Wow, What a Month - December

I know, I know it's been way, way to long since I've written. Not even sure if I still have any readers.

The month of December was one busy, busy month as always. The first weekend Jason and I were still sick with colds but managed to head out to Irish Channel in Crofton for Karaoke on Saturday night. We, of course, did not sing and I can't say much for some of the people who decided to sing. The place might be, ok, definitely is a bit more upscale than Jim's Hide-away in Odenton, but the talent is a little lower on the scale. Ok, ok, and I actually do believe this, I have to give props to the people who did get up because I definitely would not be doing it myself and it does provide me with lots of entertainment - so, props to the people who sang even if poorly. On Sunday I went to a Tastefully Simple party and stocked up on a bunch of goodness - I am in love with the bacon, bacon and the cheese ball it can make - not to mention the chocolate ugly cake mix - yummy goodness.

Then a week of work....

The second weekend had us boarding up the pups and heading into DC for Jason's office holiday party. They held their party at the City Club located in the Columbia Square building. It was very, very nice. They had a buffet set up with carving stations for prime rib, salmon and turkey and numerous additions for them. The dance floor was hopping to the beat of the DJ they had spinning. Oh, yes and the most important thing - Open Bar!!! This was the first time I had met Jason's co-workers and I truly enjoyed it. He seems to have found a great place to work and with a great bunch of people - Way to Go!

We headed out of that party after about 3 1/2 hours and caught a cab over to Jen's house for her Christmas party in Rosslyn. Where we continued to party and drink (wonderful hostessing job!!) into the wee hours of the morning topping off the night with a game of Cranium - don't exactly remember who won - I'm thinking my team, but I could be wrong - feeling pretty good by that time :) [Must remember to post a link to pictures - or they are on my facebook page] And then a cab ride back to our hotel in DC - The Jury's - to pass out.

and another week of work.... Oh and what a week this was - I had my review on Thursday and let me tell you - it wasn't the nicest review I've ever gotten. Let's just put it this way - I have known that I was targeted by the new manager almost from when she started as not being someone whom she would want in her department - or that she would want the responsibility for. (background: I had been promoted the beginning of the year to a position which would entail mentoring and teaching by the manager in order to get me up to speed in the position fully. The manager at that time then switched departments and we hired a new manager "NM"). NM was not - in my opinion - willing or didn't make an effort to mentor/teach me. I began to seriously dislike my work and I'm sure that I did not accomplish some things as fast as I should or actually could have because of this reason. Mid-year I was seriously thinking about returning to being a legal secretary and after the review at the end of the year, it was decided more for me, but also by me to do so. (I do admit I am much happier than I have been with work in the past 11 months). I love working at my place of employemnt and am happy to continue to be a part of making it run smoothly and efficiently :-) - enough about that - blah, blah, blah

The third weekend had us once again boarding up the pups and heading into the city for my work holiday party. This year's extravaganza was held at the Corcoran Gallery. Once again another very, very nice party. Jason and I arrived at the party I would say a little after it started and meet up with our friends. Debbie and her date were there first and had gotten us a table to hang out at - low and behold, who would have the nerve to sit down at the table with her knowing she was one of my good friends and I would be more than likely sitting with her, but the NM who just stabbed me (dramatic, huh). Another couple then came along and took two other seats at the table - actually sitting in the chair where Debbie's date had his jacket - they had both gone up to the bar to get drinks and bring us back to that table... When we noticed this we decided not to sit there any more and to gather their stuff in order to find a table which would hopefully accommodate our group. I did say "Happy Holidays" to the NM, but I cannot say what my facial expression was - I've been told it was a little chilly - I've actually heard that I can look quite like an absolute *itch even - opps - ha.

Ok, enough - I swear I'm over it!! Anyways, we had a wonderful array of food to choose from and drinks to drink (loved the peppermint martini which was the drink of the night!). We danced to some great music and all and all had a really wonderful time before heading out to our next party of the evening.

The next party was the annual Lisa and Ken (J's cousins) Christmas Party. It is always a great time. Wonderful to see all the cousins and other friends. Playing some cards, drinking Indian Blanket Juice (deadly) and shooting Jell-O shots (made by yours truly - so potent). Must say don't remember a lot towards the end of the evening - very sad - the last thing I remember is we were playing A**hole and I was President, I think for the third time in a row and that was all she wrote - I was done - Jason says he doesn't think it was a graceful exit for me either - Sorry to all who had to witness it - we caught a cab to the Sheraton National where we were staying (another nice room) and that's where I remember a little regurgitation going on and passing out in the bed until the morning. Children - do not do this - it is not a good thing!!

Then more work - making transition to new position - moving desk - setting up shop and meeting attorneys I would be floating for - very, very nice people. Going out with the "gang" to Eddies for $1 beer night and Karaoke - fun, fun, fun!!!

The weekend of Christmas was upon us - this entailed another night out with local friends on Friday to celebrate the holidays and then a bunch of mad dash shopping for gifts and food as we were hosting my family over for Christmas Day. Christmas Day went well and I believe that a good time was had by all - what more could be wanted than presents - ham, turkey, pasta and sauce, sausage bread, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, brown and serve rolls, asparagus, corn, pie and cake!!!

more work - well very slow days at the office - relaxing and catching up on things - nice!!

Last weekend - aiming for New Year's Eve. Bruce came up to hang out and after a few games on the PS3 we all headed out to Jim's for a little Karaoking. Bruce and Jason sang their soul man duet, sillie girls spilt a little bit of beer on Jason while they were dancing - had to give them a little bit of a talking to about the merits of apologizing - daggers being sent to them afterwards - rearing for a fight - HAHA and then back home sleep for me and more PS3 for the guys.

New Year's Eve was a quite occasion, but nice for Jason, Lucie, Kira and I. We rented movies and toasted the new year together in anticipation of our next year together as a family!

Happy New Year to all and hope it's a great 2008! WOW, could you imagine if I did one of those letters in the Christmas card - yikes.

As we move into December

Gosh, it's been like forever since I've written - sorry. Not actually really going to write all that much now, just wanted to post this picture as a reminder as we move into the holiday season! Be good!

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner Dinner

The first annual pre-Thanksgiving dinner dinner was held on November 10. Jason and I were honored to host this at our house. Everyone participated in the meal by preparing and bringing dishes to accompany the Turkey.

I made the turkey, mashed potatoes (I had to run to Williams Sanoma earlier that day to buy a potato ricer - I was so excited), brown and serve rolls and yams with marshmallows on top.

Jen made green bean/bacon bundles, a sausage, cherry tomato and hash brown casserole and a salad which I believe contained pomegranates and had a delicious dressing.

Dana made homemade stuffing.

Shirli provided us with cornbread and pies (I know that one pie said Strawberry on it even though it looked exactly like apple - I'm sticking to that!!)

Now, my apologies to Meghan and Leise, because I can't specify who brought what, but I know that when they arrived so did the pinot nior, a nice white and a peach beer? or something like that - all very delicious and enjoyed by all.

Bruce dazzled us with his appetizer - caprice salad and Matt provided the digestif - Rumplemintz (wonderful shot :-)) Jason had his kegerrator up and running serving cold brews for all to enjoy.

After all the wonderfully delicious food was eaten, we relaxed by playing Cranium and Celebrities. All in all I believe that everyone had an enjoyable time and we look forward to doing this next year so that we may give thanks to all our good friends for their being their for us and sharing with us theirs and our good times and, yes, even bad times.

Here are some of the pictures from the evening which I downloaded from Jen's facebook site. I have to get some pictures from Bruce who was also taking pictures and will post that when I accomplish that.

http://picasaweb.google.com/drearosson/PreThanksgivingDinnerDinner

Finally - My Photos from Bruce's B-day

If you use the following URL, I'm hoping you will be able to access the pictures I took way back when of Bruce's Birthday Scavenger Hunt beginning at the Washington Monument and ending at Atomic Billiards - not that many but some.

http://picasaweb.google.com/drearosson/BruceSBDay

Halloween - Fins - 10-27-07

Halloween Pictures - Fins 10-27-07

Trivia Wednesday - Fins - Answers

Ok, I'm finally getting on to post the answers to the Halloween trivia questions. I know, I know, late in getting the questions posted, late in getting the answers posted - bad, bad, bad.

Ok, here they are:

1. What is the top candy sold for Halloween? A. Snickers B. M&M's C. Tootsie Rolls D. Candy Corn
A. Snickers

2. List the following from Most to Least in number of sequels A. Halloween B. Nightmare on Elm Street C. Alien D. Friday the 13th
D. Friday 13; A. Halloween; B. Nightmare on Elm Street; C. Alien (I have to admit this one I'm trying to remember from memory - Jason was supposed to confirm, but haven't heard from him yet :-))

3. Name the four immediate family members of the Adams family. Bonus: Name the other main characters
Morticia, Gomez, Wenesday and Pugsley - Bonus: Cousin It, Grandmama, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Thing

4. Threeser - What do these three things have in common? My Blue Heaven Little Shop of Horrors Parenthood
Rick Moranes and Steve Martin

5. If you look into a mirror at midnight what will you see? A. Bloody Mary B. Future Spouse C. Your Death D. Dead Ancestor
B. Future Spouse

6. What was the first wrapped penny candy in the U.S.?
Tootsie Roll

7. What was the very first Jack o'lantern made out of? A. Watermelon B. Pumpkin C. Coconut D. Turnip
D. Turnip

8. In the movie Halloween by John Carpenter - although it is set in IL what license plate could be seen on all the vehicles?
California

9. True or False. Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday after Christmas?
True

10. What was the most popular costume of 2004? A. Witch B. Spiderman C. Vampire D. George W. Bush
B. Spiderman

11. Threeser. What do these three things have in common? Michael J. Fox Michael Jackson Jack Nicholson
They all played werewolves

12. Name the Munsters.
Lili, Herman, Eddie and Marilyn

13. How much did the world's biggest pumpkin weigh in 2003? A. 245 lbs b. 785 lbs c. 1385 lbs d. 1875 lbs
C. 1385

14. In the nursery rhyme in the movie Nightmare on Elm Street, what follows 5, 6?
1-2 Freddies coming for you
3-4 Better lock your door
5-6 Grab your crucifix

15. Anagram: Rearrange the letters below to find the name of an actress. review agony sure
Sigourney Weaver

Well, I hope that you did well and that you had fun playing along.

Book Club - My House - Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Wow, I am so far behind on some of the things I want to post/said I'd post. Where does time go? What it is is that I don't really like to get on to the computer in the evening when I'm home because I spend so much time on it at work during the day. It's so much easier to post at lunch or during my breaks. Anyways...

The book club evening went well. I believe that everyone had a good time, love the house and enjoyed the food. Whew!

The overall consensus was that the book "The Faraday Girls" was enjoyed by all - a good pick - yay! We convened at 7:00 had a few appetizers - veggies and dip (Knorr's veggie spinach dip) and tortilla chips and dip (chili cheese dip). Around 8:00 we sat down and had some dinner. I made Sloppy Joes, potatoes au gratin and green beans. Dessert was Rainbow Sherbert.

I have to say that the dip I served with the tortilla chips was a big hit.

Chili-Cheese dip to accompany Tortilla Chips
1 can of Hormel chili - no beans
8 oz of cream cheese
Heat in saucepan over low to medium heat until cheese melts and is mixed in(sure it can be done in a microwave, just didn't do that)
Serve warm with chips

The recipe for the potatoes au gratin is below. I will have to bring in the Sloppy Joe recipe and post that as well. Both were well complimented - I'm so pleased.

Potatoes Au gratin - Swans Palette Cookbook - www.swanscoachhouse.com

2c heavy cream
1 5oz Boursin cheese with herbs
5 medium baking potatoes - peeled & thinly sliced
Salt & pepper
Fresh parsley to garnish

In saucepan over medium heat combine cheese and heavy cream until cheese melts. Stirring constantly

In greased 13x9 baking pan place:
Layer of half of the peeled, sliced potatoes overlapping
Salt & pepper to taste.
Layer of cheese liquid
Layer of remaining potatoes
Top with remaining cheese liquid

Cook 400 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown. Remove.

Sprinkle with parsley to garnish

Ok, got to run. Lunch hour is over. Back to drafting bios - fun, fun, fun

Trivia Wednesday at Fins, Oct. 31 - Halloween Night

I know, I know this is really late - a week late, but better late than never... Let's just hope I remember the answers when I post them :-) The best thing is that we came in 1st by a landslide - we know our Halloween Trivia!!!

Tonight is another evening of trivia at Fins - hopefully it will be going down. Pssst... I'm even thinking about not drinking for this one - hmmmm might help with the brain waves - we'll see how it goes :-)

Team: Kevin (RINAR), Jason, Andrea, Danny N.

1. What is the top candy sold for Halloween?
A. Snickers
B. M&M's
C. Tootsie Rolls
D. Candy Corn

2. List the following from Most to Least in number of sequels
A. Halloween
B. Nightmare on Elm Street
C. Alien
D. Friday the 13th

3. Name the four immediate family members of the Adams family.

Bonus: Name the other main characters

4. Threeser - What do these three things have in common?
My Blue Heaven
Little Shop of Horrors
Parenthood

5. If you look into a mirror at midnight what will you see?
A. Bloody Mary
B. Future Spouse
C. Your Death
D. Dead Ancestor

6. What was the first wrapped penny candy in the U.S.?

7. What was the very first Jack o'lantern made out of?
A. Watermelon
B. Pumpkin
C. Coconut
D. Turnip

8. In the movie Halloween by John Carpenter - although it is set in IL what license plate could be seen on all the vehicles?

9. True or False. Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday after Christmas?
10. What was the most popular costume of 2004?
A. Witch
B. Spiderman
C. Vampire
D. George W. Bush

11. Threeser. What do these three things have in common?
Michael J. Fox
Michael Jackson
Jack Nicholson

12. Name the Munsters.

13. How much did the world's biggest pumpkin weigh in 2003?
A. 245 lbs
b. 785 lbs
c. 1385 lbs
d. 1875 lbs

14. In the nursery rhyme in the movie Nightmare on Elm Street, what follows 5, 6?

15. Anagram: Rearrange the letters below to find the name of an actress.
review agony sure

Good Luck. Let me know how you do. Feel free to post your answers in the comment section and I'll check it before posting the answers and let you know how you did.

Hugging and Detention??

I had to drop a quick post. I just read a story on MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21661718/) where this girl got two days detention for giving her friends hugs as she said goodbye to them for the weekend. The hug is described as just being an quick over one shoulder squeeze - so not an all out hug fest. This is completely ridiculous. They say it is because there is a school ban against public displays of affection and this falls into that category. I can understand the concept of wanting such a ban, but really people let's reword this ban or make it more specific so that it says what types of public displays of affection are ok and which are not - Massive makeout sessions - not; giving little goodbye hugs - ok.

The parents of the girl told her to go ahead and serve the detentions as the only other alternative at this point is two days suspension, but are going to go to the next school board meeting and propose that the school board reword or specify.

Can we say carried away much?

Steelers beat down Ravens

Was that a game or was that a game! The commanding lead taken by the Steelers was awesome. We were like - 35-0 and it's only the 2nd quarter - wow - what will happen the rest of the game. It was quite a bummer that before the first half ended the Ravens did score 7. The second half while not a big scoring event did have the Steelers holding the Ravens. The Steelers defense set the tone beautifully by going on the attack early and often - woo hoo.

I wish that Roethlisberger hadn't been taken down in the 3rd. I would have loved to see how far the team could have gone with him as the QB for the whole game - would it have been a total smack down like the Patriots gave the previous weekend? Not that Batch did a bad job, he kept the ball moving until it stalled, but the team was close enough for a 22-yard field goal. Harrison was on top of his game - he had eight solo tackles, one assist, three and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Ben and James did a superlative job, but, in the words of Mike Tomlin, "but I don’t want to devalue the team effort. I like the way this football team played tonight and we got the win."

The Steelers continue to lead the AFC North with their 6-2 record!!! Watch out Patriots we are planning your take down on December 9!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Some great quotes from the classic - "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin."
— Linus Van Pelt

Sally Brown: I could have gone to tricks-or-treats! Halloween is over and I missed it! Instead, I spend the night on a pumpkin patch and all that came was a beagle! You blockhead! I could have had apples and gum, and cookies and money and other things! I'll sue! Trick-or-treats only come once a year, and instead I spent all night sitting in a pumpkin patch! What a fool I was! You owe me restitution!

Linus: [to Charlie Brown after Sally just ripped him a new one] You've heard of the fury of a woman scorned, haven't you?
Charlie Brown: Yeah, I guess I have.
Linus: Well, that's nothing compared to the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of trick-or-treats.

Tonight we get to see all the neighborhood kids dressed up and out in costume. We will then hopefully be heading off to Wednesday night Trivia at Fins - Supposed to be a Halloween themed trivia. Questions tomorrow.

Rant - No Keys Once Again

Today is Halloween and I've had it scheduled to leave early at 4:00 almost all month. Jason is supposed to be leaving early as well. This morning was a hectic one as normal. We were running around to get ready and try and make the train, which we once again missed so had to drive in. Maybe it was a blessing that we missed the train because on the ride in, I noticed I didn't have my monthly ticket with me since I had finished the book I was reading where I had been using it as a bookmark. Since I noticed this, we talked and I grabbed a one way ticket which we had in the car, Bruce had left it there after taking up the train one day and not being asked for his ticket on board, so that just in case Jason wasn't able to get out of the office in time because of work constraints, I would still be able to take the train and make it home in time to meet all the trick-or-treaters. (First year in our new house and the neighborhood kids tell us they all go out so I want to make sure we are there to see them.)

Oh, the best laid out plans

It wasn't until I was walking down from Metro Center to my office. Walking down from the metro? Yes, even though we drive in and we do have to technically go by my office to get to his - it is about 3-4 blocks down 11th Street from where he goes across I or K to get to his office, so he drops me off (pushes me out if he's a real big hurry - lol) at the curb on the outside circle (Mass Ave.) as we go by Union Station and I have to take the train from there. If I didn't I would have to ride all the way to his office and take the train back from Farragut West to Metro Center - it just takes way, way to long for him to travel those 3-4 extra blocks.

Anyways, I digress. As I was walking down from Metro Center to my office. I realized that I, once again, don't have a single set of keys to the house or either one of our cars because Jason has all of MY keys. One set for the car he is driving and he has pocketed the other Saturn car keys with the house keys on it for some reason or another. Why do I stress that they are my keys - it's because, yes, once frick'in again, Jason has misplaced his keys. They are somewhere around the house, but he has no clue where he put them or where they could be. He claims to have searched high and low for them but is unable to find them. I am sure I will need to do a search on my own very, very soon, but I've been pretty busy lately so haven't had a chance. I know that it probably won't take that long to find them once I start - it hasn't in the past. (I don't think guys know how to look beyond what's directly in their line of sight.) So, we have been splitting up my keys to the two cars.

I understand that since he did the driving today that he would need the Toyota keys as a necessity, what I don't understand is why he has the Saturn keys. I drove this car home last night, let myself into the house and put them on the little table by the door where keys are to be left so that they are easily accessible to both of us. This is where they should be returned to if needed to open the lock on the back gate - which I actually had to do last night for my book club guests and I returned the keys to the table. Now, not positive, but I'm thinking Jason picked up these keys to go out to the car parked by the back gate, which he had driven home, so he went out that door and needed to unlock the gate. He came back in, locked the gate and pocketed the keys!! How do I know this, because this morning when I went to look for the keys so that I could lock the deadbbolt behind us as we exited the house I was unable to find the keys where I had left them and they were supposed to be. I proceeded to ask him if he had both sets of keys and he said yes. I restated my question to indicate I was specifically looking for the Saturn keys which definitely had a house key on it. He said yes again. Did he offer to give them to me after I asked about them twice - No. Now, I'm sure it was my fault because I didn't spell it out specifically for him that I wanted the keys. But you know - I wasn't asking for them out of my health. I would think that since I lock the door after us every morning and he is aware of this that he would put two and two together and give me the keys or at least offer them to me - no such luck. Again, maybe I don't know the reason that he so strongly held on to these keys - maybe they gave him security - just don't know. All that I know is that I did not get them. Mind you this was all happening while we were rushing out the door to make the train, so I didn't even dwell on it at the time or think again to ask more specifically for them. So, maybe it is all my fault that I am now once again stuck without keys!

I know that you who know us are thinking - Andrea, Andrea, how long have you known Jason, this is so like him, you can't be surprised. And, I know, I know. It just does bug me that after being together for six years and basically living together for four of those years, all during which I have had a drop-off area for keys, repeatedly pointing this out and asking and/or yelling at him that he needs to leave the keys there, that he can not get it through his thick skull to do so. If he had done this with his set of keys they would not be lost now and I would not be without keys.

Seriously, do men ever change. Is what I'm asking really all that hard? Maybe one day this work in progress will actually take hold. I would just think that if he keeps losing things and that when he does do it the way I ask and it works that he would realize this and keep it up. I know that people are going to be thinking why would he want to change if all that I do is nag, nag, nag. They don't know that I actually did try and change that aspect of myself - because, even I know I'm pretty good at nagging. I went through a period of a few months where I tried the positive reinforcement method of asking politely going so far as helping and pitching in with most of what I was asking to be done - feeling like a mother the whole time and did it change anything - Not Really. So, I have gone back to nagging because it makes me feel better. If being a spacecadet and not keeping track of things makes him feel like himself and better, then I should have just as much right to nag and bitch cause it makes me feel better.

This sounds like that is all we do, but this is just an instance and this post is just a rant to get it off my chest. The majority of the time we get along very well and are still our happily newlywed married selves, so people don't take this overly serious and start getting out the numbers for counselors - not needed.

All said..... He had better be able to leave on time today!

Sunday - Football and Poker

On Sunday we hung around the house until it was ready to head over to Virginia to watch the Redskins vs. Patriots game and to play some poker. I had been checking the Steelers site to make sure that they were doing good and, of course, they were. They won 24-13 against the Bengals. Next game Nov. 5 vs. the Ravens and I am definitely hoping that they beat the Ravens down!!!

We arrived at Matt's around 4:00, so, just in time to set up for poker and the start of the football game. I knew going into the game that the Redskins were going to have to play exceptionally well in order to even stand a chance against the NE team. The Pats have been having a phenomenal season so far and, unfortunately, I could not say the same for the 'skins. I had actually even resigned myself to the fact that the Redskins probably wouldn't win, but damn! I thought they would at least do better than they did.

I have to say I'm thankful for the fact that I was playing poker at the same time, so that I did not give all my attention to the game and I missed most of the fumbles and the interception - though thanks to the playbacks - Not! I was able to see them - grr and boo hoo. This was not even just a loss it was a sucky loss - Jason is a Patriots fan and we go head to head about the better team whenever the Patriots play either the Redskins or the Steelers and I know, that one day, one of my teams will trounce those Patriots, but it wasn't the Redskins this year. I'm still in hope that the Steelers with do it when they take on the Patriots December 9th, so here's to keeping my fingers crossed and my thoughts in good places.

Poker.. it was fun. Neither Jason nor I won in the first game. Shirli took top honors with Matt in second and my following in third - they got money and I didn't :-( In the second game, I was on fire or maybe I really concentrated a little more and didn't throw my chips after bad cards, I don't know, but it came down to Matt and I battling for 1st and I eeked it out - Woo Hoo.

Can't wait for the next game!

Saturday Night - Party and Dress-Up

Saturday night we went to a birthday party at a friends house and even though no one else was dressing up Jason made a compromise with me - that he would go if we dressed up, as he really wanted to either go to a Halloween party or to M Street for their Halloween "Nightmare on M Street." We also had to plan to leave the party around 11 in order to go to Fin's where they were holding a Halloween Party/Costume Contest.

Jason planned it out that he was going to wear his caveman costume and actually had to go in search for a wig to complete the look since we did not have his for some strange reason from last year. Unfortunately, he was unable to find a wig, but he had worn the rest of his costume on his outing and got a number of thumbs up!

I had my Renaissance maiden costume from years before, but was not in the mood to wear it again, so I thought about possibilities and decided that would just wear my wedding gown and tiara out as my costume, I figured why not, I have it and I paid for it. Let's get our money's worth and put it to use again. I have to say I had completely forgotten how uncomfortable that dress was to sit in because of the corseted bra - I felt like I had a back brace on and was being forced to sit up straight not to mention that it was sucking everything in and my breadth right out.

The party was fun and after the initial looks, everyone just hung out and had a really good time. The food was delicious as well. Kimmie's friend Frannie brought this deviled ham dip which everyone, including me, couldn't get enough of - think I have to get that recipe.

We did leave around 11 and headed to Fin's where most of the patrons were dressed in costumes. It was fun to be around a bunch of other people in costume and compare what everyone was wearing. We had a Marilyn Monroe, a Cruella de'Vil, a devil in disguise as an angel, a few Swiss girls, pirates and pirate ladies and a couple referees. The contest was to start at Midnight, but ran a little late so we were unable to stay. I believe that we left around 12:30 and swung by the house for a quick change and then back to the birthday party. We were out until around 3 and then back home to get tucked into our beds and get lots of sleep until the schnoodle sisters decided it was playtime the next morning.

All in all a good Saturday. If I ever find the cord to the camera to download the pictures - they will follow.

Answers - Applebee's Trivia 10/25/07

Here are the answers. I hope that you did well. If you still want to try your luck - please see post of 10/25/07 before reading this.


No. - Category - Question

1. - US History - Which came first - the collapse of the Berlin Wall or Madonna releasing her first single?
Madonna released her first single

2. - TV - The sitcom Benson was a spin-off of what other TV show?
Benson is a spin-off of Soap

3. - World Geography - What Nordic country has the longest life span for a human?
Iceland

4. - Musical Anagrams - What Broadway musical's title can be made from the following: think nil ego
The Lion King

5. - Pro Football Coaches - What was the second NFL team that Terry Robiskie was head coach for?
Cleveland Browns

6. - US Geography - What Eastern state has the oldest orthopedic hospital in the world?
New York

7. - Authors - Who wrote the Joy Luck Club?
Amy Tan

8. - TV Timeline - Within two years when did "Walker Texas Ranger" air in the US?
1993

9. - Food & Drink - After California and Wisconsin what state produces the most Italian cheese per pound?
New York

10. - General Knowledge - Name the four elements on the periodical table which are represented by these single letters
F = Florine
P = Phosphorus
O = oxygen
W = tungsten

Well, I hope that you did well. More trivia on Thursday and Friday, from Wednesday and Thursday night - unless things change.

Trivia Thursday 10/25/07 - Applebee's Crofton, MD

Ok, so we went to trivia last night as well. This time it was at Applebee's in Crofton. The were about nine teams playing. The format for the trivia here is different from Fin's in a way and is run by a representative of Final Score Trivia - http://www.finalscoretrivia.com/. Once again, if you are ever in the area and are up for a game of trivia and want to join us or play against us - the more the merrier. Below are some of the questions which were asked - answers will follow on the next post - could be tomorrow, could be Monday.

Team Name: Miller Time
Players - Jason, Andrea and Kevin (RINAR)

No. - Category - Question

1. - US History - Which came first - the collapse of the Berlin Wall or Madonna releasing her first single?

2. - TV - The sitcom Benson was a spin-off of what other TV show?

3. - World Geography - What Nordic country has the longest life span for a human?

4. - Musical Anagrams - What Broadway musical's title can be made from the following:
think nil ego

5. - Pro Football Coaches - What was the second NFL team that Terry Robiskie was head coach for?

6. - US Geography - What Eastern state has the oldest orthopedic hospital in the world?

7. - Authors - Who wrote the Joy Luck Club?

8. - TV Timeline - Within two years when did "Walker Texas Ranger" air in the US?

9. - Food & Drink - After California and Wisconsin what state produces the most Italian cheese per pound?

10. - General Knowledge - Name the four elements on the periodical table which are represented by these single letters
F
P
O
W

I had a world series baseball question to ask, but I can't remember the exact way it was worded though I have the answer :-) Sorry Bruce!

Answers to Fins Triva - Wednesday 10/24/07

Below are the answers to the Fins Trivia questions - If you want to play - don't spoil it, go to post made yesterday on 10/25/07.

So, How'd you do on the questions? Did you get them all right? Here are the answers:

1. Put the following cities in order - from city with most to city with least - number of buildings over 1000 feet in height A) Chicago B) Seattle C) Houston D) New York
Answer - Houston, Chicago, New York and Seattle

2. Three'ser - What do these three things have in common: navy auburn brown
Answer - They are all colleges/universities

3. Anagram - rearrange the letters in the below word to come up with a famous musician Mr Mojo Risin
Answer - Jim Morrison

4. This may be true still but at least up until 2006 Name the 7 NFL Football teams who do not have cheerleaders
Answer - Pittsburgh Steelers (Go Steelers!!), Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, New York Jets and New York Giants

5. True or False - We all know carrots come in orange - Is the statement they also come in a variety of other colors - purple, white, red, true or false?
Answer - True

6. What is the name of the chocolate cookie with cream filling that came before the Oreo?
Answer - Hydrox

7. Which country has the most natural born red-heads? A) Ireland B) Sweden C) Scotland D) Australia
Answer - Scotland

8. Three'ser - What do these three things have in common Siamese Cats Hugh Grant's Mickey Frank Sinatra
Answer - Blue Eyes

9. What country has the highest number of bowlers (in a year) A) US B) Canada C) Russia D) United Kingdom
Answer - The US

10. True or False - It's the male starfish who becomes pregnant and carries the baby?
Answer - True

11. Name the categories from the original Trivial Pursuit game - Genus 1.
Answer - Geography, Entertainment, Arts & Literature, History, Science & Nature and Sports & Leisure

Bonus - Name the color of the pie/hub for each category ?



Answer- Geography - Blue; Entertainment - Pink; Arts & Literature - Brown; History - Yellow; Science & Nature - Green; Sports & Leisure - Orange

More next week - from Fins - Wednesday, Oct 31 - Halloween Themed Trivia - post on 11/1 Questions and on 11/2 Answers

Trivia Wednesday at Fins

They finally had a pretty decent crowd at Fins (Hawaiian Fusion in Crofton, MD) - OK so it was enough that there were four teams playing and we didn't have to divide up our team - Yay! We came in third - not our best showing in playing but we had fun and it is after all just a game :-)

If you're ever in the area and want to play - the more the merrier and competition is a good thing.

Team Name - Night of the Living Drunks
Jason, Andrea, Danny N., Kimmie, Kristi W., Runner, I need a runner - Kevin, Mark A (hit and run appearance)

Test your trivia knowledge - not all the questions from last night but a sampling:

1. Put the following cities in order - from city with most to city with least - number of buildings over 1000 feet in height
A) Chicago
B) Seattle
C) Houston
D) New York

2. Three'ser - What do these three things have in common:
navy
auburn
brown

3. Anagram - rearrange the letters in the below word to come up with a famous musician
Mr Mojo Risin

4. This may be true still but at least up until 2006 Name the 7 NFL Football teams who do not have cheerleaders

5. True or False - We all know carrots come in orange - Is the statement they also come in a variety of other colors - purple, white, red, true or false?

6. What is the name of the chocolate cookie with cream filling that came before the Oreo?

7. Which country has the most natural born red-heads?
A) Ireland
B) Sweden
C) Scotland
D) Australia

8. Three'ser - What do these three things have in common
Siamese Cats
Hugh Grant's Mickey
Frank Sinatra

9. What country has the highest number of bowlers (in a year)
A) US
B) Canada
C) Russia
D) United Kingdom

10. True or False - It's the male starfish who becomes pregnant and carries the baby?

11. Name the categories from the original Trivial Pursuit game - Genus 1.

Good luck and I hope that you enjoy. I'll post the answer's tomorrow, along with some more trivia from our game at Applebees (Crofton) tonight - if we don't turn into pumpkins and just go home and hang with the schnoodle sisters.

Two nights of trivia - love it, love it.

October Book Club - Book - The Faraday Girls

So, I just finished reading my book club book of the month - "The Faraday Girls" by Monica McInerney and have to say it was definitely a winner. I really liked the story, it kept me reading, but I wasn't absolutely crazy about the ending.

The book is about the Faraday family - Leo, the eccentric father and widower; Juliet, Miranda, Eliza, Sadie and Clementine, the motherless daughters and Maggie Faraday, Clementine's illegitimate daughter.

"As a child, Maggie Faraday grew up in a lively, unconventional household in Tasmania, with her young mother, four very different aunts and eccentric grandfather. With her mother often away, all four aunts took turns looking after her – until, just weeks before Maggie’s sixth birthday, a shocking event changed everything.
Twenty years on, Maggie is living alone in New York City when a surprise visit from her grandfather brings a revelation and a proposition to reunite the family. As the Faradays gather in Ireland, Maggie begins to realise that the women she thought she knew so intimately all have something to hide…"

Part One of the book introduces us to the family as a whole and the dynamics which make up the family. Juliet, tries to make everything right and buries herself in cooking for the family when things get rough; Miranda is all about herself and thinks she deserves more in life; Eliza is obsessed with working out and keeping in shape, Sadie is quiet and feels left out and different from everyone else, while Clementine is the baby and pretty much lives as the baby of the family oft does almost clueless to what is going on around them only interested in their own lives, but not in a selfish manner, just that this is how things go and they should continue especially when everyone older helps make it this way. Leo is a widower who is still very much in love with his dead wife, still talks to her and tries to carry on what he thinks as her traditions and misses her deeply.

Part One goes on to introduce Clementine's unplanned pregnancy and the family's gathering around her to help her get through it and raising her child while she is able to still fulfill her dreams of finishing school and having a career. It brings up journals/diaries which their mother used to keep and how since Clementine doesn't really remember her mom, these might be something good to read, as well as the other sisters reading them as a way to remember there mom and the way she was. When they approach Leo with this idea, he gets really upset and shoots it down, saying it's not their place to read the mother's intimate thoughts and any way he had burned them a long time ago following a request by the mother that if she passed away before him that he would burn them.

The sisters and Leo then gather around Clementine saying that it's ok and that they will be there for her and the baby always - it will be a family effort but as things settle in, she has the baby and life moves on they still help out as a whole but also begin to do not as much or think more of themselves once again living their lives. Except Sadie who goes beyond just helping and gives up all that she has (school, friends, etc.) to help raise Maggie. This is where you begin to see that Sadie has been feeling left out of the family, like an outsider, and at odds with them as she seems to fall into the role of "mother" to Maggie a little bit to much. There is an instance where she is confused as Maggie's mother and she mentions it to Clementine, who gets upset but doesn't stop Sadie from basically being the nanny to Maggie while she goes about her schooling and hanging out with friends (she still is a mother to Maggie, but she also does the other things). After this, the next time when Sadie and Maggie are on a little day trip in another town close by and are mistaken for mother/daughter, Sadie does not mention it and actually continues to go back to the town to join in mother/daughter groups pretending to be Maggie's mother. While Sadie is spending the time with Maggie around the house and doing things, she finds the supposedly burned journals/diaries and begins to read them. Finding out interesting things about their mother.

The arrangement of the sister's helping - with the majority being Sadie goes on up to the point where before Maggie's sixth birthday things come to a head. Even before this the family had begun to go their own way and want to start their own lives and not be a welded together all the time as a family unit. After the indiscretion, Sadie drops out altogether from the family unit.

While reading about the way Leo spoke about his wife and then a couple of the memories of the older daughters I began to feel that Leo was, while a very nice guy, very naive. I didn't get the impression that his wife was all bad or anything like that, but I could tell that there were things that didn't bring the impression of an angel which he seemed to remember her being. It made me think that she had some definite problems - maybe manic depressive - or was a very selfish human being.

After reading what happens before Maggie's 6th birthday, we then enter Part Two and find Maggie in New York where she has escaped after experiencing a tragedy at her job in London and a devastating truth in her personal relationship. We still get little snippets of the other members of the family but a lot of it is focused on Maggie and how she deals and copes with things and her meeting a new fellow. I found this part to be interesting, though I kept feeling that she had to have some type of inner problem if she took the job instance so deeply to heart with blaming herself as much as she did. I mean it was an awful thing, but was it really her fault and did she have to take on so much of the blame?

To top all this off, her grandfather comes to New York to ask her to read her dead grandmother's journals as he is to afraid to since there are things he doesn't want to find out or get hurt by - this further proved to me that he was living under a rock and probably always had when it came to the true character of his wife. Ah, the old saying - blinded by love. He is trying to find out what Sadie could have read in the journals that might have made her do what she did and also to find out why she left the family and never contacted them again except for birthday cards to Maggie. I also found it odd that he wanted Maggie to do this so as to spare his daughters from anything which I guess is a good thing, but made me mad because if he hadn't always deluded himself about his wife they wouldn't have thought her to be a saint.

Anyways, Maggie reads the diaries and she eventually meets up with her Aunt Sadie who has been tracked down by a private investigator hired by Leo. Maggie is to meet this person they think is Sadie and confirm it for Leo. Maggie meets up with Sadie and they talk. We also find out that Sadie has been living a lie herself, she's been lying all these years to her husband and daughter about who she is and where she came from and her background. I was a little mad about that as well and didn't think that it was fair to her husband at all - at the end it doesn't get revealed and Maggie abids by Sadie's wishes to not let Leo or the rest of the family know where she is - another secrete still intact - grrr.

While the family is meeting in Ireland for their July Christmas a number of things are revealed or actually they are revealed prior to the meeting to the reader about each of the sisters and then we are told about the tension that is in the house, etc.

I was disappointed that nothing was really totally resolved by the family tension that they didn't really addresses it, it just continues to be hidden. There was a little bit of a blow out and Maggie actually gets visits from each of her aunts after this, but once again nothing is brought totally out in the open. This I didn't like. This may be because I have become very outspoken in my later years and feel that it is ok for me to express what I feel and how I feel about things and the way people in my family act. I'm sure there are plenty of times my family would like me to just shut up about a lot of it and just let things go, but that's me - lovely. I actually do know a family a little like this. They are very friendly and loving and you definitely have a good time with them, but I don't know if I've ever seen them really get to the heart of things - I feel they just let everything slide by and never get into serious discussions about the way this person or that person made them feel bad or disrespected them. For me it's very irritating to watch and there are times I want to say something, but know it's not my place. Just cause I handle things one way doesn't make it the right way and their family seems to have been going on like this for ages and surviving.

It did have a happy ending as in Maggie found a guy who was good to her and seemed like he would be good for her. Juliet and her husband were talking and working things out. The rest of the sisters seemed to have their issues pretty much remain the same.

I'm probably just a witch cause I wanted to see some real conflict, I wanted someone to just tell Miranda really off and say how pretenious she was and that she wasn't really all that, I wanted someone to tell Juliet to get her head out of the sand and to stand up for herself, I wanted someone to confront Eliza about her affair. I really wanted someone to wake up Leo to the fact that the mother was a loser! But, I know that these things shouldn't always happen, that what was the harm in letting the father in his old age remember his wife anyway he wanted to, that after all that he had probably put up with, because I really don't think he didn't know some of what was going on when it happened, but just chose to turn a blind eye towards it - I'm sure he suffered in his own way. I'm sure he had his doubts, but he didn't want to confront them and find it out. Now me, I dig and I dig and I want to find out the answers I want to try and prove that a person is doing me wrong and I actually have, but I still ended up turning a blind eye on numerous occassions and let that person keep hurting me - such low self esteem - it's so sad. I hope that my niece and my nephew don't grow up with these issues. Ah, maybe another blog topic?

I would recommend this book to others as a good read. I found it enjoyable. It shows how families can be together and be dysfunctional, know each other and really not know each other; how secrets can bind and destroy; love and despise each other - all of this at the same time.

We meet on Tuesday, October 30 as a group to discuss this and I will follow up with what the others thought. I will also provide the recipes for dinner that evening - sloppy joes and scalloped potatoes.

Redskins football

So, the 'Skins pulled it through yesterday and won. What is up with them and not being able to keep the lead in the second half. Once again everyone was forced to sit on the edge of their seats and bite their fingernails wondering if they were going to be able to keep the lead or if they were going to get beaten at the last second again.

MD RenFest and After Party

This weekend a group of us went to the MD Renaissance festival on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and a very popular location to go to. Traffic was backed up on all routes into the fest. One of our group was going to just give up and turn around and meet up with us later, but lucky for us, we have a short cut so we avoided the majority of the traffic to get in - only had to be a line for about 25 yards and then for parking - woo hoo - so we were able to pass the way to go on to them.

Now, when we go to the Renfest it is not to go all dressed up and partake in all the goings on. It is basically to go have few drinks (with designated drivers, of course) and to people watch and hang out with friends. Oh yes, the other main event is the ax throw. This year, I missed hanging out with the group early on because Maria and I got separated from the crowd - ok, we chose to go to the Boar's Head Inn and have a few cocktails and say thank you to her neighbors who had graciously given us 10 complimentary tickets to get in. I could have sworn I told Jason we were doing this and that he was following us - it wasn't until we turned to stand in line that we notice he went AWOL. We hung out there and after much walking back and forth and text messages eventually ended up meeting up with the majority of the crowd, though we established the Boar's Head as our main hang out.

The lines up to get drinks were pretty long every where you went and you knew it would take a little while to get a drink, so most people would get two at a time and then just chill. While Maria and I were standing in line one time, there was a guy and girl behind us and they must have been desperate for drinks or, perhaps, had had to many already. They couldn't stop complaining about how long it was taking everyone, blah, blah, blah. It was funny because it was like they were blaming it on the fact that most of the beers being poured were drafts, which can take a longer than simply popping a tab on a can or opening up a bottle - no they had to comment on the people - "those twenty year olds think it's their personal bar," "those yuppies think it's a place to hold a conversation with the bar tender" It was my personal opinion that they must not go out to bars that often themselves or they go to ones where no one speaks to anyone and isn't polite to their servers - just give me a beer! It was amusing but also very annoying to hear them speak behind us. I felt like turning around and telling them to just chill and/or grow up.

I should have some pictures to post soon. But good times were had by all. Little Zachary met the king and cried - awww. The king actually resembled Jason a bit, hmmmm, I think this was King Henry VIII - I better watch my head or keep an eye out for the papers :-)

Before you knew it it was 7:00 and time for everyone to leave. Most headed over to our house where we had chili, burgers and dogs. We sat by the firepit and roasted marshmallows and all had pretty good conversations.

Ah, another successful day!

One of the Most Annoying things about Washington, D.C. - Tourists!!!

This may not be the tourist capital of the world, but when you work or live in Washington during prime tourist season it sure as heck feels like it. I never had a thing against tourist, and, yes, I know I am one as well when I go other places, but the more and more I work in DC and have to try and get places and do things around tourists it has made me tourist intolerant. Though, at the same time, it has also made me more conscious of what I do when I go places. This benefits other people, sure, but how does it really help me. I'm thinking there needs to be guidelines put out with simple rules which tourists should follow.

I swear the other day I felt like taking a trip, I don't know where exactly, maybe deciding after stopping a particularly annoying tourist, finding out where they were from and what their name was and heading to their town. Once there, I would start walking around gaping at everything, not paying attention to where I was walking, even weaving while I walk so that I'm walking on the right, now, wait, I'm going to walk on the left and then the right and then the left, stopping whenever I felt like it, not caring if I was then blocking anyone else's walking path. I would make sure that I bring about 20 of my friends with me so that we could spread out all over the sidewalk and stroll actually not walk side-by-side taking up all of the sidewalk, so that nobody could get around us to walk faster or just get by us. I would walk around completely lost almost just walking around in circles in the middle of the sidewalk instead of simply asking someone if they even possible knew which way I should be going. I would definitely stand on the left of the escalator so that no one could walk up it if they wanted to. I'm sorry, I would thing that at least that would be a universal rule by now - STAND ON THE RIGHT - WALK ON THE LEFT. At the end of my little trip or even during the trip, I would make sure I made little comments, especially if I could tell I was annoying someone and say - see, how do you like it - this is exactly what blankity, blank did when visiting my town and I thought I should return the favor.

Probably, some of my being annoyed so much is because of the part of town in which I work is located very close to the National Mall, White House, the Hard Rock Cafe and the ESPN zones which are all major tourist spots. It takes forever to get lunch during the Spring, Summer and early fall when the majority of the tourism is due. The majority of the tourists are also children and teens, so they have absolutely no concept of what is going on around them and generally don't care since it is all about them in their minds anyway. I've actually gotten a little reputation from work friends that I should be the one in front when trying to walk through one of the food courts which is filled with tourists cause I have no problem going through the middle of them as the hang about and gawk and debate for 30 minutes - cause they have the time - about what they want to eat. I will use my hands and arms to gently touch, push, prod them out of my way while pushing forward and saying excuse us and it usually works and gets us through a lot faster than trying to wait for the to part for you or move out of the way.

I also commute via the MARC train and Metro to and from Union Station to get the train. There I deal with tourists and business travelers who have tons of luggage or massive backpacks. They stand all over the escalators, the get on the Metro and just stop near the doorway and put their luggage next to them or, even in the doorway so that only one person at a time can then get on the train. I truly love the ones who refuse to take off their backpacks. The backpacks which are sticking out and taking up the whole complete aisle space so no one can get around them or takes up space which if it were off of their back and on the floor at their feet, perhaps another person could make it onto the train and stand in the space now being taken over by their packs. The hordes of them that take the MARC train in to do their sight seeing who take up the available seats so that people who pay a monthly ticket price have to stand all the way to their stop or can't even board the trains because they can't get on are another favorite.

I know, I know this sounds very much like a tit-for-tat situation and that I should be more forgiving and turn the other cheek, etc. and seriously, I do. There have been plenty of times, I have kindly helped someone with the metro ticket machine or helping them put their fare cards in the machines - use the ones with the green light not the red stop sign - see the picture that shows you how to insert ticket and in which direction - do it that way. I've seen people with completely lost looks on their face and make a point to stop and say - what are you looking for? or where are you trying to head to? And, offer them directions if I know and if I don't apologize and mention that they should look for the "Sam" people with their little red hats.

All and all, it sure feels good to rant and rave about them cause they sure do get under one's skin. I know, I've spoken to many a work colleague about them and there is a general consensus that they are very aggravating :-)

Skinned Knees??

Where did I come up with the title "Skinned Knees" has been a question I've been asked a couple of times. So, here goes. One day I received the typical, but not typical, girl e-mail - this one instead of you answering a bunch of questions about yourself, you were supposed to send it on to your friends so they could answer the best they could questions about you. One of the last questions was "What would be a good nickname for me?" Most of my friends, ok, girlfriends, said Drea or Dre which is what they call me and I use as a nickname with close friends.

A brief aside, it really bothers me when someone who you don't know or only know a little bit takes the liberty to shorten your name and give you a nickname - they don't have that right, they don't know you. I definitely clear up those mistakes quickly - unless, in the past (Jason), it was a really cute guy and I wanted him to like me and thought it was cool.

Except for one of my girlfriends, Kerry, whom I have known for about 20 years now and who was my partner in crime on many occasions of going out partying and hanging out to all hours of the night and boy, do we have numerous tales we could tell about each other - but that's another topic. Soooo, she said "skinned knees." There was no, huh? or what? from me. I immediately knew what she was referring to and roared with laughter - it still makes me chuckle to think of it. Anyways, it goes back to our hanging out/wild days - I still have them on occasion :-) when it seemed like at least every other occasion or more, when we were out and had equally tied one on or even when just beginning to tie one on - I would at some point fall down and inevitably end up with a skinned knee or even both. Now, I know, for some reading this you are like "oh, my gawd, this girl has a problem and she thinks it's funny and something to make fun of and make light of." Well, can't say for sure it's not a problem, but basically it's that I have no coordination whatsoever at a normal time, but a little alcohol in me and I can loose it totally.

Oh, the times:

• There was "The Shining" night at Andy and Niki's house where we watched the movie and then decided we needed to walk down about 30-40 steps down to the water and check out the tiki bar/dock and on the way up - Kerry thought it would be cute to all of a sudden say "red rum" "red rum" and begin to chase me up the stairs - I only got about two maybe three steps up before I feel up them and landed on them on my face and, what else, skinning my knees. They all thought it was hilarious - especially the guys - they were rolling. I'm still blaming that one on the frozen drinks we had that night and not the fact that Kerry scared me.
• Then, we have the numerous occasions where just walking down the street from bar to bar, the sidewalk would up and attack me and trip me and there I would go again. Now, this sounds bad, but since I was a little loose, the fall didn't hurt that much usually and I was able to bounce right back up and - yep - head on to the next bar.
• There was the one time and I really don't think I had been drinking and I was getting off the MARC train on the low platform, I made it down the train stairs fine, but not one step further did I somehow trip up and land sprawled out on the wooden platform holding up other riders from getting off the train not to mention the mass of people who got an eye full when my skirt rode up - niiiice.
• Walking out of Old Ebbitt Grill in Downtown trying to act all dignified in front of all the business people and people who think they are important who were going in and stepping off the curb to hail a cab and falling on my face pretty much right in front of one - I swear it was a DC pothole that tripped me.

And then, there was the time when I was training with a trainer at Sport Fit in Bowie - yes, I actually did train and work out at one time. I was training with Butch Minor (R.I.P.), a PG County police office, who was also getting ready to become a trainer for the Washington Capitals, whom I had met through my friend Maria. At various times I'd come to the gym with the cuts and skinned knees from these little accidents, but the best was when I was on a bar crawl with friends - Karina, Kerry, Troy, Jack, Rob, etc. - we hit this one bar on the crawl - it was called the Ascot and you had to go down these stairs to get into the bar - well, yes, of course, wouldn't you know it, I fell all the way down the stairs riding them down on the back of my legs, butt and back - I was quite covered in a bit of dirt - it was raining that day and a bit slippery, but I got up and kept going - it was a bar crawl afterall for gawd's sake. Didn't feel a bruise or anything until the next day. Two days later I had to go to training, now the bruised have had time to look their prettiest at this point and I seriously looked as though I had been through something. Butch asked me about this and I said "Oh, those, I fell down a flight of stairs" and he looks at me and goes huh, I start laughing and explain that I was on a bar crawl and what had happened. He chuckled and made a joke about me maybe wanting to slow down a little bit but that was about it. A couple days later my friend Maria comes up to me laughing to herself saying that Butch had pulled her aside and asked if she thought I might need some help and if I was in a situation which I thought I couldn't get out of. Maria said she looked at him not getting it, but when he explained the bruises and that he thought I might be being abused, she found it hard to not laugh - or maybe she did - right then and there. She was nice enough to explain to him that I hadn't been lying and that I had told the truth - that it was a result of a case of clumsy drunkenness on my part and that it happens quite frequently. I'm sure he then thought that I probably needed help of another kind, but didn't say that to her - LOL.

I still chuckle about that when I think of that story. It reminds me of the happy times training with Butch that I had and what a caring individual he was. His death (he lost control of his car and flipped over) was a tragedy and I know he is still missed by many, many people.

I know some reading this will think, I don't know what's wrong with her she does have a problem, but it really isn't that much of an issue. I still drink, but I don't fall down half as much as I've gotten older - so I've either gotten better balance or I've learned to drink in better control. Ah well.

So, that's basically the story, there are many more times that I've fallen and could describe, but I figure you'all get the gist. Now, I've got to go and get ready to go get a few drinks - elbow pads check; knee pads check.....

I am not a nice person - the joys of riding the bus

This morning I decided to ride the bus from Union Station to work instead of taking the metro because it is free with my MARC monthly pass and has actually been quite quick at times. Not, this morning... First I had to wait about 5-10 minutes for the bus to get there and then after loading up almost everyone, the bus drivers make a change out - which actually didn't take to long, but long enough for an older woman pushing a wheel chair full of bags to approach the bus. Now, I don't know if she was a homeless person, bag lady or just someone who traveled somewhere and had a number of bags (plastic shopping bags). I say it this way because my immediate thought and reaction when seeing her was she was homeless, but she wasn't dirty, just had that look - now if you read my post about being prejudgemental below you know I am trying to stop myself from doing that, so that is why I have added in the doubt factor when describing her. Anywhoee, the hydraulics on the bus were not working so the bus driver could not lower the bus for her to help her get on and I guess there is some policy where the bus drivercould not help her get on by assisting with the wheelchair, so after all this discussion, we then have to wait while two people who were kind-hearted and nice helped the older lady on board, once on board it took her a while to get settled in after rearranging her wheel chair in the space in front of her a number of times and finally sitting down. This whole time I'm mumbling to myself, why couldn't she just get another bus, why does she have to be on my bus - grrr.

And, finally, we are off. I figured I shouldn't be really late at this point, we can make up the time going down the road -it's actually only about a 10 minute drive down E Street to my stop. But we only get a couple of blocks down E Street where we have to stop and pick up this rather large woman, who is once again a little rattily dressed and, the stop is outside of the DC homeless shelter. We once again have to wait while the bus driver explains that she can't lower the bus and then for this woman to climb aboard the bus - lumbering to a sit - the whole time I'm praying - don't sit by me, don't sit by me - I breath a big sigh of relief when she sits down not next to me.

We then proceed to go the big - woohoo - two blocks only to stop again where, yes, just my luck, there is another person with a wheelchair who needs to get on the bus, everything all over again, people moving from handicapped area, whole discussion about hydraulics, getting him on the bus, etc. - Once again, there was a nice person in the area who helped the guy on board, so though there actually are nice people out there willing to help people. By this time, anyone who knows me, knows I'm just huffing a puffing a little, but trying to discreet, because I know it's not right to be this nasty, narrow-minded individual I was being. Oh, and did I mention that when the people had to move this guy moved and sat next to me - he appeared to be either a homeless person (but not really stinky), a construction worker with a couple of bags or just someone who doesn't care about wearing clean clothes but dusty clothes and smelling just a wee bit.

I, of course, had taken a shower that morning and washed my hair so I was just the perfect little perfect I can be. See, I am not nice, I am not nice. I have mean, vile thoughts and judge people because they make me late for work. I need to work on this very much. Now, off for a drink so that my alcohol breath can be stinky for the poor unfortunate soul who has to sit next to me and can think nasty thoughts about the alky sitting next to them ;-)

Other Sunday Happenings

Better things that happened to us on Sunday: We cleared up the rest of the cord of wood which was dumped in our driveway. It is now stacked nicely in our backyard, ready to provide us, I would think, at least a year and a half's worth of firepit fires since we don't own an indoor fireplace, it might even last us even longer :-) Our little helper Heidi was over to help and earn a little money as usual. It was funny that her little sister wanted to help and we said sure that we would give her a couple bucks, but Heidi was having none of it. She considered us hers and the jobs we give out go to her. After a little consulting, it was decided that her sister was allowed to rake leaves for us if she wanted to and get some money, but if she helped with the wood it would be unpaid.

I also made a big pot of chili in preparation for the MD Renfest after party at our place next Saturday and a big pot of Sloppy Joes for my bookclub the following Tuesday night.

We watched the Redskins work their way to a lose once again, through incomplete passes, fumbles and just everything that could go wrong went wrong. We watched the Patriots win their sixth win of the season - Jason was very, very happy. The Steelers were on a bye so nothing there - looking forward to the game next weekend.

Magazine Scam

On Sunday I'm hanging out in my back yard playing with Lucie and Kira and these two girls walk up and ask if I live there. I said yes I did. One of the girls then goes into a whole bubbly schpeal about this contest she's in where it's boys vs. girls in the selling of magazines, but the main thing is for them to raise money towards college and a trip to Cancun for the top sellers -where they can bring along people who bought magazines from them. Now, I was very non-committive and non-verbal to all this, but did not say as I should have from the very start - I am not interested please go away. I think that her bubbliness was just overwhelming me and really not in a good way - it was actually getting on my nerves, but I was a little tired and had a lot on my mind, not to mention that my upbringing taught me to be nice to people and that everyone deserves a chance, blah, blah, blah and that was running through my head.

So, I figured I would just put her off and say that I can not make a decision and needed to consult with my husband who was inside. Now, once again, I should have just gone inside and pretended to talk with Jason, But NOOOO, I tell him there are two girls outside and that they are trying to sell magazines and I need him to be the heavy and just say no and to not get taken in by the one girls excitement and bubbliness. That was a mistake. He, of course, said he wouldn't and he would handle it. He then invites them in to sit at the table outside while they go over their schpeal. I even tried to help at one point, but not really, I guess, by saying the reason I was staying out of it was that he had just lectured me on my spending to much money one things we don't need. I was thinking he would say, this is true, so girls I shouldn't do the same thing, but no, he starts looking at the magazines. All along in the back of my head there was this little voice which I kept ignoring screaming at me - this is a scam, this is a scam. I then proceed to agree with him about buying a subscription and that he should run to the atm so that we can give them cash and not a check, so they don't have that information and they get an additional 1,000 points for an atm run. I stupidly allow him to ride off to the atm with them and not until he's gone do I think this could be a set up, etc. He didn't even have his phone on him so I could check on him. Nothing, happened thank goodness and he returned with them safely shortly thereafter.

Now, while he as gone and after excruciating minutes of trying to get the computer to open up in explorer and to stop pulling up his Heroes game, I began to look up "magazine scams selling door to door" and had just found a few instances and references when they got back. Once again, I chickened out about standing up to all this and just saying no - grrr - and Jason and I waved goodbye to the girls as they went their merry way. This is when I decide I need to say something to Jason, because I couldn't before, because saying it in front of them would have been hurtful to them - duh. He than says why didn't you say something and let me look at what you found. He reads a bit more and does further research (including looking the company up on the BBB site) than I did and and found out they were listed as unsatisfactory on the BBB and one persons report says exactly what will be said by the con-artist and it actually was almost word for word down to "I don't get along with my family. They have been abusive towards me, etc." The article said to call your local police and report them which I did and our wonderful police department said they'd send someone right away to investigate.

Jason and I figured we were out our money and that it was the price we paid for being so stupid and foolish, especially for me not to go with my instincts which are pretty good. We did keep looking out the windows to see if we saw them in the area still and to see if the police really did come out to investigate. While doing this we see them walk up to a neighbors house across the street and I asked Jason if he wanted me to be the Witch that I can be and he said yes. So we walked across the way and waited until our neighbor shut them out the proper way and didn't give them anything. At which time I said "Call me a bitch if you want, but we need our money back and we don't want any magazines." The head girl started acting all pouty like while at the same time throwing me daggers of death, but she did give us back our money. She then asked us what changed our minds and Jason said well we did a bit of research and almost everything that came up about your company said it was a scam and not to do it. Neither one of the girls made any protests saying that this wasn't true or that there had been bad people, etc. but that wasn't them. They just walked up the street. We did see the police about 5-10 minutes later looking around the area to see if they saw them, but don't know whether or not they eventually found them. (Have to say it was nice to have a good response time from our police force and that they took something like this seriously.)

I am glad that we got our money back and that to learn this valuable lesson it did not cost us much more than having to admit it outloud and our resulting embarrassment. I was extremely paranoid for the rest of the day and most of the night and probably sorta will be for a little bit about retaliation, because I am just like that, but hopefully they just moved on with their little scam and are in a different area or better yet the police were able to find them and maybe do something about it so that others stupid, ignorant people don't fall prey to this scam.