The Year of Change

This year, I decided, was the year of change for me.  It’s not over as I made the decision on my birthday, in May, but it is zooming to a close.  I am taking the Roman New Year as a way to refresh the promise I made to myself.

This is the year for me to better myself.  Over the past few months I seem to have lost the gusto that I originally had when I made the promise to myself, but I’m getting back on track.  Slowly.

With that said, I wanted to take today to reflect on the changes that have happened this year. 

I’ve gained more grey hairs, more wrinkles, and lost and gained a little weight, but above all I’ve gained and done some real positive things.

This year I went to BlogHer with my sister, learned a lot great things, rediscovered my love of photography, and met a lot of great people,Some of whom, I will treasure for ever! I attended some great parties and danced the night away with people who were total strangers, but ended up as friends.

From left to right: Peaches and Coconuts, Reckless Sarcasm, Up Popped A Fox

I took an awesome visit to Key West.

I met Jesus in the bathroom at work.

I opened up my heart to the possibility that I could make my dreams come true.

One dream came true and I got a new camera!  Have I mentioned how much I love it?

There’s much more, and trying to outline it all in this post makes me realize how great this year actually was and it’s not even over yet!

Tomorrow morning, I will make my life list and read through/edit my Mondo Beyondo list.  I am really looking forward to 2011.  Best wishes to everyone.  I hope all of your dreams come true this coming year.

Even the Dogs Got Into the Act

The World Outside My Window

It’s not as bad as some got it, but I’m really glad I don’t have to go out today.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

I found some old photos from when I made a scrapbook for Ditter.  I hope she doesn't kill me for posting them. 

I used to love decorating the tree.  Now I find it painful.  I'm the short one, FYI.       

I loved that magic set.  I think I got it taken away for being obstinate.  Surprise!

Incommunicado

I’ve kind of been MIA from my blog and Twitter for a while, obviously.  It’s been miserably cold and I’ve been feeling icky.  Nothing major, just haven’t felt motivated to do much of anything except for knitting.

I’ve been knitting a lot for Christmas and that has also taken up a lot of time. 

I also am “interviewing” to join a paranormal group.  I went on my first investigation with them last weekend.  It was a lot of fun and I hope they let me join.  I have another investigation in a few weeks.  I’m really looking forward to it.

I am working on a requested post.  One of my Twitter friends has encouraged me to post some of my experiences and I have also asked if she would like to guest post.  So that will be coming soon as well.

In the meantime, I leave you with a photo that my husband really likes.  It has nothing to do with this post.

 

A Little Bit Monet? Maybe?

It’s not the best picture, but I really like the way the lights look like they are dancing.

Even a Workhorse Gets a Break

Seven Years Ago Today

Seven years ago, today, I was just getting out of bed.  My sister, my friends, and I were going to get our hair and nails done.  I was nervous and wanted the day to go well, but overall I was ecstatic.  I could not wait for the days events.  They were nearly eight years in the making. 
We had been through a lot in those eight years, college, untimely deaths of friends, break-ups, make-ups, starting careers, unemployment, friends getting married, friends buying houses...   It was all a little bit overwhelming, but we decided to take the plunge and with the help of our family, we charged forward.

It was a beautiful day and what a party!  I'm still told that it was one of the best parties ever attended. We all had so much fun and when the night was over, I couldn't believe it had gone by so fast.  Something that I'd planned in my head since I was a little girl had gone flying by.  It seemed like mere moments. 

That was a lot of dress. I'm hiding somewhere under there. My mommy made it!

Seven years ago, today, I married my best friend.  I love you, Hubs.  May we keep the joy, love, and laughter in our hearts for many years to come.  Really, I plan on driving you crazy for many more years.  Hang on, it's liable to be a wild ride.

Giving Thanks

Thoughtful Tuesday

Holiday Shopping and Some Rambling

I am looking forward to the holidays.  I get to see my family, get a few days off of work and have time to relax.  I will just get relaxed enough to enjoy having time off and then it will be time to go back to work.  So, I may take off on Monday.

I just found out today that I have 52 hours to use until the end of the year.  I can carry over 40 so that leaves me 12 to play around with.  I don’t have to carry any over, but I always worry about getting sick and not having any time to play with.  I also worry about being gone for too long.  Too much to catch up on when I get back. 

Speaking of the holidays, I really have to start shopping. I’ve finished knitting one gift and have two in the works, but by this time last year I was almost done!  Every year it gets harder to shop for people. 

What do you get someone that has “everything” and if they don’t and they want it, they go out and get it?!

What do you get someone that never tells you what they want?!  My mom and sister, I can figure out.  Any craft item goes over well, but my dad…  I. Have. No. Idea.  Hub’s dad is the same way and I have NO idea what to get Hub’s mom.  It’s gotten to the point that if someone has an idea, I think we all hide it from each other so no one uses it and leaves us unable to think of something else.

Rest assured, I will be grilling my family over the weekend.  Get your lists ready, family!  I want ideas!

Heart

I Wish I Had This View Right Now

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

I had a pretty stressful week.  I let a lot of things get to me.  Someone hit my car.  Another month passed in which my body denied me one of my biggest dreams.  It’s a crazy time at work and I didn’t feel good for most of the week, but as another week closes and I think about all the stress, I realize that I really don’t have a lot to stress about. When I think about all of the things that other people are going through, I realize that my worries are pretty trivial.  I am pretty damn lucky.

What a Way to Start the Day

I get up and head off to work like any normal day.  I need to get gas so I stop at a gas station on the way. 

As I pull in, I notice that there is a heavy-duty truck at the first tank so I start to pull around to get to the tank in front of him. He seems like he is getting ready to pull out so I stop right next to him so I don’t cut him off or get hit.

As I sit, I see him look in his rearview mirror, in his drivers side mirror, and then he starts to pull out.

“He’s going to hit me.”

I hit my horn.  He keeps moving as he looks around, confused, and keeps coming.

“What, am I invisible?”

I hit my horn again as he crunches into my car and turns to look at me, incredulously.  He throws his hands up in the air as if I have run into him!

He backs up and I hear my car groan.  I cringe and put the car in park.

He gets out of the car and yells, “Where did you come from? I checked my mirrors!”

“I was sitting right next to you.  I saw that you were going to pull out and I stopped so that I didn’t cut you off.”

He looks at the front of my car.

“Was this here before?”, he asks.

“No.”

At this point, I am shaking.  I don’t know what to do.  I don’t know what to say.  We exchange insurance information.  He apologizes profusely.  He was trying not to hit the gas tanks with his trailer (construction) and he didn’t see me.

While we are exchanging information, another truck drives by and the driver leans out the window and yells, “Hey buddy, watch where you’re going next time!”

The car assailant smiles, waves and mutters, “I really didn’t need my neighbor to see me do that.”

It was probably good for everyone that he hit me and not the gas tanks.  My day could have started out a lot worse.   

I’m ok – my car?  Well, she probably needs a new front bumper.  Thankfully he missed the front quarter panel.

Wordless Wednesday

Good thing, because I have nothing good to say.

Gone Fishing

I don't have the energy to blog today, but I'm on a roll with NaBloPoMo and I don't want to quit. So, in honor of my laziness and utter overtime exhaustion, I want you to go play a round of Angry Birds in my honor.
Go ahead. You know you want to.

Mute Monday

I’m sick and I’m not in the mood to think of something to write about.

So, here you go!  A cute photo of Ms. Shotzie…

Autumn in the Northeast

Here are some more photos of our walk in the park.

		Autumn in the Northeast VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A Walk In the Park

Boy I’m Glad It’s Friday!

I have not had a chance to take my new toy out for a walk this week.  It’s dark when I go to work and it’s dark when I get home.  There is nowhere that I could stop on the way home even if I see something that looks pretty.  Too much highway, too many changes for accidents.  So I will have to wait until the weekends and days off to play with and learn how to use my new camera.

I should’ve taken this time to read the manual, but I haven’t.  I’m overwhelmed by all the technical terms, but if I’m going to use this camera like it’s intended to be used, I will really need to do that.  It’s unavoidable. 

In the meantime, I will bumble along trying to figure out what looks good.

Happy Friday! 

Peaceful Thoughts

When I’ve had a day when I felt like I was the world’s bitch, I feel like looking at peaceful photos or listening to peaceful music.

I thought I would share some photos that make me feel peaceful. These are from my last visit to my parents, in early fall.  I love it there, as I’ve said before.  It is my peaceful place.

		Peaceful Photos VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Release the Kraken

Don’t be fooled.  This is not a Clash of the Titans post and I am not being paid to review this product.

I wanted to make myself a drink tonight so I stopped at the liquor store on the way home from work today.  Being a particularly stressful day, kind of the pinnacle stressful day of the week, and also being “Hump Day” I thought that it warranted a good, stiff drink. 

As I wandered the aisles, I decided that I wanted to buy a decent bottle of rum for our collection.  I happened upon this little gem, The Kraken.  I read the back of the bottle and decided that I’d like to try it.  Ok, I admit it, I liked the bottle.  The dark label, the sea monster, and the curved handles on the top helped make my decision.  Let’s face it, it was on sale. 

I brought this little beauty home and hubs and I opened it up to have a taste.  Holy Crap!  It’s strong!  I know that they say to not use the expensive stuff for mixed drinks, but there is no way in hell that I could drink this straight.  Just a little mouthful burned it’s way down my throat, but it’s good!  I really enjoy the spicy and sweet taste and the way it lingers on the tongue.  (Hell, I don’t know the proper terms.)  It was way too strong for me to drink straight though, so I did the unthinkable.  I mixed it with Coke Zero.  No limes in the house so no Cuba Libre for me, but I’m enjoying my little slice of the Caribbean tonight. 

Cheers!

Perfect Sky

I would really rather be enjoying the view while laying in a beach chair, but instead it’s in my back yard.

Loving My New Toy

I can’t believe it’s that time of year again. 

In the Garden

Fur Babies

 

I Did It!

I broke down and got the camera that I was saving for.  Today, I went and picked up my new baby, my Nikon D3000.  It's beautiful and I love it and I didn't even want to wait to charge the battery before I took some shots.

Here is one of them, but there are many more to come.

I am in love with this camera.

Am I Too Nice?

Today, while I was talking to a co-worker she mentioned that I came up in a conversation she was having with her boyfriend.

“I was talking to Mike and I said that no matter how mad Suz is, she always seems so nice.  Even when I know she can’t stand the person…  I’m so not like that.  It’s obvious when I don’t like someone and I think that’s bad.”

That got me thinking.  Am I too nice?  Do I take too much crap from other people?  I have long been the doormat choosing the “kill them with kindness” route, but then there are those times when I’ve had enough and I let some poor soul have it. This normally happens at the most inopportune times.

Did you ever get so sick of the way that someone treats you that you vow that the next time they piss you off you’re going to let them have it?  Invariably the next “offense” is so minor and you flip out making yourself look like the asshole.  I guess everyone does that, but I seem to do that a lot.  I think because I let things simmer slowly for a long time.  When I finally come to a boil, it’s a nasty i-forgot-to-turn-down-the-heat-and-there-is-milk-in-the-water kind of boil over.  It stinks.

I really do try to turn the other cheek anymore and try and kill them with kindness, but sometimes I think that the person that you’re “killing” ends up thinking you’re an idiot because they’re clearly walking all over you and you’re just taking it and smiling.  I guess that’s when you have to believe in Karma and that the universe will give that person a big old slice of Karma pie someday. 

I really want to be there when some people get slapped in the face with it.  Really.

So, am I too nice?  I guess sometimes I am, but sometimes I’m ridiculously angry for no reason and over-reactive (is that a word?), and whiney.

I guess I’m just human.

When You Have Nothing To Say

How My Day Started AKA I was in the UK?

I started my day out with an email, @DaisyPantalones and a DM from my sister on Twitter.
(Pardon the paraphrasing)
Vee – I’m sorry to contact you at work, but someone has hacked your Gmail account and is impersonating you.
I immediately freak and grab my phone and realize that someone has, indeed, hacked into my Gmail account and sent the most scandalous email. ( The red italics are my commentary.)
Subject: (BRUTAL EXPERIENCE) I NEED YOUR HELP URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am writing this mail with tears in my eye. (In the flight over 

I seem to have lost an eye. Horrible accident, I’ll tell you more 

about that in tomorrow’s post.)I thought I could reach out to you 

to help me out. I came out to United Kingdom for a short vacation 

unfortunately I was mugged at the park of the Hotel where I stayed,

all cash,credit card and cell phone ( I would kill for my phone so 

this, you can see, is a serious situation.) were stolen from me but 

luckily for me I still have my passport with me. I've been to the 

embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all 

and my flight leaves in few hour from now but.

I am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager

 won't let me leave until I settle the bills. (What an asshole. 

He let me use his work computer to send this email though. 

He’s not heartless!)I need your help to loan me some money when

i get back i will refund it back asap.(I pinky swear!)

Thanks
Susannah (my last name is here too, but well…)

Now first of all, the grammar is atrocious.  No one could possibly think it’s me.  (I hope.) 

Second, I don’t have a passport.  You fail, asshole.  Third, I talk to my family EVERY 

day. (Ok, I email almost every day…  Ok, at least once a week.) They know I’m

not overseas. Oh no, you suck again!

With all that said, I’m mortified!  Someone at work told me that they saw this exact

same situation on the news recently.  Some poor sucker fell for it and sent this 

Nigerian individual (yes, he/she was from Nigeria) money. We’re talking thousands

of dollars.  Duh!  They must walk around with a neon “I’m a sucker for everything” 

sign above their head.  Sorry if you’re one of those people that falls for every email. 

You know you’re gullible. This is not news. 

Ok, back to the story.  Not only did this person have the audacity to hack

into MY email account (I’m important, you see….) they have the double 

audacity to correspond with my sister?

“OMG I can’t believe I didn’t tell you about my trip!”  

Really?  Really?  

So, since Gmail is blocked at work, I had to clumsily change my password from

my phone.Then I logged in and realized that this asshat had gone into my settings 

and forwarded my Gmail to this other email address at Yahoo. Now I feel REALLY

violated.  Thank goodness I don’t have any real personal information on that email

account, or any for that matter.  

Thankfully, my sister (being the angel that she is and yes I’m sucking up because

Christmas is coming. No really you’re an angel --Vee) sent the whole thing to Yahoo

reporting it as Fraud and Phishing.

What’s the moral of the story here, kids?  Don’t go on your iPhone when you’re in the 

Philadelphia Airport. Also, don’t get mugged outside of your hotel while visiting the 

UK for a short vacation.  The concierge at the hotel is really a jerk and will hold

you hostage until you bilk your friends and family for money to pay the bill.  

It's the Small Things

I own my car. Yep, I made the last payment today. I half expect to go out tomorrow morning and see a pumpkin where my car once was.
Times up! Thanks for playing!

I AM expecting for things to start going all wonky (yes, that is the technical term.) I am already having problems with the motor for the window on the driver's side, but overall, my little plastic car has been good to me and It's All Mine!

In other news, I bought a new coffee maker tonight.
.....

....

...


Yes, you read that right. I'm the only one in the house trying to change my coffee habit and we needed a new one. Badly.
The only person that could make it behave every time was hubs and he finally lost the battle.
It's beautiful and I can't wait to use it.
For decaf, of course...

(grumble grumble)

Day One of Nothing Valuable to Contribute

Today chewed me up and spit me out like a stale cracker and all I want to do is stare at the wall like I'm in a catatonic state. You could throw a tv in front of me if it makes you feel better, but it doesn't really matter.
Why the melancholy, you ask? Or maybe you didn't, but I don't care. It's my party and I'll whine if I want to.
I'm giving up caffeine. Yep. I said it.
Caffeine and I have a longstanding love affair. I really do love it. I don't care if it has a bad hair day, puts on a few pounds or has spinach in it's teeth. I love it all the same, however it has come to my attention that caffeine does not love me.
It's not good for fertility. It's not good for anxiety. It's not good for any number of things. So, I'm giving it up.

It sucks and I'm tired.

My Weekend In Pictures

Hubs and I took a drive to a local farm to get some natural meat and eggs.  Of course I had camera in hand.  We all know I love the Macro setting on my camera, but unfortunately I could not get a ton of good shots because the animals were constantly moving.  And you know I whined about wanting an SLR…  A lot.

They had enormous squash!  Some of them were over 40lbs!

I had to get some pomegranates to “enjoy” at some point this weekend.  They’re so pretty!

And then I ate one…  And it got messy…

Happy Halloween!