THANKS TO ALL WHO WROTE IN!!!

Matt got a call from Congressman Sarbanes’ office today saying that they received more than 200 emails and it crippled their system. Ok, so they weren’t happy they had to bring in two interns just to handle the massive email backlog… but IT WORKED! Our application made it to the top of the pile thanks to a good dose of friendly consumer nudging.
So, on July 5th we should be contacted with an appointment for expediting Matt’s passport in time for our honeymoon!
Thanks to everyone for all your support… oh, and the nice lady at Sarbanes’ office kindly requested we stop sending email requests now. J
Thanks for all your help… we are eternally grateful!
-Crystalyn & Matt

Its been a busy week, and Ive actually been writing things down in my planner so I dont forget anything.

1.John Mayer Concert

2. Save Matt's Marriage

3. Call Centers

4. Paperclips

5. A love song I heard on the radio where one guy was singing about loving another guy.

6. Why Finneytown HS is special!!

So yeah...I went to the John Mayer concert on Tuesday. I am a HUGE John Mayer fan and I really did consider going to this concert but as most concerts go, they're just too expensive and I can never make myself fork over that $40-$60 for a ticket. So again, John Mayer was going to come go, and Id be sitting at home, probably watching Countdown with Keith Olberman. I do love Keith.

So Im at work and I get an email from Andrea, Alisas sister that she's got an extra ticket to the show THAT NIGHT and it was late notice, but could I go???? HELL YES I COULD GO!!! I offered to pick her up, and pay for parking.....and even surprised her with a Bud Light Tall Boy to pound in the parking garage before the show.

The concert was awesome. When he first came out, Ill admit it. I started crying. I could hardly breathe half the time. We both just sat there and kind of took it all in and never really got crazy. It was a great show, no matter what that douchebag from the Enquirer had to say about it. Ben Folds opened and Andrea was more excited to see him than anything. It was a good set....about 45 min and I just think the crowd might have been too young to appreciate him. He really hasnt had any big hits since we were in college, so I guess I could see that.





Andrea and I give our approval in the car after the show. We were pretty pumped just to get out of the spot. We were towards the bottom and by the time we got to the car, there were five floors of folks bumper to bumper NOT LETTING ANYONE OUT. The guy to my left was trying to inch out too. I could sense a bit of tension between the two cars. So I got creative, hopped out of the car, ran to the car sitting two back, knocked on his window, and told him Id give him $2 to let my white Saturn out. So I went back to my car, told the guy next to me I was going to get a break, and that id let him out if he let me out first. It was flawless.



He responded, "Its sad you have to pay somebody", and I said, "Everybody's got price!"
But what I really wanted to say was, "Yes, Yes it IS sad that I have to pay some body".....but Im sure that two bucks was worth about 20-40 minutes
<
SAVE MATTS MARRIAGE!!!

Ok, So you're not exactly saving his marriage, but I guess you would be HELPING his marriage if you gave this poor guy a hand for his honeymoon. Ive known Matt since 96' when our crew partied with his gang from Buffalo down in Panama City. Great guys and we've all kept in touch. I know Stu would appreciate it if you helped him out- Ill let his fiance do the talking:

Hey all! This is our last ditch effort to try to save our honeymoon. Please read it and help us out. Then send it to everyone you know. Lets get this passport! Thanks so much!

Matt
Subject: Help save my marriage

My fiancé and I are getting married in 18 days. Wahoo!

But thanks to the US Passport processing cluster, it looks like our honeymoon will be the first lesson in marriage compromise. You see, I have my passport, my bags are packed and I’m ready to go. But Matt is not so lucky.
Even though my fiancé applied for his documentation 12 weeks ago, we’ve been waiting by the mailbox for months and seen nothing but bills come and go, honeymoon dreams shattered, Greek Island cruise down the toilet, and best of all, the passport office has his birth certificate which is needed for our NYS marriage license.

I don’t think the feds like newlyweds all that much.

THE RALLY CRY
So, I know this isn’t a life or death situation but I’m tired of sitting around praying novenas for Matt’s passport to arrive. Since we’ve tried everything else, we’ve decided to stick it to the man and launch an old-fashioned letter-writing campaign with a new-school style. If you want to help save our marriage, (and our honeymoon) please click on this link and write to our Congressman, John Sarbanes on our behalf - - - - UPDATE----- NO NEED TO WRITE!! IT WORKED!!!
If this doesn’t work, at least we’ll have gone down swinging...

Thanks everyone…if we make it to Europe, we promise to bring a big jug of Ouzo back to the states and toast our online army. (That is, if they let us enter the country with more than 3 oz of liquid!)

Pass this on to everyone you know…and thanks for saving our marriage!

Call Centers

I took a call today and the first thing I heard was silence, and then I heard about two seconds of a loud busy call center. When I hear the call center, I can tell you its already a NO. And I kinda feel bad for those people because I know they're just doing their job and I did telemarketing in college so Im not hateful about it, but seriously, If someone called me from a call center to get my address to send me a million dollars? Id hang up on them as soon as I heard the giant room of sales people working the phones. And DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED on the autodialer delay, or the worst of all, when you answer the phone and hear, "Stay on the line for an important message" WHAT???!!!

PAPERCLIPS

Is anyone else particular about their paperclips. Im not even talking about smooth/ribbed, or butterfly vs the black clips, Im just talking #1's versus Jumbo. I HATE the #1's, they're WAY too small for the bigger things I need paperclips for. And for some reason my boss with ONLY use the smaller #1's so thats what I have at my desk. I cant stand them! Im ordering Jumbo's next week. Does anyone else have a persuasion either way?

A love song I heard on the radio today

So Im driving home from Finneytown's summer league volleyball game in Wyoming tonight and Im listening to this song on the radio, and its a guy singing, about how "Every time I stray, I keep coming back to him"......and I thought, "Wow! A homosexual love song! Man, radio has really come a long way, way to go, Gay Guy!" And then I started thinking about the struggles of gay musicians, and how great it must have felt to really break through with a legitimate love song about their life. And then as the song progressed, I realized they were talking about, "Him", as in, Jesus. oops.

Why Finneytown is Special!

I dont know that Ive even mentioned this on my blog yet, but recently got a job as the Finneytown High school JV Volleyball coach. Things have already started up for the summer and will only get busier in August-Sept-October. Open gyms and practices over the summer, and this summer league in Wyoming I was at tonight.

Anyway, I was sitting on the bench at the game and I thought of something......Finneytown High School (FHS) Wildcats. Colors are Light Blue and Red.....hmm.....

My High School - Fairmont (FHS), My Junior High - Kettering WILDCATS, My elementary - Beavertown, whos colors were LIGHT BLUE AND RED!!! Finneytown embodies my entire scholastic career!!! (I dont count college, I didnt learn anything there)

For those of you who havent met my father, my excitement over this information matches me better with him than any DNA Test ever could. Seriously.

DONT FORGET TO GO BACK AND SEND A QUICK LETTER TO MATTS CONGRESSMAN!!!

Im looking forward to hearing feedback on your call center/paper clip experiences.

Have a good weekend. We'll be at spoons pool party on Saturday. Plenty of good photos there for sure!

I forgot to add the question of the week to yesterdays post.....

What is your funniest/most memorable Bachelor or Bachelorette Party Story???

Get your pretty dancin' shoes on....its time to celebrate Tracy's Bachelorette Party!!!!

Saturday the gang went out for Tracy's Bachelorette Party. Most of the bridesmaids were in attendance and we headed to downtown Cincy. For those of you who dont know, Tracy is one of my best friends from High School, and who was probably my favorite bad influence. The summer before my junior year, she had a party and said, "Fortener, we're gonna get you drunk!" and provided me with a 6-pack of Busch Light in which I was not allowed to get up until it was finished.

That night, I fell into the fountains at Lincoln Park and proceeded to spend the night on her parents driveway, in what I can recall as one of the best nights of sleep I have ever gotten. She went to BG and is now teaches 8th grade English/Language Arts. Yes, the girl who would come home from college and need directions to our houses is shaping young minds, God help us all!
Oh the novelties of a bachelorette party....she had em all.....TWO sashes (one of them lit up), white boa, a first communion veil covered in condoms, just as God had intended, and the necessary penis ring. Yes folks, she was on a roll. I had an idea to take a shot from the floor up, but I wasnt sure how it would turn out- I was pleasantly surprised!

Of course we had the tunes on in the hotel...and you cant stop these girls from dancin!

And what event in a hotel isnt complete without a self-portait of everyone in the elevator? Geez, my torso looks like a bowling ball.

We headed down the street to the new spot downtown, the Cadillac Ranch...had 8:30 dinner reservations and got our food around 10. Id reccomend the chicken wings...real good. We ended up with a nice table out on the patio, and even though weather.com said it was going to rain all night, I only recall just a few drops.

Of course with 7-7-07 being just around the corner, and a hugely popular date for weddings, the bachelorette parties were out in full force. Here's tracy with two other brides that were at the bar. That bride is getting awfuly friendly with one of Tracy's many phallic accessories. Honey, you're getting married....you dont HAVE to do that anymore!!

Tracy found her way onto the mechanical bull.....watch her get thrown off....

We got off the elevator and I said, "OK! everybody! Do something sexy!" And this is what I got...Crystal is my favorite...hike that leg up sista!

Awww....the sisters Spears. Holding a giant inflatable penis. Poor Shannon messed her knee up in a softball game this week and was on one crutch the whole time, and also got designated to carry this giant phallic symbol around all night. She was pretty easy to spot all night, limping around on that crutch with a giant penis haning from her neck. She was quite the trooper, Ida trashed that thing early If I got stuck carrying it around.

And the other sisters, Ang and Tiff. Great Cleve Tiff!
So, Tracy had these cards and she was supposed to perform these "Dares" throughout the evening....not a great picture, but I can only assume the dare was to put her bra on some dude. Check. This was at Longworths in Mt. Adams - the first club we went to.
I gave the "upshot" another try at the next bar we went to - Mt. Adams Pavillion. Get used to this, folks, I have a feeling this is going to be my new favorite shot, after elevator self-portraits of course.


Party Girl! Thats me & Crystal - you know? Beer Pong champion of Finneytown?
I think we're just waiting for a cab here.


A little out of order, but here's the gang after the bar closed. Hey! All ready to go home? Not quite, we waited about 45 min before we got a ride.
Oh yeah....WAY out order here, but heres a fun shot on the dance floor.
And heres where we spent 45 minutes waiting for a cab....good times indeedy!


Headed back to the hotel - around 3:30 am- did you hear that Stacy? I was up WAY past midnight! Of course I didnt have a choice but whatever. Had a great time and Im really looking forward to the wedding - its definitely going to be a fun group.

2007 PANEGYRI Greek Festival

Sunday we headed over to our 2nd favorite place to eat gyros. (Souflakis is #1).....Mom, Dad and Grandpa came down and we met up with Stacy, Casey & Emma, David, Alisa & Annie, Pauly & E-Beth, Casey & Steve, and Richie & Eva.

Same thing every year and thats the way we like it. 2 gyros, fried cheese, grape leaves, olives, pita, baklava Sundae and a few beers just to get started. Then I like to head inside and look at all the jewelry & art, and those cute little coin waist-wraps, that every year I serioulsy consider buying one, and every year I dont. Fell in love with costume-jewelry ring and walked away.....too much. Fun, relaxing, great music, great place for people watching. An uneventful good time every year.

Pauly, John, Dad, Mom, Grandpa, E-beth chat, hang out, eat.

Grandpa (w-Emma), Dad, Me, Mom
The girls - Andrea, Stacy, Annie, Alisa, Emma & I.

Everyone have a great week!




`

To the Jerk-off middle aged man in the black Corvette from Indiana This morning....
Dude. Seriously? Ronald Regan Highway is down to one lane. Im merging with the rest of the sheep. We go, you go, we go, you go.....Its a pretty easy concept. I was ready to merge. The guy in front of me went, then the guy in front of you went, then I was going to creep in there but NOOOOOO.......you're going to buck the system for what? For one more space ahead? For real? Thankfully the guy behind you didnt take it as a signal for a eastbound RR highway revoloution and leave us ALL stuck in the merging lane.

We make it a few miles before we have to let the 75 traffic merge onto RR and you're ahead of me. I can see you. The problem with being an asshole in a traffic jam is that you cant speed off and escape the guilty conscience following you. I see the line of cars in front of you, one by one, take turns merging with the other bumper to bumper lane. Its the unwritten law of the character code that you obey. But you dont. Again. Again you speed up and throw another wrench into the flow.

Whenever I see a traffic jam, I always imagine that it took just ONE person with bad judgement or lack of moral character to unleash this avalanche of a traffic jam and you sir, are that person!

You might be surprised to know that my pissy mood actually started before I even saw Mr. Middle aged man in black corvette from Indiana......

You see, I was hungry when I left for work and was feeling a serious egg-deficiency. I love love love eggs and its been quite a while since Ive had eggs for breakfast. Now a BK Crossanwich is like, one of the greatest gifts you can give your palette, but it aint exactly tofu. So im approaching BK this morning.........fight it, fight it, fight it.....I turn. I need a sausage, egg and cheese crossanwich. So I go in, order the crossanwich, and while Im standing at the counter, I hear the guy ordering at the drive through ask for the same thing, but NO EGG!!!! Are you kidding? Taking the egg out of a crossanwich???? are you insane? Now you've just got a sausage sandwich.....why even EAT breakfast??? might as well be lunch or dinner!!!

So they finally give me my bag and I hurry out to the car and get going. By the time Im about to pull off Galbraith and on to regan, (Where I meet M.A.M.I.B.C.F.I) and I reach into the bag.....

"This is the most weak-ass crossanwich Ive ever gotten!" It was so light....no girth at all.....
I rip off the wrapping....
I GOT THE CROSSANWICH WITH NO EGG BY MISTAKE!!!! AAHHH!!!!!!
So this just royally SUCKS. So I go to work and Im telling Brent about my awful morning and the jerk-off and the crossanwich without the egg how this day was not starting out good.

But then I remembered the last time I predicted the overall quality of my day off of a breakfast sandwich and was terribly wrong. My senior year in college I ran into one of the guys on the rugby team while picking up coffee. He bought my coffee AND bought me a breakfast sandwich.....and we sat and had a lovely breakfast......and I walked out to go to class, and it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY......and I thought to myself, (I actually remember thinking this to myself) "I just had my breakfast sandwich and coffee paid for......This is going to be a great day".

And later that day I blew my knee out.

So then I decided that maybe the bad breakfast sandwich story meant that I was actually going to have a GREAT DAY, but it was just average.

As you probably guessed.....
(ps if you have a weak stomach you might not want to read the end of this post)

I came home last night after a 4 hour chemo, and John had another FANTASTIC creation in the works- it was dish comprised of nocchi, shrimp, and chopped asparagus & Broccoli in a sundried tomoato pesto/sauce...uh, YUM!

Of course after that I went to lie down around 630 and never saw the light of day again, so the early morning hours Ive been kind of on and off. Now its 4:30 am and Im thinking about taking a walk and then coming back to get caught up on some emails before I go to work.

I have a meeting with the Athletic Director with all the coaches today at 5p so we'll see how that goes!

Other than that, this chemo has raised my BP, which in turn, has given me a "going problem"....something Ive never had a problem with before.

I took "Something" for it at the lake which of course kept me from going to a nice dinner that night but it was necessary. I did same last night and had a nuclear holocaust in my stomach.....I cannot keep this up! (oh yeah.....thats another reason I had a hard time getting up early yesterday. I was "occupied" from the hours of 1:30-3:00 am)

Joni (nurse at Romers) gave me this powder that supposedly you can put in your coffee and its tasteless (kind of like this post) and it "fixes" the problem with out the pain of a "pink pill"......

I will tell you that NOTHING in this family is off limits with this family - When I was on the phone with my mom giving her the play by play of my afternoon, I could hear my dad in the background at the bar yelling, "Anchors Away! Anchors Away!", which, apparently, is something I was caught saying while I was being potty trained many, many moons ago.

When I was curled up in the fetal position at the lake late Friday afternoon, John stopped in to check on me and let me know they were leaving for dinner and quipped, "Now remember, not every blog post HAS to have a picture."

so no pictures.

Let me know if you need the name of this powder....supposedly one scoop will do ya and not give you the cramping and one hour emergency situation.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!-- Three days till Tracy's Bachelorette Party!

Today Super SUCKED!!!

Of course I spent all weekend dreading what would be on my desk when I got back from vacation, and as expected, Ive got about 80 emails to respond to and massive stack of general stuff on my desk.

I was planning on getting a fast start on everything this morning and last night the manager at the other warehouse in Cincy called me and needed me to cover over there. Fortunately they only needed me till noon, but my the time I got to my office, I had about 20 minutes to start a pot of coffee, and get a few random things done before a new client showed up....whos account I will be in charge of....and I got pulled into that meeting for two hours.

I help my boss get out his GTO club newsletter every month and its supposed to go out the week BEFORE the third Thursday of the month, when they meet (which was last week) but im the only one who knows how to add postage to the meter so that got put on hold until today....that takes up a decent chunk of time....copying 30 4 page newsletters....stapeling them, running through the meter, adding address labels, folding them and stapling again....ugh....add to that my other customer needed a shipment to go out UPS next day air, and that left me with about enough time to basically make at to do list for tomorrow (tuesday)

I bet you're thinking Ill get a lot done tomorrow arent you??? WRONG!!!! I have to drive to Dayton for chemo at 1:00p for a 4 hour treatment and then I have to be back in Cincinnati for Finneytown open gym from 5-7. I guess it could be worse......it could always be worse!!!

So my plan now is to get into work around 530-6am tomorrow and get a good solid 6 hours of catch up before I have to drive to Dayton again...ugh!!!

Looking forward to this weekend- Tracy's bachelorette party in Cincinnati. Ive got a scandalous (ok, scandalous for me) outfit in the works. Angie said I could actually pull it off and she never says that....it must look pretty rediculous.

Im sorry this post sucked....but there wont be much more going on until this weekend so you'll just have to wait.

So Ive started this really bad habit of taking pictures while I drive...

(ps-CHIPOTLE MAYO RECIPIE IN THIS POST!! FINALLY!!!)

As i was driving back up to the lake after chemo on Tuesday, I wanted to take pictures of some of the more amusing sights along the way. I was going to get some of the "travel landmarks" we pass every time we drive up there, and thats when this guy pulled up behind me on 48 when I was driving through Centerville....not every day do you have a "Slash" clown on a cell phone driving a convertable Mini Cooper pull up behind you. I took this without looking. Not bad!

This one never gets old. If I was giving you a quiz on pop culture and asked you who "J.C. Naz"was, you'd probably guess it was some up and coming rapper, right? You'd be wrong, though.....its the J.C. Naz, Church of the Nazarene in Jackson Center, Ohio. I only wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the committee was trying to come up with a "Newer, Hipper" name for their church. They came up with a doozy. And yes, thats a year old crack on my windshield.
And of course the ever popular Indian Lake landmark, the ginormous arrow directing drivers to O'Connors Point. Seeing as theres only a handful of rentals there compared to the 20+ they used to have, and mostly privately owned homes, its probably not necessary, but its still impressive....

Thursday night, after the in-laws pontooned over for some pizza.
I know you all enjoy a close-up shot of a J-Mac custom dinner....so here you go!
As promised, I told you Id show you Brendan's attempt to eat an ear of corn in under 20 seconds......think he can do it???

Heres a few sunset shots for your viewing pleasure....I think they'd make good wallpaper!
We drove down to Dayton on Saturday and hit up this new place "Sima"on Woodman (across from Value City...next to CVS on Woodman and Patterson) It was really good....if you're into Sushi Id reccomend it. Although.....
When they got to our table, they gave us both hot towels. Can someone please tell me what the hell you're supposed to do with a hot towel??? We were so confused as you can see.
John hadn't bathed in a while, so he took the liberty to get that taken care of.

I thought this would be worth taking a picture of.....can you guess which bag I packed for a week and which bag John packed for a week? I was a little embarasseed, but I did wear most of the stuff.

Ok- before I give you the Chipotle Mayo Recipie- heres your question of the week:

What are hot, wet towels supposed to be used for? Do you have an awkward story of being given a hot towel and not really knowing what to do with it?

I think the hot towels is a courtesy that should be dropped in general.....Ive never heard anyone say, "Yeah, it was a good (flight, meal, event, etc) but they didnt even offer me a hot, wet towel? I mean, what the hell is up with THAT??"

Here you go, San Diego/Charleston!!!
Johnny Mac's Chipotle Mayo (This was created for his Sweet Potato Fries, but when he left the container over at the Schniebers a few months ago, Casey said it was putting it on "Everything for weeks"....so knock yourself out!)

1 12 oz Jar of Mayo (Real Mayo - not MW - regular or light)

1 7oz can of Chipotle in Adobo Sauce

3-4 Green onions

2 Limes

1/4 cup Cilantro

Mince cilantro, onions, chipotle. Mix into mayo. Juice Limes and mix into mayo. (Reduce Chipotle to taste)

Hey all - just checking in....brendan doesnt have a cable for me to hook up the pictures (and movies Ive taken) but they'll definitely be up Sunday....and Ill give you a tease....Ive got TWO, count em, TWO videos of Brendan timing himself eating corn on the cob. First one down in Thirty seconds......will he be able to beat that time with the second corn on the cob? tune in on Sunday to find out! We REALLY need to get a life!!!!

I read all the nice responses from the readers I dont know, and I can only read the minds of my closest friends, and it goes a little something like this: "Nice, Fort. Up at the lake for a week and the only thing you can fish for is compliments."

Now that I have had a sufficient amount of sunshine blown up a$$, Im going to go outside and get some on my chest.....my goal of the week is to tone down those tan lines leftover from Norris lake because Tracy's wedding....aka "Strapless Bridesmaid Dress Day" is just around the corner (7-7-07).....Its going well....Just need a small package of tanning bed appointments and I might be able to pull this off. Im still kicking around the idea of going platinum blonde for the event but im still scared....Ive still got that bleaching kit from Pony and it taunts me everyday.

Heres a funny - Ive got my suits straps down in the lake and Brendan started splashing me and I accused him of "Trying to look at my chest cavity".....to which John chimed in, "Yeah, It looks like her chest is winking at you".....

More on Sunday.

Another fine weekend at the lake...

Big John, John & Dad work tirelessly to make sure all eyes are on the lake while driving the boat...

We made good time and got up to the lake Friday night and just relaxed. Unloaded our stuff at the Zettler Cottage (www.zettlercottage.com) and then drove over to the in-laws to visit John. Diana was at a quilting event in Columbus till Saturday. Mom, Dad and G-pa Rotert got there on Saturday morning and they headed over to OConnors point and John grilled out for lunch. Good stuff.

We were lucky enough to have brendan and his superior computer skills there to hook up his computer to the huge 52" plasma tv and watch the live webcast of the wolfhounds game vs. Hayward. Unfortunately the luck ran out there. It was so cool to be able to watch it live, and the hounds put up a valiant effort, but it was not enough. Casey did have an amazing try and it was awesome to watch it live and then call Stacy and hear her freaking out and the crowd still going wild....oh, technology.

Sunday morning was Bloody Mary's at the Aler's just two doors down from John & Dianas. Up until meeting the McLaughlins, my stance on Bloody Marys was that "I didnt think it was right to mix booze and vegetables".....until now. Now I would consider myself a Bloody Mary snob, and have yet to drink one at a bar that holds a candle to the ones on Indian Lake. I now prefer my bloody Mary's with so much Horseradish in it that I have to literally CHEW the drink. I like to think im an afficianado.

Aside from that, Im not even drinking beer this week. I saw the Coconut Rum at the grocery store and got two bottles and been drinking coconut rum & diet Coke PLUSes all week. Yum. Just not in a beer drinking mood. Is it wrong that I dont enjoy a beer unless I plan on getting rip-roaring wasted??? I know I should have grown out of that college phase but I just dont see the point in drinking one or three beers. Kids, dont listen to me. Im a college-educated secretary.

Also- have you seen this new Diet Coke PLUS? It has vitamins and minerals in it. This way I can tell my oncologist tomorrow that Im "taking care of myself"....."because MY rum and Cokes are healthy, thank you very much!!!"

Here's the pad we're staying at all week - I know what you're thinking....what a DUMP! Actually, its just me, John and Brendan. I commented on how I felt like I was walking into one of the "Real World" houses and then we all pretended like we were cast members and started that witty "i-just-met-you-banter-oh,-who-should-I-room-with" delimmas. If you've seen the show, you know what im talking about, if not, this probably wasnt that funny at all, not that it was in the first place. For those of you who dont keep on my day to day schedule, Im actually not at the lake right now. I have chemo tomorrow and I had a volleyball game in Mason tonight at 930, so I left the lake at 4, came down to Dayton, then mom and I went to dinner (Penn Station) and then went shopping (Tar-jay) so I could get some gold shoes for tracys wedding. She wants all her bridesmaids in Gold shoes, and still doesnt think its funny that I said I was going to spray paint a pair of Chuck Taylors gold for the wedding. I think its hilarous.

So anyway, im just taking a 24-hr sabaticcal from vacation to play volleyball and get chemo tomorrow morning - Oh, I guess its this morning! its quarter after midnight! - and then its back up to the lake tomorrow. After chemo, of course, we'll go over to first watch at Town & Country. Maybe Ill get some pictures of that. Brendan has his laptop there so Ill be able to post any excitement that occurs throughout the week.

To conclude, I was driving home today and this truck was in front of me....I had to take a picture, because it just said "SCHWING" on the back of it. For what reason I do not know. But its damn funny. And finally, I wanted to say hello to 2nd cousin Sue in California, who I spoke to on the phone for the first time today! Now you've been "outed" as a blog reader and you have to "Christen" this post with a comment.....I know you want to! (Ill make it easy and ask a question of the day...its been a while, huh?)

While we're on the subject of readers Ive never talked to, I pop on the site meter from time to time and see some interesting locations, where I dont think I know anyone. Do you read this blog and not know me? How did you find it? What keeps you coming back? I dont know anyone in Topeka but I see visits from time to time. Who are you? Tell me about yourself!!!

Sorry - this post sucked. I have no material when Im on vacation and not doing crap! I do have a good story Ill have to share with you sometime this week but im tired and I need to go to bed. Chemo starts at 8AM!!!! Just remind me to tell you about Pauly's "observation" he made in San Diego regarding Stacy & I's friendship. I think its pretty funny.

Oh, and I did say Id put up a question of the day, didnt I?

What is your funniest memory (or memories) from Elementary School??

Good Luck Cincinnati Wolfhounds!

Kat and I met after work and finally got around to putting up these banners I made on Sunday. The Hounds head to San Diego this weekend to play in the National Championship. You can read more about the hounds at www.wolfhoundsrfc.com to the the rundown on their road to the final four. Special good luck wishes to Casey, Tony and the rest of the ex-kelts playing for the Hounds. This is going to be an amazing weekend for you guys!
One other thing....I got a case of the hiccups today....and Stewy's remedy WORKED RIGHT AWAY. Just pinch your nose and chug water till you cant chug anymore, and then take ONE MORE CHUG. VOILA!! Thanks Stewy!

A few thoughts for Monday....

The "New and Improved" BETA Version....????

• I upgraded my yahoo account (above) to the "New and Improved" BETA version, what ever that means. Now it pretty much looks exactly like my Outlook. I will admit that I like it better, but does anyone else feel like they're getting mixed signals from technology? I mean, 20 years ago, VHS was edging out the smaller, BETA Video tapes. When ever you saw someone with a beta vcr, you just laughed, and shook your head. The Video Rental places didnt have NEARLY the selection if you had BETA.
• Which brings me to another thought. Isnt the sole purpose of technology to make things smaller and more efficient? So how did Betamax become the red-headed stepchild of VCR owners? Hmmmm.....I might have to research that. I smell conspiracy.
• Someone had hiccups this weekend and Stewy threw out a sure-fire cure. (My moms old cure was to chug water while pressing firmly behind ones earlobes - You cured your hiccups by making your brain focus more on the impossible feat of dexterity it took to do so) Stewy said to hold your nose, and chug water until you cant chug any more, and then take ONE MORE CHUG. Apparently this flushes out all the oxygen or something.....we were drunk, I forget the explanation but I do intend to try it. My hiccups can be violently painful.
• I have TWO main ways to get to work - Ronald Regan Highway and I-275. They are now officially, both under contstruction. Down to one lane....both of them. Who are the f**king morons who forgot that a million people travel from the west to the east side of Cincinnati? WHen they started the construction on 275, the RR Hwy traffic got worse. I dont know what the hell we're all going to do now. Please dont say get up earlier.
• Played volleyball tonight. Won all three....played like crap. Decent serves and one good block. I think my shirt was too tight. Sometimes im more focused on sucking in my gut than I am on the game and it just throws me all off. Also if I eat dinner and get a little "gassy" during the game, Ill hold back and down balls that should be kills because Im afraid that if I jump, Ill rip one in mid air when I make contact. Just ask my rugby teammates. I had a habit of farting when I was lifting in the lineouts. Its embarassing.
• I am a big fan of the Geico Caveman commercials.
• John made fish tonight and we cleaned out the fridge of about 6 tupperware containers of moldy leftovers. The place smells like a dumpster. Thank god the trash goes out tomorrow.
• Im supposed to be drinking water ALL THE TIME with this new chemo. Its supposed to be a strain on the kidneys and I need to keep them flushed at all times. Im not doing as much as I should. Throughout the day, could you please shoot me an email and remind me to take a swig of my water? I keep it on my desk, but its water. Its just BOR-ING.
• I called Darian "Dar-jonaisse" Bonnell about going to the lake with us this weekend and he never called me back. Maybe he'll read my blog and get off his skinny ass and call me back!
• I asked john to clean off the pan he made fish in because it was seriously reeking when I left. He said, "No problem, shmoop". I got home and it was still on the stove. He was sleeping on the couch. I loudly unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. Clanging pans in frustration. "That'll show him," I thought. That was an hour ago and he still hasnt woke up.
• I am a horrible gardener. I planted these fun "Summer Bulbs" I got from Lowes. After I planted them, I watered them, but decided they probably wouldnt grow anyway because I suck at gardening. So I bought some sweet williams and planted them over the bulbs. The Sweet Williams havent died yet but the bulbs are actually growing but they just look like giant blades of grass among the flowers. It looks rediculous. They would have been much better in the back of the flower bed. My MIL got me all these country home magazines that I SHOULD be learning from. You're supposed to stagger them so the tall ones arent in front of the shorter ones. I mean, DUH.
• I think i have an addiction to this little blue hand held tetris game. I play it while I watch tv. Sometimes hours at a time. Tonight, I was sitting on the couch, and I had an urge. It was like an itch. I turned and looked for it. John was playing. HE NEVER PLAYS IT! I tried to keep my cool and just stared at him. I saw him finish the game but when he saw me glaring at him he got this goofy smile and started to pretend to play just to stall me. I just shook my head "no" and he gave it to me.

ok...im done for today.

Is this a coyote? A wolf? Someones family pet?

So I come home yesterday and I look out into the backyard, and see what looks like a piece of wood lying in the grass. Kinda shaped like a dogs head or something. I get my camera and go out the back door and this little guy gets up. Scrawny, mangy little thing. Ran off into the woods. Should we be worried? He was just hanging out in the shade, not bothering anyone.

Heres a closeup of the picture.

Congrats Mandi!

Another fun filled nite out with the Ya-Ya- celebrating Mandi's upcoming nuptuals. Had a Pure Romance party at Brendas. I wont go into details about that though! I was pretty wiped out from driving to Dayton THREE TIMES in one week (Chemo, gpas/dads birthday dinner & this) but Mandi is always there to talk me into doing a shot. And lets face it, I never put up much of a fight!

Eewwwwww.....Thats the face of good tequila.

After the shower, it was back home for an early night in. Saturday morning mom, Ruth and I went out for coffee at McDonalds and I was home just in time for John to wake up (he's been working Second shift all week) and hang out with him for a few hours before he had to go back in.

I had plans to head to Matt & Tinas in Waynesville for their party but it started raining and I fell asleep for like 4 hours. I figured they werent going to have people over if it was raining, but then KJ called at like 830 and said it was still going strong. I had promised her we could sleep in my tent, and it sounded like everyone was having a good time so I quickly packed, threw the tent in the car and headed up. Great time as usual - Thanks to Tina and Matt for again hosting a great party at what can only be described as Disneyland for Drunks....camping, volleyball, hottubbing, great beer and plenty of it, and a campfire that can only be rivaled by a high school pep rally. Always a good time!

Stewy, Me, Casey & Grubb.....and Grubb is wearing a swimsuit, so technically she gets away with having her pants off.

Im finding myself taking at least one of these self-portraits a month....Stewy's the one who's friend hooked me up with that priceless photo of the Orchestra "Lettermans Jacket" shot.

Our tent is awesome - This was the one we got for our wedding. Kristen and I put it up ALL BY OURSELVES. Since I was bringing the tent, I was just going to let someone else put it up....but we ended up doing it and I was REALLY proud of myself....only had to look at the directions once. ok twice. Me, KJ and Aaron "Johnny Watts Junior" Pertner all stayed in the OU alumni Dome. Let me know if youre interested in camping some weekend over the summer....We're going to spread our wings and fly to Winton Woods I think. Yes, its just 4 short miles away from us...but with gas at this price? It'll do.

Pretty uneventful week ahead. This weekend we'll head up to Indian Lake and then stay for the next week - we're taking our vacation this month. Who knows if anything exciting will happen this week. Probably not.

Let me know what you think about the "creature" in our backyard.....

Have a great week!!!!