Not a whole lot has been goin' on... last week we had a few visitors in town, we of course celebrated Happy Hour. I should not have drove home that night, but the important part is that I made it home and nobody was hurt. Waking up the next morning was a b*tch, but nothing that a few Advil and drinks of a Pepsi didn't cure. Sadly, didn't get any pictures.
This past weekend was okay.. I slept ALL day Saturday, true story. I was probably awake for a total of 2 hours. Sunday I ran errands and took care of some things around the house. Got some bad news about my Uncle J and Grandpa. Been doing lots of praying for them and our family. I also had to tell my Mama some bad news...something I knew was bound to happen but I had to be the bearer of bad news.
Other than that, I finally finished the "100 things about me". Hopefully I don't bore ya'll to death! So... here goes!
1. I was born in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa .. but raised in a town so small it doesn’t even have it’s own zip code.
2. I hate, despise, would give up eating for a month to pay somebody (hate it that much), cleaning my bathrooms. I’m not sure why as it typically doesn’t take that long, I just do.
3. There are only a handful of people who can say my last name right.
4. My first name gets misspelled probably 98% of the time.
5. I attended 3 colleges before graduating with my Bachelors.
6. I am an Aunt to 6 extraordinary kids (only 2 are blood related)
7. I moved to Kansas City in 2006, not knowing a single soul.
8. Even though I don’t feel I am meant to be a Mommy, I get sad and jealous when I see pregnant women or Mommies with their babies.
9. Even though I don’t think I’ll ever be a Mom, I already have names picked out should I ever be blessed with children.
10. I would love to be a professional photographer
11. I love my two best friends as if they were my sisters.
12. I’m the only one out of my close group of friends that does not have kids.
13. There are very few things that I will eat left-over.
14. I’ve had two out-patient surgeries in my life.
15. I can be an emotional train-wreck sometimes.
16. Hate needles, but I want a tattoo so bad I can taste it.
17. If I can ever decide on what I want as a tattoo, I hope I can brave the pain and get one.
18. I hate talking on the phone, unless its my Mama.
19. At this very moment – I work for a telecom company … funny how that works, huh?
20. I am a text whore. I can text you quicker than calling to tell you what I need to tell you most of the time.
21. I am one of the worst people at knowing who sings a song or who plays in “that movie”… irritates me but I’ve come to accept the fact.
22. I don’t want a church wedding.
23. I want to get married in Vegas with my parents, his parents and my two best girlfriends… and of course if he wants any of his guy friends.
24. I grew up listening to country and oldies.
25. Today I listen to rap, metal, Top 40’s, oldies and some country.
26. I haven’t been to the movie theatre since 2005 (pretty sad, huh?)
27. I LOVE flying, even though I get a little anxious when I’m sitting at the airport waiting.
28. I’ve bought 4 cars without anybody else with me (giving advice, negotiating, etc).
29. I’ve owned an ’82 Buick Skylark, GMC Sonoma, Chevy S-10, TWO Chevy Silverado’s, Hyundai Santa Fe, Chevy Trailblazer and a Nissan Altima (this one is all about the gas mileage)
30. I am a truck-girl through and through but can’t afford the gas prices this day and age for the amount of miles I drive.
31. If I’m ever blessed with children, I want all boys.
32. I’m getting to be more “crafty”.
33. I wish some days I lived in Iowa again, I miss my friends and family terribly. He has a reason for me being in KC though.
34. Growing up, the cousins on my Dad’s side were more like brothers and sisters to me than cousins (there were 8 of us)
35. I could eat Mexican every day and never get sick of it.
36. I could eat pizza every day and never get sick of it either.
37. Not a big fan of onions or peppers. I like the flavor but I think its texture that makes me dislike them.
38. Some days I think I am a dancer and music artist in another life. As bad of a dancer and singer as I am, I LOVE to think I’ll someday be able to do both.
39. My maternal grandfather passed on my Mom’s birthday, when she was pregnant with me.
40. My maternal grandmother passed a week after my Mom’s birthday.
41. Growing up, my parents spoiled us rotten on our birthdays. They made us feel like we were the only person that mattered on our special days, I miss those days as much as I think they miss being able to do that for us.
42. The top 10 cities I want to visit before I kick it: SF, LA, Vegas, NYC, Chicago, Nashville, Seattle, Fayetteville and Raleigh.
43. Even though I haven’t been in school for 10 years, when the season starts changing to fall I wake up feeling like I’m back in school again.
44. If I had to choose between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’d choose Thanksgiving in a heartbeat! Though I love the food, it’s not all about that.
45. Though I love KC, I don’t see myself staying here forever.
46. I will either end up back in Iowa somewhere (to be closer to friends and family) or a place like Chicago or Orlando.
47. My family was not a big “touchy-feely” family growing up, I’m slowly adjusting and learning to be that type of person. I LOVE giving hugs and love receiving a good hug.
48. While most ladies consider cocky and arrogant men a huge turn-off, I love me a cocky and arrogant man.
49. I would rather eat cookies in dough form than the finished product
50. My favorite dessert is my Mama’s yellow cake with homemade chocolate frosting.
51. I have recently become addicted to Long Island Teas.
52. While I can slam ‘em down with the best of the boys, I rarely drink at home.
53. Nothing will ever top hearing the words “I love you” from the children in my life. Melts my heart every time.
54. I love watching HGTV and TLC. I’ll put all those great ideas to use at some point!
55. I want to build, well pay somebody to, my own home someday.
56. I made a scrapbook for my blood nephew and niece of their Pre-K years. It brought on a lot of laughs and tears… I’m truly blessed to know two such amazing people.
57. I am a HUGE college football fan, but have never been to a game.
58. It always amazes me that when I buy a CD for a few songs I end up finding one or two others that I come addicted to and then within the next few months they always become top hits on the radio.
59. Nobody can cook lasagna like my Mama... it’s the best hands down!
60. I love getting new recipes (to cook or bake) but don’t often prepare them since I would be the only one trying it and it would be a huge waste of food if I don’t like it.
61. My favorite color is pastel yellow.
62. Favorite flowers are tulips, yellow roses and calla lilies.
63. I hope to someday be with a man who is “handy” … around the house, with the cars, etc.
64. My favorite scents are fresh mowed lawns, men’s cologne and babies.
65. I hate being late to anything. I don’t find myself being as early anymore, but I’m hardly ever late.
66. Within the last 6 months I just became an owner of an iPod… little behind on times, I know.
67. Volunteering at Habitat for Humanity (even with as little as I did because of the heat) was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I will do it again someday soon (once it cools off)
68. I was a Big Sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
69. I love to read
70. I can’t put a book down once I get into it… that means skipping meals, staying up late, etc.
71. I am addicted to most celebrity gossip, I read People and US Magazine online pretty much on a daily basis.
72. On a VERY RARE occasion I am a girly-girl…typically a tom-boy.
73. I talk to my Mama 6 or 7 days out of the week, sometimes for an hour or more, sometimes for just a few minutes.
74. I’ve had 11 piercings at one point, all on my ears.
75. Since I started driving, I’ve never not had a car payment.
76. I want either a chocolate or yellow labrador.
77. I love how each of my friends inspire me in different ways and how they are all so different, in good ways of course!
78. Being stubborn runs deep through both sides of my parent’s families.
79. I get told many times throughout a day how pretty my eyes and eyelashes are.
80. One of my best friends and I got my cousin pulled over after being at the bar for far too long one night … we were hanging out the car window, which apparently caught the cops attention!
81. There is a funny story about me that only a few select people ever remember that involve the lines “the toilet flushed”.
82. I have horribly ticklish feet. Getting a pedicure is a chore, as hard as that is to fathom for most ladies – it kills me. And don’t try to touch them, I kick like a mule when people get close ...ha!
83. My Dad took me deer hunting with him when I was younger once. I cried when he shot “Bambi”, he never took me again! Ha
84. My maternal grandmother used to make homemade play-doh with us kids when she babysat us, one of my most vivid memories of her.
85. I remember screaming bloody murder out my grandmother’s patio window at my parents as they were driving away for the Kenny Rogers concert to not leave me.
86. I had my adenoids taken out when I was 4 or 5, still have my tonsils.
87. I cut the bottom of my left foot wide open when I was 3 or 4 on a culvert in my grandparents yard. Freaked my family out pretty bad.
88. I wrecked my cousins dirt-bike in my pre-teen years that sent me to the emergency room for stitches. We waited something like 2 hours before a doctor saw me, which only made the injury worse because it had started closing up.
89. I LOVE LOVE LOVE thunderstorms.
90. I was just in the 2nd car accident of my life at the age of 28.
91. I have a very very bad lead foot.
92. I’ve only been ticketed once in my life. I ran a red light (by accident, promise) … but the damn cop ticketed me for speeding.
93. I have been pulled over two other times for speeding and got off with a warning.
94. One of the times I was pulled over, the cops clocked me at 75 in a 55mph zone. (Can you blame me? My mama was having a heart attack and was in the hospital an hour south of where I was living… I was a crying, emotional wreck).
95. I don’t like most veggies… carrots, potatoes and cauliflower (if breaded and fried) are the only ones I can stand.
96. I have a fan going in my house probably about 340 days of the year.
97. I don’t like going out to eat by myself. If I do, it’s either curbside pick-up or drive through.
98. I hate the fact that at such a “young age” I have to color my hair to get rid of the grays.
99. Two of my all time favorite songs are Footloose and Brown Eyed Girl.
100. I would wear jeans (or jean shorts) and t-shirts 365 days a year if I could get away with it.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
nothing new & 100 things
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
car accidents SUCK!
I was involved in a car accident this morning (only the 2nd one in my life)...before I go on, I'll answer the first question I've heard all day... yes, I'm okay.
Long story - only because I'm not yet tired and I have nothing better to do at this point... so, if you're not interested to read the rest - you got the point of the story at the very beginning :)
I had to take my car into the shop this morning for the sun roof to get fixed (yes, I've only had the car for 7 months, that is a whole other story). B picked me up at the dealership and we made our way to the office. We were talking about him riding his Harley and how one of the reasons he doesn't ride it to work is because of the traffic and how crazy rush hour traffic can be and he is afraid people aren't going to see him braking or slowing down and hit him from behind. Not 2 minutes later, we were hit from behind!
Traffic started slowing down, we saw break lights in all 4 lanes of traffic...about 2 seconds later we saw cars ahead of us swerving to miss hitting the car in front of them, we heard breaks squeeling. B looked back and said something like "shit we're going to get hit" and then BAM! A truck apparently wasn't paying close enough attention or going too fast to get stopped in time... he hit a grand am, who then hit us. B and I got out to make sure everyone was okay, both other people were on the phone so I assumed they were calling the police. Now, mind you this is at about 7:40 in the morning - traffic was already backed up, well ... ha - HE (truck guy) made it way worse! Well after about 5-10 minutes of sitting there (the drivers were collecting insurance info, etc) I asked if anybody had called the cops... uh NO! We sat there another 5 minutes or so before the cops got there and then about 5 of them showed up!
All 4 parties were un-injured. B's car had minor damage to the bumper (thank god he was attempting to get away from them or it would have been worse), the grand am has to be totalled (her back end was up where the trunk starts back by the glass) and the truck who started it had some front end and I'm guessing the radiator is shot.
My neck is a little sore and I have a headache, but other than that I'm good. We were all very lucky and blessed, it could have been a 10 car pileup and probably a lot more injuries had people not been moving to the shoulder or to the left to avoid hitting others.
And as if you don't hear enough about me me me, I'm working on a post that is "100 things about me" ... stay tuned!
Monday, July 21, 2008
random info about me
First - the AC was repaired this afternoon! WOW - seriously I can't believe what a difference it makes!!
The sunroof in my car is now my next dilemna... confirmed tonight it's not sealing or closing when I went to the car wash and water came shooting in the car... bitches!
Now ... since I can enjoy my AC, I decided to post some random info about me...
1) What stickers do you have on your car? Hawkeyes
2) Do you have any nieces or nephews? What's their names? yep... Brayden & Mikayla, Zach, Hannah, Samantha
3) What do you hear right now? fridge and tv
4) If you could drink anything right this second, what would it be? water
5) Does anything hurt on your body right now? nope
6) Went on vacation? Not this summer...
7) What size ring do you wear? not sure
8) Do you own a camera phone? yep
9) When's your birthday? end of May
10) What is the weather like? freakin hott
11) What should you be doing now? Honestly, since I haven't slept well the last two nights, sleeping
12) Did you attend your High School prom? just my senior year
13) Did you go to someone else's prom? nah
14) Would you give your bf/gf a second chance if they cheated? Did once, will never again
15) Something red within 5 feet of you: couch
16) Do you like stars? sure
17) The funniest thing you've seen this week? not sure
18) Ever done the Electric Slide? no
19) How much French do you know? few words
20) Favorite sparkly thing? earrings
21) Ever crash a car, been in accidents? one accident
22) Do you look good in yellow? I've been told I do
23) Ever fooled around at work? yeah... ha
24) Ever sang in front of a crowd? once
25) Do you dance? in my house when noone is around
26) Something sweet about the person who took this before you: she's a sweet girl
27) Favorite kind of pizza? taco
28) Ever had Dippin Dots? I don't think so
29) Ever make fun of a homeless person? nope
30) How old were you when you got your first car? 16
31) How many speeding tickets? technically - never had one but my record shows 1. I accidently ran a red light in '99 and the office ticketed me for speeding... bastard
32) Snow or sand? either
33) How many parking tickets? none
34) Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? pretty frequently, yes
35) How many different people of the opposite sex have you cried over? 2
36) How tall are you? 5'8
37) What time do you usually wake up on the weekends? depends... somewhere between 6:30 and 9:00
38) Do you like your phone? its okay, the battery won't keep its charge, its got a scratch on the screen and it randomly shuts off
39) What color are your bed sheets? chocolate
40) Do you ever keep arguing even when you know you’re wrong? probably
41) Are you tan? arms and face, yes
42) Last time you took a nap? Saturday
43) Are you slowly drifting away from someone close? already happened
44) When was the last time you cried really hard? been awhile
45) When was the last time you held someone’s hand? not sure
46)Last bed you slept in? MINE
47) Are you wearing socks right now? ummm, hello? it's 90+ degrees outside.
48) When was the last time you went out of state? ha, well I do that normally 5 days of the week... working across the state line can do that to ya!
49) Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? nope
50) What was your last purchase? the part for my AC
51) Hair color? brown
52) Do you have a pet? nope
53) Plans for tonight? going to bed
54) Is the person you last kissed physically attractive? yes
55) How long have you known your best friend? Amanda since junior high... so 14 years... Patti since WalMart days ... so about 10 years
56) Do you currently have a hickey? NASTY!
57) Who is the fifth text in your inbox from? What does it say? Probably Bryan, but not positive and not going to find my phone to verify that
58) What's your favorite number? 13
59) What do you miss most about high school? not having all the bills & worries
60) What are your initials? KJA
61) How many and what kind of animals are in your house? didn't I already answer this... no pets
taken for granted
I haven't been at work since Thursday afternoon / evening. I was hoping to have a nice, relaxing, productive 4-day weekend. That all fell through Saturday night.... when my AC in the house stopped working. I didn't realize it wasn't working through until Sunday. It apparently was cool enough in here Saturday that it held through until Sunday morning. It was a LONG, HOT day and night yesterday.
Thank goodness for the fan I bought a few weeks back...I bought it in hopes to be able to keep the air circulated in the house enough that I wouldn't have to run the air so low. Well, it has been my saving grace. Last night at about 11:00 p.m. I'd had enough. I packed up a few things and was going to go stay in a hotel. About 1/2 way there I decided I was being a wuss and there are people who have no fan and are struggling to stay alive in heat like this, so I turned around after a few tears and came back home.
I'm sitting here now, sweating my ass off, waiting on the people to get here to fix my AC. Apparently somebody needs more help than me! I'll be so thankful once its fixed and hopefully not take everything for granted.
The week will turn around and it will get better!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
hafta vent & lots of pics
So the venting piece - I can't get over, and I know I'm not the only one nor the first to say this, but it still blows me away that Cedar Rapids Iowa has their town flooded, something like 4000 houses lost and do you hear anything about charity events or concerts being held to raise money for these folks? Do you see anything being done by our country to take care of our people? HELL no! Why? A few reasons in my opinion ...1 - it's not a big city like New Orleans, 2 - it hasn't affected celebrities or where their concerts may be held, 3 - more importantly - OUR folks will pull together and take care of each other. They don't need (well, really they do) the help from the US population as we Iowa'ns will take care of EACH OTHER!!
I cried while watching this video... watch it closely. You'll see the stickers on the houses indicating their "status". Safe to enter, not able to enter, etc.
Now, onto the good part, pictures. There is quite a few :)
More pics from the Clark family visit...
Amanda n Samantha
The only pics I got from when my Mama was here (and they were from my cell... ugh)
Mom at Crown Center at their Christmas Store... (click on the picture to make it bigger and read her shirt - it's pretty damn funny)
At the Crayola Store... that is a life size crayon box!
Habitat for Humanity day...
Mark on the ladder, Mary pointing and Matt observing
Bryan's ride for the day... bastard! I'm so jealous!
One of the houses we worked on
PT still smiling after a hard days work
Our team (and the supervisor)
Front row L to R: Mike, Mary, Duane, or Big D (the supervisor)
Back row L to R: Mark, Brad, Mike, Paul, Bryan, Jill, myself and Matt
The after Habitat for Humanity party!
Out on the lake on Mark's boat!
A few pics from Patti's visit... damn I miss this girl!
Mother & Son
Joey, Patti & Zach (LOVE Patti's expression!)
Me, Patti and Zach (sun was in Z's eyes)
BFF! Seriously, there are no words to express how much I miss her and what I wouldn't give to live down the complex again from her! When you movin' to KC girl?!?! Love ya to pieces!
And last but not least, I went out to Lake Jacomo Sunday night... to wind down, to relax... had a little picnic by myself, read a book and got some good photos!
Little man chasin the geese, it was so stinkin cute! The smile on his face is priceless!
They were tired of him so back in the water they went!
These two young kids brought these old cars down for some pics, very nice cars!!
WOW! I think that's enough for now :o) I'm ready for my Friday & Monday "off work" days to be here!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
3 of 3
My BFF Patti was down this weekend with her son and a teenager friend (hence the 3 of 3 or 3 busy weekends in a row). I never forget how much I miss this girl and seeing her only makes the time in between harder. They got into town around 6:00 pm Friday evening. We had dinner at Applebee's where I (maybe we) experienced one of the worst waitress experiences in my life. I think I've never tipped only one other time. For a $42 tab and 4 of us eating, she only got $1. It was that bad, seriously. After dinner we drove around downtown then came home to shoot off some fireworks.
Saturday we didn't get up until around 11:00. Had lunch at Red Robin (yummy! It was my first time there) then came home to change into swim gear and headed to Oceans / Worlds of Fun. We got there around 2:30 and didn't leave until 11:30pm. I was exhausted! But I didn't let that stop me - we then headed to Perkins for dinner as we hadn't eaten.
We all slept in until around 11:00 again today, had a quick and cheap lunch and they left :( I haven't had time to download the pics yet - which sadly I didn't take very many. I left my camera in the car Satuday in fear of it getting wet and ruined and regretted not having it so many times. I'm thinking about buyin a cheap digital camer that won't piss me off if it gets ruined. Pics to follow on a separate post.
I miss her and Z already, but it'll only be a few months this time instead of SEVEN! I'm flat out exhausted (even with sleeping in until 11:00). I took tomorrow off, it'll give me a chance to run a few errands but also catch up on some sleep!!
Now...back track a few days. :o)
This week flew by so fast! Mark was still out Monday so the day was over in a heartbeat - or so it felt like! Tuesday and Wednesday flew by with him trying to catch up and me trying to get everything ready for being out of the office for a few days. Thursday the team and I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity. It was so effin hot! It pissed me off that every time I tried to move around to do stuff I felt like I was going to hurl. I felt like a big 'ol loser who didn't help in any way. I'm tellin you, the heat and I dont' jive. We started off tearing down some siding (because it wasn't put up right), tressels were put up on a porch, a stair case was torn out to put a landing in, the staircase put was put back in, a roof was being prepared to be shingled, more siding was put up. We all enjoyed it, I can't wait to do it again! I will however make sure it's done in the spring or fall next time though! Pics to follow of this as well.
For now, I'm off to do some laundry and maybe catch a little nap!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
innocence 2
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
is it really Sunday night?
Normally when the last day of the month is on a Monday, the week drags...thankfully not this week! It was Thursday before I knew it. I had training from 8a-1130, a few of us went to lunch then just as we were getting back my Mama pulled in the parking lot! We headed to a nearby mall, we shopped for a little bit then I decided I should go back to work for a bit. I left her there to shop, but never made it back to the office :) As I was backing out one of the kids called and wanted to meet for drinks - so off to the bar we went! Mom called around 4 and said she was done... I picked her up and back to the bar we went! We both felt pretty good by the time we left. Friday morning we didn't get up so early, but shopped all damn day! If you know me, you know I'm not a big shopper. We were invited to a few different places to watch fireworks, but we ended up staying home, laying in bed watching the fireworks around my house.
Saturday we got up at what felt like the butt-crack of dawn, heading to the City Market. I was a bit disappointed as I wasn't able to find any melon... but Mom had a good time. We shopped some more on Saturday then just lounged around Saturday night.
Today we drove to Lake Jacoma and Longview Lake then went for lunch. I was sad to see my Mama leave, but we had such a good time - lots of laughs!
The work week starts again tomorrow, but it's another 4-day work week for me as my BFF gets in Friday! I can't freakin wait!!
Have a great week everyone!
