just a tad excited
2...count em...TWO MORE DAYS!!!
and i will be kissing babies & hugging my CT girls!
omg i have sooo much left to do
*ack*
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
thinking back one year...
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to The Man Upstairs
That just because He doesn't answer doesn't mean He don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
(Garth Brooks, "Unanswered Prayers")
Saturday, June 4, 2005
alphabet soup
found this on My Life So Far while blog-hopping =)
A is for Age - 28
B is for Booze - white zinfindel; malibu rum & pineapple juice; malibu bay breeze (pineapple & cranberry juices with malibu rum) or a sea breeze (cranberry & grapefruit juices with vodka). it appears that i drink a lot with a list this long but i actually drink very rarely. just so happens that these are my drinks of choice & i can never have just one favorite lol.
C is for Career - admin assitant/receptionist
D is for Dad's name - Steven
E is for Essential items to bring to a party - camera & film and whatever the hostess needs me to bring
F is for Favorite songs at the moment - Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban; Kind & Generous by Natalie Merchant and Alabama by Cross Canadian Ragweed
G is for Goof off thing to do - surf the internet, watch tv
H is for Hometown - presently Davenport FL unless you mean where i was born which was Bristol CT
I is for Instrument you play - flute & piccolo
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - grape, raspberry, strawberry, apple
K is for Kids - none but my friends produce the cutest ones!!
L is for Living arrangement - in a house with a man & a pup
M is for Mom's name - Mary
N is for Names of best friends - in noparticular order: Heather, Andie, Alison & Gosia
O is for overnight hospital stays - none *knock on wood* unless you count the night i was waiting for my baby brother to arrive!
P is for Phobias - pain, spiders....and i don't know that it's a phobia but i *hate* throwing up
Q is for Quote you like - "stupidity should be painful", "i'm sick of following my dreams. i'm just going to ask them where they're goin' & hook up with them later" (mitch hedberg) and "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another 'What! You too? Thought I was the only one.'" (c.s. lewis)
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - that would be the 6 years with Michael
S is for Siblings - 1 brother, Josh, 26 & engaged and 1 half-brother, Zachary, 7 at the end of this month & not engaged lol
T is for Texas , Ever been? - nope
U is for Unique trait - ok so some may decide this is more weird than unique lol but i eat all the toppings including the cheese off my pizza & then i eat the sauce & the bottom crust part
V if for Vegetable you love - almost all of them except for mushrooms (which are more of a fungus i guess lol), large pieces of onion and cooked peppers
W is for Worst traits - mistrust
X - is for XRays you've had - teeth and i have had an ultrasound of my ovaries & uterus which is sorta like an x-ray...
Y is for Yummy food you make - lots of things but i make a *great* chicken parm, in fact i've never had it come out less than perfect!
Z is for Zodiac sign - Libra
Friday, June 3, 2005
just had to say...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND CHELE!!
Michele & i have known one another for something along the lines of 15 years i guess it is. became friends during the oh-so-fun high school years. we shared some major highs & lows but the memories are sweet. =)
to Chele: since i have known you long enough to have a stockpile of silly mildly-embarrassing old photos, i granted myself the priviledge of posting one here in memory of good times, lots of laughs & old time's sake. =) i know we drifted apart but i'm glad we've crossed paths again. have a wonderful sparkly day of celebrating YOU & may all your birthday wishes come true!
chele in 1994 
figured it was only fair to put myself in here from this time period as well. we had some shots done together at our senior high school portrait sessions. these were taken about 12 years ago. holy crap...where did all that time go?! and check me out with LONG HAIR!!
chele & dawn 
dawn & chele 
and the most recent now-chele photo i have just so you can see who she's become in the last decade. =) from crazy fun kid to proud accomplished woman. amazing what a few more birthday candles can do for us huh? =)
chele may 2004 
Thursday, June 2, 2005
things that are annoying (installment #2)
just because you wear a flannel shirt, jeans, boots & a stetson does NOT make you a cowboy. and just because you use the words "train" and "chicken" in a song does NOT mean it's country music.
don't get me wrong. i enjoy many kinds of music & respect everyone's right to their own taste. it's just that i wish people would sell their brand of music under the style that it actually is. simply my humble opinion. which i am entitled to on *my* blog. =P
Cowboy Troy I Play Chicken With the Train 
things that are annoying (installment #1)
ya know, i was told this thing would stay with me forever. i rolled my eyes. i scoffed. i shook my head. well...it's been 18 months since i had to memorize & recite this stupid thing (very much against my will) & it still runs through my head at the strangest times. just pops in there like some sort of demon that i can't shake for days. like my old job for Lennar Corporation at Kings Ridge of Clermont is getting the last laugh on me. like some demented reminder from beyond of a job i will never miss.
THE LITTLE RED HEN 
Said the big white rooster,
"Gosh all Hemlock, things are tough,
Seems that worms are getting scarce
And I cannot find enough.
What's become of all those fat ones
Is a mystery to me;
There were thousands through the rainy spell,
But now where can they be?"
The little red hen, who heard him,
Didn't grumble or complain,
She had been through lots of dry spells,
She has lived through floods of rain;
So she flew up on the grindstone and
She gave her claws a whet,
And she said, "I've never seen a time
There were no worms to get."
She picked a new and undug spot;
the earth was hard and firm.
The big white rooster jeered,
"New ground!That's no place for a worm."
The little red hen spread her feet,
She dug fast and free,
"I must go to the worms," she said,
"the worms won't come to me."
The Rooster vainly spent his day,
through habit by the ways,
Where fat worms have passed in squads,
Back in the rainy days.
When nightfall found him supperless,
He growled in accents rough,
"I'm as hungry as a fowl can be.
Conditions sure are tough."
He turned to the little red hen
and said, "It's worse with you,
For you're not only hungry,
But you must be tired too.
I rested while I watched for worms,
So I feel fairly perk;
But how are you? Without worms too?
And after all that work?"
The little red hen hopped to her perch
And dropped her eyes to sleep,
And murmured, in a drowsy tone,
"Young man, hear this and weep,
I'm full of worms and happy,
For I've dined both long and well,
The worms were there, as always
-But I had to dig like hell!"
Oh, here and there white roosters
Are still holding sales positions,
They cannot do much business now,
Because of poor conditions.
But as soon as things get right again,
They'll sell a hundred firms
-Meanwhile, the little red hens are out,
A-gobbling up the worms.
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
this just in from the abc action weather desk!
looks like it's confirmed (in case the incessant pounding on my roof wasn't a dead give-away)...another fun commute to work this morning. ya know this was much more convenient when the storms happened at 330pm!
doppler radar from 605am wednesday 
this is a more localized view. for those of you who aren't sure exactly what this means for me specifically. if you find Kissimmee & the I4 sign to its immediate left, look just up & to the right of the very right point of the I4 sign. you will see the faint lines indicating county boundaries & there are four that come together there in almost perfect right angles to one another (known as Four Corners). literally just above that right point is where i live. and if you look slightly southwest of that same sign, you will see the label for Lakeland--that's where i work.
the local radar view 611am wednesday 
AND it appears that we are to expect this weather from now until...forever. =P
7day forecast 
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
let the rainy season begin
Noah? i think it may be time to break out the ark...
doppler radar from 846am today 
hafta love when it's raining so hard outside that when you stand on your screen porch, you can't even see your own car sitting at the bottom of the driveway. however a completely viable excuse for being late to work during the rainy season (and yes there *are* 4 seasons in FL: Perfect; Hot & Rainy Like a Tropical Rainforest; Full-Blown Hurricane Season; and 40-Degrees Which Floridians Consider Freezing Our Asses Off): "i'm sorry i'm late, i had to wait for a break in the torrential downpour to attempt getting to my car only soaked as opposed to totally drowned" or "i apologize for not getting here on time--i had to pull over & wait out a heavy band of rain because i could no longer see through my windshield, made completely obsolete by the sheet of cascading precipitatation that even my windshield wipers on the so-fast-they-look-like-they-might-fly-off setting could not clear it away for so much as partial visibility".
i'm not complaining. we need the rain badly. just ask my poor parched yard (aka the weed garden lol) how happy it is to not be fruitlessly attempting to suck any last drops of water from the ground. i just hope this is merely an indication of another normal rainy season keeping us from drought & water-shortage & wild fires...NOT a precursor of the impending *scary horror movie music playing here* hurricane season bearing down upon us with an opening day of...tomorrow. *gulp*
the tuesday 10
i didn't forget my Ten on Tuesday post. it's not up on the site as of 1052am but the preview from last week's says it's going to be 10 favorite items to snack on. i guess i'll go with that & if it changes, i'll update.
Ten Favorite Things to Snack On
- Pringles (original flavor or sour cream & onion)
- cold fresh fruit: pineapple, cantaloupe, seedless green grapes, raspberries, strawberries...
Monday, May 30, 2005
NOT a movie review
The Longest Yard 
i haven't been to the movies in ages. in fact, i don't even think i could tell you the last thing i saw in the theater. i know it's been at least 6 months. i think...
anyway went to see remake of the 1974 movie The Longest Yard this afternoon. i'm not usually much of an Adam Sandler fan but he didn't act like a moron in this movie so that made him *so* much more tolerable. and Chris Rock--omg does he make me laugh. he doesn't even have to speak, just his facial expressions, his bugged out eyes & those giant white teeth LOL!! anyway the story line was predictable but there were some scenes & lines in that movie that absolutely made me laugh so hard i thought i would wet my pants. (no, literally. LOL i had to pee like 2/3 of the way through the movie but i didn't want to miss anything funny!)
anyway, i'm not claiming this is a valid review by any means. but if you like to laugh, i thought it was worth the money. not hysterical all the way through but a good solid amusement for 2 hours. by no means thought-provoking or intellectual but sometimes you just need to watch Chris Rock bulge out his eyes or show that extremely white toothy grin & laugh. =)
you are Julie Roberts
Oh, you're sweet enough to cause toothaches. It's not a facade, though. You truly bear no malice towards... anyone. Well, maybe people who kick puppies might be able to get an unkind word from you, but other than that, you are the queen of the turned cheek and graceful forgiveness.
Discover YOUR Inner Star
today is brought to you by the letter H
time for a little Monday Madness!!
This week I'm asking you to choose a letter of the alphabet. Now list the ten items below that begin with the letter you chose....
1. a family member: i have a second cousin, Heather
2. a movie: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
3. a game: Hockey
4. an automobile: Honda (which btw i am *not* a fan of!)
5. a fictional character: Harry Potter
6. a famous person: Howard Stern
7. a food: Hotdogs on the grill
8. a household item: Hangers (you know, like in your closet for your clothes lol)
9. a book: He Sees You When You're Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark
10. a song: Have You Forgotten by Daryl Worley
in memory & gratitude
we, as Americans, all know that the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. a day for remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, whether in times of peace or war. i think we forget sometimes though what this day really means in the middle of enjoying our long weekend & bbq food. as the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, i was taught the respect that this special day deserves & i try my best to recall, even if just to myself, why exactly it is we have this day of memorial: that some of our brave boys & men & women--sons, fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, boyfriends, fiances, friends--are no longer with us because they lived & died defending this great country that we live in. it's not about the paid holiday time or the burgers & hotdogs & potato salad or the "unofficial" beginning of summer. it's about the precious lives lost & the honor they are due.
some little bits of Memorial Day trivia:
**In 1868, General John A. Logan, first commander of the Grand Army of the Republic issued a General Order establishing May 30 as an official memorial day--known at this time as Decoration Day--to pay respect to all those who had died during the Civil War.
**In 1882, the name of the holiday was changed to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in other wars were also honored.
**In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
**In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)
**Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
i wish you all a safe, happy, enjoyable bay of remembrance this Memorial Day.
frustration!!
something i haven't mentioned here that may surprise one or two of you. you know of my love of football & the redsox (or if you don't by now, you haven't been following along too closely and/or paying much attentions lol), but what about the fact that i can enjoy a good NASCAR Nextel Cup race too? it's a different kind of sport than those played with a ball (or some variation there of) but it stems from my childhood attending NASCAR Modified races with my dad, mostly on Friday nights at Stafford Motor Speedway in CT. those races aren't televised though so over time i developed a taste for the ever-popular Nextel Cup circuit.
anyway, enough "history".
watched the CocaCola 600 last night, all 5 grueling hours of it, with it's record 22 cautions & by lap 200, the longest stretch of consecutive green-flag laps stood at a whopping 8. i am a big fan of the DEI racing team (especially the well know red & white of Dale Jr), who unfortunately didn't do so well last night when Jr tapped the back end of Waltrip's car sending him into a spin that resulted in a 5-car crash. with Michael Waltrip taken out of the race & Jr's car needing work that brought him back in 25 laps down, it was just another adventure in the seesaw ride Jr's been on all crappy season so far & just a bad night for the DEI team. that being said, i would have loved to see local-boy Joe Nemechek win as he gained a big lead (and yes i do actually support one local "team" as some of you know how i feel about Tampa sports frachises--BLECHHH!--but Joe is a Lakeland resident, *not* yucky Tampa) only to end up with a flat tire that took him out of the #1 position. at that point i became a HUGE Bobby Labonte (heck any of the boys at the front of the pack were welcome to a win at that point: Truex, Newman, Mayfield, Biffle, even Carl Edwards) as he expertly maneuvered & held a lead. but nope right at the very end stupid Jimmie Johnson had to sneak by for the win. and thus ended the joy of Jeff Gordon's accident taking him out of the race & Tony Stewart's 24th place finish.
just a long never-ending night ended with frustration. 5 hours spent watching one of the "Terrible Trio" (Johnson, Gordon, Stewart) claim another victory.
*grumpiness*
Sunday, May 29, 2005
nissan: driven
i am such a nissan girl at heart. some people dream of owning a porsche or BMW or mercedes. i could have all the money in the world & i would still want my altima 3.5SL. it was a love-at-first-sight experience for me, the first day i saw one unload off the car transport onto the lot at County Line Buick-Nissan in Middlebury, CT, where i used to work. to this day, i see one driving on the street & my heart still goes pitty-pat.
now matter how you dress her, isn't she gorgeous? i've always been partial to cars in black, silver & gray, something so classy about the way they look. not really crazy about the altima in "super black" this time though which is surprising because that's almost like the proverbial "little black dress" that looks good no matter what. but the black just doesn't do it for me. these do though:
"polished pewter" (a little deeper in tone than the "sheer silver") 
"smoke" (a nice deep smoky almost-black gray) 
and oddly for the first time ever, i am drawn in to a car with a color. just enough flash to be fun but with a little more subtle sophistication that a candy apple shade:
sonoma sunset 
if i won the lottery, there is no doubt in my mind that i would own one of those sleek babies. ok so maybe i would also want me a chevy pick-up truck, loaded to the max. it would make my grandpa proud that i owned at least *one* GM product...
the boys from Boston
there's nothing i like better than to see a sports headline like this:
Red Sox End Slump With Historic Rout of Yanks
17-1...hee hee hee. the yankees can't even claim it was a close game that just got away from them. they got their butts kicked in royal fashion, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
the countdown
i found this little tidbit over on Angie's blog & thought it looked like fun. =)
TWELVE MOVIES (not in any particular order)
- Ocean's Eleven
- Shawshank Redemption
- Serendipity
- The Cutting Edge
- Coyote Ugly
- As Good As It Gets
- Jerry Maguire
- Father of the Bride
- Gross Pointe Blank
- Ever After
- The Notebook
- A Perfect Murder
ELEVEN GOOD BANDS/ARTISTS (in no particular order)
- Keith Urban
- Kenny Chesney
- Dave Matthews Band
- Natalie Merchant
- Sarah McLachlan
- Rascal Flatts
- Blake Shelton
- Alan Jackson
- Creed
- Matchbox 20
- 3 Doors Down
TEN THINGS ABOUT YOU
- ivory soap makes me break out in hives. i find this odd since it's supposed to be 99.5% pure. no other soap makes me do this. so does that mean i am allergic to purity??
- i hate shopping for shoes.
- if given a choice, i prefer to write with a black pen.
- my font of choice is Comic Sans 10pt Bold in navy blue. it bugs me to no end that it isn't an option for my blog.
- i actually like to do the grocery shopping.
- for the first time in my entire life, i have a job i love for a company i like & i never dread going into work.
- i always have gum in my purse.
- i can't wear sandals if my toenails aren't painted.
- i can't remember the last time i took a *real* vacation--i've taken long weekends back to CT & things like that, but not an actual vacation to a destination.
- i had never been anywhere in the state of Florida until the day i arrived to live here.
NINE GOOD FRIENDS (in no particular order)
- Heather
- Andie
- Alison
- Andi
- Gosia
- Jason
- Darna
- Michele
- Brian
EIGHT FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS
- baked potatoes
- pasta with red sauce
- quesadillas
- cheeseburgers
- ice cream (in any form: regular ice cream, ice cream cake, ice cream sandwiches, milkshakes...)
- broccoli
- warm chocolate cookies
- cheesecake
SEVEN THINGS YOU WEAR DAILY
- bath & body works lotion
- my watch
- my glasses
- a shirt
- pants
- underwear
- pajama pants
SIX THINGS THAT YOU HATE
- when people call with a wrong number but hang up without saying anything at all. at least mutter wrong number or something would ya?!
- people who cut you off & then get mad at you, like it's your fault for being in their way
- people in a group that walk shoulder to shoulder & block anyone else from getting by
- bananas *gag*
- being put on the spot
- confrontation
FIVE THINGS YOU DO DAILY
- brush my teeth
- check my email
- walk the dog
- drink water
- shower
FOUR SHOWS YOU WATCH
- reruns of Friends
- reruns of Sex & the City
- CSI
- Cold Case
THREE PLACES YOU'VE LIVED
- Davenport, FL
- Bristol, CT
- Terryville, CT
TWO THINGS YOU WANT
- a winning lottery ticket
- a digital camera
ONE PERSON YOU WANT TO SEE RIGHT NOW
- Catherine
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
about flipping time
new england patriots 
i can't believe it took me 2 days to post this but since it took the Patriots *months* to come to what i consider to be a no-brainer decision, i guess 2 days isn't so bad, is it? really...salary cap issues aside, there's no reason he SHOULDN'T play for the team for a 13th season after all he did for them last year & with the Tedy Bruschi injury leaving both a defensive gap & a missing link in the team's morale system, i have to admit i am feeling relieved that he will remain with the team he helped win the Super Bowl 3 times in 4 years. i wasn't nearly as sure as a lot of Patriots fans seemed to be that Troy Brown was replaceable.
The Patriots Re-Sign Troy Brown
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