While I was in the drive-thru line at Portillo’s, I heard on the radio about Farrah Fawcett passing away. I just really want to cry right now….and while I know she wasn’t someone I knew, it’s just horrible.

Cancer fucking sucks. There’s just no other way to put it.

Farrah was ‘otherworldly’ beautiful, and could her teeth have gotten any whiter and straighter?? I remember, playing Charlie’s Angels with my friends….we all three wanted to be Jill! I always ended up as Sabrina because let’s face it, I wasn’t a blonde, and being Kelly was too above me. I ended up conceding to my friend who WAS actually blonde.

You are truly an angel now, Farrah. May your soul find peace now that the pain is gone.

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Ugh, could we possibly be more sloggy?? I don’t even bother straightening my hair on days like this….not much point!

I was BEYOND THRILLED to see the Sox win yesterday’s game against the Cubs!!! I’m hoping today’s game doesn’t get rained out like Game 1 did!!

I don’t know if V mentioned this yet or not, but our latest obsession has been Mario Kart. It’s been SO fun playing because M & R actually play with us, instead of sitting there and watching us with that look on their face. You know, the one that says, ‘Are you nuts??’, giggle! Well, this game is starting to seep into real life….this morning, when I was backing into a parking spot here at work, V said, “Don’t run into the wall!”, to which I answered, “Oh, like I do in Mario Kart?”! Yep, I suck at it, but it’s fun! And what I like best is that all our girls like to play it, too.

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Whew, I’m just now posting an update on the goings-on in our house! It’s been INCREDIBLE, having all our girls in the house now! Never a dull moment. I’m especially grateful for Jen, Don, and Nicole bringing the girls up from TN on their way home from NC….I could never thank you guys enough!!!

I took yesterday off to take M&R to downtown Grayslake for ‘brunch’. I had wanted to get out around 7:30 or so yesterday morning and have some breakfast somewhere, but they didn’t get up until about 10:30, so it was ‘brunch’. Luckily, though, we were able to get breakfast.

We’re planning to accompany Chrissy to VA to help her get moved and settled in, and to take in some old sights! I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going on there since we left! The apartments Chrissy, Ian, and the boys are moving into are apartments that a couple I knew had lived in, and it’s also by the construction company slash property management slash accounting office (otherwise known as the outer fringe of frickin’ hell) I worked at for five months before I was shown the proverbial door. I will stick my tongue out at them, though, as we drive by. See? I didn’t need them and their stinkin’ letter of reference, after all!!! :p

With every visit we have with our girls, we always have something that’s our ‘theme’ for the visit, whether it’s a song, or YouTube video, or catch phrase. This summer’s is Old Gregg. I’ve been watching it on YouTube on my iPod and okay…it’s an addiction!!! It’s like a train wreck, I can’t look awayyyyy!!

Work is going right along. Spring quarter is over, summer quarter begins, and right now is mostly a time to get caught up on all the filing and stuff I put off during the spring. Health-wise, I’m doing well. Chemo was like a bad dream that never happened, unless you count my feet either constantly being numb or having sharp pains from time to time! We’re still with the Virgin Health Miles program here at work, so that’s helped with the fitness part.

V and I are like zombies today, hehe! Staying up with the girls and playing either AC or Mario Kart has been SO fun….I’d gladly give up sleep to spend quality time together with them, though!

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Then you can buy Ferris Bueller’s friend Cameron’s house! How cool is that? It’s in Highland Park, I hear….I’d love to see it in person!

Work is going well! I got my five-year award week before last, can you believe it?? We had a wonderful evening at Prom. They’ve even started giving out award pins this year, starting with five years. I have mine on my jacket. We got a room at the DoubleTree just down the road from Esplanade Lakes, and it made getting ready SO much easier….way better than having to go all the way back home, or get ready here at the Wellness Center and be drenched in sweat with your hair sticking to your face by the time you get dressed!!

The girls are giving me fits again this summer. They always say (when they’re here), “Oh, no, that won’t happen again! Next time, we’ll stay all summer!”, then turn around and pull the same stuff all over again the next year!! I understand about their being teenagers and wanting to be with their friends and all, but man!! It’s so frustrating! I guess what really sent me over the edge this year was Rachel. When I asked her if she was willing to stay if Maddy didn’t want to, it was like hearing Maddy speak!! What happened to the little girl who couldn’t bear to leave us??? It just breaks my heart.

Is it time to go home yet?? Could this day go any slower??

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….to all you ‘muthas’ out there!!
I’ve had a good Mother’s Day! I talked to my mom and sister after they had gone to IHOP this morning, and then I got to talk to the girls, too! Chrissy got the most beautiful flowers for me and V, and made us each a very beautiful card! Her cardmaking is coming along very nicely….I’m very proud of her!
I’ve got a sore throat this evening, and my cough is still with me. Ick. I’ve been sicky for a little over a week, now, though it’s dwindling, little by little. I HOPE that it’s gone by Friday….our Faculty and Staff Recognition Dinner! Besides, when I go on stage to accept my five-year award, I can’t be hacking the whole way!!

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I have been SO into Animal Crossing that guess what?? I have my own town, now! Yep, I put my birthday money toward a new Wii, so we just HAD to name the new town Xanadu!! Okay, so it’s probably cheesy on all levels to be addicted to a video game, but I AM!

I just know the girls are going to roll their eyes and say, “Oh, sheesh, not THAT again!” when they hear there’s a new Wii in the house! That’s okay. I’ll take it.

My sister has a Wii now, and I’m hoping she’ll be able to get Animal Crossing and hook her Wii up to WiiConnect24. She said she has broadband and it’s wireless but something about a disk she has to install on any computer she uses, to make it wireless…..I’m clueless.

It was nice having Chrissy and the boys to visit last night! Rei was walking around, making sure we hadn’t changed anything of his, and just basically looking around and enjoying being with his Papa!! He’s truly Papa’s boy. I got some hangout time with Aiden, after dinner. I love just holding him, though he’s not always thrilled to sit still.

With our HealthMiles program here at work, this week’s challenge has been to do 52,400 steps (the number of steps in a marathon), and this evening is the deadline. V and I have been working very hard to reach that number of steps, and we’re sure to get there today!!

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I was looking through the headlines on the MSN home page and found this story….

Lawyer survives Hudson River flight, loses job

Now, how horrible to have survived something like crash-landing in the Hudson River, only to have so much sadness unleashed upon you!!

On a MUCH happier note, I had a WONDERFUL birthday!! Thank you, Jen and CBo, for calling me to wish me a Happy Birthday (I’m sorry I wasn’t at work to answer the phone, CBo, I took the day off, hehe!), it meant so very much to me! I spent the day relaxing, hanging out with the boys, and playing with my birthday present! For dinner, V made pot roast with potatoes, carrots, celery and onion for me (my request!), and for dessert we had a Weber’s cake!! My very FIRST, and I loved it….I got the chocolate wafer all to myself (okay, I shared half of it with Rei), and got to eat the flowers as well as the yummy cake!
I got lots of awesome presents, too! Nikki sent me a ‘I’m Not A Paper Cup’ that I’ve had on my wish list for a long time, Lee sent me two movies, a note pad, a journal, some crafty paper clips and some Post-It notes with a ‘T’ on them, V got me some smelly-good stuff from Victoria’s Secret, and Chrissy got me a mug from Starbucks that you can write on then bake to make it permanent! I can’t WAIT for all the girls to be here, so they can decorate it for me, and so Rei can put his own personal touch it, too!
It’s been a nice week….today I have an exam so it should be an early day!

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I swear, the days seem like they’re going SO much faster now! I guess there’s something to be said for staying busy at work! I’m especially busy today because I have an exam to get ready for for Friday, and I’m taking tomorrow off for my birthday….I can’t remember the last time I took my birthday off!
Anyway, I got THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST birthday gift, and I got it early….I got an iPod touch, 32 gig!!!!!! Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!??!! V, Stephen, Chrissy and the boys got it for me, hehe! V was beside herself with keeping it secret, so they decided to give it to me this past Friday so I could have all weekend to play with it, giggle!
The first movie I put on it….shock….Xanadu!!! I have a few songs on it so far, but I’m trying not to duplicate what I have on my nano. ‘Songs I Want To Put On My iPod’ pop into my head from time to time, and my nano is thisclose to being totally full, so you would think this would be easier. Not so much….I don’t want to just throw anything on there for the sake of taking up room!
I also put the first episode of ‘Parks and Recreation’ on it, and I’m *hoping* this show gives as much as it seems to promise….it’s hilarious!!
So, since I am taking tomorrow off, my boss and one of the faculty in my department got flowers and a card for me! The card is so cute…it’s Hoops & Yoyo and my boss says they picked it out because it sounds like Alvin & The Chipmunks! My flowers are multicolored daisies…very nice! I’m going to wait until we get home to put them in water.
Easter was SO much fun….Rei had LOTS of fun hunting eggs, more fun than we thought he’d have!! He says ‘egg’ like ‘aig’…..it’s so adorable!! He and Aiden got lots of goodies in their baskets, too! We went to the Momma’s and Dad’s house where Rei got to hunt more eggs (plastic ones this time) with Megan and Joey.
I miss the girls being young enough to enjoy hunting Easter eggs, so it was lots of fun watching Rei’s face light up with each egg he found.
Oh, wait….have I mentioned lately how MUCH I LOVE my new touch??? Giggle.

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…maybe I should have entitled this post ‘Keep forgetting to post!’!

Spring Quarter is in full swing, but where the heck is the spring weather?? I mean, we’re getting closer to normal-for-this-time-of-year temps, but sheesh. Almost a foot of snow in March??? That stuff wasn’t easy to shovel, either…I thought I was going to stroke out, right there in the driveway!!

So, Stephen and I went to see Cheech & Chong on Sunday, and it was an AWESOME show!! V ’sort’ of wanted to go with us, but had decided that she would sit this one out.

When we first got there, on the marquis it said, ‘Cheech & Chong, with Shelby’. Ooookay, who the heck is Shelby? We thought maybe a band, or maybe one person singing. Turns out Chong’s wife is their opening act! She had some pretty funny stories to relate, especially ones concerning Chong’s serving prison time for selling a bong. She’s really attractive, and totally not the type you’d expect to see with him. I would have thought he’d have more of an ‘earth mother’ wife….sort of hippy-ish.

The seats were wonderful, the show was great, and we had a good time! It was funny because we had just watched ‘Up in Smoke’ that day, and the first scene in the movie was their first skit. They changed it a little, of course, but it was still really funny!

On Monday, we watched ‘Still Smokin” and it was neat to see some of the skits from their show in the movie!!

I got a tie-dye tour t-shirt they were selling in the lobby and some small buttons for my jean jacket. Stephen got an autographed DVD of Chong’s documentary….we had brought ‘Up in Smoke’ and ‘Nice Dreams’ in hopes of having them autographed, but the meet and greet was $150! I guess it wasn’t bad for two people, but not exactly what we budgeted for. One autograph is better than nothing!

Now I can say I’ve been to see a Cheech & Chong show….I’d go again, too!

(Hey, CBo, did your mom and dad go to this one?)

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Miss Rachel had a good time in D.C. She sent us a few pics from her phone…one was of George Washington’s grave, another was of John and Jackie Kennedy’s grave (okay, Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, but Jackie Kennedy sounds so nice!), and yet another was the wall that Anne Frank is buried behind. They went to the Smithsonian, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Holocaust museum. I’m sure the Holocaust Museum was very sad, but it’s an important part of history. History that shows what a horrible person did against people when left to his own devices.

I went to the oncologist today, and everything checks out great! It’s a haul from here at work to go see him, but it’s worth it when I can go by the Patio, hehe!

Speaking of…..they’re building a Patio here by work, I SO can’t wait!!!

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