Thursday February 26th

My office is directly behind a door that connects to the reception area. Receptionists get all the action. They know everything. And thanks to my location, I hear everything.
The general office ass kissing occurs for the most part, however; sometimes I get a glimpse into someone’s personal life that reminds me of the days I spent living in a small town in West Virginia. Other days, like today, I hear stupid conversations about organizing the mail room. Somehow I need to refocus the receptionist to start up that conversation about the IT guy that’s married and that chick from Accounting.

Wednesday February 25th

I miss my Grandpa. He always had the best advice. Even if sometimes it was, "Get your f__king act together kid", "You aren't really that stupid, are you?", and my all time favorite, "Why are you screwing up your face like that when you talk to me, don't you think it might get stuck like that? Then who's going to marry you?" I can hear him in his strong New England accent, laughing as he spouts these crass remarks, and then proceeds to tell me the reason why I’m doing everything all wrong in life.
A Scotsman with a strong personality, Grandpa never disappointed us with his blunt opinions and sarcastic banter. Unfortunately in November 2005, Grandpa suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body and his ability to speak. And just last year, he and Grandma relocated to West Virginia to live with my Aunt Sharyn. While I'm thankful he's alive and for the kind-hearted man he's become, I miss his laughter and his intellect. Most of all, I miss our talks. For some sick reason, I miss my ass being handed to me. I miss his letters, the anger that would erupt after reading them and the digression once I realized just how right he was.
A letter from Grandpa meant that I screwed up. One once said that I shouldn’t be surprised that I’d wind up dating an alcoholic if I met a man in a bar, another with a picture of me said I should seriously think about joining a gym, there were many about cleaning up my room. He was funny and rude, but always had our best intentions at heart. It’s during times of angst or when I do something I know he would be proud when I miss him the most.

Tuesday February 24th (FAT Tuesday)

Typically on Fat Tuesday, I celebrate in the spirit of New Orleans. And by celebrate in the spirit, I mean drink spirits.
This Fat Tuesday however; I spent at my esthetician. Because being 29 and breaking out like a 16 year old is extremely frustrating. This year, I’ve decided that what I put on the outside of my body will be a mirror of what I put inside – no more chemicals, all organic, no animal testing, etc. So today is my 2nd of many upcoming organic treatments in an attempt to fix my disastrous skin. And before you ask, yes, I've tried Proactive, and a dermatologist (or 40)...ugh.

Monday February 23rd

Sometimes friends come into your life and you feel like you've known them forever. For me, Julie is one of those friends; she is more like a sister to me, and even though she's a year younger than I am, I look up to her. People take Julie at face value, she puts herself and her husband first, and she hardly ever has a mood outside of happy.
So tonight, after a long day of work and a few nuances that made me want to let out a loud scream, I went to yoga, decompressed, aligned my chi, and thought to myself, "What would Julie do?"
And then I devoured a huge brownie.

Sunday February 22nd

Sundays make me happy because it's one of the few days I actually get to sleep in, I usually paint or do some sort of project, and I go grocery shopping. Here I am in my usual Sunday garb, with my list of things to-do, the ever present water bottle, and sunglasses to cover the bags from last night's festivities.

Saturday February 21st

While celebrating Theresa's bachelorette party, we couldn’t help but wonder why we were the oldest group of girls sending off one of our friends to be married? To make matters even more interesting, I happened to be the only single girl at the party. There goes my shot at getting Theresa up on the mechanical bull. And nothing says “F-you” more than four groups of twenty-one year olds dancing around with light up penises on their heads.
Well, at least T had fun and the food was great.

February 20th Friday

September 28th, 2003

Nothing has made me happier than seeing my sister marry the love of her life nearly 6 years ago.
Today I had the chance to relive some of those moments when she joined Facebook and uploaded some of these “old” pictures. Although thankful for modern social networking and the ability to follow my sister and nieces lives daily, I am also terrified of watching my family grow old online. I am beside myself when I think that it's been 6 long years since Tash relocated her family up to Ohio and I’ve already missed such precious moments as Reagan’s birth, Taylor’s first day at school and many, many birthdays.

Stay Tuned

My internet is finally up and running at home so stay tuned for daily updates, finally!

For now, enjoy my niece rockin' out. She will be my official "Stay Tuned" image.

Thursday February 19th

Watching a hockey game on a Thursday night is only fun if you 1) are invited to watch it in a box that serves free beer 2) get to see a beyond wasted hockey fan nearly throw his ahem, cane into the crowd and 3) introduce your boyfriend to coworkers, and a friend of theirs remembers him from when he swam nude across the lake in their development. Ouch.

Wednesday February 18th

After meeting some of my married/pregnant/with-baby friends for lunch today, I couldn’t help but think I am at a point of transition in my life. Half of my friends are hitched, and the other half are still out every night of the weekend, waking up with hangovers. While I don't think that I am close to the aisle or to babies, I do find myself skipping happy hour during the week to avoid things like a) the two days of recovery I suffer through because of being in my very-late twenties b) the thought of having to wash my hair twice to get the smell of smoke out, and the hour of sleep I will lose because of it and c) dark, puffy circles under my eyes and everyone at the office saying things like, "you look tired," which really means, "you look like shit."

Tuesday February 17th

The economic stimulus bill was signed today. I love our President! I am however, still trying to figure out how it will financially impact my bottom line.

I mean, I found this pie chart in the NY Times, and it clearly states I get a piece of the action.

Sure makes that trip to Paris a whole lot easier.

Monday February 16th

Daytona was just as ridiculous as me watching this guy play a cardboard guitar.

We loved every minute of it.

Sunday February 15th

Sunday we were off to the races! And, because of aforementioned champagne, we left our fuzzy-rhinestone-pirate-koozies behind.

We did however; have access to the activities on the race track, and the concert that Keith Urban put on beforehand.

We didn't, however; make it to said activities, nor to see Keith Urban. In fact, we barely made it to the race due to the several types of transportation that we had to take (after discovering our assigned parking lot was literally in China.)

First, we took a bus.

Then, we took a tram. (A tram that was pulled by a Ford F-350 I should mention...)

Then, we ran...actually, Valerie ran. My head was pounding.

Woo wee.

Saturday February 14th

Valerie was a great substitute Valentine today. I missed Boyfriend, but the 3rd bottle of Dom made everything much better. Cheers Lynne and Jim!

Friday February 13th

Time for a road trip! Friday night Val and I drove up to Ormond Beach. Her mom gave us her Valentine's vacation since she was offered an upgrade from a vendor. Unfortunately, we had to leave our cute little buddy Bruzer home.

p.s. Boyfriend sent me the most beautiful bouquet of lillies and roses today :)