Washing my hands of it...



This is the LTX trim...not the one I'm looking at. But the same vehicle none the less.



So, I've decided to trade in my Xterra (and honestly having mixed feelings about it...she's been REALLY good to me) and have been looking at a Chevrolet Equinox.  My goal is to lower my monthly payment, get better gas mileage, and give Monkey some more room in the back seat. Right now, he can rest his feet on the inside corners of both of the front seats. LOL  Little moose!  I was looking into possibly getting a Nissan Titan (my dad has one and I really like it...in fact, I look for reasons to get to drive it!) but decided that I WILL have a full sized truck, but not this time. Gas prices are rumored to be outrageously stupid this summer and I have a 22 mile commute to work...one way.  The Equinox boasts a 22/32 MPG while Xterra gets 16/22 MPG.  The back seat leg room goes to Equinox also at 41.2/39.9 (front/rear), as opposed to Xterra's 42.4/34.4.  My Xterra has a V6 in it and there is a V6 option for the Equinox, but chances are I would be giving up my V6 for a 4-cylinder. Sucks, but if the price is right (to include what I'm getting out of my tank for what I'm putting into it) then we have a deal.  I'm still in the beginning stages of this excursion but we'll see how it all turns out. 



The weekend was pretty fun. Friday night Monkey and I went to Blondie's house after we went out to eat. We had Chinese and though I'm not a fan of Chinese, it was good. She suckered me into it because the restaurant that we went to has "sticky buns". A delicious yeast roll that is slightly drizzled with honey. Have I mentioned that they are to die for? Mmm hmm. They sure are. I could live off of them forever. Anywho. So after we left the restaurant, we got all the way to Blondie's before I realized that I had NO CLUE where my phone was. (It's a Samsung Fascinate...) We went all the way BACK to the restaurant just for them to tell me that they didn't have it. Well, hell. Blondie and I proceeded to search the parking lot and my car for this thing. Wanna know where it was? Monkey was sitting on it the ENTIRE time. LOL!!!!  I changed his diaper before we went in to eat and apparently didn't look in his seat when we came back out. (side note: while I was in the restaurant asking the staff if they had seen it, a guy at the counter offered to call it for me to see if it would ring. Uh, No?  I don't know you! I'm not just gonna GIVE you my number! You could be some creepy stalker and use my phone to find and MURDER me!  Thanks, but NO thanks...  "No thanks. One of my girlfriends has her phone in the car. We'll just use hers." Exit quickly...)  Finally, we made it back to her place. A little while later, Monkey started pitching a fit because he was tired and was ready to go to bed. So I took his little butt home and let him lay down.

Saturday, Sissy and I went to ATX (Austin) to go to Whole Foods. I absolutely LOVE that store. It's like, hippie Mecca and there are quite a few people who walk around smelling like patchouli and B.O. (both of which are enough to make you vomit in your mouth a little) but all in all, I like it because most everything in there is either health conscious, and/or organic. (No, I am not a tree-hugger, but my girlfriend Mrs. Adventure has enlightened me to some healthier alternatives and tips on better eating habits.) It was a good trip. I picked up some more granola, chia seeds, raw organic almonds, whey protein powder (for my morning smoothies since I don't eat eggs), some olives to chop up and put into my salads, some snacks for Monkey's lunches, and a couple other things.  Hopefully, when they finish building the new H-E-B in our town, it will have a bulk section. Mrs. Adventure has one in her local H-E-B and I am green with ENVY. They are saying it's going to be the biggest one in Texas but we'll see. I've been in some seriously big H-E-B's in my day... LOL.

Mr. History is just that...history. And it's really quite sad. One day we are chatting and talking like normal and then the next, nothing. Silent treatment in fact. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to be put on the 'silent treatment' list for no good reason. I sent him a text and asked him what the deal was and his excuse for the days with no communication is that he's been really tired lately and blah, blah, blah. By no means am I getting all twisted because he isn't talking to me, but I feel like he should have just said something like, "Hey...I'm a little run down and just don't have the energy to talk right now...hit you up in a few days after I get some strength back." instead of straight up ignoring me.  I get it. We all have days like that. But communication is a big deal to me. If I can't talk to you, or you can't talk to me (and this goes for ALL of my friends and family...everyone that I am directly in contact with) then there is a problem. Not only that, but for him to be beyond ecstatic and make such a big deal about me finally finding him after he's been looking for me for 9 years and then go to not talking to me at all... No. I'm not playing these games. You either have enough respect for me to tell me what's on your mind, or you don't. And in the case that you don't, I don't have room for you in my life. It's just that simple. You don't tell someone that you "missed" someone for so long and then not have the decency to tell them what's on your mind. It makes you a liar. I don't like being lied to. It doesn't make me feel good, or special.

Maybe I'm just better off single. *sigh* Mrs. Adventure and I email frequently. She knows all about the ruts and retards that have come in and out of my life.  She said to me in an email one day "Gracie, he is a man. Its not that shocking sorry dear. One out of ever 100 is someone you'd want to end up with and at our age at least half of them are married... because they wanted to be. You are up against sorting through all the shitty ones for the diamond in the rough. It sucks but its just the truth. Don't let it get you down you need to look at dating for what it is."  I love her because she knows me too well. LOL

There are very few good ones left. I'm still looking. But unless Mr. History makes a damn good case for his lack of good judgement when it came to my feelings, things will continue to stand as they are. And by damn good case, I do mean a damn good case.  I'm thinking single sounds pretty freaking good for the rest of my life. Single doesn't get you hurt. So, I'm washing my hands of it.

Gracie

Gumbo anyone?

This post is aptly named as I have a few things to spit out and from one end of the spectrum to the other. Gumbo is like that...without the spitting of course. It's got all kinds of stuff in it, but it's scrumptious and yummy and when my Granny makes it, it's unparalleled!

First up, I LOVE O-P-I Nail Lacquer. It's the best stuff since sliced bread and since they came out with a "Texas" line of colors this year, I love them even more! I'd like to have all of the colors just because, but only have 4 today. Boo.  This is what they came up with...

I was tempted last night. I was tempted to have a desert but resisted on the grounds that I had had WAY too much to eat yesterday and didn't need to add to my misery by having that desert. What was it you ask?  Bluebell (some of y'all have no idea what I'm talking about. For that, I am deeply sorry. I'm deeply sorry because Bluebell Ice Cream is a Texas thing and if you have never graced your taste buds with the pure heavenly flavors of Bluebell...YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!!!) Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with ChocoVine poured over it. Chelsea over at Roots and Rings has blogged about it several times. I'm not a fan of red wine. I'm not really a fan of wine at all. But for about $10 a bottle, I figured, "Why the heck not?"  After I got mine home, I decided that it would taste awesome over some vanilla ice cream. It did people!!!!  But last night I didn't have any. You can bet I won't make that mistake tonight...

My computer was working slow as hell this morning. I wanted to shoot it. Dead. I know I've talked about putting bullets in my computer before but... it was begging, nay, crying and begging while crawling on it's hands and knees behind me as I walked away from it in frustration.  I decided that my employers would be none too pleased if I did shoot it so, as I type I'm praying that none of this gets "unfortunately deleted" by her attitude problem. 

Because my computer is obviously already there, I think it only fair that I get to go on vacation too.  I'd really like to see Greece. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Germany...and maybe England. But this is why I want to go to Greece. That and the Gyros...



OK. I gotta vent about this. One of my bosses, Mr. No Smiley (never cracks a smile, always dead serious,...buzz killer, etc.) is kind of a girl when it comes to his clothing. I'm serious. This guy wears starched jeans, a freshly starched and pressed shirt and a jacket to work every day. When he comes in the office, he takes his jacket off and puts it on the back of his chair. When he leaves, and it doesn't matter if he'll be gone for 15 seconds or 15 minutes, he will put his jacket back on. Over and over and over he does this. So, I heard him go into the other boss's office and it sounded to me like he was crying about the air conditioner being on!  WHO THE HELL CRIES ABOUT AN AIR CONDITIONER BEING ON IN TEXAS?!!  I silently prayed that nothing would be done about the A/C being on because I'm always boiling hot and miserable in here.  I wanted to smack his prissy self.

So, while I was searching for the photos you see above, I came across some other ones that I thought were pretty funny...



This is me in the morning...





How funny is this dumb kid?! HA HA




I know this is a little over the top with Japan and all...but it's still funny!!!



Have a good rest of the day. y'all!

Gracie

P.S. Head over to Mrs. Adventure's blog...she's got another giveaway going on!!

Been A While...

OK.  This sucker is probably gonna be long as hell...but I guess that's what I get for not posting in FO-EVA!!!

**Quick thought: it's been a while since I saw Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland...I should probably watch it again.**

As y'all know, I started school back in January. That is part of the reason, but not entirely, why I have been absent. I wrote two papers and they kinda kicked my butt a little. I got a 70% on the first one...Yeah. Not good. It was the first paper I had written since 2000 so I wasn't ENTIRELY surprised. I like to think of myself as a decent writer. That is, when the subject matter interests me. If it doesn't well...I'm kinda screwed on enthusiasm. LOL  Anyway, we turned in our second of two research papers and took our mid-term exam last Wednesday. I should have studied more for that exam and hope I did decent. This course has been an eye opener for me. A wake up call. "Hey, ass! Wake up and get your shit together and be serious!"  Yeah. Moving on.

In my last post, I mentioned something about The Monkey Chronicles. I LOVE that name but I think I've decided to continue my anonymity. And I don't know that I want to plaster my son's face all over the Internet (nothing against those that do). It's just a choice that I have made in order to keep from people, namely predators, from messing with my child. I like the free world and don't think that prison orange would make my already blotchy skin look any better. So, I ask you. Are we happy with Finding Gracie?  Maybe if I just put a tab up top that was for the Monkey Chronicles...I think I like that idea.

I hate not writing. I always have so much to say, but on the other hand, I'm an emotional writer. I write when my mind is right and fairly clear. If I'm burdened or deeply affected by something, often times I won't write about it until after the fact and then it's almost a moot point to write about it at all... I miss the blogosphere sometimes when I'm rutted like that. I'll try to be better at it...and now that I say that, I wonder how many times I've said it before. LMAO

I want y'all to know that one of my very best friends is also a blogger. (She's way better at posting daily too...) But recently, she has been doing some really cool give-a-ways.  You should check her out over at Mrs. Adventure...she'd love to have you!



I didn't make this but it's cool anyway.



Work sucks. I just needed to go ahead and say that out loud. I work with a bunch of children. My girlfriend across the hall way though, Miss Foof (short for "foo foo"--she's a tad more girly than I am) is truly my grip on sanity when these idiots start their crap. The midget was the one to start the drama last week. Or she is the best that we can narrow it down to. She's stupid, slow and just a whole lot of lazy and can't stand it when I'm done with my work and have more time on my hands to I dunno...blog maybe.  So, she started some shit that involved the big boss, an employee meeting, and references to me and the other chick we have in here.  I did not take lightly the personal attack she made on my work performance. I work, and I work quickly and efficiently. It's not MY fault she gets behind in her work because she's off being a social butterfly. (She's the first to put your business on the street too... Word to the wise...) Never before had I wanted to donkey-stomp a midget before that day... But you live and learn. I don't even look in her direction anymore. She doesn't deserve my time. She's a waste of space in here if you ask me.  Whiny midgets are the worst...



This isn't him but it's equally as bad if not worse



Speaking of work...I miss my office with a door on it. A door that I could close and shut everyone else out and not have to listen to all their problems and family drama. I don't mind if it's someone I actually care about. Miss T and Miss Foof are about the only ones I care to listen to up here. Every one else can just keep their crap to themselves as far as I'm concerned. I hate to sound all mean and hateful about it but I'm one of those people who gets all wrapped up in other people's lives and to hear about stresses just makes me stress. So a while ago I decided that I don't care to hear about everyone else's troubles. I've got enough of my own with my friends and family.   And I could slap these other two women in here who ask about how their lives are going...I can't shut the door on it because I DON'T HAVE ONE!!!!!  Grr.  So, one of my bosses is a short, rooooouuuuuuunnnddd, but not small man. Today, he is wearing his usual jeans with suspenders. Yes. I said suspenders. And a shirt that I could swear he stole right out of Monkey's closet. It is about 3 sizes too small. Wanna know how I know it's too small? I'll tell you. I can see the last quarter of his beer-keg of a belly sticking out from underneath it because it's too short to cover the damn thing. It's awful. My husband would not leave the house looking like that much less own a shirt to tempt him with doing so. Oh hell no.  Again, Miss Foof is my sanity.   She and I were talking earlier about how we really weren't sure how to take/read the other when we first met. Now? She-yit.  We're thick as theives now. LOL  It's nice to add her to my trusted friends list because she's real down to Earth and has a good head on her shoulders. I can talk to her about anything and everything and she doesn't judge me or act afool. It's a good thing. She'll be added to the "ALIAS" list when I can get around to it. She's a keeper.

Monkey turns 2 on Thursday. I'm kind of excited about that!  That means that I've been a good mother, well, good enough mother to keep him alive for two years. LOL  Sometimes I've wondered why he doesn't hate me for having to swat his butt or tell him "No" all the time but maybe I'm doing something right because he sure does always have a big smile ready for me when I go to pick him up from daycare. (Usually followed by a world class, junkyard, hissy fit tantrum...but hey. The smile came first. LOL)

I'm pretty sure you're wondering about the love life aspect as I haven't touched it yet.  Something worth mention has in fact happened. A week old recent event kinda has me guessing what's next but in a good way.

Last Tuesday I received a match so I logged in and looked at it. Now, mind you, I'm getting 8-15 of these things a day right now and sometimes they just don't catch my interest or I find something in their profile that doesn't quite sound good to me, etc. This one definitely caught my attention. His name isn't what caught my attention. His picture did. He looked very familiar and with the location he had listed, it was entirely possible that he was the same guy that a mutual friend had introduced me to several months before I left for the Marine Corps in 2002.  He and I had become friends back then and would have almost undoubtedly started dating had I not left for Boot Camp.  We lost touch after I left and I hadn't talked to him since.  So I sent this guy the initial 5 questions. And then thought better of it and skipped right to the email part and sent him an email. Basically, I asked him if his last name was what this guy's last name was that I'd known way back when and told him that I wasn't stalkerific but wanted to know because if it was him, we had a lot of catching up to do.

While I was gone, and it had been 9 years since I'd last spoken to him, I had every now and then tried to look him up. I usually didn't have much luck but one time I did find him on Facebook. I think at the time he was married so I didn't contact him at all. I didn't want to be "that chick" who resurfaces and butts into their life. I wouldn't want some woman doing that to me.  So I left it alone.   A few hours later, I received an email back and it said that he was in fact that same person and that *shocker* he had been looking for me for 9 years. (that's a really long effin time to look for someone) So, bam, Mr. History is born. (I promise to think up a better name as one brings itself to light. LOL)  Mr. History came down yesterday (he lives an hour north of me) to our family BBQ and really just kind of...fit right in if I had to be honest. It was like we'd all done that before and he had been to many of them. He told me later that it felt like a 9 year absence had never taken place and that it felt like it was just yesterday that we had seen each other.  I felt the same way. We are currently in the process of making plans for Saturday of this week.  No hurry. No plans for anything major. But it's nice to have him around again. LOL   I'll keep y'all updated.

Anyway. I am going to whip out my Nook and get some reading in. Currently it's:

Gracie

The Monkey Chronicles

As you all know, I have been talking about leaving Gracie and launching another blog. One where I can be open-faced to the world and share more of myself with you. I will always be Gracie and no amount of Internet will change that. The Monkey Chronicles is what I will call my new blog as it will mostly pertain to me with all the happenings in my daily life, but also Monkey. Monkey is entirely WAY too cute for me not to share. "Gracie" has been very therapeutic and for those of you who have been loyal readers, the therapy will continue with a new face lift. LOL  This weekend I'm going to enlist the help of my best buds, Mrs. Adventure, to help me put all the stuff in the right places because she is WAY more gifted than me when it comes to that computer stuff. PLUS, when I go on my adventures to see her, we will be able to post pictures!!!!  Yeah!

I will post again to give you the link as I will no longer have this one available to link to. Personal preference.

Gracie

*Yawn*

This laptop is my arch enemy right at the moment because it gives me the ability to sit in my bed and gripe to you about what a long week I'm about to have and that there are many more to follow.

I learned on Thursday that the new Work Center (WC) that I belong to, is on overtime. I have been working four 10's...meaning that I worked four days a week for 10 hours a day. Monday through Thursday with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Nice, right? I loved having Fridays as my scheduled day off. Well, now I will be working Monday through Friday, 10 hours a day. 10 hours overtime. I could use the money for sure, but that makes for a very long week. Now throw in school. Mondays and Wednesdays I have school from 6pm until 7:20pm. 

My alarm clock goes off at 4. Shower, dry hair, (maybe) make up, throw clothes on, make sure my bag(s) I'll need for the day (purse, backpack for school, lunchbox) are properly packed...and be out the door for 5:30am.  Just so you know, I WILL be stopping by my friendly Starbuck's in the morning as coffee and all things caffinated will be my dearest friends tomorrow. Usually after school I don't get home until around 8pm or so. Maybe a few minutes before but 8pm all the same. From the time I leave here in the morning, it will be almost 15 hours before I get to come home and quit running.  Why couldn't I have been smart enough to get school out of the way YEARS ago when I didn't have bills to pay?!!!!  Oy.

Night y'all.

A new toy.

No. Not THAT kind of toy...you filthy minded people you. (Just for the record: that's why I like y'all. )  No. As you all know already, I have recently gone back to school. I'm taking just one class right now but am debating on adding a distance course soon. Working full time and going to school two nights a week takes away from the limited time that I have with Monkey and I know I shouldn't feel guilty for getting my education, but I do feel some pangs of said emotion when I think about how much time he spends at daycare and in the care of others (grandma and grandpa)... *sigh*

ANYWHO.  So I've wanted a laptop for YEARS and finally decided that I needed to stop whining about it and just go get one. Now that I am in school, it's just almost crucial these days to have one as a student.  I mean, who has time to sit in another room while their little one is up and running around like his hair is on fire and your eyes are not on him?  I certainly don't.  So I went to Best Buy last night and got a Sony Vaio.  I'm pretty happy with it. So far. LOL  I haven't even had it 24 hours quite yet.  I got it in Coconut White and think that because I really wanted the Purple one, that my next computer is going to be purple. Period.  Purple and black. :)




Found this pic online but it's the same computer.


And now the urgent truth of the matter is that I need to read the materials that I have printed up for this first paper and quit messing around. UGH! So boring!!!!

I think that this new place that I'm in at work will be ok. My old boss told them before I got there that I am "a very competent and capable PCC and that I need to be allowed to go my job".  Nice, huh?  There are a couple of people around there that are lazy, incompetent, and/or a combination of both. And just Thursday, I was given a task and during the instruction period of the task, my new supervisor made the comment that I was a fast learner and that I would be fine. I'm making those other two look like idiots and I think it's funny. LOL

Anywho. My subscription with eHarmony expires tomorrow and I think I'm going to let it. I'm not impressed with my luck on it and have decided that if I have to be single right now, then so be it.

Was that really necessary?

Ok. So here’s the deal.  They moved me at work.  When I was originally hired here, I was hired for night crew. Well, we basically worked ourselves off a crew but instead of sending us to the house, they decided to keep us all and place us where needed. I’m not a mechanic. I’m a Productions Control Clerk. I do administrative and clerical stuff.  Since leaving my original work center, this will be the third time they’ve bounced me around.  And the worst, yet.

The last area I was in, I had my own office with a closeable door. That was the most important part. I could shut the world out if I needed to focus on something or just didn’t want to hear the most annoying of all voices (and there were 3 of them over there) standing out in the hallway having conversations that reminded me of 3 four year olds bickering over who was gonna get the bendy straw.

Anyway, I am now in a room and have my own little patch of floor.  Seriously.  No door. And I’m working with people that are very dry. Maybe it’s just that they are still trying to feel me out and figure out who I am before they say something, but it makes for a very…strange day.  Oh well. There’s a possibility that I will be moving again here in a few weeks, count 6 or so, to another area. I’m kind of REALLY hoping for that.  It would give me a change of personnel, change of supervisor, and change of atmosphere. I’m pro for all three.  I’ll keep you posted.

Last night as well as the night before, Monkey woke up and was extremely fussy. He was up around 2:30 both mornings and stayed up whining, literally, until around 3:30-40. Um.  My alarm clock is set for 4.  Needless to say, I have snoozed all the way until 5-5:30 both mornings which put me in DEFCON5 status to get up and get out of the house on time.  It ain’t pretty. LOL  

I’m giving myself a huge pat on the back though because I have successfully packed and remembered my lunch every day this week!!  Salads for the main course, a cup and a half of blueberries for snack,  Greek yogurt and granola (mmm) for breakfast, I’ve got a banana in there just in case…  I’m not gonna lie though. I am addicted to junk/fast food and have also had some this week. But at least I did good and didn’t eat it for lunch 4 days this week!!!  Baby steps. I even did a mile on the treadmill the other night. It liked to killed me but I did it! I walked a majority of it at a pretty brisk pace and ran just a little of a quarter. Note to self: Stretch thoroughly before attempting THAT shit again!  

I started school last week also. My U.S. History professor is a freaking lunatic…but I like him ok. He teaches history like he’s telling a story. It definitely keeps most of it interesting. LOL  I REALLY need to get down to the business of writing my paper due March 2^nd… The subject you ask?  “Describe the contributions of foreign countries to the American Revolution.”  *SIGH*  I know, I know.  Then there’s the second one which is due March 9^th.  “Describe the influence General Leonidas Polk had on the Civil War.”  Shoot. Me. I hate writing papers. It’s the main reason why I have not been in school all along.  These two papers are worth 50% of my grade. Yeah. And did I mention that the second one has to include an oral report on said topic?  Sure does. Shoot me and stuff me in a hole so my professor can’t find me and make me speak in front of the class!!! ARG!!!  The worst ever!!

**Disclaimer:   I am very well aware that I could be less fortunate and not have a job like so many others today and that I am privileged enough to be able to attend college when others aren’t.  This being said, I’m just venting.  Don’t get your undies in a bunch.**