Footprints on the Moon

Today is my dad’s wife’s birthday! (Yeah, technically that would make her my stepmom, but since I didn’t acquire step parents until I was 22 or 23, that’s just weird to say.) Anyways, I’ve been gone all day! First I found it very hard to get out of bed this morning… a combination of the freezing temperatures and my general lack of being a morning person while still having to get up for work when the clock still says 5am. I did finally get up, and head to work.
After work, I came home, changed and left again. Stopped at Meijer to get a card for Gloria and a present and then straight on to Texas Roadhouse. That poor server… we monopolized her table for about an hour and a half! But we had a good time, and good food and I think I might be full until dinner time tomorrow! So now I’m home with a full belly, and I’m in pajamas trying to get warm. As soon as both those things come together, I think I’ll be heading to bed! In the meantime, I’m on my church’s website listening to the first service in their current Thursday night series. I keep flipping back and forth from the screens because it’s actually a video, and he was putting up pictures of London! Well, I think I’m going to try and give it a little more of my attention listening… and maybe watching cause if I’m being honest here, he’s pretty easy on the eyes.

I seriously considered skipping today’s Self Portrait, but seeing as I haven’t blogged since Thursday I decided I’d suck it up and just do it! I took this picture about half an hour ago after I climbed out of the shower. Hmm… it was only a couple weeks ago that you last got a picture of me with a towel on my head. Well, that’s what happens when I take pictures on Sundays… it’s generally late in the day by the time I shower (and get presentable), if at all!
I didn’t intend not to blog all weekend! I was out and about most of the day yesterday, and planned to get a post up when I got home, but it was a few minutes after midnight by the time I got home, so I decided not to bother with it!
Well, I was cleaning in my bedroom earlier today, so that basically means I need to go dig my bed out from under a huge pile of clothes, books and other random things before I can go to sleep tonight! I think I’m going to go do that, and in the meantime, you can go over to DigiCass and see who else has participated today.

Have you ever noticed how the newly engaged constantly find reasons to flash their diamond rings to you? It’s so funny because my best friend is newly engaged (just over Christmas), and when she comes over, besides pouring over bridal magazines, she likes to show me her ring. Alot. We’ll be laying on opposite couches chatting and watching TV when I’ll find a bejeweled hand hanging in front of my face. “I just love my ring,” she’ll say. “Didn’t he do a great job?” Yes, darling he did. And I’m sooo happy for her! I’m sure when it’s my turn, I’ll be finding plenty of reasons to use my left hand as well.
Besides, that gave me a reason to go to the Bridal Expo (disappointing), and gives me reasons to look through bridal magazines, and to look at bridesmaids dresses online. Not that it stopped me from doing so before, but at least now I have a reason! There’s a difference, really there is!

Oh my god!! I’m currently watching American Idol, and I’m so disgusted that I just can’t help but write about this immediately. The guy on my TV has a baggie in his pocket full of pieces of his fingernails that he has PEELED OFF AND SAVED! It makes me think of the movie Fever Pitch where they’re talking about the guy who had bags full of his hair and toenail clippings. I always thought they made that up… oh goodness, was I wrong!
I’m only disappointed that I don’t have the VCR recording right now… This would be fantastic diet control! Next time I was tempted to get a piece of chocolate or something, all I’d have to do is play that little clip back and I wouldn’t want to eat chocolate anymore! They let him through to Hollywood, and I only pray that I don’t have to see his fingernail shavings on my television again. *gag*

I’m getting a little annoyed tonight. They keep cutting into regular programming tonight to update us on the Michigan primary. There have been double the interruptions between the national updates, and then the local ones because apparently being 10 minutes across the state line makes me more invested. I know I’m supposed to be informed, and invested in the election and the future of our country, but come on… it’s the Michigan primary. Why do you have to keep updating with your projected winners? OF COURSE you are projecting Hillary Clinton as the democratic winner– there isn’t anyone else on the freaking ballot!
Okay, I’m done venting. I DO care about the future of our country, and that includes this election and all the things leading up to it. But I still don’t see why they can’t wait until the news just a little bit later tonight to let me know who they think is going to win the primary.

Those of you from warmer climates may not appreciate this, but I absolutely despise anti-lock brakes. Or as my dad and I both like to call them, “Anti-Stop Brakes.” Maybe it’s because I learned to drive on a vehicle that did not have them. In fact, my current car is the first vehicle I’ve driven that does have anti-lock brakes. I’d rather have brakes that lock when I apply them than brakes that skid me into the middle of intersections for no apparent reason.
We got a dusting of snow overnight last night, and a lot of the less traveled roads were pretty slick this morning. Slick enough, in fact, that I nearly got into an accident. Twice. The first time, I was almost completely stopped at a red light when my anti-lock brakes decided to activate, and I finally stopped sliding mere inches from the bumper of the car in front of me. Seriously? I was practically stopped as it was, WHAT was the point of that?
The second time I was slowly approaching a stop sign and gradually stopping when, once again, the anti-lock brakes took over, I slid halfway through the intersection and narrowly missed hitting a TRUCK that was there before I was. Thankfully he was able to stop! I don’t know, but when I had my cars without anti-lock brakes, I ended up in a snow bank once after making a turn, but I didn’t skid into intersections– my car stopped!
And did you know that you can be driving on completely dry pavement and have the same problem? You know, if you need to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting some obstacle in your path, or you just brake too hard, your anti-lock brakes can activate causing you to hit said obstacle anyways? Ask me how I know…

Okay, I’m done venting. This rant brought to you by DirectBuy where you can buy merchandise at manufacturer direct prices.

I was reading blogs this morning, which is generally the first thing I do when I get to work in the mornings. Hey, don’t tell me I don’t work hard! I’ve been here for forty minutes thus far, and the phone has rang once. And that’s exactly once more than it usually has at this point of the day. Anyways, Loretta had posted a quiz on one of her blogs about what her name means, so I went and took it myself. According to Blogthings, Jennifer means:

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.
You never give up, and you will succeed… even if it takes you a hundred tries.
You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It’s easy to get you excited… which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don’t stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings.
You are able to be a foundation for other people… but you still know how to have fun.
Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

There might be some things I don’t agree with, but I see a lot of me in there as well. For those of you that know me, does that sound like me??
Also, I am apparently like Apple Pie.

You’re the perfect combo of comforting and traditional.
You prefer things the way you’ve always known them.
You’ll admit that you’re old fashioned, and you don’t see anything wrong with that.
Your tastes and preferences are classic. And classic never goes out of style.

Those who like you crave security.
People can rely on you to be true to yourself – and true to them.
You’re loyal, trustworthy, and comfortable in your own skin.
And because of these qualities, you’ve definitely earned a lot of respect.

This bit of procrastination brought to you by Clausette.com where you can buy some nice sheepskin boots to keep your tootsies warm.

Colleen is about ready to leave for a seriously awesome vacation, and she’s holding a contest to make her trip exciting for you too! The prizes are pretty good– answer correctly and you have the chance to win one of the five prizes:

1st Prize – a $50 Travelocity Gift Card, and a souvenir from her trip!
2nd Prize – a $25 Travelocity Gift Card, and a souvenir from her trip!
3rd, 4th, and 5th Prize – a souvenir from her trip!

All you have to do is follow the clues to figure out where she’s headed. You can find the the rest of the clues, and the complete rules on Colleen’s blog.

Without further ado, Clue #12
A young girl once hid away with her family in an attic in this city.

Good luck guys! And if you don’t hear from me for a few days, it’s because I stowed away in Miss Colleenie-Weenie’s suitcase!

It’s Sunday again! I’m being significantly less lazy than I was last week at this time, but my picture is still from yesterday. I took this not long after I got home from the bridal expo with Sarah. I came home, took this picture and then took a nap!
Today I’ve been doing some cleaning, and I have some laundry going downstairs. I was going to load up my laundry and take it to my mom’s so I could do it for free, but I decided I’d get more accomplished if I stayed home today. So I dug out enough quarters to wash a couple loads of laundry. I need to go check on the progress, actually. Then I need to find some lunch and clean my pigsty of a kitchen!
At some point today, I need to go to the grocery store so I can take my lunch to work with me again this week… I really don’t want to go out, but looking in my fridge, I don’t think I really have a choice!! I can put it off a little longer by heading over to DigiCass when she gets her entry up, and going to visit everyone else who has shared their mugs with us this week.

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but I am SO thankful that this week is finally almost over!! I still have two hours of work to survive, but then I’m free for the weekend! Tonight Sarah and I are going to JCPenny and then out for dinner before we head back to my apartment to catch the new show on Lifetime “How to Look Good Naked” with Carson Kressley. I think women should be allowed to feel good about themselves, no matter what size they are, and I love that this show is out there to help them do it, in a positive way. It’s kind of like What Not to Wear, but nice!
In the meantime, I’m just trying to figure out how much money I need to start saving in order to pay my car insurance bill in full when it comes due in a couple months. Basically, I’m counting the minutes until 4 o’clock, and reading A Walk to Remember (and you thought I was probably just throwing that name out there, didn’t you?)
I did end up going to bed a bit early last night, and slept a bit later than usual and I’m still tired. I get off work a full hour earlier than Sarah does, so I’m seriously considering heading home and trying to sneak in a quick nap. I’ve just been so tired lately, and I only hope that it doesn’t mean I’m getting sick.