Leaf Thief

This weekend Dad raked and raked and raked to get all of the leaves cleaned up in the front yard. He had about 8 of those big Hefty plastic trash bags filled. We have a service through the city that will come and pick them up for you if you call and leave them on the curb. So, when I left for work yesterday morning, there were 8 big old bags lined up on the curb. Fast forward to 5:00. I came home and as I'm pulling up, notice that there are only three bags left.

Can anyone guess the first thought to race through my mind in light of recent events?

A leaf thief.

For that brief 30 second period I was fully convinced that someone stole 5 fifty pound bags of leaves. I'm not kidding. I thought "Holy crap, the people who broke into my car came back today. Since my car was gone they stole our leaves." Then I thought "You idiot. Why would anyone steal leaves?" As it turns out, the wimpy city dude decided that these three bags were too heavy, so he left them. But honestly, I was convinced we had a thief on our hands.

Rejoining the Living

Finally, I feel somewhat alive again. Wow, that was one killer sinus infection. Thankfully, my fantastic doctor gave me some great antibiotics and a good decongestant, so I slept for the first time in a while last night. I think that definitely helped. My head doesn't feel like it's going to fall off anymore. Now if only the little bit of dizziness would go away, I would be a happy camper!

I can't believe that Christmas is only 26 days away! Holy cow, I need to start shopping! AND I need to send my cards out! This year seems like it has gone by so quickly! I think it's the moving/job switching, etc. Definitely a quick year!

Game tonight - Go Kings! If only we could win this one and make it a 7-7 record! There have been some good articles about Bibby in the paper lately. :)

Yeah for the Hullabaloo!

Wow, the past few days have been awesome!

Kati came home on Tuesday night... I was so happy to see her again! I hadn't seen her since July, which was the longest ever! Wednesday was a short day at work, so I got to come home early and relax a little.

Thursday we went to Adam and Eva's for the 2nd annual Hullabaloo! It was amazing! The chocolate fountain was the best! I'm fully convinced that they haven't turned it off and are still dipping strawberries and bananas! It was great to see the family again! Adam and Eva did a wonderful job - DELICIOUS TURKEY, YUMMY food, and a beautiful set up. We played fun games and just had a fantastic time.

We came home on Friday and went out to a club with some Brig, Amber, Kati and a bunch of friends from high school. It was a lot of fun, but in hindsight, probably not the best idea with the little cold I've been brewing.

Saturday the family went to San Francisco. It almost killed me, but I went. Once I got hopped up on Benadryl D it was a little more bearable, but I was fully convinced I would cough until I died and that my head would roll off my neck. However, we did have a ton of fun doing some shopping. Mom and Dad got me some awesome makeup and I got the coolest purse ever. I've been wanting a big slouchy hobo bag and found the cutest one at the big Macy's. It's a Kathy van Zeeland and Kati came home with a really cute purse by her. Here's mine:

http://www.kathyvanzeeland.com/detail.aspx?ID=255&PCode=H13110

I have the one pictures (in wheat) and it's so adorable! :) Yeah!

So today I am resting. It's much needed. I think I need to get into the doctor tomorrow (probably should have gone on Friday). If I had to place bets, I have a sinus infection and something going on in my left ear. Just a guess though.

Germs

So I have no voice. Nice. No idea where that came from since I don't feel sick at all. Really odd. On Friday night I had a sore throat, which felt like an allergy post nasal drip thing. I've developed a little cough (irritated throat), but (knock on wood) I'm not sick. However, even if I was, EVA, I won't be airborne by Thanksgiving. My germ gestation period will be over by then. Believe, me, I know how to time it. Get sick just enough time before a holiday to not only feel crappy on the holiday, but to not infect anyone else (misery loves company). Besides, snot production is not up and I have a fully functioning nose.

Right now Kati is on a plane home! Woo hoo! I have been so excited all day! I can't wait!

In other, more scary news, Brigitte's sister is having brain surgery right now. I can't believe it. She feels like a little sister to me. She had migraines and they did a CAT scan and found a tumor. Today's her 15th birthday! She's in surgery right now, so I'm thinking TONS AND TONS of happy thoughts!

What A Weekend!!!

This weekend was awesome. The only downfall is that I have a semi-sore throat (it's actually feeling better today) and that my voice is a little funky. I'm thinking allergies and I'm hoping I'm not brewing a cold.

Ok. Yuck. Moving on.

Friday night Kelly and I went to see the opera. We saw Die Fledermaus, which was very well done by our local opera. I was quite impressed! Kelly and I dressed up all fancy and had a great time! The singers were very good and they added some unique little twists (political commentary, dancers and special guests) just the way that they would have done during Strauss's time. :)

Saturday night I hung out with Brigitte, her boyfriend and company. We went to a friend's house to watch UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships). So, it's a combination of boxing, wrestling and martial arts. The only real rules are that they can't bite, head butt or kick each other in the wavos. They basically roll around on the floor and try and break each other's arms and ankle. CRAZY stuff. I don't think that it's something that I would necessarily choose to watch if I were flipping through the channels, but it was pretty cool to watch with Brig and the gang.

Operation Little Elf is almost complete! We've now worked for 3 weekends and are finally nearing the end! Keep the votes coming for the number of strands we're going to use... some of you are very close and some of you are way far off!

I'm so excited - my dear baby sis is coming home on Tuesday! That's only two more days! Yeah!!!

Low on Power

Wow, so all it takes is a little vandalism and a quarter life crisis to get you all to write, huh? :) Seriously, thank you to all of you who have been leaving comments... it makes me feel more like I'm writing to friends than talking to myself.

So today we had a power outage at work. For about an hour and a half. So they emailed everyone to tell us to "leave the site and work remotely". Which translates to "working from my sofa". Nice. I'm loving this work from home thing. I think I actually get MORE done because I don't take those little "stretch breaks" where I walk to everyone else's cube to talk. Instead, I slam through my emails, run to Longs to get my allergy medicine, walk to the dog, clean the bathrooms and vacuum the house. A much more productive day. The best part about it was that I went in and the power outage happened just as I was going to lunch with some friends. So we had a fantastic lunch and then all headed home. Life is good!

I'm feeling a little more on track now. Not quite sure what that whole crisis was last week, but I'm feeling much better this week. Less like the world is caving in. With all the stress I put myself under, it was bound to happen. I'm just glad it was a mini meltdown. :)

Yes, so I'm still listening to the Madonna CD. Eva, you're right... it's the perfect work out music. And it will be great at clubs. Madonna has found her groove again (I was a little worried after the last CD). I've heard that she's going to be on the cover of the next Rolling Stone issue. Thank God my subscription lasts through the end of the year (I do not recommend that magazine - they're so overly political that I think it really takes away from anything they actually say about music).

Now I'm off to relax a little and then to watch ER. God, I love that show. THE plane crash is this week. I can't wait for it!

French Dip with a Side of Creepy

So Mom and I made a little Costco run tonight (got a great book called "Wicked" - it's the story of the Wicked Witch of the West... I've heard great things about it). We were going to have the hot dog special (who can turn down a hot dog and a coke for $1.50?) until I smelled the hot dog of a little girl in front of me. I swear, I threw up a little in my mouth. It smelled like poop. So we nixed the hot dog idea and made a run for our favorite BBQ place. We ordered some french dip sandwiches to go. The waiter/cashier guy was totally flirty, but definitely nerdy. As in too nerdy. And a little too flirty. So I was all to happy to leave once our food was ready. No, it's not that easy. Mr. Overbearing decides he wants to carry it out to the car for me and "my sister?". Lame. To all you men out there, take note of this: even if a girl's mom looks young, don't pretend like you think they're sisters. It's insulting. So Overbearing carries the food out to my car and exclaims "Nice car! Is it turbo charged?". Keep in mind that I have a crappy rental car right now. I told him it's actually a crappy rental car, at which point he asks me what I really drive. I tell him a Pontiac and he says "Wow, must be fast". Yeah, buddy, that's the way to score a date.

In other news, did anyone see "Lost" tonight? It was very cool to see how everything weaved together and to learn about the other half of the survivors. I can't wait to see Sayid kick Ana Lucia's ass for killing off Shannon!

On that happy note, I'm off to read until I fall asleep!

Madonna

Ok, so I've come out of my quarter life crisis just in time for the release of the new Madonna CD, Confessions on a Dance Floor. I absolutely love it! The first single "Hung Up" is on the radio right now - it's a very catchy tune! She's gone with this 70s/80s disco vibe with an electronic twist. It's really working! My favorite tune is "Hung Up" (totally digging the fake little flute part), but I also like "I Love New York" and the classically-inspired "Sorry".

I am genuinely amazed at her ability to span generations. Her music continues to evolve and change as the times change. And dang, that woman looks good at 47!!!

Click the "Listen to the Song of the Day" button to the right to see and hear Madonna's song! Once you're on the page, click "watch the video".

If you have the album, please let me know what you think!

one word...

...to describe my life at this very moment in time...

grrr.

I am just not happy with where I'm at. Don't get me wrong, I know I have more than most, and that I should be thankful for what I do have. But I'm just not happy. I need to find a way out of this funk...

The Rape of Big Red

Now I'm really convinced that this week shouldn't exist.

Today I walked out to my car to leave for work and found that it had been broken into. The quirk is that someone peeled the door open. No, they didn't smash the window, they peeled. The officer said it was definitely more than one person because one guy had to use the crow bar and the other guy had to pull. They walked away with 10 CDs, a pair of cheap sunglasses, my rosary that hung on my rear view mirror and a crystal that Brigitte gave me that also hung on the mirror. They threw everything around inside my car and cleaned out the glove box and console. The officer kept asking me if anyone was mad at me because of the level of vandalism. Most of the time criminals would just have broken the window for a quick in and out. I honestly can't think of anyone that's mad at me. And I don't generally hang around the type of people that would destroy my car if they did happen to get mad at me.

So, my day has been spent calling the police, the insurance company, the rental car people and the repair shop. Not sure how much it's going to be, but my police officer said they will most likely have to replace the whole door to make it structurally sound. Great. I'm sure that will be a quick fix.

My poor Big Red. She's been through so much...

Here are some pictures:




To the bastards out there who broke into my car: you'd better watch out. Stealing a rosary is a pretty serious thing, and God just might smite you. I'd be looking over your shoulder if I were you. Oh, and, if they find you, I'm pressing charges. Felony breaking and entering, baby.

Holy Crap!

So just when you think it's going to be a great day...

Maybe not.

My day started ok. I got up, took my shower and did my hair. Ok, so all I really had going for me was that I was having a good hair day. I didn't listen to my mom and take a coat, so of course it was freezing outside (note to self: put some sort of brownish jacket on Christmas list). Then I was behind EVERY slow driver the entire way to work. Then I sat in these looooong meetings all day, which were good, just looooong. Which then put me behind on my actual work. So I came home at 5pm (later than normal because I go in early) and continue to work until just now (9:30ish). Yeah.

The icing on the cake? The freakin' Kings lost. Fabulous. The game started out really well and then just spiraled downhill. I don't understand. I'm not even going to try to at this point. I'm hoping that by April we have this all figured out and can win us a championship!

I'm going to bed. Peace.

Weekend Wrap Up

What a cool weekend. Pretty mellow, but nice. On Friday night I had a wonderful night out with Brigitte and Amber - we had dinner at Mongolian BBQ and then spend some quality time together at Target. Girls, it was a blast!

Saturday was the beginning of "Operation Little Elf". That would be the Christmas light decorating. Determined to out do the neighbors and get a jump on things, we started the untangling process early Saturday morning. This also involves checking for burnt out bulbs and loose wires. Cody begged to help...

...so we let him be the look out in case the neighbors tried to spy on us.

"Big Elf" and "Little Elf" only decorate in their festive holiday shirts!


Today was a mellow day as well. Went to Kohl's, which is very quickly moving up my list of favorite stores (I love the Candies line of clothes, shoes and bags) and then a nice long nap. Sang at church and came home to watch my Sacramento Kings WIN! Yes, we finally won a game. It's been a slow start to the season, but it was a great win! Woo hoo!

Some of you might be wondering at the color/name change of the blog. I was getting a little tired of green, and we all know that blue is my favorite color, so I went with it. A nice little change. Let me know what you think of it! As far as the name, I was listening to some Travis Tritt tonight and heard his song "Down The Road I Go". Kind of a cool little song and it's all about living life and not knowing where it's going to take you. But you're going down that road. I like it. So I'm going with it. It was either that or "Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof". Nah...

Moody

So today I'm in a kind of weird mood. Almost bratty. But not quite. I'm not really sure what has brought this mood on, but I'm feeling very opinionated and not having a very easy time keeping those opinions to myself. Hmm. That could probably get me in trouble. Thankfully, the day is almost over and I'm in the clear.

I can't wait for it to be fall. I mean, really fall. I want winter storms. I want snow in the Sierras. I want to drive up to the snow, go skiing and drink cocoa. I want to fall asleep listening to the rain outside my window. I'm so happy to be home where the leaves have actually turned colors for the fall. Don't get me wrong, I loved the palm trees, but the leaves are beautiful too. And, now for the most exciting part of fall:

Daddy's little elf is home.

No, that's not dirty in any way. Every year that I've been home for more than 3 days before Christmas, I have helped my dad decorate our house for Christmas. We have the Chevy Chase complex, where our house has to glow from outer space. Mom says it looks like the Las Vegas strip, but we love it. And this year, we're determined to out do the Mafia neighbors (yes, the Sopranos live next door) and REALLY get the house glowing. I'm totally stoked. I'm voting for the purchase of more lights, but Daddy seems to be holding off. In fact, I'm going to create a little poll. (see below right) Let's guess how many strands of lights it's going to take to totally deck the house out this year!

I went swimming last night. Tomorrow will be two weeks since the running ban, and the knee feels a little better, but is still sore. So, like a good girl, I'm going to continue my ice/heat therapy and I'm not going to run. My shoulders are loving yesterday's workout - and I forgot how good swimming is on your tummy since you're almost always holding it in! Nice!

Anyways, I'm off to do therapy and watch ER. Woo hoo, yeah for Thursdays!!!

Massacre

So tonight was the Sacramento Kings season opener. Let me sum up the game with one line, said by the commentator after the Kings scored in about the third quarter:

"Well, that should stop the bleeding for a while."

Not a good sign.

 

At all.

 

Final socre: Hornets - 93, Kings - 67

 

The game looked somewhat positive at the beginning - our new guys are creating some great defense, but the team looked sluggish and like they were forcing plays. I have to say, I miss the Webber-Bibby pick and roll. However, I do think that they can pull it together. I mean, we have 81 more games to go, so there's bound to be a win or two in there. Most sports analysts are giving the Kings a pretty good chance at the title this year - but it's a matter of seeing how well all of the new guys mesh with the old guys.

 

Other than that, today was pretty mellow. Nothing super exciting to report.