Time to enter F.A.

Day 84

Yes, it is official.  Intervention is needed.  I am addicted - NOT that that is a newsflash.  I am addicted to facebook.  I am a facebookaholic.  I need to attend Facebookers Anonymous.  I spend a stupid amount of time on facebook.  It's nice because I have reconnected with a bunch of people that I had lost touch with - some more special than others.  It's fun to be able to share pictures with family that I don't see that often.  AND it's super fun to stalk all those people that I don't really like but still accepted and make snide comments on their pictures.  WHAT?!?!?!  I don't do that!!!  Ok, yeah, I do, but whatever.  Nevermind the endless humor facebook offers....from the stupid jokes, to the obnoxious status messages, to the online arguments....free comedy.  I love it.  Does it have it's flaws?  Yup, but don't most addictions?

hApPy BiRtHdAy!!!!!!

Day 83

MY BABY IS 2!!!!!  I know it sounds stupid, but yes, I celebrate my dog's birthday.  She turned 2.  She's been a hell of an addition to the family.  She alternates between pain in the ass and semi-sweet.  The blessing is, the semi-sweet days are more often and the pain in the ass days are farther between.  She still won't come down or go up the stairs - even when I tried bribing her with breakfast sausage.  I have been talking with Phil about MAYBE replacing the couch in the living room.  Since she won't come down and snuggle with me in the family room, I want to be able to sit with her and snuggle in the living room, but the hell if I'm going to snuggle sitting on the half - ok 3/4 eaten couch.  For as much as she has driven us nuts the past 2 years, she is definitely a part of this family and definitely a Kline female.  She fits right in and I love her with all of my heart.

Ahhh, the good ole' days

Day 82

Sometimes I wish I was young again - no responsibilities, no bills to pay, nothing to worry about 'cept what I was wearing to school and if my homework was done.  Then there were those sleepovers...some of them were pretty fantastic.  I remember the weekends that Amy N. and I would spend one night at her house and one night at mine.  Or when we moved "up there" spending the night at Lisa's or Kris's and staying up all night talking and being stupid.  Now, for the most part, staying up until midnight is nothing short of a miracle. 

This would be the result of one of those types of sleepovers.  She spent the night at a friend's for said friend's birthday party.  This gaggle of girls stayed up until some assanine hour in the morning (like 4 or 5).  She then informed me she would be taking a nap before the birthday party we had to attend that day.  She wasn't kidding - she ended up taking an almost 4 hour nap.  She managed to stay awake for the party we had to go to and then crashed when we went to hang with the crew.  Poor thing.  She had fun though - and it made me miss those days.  Can I get those back?

Holly Jeans

Day 81

So, I have this friend who shall remain nameless cuz I'm just that nice, anyway, he posted something about a little get together we were having and stated that due to the dress code, no one could wear "holly jeans."  Now, my friends are mostly assholes, like me, so of course, this spelling error could not go unnoticed.  We have given this poor guy grief about it since he posted it back in January.  Great friends, aren't we?! 

We all got together the other day and low and behold, he happened to be wearing some holey - or in his words, holly - jeans...I HAD to take a picture...

Yep, so from here on out, you can refer to your HOLEY jeans as HOLLY jeans...*giggle*

You're kidding, right?

Day 80

Ok, so I'm pretty sure most people (at least girls) have gone through the goofy cutening (is that a word?) up of the car stage.  I know I did.  The Grand Am's back window was full of stuffed animals.  Pretty sure the Saturn got those same stuffed animals for a while.  Then of course there's the (insert your preference here) dangling from the rear view mirror.  Yeah, we've all done this, right?  Well, this person, I think, took decorating the car to extremes...

What sucks is that you can't actually see it...here's the thing.  Meg and I were going somewhere (don't remember where) and this van turned in front of us.  The wheels were some kind of greenish color.  Then, on the back, just above the license plate it says "FROG" and the damn thing has frog stickers all over it.  What really kills me is, first of all - DUDE IT'S A FRICKIN VAN, are you kidding me??  And second, the lady driving had to be like 50ish.  Wow.  *cough* issues *cough* *cough*

Beauty

Day 79

Yep, that's just plain beautiful.  I don't care who ya are.

THIS is what I have to look at EVERY DAY.

Day 78

So, most everyone knows I do medical billing.  The thing is, I don't just plug information into computers all day long - well, somedays I do, but there's more to it then that.  I also have to code the stuff.  Right, so, take a gander at this picture....look close...see what it says?

*sigh*  Yes, this is the kind of stuff I have to see everyday...along with the fractures - and I'm not just talking arms, legs, hands, feet and the colonoscopies where people don't do what they're suppose to do.  Big deal?  Yeah, you're not the one that has to read the operative report where it tells that the colon was full of solid fecal matter so the procedure had to be rescheduled.  Yummy, and before lunch too. 

The things people do....

Day 77

So, I'm sitting in my car chatting with a friend after dinner.  It was cold and the windows were a bit frosty.  This guy comes out with his friend...these guys are probably between 45-60 (I really couldn't tell).  One guy has bib-overalls on - no, I'm not kidding...I wanted to get his picture and the other guy, I don't much remember.  Anyhoo, they are in separate cars.  So, overalls dude grabs a can of something out of his blazer and hands it to this moron that was parked in front of me.  Said moron does some kind of stupid happy dance and starts spraying the hell out of his back windshield. 

I, logically, think to myself that this must be some form of substance that will defrost the window.  That's pretty slick.  Right, well, it doesn't much matter because he still ended up sitting there in his car for like 10 minutes and when he drove away the window was still iced over...dumb ass.

FaT rOcKs

Day 76

That was sarcasm, by the way - in case you hadn't figured that out.  This picture is going to be my motivation, I guess.  It seriously pisses me off, so hopefully that will force me to get my fat ass in gear. 

Thos are my pants - both of them.  The black ones on the bottom are the bull-moose size that I am currently wearing and the beige ones on top are ones I wore about 5 years ago.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?  Yeah, that's awesome.  Basically, I have to drop 25 pounds to get back into those incredibly cute pants and then another 30 from there and I will be right where I want to be.  So, here's to losing 55 pounds.  *sigh*

Spring?

Day 75

I am glad spring is coming.  Well, I'm glad that we all pretend spring is coming anyways.  The thing is, spring and fall both have parts that I don't like.  This picture shows what I dislike about spring (which just happens to be what I dislike about fall as well).  Everything is so...yuck.  The yard is all muddy and not "alive" yet, the trees are all, well, yuck.  The damn shame is, those stupid trees are dead anyways, so I don't know why I'm complaining about them.  I just wish we could fast forward a little to when everything is pretty and alive, ya know?!

WTF?

Day 74

So, we're hanging out with some of the crew in this little dinky bar the other night.  Wait - for clarification, by little dinky, I mean the size of my family room.  Anyways, they don't serve food (at least I don't think so...there's no room for a kitchen and barely enough room for a bathroom - which I chose not to experience for myself...rather hold it than check it out, thanks).  There's a popcorn machine, but that's it, I think.

Anyhoo, we're sitting around listening to people sing karaoke...some bad some decent (Yeah, Chris and Sarah!) when this guy walks in.  Ok, first, there were a couple of interesting people there that night...we all know I love to people watch and I tried really really hard to get a picture of the "amish, irish, italian mobster wannabe kid" but couldn't get it.  I digress...so this guy walks in...wearing a uniform....

WHO ORDERS DOMINO'S PIZZA WHEN THEY'RE SITTIN IN THE BAR?!?!?!?!?  Good frickin grief.  AND to make it even worse, the assholes didn't even share.  WTF?

I can make a difference...

Day 73

I know I blog about the gym a lot.  I probably blog about it more than I should.  The thing is, that was a HUGE part of my life.  I coached SO many kids over a 6 year period.  Those kids all touched my heart.  There are some, though, that will always stand out.  For example, the two beautiful young ladies in the picture with me  - they are sisters.  I coached Teagan first.  She's the young lady that is almost taller than me on the right.  As a matter of fact, she's the first kid that I dropped.  Remember that?  She was on beam doing a side handstand.  I was training with Andy and really didn't have a clue what I was doing.  She went up into her handstand and I was apparently in la la land and she ended up on my head.  I guess technically, I didn't drop her, but still.  Sorry bout that, Teagan!  Ashley I had the blessing of coaching after I had a little time under my belt.  She's the young lady on the left.  Ashley has always been feisty and happier than any other kid I've ever come across.  She was the kind of kid that always told you exactly what she was thinking - always honest.  Love her for that.

I had the opportunity to go watch these girls perform the other day.  Ashley's team went first.  After their STELLAR performance, the girls got to introduce themselves and Ashley made a point to tell everyone in that whole stinking gym that she loves me.  Melted. my. heart.  Yes, I sure did cry like a little baby.  That young woman will never know just how much that meant to me or just how much I love her.  I often wonder if I made a difference - I think I did, but being who I am, there's always that question.  Ashley proved to me that I did and the smile on her face and the hug I got afterwards COMPLETELY made my day.

St. Patty's Day Bliss

Day 72??

I forgot what day I'm on.  I'll check when I'm done and correct if needed.  HAPPY FRICKIN ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!  I'm not a huge celebrator of this particular day as I'm not really a big drinker, but I figured WTH today, ya know!  So, we went out to lunch.  We being, me, Rayray, Larry, and Moe.  It was great good fun.  Lunches together are always fun.  Having a drink at lunch is THE BEST. 

I don't drink beer...it's nasty...monkey piss.  But I definitely had to have a picture of this purrrrtttyyyyyy green beer along with my dessert for lunch mudslide!  Really, what could be better?!?!?  Great conversations - got a lot off my chest (while still keeping my clothing on you pervs), and feel good...then again, that could be the liquor, but whatever...I'm all kindsa warm and fuzzy right now!!!!  (can't type worth a damn at the moment either...have had to backspace multiple times to correct spelling errors!!!!!)  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

SUNSHINE!!!!!!

Day 71

You would think I lived somewhere else all my life.  Like I don't know what to expect of Michigan.  Like I'm not use to the endless winter months.  Like I'm not use to being deprived of sunshine.  I am use to all of those things, BUT, I think that first truly sunshiney almost spring day is still the best.  The sun was shining so bright today and so beautiful and I could see the grass....well, most of it.  I loved it!  It's great for improving the mood.

sMoKiN HAWTTTTTTT!!!!!!!

Day 70

Ok, smokin hawttt might be stretchin it a bit - ok a lot, but whatever.  SPRING IS COMING!!!!!  I believe I mentioned that in a blog just the other day.  I believe I was ignored....well here's the proof....

Why else would I be sporting some slick ass neon green sunglasses?!?!?!  IT'S SPRING TIME!!!!!!  In reality, Meg and I were on the way somewhere and I realized I didn't have my sunglasses....she was kind enough to loan me one of her (4,291) pairs.  No, I'm not exaggerating (much).  The kid has like 3 maybe 4 pair of sunglasses in my car.  I know there's at least 2 at home and I'm not even going to try and guess how many are hidden under her bed or in her dreaded junk drawer. 

Whatever, it was sunny and we were happy and we looked sweet - her in her bright blue sunglasses and me in her neon green ones.  LOVE IT!!!!!

A little piece of heaven...

Day 69

Beauty comes in many forms and is seen differently by different people.  This is a view of what heaven would be for me.  I am a city girl with a country heart.  I like being near all the hustle and bustle but being outside it enough to not have to worry if my kids are going to get hit crossing the street in front of our house.  This place in this picture, though, that's where my heart is.  I love it.  I love the mountains and the lake and the trees.  I love nature!  I love the little cottage and just the beauty of it all.  I could never live in that type of area permanently.  I do need a bit of the city life, but I could definitely spend every single weekend in that kind of heaven.  How bout you?

P.S. My grandfather painted that...isn't he amazing?!?!? 

Vanity

Day 68

I hate to admit it, but it's true - I am vain.  My vanity, however, comes from a serious lack of self-esteem.  I think you can learn a lot about a person by looking at them.  For example...

What does that hand tell you?  She's married.  She is probably a bit chubby.  She isn't young, but she isn't old.  She's a little lazy.   Yep, yep, yep, and yep.

Love/Passion

Day 67

Ever wonder what you want to be when you grow up?  Ever ponder what it really is that you have a passion for?  These are obviously things I have struggled with off and on for a while now.  I'm actually good now  - now that I have a focus and finally (I think) figured out what I want and am going to do with my life.  In order to figure it out, though, I had to break down my problem to the roots and really figure out what it is that I love or have a passion for.

What did I decide on?  Torturing children, of course.  I'm kidding - sort of.  When you really get down to it though, what I love and have a passion for is kids.  There is nothing I love more than working with kids.  Coaching was the most amazing experience for me.  I know that I tortured some (ok most) of these kids.  I made them cry over and over.  I yelled and even kicked them out of class.  I made them climb the rope so much they probably thought their arms would fall off.  I was mean and I pushed.  I pushed them until they thought they would keel over and die. 

I have no regrets.  On my facebook, I have most of the kids that I coached over a 6 1/2 year period.  I can assure you that those are the same children that I made cry.  They are the same kids that went home and told their parents how mean I was and how much they hated me.  They are the same kids that will now post on my page how much they miss me and who will run up and give me a huge hug when they see me.  I love every last one of them with every inch of my being and I know that (most) of them love me. 

I've had multiple discussions with different people in different settings lately about the lack of respect in kids now.  I hate it.  I would love to have one week with these kids in the gym.  I find it foolish that parents expect adults to "earn" a child's respect.  Have you never heard the saying "respect your elders?"  When did this become a society where we have to respect the children first and then hope they will listen to what we say?  Had I done that in the gym, it would have been a disaster.  The girls would have learned nothing.  I am a firm believer in discipline and respect.  I will treat you with respect when you show me that you will do as I say.  I did not ever ask my girls to do anything they were not capable of.  They may not have thought they could do it, but I assure you they could.

I am well aware this is another of my "controversial" posts and that's ok.  It's how I feel.  Ask those girls how they feel about me?  They will give you the honest truth.

Spring IS coming, dammit

Day 66

It is coming.  I know it.  I can smell it (or it could be that "spring" scented candle).  I can see it (or I'm just excited that I can see the ground again).  I can hear it (damn birds).  Seriously, though,  I know it's coming.  How do I know?

Because my kids know.  I know, that sounds stupid.  It's true, though.  When spring is close, both of them want to go in the backyard and shoot hoops....together.  Now, this doesn't always end well, but it at least starts out semi-friendly. 

And again, loving home ownership...

Day 65

Ugh.  Ugh.  Ya know what?!?!?!  Ugh, again.  I love that we own our own home.  I love that we are no longer renting.  I love that I can paint the walls whatever color I want and make whatever changes I want whenever I want (or can afford to).  I love that it is truly our house - not just one we live in that belongs to someone else.  I love this house.  I love the yard and the neighborhood and the style.  This house is absolutely perfect for me and for my family.  Of all the houses we looked at - this was my favorite...good thing right?  The thing is, there are some things about home ownership that seriously suck ass.  Like the flooding because the sump pump decided to take a mini-vaca.  Yeah, that sucked.  Like having to replace the hot water heater...that sucked too.  The roof - that sucked...thankfully we had friends to help, but spending the money still sucked.  So the newest minor issue?

That's my bedroom window.  If you look close enough, you can see the crack.  It's been there since about November, but I didn't want to have it replaced until spring.  I guess I forgot that spring doesn't come in Michigan until June.  *sigh*  Sooooooo, I guess we can all see what our next "project" is.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness...

Day 64

Ever heard that saying before?  I didn't really use to think anything of it.  I still don't to be honest.  I have to tell you though, there is truly something nice about walking into a nice clean room.  I don't mean spotless like you're afraid to step on the carpet clean.  Those kinds of houses scare the hell out of me.  I'm afraid to move for fear of leaving a hair or dandruff or a speck of dirt off my sock.  No, I prefer lived in clean.  I cleaned our bedroom today - cleaned it the way I like it...

My bed is made, the floor is vaccuumed, nightstands are dusted, clean bedding.  It smells fantastic.  As you can see, there's still stuff on the cedar chest.  WHAT.EVER. Those are clean clothes that don't fit in the dressers or closet.  AND, that right there is appropriately clean as far as I'm concerned.  It makes me happy, and that's enough.  I LOVE my bedroom.

Clog the arteries, baby...

Day 63

I know that I'm fat and out of shape.  I know that I need to lose weight.  I know that I need to eat right and exercise.  But DAY-UM....there are times when I just want some nasty ole greasy disgusting food.  So, I had some...

Yep, nasty stringy french fries with melted cheese and bacon on top, dipped in ranch.  That crap sunk right to the bottom of my stomach and frickin sat there for HOURS.  It was totally worth it.  Every last one of those 2000 calories was greatly appreciated.  I didn't even care that my jeans were no longer going to fit right at that moment...I was truly in heaven...

FATTIES UNITE!!!!!!!!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Day 62

I hate money.  Seriously, it's a pain in the ass and there's never enough.  I'm sick and tired of struggling.  I'm tired of doing what I'm suppose to do and still just barely scraping by.  I'm annoyed that prices keep going up but the money coming in stays the same.  I'm worried about how I will support my family.  I'm worried about how I will get my kids to school.  Money sucks.

:( *cries*

Day 61

What's that?  Something that means the world to me and nothing to anyone else.  It's the necklace Phil gave me on our first anniversary.  He gave it to me when we went to dinner with Trista and Brian at Texas Roadhouse.  I believe I've only taken it off about 10 times in 9 years. It's not some crazy expensive necklace or super fancy.  It's just a beautiful gold chain and I love it.  For me, it represents so much.  It represents the trials of that first year.  It represents his love for me.  It represents our love on a whole. 

If you look closely, you can see why I might cry.  It broke.  This is not the first time it has broken, unfortunately, this is an unfixable break.  Obviously, we can run out and get a new one, but that's not the point.  It isn't replaceable.  We can't ever go back to that July day in 2001 standing outside Texas Roadhouse waiting for our table when he gave that to me.  So, instead, I will tuck it away in my jewelry box and hold the memory in my heart.

Who reads?!?!!?

Day 60

It never ceases to amaze me how many people do not enjoy reading.  I can't imagine not reading.  I love reading.  I like all kinds of books...fiction, non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, even these stupid books for school.  I crave the knowledge.  I love getting lost in the fiction books.  I think we've done a decent job of showing our children the value of reading.  They don't read as much as I would like, but they do enjoy it. 

My first job was in a library in 6th grade.  I couldn't have asked for a better first job.  I was surrounded by books.  What is better than that?  I remember summers when I would ride to the library, check out 6-8 books and go home and just read.  Then I would head back a few days later and check out at least that many more.  Yep, I read that much.

I fear with all the advances in technology that at some point books will become obsolete.  That truly frightens me.  There is nothing quite like turning the page of book, or folding the corner down to save your spot, or the smell of a brand new book, better yet, the smell of a really old book.  The kindles are great and convenient, but it's just not the same.

BEST Christmas Gift EVER

Day 59

Don't laugh - or do, I don't care.  I have this baby blanket that I have had for I don't know, a bazillion years?!?!  Anyhoo, it's tattered and falling apart.  It literally is held together by threads.  I have to hand wash it and air dry it.  But, it's mine and I love it.  Yes, it is still in my bed when I go to sleep at night.  I rarely spend the night anywhere without it.  I know, I'm 34 years old...time to grow up.  Whatever, it's my safety and I love it.

Anyhoo, little did I know before Christmas, my mother had been hard at work.  When I opened this gift on Christmas day, I cried.  Not sad tears.  She had painstakingly recreated my blankie.  It's an exact replica of how my old blankie looked brand new.  It's beautiful.  Nevermind that it touched my heart.  That new blanket means the world to me.  Below is a picture of both blankets.  The old one is on the left, new on the right.

Home ownership.....rocks?

Day 58

Really - is there anything better than coming home from a great day at work in a warm fuzzy good mood, walking into your basement to put your shoes away and finding A FRICKIN FLOOD?!?!?!?!?!  So, I love my basement, normally.  It's got a ton of shelving and storage space.  The thing is, we've got a lot of crap.  Well, to be fair, I have a lot of crap.  I have boxes and boxes of books from when I was a kid - eff off, they are special - amongst other "treasures."  Anyways, even with all the shelving there's not enough space for all my crap and so some of it is/was in boxes on the floor.

So, this was the status of my basement after cleaning crap out and trying to get to everything that was wet.  Messy?  Yeah, I know.  It's driving me nuts.  But it's a process.  Note to self:  when spring cleaning time comes around, rent a big ass garbage bin and THROW SHIT OUT.

*sigh*

Loud and Proud

Day 57

I wish I could have had the confidence I have now when I was a kid.  I wish I could have been comfortable enough with myself to be myself back then.  I think it took me until, well honestly, about 5 years ago to finally figure out how to be myself.  This picture is a shirt - my shirt...one that I love.  It's also a shirt that I never would have picked out for myself years ago because it would have made people look at me.

In Montrose, I wasn't aware of my insecurity.  I think that I had enough friends that I wasn't overly insecure. I was comfortable with who I was.  That said, when we moved, every insecurity I had ever had even those that were way deep down in, came out in full force.  I wanted to be whatever the new people wanted me to be.  I wanted to be one of the "popular" kids.  It took me a long time to realize that those who seek popularity and crave popularity are the people who cannot be themselves.  I wish I had known that then.  I wish that I had left a different impression - of the person I really am and not of the person that I wanted them to think I was.  Then again, now, I don't much care.  Now, for the most part, I am comfortable enough with myself to be who I am all the time.  I am crazy.  I am silly.  I care too much.  I have a quick temper.  I'm smarter than I care to share with others.  I'm opinionated and sassy.  I don't trust easily.  I LOVE life. I'm happy.

My point here is not really to tell you who I am.  If you don't know me, it doesn't much matter.  What I want is for kids now - like my daughter - to realize that being herself is the most important thing.  It's not about popularity - no one gives a rats ass about being popular after high school.  Life is NOT a popularity contest.  Just be yourself - it's far more satisfying in the end.

cHoCoLaTe

Day 56

This is why I'm such a frickin lard ass...

Instead of the good doctors bringing in something healthy for us to eat for breakfast, they bring in donuts.  Not only do they bring in donuts, they bring in THESE donuts. Yes, that sure is a chocolate donut covered in chocolate frosting.  Really?  Yeah, that was the one I thought I had to have.  The damn shame is, see that one bite....that's the only bite I took.  I think I'm getting old.  It was just too damn sweet - BUT it was truly glorious that one bite.

*sigh*  If I continue to work at my current place of employment, I should be roughly 300 pounds within the next couple of years...