Parent/Teacher Conferences

I hate parent/teacher conferences. I really do. There's nothing like looking your child's teacher in the eye and hearing about what your kids have been doing in school behind your back. You go through your day blissfully unaware that your kids are out there doing anything but what they're supposed to be doing while they're at school. Yikes.

Anyway, the plague has lifted around here. The kittens are tearing around the house, my kids are enjoying their first of two half days (the reason for the teacher conference-or maybe the conference was the reason for the half day, however you want to look at) and I'm working on getting work caught up before I take Chelsea to ballet. Just another day in paradise.

And just for the record? Owning cats is awesome! So glad the kids talked us into keeping these kittens. Of course, as I have on currently trying to eat the vacuum cleaner I don't know how much longer they'll be with us! Seriously though, we're really enjoying them-even Sir "I don't want cats" GrumpyPants!

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To...

All right, so just for the record? My birthday didn't wind up completely mired in sucktitude. Yeah, it started off rough-I overslept and we had to run to get the car to the shop. It was a busy day at work, followed by a trip to the vet where I got to hold the kittens down for their first round of shots (talk about the world's worst mommy-you should have been there) before tag teaming and dragging poor Chelsea clear to Geneseo, where we found out she had an ear infection-followed by sitting at Wegman's for over an hour waiting on antibiotics.

Of course, we were waiting for pizza too, which made it a little better. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I can be bought.

The good news is, for everyone that had to listen to me complain yesterday, last night was rockin'. I got home, ate WAY too much pizza. My hubby went out and bought me an apple danish instead of a lame birthday cake, and we had that with some ice cream. I knocked out a little more work, then took a quick 2 mile run (more about that in a minute) before sitting down and gorging myself on Disc 3 of the first season of NCIS.

Gibbs is an ass. Abby's awesome. Tony's a hound dog. Duckey's just-strange. Kate's too sweet for her own good. And I'm totally hooked.

The only downside to yesterday was that we had to cancel our plans to take our first "couple's jog" while the kiddies were in school, since, well, none of them went to school! See, for a few months now I've been training off and on for the annual Turkey Trot, an 8K race that happens in Rochester every year. I was doing really good training through the summer, then I went back to work and it was downhill from there.

With three weeks to go 'til post, however, I'm kicking up the routine. I can do 8 miles at a steady 15 minute mile, which means I should be able to handle five miles without too much pain. It might not be a fast five miles, but I can do it! I've also dropped 5 lbs. in the past couple of weeks, which is just-cool. Yes, I know, when you're training for a race it's not about weight. It's about fitness, and time, and being able to go the distance.

But it still feels good.

Anyway, I'm pulling a night shift tonight so I have to rock and roll. The price I pay for spending the morning running errands. Have a good night everyone!

Just another manic Monday! I really hate trying to get myself up and running in the morning. It kind of makes me wish they'd draft me in for a beta of that Gizmo closure I was talking about just for the added convenience of having an excuse to slurp massive quantities of well mixed coffee!

I'm just complaining. All three kids have the flu. We had to cancel Halloween. (More or less-I still got some great pictures though!) And now it's Monday, and they're still home sick. It's my birthday, and I get to spend it taking the car to the shop, the kid to the doctor, the cats to the vet and my computer to the nearest FedEx location to send it back to HP to stop that annoying little flicking thing. No flowers. No cake.

Can I just fast forward through 27 and get to the good stuff?

Gizmo Closure Bringing Make-up Chunks to a Halt?

So, if you'll remember, in an earlier post I talked about the new invention that was going to be sweeping its way across the beverage market-the Gizmo closure. I was surprised today to stumble across a YouTube comment highlighting exactly why having the closure on cosmetics (which I didn't really understand in the first place) would be absolutely awesome-it can finally put a stop to those god-awful chunks that liquid make up gets when it sits around on the store shelves too long!

Think about it. Ladies, how often have you walking into a store and picked up a brand new tube of mascara, only to have it turn out to be no good two or three weeks down the road because it's so chunky and dry you can barely do it? Now, I don't know diddly squat about how they make mascara, but I have to imagine being able to withhold the ingredients that make it thick and chunky until you're good and ready to use it could only be a good thing!

What do you think?

The New Gizmo

It's not very often I'll take the time to highlight a product here, except for the new Transformers movie, but hey that was awesome! And, in the world of awesome, I also have to put a plug in for the new Gizmo closure. This is a new(ish) product coming out from Gizmo Packaging, Ltd, and I can't imagine it's going to take long before we start seeing it on all the local store shelves.

The idea behind the Gizmo is that someone has finally come up with a way to let you mix your drinks at the point of sale instead of having to pick up protein shakes, nutritional drinks and other flavored beverages after they've been sitting on a store shelf for a while and all the flavoring has fallen out of suspension-or worse, taken on that stale, overly watered down taste!

Check it out!

I believe...

All right, so I'm a lazy blogger. Work, school and family have been keeping me so busy that at the end of the day I don't want to do anything that requires me to think. I found this online tonight though, and I absolutely had to share...

I believe... that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I believe... that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe... that no matter how good a friend is they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe... that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe... that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe... that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe... that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe... that you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe... that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe... that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe... that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe... that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe... that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe... that sometimes, the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe... that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe... that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe... that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe... that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe... that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe... that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe... that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe... that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe... that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe... that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe... that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.