So upset.

I can't believe this has happened!!!! I signed up for Google+ a couple of weeks ago. It had existing albums of repetitive pictures and albums I didn't want, so I deleted and sorted out the pictures. I didn't know that I was deleteing them from my freaking blog!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

So now that most of my pictures are gone I'll have to reload them one at a time. First I'll have to find the time, then attempt to figure out what the heck is missing. It's gonna take a while.

I'm pissed.
~n~

Boxes are cool.

I took this picture yesterday, but forgot to post it. It was something of rough day. My clumsy phase had me a little distracted (hurt toe & foot, broken nails, blah, blah blah...)!

So I got a delivery a couple of days ago, and no sooner did I unload it, Tish moved in! She's so beautiful!!

~n~

A new year brings New Cheese.

I haven't written in a while. It's come to mind several times, but every time I do there's either nothing worth mentioning, no access to a computer (don't ask), or too much to even know where to begin!

So a brief recap of the holidays...

Thanksgiving went less than perfect, but in the end turned out to be a pretty nice evening. JD's dad and brother missed out, which was a true disappointment, but Douglas did stop by (a new addition to the Thanksgiving crowd :)  ) and I actually had time to sit and talk quite a bit with Michelle and Kyle.
The keg was a flop. I think it would had been more successful with better beer and better weather, but neither were within my control, so what to do. Lesson learned.

What was perfect? Christmas Eve! Let me tell you! I ended up getting Douglas and David to cover my shift that day. We stayed in our PJ's all day, colored on a poster that Katrina had given me at work the day before (while Kat played Sims 3, her Christmas Eve present), enjoyed a fire, and munched on garbage food all day. It was the coziest, happiest, most peaceful day we've had in the longest time!

Christmas day was a nice change as well. It was just the four of us that morning for the first time. And it was wonderful! I have to say that it was the best Christmas that we'd had in recent memory! We opened our presents, showered and made breakfast just as Matt and Maggie showed up to deliver their presents to the girls. We stopped by Mom's for a couple of hours and visited with Erin and her brood. Then ended the day with dinner at IHOP, a first for all of us! And as IHOP seems the last place to be on Christmas day, the four of us had a wonderful time together. And we all enjoyed one another, whole-heartedly. Wonderful.

As the new year passed, my restless nature seemed to persist more than ever. It's been kneading at my brain for the past few months now, but the last few weeks have been torture. The brainless, repetition of this job is slowly bleeding out any compassion that may remain inside me for the human race. Every day the IQ of these customers equals less and less. What am I doing with my life? How the heck did I get here?

Oh yeah, I remember. It was the hell phase of 2007. I'd had my fill and needed a break from the stress. I took this brainless job on purpose! What? It was supposed to be temporary!! And here I am... three years later?? Why?

Well, one thing that I can say about this stupid, stupid job, is that I have met some pretty cool people over the last three years. I know more people by name (or drink) now then I may have known throughout my entire career in construction! I often times run into them when I'm out shopping. In fact, I dropped Kodee off at a friend's house a few weeks ago and her mom was a regular! Crazy!! And as unsociable as I claim to be, I genuinely enjoy knowing these people. It's really something!

I was talking to one of these customers on a slow, slow holiday weekday morning. He had recently quit his 75k per year job to "find himself". So clearly, we had quite a bit to relate to. A couple of days later he brought me a book (that he made a special trip to buy just for me) called "Who Moved My Cheese?". I had read this book nearly a decade ago, but didn't remember much about it anymore. I took it home, determined to force myself to read it over the weekend. (As much as I love to read, I just haven't been able to commit myself to a new book in months.) I wanted not only to appear grateful for this thoughtful gift, but to discuss my thoughts upon my return to work on Tuesday.

It sat on the coffee table all weekend. For one reason or another I never picked it up, until Monday. The family had finally left the house quiet and at peace. This was my perfect opportunity. I sat down, forced the iPhone out of reach, and committed.

The next day I turned in my two-week notice.

It was all I needed, a basic perspective. A story about mice and cheese.

The stagnant, day to day grind is gone now. The excitement and fear about what's in store for me has awakened me. I feel alive again with possibility and a new found sense of freedom. It's not the freedom of the unemployed, but the freedom of choice.

I can choose my future from here. I can choose to be... not a Barista. Okay. So, I'm not sure where to go from here. I just know that I feel good about where I'm going! I'm going to find New Cheese!!!

So now I have two weeks left at Starbucks. It's official! (To my co-workers: If you really love me and are wondering what you could do to express your love... Casi Ciello!! I want  your markout this week! haha! It's never been a better time to stock up on good coffee!!)

I'm pretty sure that I won't have the ability to hold it together that last day. My coworkers have really meant a lot to me over the last few years. Douglas, especially... we've come so far!

Well, I suppose I should close this up. I think I'll post a summary of the book to follow.

Until next time...
~n~

Things on my mind these days.

Fall is approaching. It's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving.
Recipes. Music. Food. Keg. People. House.
Gotta pick up the treadmill on Friday.
Four days off. Four days off with my husband. Wish we could drive away for three of them, alone.
Sad that we can't.
Still need metal edging for the backyard. $200.
Gotta save serious $ for Black Friday. Minimum $1500. Ugh.
I hate saving money.
Need to do something about this house. Too unmotivated to touch it.
Drama at work is wearing me out. If I didn't have self-restraint, I'd have slapped a *b* by now.
Thank God for self-restraint.
I work with the boys tomorrow. Freaking yes.
Homecoming.
Apparently I need a Mac to use my iPhone to its full extent. Great.
My dogs are in need of some major threats regarding the consumption of my plants.
I hate cooking dinner lately. I need some new ideas.
The vet cost me a fortune this week. I hate pet maintenance.
We're out of cat food.
Volleyball?
I thought of visiting the redwood forest and I cried.

For now.
~n~

No sooner did I finish this post, did the principal of Kodee's school call me. She's being recognized by the school district on Friday morning but they can't tell me why until then. It's also a surprise to Kodee. What could it be? How exciting!

Friday, I thought you'd never come.

A miserable week, to say the least, but it's finally over. To improve matters, which I didn't think was possible on a day like today... MY CHILDREN HAVE OFFICIALLY LEFT THE BUILDING.

O.M.G. (rub the eyes... refocus... is it really true?)

Yesterday's thoughts: Friday would be better. Nevermind the drilling on my mouth... today would be Friday! Psh... I can handle anything! Friday! Friday!!!!

Well, 3am comes around pretty quickly when you've had the poo beat out of you the day before. I woke up feeling like I'd been punched in the face several times. It's okay, though. Think positive!

Sit and drink some coffee. Take an Advil or two. Get motivated. No problem.

And as my thoughts kicked in in the shower, like they always do, they turned more belligerent than efficient. By the time I got to work I vented to Cherri and got myself all worked up. Not only did talking about it NOT help, but I realized how crappy this week really was, and how exhausted I really am, and it only made me want to cry, which I did on my 10 minute break (which quickly became 15 so I could pull myself back together).

Work sucked. I had a great crew, as expected, but nothing could turn me around. One cup of coffee, two Excedrin, and four shots of espresso later ~ my jaw ached, my head pounded, my mood was dark, I looked like poo (having cried off all of my makeup), and everything irritated me.

Eventually I made it to 10:00 (the longest 5 hours of my life) and crawled back into bed by 11. Three hours later I woke up with a stuffy head and a stiff jaw. What could improve me today? It wasn't looking good.

But I never imagined that sitting here with my brats, listening to music and piddling around on the Internet could lift my spirits, but it did. Leave it to the monsters to get me mellowed out and laughing again. And no sooner did they lift me up, but Grammy showed to take them home with her for the night.

So now I'm sitting here alone in the dark, blogging in the sweet, precious silence of a wonderful Friday afternoon. Perfect.

I think I'll move down to the sofa where I can really get comfortable. Find a movie. Think about nothing.

Ahhh. Hello, Friday.

Sigh.
~n~

Wednesdays are poo.

I'm really not a big fan of Wednesdays. It's kinda been a sucky week and we're only half way through. Ugh.

Today was another uneventful day. The best part had to be the super, amazing nap that lasted a solid two hours. I usually set an alarm clock to keep me from getting too carried away, but I don't typically need it. Today was the exception! I probably could have rolled back over and slept longer, but that would have qualified me for feeling guilty, so my bliss eventually came to an end.

These kids are driving me insane. I wish I were the type to keep them entertained all summer, but I'm beginning to think they enjoy being lazy for a while. Who can blame them, really. I just wish they got along better. This house would be so much more peaceful and pleasant. Instead, I'll just count the days till they go back to school. Little @&"$#%!

I'm going to the dentist tomorrow. Yay. I have to get three or four fillings. I've only had one other in my life, maybe twenty years ago, so I have no idea what's in store for me. On a positive note, Kat has to get a couple, too, so we can suffer together. Cool.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. My house needs a major dusting, more than one person can handle. The floor grinding reeked major havoc on the dusting situation. It's going to take the whole village to tackle this one.

Aside from the dusting, a little relaxing is in order. We got our asses handed to us this past weekend, he's worked longer days this week, and the heat sucks. So aside from the typical stuff and a little forced socializing, we're counting on hiding.

As for now, it's movie time. Tonight it's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief".

Well, until tomorrow...
~n~