Could it get any redder?

Just when I thought I had seen it all in Georgia...I went to Alabama.

Ok seriously, it wasn't that bad but it just blows my mind that I live in the south and am fortunate enough to go to exotic cities like Birmingham.

On a kind of neat note - the Tutwiler Hotel had a photo gallery of historic Civil Rights moments captured in Birmingham. It's still hard to believe that the movement was not that long ago when the world is such a different place now.

Totally changing gears, but I am kind of sick of not having a husband or friends down here. I tried to get a date to the Twilight "New Moon" premiere next week but so far have been rejected by everyone I asked so far. Apparently their schedules are much busier than mine. Boo.

Any thoughts on how to make friends in a new city? Ok, maybe not even friends but just a movie buddy? Craigslist? (Just kidding!!!)

Happy Birth Day

Shout out to Anna, Jed, and little Owen who was born yesterday 11/10 and weighing in at 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20.5 inches long. YAHOO!

Also, for those that care, got my H1N1 shot today at my asthma doc's office. Whew.

Live from Florida...it's Baby P

Ok, maybe not *quite* yet...but I am very much thinking of my good friends Jed and Anna in Florida as they await Little Owen's Birth Day!!! Can't wait to see photos.

Also, tonight I went to the airport and spent a little QT with my old friend Barry and his brother Dan, who stopped through ATL enroute to South Dakota. We only got to catch up for about an hour but it was totally great to see old friends' faces!!!

Off to hunt wasps in the house (nothing ever dies here, I swear, and it MUST be time for the exterminator again).

Back from Copenhagen

The whirlwind of activity called my-life-for-the-past-2-weeks is over. I got back from Copenhagen on Friday (yes I was only there a day and a half, not including the 19 hours enroute and back), after my week in DC last week, and have pretty much spent the entire weekend recouping:

- I had NO food in the house (ok, Easy Mac but that's it) so I went grocery shopping yesterday.

- Ran out of deodorant while on the road and have been using Jeff's extra Old Spice (it's dorky, but it makes me miss him more now that I smell like him, kind of). Target stop is next, sometime today. UPDATE: It is 7:30 pm and I have not made it out of the house yet. Oops.

- Got my hair cut and colored and brows tinted and spent WAYYY too much money, accidentally of course (when you keep saying yes to services somehow the bill goes up).

- Plucked said tinted eyebrows. When they are not super blonde it is much more obvious how negligent I've been.

- Nearly ran out of gas after the haircut on Saturday and stopped to fill up.

- Caught up on my reading list of blogs after 2 weeks' absence.

- Petted and played with my kitties like crazy! They don't like parental absence.

- Painted my nails dark purple.

- Got addicted to new smut reality shows: Tabatha's Salon Takeover, The T.O. Show, Dr. Drew's Sex Addict Recovery show, Million Dollar Listing. Most of these will (thankfully) be over before Jeff returns. He will never know they are on the Season Pass (except if he reads this).

Lamest weekend ever? Only if you think being lame is looking beautiful and jamming out to the new Glee soundtrack (which arrived while I was gone).

One week in DC!

Well, I am back home after a whirlwind week in our nation's capitol. And - here is a surprise - Jeff came back home for the weekend too! We have not done much today except napped, caught up on some tv programs, caught up with each other, and ordered a pizza.

Notice what's missing? Trick or treators. I bought all this candy and we have not had the doorbell ring ONCE. BOOOOO. Literally~

Happy Halloween!

Garth is back!

I thought I had missed my chance when, over 10 years ago, I chose to stay and cheer on the Monarchs to a playoff victory to be in the football state championships (we lost), instead of attending a Garth Brooks farewell concert in Sioux Falls.


So when I read this article today, I was thrilled!!! Another trip to Vegas is totally in order because Garth just signed a 5-year deal to play at the Wynn!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33472758/ns/entertainment/from/ET

Another post about Glee...I Heart Mark

In case you don't have enough kick ass reasons to tune in Wednesday nights - here's what you've been missing:



His rendition of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline made me feel all warm, fuzzy, and happy inside. Take 2 minutes and fall in love.



For the record, Youtube can eat up hours of your life. Also, rush out and buy the Glee Soundtrack Nov 3rd. NEW MOON plus GLEE plus 5th anniversary plus Thanksgiving at the cabin..................November 2009 may be perfect!

Shots, work, kitties

Since it seems like this week flew by without me realizing it, I am recapping it here.

1) Got my flu shot. The regular seasonal flu one, but even that was no small feat. My asthma and GP docs were out with no sight of getting more, as were the 12 other places I called. Turns out the same day my lovely boss-ola told me there was a clinic at work. Go figure. (Lots of stress for naught.)

2) Kept the house picked up. TOTALLY not my forte. I like to leave shoes everywhere. At least Jeff did not see my misbehavior. (Sorry honey.)

3) Played with the kitties, fed them, and in general loved them. I stayed up until midnight some nights to ensure they got some human interaction because I feel uber guilty about leaving them last week, leaving this coming week, and leaving again the week after.

4) Decorated for Halloween. Most of the decos were out but I finished.

5) Worked like a mad fool. In reference to my previous post about procrastination...

6) Paid bills, read 2010 benefits literature, and enrolled. It SEEMS like I spent a lot of time learning all the different medical plans (seriously, it changed a lot for us merged folks), when realy it was only about 4 hours total and in the grand scheme of decisions, I put a lot more time into other less-important purchases.

7) Grocery shopped. Only for a couple things, and mostly to pick up Halloween candy. I don't want the stores to be out of candy on the day of Halloween like they were last year and we were the dumb house that could only give out Nerds.

8) Laundry. Jeff, you're right, the new Washer and Dryer kick ass. Is it sad it has taken me 6 months to realize how great they are?

9) Cleaned out my car. Empty Gatorade bottles and makeup strewn about does not a good professional image make. Although it IS a Sunfire so it is almost sacrilegious to keep it up to an almost 30 year old's standards - it wants to be treated like an 18 year old's palace of freedom.

10) Had dinner with my neighbors...ahhh! What a week.

Crack Spread

Ok, because I am tired of hearing snickers during various supply chain update meetings, and because the inner chemical engineer in me occasionally wants to burst out, I hereby dedicate today's blog to the 2-minute education of "crack spread".

It is probably not what you think it is - a plumber, a janitor, someone starring in a "special" film.

Really, the term is derived from the pricing difference between crude oil, and the products made by "cracking" the hydrocarbon bonds.

This pricing difference has a lot influencing factors and can be manipulated for gain or loss in many ways. In the world of futures trading and hedging, traders and refineries may sell the contracts owned of specific products while buying others, either trying to hedge their risk or turn a profit.

Health Care Take 2

Ok, so I just thought of something else - if doctors performed less "defensive medicine", ie less tests and treatments for unnecessary items like a brain scan for a broken arm, does that mean that healthcare workers would be laid off?

Probably. But who knows how many.

Dear Mainstream Media: please show me the start of where I can find all of the numbers and studies and opinions I need to make an informed decision on what I think should be changed about healthcare. Please. Please. This is much more important than Jon Gosselin's latest love fling.

Oh, and for all who continue to comment on my blog: MWAH! Love you, many kisses!