New pictures are up here!! They include pictures from Field Day2, my parents' visit, and (of course!) my brats! Enjoy!

It's been a pretty good day! I am feeling better than I did yesterday, so that's good! I also had a dentist appointment this morning. Look ma, no cavaties! I needed my bite plane adjusted a little, but that was no biggie. It's been cloudy/overcast all day, which has added to the awsomeness of the day.

Josh is currently on his way to Reno to spend some time with his brother, and he'll be back tomorrow night sometime. I'm going to the city tonight to see Plasterkatz at Irelands32. Tomorrow night, Munchkin #2 is performing in his last performance of Peter Pan, so I'm going to closing night of that. I think Sunday might be Bloody Mary Day again, so that'll be cool.

Yay for a no-stress life at the moment!

So, I just put new music on my iPo a couple of weeks ago, and a lot of it is stuff I've had forever, but haven't *listened* to in forever. One such album is Belly's 'King'. I swear I hadn't listened to that entire album in at *least* 10 years. And as I started listening to it again, all these memories from the past years came flooding back. It was kinda wierd. Good album tho.

And sorta-kinda related, one of my favorite albums right now (and has been for a few months) is Throwing Muses 'Limbo'. Damn, what a good album! Kristin Hersh's vocals are really raw in some places, and it just contributes to the goodness that is that album.

And now, Rush's 'A Show of Hands' is on. Ah, they just don't make em' like they used to....

Meh, I think I have a mild cold. My sister had one when she was here, and I think with all the running around I've been doing, she gave it to me. My throat hurts, my head is full (but draining at least) and I feel run down. But, I've been doing the airborne/vitamin C thing, and I slept 10 hours last night.

So, I'm kinda functioning, but I'd rather be at home in bed. Oh well...I'll get better!

1. As a kid, were you ever wrongly accused (and punished, if it went that far) for something you didn't do? If so, what was it? What happened?
Yeah, the kid next door to me hated my ass and he wrote my name on his house, then went and told everyone I did it. As I was going thru a lying phase (I was like 7, gimme break!), no one believed me. I got way grounded for that one. The little shit never confessed either.

2. What about as an adult? Do you think it's worse to be accused as a child or an adult? Why/why not?
Oh, I've been accused of little things here and there, but nothing major. I think it's more traumatizing being accused as a child. As an adult, you have learned how to deal with things like that, but you don't have those skills as a kid.

3. Why do you think people like and/or make things up about people?
Who knows? Maybe they have low self-esteem. Maybe they lead misreable lives and want other people to be just as unhappy. That's adult logic. I'm not sure there's any logic in doing it as a kid. It's just probly they don't know any better at that point.

1. As a kid, were you ever wrongly accused (and punished, if it went that far) for something you didn't do? If so, what was it? What happened?

3. Why do you think people like and/or make things up about people?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

Thursday, my parents and my sister arrived in towne from Monterey. My sister stayed with us while my parents stayed in a hotel in SF. Friday, they came and picked me and my sister up and we went to Berkeley (Telegraph Ave) so my sister could get a Cal hat, and we also walked the Berkeley campus so she could see it. After that, we went to this fru-fru french resteraunt that cost too much for lunch. After that, my sister went to go hang out with a friend, I went to meet and hang out with Bear, and after work, Josh and my dad went to the Giants game. I ended up having my entire evening free, so I went and hung out with "I", and was home by 11p. I fell asleep, but I think Josh and my sister showed up from the city sometime around 12:30a or so.

Saturday was rainy and crappy and I didn't feel like doing *anything*, so I didn't! My sister and my parents went and checked out Pt.Reyes and Marin, and Josh and I stayed home. I did a lot of laying on the couch and watching The Muppet Show and also watched 'Coach Carter'. About 6p, I took a shower in time for everyone to come home for dinner :P. Josh made his famous yummy tacos, and everyone was full and happy!

Sunday, Josh stayed home while my parents, me, and my sister went to the Golden Gate Bridge. I've lived here for 7 years and I still had not gone! So, we walked the entire thing, got lunch, and then I went home to chill for a bit before having Munchkin Duty. I went and met up with the Munchkins around 6p. We did homework, ate, and watched 'Little Shop of Horrors', which they had never seen before. They thought it was awsome! Hehe...yay! The best part tho, was finding out that a friend of mine knew almost every word to every song...*that* was entertaining :)

I got the munckins on the bus yesterday at 7:15a, then headed home and picked up my sister. We took BART and met up with my parents for breakfast at Lori's on Powell. I *love* good, cheap diner food, so it was totally up my alley! After that, everyone headed to the airport to go home. I spent the rest of the day crapping around, relaxing. I even got a nap with z0rggy in! Well, he slept in my spot *underneath* the covers, and I slept on top of the bed in Josh's spot :P. I picked the kids up from their after school proggy thing at 5:30, then we came home and did homework, had breakfast burritos for dinner, and 2 kids watched 'Spaceballs' while the other kid and I watched 'The Mask'. We were all in bed and asleep by 10p.

Oldest Munchkin gets up at like 5:30a every morning (oy vey!), and today was no different. He finished some homework that he didn't want to do last night, then went on with his usual morning routine. I got everyone up, dressed, fed, and on the bus, then came to work. I've spent the morning cleaning up messes and whatnot, and it feels good to be loved :P. The only crappy part of my day today is the cramps I'm having to put up with. Oh well, this nice thing about being on the pill is knowing when you're going to have a crappy body day and knowing that because you've got chemicals telling your hormones what to do, it won't last too long :P

And now I'm tired :P. I've been up for 5 hours already! Can has nap now, plz? Early to bed for me tonight!

I keep forgetting things this week. I keep misplacing things. I went and did laundry on Tuesday, and misplaced my glasses...I looked *everywhere*. Where did I find them? In my bag where they were supposed to be, tho they were in the wrong pocket :P I fell asleep last night at "I"s house and woke up not knowing where I was.

Hormones, recovering from the weekend, and anxiety about seeing family for 4 days...what a combonation :P

What will she do next?! Stay tuned!

Well, my recovery from the weekend was pretty painless for the most part, and I kept things together pretty well. I also took precautions to make sure it was fairly painless (I scheduled lots of sleep time), and it worked well.

Tuesday, we went to do laundry. I came back from the place around 7:45p and noticed that z0rg was not around. After some looking around, I discovered that he had pushed one of the windows open enough to get out. I sent Squeeek out looking for him, but he came up empty-handed. I went out looking for him also and got nothing. So did Josh. So, I went to bed with the attitude of "well, he's the idiot who just *had* to go outside! He'll either come back when he's ready, or he won't come back at all". I got up at 4:30a yesterday to use the bathroom, and he was sitting at the back door, waiting very patiently. Silly cat! He spent all day and all night sleeping. He was tuckered out!

Yesterday evening, I went and hung out with "I". "M" stopped by to pick something up and we shot the shit for a few mins, and then he went home. I musta been tired, cause I passed out at some point and woke up at 1:30a this morning not knowing where I was. Oops :P. I made my way home and went straight to bed. Even with broken sleep, I still slept pretty well. I had to exchange my pillow yesterday cause it wasn't doing me any favors. I ended up trading it in for a 6-inch memory foam pillow. I slept pretty well, and my neck hurt a lot less this morning. So let's hope that it's a good fix! We'll see how I sleep tonight.

It's very cloudy/overcast here, and it's actually threatening to rain! I love days like this. I don't understand people with that seasonal disorder thingy....sunshine on a daily basis is overrated :P. My dad, Maude, and Nell should be arriving this evening sometime! Dad & Maude are staying at a hotel, and Marie (that's what I call her) is staying with us.

I've decided to rely on my anti-anxiety meds for the next couple of days to ensure that I don't freak out while people are here, because it's something that I tend to do. I always want everything to be perfect, and always end up stressing myself out about it. *rolls eyes*. Yes, I'm neurotic :P

Anyway, that's all I got today!

1. Do you live near your immediate (like, your mom & dad, siblings, grandparents, etc) family? How close/far away are you?
My dad lives in KY, and my mom lives in IN. My sister lives in Switzerland. I live in CA. So, everyone is pretty far away from me.

2. If you don't live near your immediate family, how often do you get a chance to see them? If you do live near, how often do you see them?
I used to try and go back once a year or once every year and a half while my Mammaw was still alive. I would go back because she was stuck in a nursing home and couldn't leave. But now that she's gone, there's really no reason to go back. Everyone (other family and friends) else I want to see are quite able to get on a plane and come see me. As I am the one who always had to go out there for 7 years, I'm tired of the one having to do all of the work. My dad has been really awsome about coming to see me tho. He came to take care of me last year when I was in the hospital, then came out again for my birthday, and I will be seeing him, his gf Maude, and my sister today! I haven't seen my sis in 3 years, so it'll be god to spend some time with her. She'll be staying with me while my parents stay in a hotel, so there will be a some catch-up opportunities! My mom makes one excuse after another to not come see me, so I'm sure it'll be quite awhile before I see her again. I have no desire to go back to the midwest any time soon. It depressed me very greatly, and I feel like an alien when I'm there. Good thing there's phones and email!

3. Do you like having your family close/far away? Why/why not?
Since I don't have the world's most perfect relationship with my mom, having her 2500 miles away helps my sanity. I do wish my dad was closer, tho. Him and Maude are totally awsome. I miss my sister, but she's off living her life, and I get to keep up with her thru my webpage and email, so it's kinda like she's pretty close anyway.

1. Do you live near your immediate (like, your mom & dad, siblings, grandparents, etc) family? How close/far away are you?

3. Do you like having your family close/far away? Why/why not?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

I got an envelope in the mail yesterday from the Postmaster Inspector, along with some stolen mail, saying that Person A was caught with my mail, and was she supposed to have it? They had not only found a piece of spam that was probly returned to me on accident, but they also found one of my bank statements that had been opened. The first call was to my bank where I talked to this idiot who told me he couldn't do anything and that I would have to go to the branch to take care of it. The second call was to Geico berrating them for sending me spam *again* after I had told them that I only ever wanted to be contacted by email only. The lady was so intimidated by me that she had me sit on hold for a couple of minutes til she made sure I would get no more snail mail ever :P.

This morning, I had to go to the bank and get a new account. They transfered all money to the new account for me. The thing they wouldn't do is to not send me paper statements, so I had to use a non-home address to receive my statements, which I think is fucking stupid. Then I had to go online and change all my bills to the new address. What a pain in the ass!

But. they caught the lady, and so hopefully they'll fry her at the stake. Josh also got an envelope, as well as a bunch of former tenants who used to live in the building. I called my not-so-smart live-in manager and she couldn't remember when, but she recalled someone busting the master mailbox lock. USPS fixed the locked, but obviously the damage had been done. My question is, if the lady doesn't/didn't live in the building (not-so-smart live-in manager lady couldn't recall that name), then how the fuck did she get in to a locked building to bust a lock and steal mail? Anyway, I have her calling the post office (and I called the PO and talked to someone myself) to change the locks again and try and prevent this from happening again.

Man, what a pain in the ass. What pisses me off the most is that I try *so hard* to prevent this from happening! I shred personal correspondence and return all spam. What the hell else can I do?

Oh well, at least I got everything taken care of and changed.

Don't fuck with my mail, yo!!

1. What was your biggest challenge this past week?
Good lord...what *wasn't* my biggest challange this past week? It was busy, but things are finally starting to slow down.

2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week?
I got thru the week!

3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week?
I went to Chillits this past weekend! It was nice.

4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week?
Being able to forget the real world for 3 days.

So, Chillits was a success! More kids than last year (which I expected), and not quite as exciting as the past two years, but still fun! There were a few key people missing from this year's event, but I still managed to make a few new aquaintences and get to know a few people better. I also made the conscious decision to party early and go to bed early, which was a wise move. I've got a busy as hell week coming up and I can't take a week to recover!

We got up around 8a this morning and packed and loaded up the car, and we were out of there by 10:45a and home by 2p. Yay for efficiency! We got home, unpacked, took showers, cuddled a little, and now it's dinner time. I think a few mindless TV shows are in order, then it's early to bed for us. Either tomorrow or Tuesday I have to tackle laundry/prepare for invading family. Then it's just craziness from there!

Anyway, here's to a good night's sleep!

Well, my favorite event of the season is upon us! Chillits, baby!

Yes, yes, it's time to leave behind an office full of computer problems, traffic, stupid people, and real life for a couple of days. The result of this should be a re-charged me, ready to tackle said stupid puter problems, and recieve my family at the end of the week.

I will be reachable by cell phone until 5p today, and then will be out of cell range until Sunday afternoon sometime.

Have a good weekend, yall!

1. Do you have anything major planned for the next 6 months? If so, what is it? If not, is there something you'd like to accomplish but haven't decided to do it yet?
It's been an extremely busy year, and so I'm looking forward to a quiet next 6 months. I'm counting on things slowing down come October 1st.

2. If you could choose, how would the next 6 months play out for you?
Work during the day, lounge out at night, hang out with friends, and no major bad stuff. Life has been happening at a rapid pace over the last 3.5 years, and I'm hoping at *some* point that it slows down just a wittle bit.

3. What about the last 6 months? Has it been everything you hoped for, or could you have done without a few things? Explain.
The last 8.5 months brought my car being stolen, my favorite family member dying, a stressful trip back to IN, health problems, moving houses again, and loosing a cat. On the flipside, the car got found, my health got better, my new house r0x, and I have 3 people in my life that I'm very close to that have helped me thru all of this.

1. Do you have anything major planned for the next 6 months? If so, what is it? If not, is there something you'd like to accomplish but haven't decided to do it yet?

3. What about the last 6 months? Has it been everything you hoped for, or could you have done without a few things? Explain.

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

I've been quiet the past week, sorry.

I've *finally* gotten mostly over myself at work and am being productive again. This is good, cause I have quite a few projects going on right now!

Friday night, I went out with "I" and got fairly liquored and had a good time. Saturday, Josh and I went to his parents for a bit, then went to the Hortons and helped put away/organize gear from BM. There were quite a few of us there, so most of it got done I think! Sunday, Josh and I spent the day eating danish smoked bacon and drinking bloody mary's again :P. Well, it's fun! Sunday night turned into a big huge argument about Josh quitting smoking this month, so that killed the rest of the evening, but the rest of the weekend was good.

Monday evening, I went to M's house and we watched Repo Man, which was comical and interesting. After that, hot water was sat in, and then I rescued my laundry and went home. Josh had a bunch of ppl over for the 49ers game, and I'm not a big people person, so I found something else to do.

Last night, I put new music on my iPo, then got into an argument-turned discussion about Josh quitting smoking. We have quite a few things going on in the next week and a half, so we decided that pushing his quit date to October 1st would be a good idea. In the end, waiting until all the craziness is over will give him a better chance of succeeding, so more power to him! I totally support him on this, and so whatever I can do to help him be successful, I will do to the best of my abilities!

Tonight, Josh has to figure out what is going on with his car (My opinion is that he killed his battery by leaving his car sit for 2 weeks with no one starting it), and me....well, I think doing nothing sounds like a good plan. Tomorrow, I need to go to Trader Joe's and get food for this weekend. What's this weekend? Chillits! Yay Chillits! I'm excited! It's just going to be Josh and myself this campout, and we probly need some time away together, so I think it'll be very good. And as usual, it's my favorite campout of the year. However, if there are even more kids there this year than there were last year, this may be my last year. I have moral issues regarding it. But anyway, I'll get my food together and pack, and then we'll leave Friday around 2p.

Friday thru Sunday will be Chillits. Monday will be a recovery day. Tuesday I'll clean, Wednesday is Movie Night at "I"s, and then Thursday, my dad, his gf, and my sister will arrive. I'll spend Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with them. The only twist is that I have Munchkin Duty on Sunday, so we'll have to find something kid-friendly to do. I'm not too awful worried about it.

What I *am* worried about is my dad's gf and my sister feeling uncomfortable here in the area. This *isn't* the midwest. We do things here that some may question. We think differently. We act differently. Will they be able to adapt? On the flipside, it's only 4 days, so I spose I shouldn't worry too awful much.

Well, enough babbling. I need to eat lunch and get back to work.

1. Do you have children in school?
No, no kids for me.

2. Are YOU currently in school (any level)?
No. I'll go back someday and get my teaching credentials, but it just doesn't seem time to do it yet.

3. Did you attend a public or private school?
I attended private school until the 2nd grade, then switched to public schools.

4. As far as formal education, what level have you completed?
I have a B.A. degree from Ball State University.

5. Do you, or did you have loans out for your education?
Yup. I'll be in student loan debt until I die. Small price to pay to get the hell out of the midwest tho.

6. What are your thoughts on the cost of tuition for colleges and universities?
It's a little ridiculous, but we live in a capitalist society, so if it costs an arm and a leg to better yourself, then I guess so be it.

So, the weekend is upon us once more! I only had a 3-day work week this week and even tho it was fine, I'm glad for another 2 days off. What can I say, I don't want to work right now :P

I got my new bed! Because I am a stress bomb about such things, I got a little bent out of shape and started a stupid argument with Josh that stretched thru the whole evening, but we finally got down to San Jose, got the bed loaded and taken home, and set up. We went from a queen and full to a king-sized bed, so I had to buy new sheets and get them washed before we went to bed. So, I came home thinking that even tho it's more expensive, doing the sheets in the building's washer/dryer would be quicker and easier. Or not. My live-in manager is nice and sweet, but she's a fucking dingbat and takes her sweet time about fixing things. We've had 2 broken washers for a least a month, and now the third washer leaks water and the spin cycle doesn't work. But the 2 dryers work, so I guess I should count my blessings :P I had thrown everything in the dryer before we left. I had to start the dryers again when we came back, but I finally got everything dry and put on the bed. The bed itself is very firm. *Very* firm. It's certainly going to take some getting used to. I'm used to at least a little more give, but this bed is quite sturdy when it comes to its firmness. But, I slept pretty well! My neck is sore, but I think that's a pillow issue, as the rest of me doesn't hurt, which is important! My arms and my shoulders also hurt a bit, but that is due to moving the bed twice. That thing is heavy!

Tonight, I am going to a party with "I", and then tomorrow I think Josh and I are going to his parents, and then to the Horton's to do post-BM organization, and then Sunday is full of no plans.

1. How do you get thru and past a work funk? When it happens, is it just a case of 'I don't want to be here', or is it something else?
I'm currently trying to get past a work funk. Things have been a bit rough for me for about 8 months, and I think I'm just pretty burnt out. I still love my job, my co-workers, and my company, but I am/was *tiiired*. I've taken 6 days off in the past month, and that has really helped renew my spirit. I'm *almost* ready to go again. I think a few days off while my dad/sis/Maude are here and a campout will help make me all ready to go again. So, October is my goal for finishing being funkedified about work. It happens to all of us at one time or another.

2. What about relationship funks? Do you think that sometimes a little time away from the other person helps things? Why/why not?
In my particular relationship, time away helps a great deal. Before Josh left for BM, I think we were a little tired of each other. But he was gone for 10 days and he came back and we're getting along quite well. We haven't had one single argument since he's gotten back!

3. What about when you get annoyed with a friend, or vice versa? How do you deal with those kinds of situations?
Well, I'm not the kind of person who likes to sit on such things. Or is able to, for that matter. If I have a problem with someone or something, I'm usually pretty quick to put an end to it. Then, there's no room for repressed feelings that make a person bitter for not speaking up. I have a friend who I recently had to sit down with and fortunately, they communicate very much like I do. We duked it out, discussed it, came to a conclusion, and now it's over and we've moved on. I think that's healthy.

1. How do you get thru and past a work funk? When it happens, is it just a case of 'I don't want to be here', or is it something else?

3. What about when you get annoyed with a friend, or vice versa? How do you deal with those kinds of situations?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

Everyone came back to me! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!

Sunday was Schreck's BBQ, which was fun as usual! There was yummy food, yummy drink, and good company. Monday brought putzing around in the morning, and then going over to Ben & Lorraine's house for hours of beer, Wii, GH, and kick-ass burgers. I made a pitstop over at M's on the way home, then waited for Josh to get home. And he showed up between 10:30 and 11. Yay!! We stayed up til like 1 or 2 talking and stuph. I took yesterday off, and we spent most of it together. We had bloody mary's and danish smoked bacon for breakfast. It was goooood. Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, I went and hung out with I.C. and then came home and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Josh. I'm really glad everyone's home. I was starting to get a bit lonely.

And it's back to work today! And of course, I walked in to a mess, which I had to clean up later. Such is my life :P I think I'm just staying home today and tomorrow, hanging out with Josh. I missed him! Friday, I think I'm watching 'Shaun of the Dead' with Ivan, and I don't think I'm doing anything the rest of the weekend. Next weekend is Chillits!!! How the hell did *that* creep up on me? Crazy crazy.

Anyway, lunch and work are calling my name.

Dammit! I hate waking up too early on the weekends!

Friday night, Hickory was supposed to come hang out with me, but opted for sleep instead. I putzed around, went to bed at midnight, and woke up at 9:30a yesterday. I had some tea, played some GH, ate some food, then went to Whit & Steph's for cat duty at 1:30p. Their claws were getting long (clack clack clack on the wood floors), so I clipped them. Sure, all 3 of them were pissed at me, but they'll get over it :P After that, I made my way to Concord, finally got my filthy car washed, and then went to Len & Kelle's. We watched several episodes of Black Books and drank sangria, which ended up kicking my ass later. Dinner was shrimp cocktail, london broil, couscous, and doctored-up avacados. Yuuuuuummy! Desert consisted of this rasberry cake that was pretty damn tasty also. I had a couple of Guinness in there also. About 9:30p, after I had like 3 bottles of water and a nice headache forming from the sangria, I went home and pretty much went straight to bed. My head was pounding. I had a fun night, tho!

And going to bed at 11p will get anyone up at 8a, so here I am. Meh. :P

I have kitty duty again this afternoon, and then I'm going to Schreck's for a BBQ. I dunno how long I'll be staying, but it should be fun at any rate! And then one last night of sleeping alone. Seriously, I'm tired of sleeping alone. It gets awful lonely around bedtime. So, I go to sleep so I don't have to think about it, but then I wake up a time or two cause I'm lonely in my dreams. Hell, if he didn't have company, I would have called M on Friday night just to have someone to sleep next to. I'm tired of being alone now. Seriously. It was fun for a bit. Now I need human contact again. *Real* human contact. Yes, I'm spoiled.