Words to Live By

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

TSA Idiots - Definitely A Special Breed

Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that the idiots at the TSA can provide fodder for any blog. I was skeptical until we traveled to Ralleigh Durham from Phoenix. I can tell you that Phoenix was much more enjoyable than our east coast destination as far as the TSA was concerned. Phoenix
  • They appeared to know what they were doing
  • Removing the shoes is usually a hassle, but I was prepared and wearing only flip-flops!
  • In general, most idiots just smile, but TSA idiots are a special breed who NEVER smile
  • As I mentioned, they appeared to know what they were doing, but then I got through the checkpoint with two cigarette lighters in my purse

Ralleigh Durham

  • They, too are a special breed of idiot - I wonder if they are trained NOT to smile at you
  • I knew we were in trouble when one of them started giving Big D the ol' fisheye
  • Big D was wearing his leather vest over a Harley t-shirt, and snakeskin boots - he looks like a typical American biker
  • I think one of the patches on his vest personally offended the TSA idiot, hence the ol' fisheye
  • As we moved up in line, I pushed Vicki forward so we looked like we weren't with Big D (I know, it's mean, and I had to wait for him anyway)
  • Vicki and I got through without issue
  • And once again, I had a cigarette lighter in my purse
  • Once I got through the metal detector and picked up my purse and carryon, I heard, "Bag check!" I knew this was for Big D.
  • They went through all the pockets in his vest, through his wallet, used their magic wand on all of that plus his boots, and then ran it all through the conveyer again
  • They found Big D's lighter, took it away and asked if he knew lighters were not allowed through the checkpoint - his answer, "I must have forgotten", didn't fly
  • Said TSA idiot read him the riot act and admonished him like he was a small child
  • At this point I told the TSA idiot that I would appreciate it if he didn't treat my husband as he would a red-headed stepchild (he was surprised to find out that I was Big D's wife)
  • TSA idiot was dumb-founded and didn't say another word
  • We walked away without incident

How's that for blog fodder? Can you believe it?

Monday, June 25, 2007

Birthday Shout-Out To Kramer!

Kramer celebrated his 40-something-th birthday on Saturday. Although I bought him a german chocolate cake, a card and a bottle of whiskey, I think he was waiting for a birthday shout-out on my blog. So here it is Kramer! Happy Belated Birthday to you! I hope you remain healthy for many years so you can continue to provide entertainment for my family and fodder for my blog! :O)

What A Loser I Am!

So at last, I have the internet at home. I only work for an IT company and am expected to be technologically saavy at all times. OK, not so much "at all times", but still, you'd think I'd be all hooked up at home, right? Nope. So I brought my laptop home to see if I could access the network from home. I forgot the one crucial item that I need in order to attempt that...the network cable. Duh!!! Loser!!! So, round two will be tomorrow night. I'll be armed with laptop and network cable, and we'll see if I can access the VPN. Wish me luck!

No Time..(or Ambition?)

Not much time to blog today, but now that we have advanced to the 21st century at my house, I will be able to blog from the comfort of my home office! YAY!! I will post something tonight!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Shout Out To Our Newest Family Member!

Little Boy Rogers was born at 2:00 a.m. today to my niece, M! He weighed in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and has lots of dark hair and M's dimples! YAY! Congrats to M! I hope you name your baby boy soon! Hopefully I'll get back there this year to see my very first grand-nephew!!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The End of a Great Vacation

Later today we fly back to Phoenix. It has been a fabulous vacation and I'm going to list some of the highlights here for you:
  1. Dinner Thursday night at Venice on the strip in VA Beach...TERRIBLE!
  2. Meeting all of Rexxy's friends has been interesting
  3. The wedding was absolutely fabulous! Deja was the most beautiful bride we'd ever seen! (Deja's new nickname: 'Zilla!) ;o)
  4. Catching Blue Crabs and Hermit Crabs on Norfolk Beach was fun!
  5. Greenie's was great but Deja forgot her ID...boy was that waitress mad at us for doing an end-run around her!!!
  6. Finding that damned snow globe!!!
  7. Naval hospital tour was great - Thanks Deja!
  8. Got to see Rex's ship (part of it) in dry dock: USS George Washington
  9. Petey: the scared-of-his-own-shadow pitbull
  10. Riding the ferry to downtown Norfolk...that was really awesome!
  11. Ft. Storey Beach - my Dad was stationed there in the 50s! How cool is that?
  12. Watching the pelicans and the dolphins at Ft. Storey Beach...very cool.
  13. H-D dealers in VA are much more reasonably priced than the ones in AZ
  14. Dinner last night at the Upper Deck on the strip...a waste of food!
  15. The best food we had while visiting (other than at the reception, of course) was at Hooters! Is that sad?

We did lots of things on our trip here, so those are just the highlights. We also found out some interesting things about our very own family that I'm not at liberty to blog about just yet, as the subject doesn't know that we are now informed of their ill-judgement. (No commenting on this, V, as you're the only one that knows!) That will certainly be another blog coming soon.

All is well in Portsmouth, VA. We'll be back in Phoenix late tonight. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

We Made It!

4 hours of flying, 3 hours of driving and an egg-mcmuffin for breakfast. We finally made it. It's Noon now, and I am running on 6 hours of sleep, but it feels like 2 hours. Jet lag is here. Big D and Vicki are still sleeping. Nope, Big D is up now. I will probably not be blogging for the rest of vacation. I hope everone has a nice week!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Virginia Beach - Here We Come!!!

Ok, I promised not to go on and on about vacation, and until now I have pretty much kept my promise. But we're leaving tomorrow and I am so excited! So, for my pre-vacation blog, here are some things I'm going to do while in Virginia (besides the wedding activities):
  1. Spend some quality time on the beach
  2. Enjoy the visit with my family: Rex, Deja, Sam, Rodrigo, Chris, Missy - and Jason!
  3. Visit the Bayside HD Dealership in Portsmouth, VA
  4. Re-connect with my inner alcoholic - for stress-relieving purposes only!
  5. Swim in the Atlantic Ocean
  6. Build a sandcastle with Vicki
  7. See Rex's ship
  8. See Sammy's ship
  9. Enjoy the change of scenery - explore
  10. Enjoy the fact that while it's 110 in Arizona, it will only be about 80-85 in Virginia!
  11. Get Big D a father's day gift from HD

That's just the short list. I'm sure we'll do lots of other exciting things, but the only solid plans I have are the wedding, the beach, visiting HD, and the inner-alcoholic reconnection. I don't like to 'plan' too many things when on vacation. I like to take each day as it comes and be a little bit more 'Random' than others!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Funniest Damned Ad EVER!

Ok. I heard this ad on my way into work this morning. It was for the new Western Whopper at Burger King. The parents are trying to tell the son that he's not a cowboy, and he's going on and on in 'cowboy speak'. The son tells his Dad that he's going to bring some Western Whoppers "back to the riz-anch" and the Dad screams, "THIS IS NOT A RIZ-ANCH, THIS IS NEW YORK CITY!!!" I almost peed my pants, and I laughed all the way to work. I guess now I'll have to try one of these Western Whoppers. Good job, BK!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Mission: Accomplished - Shoes: Purchased!

Last night, I found shoes that go perfectly with my dress! Here's the link: http://www.payless.com/Catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?&TLC=Womens&SLC=WomensDress&BLC=WomensDressSandals&Width=Regular&DescriptiveColor=Silver&ItemCode=56444&LotNumber=056141&Type=Adult&cm_id=coloritemgraphic OK. So the picture really doesn't do them justice...they have a purple stone on them (matches the dress perfectly!), and some rhinestones, too. And I found them while looking for shoes for Vicki at Payless! I cannot believe I found them at Payless - after 45 minutes at Shoe Pavillion and another 45 at DSW - again. Now we just have to find shoes for Vicki. You'd think that might be easy. Not so much! She's got little Nelson feet, so it's hard to find shoes for her. Wish me luck!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is Dead (gone)!!!

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go,Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.Let them know The Wicked Witch is dead!

The Quest For Shoes Continues...

Last night we picked up Vicki's altered flower-girl dress. She looks like an angel in it. I keep asking her where she put her halo! On the way out of David's Bridal, she points out a rhinestone-studded tiara and asks, "Mommy, can I wear that for the wedding?" (This kids thinks she's the bride!!) I told her when she gets married, she can buy whatever she wants! ;o) So after leaving David's we trekked over to the mall. First stop: Dillard's. I found these great silver shoes with rhinestones and fell in love with them. Price: $79. Do I really want to spend $79 on a pair of shoes that I will most likey never wear again? Not so much! Although, they still are a contender! On to the next store: Some crazy store (I can't remember the name). These two girls were working at this store, one bleach-blonde and one with black hair; both were rail-thin. Blondie was trying on shoes and had these tiny little shorts on (I thought she was a customer!). Blackie had a bit more material on, and was trying to help me. Apparently this store's target customer was the younger, hipper crowd, but they had some great shoes, so I didn't care. Well, only 1 pair fit and felt good, and the price was great: $36, but there was one small problem: a 4 inch heel. For those of you that know Big D: nuff said. For the rest of you: he is 1 inch shorter than me to begin with. I can't possibly pull off wearing 4 inch heels AND have formal pictures taken while standing next to him. He wouldn't care, but I would. So, I said thank you to Blackie, told Blondie to get some clothes on and went on to the next store. Sears had one style of silver shoes, and it was horrible. They had some nice shoes for Vicki, but none in her size (naturally). Baker's had some nice ones, but most of them had the Playboy Bunny logo on them, which wouldn't really be an issue, but the logo means 4-5 inch heels. No-go. Now I was getting tired at this point. So was Vicki. We walked into Macy's shoe department and Vicki sat down and waited for me. This is how I knew she was tired; usually she is walking around looking at all the shoes and trying to pick some out for me. I tried on about 4 pairs at Macy's that I would've had to take out a bank loan for, hated them all and went home very disappointed. Yes, disappointed but not yet broken. Tonight I will conquer Kohl's. I looked online and found some cute shoes, thanks to V! Hopefully I can find shoes for me tonight. If not, it will be a long weekend for me, and those $79 shoes at Dillards will look better with every store I visit!!
">Link

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The Quest For Shoes

Since I'm leaving for VA one week from today, you would think I'd already have my shoes for the wedding. Not so much! I'm trying to find a cute pair of silver or rhinestoned, strappy, sexy shoes! Arrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is going to be a power-shopping weekend, my friends! Here is a short list of the places I'll be rummaging through:
  • Dillard's
  • Kohl's
  • Payless
  • Macy's
  • Sheiks Shoes
  • JC Penney
  • Sears
  • Famous Footwear
  • DSW (again)

That's just the short list, too! Hopefully I can tackle at least 4 stores on Friday night, and the rest on Saturday, if necessary. This is my mission, because I have chosen to accept it! Wish me luck!

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

The Cure For TBS - Toxic Boss Syndrome

I have found the cure for TBS!!! If you're not up-to-date on this life-threatening syndrome, please read my June 1st post. Yes, this is required reading! Now that you've been caught-up, do you want to know the cure? Get a new boss!!!! Now that I have a new boss, my symptoms are barely noticeable... GONE - pain in neck and shoulders (so bad it makes you cry) GONE - terrible stomach pains at night GONE - head-twisting headaches that do not go away GONE - did I mention pain in the neck and shoulders? GONE - extreme anxiety attacks and possible paranoia GONE - shortness of breath GONE - inability to make a decision I'M NOT SURE THIS WAS A SYMPTOM! speaking to yourself incoherently in the car on your drive home (people will think you are a maniac) GONE - unnaturally exhausted at the end of a normal day missing cell-phone - RETURNED!!!!! So, aside from looking like a maniac on the way home from work each day, my smptoms are totally relieved! I'd like to thank all my supporters...I couldn't have made it through this ordeal without each and every one of you: Big Daddy, V, Mom, Jennifer, Jackie, Kramer, and countless others! Thank you so much! This is me doing the Victory Dance!!! WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Only 9 More Days Until Vacation!!!

Vacation activities commence on June 13th! I cannot wait to get to Virginia! We'll get to see Rex, Deja, Sam and Rodrigo! Woo-hoo! I will spare you the daily blog-countdown to vacation...I know it's frustrating when someone else is going on vacation, and you're not, and you have to listen to them counting down the days and going on and on about how wonderful vacation will be...Oops, sorry! I guess I was going on and on! Anyway, no more vacation talk until the 12th. I promise!

Friday, June 1, 2007

Toxic Boss Syndrome - The Silent Killer

Hmmm, can you feel it? There are some changes coming! I can't divulge exactly what they are, though. Not yet. That wouldn't be any fun! And it's not what you're thinking, either...I guarantee it! I can tell you that I have come down with Toxic Boss Syndrome. If you're not sure what this is, or suspect you may have it, here is a light smattering of the symptoms:
  • pain in neck and shoulders (so bad it makes you cry)
  • terrible stomach pains at night
  • head-twisting headaches that do not go away
  • did I mention pain in the neck and shoulders?
  • extreme anxiety attacks and possible paranoia
  • shortness of breath
  • inability to make a decision
  • speaking to yourself incoherently in the car on your drive home (people will think you are a maniac)
  • unnaturally exhausted at the end of a normal day
  • missing cell-phone

Those are just some of the horrible symptoms that I live with every day. Toxic Boss Syndrome is a very serious condition. If you suspect that you have it, you may want to make some changes in your life. If you can't get rid of your Toxic Boss, then you need to get away from him/her as fast as humanly possible! This condition can worsen into depression and even broken marriages! No boss or job is worth your mental well-being or your marriage, is it?

Now for those of you who are wondering, "Is her marriage in trouble?" The answer is NO. Big D still leaves me voice mails to tell me he loves me and that I'm a beautiful woman. He makes me smile every single day, and he has for the last 11 wonderful years. He has also encouraged me to make some changes so we can really enjoy our lives again, because Toxic Boss Syndrome has really begun to take it's toll on me.

So, change is in the air. More to come. Soon, I hope.