the amazing adventures of jen14221

stress

Peter and I have been having a hard time of it lately.  We made a big move only a few months ago, and both got new jobs.  Don't forget we also had a baby just over one year ago.  Lots o' stress.

You can take a 'stress test' here and see how you rate.  I won't tell you my score but it's pretty high. 

Here's us on our wedding day.  My hair added about 2 inches to my height.

I think I was stressed then, too!  It never stops.

tragic

Today I read about this actress in New York who was mugged at gunpoint a few days ago.  She was with a few other people, and got mouthy with the muggers.  One of them had a gun.  When she said 'what are you going to do, shoot us?', one of them shot her in the chest, and she died.

I discussed this with Peter, and we both agreed that this is something that I would totally do.   I usually let people have it when they're acting like assholes, like I suppose these muggers were acting. 

Once, in Boston in about 1993, I was on my way to work.  I was running very late and was nursing a hangover.  It was about 11am, and I had  just gotten off the T, ducked into MickeyD's for a coke (real coke works wonders when you're hungover) and was verbally assaulted by some fine young men in a sportscar.  They were trying to pull into a parking lot and apparently I was walking too slowly down the sidewalk, blocking their way.

Instead of just telling them to fuck off, I told them to fuck off and hurled my nearly full soda at the driver, whose window was open.  That McDonald's cup exploded on impact with the asshole's face.  Whoops.  Gotta run. 

Anyway, I'm lucky I didn't get killed.  I'll never do that again, even if I am called the c-word.  Also, if you're ever mugged, just hand that wallet over.

RIP Nicole DuFresne

friday's to-do list

• take Will to daycare
• pick up Heather 9am
• coffee @ Brewhaus w/ Heather
• drop Heather @ home
• drive downtown
• pick mom up @ work
• lunch w/ mom @ D'Arcy McGee's
• drop mom back @ work
• drive to Eastern Hills Mall
• manicure, pedicure, eyebrow wax
• drive to TJMaxx, Target and Marshall's
• shop, shop and shop
• pick Will up @ daycare
• drive home
• call mom and dad  - invite them for dinner
• call Molinaro's - order from extensive takeout menu
• eat
• load dishwasher, run dishwasher
• put Will to bed
• watch TiVo'd "Apprentice" from last night
• read new Star Magazine
• finish off bottle of pinot grigiot opened @ dinnertime
• brush and floss
• post on blog
• sleep

Tomorrow:  must do laundry

good things today

• Four wheel drive in my Nissan X-terra when the roads are crap, as they are in my neighborhood

• The LockportLibrary

• Faux-cocktails made with seltzer and POMWonderful juice

• Afternoon naps

• Kraft Mac & Cheese

• I Love the ‘90’s Part Deux on VH1

messy

My house is a mess.  Look at the living room:

It's all his fault:

In other news, I'm still sick.  Advil and Vicks Vap-o Rub seem to be helping a bit.  Will and I had lunch with grandpa today at Wagner's in Lockport (mmmmmm, Rueben sandwich, mmmmmm) and then we went to Will's doctor appointment in Williamsville.  He tried raisins for the first time today, and ate 300 of them.  Then, when I changed his diaper before bed, there were all 300 of those raisins.   Tomorrow maybe we will try craisins.

tv and magazines and nachos, oh my

Last night I was a true slug.  Peter had a late meeting, so after Will went to sleep I made a big plate of nachos and sat in front of the TV.  I watched the first hour of American Idol, then switched over to my beloved Amazing Race, and then to MTV for the Real World. 

During commercials I paged through these two great new magazines that randomly appeared in my mailbox yesterday.

Saveur (food and kitchen tools)

...and Budget Living (crafty stuff and shopping and eating)

stuffy nose - a haiku

Couldn't sleep last night

My stuffy nose bothers me

Hand me a tissue?

you can make your own queso dip at home, you know

Now that we have the new kitchen, I made a promise to myself that we would not eat out for a very long time.  Believe me, after eating at Pizza Hut and Applebee's for most of the fall season, I was ready for a plain old bowl of soup and a grilled cheese.  Plus we probably wasted Will's college fund on take-out crap food for those 2 1/2 months. 

So far, we have been doing pretty well with my wish.  We did host both the Burns and Wutz families for X-mas, and made good use of the new kitchen appliances and the enormous new dining room table.  I've been cooking quite a bit, and using my beloved crock pot on a regular basis.  However, I have a craving and today we will honoring it.  Queso dip and tortilla soup @ Don Pablo's.  Yum.

reading

I just finished a book today - "State of Fear", the new one by Michael Crichton.  Just kind of so-so, and really unbelievable.  The random thing is that there is a tsunami disaster looming in the story, which sort of mirrors real life now that I can't stop myself from being afraid of killer tidal waves.  Just one more thing for me to obsess about.

Will was reading a book today too.  He is so smart  - he can even read upside down. 

fat actress

Last night, Peter mentioned that he thinks that I look like Kirstie Alley.

Silence.

Silence.

I asked, "Now that she is fat, or always?"

Silence.

Silence.

"Um....always"