Lotto Frenzy

As I start writing this there are 5 minutes until the big Lotto drawing. You know, the one worth over a half a billion dollars.

I am *almost* glad that I am one of the few states that don't participate in this lottery. I would be so tempted to buy tickets. Then, I would be a stress case waiting for the drawing, even though I knew I wouldn't win.

But, what if I did?

What would I buy?

It's a fun thought to try to figure out...........

I'd hire a financial planner.

I'd tithe and probably cause my pastor to have a heart attack.

I'd pay off my car.

I'd pay off my parent's house.

I'd buy or build my own house.

I'd help my cousin and her family move down to Florida.

I'd take a Disney Cruise (or two or three) with family and friends.

I'd donate a mad amount of money during our St. Jude Radiothon (making our tote board skyrocket).

I'd stay at my job, but I would hire my own full-time assistant. And, I'd talk my company owner into letting my have more vacation.

I would set aside a ridiculous number specifically to have my dream wedding. Whenever that day happens.

I'd set up a trust for my brother and a couple other people in my life.

I'd donate a chunk to the school I went to for 13 years.

Then, I think, I'd go about my business. I mean, I'd have a ton of money in the bank and invested. I could probably live off of the interest, for the most part.

What would you do with half a billion dollars?

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!

Have you ever been so unspeakably happy for someone else's success that you just can't stand it?

Well, I am, right now.

I wish I could do a happy dance and sing from the rooftops.

Ya'll..... The Guy is getting out of Minne-friggin-sota!!!!!!

Any readers who live in and/or love that state.... please do not take offense. Us Floridians just think of it as the closest thing you can get to the North Pole.

Anyway.....

Over the past 4+ months, he has been trying hard to find a new job. A couple of really close calls had me biting my fingernails for weeks. WEEKS.

This past month, things looked promising, but I told him I wasn't going to get excited for him until he signed on the dotted line.

Today, it's a done deal!

He is out of Minne-friggin-sota!!!!!

I won't say where exactly, but he'll be south of the Mason-Dixon Line (thank you, Baby Jesus) and he will be a LOT closer to home.

He will be making a LOT more money and have a LOT more opportunity.

Honestly? I'm just glad he will be somewhere more similar to what he's used to and closer to the people that he loves and love him back. I'm sure MN is a great place, but it wasn't great for him.

I am hoping that this will at least give him a better chance of getting to come home for visits, but I'm not holding my breath that it will be anytime soon.

Mainly, I'm hoping that he won't feel like a prisoner to a place so foreign to him.

All that to say.......... I'm proud. It isn't my success and it's not my reward, but it feels like it. It doesn't even affect me in any way, really. My everyday life isn't going to change, in the slightest, by this new development.

But, I'm still really, really happy for him.

When The Going Gets Tough....

.... The Tough Eats Frozen Yogurt.....

Meet my obsession. Admittedly, this has been going on for a little over year with Yogurt Mountain.

Then, I met Pinkberry.

As much as I love YoMo, it doesn't hold a candle to Pinkberry.

Yesterday, my mom took my stepsister to the airport and on the way, they stopped at the location close to the airport. Then, they were kind enough to bring me some.... from Tampa.

The lovely PB people had it all packed in ice. It was wonderfully delicious.

After only eating half, I hid the other half in a freezer at work. 

Hence my afternoon snack, today.

I'm just sad that it's gone.

Random Wednesday Questions

I am procrastinating at work, so I thought I'd combine both Little Woman and Jess' questions, this afternoon.

1. What kind of camera do you have?

 

I have a Sony camera. Beyond that, I'm not even sure what it's called.

 

2. What would be your last meal if you were on Death Row?

 

My mom's Thanksgiving Dinner. And, pizza. And, lots of cake.

 

3. What's your favorite band?

 

Lady Antebellum and Colbie Caillat

 

 

4. Rock, Paper. Scissor? and Why?

 

Scissor.... I always seem to be looking for scissors.

 

 

5. What kind of car do you drive?

 

Ford Escape.... I love.

 

 

6. Big House, Crappy Neighbors...Tiny House, Fab Neighbors?

 

Big, fab house. I'll ignore my neighbors and invite fun friends over.

7. Do you play any instruments?

 

No and you should be grateful.

8. Favorite musical movie?

 

Oh, this is a tough one. 'Grease', 'Sound of Music', 'Mary Poppins'.... just to name a few.

9. NSync or Backstreet Boys?

 

NSYNC were clearly superior in every way.

10. Fall or Spring? Why?

 

Fall. It means that summer (and the intense heat/humidity) are over for a little while. It also means that fun holidays are coming.

11. Cat Shantys? Why?

 

I have no clue.

12. Favorite magazine?

 

Probably People or one of those Women's Weekly types.

13. What is your most cooked recipe?

 

Hahahaha..... Do brownies count?

14. If you could only buy more of three things for the rest of your life what would they be? ( Other than food)

 

Soap, clothes, and toothpaste.

15. Lights on or off?

 

I don't like it super dark, unless I'm trying to sleep.

16. Do you have any Easter traditions? If you celebrate it. 

 

We go to Church and then have a big family dinner.

17. What state are you from?

 

Florida

18. Where would you like to retire?

 

Probably Florida. Or, on a cruise ship.

19. Most played song on your iPod?

 

Oh man..... There are so many songs that have ridiculous counts on my iPod.

20. City or Country?

 

City.

21. What is an something you wish had never been invented?

 

I have no idea.

22.First thing that comes to mind when you hear "Purple".

 

Cow..... One of those sound really good, right now.

Muddled

Holy crap.

Last week was a sad, sad week.

Without going into major detail, this past Saturday was the 8th Anniversary of my step-dad Mike's death. Late on Thursday night, his sister (my aunt) passed away in a very similar manner.

It was surreal, extremely overwhelming, and just sad.

I have to send props out to FD who got a text from me at 9:15pm and was willing to meet me at Starbucks until almost 11:30pm to distract me when he knew that he had to be up at 4am.

More props out to him and a few coworkers when I may or may not have drowned my sorrows in Mirandaritas (look it up) at a secret "we aren't telling anyone else at work that we are here" party on Saturday night. They took care of me and made sure I was ok.

Another set of props goes out to Marianne. She knows why, but I can't say why because.... well, she knows.

All that to say.... I am muddled.

I keep wanting to type things, but they just aren't coming out on the screen.

There are fun things I want to share, but I don't have the heart.

There are serious things I want to share, but I'm not sure a public blog is appropriate.

There are personal things I want to share, but, well, they are personal and I don't want to get my hopes up.

Anyway, I am muddled.

Very muddled.

And, so, I am posting this. Just because I miss blogging, even though I'm so internally conflicted, I don't know what else to blog.

The Monday Real

Thanks to Jess and Britt for starting and hosting The Monday Real!

This is a repost from this past November..... It's one of the most honest posts ever in the sense that I posted my clothing size AND fat pictures of myself.....

This past weekend, I went to Disney. While I was in the Orlando area, I stopped by some outlets in search of warm clothes. A couple years ago, we had a lengthy cold snap and I bought some sweaters, etc. That got me through last year, even though they were a little roomy. However, a couple of cool days already showed me that they would NOT work this winter.

As I don't like spending a lot of money on clothes, period, I *really* don't like spending a lot of money on clothes that I only need about 2 months (if that) out of the year AND that I have no intention on fitting into next year (30 lbs until my goal weight).

Hence, outlets.

I hit up my favorite bargain clothing store.... Old Navy. The lady in the dressing room was amazing. She gave me her completely honest opinion on everything I tried on. My favorite line?

"Honey, all of these clothes are too big on you. What size are you bringing in here?"

"XL"

"Ha! No, let me go get you smaller sizes."

See, my whole life....... well, since I have been old enough to pick out my own clothes and take them into a dressing room..... I've been XL or XXL. At my heaviest, I was a size 26 going on 28 (this is the first time I've ever said that publicly, lol....... still not sure I'll ever be comfortable saying my actual weight).

When I walked out of the store, I walked out with four Large long-sleeved shirts, one Large long-sleeved sweater, and two pairs of size 14 jeans. Now, depending on the store or the make of the clothing item, I still may need an XL or a 16. However, that's becoming less and less. The dressing room attendant pointed out that I *think* I need the larger size...... when I really don't.

I know, to a lot of people, the thought of wearing a Large or a size 14 is appalling. I mean, it's still chubby and by its own name, Large. However, my 5'7 1/2" big-boned frame has NEVER been this small. It was an awesome feeling to walk out of that store carrying clothes smaller than I've ever worn.

Like I said earlier, I still have about 30 pounds to go. I don't know what size I'll be at that point.... I am more concerned with being a healthy weight, BMI, etc.

Walking out of that store, though? Was definitely a nod to how far I've come.........

February 2005 (pretty much the heaviest).......

July 2005 (I'd just started losing weight)......

June 2011......

August 2011.........

The Monday Real

Thanks to both Jess for hosting The Monday Real!

This edition of The Monday Real is a tad bit more light-hearted than last week's.

There are a lot of situations that produce "real."

One of them is exhaustion.

A couple weeks ago was our St. Jude Radiothon. If you have read my blog recaps of other radiothons, you know that they are tiring. My favorite part of my job, but absolutely draining. We spend about a month in full-blown preparation (by we, I mean me and my interns) and then the week-of is even more crazy.

On Thursday the 16th, I was at work at 4:30am and left at 7:30pm.

On Friday the 17th, I was there, again, at 4:30am and didn't leave until 9pm.

Do the math.

This semester, I have three interns. I've never had more than one at a time, but somehow I ended up with three. They were troupers.

C was there with me, both days, for the entire time I was there. The entire time.

A was there the majority of the time... 6a - 3p on Thurs and 5:30a - 9p on Fri.

N was there 2p - 7:30p on Thurs and 5:30a - 8p on Fri.

Needless to say, we were all tired.

Now, my interns are all really respectful despite the fact that I am more of an older sister type. As a supervisor, I try to be friendly and real, without crossing the line. The fact is, I'm really not that much older than them. It's not like a lot of their peers who are working for people in their late 30s and into their 40s. I'm only a handful of years older than them. We all have quite a bit in common and can relate to each other. All of my previous interns have ended up friending me on FB after their internships are over, lol.

All that to say.... On both ends, we try to keep a professional line.

That tends to fly out the window during radiothon.

My poor kids got so slap-happy for about 2 hours on Friday afternoon. It was sort of the calm before the final storm and we were all taking a slight break. They were singing songs, making up songs, and imitating various people at school and in our building.

Both I and our St. Jude reps were being unprofessional in that we were about to pee our pants laughing (what can I say.... we were tired, too).

"Where's your 20?".... They made a song to the tune of "I'm Sexy and I Know It" about St. Jude and donating $20, lol.

A while later, we were taking turns eating dinner while working on paperwork. Out of nowhere, the following conversation happened.....

A - "I feel like we were highly unprofessional a little bit ago."

C - "Me, too."

A - "I feel really bad about it."

C - "It was out of control and it lasted like 2 hours."

A - "I don't even know what got into me. It's like I blacked out or something."

C - "Please forgive us."

A - "Yeah, I'm really sorry."

C - "If you could just try to forget that it happened and that we were totally unprofessional, I would so appreciate it."

Me - "Guy, don't worry about it. It's two very long days. We all go a little loony."

St Jude Rep - "I, for one, found it hysterical."

Me - "I did, too. And, as your supervisor, I know that I haven't always been the most upstanding. Especially over the past two days. I mean, I was dancing to your song. Being here this long, you now know that no one in this building is exactly the epitome of business-like."

N (who hasn't said anything, yet) - "And, yet, you are still one of the most professional in this building. I mean, these people are whacked."

And that, my friends, is real, lol.