water water everywher

water, part 1: a leak in the car. AGAIN. 2 weeks ago there was another leak in my car. don't even get me started about the service call and the discussions with the service writer at the dealer. bbfe totally summed it up for me when he said "what the f&*% do you care about what he thinks....he's only a service writer for god's sake." enough said. but i'm still frustrated over the whole entire thing.

water, part 2: the day after the car leak, bbfe notices that we have a puddle of water in the garage. we track it back to the water heaters and have determined that one is leaking. since we have 2 water heaters, it's not a big deal or emergency. our hot water helps heat the house and since it's spring and we don't need to run heat, we just unplugged it. however finding a plumber and/or hvac business that services this kind of system was the biggest pain the butt. finally found someone and scheduled an appointment. of course, since it's a water related issue clearly it didn't go off without a hitch. the guy called at the scheduled time thinking it was a consultation, hung up quickly stating he'd call back and then never did. i call the front office and the guy was out here within the next 45 minutes and inspected the issue. i'm now replacing a hot water heater.

water, part 3: it's been raining entirely too much for my taste.

is it a sign: my zodiac sign is a fire sign. i'm guessing that the water is a sign that i need to temper the fire within me.

mother's day: last week bbfe and i were discussing mother's day and i teased that i'm a mom to einstein and as the father, he was responsible for taking care of the day on behalf of the pup. i was totally joking and he knows it. i mean really, he compared our family to three's company when trying to explain that our relationship with ein is platonic. but if the dog licks my feet like crazy, i totally debate the platonic nature of our relationship! i totally wasn't counting on anything, but my day was pleasantly started when bbfe kissed me good-bye and wished me a happy mother's day before leaving. and boy was i shocked when bbfe came home, announced that he had picked up the makings for dinner, grilled dinner and even cleaned up after. what more could a girl ask for?

late night blogging

stupid tv: sometimes, you see really stupid ads on late night tv. this one in question for now is astepro. astepro is a relatively new nasal spray for allergies. sounds good so far....until you actually listen to the commercial. the warning states "do not take it if you have an allergy or adverse reaction to astepro." really? i thought it was perfectly fine to continue to take meds that you are alergic to. go figure.

dancing: dwts has been pretty good this season. i'm really interested to find out who will make it to the final 2. i typically root for the underdog but this season, i don't think the underdog will have a shot at the prize. but he's pretty cute to look at.

sick men: ugh. need i say more?

easter: easter morning, my parents, bbfe, nik, and private came over for brunch. we had an egg and sausage strata, french toast casserole, waldorf salad, watergate salad, brie, and mimosas. yum! i only wish that bbfe wasn't sick with allergies. grumpus!

kitkat: best wishes to private and her new kitty. i think they're going through growing pains in order to get to now each other. hopefully it'll even out towards the end of the week.

procrastinator: i'm really not interested in going to work today. can't i just stay home and work from here? as it is i have meetings all the way through to the end of the day so there's not even a chance to cut out a bit earlier. oy.

good friday

friday was good: today is good friday. today was also a good friday. work was ok....got a chance to speak candidly with a senior leader on how a certain project is not valuable in it's current state and we shouldn't roll out. socialized with peeps from work and left early.

parents: ...are visiting for the weekend and we all went out to emilio's tapas restaurant in midlothian. it was fair. i'm not sure we would head back. both bbfe and i agreed that europa is a much better option. the food there (europa) is superior, the service knowledgeable and attentive. the choice of selections at emilio's was abundant but mainly potatoes and fish based. as a non-fish eater due to allergies, i had a harder time finding tapas entrees that i could eat. one of them ended up being an appalling empanada. it looked like something that they just shoved into puff pastry and fried. it was way too greasy.

easter: i have a basket for my mom which she'll have to find in the house. since she hasn't been here for over 6 months, i have lots of hiding places to take advantage of.

work slump: have you ever had one of those projects that just drains you. drains you emotionally, physically...you name it and it drains it. well, i've got one of those projects going on and i really am tired of it. people telling me how to fix problems when they don't understand the problem or making changes mid-stream that make it more complex and frustrating. it's all i work on and i can't get to the other stuff that people want me to do. there's just not enough time in the day and at this point, i don't have enough strength to go on. i'm exhausted all the time. but like my momma says "this too shall pass." i just hope that i live to see it actually pass.

sunburn: spent a great day at the racetrack yesterday with nik and bbfe. unfortunately, i was silly and forgot the sunscreen. so now, i'm lobster pink, my skin is hot and it's stinging me constantly. i've tried everything from taking a warm shower to drenching myself in aloe and lotion. only ibuprofen has been taking the edge off. i'm just hoping that i don't peel and if i do that i at least get some sort of color out of it. i'm pretty sure that i'm so bright i glow at night. strangely, as i'm sitting here, my fingers and toes are freezing.

painting: on the plus side, i'm looking forward to painting the master bedroom this weekend. i'm taking it from a dark navy color to a light blue that has just a hint of purple underneath. and i'll decorate in black and white. a white bedspread/duvet cover with a black bedskirt; black and white pillows and i'll probably make my own curtains. the rest of the organizing efforts in the house are going well too. but tonight, i just need a break from it all. no cleaning, no moving furniture....nothing. just vegging out.

random thoughts

computer update: it's working great. i am on it pretty much every day surfing the net, checking mail or paying bills. my only irk is that sometimes the cd player only works when the laptop is perfectly level. tilt it slightly and it wont read a cd. not a huge problem considering i rarely use the cd drive.

cardio: waiting for my new treadmill to be delivered. the delivery company is scheduled to come tomorrow between 1 and 5 pm....nice window there dudes. and my exercise bike with is also a rowing machine is supposed to delivered early next week. i'm looking forward to getting the new treadmill.

music: massive attack rocks. i heard a track of there's at a local favorite, the black sheep, and downloaded one of there cd's. since then, i've downloaded another one and am addicted.

addictions: speaking of addictions, i recently purchased sims city 4 - rush hour and am addicted to it too. my first city crashed and burned (well, i bulldozed it with the power of god) but i guess i learned something because my second city is flourishing. it's actually a very interesting 'game' concept. but be careful...time has a habit of slipping away when you play it. you start with the intent to play for 30 minutes and 2 1/2 hours later....doh.

learning about my new computer

wow. i'm still getting acquainted with my new laptop. i've written a post twice now and both times it's been deleted somehow. i think if i hold shift and the cursor key too long, it for some reason deletes the text. all i can say is that i had a really good post written and i'm just too spent to try and rewrite it again.

working girls

bitches in the workplace: i have to rant. today, i'm very thankful that i work primarily with men. the women on my team and my extended team are good to work with too. but i really can't stand it when women take rejection in the workplace as a personal issue. while your idea may not have been ultimately approved or even may have been modified, you need to not take it personally. stop bad mouthing your colleagues to your subordinates, your manager, or anyone else you want to vent to. it's not professional, it only affects your reputation and it's just bitchy. grow a set and pull your big girl panties up.

netflix: bbfe and i have decided to give netflix another go. we've had our own accounts before and generally he liked it. i got tired of the poor turn around in the area i lived in beforehand so i cancelled it. well, we've signed up and so far, i'm impressed. we signed up this past sunday and two days ago (tuesday) received our first three movies in the mail. we also purchased and 'on demand' player box. we received it yesterday and are generally impressed. my only issue is that the length of the power cord is actually on the short side. so i had to re-engineer a few electronics. we easily loaded movies into our instant queue and were able to watch them immediately. the movie availability is pretty good but it's light on new releases. hopefully popularity of the option with netflix will grow and thus prod the additional of more movies to the on demand options. fingers crossed.

plumbing: and have i mentioned the frozen pipe we had? well, luckily nothing worse happened and it thawed out pretty quickly. unfortunately we have these lame supply lines from the pipe to our faucets. they have a shut off valve unique to virginia, i guess and are 'self healing'. so every time you touch it, the healing stuff loosens up and you get leaks. we're still trying to let the lines re-heal and in the mean time have a bucket brigade. oh well. the joys of homeownership i guess.

girls, girls, girls

safe space table: to my lovely lady friends (strangelove, wonderland and private) i had a wonderful time last night. forever more we will always have safe space tables in real life and virtually. i adore you all and can't wait for our next "sex and the city" style get-together. and i'm sure that our eavesdroppers can't wait for us to come back again.

i have a great movie quote for you all. it's from twister and goes:

"rabbit it good. rabbit is wise."

late night cravings

why do i read: ever have one of those books that you just can't put down. you think about it all the time wondering what's going to happen. you resist the lusty temptation to skip to the last page and see how it ends. if you haven't, then you haven't read a great book then. honestly, if you know me, you know i read a lot of heavy stuff during the work day. so at night, my secret craving is to read a brain candy book. something with a great story line, intriguing characters, charisma. well, i'm happy to say that i've had a string of great successful books on my mind lately. it started with the twilight series, expanded to the private series (about a girl going to a private school and breaking into the clique) and is mulling nicely over the house of night series (about vampyre finishing school). while these books are geared for tweens, i'm not surprised i like them. brain candy is so much fun and has no calories. why not indulge in a secret obsession??

back to bach: i was having a hard time sleeping tonight. i'm so frustrated about a recent problem with my beloved murano suv. car dealers just suck. and i don't feel like i've been a good worker bee this week because i worked at home for 1 1/2 days. that's just not like me. so, now it's almost midnight, and i've just created my own facebook page. i've been listening to yo-yo ma's cello suites. one of the best albums i've ever had the privelege to listen to. calming, stirring, comforting. another late night craving. i'm wrapped in a soft pashmina, have socks on and am sipping a delightful cup of tea trying to settle my mind. if you have any secret solutions for calming the mind, please feel free to share.

hard times: apparently, the porn industry is asking for their own stimulus package. because of the limp economy, sales are deflated and they are asking the federal government to help invigorate the american public. there are so many jokes that are lurking in the words here. it's extremely hard, er...i mean difficult for me to resist. oh crap - i guess i didn't resist.

the winter blahs

blah, blah, blah: i think the majority of the people i know are experiencing the winter "blah's". indications that you have the blah's: no desire to do anything, easily bored, feeling alone, the words 'ho hum' come easily to mind. part of it may be the weather. it's cold. damn cold. my skin is like sandpaper and no amount of lotion has been keeping up with the moisture that the air is sucking out of my skin each day. i desperately need to fight the blah's and start feeling a bit more in control.

amazon.com: i really do love shopping with amazon.com. it's fairly easy to do and the prices are fairly competitive. my only bug is that i have the prime membership which is supposed to give you free two-day shipping on prime-worthy items. lately though, the timing is more like 4 or 5 days and i'm quite upset about that. the holidays are over and volumes shouldn't be that high that you can't get a package out and delivered on time, as promised.

fedex: and on the shipping rant, i'm a bit peeved that i ordered something from a company that uses fed ex. they've rescheduled delivery twice now and attempted to deliver the package at 5:30 pm yesterday (a saturday). but i didn't find that out through a doorknob sign. they didn't leave any indication that anyone even stopped at the house. better yet, the website is totally bogus and there's still no indication as to whether or not they will require a signature for the package. i'm glad to sign a "leave it here" release, but you need to release the release in order for me to do so.

see. i have a bad case of the winter blahs. if you have any suggestions on how to get over it, please let me know. i'm desperate.

happy new year and happy birthday

new year: i love this time of year. i look forward to it third most behind my anniversary with BBFE and christmas. why? because it's a time to reflect on all that is happened this past year and a reminder that our futures are no more known than where hoffa is buried. i like cracking open my yearly journal pages and using them brand spanking new. i love watching tv marathons that plague the cable stations. it always feel like a fresh start even thought some things will always stay the same.


happy birthday to ein: einstein is 8 now. he is graying around the face, but he's still a puppy. much more back to his normal self. i think i realized that on tuesday too when i came home from running an errand and found that he had dug in the trash. bad boy! nik and jen came over to celebrate new years eve. we played cards for much of the night and noshed on some faboo snacks (brie puff pastry bites, seasoned nuts and olives, pumpkin bread and pigs-in-blankets). they're back on new years day for a traditional dinner of pork and sauerkraut.

car maintenance: i'm going to try and become more active in maintaining my car with BBFE. i've asked him to show me how to change the oil and filter in it. i already know how to change a flat...but we also need to rotate the tires 'cuz it's time. but those suckers are heavy! plus it'll be something for the two of us to do together that he enjoys.