Laughing All Day

I am one of those people that find most things hilarious. My sense of humor comes from a mixture of people including my mom, who prefers light hearted upbeat types of humor; my father, who had a very dry sense of humor; and my 3 brothers, who also appreciate the Jr high grossness. Mixing all that together means life is pretty funny.

Last night, I watched part of Dane Cook’s Vicious Cirle (stand-up on HBO) and began laughing. Suddenly, I realized that I haven’t really laughed in a while. Perhaps, I have been taking life a bit too seriously. There is no reason to let things get to me.

On this Friday, I vow to laugh a lot. There are a million crazy people and things that definitely dersve a laugh. So, we should all LOL all day.

TGIF & Super Bowl Weekend

I am sure that most of you have heard that the Super Bowl is in Miami this year and that South Beach is full of activities. It should make for a very interesting weekend and not because of the game. In fact, I am not partial to either team. Having a baby means that I will not be out late enough to see many of the celebrities or crazy stuff, but perhaps we'll see a few things on our walks.

Much More FUN

Today is a BIG TGIF! Actually, more important than Friday, it is Lexi's first birthday. Time really flies. A year ago today, I was in the hospital giving birth to little Lexi, two days before my birthday. I love her with all my heart and that was a wonderful day, but I am thrilled to be celebrating our birthdays not in pain. Taking a cake to her daycare and then heading out on a trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom is certainly more FUN! I can hardly wait! Of course, there will be loads of pictures next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

(perhaps 2007 isn't so bad).

TGIF

I am glad it is Friday even though this weekend will be all about preparing for next week. Besides our trip, I have two pot luck work luncheons to cook for and Lexi's daycare party. Every year, my office designates me to bring a green bean casserole and homemade rolls. That luncheon will be on Monday. A project office is having a pot luck on Tuesday. Fortunately, I'll just be making just the green bean casserole for that one. Lexi's daycare party is Wednesday. Knowing that I will be want something easy by then, I was smart enough to sign up to provide the paper products. I am sure the kids in her class don't really enjoy the Thanksgiving party like the older ones do.

So, it looks like while Steve is at work tomorrow, I'll be doing laundry, running errands, grocery shopping, and basically cramming in the fun. Sunday will be a designated mostly for fun/rest for Steve. He spoiled me several times this week by getting off on time to do the grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking. I am came home to a nice surprise Tuesday & Thursday. What a sweetie, right? On top of all the hours he puts in at work, I know he is getting worn out. Anyway....BIG TGIF to everyone!

The Joy of the Friday Before Halloween

It is Friday today and I am really looking forward to the weekend. We are planning to take Lexi to MetroBoo (the Halloweenized MetroZoo). It will be fun to dress her in the costume (pictured above) and see all the little animals & wild kids there. Halloween is always a fun time, especially with a little one around.

As I look back on the week, I realize that I have learned a lesson. Basically, it is true that you can throw money at a problem and it will go away, especially if that problem is a person. I paid a beggar at the Heat game $1 and he stopped pestering us. In fact, he began giving us praises as he walked away. That same day, for considerably more money, we got a messed up relative to move out of my father-in-law's house. This particular problem was once our houseguest for about a month. Since I was ready to strangle him in that short time, I have felt sorry for my father-in-law for this entire year that he lasted there. I know it has been difficult, but it is going to be much better. Now, the sun is coming back out and none of us will be responsible for him and he KNOWS that. I am so optimistic about this situation that I have convinced myself that we will not have to spend the next few holidays with him. I will still keep my fingers crossed though.

For now, it is Friday & I feel Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Tags: Halloween at MetroBoo, paying off relatives

Finally Friday

Today, I am relieved that it is finally Friday. Even though I had a big presentation to clients rather early this morning as was not able to wear casual Friday attire (you know how I HATE that). My week has been full of deadlines with proposals and presentations galore. This time of year is always busy, busy, busy for me.

Unfortunately, we had a bit of a crazy night that is making today more blah than usual. Lexi was on one of her whimper and cry every hour schedules. It doesn't happen very often, but it is not a surprise. She does this when she is feeling particularly bad from one of her daycare diseases (being dramatic). She started at 11:55pm. She did it again at 12:55am and 1:50am. I just have to hold her for about 5 minutes before she falls back to sleep, but it really breaks up my night.

If that wasn't bad enough, at 2:50am the fire alarm for the building went off. Let me tell you that it is LOUD! Would you believe that Lexi slept through it??? The girl wakes up at the slightest sound or light and managed to sleep through this.

The alarm happened to go off last Saturday at 7pm, so we are aware that it drives all of the tenants out to sit on the porch. If we stayed inside, we would either go deaf or insane. As you can guess, I was annoyed & Steve was EXTREMELY annoyed. He wanted to bust the alarm or put tape on it. I just went to my closet to find slippers. As I was carefully picking up the sleeping baby, the alarm shut off. We were too tired to be mad at that point and were probably back snoozing in minutes. ...so yeah for Friday and the hopes of a great weekend!

Funny Photo & Finally Friday

This is actually a funny photo. I usually just post silly or cute ones of Lexi. Her hair is finally long enough to get messy when she takes a wild nap. That is what I call a true milestone to celebrate.

As everyone knows, IT IS FRIDAY! Although we will be packing, moving and cleaning at a frantic pace this weekend (once again I have procrastinated), I feel the joy of Friday today. I have been thinking about the positive and negative aspects of this move. Overall, I love that we will be making a change because that sparks my interest. It will also be nice to become more familiar with a different area of Miami. Ok, so I would rather move away from Miami, but I am stuck here for a while so I might as well talk myself into being thrilled about moving to the beach.

Here are the things I am looking forward to:

• Living in an area that is pedestrian friendly
• Being close to parks, the beach, shops, and cafes
• Very short commute for Steve
• Driving across the MacArthur Causeway everyday (one of the best views in Miami)
• Having no yard work
• Being completely debt free
• Being able to hoard lots of money for future dreams

Things I am not looking forward to:

• Hurricane evacuations - I can no longer wish for small hurricanes to give me a day off of work because it will mean we have to find a place to stay
• Parallel Parking on the street instead of the garage at our house, especially when it is rainy
• Giving up large capacity washer and dryer for small ones
• Memorial Day weekend and the Rap Fest/Urban Beach Party
• Being out of range of my favorite radio station from the Keys

In general, I choose to believe that life on SOBE will be livelier, that I'll see my husband more (because it will not take him FOREVER to get home), and that Lexi will like being outside more. I also might actually get to meet Amy since she lives south of 5th too. Then again, I never ever ever ever run into anyone.

Tags: Moving to SOBE, view from MacArthur Causeway, Finally Friday

Freakin Friday

Actually, today is one of those RARE times when I am not ready for it to be Friday. We are having a big moving sale this weekend, and what have I done to prepare? Practically NOTHING. The only thing I did was post a moving sale announcement on CraigsList, which I need to do again now that it is tomorrow.

By now, I should have unpacked our China Cabinet, dresser, night stands, etc. I should have bought garage sale signs from Home Depot. I should have bought stickers to label prices and figured out what to ask. I should have picked up the stuff from storage that I want to sell. I was also supposed to get my husband to sign the apartment lease agreement and the condo association's review application in order to mail it out today. Shoulda Woulda Coulda...

So, the fact that today is Friday is not a good sign. The worst part is that I don't even feel like doing it tonight, but deadlines loom & and I need to get steppin. Do you know what I really feel like doing??? -Redesign my blog. I love this time of year when holidays are looming (even though it still is 90 degrees here) and I want to be cheesily festive. Must fight the urge.

Tags: Freakin Friday, Moving Sale, Too Much To Do

Casual Friday & Bumper Boldness

Lexi is getting into everything! One of her favorite places is our closet. I guess she was just trying to help me pick out what to wear. I am so glad today is Friday, because that means jeans (not to mention the all too exciting weekend).

I am about to reveal a strange quirk about me. I don't like bumper stickers. True, some are funny and I don't mind when other people have them on their cars. Lets face it, how else am I going to be entertained, while I'm waiting for a light to turn green? I will never put one on my car though. My reason is completely insane, especially since you know I have a blog. I feel like they give complete strangers a peek into your life. Fellow commuters don't need to know if I like fishing more than work, or if my kid can beat up your honor roll kid, or that I have a cute little family, or if I have a sense of humor, or if I hate tailgaters, or even what my political preferences may be. Now when you think about how open I am on my blog, you realize I am bizarre right? Why do I feel fine expressing some of the details of my life with anyone who checks my blog? I try to tell myself that bumper stickers de-value cars and that is why I don't like them. Really it has more to do with sharing info about myself. By the way, I also don't wear t-shirts that convey messages... Yep, way too personal.

Tags: casual friday, getting personal, bumper stickers

Funny Photo Friday and Day Dreaming Again

It's Friday and that means I get to post a funny photo. Lexi got her first cell phone last weekend. Actually, we bought her a set of keys and a cell phone, so I have something to give her when she begs for mine.

I am also in the mood for day dreaming again (surprise). This morning, my mind is on travel (another surprise). I talked to one of my brothers about planning another international trip with them all. Actually, I have missed out on most of their great trips, so I should instigate the next one. I think I'll make a list of places I'd like to go. The list could go on for ever, so I'll stick to ones I might be able to talk my family into going to.

1. Spain and Morocco - I'd like to fly into Madrid tour Spain a bit. Then, head across Strait of Gibraltar and spend at least a week in Morocco. This one might be expensive for me because I love shopping for Moroccan things.
2. Peru and especially Machu Picchu - I've been curious for a while.
3. Costa Rica - culture, rather inexpensive, snorkeling, diving, surfing, and eco-tourism.
4. Brazil - I have a brother that lived in Sao Paolo for 2 years and speaks the language fluently. I am sure he would love to go back and we would have a tour guide.
5. Mount Kilimanjaro - I would love to go and they have been talking about it for years.
   

I will limit my list to 5. If I put too many, we'll never pick a place. I should e-mail it to them today...

**Even though several of the links go to places that provide guided tours, we always wing it.

Tags: travel, daydreaming, Spain, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mount Kilimanjaro, family trip

Fun Photo Friday & Top Ten for Dreaming

Yesterday, I realized that I hadn't posted any photos for 2 weeks. I am going to try to add one at least once a week (Fridays). Can't promise though.

I also decided it would be nice to do a meme today. Since it is Friday and I am in the mood to do a little day dreaming, I'll make this a meme for Labor Day weekend.

Every night when my head hits the pillow, I think of a top ten list to day dream about. This is my method for going to sleep quickly. One of my favorite is the Top Ten List of What I Would Do if I won $_____ (usually $ 1 mil, sometimes as low as $20k or up to $1 billion). You would be surprised, but I'm usually out by #5.

Top Ten Things I Do If I won $1 million (besides help family):

1. Pay off all our bills
2. Quit my job to be a working SAHM ($1 mil doesn't go that far)
3. Move to Katy, Texas
4. Buy an SUV (with gas consumption & size in mind)
5. Start my own consulting company with GREAT computer equipment
6. Seriously think about having another baby right away
7. Plan an amazing vacation oversees
8. Get a maid
   
9. Buy an elliptical machine and treadmill
10. Put money away for plastic surgery after having kids (tummy tuck & a little more) - I would want to look completely awesome

Of course, it could go on for ever. Since it is nice to dream about positive things, I'll tag Paige, Emily, Misha, Anna, Issy and anyone else interested. Let me know & I'll be more than happy to add you to the list.

Tags: $1 mil, daydreaming

Sacred Times & Friday Gripes

I have come to believe that people who schedule business meetings on Fridays or any kind of meetings after 4 pm during the week are purely evil. It is Friday and I should be able to wear jeans like everyone else, but NO I had to attend a meeting. It is a monthly meeting so there really is no need for it to be on Fridays.

I have to attend another similar type monthly meeting on the third Tuesday of the month and guess what time it is scheduled for. Yep, it is at 4pm in downtown Miami and it never starts on time. That means that I am stuck driving back in the worst traffic ever. I guess I should just be happy that I don't have a Friday meeting at 4pm in downtown Miami.

Enough complaints, the work week is almost over, so time to start feeling great. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Tags: Casual Friday, Meetings

Happy Friday!

Lexi isn't the only one that is excited about it being Friday. I am looking forward to an uneventful weekend. I just wish Steve didn't have to work tomorrow. Plus, I am not too thrilled about organizing my house again. I guess we can't have fun all the time, but it is certainly nice to try.

Let The Good Times Roll

It is Friday once again and with the road trip coming up tomorrow, I am working on knocking out the long TO DO LIST. There have been some major bumps in the road today. I came into work early and have already knocked out a few of the unexpected deadlines, despite the fact that ALL of my Microsoft programs have decided to lock up on my computer. NONE OF THEM WORK! I spent at least an hour talking to Microsoft & Dell and only got more frustrated because they both wanted me to talk to the other one. Good thing, I had decided to do this work in CorelDraw/Acrobat and I can access my email online or I would be taking lives. ...Time to escape the madness & have a LONG weekend. You can bet that I am leaving this problem for when I return. Oh Yeah!

For now, I am leaving the blogging world with photos of Lexi's bath time last night. I doubt I will get a chance to update the next few days, so this will have to do. HAVE FUN!

Tags: Microsoft problems, baby bath, CorelDraw, Acrobat, To Do List

It's Finally Friday!

I am not sure why I am so excited for it to be Friday. My week has been pretty good. Traffic was amazing because school is out. Plus, it is sunny & bright (imagine that in the Sunshine State). I even had a mid-morning meeting in Miami Beach, so I got a break from the office. I left my house early enough that I could enjoy a leisurely drive along the beautiful back roads. Driving under a canopy of trees makes for a better commute. Then, I also got to enjoy the view of the crystal blue water from the McArthur Causeway. The drive inspired me want to sell our house and move to a more happening area (like I needed more motivation). Perhaps, I am just not cut out for the burbs of Miami.

So, for this beautiful Friday, I have to say Let the Good Times Roll... & Go HEAT!