January 31, 2010

I got more reading done in my book today. And then I took a nap. Watched a little of an Andy Griffith Show marathon. But what really took up most of our day was prepping for the Grammy's tonight! Okay, not really. Actually, Duke is all excited about watching the special 3-D tribute. That's about all we are interested in watching, really.

January 30, 2010

Today was a lazy day. Jon and I slept in till 10:30! That's late! I started reading my book today. I only got through Chapter 1. It's good so far and I plan to read a lot tomorrow. I started making dinner at about 3:30. I made a meatloaf. And I also made my famous french onion mashed potatoes. So it was all done at about 5:30. Jon and I watched a movie while we ate dinner. It's called Extract. It was pretty funny. A dry humor. My favorite kind. After dinner we ran some errands. We went to Shoe Carnival and both bought new shoes for work. After that, we went to Target to pick up some batteries. A 48 pack of AA for $12. What a deal! And I got to use my snazzy, jazzy cell phone gift card. You can upload a gift card onto your phone, and when you go to check out, the cashier just scans the barcode on your phone. Pretty cool. And some dude in the next checklane was pretty impressed with it. So I know he's gonna go home and talk about it to his friends. After Target, we stopped by Chris and Laura's to pick up a couple movies on DVD. One for us and one for Julie and Greg. So we then stopped by Julie and Greg's house to hang for a little bit. Greg just bought a new Corvette. And we got to see the puppies. They are getting so big. Makes me want another one.

January 29, 2010

Tonight, Nate came over and the 3 of us had dinner and hung out. We ate spaghetti, that I made. And I make very well, thank you. For dessert, we had vanilla bean ice cream with crushed 'Nilla Wafers and hot homemade canned cherry pie filling, that Nate brought over, that his mom made. It was devine. We watched most of Road House. "Be nice. Until it's time to not be nice." "The name is...Dalton." We got sidetracked towards the end of the movie and started watching trailers on the computer for upcoming movies. If you have the time and means, go to http://www.traileraddict.com/ and check out some movies coming out this spring. I'm most looking forward to Hot Tub Time Machine.

January 28, 2010

Grocery day. I went $7 over my grocery budget. But that's okay. Considering that all the animals ran out of food at the same time, a good chunk of my budget went to dog food and cat food. Hey, them boys gotta eat too. Since I bought dog food, cat food, 2 cases of pop, a case of water and a 40lb. bag of water softener salt, it was real fun pushing the cart through the parking lot with 2 inches of snow on the ground.

I can't sleep tonight. I just had some Sleepy Time tea and hoping it will kick in soon. I do have to work in the morning. Not too early, though. 8:00am. Then I'm off for the weekend. Gonna hang out with Nate and Jon tomorrow night and hopefully get started on my new book. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.

January 27, 2010

Did you know that today is National Chocolate Cake Day? You do now. We had chocolate cakes in the breakroom at work today. With buttercream frosting. The only kind of frosting in my book. (Boo to whipped frosting.)

January 26, 2010

Well, the snow is still here as the temperature keeps dropping each day. I love when I walk out to my car and I see little tracks in the snow. It's fun to think about what they could be from. I think these small ones are from a cat, since I've never seen a raccoon in our yard for the 7 years we've lived here. I have seen a skunk before. But we'll say these are from a cat. Tonight Jon and I attempted to go grocery shopping. We went to Fridays for dinner first because I had a coupon that expired today. We got too full and just wanted to go home and put on some more comfortable clothes. So we will go grocery shopping on Thursday.

January 25, 2010

No More Snow!

Every year this happens. It gets warm, all the snow melts, and I totally think that we are done with the snow. And every year it snows again. Duke was finally able to find all his toys and tennis balls in the yard to play with again. But alas, they will be covered again.

I'm excited to have the day off tomorrow. After the crazy hours I've worked for the past few days, it's time to relax. Except for the fact that I'll probably be spending the day cleaning.

January 24, 2010

Colts Win! Super Bowl bound!

Today has been one long, exhausting day. I worked overnight last night to set ad. When I came home in the morning, Jon and I had breakfast together. I made french toast and bacon. I couldn't find any Texas Toast at the store this morning, so at our baker's suggestion, I used Hawaiian bread. I have one word for you---AMAZING! From now on, that is the only way I'll ever make french toast. After sleeping till about 2:30 in the afternoon, my butt was dragging all day. Jon and I made a speckled bovine delivery to Jen's at about 5pm. Jen had made some yummy chicken nacho dip and we watched the rest of the Colts football game. So for the rest of the evening, I'm going to relax and ease myself back into the work week...at 4:30 tomorrow morning.

January 23, 2010

Today was Girls Only Day. Earlier in the week, I started to think about how I hadn't spent much quality time with my nieces lately. I hadn't really seen them since Christmas, and I started to miss them. So I decided that me and my mom were going to steal them away on Saturday and have a little girl time. First we took them to the Dollar Store. They each got $5 to spend. Morgan kept putting things in her basket, and she didn't even know what they were. When she finally got 5 things that she actually wanted, every time she found something else, she had to trade something. There were tough decisions to make. Lauren chose very slowly and carefully. After that, we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We then went to Kroger to buy cookie mix, and then back to Grammie and Pa's to make cookies. It was a fun Girls Only Day.

January 22, 2010

So I'm trying to get used to my new hair cut. Today is the day I teased my bangs and put them up in a barrette to make me look 6 feet tall. I'll probably look at this in a year and wonder, "What the hell was I thinking?"

January 21, 2010

Today, I felt kind of blah. I've been tired for the last couple days, my joints hurt, and overall my body aches. I think I need new shoes. It was a long day at work today. 10-630 midshifts always are. When I got home, Jon had dinner just about all made. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Jon and I settled in on the couch with our spaghetti and Spotted Cow, and watched last night's American Idol. The auditions are kind of fun to watch, especially all the bad people. But I can't wait to get into the good stuff. And pick my favorite and get invested in someone.

January 20, 2010

O...M...G... Spotted Cow brewed in New Glarus, Wisconsin is the best damned beer on the face of the earth. I am so thankful to Brandon for driving to Wisconsin to buy some for me. (Okay, he really drives there to see his wife.) Right now I have 2 beautiful cases sitting in my fridge. Sadly, I have to give one of them up to my dearest friends. Maybe...

January 19, 2010

I've never made a ham before. But hey, it's fully cooked and all I had to do was heat it up. Well...I DID have to make the glaze. It came with a dry packet that I had to add water to and heat up in a saucepan. So there's that.

I picked up some early hours this morning on my day off. I went into work at 430 to set POGs in shoes. I miss being on the POG team. Except for POGs in shoes, however. My fingers still hurt from the awful plastic label strip holders from hell. Then I came home and took a very long nap on the couch with my Duke.

January 18, 2010

Oh, it's that time of year again.

Doing our 2009 taxes did not yield the financial windfall I was hoping for. Can I somehow write off all my losing Powerball ticket purchases? In actuality, I bet we spent a whopping $10 on Powerball tickets in a year. As much as I would love to win the lottery, I just as much hate to throw money away. But you can't win if you don't play, right?

January 17, 2010

This morning a bunch of us went to the movies to see The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington. I have to admit, I didn't really have any intention of seeing the movie. It just didn't look like my type. But since everyone was going, and I could have some good movie theatre popcorn, I went. And it was very good. I recommend seeing it. We went to the Wonderland Theatre in Niles. This weekend, there was an ice carving festival around downtown. So there were ice sculptures all along the sidewalks. They were pretty impressive.

January 16, 2010

Today was a lazy day. Didn't do much at all. No cleaning, no laundry, no dishes... Just layed around like a slug and watched TV and napped all day. But that's what weekends are for, right? Duke joined in the festivities.

January 15, 2010

Yay for deep dish Chicago style pizza! A group of friends and family went to Giannetto's for Jen's birthday. Giannetto's makes the best deep dish pizza around. I was a little disappointed that they had run out of Four Horsemen on tap. But Jon and I did go over to Jay and Jen's house after dinner for a couple Black and Tans. Another thing I am excited for this weekend, is our friend Brandon is driving to Wisconsin to see his wife this weekend. One of the greatest beers ever made, Spotted Cow, is brewed and sold only in Wisconsin. He is bringing back a couple cases. MMMmmmmmm.

January 14, 2010

Macro!!

This is my cat, Pooper.

That's all. Have a nice day.

January 13, 2010

Oh, 312, I have missed you.

Myself and 4 fantastic ladies went for a drink after work tonight. The 5 of us sat in a booth, all wearing red and khaki. A gentlemen came up to us and asked what was with all the red shirts. I told him it was like the purple hat society, but we were the red shirt society. Lori told him he wasn't allowed in the club because he didn't have a red shirt on. Julie convinced him that we were in a moped club, and that we all rode to the bar on our mopeds. I told him that it was difficult to drive a moped in the winter, but we were very dedicated.

January 12, 2010

Woo Hoo!! I love me some Reese's hearts. Not as good as the eggs at Easter, but will do in a pinch. :-)

American Idol started tonight! I'm excited. Jon and I went to dinner tonight and then went grocery shopping. We were originally going to go to Chick-Fil-A, but quickly changed our mind when we pulled in. Tuesday nights are Kids' Night and the place was packed with kids. Sitting in the parking lot looking into the restaurant, all we saw was a ton of kids, a big cow walking around entertaining them, and one little boy running through the restaurant with his mouth wide open and his arms flailing about above his head. I didn't even turn the car off. We went to Taste of Asia instead. We promptly got home in time to unload the groceries and sit down for American Idol. I miss Paula. And we're gonna miss you, Simon.

January 11, 2010

Duke absolutely loves to play outside in the snow. His only issue is that he can't find all of his toys and balls right now. They are buried in at least a foot of snow. When I snow blowed yesterday, I snow blowed a path for him across the deck so he can easily get to the other side of the yard. I also snow blowed a small section on the grass near the fence where he usually goes potty. I'm sure it's not easy for him to squat and go number one, when the snow is literally up to his... When I went over the grassy area near the fence, I flung some poo with the snow blower. It put a smile on my face.

And yes, he is a boy and squats to pee. He's so lady like.

January 10, 2010

Today was a long day. I got up at 3:30am to go into work and set ad. When I got home, I shoveled and snow blowed the driveway. Jon and I decided that we didn't really want to make a big dinner tonight, so Jon made sausage balls. (Bisquick, sausage and cheese) They were super yummy. Jon wanted to just make one big sausage ball, but we ultimately decided that they would cook better in the oven if he split it up into smaller, more manageable balls.

January 9, 2010

It is so wonderful to have my Duke waiting for me when I get home from work. He's very bouncy. No matter how good or bad of a day you've had at work, it's always comforting to come home and see a smiley, waggily good boy waiting for you.

January 8, 2010

It was Cam's last day at work today. He's going back to school and transferring stores. He was super excited to punch out for the last time at the old 1445. After work, a few of us went to Wings for some beers. Jon (another guy's last day) bought everyone's beers. How nice.

January 7, 2010

After being without my wedding set for a little over a week, I finally got my rings back. I had to have the diamond reset with new prongs. Not sure I like the new prongs, they are bigger than they were before. Which I understand means it is stronger, but I think it makes the diamond actually look smaller.

I am so over this snow. I know we still have months of it, but I'm ready to get out and shoot outside. Of course, there are plenty of beautiful pictures to be captured out in the snow, but I just don't want to. Some upcoming pictures will be showcasing my (novice) Photoshopping skills. And I'm trying to come up with a good Custom Bokeh project. (Google it.)

January 6, 2010

It's hard for me to find the words for how I feel about this. This is the new set at work, called The Great Save. It's pretty much a Tuesday Morning meets Big Lots meets Costco. And I don't mean any of that in a good way. It's only for 6 weeks, thank God. Not one of Target's shining moments.

January 5, 2010

Not sure about this one. This picture was taken at JCPenney with my phone. Those are bottles of perfume with EAS tags on the tops of the boxes so people won't steal them. They are inside a glass case...

Things that make you go, "Hmmmmm...."

January 4, 2010

Dinner with depth. The DOF (depth of field) is extremely short in this picture. Foreground and background are blurred, but the cheesy, gooey goodness in the middle are my focus.

1 bag of No-Yolk noodles

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

8 strips bacon

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can milk

2 cups shredded cheddar

Cook noodles as directed, drain. Grill or fry chicken breast in pan on stove, then slice. Cook bacon, then crumble. Put all ingredients except half the cheddar back in the big noodle pot and stir. Pour into 9X13 dish, sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Nummy.

January 3, 2010

So far, my photographic endeavors for this year have been stunted by me being sick. I do realize that the first few pictures I have posted have been less than compelling. Hopefully that will change very soon. Thank God I'm off work for 5 days. Or I would have broken my perfect attendance streak. I haven't called off work in almost a year. January 23rd, to be exact. This picture is of my cat, Pooper. General is his birth name, but he gained his current moniker early on in life. Today he said to himself, I wanna be a dog. The dog gets more attention, more treats, and gets to play outside. Maybe if I think real hard, and play with his toys, that could be me.

January 2, 2010

Today started out a little better than yesterday. I feel a little better and got a little of my appetite back. Turns out I might not have been sick from food posioning after all. Because Jon got sick today. Maybe we should have gotten flu shots this year... This morning I got to take pictures of the Clay Township officer and firefighter swear-in's. I was honored to do so. I will be taking pictures of the last shift tomorrow morning. A big congratulations to the Clay Township firefighters! And if I haven't said so before, thank you for your service.

January 1, 2010

Food poisoning is not how I planned to ring in the new year. However, The Olive Garden had different plans for me. It started at about 10:30pm, when I got home from work. And finally ended at about 4:30am. Sadly, I missed a photography job in the morning, as I stayed in the house all day. Consuming only an English muffin, rice and some applesauce all day, I lost 6.4 pounds. Jon forced me to drink water and Gatorade. But I pretty much felt like a slug all day. Duke was in and out and gave me regular weather reports. Winter is here...