Busy Busy Busy

That's to describe my life! I've been busy at working running around, getting pissed off, and then trying to resolve things that never should have needed to be resolved in the first place.
Then, this weekend is another busy one. Last night, Scott was introduced to some of my coworkers and I was able to meet some fiances, boyfriends that I have been extremely curious about. Scott had the same opinion as me which made me happy. Today, we're running around-first to a book sale in Manhattan, then to the Chili Pepper Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and then to a surprise party for my coworker. Tomorrow is football for me and a possible game for Scott in the evening.

This Week's Adopt a Pet

This is Jennifer and she's available through the ASPCA.
She is a Tabby - buff. Isn't she just beautiful?

Size: Medium
Age: Adult
Gender: Female
ID: A021858

Notes: Jennifer is a gorgeous two year old cat with an adorable pink nose. This little lady loves to play but is affectionate as well. Jennifer has tested positive for FIV, but is a poster child for how happy, healthy and energetic such a cat can be. Jennifer absolutely loves to play with toys, so let her out of her cage, toss her a cat toy and watch how much fun she will have! Jennifer also loves to have her silky orange fur stroked, and we think you will enjoy it as much as she does. This lovely girl really deserves a home and would love one where she has plenty of room to roam around and an owner who is willing to spend some time playing with her. Strategically placed cat toys throughout the house will also keep her entertained. NOTE: Since Jennifer has tested positive for FIV means that she must be the only cat in her house or share her space with other FIV cats. FIV can only be transmitted to other cats through fluid transmission and does not affect humans or other animals. Many cats with this condition live long and healthy lives – just see what a happy lady our Jennifer is. All she wants now is a home of her own.

Accomplished

I had an accomplishing day today. I managed to get some things organized at work-still a lot more to do but I'm definitely ahead of the game after what I was able to do today.
Scott's off at Matt's playing a game so I decided to take advantage and start working on one of his Christmas presents. I'm really happy with how it's turning out.
Now to get through the rest of House of Wax and wash the dishes and it will be off to bed.

T. O.

For the football fans out there-Terrell Owens, the wide receiver with the big mouth, on the Dallas Cowboys, allegedly attempted suicide via o'ding on pain killers. Now, as I'm not a T. O. fan, and as someone who has been there with depression and suicide, I can sympathize with T. O. It must be horrible knowing that so many in the football community (players, coaches, fans, analysts) can't stand you. I hope that if this was indeed a suicide attempt, that he gets the help that he needs and can actually use this experience as a learning one and not one where he's just trying to get everyone to feel sorry for him. Good luck T. O., either way.

Eh

I haven't really been wanting to post lately. Nothing wrong with life other than both Scott and I have been under the weather. I did beat Scott in our fantasy football match-up so I was happy about that this morning when I woke up.
Work is work. I think that some are realizing things that they weren't 100% aware of before. Which is fine.
Between Scott and I, we had tag team action with Zeit and Tiger to the vet.
My dad's retiring after 35 years at his job. So I'm kinda mixed with feelings. I'm happy for him but it feels strange to say that my 55 year old father is retiring. It's like when you leave home and you're faced with the concept of being an adult. Just another reminder that he's getting older which means I'm getting older.
Things with Scott continue to forge ahead as planned. He continues to be stressed out at work. I continue to be Little Suzy Homemaker or Dr. Martha Crocker as my coworker calls me.

Game time

Well, Scott and I just finished hosting boardgame time-we played Empires of the Ancient World. Now, tell me, how many people have ever heard of it? We played with some different people that we (Scott) don't play with on a normal basis. It was nice to play with some different guys. It was a fun board game even though I really did bad throughout most of it until the last round-but not enough to really catch up. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it or not but I enjoyed it. Not enough to really want to play anytime soon but enough to play it again sometime.
Now it's onto Lost: Season 2.

ILL

I read something this morning that has hurt me to the core. My stomach is in my throat. Makes me question things even more than ever before. On the positive side, I'm not crying about it like I normally would have. Guess I'm over that aspect. Now to let everything else go.

Adopt a Pet for the week

This is Artichoke and he's a collie mix. There are more pictures of him available through the ASPCA

Size: Medium
Age: Baby
Gender: Male
ID: A022254

Notes: Despite his deafness, Artichoke is an active young dog who doesn't let his challenges hold him back. He can be very mouthy when he is handled or when he is playing and he is looking for an adopter willing to train him to play with toys and not human hands. Artichoke treated the toddler doll like a toy and engaged in rough play with it. Because of his mouthiness and his high energy level, Artichoke belongs in a household with ages 10 and up. Artichoke was wary of the strange person and moved away with tail tucked, but approached and became friendly as soon as the large hat was laid on the ground. He was unfazed by the threatening people. He is playful with dogs but has a very rough and rude style of play that some dogs may not like. Medical Note: Artichoke appears deaf or severely hearing impaired. He is very friendly and is learning to respond to hand signals. Ages 10 and up

I'm confused

Can someone explain to me why someone who claims that they dislike me continually checks my blog? Mostly it's been on a daily or weekly basis but then today it was at least 2 times when she's at work. I just don't get it. She's supposedly happy being with my ex-husband. She's supposedly making plans on spending the rest of her life with him (good luck to the both of you...you're both going to need it). She tells me straight out that she dislikes me. But yet, and this is what really confuses me, she goes and reads my blog day after day. Again, I have to ask if it's because she needs to see what a happy person's life looks like. Now, I don't mean any harm (emotionaly or physical or what have you) to her or to Jeremy. I just don't understand why both of them-mostly her-continues to look at the past. I don't care about what she does. I just hope that she gets what she wants out of life (family, marriage, etc) without the expense of going through the type of hell that I've had to go through with Jeremy. As for Jeremy, yes I still care about him-he was a major part of my life-but I don't want him back in my life. Sure, if he called me, I probably would answer the phone like I did the last time he called. But I'm not going to go out of my way to call him and interfer with his life-he never would listen to me anyway about what was best for him. So please, go on with your life and stop looking back at the vicious circle/square that we had been in for the past 8 years.
And, if anyone has any insight of why this is happening, I would love to hear it.

Weight Watchers

I haven't spoken about my weight loss journey in a while. So far, I've lost 4.4 pounds and I'm happy about that. Just about 28 more to go to my goal weight and I feel confident that I can do it. I certainly feel like I have more support going about it this time around. Scott's encouraging me more. Denise has always been there...the crackhead that she is. People at work are conscientious about my trying and ask the supportive questions, along with providing healthy lunches for our lunch clubs. I've been making progress on working out more days than not. You can check out my movie blog to see what exercise dvds/tapes I've been doing if you're interested.
I've signed up for the monthly pass which includes using the e-tools on the website which includes going on the forum boards where I've finally found some support in a couple of threads. I've been journaling pretty much everyday and been relatively within my points limit.
So, overall, I've been keeping my goal of looking good for a certain occasion whenever it does happen and just being overall healthier for myself. Hopefully, this will extend to Scott as he isn't 100% satisfied with himself (even though he looks fine to me) and sometimes wants to do something about it.

Fantasy Football

A BADDDDDDD week for fantasy and Jen this past weekend. I'm in 3 leagues with Scott and I went 0-3-I was on the way of winning one of them until Jacksonville clobbered Pittsburgh last night-damn Jaguars! We won't even talk about the pick-em league.....just luckily for me, Scott set it up so we get to drop our lowest week. Unfortunately, I'm up against Scott in one of the leagues next weekend.

Much needed Me time

I had originally planned on helping Scott's friend, Morgan, out by playtesting some of his games today but I decided that it was more important for me to take some Jen time-something that I don't always do. So after getting groceries (almost everything on sale), I headed out to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for some R & R. I brought my book and sat down in a couple of different spots and read a few chapters. There were a lot of people in the Gardens and one lucky couple was married today and having their reception there. I picked up some plants to replace others that decided that living with Scott and I wasn't good enough for them. While walking around, I did some reflection of myself and in most areas, I'm satisfied or even dare to say happy about where I'm at.
So now, I'm with the royal family to further relax until Scott gets home from gaming.

Survivor

Thanks to Sue who reminded me that I wanted to post about Survivor.
So Survivor: Cook Islands, started last night and they decided to divide groups up by ethnicities. When I first heard about this, I was a little shocked but then I read an article in Entertainment Weekly which explained that they were trying to get more diverse people on the show. Good enough reason. Now after watching the first episode, I was glad that the stereotypes didn't really play a factor in the show. I won't provide any spoilers but I wasn't surprised with who got voted off.

Sports Car?

I'm a Ford Mustang!

You're an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

This Week's Adopt a Pet

This is Cleo and is available through the ASPCA in New York City.

She's a Domestic Short Hair - orange and white

Size: Medium
Age: Adult
Gender: Male
ID: A020444

Notes: Cleo is a wonderful nine year old cat. This long and lean beauty is quite the striking looking cat, but it’s her loving and affectionate personality that will really win you over. Cleo is just about the most loving and affectionate cat you could ever hope to meet. She absolutely lives for any attention she can get from people and thinks everybody she meets is the greatest ever. Cleo loves being pet and stroked and purrs loudly whenever her cage is opened. She offers lots of affectionate rubs to her admirers and never seems to get enough attention. She is still a bit nervous about being picked up and taken out of her cage, but she really does appreciate it when people come by to say hello. Cleo knows she is older than many of the other cats here at the shelter, but she also knows that there are many people who appreciate the qualities an older and very affectionate cat can bring into their home. She does ask that you come by soon and take her home though.


This pet is up to date with routine shots.
This pet has been altered.

Unmotivated

I don't know if it's the weather (rainy) or what but I woke up this morning completely unmotivated to workout or really watch what I'm eating. I am pushing myself to keep my menu today at a healthy level so I don't blow everything that I've been doing for the last few weeks. I think that I can do it-as long as I keep the reasons why I started up again on this weight loss journey in my mind.

Big Brother

27 minutes and the Big Brother finale begins. I've been enjoying watching the All-Stars and definitely have had my feelings about most of the people on the show. And yes, I did vote for some of them to come back into the house. So tonight it's either Mike or Erica. I'm thinking and hoping that Erica wins. I think that Mike Boogie floated on Will's coattails but did do some crucial things when he had to.
Even better, I've roped Scott into watching it also-just like Survivor which begins on Thursday.
Yes, I'm a reality fan and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Moods

For those of who who actually look at my sidebar, you'll see an accomplished face. I've been working on a needlepoint kit for my mother and I've been making some good headway on it. I could probably be finished with most of it by the weekend. Also, I've managed to get some lingering book reviews completed and sent in for MyShelf. I've also been keeping up with my 3 Barnes and Noble classes. I've been debating on making a blog for my writing. I'm hesitant as it really is putting my most personal feelings out there and there are certain people who continue to read my blog and I don't want them reading my feelings.

9/11

I think that about now was the time I was coming home 5 years ago after getting my 9:30am physical done for my employment. It's hard to believe that 9/11 happened 5 years ago. I still continue to think what ifs about that time. I was supposed to have originally gotten married to Sal on May 19, 2001. If I had, would I have left my job at the end of August? The job which was about 3 blocks away from the towers. I know that if I hadn't quit my job, I would have been there when the planes hit and would have been in the rubble, because I would have been in shock and wouldn't necessarily have moved out of the way of the towers when they collapsed. What if I didn't resign from my job at the end of August and waited until HR contacted me regarding my new position? Would I have been there that faithful morning or would I have been getting a physical done? Would I be alive or would I be among the remains because I was trying to help?
Even though I'm not a huge believer in God or whatever is looking over us, I do feel that something was looking over me when I put in my resignation and took me away from downtown.
Looking back at 9/11 and trying to escape Manhattan, I remember attempting to call my parents and once I did, all I told my mother was that I was fine and I would call her later. I attempted to call my roommate/boyfriend Shondu who worked near Union Square and saw it happen to let him know that I was on my way to him. His end of the conversation was, especially after walking about 30 blocks was for me to head home. I lived in the Bronx then. So back uptown it was-people walking in the streets, helping others, and no violence. I finally made it to the Metro-North, which happen to free under the circumstances, and made it to a stop near my house, then I took the bus. Once I got home, I was anxiously awaiting Shondu's return home as the subways were barely working. I watched the news and just remembered that when I was waiting for the doctor and heard about the first plane, I knew immediately that it was a terrorist act.
To all of the EMS, FDNY, NYPD and everyone else who gave their lives or their spare time on that day and following to help NYC rebuild, I thank you.

Questions

Run through my mind
Why this?
Why now?
Is this the real reason?
Thought it was over and done with?
Why is it a surprise?

Finally

A weekend at home. I've already done the grocery shopping and now plan on doing nothing by relaxing today and tomorrow-plus tomorrow's NFL time so that's what I'll be doing. Tomorrow afternoon there is a game/birthday party scheduled but I don't think that I'll be attending. Scott's planning on going. Will give me some time to work on some projects-where it be for my clsses or crafts.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Long-lasting?

Your Relationship Will Last... A Long Time!

Your guy is ideal, as close to Mr. Perfect as he could be If you took this quiz, you may be doubting that... Don't! No guy is perfect but yours comes really close You guys will last for many years, as long as you appreciate him!

How Long Will Your Relationship Last?

Rose

You are a Lavender Rose

You represent love at first sight and enchantment. Your vibe: intense and intriguing Falling in love with you is: deep and meaningful

What Color Rose Are You?

If only it was also this year

TV Meme

Saw this over at Sue's blog and thought I 'd give it a try.

Instructions: Bold (or change the color) of all of the following TV shows which you've seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime. Bold and Italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode of it. If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

24
3rd Rock from the Sun
7th Heaven
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
A.L.F
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Allo Allo
Amazing Race
American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol
America's Next Top Model/Germany's Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
BattlestarGalactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beavis & Butthead
The Ben Stiller Show
Beverly Hills 90210
Bewitched
Big Brother
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brady Bunch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle's Show
Charlie's Angels
Charmed
Cheers
China Beach
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dallas
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci's Inquest
Dawson's Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadliest Catch
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (new Who)
Doctor Who (series 1-26)
Dragnet
Due South
Dungeons and Dragons (old cartoon)
Dynasty
Earth 2
Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Falcon Crest
Family Guy
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Flamingo Road
Frasier
Friends
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Wing
Grey's Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Head of the Class
Highlander
Hill Street Blues
Hogan's Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Iron Chef (Japan)
Iron Chef (USA)
Ironsides
JAG
Jackass
Jeopardy
Joey
John Doe
Kath and Kim
Knight Rider
Knots Landing
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laugh-In
Laverne and Shirley
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.
Malcolm in the Middle
Married...With Children
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission Impossible
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Family
My Favorite Martian
My Life as a Dog
My Mother the Car
My So-Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mysterious Cities of Gold
NCIS
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numbers
One Tree Hill
Oz
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Perfect Strangers
Perry Mason
Picket Fences
Pirates of Darkwater
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway
Psyche
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (British)
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Samurai Jack
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scooby-Doo Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
Small Wonder
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spongebob Squarepants
Sports Night
Square Pegs
St. Elsewhere
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis - New season
Stargate SG-1 -Newseason
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
Teletubbies
That Girl
That 70's Show
That's So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Colbert Report
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Prisoner
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
thirtysomething
Three's Company
Top Gear
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Upstairs,Downstairs
Veronica Mars
Wings
What Not To Wear (US)
What Not To Wear (UK)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Witchblade
Will and Grace
Wonderfalls
Wonder Woman
Xena: Warrior Princess
Young Hercules

Lunch Club

My coworkers and I have decided that one day every week, one of us would bring in lunch for the group. Last week was Natalie with some Puerto Rican goodies. Today was my turn. I decided on making a Weight Watchers conscious menu with buffalo chicken bites wrapped in a tortilla with spinach, lettuce, celery, and green peppers with a little fat-free blue cheese dressing. It was yummy. I also made some No Pudge brownies that also went over well. So week number 2 of the lunch club has been a hit. Onto week number 3 and Amy's choice for lunch.

Had to do it

These kids are Lucy's. Aren't they just adorable!!!!!!!
BTW-Lucy-good luck tonight!

This week's Sweetie (Adopt a Pet)

This is Precious and she's up for adoption at the ASPCA. She's an Australian Shepherd Mix

Size: Medium
Age: Young
Gender: Female
ID: A022284

Notes: Precious is a sweet but shy, submissive, one year old dog. She loves people she knows but may be a bit shy with new people. She loves to be cuddled. She's very high energy and will need lots of exercise; she likes to chase balls and squeaky toys, and will hold onto them and try to keep away in a playful but persistent way. Precious is shy with other dogs, but as she gets more comfortable with them, she gets more playful. She does not guard food or chewies. She was concerned a bit by the stranger, novelty, and threatening people. She's shy with street noises, particularly in very noisy parts of town. She would do best on a quiet street or a house with a yard. She poops and pees outside when she's not scared by loud noises. Children ages 10 and up.
This pet is up to date with routine shots.
This pet has been altered.

The ASPCA is located at: 424 East 92nd Street (between 1st and York Avenues) (212) 876-7700, ext. 4162

Today's Calendar

Ferry Commute from Hell

Now, I should have expected that ALL forms of mass transportation in New York City would have problems. But I was hoping that the ferry would be one of the few that wouldn't. And so far, it hadn't had any problems...until this morning. First, the main ferry that I take was cancelled...and they made the cancellation announcement right as the previous ferry was pulling out. So I had to wait an extra 15 minutes-which is fine since I always try to go early anyway. But as we're pulling out-some guy starts going on about God and love. Then some people were talking back to him. Then the announcement..."NYPD on the NJ side on the saloon deck." What wonderful fun. Then the rest of the trip went smoothly until we go to land-no one was there to operate the bridge-so all I'm thinking is great-another accident like a few years ago-luckily someone came running to take care of the bridge part but it was kinda hellish this morning.

NFL Countdown

Well, last night was the last draft for fantasy football. Scott and I are in 3 leagues along with a couple of pick 'em and survival football leagues. Last year I had gotten reaquainted with football after taking a small hiatus due to issues with Jeremy and finances. Scott and I were in a league last year and I took last place. Hopefully this year I'll do better in one of the 3.
So tomorrow begins the NFL season-Miami vs. Pittsburgh. Now as a Miami Dolphin fan, I'll be routing for Miami but I also try to be realistic while watching my team. They have a chance tomorrow night considering that Big Ben-you know the idiot who decided to not wear a helmet while riding his motorcycle-is not playing. So to that I say good luck to Lucy and Go Dolphins!

State Fair Review

So the State Fair.....We left without incident Friday morning-arrived in Syracuse on time and went straight to the Fair with my aunt. The weather was great-no rain, sunny skies, nice temps. We went through the main buildings. We also spent way too much time at the lottery booth-playing games, etc. Scott won the first game-6 lottery tickets. He won $5 on those, cashed those in for tickets and won another $5 dollars. Those he didn't win anything. So a little beginner's luck isn't bad.
We stayed about 8 hours and then headed back to my aunt's house. Crashed and then got up early to hit breakfast at the Fair. We were also visited by Ernesto....all day long. The good thing is that there was pretty much no one there-46,000 came to the Fair that day. Normally it's near 80,000-100,000. Since my aunt and uncle were going back to the buildings that we had covered the previous night, I took Scott to the other side of the Fair (Indian village, and animal buildings). I managed to make it through the bunnies without crying. Of course, my allergies didn't want to cooperate. We went to a food demo where both of us won door prizes. The rest of the day was low-key thanks to us being tired and the rain. After 11 hours, we headed back to my aunt's where her and I went played Scrabble.
Sunday, we went to my aunt's and uncle's camp and met up with my family for a little cookout. The weather didn't cooperate again but we still had a good visit. My father is turning more and more into a sap, especially when we say goodbye. I love my dad and fully appreciate his love. It's just kind of funny when I overhear him tell Scott to continue to take care of his little girl, especially when he hasn't told anyone else that in my past. So we all left the camp and went back to Syracuse where my aunt, Scott and I played Scrabble.
I had known that Andre's Saturday match had been postponed and was played on Sunday but didn't have a chance to watch what would be his final match. So my uncle was keeping an eye out for the score. So that's how I found out that Andre Agassi's professional career was over-a 4-set lost to Benjamin Becker who then got ousted by Andy Roddick.
So Monday we headed out to breakfast and then the train, which was an hour late. By the time we got back to the City, the idea of dealing with the people on the subway just didn't sound appealing, we hailed a cab and returned home to the kids.
So now, Scott's getting ready to go back to work and I get to relax since I took today off. Plans for the day might include a trip to Weight Watchers to see how much damage was done and some quality time with the kids.

Back again

Scott and I are back after another long and delayed train trip. But we had a good time despite Ernesto's insistance on visiting. I'll go into more details tomorrow.