Cheesecake for Breakfast

In my defense, I had a cup of yogurt earlier. What I really hate are the people in the office on various diets who immediately shriek, "Do you know how much sugar is in that? How many calories? I can't believe you brought that into the office?"

You know what....SHUT UP! Sometimes you just need a piece of cheesecake for breakfast. Trust me, one piece will not kill any of you, and you are free to not partake if it so offends your worship of the almighty pound.

As for me, I'll be having a slice of cheesecake for breakfast, and enjoying every damn bite.

It's a Sickness

So, I've bookmarked this site, but in my own defense I don't check it every day...yet. The point of this post is to let everyone know that 500 days from now the 2006 Winter Games in Torino will begin and, of course, they selected the mascots. Which, really, I think are adorable. What can I say? I love the Olympics! It's a sickness.

Ooh La La

K’s shower Saturday was fun. She has known well in advance that her future sisters-in-law would buy a gift designed to embarrass and was trying very hard to get out of opening it in front of the group. The shower was an open house (come when you want and stay as long as you like—also, no dumb games) and while we had a good crowd she was encouraged to start opening gifts. She opened and opened and oohed and aahed over the cookware, tools, sheets and towels until finally there were 2 lonely little bags sitting on the gift table. There they sat proclaiming, “Ooh, La La” until someone innocently asked, “Aren’t you going to open those?”

So, reluctantly she took them down and peered inside. “Wow! That’s great, thanks you guys?”

“What is it?” “Show us!” cheered the crowd, while N stood in the doorway a wolfish and slightly amused smile on his face. He knows his sisters well enough to anticipate what our gift will be.

So red-faced she held up the garments for the crowd’s scrutiny and showed off the slinky, transparent chemise and thong along with a more sedate (but still sexy) red velvet gown. The only complaint came from S (she married another brother a year or so ago), “That is not nearly as NASTY as what you guys gave me!” she complained.

“Just wait,” I promised. “There will still be something slipped into the presents at the wedding....and it will be less clothing, more accessory.” Happy honeymoon!

Maybe I'll stop at 80

I'm having a difficult time coming up with 100 things about me...right now, I've got 80 and it seems like a pretty good place to stop and reflect.

61. Close second, The Amazing Race
62. My sister is my best friend
63. My favorite sculpture is Nike of Samothrace
64. My favorite painting is Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte
65. I can seem cold and aloof, but really I’m just shy
66. I’m really good at my job, but could be better
67. I have an itinerary for the world-wide trip I’ll take someday
68. Whiny people irritate me
69. Sometimes that includes myself---there are times when I get sick of hearing myself complain about something and wonder how anyone else can deal with it
70. I expect people to act like grownups about their differences and I’m disappointed when they don’t
71. I have 10 pillows on my bed and I use them all every night
72. I’m extremely ticklish
73. I dislike having my face touched, especially my chin (you can’t see it, but just thinking about it made me shiver....ugh)
74. Someday I’ll buy 5 acres and build a house in the middle of it—imagine the peace and quiet
75. I have 15 giant garbage bags of weeds sitting in my backyard from clearing it out a couple of weeks ago
76. Favorite color: Green
77. I bought a lava lamp night light even though I never use it---I just thought it was cool...and it is
78. Spicy food....yeah, not so much
79. No matter how much stuff I have to do on Saturday, if I don’t spend Sunday hanging around the house getting laundry done I don’t feel like a had a weekend
80. My private life is private....even my family doesn’t usually know who or if I’m dating

Where to Start

Work has been crazy, busy for pretty much a month. I’ve spent all my time putting out fires and working on things that need to be done immediately. This has caused a serious backlog of work on my desk. I’m sitting here staring at all my piles of paperwork, wondering where I should start. The good news is that my boss is out of the office all week. This means I can take it easy and concentrate on clearing up all my loose end, small projects while he’s away. I just need to find the motivation to start.

Friday Fun & Games

I had dinner with K last night at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I hadn’t really talked to her for a while, so it was good to catch up. The wedding is next week and she is running around crazy trying to work out the last minute details. It seems like she’s got things basically under control, just a little stressed out.

She was working on compiling songs for the wedding DVD and after dinner we sat in her car and listened to all the songs my brother (her fiancé) dislikes. I thought all were good and encouraged her to go ahead and put them on the video. I already know that despite his protests, he is really a closet county fan. That, dear brother, can be the problem if you marry someone who is good friends with your sister. We will gang up on you every once in a while.

My sisters and I will be buying K’s shower gift tonight. If all goes well, she will be really embarrassed tomorrow. In fact, my plan is to get her something really embarrassing for the shower tomorrow and then also, slip something in with the wedding presents later. I can guarantee she won’t be expecting that little surprise. Included in the “anonymous” wedding gift will be a book I snagged from my grandparents collection titled, “And they shall be one flesh”, kind of a religious take on marriage. I think it was published in 1967 and has a really groovy purple & pink cover. I already told her she was getting it, but I’m hoping she’ll think I forgot when it isn’t part of the shower gift.

Elsewhere, I’m busy at work. I’ve got a lunch meeting in 15 minutes with a representative from a local hotel. They are really aggressively trying to recruit out business and I’m half wondering if I’m going to get a weekend stay comped out of the deal. Apparently, the hotel industry is heading into their slow season, but still has to meet goals for sales calls. Afternoon brings a couple other meetings and an attempt to clean off my desk for the weekend.

Catching up

It has been incredibly busy in Caoimhe World recently. Last week I took Thursday and (part of) Friday off to kick out the roommate from hell and welcome baby Erki to the world. I planned to take the whole day off, but my boss shot me big puppy dog eyes and asked if I’d be willing to put some time in to prepare for the upcoming 2 day extravaganza of staff meetings. There was also some confusion about a contract I put out to bid that needed to be resolved before the end of the week.

So, to sum up, roommate from hell is gone, but apparently still thinks we’re friends. In fact, when she left she said, “I guess I won’t see you again until K’s wedding.”

WHAT!? I know for a fact that she is not invited to K’s wedding because K is my former roommate and is marrying my brother....which boils down to I’m privy to their feelings about J. My sister, L, just laughed and said she hoped J did show up at the reception because after all the complaining I’ve done she’d really like to meet her.

Erki is cute! I do not subscribe to the belief that babies “look like” someone or other in the family. I can never pick out the eyes belong to this parent, and the nose looks like an uncle, or blah, blah blah. Erki, however, has the same birthmark that all L&N’s children have. He also made the exact same face his older brother makes to express his displeasure. Basically, he’s adorable.

The contract I put out to bid is making me crazy. There are way too many people wanting too many things in the specifications. I personally think once the RFP is out....it ought to be too late for changes....I seem to be a minority with this line of thinking. Bids are due October 1st and I’ll be happy to start analysis and award the stupid thing.

Have you ever seen the episode of Seinfeld with the Summer of George? That would be a pretty accurate description of the rest of my weekend. It was so nice to have a clean and quiet house to myself. Wonderful!

Monday and Tuesday were an extravaganza of staff meetings and general running around. They were very informative (although I may be biased having put them together), but I’m definitely glad they’re over.

Tuesday was capped off with a very interesting invitation and evening with an old flame. Needless to say, this unexpected happening made me miss the season finale of The Amazing Race, but not to worry I taped it. (Also, it was totally worth it!)

Fresh, my ass...

The local CBS affiliate has started a "fresh air" approach to night time news....

They installed a window a la the Today show, and they do an awful lot of stories whilst standing in the street.

What's up with that? It just seems wrong. I mean, I can see they have desks, inside the studio...why aren't they using them? Also, everyone knows when you go to a reporter "live from the newsroom" it just means they're standing in the hall. Why can't they sit at the desk since the anchors refuse to use it?

FYI They are the #1 ranked 10:00 news in the market. HUH!?

I need more Benadryl!

I am allergic to shellfish...I have known it for years and generally I have to eat a lot of shrimp dip to have more than a mild reaction. However, during the medical madness I had a CT scan with contrast (the contrast is made of the same stuff that causes allergic reactions to shellfish) and I landed in the emergency room. I blame that episode for my current problem! Does anybody know if a previous severe reaction will make you ultra-sensitive in the future?

My department had a staff meeting today and all our folks from out of state flew in. Our boss decided to take us to dinner at McGrath's Fish House. Not normally a problem as there are other things to eat there...right?

I learned today that they fry the chicken in the same stuff as the shrimp, and apparently 5 bites of that is enough to cause a reaction. So right now I'm in the middle of a full blown allergic reaction. Not necessarily hospital worthy, but I have taken several tablets of Benadryl.

No difficulty breathing, just lots of itching and soon I'll be really, really sleepy. Let's all just hope I don't break out in hives....

Welcome Erki!

New baby, Erki, born on Thursday, September 16th at 10:10 a.m.
8 lbs 9 oz
20 inches

Mom and baby doing well...

In fact, L went into the hospital for the induction at 7:00 a.m. That's right boys and girls 3 hours and 10 minutes start to finish. The boy literally shot out. :) 2 pushing contractions and he was here. Luckily there was a doctor there to catch. He is super cute and I spent a couple hours just holding him today.

Something we all found slightly amusing as well as secure. They put an id tag on both an ankle and a wrist, and taped his number to his chest. That's right, he's got a super cool "tat". Seriously....CUTE!

Roommate/Family & Misc News

Man, I’ve been bad at blogging every day. I’ve been really busy at work and avoiding my house like the plague because the roommate from hell stills resides there. However, she is scheduled to be gone from my life forever at 9:00 am Friday morning. Words cannot adequately describe how happy I am about that!

I am actually taking a couple of days off work to make sure she doesn’t steal any of my stuff while packing, and as soon as she turns in her key and leaves, I’m installing some new bolt things on the doors. Like I said, words cannot adequately describe how happy I am to be rid of her.

In other news, I went to a birthday party for my nephew last night. He turned 7 and had a great time with his new computer games, DVDs, Ninja Turtle get-up, and Razor scooter. Watching him ride around on that thing was really very impressive. He has great coordination. We also oohed and aahed over the basement my brother-in-law has been finishing for the last 4 months. Thus far it is completely framed. He’s done all the work himself and again, I’m impressed with his handyman-ness. My sister is always complaining that he’s not that handy around the house, but hoo-doggy, just look at that basement!

The basement construction project will be on hold for a couple of weeks while my sister has a baby. She has scheduled her induction for tomorrow at 7:00 am. Given her past 2 deliveries, she plans on being finished by noon at the latest. Details will certainly follow. The entire family is surprised that she’s gone this long. We expected the baby, Erki Nool as I call him, to make an appearance last week, but he is apparently stubborn; he’s probably red-headed like his father, oldest brother and sister.

We also found out my sister-in-law is expecting some time in April and I’ve got a brother getting married in a couple of weeks, so that brings our family to....well, huge. This will bring immediate family to 24! We really are going to have to rent out a hall to have Christmas dinner.

More Stuff About Me

41. I worry about becoming bitter and jaded
42. If Diet Coke contained alcohol; I’d have to attend AA
43. My home is my refuge; I hate when its chaotic and/or messy
44. If you won’t teach your children about sex; then the schools ought to
45. I have no real complaints about my boss or my job
46. I want a tattoo (a Celtic knot) but will never get it
47. I don’t have my ears pierced (or anything else for that matter)
48. I don’t cook...ever....unless you count Eggos and Rice Krispy Treats
49. I’ve broken my nose twice
50. My favorite new books are My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger and The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
51. I keep a written list of books I want to read with me at all times
52. My life is usually boring, but lately has had lots of drama
53. I believe Korey Walker is the only man who looks good in skin-tight Wranglers
54. I know I can’t sing, but truly believe I sound good while singing along with the radio
55. If I don’t like you, you will know it
56. I can be intimidating
57. I like creative, confident men who aren’t intimidated by me
58. McDonalds and the Monster Truck Rally are not my idea of the perfect date
59. Neither is going to a movie
60. My favorite TV show is Alias

A Weekend of Parties Part 1

Ahh, the Cotillion....for any out there who do not know a Cotillion is defined by Miriam Webster as


1 : a ballroom dance for couples that resembles the quadrille
2 : an elaborate dance with frequent changing of partners carried out under the leadership of one couple at formal balls
3 : a formal ball

Our Cotillion was really more like a BBQ. Ok, so it was a BBQ, but we just like to pretend we’re cultured.

The Annual Cotillion is sponsored by my boss for our department, our vendors and all the families. This boils down to a lot of work for me. I spent about a month getting ready for it, and all last week running around crazy making sure the catering was ordered, the park was reserved, the games and activities ready to go, and most importantly the prizes and giveaways were purchased and labeled.

This year we had a few new games...including a very difficult trivia quiz, a very boisterous and often violent dice game, and most exciting 2 (count ‘em 2) piñatas. I was very worried about some kid getting hit in the head with a bat and their parents suing us. Luckily, there were no major injuries and all the kids got A LOT of candy. Everybody who stayed late enough for the drawing won something and this year we had better prizes than ever. Give me a couple more years and you’ll see a Cotillion the likes of which have never been seen before!

So, food, games and prizes...what more could anyone ask for in a Cotillion, well except of course, the dancing and formal clothes.

21-40

More things about me:

21. I can usually figure people out pretty quickly
22. People with truly good and pure intentions elude my understanding
23. I tend to be quick to judge, but struggle not to
24. I believe in God, but am not very obedient
25. My favorite band ever is NELSON (sad, I know)
26. My fantasy is to marry an honest-to-goodness cowboy and live miles and miles away from everything
27. I know that fantasy would never make me happy
28. I like to go target shooting, and I’m good at it
29. I could never shoot an animal
30. I’ve been emotionally destroyed by a relationship
31. I’ve learned not to take business personally
32. I can be moody
33. I am not an animal person, though I wish I were
34. I don’t consider myself a writer
35. I am great with other people’s money, but bad with my own
36. I think life isn’t fair, but it should be
37. I believe you can’t cheat Karma
38. That worries me some days
39. I believe in respecting others’ opinions and beliefs
40. Respecting them doesn’t exclude debating them

A Weekend of Parties

Busy weekend so far, had the annual Summer Cotillion on Friday night and a bridal shower yesterday afternoon. Details to follow...

Better late than never...

I've been working on a 100 Things About Caoimhe list...it has proven to be a rather daunting task, but here are the first 20....

1. My name is Irish
2. I’m Irish only in my soul...the rest of me was born and raised in the States
3. I love books...I’ll read any and everything
4. I’m fiercly loyal to my family and those I call friends
5. If you betray that loyalty I will take you down
6. I’m incredibly independent; stubbornly so
7. Asking for help is the hardest thing I’ve ever done
8. I’m very smart
9. I am a supporter of the arts
10. I think history is fascinating...you just need the right teacher to bring it to life
11. I know a little bit about a lot of things; generally just enough to get me in trouble
12. Pick a topic and I’ll have an opinion
13. I’m pretty liberal
14. I’m extraordinarily liberal for where I live
15. My favorite restaurant is Brick Oven
16. I own my own home
17. I don’t need a man, but they can be nice to have around
18. I am sentimental
19. I will probably never have children, but I love my nieces and nephews more than life
20. On-star commercials (and anything else remotely sentimental) make me cry

I'm Back

I am indeed alive and okay. The last week was busy and none of it was good. So, I decided to spare y'all the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth (not to mention the whining) and not blog for awhile. The worst (knock on wood) is over, so I'm back. Thank you all for waiting patiently.