Worst. Day. Ever.

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Couch to 5K Friday.

I started the Couch to 5K running program over again this week, since last week was so crazy with Felix's appendicitis.

Week one consists of walking on the treadmill for 5 minutes, then alternating 1 minute of jogging with 1minute 30 seconds of walking, for 25 minutes.

I gotta admit, week one was too easy. I'm in better shape than that, but I want to follow the program so I don't end up over doing it. I did extend the jogging on a few intervals though.

Next week is 90 seconds of jogging then two minutes of walking. So far, this is SOOO easy, but I know in a few weeks I'll be hurting!

I'm also going to add in a few classes at my new gym next week. I've been scoping them out all week, and they don't look like anything I can't handle.

Here's to week 2!!

Serenity Prayer.

Who Doesn't Love Cute Babies? Especially THIS One!

My life has been a little...well, off lately. It's certainly not something I want to blog about, so here are some pictures that would cheer anyone up. My nephew, Brady! He's the cutest child alive!!

Anxiety Girl!!

I'm about to order this t-shirt online. Some of the comics I post are taken from NatalieDee and this one describes me PERFECTLY. In case it's too small to read, it says "Anxiety Girl! Able to jump to the worst conclusions in a single bound!" and then the caption up at the top says, "Oh, god...these tights are too tight. I think I'm gonna die!"

Anxiety Girl=Me. I NEED this shirt. You can buy this one, or another t-shirt with a hysterical comic on it here.

Happy Music Monday!!!

I'm not sure why, but this song was stuck in my head all night at work. Funny thing is, I've never even SEEN the movie Flashdance. Happy Monday everyone!!

Weekend Recap.

Friday

Felix was still sore from his surgery, so originally we were just going to stay home, but he was getting a little stir-crazy so we went to an afternoon showing of "Paranormal Activity". This movie got a lot of hype, and I wasn't thoroughly impressed, or so I thought. We went to bed early and I woke up at 3 am absolutely TERRIFIED that a demon was in my house, trying to get me. I had to pee really bad, but stayed in bed until it got light outside before I would get up. Felix can't lay any other way except on his back, so when I woke up shaking with fright, all he could really do was pat my leg and say, "no more scary movies for you!" So, so true!!

Saturday.

Steph and Rich came up for the day/night and arrived around 2:00. Basically as soon as they walked in the door, Steph and I were back out to head to Boardman for a little shopping. She wanted to find some boots for NYC in December. She found some boots, and I found an awesome purple trench coat at Target marked down to $19.98, and a few long-sleeved tees. When we got together in September, we planned that this time around Steph and I would cook Felix and Rich a big dinner, because we both like cooking, and men like eating. We had the entire menu planned around Mexican cuisine, because that seemed to be the general consensus that everyone agreed on. Our menu included:

Appetizer: Antojitos Minis (little mexican pizzas made with black beans, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, chili powder, and cheese all piled up on tiny tortillas)

Entree: Chipotle Shrimp Taco with Avocado Salsa Verde (grilled shrimp in olive oil and chipotle powder with a guacomole-type topping)

Side dish: Bean dip and whole grain Tostitos (Felix and Rich seemed to like this the best, and it was the easiest. A jar of Tostitos cheese dip mixed up with a can of refried beans. Zapped in the microwave. Go figure!)

Dessert: Tres Leche Cake. Steph and I LOVED this. Here's a pic of what was left by the time I came to work tonight:

Here are some more pictures from the evening:

Steph and Rich brought Felix a "Get Well" gift. A card and like, a 5 pound bag of peanut M&M's...his favorite!

Steph and I modeling our aprons. It was a joke at first, but I'm going to use mine regularly! Steph said she was bringing hers, so we stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond and bought one for me! It saved ALOT of mess from getting on my shirt and pants. Plus, I think the guys kinda liked them.
This is was what Felix and Rich did while Steph and I cooked. Not sure what they were watching here, but they were watching Transformers 2 earlier in the day (worst movie ever). Those two totally have a bromance going on, and they freely admit it.

Steph and I had a few beverages while we cooked dinner. Yes, that's Steph whipping up egg yolks together in a wok. I didn't have any more big bowls.

After dinner we played some board games and had a few more drinks, then relaxed and watched a little Jeff Dunham on Comedy Central. Went to bed around 1:00 a.m.

Sunday.

Woke up and had some coffee and cookies for breakfast...and Steph and I had a few more bites of cake. Then while Rich and Felix watched Sports Center or whatever it is guys watch, Steph and I mapped out our three days in New York City. I won't go into details, but the trip includes a visit to the bakery in New Jersey featured in the TLC show "Cake Boss", the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tao for sushi, Rockefeller Center for ice skating, the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and of course, a stop at Tiffany's. Can't wait! I love having Steph and Rich over. We have so much fun with them, even if it's just drinking a few beers and playing board games. I'm so glad Steph and I kept in touch like we did after college. I feel like we're better friends now than when we were in school.

After Steph and Rich left, Felix and I lounged around for awhile, then I went to the grocery store and came back and took a nap before work. Now, I'm sitting in the newsroom typing this, and I have a TON of work to do, but HAD to get this posted before midnight!

I guess in a few hours I'll post a "Happy Music Monday" when I get some downtime and think of a song.

Extra Saturday Post: My Very Talented Little Sister.

For those of you (meaning...none of you) who thoroughly enjoy my "Caturday" posts, look below. I had to post this as well, though. My mom it to me. My little sister Morgan (who will be 11 in December) was on my mom's work computer the other day, and this is a story she started writing. Am I biased, or is she seriously talented? especially for ten years old?!


“Hey are you going to the haunted corn maze tonight?” Bryan asked. Cara looked at her friend shocked. “Me? Go to a corn maze? Never!” Cara said. She flipped her long brown hair. “Sorry just asking! Sheesh!” Bryan said. Cara rolled her eyes. “Oh look Tracy!” Cara said changing the subject. “Hey Cara. Hey Bryan.” Tracy said. “That haunted corn maze looks so cool!” Cara looked shocked. “Oh no not you too!” Cara groaned. Tracy looked at Cara and said, “What? Why are you so against corn mazes?” Cara shrugged. The three friends walked down the hall. “Have a good afternoon girls.” Mr. Patterson said. The two girls smiled. Bryan just kept walking. When they got to the bus stop it wasn’t long until the bus came. The kids got on the bus and waited to get home.
Cara stepped off the dirty bus and walked up her driveway. She turned and waved to Bryan and Tracy. They didn’t notice her. Typical, Cara thought to herself. Cara’s dad was waiting for her at the door. “Hi Cara.” He said. “How was school today?” Cara dropped her book bag on the kitchen table. “Fine.” She said. “ Bryan and Tracy really want me to go to that haunted corn maze.” Her dad walked inside. “Well why don’t you go then?” he asked puzzled. Cara crossed her arms. “Cause corn mazes are dumb.” She said. She uncrossed her arms. “Cara you’ve never been to a haunted corn maze. You’ve only been to the one for little kids. You know the one your sister Madison loves.” Her dad said with emphasizes on haunted and little. Madison walked into the room. “Hi sissy!!” the four year old said ready for a hug. Cara hugged her little sister.

Caturday.

Couch to 5K Friday.

I've got to get my ass back in gear. When we did the 30 Day Shred, I worked out for THIRTY DAYS IN A ROW. Granted, those workouts were only 25 minutes long, but I found the time to do it every day, no matter what. I also upped those workouts and did something more challenging. I felt good, I was proud of myself. So what happened? Now I'm lucky if I make myself work out 3 days a week! I feel like crap.
That's why I've decided to do the Couch to 5K Program.
I need a goal. I'm sick of bouncing around in my basement to an aerobics DVD. Plus, I've always DESPISED running. Hated it. I don't even remember the last time I ran a mile. So, I'm going to train for a 5K, and then I'm going to find one and I'm going to run it.
This program makes it seem SOOOO easy, and I started this week. It starts you out SUPER slow, so you can get your body used to running. It advises that even if you're in decent shape, and the first few weeks of the program are easy, don't push it. Your body needs to adapt to the new kind of exercise. After adding more intensity every week, in 9 weeks you're running 30 minutes without stopping.
Week 1 of the C25K (as I'll now call it) calls for a 5 minute walk on the treadmill, followed by 1 minute of jogging, and 90 seconds of walking. Repeat for 20 minutes.
Monday, I headed to the gym and did the workout and it was EASY. I jogged at a slow pace and felt proud of myself for it. C25K advises you do the program 3 times a week, then move on to the next week. Tuesday I woke up and did Jillian Michael's Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. My intentions were to do the C25K program on Wednesday and Thursday.
Then Felix got appendicitis.
That ruled out any type of workout either of those days.
Fridays (today) are hard to workout because I only sleep 4 hours. I'm going to try my HARDEST to make it to the gym today and tomorrow morning before Steph and Rich get here, but I'm taking care of Felix, plus I gotta clean the house before Saturday...So I might be starting the C25K all over again next week. I'm already disappointing myself. *sigh*
Then I'll probably get swine flu 3 weeks in and have to start AGAIN.

Anyway, that's my goal. I'll get there, it might not be in 9 weeks, though. But I WILL do it.

The Great Appendix Debacle.

The Great Appendix Debacle began when Felix got home from work Tuesday night. Here's the progression of the horror:

7pm (ish):
Felix gets home from work and tells me his stomach is kind of bothering him. So, I do what any other loving girlfriend would do, tell him to go try and poop, and return to Facebook on my laptop.
7:15...(ish).
Felix comes downstairs and tells me he's having some pretty awful stomach pains, and do I want to go upstairs and lay in bed with him while we watch The Biggest Loser? I roll my eyes, thinking he's being a Typical Man (you ladies know how they can become RIDICULOUS whiners when they're not feeling 100%), but trudge upstairs with him and flop on the bed.

8:30.
He's REALLY squirming now and saying his stomach HURTS. I tell him he probably has gas. 5 minutes later, he's sprinting to the bathroom and praying to the porcelain gods. I felt bad, because I've only ever seen him throw up once in our almost 3-year relationship, but mostly I was just hoping I wouldn't get whatever was taking over his immune system (swine flu, anyone?).

9:30.
Still throwing up, now curled up in a ball in pain. Ok- he's being serious here. Let's go to the ER. So, I text messaged the other producer that works with me overnight, tell her I'm sorry, I'm going to be late, I think Felix has appendicitis (really, I honestly thought he was STILL just having bad gas).

10:00.
Arrive at St. Elizabeth's Health Center. This hospital is in the heart of Youngstown. Youngstown is not the greatest city in Ohio. People are really poor. And really ghetto. I'm just being real. So, whatever you just thought of in your head right now? Yup, that's the kind of scenario we were experiencing. The ER is filled with swiney-flued germy folks, so I try to sit on the chair without actually touching it. Felix is still doubled-over in pain, running to the bathroom periodically to ralph. A man wearing khaki shorts, sandals, and a polo shirt, is discussing at lengths Nazi Germany and Hitler with a woman who looks like she must've survived Auschwitz. Felix takes one look at him, looks at me, and says (rather loudly), "if this guy doesn't shut the f*ck up he's gonna get punched in the face". The guy shut up, and everyone around us started snickering and muttering a "thanks" to Felix under their breath.

10:15.
The nurse calls Felix's name. I think, "This is AWESOME. We're gonna be in and out. Shortest ER visit EVER!"
How very, very wrong I was.
Felix gets put into an emergency room with a crackhead who I'm convinced just wanted a place to sleep that night. He WAS coughing up some nasty phlegm though, and unabashedly spitting it into a puke bucket, all the while mumbling that he needs water, and periodically letting out a huge burp. I eventually felt really bad for the guy, because I found out he might be homeless, and he was there by himself because the rest of his family is dead. But then I also heard him tell the nurse that he has NOT used recreational drugs in AT LEAST 4 days.

11:30.
A nurse finally comes in and gives Felix and IV with meds for nauseousness and pain.

11:45.
The ER erupts in a flurry of activity. I look out the door to see the Trauma Team putting on all their gear, the double doors open and a man laying on a gurney is being wheeled in with a friend standing beside him screaming that HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE AND HE'S NOT LEAVING!!! Shortly after, he left. I hear a cop say the kid was shot in the neck. So, naturally, I text work that there was a shooting. Work already knew.

12:45 AM.
A doctor comes in and says, "bear with me, we're really busy. I'll be back as soon as I can".

1:00AM.
A nurse comes in with this huge Styrofoam container filled with lemonade-y looking stuff, telling me to give Felix a cup every half hour until it was gone. After it was gone, he'd be off to get a CAT Scan. The lemonade-y stuff was going to make him glow!

(Keep in mind Felix is a little hopped up on morphine, so he's in and out of sleep, while I'm crunched into a chair by the door, watching ambulance's dump people off every five minutes, trying to keep my sanity...because, SURELY we'll be out of here in no time, right?)

2:45AM.
The ambulance doors open once again and I hear a woman screaming and EMT's suppressing laughter. They're bringing in a woman who is certifiably bat-shit-crazy. Her arms are waving in the air, she's screaming, "OH I WANT THOSE LIGHTS!! CAN I HAVE THOSE PRETTY LIGHTS?! GIVE ME THOSE LIGHTS!!!! WOO WOO WOO WOO! (that's the sound of her imitating an ambulance siren) WOO WOO WOO!!!!"
They took her in a room, and from what I heard, had to restrain her. After they restrained her she started wailing that they took her bracelet and she NEEDED her bracelet (WOO WOO WOO WOO!!!).
I look out the door again and see a nurse prancing like a fairy in the hallway, making fun of the crazy lady. She caught my eye and stopped. I laughed.

3:00AM
We wheel Felix off to get a CAT Scan. While I'm waiting, I pick up an Oprah Magazine. Turns out, it's the same Oprah Magazine I read in my dentist's office 6 months ago. The ONLY O Magazine I've ever looked at in my life. Huh. That sucked.

3:25AM
We're truckin' back to the ER, with results of the CAT Scan promised in the next hour.

3:45AM.
The crackhead wakes up, the nurse brings him food, and he sits up and slurps it down, all the while staring directly at me and totally creeping me out. Felix is once again in a morphine-induced fitful sleep.

4:25AM...the time the CAT Scan results were promised. That time came and went.

5:00 AM
I'm obviously not making it to work tonight.

5:15 AM
I'm standing in the hallway, pacing back and forth out of boredom when I hear the doctor yell, "Yeah I'll be back, gotta go tell the guy in room 6 he has appendicitis". I stop and look at the room number above our door. Yup, we're room 6!! Doctor sees I heard him yelling the diagnosis and promptly apologizes. I just blow it off because THANK GOD we have a diagnosis and it's NOT gas pains! He promises another doctor will come in to let him know about surgery.

5:45AM.
Doctor comes in, says they're going to laproscopic-ally remove his appendix. They don't like to keep surgeries like this waiting, because there's a possibility the appendix can rupture. And that's not good.

6:00AM.
Nurse comes in and says it will be at least NOON before Felix goes into surgery. So much for the concern about his appendix rupturing. Screw this, I'm running home and getting a book and some food.

7:00AM.
Back with Felix. Doctor comes in again, tells us what COULD happen in a "worst case scenario". I start crying. Felix makes fun of me, but I can tell he's touched. Little does he know, I'm just really tired.

8:15ishAM.
I'm curled up on two different chairs trying to get a few minutes of shut-eye. Nothing amusing happened during this time, I was just really tired.

9:45ishAM.
They wheel him to surgery, this is where I say goodbye. Off he goes to get his appendix removed!!

9:46ish AM.
I'm crying. Crying because I'm worried. Crying because I'm exhausted. Crying because I feel bad that Felix has been driving me a little nuts lately. Crying because I thought it was just gas pains.

10:00AM.
Eating massive amounts of peanut butter cups in the surgery recovery waiting area. (where they give you an actual beeper-esque thing that vibrates when your patient is out of surgery. I kinda felt like I was waiting for a table at Outback).

10:45AM.
The kindly woman behind the desk tells me he JUST went into surgery.

11:30AM.
Doctor comes to see me, shakes my hand at least three times, and tells me the surgery went smoothly and it would be another hour and a half before he was out of Recovery. I cried some more. Not sure why. It's only a friggin' appendectomy for crying out loud!!!

1:30PM.
He should've been out of Recovery a half an hour ago. I go up to the desk, and inquire why he's still in recovery. She says they're very busy and just DON'T HAVE ANY BEDS OPEN. I picture my poor Felix laying in a bed in a hallway, after surgery, wondering where the hell I am.
Something inside me snaps.
"LISTEN. I JUST WANT TO KNOW HE'S OK. I WANT TO KNOW SO I CAN GO HOME AND SLEEP. WE'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 10 LAST NIGHT. WHY DO THESE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEDS AND HE DOESN'T!!!??"
Yes, I flipped out a little.
However, they did miraculously find a bed for him by 2:00pm.

I was back to Austintown by 3:00 pm to nap for a few hours before going back to the hospital. He gets out sometime today. He also gets painkillers and gets to miss probably the entire next week of work. Where can I sign up for an appendectomy?!

Oh What a Night.

Felix got his appendix out this morning. We took him to St. Elizabeth's last night at 10pm and sat in the ER until 10:00 this morning. He's fine and doing well, but I've been up all day/night and need to take a nap before heading back to see him before I go to work tonight.

Trust me, the blog posts to come on our Youngstown ER experience will NOT disappoint!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That.

I'm officially back on overnights, and it's not as bad as I thought. Sure, lawnmowers woke me up at noon on Monday, and I only managed 6 hours of sleep before I couldn't lay in bed anymore, but I'm hoping the cooler weather will make it easier to sleep during the day. Plus, I missed my work crew, so it was good to be reunited again with the morning show. I'm going to make the best of it, at least until I win the lottery or make millions from writing my book.

Speaking of "my book", most of you know my Big Goal In Life is to have a book published someday (Preferably a NY Times Bestseller, but I'm not going to be picky). I've decided that as soon as I hit the one year mark blogging on As Told By Ash, I'll start writing my book. That means I have until May 1st of 2010 to prepare. I have several books on HOW to write books, how to find an agent, and how to get published. For those of you who may doubt me, I'm serious about this.

I'm also serious about running a 5K, and yesterday began my Couch to 5K program. What was once "Fit Fridays" on As Told By Ash, will now be an update of my couch to 5K program. Thankfully, Steph and Andrea have also decided to join me on this challenge! More details on Friday.

Lately I've been kind of a whiner, feeling sorry for myself and complaining about things in my life that might never happen that I thought someday would, or focusing on the things in my life I DON'T like instead of focusing on how lucky I am to lead the life I do. So, the only option is to change what I'm not happy about, or change my mind about how I feel. I saw this quote yesterday and it really inspired me:

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."

Happy Music Monday!!!

My friend Andrea works the graveyard shift, just like me. Except she does it from La Quinta, California.
I orginally asked my mom for a song suggestion for today, but she never emailed me back. Realizing this at 4:40 a.m., I decided to ask Andrea, because she's working the same crap shift as me, but 3 hours earlier. (Andrea, don't be mad you were my second choice today, I still love you!)
She suggested today's song, and I had to go with it, because I was actually dancing to this at Old Navy this weekend, embarrassing Felix and Talia while we were in the checkout line.

Happy Monday!!!

Weekend Recap.

Friday.
Talia came Thursday night because she didn't have school Friday for some reason, and Felix had Friday off, too (The reason for this? Since Monday was Columbus Day and he already has Monday's off, the prison gave him Friday off, so he could get the government holiday. Absurd!!!).
Anyway, Friday was my last day on the 6pm news, so I got home around 7 pm Friday night. Felix had chinese food waiting, so I gobbled down some sesame chicken and an egg roll. I'm trying to remember what we did after that, but my mind is blanking. I know I went to bed at 9:30 because I was POOPED. (I'm still convinced I've spent the last two weeks "catching up" on all the crap sleep I've had in the last four years.)
Saturday.
Woke up at 6:30 (umm, still got 9 hours of sleep because I went to bed so early before). Saturday was a big day. Felix and I both got remote car starters installed in our cars. The plan was this: Drop ONE of the cars off at 10 am, then they'd call us when it was done, and we'd pick up one car and drop the other off. So, we figured we could kill 3 hours in Boardman. We went to Old Navy, where I spend 45 dollars on 2 thermal shirts and a scarf, then we hit up Target, where I purchased some black "Ugg"-type boots. Super comfy, super soft, super stylish...and only $22 compared to REAL Uggs, that I priced at $119. After Target, I realized that I would just KEEP spending money (which I didn't need to do considering I was dropping $285 on a remote car starter) if we kept killing time, so we went out for lunch. Talia picked the destination, so we hit up the redneck-style-yet-still-ghetto Golden Corral. For those not familiar with Golden Corral, it's a HUGE buffet of all kinds of horrible food...all for under 10 bucks. So I'm sure you can imagine what kind of people frequent a place like that. It wasn't too bad, though. After lunch, my car STILL wasn't done, so we drove back to Austintown, and stopped at an all Women's gym close to our house, so I could investigate. (I loved my last gym, but once I moved in with Felix I realized I couldn't make myself drive 15 minutes to work out. Had to find some place closer). I ended up buying a month trial membership because the aerobics room ROCKS. It has cushy floors!!! For anyone whose knees hurt when you work out, you realize the awesomeness that is the cushy-floored aerobics floor. Plus, it had treadmills (duh). My new goal is to complete the Couch to 5K program for several reasons. 1. I've never been able to run maybe more than a mile without quitting because I hate it so much, so it's a personal goal for me, 2. I want to run the local Peace Race next October, and 3. I gotta switch up my workout and I need a goal, so this sounds perfect!
Anyway- After I signed up at the gym, the car STILL wasn't done, so we went home. Of course, we were there for 20 minutes, and the place called to come get my car. Sooo, back to Boardman we went. Dropped off Felix's car, picked up mine, and went to see Where the Wild Things Are. I was totally disappointed. It was so weird because I LOVED the characters, LOVED the way they looked and talked, but the plot SUCKED. I guess it's hard to turn a 12 page book into an hour and a half movie. The reaction of people at the theater was weird, too. Usually people start talking about what they liked/disliked, but with this movie everyone just kind of sat there for a few minutes like, "huh? Is this it?" Then, one guy finally broke the silence by saying, "Wow, an entire movie about absolutely nothing", and everyone started cracking up. I feel like I spent an entire hour and a half waiting for a plot to begin, and then it was over.
After that, Felix's car was done, so we picked it up and went home. Felix grilled cheeseburgers on the grill, I made some fries in the oven (Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Potato Wedges are THE BOMB). After dinner, it was like 7:30 and we were all pooped from running around all day. We plopped ourselves in front of the television and found one of my favorite movies on HBO: No Reservations with Abigail Breslyn and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It was over at 10pm, and once again I was exhausted. Went to bed and woke up about 45 minutes ago. Ten hours of glorious sleep!
Sunday.
Now, Talia is still sleeping, Felix is at the gym, and I'm about to jump in the shower. It's back to overnights tonight, so I gotta get all my stuff done so I can take a nap this afternoon. NOT looking forward to it, but I'm KIND OF looking forward to getting back on my schedule. I'm a routine kind of girl, and two weeks is not long enough on one shift to find a routine.
Wow. That was a really long blog about NOTHING.
ps- Coffee-Mate has come out with their holiday coffee creamers. Our fridge is stocked with Cinnamon Bun, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread, and Peppermint Mocha. Trust me, the Peppermint Mocha is DIVINE.

Caturday.

Large Coffee, Cream & Sugar.

Does anyone remember the post I had a few months ago about Legless driving down the street, in traffic, across a bridge, on his little scooter? No? Ok.

So, there's this man, I think he's an Army veteran, who drives EVERYWHERE around our neighborhood on one of those Rascal Scooters. He doesn't have legs, hence the ever-so-creative nickname Legless. A few months ago, Felix saw him sitting in a red light of a busy intersection IN TRAFFIC. He took a picture, and I posted it.

Well, yesterday on my way to work I went through the drive-thru at Dunkin Donuts (medium iced vanilla latte lite, please!), and this was in front of me:

Legless went through the drive thru in the POURING rain, ordered a large coffee, stuck it in a basket underneath his scooter, and scooted off down the sidewalk.

Has anyone else ever seen a Legless man going through a drive-thru on a RASCAL?

Zzzzzz.

I've never slept better than I have the last two weeks. I've been sleeping at LEAST 7 hours a night (usually unheard of from me), I've had no trouble falling asleep, I don't wake up during the night, and I FEEL so well-rested.

Huh. I guess I better not enjoy it too much, considering it's back to the shift from hell on Sunday night.

And THAT folks, is my blog for the day.

Puppies & Rainbows

My weeks of dayshift bliss are officially coming to an end, a full TWO WEEKS before expected. The producer who was off is coming back early. While I'm glad he's ok, I'm severely depressed that I have to go back to overnights.

I was talking to my mom yesterday on my way home, and I told her about how it's one thing if I knew I only had to do overnights for the next year or two, then I'd be on a better shift. It's another to realize there is absolutely NO room for advancement in your company. And finding a job in Youngstown that pays me what I earn now, plus 3+ weeks paid vacation and weekends off? You may as well laugh in my face right now!


It also tends to make me a tad bitter towards Felix, because I like to think HE'S the reason I'm staying in Youngstown. So, naturally, it's HIS fault. So instead of enjoying my last few days of having a normal life with him, I'm grumpy. Not to mention he has no idea how to make me feel better and saying, "at least you have a job" doesn't cut it.


Am I bitching? Yes. Do I care? No. It's my blog. Go read someone else's if you want puppies and rainbows and cheer.

Once Again, I Watch too Much TV.

I know I did this blog post a few months ago, but I don't think you understand how much pointless television I watch. Shall we go through this season's list?

The Rachel Zoe Project. What's with all the fur and gay men in short shorts? And WTF if Taylor's problem? I feel like it takes effort to be that big of a bitch.
The Wendy Williams Show. I don't know where my absolute obession for this show came from. I think this woman is fabulous. I adore her and her big wigs and huge feet. This show has only been on in Y-town for a few months, so you might not know who she is. Google her. Youtube her. She's amazing.
Jon & Kate Plus 8. YES, I still watch this. I'm not totally sure why. As you know, I think Jon Gosselin is one of the douchiest douches known to man, but I still have a soft spot for Kate, no matter how much of a bitch she is.
Real Housewives of Atlanta. I've never been a huge fan of the Atlanta franchise, but I've been catching up on reruns, and Tardy for the Party? Definately downloaded on my iTunes.
Flipping Out. Jeff Lewis's crazy quirks never cease to amaze me.
The Biggest Loser. Completely inspiring. If you're watching this season, what's up with Tracy? She needs to brush her hair, and she's totally bat-shit-crazy. I hope she goes home soon.
So You Think You Can Dance. It's almost a burden that they're having a Fall season of this show. It's so time consuming because it's two days a week, but I'm hooked.
The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougartown. ABC's new Wednesday night line-up. Cougartown is by far one of the funniest shows on television right now. I think it's hilarious! Courtney Cox is hysterical.
Survivor: Somoa. This is more of a Felix Show. I don't get overly upset if I miss it. It's irritating because it's obvious they cast pretty, skinny women, then an older/crazy women that all the skinny/prettys hate.
Grey's Anatomy. I guess I can't really say I'm WATCHING this, as this season and last season is still sitting on my DVR, unwatched. Something about having sex with imaginary dead guys killed the middle of last season for me.
Top Chef: Las Vegas. I don't really have anything to say, I just like this show.
Project Runway. See above explanation.
Drop Dead Diva. SUCH a cute show on Lifetime. Totally worth watching.

That's FIFTEEN SHOWS. Unreal. I honestly have DVR stress. Like, "OMIGOD THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO WE HAVE TO WATCH ALL THIS TELEVISION" type of stress. it's not right.

Happy Music Monday!!!

This week's Happy Music Monday was chosen by one of my beeeesssttteessst friends in the whole world, Steph. I wonder if her selection has anything to do with the fact that she and her husband just celebrated their 1 year wedding anniversary this weekend?? Congratulations Steph and Rich! I love you both!

Weekend Recap.

Friday

It was reallllly weird not starting my weekend Friday morning at 7 am. But--the 6pm news went smoothly Friday night and I was home around ten till 7:00. I think Felix was feeling guilty about saying he wasn't too fond of me being on day shift, so he had dinner ready when I came home (I could totally get used to that!). He bought a rotisserie chicken, and made his famous rice. I don't know how he makes it, but it has all kinds of spanish seasoning and pigeon peas and it's DELICIOUSO!

Shortly after, Weymen and Lyz came over to hang out. We were going to have a game night, but ended up watching "Zach and Miri Make a Porno". Despite the awful name, the movie was surprisingly cute, and REALLY funny. Plus, it was shot in Pittsburgh, so that was cool. Weymen and Lyz are always so much fun to hang out with..Lyz is hysterically funny and cracks me up! We had been up since 4 am, so they left around midnight and we went straight to bed.

Saturday

Felix's sister, Elizabeth, was supposed to come down with her three kids on Saturday, but she ended up canceling at the last minute. We were disappointed, but decided to have a low-key Ashley/Felix Day. We did ALOT of shopping (I bought two pairs of jeans, a SUPER CUTE pair of leather boots, a sweater, a coat, and some sweet jewelry I found on clearance at Express). Felix actually bought a lot of clothes, too. It's about time. He hates shopping and has been wearing the same wardrobe for WAY too long. Here are a few pics of my purchases. I tell ya what, Burlington Coat Factory can be kind of ghetto here, but I found a pair of Seven jeans for $29.99, a pair of DKNY jeans for $29.99, and my new coat was marked down from $200.00 to $49.99. Can't beat it!

Here is a pic of my favorite purchase: The boots. I know I have tons of shoes, but I need FLAT boots for our Chicago and New York City trips this winter. I'm not walking around the two most fabulous cities in the country wearing sneakers, and my boots with heels won't cut it. I will be going back to get the black pair, too.

Also had to stop and stock up on my favorite foaming hand soaps from Bath & Body Works. 3 for $10 bucks? Yes, please.

We stopped and ate lunch, then got Handel's Ice Cream. Graham Central Station is the greatest flavor of ice cream EVER invented.

***Soooo...so much for Dining in for October. I have TOTALLY sucked at that challenge.***

After shopping, we came home, changed into sweats, watched tv, drank a few beers, and ended up playing Yahtzee (I won. Both games.). Yeah, my Saturday might sound boring to most people, but it was actually a really good day.

Sunday

It's sooo wonderful not having to go to work tonight. Felix is at the gym right now, and I'm about to get some use out of my Spinning Bike. Grocery shopping is on the agenda, and since Felix has Monday's off now, we might go and see "Couple's Retreat" this afternoon.

***By the way, how great is this chilly October weather? It's my favorite time of year! Unfortunately, when you live in Northeast Ohio, this "favorite" weather only lasts about two weeks before it gets WAY too cold.***

Caturday.

My World of Make Believe Has Been Extended!

This week has been GREAT. (Except for the fact that Felix is highly irritated with this change of schedule. He doesn't do well with change and he's not acting too thrilled about me being on day shift. He says it's because he just started 10 hour days and he's not used to sleeping with me every night so he has to get used to it AND he's grumpy because he's been waking up at 4 am to go to the gym and work out BEFORE driving a half hour to work to work a 10-hour shift. Does it hurt my feelings he's not as thrilled with this change of schedule as I am? Yes. Am I maybe being a little too selfish and sensitive by not seeing that he's trying to get used to a new work shift as well? Probably. Will we both get over it? Yes. If not, he can suck it.)
ANYWAY, I digress.
Day shift so far is HEAVENLY, as I said in an earlier post. Last night, I went out for dinner with girls from work, and had a few Corona's BECAUSE I COULD. It's the little things that make me happy.
In more good news? I have an entire extra week now of day shift! Possibly 2 more if the schedule gets changed today like I think it might. That's at LEAST 3 weeks of day shift total, with a possibility of 4. I'm ecstatic! At this point, I'm pretty sure the news director could be screaming at me and slamming my head against the wall and I'd still have a goofy, happy grin on my face.
In even MORE good news? Leah is leaving the world of being "funemployed" (as she likes to call it) and has found a brand new job! Congratulations!

Ummmm...?

Shampoos like this show up in my shower every few weeks and it cracks me up:
Why is it so funny, you ask? If you look closely, it says "deep clean" and "de-glue". Obviously, this shampoo is Felix's. I don't know if you've ever SEEN him, but he SHAVES HIS HEAD. Why does he need shampoo that deep cleans and de-glues? What does de-glue even mean? What made him BUY this, anyway? The word de-glue is not very enticing.
Also, he buys shampoo like, every 3 weeks. I don't even buy shampoo that often. And he doesn't waste it, it gets used. I imagine him in the shower vigorously scrubbing his head, over and over and over again, like he has OCD, with handfuls of de-gluing shampoo. Maybe even laughing hysterically.

Lazy.

I'm lazy today and don't feel like writing anything, but this comic cracked me up for some reason:


nataliedee.com

Heaven.

So today is only my 2nd day of dayshift, but my first day was awe-some. Now, let's preface this with the fact that, according to everyone I work with, yesterday was a SLOW, EASY day. But I honestly don't think I'd care if I was running my ass off for 8 hours. Why? Because I. AM. TEMPORARILY. NORMAL.
I know some of you who read this work the night shift, too. Maybe you're not as miserable as I am doing it, but I'm sooooo over it. I want a day shift job. I don't care how long someone works the night shift. It's NOT normal and your body NEVER gets used to it.
It was so weird yesterday. I was getting off work when OTHER people were getting off work. There was TRAFFIC.
I was even cheerful yesterday when I had to PAY to park (Felix gave me money for parking for the week. What a gem, huh?), and then walk two blocks to the station, THROUGH THE LINE OF HOMELESS PEOPLE LINED UP AT THE FOOD BANK. I smiled, waved, said hello. Really. The reaction was actually not too bad. Most people seemed surprised I was talking to them, and smiled and said hello back.
Alright, I'm off to drink another cup of coffee, finish watching DVR'd Rachel Zoe, and then work out. You know, stuff a normal person does.

Happy Music Monday!!!

I like the idea I started last week about asking friends about what song makes them happy. This week, I asked my friend Pat, and he out did himself. Not only did he give me a song, he also wrote this to explain why:

"I've spent a lot of time in the city recently, and I know that's where I want to be. This song manages to personify NYC in a way that not many have before. I want there to be more to my life than there is right now, and I know I could find that in NYC. I thought if I "made it" at ESPN I could make it anywhere, but NYC is a totally different level of life. I don't know if I could make it there, I don't know how it would change me as a person. I've never lived in a big city in my life, but I want the lifestyle, I want the atmosphere. I've met some amazing people in NYC, and this song brings me back to the time I've spent there, the people I've met, the memories I've made. This song is an escape from the small CT town I'm living in, and the inadequate social life I'm living. This song lets me know there's more out there."

Weekend Recap.

Friday
Friday afternoon I picked Talia up from school for the first time, and let me tell you: Those moms are VICIOUS! Every single one of them was jockeying for position in the parking lot, and by the time she came running out of the school, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. After that, we went back to our apartment because I forgot to bring Talia's Nintendo DS, and we had a long trip to Brookville ahead of us...so back to the apartment we went. After that, I went through the ATM to get money for the weekend, and (didn't know this at the time) left my ATM card in the ATM. Didn't realize it until I went to the gas station to fill up and saw my card was missing. Ugh. Good thing I had cash. We got on the highway and drove to Brookville, me white-knuckling the steering wheel the entire way because it was POURING. About an hour and a half later, we picked up Morgan at Daycare, and I took them to Dairy Queen. The got blizzards, I got a moolatte (yum, by the way.), and then we went BACK to daycare because Morgan forgot her jacket. Got back to Ohio, I made dinner (tacos) and by the time we ate and settled down it was like, 8:30 and I was exhausted. Felix went to bed at 10:00, I went to bed at 11:30, and I think the girls stayed up until 1:00 am.

Saturday
Saturday was Mollie's Surprise 30th birthday at the Pioneer Pavilion at Millcreek Park. She was really surprised (or so she says). I was going to post pictures, but stupid blogger photo uploader is being stupid, so no pics. After that, we did a little shopping, came home, I made lasagna...Felix and I got into a huge fight, yada yada yada...He slept on the couch. Things are better this morning. I really don't want to have that argument ever again.

Sunday
I don't have to work tonight because I'm on day shift the next two weeks!! Can't wait to be normal! Felix is playing softball and I just made gingersnaps (they turned out pretty well!!), and now I'm lounging, reading, writing, and I'm about to go upstairs and catch up on some of the gazillions of stuff I have recorded on my DVR. Now I know why most people love lazy Sunday's so much!

Caturday. With a Dog, Though.

Random.

***I woke up today feeling kind of flu-ish. I'm hoping I can just chalk this up to my usual Friday exhaustion, because me + flu + taking care of Morgan AND Talia all weekend = ME BEING MEAN. Funny how everytime I get an ache or a pain lately I think it's swine flu (oh. Excuse me, H1N1).


***You MUST read The Time Traveler's Wife. Excellent book. I heard the movie sucks, but I'm going to watch it anyway. I also just started The Last Time I was Me by Cathy Lamb. It was something I had reserved at the library, but I can't remember where I saw it or why I reserved it, but I really like the style of writing already and I'm only on like, page 10.


***I am officially a Normal Person for the next two weeks. My work schedule will be 10:45 am until 6:45 pm. I'm ecstatic! I can't imagine a world where I get to sleep with Felix for two straight weeks (get your minds out of the gutter, people. I actually mean SLEEP)!! Time will tell whether I'll crave the "normalcy" of my overnight shift, or if I'll fall in love with day shift and never wanna go back to my regular schedule. My blog posts for the next two weeks might be a little more sporadic as to when during the day I'll be posting them. I usually do it overnight at work, but I think management might frown upon me blogging right in front of them instead of devoting my full attention to the 6pm News.

***Also, I don't have any other way of putting it: Jon Gosselin is a prick. Read about it here. This officially makes him the BIGGEST douchebag on the entire planet. I know Kate's a bitch. But if you just found out your husband of ten years was the BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG ON THE PLANET, wouldn't you be a little bitchy, too? I detest this man. All of a sudden he's acting like he actually gives two shi*ts about his kids. Puh-lease. Go back to New York, you Ed-Hardy-Wearing-Crack-Whore-Dating-Michael-Lohan-Loving beeotch! (Wow. I don't know what got into me, sorry.)
In other news, it really looks like Kate got a boob job. Good for her. Go get 'em, Tiger.


***Hmmm, what else? Oh yes. I have discovered something called Speed Shopping. Last night, I had about 20 minutes before I had to meet a few coworkers for dinner, so I went to Target. In 20 minutes, I managed to find 3 sweaters and a pair of jeans. I even tried them on. The 20 minutes also includes checking out. I think Speed Shopping is the way to go. I was WAY more successful than when I spend all day wondering around, trying to decide whether or not $25 bucks is too much to spend on a sweater. Just do it.

Just a Reminder...

Today is October 1st. I have officially posted a blog EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. since May 1st. That's five months of blogging.

Let's recap for readers (the whole 5 of you out there...) what I'm doing. It's very simple. I'm blogging every day for a year. Just to see if I can do it. I've managed so far, even when Felix and I went to the beach this summer..I still blogged. Crazy? Some would say. But it's not as crazy as the lady who has decided to cook in her crockpot every day for a year.

Today is October 1st.

It also means our challenge for the month of October begins today...which is: No eating out. "Dine in for October", as Laura has aptly named it. The challenge is simple. Don't eat out the entire month of October. And guess what I did? I'm an idiot and somehow thought September has 31 days. I'm going out to dinner with two fine ladies from work tonight, and I'm not going to bail. There's more of a story to it, but yeah, I'm cheating on the first day of the challenge. It pisses me off, too because Felix is in this with me, and we've already planned all our meals for the weekend with Talia and Morgan (Tacos and lasagna. Kid friendly. Even with picky eaters. Which Talia and Morgan BOTH are)...and then I go and f*ck it up by forgetting how many days are in September!!

This has nothing to do with October, but it does have something to do with blogging. Sometimes, when I find out people at work are reading my blog, I get really, really self conscious. Like, I think they're all gathered around a computer reading my posts, and laughing and making fun of me and thinking "Who does she think she is? Blogging for a year? WHAT A DORK!" (Trust me, if you knew some of the people I work with, you might worry about this too) But I guess that comes with the territory of putting myself out there in the blogosphere, right? It's another reason why I don't write about anything TOO personal, or anything about work (I also don't write about work because I'm fairly certain I would somehow manage to get myself fired, and I pay $400 a month in student loans, people. I NEED this job).

Anyway, does anyone think I'm paranoid for thinking my blog could possibly someday be the center of a workplace ridicule session? I mean, I KNOW it happens, I've PARTICIPATED in them. So why am I blogging if I'm worried people are going to make fun of me? Ugh. I have issues.