to talk to each other about every single thing, to not even caring that we had nothing to say to one another.

In a big way, I wish it had ended dramatically, through a big argument instead of a quiet dissolution. In that way, perhaps we would try to come around and apologize, regretting our rash impulses. Eventually. Blame it on those rash impulses...."it was said in the heat of the moment"....But the situation now - what do we apologize for? Not caring enough to salvage what was left and make it better? Whose to say that we won't lose interest once again?

But, the sad thing is that I do care. After the fact. I'm losing myself in memories. I spent years of my life, devoting myself to this friendship, focusing on this person more than I have before. It took the ending for me to realize.

I tend to be pessimistic. But in this case, I'm sure that if I tried to go back to them, try to be their friend again, it wouldn't work.

It wouldn't seem unreasonable if this put me further into the lonliness I seem to gravitate towards. Oddly, it hasn't. Now, I'd be lying if I said that it did the opposite, because it hasn't. I'm sad, yes. But I find myself missing the moments we shared. Nostalgia. I don't feel an resounding absense in the friend slot they filled, just bittersweetness. I've changed in the last six months, so have they. The paths were on just don't interconnect. They won't.

It's not a matter of trying. I can just hear the optimistics, the idealists, shouting "If you want it, if you actively try, you can be friends again!" You can't try for something when your heart isn't fully in it. My heart isn't in it because it's not meant to continue. I'm fine with that, happy for the both of us. We'll both make new friends, create new ties. We'll probably both look back on six years of friendship and smile wistfully.

The title of this post is a song by Jimmy Eat World. If you have the chance, listen to it.

"No one cares.

I want to be so much more than this.

Good Goodbye, lovely time.

Good Goodbye, tinsel shine.

Good Goodbye, I'll be fine.

Good Goodbye, Good Goodnight."

Ciao.

BLAH!

2006-03-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

Wanted to do a photo post but it figures that I just recently happen to lose my cam cords. So in a few months, you just might see what happened last week. Great....

Anywho...much has happened. CSI is on or else I would post more...a lot of wonderful things! (Besides the car...looks like I'm going to have to fight to get it repaired....glorious!)

And then it hit me...

2006-03-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

So, St. Patricks Day started off pleasantly. I wore my bright green RL turtleneck to work to fit in with everyone else and went through the day normally.

I didn't have my reading class that day, so after helping out with a Shamrock project, I decided to take my lunch break early.

That day, of all days, I had forgotten to pack a lunch. I was also about 15 minutes early for lunch. Luckily, or so I figured, I was close enough to the grocery store to stop in and grab something on the run.

I drive to the grocery store, and I see there are parking spaces out front. However, the parking spaces are close the Main Street, right off of Main St. in fact, so I decide to swing around the to the side of the building so I could leave easier.

I make my right turn and slow the car to a stop. There is a big truck parked so that I have to figure how I can maneuver my way around to park along side. All the spaces are slanted so that I am facing the back end of this truck No, I didn't even glance at the spots before the truck, I wanted to go around the truck and park there.

All of a sudden, the lights turn on, on the truck and the reverse lights fly on. I heard the rev of an engine as the truck reversed (at least 10mph). The next thing I hear is "CRAK!" as the truck slams into me.

For those two seconds, it was like my body went into shock. I heard myself say "Uhhh" just as I reached for the gear shifter to put the car in reverse. I wasn't fast enough. And then, as the truck impacted, my head flew back against the headrest twice.

The truck and I pull over to the parking spots along side of one another. He handed me his car insurance car, his drivers license and I write that info down along with his license plate number. All the while I'm doing this, the man is apologizing, saying he couldn't see me (which is true, he had a huge construction vehicle that blocked his vision out the back window). The guy is also thanking me for not flipping out, for acting calm instead (was I calm? I remember my hands shaking uncontrollably and my eyes watering). I look at the damage done to my car and wince. I ask if anything was done to his truck, although I know, from looking at the steel bars hanging off of the back, that it was only Blue Thunder in pain. He is very nice to me, trying to move me to sit in my car as I write the information down (it was VERY windy and VERY cold out). I notice he has a biblical man on his license plate and I comment on it. I try opening the hood of my car and am unable to because of the dent. We say goodbye and get into our car/truck.

I left the grocery store, went to the Post Office and remembered that I still needed lunch. I drove back, ever so cautiously, to the grocery store and sat in my car and ate.

I call work to let them know I will be a little late and then head over there.

As soon as I'm inside work, I have lunch duty and I start feeling the twinges of a nasty headache. I see Shane, let him know what happened and he goes out to the parking lot to check it out.

I go to class, and feel myself starting to zone out. I'm still in shock, still shaking and feel my breathing becoming more and more labored. I knew that I was on the verge of an anxiety attack and my inhaler's whereabouts are unknown. I focus myself, take smaller breaths and calm down.

I find myself explaining the situation to a few coworkers after being asked "is something wrong?" repeatedly. Work is done, I stay on hour late as to avoid getting in my car.

Shane drives me home and I go to bed.

Now, I have a beast of a back and headache and my stomach is in knots. I'm thankful that I am not at fault, but upset that I will have to get my car fixed and charge the man's insurance company. I feel bad, wishing that the damage was a mere scratch so I could only laugh it off and tell the man not to worry.

Ciao.

First New Purchase

2006-03-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

So, Shane and I had a lot of time over Spring Break (last week of February), and I know I'm late updating on everything else, so I will just briefly mention the news...

We bought a few important peices over Spring Break, and I only have pictures of one of them on the computer....

So, here's the newest addition.

This is what our bedroom looked like when I sad against the bed headboard and looked straight:

(Please, take notice of the incredibly GORGEOUS :barf: FUSHIA walls....oh and I guess you can see part of our newer acquisitions...the desk on the right).

Now, for the AFTER:

Yes, we upgraded from a 13inch television to a 32incher. It's rather obnoxious in size, at first. But it makes our viewing much more pleasurable. It's an RCA tv, on sale at Circuit City for $249 and it is awesome. The funny thing is, Shane is doing the same thing in both pictures, playing XBOX. (And I spy another new acquisition, the white bureau on the left.)

Our room has changed a whole bunch, there are still a couple more things not pictured, but when I get around to it, I will post more pictures.

Onto some seemingly (actually, really) worthless shots:

This is what happens to old, crappily plaster walls when your doorknob (is that how it's spelled?) taps against it. Yes, this was merely a tap. No temper caused this.

So, it only took about six months, but I figured out my black and white. This is my cat, Akila (whom everyone calls Tequila, because it rhymes). I have too many pictures of her.

Ciao.

New House

2006-03-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, I don't want to get too optimistic about anything....however, my mom was approved for a loan through some crazy (not really) company. Thank God!

We've started looking at homes, in fact, we were shown one today. It was all right, but three bedrooms, two of which were small. Not to mention there was no fenced yard, so if we wanted dogs (which we do, of course).

But we drove by this house (my links aren't working for some reason so bear with my non-savvy way of linking) http://www.masiello.com/search_profile.cfm?propertyid=a6683d61-f12d-4c32-b660-21a1fa9c8344&thiswindow=1&propNo=14# It's pretty awesome. If this link doesn't work for you, just search Charlestown in the box provided on masiello.com and it's listing number 253803. A big light blue house. Anyhow, as soon as I saw it, I fell in love. It doesn't look like much, but it has incredible potential. A new paint job, if the asbestos siding provides, huge evergreens along the side to shelter the trailer park immediately adjacent (cleverly hidden in the picture). We walked around, peered into the windows, it's soooo charming. The kitchen needs updating, the backyard could use a bit of landscaping but it's PERFECT. Just the right amount of bedrooms and the price makes me smile. :D I'm so worried that I'm getting my hopes up, that we will make the offer on the house and someone will come up and snap it out of our fingers. So I'm trying not to get caught up, but it's so hard. It's a HUGE house, there is an added addition in the back....oh look at me blab too much.

Anyhow, we need a house, and this one's location and price is ideal. I would love for Sarah to go to the primary school we work at, the teachers are wonderful and it will make our schedules easier. We'd save money on gas and on daycare and save time being annoyed at our landlady.

Okay, Whitney needs to shut up...now.

Ciao.

FAFSA

2006-03-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

Has anyone filled out the FAFSA? (My blogger linking isn't working in posts, but the link is in the title.) This is driving me NUTS!

blah blah blah blah blah

Ciao.

My Career

2006-03-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

When I was a little kid, my mom brought out the video camera all the time. One clip of me particularly sticks out in my mind. I'm about four years old in this clip, running around the backyard of our home, being a geek. My mom shoves the camera in my face and asks. "What do you want to be when you grow up Whitters?" My answer? "I wanna be a mommy".

Now, times have changed since then. When I was in elementary school, I found out that I could not live off of being a mommy alone, I would need a real job. At the time, I loved animals, almost obsessively. We had two dogs, Einstein and Willy, and they were awesome. We had a cat, Rembrandt, who was...not so awesome (fat, lazy and mean). Still, I loved animals, so my logical assumption was that I would be a vet when I grew up.

Again, it changed once I was about in middle school. In seventh grade, my then best friend Amber and I wanted to start singing, professionally. This was around the time that major boy "bands" were ruling the music scene in America, and we thought, we want a piece of that. We asked my cousin Nikki to join us, and we made our first demo as a band named "Dream". Just as we were notarizing our lyrics, and making duplicates of our demo tape, a girl "band" came on the radio. What was their catchy name? Yeah, it was Dream. We decided to do a whole new approach, and try something unique with our name. Adding my cousin Crystal to the group, I took the first and last initials of everyone's name and came up with Candi Wac. Weird, I know. In hindsight, I realize we were wasting our time. Nonetheless, we made a demo tape, re-notarized everything, and finally sent out copies to multiple record companies. I spent that summer, waiting nervously, to see if we would even get a note back. It made sense for me to go into music, my grandmother had an amazing voice, my mother did, and mine wasn't so shabby. Two months passed, we didn't hear from anyone. I'd left all the correspondence up to Amber, so I waited for her to get an email, phone call, letter. In September of that year, just as mine and Amber's friendship was falling apart (over something completely unrelated), we got what we were waiting for. Fontaine Music Management contacted us. They were very interested in our look (a blonde, a brunette and a Laotian) and in our sound. They wanted us to see them in L.A. Long story short- Amber grew to hate me and in what followed, in actions between Sona and I and her and her friends, I was almost expelled. We never went to L.A., my friendship with my cousin Nikki fell apart, and I just left all of the singing business alone.

Going into tenth grade, I joined the high school's Mock Trial team. In short, we competed against other schools across the state using one case that we had affidavits from (affidavits from the victims, accused, witnesses, etc). The first year, I was the defendant and three of my peers were my lawyers. The next year, my junior year, I was a lawyer (the harder job). I loved it, the way I could stand up and yell "Objection!" when cross-examination wasn't going well. I loved the rush I had, when my mind would go over details at last minute and I could use them in a closing argument. I loved everything. But, alas, I knew that I wouldn't be happy forever. I talked to countless lawyers throughout the Mock Trial run, and they all talked about having to spend a lot of time away from family, working long, hard hours...it didn't sound appealing to me. I loved law, but not enough to do it my entire life.

I started to take a lot of random classes at this point in high school. I was in Mythology, Shakespeare, Public Speaking, Business, Health. I didn't know what to do with myself. These classes didn't necessarily inspire me. I did very well in the first three, and was told by a teacher that I should go into diplomacy for my interest in politics. I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. There was no real reason for it, just that I figured that's what's left for me, I guess I'll go with it.

So, I started to actually sincerely pursue what I thought I would be. I got a job at an elementary school. I love my job, I don't regret one minute of it. But, I finally came to the realization that I wouldn't be happy choosing one career after the next if I didn't think about it thoroughly. Yes, I love the kids at the school. Yes, each day is different than the one before. But would I be happy? No. Sure, it's a great job for now, but I can't see myself doing it for years to come. Fortunately for me, doing this job, I actually realized what I want to study in college.

Psychology. Weird, but being around children constantly, you learn more than you seem to teach. At least, that's what I think. I didn't want to just teach kids how to count to ten, or in high school, what was important about World War II. I wanted to help them. In the job I have, you run across people who need help. Desperately. All my life, it seems as if I've tried to help someone who has gone through something traumatic, or something that destroyed their life. I am fascinated on how the mind works in each individual, and how certain events in one's life dictate how they will react to changes, be it, a new job, a new relationship, whatever. Moreover, I want to find ways to help them adapt to these changes, and help heal the past. As someone who was once in therapy, I realize the benefits of talking through your demons, getting over your past and planning your future. I love knowing that each person is different, and that I will have to change my focus with each new person I meet. No one will react to an incident, say, in an extreme case, rape, as the next person. I love that I will be helping someone as well as learning things myself. It's not psychiatry. I haven't wanted to be in the position to hand out medication like candy like a psychiatrist typically does, so that's why psychology, where I can study the effectiveness of different treatments, works for me. So, this fall, I am enrolling in University of Maryland-University College. No, I didn't add too many Universities in there, that's what it really is. It has a great Psychology program and if I take a full load, I can work on my degree fall, spring and summer no matter where I am. If I want a vacation away from Vermont, all I need is my computer.

So, this post was just about how I've come about to wanting to study Psychology. I know, I probably didn't need the humungo intro, but this is my blog, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to. :D

And if you want something to do, you could check out Shane's Blog because he actually posted something.

Ciao.

Mercury

2006-03-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

Well, Tuesday was an interesting day for work. Then again, what day isn't?

Someone* at Charlestown Junior High dropped a blood pressure device. It broke, and out came a bit of mercury. It slid from the table to the floor. It wasn't more than a quarter-size but it caused the entire school (grades five through eight) to evacuate. We're a block away from the school, so naturally, the kids came to our school.

Now, right now my school is undergoing some work. There is a humungo extension being added to the south end and a larger all-purpose room (HUGE!) being added on the west side. The entensions aren't finished, won't be for a while, but they're going up so we have the room for fifth grades.

Anyhow, not to get into details, the kids were trapped in our building until school ended three hours later. Luckily, I only had to endure the headache for 2 hours as I left school earlier, but it was all a bit ridiculous all around.

I love my job, but admittedly, there are some things that stress me out.

This past week flew by, but still, I managed to escape fatigued. The first thing I did when I arrived home was grab a book and jump in a steamy bath tub. It felt good, and I actually got to use the bath salts I recieved for my birthday back in October.

Why is it I forget to indulge in such little, easy pleasures such as a steamy bath? I've been a reading machine lately, but a bath just makes the entire thing that much better. Blah, surely my blog has not come to me praising baths, has it?

Speaking of which, I am lacking sooo much motivation to post. I have interesting things to say, but I choose not to because a lot of them revolve around work, and I signed a Confidentiality contract, not to mention I don't feel like discussing personal bits. I need people, new people to hang out with, but I'm a social groundhog. I don't try to change it either, which makes my whining dumb.

Something very interesting...it looks as though Shane and I will be bringing a case to the Keene Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. A certain company was paid a GREAT deal for flowers (they were for Valentines, from Shane to me...my favorite ones!), and they never delivered them. It wouldn't be a huge deal except for the fact that my favorite flowers, which are out of season, cost an arm and a leg. They charged Shane's debit card, but never delievered and have ignored the 6 messages left since then, and whenever we've called, they have hung up on us(Oops..I mean, accidently disconnected). They don't have their address listed anywhere! Only their phone number, so we're in a pickle. Shane paid too much money to have it thrown away...they never once called to say the flowers wouldn't arrive or refunded our money. I've contacted several people asking how I go about filing a complaint, so we'll see what happens. Arg...this whole business is riling me right up.

I'm fixin to eat now, so bye. Or, rather,

Ciao.

*Name has been left out

I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy

2006-02-26T00:25:00.000-05:00

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

By the way...

2006-02-25T23:33:00.000-05:00

I forgot in my last post, but welcome to the blog Mrs. Remer...

I'm very curious as to how you found my blog. :) Shane is being a big brat and he misses Midnight too much. You should beat him up for me (and beat Aaron up for me as well). :D

Meh

2006-02-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

Lacking inspiration.

Found out my stepfather (whatever, technically, he's not my stepfather anymore but I see him as a father) has cancer. He's going in for tests on Monday to see the full extent. It's hard, especially because our relationship has been somewhat estranged since my mom divorced him. He just started to come back into Sarah's life in January and was being everything she needed.

It's hard, in times like these to complain or argue with anyone. I find berating myself for every negative thought therapeutic.

My maternal grandmother died five years ago, on Thanksgiving day, just three weeks before her ex-husband, my grandfather passed on. My grandmother had two rounds of cancer in a five year period and seemed fine. Upon her death, we found that she had several tumors in her brain, and it was deemed the cause of death.

It's hard for me to recognize cancer as something that doesn't always end in death. The first thought that registers in my brain after cancer is death. Capitals and periods show no passion of the words I feel.

I'm sick of seeing "I" in this post because I feel so selfish. Dennis is a good man, a caring man and he's alone. If you could please, just pray for him.

Ciao.

Mhm

2006-02-21T14:36:00.000-05:00

This diet is kicking my butt. It's not hard at all to follow...I mean, I love fruits and veggies...but it is kicking my butt. Butt = wallet.

We went shopping yesterday and I purchased enough food for about two weeks. Before my diet, I'd spend about $50 for two weeks of food...how much did I spend this time? Over $100. AH! I bought five pounds of grapes which cost me $11!!!! I also bought celery and stuff for salad which was $15. There was stuff for sandwiches, about $30 alone! Breakfast will probably be my cheapest meal, with one pack of oatmeal and an orange or one whole wheat English muffin and a yogurt. $$$$

Luckily, I just got some of my taxes back, $515 to be exact, all of which is going into summer savings.

Anyway, I need a book shelf. Badly. I have over 300 books that are shoved into suitcases in one of my closest or in boxes under my bed. It's such a hassel to dig for a book. I've found some awesome new books this year so it just keeps adding to the stacks. We can't put shelves up on the walls because our walls are made of this really old (we live in a historic home) plaster that cracks if a hole is put in it...so no nails are allowed.

Blah. This week, Shane and I have off from work as it's "Winter" Vacation. I'm not complaining.

I know, the ring may look like an engagement ring, but I assure you it isn't! (You especially would know if that were the case).

Shane and I went bowling last Friday night. It was a lot of fun! For $15, we bowled from 9pm-12am. We saw Pink Panther on Saturday, it was a lot better than I expected.

This is a boring post. I am lacking motivation because I am lazy.

Ciao.

Photo Post

2006-02-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

We've been busy.........

No worries, Akila was not hurt in the process. It's actually a pretty awesome picture if I do say so myself...

Picture of me with the ring on Valentines Day... I look kind of awkward if you ask me.

A better shot of the ring itself....pretty :D Anyhow...on to more pictures.........

Another very cool picture (these are opinions, people!) of Akila...she's soo much fun, it's insane.

Blurry, but sweet picture of Sarah, while we ate at Denny's last Thursday. We were in the Hartford area, just leaving from the airport (where we found out Shane's flight had been canceled....:( )

I have a mole. That's right...a mole. Often confused with a premature pimple, it is a mole I developed when I was about 3 years old. Anyhow, this picture was actually an accident. I had the zoom on for a long shot (a dorky highway sign) and turned the camera to my face, with the zoom and clicked a button. But I thought it came out neat...I look young...but my hair looks so shiny (and in my eyes...)! Yay!

Okay, so this was obviously just recent picture...perhaps I will post something else later...or maybe I will wait for somone to remind me I have a blog....

Ciao.

YAY

2006-02-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

I'm back, and a lot of new junk has happened. Shane and I had our anniversary the 31st and it was absolutely lovely. He gave me a promise ring, it's incredible! I can try and post it up here some time.

Hm...you may be wondering where I've been...

This is my laptop as Shane tried to repair it. He had to take the entire thing apart just to fix one part visible in the back. What was wrong with it? The battery adaptor stopped working when we plugged it in so my computer pretty much died. We ordered a new one, but when it arrived and we plugged it in, sparks shot out. Seeing this as a *possible* bad sign, we took it out and Shane discovered all sorts of things wrong with the input slot on my laptop. I was able to get online through his old computer that he managed to make it so there was internet access wirelessly but it was a poor signal.

So it's fixed for now. Every once in a while it will spark a bit and if, while it's plugged in, it's jarred even a little from the hole, then we have to first unplug it from the wall, wait a minute or so, and then try plugging it in. It's a very tediously annoying task but it makes it possible to use so whatever works I suppose.

My car passed 100,000miles yesterday. I almost cried. Okay, so I didn't but I was proud of my blue beasty.

Shane leaves for Idaho next weekend while I stay here. There was a chance of me driving down to North Carolina to visit Sona on base but I just don't want to spend money. Summer is coming up and since Shane and I work seasonal jobs, we need to save early to have money ahead of time. Not to mention saving money for the wedding Shane and I will be having this summer.

Ah. Kidding. No wedding plans are in place. If there were, you would know because everyone I know that reads this blog would be invited. Shane and I aren't engaged either, so worry not! Still...it wouldn't hurt to clear your calendars for next summer. ;)

In other news, I started a diet on February 1st. I'm not overweight, but I'm not what I use to be either.

The picture on the left is from a year and a half ago and I was at my ideal weight. The picture on the right is actually my worst picture ever (Thanksgiving 05) and I was incredibly bloated but still hiding behind layers of clothing. I don't want to be that way any more so I've decided to stop eating so much Italian food. I've gained weight since September and I don't like not being able to fit into my clothes. I joined up ediets.com and so far I'm very pleased. Without adding any exercise to my regimine, I've lost eight pounds. Might not seem like much but it hasn't even been two weeks, so I'm pleased. I'm eating loads of fruit and veggies now so it's costing me a bit more money but it's worth it. I've never been on any diet of any kind before and this one seems to work well, it's not hard to stick with it. This week, if possible, I will start adding exercise but it has been so snowy lately and we're expecting a nor'eastern soon...so we'll see what happens with that.

Unfortunately, a few days after I started my diet, I became very dizzy. I was at work and unable to stay standing up for too long. The next day was the same and then that weekend, I had trouble breathing, a lot of phlem was blocking my passage and I had incredible migraines. I also experienced severe cramps in my stomach and was constantly light headed. I spent that weekend mainly in bed and was sick from work on Monday. That evening, I had a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and felt instantly better, the sugar just relieved all my pain -weird. I went back to work but everyone was telling me to stay home because I sounded bad...I just don't want a bad rep for taking too many sick days so I toughed it out. This morning, I woke up and couldn't breathe again and all of a sudden started retching. I felt my whole body shaking and was forced to bend over the toilet for a while. Then, while doing that, both nostrils overflowed with blood which only made me more sick. Weird times.

Luckily, I also had a girl's day today with Crystal!! We had chinese food and then went shopping, it was just really nice to hang out with a girl only for once!

So that'd be all for now, I'm fixin on getting to bed soon to help stop this horrible sickness so I don't have to pay the $200 doctor visit if it doesn't let up.

If I don't blog before, I hope everyone has wonderful Valentines Days!!!

Ciao

Cranky

2006-02-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

I'm cranky. Unabashedly cranky.

I was cruising through myspace.com and looking at my friend list and was quite disappointed. Not one of the people on my list were from around here. Most were from Idaho or Colorado, and one cousin from Springfield, VT. It was basically a physical reminder that I don't have friends from around here, and that royally sucks. Sure, Shane is my friend but I see him all the time. Trust me, I miss having Sona here, calling her up and saying "Hey, wanna go do something?" I don't have anyone now and I just want that break sometimes.

The problem is, I have pretty severe social anxiety. I had a panic attack at my fathers wedding two years ago this Valentines day (and that's with knowing 90% of the people there). I just can't go out and try to meet people, that's not me. I'm not the kind of person to have ten trillion friends. I have a handful of very close friends and I'm set. Unfortunately, the friends I deem "close" live elsewhere.

Most of my life there was my friend Amber, who I knew from kindergarten to our sophmore year of high school. We had a huge falling out based on Sona's relationship with Amber's former boyfriend, my cousin. I also was expelled from school because of that. So, Sona came into the picture and I wholly immersed myself into that friendship, spending as much time with Sona as possible, we became sisters in every sense but dna. However, because of her rigorous training in the Marines, I don't have the chance to talk, write or email her for months at a time. That sucks.

My senior year in high school, my social life blossomed more. I met Shane that year, and through him I met Laura (Laura - you're awesome and I hope that we can get back to talking more!). I met some guys too, none that sparked my interest and I got to know my cousin Crystalski a bit better. I met a lot of really great people through blogging too, but I'm not a hermit. I don't want all my friends to be those I talk to online. I want more than that, I want someone who understands me and will listen to me as I whine their ear off. I want someone who will go see a chick flick with me! I am begging here! I need a chick flick! Shane went with me to one, but otherwise, I haven't been to a chick flick movie in a year! I want someone I can call up and get into trouble with. Don't get me wrong, I love Shane but when you share a bedroom with someone, share a car and work in the same building, you need space.

Meh, I'm done whining now.

Ciao.

What's new with me

2006-01-28T00:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a while.
Just so key points of what has been going on:

Had an exhausting week. Had Monday off from work because the school district was closed for snow. This coming Monday looks like it'll be a repeat.
During the exhausting week, Shane had to get sick on me Wednesday night. So, he woke me up a million times (in all actuality, it was probably 10) for some reason or another. At one point, I was awake for a stretch of an hour. Seeing as I didn't go to bed until 1am and had to wake up at 7am...and I was awakened for about two hours total, I was tired. And sick like him. Fun.
Long story- My mom doesn't have a degree. Therefore, she makes very little. Sarah's daycare costs and her share of the rent take about 80% of her two paychecks. So imagine how hard it is for her to buy food, insurance, etc. My mom is currently getting NO assistance from Sarah's somewhat father, my mom's ex-husband so we've been struggling a bit (with Shane and I buying the groceries). My mom had to apply for federal aid for Sarah (a tricky process seeing as my mom is not Sarah's legal guardian...have I explained that craziness? I forgot). So we're recieving two hundred a month (which will cover little of her daycare costs but it helps). The sad part is, is that the state is going after Sarah's biological parents to cover those costs, and her parents will probably just come up and take Sarah back, though they haven't seen the now-five year old since she was 11 months. And the saddest part is, they have every legal right...moral is another issue.
Shopping for mine and Shane's January 31st anniversary. One year buddy! Shopping for boys just sucks though.
A kid said I looked like a witch at school today. Sweet.

Yeah so there is a quip recap, quick enough at least. I am EXHAUSTED! I just finished babysitting my twin cousins...and they are the biggest of handfuls. Oh well.

Oh, and Shane's ecstatic that his Seahawks are in the Super Bowl...he's going absolutely nuts!

Ciao.

P.S. Sorry for the lame-o post, I'm ready to sleep the week away.

OY!

2006-01-21T20:13:00.000-05:00

Have I really been procrastinating? Well...we've been a bit preoccupiedo.

The apartment we're renting is the second-floor of a three story house. The first floor belongs to the land lady, the top floor is rented by two men and a baby.

Our land lady, K, told us that she was considering selling the home we're in. At first, we were hopeful. Perhaps the people who are interested in this home will want tenants to occupy the second floor? It is a very big home after all and a lot of maintenance is required. Sadly, K told us that there was a couple she was acquainted with and they were considering (if they purchased this home) turning it into a single family home again. Now, back in the day, this home was a single family home, this house is listed as a "historic home" according to Bellows Falls. The couple that are interested are loaded with cash, and turning this back into a single family home could cost at least $100,000. That sucks.

To make matters worse, we don't have the cash to hire movers to help us move. We also cannot find any 3 or 4 bedroom homes for under $1,000/month rent. As it is, we're paying just over $900.

When we first moved in, it was just Shane and I, hauling HUMUNGO furniture from Charlestown into here. My mom worked later than us so we were the only ones able to move. All the furniture you've seen in the other pictures were pieces Shane and I moved ourselves. It took us 4 days to do it all and many aches all over. It's a process I am definitely not looking forward to doing. It's sad, that with my mom's 6 brothers and sisters, not a single one offered or has offered to help us move. There are over 100 members of our family but the moving will come down to just Shane and I again. So, if there's anyone willing to help us when we do move again, I'd appreciate it if you let us know! (Free pizza is being offered!)

By the way, I am curious why the anonymous blogger remains anon...who are you? :D

Ciao.

The Five

2006-01-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

So, I was tagged by Brian to write a blog listing five weird habits about myself.

The rules are: The first player of the game starts with the topic, "5 weird habits about yourself". And people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits, as well as state this rule clearly. In the end you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged, and link to their web-journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog/journal that says "you have been tagged" and tell them to read yours.

Well, I've thought and I've thought so I will have to give the five that stick out most in my mind I suppose.

I'm a HUGE procrastinator. Like with this post, I put it off and off and I probably would have for another week or two. But it gets worse. Most nights, I put off dinner until 10 or 11pm with the excuse that I'm busy (doing something like laying in bed and reading). To add on top of that, I won't wake up for work until about 20 minutes before we have to leave (just enough time to brush my teeth, make breaky and dress...usually I run out of time). I'll be the first to admit I procrastinate out of laziness. Cleaning my room could take months. Same with emailing someone back, I can put that off for four months, just ask the person who tagged me.
I run into things constantly. I used to blame it on the Italian hips I inherited from my mother, but it's actually because my left leg is unaligned. My left hip tilts towards the center and my knee (on the same leg) tilts outward...so I will run into things and blame it on sheer clumsiness (only because I don't want to admit I use to wear leg braces like Forrest Gump).
I don't know what to call it. I will ask Shane what time it is, he'll answer and then five or ten minutes later I will ask him again. Shane will become exasperated because he told me the time all ready "Whitney, you asked me five minutes ago", but I don't remember it at all. I guess my short term memory fails me? Either way, it's almost like ADD, I can't concentrate on anything I say or do too long without easily forgetting it.
Don't ever think about sharing a bed with me. According to everyone whose ever have the opportunity to, I'm a horrible bed partner. Apparantely I hog blankets (Shane insists on having his own, but then claims I still take his along with mine), kick people (no joke - my mom has scars on her back from my toenails scraping her during my sleep), sleepwalk, and most prominently, talk in my sleep. I've been known to have full conversations with people who were awake while I talked in my sleep. I also wake Shane up several times, shaking him violently telling him to stop dying. And worse (or so Shane thinks), instead of turning off the alarm clock in the morning, I will put one finger to my lips and hush "Shhhh" every few minutes (it won't wake me up!), or wake Shane up telling him to "shh"
In high school, I never studied (procrastination again) but five minutes before every test, I would skim over some notes and ace the test. I have somewhat of a photographic memory, and once I've viewed something, it stays in my head. In fact, I still have a speech I memorized in the 7th grade on Cleopatra stuck in my head, when I viewed my speech notes once. (Hard to believe with what I said on #3)

Okay so that's the five. Perhaps I put a bit too much description into it but who cares! Time to nominate my five victims... Miss Min, Leif, Shaner, Joello, and finally, Polish girl. To be honest, I chose these people because a few of them never blog and a few that do don't post anything of this nature...so we'll see how many do...

Ciao.

123

2006-01-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

So Shane and I went to this small town in mid-NH last Sunday called Weare to buy some baseball cards. We used "trusty" mapquest.com to get our directions...

The main route to Weare was on Rt. 123... The opening to Rt 123 happened to start (near us anyway) in this:

Um....yeah.

As you can see, the opening was pretty much impossible. That's Alstead, by the way. One of the hardest hit towns in October's wild weather (the flood). Obviously, that route was impossible. Before we had left, my mom said that 123 was open again....so when we came upon this sight:

We disagreed with her. This was the opening, going across this bridge, but Shane and I opted against it, instead trying to figure out which way to go around it (which we eventually did, and thankfully our guesses turned us to the right area). (Mind you, this is just a walk from where we live, not even a mile)

So, along the way, we come across several more sights through the opened parts of Alstead. There was a house that was still half'demolished, parts of it scattered in the Cold River. There was a trailer home that was spray painted in big pink letters "FEMA, I'VE LEFT HOME FOR IRAQ, PLEASE HELP FAMILY!". I can't believe all the suffering there is still. It's such a beautiful area, with hills rolling along the river, beautiful snow covered pine trees and the kind of homes that have been around for a hundred or more years. Just go to google and under images type in "Alstead 123" and you'll see all of this and much more. It's just very sad to me.

Anyway, we made it to wear about purchased 12,000 baseball cards. What are we going to do with that many you may ask? Probably go crazy. And then perhaps we'll sell them on eBay. Actually, we all ready planned to. Hopefully, we should make about 20x more than we spent. (if not that, at least 10 because we got really great cards).

Uh oh, Aladdin is on tv, gotta go!

Ciao.

10 Things

2006-01-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

Normally, I don't like to steal ideas from other bloggers, however I thought this one was interesting so thanks Clare.

The rules are to to write down ten things you wish you could say to ten people in your life. You also have to disable comments (I see the reason, but I choose to keep them enabled) and you can never talk about it again. Basically, I think I might just follow the first one. I think it's important to talk about things that bother you and this past year I have gotten a lot out of my system. Most of you know how blatantly honest I am, but there are a lot of things I keep to myself.

1. I don't blame you for what happened. I hate that our relationship is so strained fifteen years later because of what he did to both of us. It wasn't your fault, you need to realize that. I'm proud of the person you have become, but I miss your friendship more than you know.

2. Even though I'm glad things worked out the way they did, I still miss talking to you when we friends. I hate that everything got so completely screwed around and you felt awkward talking to me. I'm sorry that things weren't what you expected and even sorrier that you let it happen.

3. Do you realize what a trap you're in? You try to deny things that aren't true but we both know you're deeply insecure. You've been through it all before and I blame myself for encouraging you through this a second time around. I only want you to be happy, not to settle for the first person that will give you a little attention.

4. I feel like I've lost a part of you. You used to know everything, now it feels like there is just this space between us that keeps getting wider everytime we talk. I miss having you, having someone that I can tell everything to, now I feel as if there is no one that could ever take your place, even you now.

5. I'm sorry that I can be a real (in your words) bitch sometimes especially last Aug-Oct. I realize now that I was taking so much for granted and was in a sense pushing you away. I thank God that you got past all of that and I thank you for all your honesty. I truly feel like I've gotten past it and we can work on the more important things.

6. I don't know why it's so hard to tell you I love you. I've known you forever and you mean so much to me and I wish I could be more open with you, like I used to. I wish that things were the way they were before even though I was unhappy. I'm so proud of you, it's important that you know that.

7. I feel like you blame me for what didn't happen. I couldn't have made her love you the way you wanted. You rushed things, you scared her. Am I the permanent reminder of what you don't have?

8. I tell you I am glad that we moved on, past everything, but I don't think you feel the same way. You hurt me a lot with what we had, but it hurts me more that we can't move past that. Why won't you tell me the truth about you? I all ready know everything but whenever I ask you to be the friend you were, you get scared.

9. I think this friendship is a joke. What kind of friendship is it when we're always arguing? Are we holding on to things for nostalgia or do we really think we can move past everything we've gone through this past year? I'm afraid to end it because of what you know. What are you afraid of?

10. I feel like I've taken everything you have done for me for granted. I don't understand how you can look past it and help me move on. You've been there for me since I was a baby and you know more about me than most. I don't deserve you but I am too proud to admit it.

I think what I learned most from this is that I could've made this list to 20 people. That's sad.

COMMENTS ARE WORKING!

2006-01-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

As one anon. blogger found, my comments are finally working! After spending four hours thoroughly studying my template, I found the problem and corrected it...thank goodness!

Anyways, onto much more important news...BIG BIG NEWS>>>

Shane and I adopted a baby on Wednesday. See below

Isn't she gorgeous?! I adopted her at the Springfield Humane Society on Wednesday. We went there with the intention to look at a completely different cat (the choice was mine, as it would literally be my cat mainly) and I was browsing some cats in their cages when Shane grabbed this cat named "Austin". Well, I didn't want a boy because all my pets had been boys so I left Shane alone to play with the cat. I walked back over to him and the cat reached out to me (like a baby would reach for someone) and it reached up and kissed me. How could I not be sold by that? So I decided to concede, only later finding that it was a girl. The reason they had given it a boy name was because when it first came it, they couldn't tell if it was a "she" or a "he" so they listed it as a neutered male (which was problematic when we brought her to the vets for her spay today!). So I got my wish after all and dropped that fugly name. Her name is Akila (uh-kee-lah) because it means intelligent in Egyptian (she looks Egyptian to me! Shane thinks she looks Russian but his opinion doesn't matter anyway...:D)

We didn't even have to pose her. I was reading up on html and she climbed on my lap and moved to the laptop (at this point, she was entertained by the way I was scrolling up and down)

And here she is again, stretched across my laptop watching the screen still. What a bum! Honestly though, she has to be the sweetest, most loving cat I have ever known. She's very eager to please and playful but at the same time is more than willing to crawl up in your arms (and she follows me everywhere!). Plus, she only answers to me when her name is called. She could be curled up with Shane but if I called "Akila" she'd run right over to where I was. YAY! She looks chubby in the pictures but she's really quite svelte and only 7months old. I need to go pick her up from the vets now...I love her so much!

Ciao.

COMMENTS

2006-01-03T15:47:00.000-05:00

So far, I have two emails about my crappy comment system. If you have tried to comment but it refused, please email me at luckyduckys@hotmail.com. Thanks geeks

Don't Get Used to my Posts!

2005-12-31T05:12:00.000-05:00

Okay so this is record-breaking. I have actually posted too many times this week. Woah.

But anyways, though it is 2:00am I am trying to figure out all this html and whatnot junk. I am getting bored of the way my blog has looked for over a year and I'd like to change it. However, the templates Blogger provides bore me to tears...so how do I go about changing this beasty?
Thanks!

Ciao.

MUHAHAHAHAHAHA

2005-12-31T02:35:00.000-05:00

MUHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA I've gotten rid of that blasted blogger tool bar so now, you cannot navigate away from my page to another blog unless you click on my links or type it in yourself up top. Yes! I don't know if I am thrilled with the comments section or with how dark it is but it's a change! Yay!

What a Pain!

2005-12-31T00:29:00.000-05:00

After having a randon bloody nose that flowed heavily for two minutes, I went to lie on my bed. It's been a long day, my back and shoulders are hurting and I just want to rest.

Lying just on a mattress, I feel a hard lump under my shoulder. (The sheets slip off this bed every night, it gets so annoying having to redo them.)

I'm a bit delusional at this moment and I decide that the lump is probably something I am lying on, wound up in the sheets (but as you know, I am not on any sheets).

After realizing that I am lying on the ugly blue flowered mattress and that is the only thing under me, I feel what the lump could be. What is it?

A spring that is on the verge of ripping through the top and will likely stab me while I am sleeping (talk about an embarrassing death).

My first thought is, "hey, time for a new mattress!" Then I realize that I don't have the money to fork over for a new queen size mattress. So, I think "well, the mattress is in all right shape, I can wait a while".

I sit up make myself more comfortable and feel another lump. And another. Oh, another one. Wait, there's one more. I eventually conclude that my mattress is 10 nights away from being trash. Yay.

Ciao.

Best of 2005

2005-12-30T19:31:00.000-05:00

So, I've decided to compile my best of 2005 moments, songs, movies, books or whatever.

Top 10 Moments of 2005 (In no particular order)

Shane telling me that he had fallen in love with me.
Graduating high school the first time (in January).
Having my mom and Shane at my graduation. And the grad dinner at that yummy Italian restuarant.
Going to Myrtle Beach this summer. And getting extremely burned!
Seeing my grammy for the first time in a few years this summer.
Driving out to Lewiston to see Shane and surprise him in July. at Burger King, no less!
Driving across country with Shane especially the cop/lost wallet moment!
Starting the job that I absolutely love!
Spending a lot more time with my mama as I moved in with her.
Christmas with Shane!

Top 9 Movies of 2005 (again, in no particular order)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire so what if it's a kid movie, it was excellent!
Crash I love movies like this, intensely thought-provoking!
Mr. & Mrs. Smith So what if it was too hyped and that, in one way or another, ruined Brad Pitts marriage, it was great in it's own right.
Red Eye I love Rachel McAdams and was impressed with this movie. I didn't have too high expectations as it seemed like it was all filmed on a plane but it was way better.
Saw 2 Yeah it was gory, but I like being scared. Plus, it was a very intelligent thriller, the genre that seems to be lost with most slasher movies.
The Princess Bride I hadn't seen this movie in a few years but re-rented it. It's just a classic, classic movie.
The Ref I have seen this movie before but watched it again this year, and I still love it! Denis Leary has great witticism, and the movie seems to relate with a lot of married couples (minus the kidnapping aspect!)
Office Space I watched this for the first time this year and was definitely impressed, hilarious movie!
A Time to Kill I love John Grisham's novels, and though I never read this one, the movie was excellent. It was interesting to see Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, and Samuel Jackson all in powerful roles.

Top 8 Places I Visited (as the pattern follows, no particular order) in 2005

Lewiston, Idaho it was awesome to finally see the place that Shane grew up in.
Boston, Mass I would put this as memorable, not neccesarily a good memory (stupid Massholes!)
South Dakota From what Shane and I saw, there was nothing! I have never seen a place so boring, so dead!
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina I always love going there. It's a very laid-back beach, and everyone is incredibly friendly.
Bellows Falls, Vermont I live here now, but I never visited it until this year, even though it was only a ten minute drive away. I like this town much more than any of the other small towns around here.
Chicago, Illinois I was flabbergasted at the horrible highway system. They had no organization, and many of the roads we needed were closed, with no helpful detour sign to guide us another way.
Syracuse, New York My grandparents live here and I can see why they've stayed for forty years. Though it's a college town, it has an amazing small-town feel, even with the metropolitan area around the Carousel Mall.
Hilton Head, South Carolina when I went down there to see Sona, I was just awed by the politeness and chivalry that you learn in the military. People were very friendly and funny.

Top 7 Loves of 2005

Shane, of course
Family, friends, all that mumbo jumbo.
Lindor Chocolate Balls by Lindt. My mom turned me on to them...they are soo good!! I love all of them except for the white chocolate because there is no filling!
Ghirardelli Chocolate squares. Again, my mom, the chocolate buyer, turned me on to these wonderful melt-in-your-mouth confections.
Children Especially since I am working at the school, I've learned so much patience and been rewarded ten-fold. Kids are incredible, just their openess to love and trust before anyone has hurt them and turned them hard.
eBay Yeah, I know. But I've become addicted to selling, and since I am making great money on the side doing that, I figure why not continue? There hasn't been a single material thing that I've needed, that I have not found on that site.
My car I used to hate it because of all the trouble it's given me but ever since I left my dad's the only problem it had was a dead battery.

Top 6 Dislikes of 2005 (I like more than I dislike! :) )

Frosting I don't know why, but I've just become so against cakes, cookies, cupcakes that have ridiculous amounts of frosting on them.
Driving in bad weather We have gotten so much rain and snow, driving in it is horrible (duh!)
Social Functions It was this year that I discovered I had social anxiety. I hate going to functions, especially if I don't know everyone there. I've become dependent on my friends to join me because I don't like being around strangers.
Movie prices Shane and I love going to the movies. Unfortunately, $9.50 for a 90 minute movie doesn't seem worth it when I can wait until it comes out on video. When popcorn costs $6, (and I need my popcorn) I just prefer to save the gas money and movie money to stay home.
McDonalds last year, I ate McDonalds every day for lunch with Sona. I didn't gain any weight, but this year I've gotten so used to home-cooked meals that I opt to stay home than to drive a half hour to eat at McDonalds.
Celebrities I am so disgusted with Hollywood and the over-inflated egos of so many celebrities. Most have nothing but looks (and the admiration of ignorant admirers) and use that to shout their beliefs and have people automatically jump on their bandwagons, with no real knowledge of what they believe. Arg...I could name a few but I won't.

Top 5 Songs of 2005

Stars by Switchfoot (the entire album actually) Switchfoot has never failed to impress me with their clever analogies and their honesty about themselves.
You're Beautiful by James Blunt. Simply beautiful in and of itself. The lyrics are sincere and so simply put, I couldn't help but fall in love with this song.
More Than a Felling by Boston I love listening to older music, you don't have the amazing vocals and guitar anymore, and that's sad.
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey I heard this song on a show for the first time this year and was hooked. The vocals are superb.
Daughters by John Mayer Great song. No need for an explanation.

Top 4 Things I learned This Year

Patience! As mentioned before
That in a small town, chances are you are going to run into 5 people you know just going to the grocery store I learned that on a day without makeup and wearing scrubby clothes..yay.
Being in a relationship where, for the first 6 months you are 1,000miles apart and then going to living together immediately, you're bound to have blow-ups. Shane and I learned that the hard way
My car does great on gas! Here's to 600miles on a $35 gallon tank!

Top 3 Times I Wasted My Breath in 2005

This entire thing is probably one by itself.
Explaining that Shane and I won't live with my mom forever to Sarah (which brought an onslaught of tears)
All the times I was PMSing and tried to justify my temper with Shane.

Top 2 Foods of 2005

The Italian grinder with everything but meat sauce from the local pizza place. Yummy!
Tunafish!

Top Novel of 2005

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) by Ann Coulter always lovely, always humorous and always RIGHT...literally.

Ciao.

Happy Bday!

2005-12-24T06:06:00.000-05:00

Okay so technically, yesterday was the official one year marker that I have kept this blog up. I was too tired (both Shane and I are wicked sick) to post anything and we are both sick today.

Good things to note: Got Christmas shopping done finally, had no work today and Sarah was relatively in a good mood. Plus, my brother bought my dinner

Bad things to note: Last week, I bought something as a pivotal part of Shane's Xmas gift. The company said that if they recieved my payment by Sunday, December 18th, they would 100% guarantee my items would arrive before Christmas. So, on Friday the 16th, I overnighted my payment (cost, $15). The tracking showed it arrived on Saturday, the 17th, therefore, within the time limit. I emailed the seller letting them know and recieved no info. I emailed them again, the next day as I wanted the item to show up definitely by Christmas. Still no response. The same thing occured on Monday, and by this point, I was frustrated. The company had said they ship the same day payment is recieved. Because they shipped from Brooklyn, according to DHL shipping, my package would arrive in just one day once they shipped it and they would provide a tracking number. Obviously, they never gave me that. On Tuesday evening, I emailed the company and actually threatened to take action if my emails continued to be ignored. Five minutes later, I recieved this response:

"Ms. Coyne.
This shipping department has notified me that your item will be shipped tomorrow.
Thank you,
Ed"

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was Wednesday, only four shipping days from Xmas. I was assured however that since they did say they shipped the item, I would recieve it on Thursday.

Thursday comes and goes. No package. Friday comes, no package. I am becoming increasingly worried, especially after reading their poor customer feedback with shipping issues. I call the company. They hang up on me three times. They disconnected me when I was on hold twice. Finally, I reach one of their customer service representatives and express my concern. There is only one day left for my package to come. The man hastily rattles off a UPS (changed shipping agency) tracking number and promptly hangs up. I go to UPS and see a very sad thing.

My item was not shipped until this morning and it's expected arrival date? December 27. Obviously, I was upset. Not only did I pay for two day shipping, I won't recieve the item until over a week after I paid for it, after Christmas, which definitely violates their shipping policy. Ugh.

Okay I am bleary and just bought my very last gift online...you will know what it is tomorrow....

And by the way, Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Love you all!

Ciao.

40 Random Things

2005-12-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

So I was completely bored, after getting my little brother's room ready (he's flying in tonight for Christmas!) So I browsed through some blogs and decided to be ultra nerdy and fill this little thing out.

My uncle once: Was a crazy hippy who looked like ZZ Top and played a banjo in a band.
Never in my life have I: kissed a stranger
When I was five: I played around with a scorpion I found in the backyard (and later accidently killed).
High School was: memorable...fun times.
My parents are: Different people, polar opposites
I once met: Someone online who proposed after meeting me once (and it wasn't Shane)
There's this girl I know who: is in the hospital after wrecking her car. She may not make it. I might post later bout that.
Once, at a bar: I don't recall ever going "to a bar"
Last night: I fell asleep the earliest since ever - 9pm
Next thing I plan to eat: I all ready had dinner...but maybe some eggnog.
When I turn my head left, I see: Shane writing something and a giant pair of headphones
When I turn my head right, I see: a Rubix cube, my digital camera, Shane's Pepsi, some change and a checkbook from my bank in Colorado.
How many days until my birthday? Enough.
The Shakespeare character I most identify with: Hands-down, Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)
By this time next year: I hope to be moved out. I love my mama but I want to get our own place
A better name for me would be: Temper
I have a hard time understanding: Ignorance.
If I ever go back to school I: want to study History, specifically Euro and Asian.
You know I like you if: I am able to laugh with you.
If I won an award, the first person I'd thank would be: Probably God first, then Shaner baner.
Take my advice: A quick temper will get you nowhere with your significant other.
My ideal breakfast is: French toast with peaches and canteloupe on the side.
If you visit my hometown: you'll probably get lost.
Why won't someone: sell better-fitting clothes at a good deal?
If you spend the night at my house: we'll probably end up sleeping on the floor.
I'd stop my wedding: only if one of us started choking.
The world could do without: the ACLU blah.
I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: clean up cat barf (it makes me violently ill)
Paper clips are more useful than: crying over a lost key.
If I do anything well, it is: cooking breakfast!
My New Year Resolution will be: to follow my new year resolutions.
On Christmas presents, this year, I spent: too much...almost $1,000
The highlight of my day tomorrow is: last day of work until the 2nd! Woo hoo for paid holiday vacation!
I could live off of: macaroni and cheese...yummy for my tummy.
The funniest thing I heard this week: was that a coworker thought, when she first met me in August, I was dyslexic because some papers weren't in alphabetical order...but it wasn't me! It was the teachers who shoved them in!
I once cheated when: my freshman year in high school, I didn't study for a test. My friend and I frantically wrote all the answers on our palms (but I felt guilty so I spit in my hand and rubbed the answers off).
The worst year of my life was: definitely my middle school years, from when I was 11-14, it was hell.
Underneath my bed: is my mom's keyboard that she has left since forever, a empty popcorn bowl from last night and some fuzz.
My most missed memory: playing with my dog, Einstein (who passed away a year and a half ago). He was the greatest dog I've ever had (for 17 years!)
And by the way: I'm tired.

Ciao.

:(

2005-12-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

I'm sick.

Since there was no work on Friday, I took advantage of all my spare time and tackled the bedroom. It took only four hours and is looking quite splendid. Unfortunately, I decided to tackle the two closest and under the bed as well and let's just say, there was enough dust to fill a couple gallons. Living in such a old house, it's no wonder that dust collects so easily (not to mention the fact that it hasn't been cleaned in those places since September).

I'm allergic to dust.

I ended up coughing several times that night and woke up completely congested the next morning. Everytime I coughed, that yucky phlegm came up, and in doing so, induced me to gagging. All day long I guzzled water, at one point I drank an entire gallon and craved for more.

On Sunday, I woke up worse than before and had a hard time talking. I had moments where I sounded like a pre-pubescent boy (goose voice and all!). It was amusing at least.

When it came time for dinner, as soon as I left the bed, I felt light-headed (which happens, so it's nothing unusual) but as soon as I reached the kitchen, I felt dizzy. I grabbed onto the side of the stove as to not tip over and felt my legs start to shake. As the room spun, I was scared to death and fell onto the couch in the living room. Thankfully, Shane helped carry me into the bedroom where I am now. I don't want to call in sick for work, but I can't imagine trying to use my voice to shout "Okay, it's silent lunch now boys and girls!!" during the very loud lunchtime tomorrow.

On a happier note, Christmas is in one week and I have wrapped about half of my things (there's only 20 things left...). Our Christmas tree is so cutely dilapidated, I almost want to hug it (but I hesitate only because I'm not liberal)...

Ciao.

College

2005-12-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

I see the disturbing picture of our bedroom hasn't prompted any comments...so...I've decided to talk about a big decision of mine.

College.

My mom has joined up with aiu.edu and is encouraging me to join. Apparantely her tuition us $24,000US/year, but she's qualified for $15,ooo in assistance so far. The rest is pending. Being in the situation I am in right now, I qualify for loads of assistance. When I was living with my father, the combined annual income was $350,000+ so I, for obvious reasons, wasn't eligible for any grants. Now, living in an apartment where there are four people and a combined income (from three of us) of $55,000, I have many many many ways of funding my way. I don't plan on applying to any college until I get my taxes back next year.

As for what I am studying, I am in a dilemma. For a little over two years, I have thought that teaching was my best area. But in the last 7months or so, I have rethought my original idea. In high school, I was always labeled as "the next president" with how intense I was with my feelings with political matters. I was in a debate class and recieved my highest grades I'd ever gotten from a very liberal teacher (Who claimed that he was afraid to give me a grade any lower as my passion for debating was that fierce). In high school, I was on the Mock Trial team and loved the thrill of talking my way through an argument with no preparation. I considered law for the longest time but realized that starting a family young (if the opportunity presented itself) was more important to me than spending 8 years in school. And then teaching came into play because of my love for social studies. I was pulled aside by a teacher at work and told "have you considered teaching? You do an amazing job at this school and I'd love to see better teachers than what we have now." And since then, I've had several comment on how there shouldbe a scholarship fund set up so I can start school. It's all very overwhelming because I do like kids, but I don't know if teaching is what I want to do for the rest of my life. But hearing several teachers comment on my teaching skills is very flattering. Teaching just doesn't pay like it should. I never wanted money to be an issue but I'm afraid I have to think about it when considering my field of study. I still do not know what to do with my life.

Ciao.

Pictures of Our Apartment

2005-12-01T18:47:00.000-05:00

I've decided to unleash pictures of the apartment, since a few people have asked me what it looks like. The picture on the top left is from the front door, and it looks messy with my notebook on the couch and my stuff on the coffee table, not to mention the whites I folded on the couch and my mom's magazine on the floor. Oh well. In the background is a view of our kitchen and the door beyond that is to our mudroom, which we will not show. So the pictures above and here are all from our apartment. Keep in mind that we went from a 13 room house to a 5 room house with all my mom's junk. Ha. So these two are of the living room. The picture on the bottom left is on the opposite side, facing the double doors into my mom's bedroom.

The above picture is my mom's room (she hates the wall color, we moved in with it that way). I took this pic in complete darkness (my flash is pretty powerful!) so the quality could've been better.
This is Sarah in her room (very messy, I know). I caught her while jumping on her bed.

The picture on the top left is the view of the kitchen from the living room. The door on the right is our room and the door on the left is the bathroom. My mom tried her best to make the kitchen look Italianized so there is a lot of red.

This picture is the ugly bathroom. Yes, yellow-green sinks with brown seats. Blah. We tried to make it look better with the blue rug and funky shower curtain. Please excuse Sarah's dirty clothes.

Yes, this is the bedroom. I'm sure the first thing you notice is the ugly colored walls...not to mention the loads of clothing all over the place. I don't know how I deal with it this way to be honest. The only clear spot on the floor is where my stairclimber is (bottom left of pic). To the left, what you cant see is the tv and computer area which is relatively clean. Anyhow, after seeing this pic, I definitely need to get cleaning so you can see the contrasting, painted-green wood floors. Yuck. It hasn't always looked like this, I just get so exhausted after work that I have no motivation to tackle this big mess (which is mainly my fault).

Ciao.

Christmas time...

2005-12-01T18:23:00.000-05:00

Before this month rapidly creeped up, I had purchased two gifts so far for Shaner. I was really excited about both of them, especially since I had purchased them before he gave me a list of things he'd like (and they were on there!). So, on Monday we went to buy a clothing dryer hose as falling bits of ceiling from the heat wasn't working out. The clamps that were needed for the hose were rather tight and Shane tried to be cheap and use the store's wrench (we were lacking tools at home) to loosen it. Unfortunately, he knew it would take quite effort to get them off and decided on just buying the wrench. Well I wasn't about to let him spent $3 on a new wrench when I had 141piece tool set in the car (Christmas Present Uno) waiting so I said. "Don't buy that."
Shane: I need something to take it off.
Me: Don't buy it.
Shane: I suppose I could always borrow neighbor Phil's (a guy who has been really helpful to us) wrench or something. >>Note: I did not hear this, Shane told me this later.<<
Me: Well, one of your Christmas gift's is a tool set and it is hiding in the trunk.
Shane (surprised look): Well, okay.

So, I grabbed the package that I had bought almost a month earlier (and that he had found, still wrapped, in the backseat as we cleaned out the car two weeks before) and handed it over, with four weeks to go until Christmas. Erg.

That day, as soon as we got home, his second gift had arrived, a year subscription to USA Today the newspaper. He had been buying the crappy local paper all the time because it was cheaper but he preferred USA Today. So, I decided to save him money and get him USA Today. Obviously, it would have been asinine for me to wait for that one, saving up newspapers for a month and on Christmas wrapping them all up.

Either way, his next gift(s) is/are big. It's too hard to explain (not to mention Shane looks over this blog) but it involves one big thing and several extras that are necessary to work the big thing. If that makes sense.

I just ate pizza and now I smell garlic on my breath...hmmm.

Ciao.

2005-11-27T01:44:00.000-05:00

Sarah Elizabeth...isn't she adorable?

2005-11-27T01:42:00.000-05:00

Shane, asleep on the couch in his Halloween costume.

2005-11-27T01:36:00.000-05:00

Shane and I.

2005-11-27T01:35:00.000-05:00

Sarah Elizabeth (my adopted sister) and my mama.

2005-11-27T01:29:00.000-05:00

Crystal and her boyfriend Tristian eating a Spongebob ice cream on the way to Boston (see the rain on the back window?)

2005-11-27T01:27:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite pictures of (from left) Justin my buddy, Shane and Crystal's boyfriend Tristian. This was taken in Boston the weekend I was supposed to meet Leif.

Picture Extravaganza

2005-11-27T01:24:00.000-05:00

All the pictures posted below are from Thanksgiving. All the others are just random ones that I had been meaning to post.

2005-11-27T01:20:00.000-05:00

Awesome picture of Aunt Robin laughing at my geeky mama.

2005-11-27T01:19:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving - My cousin Kyle's super cute son, Noah. What an awesome kid.

2005-11-27T01:18:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving - Uncle Larry at his finest and Aunt Candy (YOUR parents Crys!)