Are you ready for some football?

I was all ready for no football this year. I was pissy about the labor dispute and the lockout, because in my opinion, all the sports factions make too much money off playing games for a living. They're machinations and greed were pissing me off, since they owe everything to the fans. It would have served them all right to have to go this season without any income. Not that any of them would have starved, but their seeing that the country actually would get along pretty well without football would have been a good thing. They are not all important. The NFL people likened themselves to the negotiations going on about the nation's debt ceiling. They are so full of themselves. There's quite a difference between the nation's financial future falling to ruin, and everyone having to find something else to watch on Sundays and Monday nights.
Now, having said that, I'm getting pretty excited about the Patriots' season this year after all the wheeling and dealing the team has done over the last few days. Albert Haynesworth, the team's new tackle, and Chad Ochocinco, the team's new wide receiver, are making me happy. That Bill Belichick spent the last few months plotting and planning for the days after the deal was made is a comfort. In my happy Football Place, I see the Pats going to the Super Bowl this year.

No "Captain" tonight, instead "Limitless"

We were going see Captain America tonight. In fact, we were all ready, and about to walk out the door. Then, Brian caught an alert on his Weather Channel app on his phone: a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for the metro Phoenix area for the time between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Unfortunately, that is right when our movie was starting. So, the decision was made to abort the plan and stay home. Ideally, this "weather" would put on a good enough show for us, making the lack of movie not too bad. However, at this point in the evening, I can say that no, the weather did not turn thundery, and ditching the movie was a bad idea. It's a pity, because I know tomorrow night I'll decided that I'd rather watch True Blood than Captain America, and that we'll stay in again. Which is too bad, because Chris Evans is yummy to look at.

Yay July!!

I'm looking at my calendar, and I'm thinking that, as a whole, the month of July was not bad at all. From a strictly, awesome and kick-ass viewpoint, it was epic. (I usually don't like using that word because it's been so overplayed, but here, it applies.)
First, on July 1, I had a fantastic girls' weekend out in Las Vegas for JJ's bachelorette. It was so fun, and that's all I'll tell you. July 4: fantastic fireworks at Tempe Town Lake. It was hot as the surface of the sun, but the 45-minute show was worth it. July 7: Mom came out for a long weekend, and because Brian was in Boston, she was able to stay with us. July 16: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2. Brian, Katy and I had a wonderful time at the movies, loved the movie, and then, having picked up Sydney from Taylor's care, had a yummy lunch. July 21: Brian and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary by not doing anything special that day. July 22: But on this day, we took our kid to Bellagio for a celebratory weekend, and had the best room ever, and I had the best weekend ever. You know, aside from the heat. But it was a different spit of desert, so it all worked out great. July 27: Sydney and I toured the preschool that would, as of yesterday, become her school in August. One less incredibly stressful thing off my mind.
Now, aside from the incredible irritability that plagued me this past week, I'll go on record as saying that this could possibly have been the second-best July of my life (the first still being the actual wedding month!). Thanks to all those that contributed!!

Sure, just take ALL our money

So, my apartment complex is screwing us. I may or may not have told you that the place wanted to increase our rent by $500 to go month to month. This was before we knew we wanted to stay for a few more months. I told them last week that we'd like to renew of another three-month lease. I was hoping that we'd get our previous rent amount. The new lease showed up in my e-mail, and I was surprised to discover that, rather than the $1,300 per month we'd been paying, and the $1,800 per month they wanted to charge us for going month to month, they instead were gifting us with a leased rent amount of $1,700 per month. I am, as you can imagine, quite irritated by this number. I let the lease sit. The building accountant met me by the pool one day, and told me that despite my concerns, there was nothing she could do, because it was all corporate.
I got a reminder about the lease on Tuesday. This afternoon, I chatted with a different person in the office. Apparently, my apartment has run smack into the law of supply and demand. What with the university starting classes in a few weeks, and with the housing issues in today's economy, there's a demand for apartments. And yes, they'd love us to stay, but really (he didn't say this, but it was implied), they can find someone else to pay it, so whatever.
Right now, I'm in a quandary. Do we move for three or four months, incurring the cost of the move, but saving on rent and a power bill? Or do we sit tight, and suck it up for the sake of convenience, and not having to move in Phoenix in August? We have until August 7 to make up our minds. This sucks.

Wanted: Pedicure

Big news of the day: I'm in a much better frame of mind. It's amazing how the simple act of securing a preschool class for my kid can change my entire outlook on the day. Yes, I did find a school, and we both really like it. In fact, Sydney was holding hands with the principal and asking her questions by the end of our visit, and, upon leaving, declared that this school was her favorite, and that she wanted to stay and play. You can imagine how these things made me feel about the facility and its staff. Also, the fact that I was really pleased with it was paramount. So, tonight, I am a happy mom.
I'd love a pedicure though. There's something to be said for a regularly scheduled pedicure. It's kinda crazy the amount of ugly that can develop on a foot between scrubs, loofahs and pampering. It was that amount of ugly that I just had to scrub off my own feet, in a manner not as good as a pedicure goddess. It's totally worth $35 to go and have this done better, and with more finesse, than how I am able to minster to myself. I'm too awkwardly brutal to my feet. Who knew that flip flops would be the worst thing you could do to your feet. Of course, the fact that I wear them for six months out of the year can't help.

Angry ... like an evil queen

I actually fessed up, on Facebook, that I was in an awful mood this afternoon. In fact, the reasoning behind it still is as irritating right now as it was six hours ago. The only difference at this moment is that it's this moment, and not six hours ago. Also, I've had a decent dinner and my kid's asleep, so I haven't been bugged by anyone with a heartbeat in an hour. My day, in GOOD and BAD:

GOOD! ... I've found a couple preschools to check out tomorrow. They both seem good enough, and the girls on the phone were incredibly nice and helpful. Also, they both have space for my baby girl, and they seem to be official preschools. ... I found the motivation to hit the gym this afternoon. ... I did some laundry.
BAD! ... The gym was closed today, and will be for another couple days, so my motivation was all for naught. ... We got our lease renewal, and the apartment complex wants an ungodly amount of money for an apartment we don't love and aren't comfortable in. "It's corporate" is an excuse I'm getting bored with. ... I did some laundry.

But really, there was so much more to my bad mood today than just that, but I'm too bored with it all to go into too much detail right now. Instead, I'll just get a good night's sleep, and hopefully, feel better in the morning.

Must have something nice, too

So, I toured Sydney's potential school this morning. I wasn't blown away. But, they have room for her, and that may just be my only requirement really soon here. I'll see what else I can find around town here, but my options are dwindling. That is freaking me out more than anything, and suddenly, I get super pissy. This is bad, of course, because I just had a fantastically wonderful weekend, and I should still be glowing from the joy of it. But no, I'm freaking out. And I'm pissy.
Also, I'm mad at the guys in Washington, DC. They're all getting super irritating, and also, suddenly, my idea of moving to Australia is starting to look better and better. I'm so over this ridiculous partisan bickering, posturing and dick-sucking going on. Someone explain why everyone living in this country isn't paying their proper amount of taxes, and more importantly, explain why this is allowed. We're all equal citizens of this country, and everyone's vote counts the same, so ultimately, everyone should be paying the same percentage of their income in taxes. But beyond that, we need these chicken shit guys to get their crap together and remove this embarrassment from my television and Internet. I'm done.

Back from Vegas ... and kinda sad about it

Well. Now, THAT was a great weekend!
Brian's a rock star. I think I should start off by saying that. I got my room overlooking the fountains. I got my yummy anniversary dinner. I got to have dinner with only my husband because my awesome sister in-law happened to be in Las Vegas over the weekend too, and she volunteered to watch Sydney while B and I had our date. I got a bunch of cute and pretty pictures. I got a kid who now says, "VEGAS!!" and will participate in elevator dance parties. Oh yeah, and I got an awesome husband.
Tomorrow resumes life as I know it, with stress of preschool, bills, air conditioning costs, and laundry.
Also, tonight we were under an extreme thunderstorm watch in town. So much rain, and it was fantastic! Cars and streets and signs all finally got washed off from the past two dust storms. And hopefully, it'll be a cooler day tomorrow, too.

Hanging in the 480 ... for a while longer

I gotta get this post done up before midnight so it lists a posting date of July 21. Ha!! Done and done!
We had a fantastic anniversary day today. Of course, we didn't really do anything. That all starts tomorrow. With the trip to Vegas. And that's good stuff right there!
On to the news of the day: We're going to be hanging out in Arizona for a while longer. The practice in Houston is taking a bit longer than any of us would like, and it looks like it'll be late November before we head off to Texas. So, we are signing a lease extension for three months. And I think I've found a local school for Sydney (lest we forget, I gave up her spot at her other school because we were supposed to be gone by now). And we're staying in this camping spot. And I have a whole bunch of time right now to settle our life in Houston.

9 years, 364 days

Well, we had a pretty good day today. We've got issues bubbling up here and there though, and I can't talk about it quite yet, so I'm dealing with that. I always re-realize how therapeutic my little blog here is when I'm not able to write about something bothering me, or that I'm struggling with. Hopefully, at this time tomorrow, I should have all kinds of things to write about.
One of those things should be how awesome my 10-year wedding anniversary was. Brian and I just had a conversation about how we haven't bought each other anything. Not even a card. But we are going on a fantastically awesome trip this weekend.
We just said, "Maybe we should get some food?" "But we're broke." "I know."
So, beyond swim school, I have no idea what my anniversary day will entail.

Solar flares outside my house

I bumped into one of my apartment complex's maintenance workers this afternoon. I asked him about the efficiency of my air conditioner, and he told me to be sure to change my filters monthly, keep my blinds closed, as well as change my cooling habits.
Here's the suggestion: Turn the thermostat up to 80 degrees first thing in the morning when we leave for work, and leave it there until the afternoon when we get home, then move the thermostat back down to 75 degrees. At that point, the a/c has been relaxing a bit during the morning and early afternoon hours, and so it makes for a less costly bill. The problem, of course, is that Sydney and I are home during most of those hours, because, of course, I do not have a job. Still, and all the same, we're going to try it tomorrow and see how uncomfortable we get before I have to turn the thermostat down.
Other than that, the maintenance guy basically implied that the high cost of power was a side effect of the loft apartment.

Might as well be living in a volcano

So, how many of you have a $327 power bill this month? I know I do! It's so exciting to be living in a little apartment camping spot, and to spend a ridiculous amount of money on power every month!
Last month's bill was $235. What would account for such an increase? Oh, probably mine and Brian's decision to lower the thermostat from 75 to 73 degrees for a week or two. Who would believe that two degrees cooler inside, and 10 degrees warmer outside, would cost close to $100? Well, believe it.
And much to our chagrin, the air conditioner, which has again been at 75 degrees daily, continues to go on. I think there should be some kind of rule against having to pay for your air conditioner's power if, even when it's on all day, you still sweat when you're getting out of the shower, sweat while sleeping, sweat when coming up the stairs, and sweat when doing the laundry.
I hate spending that much on power and still being too hot to be comfortable in my living environment.

Jeez.

I've got nothing for you tonight.
Actually, I do have something I'd like to go on and on about, but this is one of those instances when the catalyst behind the subject of my rant may just read this, making it more of a feelings-hurting post than a cathartic one for me, and that's never my intention. So, instead, I'll just not talk too much about anything.
Hmmm.

Well, this is boring. Sorry.

Harry Potter = TOTALLY worth it!

Well! That was a really, really good movie!!
There was a point in the movie when I actually thought to myself, "oh no, it's almost over." And that made me sad. But when the ending came along and I was smiling pretty widely, I knew that this was the movie that was going to make the babysitter worth it. Or, at least, the first movie of the year that was worth the cost of the babysitter. I loved that the movie ending was as good as the books' ending.
If Sydney was still in school, I would totally go see it again next week.

A Friday ITEM! list

ITEM!: Alright, so the Vegas weekend for our anniversary is a GO. We've got our room, Brian's got his exit plan for work on Friday, and we're developing our list of ideas for the couple days we'll be there. It'll be awesome, and we're both getting really excited. Also, Sydney heard us talking about it tonight, and asked if she could come, too. She was very pleased to hear that she would be coming along, too.
ITEM!: But tomorrow, is all about Harry Potter. I've heard good things from my fellow H.P. fans on Facebook and the Internet about the movie, and I'm super excited to see it! I've got our big, movie-theater cups ready for drinks. I've got my stomach all ready for popcorn at 9:30 a.m. I've got my emotional seesaw all ready for the end. I think.
ITEM!: I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Lopez. I like a couple of her songs and a couple of her movies. I admit to being shocked by today's announcement that she and Marc Anthony are getting divorced. I don't know exactly why I'm shocked by it, except that I figured that since they seemed to have waited so long for each other, that they'd be together forever. Like the movies.
ITEM!: Also, I'm pretty irritated by the rise in my Netflix subscription. I would love to be able to say that we don't use the streaming Netflix, but Sydney and the iPad are inseparable sometimes, and that is due entirely to the streaming preschool, and dinosaur, television programs and movies. And we do love our DVD rentals. So I guess I'll just be sucking it up on this one.

A countdown to H.P. 7, p.2

Okay, I'm getting ridiculously excited about my movie-going experience this Saturday. All the people lined up at various theaters throughout Phoenix right now, waiting for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, are making me envious.
There's no reason why I'm not at a theater right now, too, as I am currently unemployed. Except, of course, I do have a kid, so I wasn't able to line up with the masses at noon. I suppose I could head out now, but really, it's 10 p.m., and all the midnight shows are sold out. Also, I'm too tired to venture out. Besides, it's so much more fun seeing the movie with Brian and Katy.
Still, I'm incredibly jealous of all those people seeing the flick tonight and all day tomorrow. I can't wait for Saturday.

A shuttle because ... well, why not

ITEM!: Alright, well, first of all, and most happily, my phone is working perfectly fine today. That rice idea was a frickin' miracle, and I'm so excited to be able to add it to my own Remedies for Stupidities.
ITEM!: I bought our ticket for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 today! YAY!! Once again, it's me, Brian and Katy hitting the theater for our H.P. viewing.
ITEM!: We're watching Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps right now. I have no desire to see this movie, as it seems like a not-my-kind-of movie, and I never saw the first Wall Street. So, I'm thinking that Brian will be viewing this one on his own.
ITEM!: We reserved our room for our anniversary weekend in Las Vegas! Yes, we will be the anniversary couple that comes back to Vegas ... with their kid ... for a good weekend. I'm hoping for a couple nice restaurants, a fun day, and a nice time away with the hubby and the baby.
ITEM!: We spent some time at Sprinkles Cupcakes yesterday. The key lime is okay, and the strawberry should have its frosting on a chocolate cake. That is all.

Wet and dripping phone = bad day

It's always so fun when you can look at an event from during our day and say, "My goodness, that was the dumbest thing I've done in a while." And now, you're all, "So, what happened." Oh, nothing really. I just dropped my iPhone in the swimming pool. "How did that happen?" It was very easy, actually. I had the phone semi-wrapped and somewhat-protected in a towel, and when I pulled the towel out of the bag, the phone just kinda plopped into the pool. As far as depth is concerned, it wasn't to bad: first step heading into the water, about six inches deep. As for time submerged, also not too bad: about five seconds.
Immediate issues with the phone included its inability to turn off; it thought the headphones were plugged in; and the home button was not working. "So, what now?" The phone is sleeping soundly (finally, it turned off) in a Tupperware bowl of uncooked rice. Tomorrow morning, I'll check to see if it's working properly. From there, in either case, I'll figure it out from there. Good phone: Yay! All is well! Bad phone: tearful visits to the AT&T and Apple stores?

I won't be laughed at

I appreciate Facebook as a fun and entertaining diversion. My "diversion" borders on obsession quite  a bit, but I think that the best part about the social networking site is that I can amuse myself and those that I love (and who love me) with my everyday cheesiness and ridiculousness. I love that I get the same in return from those same people. Facebook is fun, and I'm only very rarely embarrassed by what happens there, or what I put up there.
But I won't be laughed at. And I won't have anyone using my posts as a joke.
So, when I found out that my statuses were used as a "picking on" subject for Brian this weekend, I got pretty irritated. And when my initial suggestion about unfriending that person/those people was shot down, I just got more irritated. I mean, so what, now I know that someone/s was laughing at me, and therefore suggesting that Brian should laugh at me as well, and I'm just expected to chill out and not think about it? F*ck that. I won't tolerate it, and it's done nothing but piss me off more and more since I heard about it.
So, before you all get too indignant, or think that I have no backbone, I did go with my own feelings, and unfriended the person/s. With no information, there's nothing to mock.

An anniversary trip? Maybe!

I've decided that Brian and I need to go to Vegas to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary. For those of you who may not know, we got married at the beautiful Bellagio on July 21, 2001, in what can only be called the best weekend ever. And after my weekend there last week, I realized that there really is no better place for us to celebrate our anniversary than there. I've been looking at a few hotels, and I think I may have found a couple that will serve our purpose.
Also, I think we'll be bringing the kid with us. This is, of course, in direct violation of everything that the girls and I discussed, decided and derided last weekend. Oh well. We've got no one to watch her, and we might as well bring her along. It'll be fun, right? Early dinners and cocktails? Maybe a Cirque show's nosebleed seats? And M&M World? I think we'll do the drive as well, so we can go over the new bridge, and not spend a whole lot of money on airline flights.
I'm excited to have some fun in the Vegas sun with my hubby and my kid.
I just suggested renewing our vows, and Mom accused me of going overboard. Perhaps! But FUN!

Sure, it's clean ... for now

I'm just not built to clean my own house. It's weird, so says Brian, that someone so freakish about a clean house can be so unable to maintain one. I don't think it's weird. In fact, I think it's pretty brilliant. Brian's solution: "Your mom should come out every two weeks. The place would be spotless all the time." True, but then I'd also be paying someone else to do it. Duly noted: I'm keeping track of how many times I've cleaned this place, and I will be buying myself something pretty of that number when we have the money for it.
I just don't clean toilets. I hate that I have to. And, if I don't clean my house for my kid and myself, and when Mom visits, it just doesn't get done. Gone are the days of Brian cleaning anything as a compromise to me not having a regular cleaning crew. Oh well. Someday soon, I will once again have a clean house without putting forth the effort for it to become so.
I mean, really, I mopped the kitchen floor today.

Zoo = HOT, HOT, HOT

Brian and Sydney were going to go to the zoo for a quick trip on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was later in the morning when they decided to go, so I had to put the kibosh on the trip, as they wouldn't have been able to finish their trip in time to pick me up at the airport. Yesterday, Sydney asked if we could all go to the zoo. It was super hot, and the Fourth of July, so we said no.
When the kid came up to me this morning, and asked if we could go to the zoo, I couldn't say no. I felt awful that we'd pushed it off for the last few days, so conceded that today would be a zoo day. This decision was a bad one.
I don't know why the heat was so crazy today, but in just the few minutes it took to walk from the parking lot to the zoo entrance, I got incredibly uncomfortable. Poor Sydney, after only 10 more minutes, was sweaty. We stopped at every drinking fountain, and rested in most every shady spot. We took the shorter route through the zoo, via the elephants, bears, tortoises, iguanas, otters, zebras and giraffes.
As per usual, we bought some kettle corn, and then took refuge in the gift shop for about 10 minutes, trying to lower our body temperatures. To give you an idea of how empty the zoo was today, we had one of the eight or nine shady parking spots in the lot. Because I was hurrying us through the zoo as much as I could, we spent only 75 minutes there, and because of the good shade, the car wasn't as awfully hot as it would normally be. So, that was good.
But really, going to the zoo today was dumb.

A benign photo ... of course

Okay, well, there is NO WAY that I'm sharing all the stories from "JJ's Bachelorette Weekend of Debauchery" here on the blog, so let's just not. Suffice it to say, we had a good time: events transpired, things happened, people were met, photos were taken, and fun was had by all.
Tonight, I sit here exhausted, and a little bit sunburned because I didn't listen to anyone when they told me to put on more sunscreen. But, just so you all don't go to bed hungry for some information on the weekend, I shall throw out some bullet points. Warning, some are inside jokes that you won't get. Others are just informative and maybe funny.
* Even on the 7:35 a.m. flight to Las Vegas on Friday morning, the people on the plane are just happier. Once that final descent begins, it gets incredibly convivial in the plane, and everyone starts getting excited for their destination.
* French fries, chicken tenders and jalapeno ranch for dipping could be the best lunch ever.
* A lazy river pool is the best way to meet new people.
* There is an incredible amount of bachelors and/or bachelorettes in Vegas at any given time on any given day. Honestly, it blew me away how many tiaras, sashes, matching hats and t-shirts, as well as well-stocked parties there were over the weekend.
* When I saw Bellagio's top from the Marquee's outside deck, I almost cried. I miss that place, and it's happy memories made me melancholy.
* Sometimes, a nice dinner and a trendy club on the property are the best way to go.
* "Jam out with your clam out."
* Break in your going-out shoes. I had two pairs of shoes for Friday and Saturday night, and neither had been worn before, nor were they incredibly comfortable when I put them on. Friday's shoes have potential for the future. Saturday's shoes very quickly ended up in the club's trash can because the strap holding one shoe to my heel and ankle BROKE as we walked into the club. Shoe fail. An attendant selling flip flops in the bathroom made my night much more tolerable.
* Creepy guys abound, and they all seem to think that the best way to get anyone's attention is by grabbing an arm as a girl walks by. Or rubbing up and dancing without asking. Also, for the men out there: do not pull a girl's hair as an invitation to dance. She will not like it.
* It's okay to be a part of the group that goes back to the room first! Especially when the bride's in that group, too!
* There are few things better than spending the day at the pool with your girlfriends. Also, nachos always, always, always are a better idea for lunch. Duly noted.
* Let the guy take your picture. It could be the best decision you make all weekend.
* Every hotel should house a Starbucks in its lobby.
* Once again, I'll say that flip flops at a club may seem kinda iffy, until the clock strikes 2 a.m., and all the pretty girls are walking around the dirty floors barefoot because their shoes hurt them.
* Elevator dance parties are awesome.
* Departure flights should not be scheduled before mid-afternoon. Leaving the hotel at 10 this morning was pretty brutal. Though I was super excited to see my family, I was not eager to depart the company of my girls.
* Someone please find me a t-shirt that says, "I hate house music." That shit kills my sanity, even though sometimes it's supposed to be "an experience that will change your life: mind, body and soul." I hate that stuff.