December 1999

December 3, 1999 - Very Early Friday Morning

            I can't sleep.  It's 5:32 am.  So I decided to get up and write.  I haven't
            written in a while and I hate going through these periods of time when I just
            don't feel like going online to do anything.  Actually it's nice in a way not to
            feel that pull I used to feel.  I could barely even sit through a movie with
            Dwayne because I couldn't stay off the computer that long.  I never want to be
            like that again, but I do want to at least have the desire to come online to
            write.

            I tried to make the seams on this background match but it didn't work out so
            well.  But I still think it's a cool, Christmas like background.

            The other night, Wednesday, I went over Tim and Shari's.  We had a nice visit.
            It's funny how much I enjoy just sitting and talking with them.  Some people
            can't handle that kind of visiting.  They need to actively be doing something
            else to distract them during the visit because they either run out of things to
            say or feel uncomfortable when there's a pause in the conversation.  It's not
            like that with them ever.

            Driving on my way home I began thinking about my best friend history.  I've
            always had a best friend since 7th grade.  In school I always got along with
            most people and had a good amount of friends.  I was the person alot of the
            other girls told their secrets to and asked advice from.  I think because I've
            always been really good at confidentiality.  Here is my best friend time line:

            13 to 16  best friend's name was Kim
            16 to 19  best friend's name was Michele
            19 to 24  best friend's name was Melissa
            24 to present... Shari!

            There were other friends here and there that I was very close to but there was
            always that one friend who was constant.  Friends are cool.

            The other day while I was at work Dwayne was doing some Christmas shopping
            in town.  He'd go somewhere, buy a gift, and then come to my work to show me
            what he had bought.  It was so cute.  He came back about 3 times and each time
            was excited at finding the "right" gift for that particular person.  That's one
            thing I love about him, he gets involved in family gift buying.  I think a woman
            is lucky when her husband gets involved like that because alot of men are
            content to stay home and watch sports or something equally lame, and let the
            women do all the shopping.  Because after all, in this society shopping is
            "womens" work.  Well, I hate to burst your bubble, whoever believes that.  In
           this society women have to go out and work 40 hours per week just like men.
            We shouldn't have to do all the shopping on our own.  And not all women like to
            shop either so don't use that as an excuse.  Okay sorry, a little preaching there
            for a minute!

            The other night I woke up really suddenly and my heart was pounding.  I
            literally thought that had I been able to look down at my chest I'd see the
            thumping of my heart right at that moment.   I looked over at the clock and it
            said 4:00am and I was trying to figure out or remember what woke me up.  And
            then I realized that it sounded like someone had walked across my bedroom
            floor at the foot of my bed.  The floor boards creak there and they creak alot
            more if a person walks across the room as opposed to Keisha walking across the
            room.  It must have been Keisha but in my sleep it sounded alot louder than if I
            had been awake.  But things like that freak me out.  I don't know what it is
            lately but I don't like being in my room alone at night, even if Amanda is still
            awake and out here in the living room (because alot of times I go to bed and she
            stays up on the computer or watching tv).  I've never felt that way before and
            I started to think it was because of a book I started reading.  "The Oath" by
            Frank Paretti.  He is a christian author but writes fictional stories kind of like
            Stephen King, only his stories have God in them.  But I don't like reading about
            demons and things like that, even though I know that God wins at the end, it still
            scares me.

            I'm very sensitive to things like that.  Which is the reason why Dwayne and I
            don't want to see "Blair Witch" and don't even want it viewed in our home when
            we aren't here.  Amanda keeps wanting to see it and says that if we don't want
            to watch it she can just rent it and watch it sometime when we aren't home.  We
            won't even go for that.  She has whole cd's she isn't allowed to listen to and
            can't even listen to them  when we're not here.  Some people would probably
            think that is a bit extreme that we won't even allow it played in our home, but
            that is how we feel.  A person who isn't aware of spiritual things wouldn't
            understand any of that.  Amanda understands where we are coming from and
            abides by the rules of our home but she doesn't feel that there is anything
            wrong with those things, her cd's and scary movies.

            When I was her age I used to rent scary movies all the time.  Rhonda and I
            would try and find the scariest movies to rent.  But after a certain age, or
            maybe it wasn't physical age but maybe spiritual maturity, I could no longer
            handle those kinds of things.  I think it's because that stuff is too real to me
            now that I am a more mature christian.

            Eww, I just remembered I have to do laundry today before I go to work.  It's
            a good thing I don't have to go in until noon.

            Fun, fun, fun...

            Have a great day everyone!!!
 

December 3, 1999 - Friday Evening

Isn't my snowman just absolutely precious?  I like him alot.

Right now Amanda and her friend, Amber, are here torturing Keisha.  They are playing keep away with
Keisha's squeaky ball.  It's mean because that is Keisha's favorite toy of all.  I swear this dog plays like
a puppy but she's about 8 years old.  She loves to play.  She likes to lick too.  It's actually quite
annoying.  She has some really annoying habits for a dog but I love her alot anyways.

The good thing about being a man is that they can pee in cups easier than women can at the doctors.
That's what I was discussing tonight with Jeffrey, Christopher, and Ben.  I hate doing that.  I miss the
cup or I completely drop the cup and then have to fish it out of the toilet.  It's disgusting.  But I'd still
rather be a woman.  Not that I have had to do that lately but I was reading this other journal and she
was talking about peeing in a cup.

My jaw has been killing me.  I shouldn't eat bagels.  That annoys it.  But I like bagels.  They're yummy.

Tim and Shari think that because they have a kid I am justified in going with them tomorrow to see "Toy
Story II".  Way cool.  I can't wait to see it!!!

My tonsils hurt.

I'm still going to the movies tomorrow.

I've been desperately trying to think of a domain name for my website.  I know I probably don't NEED
a domain name, but I WANT one.  I think it would be cool.  I just can't think of a name.  I can but all
the good ones are taken.  I want something that expresses who I am.  Or at least relates to me.  But it's
hard to think of one.  Any suggestions??

Okay, I don't have much to say.  Night!

December 4, 1999 - Saturday Night

            I feel like I got alot accomplished today.  Which is awesome because lately I
            have been procrastinating way too much.  There was still a whole lot more I
            could have done today during the time I took my nap this afternoon but I just
            didn't feel like it.

            I got up this morning, took Manda to work, gassed up my car, went to the bank
            twice (because the first time I only cashed my check and forgot to deposit
            some of it), came home and straightened my checkbook and bills out, went to the
            movies with Tim, Shari, and Krystle, came home and ate a bagel with my little
            hunny bunny (mush mush mush), took a nap after he left for work, woke up,
            made out a grocery list, played on the internet for a bit, went grocery
            shopping, got Dwayne another Christmas gift, came home, put the groceries
            away, and now I am doing laundry while I write.  =o)  Oh, I forgot, I also called
            my mom.  Throw in a few trips to the potty too throughout the day.  I know you
            didn't need to know that but I decided to share it anyways because that's just
            the kind of generous girl I am!

            I love Christmas cookies that have flour on the bottom of them.  You know the
            really good Christmas cookies with the frosting on top?!  They're only good if
            they have some left over flour on the bottom.  I don't know why I like them
            that way so much but I do.  Every time I bake them I always try to roll them
            out in lots of flour so they'll have flour stuck to the bottom.  Am I weird or
            what?

            Oops... gotta go put the clothes in the dryer.  BRB (that means be right back in
            chatting terminology!)

            Back!  Okay this bugs the crap out of me.  We have a laundry room for the
            whole farm.  There are about 9 or 10 apartments here.  There are two washers
            and two dryers in the laundry room and normally that's enough.  But there are
            certain people who will use the dryers and then leave their clothes in them all
            day long and so when someone else has to use them we end up having to take
            their clothes out so that we can put our clothes in.  This really annoys me.
            Can't people be responsible enough to pick up their clothes when they're
            done?!  And who would want to leave their underwear in the dryer for someone
            else to come in and remove them.  I've always been nice about it and when I
            have taken peoples clothes out I will make sure the underwear are on the
            bottom of the pile so that everyone coming in and out won't see them.  But no
            more Mrs. Nice Guy.  Or Mrs. Nice Girl.  From now on, in protest, I'm going to
            leave the stupid underwear right on top where everyone can walk by and see
            them!  People... don't mess with me when it comes to laundry.  Things can get
            down right ugly!!!

            So we saw "Toy Story II".  That was really good.  I think the first one was
            better only because you didn't know what to expect and the whole concept was
            new.  Like when Mr. Potato Head took his lips off and kissed his butt.  That was
            funny.  He's pretty funny in this one too.  I do love those movies.  I should buy
            them both.  Another one I want to buy is "Prince of Egypt".  Gosh, I loved that
            movie!

            Today I had the urge to pick that scary book back up to read it some more,
            knowing full well that if I read it I would freak myself out and be scared at
            night.  But during the day things aren't so scary.  Hmmm... don't know what I'll
            end up doing.  It is a really good book.  Oh well!
 

December 5, 1999 - Sunday Evening

                 Gobble, gobble, gobble - all for you!!!

                 Sorry, I was singing.  See, Dwayne is writing a song for his niece and
                 nephews to record on the tape we're giving them for Christmas.  It's
                 a song about eating pizza.  How many grown men do you know write a
                 song about pizza for children that include the words gobble gobble
                 gobble?  He's so cute.  He already recorded himself reading two
                 books that we bought for them.  With our keyboard he put in
                 background music and all kinds of special effects in all the right
                 places during the story.  It's very funny.  I have to laugh at his
                 geekiness.  I also have to love him for it.

                 I know, I know... too much mush.  But this is what I prayed for, to
                 fall in love with him again.  And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it
                 while it lasts.  God does answer prayers.  Not always in our time and
                 not always the way we want Him to.  But this time what I wanted was
                 within His will, of course since He wants all marriages to succeed.
                 I'm realizing though that it probably would have in fact happened
                 sooner had I been able to concentrate more on Dwayne and less on
                 other distractions.  Circumstances were distracting me, and to be
                 completely honest, people were distracting me.  Things were coming
                 between us and we were becoming cold and detached from one
                 another.  But I am more certain now than ever that God created us
                 and saved us for eachother and nothing will ever break our bond.
                 There is no other man on the face of this earth more perfect for me
                 than Dwayne.

                 And tomorrow he'll probably annoy the crap out of me by not doing
                 the laundry like I asked.  But that's okay.  Because tomorrow I'll
                 remember how I felt today, and I'll know those feelings will come
                 back if I'm patient.

                 This is one of the biggest reasons why marriages don't last.  Because
                 when the newness wears off and the butterflies go away, people
                 think, "Well, that's it.  We're not in love anymore.  I don't love you.
                 I want a divorce."  But if they'd be patient the feelings would come
                 back again.  Maybe with some work, yes, but they would come back.
                 There has to be more than love to keep a marriage together.

                 And that is my sermon for today!  Amen!  =oÞ

                 But you are not dismissed yet.  I have more to say.

                 We saw the movie "End of Days" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
                 Okay, I loved the movie although it was Biblically incorrect.  But at
                 the end of the movie it makes you want to go out and fight all the evil
                 in the world and say "So take THAT Satan!!!"  Well, that's how I
                 felt anyways.

                 God is cool.
 

December 6, 1999 - Monday Evening

            This foreign guy came in to the office today.  He was delivering lunch for
            someone in one of the upstairs offices.  He asked us how to get to the second
            floor.  Hmmm... in this country we take the stairs, but only when Scotty isn't
            around to beam us up.  =oÞ  I know, that's mean.  I'm just kidding.  It was funny
            though.

            Jennifer decided that I don't write about Jeff picking on me enough.  All I
            write are the times when she picks on me and she feels I need to give Jeff his
            equal time.  And I suppose Jeff felt I needed my equal time of being picked
            on.  He flicked my arm in the same spot several times.  It hurt.  No one believes
            me that my flesh is sensitive.  They say I'm a sissy.  I like being a sissy though.
            It's fun.

            So the flicking reminded me of the part in my favorite movie, "Rainman" when
            Charlie loses his temper with Raymond and grabs him around the neck.  Raymond
            takes out his notebook and starts writing feverishly and Charlie reads what he
            wrote... "squeezed and pulled and pinched my neck".  Hehehehehe oh man, I
            absolutely love that movie.  That's another movie I should buy because that is
            my all time favorite.

            Jennifer brought in a fake tree from home, decorated it, and put it out in the
            foyer of our building.  The girls from the next office started snickering as
            they walked passed it on the way to smoke a cancer stick.  Girls like this give
            women a bad name.  I hate that kind of pettiness.  Have people forgotten how
            to be kind?

            I'm in love with Christmas this year.

            Have you ever noticed that on "Loveline" every problem that every person has
            on there is caused by being abused when they were a child?  At least according
            to Dr. Drew, who by the way, although I disagree with, I have a crush on.  He's
            quite a little cutie pie.  But what kind of counselor diagnoses every single
            problem  with the same thing.  It's just not right I tell you!

            Eww, I just remembered... I have a dentist appointment on the 21st.  So?  Well,
            that's the day of our office Christmas party.  Oh well, at least I'll have
            something to look forward to as I'm being tortured in the dentist chair.  Just
            kidding.  I love my dentist.  She is the very best and never hurts me.  You gotta
            love a dentist that doesn't hurt.  Although all she's ever done so far is clean my
            teeth, and I know I'm due for a filling or two.  But I still trust her to not hurt
            me.  She's that cool.

            My little angel of a husband cooked dinner again tonight for us.  He's so good
            sometimes.  He cooked steak and rice, served me while I sat on the couch
            watching tv, and cleaned up after I was finished.  I never had to lift a finger
            and he did all the dishes as he went along.  How completely awesome is that?

            He didn't do the laundry but I forgave him even before I knew he wasn't going
            to do it.  =o)
 

December 7, 1999 - Tuesday Afternoon

            So I'm completely bored here at work.  There is nothing going on, the phones
            are dead, and my jaw hurts.  The sky is gray, it's hot and stuffy, I turn on my
            fan and then get cold.  I'm really irritated today for no particular reason at
            all, and they played that stupid "Santa Baby" song.  I hate that song.  Dare I
            suggest that I am in a "hate it mood" today?  I'm probably right.  I normally
            am.  =oÞ

            Tonight I'm going to the Ladies Christmas Tea at my church.  This is my very
            favoritest thing of Christmas.  The church is all decorated and we all sit at
            pretty tables and listen to this woman tell stories.  She's a fantastic story
            teller and I always get goose bumps listening to her.  She comes every year to
            our church for this event.  At my table?  Me, Amanda, Shari, Krystle, Mom,
            Mom2 (Dwayne's mom), Sarah & Emily (Dwayne's twin sisters).  Maybe that
            will get me out of my "hate it mood".  Amanda is home making brownies for
            tonight.  She said she accidentally took a bite of the batter.  Yeah right.
            Accidentally my foot.  It just happened to jump out of the bowl and into her
            mouth huh?

            Okay, now I have a bunch of stuff to do so I'll leave and write more later!
 
 

            December 8, 1999 - Wednesday Morning

            Eww.  I'm not feeling well.  I started feeling yucky last night right before the
            Ladies Christmas Tea.  I think I had a fever because I felt so hot but at the
            same time I had the chills.

            When I got home Amanda was still working on brownies.  Uncle Dwayne's
            instructions were that the first batch was his and the second was for the Ladies
            Tea.  Well, the first batch was fine.  She just so happened to be talking to JB
            (her boy friend) on the phone while she was making them and I told her not to
            be distracted because we needed the brownies to come out good.  She sets the
            timer and starts to clean up a bit.  I notice the pan of brownie batter on the
            counter.  I'm fairly sure it won't get done by sitting on the counter so I
            mention it to her.  She giggles, and then puts them in the oven.  25 minutes later
            the timer goes off and she checks the brownies.  Only the very top layer is
            done as she has forgotten to turn the oven back on.  But they actually came out
            very good when they were finally done.  =o)  Don't you love teenagers?

            I was a little disappointed at the Ladies Tea because the woman that has come
            every year for the past 10 or so years wasn't able to come last night.  The
            guest speaker they did have was very very good.  She sang beautifully a few
            songs in between speaking.  And her dress was sparkly and very pretty.  But I
            missed the woman that usually comes and so it just wasn't the same.  Terry (my
            sister) and Shannon (my niece) came as well and sat at our table.

            Boy I'm just not feeling well still.  My tummy is hungry but I can't eat
            anything.  I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.  I don't even
            think I've had anything to drink.  I better start guzzling down the water.  I
            did actually eat two berry flavored tums.  Those ones are so much better than
            the mint flavored ones.  Oh boy, I don't want to have the flu.  I can handle
            colds much better.  I hate throwing up.  Yuck.

            The Fed-Ex Guy came in yesterday!  Hooray!!!  He showed us a new "Fed-Ex
            Guy web site pick of the day"...

            http://www.ohmygoodness.com

            Go check it out!  I'm done with you!
 

December 10, 1999 - Friday Night

            Ahh, I feel so much better!  Wednesday I didn't go to work because I felt so
            yucky.  I either sat around watching tv, sat around reading journals on the
            computer, or I slept.  Don't you hate that cold sweating you do at night when
            you're sick?  And the room smelled sickly.  I don't like that.  But you know
            what was worse?  Dwayne was coming down with a cold.  He swears that if you
            eat a garlic clove, the cold will go away immediately.  So he not only ate one, he
            ate two.  And he STUNK.  I was so mad when he took the second one.  I
            literally couldn't go near him without gagging.  He better not eat anymore,
            otherwise he'll be sleeping alone.  I'm preparing right now for his return home
            from work.  I have two ocean breeze scented candles burning.  They smell
            really good, although they certainly don't smell like the ocean breezes in New
            England!  I love candles!

            Well, I have one present wrapped so far.  One down, 99 to go!  It's very hard
            to wrap in this house because we don't have a kitchen table.  We have to wrap
            on a tv tray.  It takes alot of skill and patience.  Two things I seriously lack.
            Amanda beats the pants off me when it comes to gift wrapping.  Her ribboning
            far exceeds mine.  She curls the ends of the ribbons and then shreds them.
            Whatever.  But yes, she's the ribbon shredder.  I'm the laminator.  There can
            be no openings in which to slip your finger during gift opening.  I laminate the
            entire gift.  One needs a swiss army knife when opening one of my gifts.
            Needless to say I go through about 10,866 rolls of scotch tape.

            Oh, listen to the swift thing I did.  I came home from shopping and thought
            there was change in my pocket because it was jingling.  However, it wasn't
            change, it was the bathroom key for the Ladies bathroom at work.  So Kathy,
            you'll have to use the mens room on Saturday!  Sorry!

            I have to go!  I'm tired and need some sleep.  Besides that I can't concentrate
            because Amanda and Dwayne are talking and completely distracting me.  I'm
            SO happy I get to sleep in tomorrow morning!  Good night!!!
 

December 11, 1999 - Saturday Evening

            Sometimes I feel like a complete failure.  Now before I go any further,
            because I know my family, I must say that I'm not on the verge of deep
            depression or anything like that.  Not even close.  I'm not even over emotional
            right now.  Just being honest and taking inventory of my faults.  So don't
            worry.  But I do feel like a failure sometimes.

            I'm not the wife I want to be, I'm not the homemaker I want to be, I'm not the
            Christian I want to be.  Lately I just don't feel like cooking, cleaning, shopping,
            any of that domestic stuff that I should be doing.  I don't view those tasks as
            menial or insignificant.  Liberated women around the world might cringe
            knowing how I feel.

            As a homemaker I want to do those tasks and do them well.  I want to have the
            type of home where you walk in and feel peace; where one can escape the
            pressures of the outside world.  A home where it is evident that God dwells
            there.  A home that is spotlessly clean, yet still lived in; one that is organized
            and dust free.  I want a kitchen table that is free of all clutter and is waiting
            anxiously to be covered with a home cooked meal, served on real dinnerware.  A
            table that is surrounded by family members who have shut off the tv, radio, and
            computer so they can lovingly communicate and laugh together.

            This is the woman I want to be:

            "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
            She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  She watches
            over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her
            children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her saying,
            'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all!'  Charm is deceptive,
            and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
                                       Proverbs 31: 25-30

            When I compare myself to this passage of scripture, I feel like a failure.  It's
            not that I completely fail all the time, it's that I fail more than I succeed.  I
            don't like that.  I certainly wouldn't call myself a perfectionist because I
            recognize that no one is perfect.  But there is a picture in my mind of how I
            want to be and I'm no where's near close.  I guess I'll have to just try harder.

            Which is why I got out my recipe folder.  Ooh yum there are all kinds of good
            ones in there.  I was just sharing some of them with Shari on ICQ when all of
            the sudden I got disconnected.  Now, it's really windy here and several towns
            have lost their electricity.  My electricity is on but it appears that my phone
            line isn't working.  Weird.  It's usually the other way around.

            Earlier this evening/late afternoon I was at the Christian Book Store picking
            up a couple of gifts.  When I came out I saw a car in the parking lot that had a
            child sleeping in it but it didn't appear as though anyone else was in the car.  Is
            that mother crazy?  I would never dream of leaving my child in the car sleeping
            while I went in a store even if I was only going to be a few minutes.  Because
            parked right next to that car was another car with a man sitting inside.  Now he
            was there even before I arrived so he was probably just waiting for his wife
            who was inside the store.  And I'm sure he was perfectly harmless but the
            mother who left her child in the car and went in the store must have noticed him
            sitting there.  I just can't imagine why any mother would do that.  I could be
            completely mistaken though.  It was dark outside so maybe there was another
            person in the car with the child but I didn't see anyone.  That's just too scary
            to think about.  Parents should be more careful!

            I'll probably be completely paranoid when/if I become a mother!  When I have
            Caitlin over I watch her like a hawk.  I get nervous when she eats.  I'm always
            afraid she's going to choke.  I hate that feeling.  My own kid will probably
            eating baby food until he/she is 5 years old!

            Eww, I'm trying to make a grocery list while I write.  It's no easy task you
            know!  I always buy the same foods over and over.  I want to be more creative
            with my meal planning.

            Ha!  Today Dwayne and I were on our way to the bank and the car in front of
            ours had a bumper sticker that read, "Minds are like parachutes... they only
            function when they're open" and then on the other side of the car they had a
            Darwin symbol.  Dwayne made the comment, and I completely agreed (although
            I didn't tell him that because we were in the middle of a minor argument) that
            evolutionists are just as closed minded as anyone else because they refuse to
            even entertain the possibility that Christians are right about God and creation.
            So who are they to brag about having an open mind?  And they call us
            hypocrites?!

            Boy that wind is strong!  I'm praying we don't lose our electricity.  I have a fit
            when that happens!  I need to hear the hum of the computer fan.

            I just realized that I now put my grocery list in order according to the isles at
            Wal-Mart.  I never thought I'd betray Shop-n-Save this way.  How cold and
            heartless am I?  But hey, Wal-Mart is way cheaper.  Granted they don't have
            as good of a selection as SNS but they are definitely cheaper.
                                        This week's menu:
                                        Rice w/ Hamburg
                                        Beans & Hot Dogs
                                            Chop Suey
                                      Tuna Noodle Casserole
                                          Spam Surprise

            Hehehehe, I think Spam has an unjust bad reputation.  I like baked Spam.  We
            used to eat it all the time growing up.  There were 7 kids.  It's not like we
            could afford boneless chicken and steak all the time.  I'm a very fussy eater.
            But I do like Spam.  Only if it's baked though.  And I CAN tell the difference
            between Spam brand and no name brand.  =oÞ

            Next week I might try and make Chicken Potato Pie and Cheesy Hash Brown &
            Pork Chop Casserole.  Don't those sound yummy?!  Oh I forgot I have to make
            something for the office party on the 21st.  What should I bring?  Hmmm, it
            should be something cold because I'll be at work all day.  Pasta salad?  I'm
            good at pasta salad!  I like to put salami in my pasta salad.  It's yummy that
            way.  Oh but I could also make Cheese Tortillini (I have no clue how to spell
            that.) & Chicken Pesto.  Hmmm... decisions decisions!

            I just found another dusty ladybug.  Weird huh?

            Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now.  I'm gonna go play my guitar and
            sing!
 

December 13, 1999 - Monday Evening

            We had a mad mad customer in the office today.  Mad as in angry, and mad as in
            psycho.  I didn't give them what they wanted so they were yelling and pointing
            their finger at me.  Hey, it's not my decision... I'm just doing my job.  Back
            off!  Hehehehe... It's not really funny.  Sometimes upset customers really can
            cause problems if they aren't quite stable.  Oh the joys of Customer Service!

            So then the Fed-Ex guy decided to honor us with his presence.  =o)  We love the
            Fed-Ex guy.  Have I mentioned that lately?

            Amanda has decided she doesn't want to grow up, and so she bought herself a
            Furby.  Now I know what everyone is thinking, at least everyone that was
            around when Kenny brought his Furby into the office.  Read about it here.  But
            that Furby was like ancient and it was time for it to go to Furby Heaven.  This
            one will be fine.  Besides, I don't think Amanda will make me baby-sit.  It's
            very cute.  It's a baby Furby.  Amanda thinks she finally figured out her
            name.  She thinks it's Ahmay.  Keisha really wants to play with her but earlier
            she was howling at her.  It was quite funny.

            I spent half of the weekend in church.  Well, it felt that way at least.  We
            went to church and then we went to a different church to watch Dwayne's
            mother and two brothers in a concert.  Then we went back to our church to
            watch Dwayne's sisters in a Christmas play.  I love watching children's
            Christmas plays.  Some of the kids were so funny.  We were not going to go at
            first but then the girls really wanted us to so we decided to go.

            We found out this weekend that Dwayne's younger brother, Philip, has enlisted
            in the Marines.  He is 17 and will be graduating this Spring and will leave for
            boot camp in June.  That was kind of shocking since we didn't even know he was
            considering it.  I think he can still change his mind because his parents haven't
            signed the papers yet.  There were waiting for a little bit to make sure that
            was what he wanted.  Philip is a very mature and responsible young man so I
            know that he has thought it through.  He'll succeed no matter what he chooses to
            do though because that's just the kind of person he is.

            Hmmm... what else is new?

            The Furby farts.  Just thought you'd like to know.  She says "excuse me"
            afterwards.  And surprisingly it doesn't smell.  Hahahahahaha... I crack myself
            up.  It's good that she got a farting Furby since Amanda is the Gas Queen.  =oÞ

            Oh well... I need to go make dinner now!  I'm making Ham and Scalloped
            Potatoes.  And it wasn't even on my menu for this week!  How spontaneous is
            that?!  I'm so proud!
 

December 15, 1999 - Wednesday Afternoon

            I have a cold.  I'm wheezing.  I hate that.  I had to stay home again today.  I
            can't be wheezing on the phone with customers.  I hate being sick.  My immune
            system stinks.  I don't normally get sick with other things.  Just cold type
            things.  I must be vulnerable to ear, nose, and throat problems.  But now I think
            back, I always have been.  Allergies, strep throat, ear infections... I've always
            had problems with that kind of stuff.  I'm exhausted and want to sleep but
            when I lay down I wheeze worse.

            So here I am, alone and sick.  The house is clean (thanks to my hubby) and I'm
            listening to Christmas music.  I'm fighting the urge to cry and feel sorry for
            myself.  I didn't want Dwayne to go to work.  There is something about his
            presence in this house that I feel I need, even if we aren't doing the same thing
            together.  Just as long as he's here because I hate it when he's gone.  He's too
            responsible to call in to stay home and be with me so until my brother-in-law
            gets here I'm alone and lonely.  (Amanda went out with Kara and AJ.)

            But at least I'm prepared.  I have the vaporizer running and I added some
            medicated inhalant to it.  That is helping my wheezing a little.  I am flooding my
            body with water and I have a huge box of Puffs Plus.  I hate being sick.  I
            could have the most innocent of illnesses but feel like I'm on my death bed.  I
            think I'm a hypochondriac because when I woke up this morning and I was
            wheezing I thought to myself, "that's it, I'm dying, my lungs are collapsing".  I
           have no clue why I feel like that.  Poor AJ has been sick for like 3 or 4 weeks
            and it doesn't stop him.  He goes to school, goes to work, and answers fire calls,
            and keeps up with Kara - which is a tough task in and of itself!  =oÞ  (Just
            kidding Kara!  Not!) hahahaha!

            Oh man, I have to pee again.  BRB...

            Kay, I'm back.

            I hate winter.  It was sleeting and raining this morning.  That is so gross.  I
            don't like that kind of stuff, nor do I like snow.  I loved snow when I was a
            kid.  I loved playing outside for hours sledding and building snow forts and
            tunnels, and then coming in and drinking hot chocolate.  The last time I tried to
            go sledding I flipped off the sled and rolled half way down the hill.  It was
            actually quite funny.  I landed face down with my face in the snow.  I was
            laughing so hard I couldn't stand up.  Everyone else was laughing too and they
            won't let me live that down.  They mention it every time snow and sledding
            comes up.  Whatever.  =oÞ

            Well, I'm going to go for now.  Maybe I'll write more later.
 

December 17, 1999 - Friday Night

                 The Fed-Ex Guy has betrayed us.  Jennifer told me that she caught
                 him talking to the Christmas tree snickerers the other day.  The
                 Christmas tree snickerers are the girls from the other office that
                 every time they walk past the tree Jennifer brought in and
                 decorated, they snicker.  They are not nice girls and he has betrayed
                 us by conversing with them.  He's naughty.  And when Jennifer
                 confronted him about the said betrayal he made up some lame excuse
                 about having to be polite and say hello to them on his way in.  Let's
                 all say in unison... whatever.

                 But we forgive him.  He didn't know.

                 I went over Shari's last night so we could exchange our gifts.  They
                 got me this cool sand art thing only it's not sand art, it's ingredients
                 for a certain kind of brownie that's all layered to look like sand
                 art.  It's way cool!  And then also they bought me the movie "Prince
                 of Egypt" which is WAY cool!!!  AND also a cool lady bug watch
                 thing that you attach to something.  It's kind of like a key chain and
                 when you push the two antennas together the wings separate and
                 reveal the clock face underneath.  It's really pretty.  Tim wasn't
                 able to be there because he was on a short business trip for work,
                 and Krystle was there only part of the time, but we had a really nice
                 visit just the two of us!

                 Boy I was in a happy mood all day today.  =o)

                 Shari was making fun of me all day yesterday because of my cold.
                 Okay so I sound a little stuffed up still.  So much so that a customer
                 kept asking me to repeat myself and said that he couldn't understand
                 me.  Which is totally ridiculous because I talk very clearly.  But
                 because my nose was stuffed up I guess he had a hard time
                 understanding some of the words I was saying.  I think he was just
                 hard of hearing because a little while later another guy calls up and
                 says he's going to just keep calling all night to talk to me because I
                 have a pretty voice.  hahahahaha!

                 My sister Rhonda is staying over this weekend.  She arrived tonight
                 with the babies!  I can't believe how much Caitlin is saying now and
                 how smart she is.  They are both getting so big.  And Emely is so
                 sweet and is slowing getting used to me.  But tonight she was fussy
                 when it was bed time so to give Rhonda a break I took her in my
                 room and shut off the light and stood in the dark rocking her in my
                 arms and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" over and over again.
                 She was crying alot at times and didn't want to go to sleep but
                 eventually she finally fell asleep so I held her after that for a long
                 time because the only time I can hold her that long is when she's
                 sleeping.  She's so precious!!

                 Okay, I need to sleep now!  Nite nite!
 

December 20, 1999 - Monday Morning

Okay, I need to discuss several things.  First I'd like to start with whoever called my house at 7:30 this
morning ... I was peeing.  If you had left a message I could have called you right back.  But I didn't know
who you were.  =o(

Secondly, every time I cough this darn frog fountain goes off and it's annoying the crap right out of me.
See, Amanda bought this ceramic fountain thing.  It's a bunch of frogs on lilly pads and placed in such a
way that water comes spilling out of the top frog and it spills down into two other levels of lilly pads and
then goes back up through.  It's motion and sound activated so every time I cough the top frog starts
spouting water out of his mouth.  In other words, I make him puke.  That's a nice thought huh?

Thirdly, I was quite the photographer this weekend.  (See evidence above.)  I took five rolls of film just
of Caitlin and Emely.  Three were colored film and two were black and white film that I had to send
away for development.  I can't wait to see how they came out!  Anyways, I didn't just take normal
pictures either.  I had to drag out one of our pretty comforters, thumb tack it to wall, and place two
spotlights, one on either side, to shine down on my photographic victims.  I call them victims because for
the next 3 hours we arranged them and rearranged them and nagged them to smile, and dragged out
millions of props to surround them with.  It was a madhouse and completely disheaveled but I got some
totally awesome pictures.  (Caitlin learned some new words this weekend:  awesome and dude.  Plus she
entertained us with words she has already learned:  please, kay, yeah, silly willy, and my favorite, kaka.)

Okay, that's all for now.  I have to go to work.  I'll write more tonight... Have a great day!!!
 
 

I'm back and still coughing up my lungs.  Having a cold is such a wonderful experience isn't it?  =o)

Today Kathy asked me who I was going to vote for.  I'm pretty sure I know but I have no intelligent
reason why I am choosing the one I am, because I am clueless when it comes to who stands for what.  I
don't have any idea.  I don't watch the news, I don't listen to the news, I don't read the news.  I'm going
purely by gut instinct; there is just something about him that I really like.  But that's even if I motivate
my butt down to the town hall to register myself.  I'm such a bad American.  I really do care but I guess
I'm one of those people that feel like my vote won't make a difference so why bother.  I'm going to
really try to overcome that LAME excuse and vote this time.  Then I'll have a right to have an opinion
about the state of affairs of our country.

So by the way... I have never voted.  Once President Clinton became president, although I disagreed with
alot of things I still was hoping and praying that he'd do a good job.  I certainly don't dislike him but if
I had voted, it wouldn't have been for him.  The first time it would have been for George Bush because I
loved him.  The second time I wasn't paying close enough attention.  I find it odd that people get so
touchy and don't want to talk about who they vote for and who they like.  Most people act like it's very
private.  Pretty much everything about me is an open book so it doesn't really matter who knows my
political preferences.  I wish I was more intelligent when it came to politics but that would involve
paying attention to the news and stuff like that and I just can't motivate myself to do that.  It's bad
enough motivating myself to do the groceries, laundry, or cooking.

I know that sounds really old fashioned and domestic.  It's not that I don't think women should pay
attention and get involved with stuff like that.  By all means, if you have the energy and the time, go for
it sista!!!  I just don't.  And it's not so much the politics that I'm interested in as much as the moral
character of the politicians.  I don't know, there are alot of things I wish I knew about and could get
involved in.  I just don't think I have what it takes to be that way.  I know my limitations so I stick with
what I know and am happy doing.  If it makes me a simple person, so be it.  I'm at peace with who I am
for the most part.

Anyways...

I had to cancel my dentist appointment for tomorrow morning.  I am coughing up my lungs and I don't
want anyone in my mouth while I'm hacking away.  I can't breathe very well out of my nose so I wouldn't
be able to breathe and I just feel yucky.  As I was on the phone rescheduling my appointment (for
January 20th) all of the sudden I hear the girls behind me making chicken noises "bawk bawk-bawk
bawk bawk".  Bunch of brats!  It's not that I'm afraid.  Actually I really wanted to go get it out of the
way.  But oh well.

Yay!  Dwayne is making supper tonight!  What a good boy!  Guess what I'm doing?  Wrapping presents.
Then I'll do a little wrapping, and then finish the evening off with a little wrapping.  Oh, and I might
wrap a few presents if I have time.  =oÞ

Aren't I queer?
 

December 22, 1999 - Wednesday Night

            This child is wearing me out!  I have my niece, Caitlin, for 4 days.  My poor
            sister fell down on ice and broke her ankle.  Broke it as in completely broken.
            Eww, I can't think about that or else I get sick to my tummy.  Yuck.  But
            anyways, her boyfriend's mom has Emely and I have Caitlin.  I am having so
            much fun with her.  She is beautiful and funny and so affectionate, but she's
            also alot of work!  Especially when you bring her to the office Christmas
            party!

            I have no clue how my sister is going to handle taking care of both babies.
            Yikes.

            But anyways, my life has been kind of crazy this week.  Getting ready for
            Christmas, taking care of the baby, doing all kinds of last minute stuff.  I'm so
            tired.  (yawn!)

            I have no idea why but if you ask Caitlin a question and the answer is "yes" she
            says, "sss sss".  She can't say yes.  Man, she is so precious!  It's amazing how
            much I love her.

            You know what?  I just can't write tonight.  I'm so tired.  I would imagine that
            I'll be "quiet" for a few more days until this whole Christmas thing is over.
            Night!
 

December 28, 1999 - Tuesday Morning

            It's over!  We survived another Christmas.  I was sitting here trying to think if
            I have even thought about God much during this Christmas season.  I haven't.
            But then I started to remember bits and pieces of times I had referred to Him
            quickly or said a silent prayer without even realizing I was praying.  I think
            that happens alot.  He is so much a part of my every day life that I don't even
            realize that I do think about Him but just don't remember.  Still, that's not
            enough.  I seriously need to make a better effort to work on my relationship
            with Him.

            There's alot I need to make a better effort on.  Everyone jokes about making
            and then quickly breaking New Year's resolutions.  For that reason I never
            even bothered.  And I don't want to bother this time either because I'd be
            setting myself up for failure.  I think people should make resolutions every
            day.  Every morning I should wake up and resolve to do the things I need to do.
            Except as Christians we look at that a little differently.  Every morning we
            should wake up and pray that God helps us to do the things we should do.

            Well, Dwayne and I had a nice weekend.  We went to his sister's (Renee) house,
            and visited with her and her husband, Jon, and their three children, Nicholas
            (4), Mackenzie (18 months), and Brenten (3 weeks).  We drove up on Christmas
            Eve day and came home yesterday.  It was such a nice break from our every
            day routine.  It was alot of fun to just relax all day and play with the kids and
            not have to worry about cooking or chores or errands.  I didn't even go out of
            the house for 3 days.  They have an awesome home and we stayed up into the
            wee hours of the morning playing this game called "Catch Phrase".  It was so
            much fun and we played over and over and over again and just laughed at
            eachother!

            Caitlin went back home before we went up to Jon and Renee's house.  I miss her
            so much.  I had alot of fun with her.  My sister is now having to take care of
            the babies and she still can't get around.  They can't put a cast on her foot
            until the swelling goes down so she still can't even put any weight on her foot.  I
            don't know how she is handling two babies like that.  I guess different people
            have been going over her house to help her during the day.  That's a good thing.
            I feel so bad and wish I could help her but she's so far away.  I can't just jump
            in the car and run over there.

            Amanda was such a good girl while we were gone!  She had the whole house to
            herself and behaved herself quite nicely.  It's funny because she's 17 and
            that's plenty old enough to start being alone at night but I hated being alone at
            that age.  Heck, I still hate being alone.  I think I've only spent 2 or 3 nights
            alone my whole entire life.  I'm such a baby!

            I have to go get ready for work... Bye!
 

December 31, 1999 - New Year's Eve
            Driving home from Maine this past weekend we were listening to a Christian
            radio station.  A pastor on there was telling a story about how he had asked one
            of the little boys in his church if he had gotten everything he wanted for
            Christmas.  The little boy replied, "No, but that's okay.  It wasn't m