That's Life.

Today I'm totally drained. Life is really catching up with me. I'm running around trying to get everything done. I've spent time studying, taking tests, driving back and forth from MSU to an elementary school that i'm working with. Searching for a parking space... Searching for a parking space....Searching for a parking space. I worked with a school nurse for two hours this morning and now i'm supposed to be studying for a test in my combat memoirs class.

I'm ready to take a nap. I'm in a funk and I hate that. Not because of school or the day, just things. Little things that make their way under my skin and even though I hate myself for it, I can't do anything to make it stop and make that feeling go away. You know how you can be having a perfect day and then poof you see something, or you hear something and it completely drops you and even though you know it shouldn't ... it still does. That's today.

A Must Have.

I recently stumbled upon a fantastic thing, that I think needs to be in every woman's bag o'tricks. I absolutely love it. It's Smith's Rosebud Salve. On the back it reads: For chapped skin, blemishes, diaper rash, and detergent burn. Honestly if it can help aid diaper rash think of what it can do for your lips! It's fabulous! I use it for my hands and for my lips, and when i'm really feeling froggy I put some on my cheek bones to make them shimmer a bit. Try it, I know you'll love it!

Kansas City Venture

Kansas City was fun. We had a good time, we went gambling ate at very nice restaurants and just got to really hang out together. We walked the plaza and window shopped, basically we planned our vacation around places to eat. When we went gambling we spent fifteen dollars each and played penny slots for about three hours, it was so much fun. At one point in time we were each up a little bit of money- the alarms went off and Colby won fifteen dollars, I thought we were millionaires, I screamed and jumped up and down, even winning two dollars was exciting. I guess i'm easily pleased. While driving I saw this billboard and thought it was fantastic! The rest of my pictures are posted on flickr.

Friday Fill Ins :

Taken from Lindsay who stole it from Erin, who took it from Megan :). Thanks Ladies.

My next pet will be named.... Atticus. I would love to have a dog named Atticus or Sprockador-*the dog from fraggle rock.* I loved fraggle rock when I was a kid.
This weekend I plan to.. Well, this weekend has already passed and I spent the weekend in Butler with Colby's family. It was a blast as always. We had a good time, just hangin out watchin movies and eating until we could eat no longer.

Breakfast was... Breakfast was excellent! Mary Beth is an awesome cook, we had ham gravy crescent rolls, and eggs. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Last night at 8pm I was..... Sitting next to Colby's dad, Bryan, watching a movie and eating homemade pizza *again big shout out to Mary Beth.* Thanks Bryan for handing my drink back and forth back and forth.

I deal with stress by..... Crying. I end up having a melt down every so often and I sometimes just burst into tears. Thanks Colb for dealin with it as well as you do.

I forgot.... That I had so much homework, and a test on Tuesday!

Who wants cookies?!

Tonight I was going through the cabinets desperately looking for the two boxes of macaroni and cheese I know that I had bought--when I stumbled upon a bag o'cookies peanut butter cookies, you know the kind... you just add some lovin and poof you have cookies. Well...I decided I had to have these so I went to wal-mart to buy some eggs and came back to bake my delicious peanut butter cookies. I poured the cookies into bowl and ohh the smell was so lovely it was so lovely until I noticed the that the expiration date 2003! My first reaction was to cry, my second was to yell for Colby and ask him if we could still make them. He thought we had better go back to the store and get some more, so off we went. Now I know what you're thinking--Why didn't she just make them from scratch? --well I asked myself the same question..and then laughed for thinking it because I already have trouble with cookies from the roll, I burnt the piss out of my bicep....I'm sticking with the roll o'cookies.

We came home with a roll of peanut butter, and a roll of chocolate chip. Let me tell you there's nothing like peanut butter cookies at midnight. Mmmm I even made the criss cross with the fork and sprinkled love on them.

Woohoo.

Spring break has officially started. Colby and I went to help out my dad yesterday, we've been remodeling and are getting ready to sell a few things. We slept in today until 11! I cannot remember the last time I actually slept in--that late! It was great, then we got up and ordered a pizza, I took a shower and off to the salon I went. I got a french manicure, a massage, and my hair cut and styled. I desperately needed that relaxation. I came home and vacuumed and swiffered. I love to swiffer, it makes me think of the commercials--she looks like she's having so much fun.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Kansas City! I'm stoked. I just hope its not freezing! Ahhh one week off, it's already going by too quickly.

Messing with the camera.

Char-Marie
Originally uploaded by Char-Marie.

Tonight while I was sitting in front of my computer I started snapping photos. This happened to be one of the "better" photos taken. There is however a not so flattering picture of me on my flickr page. I was caught off guard and Colby tells me that it's a face he see's often. I'm a little offended..

Craving.

I would love to have a strawberry-banana smoothie right now. Borders has the best smoothies ever!

Little House on the Prairie.

Right now i'm waiting in a computer lab until my next class, which will be held in a one room school house. A one room school house?-you say. Yes, that's right. Today i'll Little house on the prairie it up. This 'one room school house' is complete with the very old wooden benches/desks, cups for your ink pens, big paintings of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and a bell that you ring to let you know school's in session.

I have to walk up hill both ways to get there too!

Shoes.

Are these sandals that I picked up today-not the cutest things you've ever seen?! I think they're absolutely adorable. Little miss Maggie is going to have a wide selection of shoes-as should any girl. I'm so excited about being an Auntie! We'll go shoe shopping EVERY WEEKEND! And when she's old enough i'll give her a pass *sort of like a library card* that allows her to check out some of my shoes....*Just like the library - Late fees do apply.

I was looking at Lindsay's Blog and decided...Why not?

Your Aura is Blue

Your Personality: Your natural warmth and intuition nurtures those around you. You are accepting and always follow your heart. You in Love: Relationships are your top priority, and this includes love. You are most happy when you are serious with someone. Your Career: You need to help others in your job to feel satistifed. You would be a great nurse, psychologist, or counselor.

What Color Is Your Aura?

Spring Break.

Colby and I have decided we're going somewhere after all. We decided last night that we're going to go to Kansas City and stay near the plaza. We'll go to the Nelson Atkins museum, a photography museum, the zoo, and where ever else our hearts desire. We're staying two nights there and then we'll head down to stay with his family for a couple of days. I'm so stoked! A vacation, a very desperately needed vacation! WOOHOOO!

I was thinking about possibly wearing a skirt while we're there, and for those of you who do not know me- this is a really big deal- because I never wear skirts. The only way i'll wear one is if I go and get a mystic tan, and i've never had one before so i'm scared that i'll turn orange... We'll see. I bought the cutest pair of shoes that will go with a very cute skirt!

A relief.

For the past few weeks i've been in and out of the doctor's office. Recently I had found a lump in my breast, and it continued to pain me and spread. This made me worried, so I made more appointments with the doctor. When it was confirmed that indeed the lump had grown, I had an appointment at the breast center at St. Johns.

This week i've been a nervous wreck, wondering what it could be and all the possibilities. Colby has been assuring me *I love him so* All the praying and thinking positive paid off. I went to the doctor this morning for a mammogram, and ultrasounds- everything turned out ok as far as they can tell. It turns out to be fibrocystic disease-which really isn't a disease at all. It's common in women over thirty, and since i'm in my early twenties we need to keep an eye on it. Needless to say i'm very relieved and so is everyone else.

I knew it!

Although, I'm not going to fall for someone new this year, I fell a long long time ago. You Are Most Like Carrie!

You're quirky, flirty, and every guy's perfect first date. But can the guy in question live up to your romantic ideal? It's tough for you to find the right match - you're more than a little picky. Never fear... You've got a great group of friends and a great closet of clothes, no matter what! Romantic prediction: You'll fall for someone this year... Totally different from any guy you've dated.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

I lost the bet...

3 months
Originally uploaded by Char-Marie.

Today my sister and I went to her ultrasound appointment to see whether it was a girl or a boy. The votes are in and it's a *drum roll please........* Its a girl!!! We're so excited! I can't wait to have a chubby little girl to take around with me. She'll be so spoiled and i'll laugh because the minute she cries i'll hand her back to her momma! The baby seems to be perfectly healthy so far so good. It was absolutely precious! She kept putting her hands in front of her face and turning her head. It is such an amazing thing to see- I'm watching the ultrasound and looking at Stori, then looking at her belly and I cannot imagine having a little someone in there wiggling around. I already think she's precious and i've yet to really see her face.

I cannot wait to be an Auntie!!!!

No means No in Español.....

This definitely surpasses anything I've experienced at Wal-mart. Today I was asked to help a Hispanic man in his early 40s. He was trying to find a shovel handle, so I took him out to lawn and garden where we keep the shovels....And we didn't have any handles. When I tried to tell him(in the most broken Spanish you've ever heard) that we didn't have shovel handles, he grabbed my arm really hard. He really latched on to my arm and started to jerk me towards him! My hair fell into my face *due to him jerking me forward* and he was trying to move my hair away from my face so he could *get this* KISS ME!!! He was pulling me towards him, I was screaming NO! *No is a universal word---HE KNEW WHAT THIS MEANT! Yet he proceeded to jerk my arms and when he finally realized it was not going to happen-he kissed my arm and I jerked free and started walking away...*a very fast walk*

This was SO scary! The guy left marks on my arm, and was very strong. I thought about pushing him, kneeing him in the junk, punching him, but I knew that he was a lot stronger than me and we were the only two people outside in lawn and garden. The audacity of some people! I don't care if he couldn't speak English, he knew what he was doing was wrong!

Express lunch my A$$!

I would like to say this because it may make me feel a little better. If you're planning on going to lunch today, and you're on a schedule-don't go where I went. It took forever. I'm not so sure that the guy serving us knew he was at work. At one point in time he came over to our table lifted my purse out of the seat next to me and sat down because his legs were tired. Then he took my drink and asked what I had and said he'd be back with a refill....i'm still waiting for it. It took 30 minutes for him to write down what we wanted to drink another 30 to write down what we wanted to eat and forever to get our 'Express Lunch'!!

Ok i'm better now.

At least it wasn't on fire?.....

Ok, another Wal-mart rant... This happened last summer when I was answering the phones. I had just recently had knee surgery, and was bound to a stool answering the phones at the fitting room. I was minding my own business when this lady with NEON PINK hair walked up to me and threw a bag in front of me. I was so not ready for what she was about to say. She looked around to see if anyone was listening and then said this-"That bag has SHIT in it!" I know my mouth must have hit the floor. I just looked at her with this confused look on my face and said what anyone in my situation would have said, "What?!"

"It has shit in it, I was looking through it and stuck my hand in it. WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE CHECK YOUR BAGS?!" At this point i'm laughing at her and I can't really control it, I look at her and say, "Well ma'am we don't normally have to check our bags for that." She stormed off leaving me with the poo poo bag, only to come back and say this: " And it's in my FINGERNAILS! I'm going to sue Wal-mart. My children saw this, and i'm so embarrassed...." blah blah blah..... I ask her if she'd like me to call a manager and she storms off Neon Pink hair, 6 inch nails and all.

I'm not really sure what kind of poo had contaminated the said-bag.....but it made for an interesting day. By the way, before you go rummaging around in bags/purses at Wal-mart you may want to put on gloves.

Confessions of a Wal-Mart Employee....

Ok---I know that I talk a lot about good ol' wal-mart here, I have no choice- This is why:

I'm working at the registers because we were busy and there weren't enough cashiers. This man walks up to me and I say, "Hi." He replies, "No I'm not, do I look high?" I look at him and bag his items.... I say, " It's $3.43." He holds out a five dollar bill and I reach for it as I grab it, he pulls it back. So I laugh thinking *I'll kick you in the face if you don't let go... He starts to hand it to me again, and again I fall for this HILARIOUS game we're playing. Ok sir it's $3.43.... again he pulls away the money----I shot him a look so good that if looks could kill he would have died many many times.

I turn to my drawer get the change and he finally lets go of the 5..... WHY! Why do people have to act like this? Do you think it's cute? I laugh and speak under my breath, but it really really irritates me. I've been standing in one spot all day long hearing BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEP....Grabbing, turning, grabbing, turning. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone when I'm checking, my feet hurt, my back hurts, I have a major headache, and if you don't let go of the money I'm liable to rip off your arm and shove it into my till!

*deep breaths*

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.

(Picture of my Dad in Vietnam.)
Last night I met my parents after work, and I had an interview with my dad. I had mentioned here. It's an interview with a veteran from the Vietnam war and its all on camera, then it goes to the Library of Congress. Last night I got the privilege to interview my dad for this project. I am so proud of the things my dad had to do and endure. A couple parts of the interview I thought I was going to break down, but I held it together. A few things he just told me flat out, "It's not something I want to remember, I don't really want to talk about it." He left out some things because he didn't want us to hear some of the cruel things that happened over there.

Here's where I rant:

I've been keeping up with the news and this is really really bothering me. A church from PA is picketing the funerals of the soldiers killed in Iraq, holding up signs that say: "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and " You're going to hell." If it were my family who went over there, and lost their life in something that they thought was the right thing to do---and someone was picketing their funeral, you'd have to throw me in jail. It makes me so angry..A young man from Joplin, MO died last week in Iraq and they've said that they're coming to picket his funeral as well. They just stand there with these crazy grins on their face, screaming all of these horrible things while the family is mourning the loss of a loved one. In my eyes--how can they call themselves Christians??

I sat and listened to my dad talk about how he was treated when he came home from Vietnam. He was spit on, called a baby killer, a war monger. Three people tried to run him over when he was walking on the side of the road with a cane--trying to get home because his dad was dying of cancer. He went over there thinking that he was helping those people a little by maybe letting at least one married man stay home with his family, thinking that America was behind the soldiers...Maybe not the war, but the men who HAD TO go. He said, " They said that we were the lucky ones, that we were the one's who came home. I think that the lucky ones were the ones who didn't come back because they died thinking that America was behind them, that they were being supported. This may be cruel sounding to you, but a lot of us feel this way. I'm still very bitter over seeing our troops come back and be treated worse than animals."

There are people who don't support this war going on right now, but we should support our men that have enlisted and are on hand waiting to defend us. It doesn't directly affect any one of us if we do not have someone over there that we love. We're fine and safe in our homes, but those men, whether they enlisted when 9-11 happened or have been a part of the military for years and years, are in my eyes the bravest of individuals, willing to risk their lives so we don't have to. I'll thank them for the rest of my life.

Set Sail with Captain Morgan!

Last night was fun. Hollie, Heath, Stori, Colby and I all went out to eat sushi at a local Japanese restaurant. We had a blast! Heath had a party at his place and everyone except yours truly was drinking. I was taking care of the Colbster. ;) like I do. We had a good night. My friend Hollie was tanked....Hollie rarely drinks, but when she does...LOOK OUT! You're liable to hear anything come out of that girl's mouth. I'm known as the "historian" of the group- I run around with my digital camera and get everything....You wouldn't believe the dirt I have on some of these people....Everyone has to be nice to me cause I'm very capable of posting the pics on the internet...Sort of like the one's that I just posted on flickr.... ;)


Isn't he lovely?....I took him home with me.

Bummed.

I'm pretty bummed out. It seems that Colby and I are not going to Chicago after all. The place where he works had someone lined up and if that person worked for the job Colby could have gone, but the person hired backed out at the last minute...We're not going. I'm sad because Colby and I never really get to go anywhere together, we see each other in passing it seems. School and work are full time things, and so I was looking forward to not having to do anything for a week except spend time with him and scout out Chicago. I guess there's a time for everything...Someday we'll go. We'll just have to go get a pizza and hang out around here during springbreak. I'm sure we'll make the best of it.

Good Day Sunshine!

Good day sunshine
I need to laugh, and when the sun is out I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good, in a special way
I'm in love and it's a sunny day ---- (a little ode to the Beatles!)


Yes! It feels so good outside. It's supposed to be 82 degrees today, yesterday it was 78, and I HAVE THE DAY OFF!!!! I'm excited. I have to go to my class, then i'm going to jack around for the rest of the day.... It's such a great day for the lake....HA! Who am I kidding, i'd first of all never step into a bathing suit....Second of all, I'm scared to death of fish...

So I guess what I'm really trying to say is.... its a great day to go shoe shopping. :)

Who you gonna call......?

Ok, I would like a show of hands....Who of you out there truely believe in ghosts? * my hands up*

The reason I ask is that our house is now occupied by my Uncle Daddy. I think is awesome! It's not a scary thing, because we all love him and he loves us, so we know it's not something to be scared of. I am concerned, however, that he may not have crossed over.... I don't know a lot about these things, but I've been trying to read into this a little and as far as I can tell.. Ghosts don't move over until they've finished a task, they feel guilty about something, they don't think that the family is ready to part, it was so sudden that they don't know that they've passed. Personally I think it's because my dad and uncle were twins. The bond was so huge that I don't think one will go without the other. Give me some feedback.....

My mom saw my uncle walking down the hallway and into my room. I feel like i've seen him in the hallway too, but it was dark....maybe I just felt it. Or maybe I was dillusional....could be either or.