Sunday, June 25, 2006

Horizontal, Vertical or Any Way I Can Get It

Last night we had the Leader of the Reunion Committee and her husband over for a wine tasting. Evidently what we did was a horizontal tasting. We had 3 bottles of Zin from 2002, 3 different brands. I'm not nearly as good as Ryan and picking out flavors, I mostly just know what tastes good to me.

So it started off innocently enough, but within a few hours the 4 of us polished of 3 bottles of wine and broke into a fourth. Yikes! We were drunk enough that there was slurring conversations at the end of the night with promises not to tell anyone all the silly things we talked about and about how we girls acted like idiots a little bit. ;-) Now that is my idea of a good night.

I've been trying new photo things lately and I'm excited about it again. I felt like I was forcing myself at first, but now I'm pulling my camera out all the time. I've got a project going with Miss Karma D. Bear that I'm excited about. Pictures to come soon.

So it has been pointed out that the picture of myself is indeed scandelous. Well you know what? I'm excited about that! Its really out of character for me and I'm pretty proud of myself for putting it out there. But I promise, no more scandelous pictures. ;-)

I'm off to meet my girls for lunch and shopping. How very GIRL of me, huh? Hope you're all having a good weekend.

Friday, June 23, 2006

The Devil and Other Obsessions

In preparation for the movie, I just finished reading The Devil Wears Prada. If you're a regular visitor, you'll not be surprised to know that I am complete idiot when it comes to all things designer. That's why this book is perfect for me. Besides it being full-on Chick Lit, a guilty pleasure, the main character is a hopelessly style phobic girl. My kind of girl!

The thing I loved most about this book is the fact that it made me really step back and think about how much I've been complaining about my new job. Namely, my new boss. Well yes, he is a tad stricter than I'm used to (at my old job I made my hours and worked half day Sundays so I could see Ryan on Mondays), but at least he doesn't humilate me and tell me I'm an idiot. At least there's that. ;-)

Speaking of work, I am all kinds of pissed off about something that happened yesterday. I was walking back to my desk from the water cooler and not being in too much of a hurry, I browsed the flyers on the wall as I went. About halfway back, I stopped dead in my tracks. Someone had had the NERVE to post Protect Marriage propaganda bullshit on the wall at work! It turns out that in AZ there is a group of people who is collecting signatures for a bill of some sort, and they're coming up short. The flyer on the wall was actually a printout of someone's personal yahoo email account, and they hadn't even bothered to remove the name from the 'To:" line before hanging it up at work!

It is no secret that I'm pro-gay. Well, that is it is no secret out here in the blogosphere. At work? I just don't feel its appropriate to talk about. I sit there grinding my teeth when the guys make horrid jokes about gay people because I know that no matter what I say, there's no changing minds that are closed.



The point is, what gives anyone the right to put something like that up in a professional work environment? Do they naively assume that EVERYONE agrees with them and would thank them for bringing this matter to their attention. Well I, for one, was offended.

The irony? It is diversity week at my work.

Further irony? The man who posted this flyer is currently in the middle of a divorce. Way to protect marriage buddy.

I promptly tore down the flyer and ripped it into as many pieces as I could. My only regret is that I didn't save it and turn him into the ethics department.

****************

I attempted self portraits tonight. For some reason my pictures are not turning out crisp when I control the camera myself (aperture/shutter speed etc.) Its really frustrating. I'm going to think on it and try again another day.

Bye for now.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Meme - 5s

So, Kross-Eyed Kitty tagged me about a billion years ago for a meme. Just haven't felt much into blogging lately, but it seems that's more common then not on the Internet these days. So anyway, sorry kitty girl. I'm on it now!

The 5's Meme
5 Items in my Fridge
*soy milk
*watermelon

*gouda, 'cause its gooda
*beer (Corona, Pacifica, and some New Zealand beer)

*chalula hot sauce

5 Items in my Closet
*a pile of clothes
*a pile of shoes

*a huge book containing a copy of the NY Times from the day I was born
*Ryan's clothes
* a shelf full of hats I'll never wear

5 Items in my Car
*a sun shade (a MUST in Arizona)
*my Sirus satelite radio
*2 pairs of sunglasses
* jumper cables

* loads of dog hair

5 Items in my Purse
*a wallet in which I keep nothing I actually use. I only have it in there in case Kel checks to see if I actually own a wallet
*gum
*business cards
*cell phone
*powder
* my work ID


People tagged: The other Amanda
, M , Jenny Penny

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Amanda, Private Eye

I have turned into an obsessive Internet stalker. I've gotten really good at finding people. You missing someone? I can find them for you.

The problem is.... I discovered this site as a tool:
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi

That right there is a death finder.

When I was IN high school our year was deemed by the news as 'The Doomed Class'. I don't remember them all to specifically, but for sure I know we lost one to drowning in a lake, one to cancer, and 4 were killed by drunk drivers in two separate 'accidents'. That's a lot for high schoolers to deal with.

So I'm thinking, out of a class of almost 800 people, only a short 10 years out of high school, how many people died before their time? So when I finally hit a dead end with about half of my names for the reunion, I turned to the death finder site. I did it while watching TV, not really paying too much attention, because really? Why should I expect to find anyone who had died?

Well I did. A girl named Jessica died only 3 weeks after graduation. I couldn't find her obituary, but the death was filed in Hawaii. Was she on a senior trip to celebrate graduation before heading off for college?

Anyway, 2 months ago if you'd asked me I would have told you I would have to be dragged to my reunion. Well now I've gotten myself so involved that I'm sort of a voyeur to these people's lives. And I really do feel ashamed that while I'm going through my list I don't even recognize half the names. And more than that, I hope I can keep myself from getting to the reunion and reverting back into that wall flower I'm afraid I was in high school.

******

OK, to change the subject a bit. If you're not watching So You Think You Can Dance, you're missing out! I swear! I had Ryan watch yesterday's episode w/ me when I got home from the RC meeting, and it was half hour after our bed time when he said, "Let's just watch ONE more couple...". Even Ryan loves it! I like that blonde kid w/ the mohawk.

In other news, my father-in-law (hi Bob!) was kind enough to do some research on that CRP number I was talking about. Yeah, well turns out it could be any number of things, INCLUDING the virus that causes cold sores. Dude. My doctor lady WROTE ME A PRESCRIPTION FOR COLD SORE MEDS at the same visit as she told me I was basically dying because of that CRP number. I think I need a new, sane doctor.

Don't expect too many posts out of me till next week. Ryan is on his 5-day, so its all Ryan, all the time. :-) Love ya!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Again, Internet = bad

Do you have any idea the scary things that strangers can find out about you on the Internet? I've gotten creative in my efforts to find my 75 people for the 10 year reunion. I discovered that you can cruise through public records VERY easily online. I've found people's addresses by reading through court proceedings, foreclosures on houses, child support settlements, and I even know the cost of about half of my people's houses. And I'm a little ashamed that I'm totally enjoying reading it all. Must be from watching all the reality TV.

But that's not all. For 2 of my 75 people, I was lead straight to P0RN sites. Yikes! And one of the sites was definitely the person I was looking for! In all her naked glory. I sure hope she doesn't show up for the reunion. What do you say to someone you know so, um, intimately?

So my parents are just fine after the non-hurricane. I finally got ahold of them last night and they were surrounded by tornado warnings. And this morning? Yeah, I had to call them again. I am pretty sure my parents don't ever think to read this site, so I feel safe saying this: If you have 2 kids who are in another state and you KNOW they're seeing a mass of red and yellow moving toward you on the satellite images, wouldn't you at least call? Or at the VERY least, leave your cell phone on?

I'm off to Mika's dog training. She's definitely the star of the show. She's so well behaved in class! Now if I can only figure out why that disappears when she gets home...

Monday, June 12, 2006

My Parents and Alberto

My parents are here right now, right on the Gulf:


And totally unrelated, my new shoes:

Sunday, June 11, 2006

When I win the lottery I'm hiring a personal shopper.

People who know me best know I HATE shopping. H.A.T.E. Hate. Because I hate shopping, I have a closet full of clothes with an average age of 2 years. Every time we get those little flyers in the mail about thus-and-such charity organization who will be in my neighborhood picking up bags of clothes, Ryan drags me to the closet, telling me we can replace anything I give away with something new. One for one. A bribe.

The problem is... I hate the shopping. I get to the mall and my brain goes numb. Nothing looks good, I hate trying things on, the prices make me ill... And don't even get me started on how much I hate shoe shopping above all other kinds of shopping.

But then when I go to get ready to go to work in the morning I'm bored with what I have. And when I get ready to out somewhere? I'm embarrassed. My girlfriends are all really stylish and adorable. I can't tell you how much I stress out about what I'm going to wear if I go out. Normally I'm a shorts, tank top, no makeup kind of girl. But going out? I have about 2-3 tops that I rotate and its embarrassing that I've shown up in the same white knit top for the last 4 parties I've been too, and the theater this last Friday, and then I washed it to wear it again today.

So today I bit the bullet. I knew it was a good shopping day when I managed to snag a much coveted shady spot in the parking lot. (we Arizonans will stop just short of a fist fight to get a shady spot) Then I braved the teeny-bopper Buckle store and found a top! One that's not sleeveless, so I could wear it to work, and it was only $24, which totally appeals to the cheapo in me. And if that weren't enough, I then found a bra to replace the white one I bought for my wedding 4 years ago! And then I managed to find a pair of shoes I adore, and they weren't $100! And not only that, they are WEDGES. Never thought I'd own some of those. And I'm only a half season behind!

I've decided its time for a mini makeover. I'm tired of feeling bad for not having cute earrings to wear out. Tired of Target shoes from 5 years ago. Tired of nothing but t-shirts and polos to wear to work.

So to anyone who's already thinking ahead to my birthday in a month? Please spare me another punishing trip to the mall and get me a cute pair of earrings, or a trendy necklace I can only wear with one outfit... ;-)

I think all this makeover thinking has something to do with this 10 year reunion thing. I graduated with a class of about 750 people, and I've been assigned 75 people to find. We all have grandiose ideas of being the one to walk into the reunion, the spotlight swings toward you and all heads turn. You hear people whispering, "Did THAT girl go to our high school? I would have remembered someone who looked like that." Yeah, I'm one of those hopefuls. But then the reunion committee. Lots of beautiful people! And successful people to boot! Then I started looking for my lost 75, and more beautiful people! Doctors, and lawyers, and TV stars, and dancers on Broadway...

And I know that looks aren't everything, I'm not stupid. I know that looks aren't supposed to be important, but they are. And me? I don't have the look. But I could!

So baby steps. Today I got a shirt. Maybe next time I'll get a whole outfit. Who knows, maybe by the time we get to October for the reunion I'll be ready for jewelry and good makeup.

In the meantime, the Veterans' Association is coming on Wednesday. Maybe if I just get rid of half my closet I'll have some incentive...

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

What's up Doc?

Turns out that Fred the Lump is still unexplainable. I get to go to an ENT now.

OK, so my doctor's office is.... insane. I'm the first to advocate herbal remedies before drugs, but my doctor has gone too far.

I have been going to the same doctor for about 15 years now. About 5 years ago my doctor got a new office, painted everything a soothing purple color, and started talking all slow and spacey, like an Earth Child. But I'm afraid of change when it comes to medical stuff, so I keep going there.

So I get chornic cold sores. There's only one drug that works for me, and to me its like crack. If I feel that little tingle of a sore coming on and I don't have a pill on me, I freak. I've been known to leave work and drive 30 minutes home and back just to get a pill. So imagine my, um, disgust when I asked the nurse practicianor for a refill and she suggested a more 'natural' solution: ear wax. That's right kids, she wanted me to dig right in my ear and slap some of that stuff right on my lip.

Well, when I went in today to get my test results (which for the most part didn't have any answers at all, only promises of more tests a few months down the road), I told the NP that I am absolutely insane over my lack of sleep the last month or so. I've been waking up every night at 3am and then tossing and turning the rest of the night. I've been having crazy dreams about dating the Barenaked Ladies, bad dreams about Ryan at work, weird dreams about stuff going on at my work... I can't stop my brain from working at night. And the more I try to stop thinking, the crazier my brain gets.

So I mention it to the NP about my sleeping problem and she tells me that I need to 'journal' before bed. What kind of doctor is this? Seriously, the whole place is insane.

In other news: the reunion committee drama continues. You ever been on an email stream where someone accidentally hits the 'reply all' button instead of just 'reply', then proceeds to talk crap about someone? Yeah, that totally happened this weekend and CHAOS! There was cat fighting back and forth all weekend, threats of defecting, threats of overthrowing leaders... Ahhh yes, my new entertainment.

Tomorrow I get to work at the normal 6am, and I have a meeting at 5pm. Yikes! Long day tomorrow, huh?

Oh and also! I got a question about the big brown apocalypse cloud that came through Phx yesterday on 6/6/06. Ha! This made national news? You're kidding right? Yep, that went right through my area. But it really was just a dust storm (actually, hysterically called a 'haboob'). We get them every summer. I guess it has something to do with the heat and the front of the cloud system collapsing and rushing through the Valley. So anyway, there you go. :-)



Enough randomness for you?

Monday, June 05, 2006

Internet = bad

I think they should ban all information on the Internet that will allow people to try to diagnose themselves. I'm totally freaking myself out reading things on the Internet. OK, so I mentioned about the cholesterol, but the thing they're most concerned about is this thing called CRP (C-reactive protein). OK, from what I understand, it is something created by the liver to deal with inflamation in the body. They have found that people who have heart attacks have elevated levels of CRP, so now they say that CRP levels can point to potential for future heart disease.

Well, they say that normally you should have NONE of this in your blood stream. Anything over 1 is bad. Anything over 3 is severe. I have an 8.7.

OK, so besides that, I've got this lump on my neck. No, not in the thyroid area, in the back of my neck on the side. I had an ultrasound and they told me that it has blood running through it. What does that mean? Is that bad or good? Anyway, the lump's name is Fred. Like Drop Dead Fred.

So what I'm saying is: I hate the doctor. And the Internet is evil. And tomorrow I go to the doc to get the verdict on all this stuff. So that's all there is about that.

Ryan and I went camping this last weekend in the White Mountains. It was 110 in Phx, but when we got up into the mountains it was raining and I had to throw on a sweatshirt. See! This is what I love most about Arizona. Cold in one direction, beach in the other, and beautiful desert in between. The camping trip was relaxing, but it was the absolute last straw on tenting it. That's it. We're buying a trailer.

Here's a few pictures from our trip. The one that's missing is us laying in our hammocks, but that's because we were too busy laying in our hammocks to care about picture taking. I love camping!







about me

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    Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States

    I'm Amanda. I'm an engineer in an industry full of men, a professional wedding and family portrait photographer, a firefighter's wife, a traveler, and a dogMa.

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