Well, my marathon dateless streak has finally come to an end. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be and I managed to make it through the evening without spilling anything on myself (or him) or saying anything really ridiculous...so I guess that's good. Right now, it doesn't really look like anything will come of this but I guess you never know. If nothing else, at least now I know I can handle myself on a date. I was really beginning to think I wouldn't even know how to behave!

My claim to fame today is that I am tied for dead last in our company NCAA pool.  As the co-loser, I get $2.50 back.  Had I been lucky enough to be the ONLY loser, I would have gotten my whole five bucks back.

I just got home from a wonderful dinner with my peeps from my old job. I love them so much! I can't get over how blessed I am to have these people and all of my other friends in my life.

Things are getting a little better at the new job in terms of getting to know people and such but I know that no one can ever replace this crew. I don't miss the job but I do truly miss them. We had a lot of fun tonight catching up but the most exciting part was hearing that Kristin got engaged!! When she came in and showed me the ring, I was so thrilled for them - I felt like the joy was just bubbling over. I knew that they would eventually get engaged and there had been a couple of times I thought might be the day - I remember coming into work one particular weekend (not remembering now when or what the significance was) but immediately going to her office to sneak a peek at her hand. I was glad too that everyone kept it a secret from me until tonight so she was able to tell me herself. It made my day and I am just so happy for them.

It was great to see the whole gang, and I have Tommy to thank for organizing it! I hope that we can do it again soon...it's so important to me that I don't lose touch with everyone. Love you guys!

This is my spare room/office.

When life gets crazy, this is the area that suffers. I try to keep some semblance of order in the rest of the house (especially with having home group here on Mondays) but then this room becomes the stuff repository. I just can't function in this mess!! I'm hoping that by posting this madness here, it will shame me into cleaning it up and keeping it organized.

This afternoon, my friend Michelle's daughter performed in a color guard competition at a high school near my hometown. I told Michelle I'd like to go to that one and we'd make a day of it and visit my mom on the way...and that is what we did.

Although I had tried color guard in high school and was familiar with it all, I didn't really know what to expect. But the effort these kids put into their performances was simply amazing. I actually teared up when the first color guard performed and one of the girls caught a sword she had thrown up in the air - you could just see the joy on her face and know that it had been something she had struggled with and had finally succeeded in doing.

When Sarah's group came on, I felt the same way. I was so proud of her and of her guard group. Their competition show was so well choreographed and so well put together. I know how hard the girls work on this - they practice twice a week at night for several hours and then all day Saturdays when they aren't competing. Their work and performance mean so much to them and they truly put their hearts and souls into it--and you can see it in every move. I was completely overwhelmed with pride!!! Go, Lady Knights!!!!

...it's Friday. Hopefully, I will remember to get up and go to work tomorrow and not laze around in bed like it's Saturday.

Actually, tomorrow is my first Dream Dinners session. I am so looking forward to it. I tried to make some meals ahead this week and made the mistake of buying one of those meals in a box - just add chicken. I tried one I've never had and...blecch. I ended up throwing all of it out. So again, I fell back into my routine of eating whatever I could scavenge. I hope this works out the way I think it will.

Otherwise, the week has been pretty uneventful. I've been fighting a flare up of fibromyalgia...crummy stuff! I really had no energy and was in a lot of pain most of the week. It also disrupts my sleep, so it ends up being a vicious cycle. This afternoon I got a burst of energy and felt somewhat "normal" so I ran a bunch of errands on my way home and started doing stuff around the house as soon as I walked in. But now I seem to be headed back to where I started. I don't know if I overdid it (who, me?) or if the weather is going to change again. That is the one thing that most affects the fibro - I can definitely tell when the seasons are changing. Fall is my favorite time of year but man, do I feel cruddy. I was trying to think the other day if spring is worse than fall. I tend to think it is, but I may say fall is worse than spring when it rolls around.

So now, here I am, things half finished (and some not even started), feeling like I just want to crawl in bed. I've got to at least finish some wash or I'll be wearing pajamas to work - which I think they MIGHT frown upon....

Who would have thunk it?  This lil 'ol blog of mine has been viewed 2,000 times!  It seems so amazing to me...

John Cusack...Nicolas Cage...

: )

While that's true, it has little do with this post. It's just the song that is stuck in my head at the moment as I fulfill the drudgery that is known as housework.

I fought against it all day long and now here I am, at 10 PM when I should be getting to bed, cleaning the house. Where does this guilt come from? It makes me feel like since I spent the majority of the day reading and visiting IKEA, that I can't simply sit and watch a movie like I'd planned. Instead, I have to go about putting my house back in order - doing dishes, doing wash, straightening up, finding things that got displaced by the living room makeover a home - at this hour.

There is something about my house being a wreck and things out of the places where they should be. It makes me feel off-kilter, somehow. I guess during the week I'm so busy running around and so tired that it doesn't affect me as much. But now, I keep looking around and trying to figure out where things should be and feeling frustrated that I let it get this way.

...with Dream Dinners!

I first heard about Dream Dinners from a friend a met at a baby shower in December. I was intrigued by the thought that you could go to their place, make up 12 meals that feed 4 - 6 people (good meals, much fancier meals than I am accustomed to as of late), freeze them and have them whenever you'd like.  Since then, I've learned of a few people I know who are doing it and I started researching it more and more on the website.  I liked what I saw but when we went for a "sneak peek" that my friend Nancy arranged on Monday...I fell in love.

With my crazy schedule, I have a lot of difficulty with meal planning. If I get home five to 10 minutes later than I expect, it can totally throw off what I had planned. For a while, I've felt like I was eating badly and feeling crummy - plus wasting food when I don't have time to make it and it goes bad.

I signed up for a session later this month where I'll make 12 meals (plus an extra one for going to the sneak peak). The thought of actually having that many meals made up makes me so very happy! Variety, good nutritional value, what more can you ask for? Dream Dinners provides all the supplies you need right down to the seasonings and the ziploc bags. You just take the main portion of the meal (for instance, chicken) and then mix all the remaining ingredients in a bag with it. Take it home and freeze it or make it right away. Viola! A healthy, easy dinner.

Last night I had the meal we made at the sneak peek. Lemon garlic chicken piccata. It was simply heavenly - and something I probably never would have made myself.

Yum!

Today was a lovely day. I decided to take the day off and sleep in, while waiting for my couch to be delivered. And I read a book! A real book, from beginning to end. It made me exceptionally happy.

And then, it arrived. The brand, new, lovely couch! And Nilo was right - a new sofa can make a big difference. This one did - both for my funk and my living room. It's not green as I had thought, but kind of gold color with green in it, and it actually goes very well in the room. It even brightens it up some.

It's amazing what a little sleep, a good book and a new sofa can do for your outlook.

I had all the hopes in the world to come home from church today, rearrange my living room and veg out with a book. Somehow, the day got away from me again. I did get the living room rearranged (thanks, David & Michelle!!) and I think the new couch will work out nicely. Then I made some meals for this week but now I am feeling like I still have more to do around the house...and all I really want to do is relax and read.

Why can't I make myself relax?????

I'm addicted to blogging.

Is there a support group for this?

I just logged on quickly to check my email and make sure that no prayer requests had some in for our church list (I send them out to the email chain). And now here I sit...first surfing the net; now blogging.

Today I had a Tastefully Simple party. It was a blast. Besides the fact that the entire home show is about food and you eat your way through it, I had a lot of friends turn out. My mom even came, which really made me happy! It was so nice to get everyone together for a few hours. I wish I could find a way to do that more often but in reality, as much as I love to entertain, it really wears me out.

I'm getting a new sofa on Tuesday (isn't it lovely??)

So tomorrow after church, David & Michelle are coming over to help me rearrange things. I keep looking at my small, rectangular living room and wondering what in the world I'll do...I really want a second sofa because I don't have a lot of seating - comfortable or otherwise - in my living room at the moment. But now I am apprehensive about whether I made the right decision or not. I always do this!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh. I wish I could just make decisions and be comfortable with them. Instead, I always second guess myself. It's maddening.

Oh well, enough of that. I am off to bed. Hopefully, I will get some down time tomorrow to relax and recharge. I've got a couple books I want to get to desperately.

I've seen this before on other blogs and thought it was really neat. So here are 100 things about me...I'll try to stay with the obscure; some you may know and some you may not!

1. I wear a size 8 1/2 shoe.
2. I only like Nike sneakers.
3. I used to only wear Tretorn sneakers.
4. For many years, I scorned socks. And I do mean scorned.
5. I had scoliosis very badly when I was a kid.
6. I have a rod in my spine that straightened that out.
7. I was 5'8" before the surgery and was 5'10" after.
8. I wear contacts.
9. I used to wear glasses because my eye dr thought I was too much of a scaredy cat to stick my finger in my eye.
10. My natural haircolor is totally grey and has been for a long time.
11. My grandmother turned grey in her teens.
12. I love mexican food.
13. My first dog was a Belgian Sheepdog named Prince. He was an absolute angel. I loved him so much. And he put up with everything from me!
14. I used to try to brush Prince's teeth.
15. And swing him on the swingset.
16. I would also bury him in the sandbox (and my mom thanks me for his ear infections!)
17. I once asked my mom why our neighbor was dressed like a penguin. She was a nun. And in earshot. And didn't like that one bit. But I was like two or three. Gimme a break.
18. In our first house, there was a mean old man who lived next door. There were wild strawberries that grew along the fence between our yards. One day I tried to pick one and he sprayed me with the hose.
19. I hit an old lady while riding my bike once.
20. I never rode my bike again.
21. I had chicken pox when I was five.
22. I once wore gold high heel shoes to school.
23. I never wear a heel higher than 1 1/2” inches now. It makes me feel too tall.
24. I used to hate being tall.
25. My best job ever was working at Dorney Park.
26. I did makeup for my senior production of “The King & I”.
27. I was an AIDS Peer Counselor at college.
28. I was also an orientation leader.
29. And President of Student Government my senior year.
30. I was founding sister of a national service sorority (Gamma Sigma Sigma).
31. I have a bachelor’s degree in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations.
32. I have a dual master’s degree in Health Administration and Health Education.
33. I can’t swim.
34. I can’t drive a stick shift. I learned on one and then swore never to drive one again.
35. I love John Cusack movies.
36. I love all kinds of music…even country.
37. I like Nascar.
38. My birthstone is amethyst.
39. My favorite actresses are Julie Roberts and Goldie Hawn.
40. My favorite actors are John Cusack, George Clooney and Nicolas Cage.
41. My favorite tv shows are 7th Heaven and Grey’s Anatomy.
42. I don’t like reality tv.
43. I grew up as a Philadelphia Eagles fan and then for many years was a Dallas Cowboys fan. Fair weather fan that I am, I came back to the Eagles a few years ago.
44. I have three cats.
45. I find driving relaxing.
46. I love to read.
47. One of my favorite books of all time is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
48. I like mysteries by Patricia Cornwell and Jonathan Kellerman.
49. I like chick lit.
50. I read a lot of self help nonfiction.
51. My favorite books of the Bible are Ruth and Isaiah.
52. My favorite boys’ names are Aidan, Isaiah, Nicholas and Jack.
53. My favorite girls’ names are Grace, Lily, Olivia and Anne.
54. I like it when animals have people names.
55. I once dated a guy from Scotland.
56. When I was in third grade, I made up a boyfriend to show off. When pressed, I said he moved to Australia.
57. I had a goldfish that lived for 16 years.
58. I like rain.
59. I don’t like to be cold.
60. I saw Donny Osmond in a hotel lobby in Tampa.
61. I met Dr. Ruth at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
62. I saw Aretha Franklin in a deli in NYC.
63. I love Jeffrey Gaines. We went to see him once and when we were entering the venue, he came in at the same time. My boyfriend held the door for him. He said hi and I couldn’t say anything. My boyfriend just said, “hey man”.
64. Two of my all time favorite songs are Jeffrey Gaines’ covers of “In Your Eyes” and “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.
65. When I get married, I want “Some Kind of Wonderful” by Grand Funk Railroad and “At Last” by Etta James to be played.
66. My two favorite cities are San Francisco and Washington, DC.
67. My favorite color is orange. As orange is not complementary in many ways, my second favorite color is red.
68. My eyes aren’t really brown. They are brown with green around the outside.
69. But I love the song “Brown Eyed Girl” anyway.
70. I love Greek food.
71. I’ll even eat lamb at a Greek restaurant. Otherwise, I don’t really – I feel bad about it.
72. I don’t eat veal for the same reason.
73. I don’t mind eating chicken or pork.
74. I love chocolate (did that even need to be said?!?)
75. I could eat ice cream all day, every day.
76. My favorite ice creams are chocolate chip mint, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate marshmallow.
77. In specialty ice creams, I like Edy’s ice cream sandwich ice cream and Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, Phish Food and Marsha Marsha Marshmallow.
78. I visited the Ben & Jerry’s factory once. I took pictures of their cows, like I had never seen cows before.
79. I still sleep with a teddy bear.
80. I love to visit lighthouses.
81. My favorite lighthouses are Cape Neddick and Portland Head, both in Maine.
82. I would like to live in Maine some day.
83. I love anything fleece – tops, pants, blankets.
84. My birthday is my favorite day of the year.
85. I was going to get a tattoo once until I saw my friend do it first.
86. I don’t like pain and I certainly won’t pay for it.
87. I had a radio show in college.
88. I once set my jeans on fire in a bowling alley, on purpose (yes, I was wearing them at the time).
89. I’ve never broken a bone.
90. I like to entertain but don’t do it often.
91. I am developing a scrapbooking addiction.
92. Cinco de Mayo is my favorite holiday.
93. I won a second place award from the Morning Call newspaper for editorial writing in their Student Newspaper Advisory Program. The article was called, “The school, the school, the school is on fire…”
94. I didn’t keep any of my old newspaper articles from high school and I regret that now.
95. I started out writing sports for the high school paper – and knew NOTHING about sports.
96. I eventually ended up being co-editor-in-chief of that same paper my senior year.
97. I thought they were teasing me when they told me a zamboni machine cleaned the ice at hockey games. I was convinced they made that up.
98. I should never be allowed to drink Jolt cola.
99. I have panic attacks on really high escalators
100. I am terrible at math

So there you have it! 100 things about moi.

Only a little bit of ice here (on my sidewalk, of course!) But enough to warrant a two hour delay into work and leaving a couple minutes early to come home. I'll take it!!

I keep thinking today is Friday. Every email I typed today, I started to close with "have a nice weekend" and then would be shocked to realize it's only Thursday. Sigh.

On another note, I have some interesting news to report. My previous employer called this week to offer me my job back! I was completely shocked. When I gave my notice, no one really seemed to have much of a reaction (except my immediate supervisor, who I believe genuinely wanted me to stay) and no counter offer was made. I wouldn't have stayed if there had been but I might have at least considered it if it was the offer brought to me this week. I struggled a great deal over this. I just didn't know what to do. Besides the loneliness factor, I do enjoy my new job. I'm learning new things that will help me down the road in my career and I am always busy. The people are nice. The atmosphere is casual, which I enjoy immensely (yay, jeans!) But the thought of returning to my pals and going back to something old and familiar was somewhat appealing. I prayed about it and I know a lot of people were praying for me about this decision. Each time though, I just kept feeling like something wasn't right. Besides feeling like I had made a commitment to my current employer and not wanting to break that, I just felt ill at ease with the whole situation. It took me most of the morning to get up my guts to call back and decline but when I did, I felt like a weight was lifted. I know she understood my decision and accepts it and I genuinely appreciate that the offer was made. It really made me feel like my contribution there was appreciated...even if it was after the fact. I hope that I can do as good a job in my new position! : )

Believe it or not, I am actually hoping to awaken to find snow and ice on the ground as they are predicting. I am in desperate need of some extra sleep this week and have a million things that need my attention right now that I can't get done while juggling work and other commitments.

Thankfully, there will be no guessing and wondering if I should try to make it in to work; my office is near a high school and if that school district is closed or delayed, so are we. It makes things so much easier that way. I was always so stressed trying to get to work in bad weather at my old job, never knowing what the roads were like in that area. And I know that even if it's not bad down there but is bad up here, no one will fault me for staying home tomorrow.

Come on, snow & ice!!! (Yes, I may have lost my mind. It's really quite possible.)