The Perfect Storm

My friend at work and I are totally geeking out right now...  Here is the progression of things that make us happy at work:

1. Friday
2. Friday AND Payday
3. Friday AND Payday AND Long Weekend

We finally got the ultimate... All the stars have lined up...  We've wished for it and talked about how awesome it would be if it happened, but somehow one of the four is always missing from the equation........

4. Friday AND Payday AND Long Weekend AND Early Close.

EEEE!!! Finally.

My favorite morale booster is always when they decide to let us go home early...

Come on, year, keep being awesome!

It's the little things in life...

Happy Birthday To Me :-)

So yesterday was my birthday...  And I have to admit, it was a pretty good one.  When I got to work there was a balloon and cake waiting for me on my desk from my friend, Maggie.  I got tons of birthday wishes from everyone in my department by e-mail because most of them were out in the field.  Went to a delicious lunch at Auld Dubliner with my bosses.  Yummy corned beef and cabbage and they talked me into having creme brulee.  Then I sampled a little bit of a strawberry and nutella crepe that was being served as dessert for a meeting that was going on.

I was a little nervous that J wouldn't get home in time to make it to dinner because he had to be up in Compton working.... Luckily he made it home and I was hungry enough for dinner.  I had chosen Gemmell's for my birthday dinner because it is a ridiculously delicious restaurant.  (We originally found it because our friend's father is the owner and chef...) 

We both had the cream of asparagus soup - I dream about this soup.  It's my favorite.  I would eat an entire freaking VAT of this stuff.  LOVE it.  I had the filet - perfectly cooked and the sauce was incredible.  J had the Dover Sole and the only way he could describe it was that since he gave me a bite and I said it was fantastic, it must be completely and totally amazing because there are only certain fishes that I like and I almost NEVER like fish at a restaurant.  (J seems to be the only one that knows how to prepare fish so that I will like it...  I'm pretty much always disappointed when I order it in restaurants...)

As we finished our dinner and were waiting for them to bring out my souffle (I had never had one before, so I decided that I would finally try it), I saw a flame light off on the other side of the restaurant and over came a beautifully arranged piece of cheesecake with strawberry sauce, "Happy Birthday Kelly" written in chocolate sauce, and flaming sugar cubes soaked in some kind of alcohol.  My friend knew that we were going to be going to the restaurant that night and had his dad prepare it for me...  So nice.  It was really cool looking and I wish I had remembered that I had my camera in my purse BEFORE we blew out the flame and tore into the delicious cheesecake.  All I have is a picture of the aftermath... (I don't have my cord with me right now or else I would post it... I'll add it later....)

So we ended up with two desserts....  The souffle was to die for.  Hot and delicious and sweet and rich and just WOW.  We were delicously stuffed....

After that, it was Glee to give the food time to settle and then time for bed.

My birthday celebrations continue...  Today is lunch with a work friend and this weekend will be celebrating with my best friend and her husband...

If this is a sign of things to come, then it looks like this is gonna be a good year. :-)

(Gemmell's didn't give me anything to talk about them so glowingly... I just really love that place.......)

"You guys need BOUNDARIES!!"

So we were talking with my best friend and her husband last weekend while we were hanging out in the hot tub and the subject of bathroom preferences came up... They are both the closed-door, don’t bother me types. Josh and I leave the doors open and have been known to hang out in the doorway chatting while the other one is doing their business... And I don’t see why her husband thought it was such a weird thing... In fact his exact comment was:


“You guys need BOUNDARIES!!”

Why? What’s the big deal? Is it really that weird? Because it doesn’t seem that weird to me... It’s not like I’m gonna help him wipe or something... Or ask him to help me, ya know? I don’t know... It’s not like I leave the door open when I’m at someone else’s house or if I have people over at my house... (Well, actually... I shut my bedroom door and then leave my bathroom door open... haha) I just don’t understand the squeamishness...

It’s like recently we find out that a couple of our married friends have never seen their wives naked. WHAT?! How is that even possible?!?! I don’t understand it... Do they run to the bathroom to get changed? Have they never had “the mood” hit them during daylight hours? They’ve never showered with their husband? I’ll admit, J and I might be a little more relaxed than most when it’s just us around the house... (And we pretty much always keep our blinds closed... So it’s not like we have to worry about the neighbors getting a peek...) But I just can’t imagine how I would be able to avoid him seeing me naked...

I just don’t get it... Are we really that weird?

Taking Out the Mental Garbage

So... Where to begin? (WARNING – Pity Party in Progress)


I think it’s a really bad sign when you almost stumble while shopping and wish that you had actually fallen because a broken ankle would have gotten you out of something you had committed to... That was the thought that had crossed my mind last Saturday morning while I was trying to give myself a pep-talk about how much fun I would have a friend’s Saturday evening wedding shower. I had had a long week at work and all I wanted was to be able to stick to my happy little routine (SUCH a creature of habit) and go to my best friend’s house and just hang out and relax. I knew that it would be fine – that I would have a good time once I got there... It was just the getting there that was presenting the problem. I kept getting really pouty and mean... I will admit – there were even tears involved at certain points. And I picked up my cell at least 10 times to text that I was sorry, but I just couldn’t make it... But then I would feel like a horrible person and put my phone back in my pocket.

I had been feeling the sense of dread building all week – Friday when I got home from the Avalon Launch, I tried painting my nails purple as a way to cheer me up... And as happy as looking at my pretty purple nails makes me, it wasn’t a lasting way to cheer up... Even Target couldn’t pull me out of my funk... Un-heard of. I was at Borders when the wish that I had broken my ankle ran through my mind... Being there couldn’t even tame the pouty shrew I was becoming, and I adore Borders. I am sure it’s a weird thought, but at the time it was very true. I would have willingly taken the potential embarrassment (I say potential, because I don’t really ever get embarrassed anymore... I mean, I fell down the stairs in front of my boss and didn’t even blush...) of laying on the floor in Borders, waiting for an ambulance, and then dealt with being in pain in a cast for weeks... If that would mean I wouldn’t have to spend two hours out of my day doing something that I didn’t feel like doing. Not ok, right? Haha

I have these random thoughts go through my head on occasion – they usually involve the stairs at work and hurting myself “just enough” to get a few days off of work... Or rear-ending someone that did the lovely “I’m gonna cut you off and then flip you the bird for having the audacity to not read my mind and know that I wanted to be precisely where you were on the road at that moment” maneuver. It’s usually followed by my standard admonition of, “No, Kelly. You are not a crazy person.” And then I go about my merry way...

The thing I dislike most about being a grown-up is doing things that I don’t want to do. Like being a good friend and going to the shower, being a responsible adult and getting up and going to work, going to dinner with my mother-in-law... I just don’t like it. Because of that, every so often I get extremely selfish and won’t do anything. I’ll lounge on the couch with a book or my DS, play on my laptop, watch a bunch of movies... It’s my way of rebooting. And when I re-emerge, I am much more willing to do the things I didn’t want to do. I haven’t had a chance for a reboot for a while and it’s starting to catch up to me. Obviously. Haha Until I get my reboot, I start finding ways of controlling the situations – like for the party... I refused to get dressed up like the invitation said. I wore nice jeans, a cute top, a cute cardigan, and nice shoes... But I was not about to put on a dress and get all dolled up on my day off.  And I was really happy to get there and see two others that had the same thought...

I’ve even been slacking on working out lately – I keep saying that it’s because we’ve been really busy lately (which we have) and that I just don’t have time because there are too many other things that need to get done... While not entirely lies, I could have made time for my workout. It’s a short workout and a quick shower after so that I’m not disgusting and sweaty... But I just have not had the energy or the desire to do it. Luckily I haven’t gained the weight I lost back, but still... If I don’t get back in line, I will. And I’m working on it. I haven’t taken an entire week off of it so far, but I’ve been far from my usual 4 – 5 days a week. Just gotta make the decision not to go home and put on my jammies and curl up with my book...

So, what’s not really helping with all of this need for a reboot is the fact that a couple weeks ago at work I was told that I was going to be having a second position ADDED to my current position. That’s not what added to the stress – I was actually looking forward to that weirdly enough... (I prefer to be busy – makes the days go faster...) It’s the fact that the next week we got a new General Manager and he doesn’t seem to be as confident about the fact that he was being “added on” to a different assistant. Part of it is (I've heard... Don't know what the REAL reason is) that he wants someone in the desk outside of his office, which I already told them before that I don’t give a crap where I sit... It’s just a desk. Besides, I’m going to be keeping both desks because there isn’t enough storage space in one desk for two jobs worth of crap. So right now everything’s on hold. Now I am bothered by several things about this:

1. The guy that he is replacing (who is now his boss...) knew that I could handle it.

2. He has never worked with me and doesn’t know how quickly I get things done.

And the one that bothers me the most: No one has said ONE WORD to me about it. Not one. I only know as much as I do from over-hearing things and asking someone else in the office that is involved in this too... It’s extremely frustrating. This is my job that they are playing with and I want to be kept in the loop. If you don’t have all the information yet, that’s fine... But you should share the info you DO have, right? It’s not like it’s the end of the world if I don’t have to add a second job to my already busy job, I’ll still be employed if it goes back to me just doing what I’ve been doing... But I’m vaguely offended that they don’t seem to even be willing to give it a try...

Ugh.

So yeah... That’s really the key to this grumpy hermit mood I’ve slipped into. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on. It really gets to me. I try not to care... I keep telling myself to go along for the ride and that I’ll end up where I end up when the ride stops... But then I get pissed off when I over-hear the chick sitting next to me (the one who’s job I am supposedly absorbing) get asked about when she’s moving over and she starts whispering! I’m sorry, but you can bite me. Am I not ALLOWED to know what’s going on??

And that brings out a random little rant... Don’t talk about people when they are RIGHT THERE! It’s obvious and it’s STUPID. Like one time when I walked up to my desk and she and her buddy were whispering over at her desk and as soon as they saw me, they started doing that lame cover-up of talking really loudly... “So..... Yeah! So that thing I wanted to show you... You know, that thing? Over here?” and then they walked away. Lame. Or when I walked into the lunch room to get some ice and she and her buddies were in there chatting away and as soon as I walked in they went completely silent... I wanted to say, “You know, ladies (and I use that term VERY loosely), if you didn’t talk about people, we wouldn’t have to deal with these awkward silences...” But I didn’t. Although, I did comment over my shoulder as I walked back out the door, “You can resume talking about me now...” So stupid.

Ugh again.

**Sigh**

Oh – AND... I’m freaking turning 30 next week. I have never been bothered by my birthday until now. I mean, it’s just a number, right? So why does it matter? But this one is REALLY getting to me. Plus, there’s so much going on right now that there’s not even a time for me to plan a birthday party that isn’t already taken... I already have plans to go to a really nice dinner at Gemmell’s (a French restaurant in Dana Point that we love – and our friend’s dad owns...) with my hubby... But it’s kind of a big birthday and I had wanted to have a big party..... **Pout** Whatever... We’re planning something for the first weekend in June because that’s the closest we could get... It’s going to just be something small with my best friend and her husband and probably another couple that we are close to. At this point I don’t feel like doing the big party anymore... So I’ll just continue my pity party for a few more days and then snap myself out of it again once the hideous day has passed........ hahaha I keep refusing to admit that it’s happening and saying that I am either going to just stay 29 or I’m going to start Benjamin Button-ing this thing and reverse and be 28 again... Hahaha... I can do that, right? I think it’s totally possible.

And I have no idea what I want for my birthday... How lame is that?

The only things I can think of are:
- My other wedding band
- The emerald bracelet that I ADORE (but costs $6,000 so it’s not gonna happen)
- A new Seatbelt Bag like this one or this one or this one or this one or this one or this one or this one. It's an obsession...
- The rifle that I’ve been wanting FOREVER (my dad always says that of all his children, he never thought it would be one of the GIRLS that would be into guns)
- A baby (Josh keeps reminding me that I am not allowed to steal the adorable little girl that we keep seeing with her mom or dad at the grocery store, no matter how many times she smiles at me... hahaha)

So there you have it.

And I’ve run out of steam. (I’ve written this over the past couple days during my lunch breaks and random peaceful minutes of down time...) And I feel better. Taking out the garbage is a much-needed exercise sometimes... Get it out of your head and then you don’t have to think about it anymore. Ahhhh.... A weight has been lifted....

Things I Am Thinking About RIGHT Now...

- I am out of the office and loving it.

- I am helping with our Avalon launch.

- They just played the Swagger Wagon video and I was dancing at the back of room and singing along.

- I need to go potty, so I would really like them to break out into their groups because the bathrooms are in the room they are using right now...

- It's Friday.  And payday.  Love it.

- 4 AM is an unholy time to have to get up in the morning.

- Leaving the house before the sun comes up is not ok.

- I am way too much of a creature of habit, so I am dreading the wedding shower tomorrow evening because it takes away from my normal night of hanging out with my best friend at her house...  I'm sure I will have a good time...  But I'm also sure that I will be trying to find a way to leave as soon as it wouldn't be considered rude...

- My back hurts.

- Going to vicodin land last night helped me to be able to sleep without waking up every time I shifted at all... Stupid back pain.

- Seriously, when are they going to break so that I can go pee???

- The shirts that they gave us today are cute, but when I put it on, all I could think was, "Holy crap, BOOBS!"  So I'm wearing a cardigan over it.

- They just said something about high beams in the overview and I giggled because I was just typing about boobs.

- I have my own name badge with me in my purse, but I thought it was much funnier to wear someone else's name badge because she had extras with her in her car.  So there are three Bettys sitting at the table right now...

- The drive down to Del Mar was beautiful.  Especially since I wasn't the one doing the driving...

- I am really happy that we met at Target because that means when we get back, I can go straight in and play :-)

- I want to go to Il Palio again at the race track here to watch the ponies run... It's fun to get all dressed up and cheer for the horses.

- I want to go in my best friend's hot tub tonight... I doubt she will have a problem with that.

- I really need to repaint my nails.  They look like crap right now.

- Please, please, please break so I can go potty!!! Oh. Em. Gee. I need to see if there is another bathroom in this place.......................

"I'm better with the money, so I handle the bills..."

I love this video way too much.... I crack up every time I watch it... "I got the pride in my ride..."

SWAGGER WAGON