GPOY(fake laughing)W

I have to admit, I love this picture.  More so because this is totally staged, I'm barefoot, and was about to fall off this log-horse-thingy.

   Photo by Nicole Faby Photography

Song lyric of the day

Sweet like candy to my soul
Sweet you rock
And sweet you roll

"Crash into me" - DMB

Do not give up...

A year ago, my job was a scary thing.  I was trying to do sales for a start up company that nobody had heard of.  It was frightening that I wasn't selling anything.  Today, my boss and I close a deal for over $114k.  In the last 3 weeks I went from not selling a thing to making $15k in commission.  YEAH!  This was my fortune last week...

So true!

Lyrics of the day

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you breathe just to know you're alive...

"Iris" - The Goo Goo Dolls



man I love that song.

Four more days

I need a break.  I need a vacation.  Thank goodness Saturday is coming soon.  I am so ready to kick back and not worry about work.  I am ready to not have to worry about taking care of my dogs.  And I am ready to not have to be mommy 100% of the time.  I'm ready for laughing so hard my belly hurts.  I'm ready for bonding with a good friend.  I'm ready for hanging out with two of my favorite people, with our families all together, and having a really great time.  I'm ready for the hot tub!  I'm ready to not wear make up and to hang around in a bikini all day long.  I'm ready for the sun on my face and a breeze through my hair.  I'm ready for trying new wine with someone who knows a bit about wine.  I'm ready for reconnecting with friends and family we haven't seen in 5 years.  I'm also ready for making memories with my own family.

Four more days...  my refuge calls...

Home comes the rain again...

 

So I'm addicted to this website lately called observando.net, which is where I keep getting all of these awesome photos.  Anyhow this one seemed tailor made for me today.  As you know, we had a hurricane here this weekend (that's Irene, for anyone living under a rock), and I'm happy to report that we just had some wind on Saturday and lots of rain.  Sunday was absolutely gorgeous.  YESTERDAY, however, we had a random rainstorm out of nowhere, complete with hail.

Sorry it's such a bad picture - I had to take it through the french door because it was raining so hard!  But the size of the hail was at least a large marble or bigger.  Crazy!

But the upside of all this rain?  My lawn is SO green!

Look what I can do!

I just hung up this mirror all by myself!  I even used a level and anchors!  WOO HOO!

I'm such a good wife

Not only did I have my husband's car detailed for him while he is out of town this week, but I just mowed the front AND back yards too.  The hubs doesn't get home until Friday afternoon and we pack up on Saturday morning to head to the beach for a week.  I wanted to make his to-do list as short as possible for the 18 hours he was going to be home before we left.

Pretty awesome huh?  I need a pat on the back sometimes.  :)

Shoot me now!

I made a cardinal error this morning.  I actually thought going to WalMart was a good idea.  Look at this place...

This was what the shelves at the check out looked like.  I mean, were they ROBBED?  Oh no, it is always like that because WalMart is a $hit hole.  My son asked me why it was a mess in there and I just started laughing. 

I guess I am a snob.  I figure if I am going to spend my money at your store, I expect the place to NOT be in complete disarray.  That's why I don't shop at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or any of the other places that you have to sift through the crap to find what you came for.

It was absolute chaos in WalMart on a monday morning.  There were children running around ALL OVER THE PLACE.  Where in the hell were their parents?  And the place was a mess - none of the shelves were in order.  Everything looked like the picture above.  Oh, and this particular WalMart has 36 checkout lanes.  TWO of them were open.  Yep, you read that right - TWO.  It's a rare event that I ever go to WalMart, but this morning I happened to need something from the pharmacy area and Target wasn't open yet.  Next time, I will wait until Target opens.  WalMart is disgusting and I refuse to go back in unless it's an absolute emergency.  And like 2am.  On a Sunday.  When hopefully no one is around.

Thought for the WEEK

I'm such a cliche!

I totally just went to the store for bread and milk because there was a storm coming.  Oh, and toilet paper - that was important too.  I can't believe I just turned into one of the people I can't stand.  DAMMIT!

Quote of the day

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

The saddest song on earth

I don't know why, but this one just really got to me today...

Come on Irene...

There's a hurricane a-coming!  Check out the latest satellite image of Hurricane Irene, which has decided to take straight aim at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Man that looks scary!  These are the days that I'm glad we don't have a beach house yet, but I'm nervous and worried about all of our friends who live at the coast.  And selfishly, I really hope this storm does not do a whole lot of damage to the house we are renting in Corolla next week! 

Here's where we are staying:

See my concern? 

Move along Irene - your presence is not welcome here!  :(

Quote of the day

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary.”

~ Steve Jobs

As if I needed yet another reminder that I'm in a job that I don't love.  I mean, I like my job, but I still know deep in my heart I should be in medicine.  Sigh...

Photo of the Day

Concert review

So the Britney concert last night was a lot of fun with my girls.  We had pretty good seats - the stage was dead ahead of us and we were on the lower level.  I have never seen so many gay men in one place at one time though.  And I make this observation because those boys were having a GREAT time!

Here's half of our group...

I want to mention that DJ Pauly D "opened" up the show.  A DJ "opened" a concert???  It was so bizarre having a guy standing there with his tables and thinking he was actually entertaining the crowd.  It was awkward and I was not a fan.  But, I still managed to get in a fist pump or two with Heather...

Here's my list of popular Britney songs she did not perform:
- Lucky
- Oops I did it again
- You Drive me Crazy
- Sometimes
- Circus
- Me Against the Music
- Stronger
- From the Bottom of my Broken Heart

Oh baby baby

The last concert of the summer is tonight and I have to admit, I'm a bit sad about it.  I'm going with my girlfriends to see Britney Spears tonight and I plan on dancing my butt off.  I know she lip syncs.  I know she does a lot of pyrotechnics and mostly dancing.  I don't really care - I'm going to love it!

I don't have anything on the calendar regarding music for the remainder of the year.  Sigh...

The littlest angels

Life is so cruel sometimes.  My cousin found out a few weeks back that her unborn baby boy had spina bifida.  They decided to do a procedure in utero that would help close the spine and make his life a bit easier when he was born.  The surgery had many risks...


I found out last night that while the surgery went well and my cousin was doing all right, when they did an ultrasound to check on the baby, he had not survived.  I can't even begin to tell you the anguish I felt when my aunt had called to tell me the news.  It was a crushing grief.  I cried - for my aunt, for my family, for my cousin - I could not even imagine the pain and the sadness she was going through.  It's something I would never wish upon anyone. 

God called home another angel last night.  His name was Sean Madigan Hearn.

Sigh...

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

Question of the day

Dear McDonalds - It's ON!

I have had a love/hate relationship with the McDonalds Corporation for most of my adulthood.  I stopped eating fast food for a solid year and a half when I was a senior in college and beyond, and I think I'm about to take this on again.  It's bad enough I'm pretty much disgusted with the "food" that the fast food industry sells to Americans and I honestly believe McDonalds is one of the worst offenders, but my recent boycott actually has to do with the employees that work at McDonalds.

Here is what I have considered writing to their CEO:

Open Letter to the McDonalds Corporation...

Dear Mr. Skinner:

From this day forward, the McDonalds Corporation will not be receiving another penny of the Griffin family's money.  My most recent experience at your location on Leesville Road in Raleigh, NC, was enough to permanently irritate me into boycotting your company once and for all.  It's bad enough that you constantly bombard my children with advertisements for your Happy Meals and your overprocessed pancakes, but this time you really pissed me off.  I went through the drive thru on a Saturday afternoon to get an ice cream cone for my son who had just finished playing soccer.  We ordered two ice cream cones and a large Coke, light on the ice.  When I received my order, the cup I received with the soda was HALF FULL.  I have ordered my sodas this way for probably 5 years and have never ever had this problem before.  I personally don't like an entire cup of HUGE pieces of ice in my drink.  I actually want to drink the drink, not have 2 ounces of soda and entire cup of ice (for $1.39, mind you).  When I handed your employee the cup back and asked her if she could actually fill it up, she rolled her eyes at me and said "No, the drinks are dispensed by a machine."  I then inquired as to why she even worked there if she couldn't see that the cup that she was handing me was half full?  "Irene" (as her nametag said) squirted a little more Coke into the cup and handed it back to me with a smirk on her face.  "Happy now?" she asked me.  The look of shock on my face must have given her the answer she was looking for.   Irene shut the drive thru window and that was that.

Oh no it wasn't.  I sat in the drive thru refusing to move until Irene got the manager to come to the window.  "I'm not going ANYWHERE" I told her.  "Get your manager NOW."  The manager that came to the window could hardly speak English.  She attempted to apologize for Irene's behavior.  I asked for HER to fill up my cup of soda and she did, then promptly handed it back to me and said "I apologize.  Thank you."  I was not satisfied with this.  I asked the manager for the name of the Franchise owner, his phone number or email address and their store location.  This was by no means over.  I intend to call the franchise owner directly to let him know what happened and I will never buy another thing from this company again.

Now it's bad enough that this woman in the drive thru tried to be a jerk over ICE, but this is not an isolated incident with the McDonalds Corporation.  I constantly have problems with the lack of customer service in your organization.  Here are my recommendations for your company moving forward:

1.  DO NOT have someone working in the drive thru if they cannot speak appropriate and intelligible ENGLISH.  I am all for diversity, but for the love of GOD, no one can understand what they are saying.  It's unfair to your customers to not be understood or to not understand what someone is saying back to us in the drive thru.  I know it must be frustrating to your employees too - they are doing their best to earn a living, provide for their families etc, but if they can't speak well, then don't let them work in the drive thru.

2.  Please do not assume that your customers don't have CHOICES in where they dine.  Do you really think your company is the only one out there serving hamburgers?  Or what you pass off as chicken nuggets?  Granted, you have a corner on the McGriddle and Filet o Fish, but I have plenty of choices of what to feed my kids when I need to feed them quickly.

3.  Teach your employees MANNERS.  Every time I order something at McDonalds, I am never told thank you by the cashier.  When I order at the drive thru - no "thank you".  When I give your employee my money - NEVER a "thank you" uttered.  In fact, I tell THEM thank you on purpose to make my point. When I'm handed my food.... you get the picture.  When I go through the drive thru at Chic Fil A, they are practically falling all over themselves to say "My Pleasure!" and smiling at us.  In fact, the manager even comes around to say hello and to thank us for coming in when we're in the dining room.  What a novel concept!

Until I see any drastic changes in how you run your company and how your employees behave, I will not be patronizing your establishments.  I don't see this changing any time soon.  You have lost a customer and there's not a whole lot you will do to get me back.  But that's OK, I'm sure there are plenty of Americans left for your employees to irritate and upset.

Sincerely,

Carrie A. Griffin

Quiz

Collect moments, not things

This has become my mantra as I go room by room, ridding my house of clutter once and for all.  I feel like I've been holding on to a lot of things because of the memories behind them.  For example, I have my sister's reading glasses.   WHY????  It's not like I can wear them.  I haven't let go of them yet because I'm afraid I'll forget her.  But either way, they are taking up space in the drawer of my nightstand and a pair of glasses is not honoring someone's memory!  So I've decided to let go.  I'm letting go of a lot recently.  But most obviously is the clutter in my house.  I encourage you to do the same - collect moments, not things.

The most confusing thought of the day

Discuss...

Guest blog post

My friend Derek just turned me on to the funniest mommy blog I've ever read.  This was the post he sent me and I swear (pun intended) it was written as if she was reading my mind...

F you, Kids

I swear at my kids.
Yes, I said it and I meant it. Each and every day, I swear at them.
I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Our kids can be assholes. Tell me your child hasn’t ever deserved to be cursed at and I’ll call you a liar.
I’ll even go so far as to say that I believe that swearing at my children makes me a better parent.
I’m not talking curse words like “dammit” and “hell.” Oh, no. I pull out the big guns. Those four letter ones of which I am such a big fan.
Now, I would never actually shout obscenities directly at my offspring. Obviously.
But, when Lily is screaming that I ruined her life by taking away the hot pink hair dye which came with her new Moxie Doll that was staining the entire first floor of my house, I may just have seen the words “shut the fuck up” float over her head in my imaginary commentary of the scene. And it may just have kept me from really losing it with her.
When Even is thrashing on the floor because I didn’t let him have a third bag of Goldfish before lunch, singing a little ditty that goes “Shut the fuck up, you pain in my ass. Shut the fuck up, my dear.” in my head, somehow, makes the moment more bearable.
And, Ben’s incessant whining can be blocked out by my asking “are you ever going to shut your little fucking mouth, you annoying child?” in my head. Logically, I know the answer is “not likely,” but just asking always makes me feel better.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Just fucking shoot me now.”
“Fuck off, sweetheart.”
Does saying these things mean that I love my children any less than a non-swearing mother? No. Does it make me a bad parent or role model? No, I don’t think so.
Because, by thinking these awful things, I keep myself from actually saying anything terrible to them. Which, I argue, would be far worse.
It’s a coping mechanism, of sorts. A tool to survive motherhood.
So, next time your child is screaming at the top of his lungs that he doesn’t want that shower or need to brush his teeth or that no, he will not stop taunting his sibling despite a hundred and three warnings, flip him off in your head.
I know he deserved it.

From www.scarymommy.com

Haha

Lesson of the day

Reason #482 that I'm getting old

I prefer listening to my iPod to the "crap" they play on the radio nowadays.  And then realizing I am JAMMING out to Michael Bolton's "Steel Bars" song and finally admitting I have 100% become my mother...

Oh Michael Bolton - you and your frizzy mid-90s mullet complete me.

Only 10 more days

My son is going to start 1st grade in 10 days.  He's 6 years old already.  My kids are growing up right before my eyes and WAY too fast.  I've enjoyed having him as my sidekick all summer long but I'm ready for him to have something to keep him busy besides me!  Last night we were saying our goodnights before bed and he said "I love you to the moon and back!"  We've said this since he was a little baby - it's something I do only with him. I hope we do this our whole lives, even if it's just between us. 

Love you sugar booger!

Picture of the day

I am SO ready for fall...

Just thought you should know

Friday confessional

-There are days I wish I hadn't gone back to work.  I miss being with my boys every day and having my priorities revolve around laundry and nap times.
- I love reality TV.  But not those stupid shows with "real" housewives and crap.  I love reality competitions!  Like Big Brother, the Bachelor, the Biggest Loser.  I love being sucked into a show and needing to follow what happens every week.
- I despise nicknames and when guys call each other by nicknames they have had since they were 8 years old.  If you introduce me to your friend "Stick" or "Zombo" or something else retarded, I will ask them what their mother named them and call them that for the rest of their life.
- I think there are two kinds of people in this world: those that enjoy music and the emotion behind it, and those that don't pay attention to anything.  Songs move me to tears - I cry a lot because of music.
- I stopped listening to country music a few years ago because of the previous comment.
- I know I chose the wrong profession, and I can't get out of it.  It's one of my biggest (and constant) regrets.
-I took my guitar out of the closet finally.  I think I haven't tried to learn how to play it yet because I'm not willing to give up my fake nails yet. 
-I haven't been to the beach in over a month.  I can tell it's starting to bother me in that I was debating this morning whether or not I could get a wireless signal for my laptop on the beach...

Thought for the day

It's that time of year again...

It's almost FOOTBALL SEASON!  And as such, I thought this picture was appropriate today:

Song of the day

WALK WITH ME Video - ARTISTdirect Music

It's got to stop

This trend of me going through the drive thru at either McDonalds or Chic Fil A in my pajamas has GOT to stop.  One of these days I'm going to get stopped by a cop or need to pump gas or something else equally ridiculous (but necessary) and I will have to do so in my pajamas and it will be embarrassing.

Goooooo Goooooooooooo!

I went to see the Goo Goo Dolls in concert last Wednesday night and I wanted to share a short video from the show.  I haven't sang along that much in a concert in a very long time.  We had excellent seats - 7th row, dead center.  I sang my little heart out in the 100 degree heat just for this song...

Ok I have no idea why it's sideways or how to fix it.  Anyhow, just enjoy it - I love this band.  Can't you tell?

OMG! One month from now...

...I'll be at the beach!  I just realized my beach vacation starts a month from today.  One glorious week of no work, no house to clean, just lots of sun and sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom!  HELL YEAH!

GPOYW

This is my friend Summer and I.  I love this girl.  :)  I wanted to use this picture for GPOYW because look at how straight my hair is!?  That is what happens when I actually use a Chi and not the piece of crap I call a flat iron. 

I'm starting to feel buried

After spending a few days at my Mom's house in Texas, I'm starting to realize our house isn't nearly as cluttered as I thought it was.  My mom hangs onto EVERYTHING.  I mean EVERYTHING.  It's just her living in this large three bedroom townhouse, but there was enough stuff in there to fill up at least three 4000 square foot homes.  I'm not exaggerating.

In light of that, I have decided that it's time to declutter our house anyway.  There is a yard sale happening in my neighborhood this weekend, so it's the perfect time to get some more of this mess out of my house.  I went ahead and rearranged my home office today to get me inspired to toss some trash!  Wish me luck!