nick's it.

poor boy caught my bug.
hoping he's cleared up for the new year's festivities.

christmas was a whirlwind. only took one picture and that was of nick and myself after it was all over! phew. and boy do i look tired in it. shoot. i lied. nick took some of his family, so his uncle could turn everyone into elves. he did the four brothers and it cracks me up!
did six christmases in three days. kinda glad to come back to work and not have to travel and visit. six christmases is a bit much... even more so when sick. thankfully, nick let me sleep on all of our travels.

looking forward to this weekend. rearranging the schedule so we have to do as little as possible.
finally got the details worked out for nye. have a taxi bus bringing us home! cheaper than a limo, totally game for that!

k. back to work i go....

perfect timing.

the title is so loaded with sarcasm.
i am sick.
sucks.
taking ibuprogin and sudafed like a champ.
been napping in between baking and packing and cooking.
blech.
hope it's 24 hour thing. so don't do holidays well when sick.
good news. i am officially done with shopping and wrapping. have one last minute gift i'm going to make. weren't going to exchange with nick's sister. decided last minute to give a babysitting coupon. nothing big, but still. {don't think any family reads this, so i should be safe revealing that!}
had a change in holiday plans. added a party to tonight. might stop by for a bit since i'm sick. really want to go even if it is only for an hour. have a get together tomorrow evening after the indy trip. really hoping the weather cooperates.
off to nap again...

i'll pass.

so i'm driving home from work and notice a sign at a local gas station. well, their main billboard for advertisements.
i had to read it twice.
hotdogs
BIGIF
dude. if you have to advertise your hotdogs are a bit iffy. i'm not having one.
haven't they heard of bogo?
tried to nab a picture but it was a bit blurry since it took me a bit to figure out what they were trying to advertise! maybe i can think extra hard about it tomorrow and do a quick drive by....

baby, it's cold outside.

so obviously, papa pressner had to put his pup in a scarf!
he really didn't wear it out of the house. i promise.
had a blast in this snow. prancing like a little fool. cracked me up! even got stuck in a snow bank. hilarious. so glad he was able to enjoy it minus the conehead.
have been a busy elf. have all of my christmas shopping done and wrapped. well, almost. just need about 5 gift cards. figure that's easy peasy stuff. hoping to grab those on wednesday.
had two work parties for nicholas this past week. went downtown {aka chicago} during the week. ate at carnivale. excellent food. pricey as heck. also had some tasty drinks. then we went to one of his doc's saturday. braved the crazy snow for her. had a good time. excellent food. great beverage. i guess that's the way to my heart. ;o)
started my baking. made some oatmeal scotchies. nummers. also did these tasty lil tidbits. my recipe was a wee bit varied from the one posted... but i'm sure it works just as well. also wanna make those fantabulous oatmeal white chocolate cherry ones. my fil's new fav. must give him a few with his gift.
trying to plan a weird relish tray for the pressner family get together in indy this weekend. nick requested the ham wrapped pickles. so i think i'm gonna make my green olive dip and then stuff some black olives with cream cheese and maybe some green ones with blue cheese. oh and maybe do a quick olive tamponade. hmmm. sounds salty! will take some of my cookie exchange goods as well.
k. off to pay bills and wrap the last present we picked up today....
leave you with a guinness in the snow pic. might be a new fav.

little miss hybrid.

that is officially the name of my car. nick came up with it on our way home with her friday night. so happy to have her back! the leather seats look nice and the heated seats mean my butt is happy!
was a bit miffed... got the car and there was a warning light on. really? whoever drove the car didn't notice? come on. so we had to turn around and head back to the dealer so they could run a check. apparently, they left something unplugged when the did the seats. thankful it was an easy fix.
little miss hybrid is totally inspired by roger hargreaves and his little miss and little mr. books. LOVE them. was looking to buy all of the series a bit back. put that on hold for a while, maybe i should add them to my birthday list.
as soon as the weather is agreeable, i plan on taking some pics of little miss. so her naming layout should be around soon.
finally uploaded my pics to scrapbookpictures. holy cow, i had a lot. i didn't even do the chicago ones yet... waiting on one more disc then i'll decide.
having a lazy weekend.
watched two for the money and transformers. both were good movies. didn't expect much with either. two for came as a recommendation from one of my docs. matthew mchottey and al pacino. can't go wrong. transformers was way better than i could have hoped for. shocked to say i actually enjoyed it!!
currently, sitting on the couch watching football. love days where you can shower and put new jammies on. so relaxing, so great.
still have to wrap. scrapped a page yesterday. hope to make some tags with mfm's november kit. i think it matches my paper and i didn't even plan it! bonus.

big whiner.

one heck of a day. so glad it's nearing an end.
lessee.
-took pup to get neutered. did okay there... found an umbilical hernia. had to fix that too. makes me sad for my poor lil pup. can't wait to see him tomorrow. crazy how much i miss him. crazy how much the cats enjoy him being gone. ;o)
-got to work and 2 people had called off. chaos. super busy. foot not enjoying that. oh well...
-had to take the civic back to honda for the upgrades we purchased. the guy we bought the car from called us at like 5 and told us we had to be there by 6. seriously? did you just find this out? could you not have informed me of that when i scheduled this appointment? ugh.
-got a crummy rental car. mini van or death trap. so not into maneuvering a mini van. death trap it is. okay, maybe not really a death trap. but i do exaggerate.
-get to the mall to look for a christmas gift. can't find it. BONUS: found winter crocs. woot woot. both nick and i got a pair. i have a problem. BUMMER: went to have my rings cleaned and found out a diamond was loose on my wedding band. at least it didn't fall out. now i'm ringless. feel naked. have to wait a week to get it back.
-upon walking to the death trap, find out that it had a temporary license plate. that temporary license plate is EXPIRED. by the time we realize this, enterprise is closed. shit. now what? at this rate, i'm going to be pulled over and get some crazy ticket. call honda. speak to the service manager who we like. not the guy who sold us the car. not so big fans of his... anywho. tell him of our debacle. says he will take care of it in the morning. that he will have them bring me a new car at work tomorrow. nick is talking to him on the phone as i'm pulling into the driveway, when i realize... i forgot the effin garage door opener in the civic. dude. what is with today? thankfully, the guy said he would have the enterprise peeps bring that with the new car.
-when nick talked to the service manager, he discussed some of the complaints we had about our sales man. and informed him that if nick does indeed get an element, we aren't so sure that our man will be the man. might want someone different. listed our complaints: uniformed, didn't have the paperwork ready when we were coming in to buy the car {we waited like 2 hours there!}, and that the dude took a personal freaking phone call for like 10 minutes while he should have been filling out our paperwork. wtf mate? excuse yourself. don't just sit there. ridiculous. get home and the sales man calls to apologize. that's serious service. really okay with the manager. felt kinda bad for the sales man but you know what... a job's a job. and he needs to know how to be professional. so whatevs. nick is a bit anxious to see him again. but what do you do?

i'm now at home. in my comfy jamjams sipping a killer martini. i'm out of wine! watching some foosball. loving on the kitties. looking forward to tomorrow being a new day. talked to my grams. was hoping to nab her car before the car thing got settled. had to fill her in. she told me that old saying... 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.' i told her in my case, 'what didn't kill me, would make me crazy!'

'nuff whining. off to be positive... okay maybe not, i'm such a pessimist, but i'm gonna try! at least for the rest of the evening. ;oP

external hard drive...

in the hizzy. so excited. nick hooked it up. just have to transfer the files. now i can upload all my pics to flickr, scrapbookpictures.com, and here!!
so i'll start with the winners of my coach questions.
there are three. krystn and brandy with the correct number of items. and bre for closest monetary value {without going over bob}. i bought five items for about$580. retail would have been over $1300. egads, right?
here they are....
the one i had to have.


then the extras. the ginormo one is for nick's mom. not sure what came over me, lots of my peeps were way shocked. but hey, it was about what we would have spent on little things, so why not?

so congrats girlies. thinking on prizes. keep your eyes open....
thought i should snap a pic of the new car. it isn't the greatest. sucks going to work when it's dark and coming home when it's dark. maybe i can pull it into the driveway tomorrow. it's going to the shop on monday. should have it back thursday with all the new upgrades.
here she is...

averaging just over 38 miles to the gallon. which is huge. when i first got the car, the mileage was not so great. really hoping to hit that 40 mark...
whatelse.
the foot. here it is... one week later.


pardon the crappy pics. best i could do by myself. was bruise free on the outerside until work on monday. just had some pain and swelling. feeling better. still not great but improving. the second pic shows the bruise under my big toe. got that one falling down the stairs on sunday. seriously. what the hell? and please no one call me colleen or heather... kidding! ;o)
was at bath and body works today. found some super comfy, warm socks... with grips on the bottom. bought 2 pair! one is even supposed to moisturize while you're wearing them...
officially at a scrappy block. think it's the foot. cracked open some wine. moscado to be exact. quite yummy. not so winey. more fruity. a white. i think you reisling likers would enjoy. hoping that helps.
pup gets nipped monday. gonna miss him for that day he's gone... i think. gonna laugh for sure when i see his little cone head tuesday. okay, not little. heffer weighs in at 57.5 pounds. not even 6 months. almost. but not quite! he can stop any time!
and a picture update of guinnea pig.
one of him and nicholas... just so you can see him in relation to a human.


and a fun one. just because.

crap.

lots going on here. so glad i have a few days to recoup.
hit midnight shopping today with a girlfriend and her neighbor. went to the coach outlet. stood in line for 2 hours outside. insanity. it was cold and we had some lake effect snow. thankfully, it wasn't much. made it home today around 5am. maybe i should have a contest... wanna guess how many items i purchased from the coach store and what the total was? sounds like there should be two prizes: one for each question. i'll update later with pics and totals. ;o) hints you say? hmmm. nick freaked a bit. i had been telling him he couldn't get his ps3... after my purchases, i had to let him get it. it's only fair.
slept til after noon today. i am still exhausted.
went to get a new car today. i'm in mourning for beatrix. that bmw was awesome. i was just sick of the service at their store and no way i want to pay to repair that sucker since the warranty would have been up with the lease.
curious as to what i/we got... check it out. missing lots that i'm used to... power seats, sun roof, heated seats, the radio that tells me what's playing, all wheel drive... but we are getting the leather seats and heating mechanism installed soon. got a few other upgrades. not a lot offered since they don't want to change the aerodynamics or add some goodies that will suck the life out of the gas mileage.
had a freak out the last few days over this. i do not do change well. at all.
better now. had a blast watching the gas/battery/charge part of the dashboard coming home. stopped by the 'rents. they approve. my brother is way upset that he can no longer nab the beamer. oh well, tis life. nick and i were just discussing the circle of life in cars... we all start with that beater/hand-me-down from the parents, then we can buy our own car and think we are splurging. that we have this kick ass car because we bought it. then you get your first real job and upgrade that car. sports car, luxury vehicle, gas guzzler.... whatever. then you get practical. like why the heck am i paying this for this. well, at least that is how nick and i are seeing things!
is the best decision for us. got an excellent deal. was really surprised at our bargaining skills. nick was way proud of himself! excited to not have to pay for premium gas any longer. looking forward to the tax break and receiving my boss' incentives from the hybrid purchase.
nick tried to take some pictures but we only had the little camera. couldn't get it to agree with him. everything was blurry. was cussing about how this was a pos. that the rebel is the best camera ever. so proud of him!
nick wants a new car. might have to wait a month or five... or i'll die from a bleeding ulcer. he's looking at this one. funny looking thing. but really neat on the inside.
came home to celebrate... cracked open some wine, went to take the garbage out, and slipped on the wood that is in the garage. seriously thought i broke my ankle. hurts like hell. immediately took some ibuprofin, wrapped it in an ace wrap, and elevated it. feeling much, much better. refusing to go to the er. don't want to admit that it could be broken. being a bad nurse. yeah, it's what we do. keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be three times the normal size in the morning.
oh and thanksgivings. turned out really nice. both of them. might have been the adult beverages helping too... got christmas lists from everyone. really excited to start shopping. i did do some shopping last night. {hint: one purse at coach was not for me!} hoping the ankle cooperates and we can do some shopping tomorrow. really need that new external hard drive!

seeing the light.

-the end of the deck construction is in site! woot, woot! i will be so happy for the boys. it was snowing while they were working today. hoping it is completely finished tomorrow.
-i freaking took a nap almost every day this past week. not sure what my deal is, but i was exhausted on friday since i didn't nap thursday. must nip this in the bud.
-puppy classes went well. really like the trainer. have seen a bit of an improvement already. however, the food aggression did not go well. have to continue to hand feed him. which is okay. i want to do whatever is best for him. hoping she can work wonders and put an end to it.
-scrapped for the first time in ages today. lots. well, lots in one day for me. 4 so far. hope to crank out a few more.
totally enjoying my raspberry beer. yum-o. been hoarding a few bottles for some time. had to crack open the bottle to make the boys raspberry syrup with their pecan french toast this morning. and heck, a girl can't let a perfectly good bottle go to waste... can she?
-still need to get the external hard drive. soon. this week.
-glad for the short week. bummed that work is always crazy on the short ones tho... and we get bonuses on wednesday. bonus. just in time for black friday shopping. nick has to work friday morning. trying to convince him to come with me anyway. a girlfriend has offered to replace him. she doesn't want to buy and i feel if i drag her along, i will just be tempting her. so we'll see.
-starting looking at new cars. thinking about hybrids. you kids have any car suggestions? bad thoughts? good thoughts? i'm open. love beatrix the beamer, but the lease is up and so is the warranty. not sure if i can afford any repairs on her should they arise. so new car it is.
-diggin this fun site. thanks for sharing jude. another way to pass time at work. put it in the sidebar ----> for easy access. good thinking, eh? :o)

earplugs.

i so need some. last night i elbowed nick in the middle of the night thinking he was the jackass snoring so loudly that it woke me from my slumber. after elbowing him a few times, and still hearing that annoying snore, i realized it was guinness. ole boy might be moved into another room if this keeps up.
and yes, i apologized to nick for any bruises that he might have after the angry elbow jabs. ;o)

vacation?

can i please go on another one?
felt well rested after jamaica, then went to work and had a super busy week. then had the byom get together in chicago. which was exhausting. a blast, but whoa, was i beat. about 6ish hours of sleep in one weekend, does not cut it for shannon!
work was crazy again and i'm hoping to relax this weekend.
guinness passed his puppy class with flying colors. has a cute little certificate and everything. however, we aren't 100% about what we are going to do next. i think his pitbull tendencies are coming through. so we have a private puppy class with this company. they have an excellent reputation and i just want to make sure we do everything correctly. okay, that might not be worded properly but i want the little g man to be well behaved. no growling, no nipping, and listening all the time, not just when it's suits him.
my external hard drive is in the process of crashing. have all the pictures burned to dvds. just have to upload them to scrapbook pictures and flickr.
watched saw 3 last night. holy heck. each time i watch one, i swear i will not watch the next. but now i'm anxious to know how it plays out. must watch a funny one tonight to make up for it!
have lots of scrappies to do. sooo excited for the goodies coming from byom. cannot wait! working on rsc stuff today. lots of goodies this month, hope i can find time to squeeze something about with everything! working on a fun page for my article. it features a challenge blog. working on the details, but might include a challenge with it. jen has some prizes, hoping to figure it out. i'll keep you posted here!
diggin the weather warm up. 20 was way too cold. i'm so not ready for winter. ack.
deck is getting there. so proud of those boys. has taken forever and this daylight savings isn't helping with time!
putting up an electric fence for guinness too. hope it works!
kittys are same. thinking of getting a kitty tower for them. they are currently hanging out on my dining room table. found a cute one at petsmart, have to figure out transportation details tho!
excited for football tomorrow. bears are off of their bye. really hoping they can beat oakland. and looking forward to the indy/chargers game.
cannot believe it's almost thanksgiving. seriously, christmas is coming! eek! throwing around some project ideas but who knows if i will actually find the time to complete them.
have ditched yoga/pilates for over a month. and might not go this week for private puppy classes. i'm thinking if they were pissed that we weren't showing up, they would call. we pay monthly automatically so i would think they were happy with just having that money. we shall see. hoping the schedule settles a bit!
k. enough procrastinating/bloggin. must do some work!

sunny memories...

back from jamaica. had the BEST time. looking forward to going back. well, we might try a different sandals location next year, but it's official. i love jamaica. the people are friendly, the weather {when not raining} is perfect, the ocean is sooooo blue, the food is tasty {hello jerk chicken}, and the rum ain't bad either! ;o)
this is honestly the first vacation that i don't feel like i need another week off to recoup. was so nice to lounge, relax, and do nothing. not that i don't like traveling with others, but it always feels like you have to be doing something. and it wasn't like that this time. rarely set the alarms, no having to go and see everything. just happy to be.
so the deets. i know that's what you want. not me rambling about how damn lazy we were!
had an early, early, early travel day wednesday. stayed up late packing tuesday night. i think we finished at like midnight. then we took a two hour nap. had planned on packing over the weekend. but had some stuff come up. nick's mom impromptu birthday get together, our friend's mom passing away and spending time with him. just lots of little stuff...
so limo comes at three am wednesday morning. gets us to ohare by 3:45. decent time. amazing how quick you can get someplace when there is no traffic! the lines at ohare were so quick. air jamaica, security. might have to start traveling this darn early all of the time! flight was well. slept through most of it. served us champagne. yay! ended up on the island at like noon. had to take a shuttle to the resort. like a three hour bus ride. and they drive on the wrong side of the road! egads, so glad i didn't have to drive myself! stopped at a rest area. took this picture, which i love and paid $6 for a bag of cheetos. silly us. but we were a bit hungry!
got to the resort before check in, were able to just hang by the pool for a bit. didn't stay long since the suntan lotion was packed... didn't want to fry on the first day! finally, were able to go to our room and we passed out. can you say 5 hour nap?!
thursday was rainy. bummer. thought there could have been a hurricane forming. were keeping an eye on the weather channel.
spent the day in the room and then had the rub a dub dub treatment: exfoliating salt scrub, bubble bath for two, then a 60 minute massage. excellent. the salt scrub was a bit painful, but the rest was heavenly. went back to the room so relaxed. i swear, i drooled during the massage.
had dinner at their japanese style restaurant. was okay. had some londoners at the table. was awesome. loved their accents.
friday was better. had originally planned to go to dunn's river that afternoon, but the rains came yet again, so we cancelled. was okay. nick ended up making new friends with some of the people who worked there and played sand volleyball all afternoon. he was in heaven.

saturday was the freaking wedding factory! swear, i saw 6 brides before noon. was insane. nick recertified in scuba. then went off for a quick dive. said it wasn't as nice as hawaii but had a good time nonetheless.
awesome pic from that... {sandals sends photographers on excursions and they walk around the resort taking your pictures, which is way nice. however, at $10/pic is a bit ridiculous. we couldn't resist and bought a bunch tho....}
sunday = nothingness. okay a bit of snorkeling. was given a really cool sand dollar by the dive master, nick broke it. bummer. and i just love the salt water there. so not as salty as like florida, california, or hawaii. strange but true... i think.
monday was a shopping excursion. went to a few mall type areas then one of the local people. was insane. the poverty level is heartbreaking. spent money at a bunch of little shacks. how could i not?
tuesday was dunn's river. awesome, awesome, awesome! if you ever go to jamaica this is a must. was seriously so cool. hiked up the waterfall. holy heck was the water cold! we took a party boat there, so we were able to do some snorkeling before hand. then they opened up the liquor and it was rum and red stripe everywhere! had a little dance party on the way back to the resort. seriously. the best time!
nick met up with his volleyball friends again in the afternoon.


wednesday. so sad. our last full day. did nothing. lounged and read. okay. i lied again. nick did some hobbie cat stuff. convinced me to get on with him too. then we did this giant trikebike thingie! rained a bit on and off. had a photo shoot with the sandals peeps. was nice.


thursday was homecoming. sad. got up early to take some shots down by the water. so glad we did. turned out great.

lounged on the couches, until our shuttle came for us.
ran into some nasty weather in montego bay. thought our flight might get delayed or cancelled. had some turbulence on the way home. darn clouds. landed at ohare around 10. again, tho... customs and all those kinda lines were excellent. the baggage conveyor belt thingie broke like three times. so we waited a bit for luggage. the limo picked us up and had us home around midnight. long day.
{have tons of pics. might share periodically, just didn't want to overwhelm in one ginormo post!}
friday we picked up guinnea pig. he gained 9 pounds while he stayed with nick's dad and his girflriend. will take pics and share those soon. 42 pounds is his official weight. and boy does he look like a pit. ah well, he's a good pup.
then it's back to the daily grind. nick and his family have been working on the deck. i've been trying to get some scrappy projects done. so not looking forward to work on monday. but excited about halloween. hoping to find time to carve some pumpkins!

it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

heard a rumor that we get served rum on our flight to jamaica. quite a breakfast, dontcha think?
had a busy two days at work. exhausted and it's only tuesday. so looking forward to some relaxation.
be back soon....

whirlwind.

these next few days are gonna be nuts.
lots and lots going on. kinda overwhelming. maybe the timing couldn't be better? that this vacation is going to help us slow down a bit. who knows.
got my camera bag from tracy joy. posted about it a bit ago. holy heck, it's so much cuter in person! soft and fluffy. and so bright and pretty. love the stripes and the brown. it's a bit big. but it might just work as my carry on so i'm cool with that. loving the inner pockets. my girlfriend saw it at work and said she wanted one. so doesn't even take pictures. hilarious. had told her i was looking at diaper bags because i heard they were a good substitute. told me this was way cuter than any diaper bag i would have found. then i told her that she also made diaper bags {she's thinking about numero dos} saw a sparkle in her eye. just might have to be her gift next time around.
talked to the friend in the marathon. said it was crazy. he is okay. had to stop after about 16 miles. hoping he can try again next year. maybe nick can join him then.
lots of packing. lots. have most of the stuff i need, still on a hunt for some cute brown shoes. we shall see.
first pedicure this weekend. kinda excited. hoping my feet won't be crazy ticklish. that could be dangerous!
bad people... ditched pilates and yoga. guess we just need some down time. nick especially. he's been working nonstop on the deck. they even made some comment at one class we attended, something about if you sign up, please come. blah, blah, blah. i'm sorry. but if i'm paying you regardless if i go or not, why do you care? i know. i know. waste of money. but some days i just have no go after work. ya know?

sunday gibberish.

so just some randomness...

-went shopping yesterday. tried on a super cute shirt. got stuck in it. seriously, couldn't get it off. the dressing room was full. i was dying! so afraid i would rip it and everyone would know it was me. too embarrassed to go outside and ask someone to help me. wishing everyone would leave and i could sneak to nicholas.
the darn thing was stuck on my arms! couldn't lift it up off my bulging biceps. finally got it off by pulling the neck over my head, but then it was stuck behind me.
goodness, it was terrible. i finally went out to show nick the next outfit and he was like, dude?! i confessed that i was stuck in my shirt in a whisper. showed him the sexy red marks on my bulging biceps to prove it! he told me the shirt was too cute not to get, the lady next to him even said so too. he promised to help me out of it. must remember to not argue with him that day or i'm doomed.
-have a gd fly swarming around here. annoying the heck out of me.
-today was the chicago marathon. nick was unable to run. he's totally bummed. jason did run. haven't heard from him, but hoping things went well. nick's thinking about retraining again next year.
-the deck is coming along nicely. have a scrapbook page in my head already about the progress they made in one day.... 'what a difference a day makes.' still have to take the after pictures. maybe tomorrow morning since it's dark now.
-excited for pumpkin decorating at work wednesday. we try to have spirit days {need a better term but it works} and since our doc flew to syria for ramadan, this was our chance. have a few different ideas in my mind. gonna stop at j's for some odds and ends. the only rule is that we can't carve them. which makes sense, since we are going to display them around the office for the next few weeks. fun!
-puppy is growing up. lost three teeth. think they all came out yesterday. poor guy. wanna picture so bad, but he's not very cooperative. lil bugger has learned to jump. the couch, the bed. just not into the car yet which is curious since the car is way lower than those other objects.
-had a dream that we forgot our passports for the trip. egads. that would suck.
-had a dream that i gave guinness puppy ambesol for his teeth. do they even make that?
-found out grandma is going in for a capsule endoscopy tomorrow. she has a blockage. if the capsule gets stuck, it's emergency surgery. hoping everything will be okay. fingers crossed that i don't get a phone call while i'm at work.
-been suzy homemaker as of late. nick told me he's going to build more often, so i cook more! made homemade mac n cheese, pulled pork tacos, reuben bake, cherry cream cheese coffee cake, beer brisquet. totally inspiring me to organize my recipes. i tend to collect. gonna start cataloging on index cards in an altered bg lunchbox... just the recipes we have tried and liked. will have a different area for 'to try' recipes. hoping this works for us.
-k. off to feed the boys... and hopefully watch the bears win. sigh. just not good times for chicago sports!

happiness.

i know unless i'm true to myself,
i couldn't be happy.
too much emphasis is placed today
on externals and too 
little on character.
betty white

a new fun quote. it's been a while.
saw this in my inbox and it really made me think. so true. so want to be able to say i lived a life that i was happy with. that i didn't compromise myself. granted, i know there is a give and take at certain times. but in the end, i want to say that i wasn't afraid to stand up for me.


and side note. just realized that nick and i are going on this vacation alone. well, i knew that. but it's our first vacation together. by ourselves. no friends. no family. just us. turned to him as we were driving last night and said, 'what if i find out that i don't like you.' ha. aren't i funny? truly, cannot wait. getting more excited by the day!

ding dong.

our doorbell has run like 8 times today. probably a world record for us.
puppy loves trying to sneak out the door.
been busy. but good busy. back to pilates and yoga. which is awesome. loving lazy sundays for football watching and monday night football. but all that football is putting a dent in my reading/scrapping/shopping time!
have lots to do before our trip. can't believe it's here already. crazy! did purchase a new camera bag from tracy joy. kimberly with that funky, fun stripe! have been on a waiting list for at least a month. was super stoked to hear back from her and know that i'll have it in time for jamaica! yay.
can't believe we've already made new year's plans. going out for the first time ever. should be fun.
the boys: nick, his dad, and his uncle are outside working on our new deck. fingers crossed that all goes well.
went on a crazy spending spree. new flat screen for the bedroom, new laptop, new cellphones, the deck. egads. eagerly anticipating all those bills... not! i'm not really a techie person, but i'm digging all these new purchases.

pet update: kitties are adjusting to guinness. guinness is mellowing out. the trainer at puppy classes today even told us he was a smart dog. that he was doing extremely well for his age. nice to know that all of our training is paying off. kinda made us proud parents.
pictures soon.... hafta to hook the camera up to the computer and haven't had nick figure that out yet. so soon. definitely before we leave. =)

middle name game...

The rules...
You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.) When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post and then choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't' forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

M = moody
A = type A
R = responsible
I = imaginative
E = enigmatic {nick's choice.}

puppy classes.

started today. no training. just letting the puppies get to know one another. guinness is currently passed the heck out. which is brilliant. i need scrap time!
the class is small. three dogs including mr. g. a boxer named sophie who is afreakingdorable. and a bull terrier named maverick who loved humping the other two. they all did pretty well.
looking forward to next week where we can actually do some training!
the trainer was encouraging play friends for the dog. now nicholas wants another. grrrr. i knew it. i knew i would cave and then one wouldn't be enough. i'm trying to bribe him with a tv. we shall see!
oh and our pup was the biggest. and the youngest. sigh. hoping the boxer goes on some crazy growth spurt. our trainer said he has a boxer that is 135 pounds. egads.
k. really off to get some work done since baby is sleeping! ;o)

all about me.

got this in an email. sent it out and then thought it might be fun to share here...

Put an X by all the things you've done, or remove the X from the ones
you have not, and send it to all of your friends (including me.)

This is for your entire life:
( ) Smoked a cigarette
(X) Drank so much you threw up.
( ) Crashed in a friend's car.
( ) Stolen a car
(X) Been in love
(X) Been dumped
( )Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight
( ) Sneaked out of your parent's house
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Lied to a friend
( ) Skipped an entire semester
(X) Seen someone die
( )Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington , DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(X)Sang karaoke
(X)Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose And laughed
more after that
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Made a snow angel
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about.
(X) Blown Bubbles
(X) Made a bonfire on the beach/campground
( ) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller skating
(X) Gone ice skating

OK, here are the questions:

What are you afraid of? failing
Most recent movie you have seen in the theater? i know pronounce you chuck and larry
Seen a ghost? probably
Where were you born? east chicago, in
Ever Been to Alaska ? no
Ever been toilet papering? yes
Loved someone so much it made you cry? yes
Been in a serious car accident? nope
Do you plan to have any more children? um, that would imply i have children... and that's still to be decided.
Favorite day of the week? wednesday. okay, not really. i don't have an answer.
Favorite Restaurant? don't really do favorites. how bout anything mexican!
Favorite Ice Cream? vanilla bean
Favorite Shake flavor at a fast food restaurant? strawberry
Favorite food at a fast food restaurant? anything from taco bell.
What color is your bedroom carpet? off white
What is your favorite alcoholic drink? tequilla.
Favorite non-alcoholic drink? cherry coke
Tattoos? nope.
Body piercing? yes.
What is your favorite vacation spot? again, no favorites. like trying new places!
Ever steal any traffic signs? no
Favorite Salad Dressing? ranch
Favorite number? who knows. 6 or 10 or 13.
Favorite Holiday? fourth of july and halloween
What do you do to relax? take a bath and read a book
What is your favorite food? potato chips. hey, that was an easy favorite one!
Where do you see yourself ? in the mirror?
Farthest place you will send this? not sure...
How many times did you fail your driver's test? zero
From whom did you get your last e-mail? crystale.
What do you do when you are bored? scrap, watch tv, read, bother nick. ;o)
Who is the least likely to respond? dunno.
Who is the person that you are most curious to see their answer? anyone who will play! i love reading these silly things.
Favorite TV show? grey's anatomy
What are you listening to right now? jack fm
How many pets do you have? three: two cats, one dog.
The chicken or the egg? who knows.
What would you like to accomplish before you die? hmmm. tricky one... not sure. maybe just to live a happy and healthy life.
How many people are you sending this e-mail to? lots!


i've deleted the forwarding directions... hope you girls will play!

thoughts...

on this past weekend.
-football = happiness. so excited it's back. spent the weekend lounging, watching pup, and eating. good times. nick was helping his dad lay new wooden floors. fun for them!
-vmas. so didn't watch. loving overdrive on mtv. had to catch miss britney's stellar performance. {did you notice that was dripping with sarcasm?} LOVED chris brown's. so great. swoon. might be my second musical boyfriend... behind jt.
-scrappies. got some stuff done. whew. just have to work on my samples for the upcoming crop at byom. so for those of you who read this, and don't already frequent those boards... you totally should. =)
-good puppy. getting better. yay. a bit lessing biting which is awesome. and attacking the kitties less... so that's always a good thing.
-pictures. still waiting for my order. guess it takes a bit to print 550-ish pictures.

buzzzzz....

i hate mosquitos. dispise them. i derive great joy out of killing those stupid suckers.
apparently, the monsoons that rolled through here a while back have created a mighty viscious crop. if you care, you can read an article from the local paper here... really not that exciting. but i think it proves i'm not really exaggerating this time. =)
so this nasty crop has nick and i arguing over who takes guinness outside at night. horrible parents. i usually win. bought some off that wasn't supposed to smell like off and it totally smells like butter. what the heck? heard a rumor that plain ole listerine works wonders. you don't spray it on you, but on inanimate objects around you....
might just have to go out and buy a fogger or a gazilion citronella candles.
does anyone know if they make mosquito suits? like those that bee keepers wear but for mosquitos... i might be interested.

better.

slowly but surely i'm getting better. ;o)
nothing like a long weekend of nothingness to refresh one's mind, body, and soul.
had stuff going on, but nothing crazy, overwhelming. totally off topic, but i have my word for next year... balance. this is is breathe. still hafta do that mini album... k. back to regularly scheduled topic.
crap day at work friday. good friday evening. sleep, sleep, and more sleep!
saturday morning was mr. guinness' first trip to the vet. went really well. 17-18 pounds depending on where he stood on the scale. went to my aunt and uncle's in the afternoon for a get together. really nice. however, no grandma. still in the hospital but on the mend. so yay. should be home tomorrow.
sunday was dinner and game night with jay and chris. they even got a sitter for baby brady. guinness was well behaved, so that was enjoyable.
today. scrapped a bit. not nearly as much as i would have liked. but getting there. been out of the swing of things for a bit too long.
was able to order a boatload of pictures from scrapbook pictures. so looking forward to that mail day!
planned out deck issues with nick's dad and his girlfriend. her rule is that jerry can't help us with the deck until she gets her hardwood floors. so starting this week, we'll be heading over there to help them. then when that's finished it is deck time.
i'm really thinking we might be here for a while. kinda relaxing to not worry about building. taking it day by day... who knows, nick might go and change his mind again about babies!
well, seriously. nick just weighed guinness. heffer weighs 20 pounds. that's 3 pounds since saturday. dear lord. christy guessed he'll weigh about 60-75 pounds. hope that's all... any guesses?
oh and on the subject of puppy. he almost killed himself today. bad times.
nick was outside and guinness was exploring the study. somehow he managed to knock one of nick's speakers off of the desk and somehow had the speaker and the cord wrapped around his neck. the yelping/crying/screaming was too much. i couldn't get him to calm down... totally sucked. just sat there thinking 'how am i going to tell nick that his dog died?' horrible. managed to untangle him... bruised the heck out of my hand in the process. worth it, if pups okay.
totally dug the long weekend. not necessarily looking forward to work... keeping fingers crossed it's gonna be a good week!

and some crazy puppy pics for you... cuz, i'm a proud momma. and don't tell the cats, that they don't get any screen time... shhhh....

after the vet... pup was thirsty. had a bottle of water in the car... this is what we got!

enjoying a carrot for the first time. he's now also had string beans, celery, and cauliflower. so not getting cauliflower again... didn't agree with poor little man.

passed out on his dad's lap a few days ago. can't believe he might be so big that he is unable to do this at a later date. our baby is growing up! ha.

sigh.

so much has happened since last post. only a week.
wasn't gonna share. but not sure i can keep it in. i mean, i did start this to get everything out there. and yeah, it's public so it's censored a bit... but what they heck.

saturday morning: got a phone call that my coworkers husband was killed on the job. so, so shocking. just saw him friday. joked with him. laughed. they were only married a few months - are older, she has children from previous relationships... were set to close on a house this past wednesday. has to be out of her place by this weekend. her son is in iraq. a marine. had to figure out how to get him home. worried about her wanting to help but feeling like i'm coming down with a cold. has had sooo much crap in her life it just doesn't seem fair.
nick's dad and girlfriend had planned on coming over... thought it might be good for a distraction, i was nearly in tears for the first half of the day. passed out during the second bourne movie! had lots of mojitos. yummy. hmmm. maybe that didn't help. cold + liquor = sleepy shan.

sunday: cold is here. so sucks. no energy. no voice. can't help coworker. can't help nick take care of puppy.

monday: call off. first time in ages. feel horrible. but i cannot subject my patients to the walking mess that would have been shannon. could have killed someone.

tuesday: a bit better, but no voice. that does me nothing. i talk to people all day. home again. sucked into a project runway marathon on bravo. when the heck are they bringing that show back??

wednesday: have to go to work. have to. going out of my mind at home. wish i had the energy to be productive while i was home. well, i guess i did. tuesday i aleene's my purple onion stamps! ;D
work kicked my ass. not only did i have an extremely sexy voice {note the written sarcasm} i had to deal with my coworkers, doctors, and patients making fun of me! oh well, if i can make someone laugh, why the heck not? and talking to people on the phone. hilarious.
super, super tired. exhausted by 2ish. had to suck it up and go to two wakes. no way i could miss the one for my coworker's hubby. that is just shitty. no matter how i felt. it was how i was raised. what i believe. i'm there to support her. show my respect. my cold is irrelevant. it's not that long. but after being there and crying, i went to another. sigh. a patient. my first patient wake in the four years i have worked here. not sure what it was about this one. just HAD to go. she made me laugh... telling me about her wind blowing off in the parking lot of the grocery store and how she couldn't chase after it because it reminded her of a tumbleweed so she just sat there laughing... maybe it was the family. they were always with her. supporting her. encouraging her. so maybe i went for them. maybe i don't go to more because my patient's families don't come with them. i would just be a face in the crowd. they wouldn't know who i was... this seemed different. so the right thing to do. more tears. more hugs. was good. my sinuses didn't agree. but as a person, i knew that is what i needed to do... even if it was for me and not necessarily for them.

today: back to work. still crap for a voice. nice. told some of my patients i had to yell at some from the day before. they better watch out. ha! way more worn down than yesterday.
spoke to my mom, for the first time in ages, on the way home from work. found out grandma isn't feeling well... still. was in the hospital not too long ago for walking pneumonia. hasn't fully recovered. then had some intestinal issues. fast foward to a phone call from my mom about an hour later... grandma called 911 last night. took her to the er. she has since been admitted.

tonight: hoping to curl up on the couch {maybe snuggle with nick while trying not to contaminate him} and watch the bears tonight...

this weekend: i'm staring friday as the weekend... more work. short day i hope. won't be stopping by the hospital to see grandma. all she needs would be to catch whatever crap i have... love her too much for that. friday evening. nada. sleep, veg, relax. sounds perfect.
saturday: puppy to the vet. yay! more shots... tentative get together at my aunt and uncle's. in limbo tho with grandma being unwell.
sunday: nothing?
monday: dinner with nick's fam. have to figure out details of them building our new deck in the near future...
nick mentioned trying to get to michigan with his family... but with me not feeling well and puppy not sure that's a good combo.

too much.
haven't been to yoga or pilates in about a month. i lie. we might have gotten in one pilates class. hoping that fall brings a less crazy time. this summer has been insane.

so there you go. my week of crap. maybe that's what i should have titled this post. shan's crap week. crossing my fingers it gets better. and sorry if it sounds a bit whiney. so unintentional. but i guess it's my blog so i can do what i want. ;oP

hmmm. and the fiesty shan pokes her ugly head... must be feeling better already. :o)

monsoon season?

our weather has been crazy. severe rains for several days in a row. tornado warnings the whole shebang! nuts. and i have been so exhausted that i have managed to sleep through every single one of them. always been a sound sleeper! ha.
so today, we have a crazy downpour right as i'm leaving work. have a mini umbrella in my purse for emergencies... had to whip that bad boy out. still was quite wet by the time i made it to the car. but then thought about how grateful i was to be wearing scrubs. these suckers dry quickly! love it. so then i started thinking about all the reasons i love wearing scrubs:
-as previously mentioned, they dry quickly.
-drawstring pants.
-low maintenance. shaves a good few minutes off my morning routine. i hate picking out clothes.
and to be fair some drawbacks:
-they are oh so flattering.
-drawstring pants. you don't realize that you have gained weight throughout the week until you try to cram your ass into your regular people clothes. ;o)
-wrinkly buggers. i hate ironing.
-see through ones. grrr.

k. puppy updates. he's doing well. sleeping about 6 hours at night. woohoo. thinking nick and i have a morning schedule all set. our friends are coming over and letting him out during the day. i will be so happy when that is over. i feel like we are totally an inconvience although they are home and said it was no problem.
he is getting huge! up to 16 pounds. that's double in 2 weeks. he can now go up and down the stairs. knows sit. working on his name. have to thank an online buddy for all her help with this little man. suggesting some great books and has given us really helpful hints. so thank you!!

some pictures of the big headed dog... seriously you can't tell in these pics... but it is truly quite large! ;o)

check out his peepers. such sad little ones.


passed out in our bathroom. he loves the tiles. had to put a fan in front of his cage, he was so darn hot all the time!

with his momma. being a good boy before bed. and can i just say, i adore the little strip of white down his nose. so cute!


off i go. i think the monsoons are back...

tgi-monday?

phew.
so glad the weekend is over. felt like last week was a whirlwind. so not fans of those kind of weeks.
looking forward to the new one!
grandma is out of the hospital and feeling way better. sounds better too! poor thing had walking pneumonia. she was totally itching to go home... but waited it out saturday night for her lobster dinner. she cracks me up.
nick and i are official uncle and aunt... his sister had a baby boy thursday. noah. everyone is back home... now to figure out when to visit. forgot the gift on the way to the hospital. nick's dad was going to take it friday after letting guinness out but forgot. today they were heading over there and offered to deliver it. we would have joined them but we had my brother's 23rd birthday party.
took puppy over after we were there a few hours. kinda nice living so close. would have taken him for more and left him out in the yard but it was pouring. so guinness got to meet the family. he did really well. yay. calling to sign him up for puppy training tomorrow. fingers crossed the class isn't full. silly dog knows how to sit but doesn't know his name. ;oP
friday night was fun with friends. love game nights with them. their baby is growing leaps and bounds. looks so big!
was able to get quite a few projects done. trying to figure out a routine between nick and myself and this constantly needing attention dog!
he told me he needs some me time. no kidding. then admitted that he wasn't sure he was ready for kids. phew. glad he's realizing it's a lot of work. i just think since we had this baby spurt over the past year it really hit him.
my thoughts. when it's time, it's time. no worries. totally trying to relax more. go with the flow. remembering to breathe.

hmmm. what else.
-thinking about christmas. gasp. i know. trying to work out projects in my head.
-cut my new purple onion stamps. now to find time to attack them with aleene's.
-finally scheduled for a haircut this week.
-decided we are changing from hard yoga to lazy yoga on thursday nights. had some changes to their locations. mixed up our schedule. looking forward to the change.
-loving my rebel and that stellar new lens. hate taking pictures with my little camera. ;o)
-looking forward to a bourne-a-thon with my father in law and his girlfriend. fingers crossed for this weekend.
-getting excited for our vacation...
-anxious about building our deck.
-okay with not knowing what the future has in store for us. realizing we might stay here since nick's isn't so baby crazy. knowing we don't need more room. that we are okay. we can adjust. loving that our friends and family are SO close.
-enjoying the time we have been able to spend with our loved ones this summer.
-adding to my croc obsession. got me a pair of scootes. woot, woot! i believe my total is now 5...
-needing to buy a rug for in front of our sliding glass door, now that we are constantly in and out with guinness.
-relieved that our kitties are doing alright with their new baby brother. ;o)
-not looking forward to school starting. pass a high school on the way to work... major congestion. will so add a few minutes to my commute!

k. think that's more than enough. time for zzz's.

egads.

we've had a lot going on around here.
new puppy is plenty of work.
grandma is in the hospital.
nick's sister is going to have a baby anytime now.
eek.
too much.

all is well, just busy. promise to post more this weekend.
thanks for the kind words on guinness. he's actually a pretty good puppy. and it might have convinced nick to not have a baby. ha. ;o)

week long crop.

at rsc. come check it out. it's pretty neat. jen's having it last one entire week. love the longer length. most of the time i feel so rushed in two days, so this will be a nice change!
and there are boatloads of prizes. tons people. just for participating. and there are digi prizes too! not just all paper.
here are the actual details. hope you will come by and check it out!!

Ready-Set-Create
End of Summer Crop
Kicks off 8/10/07 and lasts until the following Friday 8/17/07
This week-long crop will give you plenty of time to play and create, without feeling rushed! Our wonderful sponsors have provided lots of exciting prizes, from paper to digital.

www.readysetcreate.com
http://readysetcreate.com/forum/index.php?act=module&module=gallery

The Prizes Are:
The Digi Chick: Sponsor
Inkadinkado: Sponsor
Nitwit Collections: Sponsor
Tina Williams Designs: Sponsor
Scrappingham Palace
Die Cuts With A View
Andrea Nelson Designs: Sponsor
7 Gypsies
All My Memories
Scenic Route
Karen Foster
3 Bugs in a Rug
Magistical Memories
Magic Mesh
Ki Memories: Sponsor
Paper Trunk: Sponsor
Cornish Heritage Farms: Sponsor
EK Success
The Paper Element: Sponsor
P.M. Designs
Stemma: Sponsor
Piggy Tales: Sponsor
Prima: Sponsor
Wube: Sponsor
Paperwerx: Sponsor
Basic Grey
Junkitz
Maria LaFrance: Sponsor
J3 Designs http://www.designsbyj3.com/

guinness.

we are now the proud owners of a new puppy!
darn hard to get some good pics while trying to keep an eye on him and the cats... better ones to come. to see all that i snapped today, click here.

so his name is guinness. our 8 pound new addition to the family. totally think it's funny that i can call him lil g. ;o) won't be so little in a bit. we know he has akita in him, otherwise we know nothing. had him checked out by our friend the vet. says he's ship shape. but he does have an upper respiratory infection. lil g is gonna be on some antibiotics for a few weeks. and we bought robitussin so we could sleep tonight. totally didn't know you could give pets robitussin!
he's a doll. so far only one accident and that was dad's fault. and only barked twice-ish.
the cats... well, they are adjusting. i do have a picture of orbit looking exactly like a halloween cat. all arched and tail fluffed. at least, i hope i caught that on film. not that i think he's done being a fluffed up jealous guy. but that's okay! think it's hilarious that the cats don't realize they are being than him. got at least 5 pounds on the guy!

nick has talked about owning a dog for ages. i just never wanted to commit. i gave. started seriously looking a few weeks ago. really, really wanted a pug/beagle mix. love me some puggles. or even just a pug. but nothing was working out. even checked out a mastiff/lab mix. um, hello big dog!
saturday we drove around to local animal shelters and humane societies. found this little guy. signed the papers to adopt, found out monday we were the proud new owners. couldn't pick him up until today. which was good. gave us time to shop for his crate and toys and read up on training him. totally nick's job.
as for his name... i met a dog a while back named guinness. had similar coloring. had it in the back of my mind all these years and with his coloring, it just seemed to fit.

hoping things all work out okay! gonna totally sign mr. guinness up for some puppy training.

i would share more but blogger is being a bugger. sorry. check the flickr ones... he's worth it. ;o)

i know pronounce you...

hilarious.
totally funny movie. helps that i love adam sandler. and the david spade cameos. too much. oh and rob schneider, so effin funny! and ving rhames. oh my goodness. too much!
i think it might help that i wasn't expecting much... i always hate when i'm disappointed for expecting so much. and since we hadn't planned on seeing the movie it worked out alright!
the decluttering is working. still in progress but getting there. had a good weekend. decent mix of play and relaxation. hoping it keeps up!
might have some exciting news to share... should know more tomorrow. and no, it isn't what you are all thinking. ;o)

decluttering...

life has been a bit busy. i mean good busy but still busy. trying to reorganize. regroup. reprioritize.
had a scrapping whirlwind not too long ago and am trying to dig out from that too. i still haven't cracked open the cricut box that came in the mail weeks ago.
wanting to do so much but trying not to become overwhelmed with everything.
kinda silly since it isn't mandatory... but you know. gotta figure out the have to do's, should do's, want to do's and all the other ones in between.
might need a schedule or something. just seems like yoga and pilates are taking up quite some time and it's only two nights a week for an hour-ish. but at strange times. so when we used to be able to meet for dinner, not so much now. but i know that we like it and we need it. i truthfully feel so much better after both classes. just have to shuffle things about.
maybe i need summer to end. it always seems so dang busy. like since the sun doesn't appear for 6 months after that, we have to fit everything in then. okay, not really. but still. i sometimes exaggerate. i might need to put that as a disclaimer somewhere in this blog. or just put an * after embellished thoughts!
in all the craziness have been neglectful of others. want to make sure that no one or nothing gets lost in the piles of life... ourselves included.
crazy, mindless, shannon babble. it's what i do! ;o)

blimey.

that's twice today i've used that word. okay, so both were online. one via pm and one here. but still. gonna try to start using never you mind too.
so i finished harry. way good. way different than what i thought. but still, a good read. gonna reread it for all those lost details i tend to skim over first time around.
have a funny nicholas story. ;o)
went to the grocery store for me on friday. the boy was wearing crazy orange scrubs. very pertinent. so he walks up to the produce section and proceeds to nab me some cherries, and the lady next to him drops her fruit and slowly walks backward. he notices strange looks and people scurrying away from him. apparently, they thought he was a convict! granted he was missing the lettering across his chest, but as soon as he told me the story i could totally understand! and seriously people, do you think a criminal's first stop is going to be the cherry stand in the produce section of their nearest grocery store?!
trying to upload pics to flickr. been quite some time.
any tricks or tips rebel owners... do you resize your pics before uploading or do you let flickr do that for ya?
if you are interested, keep an eye out in the my picture section. should be boatloads of pictures appearing within the next week.
hopefully.
think this might be a week to regroup before more craziness.
lots to do, hoping to dent the heck out of my to do list!

too excited to sleep.

are you thinking of that disney commercial yet? such a cute little guy!
anywho. no, i'm not too excited to sleep. but yes, i'm excited. a wee bit nervous. for all of you who are beyond confused, i'm talking about mr. pott-ah. for us americans, it's harry potter. i do love those accents! ;o)
and brandy, i'm entering dorkdom again and going to the midnight release. i will not be dressing up tho. can't wait to see everyone. not just because i think it's cute. because i might laugh and point at some of them too!
i'm even prepared for a night of reading. bought an energy drink at the gas station after yoga. the name made me giggle. if i hadn't of noticed that, i probably wouldn't have bought it. see for yourself...
had some redbull sugarfree for the black friday midnight shopping spree and it was awesome. hoping this will do the same!
and am trying to show the utmost restraint and not click on any harry potter links. not sure i want to know the ending before reading the book. so would have been upset had i known who died in the sixth book before i read it... see, i'm nice. no spoilers.
anywho. have to get a good night's sleep... will have lots of reading ahead!

tag again?!

i feel like a little kid with all this tagging go around! ;o)

here it goes. and same rules apply... if you haven't played, please do so! i love reading about everyone!

What were you doing ten years ago?
had just graduated from high school. was way nervous about college. enjoying being a kid. well, maybe i didn't realize i was enjoying it at the time. but looking back, sigh, would love to have some of those carefree days back. not that i don't like my life, but you know, no responsibilities kinda thing... ack, i'm rambling. next question.

Five snacks you enjoy:
-potato chips {i don't discriminate. well, no salt and vinegar please...}
-smores made with heath bars. YUMMY!
-chips and salsa

-fritos or tortialla chips with melted cheese
-pickles or olives
-{can you tell i love salt smores excluded.}

Five songs you know all the lyrics to:
-sir mix a lot - baby got back.
-nsync/justin timberlake/jc chasez - pretty much every song.
-vanilla ice - ice, ice baby. {can do the dance too... well, i could!}
-tori amos - anything from little earthquakes.
-dj sammy - heaven
l-ots more... i'm a music dork!

Things you would do if you were a millionaire:
hmmm. pay off bills. buy a new home just the one we are planning on building, nothing crazy! help our families financially. save for the future. donate to charities {help our friend get his youth center started}. travel everywhere! learn to cook properly. have a crazy, huge cd collection. probably a dvd one too for nicholas. well, after listing all of these things i would have to be a bajillionaire....

Five bad habits:
-i bite my nails.
-pick split ends {this has decreased dramatically since i've left school!}
-eating.
-mindless internet surfing when i should be doing something productive. might call this laziness.
-i procrastinate.

Five things you like to do:
-read.
-spend time with friends and family, nicholas is included too!
-scrapbook.
-learn {anything!}
-play puzzle or card games.

Things you will never wear again:
-pinch rolled jeans.
-two different colored socks. layered...
-a bottle of hairspray in my hair trying to get the proper 'wave'.
-a cap and gown. as much as i like to think about going back to school... don't think it'll happen.
-scrunchies. blech.

Things I love to wear:
-pajamas!
-flip flops.
- tank tops. {the last two show my love of all things NOT winter. ;o)
-lotion or body spray. silky soft and smells good too!
-anything informal and comfortable.

alive.

made it though one of the craziest work weeks ever. it actually went surprisingly well. but i think that is part of the joy of being a pessimist. when you expect the worst, you tend to be pleasantly surprised and not let down if you are optomistic.
had a way fun fourth and busy weekend. so excited for this weekend. hoping to head to michigan with nick's dad, his girlfriend, and their daughter. they have a place on a lake. place = trailer. but still. gonna go tubing maybe jet skiing. eat. drink. and be merry. can't wait.
and tomorrow night is harry potter. midnight tickets at the imax showing with nick's mom. so taking a nap when i get home! ;o)
and totally enjoying the rebel. my fil used to be way into photography too. so he's diggin the camera. asked him to take a pic of nick and myself... i think he might have the rebel bug. will have to teach me some mad photo skills this weekend. even suggested that tamron lens, colleen! nick was like okay... i just have to get up the nerve to spend the money!
here's a pic of me and my man. courtesy of fil. edited with some new actions... i think i did color wash. can't remember. yeah, i suck!
oh and in other good news... we now both have passports! yippee. took only two weeks with the expediated process. i got mine on saturday and nick got his today. so exciting. we can now officially travel to jamaica in october! woot, woot!

and time for some random pics... just cuz i've been sucking on the twelfth on the twelfth... ;o)
this batch will be from the tequilla tasting. yum and fun! can't wait for the next one!!

me and my not so littler brother kevin...

nick's mom, myself, and nick. ignore the cut off head. my coworker was apparently really enjoying the tequilla.

my mom and dad... again ignore the cut off head. i told you she liked the tequilla!

all of us. and fyi. nick's mom doesn't normally have blue lips. not sure how that happend. the other people are nick's two nurses and their husbands.


self explanatory. me and nicholas.

random fourth pics... well, from all the festivities.
nick's dad, his girlfriend, and her daughter. should totally be married would make explaining that much easier!


brianna being my model. that girl will do anything to have her picture taken.


one that kevin's friend took of me on the fourth. like the funkiness of it... didn't know he was taking it. love those.

one from the weekend. tried to upload more but i think blogger hates me with all these pics. tried rotating it in photoshop... not sure i liked the shadows. might have to take a right side up one next time i'm there. til then... you get my favorite pic of the summer so far! ;o)