Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for each and every one of you who take the time to read my blog and learn about my life. You all mean so much to me!!

God, I love Thanksgiving! I think I gained 5 pounds, but it was totally worth it! This year my family went to my aunt and uncle’s huge, beautiful house in Woodinville for Turkey Day. Since my grandma had 15 children, you can imagine what a packed house it was. But so much fun! You just can’t go wrong with a bunch of crazy Irish Catholics during the holidays… they pretty much see it as a drinking free-for-all. So just to fit in, I began sucking down the Pinot Grigio.
Trying to ignore the football game, my female cousins and I sat by the fire and gossiped about life until dinner was ready. And let me tell you, the meal that came out of this giant kitchen was absolutely amazing. All the required dishes were represented: Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. I heaped up a plate full of goodies and sat down to stuff my belly.

After dinner everyone proceeded to get drunker and sillier. While a lively poker game went on in the family room, my aunt Susi proceeded to give everyone in the living room a new and improved hairstyle while a giant puzzle contest began in dining room. Upstairs, I have no idea what all my male younger cousins were doing in the rec room, but I’m sure it had something to do with video games and the absolute largest television set I have ever seen in my life.
Downstairs, the fun continued as I joined one end of the table in puzzle mania. The goal was to finish our puzzle before the other team finished theirs, and of course my team won – I’m great at puzzles! Since that game had gone by so fast, and because I was still far too tipsy to consider driving home yet, we decided to start another puzzle, this time a much harder one. Let me tell you… doing a complicated puzzle with a wine buzz is quite the challenge, but it sure makes for entertaining conversation in the meantime!

The highlight of the evening? When all of my aunts, my sister and a few of my cousins decided to host Dance Party USA in the family room. If you've never seen a bunch of middle aged women dance on tables to the Black Eyed Peas, you haven't lived.

Finally I headed back to the city, full and happy. Only to look forward to another Thanksgiving dinner the next day! Jeanna, Larisa, Kelly and I thought it would be fun to celebrate a “Friends Thanksgiving” this year, so we all headed over to Kelly’s Friday night for another feast. However, this time we decided to mix it up – South Beach Thanksgiving! Yep, that’s right… every single thing we ate was South Beach Diet approved… except for the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes, which Je insisted on having.

Luckily, Kelly had some other friends over as well, who helped us consume what turned out to be WAY too much food for four girls who had stuffed themselves silly just 24 hours earlier. And really, I don’t think these outsiders would have even guessed they were eating diet Thanksgiving food, except for those cauliflower mashed potatoes. And my green bean casserole went over very well, even though no one wanted to have it when we first discussed the menu. My rock hard whole wheat rolls were another story.

Man my life is great, filled with warm houses, good food and great friends. I am really lucky. And so thankful to all of you who enhance my life in different ways. I am truly blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Ex Factor

OK seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? I always allow myself to get sucked into bad situations – specifically having to do with men.

It’s no secret that I have been incredibly lonely lately. To the point that I am considering getting a roommate just so I have someone to talk to besides my cat when I get home from work every night. I’ve had absolutely no luck meeting anyone worth dating, and it’s getting to the point that I’m afraid I’m going to be single forever… Yes, I idolize Sex & the City, but I don’t want to actually still be single in my *gasp* mid-thirties!
So, two weekends ago when my ex-boyfriend called me and said he would be in town visiting from Reno, and asked if he could stay at my apartment, I thought “what the hell?” Even though we’ve been broken up for almost two years and I know with absolute certainty that I don’t want to be with him, I figured it couldn’t hurt anything. We had had such a great time during his last visit; we’ve finally gotten to a point where friendship is feasible. (It took me a while to get over the fact that he broke up with me over the telephone after more than two years together… just so he could “sleep with more women” before he “settled down”).

Anyway, we ended up having a really great time. Went out with friends on Friday night in Fremont and went out to dinner on Saturday. On Sunday we even cooked dinner together at my apartment and watched a movie. Super couple-y I know, but it was sort of the itch I had been needing to scratch. I really liked how non-romantic everything was… just like two old friends spending the weekend together. We laughed, joked and reminisced. Funny how you fall so quickly back into old patterns.

Anyway, after he left for Reno on Monday morning, I was feeling really good about the situation. I finally felt like I was the one in control, I was the one calling the shots. I always hated the fact that he had broken up with me for no reason, with no excuses, and with no notice whatsoever that things hadn’t been going just fine. I’ve been a little bitter about that, understandably. So I’m not going to lie that it felt somewhat satisfying that on Friday night he told Jeanna that he wants to get back together with me, and had been thinking about it for quite some time. Come on you guys, you know that when a person gets dumped, it is pretty much their fantasy that someday the dumper will come back around begging forgiveness, and by that time the dumpee will be long gone and over it, preferably happy with someone else.

So… fast forward to this weekend. Jeanna, Kristen and I, for lack of a better option, headed down to Belltown. Talking to Kristen, I was shocked to find out that my ex was in town again. I found it funny that he hadn’t even bothered to call at all, since he had been so insistent on spending the entire weekend with me the last time he visited Seattle. Furthermore, another friend informed me that he had also been trying to get back together with another ex girlfriend, whom he was with after we broke up. Interesting. Not only that, but since he had been in town he had already taken another girl home to screw. Classy. I felt strangely devastated.

Why? I can’t honestly explain it to you. I felt like a jealous girlfriend. No matter that I know for certain that I never want to be with this guy again. But for some reason I feel some sort of claim over him or something. I know it’s selfish, but I wanted him to want me, even if the feelings weren’t reciprocated on my part. What is my problem?!? I guess I just once again feel used. I guess in the back of my head I thought I was the one using him for the companionship I have been missing. I guess I was wrong, and once again I let myself get screwed over by a guy. And now I feel far more lonely than I did in the first place. I can’t believe I put myself in this position.
It will never happen again.

Best of Seattle

Thanks to my company's plethora of free tickets to fabulous Seattle events, Jeanna and I attended Seattle Magazine's BEST of 2006 party last night, and had an absolutely fantastic time. They didn’t call it “The Party of the Year” for nothing – we got to celebrate this year’s winners as voted by the readers and editors of Seattle Magazine while enjoying music, food, beverages and entertainment.

Sponsored by Vulcan Real Estate, the party was held at Jonas/Jensen Fremont Studios. When our cab pulled up we could immediately see we were in for a great night. We followed the red carpet into the giant hall, which was filled with more beautiful people than I have ever seen in once place. We were excited to find out just who had been voted the BEST of 2006.
The night included specialty Seattle SKYY cocktails, which Jeanna and I sipped while sampling some of the best culinary delights in Seattle. I think every single restaurant I have always wanted to dine in but could never afford was represented. After stuffing ourselves silly with the rich goodies, we wandered through the silent auction and then into the wine and beer salon for some tasting.

The room was filled with people sampling dozens of different wines, and we definitely had our fill while socializing with some of my co-workers and a couple of Jeanna’s friends from college we managed to bump into. Then we headed into the theatre for some typical girlie gossip before heading downstairs for some beer to top off the night.

In the main ballroom we got to listen to musical performances by LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends, Dudley Manlove Quartet and Cheryl Serio. After the amount of liquor we had consumed, we had absolutely no problem shaking our groove thangs on the dance floor.

The best part of the evening was all the free goodies we got to take home. In addition to all the little branded trinkets we picked up from various tables, on our way out we were given a cloth bag boasting the South Lake Union development project. Inside we found a martini glass, coffee and chocolate among other various little surprises – all advertising something of course.

It really was a fantastic night, although I have to admit I wasn’t thrilled when my alarm went off this morning. Sometimes I can’t even get over how fabulous my life is! I am very lucky.

Sex & the City: The Movie!

In the words of the most fabulous girl I know, regarding the most fabulous television show ever to grace my living room: "God, this is the best news since Jiffy Pop created marshmallow popcorn."

Yes, the news appears to be true -- The last one of the fab four is finally on board with the rest of the quartet to produce a full length film of Sex & the City. The movie option has been on-again off-again since the series finale in 2004. But now, according to Life & Style, the movie might be an actually possibility because "Kim Cattrall has taken a genuine interest in the project!"

Thank God! I know I, along with every other self-respecting woman in America, have been going through major withdrawls since the series ended, and have been barely getting through it by re-watching over and over again seasons one through six, which I own on DVD. But now I have something much more exciting to look forward to... because let's face it, there's nothing better than living vicariously thorough a television show when you feel like you have no hope of falling in love during your own boring existance. Hopefully the release of this film will give me the energy to turn my fabulousness up a notch.

So finally, it seems our favorite fab four are back together for a much-anticipated reunion on the big screen, and it's pretty much the best thing since sliced bread, to be incredibly cliche. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on the release date, and when it finally arrives, you're welcome to join Jeanna and I at the theatre -- just bring a Cosmopolitan

Breathing Room

My job has turned into absolute insanity lately. Not only was I here late every night last week, but I also had to come in on both Saturday AND Sunday! Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? I received a substantial raise when I took this job and quit working for The Seattle Times. But now that I am being paid salary and working a significantly higher number of hours each week, I’m getting paid less than before! I’m pretty annoyed.

Not that I don’t consider myself a hard worker. I’m extremely excited about what I am doing with my career right now, and I am always more than happy to come in and help, if needed. However, there is someone at my work who is making my job just a little bit miserable, and substantially more difficult than it should be. I swear if I have to work with this woman for one more day I am going to have a stress-induced nervous breakdown.

I am working with the most incompetent bitch you could ever imagine. She treats me like a child and talks to me like I’m her dog. The condescending, nasty tone she uses to speak to me makes me want to spit in her face. The worst part is, this woman has absolutely no justification in treating me so horribly. I am generally a very cheerful person. I rarely have a bad attitude about anything. But when interacting with this woman, I automatically turn into a complete defensive bitch! I hear myself talk back to her and wonder “Who is this person I have become?”

This stupid See You Next Tuesday is a complete moron. She asks me to send her the same document at least five times a day. And when I point out that I have already sent it to her several times, she looks at me like I’m the idiot and asks if I am being snotty. Um, no. Sorry sweetie, I’m just trying to point out that I should not be punished for your incompetence. If you can’t find the freaking document in your computer, that’s not my problem. I shouldn’t have to send it to you over and over again.

The reason we have been so completely slammed lately is because of two big events my company hosted this week. I have been working like crazy for the past couple weeks trying to handle these projects on my own, because you-know-who hasn’t been able to get a single thing accomplished. And she is the project manager, not I. I should ask for a raise. Anyway, after busting my ass last week and this weekend, we were finally able to pull together what we needed to in order to host an event. No thanks to Miss Tuesday.

Thankfully, I had a very interesting conversation with two other co-workers on Friday. Come to find out, everyone feels the same way as me – that this particular person is completely useless and making things harder for everyone else. Ah… it was a compete sigh of relief to find that I have some camaraderie.

Well, after being entirely stressed out and getting minimal amounts of sleep for far too many days in a row, the events we have been frantically planning for have finally arrived. And since Miss Tuesday is technically the “project manager,” she is the person expected to attend these all-day events. Which leaves me blissfully alone in the office – finally! It’s been such a fantastic break to surf the net, catch up on emails and of course write blogs from my desk again, something I’ve really been missing. And as far as I can tell, things are really going to slow down at work until the new year, which will be a much-needed break from all this insanity. Unfortunately Miss Tuesday will be back in the office tomorrow.

I’m enjoying the blissful escape while I still can…

Badass Chick From Iowa

This morning I woke up to a most unexpected predicament when I went down to my garage – a flat tire! Now, anyone acquainted with me knows that I know absolutely nothing about cars. They happen to be my dad’s own personal hobby, so there has never been a need for me to wash or even vacuum out my car, let alone change a flat tire.

Kelly, Jeanna and I had gone down to the Pyramid Snowcap party on Saturday night. Apparently this particular kind of beer is fairly potent, because Jeanna and Kelly only had about four each and were completely hammered. I had decided not to drink and had graciously offered to drive the girls down to SoDo. Apparently all the construction and crappy roads down there were not the best thing for my car.

Too drunk to drive home, Kelly crashed on my couch. The next morning I offered to give her a ride down the hill. I stopped dead in my tracks as we approached my car. One of the rear tires was completely flat. My heart sank and I began to panic, because even though it was Sunday, I was due at work in less than 30 minutes. Great. I don’t even know how to check my freaking oil, how the hell was I going to deal with this?

Not to worry. Sometimes it just pays off to be friends with a badass chick from Iowa. Kelly is pretty much one of the more fabulous people I have ever met. She drinks Bud Light out of a wine glass while chain smoking Marlboro Lights. She has a trunk absolutely stuffed to the brim with fabulous camping gear, and can light a campfire in less than five minutes. A water bong takes her less than 10. She sings karaoke like a rock star and wears roller skates to parties. She loves hot pink anything. She curses like a sailor and thinks cheesy brats are one of the best foods ever invented. She’s broken a guy’s nose. And if you ever get a chance to meet her, she will tell you some of the most hysterical stories you have ever heard in your entire life. You’ll either cry or pee your pants, I promise.

Anyway, moral of the story is before I could even get upset about my flat tire, Kelly already had the trunk open, the spare tire out and was banging around in an attempt to find the jack. Yes. This was way better than having a boyfriend. She jacked the car up in no time flat and proceeded to change the tire, with only a minor setback when we weren’t quite strong enough to get the lug nuts off. That took some effort and quick thinking. Turns out I picked up a nail, and now have to drive around with the stupid doughnut tire on my car until I can take it in and get it repaired. It doesn’t really surprise me that this happened, considering how much construction is perpetually happening on the streets of Seattle.

But thank God my friend Kelly happened to be with me this morning, because otherwise I probably would have just stood there and cried. Yep, sometimes it just pays off to befriend a badass chick from Iowa.

Landmark Birthday

Every time my mom visits me in Seattle, I hear the same sob story… “I can’t believe I have lived my whole life without having gone up the Space Needle even one time!” OK, OK Mom, we get it. So this year I planned a fantastic birthday party for Mommy at the historic Seattle Center landmark – Sky City.

First, my dad, mom, brother and I spend the afternoon at another city hotspot: the Pacific Science Center. I know this sounds nerdy, but we had a really great time! First, we journeyed back through time to the Mesozoic Era dinosaur exhibit, which boasts seven moving, roaring, robotic dinosaurs in a lifelike environment. We also visited the Insect Village, with interactive exhibits and live animal displays – being careful to help Mom avoid the spider cages. Next, we visited the Tropical Butterfly House, which is my favorite part of the Science Center. We saw hundreds of beautiful, free-flying butterflies fly, sun themselves, and feed among tropical flowers.

Even though we are adults, my brother and I had a great time in Kids Works, and my mom even got to see herself on TV as the Guest Meteorologist in the K5 First Alert Weather Center. The animal exhibits were also fun, and we played games in the Body Works exhibit that tested reaction time, energy production and nutrition. I sort of felt like I was on a school field trip, but seeing as my mom is a teacher it was kind of fitting. We spent some time at the Science Playground and the Technology Exhibits before heading back outside into the pouring rain.

A short trek led us over to the Space Needle’s base, where we met up with my sister and climbed into the elevator for our trip to Sky City. The anticipation began immediately: within 10 seconds we could see the sparkling waters of Puget Sound… 20 seconds and we could see Mount Rainier… 30 seconds and skyscrapers began to appear like giant legos… 41 seconds and we were at the top of the world, 520 feet above the metropolis.

The menu was full of award-winning exclusive and signature dishes. We started with some birthday martinis and bread before moving onto the main course, which was completely scrumptious. I had roasted garlic chicken stuffed with roasted garlic. It was served with pan jus, garlic mashed potatoes, red chard and wild boar bacon – yum! After dinner we climbed up to the observation deck. The cold gusty wind and rain made the experience on the outside deck less than ideal, but my brother, mom and I still managed to walk around the entire Needle. Now she can stop complaining!

Overall I think my mom had a fantastic birthday, I’m really glad I took the time to plan something. The Science Center provided for a fun-filled afternoon (I still want to go back there to see the Dead Sea Scrolls sometime soon) and the Space Needle was a fabulous place for dinner. Although price-wise, I would really recommend the lunch menu.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Underdogs

The Lucky Strikes really rocked it this week! Bowling is my new all time favorite activity. At least for Wednesday nights, that is.

With RT and David replacing two of our male players from last season, this league has turned out to be pretty fantastic! I’ve actually gotten pretty good, and last night I bowled a 135, which I think is my top score ever! The guys are all really good bowlers as well, and our games last night actually managed to bump us up in the ranking, and we are tied for second place in the league – this means next week = Bowling Finals!

I can’t really explain to you why I find bowling so entertaining. Perhaps it’s the fact that we can place Dance, Dance Revolution every night while waiting for league play to begin. And the cheap, warm beers. And the awesome t-shirts Jeanna designed. And the non-strenuous athletic activity. And of course gossiping with Je and Vanessa. All while cheering on our teammates in unnecessarily loud screaming voices.

Since our bowling league starts so late this season (9 p.m.) I often get home from work, eat dinner and am almost asleep on the couch before I drag myself up and out the door to Ballard. I’ve been tempted to bail out a number of times, but have never done it. And good thing, too, because I always manage to have an absolutely great time at Sunset Bowl every Wednesday. I never end up pouring myself into bed until at least 1:30, but it’s all worth it.

Go Lucky Strikes!

11/9/06 Update: The finals didn't go as well as we'd hoped, but we still did ok. Second place, which in reality is first loser, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. Jeanna was out due to a spastic back problem, so Vaness and I had to carry the girls side of the team on our own. The first game went really well, which bumped us from the semi-finals into the finals. But as the last game began and we tried to compete for the win, we knew it was pretty much over from the start. I don't know if it was the pressure of the competition or what, but every single person on our team played his or her worst game ever! It was completely ironic, and we all finished up a little frustrated and annoyed. Overall though, it was a great season, and we collectively agreed that the Lucky Strikes will join the winter league when it starts. And this time, we're going to win!

McScary

I really need to get over my McDonalds addiction. It’s bad enough when I go into the restaurant in lower Queen Anne and am surrounded by juvenile thugs and obese tourists from the Midwest. But I’ve found that the downtown McDonald on Third and Pine is a freak show of it’s own.

Desperate for a few minutes out of the office, I went down to street level today looking for something to eat. The golden arches beckoned. Ignoring vulgar comments tossed in my general direction as I walked in the door by couple of jerks, I joined the line behind the register, trying not to make eye contact with a homeless man who leaned against the wall waiting for his order. Someone must have given him enough change for a cheeseburger.

McDonalds customers never cease to amaze me, and as I waited I began my typical people watching. In front of me I noticed an extremely short (I’m talking under 5 feet tall here) guy in his early 20s. I don’t know why I took notice of him… perhaps because he was so short and wearing pretty much the baggiest clothing I have seen in a long time. He moved up in line and reached in his back pocket for his wallet. Unfortunately, this caused his shirt to become hiked up and lodged on his belt.

I could not believe my eyes. I looked again to make sure. No! The guy was wearing a diaper. That’s right, an adult diaper! I didn’t mean to stare, but as he paid for his double quarter pounder with cheese meal it was all I could concentrate on. Tell me this isn’t bizarre and random.

I finally got my food and picked a corner table to sit down and digest. Unfortunately, two large women with two small children chose to sit right next to me. So much for my nice quiet break from work. Fortunately, the children – a boy of about 2 and a girl probably around 3 – were very well behaved. Which is why I cringe when re-telling this experience.

I have never seen children treated so horribly before. As they ate their chicken nuggets and fries, the children chattered and sipped juice boxes. Apparently, this behavior was unacceptable.
“Shut the fuck up before I smack your face off!” One of the women shouted at the little girl. “Drink your juice box right!” she snapped at the boy.

A few moments later, the little girl whined and extended her hands from her high chair toward the table, reaching for more fries. “Stop it!” the woman hissed, and smacked the girl in the face. She cringed but did not cry. Then the woman noticed the little boy, who was sucking on his crumpled juice box. “I told you to drink that right!” she snapped at him, and yanked the juice box from his hands, tossing it on the table. The adorable little boy’s face fell, and his eyes welled up with tears. He reached in vain toward the table. “Oh, now you want it? Stop fucking crying,” the evil woman laughed. And in one swoop she reached out and shoved the high chair backward. It flew across the room and I tensed, ready to jump up should it topple over backward. The two women cackled at the child’s misfortune.

I felt like I was going to vomit. If I was another person, I would have said something. But under the circumstances, I was pretty sure that these two evil bitches would have “smacked my fucking face off” had I confronted them about their child-raising skills, so for my own safety I kept silent.

I tried to avert my eyes and concentrate on my lunch, but the scene was like a train wreck… I didn’t want to see what would happen next, but I couldn’t look away. The little girl dropped her stuffed toy. Strapped into her chair, she could not reach it and gestured for help. One of the women snorted, and then kicked the toy under the table. Both children wiggled and whined, trying to escape their confinements. The women talked, laughed and cursed loudly for a few minutes, then got ready to leave. This basically consisted of yanking the children by one arm out of the chair and tossing them onto the floor before stalking toward the door. “Hurry the fuck up!” they screamed.

What exactly did these children do that was horrible enough to deserve such treatment? These adorable little angels were perfect examples of 3-year-old behavior… they were polite and well mannered in public, but the mere fact that they were there and breathing seemed cause for punishment.

I’ve seen some freak shows at McDonalds before, but today by far takes the grand prize. And not in a good way. Today’s lunch experience will haunt me for a long time. As will those two poor, angelic little faces.

And that diaper.