Happy Anniversary Scott

Now, however, there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love...1 Corinthians 13:13

Dear Scott,

Today we have been married 15 years! Can you believe it? So much has happened in the last 15 years. Good times, bad times, happy times, sad times. But through it all, I always ALWAYS felt the love from you. I don't know if I have ever told you this, but when you got sick and you were in the hospital asleep, you couldn't talk to me and I wasn't sure if you could even hear me. At any given time, I would have 50 people around me...doctors, family, friends...but I have to say, those were the loneliest days of my life. Dark times I tell ya...dark times! There are things that you really only can tell your spouse and they will understand or just get you. I'm so happy you survived your ordeal and that we can have this day. My life would not be complete without you! You are slow to anger and you help to balance me out. Your first and foremost interest is always to support this family and I'm so grateful for that. Thank you Scott for being who you are! I love you from the deepest depths of my heart.

Your wife and friend,

Jaime

P.S. These are the only pictures I could find of us on this computer because you won't fix our other computer...and since I'm complaining on our anniversary, do you think you can fix that running toilet upstairs...oh, and that toilet paper that is still hanging in the trees from last weekend, yeah, if you could get that...that would be GREAT!

Oh, and one more thing, thank you for my four beautiful children...I have YOU to thank for getting pregnant four times, but don't get me wrong, I love them all dearly...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

(This is the song we danced to at our wedding...I still love it so much!)

Update: I just got this email from Scott...didn't I tell you he was a great guy!

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for the ecard and the blog post, I appreciate the props and love. I can't hear anything though thx for letting me know what is playing, when I get home I will view it there. It's been 15 years, that went by pretty quickly hopefully we will both survive 15 more and on. I love you so much and am thankful every day you are my wife. I appreciate the children you have given me and hope you get joy from being with them. Sorry you have to deal with them so much I know it would weigh on me also, as a bonus gift since mine is not coming for a few weeks you can pick any day you want and just get away. Maybe one of the Fridays I have flex we can plan it so I will get the kids to school and you won't have to deal with anything. We can plan it soon so just let me know. I love you and always will, your husband - Scott.

Okay, so you heard it folks...I'm getting a free day...he can't back out now...it's published!!!

(And what's up with me crying every time I read this blog post AND his email...geez I'm either hormonal or I really really love him)

Reply All - The Anti-LOL

Okay, so I've been known in the past to send out huge mass emails. And then for like days on end everyone on my mass emails is getting replies back. For years, I've loved this because I felt like everyone was in an ongoing conversation, kinda like at a party, but recently, I had to learn the hard way how annoying this is.

Scott (my hubby), hates it when I put his email address on a mass email. First off, he's a City employee which makes him a target if someone was to ever write anything questionable in these mass replies. Front page news: CITY EMPLOYEE'S EMAIL TRACKED DUE TO REPLY ALL.

Secondly, he hates logging in and finding 250 messages with "LOL" or "HAHAHAHAHA" written in them. I mean come on people...who really cares if you're laughing out loud at your desk. It really only matters to the people that you're really close too. Joe's cousin's brother's wife's kid doesn't really care if you're rolling on the floor laughing your butt off. (Well he's a kid...maybe he does care, but his mom or dad at work REALLY doesn't care)

I never could understand when people would write me back and say "please take me off this email list because this is my work email". My usual response back was "okay Debbie Downer" or "reeeeaaaaarrrrr". My friend Lisa can totally relate to this. We've had many a conversation over these people that don't want to be part of our "reply all" frenzy.

But recently, like I said, I became the victim in one of these mass emails. I was put on an email list with 50 other people that I didn't know. And for a week I was getting responses back..."LOL", or "you are so funny Cindy" or "that would totally be you Frank"...WHO THE HECK IS FRANK??? It was sooooo annoying!!!

So let me apologize now to all those people that I have ever had to put through this complete and utter nonsense. I really didn't get it until now. I will be following Scott's lead in the future and instead of reading these 50 responses...instead, it will just be DELETE!!!!

UPDATE:

So since I've sent this blog posting out, I've had some good responses...I had to share a few...I'm sure these people are going to kill me but they were too good to pass up!: (I've used only initials to protect the innocent)

A.A.: OMG I love it! I heard this statistic that 1 in 12 people hit "reply-all" on those mass e-mails. Well since you added me to your list, I've never seen so many "reply-all" -ers in my life! You have a really social bunch of friends! I've never been confident enough to hit the dreaded "reply-all" button. But I'm glad you "saw the light". Ha haha!

E.G.: I'm so glad you finally realize I'm not a total jerk for hating reply all, soooo glad. :)

Thanks folks, I am glad I've seen the light also!

Don't you just love how I do something and can't see it any other way, but once it gets on my nerves, I hate it, and I'm going to make sure everyone else knows it!

Yeah, It Doesn't Look Good

So this last weekend was BAD, BAD, BAD!

I ate all things GOOD and EVIL!

And now I feel like this!

We totally have the same haircut and color.

Not good for the ego.

I'm not even going to tell you how much weight I gained...it's not pretty.

Dieters CANNOT Have A Social Life

So I'm already stressed about this weekend. The feeding frenzy starts today. We have to go to dinner at Oregano's tonight for my sister and brother-in-law's 20 year anniversary. EEK!!! Pasta and Pizza = Fat Jaime!

And then tomorrow we go to the matinee showing of Lion King.

Afterwards we are going to Monti's La Casa Vieja on Mill. Double EEK!! They have the best bread EV-A!!!

I am so torn about what to do. First off, I want to REALLY enjoy myself this weekend. Really enjoying myself means EATING EATING EATING.

Here's my dilemma: Do I go out, have a good time, eat what makes me happy and pay the consequences later...I can always just diet another 3 or 4 weeks, right?

Or do I keep it simple, like order a salad and not eat the flippin yummy rosemary bread at Monti's

and the ooey gooey yummy pazookie at Oregano's,

and pretty much be miserable and watch everybody else order up and eat up?

What to do, what to do!!!???

I took this quiz...UH OH!!!

81%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Time to get a job!

HOORAY for ARIZONA!!!

So I'm going to be honest, I'm not a football fan. In fact, I somewhat hate sports. Maybe it's because I'm a basketball widow when the NBA season starts and it's so irritatating. BUT when the team that Scott is rooting for is actually winning, then all kinds of my fun awesomness busts out! So now I'm all over being a HUGE Cardinals fan. For years, I thought they were so lame and they stunk...well, because they did. But now...Super Bowl....YEAH BABY!!!! So I can't say I've been loyal for a very long time but NOW I'm totally a fan. The best part of this?? We are playing the Steelers.

And what makes it even more interesting, my husband's family is HUGE Steeler fans.

This is Scott's crazy cousins Amy and Melissa. They go to Pittsburgh in the dead of winter to watch football games because...yes...they are those type of fans....COO COO!

Of course, there is no way they aren't going to root for the Steelers, but how can they NOT support Arizona, their awesome home state? This is going to be very fun and very interesting. Let the razzing begin!!! So for now, I'm a HUGE sports fanantic because it's party central all up in here in Phoenix. It's going to be CAR-RAZY!!!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop....GO CARDINALS!

To Cut Or Not To Cut...That IS The Question

So Sydney wants to cut her hair SHORT. I, of course, am freaking out. Not because I don't think it will be cute and not because I just want her to have lovely long golden brown locks....it purely for selfish reasons. She's going to HATE it and I'm going to have to hear the constant complaining and crying. But, I have to let her do it.

Not to be disrespectful to my mother, BUT, she made me this way. My mom felt that since I had red hair, that I should NEVER EVER cut my hair...that it should be long. Well that's just plain child abuse. While my "blonde" sisters were out getting bangs and feathered haircuts and spraying "sun-in" in their hair for highlights, I was walking around with about 60 lbs of solid red hair on my head and feeling like Mama Cass. I had Crystal Gayle hair for many many years. Okay, maybe it wasn't that long (or even that pretty) but folks, it was so long that when I would take a seat I would be sitting on my hair. And my hair was THICK...is THICK...so you can only imagine the headaches I had. I told myself that I would never do this to my daughter. But now...I'm in this predicament and I'm really struggling with this.

I don't want her to cut her hair. Finally after many years of "scraggly cave man hair", her beautiful curls have emerged and I really like them. I know she just wants a change but her hair doesn't grow that fast and I'm worried the change isn't what she's going to want and then it'll be another year or two before we're back to where she originally was. UGGGHHHH!!! What to do, what to do! Nothing! That's just it. I'm going to take her to get her hair cut off and I'm going to hate it but I'm going to do it with a smile on my face because I'm a cool mom like that. (God, I can't believe I'm doing this!!!) At least she's not asking for a nose ring or a tattoo.

The Ugly Cry

Okay, I'll admit it...I cry on occasion. And the last year and a half...I've done enough crying for my entire family! In fact, in the last...say...4 years, I've cried enough for an entire village. I don't mind crying, once in a while. I think it's good for you. It's kind of cleansing in a way. But there are several different kind of cries. There's the "new mother" cry...the cry you do when you first see your baby be born and then every time you look at her for the next, I don't know, 10 years of her life. There's the "I'm proud of you" cry. The cry you do when you see your kindergartner up there belting out the "ABC" song on the cafeteria stage. There's the "I'm so happy to see you I could burst" cry. That's the cry you cry when your husband wakes up from a stroke. There's the "I can't believe my kid is that stupid" cry. That's the cry when your kid jumps over your other kid's leg in mid air and comes crashing down on his head on the coffee table and busts his ear open and you have to rush him to the E.R. to get his ear stitched up (or in our case glued up). And trust me, there's so many more cries I could tell you about and I'm sure you know of them. But the cry I want to tell you about today is the "Ugly Cry". This cry is very random and somewhat pointless and very very ugly. It's the kind of cry that makes you come up with sounds out of your body you never knew you had....the blubbering billowing cry. It's the cry that doesn't really fit into a category other than it's own "Ugly Cry" category. And well...last week, and today, I have busted out with the Ugly Cry on more than one occasion.

Last week, it was when I finished Where the Red Fern Grows. Okay, maybe this cry could fit under "The Grieving Cry" but the cry I came out with definitely fell under the "Ugly Cry". I mean, when the first dog died, I was shuddering from crying so much but when the second dog died...Little Ann...I couldn't even breath I was crying so hard. I mean, when she drags herself onto Old Dan's grave...OMG, it was more than I could even handle. The Ugly Cry that day was fierce!!!

But today, for some odd reason, my Ugly Cry, just kept creeping up on me. First, it was a commercial on T.V. I can't even remember which one. The water works start. Then I was looking at photographs on the computer and I busted out with the water works again. Then I sat down to watch The Biggest Loser, which I had DVR'd from last week. Oh man, the Ugly Cry just belted out. It was so unbelievable I actually had to turn the TV off, just to regain my composure.

Well, the reason I'm telling you this is because I think everyone should be allowed one Ugly Cry a week. But that's it! Ugly Cries are redundant and meaningless and only make for more ugly crying. Last week when I finished the book, I got my ugly cry out. DONE! (And why do all great classics have to end badly...geez!) And then this week, Biggest Loser...I got my Ugly Cry out...DONE! It just sucks that my Ugly Cry reared it's ugly head on Monday. Now I have all week to get through. This is going to be tough! I'm sure it'll try to sneak up on me, but I'll restrain myself because like I said, one ugly cry turns into another ugly cry and the next thing you know, you're popping pills and hiding flasks under the bed. Really not a good thing so...folks, get the ugly cry out, but then clean it up. You got a life to live and it's very much worth living. Learn from the ugly cries...I am. In fact, this is the first time I've ever watch Biggest Loser. It was very touching and my ugly cry made me realize that I have a heart and that my heart breaks for people with the weight of the world on their shoulders. It was so moving and inspiring, I can't wait for the next episode. I have so much to say on the Biggest Loser subject. I'm sure I'll blog about that soon. Like I've said in the past...

Stay Tuned!....

Dysfunctional Tea Party

I heart TEA! Seriously, I love it. I drink it all the time. If I had it my way, I'd have a tea party every day of my life. I can't wait to get older and wear those funny hats and boas and walk around like I'm all hoity toity. I'm going to have lots of tea parties for my old fart friends. It's going to be great. So in November when my family came out to visit I wanted to have tea and scones for them. It was late...after dinner...not your usual time for tea, but whatever, it's my party and I can do what I want (crap, there's that narcissim again). So I set everything out and everyone really enjoyed it.

I was so excited...even Heath and Jimmy joined in the fun.

It was a blast.

But of course there's always one in the bunch that doesn't quite get it.

Poor Jana!

Day 7 Of Hell (the one in the bible...not the bad word)

So I've lost 7 lbs and I'm just not that happy about it. I HATE dieting. I'm pretty much feeling like this right now:

If I even so much as remotely looked like this chick...I would continue to be large. She's hot....I'm NOT!

Sorry if this pic was offensive but even larger girls gots to be sexy right?

It's All About Me!

So it was told to me by a certain someone, to remain unnamed, that another certain someone , who also will remain unnamed, said that I talk about myself alot....on a blog. Wait, did I just say "a" blog...I'm sorry, I meant "MY" blog. I was, at first, a little surprised. Then it went to irritation. Then it went to feeling bad about myself (obviously what the complainer was shooting for). Now it's just plain "I don't give a crap" and actually I have to say, it has definitely moved on to laughter. I think it's hilarious that someone is actually clicking on my blog link, reading it, and then getting off the blog to complain about me talking about myself ALOT. Last I checked, reading a blog is a "choice", not a demand. Seems to me there are some curious folks out there and they really want to see what's up with my life but then walk away and talk about me...for some reason, I'm kinda like Fly Paper to those kind of freakys. Don't get me wrong, I love it when people stop by, and really really love it when they comment. But I blog for one reason and one reason only...OUTLET! I think I got some things I need to get off my chest and instead of taking pencil to paper, I take fingers to keyboard. It's great therapy and if it makes people laugh in the process, then I feel like I'm helping make the world a happier place. Pure Narcissism at it's best, right???

A blog I like to read every so often is C Jane, and today I checked her blog and it was about someone leaving a comment on her blog about her being self-centered. I couldn't believe it when I read it because this comment about me being self-centered was just made a few days ago...weird timing on that. So I left her a comment and another fellow blogger, Nicole saw my comment and decided to write about being self-centered on her blog. She summed it up beautifully...she said:

"Bloggers are confident rather than self centered, and tend to be more of an extrovert in personality. they are social, outgoing, and for the most part articulate. I would guess that most have at least some education beyond high school and many have graduated college. They are probably verbal learners and not overly shy. In a nut shell they are confidant, empowered, and comfortable in life, and in who they are, and what they believe."

Oh and did I mention that she referenced MY blog, you can read about it HERE...wow, I'm famous...oh and by that last comment, obviously also Narcissistic.

Next Week's Topic: Sarcasm 101

Stay Tuned!