Trucker-mouth Wife

Not winning any genius of the year awards anytime soon

2009-07-17T10:19:00.000-05:00

So last night, when I was stuck in traffic, I came up with this brilliant idea to attempt mobile blogging.

I remembered a while back that I had linked my blog to my cell phone so I could text pictures or posts but couldn't rememeber how to do it. So, I opened up the browser on my blackberry and googled "Blogger" & "Mobile".

Voila. Turns out I can just SMS or MMS a message and it should post automatically. I opted for MMS since I have a character limit with SMS and didn't know how that would work. I typed up a profound post, hit send and away it went.

I anxiously waited for a few minutes, and then went TO THIS BLOG (see where I am going with this yet??) on the browser on my blackberry. Nothing. Nada. Crap.

So, I waited a few more minutes and nothing came through. Pretty much a big fat FAIL on my part.

It was only after all this, did I realize that, ummm, well, I could have actually gone to Blogger Dashboard directly in the browser of my blackberry.

DUH.

Double Fail

2009-07-16T18:32:00.002-05:00

I tried to update my blog by sending a MMS text. It's nowhere to be found and probably just floating around in the blogosphere. Great. Hopefully it pops up sooner or later.

FAIL

2009-07-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

Clearly I'm a big fat FAIL with this whole blogging thing.

I'm always saying "Oh, I should blog about that" and then forget what it was I wanted to write.

I suppose I could write about my mattress issues, the Kid Rock concert I recently went to, the stupidity of people or my severe lack of motiviation with going to the gym so I'm slowly becoming a FAT ASS again. But to be honest, I'm feeling quite lazy and not sure I want to type right now. Pathetic, right?

Plus, I'm really slammed at work and should probably go unbury myself.

"What I'm trying to Avoid" Thursday

2009-06-18T13:34:00.000-05:00

This is my list of goals of what I'd like to try and avoid, specificially today, but could also apply for the next week or so:

1. Work
2. Working too hard
3. Working out
(notice a common theme?)
4. Falling asleep at my desk
5. Food
6. The spider I found crawling on my desk that is now crawling on the ground somewhere because I FAILED in killing it
7. My Father
8. Making any more plans for the summer
9. Traffic on the way home
10. Old Navy & TJ Maxx (which are conveniently on the route heading home from my allergy shot clinic)

Yep, you guessed it. I'm grasping at things to write about.
And, I may even make this a regular spot on my blog. Just because I can.

Heebie Jeebies

2009-06-07T15:34:00.000-05:00

Today, I was giving the bird a shower and I looked down at my arm and there WAS A BUG CRAWLING ON IT. It was a small, black thing that did NOT WANT TO GET OFF MY ARM. I finally knocked it off and washed it down the drain. GROSS.

Now, I'm sitting at the computer, look down and THERE IS ANOTHER BUG CRAWLING ON ME.

What the fuck? Am I the goddamn bug magnet? Gross.

Now, I have the heebie jeebies and am keep feeling as if there are bugs crawling on me. My husband is looking at me like I'm insane. As if I can use any help with that one....

Laziness, Exercise & Ramblings

2009-05-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Surprisingly, this isn't about how I'm trying to get better about blogging, only to disappear for a few months and then come back and promise how I'll be better :)

I've been hitting a wall fitness and weight loss wise. I'm burnt out.

I think the onset of this started when my old spin teacher left for another gym and I decided to switch to another, much earlier, class. It was also at this time that I started spinning 3x a week. At first it was great and I had no problems waking up at 4:45am. Now though? Not so much. I'm struggling just to drag myself out of bed in enough time for me to make it to work by 9:30am. Before my old teacher left the gym, I was spinning 2x a week and running 3x a week. I felt great. I looked great. I was at a plateau, but ultimately, I could have been okay with how I looked ~~especially if someone wanted to give me $5k to get a breast reduction~~.

But I got lazy. And quit running because my knee bothered me and I didn't love the shoes I had just bought so I couldn't justify buying another new pair of $100+ shoes (I didn't know if it was spinning or running so I eliminated running). But mostly I quit running because I was lazy and forgot that I HAVE to workout to keep the weight off. I will NEVER be that thin person. My weight will always be a constant struggle for me.

But those 7-8 pounds I've recently put back on have seem to intensified this feeling of laziness and feeling of being burnt out. I don't know how to get the drive that I had 14 months ago back. Where is that girl that would go from a 45-minute intense spin class and then go run 2-3 miles? Now, I'm barely getting through an hour spin class.

So, I'm trying to force myself to jump back onto the fitness wagon, since I very obviously fell off. I'm running again (thanks to these!) and I'm back to doing the Couch to 5K program.

I didn't start with week 1 because honestly, I felt that I didn't need to since even though I'm not the thinnest person ever, I'm in decent shape thanks to spinning.

When I did this program back in February of 2008, I used Robert Ullrey's Podcasts however the music didn't grab me like I needed it to. The music was perfectly adequate, but it didn't make me want to run with the music. And while I GREATLY appreciate and am thankful to Robert Ullrey for making this available to many, many people, for me, it was just great background music, but that was it.

So I figured that there had to be other podcasts available and low and behold, I found one that grabs me. One that has me wanting to dance with the music. One that makes it not so bad to go to the gym for the 2nd time today, even after the hour bootcamp class I did at lunch, just to get 2nd run in for the week. So, I'd like to give a shout out and big 'ol thank you to Suze at kissmyblackass.org!

Hopefully, I can get my going to the gym mojo back. I actually miss being fitness obsessed. In a sick way, I miss getting ready in the morning at the gym and not driving 15 minutes so I can get ready back home, which just so happens to be 15 minutes away from the road I take to work whereas my gym is right off the road I take to work therefore causing me to foolishly drive an extra 30 minutes just because my lazy pathetic tired ass won't get out of bed 30 minutes earlier. I miss dozing off in the sauna for 10-15 minutes because I have extra time. And most importantly, I miss getting to work at 8:15-8:30am so I can leave at 5:00pm since I'm not a fan of working late.

Oh, hi! Here I am.

2009-05-28T15:26:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know. I swore I was going to get better at this blogging thing, but I never know what to write about. And when I DO have an idea, I am usually out drinking with my friends and I forget what it is by the next day :)
Not too much has been going on though...

I took "the bird" in for skin biopsy 3-weeks ago so we could try and diagnose the cause of his feather picking and he was diagnosed with inflammatory skin disease. Sound vague? That's because it is. Basically Mr. Bird has allergies. Great. $800 dollars later and I'm told he has allergies. Fanfuckingtastic.

So, I have to start giving my dear sweet bird an antidepressant that also doubles as an antihistamine and hope for the best.

I also have to start worrying that mold might be a real problem in my house. Sigh.

Back in December of 2007, I went a little gung-ho crazy with a humidifier and we had a moisture problem mold breeding ground. I've been on the fence as to whether I think the problem still exists or not, and I'm now thinking that there still is a problem, only one we can't see because it's behind our plaster walls.
As crazy as this sounds, I'm leery to have a professional mold consultant come in because

a) it will be crazy expensive and

b) if there IS a problem, I worry they would be obligated to report it and we would have to jump through all these legal hoops

The alternative is to slowly rip out all the plaster and re-insulate and drywall our house, room by room. What scares me about that is you NEVER know what you are going to find when you start ripping down walls. We could do all the work ourselves cough cough and not pull permits cough cough but it will be a LOT of work and a huge commitment to do this. Plus, we have GORGEOUS cherry wood trim throughout our house and I fear that we would not be able to save it.

Sigh. Decisions, decisions. Ultimately, I'll probably do what I do best, and that's procrastinate until a decision is starting me in the face. I don't do decisions. I have an extremely difficult time making "big" decisions. Who am I kidding, I have a hard time just deciding where to eat too.

Other than that, there hasn't been too much going on.

A really good friend surprised us with a visit over Memorial Day weekend. She is in the Navy and stationed on a ship for almost most of the next 4-years. They were in port for repairs and there wasn't anything pressing she was needed for so she texted me and came to town for 3 days. And a crazy 3 days it was. The amount of alcohol consumed on Sunday night was ridiculous. By some miracle though, I escaped only with a very mild hangover on Monday morning. However, I did pass on alcohol on Sunday. Anytime I tried to have a drink, I would get nauseous and sweat profusely. I took it as a sign that I needed an alcohol free night.
And that, just about sums what has been going on with me over the last few months. Exciting, right? I know my way cool social life is the envy of everyone! :)

DAMN YOU LEVI'S

2009-05-01T16:13:00.001-05:00

I detest buying new jeans. I am short and chunky and have an awful time finding jeans that fit halfway decent. I have a few, older pairs of Levi's that I ADORE however they are starting to show their age ~~think holes where the pockets attach to the jeans, wearing thin between the thighs, that sort of thing~~ and I have have been trying to find some new jeans that I like however LEVI'S HAD TO CHANGE THEIR STYLES. Assholes.

I am, apparently, the moron who thinks that my old AWESOME jeans which are Levi's 518 superlow bootcut would be the same as the new pair of Levis 518 superlow bootcut jeans I bought at Kohl's recently.

Nope. Not even close. What a crock of shit.

And, this is NOT an isolated incident. I tried buying a new pair of Levi's 519 Flare and they are NOT the same as my old pair either.

What fucking gives Levi's? Why do you have to go and mess with a good thing?

Now, I have no halfway decent looking jeans that I can wear with tennis shoes. Do you know how old it gets to ALWAYS have to wear some sort of heel with your jeans?

Ugh.

If I didn't love my Levi's so much, I swear I would cut them off. Never buy another pair. But alas, I won't, because ~~primarily~~ they are in my price range and are the best fitting jeans (for me) that I have found. Not many jean companies make a "short".

And for the record, Old Navy jeans can suck my big toe because while they also make a "short", they are the worst jeans I have EVER bought and worn in my ENTIRE life. Who wants to put on a pair of jeans only to have them stretch to 1800x their original size before the end of the day?

So, I am begging you Mr. Levi's. BEGGING. Please revert back to your old style(s). I can not handle these subpar jeans anymore.

Needed that like a hole in the head

2009-04-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

I got a speeding ticket last night. THE FIRST IN OVER 15 YEARS. I am so mad, it isn't even funny. What a stupid unobservant dumbass I am!

I mean really, how the hell did I NOT notice the cop until he was already behind me, obviously trying to see if I'd go any faster so he can issue me a more expensive ticket.

UGH. I really didn't need the $95 ticket at this moment ~~not that one ever wants to voluntarily give almost $100 to a law enforcement agency~~ but I have SO much shit coming up that requires me to spend money, I don't know what to do.

I know the LOGICAL answer is to tell me not to speed. And well, in a perfect world that would be ideal but I drive 80 miles a day, to and from work. Like I'm really not going to speed??

So, I guess I just need to suck it up, pay the ticket and hope that my insurance rates don't get jacked up because of it.

Spitting Nails

2009-03-19T22:11:00.002-05:00

My father recently approached my sister to ask for some financial assistance in the amount of a $700 loan.

Let me give you some background history on my father. He is:

an alcoholic, binge drinker at that (always has been)
unemployed, but collects disability
in love with a crack-whore (*disclaimer -- I don't know for sure that she is a crack-whore, but she looks used up like one and had track-like marks the one time she visited my dad in the hospital when he almost died)
is verbally (and occasionally physically) abusive when he is drinking
has ZERO financial responsibility or common sense
has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and will likely die soon
a few nuggets short of a 10-piece
selfish
did I mention alcoholic?

After my father approached my sister, she came to me to see what we should do. Logically, we knew that we should not help him but emotionally, we couldn't walk away.

So, my sister and I meet with him on Tuesday and reviewed what his overdue bills are for the month ($821.50) and what his checking account balance is ($7.70).

Anyone see a problem with this?

So, my sister and I came up with a budget that would require us to initially cover this $821.50 but we would get paid back.

Today, I get a call from him in response to an email I had sent earlier attempting to determine how much his Dish Network bill was. He had told us he was 2-months behind but his online account showed that he was 3-months behind. Immediately, I could tell he was drunk. Great. Just what I want to deal with when I'm at work.

I explain to him that I'm busy so no, I had not yet gotten a chance to pay the bill (2-days. It's been 2-days. Are you kidding me??) but that I would try to get to it in the next day or so. Not to mention, in the last week I have bought a new (new to me) car and a new cell phone so my cash flow is a little low at the moment. I THOUGHT he understood. Didn't like it, but understood.

Apparently not because this is the email I received from him at 9:30pm tonight:

So wha are you trying to tell me . I paid the dish bill cause I was with her and leave it at that AThanks for all you did but I am hopelessly in love with her and and forget it you won't split us up

I obviously called him about this (ummm. hello, he has no money in his account so how could he pay it? his bill is more than $7.70!). It turned into a nightmare of a conversation that essentially boiled down to him telling me that I didn't take care of paying this bill fast enough and his crack-whore friend/fuck friend/girlfriend (whatever the hell she is) needed to watch her soap operas. I basically told him to go fuck himself and that he has now screwed himself out of me helping with the rest of his bills.

This is obviously the summary version since the conversation lasted about 10-minutes but that's essentially what it came down to.

After my father hung up on me, I proceeded to call my sister to fill her in. As usual, she didn't have the time for me because she and her unemployed husband were finally spending some time together and watching TV.

At this point, I'm still absolutely furious, shaking, and enraged so I do what I do best, sent my father a love letter.

I want you to read her this email so she understands just how stupid you can be.
I did not have time to pay your god damn Dish bill yet. It had been 2-days. 2-days. How DARE you tell me I didn't get to it fast enough you entitled, self righteous SOB. You KNEW {sister} and I were working on getting you caught up. You can NOT expect us to fix your mistakes in 2-days. Because you couldn't live without your precious dish network, I am NOT helping you financially with anything. Do not EVER come to me and ask me for help again because I will refuse.
I hope that when you sober up you realize exactly what you did. But it will be too late because I still will not help you financially. And I KNOW you are drunk because you always turn it into us not liking {crack-whore} or we're trying to split you two up. I don't give a flying fuck who you are friends with. I hope she is happy that you are now in a financial black hole because you couldn't wait a few more days for your dish network bill to be paid. You would have been back on track financially by July but guess what? You are financially fucked now. Again, I will repeat this just in case you haven't got it already. I will NOT help you financially. NEVER .
In fact, I am SO furious with you right now that I don't know that I ever want to help you with anything, let alone have a relationship with you.

Of course, I didn't feel any better after hitting send so in my attempt to use this blog as self therapy, I came here and wrote it all out. And surprisingly? I DO feel a little better. Not much, but some. I guess the best cure is to sleep on it and get my aggression out tomorrow morning at the gym.

I am curious what the morning will bring. I can guarantee that I will have at least one, if not three emails and maybe a voicemail or two from him through the night.

New to me!

2009-03-10T15:34:00.000-05:00

I just bought a new car. Well, new to me car.

Currently I am driving a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am. It was the first car that I bought brand new, that I liked (it's actually my 2nd brand new vehicle).

Scratch that. I love(d) that frickin' car.
But it has had a plethora of problems starting off with it being sideswiped not even 4-weeks after I bought it. I had not even made 1 fucking payment on it yet. It was a hit and run, in the morning hours on a fairly busy road. How the fuck can someone just hit my car and no one see it and report it? Assholes.

So, I had to have some body work done. The first ~~overpriced~~ body shop I took it to (aka the dealer) told me I would have to replace the quarter panels and the mirror and it would cost over $1,500 to fix. I said forget that, pound that bitch out and replace the mirror. They refused so I found someone that WOULD do that and it cost me less than $300.

All is going good until my brakes start going, not even 6-months after I bought it. The dealer refused to acknowledge that the Grand Am has a faulty brake design so I had to pony up the $800 to have all my brakes and rotors replaced. My brakes were never the same after. I would be driving on the highway and when I used the brakes, I would get this humming sound. Personally, I'm pretty sure my calipers were sticking but what the hell do I know and the dealer claimed to find no problems. Hmmmpf. I know I am hard on my brakes, but not hard enough that they need to consistently be replaced, including replacing the rotors, every 6-months.

Then I had a problem with the intake manifold. Thank the baby Jesus for the extended warranty.

Next it was the blower motor which broke. Again, thank the baby Jesus for the extended warranty.

Meanwhile, I am replacing brakes like they are going out of style.

And then the warranty expires.
Two mother fucking thousand miles after the warranty expires, I need to replace my catalytic convertor. Even though I had documented complaints, before the warranty expired, that could point to the catalytic convertor (they could never replicate the problem. Shocking), they refused to fix it under warranty. I made the mistake of taking it to a repair shop where my brother knew the owner. When they replaced the catalytic convertor, they did it with a non-GM part so ever since, I've had problems with my car smelling like it's running hot, and the service engine light stays on all the time. This was a nightmare and it ended up with me being sick of dealing with it and just said fuck it, the service engine light can stay on all the damn time.

Of course there are the minor issues as well. The trim around the doors and windows started to come off so my husband had to glue them back down with silicone. The knob snapped off the dial on the heater which determines how I want the heat to come out (defrost, by my feet, etc). The motor for the passenger drivers side mirror went out. The dome light fell out of the roof of the car so I had to wedge it into place ~~ghetto much?~~.

Le Sigh.
I said I love this car, right?

Well, a very good friend of mine just bought a new Honda Accord and I decided to buy his old 2000 Honda Accord. I am excited and scared, all at the same time.

I KNOW my Grand Am is a piece of shit and needs to go buh-bye however I really do love that car. The intelligent part of me knows I need to get rid of that car before it goes up in flames on the side of the road, but I am just so emotional about the car.

I am nervous that I bought a car two years older than the one I am currently driving. I worry that gas prices will soar again because the Honda has a V6 so it doesn't get the best gas mileage (approx. 24 mpg), but it could be worse. I worry that something will break on it 2-weeks after I buy it. I worry that I'm giving up the known (my POS Grand Am) for the unknown (Accord).

Oh, and did I mention that 12-months ago exactly, I dropped $600 on brand new fucking tires for the Grand Am? That sucks.

So, I'm jumping into this new venture and I guess all I can do is hope for the best.

Oh, and wish me luck that Carmax gives me more than $200 for my Grand Am. I need to put a new stereo in the Accord since the CD player is broke and a CD player IS a necessity for me.

I must be getting old...

2009-03-09T16:27:00.003-05:00

There are really strict internet restrictions at my place of employment; no email, no facebook, no music or video streaming, etc.

They have however, set up 3-public computers near the receptionist and employees are able to use those computers to visit the restricted sites.

Today, I am there checking facebook and a very young coworker of mine comes prancing in and has her Ipod with her, headphones in her ears. This is not the first time I've seen her like this. She obviously feels that it is appropriate to walk around the office, listening to music.

HUH?
Never in a MILLION FUCKING YEARS would I deem this acceptable.

Especially since she works for a high level manager. And she is his administrative assistant.

Even at her age, I had more common sense than that. She is the ONLY person that does this. How is it that she feels this is okay?

On a related note though, I find it completely acceptable for someone to sit at their desk and use their Ipod especially since we have very small cubes and noise travels so having a radio is pretty much out of the question.

So, back to Ms. Young Thang. This is the same girl that wears her skirts and dresses 2-inches longer than her hooha and wonders why people look at her and give her funny looks. She is also rumored to have gone on a business trip with her boss, but there was no record of a hotel for her. Can you say Scandalous?

I just don't understand how people have made it to their early 20's and have no common sense on acceptable business etiquette. Is it really that difficult? Does she not look around and see how others dress? Does she not look around and see that no one else has their headphones in their ears as they walk down the hallway? Hi Mrs. CEO. Oh what? I can't hear you because I'm rocking out to The All American Rejects.

I am hopeful that since she is the only person at my company that acts like this, her behavior is not indicative of the newest members of the workforce. I guess one can only dream, right?

Minding ones own business

2009-03-09T12:21:00.000-05:00

There is nothing more infuriating than a coworker telling you that you might want to see a new doctor because "someone should not be as sick as you tend to be".

I'm frickin' hoarse lady. Not dead or dying. And I'm here, at work, working ~~sort of~~ so it doesn't affect you.

I try explaining to her that I get a lot of sinus/respiratory infections because I have asthma and allergies which is the reason I am currently getting allergy shots. I have already noticed a significant improvement in the amount of sinus problems I have so it's obviously working.

I am PERFECTLY confident in my doctors ability. Why is it that someone feels the need to interject their unsolicited opinion into my life?

Then, I get a call from my grandmother. GRRRREEEEAAAAT. I get the 3rd degree about how there has to be more going on than me just loosing my voice. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda (I'll spare you the painful repetitious conversation). I try to tell her that I feel fine (for the most part) but she just doesn't listen.

I seriously need to go home, curl up in my bed and snuggle with my kitties because I just can't deal with people today. I swear if one more person makes a comment about my lack of voice, I'm going to have to kick them in the shins ~~since I obviously can't scream~~.

Changing it up

2009-03-06T14:40:00.004-06:00

I think I might want to do some painting at my house....

1) I don't love the colors in our 2nd bedroom.

2) While I really like the accent wall in our bedroom, it needs to be repainted because my husband bought cheap paint and his pillow rubs on the wall so the paint is coming off. And I figured I would change the color since I already have to paint.

3) Our bathroom is okay. But, I think it's time for change since March 18th will be our 5-year anniversary in our house and the bathroom has been this color the entire 5-years.

4) Our hallway is cream. It's fine but why not give it a splash of color?

Here is what I'm thinking:

I would paint our bedroom (bedroom 1) in the Roasted Sesame, the bathroom in the Folk Art, the 2nd bedroom in Half Silver Dollar and the hallway in Shadow.

I would paint our living room and dining room in Coronada Cream.

Our kitchen is already a chocolate brown, and that color works really well so I don't plan to change it.

For reference, here is a layout of our house:

So, what do you think? Yay or nay on the colors?

TMI

2009-03-05T14:05:00.002-06:00

I work with my brother-in-law's (herein referred to as BIL) new girlfriend. This morning, I walk by her and say hello. She says "Want to hear a funny story? Well, it's kind of dirty." I reply and say that I have come to pretty much expect that from her. She proceeds to tell me how my BIL spent the night and how she had the most difficult time getting out of bed because she just couldn't keep her hands off him.

EWWWW. EWWWW. EWWWW.

I mean really. That's a funny story?
Frankly, I don't think she needed to share that particular story with me.

And the mental image? I can't even go there.

The start of self therapy

2009-03-04T21:47:00.000-06:00

My father is an alcoholic. Has been for my entire life. One of the main reasons I started this somewhat anonymous blog is so that I can freely talk about my father. And I have lots and lots of stuff to say -- We haven't always had the easiest of relationships.

In September 2007, he almost died when he went in for a lung biopsy, which ultimately led to diagnosing him with Pulmonary Fibrosis.

He had a doctors appointment a few weeks ago and they told him that is lung function is reduced. This isn't very surprising to me since from all the research I've done, the typical prognosis after diagnosis is anywhere between 2-5 years. He's going on 17 months. Well, ever since his most recent doctors appointment, he has been drinking more than ever ~~if that's even possible~~.

This is the most recent email I have received from him:

from Trucker-mouth Wife's Father
to Trucker-mouth Wife, Trucker-mouth Wife's Sister
date Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 7:17 PM

You Trucker-mouth Wife's Sister you have not came by to pick up you valentine gift I hope your mom is happy stealing my money Let it go I am holding in my feelings.I can't ever go to your houses cause I can't afford tires for my car cause every time I try to save the govt. steals it for her who has the money and can work. cause 200.00 a month is going to a person who has it and I don't Sorry but I don't have it

*I wish I could lie and say that I edited that email (except for the name changes). I can't. It's exactly as I received it from him.

This is in regards to the government taking his stimulus check from last year as well as garnishing some of his disability check to pay against the thousands and thousands of dollars that he owes my mother in back child support.

His philosophy is that he tried to fight for custody and then he would have supported us. Since she wanted to raise us, he feels that he shouldn't have to pay child support. The sad thing is that he truly and whole heartedly believes this!

Unfortunately, this is just one of a million seriously whacked out things he believes.

It is sometimes so hard for me to understand how I can still maintain a relationship with him, when he usually doesn't deserve it.

Every once in a while though, he does something completely unexpected like buying us a valentines day gift. It's stuff like this that probably helps make it easier for me to maintain that relationship with him.

Everything I've been through has made me the person that I am today however there are times that I wish I would have had a "normal" father.

Toot Toot

2009-03-04T16:26:00.003-06:00

Today is a good day. I have had several things happen that are a serious ego booster.

As many companies are doing, the company I work for is finding ways to cut expenses without having to lay any of our staff off. Recently, I told my boss that I would be willing to help out another department, that he oversees, with some of their workload in order to cut back on their overtime (I am salaried, they are not. Plus, hello, job security?). Approximately 10 days ago, I met with the manager of that department and spent 90 minutes reviewing the task that they would like me to help with. She made sure to tell me that I shouldn't worry or stress if I didn't pick it up right away because for some, it can take 4-6 weeks to learn , and I'm only doing it as I have time. A few days later, I spent another 90 minutes with another manager from that department "reviewing" what I had already learned. And guess what? I've got it down. There is no 4-6 week learning curve for me. I'm a pro. Yesterday, the department manager joked that she was going to steal me from my boss (jokes on her though, another manager has been trying to steal me away for a few years now and that's been a no go!). And today, I received an email from the manager that is reviewing my work to ensure it's accurate and in the email she told me that I get an "A" for my work.

Yesterday, I asked if they could train me on some more stuff, but I was told that they are also training someone in their department (on the same stuff I am learning) and she isn't catching on so quickly. Now, I'm not trying to diss or anything but this shit isn't hard. It's common sense. Take some fucking notes and you should be good. In fact, I feel like I'm screwing something up because this is too easy. C'est la vie, no?

In addition, I stopped by my boss today and he said "You're dressed up today. You look nice!" Ummm, I'm wearing a dress. It was easy to throw on and wasn't wrinkled, but thanks? Now I'm left wondering if he thinks I dress like a scrub every other day of the week? In all honesty though, it was a really nice compliment and it made me feel good.

That's all the tooting of my horn that I've got for now. I'm sure I'll come up with more later :)

I'm sure my husband is going to love the ego inflated wife that comes home to him tonight!!

Not good with change

2009-03-03T19:03:00.001-06:00

I'm not good with change. Really I'm not. In fact, I'm a creature of habit. I'm good with the same 'ol same 'ol for as long as can be.

Well, recently I decided to switch from a public type blog on wordpress to a more anonymous type format blog here on Blogger and let me say, I am STRUGGLING with this change. I can not get used to the formatting and customizing tools. It seems almost way too basic here on Blogger.

I swear, I've been trying to like Blogger but I just don't know that I'm ever going to get used to it.

Here are my major complaints:

-Wordpress had a fabulous little stat tracker section and with Blogger I have to pull in site meter.

-I had a nice set of advanced formatting tools available on Wordpress and on Blogger, I can't even figure out how to strike through a word.

-I find the Wordpress dashboard much user friend than Blogger. In fact, I find Wordpress to be incredibly more user friendly in general.

-I can't figure out how to easily edit my labels in Blogger. When Mo pointed out that I had the word "loosing" misspelled for one of my labels, I had to edit each individual post, instead of being able to go into a screen for label management and edit it.

-The one feature of Blogger that I really like is how you can follow blogs.

4 points for Wordpress. 1 point for Blogger.
Le sigh.

Maybe some of my gripes are user related and I just haven't figured out how to do some of this stuff. I'd like to think that I'm not having all these issues with Blogger because Wordpress is in my comfort zone.

I'm really trying to like Blogger. I am. And I'm trying to hold out because I don't want to jump the Blogger ship without giving it a fair chance. But don't be surprised if I eventually move back to Wordpress.

Selfish and Bitter Much?

2009-03-03T16:54:00.004-06:00

When I got married a few years ago, I invited everyone that is in my department. Most people declined the invitation however there was one person who never sent his reply card or acknowledged that he would or would not be attending. I assumed he wasn't attending, and he didn't.

Well, he is getting married in May and his boss is throwing him a "bridal shower" and I'm not sure what to do. On one hand, I want to participate and get him and is Fiance a gift however I'm still a bit peeved that he so thoughtlessly disregarded my invitation and never officially replied. Hell, the mean and spiteful side (and yes, there is one of those) of me secretly hopes that he has a handful of people NOT reply to him.

And not that this is a factor or anything ::cough cough, yeah right, cough cough::
I might still be a little bitter over the fact that NO ONE threw ME a bridal shower at work. Can you say selfish much? Eh. I'm okay with that. Selfish isn't a new concept to me.

So, I'm on the fence. Do I bite the bullet and attend with a gift or do I claim to not be able to breakaway from my desk because I'm slammed and say screw the gift?

Bartering Services

2009-02-27T10:25:00.002-06:00

I am working on bartering with a personal trainer friend of mine -- I really want to hire her but damn personal training rates are EXPENSIVE. Way to kill me financially.....

She's not very comptuter literate and well, I'm a computer guru so I'm hoping we can maybe work something out.

I really need a good swift kick in the ass and she is exactly the person that can do that for me. She would absolutely show me no mercy. In fact, she enjoys making people suffer.

Wait, am I really interested in this?

Coke Addict

2009-02-26T12:13:00.003-06:00

I am a soda addict. There, I admit it. Every morning I bring a 24-oz bottle of Coke Zero with me to work and I drink it throughout the day. On occasion ::ahem, cough today cough::, I will drink another bottle or two of soda.

However, I just read this article on Fit Tip Daily detailing what Coca Cola does to your body. And I must admit, it mildly disturbs me.

I'm even questioning my soda addiction and playing with the possibility of maybe not buying my usual 6-pack for the week, as I'm opening up bottle #2 of Coke Zero. But, I think I'm already a goner.

Stupid Stomach

2009-01-27T14:48:00.002-06:00

I would very much like to know why I am never hungry when I should be (aka have healthy snack foods available) and ravenous when I have nothing healthy to snack on?

Oh Honey!

2009-01-27T12:56:00.002-06:00

Well isn't this a HUGE FDA fail, courtesy of The Consumerist.com

Who's Watching Our Nation's Honey Imports? Pretty Much No One
By Chris Walters, 12:49 PM on Tue Jan 27 2009, 1,669 views

The Seattle P.I. reports that "two-thirds of the honey Americans consume is imported and almost half of that, regardless of what's on the label, comes from China." The first problem with that is some Chinese honey is "tainted with banned antibiotics" such as ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol. The second problem, according to U.S. honey producers who are upset about the lack of oversight, is that whenever contaminated honey is discovered, many companies just sent it back to the importer and never tell the FDA—which means it can be resold elsewhere, including to other U.S. packers.

Bill Allibone, Sue Bee's president, said the company has no intention of telling government regulators about the bad honey it finds.

It's not really Sue Bee's honey, he said, "because technically, it's still (the importer's) property until we pay for it.

"We have not notified the FDA in the past because we don't have title to that property," Allibone said.

"We deal with a core group of suppliers that have long, established ties in the import business, and we're assuming that when we reject a load of honey, they'll return it to the people they purchased it from."

The National Honey Board, an industry trade group created by the USDA, says it's not their job to monitor the safety of imported honey:

"It's not something we do," he said. "We have no knowledge about any bad honey out there. That's not our job, and we never get reports of problems."

But in 2006, he sent an e-mail to honey board members, warning that tainted honey had been found in stores. In his warning, Boynton wrote that the industry had tested samples taken from products on supermarket shelves and found illegal levels of antibiotics.

"Two samples tested positive for ciprofloxacin at the level of 14.07 (parts per billion) and 5.61 ppb," Boynton wrote.

In a recent interview, Boynton initially denied any knowledge of the warning. He stressed that the board is "not a regulatory agency" and has no obligation to notify health agencies of potential hazards.

It seems that local honey producers are the ones sounding the alarm, and they may be doing this partly to stem anticompetitive practices from larger companies. But really, we're fine with that; the past couple of years of food safety failures have made it fairly clear that every food safety issue should be taken seriously.

"Honey Laundering: Tainted product still slips easily into U.S." [Seattle PI]

GodMotherFvckingDamnitShitAllToHell

2009-01-27T10:02:00.002-06:00

My day WAS going okay until I decided to stop at Starbucks. The line was short so I figured, what the hell, I'm cold. So, I'm at the window and it's taking for-fucking-ever. The girl finally brings my drink and explains that there was a small leak in the bottom of the glass, which is why it took so long. No problem! Thanks for the catch! She smiles, I smile and drive away. No sooner do I turn out of the parking lot, onto one of the BUSIEST fvcking roads in my city, I take a drink and the bottom breaks out of the cup. Lovely. I am intelligent enough to quickly get it into the cupholder to contain the pool of fluid quickly pouring out. I go back to Starbucks since I have NO DAMN NAPKINS in the car and I want my fucking latte. I get cleaned up because, oh yeah, did I forget to mention? The latte spilled all down my thigh. Eau de Starbucks anyone? 'Cause that's all I smell as I'm sitting at my desk.

And after all this? Do you think they would at least offer me a $5 gift card? Nope. Nothing but a "are you okay? Sorry about that". Take your fukcing sorry and shove it up your ass. They were more worried about my leg being scalded, which was nice, but it's wasn't concern for me but moreso concern that I would sue their asses.

Hmmmm......get millions for a cup breaking and having an extra extra hot latte (the way I order it) spill on my leg ? That might not be such a bad idea afteall? jaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy kaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy :)

*Disclaimer -- Yes there is a lot of profanity in this post. I'm expecting there to be a lot of profanity in the future as well. What else did you expect with a blog title of Truck-mouth Wife? If you don't like it, don't read my blog.

Petland is a douchebag store

2009-01-23T13:49:00.005-06:00

I have never understood the philosophy behind supporting pet stores that intentionally sell puppy mill animals, whether that animal be a dog, cat, bird, rabbit, etc. (I'm sure you catch my drift).

There are so many animals that are put to sleep DAILY at local humane societys, shelters, animal control centers, etc.

I've never understood why people desire to buy a purebred from a pet store or backyard breeder. Hell, I've never understood why people desire to buy a purebred from a reliable breeder.

My mom had to put her favorite dog to sleep, on the 3rd of July back in 2001, give or take a year. It was devastating for our family. He was such a wonderful dog.

He, unfortunately, was purchased from a backyard breeder and all this breeder cared about was selling dogs to make a quick buck. Well, because of this breeders lack of integrity and overbreeding of the parents, our dog had severe hip displatia requiring a hip replacement before he turned 1-year old.

Not many people would have spent the $1,500 dollars necessary and would have chose to put the dog to sleep. Not my mom. She found a way to scrounge up that money and elected for the surgery. We were not rich by any means and could have certainly used that money for other things but when you bring an animal into your home, you accept FULL RESPONSIBILITY for that animal. That means that you find a way to afford the care they require.

As I mentioned, it was extremely traumatic when we had to put him asleep because he had cancer. Immediately, my mom decided that she needed another dog that was identical but instead of going to a breeder, she would check the shelters instead.

Daily, she would scour the Petfinder website, looking for an all-white, blue-eye Siberian Husky. And one day she found one, at the animal control center in Chicago. She rushed down there to adopt him and found out that she was just in time. He was scheduled to be put to sleep the following day.

Do you know how many days he had spent at that shelter at that point? THREE.

72 measly hours for an owner to realize their pet is missing, call Animal Control and claim their dog before the city kills it.

Can you imagine just how many animals are killed a day? I used to know the figure, but it has been years and I can't accurately recall it now. But think about it, think of how many people willingly surrendor their animals? On top of the animals that are lost that are picked up. I am sure that every day they are putting 20-30 animals to sleep. That is a staggering number!

Thankfully my mom was able to rescue him and he is truly the best dog ever. He is so mild mannered, sweet, snuggly and everything you would want in an animal companion.

There is an excess of animals that need a good home in this country and I can't understand why there aren't stricter laws and regulations for animal breeding.

How are puppy mills, bird mills, kitty mills, rabbit mills, etc allowed to operate? How is it that no one with any power to shut places like this down are doing anything about it? How can they not see how vile and cruel these places are? How can people KNOWINGLY still buy animals from places that get their animals from mills?

I am apalled at society's tendancy to think that animals are disposable.

What I am EVEN more apalled at is the recent douchebag email exchange between Christopher Beth, Director of Regional Operations - Western US at Petland, Inc. and a protestor demonstrating outside of a Plano Petsmart.

The following is courtesy of The Consumerist.com:

Petland Sends Really Snarky Email To Puppy Mill Protesters
By Ben Popken, 12:24 PM on Fri Jan 23 2009, 9,098 views

Who knew Petland could be so snarky? Here's a really bitchy email Chris Beth, their director of Regional Operations, sent the head of a group of protesters who have been demonstrating outside a Petland store in Plano Texas over Petland's alleged use of puppy mills. Bet he never thought it would end up on the internets:

From: Chris Beth [mailto:cbeth@petland.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 5:41 PM
To: jjpippin@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Petland Plano

Dr. Pippin,
I was at the Plano store last Saturday when you all were there. I just wanted to thank you for being there! We had so many people tell us that they did not see us located there and your people drew them into the store.
I was actually wondering if you could be there both days on the weekend and maybe Fridays?

Thanks again,
Christopher Beth
Director of Regional Operations - Western USPetland, Inc.

—-——-——-——-——-——-——-—
From: jjpippin [mailto:jjpippin@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:35 PM
To: 'Chris Beth'Subject:
RE: Petland Plano

Ha ha, that's very good Mr. Beth. We see the traffic at your store every Saturday, so please stop with the amateur reverse psychology.
Let's just see how this works out, shall we? We're in this for the long haul.

John J. Pippin, M.D.

—-—Original Message—-—
From: Chris Beth [mailto:cbeth@petland.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:54 PM
To: 'jjpippin'Subject:
RE: Petland Plano

Dr. Pippin,
Ha, ha? I wasn't kidding. Unless you are watching the traffic all other times of the week you certainly could not quantify the results of your presence like my stores door counters record. Regardless, we sold two puppies while you were there. One Westie and one Beagle.
We are also in it for the long haul, Dr. Pippin. The last 41 years of us being in business has not been by fluke.

Best Regards,
Christopher BethPetland, Inc.

Petland stores are independently operated franchises. The Petland company website says that, "Each is responsible for choosing healthy pets offered to Petland customers. Petland, Inc. provides each Petland store with humane care guidelines to assist in this important task." So they give the stores a laminated binder - but do they actually check to make sure franchisees are following the guidelines? Is there a Kimberley Process for dog breeders?

I have every intention of never stepping foot into another Petland. EVER. Maybe you will do the same...

What goes through your mind when someone says "Let's go for a drink"?

2009-01-16T17:14:00.008-06:00

A friend forwarded this to me and I thought it was amusing...and surprisingly accurate!

(Click on the pictures to get a larger view)

When weight loss is a bad thing

2009-01-15T14:49:00.003-06:00

It's like a bazillion degrees below zero here so I opted to skip the gym this morning so I could sleep in and keep warm under the comfort of my blankets. Being that I was going to skip the gym, I brought workout clothes with me to work so I could maybe hit the on site facility over my lunch hour.

Despite being completely unmotivated, I did force myself to go. And it turned out to be a great workout until the arches of my feet started to hurt from the blisters that were forming.

Lovely, right?

This is the second time I've given myself blisters from running in these still fairly new shoes and the conclusion I've come to is that I bought these running shoes when I was about 15 pounds heavier. Based on how other shoes have been fitting, my feet have gotten smaller with the loss of those 15 pounds and now my running shoes do not fit as well as they once did so my feet slide around in them now.

Sigh.

I guess it's time for fork over $100 for a new pair 'cause I sure as hell won't be gaining those 15 pounds back.

For Fucks Sake

2009-01-13T16:50:00.002-06:00

When one asks their BFF to go to lunch, one would asssume that it would be just the two of you and not her, her boyfriend of 4-months that she is living with and getting married to (who is STILL married to ANOTHER woman) and you.

Silly me.

Gah. Decisions.

2009-01-12T14:01:00.003-06:00

I don't understand why decisions are so difficult for me...

At lunch, I ran to Sports Authority to return/exchange some workout shirts my mom got me for Christmas -- the ones she bought me were t-shirts and I'm more of a tank top gal when I'm sweating profusely.

She bought the shirts for me on Black Friday, and due to a store pricing error, she bought them for $15 each instead of $20 each, like they were marked. And me, being the super shady individual that I am, brought them back but said I didn't have the reciept so could I please get store credit. Instead of a $30 credit, I now have $40 to apply towards a new purchase. And really, who can't find something to buy at Sports Authority?

I have pretty much decided that I need to invest in a Heart Rate Monitor since it's been 1-year that I have seriously been hitting the gym and HRM's really can be quite useful. I also figure that it might be good to see exactly how many calories I am burning instead of estimating it (and to be really honest, this is the only reason I want a HRM).

Before walking into the store, I had pretty much decided on the Polar F6 -- it is a basic HRM, isn't too expensive ($100) and comes in a cute pink!

I walked out with nothing.

While in the store, I couldn't decide if I wanted to upgrade to the Polar F11 for an additional $60
since it has a much nicer chest strap (comfort IS worth something, right?) and offers the Keeps U Fit* program. The one downfall is that it is out of stock in the pink or blue color. Tragic, yes?

Polar F6
Polar F11

I just don't know that the more comfortable strap and the Keeps U Fit program is worth the additional $60. Not to mention, $160 is a LOT of money to spend on a gadget, especially one that I've never used before or may get tired of using (essentially throwing away $160).

Sigh.

So, whatcha think Mo....my one and only reader?
Do I go with the F6, the F11 or say fuck the HRM and buy some cute new workout clothes? :)

*The Keeps U Fit program is based on your fitness test results. The user can have a workout program generated by the F11. Based on your fitness level one can choose between three workout goals (programs). "Maximize" aims at improving your aerobic fitness level by working out 5 hours a week for 10 to 12 weeks. "Improve" is less ambitious and lets you settle for 3 hours per week. "Maintain" is more like a starting point with 1.5 hours per week (should your fitness condition not allow more). You get to choose into how many sessions you like to divide that (4-6, 3-5 or 2-3 -- depending on the chosen level). The program also determines the right mix of light, moderate and hard workout (based on 60-70%, 70-80% and 80-90% of your age dependent maximum heart rate). A bar diagram keeps you informed how much of each is still left to be done in the current week. The type of exercise is not defined as the effect is classified by the heart rate.

Hi Hi Hi

2009-01-09T10:29:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone!
Well, should I say, "Hi Mo?" My one follower so far? :)

I'm not making any promises about this blog.

Hell, I don't even know that I'll be able to keep with it, I'm a non-committal type of person. Funny thing since I married a man I had known and dated off and on for 15 years.

So...we'll see.

So far I think I might like this semi-anonymous thing. Anyone that knows me and stumbles upon this blog (or finds me because I stalk their blog!) will know who I am instantly. But I'm okay with that.

Essentially, I'm really looking to make this my place to rant, bitch and moan about just about anything that crosses my mind or annoys me (and as a forewarning...I'm easily annoyed!). And honestly, if you don't like what I have to say, don't read it. This is MY place. Feel free to judge me all you want, just don't plan to comment here with your judgements about me. This is my blog and what I say goes (not that I like being in control or anything)! :)

But, hopefully you find my random obsessing and rants interesting (If you can call it that) stick around for a while.

decisions...decisions...

2009-01-05T14:13:00.007-06:00

I think I am going to switch blog sites (original blog is on Wordpress).
I'm hoping this move will get my not so creative blog juices flowing again.

Any reason why I should or shouldn't switch from Wordpress to Blogger?

I'm also thinking of making my blog semi-private and not announcing it to the world...
Not sure on this decision yet. I'm a bit of a blabbermouth and not sure I can keep my mouth shut about it.