squwee!

If this song is indicative of the rest of the album, it's gonna be a good one!

squweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

nextweeknextweeknextweek!!!!!! squweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Holy craahp! It's that time of year already??

You know the time of year I'm talking about. the time of year that Styx goes into a frenzy and disappears (oh wait, I already did that... they'll never notice....) for the next several months while praising the creator that invented the Hi-def tv. American Idol season!

Only this year's gonna be different. There isn't going to be any loopy Paula to keep things interesting on the show. This will be (supposedly) Simon's last year. Top things all off, I'm still very much addicted to my games over in Crackbook. If Chicagolady hadn't been so kind as to remind me, I surely would have missed the first few weeks dealing with the tortureaudition rounds. Now the huge question is:

Which addiction is going to win out?

Surely I don't have enough hours in the day to deal with both, right?

Or...am I going to go insane trying to get it all done?

So much to do to get ready.... time to make a check list.

01) get note book out and in customary place on desk
02) either sharpen pencils or test pens to make sure I don't run out of ink
03) wash and iron panties in case there is a decent male singer or three worthy of a good pantiflinging......

Did I forget anything?

Some possible excitement (hey Lainie look!)

Now, if I recall the Bo Bice site has a premium area (meaning you pay for access, kinda like the Gold accounts in Classmates) and I only have to assume the little blurbit before the music comes out of that area of the site as I didn't see any confirmation in the general free areas. If there is some truth to this (and I'd assume that there is as there are some peeps from that site on YouTube and if they ever saw their site name in a video, you can be damned sure that they'd be up in arms if it was an unauthorized usage and wrong information), then it's time to get very excited as the local WalMarts will be carrying a new Bo Bice cd. WHOOT WHOOT!!

Now, if you'll excuse me...I've got company for the next couple days and really need to get the CrackFacebook fix in quick before we get started for the day. There are a few things we'd like to get accomplished today...get her a blog set up, for one! I have a hunch it's going to be ALOT like my Padded Room entries but Im not sure yet... I wanna talk to her more about it first. Help her get some good footing before she leaves here in the next day or so.

mental blow up

Ok. So first and foremost, Im going to apologize to all of you as I havent exactly been the best bloggy buddy lately. The green-eyed monster likes to pay me a visit around the end of December when people start talking about going to visit (or having over) family for the holidays . Why? Well because my family happens to have gypsy tendencies and is scattered to the 4 corners of America so the ONLY family I manage to get to see during the holidays is my hubby's family (who all conveniently live in one place). God forbid if we were to plan a trip to see my family or my friends because somehow we'd just have to visit his family anyhow (cutting the trip to see mine in at least half). Ok, his gramma's in her 90's and frail...I'll give them that... but still. We wont even go into the fact that they ask every other phone call (and both sis AND mom call once a week each) when we're coming back in.


If the family issue wasnt bad enough, Christmastime is usually when some blogs go into high gear posting about the kids in their lives....sharing videos and pictures of little ones having a great time opening presents and joining in on the festivities. I CANT be telling others that they can't discuss these things as they're THEIR blogs and I have absolutely no right to tell others what they can and cant discuss such matters. All I ask is that you understand why, at times, I seemingly just fall off the planet. Thing is, I was married before for more than 10 years.....and there are no little ones (other than the furbabies) gracing my home. Although some days Im grateful that one didnt come along at that point of my life because the divorce would have been worse than it was, the fact still stands that Im going to be 40 this year and the clock's ticking away. I know there are a few of you out there that know exactly what Im going through.

The end of January was a little rough too. I was running on a high from my appointment and a low from the bug (discussed below) that I almost forgot a couple of very important dates. The 28th is an important date for me.....this year is Independence Day 4. On the 31st, was my daddy's 63rd birthday and my gramma's 2nd year Heavenly Birthday....man I miss her.

The last month or more hubby and I have had a cold going back and forth between the two of us. For the most part it's been lasting a day or so with me and then pops back over to spend time with him. The same bug's been going around his work as well. This past Thursday, after that wonderful appointment, I came home and wasnt feeling so well. My cheekbones were hurting and my face felt warm. I felt so unwell that I took the first dose of that antibiotic that's been sitting on my counter (it was issued to me over a month ago "just in case")...I even skipped my bike ride. Yeah, I felt ~THAT~ sick. I crawled upstairs to watch my usual Thursday night line up and ended up putting on my long sleeve night gown AND the plush robe.....and I was still cold. I ended up cancelling my shot for Friday because I cant have it if I've been on antibiotics. Friday I was still ill enough to keep me off the bike. Saturday I felt a bit better so I did a gentle ride that day as well as Sunday and Monday. I was schedulled to go to level 8 on Monday *IF* I felt well enough but when I went for my ride, I felt I better not push things. Im going to give it another week or two and see about increasing at that time. It'll all depend on the dr's appointment on Friday. The ZPak didnt seem to do too much good this time around and I suspect by Friday I'll be miserable again. I've been so out of it that I not only failed to keep up in the blogs in a timely manner (there are more than 50 I follow and some of ya'll write many times a day!!), but it was also Monday evening before I switched my tunes out in my MySpace..... Oh man...and I still have a few awards I'm meant to be posting (and then update in the Awards entry) but for the life of me I cant remember who all awarded me ones lately. If you'd be so kind and check...if you have one you awarded me and I havent posted it yet.....leave the link to the entry in my comments and I'll get to them............................I promise.

I havent written my review for Idol yet. There werent too many I was really thrilled with. Alot of "I likes" and not enough "Hell yeahs" to fill an entry...even with 3 night's worth of notes. Im wondering if this will be my last year watching ...or if I'll even make it through the whole year. So damn many plants this year. We'll see once we get through Hollywood week. The big question is, do I really want to put myself through that work again this year?

My SCSis is presently staying with her sister and mom in Ga. The last call I got was loaded with boo-hoos because she'd had a ~really~ horrid day. I wont go into details here. I will say that I finally had enough for the most part and as she was raging at all the things she wanted to do to the man (and I can understand those feelings...I had them at one point or another myself)...I told her to "shut up". Yeah...I used that term with my bestie of nearly 30 years. I told her that yeah I know she wanted to do all this mean, hurtful stuff and it's ok to feel that way BUT she shouldnt ACT on it and proceeded to tell her why she shouldnt (can anyone say stalking and harrassment with the intent to do harm?). I then gave her a suggestion to check out a certain not for profit organization that might be able to help her out, if not directly...then certainly they may have certain resources that will get her steered on the right path. I told her she needed to go sooner rather than later. She did do one thing right though....she called ME at 1230am...and NOT her x2b. Im so proud of her for that. She's also started taking steps for life after divorce.....address change and bank account changed so he has no access to her funds (not that she has any to work with anyhow). I wish she would have done all this sooner to be honest. She IS facing the fact that she's "screwed" and has actually used that term. The one mistake she made during this call was when she asked me how I'd feel in her shoes. It's a mistake because Im likely to be alot more blunt with what I say when Im feeling poorly. I was extremely blunt with her. I told her from day one I would have been packing, getting my ducks in order, changing accounts and would have been talking to a lawyer already. It would have all been done BEFORE I lost my job (not that that was expected but you have to figure if the jerk you're living with gets you thrown in jail, it's highly possible they're going to find a way to leak info to someone in Human Resources or a Co-Owner and manage to get you fired from your job )...at least I would have gotten the first meeting out of the way so I had an idea which steps I needed to take. I qualified it with a "but then again, Im much more pessimistic than you". Boiled down, I told her "I told you so" without being overly cruel about it. Yeah, I know it wasnt really nice, but it was stuff she needed to hear.

We started getting some mixed precip last night (Monday). When I peeked outside, it looked like we were getting some white stuff on the ground again. YAY. The weather's calling for a couple days worth of snow. It'll be nice if the ground gets fully covered over again.

We're on the night shift here. I havent decided if I'm going to stay up real late as per my usual or if Im going to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Im leaning towards the latter to be honest. Not today, obviously....maybe the next sleep cycle. I could use the extra sleep....

I have scads of stuff I emailled myself that I've meant to blog. With any luck, I'll be getting the email cleaned out in the next few days and get some of it put up. I think there's a game or three in there that I saw in other blogs that I wanted to do in mine....I know there were a few jokes that will be going up in the appropriate blog area.

I think that's it....if you can think of something that I didnt cover that you're wanting to know about....put it below in the comments.

Oh...and if someone could kindly talk me through those nifty little messages that some people have up near their comment boxes (Jeannie....Dorky.....someone.....anyone....)...Im thinking I'd like to add something like that to my blog as well.

'tis nearly the season

'Tis nearly the season when one of the very few reality shows that I DO watch comes on. Hell's Kitchen isnt so bad on hubby because he'll actually watch that and discuss the show with me, but HK aint the one coming on. It's the time of year for American Idol and I tend to take over the best tv in the house for the duration. This show is much more time consuming for me and will require a shuffling around of my schedule so I can get the bike ride in BEFORE it airs. Why? Because Im so lame as to take notes and write up reviews (such as they are) about each and every airing....which means my MySpace gets a good workout with a minimum of 3 entries a week as I try my best to predict who will go and why and who my choices are FTW (For the Win). No worries, I dont tend to inflict the readers here with such drivel....well not much at least!

Sympathy cards for the American Idol widower in this house can be sent through here. I'll make sure he gets them....sometime or other. *laffs*

There's always the possibility that I wont get addicted this year at all....I mean, my choice did WIN last year and this will be kind of anti-climactic. Then again, I say this every year and end up so embroiled in it that my friends have to check to see if Im still living.

biking, back, shot, pix promises, CD!!!,

Calories burned: 348.8
trip miles: 9.96
ave mph: 19.92

Back is slightly better and the one pain that prompted me to slow down yesterday was not present (and NO Marmie, it wasnt cuz I was bouncing on the mattress with me man LOL...now under ....is another story! LOL). Legs just didnt want to go today but then we were out walking some today as well.

Graduated to the new vial for my shot today. Even with a full belly Im having a more than usual reaction. With any luck, it wont last more than 24 hours...

Got some pix to share but Im too tired to deal with the camera right now. I'll get them loaded to the puter tomorrow. I got a plate on "film" today. Didnt have the camera at hand for another...*sigh*. The one not captured on "film" said USPEEDUP. I guess the driver's prone to tailgating (and I aint talkin beer and BBQ in his pickup at a ball game...). The one I DID get on film Im going to share with that other site....I hope it's funny enough.

Got my Cookie today. Gonna get the cd ripped tomorrow to my computer. ~grinz widely~ Also bought a pretty wreath to replace the spring one that was beside my door (I took that down a couple weeks ago because it was just too cold out for it to make any sense in being there). I'll take a picture when I get it put up which wont be until after Thanksgiving. We also got the Christmas cards for this year, mostly because neither wanted to dig them out of the storage unit. All I have to do now is get the ones for family (parents, grandparents, etc), get them filled out and ready to send the first week of December (I hope I have all the addies I need...prolly not though...maybe I'll hear from the others via email before then).

Well the snow showers that they were promising us? It was a tease for sure. There was just enough in the air to see there was precip coming down BUT not enough to stick or show up on my camera for a video...*poutz*

unexpected call, where's the snow?, walk thru

Saturday and Sunday we didnt do too much around the apartment. Mostly just watched tv and worked on the computer. Well, he spent the time on the computer while I worked on some needlework. Yeah, I know I still have to take a picture and show ya'll how far I've gotten with it.

Monday I got a rather unexpected call on my cell phone (which looks just like the one to the left only it's an awesome shade of purple). It must have come in while I was sleeping because in the afternoon I heard it chirping at me that I'd missed a call. Mind you, this phone still has a Dallas number attached to it because we wanted to get into the new place before changing it. Guess what the message was? The message was from Lane Bryant's in regards to an application I had filled out online for a job. heh heh heh. *shakes head*. The message said if I was still interested they'd love to interview me as they had full and part time positions available in their store. Well I called them back and let them know that although I'd LOVE to interview and take a job with them that it would be impossible now as I was in Virginia. *shakes head again* Maybe it's time to change that phone number....

Not much else is going on. They keep promising us snow but all we get is cold while everyone else around me gets that beautiful fluffy white stuff. *sigh* So Chicago, when should I expect that shipment of it? I know you've got plenty to spare. I'd ask Alice to send hers as well but I know Tori's wanting some across the pond so I wont be greedy.

My goodness did we all catch American Idol this week? What a freaking waste of time that was. If it had been a movie , I would have demanded my money back for sure. Usually by now I have the field narrowed down to a couple worth watching, but not this year. There are a few that bear watching but none that really stand out. My original prediction (before the season started) was we'd have an AAM as a winner but there are a few girls out singing him easily so Im not too sure at this point. Another pattern emerged while I was looking at the past winners...and ya know we're due for a white female with an awesome voice again. A winner, like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Around 430pm today we're due to go for our walk through on the townhome. I plan on getting the non-essentials packed up this evening when hubby goes to work and the rest on Saturday. I figure I'll just leave a couple days worth of clothes and the meds here and take them over when we go on Monday morning. I guess I'd better get myself to bed a little earlier this morning so Im better rested for the walk through.

not much going on

Comic to the right (for Tori's benefit) has 4 waiters at a table with one holding a cake with a candle on it and Simon Cowell sitting in a boothe. The waiters all look sad and one of them has her face in her hands. The top says "Waiters hate Simon Cowell..." and Simon's saying "That was the worst rendition of the Applebee's 'Happy, Happy Birthday song' I've ever heard! - Just bloody dreadful!!"

The competition portion of American Idol started this week. With any luck, I'll be still blogging it in my MySpace area. It may be a little rougher getting it done, but with the help of YouTube, Dial Idol and Rickey.org (and the betting sites once they get geared up and going) I should be able to still get my reviews up. I did really well this week getting 2.5 out of the 4 elimintated correct. I only gave myself half a correct on the one because I wasnt completely right as to whether they'd be gone or not. I felt VFTW would factor in higher than they did. This is the first week though and they're not in full gear yet. It usually takes them a week or so to get a good pick in for the year. The one I missed...well I missed that one COMPLETELY. Ah well.

I've gotten some new cds in the last few weeks. I finally broke down and bought myself the Sara Bareilles cd, Little Voice. I really enjoy that one song she has out and I believe with the way my tastes have been running lately that it'll get some decent playtime in my stereo once we get into the town house (along with my Kate Voegele cd). A couple days ago 3 other cds from my Amazon wishlist came in. I'd been going back and forth on this one cd and kept picking it up in the store but I KNEW I could get it cheaper on Amazon so hubby broke down and got it for me. The cds that came in are the Natasha Bedingfield Pocketful of Sunshine one, Idina Menzel's I Stand, and Leigh Nash's Blue on Blue (lead singer from Sixpence None the Richer). I cant wait to listen to them. Oh, yeah, I could play them on the laptop but the speakers arent the best and I'd have to turn the volume way up to enjoy them. This is something I dont really want to do to be honest.

This week we were *supposed* to get snow. Hmmmm snow *goes to look it up...maybe they have pictures?* ...snow.... ahh here it is :

snow [ snō ]
noun (plural snows)
Definition:

1. ice crystal flakes: water vapor in the atmosphere that has frozen into ice crystals and falls to the ground in the form of flakes.

Ok so by the dictionary definition we DID have snow, if you could count those piddly little dandruff sized flakes snow on Wednesday. Im not kidding, you had to SQUINT to find a flake and do you think we got any showing on the ground?? Hell NO! So by Thursday night and into Friday they tell us that the next front coming through is supposed to be sleet and snow. I tell my hubby when he leaves Thursday to call me if the roads are bad BEFORE he leaves work. Hmmmm no call. The roads were wet, but never froze. In fact, the roads were so good he drove a workmate back to his home a good 45 minutes one way in the opposite direction before coming back home. I guess the guy carpools and something happened and he got stranded at work.

Speaking of work, on his way out the door yesterday my hubby told me they may be changing his shift already. Looks like they're considering putting him on the front end of the week in a month or so. I asked him if it was nights or days and he wasnt sure yet. I asked him if it was a step up or sideways and he tells me a little of both. It's just sideways in the job level BUT a little step up in that it'll earn him brownie points with the bosses. That's good I guess....only a month to month and a half in and they're already wanting to put him in areas where they really need the help (they're short handed on that shift and someone's leaving in a month's time so they'll be even more short handed).

I got an email from a friend of mine up in Joisee the other day. Seems her fiance and she *FINALLY* picked out a date. They'll be getting married in July this year. Thank goodness she gave us enough heads up! With the move and his new job and me having to go back to work, I need all the heads up I can get! I have to laugh. She'd wanted to have all her previous "brides" (she's been a bridesmaid and maid of honor several times over...kinda like the movie 27 Dresses) in her wedding party but there were at least 10 of us and a couple of us it was twice over. She opted to have a couple close friends as attendants and allow all the previous brides enjoy themselves instead of having them work the celebration. How nice...this way no one's feelings would be hurt that so and so was in the wedding and they werent.

I went shopping Monday last week and bought myself some more supplies for needleworking. AC Moores had the cross stitch floss on sale for 4/$1 which is a pretty good price (better when it goes to 10/$1), so I stocked up on the colors that Im going to be using for my next project. I think I've decided that the one Im working on is going to be my friend's wedding gift, Im not sure yet. I may decide against it though, I havent absolutely decided yet. Anyhow, the next project is going to be a Home Sweet Home sampler for our townhouse. While I was AC Moores, I looked for a case for my bobbins of floss. Im not really liking the box I have presently (which is packed up) as there isnt enough room in it for all the colors I have. I didnt like any they had there but I did find a beautiful needlework piece from "The Gold Collection" that I just had to pick up. That brand is one of the more pricier brands like "Dimensions", the pieces average about $32+ and in many cases much higher. I generally wont buy them because of the price but I had a coupon for 50% off a regular priced item. Gotta love that. I ended up walking out of there with roughly $42 worth of stuff (19 skeins of floss, a package of plastic floss bobbins and the needlework piece) for LESS than the original price of the piece ($32 regular price). I paid a total of $23.35...a savings of $17.71. That savings got spent though in Michaels (which I found out WILL price match as long as I have the competitor's ad) where I found a nice pattern book ($6) and a box that will work nicely with my flosses ($10). Now that I look at it it looks alot like one of those little doodad boxes for work benches. You know, the ones with the screws, bolts and nuts stored in the little drawers? I'll have to remember that the next time I need a box like that and just hit up the hardware department. *shrugs*

Hmmm I guess there was more to say than I thought originally.....

Phil Stacey News

Found in my MySpace while reading the blogs:

Thursday, February 14, 2008

AMERICAN IDOL FINALIST PHIL STACEY TO RELEASE DEBUT CD ON APRIL 29TH Category: Music
FIRST VIDEO SHOT IN NASHVILLE THIS WEEK Nashville, TN – February 14, 2008 – The debut CD from American Idol Season 6 finalist Phil Stacey will hit stores on April 29th. The date represents a slight move from the previously announced mid-April street date, and is the result of Phil's already jam-packed travel schedule. "It has always been my first priority to make the album I have promised the fans, and I needed this extra studio time," says Phil. "Lyric Street has been great to work with me on this!" Phil chronicles his busy schedule and day-to-day experiences each Monday on his USA Today blog, found at http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008. Phil's debut disc features the lead single "If You Didn't Love Me," written by Wendell Mobley, Jason Sellers and Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox. The song is already making a rapid ascent of the country radio charts, and is currently reaching over 1 million radio listeners each week. Roman White, who directed videos for both "Before He Cheats" and "So Small" for Carrie Underwood, filmed the video for "If You Didn't Love Me" in the Nashville area this week. Shot at an old motel, the clip features several different storylines of people who depend on the love of others, as well as a very special guest appearance by Phil's wife Kendra. Phil made a name for himself in 2007 when he performed for millions of viewers each week during his competition on the sixth season of American Idol. His renditions of the country hits "Where The Blacktop Ends," "The Change," and "I Need You" were among his most praised performances of the season. Following his time on American Idol, Phil toured with his fellow contestants over the summer on a 55 city tour before moving to Nashville, where he signed with Lyric Street Records. Lyric Street Records is a part of Disney Music Group. The Disney Music Group is the recorded music and music publishing arm of the Walt Disney Studios.

Spoiler links and some Melinda news

Ok these spoiler links hit a few days to a week ago. If you dont wanna know, then dont click 'em.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/01/28/ai-od-the-top-24-leaked-the-boys-video/

http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/01/30/ai-od-the-top-24-leaked-the-girls-video/

Like I was saying to Chicago in the comment on the last entry...I only see 2-3 that meet my prediction (an AAM to win) *BUT* Im not seeing enough out of any of them to be positive of my statement. I may just end up changing my mind in a couple weeks. Some of those gals looked strong on the first showing....could be an interesting year after all.

In last year's news...Melinda's *finally* going to be dropping her new cd soon. February 12th will see the release of her version of My Funny Valentine hitting ITunes.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/momentswithmelinda

Bo News

I found these while I was in my MySpace and thought I'd pass them along. One belongs to the Blogger account of Professor Tom Mengesha who is currently over seas:

http://professor-mengesha.blogspot.com/2008/02/me-and-bo-bice-from-american-idol.html

And this other is an article out of Stars and Stripes:

http://www.starsforstripes.com/bbice.sfs.2.08.html

I thought many would like to see these items.

other ramblings

O
M
G
It's been so damn cold here this last week!! Just to show you how cold it's been (in my opinion at least) I have resorted to the following:
01) Wearing long sleeved shirts daily. Inside as well as out and about (as opposed to the normal tee and muscle shirts I normally like to wear).
02) Socks and/or slippers are a must in the house (man I miss being barefoot already)
03) Wearing pajama bottoms (lounger pants) indoors underneath my night gowns

In essence, one could "pop over" at any time of the day and I'd be reasonably dressed. Yeah...you saw that right. The heavy woman that is a closet streaker has gotten so damn cold that she doesnt fuss about making sure she's clothed. I'll pause a moment while Karla and the rest of my close friends pick their jaws up off the floor, wipe their monitors clean of whatever fluid they were drinking/ spewing, and in general pick themselves up off of the floor.

*pause*
*pause*

Ok. All set? Good.

Monday was hubby's first day at work and he seems to like it so far. He actually will come home and talk about his day and let me know what went on as opposed to just clamming up and crawling into one of his online games. It kinda helps that we're just on the laptop right now and it wont play some of those types of games. Tuesday was a little rougher as he really didnt wanna get out of bed (he didnt want to this morning either) but I dont think it was because he didnt like the job, just the fact he was "so comfy next to his baby". Ok, so...Im huggably soft. Big deal.

I was awake early on Monday...around 7-730am or so. Not because I really wanted to be but because we'd gotten an email a few days prior saying that the maid service would be in bi-weekly and we should expect them on Monday the 21st. Hmm. It's not as though we really need a maid service to be honest. It's just the two of us and we dont make much of a mess with the exception of the kitchen. *shrugs* Oh well it's hubby's company paying for it. Of course they never said when to expect them in, just that it started on the 21st and would be bi-weekly. Ok...so I got up and, leaning on what my TxSis said about her experience with a maid service, I cleared most of the surfaces off so they could be wiped and stripped the bed so the sheets could be washed and things would be made up fresh. I got 4 loads of laundry done (I usually have only 3 including the sheets but with us each wearing more clothes to stay warm...), a load of dishes and everything semi-neatened. Then I got online for my usual writing and reading spree (I wrote 2 entries that day....did you read them both?). The day wore on and no one showed up. By the time hubby came home I was getting a little pissy about the situation. Hubby dropped a note to the people dealing with the corporate housing account to let them know.

Tuesday I was awake by 530am when the alarm went off and out of bed by the time hubby was out the door. Again I waited all day for these people. By noon hubby called to ask if they'd shown and I told him no. I was given permission to get into his email account to see if they wrote back regarding the issue. Yes they had and they'd said the maids would be put on the schedule that day (email was received 1123am). I took it to mean they'd be there later in the afternoon. I spent the afternoon on the computer but I wasnt doing the usual stuff. I'd had some bad news (as detailed in the previous entry) and was trying to get more info on it. While I was waiting on that info I was checking some other sites out and researching a couple of the apartment complexes in the area. There's a couple I think we'll be going to see once hubby can get a day off. The good thing is one of them has Sunday hours. Gotta love that. Both complexes are in the same area and nearby to plenty of retail businesses (a strip mall AND a larger mall down the road) so job hunting shouldnt be so bad. The one complex is known to take people that dont have really good credit too which is beneficial for us. I looked up their rating on the site I mentioned in that one entry and they rate ok (55% as opposed to the 30% and less we've seen in other places). I think it may be do-able so Im crossing my fingers.

I ended up having a ragin headache by the late afternoon. It felt like a familiar one but I simply couldnt put my finger on the cause of it. It wasnt located in my neck and shoulders so it wasnt stress and it didnt feel like my sinuses. It got so bad I ended up pulling out a spare blanket and curling up on the sofa for a while. When hubby called, I got up and tossed the meatloaf we were having for dinner in the oven then toddled into the shower. While in there I figured it out. As the warm water was pouring over my head I remembered the first winter in the trailor in Kirkville while married to the first guy....or bedroom was so small that there was bearly enough room for the double bed in the room. Top things all off it would only fit in the one way...with the head or the foot right under the window. The trailor had piss poor (if any) insulation and the storm windows didnt do much to seal off the drafts. We ended up with a cold draft on our heads as we slept at night. I remember having bad headaches the first week of cold weather...which didnt stop happening until I took to wearing a toboggan hat to bed. Once I got my head warmed up and a bellyful of food...the headache pretty much left. The balance of it disappeared with a good night's sleep.

Yesterday was the San Diego auditions for American Idol. Two nights in a row (Dallas was the last one) I have felt...well underwhelmed. Im not going to go into it here. Those of you that follow my rants on that topic know to travel into my MySpace page to view those. Yes, Im writing on them again this year...assuming I end up with a job that'll give me Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights off ;). Worse case I'll have hubby tape it and I'll need to watch later. Better yet maybe I'll play hookie for the next 5 months....LOL. I need to figure out a better way to write those up as they took for-friggin-ever to write last year and Im not so sure Im up for all that work this year. While I was watching my addiction, hubby dropped another note to the people in charge of the corporate housing and let them know the maids were a no show AGAIN and that the wife was getting pissed.

Today I got up with the alarm again and had to practically shove hubby outta bed. I love the fact he loves me but dammit dont be late the first week at this job!!! I got him shoved out the door and crawled back into bed. Dammit I ended up wide awake shortly before 9am. I dont do well in the am and here I havent been able to sleep to my normal hours. It might be because I crawled into bed before 11pm and was well asleep before midnight that's doing it. I've spent most of the day at the computer yet again. Maybe I need to find a job where Im typing all day or doing computer work (at home would be nicer still). Evidentally it's what makes me happy. I had basically resigned that the maids wouldnt be coming in this week (especially since we'd told the corporate to send them next Monday instead)and hadnt done much to pick up or clear things off when lo and behold a minivan pulls in and the maid service showed up. *shakes head* Good thing I've taken to wearing those lounger pants eh? I think iggy would like the ones I have on today.