Christmas pics...

Ok, so I've been promising you all some pictures for quite some time now... And with the recent pictures of the stinkies, I merely served the appetizer. I've been storing up pictures for a while now... Case in point, here are the pictures from Tarreck's family Christmas party.


You know those colossal snow globes that most people would only put out in the front yard... Yeah, well, seeing as it's a party, Tarreck put it in the foyer.


We might all be family, but that doesn't mean we don't harass each other as much as possible, and we start the harassment young!


Yep, those are all either alcoholic beverages, or some form of non-alcoholic mixer which was shortly mixed with alcohol...


A little Wii bowling keeps the kids quiet... But the "kids" are widely ranging in age at this shindig.



The young-uns are expected to entertain themselves in a corner...


And they did, at the expense of tidiness. (But really, all zebras need a little popcorn!)


And here sits the popcorn cleanup crew.


Yeah, that's Santa, a sleigh, a tree, and a few reindeer in one giant inflatable musical thingy ordinarily reserved for lawn use... Tarreck just puts it on the back porch.


Tamara is big pimpin' on her phone.


Time to bust out the party games!


Tamara explains the rules!


They seem confused. But we still love them!


Moving back to the Wii, just look at this follow-through! (Actually, he damn near broke his thumb by busting it on the coffee table shortly thereafter!)


Tarreck is big pimpin... Kinda.


We had to create a Grammy on the Wii.


And this one is my Aunt Peggy...


And then it was time for a little pay-per-view boxing... It was fight night!


Mayweather won, in case you care and are somehow really behind the times!


Then it was time for poker and pool!


But Tarreck wanted to show off his ballin' skillz, and decided he's going to represent Palestine in the 2008 Olympics!


That about sums up the Christmas party... The New Year's party was much more adult in nature... Those pictures are still to come!

Picture pages!!!!!

Debbie calls all the kiddos in her life her stinkies. I think that is just so perfect a term for all the great little kiddos I have the privilege of calling family... So I'm gonna D-BO the term and show off the adorable little stinkies in my life!

Here's Brandon, rocking his new free t-shirt!


Keegan is a a boy with a healthy appetite. As you can see, he's not one of those "failure to thrive" babies!


Keegan is showing off the dinner which made it on his face, rather than in his mouth!


Nicholas and Olivia play remarkably well with each other.


Olivia was really excited about showing off her static-y hair!


Occasionally Nicholas still picks on his little sis though! (But as you can see, she doesn't really mind!)


Parker just cracks me up!


Olivia wanted to share her pink snowman jammies with the world!!!


While not a member of the stinkies, Cousin Eric started it... It was all downhill from here!


Kim and Olivia got in on the fun!


And they hammed it up for the camera!


Parker was rocking his forehead stamp... He was so proud that he could make it move by wiggling his eyebrows!


And while he's not TECHNICALLY family, he might as well be! Here's little Caden, only hours old at the time, he's now a little more than three months! Can you believe it!

Cody wanted to show off his Halloween costume (though not on Halloween.) As a little monkey, he was soooo excited about pulling his own tail!


And Tyler was rocking his cowboy boots, which really kind of complete the Ninja Turtle ensemble if you as me!

Hey, Cody needed a good tickle!


Cody is rockin' the wellies, while Tyler tells everyone about his gift card!

So that's it, those are my stinkies! (Aren't they just too frickin adorable!?!?)

Now that I've finally taken the time to download all my pictures to my computer, you can expect more picture posts VERY soon! (I'm overdue!)

Myyyyy Bellllllllyyyyyy.....

Read that title in the best whiny-complain-y tone you can manage, either out loud, or just in your head.

That whiny-complain-y tone is really all I can muster lately, and it's all I can reasonably think of while trying to work this week.

Monday was supposed to be a day off for me... Instead, I had the dubious honor of spending like 5 hours with a client and ended up taking her to the hospital because that's what goes with the territory of being on call 24-7.

Tuesday and Wednesday were total losses because of an ice storm which kept all of us home. Today I went back to work, but having lost two days, pushing things around to ensure that everyone gets seen becomes quite a chore. And that's not even the half of it.

To boot, I haven't felt like myself lately.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was totally lethargic, (which is kind of normal for a snow day if you ask me,) but I have no kind of energy (I mean laying around was the best I could manage for two days, but sleeping was the ideal... no matter how much sleep I'd already gotten,) I haven't been hungry, or able to eat... Something is up!

Thursday was the first time I could manage anything resembling an appetite. But it was one of those weird appetites where no matter how hungry I felt, nothing sounded good, and I could already tell that whatever was going in was not going to do the trick... And so I put off eating until I was literally so hungry that I nearly vomited. (Seems counterintuitive, I know, but that was the literal sensation, complete with retching.) And so I ate, and just as I had suspected, while it didn't come up, it didn't sit well, and so I had a sour tummy all day!

Several hours later, when it was appropriate to consume another meal, it was another round of totally lacking any kind of appetite, but since I knew I was due for a meal, I tried to eat something, even if it was just something light... A half a can of soup, and some peach slices later, I once again have that nauseated sensation, this time accompanied by an overstuffed sensation which is hardly something I expected as a result of consuming a half a can of soup and a few sliced peaches...

Again, I say, SOMETHING IS UP!

I'm just whining... Pay no attention to me.

Nerd post...

Ok, so by the end of this brief post, you're either going to think I'm a total nerd, or you're going to respect my opinion and review of a product, and consider making a purchase for yourself!

Ok, so I'm not one to go totally overboard on self-indulgent purchases, and if I had paid full price for this item, I'm sure I would have felt that it would have been closer to an overly self-indulgent purchase... But seeing as I paid roughly 25% of the retail cost, I thought of it more as a wise investment.

So, about a week ago, my mom called to say that her office had gotten a promotional rate on the latest, fancy, high-end super toothbrush. She said if I wanted to, I could also take advantage of the ridiculously good discount. So I did.

And here's where I turn into a huge nerd.

I gotta tell you, it's more than just a toothbrush! It's this toothbrush. (Go ahead... Go see EXACTLY what we're talking about here... I'll wait.)

Back? GREAT!

So now that you know the specifics of what we're talking about, let me just say, HOLY MOLY!

For those of you who have decided you don't want your mouth to look like that of Amy Winehouse (or the mouth of your favorite neighborhood dumpster-dwelling hobo) at any point in your lifetime, I am guessing that you've probably seen a dentist in the not TOO distant past. And while you're probably not a total masochist and most likely find all the poking and prodding of your dentist and or hygienist pretty unpleasant, I'm guessing that you probably do enjoy that super clean feeling in your mouth when all is said and done. Well, using this contraption, I just gotta tell you that this is like getting that super clean feeling WITHOUT all the poking and prodding.

And while I haven't been back to the dentist since beginning use of this product, I have heard that using it does REDUCE the poking and prodding necessary during dental visits. Reducing the need for someone to inflict pain on you is always a wise investment if you ask me.

If you pay any attention to what a bunch of doctors conducting research have to say on the matter, then making an investment in your dental health now, can save your ass down the road... In more ways than one. So there's always that.

Like I said, it's entirely possible that I am just a huge nerd who is getting WAYYYY too excited about an overpriced toothbrush, but as I see it, I am just a relatively normal person trying to get the word out on something that will improve your life in both the short term AND the long term pictures!

And since you know that I love you, my dear readers, I'm choosing to believe that I'm just looking out for your hot asses! For real.

Dear Traci...

I was having a conversation with my friend Traci about the state of affairs which seems to be our life at the moment. (She also works at my office.) I indicated that after growing up in my hometown, I moved to Chicago for a very distinct reason... I didn't want to be HERE. As you all know, I left Chicago, because I needed the job, and as hard as I was pushing, it just wasn't coming in Chicago. Basically, I'm of the belief that (at least as far as Chicago goes,) if you don't know someone to get a toe in the door, you're pretty well screwed... I am not bitter about this fact, but I am holding true to my belief that is actual FACT.

We talked about our desire to pursue opportunities elsewhere. We talked about how much we feel the need for some kind of change... Be it internally in our office or externally from some more massive change.

And then Traci said it.

She uttered the words which so accurately captured my sentiments about my hometown, my workplace, my life...

"This place is just a festering cesspool of mediocrity."

She gets quote of the month for February. I don't care what else is said, that sentiment was just too perfect a line to encapsulate how I feel about this place to possibly be unseated as the head of the table for February.

I dare you to compete.

I think it's an alien...

No, I'm not talking about little Suri Cruise, but I am definitely referring to a small child.

I am currently working, supervising a visit. The visit is scheduled to be 2.5 hours long. The first half an hour went smoothly. From then on, one of the kids has been screeching.

SCREECHING.

S.C.R.E.E.C.H.I.N.G.

We've still got an hour left of this mess, and this kid is crying and making that alien noise that little kids are spectacularly good at. Seriously, he sounds A LOT like E.T. It's one thing when it only lasts a few minutes, this has been going on for over an hour, and I'm starting to understand why the parents did drugs... I'd do drugs too if that was all I heard all damn day... Oh wait, that IS what I hear all damn day. Silly Lizzle!

On whatever day that I no longer work in this position, whether through retirement, firing, quitting, or whatever, I am going to have to go on the biggest drug binge ever. You might as well just keep an eye out for Amy Winehouse, because by the time she sobers up, I'll be WASTED all the time like she is now... Only I plan on bathing, maintaining my current tooth count, and not sporting a beehive. Ok, so that makes me more like umm... Well, all the total wastoids I can think of don't tend to bathe, so maybe I'll have to settle for not being a total train wreck and just be a functional recreational drug user like Charlize Theron... Either way, the alien screeching of other people's children will not go without remuneration as far as I'm concerned. I just have to wait it out until I don't have the possibility of random drug screenings threatening my income.

A good day.

I have to say that I had a good day today as far as the first day back from vacation can go.

I opened my mailbox to find that not only did my replacement bank card arrive while I was away, I also got word about my "reckless driving" ticket.

I saw the envelope marked "County Prosecutor's Office" and put off opening it. I had monthly reports to turn in, and just really wasn't in the mood, so I left it in my car unopened as I went into the office to get my ass in gear.

Coming out of the office in order to see a client, I had a few extra minutes, so I figured I might as well open it up and find out what the damage was so that I knew just how much of my tax refund to earmark for the fine and diversion program to keep this stupidity off my record... I had a feeling it was going to be several hundred dollars based on earlier calls to inquire about what I was possibly looking at.

Turning my attention to the text before me, I was more than a little shocked with what I encountered. (Aside from the omission of full names, this is a direct transcription of the letter.)

"Dear Reckless Driving Liz, (They used my real name, but c'mon, you know they wanted to say that.)

Today is your lucky day. The officer who cited you for reckless driving has not, and will not be turning your ticket in. This means that you will not have to appear for court, the citation will not appear on, or effect your record, and you will not be responsible for paying a fine. May we suggest that in thanksgiving for this, that you consider slowing down a little. Happy Valentine Day. We appreciate your rapid attention to this matter and cooperation throughout this matter."

To get a letter from a prosecutor's office which leads off with, "This is your lucky day," while slightly unprofessional, is more than a little bit pleasant! It's not every day that the prosecutor's office tells you that you're getting lucky, lets you off the hook, and then wishes you a happy Valentine's day. This is so not the way my luck typically runs, so this is a VERY BIG deal for me!

It's nice to have a little good luck for a change!

My ass is back... And I have a feeling it will be dragging all week.

Well, I'm back from vacation... And what a rude awakening I had when I returned.

I was all relaxed and mellowed out, and upon landing and driving home from the airport, I came to the crushing conclusion that I could no longer put off my monthly reports, since they are due today. Damn.

It's almost 2 AM, and I've got a lot of work to do... I'll have to tell you about my vacation later if I plan on getting any kind of sleep tonight! I hate to say it, but I've got to get down to business and get some work done!